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SÁCH AMAZON


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(Lecture given on May 22, 1999 at the Pure Land Learning Association in Singapore, file 4, archive number: 19-012-0004)

Dear fellow students, and everyone,

In Chinese society, the Taishang Karma-Response-Pastel has always been a text that has been highly respected by everyone. Many people have followed the method in this text to practice, and the responses they have achieved are beyond imagination. The book Karma-Response-Pastel has collected many such stories of karma-response-pasta, clearly displaying the effective functions of practice. The ancients taught that the human heart must be honest and kind.

I once went to Australia, but it only lasted 4 days. However, the fellow students there did not want to miss the opportunity, so they asked me to introduce the main idea of the book "The Four Lessons of Lieu Pham" to everyone during those four days.

Regarding the meaning of induction, the introduction clearly stated it through quoting the Book of Changes: "A family that often does good deeds will surely have many good things. A family that often does evil deeds will surely encounter many disasters." Keeping a sincere and good heart will definitely bring blessings in the future. A harsh and contemptuous mind, even if the current situation is extremely good and prosperous, will soon decline. In reality and in theory, from ancient times to the present, from near to far, as long as one pays attention and observes, everyone can see it, and see it very clearly. Therefore, whether it is an individual or a family, a group or a nation, one must clearly understand that prosperity is completely due to keeping a sincere and good heart, stopping evil and cultivating goodness. Therefore, the ancients said that if anyone clearly understood the meaning, they should spread this text of the Induction of the Heavens widely.

We should learn to follow the example of Patriarch Yin Guang. Throughout his life, he devoted all his mind and energy to spreading and circulating the Induction of the Heavens, along with the books of the Four Lessons of Lieu Pham and the Complete Book of An Si. He printed and circulated these three books in quantities far exceeding those of the sutras and treatises in Buddhism. What was his intention in doing so? It was truly nothing other than wanting to save the world from the current calamity.

This calamity is extremely serious, we need to clearly recognize it. Where does calamity come from? It is all due to the mind and actions of people. It is due to the mind and actions of evil that calamity is created, just as the Buddha taught: “The retribution depends on the previous retribution.” (The retribution changes according to the retribution.) The retribution is the living environment around us. The true report is the mind and behavior of a person. A kind heart will naturally bring good living conditions. An evil heart will also bring bad and inferior living conditions.

Therefore, this text of the Response to the Heavenly Law must be read carefully, pondered deeply, and made an effort to follow. Even in daily life, every time a thought arises, a word or an action is spoken, one must consider whether it is consistent with the teachings in the Response to the Heavenly Law. If it is consistent, it is something that can be thought, said, and done. If it is not consistent, it is definitely not possible. First of all, one must read carefully and often ponder the meaning of the book. Read carefully, think deeply, and make an effort to follow and do, then your future will be extremely bright.

On my path to learning Buddhism, I was only 26 years old when I came into contact with the Buddha Dharma. Many fellow practitioners know clearly that I personally do not have good fortune, nor do I have a long life. Many fortune tellers have told fortunes, and most of them predicted that I would not live past 45. I believe that, because most of my family members do not live past 45.

I have no blessings, probably because I did not cultivate blessings in my past life. Fortunately, although I am incompetent, I still have some good roots, still have some clear wisdom to be able to receive good Dharma. That year, the old lay Buddhist Chu Kinh Tru brought me two books, Lieu Pham Tu Huan and Cam Ung Thien. I read them and felt deeply, moved in my heart, recognized my own bad habits, corrected my own mistakes, purified my mind, and learned the virtues of patience and humility. Now that I have a little more life and a little more blessings, it is not due to my previous life, but because of my practice in this life. So, to be honest, it is thanks to the teachings and admonitions of Patriarch Yinguang.

I have lectured on the three books of Lianfan's Four Lessons, Anshi's Complete Book, and Cam Ung Thien many times. Once, fellow practitioners asked me to lecture again. I said, "Very good, now is a very suitable time. People now study Buddhism, but their practice is not effective, their recitation of Buddha's name does not reach single-mindedness, their meditation does not enter into a state of concentration, their study of the Dharma does not understand thoroughly. What is the cause? We must find that cause and eliminate it, then no matter which Dharma method we practice, we will achieve results. Especially in the present world, disasters often occur in every region of the world, more and more each year, and more and more serious each time. We need to be mindful and alert.

Last month, a fellow practitioner in Australia brought me three large-sized books about ancient Western prophecies. I spent two weeks reading them all, and I truly understood them very clearly. I had read some copies before, but they were only excerpts, not complete, so I did not understand them clearly. It may also be because I myself did not have enough practice to understand them. Now that I have read the full original text, I understand. Mr. Nostradamus (Nặc-tra Đạn-mã-tư), a Westerner, is a great prophet known throughout the world. In reality, if compared with the content of the book Liễu Phàm Tứ Huấn (The Four Lessons), he is similar to the character of Mr. Khổng Sinh. Regarding the future changes of society, stability or disorder, he predicted them very accurately, but he just did not have any solution. In the book "The Four Lessons of Liu Fan", Mr. Kong also predicted Yuan Liu Fan's future fate very accurately, but did not offer any way to change it. Mr. Liu Fan was very fortunate to meet Zen master Yun Gu, who taught him that fate was created by himself, so of course he could change it himself. This is called transforming fate. And he successfully transformed it.

In China, throughout the dynasties, there were countless people like Mr. Liu Fan. When you understand the meaning, understand the method, you can also transform your fate, create your own fate, and the future will be completely bright.

Clearly understanding this meaning is difficult, not easy, and thoroughly understanding the method [of transforming fate] is also not easy. Therefore, you must strive to study upwards.

The meaning of [transforming fate] is extremely profound. Here in Singapore, we have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time explaining the major sutras in detail, and have explained this meaning to you clearly. But after listening to it once, twice, three times, will you really understand it clearly? Not necessarily. If you listen to it once, twice, three times... you may not have built up a firm belief, let alone understand it clearly?

Fortunately, the Avatamsaka Sutra has a very long content. According to the current progress of the explanation, I plan to teach it for 15 years. If I have enough causes and conditions to do so, during the 15 years of coming here to practice, I believe that many people will be enlightened. If I don't have that long of a time, I can't do it. If I can't come here to listen to the sutras in person, then I have no choice but to use inferior methods such as listening to audio recordings, watching video recordings, or watching them on the Internet. These are all inferior methods that I have to use as a last resort. For example, if one could come here every day to practice without interruption, and only hope to build up a solid faith, it would take three or five years of practice to achieve it.

People today are different from those of ancient times. People of ancient times had a calm mind and were extremely sincere and kind. People of today have a harsh, frivolous, impulsive, and hot-tempered nature. If one does not go through three or five years, one will not be able to build up a solid faith. It will take eight or ten years for one to truly understand and truly enter into [the meaning]. I myself can be used as an example. I have always kept a calm mind in my life, which can be considered an advantage compared to many people. I have no greed, do not compete with others, and do not expect anything in life, so my mind is somewhat calm. These things are extremely helpful for cultivation.

If you are not calm in your heart, but are impulsive, hot-tempered, and have a lot of greed, want to fight for fame and profit, and try to pursue the five desires and six sense objects, then this is a great obstacle to your practice. Such things only create more bad karma, so your practice will not achieve results. The main meaning is here.

Each person who practices is a person who receives blessings. People in the same family practice together, the whole family receives blessings. People in the same locality practice together, the whole locality is freed from all disasters. This land of Singapore is not very large. I have been here lecturing on the sutras for 12 years. Why is it that other places also spend more than ten years practicing but do not see results, while here we have seen some results? The reason is that the education system in Singapore is different from that in other places. People here are very honest, obey the law, and live in a disciplined way. Therefore, after hearing the Buddha's teachings, they truly contemplated, understood, and then practiced accordingly, thereby realizing that such practice is good, and thus making even more efforts to practice. When many people practiced the Buddha's teachings, a good atmosphere was immediately formed in the entire locality. A very small, mostly urban country, can be respected and admired by people all over the world, of course there must be a reason. It can be seen that the reason is in education.

Someone told me that Mr. Lee Kuan Yew once said that he was educated in English, if he had been educated in Chinese, the current Singaporean political system would have been many times better. [To be able to say that] is truly wisdom, truly an experienced person.

What does Chinese education teach people? We need to understand clearly that the educational principles in China from the Three Dynasties, including the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, until the late Qing Dynasty, have not changed. These principles only include three things. First, teaching about the relationship between people and how to be a human being. Second, teaching about the relationship between people and nature and the environment. Third, teaching about the relationship between people and heaven and earth, supernatural spirits and gods. If a student can clearly understand this relationship, he or she will become a saint.

Buddhist education also has three things. Regardless of Mahayana or Hinayana, regardless of the sect, education must still follow three principles. First, stopping evil and doing good. In the Five Vehicles of Buddhism, this is a dharma for humans and gods, helping them not to fall into the three evil paths. The second is to transform ignorance into enlightenment, helping to transcend the six paths of samsara, transcend beyond the Three Realms, and become an Arhat, Pratyekabuddha, Bodhisattva, or Buddha. The third is to transform the mundane into a holy one, transcending the Ten Dharma Realms, as the Avatamsaka Sutra explains, the Great Bodhisattva of the Dharma Body.

If we do not grasp the above essential points of learning, then what should we learn?

[Let's take an example, we] must truly be clear and lucid in understanding the meaning of gratitude [in order to be able to] repay gratitude. Worldly people do not understand what gratitude is, so what should we repay? In Mahayana Buddhism, gratitude and repaying gratitude are the places of practice for Bodhisattvas of the Second Ground. Think about it, how profound is that level of cultivation and attainment? Bodhisattvas of the Second Ground practice eight subjects in total, gratitude and repaying gratitude is one of them. In every thought, we must not forget to take care of our parents and serve our teachers. These two things are the foundation, and then from there it develops into a larger, clearer meaning, [becoming] filial piety to all living beings, serving all living beings.

In the Brahma Net Sutra, also called the Precepts Sutra, it is taught: “All men are my fathers; all women are my mothers.” That is to bring the meaning of gratitude to the utmost.

Nowadays, I often come into contact with many people of different religions and races. I always love them sincerely, and give alms and offerings without conditions. Many people are surprised to see this and come to me and ask: "Dharma Master, why do you do that?" I say, it is because I practice the teachings of the Avatamsaka Sutra in reality. We have clearly understood the meaning that all sentient beings in the Dharma Realm of Emptiness are our own pure Dharma bodies. How can we not love and protect them, how can we not care for them, how can we not make offerings and nurture them?

If everyone clearly understands this meaning and everyone practices this method, then whether natural disasters or man-made disasters will no longer exist. That is called the Buddha Dharma. The Buddha Dharma is in the world, but how many people truly understand the Buddha Dharma?

We have learned these teachings, we must definitely put them into our daily lives, we must transform them into thoughts, transform them into actions, only then will we gain true benefits.

Therefore, this text of the Response to the Heavenly Law cannot be studied, we must strive to practice and follow it. The book of the Response to the Heavenly Law is a collection of stories and results of practice, of old stories and causes and conditions, which are extremely rich. We cannot introduce each story one by one, because it will take a lot of time. Here I just want to remind fellow practitioners to make every effort to recite, preserve and follow the Response to the Response to the Heavenly Law, only then will we truly benefit ourselves and others.

Today's time is up, we will stop here. So we have not yet finished the main text, we will continue tomorrow.

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