#Mettavalokanaya_International_Buddhist_Magazine_November_2021

Dharma
Practices in
Our Life.…
“Real
Peace and
Happiness”….
Most Venerable
Master Hai Tao
The President of Life TV,
Abbot of Hong Fa Zen
and other Monasteries
If we want to rapidly change our
destinies and eradicate suffering
from diseases and adversities, we
shall seize any opportunities to
practice the following four Dharmas:
(1) Chant Buddha’s names; (2) Be a
vegetarian; (3) Confess and repent. (4)
Release the living creatures.
These four Dharmas seem to be
nothing special, but they’re like wise
counsel in life which can elevate
our personalities and bring us peace
and happiness. Life is an endless
journey. We shall try to accumulate
holy merit and virtue and practice
Perfections (note3) to flesh our lives
out with brilliance, brightness, and
power. The precious value of life lies
in continuous growth in this endless
journey of enrichment. We shall not
be self-centered but be humble
and open-minded. Let’s be open to
different ideas and keep improving
ourselves, and our life will be halfway
there.
People sense the preciousness of
life when facing adversity or downfall
in life, or when life is at the edge of
death. Therefore, we shall value our
lives at each present moment and
bring light and love of our lives into
full play. In this way, we can experience
the preciousness and meaning of
life. Life reformation, said by Buddha,
means that our minds, language, and
manner are changing, reforming,
and moving toward goodness. Every
change starts from the mind. When
our minds change, our behavior
changes, and then our surroundings
will be purified as well. That is to say:
be determined to reform our lives, and
let our minds take the initiative.
When we open the windows,
sunlight and the wind come in the
house. Similarly, if we open our
minds, radiance of all Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas will shine in our minds.
So, we shall try to enlighten the
luminosity of our inherent nature to
let it illuminate all sentient beings
and
hope each life’s inherent nature
can be enlightened as well. May
all sentient beings can enter into
Buddhas’ realm altogether. Driving
force behind everything lies in the
motive of the mind. Even one thought
has its own influence; so, if we can
make our minds think positively and
righteously, we will achieve success. A
tiny seed is an origin of a tree. Any of
our action is a cause of future effect,
so different causes of goodness and
wickedness will become different
effects of goodness and wickedness
in the future. You reap what you saw,
so to speak. What is the biggest lesson
in life?
That is to know and believe
in karma. Let’s be cautious with our
three karmic activities. Affections
are the most vulnerable part in life.
This kind of selfish affection can
only satisfy one’s vanity. The socalled
love is just vulnerable and
selfish feelings. Contrarily, love that
Buddha expressed is developed from
selfish affection to unconditioned
love, which is called the Four Infinite
States: lovingkindness, compassion,
appreciative joy, and equanimity. The
wickedest karma on earth is killing,
yet the greatest holy merit and virtue
is protecting the living. Master Hongyi
once said: “Do you want to recover
from illness? Do you want your life to
be peaceful and blissful? There is a
simplest and quickest method today:
release and protect all the living!”
Try to imagine that if we were
at the edge of dying, how would
we treat our life? To face it or to
escape from it? Actually, when there’s
downfall in life, it will be our time to
work up and show the holiness and
radiance of life. Consequently, try not
to escape from adversity but to face
it, and then we may witness life’s
broadness. We shall contemplate the
merit and virtue of loving-kindness
and compassion, cultivate mind state
of loving-kindness and compassion,
and gentle our temperament. Through
smile, benevolence, and compassion,
we can warm people around us and
create pleasant atmosphere. Keeping
a relaxing smile without pressuring
other people benefits not only others
but also ourselves. We used to take
refuge in the Three Poisons: greed,
aversion, and ignorance. Now as our
causal conditions of wholesome roots
from previous lives are ripe, we shall
clean up our act and take refuge in the
Three Treasures: take refuge in Buddha,
and eradicate our greediness; take
refuge in Dharma, and eradicate our
aversion; take refuge in Sangha, and
eradicate our ignorance. Taking refuge
means depending and returning. We
shall eradicate the Three Poisons and
experience inherent nature of the
Three Treasures practically.
| NOT FOR SALE |
14 l Mettavalokanaya l November l 2021 2021 l November l Mettavalokanaya l 15