Recognizes and Repays the Buddha’s kindness

Just now Dharma Master Guo He spoke quite a bit. What she said was true – that this year we have fewer attendees. However, today there was a sudden increase in the number of people joining the session.?In the past, there were not enough chairs in our rest area for everybody to sit. We used to move the chairs from the dining hall up to the rest area. Luckily, we don’t have to do that this time as we have enough seats for everyone. This saves us some energy.

Today I’m very happy for the men folk in the laity. Many have come to attend the dharma assembly. There are the young, the old and the middle-aged. They are highly spirited bowing in repentance. That’s why I’m really happy for them.

Now, please don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t welcome the men folk putting forth such tremendous effort bowing in repentance. This is truly commendable. Hence, this afternoon please do not retract and bow half-heartedly. Bowing this way shows a lack of sincerity and effort.

Today is Thanksgiving Day. I am not sure why people celebrate Thanksgiving only on this particular day. To us disciples of the Triple Jewel, every day is Thanksgiving Day because we should give thanks to the beneficence that the Triple Jewel bestows upon us every day. Don’t you all agree?

In giving thanks, we have to give thanks the right way. As stated in the repentance text, we have to recognize the beneficence we have received and repay the kindness accordingly. The Thanksgiving turkeys saved people from starving to death many years ago. Unfortunately, instead of begetting gratitude from the community, they are endlessly slaughtered. This is the wrong way to express gratitude.

In the past, some people have mentioned that the Thanksgiving holiday is the time to go shopping because so many things are on sale and at a steeply discounted price. They’ve said it is a wasted opportunity to forgo shopping at this time. Now, the people who used to go shopping know better. They have realized that it is better to forgo shopping and utilize their time in the way place °V to put in effort to overcome their karmic obstacles and to rectify and renew themselves.

The Buddhadharma constantly reminds us to uphold proper knowledge, proper view, and proper mindfulness, followed by proper faith, proper perception, proper morality, proper concentration, proper wisdom and so forth. Everything has to be proper and not upside down.

Because we living beings are confused about true principles, we have committed many offenses, resulting in many karmic obstacles. As we set out on the proper path, our karmic obstacles appear along the way and hinder our progress, even leading us to the deviant path. Hence, we have to bring forth the mind to change and reform ourselves from within. Inside the mind of every one of us is our own bodhimanda. If we do not work on properly structuring and adorning our own bodhimanda, then even the most auspicious causes and conditions that come our way will be laid to waste.

Attending repentance bowing sessions is not the same as going to the market or hunting for bargains, in which case the bigger the crowd the merrier it feels. We should regard repentance bowing sessions in the same way whether there are many participants or few. Every one of us has to apply our own effort. It should not be the case that we feel the dharma assembly to be extra special when you see many people present and feel dispirited if you see fewer people. If we have such an attitude, we are employing a deal making mindset in matters of cultivation and we will not get a response that way.

Today, we read a passage in the repentance text as follows: If you wish to repay the Buddha’s kindness, you have to resolve for bodhi, make the four great vows, form infinite conditions, adorn your bearing, and cultivate the Pureland practices. One who follows these practices is a person of wisdom – one who recognizes and repays the Buddha’s kindness.

All of us differ vastly in our past causes and conditions, karma, good roots, and blessings. Because of this dissimilitude, the causes and conditions that bring us to the dharma assembly are different as well. Oftentimes, we want to do more but are hampered by our lack of physical energy. However, we have one thing in common: we are able to participate in the dharma assembly and put forth our utmost sincerity and best effort in bowing repentance for ourselves and for all living beings in this world. With one thought of earnest sincerity, we can generate an inconceivable power from the mind. Since our causal conditions are not perfect, we should cherish even more each opportunity that we have to beseech the buddhas’ infinite compassion. When we conduct ourselves this way, we will not have come to the dharma assembly in vain.