Recognize and Repay the Buddha’s kindness

Our afflictions are endless.  As long as the idea of a “self” exists, offenses spontaneously follow.  If everyone uses a mind that is selfish and seeks personal advantage, there is no end to the sea of suffering.  We have to clearly recognize our own afflictions and sever them with the double-edged sword of wisdom.  To end afflictions, we have to study the dharma that will truly enable us to leave behind afflictions.  That dharma door is likewise without bounds.

The absence of Buddhadharma is like the absence of brightness.  Without proper dharma, living beings in this world are without hope.  Dharma Doors are measureless.  We have to set our goal and resolve to learn the immeasurable dharma-doors.  Can you imagine the power of such resolve?

The Buddha Path is unsurpassed.  In this Saha world the one and only great matter that’s truly important is to end birth and death and to jump out of the wheel of transmigration.  This is the only matter we should do in the Saha world.  We should not busy ourselves with a lot of mundane tasks that keep us from accomplishing the most important one. Hence, “The Buddha Path is unsurpassed; I vow to realize it.” We should firmly follow through with these Four Great Vows. We should form wholesome and proper affinities with many living beings. We should create affinities that will lead us to the Western Land.

How do we adorn our body and appearance?  We should adhere to rules and regulations. We should observe and uphold the precepts, which are our rules and regulations. This way we can conduct ourselves with proper decorum.  First, we regulate our body; next, we regulate our mind. If our body cannot abide by proper decorum, how can we gather in our mind?  Without a collected mind, how can we adorn our Buddha nature?  Therefore, we have to dignify our body and appearance. We have to cultivate the Pureland practice. The Pureland Dharma Door is not merely to be spoken. It is meant to be applied in practice.

In the repentance text we recited today, we encountered “power” in many sections, i.e., the Power of Kindness and Compassion in the Bodhimandas, the Power of Taking Refuge in the Triple Jewel, the Power of Severing Doubts and Generating Faith, the Power of Repenting and Bringing Forth the Bodhi Mind, the Power of Dispelling Enmities and Unraveling Knots, the Power of Felicitating and Rejoicing, the Power of Vigor and Sincerity, the Power of Vowing to Transfer Merit and Virtue to the Good Roots. Power is added to each one. Without applying power, everything is just empty talk.

How is this ‘power’ generated?  It is generated from the bottom of our hearts.  If we do not set a clear goal in our minds and we are not resolute in working towards our goals, this ‘power’ cannot come forth. Without this ‘power’, we will not be able to reap the benefits.

I will finish the talk now because all of you have to go home to get together with your family and fulfill your familial duties.  Even though we monastics have left the home life, we still have to be sympathetic to the drudgery laypeople go through.  We will start the first incense this afternoon at 1:20 pm. If all of you feel up to it, we will conclude the repentance ceremony in the time of one incense stick. Amitofo.