Teaching of the month - Sep 2026

KINDNESS MUST BE SPONTANEOUS AND NATURAL

OM SARI HUM
Doing your best in life for others is the best direction in life. It purifies your heart and it causes many to experience the bliss of kindness, so that they too will be influenced to practise noble deeds that make others happy.

There is no need to look for opportunities to be kind, and there is no need to plan to be good. It must be spontaneous and natural. He who thinks that he is good or kind cannot have known what these virtues are. Those who are kind are naturally so, and they do not feel that they are kind or good at all. They just are so, and their minds are not affected by their deeds. How many have you met who belong to this class of people? If you know them, they are showing you the ways of practice so that, when reflected deeply, you will feel that what you have done for others is nothing at all!

Cultivation is a very complex word, and its deeper meaning can only be perceived when one spends time to seek it. To be a cultivator, one must know what he is to cultivate and how he should do so. Praying to Kuan Yin, even for the benefit of other people, is only a part which a cultivator must play; it is not cultivation in the full sense of the word. But to play a part in inspiring others to practise goodness and the gentle Path of Love is an important part of cultivation. It helps others to seek the bliss of Nirvana, and it helps oneself to be filled with ‘rejoice’ for their well-being and attainments. Kuan Yin practice is not as easy as many think it to be. It is as difficult as other methods that exist, but it is one of the most attractive Paths that man can find. To seek Kuan Yin is easy, to develop a link with Her is hard, and to become one who is on Her Path is very, very difficult indeed. Difficulties must therefore be expected and accepted as part and parcel of Kuan Yin cultivation.

These difficulties come in all manners which one cannot imagine, so it is a waste of time to dwell on what is to come. It is best, if one is true to his practice, to daily live a life of gentleness and patience when dealing with other people. When there are moments in between that cause one to indulge in all kinds of wrong views and notions, one should then let the Kuan Yin prayer be within one’s mind so that all kinds of evil tendencies may be overcome. A Kuan Yin practitioner need not be very intellectual, need not be praying every hour of the day, and need not be seen to be performing good deeds. A Kuan Yin devotee is all love and compassion, and ever ready to act to give assistance to others in every way. A Kuan Yin disciple must be ready to accept all the disciplines of practice so that, through his humble efforts, he realises how great Kuan Yin is!

Monday, 12th September 1983 (8th Moon 6th Day)