All these years of learning and praying with an unselfish attitude has brought great results to this tiny Order. It has brought many to the Path of Faith and Devotion which is a direct path to Bodhisattvahood.
All the vibrations generated are not lost into space. They are within you, around you and part of you. This is a kind of spiritual magnetism which draws others to you to learn the simple way of cultivation, which brings cures and peace to deserving ones, that attracts great teachers to your life. But pay no heed to it and be humble.
Lifetimes of cultivation are still needed, strong effort must be utilised and great endurance must be developed before the purification of the heart is completed! Know that there is much more work to be done to prepare yourself to the right conditions that will lead to liberation.
The way the prayers are said is of paramount importance, the mind must be clear and the heart noble and gentle. It must be concentrated, it must be selfless... Then and only then will the vibrations of the prayers reach the end of universe. They are the means of self purification, to great spiritual advancement. Therefore do not recite prayers meaninglessly and without the correct attitude and motivation. Right recitation invokes the host of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the Celestial Beings and the Heavenly Protectors and at such moment your own entire being is purified by their great Cosmic Light so that your inner being is lit up and in turn you may radiate soothing and embalming light to the universe.
Daily you must put your heart and mind to recite such prayers that will benefit others. Because you know the way to pray, you have the noble motivation, and you accept the responsibility of praying on others’ behalf, you cannot rush through your duty which is benevolent in nature otherwise the happiness and security of countless beings will be affected by a careless attitude or laziness. Be firm with yourself even at the worst of days and know full well that a leader of sentient beings must not and cannot let up and be laxed in discipline! How many beings may you benefit will be left to the magnitude of your heart.
Be a great being! Be ready to embrace all others and do not walk the small path that leads to self attainment. It is easy to be on the selfish path but what real benefit is there when you know that countless beings are still trapped by the lures of samsara, by worldly attractions which delude their minds with ignorance thereby causing them to suffer the great pains of the endless cycles of existences. Remember that all beings have been part of your family, have shown kindness and generosity to you. How can you ever develop this attitude in life if not for the blessings of others' prayers for you in the past? Right now as you think well of others, as you have those about you and you care for them, they too are reciting prayers of good wishes and well being for you! This cycle must not end.
Those who are able must help those who are lost and lacking in wisdom so that they may be awakened to reach, read, study and put to practice the teachings of the Buddhas! With the aim of releasing all beings from samsara, your prayers to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will lend strength for good karmic retribution to arise so that suffering may be abated!
When the sick ones come, attend to them at once, when the troubled ones come, hear their sorrowful tales and give them good and reassuring advice, and when such people are absent, resort to prayers for the millions of suffering beings who are around everywhere. But be glad that the sick do not come and the unhappy ones are not around, this is a good sign that your prayers have been heard. There are those who seem to hope for the ever-presence of sick and troubled ones as a measure of success. But they have wrong views, they are actually holding progress and entertaining ideas and wish suffering on others. Rise above such thoughts. Know that true cultivation is to be able to sit by yourself to practise with right understanding and attitude. Be ready to sit and contemplate happiness to fall to all, be ready to investigate the teachings and see how you can apply them to daily living. Drop off all the negativities of irritation, impatience and dissatisfactoriness. Make Dharma a part of you and radiate peace to others just as you learn to radiate light to light up the hearts and minds of others.
As from today, try and spend more time in looking at your own heart and begin to really subdue the mind. Encountering pains and suffering while in the process of learning, you will be a better person to others. Try reciting prayers with deeper concentration and leave aside those that cause the mind to stir. The singing of hymns may be wonderful but it may cause concentration to slip. Practise recitation that will hold the mind which will require all to put in their fullest effort and concentration. Try the prayers which are free of singing except on special and festive days. Set the mind with a note of seriousness and make sure that all who come will benefit by learning how to recite countless prayers which require them to pray with their heart and mind so that faith and devotion may be felt! To those who succeed, you can assure that the Name Guru will change their lives, will lead their lives, will bless them with the right conditions to practise in the future!
Wednesday, 6th February 1985 (12th Moon 17th Day)