Quote of The Day (184)
This section contains short teachings extracted from the messages that Sifu Kuan Ming received over the years, since 1979. The quotes contained herein are a collection of the daily quotes there were automatically posted on the front page.
Drop away the belief of the “One-birth theory” and that of hereditary transmission; or you will be terribly confused by the great inequalities of life and will be blaming God for your unhappiness. (#3122-p129)
It is the Great Law that tells us that we are deathless and that each life is but another opportunity for us to develop ourselves further, and to have a clearer understanding of the continuity of life after death. (#3121-p129)
It is the Law of Karma that has shaped your life and will continue to shape it! It is important that the Law of Karma and Rebirth is well understood so that life will be well-lived and the fear of death removed. (#3123,3120-p129)
Do not generate evil thoughts, nor commit harmful actions, to collect causes of suffering. This is because nothing in the universe is ever destroyed. This means that whatever impression, ideas, habits, capabilities and powers we now have will remain with us in our mind continuum, or consciousness in one way or another, in an unmanifested form. They are not destroyed but will remain in an unmanifested (dormant) state until some time when they are manifested in one form or another, in this lifetime or in the next! (#3139-p129)
What is this subconscious mind? It is the storehouse of all the impressions that one has gathered through one’s experiences during one’s lifetime. The impressions that are stored there as dormant seeds that await favourable conditions to rouse them out on the plane of consciousness. (#3133-p128)
It is the desires that we have that keep us bound to cyclic existence. It is because of them that we are able to create new bodies for our future lives, that we are born again and again in samsara. It is the qualities of these desires that determine the type of bodies that we have inherited. Thus, the common belief, that “one’s outer nature is nothing but the expression of one’s inner nature!"
It is the “inner nature” of an individual that incarnates or expresses itself successfully in various forms, one after another. (#3136,3137-p128)
What is it that changes us? Desires! Our strong longing for this and that!
What is it that brings about the arising of desires? The impressions of one’s past experiences which lie dormant in the subconscious mind. It is the awaking and arising of these latent impressions that give rise to desires.
Mind that desires is always restless. (#3130,3132,3131-p128)
Death should be seen as the great opportunity of entering into another plane of existence or taking on a new form to work out the karmas that one has collected, or to develop oneself further. Death opens the door to a new life and opportunities... to rebirth!... for progress! (#3129-p128)
As a cultivator of virtues, you should feel happy rather than sad at the moment of death since the glorious moment has arrived for you to enter into the Divine Abode of Peace and Bliss! (#3128-p128)
Think not of death as gruesome and unkind, but as a possible means to transporting you to the Eternal Abode of the Divine, or to take on a new body to complete the next phase of the Journey of Life, or to move on to the next incarnation that might win you the Enlightened State of Mind! (#3127-p127)
Let there be contentment or you will engross yourself accumulating possessions that have no use to you when death comes. Only fools will divert all their energies for the accumulation of worldly wealth and happiness, for, in a second, all will be gone! Prepare then for the final moment of life.
Develop the ability to meet death when it comes with calmness, joy and quiet resignation to moving on to the next phase of life. Do that now, for the skill in doing that is the result of long years of practice! (#3125,3126-p127)
Do not squander life for old age will soon be upon you. Live life preciously. Enjoy each day by making full use of it for the sowing of right actions and noble thoughts. (#3124-p127)
To most people, life is about satisfying the cravings of the body; to cultivators, life is about learning how to get rid of the desire for sense-enjoyment and how to face the final moments of life. (#3123-p127)
A nice Way-place has been created for you to make use of so that you may fulfil the purpose of life. What constitutes a ‘Way-place'?
It is a place where you cultivate the good vision and the good heart. It is where you learn to develop the taste for good listening, good thoughts and good actions. It is where you learn to gain self-mastery!
And what is the purpose of life? It is the gaining of wisdom through the experiences of life! (#3122-p127)
This is what the Great Ones have taught to mankind over the span of a few thousand years:
Every action of body or mind which you do, every thought which you think, leaves an impression in your mind. There it remains latent for some time, until conditions mature it and causes it to rise in the form of a mental wave and produces new desires! It is these desires that bring about longing for worldly pleasures... and it is these desires that bind you in cyclic existence!”.... that makes life a continuity! #3121-p127)
Motionless, Stillness, Breathless Silence! Watch your mind.
Solitude, Stillness and Silence; these are the keys to spiritual growth. (#3118,3119 -p126)
In praying, one speaks to the Divine
In meditating, one observes the mind.
In contemplating, one listens to the mind.
In analysing, one thinks with the mind.
Write and your mind will grow, Serve and your life will flow. (#3114,3115 -p126)
Every now and then, sit just to feel the presence of your being that is in your body and wrapping your entire body... Then feel that you are inside your body, which is like a universe... a beautiful, silent and peaceful universe pervaded only with the sacred Sound of Om....
Resting your mind on this Sound of sounds, feel its purifying effects... draining away your tiredness and worries and tensions... to be replaced by feelings of calmness, peacefulness and joy...
Feeling recharged and nurtured and blessed, be yourself again - open your eyes to a refreshed world... welcome it with a big smile... (#3112 -p126)
Knowing that there are numerous Pure Lands in existence for practitioners to take rebirth into, why do you not aspire to create a ‘Happy Land’ that acts as a stepping stone to them? Dwell on this noble thought then and be moved to want to attain the way as quickly as possible, for the benefit of many. Then may you also be flooded with thoughts of beauty and love! (#3110 -p125)
In the past, you have asked the when, where, how and why’s of practice. In this lifetime, all these questions are answered and are given to you at one go so that you may achieve the yearnings of your heart. This being so, love your Order, attend its sessions, live its Teachings and seek the noble heart! (#3109 -p125)
Fill each day with deeds of kindness, whether great or small. Know that they are performed to make lovely and golden your heart, just as every drop of water is there to ensure the fullness and the existence of the ocean. (#3108 -p125)
If the peaceful life is sought, then live the quiet life; if the happy life is sought, then live the contented life; if the spiritual life is sought, then live the holy life.
Sensuality must first be eradicated before spirituality may arise! (#3107,3101 -p125)
Be ever available to the unhappy ones, even if they should seek your help at odd times! Be ever kind and caring to them, no matter what your own moods are!
Develop the heart of kindness and love, and the healing hands shall be yours. (#3106 -p125, 3055)
Be a good friend to all by showing them the way to live the gentle and kindly life; be as good a teacher as you can be, for all who are sent to you have come back to you for another life time of learning and growing together.
Never forget that you have come back to this lifetime to learn to teach and, as you teach, so shall you learn and grow with life! (#3105-p125, 3081)
The way to pray need not be the same at all times. Vary the prayers and the worship to give a sense of freshness to it. On days when the mood of devotion is felt strongly, let the hymns prevail, and when the rhythm of the prayer recitations is felt right, increase the length of the recitation, and so on.
Pray fervently and regularly, for the decade to come shall see the world going through changes that will bring in the new Century and Millennium! (#3103,3104-p125)
These are the four stages of Heart practice:
1. The arising of the Heart of Worship.
2. The abidance of the Heart of Practice.
3. The transformation of the Heart of Worldliness.
4. The completion of the Heart of Service! (#3102-p125)
Pray and be blessed with devoted feelings;
Give and be rewarded with joyful feelings;
Sit and be led into the inner worlds of joy and silence!
(#3100-p125)
Pray without being asked of to do so for others;
Give without asking for anything in return;
Sit without asking for blessings of any kind.
(#3099-p124)
Pray to open the hearts of the Divine;
Give to open the hearts of living beings;
Sit to open your heart to the joys of the silent mind!
(#3098-p124)
Kindly deeds can only be regarded as wonderful if, whilst or after performing them, one’s heart is not filled with the glow or pride thinking that oneself is good and great! (#3097-p124)
Hearing the Teachings may cause you to think that they are difficult or even impossible to be put to practice. But once you have done so, you will be surprised that not only are they practicable, but are difficult or even impossible to put a stop to them. (#3095-p124)