Entries 1–10

In this time of the final move, both pioneering new endeavors and safeguarding what has been built must work hand in hand — yet one must never cling rigidly to external forms or confine oneself to a single place. Hold fast to this benevolent vow, and Heaven will arrange the opportunities. As long as you are willing to serve and cultivate yourself, you will naturally draw in countless faithful seekers who share this affinity.

Cultivating and serving Dao must always be done through effortless action. Regard all beings as your benefactors across countless lifetimes. Dedicate your whole heart to Heaven, forgetting yourself entirely. Even if there are achievements, attribute them all to Heaven and to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions. Only then can you avoid falling into the struggle for Dao-name, Dao-profit, and Dao-power. The present state of the temple truly fills your teacher with regret and sorrow.

Future achievement does not lie in the size of the temple, nor in the number of prayer halls and temple buildings, still less in comparing how many followers one has. What matters is whether those who cultivate Dao truly cultivate and earnestly practice, uphold their vows and precepts, remain free from greed and delusion, refuse to contend or argue, and attain the mastery of bringing heart and nature into perfect harmony — so as to fulfill their own mission.

Let all beings and yourself achieve fulfillment in this very lifetime. If for now you cannot guide them across, then pray and offer blessings so that in future lives they too may find liberation and fulfillment. Recognize clearly your own conditions for cultivating Dao, and within the great cycle of bestowing grace and receiving kindness, establish a current of goodness flowing between Heaven and the human world.

Disciples of the White Era must cultivate a vast and open heart. Rejoice in the success of others. Praise the excellence of others. Honor the labor of others with reverence. Cultivate the spirit of letting the world laugh together with us, letting the universe laugh together with us, letting all beings laugh together with us.

The Sixth Patriarch said: "Inner humility of the heart is merit; treating all beings as equal is virtue." At every moment, hold a heart of gratitude and repentance. Observe the favorable and adverse conditions around you. Toward all of it, look with a heart that smiles, and you will be freed from a great deal of affliction.

In these final times, each person must transcend and resolve on their own. Toward all grace and resentment, affection and enmity, grievance and kinship — do not cling. Rather, within the natural flow of conditions, release yourself from every entanglement, and only then can you truly be free. Ordinary people cultivating Dao cannot, for the moment, be like the ancient sages who gave rise to the mind without dwelling on anything. Then let them begin here: give rise to the mind, yet dwell on nothing.

The wisdom ordeals that lie ahead for the temple are truly beyond what one dares imagine. Your teacher cannot settle your body and mind for you, my disciples. I can only hope that you will comprehend Heaven's heart, the Buddha's heart, and your teacher's heart, and cultivate Dao honestly, holding firm to your vows and precepts. As Elder Brother Lùtóng once said: "The sacred vessel of the world cannot be acted upon. Guard against this! Be cautious of this!"

If every disciple in the White Era temple would pray for the blessings of all beings, would bow in prostration to transform calamities and quell ordeals, then the gathering of such virtuous thought would surely reduce the calamities and ordeals of the world to their lowest measure. And Heaven above would certainly extend the years given to you for carrying out this work.

Those who cultivate Dao in the Dharma-ending age must give rise to a great vow-heart. Let your own heart rise until it beats as one with the hearts of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions. Otherwise, if you seek only the liberation of this present life, how will you ever enter the ocean of true Dharma?