Quote of The Day (181)
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 for your contemplation.
There is no need to fear suffering or to yearn for happiness. Such is the thinking of a worldly person, one who has not learned much from life. Those who have learned will come to understand that, in actuality, there is no bitterness or sweetness, because they are one, each leading naturally to the other. To understand this, one must learn to think deeply, preferably in a seated posture, which is most conducive for contemplation.
7-Nov-1988 (2)
The best teacher is one’s own life’s experiences, whether bitter or sweet, for they help to bring about awakenings to the true nature of life. Often, the bitter ones are the most effective because of one’s fear of the pains and disappointments of life. They provide the necessary energy for one to actively cultivate the causes of happiness. In truth, these bitter fruits are necessary, for they serve as medicine for the sick mind—the mind of Ignorance. Although they may appear distasteful because of their bitterness, yet after some time, a change can be felt, and sweetness will be tasted! Life is like that: at the end of bitterness, with right effort and understanding, sweetness is there.
7-Nov-1988 (1)
There must always be time for reflection on one’s life and one’s spiritual aspirations. The experiences of life—whether harmonious or discordant—are the awakeners of the mind. Therefore, they are not to be clung to or feared. Each experience provides an opportunity to learn and to gain the wisdom needed to cut off the dualities that keep the mind in delusion. Reflecting on one’s spiritual aspirations helps one draw strength to take up the difficult practice that brings clarity of mind, which is the true goal of life.
18-Jan-1988 (1)
Losing appreciation for life really means not knowing the purpose of life and appreciating its true worth. Those who cling to life, and are striving to experience as much sensual pleasures as possible, are deluded beings who have lost their true directions. No matter what they do, and no matter how much material wealth they gain, they will not know the peace of bliss. What they have experienced, are experiencing, and will experience, is only relative happiness, which brings no true satisfaction. Because of this, they feel insecure, suffer from fear, and are easily swayed by greed, anger, and delusion. Those who appreciate and understand the purpose of life will not be so strongly afflicted by such emotions and confusions. They will work towards attaining the peace and happiness that is ultimate.
Life is not to be clung to, nor is it to be lived for the sake of gaining worldly possessions; but rather it is to walk the Way that brings calm, removes delusion, and increases wisdom!
11-Jan-1988 (1)
This period of training is to be treated as the most important period of this lifetime. Do not allow difficulties to deter you. Effort, perseverance, patience, and concentration are being practised, and they will lead to the wisdom born of Dharma knowledge. If even such preliminary training in the virtues is found distasteful, how can the perfection of these virtues ever come about? Accept the duty before you, and work joyfully for the benefit of others!
3-Nov-1988 (1)
Everything arises out of the mind. Because of this Truth, those who are on the Path towards Truth must first seek to understand the nature of the mind. It is a difficult search, and not many can succeed, but it is not impossible, as it has been proven by countless beings who have attained it.
Virtues are required to help one see it through. Much more can be said to help the Path Seeker, but the ultimate virtue that guides one over is wisdom. Through wisdom, ignorance is cut off. Through wisdom, all virtues can be put into practice, and through wisdom, the Truth of the Teachings can be discerned. Therefore, all who belong to this Order should pay homage to Manjushri Bodhisattva to seek His guidance to attain wisdom.
21-Jul-1982 (1)
Every day, be well-motivated to work towards attaining liberation for the sake of helping others end their miseries. The pains of life provide the necessary energy for one to break free from the endless cycles of aging, sickness, and death. Pains and sufferings, therefore, should be transformed into occasions for earning blessings and mind training, instead of being viewed as a form of punishment.
27-Dec-1988 (5)
Each time you make an offering to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Devas, Ancestors, or even to a beggar, ensure that you select the best that you have. An offering becomes impure whenever unwholesome thoughts are there. Look into your heart and see what kind of person you really are. If there is discrimination, remove it now, or you will have wasted your years of practice. Unless you have the heart of love and charity—one that gives only the best to anyone—it is no longer a gift, it is not an offering. It becomes merely the act of pushing away something you dislike onto others. If so, where can the merits be?
15-Feb-1984 (5)
The festive day is drawing near and plans for the festival should be discussed. It must be a day of happiness. It must be a day of love and brotherhood. It must be a day of purity, and a day when all kinds of wrong views, wrong speech, and wrong actions are abolished.
This is no longer a day of thanksgiving. Those who hold such a view should only be those who are new to the Order. This is the day when all My true devotees and disciples must make a review of the past and then make their respective vows to live a much improved and purer life in the future.
16-Jul-1982 (2)
Call upon Namo Kuan Shih Yin to be your guide. Stretch out your hands for help, and set aside all forms of pride that bind you to your illusions. Calling Kuan Shih Yin for help is to declare that you are ready for a change in your lifestyle. You must be prepared to be moulded, and your mind must be subject to cleansing.
When you are true and sincere, you will not waste a single moment of life entertaining thoughts that are harmful to yourself or to others. You are walking the Path of Compassion and Mercy, so that even the mosquitoes and cockroaches will cease to be pests you enjoy killing. When this state is attained, you will be ready for greater tasks, and any act of brutality will cause pain within your heart.
You will no longer miss loud company, and you will be content with whatever you have, for the greatest treasure in life will be the ability to think and act like Kuan Yin.
15-Feb-1984 (5)
Many Paths have you tried in the past, yet none have brought real success; that is why you are still within the rounds of existence. I now give you a new Path—one you have not walked before—one that gives you new meaning, new experience, and new hope. It is entirely up to you to take up this Path that I have walked, the Path that many before you have followed and from which they have reaped their rewards. I give you the Bodhisattva Path, which leads you to Nirvana!
8-Jan-1982 (2)
Each time you visit a temple or place of worship, a small bunch of flowers is an ideal offering to add fragrance and beauty to the altars where the most revered images of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas sit. Your flowers remind you that you come with a fresh mind and a beautiful motive of worship, and the next time you come, you will not find your flowers there anymore. This should remind you that spiritual cultivation is like that. Very often you begin with great and noble intentions, but after a short period of time, all is forgotten, and your motivations too are subject to decay—just like the flowers.
15-Feb-1984 (3)
Relax, Rest, and Recharge
In whatever form of action that you do—whether physical or mental—energy is used up. Even allowing your mind to drift into a stream of useless thoughts that keep you half-awake will drain your energy.
Learn to relax, learn to set the mind free, and learn to sleep well so that your body is recharged with energy vital for good health. A tired mind is one of the leading causes of ill health. You will notice that most people who fall sick either do not sleep well or were not sleeping well before their illness arose.
13-Feb-1984 (2)
Let this year be one of learning and gaining wisdom. Avoid useless emotions that cloud the clarity of mind. Look at life squarely and act with vigour in all that must be done, while holding noble motivations. The period of questioning has lasted long enough; set aside intellectual arguments and still the waves of the mind so that awakening may arise.
11-Feb-1984 (6)
Prepare your mind for longer sitting from now on. There is no quick result. How many lifetimes have you lived? Since you are now on the Path of Self-Improvement and Path of Kindliness, be ready to learn without haste, as life’s deeper experiences do not come quickly. It is not necessarily true that only religious practitioners can perfect themselves, though with the right guidance in a wholesome environment, your progress may come sooner.
11-Feb-1984 (5)
When the mind is steady, the afflictions of greed, anger, lust, envy, jealousy, and stupidity will not cloud your mind or cause you to act against yourself and cause harm to your character. Each day should be spent in deep contemplation of these afflictions, for they are poisons to life. Watch the arising of each poison and observe how it affects your body and mind—paying close attention to your emotions and sensations. With patience and the right attitude, you must patiently correct these negativities of life, and that is the essence of cultivation!
11-Feb-1984 (4)
Life should be lived without too many complications. It should be lived in accordance with the conditions that you are subjected to. There is no way to live happily when you are not in harmony with your environment. The wise person knows how to accept and wait patiently for conditions to change—and they will change. In the meantime, he lives with life and not against it, avoiding conflict and refraining from generating ill-will that harms both happiness and appreciation of life’s opportunities.
11-Feb-1984 (3)
While praying for long periods is an attainment, the ability to develop all wholesome qualities is an even greater attainment. Therefore, the purpose of life is to cultivate the right and loving attributes that mould you into someone who is respected and cherished, free from quarrelsome tendencies. This moulding of the character is a kind of inner evolution which the self undergoes. It is a purifying process that elevates one to higher and higher levels of existence until one's true nature reveals itself.
11-Feb-1984 (2)
Having a good nature helps to make one a pleasant person to all. Offering a genuine smile gives others a feeling of friendship. Showing patience with a smile that reflects a gentle nature is one of the finest characteristics a person can cultivate. Furthermore, incorporating generosity and selflessness into your character, you begin to understand what it means to abide in equanimity.
11-Feb-1984 (1)
The disciple of Kuan Shih Yin must not be weak; must not hope and wish only for the easy way of practice. The harder the task, the better the opportunity to improve your spiritual strength, and more unwholesome roots will be removed through such challenges. Bodhisattvas must go through all kinds of experiences in order to understand their root causes, so that you will fear them when you are put into a situation to act foolishly.
This is the year of learning; this is the year of going through unfamiliar experiences so that you may step onto new grounds. Tread carefully and do not rush to conclusions, for outward appearances easily deceive many. Use wisdom, be patient with yourself and with others, and make worship meaningful. 2-Feb-1984 (10)
You must understand well the meaning of suffering through your own experiences so that others’ sufferings are not meaningless to you. Your own sufferings and their causes must first be understood with wisdom. When the day comes that you are put to test, you should not lament like the ignorant ones and wonder why such pain has come to you. You must understand the past causes that you have planted which must bear fruit one day, and you must patiently endure the effects of your own actions, understanding that suffering—rightly understood—can bring an end to suffering. 2-Feb-1984 (9)
When you are able to place your palms together, to bow before the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and to call the name of Namo Kuan Shih Yin P’usa, you are already engaging in the practice of reducing your past bad karma and earning the right to cultivate the Path. Each time you see an image of the Buddha, you gain merit. Each time you place your clasped hands upon your forehead or the crown, you show respect and practise humility—qualities that help create better circumstances and more favourable conditions for your cultivation.
2-Feb-1984 (8)
Everything that happens to your life carries a hidden meaning and a benefit for you, but only if you are able to see it. This is the time for all to sincerely correct their own weaknesses, and none should hold any wrong or negative views of others, even if others hold such views towards them.
Do not see the world with worldly eyes only; do not just be any other person but be one who, having gained some knowledge of the truths of life, chooses to pursue the true goal of liberation.
2-Feb-1984 (7)
My devotees’ prayers need not be lengthy or impressively delivered; they should be to the point, short, concise, and sincere. If they are able to be such, the moment they begin, I shall be there. I shall cause them to learn to be patient, to be kind, and to be wise, so that they will find Me within their own natures. Then, they will realise that I have been with them for a long, long time, and that they only need to realise My presence with them for Me to be there. And then, they will move to a new level of understanding—that all things arise from the mind. Even Kuan Yin arises from their minds, and so they will begin to walk the Path that has always been within them. They will no longer think only of themselves, for their Kuan Yin minds will have opened.
9-Sep-1982 (3)
To pray to Me is to be with Me; to be with Me is to represent Me, and to represent Me is to display your Kuan Yin Spirit. To pray to Me, it must be from the heart; it must be unhurried, it must be meaningful, and the prayers must first of all move your own hearts before they can move Mine.
9-Sep-1982 (2)
To all who come to worship Me, it is not your offerings and prayers that I want, but your pure hearts. You are required to be truthful towards life; to be considerate towards others; to be gentle and kind, so that there is no hate or envy, greed or pride, but just the simple person who lives naturally and in harmony with others, and to be able to understand and forgive those who do you harm.
9-Sep-1982 (1)
When a person is ready to sit, he is on the road to self-improvement, progressing from the small-self to the greater-self, and eventually to the non-self. The cushion then becomes his or her best friend. With right effort, it can be transformed into a seat of wisdom. When a person has attained wisdom, he becomes grateful to life, to all living beings, and to the teachings that the Buddha has revealed. Then he is ready to serve the world with his whole heart.
27-Dec-1988 (4)
The world cannot be changed by wishful thinking. It is easier to change oneself than to hope for the world to change. In truth, the world does not need any change at all. It has given itself unselfishly to all who dwell within it. Only the minds of human beings need to be changed.
Those who are happy will find the world is a beautiful place to live in, that it is alive and bursting with offerings. Those who are unhappy see the world with dread and fill their hearts with despair.
It is the mental states of individuals that make the world appear as it does. Therefore, it is the duty of each being to contribute towards making this world a happy realm for all its creatures.
27-Dec-1988 (2)
Time must be spent beneficially to cultivate and improve the mind. It all begins with keeping the precepts. The fundamental principles of Buddhism must be adhered to daily. Precept-keeping should be followed as strictly as possible otherwise it will be difficult to attain the calm mind necessary for contemplation or meditation.
Without experiencing samadhi in meditative practice, it will not be possible to experience insight into the truths of life. The entire practice is directed towards helping oneself to become an unselfish and caring person.
Spiritual practice does not need to be very complicated. As long as one’s mind is focused on cherishing others, one has lived well, and peace of mind will naturally follow.
27-Dec-1988 (1)
The way to progress spiritually is to be comfortable and independent in learning what life is truly about without making excuses. Spiritual practice requires the ability to endure all kinds of failures and to learn from them with a strong heart. It means being untroubled by setbacks and ready to pursue the Path again after contemplation.
2-Feb-1984 (6)
When one is introduced to the practice of kindliness, one is fortunate if one can uphold it. Those of you who are able to pray for others and to help others should do so very willingly, for you are the fortunate ones who are giving rather than receiving.
2-Feb-1984 (5)