The substance and “name and appearance”. For example, I currently have a real, tangible body, and the name “Jun Hong Lu.” In reality, that name is simply a representation of your Dharma appearance. The name “Guan Zi Zai Bodhisattva” is also just a representation of that appearance. When someone is able to perceive the true nature of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, they are a Buddha or Bodhisattva. Guan Zi Zai Bodhisattva is one who clearly understands the nature of True Suchness. She has truly awakened to her own inherent nature—even karmic obstacles are seen as empty.
Many people say, “I have karmic obstacles.” But when you truly realise your inherent nature, even those karmic obstacles are empty. Why? Because karmic obstacles eventually dissolve over the course of a few lifetimes. It’s like a tax record—it expires after five years. Many people worry about having a bad record, but years later, it’s gone. Maybe it lasts for this lifetime, but by the next, it’s already been paid off. True Suchness means that even karmic obstacles are empty. If you haven’t realised True Suchness, then karmic obstacles will not appear empty to you. Because you don’t truly understand the value or nature of things, you can’t see their empty essence—you continue to believe that karmic obstacles still exist. Here’s an example: imagine someone gives you a balloon. If you’ve never seen one before, you might think, “Wow, what a big gift!” But the moment it’s pricked with a needle—pop—it’s gone. It was just a puff of air. That’s what your True Suchness is like—gone in an instant.
True Suchness refers to what is truly real—your inherent nature. Once you realise your inherent nature, you’ll be able to see clearly that everything is like air—it can dissipate and disappear. But when you’re unable to recognise the true nature of something, what you gain is actually illusory. Even karmic obstacles fall into this category of illusion.
Let me give you an example. A person commits theft and is sentenced to prison. Once they’ve served their time and are released, that karmic obstacle has been resolved—it’s gone. So is it real? Not really—it’s illusory in the sense that the karmic process has run its course. But if you can’t see its true nature and continue to carry deep guilt over your past mistakes, then those karmic obstacles no longer feel empty. However, if you can perceive their true nature, you’ll understand that you’re simply repaying a karmic debt from the past. A karmic debt is a debt carried over from a previous lifetime—an outstanding balance from your past. If you owed a lot in a previous life, then in this life, you must repay it.
Here’s another example: the gunpowder inside a firecracker represents your past-life karma. In this life, you add a little more gunpowder—through negative actions, anger, or resentment—and that becomes the match. When you strike the match, it ignites not only the karma from this life, but also triggers the karma from previous lives. You are the one who lights the fuse. Some people don’t strike that match until old age. Others start lighting it when they’re young. This is called “activating karmic obstacles at the destined time.” I’m telling you—each of you is already lighting those matches. You need to extinguish the gunpowder from your past life completely, so that the karmic debts you planted back then aren’t suddenly triggered all at once.
I’m telling you—many PhD and postgraduate students are highly intelligent and scientifically minded, and even they have strong faith in me and are able to understand the Buddha-dharma. If you follow blindly—just bowing and making random wishes—that’s what we call superstition. What I teach you are the true Buddhist teachings and principles. These are higher-level teachings that help elevate your spiritual understanding. The goal isn’t for you to mimic me. I don’t want you to copy me—I want you to understand the principles behind the teachings.
Does Guan Yin Bodhisattva have light above her head? Did Jesus have a halo? Doesn’t every Bodhisattva have a halo? And what about you—do you have one? So when you bow in prayer, you should visualise the light from Guan Yin Bodhisattva shining down onto you—bringing that halo to your own being—so that your head is also filled with light. Then, join your palms and bow to the Bodhisattva. What is this? This is borrowing Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s light to illuminate yourself—to bring clarity to your mind. The methods of the past belong to the past. Just because people once used abacuses, does that mean they don’t use computers now? Can you still rely on an abacus today? So when you practise, feel as though Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s light is completely shining down on your head. When you bow to the Bodhisattva in that state—doesn’t it feel wonderful?
All worldly dharmas can be summarised into two categories: form and mind. Form refers to everything in the human world that has colour or shape—in essence, all physical objects. The other is your mind. These two—form and mind—both originate from the fundamental essence known as “Suchness.” This means that everything you see with your eyes and everything you think in your mind arises from Suchness—which is actually the meaning of Tathāgata. So what is Tathāgata (“thus come”)? It refers to the original, inherent nature of all things—it has always existed. This is the principle of “remaining unchanging while adapting to conditions.”
In the human world, we shouldn’t try to forcefully change things. We need to follow conditions and let things unfold naturally—then everything will turn out well. If you insist on going against the flow, problems will arise. If someone has arranged for you to do something, just follow that arrangement. But if they haven’t, and you stubbornly insist on doing it your own way, then you’re not following the conditions—you’re resisting them, and that leads to trouble. For example, you’re told to go to sleep at 1am, but you insist on staying up until 2 or 3. You’re advised not to overeat, yet you continue to eat excessively. When you go against the natural order of things and refuse to adapt, you’re in the wrong. Only by flowing with time and conditions can things proceed smoothly. Acting against the natural rhythms of life is simply unnatural.
A single stir of ignorance. So what is ignorance? It’s the habitual tendency rooted in ignorance—not being aware, not understanding. It means taking everything as real: “I want to get rich today.” “Tomorrow I want this.” “The day after, I want something else…” The moment ignorance arises, you fall straight into the cycle of rebirth in the six realms of existence.
Today, I’m giving you a clear instruction: regardless of whether you are male or female, you must not read the adult sections of newspapers. This is a precept prescribed by me. If you’re caught doing so, you will be asked to leave. This rule especially applies to older students—under no circumstances are you allowed to read those materials. Why? Because such content easily leads people into ignorance. When the mind is stirred by lust or desire, where will it lead you next? You may fall into the Animal Realm, and possibly even be reborn as a bird. Many people in the performing arts have beautiful voices. They are often larks or songbirds from the Heavens, singing so wonderfully. But take a look at their personal lives—especially their marriages—and you’ll often find they’re a complete mess. Once someone falls into the Animal Realm, it becomes incredibly difficult to return to the Human Realm.
If your ignorance arises, you won’t be able to return to the unchanging True Suchness that flows with conditions. You might follow the conditions of the human world, but you must not lose your true nature in the process. For example, if a fortune-teller says you’ll get divorced at 40, and you simply go along with it and resign yourself to fate—that’s not True Suchness. So what does “unchanging” really mean? It doesn’t mean allowing external conditions to change your true nature. Rather, it means using the unchanging essence of your inherent nature to stabilise those conditions—and then gradually transform them. This is the true meaning of “remaining unchanging True Suchness while adapting to conditions.” To put it simply: “Use the unchanging to respond to the ever-changing.”
Let me end with this: you must understand the truth of “All dharmas are suchness; I too am suchness.” This means that every Dharma Door, every dharma in the human world, everything you see and do—these are things that have always existed, and yet have always been gone. We came into this world in this way, and we will leave in the same way.
Every dharma is me, and it pervades everything. All dharmas are me. The dharma is me, Suchness is me, and I am present in all places. My Dharma reaches everywhere—wherever there is Dharma, there I am. Just like today, I am giving a Dharma talk here at the Guan Yin Hall; tomorrow, I might be in America teaching; the day after that, somewhere else again—yet I remain the same me. This is your inherent nature living in the human world, applying all the dharmas within you—using skilful means available in the world to free yourself from entanglements. That is true freedom, true liberation. Because you’ve returned to True Suchness—you were never bound by anything to begin with. You can go wherever you wish, do whatever you need. It is a liberation of the mind—it means you have found True Suchness. So once you’ve truly broken free from bondage and become free and at ease—this is what’s known as “Guān Zì Zài.” And that is Guan Yin Bodhisattva.