I’m now working in a way that goes beyond ordinary thinking. When I guide and help awaken people, and someone comes in with a big ego, I use skilful methods to counsel them. For example, when someone with an appointment enters my office and I perform a Totem reading, I can immediately see that they’ve held official positions. My first words to them might be, “You nearly lost your position several times, and you almost ended up in jail more than once.” After the Totem reading and a few pointed remarks, they’re left stunned, speechless, and humbled. This is what it means to go beyond the limits of normal thought—but of course, you also need supranormal power. If your mind can perceive things that others cannot, that is called wisdom. If you can use that wisdom to help others, that is called virtuous ability. You must have the ability to express your virtue.
Many people possess virtue but don’t know how to put it into action. Their conscience is good, but they waste their time at home cooking and cleaning instead of guiding and awakening sentient beings. If they were to step out into society, or come to Guan Yin Hall to help others, to spread the Buddha-dharma—wouldn’t their virtuous ability naturally shine forth? Wouldn’t their wisdom and virtuous ability be put into practice? We must use our meritorious deeds to fully express them. Do you think you can ascend to Heaven just by staying home every day and ignoring the plight of sentient beings? I’m telling you now—you cannot. What I’m sharing here is the honest truth. Refraining from wrongdoing won’t lead you to Heaven when you pass away. At best, you’ll be reborn as a human.
This world is not as the saying goes: “The more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make; and if you do nothing, you make no mistakes.” That is a misconception. Saying “I’ll just look after myself” is a serious mistake. Your time in the Human Realm is short—you must step forward and give it your all. Only through action can you achieve anything. And what will you achieve? Attaining Buddhahood and the ability to ascend to Heaven.
If you fail to accumulate merit and virtue while in the Human Realm, how can you possibly ascend to Heaven? Even if you don’t actively perform meritorious deeds, trouble will still come your way. Disasters won’t spare you just because you sit idle. Let me give you an example: if you refuse to go out and earn a living, relying solely on welfare payments and staying home every day, can you afford a plane ticket to travel the world? Can you realise your dreams? But if you work hard every day, even though it’s tiring, when Christmas comes, you’ll have the money to go wherever you like. Why is it that many Australians live their entire lives without ever getting a passport? It’s because they’ve never even thought about travelling overseas—they just work on farms or take up rural jobs. So remember: the more meritorious deeds you do, the more you will gain. If you want to ascend to Heaven and reach higher and better realms, you must put in the effort.
Some people might say, “The more I do, the more mistakes I make.” But what really is a mistake? Even mistakes can generate merit and virtue. If today you do something and others become jealous, just ignore them and keep going—you’ll still accrue merit and virtue. If they slander you, they’re the ones who will face the consequences. They’re the ones planting that seed, and they’ll reap what they sow. What’s that got to do with you? You just keep performing your meritorious deeds properly.
If someone else behaves poorly and lacks virtue, does that mean you should too? Just because someone says something negative about you, does that mean you stop doing what’s right? Even within families—between siblings and parents—relationships can be difficult. For example, a younger sister is devoted to her mother, but the older sister constantly argues with her. The older sister says to the younger one, “Don’t bother being so dutiful—Mum’s no good. She even talks about you behind your back.” Now tell me—should the younger sister stop being respectful and caring towards her mother just because of what her older sister said?
I’m using plain language to explain Buddhism—this is wisdom. We need to have both virtuous ability and well-rounded wisdom. If someone speaks against you, does that mean you should stop taking action? What does that say about you? You must be clear on why you’re doing what you’re doing. It’s because you are cultivating yourself, elevating your spiritual state, and aiming to ascend to the Heaven after this life. As for them—they neither understand nor care. They aren’t afraid of the Hell Realm—they might even dare to kill. Do you want to become like them? Just because someone says something, should you change your thinking to match their wrong views? No—that’s where your spiritual attainment lies. That’s what sets you apart.
So even if I make mistakes by doing more, I can recite the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance. As long as the things I’ve done right generate merit and virtue, they will be recorded. Of course, mistakes are still mistakes, and we must take responsibility for them—but we try to make as few as possible while we act. When problems arise, recite the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance to eliminate negative karma—and your merit and virtue will become whole. If you do nothing, you’ll have no merit or virtue at all.
It’s like when some people say, “I saw Guan Yin Bodhisattva, so I recite sutras for her.” Reciting for Guan Yin Bodhisattva? In truth, reciting sutras for the Bodhisattva—or for me—is a way to connect your heart. Reciting for a Bodhisattva is how we communicate with them from the heart. When a mother recites sutras for her child, hoping he’ll do better in school, isn’t that a form of heart-to-heart communication? When a husband prays for his wife, or a wife prays for her husband—isn’t that also a spiritual connection? Even if the two aren’t speaking to each other, when they kneel and pray to the Bodhisattvas on each other’s behalf, that too is a form of heartfelt communication. It helps prevent their karmic conflicts from deepening, and it brings peace to their hearts. Because even if the other person was in the wrong, you still showed kindness. After you finish reciting, you feel uplifted—you feel like a noble person, someone with true virtue.
Practising Buddhism is, in many ways, about understanding profound principles. So you must remember: how others behave is their business. As for me, once I’ve chosen this path, I commit to cultivating it wholeheartedly—that’s what it means to have inner steadiness. Think about a monk who has shaved his head, donned his robes, and walks down the street. Even if people point fingers at him and gossip, would he feel uncomfortable? No—he wouldn’t feel a thing, because he has developed true inner steadiness. When you have steadiness, when you embody the qualities of a Bodhisattva, you don’t feel embarrassed or unsettled inside. You feel completely at ease—this is simply who you are. Whatever you do, you do it with confidence, without worrying about what others might say. With this inner steadiness, you’re accumulating merit and virtue. Whether or not I ask you to perform meritorious deeds, you should do them properly. Why? Because you’re not doing it to impress others.
No beginning, no end. A person’s life itself is without beginning and without end. By the time you become aware of who you are, you’re already a five-year-old child. Do you remember how you came into this world? When you were just one month old, two months, or three months—did you know how you arrived? That’s what we call “without beginning”—there was no clear starting point. Going deeper, this “without beginning” doesn’t just refer to this lifetime—it stretches back through your past lives, endlessly, without a true point of origin. And when you die, is there truly an end? People might say someone “passed away at such-and-such an age.” But what does that really mean? “End of life” refers only to the close of this particular lifetime—it doesn’t refer to your next one, because there’s no true ending. After death, your soul is reborn. This is what is meant by “without beginning and without end.” As for “no cultivation, no attainment,” it means that if you don’t cultivate yourself, you will never attain true realisation.
Next, I’d like to talk to you about the “mind.” The mind, in reality, doesn’t have any outward expression. If my mind is pure, if it’s empty, and free of stray thoughts—with only kindness within—would you say it has any outward expression? The mind is empty; it doesn’t display anything.
Imagine a blank sheet of paper. If you think of that sheet of paper as your mind—with nothing written on it—does it display anything? No, because the true nature of the mind is vast, as boundless as the universe itself. A human being’s mind has the potential to be as expansive as the universe.
But some people have narrow minds and small hearts. They can’t tolerate even the smallest things. For example, if someone wrongs them, they go home and brood over it all night. If they’re tricked out of a hundred dollars, they’re furious—almost ready to slap themselves over it. Can you see how small some people’s minds can be? There’s a line in a film that goes: “Your mind is as small as the eye of a needle.” Because they cling to every trivial worldly attachment, their hearts grow smaller and smaller. Yet originally, your mind should be as vast as the universe. And where is the universe? Can you see it? Your mind must be vast and open—only then can you hold the suffering of countless beings within you. Only then will you think, “I must help and save so many people.” As your mind expands, it grows so large that even you can no longer fully comprehend it. Let me share a true story with you. Ever since I was a child, whenever I looked up at the ceiling, it would seem to expand endlessly—boundless, limitless. That’s why I always tell you: broaden your heart. The expectations I have for Buddhist practitioners are different from those I have for ordinary people listening to my radio programs.
First and foremost, you must have a generous and open heart. How vast can a person’s mind be? I hope that your mind can be as vast as mine. When I bow to the Bodhisattvas, the moment I raise my hands above my shoulders, it feels as though I’m holding up the entire universe. At that moment, my mind enters the infinite space of the universe—there’s no separate “mind” of my own anymore, as I merge completely with the universe. And where is your mind? It should be right there, in the palms of your hands. You must expand your heart. When I designed the Guan Yin Hall, why did I choose a great mountain as the backdrop? Have you ever seen a temple where the entire background is a mountain? Isn’t that expansive? Doesn’t it feel far-reaching? That’s what it means to have a spacious, magnanimous heart—like majestic mountains and rivers. We must cultivate an expansive heart like the universe.
Firstly, your mind must be pure. As your mind expands, your strengths and weaknesses also become magnified. Let me give you an example: many women take great care of their skin, but if they go on camera, even the tiniest blemish on their face appears huge on the big screen. It’s the same with the mind. When your mind is small, any impurity within it is also small. But once your mind expands to the size of the universe, that impurity becomes magnified as well. So, as you broaden your heart, you must first focus on purifying it and eliminating any defilements.
Secondly, you must not harbour discrimination in your heart. Your heart must be open, and you must be able to respect others. Don’t develop a sense of discrimination just because you are one way and others are another. Many people can endure hardship, but what they fear most is being looked down upon. That’s why respecting others is crucial. I want you to respect people from the heart—not just put on a show of respect.
The third point is clarity and emptiness. Once your heart expands to the vastness of the universe, if it’s not bright and clear, and if it’s not truly empty, you’re inviting trouble. Because when the mind is empty but lacks wisdom, what follows is ignorance.
Now let me explain the awareness of the mind. The awareness of the mind itself has no cause and no effect. When your mind experiences something, at that moment, you’re not aware of cause and effect. For example, let’s say today I have to criticise you. You might not realise that this situation arose because of causes you yourself have planted. You wouldn’t be thinking about the words “cause and effect.” Instead, you might think, “Oh, Master’s just in a bad mood today—maybe there’s some spiritual disturbance.” Yesterday, for instance, when I was feeling off, a disciple walked in and immediately offered two Little Houses. That disciple didn’t realise it was a matter of cause and effect—he just assumed Master wasn’t happy. Remember this: everything happens because of cause and effect. Why am I criticising you today? There must be a cause behind it.
At first, your heart doesn’t recognise cause and effect, but through my Dharma teachings, the concept of cause and effect gradually takes root in your awareness. As cause and effect arise, you begin to understand. When your mind can comprehend that everything in this world follows the law of cause and effect, you will no longer fear it. When you plant a cause, you’re already aware of the effect it will bring. When you experience an effect, you’ll understand the cause behind it. So what is there to fear? If you’re experiencing the effect now, you can simply think, “I’ll bear it—it’s the result of an unwholesome cause I planted before.” With that understanding, you’ll find the pain no longer cuts as deeply.
Many mothers feel extremely frustrated with their children. When I perform Totem reading, I can often see that the child was someone from her past life—someone who has come to collect a karmic debt. Once the mother realises, “Oh, so it’s a debt collector. The child I miscarried or aborted has taken rebirth through him,” her resentment towards the child disappears. This is how karmic relationships are resolved. She is still enduring the same difficult situations, but the feelings she experiences before and after understanding are completely different. Once she understands, she will no longer create the same karmic causes again. For example, after realising this, if you told someone today to have an abortion, how many followers would actually dare to do it? If you encouraged followers to eat live seafood, how many would go through with it?
When someone has eaten a lot of live seafood in the past, as they begin practising Buddhism, all the impurities from those past actions will start to surface. Here’s an example: imagine someone who was never a good person—always doing the wrong thing. Then, suddenly, they start acting like a saint, saying, “Hey, how’s it going? Let me help you.” What do people say? “You? Help? You used to harm and deceive people, and now you want to play the good guy?” Hearing those words stings—just like how, after beginning to practise Buddhism and recite sutras, there will still be remnants of karmic obstacles from the past. However, as your cultivation deepens and the power of your recitation grows, those old karmic debts will gradually be eliminated. Or take another case: you decide to donate money, and someone snaps, “Don’t act generous—pay back the ten bucks you owe me first!” You must first bear the retribution for your past actions before you can truly correct your mind.
This is the kind of Buddhist principle I’m teaching. Buddhism explained in plain, everyday language is the purest and the best—it speaks directly to your daily life.