Eliminate all defilements from your body and restore your true Tathagata-nature. The Tathagata resides within your own heart—the Tathagata Buddha is your own Buddha. When you visit a temple, you’ll notice that the faces of the Tathagata Buddhas are all the same. Similarly, when you eventually reach the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss and listen to Amitabha Buddha give teachings, everyone’s faces will appear alike. Why? Because you are all Buddhas. Once you restore your inherent nature, you return to your original Tathagata—just as it was from the very beginning.
To eliminate the karmic debts accumulated over many lifetimes, we must completely purify the karma we’ve created in the past. Only then can we return to the true Tathagata. Think of it like this: imagine someone once had a clear, beautiful face, but later, freckles and blemishes appeared until no one could recognise them anymore. At that point, they no longer resemble their true self. But once the skin is healed, the blemishes vanish, and the dark spots are cleansed, don’t they return to how they originally were? Isn’t that just like the Tathagata—returning to your true self? It’s like someone wearing heavy makeup: you can’t recognise who they truly are. But once the makeup is removed, you suddenly realise, “Oh, it’s you!” You’ve rediscovered their original face—you’ve found their inherent nature. And what is that inherent nature? Kindness. Yet many people today have lost much of their kindness. Our inherent nature is honesty, yet many are no longer honest.
We must learn to let go of everything. Since we bring nothing with us when we come into this world, we should be willing to leave everything behind when it’s time to go. When we were born, we brought nothing with us, and when we leave, we can take nothing away. Knowing this, why cling to things? It’s like being a guest in someone else’s home. You don’t bring anything with you, but you eat, drink, and sleep there. When it’s time to leave, you wouldn’t try to take their belongings with you. You can’t take them anyway—the bed you slept on, the utensils you used, they all belong to your host, not to you. What you truly leave behind is the impression you gave while you were there. If you helped your host and did many good deeds, they’ll remember you with gratitude when you leave, right? This human world is no different. The Earth is only a temporary home. We come here, eat, drink, and take from it, but when the time comes to leave, some people still cling to everything, saying, “This is mine, that’s mine, I’m taking it all with me.” But can you? Of course not. Everything here belongs to the Earth; it’s part of this temporary home, and you are not a permanent resident. Since we are not here forever, isn’t it better to let go early? Ultimately, whether we want to or not, we will have to let go. So why not start sooner? By learning to let go early, you give yourself peace, freedom, and serenity. Since you can’t take anything with you, the wisest path is to let go now.
Next, I’ll explain the mind of renunciation. Renunciation means freeing your mind—allowing it to go beyond worldly attachments and ultimately escape the cycle of rebirth within the six realms of existence. You must first understand the suffering within the six realms. To break free from this endless cycle, you must develop a genuine mind of renunciation. This means firmly resolving: “I no longer wish to return to the human world. I no longer wish to be reborn as a human. I no longer wish to suffer through the cycle of rebirth.” This is what it means to transcend the six realms. How do we sustain this mind of renunciation? Through the power of vows. I’ve often spoken about the great vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva: “Until the hells are empty, I will not attain Buddhahood.” Amitabha Buddha also made forty-eight great vows—each one dedicated entirely to helping sentient beings escape suffering and attain happiness, never for personal gain. If you make a vow to be reborn in the Western Pure Land or within the Four Sagely Realms, that too is an expression of vow-power. By making this vow—not wishing to return to the Human Realm—your vow ensures that in your next life, you will not fall back into the cycle of rebirth within the six realms. This is the essence of renunciation.
Many disciples studying with me have also made vows, such as: “In this lifetime, I vow to help awaken all sentient beings with the affinity for Buddhism around the world.” Such a vow carries immense power. When you genuinely resolve to awaken all beings with affinity, you are already aligning yourself with the Buddha’s state of being. And where does a Buddha naturally return to? The Western Pure Land and the Four Sagely Realms—all beyond the six realms of existence. When your spiritual state reaches this level, the results you achieve will naturally correspond to that level. For example, if you make a vow like this: “I want to cultivate compassion for all beings, help them be free from suffering, attain happiness, and encourage them to seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land,” this vow itself reflects a profound mind of renunciation. I’ve often reminded you that vow-power is essential. Renunciation gives you a clear direction for your cultivation. When you no longer wish to remain within the six realms, you naturally start to find your true path. Without renunciation, you won’t truly understand generosity, offerings, or helping others. Why? Because if you’re still deeply attached to everything in this world—confused and clinging to desires—how can you awaken to the spirit of giving? If you can’t open your heart to reason, how can you grasp the meaning of making offerings? If you can’t let go of anything, how can you genuinely help others? Without a mind of renunciation, there is no true giving, no true offering, and no genuine service to the world.
Even if your life is comfortable and you’re wealthy, without a mind of renunciation, you’ll never escape the six realms. Why? Because you don’t want to leave them. You think: “I’m living well, eating well, enjoying life—why change anything?” This sense of satisfaction leads to complacency, and complacency keeps you from striving upwards. As a result, you remain within the six realms and will return in your next life to human rebirth. It’s like many women who find childbirth agonising and say, “I never want to be a woman again in my next life!” But then they think being a man would be better, as if that would spare them pain. Even if they are reborn as a man, they are still trapped in the six realms. Only when your spiritual state reaches a truly elevated level can you break free from the cycle of rebirth altogether.
You must awaken to the suffering of all sentient beings. This means developing genuine understanding and compassion for every living being. Cats, dogs, and other animals are also sentient beings, and you never know what karmic connection you may share with them from your past lives. That cat or dog you see today might have been your grandmother, your aunt, or even your child in a previous life—you simply don’t know. They are sentient beings just like us. When they fall ill, they suffer just as humans do. When they bleed, they feel the same pain. To truly understand and respect all sentient beings—this is the essence of practising Buddhism. Our purpose is to help all beings, guiding them towards liberation and relieving them from suffering.
People often say that time is like a sponge. If you don’t squeeze it, the water will never come out; but if you do, you’ll find there’s always more inside. Time must be “squeezed out.” Everyone is busy—you’re busy, and so is everyone else. Yet some people make time to recite sutras, and as a result, their homes are peaceful. If you don’t recite, your home won’t be peaceful. Some people wake up at four in the morning to perform recitation, while you claim to be “too busy” and never make time—so how can you expect to receive blessings? In the end, you’ll gain nothing.
To drift through life, laughing and joking without any spiritual cultivation, is truly pitiful. By the time death arrives, you’ll find yourself empty‑handed, having wasted an entire life in confusion, affliction, and suffering. And the most painful moment comes when you’re lying on your deathbed, not knowing where you’re going next. You may ask yourself: “Am I really leaving the Human Realm?” You’ll feel reluctant to let go—seeing familiar faces, loved ones who once cared for you, and all the material things you cherished. Yet in an instant, it’s all gone. Why learn Buddhism with me? Because you are learning something eternal. What you hold within your heart lasts far longer than anything in the material world. The richness of the heart outweighs any wealth you can possess, and the contentment of the heart surpasses any satisfaction you might find in worldly life.