Elevating your spiritual state allows you to free yourself from suffering. A person who can understand and see through everything clearly will not be burdened by pain. Suffering arises when you can’t make sense of things—when afflictions take hold of your heart. If nothing troubles you, if you can let go and see things with clarity, then you won’t suffer. Do you understand? This is why we must transcend birth and death, why we must learn to cultivate, and why we must develop the mind of renunciation.
In our past lives, many of our ancestors were entangled in too much attachment and delusion, and so they could not attain liberation. For example, you may love your father and mother deeply, but after they passed away, why didn’t they ascend to the heavens? It’s because they carried too much attachment, resentment, jealousy, and unwillingness to let go—these weighed them down and kept them from rising. Think of it like a hydrogen balloon: if nothing is tied to it, it floats straight up into the sky. But if it’s weighed down by burdens—afflictions, hatred, jealousy, karmic obstacles—how can it possibly rise? Only by being free of contention and letting go of the self can we truly transcend birth and death.
We must also frequently repent for our wrongdoings. True repentance means constantly reflecting on our faults, recognising the weight of our negative karma, and sincerely repenting. To break free from the cycle of rebirth, we must eliminate all karmic obstacles that bind us to it. If you believe you’ll still be reborn in your next life, you must search within and find the root cause of your continued rebirth. If your anger and hatred are too strong, resolve from this moment: “I will no longer hold hatred in my heart.” Why is it that many people cannot ascend to the heavens? It’s because their karmic obstacles are too heavy. And what are these karmic obstacles? They arise from past actions—cursing others, striking others, killing animals such as chickens or ducks, or causing harm to others. All of these create karmic obstacles. Once you clear them away, you’ll be able to rise with ease and lightness. It’s just like releasing a hydrogen balloon into the sky—you must let it go.
We must develop wisdom in order to transcend birth and death. And how does wisdom arise? By understanding the principles of life and seeing through things clearly. When you can truly think things through, you are cultivating morality, concentration, and wisdom (śīla, samādhi, and prajñā). These three are the key to transcending the cycle of life and death. We must cultivate while fulfilling our vows in daily life. What does it mean to “cultivate while fulfilling”? For example, if you make a vow before Guan Yin Bodhisattva to do something, actually carrying it out is called “fulfilling” the vow. Your cultivation includes the words you speak and the sutras you recite. Just reciting without acting is not true practice—you must take action. But acting without reciting is also not true practice. Therefore, we must both act and cultivate at the same time; only then can we free ourselves from the suffering of this world. There are countless forms of worldly suffering: family, children, parents—which of these can you truly escape? Every one of them matters deeply to you. But when the time comes to leave this life, those very attachments will entangle you in pain. That’s why, no matter how difficult it may be, you must learn to let them go.
We need to balance our body and mind to enter the Buddha Realm. That means getting your mindset right. When you see others doing well, you feel happy; when you see them struggling, you feel compassion. Your mindset is crucial. For example, someone living in a house with the number four on the door might feel unhappy every day simply because they believe ‘four’ is unlucky. Or consider a woman whose family member has just passed away. She visits a friend’s home, has a lovely chat, and even shares a meal. Later, someone tells the host, “Did you know her relative just died?” Ever since then, the host felt uneasy, blaming every bit of bad luck on that woman’s visit. But who’s really to blame? It’s your own mindset creating these obstacles and negative karma. So, blame yourself for not having a balanced mind. Open your heart—let it go.
Amitabha Buddha made forty-eight great vows, each one for the sake of sentient beings. Every great Bodhisattva became a Bodhisattva through making vast vows. If you want to follow in the footsteps of the Bodhisattvas, you too must make meaningful and ambitious vows. Vow-power can extend your life and help you overcome many forms of suffering. It’s the power of vows that can truly free you from your current pain—but only if you act on them. If you make a vow but fail to carry it out, that’s considered false speech. That’s why making great vows is so important. When you make a great vow, you create a spiritual connection—a kind of “magnetic field”—with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In that moment, your mind aligns with theirs, and you receive the blessings of their immense spiritual field, which helps your life flow more smoothly. Remember, it is vow-power that helps you live longer. Think about it—when Bodhisattvas make vast vows and you also make vast vows, your spiritual field resonates with theirs. Because of this connection, when the Black and White Enforcement Officers (also known as Black and White Impermanence) arrive to take you away, you won’t be so easily bound by karmic forces. In the Human Realm, people may see you as unconscious, but in the spiritual realm, you can clearly perceive the approach of the Black and White Impermanence. If you have the Buddha in your heart and you’ve made great vows, even the Underworld will show you some respect, and there’s hope for extending your life. What’s more, you’ll have the Bodhisattvas’ “power to gather karma.” What is that power? It is the ability of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to concentrate positive forces to protect and assist you. But this power depends on the good deeds, merit, and virtue you’ve accumulated throughout your life. You must keep doing good—accumulating merit and virtue without stopping. If you keep pausing, your efforts lose their momentum. It’s like cooking rice with the lid constantly lifted—the steam escapes, and the rice ends up undercooked. Got it?
To receive the protection of the Dharma Protectors, you must uphold the precepts. Do you know how the Dharma Protectors come to guard you? It is because you keep the precepts. Only by adhering to them can you receive the blessings and protection of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. If you refrain from wrongdoing—avoiding slander, stealing, false speech, and harsh words—and keep your thoughts steady and pure, the Dharma Protectors will naturally remain with you. It’s simple: when you are clean and pure, the Bodhisattvas stay with you. But if your mind is filled with unwholesome thoughts and you fail to uphold the precepts, the Bodhisattvas will not remain by your side. Do you understand? Frequent repentance leads to a purified mind. Someone who often repents is like someone who bathes regularly—they remain clean. My plain-language Dharma teachings are easy to understand and direct. Just as regular bathing keeps the body clean, regular repentance keeps the mind pure. Only those who repent continually can maintain inner purity.
Let me tell you: within the limited time we have, we must create boundless space and opportunity to cultivate the mind, deepen our practice, and accumulate merit and virtue. Even if we were to live long lives, all time in this world is finite. Whether you live to a hundred or a hundred and twenty, there is still a limit. The real question is: how can you make the most of this time to perfect your practice and help awaken more sentient beings? That is what we must set out to do—starting now. And yet, there are still many who do not believe. Such people are truly pitiable. They are like insects—the most pitiful of all creatures—living blindly, without knowing where they came from, where they are now, or where they will end up. Never forget the law of cause and effect in this human world.