THE BEST RESPONSE TO SLANDER IS TO KEEP SILENT Master Jun Hong Lu: When you are at the receiving end of a slander, the best response is to keep your silence. We must learn from the Bodhisattva to dwell in peace and abstain from talking. Unfortunately, many people cannot do this. Even amongst those who […]
THE PERCENTAGE OF KARMIC OBSTACLES WILL DETERMINE THE REALM THAT ONE ENDS UP IN UPON DEATH Caller: Master, yesterday you commented that a fellow practitioner has a high percentage of karmic obstacles of 29%. I’d like to ask, at what level, karmic obstacles are considered high? Master Jun Hong Lu: Didn’t I tell you before? […]
THE CONCEPT OF ‘DOUBLE-KARMA’; ‘THE BEST FORM OF GAIN IS TO SUFFER LOSS’ Caller: Master, I have a question. Every relationship is fated. Everything can be traced back to predestined affinity and the law of cause and effect governing it. May I ask what does it mean by ‘to sow double-karma’? What’s the logic behind […]
HOW RETRIBUTION FOR MINOR KARMIC OBSTACLES ARE EFFECTUATED? Caller: Karmic obstacles can either be eliminated through recitation of Buddhist scriptures or natural effectuation. What about those minor karmic obstacles, would Dharma Protectors make an advance arrangement to have them effectuated? Master Jun Hong Lu: Yes, this may happen. A minor karmic obstacle would be, for […]
WHY IS EMBEZZLEMENT THE TICKET TO HELL? DOES PREVENTING OTHERS FROM MAKING ILLICIT GAIN GENERATE MERITS? Caller: Why is embezzlement the ticket to hell? Master Jun Hong Lu: That’s simple. This is because you are amassing illicit wealth in the name of Bodhisattva! These days, there are many people who want to undertake the operations […]
SUDDEN DEATH AND DESCENDING INTO HELL: RETRIBUTION OF USING DHARMA PROPAGATION AS A PRETEXT TO DEFRAUD FELLOW PRACTITIONERS’ MONEY MEANT FOR LIFE LIBERATION The King of Hell pointed at a male offender on the left and said, “Confess honestly”. The male offender said, “I was not from [country name] but was brought by the underworld […]
PRACTISE VERBAL TOLERANCE Master Jun Hong Lu: Those who are gracious and broad-minded are able to take in all sorts of remarks, be it kind or harsh; their modesty allows them to be open to the opinions and suggestions of others. Such a person will also let others finish saying their piece. This demonstrates their […]
THE BUDDHA’S WORDS OF ADVICE ON CHARITY AND FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES Shakyamuni Buddha says, “There are myriads of charity to collect donations in the Saha world. If performed with a charitable intention that is founded on a Bodhi mind, and if one goes about doing it selflessly, without regard for reputation or recognition and free from […]
DO NOT INJECT ANY FUNDRAISING AGENDA IN YOUR DHARMA PROPAGATION ACTIVITIES Caller: Hi Master, in this era, there is great potential to spread the dharma to countless people through social media. Now that we are running some paid advertisements online, is it alright to solicit funds among like-minded practitioners to pay for the advertising fees? […]
WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE SHOULD LET GO? ALL THE BORING AND OLD GOSSIPS Master Jun Hong Lu: Why do you hold onto so many problems in your mind? Haven’t you had enough? Throughout your life, you have been filling your head with all sorts of clutter. Occasionally, you revisit them, sifting through the […]
MONETARY DONATION SHOULD BE VOLUNTARY AND ACCORD WITH CONDITIONS; SOLICITATION OF FUND IS PROHIBITED Caller: Before attending the 1st May dharma convention, I was somewhat more focused on ways to propagate Buddhism as well as the number of people with whom I could share the dharma. However, after the dharma convention, I feel that I have […]
WHAT IS A GREAT VOW? WHAT IS CONSIDERED HELPING OTHERS TO BE SPIRITUALLY AWAKENED? Caller: What is considered a great vow for lay practitioners like us who practise Buddhism at home? Master Jun Hong Lu: For example, a vow to print Buddhist books, or “I want more people to get to know this dharma door, […]
ONLY SINCERE AND THOROUGH REPENTANCE CAN PREVENT ONE FROM REPEATING HIS MISTAKES Caller: Master, why is it that people ‘forget the pain where gain follows’? How can we remember this pain and never commit the same mistake again? Master Jun Hong Lu: Humans are an entity of desires. In fact, the human body shares a […]
WHAT KIND OF SPEECH KARMA WOULD RESULT IN FALLEN LOTUS PEDESTALS IN HEAVEN? Caller: Hi Master, in some totem programs, you caution about the dire conditions of the lotus pedestals of Buddhist practitioners, who have committed negative karma of speech. In some cases, their lotus pedestals have fallen from heaven. Under what circumstances would negative […]
IS FORWARDING ALERT ON DECEPTIVE SCHEMES CONSIDERED AN ACTION THAT INTERVENES WITH THE WORKINGS OF KARMA? Caller: It’s common to observe an online social norm where people disseminate information to forewarn others of deceptive schemes, etc. For example, information cautioning people against scams or child abductions. We do pass on such information to those around […]
EVEN BODHISATTVAS DO NOT INTERVENE WITH THE LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT Caller: I heard of a saying, ‘Even Bodhisattvas do not intervene with the law of cause and effect’. I used to think that those who suffer from cancer or other terminal illnesses must have sown the evil seeds that have come to fruition […]
LET GO OF WORLDLY PHENOMENA AND LIVE IN EASE Master Jun Hong Lu: Think about it, just how many things we have given up since we were little. The minute we let go, we feel at ease. Whenever we say, “I don’t want it anymore”, our heart just settles. If we still think about those […]
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BUDDHIST PRACTICE AND THE LAW OF KARMA Caller: Is it right to say that everything in the human realm will change accordingly when we practise Buddhism? As long as we are diligent in our practice, we will definitely have good karma come our way. Assuming we are not fated to get married […]
HOW POSITIVE ENERGY DERIVED FROM ONE’S EFFORT IN SPIRITUAL CULTIVATION AND RECITATION COMES ABOUT? Caller: The increase in positive energy that Buddhist practitioners experience through spiritual cultivation and chanting are brought about by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas or from within themselves? Master Jun Hong Lu: If you give some thoughts to this question, you will […]
THE BEGINNER’S MIND IS ABOUT BEING GRATEFUL TOWARDS SENTIENT BEINGS FOR BEING PRESENT IN OUR LIVES Master Jun Hong Lu: We must always cultivate a sense of gratitude, which will help us maintain a calm and peaceful mind. As Buddhist practitioners, we should never forget our beginner’s mind, which is to be grateful towards sentient […]
KARMA FOR SOWING DISCORD – A LONELY LIFE Caller: You mentioned before that if a person commits extensive acts of killing in his past lives, he would suffer the retribution of having a short lifespan in this lifetime. Some people seem fated to be lonely, having no one to rely on in this life. May […]
MYTH OR TRUTH?: THE MORE YOU DO, THE MORE MISTAKES YOU MAKE; THE LESS YOU DO, THE LESS YOU ERR? Master Jun Hong Lu: I am being very honest with you here. Do no evil because even if you are unable to make it to heaven when you die, at the least you can reincarnate […]
DOES CEASING OF THOUGHTS LEAD TO CEASING OF KARMA? Question: When a person ceases to have any thoughts, karma shall cease too. Is this true? Answer: Can it even be stopped? This is the foundation of a theory. What does it mean to cease one’s thought? It is about being down to earth and going […]
HOW DO DHARMA PROTECTORS RECORD OUR DAILY GOOD AND EVIL DEEDS? Caller: Master once shared that regardless of what we do in the human realm, heaven and the underworld will know about it. All these deeds will also be recorded by the Dharma Protectors. Just out of curiosity, there are six billion people on earth, […]
WHY SHOULD I LET GO? ATTACHMENT CAN ONLY DO YOU HARM Master Jun Hong Lu: Everyone comes to this world with his own destiny. Similarly, each and everyone of us is endowed with varied karmic rewards in life. One thing for sure, whatever you cling on to will be the thing that will cause you […]
HOW DO WE ENHANCE OUR POSITIVE AFFINITY WITH GUAN YIN BODHISATTVA? Caller: Hi Master, is it true that the deeper our positive affinity with Guan Yin Bodhisattva, the more blessings we will gain and the easier it is for us to make it in our spiritual cultivation? Master Jun Hong Lu: That’s for sure. Even […]
STAY TRUE TO YOUR INITIAL ASPIRATION Master Jun Hong Lu: You must strengthen your power of vows to protect the impetus that propelled you to make those initial resolutions. What does strengthening your power of vows mean? It means to regularly recollect the time when you gave rise to your initial resolve. At the early […]
THE SEVERITY OF NEGATIVE KARMA OF SPEECH DETERMINES THE PART OF THE BODY THAT SUFFERS FROM ITS RETRIBUTIVE EFFECT Caller: With regards to the karmic ramifications from negative karma of speech, different people suffer from different diseases ranging from oral, lungs, kidneys and lower back. Why is that so? Master Jun Hong Lu: It’s very […]
IS IT POSSIBLE TO ELIMINATE KARMIC OBSTACLES FROM THE EIGHTH CONSCIOUSNESS? Caller: When reciting the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance (LIFO) and praying to Bodhisattva to prioritise the elimination of karmic obstacles in our eighth consciousness, would it make it easier for us to eliminate karmic obstacles related to our bad habits and at the same […]
TO UTILISE MERITS TO ELIMINATE KARMIC OBSTACLES, ONE NEEDS TO MAKE THE PRAYER REQUEST TO BODHISATTVA Caller: Master Lu often says that to eliminate our karmic obstacles, we need to have merits. Given that the recitation of the Buddhist scriptures is one type of meritorious deed, so when we recite the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance […]
