TO TREAD THE BUDDHA’S PATH EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE Master Jun Hong Lu: Let your mind imbue with all the good that others have done for you, Let only gratitude towards others dwell in you, Let your heart be anchored to your Buddha-nature, Thus and so, you tread the Buddha’s path every day of […]
HAVE BUDDHA AND BODHISATTVA CLOSE TO YOUR HEART Master Jun Hong Lu: Be it performing recitation, mind cultivation or Buddhism practice, we should hold Bodhisattvas in reverence. You have to feel that you are physically in front of Buddhas with a constant sense of closeness to Them. If you often feel that you are right […]
DO NOT SEEK THRILLS Master Jun Hong Lu: Humans are not made to experience too much thrills. Each time the body is stimulated, parts of the soul leave the body. When the thrills become too intense for some people, their souls would leave their bodies indefinitely. Although the soul would be able to find its […]
WHAT IS THE WORST KIND OF SUFFERING? Master Jun Hong Lu: The Buddha once said, a long time ago, there was a diligent and steadfast Bhikkhu, who was endowed with five types of supernatural powers. Every time he was cultivating in solitude under a tree in the mountains, he would attract a pigeon, a crow, […]
THE THREE FIELDS OF BLESSINGS In Buddhism, there are three types of blessings and collectively, they are termed as the Three Fields of Blessings. The Field of Blessings is capable of generating the conditions for good fortune. The first Field of Blessings comes when you make offerings to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and this […]
PASSING ON THE OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM MERITORIOUS DEEDS TO OTHERS IS A SIGN OF SLACKING IN CULTIVATION Caller: Is it considered a type of Giving when one passes on the opportunity to perform meritorious deeds to others out of great mercy? Despite having lesser merits, will the person gain new merits for giving the opportunity […]
OUR MASTER IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND IN THIS WORLD Master Jun Hong Lu: After a few more decades, all of you will not be in this world anymore, what should you do? Master is gone too, will you look for me? One thing for sure, I am nowhere to be found in this world, […]
PRACTISE FILIAL PIETY BY LOVING OUR MASTER AS WELL AS PARENTS Caller: I adore you, Master. I feel my adoration for you has surpassed what I have for my parents. Is this a sign of my lack of filial piety? Master Jun Hong Lu: What’s so unfilial about it? After all, I’m your teacher, providing […]
RECITING SELF-RESERVED LITTLE HOUSES FOR MASTER Question: Hi Master, whenever we hear your husky and weary voice being transmitted through the radio programs, we will be overcome by emotions and can’t help but feel the pain and tear up. In the past, we had always thought that with the blessings of Guan Yin Bodhisattva, Master […]
WOULD DAUGHTERS RECEIVE DIRECT KARMIC RETRIBUTIONS OWING TO SEXUAL MISCONDUCT COMMITTED BY THEIR MOTHERS? Caller: How are you, Master? You once said that when mothers commit sexual misconduct, their sons will have to bear the karmic retribution. A Buddhist practitioner is interested to know, what about in the case where there are only girls in […]
THE ASPIRATION TO PERFORM MERITORIOUS DEEDS IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE Master Jun Hong Lu: You must know how to transform the meritorious blessings that you are cultivating in this mortal world into one that is transcendental. One example of worldly meritorious blessings is when helping others, you embrace the heart of a Bodhisattva. You appear […]
READING BUDDHISM IN PLAIN TERMS PRIOR TO PERFORMING RECITATION HELPS CONTROL WANDERING THOUGHTS Caller: Hi Master, one fellow Buddhist friend has shared that given our mind tends to wander while performing recitation, he recommended reading a chapter of the Buddhism in Plain Terms aloud prior to performing our recitation. In his view, it’s an effective […]
ONE WILL GAIN MORE MERITS FOR CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OTHERS TO PERFORM MERITORIOUS DEEDS Caller: Is it true that one who creates opportunities for others to perform meritorious deeds will gain more merits? Master Jun Hong Lu: That’s for sure. By doing so, he will gain boundless meritorious blessings. For example, you would like to […]
DO NOT BE A SLAVE OF YOUR DESIRES Master Jun Hong Lu: As humans, we should never enslave ourselves by falling to the temptations of carnal desires – what you desire enslaves you. If you desire money, you will exert yourself at work and learn to earn as much as you can. If you like […]
DO NOT LET GREED CONTROL YOU Master Jun Hong Lu: As humans, we are filled with greed for pleasures our entire life – wanting this today, and that tomorrow; desiring this today and that the next. Essentially, this is the damage that we inflict on our minds every single day. Therefore, no matter what it […]
CONTEMPLATE THE THOUGHTS AS IMPERMANENT; CONTEMPLATE THE BODY AS IMPURE Master Jun Hong Lu: Bodhisattva urges us to contemplate our thoughts as impermanent. Many of our shortcomings are centered in our bodies. Hence, Bodhisattva wants us to know that our bodies are impure and our minds are always in a state of flux, that is, […]
QUIT GRASPING; BE FREE FROM DESIRES Master Jun Hong Lu: The human realm has always been a place that taints our inherent nature; a realm where all the contamination takes place that causes our innate nature to be clouded. It is not that our Buddha nature is lost. In fact, its presence can be likened […]
THE OBSERVATION OF ONE’S THOUGHT HAPPENS AT WHICH LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS? Caller: Hi Master, after practising Buddhism, we have been reminding ourselves to guard against our arising thoughts, that is, we should always observe our thoughts. Such self-awareness can be likened to having someone constantly watching over our thoughts. When an unwholesome thought arises, we […]
SIGNS OF HAVING ACCUMULATED GREAT MERITORIOUS BLESSINGS Master Jun Hong Lu: How do you determine that you have accumulated great meritorious blessings? Firstly, just like a healthy person will hardly catch a cold, the person won’t be down on his luck easily and his life will always be smooth sailing. Secondly, no misfortune will befall […]
IT IS BEST NOT TO EXPEND OUR MERITS IN ORDER TO SEND FOREIGN SPIRITS AWAY Caller: Hi Master, you have mentioned in one of the radio programs that merits can be used to eliminate foreign spirits. In this regard, can we transfer merits accrued from volunteering at dharma conventions to our karmic creditors? Master Jun […]
A TRUE STORY OF THE INFALLIBLE WORKING OF THE LAW OF KARMA – THE COW SHE BRUTALLY KILLED IN HER PAST LIFE REINCARNATES AS HER HUSBAND, WHO RUTHLESSLY TORTURES HER IN THIS LIFE Question: Can you verify the authenticity of this anecdote? Here’s how the story goes: I rang my youngest aunt today and from […]
THE TRUE PRACTICE OF COMPASSION Master Jun Hong Lu: We must be devoted to the welfare of others. Once, there was a traditional Chinese doctor, who would prepare a pocket-size hot water bag during winter. Every time his hands turned cold, he would immediately replace the water in the bag with boiling water. During every […]
PRAY TO REPENT PRESENT-LIFE’S KARMIC OBSTACLES WHEN RECITING THE EIGHTY-EIGHT BUDDHAS GREAT REPENTANCE (LIFO) Caller: A Buddhist practitioner sent me a template of prayer requests for online group study and the recitation of some Buddhist scriptures a few days ago. It is allegedly shared by Australia Oriental Radio and is being circulated online. I would […]
IT IS BEST TO OFFER LITTLE HOUSES IN ODD NUMBERS Caller: Master, when offering Little Houses, is it alright to offer in even numbers, such as two, four or six? Master Jun Hong Lu: Yes, you may do so. That’s not a problem. However, it is best to offer in odd numbers. Caller: Okay, thank […]
STAY ROOTED TO THE REALITIES OF THIS WORLD Master Jun Hong Lu: If you detach yourself from the realities of life in search of the dharma, you are in reality setting yourself farther apart from the dharma. This is because ‘The Path’ is in one’s heart. Many people like to say this: “I must find […]
TO CONTEMPLATE IS TO ILLUMINATE THE WISDOM WITHIN Master Jun Hong Lu: To ‘contemplate’ is to reflect and illuminate the wisdom that we inherently possess. When you observe the consciousness of your spiritual being, wisdom arises in you. A person, who is capable of being accomplished in his spiritual cultivation, will unceasingly reflect on the […]
TO ENSURE ADEQUATE ENERGY, SUFFICIENT LITTLE HOUSES MUST BE SET ASIDE FOR ONE’S KARMIC CREDITORS WHEN HELPING OTHERS RECITE Question: A Buddhist friend started practising Guan Yin Citta sometime end of June this year and she has since recited more than 600 Little Houses, of which only 10 of them were for her own karmic […]
THE MEANING OF THE LAST SENTENCE OF THE EIGHTY-EIGHT BUDDHAS GREAT REPENTANCE (I.E. NA MO DA XING PU XIAN PU SA) Caller: Master Lu, the last sentence of the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance (LIFO) is ‘Na Mo Da Xing Pu Xian Pusa’ (Samantabhadra Bodhisattva). Why does it end with the name of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva? What […]
THE RECITATION QUALITY OF THE EIGHTY-EIGHT BUDDHAS GREAT REPENTANCE WILL AFFECT THE QUALITY OF LITTLE HOUSE Master Jun Hong Lu: The quality of the Little House is closely related to that of the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance (LIFO). With an impure mind, one’s recitation of LIFO will be of questionable quality. Bear in mind that […]
BUDDHISM PRACTICE IS AN EDUCATION ON ‘THE WAY OF LIFE’ Master Jun Hong Lu: I hope all of you can be awakened to the truth of “suffering, emptiness and impermanence”. You need to truly understand that there is nothing we can gain from this world and put this understanding into practice in your daily life. […]