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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
YOU WILL NOT MAKE IT IN YOUR BUDDHIST PRACTICE IF YOU STILL HARBOUR HATRED Master Jun Hong Lu: As a Buddhist practitioner, if you still have hatred in your heart, you will tend to enjoy scolding others. And, with this disposition, do you think you will make it in your Buddhist practice? In fact, it […]
A VIRTUOUS CYCLE IS SET IN MOTION WHEN ONE IS FILLED WITH ENERGY AND VITALITY Caller: Master, if a spiritual cultivator is full of vitality and he feels very energetic all the time, how can he convert this energy to benefit his spiritual endeavour? Master Jun Hong Lu: In fact, if he is full of […]
STAY DILIGENT IN YOUR BUDDHIST PRACTICE TO KEEP IGNORANCE AND BEWILDERMENT AT BAY Master Jun Hong Lu: Let me share a fable with you. Once upon a time, a horse and a donkey came to know that Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang would be travelling to the West to retrieve the Buddhist scriptures. Reasoning that it […]
EFFECTIVE METHODS FOR SUSTAINING INITIAL ASPIRATION Master Jun Hong Lu: To avoid falling into a state of slackness, it’s best to maintain your initial aspiration. This means reflecting on the reason that thrusted you into the dharma gate, and reminiscing about the blessings bestowed by Bodhisattva. The abundance of inspiration, peace, safety and happiness that […]
WILLINGNESS TO BE AT A DISADVANTAGE AND ENDURING HARDSHIPS ARE WAYS TO ELIMINATE KARMIC OBSTACLES Caller: Master Lu often advises us to learn to endure hardships and always be willing to take the shorter end of the stick. In this present life, if we suffer from humiliations and are on the losing end, does it […]
BODHISATTVAS FEAR CAUSES, WHILE SENTIENT BEINGS FEAR EFFECTS Master Jun Hong Lu: There was a quack doctor who misdiagnosed and caused someone’s son to die. To make up for his mistake, he gave his son away to be adopted by this family. After some time, he caused someone’s female servant to die. To compensate, the […]
LETTING GO IS ABOUT TRANSFORMING WORLDLY AFFECTION INTO THE LOVING-KINDNESS OF THE BUDDHA Question: How can we truly apply the truth of letting go in our daily life? How do we go about showing filial respect to our parents, and taking care of our children, and yet still able to let go of them in […]
THE FOUNDATION FOR OFFERING EFFECTIVE PRAYERS TO BODHISATTVA IS COMPRISED OF THREE FACTORS Master Jun Hong Lu: Number 1: Karma from previous lives. Number 2: The level of your cultivation in the present life. No matter how admirable a person’s cultivation was in his or her past lives, if they only do bad things and […]
ALWAYS KEEP YOUR INITIAL ASPIRATION CLOSE TO YOUR HEART Question: Master, how do we resolve a mental state that oscillates between being tensed up and relaxed that we experience while performing recitation or mind cultivation? For example, under intense pressure, we can recite up to seven or eight Little Houses a day, but we may […]
AVOID COMMITTING NEGATIVE KARMA OF SPEECH IN DHARMA PROPAGATION THROUGH CONTEMPLATING ON CAUSES AND CONDITIONS Caller: Sometimes when performing totem reading for Buddhist friends, Master detected tell-tale signs that they have inadvertently committed negative karma of speech in their effort to propagate Buddhism. It’d be great if Master could give some examples of cases to […]
DO NOT POST MESSAGES RELATED TO FUNDRAISING IN GROUP CHATS Question: There are some Buddhist friends who are not from the dharma-propagation group but are very eager to support the dharma-propagation drive. Unfortunately, in the absence of a local practice centre, the dharma-propagation group is unable to accept any donations whatsoever, even though such funds […]
IS BEING ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT CHARITABLE CAUSES A WAY TO ACCUMULATE PROVISIONS NEEDED ON THE PATH OF SPIRITUAL CULTIVATION? Question: Hi Master, Buddhism in Plain Terms says, “There are endless streams of good deeds that one can undertake, and having a benevolent heart is equivalent to performing all the good deeds there is”. On that note, […]
THE ORIGINAL ASPIRATION IS ABOUT BEING GRATEFUL TOWARDS SENTIENT BEINGS FOR THEIR PRESENCE 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 original aspiration, which is to be grateful towards sentient […]
THOSE WHO PERFORM RECITATION SHOULD BE CAREFUL IN THEIR SPEECH TO PREVENT ‘OUTFLOWS’ Caller: I have been practising Guan Yin Citta for over a year now after being introduced to it by my daughter. Master, can you point out my faults? Master Jun Hong Lu: You don’t know about your own faults? You should refrain […]
BE AWARE OF THE KARMA YOU ARE CREATING Master Jun Hong Lu: One night a man had a dream. In the dream the God of the Earth said to him, “I need you to help me build a wall with that family next door. This is because the man in that family was very virtuous […]
PRAYER IS NOT ANSWERED BECAUSE THE KARMIC CONDITIONS HAVE NOT MATURED Master Jun Hong Lu: We must educate our Buddhist friends that when karmic conditions ripen, the fruit of karma will certainly take effect. When the karmic conditions of your prayer to the Buddha ripen today, your karmic result will come into being. If the […]
INITIAL ASPIRATION IS THE STATE OF PERFECT AND SUPREME ENLIGHTENMENT Master Jun Hong Lu: According to Buddhist scripture, a perfect and supreme enlightenment is attained when your initial aspiration is conceived. Think about it, your initial aspiration is your innate nature. The moment you embark on your spiritual cultivation journey, the luminous mind of the […]
WHAT LEADS US TO DO BAD DEEDS? Caller: Master, you’ve mentioned before that when a person did something inappropriate or against the moral principles, say, at a certain time in his previous life, his inner demon will surface and reside in his consciousness. This explains why the person will keep thinking about the said matter. […]