BE INCLINED TO KINDNESS Master Jun Hong Lu: In this modern age, it is important that we incline to kindness and instil kindness into our hearts. Let your compassionate heart spring up, just like the way bamboo shoots sprout after a spring rain. Compassion can help gradually eliminate the karmic obstacles in our eighth consciousness. […]
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A PERSON WITH LESS THAN 20% OF KARMIC OBSTACLES Question: What are the characteristics of a person with less than 20% of karmic obstacles? Kindly advise us, Master. Answer: Their state-of-mind. People with less than 20% of karmic obstacles possess a high state-of-mind. They won’t engage in fights or quarrels. You can […]
TRANSFORMING NEGATIVE AFFINITY WITH A KIND HEART Master Jun Hong Lu: The Buddha once said, “Even if it’s for a thousand kalpas, the deeds we commit would never fade, comes the day we meet with our fate, suffering is certain as karma awaits”. When interacting with our friends, we must be mindful of our words […]
STAYING STEADFAST IS A MUST EVEN AFTER YOU HAVE BENEFITED FROM YOUR BUDDHIST PRACTICE Master Jun Hong Lu: There will be times when practising Buddhism can be likened to digging a well. If you wish to dig a well, you have to be prepared to draw water from it later on. Many people merely wait […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
SPREADING POSITIVE WORDS OR ENCOURAGING OTHERS TO PRACTISE KINDNESS IS CONSIDERED HELPING OTHERS TO BE AWAKENED SPIRITUALLY Question: If we blend in those positive words of Master Lu in our conversation with friends, without intentionally mentioning the dharma element, is this also considered one way to help others to be awakened spiritually? Answer: Of course! […]
CULTIVATE ALTRUISM TO OVERCOME GREED Master Jun Hong Lu: Nowadays, people tune out when you try to give them advice. They are only concerned about their most-immediate vested interest and end up forsaking spiritual purification. It is very important to be far-sighted. When people seek the Buddha’s blessings for those vested interests, they are essentially […]
LISTEN TWICE AS MUCH AS YOU SPEAK Master Jun Hong Lu: One’s ability to argue is not necessarily what is most valuable. After all, we have two ears and one mouth so that we should listen twice as much as we speak. A true mind-cultivator is one who is adept at attentive listening and appreciates […]
WORDS ARE POWERFUL – THEY CAN MAKE OR BREAK A PERSON Master Jun Hong Lu: A group of people went up the mountain for a hunting trip. Unfortunately, one of the hunters fell into a very deep pit. During the fall, he broke all of his limbs except his left arm. The pit was deep […]
GUAN YIN BODHISATTVA’S TIPS ON EFFICACIOUS PRAYER Master Jun Hong Lu: Finally, I asked Guan Yin Bodhisattva, “Guan Yin Bodhisattva, can you teach us a method that will help make our prayers more efficacious? You have earlier mentioned about a ‘calm state of mind’, how do we achieve this state for our prayers to be […]
TRANSFORMING THE WORLD WITH WISDOM AND COMPASSION Master Jun Hong Lu: I hope all of you can have a heart that is filled with wisdom and compassion, one that derives joy from serving others. Only with such a heart can we promptly transform this world into a World of Great Harmony and a Land of […]
THE SPIRIT OF THE BUDDHA WILL LONG ENDURE IN THIS WORLD Master Jun Hong Lu: Today is the Laba Festival (the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month) and also Shakyamuni Buddha’s Enlightenment Day. Why are there still five to six hundred million people in this world who revere the Buddha? Hasn’t the Buddha left […]
FOR 49 YEARS, THE BUDDHA USED EXPEDIENT MEANS TO SPREAD THE DHARMA, TEACHING THE ‘BLINDED’ MASSES TO OBSERVE THE TRUTH OF THE UNIVERSE Master Jun Hong Lu: We can draw parallels between Shakyamuni Buddha observing the universe and a person with normal vision observing an elephant, while the approach taken by the science field is […]
SEIZE YOUR LIFE – GOOD OR BAD DEED IS A MATTER OF CHOICE Master Jun Hong Lu: The Buddha has never imposed on anyone to do anything that is against one’s will. However, the great Lord Buddha has taught us what’s wholesome and what’s not, and the choice is ours to make. Sadly, many people […]
LETTING GO: WORLDLY VS SPIRITUAL PURSUITS Question: Hello Master, you once mentioned that the more one gains in his career in the secular world, the lesser blessings he is going to receive in heaven. Master, how can we ensure that while we strive hard at work, we are not placing excessive value on our worldly […]
HOW TO PRACTISE REJOICING IN THE KIND DEEDS AND MERITS OF OTHERS FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS? Question: How should we cultivate in order for us to be able to truly rejoice in others’ good deeds and meritorious blessings, without feeling a tinge of envy, jealousy or spite? Answer: You feel jealous and spiteful […]
LET GO OF THE PAST AND THE ENTANGLEMENTS Master Jun Hong Lu: Letting go is when you stop reminiscing about the past; disentangle yourself from the memory of those who have left you; stop blaming yourself for things you failed to accomplish and stop thinking about things you couldn’t attain. When you let go, you […]
IS BEING NON-COMPETITIVE AN ATTITUDE OF A NON-ACHIEVER? Question: Our practice of Buddhism has made us easy-going and we are not interested to contend. However, some people feel that this is an attitude of a non-achiever. Answer: It is a matter of one’s spiritual state. For example, when you let go after learning Buddhism, in […]
ONCE YOU TELL A LIE, YOU NEED TEN MORE LIES TO COVER THE LIE Master Jun Hong Lu: Many people are inclined to inject lies to even the short sentences they speak. Once you tell a lie, you need ten more lies to cover the lie. For instance, you tell your boss, “Boss, I’ll be […]
REPENTANCE WITHOUT FORM Master Jun Hong Lu: Repentance without form is in reality not repenting in any way. If ‘the perception of formlessness’ is felt deep in one’s mind, this is in itself one method of self-correction. This is a seamless self-transformation process, a type of repentance that cannot be seen because such an act […]
