HAVE SELF-CONTROL OVER OUR MIND AND THOUGHTS Master Jun Hong Lu: Buddhist Dharma teaches us to exercise self-control over our mind and thoughts. If a person’s mind is filled with negative thoughts, he will be defiled and gradually find himself embedded in a negative environment. On the other hand, a person who is able to […]
GOOD FORTUNE WILL COME ONCE KARMIC OBSTACLES ARE ELIMINATED Master Jun Hong Lu: Let me tell you, as long as we kneel before Guan Yin Bodhisattva and think, ‘I am a Bodhisattva who cultivates Buddhism’, and immediately repent for the many past misdeeds we have committed, Bodhisattva will bless us and help to clear away […]
WHAT ARE THE MIRACLES THAT COULD OCCUR WITH CULTIVATION? Master Jun Hong Lu: “What are the miracles that could occur with cultivation? Let me teach you a method: accumulate your virtues in dribs and drabs. It is through battling every single adversity and vexation that we are able to acquire the ability and experience needed […]
THE THREE POISONS ~ GREED, HATRED AND IGNORANCE Master Jun Hong Lu: Greed, hatred and ignorance are the three poisons that will hurt our souls like venomous snakes. Greed can lead to obsessive desires and put a strain on our spiritual well-being when such desires cannot be met. Hatred of others, ourselves or even our […]
CHERISH OUR FAMILY Master Jun Hong Lu: Our karmic affinity with our family is limited to this life. We won’t see them again in our next life, no matter how much time we have spent together, or whether we love them or not, so we must cherish them. Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Public Talk, […]
EMBRACE OUR INHERENT NATURE Master Jun Hong Lu: Life is short. Why waste our precious moments worrying? Just like Guan Yin Bodhisattva, we should choose to return to a life that embraces our inherent nature. Let the deepest level of our spiritual well-being be sublimed by compassion. Let our awareness be imbued with sympathetic joy […]
DO NOT PUT ASHES THAT FELL OUTSIDE THE INCENSE BURNER BACK INTO THE BURNER Question: Master, when we are cleaning ashes that fell outside the incense burner at the Guan Yin Hall, should we put it back into the burner or dispose it? Answer: Ashes that fell outside the incense burner should be disposed of. […]
THE PERFECTION OF HUMAN INTEGRITY LEADS TO THE ATTAINMENT OF BUDDHAHOOD Master Jun Hong Lu: As Buddhist practitioners, we should understand that ‘the perfection of human integrity leads to the attainment of Buddhahood’. In the human world, there are two aspects of success: success in one’s endeavours and success in leading a morally upright life. […]
EXPECT NOTHING IN RETURN Master Jun Hong Lu: When you invest your energy or time on others, do not expect others to respond with similar benevolence. ‘Requite evil with good’, be indifferent to reciprocity, and be rest assured that you will be in the brilliant company of benefactors throughout your life. Source: Master Jun Hong […]
THE METAPHOR OF AN UMBRELLA AND RAIN BOOTS Master Jun Hong Lu: In conducting ourselves, we should be like an umbrella; in the way we work, we should be like rain boots. After all, an umbrella who shelters others in times of storms would be held up high by them. Similarly, rain boots who are […]
SUCCESS COMES TO THOSE WHO CAN ENDURE HARDSHIP Master Jun Hong Lu: Up on a mountain, there were two identical looking stones with very different endings in life after a few years. The first one was carved into a Buddha statue and was regarded with veneration by the people; while the second one was made […]
HOW SHOULD WE LEAD OUR LIFE? Master Jun Hong Lu: Let me tell you, if you wish to lead a happy life, practise Buddhism; if you wish to lead a blessed life, learn to be contented; if you wish to be worry-free, do not contend with others; if you wish for an unhindered mind, learn […]
WE NEED TO HAVE A SENSE OF CRISIS Master Jun Hong Lu: Once, there were two men who ran into a tiger in the forest. Immediately, the first man squatted down, took out a pair of sneakers from behind him and put them on. The second man saw what happened and scolded him, “What do […]
PRACTISE TOLERANCE Master Jun Hong Lu: We feed the jealousy and anger in us every single day; we grasp our hatred towards others and ourselves without letting go. Such feelings are like a wolf that causes harm to our hearts. Instead, we should learn to be tolerant towards the shortcomings of others as we have […]
HOW TO BE FREE FROM OUR INNER SUFFERING Master Jun Hong Lu: If you have the desire to change others, why not start by changing yourself. After all, someone who cannot be tolerant towards sentient beings is someone who is unforgiving towards themselves – a mentality that ultimately hurts no one but you. The suffering […]
LISTEN TWICE AS MUCH AS WE SPEAK Master Jun Hong Lu: One’s ability in arguing is not necessarily what is most valuable. After all, we have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. A true mind-cultivator is one who is adept at attentive listening and who […]
THE BATTLE OF THE TWO WOLVES Master Jun Hong Lu: An old Indian man once told his grandson: “Within us lies two wolves that fight with each other ferociously. One of them represents the anger, jealousy, arrogance, fear and shame in us while the other represents our gentleness, kindness, gratitude, hope, smiles and love”. The […]
REQUESTING A CHILD TO FINANCE IN MERITORIOUS ACTS, BOTH THE MOTHER AND CHILDREN WILL HAVE MERITS Question: Some elderly mothers are not financially sound but wish to volunteer at many of Master Lu’s Public Talks; therefore, they approach their children to assist financially. Will this create a new karma for the mother to repay the […]
QUESTION 10: ACTIVATION OF INDIVIDUAL KARMIC OBSTACLES: DOES IT LEAD TO THE ERUPTION OF SHARED KARMA WITHIN THE FAMILY? Question: Does it lead to the eruption of shared karma within the family when an individual’s negative karma is being triggered? If someone in the family diligently eliminates his negative karmic debts, will it also clear […]
WE NEED TO HAVE A SENSE OF CRISIS Master Jun Hong Lu: Once, there were two men who ran into a tiger in the forest. Immediately, the first man squatted down, took out a pair of sneakers from behind him and put them on. The second man saw what happened and scolded him, “What do […]
WE HAVE NEVER REALLY LIVED LIFE IN ITS TRUEST SENSE Master Jun Hong Lu: We are in such a hurry to grow up, yet we lament our lost youth; we spent the bulk of our youth chasing after money at the expense of our health, then we use all of that money to regain our […]
BEING MINDFUL OF OUR SPEECH IS AS GOOD AS GUARDING OUR MINDS Master Jun Hong Lu: Most of our negative karma is derived from our speech. There is a traditional Chinese saying, “misfortune finds its way out through the mouth; illness finds its way in through the mouth”. Hence, being mindful of our speech is […]
HOW SHOULD WE ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH CONDITIONS Master Jun Hong Lu: An objective of Buddhism is for us to learn to let nature take its course and bear with all vexations, setbacks and failures we meet with in the course of our journey. Correspondingly, acting in accordance with conditions is encapsulated in our non-susceptibility […]
THE BUDDHIST MENTALITY OF LETTING GO Master Jun Hong Lu: We live in agony because we care too much; we hurt ourselves and others because we are filled with doubt. Take things lightly and we will live life happily; learn to let go and we will gain wisdom. After all, we exist as mere visitors […]
THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTIVATING COMPASSION Master Jun Hong Lu: Compassion can increase one’s longevity and nurture one’s positive energy. When we witness the compassion of Guan Yin Bodhisattva, we learn that one should always aim to be free from the notion of self — never to be overly selfish but instead, to be ever willing […]
DO NOT BE DEPRESSED BY LIFE’S TROUBLES Master Jun Hong Lu: Oftentimes we feel that the sun had refused to shine when we are faced with the little setbacks and worries in our life – “…why is life so unfair?”, “…what are all these hassles about?” In fact, there is no end to our worries, […]
MAINTAIN A HUMBLE MENTALITY Master Jun Hong Lu: When our Buddhism practice tells us to give in to others, it is not an act of conceding that we are inferior to them; rather it is a mental attitude that is neither haughty nor humble. There are some who seem to stand out from the crowd, […]
THE FOUR STRINGS OF SUFFERING IN LIFE Master Jun Hong Lu: Please remember, there are four sufferings in life that are like strings that entangle and baffle us in life: not being able to see through our confusion and disagreements with others, hating to part with ephemeral luxuries, being unable to take defeat in the […]
THINK TWICE BEFORE LOSING YOUR TEMPER Master Jun Hong Lu: When you are angry and have yet to think things through, do not act recklessly. When you have yet to understand the truth of the matter, do not lose your temper. These wise words retain their relevance even till today, just like the traditional Chinese […]
REPAY ALL OUR KARMIC DEBTS IN ORDER TO BE TRULY CAREFREE Master Jun Hong Lu: As humans, we must respect the law. As Buddhist practitioners, we must abide by the law of heaven. As people who wish to save sentient beings and help the deceased ascend to a higher spiritual realm, we must understand the […]
