LET GO OF FAME AND FORTUNE OF THE MATERIAL WORLD, RENOUNCE THE WORLD AT HEART BY PURIFYING THE MIND OF IMPURITIES, AND EMULATE THE BUDDHA’S UNIVERSAL LOVE FOR SENTIENT BEINGS
Master Jun Hong Lu: Today is the Buddha’s Renunciation Day. Renunciate means avoid being contaminated by the worldly filth, to gain wisdom and attain liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
The Lord Buddha renounced self-interests for the benefit of sentient beings. To conduct ourselves as a Buddhist practitioner, we should not be self-obsessed as we walk our path of life. In fact, we should live for sentient beings. Some 2,500 years ago, the Buddha understood that to lead an ascetic life is the necessary path to Buddhahood.
We may not have been ordained as a monk, but we must behave like one, forging ahead with steadfastness in our spiritual cultivation, and renouncing the world at heart. Never be caught up in our own interests, and lead a selfish life that only revolves around ourselves. Instead, we should prioritise others before ourselves.
Let go of the worldly fame and fortune, reign in our distracting thoughts and purify our mind of impurities. Only then can we transcend the cycle of rebirth for good and attain enlightenment in this lifetime.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Buddhism In Plain Terms, Volume 12 Chapter 10