When practising Buddhism, you should become increasingly diligent; when cultivating your mind, you should achieve greater clarity with each step. As a person, you should strive to embody what it truly means to be a decent human being. Your spiritual state should grow ever closer to that of a Bodhisattva. Your actions must align with these principles, as the more you cultivate, the higher your spiritual state will ascend. Once you reach a certain level, various circumstances or situations will arise. At that point, you must remain steady, exercising self-restraint and ensuring you are not swayed by these circumstances. Stay diligent and continue advancing in your spiritual practice.
What are “blessings”? Blessings are cultivated through our actions. You must learn to recognise your blessings and cherish them. What does it mean to “recognise blessings”? Every person inherently possesses blessings, but how can you ensure they endure? Similarly, every person carries their own share of blessings. So why do some people seem more blessed than others? A person’s blessings are the result of their own cultivation.
It’s like a piece of land—whatever you plant in it will grow. If you sow unwholesome seeds, you’ll reap negative outcomes. If you plant a good watermelon seed, it will grow into a healthy vine and eventually produce a good watermelon. But if the seed is bad, the fruit will also be bad. The land itself doesn’t change; in the same way, everyone inherently possesses blessings. So why do some people enjoy blessings while others don’t? For some, heavy karmic obstacles overshadow their blessings. Others, who consistently engage in good deeds, accumulate merit, and spread kindness, will see their blessings flourish. Don’t blame others for having or lacking blessings. Fortune or misfortune, in truth, are of our own making.
Today, I’ll talk about the maturation of wholesome and unwholesome seeds from several perspectives. Everyone carries both good seeds and bad seeds in their heart. These seeds are like the cells in our body—some are healthy, while others are harmful (like cancer cells). Their development depends on maintaining a balance. These seeds will mature faster as the conditions for their growth are met more quickly. For instance, if you continuously water and fertilise the unwholesome seeds within you, they will grow rapidly. Similarly, if your body contains cancer cells and you persist in smoking, drinking, or engaging in harmful behaviours, those cancer cells will multiply faster than usual. Conversely, if you nurture the wholesome seeds within you, you’ll reap positive outcomes, right? Whether good or bad seeds thrive ultimately depends on the one sowing and tending to them. If you refrain from bad deeds, the bad seeds within you will remain dormant, like seeds in hibernation.
Let me give you a simple example: if I know I can’t handle the temptation of money, then I avoid looking at or handling it altogether. This keeps the unwholesome seed dormant, preventing it from sprouting. Similarly, if someone struggles with lust, they should avoid looking at or interacting with people they find attractive. Even a quick look that stirs their inner cravings is like watering and fertilising that unwholesome seed. Do you understand? You must work to eliminate your bad habits—prevent unwholesome conditions from growing and instead focus on cultivating wholesome ones. This is critically important.
Why do monks retreat to the mountains to practise? It’s to avoid worldly troubles and distractions. Ordinary people in the human world are often referred to as “troublesome people” in temples. Think about it—imagine a tranquil temple where everyone is focused on cultivating their minds, reciting scriptures, and living to the rhythm of morning bells and evening drums. Then, these “troublesome people” arrive at the temple, gossiping and stirring up drama. Today, they say, “Did you hear what this monk said?” Tomorrow, it’s, “Do you know what that monk said?” Gossip and chatter eventually disrupt the peace of the temple, throwing it into chaos. This is, in reality, a form of karmic obstacle. Why do practitioners go to the mountains to cultivate their minds? It’s because they want to avoid being disturbed by these “troublesome people.” From dawn to dusk, they create turmoil, leaving practitioners with only a small window of peace at night, when they can finally feel the presence of the Bodhisattvas as they lie in bed.
So remember: seeds with potential will only sprout when the right conditions arise. If it’s a good seed, it will mature when the time is right. Let me give you a simple example: imagine you had a habit of stealing as a child but later learned to avoid it and control yourself. Although the bad seed still exists within you, it won’t sprout or grow as long as you resist it, making it seem as though it isn’t there. However, if you surround yourself with bad influences—friends who enjoy stealing—the bad habit from your childhood will resonate with their energy, and this negative karmic condition will ripen. You’ll find yourself stealing with them. That’s why it’s so important to avoid bad actions and to distance yourself from negative influences like greed, anger, ignorance, stealing or robbery. If you can resist these tendencies, a significant advantage is that it will accelerate the maturation of good conditions. Without negative conditions holding you back, your positive conditions will have the space to mature more quickly.
Why is it that some people’s prayers to Guan Yin Bodhisattva don’t receive a response? It’s because they carry many unresolved negative karmic conditions. Until these negative conditions are reduced, their prayers are unlikely to be answered. On the other hand, if someone has fewer negative conditions and bad habits, when they bow before Guan Yin Bodhisattva and pray, their wishes are often fulfilled almost immediately. This is because they are pure, and the Bodhisattva sees this and responds right away. Conversely, if you have very few positive karmic conditions, haven’t done many good deeds, and lack accumulated merit and virtue, aren’t you, in effect, accelerating the formation of negative conditions? For example, if a doctor advises you to go to bed early and follow certain routines during the day, but you ignore the advice and stay up late every night, over time, aren’t you speeding up the deterioration of your health? While I may not specialise in medicine, I can certainly explain this principle to you.
It’s similar to products that claim to activate cells in your body. These cells are meant to be utilised when necessary, but if you activate them prematurely, the results can backfire. It’s like taking supplies out of a warehouse before they’re needed—depleting reserves too early can lead to unintended consequences.
Let me give you a simple example: imagine someone who uses drugs or other substances. Why do they seem so energised and hyperactive on stage, singing and dancing as if they’ve lost control? It’s because they’re afraid of lacking enthusiasm while performing, so they rely on these substances to stimulate themselves and project that energy onto others. This kind of contagious energy stems from the artificial boost provided by the drugs. But once the effect wears off, they’re left completely drained, almost collapsing. Why? Because they’ve depleted their body’s reserves, tapping into their stored energy.
Similarly, when I give a Dharma Talk, I feel energised and speak passionately, putting my heart into explaining everything. But as soon as the event ends, I feel the need to sit down and rest. Why? Because intense focus draws upon your inner reserves.
Do you understand the meaning behind this? Humans have both wholesome and unwholesome seeds within them. You must extinguish the unwholesome seeds—avoid watering them—and instead, nurture the wholesome seeds with constant care. Only by doing so can you help the wholesome seeds grow larger and stronger, suppressing unwholesome seeds and overcoming bad habits.
The more kindness you nurture in your mind, the fewer negative thoughts will arise. Conversely, the more negativity you harbour, the less room there is for kindness. For instance, some supplements may activate certain parts of the body, but they can also stimulate both good and bad cells. This can disrupt your body’s natural balance, potentially leading to various health issues. That’s why maintaining balance is so important. Balance isn’t just physical—it’s also mental, and mental balance is the most crucial. This balance can be found in your heart. Practising Buddhism is about cultivating balance. If you can let go and think clearly, you’ll find balance. If you can’t, your mind will remain unbalanced. Isn’t that true?
Let me explain further: the maturation of good and bad seeds is closely tied to karma. If the seeds exist, so does karma. Within your body, you carry both wholesome and unwholesome seeds, along with their respective causes. Do you see? If you provide more water and nourishment to the wholesome seeds, they’ll grow quickly. But if you tend to the unwholesome seeds, they’ll grow larger and larger, eventually turning into disasters. When negative outcomes reach a certain point, calamity becomes inevitable. For example, anger might start as a simple burst of emotion. That anger disrupts your inner balance and gradually intensifies into rage. As rage deepens, it transforms into hatred. Hatred then evolves into a desire for revenge, and once that desire takes hold, it drives action—at this stage, disaster is unavoidable.
This is why so many wars persist in the world. Some nations remain trapped in perpetual conflict because the seeds of hatred are deeply rooted within their people. In some cases, children are born into these environments already conditioned to hate. Practising Buddhism teaches us not to activate or sustain negative causes. By preventing these unwholesome seeds from taking root and growing, we can minimise the harm they inflict on humanity.
If a person’s body had no exposure to harmful cells, their immune system would lack the ability to develop resistance. For example, after living in Australia for a long time, people often catch colds when they travel to other countries. In contrast, in regions with poorer sanitation, such as parts of Africa, people who have lived there for extended periods tend to fall ill less often. Why? Because living in overly clean environments can reduce the body’s ability to adapt, potentially weakening immunity over time.
In the human body, it’s natural for some unhealthy cells—representing negative causes—to exist. As long as you are human, they will always be present. However, it’s crucial to ensure that positive causes outweigh the negative ones. Only then can you achieve true balance. Let me give you a simple example. When cooking a sweet and sour dish, if you don’t add salt, the sweetness can taste strange. To make a proper sweet and sour dish, you must first add salt, then sugar, and finally vinegar. The resulting flavour is far better than if you used just sugar and vinegar. Similarly, when you stretch your arm forward, you first need to pull it back. Pulling back allows you to extend it further. If you don’t pull back, you can’t reach forward effectively—right? In the same way, if you have negative causes, you must restrain them so that your positive qualities can shine through. If you don’t hold back the negative, the positive cannot manifest. Negative traits must be controlled and corrected. Do not “water and fertilise” them; instead, you must suppress and subdue them.
Bad seeds lead to bad outcomes, while good seeds lead to good outcomes. Hence, both negative and positive outcomes are encapsulated in the saying: “Disaster and blessings have no fixed door; they come only to those who summon them.” Why do disasters and blessings occur? Because they are “summoned by one’s own actions.” Disasters are the result of your own actions, just as blessings are brought about by your good deeds. If you are suffering today, it’s because you planted negative causes over a long period. Prolonged negativity, resentment, and hatred damage your heart, eventually leading to illness or even death.
This is why, as Buddhists, we must understand karma. The concept of “karma” is so vast that even if I were to explain it to you for an entire lifetime, I couldn’t cover it all. Karma is the most important lesson in life and the greatest responsibility passed down to us by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Living in this human world, it is our duty to help everyone understand the law of karma. When I travel to spread the Dharma, my central message always revolves around this one word: “karma.”