For any Dharma Door, if there isn’t a good teacher, that Dharma Door will struggle to thrive. However, if there is a teacher who is highly skilled, well-respected, and admired by everyone, that Dharma Door will flourish. In my journey of practising Buddhism, I tread carefully, as if walking on thin ice, always mindful of the path I must take. I can see through worldly desires as if they were a sheer curtain, allowing me to perceive the true realm of the Bodhisattvas. For you, however, the curtain is much thicker, blocking your view of what lies ahead. You can only catch a small glimpse. My hope for you is to remove this curtain entirely, to let go of everything. Only then can you cultivate a pure and clear mind.
The more I speak, the greater sympathy I feel for you because I see how pitiful your situation is. You know so little, yet there is so much you need to learn, and every day you remain preoccupied with worldly matters. You haven’t been able to let go as I have. Let me tell you: the more wisdom you gain, the fewer troubles you’ll encounter; the more you cultivate your mind, the more peaceful and harmonious your family will become; the more Buddhist scriptures you recite, the smoother your life’s path will be. But the pity is that you don’t understand. You mistake the real for the illusory and the illusory for the real. Everything in this human world is an illusion, yet you believe it’s real, tirelessly battling the stormy seas of suffering. Though your original soul is as divine as a Bodhisattva, and your heart inherently kind, you’ve discarded these good qualities, replacing them with harsh words, toxic energy, and the poisons of greed, anger, ignorance, and arrogance.
People are saying that I now possess boundless Dharma power. However, this boundless Dharma power simply reflects its righteousness—it is a manifestation of the infinite nature of the Buddha-dharma. The purpose of my return to this world, as you’ve heard on the radio, is straightforward. I didn’t come only to spread this Dharma Door but also to confront the forces of evil. First, I must help my disciples conquer their inner demons, and then I’ll confront the external forces of evil. But even as I battle these forces, my compassion remains unwavering—I continue to guide, persuade, and assist them in transcending to higher spiritual realms. My hope is that everyone who follows these Buddhist teachings will attain eternal life.
Let me explain why Bodhisattvas look at sentient beings with their eyes three-tenths open and seven-tenths closed. I’ve mentioned this before: because the human world is an illusion, the Bodhisattvas avoid focusing too much on the emptiness of this Dharma realm. But there’s another reason behind it. Imagine this—when a person feels deep compassion, their eyes are never wide open, nor are they completely shut. Instead, they remain partially closed, about seven-tenths shut and three-tenths open. When someone feels pity for another, they might think, “Oh, how could this child end up like this?” This compassion comes from the heart, and in that moment, their eyes naturally wouldn’t open too wide, right?
This is how the Bodhisattvas view us, with immense compassion. Their eyes are gently lowered because they cannot bear to abandon us. The three-tenths open symbolise their unwillingness to let go of us, while the seven-tenths closed somewhat reflect their compassionate disappointment that we have not yet realised our full potential in spiritual practice. This compassion is embodied in the eyes of the Bodhisattvas. When I see Guan Yin Bodhisattva, I feel an overwhelming urge to cry. Seeing her makes me feel as though I’ve done far too little. Sometimes, the feeling is like looking at one’s own mother—a mother who has done so much for us. Think of how hard it is for a mother to raise her children, yet some children nowadays still mistreat their mothers, shouting at them, hitting them, or worse.
My mother passed away when I was young, and it was Guan Yin Bodhisattva who taught me early on that what you have can vanish in an instant. Guan Yin Bodhisattva helped me realise that nothing in this human world lasts forever—this is the reality of impermanence. From a young age, the Bodhisattva gave me this test: whether I could let go. You must be able to let go. At the time, I often wondered, “Why did this happen to my family? We lacked nothing, we had everything we needed, and life was so good—so why did it happen?” That why became the reason I started propagating the Buddha-dharma to guide and awaken sentient beings. I began learning from Shakyamuni Buddha. When he was a prince, he witnessed the suffering of the human world—birth, old age, sickness, and death—and was so moved by its sorrow that he decided to seek a way to bring relief.
Similarly, I saw how much people suffer, and it made me think, “I want to make everyone happy. I don’t want people to die. I want them to live each day with happiness.” But true happiness can only be achieved through the Buddha-dharma. Without the Buddha-dharma, you will never find true happiness. This is something I deeply understand. I have faced many hardships in my life, but how did I overcome them? It was through unwavering faith. From a young age, I prayed to the Buddhas and recited Buddhist scriptures. Back then, I didn’t recite much—mostly the Heart Sutra—but I kept praying without stopping. In my heart, I held a great belief: as long as you pray to the Buddhas, anything can be resolved.
I just explained that everyone has blessings, but when you accumulate too much negative karma, your misdeeds overshadow those blessings and drive them away. However, when we sincerely cultivate our minds, practise Buddhism, and recite Buddhist scriptures under the guidance of Guan Yin Bodhisattva, we gain the greatest blessings. As long as you believe in Guan Yin Bodhisattva for even one day, you draw those blessings closer to you for that day. Do you understand? Practising Buddhism doesn’t mean treating the Buddha as an idol to worship. Many people mistakenly think that cultivation is about seeing Bodhisattvas as mere idols—bowing to them every day and saying things like, “Bodhisattva, you are so great. Please save me.” This is a misunderstanding.
Worshipping Guan Yin Bodhisattva, or any Buddha or Bodhisattva, is meant to inspire you to cultivate your mind, practise Buddhism, and recite scriptures. It is to help you awaken, pay homage to the Buddha within yourself, and take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. As I’ve told you before: the Buddha resides within your heart; taking refuge in the Buddha is, in essence, returning to your own inherent Buddha-nature. The Dharma manifests through your actions; by embodying righteous conduct, you uphold the Buddha-dharma. Therefore, when you take refuge, you are essentially returning to your true self, as your inherent nature is that of the Buddha. The Sangha is sustained through discipline; one who comprehends and adheres to the precepts is, in reality, a member of the Sangha. Since monks observe numerous precepts, if we, as lay practitioners, can observe these precepts, we too embody the essence of a virtuous monk.
Now, let me continue. You must use your heart to connect with your inherent nature and conscience. What does it mean to “connect”? It means reflecting deeply on your conscience before you speak and examining your true nature before you act. Are you staying true to your conscience? Are your actions today honouring the Bodhisattvas? Are your wrongdoings a betrayal of the love and care your parents have shown you? This is why practising Buddhism requires pure thoughts. What are pure thoughts? Pure means clean, and thoughts refer to your intentions. Only with clean intentions can you achieve the true Dharma. If your thoughts are impure, the Dharma Door you practise cannot be true Dharma. And if a Dharma Door teaches impure things, you should question its legitimacy. Do you understand?
I never comment on or judge any specific Dharma Door or spiritual practice. Instead, I explain the principles so you can comprehend them, reflect on them, and judge for yourself. If a Dharma Door teaches greed, anger, or ignorance, what kind of Dharma Door is that? If a Dharma Door teaches gambling or promises that reciting a scripture will make you rich, would you dare to follow it? Do you understand? I don’t want to spell these things out too explicitly because I want you to discover the truth for yourselves. What does righteousness mean? What is deviation? I’ve always taught you that righteousness requires aligning your right intentions with the right time and context to achieve true righteousness. What does this mean? Righteousness depends on time and context. For example, something you did in the past might have been right at the time, but doing the same thing in the present could clearly be wrong. If you cling to past actions, insisting they’re right despite changing times, you’re mistaken. Isn’t this quite common among many elderly people? They hold onto their past achievements or dwell on how things were when they were younger. But now, they no longer have their jobs, financial independence, or influence. Yet, they go to their children’s homes, bossing around their sons and daughters-in-law, dictating what they should do. Do you think that’s appropriate behaviour?
The same applies to practising Buddhism. When spreading the Buddha-dharma, you must align with the current time and context. You cannot use outdated concepts to explain today’s world, nor can you compare the present with the past. True wisdom requires this understanding, right? Can you really compare the past with the present? Time is constantly changing—how can you hold on to comparisons between what was and what is? Ladies in the audience, when you were young, you could pick and choose, and everyone wanted to be with you. But now, do you think as many people would still want to be with you? Time waits for no one, and circumstances change. The same can be said of Dharma Doors. Today, people’s perspectives are constantly evolving and transforming. I’m not suggesting that the Buddha-dharma itself changes—it doesn’t. What changes are the methods we use to teach and practise it. Take studying at a university, for example: the teaching methods used in the past and those used today may differ, but the purpose of education remains the same.
“Respect your teacher and their teachings, and practise according to the teachings.” This means you must rely on your teacher and the fundamental principles of the Buddha-dharma to cultivate your mind. These principles never change; only the methods adapt. What are these principles? They are to eliminate greed, anger, and ignorance. What do we cultivate? We cultivate awakening, rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, attainment of the Four Sagely Realms and Buddhahood, and ultimate enlightenment. What do we study? We study the wondrous Dharma. If there were only one Dharma Door to practise, why would the Bodhisattvas speak of 84,000 Dharma Doors in the Buddhist scriptures?
At the same time, why is there the concept of “The Dharma Door of Non-Duality”? This means that once you’ve chosen a particular Dharma Door, you should focus on it and not be distracted by others. It does not mean there is only one Dharma Door in all of Buddhism. Do you understand? For example, if you’re taking a train to Beijing, then just stay on the train. If you’re taking a horse carriage to Beijing, then remain in the horse carriage. If you’ve boarded a plane, don’t say, “Oh, I wish I were on the train instead,” or get off in Tianjin to switch to a train. Many people get tired of taking the train and think, “I should have just flown instead.” This creates unnecessary complications. The destination is the same—Beijing. The difference is simply the method of travel.
This is why in Buddhist practice, you must be dedicated and focus on one effective method. This is the essence of the wondrous Dharma.