你们想想看，师父每天多少事情？天上人间地府的事情天天变化，师父都要关心。不要以为你们几个徒弟老实一点，师父就没有事情。大家要懂啊，一生到底忙些什么？一个人的命是归于谁的？怎么来的？又要到哪里去？ 如果一辈子就这么稀里糊涂地走了，到死还不知道自己是靠谁才能这么活着的。如果不好好修就这么走人了，还以为自己的前途美好无限呢。脑子看问题要看得清楚点，赶紧学佛，不要再稀里糊涂过日子了。
Think about it: how many things do I have to deal with every day? The affairs of the Heavens, the Human Realm, and the Underworld are constantly changing, and I must attend to them all. Don’t think that just because a few of you disciples are behaving yourselves, I have nothing to do. We must all understand: what are we actually busy with our whole lives? To whom does a person’s life belong? Where did it come from, and where is it going? If you go through life in a muddled way, and even at the point of death still do not understand what sustains your existence, then you have lived in confusion. If you leave without having cultivated properly, yet still think you have a “bright future” ahead of you, you are mistaken. You must learn to see things clearly. Start practising Buddhism as soon as possible—don’t continue living in a daze.
师父今天给大家讲“向内修”。修心要向内修。向内修是什么意思呢？就是要调整自己的闻法动机和发心。闻法动机是什么？就像你们现在很多人来拜佛，有的是为了自己身体好、长寿一点，有的是家里碰到困难。然而当你学佛动机不好的话，那菩萨是不会救的，因为和菩萨没有感应。所以要好好地修自己的心。如果为了某种目的来修心，这就叫动机不纯，菩萨也救不了的，因为本身他在求佛时就有孽障在身上了。但是有的人学佛就没有动机，没有什么事情要求的，只是很想要学佛，听人家介绍就很喜欢，这些人是与佛有缘。但是大部分人都是因为吃了苦、家里有灾难了，才开始找到这个法门的。所以学佛首先要调整自己闻法的动机和发心，也就是拜佛的发心和动机。如果你不知道发心而只知道表面上的闻法，实际上如同修法的影子一样。也就是在拜佛的时候不是你本人，是一个影子在拜。
Today, I want to talk to you about “Inward Cultivation.” To cultivate the mind, you must look inward. What does this mean? It means adjusting your motivation and your intention for seeking the Dharma. What is your motive for listening to the Dharma? Many people come to pray to the Buddha today because they want to be healthy or live longer, or because their families are facing difficulties. However, if your motivation for practising Buddhism is impure, the Bodhisattva will not be able to save you, because there is no spiritual resonance. You must cultivate your mind properly. If you are cultivating for a specific selfish purpose, your motivation is impure—the Bodhisattva cannot help because you are already carrying the weight of your own karmic obstacles while you pray.
On the other hand, some people practise Buddhism without a specific motive; they aren’t asking for anything. They simply have a deep desire to learn. They heard about it and loved it immediately—these are the people with a strong affinity with the Buddha. However, most people only turn to the Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door after experiencing suffering or misfortune. This is why the first step in practising Buddhism is to adjust your motivation and intention to seek the Dharma—the motivation and intention to pray to the Buddha. If you don’t understand the intention and only focus on the surface-level teachings, your practice becomes nothing more than a shadow. It’s as if it’s not actually “you” praying, but just a shadow going through the motions.
当一个人自己心里不纯洁，就算跪下来磕头，那也只是你的影子而不是自身本性中真正的实体，所以称之为“相似佛法”。意思就是你好像在学佛法，好像在闻佛法，你好像在念经，又好像在拜佛，实际上你并没有往心里面修，你没有用真心，这就是“相似佛法”——很相像，但并不是它。比方说一个人走过来了，他还误以为是他的朋友，实际上并不是的，这就叫相似，就是因为他不是真的。你们学佛学法如果不是真的，那就是假的，没有什么道理可以讲的。你没有真心学佛就是假的，假的反面就是真的。所以动机一定要清净纯洁，我今天很干净，我就要好好地拜观世音菩萨。
When a person’s heart is impure, even if they kneel and bow, it is only their shadow performing the act, not the true entity of their inherent nature. This is what we call “Semblance Dharma.” It means you seem to be practising the Dharma, you seem to be listening to the teachings, and you seem to be reciting sutras and praying to the Buddha—but you aren’t actually cultivating from the heart. You aren’t being sincere. This is “Semblance Dharma”—it looks very similar, but it’s not the real thing. It’s like seeing someone walking towards you and thinking they’re a friend, only to realise they aren’t. That’s what “semblance” means—it’s not the real deal. In your Buddhist practice, if it isn’t real, it’s fake. There’s no middle ground. If you are not sincere, your practice is a sham. The opposite of a sham is the truth. Your motivation must be clear and pure. You should be able to say: “Today, I am clean, and I am going to pay respect to Guan Yin Bodhisattva with all my heart.”
一定要重视学佛学法，就是说要很认真很严肃地重视这件事情。学佛就是学菩萨，学法就是学佛法，佛和法是两个概念。学菩萨，学的是大慈大悲救度众生；学佛法， 就一定要克制贪瞋痴慢疑，要去十善道而不要去十恶道， 这些都是佛法。要重视学佛学法，不能把它当成一般的知识和资讯来吸收，而是要往里面修，深刻地去理解。
You must take practising Buddhism and the Dharma seriously; you need to approach it with a genuine sense of earnestness. Practising Buddhism is about learning from the Bodhisattvas, and studying the Dharma is about learning the Buddha’s teachings—these are two distinct concepts. Learning from the Bodhisattvas means learning great compassion and the vow to guide and awaken all sentient beings. Studying the Dharma means you must restrain your greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt; it means choosing the ten wholesome kinds of actions over the ten unwholesome ones. All of these are part of the Buddha-dharma. Take them seriously. You cannot treat these teachings as just general knowledge or pieces of information to absorb; instead, you must cultivate within yourself and seek a deep understanding.
要听闻佛法。就是当你听到、看到、接触到佛法的时候，你的心态不能轻傲。师父给你们讲课，“哦，我听过了”，“哦，我学过了”，这就叫“轻傲”。虽然听过了，你听得懂吗？讲过了，你能理解吗？佛法是哲学，却比哲学更深奥，所以每次听每次都会有不同的感受，它是让人在每个特定的环境去不同地理解佛法。举个简单例子，有钱时候的“贪”和没钱时候的“贪”，这就是两个不同的概念。我因为没钱非要得到钱，那叫“贪”；那么我已经很有钱了，我继续要“贪”那也是贪，但有了钱的贪就更厉害了。所以每段佛法，每句话在理解时都是不一样的。所以我需要你们好好地理解师父每次跟你们讲佛讲法的道理，要往深层里去想佛法。如果实在不能与佛法相应的，就要以清净心、用善良的心来克制自己的恶念。那什么叫“实在与佛法不相应”呢？就是你实在做的那些事情不如理如法时，就要用自己很安静的心、明白的心，实际上就是用自己善良清净的心去除不清净心。不清净心是指“贪心，恶意，恶念”。那不善不恶的念头是什么？就是无意念。我做某件事情不恶也不善，也就是说，我没有想法，这本身也是一种清净心。我不去贪，也没觉得一定要把别人的东西占为己有，没有这种想法，就是不恶不善，就叫“无意念”。
Listen to and receive the Buddha-dharma properly. When you hear, see, or come into contact with the teachings, your attitude must not be arrogant or dismissive. When I give a Dharma talk, some might think, “Oh, I’ve heard this before,” or “Yeah, I’ve already learned that.” This is called arrogance. Even if you have heard it before, do you truly understand it? Even if it has been explained, have you truly realised its meaning? Buddhism is a philosophy, but it is far more profound than any secular philosophy. Each time you hear it, you will gain a different insight. It allows you to understand it differently depending on your circumstances. For example, the “greed” of someone who has no money and the “greed” of someone who is already wealthy are not the same. Wanting money when you have none is greed; continuing to crave more when you already have plenty is also greed—but it is even stronger.
Therefore, every teaching, every sentence, carries different meanings depending on how it is understood. This is why I need you to truly grasp the meaning behind each of my Dharma talks and think about the Buddha-dharma on a deeper level. If you find it very difficult to resonate with the Dharma in a certain situation, then you must use a pure and kind heart to restrain your unwholesome thoughts. What does it mean to find it “very difficult to resonate with the Dharma”? It means that your actions are not in accordance with principle and the Dharma. At such times, you must use a calm, clear, and kind heart—your pure nature—to remove your impure thoughts. Impure thoughts include greed, ill will, and harmful intentions. And what about thoughts that are neither good nor bad? That is “non-intention.” If you do something without a specific thought behind it—no greed, no desire to take what belongs to others—it’s neither good nor bad. This “non-intentional” state of mind is also a form of purity.
要深入地学习佛法，是指结合自己的实践、结合自己的生活体验来学习佛法，那样学出来的感受会不一样。比如今天师父看了图腾告诉你，身体要当心，你的腰要当心。当你腰还没有痛的时候，你就不会注意自己的腰，也不会太当心的。一旦等到你腰痛的时候，那个时候师父再给你说：“我早就跟你说腰要痛的。”你说：“对呀。” 可是你已经痛成这个样，你说感觉是一样的吗？这就叫“深入”了。所以说当你没有困难的时候求菩萨和有困难的时候再求菩萨，感觉能一样吗？
To study the Dharma deeply means integrating it into your own life and practical experiences. When you learn this way, the feeling is completely different. For example, if I perform a Totem reading today and tell you to be careful because your lower back is going to give you trouble, you might not pay much attention while you’re still feeling fine. But once that lower back pain actually hits, and I say, “I told you this would happen,” you’ll say, “You were right!” But by then, you’re already in agony. Is the feeling the same as when I first warned you? Of course not. Similarly, would you say the feeling is the same when you pray to the Bodhisattva without difficulties, compared to when you pray during hardship? Of course not.
要“智慧如海”。一个人的聪明智慧要像海一样深和大。人有的时候做事情总是说：“哎呀，这个事情我怎么没有想到呢？哎呀，我早就应该想到了。”这就说明你这个人的智慧不长进，而没有生出智慧。就像现在有人说： “我怎么不早点学师父的法门呢？”很多人到死都不知道，有的人到死了才知道，那就晚了。
You must develop wisdom as vast as the sea. A person’s wisdom should be as deep and expansive as the ocean. Sometimes people do things and then say, “Oh, why didn’t I think of that? I should have known better!” This just shows that your wisdom isn’t growing—true wisdom has not arisen. It’s like people saying, “Why didn’t I start practising this Dharma Door sooner?” Many people spend their whole lives without ever knowing, and some only realise the truth when they are on their deathbed. By then, it’s too late.
我们平时讲话，在种因的时候，还是会不当心。如果你们的“因”没有种好，那你们的“果”就一定不好。你们永远不要以为自己看不到菩萨、上帝，就可以欺骗自己。所以讲话一定要实事求是，做事一定要实事求是，那菩萨就一定会显灵。可是人往往最傻的就是，总以为自己很聪明，这里在求菩萨，那里却跟菩萨说谎，那就真是傻到底了！师父为什么求得灵呢？因为师父给观世音菩萨只讲真话，不讲假话。所以可千万不要自以为是地认为神佛都能随便骗骗的。
In our daily lives, we are often careless when we “plant causes” through our speech. If the cause you plant isn’t good, your result will inevitably be poor. Never make the mistake of thinking you can deceive yourself just because you can’t see the Bodhisattvas or God. You must be truthful in your speech and honest in your actions—only then will the Bodhisattvas respond. The height of human folly is thinking we are clever enough to lie to the Bodhisattvas while we are praying to them; that is being foolish to the core. Why are my prayers so effective? It’s because I only tell the truth to Guan Yin Bodhisattva. Never be so arrogant as to think you can just “pull a fast one” on the divine.
在菩提道上要消除违缘和自心的魔障。就是说在学习做菩萨的路上，要消除我们硬跟“缘”去拧的做法。明明这件事情做不到，我硬要去做到，就叫“违缘”。所以要等有这个缘分的时候再去做；没有这个缘分而拼命地去违背这个缘分，那你就一定会倒霉。比方说我心里很不喜欢这个人，可你一定要叫我违反这个“缘”去喜欢他，我一定很难过；明明你和他的恶缘很深，最近还不能化解掉， 可你一定要把它化掉，那最后的结局是更糟糕；你今天没有钱，但还是拼命地去用，那最后一定是没钱用——这就叫“违缘”，它带给你的是自心的魔障。因为你跟“缘” 硬顶着干，心里就会产生“魔障”。做不到的事情硬要去做，那不就是魔障来了吗？师父告诉你们，一本《大藏经》就在我们生活中，每一天很多人在博客上都在写、都在述说自己的经历。台长讲的是人间真实发生的事情，台长讲的都是真话，所以才有这么多人相信了。那些自私自利、只为自己想、不为别人想的人，到最后自己倒霉啊。所以在菩提道上要消除违缘和自心的魔障，是要立誓去改才行啊。
On the Bodhi Path, you must avoid going against conditions and eliminate the inner “demons” of the mind. This means that on the path of becoming a Bodhisattva, you must stop trying to “fight” against the natural flow of conditions. When something is clearly impossible, but you try to force it anyway—that’s called going against conditions. You should wait until the right conditions arise. If you desperately try to go against the grain when the conditions aren’t there, you are bound to meet with misfortune. For example, if I really don’t like someone, but you force me to go against that “affinity” and try to like them right now, I’ll be miserable. If there is a deep negative affinity between you and another person that cannot yet be resolved, but you insist on forcing a resolution immediately, the outcome will only be worse. If you have no money today but insist on spending big, you’ll end up broke. All of this is called going against conditions—and it creates “demons” in your mind. When you butt heads with the natural flow of things, your heart becomes troubled. Trying to force the impossible is exactly how these mental obstacles arise.
I tell you, the entire Tripitaka is mirrored in our daily lives; every day, people share their life stories and experiences on my blog. I speak about things that actually happen in the human world—I tell the truth, and that is why so many people believe. Those who are selfish and only think of themselves will eventually meet with misfortune. To avoid going against conditions and eliminate mental obstacles on the Bodhi Path, you must make a firm vow to change.
找出生死、证菩提的道。也就是说，我们活在这个世界上，一定要找出生和死到底是怎么回事，是怎样一条道？其实生死就是很简单的自然规律，有生就有死，有生就有灭。你生出来的那一天到懂事之后，你就应该珍惜生活中的每一分钟。难道孩子不睡棺材吗？很多孩子年轻的时候就死了，那是没有珍惜呀。我们已经虚度了太多的年华。你们想想，活到了今天，浪费了多少青春、多少生命？现在让你们带着一身病痛奔向坟墓，越走越近，而这些都是事实，不可逆转的。当你不了解生，又怎么会知道死呢？当你看到人家死了，就一定会想到生。师父给你们讲的都是真话。就如同现在我们的生活一样，如果我们不懂得积功德的话，那我们就没有功德，很简单的道理。一个不愿意做好事的人，你说他是好人还是坏人？“好”与“坏”就像个天平秤一样，一会儿高一会儿低。所以我们必须要做好人不能做坏人，那样半夜敲门才不会心惊，才睡得踏实。
We must also find the path to transcend birth and death and realise Bodhi. Living in this world, we have to figure out what life and death are really about—what path they represent. In reality, life and death are simple natural laws: where there is birth, there is death; where there is a beginning, there is an end. From the day you were born and old enough to understand things, you should have cherished every single minute. Don’t think that only the old pass away—many die young because they didn’t cherish their lives.
We have already wasted too much time. Think about it: how much of your youth and life have you thrown away? Now, many people carry illness and suffering, moving step by step closer to the end of life. These are facts that cannot be reversed. If you do not understand life, how can you understand death? When you see others pass away, it should prompt you to reflect on what it means to be alive.
I am telling you the plain truth. Just like our daily lives: if we don’t know how to accumulate merit and virtue, then we simply won’t have any—it’s that simple. If a person is unwilling to do good, would you call them a good person or a bad one? “Good” and “bad” are like a set of scales; they tip back and forth. We must choose to be good people so that we can sleep soundly at night without a guilty conscience.
师父不管有什么事情发生，都会坦然处之。因为师父的心中坚信有一个佛菩萨，有一个观世音菩萨在师父身上。师父也知道这个宇宙是绝对有主宰的，所以绝对不会让好人真正受苦，即使受苦也只是一段时间。就如同孽障来的时候，你可以排除它，但并不是说永久的让他受苦。举个简单例子，在二次大战时，多少人受苦，大家都认为没有真理在世界上。如果后面没有菩萨开眼，没有正的事物来压倒邪的事物，我们想想看，二战能结束吗？说不定法西斯还霸占全球呢？所以“人间正道是沧桑”，真的不容易啊。
No matter what happens, I face it with a calm and composed mind. This is because I have unwavering faith that the Bodhisattva—Guan Yin Bodhisattva—is with me. I know for a fact that there is a supreme power governing this universe, and it will never allow a good person to suffer indefinitely. Even if they do suffer, it is only for a time. When karmic obstacles arise, you can clear them; it doesn’t mean you are meant to suffer forever. Take the Second World War as an example. So many people suffered that they felt truth and justice no longer existed. But if the Bodhisattvas hadn’t “opened their eyes,” and if justice hadn’t overcome evil, could the war have ended? It is possible that Fascism might have dominated the world. As the saying goes, “The right path in the human world is full of trials and hardships”—it really isn’t easy.