Dear Buddhist friends,
Master Jun Hong Lu says, “It is the unyielding character that makes spiritual progress possible, and it is the self-confidence that can ensure your success in life.”
Your career isn’t just about earning a paycheck — it’s about accumulating blessings and transforming them into merit.
Here’s what you’ll learn from Master Jun Hong Lu’s timeless wisdom:
✅ How Past Lives and Present Choices Influence Your Path
✅ Overcome Greed, Lust & Attachment at Work
✅ Beat Burnout and Adapt with Wisdom
✅ Build Confidence & Overcome Self-Doubt
✅ Transform Blessings into Merit
💡 Want a truly meaningful career? Don’t miss these videos:
🎥 Your Career Choice Can Affect Your Destiny
🎥 From Stones to Gold: Unlocking Your True Potential
Stay tuned for daily wisdom and tips over the next two weeks to enrich your life and career! 🌱✨
< Your Career Choice Can Affect Your Destiny >
FACTORS THAT DETERMINE YOUR CAREER CHOICE
Question: There are many types of occupations with varied characteristics in this world. Some of them are ethical, while some are not.
Other than the meritorious blessings we accrued in our past lives, are there any other factors that may affect our career choices in our current lifetime? I would appreciate it if Master could elaborate on this.
Answer: Actually, our career choices are closely related to our family. You may notice that many children inherit their fathers’ careers. For a child to be born into a family where his father holds a relatively good profession, the child must have been into spiritual cultivation in his past lives (上辈子有修) and hence, the karmic reward he enjoys in his present life (有福报).
Conversely, if a child is born into a family where both his parents do not have a good job, it may suggest the child had been falling behind in his spiritual cultivation in his past life. This is the first reason. What about the second reason?
When you are making a choice, you need to know, just like how the environment has a bearing on your Buddhism learning, likewise, the people around you also play an important role in determining the choice you make in life. Hence, the people [1] you mix with will have a huge influence on your career choice.
Say for example, you are mingling with someone who works in an unethical industry, you will soon pick up all the immoral habits.
If you make friends with people in highly-regarded professions, even if you are not on par with them, they will encourage you to catch up with them. In a way, this is your blessing. Hence, you should treasure such positive affinities and quell negative ones (要珍惜善缘，去除恶缘).
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s World Buddhist Fellowship Meeting (Q&A Session), Hong Kong SAR, China, 2 July 2016 (Question 6)
WHEN FACED WITH CAREER-RELATED OBSTACLES, ONE SHOULD ABSTAIN FROM LUST
Caller: Master Lu, currently all my prayers seem to be quite efficacious. Comparatively, for prayers related to my career, there seems to be no effect whatsoever. Why is this so?
Master Jun Hong Lu: That is simple. Career is intimately related to your mind. When your mind is clouded by fleeting thoughts, you will definitely face more obstacles in your career. For example, if you keep reading pornographic materials from magazines and newspapers, your mind will falter; and once that happens, your career will be affected right away. You should also avoid any sexual-related news in newspapers.
Caller: Ok, I understand.
Master Jun Hong Lu: Because once you read it, it will affect your career as well. Most career problems are closely linked to one’s lustful thoughts. In fact, those who are intricately involved in unhealthy sexual relationships can run out of luck. Take a look around you and you may notice that nothing untoward seems to befall some people who are involved in corruption but, the moment they get involved in unwholesome relationship with women, all their dishonest dealings will start to unravel.
Source: Wenda20120422A 17:22, Master Jun Hong Lu’s call-in radio program
INCORPORATE BUDDHISM INTO YOUR LIFE
Question: A fellow Buddhist practitioner is a business owner. In order to win more business, he will need to think of all sorts of ideas, for example, on how to be more competitive. As such, he finds it hard to attain a tranquil mind (很难有清净心). What should he do?
Answer: It’s unavoidable to have a competitive and greedy mindset in business. Otherwise, one would not venture into it. However, as a Buddhist practitioner, you should tame your greed and embrace the mentality that you will only earn your due, and for what is not rightfully yours, you should not even think about it (该我赚的我赚，不该我的我多一分也不要). Only with such a mindset would you be able to gradually improve in your spiritual cultivation.
Say, you are selling something, you should only earn your due, not a penny more, not a penny less. If you jack up the price when things are selling well, you are being greedy.
As a Buddhist practitioner, Buddhism is to be incorporated into your daily life (生活就是学佛). Do not let your life be dictated by greed, hatred and ignorance. As a matter of fact, the way you run your business should be made part of your Buddhist practice. If you are overcome by greed in your business, how would it be possible for you to do well in your spiritual cultivation? Hence, it is very important for you to conquer and remind yourself, “Isn’t it just a little money? It’s ok not to make this money today, who knows one day it will come to me, one way or another”.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Discourse (Question 63), 25 August 2013
BRIEF SOLITUDE HELPS CLEAR ONE’S MIND AND GAIN MENTAL STRENGTH
Master Jun Hong Lu: Our minds must always be pure, and we should constantly spend brief periods in solitude (小闭关). Spending time in solitude helps to clear and free our mind from all thoughts. Detach yourself from worldly matters and devote yourself to performing recitation from day to night to instil a sense of peace within you. Even if you only have an hour to spare, retreat into a room with the door closed to recite your scriptures. This is what it means to be in solitude and emptying your mind.
To retreat into solitude is to cast aside all the distracting thoughts for a minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes and so on, to solely focus your mind on Guan Yin Bodhisattva and nothing else when performing recitation. You are also not supposed to engage in a conversation nor answer any call, and to maintain an empty state of mind.
Every time you complete reciting a scripture, make it a point to pause momentarily, empty yourself out before resuming your recitation with an empty mind again. You have to cultivate such a mental state (思维). If you are successful in doing so, you will be able to avert catastrophe as you are able to spiritually connect with Guan Yin Bodhisattva the minute you quiet your mind. When your mind is clouded with unwholesome and distracting thoughts, you will lack vitality, mental strength and you won’t be able to find a place in your heart for Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Buddhism In Plain Terms, Volume 6 Chapter 48
HOW TO MAINTAIN A BALANCE BETWEEN TIME SPENT ON WORK AND RECITATION
Caller: Greetings to you Master Lu! I am new to Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door and I would like to seek your advice on how to achieve and maintain a balance between time spent between work and recitation?
Master Jun Hong Lu: Maintaining a balance between work and recitation is similar to maintaining your daily work-life balance. You have to first maintain the equilibrium in your heart. As and when you feel like performing recitation, you should seize whatever time possible to do it. You don’t necessarily have to recite at a fixed time. Whenever you have spare time on hand, instead of wasting it on unwholesome thoughts, you should just stay focused on performing your recitation.
Caller: Noted. Thank you.
Master Jun Hong Lu: Bear in mind, performing recitation has the benefit of eliminating disasters and resolving your troubles. So, you should try to do your recitation as and when you are able to.
Caller: Yes. I was on leave recently and I have been performing recitation diligently. During this period, I felt a sense of serenity. However, as I will be resuming work in February, I am feeling scared and at a loss as I do not know how to maintain the balance.
Master Jun Hong Lu: Fear not. Insist on performing your recitation regardless of whatever hardship and fatigue you have to endure. Embrace Bodhisattva in your heart and you can be assured that you will never lose the dharma.
Caller: I will do that. My gratitude to you, Master Lu.
Source: Wenda20160129 01:18:53, Master Jun Hong Lu’s call-in radio program
RECITATION OF BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES CAN TRANSFORM YOUR PERSPECTIVE AND HENCE, THE OUTCOME OF LIFE
Master Jun Hong Lu: We should always let nature take its course. In many of our dealings in life, we should adopt the attitude of going with the flow. Learn to adapt to whatever environment we are in and start to turn things around (去启动和转动). This means when faced with challenges, we should turn things around so that they will move towards the right direction, and when things are going well for us, we should strive to make them even better. Do you understand?
If you feel uneasy or unhappy at work, you can turn it around. How do you do this? By reciting Buddhist scriptures and making an effort to nurture good relationships with others (搞好人际关系). For non-Buddhist practitioners, their version of turning things around is through giving gifts, buying others meals, or putting up a smiling face to please others. These are also ways to turn situations around, but they are considered instinctive in nature.
Conversely, through the spiritual approach, there isn’t a need for you to give others gifts, host or even buy them meals. If you can keep reciting Buddhist scriptures, very soon, you will begin to see others in a different light. From sentiments like, “Why do I hate him so much; I simply can’t stand his ugly look”, to “He looks much more pleasant now”. This is made possible through the recitation of the Buddhist scriptures.
When one’s state of mind changes, so too will his consciousness and hence, their perspective of the actual material world in life will thus be altered. Do you understand?
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Buddhism In Plain Terms, Volume 6 Chapter 9
THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE WHEN SWITCHING JOBS
Caller: My current job is going well for me. The employee benefits are reasonably attractive, but my job keeps me extremely busy and honestly speaking, it is very taxing. Hence, I’m seriously considering switching jobs. Unfortunately, the company is short-handed and I would feel really bad if I were to quit now. It’s that feeling of letting my co-workers down. I’d appreciate it if Master could give me some guidance.
Master Jun Hong Lu: That’s very simple. If you feel that the job is giving you enormous pressure and you can’t take it anymore, it is perfectly normal for you to have plans to switch jobs.
Whether you are dealing with your boss or anyone at all, it is your heart that matters. As long as your conduct is not detrimental to the company (只要不做对不起他的事), there is nothing wrong if you are honest with him about your intentions. However, before you do so you must first secure a better job.
It is also a good thing if you have the heart to spend more time on spiritual cultivation and to propagate the dharma. It goes without saying, the intention to help more people is a lofty goal.
If you are so bogged down at work or tied down to someone without even having the most basic freedom of religion, perhaps you should reconsider your options. Why do you think many married men decided to part with their spouses? This is because their wives did not trust them and used all possible ways to control them, which made them feel imprisoned. Mutual respect and trust are important in relationships. We should try our best to trust others because chronic distrust can lead to a disastrous ending.
You will understand what I mean if you take a look at Othello by William Shakespeare which depicts an extremely good wife whom Othello failed to put his trust in. Consumed by suspicion, Othello eventually killed her. When the truth was revealed to Othello, he was swamped by regret and remorse so much so that he cut his own throat and collapsed beside his wife’s body. What a tragedy!
Isn’t this the case for us humans? It’s important to understand others’ intentions. Do you understand? There is nothing wrong to implore Guan Yin Bodhisattva to grant you an opportunity as long as you do it the appropriate way. If you feel sorry for your manager, just help him a bit more. This is something normal to do as a human.
After all, you have your life to live, so does he. This planet earth will never stop orbiting because of one single person. If you leave, do you think it will cause the company to shut down? That’s impossible! You have overestimated yourself!
Caller: I see. It looks like I need to pray more to Bodhisattva, and step up my recitation of the Buddhist scriptures.
Master Jun Hong Lu: Pray more to Bodhisattva and most importantly, your reason must be legitimate. If you switch jobs for the sake of switching jobs, it is not right.
Caller: Actually, I really hope to have more time for recitation and eventually, help more people.
Master Jun Hong Lu: In the past, there were people who were working in an understaffed environment and as a result, they suffered tremendous pressure. It was only after they changed their jobs that they realised that however good something is, there is always something better (山外有山，天外有天). All this while they thought their employer was the most ideal, not knowing that there was a better employer out there at their new workplaces.
Just like many people who have to deal with their fierce wives. There may come a point when they can’t take it any longer or their kinship has ended (缘分尽了), they may end up finding a much better wife. This is a possible outcome and it all boils down to one’s predestined affinity. This is why it is important not to go overboard in the things that we do. In fact, we should always leave ourselves some room for manoeuvre. Just like a train, even if it is broken after ramming into the wall, it can pull to a stop and travel in the opposite direction. What’s the big deal?
Source: Wenda20131208B 19:52, Master Jun Hong Lu’s call-in radio program
THE POWER OF SELF-CONFIDENCE AND DILIGENCE IN OVERCOMING LIFE’S CHALLENGES
Master Jun Hong Lu: Once, in a language class, a teacher by the name of Zhang instructed his student, Wang Da Wei to memorise some vocabularies. Squatting under a table immersing himself in a martial art story book, Wang Da Wei was caught off guard and failed to provide the right answer to the question that his teacher asked.
Teacher Zhang was so upset that he blurted out, “Wang Da Wei! You are nothing but useless! Not only are you wasting your parents’ money, you are also wasting your own youth. If a person like you could get admitted to a university, dare I say, there would be no illiterates in this world!”.
Being singled out by his teacher in front of a big crowd, Wang Da Wei jumped off his seat and stepped onto the podium. While pointing at the teacher, he burst out, “Don’t you dare to look down on me! In this life, I can assure you without a shadow of a doubt, I will make it to a university”.
The moment he said his piece, Wang Da Wei tore his martial art story book into pieces. Lo and behold, in his first college entrance examination, he fell short of the benchmark by 100 points; in the second year, he was short of 17 points; and in the third year, his score exceeded the university cut-off marks by more than 80 points!
Upon admission, Wang Da Wei was very eager to meet teacher Zhang to tell him face-to-face that he had gained entry into a university, what more, it was a major key university. But, it did not happen. About a year later, Wang Da Wei received a letter from teacher Zhang, who wrote,
“My dear student, Wang Da Wei. How are you? Typical encouragement will not work on certain students because the key lies in using a sharp knife to cut open their souls. Many times, the discrimination we are subjected to may just be what we need to bring forth the unwavering force that sits in the depths of our heart. Am I right to say so?”
There and then, it dawned on Wang Da Wei that it was precisely because of his teacher’s marvellously-crafted discrimination that had saved him from his laid-back attitude towards his studies.
As a Buddhist practitioner, you must understand that it is the unyielding character that makes spiritual progress possible and it is the self-confidence that can ensure your success in life.
From time immemorial, many people failed to succeed in life not because of their lack of capability but because of their lack of diligence and self-confidence. Have faith in Bodhisattva. Self-confidence is strength; and diligence is the propelling power. Without self-confidence, there is hardly anything that you can do well in life.
When you fail in things that you do, it will further erode your self-confidence and this becomes a vicious cycle. To free yourself from the clutches of life, you must have the self-confidence to launch a battle against your habits that lead to your failures and slothfulness. It is only when your heart moves, it will trigger you into action. Action may not guarantee any success, but without any action, you are guaranteed to fail. In life, nothing will fall into your lap just by you thinking about it. It is only after you have taken some steps towards your goal that reward will slowly find its way to you.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s World Buddhist Fellowship Meeting, Sydney, Australia, 11 January 2020
KNOWING YOUR PRIORITIES IS KEY
Master Jun Hong Lu: Everyone has their own energy. Whatever you aspire to achieve in life, be ready to make a corresponding sacrifice. To achieve success in life, your energy must be strong.We should exercise caution in everything that we do. Today, if you aspire to be rich or to become someone of importance or to have good health, you need to have the relevant energy.
Why is that so? Some people are so fixated on their reputation and wealth that once they get what they want, their physical health will suddenly deteriorate. Do you know why? This is because they are razor focused on nothing but, “I want to be rich, I want to secure an official position or I want to be widely known”, and the moment they succeed, their thoughts and energy would have been substantially expended on these two aspects. From then on, their health will fall apart and sickness comes knocking.
Just last Saturday, I shared the story of a person who started a company, only to see his health deteriorate within a week of the set-up. This is because he has been racking his brain over a prolonged period, draining all of his internal energy without him even realising it.
Take a look at many of the successful individuals and Chief Executive Officers of listed companies. On the surface, they may look happy at work, but in reality, their energy can no longer sustain their health. After channelling their energy into looking after their money, wealth, career and relationships, they are left with little or no energy to look after their own health. Hence, it is hardly a surprise for their health to take a toll.
Fear, depression and anxiety can rapidly drain your energy. That’s why it’s important to reflect on what truly matters to you – is it your life or money? Is becoming a person of power or your life more important? Today, for the sake of owning a home, you slave yourself away. Do you actually want your life or the house? When you take the time to reflect and gain clarity on it, you will stop doing things that will ultimately leave you feeling unhappy or dejected.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Buddhism In Plain Terms, Volume 12 Chapter 14
HOW TO ACCUMULATE WORLDLY BLESSINGS AND TRANSFORM THEM INTO MERIT
Caller: Master, as you just mentioned, after learning Buddhism and performing recitation of the Buddhist scriptures, many young people may find their lives becoming more smooth-sailing than before. This could perhaps be the manifestation of their worldly karmic rewards.
But, all of these, be it riches, fame or status, come with a price tag; in fact, they may entice us, cause troubles or hindrances to our spiritual cultivation. There are even people who stop walking the spiritual path because their lives have improved. Master, how should we turn these blessings into helping us to be mindful of the path (道念), or further accumulate them as meritorious blessings?
Master Jun Hong Lu: It all depends on one’s level of spiritual cultivation, which will determine the end result, that is, either merit or just a general act of kindness. Some people seek worldly blessings, hence they will not gain merit. When their blessings are exhausted, suffering is inevitable. On the other hand, there are others who will accumulate their karmic rewards, which may gradually transform into meritorious blessings over time which merit can help shade one’s wrongdoing or shield them from harm.
For example, in developed countries, many people spend their entire weekly salary. They may have nothing left in hand at the end of day but still, it makes them very happy because they have a good income.
On the other hand, Chinese living overseas like us prefer to have some savings. To us, these savings will come in handy to mend our leaking roof, a burst water pipe or to pay for a better home TV.
This simple example illustrates how some people spend all their blessings, while others accumulate their blessings and turn them into merit, allowing them to do greater things in life. Isn’t this similar to the worldly phenomena in the human realm? As a matter of fact, the human realm is precisely the place where you should cultivate your mind.
Caller: Understood. Thank you, Master! Assuming someone is endowed with huge worldly blessings and yet extremely enlightened and he continues to practise asceticism, by not indulging in any of the worldly comfort, am I right to say that his worldly blessings will not be exhausted and hence, they will get accumulated?
Master Jun Hong Lu: Yes. A person who has blessings, yet remains low-profile, frugal, and diligent, will gradually accumulate even more blessings. It’s like a mother who is quietly toiling away, saving her earnings bit by bit, enduring all the hardships. When her child gets married, she can readily fork out a handsome sum of money for the wedding. This is only possible because of the mother’s consistent accumulation of her savings little by little over time.
Caller: That’s right! Thank you, Master!
Source: Shuohua20130503 22:59, Master Jun Hong Lu’s call-in radio program
< From Stones to Gold: Unlocking Your True Potential >
< Buddhism in Plain Terms < 白话佛法共修分享