Deepest Gratitude to Namo Shakyamuni Buddha!
Deepest Gratitude to the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva!
Deepest Gratitude to all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Dharma Protectors!
Deepest Gratitude to Master Jun Hong Lu!
Deepest Gratitude to all Buddhist friends!
“The return journey may be arduous with the weight of our accumulated karmic obstacles, but we can still make progress by cultivating the mind of a Buddha and honouring our vows with sincerity and dedication.
Cherishing our rare and fleeting human life, let us seek refuge in the dharma and follow the Buddha’s teachings toward enlightenment.”
These words of wisdom from our Master have greatly inspired me, serving as a powerful reminder and motivation for my spiritual practice.
Before encountering Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, I had extensively explored numerous other dharma doors, and had even delved deeply into some of them. It was not until 2012, when a close friend introduced Guan Yin Citta to me, that I finally found a practice that truly resonated with me.
I was immediately captivated by the totem reading videos of Master Lu. Intrigued, I went on to read several books about Guan Yin Citta. Through my study, I came to realise that this was an ideal dharma door for lay practitioners, one that offers a simple yet effective approach to applying Buddhist teachings to solve life’s problems. I was mesmerised by the many testimonies with so many practitioners experiencing profound changes in a very short period of time, including recovering from critical illnesses.
Although this had sparked my interest in practising Guan Yin Citta, I still harboured some uncertainty. In hopes of receiving clarity, I prayed to Guan Yin Bodhisattva in front of the Buddhist altar in my home.
I humbly requested a sign from the Bodhisattva to indicate whether or not I was destined to follow the path of Guan Yin Citta. At that moment, a strong warm sensation tingles throughout my body, which I recognised, beyond a shadow of doubt that Guan Yin Citta is the dharma door I was meant to practise.
In 2014, I was blessed with the opportunity to serve as a bodyguard for Master Lu. This role allowed me to be in close proximity to Master and gain a deeper understanding of His boundless compassion, his expectations of His disciples, and the qualities of a true practitioner. In retrospect, I recognise just how fortunate I am to have such an extraordinary Master in my life.
As bodyguards, we were constantly by Master’s side, almost 24 hours a day, throughout the period during dharma conventions. Master Lu held Himself to exceptionally high standards. As soon as He arrived after a flight, He would take only a brief rest before rushing to the convention venue to give discourses to Buddhist friends. After each session, He would meet with volunteers from Guan Yin Citta practice centres across the globe and answer every of their questions and worked tirelessly every night until two or three in the morning.
Master Lu would always give the utmost priority to dharma propagation and never missed an opportunity to do so. During the pockets of time between His journeys, He would provide teachings and guidance to us bodyguards on our personal cultivation. Despite traveling extensively to many countries and hosting numerous dharma conventions, I have never seen our Master spending time sightseeing or exploring tourist spots. His schedule was always filled with dharma-related activities. After the dharma conventions, He would promptly fly back to Australia and resume His radio program the next day.
Apart from that, Master Lu also held those around Him to high standards, including us, the bodyguards. We were reminded to conduct ourselves with dignity and decorum at all times. He would criticise us if our hair was untidy, and He would even personally help us adjust our ties if they were poorly tied.
Etiquette was also a matter of great importance to Master. After dharma conventions, we sometimes had the privilege of dining with Him. If we held our bowls improperly or spoke with food in our mouths, our Master would lecture us. During conversations, Master would notice if our eyes wandered or our minds drifted and he would sternly remind us to maintain eye contact. Besides, He was also particularly strict when it came to observing the precepts related to interactions between individuals of opposite genders. If any bodyguards were observed taking a deliberate glance at a woman while on duty, our Master would surely reprimand them.
Despite His strictness, Master Lu also demonstrated a deep level of care and concern for us. Whenever someone appeared unwell or encountered difficulties in their spiritual practice, Master was quick to inquire about their situation and offered guidance. Even though I haven’t had the opportunity to have my totem read by Master in real life, His dharma body (spiritual presence) has visited me in my dreams and provided invaluable guidance, helping me navigate through times of confusion and uncertainty.
Master often teaches us to hold all sentient beings in high regard, as if they were on top of our heads. I vividly recall an incident during the dharma convention in Singapore in 2017, where Master walked towards a crowd of Buddhist friends who surged forward like a tidal wave. A bodyguard acted rudely and stopped them. Master sternly criticised the bodyguard afterwards, emphasising that these Buddhist friends had travelled a great distance to attend the dharma convention and deserved to be treated with respect and compassion. Therefore, when we see Buddhist friends rushing to shake hands with Master, we would respectfully bend our body and stand between Master and the Buddhist friends, ensuring they can shake hands without bumping into Him.
Furthermore, Master was particularly fond of elderly Buddhist friends and frequently expressed concern for them, noting that they may have limited time left and that this may be their only chance to attend the dharma convention. He would always try his best to bless them by shaking their hands.
At every dharma convention, Master would deliver teachings with great joy and perform totem readings for critically-ill patients. However, as His bodyguards, we could see that after every session, our Master would appear to have expended all His energy, leaving him worn-out and frail. In times like this, He would sometimes require our support to walk back to the resting room. Our Master really pushed Himself too hard and sacrificed a lot for us!
After so many years of propagating the Dharma and carrying the karmic burden of sentient beings, He had become physically and mentally exhausted. Even when faced with defamation, Master endured it all silently. He never mentioned about the painstaking effort He put in behind the scenes. He kept all the difficulties to Himself and always brought joy and Dharma teachings to sentient beings through dharma conventions and radio programs.
Master’s act of sacrificing Himself to benefit others has instilled in me great strength and motivation. In the journey of spiritual cultivation, everyone faces tests and challenges, but it’s important to rise again after falling and to have unwavering faith in Bodhisattva and Master. It’s crucial to always remember our initial aspiration when we first embarked on the journey of cultivation.
Master also emphasised the importance of persistence in everything one does. He said, “With perseverance, success can be achieved. Only by persisting until the very end can one truly know whether they have succeeded in their cultivation.”
Looking back on my 11-year journey of practising under Master, I have gained invaluable lessons in letting go. In the past, I struggled to let go of my own greed. I made bad investments in stocks, losing money and becoming obsessed with recouping my losses, only to find myself spiraling further into debt. I also had a tendency to buy clothes and technology gadgets that I like, even if I already own similar items. I found it hard to resist buying them when they were on sale.
However, after practising Guan Yin Citta, I came to understand the detrimental effects of greed on spiritual cultivation. I have realised that even a little greed, if accumulated over time, can transform into an insatiable desire. Therefore, I made the decision to sell off all the remaining stocks despite incurring losses, and since then, I have refrained from dealing with stocks, and resolved to let go of my materialistic desires. As a result, I have found a sense of inner peace and tranquility within myself.
In my journey of spiritual cultivation, I noticed, the most difficult thing to relinquish surprisingly, is not personal gain, but ego and reputation. When I first started learning Buddhism, I often sought to showcase myself to gain recognition, thinking highly of myself and even looking down on others. However, Master helped me understand that “a true Buddhist practitioner is not someone who has read many scriptures or can speak high-level concepts, but someone who can accept and apply the teachings of the Buddha in the present moment upon hearing them. This is what Buddhism refers to as ‘cultivating mindfulness in motion’ and ‘integrating the teachings of the Buddha into everyday life’. Over the years, I learned that only through eliminating greed, resentment, and ignorance can we cultivate our minds and achieve optimal results with minimal effort.
Although our Master has passed into Nirvana and attained Buddhahood, His legacy of Buddha’s teachings is an endless source of wisdom and guidance for all of us, and these teachings will continue to benefit all sentient beings with affinity. As we earnestly follow in the footsteps of our Master and strive to diligently practise the Dharma single-mindedly, we too can reach the ultimate goal of Buddhahood and liberate ourselves from the cycle of suffering and rebirth.
I have come to the end of my sharing. If my sharing is improper in any way, I would like to seek forgiveness from Namo Shakyamuni Buddha, the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva, all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dharma Protectors and Master Jun Hong Lu.
Thank you to all Buddhist friends.
Source: Fellow Practitioner from Singapore
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