IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE TO WISH OTHERS ‘HAPPINESS’ DURING THE DRAGON BOAT OR CHING MING FESTIVALS Question: May I ask if there is such a tradition not to wish others ‘happiness’ during the Dragon Boat Festival, because it is a day when we pay respect to the deceased, similar to the Ching Ming Festival? It […]
IT IS MORE EFFICACIOUS TO PERFORM RECITATION DURING THE 24 SOLAR TERMS AND THE FIRST AND FIFTEENTH OF EACH LUNAR MONTH Caller: Is the efficacy of reciting the Buddhist scriptures during the 24 solar terms comparable to the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month? Master Jun Hong Lu: With regards to the 24 […]
AVOID MAJOR UNDERTAKINGS IN THE FIFTH LUNAR MONTH Question: As the fifth lunar month is deemed a “poisonous” month, is it alright for one to get married or move house during this period? Answer: It is best to avoid doing so. How can you expect things to proceed smoothly if you insist on holding your […]
IS IT APPROPRIATE TO CELEBRATE TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS WITHIN ONE YEAR OF FAMILY MEMBERS’ PASSING? Question: May I know whether it is advisable for my mother to make rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival, within the first year of the passing of my grandmother? The reason I ask is because there is a folk belief […]
RECITE 10,000 TIMES OF THE MANTRA TO UNTIE KARMIC KNOTS BEFORE UNDERGOING SURGERY IN THE FIFTH LUNAR MONTH Question: Master has advised before that one should avoid undergoing surgery in the leap fourth month of the lunar calendar. If unavoidable, we should recite 10,000 times of the Mantra To Untie Karmic Knots. The surgery has […]
IT IS A GOOD PRACTICE TO PROSTRATE AND RECITE MORE HEART SUTRA BEFORE AND AFTER THE DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL AND OTHER SOLAR TERMS Master Jun Hong Lu: To all Buddhist practitioners who are tuning in to this program, tomorrow – a Saturday – happens to be the Dragon Boat festival. Everyone knows that there is […]
HOW THE HUMAN BODY REGULATES ITSELF DURING THE FIFTH LUNAR MONTH – THE “MONTH OF POISON” Caller: Master, every fifth lunar month is commonly known as the “Month of Poison”, of which the “Nine Poison Days” (i.e. fifth, sixth, seventh, fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh days of the fifth lunar month) are perceived […]
A CONFIDENT PERSON WILL ALLOW NATURE TO TAKE ITS COURSE Master Jun Hong Lu: Don‘t be silly. All phenomena in this world are merely affinities. Let it come and let it go. Whatever happens, don’t be frightened, like what I have said, “do not change with conditions”. To be able to do so not only […]
THE RIGHT ACTION Master Jun Hong Lu: What is “Right Action”? For example, you cannot steal, nor be promiscuous. What you do for a living should also be of good karma. Many people ask me, “Master Lu, we work in a restaurant and are involved in the act of killing, we don’t have a choice, […]
HOW DO WE ELIMINATE UNRULY THOUGHTS AND REMAIN UNMOVED? Master Jun Hong Lu: We should not be affected no matter what circumstances we are in. In times of adversity, how do we eliminate unruly thoughts and remain unmoved? Firstly, contemplate with wisdom. Understand that all phenomena are transient, and they never last. When we look […]
THE RIGHT MINDFULNESS Master Jun Hong Lu: Right Mindfulness means when faced with things or matters, you observe your thoughts and pay attention to them. By practicing the right mindfulness over a prolonged period, you are observing the causes and conditions. Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s World Buddhist Fellowship Meeting, Jakarta, Indonesia, 21 April 2017
DO NOT SUCCUMB TO LUST; COMMITTING ANIMAL-LIKE ACTS LEADS ONE TO BE REBORN AS AN ANIMAL Caller: How are you, Master? You once said, “Greed is the ticket to the hungry ghost realm while hatred and ignorance lead one to hell and the animal realm respectively.” How are these three poisons the roots of our […]
GRATITUDE GROWS FOR THOSE WHO VIEW THE WORLD WITH AN EQUANIMOUS MIND Master Jun Hong Lu: You should view the world with an equanimous mind. Regard everything in this world as an ordinary existence. Adopt an indifferent mindset and be thankful for everything – I am thankful that I have food today, and even if […]
KARMA OF SPEECH IS THE EASIEST WAY FOR ONE TO SHOULDER THE KARMIC OBSTACLES OF OTHERS Master Jun Hong Lu: In today’s society, you commit karma of speech not only through words uttered but also through words written. When you post an article online to criticise others, or make a sarcastic remark about someone, aren’t […]
THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH Master Jun Hong Lu: The Noble Eightfold Path is to prevent us from doing the wrong thing and creating karma in the many aspects of our undertakings including our career. Based on the law of cause and effect, when a negative cause is planted, it will give rise to undesirable consequences. […]
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS Master Jun Hong Lu: The basic doctrine of Buddhism is to show us the way towards liberation from Birth, Ageing, Sickness and Death, by understanding The Four Noble Truths: “Suffering, The Cause of Suffering, The Cessation of Suffering and The Path towards the Cessation of Suffering”. There is a tremendous amount […]
OBSESSION WITH PETTY GAINS IS ALSO CONSIDERED GREED Master Jun Hong Lu: The basic human needs include clothing, food, shelter, and transport. The word ‘transport’ here does not only refer to the motion of walking, but it also denotes the importance for one to walk the right path in life. How is the ‘right path’ […]
BEING UNPERTURBED IS TO LET NATURE TAKE ITS COURSE Master Jun Hong Lu: To be unmoved in any given situation is a quality of a broad-minded person. We should not change when we encounter something; neither should be overly anxious. What’s the big deal? Since we have come to this world, we have to be […]
UNDERSTANDING OTHERS IS KEY TO DEVELOPING A SENSE OF GRATITUDE Caller: Master, how should we understand this sentence: only through understanding others can one develop a sense of gratitude? Master Jun Hong Lu: When you understand others, you will empathise with them for the suffering they endure. Only then will you develop compassion and feel […]
WAYS TO CONTROL DISTRACTING THOUGHTS Caller: Master, when we constantly safeguard our mind and the moment distracting thought arises, do we have to deliberately exercise restraint? We can recite some short sutras or mantras to fill up the time and gaps so as not to allow such distracting thoughts to perpetuate; recite more Heart Sutra […]
THOSE WHO ARE QUICK-MINDED AND ALWAYS THINK DEEPLY SHOULD APPLY RIGHT THOUGHTS TO APPRECIATE THE HIGH SPIRITUALITY OF THE DHARMA Caller: Master, those who are involved in brain-intensive professions are more adept at using rational thinking to analyse things in their daily encounters. Such people tend to have greater faith in scientific practices or things […]
THE MEANING OF “TO LISTEN, CONTEMPLATE AND PRACTISE” Master Jun Hong Lu: “To Listen, Contemplate and Practise” means to listen to the dharma, contemplate the dharma teachings, and put the teachings into practice. That is to transform what you listen into the right thoughts and then, you start to put what you learn into cultivating […]
THE ABSENCE OF RIGHT THOUGHTS IS DUE TO THE EVIL IN ONE’S HEART Caller: The dharma body of Master Lu said, “A person who aspires to become a Bodhisattva can’t do without the power of concentration and wisdom. Otherwise, they won’t be able to tell righteousness from evil and good from bad.” Master, when certain […]
CRAVINGS CAN CAUSE ONE TO SUFFER MORE Master Jun Hong Lu: The Buddha teaches us, “It is not the man who has too little but the man who craves more that suffers”; Their desires render them “psychologically impoverished”. A greedy person can be rich yet feels poor while a contented person can be poor yet […]
THE MOST MIRACULOUS QUOTE IN THE WORLD Master Jun Hong Lu: Once upon a time, there was a king who was eagerly in search of a quote that could make a happy person sad and a sad person happy. Unfortunately, it was a quest that yielded him no results. One fine day, the king dreamed […]
PRACTISE TRUE CULTIVATION – A MIND THAT IS UNPERTURBED Master Jun Hong Lu: In practising Buddhism, we must be true to our practice. No matter what happens, our mind should remain unperturbed, “no wax and no wane”. What does this mean? It is a state of “unmoving suchness”. What does it mean by “no wax […]
WAYS TO CORRECT HABITUAL THINKING AND TRANSFORM IT INTO THE RIGHT THOUGHT Caller: How do we correct our habitual thinking and transform it into the right thought, like that of a Bodhisattva? Master Jun Hong Lu: When the same train of thought keeps occurring, it will eventually become your habitual line of thinking. How do […]
KNOWING WHEN NOT TO ACT, YOU CAN LIVE YOUR TRUE SELF Master Jun Hong Lu: Buddhist practitioners need to understand that all things on earth are unperturbed. As long as the heart stays unchanged, all things will stay put. No matter what, you are still that kind to others, and likewise, others remain as kind […]
RIGHT THOUGHT AND WRONG THOUGHT Master Jun Hong Lu: What is Right Thought? We must understand that what we do and think must be righteous. This means what you normally do must be just. For everything you do, you do it openly; that is, your action can be brought to light and none of which […]
THE REASON FOR FEELING UNWELL AFTER OFFERING LITTLE HOUSES TO RESOLVE KARMIC CONFLICTS Question: A Buddhist practitioner has just offered three Little Houses to resolve karmic conflicts at 4pm today. Thereafter, he had a headache and felt quite unwell. This usually doesn’t happen when he offers Little Houses to his karmic creditors. Answer: It is […]
