WE BECOME WHO WE SURROUND OURSELVES WITH Master Jun Hong Lu: Interpersonal relationships are getting increasingly complicated nowadays. Why? Married couples suffer from marital dissension, while children are estranged from their parents. What’s the reason behind all these phenomena? The problem lies in one’s thoughts. Each of us has both the Buddha nature and the […]
BE AWARE OF THE KARMA YOU ARE CREATING Master Jun Hong Lu: One night a man had a dream. In the dream the God of the Earth said to him, “I need you to help me build a wall with that family next door. This is because the man in that family was very virtuous […]
SEE CLEARLY THE SIX REALMS OF EXISTENCE Master Jun Hong Lu: Let me tell you this. If you are merely living your life doing the things you are supposed to as a human and stay away from evil deeds, the best outcome will be for you to be reborn as a human in the next […]
PRAYER IS NOT ANSWERED BECAUSE THE KARMIC CONDITIONS HAVE NOT MATURED Master Jun Hong Lu: We must educate our Buddhist friends that when karmic conditions ripen, the fruit of karma will certainly take effect. When the karmic conditions of your prayer to the Buddha ripen today, your karmic result will come into being. If the […]
INITIAL ASPIRATION IS THE STATE OF PERFECT AND SUPREME ENLIGHTENMENT Master Jun Hong Lu: According to Buddhist scripture, a perfect and supreme enlightenment is attained when your initial aspiration is conceived. Think about it, your initial aspiration is your innate nature. The moment you embark on your spiritual cultivation journey, the luminous mind of the […]
WHAT LEADS US TO DO BAD DEEDS? Caller: Master, you’ve mentioned before that when a person did something inappropriate or against the moral principles, say, at a certain time in his previous life, his inner demon will surface and reside in his consciousness. This explains why the person will keep thinking about the said matter. […]
THE CONTINUATION OF ANCESTRAL KARMA Master Jun Hong Lu: Ancestors’ lack of morality, good fortune and virtue contributes to a large scope of karma, which may be affected by factors including the ancestral grave, feng shui and the positive and negative karma of their past lives. If the karma created by the ancestors is not […]
THE BUDDHA WILL LEAD US FORWARD, WITH OUR HANDS IN HIS Master Jun Hong Lu: The Lord Buddha will lead us forward, with our hands in His, He will never let go of His grip just because our hands are filthy. Neither will He turn His back on us just because our imperfections are aplenty. […]
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PRACTICE OF ALMS ROUND Caller: In the past, the practice of begging for alms by monks was also known as ‘the conditions or opportunities for transformation’. A fellow cultivator would like to know whether the ‘opportunities for transformation’ in this context means to sprinkle the seeds of dharma onto sentient beings […]
THE LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT IS IMMUTABLE, WISDOM CANNOT BE BESTOWED, THE TRUE DHARMA IS INEXPLICABLE, AND SPIRITUALLY AWAKENING WILL NEVER COME TO THOSE WHO LACK AFFINITY WITH BUDDHISM Master Jun Hong Lu: A disciple of the Buddha asked the Lord Buddha, “You have such immense divine-supernatural powers, boundless compassion and wisdom, but why […]
LET GO OF FAME AND FORTUNE OF THE MATERIAL WORLD, RENOUNCE THE WORLD AT HEART BY PURIFYING THE MIND OF IMPURITIES, AND EMULATE THE BUDDHA’S UNIVERSAL LOVE FOR SENTIENT BEINGS Master Jun Hong Lu: Today is the Buddha’s Renunciation Day. Renunciate means avoid being contaminated by the worldly filth, to gain wisdom and attain liberation […]
HUMANITY IS THE FUNDAMENTAL BASIS FOR THE BUDDHA’S PATH OF SALVATION Master Jun Hong Lu: Humanity is the fundamental basis for the Buddha’s path of salvation, which explains why the attainment of Buddhahood takes place in the human realm. How are you able to attain Buddhahood if there is no mankind? This is why those […]
OUT OF HIS UNIVERSAL LOVE FOR SENTIENT BEINGS, THE BUDDHA RENOUNCES THE WORLD TO FIND THE PATH TO LIBERATION Master Jun Hong Lu: Some people say, “After practising Buddhism, we interact less with our parents, and as a result, there is less room to show our filial piety towards them”. Do you agree with this? […]
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLASTIC SURGERY AND A PERSON’S FATE Caller: There are many ladies who opt for plastic surgery nowadays. How do we explain this from the metaphysical perspective? Master Jun Hong Lu: When it comes to plastic surgery, if you go overboard, then it is not good. Generally, for any minor ‘correction’ it is […]
THE INITIAL INSPIRATION IS THE CATALYST FOR DILIGENCE IN BUDDHIST PRACTICE Master Jun Hong Lu: Be diligent, and the basis for diligence is to stay true to your initial inspiration. Anyone who is holding on to his initial aspiration will be diligent. How did you start learning Buddhism? It was when you were experiencing great […]
WHAT IS DOUBLE-TONGUED SPEECH? Master Jun Hong Lu: There will be no arguments or misunderstandings whatsoever if everyone refrains from committing double-tongued speech. What is double-tongued speech? It is essentially sowing discord between people, stirring up conflicts. This is something you should refrain from. A person who observes this discipline is one who cultivates virtuous […]
THE GIVING OF DHARMA IS A HEAVENLY MISSION Master Jun Hong Lu: Sharing of the Buddha’s teachings, or the giving of dharma is a heavenly mission that can be performed anytime and anywhere. It is an integral part of Mahayana Buddhism, and hence, you are doing a bad deed if you deter others from performing […]
A RIGHTEOUS, LOUD AND CLEAR VOICE CAN CHANGE YOUR DESTINY Caller: Master, is there any significance to a person’s voice? Master Jun Hong Lu: Your voice foretells your life. Many people have weird voices, and their life is unpleasant. Caller: So, we should project a loud and clear voice so that we can alter our […]
SPREADING POSITIVE WORDS OR ENCOURAGING OTHERS TO PRACTISE KINDNESS IS CONSIDERED HELPING OTHERS TO BE AWAKENED SPIRITUALLY Question: If we blend in those positive words of Master Lu in our conversation with friends, without intentionally mentioning the dharma element, is this also considered one way to help others to be awakened spiritually? Answer: Of course! […]
ONE WHO ALWAYS PRAYS FOR SENTIENT BEINGS WILL HAVE HIS PRAYER FULFILLED Master Jun Hong Lu: If someone’s prayer is always answered, this is because he is praying for sentient beings rather than for himself. An awakened person understands, when the wellbeing of sentient beings is taken care of, things will certainly go well for […]
EMBRACE THE BEGINNER’S MIND WHEN PROPAGATING THE DHARMA Master Jun Hong Lu: Every Buddhist practitioner must learn to form positive affinities. Propagating the dharma to sentient beings is never easy. Recollect those days when you had yet to find faith in Buddhism, it was equally challenging for others to introduce Buddhism to you, but having […]
STAYING TRUE TO YOUR RESOLUTIONS Master Jun Hong Lu: Bodhisattva said that persistence is a remarkable undertaking. As long as our hearts resonate with that of Bodhisattvas, coupled with our unwavering perseverance and the blessings of the Buddha’s power, we will never regress in our cultivation, regardless of how many difficulties we may encounter in […]
WHAT IS CONSIDERED A NEGATIVE KARMA OF SPEECH? FALSE SPEECH Master Jun Hong Lu: Not telling lies means being honest in one’s words with no intent to deceive others. This is called sheer honesty without deception. Think about this: If you are truthful in conducting your speech, you are someone of noble character. The wise […]
TALKING BEHIND OTHERS’ BACKS IS A SERIOUS KARMA OF SPEECH Caller: Master, you mentioned, “One is halfway to achieving Buddhahood when he is able to guard against creating the karma of speech”. May I ask if the karma of speech includes talking behind others’ backs? Master Jun Hong Lu: That’s for sure. Caller: So, it […]
DEALING WITH OFFICE GOSSIPS Question: If I do not wish to partake in my office gossip, can I just say, “I’m sorry, I need to excuse myself as I need to attend to something”? By making claims like having ‘something to attend to’ when I have none, is it considered telling a lie? Answer: Do […]
CULTIVATE ALTRUISM TO OVERCOME GREED Master Jun Hong Lu: Nowadays, people tune out when you try to give them advice. They are only concerned about their most-immediate vested interest and end up forsaking spiritual purification. It is very important to be far-sighted. When people seek the Buddha’s blessings for those vested interests, they are essentially […]
TACTFUL SPEECH LEADS TO LESS CREATION OF KARMA Caller: Hi Master, you once mentioned, “A person who is tactful in his speech will be less likely to create negative karma or suffer from retribution”. Does it mean that being tactful reduces the chances of creating negative karma? Master Jun Hong Lu: Being tactful with words […]
THE GIVING OF DHARMA BY THE BUDDHAS AND BODHISATTVAS Master Jun Hong Lu: The Giving of Dharma by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Do you have any idea what it is? That is for everyone to learn Buddhism and cultivate spiritually, so that all sentient beings in the world can reap the greatest benefit of it. […]
LISTEN TWICE AS MUCH AS YOU SPEAK Master Jun Hong Lu: One’s ability to argue is not necessarily what is most valuable. After all, we have two ears and one mouth so that we should listen twice as much as we speak. A true mind-cultivator is one who is adept at attentive listening and appreciates […]
WORDS ARE POWERFUL – THEY CAN MAKE OR BREAK A PERSON Master Jun Hong Lu: A group of people went up the mountain for a hunting trip. Unfortunately, one of the hunters fell into a very deep pit. During the fall, he broke all of his limbs except his left arm. The pit was deep […]
