Master Lu | Buddhism in Plain Terms | Volume 4 Chapter 17 | Dharma Practice Through Hearing, Contemplation and Cultivation — Safeguarding Body, Speech and Mind

Posted EloisePosted in Master Lu: Buddhism In Plain Terms (Book)

Let me now share the second point with you. The karmic retribution for using harsh speech and verbal abuse actually follows a cyclical pattern. Many people curse or scold others, and because the karmic consequence hasn’t yet ripened, they don’t experience retribution straight away. When someone is being verbally abusive, others might say, “You’ll definitely […]

Master Lu | Buddhism in Plain Terms | Volume 4 Chapter 16 | Exploring the Illusory Self Formed by the Five Aggregates and the Manifestation of Consciousness

Posted EloisePosted in Master Lu: Buddhism In Plain Terms (Book)

I hope everyone takes responsibility for what you’re meant to do. As you cultivate the mind and recite sutras, you should be clear about your purpose — it is to accumulate merit and virtue. Reflect on how you’ve spent your time today: have your efforts contributed to accumulating merit and virtue? Many people find that […]

An Extremely Jealous Individual Will Never Achieve Satisfactory Success

Posted MTPosted in About Spiritual Cultivation

AN EXTREMELY JEALOUS INDIVIDUAL WILL NEVER ACHIEVE SATISFACTORY SUCCESS Master Jun Hong Lu: Individuals who are consumed by jealousy will never achieve any satisfactory success in their endeavours. Using past agricultural practice as a metaphor, it is impossible for them to have an abundant harvest. Assuming you cultivate corn as well as paddy and also […]

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Posted MTPosted in About Spiritual Cultivation

STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS Master Jun Hong Lu: Avoid making comparisons with one another because once you do, you are bound to feel jealous when you realise that you are not as good as others. As one progresses in his spiritual cultivation, they must understand the importance of not harbouring any evil thoughts. Many […]

Jealousy Breeds Your Inner Demons

Posted MTPosted in About Spiritual Cultivation

JEALOUSY BREEDS YOUR INNER DEMONS Master Jun Hong Lu: Why do people with a strong desire to win tend to make good progress in the early stages of Buddhist practice? This is because in the beginning, they are using their competitive nature to desperately do what is needed to the extent of relinquishing many of […]

The Root Cause of Jealousy

Posted MTPosted in About Spiritual Cultivation

THE ROOT CAUSE OF JEALOUSY Master Jun Hong Lu: Since time immemorial, jealousy has always been the largest character flaw of mankind. Why is it that every human has jealousy? This is because jealousy stems from the competitive drive to claim a certain level of right and benefit. It is an apathetic response we have […]

To Be Jealous Is Foolish

Posted MTPosted in About Spiritual Cultivation

TO BE JEALOUS IS FOOLISH Master Jun Hong Lu: Let me use a magnifying glass to enlarge this feeling of jealousy in you. Once magnified, do you know what has become of you? You will realise how foolish you are. You are jealous of your colleague who makes you wonder, “Why is it that he […]

A Good Attitude That Admires the Good of Others Can Be a Catalyst for One’s Progress, but a Negative One Can Turn Admiration Into Hate

Posted MTPosted in About Spiritual Cultivation, Call-in Radio Program

A GOOD ATTITUDE THAT ADMIRES THE GOOD OF OTHERS CAN BE A CATALYST FOR ONE’S PROGRESS, BUT A NEGATIVE ONE CAN TURN ADMIRATION INTO HATE Caller: Lately, there is a popular proverbial saying on the internet that goes, “Envious-jealous-hateful”. Master, can you enlighten us as to why we feel envious when we see others living […]

One Will Not Achieve Any Spiritual Attainment by Merely Performing Virtuous Deeds Without Elevating One’s State-Of-Mind

Posted MTPosted in About Spiritual Cultivation, Call-in Radio Program

ONE WILL NOT ACHIEVE ANY SPIRITUAL ATTAINMENT BY MERELY PERFORMING VIRTUOUS DEEDS WITHOUT ELEVATING ONE’S STATE-OF-MIND Caller: Master, you mentioned that merit is a person’s ultimate token for admission to heaven, and this speaks volumes about its importance. In the case where one purely focuses on self-cultivation, without performing any virtuous deeds such as introducing […]

Under What Circumstances Will One Dream of the Deceased Whom They Helped To Ascend to a Higher Spiritual Realm?

Posted MTPosted in About Dream, Master Jun Hong Lu’s Public Talk

UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES WILL ONE DREAM OF THE DECEASED WHOM THEY HELPED TO ASCEND TO A HIGHER SPIRITUAL REALM? Question: Dear Master, why are there variations in terms of outcome after helping different deceased recite Little Houses? In some cases, the deceased will appear in our dreams to either thank or visit us after receiving […]

PRAYER REQUEST TO CONSERVE ONE’S MERITS SO THAT THEY DO NOT GET CONVERTED INTO WORLDLY BLESSINGS

Posted MTPosted in About Merits and Virtues

PRAYER REQUEST TO CONSERVE ONE’S MERITS SO THAT THEY DO NOT GET CONVERTED INTO WORLDLY BLESSINGS Question: How are you, Master? How can we tell if the worldly blessings gained after our Buddhist practice are blessings that pre-existed in our destiny or are the results of the conversion from the meritorious blessings gained from our […]

AN EXCESSIVE USE OF ‘SELF-CULTIVATION’ MANTRAS/SUTRAS TO PRAY FOR WORLDLY BLESSINGS CAN BE EFFICACIOUS BUT IT WILL DEPLETE ONE’S MERITORIOUS BLESSINGS

Posted MTPosted in About Merits and Virtues

AN EXCESSIVE USE OF ‘SELF-CULTIVATION’ MANTRAS/SUTRAS TO PRAY FOR WORLDLY BLESSINGS CAN BE EFFICACIOUS BUT IT WILL DEPLETE ONE’S MERITORIOUS BLESSINGS Question: Some Buddhist practitioners recite a lot of ‘self-cultivation’ forms of the Cundi Dharani. Am I right to say that an excessive use of ‘self-cultivation’ form of the Cundi Dharani may be efficacious but […]

THOSE WHO TRANSFER MERITS FOR THE BENEFIT OF SENTIENT BEINGS WILL GET REWARDED WITH MERITS IN RETURN; MERITS USED FOR SELF-INTEREST WILL BE EXPENDED

Posted MTPosted in About Merits and Virtues

THOSE WHO TRANSFER MERITS FOR THE BENEFIT OF SENTIENT BEINGS WILL GET REWARDED WITH MERITS IN RETURN; MERITS USED FOR SELF-INTEREST WILL BE EXPENDED Question: There are some Buddhist friends, who, after every dharma propagation effort, will either transfer their entire merits accrued to pray for the smooth-sailing of other propagation activities or to Master […]

Correcting Ourselves Is Key to Our Quest To Help Sentient Beings

Posted MTPosted in About Spiritual Cultivation, Master Jun Hong Lu’s Public Talk

CORRECTING OURSELVES IS KEY TO OUR QUEST TO HELP SENTIENT BEINGS Question: After studying Buddhism in Plain Terms for a certain period of time, some Buddhist practitioners are aware that eliminating a worldly mindset is a critical element in breaking free from the six realms of rebirth. However, in the course of their Buddhism propagation, […]

Are We ‘Seeking Worldly Blessings’ if We Pray for a Life Free From Suffering and for Improvement in All Aspects of Our Life?

Posted MTPosted in About Spiritual Cultivation, Master Jun Hong Lu’s Public Talk

ARE WE ‘SEEKING WORLDLY BLESSINGS’ IF WE PRAY FOR A LIFE FREE FROM SUFFERING AND FOR IMPROVEMENT IN ALL ASPECTS OF OUR LIFE? Question: In introducing Buddhism to prospective Buddhist friends, typically we are targeted in our sharing of positive transformations of other Buddhist friends after their Buddhist practice. We would usually touch on aspects […]