Venerables, fellow students, warmest greetings to you all. This is my first speech delivered at the Association of Master Chin Kung’s Friends at UNESCO. I would like to give you a brief introduction.
Last March, we invited UNESCO ambassadors to experience religious and ethnical cohesion in Toowoomba, Australia. They were all very pleased with what they saw. In the past we reported on religious and ethnical cohesion on quite a few occasions. Although the reports were very detailed, no one quite believed what was reported. Only until the ambassadors returned to UNESCO and delivered a formal report, a gleam of hope of religious and ethnical cohesion was affirmed. What the ambassadors did was remarkable and wonderful. In the report, they suggested UNESCO to offer us an office. We accepted the offer and therefore formally entered UNESCO. With everyone's help and support in the past half a year, the Association of Master Chin Kung’s Friends at UNESCO was established and the recording studio is also in use.
This lecture is our first today. It is a good start that religious organizations have entered UNESCO. UNESCO confirms that religions around the world are forms of education. Many friends of mine asked, 'Is religion education?' as they find the concept strange. I replied to them, 'You see, similar to Sakyamuni Buddha, the founder of every religion in the world devoted themselves in teaching.' At the age of 30, Sakyamuni Buddha attained Enlightenment and thoroughly understood everything about the universe and life. After that, he went to the Deer Park, found his five colleagues and delivered his first report. From then on, Sakyamuni Buddha started his teaching career and the Buddha's teaching has been passed down for 3,000 years. Let us take a close look at other religions. Many religions that emerged later than Buddhism were also spread gradually across the world in the past 1,000 years. Up until now, more than ten religions that we are familiar with have successfully taught generations of people. We must have a proper understanding of the word 'religion'. In Chinese language, Zong-Jiao means religion. So what does the word mean?
Chinese characters are unique in the world and they also manifest the excellent traditional culture of China. They are not alphabetic writing and each character is embedded with profound meanings. The character '宗’ (zong) has three meanings: principal, important and revered. The character '教’ (jiao) means education, teaching and transformation. Religion in fact encompasses all of these meanings. Therefore, when combined, Zong-Jiao , means principal education, important teaching, and revered transformation for humankind. Is it really the case? If you still have doubts, let us take a closer look.
Buddhism has been taught in China for 2,500 years and, indeed, it has a place in traditional Chinese culture. The Chinese have preserved the richest collection of Buddhist literature called 'The Great Canon', and it has a considerable place in traditional Chinese culture. Throughout Chinese history, Buddhist patriarchs and virtuous Buddhist masters were not different from what Sakyamuni Buddha did and they had all engaged in Buddhist education in their lives. In every dynasty and every century in the history there were outstanding Buddhist masters, either ordained monks and nuns or lay Buddhists. All of these recognized masters were the evidence of religion being education.
Now, we may ask: 'Since religion is education, what does it teach? And what does its curriculum include?' In every classical Buddhist text there are ethical education, moral education, education of causality and that of wisdom. When a person is fully enlightened, it is the perfect wisdom of their True Nature at work. In Buddhism it is called attaining the fruits of Enlightenment.
Buddhism was introduced to China in the Eastern Han dynasty which was about 2,000 years ago, and the time frame was closer to when Confucius and Mencius were alive. Buddhism later became an indispensable part of traditional Chinese culture. Having said traditional Chinese culture, we have to mention Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. All of them impart ethics, morality, causality and the teaching of sages. After attaining enlightenment, the saints and sages of the three teachings devoted themselves in education and left behind much information and wisdom.
At the beginning of the Tang dynasty, Emperor Taizong (599 CE) commissioned five best sinologists in the country to compile the book 'The Governing Principles of Ancient China' for him. What is the book about? It is a collection of the essence of traditional Chinese culture. Emperor Taizong used the book to cultivate himself, manage his family in harmony, govern his country and bring peace to the world. The 300-year history of the Tang dynasty was in fact an experiment in traditional Chinese culture, and it was really effective. It was effective then, and it is also effective today. I believe that any leader who applies the wisdom found in 'The Governing Principles' to govern their country will result in excellent governance and will also become great role model for other political leaders around the world.
Buddhist culture is deeply rooted in China. After the introduction of Buddhism, emperors of almost every dynasty respectfully followed the Buddha's teaching. Ancient Buddhist monasteries preserved in China are the witnesses of that part of history. So what did Buddhism teach? As mentioned before, Buddhists taught ethics, morality, causality and the wisdom that they had obtained from self-cultivation. What they taught was not only useful for their times, but also applicable for generations to come.
'The Governing Principles of Ancient China' has been translated into more than ten languages. I believe, if every national leader reads this book, they will not only strengthen their country but also use true wisdom and lessons learned in history to resolve disasters caused by antagonism and wars. The book can help govern a country and bring peace to the world. World peace is what we all pursue. All of us hope for stability, harmony, mutual prosperity and coexistence. The book has its real merits! Religious education and what is taught in the book complement one another. We print and circulate the book in a great number in the hope of promoting and introducing it to people across the world.
To do that, we should first of all have a healthy mind and body. I have not given Dharma talks for almost two months, and I would like to apologise to fellow practitioners. What did I do in the past two months? I recuperated for a while. It was effective. Chinese ancestors said, 'Time spares no man.' It is true indeed. I am 92 now and aging is taking its course. My vision is not as good as before. In the past I did not need glasses when reading. But now I cannot read without them. I also need to wear a hearing aid. As for writing, I can now truly experience what the ancients said 'forgetting words when about to write'. It is not just me. I have another two old classmates, Professor Xu Xingming and Professor Jiang Yizi. When we gathered together last time, all of us felt deeply that we are getting old! Our energy and strength are worse off than previous couple of years. So I stopped giving Dharma talks for a while and recuperated. Not bad, it has its effects.
Beyond my expectation, UNESCO assigned us a task of helping the world resolve conflicts and antagonism and bring cohesion to religious and ethnical groups. I hope that everyone can open up their mind, be more accommodating and accommodate different religions and ethnical groups. We are all in fact a big family. Therefore, in the past two months I revisited the sacred texts of different religions.
The book 'Scriptures 360' is a collection of the most essential teachings found in the sacred texts of different religions. Their core religious thought is the focus of our learning and we aim to grasp it. So what is the core teaching? It is one word, 'love'. In the sacred texts of all religions, there is mentioning of universal love, love of benevolence and love of humility. Therefore, the sentence 'God loves all' encompasses all of them, and this is the core thinking of religious education.
We should regain our love, which is unbiased and exactly the same as the love of God, and keep it in our hearts. We should throw away deluded minds and erroneous thinking, keep our true minds and love, and love everyone in the world on behalf of God, Buddhas and bodhisattvas. This is religious education. It has four modules, that is, ethical education, moral education, the education of causality and that of sages' wisdom. These teachings are what religious education is all about. We must learn and practise it properly. When we throw away ethics, we must find it and bring it back. If we want social stability and world peace, we must bring such teachings back.
Chinese ancestors had always attached great importance to education, which also included the four areas mentioned before. Therefore, when Buddhist education was introduced to China, the Chinese easily accepted it. Why? What it teaches is very close to traditional Chinese education. In this era, science and technology are highly developed, but the four areas of education are missing. Science is relatively closer to wisdom, but causality, morality and ethics are missing. It is why in today's world the rich are not happy and those of high social status are not respected. What is considered as the most Important thing? Money. Under this circumstance, how can society stay away from chaos?
所以我们想不辜负联合国对我们的一番情义，对整个世界的宗教这番情义，给我们设立了办公室，我们非常感谢。我们要把神圣的宗教教育找回来，认真学习；先学习自己的宗教，然后再学其他的宗教，求同存异。终极的目标，希望世界永远不再有冲突、不再有对立、不再有误会，希望这个地球上真正的仁爱、和平能够实现。Therefore, we do not want to disappoint UNESCO's affection and friendship for us and for religions in the world. We are most grateful that UNESCO offered us an office. We hope to bring back sacred religious education, and learn and practise it properly. We will first learn and practise our own religion and then learn from other religions in the hope of seeking common grounds and putting aside differences. Our ultimate goal is that there will never be conflicts, antagonism and misunderstanding in the world, and that true love of benevolence and peace will be realised on Earth.
所以我们第一堂课跟大家说的，认识宗教的真义。今天时间到了，我们就学习到此地，谢谢大家。
So in this first lecture I shared with you, the understanding of the true meaning of word religion". This is it for today and thank you.
Fellow students, friends, Today, we will resume the learning of ‘God Loves All Beings’. Why do we learn about it? It is for the convenience of those who would like to know about religion. Over the years, we have engaged in bringing religious cohesion and achieved some success. All of you are aware now that religious cohesion is essential because it helps resolve conflicts, confrontations and promote social stability and harmony.
At the age of 26, I met Professor Thomé H. Fang (Fang, Dongmei) who taught me philosophy. In the very last lesson, he taught me Buddhist philosophy. I was very surprised. I said, ‘Buddhism is a religion. How come there is philosophy in it?’ Professor Fang told me, ‘You’re still young. You do not know that Sakyamuni was the greatest philosopher in the world and Mahayana sutras are the pinnacle of philosophy in the world.’ Indeed, I had never heard comments like that before. Professor Fang was the first one who told me that.
I took on what he taught me. Towards the end of that last lesson, he summed up the entire lessons and proposed that ‘Buddhism is a philosophy, and practising the Buddha’s teachings is the highest enjoyment in one’s life’. What he said was very appealing. To young men like me, it was a topic that we want to understand better. Can practising the Buddha’s teachings truly bring us happiness in life? Is it really the highest enjoyment in life? I am 92 this year. Through 60 years of learning and practising of the Buddha’s teachings, it is proven that what Professor Fang said is true, and my appreciation and admiration for his teaching is without bound.
The founders of all faiths in the world were social educators who attained true enlightenment. I am most grateful for being Professor Fang’s student and that he taught me this particular subject. Within a short span of four months, I developed a new understanding for religion and understood that the founders of all faiths in the world were enlightened social educators. My sixty-year learning proves that what Professor Fang said is true.
‘Attaining True Enlightenment’ is a Buddhist term. It is the highest level of achievement in Buddhism. Anyone who achieves it is called a Buddha. There are four learning steps in the Buddha’s education, i.e. believing, understanding, practising and attaining. The first step is to believe. You must have sincere faith before you can benefit from it. In ancient China, this principle was a prerequisite for all education. It was not meant for religions only. Chinese ancestors attached great importance to education.
We can say, in modern terms, that Confucius started a private school over 2,000 years ago, and it was very successful. Ever since then, scholars of every generation in Chinese history took teaching seriously. For the majority of scholars, teaching was the only way of making a living. The number of students taught in private schools was not many, ranging from five to thirty. Thirty students was a large number back then. On average, a teacher taught a dozen of students at a private school. So what did they teach? They taught ethics, morality, causality and sages’ wisdom handed down generation after generation. These were the contents taught in private schools.
More than 1,000 years ago, Chinese ancestors learned from life experiences, and observed that children should receive proper education with appropriate early childhood texts. When did children back then receive formal education? Generally speaking, a child attended private school at the age of three. We are able to collect twenty-three different early childhood texts. We have compiled them into the book series ‘The Root of All Roots In Sagely Learning’. ‘The Root’ means the foundations of education. It is like a tree. The deeper and firmer its roots are, the bigger the tree will grow. Therefore, the Chinese attached great importance to the foundations of education.
So when should a child start receiving education? It should start from the prenatal period. In other words, within the ten-month pregnancy, a mother should pay attention to how to nurture a good child. During this period, the mother shoulders a huge responsibility. She should refrain from erroneous thinking and wandering thoughts because they will have negative impact on the development of her foetus’ wisdom and virtue. Therefore, any negative thought, speech and action should be avoided. Meanwhile, the mother should take heed of the practice of ethics and morality and provide her foetus with positive influence. After giving birth to her baby, the mother is the first teacher. Her actions and speech must be dignified and she must not hold any dishonourable or vicious thought. All her actions and speech should be in accordance with propriety which is something we learned when young. We now should use it to educate the next generation. It was why in ancient China children attended private school and started formal education at the age of three. Between birth and three years old, children were taught by their parents at home.
The textbooks used for traditional early childhood education in China had a history of over 1,000 years. The more recent ones compiled in the Ming and Qing dynasties also had a history of more than 700 years. They had proved very successful. After completing primary education, children in ancient China progressed to what we call secondary school today. What did they learn at secondary school? They learned the Four Books and Five Classics which taught them how to cultivate themselves, manage their families in harmony, govern a country and bring peace to the world. All these are frequently mentioned in Confucian literature with abundant experiences. Therefore, it was an education aimed at nurturing future sages.
For parents who undertake nursing a child, the expectation was for the child to become a sage or a saintly person regardless of the child’s gender. It was the aim of education. The aim of education is different now. Education today only focusses on the acquisition of knowledge and it is for making a living. In ancient times, sages’ education was about learning to be a sage, to be a saintly person. Similarly, learning to be a Buddha is to expect oneself to become an arhat or a bodhisattva. The highest expectation is of course to become a Buddha. It is truly the aspiration.
Therefore, we can say that the founders of all religions in the world were social educators who had attained True Enlightenment. Their expectation of education was different to that of today. In the East there are Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. In the West there is religious education. With regard to religious education, the sacred texts of religions in the West are also about perfect education. We affirm that Western religious education encompasses the elements of ethics, morality, causality and wisdom also found in Eastern education. The founders of religions and faiths were all great social educators of their times.
Arnold Toynbee said that religious education is indeed the fundamental education that is indispensable for humankind. I have studied religion for over 60 years and I think that what Toynbee said is remarkable. It is the reflective conclusion of his lifetime study of the history of human civilisations. He also said that when people lose their faith in religion, civilisation will collapse.
We have our concerns today. In 2015 I met the vice-chancellor of the University of Wales. I told him that I was deeply concerned. He asked me what my worry was. I was concerned that sinology in the East would disappear. Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism are part of Chinese traditional culture. But few studies traditional culture now. When I was young, there were perhaps 20 to 30 old professors with a solid foundation of studies in Chinese traditional culture. Most of them have since passed away and there are perhaps less than ten left now. In another ten years, there will be no one left to teach, even if we desperately want to learn traditional culture. This prospect is dreadful! Why is the world in such chaos today? It has a great deal to do with education. In the East, education had been about learning to be a good person who genuinely contributes to society and humankind. But nowadays, no one is learning such teachings. The vice-chancellor shared the same concern as mine and we spoke for a long time, over three hours.
A month later, the vice-chancellor visited me in Hong Kong together with two professors. Again, we talked about the same topic. He was very positive and proposed a programme – jointly establishing an academy of sinology, which is now the Academy of Sinology UK. It is the second academic term now. After it finishes, we will progress into the third academic term. We are recruiting a group of young people and provide them with scholarships as an encouragement to study. We hope that they will be able to inherit Chinese sages’ education of Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. We must not lose these teachings.
The vice-chancellor also thought about religion. So he proposed another programme – establishing a doctorate programme training preachers and teachers of different religions. The class would recruit twenty five doctorate students who will graduate after three-year of study. At present, there are not many preachers with a doctorate degree. The programme is to elevate the qualifications of preachers and we hope that every preacher will have a doctorate degree in religion in the future. This is a good deed! I fully support it. This programme has also recently started. Wonderful!
So long as we have inheritors of these great teachings, our minds can rest in peace. We hope that every generation will carry on reviving religious education in the West and Chinese traditional culture in the East. We must restore religion as education. Why is it? It is because it will resolve conflicts. If a person has learned to be a sage and has read books on sages’ wisdom, they will not be in conflict with anyone in their life. When someone is hostile towards me, I will treat that person with goodwill in return. As a result, a great majority of people will be touched and changed. Those who are malicious will become benevolent. Those who are bad will turn good.
In the past, traditional private school teachers in China also followed the four learning steps of believing, understanding, practising and attaining. They believed that sages’ education would greatly benefit oneself. Use these teachings to cultivate ourselves and manage our families, we will attain happiness at home; use them for our careers, there will be a positive development in our endeavours. Wonderful! It then progresses to the next level. Using terms that most will understand, after graduating from primary school, children in ancient China progressed to the equivalent of secondary school today and they learned the Four Books and Five Classics which are mostly about the wisdom and knowledge of governing a country properly and bringing peace to the world. With that wisdom and knowledge, a person will positively contribute to society and their country. If you know how to govern a country properly, you will be a good member of parliament. If you know how to bring peace to the world, you will be a good national leader. This is truly hard to come by!
Hence we now have a clear understanding of what religion is. Religion is education. What does it teach? When we read the sacred texts of all religions, which word occurs most frequently? Love. Therefore I am certain that religious education is the education of love. We should learn from God and learn His universal love. After that, we should love every human being and every being on the planet on behalf of God. Such a person is a child and a student of God. Hence we need to restore religion as an education and run religious schools such as the university programme that is running. Isn’t it marvellous! What do the students study? They learn to love all people in the world and they learn to resolve conflicts.
今天时间到了，我们就学习到此地。谢谢大家。
Well, time is up. This is it for today. Thank you.
Venerables, fellow students, my warmest greetings to you all. Today, we will continue to talk about ‘God loves all Beings’. We did not finish the report last time. So we will continue from there.
The British historian Arnold Toynbee once said that the founders of all religions were great social educators of their times. Up until now, we are all still deeply influenced by these religious teachings. It is hence clear that religious education is widely welcomed and supported by many. If we neglect it and totally lose our faith in religion, it is perhaps the beginning for human civilisations to collapse.
We have been in close contact with different religions and studying their sacred texts. During the process, we feel deeply that God, the true divinity, and sages of all religions are one. The core of all religious teachings is ‘love’. Religious education is the education of love. Its core is to guide us to promote ‘love’ and to truly understand how sincerely and unconditionally to love other people, love all living beings and love the whole universe. ‘Love’ is the first virtue of our self-nature, our true mind.
We study religions and we are steadily learning the sacred texts. ‘God loves all beings’ is the core of all religions. I have met many people who asked me what religion is. I told them, ‘Religion is love. Religion is education. Religion is the education of love.’ So how do we keep God’s selfless love in our hearts? When we love all human beings on behalf of God, ‘God loves all beings’ is then put into practice. Otherwise, ‘God loves all beings’ is only empty words.
We can then ask further, ‘How does God love all beings?’ In this regard, we need to be clear about the rationale and practice. God’s love is selfless and unconditional. Why is it? Almost every religion tells us that all divinities are one entity. When we study each religion in the future, we will find in sacred texts that ‘all divinities are one entity, and all religions are one family’. When we can attain this understanding and state of mind, we are not far from reaching a great religious cohesion among all faiths. Religious cohesion will bring real happiness to humanity, and all divinities will be pleased.
This selfless, genuine and universal love is God’s love and the Buddha’s compassion. They are one, not two. In fact, the love mentioned in the sacred texts of all religions is the same. When religious followers, especially clergies, can love all human beings on behalf of God, God’s Heaven will come to Earth. All of us have indeed the responsibility of bringing God’s Heaven to this suffering world.
We have engaged in bringing religions together for many years. I attempted this effort in Singapore between 1998 and 1999 and it was successful. It took us one year. In 2000 I immigrated to Australia and tested there. It was also a success, but took us a little longer. It took us one year in Singapore to reach where we were. In Australia it took us longer, I think it took about 13 years. In today’s society it is hard for people to believe things without seeing good examples. So the best approach is to witness and experience religious cohesion personally How do we approach it? The most important thing between human beings is getting in touch with each other. Without closer contact, unity and cohesion is difficult to achieve.
How did we make friends with the local people in Toowoomba? When I first arrived at Australia, I purchased a church and renovated it into a Buddhist hall. Except for replacing the cross with a statue of Amitabha Buddha, everything else in the church remained unchanged. Unexpectedly, the local people were very pleased with what we did because they could see that we wanted to preserve their culture. They were able to see what we have done. On the first day of opening the Buddhist hall, we invited neighbours on both sides of the street to join us and celebrate the happy day of opening the hall and our immigration to Toowoomba. In the evening we served them all a vegetarian dinner and reported to them why we immigrated to Toowoomba. We wanted to test on our ideal of ‘all religions are one family, and all divinities are one entity’.
Towards the end of the dinner, over ten neighbours came to see me and asked me a question, ‘Venerable, we really like the activity you organised. Could you please do it more often?’ I was very pleased with their suggestion and decided to hold the dinner once a week. They were all very happy. Therefore we organised friendship dinner to bring people together. Every Saturday evening we held a friendship dinner. People gathered together around the table and communicated with one another with ease and joy. They did not know what Buddhism was and they were curious. They liked asking us questions and we answered all questions. Year after year, we have not changed this arrangement. Up until today, Friendship Dinner is still running on every Saturday.
To us, things like friendship dinner are the expressions of the Buddha’s compassion and God’s love. It transcends religious boundaries and consequently harmony is present amongst different religious groups. Thirteen years later, leaders and representatives of over ten religious groups in Toowoomba visited me. They told me that they were very grateful to the contribution that we made in Toowoomba, and that they were willing to join us in unity and set a good example for the rest of the community, a message that says religions can work together and different religious groups can become a family, loving and caring for one another and cooperating with each other. We have done it and I am very pleased.
Last March, we invited nine UNESCO ambassadors to visit and inspect Toowoomba. They witnessed us frequently communicating and exchange ideas with different religious groups as well as our hope for religious cohesion and restoring religion as education. After their visit to Toowoomba, the ambassadors gained confidence. Upon their return to UNESCO, they delivered a detailed report and also applied for an office for me, which is where we are now. I named it ‘The Association of Chin Kung’s Friends’. We are here to take on the responsibility for helping UNESCO engage in long-term activities in terms of realizing religious cohesion and religious education. This is what we wish to contribute and it is now part of what UNESCO does.
The Association is now formally established and we use this recording studio as our tool and classroom. This is the second day of using it. My general health is worse off than last year. Just like said the old saying: ‘Time spares no man.’ Last year I could feel it to some degree. But this year I feel that age is truly catching up with me.
I have delivered Dharma lectures for over 60 years. Some thoughtful students have helped collect and compile various lecture materials and notes of Dharma talks given in these 60 years. The collection is fairly complete. I am very surprised at seeing them. When I was younger, in good health and energetic, I could regularly give four hours of lectures every day. When I delivered talks on ‘The Avatamsaka Sutra’, I never felt tired and my voice was loud and clear. Majority of my lectures and talks were recorded in audio and visual formats and they can still be used. I have requested fellow students to select the parts of talks that people needs and would want to listen to. These readily available recordings can be broadcasted via satellite or the Internet as a reference for beginners. Many people have listened to these recordings. Many of them also put what they have learned into practice. The recordings indeed help us believe, understand, practise and attain our goal.
To believe is to gain confidence, to gain the confidence in Buddhism. To understand is to comprehend classical texts. To practise is to apply what we have learned and conduct our lives accordingly. What the scriptures stated, we turn these teachings into our thoughts, speech and actions. It will greatly benefit our daily lives and help us in different lines of work. Subsequently, it proves that Buddhism is education. When we expand it further, all religions are education.
So what does this education teach? It teaches us ethics, morality, causality and sages’ wisdom. The four subjects are neglected in the education system today. School education, even some religious teachings, hardly mentions these four subjects. But they are very important and we must bring them back. We will take the lead and do it first. Our ultimate goal is to bring all religions on board and act as one. We do recognise that divinities of all religions are different manifestations of one true God. In other words, the divinities and sages of all religions are one and ‘all divinities are one entity, and all religions are one family’. Religion can be revived, social order in the West can be restored, and society will gain stability and harmony. The East must revive the teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism as well as China’s traditional education.
In the world today whether it is in China or any other country, when we observe carefully, there are teachings of ethics, morality and causality everywhere. These teachings can be found in every country in the world. We have seen them in the sacred texts of all religions. The problem today is that no one talks about them, no one advocates them, and no one practises them. It is why it is difficult to pass them on to more people. Today, we have gained a clear understanding that we should start from ‘God loves all beings’. We should start from ourselves and practise what is written in the sacred texts, ‘God loves all beings’, ‘all divinities are one entity’, ‘all religions are one family’. We should use this approach to restore religious education in the West and traditional education in China, and subsequently help resolve conflicts on Earth and facilitate social stability and harmony. This is what we need to do at the Association here in UNESCO.
今天时间到了，我们就讲到此地。祝福大家，身心健康，法喜充满！
Well, time is up. This is it for today. May you all enjoy healthy mind and body, and be filled with Dharma happiness!
The deepening of religious cohesion must be on the basis of all religious groups delving into one another’s sacred texts. Only with this basis can we succeed. In so doing, the preachers and followers of all faiths will come to understand the commonalities among the sacred texts of one another’s religion and that they are all the children of one true God.
Considering the great importance of understanding and learning the sacred texts of each religion, we selected a number of excerpts of the most essential teachings from the sacred texts of eleven major religions in the world. They enable readers to understand that all divinities are truly one entity and that they all have the same universal love and true mind. This is the basis of our study as well as the core of it. Otherwise, the significance of religious cohesion would be lost. The booklet ‘God Loves All Beings’ helps us reach this state of mutual understanding.
We know that the roots of learning lie in the sentence ‘all divinities have the same universal love and true mind’. First of all, we must be without any doubt that, according to the scriptures, every religion is based on sacred teachings. So how do we find this love? This love, the sacred love, comes from our true mind, but not from our false mind. So what is a false mind? It is a mind with differentiation and attachment. Or to sum up, a mind that gives rise to random thought is a false mind, a mind that has differentiation and attachment is a false mind. We must let go of the false mind and then the true mind will appear. God’s love for all is the manifestation of a true mind, and there is no difference between the true mind of all beings and that of God.
It is why in the end we will understand what these excerpts from various scriptures tell us: not only all divinities are one entity, but the entire universe arise due to the true mind and the universe changes in accordance to the false mind. The true mind reveals Heaven and the Land of Ultimate Bliss whereas the false mind changes them into the ten dharma-realms (our universe is included within). The ten dharma-realms, the Land of Ultimate Bliss and Heaven are one, not two.
It is stated in a Buddhist sutra that ‘All phenomena is illusive and unreal’. This is true, not false. When we let go of all that is illusive and unreal, remove them from our minds, at this very moment, our minds are the true mind. What is the difference between us and those who have attained enlightenment and witnessed the true nature? It lies right here. When they see anything, no thought arises in their minds but they can see it all clearly and thoroughly. When they hear anything, they can hear it all clearly but no thought arises in their minds. From here, we can see the secret of the cultivation and attainment of ancient sages. Once we fully and clearly understand what it is, we also want to learn it! To learn it is to attain the ability, to learn is to do or practise it. When ordinary people do something, there are wandering thoughts, differentiation and attachment as well as afflictions and aquired habits in their minds. As for those who have attained enlightenment and attained their true nature, there are no thought, differentiation and attachment when their six sense are in contact with worldly phenomena This is the difference.
If anyone thinks that they must leave this world in order to attain enlightenment, then they are completely wrong! They cannot leave this world to attain it. Truth and falsehood are one and the same, how could they leave the world to attain awakening? So what should we do? Well, Buddhas, bodhisattvas, the founders of all religions, God as well as God’s messengers and those who taught and reformed all beings in the six realms, all of them not only taught us but also were good role models for us. So when the state of our minds is the same as that of theirs, we will have attained the right “Path”. What shall we have attained? We shall have attained the path to attaining enlightenment. By then, we shall know how to get there, that is, how to use our six senses when in contact with this world to properly conduct our learning. For example, when our eyes see a form or a phenomenon, it is a chance to cultivate ourselves and learning to attain enlightenment . Start from this moment onward, whenever we see any form or phenomenon, be it beautiful or ugly, we do not differentiate the form, nor do we have any attachment to it, and lastly, we let go of the form from our minds. This is the right way to cultivate.
And what would ordinary people do? Ordinary people cannot let go of any form or phenomenon, true or false. Everything is on their minds. They do not know that the true mind or self-nature is pure without a single speck of dust. Although a person with a true mind sees a form or phenomenon, that form touches not the mind within; although they hear a sound, that sound is not present in the mind. As for what they smell or taste, they let go of it. It is why it is called ‘one self-nature’ or the ‘true self-nature’. What does ‘true self-nature’ mean? True and false are one, not two, and they are called ‘one self-nature’ or the ‘true self-nature’. Do not differentiate or be attached to anything---this is where we start our learning. We need to practise it with genuine effort. When you can truly practise it, you will attain what Professor Fang Dongmei told me – ‘Practising the Buddha’s teachings is the highest enjoyment of one’s life’. I attain it, you attain it, they attain it, and everyone attains it. How is it attained? Stop from having wandering thoughts, no more differentiation, no more attachment and do let go of everything on your mind. This is the right way. Those who cannot let go of things are ordinary people. They have changed their true mind into false mind and changed their self-nature into habitual nature. This is where the problem is. I can testify what Professor Fang said – ‘the highest enjoyment of one’s life’.
Someone asked me, ‘I’ve cultivated for decades, but I still have much afflictions and without peace or happiness. How did you do it?’ I told him, ‘If you learn from me, you’ll also achieve it. What do you need to learn? Let go of things from your mind.’ This sentence is easy to say, but hard to do. Why? It is because you have developed a habit of thinking, differentiating and being attached to various things. Whenever you see or hear something, thoughts immediately arise in your mind. When your six senses are in contact with the world, all of them are busy with creating more wanderingthoughts. This is where the real trouble is! So long as thoughts are arising in our minds, our minds are the false mind, not the true mind anymore. Let go of wandering thoughts, let go of thoughts of differentiation and let go of attachment. Let go of everything in the mind. This is the true mind and this is self-nature. Numerous sutras and sacred texts help us understand the true reality of all phenomena in the world. Once we understand the truth, as mentioned in the previous lesson, the four learning steps are believing, understanding, practising and attaining. The step of “understanding” is only knowing the truth but without the practise. So what do we practised? “Let go” is the practise. Once you let go of things, your understanding will turn into wisdom and it is no longer afflictions.
Learn to “let go” is how you should cultivate yourself. I sought guidance from my teacher, the Changkya Khutukhtu, ‘Is there a quicker way of getting into Buddhism?’ Having heard my question, he looked at me. And I looked at him back. We looked at one another in silence for half an hour. I did not know what he meant by looking at me at that time. Later, I realised that he was waiting for my mind to settle down. If my mind did not settle down, I would not take in his words and I would not have believed what my teacher said. That half an hour was much like entering into meditation for me. After that, my mind was pure without any thought. He then said one word, ‘Yes.’ Well, hearing his answer, I immediately focused my attention to what he was about to say. Wrong move! Because wandering thoughts arised in my mind. Once again, he stopped speaking. This time, he waited for about 10 minutes. You see, in the first 30 minutes, I settled down my mind and he said one word ‘yes’. After that, my mind was stirred and random thoughts together with differentiation and attachment was present. As I had all of those, he did not speak further. Ten minutes later, my mind settled down again. He then told me, “See through and let go”. “See through the truth of everything will help you let go of them. Letting go of things helps you see through them.” Then, I understood the method. What is the cultivation and practice of Buddhism? It is to see through things and let go of them. Seeing through things is wisdom, and letting go of them is real practise.
In our daily lives, if you want to benefit from the practice of the Buddha’s teachings, you must let go of all affairs. Letting go will help us gain wisdom. There are just too many benefits from such practice. Gradually, you will attain the state of the minds of Buddhas. Buddhas and bodhisattvas have attained enlightenment. You will also attain it. Enlightenment is something innate to our self-nature, and it is not gained from outside. The ability to practise is also innate to us and it is also meditative concentration. When there is something on our minds, we cannot enter into meditative concentrate. So when we let go of wandering thoughts, differentiation and attachment, our minds will be able to achieve meditative concentration. Meditative concentration gives rise to wisdom, which is innate in our self-nature. Subsequently, we shall be able to delve deeper into the sutras and gradually grasp the width and depth of them. This is something we must know. I hope that fellow students can slowly contemplate it.
It is best kind of fortune if we do not have to manage people, affairs and money in our lifetime. We should learn to let go of people and affairs. So when there is something we have to do, we do it properly but let go of all of it after we are done. We let go of money too. At that moment, you will fully experience what Professor Fang said ‘Practising the Buddha’s teachings is the highest enjoyment in one’s life’.
The first faith we learn is the Bahá’í Faith. The Bahá’í Faith is a relatively new religion. What is rare and wonderful about its teaching is that their scriptures mention almost all faiths. It is particularly remarkable that they are able to broaden their minds and affirm that all divinities are one entity and the entire universe is one big family. This notion is in tune with our topic.
We excerpted a few paragraphs from its canonical texts and here is the first paragraph, ‘God’s purpose in sending His Prophets unto men is twofold. The first is to liberate the children of men from the darkness of ignorance, and guide them to the light of true understanding. The second is to ensure the peace and tranquillity of mankind, and provide all the means by which they can be established.
These ‘means' are found in the 5000-year culture of China in the East as well as in many religions in the West. Why is it? After delving into scriptures, we gradually realise one thing which is also made clear in Mahayana scriptures. God, there is one true God and there are infinite beings, but they are all of one entity. All divinities are one entity. And all beings are of the same entity as God. Who is the entity? In Buddhist terms, it is our own dharma body. The dharma body has no appearance or form. When one attains dharma body imperfectly, such being is called dharma body bodhisattva. When one attains a perfect dharma body, this being is called Buddha.
Before attaining perfection, we have seen many examples just like what is stated in the text, people live in the darkness of ignorance and therefore God helps them to turn around and return to their self-nature. There are many ‘means’ or methods for it. Why are there so many methods? It is because all beings have different attributes and characters. Whenever God, Buddhas or bodhisattvas teach, they adjust their teaching methods to the attributes and characters of the listeners. They will use different materials to teach people with different attributes and characters. In so doing, it is easier for people to approach and understand the teachings. This is quite rational. There are infinite methods of teachings. In Buddhism it is said that there are 84,000 methods which also means infinite methods. When someone is able to teach using methods tailored to your attributes and characters, this someone is truly extraordinary. In Buddhism, Buddhas and bodhisattvas are extraordinary. Although arhats are awakened, they are not fully enlightened yet. Even for bodhisattvas, there are 51 levels, just like in school education there is grade one, grade two, grade three, etc. In Mahayana Buddhism there are 51 levels of bodhisattvas. Among them, there are ten highest levels, together with the level of equal-enlightenment bodhisattva makes it eleven. These 11 highest levels bodhisattvas have almost reached perfection in cultivation. Going through 51 levels then there is the level of Buddha, the merit of which is perfect.
There are ten schools of Mahayana Buddhism in China. Under each of them there are sub-schools. It is why a Buddhist line goes, ‘There are many doors of convenience, but there is only one path taking us back to the origin.’ Each method will enable us to attain the ultimate Enlightenment. Why are there so many methods? It is because of the different attributes and characters of all beings. In fact, to speak the truth, the Buddha has nothing to teach you. When you attain Enlightenment, you will have done it by yourself. The Buddha has ways of helping you to break delusions and attain Enlightenment. Attaining Enlightenment is your own business, but without using those methods, you do not know how to get there and will get lost, and you will not benefit from the Buddha’s teachings. Therefore, for the convenience of myriads of beings, or even one single being, Buddhas show them numerous methods. We have now gradually experienced the rationale behind it. It is just like us pursuing education. In our childhood we attended primary school. There were corresponding textbooks and pedagogy for primary school students. When we progressed to secondary school, there were textbooks and pedagogy for secondary school students. Similar things applied when we embarked on higher education.
God loves all beings and God helps all beings. He dispatches delegates to do it, just like us sending off representatives or teachers today. Using an analogy of school, God is the school principal and He has many teachers assisting Him. These teachers carry out assignments and help all beings break delusions, attain Enlightenment, be freed from suffering and obtain happiness. Hence, they use 84,000 methods or infinite methods. The true body of the sages, saints and prophets of all religions on this planet is God. In other words, they are the manifestations or the provisional forms of God, and are of the same entity as God.
Let us look at the next paragraph. This paragraph is very important, ‘You are all the leaves of one tree and the drops of one ocean.’ ‘The drops of one ocean’, we can easily understand it, one entity. He used an analogy of tree and its leaves. The big tree is God and it is transformed into infinite beings and worlds. One planet is a world. How many astronomical bodies are there in the space? Myriads of them. We can only see a few of them. Many of them are too far away from our planet. It is easier for us to see stars as they are luminous, but there are countless astronomical bodies that are not luminous. Scientists told us that there is one star in the Solar System, the Sun, and there are nine planets orbiting it. There are also natural satellites or moons orbiting each of the planets. We can see those planets and moons because they reflect the light of the sun. But we do not know the astronomical phenomenon that do not reflect the light of stars.
Science is constantly developing and our horizon is constantly being expanded. Thanks to science and many devices it invented, we can now see many things that are impossible to observe with our naked eyes. This is the macro-world. As for the micro-world, scientific devices help us observe much more organisms that we cannot see with our naked eyes such as cells and bacteria. We learn common knowledge like these from scientific reports. But is that all? I doubt it. There is bound to be more than that. We wait for the further development of scientific equipment enabling us to see everything that we cannot see now. This tells us that we are of one dharma body, just as it is said here ‘the leaves of one tree’.
Outside this building there are parks on both sides of the street. The trees in the parks are of old age and very tall, and give us comfortable shadows keeping us cool. All those trees, as it is said in the sacred text, there are so many of you and you are all the leaves of one tree. We are closely connected. We are not separate individual trees, but are the leaves of one single tree.
Here is another line, ‘…are the drops of one ocean.’ Ocean is not far from us. Paris is next to Atlantic Ocean. We cannot see the boundary of the ocean. Each being is like a drop of seawater. This metaphor is heart-warming. It clearly explains the relationship between human beings and that between human beings and God. Have we accepted the explanation? No, we haven’t. Why not? It is because we have been deluded too deeply and for too long.
Therefore, we cannot be without God and the messengers that God sends to the world. The messengers are God’s assistants and they are our teachers. We should respect and trust them without doubt. If we seek the ultimate truth with doubt, it is difficult to succeed. It is fine to study science with doubt, but it does not work with seeking and cultivating towards ultimate truth. The ultimate truth is metaphysical. Hence, we must be convinced that what is said in the sacred text is God’s words and it is what God’s messengers taught us. It is where we build our confidence. After we have gained confidence, we will then resolve problems.
To cultivate oneself is to seriously learn the teachings given in sacred texts and turn them into the norms of our daily lives. We should think, speak and behave in accordance with the scriptures. This is what the children of God and the students of saints and sages do.
There are fellow practitioners telling me that ‘I really want to learn more, but just can’t get into that state of mind. What can I do?’ I will tell you from where we can start. Be it Confucianism, Buddhism or the sacred texts of all religions, in order to initiate our learning, we need to take the steps of practise and attainment first. We may have understood what is taught, but have not yet put it into practice in our daily lives. In that case the teaching does not work and we cannot get attain the benefits. The rationale applies to many religions which also propose starting from letting go. What do we let go? Let go of wandering thoughts, let go of differentiation, let go of attachment. In so doing, you will be able to see the door that leads to true cultivation and subsequently enter that door.
Some practitioners tell me that ‘I just can’t let go. What can I do?’ I suggest you to learn the teachings in sacred texts. Why can’t you let go? It is because you do not know the truth of reality. Once you have known the truth, you will no longer keep them in your mind but will naturally let go of them. Once you can let go, you will feel at ease. Once you can let go, your wisdom will arise. I’ll tell you one more thing. If you genuinely want to learn and find your way to the truth, no matter which one of the ten religions you want to learn, there is no exception, it all starts from letting go of afflictions and acquired habits. Afflictions and acquired habits are the roots. They are like the roots of a tree. If we can let go of these roots, the leaves and branches of the tree will naturally disappear.
From where do we set foot in Confucianism? The roots of ‘fighting desires’ and ‘ achieving wisdom’ is a starting point. Subsequently, we will be able to cultivate ourselves, managing our families in harmony, governing our countries properly and bringing peace to the world. What do these roots mean? We must have a thorough understanding of them. ‘Fighting desires’ is to fight against ourselves, our inner desires. What does ‘desires’ mean here? Desires will eventually kill us. We are used to having desires at all times. When we see, hear, smell or taste, our desires are enabled. But when they are in action, we are actually deluded but not awakened. What is awakening like? When our desires are not in action, we are awakened. So where do we start? We start from letting go of our desires, afflictions, acquired habits and all mistakes.
We should rectify our mistakes as soon as we are aware of them. So how do we rectify mistakes? Start from letting go first, and then learn the teachings. In so doing, our cultivation will be well-grounded. But if we repeat the same mistake again after we have let go of it, how can we really let go? After letting go, our wisdom will reveal itself. Where does wisdom come from? Well, those with few afflictions have more wisdom, and those with more afflictions have less wisdom. Wandering thoughts, differentiation and attachment only bring us afflictions but not wisdom. But the problem is that we just cannot let go of wandering thoughts, differentiation and attachment. Not only that. We are even adding fuel to the fire. There is nothing wrong with what we read in scriptures. However, our way of practice are wrong, the direction and the path we take are wrong.
Buddhism speaks of seeing through and letting go. Confucianism speaks of ‘fighting desires and achieving wisdom’. Doing battles against the materialistic desires and eventually defeat them. And we finally achieve or illuminate our innate wisdom. We do not have wisdom at present because we have too many desires and wandering thoughts, none of which are real. From today onwards, we let go of those things but only keep God’s love in our minds. The main title of the lecture is ‘God Loves All Beings’. All sacred texts tell us that God loves all beings and it is true, not false. We must thoroughly understand this teaching and begin our work from here.
By following this order of learning steps and constantly improve ourselves, we will in the end govern our countries properly and bring peace to the world. Well, speaking of it, we have not yet left the Earth and still reside on this planet. Your merit will have reached perfection while you are still here. If we keep improving ourselves, we will be living with God in Heaven or reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss according to Buddhist teachings. Only then, the question will be thoroughly understood and we will gain the ultimate and best benefit, the great perfection. This is the goal that we all should work towards. The sacred texts, divinities, saints and prophets of all religions tell us that we can do it. So long as we are determined and really endeavour to do it, together, we will be able to help one another and continuously improve ourselves.
体会一体的爱，要从伦理教育的「父子有亲」开始，然后通过道德教育与因果教育加以扩大。父母与子女之间的亲爱不是哪个人发明的，而是自性里头本来具足的。从这个亲爱扩展出去，就是仁爱；能够推己及人，自然而然「凡是人，皆须爱」。这是我们真心的显露，儒家称之为「孝」，佛家称之为「大慈大悲」，《圣经》称之为「上帝之爱」（God’s love （Romans 5:5）)。而且，《圣经》很明确的说：「神就是爱」（God is love（John 4:8））。佛经也说：「一切众生本来是佛」，这个语气多么肯定！
能够爱人，就懂得自爱；懂得自爱，必然也能够爱人。儒家说这个境界是「天人合一」，佛家说「一切万法，不离自性」，《圣经》教我们「一切与基督同归於一」（bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ（Ephesians 1:10））。所以，真正觉悟的人懂得自爱、懂得爱人。能够自爱是自利，能够爱人是利他，自利利他达到究竟就是宗教教育的圆满。
二ＯＯ一年，我应当时澳洲移民部兼多元文化部部长菲利普．卢铎先生（Hon. Philip Ruddock）邀请移民澳洲，协助澳洲政府团结宗教、团结族群。我在昆士兰州图文巴市从事这两项工作，所用的也是四摄法。十多年来，我们成功的将图文巴十多个宗教团结起来。近年来，我们每年都到教科文组织来汇报图文巴和谐工作的成果。去年三月，九位教科文组织的大使访问图文巴，亲身见证了当地和谐的气氛。
尊敬的穆斯林世界联盟秘书长阿利萨博士（His Excellency Dr. Mohammad Ibn Abdulkarim Alissa）、威尔士首席大臣琼斯阁下（First Minister the Right Honourable Carwyn Jones）、威尔士穆斯林委员会秘书长基德瓦伊教授（Secretary General, Muslim Council of Wales Prof. Saleem Kidwai）、各位嘉宾、女士们、先生们：大家好！
二ＯＯ一年起，我应澳洲移民部菲利普．卢铎先生（Hon. Philip Ruddock）邀请移民澳洲，在昆士兰州图文巴市从事宗教团结与族群团结的工作，所用的也是四摄法。十多年来，我们将图文巴十几个宗教团结起来，感动市民们发心将图文巴打造成「多元文化和谐示范城」。去年三月，九位教科文组织大使前往图文巴参观，深受感动。去年九月，大使们为我在教科文组织申请一个办公室，名为「净公上人之友社」（Association of Master Chin Kung′s Friend at UNESCO），希望我推动宗教团结与宗教教育，以促进世界和平。
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The Importance of Building Good Relationships and Trust in Today’s Society Episode 1 2018/12/8 The Chapel at St. Ursula’s College, Toowoomba, Australia No：21-792-0001_en
Respected Mayor of the Toowoomba Regional Council, Cr Paul Antonio; the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba, Most Reverend Robert McGuckin; the Anglican Bishop for the Western Region, the Right Reverend Cameron Venables; faith representatives, friends from overseas, ladies and gentlemen, my warmest greetings to you！
Thanks to the organizers, the Toowoomba Interfaith Working Group (TIWG) and the Pure Land Learning College Association, who hold International Interfaith Peace Conference in Toowoomba. It’s great to see religious representatives and guests from Australia and around the world come together to exchange ideas on interfaith harmony and social solidarity. I’m very honoured to be invited to share my thoughts on ‘The Importance of Building Good Relationships and Trust in Contemporary Society’.
A society is an organic symbiosis in which people connect with one another. Everyone is a cell in the symbiosis that is interconnected and interdependent. With this interconnected relationship, everyone in the society forms a complex and inseparable relationship network. Like the system in an individual living being, the closer the cooperative relationships that the cells form, the healthier and more vigorous the living being will be. A plant is healthy and lush because every cell in its roots, stems, branches, and leaves work selflessly and tirelessly for the survival and development of the whole. In the final analysis, the power that connects these countless cells is a ‘one body’ relationship.
This kind of relationship is formed naturally not involuntarily. If cells or organs of a living being are unwilling to take care of each other, unwilling to work for or have conflicts with each other, the life force of this living being will end quickly. This kind of abnormal internal relationship completely violates the way of life of nature. From this, we can conclude that if people drift apart and become indifferent, even to the point of becoming suspicious and competitive, the social symbiosis will easily lose vitality and become sick.
In fact, the inner meaning of life and the ‘oneness’ between life can be easily observed in the interaction between a mother and her child. The mother-child relationship shows the most powerful connection between people. In this relationship, there is no indifference, suspicion or selfishness. It only consists of an unconditional, selfless love and unconditional trust. We can see that, if a mother doesn’t have altruistic love for her child or if a child doesn’t have unreserved trust in the mother, human life would not continue for long. We can assume that, for the continuity and development of life, there is no other biological power that is stronger than that of mother-child relationship. The essence of this unparalleled power is love and trust. Unconditional love and absolute trust.
From this kind of the most primitive and precious natural forces that sustain our lives, we can see that the essential power for maintaining the long-term survival of society should be ‘love’ and ‘trust’.. When love and trust become increasingly weak in a society, the connections between people will become increasingly fragile. If love and trust hardly exist, the connections between people would completely collapse and would not withstand the smallest challenge.
The mother-child relationship is the most harmonious model of human relationships. This relationship model is familiar to us. The closer we look at it, the more moved we feel. ‘Oneness’ is the pinnacle of a harmonious relationship. We are fortunate enough to observe this connection between mother and child. Since this pure love and trust can bring about the most harmonious human relationship, we should build interpersonal relationships as well as peace in the world and a harmonious society on the basis of love and trust. Let love, tolerance, and trust become pillars of all interpersonal relationships. We will thus have hope and will find a way to develop harmony for society.
Harmonious intra-organizational relationships are very important to a society. The distinguished British historian and philosopher, Dr Toynbee once reminded us that a loss of harmony in a society will inevitably lead to that society losing its ability to survive. Dr Toynbee found that, throughout history, on the eve of the collapse of every civilization, all levels of society within the civilization will be in a state of division. Dr Toynbee told us that the root cause of the decline of a civilization and the ultimate standard for its decline is actually the loss of harmony within this society.
From Dr Toynbee’s words, we can realise that ‘harmony’ is indeed very important. In contrast, ‘competition and conflict’ is truly frightening. Competition is a sign of fighting to get ahead; conflict precedes destruction. Understanding this, we must remain vigilant. We just talked about a mother’s love for her child and a child’s unconditional trust in the mother. Actually, trust originates from a love that does not differentiate and the ‘oneness’ relationship between a mother and her child. Therefore, we can say that love is the strongest connection between people. Love guides us back to the original oneness relationship of life and to the purest trust between people.
Unconditional love will lead to various positive social interactions, which in turn form solid and harmonious social networks. The scriptures and history of the world’s major religions provide us greater confidence and deeper reflection.
In the Holy Bible, God said to his children, ‘As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you’. From this text, we can see that, God uses the same unconditional love towards his children as a mother for her child, to connect with and help his child. The power of unconditional love provides such a connection between God and his children that it transcends time and space, enduring till today.
The Prophet Muhammed’s words and the history of Islam give us confidence as well. In the history of Islam, when the Prophet Muhammed fled from Mecca to Medina, he had succeeded in spreading Islam and won many followers on the Arabian Peninsula. The Prophet didn’t have any political or military power to force the people in Arabian Peninsula to accept the Islam belief. He connected with the hearts of people through Islamic education. This strongly bolstered the stability and harmony of the region as well as bringing people together in shared faith and values.
The reason why the Prophet can do this is because he loves the people on behalf of Allah. In the Holy Quran, Allah told the Prophet Muhammad: ‘We have sent you for no other reason but to be a mercy for mankind’. Allah said in The Holy Quran: ‘There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.’ From this text, we can see that the Prophet’s love for people was sincere and merciful. Through this sincere and merciful heart, the Prophet was able to move and bring people together.
When we examine the history of Christianity, in particular the time after the New Testament was written, we will be moved by the social and spiritual solidarity, which was manifested from the great love. We saw in The New Testament that Jesus represented God to love the world and bring people together. The apostles further loved people on behalf of Jesus. With his great love, Jesus was a role model to show us how to regard each other. Therefore, Jesus was able to influence and unify the society. In The Holy Bible, Jesus said: ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another even as I have loved you’. The apostles spread out Jesus’s great love to people and also practised the great love of Jesus. This led to a Christian world that in the following centuries spanned Europe, Asia and Africa. A world in which beliefs and values are integrated, one in which people’s minds are spiritually connected.
In the Bible, Paul the Apostle narrated the secret behind this success. He said: ‘Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children’. Saint Paul’s words showed us the intentions of the apostles, how they could unify people and bring harmony and stability to the society. The apostles are the role model to us, showing us how to help people form solid and harmonious relationships within communities and society. The model of love is very important. The apostles practiced Jesus’ great love. As the apostles practised the Jesus’ great love, when they told people to be compassionate and to love one another, their teachings manifested a power leading to strong social solidarity. These teachings were not only influential in ancient time, but have continued up to the present time.
In the Buddhist sutras as well, the Buddha showed us the intentions of Buddhas and bodhisattvas in helping all beings. In the Infinite Life Sutra, the intentions of the sages was epitomized in one sentence: ‘They regarded all beings as they would themselves’. These intentions are: ‘Great compassion is the root’. Having compassion for all beings, we will be able to obtain people’s trust, form harmonious relationships with others, and even build a harmonious and happy society. A harmonious society created from this mind is the Pure Land spoken of by Buddhists and heaven and the heavenly garden spoken of in religions. God, Allah, and the Buddha are role models for compassion and mercy, showing us the causality for going to heaven. We need to learn from them, learn how to love people and help them love and trust one another. Creating a heaven on earth.
As I mentioned earlier, the love and trust between a mother and her child is the best model for human relationships. However, with our acquired bad habits, we gradually drifted away from this unconditional love as we grew up. In light of this, how can we form harmonious relationships with others and thus contribute to the overall stability of society? We believe that people will eventually return to the wisdom taught in major religious scriptures.
When it comes to forming good relationships with others, I often share the public relations principles found in Buddhist sutras: the ‘four all-embracing methods’. It is a practical method for forming good interpersonal relationships, and consists of giving, kind words, beneficial acts, and cooperation. For many years, we have used this method to cooperate with other religions and ethnic groups. The results are significant.
The first principle is giving, which means being generous and helping others unconditionally. The second principle is ‘kind words’, which means saying caring words and making people feel warm and supported. The third principle is ‘beneficial acts’, which means doing things for others’ benefits instead of our personal gains. It’s very important that whatever we do, we always put others’ interests as the top priority. The last principle is ‘cooperation’, which means happily participating in events organised by others. For example, we can participate in and support charitable activities, moral education, and religious education, etc. organised by other religious communities. The key point of this method is to have sincerity in caring for and loving others. If we practise these principles with sincerity, we will achieve deeper, broader and more significant result.
Between people, ethnic groups and religious groups, it is important to meet often to form good relationships. In contrast, if people build barriers and don’t want to communicate with each other, it will lead to misunderstanding and suspicion. This would give opportunists a chance to incite quarrels among or within communities, leading to social unrest. We’re pleased that Toowoomba is becoming a role model for intercultural and interfaith harmony. This model has touched many peace-loving people, including ambassadors of UNESCO.
Over the years, we have been learning religious sacred texts proactively and experiencing the Dharma joy from studying these texts. Finally, I would like to sincerely quote from Christian and Islamic sacred texts. These two excerpts have served as my guidelines for lifelong learning. The texts are God’s sacred messengers’ blessings and guidance to humanity. The first excerpt is: ‘All of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.’ The second excerpt is: ‘You see the believers as regards their being merciful among themselves and showing love among themselves and being kind, resembling one body, so that, if any part of the body is not well then the whole body shares the sleeplessness (insomnia) and fever with it.’ These two excerpts are from St. Peter’s words in The Holy Bible and the Prophet Muhammed's teaching in the Sahih al-Bukhari. By sharing these texts, I hope we can encourage each other to proactively put these sacred teachings into practice and thus build trusting and solid relationships with members within communities and even with all people around the world to help each other and create a harmonious and beautiful world.
In conclusion, I would like to send my sincerest wish for a successful conference! May happiness and well-being be with every guest! May religions learn from each other, resolve conflicts, deepen their friendships and bring peace to the world. May Australia and every country in the world be stable and prosperous. May the world be peaceful and happy. May universal harmony be with the world! Thank you very much！
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Essentials of Pure Land Buddhism—Who makes you suffering？ （Episode 3） 2018/1/2 No：29-509-0003_en
What is so good about the Diamonds Sutra? It is simple and clear, nothing verbose. It tells the truth that “everything with form is unreal”.
You allow your mind to be stirred in every situation, you start thinking and keep thinking. Poor you, torturing yourself! Who gives it to you? You yourself, you ask for it. How to practise Buddhism on seeing things with your eyes? By keeping the mind from being stirred, by not starting to think. You see them clearly and you understand what you see. But you keep your mind in a quiet state without thinking. This is genuine practice. The eyes achieve samadhi on seeing things. Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra explains the principle to enable you to understand the facts and the truth, and to let go. Letting go is the realm of the Buddha. Otherwise, you remain trapped in the Six Paths of Rebirth of the sentient beings.
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Essentials of Pure Land Buddhism—How do we practise Buddism？ （Episode 4） 2018/1/2 No：29-509-0004_en
That is how we get to know everything, just as the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas do. They know because they are not lost. We don’t know because we are lost. What is getting lost? Thinking is getting lost. When we see fruits on the table, it is awareness that enables us to see them. Once we start thinking about wanting to eat them, we are lost. It takes great skills to eat them without thinking about them. How do we practise Buddhism? We practise it in everyday lives. We should learn not to start thinking, but to keep our mind in a quiet state. So by practising meditation, wisdom will come naturally. Orientals emphasise mental tranquility, that state of the mind is the “pure mind”. This is the core of learning. Once your mind is stirred, you are lost. Whenever and wherever you are, you should strive to keep your mind in a quiet state. Not to think results in the pure mind; to think, the impure mind. We should keep the pure mind, not the impure mind. Those who keep the pure mind are the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas. Those who keep the impure mind are the sentient beings on the Six Paths of Rebirth.
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Essentials of Pure Land Buddhism—How do we live in the same state as the Buddha's？ （Episode 5） 2018/1/2 No：29-509-0005_en
How to tell whether it is true or false? As quantum theory puts it, everything from a mind stirred is false. With the whole universe in front of me, it is false once my mind is stirred and I start thinking. It is true once I keep my mind in a quiet state and do not think. Trueness and falseness is the same. Trueness is falseness, and falseness is trueness. Why? Because trueness does not entail birth and death, but falseness entails birth and death. That is why there is birth and death once you stir your mind and start thinking, but there is neither birth nor death once you keep your mind in a quiet state and do not think. This is fascinating. You must be determined not to hurt yourself. Who saves you? You save yourself. Does the Buddha save you? No. The Buddha merely explains the facts and the truth. Once you manage to understand it and you follow the Buddha’s Teachings, then you will have proven yourself and be in the same state as the Buddha’s.
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Essentials of Pure Land Buddhism—How to make the communities thrive？ （Episode 6） 2018/1/2 No：29-509-0006_en
If people praise one another, the communities will thrive. If people mistrust and suspect one another, the communities have no future. However glorious they may shine is only an illusion. To study the sutras is to sing praises. You must study the sutras. Without studying them you are lost. To study the sutras is to connect with the Buddhas, the Bodhisattvas and the saints. Not to study them is to connect with the mortals. Connecting with mortals brings us problems and a hard life.
By connecting with the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas, you will live happily. From morning to night and from the first day of the year to the last day of the year you will have no worries. This is the way to attain ultimate freedom from our being.
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Essentials of Pure Land Buddhism—What is religion？ （Episode 7） 2018/1/2 No：29-509-0007_en
Europe did experience a peaceful and prosperous age in the past, though it didn’t last very long. What led to that peaceful and prosperous age? Religion. After all, people who believe in religion, the gods or God would think twice before doing anything bad so that they would not go too far. The past century saw great progress in science. Scientists have been telling people that God and religion are unreal. So people gave up religion and no longer believed in it. This resulted in social disorder. How can society return to peace that reigned? Only by reviving religion can society be saved. This is because, unlike the Chinese, they do not have Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. They rely on religion. This is why we have to discuss this issue in depth. How to revive religion? By bringing it back to education. It is necessary to understand clearly what religion in fact is. What is religion? It is education. Religion preceded civilisation in history. It bred civilisation. Without religion as the basis of civilisation, no civilisation would last longer than three hundred years.
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Essentials of Pure Land Buddhism—What is superstition？ （Episode 8） 2018/1/2 No：29-509-0008_en
In the past three thousand years there used to be more than twenty different cultures. Now, there is only one, the Chinese culture. Chinese culture still exists, but the others no longer exist. Why? Because science caused the foundation of religion to collapse. Scientists told people that religion is an illusion, it is unreal. So, religion collapsed. Although some religions survive, yet they are superstitions, their beliefs are unfounded. There are believers who can recite religion texts led by a clergyman in church, just like the Chinese in Buddhist devotional gathering that is ceremonial and ritualistic in nature. So, this is a crisis. What should be done about religion? We support the view that religion is education, not superstition. That is why we must return religion to the basics. We hope that Religion Instructors can clearly and precisely explain the religion classics. This will show that religion is not superstition. If you can only recite the religion text but you do not understand its meaning, then that is superstition. Unfounded belief must revert to founded belief.
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Essentials of Pure Land Buddhism—How to accumulate blessings？ （Episode 9） 2018/1/3 No：29-509-0009_en
To accumulate virtue is the first merit in Buddhism. If you follow the instructions correctly, you are accumulating blessings and saving Buddhism. If you pursue personal fame and profits, you will fall into Hell. You will never know the truth until you fall into Hell. This is too torturing and unworthy to try. How to accumulate blessings? No one knows. Everyone knows. Everyone doesn’t know. By reciting “Amitabha”. What is the greatest blessing? Reciting “Amitabha” to attain rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land is the greatest blessing. So I say everyone knows and doesn’t know. They know when they learn the truth, but they don’t if no one tells them.
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Essentials of Pure Land Buddhism—How to deal with the person who is abusing us, whether it's physically or mentally？ （Episode 10） 2018/1/3 No：29-509-0010_en
It is good to bear some hardship in this mundane world because it eliminates your sins. You shouldn’t think that you are insulted, bullied, cheated, or harmed. Instead, you need to see them as good things because they help eliminate your sins. If you don’t appreciate and make enemies of them, you will never know when your sins can be eliminated. It is blessing when your mind remains pure, but it is sin if your mind is stirred by desires and afflictions. Does your mind generate afflictions, happiness, or the intention to recite “Amitabha” more every day? To stir your mind by these wandering thoughts is all committing sin.
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Essentials of Pure Land Buddhism—What is greatest pleasure？ （Episode 11） 2018/1/10 No：29-509-0011_en
I don’t want fame, and I don’t want power. My greatest pleasure in life is what Professor Fang Dongmei taught me “Learning Buddhism is the greatest pleasure in the life”. You understand, don’t you? What is greatest pleasure? The greatest pleasure is to not manage people, money, and things. I did it, so I am very happy. I don’t hate or make enemy with anyone in my life. I only lecture. Depending on my physical condition, I can lecture one hour per day when I am well. If I am not well, I lecture once per week. Mr. Lee had lectured once per week for 38 years in Taichung. You must understand this. The greatest pleasure is to be free and unoccupied.
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Essentials of Pure Land Buddhism—How not to fall into hell？ （Episode 12） 2018/1/10 No：29-509-0012_en
We must keep in mind that we shouldn’t learn Buddhism in the wrong ways that lead to Hell. The door to Hell is just next to the one to Buddhism. If you open the wrong door, you will fall into Hell. That is horrifying! Following 5 Precepts and practicing 10 Virtues, you will not fall into Hell. When Pure Land Association was established in the U.S, we proposed 5 subjects, which is to follow precepts
The first clause of Three Blessings of the Pure Land Doctrine: to show filial piety to parents, follow teachers’ instructions, be merciful and avoid killing, and practice 10 Virtues. To respect and follow teachers’ instructions is very important. We must carry out this.
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Essentials of Pure Land Buddhism—Views on the rises and falls of a community practicing Buddhism. （Episode 13） 2018/1/10 No：29-509-0013_en
What causes rise or decline of a community where people practice Buddhism? If people get along with one another, the community will thrive. If people criticise one another, the community will decline. This is true no matter how big the community is. You must observe carefully. People must learn to praise instead of making enemy with others. Finally, we select Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra. Samantabhadra proposes Ten Great Vows in Avata?saka Sūtra, from respecting Buddhas, praising Buddhas, to dedicating merits to all sentient beings. Dedicating merits to all sentient beings helps broaden one’s mind. All sentient beings are past parents and future Buddhas, so we need to see them as Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Everything in this world is false. Nothing is real. We commit guilt when doing false things. We attain rebirth in Pure Land when we do right things.
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Essentials of Pure Land Buddhism—How to attain rebirth in Pure Land？ （Episode 14） 2018/1/10 No：29-509-0014_en
Can we attain rebirth in Pure Land? This is a good question. If you cannot attain rebirth after learning Buddhism, you accomplish nothing in this life. Whether you can attain rebirth or not depends on yourself. You can attain rebirth if you have firm belief and vow. If you see it as a joke and don’t learn Buddhism seriously, you cannot attain rebirth in Pure Land. The conditions of attaining rebirth in Pure Land are belief, vow, and practice. The first condition is to believe that Pure Land truly exists. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas never lie. Do not misunderstand them. If you think Buddhas and Bodhisattvas would cheat people, you are totally wrong.
The second condition is taking vow to attain rebirth in Pure Land. The place is fantastic. Why don’t you go? With firm belief and vow, you are qualified to and will definitely attain rebirth in Pure Land.
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Words of Wisdom delivered at The Temple Of Ultimate Bliss of Tainan Taiwan—To Save Chinese Traditional Culture is to Save Humanity （Episode 2） 2018/1/1 No：32-258-0002_en
It is important to incorporate religion, in an educational framework.
The British are doing this now.
The Prince of Wales is directing every religion to an educational framework.
This is perfectly correct.
People take religion to be superstition.
The fact is: religion itself is education.
What kind of education?
The education of love.
" God loves humanity ",hence, the education of love.
This is great!
He's rather active in this, he's dedicated to training teachers.
Nowadays teachers are generally in very short supply, it’s the same both in the East and the West.
To set up schools is no problem but where do you find the teachers?
There're no teachers, So, to train teachers must be the priority.
To start a " PhD in Harmony " programme in the University, it'll take 3 years to complete a doctorate programme.
In practice these Doctors of Philosophy in Harmony will be the Religion Instructors of their own faith.
They must explain the religion texts clearly and accurately.
Then relying on God's teachings, they should find God's love and store it in their own heart.
Everyone will then learn to put God's love into practice by loving each other.
God's love is unbiased.
It doesn't involve choice or preference.
It's love that is fair, genuine and unconditional.
This is a great idea!
So the main purpose of setting up this 3-year Ph.D. programme is to train religious officials recommended by every religion.
We reckon there will be at least 30 holders of a doctorate in Harmony in 3 years' time.
That means there will be 30 Religion Instructors.
So regardless of their individual faith, they will all pass on the message of universal love.
After successfully training 30 teachers in 3 years' time, we can upgrade the School and proceed to set up the College of Religion Education.
We'll have by then 30 teachers.
That'll do.
The College of Religion Education is actually the University of Religion.
It's called a College and not a University because there aren't that many teachers.
It'll take 7 years to graduate.
We reckon that in 7 years' time we can successfully train 100 to 150 Religion Instructors who will have obtained their doctorate and will be able to lecture on their respective religious texts.
With as many as 100 to 150 teachers, we can then formally establish a University of Religion
to help the Religion Instructors of every faith in the world to obtain their doctorate and be qualified as professors.
And so the first University will be set up.
That's a good thing.
The British take a pragmatic approach, starting with teacher-training.
In 10 years' time there will be sufficient teaching staff and the University of Religion will then materialize.
To save Chinese traditional culture is to save humanity.
It is logical and admirable for Chinese to learn Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism as these are their heritage.
This is about saving the world, the sacred mission.
It is no trivial matter.
For ourselves, it would suffice so long we have enough food to eat and enough clothing to keep warm.
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Words of Wisdom delivered at The Temple Of Ultimate Bliss of Tainan Taiwan—Communities thrive when people praise one another, but they decline when people suspect one another （Episode 3） 2018/1/2 No：32-258-0003_en
No one believes in what religions can offer.
In the future quantum theory will greatly help the unity of religions: "All gods are one entity, all religions are one family."
Quantum theory will prove this scientifically.
Your pure mind attained is the Buddha's mind, which is omnipotent and all-knowing.
Why?
Because everything comes from your mind.
If you use your pure mind, then you will know everything.
This is not strange at all.
Everyone is capable of being supernatural because it is instinct.
Where has your supernatural power gone?
It got lost.
You lost it the moment you started thinking.
Observing precepts helps meditation.
Meditation brings on wisdom.
Wisdom is instinct.
That is how not thinking leads to wisdom.
That is how we get to know everything, just as the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas do.
They know because they are not lost.
We don't know because we are lost.
What is getting lost?
Thinking is getting lost.
When we see fruits on the table, it is awareness that enables us to see them.
Once we start thinking about wanting to eat them, we are lost.
It takes great skills to eat them without thinking about them.
So by practising meditation, wisdom will come naturally.
Orientals emphasise mental tranquility, that state of the mind is the "pure mind".
This is the core of learning.
Once your mind is stirred, you are lost.
When it comes to the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind reacting to sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and idea, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are different from us.
Their mind is in a quiet state and they do not think even when they use their eyes to see and their ears to hear.
When the eyes achieve samadhi on seeing and the ears achieve samadhi on hearing, the pure mind will appear.
The Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas can do it, so can each of us.
So everything originates from the same entity.
The whole universe and each of us are one entity.
To practise Buddhism is to return to the same entity.
To return to the same entity offers us the ultimate freedom from our being.
How to tell whether it is true or false?
As quantum theory puts it, everything from a mind stirred is false.
With the whole universe in front of me, it is false once my mind is stirred and I start thinking.
It is true once I keep my mind in a quiet state and do not think.
Trueness and falseness is the same.
Trueness is falseness, and falseness is trueness.
Why?
Because trueness does not entail birth and death, but falseness entails birth and death.
That is why there is birth and death once you stir your mind and start thinking, but there is neither birth nor death once you keep your mind in a quiet state and do not think.
This is fascinating.
What is so good about the Diamonds Sutra?
It is simple and clear, nothing verbose.
It tells the truth that "everything with form is unreal".
Once you truly let go, you will become a Bodhisattva and set an example for others.
The Chinese cleverly live up to that example through the Confucian practice of composure, kindness, courtesy, moderation and modesty.
Wherever a Confucius follower may be, you can see that he does not scramble to win; he is modest, he steps back.
The first and the last is actually the same.
The one stepping back is wiser than the one advancing.
The one who has stepped back had a pure mind.
Without a pure mind he would not be able to take that step backwards.
If he were pretending, he would have failed in doing that.
A pure mind leads to the realm of the saints.
That is why the Chinese traditional way of life is unique in the world.
Inwardly, there is no greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance and suspicion, it is the realm of the Buddha.
Outwardly, there is composure, kindness, courtesy, moderation and modesty, it is the realm of Confucianism.
The interior and the exterior of a person is the same thing.
They are two sides of the same coin.
Both Confucianism and Buddhism have achieved it, but not the others.
If Confucius were born in India, the Indian would have called him a Buddha.
If Buddha Shakyamuni were born in China, the Chinese would have called him a saint.
Let us eat this together.
Eating without stirring the mind, without a thought.
This is how we should practise Buddhism.
If people praise one another, the communities will thrive.
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Words of Wisdom delivered at The Temple Of Ultimate Bliss of Tainan Taiwan—The Need to return Religion from Unfounded Belief to Founded Belief. （Episode 4） 2018/1/2 No：32-258-0004_en
Today we all know how turbulent society is. The world is full of troubles. What scares us the most is war, which must not occur.
Modern warfare is destructive. It is a global disaster, not a regional one. This is truly terrifying. That is why what we urgently need is the way to permanently eliminate conflicts and wars. Sinologists recognise that sinology can definitely save humanity. And, the old European sinologists in the past exerted a far-reaching influence. They really studied sinology in-depth. Many of them studied more so than the Chinese scholars did. Europe did experience a peaceful and prosperous age in the past, though it didn’t last very long. What led to that peaceful and prosperous age? Religion. After all, people who believe in religion, the gods or God would think twice before doing anything bad so that they would not go too far. The past century saw great progress in science. Scientists have been telling people that God and religion are unreal. So people gave up religion and no longer believed in it. This resulted in social disorder. How can society return to peace that reigned? Only by reviving religion can society be saved. This is because, unlike the Chinese, they do not have Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. They rely on religion. This is why we have to discuss this issue in depth. How to revive religion? By bringing it back to education. It is necessary to understand clearly what religion in fact is. What is religion? It is education. Religion preceded civilisation in history. It bred civilisation. Without religion as the basis of civilisation, no civilisation would last longer than three hundred years. In the past three thousand years there used to be more than twenty different cultures. Now, there is only one, the Chinese culture. Chinese culture still exists, but the others no longer exist. Why? Because science caused the foundation of religion to collapse. Scientists told people that religion is an illusion, it is unreal. So, religion collapsed. Although some religions survive, yet they are superstitions, they are beliefs that are unfounded. There are believers who can recite religion texts led by a clergyman in church, just like the Chinese in Buddhist devotional gathering that is ceremonial and ritualistic in nature. So, this is a crisis. What should be done about religion? We support the view that religion is education, not superstition. That is why we must return religion to the basics. We hope that Religion Instructors can clearly and precisely explain the religion classics. This will show that religion is not superstition. If you can only recite the religion text but you do not understand its meaning, then that is superstition. Unfounded belief must revert to founded belief. Where do we start? The British have already started by setting up a doctoral degree programme of study leading to the award of Ph.D. in Harmony. This programme aims to train Religion Instructors and takes three years to complete. After obtaining their doctorate, the Religion Instructors will be qualified to start a course on religion classics in the University which they can lecture on. It is a great idea, a very good way to bring religion back to the academia. Each religion is entitled to select two doctoral candidates to join this programme. We support the students with scholarship. There will be twenty-five students in the first phase. Instructing this course is beyond us because we have not studied their religions. That is why we need each religion to select from its own community a person capable of explaining its religion classics clearly and thoroughly as the instructor. So, there will be one instructor and two students. Probably about ten instructors and altogether twenty-five students. That will start reviving religion. That will be great. After I read this document I was thrilled. Many religions and their gods are being plagued by the crisis of faith. A religion will perish if no one will pass it on to the next generation. That religion will simply disappear. Now, your undertaking this project is helping these gods and God to nurture the next generation of believers. So I suggested to him that the graduates should not just take off after obtaining their Doctorate in Harmony in three years’ time, we must keep them on. In other words, since we will have trained thirty Religion Instructors holding the doctorate, we should engage them in education. Three years later, this doctoral programme of ours should be upgraded to a college of religion education, which will then assist many religions to train more Religion Instructors. With thirty Religion Instructors, I can proceed to establish a college of religion education. Establishing a college is tantamount to establishing a formal university that offers three years of undergraduate studies. Each student will specialize in the study of the religion classics of his own religion. For instance, the Bible of Christianity and the Koran of Islamism. Then, one year for the Master degree and three years for the doctorate. During these four years the students must study the religions other than their own religion. This will enable them to understand those religions besides their own. I promote the idea that “One Family for All Religions, One Entity for All Gods”. How can there be so many gods? There is only one God, all other gods is the personification of this one and only Godhead. That is why all gods is one entity and all religions is one family. Then, conflicts among religions will be resolved. Definitely there should not be conflicts. Why would one fight against oneself? Then after seven years, a student will have completed all his studies in the college of religion education. This is tantamount to graduating from a university of religion. We estimate that we can successfully train one hundred to one hundred and fifty holders of Ph.D. in Harmony qualified to be professors. With so many professors capable of teaching, we can then formally establish a university of world religion. In the future, graduates of this university of world religion will be able to teach courses on religion in regular schools. To formalize religion as education is to bring today’s superstition back to education. The graduates in religion education will have a bright future in a career teaching in the regular universities as they will be well qualified to do so. By going forward towards this objective and moving in this direction, religion will be integrated into education after ten years. They were very happy at hearing I said to go forward towards this objective. So this is a monumental project, not a trivial matter. All of you teachers are saving five thousand years of traditional Chinese culture from extinction by committing to this project to teach the next generation. The spiritual credit you earn will far exceed any of your good deed. No good deed is comparable to your commitment. We have been presented with this opportunity. To do what? To save culture, five thousand years of culture is saved from extinction by our hands. This is of great significance. It is invaluable. May the ancestors bless you all. May the gods protect you all.
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Words of Wisdom delivered at The Temple Of Ultimate Bliss of Tainan Taiwan—It is good to bear some hardship in this mundane world （Episode 5） 2018/1/3 No：32-258-0005_en
Protectors of Buddhism should have wisdom and blessings. Without wisdom and blessings, protectors will do more harm than good to Buddhism. This is something that we must realise. The rise or decline of Buddhism and religions both depend on next 10 years. In next 10 years, if they rise, they will thrive; if they cannot rise, they will certainly decline, so these are critical years.
It is time for you to accumulate virtues. It is also time for you to commit evil deeds. It requires full attention no matter for lay practitioners or Buddhist monks. If you commit wrongful deeds, you will fall into Hell. If you follow the right way to support Buddhism, you can attain rebirth in Pure Land at your own wish with Buddha’s support. This is the key moment. It is an admirable opportunity for me to meet Mrs. Han. She was truly active in supporting and protecting Buddhism, without the intention to obtain personal fame or private profits. What a rarest and most valuable example that she set for us all! All the Buddhism followers should clearly identify real protectors of Buddhism. It is very hard to find those who can promote or protect Buddhism. We must tell them clearly. People of our generation don’t have self-discipline. Instead of really thinking for Buddhism and right belief, they all value personal fame and profit. This is serious sin. This is serious sin no matter for lay practitioners (protectors of Buddhism) or Buddhist monks (promoters of Buddhism). They will know after they die, but it will be too late. To accumulate virtue is the first merit in Buddhism. If you follow the instructions correctly, you are accumulating blessings and saving Buddhism. If you pursue personal fame and profits, you will fall into Hell. You will never know the truth until you fall into Hell. This is too torturing and unworthy to try. How to accumulate blessings? No one knows. Everyone knows. Everyone doesn’t know. By reciting “Amitabha”. What is the greatest blessing? Reciting “Amitabha” to attain rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land is the greatest blessing. So I say everyone knows and doesn’t know. They know when they learn the truth, but they don’t if no one tells them. It is good to bear some hardship in this mundane world because it eliminates your sins. You shouldn’t think that you are insulted, bullied, cheated, or harmed. Instead, you need to see them as good things because they help eliminate your sins. If you don’t appreciate and make enemies of them, you will never know when your sins can be eliminated. It is blessing when your mind remains pure, but it is sin if your mind is stirred by desires and afflictions. Does your mind generate afflictions, happiness, or the intention to recite “Amitabha” more every day? To stir your mind by these wandering thoughts is all committing sin.
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Words of Wisdom delivered at The Temple Of Ultimate Bliss of Tainan Taiwan—We should learn Buddhism in the right ways, or else we can end up in hell. （Episode 6） 2018/1/10 No：32-258-0006_en
When we learned Buddhism, Mr. Lee said that we couldn’t lecture in public until we were 40 years old. He worried that we were too young to keep the precepts.
This happens a lot. Some people can lecture in Academy of Buddhism because the temptation they face is limited. However, they must be more than 40 years old to lecture in public. Nowadays, even people above 40 years old are incapable of lecturing in public. What Mr. Lee said is based on his experience. If you don’t follow, you will have troubles, which then destroy your future. The desires for wealth, sexual love, fame, food and drink, and sleep are horrifying because they lead to Hell. I don’t want fame, and I don’t want power. My greatest pleasure in life is what Professor Fang Dongmei taught me “Learning Buddhism is the greatest pleasure in the life”. You understand, don’t you? What is greatest pleasure? The greatest pleasure is to not manage people, money, and things. I did it, so I am very happy. I don’t hate or make enemy with anyone in my life. I only lecture. Depending on my physical condition, I can lecture one hour per day when I am well. If I am not well, I lecture once per week. Mr. Lee had lectured once per week for 38 years in Taichung. You must understand this. The greatest pleasure is to be free and unoccupied. Currently, I am helping every religion in the world to train successors, to help them train religion instructors. We must keep in mind that we shouldn’t learn Buddhism in the wrong ways that lead to Hell. The door to Hell is just next to the one to Buddhism. If you open the wrong door, you will fall into Hell. That is horrifying! Following 5 Precepts and practicing 10 Virtues, you will not fall into Hell. When Pure Land Association was established in the U.S, we proposed 5 subjects, which is to follow precepts.
The first clause of Three Blessings of the Pure Land Doctrine: to show filial piety to parents, follow teachers’ instructions, be merciful and avoid killing, and practice 10 Virtues. To respect and follow teachers’ instructions is very important. We must carry out this.
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Words of Wisdom delivered at The Temple Of Ultimate Bliss of Tainan Taiwan—What causes rise or decline of a community where people practice Buddhism？ （Episode 7） 2018/1/10 No：32-258-0007_en
Can we attain rebirth in Pure Land? This is a good question. If you cannot attain rebirth after learning Buddhism, you accomplish nothing in this life. Whether you can attain rebirth or not depends on yourself. You can attain rebirth if you have firm belief and vow. If you see it as a joke and don’t learn Buddhism seriously, you cannot attain rebirth in Pure Land. The conditions of attaining rebirth in Pure Land are belief, vow, and practice. The first condition is to believe that Pure Land truly exists. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas never lie. Do not misunderstand them. If you think Buddhas and Bodhisattvas would cheat people, you are totally wrong. The second condition is taking vow to attain rebirth in Pure Land. The place is fantastic. Why don’t you go? With firm belief and vow, you are qualified to and will definitely attain rebirth in Pure Land. There are 9 levels of rebirth in Pure Land. This is related to your accomplishment of practicing Buddha-name recitation method, not related to whether you can attain rebirth. Whether you can attain rebirth in Pure Land depends on your vow and belief. If one hadn’t recited “Amitabha”, but sincerely recited “Amitabha” 10 times before he passed away, he then attained rebirth. This is a very low level, the lowest level of rebirth in the Land of Common Residence of Ordinary Beings and Saints, but he has infinite life. He will only progress and never retrogress in Pure Land. He will be the student of Amitabha. It will be true guilt if you ignore this. This is such a good opportunity, but you didn’t grab it. This guilt cannot be forgiven. Therefore, we must follow the Three Blessings of the Pure Land Doctrine, Three Refuges, and Ten Virtues. When interacting with people, we should follow the Six Points of Unity. What causes rise or decline of a community where people practice Buddhism? If people get along with one another, the community will thrive. If people criticise one another, the community will decline. This is true no matter how big the community is. You must observe carefully. People must learn to praise instead of making enemy with others. Finally, we select Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra. Samantabhadra proposes Ten Great Vows in Avata?saka Sūtra, from respecting Buddhas, praising Buddhas, to dedicating merits to all sentient beings. Dedicating merits to all sentient beings helps broaden one’s mind. All sentient beings are past parents and future Buddhas, so we need to see them as Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Everything in this world is false. Nothing is real. We commit guilt when doing false things. We attain rebirth in Pure Land when we do right things.