*STAYING STEADFAST IS A MUST EVEN AFTER YOU HAVE BENEFITED FROM YOUR BUDDHIST PRACTICE*
Master Jun Hong Lu:
There will be times when practising Buddhism can be likened to digging a well. If you wish to dig a well, you have to be prepared to carry the well water at a later stage. Many people only know how to wait for the water to fall into their laps, not realising that they should become a well digger themselves.
When you are digging a well, you are in fact getting ready for the day when you can draw water for drinking. By digging a well, your immediate needs will be assured. But, if you can embrace a long-term outlook, you will come to realise that once a well is dug, it is a must to keep drawing water from the well because only through this, it can ensure a continuous water supply to nourish your body.
The same also applies to Buddhist practice. Now that you are learning Buddhism, you must understand that you must be relentless in dedicating yourself to progress, as only then are you able to reach the point when the water drawn from the well is always sweet. Many people fail to put in their best effort in their Buddhist practice and end up with stinky well water.
Even after making sacrifices for others, what is in store for you is a greater exertion of effort. Having tied the knot, many people have the perception that they can stop putting in the effort in the relationship. In fact, life after marriage comes with greater tolerance and nourishment. In any relationship, it is easy to be a taker but difficult to maintain, and hence, you must have the determination.
To break free from the shackles of suffering and vexation in the human realm, you must know how to leverage perseverance to sustain an enduring steadfast spirit.
_Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s World Buddhist Fellowship Meeting, Madrid, Spain, 13 May 2016_
Master Jun Hong Lu’s
Public Talk
Sydney, Australia
27 January 2019
WE NEED TO HAVE A SENSE OF CRISIS
Master Jun Hong Lu: Once, there were two men who ran into a tiger in the forest. Immediately, the first man squatted down, took out a pair of sneakers from behind him and put them on. The second man saw what happened and scolded him, “What do you think you are doing? Even with your sneakers on, you can never outrun a tiger!” The first man replied, “Well, I just need to make sure that I outrun you!”
The lesson learnt from this story is that the greatest crisis faced by humanity in the 21st century is having no sense of crisis. When we hear news such as plane crashes, people falling ill with cancer, families breaking up or children falling out with their parents, does it ever occur to us that these things may happen to us?
That brings us to the importance of Buddhist practice and spiritual cultivation, i.e. to protect ourselves from any possible harm and crisis. While non-Buddhist practitioners are susceptible to calamities and worries, we on the other hand have geared ourselves up with our ‘sneakers’ to deal with life’s sufferings. To save ourselves is an essential prerequisite for saving sentient beings.
THE MORE MAGNANIMOUS YOU ARE, THE MORE BLESSINGS YOU HAVE
Caller: Master Lu, please give me a few words of advice.
Master Jun Hong Lu: Be diligent in your cultivation. Despite your young age, you should not be narrow-minded or meagre-spirited. In other words, be magnanimous, as the more magnanimous you are, the more blessings you will receive.
Caller: Okay.
Master Jun Hong Lu: One who is able to accept rebuke or criticism is a well-mannered person. Conversely, one who fails to do so will amount to nothing. Do you understand?
Caller: Yes. I am useless, I will work harder to mend my ways.
Master Jun Hong Lu: Okay.
🌿Source:
Wenda20190421 56:01
(Master Jun Hong Lu’s call-in radio program)
*TRANSFORMING NEGATIVE AFFINITY WITH A KIND HEART*
Master Jun Hong Lu:
The Buddha once said,
“Even if it’s for a thousand kalpas (假使百千劫),
the deeds we commit would never fade (所做业不亡),
Comes the day we meet with our fate (因缘会遇时),
suffering is certain as karma awaits (果报还自受)”.
In getting along with our friends, we must watch our speech – it is better to squash enmity than to keep it alive. We must be aware of how karma works. In this lifetime, no matter how a person treats us, understand that it must either be due to the positive or negative affinity established in our previous lives.
From now on, we must try to transform our negative karmic relationships with our kindness. When we encounter animals with bad smell or strong odour, we should take pity on them and be compassionate. This is especially so when performing life liberation. Fishes may have a fishy odour but we must still take mercy on them. Life liberation cultivates compassion in us; we will be blessed with calmness and longevity for lifetimes to come and be saved from the traps of revenge and hatred. In this modern day, we have already created countless grievances with many people and hence, it is time for us to practise vegetarianism so that we do not incur any more hatred with animals. This is wisdom - an exemplification of compassion.
_Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Public Talk, Malacca, Malaysia, 20 August 2016_
*THE RIGHT LIVELIHOOD*
Master Jun Hong Lu: To have the Right Livelihood, is about adopting the right method to extend one’s life, standing righteous in the vastness between heaven and earth, instead of scheming against others, harming or getting jealous of others. Strive to be an unadulterated person, a person with morality and a person who is free from inferior preferences.
_Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s World Buddhist Fellowship Meeting, Jakarta, Indonesia, 21 April 2017_
🪷 Today, *2nd July 2023 (Sunday)*, is the 15th day of the 5th Lunar Month. 🪷
🙏🏻 All Buddhist Friends (with or without altar at home) may recite up to *21* times _*Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance (LIFO)*_, inclusive of the daily homework.
You may pray to the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva to eliminate specific negative karma committed in present life.
🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷
⏰ The Practice Centre will be open from *10:00am to 10:00pm* for all Buddhist Friends to perform recitation.
Note: An altar will be set up to allow Buddhist Friends to pay respect to Master Lu from today until the following day (1pm).
Deepest Gratitude to Namo Shakyamuni Buddha.🙏🏻
Deepest Gratitude to the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva. 🙏🏻
*For more information, you may refer to the link below:*
https://bit.ly/3Myu1U4
When there is a place in your heart for the Bodhisattva, you are able to ward off calamities and surmount difficulties.
Master Jun Hong Lu
Words of Wisdom Vol. 2
Our thoughts can shape our lives. Good thoughts will make us cheerful and bring us happiness. Erroneous thoughts will lead us astray and even cost us our lives!
Master Jun Hong Lu
Words of Wisdom Vol. 5
意念就是生命，
好意念会让自己幸福，拥有幸福，
错误的意念会让自己走错路，甚至送命!
卢军宏台长佛言佛语（五）
Inspirational Short Stories: The 80-Storey Skyscraper🌇
There were two brothers who lived at the top of an 80-storey skyscraper. One day, upon returning home from a trip, there was a note on the stairway which read, “Power outage. Please use the stairs”. They had no choice but to carry their heavy backpacks up the stairs. Once they reached the 20th floor, they were extremely tired; The elder brother suggested: “Let’s leave our backpacks here. Once the power is back on, we will come back and grab them.”
The younger brother agreed. With much ease, they continued to climb the stairs, laughing, and chatting. Exhausted at the 40th floor, they started to complain and blame each other as to why they didn’t check the message next to the elevator. They continued arguing as they climbed the stairs. On the 60th floor they were too exhausted to talk. The younger brother begged, “Let’s stop quarrelling and keep on climbing.” Finally, they arrived at the 80thfloor, excited, only to find out that they left their key in the backpack on the 20th floor.
This story explains life in modern society. At the age of 20, when we are immature, we live by our expectations, carrying a heavy burden and are under a lot of stress. After the age of 20, we are freed from the stress and burdens of society. We start to pursue our goals and live in joy for 20 years. Realising our youth has passed at the age of 40, we suffer from remorse and waste for another 20 years regretting and complaining. Finally, at age of 60, we start to realise that time is running out and remind ourselves to stop complaining and start to look after our senior years. Just like that our remaining years slowly pass us by. Only at the end of life do we realise that much remains undone and all our dreams were left back when we were 20. We have worked so hard our entire lives only to realise that we have achieved nothing. This is the depiction of our life.
I hope all of you will cherish your life, the affinities you have with each other and blessings that come along. Live a life that’s worth living. Seek the path to liberation and free yourself from the hardships of life.
Master Jun Hong Lu’s
Dharma Convention
San Francisco, US
18 September 2014
When you suffer, you must think of the brightness of tomorrow. When you succeed, you must keep a low profile and be humble.
当一个人吃苦时，
要想到光明就在明天；
当一个人获得成功时，要低调谦虚！
– Master Jun Hong Lu, Words of Wisdom Volume 7