He is known for his great compassion. If your heart lacks compassion, even if you are sitting right in front of him, you are worlds apart from him. If your heart is full of self, full of selfishness, only thinking about your own benefit—even if you lean on him every day, even if you are with him every day—it’s useless. You are worlds apart from him. You will never truly see Avalokiteśvara. But the moment a single thought of compassion arises in your heart, you merge with him instantly.
When a Bodhisattva loves us, is that love standing on the foundation of human love? Or is it compassion? What exactly is the difference between desire, love, and compassion? You need to understand all of this before you can truly understand a Bodhisattva. Only then can you truly resonate with him. Whether or not he appears to you, whether or not he is there, he is with you every single day. He will guide all of your cultivation and realization, all of your learning. It’s about resonance—you must resonate with him. Wherever you are, whether you are practicing at home or on the other side of the world, wherever you practice, he is with you. You must resonate with him. You must understand him. You must understand what he teaches—his vow power, his qualities. Including Amitābha Buddha’s vows. Including what Śākyamuni Buddha taught and what he was really saying. We are not just talking about going along with blind faith, praying to the Buddha, burning incense on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, asking the Bodhisattva to bless us with safety, health, happiness—or sitting in meditation seeking a bit of peace. That is a very shallow faith. That is religious faith. But a true disciple of the Buddha understands what the Buddha was really teaching. The Buddha taught cause and effect. He taught the cycle of rebirth. He taught karmic force. He taught that good deeds bring good results and bad deeds bring bad results. He taught: do not neglect even the smallest good deed; do not commit even the smallest wrong. This is what we need to understand. This is what a disciple of the Buddha needs to understand. Maybe you never burn incense. Maybe you never visit the temple on the first and fifteenth. Maybe you never bow before a Buddha statue. But you have already bowed—in your heart. You are a true disciple of the Buddha, and the Buddha’s light will shine upon you every day.
Now, beyond all of this, the Buddha’s purpose in appearing in this world goes even deeper. The Buddha said, “I have appeared in this world for several great reasons.”
First, to let all sentient beings understand his wisdom. Second, to realize his wisdom for themselves.
So his purpose in coming into this world was not just for us to know what he said. Most importantly, it was for us to stand in his place and see the world from his perspective. He told us what the world looks like through the Buddha eye, and then we are meant to stand where he stands and see the world as he sees it. We are meant to become Buddhas ourselves. His purpose is to deliver all sentient beings—to help every single sentient being become a Buddha. So in the end, we must practice and realize it ourselves. Not just burn a stick of incense and ask him for safety. Second, we need to understand their qualities. Third, we need to understand the principles they taught. Fourth, we truly become Buddhas ourselves. This is the complete path that a disciple of the Buddha should walk. When you yourself become a Buddha, everything becomes clear.
But becoming a Buddha yourself—there is a systematic set of stages for cultivation and realization. Because, after all, we have been lost in the human realm for a very long time. It is not that the material things of this physical plane have trapped us. In truth, it is our own mind that has taken control.
When we first start sitting in meditation, we feel that the physical body is the greatest obstacle. We think, “If I didn’t have this body, I could probably be liberated very quickly.” But one day you will discover that it is not the body at all. It is your consciousness—your discriminating attachment—that controls the body, preventing your body from transforming from its material form. It keeps you trapped inside a small vessel. It is your self, your ego, that controls your body. And this self is the greatest obstacle to cultivation and realization.
Ego-clinging—also called the self—means you always believe there is an “I” in here. You always believe that this body, including this consciousness that arises and ceases in every instant, including this body that arises and ceases in every instant, is you. You cannot break free from this. It is because of your discriminating attachment. It is because your wisdom is not yet complete. The self is the greatest defilement in this world—the greatest stain, the deepest contamination. So we are not stained by every color of the rainbow. We are not stained by greed, anger, delusion, pride, and doubt, not by desire, not by habitual tendencies. It is the self, it is attachment. Ego-clinging is the greatest defilement.