How to Choose an Enlightened Teacher 1. First, when this teacher is instructing you, can they see through your external facade and point directly to the depths of your heart? 2. This enlightened teacher should have at least some understanding of the dharma doors or practice methods you have previously chosen. Most of the time, … Read more
Things to Note When Suddenly Changing Dietary Habits Most practitioners have not been vegetarian since childhood. Suddenly changing your dietary habits for the sake of your cultivation and realization will cause some physiological reactions; this is especially true for middle-aged and elderly people who are physically frail. Because middle-aged and elderly people have eaten meat … Read more
How to Choose Your Diet 1. For the cultivation and realization of the Buddha Dharma, eating a vegetarian diet is naturally the best choice. First, vegetarian food contains pure energy (qi). It helps keep our energy channels pure, making it easier to open and transform these channels during physiological shifts in our practice. Second, as … Read more
Correctly Handling Sexual Life Throughout the entire process of the cultivation and realization of the Buddha Dharma, apart from short periods of retreat where celibacy is required, having a normal, regular sex life does not hinder our ultimate liberation as lay practitioners. For practitioners cultivating at home, disharmony in sexual life is actually a major … Read more
Opening the Heart to Resolve Family Conflicts If you have a spouse who is a fellow practitioner, that is because your merit and blessings have allowed your positive karmic connections to ripen. In that case, the resistance to your practice will be much smaller. However, most lay practitioners face opposition and obstruction from their family … Read more
Cultivation Requires Accumulating Vast Merit; The Entire Journey to Perfect Practice is a Process of Continuously Accumulating and Perfecting Merit Merit is the provision for practitioners. Without merit, there are too many obstacles on our path of practice. Almost everything around us becomes an adverse condition, and we cannot get any help from others regarding … Read more
II. The Journey of Spiritual Cultivation Jizu Mountain and Conclusion This March I completed the last of China’s great Buddhist sacred sites — Jizu Mountain in Yunnan. The five of us first stayed at a small monastery at the foot of the mountain called Guangfang Temple, and the next day set out for the Huashou … Read more
II. The Journey of Spiritual Cultivation Solitary Retreat (2of2) — The Transformation of Body and Mind After returning from Tibet, the physiological transformation in my body became more intense. The most painful was the opening and transformation of the energy channel in the throat. I was confined to bed, my whole body devoid of strength. … Read more
II. The Journey of Spiritual Cultivation Solitary Retreat (1of2) — Prostrations in the Snow and the Himalayan Practitioners After completing the four great Buddhist sacred sites, I had roughly another two or more years of practice at home and medical work. Occasionally I would go to Mount Wutai for a brief retreat. During these retreats … Read more
II. The Journey of Spiritual Cultivation Practicing Medicine and the Four Kinds of Illness (2of2) — Emei, Jiuhua, and the Non-Attached Mind When I examine patients, I consume a great deal of energy. In the beginning I could see ten patients each morning; the afternoon required approximately eight hours of sitting to restore the energy. … Read more