When we set eyes upon him, our hearts palpitate in fear.
And all our bad habits and faults flee.
If we don't cultivate diligently,
Then the karma of many past eons will manifest
And it will be difficult to enter the Way.
Becoming a Buddha is the most difficult of difficult things.
The teacher leads us in the door,
But we ourselves must cultivate.
It's through our own mind that we become Buddhas
It's also because of our mind that we fall.
The myriad dharmas are made from the mind.

I remember when I went to the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas for the first time in May of 1987 (that was my first contact with Buddhism and the first time I saw the Venerable Master), the instant my eyes met the gaze of the Venerable Master, I felt as if my heart had been dealt a heavy blow. I was both startled and frightened. It was as if all the mistakes and wrong deeds I had done in the past were presented before the Venerable Master. I didn't have any chance to hide. All of my personal habits and faults sprang forth from my body in a rush. When I got home, of my own initiative I told my wife that I would never drink alcoholic beverages again. Given my fondness for drinking and my habit of wine-tasting, which I would never have given up before, I couldn't imagine why such a change had taken place in me.

Later on, I had opportunities to draw near the Venerable Master and receive the Master's teachings. It was then that I began to perceive that the Venerable Master's awesome virtue exhausted the bounds of empty space and pervaded the Dharma Realm. When ordinary people face the Venerable Master's gaze, it is like facing a demon-spotting mirror. We lack proper views and proper knowledge and do not know the direction of the proper path. Whether we are moving or still, sleeping or awake, interacting with people or handling affairs, we are never apart from our bad habits and faults. The Venerable Master points out each of our problems, constantly telling and reminding us. I recall the Venerable Master often saying, "Why are some people afraid of me? Because they have ghosts in their hearts. Since they themselves are ashamed, they are afraid of me."

Temper is like Mount Sumeru.
Attachment to self is an impediment to the Way.
If these things are discarded
So that they vanish into thin air,
Then as easily as opening a door, one sees the Western land.
In one step, one enters the Buddha country.

A bad temper causes people to give rise to afflictions. Before I met the Venerable Master, my temper was as high and as great as Mount Sumeru. I would lose my temper over a trifling matter.

The first time I went to the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas to attend the Dharma session, I remember that after lunch and after the refuge ceremony, the Venerable Master would sit in the Buddhahall and allow people to bow and make offerings to him, gathering in people in this way. Because I didn't understand anything at the time, I thought to myself, "Why is everyone bowing to the Venerable Master?" I reluctantly knelt in front of the Master and said, "I have a very bad temper. How can I change?" The Venerable Master's reaction was to shake his head and say, "Have no temper." Not understanding the meaning of the Master's reply, I stupidly knelt in front of him for several more minutes before leaving. After I got home, I discussed it with my wife. My wife said that the Venerable Master's meaning was, "You should not lose your temper no matter what." At the time I said, "How could that be possible?"

However, now I want to say that I will try my very best to do this. Why? Because afflictions are just Bodhi. Stupidity represents darkness and wisdom represents light. The Venerable Master symbolizes light. He leads everyone to leave darkness behind and to walk towards the light. That's why he is always reminding everyone not to lose his or her temper.

If one cannot get rid of the five desires,
Then the six sense faculties, six sense objects,and six consciousnesses appear.
With false thoughts and attachments,
One is made stupid and cannot see the nature.
If one can cast off attachments,
Then one will be at ease.
If one wishes to go to the Land of Ultimate Bliss,
What need is there to worry that one cannot reach it?

Before I became a Buddhist, I was a music lover. During high school and college, I liked to play music, and my favorite kind of music was rock-n-roll (demonic music). I especially enjoyed playing the guitar. Even after I took refuge with the Venerable Master, I couldn't give up the guitar--I would still play it occasionally.

I remember once, the night before we were going to the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas to participate in a Dharma session, after I had finished evening recitation, I had an urge to play the guitar. Just as I was intoxicated by the guitar's music, my wife reminded me, "We've already taken refuge with the Venerable Master. You should concentrate on cultivation and not be playing the guitar." At the time I felt as indignant and angry as a little kid who is playing with his favorite toy when it is suddenly confiscated by an adult. So I flung the guitar at the dresser and retorted angrily, "I won't play it anymore in the future. If it gets broken, I won't be able to play it anyway." I had completely lost my sense of reason.

The next day we went to take part in the Dharma session at the Sagely City. Before the noon meal, I went into the dining hall to check the sound system as usual. Suddenly the Venerable Master appeared in front of me and said to me with a kind smile, "Sam Jing, please help me carry something." I very reverently followed the Master to a small room in the back of the dining hall. The Master opened up a cabinet and said, "This is it." I was shocked to see a guitar lying in the cabinet. I was scared out of my wits, to put it mildly. The Venerable Master said, "A certain Dharma Master used to be very attached to his guitar, so five years ago I took it away from him. Now he understands the principles, so I am going to return it to him. He can use it in activities that are beneficial to students.