Here's wishing all of you a Happy New Year! Do not worry on New Year's Day and do not cry on New Year's Day because what happens that day is symbolic of how lucky you will be for the rest of the year. The rest of the year will be lucky for you and whatever you wish for will come true unless you get angry, become resentful, get jealous or try to do sabotage to others, then anything lucky will turn into something unlucky. So this year, everyone must change his or her temper.

By reducing our temper, there will be no more violence in the world. If everyone can avoid becoming angry, atom bombs, hydrogen bombs and death rays will all lose their effectiveness. Since we have big tempers, things explode! Our temper turns into atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, and death rays. If you have a big temper, there will be something else that has a bigger temper, which ruins the entire world. Atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, and death rays are released when you look grim all the time, oppress people with your power, and use manipulation to knock people down. If you want to avoid explosions of atom bombs, hydrogen bombs or death rays, avoid anger.

Changing your anger is to change from being evil to good. Temper is a form of evil while the absence of temper is goodness. Being able to change from evil to good and renewing and reforming ourselves are what Kang Hao referred to as, "Being a new person." Be a new person; act differently, renewing and improving in every way. Instead of changing ourselves, we change only laws and regulations, which is to look for answers outside of ourselves and to find falsehood only. You must renew and improve your inner self. Sweep away all your habits the way Great Master Shen Xiu described, "The body is a Bodhi tree, the mind a bright mirror stand, constantly wipe it clean, never let dust alight." What does it mean to constantly wipe it clean? It is to dust off constantly our temper, jealousy, obstructive tendencies and other habits. When we clean up such filth, our inherent light of wisdom will appear naturally.

When your wisdom's light appears, there will be nothing that you do not know and nothing you do not understand. Why do not you currently know? It is because your wisdom hasn't manifested. To have that light, you must clean yourself up. First renew yourself and then improve. We are not improving things outside of ourselves but improving ourselves and clearing out all the filth such as anger, jealousy, obstructive tendencies, and arrogance. Oppressing people with your power and hurting people with your schemes are all filth too.

Cultivators, especially monks and nuns, who have not put an end to their contention are filthy. Those who are always arguing and fighting with others, intimidating others have an inner world full of defilements. When you are full of these things, you have no real wisdom. This is extremely important to know.