Why should we pay our respect and bow to left-home people when we see them? It is because they are the Sangha of the pure field of blessing. Pure means they don't possess money or other things. They don't want anything. They have put everything down, including false thoughts. Sanghans bear the responsibility of propagating Buddhadharma and carrying on the household of the Thus Come One. In doing so, they cause Buddhism to flourish. Therefore, if we want to learn from the Buddha, we smut first study the Dharma spoken by the Buddha. To study Buddhadharma, we must learn it from left-home people because the Dharma relies on them to be propagated. For this reason, people who believe in the Buddha should be respectful to the Buddha's disciples. Thus, it's said, "Revere the Sangha for the sake of the Buddha."


People in the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas are different from worldly people in the mind and conduct. Our minds should always harbor the thought of benefiting and helping others. Whenever chance arises, we should help others. If we can keep this practice up, all heavenly gods, good spirits, and dharma protectors, will protect us. However, if we say one thing and do the other, that is our conducts don't match our words, all dharma protectors, the heavenly dragons and the eight divisions, will depart and not protect us. Therefore, living in the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, you must have a virtuous mind. A virtuous mind is the mind which is not obstructive of others, is not deceptive, and does not say anything which contradicts the mind. It's said, "The straight mind is the Way-place." We should keep our minds straight at all times.

Some people said that the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas belongs to first of all the Chinese teacher, secondly the Bhikshus, thirdly Bhikshunis, and lastly lay people. I don't understand the meaning of this kind of talk. Why? The City was established by the Bhikshus and Bhikshunis of Gold Mountain Monastery, and you can say, with their blood and sweat. They worked day and night to bring about the City of today. Is it necessary to distinguish who is the first, who is the second, and who is the third? When we didn't have the City, there was no contention for power and advantage. Now that we have this place, some people who have never contributed anything come and fight over power and benefit. This is a matter which is both laughable and pathetic. Especially now that there are some people in particular who specialize in creating troubles and causing disturbances among residents. They should feel apologetic toward the City, the assembly, and all Buddhas and Bodhisattva for their behavior.

There are yet others who come to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and say that the City is meant by the heavens and it did not come about through human effort. If you say that it is the heaven's will after the City is established, why didn't you say so when there's wasn't the City? Can the heaven come to found the City? This is a truly muddled thought. Though the heaven many have the will, it still relies on people to do the work. If there weren't people to make the City possible, the heavens would not have the will either.

Therefore, people in the City must plant your roots deep so that you will not be shacked by such waves. Since we are part of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, we should be mindful of every thing we do and say for the sake of protecting the City. This is especially so for the residents of the City. If you cause people outside to have bad impressions of the City, what do you have to gain? Don't be foolish and try to find things to do when there's nothing at all. Besides, by doing so you will not only amass no merit and virtue, but create offenses for yourself. Because, in this world, people who have the true mind for cultivating the Way have gathered together in the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. They've come from all over the place. They have been enduring much hardship because they all want to work for Buddhism. Therefore, you should not influence them and cause them to quit cultivating. This is the most heart breaking matter for me.

Whoever you are, if you have such a fault, correct it. If you don't, work harder and be more cautious. Our Way-place is a Shurangama Way-place, an Avatamsaka Way-place, and a Dharma Flower Way-place, which is protected by all good Dharma protecting gods and the Eight Divisions at all times. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas won't allow you to create offenses within the Way-place. This is especially true if you tell all of our domestic matters to a visitor and cause both the host and the guest to feel ill at ease. Think about it, whom can you face with a guilt free conscience? I don't wish to mention names. You should reflect upon and examine yourself.

In a true Way-place, this kind of people are not allowed. Whoever has this fault must thoroughly reform yourself. If you don't, I am afraid the retribution for you to receive is inconceivable.

In the City, a few trees have grown bugs. The bugs have eaten the trees to death. What does this tell us? It tells us that we have bugs living in our Way-place. They live and eat within Buddhism but never do anything for Buddhism. They are selfish and seek only personal gains. They don't pay attention to the guiding principles of not contending, not being greedy, not seeking, not being selfish, not pursuing personal advantage, and not lying. They live and eat in the City but they don't work for the City. Instead, they stealthily find a job outside to earn money. This is a very bad behavior. It is because we have these greedy ghosts and selfish ghosts that bugs grow on trees. The bugs have manifested to tell us that we have greedy ghosts among us, and that we have bugs within Buddhism, within the temple, who eat and live here but don't do anything for the temple. On top of that, they put up a front and bully left-home people. They think they are the best and look down on left-home people. For this reason, the bugs appear. Let me make it clear now. Those bugs are lay people and not left-home people. Especially, this disciple (Gwo ???) who is so sick and so lazy. He only helps a little in the kitchen. And after those hours, he does nothing. This is the same as being a bug. This kind of behavior brings no merit and virtue but creates offenses instead. You should thoroughly reform yourself. Otherwise, why is it that you get sick so much but not others? You are selfish and only want to benefit yourself. You have made no improvement, instead, you have only slide back.

You are not the only bug. There are several more, both men and women. They eat and live in the temple, relying the Buddha for being fed and sheltered, but they don't really help the temple. In a Way-place, a person should not own a heater by himself. Now that you not only have a heater but all other sorts of things as well. You even put up a bed in the office. What is that for? All of you, reflect upon yourselves! Within the temple, everyone should fulfill his own share of duty and not be lazy and piggish. When there's good things to eat, you are the first one to get there; and when it's time to work, you drag your feet. If you are like this, you will have only created offenses and not merit and virtue in the temple.

A true cultivator always reflects upon himself. He will ask himself whether he has truly applied effort in cultivating the Way today or let the whole day pass in vain; whether he has done all his homework; and whether he has benefited others or himself? You should turn around and examine yourself. You should not spend the day in eating you fill and waiting to die, or just going along with the crowd and wasting all the time. There's a saying, "If I find no fault to be corrected for a day, I create no merit that day." You should maintain this attitude that if you are not able to change your fault everyday, you will not be able to establish merit everyday. Therefore, when we sit in the sutra lectures, we don't just bring our bodies there. We must ask ourselves whether we have attentively listened to the Dharma. Living in the temple, we should evaluate ourselves to see if we have overdrawn our accounts of blessing. This is especially so for some lay people.

Left-home people eat only one meal a day. Though some eat two or three due to their advanced ages or illnesses. Think about it, left-home people only eat one meal a day. They bear the hardship for the sake of cultivation. Every one of them endures the bitterness and works hard every day. They perhaps sweep the grounds, attend the office, handle all sorts of matters, translate sutras, or study Buddhadharma, etc. They all have their share of work and none of them indulge themselves in pleasure and comfort. I don't know what other left-home people's rooms are like, but I know I don't use a heater. Of course I know it is very relaxing and comfortable to have a heater installed to keep the room warm. But why don't I have one installed? First of all, I don't have the blessing to enjoy such comfort. I get a terrible headache when the wood is burned in the stove. I remember once when I ate in the dinning hall, I perspired profusely because of the wood-burning stove in the middle of the hall. From that time on, I dare not to eat in the dinning hall in the winter any more. Why is it? It is because I don't have such a good blessing to enjoy such comfort.

However, you are a lay person but you use a heater all by yourself. Reflect upon your conscience and think about it, especially young people. Everyone comes to the Way-place to cultivate, and you come here to enjoy. What kind of mentality is this? If you want to enjoy comfort then you should not have come to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. You should leave quickly. No one enjoys comfort in the City. You are so lazy, I have never seen you do anything around here. You just spend the day in eating your fill and then waiting to die. What is it that you are doing here? You have been here for so many years and still can't speak one sentence of Chinese or write one Chinese character. People who came after you have all learned to translate sutras, write Chinese characters or other languages. It doesn't have to be Chinese, other languages count too.

We have been explaining sutras for these many years. Have you made special effort in studying any one of them in particular: Amitabha Sutra, Shurangama Sutra, the Sixth Patriarch Sutra, or the Flower Adornment Sutra? Should you have investigated one of them, you would have gained something. However, if you just waste you time and don't understand any sutras, what are you doing here? Just be mischievous and always make troubles? How can this be tolerated? For these many years, I have been putting up with you. I didn't wish to talk about it because it would seem that this teacher did nothing but scolding people. However, today, I cannot contain it anymore. I have used up all my capacity and cannot find any room to store patience any more. Therefore, I put it in the empty space and speak out today.

None of the residents of the City watches TV in private and doesn't come to sutra lectures. No one has the time to listen to radio and not to listen to Dharmas. Not to watch TV or listen to radio is okay. However, you are not permitted not to come to listen to sutras and investigate Dharma when there's nothing else to do. We have so many bugs eating the temple away. When there are too many bugs in the temple, the trees start to get them as well. Why the trees grow bugs? You must understand the cause when you see the result. It is because we have bugs among residents in the City. They live and eat in the temple but don't do anything to protect the temple. They only work on their personal fame and benefit. How can this be allowed? That's why the trees grow bugs and the bugs kill them. It is to show you that you overdraw your blessing by being a bug within a temple. Though a temple is a place philanthropic deeds are carried out, but they are done for every one. You should fulfill you share of duty to support the temple and not be lazy. It shouldn't be the case that you have a share in food and shelter and don't share the work. That's creating offense and not merit and virtue. Therefore, whoever the bugs are, you must quickly reform yourselves.