TALK GIVEN AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE DALLAS BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION
"It is difficult to obtain human life, and even more so to encounter, understand, and learn from the Buddha”s Teachings."
“How fortunate we are to enjoy a happy life! How lucky we are to be able to hear the great Teachings! The most pre¬cious of all is to have encountered the di¬rect, complete, and wondrous teachings of the Pure Land School.
The peace and happiness which has ful¬filled my life all sprang forth from practicing of the Pure Land Teachings. Ever since I, Chin Kung, began studying the Buddha”s Teachings, not a single day passed by in which I forget the kindness shown to me by my teachers. The only way to express my sincere gratitude is to fully dedicate my time and energy into sharing the Teachings with Society. As I enter old age, I feel an urgent need to carry out my responsi¬bility of solely pro¬moting and cultivating the Pure Land Teachings. Today, I would like to share with everyone the same peace and happi¬ness I have gained through the Teachings in this short introductory speech. The six passages below are a compilement of the main points summarized from the entire Buddhist Treasury:
1. Buddhism is the most pro-found and whole¬some educa-tion di¬rected by the Buddha towards all peo¬ple.
2. The content in Shakyamuni Buddha”s forty-nine years of teachings de¬scribes the true face of life and the universe. Life refers to oneself;universe refers to our living envi¬ron¬ment. The Teachings directly relate to our own lives and sur-roundings.
3. Those who possess a com-plete and proper understand-ing of life and the universe are called Buddhas or Bod-hisattvas. Those who lack the un¬der-standing are namely “worldly people”.
4. Cultivation is chang-ing the way we think, speak, and act toward people and matters from an er¬roneous way to a proper way.
5. The guideline for cul-ti¬va¬tion is understanding, proper views, and purity. True un-derstanding is with¬out delu-sion, proper view is without devia¬tion, and purity is with-out de-filement. This can be achieved by practicing the Three Learnings of self dis-cipline, concentra¬tion, and wisdom.
6. The foundation of culti-vation and study are the Three Basic Conditions.When in-teracting with people, ac-cord with the Six Harmonies, and when dealing with soci-ety, prac-tice the Six Princi-ples.Follow the lessons taught by Universal Worthy Bodhi-sattva and dedicate one”s mind to everlasting purity and brightness. These com-plete the pur¬pose of the Buddha”s Teachings.
The Sutra of Amitabha”s Purity, Equal-ity, and Understanding states, “Wherever the Bud¬dha”s Teachings have been re¬ceived, either in cities or countrysides, people would gain in¬conceivable benefits. The land and people would be enveloped in peace. The sun and the moon would shine clear and bright. Wind and rain would appear accordingly, and there will be no disasters. Nations would be pros-perous and there will be no use for sol¬diers and weap¬ons. People would abide by morality and ac¬cord with laws. They would be courteous and humble. Every¬one would be content. There would be no injustices, thefts or violence. The strong would not dominate the weak and eve¬ry¬one will be settled at their proper place in the so¬ci¬ety.” This passage of the Sutra clearly reveals the true benefits of Buddha”s Teachings.
Mr. Kuang Shi Mei, one of the most fa¬mous Buddhist scholars in China stated, “If we wish to propagate the Buddha”s Teachings at this time and age, it is neces-sary to promote the Pure Land School. To promote Pure Land, we must bring forth The Sutra of Amitabha”s Purity, Equality, and Understanding. If pe…
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