..續本文上一頁ople would study and put the teachings of this Sutra into practice, they will come to understand the real¬ity of cause and effect. Naturally, the purity of their minds would bring about the health of their bodies, and their envi-ronment would be free from pollutions. Hence, this period of corrup¬tion would surely be overturned and peace will fol-low.”

　　Today”s world is filled with extreme con¬fusion, and everyone wishes to restore order. To prevent the disasters upcoming right before our eyes, we must diligently and tirelessly per¬suade people to bear a kind heart, perform kind deeds, speak kind words, and overall, be a de¬cent per¬son. We plan to achieve the above goals (The Four Decencies) through under-standing the spirit behind different types of teachings (see Guidelines for Selection of Passages).

　　Members of the Pure Land Learning Cen¬ter should without doubt follow the teachings of Purity, Equality, and Under-standing and be de¬termined to reach the Pure Land. I hope this new facility will be dedicated to the exclusive study and prac-tice of the Pure Land Teachings in this great land of America.

　　We should follow the footsteps of Teacher Yin Guang and truly bring our ideals (specified in the Introduction of the Pure Land Learning Center) to life.

　　We should often provide discussions and hold study sessions where Buddha Recitation would be practiced. Buddha Recitation is the most effective way to pu-rify our mind. In this way we would be cultivating according to what we learn.

　　The Buddha”s Education is not an es-cape from worldly problems; instead, dedicated stu¬dents of the Teachings un¬der-take the basic re¬sponsibilities of re¬stor¬ing order to the world, overcoming the problems in society and helping the dis-tressed. Through inner peace, we can at-tain world peace.

　　Only by seeing through the same eyes of understanding is it possible for us to be truly diligent in our cultivation and spreading of the Buddha”s Teachings. We reach towards happi¬ness of the family, stability of the society, a re¬spected nation, and a harmonious world apart from suf-ferings. I hope the everlasting light of the Buddha”s Teachings will penetrate to all corners of the world as soon as possible.”

　　Presented by

　　The Elder Teacher Chin Kung

　　October 1, 1993

　　Dallas, Texas

　　U.S.A.

　　Guidelines for Selection of Passages

　　The way to world peace is through common viewpoint. To achieve common viewpoint, we plan to gather the spirit and ideas from dif¬ferent types teach¬ings by selecting passages from histori¬cal volumous books of experience and wis¬dom. We hope those who are interested in participating in this task would abide by the following guide¬lines:

　　1. Select short, easily un-der-stood passages, in-stead of lengthy ones.

　　2. Select needed and practi-cal teachings, and not fancy phi¬losophies.

　　3. Select passages which would:

　　 benefit one”s own moral conduct and cultiva¬tion.

　　 bring happiness into the family.

　　 improve our job per-for-mance by relating to the past career experience of people from all walks of life.

　　 promote stability of the

　　society.

　　 help the nation pros¬per.

　　 help bring about world peace.

　　 close the gaps between dif¬ferent races, beliefs, and lines of studies.

　　4. After properly compiling and categorizing the pas-sages into one volume, we should trans¬late them into different lan¬guages for readership world¬wide. Our ideal goal is to in-troduce the ancients” wisdom to the world and promote harmony.

　　5. Select famous teachings from foreign literature. If these could be distrib-uted world¬wide, then we can establish common understanding, har¬moni-ous living, and shared prosperity. This would bring about a mutually supportive and happy world.

《Talk Given At The Opening Ceremony Of The Dallas Buddhist Association》全文閱讀結束。