Guru's Talk

(By Living Buddha Lian-Sheng, Sheng-Yen Lu)
(Translated by Cheng Yew Chung. Edited by TBN)

Will my being in retreat at Leaf Lake forever keep me from ascending the dharma throne to expound the dharma?

Speaking of expounding the dharma, I remember that I spent days and nights prior to my retreat studying the secrets of Tantric teachings and engaging myself in the actual practice of Tantric dharma. While in Seattle, I ascended the dharma throne daily to preach the dharma. I also expounded the teachings around the world and was diligent in my efforts to teach the sutras and dharma.

While it is important to expound the dharma, it is equally important that we listen to the dharma.

Shakyamuni Buddha expounded the dharma for forty-nine years and helped many of his disciples attain the fruition of realization (the path of liberation and the path of enlightenment).

But let me say this to you:

A Buddhist scholar who is exceptional in his detailed study of Buddhism can certainly preach the dharma for he is well versed in the Buddhist teachings. However, if the scholar does not engage himself in actual practice and involves himself only in the theoretical teaching of dharma, he is only an ordinary mundane being who engages himself in empty talks and frivolous discourses.

Take, for example, an ordained monk who often teaches others to recite the Buddha name and speaks of the certainty that a single-minded recitation of the Buddha name will ensure a rebirth in the Pure Land, but he, as a monk, does not recite the Buddha name himself. The question is, will this monk gain rebirth in the Pure Land?

The individuals who listen to the monk's talk on dharma every day may be filled with the joy of dharma. However, when they return home, they are drawn to their worldly matters and do not put what they learn into actual practice. I am aware that these individuals abound.

You may ask, "Have you done actual practice?"

And I may answer you, "I'll do it tomorrow."

Let me say this to you honestly: By claiming that you will practise tomorrow makes one wonder what exactly is tomorrow? Tomorrow is just one tomorrow followed by another tomorrow. Yet actual practice is all about "now," which cannot be delayed. Disciples who only listen to dharma talks are not considered to be actually practising the dharma.

A dakini once brought the soul of a disciple to my place—

I asked the deceased soul, "Have you actually practised the dharma?"

He replied, "I believe in the Buddhadharma, and Grand Master's Tantric Dharma is indeed the dharma lamp of great radiance. However, I only listened to the dharma being expounded and did not put it into actual practice."

"Have you recited any Buddha name or mantra?"

"Not yet!"

When I heard his reply, my heart ached.

"You respect the Guru, treasure the dharma, and yet you have not actually practised it. You have simply wasted your life. Remember to commit yourself to actual practice in your next life!"

I feel that while it is important to ascend the throne to expound the dharma, it is more important to practise the dharma as instructed!

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