Cultivating is to correct evil thoughts, and recover the intrinsic ethics already in you.
You all know to Xiaoshun(LOVE, HONOR, RESPECT AND TAKE GOOD CARE OF) your parents, and love your brothers and sisters. You all know to repay grace and favors, and to fullfill vows. Loving and honoring parents should be done naturally,with out any expectation. taht is the true Xiaoshun.
Everyone's duty is to responsible to oneself. Everything you do has an effect on all the sentient beings, yourself, and everyone around you. Today, you are here in the temple to learn Dao, but where is Dao? Dao is in your daily life. You should act in accordance with Dao and set an example of Dao, devotedly practicing in your self, and then you'll see how wirthwhile it is to cultivate Dao.
As you come to know yourself better, you will shiw your inner sincerity in your expressions and behaviors. Then, people will see you as a Buddha. The world around you will become a heavenly paradise becouse of you. The real paradise in your heart.
Being a human, you need to fulfill your basic duties. You should be practical, and try not to reach for what is beyound your grasp. You do not need to go to other places to study Zen, meditation or conjuration. All you need to do is to cultivate yourself in the most natural way, which is out of your merciful heart. And you can achieve Buddhahood eventually. The remarkable glory of white Sun Era is that we can accomplish the most extraordinary things in the most ordinary way.
A cultivator needs not only to cultivate well, but also to express Dao effectively. To be a cultivator, your words, your heart, and your deeds have to be consistent. the most important thing in cultivation is to realize the truth.
Every bottleneck is an ideal time for growth. Do not just pay attention to your superficies everyday. To cultivate, you have deeper. In getting along with people, you need to go deeper, too. You cannot just take care of the facade. Otherwise, people will also treat you superficially.
When you cultivate Dao, do not just pay attention to what is beautiful, delicious and comfortable. Endure hardship and suffering, and then you will be the best of best.
Be selfless when you practice Dao; be contented to play your role. You need to practice Dao without complaints, without regrets, without a starting point or a finish line. Start again after resting; be sure that you really make an effort to help this world become more harmonious and peaceful. Hope that in this time of great urgency and chaos, all of you can settle down your heart and truly clam down your mind and be sincere. Be sincere to yourself, to people, to all objects and to your duties. Face your own heart, be sincere inside and reflect your sincerity on your behaviors and expressions.
Whatever you do, not wait until tomorrow. Seize today, seize the moment, seize here and now; then you'll find what is true and eternal.
Take cultivation as something you should do, then you will do it willingly and cheerfully, just like enjoying your mcals. Take cultivation as having meals, think of it as enjoying a delicious meal, you will want to experience it everyday. That is way one different thought makes a word of difference.
