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 fulfilled 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
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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 responsibility 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 wholesome educa-
tion directed by the Buddha
towards all people.
2. The content in Shakyamuni
Buddha's forty-nine years of
teachings describes the true
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face of life and the universe.
Life refers to oneself;universe
refers to our living environ-
ment. The Teachings directly
relate to our own lives and
surroundings.
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
understanding are namely
„worldly people‟.
4. Cultivation is changing the
way we think, speak, and act
toward people and matters
from an erroneous way to a
proper way.
5. The guideline for cultiva-
tion is understanding, proper
views, and purity. True un-
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derstanding is without delu-sion, proper view is without deviation, and purity is with-out defilement. This can be achieved by practicing the Three Learnings of self dis-cipline, concentration, and wisdom.
6. The foundation of culti-vation and study are the Three Basic Conditions.When interacting with people, ac-cord with the Six Harmonies, and when dealing with soci-ety, practice 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-
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plete the purpose of the
Buddha's Teachings.
The Sutra of Amitabha's Purity, Equal-ity, and Understanding states, „Wherever
the Buddha's Teachings have been re-ceived, either in cities or countrysides, people would gain inconceivable 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 weapons. People would abide by
morality and accord with laws. They
would be courteous and humble. Everyone
would be content. There would be no
injustices, thefts or violence. The strong
would not dominate the weak and every-
one will be settled at their proper place in
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the society.‟ This passage of the Sutra
clearly reveals the true benefits of Buddha's Teachings.
Mr. Kuang Shi Mei, one of the most famous 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 people would study
and put the teachings of this Sutra into practice, they will come to understand the reality 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 corruption would surely be overturned and peace will fol-low.‟
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Today's world is filled with extreme confusion, and everyone wishes to restore order. To prevent the disasters upcoming right before our eyes, we must diligently and tirelessly persuade people to bear a kind heart, perform kind deeds, speak kind words, and overall, be a decent 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 Center should without doubt follow the teachings of Purity, Equality, and Under-standing and be determined 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.
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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 students of the Teachings un-dertake the basic responsibilities of restor-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
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spreading of the Buddha's Teachings. We reach towards happiness of the family, stability of the society, a respected 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.
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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 different types teachings by selecting passages from historical volumous books of experience and wis-dom. We hope those who are interested in participating in this task would abide by the following guidelines:
1. Select short, easily under-
stood passages, instead of
lengthy ones.
2. Select needed and practi-
cal teachings, and not
fancy philosophies.
3. Select passages which
would:
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