Holy Master Ziguang Shang Shi gave a teaching to the students of the Zen Instructor Class:

It is difficult to be a Bodhisattva. In the saha world, countless beings are waiting to be delivered; their afflictions are passed on to you, and you may become afflicted as well. How can one remove these afflictions and transform into someone emerging from the purified Pure Land? When we speak of the Pure Land, it means a pure heart. Without a pure heart, there is no Pure Land.

In Buddhism, purification refers to cleansing the heart. Taking many showers does not make one pure—that is only superficial. Not everyone can succeed in purifying the heart. You may cleanse it, yet impurities return, constantly accumulating like dust upon your heart. Eventually, the heart becomes heavy, lacking the strength to bear the burden. When too much mud gathers, the heart breaks—or even shatters.

How can we rid the heart of its foul odor? Begin with the Noble Eightfold Path. It washes away the stench of the body and the impurities of the heart; it cleanses inner dirt, resentment, and attachment. This is why Shakyamuni Buddha, in order to help and save all beings, taught that the Noble Eightfold Path is the best cleanser for the mud of the heart.

What is a cleanser? It is that which transforms impurity into purity. Inner cleansing requires cultivation, leading to enlightenment. Only those who attain awakening can truly purify the heart; those without awakening cannot do so completely.

All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas stand upon a lotus, symbolizing their pure hearts. Though the lotus grows from the mud, it remains radiant and beautiful.

Event: Holy Master Ziguang Shang Shi's Birthday Convention

Venue: Great Hero Hall