NEPL – Live with faith, aspiration, and abilities (II)

The senior students of the NEPL led and encouraged the new participants to embrace Dharma by starting with the six fundamental principles. 

One mindedness: the marvelous mind of Nirvana. Through Chan practice and contemplative analysis, we can approach the profound wisdom of Dharma. Two types of love: love Earth and love peace. As the followers on the path of the bodhisattva, we must engage in charity, be contributive to society, the country, and mankind. With our dedication, we can help sentient beings to connect with Buddhadharma. Enable ourselves to become a link or a pathway to connect beings to the path of enlightenment

Virtues in the three doors: physical virtues with good conduct, verbal virtues with pleasant speech, and mental virtues with kind intent. Four types of generosity: hope, convenience, joy, and faith. If we wish to make positive connections with others, we must offer our care and love first. In return, we'd receive good interpersonal relations and love from others.

Five excellences: positivity, courage, optimism, love, and aspiration. These five are important elements when working with others. Positivity is to offer Dharma to others instead of negative messages. Courage inspires people to deal with life courageously. Optimism is to stay spirited in life. Love allows us to become warm. Making aspiration is to live our lives fully without regrets. Be a contributive member to mankind and society.

Next, we should examine ourselves with the Six Perfections. Are we being generous to help and serve others? Are we following the rules to live accordingly with precepts? Are we trying to abide in emptiness to develop patience? Are we diligent enough to be a compassionate and aspired individual?

By applying Chan practice, we can return to our nature or primordial awareness. Be sure to abide in the awareness of meditative stabilization. The way to maintain contemplative analysis is wisdom or awareness. Reflect that all phenomena are of suffering, emptiness, and impermanence through awareness. Let's return to one-mindedness.

One mindedness, two types of love, virtues of the three doors, four types of generosity, five excellences, six perfections are important. One mindedness is wisdom, the source of our life. Everything arises from this source. Be sure to safeguard and cultivate the root. Nurture it to create “nutrients”, which are Chan practice  and wisdom. As we are endowed with contemplative analysis and stabilization, the luminosity of awareness would shine forth. Furthermore, we can receive all the energy of the universe.

Fellow students, let’s be diligent. Nurture your aspiration with faith, aspiration, and action. After making aspirations, one must take action. With faith, we can accomplish the practice of Dharma.