If not earnestly practicing in the Guru's teaching but listening others' blandishments, thinking that everybody's helping you with a kind heart, your mind will easily be confused. This point is very crucial. Always being fond of sweet words is a kind of malady, existing among many of our people learning from Buddha. Some disciples who learned a few days earlier like to show off and come forward to introduce Buddhism among people newly converted to and learned the teaching. However, if not explaining Buddhism with the Guru's purpose and teaching all along but adding your own cognition and even the evil views, well then the more you introduced, the more you harmed; you not only disturbed others' peaceful mind, but also break their wisdom life. So in the course of our practice we must be careful of others' words. The word of others is a fearful thing. For example, it happened several times that before those disciples came to see me to receive my teaching, they had already been bewitched by others' words. This guy said this and that guy said that; many people even came forward to introduce for others with mysterious stories. There was a disciple who gained nothing but a mouth full of flatteries after having lived for 3 years in my temple. According to the Buddha-dharma, he learned not even the least of the three essentials of Buddhism. However, he showed off everywhere among the Upasakas in our temple thus made others mistook him for omnipotent. He even crowed about that with his preaching the tumor in somebody's stomach disappeared at once. Those people all listened to him. So, the words of others are usually blandishments with their own purposes. Crowing over himself all the day with very limited knowledge, that guy disturbed those learners' peaceful mind and broke their wisdom life, which was very dangerous.

So, we learners must follow and pursue the right teaching. To follow and pursue the right teaching contains two concepts, one of which is to practice according to the arguments told by the Buddha and sutras. There are so many arguments in the sutras and which one on earth should be followed for our practice? We shall do according to the Guru's transmission and do what is told by the Guru, never trying to be unique. Especially you intelligent like to read more books and know more arguments; but you shall apply these arguments into the practice of yourself, otherwise even if you can recite and explain all the Tripitaka, they will have nothing to do with you; because after all they are the words of the Buddha, founders and most virtuous, not yours; you haven't understood the true meaning of Buddhism.

The biggest obstacle in learning from Buddha is the temporal knowledge, that is the hindrance of worldly wisdom. There is a saying in society that ‘read more books, become a bookworm; repeat more of the Buddha's name, become a booby of Buddhism'. Without the right guidance, sincere wish, clear direction and proper method, it's very hard to find the most suitable way of own practice. For some people with limited blessed-reward, I only take the example of one disciple but shall no limit to him: as a postgraduate, he read many books and can preach Buddhism clearly and logically; that is good by showing that his wisdom had been sufficient and achieved. However, only if overcoming the three hearts after having achieved wisdom, would he be guaranteed to attain the Buddha-hood. Which three hearts? Hearts of vanity, cupidity and anger. Once being deluded by the outside environment, the three hearts will destroy our so-called accomplished wisdom. The more you know, the more dangerous they are. Why? Your wisdom is being used by vanity, cupidity and anger. Their harm would not be too great if only appearing themselves; but if putting the hat of Buddhism on them, they would be more fraudulent. This issue deserves the deep thinking of everyone of us. That is to say, no one will believe a person whose words are all flam; if he often adds some true words into that flam, you can hardly tell apart. There is also a most exoteric comparison: you won't eat something that known by everybody as a poison; but you may eat the sweet that has been added into poison, because you don't know that and it tastes sweet. In either learning from Buddha or generating the mind, we must sincerely believe in the truth and earnestly generate the mind, devoting all the body and soul.

If we learn well of the Buddha-dharma, apply our wisdom and knowledge into the rescuing of all beings and return our merits and virtues for all beings, not just for ourselves, then our merits and virtues will be great. So, if we use what we've learned to reach our own aim, the harm will be great. So, when referring to the maladies in learning from Buddha, everybody must clearly cognize this issue.

We must learn from Buddha earnestly. Last time I've taught the ten hearts that must be provided in learning from Buddha; today I won't repeat their meaning again. But, I must emphasize the issue that learning from Buddha must be earnest and applied into the practice. As a disciple of Buddha, you'd understood the arguments of Buddha and opened up those wisdom; but you was drew back by the power of karma and the outside conditions and phenomena because you had not cultivated well of the blessed-reward. I see that problem exists among many practitioners. This is a issue worthy of our deep thought.

Referring to learning and practicing, there is also another issue need to be clarified that is the relationship between the kind heart and the bodhi-mind. We can benefit people and others and accumulate the blessed-rewards of men and deva by generating the kind heart, e.g., building bridges and paving roads as well as giving alms to the six gati. However, the concept of it is different from that of the Bodhi-mind. For example, most of you often cast our bread upon the waters and generate the kind heart; but do you know at where the kind heart for welldoing differs from the Bodhi-mind? I knew a disciple among you who had very good roots: he would be heart-struck if seeing a beggar, a sick or an uncomfortable person. That was a kind heart, which can accumulate the blessed-reward of men and deva; if adding the four methods of pacification and the six paramitas, your blessed-reward will be greater. Even if having carried out and practiced all the four methods of pacification and the six paramitas, we have not yet reached the realm of the Bodhi-mind. So, that our earnest practice of the six paramitas: charity, keeping the commandments, patience under insult, keeping progressing, meditation and wisdom, haven't yet formed the real Bodhi-mind if we did not distinguish the kind heart and the Bodhi-mind on the issue of generating the mind. What is called the Bodhi-mind and how to generate the Bodhi-mind? This is a pivotal question in connection with that: can our practice result in the Bodhi-hood and can we reach the aim? The Vairochana Sutra makes a summary of the fundamental thought of Tantric Buddhism as three sentences. Which three? “The mind of Bodhi is the cause, the mind of great-pity is the fundamentality, and upaya is the ultimate.” That to generate the mind of Bodhi, practice the way of Bodhisattva, and achieve the stage of Buddha is the core of Tantric Buddhism, as well as the root of all dharma. It's the root for all, no matter whether your practice is to repeat the name of Amitabha or to meditate. If not generating the Bodhi-mind, we cannot get inexhaustible merits, virtues and wisdom to sweep the evil karma of all past lives, which would be handicaps to our practice. If not generating the Bodhi-mind, we cannot be fully provided with merits and virtues thus cannot attain the Buddha-hood; so this is a very crucial issue.

What is the Bodhi-mind? It is the mind of utmost perfect wisdom, so is called the mind of Bodhi. It is established on the basis of mercy and empty-nature, also being the unification of that great mercy for no cause and big pity for the same body, which means that we shall treat all beings with great mercy, whether or not they have causal connection with us, care them, protect them and return them our merits and virtues, as if they were the cell of our own body. By doing so, you would generate the great mercy for no cause and big pity for the same body. If slicing a piece of meat from our own body, we will feel heartache. We shall have such mercy that to harm a being is just like to slice a piece of meat from our body. So, for the benefit of all beings, we shall generate the Bodhi-mind, which is a kind of earnest wish and practice to seek and attain the supreme Bodhi-hood.

There are three sorts of Bodhi-mind: the will of Bodhi-mind, the virtuous deed of Bodhi-mind, and the Supreme Bodhi-mind. The will, deed and fruit must all be brought onto the fundamental way of generating Bodhi-mind. One of my disciples asked, “how can I get of the evil karma of that relative of mine? What shall I do?” I answered, the best way is to generate the mind. What mind? The Bodhi-mind. It would be better to return for all beings than just him with our merits and virtues. If we return for all beings including enemies and foes with all our merits and virtues, those enemies and foes will be moved to together generate the mind to rescue your relative. In this way, there will be a kind of formidable merits and virtues as well as strength to eliminate his evil karma.

Learning from Buddha is an extraordinary good chance for us. It's a rare chance hard to get even in billions of years. This was a precious karma that all of us came together, got the human body that can hardly be acquired, heard the Buddha-dharma that can scarcely be heard, and got the transmission of Tantric Buddhism. We shall generate the great will and mind that to return for all beings and let everybody shares all our merits and wisdom by proving the great wisdom and Buddha-hood through practicing. The aim of our learning from Buddha is not for simply solving our own pains and evil karmas, but for returning own merits, virtues and wisdoms back to all beings, and wishing all beings capability of attaining wisdom and the Buddha-hood. The aim of learning from Buddha is not for body and soul's health of our own, but for that of all beings by returning our merits and virtues to all beings. If all of us generate that great will, the breadth of our mind will be widen, our obstacles will be less, our wisdom will increase, and we will be supported by all Buddha and Bodhisattva. If everyone of us thinks like that and do like that, our heart will influence the earthlings; all of us would wholeheartedly pursue goodness and together generate the mind to transfer the whole world of suffering, in which we live now, into a pure land. In this way, that ‘let world peaceful and people well-being' is not a bosh any more. Every one of us shall pay out a portion of strength and make a bit of contribution to realize that. We shall start from beginning to generate the will, the mind, and return the merits and virtues. If returning all our merits and virtues to all beings, both men and deva will be happy, all Buddha will protect and support you, thus your merits and virtues will be perfectly accomplished.