For example, when a person wants to travel far, when he first wants to go, it is called desire; he has already set out and does not stop, it is called diligence; he can encourage himself and does not let his actions linger, it's called being not slack. Therefore, desire generates diligence, diligence is not slack, and it is possible to generate various dharmas and even attain Buddhahood. - "The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom"
All the good dharmas, even Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, are born from being diligence and never being heedlessness. - Buddhist Vinaya
The heart of the past cannot be obtained, the heart of the present cannot be obtained, and the heart of the future cannot be obtained. -"Diamond Sutra"
Ten inner obstacles: 1. desire; 2. sorrow; 3. hunger and thirst; 4. craving; 5. sleep; 6. fear; 7. doubt and regret; 8. hatred; 9. benefit and nourishment; 10. arrogance - "The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom"
Primal Vow
Don't Forget "your Primal Vow"
Primal Vow: This is the cause of cause and effect. Primal Vow, a vow made in the cause land. This vow is the cause vow relative to the results of future achievements. Primal, represents the root, so this is the vow of the root and the ultimate. The heart of a Bodhisattva is vast, and his vows are immeasurable. Only this wish is the foundation, so it is also called the primal wish. It is like the forty-eight vows of the Amitabha Tathagata, and the twelve vows of the Bhaisajyaguru Tathagata. The Sutra of Immeasurable Life says, "It's all because of the mighty and divine power of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, because of the power of the Primal Vow." The same as this: "The Primal Vow of the Buddha is that as long as someone hears the name of the Buddha and is willing to be reborn in that world, they can be reborn in that world. When he reach that world, he will never turn back." "Reincarnation Theory" says: "Looking at the power of Buddha's Primal Vows, as long as you can meet Buddhas, you will not encounter them in vain. The Buddha's Primal Vows can make those who encounter the Dharma quickly be satisfied, the merits of the Buddhadharma are like a sea of great treasures.” The Buddhist scriptures say: “All past and present Buddhas, power, merit, wisdom, immeasurable and profound Dharma, are equal and have no difference, but there are different causes and conditions according to the Primal Vows of all Buddhas: either their lifespan is immeasurable, or those who see the Buddha Dharma will surely become enlightened, or if they recite the name of the Buddha, they will surely become enlightened." The parables chapter of the Lotus Sutra says: "For the sake of the Primal Vow, Buddhadharma is taught in three ways."
The text of the 18th vow of Amitabha Buddha, according to Infinite Life Sutra, reads:
If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and call my Name, even ten times, should not be born there, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment. Excluded, however, are those who commit the five gravest offences and abuse the right Dharma.
If a Bodhisattva sees sentient beings coming to annoy him, he should say to himself: This is my relative and friend, and also my teacher. I should love and treat him with respect. Why? If he does not annoy me, I will not be able to bear humiliation; therefore, the sentient beings who annoy me are my relatives and friends, and they are also my teachers. - "The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom"
The Bodhisattva thought to himself: "I should not be like the rest of the people, always following the flow of life and death, I should go against the current to seek the source and enter Nirvana. All mortals are angry when they are invaded, rejoice when they are benefited, and fear when they are terrified. As a bodhisattva, I cannot be like that. Although I have not broken the knot, I should restrain myself. I should practice patience, and I will not be angry when I am annoyed, and I will not be happy when I am respected. All sufferings and hardships should not be feared; I should arouse great compassion for all sentient beings!" - "The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom"
There was a fox who lived in the forest by eating the leftovers of lions, tigers and leopards. There was a time when even leftovers were hard to find, so the fox crossed the city walls in the middle of the night and ran into the yard where people lived to find food. It had not found food for a long time and fell asleep by the fence. When the fox woke up, it was already dawn. The fox was very scared. It estimated that it would be difficult for him to escape. If he stayed, he was afraid of being killed. So it lay on the ground and pretended to be dead. Many people came to see the fox. One of them said, "I need fox ears." Then he cut off the fox's ears. The fox thought: "It hurts to cut off the ears, but the body is still there." Another person said, "I need the fox's tail." Then he cut off the fox's tail. The fox thought: "It hurts to cut off the tail, but it is a small matter compared to life." Another person said: "I need the fox's teeth." The fox thought: "More and more people will hurt me, if anyone needs My head, I have no way to live." So the fox jumped up from the ground and rushed through every obstacle, finally escaping. The mind of a cultivator, seeking to escape from suffering, is like this fox. When old age comes, he still comforts himself, unable to make vigorous decisions and make progress. The same is true when he is sick. Once he is cured, he cannot make up his mind to practice. When death is about to come, he knows that there is nothing to comfort him, so he can encourage himself, work hard, practice diligently, and attain Nirvana from near death. -"The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom"
There was once a powerful Naga. If any beings stood in front of it, the weak ones would die if they saw its eyes, and the strong ones would die if they smelled its breath. Because of the one-day precepts, this naga sat quietly in the forest in order to seek silence, and fell asleep after sitting for a long time. All nagas curl their bodies like snakes when they sleep, but there will be gorgeous patterns flashing on the surface of their bodies. At this time, a hunter went into the woods, saw the beautiful patterns on the naga's body, and thought, "If I give this rare skin to the king, I will definitely be rewarded." So he held down the naga's head with a wooden stick and peeled the naga's skin with a knife. The naga had already noticed it, but it thought to himself, "With my power, it would be easy to overthrow this country. How could this villain trap me? But I am keeping the precepts today, so I don't care about this body, I have to obey the Buddha's words! "So the naga endured not to open his eyes, not to breathe, so as not to hurt the hunter. In order to maintain the abstinence, the naga was skinned without remorse. Because there is no skin, the naked meat is on the ground, and the sun is very hot, so the naga snakes into the soil, trying to dip the water under the soil, but there are many small insects in the soil to eat its meat. In order to maintain the abstinence, the naga did not dare to move again, for fear of hurting these little insects. The naga thought to himself: "I will donate to these worms with my fleshly body now, so that they can fill their stomachs. If I become a Buddha in the future, I will also give the Buddhadharma to their hearts." , and finally its body was eaten by insects and it was died. After the death of the naga, it was reincarnated in the Second Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. This naga is the previous life of Buddha Shakyamuni. The hunter at that time was Devadatta. Those little worms are the eighty thousand heavens who attained the Dharma when Buddha Shakyamuni first turned the Dharmachakra. The Bodhisattva protects and upholds the precepts at all costs and decides not to regret it. - "Sutra of the Shang Su Tuo Su Mo Kings"
Keeping the precepts wholeheartedly, in order to be born in a good place, when born in a good place, one sees good people, and when seeing good people, one produces good wisdom. When good wisdom is produced, one can practice the six paramitas. By practicing the six paramitas, one can attain Buddhahood. -"The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom"