Second Session of the Amitabha Dharma Function – 4 Points of Unwavering Faith

The annual Amitabha Dharma Function continued on the morning of 30th December. Under the guidance of Venerable Abbess Manshin, over one hundred devotees recited the Amitabha Sutra, chanted the Buddha’s name and recited Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s “Prayers to Amitabha Buddha”. The Dharma function involved the dual practice of Pureland and Chan methods.

During the Dharma talk Venerable Abbess Manshin described the types of food required for our physical body and our mental activities. When a poet consumes food, the food will be transformed into beautiful stanzas that can touch the world. When an artist eats food, it will be transformed into wonderful art pieces to beautify our lives. When a loving person eats food they will be filled with compassion. But when a hateful person eats food, their hatred grows even fiercer. When a Buddhist practitioner consumes food, it will be turned into energy enabling diligent practice. During the recitation of Buddhist sutras we can examine our thoughts, assessing whether we are becoming more compassionate and wise, or becoming more hateful and angry. A Buddhist practitioner should always maintain right thoughts, learning to experience the Dharma, learning to be grateful, and learning people skills. The Abbess also talked about 4 points of faith that should not waver toward the Dharma, which are:

• We should have faith that our intrinsic mind is the Buddha
• We should have faith that our intrinsic mind is the Dharma
• We should have faith that our intrinsic mind is the Sangha
• We should have faith that our intrinsic mind are the precepts

A face that expresses no anger is the best kind of offering, so that we will not forget or lose our limitless body in the endless future. Merits gained from chanting Amitabha Buddha’s name will allow us to dissolve anger and ignorance, so that we can solve problems and deal with others in a wise manner.