Steady Progress——66

Praise the Kind Mentor

Author: Fafu

Translator : Lotus

A little bit of life

11. My mentor is a very regular person. As far as I can remember, I sent him a message by email, and I didn’t have much hope that I would get a reply because he rarely used email, but I was surprised that he replied to me in the email; occasionally, when He sent a message in the group, and I replied to him alone, he said, “If he asks in the group, I should answer in the group”; and when I asked him for advice privately, he would reply to me alone. He would not do whatever he wanted to do because he was a master. I have benefited from his teachings.

12. I don’t dare to talk about the word “practice” with people easily because I don’t think I deserve it. During these years of study, I had a lot of confusion. Although I had studied a lot of Buddhist scriptures, I still didn’t know what was the most important. After repeatedly studying the sutras, I finally realized that “good mentor is the root of all achievements” as mentioned in the Avatamsaka Sutra. Without the blessing of my mentor, I would not have been able to achieve anything on the path of Bodhi.

I remember once the mentor said to me and one of the masters, “You like to let others do everything. I was very sad to hear that and thought, “I seldom do that, so why did my master say that to me, but I will never do that again. So later, I didn’t ask for help easily until I had no choice, and even if I did, I prayed for help and didn’t dare to say what to do. Even if I ask someone to buy something, I must pay for it. A few days ago, a fellow initiate told me that she was very touched by this. In fact, it was all because of the kindness of my mentor.

In the past, my mentor told me to chant Avalokiteshvara more often, but I didn’t listen to him and felt that my mind was scattered, and it was hard to concentrate on chanting the name of the Bodhisattva. Later, when I experienced more things, when I was in a crisis, I prayed to the Buddha and the Bodhisattva, and I could always feel the blessing of my mentor, Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas, helping me to overcome one difficulty after another. I am grateful and moved.