It is very important to subdue your afflictions, because if you don’t subdue your afflictions, you won’t have any way to start the real practice. Even if your past good roots have blossomed and borne fruit , there will be still great problems, even terrible problems for you, if you do not subdue your afflictions.
For example, when the Shurangama Sutra talks about the four pure and clear teachings, that illustrates this problem. Even though your past good roots have blossomed and borne fruit, even though you have many wisdoms and meditations present, and you have great magical powers and infinite changes, but then, with these minds of afflictions, you keep killing, stealing, indulging in sexual misconduct and false speech, what will you cultivate into?
That will not be a standard Buddha’s son, that can only be said to be demons,devils and ghosts, that does not have anything to do with the Buddhas’ disciples. So, it’s a very serious matter. What’s more, you all don’t have any good roots about to mature. Even if you have afflictions at present, they will make you struggle, it’s hard for you to get well.
That’s why our purpose is to definitely subdue the afflictions. Then, through everyone’s repeated study of them, repeated thinking, thorough thinking, and even being able to figure out which one every single move of the mind is.Then it will be easier for you to avoid those things that are self-inflicted and self-harm, and it will be easier for you to exercise giving pleasure, plucking suffering, joy, and giving to self-benefit and benefit others.
So, don’t be repeatedly tripped up by stumbling stones, and don’t use such ropes to bind yourself to such dilemmas, which will never make you get well. We really seek liberation, what do you mean by liberation? Let go of your afflictions, then you will be liberated. If you don’t let go of your afflictions, you will never get better, you can only get more and more miserable. Because afflictions can only make your body, mouth and mind create bad karma, it will not let you create a little good.
Therefore, we think if we can spend a year, one or two of you will rush out, and even if you don’t rush out, you won’t dare to like the afflictions and follow afflictions. Of course, if every one of you achieves the state, then thank God. Even if a few people achieve the state, even if they don’t achieve the state, at least they will always know what they are doing, whether they are self-benefiting,benefiting others,or self-harming.
So, although it’s easy to be boring when we learn the same thing over and over again, it’s very important, this point is very important! Because it involves whether we can really get well now.
If we can’t really do it by ourselves, which Buddha should we rely on, which Bodhisattva should we rely on, and is there a basis of sutras? You have to think clearly.
Another thing is, when you rely, are you relying sincerely? Or are you relying on the demon of afflictions again? In any case, I hope that all of you will stop harming and hurting yourselves and will be able to benefit yourself and others.
Therefore, I vow that in the endless future we and all sentient beings can realize, subdue, and let go of our afflictions as soon as possible, and no longer follow our afflictions or harm and hurt ourselves, and not be repeatedly stumbled by stumbling blocks of afflictions or bound by such ropes of afflictions to this predicament, and always benefit ourselves and others and exercise the Buddha’s practices of giving pleasure, plucking suffering, joy, and giving !