383. What to do if there is a problem when connecting to another dimension?
A female student, skilled in spiritual practice, suddenly found herself unable to move except for her eyes while speaking—she immediately called a doctor. A wise person advised taking her to the hospital immediately—not for medical treatment, but because once at the hospital, the problem would be resolved. This situation arises when a soul from another dimension attempts to possess her, but finds its frequency incompatible with her body and tries to enter but cannot, causing further disturbance. When possessed or chained, people from other dimensions often die in hospitals, fearing the hospital's atmosphere. A car parked near a hospital might be swept away by a sudden gust of wind. In more severe cases, a quick visit to the hospital, a chat with the doctor, and then a departure are possible. For possession by living beings, hospitals are ineffective; a visit to a temple or Taoist monastery usually resolves the issue.
384. Various Grand and Important Days for Praying for Blessing
Don't miss Amitabha Buddha's Day in December—pray to the Medicine Buddha for a clean body and mind, and to Amitabha Buddha for the local magistrate. A local official is more powerful than a county magistrate—praying to the emperor is not as good as praying to a local official. Pray for wisdom, future benefits, and opportunities for all sentient beings. Even Guanyin, who grants children, is not as great as Amitabha Buddha—the Buddha personally arranges karmic connections, something no bodhisattva can compare to. Pray to Manjushri Bodhisattva for wisdom—don't be foolish and only offer one blessing. Don't miss the God of Wealth's Day on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.
385. A student's reflections on marriage
Unhappiness stems from unmet expectations—find out what those expectations are, their underlying nature, and cognitive differences. This relates to family income, beliefs, household chores, and childcare. Why is marriage necessary? What is marriage? Check your affinity score—a good affinity score of 100,000 means you lose 10 points for every argument, but you can still manage 10,000 arguments; a good affinity score of 100 means you'll break up after 10 arguments. The essence is resolving cognitive conflicts between the two parties. A happy marriage originates from met expectations—expectations stem from cognition. For unavoidable conflicts based on a good affinity foundation, first resolve cognitive conflicts between the two parties. Cognitive conflicts arise from differences in birth country/region, upbringing, education, and the inherent differences in male and female thinking.
386. How to resolve cognitive conflicts in marriage
First, recognize the differences in perception between the two parties: remain calm and avoid escalating the conflict; avoid the animalistic mindset of insisting on right and wrong; realize that the conflict stems from differing opinions on the same issue. Second, understand the differences: put yourself in their shoes; look inward to find your own mistakes and shortcomings. Third, resolve the differences: respect the other person—don't easily deny them, be willing to share, allow for trial and error; make the other person want to come home—make yourself attractive, and after weighing various factors, feel that coming home is the best choice; offer change—allow mistakes during the time spent together, appreciate their strengths, and genuinely care, love, respect, empathize, and accompany them. The above methods are suitable for couples with a good karmic connection—for those with a bad karmic connection, the goal is often family breakdown and death, and no amount of effort will help.
387. Learn to think about problems from a cause-and-effect perspective.
Almost everyone thinks about problems from the perspective of phenomena rather than cause and effect. Phenomena cannot be explained—you don't know why this person treats you this way, why this happens to you, or why these things occur. It's about cause and effect, and good fortune. Spiritual practice isn't about how many scriptures you recite—the most important thing is whether you can solve all the problems in life in a more correct way. The Heart Sutra says, "Away from distorted dreams"—the first word of spiritual practice is "cultivation," and you must know where you've gone wrong to cultivate. The vast majority of people don't even know when they've gone wrong, nor do they think they've gone wrong. The character for Buddha has a single person radical and the character for "perish"—only by no longer being human can one become a Buddha. As long as you use human thinking to think about human matters, it's impossible to enter a state of spiritual practice.
388. Learn to control your anger
Humans are very accustomed to using emotional output to solve problems—if you could learn to avoid emotional output, you would instantly surpass more than 90% of human problems. Marital and family problems stem from anger—take a moment to pause and think carefully about how much anger actually solves the problem. Not getting angry doesn't mean the problem can't be solved; anger doesn't necessarily solve the problem, it triggers a stress response in the other person, and it escalates the conflict through resistance. When you truly want to defeat your opponent, you don't use anger. Emotional management itself is a form of self-cultivation—emotional output is a behavior of lower-dimensional animals.
389. Develop the habit of daily review.
Learn to reflect. There are three levels of human efficiency improvement: First, self-improvement—reflection, self-learning, and self-discipline. Second, improving the efficiency of using tools—Chat GPT can answer questions better than I can. Third, effectively allocating high-end social resources—applying the capabilities and resources of others accumulated over decades, centuries, or even an entire family to oneself. The first two improve personal efficiency; the third is the ultimate goal. Many people spend their lives improving themselves but never improving their resources. Efficiency improvement is a viable path, only the speed of progress is uncertain—some things are simply not feasible without proper pathways. Understanding interpersonal relationships and human nature is the only way to defy fate—either exceptionally gifted or incredibly astute.
390. Learn to break down problems
Musk's first principle—learn to break down problems and do each step well. Few people think about what constitutes a happy marriage or good fortune. They mostly just pursue a goal. What does learning well involve? Have the children achieved all of this? If the basics are done well, it's right not to demand anything from the higher levels.
391. Learn to respect and be grateful for the contributions of others.
Don't center your life on your own preferences—see the underlying intentions. A mother gets something for her daughter and the daughter dislikes it—the intention is good, but changing things or altering someone's life without their permission is problematic. Be grateful for everything others do for you—moderate gratitude towards strangers is fine, but you must be grateful to family. Don't let your preferences overshadow or even criticize their love. Many marital problems arise from small, everyday things. Don't infringe on anyone's interests, territory, or actions without permission—if it involves two or more people, notify them in advance and obtain their permission before proceeding.
392. A student's reflection on his spiritual practice
1. Think before you speak; don't blame others when problems arise. 2. Always give reasons for dissatisfaction or disagreement—give a reason for returning items on Taobao. 3. Explanations must be in simple Chinese that even a primary school student can understand—good expression is returning to simplicity. "Without self, without others, without sentient beings, without life span, cultivating all good deeds leads to Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi"—in plain terms: don't want to do anything good, make doing good a habitual instinct. 4. Give people a sense of certainty; be tactful depending on the occasion. 5. Analyze problems objectively and calmly; don't make sweeping judgments based on subjective emotions. 6. Look for internal causes and reflect on whether you have any problems. 7. Disliking reflection stems from narcissism—be honest with your weaknesses. Examine why you got angry about this, whether it was worth it, whether you can be tolerant, whether you are a perfect person, why you attracted this kind of person, and how to correct yourself to avoid attracting this kind of person again. Learn reverse thinking. 8. Don't have a victim mentality—karma is accumulated by yourself; not changing yourself is cursing yourself.
393. The Interaction Between Heaven and Earth
The ability to sense the universe can be cultivated by ordinary people—far surpassing that of highly skilled individuals. A single glance, a sound, or an experience is enough to immediately sense whether something will succeed, be good, or be right. While details can be masked by magic or level differences, the ability to sense the universe cannot. You may not see any image of a person, but the future doesn't mean there's no sense of it. Nothing exists outside the mind—only what the mind thinks and understands. How to achieve this: First, compassion; second, gratitude; third, a feeling of warmth in the heart.
394. The Best State for Gazing at a Buddha-Eye Candle
When looking at the Buddha's eye candle, see the Buddha's light shining into your heart—the candle is burning inside your heart, mind, and between your eyebrows, reflecting both the outside and the inside, completely transparent, like a mirror. If you can't sense anything or see any images, you're easily influenced. The truly effective effect is a mirror-like effect without fluctuations. The burning sensation between your eyebrows is a gradual opening process.
395. What Warms Master Shizhongxian’s Heart
First, maternal love—my mother in this life dotes on me and provides unconditional help. An even more ancient mother, my first incarnation, is still alive in the cycle of reincarnation, continuing to selflessly help me across countless billions of years and multiple dimensions. Second, the kindness of my teachers—my affinity with my teachers is excellent. Despite having done many bad things in 200 lifetimes with diminished blessings, my affinity with my teachers has remained strong, and I've almost never made a mistake in my spiritual practice. My greatest master has only accepted me as his disciple across countless reincarnations, forgiving me every time we parted ways. Third, the affinity with my spouse—my affinity with my spouse in reincarnations is excellent; sometimes siblings, sometimes husband and wife, it has remained almost unchanged. The more I know, the more I realize that it's still him in this life. She chose me many times in countless reincarnations, even protecting me for over 1000 years while I was practicing under a great Bodhisattva. Fourth, the affinity with my children—before, things weren't going well; I had no children of my own for 100 lifetimes in the human realm. Through repentance and the help of a high-ranking leader, my celestial master voluntarily reincarnated as my child to fulfill my wish. There's also the warmth of my heart and the affinity with my students—you find yourself able to accept more and more beings, and feeling more and more grateful to them.
396. How to enhance one's cognitive ability to be grateful and love the world.
The higher one's level of understanding, the more accepting one is of the negative people and events around them. One can better understand all people and events from the perspectives of cause and effect, reincarnation, and the evolution of all beings—feeling less hatred and even wanting to help. How they helped you in the process of hurting you—harm transforms into gratitude. The beauty of discovery, the beauty of transformation, the beauty of enlightenment. When you can be grateful for everything and your heart is warm, you will receive good karma and positive things in each reincarnation—your state of being is close to that of a Buddha. A Buddha cultivates all karma to perfection, handling everything with joy in any realm. Our feeling that the world has regrets stems from low coping abilities or turning positive karma into negative karma.
397. Reflections from Master Shizhongxian
I hope that at the end of this life I can return to be a junior disciple by the side of a high-ranking leader. I also want to tell my son that I hope my efforts in this life will make him proud. I only hope to repay some of what he has done for me. I want to accumulate good karma with all beings, help others more, and hope that one day I can be like a great Bodhisattva. The difference between a great Bodhisattva and a lesser Bodhisattva is largely due to the good karma they have accumulated with all beings. How foolish it is to scheme for everything that others have—to earn money out of gratitude.