• Contentment and Dharma practice is the greatest wealth.
  • The purpose of concentration is controlling the mind.
  • What is the most important part of practicing Buddhism? Benefiting all sentient beings.
  • It’s all about faith. Faith generates energy and inspires us to practice.
  • Practicing Buddhism means learning how to make use of wholesome factors in life to improve one’s character.
  • With the advent of globalization, the most important thing is sharing!
  • The natural world is the Buddha Dharma. They are perfectly compatible.
  • Mental knots are also an opportunity for awakening.
  • You are the master of your own fate.
  • Do not look down upon limited compassion. It is an endless virtuous mind; an endless wisdom; an endless connection.
  • The “good life” is based on respect, tolerance, and universal love.
  • The entire universe is just a manifestation of the mind.
    •
    —Master Hsin Tao
    :: Dharma teaching at Sacred Mountain

    Chan
    Listening to silence

    Work is practice, life is a field of merit—Master Hsin Tao

    Amidst the turbulence and confusion so prevalent in the world, peace can be achieved only by returning to the mind. As all antagonisms and opposition are removed by inner tranquility, peace is restored in our lives. World Peace Campaign— Meditation for the Masses As an outgrowth of the Meditation for the Masses program, Ling Jiou Mountain's World Peace Campaign includes the promotion of inner tranquility, loving kindness, dialogue, and vegetarianism, as well as nine minutes of daily meditation for settling the mind and returning to nature.

    Pilgrimage
    Gaining inspiration from holy relics

    Pilgrimage is a way of planting the seeds of awakening—Master Hsin Tao

    Visiting sacred places and paying homage to saints and their relics helps us to recollect the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha, and enter into the world of great Dharma practitioners of days gone by. Every year Ling Jiou Mountain leads pilgrimages to such places as India, Thailand, Burma, Tibet, and the four sacred mountains of China, and in recent years we have begun a new program in Burma called the "Great Almsgiving." It's said that amongst one thousand monks who receive offerings, there is at least one Arhat, making this a unique experience.

    Buddhist Ceremonies
    The benefits of repentance

    All beings are mired in saṃsāra, the endless cycle of birth and death—Master Hsin Tao

    Repentance rituals are a way of cultivating boundless virtue. Ling Jiou Mountain organizes rituals and repentance ceremonies which show participants how to purify body and mind. Related activities include scripture recitation, Dharma talks, paying homage to the Buddha, and offering alms to the Saṅgha.

    The Water-Earth Repentance Ceremony

    The water-earth repentance ceremony has been practiced for more than 1,000 years in China, and is held to be the most important repentance ritual of Mahayāna Buddhism. In the seventh lunar month, Ling Jiou Mountain holds a repentance ceremony in which Buddhists gather together to express their piety and respect for their ancestors, repent for misdeeds and shortcomings, and humbly asking forgiveness in order to remove spiritual obstructions. The resulting purified state of mind helps participants to let go of feelings of negativity, animosity, and guilt, resulting in the wholesome fruits of merit and wisdom.

    Caring for All Life

    Care and compassionate service are the wellsprings of merit—Master Hsin Tao

    Ling Jiou Mountain engages in social service based on the conviction that "A life dedicated to others is a life well lived." Our local centers implement community outreach programs, the members of which serve as "ambassadors of compassion." Bodhicitta is made the basis for promoting harmony with nature and a virtuous cycle of life, ecology, and global ethics.

    Members of Ling Jiou Mountain's Dharma Protectors Society uphold the compassionate spirit of Guanyin by caring for those afflicted by the universal suffering brought on by "birth, aging, illness, and death." Programs include care for the elderly living alone, providing assistance for the children of poor families, and emergency relief and medical services for disaster zones. In addition, the Universal Benevolence Scholarship has been established for the benefit of students of high moral character.