「What does it mean to purify one's meaning

ask:Can you explain the meaning of self-purification?

Zhongtai Zen Temple answered:The self-purification of the mind comes from the seven Buddhas’ verses of the precepts: Do not do any evil, and do all good;To purify one's own mind is all Buddhists.This is the common teaching of the seven Buddhas to Buddhist disciples in the past, and it can also be said to be the general outline of Buddhist practice. It means: by observing the precepts, practicing good deeds widely, purifying the mind, and purifying the three karmas of body, speech and mind.

Among them, purifying one's mind is the core of Buddhist practice. However, it is not a short time to achieve purity of thoughts. Therefore, the Buddha has demonstrated a sequential method for us. The first is to strictly abide by the precepts of all evil and regulate ourselves from the two karmas of body and mouth, such as observing the five precepts: not killing, not stealing, not committing adultery, not lying, and not drinking alcohol.If the body is pure, the evil thoughts in the mind will gradually decrease, and good thoughts will be more likely to grow. In this way, you can do things that benefit sentient beings. If you do not harm your life and harm your life, you will be able to cultivate compassion;If you don’t take money or property in a vain, you will be honest and generous.Therefore, if we can do nothing and do evil, we will naturally be able to practice all good things. This is one direction for our practice and improvement.

However, in the practice of not doing evil and practicing good, there are inevitably all kinds of evil thoughts in the heart that need to be subdued. At this time, we must work hard to observe and reflect and review to eliminate greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and other troubles. This is the most important connotation of self-purification.At this time, on the one hand, you should listen to the Dharma more and increase your wisdom. On the other hand, you should use the skills of preliminary practices, such as chanting Buddha's name, chanting mantras, and meditation to strengthen concentration and help yourself subdue your own mind.Therefore, do not do evil, and do good, and purify your own mind, although the mind is different, it is actually the same. When the two karmas of the body and mouth are pure, the mind will be purified. The purity of the mind also needs to be implemented in the two karmas of the body and mouth.

In fact, all the hundreds of thousands of Dharmas in Buddhism are nothing more than to purify one's own mind. Practice is not to seek outside, but to make one's behavior and behave in a correct and innocent way from the self-discipline of not doing evil. In the practice of practicing all good, make one's mind soft and good. With the reflection and introspection of purifying one's own mind, stop the false mind, constantly purify and sublimate, and find the self-nature that everyone has is originally clear.