Buddhism by Master Hsuan Hua

Learn meditation, read original translations of sutras with commentary, reflect on dharma talks.

"How can one become a Buddha? Becoming a Buddha involves not fighting, not being greedy, not seeking, not being selfish, not pursuing personal advantage, and not lying. You say, 'Is it that simple?' Yes it's that simple!"

In his lifetime, Venerable Master Hsuan Hua (Xuanhua) tirelessly taught millions of people Buddhism with great compassion. He founded Instilling Goodness Elementary School & Developing Virtue Secondary Schools which have educated thousands of students. He created International Institute for the Translation of Buddhist Texts which have translated hundreds of original Buddhist teachings. He established Dharma Realm Buddhist University which provides higher education opportunities. He built over 20 religious centers throughout the world promoting the unity of all world religions by giving everyone a chance to learn, communicate, cooperate, pursue the truth, and work for world peace.

Here are his teachings.

"Ultimately, what is the Buddhadharma? What is not the Buddhadharma? If we were to give Buddhism another name, what would be a good name for it? I’ll tell you. Buddhism is just the Teaching of living beings. If there were no living beings, there wouldn’t be any Buddhism. And the Teaching of living beings is just the Teaching of the Mind. Every person has a mind, and it is that teaching. That teaching is not obtained from outside. You have it to start with.

If you believe that teaching, you have that teaching; and if you don’t believe that teaching, you still have that teaching, because everyone has a mind. You can’t say you don’t have a mind. If you didn’t have a mind, that teaching wouldn’t exist, and without that teaching there wouldn’t be living beings. And if there were no living beings, there wouldn’t be Buddhas either. That’s the name I give it: the Teaching of living beings, and the Teachings of the Mind – Buddhism. The three names refer to the same thing.

I also give it a very simple name: the Teachings of People. It’s the Teachings of every person – every person’s religion – whether the people believe in it or not. It’s not that the religion doesn’t exist if you don’t believe in it. Whether you believe in it or not, there is that religion. But if you do, you should study Buddhism, for by so doing, not only can you be an average person, you can be a good person, a worthy person, and even a sagely person.

And if you study this Teachings you can be a Bodhisattva, an Arhat, and ultimately become a Buddha. Becoming a Buddha occurs when a person returns to the origin and goes back to the source. Everyone came from the Buddha. We’ve just taken the wrong road, and so the farther we go, the farther away we get; and the farther away we are, the less we are able to return home. So we keep bobbing and sinking in the sea of rebirth. We remain “outsiders.” We are but paupers. When you go home, then you obtain your rightful inheritance.

So Buddhism is the Teachings of living beings, the Teachings of the Mind, and Teachings of People."

"When you study Buddhism, what in fact do you study? You study Enlightenment, going back to the origin, returning to the source. It means enlightening to what you are not enlightened to. It means enlightening your greed so you are not greedy; enlightening your anger so you’re not angry; and enlightening your stupidity so you are not stupid. It means eradicating the three poisons of greed, hatred, and stupidity, and increasing the three non-outflow studies of precepts, samadhi, and wisdom."