When about to tell others that your Dharma door is better than theirs... (Click image for video)

Do we stop at the first thought? 

Or plunge on to the second? 

The very instant we perceive something, we give rise to a first thought. For example, the moment we see a bowl of fruit, we clearly know that we are looking at a bowl with fruit in it. Now if we were awakened, we’d stop here—at the first thought.

Since we’re not awakened, we’re on to a second thought—in a flash.

And a third thought.

And a fourth.

While an awakened being would perceive the items with one or more of the five senses, know what is being perceived, and stop there, we plunge right on. Labeling our perceptions, we give rise to discriminatory thoughts. We segregate them to Pleasant or Unpleasant, Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down. We then attach to certain things and dismiss others. And without realizing what is happening, due to our myriad discriminations and attachments, we blunder into the land of wandering thoughts.

All thanks to that unawakened second thought.

Bad habits, like weeds, should be... (Click image for video)

I alone am responsible for my life.

There's no one to blame.

The good news? I have the power to change it. 

Countless imprints from our karmas—thoughts, words, and actions—over countless lifetimes have gone into the mix of impressions in our store consciousness. Impelled forward by them, our current life is therefore solely our creation. When certain people impact our life, it is because we had planted the cause for them to do so. So our interactions with them are likewise due to our past karmas.

We alone are responsible for our life.

So, sorry, there’s no one else to blame. What we are experiencing is because of what we had done in this life. And in all our lives before. The future holds the potential to be much better. Incredibly better. Since we alone are responsible for our lives, it’s entirely up to us what our future will hold. If we decide that we want birth in the Western Pure Land then we need to make it happen—with belief, vow, and practice.

Fully confident we will attain what we seek, let’s get to work.