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Springtime in CTTB
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua:
The plans for one’s life are made when one is young and strong.
The plans for the year are made in the Spring.
The plans for the day are made in the morning.During one’s life one must be vigorous. The most important time of the year is the Springtime, when the ten thousand things are blooming. As for the day, the most important time is early in the morning.
Venerable Master Hua speaking to elementary school students:
Cherishing the Springtime of Our Life
Students! Now is the time of prosperity for you: it is the springtime of your life. Everything in nature flourishes in the spring; it moves vigorously. But we should allow it to grow naturally, corresponding with the order of physiology. Remember not to randomly eat and drink, randomly talk, drink alcohol, or take drugs. Avoid recklessly looking, listening, tasting, smelling, touching, and thinking. If you indulge in any of these, you will destroy your body and soul.
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua:
In the springtime, the myriad forms of life start to appear and grow, and everything flourishes profusely. This kind of springtime scene is subtly wondrous and miraculous. If you observe closely, you will find that everything is growing.
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua:
Our recitation of Gwan Yin Bodhisattva's name should continue non-stop, like a flowing stream, until everything becomes one. Walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, we recite the name of Gwan Yin. We must pay close attention and not forget Gwan Yin's name in thought after thought. Each recitation must be clear and distinct.
Sprouts, Growth, Blooms, and Fruits...
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua:
A year has four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Spring is the period of coming into being; summer is the period of stasis; fall is the period of decay; and winter is the period of emptiness. Do you see? In the springtime we prepare the fields for planting. The fields are planted with the intention that the plants will come into being. Seeds are planted in the earth, and the summertime, after the seeds have sprouted and the plants are flourishing, is the period of stasis. In the fall the plants reach maturity, and their harvest takes place in autumn, just as the period of decay sets in. Then, with the coming of winter, after everything that grew from the earth has been harvested, there is a period of emptiness.
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua:
Pratyekabuddhas who live at the time when a Buddha is in the world are called “those enlightened by conditions”; nevertheless, in the Shurangama assembly there were cultivators who are properly called “solitary enlightened ones.” How can that be? There were sages who had cultivated the Way in the mountains before Shakyamuni Buddha had realized Buddhahood, when there was no Buddha in the world. In the springtime, they watched the many flowers blossom. In the autumn, they saw the yellow leaves fall. They observed the myriad things being born and dying; and by themselves, they awakened to the Way. Then after Shakyamuni Buddha realized Buddhahood, they left their caves in the crags deep in the mountains and desolate valleys, and came forth to help Shakyamuni Buddha propagate the Buddhadharma. Limitless numbers of them became part of that influential assembly.
Resolve and Evergreen Trees in CTTB
