E00691

E00691

When you take the precepts, you need to be vigorous and brave in your resolve! Grit your teeth. Even if your teeth are knocked out, be prepared to swallow the blood and keep going. Courage is needed in order to accept these rules. If you can follow the rules well, then you can uphold the precepts well; this is for certain. It is just like building a house: if the foundation is not laid out well, how will you construct a high-rise building? If you do not learn to follow the rules, how will you be able to receive the precepts? And if you do not uphold the precepts well, how will you be able to end the cycle of birth and death, and realize Buddhahood? This is a Buddha-selecting factory, and a place of cultivation for diligent Bodhisattvas. It is not a place to come and be lazy. If you were lazy, how would you make the resolve to come here and take the precepts?