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I first heard about the remarkable Venerable Master Hua through a friend who introduced me the Wonderful Lotus Sutra. I was thoroughly overjoyed and fascinated with Buddhism after I completed the first volume. Since then, reading the sutras has become a daily routine.
Over the years, I have always venerated the Venerable Master for his bitter cultivation, vast compassion, and strict teachings. His Eighteen Great Vows convinced me that he truly had the heart of a Bodhisattva. Always forgetting himself (even in poor health), he tirelessly propagated the Buddhadharma, performed boundless and magnanimous Bodhisattva conducts to save all living beings. His sudden Completion of Stillness was a shock and grief to me.
The Venerable Master is my Greatest Wise Knowing Adviser. His compassionate words and guidance in my dream when I was deeply troubled led me to admire and respect him even more; hence my strong faith in Buddhism. My greatest regret is that I have not been able to set foot in the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas to pay homage to the Venerable Master, as that has always been my long-held wish. I must therefore strive to diligently cultivate according to Master’s teachings and vow to achieve rebirth in Buddha’s Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss to repay his kindness.
I always remind myself of what the Master has continually taught: Filiality is the foremost of the ten thousand virtues and the foundation of all cultivation; the six principles of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas─not contending, not being greedy, not seeking, not being selfish, not asking for personal benefits, and not lying.
I earnestly hope that the publication In Memory of the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua will be a success and, together with all the records of his unceasing compassionate conducts and series of Dharma talks, will eventually be able to reach people all over the world, enabling all living beings to bring forth their Bodhi mind and thus contributing to world peace.
Finally, most importantly, I would also like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all members of the Editorial Board of the Buddhist Text Translation Society for the meritorious task of translating the Venerable Master’s Dharma teachings into the world’s languages and thus bringing inconceivable benefits to all living beings.
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