Let Go, Move On: Between Ignorance and Enlightenment V [Paperback]

Hsing Yun (Author)

Book Description

Series: Between Ignorance and Enlightenment | Publication Date: April 2003

Non-attachment, the letting go of our desires, is a central teaching of Buddhism. As long as we crave, we suffer. We need to learn to let go of our desires in order to eliminate the suffering that results from craving. This truth is simple to understand, but nowhere near as easy to practice. As Venerable Master Hsing Yun points out in this book, it is not just attachment to things, but even to our own views that prevent us from making progress.

¡§Of all the sicknesses of the mind,¡¨ he writes, ¡§none is worse than wrong views.¡¨ Prejudice, panic, envy, and moodiness are contrasted with respect, harmony, broadmindedness, tolerance, and flexibility. By developing right views, the Master says, we can learn to ¡§view all sentient beings with compassion,¡¨ and practice the ¡§Three Goods¡¨ of saying good words, doing good deeds, and thinking good thoughts. By cultivating our speech, our bodies, and our minds, we can begin to rise above our own concerns and reach out to others with compassion and loving-kindness.

In this collection of stories, Venerable Master Hsing Yun offers profound yet practical advice for integrating contemplative practice into every aspect of our daily lives: ¡§If we cannot find it within ourselves to break through a difficult situation, why not try to find other causes, conditions, and joy in letting go?¡¨ Illuminating key principles such as karma, rebirth, and mindfulness, he teaches us how to find focus by clarifying our hearts and minds. Through simple acts we can let go of our attachments, of our greed and ignorance, and move on into lives of contentment and ease.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Venerable Master Hsing Yun was born in Jiangdu, Jiangsu province, China, in 1927. Tonsured under Venerable Master Zhikai at age twelve, he became a novice monk at Qixia Vinaya School and Jiaoshan Buddhist College. He was fully ordained in 1941, and is the 48th Patriarch of the Linji (Rinzai) Chan school.

He went to Taiwan in 1949 where he undertook to revitalizing Chinese Mahayana Buddhism on the island with a range of activities novel for tis time. In 1967, he founded the Fo Guang shan (Buddha!|s Light Mountain) Buddhist Order, and had since established more then a hundred temples in Taiwan and on every continent worldwide. His Lai Temple, the United States Headquarters, was built outside Los Angeles in 1988.

At present, there are nearly two thousand monks and nuns in the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order. The organization also oversees sixteen Buddhist colleges; five publishing houses including, Buddha!|s Light Publishing, His Lai University Press; four universitiesk one of which is His Lai University in Los Angles: a secondary school; a satellite television station; and orphanage; and a nursing home for the elderly.

A Prolific writer and an inspiring speaker, Master Hsing Yun has written many books on Buddhist sutras and a wide spectrum of topics over the past five decades. Most of his speeches and lectures were compiled in essays defining Humanistic Buddhism and outlining its practice. Some of his writings and lectures are translated into different languages, such as English, Spanish, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean, etc.

The Venerable Master is also the founder of Buddha!|s Light International Association, a worldwide organization of lay Buddhists dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism, with over 130 chapters and more than a million in membership.

Product Details

• Paperback: 159 pages
• Publisher: Buddha's Light Publishing (April 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971749590
• ISBN-13: 978-0971749597
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,159,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Venerable Master Hsing Yun is a Chinese Buddhist monk, author, philanthropist, and founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order, which has branches throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Ordained at the age of twelve in Jiangsu Province, China, Master Hsing Yun has spent his over seventy years as a Buddhist monk building what he calls Humanistic Buddhism: Buddhism that meets the needs of people and is integrated into all aspects of life.

In 1949, Master Hsing Yun came to Taiwan and began to nurture the new burgeoning Buddhist culture in Taiwan. He served as an editor and contributor to many Buddhist magazines and periodicals, authoring the daily columns "Between Ignorance and Enlightenment," "Dharma Words," and "Hsing Yun's Chan Talk," as well as starting his own Buddhist magazine, "Awakening the World," in 1957, and the first daily Buddhist newspaper, the "Merit Times," in 2000. Master Hsing Yun authored many important works including the "Song of Silence," the "Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha," and "National Master Yulin." Master Hsing Yun also edited and sponsored the Fo Guang Encyclopedia, the most authoritative Buddhist reference work in the Chinese language. His contributions have reached as far as sponsoring Buddhist music and art, to creating Buddhist programming for television, radio, and the stage.