The Buddha taught us to have “a mind that embraces the expanse of space and encompasses the vastness of the universe.” He taught “Compassion is the essence, and expediency is the means.” He taught us to have loving-kindness and compassion, to end delusion and attain enlightenment, and to end suffering and attain happiness. If what we think, say, and do is the very opposite of his teachings, is this learning from the Buddha? No, this is going against the teachings of the Buddha. Such a person believes in his afflictions and residual habits. He believes in fame and wealth. He does not believe in the Buddha’s teachings.
What should we do if we wish to help propagate the teachings? We should start with ourselves. This is an era of democracy, freedom, and openness. For many, individual rights are considered to be of the utmost importance. Therefore, we must not interfere with others or criticize them. We can only examine ourselves to see if we have these faults. It is very important to start with examining ourselves. We should be modest and praise others, even when they praise themselves and disparage everyone else. If a person has ninety-nine faults and only one merit, we praise the merit and do not mention the ninety-nine faults or keep them in mind. We focus on cultivating our purity and goodness. If we do this, the Buddha’s teachings will have bright future to be passed on to many generations to come.
Buddhist practitioners should try to keep in contact and encourage one another often. If other Buddhists accept us, we can work together to propagate Buddhism and benefit others. If they do not accept us, we should not pressure them but respect their wishes.
~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra