Heart Sutra

Approaching the Heart Sutra in terms of Time: 12 links of dependent arising

In this video, Master Sheng Yen explained the verse, " No ignorance and also no ending of ignorance, until we come to no old age and d...

心经 Heart Sutra

观自在菩萨,行深般若波罗蜜多时。照见五蕴皆空,渡一切苦厄。舍利子,色不异空,空不异色,色即是空,空即是色,受想行识,亦复如是。舍利子,是诸法空相,不生不灭,不垢不净,不增不减。是故空中无色,无受想行识,无眼耳鼻舌身意,无色声香味触法,无眼界,乃至无意识界。无无明,亦无无明尽,乃至无老死,亦无老死尽。无苦集灭道,无智亦无得。以无所得故,菩提萨埵,依般若波罗蜜多故,心无罣礙,无罣礙故,无有恐怖,远离顚倒梦想,究竟涅槃。三世诸佛,依般若波罗蜜多故,得阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。故知般若波罗蜜多,是大神呪,是大明呪,是无上呪,是无等等呪,能除一切苦,眞实不虚。故说般若波罗蜜多呪,卽说呪曰:揭谛揭谛,波罗揭谛,波罗僧揭谛,菩提萨婆诃。

Sunday, August 30, 2020

How Does Buddhism View the Practice of Fortune-telling?

I enjoy reading and learning about Buddhism and also Chinese art of fortune-telling like Bazi (8 characters of hour, day, month and year stem and branches) and Zi Wei Dou Shu. Sometimes I analyse charts of my acquaintance and it correlate with their characters. 

What can one do if they realised their destiny chart is not so good? What is Buddhism view on fortune-telling? What can we do if we are born with a less than rosy chart? 

There is a saying that our birth chart bazi reveals our past karma. However we can do something and improve our lives and not be bound by the chart. In the video below which is based on Ming Dynasty Liao Fan real's story of changing his destiny by doing more good deeds and improving his life, it shows that we don't have to be bound by our destiny chart but we have the freewill to improve our destiny and it requires effort. 

Venerable Master Sheng Yen's said that the mind is the most important. We humans are related to this mind of ours. If you transform your mind, then your fortune will change as well. If someone's mind does not change, then his fate is basically set. If there is a change of concept of mind, the person's principles and direction in life will change and so will that person's future. 

Click here to read Liao Fan's Four Lessons 

Liao Fan's Four Lesson movie in English
Liao Fan's Four Lesson movie in Mandarin

 Master Sheng Yen on Fortune-telling: Fortune telling and fengshui may have their validity and usefulness, but people can actually change their fate through psychological transformation and good deeds. What matters is the mind.

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