Master Jing Jie - Sign of Rebirth 往生的徵兆

(English Subtitles) 往生淨土 願力的引導 比 念佛的力道重要, Lectured by Master Jìng Jiè (淨界法師) from Taiwan.
Subtitles:
An elder asked me a question: Is there sign for rebirth? This person keeps practicing. Everything has a sign. Oh, you can see the sign of this person to be reborn. In my opinion, there are two signs. 1St, restrain 6 roots; 2nd, keep a pure mind. In one's old age, you will find that his six roots retreat inwards. His six roots do not active much, that is he flows with circumstances in life. His feeling is getting thinner. That is, he used to be happy when came across this stuff, and now he's still happy but not as happy as used to be. He used to be suffering when came across this stuff, and now he's not as suffering as before. Namely, his feeling of gain and loss becomes thinner, which is the first sign.
1:00
He isn't keen on feeling for the world's environment, which means his karma in the Saha World is settling down. This is a good phenomenon. In addition, it is improving. In other words, your six roots are weaker this year than they were last year. It shows a tendency of improving, which is the first sign of rebirth. Your karma of birth and death become thinner due to the restraint of your 6 roots. Many people do not pay attention to restrain 6 roots but just try to keep a pure mind at the beginning. To be reborn, you need to do two things. Not only do you need to look forward, you also need to deal with your past. Many people don't deal with his past. When arriving at the Buddha hall, he focusing on chanting and being mindful of the Buddha.
2:00
After leaving Buddha hall, he restores the original feature, reaching out to circumstances as before. How long are you going to keep practicing like this? Rebirth is a tug-of-war between karma and the volition to be reborn. Today, we are not starting from zero. I'll say that again. Originally, we had a pure mind, and we had been rolling around in the Saha world for too long, amassing a lot of karma and delusions, and then seek for rebirth. So, we Pure Land Sect must remember that you are not just seeking rebirth. You must pay heed to settle your karma down, so restraining six roots is the key. If you restrain your six roots, your delusion will be reduced. If your delusion is reduced, your karma of birth and death will be settled down. It's that simple. I want to say a word of encouragement to those over 60. Young people may neglect this word for the time being.
3:00
When we reach this age, remember one thing. Good things are not as good as nothing. You try to realize this word. Of course, young people may not have to hear this word. Because of good things, you certainly have good ideas. However, when you have good ideas, you may be inclined to reach out to circumstances. Your gains cannot make up for your losses. In order to achieve good karma, you destruct your heart nature. From the view of Pure Land, mentality is more important than karma. Your gains really don't make up for your losses. So Master Yinguang advised the elders to mind their own business. Of course, the holy door have opinions on our Pure Land Sect. You Pure Land Sect only mind your business, how can you get things done? Look, we are at a critical moment now, so there is no rush to do things.
4:00
When you return to the Saha world, you will be able to perform countless Buddhist deeds. So, there is no right or wrong for this. Because the Pure Land Sect’s dying requirements are higher than those of the holy door. The purpose of holy door is to seek blessings, they don't care about positive mind whatsoever. They just need to take refuge when dying. Basically, they don't need to leave the Saha world. So, they don't need to settle the karma down, only to hold on the human and celestial. We're leaving the Saha World, but they want to keep flowing and transforming. The two criteria are basically different. Because our Pure Land Sect's plan is to return to the Saha world and then practice the Bodhisattva Path. I think there is no right or wrong, it's a personal choice. In old age, you have to stop dealing with external affairs. If you want to restrain 6 roots, you have to mind your own business.
5:00
These two are related. I tell you one thing, if you cannot control your 6 roots, it will be in vain for you to maintain a pure mind. I personally think restraining 6 roots more is more important than keeping a pure mind. If you didn't deal with the problems in the Saha World, the volition to be reborn in the Bliss World doesn't mean much. Because you are no match for it. I think those who can be reborn in the Bliss World will definitely handle the karma of the Saha world. Almost no exception. Because the Saha world is a ripe environment, and we really can't afford to mess with it. You can only restrain your mind and let karma settle down.