【THE THREE TYPES OF PERSONS】- Take refuge and the seven branches of worship

So, other than this aspiration, what else is required? During actual practice, we must take refuge and apply the seven branches of worship [v.1 p.94]! Well, these seven branches of worship are the same as the Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra. So, truthfully speaking, what is the first step in our study of Buddha Dharma? It is precisely taking refuge and the Ten Great Vows. Practice it in the beginning and, after you have advanced step by step, you must still rely on it to lead you to Pure Land. So, here, it explicitly tells us that achievement can happen in one lifetime. However, will it work for us in this lifetime? No, it won’t! We are at the level of applying faith. So from ordinary beings to the level of faith, the fulfillment of ten stages of faith* it is not that quick, it takes a longer time.

[*Ten stages of faith: please refer to “Progressive ranks of the 52 Bodhisattva’s positions in cultivation” in Late Master’s commentary on prologue in translation book 1]

[34A,18.58 (手抄稿 第五冊 p47 L3)]

But here everyone should not be worried about: alas, isn’t it dreadful in cyclic existence for such a long time? Yes, very dreadful! However, what follows is different. There is one type of dreadfulness, alas! So frightful, you will beat the drum of retreat: “Well, forget it, I will not engage in it, and just be careless and nonchalant.” Now your attitude is different because you have been given the correct explanation: exactly because it is dreadful, you have to find the cause of it. If you can find the cause of the horror, remove it from the causal stage. If you do not have dreadful cause, there is no need for you to be afraid.

SOURCE 来源 :

34A 18’13”Vol 5 of Master Jih-Chang’s Discourse P46 LL4
English Lamrim Vol 1 P134

日常师父法语📡34A 18’13”手抄稿第5册P46 LL4

道次引导 : 要皈依及七支愿行

那么除了发这个心以外，还要呢，它要做的时候，要皈依及七支愿行，喏！这个七支愿行就是十大愿王，所以真正说起来，我们正式修学佛法的人第一件事情，干什么？是皈依跟十大愿王，一点都没错。一开头的时候就这个，然后你步步上去的最后，也是把这个是导归极乐。所以这地方呢，很清楚明白告诉我们，一生取办。但是以我们现在一生行不行？不行！我们现在是修信心位，所以这个从凡夫开始到信心位，十信满心，那个时候确实不那么快的，要时间比较长一点。 不过在这里大家又要怕了，哎哟，这个长啊，在生死轮回当中不很可怕吗？是的，很可怕！不过可怕的下面，那就不一样了。有一种可怕，哎哟！这么怕，你叫他退堂鼓了：“好啦，好啦，我就不要忙这个事情了，哎呀，那马马虎虎。”现在他不是，有正确的告诉你，正因为它可怕，你要找它可怕的因在哪里；你如果找到了可怕的因。从因地当中把可怕的因拿掉的话，你没有可怕的因，你就不必怕了。