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上人、各位善知識：我對念佛法門，說實話當初並不覺得很契機；極樂世界對我來說，像海市蜃樓，直到去年我才慢慢對這個法門起了信心。因為對往生，凡夫肉眼並看不見，但活生生的一個人死了，倒是看得很真切。因此一念佛，我就聯想到死亡，就感到有一個陰影存在心裡洗不掉。
但是經過在萬佛城 6、7 年的熏陶，我的觀念上起了根本的變化。最近我唸佛，唸著唸著每一句都嚐到法喜的滋味了。一聲聲就像兒子對母親的呼喚；像長久在外流浪的遊子，突然踏入家門見到母親時，喚母的那種感覺。人在世上飄蕩久了，人世滄桑，世態炎涼，歲月中累積的憂傷，吃的苦，受的氣和冤枉，全部蘊積在心裡，久之化為一種毒。這種毒能使你身心疲敝，有活得很累的感覺。這幾天唸佛，就像熱湯銷雪一樣，將我長久蘊積在內的這種毒化掉了。淚水一流出來，我就輕鬆許多，心中也多了一重光明和快樂。
記得兩年前，在聖城我有個臺灣來的學生。他在臺灣時受到的學習壓力很重，不是進這個補習班，就是進那個補習班，補到後來他人都快瘋掉了。他來聖城讀書後，一天做晚課唸「八十八佛名懺悔文」時，淚水直往下淌，幾乎哭出聲來。後來他寫作文時把他這段痛苦的歲月全部吐露了出來。他說他來聖城唸書以後，他的生活才有了一個轉折性的改變。
所以我想，對於一些佛友們，如往生尚非其急切之所願，可以對他們說說念佛其他的好處，或許他們更覺受用，以後會慢慢契入淨土法門。
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Venerable Master, Good Advisors: To tell you the truth, I did not particularly like the Dharma door of Buddha Recitation in the beginning. To me, the Land of Ultimate Bliss was nothing more than a mirage. Only last year did I slowly begin to have faith in this Dharma door. Our ordinary eyes cannot perceive a person's rebirth, yet that person's death seems real enough. Thus, when I recited the Buddha's name, I could never get rid of the gloomy feeling of death.
After six or seven years at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, I have come to see things differently. Recently, every time I recite the Buddha's name, I savor the joy of Dharma. In every recitation, I feel like a son calling out to his mother, like a long-wandering son who suddenly walks into his own home and sees his mother. After drifting in the world for a long time, experiencing political and social upheavals and the fickleness of relationships, the sorrow, woe, resentment, and grief built up in my heart and turned to poison. This poison wore me out physically and mentally, making me weary of life. These few days of reciting the Buddha's name have melted the snow of that long-accumulated poison like hot water. After the tears poured out, I felt quite a bit better. My mind has been filled with light and happiness.
Two years ago, I had a student from Taiwan. In Taiwan, he had been under a lot of pressure to study. He went to one remedial class after another, until he nearly went crazy. One time after he had come to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas to study, tears started streaming down his face during the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Repentance at evening recitation. Later, he wrote an essay describing those days of misery [in Taiwan]. He said that coming to the City to study was a pivotal point in his life.
Therefore, to certain Buddhists for whom rebirth is not an especially urgent concern, one might tell them about the other advantages of reciting the Buddha's name, which they might find more useful. Then, later, they may gradually be drawn to the Pure Land practice.
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