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道場裡的人最基本的條件，是不惹其他的人生煩惱，不令其他的人退道心，然後你再用功。參禪也好，念佛也好，無論幹什麼，你都本照十方諸佛的慈悲喜捨四無量心來修行，這才能有所成就。你天天怕自己吃了虧，在道場裡邊多做一點也不願意。什麼都是公式化；按著時間來上班，不上班的時候就不關心道場。以前人少的時候，反而人都關心道場；現在人多了，所謂「龍多失靠，不是旱就是澇。」人多了道風應該更旺，可是我們現在的情形，在萬佛城一切一切，都是名存實亡，有名無實。
我方才說：「萬佛城打佛七不像打佛七；參禪也不像參禪。」為什麼這樣說呢？外邊一般人說萬佛城道風好，規矩嚴。萬佛城是個沒有規矩的地方，道風也不好，一天不如一天，一天就把佛法毀滅一天。為什麼呢？人都沒有上進的心，沒有真正用功的人。我知道萬佛城念佛的時候念得七長八短。你念你的調，我念我的調，他念他的調，都不一致；不單令人不起道心，而且令人生煩惱，打妄想。這不是打念佛七，這是打煩惱七。在這兒你看我不順眼；我看你，不願意看。你聽我念佛，令你打妄想；我聽你念佛，令我打妄想，互相就在那兒打妄想，逞煩惱，這是念佛念得不如法。
止靜的時候，不是在那兒端然正坐，一心念佛，而是在那兒睡覺。我每逢看見這樣的情形，我雖然沒有講話，可是我非常痛心。這念佛不像個念佛的，這怎麼可以？這怎麼對得起施主？怎麼對得起師長？怎麼能對得起佛菩薩？我出家一次到底為的什麼來的？就為的混吃等死？這真是太沒有價值了！
那麼參禪呢？亦復如是。跑香，不順著序跑，不是跑到外邊，就是跑到裡邊去，裡外不一致。坐那個地方，不坐下則已，坐下就是鼻息如雷，在那兒睡覺，就以為說睡覺就是參禪了。你看這個幹什麼？這不是在那兒把光陰都空過了是幹什麼呢？裝模作樣的，這給誰看呢？是騙人家呢？是騙自己呢？這樣子打禪七，不要說一個劫、兩個劫、三個劫，打到八萬大劫那麼長的時間也不會成佛，也不會開悟，也不會有所悟處的。我看見這個情形，也是非常地令我痛哭流涕。
可是為什麼我不說什麼呢？就因為我要在西方建立道場。這是一個起頭的時候，所以一切一切都好像讀書在那個實驗室一樣，一點一點地來試驗，一點一點地來汲取經驗。那麼等到水到渠成了，那時候要殺的就殺，要斬的就斬，把真是用功的留下來，把這混道場的清理出去。我不說多了，一萬個人裡頭，我能挑出一個來，我已經知足了。現在這一些個人，可以說都是在學習期間。
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At the minimum, residents of a monastery should avoid creating problems for others and prompting them to quit their cultivation. If you meet that requirement and work hard at cultivating infinite kindness, compassion, joy and renunciation similar to the Buddhas of the ten directions, you will succeed whether you investigate Chan, practice being mindful of the Buddha or whatever. If, on a daily basis, you're anxious about being taken advantage of, refusing to do anymore than you have to in the monastic community, you turn everything into formula. You work during certain hours. You could care less about the Way-place during non-work hours. When we used to have fewer people, everyone cared about the Way-place. Now that there are more people, it's all or nothing. As a Chinese saying goes, "The more dragons there are, the more unreliability occurs. It's either drought or flood." You would think that an increase in population would strengthen the culture of cultivation; unfortunately, our current circumstance proves that everything at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB) is a fagade, an absence of substance behind the labels.
Earlier, I had said that "The CTTB Buddha recitation sessions don't resemble Buddha recitation sessions; Chan sessions don't resemble Chan sessions." Why did I say that? Outsiders typically have high regard for the ethos for practicing the Way and strict regulations at the CTTB. Actually, the CTTB is a place without rules. Its deficient mores are deteriorating day by day. It is destroying the Buddhadharma on a daily basis. Why? People are disinterested in improving and being diligent. At the CTTB, people recite the Buddha's name in different intervals. You chant your tune; I sing my song; he intones his melody. No one is in unison. That not only weakens people's resolve, it further intensifies people's worries and tainted thoughts. That is not a session on being mindful of the Buddha, but a session on being afflicted. You can't stand the sight of me; I would rather not look at you. You strike up false thinking when you listen to my recitation; I stir up polluted thoughts when I hear your chanting. We're all pondering uselessly and inducing afflictions. This is a failure to recite the Buddha's name according to the Dharma.
During silent sits, you sleep instead of sitting erect and being mindful of the Buddha. Although I don't say anything, I am extremely hurt whenever I see that. When you aren't serious about being mindful of the Buddha, how can you face the donors?
Teachers and elders? Buddhas and Bodhisattvas? Ask yourself: Why did I leave the home-life in the first place? To idle away my time until death? That would be of no value!
It's the same way with meditation. You don't run in the same direction during the running period. You either run outside or inside. It's okay if you are not sitting, when you do, you start snoring thunderously. You think you're investigating Chan when you're sleeping. Take a look at what you're doing. If you are not wasting time, what else could it be? For whom do you put on such pretenses? Are you cheating others or yourself? If you spend your meditation periods this way, you will not reach Buddhahood, enlightenment or insight in 80,000 great eons, not to mention three, two or one eon. Such incidents make me want to bawl my head off.
Why did I never said anything before? It is because I want to establish places of cultivation in the West. Since this is the beginning, everything is an experiment. It is as if we were back in the laboratory in school. We test one thing at a time, soak up experiences a drop at a time until the water becomes a strait. At that time, we may kill, hack and clear out those who sit idle in the Way-place, keeping only those who are truly diligent. I will say no more. I will be satisfied if I can pick one out of 10,000 people. People here now are still in training.
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