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修行要行中道
比丘恆實：
……記得以前我出家只兩三年時，我不認識貪心，我說：「師父，我的貪心很重，我想只吃生菜，不吃熟的東西，任何已經經過火的不吃，可以嗎？」這樣子我想降伏我的貪心。上人說：「不需要。」又說：「你為什麼不吃跟旁人一樣的？你為什麼要擺一個特別的樣子呢？。我說：「師父，我一定要降伏那貪心。」「唉！可以吧！」
第一天我開始吃這些生的東西––青菜、菠菜、黃瓜什麼的一進口，我的舌頭馬上就朝調味的東西，鹽哪、油哪往那兒找、找、找。為什麼？因為舌頭自己有貪美味的習慣；我不吃了，它就受不了。哇！那天飯後就好像沒吃飯一樣。我可能在第三天就回去吃一般普通修行人吃的齋菜了。我因此知道這不是這麼簡單的；已經有了的習慣，你說要降伏，你必須要有善知識，必須要自己有功夫，才能降伏那個貪心。
迴光返照
方丈恆律：
……我們有好的環境，但有時我們還是很痛苦，像被人倒吊起來一樣。是誰把我們吊起來的呢？有人說：「就是我每月的帳單嘛！」「我的債，我的股票啊！」「我的丈夫，我的太太，我的兒子，我的女兒，……。」學生說：「我的成績單，我的網路、電郵……」。這使我想起上人一九八八年在臺灣時，和一位女居士的對話。她對上人抱怨說她的丈夫、公婆、孩子，都對她很不好，使她的健康非常惡劣。她問上人該怎麼辦？上人回答：「妳應該去怪當初叫妳結婚的人。」她聽了愣在那裡。
其實上人並不是叫她去責備他人，上人是希望她能迴光返照，找到自己真正痛苦的來源……。
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In Cultivation One Must Practice the Middle Way
By Bhikshu Heng Sure
... There was a time, after I had been a monk for two or three years, that I wished to adjust my diet. I said to the Venerable Abbot, "I have too much greed. I'd like to stop eating cooked foods and only eat raw foods. Is that okay?" The Abbot said, "That's not such a good idea. Why don't you just be normal?" I said, "No, Shifu, I really must control my greed." He said, "Well, okay"
The first day, I ate celery, lettuce, and cucumbers, and as soon as I put them in my mouth, my tongue went crazy, looking for flavor. My tongue had its old greedy habits and it craved salt, and oil, and spices, and anything. It was seeking some familiar food, trying to taste the flavors that I was used to at lunch. I think I lasted on that diet about two days and then quietly went back to eating regular, normal food. So that was not so easy. In order to overcome our habits, we must have a wise mentor and have enough skill in our practice. That's the only way to control greed.
Reflecting upon Oneself
By the Abbot Bhikshu Heng Lyu
...We live in a nice environment yet sometimes we are still afflicted with pain and suffering as if we were hanging upside down. Some people say, "It's my bills every month." "It's my debts...my stocks!" "My husband, my wife, my son, my daughter..." Students say, "It's my grades, my Internet, my email..." This reminds me of a conversation the Venerable Master had with a laywoman in Taiwan in 1988. This laywoman complained to the Master about her husband, her in-laws and her children— they all treated her badly and as a result her health was poor. At the end she asked the Master what to do. The Master answered, "You should blame the person who told you to get married at the time." She was speechless upon hearing this.
What the Master really meant, of course, was that she should not blame others. He was hoping that she would reflect upon herself so as to discover the true source of her pain and suffering.
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