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Admonitions of the Mountains of Quy
To leave home and go forth is to set foot into a horizon of liberation—stepping into freedom—transcending all bonds, so that both mind and body become different from the ordinary world. Shaving the head and wearing the brown robe are bells of mindfulness, reminding us that we are practitioners, and every action—each breath, each step, each smile, cooking rice, washing dishes—can become a moment of harvesting the fruits of practice.
The five main aspirations and directions of practice include:
- Continuing and flourishing the lineage of the awakened ones (thiểu long thánh chúng)
- Transforming and subduing the armies of Mara, the energies of affliction (trấn nhiếp ma quân)
- Repaying the four great kindnesses—to parents, teachers, friends, and all beings (dụng báo tứ ân)
- Rescuing beings in the three realms of desire, form, and formlessness (bạt tế tam hữu)
Always embracing our original aspiration, choosing good friends so that what we hear and see is purified, keeping our speech in accord with the teachings, maintaining a dignified manner and a noble, leisurely spirit—these are the foundations for not wasting our monastic life and for progressing toward the fruit of complete realization.