In 1949, amidst the turmoil of the Chinese civil war, I joined many others who hastily left Mainland China for Taiwan, bringing nothing with me at all. After arriving in Taiwan, I wore a pair of wooden sandals for two years until the soles were worn through to the ground, and I only had one shirt that I wore for two or three years. I didn’t even have a piece of paper or a pen to write with. There were people who felt sorry for me, but I did not feel lonely or destitute at all.

During that time, in my heart I felt a sense of fulfillment and abundance. The world was there for me as I roamed between heaven and earth, and all living beings were my friends. If I had felt any sense of hardship and saw myself as destitute, I would have felt sorry for myself; how then could I have stayed firm to the Buddhist life?

How could I feel fulfillment and happiness, even though I was faced with difficult circumstances? I owe it to the Dharma and the emptiness of prajna. They were why I could consider the benefits of being a monastic extraordinary and special. Everything that I am is a result of the Dharma’s nurturing influence. Because of it I could feel one with the earth, its mountains and rivers, and feel a connection with all Buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Within the emptiness of prajna, I could have the entirety of the universe. None of us is ever truly alone or destitute. Material things and our relationships with others will come and go, but for life to be truly fulfilling, we need spiritual fulfillment, the kind of fulfillment that lies within. This is neither something that money can buy, nor is it something that anyone else can create for us on our behalf. We must rely on ourselves to understand the Dharma and the emptiness of prajna, and then we must confirm that understanding by practicing it in our own lives.

The diamond-like mind-firm and solid-is the emptiness of prajna and the inherent mind of enlightenment. In order to generate the aspiration for enlightenment and see that aspiration through in the real world means understanding the four key insights of the Diamond Sutra: giving without notions, liberating with no notion of self, living without abiding, and cultivation without attainment. Understanding these are the key lessons of the entire Diamond Sutra.

Source: Hsing Yun. Four Insights for Finding Fulfillment: A Practical Guide to the Buddha’s Diamond Sutra. Los Angeles: Buddha’s Light Publishing, 2012.