“Easy” means to effortlessly and leisurely achieve a goal.

       How can it be easy?

       Easy in Chinese is made of two words, rong and yi. “Rong” means tolerance, acceptance, or accommodation.  “Yi” means change or transformation.

      Everything in the world has its own character of existence that is hard to change, especially human nature. As the saying goes: A leopard can’t change its spots. You can’t change who you are, but, with patience and tolerance, rong can make yi, and changes can come effortlessly. If we can tolerate others, we don’t have to change the situation. It will transform itself, quietly and unnoticeably.

       It’s extremely difficult for unwholesome sentient beings in the defiled Saha land to change from evil into good, and from ordinary to sage. But, if we accept them as they are and accommodate them with the six-character name by telling them that “Reciting Namo Amituofo and the Land of Ultimate Bliss will have a place for you.” They will instinctively recite the Buddha’s name and become virtuous. Amitabha Buddha can transform the rebellious and slanderous into buddhas because of his power of tolerability and reconcilability.

       Yet, we are often narrow-minded and incapable of accommodating anyone;  it’s therefore extremely difficult for us to accomplish anything.

       So, how can we turn things around when facing difficulties and obstacles?

       Just practice rong: be patient, accept the fact, and put yourself in their shoes.

      What if rong (accommodating) doesn’t work? We should keep our patience and stay the course. We ask not to change other people, and it matters not if they make the change. And that is the meaning of rong, and yi (transformation and changes) will follow: we will transform ourselves naturally. This is beneficial to both of us, turning enemies into friends; it is the same way we teach our children.

       Tolerance costs nothing. It is just a change in thought out of kindness. Even as evil and mischievous as we are, Amitabha Buddha tolerates and lets us recite his name to become buddhas. Let us learn to accept and accommodate others like Amitabha does.

(Translated and edited by the Pure Land School Translation Team)