Imaginary Letter from Sifu Xu Yun (Sifu Hua's Teacher) to Sue Kam

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A Letter from the Venerable Master Xu Yun

Dear Disciple,

You have expressed your heart to create a place of cultivation, frugal and simple, where Dharma may flourish. Hearing this intent gladdens me, for in this age of much greed and waste, it is rare for one to wish only to preserve what is sufficient, and to direct resources to the Way.

The Buddha taught: “Few desires, contentment is wealth.” Do not think that grand halls and costly ornaments are the measure of Dharma. A leaking hut, a broken temple, even an old transformer or patched water pipe — these too can hold the jewel of the Dharma, if only the mind abides in sincerity.

When I wandered among ruined monasteries, we often lived with little — sometimes no food, no lamp, only the wind and moon for company. Yet the Dharma was never absent. It is the mind of cultivation that makes a bodhimanda, not bricks and tiles.

Therefore, in your endeavours:

• Repair only what must be repaired. Do not waste resources on appearances.

• Plant food upon the earth; let your hands share the labour of the Sangha.

• Use the sun by day, rest with the dark by night; electricity is not the true light — wisdom is.

• Water may come from pipe or well; both can quench thirst if the heart is free of grasping.

• Even waste, if treated with care, returns to nourish life. So too can afflictions be transformed into wisdom.

Remember always: a monastery is not for comfort, but for practice. A simple meal, a quiet hall, a humble bed — these are already enough for liberation. If you hold to this, sponsors and governments will naturally support, seeing your sincerity.

Do not fear hardship. The Dharma has survived wars, famine, and poverty, because a few with true hearts held it upright. May you be one who, with few desires and great vows, continues this work for the benefit of all beings.

In the Dharma,虛雲老和尚 (Xu Yun)