Stand Tall, Turn Around, & Walk 立正、向後轉、開步走 from Collection of Rain Blossoms

Take a step forward for growth. Image: Shutterstock.

Yesterday, this place was bright with lanterns and banners, and the streets were filled with people. Among the crowd was a group of students marching in line, their leader calling out commands: “Stand straight! Turn around! Start walking!” From these simple commands, I came to see a truth.

This old monk always comes back to the same topic — the practice of Buddhism. When a person has not yet realized the depth of their own wrongdoing, they will run wild, doing anything and everything without restraint. But once they come to believe in the Buddha, they must at once stop moving toward the path of wrongdoing. That is why we must learn from the group leader’s first command: “Stand straight!” — meaning, stop where you are.

Once you have stopped, the next step is “Turn around!” — to turn away from the path of wrongdoing. This is the very meaning of the saying, “Turning back is to find the shore.” If the road ahead leads to wrongdoing, then the road behind must surely lead to goodness. And as soon as you turn, you are already facing the path of goodness. That is why the last command is “Start walking!” — to take your first steps toward what is right.

Yet many Buddhists only know how to believe, but never take a single step forward. Without walking the path, they will never make progress.

So tonight, this old monk will borrow those three commands and give them to you as my own: “Stand straight! Turn around! Start walking!”

立正、向後轉、開步走

雨花集

濟公活佛

昨日此間張燈結綵，行人甚多。有一隊隊學生行路，有帶隊的人叫口令﹕「立正、向後轉、開步走！」我從這幾句口令中，悟出一個真理。

老衲三句不離本行，又講學佛。一個人在未知道本甚罪業深重之時，固然亂作亂為，無所不作。但一知道信佛之後，便要立刻停止向罪惡之途前進。所以要學那位帶隊之人叫口令「立正」！不可亂跑。既然立正，跟住便要「向後轉」！向後轉就是不再向罪惡之途前行，所謂「回頭是岸」。前面是罪惡之路，反面當然是善途。一經向後轉，便是向善途而行，所以要「開步走」。許多信佛之人，祇知道信，但總不開步走，如此是永遠不能進步的。

因此，老衲今晚要借這三句口令，向你們發施號令﹕「立正、向後轉、開步走！」

This translated text is a chapter from Collection of Rain Blossoms, a scripture written by JiGong Living Buddha in the 1900s through spirit writing. Here the link to the original Chinese source.

If you are interested in other chapters of this book, here is the link to the table of contents.