Especially noteworthy [in The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice Of Universal Sage Bodhisattva] is the following expression: “How, without cutting off their earthly cares and renouncing their five desires, can they also purify their organs and destroy their sins?”

The ideal of our practice is to cut off our earthly cares and renounce our five desires. Though such an ideal should be demanded of Buddhist monks, it is much more difficult for lay devotees to pursue because they must maintain their faith while living and working in secular society. In their circumstances, situations caused by the five desires occur continually, and they are surrounded by people and situations that cause them earthly cares. Ideally speaking, they should become free from all desires, but in actuality, to expect them to reach such a spiritual level immediately is asking too much. Nevertheless, as long as they are believers, they must aim toward their ultimate ideal. But how should they bridge the gap between their ideal and actuality? This sutra teaches the answer to this practical question, which believers face in the age of degeneration.