(2) To practice self-cultivation in seclusion is not at all a right path to follow for a Buddhist votary. In his Platform Sutra, Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch of the Buddhist Chan Order, points out: “The supreme truth shines in the world of sentient beings. Apart from the world of sentient beings you can nowhere else attain the knowledge of the supreme truth.” It is obligatory for us, Buddhist votaries, to frequent the world of sentient beings and pass part of our time in the midst of the multitudes. So long as we are always keenly conscientious about our pledge to faithfully carry on our self-cultivation and sincerely abide by the pledge, and so long as we can well adapt our self-cultivation practice to the specific circumstances of the secular life which the multitudes are leading, we can deliberately turn the said circumstances into a touchstone for testing our probity and fortitude in pushing ahead with our self-cultivation in the context of social life of the laity. I sincerely pray that all Buddhist votaries across our country can have the insight into the truth of the motto that “Buddhism never evades the world of sentient beings”. Had Buddhism ever sought to evade the world of sentient beings, it would have vanished from the surface of the earth long ago.