经常听到有人说，不是说求神拜佛，心诚则灵吗？为何我总是事与愿违？如果让我来回答这个问题，心诚则灵吗？是的；求神拜佛，心诚则灵吗？不是的。
年轻时还不明理，遇到障碍、感到痛苦不得解脱时，我也喜欢 去寺庙跪拜佛像。那时觉得只要虔诚发愿，神明和佛祖就会保佑我遇到困难迎刃而解，心想事成。现在看来，这当然是不可能的。
一切唯心所造、唯识所变。追名逐利之人，必然离不开处处计 较、念念算计，由此引发的委屈、嫉妒、嗔恨、争斗、伤害等恶念 就会不停地跳过来跳过去。面对这样的烦恼、痛苦、失败，不改变心念和行为，哪怕跪下磕头的举动再虔诚，又有何用呢？
很多时候，吉凶祸福、贫富贵贱，都是由自己的念头和行为造成的，与别人与环境毫不相干，这就是我常说的“行有不得，反求诸己”。你出了问题，问题不在外，应该反过头来自省，在自己起心动念、言语造作上找原因。
在哈佛健康出版社的一期杂志中，一位医生发现，“只要有机会，我们的思想便可以成为强大的康复工具”。安慰剂效应（刺激康复）理论已有数百年的历史了。现在，专家认为，对安慰剂的反应表明“可能存在另一种非药理学机制”。哈佛大学附属医学中心的一位教授说：“这是在大脑和身体之间以及它们如何协同工作之间建立更牢固的联系。事实表明，安慰剂效应对于疼痛处理、与压力有关的失眠症、癌症治疗副作用（如疲劳和恶心）等病症最有效。”
安慰剂是物质产生的有益作用，但不是物质本身的结果。信念产生有益的影响。态度、决心、专注——所有这些都会影响我们的未来发展。如果懂得宇宙人生真理，真正做到天人合一，虔诚地去践行，又何须担心不能出善果呢？所以，如果真有神明，那就是自己的起心动念和行为所带来的结果。
现在的人杂念纷飞，很难把心放在一个地方，很难静下来，向着一个方向努力，这样就很难做成一件事，而有所成就，所以烦恼丛生。
心诚则灵，“制心一处，无事不办”。也就是说，当我们起心动念是善的，然后把心放到一个地方，就没有办不成的事。当我们身心集中时，一种强大的力量就开始迸发出来。
因为心量如同虚空，无量无边，能含容一切，而只有含容一切才能清楚地认识一切，如此清晰明了，就没有办不成的事了。
I have been asked the following question more than once: “If belief in things makes things happen, why does Buddha never grant what I ask?”When I was young and lacked common sense, I used to go to temples whenever I experienced suffering. I thought that the Buddha would help me with my troubles if I prayed devoutly enough. Looking back now, it all seems ridiculous. If fame and fortune is the intention, people will weigh every decision at every turn in terms of how it benefifi ts their career. In their personal lives, people hope for love and happiness. added to that, things constantly change according to our perceptions at any given moment. When things go badly, we reflect on how we can change the result instead of changing the cause.
Religion becomes a kind of last resort after everything else fails. But it won’t help anybody escape the cycle of cause and effect. Only a change in thinking can do that. How can kneeling and bowing be of any help? In most cases, our own thoughts and deeds have created the problem. That is why I say: “What you wanted didn’t happen. Find the cause in you.” Because the problem came from you. If you drop something on the dark side of the street, will you search on the other side just because it has a streetlamp? You get a flfl ashlight. You search in the place you lost it. Look inside and locate the reason why you have failed.
In an issue of Harvard Health Publishing, a doctor observes how “our mind can be a powerful healing tool when given the chance”. The placebo effect [which stimulates healing] has been acknowledged in medical history. It is a benefifi cial effect produced by a substance, but not a result of the substance itself. “It’s about creating a stronger connection between the brain and body and how they work together,” according to a professor at a Harvard-affifi liated medical center. In other words, belief has an effect. Attitude, determination, focus—they all make a difference in how the future unfolds. Does a belief in things make them happen? Yes. Does this work by asking the Buddha? No.
