The song mentions Pradhanasura, a great practitioner who lived long before Sakyamuni's time. Yung-chia says that Pradhanasura broke the main precepts, but actually the transgressor was an exceedingly handsome monk named Yung-shih, and it was Pradhanasura who helped him solve his problem. A rich woman fell in love with Yung-shih and lured him into her home, asking that he preach to her mother. Eventually, the young woman seduced him. When her husband found out, he was furious, and wanted to kill her. She poisoned her husband and made plans to run away with the monk. Yung-shih witnessed all of this, and he despaired, because he was sure only those who kept the precepts could practice successfully. He left the woman and roamed far and wide, carrying a placard confessing his sins and begging for help and hope. Wherever he went, he got the same story: "There's no hope for a person who breaks the major precepts."

One day, Yung-shih met Pradhanasura. Pradhanasura asked him, "You say you have committed grave sins, but what are sins? Do sins have self-nature? If sins have self-nature, then how can you create them? If you make these sins, then they must not have self-nature."

When Yung-shih heard Pradhanasura's words, he immediately attained complete enlightenment and became a Buddha known as Precious Moon Buddha. Even a person who has broken the major precepts can become a Buddha.

Examine yourself. How bad are you? You have probably never killed a person. If so, you should be able to do as well as Yung-shih. The reason why you cannot is because you cannot let go of the self.

You would probably like it if I told you that the self-nature of sins is empty. You might think, "If the self-nature of sin is empty, then I can do anything I want. I can break the precepts and commit sins, but I won't have any karmic debts, and I won't have to accept any consequences." That would be nice, but you probably would not like it if I told that the self-nature of the self is also empty. If the self is empty, then who is it that will eat your dinner tonight? Who will meet your children, wife or husband after the retreat? Who will go to your job next Monday? Now you might say, "There's so much I haven't accomplished yet. I still have a lot of plans. How can my self be empty?"