enlightenment AWAKENS THE POSITIVE POWER Passing Through The Gate Of Illusion Many people expect that the enlightened persons or to be enlightened, that being must be something extraordinary, must be perhaps seven feet tall or have feet like this or hand like that. Because we read the sutras, the Buddhist Bible, it described that the Buddha had such and such marks, like his feet link together like the duck (Laughter) or his leg look like the deer's leg and his eyes look like a cow's eyes, things like that. (Laughter) And they try to make the Buddha beautiful. But if you put all these together, it makes a funny Buddha, you know? (Master laughs.)
They don't realize that perhaps in the old time, these kings of animals are the best symbols of beauty and a noble character. That's why the one who love the Buddha try to convey to others that he's so beautiful, like the way he walks like the king of goose and his chest like the lion and such and such things. But when you put all these animal parts together you don't know what kind of Buddha that is.
Now this is the outside only, and the inside of us, each one is the same. I think all of you know that. But how same, and how can we know that? This is a difficult question. Even though it's very easy but it is difficult, because we have forgotten it. That's all. We have forgotten completely what we really are. And we are busy with chasing our dream everyday and trying to fulfill our immediate desires and we forget, we forget what we really are and where we come from. Just to tell... you know forgetful we can be, I'll tell you a true story of myself.
I went to Australia, I think two or three years ago, also due to invitation first time and we supposed to have three lectures in different cities. The first lecture went on all right, no problem. The second lecture also all right. I was on time. The third lecture I was late! The only reason is not traffic. It's not that I slept. It's not that I have no car or nothing. The only reason is that I forgot. I forgot that I have the lecture that evening.
I keep doing my things, like the room is a little bit untidy so I keep tidying it up and then I try to move things here and there like it's my house. Perhaps it balances my busy schedule, give me something to do. Perhaps so or perhaps I'm a perfectionist. Whenever I see something it's not in order, I try to put in order. But that was to the extent that I forget that I had the lecture that evening.
I forget until half an hour after the beginning time. And then some nervous disciples run in, broke in, kind of crashing in and said, "Master, where are you?" And then I said why, I'm here. Really cool. They said, "Master You suppose to be in the lecture hall." I said, "What! What lecture hall?" I've
really completely forgotten. I guess no one as terrible as me, but perhaps we do forget sometimes. You do, or not?Sometimes you are engrossed in some other business and you forget the main purpose of your goal that day. Did that happen to you sometimes? It does, huh, okay. And of course I have to rush and apologize to the people. I feel really terrible and I promise to God that if He made me lecture again, He must put alarm clock for me. So from then on I always put alarm clock everywhere, and whenever the lecture I set it on everywhere so that I will remember in case I forget. How can you forget a lecture? Oh! I even don't understand that. But that's what I did.
So now if we are here too long, one life, two lives, hundred lives, then of course we forget even more what the purpose of our coming here. Some of the people sometimes they die temporarily, for like a few minutes or twenty minutes even. Clinically dead, declared dead by the doctor, stop breathing, no pulse, etc.. But then after they came back, they told many stories of the other life beyond and then they also remember why they came here for, what for they came to the earth. But many of them, most of them forget immediately what they have seen in heaven or what they suppose to do in this life. They know that they have seen, the purpose of their life, but when they came back here, they came back to this life again, they forgot. They just know that they know, but they don't know what.
The Chinese have a saying that before we are born into this world again, the king of nether world would give us some soup, kind of hot drink, maybe chocolate or something. (Laughter) That is supposed to make us forget completely our past life and start anew. Many of us promise that we come here, if we are given the chance again to be human being, we would do this, do that, and others. And we will go and practice the meditation and so on, and then we get enlightenment and we dedicate all our life and energy to serve mankind, etc., etc..
And we really meant it well. But because of this soup, this "forget me soup", everyone forgets. So the only thing for us to remember again is that we must open the gate of secret knowledge. Without that gate open, we can never, ever peep beyond this world and the only thing we know is this material existence and all is suffering, joy and temporarily other things, and we would forever identify ourselves with this physical appearance and suffering with it.
The Suffering Of This World Comes From Ignorance But why? Why must we remember the purpose of our coming here? Not because we have promised to do so, but because if we don't remember, we must come back again and again and again until we remember... until we fulfilled our mission in this planet and then we can go to higher existence or remember our original great position in heaven or in nirvana. The suffering of this world is not due to only the war. The war is not the catastrophe. It's not the lack of food and all these, but the suffering of this world comes from ignorance. Because we don't know our mission, our purpose, we mistaken the playground for home and overstay our due and sometimes suffer the cold, danger outside the house.
But even then the Buddhas, God Almighty always try to look for us, for the lost children, for the ones who love to play and forget to go home. Therefore the Buddha sometimes come down and endure the suffering of the human existence, endure the humiliation of the petty physical life in order to find the lost children, to bring them back to safety before it's too late. Because any house, doesn't matter how solid it built, one day it must be demolished by itself or by some other elements or some causes or have to rebuild a new one because it's too old. This world is a big house, very beautiful, very solid house, but it's not a permanent house.
That's why the Buddhas, the Saints, like Jesus, Mohammed, etc., they came down to us, extend their blessing to us. We walk one step, they walk hundred thousand steps to receive us and forgive our mistakes, cleanse our past unwholesome actions, and teach us the new kind of life, new beginning, or better speaking, and lead us back to the original way of life, the way we must live, the way we should carry out our life.
The Destructive Power Of Negative Information Because up to now, all the cells in our body, all the nerves in our system listened only to almost negative orders from our information center. That's why we have war. That's why we have assassination. That's why we have competition at the cost of other people's jobs or business, or wife or husband, because we do not have a positive information in our brain center to order our body to do good things. And the people who are good in this world are also sometimes, or often overwhelmed also by the negative, by the negative influence in the society, also become shaky in their faith, became weaker in their goodness, and sometimes eventually also give in to the negative power.
So when we have only negative information in our brain, then of course we can only give out negative information or negative orders, and the cells in the body, the nerves in the system also can follow only the negative orders and then do negative things. That's why we have no peace in the world. That's why even up to now brothers are still killing each other. Even parents are killing their children for pleasure, for privacy, for individual freedom, "pro-choice", etc.. Not because they are bad, not because all these war makers, all these parents bad. Or the husband who killed the wife or the wife killed the husband or the brother killing each other, not because they are bad, just because their brain are fed only with negative information, only with negative ideas and that's what they carry out. Whatever the brain order, the cells complied, the cells have to do it, the body must function. And that's why we sink deeper and deeper into depression and that's why our world is almost any time in danger of disappearing, from our own making.
So the only thing to help us now is very logical, is that to feed us with positive information to change our information stream. Everyday we must receive good information, positive information, constructive information, enlightened, wise information, and then from the brain they will direct the cells, the nervous system and everything will do only good, only peaceful, only wise, only constructive positive things, and that's how we save the world. Otherwise, it doesn't matter how much peace talks, how much money we spend on the arms, on the army, still we don't have secure feeling. Look, one day this country just finish the war, shake hands with each other. Okay. We start anew. And the next morning, we heard that the other country broke out in war. And then the United Nations run over there and that's not yet finished, the other one, the other country makes war with the other country over there and then over here, over everywhere.
Enlightenment Brings Wonders To The World And it's already nearly twenty-first century and we suppose to be civilized, peaceful, loving, helping each other. And for all the technical inventions, for all the wealth that we have discovered from the mother earth and from the universe, we could live a kingly life, all of us. Instead, we still have poverty, war, suffering, just because we don't have enough positive information to feed our brain and our whole system with. That's all there is about enlightenment. Enlightenment is a way of positive life. It's a way of tapping into positive power, which is already existing within us. Because in the universe there are two kinds of power, we call yin and yang. Everyone knows. Now we are living almost in yin, no positive, no yang, because we did not open that resource.
This world is a negative world. So it is obvious that we have plenty of yin everywhere. And the negative or the yin is easily accessed. It is more accessible to everyone, except when we are wise enough to turn also into the positive department and draw there from, something for us for everyday supply. Then we are balanced. Then we can do wonders to the world. And of course there will be no more war, no more suffering. That's why we said earlier that the suffering in this world is not due to any individual or nations. It's due to the ignorance of us, the earth people.
Enlightenment is nothing new and nothing that we have to beg for, nothing mysterious. It's just a positive power that we have within ourselves, laying, sleeping, unused up to now. So if someone to remind you where to look into or how to use it, and that is called enlightenment, and that's why it can be immediate. Because if you have something in your pocket or here, you can take it out right away. It's no need to go to supermarket to buy it. That's why it's immediate. As long as you want to accept it, it will be right there and I will show it to you, that it is immediate and you can use it right away and you can see your life improved right away in the first days.
Some people feel like they are born again, right at the time of initiation. They are so joyful. They could just go on the street and kiss everyone. Of course I advise them not to do that, especially in Singapore. It's just a way of expressing their joy. And from then on, their lives become as light as feather. They work without burden. They take care the family with love and not with so much struggling. Most of family members are often struggling with each other, also due to ignorance. So many people after enlightenment they find their family become heaven. And if everyone's like that, every family like that, then we don't need to go to heaven. Our planet will be preserved and then because due to our positive power, we can also elevate the vibration of the earth and make it become heaven-like.
The Difference Between Heaven And Earth The only difference between heaven and this earth is the vibration, the frequency. The frequency of heaven is fast but smooth. The frequency of the physical world such as our earth is gross, is rough, uneven. That's why sometimes we have disasters earthquake and all kind of eventful weather. Of course, we can say it from weather forecast: "Oh, the wind in northeast, it winds", something like that, and causes all these and that. But it is all together also due to the vibration of the whole planet, and atmosphere around it. In heaven, they don't have it, they don't have typhoon, they don't have earthquake, they don't even have earth, they don't even have wind. Everything is different. And the heavenly beings, their vibration is also different, because they are different. They have their vibration different, therefore heaven is different. So if our vibration is different, our life become different, even if we stay here. Of course we cannot change the whole planet into heaven, if the people of the earth are practicing only in a small number. But if the whole planet or maybe even half of us practice in such a way, then the vibration of the earth will also change, then other half also will be benefitted without having to do anything. Just like in one family, the father and mother goes to work, and the whole family can also benefit from his or their parents' salary. No need for the children also go to work. They can, later, when they want to, when they grow up, as a duty to society, not because of necessities. And of course, the more money they earn, the better for the family.
Similarly, the more people practice into heavenly kind of life, and the more elevated our earth will become. At that time then, our house here is safe. Otherwise, it's not safe. As long as the frequency is so gross, rough, then it's bound to happen that one day it will break apart or explode. We learn that the finer the thing, the more invisible the thing, the more enduring. Similarly, our earth is too gross, too heavy, so it's bound to happen sometimes that it will destroy itself, if we do not destroy it before that with our atom bombs, with our environmental abuse, with our ignorance of the protection of the atmosphere around the earth.
We sometime poison ourselves with too much chemical, poison our earth, poison the water, and so it's bound to happen that it cannot last. Has no need to be a clairvoyant person or predicting well like Nostradamus or something to say that, the world is not everlasting. We can predict it ourselves. If we look around our neighborhood and see how we treated our planet and how wars have damaged each and every corner of the world, now and again.
The Story Of The Red Goblin And The Green Goblin There is a story about two devils who live in a mountain. Actually they are not devils, they are kind of demi-ghost, demigod or ghost perhaps, perhaps half angel and half goblin-like. And they live together, two. One is green and the other is red. Just like the green light and red light outside. Green is for peaceful, smooth going. Red is for war, stop, obstruction. But both of them live together happily ever after, (Master laughs) before, ever before, together in the mountain and with no problem, no anxiety, no desire, nothing.
They live for long... many many hundred of years already. And often when they have nothing to do, they sat on top of the mountain and look down into the world below them, the world of humankind. And they saw all the business and the people, walking up and down and all that. And then they saw the world is always changing. So the green said to the red, "You see, we live here many hundreds of years already and our life never changes, everyday the same thing. But the world below, the world of human being, everyday change. How come?" And the red said, "Oh, yes, you're right, very interesting, their life is more interesting." But the green said, "How come, how come their life is so changing all the time?" And then the red thought for a while and say, "Oh, it must be because they always fight with each other. Because they build a building, beautiful and big and next day they fight and demolished it. And then they build another one and then have war and destroy again and that's why the world always have something to do. That's why the world is always changing. So now if our world here, the two of us, too peaceful, too boring, I think we have to start fighting with each other." That's what the red thinks.
And the green said, "No! No fighting. We are good friends, we've been friends for many hundred of years. How can we fight each other?" But the red said, "If we don't fight, then we can't have any change. Our life will always going on like this and it's boring and we don't make any progress, so let's fight!" So the green said, "No, no, no, no! I can not do it. No, we are friends." But the red insist and said, "From today you are my enemy. That's it.", Declared war right there and then. So then he left. He didn't live with the green anymore. He moved to the other side of the mountain and sat there alone, prepare for war. And the green also stay there in that corner of the mountain, felt so lonely and miserable. He missed the other goblin. So he was feeling very miserable.
And you know the goblin, the kind of demi-angel, they have magical power. Apart from being able to fly, making things appear by themselves, seeing very far, hearing very far, they also have long nose which can stretch to no limit. So the green goblin sat there one day and feeling very bored and suddenly he notice in the world of humans below that something shining, flashing, shining all the time. So he was curious and he used his nose. (Laughter) He makes his nose long. He said, "Grow longer, grow longer, grow longer and then the nose kept growing long, long, long and then pierce into the world below where the shining and flashing is happening.
The shining and flashing came from the clothes of the princess of that city and it happened that the servants were hanging her clothes outside to air them and her clothes have gold flakes and also some jewelry studded with diamond, rubies, and etc., etc.. So it's glittering in the sun. That's why it were shining and flashing. So now the servants say to each other, "Oh, her clothes is so beautiful, but so many. Now we don't have enough bamboo pole to hang. What to do?"
At that moment the nose of the goblin just arrived on time. (Laughter) Did you hear this story before? (Audience: No) No! Oh! I'm glad. (Everyone laughs.) So, and then the servants thought, "Oh, we have a long bamboo enough to hang the rest of the clothes on it." So they put the rest of the clothes of the princess on this green pole and then happily went inside. Ah, to eat some chapati.
So now, the green goblin suddenly felt so heavy on his nose. So he was scared. He immediately pull his nose back to the normal size and there come all a bundle of glittering clothes at his feet. And he was thinking, "Ah, oh, it must be a lucky day." So he try it on and beautifully it looks. So he was proud marching around himself alone.
And it happened that the red came over. He wanted to start a fight, to progress. But then the green said, "Look here! I have some new clothes, beautiful, and I save some for you, half of them for you." And the red was looking with contempt and said, "Look, I don't wear these kind of ridiculous things, only crazy people do, like you." He want to start a fight, so he talk every nonsense. But the green is always green, so he's very cool; so he don't pick on it. So he say, "Okay, okay, fine. If you don't wear them, it does no harm. Leave them there. It's all right." So the red don't know what else to do, so he went home.
But actually he was very very jealous of the green and so he tried to get some clothes for himself. So now he also put his nose very long down into the palace and waiting for some clothes to be hung on. But it happen that the samurai, at that time there practicing sword together and when they saw such a long thing coming, they said to each other, "What's that? And the other said, "Ah, it must be the new invention of the enemy trying to attack us. Let's kill it first." "Oh, okay." Then "Pa" (Master imitates the sound of cutting) with the sword. And so suddenly the red feel such sharp pain and immediately he pull back his nose to the normal size. And then here it bleed and then he cry and cry so much.
And then the green heard his crying and came over and say, "What happen, what happen?" And the red was so embarrassed and angry and can not say what the true was and so he said, "Leave me alone" "And you don't bother me." And so the green said, "No, I don't bother you, I try to help you. It's bleeding. Look here. I know the medicine. I put it on. It will stop right away and your nose will become beautiful like before. Otherwise, you will have a big scar, a big hole there and then it will be very ugly. I just want to take care of you."
And so the red after all feel touched and said, "All right, all right." And then he cried his heart out, "Ah, it's really hurt. Please quickly, quickly help me. Make it better, quickly." And then from then on of course they make peace together because he had enough with fighting. He thought, fighting is no good. He learned the lesson of peace. From then on they wear nice clothes and drink tea together everyday, and no more war.
Only Enlightenment Can Awaken The True Self But our world has not learned this lesson of love and it is a sad affair. So now, instead of always writing on the newspaper, criticizing the government of this and that country, scolding this and that dictator, or telling the army what to do, because it has not been any use up to now... so instead of doing all these, or apart from doing all these, still, we have to find the way out for ourselves before it's too late. And the only way out is the so-called enlightenment. And an enlightenment is only getting back the positive information that we badly lack. And it's right there. Because it's already there, it's just that we didn't use it. When we are born into this world, everyone must take care of the immediate needs, such as cold, hunger, environmental infection, etc., etc.. Therefore the immediate reaction from birth or since childhood is all these material comfort, all these physical need. That is why we don't have the chance to remember the positive information that we must have in order to survive, in order to be wise and to fulfill our duty better in this world.
You see why we forget? You see why we don't have it? You see why we have it but we don't use it? Just because immediately this world overwhelms us with physical threat. So the immediate reaction from us is that to protect ourself, the body, feeding, drinking, clothing it, building house, buying more blankets, and getting a big car so that we can move around, building a big road so that we can drive the car on, etc., etc.. All these physical necessities immediately from birth overwhelmed us and take all our time up and that's why it became a habit to us to preoccupy ourselves with physical needs alone, and that's why we forget further and further, more and more about our other positive side of nature. And that's the only secret. Does it make sense to you? (Audience: Yes)
So now I have in brief and in logic explained to you or reminded you what is truly enlightenment. And there's no mystery about it, just the positive side of our nature. And we have both inside. Up to now we only use the negative, because the necessities of this negative world force us to always have to lean on the negative side to survive. And then, the more we do it, the more we forget the other side. That's all. But that is the thing that we should not do. Because without the positive we can't even take care of the negative well. Without the driver, you know what I mean, the car doesn't matter how good you take care, it will not move and it will move all wrong way around, killing people if it does. So now the driver must wake up. Wake him up and tell him to drive the car, drive properly. And that is all there is for enlightenment.
QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION The Quan Yin Method Benefits All Beings Q. Master, I understand there is a method called the "Convenient Method". Is it the same as the Quan Yin Method?
M. Not exactly, but it offers you also a taste of enlightenment. And you can continue to practice that every day without such a strict regulation as a pure vegetarian diet or two and a half hours a day, things like that. You can meditate half an hour everyday or one hour apart, or twenty minutes, whatever you like, and eat the vegetarian diet as conveniently as your position or your situation allows. So that's why we call it "Convenient Method".
And you also have enlightenment. But, it's a small kind of vehicle, you can only liberate yourself alone. And the Quan Yin Method will liberate many of your relatives and friends, up to seven or even nine generations, the people you don't even know, your ancestors, etc., and your next generation, your grand, grandchildren not yet born, etc.. Because of the blood link, they will also be free.
Q. Master, when I am the host and I have to take some friends out for lunch or dinner and they are not vegetarians, should I order all vegetarian dishes to eat as I am the only vegetarian?
M. No, no, you order what the guests want to eat. We don't impose our life style on other people and impede their freedom. It's their choice. Okay? If you ask them if they want to try vegetarian, also fine, if they agree, if they are happy with it. Just tell them once in a while you try it to see if you like it. If they don't, then you don't do it.
Q. Master, please advise me how to access the first level of the Kingdom of God, or what I must do to start.
M. The first level only? Your aim is so low. (Laughter) Why don't you go to the fifth at least, with me? There, it's almost empty because no one goes there, plenty of room there. Singapore is tight. We go there for a change. A lot of palaces, and no traffic lights, no jam. (Master laughs.)
The first level is nothing to aim for, brothers. There are only astral beings who live there. Only small heaven and hell. There is only magical power, small healing ability, small clairvoyant talent. That's all there is. And you may live there hundreds or thousands of years, but you come back here again. And who knows where you will be, and what you'll become. So why go to the first level. First level is as unsafe as this world. Yeah. Don't aim to go there. That's only the A. The A B C of everything. We started from there, but we don't stop there.
Q. Master, the first precept is no killing. If a snake enters my house, should I kill it in order to protect my family?
M. You don't have snakes in Singapore, don't give me trouble. (Laughter and applause.) You don't even have enough land for people to live. Where can this poor snake reside? But anyhow you don't have to kill, you can give him a bag... a cloth bag and he will happily crawl into it. And you set him outside somewhere else, in the bush or something, and he will be happy. But if you must, of course, you can do it. But then, you pay. You can do anything you want in this world, just you must pay. Not in monetary way, it is in karma. See?
You kill him and later you'll probably be wounded somewhere or have severe headaches or your arm suddenly gone paralysis, anything like that. You pay, maybe temporarily or maybe in a long term. It depends on how great the things that you have done, how much you took from the physical treasure of the Lord of this creation. The more you take, the more you pay. The less you take, the less you pay. That's why I advice the vegetarian diet, because it's the less expensive.
You know even though vegetables also have life, but it doesn't cost so much karma, doesn't burden you too much. You see? Not that vegetables you don't pay. I don't mean the market price, I mean to the Lord of Creation. The Lord of Creation is below the Almighty God. But if you can not, if you didn't pay it to the Lord of Creation, you can not go to the Almighty. That's the problem.
An Enlightened Master Has The Key Of Enlightenment Q. Master, can You explain the initiation of the Quan Yin Method?
M. Initiation is a kind of invisible opening wisdom ceremony. No flowers, no incense, no prostration, no Buddha statues, no church, nothing. Only you and your own positive original power. Now when you sit there all alone, then I will point to your soul where to go, in order to get back the positive and negative together, understand? Now you are separated because you are always leaning onto the negative side for survival. Now when you sit alone there and ready, willing to go back, I just pull you back. But no action involved.
These things are abstract, are the wonderful things of the invisible power. There is no doing of anything. Do without doing. I don't have to be there even. I don't have to even know your name, your address, your age, your profession. I don't have to know you; I mean physically. Inside I know. Therefore the initiation is just like you sit there and get back your positive side. You know, like out of balance, that you always lean on the negative. Now, come back and then you're balanced. That's it. And then you know that you are enlightened because you saw the light, you received the teaching from heaven through melody.
It's not by "Singlish", it's not by Chinese. It's wordless words, silent sounds. This will make you wiser, and more and more realize that you are great, and you are the master of the house. Yeah! That's the initiation. But no words can describe that, because I would not talk to you at that time. I might not even be present, because you will be along with the whole universe then. You know? That's how you know yourself. It's difficult to try to understand now. If you don't, just go for initiation then you'll understand.
Q. Master, after enlightenment, can we still get sick?
M. Sure. Look here I have a flu, thanks to some of the friends who gave it to me. And I was weak because I overwork a lot of the time, because of the many disciples and demands from the world. So of course my body is like yours, or your body is like his, yeah? If you are weak in resistance, overwork, overwork your car, then it will stop. It gets sick. That's the same. The car will get sick whether it is BENZ or it's a Cadillac. It sometimes gets sick, but that's the normal thing.
Why should we avoid sickness? It's no big deal. If I wasn't sick in these days, I could not have enjoyed two days in bed. So that's a bonus. It's not bad. And all the people love me so much, "Wow" while I am sick. They feel... a concern, you know? That's enjoyment also. Okay? No problem to be sick. The Buddha was sick, was he not? Sure, sickness is no big deal.
Q. Master, why are there so many religions in this world?
M. There is only one really. Different names, yeah! If you don't believe me, you take time, study all the religions together, compare them all, and then you'll know what I mean. Just because people don't study other religions, which is also good, fine.
Be concentrated on your religion if you know one religion; it's enough. Because it's similar in other religions: Tell people to do good, don't kill, don't steal, worship God or Buddha. No religion teaches people to do bad things. Or stay here forever, and eat and drink and die here. All religions tell you "be a good person here and find heaven while you can", right? And everything else is just bla, bla, bla, you know, bureaucracy and detail.
Q. Master, You talked about knowing the way home. Where is this home? Where is heaven and hell?
M. Here. Everything is here. But if you don't know, everything is everywhere. Everywhere is hell, everywhere is heaven. If you know, then it's heaven, if you don't know, it's hell. That's it, simple.
Q. Master, will I be able to find my dead relatives and communicate with them if I practice the Quan Yin meditation?
M. Dead relatives? Oh, sure, sure. But I am afraid maybe you don't like to go there. Some of your people are difficult to get in touch with. If you want to go such place, you need a Master. Otherwise you will be in danger. So it's not always good to see dead relatives. Now you practice the Quan Yin Method, and some of your relatives, dead relatives will be immediately released from whatever suffering they have. If they are already in heaven, they will go to a higher level of heaven. If they suffer light punishment, they can go immediately, quick. If it's too heavy, then we have to negotiate. Then the Master must negotiate or has to suffer for that person. But it won't be too long. For example, if those people have to suffer for thousands of years, the Master wouldn't have to suffer for thousands of years. Just maybe a few hours, or sometimes a few seconds, sometimes a few minutes, sometimes prolonged but not a big deal sickness, things like that.
So it's not always ideal to see your dead relatives. It's better to see live relatives. Love them, serve them, and encourage them before they are dead. But you can see them, you can see them. Many of our practitioners see their dead relatives and friends coming to thank them that due to them, they are liberated. That is no big deal, no big deal.
Q. Master, one of the five precepts is refrain from sexual misconduct. How does this apply to singles?
M. Oh! What we mean is that you should be faithful to each other. But in the case of some of the other religious orders, they may, due to their tradition, have many wives. If they already had them before initiation, then that doesn't mean they have to separate and take only one. But in the general case we tell people to refrain from having too many ties, because if you have one wife, I think you suffer enough. Oh, sorry. (Laughter) I mean... I am sorry. Don't kill me please. What I mean is the suffering in affairs of the heart are very heavy for the wife or the husband to bear. And that you don't want to cause to other people, let alone your beloved friends, or the mother or father of your children.
So that's why we say refrain from having another affair if you are already married. But if you already have before initiation, just keep it like that. And better don't let the other to know each other. Minimize the suffering. The less suffering the better, because it will affect you also. You will have a bad conscience and guilty feelings. How can you meditate in peace? When you meditate you want to think about God. All you think about is the second or the third wife. Yeah! How she wanted to beat you last night because you came late, etc., etc. Or you bought better clothes for the other one etc., etc. Aiya! so many troubles. It hurts. That's why. That is called sexual misconduct.
But in the case of people who are not yet married, of course in the modern time, I can not tell people don't, don't, don't do that, you know. Yeah! Then try to be faithful to each other, yeah? It's good for the heart, good for your moral and good for the mutual trust between each other and especially good for your health, you know nowadays. You read newspapers more than I do. The letters spelled very big. Should I say more? More and more people die from AIDS each day, so take care of yourself.
Q. Master, is it necessary to have a quiet environment to pursue spiritual practice?
M. Yes. In the beginning yes, but later no. Later sometimes we need. That's why sometimes we organize a retreat for one week or two weeks or four days, three days. Every year at a different time, so people have a chance to have a peaceful, quiet, only practicing meditation environment. But otherwise, you must go out into the society. Bringing the light and blessing into our brothers and sisters. You can not always hide yourself in the mountain and become a selfish Buddha. (Laughter)
Q. Master, will dreams of future events come true? Can we change the future?
M. Yes, sometimes we can. If we are strong enough, and if you want to be strong enough, meditate, get your Buddha power out, then you can change anything. Otherwise the future will change you.
The Way To Minimize One's Sexual Desire Q. Master, can You please advise me as to how I should control my monstrous sexual appetite? I need God grace.
M. This...? I don't have experience. You know what? There are many remedies. But most people when they ate too much meat and drink the wine and all that, it will excite more of their passion. We already have enough so-called animal passion within us, so we do many things like the animals do. This we can not control.
Because we inherit the animal quality while we live in this kingdom, part of it, because of this body. So now, if we want to control that, we must minimize the intake of intoxicants and exciting food, things like that. There are foods for sexual empowerment. The people look for that. Some people like that. So the old kings, they always eat special kinds of foods, because they have so many wives.
There are many foods to control the sexual drive. The first stage is vegetarian diet, pure vegetarian diet - no eggs, no fish, etc., and no liquor, alcohol, no intoxicating things. Many things we, the ordinary people, pay high prices for, mostly are poison. And I am always wondering why people spend a lot of their money to poison themselves. But anyhow that's their private choice and free will.
So if you ask me how to minimize your sexual energy, there are many things to do. You switch to vegetarian diet, eat a kind of simple, not too much oily and excitement spice and things like that. And then drink plenty of cool water. No champagne, champagne is the worse thing, reserved only for wedding days. You know uh! I don't know. I heard about that. I don't know. They said like that.
But the most simple is to be busy, doing something meaningful, helping other people; and then you forget your own problem. I don't know how you have time to think about this drive even. You know, if you stay up all night long, reading like me, I think your sex drive will drive itself away (laughter and applause), because sex drives are scared, scared of the work.
Do something. There is so much suffering in this world, do some volunteer work in your spare time. Feel the suffering of your fellow beings. Merge yourself in the sacrifice and the joy, the pure joy of serving all of them. Bring happiness, bring noble happiness to other people. That will bring noble happiness to you, too.
You have read so much bad, maybe porno information. Now don't read it any more. Switch to holy books. Read the Bible, read the Buddhist sutras, read the Koran, read whatever information you have on holy life, okay? Hinduism books, anything you want, yoga exercise, holy saints' teachings, so much to read.
Q. Master, if the Quan Yin Method can help me avoid reincarnation, how about my karma in my past lives?
M. Oh, I burn it. I throw it in the dust-bin and set fire to it and finish. Okay? You know where karma comes from? Comes from your reactions. Actions and reactions, of course. But where does it come from? It is stored in your subconscious. There is a button. I just push it and it's gone. It's like your computer or your record player. You can play it, you can record it, or you can erase it. Just know how.
Q. Master, usually how long does it take to get enlightenment? May I know what does it depends on?
M. Oh, depends on many things. First, it depends on the proper meditation method. And it depends on your teacher, whether that person is capable to lead you to enlightenment. Never mind talking about long or short. If you get a good teacher, you get immediate enlightenment. If you don't get a good teacher, I don't know how long, very, very long, many lifetimes. And also enlightenment depends on your sincerity, if you want it or not. If you do want it, you get it immediately. If you don't want it, it doesn't matter how much you pretend, how long you sit there, until your bottom falls off, (laughter) you don't have anything.
Initiation Is The Inner Transmission Of Dharma Q. Master, will there be someone to guide us in the Quan Yin meditation in Singapore in the initial stages?
M. Yes. I will leave a few monks or nuns here for you. Actually Quan Yin messengers. They don't look like monks. They look like me. They are ordinary like you. I will leave some of the people who have practice for a long time, who know the initial stages of practice, for you. Besides, you can always write to me. Nowadays, we have a fax machine. Don't worry. And the inner connection is always there, one hundred percent, never broken. So that is the best guidance.
And then later on, you don't have to rely on anyone, because you will get the answers from the inside, quickly and you know it. And the teacher will know where you are, what you are doing, and what kind of danger you are in, or what practice you need. From inside, teach from inside, not from the verbal.
Verbal is just ordinary thing, like we talk to each other, you know, have fun. Talk about some old stories to encourage you to practice, things like that. But verbal instruction is never a perfect teaching. The perfect teaching you can only find from inside, and that is between Master and disciple individually, for each one different inside. Even if you sit next to each other, you don't know what level he is or what the Master transmitted to him inside. All different, okay? Depends on each level.
Q. Master, when we are praying to God or Jesus, could we also worship Quan Yin Bodhisattva in the temple?
M. Why not? The more, the better, I think. (Master laughs.) That's what we think. You do what you want as long as you are happy. If that accords you enlightenment, so much the better. If not, you must go for the Quan Yin Method. The real worship comes when you see God, Jesus, Quan Yin, face to face and worship at their feet right there. And you feel so much different than when you bow to the Buddha, the wooden statue.
When you bow to the wooden statue, he says nothing to you, he can not answer your question. But when you bow to the real Buddha inside while you meditate or while you're sleeping and go to heaven, that is the time of your real worship and you will feel entirely different. You will feel you're not of this world. You will feel you are the Buddha then. That's the real worship. Worship anyone you like, but make sure you see them.
Q. Master, will meditation lead us to getting possessed by the devil?
M. It depends, depends. If you meditate at random without a teacher, or you choose a wrong way to do it, or you deliberately meditate but break the precepts, eating wrong food or harming other people, then the counter effect will fall upon you, and that's when you allow the so-called devil to come in to destroy you and trouble you. That is only the negative side of all the nature.
When we don't want to lean, we don't stand stably, and we keep like this, then it will pull you back to the negative side again. And at that time, it's stronger, it's harder because it lost you last time, like tightening the grip more; and it's difficult for you to struggle out.
So that's why I don't want to just take a lot of so-called disciples, so that I am famous and have a big group of followers. You must keep the precepts. You must eat a vegetarian diet. Understand? Purify yourself while meditating, so you don't have side effects, you don't have trouble.
And I am responsible for whatever happens to you, if you keep the precepts and follow the instruction. So nothing can happen to you. But if you don't, even God can not help you. Okay.
Q. Master, I am a sinner. Can I be enlightened?
M. Oh, who is not the sinner, please raise your hands. (Laughter and applause.) The sinner, please raise your hands. Me, also included. Don't worry, don't worry. No one is a sinner. We're just ignorant. We have not been taught the way of the saint. We have been only taught to survive in this world, how to eat, how to clothe, how to look after this physical vehicle. That's all we have been taught up to now. All the education also leads to that end, so you can have a good job, right? We have not been taught the wise way, the holy way. So now it's the time. No problem. We did things we don't know. How can we be sinners? If the child is not taught and he makes mistakes, how can he be blamed? Blame God. Uh! Hes didn't send you a teacher soon enough, Hiers fault. (Laughter and applause.)
Q. Master, I want to donate my life to others. What do You suggest?
M. Yes, sure. If people want to accept you, (laughter) we can donate our service, while we are living. Well, everyone is donating their lives anyhow. They work for the society. They work for their family. This is a kind of donation. Some people donate more. They work for more groups, serving more people voluntarily, or without much payment. And that's perhaps what you mean. Do what you feel like and what you are capable of. There is a lot of work to do in this world. Never enough people to do it.
Restore Our Heavenly Quality Q. Master, if we enjoy living so much on this earth, why do we have to try so hard to go to heaven?
M. Oh, then please don't try. Who told you to try hard? (Master laughs.) Only the people who want to go, should go. If you enjoy this world so much, it's good for you, good luck; and I hope you enjoy it long (laughter) , because one never knows, one never knows what tomorrow brings. That's the problem.
If we can always enjoy in this world, if I can put a stamp to guarantee that you'll never suffer, ever in this world, and you'll continue to enjoy all your life, and next life, next life, then please don't consider heaven. But no one can guarantee you that. You see it for yourself. All the kings, all the glorious hierarchy, the kings and queens, where are they now? They have enjoyed more than you did, more than you'll ever dream of. Where are they now? What do they do now? Where are their enjoyments? You know the answers.
Q. Master, You say we are all God's children and there is only one God. So why do we have different colors and different races? Every one is not equal, just like You and me.
M. Look at the flowers, you want them only one color? Pink, finish. Is that what you call beauty? Pink, one color, one and only. We have many colors, that's why it's fun, Okay? You like it. That's why you choose to be born in that color. But now you don't understand. Get enlightenment, and then you'll understand why. But you are also right. The question is also correct because the higher dimensions don't have difference, no difference between male and female, no different colors. There is only pure awareness, pure wisdom, not even such a visible form.
Q. Master, how can we get immediate enlightenment and eternal liberation if we are anxious and have to work to make money?
M. (Master speaks to the M.C.) You know it. You tell him.
MC. Meditate two and a half hours a day.
MC. He doesn't know yet. Don't scare him. Enlightenment is the most incredible thing that ever happen to your existence. It will lighten every burden that you have to carry every day. It will get rid of all the obstacles in your way. It will carry you when you are down and sick. It will bless you whenever you are in trouble and danger. And you will feel like, you are always in the love of mother, so you don't worry. The worry and anxiety you have now, is just because you don't have enlightenment, it's not the opposite, Okay? So if you want to get rid of this suffering, get enlightenment.
Q. Master, why do good people suffer so much in this world?
M. How do you know if they are good? Do you know them personally? Sometimes you don't. Good and bad is only in our level of understanding. The record of their lives, of their existence is so long. Sometimes they are good, sometimes they are bad. You can never check-up enough. Anything that happens has a reason. And don't worry.
Q. Master, is there any explanation why some people are born less fortunate than others?
M. Because of karma. Some people they do good deeds, they give a lot of charity to other people, and then when they are reborn again, they are rich and fortunate. And if the other people never give to anyone else when they are in suffering and in need, then when they are born again, they probably don't have much fortune.
Q. Are You a human being or a fairy? (Laughter)
M. What do you think? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? What do you think? You think I am a human, raise your hands. You think I am a fairy, raise your hands. No one. Yeah, both are correct. An 'A' for both! Okay! We are both. We are both human beings and God. It's just that most of the time for most of the people they only recognize their human side of existence. They only identify with the physical function and forget their Godly side of nature. That's all. You and I are equal. We are both fairy and human beings. That's it. Are you satisfied? But the only difference between you and I is that I know and you perhaps don't know, or are not sure of your fairy nature. That's the only difference.
Q. Master, can those who have mental depression practice meditation?
M. If they understand what I have mentioned today, if they understand the teaching, they're capable of understanding, then they can; because sometimes mental disturbance comes only from depression, too much pressure from society. A form of trying to avoid problems, trying to escape the burden of society. It's not exactly a sickness. So it's temporary and they can stand up again, of course, and faster through meditation.
MC. Thank You, Master. Shall we take this opportunity to put our hands together to thank Master.
M. Oh, no need. I thank you all for your loving attention, and for your trust and your love and your friendship. And I wish you all the best things. I wish your country all the best things, and develop more and more, stronger and stronger, and more and more respect by the whole world and the universe. And I wish you most of all enlightenment, if not sooner, then later. Okay.
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