enlightenmentIS THE TOOL FOR EVERYTHING
GeorgetownUniversity, Washington D.C., U.S.A. Apr.14, 1993.I'm so overwhelmed by your love and the welcome program. I was verytired after my journey and also many days of sleeplessness. ButI feel very, very blessed and joyful to join your congregationtonight. I am sure we will know each other as we have known eachother. And there is nothing new to all of us tonight, but let'sjust remind each other of what we might have forgotten or whatwe have placed in some very remote corner of our soul and didn'thave the opportunity to reopen it. That is the enlightenment,enlightening nature of our great selves. I'm overwhelmed not onlybecause of your love, but because of the realization that I amsitting before the Buddhas and God's manifestation, and that broughttears of joy into my heart.
It's not always that I am blessedwith such realization while sitting with a multitude of people.It's just tonight it happened, and it is beautiful, especiallywhen sometimes I was also kind of discouraged. In the last fewdays, I was thinking whether what I am doing is truly worthwhile.But tonight, because of your love and your very highly developedspiritual wisdom, I feel I will continue. I know I will continue.And if in the near future during my tour, if I have any successin bringing people happiness and God realization, I will rememberWashington D.C.'s people. Thank you so much. I really need ittonight. It's very good.
Enlightenment IsAlready There Waiting For A Master To Open It You see, enlightenment is alreadywithin us, therefore whatever our fellow initiate credited tome, I should not accept because it's all yours. Whatever greatness,whatever blessing you receive during the course of developmentin your spiritual training or rediscovery, it is all yours. Butbecause humility is the nature of a highly developed spiritualbrotherhood, they always credited all the miraculous power, allthe blessings to the master, whoever that master may be that happenedto be experienced in the path and show them to rediscover it themselves.If you were not already enlightened, if your nature were not Buddha,I would never be able to make you a Buddha. If God is not alreadywithin yourselves, I would never be able to show you God insideyou. I cannot make a stone into a diamond however long I polishit, you understand!
So with all my humbleness,I just would like to tell you that you are very great. You arethe Supreme Masters, and we are all one. There is nothing I shouldteach you except to point to you your precious jewel that youhave placed in your pocket and you have forgotten. Because youare too busy looking elsewhere for it. Many a time you do that.You put things in your pocket, your eye glasses or money or whateverimportant things, and you forgot. It's so near to you. (Masterlaughs.) You keep looking and search the whole house, every corner;you never find it; and so you thought seeking for your own treasureis so difficult. Actually it is not true. Because we just don'tknow where to look for it, and that is all. And some friends standaround and just say, " Hey, it's in your pocket." Thatis the job of the Master, so-called Master. Therefore the Masterssince ancient time, if they are called by the name, by the title"Master," by the disciples, actually they are just likeone of us. They should be very humble and they have all the humanqualities that we have and they do not know that they are theMasters. But because of the experiences of the disciples, peoplecredited that is a Master. Just like we say, " By your fruitshall you be known." So anyhow, "Master" or "notMaster," it is not important. The important thing is thatexperienced friend which we call Master can show us where ourgreatness is. Then we make use of it.
The Difference BetweenThe Enlightened And Non-enlightened There is so much vast differencebetween an enlightened person and a non-enlightened person, eventhough both of them are exactly the same in quality, have exactlythe same wisdom, and possess the same greatness. I just couldnot tell you how different. I just know it is different; and manyof our disciples know that after initiation. Right? (Audience:"Yes.") Some of you would know. And then after that,you talk to other people who are not yet initiated, have not yetrediscovered their, the partial quality of their wisdom, theywill see a vast difference between them. Even though in the outlook, there'sno distinction. Enlightenment can be lightened onto someone whoalready step inside the house; doesn't matter how near he is tothe door, and how far he has already advanced into the depth ofthe house in order to discover how much treasure there is inside.Once he steps inside the house, he is out of the cold, out ofthe danger of the wolves, the tigers and all other natural disastersshould they come by.
There is a very big difference.Once we are in the house, we know what is inside. If we are nearthe door, we know at least the inner interior design. And if westep further into different rooms of our house, we will discoverthe treasures, and all the furniture, all the precious thingsthat are within the house. And we may go back outside and tellthe people what's inside, And the people outside of the housemay listen to the story and may repeat it again to someone elsethat something's there, such and such are in the house. But thereis a difference between repeating and seeing and enjoying; andalso, deriving the benefit from the safety of being inside thehouse.
Some people ask me, "It'sokay! I don't need enlightenment, what for?" "Is thatokay not to be enlightened?" I said," Yes, yes, okay."(Master laughs.) There is no choice anyhow. But when we are outsidethe house, sometimes it is safe, sometimes it is sunny, but sometimesit is raining, sometimes it is typhoon, a lot of things happen.And once we know we have a house, we can even step out sometimes.But whenever we want or it is necessary, we step inside. Thereare such things, wonderful things inside the chamber of our soulthat no worldly treasures could equal, And nothing of this worldcan bring such happiness to us as when we discover our true greatness.
Everyone Has A ShareOf This Wisdom The more we discover how greatwe are, the more humble we become. (Master laughs.) And that isa very paradoxical thing, but it is like that. Because we willbecome like a child, we will become like a very innocent person.The great sage is like a very innocent person. And it seems likeyou can tell him anything you want about your talent, about yourambition, about your intelligence, about your degrees, and hewill never object you. It's not that he will always try to forcehis wisdom upon you. It only comes naturally by circumstancesor by request. And after speaking, most probably the so-calledMaster will forget everything that has been spoken completely;maybe just remember one or two sentences or maybe none becausethe wisdom comes from the universal storehouse is the common useof all beings. It doesn't belong to one person or a group of anypersons. It belongs to the ignorant as well as the enlightened.It belongs to the child as well as to an aged senior citizen.Everyone has a share of this wisdom only if we truly want to knowit.
By knowing this wisdom, wedo not forsake the world. We will not lack of the enjoyment ofthe world. But actually we enjoy the world more when the opportunityis there, and even when the opportunity is not there, we willbe happy all the same. And that's the difference. That is theonly difference because if we do not know our enlightened nature,we always crave for some things that will bring us happiness,or we think that will bring us happiness. Therefore we becomesometimes ambitious, seeking fame and name, seeking properties,seeking beauty, seeking ephemeral love, etc., thinking these willbring us happiness, until we realize that these only breed sorrowmost of the time.
Only when we are truly enlightened,then we can enjoy anything. Whatever comes, we enjoy. The goodthings come, then we take it as a gift from God and we enjoy whole-heartedlywithout any guilt, without any reservation, without any obstacleswhatsoever in our heart or in our thinking. Because the natureof the enlightened person is very free, very carefree, very easy,just like a child. If you give him something good, he acceptsit. He will not think that you want to trick him, or whether hedeserves it or not. He just accepts. And when the circumstancedoes not allow that we have comfort or richness in life then weare also happy carry on that way. We have no desire for materialgreatness, but that doesn't mean that we do not strive to workfor the society, and that we do not try our best to fulfill ourobligations as a citizen of the world. We do, we do all the same.We do more effectively and with all willingness to contributeour part to the whole world. The difference is that we do withoutdesire for reward, without desire for praise. And should we fail,or should even people misunderstand us of our goodwill, we stillcan bear it. We will not have any suffering in our heart. Manyof my disciples have told me, I mean our fellow practitioners,that after enlightenment they are much different than before.They know, they know more than before. They understand many thingsthat they never understood before. And they are so different fromwhat they were before. Because I have forgotten what it's liketo be before or to be after enlightenment, so sometimes it's difficultfor me to know what they were talking about. (Master laughs.)But then sometimes I happen to meet and talk, or stay and integratewith some of the non-initiate people, then I realize what theywere talking about; then I know what's the difference betweenan enlightened person and a not enlightened person. That is nodiscrimination, no, no. It's just a statement of what it is ofthe reality. Therefore it's not a proud statement, it's just arealization of the difference between a person who steps insidethe house and the person outside.
The Greatest WayOf A Gentleman Is Enlightenment If I have not the opportunityto truly have a very deep understanding with the non-initiatedpeople sometimes, I would have forgotten, because most often Isee people as myself, I forgot whether I am enlightened or theyare not enlightened. I have never remembered these things whenI meet people. And that's why sometimes apart from feeling somekind of discouraged during my mission, I also felt in my heartthat there is no need to teach anyone. There's no need to runaround the world, no need to answer the invitation of my disciplesworld wide and tire myself out on the airplane, smoking air plane,and crowded airport and all that, and hectic schedule. BecauseI thought there's no need to do it, because I don't see any necessity.But then just when I think like that, sometimes the almighty powerwould remind me that it is necessary. Because there is a big differencebetween knowing you have a treasure and making use of it and justknowing you have a treasure but do not know where and how to useit. There is a big difference. Therefore, if I continue to travelaround the world according to the sincere request of the disciples,it is because of these instances that I know some people do notknow that they are great, and they long to know.
Not because we want to be proudof our greatness, but it is a duty to know our heritage. We cannotjust be born into this world, live a few decades of hectic schooling,working, sweating, earning money, struggling with children andfamily problems, and then "kaput," finished, (laughter)and nothing more to that, nothing more to life, nothing more tothe great meaning of human life. And worse still, at the timeof leaving this world, we suffer. We suffer because of the attachmentwith our family members, we suffer because we do not know wherewe are going, we suffer because of the fear of the unknown. Andthe whole family members or the beloved ones just standing aroundhelpless, seeing us suffering.
Therefore the great way ofa gentleman is enlightenment. We must know where we come fromand where we are going, very clearly, very decisively, becausewe are great human beings. We live a life of a hero. We walk thelife of God on earth. We should not live like slaves to our money,to our possessions, to our whatever desires that the world haslabored, found a way to stick it onto our mind. We were not bornwith desires, we were not born with hatred, we were not born withrace discrimination. We were born from innocence and beauty sowe should remain like that. And we should even be wiser, apartfrom being innocent. That's the way of a gentleman, that's theway of the great beings.
What Jesus And BuddhaCould do, We can do, too If we worship Jesus, if weadore Buddha, if we long to worship, to bow to the sages of theHimalayas of the ancient time, then we should know that we couldbe one of them. There is no difference between a sage and ourselves.Only one hair apart, very thin. (Master laughs.) And when we traversethat, we are there in the circle of sainthood. And if we staybehind, just one hair apart, we are ignorant beings bowing downto all pressures of the world, fearing all kind of things, personsand beings, knowing not what we are before and after our life.Even we have eyes, but we are just like the blind. We have earsbut we are just like being deaf. Because heavenly teachings wedo not hear. Heavenly kingdom we do not see; our greatness wecannot perceive. It is a pity if we continue our life like that.
We want so much to help theworld. We want so much to bring peace into our earth, to makeit into heaven, but how do we do it if we don't have wisdom? Howdo we do it if we are not above average? How can our head keepfrom being wet if we are not above water? So enlightenment isthe tool for everything in this life and the life after. We'lltravel far and wide into the galaxies of the universe, we'll knowthings by which even the most brilliant scientists in this worldare dumbfounded. That is the ability of a human being. A truehuman being is not flesh and bones only. It's not the outer appearancesof beauty and charm, but it is the great storage of wisdom, ofalmighty power that could move mountains, and do all kinds ofmarvel. Whatever Jesus had done is child's play. Whatever Buddhahad cared to demonstrate while he was on earth is just a joke,because what he can, what Jesus can, what Buddha can, is aboveall that even. It's billion, trillion times greater than that;and we can. That's what I discovered and that's what I would liketo remind you. As soon as we pray, we draw our attention inside,and don't care much for the material comforts and possessions- it doesn't mean we leave them. We stay in the same house, eat thefood that we can afford, wear the clothes that we think fit forthe occasions, but our attention is not there anymore; that'sthe important thing. Not the things in themselves are the obstaclesto our sainthood, it is our attention that's the obstacle. Therefore,the attention we should withdraw inwards and then we know everythingthat Jesus knows, that Buddha knows, and all the sages of oldand future will know. Because our nature is like that.
Just like you put the diamondin your pocket and if you look all over, even if you look allover the world, you'll never find it. Not only your house. Yousearch the whole world, you will never find the diamond. You don'tknow where it is. (Master laughs.) Meanwhile, all the while it'sin your pocket. The world should not be in the state that it isright now if all of us are enlightened, or at least half of usare enlightened, and better still, the majority of us are enlightened.And then no need to talk about peace, peace will come. No needto want anything because we have wisdom. "Wisdom is the Lord. The Lordis my shepherd, I shall not want." The Lord is within ourselves,that is our almighty power which stays there dormant, and anytimewe can awaken it and make use of it, at least to our own contentment.
Enlightenment BringsHappy Lives The enlightened persons neverknow uncontentment, never know want, never know unhappiness; atleast not for long, just probably in the beginning of the practicewhen we are not yet stable in our habits, and the mind still hasthe upper hand. So sometimes we might think we want this and that,but then immediately we realize our mistake. Not like before enlightenment,we don't even realize that we have desire, let alone stoppingit. Therefore the difference is very obvious.
All these I tell you from myexperiences. It doesn't mean after enlightenment you sit pretty,cross legged somewhere in the sofa and all things become heaven.No. We still have to undergo a little bit of give and take ofthe karma, the law of cause and retribution, while we are on earth.But we have great power behind backing us up, that doesn't matterwhat kind of rain or typhoon, we are very stable, safe, secure,contented. Because we know nothing can happen to life eternal.Something may happen to our body but not the real self. If wewant another body, we create one. And that is a very, very definitefeeling of the enlightened person. The enlightened person doesmany things, but never feels he is doing anything. Even physically,gives away many things but he never feels that he is a giver,endures many things but he never feels that he has patience. Hemight show his temperament now and again, but he never feels guiltybecause it is fit for the occasion. Therefore the way of the enlightenedperson is free, is happy, and is wise. That is the life that allof us should remember because that is our self.
It's not the life that we thinkwe are now, full of worry about every little thing, about electricbill and about telephone check, and every little thing makes ustrouble. After enlightenment we still have all these bills coming,(Master and all laugh) no doubt. God will not take them away becauseit's yours. (Master laughs.) But the attitude and the means toovercome these are entirely different. We'll find life more relaxed,more easy to meet with all demands from all sides. If we truly,truly, truly sincerely seek for our wisdom, that's what I canpromise because I have learned to know this myself. It's not frombooks. It is not from any teacher. It is from my own experience.
Therefore, whatever I sharewith you is absolutely true, private, and no cost, because it'sfrom me. I don't borrow it from the bank, no need for interest.(Master and all laugh.) And then you will come to realize allthese and more for yourselves according to the capacity of yourdemand, and of your work, and of the way the universal brotherhoodsees fit to give you because of your mission in life, your positionin this world. You see sometimes when the masters reach mastership,they are equal. Even that, but you see slight differences betweenmasters and masters. You can see that through their discoursesor through the progress of their disciples or through the wayhe expresses his understanding about the inner realization. Thereforethere is a slight difference between masters even. Why? Not becausethey are different in the quality, it's just because of the
different back-ground or positions.Such a master could make use of so much, so he has that much orhe draws that much from within himself to give out. And the othermasters in different circumstances, in different generations,different nations, will need more or less of different kinds ofquality, of speech, of explanation. Therefore we have many ofthe so-called religious doctrines. And many different names ordifferent religions which point to the same truth.After enlightenment we willknow that very definitely. We will know the underlying principleof all religions is the same. We will know what they taught whenthey were alive, the founders of these religions. We will knowBuddha and Jesus taught just Quan Yin Method. We will know whatLao-tzu talked in the Tao Te Ching is about Quan Yin Method, aboutthe light and the sound of heaven which lift us up above mundaneideals, above all the pettiness of our computer mind in orderthat we meet with the higher level of consciousness, and thenwe know ourselves. Then we know God. I am just so happy today,I don't know what I'm saying is suitable for you or not. I justblab, blab on. (Master laughs and audience applauds) I think Ijust stop by now and then you might ask me questions and I havethe opportunity to explain further. Is that Okay? Yeah? Thankyou so much.
QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION Q. Jesus is nolonger on this planet earth. Does he have power to reach to thosewho believe in Him now? Can we have two masters at the same time?A master who left this earth and a master who is still on thisplanet earth and will leave this earth?
M. Yeah. We can. We can. Fortunate arethose who meet the masters who are still living but who also arethe inner master at the same time. But also while you meet theliving master, you can also meet the ascended master if you reachup to the level where Jesus resides at this moment, you can seeHim.Many of our disciples saw Jesus and many of our disciples sawBuddhas. Isn't that so? Are there any disciples here...? Is thatnot true? Yeah? (Fellow initiates say : Yes!) Oh, they say "Yes".Anyhow, sometimes the Buddhists will see Jesus or Mother Maryand sometimes Christians will see Buddhas or Mohammed.
Q. How can Igo down suppressing my ambitions which have been burdening andobsessing and bothering me so much?
M. It is because we are not enlightenedand the nature of our ambition is the urge for enlightenment,actually. It's nothing else; nothing of a very base nature. Itis because we know in our subconscious that we are something greaterthan that, we used to be the boss, we used to be the 'Presidentof the universe.' Therefore it is difficult to remain lowly whilewe are on earth. That's why we have greed, we have ambition. Soafter enlightenment, you will know how to handle your ambitionfor the good use of your life as well as the world. Nothing badabout ambition. Just the way we handle it. If we handle it wiselywith wisdom, it will be very good use.
Q. What is happinessand how long can it last?
M. (Master laughs). All of you know thatthe worldly happiness is ephemeral. It lasts how long is accordingto person and circumstances. But the true happiness which derivesfrom our true nature is everlasting. That's what we would liketo introduce to you which is already within you.
Quan Yin MethodTakes You To The Source Of All Beings Q. What are thesteps to enlightenment and what level of enlightenment does thistechnique take you to?
M. It will take you to the source ofall beings, where you came from and where all beings will return.Between this earthly level and that absolute level, there arefive levels of consciousness or different planes of existence,and if we, through the practice of the heavenly light and soundand the guidance of the experienced teacher, pass through thesefive levels, then we arrive there, at the house of the masterswhere all masters came from and return after the mission, andwhere we also will come from in order to help other beings shouldwe desire to return to Earth or any other planet in the universe.So the first step is to get initiation and then everything elsewill come.
Q. Is the onlyway to go to God through initiation in the light and sound?
M. Yeah, that's the last part of thejourney. You have many other ways also, but if you don't reachthere, then you are not there. Just like the door of the house.Doesn't matter from which road you travel, if you do not passthrough that gate, you do not enter the house, yeah? So, we startfrom there because we are more fortunate.
Q. Is there morethan one initiation?
M. No, no. Only one physically but manyinwardly, inside. See, it depends on the individual. For example,at the time of initiation the master or the representative ofthe master gives the same verbal instructions, but the initiationdoesn't come from these instructions. The initiation comes fromwithin, from the awakening of your own nature. And even then thelevels are different. Therefore two persons sitting in the sameplace or next to each other will have entirely different levels.And therefore, also, the master will from inside teach individuallydifferent, and only he knows. Only he inside knows what the masterteaches him, and his experience is different from his wife orhis kids or his father or brothers, etc. So you can call thatdifferent initiations if you wish, but I would say that it isthe continuation of learning from different individuals.
Q. Master ChingHai, I have a time, a strong desire to become non-existent. Pleaseshare your thoughts, if there is any, on this desire.
M. Oh, I also like that. (Master laughs.)I also like to be non-existent so that I don't have to traveland I don't have to be such a great "Master" and allthis and that and others. But since we are already in this existence,we stay. We stay and see what happens next. Meanwhile we get enlightenmentso we can be in the existence level and the non-existence levelat the same time. But that non-existence level is by no meansempty, by no means nothingness, It is a life full of richness,full of splendor, full of glory, full of happiness, full of creativeenergy. We will enjoy that life more than the so-called existinglife which we know as a human life here. But we can have bothat the same time. It's very wonderful. Very wonderful.
Q. My childrenare very important to me. After initiation will I be able to continueto love them?... And not merely share an existence with them?What changes will occur in that regard?
M. Oh, my God. (Laughter) You have becomelike a child. Do all my disciples throw away their children orwhat do they do with them? What did you do with all your childrenafter initiation? Can you love them? (Audience: "Love themmore.") They said they love them more than before, so youare safe, okay? Keep your children. Don't worry. I don't wantany. (Master laughs and audience applauds).
Q. Is there sucha phenomenon as soul-mates in this world? If so, what is the spiritualsignificance of this for people involved?
M. Soul-mates are someone that when youmeet him or her, you feel a very great attraction to each otherand that you both will be able to complement each other in lifeand especially in spiritual process. That is what's called soul-mates.But in the world of non-duality, there's no soul, no mates. So,it's just the talk of this world. So whoever you feel that isvery attractive to you and very helpful to your daily life activitiesas well as spiritual endeavor, then that is your soul-mate, ...while we are here, if we need a mate at all. Alright?
True Master AwakensYour True Inner Self Q. How can wetell true masters from false masters?
M. Oh, that I don't know. I haven't metany false one. I've met only true masters. False or true, it'sup to you. There are many ways to discern a true master. Whenthe so-called master just clings to one part of the truth andforsakes the rest and then teaches the disciples only one partof that from the whole truth and then we call him a false master.But actually the name is not very correct. Maybe he is a kindof "partial master." "Part-time master" (Masterand all laugh), but not false. And when a master teaches you thewhole truth that is within yourself and awakens that which alreadyexists within yourself, that is the true master because he awakensthe true master within yourself. That is the true master. Andwhat is your true nature? What is the true master within yourself?That is God! That is the holy spirit which dwells within yourchurch, your temple. (body) And when that God manifests, we canhear the teaching through the heavenly music. We can see him throughvisions, through abundant illumination like thousands of sunssometimes. That is our true nature when it is awakened. So ifany master can awaken these heavenly wisdom, vibration and heavenlylight within you which is your self nature, which is your selfmastership, then that is a true master. It takes one to know one.
Q. Regardingthe five requirements you must follow in order to be initiated,what would happen if you don't follow them?
M. When you don't follow them, what happensis that you don't follow! What else can I do? Then try again.Okay? If you think that it's good for you and good for othersand it's a kind of protective fence around our spiritual sublimitythen we keep them, okay, and don't make damage to your just-grownsublimity. But otherwise no one is there to condemn you or doanything to you except your own conscience. So try to live upto that and whenever you fall, stand up; try again.
Q. What is theeasiest and safest path to self-realization and god-realization?
M. This method. Did they say it? "ImmediateEnlightenment" "Quan Yin Method". That's the best,the easiest and the quickest. You get enlightened immediatelywithout any preparation, without any cost, without any conditiontoday after the lecture. Okay? And if you don't get enlightenmentimmediately, money-back guarantee. (Laughter & applause) Oh,by the way... by the way, there's no money-back guarantee becausewe don't charge a penny. (Laughter and applause.)
Q. How shouldwe protect ourselves from the violence of nature and the violenceof men?
M. We don't need to protect ourselves.What do we have that we should protect? Before you were born,what do you have? After you die, what do you possess? What isit that's so valuable that we should protect? Throw everythingaway. Let it be. Whatever comes will come. If your body dies,your body decays, you have thousands, billions more. Don't worryabout anything. If the possession should be yours, you can't evenget rid of it. If that girl should be your fiance, no one cansnatch her away. If that job is to be yours, ordained by heaven,no one can replace it. Don't worry about it, just relax. Get enlightenment.All these fears keep us from living a happy, present moment. Thereforeall guilt, all conflict, all hypocritism arise out of this fearof the self, of the ego self. That I have this, I have that, Ihave fame, I can't lose face, I can't do that because I am inthis position. I can't scold people because I am the master, Iam supposed to be very graceful, very soft spoken, very gentle,etc. Just throw everything away and be at the moment. Whateverrequires at that moment, do it wholeheartedly with faith in Godand with faith in the whole plan of the universal project. Understand?(Audience: Yes.)
Q. Christianityteaches us we are all sinners; are we still sinners when enlightened?If so, does it ever end, our being sinners?
M. Yes, we are sinners, because we believewe are. Because we have no way to raise ourselves above the sinfullevel, above the mud. If you are in the mud, of course you lookmuddy, no? If you rise up, what the mud has to do with you, whetherit's there or not, understand? So rise up; be enlightened.
Q. How can anenlightened human being who is living in the society which isin conflict help to remove the conflicts in their society?
M. Very difficult. We can only removethe conflict within ourselves. If everyone does that, there isno conflict to remove. Therefore even Jesus was so great, Buddhawas so grand, but they couldn't remove the conflict within theirown borders. And even sometimes the disasters will also affecttheir lives. It is because the majority of the people of the worldwere not at peace, were not enlightened; therefore enlightenmentis the only requirement for any illness of this world, for anywars, for any conflict. Nothing else is necessary.
True Nature Is WithoutAnything, No Dust Can Cling To It Q. I've heardof many people who said that when you are enlightened, you aresupposed to shave your hair and wear no make-up. (Laughter) Whatdo you think of this saying and comment.
M. What do you think, is that correct?(Audience: No!) No, they say " No! " (Laughter &applause) I'll give you one "A" for you. (Master andall laugh.) Beautiful, beautiful, I love that. It's very beautiful;you are very open, very enlightened; at least to some degree.If you still cling your attention to anything of this world, whetherit's there or not there, you obstruct yourself, right? Your natureis without anything. No dust can cling to your nature, okay? Nomake-up can cover your Buddha nature; no lipstick can blur awaythe light of heaven. If you have Eye, you'll see I am radiatinglight now. Even if I put the whole charcoal boxes on my face,make myself black, I am still very white and bright. So if youshave your head, then you are enlightened? Is that right? So whydon't you do it? It's so easy. (Laughter) All of you do it. Steve,your hair is too long for the enlightenment. (Laughter & applause)God doesn't care whether your hair is long or short. Stupid. (Laughter)Otherwise all the beautiful Miss Universes can not get enlightenment,or what? (Master laughs.) And if we say that, all the barber shops,all the beauty salons will close. We create unemployment evenmore. (Laughter) Is that the life of an enlightened person? Oh,oh, if I preach like that, Mr. Clinton will not be happy. (Laughter)He will not give me permission to preach in America.
Q. The ego isa strong force, how does one overcome the ego?
M. By being enlightened. Ego is the clingingattention to a small self, which is like, "Oh! I am a doctor.I am a scientist. I am a teacher. I am such and such intelligentand high position person." That is the ego. But when we knowour greater self, that loses inside. Because we are not only thedoctor, we are God, or at least God's children; we are Buddha,okay? That's the only way to melt the ego within the greater frameof the self.
Q. What is thesource of the world?
M. Hum. (Master laughs.) It takes too longto research, yeah? Why don't you just live today, get enlightenmentand then we'll see for ourselves? Because if I tell you, it takesa long time. You know our world, at least geographically speaking,has been in existence for trillions of years. And if you wantto make a research about it, I'll never have time for lecture.Is that not so? But the truth about the world in existence lieswithin ourselves. We have a library inside, and when we get tothe second level, we can look at it, and then we know everything.Not only about this world but about many worlds in the universe.
Q. If one isinitiated by you, The Supreme Master Ching Hai, do you remainyour disciples forever? What is the job of a disciple?
M. The job of our disciples is to becomea master. (Laughter) Therefore you don't need to be my discipleforever. You don't even need to be my disciple. You are alreadya master, just you don't know it, so I tell you how to recognizeyourself again. That's all, yeah? There is no disciple actually.It is just a name that we call ourselves in this physical world.
Q. Could youplease explain to me what the mind is?
M. The mind is nothing but a bundle ofattached thinking and ideas and information that we gather inour daily relationship with other beings. And that we call "me"or the "mind" and then we cling to all that, and say: " Oh, I am like that. I brush my teeth three times a day.That's me," "I never apologize even when I am wrong.It's me. I don't fear anything. It's me," etc., etc. Butall these are what? That's just collective information. Beforeyou were born, you didn't brush your teeth; you have no teeth.(Laughter) For example. You understand? Therefore mind is nothing,and we would be very unwise to listen to this kind of so-calledmind. It's just a collected habit, information from others, fromsocieties and from our own inter-relationships and then we thinkwe are like that. "Oh, I have to eat this, I have to drinkcoffee, because it's me, my way of life, it's me." But whois that me? Who drinks the coffee before you were born? Coffeewasn't even there hundreds of years ago. Therefore these thingsare very unreliable and very nonsensical. They are not you, andthat is what most of us call "me." That is the mind.
Q. Once you becomeenlightened, can you lose consciousness of your enlightenment?
M. Oh, yes, possible. Yes, when you sleep.Sometimes when you meditate, and then you sleep, the light comes,the enlightenment comes but you are not aware of it . And whenyou are not asleep, then you are aware of it, okay?
Q. How do wequickly give peace to our previously made enemies?
M. Hug him and kiss him; give him a candy.(Laughter & applause) That's what I did this morning becausesome people cannot be enlightened by words or by explanation orby initiation even. Some people need that just direct love. Physicalas well as mental, as well as emotional.
Q. How do I escapeaway from my flesh and lose desire toward the opposite sex?
M. Oh, don't get away from it. (Laughter)Otherwise we have no more children. (Master laughs.) Just staycool; have one partner only, okay? If you have a soul mate thatyou found that's good for you, and three dimensional love, physical,emotional and mental, it's fine . And then the so-called fleshlydesire will lose some of its strong hold on you after we regulatedwith a stable relationship or within marriage. You understand?So don't worry, it's just a beginning. And afterwards it willdie down, it will lose its attraction. So just stay cool. Thereforehave one partner, it would be enough.
Q. How to bebest help to someone who is experiencing serious illness?
M. The car has troubles sometimes . Thecar sometimes burns out, sometimes the tire blows out, sometimesthe outskirts is scratched or something. What do you do with thecar? Try to repair it . So the same with the body. And if, sometimesthe car is irreparable, it costs more to repair than to buy anew one, then buy a new one, is that not so? The same with thebody. Whatever you can do with the car, this car - the body, doit. If you can not, just leave it and God will give you a newcar . New body. (Laughter & applause) That's why most peoplepay so much attention to this car, and they have all kinds offear and troubles because of this car. Kill each other for survivaljust also because of this car. Hate each other just because ofthis car. Do many things that are against our own conscience justbecause of this car. Therefore we have to realize it is only aninstrument, just like a car that you buy.
Q. If a personhas a desire to get liberation or go beyond the three worlds,is this desire different than ordinary desire?
M. Yes, it is different because by havingthat desire alone, all other desires die down. Otherwise we havetoo many desires, you see? And then we have troubles because weare pulled from different directions. Whereas if we have onlyone upward desire, we are pulled up, and then we will be happy.We reach our high nature.
Q. Is love intoxicating,and if so, must we refrain from it according Precept Number Five?
M. Oh, no, no, no! Intoxication meansdrugs, alcohol, and all the things that make you become an addict,make you a slave into, make a slave out of you, also blur yourvision, and damage your brain cells and impair your ability tothink, to see and to do things clearly. These are drugs. Theseare intoxicants.
Q. In what waycan we get energy from meditation?
M. The effortless way. The energy frommeditation is already within ourselves by the power at the timeof initiation through a Master, it is awakened. Therefore whenwe do the meditation in our so-called method which has no methodat all, we get the direct energy without doing anything. It'sa very effortless effort. That is the best way ,the natural waybecause we get what we have. We don't borrow. We don't try. Wedon't steal, we don't force things to happen, but things comingand happening because it's already there.
Q. Is enlightenmentanother term for Zen Buddhism?
M. Yes, if you need that title so much.
Q. How likelyis it that the few enlightened humans on this earth now can affectthe awakening of the sleeping or distracted masses?
M. Yes, yes. They will have some impact,yes. But of course it's best when the majority of the people areall awakened.
Immediate EnlightenmentAfter Initiation Q. Would youplease address the issue of karma and how we dissolve our previouskarmic debts and how that relates to enlightenment?
M.How to resolve the previousdebts, right? Karma is the Sanskrit term for the law of "Asyou sow, so shall you reap," which is the law of the loweruniverse . And when the Master gives you initiation, he pullsyou up further. Therefore, the Karma downstairs can be burnt anddoesn't affect you. Just leave a little bit for you to carry onthis life, which is already smoothed out and lubricated by theMaster's power. Therefore after initiation you have no more storedkarma so you don't have to be reborn again if you don't want to.If you want to be reborn again, it's very easy. We can createkarma or we can borrow it (Master laughs) from many other sentientbeings in order to come down . So initiation is the destroyingof all karmas in the past. So leave no more opportunity for thebeings to come back in the future.
Q. What do youmean by "Immediate Enlightenment" after initiation?
M. I mean "Immediate" Enlightenment."Instant," like that, okay? (Master snaps her fingers.)If I show you something which is in your pocket, can you immediatelytake it out or not? (Audience: "Yes.") That is whatit is. Because you have it within you. I just pointed to you whereit is and so you get it.
Q. Master, thereare billions of people alive today who would pass from this lifewithout being initiated into your program. Does this mean that they can not reachenlightenment in this lifetime by any other means?
M. Yes, they can, they can; but the degreeis different, you see? And sometimes in deep prayer, they havea glimpse of enlightenment, but that is flickering and sometimesit's gone again. And they don't know; again they are back intoignorance. But initiation means permanent. You know definitelywhere the switch is, and you switch it on any time you want. Andyou are inside the circle of light . But enlightenment from otherways, it is not always permanent and sometimes it's dangerousbecause people do not know how to handle the newly discoveredenergy. Therefore some people become mentally disturbed and allkinds of queer things, or abusing of the magical power which isfrom a lower level and become anything, you know, magician, healers,any kind without reaching the highest level of consciousness.Because without the guidance of the Master, we do not know wherewe are heading to, and then we stumble around and we play aroundwith all kinds of things, and sometimes it's dangerous.
Because the path of enlightenmentis also full of tricks and pitfalls which we should avoid. Andwith an experienced guide, it's easier, faster, safer. But whatcan we do? The world is like that; that's why it is the world.If the worldly people are all enlightened, we don't call thisearth "world," we call it "heaven," understand?And the atmosphere around us will be different, Everything willbe different. And then we don't even need to work for food, wedon't even need to want anything. All things will be there justlike in heaven because our merit will be different, will be manyfolds, thousand folds. Up to now just a few millions of peopleare enlightened, The merit is not enough to cover the whole earthpopulation, understand? Therefore we still have disasters, westill have wars even though it's less than before. And all thepoliticalisms already lessen in its intensity, and the threatof the fourth war, fourth world war or fifth world war is faraway now, understand? Because the majority of the people havea higher awareness at the present century, due to the mass media,the broadcasting system of Master's enlightening message aroundthe world, and due to the large numbers of people who join intothe enlightened circle of the sage. Therefore our world is better.
Q. Jesus spokenot just such wonderful ideas as peace, love and eternal life,but also about the scary idea of eternal punishment. Do you believethat God will ever condemn someone to eternal punishment?
M. No. He condemns himself. If he refuseslight, then he stays in darkness. And as long as he refuses it,as long he will stay in darkness . He can stay eternally, if herefuses the light eternally. So it's up to the individual, huh?
Q. Someone bythe name of Princess would like to thank you for a very upliftingbirthday.
M. Oh! Happy birthday.
Q. As human beingson earth, we have to fulfill earthly obligations such as food,clothing, a roof over our heads, make enough to pay the internalrevenue service. (Laughter) How could we break away from theseand start nurturing your spiritual needs?
M. You still keep the roof above yourhead. Don't take the roof away. (Master and all laugh.) Just getenlightenment. Don't worry! I stay in a tent, and I'm still alright. Sometimes the tent blows away, no roof is there, but I'm stillokay. We had a meditation hall, very large, accomodating aboutseven thousand people. But last year, some people talked somethingand then it's pulled down. Okay, we let it get pulled down. Wedid not protest. We did not complain. We did not explain our,how it says, ungrounded accusation. We didn't bother . And thenwe plan to take, to bring a rain coat when it rains, and bringan umbrella when it shines. Just to sit there and meditate, allthe same. But when we are enlightened, all the things will beokay also. Jesus has promised, "Seek you first the kingdomof God, and all the things shall be added unto you." I promiseyou the same .
Q. Is it truethat if a woman doesn't have a child of her own, she doesn't havea complete life?
M. He wants a nonsensical answer or what?Do you agree? (Audience: "No!") They say, "No!"Okay! If God doesn't ordain you to go through the terrible laborpain, then you should be grateful for His blessing, right? Wehave enough children in the world .
Q. My mind ishard to quiet for meditation, it's like a monkey who wants torun and play but not sit quietly. How does your meditation helpquiet the mind to realize the true self?
M. I just put the mind to sleep (laughter)by the light and the sound. The music will nurse him to sleep.The light will comfort him, and then he is fast asleep. Only thesoul is awakened. But nevertheless, continue with your meditationif you don't want to join us and you will get used to it a littlebit more. But the thing is, if you sit in meditation, you useall your effort, concentrate on the breath, on the heart chakra,or whatever chakra, all over chakra, and you get nothing in return;then of course the mind would get bored. He will say, "Hey,what you're doing? You make me sit here for what? I want to seecinema. It's even better than this. I want to go and drink coffeeand talk with friends. It's better." You see what I mean?I had a fellow practitioner, she is pretty old, about sixty. Oh,no, fifty something . And before she met me, she had many othermasters and they taught her many methods -- continue with thebreath, sit in Zen for fifteen hours a day, and all that. Eatone meal. And she said she sat and sat until she can't sit nomore and she can get nothing. Therefore she can't bear it. Andafter she got enlightenment, she said, "Oh, sometimes shesat for four hours." And she was so happy, tremendously happy.Because of her happiness, her whole family of eight members areall happy, and they told me this. Even though they were not initiated.And they tell me how beneficial it is, my work. So they encourageme to continue. The non-initiates.
Q. Why is beinga vegetarian so important to enlightenment?
M. It is important to you, hum? You canget enlightenment also without being a vegetarian because I don'trequire you to be vegetarian before initiation but after only.You get enlightened all the same through the grace of the Master.But we have to keep a loving attitude towards all beings, becausethey are ourselves. If you eat all your body's members, afterwardsyou realize you have nothing left, understand, yeah? And alsowe should not be so sinking into the material taste, but to beemerged in the bliss of
heaven. Every being deserves life.Therefore we grant them the happiness of survival.Q. I believeI could achieve closer relationship to God, if I could erase theidea of God in the sense of being a person. Will Quan Yin helpme in this regard?
M. Oh, yes, yes, yes. That is what itis for. We erase completely the separation, the individual self,and then we don't do but God does through us.
Q. I can notbelieve that intelligence exists on this planet alone. Do you?
M. Yes, true. It doesn't. It does existin all planets . More or less degree different to the location;it depends on the location. There are some other planets moreintelligent than us. There are some other planets less intelligentthan us.
Q. How am I toknow my mission in life?
M. Oh, I suggest you get enlightenedfirst and then you can see better.
Q. Do you workwith the white brotherhood or the universal brotherhood?
M. Yes, I also work with the "black"brotherhood. (Laughter & applause) We don't discriminate.Of course he meant the white brotherhood. It is the title forthose enlightened beings who help the whole universe. It was justa joke only. There was no black or white over there. (Master andall laugh.)
Q. When one becomesa Master, will he or she ever have fear, doubt or anger? We callJesus a Master, however, according to the Bible, Jesus was frightenedthe night before he was crucified. And before his death, Jesuscried, "Why God deserted me?" Please explain, if Jesushad fear and doubt, how can we have no fear and doubt?
M. Yeah, they probably would have fearand doubt, but that fear and doubt is not deep rooted like us,you understand? If Jesus had no fear of the crucifixion, thenhis sacrifice was not so great. He had fear, but he accepted,understand? Whereby we have fear and we run away and we try toblame it on others or we try to escape, we try to put that crosson someone else. That is the difference. We might have fear. Wemight have emotion, but we can withdraw it anytime or we can makeuse of the fear or emotion to the benefit of other beings. Afterenlightenment, all the feelings, all the emotions are still there,because we are made to have these in order to use them to understandother brothers and sisters. If you have no feeling, no emotion,how can you understand human beings? How can you help them; understand?But the fears of the Master are different. The fears of the Mastersometimes are also affected by the fear of the disciples. He takesthe fear from the disciples so the disciples are fearless butthe Master will take some degree of that fear. But that is onlyvery shallow and not deep rooted. It's only illusionary. And theMaster on one hand has the fear but on the other hand definitelyhas no fear, you understand what I mean? He knows he has to havefear but he doesn't fear the fear.
Q. What doesQuan Yin really mean? Please explain.
M. Quan Yin in our group means the observationof the inner word, inner teaching, inner music, heavenly music.
Q. Can love betruly unconditional? If God loves those who don't sin and lovesand forgives those who do, why are we spending our life tryingto avoid sin?
M. Because it hurts us, not because ithurts God. Whenever we do something that we know is sinful ornot correct, we hurt ourselves. Our conscience will scold us,make us trouble. (Master and all laugh.) Therefore we try to avoidit . God loves all alike. Therefore the sun shines on all. Therain doesn't detest those poor or sick or sinful . It's just weourselves are responsible for the feeling of separation betweenus and God if we do something unrighteous. Therefore we shouldavoid it. Also it is a duty of ourselves when we live within thisworld. We have interrelationship between each other; we have tokeep an orderly society, okay?
Q. The beingsthat live on other planets or those that come in UFO's, do theyshare the same fate as human beings, the same vulnerability tosuffering, the same need to reach enlightenment?
M. Yes, some, to some degree. But lessso, less than our earthly earthians because they are more advanced.They are more close to the Father, they have more light, morewisdom.
Q. Once one becomesinitiated, does one need to denounce one's religion?
M. No, no, no. Please not. We say thatwithin initiation, you don't need to change your profession, youdon't need to change your way of life, you don't have to changeyour religion, No problem, don't change anything. Just eat vegetarian,that's all.
Q. Will we meetour beloved pets and animal friends in heaven after our life'sjourney is over?
M. Yes, if you want them. (Master and all laugh.) If you wantthem and if you are enlightened, you can take them along . Butif you are not, you have no force to bring them. You have no power. You couldn't evenbring you yourself to where you want, let alone your pets.
Q. What's thepurpose of epidemic diseases such as malaria, AIDS, etc. Are humansinterfering with the natural process by trying to find cures forthese diseases?
M. You find some of this and other diseasewill breed itself out. Only when man realizes that he should surrenderto God, to the Almighty power which is within ourselves. Onlywhen man realizes that in him there is a great healing power ofall diseases and he should rely on that power alone, then allthe diseases will cease. All these are warnings, warnings to tellthat we should return to God.
Q. How long doesit take to become enlightened to reach the highest level or Godrealization?
M. It depends on you. How diligent youare, how much you want it, and also it depends on the Master.Is the Master powerful enough to take you through these levelsof consciousness and lead you to where you want to be?
Q. How many kindsof Samadhi levels are there?
M. Wow... Many, many. There are manylevels of consciousness, hence also many levels of samadhi. Butthe last one is the non-Samadhi Samadhi. It means you carry onworking in the world just like an ordinary person, but at thesame time, you are always in Samadhi, and that doesn't smell,(Master and all laugh) doesn't give out any odor that you cansmell, the person is in Samadhi. That is the highest Samadhi.
Q. Can one separatereligions and science successfully and believe in both? I meanby this, can I believe in God and evolution at the same time?
M. Sure, sure, sure. The evolutionarytheory supports the spiritual progress of mankind. It is the same;very similar in science and religious theories. The only differenceis that sometimes science reaches only a certain height and stopsthere and religion is further and broader.
