Master Says
Enter the Everlasting "Hotel" of Heaven
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai Fresno Convention Center, CA,
USA
June 23, 2001 (Originally in English)
The Lady of Solutions in a Company of Volunteers
Today we are here to introduce you to the Supreme Master Ching Hai.
(Master and audience laugh) It is an honor for me also because She is
great. Whenever you are in trouble you just tell Her to fix it and She
does, no matter what kind of trouble. She's a "lady of
solutions." Ching Hai means the ocean of love, the Supreme Master
is God. I am very honored also to work for Her. I am one of the
managers of the company, and we have a lot of employees who're always
willing to work free of charge anytime, with or without request. It's
a very funny company. The employees request to work for free. I am
popular here and maybe you are also popular; I don't know.
The boss always says, "No, no, no... maybe, maybe..." The
real boss always says yes before we even do anything, but the manager
is lazy, you know, been employed too long, too secure, too much
salary, good everything, everything that's happened is good, working
long, and then it's a very good position now, so now the manager is
lazy just like many other managers. Oh, don't tell the manager of this
convention center. He's different.
So anyway, lets get back to the Supreme Master Ching Hai. She is a
good one; sometimes She's a "He"; that person changes from a
" She" to "He" all the time. Sometimes She looks
like an old lady, old man with a long beard like that. And sometimes
She looks like a young lady, a beautiful princess, beautiful king,
beautiful queen, beautiful kid ... all kinds of appearances She takes
when She needs or He needs to help someone who is in trouble. The
reason they are in trouble is because they do not know how to get into
direct contact with that Supreme Master Herself. I am here to tell you
how to get in touch with Her directly every day, with no need for
AT&T, no need for the Internet.
Master is distracted by the brother on the sofa who begins to leave
the stage, and She turns to him, inviting him to stay, and says: I am
happy someone's accompanying me. I have been lonely in the hotel room
since yesterday. I hate hotel rooms-so lonely, with long corridors, no
one to talk to. Whenever you walk out it's just doors, doors, and
rooms, rooms. One of the reasons I don't like traveling too much is
that I hate hotel rooms. I just feel so lonely in there. The soul is
not lonely, just the mind gets lonely, frustrated. And it smells
sometimes. If you happen to get a non-smoking room it's better.
Otherwise it's not good.
So the good thing is that I have meditation. I just meditate there
and go "Zzzt" and go somewhere else, leave the hotel room
alone. But we need to pay nevertheless. (Master laughs). It's not that
you go somewhere and the room is free. (Everyone laughs). So if we do
this meditation, we can also be in two places, at least, at the same
time. One is on the planet Earth and the other is in planet Heaven.
You can do both things at the same time. And later, if you are more
improved in your practice, you can be in many places all in one
planet, and many planets in one universe, at the same time, but still
in this planet; it will cost you a hotel room, if you stay in one. You
can just leave your body there, and still you pay for the body. This
body costs us a lot every day. Since the day we were born until I am
grown this much (Master indicates with her hands), I mean, I haven't
grown that much but still, until I am grown so much, so much money,
effort, time and energy have been put into this body! Luckily, I am
employed at a good company, doing a good job. So I am not a waste of
food. (Master laughs).
We are All Children of God
We are all here very humbly doing this human job. We are doing such
a good human job that we happen to forget that we are not just human,
we are very, very great beings. We encompass the whole cosmos. We can
do absolutely anything we want at any time of the day. Regardless of
who we are, what color our skin is, what job we have, how old we are
and where we are, whether we are in prison, in a restricted country,
or a free country like America, we still can do absolutely anything,
at any time, and the FBI can never check it out, because we do it with
the spirit. We don't even have to leave this body in order to do this.
If we are good at our practice we can function at the same time in
this world like driving a car, going shopping, doing make-up, washing
dishes, feeding the dogs, the cat, driving a boat, and at the same
time we still can do plenty of thousands of millions of other jobs
required of our power. So if we know many friends who need our help,
in time of trouble need a helping hand, we can always fly there to
help them in spirit. And they can see us also, at the same time we are
in California having a good time with the ship, the boat, in Santa
Monica, or something like that. This is the power that we always have.
We always do and we always will. No one can ever take this from us.
But we have to reclaim it. We have to rediscover it.
We have to know how, we have to not let the busy schedule of this
transient existence blind us, deafen us, or do our heart so that we
don't see, we don't hear, we don't know with the real Eyes, the real
Ears, the real knowledge. Every day we must reserve a little time out
of 24 hours, however much we can spare. We must reserve a little time
for us so that we can remember our glory; so that we can experience
what the Bible has taught us, like, " the Kingdom of God is
within you." "We are all children of God." And the
Buddhist scripture also has taught us: "The Buddha Nature is
inside you. Every being is a Buddha." If we are too busy, we
won't remember this. We just hear this saying but we don't know
actually what it is. For a person who has just heard of Sacramento or
Fresno and another person who comes here and visits the city, it is a
completely different story. So most of us hear that we are the
children of God, and say, "Ah, I know that. Ah, I'm also a
Buddha; I know that." But we don't really know and that's why
every day we suffer so much because there's a part inside of us
crying, "Let me free; let me be the Great one; let me be the one
I really am." That is the Buddha inside us. That's the God within
us. That is the Supreme Master.
When we already know our Real Selves, no problem is too big to
solve, no death can ever frighten us, no danger can scare us. We
always feel good, feel secure, feel God-like, feel holy, and feel ever
happy, ever ready to help anyone in need physically and spiritually.
Spiritual help is the best help because once you help someone
spiritually they can help themselves and then in turn they take care
of their own physical needs as well.
In the beginning, perhaps the Master-Supreme Master Ching Hai-helps
you in times of need physically or spiritually, but later on, you help
yourself, and later on, you help everyone else. Your parents who are
even deceased parents, your grandparents, your great, great ancestors,
your future family members, all of them are taken care of by you. The
day of your initiation is the day they are liberated; if they are
already in the other world they will be escalated into a higher realm
of freedom and knowledge. If they are on this planet they are going to
be helped in every physical way that is possible for this planet. And
you yourself enter into Sainthood, into being a capable, a real
person, a real being that we really are because we are not his body.
"Know you not that you are the Holy Spirit? Know you not that you
are just the temple; this body is just the temple of God and the Holy
Spirit lives within you?"
We all read this in the Bible; we all read this in the scripture
but we do not experience in reality what that means, that the Holy
Spirit dwells within us. And who is that Holy Spirit? It's our Self.
It's our true Self. It's a part of the God Self, part of the whole
cosmos. And once we know this Holy Spirit we are free, free forever.
The Angel of Death cannot lay claim to our soul anymore. Once we close
our eyes, we are finished with this job in this earthly existence,
we're free to fly anywhere, to our chosen Home in the whole, great
universe. We choose where to live, which Heaven, to be near Home, to
be near our friends, our relatives, in this existence or in a future
or past existence; we could choose to live with them or we could
choose to live not with them, but go visit them anytime. Just think of
them and you are there already. No need to pay for an airplane like I
have to pay for to come here. (Laughter)
In this world it is different; in the spirit world we are free. We
are free and we are great! That's why sometimes after meditation we
come back to this very small, little prison cell which we call 'the
body', and we feel a little sad, sometimes a lot sad, but at least we
can return to that realm again anytime we have free time. It's better
than every day being restricted within this little body forever. Just
like if we are in prison and people can bail us out sometimes. It is
still better than sitting there forever. So this 'bail bond' is free
of charge; you can bail yourself out anytime and since I am here
today, the Supreme Master says you can get initiation right away,
instead of having to wait many months. We never know if we'll live
until tomorrow.
It is Important to Practice in Time
There is a story in the book of Paramahansa Yogananda. Have you
read that book, The Autobiography of a Yogi? If you haven't, you
should read it. It is very good for you, to remind you of the
spiritual, great Self, to urge you toward noble ideas, make you
re-awaken to your real Self and want to find out more about your
Greatness. This is a very good book. There are many other books; I
just cannot mention them all here; I cannot remember all the titles;
maybe I do, but we don't have time. I don't come here to sell books.
Many spiritual books are good for you, and that is one of them.
In that book there is a story about a guy who wanted initiation.
There was a guy who had very, very bad intentions, who wanted to make
trouble for the master, one of the masters in the book. I think he was
Lahiri Mahasaya. He wanted to go there and try to prove that the
master was fake and wanted to make trouble for him. But before he sat
down, the Master already told everyone: "Do you want to look at
some pictures?" And all the disciples said "Yes, yes,
yes!" So the Master said, "Oh, you should sit behind each
other and put your hands on the person sitting in front of you. So
that's what they did, including the guy who came with the bad
intentions. So they did that.
And after a while, one of the disciples saw a picture of a woman, a
very nice young lady, appearing in front of them and everyone else,
and then the master asked if everyone else saw the same picture, a
woman, including the guy who came. So he was very ashamed, and he said
he knew. He said, "Oh". Then the master asked him, "Who
is that lady?" and the bad guy said, "Well I know it is my
sin. I am married but I have had an extra-marital affair with this
lady and I have been squandering money on her. This is no good. I
know, but please forgive me. I came here with a bad intention. I
wanted to do harm to you and blacken your name, but since you already
know, will you please forgive me and would you accept me as a disciple
also?" So the master said, "Sure! You have to go home. If
you go home and can behave yourself morally for six months, then after
that you can get initiation. Otherwise I won't have to initiate
you." So three months later the guy went back to the same bad
habits, all kinds of bad habits he did before. And just awhile later
he died, so the master never initiated him. He tried but he failed.
And it's the same with us! Many times we put things off until
tomorrow, all the while, knowing that this world is just a transient
hotel, is even worse than the hotel where I stay. In the hotel where I
stay, I pay some money and they leave me in peace. They even clean my
room, change my towels, and give me soap and everything I need. But in
this hotel which we call 'life' we have to work, pay every day, and
even if we pay we still have to suffer. We pay every day with our
precious time, our precious energy, our precious knowledge, our
precious short existence here on this planet, which we should use to
recognize our great power, in order to tackle everything with ease and
without effort.
We sacrifice all this because they make us so busy. The system in
this planet makes us so busy: work from morning till night, work all
the time, work weekends as well, and still don't have enough
happiness. It's not that we pay and we could have a good room, good
maid service, room service or whatever, no, no! We pay and pay and
still pay and there's not much happiness in it, more suffering than
happiness. Even if we have a family, a beautiful family, a good
marriage, we still have to pay for it. We still have to work so much
in order to maintain this. We work even in the rainy, stormy weather,
in a dangerous situation, in our failing health time, in the time when
we are exhausted and didn't sleep the whole night because of kids or
worry, or whatever, and we still have to work, and no one takes pity
on us, no one!
And if we claim sickness too often, they think we are lying, and
maybe we get fired. And then we struggle again, to find another job,
which is not very easy at all. So this hotel on this planet is not
very kind. It's not doing a very good job for us. If you go into a
hotel and you pay good money you expect good service, no? But at this
hotel, no! You pay day and night, every day of your existence until
your last breath and you don't have good service.
So if you ask me, I advise you to find another hotel. I know one!
(Master laughs) I know many hotels. In our Father's Home there are
many mansions. They are all empty, all decorated well with the most
beautiful furniture and facilities to your liking and many are still
empty waiting for you to go there and enjoy every time now. You don't
have to go there yet, but you can go and have a look now, and then
come back and go for it. During your free time, you reserve time for
yourselves like two hours, an hour a day, because you work. We all
work for the world, for physical, material needs, but we don't work
for our soul needs, for spiritual needs. So therefore we are tired. We
are exhausted. Even if we sleep we don't feel that good. But if we
meditate, even if we don't sleep enough, we feel great, we feel fully
recharged and energized. We can move mountains afterwards.
So, no matter how many people go up there, there are a lot of
mansions up there, always ready. There's nothing in this world that we
can compare to what we have up there. If we only know how glorious our
true Home is, we want to die right away! Excuse me for the expression.
That's what it is. Many of the people who visit the other world,
Heaven, our true Home, would not like to come back here, for a second.
Even the people that they call people who are "clinically
dead" and who come back to life, they don't want to go back to
this life. After they saw the Light, after they saw Jesus, Buddha in
Heaven embracing them with love, their whole being changed. They want
nothing on this planet anymore, because that love doesn't exist here.
The Source of Love
That love is what you have been looking for all your life. Through
everything on this planet, everything, that looks like that love,
looks similar or looks promising to that love, we run toward it, we
sacrifice everything for that and then we get disappointed. All these
things like, even drugs, or alcohol, all these are the illusionary
promise of a better feeling for the whole family, but they are not
real. They just make you feel worse afterwards, depleted mentally,
physically and even make trouble for the whole family. But the real
happiness we can find inside every day without having to pay anything,
without having to sacrifice anything, and it only benefits more and
more yourself and your family members and friends and whoever knows
you.
Lacking this love, we do all kinds of silly things in this world
because we think if we do this we will get that love. Inside our soul,
we miss that love so much, we miss it so much, we know we got it
before, and we know what Heaven is like because that is where we come
from. Where else do you think we come from? (Audience: Cielo! [Spanish
word for Heaven]) Heaven! Ya, ya, you're right. We came from God. God
is our father, mother, and parent, so we sacrifice to get back to it.
God is the only friend, the only source of all living things and
non-living things in this planet and every other planet in the whole
universe. God is the source of our happiness, our real Self, and
without finding that, we will always be groping in darkness here,
doing anything possible with all the physical means to obtain
happiness we can not find.
Even the happiest relationship is always painted with something
here. There is always a lot of effort to keep it and you don't even
know if it lasts or not lasts. Even if it lasts, so much work has to
be put into it, so much compromise, so much pain also. But the
happiness from Heaven, the true happiness that exists within us, is
everlasting. That's the happiness we should find, and it's so easy.
Just like instead of reclining on the sofa in front of the TV, doing
nothing, I'll just show you how to find that happiness within, while
you are in resting or relaxing time.
Everyone finds a few hours to relax every day, don't they? You need
a few hours to relax every day, That is the time when you can find
God; it is very, very easy if you just know how. It's not like you
have to work; you just sit there, you know, like you always sit after
you're tired. You sit like this (Master leans back in Her seat), and
close your eyes; just concentrate where I'll show you how, or you sit
like this, I don't care, put your feet up in the air, also.
The Hotel of "Life" is Impermanent
So to find God is something very natural because it's your true
Self. There's nowhere else to go look except within your Self. Without
this our life can never be happy. And then we will be running around
always in this cycle, just like recycled paper! Sometimes it's in
different forms, like people collect recycling material and sometimes
they make it into other, different forms, but it is still the same
material. Likewise our life has been recycled, recycled and recycled,
all the same in this suffering kind of existence and we can not even
stay long. That's the point! I told you it's a hotel. I come into the
hotel, go into my room, and I start unpacking my suitcase, and maybe
pressing a little because it's creased, so I look presentable to you,
and put my jewelry here and there and make it look all perfect like
home, but I know it is not my home. I have to go in a couple of days.
Even then I have to do what I have to do.
Similarly, the spiritual practitioners are doing what they have to
do in this world, but they know it is not Home. Because they know what
Home is. I just came from my Home. I haven't forgotten it yet. So if
we practice every day spiritually, we will practice going back to the
Kingdom of God, looking at your new House, I mean your real Home, and
then come back here again, come back and forth again. Then you never
forget. Even though you came back to this material world; what I mean
by come back, it is not just like going and coming. It's just a way of
speaking. This language is not enough. So if we come and go every day,
we will never forget our real Home. And even though we are doing
things in this hotel called "life," we will never be
attached to it , no matter how we decorate it. Just like I decorate my
hotel room, you know, I make the bed and all that myself. I don't
bother the maid. When I leave, I tell them, "OK, now you can
clean." Because I put things everywhere, just so it's convenient
for me to find. But I know it is not my home, even when I decorate it.
But if we don't know we have another Home, a true Home, we will
always be attached to this world, and we'll work and sweat, and feel
so much suffering, because we want to keep these things that we have
here. And if we cannot keep our things for any reason, then we have so
much pain, so much attachment, and we could die, die of suffering, die
of pain. A lot of people lose their money, lose their business, lose
their home and they commit suicide. Or they fall ill because of
attachment to their possessions, but spiritual persons will not feel
moved even if they lose everything, because they know they have
something better.
Lay Not Up Your Treasures on Earth, but in Heaven There is a joke I
read on the Internet. It goes like this. There is a person who is very
wealthy, mucho dinero (Spanish for 'much money') and he is dying. But
he wants to take his possessions with him. He has so much money, so
much gold. He used money to buy gold and stacked it all over in his
house and he wanted to take it with him. And he was trying to take it,
but they said, "No, no, you cannot take this with you. Everything
you earn here belongs to this world. At the time of departure, you
leave everything behind; just go by yourself. Nothing! You came with
nothing. You go with nothing." Then the man felt so bad in his
heart, so he bargained with God, with the Angel of Death. "Please
go and ask God, the Supreme Master Ching Hai, whether I can take some
gold with me. I need it. I worked all my life for it. I cannot part
with it. Please!
So, the Angel of Death felt sorry for him. He shook his head, felt
sorry for the ignorant man and said, "OK, when I visit him, I'll
tell Him." So after God looked down and saw this pitiful state of
his being, he said, "OK, let him take it. It's OK. Don't
worry." So the dying man made a big bag and stacked as much gold
as he could carry, and then at that moment, he died. He died, and took
his bag of gold to the pearly gates of Heaven. And St. Peter said,
"Oh, what is it that you carry in that? You are not allowed to
take anything from Earth to Heaven. Do you know that? " And the
guy said, "But I have spoken to the Supreme Master Ching Hai. She
said it's OK." So, St. Peter said, "Really? OK, I'll go
check." So, he went in and asked the Master, "You really
allowed this guy to take something from Earth here?" The Master
said, "OK, he is just a poor man. Let him, Let him."
So, St. Peter came back and said, "Yeah, yeah, you did. You
did have permission, OK, but I still have to check what you brought
with you. " So the man opened the bag, and he looked inside. He
said, "Oh, that's that! You brought the pavement, pavement, for
the road! (Audience laughs and applauds) Yeah. You got it? OK. Well,
just in case you didn't, some kids didn't, in Heaven, they use gold to
pave the roads. Yes. And the diamonds we like so much here, they use
to build walls, on the pavement or the path, whatever.
So, we walk on gold and diamonds and rubies. And all the trees are
precious jewels. All the leaves, everything, they look like jewels but
they are not like solid. They look beautiful, but they are not like
piercing. It's just a very beautiful substance. These are the real
gold and diamonds. The diamonds here can hurt you. Even though they
are forever, they are not. You can destroy them, but the diamonds and
gold in Heaven, you can not. That's where we came from. We came from
beautiful palaces. We came from a precious abode. We came from
freedom. We came from loving and kindness, and we degrade it into the
stage of what we are at right now, with the suffering, and the pitiful
helplessness of human existence. But we don't have to stay like this
because we have treasure inside ourselves. "Lay not up your
treasure on Earth, but in Heaven." How do we do that? Find it
again. Find the treasure in Heaven, the real jewelry that we have
inside; the real glory of our true Self.
I am just here to show you that part, nothing else. That is very
important. So if you'd like to, we will have time to show you and
guide you through the initial steps until you have found your true
Self again and are happy here and ever after. Thank you. (All applaud)
Questions and Answers:
Question: Dear Master, the Quan Yin Method tells us to concentrate
on the inner Light and Sound. But how can people who were born blind
or deaf practice?
Master: Oh! These are not the light and sound from outside. It is
the real one that is inside us. It is the Kingdom of God. You don't
need the physical eyes and the physical ears to hear it. You
understand? So blind people can see, deaf people can hear it, the
Kingdom of God. It's not the physical body that we are talking about.
Q: Dear Master, Enlightenment is a journey every soul has to take.
The role of a guru or master is to help a person progress through
spiritual growth. You had to go through the same rigors of dedicated
practice that Buddha and Guru Nanak (the first Sikh guru) and many
others went through. So how can you, in a moment, claim to enlighten
your disciples? With due reverence, Master.
M: You will see. You will see how. Try me. (Applause)
Q: Dear Master, as an Enlightened individual, how do you get past
the obstacle of knowing who you truly are, to have that peace and joy,
when seeing so many around you who are still asleep-who refuse or
reject or ignore the way which you hope to show them?
M: Oh! They have their own choice. Everyone has the freedom to
choose to go back home now or tarry around here. So, it is no problem.
You leave them alone. If you want to go Home, you go. If they don't
want to go Home, let them bear it and be there.
Q: Dear Master, I have a cat and a dog and I feed them meat. What
is your opinion of this?
M: Ask the cat and the dog, not me! (Laughter and applause.) Well,
I don't decide what you want to do in your life, least of all with
cats and dogs. But some of our disciples feed them vegetarian food and
they are OK. I have five dogs and they are all vegetarian and they are
all very excited, healthy, beautiful dogs. Yes, it's no problem. I
have also fed cats vegetarian food; they were OK, too. They didn't
complain. In the shop also, for pet food, they have vegetarian food
for dogs and cats. Maybe you can inquire about that. I feed my dogs
"Wysong" (a brand of veggie dog food). It's good. But my
dogs don't eat dog food. They eat human food. I cook a lot; I feed
them first, and whatever is left over, I eat. At first, they eat dog
food, later on after they eat my food, they don't want dog food
anymore. They just sneak around and they look at me as if to say,
"What, what's that?" (Laughter) So after that, I have to
feed them food every day. They just eat dog food, when I don't have
time to cook. They just eat a little bit, symbolically, just to make
me feel good, and wait for goodies from the kitchen, from the real
food.
Q: Dear master, you said that all of the inventions and ideas that
come from the universe are garbage. I have a lot of these. So being
initiated and practicing, will I improve?
M: Oh sure! You will invent some better garbage! (Laughter.) I
don't mean garbage. What I mean is, whatever we have here, even the
best inventions, are left over from other, more highly developed
societies; but, as we are not as developed as they are, this garbage
is excellent for us! So, please, do collect some more! We need them.
Q: Dear Master, if I have been a vegetarian for a long, time, but I
have eaten eggs, may I still be initiated?
M: OK, no problem! Just don't eat them anymore. Eggs attract
negative energy and make you slow in spiritual progress.
Q: Dear Master, what is the difference between God and Jesus?
M: There's no difference. I and my Father are One. Didn't He tell
you? (Applause) Well, there is a difference because we saw Him, people
saw Him in the physical body and we don't see God in this physical
body. So we think God and Jesus are different. But God manifested
within Jesus to show people the Way back to themselves.
Q: Master, why do we have physical ailments? Do they teach us
something, or are we to struggle to overcome sickness?
M: Sickness is some malfunction in our spiritual, mental, emotional
or physical body. Some sicknesses come from spiritual
"dis-ease," some come from emotional imbalance, and some
come from physical discomfort. So we have to check what kind of
sickness it is. Most diseases come from karmic background, but other
than that, we also do not take care of our body very well. A body is
like a car: You have to refuel it, you have to polish it, you have to
wash it, and you have to change the oil and add gasoline now and then
and check the engine periodically so that it runs well. But many of us
take rotten care of ourselves. If you feel tired, depressed, you have
to take vitamins, have good rest, relax, or do some yoga. If you don't
want to be initiated here, go find some yoga group, at least do some
yogic exercises, or do something that is good and relaxing, like
listen to music, or watch a good, relaxing film. Take vitamins; take
Vitamin B12 more if you are depressed. That is what they say; it helps
depression, a lot of multivitamins to compensate for some lacking
nutrition in our diet. Because some of us eat junk all the time and
don't realize it and expect the car to run well. You have to put
petrol in the car, otherwise it won't run. And the body needs a lot of
nutrition. It needs protein; it needs fruit; it needs vegetables; it
needs good food. If you keep eating un-nutritious food every day, not
balanced, then of course your body gets imbalanced.
Q: Dear Master, is it true that after initiation, one must give up
all worldly wealth and possessions such as money and jewelry in order
to attain enlightenment?
M: If you want to. (Laughter) But it doesn't cost that much. It
costs only a few hours a day if you can spare that, nothing else. No
money is ever needed. You keep everything that you have right now. I
never demand anything from you, never, ever. Keep everything, enjoy
this life, and be blessed while you meditate. That's it. So you can
have both. (Applause.)
Q: Master, what constitutes sexual immorality in the Five Precepts?
And does this include homosexuality?
M: Sexual misconduct means you should not indulge yourself too much
in this physical activity and forsake spiritual practice. If you
happen to love a person of your own sexual identity, then you should
just practice moderately also. Homosexuality is not forbidden. It is
just that, you should have love, if you really love, not just sex. Sex
alone is not good. Love is OK, whether you love a woman, between a man
and a woman, or between a woman and a woman, or between a man and a
man. Because we love, when we love it is with the heart and with the
soul. When we have sex for its own sake, it is just physical. It is
not engaged in emotional evolvement and commitment; it is not involved
in spiritual elevation. Therefore it is not satisfying and it is
degrading to our feelings. Afterwards we don't feel good about
ourselves, and that is what we call misconduct. And if you have one,
you should honor each other and not hurt the other's feelings by
including many others, for example. Because the sexual gift is a gift
from God. It is not to be misused. It is better to accompany sexual
activity with love. Then you feel much better. You feel nobler. Most
people, after spiritual practice, only engage in this physical act
once in a while, for the purpose of procreation. Well, I have gone too
far. (Laughter) Go, ahead. Just keep love. Whatever you do, do it with
love, then it's OK. (Applause)
Q: Master, after 24 years of meditation, my marriage dissolved. I
loved my husband and this makes me sad. Why did this happen?
M: What kind of meditation is that? 24 years, right? Well, it's not
my fault. I wasn't there. (Master and audience laugh) I've been here
only for 15 years or something. Well, the meditation is not the cause
of your marriage separation. The separation came as part of a karmic
solution. Today you see these beautiful flowers here. Tomorrow they
die; if not, next week. Everything takes care of itself in time,
including our life. We will not last here forever. So if the marriage
lasts until the end of our lives, then it's OK; it's just a couple of
more decades. If it lasts for 24 years, if it lasts for 44 years,
there's not much difference; it's just numbers. If the marriage lasts
long or not long, it doesn't prove anything. Go find another man in
short! (Laughter and applause.)
Q: Dear Master, I am 14 years old. My mother has been sick for ten
years now, since I was a little girl. I know I should be strong, but a
lot of the time it is very hard for me. Do you have any advice?
M: Not much. I feel very sorry for you. You are a very good girl, a
strong one. Continue! Pray to God for help, for inside strength. Get
initiation; practice. That will help you feel super, like a
superwoman!
Q: Master, why is the age limit imposed for initiation? Is it
because they are unfit or beyond the scope of initiation?
M: Or they don't have enough time to finish the course, if it is
the elderly ones. And if the young are too young, they need permission
from their parents, so that they can help them, so that they don't go
against their parents' will. This world is like that; it goes with the
physical law.
Q: If I get initiated today, and if for any reason I can't practice
or if I stop, what negative effects will that have on me?
M: When you don't practice anymore, that is the worst thing that
could happen to you. If you marry someone and then you divorce, what
happens? Then you divorce!
Q: Master, how can I know that I have improved in my spiritual
practice?
M: You will know. You will know, just like when you grow up, and
you know that you are growing.
Q: Dear Master, is enlightenment the same as living in one will
with God? Is it the same thing as surrendering my human will to God
and as living only with the will of God?
M: Yes, it's the same thing.
Q: What are the main things that stop our path towards
enlightenment?
M: Ourselves. When we want to practice, nothing can stop us. When
we do not want to, then everything can stop us.
Q: Master, I am Catholic. So can I still keep my beliefs and my
practices and my prayers and still be initiated?
M: Me, too! I am Catholic, too!
Q: Master, if I am initiated today, can I still cook meat for my
children to eat? Is it OK?
M: It's OK, if you can bear the smell after a while.
Q: There is a cause and effect law in the universe. So is it
possible to eliminate the wrongdoing that we have already caused?
M: No, you cannot. But we can minimize the effects by spiritual
strength and knowledge, and we can avoid the future repeating of these
same mistakes.
Q: Master, if I have already studied with an enlightened Zen
Master, what is the difference between You and that Master? Can I
study with many teachers at the same time, and become awakened?
M: If you have enough time. I don't know how enlightened your
Master is. You'd better ask him whether he takes you to the highest
kingdom and is with you all the way from the physical level up to the
very highest level. Then you don't have to come. If the answer is no,
then you'd better come, quick.
Q: Master, I have seen examples of teachers showing students the
light and sound, and those students are not being guided correctly.
These students become lost, almost like being disoriented. What
assurance can you give that your guidance is good ?
M: You can ask my people. If they are well, then you know.
(Applause) You know the tree by the fruits. No?
Q: In the book "Conversations with God," it is said that
Earth is Heaven. We are living in Heaven and if we think we have to go
to Heaven, we have already placed ourselves in a lower level and there
is nowhere to go but here. So, what is the difference between here and
Heaven, because we are put here to experience everything, the good and
the bad, aren't we?
M: Yes, that's true. But do you know Heaven here already? Can you
sit there and see Heaven? If you can't, I have to show you how. It's
true. Heaven you can see right here, but you have to know how.
Anywhere, you can see it-in the toilet, in an airplane, in the park,
or anywhere, in the supermarket. It's true. But you have to know where
to look. And that is what I am here to show you. (Applause!!!)
Q: Master, I am a student. My major is nursing and medical
terminology. I am required to take biology lab to complete this major
to get my degree. We kill some animals and some kinds of vegetables to
gain experience, then compare them. Killing the animals is violent. I
cannot bear to see my classmates killing the animals. Does it effect
my meditation? Will it effect my meditation? Do I have to change my
major to avoid killing animals. I would like to complete my major.
M: If you would like to complete your major, then you have already
answered yourself. If you don't want to kill animals, then don't. If
your classmates kill them, that is their problem. You can't limit
everyone to do what you want. You just do what you want. Just go ahead
with your studies. Tell them you don't like to kill animals, but you
will just watch.
Q: Dear Master, what do you think about taking hallucinogenic drugs
for spiritual experiences?
M: Any drug is not natural. Everything you already have in here
(Master points to the wisdom eye). What do you need of drugs? My path
is just to show you what you already have, not that you have to add
on. We are already confused enough in this world. We don't need to add
anymore confusion to our mind and our system. Drugs have bad effects
in the long run. Everyone knows that. (Applause.)
Q: If there is no sadness, how can you really appreciate happiness
in Heaven.
M: Oh sure, there is sadness enough, so now is the time to
appreciate happiness.
Q: Is the Quan Yin Method similar to Zen? Can I practice both and
still awaken?
M: After a while you will know that you should just choose the Quan
Yin Method. I have been in Zen. The real Zen before was the Quan Yin
Method.
Q: My son gets initiated today, and my husband, too. Please give me
some tips to help them keep the Precepts.
M: Oh, they will? If I have to give them tips, then what else
should I do? There is already everything written there, so if they
have chosen to do it, then they will keep them.
Q: Is a human clone or any clone of a living thing still a creation
of God?
M: You want me to get killed? You ask me many controversial
questions. Well, I would leave the creation choice to God. That is my
answer. We have enough trouble with overpopulation and maniacs and
mishaps already on this planet due to technical failures. So I would
just leave the creation power in the hands of God.
You want to hear another joke? It is not very spiritual, but it is
appropriate. It is on the Internet. I don't want to claim authorship
for this. It was a joke like this. After reading about too many
airplanes crashing and airplane problems and airplane danger in the
newspaper, people were fed up and went on strike and they didn't want
to go on airplanes anymore; they were so scared, scared they would get
crashed, scared they'd explode in the airplane. So there was a
company, a group of scientists, who put all their efforts together to
make an airplane which had no human pilot, just everything was
controlled by electronics and computers and machines.
So after a long time they made this airplane and it was the first
flight ever. And all the passengers had already boarded the airplane.
And after the airplane took off, they heard a voice similar to a human
voice from the computer saying, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to
the first ever electronically controlled airplane. Now there will be
no more human failure that we used to be worried about. Now just kick
back and relax, because there is nothing that can go wrong, go wrong,
go wrong, go wrong, go wrong..." (Laughter)
Q: Dear Master, how do you control the negative or bad thinking
that pops into your head?
M: I just leave it. It will go away by itself. If you keep battling
with the negative, you won't have time for the positive. So every time
you hear, or you recognize some negative thought in your head, just
replace it with some positive ones. Go do something more positive,
more fun and forget about that. Or during meditation, I will teach you
how to combat this problem.
Q: Master, how do we take care of bugs and insects in our house if
we can't kill? They cause illness, and they contaminate our clothes
and food.
M:
You should take care before they come in, not after. It is a little
late. OK, you should just clean your house thoroughly with water and
vinegar, 50/50. That disinfects and doesn't smell and deodorizes everything;
what I mean is it neutralizes all the odors that attract the insects.
Clean whatever is infested all once and for all, put them in the sun,
shake them out and clean them every day or as often as possible with
50 % vinegar and 50% water; it could be more vinegar, if possible,
if you can bear its smell. And you have to spray your window frames
and your door frames with insect repellent, a harmless one, outside
of your house. Then the insects won't come in later. Otherwise, they
will keep coming all the time. You should spray it once a week or
every once in a while, then they won't come in. And you must keep
yourself washed and clean and hygienic. Then they don't have the ground
to breed in your house.
Q: Master, is it already fixed or determined that a particular
child will be born good or bad? I am a mother and I worry about my
children and bad influences.
M: It's possible that some are born with a little bit of lack of
control and lack of gentleness, but with proper guidance and spiritual
help, they will change.
Q: Master, I know we are allowed to drink milk and eat cheese, but
here in America, cows are treated cruelly. The milk contains a growth
hormone and many cheeses are made with dead cows' stomachs. Should we
be vegans?
M: If possible. Now and again it's OK; don't be fanatic, but if you
can live without it, it's OK, too.
Q: Master, my wife has been a vegetarian for about one year, but
ever since she became pregnant she has been craving meat or eggs. What
can she do?
M: Ask her. Well, is that a disciple or non-disciple? She is
practicing the Convenient Method. OK. That is just an excuse, to blame
it on the child. Poor kid. Anyway, she is only practicing the
Convenient Method. If she doesn't want to eat vegetarian, we do not
force her. Everything in our family here is volunteer. If you are
ready to go Home, I show you the Way and how to get there, and what to
avoid on the journey to make yourself have quicker and smoother
travel. But if you do not feel ready to go Home, you can do what you
want, you can eat meat, drink wine, go get married, whatever. It's all
up to you. I only teach people who want to learn. If they think they
are not ready, it's OK with me. Take it easy; take your time.
Q: Master, I have heard you say many times that when we are
initiated, five to seven generations are also saved. Does that mean
they will be taken to the same level as the person that you initiate?
Or will they be on a different level? And can the initiated person
visit them?
M: Oh, sure they can, at different levels. It depends upon how
sincere they are inside and how much karma they have. But the initiate
is free. He can visit anyone anytime, anywhere, no problem. I mean,
after they are deceased, or even during their existence, they always
can come to visit their people. And afterwards, they will be together
all the time, no matter if it's a different level or not. Because you
will be existing on different levels, not just one. So if your
parents, for example, are on the astral level, which is the lowest of
the spiritual levels, and you are on the creative level, which is one
level above, then you can also exist on the astral level at the same
time, because wherever you go, you earn one more extra level, but you
exist on other levels as well, if you want to. So your parents will
see that you are always there with them, too. And in the mean time,
you are on a higher level, everyone else on that higher level
meanwhile can also see you. So there is no feeling of missing or
lacking or separation in the spiritual kingdom. It is different than
here.
Q: Dear Master, after we have been enlightened and we reach the
level of Jesus and the Buddha, are there even higher levels to learn?
M: Oh, yes, yes, much higher levels to go to. That is just the
level of general Mastership. There are many more, anywhere you want to
go, higher, lower, it doesn't matter. But when you reach Mastership,
it's OK already.
Q: Dear Master, you said the roads of Heaven are paved with gold.
Also, do spirits need palaces in the next world? I think only physical
bodies need palaces. Gold is only precious because we don't have much
in this world, but in Heaven there is much, so is it precious?
M: Over there no one cares about gold. It just happens to be there.
But that doesn't mean they care to put it there. It is just that kind
of level; everything is beautiful, shining, precious and illuminating,
not like in this world. The gold of that world is much better than in
this world. It just like in a rich house, you go there and find
everything that is rich and opulent.
Q: Master, what do you think about organ donations after we die?
M: I don't think anything. You give what you have and what you
want, no problem, just like giving money.
Q: Why did God put us through a human existence and all the trials
and tribulations to realize ourselves when we were perfect to start
with.
M: It's because we want to have fun. You see a lot of rich people;
they go on vacation every day, every year, or all the time. Do you see
them, people who have big mansions and servants all over the house?
What do they do when they go on vacation? Sometimes they rent a
thatched hut so small it looks like a poor person's house. And they go
out and row boats, sweating in the sun, while they have big yachts
that cost hundreds of millions of dollars at home with engines that
run, zip, to the moon, for example. We want to have fun. When it's
fun, it doesn't matter what we do. We did not recognize our perfect
Self until we came here, into the world of imperfection. And that is
what it is, to see the reflection, so we can know ourselves. This
world is created so that we can know ourselves, know God. It's like a
woman was created so that there is a difference between man and woman.
If there were no comparison, we would not know ourselves. You got it?
(Applause) Same like the rich man, after rowing and sweating in the
sun for a month and living in a thatched hut and simple living, he is
glad to go back to his palace, glad to go back to his yacht and his
airplane and his conveniences and everything that is a comfortable
life.
Q: Dear Master, I don't know if I am ready to go Home. I admire You
and I have a desire to meditate and know God, yet at the same time
there are talents and skills and strengths that I want to develop in
this lifetime. Does it mean that I am not ready to go Home? Does it
mean I am not at a high enough level to be initiated?
M: No, no, you should just love life; that's good; that's
wonderful; you shouldn't wait until you lose all the strength, your
talent, your power, and you're depressed and poor and handicapped to
get enlightenment. You should do it when you are fully happy and have
everything. That's the perfect time. That means you are at a very high
level, because you have all this and you have all the blessings, and
you still want to see God. You are a saint already.
Q: Master, If a person is initiated, and he practices a little but
then he gives up, then a few years later he dies, is it possible for
him to reincarnate back into this world or do you just take him up?
M: It depends on the Master, and depends on the person. The Supreme
Master Ching Hai will take him up, if he wants to go. Nothing is
impossible with this Woman, She is cool. (Applause)
Q: The King James version of the Bible says: "Except you
become as a little child, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of
Heaven." What does it mean?
M: That means we have to clean ourselves of all the preconceived
ideas, clean ourselves of all the previous karmic hindrances that have
saturated our mind, body and emotions. After initiation, the Master
cleans you, cleans you with fire, with the spiritual blessing, makes
you shining, pure, and innocent again like a kid. Then, that's why you
can see Heaven immediately.
Q: Master, you said that karma is caused by ourselves, by our own
moral standards and our experiences, so if a person has no moral
standards, will their karma be less, because they do bad deeds, but
they don't think they're bad? Or if a person has a bad memory and he
forgets about some of his bad deeds, does that mean his karma won't be
as much?
M: That's a good excuse! (Laughter) Just go rob a bank and tell the
police, "I have forgotten what I did. Sorry." Do you think
the police will believe it, with all your fingerprints, your face in
the camera and everything? It's a nice way to cheat God, but it is
difficult. No matter what kind of mental ability we have, what kind of
disposition we're in, whatever we do is registered in our subconscious
mind and it will never, never, fade away, unless treated by spiritual
power, unless you erase it from inside of the subconscious mind.
That's how we are redeemed, that's how we become as a child again
after initiation.
Q: Master, If I'm unhappy in my marriage, can I divorce my husband?
How do I know when is the right time to do this?
M: My God! Talk to your husband! Both of you have to agree on the
same thing, then it's OK. That's if you have to leave him, if you have
a better purpose, not just to run away from the problem, because the
next man you meet might have a worse problem for you. Because the
interest increases, the karma.
Q: Dear Master, when initiates return from a three-day retreat, why
do people see them as different or changed?
M: Because they have become cleaner, more purified, more radiant.
Q: Dear Master, in my heart I have five dreams of things that I
want to happen. I want to get a blessing from Master to be successful
in this life. Can a person participate in an international retreat
with the spiritual body? How is it different than coming in the
physical body?
M: I understand. So she wants to stay at home and then say,
"OK, I am going with my heart." That's very convenient.
That's a good idea; next time you come here, I'll just say,
"Well, I'll be here in my heart. I don't have to appear in
physical form." Can I do that? (No.) You answered yourself. It's
a wonderful idea you have, my God!
Q: Dear Master, I'm 79 years old, and I was able to see you in
Florida for the first time visiting America; this is my luckiest day.
Thank you, Master. I would really like to get initiated even though I
was told that I was too old. I'm in very good health. Master, please,
can I get initiation?
M: You have a lot of good health, but not a lot of time. Don't
press me on this. If you want to study in college you have to have
some time. There are some things that require time. Go get the
Convenient Method; it's excellent already.
Q: Master, I am a disciple from Mainland China, I am very glad to
be able to see you before going back to China, and I wish you a happy
and beautiful life forever from all of the Chinese fellow
practitioners. And I have two questions. The first question is, and
many people ask this question-May I travel with you, because I intend
to spread the teachings to the Westerners? I'm searching to make a
life of service to my fellow humans.
M: You should just stay where you are and serve your family members
and your community, and that is serving the world, that is traveling
with me. Traveling with me doesn't mean physically, but traveling with
the same ideal, same direction, and we'll all get there in time.
Because if you travel with me, there are many inconvenient things;
your family members will miss you; your society will be short of one
diligent, talented worker. Just like a house needs many bricks to
sustain its structure, if you take one away, then things will be
different. Stay where you are and be a saint.
Q: Master, do the Angel of Maya and the Karmic Master both work
together to keep people here in bondage?
M: Yes, they do; they are one and the same. They are good, they are
doing their good job, strengthening your determination to know
yourself.
Q: Can a person get initiated today, and right away or maybe in a
short time be able to help the people that he loves to lessen their
suffering?
M: Sure, to a certain extent, right away, because you don't know
how many generations of your ancestors are being lifted to higher
dimensions out of hell, out of suffering; you don't know. And also,
during the course of your life here, you will help countless people.
Photos: ms1-1-124,ms1-2-124
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