| | Rest in the Source of All Happiness and in the Healing Power of Wisdom | Universal Internet Service | Almighty Protection in a Crazy World | Universal Power | To Err Is Not Only Human | Jesus Is Watching You | Turtle Gets the Last Laugh | Use History As a Good Teacher | | Realize Your Treasure of Intelligent Wisdom | Peaks of Civilization and Cycles of War | A Robot: A Gift to the King | The Invention Is "Too Real" for the King | Despite All the Inventions, Is There Really Anything "New"? | May All Become Awakened | Lessons of Love | Freedom | A Hopeful Future Is in Our Hands | |
Most of us experience unhappy feelings in life and are unsatisfied--because we don't take time to rest. We think that sleeping is resting. That's fine; it is also resting. But it's not enough. Because we are unconscious, like in death. However if we meditate, we are consciously aware of our greatness, of our communion with the greatest source of the universe, and we are a part of it. We are connected with the whole universal power.
That's why we can be strong, patient and wise. And then we can do many wonders. People will look us and think, "Oh! He can work miracles." But it's not true. It is the universal power that is at work while we connect ourselves with it. It's just like a radio or television network. If we have an apparatus and tune in so that we are connected with the whole television network, we can see a program from thousands of miles away. It's not our TV set that has the program; the program comes from the main station.
Similarly, when we join the saintly order or the universal circle, we are one of them. So we are strong; we are united with the whole. And then we are no longer lonely. We no longer have to use our individual, limited power. Even our daily work will be taken care of and watched over, helped and blessed by this universal power. And if we don't use this power, it is a very great loss to our life. This is the greatest mistake we could ever commit; it's an unpardonable thing to do to ourselves. No other enemy, however cruel or vicious, could be more cruel to us than if we don't know our greatest power, the power that lies within us all the time waiting to be awakened and of service.
What makes a sage different than us? It is that he knows how to use this power. What has made Jesus and Buddha objects of worship for thousands of years? It is because they knew what they had, and they made use of this treasure, this greatest power within themselves. That is the power that makes even kings renounce their kingdoms and makes the Buddha walk away from his throne and never want to go back. That's what makes it so that Jesus can raise the dead and heal the blind. We all can do that, no problem. If I can do it, you can. You're bigger than me, so you can do bigger things. (Master and everyone laugh)
A room is valuable not only because it has beautiful walls and a secure roof, but because of its emptiness inside. That's why we can sit here, and we can put flowers or available objects inside; we can choose things for our pleasure. Similarly, we have to make our own room empty; we have to know the great emptiness inside. And then we can have our choice of ideas and wishes. Everything will come true if we sit and rest for a period in our busy daily life to discover the greatest treasure within, a treasure that makes even the richest person in this world look like a poor beggar. Because we will have the whole universe at our hands, and we desire nothing at all anymore. We still work and still earn money, but only to share it with the world or just to complete our duty as a worldly citizen while in this world. We do so without any desire for reward or attachment to success or failure. We just try to achieve our best in any enterprise.
There was a great Master, Paramhansa Yogananda, who said, "When we sleep, we are like God, like an angel. When we do nothing, we are so pure and so innocent." That is because in sleep we are in touch with our supreme power within. We are at that time one with the Supreme Master inside. But we do this unconsciously. Even so, after we wake up we feel better, and we can work all day long. If we rest for a few hours, even five hours, we feel much better. This is because we rest in the source of all happiness and the healing power of wisdom. Therefore we are innocent like a baby. Everyone sleeps innocently. When a person sleeps, he looks just like a child. Even if he has just murdered someone, or made some very tragic mistake like that in his life, when he sleeps, he just looks like a babe. Because he goes back again to his loving, wise source.
Can you imagine, if we do that consciously every day, how much more conscious we will be of the great Master power that is inside of us. We can accomplish more in life with less effort, and we of course will naturally be happier. When we sleep, we desire nothing and hate no one, because in sleep we are at the source of all wish fulfilling power. Similarly, if we consciously, while awake, get in touch with this power, then of course we are more conscious while doing things in this world. We have fewer and fewer desires and less and less hatred, should we even have any subtly residing hatred left in our hearts. This is only logical. There is nothing mystical about it, nothing difficult and nothing that we should argue about.
If we do something, of course we have to know the logic of it. We can't just blindly follow someone, some method or some theory, and then worship them as a guru or whatever. There¡¦s no need to worship anyone as a guru, since we are the Supreme Master. We have this Supreme Master inside, and we have to know it. That is the only thing to do.
If we only work and have no rest, of course then we become more restless. We become less efficient in our work because we get fed up with our boring, one-sided life. But if we work and rest at the same time, like most of our fellow practitioners do, then of course we'll be happier. Because two or three hours of meditation is equal to many months of rest. In that time of communion with God or the Supreme Master power, which is our original Self, we recharge all the energy that has been lost during the daytime, even more than when we sleep. When we sleep, we don't know anything. Of course when we sleep, we don't need to be meditating because we are already God-like or angel-like. The trouble is that when we awaken, everything starts again. Every hatred comes back toward us; every relationship starts to breed troubles or unhappiness. And then, because we are not sleeping at that time, we experience fully the consequences or the effects of all these happenings around us.
The only solution to deal with this is that we become consciously aware of that God presence or God power, which we are only unconsciously aware of while sleeping. Therefore, we meditate. Meditation is the answer. Meditation is sleeping while waking, sleeping without sleeping. And then we will find all the answers we need about life and death, about how to deal with our daily life, our family relationships and our financial business. We don't even fear the end of the world. We don't fear recession. We don't fear being without a job. Because at that time, we will know how to work according to the situation, without standing there and stamping our feet or waiting for something that is not in our share. We will be happy in all circumstances, and we will have resolution to deal with all the problems that face us every day. Many sicknesses and sorrows will just leave us. And all the worldly desires will also gradually say goodbye.
This is the only solution to every problem. The problem doesn't lie only in having unemployment or having a subway that is not yet built in Hawaii. The problem lies in our own discontentment; because we don't know what to do next when faced with new circumstances. And every day new circumstances come without our asking or without our welcome. So we have to know how to always be prepared and how to deal with them. We can know this with meditation. We can know every day, consciously or subconsciously, how to deal with every situation in life. And that's the key to happiness. That's why we will be happy and sure-footed. We will never feel disturbed or in want. In the Bible it says, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." That means we have no desires whatsoever once we know the Lord, or once we have the Lord as our shepherd. But we don't know the Lord. That's why we want.
We would like to offer you a technique to know the Lord. And that's it, a very simple and pure motive. We do that with our own finances, our own time, our own willingness and our love for you and for the world. We want to prevent the end of the world. We want to prevent wars and hatred between nations, between brothers and sisters. We want all of us, including myself, to live a heavenly life while we are here. That's the only reason that motivates us to come here.
We never know what's good for us. It's better to just try our best and accept whatever comes. But you always have to try your best. In that way you'll rest in peace and you'll know that you have tested your strength and wisdom.
We can live through anything, we can survive, because if our spirit is strong, we have a noble purpose and a higher ideal. We can just look into that ideal and forget everything else; it's truly like that.
Don't forget the child inside you. Hes is always there, and whenever we call, Hes comes out. Hes peeps out. That is the God nature. That is the nature of purity. We shouldn't worry so much. We shouldn't calculate so much--"If we do this, what will we get in return?" A child doesn't do that. A child never worries about tomorrow.
Being childlike doesn't mean that we don't take responsibility or we don't do what we have to do. It means that we just do it with a very pure joy and without expectations, because knowing God as God is, we should not really worry.
We don't need to know the past. We should take care of the present, and the future will come out beautifully.
The best communication is inside. Because we will be reconnected again with the whole universe, whatever problem you have, the whole universe knows, and of course I know because I am also connected in the network. So, whenever you ask something, you have the answer right away. There is a connection with 24-hour telephone service. No charge! That's a wonder of being enlightened.
Actually, the world is crazy. In every corner, there is something happening, and the only reliable source for us is the spiritual strength that we derive from our practice and from our faith, which has been proven to us to be efficient. Up till now, any of you who have practiced diligently since the day of initiation will have experienced this protective power, which comes from the Almighty. And it is also within ourselves, because God dwells within you; the Buddha nature is inside you. Every religious scripture mentions that. The religious scriptures contain the experiences of the ancient practicing enlightened persons. So even if they were a thousand years before, we can also verify now by our own inner spiritual attainment. Whatever it says in the Bible, we can understand clearly since we have practiced the Quan Yin Method.
You don't need to worry about hard work. You should work and spend your energy, because in our body, there are about seven chakras that can draw in the energy from the universe. They are just like a battery, automatically charged by universal power. That's why we can run our machine all the time. And when we meditate, this power is even in more abundance. So the more we give, the more it comes in. It will never stop. So don't worry. Don't worry about karma and helping people, or taking on karma and all that. If people need help, you should help.
We must always keep positive energy because if you think positive, if you can see your body, you will see that each bit of positive thinking will change the pattern of your aura, change your outlook, and change your energy inside. It becomes more overflowing and healthy. But if you think negative, just think anything negative or bad or miserable, then your pattern changes immediately.
Recently, there have been so many reports in the newspaper about airplane crashes and people dying, that people think airplanes are very unreliable. So the scientists and an aviation company were cracking their heads trying to make a new airplane that had no need for manpower; it was just completely automatic and electronic, with computer voice communication and all that.
So the first one ever was finally made. And everyone was very excited; the passengers who came up to board it for the first time were like the guests of honor. And they all came aboard and then everything was done. The doors closed, and they took off. When they were in mid-air already they heard a voice, speaking from the loudspeaker: "Dear valued customers, gentlemen and ladies. Welcome to the first ever electronically controlled airplane. We are forever done with human-controlled aircraft, because this is electronically piloted. You will be safe and secure. So just fasten your seatbelts, sit back and enjoy your trip. Because this is all electronically controlled, nothing can ever go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, go wrong..." And then of course everyone panicked and ran and tried to find a way to get out. But there came a calm voice over the back-up system. It was a very calm, cool and collected voice, saying: "Ladies and gentlemen, sit back. There is nowhere to go but here and now." Then the same voice said, "Please repeat after me, 'Our Father who are in Heaven'..."
If you practice the Quan Yin Method, nothing can really go wrong. It's a bad joke, but it's also a good one. I like it very much.
There was a thief who broke into a house and started collecting things. Suddenly, he heard a voice coming from a dark corner saying, "Jesus is watching you." So he looked and looked, but he didn't see anyone. He thought maybe his ears were deluding him. So he continued collecting items in the house. And then there came a voice again: "Jesus is watching you!" This time it was louder. So he realized that his ears were not wrong. He followed the voice to find its source, and he found a parrot sitting there. So he asked the parrot, "Was it you who said that?" And the parrot confessed, "Yes, I was just trying to warn you." So the thief said, "Ha! Who do you think you are?" And the parrot said, "I am Moses." So the thief laughed and said, "Ha! What kind of stupid people would name a parrot Moses?" The parrot was very shy, but he said, "Well, probably the same people who named the Rottweiler dog 'Jesus'!" (A Rottweiler is a first-rate guard dog. And this one's name was Jesus. And he was watching the thief from somewhere. He weighed about 150 pounds.)
Once upon a time in the forest, there was a very bad drought. And all the animals were dying because of a big famine. So the lion king gathered all the animals together to find a solution, to save the lives of his subjects. And then some animals suggested that since the time was very bad and the situation was so grave, they would have to eat each other to survive. But they also didn't want to eat each other so much, so they made a competition. Every one of them had to tell a joke. The joke had to be very funny, and everyone had to laugh. If it happened to be not funny enough so that even one of the animals in the assembly didn't laugh, then that animal had to be eaten. They had to eat each other to survive, because there was no food.
So the elephant came out and told a joke. And it was very funny! Everyone was rolling on the floor, laughing until they had stomach pains. But just one animal didn't laugh: the turtle. Ah! So everyone felt sorry, because the joke was really funny. But rules are rules. The turtle didn't laugh, so they went ahead and ate the elephant. And then they continued with another animal, the giraffe. He also told a very funny joke. Everyone laughed except the turtle; the turtle didn't laugh. Okay, rules are rules. So they ate the giraffe. And so on, and so on. After a while, almost all the animals had been eaten. Only a few were left when it came to the turn of the monkey to tell a joke, and he was very scared. He was nervous; he was trembling. He looked at the turtle and dared not open his mouth. But suddenly the turtle started laughing. "Ha ha ha ha! Ah ha ha ha! Ah ha ha! That was funny! The joke the elephant told was so funny!"
We can change many things with our spiritual power. Everyone knows that, even some lamas, who don't have to practice very highly, but can still change the weather. We don't have to do that. We just practice and everything changes according to what we want. Maybe that's the best. Since we began practicing the Quan Yin Method here in California, I think California now has the most disciples, and because I come here more often, the weather since then has become very good. It may be a coincidence, but it's a nice coincidence. (Applause) So actually, I think it's good. I think everywhere we change. If we practice the Quan Yin Method, things will change, I am sure.
There was a story about a master who went to different countries to give lectures. One of the disciples who had the heavenly eye open traced the master's tour on a map. Then he knew where the master was going, and afterwards he checked with the local initiates about where the master had been. So wherever he went, it was raining, raining, raining. It was a very dry country-like India, which sometimes also doesn't have enough water. But when the master moved anywhere there, the rain came, just exactly like that. It was just like he used the rain to mop his road. It was beautiful.
So the disciple "saw" that, and then he checked it out with the local fellow practitioners. And it was exactly like what he saw. Really, the Quan Yin Method is fantastic. We cannot describe all the benefits we will derive from this Supreme Method. Sometimes I wish the whole world would know this, but we have to be patient. If you think I am not a patient person, I think you'd better think again. Because, if I were not patient, I could not bear this. I could not bear that with such a beautiful method and so Supreme and so Almighty a power, people would just ignore it and live in misery. Every day they beg for a little merit from God or whatever, and they don't even know that they have everything inside.
Sometimes I have to be patient with disciples like you, too. Because it's such a beautiful thing and you don't even bother so much. "Two and a half hours, what? I don't have time!" You don't make enough use of your treasure. So if you think I'm not patient, you'd better think again. If I were not patient, I couldn't bear this, really. Real patience is like that. It's not that if I don't scold anyone, that means I have patience. I do have patience. Because sometimes if a person is not initiated and comes to my house for any reason, and if he is behaving the way you sometimes do, I do not scold him. I do not tell him off; I do not make him do anything. I just slowly and nicely tell him all the things to do. For example, if he keeps standing around, I say, "Oh! Please sit down." Later, if he stands up again, I say, "Please, sit down."
But because I care for you, you are my responsibility. So I just have to hurry up and speed up your recovery. It's just like you care about your children and how they behave. Even a little failure you cannot bear. But with the neighbors, you don't care if they are at the bottom of the class. You don't worry about the neighbor's behavior or his education. But with your children, you care. You scold them, you encourage them, you love them sometimes and then you're strict with them sometimes. You watch every move of your children, but not of the neighbor's. Similarly, whatever you see from me, whether I behave well or am in a bad mood or whatever, this is you. It's just a reflection.
I'll tell you a story about very nice things that happened before, a few thousand years ago. Just to let you know that in the old times people also had very high civilizations, not just now. And then sometimes, according to the research or according to history, our previous ancient civilizations were destroyed somehow by war--perhaps by Star Wars or planetary wars between each other, or by civil war between brotherhoods. Because every civilization will develop up to a peak, a very high peak. And then if the people in that society do not take care to preserve their inner power to control themselves, and to make wiser use of their scientific knowledge, then there will be trouble. One will compete with another to seize the newest discovery and become a master of the other race, or the other side of the continent or the other planet. And that's why war will begin. And then, when the war is finished, everything's finished.
But that's the trouble with humankind; we never learn. As you see around us right now, many countries still haven't learned this lesson. Every time we go to war, our country becomes bankrupt. It will be in poverty for a long, long time. Everyone knows that; all the leaders of every country know that. But they just go to war for any reason rather than have peace. Sometimes they just want to intimidate other people. But what if the plan goes wrong? Then both sides will misunderstand each other. Small things lead to bigger things, and then there will be an explosion. Then war will start all over again, and then our civilization might be gone, just like the ones that have been discovered recently from the Atlantic dig or ancient Atlantis, or the ancient alien people.
And now we think, "Oh! How come they were so civilized before?" They must have been, at some time. Maybe they were even more civilized than we are. Even in the Bible, there is some recording of the wife of Lot. When she turned around to look, she turned into a pillar of salt. It looks like the effect of an atom bomb or something like that, like a highly chemical weapon, that can "chemicalize" people. It just burns them into ashes and then looks like salt from over there.
So there have been a lot of wars before, too. And of course there have been a lot of discoveries and inventions, maybe far superior to what we have nowadays. So there is no reason for us to really be proud of what we have right now, or to rely so definitely on these kinds of transient means, like scientific apparatus. But we always do that. Every time we discover something, we think we are great. And then we destroy everything, and we start from A-B-C again.
I'll read you a story that maybe will illustrate this. This story happened in China. The Chinese people were the first inventors of many kinds of modern-day equipment. Of course, at that time perhaps it was a little bit cruder or in a very elementary form. But then later they developed more and more. Or maybe the European or American people learned from their ideas and then made them even more civilized and refined.
For example, the Chinese people invented firecrackers. And they have been used for New Year's, just to make fun and have fun, and to scare the ghosts away, or to celebrate a very noisy and boisterous occasion, or when they get married or something like that. But mind you, the Chinese use firecrackers for anything. (Audience laughs) If someone dies, they burn firecrackers. If someone marries, they burn firecrackers. When they feel lousy, they burn firecrackers. When they feel happy, they also burn firecrackers. When they celebrate a birthday, they burn firecrackers. And when they celebrate Ching Hai Day, they also burn firecrackers. (Applause) You have heard them many times, during my birthday or Ching Hai Day. They burn our ears, too, with all kinds of noises; they love it. I've gotten used to it by now, with all the drums and gongs and the firecrackers and things like that.
These firecrackers were invented by the Chinese many thousands of years ago. And they used them for fun. Then there came the Europeans. And they used them to kill. That's how the gun was invented. The first guns were used with the Chinese. Before, the Chinese didn't have guns. The first time the Europeans discovered the firecrackers' explosive powder from the Chinese, they bought it. Then they refined it. They made it become guns, or cannons. And they sold it back to the Chinese. At that time, the first king who possessed the cannons or those explosive substances, became the greatest conqueror of China at that time. So it's like that. Inventions sometimes are harmless for children, and then other people use them in a more murderous way.
Ice cream was also invented by the Chinese and many other things. That's why before, when the European people first visited China, they were also very astounded and very surprised. It was such a beautiful fairy tale-like kingdom that existed. And, as with every other thing, beauty sometimes attracts the beast and makes a lot of trouble. So I don't really know what to tell you. If you have a lot of things, like you have beauty, talents, money and all that, then maybe you attract the envy of other people. And sometimes it is the source of your misery or misfortune. So should I tell you to live in poverty or just to have a simple life and not care about money or things like that? Then life is also not very comfortable for you, especially in America. You can't walk on foot like in the Himalayas. You will be starving because the supermarket is at least three hours away--by car. Everything here is counted by hours!
There was a king in China. His name was Chou Mu Wang. Chou Mu Wang was a king about two thousand five hundred years ago, during the Warring Period. One time, he went hunting. Most kings are bored. They have nothing to do, so they go and kill animals. It's terrible; if they cannot kill humans, then they kill animals. I think they are always training themselves in the art of war. That is a mistake from the beginning. And that's why China has always been, off and on almost all the time during history, always at war with one another or with another neighboring country, or within themselves. Or they go and make war with animals.
So this king was no exception. He went hunting somewhere in the mountains, where there was a mountain called Yen Shan. And then he came back and went back to his palace. On the way home, there was an offering made for the king. The offering was not in the form of a material gift but in the form of a person. Someone gave him a very well-skilled artisan. His name was Yen Shih. And then Mu Wang, the king, asked the artisan to come to him and asked him, "What kind of talent do you have?" Yen Shih, the man who was supposed to be the gift for the king, answered him, saying, "Your Majesty, tell me to do anything, and I will try. Whatever your Majesty wants me to do, I will try it. But I have already invented a machine. It is a robot. I would like to give it to your Majesty to inspect, if you please."
So the king, Mu Wang, said to him, "Of course, of course. Tomorrow, bring it here to me, and I will have a look." And then of course the next day Yen Shih brought the machine to the king. And the king was very surprised and asked the artisan, "Who is following you behind there?" And Yen Shih said, "That is the machine person I have invented." See that? It was so good that the king was fooled into thinking that it was another person following him. Even today, robots don't look like that. (Audience laughs) Not like that yet! Not when we see the "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" or something like that. It looks like our "Hoover" vacuum machine in the dining room, but it doesn't look like a person that can fool us. But this person, two thousand five hundred years ago, more or less, had already invented such a "person." Of course, on other planets there are inventions like this, and it's very common--I've heard this, but there's no guarantee.
And so this "person" was so much like a human being that the king was shocked. He kept looking at the robot, and he saw that this person walked, ran, and bowed his head to the king. Like when we go to see the king or a high personage, we bow to pay respect to them. The robot did exactly like everyone else does, exactly like a human being.
Then when the artisan, the inventor, or we can call him now a scientist, when he just touched something at the chin of the robot, the robot began to sing! It had a very beautiful, precise voice. And then when the inventor raised the robot's hand, he began to dance, in very sophisticated and complicated movements, like a great skillful dancer. Not only that, he could do ten thousand and one, all kinds of entertainment activities, exactly like a very skillful, talented, trained person. Whatever you wanted him to do, the robot could do, and with such skill and precision that the king was very shocked and started to believe that he was a real person.
And then one of his very beloved concubines watched with him, and all the other beautiful maidens in the palace also surrounded the robot. And they all watched in amazement. Then after the robot finished his entertainment program, he even winked. (Audience laughs) He winked, making a kind of flirtatious sign with the beloved concubine of the king. So then the problems began! The robot was so real that the king was very angry. It's like a boy who winks at a beautiful woman with a motive. So the king became racked with anger, and he was very jealous. He wanted to kill both of them--Yen Shih, the man who invented it, as well as the robot. He believed that both of them were real.
Yen Shih, the inventor, was terrified. He immediately kneeled down and said, "Please, please, no! It's a mistake; he's not real, he's not real; let me prove it first!" And so he took out some of the screws, and immediately the robot dropped dead and could not move anymore. Then Yen Shih slowly took out the arms and legs, stomach and ears and everything. He showed the king that inside it was all machining, not a real person. And then the king also saw inside, that they had obviously painted the wood or metal, into a heart and liver. Everything that was done was just machinery. But it was so exactly like a person that even underneath the skin of the robot there were arteries and veins like the circulation system of a human body.
So the inventor took everything out. And then he also took out the teeth, the ears, the eyes and everything for the king to examine. And then the king was kind of convinced. He told the inventor to take out the heart of the robot and see what happened. And then the robot just shut up; he could not speak anymore. He told the inventor to take out the liver of the robot. Then the robot could not wink or see anymore. He took out his kidneys, and the robot could not walk anymore. And the king sighed in relief that after all, it was truly just a robot. His anger subsided, his jealousy disappeared, and he forgave both of them.
But then he shook his head in amazement and wonder, thinking, "How can you try to replace God? How can you do the work of the Creator? Are you in competition with Hirm?" Maybe. But of course the inventor could not explain or say anything. Perhaps he was a great scientist. So after that, the king told his subordinates to bring a truck, and then they brought the robot and the inventor back to where they belonged.
Also before, the Chinese invented a machine that could go to the clouds. They called it a "cloud elevator." Because they would use it to go up to the clouds. It must have been the most primitive form of airplane. It was already fantastic at that time, which was another, different time. It was a different person, different place. And also, another person invented the flying bird machine, which was an airplane too, perhaps. Both inventors were thinking that their invention was already top-class. But no one can even imagine that a person could invent such a "real" robot that looked just like a human being. So at that time, the robot was even better than those inventions of before, the flying machine and the cloud elevator. Maybe they had the UFO before, and the airplane. It looks like it, and also even the robot.
But after these two persons who invented the flying machine bird and the cloud elevator heard of this "person"robot, they began to shut up. They dared not boast about their inventions anymore. So it must have been in the same Warring Period.
I heard that at that time, during this Warring Period of Chinese history, many other funny and strange stories happened, like many strange personages appeared. It seems that they appeared from another planet, like what we call extraterrestrial aliens. Because they had a lot of weapons similar to what we hear nowadays that the aliens used, like the laser weapon--that froze people and made people paralyzed on the spot, or destroyed everything. And at that time, during the Warring Period of China, they called these people magicians. What they did was just like magic. They could create all kinds of illusionary objects in the air that destroyed the enemy with no other remedy for it. It looks like at that time we already had Star Wars of some kind, so Star Wars might not have been fiction at all. It might have been truth, or maybe at least contained some parts of truth in it. Otherwise, how could people of three thousand years ago in a remote area like China--at that time China, America and Europe didn't really have contact--so how could they speak about the same thing?
During that time, they didn't use ordinary weapons. The way they describe them, they were just like guns or laser weapons, and extremely sophisticated and powerful killing methods. At that time, the Chinese described them as great magicians who came from high above, from Heaven, like in the book of "Feng Shen Pang" (Honor List of Deification). It must have been true somehow. This is described in Chinese history; it is not fiction. So three thousand years ago, we already had what we have today, and it might have even been much better.
Lately I read some newspapers that said they have already discovered evidence of the atom bomb three thousand years ago. Archaeologists have dug up a site that had been buried under the earth, which was destroyed by an atom bomb. The evidence of radioactive elements still left behind has been tested, and they said it must have been an A-bomb. Maybe the story in the Bible about Lot's wife coincides with this A-bomb of three thousand years ago. So our planet at one time or another must have been destroyed by us or by a war with other planets, due to some political reason or different system of government. So perhaps there's nothing new under the Sun, and perhaps we should not be at all proud of any physical invention we happen to possess at the moment or we happen to know of. Our ancestors already knew about it, and were much better, much more sophisticated than we are now. But what did they do? What did they use them for? Just to kill or destroy themselves, perhaps by mistake, perhaps by the uncontrollable events of war. So you see, it's for nothing good. The invention of a killing method or apparatus is never of any use for mankind. Still, we don't learn; we are still warring with each other at this time.
All the heads of state in the world should read about "The Warring Period of China," or the "Feng Shen Pang" (Honor List of Deification), or "The Three Kingdoms." Maybe they would learn something. But maybe they'll think, "Oh! The Chinese again! They have a great imagination." They probably will not believe that there is some truth in it. When I read "The Warring Period of China," there were many fantastic things that are just like what we have nowadays. For example, in "The Warring Period of China", it describes something about those highly qualified or wise persons involved in the Warring Period at that time who used magic to destroy each other. They had a method of receiving news. For example, a person just meditated there or sat in his house or in his mansion or in his cave. And suddenly he heard a strange wind passing by him. And then he let the beginning of the wind pass, and then he caught the wind and listened to the news. What could that be? You can read the story, and you'll know. You'll know if you read it. If you haven't, you'd better read it. It's a fantastic book. It is one of the six Chinese kinds of treasure literatures. And I read them when I was very young. And even at a young age, at six, seven, it was already fascinating to me. I read it day and night until my father chased me out of the fairy business. (Audience laughs) But then I hid somewhere and continued, or waited until he was gone. Because it was so fascinating. I did not know it was a famous Chinese book of literature. I just loved it. And I read almost all of the Chinese classics, I think all of them. Whatever Chinese classic was very famous, I read them all, when I was very young. By the age of seven, I had finished all the Chinese kingdoms, conquered them all. (Master and all laugh) (Applause)
So you see, history repeats itself again and again. We always say that, but we don't know. And we don't try to control history. Many leaders of nations nowadays still try to make history in the same drastic way and try to write history again with blood.
I hope one day we all will be awakened to the Truth. Even if we don't practice the Quan Yin Method or anything, we should live in peace with each other. Everyone says peace; every government is just screaming at the top of their voice, "We are for freedom, democracy, for the people and prosperity, liberty and brotherhood, equality, everything, everything!" But look at what they do to their country and their people: It's a laughingstock. I don't know how they can say that and then sleep at night, while they tell white lies or black lies and they don't even feel anything about it. Or perhaps they're so fanatic in their minds that they can't even see their own mistakes. Perhaps they were born with such a quality that it is natural to them, just like it's natural for the fish to swim in the sea or for the bird to fly in the sky. Some people are born killers perhaps, born bad, born negative, born masters of murder and mass murderers. If you kill a person here, you're in trouble. But in the war, they direct guns at thousands and millions of innocent people and children, and no one ever prosecutes anyone. They just say, "Too bad." And after all this separation of families and friends, all the damage of property, youth, intelligence, and human life and treasure, no one says anything. Maybe later there's a little bit of an apology, like "Sorry," or not even that.
Just like nowadays, people still press Japan to say "sorry" for World War Two, but they still keep their mouth shut. They don't say anything. And for all the people's sorrow and suffering, no one cares. They say they care, but who does care? If they did care, they would have taken care of more of the refugees in the world instead of driving them home mercilessly using all means. If they did care, they would stop war and never start it again. But most of the leaders, why do they start wars? Because it doesn't affect them that much. It doesn't matter how many people die or how much national property has been damaged, they are okay! They still have enough to eat all the time, and they still live in luxury. They still have their limousine, their private airplane, their bodyguards and whatever else until the last minute perhaps, when they lose. Then they take the whole national treasure with them on the private airplane and say, "Goodbye." They still survive like a king somewhere else, just without a kingdom, that's all.
Therefore many leaders don't care whether there is war or peace. Because they are not really leaders. They just use the position to amass wealth, power and dictatorship for themselves. That's why we must be very careful in choosing our leaders. Of course, you can never find a perfect one or the one we expect, but at least the best and the least harmful. At least if he cannot do any good, "Oh! Please, just don't do any bad!" (Master and all laugh) "If you can't protect us, just at least don't kill us!" That's all. So at least it should be like that. And that's why it doesn't matter what they say; you have to see what they do. Whether it's really good for us to have such and such a president, or such and such a king, you have to know. The president you can change, but a king, you'd better think twice! If you make a revolution, you are the one who first gets your head chopped off. Luckily, nowadays we don't have that many dictator kings.
Before, a King meant God. Nobody could oppose him. Just if your mouth had not yet closed, your head was already gone! You couldn't even say anything or look directly at him. Every time the king rode outside somewhere, you had to kneel on the floor with your head down in the dirt. If you looked up, your head was gone. Before you looked at his face, your head was already somewhere. (Audience laughs) It was that strict everywhere. And it didn't matter how many people suffered from hunger or starvation or any kind of discomfort. Whether cold and heat or disaster, the king was always well off. So were his thousands of concubines, wives and eunuchs. They were never in trouble. That's why they didn't know what suffering is.
You know the famous story about Marie Antoinette? She was born with a golden spoon in her mouth. And when she was told that the people of France were very hungry and had no bread anymore, meaning that they were hungry, she said, "No bread, then let them eat cake!" (Audience laughs) If I don't have bread, how can I have cake? But she didn't know about such a situation. She didn't know that bread means everything to the ordinary citizen. Bread means a meal; it means blood. Just like the Chinese say, "Oh, we don't have any more rice." That means we are hungry now. We don't have food. Rice is just a saying, symbolic for food, just like bread for the American or European people.
But such a queen like Marie Antoinette, perhaps she had never suffered from hunger and cold. She perhaps never had to walk on an uneven road or to go outside and even have a look at the ordinary life of the citizens. Wherever she went, the people ran away or had to be covered, and she was protected by all her bodyguards. She never saw anything. She never saw the life of the people. Perhaps she was not a very cold-hearted queen. But because her life was surrounded by too much protection, too many lies and too much luxury, unnecessarily; sometimes the king and the queen didn't even know what they were doing. This is very difficult. And no wonder people always make a revolution against the king and queen and chop them down. It's just to change the rules or the dictation so the people's lives will become more bearable.
Because in the old times, you couldn't talk to the king. You couldn't tell him he was wrong. Today you still cannot, but with some presidents you can. At least it's freer than before. It's a little bit different. Before, you could not say anything against the king or the government. You just did what they told you to do. Today you can speak against the government or the president, but you still have to do what they tell you to do. (Audience laughs) So there is a difference, a "speech-freedom." You can say what you want, but you still must "do it." (Master and all laugh) It's not much different really, but maybe when people can speak it out, they feel, "Oh, I am free. At least I can say it." Let it out and clear the air. So even if they have to work, they don't feel that they are so suppressed. And that's a problem, too.
Did I tell you the joke about the Russian? One American came to Russia to have a look and visit. And there he saw all the secret police, and the people were scared and didn't smile. (That was before; I don't know how it is now.) So the American said, "What's wrong?" He said to his friend, "What's that? You dare not say anything. In America, we can criticize the president and government anytime we want. We are free to criticize them anytime, about anything." So the Russian friend said, "Yeah, here we're also free to criticize the American government and its president any time." (Master and all laugh; audience applauds)
Some time ago I told you about the UFO that landed in Au Lac. That was about four thousand years ago. And the man was supposed to rescue the Aulacese country at that moment. He was an alien, very small, and he made himself very strong and big. He rode on a fiery horse and flew into the sky. Whenever the horse landed, there was a rounded hollow in the ground. What kind of a horse was that? It must have been a football kind of horse, all rounded like that. So whatever it was, it didn't look like a horse. Besides, it was an iron horse with fire on both sides, and wherever the fire went it destroyed all the enemies there. They all died. And nothing could go against that horse and the fiery weapon that came from the horse. So it sounds like modern-day equipment, like fire guns or a UFO.
We always think in our time that we are very civilized, that we have discovered everything and that we know many things. But actually we should read history again and again to be more humble--not to be depressed, but to feel more hopeful. If in the old times, humankind reached such a peak of civilization, then we will be able to do it again in the future. But there is a lesson to learn: that we should not abuse the power of intelligence. Above all, we must train ourselves within to have the stability of ethical conduct, moral standards, noble ideals, love and compassion. Then it doesn't matter what kind of machine we invent, even if it's dangerous. We can turn it into a peaceful apparatus to serve humankind and to help speed up civilization, instead of destroying each other. I hope we learn. (Applause)