turn within to progress spiritually i love you guys all. october 9, 2016 hsihu, formosa (taiwan) ok. i was going to drive around, but i couldn't. that cart broke down
when i reached the gate. so i had to go backand get the smaller one. but the smaller one alsoseemed to have problems. this big one is probably ok. i'm sorry. have a look at meand then go eat. i can't work by the clock,eight to five, i can't. i have a lot of work, understand? indeed, a lot of work, inside work. (miss you!) miss me?(miss you for a long time.)
thank you. thank you. did you eat breakfast?(yes.) wow, great! then you're ok.you can wait, right? (right.) you don't have to eat right away,right? (right.) ok. let me check if that scooteris fixed or not. if it's brought here, please let me know,so i can drive around. i just came back from hong kong. someone there said, "wow! wow! it'sso nice to see master so close, so nice!" so i thought of you guys.
when you come, you sit far away,and you can hardly see me. you can see me on tv, but you can't see the actual person easily. so let's do this.if that scooter is ok, i'll drive around. if it's not ok,then just look at me like this. my knees are not very good, so i'm afraidi can't walk a long distance. when a car gets old, no matter how nicely it's painted,it's not so good inside.
you need to maintain it properly, so that it can last longer. even though this body isa material thing, it's still very useful. without it, we can't do anything here. we can't help other sentient beings. so we should protect it, ok? eat just enough, not too much. eating too much will make you drowsy. most of the time after eating,we feel sleepy.
that's why i'm talking to youbefore you eat. i'm afraid that after eating,you won't be able to listen very well. you will all agree. "ok, ok." "anything is good.anything master says is good." so i'll say a few words whenyour stomach is still empty. there are two aspectsof our spiritual practice; one is physical and one is spiritual. we should take care ofthe physical aspect, too. without the body,or if we're not healthy,
it's difficult to practice. so eat just enough. i tell you honestly, many things we eat,even though they're vegan, still contain a certain amount of toxin. it's because our world has beencontaminated for a long time. the water, the soil and the air are allmore or less contaminated. you know it. this is number one. number two:all foods have a little toxin inside.
after eating them over the years,our body will become allergic. so if you're allergic to certain foods,don't eat them, ok? or eat less, but the best isto stop eating them. actually we eat them out of habit. we're used to them,and that's why we like to eat them. it's good to eat.it's not that it's not good. we spiritual practitionersdon't have to stop eating. when we eat food, we exchange karma and meritwith others.
that's why many masterseat rice and vegetables. it's because producing a bowl of riceand vegetables involves a lot of effort. the farmers planted them, and then the rain god, sun godand wind god helped them. even the earthworms, bees, and even flies, and many other animalsand sentient beings worked to make a bowl of rice for us. not only farmers,
but there are also business people,middlemen, etc. and the banks and the drivers who transported the food to our place. there are also business people,shop owners, who risk their money to keep their shopsor businesses running. also, we have to drive. our cars are manufacturedby a lot of people. cars need gas to run.
even an electric car takesa lot of effort to build, and it involves a lot of people. if we practice well, we can sharesome of our merits with those people, even though we've alreadypaid them with money. so, i'm not saying that eating foodis not good. don't feel guilty. if you like to eat, then eat,but take just enough. don't overeat. eating too muchwill obstruct our practice. we won't be able to think well,or think clearly. we'll want to rest.
it's for the exchangethat many masters eat food. otherwise, they don't need to eat at all. about 30 years ago,when i was in new york, i stopped eatingfor a long period of time. many people were worried, and they kept asking me,"are you going to die?" i said, "no, i won't die." later they made too much fuss,so i resumed eating. when i took the first bite,wow, it was like eating straw!
it was tasteless.i had no appetite at all. i just ate without any sense of enjoyment. then slowly, slowly, my sense of taste returned. then i joined other people to eatand had a better appetite. so i gave up fastingand continued to eat. now if many people…if they're here… for example, there isan aulacese (vietnamese) sister,
i asked her to teachall the loving hut restaurants here how to bake vegan cakesand vegan donuts. how do you say "donut" in chinese? "tian-tian-quan." ok. you know what it is. it's round and has a holein the middle. inside there's jam. we used to enjoy them, right? but rarely now,because it's hard to find vegan ones.
so i asked her to come and teach the loving hutshow to make them. also vegan cakes. you don't make those here.you can't find them. you applaud as soon as i mention food. my god! then i don't needto talk about spiritual practice. you're happy just to hear metalk about food. ok. we chinese people love to eat.
with such a large population,the competition is intense. if we don't eat, other people will. our life is more competitive. formosa (taiwan) is also competitive. a lot of people,and there are more and more. it's because our medical careis so advanced, that the old peopleare not dying as early, and they can live a long time. nowadays, young peopledon't want many children
because they have to work,and they want to be free. they still have some children. so the population keeps increasing.ok, it's a good thing. it's good thatthe old people are living longer. they have more timeto recite buddha's name, bow to the buddha statue,read the sutras, or meditate. or, they go back to nature, and they have more chancesto practice. if they die,they won't have any opportunities anymore.
that's why sometimeswhen i treat guests, i invite old people. some young people say,"why does master discriminate?" i say, "no! no! the old people have dedicatedtheir whole lives to family and society. they've contributed a lot. now they're old, and they'll have fewer chancesto see me. the young peoplewill have more opportunities later.
if you're old, i'll invite you. get old quickly and i'll invite you." actually, it's nice to be a young person. their life is easy.they can walk easily. they don't haveany soreness and pain. old people, their bodies are weak. if they take medicinesand vitamins for nourishment, and if they eat well,they can still stay healthy. but when we're old, we don't knowwhen we'll leave this world.
so, if you have parents,please be more filial, give them more good foodand visit them more often. because they're old,and they can go anytime. don't wait until they're goneand visit their tombs. tombs have no feelingswhen you bow to them. what's the use? or offer food to the dead. have you seen any of themcome out to eat? their bodies are rotten,so how can they eat? but rituals are also good.
i'm not saying that tradition is not good. it shows our remembrance of the dead. we think about our parents and thank them after they're gone. it's a filial act. but don't think that bowing to tombswill make the feng shui good, and then it will bless youwith good fortune. having that kind of thought is not filial. we bow to the tombs or ashes
because we miss our parentsand remember how they worked hard totake care of us since we were little. later, when you get married and have children,you'll know how hard it is. if the child has a fever,you have to stay up all night, and the next day you have togo to work as usual. otherwise, you'll be fired, and then you'll have no income. this modern time offers usa lot of conveniences,
but it also gives us a lot of burdens. it's nice to have a car to drive, but it costs a lot of money. to have a beautiful housein a good location also costs a lot, right? so expensive. so most of the time, both the husbandand the wife have to work to keep up withthe living standards of this time, to keep up with the joneses. we spiritual practitionersmay not be as competitive.
we don't show off as much, even though we're still very burdened. we just know how to save money. at home, use less electricity and water.use just enough. don't be wasteful. also, the garbage. use a big bag or a big bucket. dump the garbage in a small bucket then into a big bucket or big bag,and then throw it out.
don't use small plastic bagsand throw them out one by one. plastic bags are very damagingto the environment of the world. use a plastic bucket or wooden bucket that can be cleaned and washedfor reuse. there's no need to line itwith a plastic bag. save whatever you can. be frugal and keep the worldfrom being polluted, so that people can enjoy it. we have polluted the world too much.
the fact that the earth still existsis a miracle. with so many people on this planet,yet there is still enough food for them all. the trip to hong kong left mewith a deep impression. i used to go just for a short visitbefore i came back here. or i went to the ashram on the mountain and stayed there without going out. when they drove me, i would close my eyes to meditate all the way to the ashram."ok, we're here." that's all.
i didn't have much contactwith the people or observe their behavior. this time,i didn't want to bother anyone. we took the train or the subway, so that we didn'thave to inconvenience others. or we took taxies for short distances. so i had a chance to interactwith the local people. they're very friendly, very happy. it's still free there, very free. it's easy for people to find jobs.
the businesses are good, no taxes. it's a small islandwithout any resources, but they have everything. they don't havea lot of economic resources. no minerals, nothing. everything is imported. but they have everything. as long as you have money,you can buy anything. but their air pollution is very serious.
many people have carsbecause they have money. it's difficult to drive there,but not too bad. most of the hong kong peopleare conscious of environmental protection. many people take subways so traffic is ok, not worse than formosa (taiwan)in the past. now transportation isvery convenient in formosa (taiwan). there's a highway right in front of me. i can count the numberof cars every day.
but the air gets very hazy. i can't see the mountainsand the ocean like before. at a higher point here,one used to be able to see the ocean, but not anymore. it's because ofthe pollution from the cars. the view is obscuredby the emissions from the cars. maybe in the future… but the formosan (taiwanese) people arevery environmentally conscious already. they have tried hard.i see many changes. maybe in the futurewe'll have better cars,
like electric ones. or there will be more subwaysto provide more convenience. then our island will have even better air. but it's not bad, not bad. when i was in hong kong,i was very impressed. there are so many people on such a small island,and there are so many cars. there are many tourists, too. even so, they manage tomaintain their living standards.
there is enough water to drink,food to eat and roads to drive on. how do they take such good care? just the water, food and garbage, and also sewage, wow! how do they manage it?it's so incredible. the skyscrapers are very high, and some of them,you can't see the tops. looking up, you can't see the top―too high. i said it's like a mini new york.
people there are very kind,very helpful and very happy. i could feel their happy energy. i would love to stay in hong kong, if not for my dog. if i took him to hong kong,he would have to get vaccinated again, and he already had several shots when we came from europe.the hygiene there is very good. he already received the vaccinesand had the vet's certification. but if i brought him to hong kong,he would have to be vaccinated again,
and i was afraid it would betoo toxic for him. he's young, just four years old. i was worried about him.he suffered a lot of abuse before. i was afraid he couldn't bear it. some of my dogs used tohave allergic reaction. they got swollenor they couldn't walk. it was scary. that's from just one shot. now i don't have the heartto give this dog vaccinations twice. so maybe i'll need to return to europewhen time is up.
today i came down to see you. i don't knowwhen you'll be able to see me again. so take your time and have a look at me. some of you are wearing glasses,so you have four eyes. look at me more. when i was in hong kong, i wasvery generous to the service people. we stayed in a three-star hotel,or a three-plus-star hotel. they have an eco-friendly system. it was very nice, very comfortable. to the service people,
the waiters and waitresses,i was very generous. i tipped them many timesmore than the charge. for example,the taxi cost 50 hong kong dollars, but since the distance was very short, i would give the driver three,four or five times more. we had money, so we liked to share. they were very happy. some of them didn't want to accept it. one said, "no, no, no. it's 50, just 50."
i asked, "what about the tip?"then he accepted 20 dollars more. some of them seemed likespiritual practitioners. they're like us. they don't take more than their share.they're very nice. most of them are very kind. whether they accepted the extra tipsor not, they were all very kind and polite. also, about the peoplewalking on the streets, i was walking around,looking for trains or subways, so i had a chance tocommunicate with them.
when we were lost,they were willing to help us. someone evenasked her husband to take us to a certain place,a certain crossroad, so it would be easierto find the location, or to find a taxi. so kind, so friendly. i went to visit our loving hut there to eat and to check them outto see if business was ok. the vegan cakes and vegan cookiesthey made tasted very good. really, every one of them tasted good.
usually i don't like those vegan sweets. but since they were laid out there, and i wanted to give themsome business by the way, i tried every one of them.they all tasted very good. normally when we eat outside,after trying one kind of vegan sweet, the next one might not taste as good. but over there, every kind was delicious. it's made and runby formosan (taiwanese) people. the chef is also from formosa (taiwan).
of course, there are also local helpers. if you want to go abroad to do business,you're welcome to do so. there are fewer initiates overseas. people don't knowhow to make vegan food, and our initiates cook with love. i just tried one loving hut. the other ones are also famous,but i had no time to visit. after eating there,i went back on the road. wow! so many peoplewere walking on the streets.
there was a blind person who had a small stall by the road. it was like the ones here.he laid out different things, daily necessities,such as elastic bands, sewing needles, etc. many passersbys would buy from him. the housewives would buy this and that. i also bought a lot from him. i didn't knowwhat i would use these things for, because i have no timeto sew clothes here,
we have a sisterwho is a dressmaker, but i don't need to sew anything. now i ask them to make"user-friendly" clothes for me, the kind i can wear, not too colorful. but they still try to add some colorsto my clothes. and these new ones are more modest. but they have made so many.i didn't know which one to wear today. so that blind person knowsall the products he sells and their prices by heart.
you put something in his hand,and he feels it and knows its price. we bought a lot,and he didn't make any mistakes. he was very pleased. we kept buyingand let him feel each one. he asked us to write down the prices,so we could add them up later. he was quicker in math than we were. for one he said, "twenty." the next one, "thirty, so the total is fifty." then the next one, "sixty-seven."
he didn't need a calculator. incredible! he sat there doingthis business and seemed very happy. i was very touched, very touched. i paid him a lot of extra money, and he thanked me. he was grateful,and he didn't reject my gesture. he also kept smiling. i went next doorand bought some vegan sweets for him. he accepted them happily.
i was very touched because he couldn't see. he could have used it as an excuseto collect welfare money from the government. but he runs a businessto make a living instead. i was so moved, so moved. this man is an extraordinary person. he came to this worldto set an example for us. he sets an example for the lazy people,
and for the corrupt people. he teaches us to be content(and happy) and happy. a content person is satisfied.otherwise, when can one be satisfied? if we keep asking for more,we can never have enough. we can never be satisfied.so just use whatever you have. live a simple life. then you won't be scaredof the creditors in your sleep. you won't worry aboutrepaying the debt the next day. i know that your life ismuch simpler now, right? (yes.)
the initiates, right? (yes.) yes. the simpler our life is,the happier we are. don't you feel that way? (yes.) really? (yes.) don't you feel ashamedwhen you face the neighbors? (no.) you don't feel likeyou're losing face? (no.) ok. that's the right attitude.it's a useful attitude, right? (right.) usually, wherever i go, i just livein any house that's available. when i'm in a hurry, i can't waitfor people to build a cave.
also, not every place allows usto build caves, and building houses is not allowed. in some places it's allowed,but not in others. on private land, a small building is ok. no buildings are allowed here.the property over there is leased, so we're not allowedto build buildings there, either. we buy or lease the land;whichever way works is ok. so, please understand. it's better for us not to build big houses.
later we might find outit's against the government regulations. then we'll feel uneasyand morally compromised. that kind of act is also not patriotic. so if we don't have anything,just accept it. ok? i've said it before: if the weather is good,just come and have a look at me. if there are too many people,we might not have enough water. when i'm here, it's fine for you to come. when i'm not here, you can take turns. today the taichung people come,and tomorrow, the taipei people.
for example like that. then you won't use too much water. if you want to take water home, just take a little, and then mix it with20 gallons of your water, and it will still be effective. even though we've dug many wells and have many big water towers, we should not be too greedy.
don't pay too much attentionto the outside. don't focus on material things. practice to earn your own merits. then you'll be healthyand happy as well. the more merits you have,the luckier you will be. however, the greedier you are, the more meritswill be deducted from you. your spiritual points will be deducted. it will be too much of a waste.
nothing in this world is free. of course i offer everything for free, but to maya, nothing is free. he deducted some points. of course we can dig wells and gather water for our own use. but i think we shouldlet more water flow under the ground, so the trees and flowerscan share some.
we should not put everythingin our own pockets. we already have waterin our own homes. the trees are helpless because they can onlyrely on water in nature. we shouldn't compete with themtoo much. we have enough water for cooking here. you can come here, drink someand use some. it's enough. if you want to take some home,just use a small cup. it's not necessary, actually.
you come every week, so you drink and eat here. if we don't use the water, it will flow to the plants and protect the environment. some trees areat a very high spiritual level. you have no idea.the fifth level, yes. some trees are very bigand very spiritual. that's why many people meditateunder trees.
they feel good there. some parks have smaller trees. even though they're not at a high level, if they're at the third level,they already make us feel good. they stand there to protect the world, to stabilize our world, and to provide oxygen, ok? they absorb co2. it's a way to absorb karmaand give blessings.
if they were not from a high level, how could they do such things? look at them.they have no eyes, no mouth, nothing, so how do they know what to do? it's because they're spiritual.you see? (yes.) so we should respect everything. don't overuse anything. some trees are very tall, very big. there are certain kinds of trees
who came here willingly to protect us and to share with usa little of their merits. so please don't cutand trim trees at random. i don't know if the government hereforbids this or not. in some other countries,if you want to cut big trees, you have to apply for permission. even if they're your own trees,it's the same. after a tree has grown up,people can't cut it at random. unless it falls down, you can't cut it.
it's the samein european countries and in america. we should learn fromthe good practices in other countries, so we can improve. but formosa (taiwan) isvery spiritual already. it has progressed a lot. one day, i said to the person next to me, "i don't recognizeformosa (taiwan) anymore. this is not formosa. the spiritual atmosphere is as high asthat of the western countries."
understand?the standard on the inside. i said to a few people, "strange, how comei don't recognize hsihu today? i don't recognize formosa (taiwan). are we really in formosa (taiwan)? a sister from germany said to me, "yes, yes, master. we are in formosa (taiwan)." i said, "ok, ok, ok.
i know. i remembercoming to formosa (taiwan), but how comei can't recognize it anymore?" after being back for a few days, i couldn't recognize formosa (taiwan)and hsihu. i couldn't identify myselfas being in formosa (taiwan). it's true. i couldn't recognize it. then i told the personnext to me one more time, "why don't i recognize formosa(taiwan)? am i really in miaoli, or hsihu?"
i was confused to such a degree. i know i'm in formosa (taiwan), but i couldn't recognize the placeall of a sudden because the changeshave taken place so fast. i was working in the office. when i looked outside, i had the feelingthat suddenly things had changed. the changes have taken place so fast. it felt like i was in europe, understand? in europe, you know,
the streets are clean;the houses are tidy; and the landscapes are beautiful, right? people are very law abiding. they respect the law. for example, if you go tovisit the loving hut in austria, and walk around the neighborhoodand have a look, it's very beautiful and neat. people are very nice and friendly. they have a different standard.
it's becausetheir spiritual level inside is different. that's why they have the meritsto live in that kind of country. yes, it's like that. each country has its own atmosphere. for example, germany was oncedivided into two countries. berlin was divided into two. a research study found that there were huge differencesbetween the two areas. later, the two countrieswere compatible and unified.
there used to be just a wallbetween the same people. while it was still divided, peoplein the two countries had different levels, spirits, mentalities, personalities, etc. everything was differentbetween them, very different. also france and italy, for example. they are separated by one street, but they're very different.they have different languages, different food, different customs, different mentalitiesand different personalities. you know it.
so each countryhas its own merits and karma. i noticed these changes a few daysbefore i went to hong kong. suddenly formosa (taiwan)had changed! it was so fast, so fast! i couldn't recognize it.i kept doubting myself. how can formosa (taiwan)become like this? i really did ask them,"am i really in formosa (taiwan)?" they said, "yes.you must be missing austria." i said, "no, i don't think so. when i looked out, i suddenly felt thateverything was completely different.
this is not hsihu,and this is not formosa (taiwan)." i really doubted myself. now i know.after checking inside, i know why. your spiritual level has gone up. your country's merits have increased. it happened so suddenly,in just a few days. oh, so different, so different! i'm ok nowbecause i've gotten used to it. i was caught off guard.
i was concentrating on work, worldly administrative work, so i didn't pay attention. then suddenly i felt tired, so i moved around for exercise. and when i looked out,i wondered, "where am i?" because i had stopped working, stopped paying attentionto the administrative paperwork, i started to notice the difference;the atmosphere was different.
i wondered, "where am i?" i asked myself, "where am i?" i knew i was in formosa (taiwan), but strange,i felt it wasn't formosa (taiwan), and it wasn't hsihu, understand? that kind of feeling was very unusual. i can't describe it. as long as you understand, it's fine. in our spiritual practice…
ok. thank you. i've explained before that there aretwo aspects to our spiritual practice; one is on the insideand one is on the outside. on the outside, we're happy, and we're polite,loving and helpful to people. ok, this is practice on the outside. these qualities come from the inside,so they can't be forced. if we have earned meritsfrom our practice, we can even dissolve poison.
if we don't have merits, we can't even swallowbuddha's mouth water. take care of the inside,and then the outside will be smooth too. don't come here and expectto take vegan cookies and candy home to share with your relatives and friends. your intention is good, but we don't have enough manpower to go shopping all day long. it's unfair to the residents.
they have a lot of work already. the monks and nunsshould spend time on spiritual practice. that's why in the timeof shakyamuni buddha, no monks or nuns did any business. they shouldn't be doing this,understand? they shouldn't do anyadministrative work. they should just meditate, take care of their body,and go out to beg for food once a day so that they don'twaste their time on cooking
or bother other people to cook for them. but in this era, we can't beg for food. people everywhere will thinkthat we bring them bad luck. or, people won't give us food becausethey don't have such a custom anymore. there is still such a custom in thailand, myanmar (burma),laos, and cambodia, somewhat. it's not as popularas in shakyamuni buddha's time. so you can bring your own food herewhen you come, and then take it back to eat.
people do the same thingto the wooden buddha statues. when i saw them, i wondered, "strange. why do you peopletreat a wooden buddha so well?" whenever you want something, you would offer applesor something to a buddha statue, bow a few times,circle around, take a rest, and then take the fruit home. over here, you always wait for meto buy vegan cookies and candy. it was ok in the beginningwhen there weren't many people.
it was ok. the reality is thatthere are fewer residents now, and they have to go out to work. over here, they also have tohandle a lot of administrative work, help me do things, maintain the place we live up there, take care of the water, electricity, etc., so that you're comfortablewhen you come. we work togetherto take care of these things.
so now i'm very busy, too busy, i cannot help with it. sometimes i can hardly find timefor one meal a day. so i can't do things like before. in the past when there werefewer disciples, the world was still ok. now the situation is urgent. on top of that, there areall the universes to take care of. actually, i cannot afford talking to you here. but since we haven't seen each otherfor such a long time,
and you travelled a long way, i can't disappoint you, so i came down to have a look at you. everything in this world is contaminated. the worldly musicis also somewhat tainted. it confuses our spirit and pulls us down. it conveys astral emotions. electric lights are also not goodfor our eyes and skin.
in some hotels, like the one i stayed in, the blinds close automatically to block the outside electric light because it's a kind of light pollution. if your light is too bright at night,you can't sleep well. the quality of your sleep won't be good. it has to be very dark,so that our bodies can rest, recover, and regenerate, to keep us young.
but it's very difficult nowadays. of course, when we meditate, it's better to sit somewhere dark so that we can see the inside light. at that time,we don't need the outside light. at night, we don't need light at all,so we turn it off. except for the street lightsat certain places, we should turn all the lights off. then close the blindsto have a good sleep.
if it's too bright outside, use a sleep mask to cover the eyes. not only is thereso-called "noise pollution," there's also "light pollution." have you heard of it?it's really pollution. for example, on the airplane, it's written "pull down the shades." before getting off the airplane, please pull down the shades.
why is that? it's becausewhen the airplane is parked there, the air con and other machines are still running to maintainthe temperature. there are also people insideworking and cleaning. if the windows are not covered, the sunlight will come through and intensify the work of the air con. it's not good for the environment. many people in this worldare very environmentally conscious.
you have to do more research. do whatever you can do at home. for example, when the air con is on and the sun is bright outside, it will work harder. or, it will take a break automatically,and then resume to maintain the temperature. of course it's not thatwe can conserve everywhere. but we should protect the environmentwhenever we can.
noise pollution is bad for our ears. loud noises sometimes startle us, and shake up our whole bodyand our cells, like the loud noise from motorcycles,which is undesirable. it's not good for the human body. when we're startled mentally,our body will also be affected. if it happens all the time,it's not good. in those countries with wars going on, sometimes the bombs
or the big weaponsexplode with loud noises. so the children in those placesare not very stable mentally. the health of the old peopleis also seriously affected. most people are affectedby noise pollution. therefore, even though our worldhas changed a lot, there's still much room for improvement. it's not just about the garbagewe've produced. the plastic bottlesused for drinking water and these cans are also not good for the environment.
but they can be recycled,so it's not too bad. i don't drink these.i don't know why they keep buying them. my whole fridge is stuffed with them. i don't touch them.i don't want to drink it. nowadays, i even rarely drink water. when i'm affected by karma,i drink something else, like non-alcoholic vegan beer or something,but i hardly ever do it now. and i drink very little water. since yesterday,i've had only one sip of this just now.
i still haven't had a meal yet. i eat little and drink little. i'm trying my best to eat, but when i'm busy, i don't think about it. usually i only eat when i remember it, or after i've finished my work. most of the time,having one meal is enough for me. if i don't have time to eat one meal,or i eat too little, and if i feel hungry,i eat a little something. that's all.
people think they have toeat a lot to be healthy. it's not necessarily so. because many thingsare not good for our health. but it's ok. take it easy. eat whatever you likeand meditate more. when you drink water,add a couple of drops of lemon juice. it's because water nowadaysis not very good. the soil has been poisonedby chemicals. when the water passesthrough the polluted soil,
it gets polluted as well. even the rainwater is a little polluted. in some places, the rainwater is clean, but in other places it's not, because of air pollution. there's poison in the air, too.the dust is polluted as well. when it gets into the rainwater,it's not very good. so it's better thatyou drink filtered water. filter it. and then if you need to, boil it.
if i tell you everything, you won't be able to eat anything. i dare not tell everything.i'll just keep it to myself. if i tell you,people's businesses will be affected. people will be afraid to eat this and that. actually in this modern time, the dna in our bodieshas changed too much, so it's difficult to live a long life. it doesn't matter whether you eat or not,
or how much you eat,it's more or less the same. but after we've reached certain levelsin spiritual practice, we can eat less, or even stop eating. but please don't try it just to seehow high a level you can reach. for example, i eatone or two grapefruits every day, the squeezed juice. but after i tell you today, maybe starting from tomorrow,i'll have to eat food like crazy,
maybe. because when you go homeand try to do the same, and then pray to master for help,i'll have to eat for you. and then i won't be ableto eat the same things anymore. but i'm your master,so i have to tell you everything. i have to tell you despite the karma. it always works in this way: if i tell you what i normally eat, later i won't be able to eat it anymore.
so i'm telling you that currently i drink grapefruit juice or orange juice,or eat an apple every day, and after that, i eata couple of packages of instant noodles, a special kind from formosa (taiwan)made of rice powder. the noodles are very thin with a little seasoning and not too many ingredients inside,so i can eat it.
it works for me, but pleasedon't force yourself to eat like this, too. then later i won't be ableto do it anymore. just be natural. so this is the way i eat. i don't need to bother othersto cook for me. sometimes they like to cook for me. sometimes when i'm busy, it's too troublesometo even squeeze the juice. after squeezing it,i have to wipe and clean,
because the juice shoots out, and then the ants might come inand drown themselves in the juice. so it's hard to eat or drink anything. so i can give the world merits. but if it doesn't work,i'll just let it be, understand? i can't make my body unhealthy. i have to keep this body for the sake of everyone, for the world and the universe,
so that i can meditate moreand bring more positive energy, from the original universe, down here. i'm only one being. i can't bring all the energydown here at one time, or the body might die. so i only bringwhatever amount is allowed every day. of course, if i meditate more every day, i can bring down more. the amount coming to my beingwill increase, but not the body.
how do you say "being" in chinese?("cun-you.") "cun-you." that's right.it's not the body. but it's also related to the body. if the power is too strong,it won't be able to stand it. so i've been doing it step by step, bringing down more and more. the more i meditate,the more i can bring it down. so i tell you, i cannot afford coming here to chat with you.
but you're all sissy sassy: "we still need master.we can't live without master," whining like this. so when you come occasionally,i look at you. but please don't ask meto do the same thing as before, like touching your head, your feet,and buying lots of cookies and candy, as if you're children. you've all grown up.all grown up! oh, your master is getting old.we're all getting old.
yes, to some degree. oh, you've all grown. do take care of yourselves. practice more and focus on the inside. pray daily for the helpof the universal power, so that we don't forget aboutspiritual practice, and we don't searchfor anything on the outside, or depend on anything outside. the more we depend on the outside,
and the more we're anxiousto become a buddha, the more we'll be deceived by maya. being too eager to become a buddha stems from the desirefor fame and material gain. those who want to becomean enlightened master, to go out and give lectures,or to be worshipped by people, all have the greatest desire for fame and material gain. such people will be deceived by mayabecause he will whisper into your ears,
telling you how you've reachedthe ninth or tenth level. don't do such things.practice slowly. and you must truly practiceand be humble. be humble in your heart. don't regard yourselfas such an important person. if you think that way, it meansyou truly aren't such and such person. this is wrong. so, be very careful. pray for the true power,the inner master to help you,
so that you won't be possessedor deceived by maya. if you don't practice enough,you'll be easily deceived by maya. it's because our world is too closeto the astral world. that's why those low-level spiritscan easily get in contact with us and then deceive us and lead us astray. so, be very careful, ok? don't go after fame or material gain, and don't desire to bean enlightened master. if it's your destinyto be an enlightened master,
you can't even escape from it. it's true. have i succeededin escaping from mine? originally, i had decided that i didn't want to haveany more contact with this world or with you all: i just wanted to focus on my work. i threw out all the money, fame,and material possessions, and i even disregarded the concepts of good and bad, right and wrong.
i disregarded what people thought of me and how they criticized me. but in the end,i was pulled back by your fellow initiates. when i was by myself, aside fromtaking care of my physical needs and my dogs, i spent all my time meditating. i didn't go anywhere,and i didn't do anything else. if the house i was staying inwas too big and troublesome, i would go to a placewithout a fancy structure,
like a little hut or a little houseboat floating on a river. a few initiates have seenmy little houseboat, but i won't reveal where it is, or you'll rush there to pay tribute, and then dismantle it and bring it back as a blessed item for yourself. my little houseboat is onlythe size of this platform. inside it has onlyone piece of equipment.
but i never cooked muchwhile i was there: i only ate instant noodles and some fruit. that was all. i just lived on the river, completely separated from the world, like i had my own little island. not every country allows people to put a little houseboat on a river and let it float along.
but it's true that living ona houseboat is a bit difficult. not really difficult, i just had to pay taxes for mooring it by the river. that's right. the owner had bought this dwelling. i need to park my …what do you call it? "houseboat." a houseboat, a little hut that floats,
a very small one, like a wooden storage unit. this kind of structure is permittedby the government, but you can't run a houseboatwith a powerful motor because it will harm the fish. there are many rules, aside from yearly taxes to pay. so, i bought this houseboat, a second-hand one.
it's fortuitous thatthe owner wanted to sell it. by the river, there are a few dwellings. most are houseboats, but their owners usuallycome on the weekends. these people were very nice. when they found out that i was a vegan, they wanted to invite me overand make vegan food for me, like vegan spring rolls. they always shared various thingswith me and asked,
"so, you don't drink beer? how about this mineral water?" such nice people! they didn't catch fish for food,and they seldom did it. a couple of times a year, they had a fishing contest. whoever caught the biggest fishgot a prize. but after they caught the fishand weighed them, they released the fish right away.
so, i thought, "what for?" just by hooking a fish, it's already gravely injured, understand? not to mention the fear it suffers. but these people released the fishafter they awarded the prize. they didn't catch them for food. it was just for the fun of competition. they formed a fishing club. when i wanted to live in the dwelling,i had to have a fishing license first.
you can't just go thereand live in a dwelling. you need a fisherman's license. but i told them, "when i purchased my houseboat,they didn't say that clearly." "i was vegan and i wouldn't fish." i said, "i would never fishbecause i'm vegan." so they said, "ok, ok, then justpay a couple hundred for the fee." i said, "sure,i'm very willing to just pay a fee." then i went to feed the fisharound my houseboat.
so many fish would cometo eat the food! i told them, "stay close to me,so you'll be safe. don't swim too far." "when you see the sideof their houseboats, stay away from themat least fifty meters, or even a couple of hundred meters,as far as you can, and don't bite anythingthat floats around." if they wanted to die, they could bite, but if they didn't want to die,they shouldn't bite.
so, the fish all crowded around me. those little bitty baby ones came to me every day to eat my food. there were so many of them;they crowded the whole river. those who came up to the surface to eatwere the round, circular kind and made ripples on the water. there were also swans and ducks, those that honk and quack;all of them would come. as soon as they saw me,they would swarm over,
flying or swimming at top speed. and they made such cute,quacking sounds, begging for attention. they even wagged their tails like dogs, back and forth, frantically. if i was too slow passing out the food, they would try to get my attention by tapping their beakson the sides of my houseboat, "tap, tap! tap, tap!"
i had a lot of food on my houseboat, all for the animals: soft bread, whole wheat bread,and other kinds: all were goodies. the people around sawwhat i was doing, and they said, "wow, your place has becomean animal farm!" i said, "yes!and i've become wealthier now!" and they said, "wow!you're feeding them such good food! even humans would want some." so i said, "would you like some?"
i only fed the fish and the fowlgood food, not spoiled food or leftovers. they all loved me very, very much. after feeding, they would linger around and circle around my houseboat. some fowl would come up to the deck and start to groom themselves. oh, so cute! so cute! they were all very spiritual, and they communicated so well with me.
their love for metouched my heart, so, so deeply. and they could feel my lovefor them, too. as soon as i came to my houseboat,they all would come quickly. they saw me from a far distance, and they would swoop overor swim over at top speed. they would bring their whole family. mom would swim ahead,with the babies in tow. i was very willingand very happy to feed them. the day i left,
i took out all of my food, including the biscuits i had saved forthe children who would pass by my boat. i gave it all to the animals. i said, "sorry! i don't knowwhen i'll be back here again. so take good care of one another." they were all very quiet, unlike their usual chatty selves. they didn't frolic around
or chase around as usual. they didn't do any of those antics,and just stayed quiet on the deck or in the water, so quiet. oh, how my heart ached! i was leaving them, and my heartached more than if i were leaving you! sorry to say that! i have to be honest with you. as a spiritual practitioner, i can't lie.
i don't know why. i also don't know the reason for it. maybe the animalsare purer and simpler. they don't demand anything from me. they camebecause i started to feed them. sometimes i arrived very late at night,or i was absent for a few days, and they were taking careof themselves, feeding on the moss in river, or the plants blown into the water.
they feed on such vegetation and had their fill already. but they still came to me,wagging their tails, circling around me. they wouldn't eat the food i gave them because they were full already. i said, "all right,wait till you feel like it, then." the kind of food i bought for themdoesn't sink into the water, so they could take their time
and eat it later. but even after they got their fill,they would still circle my houseboat,around and around. so, animals, and even plants,have spiritual consciousness. even stones have it. don't you know this? that's why when you are in the forestsor even in a park, where there are many large trees,you feel very nice. it's because the treescan emit oxygen.
trees need to have meritsin order to emit oxygen. they also havea loving and protective energy. that's why when you arein the mountains, you feel good. also, each mountainhas its own mountain god. in fact, everything grownin the mountains has spiritual qualities, including the stones. each one of ushas our own responsibilities, our own merits, and our own missions.
to be born as a human and to be able to enjoyso many nice things, we should feel very grateful, grateful to all beings and all things in the world. in one of the buddhist scripturesit says that there are sentient beingsand non-sentient beings. i pray that all of you, when you die,will return to the permanent heaven. in the buddhist scriptures
that people recite daily, there is one section that mentions this. i used to recite these sutras, so i remember them, like the great compassion sutra or the diamond sutra. i used to do the same every dayas what they do in the temple, reciting these scriptures during their morningand evening chanting sessions.
they all talk about such things. therefore,there aren't any non-sentient beings: everything has consciousness. you all know this, right? that's why you gather the pebbles hereand take them home as souvenirs. is it that so? anyone else want some? no? but don't do this. don't practice on the appearance.
if you do, then will you even uprootthe freeway if i've driven on it? if something here is beneficial, like the water here,then you can take a little home, but don't take too much,or else our pump will work too hard. and our residentswon't have enough water to take care of things here, like watering the trees in the ashram. our trees have grown very lushbecause we have lots of water, and we take good care of them.
that's why you can come hereand enjoy them. but up there in front ofthe treasure pavilion, we used to have some trees, as well as a vacant space, about the size of a dozen square meters. that space you can't occupyfor your own use anymore. empty space also has a use. when you build a house, do you stuff it full of beds,furniture, refrigerators,
and the like? yes? yes or no? (no.) no! in one corner you put a bed, in another corneryou put the refrigerator, etc. and in the middle,there is an empty space. in most rooms, you need some empty space.
so, up there,that space is our only empty space. all of the surrounding areasare mountain slopes. the grassy area in front of my cave—we can't use it because underneaththere are a lot of beings, crickets, ants, earthworms, and the like. so we can't use the grassy area because those are beings there. when i first came back, i stepped on that area; instead of grass,
i stepped on a rock. it was the first rock i stepped on, i stepped on, a flat rock, and when i stepped on it, wow, hundreds of crickets jumped into the air! they just kept jumping and jumpingfor a long while. that was how i found outthey were under the rocks.
otherwise i would never have known. so, now we're thinking aboutbuilding a bridge, and then we need to sweep the ground of fallen leaves, like blow them off from the bridge with a blower. but we can't step on the grass. i talked about this while in hong kong, but i'm relating it to you again. in that area, they put a chairand a table for me,
but i told them to take them away: i'll never sit there. so, that's the only empty spacewe have. we park the golf cart there. and sometimes i'll invitethe old bodhisattvas over for tea. they're old now, so i bought some comfortable sofasfor them to sit on while they're having tea with me. i also bought some chairsfor the not-so-senior ones.
but you had occupiedsuch a large space and built such a solid structurethat it blocked out all the sunlight. wow! when i first came back,i felt a suffocating feeling in my throat: i couldn't breathe. the trees were also complainingbecause they couldn't get any sun. and when the areaaround the trees gets no sun, the trees will die. then when you go up there,you'll see nothing. so, wherever we go,
we have to keep the area beautiful. if the place isn't beautiful,we have to improve it. if it's already beautiful, and we like the way it is, we have to protect it and not make any changes. don't make it uglier. if we beautify it, it's ok. we just can't make it uglier.
we love truth, goodness and beauty. so how could we makea beautiful place so ugly and oppressive? you can't do that;you have to think of others. you have to offer your services,be filial, and be loving and protective to your master.i'm one of your fellow initiates. so be loving and protectivetoward your fellow initiate and make her feel more comfortable. not to mention this fellow initiatehas a lot of work to do,
and she needs a little bit of spacefor comfort. if she hadn't taken up residencein a cave, and instead had built many houses here, there wouldn't be that space up there. it's there because i tried to save space. it's because i'm frugal thatwe can have money for charity work. money doesn't fall from the sky. it's because we were good at organizingthat we saved money, and we can use the moneyto help people.
otherwise,even if i ran many businesses, if i had built many housesfor myself and the residents, or built fancy office buildings and purchased a lotof equipment for work purposes, or for running businesses, so we could take care of everybody, then there wouldn't be any space left. also, we would have no money left. i might needto borrow money from you.
so, that would have been the caseif i had spent money on things like building houses for myself, building offices, buying first-rateequipment, computers and cars. and then we would havemany luxurious cars for everyone to use. we don’t need luxuries at all.if we had built temples here and houses for the residentsto live a comfortable life, we would have no space left here. and we would have spent all our money.
no matter how much,it's still not enough. you know everythingin formosa (taiwan) is expensive. land is expensiveand building houses is expensive. i'm not complaining about thehigh expenses here in formosa (taiwan.) in this day and age, it's all like this. formosa (taiwan) is smalland densely populated, so things are more expensive here. whatever you want to buy is expensive. we looked at a few pieces of property,but they were very expensive.
we couldn't afford them. we didn't have the money. i'm just by myself. and i don't accept your donations, so i have to earn money by myself. the residents also help. some of you work long-termat the ashram, and we pay you a wage, too. when we hire outside workers,we have to pay them, too.
we also do a lot of relief work, and we need a lot of equipment. that's why if i had lived a normal life like people in other organizations,i wouldn't have had any money left: no money left, and no land left. that's why you shouldn't demandthat i alone do the work. there are so many of you, and you still can't buya piece of property for yourselves to use as a meditation center,
and you expect me alone to do it. how could i ever manageto do such a thing? nevertheless, i'm still proud of you all, meaning you still keep a vegan diet, and you advise others to be vegans. in this way you've been very helpfulto the animals. you also want to do good things and try your best to do them. i'm already very proud of youfor doing all this.
oh, i've talked so much, my god! are you starved? starved to death? (no.) you've had breakfast, so that's good. right, you don't need to eat. since yesterday, i haven't had any food or drink,and i don't feel hungry, either. i'm not complaining.i'm just saying that if you haven't eaten either,
then we're the same. it's not that i ate a full mealbefore i came here to meet with you and then made you listen to me talk. i have no choice. as a master, i have some duties, so, since you're all here, i have to remind youabout a thing or two, ok? food you can have every day, and if you don't have any now,later you will.
in this world, there are many people whodon't have food for many days at a time. when you watch tv, you see such stories. so right now i don't feel so guiltyif you're hungry. feeling a little hungry is no big deal. i don't feel guilty either about having you meditateunder your tents. oh, just a little guilty. if i could build a large buildingfor you to meditate in,
i would be willing, but we just go with the flow: if we have one, fine,and if not, fine, too. don't complain, all right? you're just here meditatingfor a few days. even if it rains, you'll be stayingin your tent for a few days, at most a week or two. in those early days,my monks and nuns and i, we all lived like this.
we didn't own a house or land. we lived like this, staying in tents, for a long time. so you come here and stay in a tent, and if it rains, you can go back home and change clothes right away. in those days, all we had were the tents, and we lived like nomads. i even went aroundand gave lectures.
so, you only camp herefor a few days. don't expect meto feel sorry for you or feel guilty. you don't, do you? (no.) i experienced more hardshipthan you in the past. you have a home to return to, while we had no home. and i had responsibilities. many renunciates came to me, and i didn't have a placefor them to stay.
i felt very bad about it. these young people had neverexperienced hardship before, and they left their families to follow me. i couldn't make them leave, either. how could i chase away renunciates? that was their destiny, and if their time wasn't up yet,i couldn't make them leave. so we lived like this. later, we purchased this property.
a fellow initiate told mea relative of his had a piece of property. i remember it costed nt$50,000(us$1,666.) so cheap! so i bought it right away. we came up here,pitched our tents, and settled in. we camped up there, right next to that mango tree, on the third-level terrace, near the nectar river, where a trickle of water is.
we did not have this area. the previous owner used togrow something here, and also the weeds were very tall. the weeds were tall and stiff, and later… the weeds were very toughand very tall, kind of like sugar canes. but not as big. they were everywhere.
so, without any planning,we somehow got this piece of land. then they built a meditation hall here. they didn't ask the government,so later it got dismantled. in its place, we planted trees. before that,there weren't any trees here. we stayed up all nightand planted these trees. we planted mature trees. they weren't as big as they are today, but they were as big as that roof.
we brought backthese big trees to plant. the renunciates were very smart. i told them to use a certain method to put the trees in the holes, not manually, and we didn't have a excavator, either. renting one was too expensive,we could not afford it, so we did it all by hand. but we had many residents then,
and i always worked alongside them. digging the nectar river,planting trees, building buildings, etc., we did it all by ourselves because we didn't make a lot of money. we had to be very frugal,so we did everything ourselves. those early renunciateswere very sincere, and i didn't builda temple for them, either. i didn't have anything. they even had to push the old cararound, and they still followed me.
i'm so touched by their sincerity! ok. so now it's a little hardshipfor you to stay in a tent. but don't pray inside for meto build a temple or whatnot. i won't build one here, ok? i even told them to tear downthose metal poles that they had put up for a tent. if it's a temporary tent, then it's ok, like stretching a ropefrom one tree to another. but i told them to wrap the trees firstbefore they did this.
some trees they didn't wrap. maybe they didn't have enough time. so in the future, wherever you are,pay attention: try to beautify the place, and make people happy. whenever i take a taxi, i always give the driver a tipseveral times the taxi fare. sometimes when the fare is less thannt$100, i'll give them nt$400. because it's a rare chancethat i ride in their taxi,
i want to give them some extra help. these taxi drivers aren'twealthy people, understand? a big tip makes them happy. so i offer some extra moneyto anyone who is willing to accept it. when i go to a restaurant,i also give big tips, and i compliment them onhow beautiful and how clean and comfortable the place is,and also how efficient the staff is. i just want to cheer them up,understand? we shouldn't take things from others
or make people feel sad and oppressed. this is opposite to our ideals. wherever we go, we should makethat place more appealing, more beautiful, and we should cheer people up. to create a happy atmosphereis also a kind of beautification. if i'm on an airplane, of course i can't just beautify itby planting a few trees in the cabin. but i can say thank youto the stewardess. i can compliment her on how prettyshe is and what good service she offers,
or how happy i am to meeta person like her, for example. this is also a kind of beautification. so, we shouldn't keep takingfrom people: we should be givers. we shouldn't just give people money. we can show them our graceful,spiritual manners. to give the gift of happiness is our duty because that's the wayto beautify this world. if you create happinesswherever you are, and everyone becomes happy,
then the world's atmosphere will change, and in turn,it will bring a lot of good fortune to protect the planet. you should treat the outsiders this wayand treat your master the same way. i don't expect any special treatment. just treat me the same wayyou treat the outside people. if you treat people with respect,you will create a nice atmosphere. when people respect one another,the atmosphere will be good. you don't need to scold or talk loudly.
a good atmospheremakes both parties feel good. when both parties feel good,the world will be elevated a little. i wasn't squabbling with you aboutthe one-dozen square meters of space. i wanted toexplain to you about principles, logic, common sense, character,manners, and compassion. behave in a graceful, noble manner. all right, now go eat. ok, good-bye. thank you. thank you for your love.
thank you for your trust. see you in the future, ok? (yes.) i'll try my best to come back.if you behave, i'll come back. if you don't behave,you won't have such blessings. it's not that i don't want to be back. i was blocked many timesbecause you didn't have enough merits. there's too much killing karma here. let's do our bestto cleanse this island, all right? oh, wouldn't it be great if this islandbecame a vegan land?
formosa (taiwan) is very strongand very wealthy now. if it becomes a vegan island, wow,it will be number one in the world! this is my ambition! i have such an ambition. i want to make formosa (taiwan)the first vegan country in the world. wow, how nice it will be! all right, good-bye. i love you guys. thank you. love you. (love you.) i love you all so much.(thank you, master.)
do you still wantto ride around the ashram? the scooter is here. (ok.) would you like to? (yes.) let me see if i can ride it. the mic is here if you need it. beautiful! master is very beautiful! i love to hear that! they said i'm beautiful,and i love to hear it. talking about ants...i don't like to hear about them.
you all watch out. drive carefully, right? (right.) i haven't driven this in a long time. slowly. (wonderful!) drive slowly. i want you to see me clearly. how are you, master?how are you? how are you, master? go! go! you've grown so big now!
come over! come over! oh, you've grown so big now. so pretty! well taken care of? (yes.) granny, come over, come over. why did you let themstand so far from me? come over here. how are you, granny? how are you doing?
you're advanced in age,but still alive and well! she has a lot of blessings.(she laughs a lot.) that one behind. are you ok? (ok.) when you got initiated,you were very pretty. now even prettier. good! i'm... so busy too! i'm good,thank you, master! master, welcome back home!
thank you, thank you. thank you! thank you! how are you, master?how are you, master? master! master!how are you, master? mainlander? (how are you, master?) mainlander? mainlander or formosan (taiwanese)? thank you, master! tell master, are you a mainlanderor a formosan (taiwanese)?
i can't take care of you all, ok? thank you, master.thank you, thank you! all right. take care, master. take care, master. bye-bye! see you! you're so beautiful, master! how are you, master?master is so beautiful! there are some people here.(the kitchen team.) i know. let me go see them.
but i can't get off. how are you? how are you?how are you? i came to see you,to watch you working. the kitchen team works so hard! wow! cooking for so many people!hard job! you have magical powers! the kitchen team has magical powers! driving this cart will be faster. that one moves more slowlywhile going up the slope.
ok, so you walk up later. (ok.) i'll go up now, ok? (ok.) i have some work to do. thank you all, the working staff.
