How are you? (Fine.) Put your “magical ears” on. Quickly, before you miss something very “unimportant.” The Korean people are gone? (Yes.) Goodbye. I thought you’d just go and eat on your own. You could just dismiss yourselves. Why wait for me? It’s so hot here. Have you sweated a few buckets? (No.) Are you OK? (OK.) GOD has been so kind these few days. (Yes.) HES has been considerate to HIERS poor children who sit here without even a roof. Well, actually there are roofs, plenty of them. Only a bit small. OK! Dismissed. You’re always like this. You always have to force me to come down. Didn’t you know that you should be dismissed at 11? Do I need to come down and tell you? Very strange.
How many people will stay today? Raise your hands to show me, so that I can check if we still have enough food. Otherwise… All foreigners? How many people will still stay here for a few more days? Raise your hand. [ Including those Taiwanese (Formosans). You should tell us clearly, so that we know how much food to buy. Of course, whoever wants to stay can stay. Stay if you like, as long as your family members agree. If your children, wife, or husband agree, then it’s OK. If you have children, don’t stay too long. Because children need their parents. You’re all grown up and still need Mom, so how could the children not need theirs? Isn’t that so? (Yes.) You always come here looking for your “Mom,” giving me a bad reputation. Everyone asks me, “Do You have a husband?” No. “Then how come You have so many children? And they’re not so obedient.” I said, “That’s right. Children without a father are all like this.” I said, “I can’t manage them all by myself.” You’re totally spoiled. When you come here, it’s all vegan cookies, candies, and stories. That’s how it is. And then you go home all smiles. If you argue with anyone, you’ll go back to Mom.
Alright, if you leave today, then I wish you a smooth journey. (Thank You, Master.) When you’re home, remember to take care of your family better than before. Have a little patience, because I don’t have any. I have too many children. Each of you took a little of my patience, and so I’m out of patience now. So, be patient on my behalf in taking care of your family. It doesn’t matter if they practice spiritually or not. Leave them alone. Everyone has his own karma. Everyone has his own cause and effect, and destiny. We can’t change that. Even GOD can’t change them. Who are we? If GOD could change them, it would have been done long ago. HES would have turned this Earth into Nirvana. No need for us to talk so much here. Therefore, when you go home, be patient. Knowing that this is how the world is, let’s be patient together. You be patient with your family, while I’m patient with you. That way, no one loses out. And you also…
Sometimes if I scold you, you also have to bear with it a little. Just think of it as Grandma being a bit long-winded. Most mothers are kind of nagging, because they care so much about their kids, worrying that they won’t grow up healthy and strong, that they won’t learn to talk, won’t be educated, or will be impolite, or lack manners, etc. We want our children to be the best in everything. Mothers are the closest to their children and have more influence on them. Therefore, we, as mothers, have to have good manners and talk politely. Start practicing from today. For example, if someone asks us something, we answer, “No, initiate brother,” or “No, initiate sister,” or “No, little sister,” etc. Instead of “No!” or “Don’t have!” That has to be cut out. OK?
Here in Taiwan (Formosa), everything is good. Really, everything is good, it’s truly Heaven on Earth – freedom, democracy, and a very good economy. Very few people are in difficulties. If people have any difficulties, our group will help them. Other charity organizations also help, and the government also helps, therefore, actually, here in Taiwan (Formosa) not many people have difficulties. Some people enjoy difficulties. Yeah, some children from rich families – children from rich families like to leave home and wander around. Maybe they want to follow the example of Shakyamuni Buddha. We leave those kids alone. In fact… being a homeless person has its advantages. They don’t have responsibilities or anything. That’s why many people like that kind of life – they go home, and don’t have to clean the house, which is very convenient for lazy people. And they don’t have to pay taxes. No need to lock the door; there is no door. They don’t have to fear people stealing their money; they don’t have any money anyway. They’re not afraid of people coming to do things like seizing their house, because they don’t have a house. Things like that. They’re not afraid of banks harassing them, because they don’t have a bank account. Things like that. They have nothing. Some people enjoy that. They aren’t necessarily pitiful people. In their eyes, we are the pitiful ones. They say we have to rush around and work so hard, and yet… sometimes we still eat only one meal a day, or two, three meals, that’s all. That’s how we live a day, living our whole life like that. Therefore, some homeless people are like that. That’s what we think.
In India, for instance, many so-called monks also enjoy this kind of lifestyle. Sometimes they may not have any ideals; they just love that kind of carefree lifestyle, free from responsibility. They enjoy it that way. Some monks in India don’t come from poor families, nor is it that they can’t build a temple, or that there is no temple to take them in. They just love it this way. Because, if they live in a temple, there are rules. If they live with their families, the family members have their opinions, etc. That’s why they prefer being alone. I think many Taiwanese (Formosans) are also like that. They choose this kind of life. But in Taiwan (Formosa), even homeless people won’t starve to death, because I feel the Taiwanese (Formosan) people are all very kind, very friendly. They are eager to help strangers or people in difficulties, therefore, the so-called homeless people have no problems. They are alright. The weather is nice here too. In winter, they can go to Kaohsiung. In summer… they can come back to Miaoli. In autumn, they go to Taipei. Then they won’t have any problems.
Like us here, we don’t have any problems either. Like the 3-day retreat, it’s alright even without a temple. Thousands of people come, and it’s no problem. We can also eat well and sleep well, and meditate very comfortably. Being bitten by a few dozen mosquitoes is nothing. That’s how we practice “giving” at the same time. As well as keeping the precepts, and endurance. Just by being bitten by a mosquito, you’ve kept the five precepts. He bites you, then you have practiced “giving.” You’ve completed the “Paramita (Perfection).” He bites you and you don’t complain, then you have “given” already. You don’t swat him or scold him, then you’ve kept the precept. And you don’t drive him away, then you have practiced endurance. Then when you are bitten and feel hurt or itchy, you still sit there without moving, because you are afraid I’d scold you severely. That’s called “diligence.” In this way, you keep compelling yourself to be diligent, and you’ll enter samadhi soon. Then you’ll achieve Zen samadhi. After Zen samadhi, you’ll have wisdom. You see how nice the mosquitoes are? That’s what comes of not killing. You see, isn’t it a very nice thing? As I’ve said it before: Mosquitoes have to fulfill their duty. We also fulfill our duty. It would be good if we could do that. I’ve seen fellow initiates like this. They have truly practiced all “Six Paramitas (Perfections),” all trained by the mosquitoes. I’ve told you before.
Are you hungry? (Not hungry.) Do you need to go somewhere? (No.) Like going to the toilet or anything. No problem? (No.) How come you’re so well-trained today? One scolding and you… (Quiet down.) You’ve accomplished all Six Paramitas. You’ve all become quiet. Before, after sitting just five minutes, you had to take a walk. After two minutes, you’d open your eyes to look at your neighbors, looking left and right. All day long like that, what’s the use? Now, you sit for 4 hours, three hours without moving. Have you moved? (Yes.) Yes, fanning back and forth over there. OK. But you’ve improved. I feel that you’ve progressed a lot. Have you? (Yes.) Yes. OK. In the future, if I scold you more, you’ll reach Buddhahood.
OK. What I mean is, before, in the first generation, we had no roof at all; now we have no roof either, meaning we’re back to where we started. Exactly like before, without any roof. But now it’s better; we have trees, which we didn’t have before. The first time we came to clear the land, there was nothing, only a few chicken(-people) running around. No trees, no people, no electricity, and no water. The water now comes from the wells we dug. We built water towers ourselves, several hundred tons – the kind of water tower that holds tens or hundreds of tons. So we have enough to use. Because, with thousands of you using water at the same time, even “magic power” can’t replenish so fast. And so, there was lots of construction work here. It doesn’t look like much. But because there was nothing here, no matter how much we’ve done, it’s not noticeable.
Before, when there was no roof, when we first came, the whole place was overgrown with grass. Then we stayed inside the place where they sell books now; that location was where we meditated. There was a person who sat there; mosquitoes bit him all over, and he wasn’t aware of it. I didn’t know if he was asleep or in samadhi; he seemed to be in samadhi, not sleeping. Sleeping is different. Once you snore, people know it. So, if you want to sleep, be sure not to snore. Then people would think you’re a saint, sitting there very diligently. I think mosquitoes are very useful. Everyone looked at that person who was bitten all over by mosquitoes. The mosquitoes were enjoying their dinner, while our fellow initiate was enjoying the spiritual nourishment within him, which was also a kind of food. So he was very, very happy. Both of them were happy. I saw it and felt that he was pitiful and wanted so much to use a fan to fan him, or an electric fan to blow toward him. Later, we bought mosquito nets and electric fans for everyone.
So, what I mean is, if we really endure it, we’ll enter samadhi. The inner spiritual reward is well worth our patience. These few days are only an occasional extra practice for you. The real practice is when you go home. At home or at the group meditation, that’s your real everyday meditation. From time to time, we get together to practice more… more intense. It makes up for when we sometimes slack off at home, or when we are disturbed and can’t enter samadhi. So, these few days are for this.
If I’ve been stricter these days or scolded you loudly, forgive me, you Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Infinite merits to you. It’s all for your own good. I respect everyone, because I know you are Buddhas. It doesn’t matter that you don’t know it. So, how dare I scold Buddhas? If I scold you, it’s because you don’t know it. I have to force you to understand yourselves. Otherwise, if you keep moving and turning over there, and opening your eyes, how can you practice? How can you settle your mind to meditate? You’ve spent so much time, so much effort, so much bus fare to come here. And you just hang around for 3 days, and go home. You don’t get anything. Then why bother? This way, we’re deceiving ourselves, deceiving society, and our families too. Our family members sacrifice at home, taking care of the family for a few days for us to come here for diligent meditation. In the end, we give them nothing in return. We’re not serious while in here. Is that good? Ah? (Not good.) Not good. Not good. And we’re here on vacation, while many people are still working out there, protecting the country and doing lots of things. We meditate here quietly for a few days. We have to do it seriously, just like when we go to work. Yes or no? (Yes.)
Photo Caption: “Peace Is in the Heart of Tranquil Nature”
