I’ve told you already; it’s true that we are God, but now we have fallen beneath the boundary of the lower half of God. If now we’re going to become God completely, we have to know the other higher half of God. That’s all. It’s not that we are not God. Now we’ve already fallen to this side. If we continue doing the same things, what’s the point of spiritual practice? Then when can we know our higher noble half? That’s what I mean. If we truly want to be the total, the real complete God, we have to know both halves. He (your previous master) taught people, “We have to let go. Everything is OK. We are God. Let it go.” Only when you are an enlightened Master, you can say something like that. When you don’t know the other half yet, whatever you do is done on this side. Isn’t it exactly the same like before? Understand? (Yes.)
Now that we’ve learned this (Quan Yin) Method, we’re also doing exactly the same as he said, meaning that we’re doing exactly like before. We still have husband or wife, still eat and drink, and still have fun, but on the other hand, we also know the higher half. And so, we’re really the complete God. He said that “being total” is God. “Total” means that we should know both halves in order to be total, and to be complete. That’s what I mean. However, he taught you what he knew. He was a very good teacher already. We shouldn’t slander the other teacher after we have this teacher. It shouldn’t be that way. Nonetheless, now you have known this (Quan Yin) Method and the Master. You asked me whether I will leave you. I won’t. OK? (OK.) You’re welcome.
Anything else? (Yes, actually, I don’t really have any attachment to this world. But I have a very big attachment, which is my ex-girlfriend. It’s been 15 years since we broke up, but…) Fifteen years. (I still miss her.) Wow! Where is she now? (She’s Japanese.) Can you get her back? (She’s already married.) Then… Then leave her alone. Who cares? Find someone else. You’d be giving her trouble being this way. It makes trouble for both you and her. (Yes. That’s what I think too. So if I can make progress in my spiritual practice, will I gradually let go of the attachment?) Yes, you will. If you want to let it go, just let go! If you don’t want to, you can wait for four or five hundred years, and it’ll still be the same. You still can’t let go. I also admire your ability to stay so loyal. But it’s not good for you now. You know that very well. It’s no good for your ex-girlfriend either, and even worse for her family. You’d better let go of her, and free yourself as well. (It’s just so hard.)
You know what is good. Just do it because you are the Master yourself. You can decide yourself. What? (I can do it during the day, but… I dream of her at night, and just… It’s less of a problem in the daytime.) It comes back to you at night. (I dream of her during the night.) Is there any other girl that you’re interested in? Don’t laugh. (I had a couple of girlfriends, but they were just not the same.) Of course not. You should appreciate the good things about the new girlfriend, and forget the old one. Sometimes when we think about the past, we only think of the good parts. As a matter of fact, if you got back with the ex-girlfriend now, it won’t necessarily be that good. You won’t necessarily get along with her that well now because now the two of you have grown in different directions. Let go of the attachment. Don’t hurt yourself and the other person. It’s not good. OK?
(Yes. I just got initiated the day before yesterday. When we recite the Five Holy Names, is there a fixed tempo? Or, for example, in between one Name and another, can we take a few breaths?) Yes. (Whatever?) A few minutes in between is OK. No problem. (Really.) Recite slowly. (Because I couldn’t remember the next one, I just recited the same one several times.) No, no. (It’s not OK that way?) Don’t. Don’t do that. You’ll get used to it. (OK.) If you can’t remember it, wait for a while, and then recite the next one. You wait for a while and think, OK? You’ll get used to it later. You’re like that because you’re new. New initiates are not used to it, but later you will.
(My last question is: It’s hard to meditate in the lotus posture for me. Is sitting on a chair…) You can. (It’s not as good for meditation?) You can do it, you can. Just sit like this. (OK. OK.) Don’t sit fully in the chair. If you sink in, you’ll fall asleep more easily. Just sit like this. Only lean on it for a while when you’re very tired. (I see.) Sit like this. OK? (OK.) It’s also OK to sit on the bed. You can sit anywhere. (OK. Thank You.)
As to your previous teacher, there are plenty in this world. I’m only telling them because most of them don’t understand very well. There are many teachers in this world. However, there are several kinds of teachers. There’s one kind that can talk on the outside only. You can’t see him in your meditation. When you are going to a higher realm, he cannot pull you up. Or he’s only up to the Second World and stops there, unable to pull you up any higher. And some so-called outside teachers have only reached the Astral Realm. After he dies, you’re also “dead,” meaning that you no longer have a teacher. But for the teacher of the Quan Yin Method, who can teach the Quan Yin Method, and is able to have billions of Light bodies, after He or She dies, His or Her Light bodies will still exist, and will only disappear three to four hundred years later. Nonetheless, it means that He or She won’t leave His or Her initiated disciples forever. Thus, it doesn’t matter whether He or She dies because even when we’re alive, sometimes we can also see He or She come to our homes already, let alone when He or She dies. It will still be the same because He or She does not rely on the physical body. Do you remember and understand? For those teachers who rely on their physical bodies, when he is alive, you can’t see his Light body, not to mention after he dies. Just stop dreaming.
If when He or She is alive, His or Her Light bodies are already omnipresent, then it will be the same after He or She dies because He or She doesn’t rely on the physical body. His or Her physical body only serves the purpose of communicating with us and being able to talk to us, to shake hands with us, to look at us in the eye, to eat, drink, and have fun, which is fun that way, and to encourage us on the path of our spiritual practice. Otherwise, He or She really doesn’t rely on this physical body to communicate with you or help you in your spiritual practice. So, you don’t have to worry about this kind of teacher. It seems that [Supreme Master] Ching Hai is one of this kind. According to your fellow initiates, She is very powerful. She is omnipresent. It is said that She takes Heavens as Home. She can also go to your homes anytime. No key nor address needed. No previous warning nor asking beforehand. No need for an invitation. Sometimes when our relatives or friends die, She’ll also invite Herself, to take them up to Heaven. So I think She is also quite awesome. You should have faith. OK.
(Master, Master. When I do the Sound meditation, often the [inner Heavenly] Sound is loud in the beginning, but after a while, It gradually becomes smaller and mixed with other Sounds. There are no [inner Heavenly] Sounds of higher frequencies. There are just several kinds of [inner Heavenly] Sounds, but all mixed with other [inner Heavenly] Sounds.) Understand. It’s because you’re not concentrated. Recite the Five Holy Names for about five minutes. Then meditate on the (inner Heavenly) Sound; It’ll become louder. Then focus on It, the (inner Heavenly) Sound. Focus on It with your Wisdom Eye, then It’ll become louder. (Sometimes I would meditate on the [inner Heavenly] Light for a while before I start meditating on the [inner Heavenly] Sound, then the Sound would be very loud.) Yes, I know. (But after I meditate on the [inner Heavenly] Sound for a while, It would gradually become smaller. Then I…) Alright. Alright. Then you recite the Five Holy Names for a while, (Recite the Five Holy Names.
Also, I’ve been initiated for nearly three years. In the beginning, for a long period of time, I felt I was making great progress compared to before. But later I feel that often there is still a sense of tenseness in my heart as I do things nervously in a rush. It feels like, instead of Master, I’m the one doing a lot of things. The feeling of lightness is gone. There’s often a sense of pressure and nervousness. I don’t know how to relax.) Maybe it’s because of your work and your family. Try your best to relax. And when you feel tense, recite the Five Holy Names and take a few deep breaths. Tell yourself, “It’s nothing. Ah, take it easy.” (Sometimes even during meditation, I also feel nervous to the degree that the muscles on my face are like all tense and hard to relax.) Then take a walk or a shower. Or wash your face with cold water. Drink a glass of cold water. Recite the Five Holy Names for a while, then drink it. Then meditate. (OK. Thank You, Master.) And you’ll feel more comfortable in your meditation.
(Hallo, Master. I have to spend more than an hour on the subway to go to work, which seriously affects my meditation hours. It’s about three hours there and back.) Where is it? (Can I…) It takes three hours there and back. (It takes about three hours there and back because the subway takes a long time. Can I meditate on the subway? Can I meditate there? Does it count?) Does it count to meditate where? (Subway.) Subway. (Yes.) Yes. (But there are a lot of people. It doesn’t matter?) No. As long as you don’t do the (inner Heavenly) Sound meditation, it’s OK. (I won’t.) Do the (inner Heavenly) Sound meditation at home. Yes, yes, it counts, so does sitting in the car, on the bus, the airplane, as well as the train. Anywhere. The park also counts.
(I have one more question. I work at the litigation department. Because I have some knowledge of the law, my relatives and friends often come to ask me questions. Recently I helped my first cousin with her divorce against her husband. After that, I felt very bad. It’s because even though my cousin got her justice and compensation, I still hurt the other person, which was her husband, whom I didn’t know. After helping my cousin with her divorce, I felt I had hurt her husband.) You’ve already felt bad, why still ask if you can continue to do it in future? So annoying. Just repent if you’ve done wrong. Forgive yourself, and don’t do it again. That’s true repentance. Only then can our conscience feel at ease. Even that way, we still might worry that our conscience won’t be at ease. Yet you still want to continue to do wrong. Is that it? Whatever we do that makes us feel bad for hurting other people means that it’s wrong. Our conscience already knows. No need to ask me at all. Do you want me to give you a license so you can continue to do it?
Yes. (Master, I know that many brothers have asked this question. I’m asking on behalf of my initiated husband. He’s not here. I’m eager for special instructions. He has been initiated for two years and still doesn’t have any [inner Heavenly] Light or Sound.) It’s not possible. (That’s right. I also said that to him, but that’s what he said. He has a Christian background, so I’m thinking perhaps… Maybe there are things he can’t let go.) Struggling? (Yes. I can’t help him. I’m very anxious because now he often feels frustrated and anxious, and he gets ill-tempered. He even said so to me himself. And what’s troubling and worrying him is that, as a Christian, he sees no [inner Heavenly] Light and hears no [inner Heavenly] Sound. He wonders what he is doing. That’s what is troubling him now. I hope he won’t fall off the path. That’s how things are. I don’t know if there is something else other than Master’s frequent answers like meditating more, reciting the Five Holy Names…)
Have you been attending group meditations? (Yes, yes, yes. This time he even encouraged me to come.) Maybe his mind struggles too much. (Yes, I think so too. But I don’t know how to tell him.) Tell him that if he doesn’t want to practice spiritually, just forget it, and go back to being a Christian. If he wants to practice spiritually, he has to let go completely. We’re still Christians. It has not changed. Only some added experiences are given to him. Tell him not to struggle that much. (If he decides to give up meditation and go to church single- mindedly or something, I won’t force him. I just want to know will Master still take him up when his time comes?) If he still wants it. (Or, is it… OK.) If he still wants it. (OK.) Maybe he thinks the (inner Heavenly) Light is not like this, and that the (inner Heavenly) Sound is not like that. Because they are very subtle, tell him to concentrate more when he meditates. (OK.) Do recite the Five Holy Names before meditation. (OK.) You recite together with him. (OK.) For about 20 minutes. Out loud. (OK.) Or half an hour. Until the situation improves. (OK.) If he still doesn’t want it, then tell him… Just leave him alone. (OK. OK.) Let him do whatever he wants. (OK.) Don’t keep on struggling. It’s painful. (Yes. OK. Thank You, Master.) OK.
(Master, I’d like to ask one question. When I do the [inner Heavenly] Sound meditation, if I want to remind myself to concentrate on the Wisdom Eye again, can I point to my Wisdom Eye with my pinkie? Or do I just prop this side up? I mean like this.) At the Wisdom Eye like this? (Just with…) Like this at the Wisdom Eye? (Yes, yes. With my pinkie…) Yes, you can. (I can? OK. Thank You.) But you’d get tired that way. Do it for a while, then take a break. (OK.) And do it again. Yes, you can. (OK. Thank You, Master.) As long as you don’t get distracted, and the (inner Heavenly) Sound is loud.
Photo Caption: Somewhere to Lean on When Still Need, Will Grow on to Be Strong in Deed
