Are you satisfied? If not, you can ask again. (Thank You.) OK, you’re welcome. So… I’ll tell you one more thing to help you understand better. For example, wasn’t our world very primitive in the past? We lived in caves and ate raw (animal-people) meat and so on. We didn’t even know how to make fire. We had no tools at all, and then gradually, more and more enlightened Masters came to this world. Before Lord Jesus Christ, there had been many enlightened Masters. Before Shakyamuni Buddha, there were also many enlightened Masters. They came, gradually, one by one. Even if They didn’t travel around the world to speak to everyone, still, wherever They did speak, the whole world would vibrate… That vibration would spread out. That’s why the whole world would come to know. That’s how our world continues to progress more and more. You can see it, right? So, our world today is much more beautiful and convenient than it was two or three thousand years ago. OK.
Now, don’t question me: “What nonsense is Master talking about? How can people in Somalia hear what She is saying here?” If I use a telephone to talk to you here, can you hear me? Can you hear me in Taiwan (Formosa)? Yes! OK. What is a telephone? It’s a kind of material instrument that proves that when I speak here, you can also hear it over there. If there were no telephones, you couldn’t hear. I’m speaking here, and you can hear me in Taiwan (Formosa). Luckily, we now have telephones. Now you understand. You cannot say people in Somalia cannot hear me. Our souls don’t need telephones. This telephone demonstrates that the whole world can hear me. And there are also satellites. When the Americans went to the Moon, we could contact them from here. Because of that instrument, you know that he could hear us. Why is that? Because this voice of ours can vibrate throughout the Universe! Therefore, our body, speech, and mind must be very clean, beautiful, and pure. That’s why I tell you to keep the Pprecepts – no killing, no eating (animal-people) meat. Because we are one. Whatever we do, the entire Universe can see it.
OK. Just look at the telephone and you’ll know. You can hear my voice from there. Why? It’s not because of the cable. It’s because my voice can be transmitted there. The cable is just an instrument which can transmit it. It can transmit it to your ear. Otherwise, a few pieces of cable can only let five or six people hear it. So, like television, or television or radio stations, in which millions or even billions of people can hear it and see it. That shows what I’m saying is correct. Somalia, Russia – everywhere – can hear what I’m saying here. It’s their souls listening, not just their ears. Alright, if we want to amplify it, to let their minds hear, to let their ears hear it clearly, then we use television or telephones. Otherwise, the voice is already there to begin with. Or else, how could a telephone capture my voice? So is it enough with the scientific facts? Any more questions? Yeah, that’s good.
(Master, may I ask one more question?) Sure. You Chinese have a lot of questions. Chinese are specialists in asking. Ask. OK. (From what I know about Buddhism, there is no such word as “soul” in Buddhism.) Why do you have to use the term “soul”? It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to use it. (Yes. In Christianity, they often use the word “soul.”) Then… (They use the word “soul.”)
(From Your point of view, from what You believe in, is there no difference between Buddhism and Christianity?) No difference. Let’s say you call that glass “shuei” and I call it “water” – is that OK? Of course, you are used to calling it “shuei” in Chinese. (But religious beliefs are very different.) The same. The same. (Because in Christianity they say…) I’ll tell you. You think like that because you haven’t learned Sanskrit. In Buddhism, it’s written as “Atma” in Sanskrit. “Atma” means soul. In Chinese it’s translated as “soul.” Understand? Atma. (Spiritual awareness.) The soul. No. Not “spiritual awareness.” That’s why they wrote “Mahatma,” meaning “the great soul.”
(In Christianity, it’s said you have to rely on God to be saved.) Yes. (Isn’t that so?) Yes. (But in Buddhism, like You said just now, we have to rely on our own power.) “Your own power” is yourself, which is God. God is our own… our Original Nature. We are from God. (Yes. But in Christianity there are many rituals.) Of course… (So we have to worship and pray.) Yes. (Have to pray.) Yes. (So, it is truly relying on an outer power, because it is a relationship between master and servants.) I know what you mean. Then, let me ask you: Doesn’t your Buddhist master also tell you to go to temples to worship Buddha? Same thing. You go and worship Buddha and ask for blessings. Both are wrong.
You should pray to yourself; you don’t have to go to the temple or church. However, now that you’re forcing me to say it, they’ll scold me and say I’m a heretic! And they’ll say I’m talking wrongly. In fact, Shakyamuni Buddha didn’t go to a temple to become a Buddha, nor did [Lord] Jesus Christ build a church in order to communicate with God. It was only after They passed away, that people built those memorial halls, and then everyone got together all day long… And then more and more rituals, and more and more prayers. The fact is, when [Lord] Jesus Christ was alive, He didn’t do those things. Shakyamuni Buddha, according to the sutras I’ve read, did not tell us to worship Him or to burn any incense. No. It’s we who created those things.
(Master, I agree with You about that. Because I don’t do worship either.) Ah! Great. Then, why are you giving me troubles? (Because I also don’t ask for blessed rewards.) That’s wonderful, you’re wonderful! She’s already enlightened, and she’s still asking me all those silly questions. But I know you’re asking for the sake of others. Right? Yes. (Because I think the biggest reason we want to get enlightened is hoping to be liberated from the sea of suffering – the cycle of birth and death.) Yes, yes, yes. (So, asking for blessed rewards is not something of eternal faith.) Yes. Just trivial stuff. Besides, to enjoy those blessed rewards, you’d have to come back and reincarnate again. Isn’t it? Yes. Now you understand everything. (No. I was thinking I might be able to hear some better things from Master.) Yes. The better things are what you just said – to be liberated from the sea of suffering. If you seek this, then we must… There’s no other way except to realize our Original Nature.
(Then, how should we look at “renunciation”?) At what, honey? (Renunciation – recognizing suffering and renouncing it. (It means being fed up with and abandoning this world.) After we become enlightened, we won’t hate the world, but we also won’t be attached to it. We’ll be neutral. We do what we should do – when we’re hungry, we eat; when we’re tired, we sleep; if we have no money, we go earn some. But inside, we have something else, which has nothing to do with money, sleeping, eating, or children, husband, wife, relatives or friends. That is what we want. We have that with us, life after life. We already had It from the beginning, which is our Real Self, totally liberated. And we know clearly that we don’t need anything at all. Yes, after we find It, we are liberated from the sea of suffering. Actually, we were originally liberated. I know you understand that. It’s alright.
(If we have nothing to do with our parents, wife, husband, or children, and all other people, does it mean that our heart would be a lonely heart?) No! I’m talking about your Real Self, not about your emotions and your relationships. You still love your parents all the same – hat is emotion. That part of you is different from your Real Self. Understand what I mean? The Real Self includes everything. What I mean is, after finding your Real Self, even without your parents, without any money or any relationship, you still would not lose It. You’d still be happy. You’d still understand and know who you really are. That’s what I mean. I’m not saying that after getting enlightened, you’ll cut all relationships. No! How come? Our people here still get married and have children.
What I mean is that the Self is above everything that we have – above all boundaries, all material properties, all relationships in the world. Therefore, even if a person has no boyfriend, is not married, has no children he or she would still be enlightened and happy all the same. One doesn’t need to rely on possessions, children, or a husband or wife to be happy. That’s what I mean. It’s alright to have a relationship. I don’t mean that after enlightenment you cut off everything. Otherwise, what to do with your life? I think you understand better and deeper.
(Then Master, what is Your view on karmic affinity with sentient beings?) My view on sentient beings? (The affinity with sentient beings.) What do you mean? (The affinity with all beings. The affinity. The relationship between people.) You mean my relationship with them, or with their Real Self? (What is Your view on the affinity between people in this world?) (I mean, for example, my affinity with my father.) I see. (My affinity with my mother, or with Master. My relationship with my classmates and my friends.) This you all know. It’s related to karma from previous lives… (The karmic influence.) Yes, yes, yes. Past lives. For example, in the past, you deeply cared for each other, or… Even if you were just very close friends, helping each other a lot and really caring for each other. In the next life, you might return as parent and child, mother and son, or husband and wife. What? (So, is this what’s called karmic accumulation?) Yes, yes, yes. Karma accumulates and keeps dragging on. (It follows your inherent tendencies and piles up together. ) Yes, yes, yes. But it has nothing to do with our Real Nature. (It does, Master.) Not that much.
(Does karma have anything to do with our heart? Not related?) I mean our Real Nature. (The real heart.) Originally It is not related to anything, because It is related to the entire Universe. Originally, we are alone by ourselves. And then, I have a father, a mother… Originally, we were all one. After falling into this illusory world, we become individuals, each with a name and a family. From a young age, people have always known you as “Mrs. Wang.” You were born, and then grew up, and then you’re confined in certain situations, and you recognize yourself as that.
(Then, if we fail to get away from these affinities with beings, will we keep on transmigrating in the suffering sea of birth and death?) Of course, of course. That’s why we have to get enlightened, we have to see through it. That we are One, that we are not this body. That’s why we have to be enlightened and to recognize our own Great Self, our Self Nature, that’s one with the Universe. It’s my responsibility.
(Then, about the affinity with other beings, do You think we still should create affinity with others?) It was already created. Why do you say that we “should”? Wherever we go, we always create affinities naturally. For example, when you fall into this world, no matter what you want to do, you’d definitely have parents. Like me, like Shakyamuni Buddha, like anyone else – whether we want it or not. Coming to this illusory world to play this drama, this game, the affinities are there. But having this affinity is like having no affinity.
To an enlightened person, having or not having affinities is the same. To someone not enlightened, he only has the father and the mother. Without them, he’d die. Without his lover, he’d cry to death, or commit suicide. To an enlightened person, to have and not to have are the same. If there is affinity, then just play your part in the drama. It’s just a role. That’s all. This is not easy to explain. When I explain it to you, I fully understand it, but I’m afraid you don’t. I understand it very well and know what I’m talking about. I see it very clearly.
Photo Caption: Growing in Challenging Situation Makes One Stronger
