Alright, brother. (Master, I just got initiated this time too. Before my initiation, I had learned Falun Gong. He teaches people qigong first, and then meditation.) It’s the same. (The same?) Also a kind of qigong. (OK. And that kind of qigong is… What I’m trying to say is that after my initiation today, can I still practice this qigong? Or should I stop practicing it?) No need. No need to practice it. (OK.) No need. You may if you want to, but you’ll be more distracted. And after some time, it will also be hard for you.
(Hallo, Master. I used to learn spiritual qigong.) Where are you? (Here. Though I made great progress, I never felt liberated spiritually. Later, through a fellow initiate, the contact person of Boston Center, I got initiated. Soon after my initiation, I felt very good. It’s the feeling of being liberated in one lifetime. I feel very good now. Thank You very much. I’m very grateful to Master. My thanks also go to many fellow initiates in Boston who introduced the Association to me. But now I…) Joining the Association. (I’m feeling conflicted. Now my whole family is initiated. At home, we… When I meditate on my own, I feel very peaceful and have excellent experiences. For the past year or so, sometimes when I go to the Center and meditate, the…) It’s not good? (I’d feel extremely uncomfortable. Sometimes, especially after I talk… If I talk after meditation, I’d feel very uncomfortable.) Don’t talk. No need to talk after meditation. (That’s right. I told my family members that after meditation… The reason for us to go to the Center is to meditate and to see Master. There is no need to talk with others at all. But sometimes various kinds of social situations require talking, and I’d just feel very uncomfortable.) OK.
(I have very conflicted feelings right now. I mean, can I go to the Center to meditate less often? But the fellow initiates of our Center all said, “If you don’t go to group meditations, you won’t be qualified to see Master.” And I persisted in going every time. But the thing is that when I went to meditate at New York Center, it was quite good. I felt very good. When I went to New Jersey [Center], it felt very good too. But New Jersey and New York are too far. How can my problem be solved?) Alright. Then you tell the contact person, “It’s too far. I cannot go every week. I’ll go once in a while.” They’ll understand. (Thank You, Master.) Because every situation is different. It’s not that you have to go to group meditation every week. [But] group meditation is good for you, anyway; plus, it’s warm with fellow initiates around. It’s OK if you don’t want to talk. If your wife wants to talk, let her. Otherwise, you’d also have problems at home. Just mind your own business. (Thank You, Master.) Ignore it if they don’t listen, OK? (OK. Thank You, Master.)
It’s good as long as your meditation is stable. Sometimes because people come and go at the Center, which may be more disturbing. At home, you… Some people prefer that kind of… The familiar conditions make them more at ease. That’s all. If the Center is far away, then they don’t feel like going, and they struggle inside and feel reluctant when they’re there. That’s why they cannot meditate well. (Nevertheless, I sometimes feel very sorry toward the contact person of the Center.) OK. OK. Then in the future, just go and meditate there willingly and gladly. OK? (OK.) And tell them… If it’s too far away for you, there’s no need to go every week. Just do group meditation at home, and go to the Center every now and then. But you have to tell the contact person of the Center that where you live is too far away and inconvenient. They will understand. OK? (OK, thank You.) Group meditation is not only about meditation. It serves the purpose that we are a family, that it’s warm, and that we are friends. And you can talk with each other about problems you have.
If you’ve already asked, don’t ask again. Let someone else ask. There are too many people. Wait. (Hallo, Master. If we only have outer experiences from our meditation, and don’t have inner experiences, how do we know if we are making progress? When we meditate, do we have to have inner experiences in order to know that our practice…) No, no. It’s OK as long as we have no attachment in our heart. Some people have lots of inner visions; some have lots of outer experiences. In any case, as long as your life has changed for the better, your compassion has grown, and your wisdom has developed more, those are your experiences. Because sometimes when you’re sleeping, I also take you up, but you forget time and again. Because your meditation is too lousy, or you doze off, or your thoughts wander wild, you cannot see the (inner Heavenly) Light nor hear the (inner Heavenly) Sound. That’s why I have to help you during your time of sleep. So, you see, some people say… Like this morning, someone said he’d never seen Master or any Light during meditation, and that he only saw in his dreams. He said that during sleep he’d see me in his dreams, and I answered, “Then sleep more.”
(But then, sometimes if I have no inner experience, when I want to meditate, I’d feel somewhat like I’m losing faith in meditation.) Is that so? No. Don’t lose faith. You must have faith. You are far from that. Don’t have expectations. Alright? (Then how do we evaluate what level we have progressed to?) What about the progress? (To what level we have progressed? To which World? How can we evaluate it?) Hasn’t your life changed? (My life has changed.) Don’t you feel more peaceful? (Yes.) You have. Then it’s OK! That means your meditation has borne fruit. Let me tell you, some kids drink milk while sleeping. Have you seen it? When he wakes up, if you ask him whether he drank milk or not, he’d say, “No.” Yet he grows bigger and bigger. He’d still say, “I didn’t drink anything. How come I’ve grown bigger and bigger?” As long as he grows, who cares if he did drink or not? (Thank You, Master.) It means that he did drink, that’s why he has grown.
(Hallo, Master. I have been initiated for a long time, but there hasn’t been any [inner Heavenly] Light up to now, and the [inner Heavenly] Sound hasn’t changed at all. What’s the problem?) It’s the same. Has your life changed? Has your life changed for the better? (My life… I always keep the Five Precepts… I’ve been keeping the Five Precepts.) (Has it changed?) (A little.) Has your life changed for the better? Do you feel calmer, more peaceful, and happier? (I do feel very peaceful. Things are going well at home, that’s true.) And? (There’s no [inner Heavenly] Light at all. It’s all…It looks dark.) It’s the same. I’ve already answered. (OK. Thank You, Master.) As long as you have grown, don’t care about what you have drunk.
(And this time, after coming here to Washington, I haven’t been able to sleep at all.) Is that so? (Up till now, I haven’t slept at all.) Then you benefit more from meditating more. (Yes, I just meditate more.) That’s great. (I see. OK. Thank You, Master. I’m done with my questions.) Probably for some people, the bed smells different. Your bed at home has a strong smell to it. That’s why you sleep better. Here they change the sheets every day. There’s no smell, so you can’t sleep. (No. Over here, I’m also sleeping on the floor. I’m not sleeping in bed.) OK. OK. OK. You’re not sleeping. But it’s good as long as you have enough energy. (I see. OK. Thank You, Master.) You’re welcome.
Sometimes it’s rather noisy here. Two or three initiates in one room. And everyone walks around. At the time you’re about to fall asleep, someone enters and makes noise. That’s why you can’t really sleep peacefully. And when everyone around you is speaking English, which you don’t understand, then your ears keep turning outward, out of curiosity to check, what is he saying? Then your mind is not in a comparatively settled state to sleep. Some little kids have super dirty pacifiers with saliva from their mouths all over them. You’d faint as soon as you smell it. But he likes it. If you don’t give it to him, he can’t sleep. If you give him a new one, he’d spit it out. Some little kids’ blankets smell like the leftover of their vomit. Like milk or… the leftover of what they threw up, which fell on the ground or in mud or something. But he’s just sound asleep like that. He has to take the blanket with him wherever he goes. If the blanket is washed, then he can’t sleep. Maybe you are that kind of kid. Someone else. Someone else. (Master.) If you have enough energy, then it’s fine.
(Can You hear me? OK. Thank You for Your blessings. I have several questions. It’ll be slower if I speak in Chinese. If I speak in English it’ll be quicker.) Not necessarily so. Just speak in Chinese. Everyone here is Chinese. (OK. Then I’ll take it slow. I wrote them on my hand. This morning You said that when You pass away, You can bring Your disciples with You. Then…) No, not when I pass away. (Oh, no. I’m sorry. It’s when we die.) Yes, I’ll come to take you. (You can do that. But what if You pass away first?) No problem! The Master is not this physical body. I can even go to your home now, let alone when I’m dead. It’ll be even more convenient.
(Then how come I heard that after a Master passes away, it’s best to find a living Master?) No, three hundred years after. That only applies to new disciples. Old disciples already have the connection, and don’t need to find another one. (Really?) New ones can’t have the connection. Understand? (Because originally, I had a Master. He passed away in 1991. I read about him…) Did he teach the same method? (What do You mean?) Did he teach you the same method? Not the same. Right? (I think his teaching is basically the same.) I’m not asking you about his teaching, but about his method. (The method is different.) Of course it’s not the same. Everyone can steal the teaching from the scriptures of Jesus and the Buddha. Everyone can learn them. Everyone can talk. A lot of people can talk. Those in the First Level can talk, so can those in the Second Level. However, knowing the Method and being able to transmit the Dharma lineage is something else. Not everyone can be this kind of Master. Understand? (Yes.) Therefore, your previous master is not the same. So, there’s no need to ask me. No need to ask me about him. He’s dead, and that’s why you came to me. No. Even if he were alive, you should come to me too.
But when he was alive, he tried his best to teach you what he knew. It was good enough. OK? (Yes.) Now you’re learning something else. It’s not the same. This Method and this Master, She will still take care of you after She passes away. (Yes. I’m still grateful to him. As to his photo, can I still put it in my room?) You may bring whatever picture you want. It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing bad about feeling grateful for someone. (Yes.) It’s just that sometimes he wasn’t that clear with his teaching. (Yes.) It confuses people, and they don’t know where the boundaries are. (Yes.) It’s OK to be a good person. (This is true.) Because he said that everything about us is God, and whatever we do is alright. But 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.
Photo Caption: Godlight Shines Within You. As the Sun Penetrates Dense Forest!
