The Monkey-Monk

A long time ago, there was a monk who became a monkey. When the Buddha came into this world to preach the dharma, the Truth, there were many monks who studied under Him. There were some monks who had already attained sainthood, but many people did not know that. Other monks sometimes made fun of them because some of them didn't look very good and looked a little bit "funny". There was one monk who was very, very naughty. Every time he saw one of those monks running down the hill, he'd say to him, "You look like a monkey running down that hill." Because he criticized that monk - called him a monkey, for five hundred lifetimes, he had to be born as a monkey.

So take care, and don't laugh at the monks because between "monk" and "monkey," the only difference is two letters. Anyhow, if you make fun of an ordinary monk, maybe it is all right. But if that monk has already attained sainthood, then you'll be in trouble. You never know which monk has already become a saint or which monk has already attained a very high level of spiritual practice, so you had better take care.

Monks are Instruments of God

Especially the monks that I send to your country according to your request to teach you the dharma, you had better take care not to make fun of them, and not even try to attract them physically. According to Buddhism, if we try to waylay a monk who has been studying under a living Master, it is a very terrible sin. I will read some of the warnings for you. I have sent so many monks abroad and a lot less have come back; and you keep asking me for more.

I can't produce monks. I can only send you what I have, what God has sent me to serve you; and I can only train those who are able. Not every monk is able to memorize the teachings, especially the initiation process. Sometimes they are old, sometimes they are not very literate, and sometimes they are not good at teaching and theory. Maybe they are good at practice; maybe they are able to meditate a lot and have attained a spiritual height, but they are not very able to go out and preach to other people or to repeat the initiation procedure. So not every monk that comes here can I use for your benefit. Nevertheless, whatever good, intelligent monks I send you at the cost of my inconvenience and finances, even then, you still snatch them. Some of you, not all of you; most of you don't because you are already married, thank God!

When I say "monk," I mean "nun" as well; people snatch both. I don't know why, when there are so many people in the world, people have to snatch the monks and nuns, leaving me handicapped and wasting my time training new people. If there are any new ones at all, because you don't send them to me, you keep them for yourselves. You tightly keep your husbands, sons, daughters and wives, and then at the same time, demand that I send monks and nuns to teach you the dharma if I cannot go myself. Of course, it is difficult for me alone to go everywhere to teach you personally, so the monks and nuns are my ears, my eyes, my hands, and my feet to help me serve you. Nevertheless, sometimes you sever my limbs, my instruments, and make me handicapped. Then you complain that I don't send people to teach you, especially those countries like Au Lac or China, where I cannot personally go due to the political situations prevailing at the moment. Well, I suppose it will be much better in the future for the sentient beings' sake.

These less well-known monks can be more anonymous and go incognito to such lands to help you, but I send a lot out and I get few back. This is very inconvenient. It's a loss of business; if I send out five, I should get back ten. Mostly when people do business, they prosper; they get more interest and income as time goes by. But at the moment, this business looks like it doesn't bring a lot of profit. Well, it does, though. Perhaps I lose one monk and I gain about a hundred people. That's not bad, but then these hundred people cannot be used as monks or nuns; they are lay people. Therefore, it's also inconvenient for me.

I don't have that many monks. Besides, some of them have to help record the videotapes and audiotapes, and print the books and magazines for you. Do you think that all these things come from the sky, or you pick them from the snow or something like that? Do you think the videotapes and audiotapes are good all by themselves? No, they have to edit them and put all the good parts together. Sometimes they just record at random when I walk around, talk nonsense with you, make jokes, or something that is not very necessary for your practice. So, they have to edit them. Moreover, not every monk can edit the videos because of the sophisticated equipment. They have to learn for a long time. They have to have patience, have some idea about artistic setup, and they have to know how to use the machines as well. Therefore, there is a lot of work to do, and I don't have that many people. If you realize the amount of work that I do, you know how very difficult it is for me. Of course, I can have it easier. I don't need videotapes; I don't need audiotapes. I need nothing, and then it's easier. I don't need people.

The Anxiety of Waiting for Initiation

In addition, not all of these monks are angels. They also make trouble for me. They give me headaches and they make mistakes. The things that they should do, they don't; and the things they should not do, they do, et cetera. There are a lot of things that I have to bear, apart from training them; and as soon as I train them right, some people snatch them, for example like that. Then I lose one more hand, one more foot, one more eye and one more ear. The work becomes slower and many sentient beings, who have been very earnestly waiting for initiation, are obstructed. They must wait for a long time, and sometimes it is too long for them. They may die before initiation, you never know; life is ephemeral. They must be vegetarian for three months and who knows what will happen during the three months. Sometimes not only three months and then they get it; they have to wait for eight months or one year. If I don't have enough Quan Yin messengers to send, then they must wait longer, and you know what it's like when you keep waiting for initiation. Many of you must know the longing, the desperation, during the time you wait for initiation, because you know life is ephemeral and you might not get it before you leave this world. The time is so short; you might not have enough time to practice.

The world is in chaos because we do not carry out God's will. We obstruct it with our egos and then we make a lot of trouble for the Kingdom of Heaven to descend upon Earth. I wish that in the future, whenever I send a messenger to you, be it a monk or nun, and even though they are in lay clothes for the sake of convenience in travel and so you don't attach to the form or to the differences, that you respect them the way you respect me. Give them all the conveniences possible with respect and honor, not spoiling them, not giving them too much food or too much attention. Just give them what they need, whatever they request so that they can serve you better and they will have the encouragement and protection necessary for them to continue to do your work.

I am speaking to you as well as to all the future fellow practitioners. I wish, I request, I beg you to do this because a monk or nun is also born among us. They also have physical beings like you. They have physical bodies with physical needs and physical temptations. It is already very difficult for them to withstand all these temptations. It is difficult enough without you having to make more temptations, taking advantage of the position of going near them, helping them to drive a car, or helping them to cook a little meal. You weaken their resistance, make bad karma for yourself, and hinder a future Master from serving all other suffering sentient beings. I hope you understand for the first time, and for the last time. [Applause]

Protect the Sentient Beings' Precious Property

I have not requested at any time, that you become a monk or nun. I have never said anything like this. But should anyone like to dedicate their lives to the service of suffering sentient beings, you should honor, help, and protect them, so that they don't fall down into the pit of temptation. You should never make more trouble. You should never try to satisfy your own temporary lust or desire for physical contact, or even physical love, to pull them down to the lower level of consciousness just to make yourself happy, just to satisfy your selfish desires. I am not talking about whether you create sins from this or not. I am talking about your own conscience. A monk or nun can profit many people spiritually and uplift them out of the suffering of transmigration, from hell even, including your own parents, friends, wives, husbands and children. If you snatch them away for your own self, how many thousands of people suffer, do you know?

Do you ever think of the consequences of your actions because of your selfish desire to satisfy your own physical lust or physical desire? You take away sentient beings' dear, precious property, and you let many thousands of people suffer without 'light'. You already have the 'light'; you have already had everything given unto you, and you deprive thousands of others, or maybe even hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, including their deceased relatives and friends, and five, six, seven generations. You deprive them of the guidance of the Master and God. Do you ever think of the consequences? Do you ever feel compassion for these suffering people? I request you to think again about this.

I am not threatening you with karma, sin, hell-fire, and all those things. It doesn't matter what you do, the Buddha is merciful, God is compassionate. Hes will eventually save you. But you alone, if you have done damage to many thousands of people, it will bear upon your conscience alone; no one else will have to even judge you or tell you anything. You are a future Master, you have a conscience, and since your wisdom has been awakened, you know more clearly than other sentient beings. You know everything about what you should do and what you should not, so there is no one to even judge you but you yourself.

Reminders for the QYM

When I send them out to you, I tell them many things. I tell them not to sleep on your bed because they might pick up your physical vibrations; I tell them not to take anything from you because when you offer, you might not have a very clean intention. They do not know, and then this will affect them. I tell them not to take respect from you, not to let you bow to them because I am afraid that their ego will sprout up and become difficult for them to control. They fail in different ways: through ego, through physical temptations and through flattering praises. Everything makes them fail. And you just offer them anything that you should not, most of the time, just to get some selfish personal advantage: sometimes just so that they will treat you better; sometimes just so that you can have more information than other people; and, sometimes because of physical desires. Whatever it is, it is no good for them and for you.

I tell them many things. But when they go outside, they forget, and also they become weakened, surrounded by all the temptations. I tell them not to wear too beautiful clothes and not to make themselves up too much, both men and women, just because I don't want them to attract trouble for themselves. Nevertheless, some of them do; some of them misunderstand my good intentions. I have said to them: "I am the main actor. I wear different things; I do different things. You have a different role to play. You don't have to dress the same. You don't have to do the same." Just like in a movie, the main actor wears one thing, and the supporting actors wear different things. They don't have to wear the same clothes as the main actor, or they don't have to do the same things. Besides, even if I wear beautiful clothes, I know what to do with myself, and they don't. To some degree, I am stronger. But sometimes they misunderstand my good intentions, and sometimes you don't help them and you don't help me. You create more trouble than help, and that is why we have problems.

I would like to take all the world into the Quan Yin family to create heaven as quickly as possible, but there are so many obstructions. Everyone's physical body is already a self-obstruction: sometimes they get sick, sometimes they get tired, sometimes too much karma, and everything. And if they get more temptations from the outside, then it's very, very difficult.

When the monks and nuns stay here, they have better protection because they live alone. They live together, but do not have much contact with society. They do their jobs like writing stories, printing the magazine, or checking the books and transcriptions, and all that, so they are busy. People don't have much opportunity to be near them for a very long period of time, thus it's easier for them to keep to themselves and to concentrate. But when they go outside alone and have to deal with many hundreds and thousands of people, day in and day out, with the physical nearness, it is very difficult for them. They run into the magnetic fields of other people, which are at times not very pure, not very clean, and full of the pulling tendency, therefore it is very difficult for them to withstand. They sometimes forget to pray to the inner Master, or they are weak themselves and sometimes the past karma comes running back to them. If they forget the Master inside for any moment, they will be in trouble.

It is not only when I send them out that they are lost, but here too. There are times when people come to the Center and create problems, so it is very difficult for us -- for me and for the monks and nuns -- to do the work that you expect us to do. Yet, we cannot be selfish and shut ourselves in the caves and not worry about your suffering and longing for liberation. We must sacrifice; we must come out and do many things that we don't really wish to do. We have to make fools of ourselves sometimes. We have to lower our tastes in order to be in accord with all sentient beings, to make them feel near, to make them feel very familiar in order to teach them the higher way of life. But in doing this, at times we endanger ourselves. At times the monks and nuns lose their hold on the ideal of monkhood, of renunciation, of the sacrificial spirit, and they fall. It is not entirely their fault; you are also responsible, and me too. But as you know, even God does not force people. God and Buddha can only encourage people and protect them whenever they wish to be. But there are times when sentient beings don't wish protection. They wish to do the things that their physical bodies and desires are directing them to do, and they refuse help and protection from God. It happens.

Merits of Being a Monk

Okay, I will read to you some of the praises from the Buddhist sutras about people who are monks; who want to become monks; who let others become monks or encourage people to become monks; who help people to become monks; and who support people who are monks. So that you will know whatever I tell you is the truth. If you don't believe me, you can believe the Buddha.

"Exceedingly great and manifold are the blessings of he who has become a monk. Inconceivable are the blessings of he who has allowed his son, daughter, man-servant or maid-servant to enter the monastic life or has himself become a monk. The blessings of he who has become a monk or allowed others to become a monk far exceed the blessings of he who, by means of the virtue of charity, has possessed wealth for ten lifetimes, or of he who has been born for many thousands of ages among the six realms of the gods."

Do you hear that? There is more here.

"One may ask why this is so. It is because the virtue which is derived from charity will eventually become exhausted, but the blessings of becoming a monk go beyond the limits of time and have no end. Again, through the virtue of observing the precepts, one may become a sage who possesses the five supernormal powers, rejoices in the realm of God Brahma, or is endowed with extreme wealth. But the blessings of him who has become a monk of the teachings of an enlightened One are beyond conception, and the blessing of the bliss of nirvana is indestructible.

If one were to construct a stupa of the seven precious jewels so high that it'd reach the heaven of the thirty-three gods, the blessings from this would not equal those of becoming a monk. One may ask why this is so. It is because ignorant, unenlightened men could destroy the stupa of the seven precious jewels, but no one could ever destroy the blessings of he who has become a monk. If one desires the dharma of blessings, he must realize that there is no other way than by becoming a monk of the teachings of an enlightened One.

There is no dharma superior to this. It may be likened to a wise physician who heals the eyes of a hundred blind men and returns their sight to them. Or it is like a man who prevents a violent person from tearing out the eyes of a hundred men. Although the virtues of these two are beyond conception, the blessings of he who allows others to become monks or himself becomes a monk are even greater. One may ask why. It is because the first two, when they saved the sight of others, brought forth a worldly blessing only; the happiness had to do with the fleshly eye and material existence. But those who allow others to become monks or themselves become monks by aiding each other will gradually, in the end, attain the eye of supreme wisdom, and the self-nature of this wisdom eye will never be destroyed even until the end of the world. Through the blessing of his virtue, men and gods will rejoice in inexhaustible possessions and in the end will attain the bliss of enlightenment. It is because the dharma of the monk destroys the realm of Maya (meaning illusion) and causes the lineage of the Buddha to increase. It destroys virtueless, evil dharmas, and gives birth to virtuous teachings. It destroys the impurities and gives birth to the supreme work of virtue.

The Buddha has taught that the blessings of becoming a monk are higher than Mount Meru (a very high sacred mountain in India), deeper than the bottom of the sea, and more extensive than the firmament."

Do you know how big the firmament is, how limitless is the sky? That is the merit of the one who becomes a monk or allows others to become monks. These are the words of the Buddha. I am not trying to tempt you.

The Pitch-black Pit

"Grave indeed is the fault of him who obstructs or hinders another from becoming a monk. It may be likened to a man who enters a totally dark house in which he can see nothing, who falls into the pitch-black pit of hell. The result of this may be likened to all the rivers emptying into the ocean, thus sins accumulate within his being. It is like the great conflagration, which occurs at the end of a world eon when majestic Mount Meru is reduced to flame and ashes. The man will be totally consumed by the flames of hell. Thus, the blessings of he who allows others to become monks or himself becomes a monk are exceedingly great. He who becomes a monk becomes cleansed through the waters of the sutras (the holy books of the Buddha), and washed away are all the defilement, totally alleviated of the sufferings of birth and death, and he becomes a cause for the bliss of nirvana. Through discipline, he courses within the realm of the pure precepts, through the clear eye of the dharma, he sees the deeds of virtue and non-virtue throughout the entire universe, and through mindfulness, he treads the Eightfold Noble Path of the Noble One and arrives at the city of nirvana. He who allows older or younger people to become monks or himself becomes a monk great are his blessings."...

There is more, but I think that should be enough for you. That was the teaching of the Buddha.

It is very difficult to become a monk, especially today with all the material comforts, and we human beings have the very deep tendency to be attached to anything that we are used to. That is one of the great causes why we keep being reborn and reborn in the same world again and again. At the time of dying, we feel reluctant to leave whatever we are accustomed to living with. That is why not many people can leave home and become a monk, except when they have trouble with the family. That is why many Chinese people sometimes have the wrong view: monks and nuns are those who are very depressed, who do not love this world, who cannot live outside because they have trouble with family members or maybe their lover rejected them. Therefore, they come here or to the temple to become a monk. That may be the case with some of the people but it is not true with many other monks. They became monks because of their distinguished high ideals of sacrifice and service to human beings as well as to attain the supreme wisdom. These are the real monks and nuns and they are the ones that we should protect and venerate as the very precious jewels of the world. They are the 'light-bearers'; they are the rescuers of those in hell; they are the ones who spread the true teachings among humankind, lighting the torch in the darkness to lead all beings into supreme bliss and eternal happiness. These monks and nuns are hard to find. That is why we must respect, protect and help them, and never for one moment allow ourselves to have a thought of pulling them down or closer to us for our personal benefit or desire.

Be a Monk from the Heart

Furthermore, all of us, even if we cannot leave home to become monks and nuns, should be monks and nuns in our own homes. We should lessen our desires for material wants whenever possible; we should curb our tendencies to run after worldly profit, name, and fame for the sake of material enjoyment. We continue to do business but without attachment. We must do it in the spirit of being a provider for ourselves, our family, and society, and not because we do business to gain fame or to gain profit in order to make ourselves a very exceedingly luxurious life.

It depends on our inner conception how we do the work in this world. If our conception is correct, even if we do business or we rule the whole nation, it is still correct and we still can attain enlightenment. But if our conception is not correct, even if we became a monk, we are just a kind of hypocrite - only outside a monk; inside, perhaps a monkey.

The monkey is the mind and the lustful desires keep running all over the place inside of it. That is the monkey we should tame in order to become a true monk. Should we see someone who has attained the merit, the blessing of becoming a true monk, we must thereby help them, protect them, and do everything we can to always keep them in an exalted position for the sake of all sentient beings, including ourselves. To protect the monk means to protect yourself too, because if you attract him, if you make him fall down into the physical desires, then it's not only he who fails but also you. You are the one who falls as well, who creates a lot of heavy obstruction for yourself in the future. Whatever we do for others, we do for ourselves. So, try to remember this. Thank you. [Applause]

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