Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, the Youngdong Center, Korea, May 6, 1998
(Originally in English) Videotape # 618


I
f you’ve seen Les Miserables, you know that there’s a policeman in the film. He’s good, really good. He’s straightforward and honest. But he’s too rigid, too fanatical. If anyone breaks a little law, even if they repent, reform themselves and do a lot of good things to make up for it, he still wants to put them in jail. It doesn’t matter at what price; there’re no exceptions for him. None!

He even punishes himself for doing wrong. Number one, when he suspects the mayor of doing wrong but later thinks he himself is wrong, he comes to ask for punishment from the mayor. Number two, he’s touched by the mayor, who was supposedly a criminal before but has been reformed into a fantastic humanitarian and a loving, caring person. Still, he wants to chase after the mayor and put him in jail again. But, because the mayor is so good and has touched the policeman’s heart, the policeman wants to set him free. Even then, he still considers the mayor a criminal and fully punishable. So, because he sets the mayor free, he punishes himself and feels he has to kill himself. Because he thinks that by setting the ex-mayor free, the now good ex-criminal free, he has committed a criminal act and broken the law. So he kills himself.

That’s how fanatical some people can be! So you choose your own way of life; you can be fanatical if you want. But if you ask me, I’ll tell you to just relax and be natural. Be more flexible. Then your life will be smoother and more comfortable. But if you can’t be relaxed or flexible, that’s OK; let it be. But forgive yourself.