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A
Saintly Mind
Expects Nothing In Return
Spoken
by Supreme Master Ching Hai, at Hsihu Center, Formosa
June 6, 1995 (Originally In English)
 The
retreat is over, so I think I'll let you go to sleep, you know, normal
time. You don't have to meditate so long. You may go back to your
tent and meditate longer, until you want to sleep. And in the daytime
you may rest or meditate as you please, and follow the schedule here,
like 4 to 7 and 6 to 9. Normally, you follow what is here. Sometimes
summer and winter there is a slight difference in the schedule. So
you're free, but try to meditate as much as you can; and don't gossip
too much. If you have to talk then talk about God, something beneficial,
something that vibrates positively in the air and contributes to
the harmony of the world as well as to your spiritual progress and
those of your neighbors. Whatever we speak, we'll give a vibration,
and accordingly what we say, good or bad, will affect upon us again.
There
are still many around. You'll stay a long time? Your family is okay?
I told you if you have no obligations, family, children, job or any
other duty, especially the family, the children, and the job....
If you have work to do, you must tell your boss before you leave
or before you stay or whatever. You don't just go like this. Place
yourself in other people's positions and then act accordingly. Don't
be selfish and make a bad name for yourself and for our group.
We
have to do good things in this world, not because we will have a
good result, good karma. That is only for children, for the beginning,
for the beginner of practice. Then they still need awards, merit,
punishment, all these praises and blame. But as we go to a higher
dimension, a higher level of consciousness, we forget all this. We
do whatever to benefit other people and whatever is righteous according
to our conscience. Not to expect anything at all in return.
If
we look at the history of the world, not everyone who does the righteous
things, not every act of kindness will be rewarded with the same
level of goodness. For example, you look around, Jesus. All his life
he tried to do good and be a good example of Godly qualities, but
he had no fantastic reward in return. At least, I mean, when he was
alive. And Buddha, he has done a great deal for the world and for
his disciples. But he had a lot of slander, blame and curses, sometimes,
even close to assassination. Gandhi, for example. He strived to do
good for his people and his country. And to bring peace among religious
believers in India, and what did he get in the end? A bullet. And
many other people like Kennedy of America, Abraham Lincoln, etc.,
etc. All these good people. They sincerely tried to bring justice
to the world and peace to human beings. But they all got a very tragic
retribution for the good that they had done to the world. Politically
speaking even, not only in religion.
Like
in Formosa here. Formosa is one of the founders of the United Nations
50 years ago. And now what do they get? They are kicked out of the
United Nations, in preference to the Communism, which the whole world
says is bad, and has to be eliminated, etc..., for example, blah,
blah, blah, you know what I mean? So not everything that we do good
will get the good things in return. So don't expect me to promise
you that if you keep the precepts, if you eat vegetarian, I will
give you all the power of protection so that your life will be smooth
and have no problems, everyone loves you, no enemies, no sickness,
no accidents, no diseases, no undesired accidents or anything like
that. Understand? You keep the precepts, you do good things because
it is the only way to be a human, be a worthy human being. Understand?
And
moreover, if we want to step beyond human life to become a saintly
being, beneficial to the whole universe, that is the meaning of being
a righteous person. That's the purpose -- the only purpose. As long
as you practice goodness and kindness, there will be always a negative
power that tries to attack you, that tries to make you stray from
your purpose and go in a different direction, sidetrack you. So it
takes a lot of determination and principles to control ourselves,
to check our way, to check our lives, so that we always go in the
right direction without regret, without complaining when we don't
have any good result out of this. Even I myself don't always have
the correct result, and righteous result awarded to me. For one of
the awards, or one of the praises I get a hundred slanders in return.
You know what I mean? Just because you don't know about them doesn't
mean they don't exist. Just because I don't care about them doesn't
mean they don't exist. We do not take praise and blame very literally,
very seriously. Therefore, we are not very affected by them. Doesn't
mean I always get praises and smooth operation and cooperation from
everyone. Even among disciples, there is no such thing as an easy
way for a master at all. In fact, it's a way of great sacrifice and
inner sufferings. Most of the people do not know. But still, despite
all this obstruction and ungratefulness of mankind we continue to
do good. We still continue to improve ourselves to do what is right,
because it is right. Do you understand now? (Clapping) Because it
is the challenge of this world that we always keep the way of God,
we always keep the commandments of conscience. That's how we rise
above all differences and all the praise and the blame to be a noble
being.
Even
though to be a noble being is a very difficult position and also
very difficult to achieve, that's the only way. Or do we want to
always sink into the lower existence, the lower thinking, the violent
way of living or a very, very ignorant quality. Should we do that?
(Audience: Of course not.) Right. You're right. So, that is the only
choice, to walk forward doesn't matter how difficult, to fly upward
doesn't matter how far, how high. We just have to try again and again
and again, until there is nothing but goodness that resides within
us, until we recognize nothing but the Kingdom of God within ourselves.
What
is the Kingdom of God? It is not the palace that is shining with
gold, silver, diamonds, rubies and all kinds of precious stones.
It is the purity, the loving kindness, the compassion, the peace
of mind. That is the Kingdom of God. If we carry this Kingdom of
God within us, then wherever we go we always feel that we are in
heaven. So there is no need to yearn for the life beyond and to shun
the opportunities to serve our brothers and sisters here on earth
while we are still living. If we have already attained heaven within,
whether we live or we die, it is ours. No one can take it away. But
if we do not attain this, then even if we go to heaven, the outer
environment of heaven may not even penetrate inside our darkened
souls, and we still carry with us hatred, jealousy, bad, negative
thinking, within our hearts. Then heaven is just another place in
the universe for us, the same as everywhere because we have not changed
ourselves.
So
if we change, the situation changes. If we have heaven within us,
peace within us, then everywhere is heaven, everywhere is peace.
That's the purpose of being good, trying to do good, trying to be
good, because that's the only choice. Unless we want to stay in hell
forever. Well, then I don't know. That's very easy to do. To go to
hell we don't have to try. There's no need for effort. It's the most
easy way. Most crowded place. So I think it is better to go to heaven.
Less crowded. More quiet. More room. More space. Everyone goes to
hell, so why not we go to heaven? Just like in the cities, they are
too crowded already. Why should we go there? So if we want peace
and quiet and tranquility, we go to the countryside. There's more
room, more space, the land is cheap and we are in a very green surrounding.
It's good for our health and spirit, etc.
The
same, huh? So I think we are very wise if we choose to go to heaven.
Takes a lot of effort, maybe (clapping). It takes a lot of effort
now, but if you want to try again later or next life, it's even harder.
It adds up more garbage, more bad qualities, and more habits. It's
difficult to clean. Now maybe we are already in the thousandth incarnation
and if we come back again, one thousand and one, you know, and we
come back again one thousand and two. Each life we accumulate more
garbage and more bad habits. Then it's more difficult to kick off
the habits. Right? So, however hard it is, try this time, try one
time.
You
may think that you are already very clean and pure but I tell you,
be careful. Don't think because we are vegetarian, because we keep
the precepts, we are clean and pure. Not yet, not so easy. Watch
yourself next time. Watch every moment, just one day. Spend one day
watching yourself. See how you react in different situations. Watch
carefully, then you'll know what I mean.
Like
some people they will come to me and they want to become monks and
nuns, for example. I tell them no, you don't need. I don't want to
tell them that they are not up to it. But I just tell them no need.
Because even when they are with me, talking to me. . . For example,
if a boy were talking to me, and then he hears a voice of another
female coming to my room or coming to my place, immediately he brushes
his hair. He doesn't know it even. I know it. You know what I mean?
Or a girl, talking to me and then hearing a voice, only hearing the
voices of approaching boys, one boy or two boys, doesn't matter whom.
Immediately she also adjusts her dress, strokes her hair. (Everyone
laughs.) Not the way we causally do it sometimes when the wind blows.
In my office there's no wind, for example.
And
many things that we ourselves do not notice, very, very trivial matters,
very deep rooted and subtle habits that we don't know we have. You
know what I mean? And many other things like love, compassion and
sensitivity to the suffering of other people, we don't have too.
For example, sometimes I watch movies with the monks and nuns, so-called
monks and nuns here, huh? And many things in the film, sometimes
about the war, sometimes about spiritual matters or sometimes about
the things that are very touching in this world, like war, death,
suffering and things like that. These things make me cry, or sometimes
I am very shocked and very deeply touched. But to some monks and
nuns, they just laugh away. Maybe they are at a higher level than
me. No emotion. I have more astral feeling or what? (All laughed!)
But
because I know it is a film, I don't see the film; I see the suffering
behind, what they want to convey in the film. You know what I mean?
It's not that I cry because the film person dies, I know that it
is a film. I don't cry because that actor dies or loses an arm or
a leg. But I am touched because of the suffering of this world which
they try to portray on the film, which is very, very, very true.
But
I saw some of my monks and nuns, they sit around and they just laugh
because of some other incident in the film. I cannot laugh. Of course
I am the one that laughs a lot. You know that. It's not that I don't
know how to laugh, but in such a situation, I cannot laugh at all,
and then I can sense some of them are so insensitive. So insensitive.
So
these are the very subtle habits and subtle hardness that we have
accumulated during many lifetimes and we don't even realize it.
So
make sure that you check out whatever undesired, deep rooted habit
that you don't want to carry around with you. If you're comfortable
with them it's okay with me. It's your garbage and not mine. But
what I mean is that if we are truly honest within ourselves and want
to improve and want to train our sensitivity to the suffering and
to the happiness of others as well as to our own purity and well
being, then we must always be vigilant. Always, always pay attention,
otherwise it is easy to just pass the day, pass two days, pass three
days, pass the whole life, in self indulgence, in bad habits and
not get into a higher level of consciousness, not be able to understand
a deeper meaning of spiritual life. You understand? And then we blame
others, blame God, blame the method and blame the Master, blame everything.
That doesn't help us. It is not true, I tell you. It is not true.
You
can blame me, you can blame the method if you want, but that doesn't
help you at all. It doesn't help you to get better. The best is for
you to be honest with yourself and always be watchful of our deep
rooted habits, and very undesirable affects that they have upon us.
Always be careful.
I
just told you a few examples. But there are a lot. I cannot even
remember here. And of course I don't want to bring all the garbage
to you. I trust that you are very intelligent and wise enough by
now, to take from these examples some indications, enough so that
you can check out yourself, other habits or other deep rooted karma
that I did not mention. But you will recognize next time around,
when you see them, when you sense them and when you watch them grow
or creep into your life when you're not noticing. There are so many
things. I cannot even remember and I cannot even tell you all. But
you know, hmm, many small things.
Okay.
From today you can go to sleep around 9:00, continue to meditate
in your tent, then get up around 3:00 and meditate until 7:00, etc.
Then in the daytime you rest, help around or cleaning. Try to concentrate
all the time when you are working, and not to gossip and talk nonsense.
Of course, no one will scold you or do anything, but since you are
here you should profit from the free time and the environment and
the atmosphere of the center to better your spiritual practice, understand?
In
walking, sleeping, talking, sitting, laying down, always try to be
concentrated on the wisdom center. In that way you speedily progress
and then you will feel that. And the more you progress, the more
encouraged you will feel and then the more you practice. It's a pity
that we already have the method and we don't use it.
It
is very conducive here for you to practice your meditation, no one
disturbs you so much. Is that not so? So try to profit from it. Try
to profit from the time you are here. That is all I have to tell
you. Good-night. (Clapping) Thank you.
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Master
Says