Spoken by Supreme Ching Hai to foreign initiates at Hsihu Center, Formosa
July 10, 1995 (Originally in English)

 

A long time ago, in China, there was a king who succeeded his father and ruled over a very, very big nation. You know how big China is. A long time ago, most of the Asias belong to them. So it must be very big. But even then, even though he rules over a very extensively great nation, his knowledge is very, very small (Master and everyone laugh). That is a very polite way to put it. Otherwise, you just say downright like the American says, "He's dump; he's idiot; he's stupid." But in the old time, in China, especially, if you say the king is stupid, you know what happens to your head? (Master and all laugh) So nobody dare says anything about this stupid king; and it happens that he married a very beautiful princess but also - like attracts like - very idiotic (Master and everyone laugh). So both of them were a very, very good match; and they live very happily together (Master and all laugh). That we can guess, uh? We are not very stupid. So both of them live happily together and rule the great kingdom.

Out of this marriage, came a truly very beautiful princess. No other child has ever been so beautiful and lovely. So the people named her Princess "Gloria" because she's so gloriously beautiful. And she was a very good girl, good child. But unfortunately, the king and the queen was so very stupid, so instead of being happy with the little child, which is so beautiful, so glorious and so clever, they were so disappointed and so very "traurig" (Master speaks this German word and laughs) -very miserable because they keep saying to each other, "Oh my God, look at my child, she is so small, so little, her leg is so and so long only, her arm is so short, and she has no hair." Infants are mostly like monks (Master and everyone laugh), like me before and after (Master laughs). So the problem is they always complain everyday. They say, "My child doesn't grow up. It's abnormal. It doesn't look like everyone else around us - so small, helpless, cannot do nothing, cannot speak, cannot eat, cannot walk, cannot read book, cannot sing, cannot talk, cannot watch TV, cannot swim and cannot do anything. So the king and the queen were very disappointed and very unhappy, and they were thinking that the child is a kind of evil phenomenon or evil sent, kind of, bad omen for them. So, they were thinking of getting rid of the child because both of them have never gotten in touch with anyone else outside of the palace, and all the people who are serving them are grown-up people. They have never walked outside anywhere. They don't read books. They don't know anything. They were both completely, absolutely idiotic, therefore they were very very disappointed with the child. Now, because they have never seen such a child before in their life - they live in a sealed palace and they don't know anything else besides the palace. Then they were thinking that the child is a kind of abnormal animal.

So now, every officer in the court have tried their best to explain to the king and the queen that all infants are like that, but they don't listen; and they wanted to get rid of this devil thing. But then everyone says, "Oh please take it easy, maybe we can do something, yeah?" All the officers in the court say, "Please consider. We will try. Maybe there's something we can do so please hold-on." So then the king says, "Not! I will kill this child or get rid of her unless she grow up; unless she will become like us. Otherwise, I'll kill her."

And so, finally the king and the queen ordered that all the doctors in the country, and even in the neighboring countries, come to his palace in order to cure the princess and make her grow quickly. "Maybe she's sick; if she's normal, then she's sick," that's what they think. So all the doctors came and eased the very bad tempered king and queen. But they don't know anything else; very ignorant people. So he says, "Today, within on hour, I'll tell people to sound the bell." Big bell like that. He will tell people to sound the gong three times within an hour. So all the doctors have to think of a way to make the princess change and grow, become normal; otherwise, they kill the princess and kill them as well. The king in the old time was God; even though an idiot God. So everyone was so... trembling with fear. Anyhow, nobody can think of any way to do it because doctors are only used to saving people and curing people's sickness, but cannot make a child grow in one hour. They tried to explain and explain very patiently to the king and the queen, but both of them don't want to take "no" for an answer. He says, "I'm the king. Whatever I said must be done or you die." "Do it or die." So nobody can say anything.

Finally, the last sound of the gong finished, and the king and the queen came out in between, flanked both sides by their bodyguards with the shining swords, already taken out ready to kill. Wow, everyone just froze with fear; and the king was asking that whether anyone has already a solution for the princess' sickness and abnormality. Nobody has. (Master and everyone laugh) So, and then, he was ready to kill. He said, "Alright then, I'm going to call Supreme Ching Hai (Master and everyone laugh) Pray for yourself and your five generations and then you will die."

Anyhow, Supreme Ching Hai doesn't want to take that kind of a call, so She run to the Himalayas (Everyone laughs). Then, everyone was ready to die because nothing else they can do. But then, at the last minute, there's one doctor from the last row over there and he said, "I have something. I have a solution, please don't kill yet." Oh, the king was very happy. He said, "Yes, I told you, there must be something that can be done. No problem." So then everyone just listened to see what the doctor has to say. So the doctor said, "Well, I know one kind of medicine that can make the princess become the normal size that you want." So the king said, "Quickly, quickly tell me. How much blessed candy and cake you want, it doesn't matter." (Master and everyone laugh) And so the doctor said, "OK, I temporarily call this medicine, Time Medicine." "In order to make this medicine, we need four hundred fifty-four kind of ingredients, and then three thousand five hundred seventy-one other kind of fragrants and essences; and this is a terrific kind of medicine. It's a very rare that anybody knows, but..." and the king was very anxious and said, "But what?" The doctor, I think, he took time. He bought some time in order to cook this medicine up for him. Besides, I think he was kind of trembling, yeah? Like he talks slowly.

And then the doctor said, "Well, because I'm afraid that with so much ingredients necessary for this kind of medicine, we cannot find it in one day. It takes a long time (Master and everyone laugh)." Very good, very clever. And then the king said, "But you know I'm a king. Anything can be possible, just tell me what you need. We tell people to go and find it." And then the doctor said, "Oh, your Majesty, your power everyone knows and can do many things, but in order to find such a thing in the universe is not the power of the king can provide, because between these above ingredients there are a few things which is not readily available. For example, the one ingredient is called 'Years and Months' (Master and everyone laugh)." "The ingredient, 'Years and Months' - two years can blossom only one flower... And then you have to wait four days later and then, at the twelfth hour, one minute, two seconds in order to get that flower, otherwise, it doesn't work."

For example, like that. He said all kinds of nonsense. I can say it myself. So I don't need to read the book. "And then it has to be done in the winter." I think he just tries to make it difficult because the king is so stupid anyway. Whatever he said, it's alright. He doesn't know what's the difference. And then he said, "There's another one, more important than that ingredient. There's another ingredient called 'Patience'. This one is even difficult to find (Master laughs). It grows only in the Himalayas; and then every six years, the snow melt only one time and then you have to wait for the six months, six days, six hours, and six seconds of the summer of the fourth year, and then you can get that; for example, like that. So if you want all these ingredients to work, we have to do exactly what is prescribed in the medical book, otherwise, it's a waste of time and the princess's abnormalty can never be cured." Alright, so the king was running out of patience. "Oh, so difficult! Really, even for a king like me?" He said, "For everyone alike." The doctor said, "Well, I have already proposed to you the medical precept, the five precepts (Master and everyone laugh), and we just need patience, and all the endurance to find this medicine ingredient, otherwise, I cannot do anything for the princess." And then so the king was kind of half doubting, and half believing. So he kept thinking very hard with his stupid wisdom. He was thinking; instead of thinking here (Master points to the Her wisdom eye), he kept thinking here and then he think here (Master points to Her eyes and then to Her nose. Master and everyone laugh). Eye and nose. And then he thinks at his temples, and then he thinks on his ears, and then he thinks at his beard, and then he can't think, and then he was thinking with his hair, twisting his hair like this; and he still cannot make it out whether the ingredients that the medicine man says is true or whether he shouldn't follow through with it. But the queen, luckily, she's the queen - woman always has a little more common sense even though they were both stupid (Master laughs). So the queen said, "Oh, never mind. Well, let's try. We don't loose nothing." So the king said, "OK." Of course, you know, woman always decide the big things in the universe (Master and everyone laugh). You know that, uh? In every country, the First Lady. Oh! We don't go into that. We'll be in trouble. Well, I heard that mostly the First Ladies are the powerful ones in the House. Not in every country. Not in America, perhaps. I'm sorry.

And then the king said, "OK." And then he asked the medicine man, "How long? One week, okay? (Master laughs)" The medicine man shook his head and said, "No no, I'm sorry. It takes longer than that. It must be at least twelve years, at the most rush hour traffic, no less than twelve years. And during these twelve years, you have to give the princess into my custody, into my care and I alone take care of her. No one else can go near. No one from the royal family. No one from the outside can go near the princess, otherwise, it also doesn't work. I guarantee to you, after twelve years, if the princess doesn't grow as a normal person, you cut my head off." (Master and everyone laugh. Master says, "That I can also guarantee." ) So the king said, "Alright, alright. Well, I guess I cannot do anything." And then the queen said, "OK, just let him. After twelve years, if he doesn't make it, we can chop both of their heads off. So, no problem." So the king once again listened to the queen. So now, he gave the princess to the doctor to take care; and then he has to write guarantee bill, money back guarantee, you know? "If you are not satisfied, money back guarantee in twelve years." He signed it and stamped, and everything was okay. So he took the princess home, and of course, you know what happened.

Twelve years later, he presented the princess back to the king and the queen, the most beautiful human that they have ever seen - beautiful long and black shinning hair and big eyes like mine (Master and everyone laugh. Audience clapps); like mine but double beautiful and big. So then everyone was so happy. Of course, the king and the queen rewarded the medicine man handsomely, and they live happily ever after, the three of them. The princess, during these twelve years, had learned many things from different professors, doctors and teachers in the land which the doctor has hired for that purpose. So she grew up beautiful as well as wise. So she knows everything. So she has later succeeded her father and ruled the kingdom with wisdom and compassion and love. So China at that time, under her reign, was very, very, very good. Finish! (Audience clapps)

So you know what, uh? Don't come to me and ask me, "Can I become Buddha tonight or in one week's time?" Even then, the immediate enlightenment is available but it takes time for you to assimilate to the long forgotten elixir of your own wisdom. So it takes a long time for you to remember again, because the big dose of wisdom kills you just like a big dose of vitamins or whatever forceful and powerful dose of protein or any kind of nourishment will kill the infant, right? So they have to take time to eat the food and grow up. Everything takes time. The same with us. We heard that the Buddha sits under the bodhi tree for six years and became Buddha. So if you want, you can try. We have a lot of bodhi trees here (Audience laughs) and it's all free. If you want, you may sit there and we bring food to you everyday, with hand folded. Anybody wants to sit under the bodhi tree for six years? Yeah? It's a very easy job, just sit there and do nothing (Master and everyone laugh). No need for planting grass or nothing (Everyone laughs). No rock' & roll' *(Master and everyone laugh). Anyone here applies for the offer? Well, six years is a very short time.

It's not six years or six months. It's many many lifetimes of hardwork. And perhaps, this is the last time, if you make it. If you want to, you can make it this time. If you don't want, it's okay. You can come back again (Master laughs). Sit under the bodhi tree six more years. Everyone has a chance to go back to the glorious kingdom of God, but everyone must go by themselves, even with the blessing of the Master. Must go by yourselves. Only when you fall down and you're in trouble, then the Master takes care. Otherwise, have to walk. The parents cannot walk for the children, is that not so? Even though we love them, they walk by themselves; and they learn by mistakes, they tumble and they fall and then they walk again, until they can run.

So, same with everyone of us. I walk my path, you walk yours. I walk before, I came back and take you, so I know the way better, that's all. So you have to walk, alright? I standby and you walk. (Master and everyone laugh. Audience clapps). （Note*: At this time, the foreign disciples are assigned the task of planting grass and roll the rocks for the garden.）