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☆We Are God
☆To Change The World, Change Yourselves
☆Greatest Miraculous Power Do Without Doing
☆Sharing The Bliss Of Enlightenment
☆Stay In World But Remain Above It ☆Turn Inward And Listen To Heavenly Teachings
☆A Truly Enlightened Person
☆Positiveness
☆The Samadhi State Of An Enlightened Master
 I am very honored to be in this great country. This country of prosperity, of peace, of loving kindness and humanitarianism; because your country has what many countries do not have - the warmth and the human love between each other, as well as very elevated spiritual standards. I was very touched to know that in your country there is no death sentence. That shows that in this land "love" rules above all things. Let's hope that other countries will learn from your example, to let God rule justice and not to take revenge.
I had the opportunity to speak to some of the people who live in this land - the immigrants - for example, the Au Lac refugees who have been welcomed into your country with love and nondiscrimination. They're all very happy in this country. I am sure this will add more merits and blessings to this great nation that you happen to reside in. Only a very spiritually elevated country can possess such qualities of loving kindness, of non-racism, nondiscrimination. If every nation was like this, at least our world would become a small paradise.
We Are God
Unfortunately, there are many other things that prevent people from understanding the basic truth - that is love is the greatest law in the universe; and therefore, many people do not enjoy life the way they should.
The more we cling to life in a forceful way, the less we can enjoy the flavor of it. Therefore, the enlightened persons are happier and more contented. Even then, from this very stable state of mind, they can do many wonders because they are quiet enough to understand where their wisdom lies, where their greatness is, in order to make use of it.
When we are very busy, are in a panic, or in a hurry, most often we forget what we want to do. Or we do things in an incomplete way. Therefore, the tranquil mind of an enlightened person can see things more clearly. That's the only logic of this science.
Be still and know that I am God. Who is that "I am"? That is the "one" that resides within us. That is the true "self". Therefore, we are God. This realization doesn't come through hearing people saying that or through believing alone, but through self realization. Just as in any other science there must be a special technique.
Everything we learn and master in life is all done through self experimentation. Similarly, enlightenment can be achieved through some perseverance, self experience. Therefore, it will be lasting. That's the reason why we have heard a lot of saints and sages of all times saying that, we are God. God is within us. If God is within us, that means we and God are one. If we and God are one, we are God. But even then, we have heard this so often, we have read so many bibles and so many statements from such great men, like Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, etcetera; but we do not truly believe that we are this, and we cannot find the God that is supposed to dwell within ourselves. It is because we lack self experience; we have not known it by our own discovery, but only by hearing.
In the old times, when science had not reached the heights of today, we had many problems. Even the rain troubled us, the snow bothered us. Anything, any small things, big things, obstructed our daily activities. For example, now we have umbrellas, we have raincoats, so we can walk in the rain. We can even enjoy the rain and work in the rain. Better still we have cars, we have buses. We have all the things that protect us from the different weather changes in nature. Therefore we are very comfortable.
In the ancient times, if we were to hold a meeting like today, many of you who live at a very, very long distance away would not be here. Not because of the distance only, but because of rain, because of weather, and all that. So in the ancient times people hid themselves in caves, in mountains, under the trees, to protect themselves from natural disadvantages. Many people still do today, in some of the undeveloped countries. So that must not be.
Enlightenment is like that. It's just like we add more comforts into our life, and be happy in whatever condition. Suppose we don't have a raincoat, we don't have an umbrella, we don't have a car; if it rains today, we are stopped from doing all of our activities, from all the things that we love to do, and want to accomplish.
To Change The World, Change Yourselves
Similarly, life is fantastic if we have enlightenment. There is nothing in this life which could be called "suffering," "terror" or "trouble". Only because we lack protection that it seems to be so; because, take the example, the rain. If it doesn't rain, we don't have water and all the trees, the flowers cannot grow. All the crops that we need for survival would never be there. Therefore, rain is not terrible in itself. But it is if we don't have an umbrella, and we walk miles in the cold. We will shiver, we will catch cold, we will be ill, and we may lose our life even through it is such a very harmless and useful natural phenomenon. Even a very natural, beautiful phenomenon becomes harmful to us, if we lack equipment to protect ourselves.
Therefore, many people want to change the world. To change the way we live our lives. But the sages of enlightened spirits say: "No! Change yourselves," because if we change ourselves, we change the world around us. Even if the world still stays the way it is, we are not affected. If each person changes in this way, there would be no need for any wars and there would be no disasters. If everyone had an umbrella, a raincoat, what is the need to change the season, to stop the rain, or to make magical power to control the rainy season, like many people would like to learn and possess this magical power? It can stop the rain, can make it last longer, can push it to another direction. And it takes a long time to learn this magical skill. But why bother? We just wear the raincoat - it's cheap, it's simple, and everyone can use it.
Once the Buddha wanted to cross the river by boat, and the boatman did not want to take him because he had no money. At that time he was, of course, a renunciative monk still, who possessed no property, so the Buddha had no choice but to walk over the river. These days, quite a few yogis in India, Tibet and elsewhere still can do that.
Many people ask me about magical power because people are curious about things that they can't explain, and also about things that they scientifically think "are impossible". So I told them, "Yes! These things do exist. But nevertheless, they are not to be used at random, and also not to be done for show."
Even Jesus, He possessed a lot of magical power, but He didn't always use it. He was very reluctant. Therefore, He raised only one dead person to life. He cured only two or three blind persons, and did not run around all the time and raise all the dead back to life. That will bring the natural law into a chaotic situation. That is a thing an enlightened saint would not do.
Each one has to learn to yearn within his heart to know himself, to know God; and then the Kingdom of God will come, the Master will come to help that person. If we use magical power, or any other supernatural ways to convince people, we unknowingly lead people astray; because, we limit God's power within these magical skills, which could be learned by some experts. Also, by doing that, we interfere with the flow of nature. And of course, we bring some disasters upon ourselves. What we seek are the eternal things, like wisdom, love and the greatness of the universal power, not the small corner of these low level gains.
Greatest Miraculous Power Do Without Doing
When we possess the great wisdom, we also possess numerous miraculous powers. But at that time, we have so much, too much, that we might not even know how much we have, and things just come out from us automatically without us intentionally doing anything. That's why the saints do things without doing, without even thinking, without even wanting to do it. It's just like a very, very rich person, he has no idea how much he has. He can never count. He can never see all of his treasure.
Therefore, the enlightened persons are always happy. At least most of the time they are happy. And even when he encounters unhappiness, which is brought to him by his very close contact with someone he loved, maybe, then he is affected. Because of the love for that person, he may share the sufferings or unhappiness of that person. But even then, he is very, very calm inside. He knows that the unhappiness is only of an ephemeral nature. He is not, kind of dragged and sunken into this unhappiness, like most of the people are. Therefore, if we even want just to be happy in this life, we should get enlightenment.
Of course, I should tell you that you have to seek God for God's sake alone, not because of the happiness in this life. But I do think that these things come together. If you are enlightened, you are happy. And the more happy, the more you believe in enlightenment, and the more you will appreciate God's nature anyhow. What is the use of expecting an everlasting happiness in heaven, while we grovel here in darkness and in misery every minute of our life?
An enlightened person enjoys both worlds; enjoys heaven at the same time as enjoying the world. Why? Because he knows that whatever is manifested in this world, is also the will of heaven. It's also a copy of the real manifestation in the higher Kingdom of God. Because he is very relaxed, has no fear, no anxiety, so whatever he enjoys, he enjoys it to the utmost.
Many people think that after enlightenment, maybe you don't know how to love your wife, your husband or children anymore. It is the opposite. Only when you are very happy, and know your true worth, can you truly love another person. Because you see her reflection is within you and your reflection is within her. You will respect that person and love all the good qualities that God has endowed that person, because you have realized what God has given in yourself. Then you know God gives all beings the same amount of qualities.
But we choose sometimes to go in the opposite direction. Therefore, we suffer; and then we blame God. We say how come God has such almighty power and cannot turn this world into heaven. The power doesn't lie in God's hands, it lies in your hands. I know all these through experiences, not through books, not through any bible. I know these also through the experiences in the life of my disciples. That is also the reason why we see each other today.
Sharing The Bliss Of Enlightenment
It is due to the kindness of my disciples. They want to share with you what they have discovered. So they have gone through a lot of trouble, expense and time to organize this day's congregation. We do not do this with a very burning ambition to convince you into our path. But we do it with a very happy attitude of just a happy person. Therefore, we don't care to wear very special renunciative dresses to impress you. We do not try to make a very holy appearance of ourselves to convert you. We do not try to give anything to you, or any other kind of magical power to let you come into our circle. But we do it as a duty of one brother to another. We just do it for the sake of doing it. Actually, we're happy whether you are convinced, or not. We will be contented whether you come, or you go. Because nothing is that deadly serious to us anymore. We do it or not do it, it is the same thing to us.
I could be sitting pretty on the top of a mountain in Formosa and enjoying my samadhi power, or I could be sitting here knowing more of the people of the Earth planet. It is the same to me. Therefore, if you feel that you're ready for this happiness, which is the true happiness because it comes from the root, because you know the whole thing from heaven to earth and hell. You know everything. And then you choose what you would like to enjoy. Therefore, your happiness will be true and lasting. Otherwise, most of the so called enjoyments in this world we are not free to choose.
Sometimes we are dragged along to a party and we try to enjoy it. Sometimes we are forced to get married because of some political or business reasons, and try to make the best out of it. Sometimes we drag along with a big family and try to feed them. Working from morning to night, we think that we are great because we are taking care of the family. But it's not always a choice. Therefore, we do not feel happy in many things we do; because, somehow, we feel that we are not the one who controls all this. We are not the host, we're just like a guest. We are blown with the wind, and we go along with whatever the situation is. We lose many interests and joys in life through not knowing why we are doing all this and that. But after enlightenment, it's different. Whatever we enjoy, we truly enjoy. We understand the values of life, as well as the values above this life.
There are two lives in any planet. One is of the material existence, the other is of an everlasting nature. If we know only one and we lack the other, just like most people in the world -- they enjoy only the material existence of so called life but they do not know the real picture of this projection; they know only the shadows. So they only enjoy the material life, and fear losing it. But the truly enlightened person knows both - the everlasting and also the copy of it; and he can enjoy both at the same time, he can choose to enjoy one or the other. But I think that while we are already here, we might just as well enjoy. There is nothing in this world that we should not enjoy, really. Except those things that are harmful to the lives of other beings.
Therefore, we just suggest a vegetarian diet, so the fish can always swim in the sea as much as they please and the cows can graze in the pasture until nature causes them to go back to where they belong. We can enjoy them, and they can enjoy us.
Some of the enlightened persons, I don't know how, to which degree, but they choose to live in the inside, on the other side of life, the spiritual side of life. And therefore, give the impression to the people that all the enlightened persons have to be like that - have to go into the Himalayas, have to go into the cave, have to forsake all the beautiful things about this life in order to be an enlightened being.
But that must not be so because we will be too aloof from this world and many people will find it difficult to associate with us. If they find it too difficult to associate with us, how can they help themselves? How can they know what we know? Of course, it may be more pleasant for a saint or an enlightened person to stay away from the hustle, bustle of the world and to be carefree in his or her own way. But on the other hand, there are many other brothers and sisters who need our assistance.
Stay In World But Remain Above It
Everything in this world is of some use and if an enlightened sage becomes a useless being, then it is a waste of natures product. Therefore, we should just stay in the world, but remain above it. We can have our house, our cars but we no longer are slaves to these possessions. If we have them, we enjoy them. If we don't have them, we just don't. It's a very simple life.
I had beautiful cars when I was in Formosa but I just sold them before I went on the world tour, because we were a little bit short of airplane tickets. In the future, should I not have anymore of these beautiful and expensive cars, it would be fine. I'll go by bus. Or my disciples have many cars, I can go with them. No problem. I can borrow one day from this person, and the next day from another. Why should I have my own car, anyhow?
Therefore the things in this world, we will enjoy if they are there. If they are not there, it makes no difference to us. That is the way of the enlightened spirit. Not that we have to run away from the material existence, but we remain above it. I think that is more practical for most of the people on this planet because we are in the material surrounding, we are in the material existence. Wait until we leave this physical world, then we can enjoy completely the spiritual atmosphere of the real life. So why be in a hurry?
If everyone gets enlightenment, and runs into the Himalayas to stay there forever, soon we would have no more enlightened persons left. And the others would never know of enlightenment, because everyone is gone. No connection. No message. No example. No one to walk beside us who shares with us all the ups and downs of this world, who encourages us to walk in life as an angel, as God.
In the olden days, it was very difficult to know where the Master was, and who the enlightened person was. People had to climb mountains, to cross the sea under a lot of hardship and trouble in order to find an enlightened person. Thus, our world did not developed in the ancient times. People lived in poverty, lacking of a lot of comforts.
So I think that it's not very ideal. I think the enlightened person must live in this world; must do whatever he has to do; must take care of whomever God places in his hands, and be happy, be enlightened. Because even if you run away into the forest, we can't run away from the universe. We are still in here, where can we run away to?
Many people think that an enlightened person must have a very special appearance. Maybe a very long beard. I happen not to have one. But today with technological advancements, I think I could grow a beard even. Like some chemical stuff? Or maybe an enlightened person has to just stay in the Himalayas. There are maybe some enlightened persons who stay in the Himalayas, but it must not be that all of them doing so.
I don't want to cite bibles or scriptures anymore; otherwise, I will be in trouble. I'll just talk about what I know; forget about the scriptures. I was going to cite a Buddhist's scripture for you, but I thought, I had better not. The less you know, the better, (laughter) the more simple. Then you don't add more complicated, intellectual nonsense into your brain. Because the Bible cannot enlighten us. The menu cannot satisfy our hunger. What we need is the direct teaching.
Turn Inward And Listen To Heavenly Teachings
There are two kinds of teachings. One is the theoretical doctrine -- which comes from the Masters while the Masters are still alive, which is to teach his disciples about how to behave in the society. That is just for the mind and just to suit the customs and the laws of that nation at that particular period of time. Also to correct some bad habits of the disciples, and to guide them in many aspects in life, like in politics, business, marriage and things like that. But these are all worldly; all within the level of material existence. There is another teaching which is the real one, the original, the lasting. This teaching is nonverbal. And that can be done through what we call "thought transference," when the disciples turn inward and listen to the teachings from heaven.
At the time of initiation, we will tell you how to do that; not because we tell you that you can do so, but because you are ready for it. The Master's power will 'switch' on the 'button' for your age-old wisdom, which has laid dormant within yourselves life after life, until now. Just like we switch on the light, all the darkness will disappear instantly. That is the immediate enlightenment process. That is very possible for everyone who is sincere, and who wants to know how great he is, how he connects with the whole universe, how God dwells within himself -- which he didn't know all this time. Then everything else in life will take care of itself. Truly!
I asked all of my disciples; none of them said that they are not happier than before; that they are not more contented than before; that they are not more intelligent than before; that they are not more capable, more powerful than before. Even just a few weeks afterwards, or even a few days afterwards; it depends on the person, depends on how receptive that person is. Just even after initiation, just a few minutes. Even within the initiation, you know you've changed forever, and you have accelerated. You are no longer within human standards, but you enter the circle of sainthood without changing any appearance; without running away to anywhere; without doing anything dramatic in your life. Just be where we are and enjoy both worlds. Enjoy the real, as well as the ephemeral nature of the projection of the real life. That's what we have discovered, that's what we continue to discover, and that's what we'd like to share with you. (Applause)
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Questions & Answers
Q: What do You think should be done about hatred, violence in everyday life, for example, prejudice, or racial discrimination? Or how can we get the message to those who don't want to listen?
M: I think all these phenomena are the result of a non-enlightened mind. If we are enlightened, everything is solved without having to speak with each other, without having to preach at all. So actually, all these things like anger, hatred, greed and all that, come from the lack of enlightenment in that person. Because he is so dissatisfied with what he has in life, so discontented within the framework of his life, it becomes natural that he is agitated, he is aggressive, he is angry, he is greedy for more, because he thinks these things will satisfy him more and make him happier.
Actually the deep root of all this is the yearning for a happier state of life. That is the deep yearning for enlightenment. Therefore, if we want to cure all these illnesses, we have to introduce enlightenment into people's lives and make them happy.
Q: Why has my ego risen?
M: How do I know? It's your business. (Laughter) Perhaps no one ever scolded you, perhaps your position was raised in the society, perhaps you're too successful in your business, perhaps your wife or your husband spoils you too much.
A Truly Enlightened Person
Q: I wish to be enlightened. Why should I bother about staying in the society?
M: Why not? It's your choice, of course, but why bother to choose? Because we were born in this society, we owe a lot to society, to survive, to grow up, to enjoy all the comforts that we have now. Therefore, it's also okay to stay in the society to repay some of this kindness; just to be present, just to be one of the whole, and non-discriminating: "whether I am enlightened, or he is not enlightened. I am an enlightened person, I don't mix with unenlightened people," and these kinds of things.
When the person turns inward all the time, he doesn't mind who's around him. He doesn't even know that he is in the society or out of society. He's just himself, and does what must be done at that moment. Always in the present. That is the true enlightened person.
Q: Is it possible to become awakened without a spiritual guide?
M: Yes, very much possible. But without guidance, you probably cannot go very far. You see, to be awakened and to be completely awakened are two different things. So when a Master who has already travelled from the material existence to the highest awakened stage can guide you, it's best - faster and safer!
Q: How through this enlightenment or initiation, can we bring all people and all living beings to supreme enlightenment, and destroy all negative things and sufferings?
M: We cannot bring all beings into the state of supreme enlightenment because we are enlightened. But to us, to ourselves, the enlightened person, all the beings, all the sufferings disappear. That's the most important.
When you are enlightened, when you are in the state of samadhi there are no beings, no sufferings, nothing exists. When you come out of the enlightenment, if you wish to come out of the samadhi state, you wish to come into contact with those who are not enlightened and who see things as suffering. So you try to help them. Whomever likes to know your state of non-suffering, they can come. If they do not, it's fine. They have to learn their lessons. You can't force all of the children in your family to become a professor of the university just because you are one. But you can guide them step by step, until they become grown up and educated enough to be like you.
Q: How can I get rid of the fear of death?
M: Oh! I die everyday. There is no need to fear when we know death is just like stepping from one room to the next. It's quicker than that. I could just sit here and die, but you wouldn't know it. Very fast. A step from one plane of existence to the next. That is the process of so called death. It can be done in a second. So there is nothing to fear. If you fear death, come to me. I will teach you how to die everyday. (Applause and laughter.) You'll get used to it. Just like when you first drove a car, you didn't know how to drive. So you were very afraid. If you drive it everyday, you get used to it.
Positiveness
Q: According to You, what is positiveness, or what is being positive?
M: I understand. It's just probably a kind of attitude of some people; they try to hypnotize themselves into thinking that everything is great, everything is possible in life. But thinking alone helps only very little. If we know the root of all the problems by shining the torch of enlightenment on all corners of life, we tackle problems better; not in a positive way, but in a right way - be it positive or negative. If we are only positive, we neglect another part of life which is very important. It's just like you only choose men, and you don't care about women. Can we do that? No! We can't. So, an enlightened person knows how to handle positive and negative; not to reject anything, but to make all things fully useful for life and the life after. I don't preach extreme things.
Q: What do You think about the future for our youth? Do You feel or have a lot of faith in our future generations?
M: Our future will be very good. More people are enlightened these days than during the time of Jesus or Buddha, or any other period on our Earth planet. So I think our future will be very bright. It's already getting brighter. The political situation of the world is already very hopeful. Many of the great arch enemy nations are shaking hands with each other, and want to talk about peace and economic resurrection. So we should feel positive.
Q: How can we earn our living without depriving others of chances of earning their own living? For example, if I don't have a job, someone else will have it, and be happy. If I don't cut a tree to make a living, that tree will feed numerous different beings.
M: You have a job because God gives you that job. Even if you are out of that job, no one can take that job, if it was not meant for them. So do not feel guilty. Whatever you get, you get it. It's just if we try to compete with other people, try to put that person down, try to do many tricks in order to trick him out of the position, and then we replace him, that is a different thing. But if we get it naturally in the competitive society - first come first serve. If the other person wanted that position, he should be as fast as you, or as capable as you.
About cutting trees: you can cut that tree and plant ten more. So don't worry about that. Just plant more trees. We respect nature but we do not become slaves to nature. The trees are there to serve us in different ways. It may give us shade when the shade is necessary. It may give strength to the house, if a pole in the room is needed. It may give warmth to your house, if you need wood for a fire. So don't worry about cutting trees if it's allowed, if it's abundant in your country. You have to look into the situation, not always become nature worshippers, because human values are the topmost. If you cut all the trees, and do not plant new ones, of course it's no good. But if you cut one tree, plant ten or twenty, what is the harm? We cannot be fanatics. We have to be flexible in different situations.
Q: Is it we who decide whether to become an angel or a devil?
M: Yes, sure. But also circumstances. If we are not strong enough to withstand the temptation of life, then of course we fall into the other side of nature, which is negative. When we are strong enough, we stay in the middle, we can have both positive and negative at our disposal. That is the way of the enlightened person.
The Samadhi State Of An Enlightened Master
Q: How can we reach a permanent state of samadhi?
M: Samadhi - there are many kinds, of course. There are some kinds that are very short-lived, that you get at the beginning of your practice, after initiation. There are some kinds of long lasting samadhi which sometimes last for hours or days, after some time of practice. Other kinds of samadhi are very ordinary, just like you will have it for twenty-four hours while you are working in this world. That is the samadhi state of a Master. Then a Master looks like a very ordinary sentient being but the wisdom is very obvious, and the blessing and the power is very transparent.
Q: For the Christians, God's love is fundamental for union with Him. This ingredient, is it enough to save us?
M: It's only the imagination of the mind that we have faith in God, that we love God, that we are united with God. The real union, truly does take place, which is when you merge into Hiers glory. You see the light from heaven, you hear the Word of God, which is like, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
If we hear that Word through initiation, through meditation practice, then we can say we love God, we know God, and we are in union with God. Otherwise, all is imagination - all novelty, romance of the mind. We can imagine we have money, but we don't necessarily have it. That's the difference.
（Apr. 17, 1993）
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