 Do
you know why Jesus Christ was so famous? Because He was an
enlightened Master! An enlightened master is a great person
who has wisdom. Jesus was born in heaven, and then helped
people when He grew up -- with respect to their souls, not
money. Jesus Christ didn't have money, but He had great virtues
and wisdom. Therefore, He was loved by many.
As
He was growing up; His parents loved Him deeply. He was good
at learning anything and was benevolent, so many people loved
Him. God also loved Him. He looked very dignified and was
very clever.
Every
year His so-called parents, Joseph and Mary, went to Jerusalem
for the Jewish holy festival (Passover). During this festival,
they would say prayers of gratitude to God to thank Hirm for
helping the Jews, life after life, since ancient times; especially
for delivering them from slavery in Egypt. Therefore, once
a year they would hold a celebration to thank the inner God
and the inner Master. They must have had an enlightened master
then. Jesus was twelve years old and was more than happy to
accompany His parents. There they would celebrate an exciting,
delightful and boisterous festive day.
When
it was time to go home, His parents, Joseph and Mary, prepared
to return. Assuming their child was either in front of or
behind the group of travellers, they didn't notice that Jesus
was not with them. Usually children seldom stay close to their
parents; they either walk in the front or behind. In the evening,
they discovered that Jesus was missing. They started to search
among their friends and others for Jesus, only twelve years
old, where could He have gone? Joseph and Mary were so worried
that they couldn't sleep the whole night.
Early
the next morning, they returned to Jerusalem to look for Jesus.
After a whole day of searching, they finally found Him. Guess
where He was found? (A: The temple.) Right! In the temple!
They eventually found Him in the temple, sitting among the
spiritual practitioners asking the teachers and priests about
spiritual practice, about God's law and about morality, which
were things adults discussed. Everyone there was so amazed
and delighted to see a twelve-year-old child having such intense
interest in spirituality, so respectful toward God and with
the ability to ask so many intelligent questions.
As
you know, if we are not intelligent enough, we may not be
able to ask a question even if we have one. Just like when
you are in the school, the teacher may ask you: "Do you understand?
Any questions? Then, some ask very clever questions, but some
ask stupid questions. Jesus Christ was not stupid; He asked
very clever questions, so everyone was amazed and delighted.
I Must Be In My
Father's House
When
His parents found Him, His mother, Mary, asked Him,
"Child, why have you done this to us? Why did you
leave without saying a word? We have been so worried
that we couldn't sleep. She reproached Him just like
your parents would if you were not behaving well,
or when they found you after you had been missing.
Usually the mother has more to say. As His mother
began to chide Him, Jesus seemed surprised at what
she was saying. He thought His mother shouldn't question
Him like that, so instead of answering her, He asked,
"Why didn't you know that I would be here? You should
have known that I would be in my Father's house! He
meant the temple. He was amazed and asked His mother,
"Did you not know that I would be in my Father's house?
Mary and Joseph didn't know how to answer His questions.
Perhaps they were not as enlightened as Jesus was.
Parents
are not necessarily more clever than their children.
Very often this is the case. Some children are geniuses;
they are already great when they are only ten, seven
or four years old. They can ask many questions that
their parents could never answer. At that time, they
had forgotten that Jesus was not an ordinary child
and that His father is God. God only borrowed their
bodies to give birth to Jesus, and to bring Him up
for a certain time; they were not really Jesus' true
parents. Nevertheless, Jesus went home with them,
and was obedient and nice to them just like He used
to be.
Why
was Jesus Christ so interested in the temple and God's
teachings? Do you children know the answer? (A: I
know.) What do you know? (A: It was because He is
the son of God!) The son of God, right! It was because
He is the son of God! He had this enlightenment when
He was born. He had practiced spirituality for many
lifetimes, and He is the son of God.
I
would like to ask you another question. If He is the
son of God, then who are you? (A: Human beings!) So
you are human beings!
Who do you think you are? (A:
We are spiritual practitioners.) You are spiritual
practitioners, at least you are slightly better than
him. You are initiated and he is not. Correct! We
are spiritual practitioners, not bad!
Is
there anyone who has any different ideas? Who are
we? (A: Sons of God!) Sons of God? Who is that? Who
dared to say this? Show your face and let me see you.
So you are the son of God. When did Hes tell you?
(A: We are all God's children. As human beings were
created by God, so we are God's children. That was
what Master told us.)
So
it was my words. (Master and everyone laugh.) There
is no point in quoting my words. I thought you realized
it yourself. All right, if we are all God's children,
then why are we different from Jesus Christ? (A: It
was a different time and we are of a different race.)
You are too enlightened. Since we are from a different
race, should we reincarnate as Jews to become God's
children. What do you mean by different races? Didn't
you just say that we are all God's children? (A: They
were from a race different from the Chinese.)
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We Are All God's Children
 We
are all God's children, sons of God. However, some
of us are obedient and some are not. There may be
three or four children in a family born of the same
parents, but some are obedient and some are naughty,
some are clever and some are not. Some are pretty,
but some are ugly. Some are disabled, and some are
even mentally retarded. They are born of the same
parents, who did not discriminate when they gave
birth to the children. They would not make the decision
of wanting one child to be born wiser than the other.
And, when they have another baby, they could not
say, "Wow! I dislike this baby even before he is
born. I want him to look ugly. "No parents would
have such thoughts. Parents give birth to children
and love them wholeheartedly. Nonetheless, some
children are ugly, some are pretty; some are obedient,
some are naughty; some are stupid, some are clever.
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All the same,
we are God's children, not only Jesus Christ. It was only
because He had already recognized His Father, so He could
say with confidence, "I know who my Father is."
We are separated
from our parents, severed from our Father. So we don't recognize
Hirm. The truth is, we are all the same. We have the same
status as Jesus Christ, no difference at all. He was very
diligent because He deeply missed His Father -- the real Father,
the God in the Heavenly Kingdom -- so He persistently pleaded
with God, His real Father, to show Him where Hes is and reveal
to Him Their true relationship. However, we don't miss our
Father. All the time, we only miss our worldly friends and
relatives. Since we don't long for our true parents, they
cannot force us to think about them, nor could they appear
to us. We are too busy to think about them. Why are we so
busy? Because we are engaged in worldly matters, fame and
wealth, all kinds of things, and in taking care of our so-called
friends and relatives in this world.
In
this story, Jesus Christ didn't say: "You are my parents."
He really knew that He is the son of God, so He told His parents:
"How could you not know that I would be in my Father's home
working for Him?" He had this realization when He was only
twelve. He knew who He was. He knew the power of the Creator,
but He didn't understand the ephemeral human relations and
emotions. He didn't recognize the ephemeral human feelings.
Well! Jesus Christ realized this when He was twelve, and He
admitted that His true relationship is with God. However,
He was still filial to His parents and continued to be an
obedient child.
So,
our children who pursue spiritual practice should do the same.
We know that the world is ephemeral, and that we are related
to our friends and relatives by karma only. We know our true
parent is the Creator. However, while in this world, we still
have to be obedient and respect the elderly, our parents and
teachers, and love all our friends and relatives, just like
what Jesus Christ did. If Jesus Christ respected His parents,
we should do the same, and even more so! He knew that His
father is God, the Most High, yet He still fulfilled His obligations
to the world. We should do the same, and even more so, since
we have yet to attain this realization!
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Master Tells A Story