Master's Words

Spoken By Supreme Master Ching Hai, International 7-Day Retreat, Hsihu, Formosa
October 27, 1995 (Originally In English)

As practitioners, we don't have to always prove to people that we are good. We live a life of goodness, Truth and beauty. It's there for everyone to see. If they want to see it, if we can, then they see it. Otherwise in life we should be flexible, we do everything when it's a profit to other people.

Of course in the context of the moral standard and ethical regulations of our group, of our ideal, we live the noble ideal that we propose to other people. But nevertheless we do not shine too brightly, then put down everyone else around us and make them feel bad and humiliated. If we do that, we will not be successful in leading them into our ideal, into our noble way of living. So we are good but not too glorious, not too showing off. A truly humble person doesn't know what humble is, he's just like that. Whatever he does, he just thinks about people and then he does things accordingly. He doesn't mean to be. He doesn't show himself as a very very moral, virtuous and good person in order to impress anyone. But he truly lives the life he believes that he should.

Even if he does lives the life that he believes, people do not feel uncomfortable being around him. That "I'm holier than thou" kind of attitude, "I'm better than you" kind of appearance, it's better just to be ordinary. But this is not to pretend to be. We should reach that state in which we are ordinary but we do not even feel that we are ordinary, we are good but we don't even feel that we are good. We live the good life but as normally as we breath and as we move our legs and arms and body in expression.

Then at that time, people will love us but we are very ordinary. People will respect us without any position in society. People will follow us even without us preaching one word of goodness and virtue to them. They will just see us and they will just like us, they will just feel comfortable, not suppressed, not humiliated. They will just take us as a friend. At that time, we would be successful in transmitting whatever ideas that we try to follow or we believe. But even at that time our life itself becomes an ideal, becomes itself a doctrine, becomes an eloquent lecture without any language.

Otherwise the worldly languages are so much. We can't always try to translate what we want to say into their language and it takes a lot of effort. So whenever you practice better, well and sincerely, everywhere you go you will feel that people are attracted to you without any reason. On the airplane, on the bus, on the train, in the market, in the school, on the street, anywhere people just come to you, are friendly to you, and they will ask you some questions. Then accordingly maybe you can impart to them the precious knowledge that you have acquired by your effort and through the Quan Yin Method. So that is the best way to glorify your life.