This
is a book of East Indian poems that have been translated into English.
Kabir is a well-known writer in India. He was an enlightened master
who lived some five to six hundred years ago. He was not rich and earned
his living as a cobbler. Though he had very little money, he was very
generous. Very often when he had guests, he would ask his wife to borrow
money or to get some food on credit in order to entertain them.
Now
I will read one or two of his poems to you. Poems or literature about
spiritual practice, especially those concerning the Quan Yin Method,
are easier to understand; either from ancient or contemporary times,
they are the same. Kabir's poems are very popular among the people,
and he remains a well-known name today. Every East Indian person knows
his name. His poetic creations are marked by sarcasm and his spiritual
verses are beautifully written. I remember a short poem of his, which
is truly sarcastic. In the poem, he derided those false monks who were
lousy spiritual practitioners and who fainted upon earing his words.
Perhaps he had a sharp "beak" like this. (Laughter) He left
behind a large collection of lectures, poems and articles, but not a
single photograph, so people have no idea what he looked like. I have
no doubt, however, that he had a sharp tongue! (Master laughs)
One
of his remarks was about spiritual practitioners who only dyed their
robes and not their hearts. Spiritual practitioners in India wore red
or saffron robes, which were a symbol of compassion and universal love.
Kabir noted that they had only dyed their clothing, but their hearts
had not been dyed in the color of love. They walked out on God and went
to worship stones. In India people loved to worship stones because they
were too lazy to carve them! (Master and everyone laugh) They grew long
hair which they kept unkempt, and they had long beards like goats. (Master
and everyone laugh) "Mare...." (Master imitates the goat.)
They forsook their loved ones and their families, and turned themselves
into eunuchs. (Master and everyone laugh)
This
is how he ridiculed them. Both the original poem in Hindi and the English
translation sound very amusing. My Chinese translation may not be very
good, but you are already screaming in laughter. If we were to read
the original, most probably we would be rolling on the floor by now.
(Laughter) The doctor would have to give us gastric pills quickly.
Such
was his character. Kabir loved to write such sarcastic words, and the
spiritual practitioners of his time dreaded him. In spite of his poverty,
he did not accept offerings and people had high respect for him. When
so-called spiritual practitioners visited him, of course he entertained
them hospitably. He even sold his wife to do so. Moved by his actions,
his neighbor gave him food without demanding payment or taking his wife.
Here
Kabir was writing a eulogy to the inner Sound. The Music plays non-stop
within us, he said, but it is not produced by instruments. We all know
this very well! (Everyone laughs knowingly) Then he went on to say that
this Music is created by the Word. The Sound -- the Vibration -- is
very subtle, and is for everyone to hear. Once a spiritual practitioner
has heard this Sound, he is beyond the grasp of the Maya King, and is
free and liberated.
People
of the ancient times also spoke affirmatively of the Quan Yin Method.
The Word that Kabir mentioned is identical to the Name in Lao Tze's
statement concerning "The Name That Cannot Be Named". It also means
the Sound, as mentioned in the Bible. Therefore, Kabir pointed out that
this is not an ordinary word or an ordinary sound. With the power of
this Sound, any chain of bondage that shackles us to the cycle of birth
and death will be severed. All worldly desires, all earthly fires of
greed and emotions, will be kaput when they meet the Word or the Sound.
They will just drop dead! (Laughter)
This
does not apply to worldly sounds or languages, which can only bring
us pain. Therefore, Kabir wanted us to distinguish this Sound from the
ordinary sound, music and language. He found it difficult to explain
it, which was why he babbled so much. (Master laughs) He was concerned
that we might not understand him, so he gave us a lengthy explanation.
(Master laughs) We can understand, can't we? (Audience: Yes.) One or
two sentences would be enough. There is no need to be so long winded.
(Applause) It is very difficult to elaborate on this, so Kabir went
on and on to clarify that this is no ordinary sound or word. By listening
to the worldly sounds or the so-called words or names, he said, we can
never find inner peace or serenity.
As
he said, no treasure could compare to the invaluable Word. Only genuine
spiritual practitioners understand this fact. Other people would wonder:
"It is only a word or a sound. Why is it more valuable than wealth?"
So Kabir said: Only true spiritual practitioners understand the real
meaning. Rubies, sapphires and other precious stones are easily available,
but the true Name of God is difficult to find or buy anywhere.
For
this miserable world, you will see me shed tears of sympathy. For this
depraved world, you will see me feeling upset. However, only those who
have known this Word or Sound would cry with me. The whole world is
very happy, (Master laughs) and we are the only ones crying. They do
not know why we are crying! Only the Quan Yin practitioners know and
cry for the same reason.
This
Word, or Sound, is so powerful that even a king would renounce his empire
and go into retirement. (Laughter) Do we have a king here somewhere?
(Laughter) We are kings in our own palaces, (laughter) in our own homes.
If there is nothing except boars in the mountain, then I am the "mountain
king". (Laughter)
Anyone
who can find peace of mind and this Word or Sound is indeed the most
fortunate and blessed man in this world. Should you never hear this
Word or Sound, wherever you go, the world is pitch darkness around you.
People who have not found the gateway to the Sound -- that is, the Quan
Yin Method -- must remain in transmigration without a home to rest.
Doubt and instability have enveloped and taken control over the world.
Few souls can rise above such an ambiance of this world, which means
that few can set themselves free. Only a handful of spiritual practitioners
live freely and at ease in this world.
Practicing
the Quan Yin Method is the only way to transcend the chaotic and tumultuous
worldly atmosphere. What Kabir meant was that the only solution is to
find the path that practices listening to the Sound; and this is the
only path to liberation. Here in his poem, he wrote "the only path".
Some people still do not believe that the Quan Yin Method is the only
way. (Master and everyone laugh) They must be incarnations of the Maya's
subordinates. (Laughter) They are speaking Maya's words. (Master laughs)
All scriptures discuss the same thing. Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism and
Catholicism, all mention this Word, this Name, this Sound. Once we become
enlightened by practicing the Quan Yin Method, it all becomes very clear
to us!
We
can also easily understand the Zen stories. A monk was plowing in the
fields. Suddenly he heard bells chiming. He was so filled with joy that
he stopped plowing. (Master and everyone laugh) Another saying goes:
Souls in hell would be liberated if they heard the chiming of bells.
When the deceased hears the chiming or jingling of bells, they will
definitely be liberated. That is why the monks keep ringing the bells
(laughter) above the heads of the deceased -- to liberate them. (Master
laughs) Unfortunately, they tie a "drag knot" (sounds like liberation
in Chinese) instead. They tie a knot and then drag along. (Master and
everyone laugh.) Too heavy to move, they have to drag themselves from
one place to another, from Earth to hell, and from hell to the cycle
of transmigration. This is a "drag knot" and not liberation!
Kabir also said in
his poem that the enlightened master has built a heaven -- a mansion
-- especially for the spiritual practitioners. Should we want to take
a look at this spiritual dimension, God has given us the Light within,
which can light up the way for us. Yes! Here we have Light! Just now
we had only Sound, now there is Light! God has also given us Light,
just like a flashlight, said Kabir, so we can look upward. (Master laughs)
Since it is far away, we need a bigger flashlight to shine from here
to there, just like the rising sun dispersing the darkness of the night.
Similarly, when the Light enters our souls, all doubts and delusions
would vanish! This is what Kabir meant. (Applause) He deserves our applause.
His words are really beautiful!