At
this very moment, while we're sitting here and talking, we're simultaneously
living through all the levels, which we have or have not realized. It's
not that we only live the life of a human being here. We become fairies,
saints, Gods and Buddhas as well; even ghosts by the way. It's because
there are many such levels in the universe.
For
example, you're going to have a vegetarian barbecue today. Someone is
going to give you a skewer, on which you put a variety of things. A
piece of bell pepper over here, a piece of tofu over there, a piece
of wheat gluten, a piece of ham, so on and so forth. Then, when you
hold the whole skewer up, you will be able to see its entire contents.
Everything is in your hand. Human life is the same. In one instant,
we're able to embody all nature, and knowledge of every level in the
universe. It's just that we don't know this.
It's
because now we're living in the world as a human being. We chose our
life to be in human form, and therefore, we only close all the other
gates in order for us to be able to fulfill the human life at this time.
If the other gates were wide open as well, you would know that you are
also a fairy, Buddha, God or past, present and future; then you would
not be able to fulfill the responsibility, the duty as well as the journey
you have chosen to take in this life. Hence, there are no third, fourth
and fifth levels at all. Everything is us. The third is us, the fourth
is also us, and the second is us as well.
If
we want to return to all the things of which we possess such an immense
knowledge again, then we should practice the Quan Yin Method to regain
all this knowledge. The higher the level we practice at, the more we
are able to know that we are indeed everything. All beings are one,
for that matter. If we choose not to practice, then we only know that
we are just a human being who goes to work day and night like walking
on a treadmill. We go back home, go to work, to take care of spouse
and children and then argue with them, argue with our husband. Then
that's all we do without knowing anything else.
Whereas,
if we see that the chosen journey of being this human being seems to
be a mistake, which makes us bored and we want to know more, then by
practicing the Quan Yin Method, we'll be able to know more. Our life
will naturally become different. (Applause)
What's
happened? What made you applaud so noisily? (Audience: Very good) You
understood? Oh God, I had such a poor discourse but you all understood
anyway. You're so good indeed. It's true. Actually, I was afraid that
you would not understand because this subject is so complicated. It's
hard to explain.
For
example, now there's a skewer that has everything on it; but while you
bite a piece of tofu, you only know the tofu taste. Ah, we're hungry
and tofu is our favorite, so we eat the piece of tofu first, and we
only know the tofu taste. At that time, we only chose tofu to enjoy
just its taste; our mentality, our enjoyment was focused on that piece
of tofu.
Although,
we have a skewer full of other things, we don't pay attention to them,
so we don't know. Not paying attention also means that we don't know,
because we just don't pay attention to them. Naturally, we have it all
but we either do not pay attention to it or ignore its presence. It's
because of our mind. Our whole attention is being focused on a piece
of tofu. Since we so enjoy eating it and only think of enjoying its
taste first, we inadvertently forget the others. Nevertheless, we know
what happened before and after. Similarly, only when you choose to enjoy
other tastes will you be able to recall something spontaneously.
Therefore,
while living this human life we often think that we have the sixth sense.
In retrospect, since childhood we often have had such an experience
even before we practiced the Quan Yin Method. Sometimes, you've experience
that. While sitting in one place, we sometimes intuitively feel that
we seem to remember something so unfamiliar. We have never done such
a thing before, but we know. Also we think that oh, sometimes we want
to do something in the future but we feel frightened all of a sudden.
We then call it the sixth sense. The sixth sense told us that we should
not engage in such a business.
Sometimes,
when we are in the middle of doing something, we think: Oh, this definitely
can not be done. We know that instinctively. How could we know it when
we haven't done that yet? Many say it's the sixth sense. Others say
it comes from our past life experience. Actually, it's not. It's just
a talk of the sub-conscious, a talk of a past life or future life experience.
Actually,
there is no past life or future life. There's only human life, which
is an infinite and endless chain. It's because we differentiate it into
past and future, we chose it to be like that.
In
so doing we have isolated and different experiences that are separated,
each section. Like our home, we divide it into separate rooms. Actually,
it's still our home. Before we subdivided it, it was an open space.
Even when all the walls have been removed, it's still an open space
anyway. We divide it in order for us to have separate areas to do our
own private work.
Similarly,
in the eternal life of a human being, of a being not entirely a human
being, of a sentient being, there are many sections for that reason
also. But, in reality, it is a long and endless chain. As we go through
our present life, there is also past and future. It is because there
is no time and space. They are just a result of our choosing to become
a human being alone, to do the work we wanted to do now. Otherwise,
it would be so boring if we were to complete all the past and future
work in one life. It would not be like what we wanted originally. What
we wanted was to descend to this world at this time just to choose to
become a human being only. We will then choose to be a fairy or a Buddha
at another stage. Then when we want to choose to become a ghost or demon,
we would choose to be it at another time. We would shut the time and
space gate to create an isolated area in order for us to become a human
being, ghost, demon or fairy.
Actually,
the life of every being is a long and endless chain. All is housed in
this time frame only, without any past, future and present at all. It
is we who chose a certain angle of life to complete the program that
we wanted or to experiment with what we like. We like to do it in order
to experience it; that's all (Applause).
Hey,
it's very difficult. But, actually, if at the same time we knew that
we were also a saint or a Buddha, then we wouldn't be able to fulfill
our duty as a human being at all. (Applause) It would be impossible
because anything that we work on with our full devotion and energy,
would be completed with its full taste and depth. But if we already
knew that we were God then it would be impossible for us to sit there
and cry after being left by a husband. Crying without real passion (Laughter,
applause).
If
we sob without real passion, then we wouldn't be able to feel the suffering
of a wife being left by her husband. We wouldn't be able to completely
fulfill the role we designed to test ourselves. We try it in order to
know how deep the suffering will be. Thus, when someone speaks of the
suffering of the one who was left behind, we can understand and express
our sympathy toward him/her. We will then try to help resolve their
problem for we have already walked the same road before.
If
the Buddha would have sat still in one place, he wouldn't have anything
to do at all. He wouldn't have had sorrow or worry, and it would still
have been considered okay. If we happen to choose such a journey, then
it's still all right. There are many people who choose to try all tastes
of irony and bitterness just for fun. Because in the long, long life
of eternity in the universe, if we didn't choose to try this today and
try that tomorrow, then we would be bored to death. (Laughter) Today
we leave the husband, tomorrow he will leave us and that's fun. (Applause,
laughter)
For
example, while the Buddha is sitting here, he has chosen to be a human
being. At the time he's a human being, if he still thinks that he's
the Buddha, then how would he react when his wife leaves him or when
her husband leaves her? Oh well, all right, someday I'll go and find
another husband. It's no big deal, life is so eternal. Then he looks
into the future and says, "Ah, another wife is coming; she's even
better." Then, he says, "Oh well, just leave, go away."
And he's no longer sobbing.
Okay,
now we should talk about a less complicated subject -- actors and actresses,
for example. Your favorite actor or Liz Taylor. At the time she played
the role of Cleopatra, she must have used all her mental strength, energy,
focus and knowledge in order to perform that role well. If, at that
moment, she still recalled that she was Liz Taylor, then she would not
have been able to play the role well.
It
was because the Liz Taylor in Beverly Hills had a husband, and had already
left eight husbands, so this one was different. (Laughter) If she recalled
the husband who had left her, she would sob her heart out about this
sad story of her husband. Then how would she be able to play the role
of Cleopatra? When she played the role, she had to be there, she had
to be Cleopatra. From that, we should understand right away.
The
saints or God are the same. When they have to play the role of a human
being, they have to play it right, meaning that it has to be one hundred
percent human. Whereas, if they still associate themselves with the
sainthood or God, then they will never be able to play the role of a
human being. The saints and God are so great with magical power, who
couldn't sit there and sob his heart out because his wife had left him.
It would never happen. That's it. (Applause)
Therefore,
sometimes when I said you are a Buddha, a saint, you did not understand
anything at all. It's because you have chosen to forget yourselves.
Now you are so bored with being a human being; you haven't learned much.
It's no fun to have chosen this path. Since it's not a good choice,
you like to go back to being a saint, a Buddha; or you have been a human
being for too long, you have tried this kind of life over and over without
being able to get out. It's so boring; just think of it. Since there's
nothing exciting anymore,
we
want to go back to being something highly conscious. Then, we should
choose the Quan Yin path to follow (Applause).