Some
people ask me: If God is so powerful, then why doesn't Hes take pity
on the people in hell; why does Hes leave them to suffer great agonies
there? Why doesn't Hes just forgive them and free them from hell? It
is because they have not acquired enough "human" qualities;
they still possess the demonic spirit. Were they allowed to come up,
they would do great damage to the human world.
Similarly,
if prisoners who committed serious offenses were set free before they
had been completely reformed, they would continue to kill people and
destabilize society. Sometimes, we might wonder why the government has
to build prisons and employ police, but then, not every person in society
is benign; people do err sometimes. An initially benign person may have
done misdeeds because he was threatened or is mentally unbalanced. Therefore,
he will continue to disturb the world if he is not confined in jail
or a mental institution. Similarly, hell is there for people to reform
themselves, and they are free to go when their reformation is complete.
This World
Is Also A Prison
The
same goes for us worldly people; our world is also a kind of jail, except
that it is less strict than a prison or hell. Here, some people suffer
more and some suffer less. However, we all seem to be living in a prison
because we cannot get out or communicate with other worlds; we are trapped
in our bodies and in the atmosphere of the Earth all the time. People
in some other worlds are freer than we are. They can travel from one
planet to another and from one world to another. However, they don't
often come to our world, just like people who have nothing to do with
prisoners, they don't often visit a prison. Even lawyers, those with
power, or those who are in the highest position such as kings and presidents,
do not visit a prison often. Although they can do so any time, they
are busy with other things.
Our
world is in a similar situation. You always ask why the great saints
don't come down here to save us as there are so many of them up there.
It's because this world is a prison and we are prisoners. So why would
anyone care about us and come to see us? None except those who have
affinity with us, our family members and friends, or our lawyers. Who
else would visit us? If a lawyer doesn't come to prison to see you,
it is very difficult for you to get out or change anything even if you
have been wronged. Once you are in, it's very difficult to get out.
We
say that this world is like a prison, because the people here know only
this world and no other worlds. However, some people in this world can
go out to see other worlds. For example, of the many inmates in prison,
some can go out if they behave themselves and were not convicted of
capital crimes. Occasionally the guards take them out to have some fun
or exercise. Although they are still prisoners, they can go out for
some fresh air and feel more free; they can go out to see cars, pretty
girls and children running around, which is better than always staying
in prison. Some inmates are not locked up or chained. They can work,
do gardening, sweep the floor, cook, or walk around in the prison rather
than being locked up in their cells. But some inmates are locked up
in tiny cells. The situation is different for the many inmates in prison.
The Soul Of A Spiritual Practitioner
Is Free
Similarly,
most people in this world cannot visit other worlds or other planets,
but some spiritual practitioners who have less karma and are released
on bail are free to run around. They are just like prisoners who can
go out to work, sweep the street, collect garbage, or do community service
to make up for their crimes. Some inmates cannot go far from the prison
while some can go farther away in police vehicles, where they work all
day before returning to the prison. In the same way, most people in
this world cannot visit other worlds whereas we Quan Yin Method practitioners
can often go out. If we are diligent in our practice, behave ourselves,
and concentrate when we meditate, we can go out.
Sometimes
we aren't even aware that we have gone out, but when we wake up, we
feel as though we have just fallen very quickly from somewhere or we've
suddenly perceived very bright light, then we know that we have just
come back from a very high realm. I mentioned yesterday morning why
you are not aware of it - because it would be troublesome and you would
be scared if you were aware of it. The person who sees his own body
lying there after he has left it becomes so scared that he goes back
quickly as if his body looked so pretty that other people would snatch
it away. (Master laughs) Sometimes at night, I take you up to learn,
otherwise you cannot make progress in your practice. You are very busy
during the day and doze off when you meditate. How can you have time
to learn? So I have to make use of your sleeping time and let the guardian
angels take care of your bodies while I take your souls up to learn
and have fun. Of course, you may not remember it after you come back,
because your mind is only a tool like a computer. We have a way to connect,
or disconnect, our souls and our minds as we desire. Those of you who
are initiated have a way to disconnect your souls and your minds, at
least when you sleep or meditate, depending on your power of concentration.
When
you sleep, your mind disturbs you the least. It knows that you don't
do anything at that time, so it doesn't need to record anything. Since
it knows that you are sleeping, it relaxes and thinks that it has nothing
to do. At that time, I quietly take your soul away without letting your
mind know about it. So when you come back, it still doesn't know, except
if you are kicked by your wife or disturbed by your husband, you may
suddenly wake up and perceive a very bright light or feel very light
and have an indescribable feeling. Then you know that you have just
come back from a high realm. Have you had the experience of seeing light
when you wake up from your sleep? (Some in the audience answer: "Yes.")
Some of you have.
Different People Have Different
Degrees Of Freedom
The
situation is different for the people in this world. Some of us can
rise up to high realms and some cannot. We are still prisoners, but
we have a little more freedom. Some people are waiting to be released
and some are allowed to go out to work, depending on how serious their
crimes are. Those of you who can go to very high realms have almost
fully paid for your crimes and your lawyers have had your cases settled
and made a good arrangement for you, so you will be released soon. You
are only waiting to be released when the paperwork is done. Some of
you who cannot go up very high have been more sinful or your lawyers
have not had your cases settled yet.
A
fellow initiate just told me, "Master, I felt that I had dozed
off during meditation, but when I woke up, I felt I was going up but
suddenly woke up from it." I said, "That was because your
power of concentration was not strong enough." We work all day
and our concentration is dispersed. If we have not practiced well or
have only practiced for a short period of time, although we can go up
to a high realm, we cannot stay there or cannot go higher. That's why
we must meditate and practice every day.
If
you could stay at the level that you attained at the time of initiation
or even go higher than that, why would you have to meditate every day?
I might as well tell you just to eat and sleep every day. This is the
same as learning any other thing. For example, when we go to college,
we have to study every day, otherwise how can we graduate? We also have
to study every day when we learn English, Chinese, Japanese or anything
else. When we are admitted to the class, it means that the teacher is
giving us a chance to learn from him and to become a teacher in the
future. Although we have enrolled for the class, we have to study every
day. To enroll for an English class is better than not to enroll at
all. Some people want to learn English, but they may not be knowledgeable
or competent enough, so the teacher may not accept them. When we enroll
and the teacher accepts us, it means that we are good enough and better
than others, but we still have to continue to learn. This is the same
as going to college. After graduating from high school, only the better
ones go on to college. They may have to take entrance exams before they
are admitted. So those who have been admitted are good enough, but it
doesn't mean that they have graduated from college. They must study
four, or perhaps eight, years in order to graduate. Similarly, after
you are initiated, you are very good and are like saints in a saintly
group, but you are not high-level saints yet. You must take time to
practice. Therefore, please be diligent in your practice.
Spot
Light
