So now, human substance is different from animal(-people) substance. If you add too much animal(- people) quality into your body, then you become more like an animal(-person), or at least 80%. When you are about 70%, you can become an animal(-person) already, because you have more of it than the human substance. For example, if you have 60%, 70% of human quality, you are still a human, but a little bit like an animal(-person). Therefore, you can see that many people are a little bit like animal(-people), right? (Yes.) They don’t have a human personality. (Yes.) They can still be called Mr. this, Mrs. That, and all that. But, they kill, steal, cheat and lie easily just like they are singing. They get used to it. Those are people who have too many animalistic qualities.
But you see, there are some animal(-people), even though they have animal(-people) bodies, they have intelligence, wisdom, and emotions like humans. (Yes.) Ah, that’s because their human characteristics are more than other animal(-people). Some animal(-people) have more animalistic qualities, for example 80%, then they are more like animal(-people) than humans. Some animal(-people) have 40% or 45% human qualities, then they become half-human and half-animal(-person). We can see some animal(-people) are so smart and so emotional. That’s what it is.
There are those people that are like animal(-people), because they train themselves to be as such. They [live] the way of the animal(-people); they don’t control their animalistic desires. It becomes too much if they keep accumulating the animalistic qualities, and later they will become animal(-people). Even if they become humans [again], they won’t be like human much, they don’t have the qualities of a good human. They do bad things but they do not feel ashamed at all. So, you understand now. (Yes.)
It’s not that I compel you to keep the Five Precepts and force you to do this or do that. No, those are my advice to you only. Those are the wisdom, the secret practices since ancient times, from the [past] Masters for us. They are the Laws of the Universe. If you know the Laws of the Universe, then you can live a smooth life. If you don’t violate the Laws, then you don’t have punishments, that’s all. It is similar to living in America, you must know the laws of this country. If you drive unlawfully, you will get caught by the police or lose your driver’s license for a year. For example, if you know but you still violate the laws, sometimes you can get away with it but it is difficult. You might get away with it one or two times, but if you keep doing it and get used to it, you will not be able to escape in the future. Whenever you violate a precept, you must “stand up” right away. If you violate the precepts in your thought, don’t let it also happen outward. If you physically violate, then there is no remedy.
So don’t say that I am strict, or difficult. No, I’m not. Whatever you want to do, it is your life, you have freedom to choose. But you should know that any choice you make has its own consequences, and don’t think that you choose this type of person, you are cool, you are free. No, it is not freedom. You can be free to kill people, to rob things, but you are free to go to prison, too. Otherwise, in this Universe, no one can forbid anyone else anything. Because everyone is a Buddha, a god, a part of God, so no one can forbid anyone else. But you should know your Godly qualities, your Buddha qualities. You should live according to the standards of the Buddha, of God, then you can come back, you can control yourself, you can be your own master.
You can be your own master, your own teacher. Not to be other people’s teacher. Being your own teacher is difficult! Being everyone’s teacher is so easy, because anyone can sit here and talk blah, blah, blah, and can talk for hours. I talk very little already! I am shy, so I talk just a little bit. If you see other guys, they talk all kinds of things, they talk a lot more than me. Well, talking a lot is not beneficial, we have to live according to what we say. It is difficult. Being a teacher is like that. Become a self-master, become our own master, understand?
Since ancient times, anyone is his/her own master, then naturally, people get attracted and they come because of his/her energy field. The attracting force of those people who have already become their own masters, will attract other people to come. Otherwise, you keep talking so long and about all kinds of nonsense, no one will believe you. Because our actions speak louder than words. Therefore, Emerson, an American philosopher, said, “What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” “What you do speaks too loud that I could not hear what you say.” Understand? (Yes.)
If you like me, [it’s] because you like yourself. You’d like yourself to be like that. If you like me, like anything about me, that is because you’d like to become like that. You feel that is the way you’d wish to live your own life. So what you really like is that person’s character, not the physical person. You like what the person does and what they stand for. That’s it. You’re drawn to them naturally. Similarly, when we love someone, sometimes at first we may be attracted to their appearance. But after living together for a long time, what attracts you more is that person’s love and loyalty. You’re attracted because of that person’s love and loyalty, because of the way they live, their character and qualities – not because of their appearance anymore. Because the outside appearance, you look at it all the time, you get used to it, then you get bored, right? (Yes, that’s right.)
Only Madame Ching Hai, no one gets tired of Her. Yesterday, I told you already, Auntie Hải (Sea) is big. Hải (ocean) holds a lot of water, right? (Yes.) So, She has every country. Therefore, the human qualities, the inner beauty, is something that lasts for a long time. You can recognize it immediately. (Yes.) If you look at me outwardly, I’m just quite ordinary, nothing special. (You are beautiful. Master is beautiful!) No, that’s not true. Well, alright, alright, then let’s just say that Master is beautiful. Just assume that your Master is beautiful, and there are so many other enlightened Masters who aren’t beautiful at all. For example. But then, when They get old, like the Buddha, when He was old and ready to die, He was not beautiful anymore. They would have gray hair, and no teeth. But sometimes, no hair at all. It is OK to have gray hair, but no hair… Even so, people still cried their hearts out for Him – some even died along with Him.
Some people died earlier because they didn’t want to see the Buddha die, so they died before Him. Hey, but don’t imitate that foolishly. They were Arhats, already saints, so they could do whatever they wished. They had already liberated themselves from the attachments of worldly life. Usually, those people are monks. No, that’s not what I mean. I’m not saying monks are better than ordinary people. That’s not it! They’re no longer bound by anything – they’re already free. So whatever they want to do, they can do. But we have wives, children, and all kinds of ties. When we die, people cry their hearts out, and since we still carry debts, we’ll have to come back again. Well, it’s not that easy. If we create debts, then we have to repay them.
Back then, no one forced us to marry anyone. (Yes.) But once you’re married, you have to take responsibility. That’s all. If you have a wife and children, you must take responsibility. If you have a husband and children, you must take responsibility. It’s not that anyone has done something sinful or wrong. No! Nobody is blaming anyone. But as human beings, we must have a sense of responsibility. (Yes.) Whichever path we choose, we have to walk it. You could choose not to follow it, but then it weakens you, and your mind won’t be at peace. Then later on, you will be reincarnated back and forth, you will come back again. When you see your wife and children left helpless, the moment your heart is moved, you jump right back down again. The moment your heart is moved, you come right back down – no one has to push you at all. If you are up there [in Heaven] and your heart is moved, you will come down immediately. And once you come down, it’s already too late – your wife and children are gone, already dead. At that time, you’re born as a child again, you can’t do anything!
You should remember that the karmic force of your thought is very powerful. Whatever you want, you will get it sooner or later. So if you want something, you should want it properly. You want something (good) beneficial for you and for others. Whatever you desire should have a future – it should be something solid and lasting. Don’t be wanting this today and that tomorrow, because then all kinds of obstacles will pile up to bring about those desires of yours. Then you get overwhelmed – headaches, dizziness – and you won’t even know how to deal with it anymore. Then you will affect the people around you, the people who love you and who take care of you.
It is not just your own karma alone, but the collective karma. For example, if your child runs into all kinds of trouble, as a parent, could you really be at peace? No! Even if they’re the ones doing wrong and we didn’t do wrong, we still end up worrying all the same. You wouldn’t feel at ease either; you wouldn’t eat well or sleep well. For example, if something happens to the parents, the children would also worry. Or if the wife does something wrong, the husband would also feel uneasy, worried, uncomfortable, and tired as well. (Yes.) So we can’t say whatever someone [in your family] is doing, that person is responsible for himself or herself? If so, that would be too easy, right? (Yes.) Too easy! Then no wife, no husband, no children, no mother at all. It’s not that easy, because human emotions and attachments run deep.
Many people think, “Practicing on the spiritual path is too restrictive! So let me be free, I’ll do whatever I want. I am god! Whatever I do, I am still god.” OK. But because you are god, you should not do whatever is not God. We must act worthy to be god, then we can say that we are god. But if we do the opposite, then we are different from God. Even if we are god, it still wouldn’t be right. For example, the President of the United States – he has to do things that pertain to a president in order to remain in that position as president. If he acts improperly, he’ll be immediately removed from his position. You saw the evidence; there was a president who was removed from office. Because he didn’t act according to the standards expected of a president. Even though you were elected president, if you don’t meet the standards, you can still be removed from office as usual. (Yes.) That is talking about the normal affairs in the world. Let alone we are god, Buddha but act in ways that are not Godly, not Buddha-like, then naturally you would be kicked out of your position.
You have to bear your own consequences. For instance, if you say that you are god, Buddha, but you are doing stuff inherent in devils, demons, then you have to bear the consequences like devils, demons, and be punished just like them. Another example: If the president goes out to kill and rob people, later where would he go? (To prison.) He would become a prisoner and be treated just like any other prisoner. And it could even be worse, because he already knew, but still committed the crime. Because he was in such a high position, yet still did wrong, he will certainly be punished, even more severely. Even more people will condemn him – more so than ordinary people who are ignorant and tempted into doing wrong. So, that’s why you must try to conduct yourselves well. (Yes.) So that your mind can be peaceful, and your life can become more and more noble.
It’s not that we are here just to eat and drink to our satisfaction. Or to satisfy our lust or our bad thoughts, just to make our lives feel pleasurable. It’s not like that. Sometimes you can be happy for a little while, but later you will suffer much more, hundred times more. It is not worth it. It’s not that I am strict, difficult or anything like that. Whatever you do, you have to bear the consequences. I don’t go around 24/7 to stop or obstruct you. Or that I can lecture you all the time, constantly recite the sutras for you to listen. Even if I recite [the sutras] all the time, you would not listen anyway. The more I recite, the more you will be tired, and bored. That’s why you have to protect yourself, otherwise no one can tell you anything. We are god already; it is truly like that. I only remind you of your Godly Nature so that you remember and live as a noble human being. And if you don’t want to remember, OK. That’s your choice.
You have the full right to decide your life, to decide the path you will follow. But you should remember – each path has its own price. You choose the path which is more noble, even you pay a high price – it is still more noble. And if you choose the bad one, you have to pay a price anyway, but it is worse, nothing beneficial to you at all. Sometimes that bad path may seem good right now, and later you will pay a much higher price. It will beat your soul up and down, life after life. So it’s not worth it at all.
For example, the people who already have their wives, but commit extramarital affairs. I don’t mean to condemn those people. What I mean is... according to the statistics, people who engage in extramarital affairs often end up with death or suffer this or that, because their conscience weighs on them. For example, I read in the newspaper, that among 35 people who died in bed during intercourse, 33 of them were involved in extramarital affairs. And the other two probably died because of a heart attack. Too much excitement, and they had a heart attack and died. And the other 33 probably were excited and at the same time felt guilty, so they died quickly. That means 99%, right? (Yes.) It could be more. So, it is not worth it, and also caused a lot of pain and suffering for many others and so on. Try your best. That’s all. (Yes.)
Any more questions? Any objections? Have I said anything unpleasant to your ears? Yeah? (Master talked so well. Wonderful, Master.) (Thank You for everything. We love You a lot.) OK. You’re welcome. (Thank You.) You’re welcome a lot. (I am from Mexico City, and a lot of people are waiting for You in Mexico.) I know. I know, a lot of people wait everywhere. (Anytime that You feel resting...) How many people there? (I have no idea but…) No idea, then how do you know a lot of people? (Oh, yes, we have.) How far from here’s Mexico City? (Three hours, three-and-a-half hours.) Three and a half hours by car? (By plane.) Oh, by plane, Jesus. (Yes. I heard that in the Center, a lot of people, my brothers and my family’s waiting for You.) OK. (A lot of people can’t afford the flight to come to see You.) I know that. (I know that You are so tired. Just anytime.) I don’t know. I don’t know. (We love You too much. Thank You for Your Love.) Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Tell them I thank them.
Yes, I’m also very proud of all the people in different Centers. Because I don’t always visit them. Sometimes I go and then four or five years I don’t see them, but they’re still growing strong. Many Masters… not many but several Masters also teach the Quan Yin Method. And also, They have Centers for people, but not everybody comes like that. Not so crowded like we are. I mean here it’s because of all the Aulacese (Vietnamese), but other places like Germany, Mexico, are all the pure native people, they’re still growing strong and I’m very proud of the affinity between us. Maybe I come, maybe I don’t. I don’t know, I’m getting old, have to take care of my beauty.
Photo Caption: “Just 1 Moon, Can Light Up Forest Path in Various Regions”
