Now, because people don’t remember the karma of the past life, so, they sometimes blame God and say, “I’m doing good this life. I’m not doing anything, and You still burn my house.” They forgot just 30 years ago, before they were born, what did they do, or where they have been, something like that. It’s very easy to forget what we had done last year, never mind last life and many lives.
So, when you practice for enlightenment in the spiritual way, you have to know: We do it with no condition. Even if we follow the Quan Yin Method, we practice the highest way, we still have to accept some minor or sometimes even major problems or disasters that come to us. But luckily, there are fewer than ordinary people who don’t practice. I don’t know what’s wrong with this microphone. He’s so excited, keeps jumping up and down all the time. What should I do with it? I’m too weak to control it. That’s it.
If you come to me with a kind of contract, then you are in for disappointment. Or some people misunderstand our motive. I never promise you richness. I never promise you a life of ease, a bed of roses. I never promise you you’ll get anything you want, even when it’s bad. So, we practice to eliminate the ego, the whom, the who that wants everything even when it’s nonsense, when it’s not possible. The one who always wants to push everybody else to work for him and to want things for nothing, to want things when he doesn’t work for them, to want to serve himself first, and does not consider whether in that circumstance, is that correct or incorrect. That is the ego.
Because God doesn’t owe us anything. It’s only for us, for our benefit, that we should meditate, that we should become good because it’s good for us. That’s what we should be in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end. We should be a good human being, a perfect being and developed in all sides: Spiritually, worldly, as well as compassion, love, and the sacrifice spirit for others before ourselves. But that is when that person is truly in need, that others are truly in need. Not that we give blindly just because I have too much money, I have to go and ask, “Oh, you want some, you want some?” “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Of course, everybody wants some, even when he doesn’t need it. And that is not the point of my telling you.
Help when they truly need, the most needy, because we don’t have enough to give to everyone. And also, when they’re not needy, and you help them, then you harm them. You put him in a reliant habit, and you take away his independence, and that’s no good for him. You’ll kill him in the long run. You trample on his dignity, on his self-respect, on self-reliance and independent spirit. That you cannot do. That’s very cruel. You ruin him. You ruin the whole of his life, of his life’s purpose. He’s born here to struggle, to work, to learn by the sweat of his brow. To know how to be a human being because when he learns well, from here, later he can be a better saint. He can be a good saint.
What is the good to have a saint when he’s useless; he’s an up to no good saint. Then we call him “a useless saint.” If the whole world are Saints and he can’t even build his house. If everybody shaved their head like me before and went to the Himalayas, eat grass, eat wild grass, wild herbs like a buffalo, or do nothing, and can’t even clean the house, can’t even build a house, or do anything, what is the good of that Saint? It’s a good excuse to say, “OK, he radiates love, and peace, and blessing to the world.” Fine. But it would be better if he could help us to build a house or to do something that we need. Because we still have the body and he does also.
So, therefore I would like you to be a perfect Saint and human being. If we are only saintly and we are not humanly, that’s no good. We can be saintly when we are up there. But when we’re here, we should be also human. Just be normal. When you discover Sainthood, that is when you discover your normalcy. That means you are perfectly ordinary. There is no “smelling” of Sainthood about you. And when you still smell like a Saint, that is when it smells, it smells, it stinks. We call it in Chinese “Zen sickness.” Because you know you are a Saint, and you smell like one.
Actually, I’m not humble enough to tell you all this but at least I heard that from some other Saint that you should be normal and you don’t smell like a Saint. Then you are a Saint. The Saint is truly a non-Saint because you don’t look like one. You don’t walk like one, or you don’t point to everybody, saying, “Look here, I’m a Saint.” People will feel comfortable with you when you are not a Saint, but at the same time, you are a Saint. Do you understand this paradoxical talk? (Yes.)
Oh, it’s 9 (PM) o’clock. What time you finished? Nine? Normally, normally. Nine. (Nine-thirty.) Nine-thirty. (Nine-thirty, yes.) Oh, a little bit late. I told you already that this place is a little bit far for you. But we can’t afford to buy a City Hall, or the Congress Hall for you. It’s in the middle of the city, but we can’t afford it. But it’s quiet here, and you can park anywhere you want. Otherwise, in the city it’s difficult. So, you can’t have everything in this world. So you accept it. But you like it, no? (Yes.) Plant some more trees, plant some more grass but not too near the hall, not too near the house. You know you have to leave an insuring place around the house. No bushes, no dry grass, or things like that, would be better. But anyhow, God will protect you. We can’t do much.
I think I’m out of subjects now. Do you have any questions? What’s your sister here for? From Mexico? (Yes, from Tijuana.) From where? (Tijuana.) Tijuana? How far is it? (From here… about two hours.) Two-hour drive? (Two hours and a half.) Two hours and a half drive? (Right.) That’s all? (Right.) We’re near Mexico? (Yes.) (Yes. We are very near.) (Yes.) Oh, really? (Yes.) Ohh. (We came over last night, but we got lost. And we have other people that came from Mexico.) Oh, really? (Yes.) So what to do with them? Where are they? (Well, they were coming to... There’s a group, big group of people, they get together at Ojai, and they go every time to meditate there.) Understand.
(So, they were going there but because my sister told them about here, so they came here but it was too late after we got lost. So, they continued over there, but they stay.) Oh. So, they’ll come here tomorrow. (I hope so. Yes.) Can you lead the way? Or we tell somebody to lead the way. It’s OK. (OK.) Anybody want to lead this group? Who knows the way well who can drive? Otherwise, I’ll tell you what, get a taxi and tell him to lead the way. (Or I can find my way now after I got lost.) I mean them. I mean other people. (Well, I don’t know if they’re coming back.) Oh, you don’t know where they are. (No. I know they’re in Ojai. But …) Oh, it’s OK. (Yes.)
So, we are very near Mexico? (Very near, yes.) Two-and-a-half-hour drive? (Two and a half hours.) To the place, I mean to the Mexico City? (No, no, no. This is a border town with San Diego.) Oh. How long from here to Mexico City, driving? (Oh.) (Seven-hour flight.) Oh, and seven days driving, right? (No. Three days.) Three days driving. (About three days.) Three days, but day and night, right? (Something like two and a half days, yes.) That’s too long. (Right, I know. I know.) That’s another world. (Yes.) Seven-hour flight is a long trip for me, for such a short person like me.
So what’s the sister here for? Speaks English? (A little.) (I understand.) Yes. (But I don’t speak it very well.) So what does she want? (She just wanted to see You) Oh, yeah? (and maybe... but I don’t know if she’s going to be accepted to be initiated.) We’ll have initiation tomorrow (Right.) at two o’clock. (OK. So, we’ll come tomorrow.) Yeah. (OK.) You’re welcome. (OK. Thank You.) Any questions? No? If no, then I have to run. I have a lot of work at home. (OK.) And I see you tomorrow. (Thank You.) I have not been so well also.
Everything goes wrong in my physical office. But it will be OK. I think the medicine is good. It’s still a little bit better today. It’s better today. Is the doctor there? Doc. Do I need some more medicine, Doc? Where is my doctor? Do I need some more medicine or it’s OK? Give him a microphone. Is he there? (No, no. He’s not here.) How come? (He is not here today, Master.) Why? Maybe he’s busy with something. Maybe in with the group? What? (Maybe he’s busy in his office.) Oh, with patients, right?
And do you come to see him also? If you go to see him, you have to pay also. Please. Don’t say “because we are fellow practitioners, and never mind, you drink water and eat the air, that’s enough.” I will also pay him. Yes, yes. I tell you: Everywhere I go, I pay for my food, and if I go to see a doctor, I pay for the medicine and the doctor’s fee. So, you do the same. Even with fellow practitioners, even if they are my disciples, because they have to live on. If all of you, thousands of you come to see him because he’s a fellow practitioner and give him nothing, then he eats grass. And we have to think.
We don’t make use of anybody’s goodness. Whenever we can, we pay. If you cannot, of course, it is different. And I pay for all the telephone bills and all the fax bills wherever I stay. I always tell the team to do that, and if they forget, please remind them. But I think they remember because it becomes a habit. They automatically know it. Sometimes I forget to tell but I think they all do that. We have to learn to be straight and honest. Whatever is given to us is given; whatever is not, is not. And some of my disciples don’t take a fee, doctor’s fee, for their work for me, sometimes for my teeth and all that. But then I give them other things, like equivalent or whatever they want that they’re happy with.
But anyhow, it’s better we settle down everything straight, and that’s also a lesson. That’s the American spirit. But Americans are too much sometimes. Even between husband and wife or girlfriend and boyfriend: “I take you out for coffee. It’s very romantic, but you have to pay.” That’s too much. I wouldn’t like to have a boyfriend like that. So if you want to be a boyfriend, seriously, you have to pay for coffee. Is that OK? Alright, goodnight. (Good night.) God loves you.
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