We should always be grateful to God. We should be grateful for whatever we have. Even if we don’t have it yet, we could be grateful for it first. Be grateful to God in advance. Hes will make mainland more free. Be grateful to God in advance. Maybe Hes will be embarrassed and do it faster. Hes might get embarrassed. Right? (Right.) We thank Hirm all the time, so Hes has to do it. Right? (Right.) Yes. We praise Hirm all the time, saying how good Hes is, how generous Hes is, how powerful Hes is, and how Hes has liberated us.
(So that park is considered as a camping ground, Master. They made it as a resort, so it’s complete.) Yeah. (There is a park, swimming pool, stream, sixty cabins in there.) How big is a cabin? (The cabin is kind of small, just enough for a family. They made it as a camp, the people come for camping, the cabin is kind of small.) How many people can stay in the cabin? (If there is a big cabin, then it can accommodate six persons. And a small cabin can accommodate two persons and up.) My God, it is about one quarter of the LA (Los Angeles) Ashram, right? (Yes.) You guys will take turns, right? (Yes.)
And can we develop some more? (That one is up to 130 acres hectares, and there is a mountain behind it, so we can do whatever we want with it.) Not sure. Don’t say that we can do whatever we want. (They said that area is a retreat, and the church up there with the camping ground for boy and girl scouts is also located up there.) It depends, (Yes.) sometimes such a place has a small road, and the neighbors do not want to make it larger. (Yes.) They limit the number of people who can come in, not that we can drive in as many cars as we want. (Yes.) Because they say it is a small road, they don’t let people come in. So it depends. Not that they say there is a camping ground, and we can do whatever we want. It is not so.
From now on, whatever you do, you need to do it orderly and correctly, understand? (Yes.) You have to ask how many [people] that place allows. Only after permission then you build accordingly. (Yes.) Even when you plant a tree, you have to ask for permission correctly, otherwise, they will pull the tree out. USA has all kinds of laws and regulations. (Yes.) Because we are practitioners, we don’t pay attention to those things. (Yes.) We think that we can build two, three wood planks, to make the room larger and people can sit more comfortably, and it should be OK, but they think differently. When the relationship is healthy, they don’t think of anything. But when it is not healthy anymore, then they think of many things. (Yes.)
In the US, there are only two [political] parties, but whatever party we support, we will also have problems, understand? (Yes, understand.) It is the same everywhere, in any country. Sometimes we don’t do politics, but sometimes [we’re involved] for the benefit of the world. For America and for the world, so sometimes it is troublesome. Sometimes, when our initiates practice spiritually, their relatives don’t like it, so we would have problems. Spiritual practice also gives us “bruises.” But you guys are OK. No bruises? (No.) Yeah, only I get bruised. Whenever you see that I am fat, it doesn’t mean that, but only swollen from being “beaten up.”
OK then, you don’t ask any questions, so it is done. It is fun to hear what you said. Yeah, if you want to buy that place then it is OK. Whatever is fine. If it is convenient, then buy it. It is also good if we have two, three places, no problem. How about New York? Is there anybody from there? My God! If you give then give it, this brother! It’s alright, we can think about it tomorrow. It is very crowded already. Tomorrow, it is for those people, other people. But the majority, the initiates from San Jose and LA (Los Angeles) occupy everywhere, right? And the other places cannot develop, or what? Lazy, huh? Wherever I go, that place improves; if I don’t come then it will not, right?
My God, why do you always look to one person? Just look to one person. So all of you became Buddhas, and then you don’t go to develop anymore. He talks very nicely, but always pushes me to the front. That means after I was “beaten up,” he then came out leisurely and said: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is my Big Sister.” At that time, I was out of shape already. There is nothing more, right? (Right.) If there isn’t anything else, then we go back to eat, later I will see other people. See you another day.
Tong, you… I don’t know. Because it’s not good this way. I feel it’s a waste of time. You let them go there. (OK. Will do.) Or what else? (It’s fine that way.) They can also sit here. (Right.) I just walk a little bit. OK. Otherwise, the grass would wither if they sit on it. Is it OK for Taiwanese (Formosan) to sit here? (Yes.) I’m afraid there’s not enough space. There are so many of them. No more space? It’d be OK after the grass grows big. But it’s not big enough yet, I’m afraid the grass might wither. How come you plant it in such a cute way? Piece by Piece. So round. (Not enough money.) Not enough money. (They said it grows very fast.) When I speak, they can sit together.
People from China? (Over there.) So many? You are all from China? (Yes, China.) No, no. Not all of you are from China. No. (Are all of you up there from China?) (Yes.) Chinese, raise your hands. Yes. There are some. Ah, you’re not from China. (I’m a Chinese from America.) You’re a Chinese from America. You cheat. (There’ll be another bunch of people coming tonight.) I know. I know. I’ll see them tomorrow. Those people from China can come here. Where to sit? (Sit together.) Are they also sitting on the grass? Wow, it makes my heart ache. My heart hurts once I see the grass. Can we just let them sit here together? Come closer.
Slowly. Slowly. Don’t step on the grass! Walk in between the grass, OK? And sit in between the grass. Because they spent a lot of effort planting the grass. The land is big here and it’s cold. The fellow initiates worked very hard on it. Oh my God. You can only do it today, not on other days. They (the grass) will all die if you trample on them. He even told me that there was not enough money. Not enough money. Are those working team? It doesn’t matter. They’re used to working. Do you want to sit here? Or you prefer sitting there? Sit in the corner, it’s OK. Or you want to sit further away, it’s all fine. Come and sit here. Never mind. Here. there’s still some space. Here. You can sit here to fill the space. Or you sit there. Both are fine.
Now, where are the mainlanders? You’ve been “bullied” by them. Have you? You’re not crying or making much noise. From where? (Beijing.) Beijing? All from Beijing? (Guangzhou.) Beijing and Guangzhou can come here. (Liaoning.) (Cannot.) I’m sorry, there was no way. I thought it would be more convenient for you to come here, so I took all the hardship to come to such a cold place. And it even cost me me [money] in order to make it convenient for you, but it didn’t work out. (Especially those from the three Northeastern Provinces, they’re not allowed to go abroad.) We’ll see to it next time. Very sorry to you. Then you practice more diligently spiritually, and make it more open in the future there, then… I can go there for a while. Then it’ll be fine. (OK.) But that’ll be the last thing to happen. Not right now. You all know it. Is it not so? (Yes.) Yes.
I’m sorry. Go back and tell them that Master feels very sorry. Hearing that, I’ve been feeling very sad these days. That’s why I told them to tell you that you can come anytime you want to. Normally, during the retreats, you have to be present from day one to the end. But this time I said that it’s alright, that you can come anytime you can. I extended it a few more days, so that you could take your time to come. (OK. Thank You, Master.) You’re welcome. Do you mainlanders have any questions? Just don’t ask those astral questions or ask me to go to the mainland. It’s difficult for me to go there. Where can you gather to see me? Can you float in the sky to see me?
It will get better later. It’s a matter of time. It takes time for the brakes to work and have a full stop. Do you know that? (Yes.) Now the brakes are applied everywhere. But it takes some time for them to come to a full stop. It’s already very good that you can go abroad now, which you never could do before. Is it not so? (Yes.) In the beginning, just walking… You have to apply even for walking from here to the tree there. Isn’t it so? (Yes.) I didn’t exaggerate, did I? (Right.) Almost coming to the point that you have to apply for going to the toilet. So, it’s much more open now. And you can also come to Taiwan (Formosa) and Hong Kong. It’s good like that. The same with the Aulacese (Vietnamese). They could not move even one step before, and it’s very good now. Our world is getting better and better. (Yes.) It’s true.
In the past, even if it was good, it was also difficult to see a Master. (Right.) Now, you can, as long as you have money. In olden times, even if you had money, it was useless. If they had money, they would buy gold and bury it underground. They didn’t have many chances. To go see a Master for one time, oh, it was so far, so far away. Was it not? They had to climb mountains and cross rivers. Even if they wanted to and could afford to, it was useless. Now it’s getting a lot better. Look at Master Xuanzang. It took Him 17 years to get just a few books. Seventeen years. The situation in our time is a lot better, right? (Yes, right.) So don’t complain too much. Complaining creates negative energy.
We should always be grateful to God. We should be grateful for whatever we have. Even if we don’t have it yet, we could be grateful for it first. Be grateful to God in advance. Hes will make mainland more free. Be grateful to God in advance. Maybe Hes will be embarrassed and do it faster. Hes might get embarrassed. Right? (Right.) We thank Hirm all the time, so Hes has to do it. Right? (Right.) Yes. We praise Hirm all the time, saying how good Hes is, how generous Hes is, how powerful Hes is, and how Hes has liberated us. We should list everything. We… make a list of our dreams, saying, God has given me this, that, that and that. It’s OK if Hes hasn’t yet, we list it first. Yes, yes. This is the secret.
Keep a list and read it every day. Read it before meditation, and read it again after meditation. During meditation, if you feel bored and can’t sit still, read it one more time. After reading it for a long time, God might get embarrassed, thinking, “These children are so faithful, how can I, an adult be narrow-minded?” It will come true after you read it for a long time. Tell the fellow initiates from mainland and other less free countries to keep reading it. Whatever you love, just read it. Make a list. It’s true. Read it. Make a list. If you are not sure how to read, or you are afraid what you wrote won’t be understood, find pictures which symbolize your meaning, and stick them on. Yeah, like cartoons. Then you look at it every day, reciting it while you look at it. Got it? You should know what you want, and Hes will know.
We really… Nowadays there are lots of blessings, and it’s very convenient for spiritual practice. It may not be very convenient for you now, but it’s a lot easier than before. In the past, in the time of Jesus, and in the era of Buddha, things were more difficult. Right? (Right.) Even in India, there were people who tried to harm Buddha. There were people who were jealous and made trouble for fellow practitioners. And in Jesus’ time, He had to hide Himself, and He dared not preach in public. As soon as He taught in public, He was crucified. It’s better now. If this country is not good, I go to another country to see how it goes. Right. And everyone goes with me as well. I am not scared. We can go to another place together. So we are not scared. (Right.) Our time is very good, very good. I truly thank God and Hes will continue doing even better. Is that right? Is it? (Yes.) Yes, yes. Thank you. Thank You in advance. We should be satisfied.
