In Âu Lạc (Vietnam), there was a story – I go back to the nun who told me this story. There was a story that there was a new temple just built, perfect, beautiful and clean. And many young men came in to become monks, of course, with high ideals and noble aspirations. But many people came to that temple and gave a lot, a lot of good offerings – too good, too good. And then the abbot of the temple said to these monks, “Oh, you are the chopping board. And they are the knives. If you don’t truly continue, sincerely practice, they will chop you until you have nothing left.” And afterward, not too long afterward, all the monks returned to lay life again, married and have children, family, etc. That is a true story that my nun teacher told me.
That’s why I said to you that she taught me things, she told me stories. She also told me, “Be careful, don’t live in that small room alone in the refugee camp.” But I had to. I didn’t have anybody to live with. I prefer to be alone. I said, “Why?” And she said, “Oh, the ghosts, many of them, always go into an empty toilet and sit there at night also.” I said, “I don’t see any.” Or maybe the Buddha blinded my eyes, so I don’t feel afraid, or the Buddha threw them out so that they don’t scare me. So I continued to stay there. She can see ghosts and she can see what you think, what you feel also. She has this psychic power, clairvoyance, not complete but some part.
And one other monk also was in a refugee camp, another camp, more private, in a private building with other Aulacese (Vietnamese) refugees. He foresaw my future. He said I will be world famous. I will be very great spiritually. That’s all he told me. And at that time, I just thought he’s too kind, because I was a very devoted Buddhist. I gave offerings to monks, and many monks and nuns came to my house also. And I treated them like Buddhas. I didn’t call them Buddha, of course. I called them Master this and that. And I addressed myself as “your child.” In Âu Lạc (Vietnam), we don’t just call one “Master.” Master is “Sư.” “Phụ” means father or mother. Or, if there’s a nun, you call them “sư cô,” meaning “auntie master,” and “sư phụ” means “father master.” And you address yourself as “child,” “your child.”
Oh, I talked about so many things. I hope you can digest them all. Never mind. You never know when I won’t have a chance to tell you again. I treat my day, every day as my last day. So whatever I can do, I do it. And if some of you don’t listen, don’t believe, there are others who might listen, who might believe, and might rescue their soul themselves, and might become more virtuous, more moral, more fit to be a real human, also to make society become more safe, safer to live, and also their soul will become cleansed and it’s better for them as well. So I just talk, and whoever listens, listens. Good for them. Whoever doesn’t listen, I also don’t know anyway. I want nothing, so I’m not afraid of losing anything. If any of my words might help you, you thank God, you thank all the Buddhas, all the Masters. You don’t have to thank me at all. They inspired me, and before any talk, I always pray, praise Them to talk through me, “Don’t let me talk by just a mundane standard or ego.”
I don’t consider any talk as my real talk. Sometimes I do chip in some human standards, make jokes and all that, but I don’t consider that I’m really teaching anyone. I always thank God for letting me talk about whatever benefits others. And even animal-people, they listen also. From afar, their souls can listen.
The animal-people are so kind to me. Wherever I go, the bird-people come and tell me this and that. When I’m in anxiety for the world or everything, they come and tell me good news, but I cannot tell you. When it comes, you’ll know. Even rat-people and all that.
One time, I stayed not in the city, but in a kind of suburb with other houses around. And I fed the rat-people. I fed the bird-people, but the rat-people also came and ate together. And the neighbors saw it, so they reported it to the authority. And they wrote me a letter. They didn’t scold me or anything. They were very nice and polite. They said, “Don’t feed them, because the rat-people will come and eat, and the rats may carry sickness to you and your neighbors and all that. So please don’t feed them.” Because if I continue feeding them, then they will make trouble. That is for sure. First, they’re polite and write to you nicely, but later they will make trouble. You could be fined or you could be, jailed, whatever, depends. I don’t know much about the country’s laws. I can’t know too many laws. So, I stopped feeding them.
And I said I’m very sorry to all the bird-people around me and the rat-people also. And I kept asking them if they’re alright. They said they’re OK. Like the seagull-people, they normally don’t like to go eat the fish-people. They say it’s stinky. But after, if I don’t feed them, then they will go eat that. I feel so sorry, my God. My heart’s almost broken. And then I said, “But you’re OK?” They said, “Yes, we’re OK. Don’t worry.” And the rat-people, I asked the rats also, “What to do now? You come every day to eat easily. And what can you do now? Do you have food?” They said, “Don’t worry. We will find food. We know. We can take care of ourselves.” And the fox-people told me similar things in so much love and tried to comfort me instead of blaming me for not feeding them. But I felt forever sorrow.
But in society, in a country that you live in, even if it’s your own country or not your own country, you have to respect the law. If you know that law already, you have to respect it. Unless you don’t know, and unknowingly do something wrong, then you still have to bear the punishment. So after that, I felt so sorry. I still do feel sorry all the time now. But I moved somewhere else, and they still come and talk to me. They still tell me, “Oh, is this good, that good?” or “Be careful of this, be careful of that.” Anywhere I go, they come, even if I don’t feed them. So, wherever I go, if I see people feed the bird(-people) and the rat(-people) somehow, because they have a bigger garden, they live more privately, they can feed them, oh, I’m so happy, happy. And I wish them well. I say, “God bless you, God bless you,” and all that.
But you see, in the world we have worldly laws. So in the Universe, we also have Universal Laws. We have to abide by all the laws in order to survive. But if your soul is liberated already, you come to the real Home – Buddha’s Land, Heaven’s Home – then you never have to worry or be afraid about anything anymore. They don’t have such laws. They don’t have a dictionary that says “suffer” or “pain” or “rule” or “law,” nothing. Because everybody lives in Heaven, Buddha’s Land. It’s all good and blissful and happy all the time. All you do is just maybe walk around or visit your neighbors, or go pay homage to the Buddhas, feed yourself, and you don’t even have to walk or go on the bus. You just fly. You just walk on a cloud, for example. It depends on what Land you are in. Or you have a belt on your stomach and you just push a button and you go flying, safely, gently, just as if you’re walking on air. Or you walk on a cloud, and tell the cloud where you want to go, and then it will take you there.
And you have houses. Each one has a big house. Whatever is the biggest house in the world is not as big as your house in Buddha’s Land – for example, Amitābha Buddha’s Land. Even it’s like you are in a lotus flower. But that flower is a flower shape, but it’s your house! Big flowers, so it’s not like a small lotus or a small house, even, but great, because you are big there also, and you need space. You don’t even need that house. It’s just that everybody is given one so that you can sit there and meditate so you’re not disturbed by anything. In such a land, you have just pleasure and joy. Whatever you want will come to you automatically. You even think about anything and then it comes. But you don’t want too much there anyway. Whatever – you just feel contented, and whatever you need, very simple, it comes to you, no matter what you need.
And all the bird(-people) and the animal-people there are beautiful, with light around them, and they sing. They remind everyone to practice, to go on to a higher place. Maybe not because you have to be a Buddha or anything. It’s just that if you are a Buddha, you feel good, you feel better about your own achievement. And then you can help others, like maybe your relatives and friends who are still left behind in the suffering world or in hell, even. Mostly, if you attain a higher level of consciousness, then many of the generations of your clan, your family, will be also free, will not go to hell. But maybe a couple of them or several of them did not follow Buddhism or did not follow Christ or other Masters, doing bad things, and then they have to be punished in hell. And then from the Buddha’s Land, you can see through Heavens and Earth and hell, and you see maybe one of your relatives or family members, or even maybe your father, mother are suffering in hell. Then you can come down and sacrifice to help them.
Photo Caption: Golden Time Is Rare in This Fleeting World Enjoy While It Lasts
