They don’t have to listen to me. If they just believe in me, then I can also liberate them at the end of their life, then they don’t have to come back again. If they just not slander me, then I can also liberate them, help them at the end of their life, and in this lifetime already, anyway, in different circumstances, although they don’t see, they don’t know.
The Buddha continued, “Dull and confused living beings do not evaluate themselves. Encountering such situations, in their confusion they fail to recognize them and say that they have become sages, thereby uttering a great lie.” They did not mean to lie even. “They will fall into the Relentless Hells.” Oh, God. This is not fair.
That’s why you must meditate with guidance. You can’t just meditate yourself, looking like somebody sits there, closes the eyes, and then you can do that. You cannot. You must have an expert guidance, like everything else; otherwise, you might fall into the trap of the Maya.
Because the Maya, they like to disturb practitioners, and they are powerful. They’re more powerful than us. We have the body, we have obstruction of the body, we have the mind, we have obstruction of the mind. They have nothing. Nothing to obstruct them. They can exercise their power on anyone. And they don’t like practitioners, because if you’re liberated, they lose one soul. And maybe they lose more souls because of you. Because you influence others and you have your relatives and friends. One person enlightened, according to height, you bring one, two, three, five, six, nine, ten generations with you. That’s why he’s afraid. Imagine if everybody is enlightened, the world is empty. Whom does the Maya harass, molest, torture, or mislead for fun, for controlling? That’s why.
Now, “In the Dharma-ending Age, after the Tathagata enters Nirvana,” Tathagata is one of the titles of the Buddha. “…all of you should rely on and proclaim this teaching. Do not let the demons of the heavens have their way. Offer protection so all can realize the Unsurpassed Way.” The Buddha’s way.
Somebody wants to ask something. What was it? (I hope it doesn’t sound like a childish question, but I want to know why doesn’t Maya just be a practitioner?)
He is not a practitioner. (But why? I mean if...) He doesn’t want to. (OK.) You ask many thousands, millions of people outside, why don’t they want to be practitioners? Even if I go everywhere and preach for thousands of people, not all of them want to become practitioners, let alone Maya. He has his power, he can create things, he can create beings. He likes to rule.
Maya is as powerful as Buddha, if you want to know. It’s just he lacks love, he lacks compassion. Buddha has compassion and love and power. He (Maya) has only power, so he doesn’t understand suffering of humans or you and I, or the animals. He just looks at it, his creations tearing each other apart and he doesn’t care. He has no love in his heart. That is why.
That is why if we practice any way of meditation, we must first cultivate our compassion, by keeping the precepts. At least keep the precepts. Don’t kill, don’t harm, don’t lie, you see? Lying’s also harming others; sometimes it does. For example like that. The precepts are to keep you in line, so that you don’t harm, and you don’t fall into the mayic way.
Because the Maya doesn’t care about anybody else’s feelings. He has too much power. He has anything he wants, anytime! He loves to rule with an iron fist. Therefore, anyone who does something wrong in the name of judgment, in the name of the law, he sends them to hell. Even a practitioner who doesn’t understand, mistakenly thinking that he’s a sage or just by ego or something, he still goes to hell.
You saw that? The Buddha said that, to go to Relentless Hell. That is why the Buddha pleaded with all His disciples and Bodhisattvas, please, in the Dharma-ending Age, meaning when He’s not there anymore, and His lineage already came to be diluted and no longer powerful, as when He was there or when He’d just passed away. When the Buddha passed away, the lineage bloodline was still there, because He still had Ananda. He still has His son, Rahula, who also became one of the successors. He had Manjushri. He had others; Maudgalyayana, etc. All of them took turns to become successors for many hundreds of years. The lineage was still fresh and pure. But after these foremost disciples died also, then no more. That is the Dharma-ending Age for the Buddha’s life or Buddha teachings. That’s what He called “Dharma-ending Age.” Then the Buddha worried that the practitioners might fall into the trap of the demons. That’s why He kept talking so long, so detailed, so patiently, that please, take care of them, so that all His disciples that were still alive understood and tried their best to take care of the later generations of practitioners.
Yeah, you’re right. I wish he became a practitioner. He doesn’t care. Because he had no intention to help any other beings when he practiced; that is why. He practiced just to gain power to create and to rule over his creations. That was the intention. Depending on what intention you have, you will get it. If you meditate because you feel sorry for yourself, that you’ve been deluded all these lifetimes, or this life, you want to better yourself, you want to improve. And also, in case you can bless your generations, other generations, or help others, spread the truth, anything, because of your noble goal, your noble intention. But he never had this kind of intention. He was just bored with Heavens. He was bored of being kind of subordinate to a high God or to the Buddha; he revolted. He wanted to be his own man, rule over whatever he created or borrowed. This was kind of ambitious. So, a spiritual practitioner can even be that ambitious, and this is really a sad thing.
What? (Master, I feel like if Maya does gain love and compassion, then he’d actually have more power. Because the more love and compassion you have, the more support you have from higher Realms, which is more power. I mean, I feel like it’s not smart for him not to practice.)
I know, it’s not. (It doesn’t make sense because if he...) He’s not smart enough. He doesn’t think that way. You see, just like somebody who is so very intent on becoming rich or famous, no matter what the cost. You come and tell him, “My Master tells you rich… or Jesus said richness in this world is nothing. Better put your richness in Heaven.” He will say, “Get out of my house.” You see what I mean? He’s just one of the beings that has not developed this side of love. He developed only one side, one-sided power.
(Hi, Master. I have a question about the Maya also. In the book from Master Kabir’s Anurag Sagar, He said Maya was a child from a high level Master, Fifth Level Lord.) Yeah, yeah. (So, I just wonder how the Maya became such a bad guy?) Coming from a good guy. (Because he comes from the love and he didn’t have traps and tricks like human beings here in the world, because he was in Heaven with all the bliss.)
He was bored in Heaven, I told you already. He was bored of being the subordinate, bored of being good, bored of having to be in the rules. He likes to rule himself. He likes to be a king. Just like some revolutionary leader, you know? He doesn’t like the government. (Understand.)
What do you wonder? The Fifth Level is also inside the Shadow World. That’s why I am going to take you out. Outside. (Yes, Master. Thank You.) Outside of the Fifth World. But if you reach the Fifth World, you’re good already. If you’re good, then you’re in the Fifth World; you go there.
What? (Another question about this, Master. You told us You’ve prepared a special place beyond the Fifth World.) Yeah. (Can You share a little bit more? Because, for example, this world is available to all Master’s Quan Yin practitioners, for example?) For my disciples only. (Oh, thank You very much, Master. Thank You very much. Love You, Master. Thank You. It’s a new place that Master prepared?) Yeah. It’s a place created for you. (Wonderful! Thank You, Master.)
It’s a normal thing. I mean, like Amitabha Buddha, He also created a place for who believed Him at that time. And afterward, if people believe in Him, He also accepts them to go up there. Whoever believes in that Master will go there. That’s why you have to be careful which Master you follow. Because, wherever he goes, you go.
(We are very lucky, Master. Very lucky people.) All right. (Thank You.) You might have done something good to deserve it, or you might be too bad that no Saint wants you. Pick your choice. Think. Look inside you, “Who am I? Is that the good one or the bad one?” I don’t care. If you are my disciple, you can go up. (Thank You, Master.)
Because everything wrong you do is only because of Maya and the Maya is the one that also created the mind. The mind, the Maya, everything is from the illusionary Shadow World. So, if you’ve done something wrong, it’s not your fault. I don’t see it that way. It’s just because I am your teacher, I have to point out. “Don’t do this, don’t do that.” Like, “That’s a bad one, that creates bad karma; this creates good merit.” But I don’t judge you that way.
Just in this world we should abide by the rules, so we don’t suffer. We don’t suffer while we’re living in here, so that you can have peace of mind, good health, security to practice. If you don’t have good health, you don’t have a good house, you’re doing some bad thing, then you’ll be disturbed every day. How can you sit comfortably for a little time that you have already? Due to all worldly demands and family and due to this world, it’s already taking up a lot of your time and strength and energy. And if you make more trouble for yourself, how can you practice?
Otherwise, I don’t see any of you as a sinner or bad people, not even the people outside, not even the worst criminals. They are just doing what they have to do. They are just doing according to their karma road, that they have fallen into by traps, by tricks, by demons’ influences. All kinds of things that are just eating up people and animals, all beings on this planet. And you do one thing wrong, you do another; one thing leads to another, and you just can’t get up. You understand?
I sympathize with everyone, even the worst criminals in this world. People judge them, I don’t. I just feel sorry for them, very, very sorry. And it pains me that not everyone listens to me, so that I can help them. They don’t have to listen to me. If they just believe in me, then I can also liberate them at the end of their life, then they don’t have to come back again. If they just not slander me, then I can also liberate them, help them at the end of their life, and in this lifetime already, anyway, in different circumstances, although they don’t see, they don’t know. Some do know, even though they’re not your Quan Yin practitioners’ brothers and sisters. They do know, some see, some don’t.
But imagine, you are very helpless in this world. Everyone is so helpless and then being influenced by the demons and by your society, by the situation you have to live in, by jobs, by survival necessity, everybody is such a victim in this world. If you were born in Heaven, how would you fall like this? I mean, higher Heaven, you don’t have to fall.
OK, we are also accusing Maya, but actually he’s doing his job; he has to be like that. He has to have no love, no compassion, nothing, so that you can develop your love, your compassion. Because of the situation that he created, it makes you feel loving and kind to the victims. And then beware yourself, what you are doing or not doing.
(When something happens to me and I know it’s wrong, it’s bad, and it’s going to hurt me or I’ll lose money or whatever, but I feel helpless, I cannot do anything. It looks like I have to wait.) You feel helpless. (Yes, it feels helpless. I know…) Sometimes, yes. (Yes.) Not all the time. (Is that normal?) Not normal. (Not normal.) No.
Because you have been taught right and wrong and you have the Master power inside to help you, you can get up all the time, anytime; no excuses. People outside, they have no one to rely on. They are excused, you are not. And even if I excuse you, the Maya will make you suffer. So, worry about Maya, don’t worry about me.
I accept all of you already, no matter what. You are my children, and I take care of you. (Thank You.) Make sure you don’t go out and roll in the dirt, and come home and say, “Mom, I am dirty.” I told you not to go there. OK? All right. We have all kind of excuses. I told you, this subtle lie or subtle indulgence we must watch. Some coarse and gross habits or excuses we can tell, but some are very subtle. That’s what we much watch, really. That’s why every day you have a diary. You have to introspect yourself: what I think is right or wrong. What I did was an excuse, or I just made it to cover myself up? You must watch.
You are elder now, you should be wiser than the younger people. All right, don’t worry. Just next time, get up. OK? Next time. Next time don’t make any excuse to lay there; get up. OK? “Master, I am getting up now. I won’t make any excuses. I know what You would do if You were me, so I’ll get up. I will get up, get out of this. Because if Master were me, She’d get out.” So, you do what you think Master would do; no excuses. OK, continue.
“Ananda, when the good person who is cultivating samadhi and samatha has put an end to the form skandha, he can see the mind of all Buddhas as if seeing an image reflected in a clear mirror. He seems to have obtained something, but he cannot use it. In this he resembles a paralyzed person. His hands and feet are intact, his seeing and hearing are not distorted, and yet his mind has come under a deviant influence, so that he is unable to move. This is the region of the feeling skandha.” After all these ten stages you pass, you still have to go through another gate here.
“Once the problem of paralysis subsides,” meaning he knows things, he sees the Buddha’s mind, he knows all the truth, but he cannot use it. He is still being disturbed, obstructed by his own skandha of feeling, all that, so he’s not yet completely free. So, once the problem of paralysis…
The Buddha likens to your helpless state of knowing, seeing the Buddhas, and knowing the teachings, the truth, but cannot use, as if paralyzed. But when that state subsides, “his mind can then leave his body and look back upon his face. It can go or stay as it pleases without further hindrance. This is the end of the feeling skandha. Then this person can transcend the turbidity of views. Contemplating the cause of the feeling skandha, one sees that false thoughts of illusory clarity are its source.”
When he gets out of this helpless paralysis, then he can analyze well, where all this helplessness comes from. Then he knows it’s just the false thought of illusory clarity. He thinks he has clarity at that state, but it’s just illusory. The clear state of mind maybe comes later, not at this time. And then he knows the source of this hindrance, helplessness is because of false thoughts. From the false belief that it is real clarity, purity, but not yet. That wasn’t the Buddha talking. I explained it to you, that’s all.
