My mother was a virtuous person. She’s very faithful to my father. Even though my father’s a little bit glamorous. I knew her, she would never stray. She was always very virtuous, very faithful, and sacrificed for the family all her life. I guess that’s what earns her the vision, that she has seen in her dream. And now, she sees me every day, she said in her letter. And she wrote poetry to me. And I couldn’t believe this was my mother because she never wrote poetry before. And it’s so beautiful.
She was in that time in Âu Lạc (Vietnam) before it was at war, and the women were kept illiterate. Most of the women, some, not all, but many were kept illiterate because we were more a male-dominated country, like China, and most of the Asian countries, the males dominated. So, the women thought it’s useless if you went out and learned something because then you’d have nothing to do. You would wash dishes and wash children’s napkins, that’s all. Why do you need education? So my mother wasn’t very literate. She could read and write, but she wasn’t literati.
But she wrote beautiful poetry, more beautiful than I could ever think of. So beautiful. And many times for me. And very, very spiritual poetry. Not normal, affectionate and kind of family things. No, no, I could not recognize her. She very much loved children and family, but how come she became so changed? Everything she said was spiritual. Every word she said was Buddha. “Oh, I wish I could follow the Buddha. I wish I could follow You, the Buddha.” She wouldn’t say me, the daughter, anymore. Everything was reverent and spiritual. And I couldn’t recognize my mother. She was different from the way I knew her. She was very much a businesswoman, very materialistic in her way. From what I knew, she came for her business and she worked hard, and she raised the whole family. She decorated me and my sister with gold. And my father’s earnings were not coming in there. So he had to take from her also. Well, I’m sorry for my father, but it was the truth, what I knew.
But my father was different. He was a little bit more literate, and more romantic. And more generous. My mother was more down to earth and more hardworking, and very practical, very practical. So, I think I learned from them both. Generosity, being romantic and hardworking, and practical. These two normally don’t mix. A practical person cannot be poetic. But I think I have both because of my parents. Both of them were just like water and fire. One was very practical, very frugal, very self-sufficient. The other was romantic, poetic, and just not reliable. Because my mother was too reliable, I guess. So, he knew he always could get something. He didn’t bother about earning money much, and what he earned he spent.
But my mother was also a very good woman, a very humble wife. I remember even though she raised us, and everybody knows this, most of the finances came from her, but whenever I wanted something extra, I always had to go to my father and ask his permission. She made me go to my father and ask his permission before I could get what I wanted. Not because she earned all the money, she took care of the whole house, and she played the boss. I think she’s a beautiful woman. The more I talk about her, the more I know about this beautiful woman. She’s so virtuous. No wonder she has beautiful experiences now every day.
She meditates four hours at least per day with her very old and painful condition. She has rheumatism. And some of the wounds that she had before, during the war, it hurt her. And the only thing she prayed to me is that, “Please help the condition to lessen so she could sit longer.” That’s all. She never asked me for money, never asked me for any support, never asked me to bless her with more beautiful visions or get her faster to Buddha Land. No, no, no. She never burdened me. She never burdened any of her children. She only gave, but never took. She’s a beautiful woman. Really, for an ordinary person, it’s rare. Right? Rare to find this.
And she had not eaten vegan before in her life, but she eats less, a very frugal person. So, I can say that even though she was not vegan, she most likely didn’t eat much of anything, (animal-people) meat and anything like that. The good things she only gave to us and my father. And she ate whatever was left over. And she wore clothes that were sometimes patched, even though she was very rich. All the boxes of gold that she showed me, she never used for her own comfort. Now I know where I learned all these good qualities from. Because when you have your father and mother so close to you, you don’t examine them. You take them for granted.
But now, since I’m far away and since I’m talking to you now, I’m more open and I realize what good qualities they have. Not that I want to praise my parents, but I think you can learn something from this. Don’t take them for my parents, but maybe for your parents. Or for anyone that is good that we could learn from. Because I could learn from them also. Their humility, their generosity, their sacrifice. No wonder she can see the inner Master every day. And she’s so spiritual now. The way she wrote the letter to me, I knew. And she reported experiences. I knew what a changed woman she was. But even then, she had all these qualities all along. All the virtues that she accumulated all life long, and then she could earn this. No wonder she’s my mother. I think. It’s not by chance. Now talking about it, I remember how beautiful that woman is.
And she doesn’t even ask me to sponsor her to come out. She always writes, “Don’t worry about them, they’re OK,” even when they’re not OK. She said, “Don’t worry. Just be…” How do you say “peace of mind”? “Peace of mind.” “Just live Your life in peace. Take care of Yourself. And don’t worry about us, don’t burden Yourself.” She never asked me to come out, to take her out. She worries that she would burden the children. This is really a very rare quality, very rare, because some of the parents would expect something from their children in return, and they would blame them if they don’t give it to them. “I have raised you, I have given you education, and now you don’t take care of us. You give us nothing.” They would blame the children. But no, my parents never did, as long as I remember. They never blamed us, anyone, for not taking care of them or not giving them this and that and others, or not being the way they expected. Of course, they would say we have to be this and that and other things, a very good and noble person, and they also didn’t blame me.
I think I have wonderful parents, and I’m very lucky. So I share with you my fortune in case it helps you. You don’t need to worship them. I forbade all the disciples to go to see them. You don’t make noise at my house. It’s good enough that you make noise where I live here. I sacrifice everything for you, but not my parents. They’re old, they need quiet. They cannot entertain you. They should not have to. It’s good enough that you trouble me, so don’t go try to trouble my parents. They’re very old now, they need time to meditate. Both are initiated. My mother meditates a lot. She wakes up every morning, she said, from 4 o’clock, and meditates to 7 (AM). And then evening again, two-three hours. She said since initiation, she never failed. But their initiation was distant. You’re more lucky. I give you personal interview.
My mother, parents didn’t see me at all, just a long-distance initiation, and she had such beautiful experiences. So have no fear that I’m not with you. I have never been to Âu Lạc (Vietnam) for 25 years, and my mother sees me every day at her house, and she is the most happy woman, the happiest woman on Earth, she said. Now she is. She could not imagine that, she could not believe it. She feels so honored, so blissful, so peaceful. And she just says, “Bless me that I can meditate more and all the time to catch up because I’m too old now. I’m worried I don’t have enough time for exercise. That they cannot catch up with the Buddha.” She said it like that. “If I were younger, I would follow the Buddha immediately,” she said. So, she just wanted to have more time to meditate. And if you came to their house the way you come to me, the poor woman would never have a chance. And she’s sick and old and weak from all the sacrifices that she made for us, the “lousy” children.
Some people wanted to go and bow to my house over there. I said that the coconut trees that we planted around, if you sit around, you bow around, it would drop on your head. And I cannot be responsible for that. So don’t bother going around there. What for? So just better leave my parents in peace. I don’t want all this glory, all this illusionary glory. It’s good enough that you meditate, and you recognize the Master Power inside you, bless yourself, your ancestors, your relatives, friends, and your country that you live in, and the world that we share, that’s all. That is our motive. That’s what pleases me most. And not such outward trouble.
From here to Âu Lạc (Vietnam) takes a lot of money and time. And takes a lot of money to bow to all these coconut trees. We have a lot. And I used to sit under them, and you might think you want to bow to these trees, or you sit under them to become a Buddha. And the coconuts would drop on your head and then how do we take care of that? If a hundred disciples go there and sit under the hundred coconut trees, and they’re all broken-headed. What shall we do? Did it help you, what I told you today? It will? And you’ll try to live up to it? Then at least what I tell you is useful, otherwise I’m tired of talking.
This morning, I was in bed meditating, and then I was thinking how difficult it is to teach people. And I wanted to give up. Well, I did that many times, so don’t worry. I wanted to give up many times already, so don’t worry. It’s just one of those days, you know? I may never do it, but I always think I may. Well, that’s a comfort. It’s my personal private comfort, that I might do that, even though I probably never will. So that I have some kind of illusion that I could always quit when I want, so I don’t have pressure. I said to myself like this, “Just do it a last day, and then you quit.” That’s how I always kid myself into doing every “last day.” Because sometimes I am not used to people.
I still never am used to people. I told you already I was very shy and I’m afraid to see the public. In India, I always hid myself. Even when I wasn’t a Master yet, people took notice of me. Maybe because I was the only Oriental there, or maybe I looked “weird,” I don’t know. Looked like E.T. or something. Yeah. I always attract attention since I was a child, I’m very shy, very shy. That’s why I don’t want to see people. So I guess I just have to get used to the crowd. But even then, it’s not always my desire. I just do it, that’s all. I control my feelings and emotions, that’s all. But it’s not that I truly, very much like to always be in the crowd.
Photo Caption: True Protection Are Not Really From the Physical Realm
