Q: Let me tell you how I was initiated by Master. On April 6 of last year – I still remember clearly, because that was such an unforgettable day. At that time, I was still working as a journalist for a newspaper. The night before, when I was on my way home, I saw a poster. It was Master’s poster. When I saw it, I felt so moved and shaken that I made up my mind: no matter how busy I was with work, I must attend Her lecture. At that time, I was really very busy, rushing to meet deadlines every day. But I firmly decided, “I should go to the lecture at least once.” So, on the 6th, I went to the venue of Master’s lecture. I arrived a little late that day, and the place was already packed with people. I sat on one of the extra stools placed on the side. Sitting there, I didn’t really feel anything at first. Later, I didn’t realize that Master had entered. I only heard people around me exclaiming: “Oh, the Dharma Master has come!”
As soon as Master entered the hall, before even reaching the stage – when She was only halfway in – I burst into tears. I was so deeply moved – it was beyond words. In that moment, I just felt, “I’ve finally found You!” That feeling arose instantly. After Master went up on stage, throughout the entire evening’s lecture, I was simply full of admiration. Because I was very critical by nature, an intellectual type who questions and critiques everything. Yet with every single sentence that Master spoke, every question She answered, I found nothing that I could challenge. And at that time, almost all the doubts I had carried for years were resolved. It was very strange; one by one, all my questions were cleared away. Oh! I felt completely at ease. So I decided to attend the lecture again the next day.
On the second day, an even more incredible thing happened. I went earlier this time to secure a seat, afraid there would be none left. After I reserved the seat, I went for dinner. At that time, I wasn’t vegan yet, so I ordered a couple of vegetable dishes, and also, one dish of stir-fried celery with squid(-people) – that was the only non-vegan dish. So I ate and ate – the first, second, and third vegetable dishes. After all the vegan dishes were finished, I turned to eat the stir-fried celery with squid(-people). I ate the celery first, then I went on to eat the squid(-people). But the very first piece I bit into – I just couldn’t eat any further. From that day on, on April 7, I officially became a vegan, because I couldn’t eat (animal-people) meat anymore.
Then on the third day, I brought along a whole group of friends to listen to the lecture. And again, many mysterious things happened. For example, one friend, after entering the venue, kept putting his palms together, bowing again and again nonstop. Afterward, when we went shopping, something odd happened – whenever he passed by a shop selling (animal-people) meat dishes, like a beef noodle shop, his hands would automatically drop down. Then, after passing by, his hands would rise again into prayer position. Many of those kinds of spiritual responses happened. After the third day’s lecture, it was announced that initiation would be held the next day.
These couple days, some overseas Chinese often chatted with us. Some of them mentioned their difficulties. They very much wanted to receive initiation, but worried they might not be able to maintain the vegan diet, and whether a pure vegan diet is nutritious enough. I’ll tell you honestly: a vegan diet is absolutely nutritious enough. Just look at us – each and every one of us is healthy, that’s proof enough. And is keeping a vegan diet difficult? I think, many things in life are difficult. It depends on whether you are willing to choose and commit. For example, as a journalist, I have to run around every day and socialize with many people. But once you’ve made the decision, you can bring a vegan meal box, and still go out and socialize, still eat with others – it’s no problem at all. You can cook vegan meals yourself, paying attention to balanced nutrition. I think nutrition isn’t a problem.
This is my small suggestion regarding initiation. Hurry back Home. Return to our true Home. Thank you.
(Thank you, sister Li. Now, we respectfully invite Supreme Master Ching Hai to deliver a lecture.)
Master: Thank you. Thank you very much. So, I am very glad that we can see each other again. In your busy lives, you still spare time to come and listen to the Dharma (true Teaching), and try to find out who you really are. This is a very good… How to say “signal”? (Signal.) Signal. That means, even in this world that is so inclined toward materialism, there are still many people yearning for spiritual food. Here in Costa Rica, the population is not large, only about 2 million. And with such a vast land, everyone is spread out. Even so, there are still so many who hurried from very far away, rushing to come here despite the inconvenient transportation. I feel very comforted seeing you go through so much effort to come here and listen to the lecture. Most of us have religion, a religious faith. But, even if you do not have religious beliefs, it doesn’t matter.
We all have God within, or Buddha Nature within. This Buddha Nature, or God, will take care of us. We believe in ourselves, that from birth, human nature is inherently good. This inherent goodness of our nature is our religion. We can join Catholic groups, we can join Buddhist groups, but no matter which religion it is, they all preserve this teaching of the inherent goodness of human nature. All religions encourage people to keep this inherent goodness.
But if we are inherently good, then why do some people still commit so-called bad deeds? At those times, where do that inherent goodness go? Who knows? No one knows? Think about it. Huh? Say it louder, be brave! (The inherent goodness is blocked by the devil.) At that time, we forget, isn’t it? Is that what you mean? Is that what she meant? Yes, yes. Right.
So that is why we must be careful. We need to stay close to virtuous people, good friends, and people with moral values, so that they have the chance to remind us of this inherent goodness, so we don’t forget it. I am one of those virtuous friends, a good companion, here to remind everyone: You are truly great. It’s not because of the Master that you become great, but because you were already great. It’s just that you forgot, being covered by worries, buried under the pressures of society, overwhelmed with stress, so when we are faced with sudden circumstances, we react and forget our true nature. We forget this inherent goodness, or the Buddha Nature, or the Heavenly Kingdom of God within.
The Kingdom of God is like this: It is when we are very joyful, very happy, very cheerful, very generous, very tolerant. That is the Kingdom of God. In those moments, we can experience a part of the Kingdom of God within. But the true Kingdom of God is far greater than that. It doesn’t mean just being happy for a while, then crying or worrying the next moment. Eternal happiness is the true Kingdom of God within. This is what is called the Kingdom of God, what is called Heaven, or Nirvana. To find this Kingdom of God is not difficult; but to keep it is not easy. Because we are often shrouded by worries, influenced by them, and we forget. Then we follow those worries, we are influenced by them, we forget to control the situation, we forget to be our own inner Master.
Today, a reporter came to interview me. He asked, “Where does this power of Maya, meaning the negative force, the force of negation, come from?” I answered, “It also comes from God.” He said, “Huh? How could it come from God?” I said, “Because the Bible says God created the Universe and everything in it. There is nothing that was not created by Hirm. So, if the negative force wasn’t created by God, then who created it?” He then said, “Ah, that’s true.”
But then, why did God create this negative power? I told “It, it is very useful, very useful for us. Because it allows us to learn how to transform this negative power into a power that can be used.” Take electricity for example – it is very dangerous. If we touch it, or come too close to a high-voltage area, we can be electrocuted, endangering our life. But once we learn how to manage and handle electricity, then we have no problem. Another example is money. It causes many people to break the law, violate the precepts and commit evil deeds. But if we learn how to use money, and not be used by money, then money becomes very useful. Understand? Instead of being controlled by money, we control it. We become the master of money, instead of allowing money to rule over us. Without money, we cannot survive. However, some people become too greedy for money. For the sake of money, they can kill, they can steal, they can use many evil means and commit wrong deeds. At that point, money turns into a negative force. But if we know how to use money wisely, then money becomes a positive force.
It’s like electricity – it has two parts. One is the negative pole, and the other is the positive pole. One positive, one negative – only when both come together can electricity flow. Isn’t it so? If there were only the positive alone, there would be no power. In this world, there are also two kinds of forces. One is the positive power, we call it positive force – God’s Power. We call it compassion, love, care and blessing power. This is the positive force – the Positive Power. The other is the negative force, which we call Maya, illusion. The power of the King of Maya. Maya’s force specializes in binding people in this world, testing their greed, anger, and ignorance, testing their wisdom and their ability to overcome. In itself, it’s neither good nor bad. It depends on how we handle it, and accordingly, it becomes good or bad.
Photo Caption: Growing Where Can Be Possible 2 Sustain Life!
