In this episode, Master discusses music and spirituality, as well as the feasibility of hosting an entertainment awards program.
I like the rain. Because rain is like the message sent down from Heaven. When it rains, it’s also like a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth. So I really like the rain. I often listen to the rain and await the rain together with my disciples. That’s why I wrote this song.
Wherever you go, Remember me when the rain falls, Remember me when the rain falls. My dear… I’ve been coughing for months now. It must be deafening to listen to. (No, Your voice is very good, Master.) (Your voice is really good.) Oh my goodness, I’ve been coughing so much! (Your voice is very good. You can hit both the low and high notes.)
You know how lonely I must be, The rainfall wakes the memory of my faraway Country. Reminiscing the clouds, the water, THE PERSON.
NGƯỜI” is in uppercase, written in capital letters. “NGƯỜI” refers to GOD, to the DIVINE BEING. (That sounds nice.) Ah. That’s roughly how it goes. There’s still a lot more. (Yes, and Master is tired today, too.) (Alright, we’ll be going now.) (OK.) Going to print the newspaper? (Thank You very much, Master!) OK. Don’t mention it. (Thank You, Master.) I just have so little time. Otherwise, if you like music, I could sit here all day singing for you and reciting poetry, too. I love doing that. Do you like listening to poetry recitations? (Yes, I do.) You like poetry, right? (Yes, of course we do.) Ah, so you do like it.
That song “Người Tình” (My Love), can also be recited as poetry. (Yes.) Oh, what was that other Aulacese (Vietnamese) song again? “When He whispers into your ears” I arranged that song in the Twist style. It’s an Aulacese (Vietnamese) song, but the English version is in the Twist style.
When He whispers into your ears To your ears, to your ears, to your ears, to your ears The Song of Love since ancient years, ancient years, ancient years
When you sing, you need music; without it… Singing like this is too boring. Are you in a hurry now? You want to go home, right? (But You haven’t eaten yet, right?) Play the music and accompany me while I sing that song. Let me sing that Twist song for these people.
(But Master hasn’t eaten yet, right?) Huh? (Master hasn’t eaten…) It’s OK. I eat so I can take my medicine, not because… These past few days, I haven’t… It’s because I haven’t been eating at regular times. (Yes.) Usually, I eat one meal a day. (Yes.) One meal, or maybe one and a half or two meals. Something like that. Just enough to get through the day. I’m small, so I don’t consume very much. Even being small can be a hassle, huh? Even my clothes are, well… (Small size, the smallest size.) Extra S (small). And I don’t eat or drink much either.
Do you have anything to do? If not, you can sit here for a while, OK? If you’re busy, that’s fine too. (No, not at all. Yes.) Tong (…), Tong (…). (OK, ask them to come over.) Ask them to prepare a bag of gifts for everyone. (OK. OK.) Tong (…) knows more about it. (OK.) (This one is the most convenient, right?) (The most convenient.)
I’ll do the Twist song and give these gentlemen a little surprise! You thought spiritual practice would be dull and boring, huh? Well, spiritual practice here is really enjoyable! (Actually, in ancient times, even Confucius emphasized rites and music.) Yes, right, right. Music reaches people’s hearts most easily. (Music should go together with rites.) Now I think maybe I should become a singer, huh? Since they won’t listen when I talk, I might as well sing to them. Sing it so that it really sinks in, huh? (Yes.) There are lots of good songs. (A bit expensive, right?) (Yes.) Yeah. (This keyboard is expensive, you know.) As for those poems, you can publish whichever ones you like. (Yes.) I’ve written many more, but I’ve completely forgotten them already. So many. (There are people who can help provide Your poems. That’s why You need a press assistant, Master.) Oh, I see. (Provide them for everyone.) I tend to forget things, too.
(Master has published so many books.) (A lot.) No, my disciples printed them. (Yes.) I just give the talks, and then they transcribe and print them. (They even print them in seven or eight colors.) (There will be a book, something like those books that...) (Those ones over there are for...) For these two gentlemen? (Yes.) OK. Prepare some… You prepare that… Tong (…). (Yes, it’s already prepared.) Prepare something different for these two. These two already received that in Waikiki. (Yes.) These two should be different. Then give the other two a little more. (OK.) Or give him those two extra sets. And everyone else gets the same. Just give those two two extra sets. Understand? (Understood.) Then do it the same way as in Waikiki. Understand? The one in Hawaii.
What are you laughing at? (I just find it funny.) Huh? (She’s just happy.) (Maybe she’s happy because she sees You happy, Master.) OK. (A little higher.)
Fly! Back to Paradise… It’s OK. The note’s pretty. Here, give it to me. Give me that.
If you’re in a hurry, just let me know. (We’re happy to listen, just listen.) Well, you’re getting to listen for free. Later, you might say, “She wouldn’t let me go home.” Alright, that’s fine.
OK. Let’s leave it at that. Keep the volume low. This equipment isn’t very good. Alright, never mind. Leave it. OK, alright. Just bear with it for now. This time, it’s not the real thing. Later on, when I release the music, I’ll give it to you. OK? (Yes.) Once the music is finished, I’ll give it to you. (CD.) When it’s on CD, I’ll give you one. Yes. No, no, forget it. This is only a makeshift version anyway. Wait until I sing it properly… (We’re taking these photos to send to You, Master, and we’ll have something to publish too.) OK. Are they dancing? Just let me know when to start singing.
When He whispers into your ears. Make it louder. The Song of Love since ancient years, ancient years… You don’t sing? …ancient years.
This needs a big backing chorus to make it work, to make it fun. You know, You know that you are. I’m not in the mood today, so I’m not singing well. I’ll just sing it however it comes.
You know, you know that you are the darling, the darling of the Heavenly stars. Oh, no, no. This band is terrible. It doesn’t seem to sound good, huh? It’s not good. (Maybe it’s because there’s no echo effect. You need that for singing.) I see, I see. This isn’t right. See, it’s because it doesn’t have that resonant pitch sound.
Never mind, stop, stop. That would make me lose face. (Master would lose face.) No, people might think I don’t sing well. (Please hold the microphone, Master.) Ah, forget it. When? (Master, please put on a musical performance for everyone to enjoy.)
(These two made it to the finals.) It’s OK. (The awards will be presented next week.) Oh really? They must be very talented, huh? (Master, perhaps You could just offer a prize for the winner, for the best singer.) Oh really? (Yes.) (Master could send a prize to the first-place winner.) (Yes, of course.) (Then Master can give us something to hold while standing; You can just hand it over to us to bring out there…) OK. OK, that works. (Don’t give those things. Those things have nothing to do with relief work.) (No, those things aren’t for charity.) Really? So, no? I shouldn’t give anything? (No.) (Better not.) Why not? No, huh? Why does everyone have different opinions? What should I do now? So, should I give something or not? (We were just talking about it for fun, but…) (If Master wants to give, then give when the Aulacese [Vietnamese] community carries out social work.) (Charity work.) (Yes, charity work. These people are already successful singers, so there’s no need to give them anything more.) (Vietnam Post did give out six trophies, though.) (First, second, and third place for the women; and first, second, and third place for the men. That’s just entertainment. It doesn’t really help them.) (But there’s more to it; there are many reasons. I heard it’s just for fun.) (Because those things are just for fun.) Oh. (It’s more of a personal thing.) (It’s just for fun.) Let them be. That’s still better. Better than them going off and doing something bad. (Well, that’s something they do all the time. (This is something different.) (Well, that’s their choice. They’ll have to deal with it.) Alright, let’s vote. (That’s up to them.)
Should we give the award or not? Those in favor of giving it, raise your hands. (Nah, better not. I vote no.) Vote “No”? OK, OK. It’s democratic. If you say don’t give, then we won’t. I was actually thinking of giving them money. What now? Alright, if you say don’t give, then we won’t. OK. I’m easygoing. If you say give, I’ll give; if you say don’t, I won’t. Easy. (Master, it would be better to give it to the poor newspapers instead.) Which newspapers are poor? (All four newspapers are poor.) All four newspapers are poor? (All four newspapers are poor, Master.) OK. Alright then. (…), you can give each of them one thousand dollars. Put it in red envelopes. (OK.)
People in journalism are usually poor, huh? Generally, journalists are poor. But we have our… (Being poor is our karma, Master. It’s karma, so we’re poor.) We have our dignity. (Yes.) (You know me; these two gentlemen started working in journalism even earlier. We’ve been working in journalism for about 30 years, but we stopped doing it later on.) (We couldn’t keep it up.) We do it for dignity, not because we… (But then, for nearly a year now…) Getting the itch to do it again, huh? (After taking such a long break, we jumped right back in. But once you’re in, it’s hard work.)
Photo Caption: “Any Lovely Thing Is Created to Remind Anyone of REAL HOME!”
