I am only one, but all of you feel that I love you alone, love enough, or have enough love for everyone. It is because we practice the way of love and we just know how to have enough. It’s just like how to save money to become richer – not because you earn more money, not necessarily, but you save more.
Some people keep telling me, “It’s difficult to know if you’re a true Master or not.” I said, “Hey, it’s good! It’s good that you don’t know, so I don’t have to work so hard!” No problem! I only do it just because you ask me to, or people ask me to. How can you tell? You look like me – your nose is in the middle and two eyes and two ears – you can’t tell. And, I don’t make miracles; I don’t make anything to attract you at all. I just sit in a coffee shop, sometimes drinking... and if you want, I come here sometimes, to talk to you.
But I was thinking in the coffee shop, it was so difficult. I said, “Who? What? What am I going to talk about? And who will listen to all this?” I suddenly felt the frustration of going to talk to strangers that you have never met before in your life, and they are going to be convinced, and then go get initiation, and eat vegetarian (vegan), and all that stuff all that stuff for all their lives. Can you believe that? Yeah! Not only that, they’ll bring their friends, their wives and kids, and they want to give everything to you. How do you do that?... I mean, how do I do that? I mean, how am I going to do that?
Today I sat in the coffee shop just like everyone else, and I felt really like everyone else. And I thought, how am I going to talk to these people that I have never met, and might never meet again? And they don’t even know anything about spirituality, no vegetarian (vegan) experience, nothing. Maybe now and again they eat... French fries and that’s what they call vegetarian (vegan), because they don’t want to eat anything else. Or like the Chinese people, eat morning vegetarian (vegan), and the whole day... for example like that. They’re morning Buddha, and the whole day take a rest, vacation... Yeah, but at least the Chinese or the Vietnamese, the Asian people, they kind of have more idea about vegetarian (vegan), yeah? They believe more in the invisible power. But how am I going to talk to the New Zealand people? You know, they are different, and I look different to them. I just come in and they accept me, for example, you know, like that. It’s just not easy eh? I was thinking hard how am I going to do that?
(This is for the half initiation...) Ok, go! (We want the half initiation to come in there.) Congratulations! Whoever is half initiated or want to sit again, go in there. You’d rather sit here. (Yes. We love You.) You want initiation, guys? Oh, that’s nice. She likes to sit wherever. Very tired. So everyone went in already? (Yes.) That’s cool. I just go to say hallo, again. Let them... Oh, man. I don’t know. OK, let’s see what’s going on. Come back soon. (Thank You. Thank You, Master.) You’re welcome. Here, darling. Leave her alone. Leave me alone. Everybody is so tall like that. So late already and force her. Sorry honey, it’s all my fault. We’ll take the flowers for the sacrifice. All right. What else? It’s OK? I think it’s OK. Tong? Tong. Is Tong here? (She is downstairs.) Downstairs, where? (She is downstairs. I will go get her.) Tell her to hurry up.
You are off and on…At least you sit together and encourage each other to nod off, better than you sit there and “nod” alone; it’s lonely, right? So then, you have maybe more kids, work harder than before, have more money, some of you, better jobs, or even if you have the same money, you know how to manage it better, and you have more than before. You travel more than you ever did before and with the same money, because you know how to... Sit here mother! You do look tired. Yeah! There, there it is. And you know... you just know how to do things better and therefore, you’re just happier. You have more than before, even though it may be the same.
I have read an article in a magazine, “How to become a millionaire.” Do you want to hear? Is Tong here? (She’s over here.) Come here, Tong. (Everyone is going to beat me up later.) Hurry up and disguise yourself. OK.
It is very logical. We give a lot of money away – not a lot – for us it’s a lot. Well, Actually, it is also a lot, millions of dollars is not little money in this world. Even though we can’t compare to Bill Gates, we are different “gates”. We are also “gates” – “Quan Yin Fa-men”! “Quan Yin Fa-men” means “the gate to Heaven,” “the gate to the Word of God.” So, anyhow, we’re also “gates”.
We also donate a lot of money for our capacity. Other people also think it’s a lot, I mean not a lot compared to a lot of others, a lot of people or the World Bank, but a lot for what we earn, or for the ordinary actions of people. Most people don’t give like that. So I do give, and a lot of people think that I am very rich – and I am also, but I am not as rich as they think I am, which is good; but if they had come to us... Suppose, if they were me and had that kind of money, they wouldn’t look that rich and they be able to give that much; not because they don’t want to, it’s just they don’t know how to manage – you see? – don’t know how to manage so that it will stretch out like that.
So when I read that article, I thought it was cool! I did it all already. “How to become a millionaire,” I knew it all already. But when I read that article, it looked like I wrote it myself! Yeah! Because it’s just natural. Some people have it naturally, but it is because we are also enlightened, we also practice the enlightened way and the way of love, and we have very few wants in this world.
Are you... You understand all of this? (Yes.) Yeah? The Chinese and the Cantonese and all? And the New Zealanders especially, you understand? OK. So, anyway.
You see, just like the way you are now. Before, you had a lot, but you thought you didn’t have enough, and now, however much you have, you can manage; you still can come to New Zealand or Thailand, or wherever the retreat, provided you have holidays. You can always manage, and that’s the wonder - and you feel always enough and you feel always loved. I am only one, but all of you feel that I love you alone, love enough, or have enough love for everyone. It is because we practice the way of love and we just know how to have enough. It’s just like how to save money to become richer – not because you earn more money, not necessarily, but you save more.
You want less of the unnecessary things and then you save more money, so when you save one dollar, it’s just like you earn one more dollar, and it’s even better than earning one dollar more, because when you save one dollar, you don’t need to go to work for that. You just cut out some unnecessary things. Before, you’d go out and buy everything; now you have to think carefully. Before, you’d go out and buy everything, now you go just straight to the tofu – save money, save time, save making it. Before, we cooked all kinds of things, now just tofu, chap choy, and then tomorrow, chap choy, tofu. Simple. Simple life. And before, you’d go everywhere, maybe you’d need to book a hotel for yourself and your husband, and it’s also a lot of money. Now, you just pack a tent, camp out there – cool, fresh air, natural, oxygen, a lot, around you when you camp under the trees, camp on the grass; feel good, light and economic also. We live together, we’re happy; we don’t need to stay in a big hotel to be happy. In fact, we’re happier than when we stay in a big hotel because we have common ideas, interests. We love each other and we just feel so good, and the natural air and the food, healthy, make us feel so good, you see?
The money, you didn’t earn more. You don’t have to earn more money – just know how to live your life because you only have one life, this life. Whether I say the truth or not, you have Heaven or not, or you have reincarnation or not, this life is all you know, and if you don’t manage well, you cannot live freely and you cannot feel happy about it.
You have to do what you really want and what is good for you. Of course, you would tell me that you can do anything you want – it’s not true. What’s good for you is what you should do. Vegetarian (vegan) is healthy, right? Meditation calms your nerves, makes you more bright and clever and loving – that’s good for you. It’s not that you do anything you want. Of course, we can do anything we want, but what’s good for us, that’s what the clever people would do. Saving money is better than earning money. Anything you save is like you earn, except that you don’t have to go out and work for it and pay tax on it even. Anything you earn is yours, and then you can do everything you want: you can give yourself something you like or give to the needy people. That’s what we do. We do it all the time. I do, also. What I told you, I do. I don’t always do it, so that it is written in the magazines. Most of the things I do are not written in the magazines. It is written because some people happened to be there and knew it and wrote a report about it, or it is official, like a concert, and everybody has to know. That’s how it is. Otherwise, I do it every day, every time, every chance.
Sometimes one of the attendants laughed at me. He said, “Master, how come McDonald’s meal is so expensive? It’s the most expensive restaurant I have ever seen.” You know why? Because when we went in there, we saw some homeless people – they were looking through garbage – and I gave like $500 and that’s what he said, “My God! Just eating some French fries and two colas, that’s it! – $500!” So he made jokes about it all the time. He said, “OK! Next time, when you say you want to take me out, I know which is the most expensive restaurant!” So I took him to McDonald’s and we always share whatever. Most of the time, we see homeless people, they hang around there or they look in the garbage – I cannot bear it, so I give them some, I give what I have.
So he made jokes. He said, “What? We eat only two French fries and two medium colas, and then we even have to serve ourselves - and even stand in line - and so expensive!” You know, because in first class restaurant you sit there, you have napkins and everything, and the waiter comes, and serves you like a king. Then you pay just maybe two, three, five hundred dollars, depends. But for two persons only, two, three hundred dollars is already expensive. He said he couldn’t imagine McDonald’s is more expensive. He just makes jokes.
So these things we do, because we love other people, because they are us anyway. So there’s nothing to talk about. But sometimes, of course, we write it in the magazine because also other disciples need to learn from the example. Also, most of the things that I do are open, so people can know. Just so we know the things that we do, just like you tell me what you do and so the news reports what I do to you, so that we get in touch, we know each other’s way of life and things like that. Like, knowing each other, not to boast, for everybody else to know. If to boast for everybody else to know, we should put it in Reuters or like big news company, not just write it in our small magazine. But this is a way of life that we do all the time. It should be the way of life and everyone should do that, and I am very proud of you, that you do that all the time. I know that. I know you do that individually, and still you have enough money to spare to come here or to go to retreat or come see me whenever possible. Your life becomes richer or not? (Yes!) Yes!
