Be humble at all times. Don’t think you have endless merits just by sitting cross-legged. Not necessarily! It’s already great if you can transcend the Three Worlds. Not to talk about merits or the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh or Eighth Level. Have more humility. You still have to pray all the time to Masters in the ten directions of the past, present and future to help us to break through quickly. And you still have to help whoever needs help. Helping others is the same as helping yourself. Don’t be so proud and say “Wow! I brought in homeless people to ‘take care’ of them. I must have endless merits.” “Endless merits” was what I said and what I hope you would have. But not necessarily; it depends. It depends on how sincere and humble we are.
Have humility all the time. At any time, do not think we are great already. That’s how we can make progress. The ego is the biggest obstacle. Especially the women, you should watch out. You have been used to controlling your husband and children at home. They all listen to you. Don’t be arrogant because of this. If your husband spoils you, it’s your blessing. You should be grateful to Heaven and Earth. If your children are obedient to you, it’s also your blessing. If we are healthy, beautiful and young, it’s also our blessing. We should be thankful to God. Thank Heaven and Buddha.
Don’t be proud and think, “Wow! I have practiced well! That’s why it’s so good.” Not necessarily; in this age, true spiritual practitioners are rare to find. It’s not that they don’t want to practice. They want to practice, but they are confused. They’ve been poisoned for too long. They have been brainwashed life after life, so it’s difficult for them to practice spiritually. Furthermore, in this era, they also need to work more. Take that man for instance. He used to be a driver, but he lost his job just because one of his eyes got a problem. Without a job, even his family members couldn’t provide for him. They lived in a remote place, where it’s hard to earn a living. There are no jobs available. Moving to another place was even more difficult. Where can you move to? They only have that place. So, things are not so easy in this era.
The more advanced the technology is, the more difficult for us to practice spiritually. This is because we have to earn a lot of money to catch up with our neighbors, to enjoy the same level of comfortable living. We must have air conditioner, car, electric fan, refrigerator, etc., and many things. All of this needs money. To have money, you have to work. The more things you want, the more money you need. If you want more money, you need to work longer time. The longer time you work, the more exhausted your body becomes, the more confused your mind becomes. As a result, it is not easy for you to focus on spiritual practice.
So, in this age, we can only rely on God and Buddha to bless and help us. We cannot rely on ourselves too much. Of course, we try our best, but no matter how hard we try, there’s nothing to be arrogant about.
