Don’t think that I don’t know what you think inside. And even if I don’t know, Heavens know. You, I, all of us are transparent in the eyes of the Universe, in the eyes of God and the Heavens. Even low heavens, astral heavens, they do know what we think. And especially higher Heavens, they know everything about us. That’s why they can help us.
Even without education, we can survive with our hands, with our work, with our own labor. So, there’s no need to depend on people. The more dependent you are, the more you don’t feel good. You will feel lowly; you will feel more like not yourself, not your dignified self.
I’m not talking about housewives or mothers, who still need to take care of the children at home. No. You are doing work as well, because being a housewife is a lot of work, like 24/7. I’m not talking about the Supreme Master Television [team] who work in-house or anywhere, because they are doing their work. Even if they don’t earn the money, they are doing their work. They earn in a different way. I’m just talking about people who are trying to take advantage of others’ goodness and generosity. That is a no, no, no, no. You lower yourself, desperately and terribly. You have no self-respect, no self-esteem when you do that. Should always do something to earn your own upkeep.
I’m not talking about the people who live in the ashram and take care of the ashram and not earning income from outside. I’m not talking about these people. They’re also working; they keep the ashram clean or tidy, or whatever they do in the ashram. That is different. Even though they don’t have income, they are taking care of the ashram, of the place where everyone else comes to feel comfortable and welcomed and be at ease to meditate. Like the retreat people this week.
I’m not talking about the people who stay in the kitchen and just cook every day for everyone. Even though they don’t earn any official income, but they’re working. Do you understand? (Yes, Master.) I’m also not talking about the husband, who instead of going out to earn money, his wife goes out to earn money, and he stays home to take care of the kids or the house – washing dishes, washing clothes, tending the gardens, cleaning the house. That’s also work. House work doesn’t exclude men. He’s doing his job, which if he does it well, I mean, devotedly doing his best, that’s also work.
We just all have to do something. We just don’t deliberately live off other people’s generosity and good heart. That is no good. That creates bad karma for ourselves. And next life we have to come back, with or without initiation, to be a slave, to work day and night, to work three, four, five jobs and not earn much, etc. And people will not have respect for you because of the karma you accumulate this lifetime, or whatever lifetime. No good.
If you have to depend on other people, you really will feel very aggressive inside. And outside, you have to talk sweet and tell lies sometimes, just to make other people feel – the one whom you depend on – feel good and feel flattered, so that they continue to help you or keep you or whatever, and that is no good for your dignity, for your conscience. You’ll feel terrible, whether you know it or not. Mostly, you will feel it, you will know it, and that’s no good at all for a dignified person, when you can do work yourself.
I’m not talking about truly handicapped people who cannot do anything anymore. I’m not talking about them. That’s their karma they have to bear. But if we are still able to work, then we have to do work. I mean concentratedly, devotedly, truly respect that work, and do it every day, as if it’s the last thing we do before we die, or the first thing we ever do and can never do it again. We have to revere our job. That is what we call Karma Yoga. In India, it is even a kind of yoga practice. We just incorporate all that into the Quan Yin practitioners’ lifestyle.
That’s why I tell you: we have to do charity, we have to go out and help people, we have to do our job a hundred percent, devotedly, reverently, as if it’s an honor given to us in this lifetime to repay the kindness of all beings – not just this world but visible beings, invisible beings. Animals, insects, even the worms, we owe them. They air the earth, so that people, the farmers can do farming work. Yes. Even the little bees who pollinate the trees – without them, we wouldn’t have that many fruits and food that we have right now. So now, people realize that, and they begin to raise bees, to protect bees now, and forbid many herbicides or insecticides that harm them. They don’t just harm us, they harm those little tiny beings who are our helpers, who are diligent workers for our survival, for our food.
My God, we owe all beings on this planet. Everything you see or not see, we owe them everything. We also owe, of course, the angels who take care of us. Even though they are in the Shadow World, they are taking care of us. They help us in time of trouble, even though we don’t see. We owe everyone, everything, that we see or not see. So, whatever work we do, we have to do it concentratedly, devotedly, and reverently.
Not to talk about helping the Master with something, with maybe the water tap or water filter. Well, you have to keep the Master alive and healthy in order to help you, no? (Yes, Master.) So, it’s not really a favor you’re doing me. You do it only once to help me with the filter or connecting the water, but I’m doing it often for you, many years and continue. I don’t say anything. And I do it with all my heart all the time, all my love, all my heart, all my devotion to you. So, we are helping each other at least. Not saying that Master rescued you or anything, five, six generations, nothing yet. We’re helping each other. I remind you of some good teachings that I know from Heavens or from the past Masters’ books, and explain all things to you, help you to be a better being.
So, we’re helping each other. So, you’re not doing me a favor. So, don’t do it in such a careless and disrespectful way and harmful way to the body and mind, and psychological and psychic being of the Master, because you accumulate very bad karma for yourself. The Master may be harmed temporarily or even might be dead, but your karma would never be able to be washed away if it’s a grave offense. Everything you do, you do it for yourself. Please remember that. Even a bad thought about Master is also you doing it to yourself. Today I don’t come out, and many people don’t feel happy. And all that karma will be upon you, not on the Master. The Master cannot clean that because you have already been taught right and wrong.
You have to do your homework. Every school, every learning, has an exam. And the people who don’t pass the exam have to either stay in the same class or get out of the school after repeatedly not progressing. Similarly, in the spiritual practice, there are tests. And if you fail, then you have to do it again. And if again, then you cannot be in the assembly. Nowadays, it’s like that. Not like a long time ago, I let people keep learning, learning, keep repeating, keep improving. In the school, you cannot fail many times. Here in the spiritual school, it’s the same.
This mountain area, this ashram that you are in right now is a very, very sacred place, very important spiritually. So, if you don’t keep your mind and heart and speech pure, and trying your best to keep it, then you will be out, sooner or later. Either you out yourself, or something happens that you’ll be out. If you are selfish or arrogant or trying just to grab things for yourself, for your own benefit – even the blessing from Master – you will be out. Here, you have to be always selfless, pure in speech, thought, and action. In Hsihu, it’s similar, but it was more tolerant. Here is different. Because this place has been acquired, bought by the sweat and tears of many disciples, and also Master’s finance. It’s not an inexpensive place; it’s quite expensive, even for me.
My money is used for so many different purposes and for Supreme Master Television. So, every month I have to spend a lot. Even sometimes, some financial things come in by different ways, very little, and we still need that to repair every little thing that we have in the ashram. When we first came, everything was kaput, even toilets, pipes, septic tanks, roads, the roof tiles falling off …yeah, many things. And it will continue to be like that because everything in this material world will corrode at one time or another, or be damaged. Even the cave that I loved to stay in, in the beginning, is eroding now and it’s dangerous for me to stay inside. So, they kicked me out, I mean practically, saying, “Master, You can’t stay there anymore.” They even hired the expert to come in to look, and it’s all eroded inside. That’s why the water’s leaking in from inside and from underground, and etc.
And sooner or later, it will maybe collapse. I’m just worried about all the beings in the lake, that the erosion may harm them. But I don’t know what else we can do right now, maybe demolish it. I was thinking to repair it just for a souvenir, to keep it for your children to see in the later generations or something, the place that Master lived in and worked in, slept in, ate in, with the dogs. But it seems like it will take a lot of time to be able to rebuild it, and I’m not sure if it’s worth it. So, I’m still thinking what to do. Even demolishing it might cause some damage for the beings in the lake. Oh, I don’t know, I don’t know. I have to study more about that, or just let it be. But at the moment, we cannot let anybody visit it inside, in case it collapses any time. All my dogs told me that before, but I was thinking, “Oh, never mind, it still looks good.” But then they made another cave for me, more modernized and more livable. So maybe I will use that instead. Just for your sake, I keep myself healthy and alive.
So, please don’t be jealous of me. You have no reason at all. Everything I do is for you, for the world, for the universe. Even though you don’t feel that way, even though you don’t see it that way, even though you don’t think that way, it is like that. I have no reason to tell lies to you because I don’t want anything from you.
That’s logical to you or not? (Yes, Master.) Good. Suppose you think that I tell you a lie, this lie, because I want you to worship me, to stay with me, so that I feel like, “Oh, I have a lot of people worship me.” Then you have to think again. Why do I always screen out hundreds of people at a time even? As you know very well, at least 1,000 people are not allowed to come to New Land at all, at least for what I can think of right now, maybe more. So, think about that. I have no reason to lie to you. If I really wanted more disciples, more people to worship me, to be crowded by people, to feel like a big shot, then why do I ban so many? Understand? (Yes, Master.) Is it logical to you? (Yes.) All right. So, please think about it and banish every thought of negative tendency to envy me or to wish me no good. Even in thinking, it will have a bad effect on you because I can protect myself. But I don’t want you to continue this way, whoever that might be.
Don’t think that I don’t know what you think inside. And even if I don’t know, Heavens know. You, I, all of us are transparent in the eyes of the Universe, in the eyes of God and the Heavens. Even low heavens, astral heavens, they do know what we think. And especially higher Heavens, they know everything about us. That’s why they can help us. If they don’t know, how do they help us in time of trouble? If Master doesn’t really know, how can She come to help you when you have accidents, or when you pray? She comes, She helps you. Even if you don’t see it, you feel it, and you know the result. So, you are very transparent. All of us are. So even if I’m bad, Heavens would know, so I don’t dare. Even if I wanted to be bad at all, even if I wanted to lie to you, I don’t dare! I know better than that!
I don’t practice for my self-benefit, nothing, for my family even. You know I treat my family the same as you. Even if you want to treat my sister specially, VIP lifestyle, “No,” I say, “No, please don’t,” so that they don’t feel too arrogant to other disciples. They have to earn it. They cannot just be treated like a privileged group of people when they didn’t earn it. They have to earn it; they have to be worthy of that. And even if they are, there is no need for them to be treated special, like you had planned to do. I don’t want that. I want them to be humble, normal, practicing well, and enjoy their normal life, normal treatment. Because, otherwise, other people will get jealous also, and the negative energy will be no good for them, not just for them to be arrogant or anything even. Or even not jealous. They treat them too special, and they will feel too proud, then forget to be humble, forget to practice.
To be treated special out in the public is a kind of curse. You see, people wanted to harm the Buddha, even though He never did anything bad to anybody. All He did was preach to help people to elevate, and meditated, went out begging even, and even wore tattered clothes – not even wearing luxury clothes, like my designs I have to wear now, or even jewelry or anything.
