Oh, I don’t like banks anymore. The banks give me a lot of trouble. Sometimes, a lot of bureaucracy. […] They don’t let me give money to others, through a check or through credit cards even. […] I just wanted to send some money, just (US$)40,000 to an animal-people shelter that’s in need. They forbid me. They said I’m not allowed. And if I ask some of my disciples, who used to keep my money for me before, to send it to my bank, then they (the bank) don’t let me take it. For example, if it’s from Singapore, they told me Singapore is a Muslim country! Oh my God! What kind of ignorant person is that? […]
By the way, something I want to tell my team members of Supreme Master Television: I have noticed that every time I praise somebody, or some group for doing something well, something good, then, the next day or next few days, they make a chaotic situation or bad stuff – I mean it’s not the first time, it was even before Supreme Master Television. Not “bad” harming anybody, but it’s not good quality anymore or they cause trouble for me by making some chaotic situation. So, from now on, I’m not going to praise you anymore openly, or privately. Maybe privately, if it’s good. Otherwise, the ego is something… such a big enemy of everyone. When I praise you, it’s not that your soul hears it or needs it – it’s the ego, the mind. And the mind is often made of ego. They’re just blowing whatever I said out of proportion in their mind. And then they become more negligent of the important issue, or the important work that they are supposed to accomplish.
I also remind you that we don’t need to praise people. No need. We don’t need all that. Whatever we do good, whatever we accomplish perfectly in our assigned job or our own endeavor, it’s a normal thing to do. We don’t need any praise, any compliments or anything like that. I don’t need it either. And you can see I minimize whatever we can, all this pompous stuff. Even my birthday, we don’t celebrate anymore. You celebrate Ching Hai Day, I don’t. But it’s good. Ching Hai Day, I told you, is your day. You can remind yourself to go out and do some good things for other people. But don’t feel proud, then it’s good.
Because the ego always tries to snatch all the compliments, all the credit – no! We should all thank God and praise God that we have the ability, we have a chance to do it; that God allows us to do good things. And we should feel happy that other people are happy through our deeds. That is enough already. Just in the world sometimes, for everyone else, we encourage them to continue their job. So, we have some awards, praise, or thank-you letters. But I’m still considering whether or not we should continue to do that. I will consider. I will ask Heaven whether or not we should.
Of course, the charity deeds, whenever you can, however you can help others in need, must continue. Nowadays, our world is truly in big, big turmoil. So many refugees of the “hunger war,” not to talk about the real war with weapons. But the war of hunger, the war of thirst, are truly killing many, many, many people, elderly, children, in the whole world, everywhere, even in some powerful countries, rich countries. I saw people who are homeless, downtrodden, and my heart can never feel peace. I do what I can, of course, without reporting to you. Before, whenever I had cash, I would give it to people on the street. It would be better if I had some cash. Now I don’t need it because I’m in retreat; I can’t go anywhere to give.
But before, all the time, I always carried some cash so that I could give it to people on the street. Or if I saw some poor family, or if I knew about it, I would go to their house and give them something to take care of their urgent needs and more for the future. It’s not very safe to keep cash with you, of course, but I always go with someone and I hide the cash well. Only if I need it, then I take it out. It’s not very safe to do that. But because of my heart, it bothers me to see other people in need: walking with scorched feet on the hot asphalt road, or wearing tattered clothes – not enough to cover from the winter wind. So many other things. Or the food banks are empty, so I just have to buy food and give it to them. All this, of course, you don’t know.
And when I’m on retreat, then I have to tell others to do it, and it will go through the accountants, of course. But not all of them are reported to you. Mostly I remember to tell them, “Please don’t tell it publicly, just go and do it for me.” If I know somebody, I would call them and say, “Go and buy this and that, and engage your family or your friends. Go wherever possible in your area, or further – as far as you can. If your time allows and your work allows to give to the food bank or to people, do it quietly.” So, it’s not that I tell you to do it alone. I’m also with you, doing things with you. Whatever you’re doing that’s good for others, if I can, I’m also with you. We are a team. Even if you don’t know I’m doing anything, I’m doing it. I’m your team member. So do not forget to help others if you can afford it, please. What for you hoard your money anywhere, if you don’t need to? In the bank, for example.
Oh, I don’t like banks anymore. The banks give me a lot of trouble. Sometimes, a lot of bureaucracy. If I change my address, or change my passport, then they would make a lot of trouble. They don’t let me give money to others, through a check or through credit cards even. They’ve stopped everything. I just wanted to send some money, just (US$)40,000 to an animal-people shelter that’s in need. They forbid me. They said I’m not allowed. And if I ask some of my disciples, who used to keep my money for me before, to send it to my bank, then they (the bank) don’t let me take it. For example, if it’s from Singapore, they told me Singapore is a Muslim country! Oh my God! What kind of ignorant person is that? How can Singapore be a Muslim country? Incredible how ignorant the bank people can be. My own bank manager – I don’t want to tell the name of the bank. Or should I? No. I don’t want to take revenge.
I’m just telling you it’s a true story that happened to me. And they almost like confiscated all my money in the bank. So I can’t use it for anything. I said, “Can I just send this money to all other places, like to the churches, the temples, the monks, the priests of different religions? Possible or not?” Also, “No, cannot!” They just want to keep it, to make money for themselves. They don’t care if my money can help others or can help religious institutions. It’s truly like that. Because I don’t like to always have money in the bank. I like to have cash also. Or I like to be able to send it to any needy area. That’s why sometimes I prefer to have cash. Because I also give to the priests – Catholic, or Muslim, or Hindu priests or Hindu monks, Buddhist monks – anyone who I see is needy or worthy. I give to the priests because I know the priests will give it to the poor. The Catholic priests, the Christian priests and the Buddhist monks, they also will have orphanages or they will raise dog-people in the temple. I know all that. So I give to them.
I also say they can use some for their personal needs like shoes and winter clothes. Or sometimes I buy it and send it to them. Or I send them money and say, “I saw your shoes are tattered or very worn out. Please, this is for your shoes and some extra for your clothes for winter, because here it’s very cold.” For example, some monks, like Thai monks, Aulacese (Vietnamese) monks, they live in a colder country; or they live in some small area, with a small room to do their work for their believers, for their faithful, and they don’t have enough clothing, or they don’t have money. So I buy it to send it to them, or I send the money through some of their followers to bring it to them. I say, “Go buy this and that for him, for her, or ask him and her what they want and buy it for them.”
And I can’t just send a check with it – I don’t have checks with me all the time in my pocket. Money (cash) is very convenient. So do not look down upon money. Money is very important, very good. If you don’t use it, if you have a lot of surplus, please take it out of your bank and give it to others who are in desperate need. Give them some more time to be alive so that they, by chance, will remember God, pray to God, and they may be uplifted and blessed for that merit – if not in this lifetime, then next lifetime. Because not all of them can see the Master to liberate them. No, not all have that fortune, even. It’s easier to have the fortune to be rich; but not easy to have the fortune to meet an enlightened Master to liberate you. I like cash because it’s very practical to use. Sometimes I live in different countries; I go around and see which animal-people shelters, which orphanages need money. I just give. Because I don’t want to let them know my name. I don’t want them to know who I am and all that. So, cash is very convenient for me, when I’m not in retreat, of course.
But sometimes the bank, oh… Even if I went to another country, and I want to change the bank, they don’t let me. They make so much trouble. One time, I went to Canada. I wanted to buy a house there. It looked very nice, and I wanted to stay in Canada. But then the bank stopped me – my bank. At that time, I was in Spain. They stopped me. That was another bank. I have had many bad experiences with banks: A bank in America, a bank in Spain, big banks – international, famous banks, not normal ones. I thought these kinds of internationally famous banks would have good service, easy for my life. It’s not true. And internationally famous ones also from Germany, America, Spain, France – oh, I tried all kinds of banks. They make so much trouble for me, so much bureaucracy.
Photo Caption: Different Appearance Makes No Different Friendship
