So in the Bible it is said, “What shall it benefit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own self?” […] The more position we gain, the more children and the more money, the more possessions, the more burden; and we lose ourselves more in taking care of these material things. […] The more we are steeped in this material surrounding, the less we know ourselves. […] What should we know about ourselves? That we are the greatest beings in the universe.
Q: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan) was born into a wealthy, Aulacese (Vietnamese) family. When She was a little girl, She always followed Her parents, who truly believed in God and Jesus Christ, to church on Sundays. During the weekdays, She spent most of Her after-school hours with Her grandmother, who was a true faithful Buddhist and studied all the Buddhist sutras. Because of this special family background, Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan) has accepted both Catholic and Buddhist teachings since Her childhood. Concerning Master’s biography, please refer to the free booklet at the entrance.
Soon after, Master acquired Her own enlightenment. Knowing the desires and sufferings of other living beings, She started to share Her enlightenment with others and teach people in Taiwan (Formosa) how to obtain it. She takes care of all living beings, including animal[-people] and plants with great love, patience, and understanding. She teaches anyone who wants to discover their inborn inner superpower, the Truth, the enlightenment, without bias.
What She teaches us is the Method of how to contact God, the Universal Superpower, by the inner (Heavenly) Light and (inner Heavenly) Sound, directly. All worldly things, including rocks, plants, and living beings, are composed of nonstop moving elements and communicate with each other through vibrations, varying kinds of vibrations. Because we cannot find the right frequency, we cannot contact God, our God Father. Just like if we cannot find the right channel, we cannot watch the desired TV program.
The immediate benefit of studying Master’s teachings is understanding of the Bible, the Saints’ teachings, and the Buddha’s sutras. I finally understood why Jesus Christ said, “Love your enemies.” Because there is no such thing as enemies. There are only misunderstandings and different desires. After all, the most difficult enemy is myself.
Some of Her students have smoked and drank for more than ten years before following Her teachings. They quit both smoking and drinking after initiation without any mental struggling. To do or not to do, the answer is absolute – no smoking and no drinking. There are also many side effects, not bad ones, but all good ones, of practicing enlightenment every day. I enjoy it more and more every morning and every second. I believe you will enjoy it also.
You probably have many questions, so please get a piece of paper, and write down any kind of questions concerning your beliefs. Master will reserve some time to answer your thoughts. Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome Supreme Master Ching Hai.
Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan): Thank you. Thank you. Well said. She spoke so well. I wonder if I have any more ideas left. She’s stolen everything. Now I will pray to God. Please be Merciful and send something.
Good evening, first of all. And I’m happy to see you again today, and that out of your busy schedule, you still spend some time for me. Some of the brothers from yesterday have come back and it means yesterday’s lecture was not so boring. So today’s comers would have some hope.
It is like this: the Truth we all know, we just forgot. So sometimes, someone has to remind us and make us remember again what is the purpose of our life and what for do we have to find the Truth? What for must we practice? Why must we believe in God or Buddha, whomever we think is the Highest Power of the Universe?
When the Buddha was still alive, He often spoke to His disciples about the importance of self-discipline and practicing self-realization. Now the disciplines we all know. Other scriptures mention these things, such as nonviolence, loving thy neighbor, loving thy enemies, etc.; and leading a very pure and virtuous life.
Now, the problem is that when we are confronted with the reality and the pressure of society, it is difficult for us to “love thy enemy” or to “love thy neighbor.” But actually, we are not to be blamed, for it is because we are so helpless and powerless against the mass influence of society and the pressure of nowadays living.
Is my English OK? The lady looks so desperate. I wonder if my English is out of order. You are just paying attention, right? Not because my English is so lousy? It’s not Oxford English. It’s a kind of a mix between English, Aulacese (Vietnamese) and French, or Italian, or German, and Taiwanese (Formosan).
Now, why is it that we could not keep the discipline laid down by the ancient Masters? It is not because we do not want to, or that we don’t make any effort to do so. But it is because we do not have enough (inner) power. We are tired, weary of existence. Sometimes we must work hard, and we must survive in this ever-fast-growing standard of civilization. And then, we also have to face all kinds of even more civilized temptations. Before, the temptations were not so civilized, and now it is a more civilized society and more civilized temptations. So actually, we should make a more civilized approach to guard ourselves, if we want to regain our self-respect, self-wisdom, and self-right.
Because sometimes it looks like we are lost in the whirlpool of existence, of the pressure, and we seem to lose ourselves. It is not that we lose our body or our desires. It’s just that we lose self-control, and self-control is so important to us that we should pay attention. So in the Bible it is said, “What shall it benefit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own self?”
And now, we all know about this phrase and we probably repeated it many times. What benefits a man if he’s so-and-so, blah-blah-blah. But then we don’t know what it means by “losing ourselves.” We are thinking, “Why? I haven’t lost anything. I’m just gaining every day.” Maybe got promotion from the boss. Or the businesses are running well and getting more children each year. This is our promotion. But that is not the gaining. It is a kind of more lovely burden only. Some burdens are unbearable, some burdens are very lovely, so we love it. The more position we gain, the more children and the more money, the more possessions, the more burden; and we lose ourselves more in taking care of these material things.
And what is losing ourselves? The more we are steeped in this material surrounding, the less we know ourselves. That is what’s called losing ourselves.
What should we know about ourselves? That we are the greatest beings in the universe. Everyone tells us and from the Buddhist Bible, they say that human life is the most precious; and the Catholics also say the same. And then, in the Mohammedan scriptures, I mean the Muslim scriptures, it is said that we are guests on Earth only. So, it means our Home is not here. It means we are greater than just a human shell of the body.
