When you come to every Center, you just sit and eat, then you don’t know. You don’t know there are millions of jobs to take care of. And we have to have permission and it takes a lot of work to do. Now I talk about it, I’m thinking we’re really incredible, how we do all this. Everywhere. And you guys just think of candies. I know it’s difficult for you not to ask about that but try to think. Next time. You bring your own. Just make the whole line like that and then I will just touch everybody one time. Then you take yours. You put your name on it like “Âu Lạc (Vietnam), […] Center” or “Korea, Busan Center.” And you’ll know which one is yours. Don’t take the neighbors’. Just because it looks better.
You can bring a bag and just put “Korea” and “Âu Lạc (Vietnam),” “China,” “England,” “Singapore”… One row and then I’ll just walk on it and then they’re finished. Quick. Just try to do something in one day. Then no more asking. Otherwise, at every meeting we just take care of candies and then half an hour is already gone. And I just keep pushing everybody to go buy more (vegan) candy and they complain. They already work three, four times a day. They can’t meditate enough, and they don’t sleep enough. They have to work while you’re sleeping and meditating, and have to go out while you are sitting in the clear air here. And I still push them to go out to buy more candy. That’s not fair. (No, it’s not fair.)
Understand? You don’t understand anything at all. Why you don’t wear the earphones? (There is no Aulacese [Vietnamese] translation to listen to.) There is Aulacese (Vietnamese) translation. (The translator went home on the 22nd already. Today we don’t have any translator. The brother didn’t come today.) Why is there no one translating at all? There are so many people who just came from the U.S., why isn’t anyone translating? (Today we had...) There are still lots of people from the U.S. (The Taiwanese [Formosan] went home too.) OK, well, it’s too late now. Sometimes people from the U.S. don’t speak English well… or they go to sleep. Or their Aulacese (Vietnamese) is even worse, worse than their English. So pitiful! You can’t always get what you want. Even if I tell them to do something, it doesn’t mean it’ll get done. They translate Aulacese (Vietnamese) into Chinese! (Even when they translate Aulacese [Vietnamese], the comrades still don’t understand.) Don’t understand. They translate and even I can’t understand, then how can the comrades understand?
Do you want to ask anything? Is there anything else? So I just repeated what I said earlier, you just bring your vegan candies and cakes here, get them blessed, and then bring them back to your Center. It’s not a matter of money, I can buy all of them, but sometimes, it is hard to find manpower and transportation. We always end up meditating in the most remote places, way out in the wilderness. Places where even monkey- people don’t bother to cough, and stork-people don’t even dare to squawk. (Even if they squawk, no one would hear them.) Even if they did, no one would hear anyway, it’s too far. So they don’t even bother squawking. The monkey-people won’t cough, and the stork-people don’t want to squawk, (They’re too tired!) they’re too tired! It’s not that they don’t want to, it’s that they’re exhausted! They don’t have enough blessed food, too tired to make noise.
That’s why we bring something simple, and if you don’t have enough money, you can get reimbursement from me, no problem. The issue is that we lack manpower and time. They have to cook three, four meals each day. While we are sitting-sleeping, they are working hard in the kitchen. While you sit here warm and cozy, they’re out in the dust and wind, shopping for supplies, already frustrated. Then you ask them to go out and buy more. Their merit might spill all over the road! They are driving and grumbling at the same time, so all of their merits are dropping out there, and they come back here with no merit left. Also, it’s not really fair, either. There are people doing the work, but it takes sacrifice from many others to make it happen.
It’s not like blessings just fall from the sky! If they do fall from the sky, that’s only in Heaven, up there in Nirvana. In this world, nothing just drops down from Heavens. If anything does fall down, it’s nothing valuable! Here, we have to earn everything. You have to do the work, go get it yourself. Sometimes, small Centers don’t have enough people, and they still have to go to work. For example, today is Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, not everyone can just sit around here cooking for us all the time. They’ve already been working these past few days [to prepare] for the lecture. So many tasks, so many responsibilities. Hundreds of things to do! So what they did here is very good, very good already. It’s not about money; it’s not a matter of “can or cannot afford it.” Each Center just brings a little something, symbolically, and then mix it together back home.
OK then, is there anything else? We see each other a little bit more, so that when you go home... (We will miss You.) So that you can close your eyes when you leave. And where are you from? Where did you come from to be here? (From Poland.) Ah, Poland. (I am from Germany, Master.) In Germany. (Yes, in Germany.) (USA.) USA. (Canada.) Canada. (Texas, Austin.) Texas, Austin. (Why you don’t translate? Here, we don’t need it.) Why do you need to translate “Texas”? How can you translate the name? (I asked him why he did not translate English earlier, Master.) Because their English is “so good” that their Aulacese (Vietnamese) is even worse! It is also very difficult to translate. Not that you understand and you can translate, because I talk fast, then you have to translate it fast, so it’s very difficult to translate simultaneously. (Yes.)
Well, just bear it, it’s your fate, so try to endure it. Who told you to leave your comfortable life over there and come running here? The place is so cold, and they have to sit on the ground. It is true that they eat vegan food and lie on the ground! But now, with one command from me, the ground has turned silver, see that? After just a few days here, you’ve become Buddhas already! Sitting on silver mats, golden ground, dragons flying, phoenixes dancing everywhere! Your spiritual practice has improved so much, so what else do you want? (Right.) Just a few days, and the ground became silver, see that? (This is a Heavenly Gate, Master.) Yeah. What kind of Heaven that you sit on the ground, and don’t want to sit on the mat at home? It’s true that when you are happy, you don’t mind any hardship, (Yes.) you can sit anywhere.
OK, what else do you want to ask? Maybe nothing to ask, because you just come to visit a little bit, right? During the last many days, did you have good translation? (Yes.) Only yesterday and today no translation? (Yes, the translators have all gone home.) Who can translate, raise your hand? Raise your hand. (That is OK, Master.) It is almost over, no need to translate. (We are going home tomorrow morning.) Just look at me so your eyes become brighter. (Master, please bless me.) Asking again? I told you already. I said a few days earlier already. So nosy! The other day, I said to look here, no need to touch like some worldly, ordinary person! I told you already, and you don’t understand. (Yes, we do understand.) I’ve been saying for a few days, and you don’t understand anything? (Yes, we do understand. We did hear, Master.) You listened and now forget? (Yes, we did hear, but still “greedy.”) Greed! (I listened but not understood.) Listened but not understood. (That’s just being needy.)
You practice to be a Buddha, and still acting childish? You have your Buddha Nature inside yourself, don’t be childish all the time. One person after another, and thousands of people are like that, no one can handle it anymore. What kind of children are you, too “spoiled,” one person after another. Before, if I knew that it is so hard like this, I would not want this job. To be a student is better, right? Being a student is happiness, being a Teacher is suffering. No matter how much we give, it’s never enough. No matter what we do, we can’t keep up. But because of that, our Earth is improving, avoiding World War III, otherwise it would have been kaput already.
(Dear Master, I have a suggestion.) Yeah. (I heard that currently, 12 countries have signed visa exemption agreements with Âu Lạc [Vietnam]. But maybe between two countries, there are some terms that they do not agree on yet, so they have not implemented it yet. Now, there is only the Philippines which implements the agreement. That means the Aulacese [Vietnamese] who come to the Philippines will not need the entry visa, just buying the air ticket to come. But in the near future, if the countries can arrange, then 12 countries will waive the entry visa.) Oh, see that? It’s getting better, see? Just take care of your practice, then you will get it. Don’t ask this and ask that. (I would like to ask Master one more thing, for example...) The Philippines and then what is the other country? What are the other countries? (Just the Philippines implements it.) (And Thailand also.) What are the other countries? (One more is Malaysia.) Malaysia. (Thailand.) Thailand. (Cambodia. In the Asia bloc.) (Cambodia.) (And Laos, also.) Laos. (I don’t remember exactly, but I asked and found out there are around 12 countries.) Gradually.
(But the air ticket is so expensive, and we are poor and don’t have the ability to go.) So if you can’t go, then don’t go. Wait until the ticket is cheap, then go. (Yes. I think during those retreat days, we organize in Âu Lạc [Vietnam] what is called “Meditating Along.” That means we organize among our cities [or provinces] to meditate together,) It’s OK then. (according to the time which matches with the schedule here.) Yeah, it is good then. (May Master send Your blessings to where we meditate.) OK. Before, we had retreat in Thailand, in Cambodia, even they are close to Âu Lạc (Vietnam) but there were people who still could not go. Because sometimes, some people can go, sometimes they can’t go. Always, there are some people who can, and others who can’t. (Yes.) So there are always some people... and you can’t request all the time. If you already call me “Master,” then let the Master decide what to do. Requesting this and that, complaining this and that, demanding this and that. There are billions of people in the world, you just request only for Âu Lạc (Vietnam)?
Any other question? Important one? If not, I’ll go get some sleep. OK, I am going. (Yes.) Comrades, bon voyage! Just meet only once. Why are you laughing? What’s so funny? OK. Bye-bye. (Bye-bye.) Tomorrow everybody goes home, huh? (Yes.) Right? Almost. Maybe all will go home tomorrow? (Yes, we are leaving at 2 AM, Master.) 2 AM, the Aulacese (Vietnamese) are going home? (No, there are some going at 9:30 AM.) The Aulacese (Vietnamese) are going at 9:30 AM. (Yes, some of us.) Some are going, some staying. If you stay, then meditate together. I don’t know whether I will be here or not tomorrow. Sometimes, I could not finish all the work. I planned to finish the work before I leave, but sometimes, I was so tired, then I just went. But I work everywhere I go. I should go, so that this Center can rest. Poor them! I’m here, so they have to have hufas, and a cooking team. Poor them!
The Korean people are where? How many Koreans here? How many can stay here? The kitchen and all that? Not too many. This Center doesn’t have too many people. Just like maybe twenty or something. Have the Taiwanese (Formosan) people all left? (Not yet.) Not yet. How many? Raise your hands and let me see. OK. Are you leaving tomorrow, or when? (Tomorrow.) Tomorrow? (The day after tomorrow.) Who is leaving the day after tomorrow? Raise your hands. Wow. Not many, huh? OK. Then… Koreans, how many will stay after tomorrow? You leave until after tomorrow? No, nobody. How many people will stay? Later, I have to go to the kitchen and cook for you people. Not many people will stay. I’ll go down and cook for you then. Don’t even dream about it! What I mean is if you continue staying, I’d have to do that. You come here and get used to eating and sleeping, and I don’t know what to do. (No, we won’t.) It will be messy even if I go down. I wouldn’t know where they put all the vegetables. I wouldn’t know how to… switch on or off anything. It is not that easy. If you don’t need to eat, there will be no problem, right? Just sit till you “die.”
OK. Never mind. No problem. You’re welcome to stay and if nobody cooks, please go and help, help in the kitchen. That’s it. No problem. It’s less demanding. (Dear Master, we are going tomorrow. Could You expound a little about the right concept of liberation?) My God, no, no. I am scared just hearing the topic already. (Sweating profusely.) Sweating profusely! (Please. Go home and drink some tea.) Drop all the “big words,” practice naturally and simply. OK, huh? Guys. Meditate. Turn off the lights. Turn off the lights and meditate. I sit with you for a while, and then we go.
Photo Caption: Freedom to Live till Time Comes
