At the time of initiation, the invisible power within our human body is opened. But the teacher must have the power in order to open up our invisible power. That power is the Power of the Universe. So if a person who has no power, has not enough real power, how can he open up the Universal Power inside our human body? We are a miniature world, we are a Buddha, a living Buddha. So now, there must be another living Buddha in order to wake up our living Buddha, otherwise, no one else can.
But we can’t use written literature or normal language to open up the Power of the inner Buddha. Therefore, when the Zen Masters, or Masters, or Buddhas spoke, and people attained enlightenment, or people loved to listen to Them, or people gained benefits or feel elated, happy, blissful, it’s all because of the Power emitting from that Master, or that Zen Master. It’s not because of Their words, Their impermanent language which could soothe the suffering of people, or… Understand?
That’s why we can only read the sutras for researching purpose only, otherwise, those sutras cannot help us to be enlightened. If the sutras can help us to be enlightened, then after Shakyamuni Buddha went to Nirvana, He would not tell His disciples to go out and continue to spread the Dharma, just printing sutras would be enough then. Just printing sutras and give a few books to every household, and everyone would be enlightened and all become Buddhas, countless Buddhas. And life after life, we just print sutras, and it would be enough. What for Buddha has to come to this world? He even had to promise that Maitreya Buddha will come, too. Alright, we will not talk about the many Buddhas, just Maitreya Buddha. Now, many people believe that 5,000 years after Shakyamuni Buddha came to this world, then Maitreya will appear, then if we wait for Him, we will all become giraffes!
OK, let’s say that there is Maitreya Buddha, that He will come down to this world. [But] why does He have to come down to this world? Just print the sutras and leave them behind [for later generations]. We have no lack of money, right? This organization, that association, there are many of them. Just spend money to print sutras. If we are worried that the paper sutras may be decayed, then carve the sutras into rock, into wood, to leave behind. Why does He have to come down here, wasting His efforts? Coming down here costs money for UFO. Costs money to buy the ticket for flying in a UFO. UFO, you have to spend a lot of money for its ticket. For what He has to go up and down just to enter a physical body. Any Buddha who comes down to this Earth has to enter a physical body. Physical body has to undergo birth – age – sickness – death. And then people will take that body out to beat like a punching bag, to release their pressure.
So you can see that there is no use for a Buddha to come down here. Printing the sutras would be enough. No, it’s not enough. Therefore, Bodhidharma and Master Huineng also said, “Special transmission outside the orthodox teaching.” It means transmitting the Dharma without sutras, without doctrines. The transmission of Dharma is not inside the doctrines, sutras, but there is a different sacred power. That means our Buddha Nature is waking up without the sutras, that’s it. But we don’t mean not to respect the sutras. We read them for studying purposes, but not be attached to them, or bow to them. There are people who also bow to the sutras. That’s why I said so many times: “When I pass away, don’t bring my books out to bow to them.” For example like that.
Or don’t spread nonsensical things: just give people a cloth and give them a mat to sit on all day, and say, “Yeah, Madame Ching Hai taught us to sit. It is a sitting-religion.” Not to sit only. Walking, standing, lying, sitting, I taught you all that. (Yes.) Sitting is for a period of time only. Sitting is for us to concentrate a little bit better. Because when we are walking, standing, working, it is not easy to concentrate. We are not used to it yet. Later on, when we are used to it, then we can sit, lie down, sleep, do anything, all is meditation. It is so obvious, right? (Yes.) Sometime at night… How come you love to clap? Sometimes I tell you to clap, you don’t. Alright, clap as you like. It’s OK.
What I meant is… many initiates at night they sleep, but they aren’t sleeping. They would lie there, their bodies are there, but their souls went to the other realms. That is meditation. So obvious like that. Sometimes, people would be driving and had inner visions. That is meditation. And someone has the inner vision while washing the dishes. Sometimes my manifestation body appears, for example, or the Buddha comes down, appearing. Therefore, we say walking, standing, lying down, sitting, all can be meditation, not only sitting.
But when we gather here in such a big group, then we have to sit. Or should we all stand or jump up and down? When we sit, it is more quiet. Also, if you sit, you can see me. I am small, and if you stand, then you would swallow me up, and can’t see me. For example like that. And at home, when we sit for meditation, we feel more tranquil. Because if we stand to meditate, our legs would be very tired. If you lie down, you would snore right away. That’s why we should save two and half hours to sit to meditate. When we are standing, it is more difficult to meditate, our legs would be tired, because we have been running back and forth all day at work already. Now this is the time we want to think about God or our Buddha Nature, and if we continue to run back and forth, then it is a little hard to concentrate. And it’s also tiring. So we take the advantage of sitting to meditate to rest our body. We close our eyes, shut down all our senses, so that they are not wavered by the outer world. Then we can easily concentrate.
We have been jumping up and down all day at work. And now we come home, we take advantage of that time to lie down and meditate? If you lie down to meditate, you will go to the “fifth level” right away! The Fifth Level is “ngũ” (“five” in Chinese), do you know? Five. Lie down is “ngủ” (“sleeping” in Aulacese) that is the “fifth level.” When you get to the top level, you can be a teacher right away. “Sleeping Teacher,” “Fifth Teacher.” Because you heard that I said when one reaches the Fifth Level, he is allowed to transmit the Dharma, to be the master/teacher. Lying down, you will go the “fifth level” very quickly – “ngủ (sleeping).” That’s why you have to sit. Otherwise, walking, standing, lying down, sitting, all can be meditation.
When you are walking, I already taught you how to concentrate, recite the Buddhas’ Names. And, for example, if you are standing, of course, you can still concentrate. Lying down is your profession; I don’t have to teach you. Therefore, there is only one thing that you lack – that is sitting. So, walking, standing, lying down, you have them all, now I have to teach you more, regarding sitting, so they will be complete. We have heard that walking, standing, lying down, sitting, all are meditation. So if we are only walking, standing, lying down, then it is not complete, you have to sit a little bit, too… That’s it.
Not that you sit and you become a Buddha. And when I pass away, they would say, “Madame Ching Hai taught us to sit. Just keep sitting and we will surely become a Buddha.” How can you sit and become a Buddha? Do you remember the story in which, Zen Master Mazu talked to someone, I think it was Nanyue. Nanyue, who was a famous Zen Master at that time, was passing by and saw Mazu sitting [in meditation]. At that time, Mazu was not enlightened yet, so He kept sitting. All day, all night, Mazu just ate and sat in meditation. Normally, people think that you have to sit to meditate, and the longer you sit the better. Sitting until everything falls apart, all the cushion and mat wears out, then one will probably become Buddha. Many religious sects advocate as such. You sit until your bottom falls off, then you become a Buddha. It is so, it’s truly so. I saw it clearly. It was not that I read it in any magazine or any book.
So now, that guy Mazu followed such a Zen sect, and He was sitting all the time. Then an enlightened Zen Master passed by and asked Mazu, “What for are You sitting, Mazu?” Mazu was a famous Zen Master later on, but at that time, before enlightenment, He was sitting all the time. Then that guy asked Mazu what Mazu was sitting for? Mazu answered, “I sit so that I will become Buddha, so that I can attain Buddhahood.” Then the Zen Master, Nanyue, took out a tile and sat next to Mazu. Nanyue ground the tile on another stone, and continued grinding. He was grinding so noisily that Mazu could not meditate, and was upset: “What are You grinding there?” The Zen Master replied, “I’m polishing this tile so I can have a mirror to look at.” So Mazu said, “How can polishing a tile make a mirror?” Then the other guy replied, “How can sitting on your bottom make you a Buddha?” I’m sorry I said it a little unelegant, but like that you would understand those two things are not related to each other at all. That part of your body and the wisdom are not related to each other at all.
I said you don’t become Buddha by sitting. Later on, after I pass away, you go out there and speak nonsense, saying, “She taught us to sit.” This is not a sitting-sect. I taught you how to sit. You have to sit a little so that you can concentrate, that’s all. But we have to know how to practice, not just sitting there. You can sit, closing your eyes, your ears, for a thousand years, a million years, and still cannot attain anything. That’s why I told you a lot more things now, because you have done a lot of very funny things. Other people also have done a lot of funny things. But I don’t blame you or anything. When you are new in your spiritual practice, you don’t know how to make use of your wisdom. You always have to remember to remind yourself, to reflect, to bring out your wisdom to use. You don’t just hear someone say something and just do it.
The Buddha also reminded you. He said, “Whatever doctrine from anyone, even from me” – “Me” here is the Buddha, not this me, so don’t say wrongly. “Even my doctrine, you should study and contemplate on it carefully. Believe only whatever is worthy to believe.” See that? Buddha didn’t say that you must believe blindly. Buddha also said that, “You have to rely on yourself to become a Buddha, not on anyone else. You have to light your own torch to walk.” Buddha didn’t say that He already became a Buddha, and if you read His sutras, you would become a Buddha. Did He say like that? (No.) Did He say that if we bow to Him or to His statue, then we become a Buddha? (No.) No! This one keeps running away… We practice outside the main stream is better. See that?
It is obvious that the sutras say like that, it’s not me talking. Number one, bowing to the Buddha doesn’t make you a Buddha. Number two, the Buddha didn’t say that you read the sutras and you become a Buddha. Number three, polishing the tile cannot make it become a mirror. It is so obvious. You cannot cook the sand to make it into rice! Buddha also said that. When Buddha was still alive, there were many people who practiced other methods or sitting in meditation. Then Buddha said, “You guys cannot cook sand into rice.” Didn’t He say clearly like that? It was so.
But it is also very difficult to understand. Because they were attached to the sutras, to the words, but did not understand the meaning of the words. Just like you, sometimes, you also misunderstand me. You’re attached to my words, without understanding the meaning behind what I say. The only way to understand me is to practice spiritually. That’s why Buddha said that those who became a Buddha can understand the Buddha. Or they at least must have attained the high Bodhisattva level in order to understand the Buddha. Is it clear? Yeah.
So if you don’t practice spiritually, you only read the words from the Buddha, and you are not yet a Buddha, then how can you understand what He said? So you need to become a Buddha yourself to be able to understand the Buddha. Or you follow His path, get close to His level, then you would understand Him. It must be like that. For example, the students in the university understand what their professor say, but how can the students in the primary school understand him. And especially the ones who don’t go to school at all, and say, “Whatever he says, I don’t understand, so he must be saying nonsense! If I don’t understand, that means he says it wrongly. If I understand, then he says it correctly!” Therefore, all the university professors talk nonsense! If the university professors go out and talk to outside people who are not educated or to the primary school students, etc… then they would say, “He is talking nonsense! Not the same as my teacher does.”
I think we just finish here. OK. I am going to see the Westerners for a little while. I will speak English now. You guys can sit closely, but do not make noise, don’t talk in Aulacese (Vietnamese) anymore. Ah, you know now. Alright.
Photo Caption: Be Discerned Between the Alluring and Real Beneficent
