So, hearing the voice of God is hearing the “Word,” the “Holy Word” that is mentioned in the Bible. It is said many times in the Bible. When seeing God, God is like a big ring of Light, a ring of fire, see? Brilliant Light, it is called the fire. In ancient times, human vocabulary was poor. People said that they saw God as a great fire. They heard God as thunder, lightning, the sound of big ocean waves. So, when you get initiation, you could hear these (inner Heavenly) Sounds, see these (inner Heavenly) Lights, that is seeing God, hearing God.
Brahma Sound. What is Brahma Sound? “Phạm” is Brahma. Brahma is the Hindu word for God. So, hearing the voice of God is hearing the “Word,” the “Holy Word” that is mentioned in the Bible. It is said many times in the Bible. When seeing God, God is like a big ring of Light, a ring of fire, see? Brilliant Light, it is called the fire. In ancient times, human vocabulary was poor. People said that they saw God as a great fire. They heard God as thunder, lightning, the sound of big ocean waves. So, when you get initiation, you could hear these (inner Heavenly) Sounds, see these (inner Heavenly) Lights, that is seeing God, hearing God. It is not against the Tao, but is according to the Tao.
(Dear Master, according to the preaching of the Gospel, after Jesus died, He came back to life. But the Buddha died, He was gone. So, the Buddha could not even save Himself, how could He save other sentient beings. Please comment on the above comparison?) Wow! How bold! Now you dare to criticize Buddha even. Too much! We are not equal to Buddha to dare to criticize. I admire you. Who is it? Stand up please, so that I can admire a little! How do you know Buddha did not rise again? No, no one, do not look, he does not dare stand up. This is a straw hero only.
Dare criticize the Buddha, but dare not stand up. It’s OK. I forgive. Let me tell you this. At the time the Lord rose, we were not there to know if Jesus had risen up. And when the Buddha rose, we were not there to see it. Why are you talking nonsense? We can’t even finish talking about the current matter, why talk about things two thousand years ago? Forget it!
Jesus and Buddha resurrected, what does it mean? Jesus and Buddha live forever. Neither dies at all. They live in our hearts, live in our reverence for Them, live in the practicing of Their teachings. That is your life.
Jesus cannot die, Buddha cannot die! Nonsense! They left this world to go to another world, more glorious and dignified, more worthy of Buddhas. That’s all. But it’s not that the Buddha or Jesus chose to go for a rest. It’s just this world only had affinity with Them for a while. You cannot keep Them here life after life, so that you can crucify Them again and again, or so that you can berate Them two or three times a month.
When Their affinity was up, They went back to Their Home. Now, even if you beg, They won’t come down again. Even if you light incense and worship for a thousand years, they won’t descend again. Then others, who have compassion, have affinity with the people here, in this country, in this world, in this generation, will come down to save those people. Jesus and the Buddha never died. Talking nonsense!
(Dear Master, thank You very much for giving this lecture today, for teaching us the truth about being human. However, there are some young teenagers who follow Master. So, how to ensure their education and career at this age? Can Master secure the future for these disciples?) 100% guaranteed. For example, these people were already out of school before they followed me, not that they quit school after they followed me. People can learn all they want to learn. Many times, what you learn out there for a hundred years, is not as good as what these people learn from me in one day. Don’t compare... don’t use your ordinary brain to compare the value of things which you cannot compare. For example, all the young people who are standing in front of you, they are following me, they have nothing, their future has nothing... but they are still living very happily. Do you see anything different?
This child, for example, follows me and still goes to school as usual. If you want to go to school, I let you continue your schooling. If not, I won’t force you. I'm liberal. You do anything you want. If you want to go to school, [and don’t have money], then I will give you money to continue your schooling, or if your family has money, then they let you continue your schooling. You can be a renunciate and a student, you can do two or three jobs. You can do two, three jobs so that you are less bored. If you just work on the same thing over and over again, you would be bored, how can you bear it?
I truly admire myself. I am doing the same thing again and again and not getting bored. This is admirable. I do so many things, yet the world is still so boring to me. There is nothing worthy for me to be attached to, to desire, to enjoy anymore. And you do only one thing in a day. Everyday, you are going in and out [the house], seeing just one wife or one husband, and still can bear it. It’s really admirable! I wholeheartedly admire you.
(Dear Master, how will Buddhism keep pace with the advancement of human technology and civilization?) True Buddhism teaches people to find the limitless source of wisdom. Once you have found it, you can resolve every issue quickly. Then how can it not be in accord with humanity?
For example, sometimes, Shakyamuni Buddha was way ahead of humanity. It’s humanity that can’t catch up, not that Buddhism can’t keep pace with the progress of humankind. For example, when Shakyamuni Buddha was still alive, He said, “In a glass of water, there are tens of thousands of bacteria. There are tens of thousands of beings in it,” but no one believed Him. Because we look at the glass of water with our ordinary eyes, and it seems so clear. Nothing is in there. Now, several thousand years later, science has proved that it is true. There are always bacteria in the water. See that? The Buddha leaped tens of thousands of years ahead. It’s humanity that cannot catch up, not that Buddhism must catch up with humanity. You said the opposite!
For example, now the ones who follow me to practice the Quan Yin Method, not talking about becoming a Buddha, not talking about Master, but the things they know, it would take the scientists many dozens of years and still they couldn’t catch up, right? What we know, they do not know. But we keep it to ourselves. Because if we tell them, they do not understand, and do not believe. If the scientists believed, they would all follow me to practice. Then, one day, we could fly to the moon just like going to the supermarket. Why make rockets that cost tens of millions of dollars, and keep falling down like that. Bad job!
(Dear Master, do You believe or know that there is an all-powerful God?) Yes, I believe, and I know that very well. I know more than you do. I know more than anyone who says they believe in God, worship God and say that there is God. I know more than anyone who advertises cake and never eats the cake. OK? I know God more than you know yourselves. That’s why I’m so happy.
I meant that I truly know God, know that God is real. And those people who are advertising out there, saying that we must believe in God, worship God, pray to God, they only advertise the cake, but have not eaten the cake yet. But I already ate the cake, I know who God is. So don’t ask me whether I believe in God or not. I believe in God the most, because I already know God. How could I not believe in Hirm? I know that there is an absolute great power always taking care of the world. OK, OK, good. Come on, cheer up a little!
(Dear Master, when can I be initiated?) This afternoon if you wish, after the lecture. This afternoon, someone asked when he can get initiated? I said this afternoon, after I finish the lecture. Any of you who want to get initiated, then go ask the initiation team, and fill out the form.
If there are precepts that you don’t understand, or anything you don’t understand, then ask them [to explain] carefully. Don’t assume anything, and don’t be afraid of nonsensical things. If you do the right thing, don’t be afraid. You get initiated, even though later on, you don’t understand, and you make some mistakes unintentionally, you will be forgiven anyway. So don’t be afraid of nonsensical things. For example, in the past, when I was not a nun yet, I heard that there were several hundred precepts. I thought that I would fall into hell right away. But then I thought again, that according to Buddhism, the renunciate is the most noble, and he or she could save all other people. Well, I just went ahead. If I fell into hell, only I myself would suffer, so it didn’t matter. But in case I succeed, then countless people would benefit. So I closed my eyes and proceeded.
All the precepts and conditions are sometimes only a test of your sincerity. If you stand there trembling, Buddhahood would be difficult to attain. To attain the Truth, we don’t even mind dying. Shakyamuni Buddha even cut His flesh from His bone life after life, and He could do it for eternity. Just a few precepts, that you can eat some ‘phở’, and replace those pieces of beef with pieces of tofu. So, it is not a big deal. You could even flee the country [bravely], then replacing meat with tofu is so easy. Why not? So easy.
(Dear Master, I did not get initiated yet and have never met You before, I only know You through my sister-in-law. But every time I think of You, suddenly my tears just flow out and I miss You a lot. Once I saw You in my dream, and You were enshrouded completely by a foggy cloud, like smoke, was it a halo?) No! That was not a halo. It was my car. I rode on a cloud! It’s true. Sometimes, in higher realms, we use clouds as the means of transport, or use lotus flower to support our feet, or no need for any support, depending on where it is.
Descending to the low level as in the vision that you saw, I had to use the cloud. But in the higher realms, we do not need to use anything. Sometimes, in the Buddha Land, a lotus flower is used, but in the higher realms we don’t use anything at all. Going to the lower realm, we use the clouds. That realm is low, so there is nothing to ask about, it’s not that high. How can a halo be foggy! The halo should be bright, not foggy. Because that realm is foggy, so you couldn’t see anything at all.
(Dear Master, how can we sit in meditation properly?) The best meditation technique is not sitting in meditation. But not yet. We have not achieved the level of no-meditation, so we have to practice the so-called meditation. At the moment of initiation, I will show you. If we talk about it here, it will take several hours. We don’t have enough time! If you want to learn, you should learn properly. If I talk for just two or three minutes, and then you go home and sit incorrectly; you would be possessed, then don’t blame me. You must eat vegan food for the mind and heart to be pure. Then when you sit in meditation, it won’t be shocked, won’t have the side effects. Sitting wrongly, you could become crazy, then say that the teacher is not good.
(Dear Master, I heard that You talked at the United Nations about the Aulacese (Vietnamese) refugees in Hong Kong. Can You share the result with us? And if I want to help a little bit, please tell me the [instructions].) I’ve said it already. I’m proceeding on that matter. After lecturing, I have to go to see more people, then I would go here and there to talk, go to many countries to do the procedures. Or to beg for people who were denied refugee status. Otherwise, what else is there to say.
In the world now, Aulacese (Vietnamese) only live in several camps in Asia. The total number of Aulacese (Vietnamese) refugees staying behind now is 125,000 in scattered camps. Now, if I could sponsor all 125,000, I’d do so. But now it is a temporary emergency because they’re committing suicide to fight back. I have to save those being denied the right to asylum first. For those who have already been accepted as refugees, no one can evict them. So, I just let it be for now, and gradually take care of it later. We took care of the urgent people first; those who were refused refugee status now is over tens of thousands of people. They have accepted ten thousand already, just several other thousands of people, it’s like nothing. Accept them all. If I can take care of this, I’d be happy. No matter how many were refused, we’ll take them all, it is good already, understand! But there is still a lot more work to do; I’m not saying it’s so easy. They accept. They have already accepted; they wrote me a letter that they accept. But there are many things to do. There are many obstacles to overcome. What I’m doing is not easy. It’s not just to rescue refugees, but against a whole regime.
