Initiated by the Master, you get enlightened, you contact with Heaven daily, and you go up to Heaven for sure, if you continue meditation and keep the precepts as well. But if you just keep the precepts like this and be an ordinary person, you’ll be reborn again, maybe as a good person in a good position, but reborn again.
“Number four: The Fourth Commandment is that you have to keep the Sabbath day as a sacred day.” Just like on Sunday or something, we go meditate together, (Yes, Master.) group meditation. On that day, you forsake everything. You leave all the physical activities and any labor work behind, in order to come and attend the group meditation together. On that day, you don’t do anything more. That’s what God commands. He says, “You work six days, and during these six days, you do everything that you need to do in your physical environment and activities. But on the seventh day…” They call it the Sabbath in the Bible. “On the seventh day, that is the day that you worship God. And on that day, you and anyone who stays with you should not do any labor work or physical work. Because in six days, God created Heaven and earth and oceans, and all the things that are existing on earth and in the ocean, etc., or in Heaven.” Like stars and stuff, Moon, Sun. “And then on the seventh day, God blessed the Sabbath and made it holy.”
The seventh day is a holy day. Maybe that’s why we call the end of the week Sunday. (Yes, Master.) Or in Chinese and Aulacese (Vietnamese) – I don’t know about other countries – but in Chinese, Aulacese (Vietnamese), we call that “the day of God.” Xing Qi Tian (Sunday in Chinese). “Tian” means “sky.” Also means “God.” In Âu Lạc (Vietnam), we call it also “the day of the Lord.” Ngày Chủ nhật (Sunday in Aulacese). Chủ nhật (Sunday) or Chúa nhật (Lord’s day) is the same, meaning “the day of the Lord,” of our Master, of the Lord. Maybe that’s why. So that day, Xing Qi Tian, means Sunday, is a holy day, is a blessed day, is a sacred day.
So, on that day, God told His worshippers at that time not to do any physical work, but to worship God only. Sunday, mostly we go for meditation. (Yes, Master.) And now we still do that, but we do it every day. Normally, God doesn’t mean you only do it that day; meaning to gather together that day to do it, like a group meditation that we do every Sunday. Remember? (Yes, Master.) And now we do it more. And every day we do our homework at home. We meditate individually, or with family members, or with a small group of fellow disciples. But Sunday, we group together in the ashram. Remember that? (Yes, Master.) So, that’s what God even said before nowadays. But that’s normal. It just becomes normal like that.
Because in this world, Sundays, mostly people don’t work anyway. So, they get together and worship God, or they go to the church still. Tradition still, that you go to the church on Sunday. (Yes, Master.) “Sun” means “Heaven” also. That’s why they say “Sun-day,” because the Sun symbolizes God. Or in Âu Lạc (Vietnam) or in other countries, they call it “Heaven,” “the sky.” The sky also means Heaven. And the Sun is the brightest in the sky, so it symbolizes Heaven. (Yes.) And it’s for Heaven that day, for God that day, in the Western terminology. In our terminology, the Asians, they call it “the day of the Lord,” “day of God.”
So now, “Number five: You have to respect your father and your mother, so that your days will be also extended on Earth, and because God will bless you that way.” In China or in Âu Lạc (Vietnam), we say, “If you respect the elderly, you will live a longer life.” You will live a longer life. This is similar to what God’s saying here. (Yes, Master.) If you respect your parents and take care of them, then you will be blessed to have a longer life on Earth.
“Number six: You will not kill. Number seven: You will not have sexual misconduct.” It is saying here, like, you don’t commit adultery. Like if you’re married, you don’t have another physical relationship with somebody else outside of your marriage.
“Number eight: You will not steal.” But Jesus said, “Whoever steals for bread is not guilty.” (That’s right, yes.) It depends, also. You don’t steal on purpose to take away other people’s property if you don’t need it. But whoever steals bread because of hunger is not guilty. I agree with what Jesus said. (Yes.) When we are in a desperate situation, if we cannot ask, then we just take a piece of bread and thank God for that. Then it’s different from stealing. Understand me? (Yes, Master.) You will not steal things that don’t belong to you.
“Number nine: you will not be a false witness in the accusation of somebody else near you or next to you.” Like, you don’t go to the court and wrongly accuse somebody just for your own benefit, or anything else, that you know for sure that person didn’t do what you say he did. That, even God doesn’t allow. But nowadays, politicians, they do anything. You saw that yourself. (Yes, Master.) If you’re American, you know already. Right? (Yes, Master.)
“Number ten: You will not envy the property of your neighbors; or the wife of someone that’s near you or you know; or any of the servants of that person that you know; or any of the animals of the person that you know; or anything at all of the other persons – of your neighbor or somebody that you know that you envy, you’re jealous of – and you want them for yourself.” Should not do that. Actually, this also should be in the stealing (Commandment). Yeah, same, but maybe not, maybe not. Stealing is more physical, like you go and take something. But this is even not envying, not wanting the things that belong to others. Actually, stealing food is a small theft. It’s not much when he’s poor and hungry, or steals for his family or somebody in need. It’s not too bad. I don’t condemn that. If they need it, it’s different. (Yes, Master.) But some people steal big, big, big. (Yes.) They steal people’s land, people’s country, people’s properties, people’s reputations, people’s success. All this is worse than small thefts. Do you hear what I’m saying? (Yes, Master.) And that’s including those politicians who did everything possible, but not properly, not appropriately, in order to harm the opponent or to climb on top of the opponent in order to get the power in the wrong way. Not honestly. You know it already. (Yes, Master.) In different countries we have that. So now you have enough. You know already the Ten Commandments. You’re all right? (Thank You, Master.)
In Buddhism, there are also Ten Commandments for the second step of Buddhism, a little higher than the Five Precepts. But almost similar, I think, almost similar. It boils down to the Five Precepts. If you keep the Five Precepts well, that includes many things already; everything else is just more detail. (Yes, Master.) Any question or comment concerning that? The Ten Precepts. Show me your wisdom, and your quick IQ.
(If a person of Christian faith lives their life by going to church every Sunday and living a regular life, married with children, and keeping the Ten Commandments very well, then how is their spiritual progression into their next life, compared to, say, finding an enlightened Master and getting initiation?)
Compared to being initiated? (Yes.) By a Master? Oh, it’s different, darling. Initiated by the Master, you get enlightened, you contact with Heaven daily, and you go up to Heaven for sure, if you continue meditation and keep the precepts as well. But if you just keep the precepts like this and be an ordinary person, you’ll be reborn again, maybe as a good person in a good position, but reborn again. (Right.)
And once you’re reborn again, other karma from other lives may come back to you, that won’t let you keep the Ten Precepts anymore. You will not be in a position to keep yourself upright and virtuous. You understand now? (Yes, Master.) Because this world, according to the sages of China, they say this world is a big dyeing tub, meaning everybody affects each other and pollutes each other, dyeing each other a similar color: blackness. So, very easy to fall again. Because you have different karma to be reincarnated in different lifetimes as a different person or different being.
This lifetime, maybe it’s your period of good karma. (Yes, Master.) So, if you keep a good life like this, maybe next life you can have the same life again. (Yes.) But who knows if your other bad karma will not come to you in the next life? Next life, you never know if you will be born in such a good situation and associate with good people or be with good friends who can remind you of a virtuous and moral, upright lifestyle again. (Yes.) Even the Buddha, in some former lives, He had done something wrong, because of the different background, because of the different situation, different associations. It is too cruel. I don’t want to talk about it. (Yes, Master.) But He had to be blind one time. (Wow.) Somebody had to pluck His eyes. (Wow.) Yes. It was very gruesome. This life is like that. So, you never know if you are lucky to be reborn in a good circumstance again. (Yes, Master.)
There was a story about one guy who listened to the Saint, just a few sentences, listened to Him. And then he died after that. Before he died, the Saint, the one that was preaching in one lecture that he attended, because a friend took him or whatever happened that he listened to the Saint’s lecture one time. And then the Saint told him, “You’re going to die soon. When you die, you will meet the judge. And the judge will ask you whether or not you want to receive the benefit, the merit of listening to my lecture first, or you want to pay the karma first. So, you should say to the judge,” the one that will judge him (Yes, Master.) in the afterlife. (Yes.) “You should say to him that you want the benefit of listening to the Saint’s lecture first.” Understand? (Yes, Master.) So, that’s what he said. And then he can go to meet that Saint again in the other level of consciousness.
The Saints don’t always have just the physical body. (Yes.) The Master has different bodies and lectures in different Heavens. So, because of that, he can go and listen to the Master again on the other level. (Yes.) From then, he has more merit. (Yes.) And then he goes up. He doesn’t have to go down to receive the karma. (Yes, Master.) You only get wet if you stay outside in the rain. (Yes.)
