Similarly, all the scriptures would emphasize for us to get enlightenment, to see our Buddha Nature, and all our sins will be washed away. Just like the Sun comes out, and the darkness will disappear. Simple as that. Otherwise, in the Bible, it is said that we have the sins of our ancestors, and in Buddhism, it is said we have endless karma from previous lives. […] We cannot wash it away by good deeds alone. […] We must do it in a correct way, using the Light of God.
I started to look for Masters, methods, and the real way to get enlightenment. Not just every day, bowing to a lifeless statue. So then, I have found it. After a lot of struggle, discipline, and effort, I have found it.
I have found what the Buddha had found. I have found what Jesus had found. I have found what Lao Tzu, Confucius, and Plato, Socrates had found. And these things, I am willing to offer to you, all free of any condition, any bondage, any donation. All free of charge. Because these things I have discovered, you have it. It is yours; it’s not mine. It’s not that I will give you anything. It’s only that I help you to open it and show you where it is. And then you will find all happiness, and all sorrow will disappear. It is like in the Bible, it is said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and everything shall be added unto you.”
Similarly, all the scriptures would emphasize for us to get enlightenment, to see our Buddha Nature, and all our sins will be washed away. Just like the Sun comes out, and the darkness will disappear. Simple as that. Otherwise, in the Bible, it is said that we have the sins of our ancestors, and in Buddhism, it is said we have endless karma from previous lives. And we can never wash it off by our own mind-effort. We cannot just do it by charity.
We cannot wash it away by good deeds alone. We cannot wash them away by bowing to Jesus’ statue or Buddha’s statue. We must do it in a correct way, using the Light of God. The inborn Heaven to dispel the darkness of hell. We must use our own Buddha Nature to realize that we are Buddha. The Buddha is not the only one who has become Buddha. All of us are Buddhas. I have found that out, and if you want to find that yourself, you can.
Jesus also said… This I mention all over again, but I must say it again. Jesus said, “Whatever I can do today, you can do also greater in the future.” No? He didn’t say, “I alone can do all these miracles; you won’t, you’ll never, you can never ever do it.” He said, “Whatever I can do, you can, also.” So that is the great, liberal attitude. And Buddha said, “I have become Buddha, you all will become Buddhas.” If we follow the correct method, it’s like scientific research – everyone does the same thing, and that will get the same result.
Like two and two make four. So, if the Buddha can become Buddha, and He said we also will, then why won’t we? Why don’t we become? If Jesus said, “Whatever I do, you can do even better,” then why don’t we start? We all want to become so great, but we can’t. Why? It is because we are lacking power. We’re lacking knowledge and wisdom. If we know how to do it, then we can.
It is like a surgeon. He has learned how to operate on a complicated human inner system. If we learn it with him, after some time we will become an expert like he is. Or even to repair a car – for a layperson, if I open a car, I see it is so complicated. I’m so scared. I couldn’t even dare to touch anything. But for an expert, he just opens it, touches it here and there, screws it out, screws it in, and for him it is no problem. Similarly, we can also repair the car if we learn with an expert. We can also become Buddha if we learn the Buddha’s Method. We can become as great as Christ if we learn what He had learned. That is very logical and scientific.
There’s nothing mysterious about becoming a Buddha, becoming enlightened. There’s no need to go to the Himalayas, no need to shave your head or wear different clothes. Whoever already wears, then carry on wearing, no problem. And if you want to wear jeans, then you carry on wearing jeans. You can become enlightened in jeans. And with your hair as long as that. There is no difference. It is only different tastes, different lifestyles, that we’re making different arrangements in our lives. Someone likes to have long hair, someone likes to have short, someone likes it shorter. Someone likes to become a monk, someone likes to become a nun, someone likes to become a doctor, etc. But everyone has the inborn Heaven because the Heaven is within us.
And the Buddha Nature is within us. Everyone has it and can find it. And this, I may assure you that you may find also, and immediately. The moment you want it, you will get it. As quick as that. Just like I take this piece of tissue and blow my nose. So quick and so easy. But, this Buddha Nature, or the Buddha seed, we have to nourish it every day. It’s like in California, we live in Santa Clara, a lot of people do agriculture, they plant their seeds, sow their seeds, and every day they have to water and take care until they grow. The same thing. We have the Buddha seed within us, and if we know where it is and sow it in the fertile ground, we water it, and then it will grow.
You can know your Buddha Nature today, but you will become a Buddha after some practice. Understand that? Enlightenment doesn’t mean you are immediately a big Buddha. Because our ignorance is so great, and for so long already embedded in us, we take a long, long time to wash it – our habit, our not confident thinking. We don’t believe in ourselves. We are used to people telling us what to do and that we are nothing, we are sinful, and we are such and such. But after we get enlightened, we become clearer in the head, and we will experience how great we are. We have more confidence.
And we know day by day, by the practice of the Quan Yin Method, that we are truly Buddhas. That we are truly Christ-like, or God-like. Because God made man in Hiers own image. God didn’t make men to become slaves, God made men in Hiers own image. We and God are the same essence. The only difference is that we find it or don’t find it. God made everyone equal. Some have found it and become great, like Christ, like Buddha; some have not found it, and so are groveling in darkness life after life.
In this county, wherever I go I only see the name of the Saints: Santa Clara, Saint Joseph, San Francisco, etc. And I’m so happy that I live in the city of the Saints. And I may ask you to join the Saints, the Saints’ circle. We may do that when we get enlightenment. Saints, means they are enlightened persons – they are saintly, they are virtuous, they have (the inner Heavenly) Light. They know God. They know Buddha. The Sanskrit word “Bodhisattva” also means enlightened; means a Saint. If we don’t translate it, then we feel the difference between the Buddhists and the Catholics. But if we translate it, it all means saint – enlightened being. The Chinese term for enlightened person is also “聖人,” means saint.
“聖人,” means saintly person. So, all over again we speak the same thing. But then we do not translate some of the terminology, and then we become skeptical of other religions. Like “Buddha.” Buddha means enlightened Master, or Guru. So we don’t translate, and then it becomes different from Christ. “Christ” also means a Messiah, an enlightened Master. And we don’t translate it, so we call Him Jesus Christ, and we don’t translate, we call Him Gautama, the Buddha. We can call Him Gautama Christ, or Jesus Buddha, and then nobody will have any difficulty. But now, the language sometimes makes a lot of trouble.
I will stop now and wait for your questions. In the question section, I will answer and also talk a lot, so I will reserve some time. Please feel free to ask anything you want, and if you have already a question, please give it to our representative. In this center, we are allowed to stay only until 12 o’clock. Therefore, we must arrange something quickly. Don’t they have any paper? Give it to her. Give to her. Read first. Read a few first. You read it to me. Your English is OK.
(Vegetarians [vegans] can’t eat garlic, onion or leek. May I ask what the reason is, Master?) Is this in Chinese? (Yes.) This is in Chinese. The questioner asks, “If we eat vegan, why couldn’t we eat garlic and onion?” Does it say “alcohol?” (Leek.) What is leek? Ah, vegetables with alcohol. (The five pungent roots.) Huh? (They’re all the same. Onion, garlic, and leeks are all five pungent roots.) It belongs to the five pungent roots. (Yes. Among the five pungent roots. Correct.)
Yes. You see, “五辛 means five kinds of pungent spices. It’s very strong, like garlic and onion, the leek family. In the Orient, we believe that if we are truly vegan, we cannot eat these five kinds of spices of the leek family: onion, garlic, leek, and so on. Now this Chinese person asks me why. In my opinion, you can eat, because this is not killing any animal-people. But according to Buddhism and the Hindu scriptures of the ancient order, they explain that if you eat garlic, onion and the like, it will give you a bad odor, bad smell, and the devils will like to come and lick your lips. And that is the explanation in the Hindu scriptures and the Buddhist scriptures. Also, garlic and onion excite the human passions and make us even more excited than we already are. Therefore, for the monks and the nuns in the Buddhist orders, we are not allowed to eat these in order to feel cool (calm). That is the reason. And now, some of the lay Buddhists, they think if they don’t eat these, then they also become not so excited. That is what the precepts with not eating the five roots mean.
But you are ordinary people, if you try to eat vegan, and you couldn’t go without, I think there’s no harm, just slowly. If you want to leave it, then you leave them. If you don’t want, then slowly, or you can include it sometimes. It is only, as everybody knows, when we eat garlic and onion, it’s also smelling so badly, and some of our colleagues can’t stand it. Is that not so? (Yes.) Yes, that’s also… Then, if we do without, everybody’s happy, anyhow. But garlic and onion have a good medicinal properties. If you have a cold, you can drink onion juice and eat onion soup. And if you want to sometimes purify the blood, then you can use some garlic. If you’re sick, I think there’s no harm.
