Even if you don’t want the vaccination because you don’t trust the vaccination, you must protect yourself. You wear a mask, you wear a shield, you wear tight clothes to cover all your body when you go out, and gloves and a hat and all that. What’s wrong with protecting yourself and protecting others? (Yes. Right, Master.) Because wearing a mask or face shield and all those precautions, also in case you are asymptomatic, and you might pass it on to other people.
That’s why I told you before, some months ago, that you should be humble and grateful that you don’t have it. (Yes, Master.) That you’re still alive, that you’re healthy. (Yes, Master.) Even disciples, if they’re arrogant, and if they don’t meditate enough, they will get it also. (Yes, Master.)
When I said disciples won’t get it, I mean my disciples. I don’t mean those who come in just for fun or loudmouths or just to be sociable or just to look for girls or boys. (Yes.) (Right.) Or praying for riches and fame. (Yes, Master.) They are not my disciples. No matter how many times they go to retreats, no matter how much they try to look like they’re helping with anything with the ashram or with my teaching, they are not my disciples. (Yes, Master.) They’re just followers, and mostly follow their own ego, their own motive, their own agenda. (Right, Master.) They’re not my disciples.
My disciples won’t get COVID. And even if they accidentally have it, then it’s just very mild, and then they will be cured, like normal. (Yes, Master.) They won’t have side effects. They don’t have long-term COVID. (Yes, Master.) Sometimes, they cannot help it if they work in the hospital all day, all night. They’re exhausted. (Yes.) And then they might be careless for a few moments, (Right.) thinking they are protected, but they don’t meditate enough, or maybe they ate something wrong that they did not know, and then that will affect them. And also, too many patients having COVID around them. (Yes, Master.) And if they just forget to wear the mask properly…
When you wear the mask, you have to wear it to cover the nose and pinch it so that it covers completely the nose. Not have any holes or air coming in. (Yes, Master.) If you just wear it over the mouth, what’s the use of that? (Right. Yes, Master.) You don’t speak even. (Yes.) So, if you wear just over the mouth, then no need. (Yes, Master.)
The COVID doesn’t only come through the nose, it comes through the eyes, the ears also, in some cases. (Right.) But mostly through the nose because you breathe in these droplets. You see? (Yes, Master.) So, if you have a face shield, and you have the mask, cover the nose and pinch the metal stick in it to hug the nose tight, (Yes, Master.) then that is more useful.
And also it depends on what kind of mask you wear. There are some better than others. (Yes.) And if you just wear one layer of handkerchief, then it’s useless. (Right.) A handkerchief and a cloth, it has to be many layers. (Yes, Master.) And then some thick, dense fabric thread. (Yes, Master.) Not all handkerchiefs are the same.
When I demonstrated in the tip for COVID, I did not have any handkerchief with me. I used one of those cleaning cloths, just for example only. (Yes, Master.) How to make it quick and simple without any equipment needed.
But you should wear proper masks. (Yes, Master.) And even then, that’s not enough. You have to wear also a face shield, and you have to avoid the crowd and avoid people who seem to have COVID or are sick. You can never be careful enough these days, so you just have to try to protect yourself as much as possible. (Yes, Master.)
But if you wear the mask only at the mouth and not the nose, then goodbye. Soon. Of course, you do what you want, but the funeral home is waiting. If you don’t do what the doctors say, even just a mask, simple. Some people say, “Oh, I don’t like to wear a mask, it’s too troublesome.” It’s not as troublesome as being sick, laying in the hospital, making the nurses and the doctors more exhausted, worrying about your butt. Sorry. (Yes.) With all these tubes and needles and IV and machines and isolation and intubation, etc., etc. (Yes, Master.) Nothing more troublesome than that. (That’s right. Yes.)
Besides, you have to think, look at all the doctors and the nurses and the hospital personnel. They have to wear it all day long and every day! (Right. Yes, Master.) And sometimes more than 24/7, because they have to be on duty, since they are short of staff, or they have to be on duty as well because the hospital is full. (Yes.) So, these people, they have to wear more than you have to – all kinds of things and gloves and extra clothes and extra mask and extra hat on top. (Yes, Master.) And extra shield and all kinds of troublesome things. And extra shoes, different shoes, to walk in the hospital. They are disinfected shoes, disinfected clothes that they’re wearing, and so many layers. And the whole face is almost covered with the hat and everything.
Imagine how much they’re suffering and suffocating just for the patient’s sake. I feel very, very sympathetic for them, very sorry. Nowadays, normally only the OR (operating room) doctors and nurses have to wear it during an operation. Now they have to wear it all the time for COVID, because they have to be there all the time now. (Yes.) There’s always an emergency, because this is an infection. (Yes, Master.) They have to protect themselves, and even then, thousands of doctors and nurses die. (Yes.) I don’t know how many thousands but at least more than a thousand. You check it out. OK? (Yes, Master.)
All because people are not careful, and take their life for granted. Even if you don’t want the vaccination because you don’t trust the vaccination, you must protect yourself. You wear a mask, you wear a shield, you wear tight clothes to cover all your body when you go out, and gloves and a hat and all that. What’s wrong with protecting yourself and protecting others? (Yes. Right, Master.) Because wearing a mask or face shield and all those precautions, also in case you are asymptomatic, and you might pass it on to other people. (Right.) (Yes, Master.) So, by protecting yourself, you’re also protecting others. (Yes, Master. True.)
I don’t blame people for not taking the vaccine because there’s so much conflicting information out there, and they’re scared. Some people are scared, some people are just so arrogant. Both of these types are no good for themselves. You just have to be moderate, be more humble, more open to learning more things, (Yes.) what is good for you. Because our society, our world is always changing. Even science is always changing. Today they say, “This is good,” tomorrow they say, “That is bad.” (Yes, Master.) There is something better all the time. You have to live in this type of society, so what to do? You just have to learn to live with it and to protect yourself. No? (Yes, Master.) No one else can protect you, only you yourself. (Yes.)
But the people make it so difficult. Even go out to protest just to not wear masks! My God. Don’t they have a lot of time? They should come and work for us. Then they don’t have time to even open their mouths. I will shut them up before they are even open, with my sharp tongue. I will tell them, “Shut up! Shut up, go work. Recite the Holy Names, nothing else.” My God. Don’t they have time? Anything just to protest for fun. Even to wear a mask – protest.
My God. What’s wrong with wearing a mask? It’s good also to cover yourself, because outside is dusty, (Yes.) and cold, sometimes cold, and many bacteria are in the air also. (Right. That’s right, Master.) If the wind blows very strongly sometimes in your direction, and if you happen to breathe in deeply or open your mouth, then you go home, you get sick. That’s it. That’s very simple. There’s no need for much more ado than that. (Yes.) (Yes, Master.)
Even just to wear a mask, OK. Only when you go out, you wear. When you go home, you do what you want, man. (Yes. Right.) (Yes, Master.) Isn’t that free enough? (Yes, Master.) And look at so many people who have to wear a mask all day long. (Yes. Right.) Like people who have to sort out the dirty garbage or dangerous garbage, (Yes.) or the firefighters, they all have to wear special masks. And the doctors and the nurses and personnel in the hospital, they have to wear it all the time, all day long. (Yes.)
Like the dentist, for example, they have to wear gloves all the time. (Yes.) So, when they take their hand gloves off for any reason – for eating or washing their hands or changing gloves, their whole hand is white, (Yes, Master. Right.) powder white, compared to the whole arms. (Yes, Master.) I mean, really powder white, the sickening white. They have to wear like that. And they wear a mask also when looking into people’s mouths.
So, what’s wrong with you? Just wearing for a couple of hours, or at work, and then you go home, you take it off. (Yes.) (Yes, Master.) It’s also protecting you, even without the pandemic. (Yes.) It’s much better because people are sick everywhere, not just now. The pandemic is a different type of situation. But in a normal situation, when you go out, you always have a chance to encounter somebody who is sick, (Right.) flu or any other infectious disease. They might not even know it themselves. So even after the pandemic, you should just wear a mask. (Yes, Master.)
You see, I taught all the kitchen people to wear a mask and wear gloves to cook for you. (Yes, Master.) In our restaurants also, the ones that I operate. (Yes, Master.) When I check, I tell them, “You have to wear gloves.” They wore only one glove to handle something. I said, “You must wear the other one as well.” Because you never know; sometimes you forget. You touch also without the glove. (Yes.) You cannot always remember working with one hand. (Yes, Master.) When you’re working, the situation, and forgetfulness, or something forces you to use the other hand. (Yes.) So, I force them to wear gloves, both hands, and to wear a mask. That is in the restaurant before the pandemic, nothing. (Yes. Right.) That was long, long before. Before, at the beginning of my teaching already, everyone who cooked in the public kitchen in the ashram must wear a mask and wear hand gloves.
Funny story. This is a true story, I think I told you guys but I’m not sure if you have it, it’s in Chinese.
There was a woman, one of your sisters, early days. She went home, she also wore a mask, wore gloves to cook for her husband and children. And the husband got mad. Husband didn’t know anything and was not initiated, and against Ching Hai also. Anti-Ching Hai. So, he’s against me more. (Wow.)
I told her, “What are you doing? You sleep together all night, every night. You kiss each other. And what for do you wear a mask to cook for your husband? You even eat noodle soup together. Same spoon maybe. Feeding each other; romantic. (Yes.) Or eating each other’s leftovers, because it’s a pity to waste food. (Yes.) So, why are you wearing a mask for your husband?”
No wonder he doesn’t like me. I don’t blame him! You know, idiot to the core. And these types of disciples are worse than the anti-Ching Hai somewhere outside. See what I’m saying? (Yes, Master.) They live together in the same house every day! I mean, they don’t have children, this couple. And they sleep together, no? (Yes, Master.) Same bed, no? (Yes.) They eat the same food, no? (Yes, Master.) And then in Âu Lạc (Vietnam) or China, they eat from the same dish together. Using their chopsticks. Both chopsticks are digging in the same bowl and the same vegetable soup, vegetable dish and whatever. You know that, right? (Yes, Master.)
