What he meant was that we spiritual practitioners should be more advanced and remember God’s Name at all times. This way, we’d be always inside the Grace of God, inside the Buddha’s Blessings. Then we’d never have that kind of so-called worldly grief or joy, which affects our spirit, confuses us, wavers us, or gives us pain.
My eyes are not well. The left eye is for collecting karma; the right eye is for blessing. It’s correct for you to “take a look.” This is what you Chinese say, “take a look.” They know not to look at the left eye. I’ll shield it in the future. Don’t you say it’s enough to “take a look?”
OK, I’ll read you a poem. Stop staring at the (vegan) candies and the (vegan) biscuits. Still don’t know who to give to! I like poetry. Each one is good. But I notice one that’s not lengthy. Wow! This one is too long. He talks too much. OK, yes! This one is more relevant to the topic we’re talking about.
The title of this poem is: Always recite the Name of God, or Buddha. “Always recite the Name of Buddha.” That’s what we say in Buddhism. In Christianity, it says, “Always remember the Name of God.” Do you want me to read in English? Perhaps not, let’s skip it. Yes, or no? (Yes.)
“In any situation with problems or pain, the devoted student remembers the Lord’s name. Only the sage remembers the Lord at a joyous time. If everyone did the same, no grief will they find. For such a disciple, one could say that pain and pleasure do not affect his way.”
What he meant in this paragraph was that in any situation, no matter what problems we encounter. Meaning that, whenever he encounters problems or pain, of course, a Truth aspirant with strong faith will immediately remember God’s Name. Meaning the Name of Buddha; I just say it randomly. Sometimes I say Buddha and sometimes I say God. Then the two of Them won’t quarrel. For people who think Buddha and God are not the same, they won’t quarrel.
He said the Truth aspirants would definitely think of God’s Name. And the second sentence says, however, only the saints, meaning the great spiritual practitioners, the sages, even when in times of joy, would still remember God, remember Buddha’s Name. If everyone could do the same as the great sages, they would never see or know grief. Then, for such disciples, we can say that they are not affected by joy or grief.
What he means in this paragraph is that the ordinary people, or the spiritual practitioners, the so-called spiritual practitioners, remember God when they are in need or in grief, however, they may not remember God in times of joy. Absorbed in pleasures, they are chained by the world, chained to their so-called happy pleasures. Then they no longer remember God.
Isn’t it true that only in times of pain, do we pray very hard? (Yes.) But it’s too late. As such, even if we are still counted as spiritual practitioners, we are similar to the outside people, the businesspeople. Right? Just for earning money. They work hard only because they need money. However, some successful businesspeople don’t wait until they need money to work hard. The best way is to work hard always. Also, we worldly people only see the doctor when we are ill. Right? That’s too common.
What he meant was that we spiritual practitioners should be more advanced and remember God’s Name at all times. This way, we’d be always inside the Grace of God, inside the Buddha’s Blessings. Then we’d never have that kind of so-called worldly grief or joy, which affects our spirit, confuses us, wavers us, or gives us pain.
He continued. “Women balance water jars to and from the well.” I have a problem here. You come up. Quick. Is it glide or glid? (Glide.) Glide. Sometimes English words are spelled the same but are pronounced differently. Very troublesome.
“They glide along so gracefully and a story they tell. Toward home, they joke and laugh all the way, not a drop is lost. Their attention doesn’t stray. Likewise, the Lord’s name one should remember true, not forgetting a moment day and night through.”
I think I have no more problem. I think. Just wait. I think it’s all right. Frantically, right? Frantically? (Yes.) I think I don’t have any more problem. Thank you. You can listen to your translation. I like your hat, by the way.
What he meant was that the Indian people, perhaps in ancient China too, some women use small jars made with clay to carry water. What is that in Chinese? A jar?
They place the clay pots on their head, filled with water. They walk and chat at the same time without spilling a single drop. Not spilling. (Not spilling.) It’s because they’re used to doing that and they’re highly focused. They know how to balance their body and their steps. So, they’re totally unaffected even when they’re talking while walking, or making any movement. The water pots above their head are unaffected. They can carry on walking very charmingly and gracefully. They do chat a lot, yet the water pots never fall off, or spill a single drop of water.
So he said that, similarly, we spiritual practitioners should remember God’s Name all the time. I have told you God’s Name. Did I forget to tell you? (No.) Really? Have you forgotten to listen? Do you remember? (Yes.) This is what he meant.
At the time of initiation, we have learned the Name of God transmitted with the dharma lineage and power. We must remember. Otherwise, people outside also claim that they know the Name of Buddha, God. Yet the power is not there when they recite it. Right? (Right.) Yes. Even when our disciples teach them to recite the Name of their God, or Amitabha Buddha, it’s still powerful because we have the power. We are connected to Buddha, so the electricity is there when we connect to the power source for them. If the power is not transmitted, it’s useless, even if you connect to it for half a year or a hundred years. Is that right? (Yes.) If the cable is not connected to the power source, no matter how thick the cable is or how big the lightbulb is, it won’t light up, right? (Yes.) It’s the power source that matters.
Similarly, there is a kind of invisible power source that is connected with Buddha or God. We have the cable and everything ready. We just need to do what? (Connect it.) Failing to make the connection, we can’t use the power. Not that we don’t have it. So, I’m just helping you to connect the cable to the power source. Our fellow initiates are connected to the great power source, so they have the power when they go out. They make a mess with the connection, because they are not experts. Then they cry out to me for help, “Master, please make the connection Yourself!” But then the connection is still successful, still getting through.
So, when we read this type of poem, we can understand. Without practicing the Quan Yin Method, it’d be difficult to understand. Take last time for instance, or many times, in the poems that I read, they mentioned the inner Heavenly Sound. After being connected with the (inner Heavenly) Sound, we are enlightened and happy. This inner Heavenly Sound is the greatest Power. Upon hearing it, even a king would renounce his throne to other people, while he went into the forest to practice spiritually. For people outside who didn’t practice the Quan Yin Method, they wouldn’t know what this (inner Heavenly) Sound is. What is this great power that made a king renounce his kingdom? This is the reason.
That’s why some of our fellow initiates, after practicing for some time, don’t feel like doing business anymore. Or lose the desire for fame and fortune. But since we’re already doing it, we just fulfill our obligation. We no longer have that kind of life and death mentality in doing business. We can still do the same, and do it even better than before, yet more relaxed and easy. We used to be too focused on that kind of competition. We were blind and not smart enough. The more nervous and busy a person is, the harder he struggles. The more he wants to compete, the more he fails. Is that not so? This applies to any kind of job. Instead, now that we don’t want to do it, we can do it well, effortlessly. This logic is very simple. It’s because our mind is relaxed. Our competitive mentality is less. So, suddenly, our innate cleverness and wisdom comes out. The more relaxed we are, the better we do things.
