See, benevolence we must have. Benevolence you cannot learn, but you can try. (Yes, Master.) And if you’re vegan, then your benevolence, your love, your inherent loving quality will come out. Then you will feel sorry for the homeless; you will feel sorry for the poor and the sick. Truly sorry, not just talk.
Ignorance is the root cause of all greed, all problems, and all sin. (Yes, Master.) Ignorance. They don’t search enlightenment. They don’t hear the Bible. “Seek you first the Kingdom of God and all the things shall be added unto you.” You don’t just put on a robe and then you see the Kingdom of God. No. You can see the Kingdom of God in your bathroom, in your birthday suit; naked in the bathroom, even, if you do really seek. If you have someone who helps you, to tell you how, then you can see God right away.
I keep saying that, but nobody believes me because it seems too good to be true. But why? God is within you. The Bible says that. (Yes, Master.) You just look. You have to look in the right place. It’s just like you put money in your pocket, you’ve forgotten. Then you look all over, then you’ll never find it.
Many people wear glasses. They put them on top of their heads, and then they look all over. Me too! You know, reading glasses? (Yes, Master.) Sometimes you take it and you push it on top of your head because you don’t need, (Yes.) and then you go looking all over. I also did that, sometimes, several times. Or if you put money somewhere very secretive and then you forgot all about it. Too secret, you forgot, and then you don’t know where. That’s all.
You just have to look in the right place. (Yes.) But most of the people understand nothing. They just think they go to church, go to the temple, put some money in there, or bring some fruit or offering to monks, and that’s enough. That is very excellent already. That’s very good. But you must also find enlightenment yourself. Because those monks, those priests, mostly they are themselves not enlightened. (Yes, Master.) So they just hope to be enlightened.
But like Zen Master (Nanyue Huairang) said, “You cannot polish the brick to make it into a mirror.” (Yes.) It is like that. (Yes.) That’s not the nature of enlightenment, just to sit or to wear the robe, or to keep praying all day long, or counting the beads, tallying the beads. (Yes.) It’s not the nature of enlightenment. Enlightenment is already there in you. You just have to look in the right direction. You just have to save time to do it. (Yes, Master.)
You know everything already. I’m talking not just to you. (Yes. Sure, Master.) I’m talking to the angels, who are watching, listening, to the Saints and Sages. Thank You for visiting. And to the people outside, their souls are listening. (Yes, Master.) All the people, all the animal-people, all the trees, the streams, the rivers, the oceans, I’m talking to all of them, to the stones. They all have souls. To the COVID, even.
I’ll tell you a secret. Just one moment, I’ll ask if I can. I have permission. (Yay!) I do hope I heard it right. If not then the karma falls back on me.
The other day I asked the chief of all the COVID. (Wow.) I said, “Will you also punish me if I go out, for example, and will you make me become infected as well, like everyone else?” He said, “No, no, we won’t do that.” (Wow. It’s good.) So, I asked him, “But why? I’m also in the risk group, old.” They say for the elderly people, it’s more risky with the pandemic. Right? (Yes, Master.) And now it’s Omicron, it’s even worse, or Delta. So, I said, “Suppose I go out, if I have to, will you also make me infected? Will you also ask your soldiers to infect me?” He said, “No, we won’t do that.” So, I said, “But why? How? All the people, whoever, even my own disciples, if they don’t meditate well, they also get infected, even though milder and they recover. It’s not serious, but they still got infected. Wouldn’t I be like that also?” He said, “No, no. You won’t be.” I said, “But why?” He told me, “Because you don’t put meat in your mouth.” I said, “Of course, of course not. Of course not, I know better now. I never wanted it even when I was a child already. I was forced to. And then it became like a trend, habit in your life. But as soon as I knew, I stopped. (Yes, Master.) I love the animal-people. I don’t want to eat them.” He said, “See, that’s why.”
I pressed further, and this is the secret. (Yes, Master.) So that maybe you can learn something from it, or maybe not you but outside disciples and outside people. (Yes, Master.) If they want to learn this secret, I’ll tell them. Originally, I was afraid to tell, because maybe if I tell, then it won’t work for me. Sometimes, secrets, you must keep. (Yes, Master.)
So, I asked him, I pressed for that, I said, “Suppose I go out, and I’m not in my own place. I cannot cook for myself. I cannot choose what I eat, and maybe I eat in a restaurant and if I eat meat accidently, if I didn’t know and I might eat it, then I would be infected and sick as well. Right? At that time, you cannot say that I didn’t put meat in my mouth. Will you also make me infected?” He said, “No.” (Oh.) I said, “Why? Why? If I even accidently eat it, I still eat meat. No?” He said, “No, no. Because you don’t do it on purpose, because you are benevolent.” That’s the word he said. (Oh, wow!) And I didn’t talk further. I don’t know why. I just pondered about it. He just left, and I just didn’t need to ask anymore.
So, the secret is, don’t put meat in your mouth, and be benevolent. Well, if you are vegan, that is benevolent already, but if you have more love, true love also. But being vegan, you will have love. (Yes, Master.) People will just develop love automatically, (Yes.) because you go in the right direction, and things will happen in that direction, opposite to the way you went before. So, it’s just automatic. (Yes, Master.) If you start to be vegan, you know why already, (Yes.) even if you don’t do it for love, but you just try and because of going that direction, even though you go blindly, but you go in the right direction, then you will arrive where everybody else also goes with intention. (Yes.) So, being vegan, it’s lifesaving; it’s soul saving. (Wow.) Benevolent and vegan will save you. (Wow. That’s wonderful. Thank You, Master, for sharing that secret.) You’re welcome. There are also some other secrets I cannot tell you right now, but I have written it in my diary. One day, maybe you will know.
See, benevolence we must have. Benevolence you cannot learn, but you can try. (Yes, Master.) And if you’re vegan, then your benevolence, your love, your inherent loving quality will come out. Then you will feel sorry for the homeless; you will feel sorry for the poor and the sick. Truly sorry, not just talk. And you will help what you can, or comfort them in any way you can, or pray for them, with your heart, with your love. That is benevolence. It doesn’t have to be going out and giving millions of dollars with cameras clicking everywhere. (Yes.)
Just one second, please. I have to take off my jacket. I went out before and then came back in to do the conference. I didn’t want to take it off to keep warm. (Yes.) Now with an adrenalin rush, I’m too hot. (Ah, OK.) I have to take the jacket off.
So, remember: vegan and benevolence. (Yes, Master.) Feeling sorry for others. Even if you don’t think you have it, you just try to imagine, for example, the homeless man, he sleeps under the bridge, he sleeps in the carton box. He probably did not have a meal that day because nobody gave him any money. He doesn’t have a blanket; he has no cover, no protection from the elements, from the cold wind. Imagine if it’s you. Because you go out in the yard or in the street, then you know how cold it is. (Yes.) Even if you are fully protected by a big coat. So, imagine you are that homeless man, then you feel a little sympathy. Just imagine, really like that. Imagine hard.
“Media Report from – Mar. 12, 2018 Former homeless person (m): Food, being hungry… where our next meal coming from… You really don’t know what the next day is going to hold, you really live day by day out here. Some days you just want to cry yourself to sleep because you feel helpless and hopelessness. I had one of those points where, ‘Why, am I out here?’ And I try to kill myself because of it. I didn’t know why I was out here. I was… I didn’t want to live this life. For me, being homeless in the wintertime was horrible. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy, man. This is the worst thing I could possibly think of, because it’s not fun. It’s… I don’t want to do it again. Just being looked at like you’re no good.”
“Media Report from Invisible People – Dec. 17, 2017 Reporter (m): If you had three wishes, what would they be? (Three wishes… I would wish for the strength to continue fighting. I would wish that others could get out of this too. And I’d wish for understanding and compassion for everybody, like just… knowledge, I guess. Three wishes are hard. They’re hard not to take for yourself.)”
Or imagine that you are the child that’s been raped by the big fat priest with no one else there to rescue you. You can’t even talk. (Yes.) He’s squashing you. (Yes, Master.) He’s squashing you. You probably could not breathe, being so tender and so delicate. (Yes, Master.) And he’s so big and fat and looks mighty and powerful and you’re scared to death. (Yes.) He even threatens if you tell somebody, you will be condemned forever, eternal damnation on you if you tell people. (Yes.) So many children don’t dare tell also, not just the parents don’t listen. (Yes.)
“Excerpt from ‘Documentary on Roman Catholic Sex Abuse — Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God’ 2012 Clergy abuse survivor (m): I was afraid to tell my mother because I didn’t think she would believe me. She’d say, ‘A priest would never do something like that to children.’ I kept it a secret.”
Nobody would believe that a priest wearing such a dignified monk’s robe and walking tall and talking like a God. (Yes.) And with all this spilling out from his mouth: compassion, virtues. (Yes, Master.) Fear God, love God, believe Jesus and all that. (Yes.) How would anybody believe? (Yes.) You see, he was trained to be dignified, trustworthy, mighty looking, benevolent appearance. (Yes, Master.) Who would believe it? (Right.)
Just like the army or the police, they are trained to look awesome, powerful, authoritative. (Yes, Master.) So even just to look at the police, you slow down, slow down your bicycle or your car. (Yes, Master.) Even if he didn’t do anything yet. (Yes.) He just stands there maybe not to catch you, for something else. (Yes.) You just kind of have respect for him. (That’s true.)
Or the army people, they look really strong, powerful, (Yes.) protective. They look good. They are trained to. (Yes.) They have to walk the way they walk. (Yes.) Even women also. They walk differently. (Yes.) They are trained to walk with dignity, with self-confidence. (Yes.) They look very awesome, (Yes.) and young and enthusiastic and well-trained for many aspects, many talents. (Yes.)
