He (an initiate) had practiced other methods before. He didn’t say who his master was. But once his practice reached a certain level, he was able to give lectures like this. He could speak many words of inspiration, as if he had some kind of psychic connection from inside. It was as if someone was speaking to him, and he would just relay the messages. He used to be able to do it, and after a while, suddenly he lost his psychic power. His connection was blocked. But he continued to give talks. Because he used to have psychic power, people still believed in him and trusted him and continued to listen to his talks. Later, he felt, “No. I’m deceiving people. I used to have psychic power, but not anymore. I can’t continue doing it.” Later he stopped; he dared not do those things again. He thought that it was not right. He then continued his spiritual practice to find another path. And then he encountered me.
Now he regrets deceiving those people before. He didn’t deceive them on purpose. He asked me whether his deeds would create any karma. I said, “No. That’s what you knew at that time; you didn’t purposely deceive them. And as soon as you realized it wasn’t right, you stopped. No problem.” That’s why he made a vow to return and deliver them, to lead them back to the right path. He said that what he was doing before was a deviant path. He didn’t know then. So, there’s hope for everyone, no matter where we come from. What matters is keeping a simple heart. Don’t be arrogant; stay open-minded and ready to embrace the Truth at any moment. That way, nothing will stand in your way.
Sometimes I have told you, or you might have heard that, if you’ve practiced other methods in the past, when you start practicing this method, you are bound to have obstacles. Or if we were too knowledgeable, say, if we’re highly educated – we might actually face more obstacles in spiritual practice. Or we might hear that only people who are a little dumb, like the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng, who was illiterate, can attain Buddhahood, or progress very fast in spiritual practice. That’s not necessarily the case. It did happen alright. But that doesn’t mean it happens to everyone. It might not happen to everyone. Like the story I told you just now; you know that he had practiced many methods, and met many so-called enlightened Masters, and he himself also attained a certain level, that he was able to see… Sometimes by practicing other methods, you can see the past, present, and future. There are such instances. It means you’ve achieved something; practicing on that path, you’re successful.
Or, in our group, some initiates have the same background. They practiced the breathing method, until they could stop breathing; “turtle,” that is called “turtle.” No. It’s real. That is called the level of “turtle,” meaning you stop breathing, and you won’t die even submerged in water, because you don’t need to breathe. That’s why it’s called the level of “turtle,” which is quite high. Yeah. Don’t you know that? Don’t laugh. It’s serious. I’ve learned it before, and so I know. (Don’t breathe and then become “turtle.”) Nowadays, there’re also many so-called Buddhist masters or teachers who teach this method. If you stop breathing, it’s called the “turtle” level, which is extraordinary. Only an extraordinary person can do that. If I tell you now to stop breathing for five minutes, can you do that? No. That means he was extraordinary. But later he still came to learn with me. It means that he had already attained that level before.
Therefore, we cannot say that there are fixed rules for a spiritual practitioner to progress faster. It’s up to us. As long as we are truly sincere and humble, anything is possible. No matter where you are climbing up from, you’ll get there. If we practice and achieve a little something, and we become arrogant, or self-satisfied, thinking that that little something is enough, then that’s the end of it. We’ll drop immediately. We won’t just stop progressing, we’ll actually fall in our level. Why? Because sometimes… The law is like this. Anything that reaches the highest, will inevitably decline, unless you’ve transcended the peak itself. For example, in Zen we say climbing to the very top… (Reaching the highest point.) Having reached the highest point, and what then… (Taking a step further.) And then you take a step further. (Then there is emptiness. Take a step further.) That’s how it is. Unless you can ascend even higher, you’re bound to fall – if you cling to that bamboo pole. Eventually, you’ll have to come down, and be exhausted, holding onto that bamboo pole. Wouldn’t it be exhausting? To have to climb back down later again, while hungry.
If we reach a certain level and think that we have attained everything, that we have learned, everything that we should learn, we will fall immediately. Some of our initiates are like that. But I still help them. It’s not that I don’t help. But he still needs to learn his own lesson and cut his arrogance. Because he refused to listen to me, thinking that he had learned everything. He had learned what he should not learn. When going out, he’ll be tested. He’ll suddenly do something that he shouldn’t do. So, he is also pitiful. Very pitiful. Before, for example, there’re certain things that he usually wouldn’t do. After he thought that he was great, then he departed, left me, left quietly. As soon as he went out, he encountered problems. He had problems immediately. For example, he’d be stuck with love or fame, or money.
For example, normally we all know that the Five Precepts forbid... we cannot have “an affair,” for example. Originally even ordinary people shouldn’t do it, not to mention spiritual practitioners. But if there is a person, who feels that he’s a big deal, already good at everything, then he’ll violate the precepts. He knows it clearly, he knows it, but he cannot control it. It’s because his arrogance has emerged. At that time, that means we reject all of it, all of the highest powers, the powers that protect us. We think that we are good enough; we can take care of ourselves. Then of course, everyone would say, “Alright. OK! We go and protect others.” You handle your business; we’ll handle ours. You think you don’t need us, then forget it. Then the devil immediately comes to capture him.
Who is the devil? It’s also a kind of testing power. The Universe created them in order to train us, to train our willpower, to see if we are able to control ourselves, and how long will we be deluded by that mentality. If you think that you are a big deal, already at the highest, have already learned everything, then you’ll be tested immediately to see if you really have learned everything. That’s how we find out. Otherwise, everyone just stands up and says, “I’ve learned everything. I’m a Buddha.” And then no one tests him, no one gives him a situation to measure himself. Even he himself doesn’t know, not to mention others. Yes or no? (Yes.) Yeah. When we practice spiritually, sometimes we would also feel a sense of achievement, or seems to have “attained the Tao.” But that kind of feeling is deceptive. If you feel you’ve attained the Tao, then you still have not. If you still think you’ve attained the Tao, then you still haven’t. When we speak of others attaining the Tao, or ourselves attaining the Tao, it should be based on spiritual experience. However, when we feel that we have attained the Tao, or when our arrogance deludes us into believing we have attained the Tao, it’s different.
If an enlightened Master occasionally reveals His level, it’s because His disciples seek to know, and He tells them, for example. Or because the disciples have too many inner experiences, and makes His level impossible to hide. For example like that. The Master cannot be deceptive, so He can only reveal the truth frankly for everyone’s reference. Then it’s different. He speaks of it in the third person. For example, I tell you enlightened Masters often do this and that. Or the Master often does this and that, The “Master” doesn’t refer to me as the first person. First person? (Perspective; first person perspective.) Not the first-person perspective, no. I’m speaking in an objective way. Like putting a person there, and then you and I make a reference to him. (The third person.) The third person. Because to be an enlightened Master, it’s sometimes inevitable to do this. He himself doesn’t think that He has attained the Tao or whatnot; nor is there a trace of arrogance.
In fact, an enlightened Master is the humblest of beings. He endures what others can’t and do the tasks that others refuse. He doesn’t feel that He is better than anyone else. That is the inner experience which cannot be expressed. It isn’t about Him wearing rags that people think He is very humble. No, no. It’s not necessarily so. Like some beggars or those begging for alms, they are not very humble.
Humility and inferiority complex are different. Also, humility and pretending to be very low are different. Or humility and… sometimes lowering oneself to please others, flattering others to please them, or deliberately humiliate oneself to please others, are also different. Being humble is that people are not aware that He is humble, and He himself also doesn’t think that He’s humble; He is just naturally like that. Just sometimes because something happens, that we recognize it. Or He suddenly admits it a couple of times. “Ah! So that is what humility is all about.” He himself wouldn’t feel: “Oh, I’m so humble. Ah!” “Oh, you see, I’m so humble.” It’s not like that. That is different.
Alright, this kind of serious talk is unbearable. Since I’ve told you the story about the inner Master, by the way, let me share another story with you. Originally, I didn’t mean to talk, and then I talked so much. This is just fine, huh? Are you tired? (No.) Do you feel hot? (Not hot.) OK. It’s fine to get some sun every now and then, right? (Yes.) OK.
There’s another story. It may sound like there is a manifestation body, but actually, it’s not. We must make a clear distinction. There are manifestation bodies, like the billions of manifestation bodies of a Master, and then there are the souls of the departed. If the departed soul has a strong willpower, he can temporarily reveal himself, just for a while, but often to do bad things. He doesn’t usually do anything helpful or good. A true manifestation would come from a Master, often appears to help us in our spiritual practice, or helps us in times of disasters, or when we’re in agony. It is often doing good things, helping us, and blessing us. Upon seeing that kind of manifestation, we’ll shed tears, feeling very happy and touched. It’s a kind of incredible bliss. This is different. It comes to educate us and protect us. This is the inner Master.
The other kind, we can say it is the spirit of a deceased person. After death, some people who die wrongfully or die suddenly, not in peace, of unnatural causes or something like that. (Yes.) (Their time is not yet up.) Time is not yet up? It’s not necessarily so. It’s the time and that’s him, meaning… No one dies if it’s not the time for him to die. But we can say that he’s reluctant to die, and so, for him it seems… (Untimely death.) Not yet, not yet, it’s like that. Or for some people who practice black magic or white magic, after they die, they still linger around, still stranded, staying around that kind of… We can say that it’s the state of “having nowhere to go,” not belonging to any place. Or, in Esoteric Buddhism, we call it “the intermediate state.” After one dies, he doesn’t belong to this world, but he also does not belong to another world yet. Not belonging to anywhere, drifting around like a ghost. Sometimes we say that we see demons, it’s them… (Wandering ghosts.) Wandering ghosts who are not yet liberated. They cling to this world but cannot return. This is very agonizing. But they have magic power. They can go very, very far in an instant; once we think of them, they come. That’s why it’s best not to think of them.
Photo Caption: “Hi There, Lovely Friends Good to See You Here Again!”
