So, people get scared to go into religious organizations. I only know most of the Teachers who teach the path of (inner Heavenly) Light and (inner Heavenly) Sound, They don’t collect money. And many others, they do. And even they always say they don’t have enough, don’t have enough money. How can you not have enough money? I don’t understand that. Before we had all these things started, even when I was not famous, I did not have donations. So, we didn’t have any land to stay, we rented one house. Because at that time I wasn’t very famous. But there were some people who “smelled” something, and came to me. So, I had about a few dozen monks, we rented a house together, and we lived together there.
At that time, we even shared the bathroom together. And my disciples, they didn’t even know much about manners. When I went into the bathroom, they kept their watch all the time. And when I came out, I was uncomfortable. And they just kept winking at each other. They said, “It takes so long,” something like that. And it was my private bathroom, and I shared it with them. They have another one downstairs. But I thought, “OK, they are more people than me, so never mind. The women can use with me and the men use downstairs.” And it was my generosity that made a fool out of myself. They kept watching like that and winking at each other. Can you believe it? Anyhow, because I’m too democratic, that’s what it is. Anyhow, so we rented that house, but then suddenly...
And that house is the same like this kind of place, smaller. Same in a way that it had not been sold for five years and all the ghosts lived in it. Just like when the monks first came here, all the ghosts played fool with them for many days. And they were so scared. And now no more ghosts. They’re all liberated. Gone to the Astral world to meditate. So, when that house was rented by us for a year or something, and then suddenly they were able to sell it. And they sold it without telling us one word. We offered to buy it before that, and they didn’t sell it to us, and they sold it to another person, probably for more money, I don’t know. So then, we had to go out.
Now, what to do? Go onto the street? No, I let the monks and nuns go around and we found a beautiful river, which is for the public. And then we parked there, camped there, and we drank from the (river) water, filtered by the cloth that we wore. We used a thick cloth to filter it and cook it, and we ate and we had a campfire every day, and we had fantastic fun. And there was a big lake next to the river and we’d swim there every day. That’s where I taught the monks and the nuns to swim. T. Yuan, she could swim, but at that time she couldn’t. I taught her and she was the champion of all the students. She was very fast and could swim very far.
And another one, Tong R., she drank water all the time. She was a little bit fat and clumsy. And in Chinese astrology, she belonged to the chicken, I think. I think she just flapped around in the water and drank a lot of water, and then [glug, glug] Master! Master! So, sometimes I had to throw the lifesaving wheel for her, and I went out myself alone because I saw her flapping all the time with her wings. And one nearly drowned. Water about that deep and get drowned. Out of panic, got drowned. And I had to pick her up as she was wet like the chicken in the rain. So, we stayed next to the riverside, and we had no problem, except a little bit of noise because that is next to a kind of tourist resort. And people came there on weekends on holidays and made a lot of noise, you know, the microphones, and... So I had to “enjoy” all their noise. The [fire]crackers that they light for festival days and New Year’s Day, weekend days, or any days. But we were OK on that riverside.
And by the way, I still went out and lectured. At that time I began to get requests from disciples to lecture. Of course, the audience was not like now. It used to be about 300, 400 at the most at that time, because we didn’t know how to advertise, we didn’t do anything, they just came, with very little circulation. And in the evening, they would get initiation by the riverside. Under the moonlight, they had to write the initiation form and answer all very strict questions. It was stricter than now. When you are raising cattle and all that, you’re not allowed to come in. Very strict. For livestock, for killing, not allowed to come in.
At that time, I wasn’t very enthusiastic about this job, so I didn’t want to do it. So if I had to, it was just kind of, “OK, you take it or you leave it.” No pampering of any kind. So, very strict, very strict. So, they all meditated. And we meditated in the morning, evening on the riverside, and then we gave initiation there. It’s alright. We started to get disciples even. No house, no land, nothing. Just on the riverside is how we began our business. And I still don’t take donation from disciples.
When we were in that house, we held service every Sunday and many people came to that house, it was packed. And I used to plant vegetables and sell it to them, to the guests if they wanted. So, we got some money enough to eat, and the house was so cheap because it was a ghost house. Actually, they should pay us to stay there. They used to want to pay one housekeeper to stay there. But after we wanted to rent it, they rented it to us, kind of [at] nothing price, because the grass grew into the living room, inside the bathroom. And you have to fight inside the jungle to find every piece of brick. And we cleaned from top to bottom, we washed the ceiling and the roof, everything. It was so dirty and all kinds of garbage inside: bottles, broken bottles and broken ghosts and all that, all over the place. So actually, they were glad that we took it. And they were right, because after we took it for a few months, they sold it, double the price. They couldn’t sell it before.
This house before was nothing compared to the house we used to live in, the first time we rented it. Grass already grew into the house, so high, no door. This house still has a door. And the bathroom was still intact even though dirty, and the toilet was not in use and no water, but still we can fix it. But that house was completely a jungle. And because the price was so cheap, and we didn’t have any place, and my growing disciples – even that time, the percentage was growing very fast. I didn’t know where to put them, the monks. So, I had to quickly rent a house, otherwise before I didn’t have to. I could just stay one place after another with the disciples, or stay in the temple, clean the floor and get my pocket money.
In Taiwan (Formosa), if you stay in the temple and you become a monk, you can have your pocket money, 500 NT. It’s about, how much? [US]$50? ([US]$20.) Twenty dollars per month. And you can buy vegan chocolates, goodies with it, and that’s all. Then you eat in the temple. No problem, really. To be a monk in Taiwan (Formosa) is very safe. And people even respect you. Alright, anyhow. So, I had to find a place to put all these monks, nuns that hang around me. At that time, I was also very generous. Anyone comes, wants to be monk and nun, “OK. Save yourself, shave yourself.” And then just do what we do. And whatever we have, the money, we share with each other. And even my clothes, I had to share with them. I didn’t have that many clothes. And they didn’t have clothes for monks, so I give them what I had. Anyhow, that’s the first place we had, and then we didn’t have any more place, it’s sold. And we lived next to the river.
In Taiwan (Formosa), the monk’s conception is that you should have no possession, no job. You should live on alms. And I don’t think we should make useless zombies out of ourselves. Otherwise, our mind goes kaput. If we can, we use it. Might as well. We have it. We use them. If we don’t have them, fine, but we have them. Use them. Already given, why not use it? Why let it rot? What for? So, we use our brain, our mind, our hands, our everything, just to beautify the world and help other people. Not because we want money, we want fame, or we want position, but since we have ability, and since we are more enlightened, we have even more ability to work. So, why should we rot ourselves? Therefore, all our monks and nuns have to work. It’s not because of the money, it’s just the self-reliance and the self-discipline, self-respect that we have to keep. And dignity, the dignity that we have to keep.
Now, that’s why I told them all of them have to work. Even just to do anything. It’s not the money that we want. It’s just they have to occupy themselves. Otherwise, their mind will be rotten, think of all kinds of evil things. And will give into the sensual demand of the body even, if we have nothing to do, and no striving for survival, then our body will start to make a terrible demand on us. Sometimes it doesn’t help. It doesn’t help. You can’t meditate 24 hours a day, no, no, no. Then your legs become jelly. They couldn’t even walk. And then people have to lift you by cart. That is not a recommendation.
Well, I guess I’m too revolutionary, I know, but… You see the clothes I wear, then you know. Have you seen any nun like that? But I’m no nun. I’m none, I’m none. I don’t need to be a nun forever. Inside, enough. Have to go above monkhood in order to be liberated. It means you know what you are, go above.
Alright now. Then we went into the riverside and then we lived there. And we didn’t have even one tent for one monk. You know the tents you have now are luxurious. They’re more expensive than the square tents that we bought at that time. And a square tent, four persons lived inside, small one. It’s made for four persons, actually, yes. But for them to live every day like that, it’s a little bit uncomfortable. But anyhow, we didn’t have enough, I mean so much money to waste for one monk, one tent. I had about 20 already at that time. So, you know how, or what kind of economic situation we were in when I was beginning. Because I didn’t care for money. I was used to being alone and I don’t use much. But since they just ran to me, and then that’s how they caused me trouble. Then I had to begin to think of tents and all that, otherwise before I didn’t.
Photo Caption: Together, Strong and Happy!
