I saw the temples were all busy building temples, doing this and that. I wasn’t sure if I could really do spiritual practice after going there. Then I went around to ask about the situations inside those temples, and sometimes I heard bad things, including all sorts of struggles, conflicts and things like that. This temple did not get along with that temple, and this master did not get along well with the other one, and everyone was speaking ill of each other. Sometimes they even sued each other. When I heard that, I was shocked. I said, “Oh my!” So I thought, “Enough! Enough!” At that time my husband was chasing after me, and since I had nowhere else to go, I thought, I might as well marry him. Luckily, after marriage, I got to meet this type of people, the kind of people who are more enlightened, who didn’t like to go to temples. After they attained enlightenment, they didn’t care about going to temples. Like what you are now, you are not thinking of going to temples. If you want, you go; if not, it’s OK. Our mind is not in the temples. We don’t care. Isn’t it so? OK.
Then, after marrying him, every day I just did my work, cooking very nice vegetarian meals, so well that my husband asked me, “Why don’t you teach others to cook?” He encouraged me. Then I wrote those Recipes. (A recipe book.) I wrote everything down, and then went to a college to teach people how to cook vegetarian food. My classes were always filled up instantly. Immediately filled up, with no seat left. And one lady who… She wanted to enroll no matter what. But she couldn’t, she couldn’t get in. The class was full. The number of seats was limited, so she couldn’t get in. That lady specially called me, begging me to teach her. I asked her, “Why are you so anxious about it?” She said that she had to learn it, the Oriental vegetarian cooking, because it’s so delicious. She was German. Then I said, “You don’t even know whether the class is good or not, why are you so anxious about it?” She said, “I just have to learn it.” Then I said, “Alright. Maybe you can come to my house first, and I’ll specially teach you some skills. Then you don’t have to… we’ll see.”
Because the college staff said, unless I allowed it myself, she could not sign up and get in, since it was already full. If the teacher says OK, then it’s alright. So, she specially called to ask me. She also told me she had been vegetarian for a long time, and was also practicing spiritually. That’s when I got interested in her. I said, “OK. In that case, you come to my house for a meal and then we’ll see.” I made an appointment with her like that. Then she came to my house, bringing a lot of books about the Himalayas to show me. Then we had a long chat, until it got dark, till very late in the evening. Then she introduced to me some other spiritual paths, those methods of “transmission outside of written teachings,” which were not to be found in temples or in Buddhist scriptures, or in Catholicism or any other religion. Therefore, it’s because of her visit that I found those things. Then I got to know there were some masters in so-and-so places, who had great magic powers, and how incredible they were, etc. Then, I was interested and got to know about them. Since then, I began to look for something else, meaning, seeking beyond the temples. Because I was already not so contented before. I just didn’t know where to look.
Therefore, you see, even there’s… From the viewpoint of the world, I suddenly gave up the ideal of becoming a nun in order to get married. It didn’t look so good, but it was good. If I didn’t get married, I wouldn’t have taught people to cook vegetarian food, and then I wouldn’t have encountered that lady. I wouldn’t have gone to India to look for an enlightened Master. I wouldn’t have become enlightened and then teach you. Understand? (Understand.) Therefore, sometimes I believe in destiny. I’m destined to become an enlightened Master; nothing can stop me. Many times I tried to run away, but was caught and came back to teach. It’s similar to the destiny of an emperor. You cannot run away from it. That’s how it is. Therefore, sometimes it’s just the way it is.
We don’t know the mandate of Heaven, and that’s why we complain. There are situations bad for us, but the situation that is bad for us might, in fact, be good for us. That’s why I said we should assume our responsibility, be diligent in spiritual practice, and try our best to spread the Truth. That is good enough. If any unexpected things happen, we just do it naturally, instead of complaining a lot. Of course we do pray. If the situation is not good, we certainly also pray for God to help us through the difficult times. However, if Hes doesn’t help, we should know this is something that we have to bear, because it will benefit us in the future. At that time, after marriage, I was not feeling very happy even though my husband took care of me very well. He’s a very nice person. But I felt that I was not supposed to take the path of marriage; I did not belong to that kind of life. That’s why I was feeling down. Every day I wrote poems blaming God, and blaming the Buddha for not coming to my rescue. I was supposed to renounce the world. How come They’ve put me into a family? I was complaining in my mind. But later I realized that Hes actually meant good for me.
Like when I was learning to drive. I failed the test twice. Each time before the test, I prayed to Jesus Christ for help. Then… Why are you laughing? You’ve heard about it already? (No. You’re asking…) No? (We are used to hearing You say You pray to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; it’s funny to hear You mention Jesus Christ.) Yeah. No. At that time, Jesus Christ was popular to me. I was worshipping the Buddha, but when I was in Germany, there were no Buddhist temples, so I went to worship (Lord) Jesus. I thought They’re all the same. So it happened that at that time Jesus Christ was very popular. I wore a necklace with a cross this big in front of my chest. I wore it wherever I went. And I went to the temple (church) to sing. Whatever I do, I do it seriously. Therefore, before each test, I prayed to Jesus Christ for help. Each time I went out to learn driving, I also prayed to Him for help. The more I prayed, the more the coach scolded me. I was scolded very badly, so much so that I became clumsy, not knowing what to do. Then when I went to take the test, I always prayed to Jesus Christ for help. But I still failed. Each time I prayed to Him, I failed. He knew I’m short-tempered – if I was allowed to drive, my life would be in danger. Other peoples’ lives would also be in danger.
What was my motivation to learn driving at that time? My motivation was not pure, because I just wanted to go wherever I pleased. I was thinking that when I was feeling down, when I didn’t want to stay at home, I’d put my luggage in the car and then drive off alone. My intention was not pure, and therefore… He knew that maybe in the future I’d have a lot of disciples, and if I had such a mentality, every time I lost my temper and didn’t want to stay, I’d just drive off, He’s afraid that you wouldn’t be able to catch up. So I took the test twice, and twice I failed. I did learn it seriously, spent a lot of money and time, enduring the scolding of the coach. He scolded me very, very badly, scolding and insulting me. The way I scold you is nothing, only once in a while, and I don’t scold everyone. My coach, once he got in the car, began to scold me every minute, until he got out of the car. He scolded me even when I didn’t do anything. He kept saying, “You! I can’t drive it (for you)! What are you doing? You keep on turning left and right…” and so on. He’d scold me even without any reason, as if he was born to scold people. OK. Even though I endured that, I still failed twice. I was preparing to take the test for the third time… Something else happened, and so I didn’t take the test.
Therefore, at that time, I blamed Jesus Christ for that, even though I prayed to Him so sincerely. He still didn’t let me pass. Only now do I realize that it’s not good for me to drive. Now I have so many people who want to drive for me. Why did I have to learn to drive then? Isn’t it so? Now a lot of people want to be my driver. He knew it, but didn’t tell me at that time, making me complain for a long time. Now I understand. It’s better to let someone drive for me. Why do I have to drive myself? But afterwards, because I loved driving so much at that time, now Jesus Christ even rewarded me with a small car for me to drive myself. I’ve complained for many years. But, with this car I cannot run away. It cannot run fast, so anyone can catch up with me. It’s alright. I’m telling you all this so that you can be more content. I did a lot of “wrong” things. But those were lessons for me. Then I transmit the (Quan Yin) Method to you. So, please be content.
If sometimes things don’t go as we wish, that is not necessarily bad for us. Perhaps, God will grant us something greater in the future, or give us greater responsibilities, or a higher position. Hes is not going to pull us down or punish us or whatever. Not necessarily so. Like the story you heard earlier today. The child was born into a rich family and was badly spoiled. His parents had prayed for a long time to have him. But not long after he was born, he fell into the river and was swallowed by some kind of fish(-person). It sounds very serious, doesn’t it? Eventually, he got another treasure and became twice as rich. Therefore, sometimes we are short-sighted, thinking God’s arrangement is unfair. In fact, we should take some time to observe.
OK. Now everyone goes down. Only contact people stay, and those who live in Yang Ming Mountain. Everyone else leaves quickly. I want to have a discussion with them. I’ll come down to read stories for you later on. Alright? (OK.) Go quickly and gulp down your (vegan) food; I’ll come down later.
Photo Caption: Shining Alone in the Forest? No, Dear, GOD Is Here.
