It’s better if I take care of spiritual practice than trivial stuff. Too tired! However, it’s too bad that human beings don’t like to ask for spiritual practice, but ask for other things. So whatever they want, we give. Right? They ask for money, for freedom, but we come and always talk about spiritual practice, they’ll kick you out before you can finish. They would say, “Forget it, dear Madame. I want to eat apples, but You continue to give me grapes.” (No, it’s not like that.) That’s why it’s troublesome.
You don’t have? Mexican, you have? Oh, you have, I didn’t see it because your earrings are so big. Yes, sister, your sister over there? Yes. Yes. And you have... (She came this week.) Oh, you have another sister somewhere, no? (Right.) She’s not here now? She’s not here? (No.) OK. Say “hallo” to her. I will be here the maximum tomorrow only. And then I have to go back to Hong Kong and take care of the refugees’ problem. So, in case you want to see me again, maybe tomorrow. But I don’t know. Maybe better not. It’s too busy for you every day to rush here like that. (No!) Next time. (No problem.) I’ll come back next time. Alright?
(Respectfully, Master, Mr. […] is coming.) OK! Go tell him to come here together in the front. If he wants to sit in the front, let him sit in the front. If he doesn’t want to show himself off, then tell him to sit in the room or somewhere. In a little while. Tell everyone that I will speak with them privately later. (Yes.) Journalists and such, as well as those journalists who’ve come from far away, I will speak with them privately later. Originally, I wanted to meet them earlier, but they arrived a bit late. And then, those others talked for quite a long time. Please don’t feel bad. Have you eaten yet? (Yes, we have.) Alright, good. OK.
Now, what should we talk about? Those books – I forgot about them. The “rescue” book, I forgot. Master’s “life-saving” book – I forgot. Are there any books here? So, for example, if you can’t make it to Hong Kong, maybe just show some support for the Aulacese (Vietnamese) [refugees] while you’re here. (Yes.) Do the best you can. (Yes.) The journalists show their support by writing about the news. And us, we support them by... (Meditate.) quietly meditating. When you sit in to meditate [for the refugees], for example, if you wish, like yesterday someone suggested, you can go to Washington (DC) to meditate. Or you can meditate here.
At an important place, your sit-in meditation would be more visible and effective. But you have to sit quietly, do not say anything. Your banner, which you can use, can’t be written in an insulting way, understand? Just state your request. For example, if you want to express something, just request the Hong Kong government should not act that way. Or, “Do not force refugees to be repatriated so that they commit suicide.” Banners like that are OK. Otherwise, do not insult others in an uneducated way, understand? (Yes.) You must have good manners. We should express our thoughts and our way of doing things [on the banners], but with elegant words. Do not use insulting, provoking words, kind of lowly level. That way, they look down on Âu Lạc (Vietnam) country, despise the Aulacese (Vietnamese) people for not having manners.
Do you want to come up here to sit or sit there? (I would like to sit there.) How about the other lady? Where is Mai Hân? (Mai Hân already left.) Mai Hân left? Too bad. OK then. Is it a little tight for you to sit there? (It’s OK, Master.) Never mind. It is better to sit over there, right? So it was what I said, understand? (Yes, understand.)
Over here, you have the right to write whatever you want. I do not dare to forbid anything. I do not want to forbid. But I would like to advise as such. Otherwise, you would say you don’t have the freedom of journalism, freedom of language, freedom of speech anymore. No, I do not mean to say that. I am very for equality, for democracy. For example, if we want to criticize anyone or say anything, we must have some manner in doing so. It is different when we are joking around or talking normally and happily. But when we criticize someone by using low language, then it is similar to “Curses are like young chickens, they always come home to roost.” I don’t need to say these things, but I am afraid that you forget.
Recently, I also heard that some newspapers wrote about me untrue information. And they wrote with not a high-level language as much. But never mind. Never mind. If they don’t listen to our advice, then forget it. It seems like some of the disciples advised them not to write like that. I have heard. But if they didn’t listen, then we forget it. But we are afraid that they would blacken the Aulacese (Vietnamese) community, somewhat, and a bit downgrading, which is not good. I don’t worry about anything. Because what they said is untrue, then we return those words to them. We accept what is true, right? Whatever is untrue that they said, then they listen to it by themselves.
It’s just like a gift which is not for us, then we don’t accept and return it to them. All the bad and ugly things which they wanted to give to us, will be returned completely to them. We don’t accept. For example, if you bring to me an apple, I don’t accept it, then the apple is yours. But if you bring to me a thorny bush or a bucket of feces, and I don’t accept them, then you have to bring them back to your home. Is it right? I don’t accept it and I return it, then they have to keep them all. They have to accept all the bad things. Never mind, their hands would be tired and then they would stop.
Any boxer, even if a champion, would be tired after punching non-stop, he would sweat profusely. And say, “OK, enough, enough.” Stop! For example, if the boxer injured the opponent, he would be very tired, right? And the boxer, when he wants to practice, if he doesn’t have someone to spar with, then he would punch the punching bag. So the newspapers who “beat” me up considered me as their punching bag. They took me out to practice as with a punching bag. They practiced kung fu, so that they could fight with someone in the future, who knows? It must be the reason. Otherwise, why did they “beat” me up while I was not doing anything? Right? (Yes.) I didn’t do anything [bad], right? (Yes.) Yeah.
Wherever I go, there are always a bunch of you following me. If there are not a hundred people, then there are at least five people. So I didn’t do what you didn’t know. I went to swim in a river or a spring, someone took pictures to show, anyway. It’s too bad! Nothing is secret to you. Where I went to swim in a river or a spring, there were not many people there. Also, there was only me and you disciples. We didn’t think about anything bad. Or they wanted me to wear full attire so that I could be drowned? Wearing the whole outfit like that, you could sink. If we want to swim, we would wear less clothes, otherwise we would be drowned. If we wear full dress, the water would fill inside it, then the dress would be inflated, [heavy], and we would be drowned. And also, it is difficult to swim with hands and legs bound like this, right? (Yes.) That’s why people wear swim attire to swim.
But over there, it was in the wild mountainous area, only the tigers would see, not anyone else. Many pictures showed only tigers and wild pigs. The wild pigs were scared when they saw us. We didn’t look like them, without fur. We don’t have fur like them, but using green and yellow [cloth] bands to cover our bodies. So the situation was like that, and you also… My secret locations, you also took pictures and then watched them together. Then it was no longer a secret, right? That’s why I don’t have any so-called secrets anymore. I meant whatever I did, you would know it all. Why “beating” so badly when I didn’t do anything bad. What I meant was earlier, I mentioned to Uyên Phương that probably they had pressure somewhere, so they used me to relieve their pressure, to open their pressure-relief valve. Otherwise, they couldn’t beat someone else. “Beating” me was safe, because I would not fight back. I am a so-called punching bag, which is used for the boxer to practice. Practicing kung-fu. Never mind. I would be a punching bag for them to beat on. And when they became so tired, almost fainted, then they would stop, retreat by themselves. OK then.
Previous incarnations of Shakyamuni Buddha. His stories would be too tiresome (too many/too long). Did you read these incarnations? You did, right? These stories are very good, but it seems like I already read them the other day. Can you sit there? Where’s that guy? Where’s the guardian? (He’s outside. Outside.) It’s freezing out there. Come in, sweetheart. There’s still space here. Alright, alright, OK. Oh OK. Up to you. But it’s cold outside. Tomorrow, if you catch a cold, don’t blame Master. Stay inside. You can sit inside. Here, there’s plenty of space. Two, three, four journalists here. If you want to sit, come sit up here. (Oh no, I’m fine, thank you.) Huh? Don’t be shy. Come, sit here.
OK. I will read this one for you to listen to. I don’t know whether this story is good or not, but it has some spiritual meaning. This story is about Shakyamuni Buddha in the old times. His [previous lives] stories are so many, we can tell them no end. He practiced spiritually for a very long time. So you should try to find this kind of book to read. Now the Aulacese (Vietnamese) community here printed a lot of books. (Yes.) Any book that has morality, spirituality, then you can buy it to read. Number one, it expands our knowledge horizon. Number two, it helps the writers, the journalists, the printing shops here to have jobs to do. They are also social issues. OK. It's a social issue to benefit both yourself and others.
This story is called “The Tortoise King.” It is because sometimes, they translate very good books. For example, this gentleman translated this book. A writer doesn’t necessarily mean he has to write by himself, but he can translate too. He has to translate well, and only then he can translate it out. [What I meant was that] he didn’t only translate it, but he had to bring out the real meaning of the original book, too. That’s number one. Number two, he also wrote with polished words, then he can be called a writer. Otherwise, not only he writes by his own, then he would be called a writer. That is what I meant.
Like this gentleman, he translated [well]. Let’s see what his name is. The other day, I did read this book already. I read it all but forgot who was the translator. I believe this translator’s name is Phong. I heard his name is Nguyên Phong, right? (Nguyên Phong.) Ah, that means my memory is still alright, quite good, right? Is he Nguyên Phong? (Yes, that's right.) That means you also read it, right? (No, we didn’t read it yet.) Not yet, you see that?
The Aulacese (Vietnamese) community here doesn’t read Aulacese (Vietnamese) books, then what books do you read? Do you read English books? It’s fine. But do you completely understand English, or kind of like, “I come from ‘water’ Âu Lạc (Vietnam)” like that? “I go home take the ‘wind’ out of my wife.” Meaning taking the bad “chi” out of the body. I didn’t see where is the name “Nguyên Phong” in the book at all. The other day, I knew it. Nguyên Phong, right? Alright then, we don’t need to know who.
Photo Caption: A Bouquet of Love From Nature. Tku Dear!
