Even myself, I never tell anyone to bow to me, right? Number one, because I am afraid that my ego would rise so big as an elephant(-person). Then it will trample on all of my virtues. […] Number two, if people bow to us like that, that means we look down at the people. Everyone is a Buddha. If we are a spiritual leader, we have to lead [people] the right way. Now, if I lead them to be lower than us, then when can they be elevated? […] It’s not only when they become Buddha that they will be a Buddha. It’s just that they haven’t yet realized that Buddha Nature, so they don’t know that they are Buddhas. […]
If people slander us, we gain merits; therefore, don’t be afraid if people scold you. But if they scold us too much, we worry that they will poison the innocent people outside, that’s all. Otherwise, truly for the one who is being scolded, it is very beneficial. The one who is being praised would be scared. Sometimes, I just praise you a little bit, tomorrow, you will do it wrongly. […] And even the disciples who practice for a long time still fail. Praising once is enough to be in trouble, because the ego is inflated immediately. […]
Ah, what I mean is that there are many people who follow me, believe in me very much, but are not disciples. Not true disciples, because they don’t want to practice spiritually, because it is too hard. They believe in me, so that I can help them, [it’s] just for themselves. But if a person follows me to study, to become a disciple, then his or her five generations will be liberated, too. […] When you practice, the society in which you live will benefit, too. The people around you, your friends, everyone will benefit. Your five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, hundred generations will be liberated, if their [karma] is light. […] And there are people who believe in me, believe in the Method, not believing in me. They believe that I have a good Method, they believe like that, then they also [will be liberated] due to the merit from having faith in my teachings. My teachings are not mine, but the teachings of God and Buddha since time immemorial. […]
