How many people? (Right now, we have ten, about ten.) Ten, OK. (Yes, Master.) You’re growing very slowly here. (Yes.) And then you ask me for bigger land. Last time you asked me for the land next door. I was going to buy it, but then, because you make a mess here, you did not clean up just for five acres. How can I buy you more, so you make more mess, more burden for you. That’s why I didn’t buy it. I was going to, but I canceled; you know now. I never told you this, but today I tell you. You grow so slowly. You don’t take care so much [of the] Center. But I appreciate you built it bigger and all that.
Next time you build something, you’d better ask them first. Even though it’s wooden and very temporary, we’d better abide by the law. If they don’t allow it, we just sit in a tent and let them feel sorry. Like, remember last time, when we didn’t have the hall just built, like there was a canvas and then you sat under the stars – 5,000-star hotel. It was a little bit cool, but it was really cool. It’s OK, but they say, “Alright,” then it’s alright. They understand. Nobody makes any more trouble? No, huh? It’s OK. Actually, there’s no trouble in this world. What for do they make trouble?
That’s it? You’re satisfied? Time to eat again? What time is eating time? (About five o’clock.) Huh? (Five.) Five. (Right now, it’s about 4:35 [PM], Master.) Yeah. Your solar plexus begins to activate, right? (No.) No, really? (Just had candy.) Just ate (vegan) cand. That’s to refresh yourselves, though. Staying too long, you have bad breath. I’m not in a very talkative mood because I talked to all the people outside for a long time privately about junk things. So if you don’t have any questions, then I don’t talk, alright?
(We feel so good from Master meditating with us.) I did meditate with you. OK, fine. Maybe we’ll do it again in the evening. Just sit and meditate. But I’m so scared. Whenever I walk in, I’m so scared. Everybody, like you’re supposed to be in samadhi, but ears, eyes open, “Bakk,” immediately and scare me because if you’re going to clap like this, everybody wakes up. So I have to come in like a thief. So, I will meditate with you again, if I’m here. If, maybe, because he’s cooking some (vegan) phở, and he tries to “seduce” me to stay. Maybe because of that.
Was the food OK? (Yes.) You had enough? (Yes.) Because some extra people came, you still have enough food? Anybody get hungry? (No.) Really? Anyhow, if you do, then diet, it’s OK. Costs no money. Because if you want to go on a diet, you pay a lot of money to the doctor. But if you want to go on a diet, don’t go to the (meditation) Center because the food here is good. Is it not good? (Yes.) Good? (Yes.) So you’re happy. I don’t blame you if you come here every week. I would also like to come every week if I stayed here. Because you do nothing, you just sit there, and you eat, and then you sleep. Very free. You’re already liberated anytime, and then you have friends you can talk to, talk about your problems. Once you talk about your problems with somebody, it’s almost gone. Then you’re clear.
But mostly you don’t have to talk about your problems if you understand each other well. You don’t need to ask people, except the ones that concern you. For example, if you have a problem with your wife, the only one you should talk to is your wife because it concerns both of you. You both know most about how you feel and why things happen between each other. It sometimes doesn’t help much to talk to the third person. You talk to your partner, the one concerned, or your son, or your mother, whatever, and then you meditate. After you talk it over, both understand each other, it’s clear. Because sometimes, if you talk to another person, you carry your own personal judgment with it. And, of course, you want to let the listener know that you are right. You want him or her to sanction your idea about this problem, and that’s not always very objective. And it sometimes adds more problems to you.
The best person to trust is yourself and whoever is concerned, the partner. If you can talk to him or her, do that. If not, it’s better not to spread it around. Because the person who listens to you doesn’t know anything about both of you. He just listens to one side, and sometimes is very judgmental, and makes your problem bigger. It doesn’t serve your purpose. You’re supposed to solve it, not to make it bigger, really. Most of the time, when you talk to other people, the problem becomes bigger. It’s most of the time like that, even though good intention. And most people don’t like to hear things when you’re unhappy. Most people are unsympathetic because they have their own problems. And when they hear you are happy, they also don’t like it because they are not happy themselves. Why should you be happy? And then there comes some jealousy, ill wishes sometimes, to your happiness and it dampens your spirit. So, we should try to keep it to ourselves, OK? It will be the best. Because it’s mostly not fair to talk about anybody behind his or her back, whether it’s true or not true.
Most of the negative things are not true. Even if you believe it was true at that time, after a while, you spoke about it and you think about it, you find out it’s not true. It’s not the real cause and it’s not the real opinion. And then if you already spoke to somebody else, saying bad things about somebody, then it will be difficult to take it back. You already blackened the person’s name, or blemished his reputation. And then we feel sorry and then we break the friendship. Also, sometimes very unnecessarily. It’s better to just keep it to ourselves. Because a lot of times we misunderstand. Really, we do. It’s the mind; it’s not us. It’s the mind that tricks us. You know why? Because sometimes we encountered that situation before and it happened like that, like that. And the next time we encounter the same situation but in a different background or with a different person. But because we have experienced a similar situation before, and we judge this situation, this person, exactly the same. So, it’s never correct; most of the time it’s not correct. And it’s an incorrect thing already, and we talk again to another person, make it double incorrect and very difficult to correct it later. It’s very difficult. The karma and the mind make us think sometimes not straight.
Do you talk a lot about problems here? Better not, better not. Because this is a public place, really. We don’t have the right to bring garbage, poison, and spread it around here. People come here for refuge. This is owned by everybody, and they come here to feel peaceful, to feel tranquil. So, it is not a place for talking about negative things. You want to solve a problem, you do it yourself. You’re at home, you’re all masters, you’re all Buddhas. There’s nothing you cannot do. And if you cannot, too bad. I have a lot of things I also cannot do. Then I don’t. If I can, then I talk about it. I do. If I cannot, I just forget it. You don’t always have to solve every problem in this world to feel good. You don’t have to always be the smartest person in this world to feel that you’re OK. We are not born to solve all the problems in this world, either personal or impersonal. It’s not our purpose. Our purpose here is to enjoy ourselves, to know who we are, to know what we want to be. We want to be a noble person, very loving, very tolerant, very wise. We want to prove that. We want to prove to ourselves that we are god. We can be God-like. We can be that super being. That’s our purpose. So, to know ourselves. Everything else is just by the way, by the way. And most of the trouble we cause for ourselves. A lot.
Want to talk? No. OK. Just scratch your head? Good? It’s soft. Eat. Again. Thank you. See you later? (Yes.) Or tomorrow. Have good translation? Where are you? (San Francisco.) Just arrived in San Francisco? I thought I remembered you were not from here. “Foreigner”, huh? You all enjoy? (Yes.) Even a short retreat you enjoy? (Yes.) Really, it’s good for you? Wow. Lucky people. Sometimes I envy you so much, so much, that I want to mask myself, have an initiation card here, and then go and sit behind there and just enjoy with you. But I bet you’ll find me in two seconds. So I don’t bother. I tried many times; it never worked. And I said afterwards, “But how did you recognize me?” So they said, “The way You walk; from behind we know already.” I don’t know what kind of “behind.” The way I walk? How? Like this? Nice?
You all look very happy. Are you really happy? (Yes.) See, if you keep to your purpose, if you know what you want, and you keep to your beautiful way of aspiration, then you always feel happy. Even if somebody else disturbs you, you still feel happy. Are you from Taiwan (Formosa)? (Local.) Are you locals? You look like people from Taiwan (Formosa). No. Have you been there? Good? Eat. Go eat.
What? …Your wife? (I married in June.) Congratulations. Better? (We’ve know each other for fifteen years.) Fifteen years? Why did you wait so long? (She was in Au Lac [Vietnam] for five years, and I cannot wait.) You see, and at the end, you have to wait anyhow. Just waste five years. Wow. Fifteen years and she waited for you? You're a “Bad” guy, that’s why. That’s why you have to suffer. You should’ve waited for her. What do you mean you cannot wait? (Well, actually, it was 60 years that we come back to democratic… And Au Lac [Vietnam] we don't think... we cannot go back to Âu Lạc [Vietnam].) You can sponsor. (Last time she must have… No, most people say no way to come back or take a sponsor.) I don’t believe him. Boys are bad. Don’t listen to him, OK? Never mind. Congratulations. (You know, I pay now...) You what? You pay back the karma? No, you mean she’s bad? (No, clean.) You did pay already, huh? Five years is enough? Or you want more? I can give you some more.
Yeah, sometimes we lose something, even a husband or wife or lover, and we think it’s bad, and we blame God or whatever, for taking away our spouse, and causing upheaval in our life. But actually, sometimes it’s good for us. Later we know is good. We just enjoy what comes; it would be best. It’s painful sometimes meanwhile, but then we should learn to start a new life. Because there’s always something new. If we made a mistake already, we should not make it again. We can choose again and make a new life. Don’t just stand there and be miserable. Don’t worry. Did you hear his example? If you can make it, make it.
If somebody leaves us, it’s OK. Maybe God doesn’t want us to be with that person. Sometimes, it’s very terrible. I don’t wish that to happen to anybody, even to myself. But if it happens, maybe it’ll be better later. Always the same, actually always, most of the time it’s like this. According to research, marriage research, they say if somebody left you, a married partner left you, then there’s always a chance that you will get another much, much better (person.) That’s according to research that I quote. That doesn’t mean that you go out to push that person out and then say, “Please leave me now, so I have a better person.” Just let it happen naturally. Then don’t feel sorry for long. And God will compensate. Maybe God thinks that person is not good enough for you, really. He or she has to go. And later you will find somebody more worthy for you, more deserving of your goodness, and your patience, and your humility, whatever. So have hope, if you want marriage, that’s OK.
Yeah, if somebody leaves you, it’s OK. You try to make up with each other if you can. If you still love that person, then always try your best, to talk with each other, to make it understood between each other, because maybe it’s a misunderstanding. If a person leaves you or if you leave a person, you have to make absolutely sure that you really don’t want each other. It’s not because of anger, because of temporary differences. Then you leave. But if you still love each other, try to work it out. Or if that person, if you know, if you feel that he or she still loves you, but because of misunderstanding you, with different opinions, and leaves you, then you must try to win her or him back, if you know that he or she still loves you. If there’s no love anymore, then it’s OK. Just let it be.
Yeah, ma’am? (You already answered my question.) Oh, I already did? Then just wait. You see? Patience. Voilà. So, I’ll see you around. OK? Go eat. Come here. Oh, my house?
Photo Caption: Expressing Neighborly Love Is The Thing!
