It’s not that I force you to adore the outside appearance. My photos, even though they are pictures, I am in them. Because I am still alive, understand? I am still alive. Anything related to me has my energy in it. It is a part of me. That’s why it has me inside. Therefore, sometimes you see me walking out from my picture. That’s why. I am everywhere, so why not inside my picture, understand?
All the teachings that I have taught you are to pull you up. That’s what it means by 84,000 methods of teaching. Some people need this, and some need that, others need pampering; and some need to be scolded to make progress. Some need to be treated a little bit cold to be elevated. Some people need to be treated warmly, for example like that. Some people need a lot of “medicine” inside. Others need to be led slowly. Outside and inside have to be connected; then the person can progress.
It’s not that I force you to adore the outside appearance. My photos, even though they are pictures, I am in them. Because I am still alive, understand? I am still alive. Anything related to me has my energy in it. It is a part of me. That’s why it has me inside. Therefore, sometimes you see me walking out from my picture. That’s why. I am everywhere, so why not inside my picture, understand? It doesn’t mean I am just sitting in the picture, but I am also in there as well. That’s what it means. It is not that I am not in there. If I am not inside the pictures, then I am not “omnipresent,” am I? I am everywhere, so I am inside the pictures too. That’s correct, because I am still alive. If you go up to high level realms, you will also see me. If you go to hell, you will also see me. Let alone inside a beautiful and clean picture, why should I not sit there to “have fun?”
That’s why, sometimes, when you wear my picture, you have miraculous experiences. Or when you eat something that I gave to you, or the clothes that I have worn, or touched, or sit on before, it has my love, my energy in it. I am everywhere. Especially if my physical body was in contact with it, then of course it has my energy in it even more. Whatever you think of, that relates to me, it belongs to me, understand? If you say that I am omnipresent then I exist everywhere in the whole universe. Let alone a special place reserved for me. For example, my picture is where I dwell, how can I not be in there? It is even more special, understand? Therefore sometimes, you heard that someone said that I came to their home and sat on the chair. Even if there is no special place in your house reserved for me, I still come, much less my chair, why wouldn’t I sit on it?
That’s why the outside people sometimes don’t know. They say that wearing my picture is worshipping the statue. But it is not. Because I am still alive, then the whole universe belongs to me, including my pictures. So you can wear them. I say “Okay, I promised already!” It is guaranteed, understand? We didn’t meet Jesus. He might have gone to other realms already. It is possible that Jesus Christ is also inside the cross. But we have not met Him, we have had no personal contact with Him, so our faith is not strong. We cannot force a mundane person to believe anything that he doesn’t see, because the mind is like that. Whatever we can see, know, grab, then we know it exists. Because this is the world of existence, a physical world, so it is very hard to make us do or imagine abstract things. So we need something physical so that we can lean on to it, to go towards the spiritual side. Therefore, wearing a living Master’s picture, you have stronger faith than wearing a picture of some deceased person whom you didn’t know his or her face. You don’t know whether that was his true face, or whether he agreed to be inside the picture that you are wearing or not. So you don’t have faith.
And if you don’t have faith then it is hard to connect. That’s all. Because both have to think of each other, then they can be connected, understand? Because if one person thinks this way, the other person thinks that way, then it does not work. For example, if Buddha and Jesus think about you, but you don’t know whether They exist or not, then it is like hanging in the air and not connected, so it does not work. But I am still here, many people have had a lot of miraculous experiences, they already know, they believe already. They see my face, hear my voice everyday, so it is so obvious, then both of us are thinking of each other. I always think about you, and you always think about me. Both are connected into one. One plus one is two, and then there is more connection. Then it is assured. So there is a difference between wearing my picture and wearing other pictures, understand? (Yes, we do.) Other pictures that we didn’t see, or we don’t know that person. But the picture whom we have met and known has more value. It gives us stronger faith. That’s all. But it is strange!
(It is very miraculous, Master!) Very miraculous? (Yes. One time, in my dream, I saw a person who always disturbed me.) Who disturbed you? (The ghost disturbed me. Then I put Master’s picture on my forehead like this. And I saw Master strike them with Heavenly flashes of light. Then after a while, I saw a woman coming out, and Master chased her away. I am grateful to You.)
There must be something miraculous. That’s why people wear them. Otherwise, who would be so stupid as to wear it all the time? And everyone wears it. Perhaps one person is stupid, but not the whole group. And being stupid day after day. How can it be? So it has to have something.
(Dear Master, last year when I just got initiated, I wore Master’s picture and I didn’t dare to walk, because I kept falling down. My head was whirling, like I was taking some drug that made me whirling for a few days.) Feeling intoxicated. (I was whirling all the time, so I lied down. I would fall down if I stood up. I had to bear that for a few days. Then it was gone. Thank You, Master. Because the blessing power pulled you upwards.)
(And there is one more thing, Master. A few days before my husband went to get initiation. Our six-month old child was crying all the time. Then at night my husband left home. Our child suddenly stopped crying. Those days, our child made us very worried. If he left, the baby would cause me a lot of trouble, because our child cried all the time until two, three o’clock in the morning. I didn’t know the reason. Then on the day that he left, suddenly the baby was quiet at night, not crying anymore.) Then it’s good. (I think it was because of Your help. Thank You, Master.) No. Because when he went to get initiation, the ghosts ran away, so the baby felt safe and slept peacefully. That’s all. (No. The days before his initiation, the baby was crying a lot, but the night he left, the baby stopped crying.) That’s the reason. The baby knew that it was safe now. The ghosts didn’t stand around to oppress her anymore. (Thank You, Master.)
(Dear Master, regarding spiritual practice in the past seven months I have been subjected to many tests. In those testing times, I realized I had remembered many of the teachings, words, and applied those teachings while I was being tested. One time, I told my family that, “If you help me practice then we become closer; if you obstruct my practice then you’re pushing me away.” After I said that, my family was very quiet for a whole week, nothing happened. One day I mentioned to my mother-in-law accidently, “Spiritual practice without any test is so boring!” The next day something happened immediately, Master. But then there was one time Master also tested me. I told brother Ngọc I had written a sentence, “Above me is Master, under Master is me. Beside me are fellow initiates, and under me are the rest of the world.”) Wow! You are so proud! (Then brother Ngọc said, “No, if you write it like that, the people will say you are arrogant, and this and that.” I said, “Let them, even my wife and children mean nothing to me, let alone those people.” Then the next day something happened. My wife picked a fight with me and I didn’t know what the fight was about. She said, “Now, it’s your Master or your family, you choose one.” I said, “Master is Master and family is family. Not to be mixed up.” I said that, but in my mind, Master is above all. Then another time I told one of my children that I respected Master more than my parents. I was very certain like that. Thank You, Master!)
Those who practice diligently, who completely trust in God and Buddha then their life is less troublesome and their illnesses are also reduced. Even if they are ill they don’t mind, they feel that it is not important, right? It’s not that they are looking for illness. We spiritual practitioners are naturally lighter, not that we want to be sick. Unfortunately, if we are ill then we accept it; we do not take it so seriously. Is that true? If you don’t hold the key to spirituality, even if you have a healthy body there is not much benefit. There are many people who are physically strong. They appear very healthy with rosy cheeks, are beautiful and young but their spirituality is very low. They cannot understand what you say. They don’t inquire on matters of spirituality at all. It does not interest them. It is funny, right? Many people seem to be beautiful but have no charm when they open their mouth, right? They talk roughly or nonsense. But spiritual practitioners are beautiful in an indescribable way, they are so charismatic.
A moment ago, what that woman said made me feel happy. At least I have influenced many people. Their spiritual pratice improved. It means they have progressed, understand? In the past they changed from non-veg to vegan, for example. Before you could teach them whatever, but now it’s just one straight path that is being vegan, for example. Many sects have changed. A lot of people say that. I don’t know much and I don’t read the newspapers.
But they said, “Since Master came to Taiwan (Formosa), the writers started writing better, a little similar...” They said, “A bit similar to Master.” In the past, many temples did not remind people to eat vegetarian food if they want to take the three refuges.
Now they publish this in the newspaper clearly: “To take the three refuges you must be vegan for several days a month.” Correct? That wasn’t the case before. When I took the three refuges, no one mentioned about eating vegan, let alone publishing it in the newspapers. I was a vegan then, but the other people were not vegan, and no one mentioned about it.
But when I said by practicing this method you can be liberated in this lifetime; then they were surprised? Just taking the three refuges and you’re liberated from the three miserable paths. Meaning not condemned to hell or becoming demon or an animal and will be reborn a fortunate person. Whereas practicing this method, you must be vegan and must meditate for two and a half hours a day and attend group meditation and keep the precepts. Then you will be liberated in this lifetime, and they don’t believe it. Strange, right?
So let me tell you: although people are the same inside, their levels of knowing themselves are different. Hence, many people are very ignorant spiritually. So they don’t believe in karma, or they don’t believe in the next life, and they don’t believe in reincarnation. Although their appearance is like a human, their spiritual level is still at the ABC level. Hence not everyone can be taught.
For example, even though you and I are the same, our level of renunciation is different and the degree of courage is different. When I searched for the Tao in the past, I could forsake everything, including my life. For example, if a Buddha appeared and said: “If you die now, I’ll make you a Buddha immediately,” I’d do it immediately. I was up to that level. Therefore it was quick. Maybe I’ve been practicing for a long time, in innumerable lifetimes, so I have such thoughts, such actions so my spiritual level is naturally like that, understand? Then there are others, oh God! Even if you beg, they will not think of Tao.
(Dear Master, today I’d like to share some small results I have achieved after receiving initiation and practicing the Quan Yin Method.) Yes. (Master taught us that while working in this world our employer pays us. When we work for Buddha and Bodhisattvas then of course Buddha and Bodhisattvas will also pay us. Because of those words I can see that I have achieved really good results. I would like to tell You of the first result. I am newly initiated and I wish for all initiates old and new to study Master’s teachings a lot more as I have had wonderful experiences because of those teachings. One day, I received the book “Immediate Enlightenment.” The whole Volume One had been translated from Chinese into Aulacese [Vietnamese]. On that day I received the book to help check for spelling mistakes. After checking for a while, I fell asleep. During my sleep all the sounds that I heard daily from sound meditation came and surrounded me. It made me feel very comfortable. It felt like we went into an air-conditioned room after being out in the hot sun. And at that time in my consciousness I thought “Wait, I am correcting spelling mistakes, how come I can hear these Sounds?” Then, I woke up. At first, I thought I had nodded off to sleep but I knew I hadn’t. Perhaps during my work, I became totally focused, so it might be an experience of going into Samadhi.) Yes, yes. Yes.
(The second time was when I received the book “Questions and Answers,” handwritten by fellow initiates to type it up on the computer. Before typing I often would fix spelling mistakes. So I was fixing the mistakes... Two years ago, I listened to a Zen Master’s lecture and he told stories of how great Masters in the past treated their disciples. I won’t tell them here because they are too long. I tried to understand “Why didn’t the great Master teach their disciples by words but only by action?” I did not understand. Then I forgot about this story and I didn’t think about it. And that day when I read a part of Master’s teachings in the “Questions and Answers” book I suddenly understood that. I don’t know why. I was very happy, I said “Wow, I didn’t think about it but now all of a sudden I understand it. In the past I didn’t understand but now I do.” And also that night I had a dream that I was walking on a road that looked like a boarding path into an airplane. When I passed through it I went into a very bright room and I saw Master walking in from outside. Master was very, very young and very bright. Surrounding Master was white Light that sparkled as if it had glitter. And the people around Master also had it. They were surrounded by a layer like glitter that had a light-blue color. At that time, I said “Everyone here has such beautiful Light!” Then I looked down and I saw myself also having Light but a different color.) What color? (Orange-red, Master.) Wow! How beautiful! (But it was kind of glittering. Then I remembered what Master taught, “We are Infinite Light, we are Light.” Although my inner vision was very small and at a low level, I believe that …) Small, really? (Yes. I believe that I am truly Infinite Light. If we follow the Inner Sound of Quan Yin Method. If we keep the precepts clearly and follow Master’s teaching, the day that we realize our Infinite Light will not be far. I believe that day will come.
Also, I want to say that we should read Master’s books thoroughly and contemplate deeply. Because just reading it once we will never understand the whole meaning. By reading it again we will somehow understand it in a different way. And it’s the same with watching Master’s video tapes. This was also a spiritual experience during group meditation. I had a question before that kept me thinking about it. One night I was meditating and I prayed to Master for an answer. However, I didn’t get an answer. The day after, I went to group meditation, but that day my husband went to work so I came late. When I arrived at group meditation, a brother who interpreted for the Ashram at Long Beach was interpreting Master’s lecture, and it was so amazing that as I entered the center, that final part answered all my questions. I don’t know how else to express my gratitude because there are no words that I can use to thank Master enough. But I would like to say that with my absolute sincerity that I will always try to practice so I can requite Master’s kindness. Thank You, Master!)
