I think the government should give you a five-star award instead of making trouble. Because laws are only to punish people who do bad and who damage the environment. But whoever takes care, who really cares, and who makes it more beautiful, then we should reward them. Is that not so? (Yes.) Laws should not be rigid. Laws are for people, not people for the law. And we are very law-abiding citizens here and we make everything beautiful. So, even whatever government, they should consider, if they’re wise. That is just talking, don’t expect anything from the government. Alright? We don’t need [it]. We have survived thus far on our own. It’s OK.
And if you really make this place beautiful and nice, I don’t mind to buy the next land for you. I was going to, but then... I was going to, and there was a big land next door, very convenient. But then I see such a mess you’re making and you didn’t take good care. So, I feel just a small place like this and you can’t take care of; if [it were] bigger, how? And then I take care, or what? Normally [it’s] like that. So, I didn’t consider it. I cancelled it. So, you’re not helping yourself. You’re not helping me at all. You helped me by not doing anything, then I saved my money, for example, and saved trouble. I don’t have to think about whether you are doing something for the next land or not. I don’t have to be disturbed and burdened in my heart by whether you do it or not do it, because it’s not yours.
If I do something for you and you make a better thing out of it, of course I’m very pleased, and I would do more. If you don’t know what to do with the capital you have already, what for [would] I give you more? Suppose you have a son or a daughter, and you give him or her some capital money to invest, and if he makes more money out of it and he prospers, and next time he borrows more money, you’re willing to give him, because he’s good. He knows how to use money. Suppose he squandered it all, then the next time if he comes, you don’t even want to give him, or you just give a little without any pleasure. And that brings more bad luck to you, because you don’t have the father’s blessing; it’s not pleasing. See, so whatever you do here or anywhere, eventually the benefit will come to you. Whatever we do good to people, we think good about people, the benefit eventually is ours. That’s why I beg you to think positive, speak positive, and do positive things. Because that’s the only thing we should do, if you want any good out of this life to balance it, to make our life better than before.
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Remember that. If your mind is filthy, dirty, and you think everything is filthy, dirty, even sex becomes dirty to you. But it’s a gift from God. If it’s not good, God doesn’t make it. But it must go with love. If you love somebody, that is a kind of celebration of the love between you. If you want to celebrate that way, if you want to express that way, but don’t think anything dirty about it. Don’t try to abuse people just for the sense of pure control or possession, possessiveness, and then abuse the gift of sexual pleasure from God. If two people, they love each other or they marry each other, then nothing is your business. And if you are married to each other or love each other, nothing is anybody else’s business. You can make love to each other or don’t make love to each other. It’s your business. It’s your entire right and the way you try to express yourself, the way you choose to express yourself. We choose to express ourselves in many different ways.
If our mind is pure, everything is pure, as long as we don’t hurt anyone, as long as we have faith in God that everything God arranges is good for us, even though it doesn’t look good at the moment. For example, like, one of our brothers here, he became a Quan Yin practitioner. Like this afternoon I asked one of the brothers whether his wife came back. He said, “No,” she left him for good, but then he has another better one. Of course, he had to suffer a little meanwhile. Sometimes we think it’s bad for us, but it’s not. I told you, if God takes something away from us, God gives something. And we have to have enough mind power, wisdom, and the openness of the heart to appreciate when Hes gives us something new to experiment with, to have a new adventure, new challenge, new power of creation, creativity. Don’t just sit there and sulk and then, “Oh, my last one was better.” It might not be better. She might not even like you. Maybe you feel it’s better because of the past. Every time, everything we think about the past, we cheat ourselves. We think the past was good.
I tell you truthfully, living in the present is the best, because the present is all we have. Even if the past was beautiful, even if it was truly beautiful, even if your mind doesn’t cheat you into thinking the past was beautiful, like your past wife was better or your past lover was better, even then, it’s the past. We don’t have it. Right? Cleopatra is gone. So, you might just as well be satisfied with Mrs. X that you’re married to. No? (Yes.) So, most of the troubles in our life, we make ourselves. We imagine a lot of garbage because we have preconceived ideas about how the situation is and how it should be because of our past experience. And then we just fix our ideas on that and demand that things happen the way they were or the way we think they should be. And then we make our life miserable. If we just open to new challenges and receive God’s gift every moment, anything with new curiosity and new enthusiasm, and work together with whomever that is next to you to bring happiness to each other, then everyone is [an] angel. Every moment is paradise.
But we have too much garbage. And if you do have garbage, then check yourself up, throw it out. Don’t bring it to the (meditation) Center and share it with people. We like to share (vegan) food, love, enlightenment, but not garbage. Every time you bring any garbage to this Center, you’re doing yourself a great disservice, not to talk about all your brothers and sisters here. This is a place where you should come to feel love, Blessing, togetherness, everything that is positive, because you maybe do not have it at home already. You have enough quarrels at home, you have enough negative things at home, you have enough bad thoughts about people at home. You have a lot of suspicion at home. Then, when you come here, even if you have that, you pray to the Master, pray to God, the inner Power, to cleanse it for you. At least even to not bring that and share it with people. Do you bring your garbage and share it with your neighbor or whatever at home? (No.) No. If you share, you share (vegan) spring rolls, or hot rolls, vegan Phở (Vietnamese noodle soup). You don’t bring your garbage from your restroom and bring it to the neighbor and say, “Here it is. Please look at it.” Do you ever do that? (No.) No.
The same with mental garbage! Come here and gossip about who is bad, who is good is not good for you. Garbage should stay where it belongs. As fast as possible, you throw it away. Never share it with people. It’s no good. Why do you share? Most of the things we talk or we think about are not true anyhow, I tell you. Because you don’t know how karma works. You just see the surface of things. Like this guy treats this guy bad. But you don’t know last life he treated him worse, worse even. I told you so many thousands of stories to demonstrate, to teach you. But you must learn it. You must digest it and put it into practice. Don’t listen here and have it come out there. Don’t just sit here like an idiot. And don’t just think. Better yourself. Clean yourself before you clean anybody else. I tell you about my life. I don’t say I’m perfect or anything. But I face myself every day without shame. I have nothing that I cannot tell you; nothing I cannot tell you. OK? So, make your life like that. It’s more comfortable for yourself.
There’s no need to poke into a neighbor’s business and even share that garbage, negative, sometimes mostly untruthful information and dragging each other down too. What’s the use? Suppose really that person is bad, OK, you gossip; you talk to that man, you say, “Oh, he’s really bad.” And both of you agree he’s bad. So, what’s good for you? Does it make both of you better? (No.) You share the garbage that he has, even if he’s bad. Suppose the neighbor has a lot of garbage and both of you go to that garbage can and say, “Look here, this neighbor. These are full of garbage. Let’s both take and examine it.” What is it good for you? Then you take the neighbor’s garbage to your house and examine it. And that’s all there is. And you know that from the beginning already; you don’t even need to examine it – it’s garbage. And it belongs to the neighbor. You already know. You don’t even have to talk about it. You don’t have to discuss about it. It is so plain, simple that it’s garbage. So, leave it where it is. No? (Yes.) Is that clear to you? (Yes.) Why? Why? You know it’s a garbage can, it’s full of garbage. You still poke your nose in it, dig your hands in it, smell it, and smear it, “Oh, it’s really garbage, isn’t it?” Why? Isn’t that stupid? If any man does that, do you think he’s stupid? (Yes.) Yeah. But you do that all the time. Don’t laugh. Isn’t that true? (Yes.)
Sometimes, you dig also in my garbage. I told you I have a lot of garbage. I never cheated you. Did I? (No.) Did I ever tell you I don’t have garbage? I have. I have. Everything you have, I have. I collect it so that you’re clean. I collect it so that your “house” smells nice. Don’t criticize my garbage if I even have it. Don’t smell it. Let me take care of it. I take care of them in my time. I’ll dump them where they belong. I destroy them, so that you’re clean, beautiful, nice, hygienic, and healthy. Don’t criticize my garbage. So, this is a mistake many of you make. And OK, it’s OK with me. But there are many things that are not OK with you. For example, you smell like garbage, you look like garbage because you carry it around, and people know you are garbage. You collect it. It’s not your job. We have a lot of garbage collectors out there on the street. You pay them because they are doing their job. Don’t do their job. You have a better job to do. Be happy that somebody else collects the garbage for you. Why do you snatch it from them? And even examine it to see whether it’s really garbage or not. It is! You know already.
I have never cheated you. I told you I have a lot of (disciples’ and world’s) karma. That’s why I’m often sick. I’m often in trouble for nothing. I’m often in bad shape, bad reputation. Even the people I help turn against me. The things I do good, people use that against me, personally also. A lot of things, a lot of news people write bad things about me, which is 100% garbage, not true at all. You know! So, keep yourself clean and pure. Even if I’m “full of garbage,” it’s OK. It’s my problem. It’s my job. Don’t look. I’ve never cheated you and said, “I’m always OK.” I’m not OK! I’m a sacrificial “garbage can.” Anybody can dump anything into it, and I have to digest it and take care of it. It’s very painful sometimes. I don’t have to go through it, but I do. That’s OK with me because I don’t look at the garbage as garbage. I have the way to digest it and make it into fertilizer and turn it into beautiful flowers. But you don’t do that. You don’t have the means to. You’re not born to do it, so just stay away. And leave the garbage to me. Or leave the garbage of own neighbor or whoever that is.
Keep yourself clean and pure and that’s your primal duty. Your duty is not to be born to look into a neighbor’s garbage or into my garbage. Is that not so? (Yes.) You have enough to do with your own problems. And suppose you have done everything to make yourself pure and clean, then be happy. Be happy. Be happy that you are now not in war. Why criticize the people who die in the war zone? Be happy that you’re not there. Be happy that your hands and legs are still intact and you live in a peaceful country and you have enough money to live a decent life. Be happy. Don’t criticize the poor people who are uneducated or homeless and all that. Just be happy with what you have. And don’t criticize people who don’t have even that. But we never know. Most of the things we see are not truthful because it’s our mind that sees things, that makes things not clean, that makes things not pure, because we’re not pure, we’re not clean. And the beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Remember that. So, whenever you see somebody “impure,” check yourself. Whenever you see somebody “bad,” check yourself. Whenever you see somebody “dirty,” check yourself. And if you’re really clean and pure, then be happy. Be proud. And walk your beautiful way and pray for the one who is less fortunate or pray for me. Well, I don’t need it, but you can.
Photo Caption: The Promised Blooming Will Be Beautiful!
