In Chinese, people commonly make conversation by asking “What are you busy with?” They don't even ask if a person is actually busy or not. Even if you aren't doing anything at all, it sounds like you're busy that way. We're all busy. We fill up each day's schedule till it's brimming, and we're stressed. The only thing that isn't scheduled is the down-time—time for balance, for reflection. People with really stressful jobs, like bosses, business owners, stock market traders, researchers, among all the others, never have the time for tranquil reflection. That means no time to really correct our negative behaviours. It isn't for me to declare your “business” as valuable or wasteful: that's for you to decide.
In northern China, there's a common expression that goes like this: “It's never a waste of time to sharpen your axe before chopping the firewood” (磨刀不誤砍柴工). So many of us behave as though we'd decided “I don't have time to stop and sharpen my axe, I just want to grab it and go to work.” Of course, using an axe dulls it. When sharpened, that same axe will cut down a tree with only a few chops. It would take ten times more effort to do when the axe is dull. In the same way, preparing your physical and mental faculties is not a waste of time. So, make some for yourself: do some exercise, get some rest, relax, or travel. Of course, the best use of that time would be to meditate, and to learn some mental techniques that open things up... to explore. In fact, it's essential that we do that.
Most of us here will be familiar with this story from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. Among its historical characters, we count the brilliant Zhuge Liang. Despite the fame he later received, his time of greatest intelligence was actually before he emerged from seclusion. When his lord, Liu Bei, sought him out and requested his aide, Zhuge did not immediately accept, rather he stayed home and took note of the tide of events, taking the future into account. He had mastered these skills. People who don't know the real story often say that he stayed at home and employed divination methods. This is true, but they omit the most important asset at his disposal: his exceptional powers of analysis. So, before he departed in the service of his liege, he planned and reflected; he studied all of the events that were unfolding. That means that he further explored matters whose understanding he had already mastered. I believe that Zhuge's powers of analysis far surpassed his powers of divination. And by divination, I am referring to the powers of his divine vision... his supernatural ability to predict the future. These, he employed, but more crucial still was the way in which he observed the changes in the world around him. This is something that people can't do when they find themselves fighting on the battlefield. They are following a leader, one who may be struck down, beaten or killed at any time. But an individual who can master his powers of observation and analysis can also then master the unfolding of events. Still, even people who possess this kind of intelligence and wisdom are prone to making particular errors. Zhuge did. After the death of General Guanyu and Lord Luibei, Zhuge became a real lord and fought battles that needed not be fought. He used up every resource contained in the tiny kingdom of Shu, till there were neither weapons nor grain remaining. And he fought... we know now it was for wealth. It was in the Three Kingdom Period that Zhuge became a Commanding General. Gradually, he become numb to the changes around him. Had I been there, I would have advised him: “You need to come and seek tranquillity. You've already strayed so far from your original nature it may be irretrievable; it has been wholly taken over by the demonic, and all your actions are of war”. Your intentions may be good, but you are committing evil.
The naked truth is this: the more of that labour a person does, the weaker their powers of wisdom become, until they can no longer discern what it is that they should truly be doing—the most important task of all. If I were him, I would have said to myself, 'Create peace, and a million will not need to go to war. They can train the body and cultivate their inner natures. Then the nation will grown rich and the people will grow strong. We come from a humble region, digging gourds, selling potatoes, cabbage and straw hats... Yet now, my followers and I reign over the kingdom of Sichuan.' The thought of invading the kingdom of Luoyang is much like the thought of the snake who wants to swallow an elephant (biting off more than you can chew), yet it was done. But when ambition grows too great, it becomes greed. The Three Kingdoms Period was limited to two or three decades, and then those three kingdoms were gone. But it wasn't the Kingdom of Wei that destroyed the Kingdom of Shu (Sichuan), as most people believe—it was the man, the ruler of Sichuan, Zhuge.
I'm not laying any kind of blame on him here, just recounting some historical facts. It's not as though we can change any of it, or that any other average individual would have made better choices. How many people have a wisdom comparable to Zhuge's? However, this story does clearly emphasize that anyone can be defeated if they don't the time to calm and center... not reflecting before they act. From an objective point of view, it's possible to wonder that if Shu's destruction was already certain, then why throw yourself into the fray? If my business, my livelihood were easily come by, then I wouldn't need to band together with others. It would be the same for health and happiness. It goes without saying that people band together and then separate off and on when struggling for political power, be it for one's own sake or for the sake of later generations. After such collaboration the wealth, you've won doesn't belong to you. In fact, normally, the individual has lost wealth, while the collective has gained a little more. It's the state that wins the most. So if your business grows to a certain point, it's guaranteed that the state will try to consume as much of your income as possible. Once it goes on the stock market, it isn't really yours anymore either, and you can't just retire whenever you want, because the responsibilities are too great. The only money you have for yourself is what you've managed to ferret away... and in the end, your only possessions of significance are your mental and spiritual ones. In a final sense, our ability to be happy in life is determined not simply by our ability to accumulate money, but also by our ability to reject it. I see this very clearly.
At this point the master is presented with question cards filled out by the students, which he reads and then answers.
◆ What is it like once you've self-cultivated to the point of enlightenment?
I find this question fascinating. What would it be like if everyone in the room today reached the pinnacle of their self-cultivation?
We all have an objective that motivates our meditation practice. The most basic is to be healthier and happier in a general sense. A greater objective, might be the reduction of suffering and pain. So, if we imagine that everyone here today suddenly achieved enlightenment, they'd all experience great fortune and joy; they'd all have true wealth. Naturally it would be a wonderful event. Some people might fear such an enormous transformation—to suddenly be surrounded by enlightened beings, but there's no reason for such anxiety. It wouldn't be possible for them to use their fortune against others. They couldn't be Bin Ladens. I imagine that man has asked for forgiveness in private many times for what he's done. Who can say? But the fortune that comes from becoming enlightened through meditation arises from compassion, and a heart that's rich in love. There is nothing to fear there.
◆ Can you advise me about how to deal with my over-active, inattentive child?
I don't think you need to do much of anything. There would be something wrong with your child if he wasn't active. Think about what it would be like to have a motionless child. Isn't fretting about having an active child about creating worry for yourself? Why not channel that joyous energy into physical education activities, making good use of his natural ability. If he's active, he'll have lower chances of developing physical or nervous illnesses. It's wonderful! You've got three people in your family... you shouldn't live like embalmed mummies. Get out and be active!
If you feel that you need to 'fix' a child that is active, so that he is not, then you are the one who needs 'fixing.' Being active is good for kids and keeps them mentally quick too. For my part, I wasn't very active as a boy, and I certainly wasn't very bright!
◆Could the course costs be reduced or paid by installment?
I think so... but if you paid us by installment, we'd have to calculate the interest rates! Kidding!
If you want to study with us, and your financial situation really is extreme, then just let one of the supervisors know, and the costs can be reduced or done away with. It's actually one of my policies—not an unclear matter at all. So why have students pay? Especially given that we aren't a business.
It's simple, actually. I've spread my teachings to many countries internationally. In each one, I've done two tests, one in which I offer classes for free, and the other at cost. Thanks to those tests, I've learned that when the courses are offered for free, 99% of the students waste the opportunity. Some put their feet on the tables, others smoke while they're here, or drink alcohol before class, they lie to take days off, and are generally not particularly committed to their practice while they are here. They may get two days of real meditation from the whole 12-day class. Not surprisingly, they then complain that there was no effect. The dedication level is low. This isn't a religious institution, it's more like a gym. That's meditation is like a sport, and you need to be like athletes. To get the results you want, you have to train, and be diligent. Then, the results come. When people don't invest in the process financially, they often aren't invested mentally. They don't commit.
It's like women who have spent some money on their purse, they don't just throw it away for no reason. They may have spent $200 on it or up to $2000, but they cherish it because they've invested in it. It's human nature. Society shapes our values, and they are often tied to cost in our society. It doesn't really matter what we are talking about. Even Buddhist beliefs, people value their instruction less if they haven't invested in it. I do it too.
If I'm in a store and someone grabs an expensive brand name item and offers it to me for free, I won't want it. I'd think that there must be something wrong with it. Like maybe they are trying to win me over for some reason. It's the same thing as when an item that is $80 is suddenly reduced to $8, we automatically suspect that it's a mistake, or that maybe it's a fake. And we'll value it less.
In Beijing, there is a street where all they sell is fake brand name products. If you've ever worn anything from there, I doubt that you valued it. It loses its color, and you don't really care. Its gets thrown out quickly enough. Mind you, some of the fake stuff now is better made than the real thing. But they are still the first things to get thrown out. Cost gives us a sense of intrinsic value, and that's why it is necessary to have school fees. We even had very devout Buddhists making excuses, skipping classes. The results were negative. As soon as we added a price tag, people valued the instruction. Valuing the lessons brings you energetic and intellectual inspiration. The cost is tiny compared to what you are offered.
Nonetheless, I really hope that more and more people who are struggling financially will be able to make it here. As long as they have enough to eat, and a bit thrifty, they can tuck away some money for classes. Their results here can be much greater than a rich person's. Consider a monk, going out with his alms bowl begging. A man of great wealth who gives that monk a dollar, will he gain as much merit (positive karma) as the poor man who gives the same amount? Not at all. There is a great difference.
◆What are the key principles of Puti Meditation, and how can we use them to increase the effectiveness of our practice?
This question is a bit like the one encountered by Lao-tzu (Laozi) when he left the Yumenguan (Pass of the Jade Gate) frontier post in Xi'an. He was intercepted by the general there, who knew Lao-tzu was a great sage and so asked him, 'What is the Dao?' Do any of you remember the answer that Lao-tzu offered? It was this: 'No one specific way can be the true Way; any definition that can be given to it will be too limited to actually define it.'
What is the key principle of Puti Meditation? The core purpose of why we teach Puti can be summed up as follows: we want to benefit all humanity, so it can free itself of suffering and unnecessary obstacles... while experiencing greater joy. We do this using specific ancient meditation techniques and philosophies. The benefits will manifest along with an increased ability to be objective, increased powers of understanding, and increased compassion.
How can you increase the effectiveness of your meditation? It's sincerity—it can overcome great obstacles. For that reason sincerity is the greatest key to true self-cultivation. In Korea, there was a woman who was suffering from extreme rheumatoid arthritis. She was in pain, her whole body ached. She asked the instructor there how she should meditate for her condition. That instructor told her to kowtow (an elaborate bow that starts standing and ends prone on the floor) eight hours a day. Now, when I heard, I questioned whether or not she would accept the advice. But she did, and the benefits followed.
That's because it's a technique, a method that requires constant repetition. The more time and effort that we put into it, the more energy it creates. Her results were exceptional. Sincerity and resolve brought those results.
◆Dealing with anxiety
There are several causes for this condition—living through a shock, for example. When I was in mountain regions, I would often meet kids who had endured shocks. Several seemed to be vegetative, or possessed, or lost. Long-term continuous anxiety can definitely be the cause for children and adults alike. Anything that pains or upsets the heart. During an anxiety attack, the heart rate varies and increases—heart palpitations. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, it's a deficit of “innate qi” [Formerly transcribed as “ch'i”; also called “ki” in Japan] or 'natural life energy,' which is centered in the lower abdomen. It can diminish from having an operation―even a caesarian, or from a serious illness. It's like your power supply. Let’s say that you should be getting about 200 watts of energy, but instead you're only getting 100. That's reducing by half the power that's required to sustain you. If we were talking about a machine, its parts would be operating at half speed. Imagine a light, suddenly only giving half of what is needed to be properly lit. In the human body, it is the heart that reacts most strongly to changes of that nature, pumping less efficiently, and supplying insufficient blood to the brain. As a result, people feel listless and weak day after day; they're easily agitated or startled. What is needed in cases of deficient innate qi? Qi supplementation.
There are many ways of doing that, ranging from taking Traditional Chinese remedies to intensifying physical activity... exercise. It takes about six months for those to take effect. There is also the method that I practiced when I was younger, called Internal Bagua (Bagua Neigong). It's capacity to replenish innate qi is exceptional, and it's very simple to learn. An hour of practice daily will bring about the fastest results. With your qi-energy replenished, the illnesses of the heart are likely to disappear. Adding meditation to a physical exercise or a bagua regime would be even better. That's because meditation techniques require that the practitioner relaxes utterly, with the whole body and with the mind. It's hard to do when you haven't learned to do that it before, or haven't been in a relaxed environment. However, if you are in an environment in which everyone is that relaxed, it's naturally picked up. If you come to our meditation hall, you'll likely find it very easy, even though you are having trouble with it at home. After a short while of being really relaxed, you'll start forming a new habit of it... of being relaxed. That will transform the anxiousness in your nature.
◆How can we ensure reincarnation into human form.
This question is very interesting: 'If the world ended, and the earth was destroyed, how could we reincarnated as human, and continue on the path of realization?'
If the earth were destroyed, then you would become a deva, or spirit being. In the spiritual realm there are beings too. What is found on earth isn't all there is... and so you would become some other form of life.
◆What should I do if I find my evening meditation gives me too much energy, preventing sleep?
If your sleep patterns are very regular, it is actually quite common to find yourself too energetic to sleep after some meditation. It's natural. So how do you deal with it when it happens? My way is to continue meditating. If I can't sleep, I just keep meditating.
Sometimes, we get eight hours a night for three days, and then don't feel the need to sleep. It's like that. In my own experience as a meditator, there have been weeks in which I I slept very heavily, followed by a month of not needing to sleep. When I feel mentally refreshed, I dedicate myself to dharma study. When I felt worn out, I would do sitting meditation. At times, I felt neither hunger nor thirst for up to three months. Living in society, we can't really do that. So it is important to have a set time for meditation every day, and to extend that amount if you are retired. It is possible to meditate for eight to ten hours a day. If you work every day, then daily meditation will cause your health to return quickly and your energy levels to improve. The best in that situation would be for two hours of meditation a day. You will feel more alive after a while, and need less sleep. You'll need less food, but be fully energetic. (This condition occurs during bigu, or 'spontaneous fasting.')
We have several people here who have been studying for a while, let's see if anyone here has gone three days or more without needing food... Please raise your hand. For anyone here for the first time, take a good look at all the hands that are raised.
Let's have everyone in the front row who raised their hands stand up. [INDICATING A STUDENT] How many days did you go without needing food?
STUDENT 1 [S1]: Eight days.
MASTER JINBODHI [MJB]: What about water?
S1: I drank some.
MJB: A little water? Did you add anything? Any royal jelly, or other nutritive supplement?
S1: Nothing
MJB: How long did you study meditation before you experienced this?
S1: It was the very first Meditation and Fitness Retreat that I attended.
MJB: The very first? That's great. But were you really tired during that time?
S1: Right at the beginning, I felt a bit weaker, but then I adjusted.
MJB: After that adjustment, did you feel energetic despite not eating?
S1: I did—I didn't eat, but I did some sitting meditation.
MJB: Thank you for sharing!
MJB: Who else would like to share?
STUDENT 2: My name is Joe. I didn't eat for 21 days. I was attending a 7-day Program led by meditation instructor Guanhai, then I attended a 12-day Program in Canada. In total, I went 21 days without needing food.
MJB: What about water?
JOE: I drank water.
MJB: Plain water? Did you drink a lot?
JOE: Not really.
MJB: How much would you say?
JOE: About a bottle a day. And I lost about 30 pounds. About 2 pounds a day on some days. I lost it all in the first 15 days, and then lost nothing between the 16th and 21st days.
MJB: If you had continued to lose weight, I think you'd have disappeared!
JOE: Also, while I was in Canada, I also only slept for about three hours a night.
MJB: Was it because you didn't need to, or because there was something disrupting your sleep?
JOE: I just didn't need to.
MJB [jokingly]: Maybe you were just homesick?
JOE: Nope.
[Laughter]
MJB: This is one of the reactions to self-cultivation: you find yourself full of energy without needing to sleep.
OTHER STUDENT [S]: And she can help heal others after!
MJB: Yes, she can help others with healing abilities. Many of the people who have attended the advanced level classes are trained to provide healing therapies. Now, who else would like to share with the group?
STUDENT 3: My name's Faxue, and I participated in a Fitness and Meditation Retreat in September of last year. I started to experiencing bigu (spontaneous fasting) on the second day... and it continued for a total of 85 days. Then when I went to Canada for a class; it happened again. I drank water every day whenever I wanted, and I had a piece of fruit every day too. Like a peach or an apple. I felt great, though, for 85 days.
MJB: Excellent! I find that miraculous—85 days without food. I think most people would find that utterly unbelievable.
FAXUE: I'd also like to add that my blood pressure was between 95 and 140 before. After the bigu, it was stable at 78. 118 is as high as it ever goes, so my blood pressure has returned to the levels it was at 30 years ago.
MJB: You mean that the bigu lowered your blood pressure? Was that a positive for you?
Well that's a miracle. It's been a while since I've asked about students' experiences with bigu. Over 80 days! Did you lose any weight?
FAXUE: 30 pounds. My waistline went from 36 to 32.
MJB: [Joking] You must feel like the famous Chinese actress-beauty Zhang Ziyi! Would anyone else like to speak?
STUDENT 4: My name is Fazeng, and I'm really grateful for Puti Meditation. I can attest to the weight-loss potential, because I lost a lot. And that was after being really disappointed with the results of everything I was trying in the US. I tried exercise programs and weight-loss systems. But i didn't lose anything. Then I discovered the Meditation of Greater Illumination, and everything changed. I just couldn't believe it! So I went to Canada to take a class with the master. I didn't just lose weight! It was more than that. In the beginning, I was too weak to stand during the Meditation, and would sit through the whole thing. Master JinBodhi saw and came over to me. He crouched down next to me and performed a meditative therapy. Some of you might not believe this, but I felt powerful healing energy. Suddenly, I was able to stand up. Later, I felt bad—I got a fever and was sweating—I was sick to my stomach. I got worried. What was happening to me? The instructors told me that it was normal to go through a period of adjustment as the body found ways to detox. I didn't understand... I couldn't even eat! Suddenly, I was fine just drinking a little water and eating half an apple. I felt fine! I can't tell you how much I used to eat every day... It's embarrassing. The year of that Puti course, I lost 55 lbs. I'm really, really grateful that I can stand here today as I am now with my health returned to me; my energy levels too. I've started fresh, and I hope everyone here will be able to experience something like that. This practice of Puti Meditation really has brought me healthy and happy living. And I know that there are a lot of others who have experienced just what I have. For that reason, I feel that Master JinBodhi offers us, each one, a great deal of good fortune.
MJB: Lots of people eat a big meal and then stay in. They don't go out after, and they gain weight. A lot of us eat even more when we feel bad... or if we break up with a loved one. It can be binge eating then. People in those situations eat to hide the sense of emptiness inside. The more they eat, the more they gain; the more they gain, the less lovable they feel. So please, if any of you here are going through a rough spot in your love life, I beg you not to binge. Retain some self-control. That way, you'll still come out on top. Otherwise, you'll just be increasing your losses. I mean, an individual who has a healthy weight and who doesn't have any health issues certainly would start having them if they gained a bunch of weight. The heart alone would suddenly be working overtime, even when just taking a walk. Our friend here who told us she'd lost 55 lbs must have been in great discomfort before. The overall pressure on the body would just have been that much greater. The brain also doesn't get the nourishment it needs under those circumstances.
It is wonderful that you are all here to learn these self-cultivation techniques: they've been developed in very specific ways. They're easy to learn, and not overly physically demanding. They're healthful, yet also give access to a higher freedom. So, as you can imagine, it is important to come and experience it all for yourself. After all, we've just heard two stories, one about a woman that lost a lot of excess weight, and another about a student who experienced over 80 days of spontaneous fasting, but who would believe these stories, if they hadn't come and seen for themselves? So, unless you are incapacitated by your illness—living on an I.V. for example—you need to be here first hand. As for the phenomena experienced by the students who shared their stories with us, well, we don't meditate in order to experience them. The purpose of our practice isn't to stop eating... but these phenomena are naturally occurring, and naturally beneficial by-products of self-cultivation. For example, seven days of bigu are extremely cleansing, flushing out the accumulated toxins in the body. We pick up these toxins through our food and from the air itself. After all, how much chemical fertilizer goes into the making of our vegetables and other foods? Then there's everything that food carries regardless... things that the human body can't tolerate. Those too, are toxins. Though our practice results in detox, it doesn't necessarily have to occur with a bigu. It could come as a change in digestive process—accompanied by some initial stomach upset. The system flushes itself out, sloughing things like fats and oils. Even during urination. That's normally, because it's a mixture of toxins and fatty build-up. Cleansing of illness also occurs during the meditations themselves, via the breathing and the visualizations. Sometimes, the avenue by which the cleansing has occurred is unrecognized: it's quite miraculous. People go days without eating, and yet never feel tired. After about ten days, they're used to it, and don't even think about eating. In fact, they feel great! They feel that they can do things they were unable to even attempt before. The key seems to be their state of relaxation. It's exceptional. So if you go through a period of cleansing, such as a seven-day bigu, I'm certain that it will be one of the luckiest, most relaxed times of your life. A time of overcoming illness, emotional barriers, and pain. Lastly, there are the amazing abilities that people manifest when they have been doing Buddhist meditation. They are especially likely to manifest during bigu, particularly your powers of foreknowing.
So, everyone here studying should be aware that after about a month or two of solid meditation practice, your spiritual abilities will multiply several fold. Anyone here now who feels that they experienced such an increase after meditation practice, please raise your hands now. All right, I'm not going to ask everyone to tell their stories, but after class, you can seek out the people who raised their hands and ask them questions if you're curious.
Among the students here who have experienced the increases in spiritual abilities, most have also managed to avoid calamities. For example, in the vicinity of our Meditation Hall in Vancouver, there have been five or six serious car accidents involving students. Accidents in which the cars were complete write-offs, unusable and unrepairable. And yet, the students themselves were entirely unharmed. Auto-bodies destroyed; human bodies unharmed. This capacity to escape calamity in a broad way is an uncommon ability, and far surpasses simply have some foreknowing about one specific matter.
Everybody wants to live a blessed existence, to feel that the outcomes will be fortuitous for them even after a crisis or danger. Better yet, that the danger never appears at all. Let me explain how it works.
Whenever you can, even if you are in the office, and have a free moment, recite or read the Medicine Buddha's Heart Mantra—the one on the back of the cards. And remember the number: 1080 times. If you can get it in that many times in a day, then incredible things will happen. The foreknowing and the avoidance of calamity will manifest for you. I'm certain that this mantra will become a popular song in the US for that very reason. It's excellent, and I have experienced its power for myself. There are too many accounts of supernatural-seeming phenomena to recount. For many of you, it may be the first time that you've been to a seminar with us, so I won't go into anything that could seem too fantastical. Until you've experienced some of it yourselves, it would asking too much of you to believe the truth.
Meditation is very mysterious—miraculous—at its source. We don't just benefit from it with improved health, or with clearer perception, or stronger mastery of things in our lives. Even though these are all very important, nonetheless, it's the good fortune in face of calamity that is the most phenomenal result. Let's imagine that it were your fate to die next year; if not by illness, then by way of some accident. You should be seriously injured in the accident, but instead, you escape unharmed. But when the time comes, because of your meditation, you 'feel' that something bad will happen and so you instinctively avoid it. This is something that many, many meditators know about. It's a sixth sense that helps you avoid all kinds of accidents, like knowing not to walk under an air-conditioner that's about to fall of the side of a building... something that happens a lot in Asian countries.
In modern times, especially in North American, everyone drives... and there's a correlation between speed and accidents. The faster people drive, the more accidents there are. Luck seems to be a major factor all the same. Some people seem to have been saved through a divine intervention. Those who do get that sort of protection, tend to be people of great compassion; people who have performed great acts of kindness; people who recite mantras often, too. Including the one that was taught to you today. Some people think, 'I've been chanting this mantra for six months! Surely that's enough and I can stop.' Do you think that you've accumulated enough good fortune in your life? Probably not. If not, then keep chanting. I can help you with that if you want. There are CDs of my chanting... and it isn't chanting from a recording studio, but from being here, in seminar. Sometimes, I also play the chin (a traditional Chinese string instrument), and the sounds meld. If you open yourself up to the experience, and listen, the sounds will make you more and more relaxed; healthier and healthier. It's a unique state, and hard to explain in words. [Somewhat humorously:] Someday, we might be able to explain it through a 3-D movie full of special effects.
All this to say, that meditation practice allows you to encounter good fortune in the face of danger—to avoid calamity and trauma. This doesn't just apply to physical difficulties, but also to financial ones. You'll get that sixth sense feeling: when to sell your stocks; when to buy. [The audience laughs.] Why laugh? It's true. Do you think that everyone makes killing? You know what they say: 'Even the best laid plans...' If you are meant to hit it rich, then you will, no matter what. And if you aren't, you wouldn't be able to hold on to even millions of dollars if they were handed to you. It would all just slip away. This is a result of not having enough positive karma, also called merit. That's why the donation box we have is called the 'merit-making' or 'fortune-sowing' box. By your compassionate acts, by walking an enlightened path of self-cultivation, you accrue that merit, and therefore, better fortune. It's like planting seeds in a field. If your seeds are nutrient rich, then you will reap 10'000 for each one you plant. It's the same with money that is donated. This too is a way of avoiding calamity, finding wealth, and living-well. These all require a certain kind of support though. Can a building, be it one story or thirty, be built before a foundation has been prepared? Of course not. And the higher the building will be, the more solid the foundation required—one that will be able to endure and support what it will carry. Do you have a foundation suitable for great wealth and blessed living? If you don't, then you need to study. This perspective is not based on any religion, but rather on the principles of cause and effect, traditionally referred to as karma.
When I look at people, I use my 'third eye' to see their positive and negative karma. I consider their base of good fortune. People sometimes tell me, 'I'm seeking to increase my wealth, but haven't been able to.' After I've taken a look at them, I have to tell them that it won't be possible for them to accrue wealth, because they haven't built a foundation that would support it. They don't have a field of fortune ready to sow; they haven't performed the good deeds needed. One man told me, 'My uncle was a tycoon and did a lot of good for others.' And I had to explain that the good deeds of an uncle do not pass on to other family members. And even though you may have studied hard at school, that's not the kind of learning that you need for a foundation for wealth. It doesn't matter if you are totally illiterate, or the best in school, the learning needed is the learning of charity: how to give and sow a field of good fortune.
Siddhartha [the Buddha] once taught that there were six preliminary actions that bring about wealth and enlightenment. The first preliminary is charity. So learn to be charitable and cultivate compassion: to care and help for those that are weaker and less-capable than yourself. We can learn to allow charity, compassion, and love to govern the development of our powers of reason. The second preliminary is observance of the precepts, whose basis is to avoid ill deeds—promote beneficial, or 'correct' behavior, while avoiding the harmful. It's like not being lazy—being eager to get to your homework every day. Saying to yourself: 'I'm determined to meditate for two hours today, and to not stop after 30 minutes. If I do, then I will penalize myself. Then tomorrow, I will meditate for six hours.' You need to increase your 'interest levels' in what you need to accomplish. Do it for your present; do it for your future. Today, meditate even more devotedly, and tomorrow, you'll enjoy better health and happiness. The six preliminary actions are 'be charitable, follow the precepts, be patient with others, be persistent in your practice, do sitting meditation, and cultivate wisdom.' They are the six pillars that will support your future success.
As for the Medicine Buddha's Heart Sutra that we are learning, it's benefit lies in its capacity to position us—position us so that we can bring mental-spiritual enlightenment, compassionate wisdom, to the world at large. Every human being needs food, shelter from the cold, the ability to support themselves and to find companionship. After all, we all hope for family and joy, because we're looking for happiness. It's wonderful.
At its most simplified and most basic, what I am saying is that the methods that we teach you here help you build the foundation we've been talking about—the one that allows for wealth and good fortune. It's not hard to do. I'm just worried that you won't do it. As soon as you start, then it begins, and your harvest will be great. In this hall, there are students of every disposition: some with the attitude, 'I don't believe in religion, or in superstitions.' And yet there is an ignorance of the inner heart! It requires the guidance of a good and true master. Such guidance is of benefit to the students' families, our lives as a whole, our children and to future generations. Some here claim that they don't care at all about this current lifetime. Well, let me explain something that will make you care a whole lot more than you ever thought you could: it's like in the novels of Jin Yong, the world's most successful modern Chinese-language author. There's always an invincible hero, but that doesn't matter... there are battles he can't win...for example, a son's illness that defies all treatment. No matter how much money you earn, sudden death is always a possibility, and all your wealth will be left with nowhere to go.
So, for the sake of your merit, your wealth, your future, and your fore-bearers... and a great many other things, not necessarily ones we even worry about normally, we must accumulate the necessary merit. It's vitally important. And how is it accumulated? The six ways I've mentioned here.
I'm a self-cultivator. At the same time, I'm a researcher. During my self-cultivation, which I have pursued profoundly, I have experienced certain truths. And even though there are so many of us here today, it doesn't mean that core perceptions will be changed: the impact isn't guaranteed. Nonetheless, I will share with you how to understand and master yourselves.
So, if you want to find wealth, then study charity. There are people who are true teachers—masters you can trust who will share with you the ways of correct living. They serve as role models. So start learning...this too is a manifestation of your sown fortune. The very fact that there are so many of you here with access to these words is evidence of the fortune you have already sown. If you have been able to truly recognize the significance of these matters, and are able to properly carry out what has been proposed, then you are on the unshakable path to wealth and good fortune.
|
