(Dear Master, I’ve been fortunate to meet You a few times already. I received initiation about three years ago, but I’ve been able to see You a few times. So I consider myself very blessed already. Still, every time I meet You, the joy is indescribable. That’s why I now understand why all fellow initiates long to see You, even though we know Your manifestation body is always with us, and I can feel that. Though I can’t see Master’s manifestation, during meditation I sometimes suddenly understand an issue I’ve been struggling with. I feel like I’m a young student talking with Master, and I feel so joyful sharing what I’ve realized. Then Master comforts me or corrects me, saying, “It should be like this, like that.” It all feels very real in the invisible realm. But whenever I meet You in person physically, I am equally happy and joyful. It feels like I’ve met the most beloved person in my life. I don’t know why, but even my own parents, I don’t think or remember them as much as I think of Master.) Don’t say that too loudly. (I have to admit that.) They can hear you, you know. (Yes.) That’s because when we practice the Quan Yin Method, we become One.
(When I first started practicing, I read about Shakyamuni Buddha and greatly admired Him. Many times I wished I had the merit to be born during His lifetime. Then I thought, maybe I had been born at that time, but I did not follow The Buddha’s Path, so now, thousands of years later, I’ve reincarnated, maybe so. But now I feel that I’m speechless and very fortunate to have You as my Master. I used to wish and search for a great enlightened Master like Bodhidharma. The closest one I admired was a Master in India, Master. After reading one of his books, I admired him greatly. I even wished I could go to India to meet him, but he had passed away. Even if I wanted to go search for an Enlightened Master, I wouldn’t have had the means or the patience to pursue it. But unexpectedly, I was so incredibly lucky, just one of Your free books, that I bought for 10 cents, led me to You.) It’s a free book, it shouldn’t cost anything.
(I don’t know why, Master. But it’s true what You said, that when the student is ready, the Master appears. At that book fair, I was just browsing the sale section. Before that, I had heard about Master, but because I read books on meditation, I knew enlightened Masters aren’t easy to understand. My wife had a friend who used to follow You, but then left the path. I asked her, “What was the practice like?” She said: “Just sit and meditate.” But ever since I first heard about You, I couldn’t stop thinking about You. I kept wanting to learn more. At the book fair, I just happened to come across one of Your books being sold for 10 cents.) Who sold it? (It was at that charity book sale. They were raising funds for something.) Oh, some people take our free books and then sell them. (To this day, I don’t know how that book ended up there.) Maybe someone gave it to someone else, who didn’t read it, or read it but didn’t understand it, so they sold it. (Yes, but I was lucky.) That book was waiting for you.
(I didn’t want to put it down after picking it up. I read it all in one go. And I was already vegetarian by then. I was so happy I told my wife, “This is the One I’ve been searching for!” I called the number listed and asked for the meditation Center. I went and asked to learn the Method. Once I started, the Method. I began to hear the [inner Heavenly] Sound, though I didn’t fully understand it at the time. But it is also thanks to that [master] that I can understand what Master said in the Sample Booklet about the [inner Heavenly] Light and the [inner Heavenly] Sound. That person probably also practiced the Quan Yin Method, because he spoke about the topics of [inner Heavenly] Light and [inner Heavenly] Sound, so I had a vague understanding of that subject.
Since I started practicing each morning when I wake up, answers come flooding in to the questions I had the day before like a light bulb switching on brightly. That made me so happy. I thought, “How come everything is becoming so clear now?” I love reading spiritual books, but before, I didn’t understand anything. Then suddenly, I understood everything clearly. Sometimes I saw the inner [Heavenly] Light, though not for long, so I hurried to receive the initiation. I couldn’t wait, so I flew from Canada to Greece to meet Master while You were traveling in Europe. I received the initiation there. Even now, I sometimes feel disappointed in my own progress. Because as You said, the [inner Heavenly] Sound indicates our spiritual level. But the Sound I hear feels so low. I must be in the lowest group. After a long while, why hasn’t it improved? Yesterday, I heard another brother say the same thing. He meditates three hours a day but still feels disappointed with his progress. I think it’s due to the intellect, Master. That’s what gets in the way.) Yes.
(Because my head is filled with too much knowledge.) Too much. (Now I have to slowly erase all of it. So I believe that will help. Also, Master’s words always lighten my heart, like when You said to just let go.) Yes. (Therefore, I don’t worry anymore. Whatever level I’m at, it’s fine.) Whatever. (Yes, whatever it is, it is.) Just do your best. That’s all we can do. (Yes.) That’s your destiny. (Sometimes I try to monitor my thoughts and feel very ashamed of myself. I feel like You always know my every thought and action. I feel deeply ashamed whenever I do something wrong. But I know, sometimes our old habits are just too strong.) Right, right. (They take over automatically.) Yeah.
(Sometimes, after meditation, I feel so full of love, I could love anyone. But then, I go out driving, someone cuts me off, and I get angry again just like before. The same old habits. I feel disappointed in myself. It’s like I passed the theoretical test, but failed in practice.) That’s OK. Take the test again. (Yes.) Similar to when we attend school. (Yes.) Once in a while, we have small tests, small quizzes. (Yes.) Then, at the end of the year, comes the real exam. These little quizzes help prep for the final exam. (Yes.) So, by the time the real test comes, you’ll be mentally ready. (Yes.) It’s OK. We’re human. There are many challenges. But these challenges are only illusions. (Yes.) Our reactions are illusions also. So forgive yourself, move on, and do better next time. It’s no big deal. Everything is an illusion, there’s nothing real here. (Yes.) Truly, no one is sinful or bad. (Yes.) It’s all in the mind. Our soul remains unaware of such matters. (Yes.) The soul is never stained, never bad, never sinful. It’s all illusion. Nothing is real at all. For example...
(Yes, Master…) Go ahead. (Dear Master, sometimes I see life as nothing more than a play, and I can’t help but laugh to myself.) That’s right. (But I don’t dare let anyone see me. I’m worried they’ll think I’m crazy.) Ah, that’s enlightenment. When we wake up, after meditation or during meditation, we suddenly realize something clearly, that’s the fruit of meditation. (Yes.) We don’t always have to measure our progress by seeing inner (Heavenly) Light or inner (Heavenly) Sound. We’re not doing business here. We don’t need to track profit, loss, capital – any of that. It’s too exhausting, right? (Yes.) This isn’t politics. Promoting and advancing all the time – too exhausting. Forget all that. (Yes, it’s all in the calculating mind.) Right – throw it all out. (Yes.) Forget it all. (Yes.) Anything is fine.
(Dear Master, now I don’t fear anything anymore. I also no longer fear reincarnation.) Don’t fear. (Yes.) If you want to go, then go for fun. (Yes, just let it be. I just live by following my intuition, Dear Master. Somehow thus far, I find it harder to make mistakes or do something wrong.) That’s right. (Because if I do something wrong, I immediately feel uncomfortable inside, and can’t go through with it.) Yes. (Sometimes I get lazy or I procrastinate. For example, if I want to do something but do not take action at that moment, then later I regret it.) Yes. (In retrospect, I should have taken action on that matter.) That’s intuition. (Yes, yes.) That’s how spiritual practitioners are – always clear-headed. (Yes.) Always are clear and aware. It’s just that sometimes our mind gets lazy and deceives us. (Yes.) If we do not have clarity, then we will not have the awareness that we have done something wrong. (Yes.) In this whole world, many people are not aware they have been doing wrong. (Yes.) But we know right away at the slightest wrong doing. A white shirt will show even a single drop of ink. But people with black shirts, you could dump a whole bottle of black ink, it wouldn’t make a difference.
So the important thing here isn’t that we never do wrong, but that we recognize it right away because our conscience has awakened. (Yes.) Our wisdom is open. (Yes.) So when we mess up, we know and we repent. Later, when we encounter a similar situation, we will not repeat the same mistake, that’s it. At least, we observe ourselves, our mind, speech, and body, right? (Yes.) In the past, as we thought, our mouth spoke it, and we acted on it. Now, we can at least observe two things. We may think bad thoughts, but we don’t speak ill or do bad deeds. (Yes.) We immediately check our thought and stop it from escalating. (Yes.) When a bad thought comes up, we stop it right away. We tell ourselves, “No, this isn’t what I want. This is not what I want to do, it’s just a bad thought.” (Yes.) Then there’s no harm done.
(There’s one more thing, Master. Ever since I began following You, many of my prejudices have gradually collapsed.) Collapsed completely. (First of all, I used to look down on women, Master. I’m telling the truth.) You’re not the only one. All men in the world look down on women. But now you’ve seen the truth, huh? (Yes.) Now you see it differently, right? (Yes.) When you look closely, women are not inferior at all, right? (Yes. Second, I used to think spiritual seekers had to fit a certain image or behave a certain way.) Ah, I understand. (But now I see that regardless of education or environment, anyone can have the merit to practice and follow the True Path.) You see? Spiritual practice is easy, nothing complicated. (Yes. I wonder, could it be due to affinity, or it’s time for the soul to return, Master?) Yes, of course. (Yes.) If the True Path were meant only for people who shave their heads and go barefoot, we’d all be doomed. (Yes, yes.) These days, if you shaved your head and walked barefoot, you’d be thrown out on the street, with no job, nothing to wear. You’d have no choice but to retreat to the Himalayas and live alone. (Yes, I’ve realized that now.) Ah, you see it now? Good. That is true realization.
(All those big spiritual terms like “liberation” and “Buddha” – I feel like they don’t mean much anymore, Master. If everyone is a Buddha, what’s the big deal?) I know, I know. (Yes.) But others don’t know this. (Yes.) People who don’t know, still worship those terminologies. (Yes.) And they also worship anyone who uses them. (Yes.) It’s because you’re enlightened that you see how simple it is. But if you go out and talk to your friends from before, who are not enlightened… (It’s exhausting, Master.) So exhausting, you don’t even want to talk to them, right? (Yes.) Not that you look down on them, but there’s nothing you can say. (Yes.) Too exhausting to explain to them. (Yes. Once, some followers of Jehovah’s Witnesses came to my house. They love to share scriptures. One time I let them in – they seemed sincere.) I understand. (Also, I thought maybe I could share Your teachings. But after a bit, the conversation just didn’t go anywhere. I felt like I wasted my time.) Yeah, better not talk, or you may get into an argument. (Yes.) We’re not trying to argue, but they’ll start arguing. (Yes.) If it doesn’t work, just leave it. (Yes.) No need to offend people. Their understanding and knowledge are different from ours.
Photo Caption: Nature – Beauty Reminds All of Heavens’ True Scenery
