the METHOD OF IMPROVING OUR PRACTICE
Hsihu Center, Formosa April12, 1992.
Thereare some things I want to share with you, but these things I havetold you a lot of times. Some of you seem not to have understoodor not to remember so I will try to remind you again about howto sit for a better, peaceful meditation. Number one, you meditatein a group. You do group meditation either in your house or inthe Center, the official Center. It is always helpful when yousit together in meditation. Some of you, if you find sitting faceto face is stronger or more assuring, then you could do that.And before that, you should wash your face with cool water, thenyou'll be more awake during meditation. Before or after washingyour face, you could walk around for a while, preferably in thefresh air. For many of you, my teachings verbally are still very,very useful, so please try to watch more videos or listen moreto the tapes, and put them into practice.
The reason many of you don't have the desiredresult in meditation is that you do not put my teachings intopractice. Many times, I have seen that. For example, I tell youthat when you come here, put everything else behind, forget yourfamilies for a while, forget everything else for a while. Butthen the next minute, you come and tell me, "My kid is likethis, my mother is like that, my father is sick, I am sick";everyone, you bring the whole village here. (Laughter) I meansome of you, not all of you, thank God. But just one or two personsare enough to spread dust around here, make trouble for me, andthen in turn I infect you with my temper - the "Lion Roar"method.
You have read in the Buddhist Bible that theBuddha sometimes used the "Lion Roar" method. He wassupposed to have used eighty-four thousand methods to teach thedisciples, and one of them was the "Lion Roar" method.A lot of people keep asking me, "Master, why don't You usethat method on us? You seem to be missing something, like Youteach only one method." No, I teach eighty-four thousandmethods. And the "Lion Roar" method, you often experience,so don't ask me anymore. The Buddhist people think it's some mysteriousmethod that I don't teach, and keep asking me all the time. Theyread too much of the Bible, the Buddhist Sutra that says "LionRoar" method. Didn't you experience that during all thesefifteen years? Yes! You still want some more of that? (Audience:No!) Okay, enough. I don't want to teach it often, either; it'senergy consuming.
The reason why I talk a lot is not becauseI like to talk. If you know some of my friends from before, someof my colleagues or some people who studied sometimes with thesame teacher or in the same class with me, they know I never talked.And if people tried to talk to me a lot, I would tell them off."This is not the place to talk, especially during eating,"and all that. Yesterday I saw one of my old "fellow practitioners"and she reminded me that I used to tell people not to talk tome during eating or meetings, unnecessarily. I remember that istrue; I didn't talk. I was a very quiet person. Not only in thefamily, but in any ashram or in any gathering I kept to myself.She said I used to meditate 24 hours. She remembered me, but Idid not remember her yesterday. She invited herself to lunch withme (laughter) and that's how I came to remember her. But I doremember her now, because she was very lovely. She didn't talkmuch, and she was a very good fellow practitioner. After she remindedme, then I remembered. I don't remember them because I don't talkor interact too much with them anywhere. I apologized to her fornot remembering her, because I really didn't notice people. I'vetold you also that I don't notice you so much unless you haveworked with me for a long time, and then of course I rememberyou. I apologize again, sister. You should call me "sister"not "Master" because we used to have the same teacherat one time. I have had many teachers, as I've told you.
Be Concentrated, One-pointed andRespect the Master's Teachings She said to those at lunch that I used to meditatekind of 24 hours and I didn't talk. That is the truth, and thisis the way you should be if you want to be like me. If you thinkI'm your idol, your idealistic woman or practitioner, that iswhat you should do. There is no secret. You have to be concentrated,one-pointed, and respect the teacher's teachings as long as youare still with him or her. Suppose one day you think that I amno good, or for any reason you walk out, this is fine. But aslong as you're here, you should be concentrated, one-pointed,and pay attention to what I instruct you to do. Then you willhave a good result. If, after you do all this and you don't havea good result, I don't blame you if you walk out on me - anytime.But if you don't put my teachings into practice, you do not payattention to what I advise you, then if you walk out on me, Iwill feel sorry for you. And you should feel sorry for yourselfbecause you did not do your homework properly and you missed outon the great opportunity to grow and to achieve what you so muchdesire to achieve.
If I teach you anything bad at all, you shouldtell me right away. If you doubt me, ask me; that is correct.These days, some of you have expressed your doubts and your opinionsabout me, and I have not gotten angry about that. I have explainedto you why. Any criticism, I welcome; any doubt, I understand.And after I explain to you and if you still do not believe meand don't understand, it is all right to go. But if you believeme, and you want to try, then you must try all your best in orderto get the best result for yourself. Since you have come already,you spent so much time, effort, money and hope, then you mightas well do the best. That is all there is. It's not that it isa must for me, or if you don't do it, it is a sin or anything.No. It is a sin to you, yourself; you have wasted your effortand money.
Should you think it is not worth it, then don'tcome; don't bother in the beginning. Spend your time and yourenergy pursuing something else, someone else that you think willbe more beneficial to you. It is all right, because everyone hasaffinity to different teachers. Different levels of understandingwill meet different people, different teachers. If you meet abad teacher, that is your own karma, your inner quality that attractsthis kind of Master. Your inner aspiration doesn't deserve a betterMaster, so don't blame the teacher; blame yourself. Anytime youfind some teacher is wrong, you change, and know that was you,who attracted this kind. (Applause)
If Obstructions Occur During Meditation If you should have any obstructions at home,like you feel some invisible being disturbs you and that you cannotmeditate very well, or if you feel restless or agitated, you havetwo kinds of solutions. You can put on my chanting, music, orteaching tapes, in the background - not at the back of your "ground,"but in a low volume in front of you. Never put anything behindyou because your attention will be pulled backward and it willbe more difficult for you to concentrate in the front. It is notthat you cannot do it; it is just not favorable for you. Put thetape, TV, music, everything, in front - whatever you want to hearanytime, even the telephone, fax machine, anything. If you haveto sit in an office, face the machine. In case it rings, it willring in front of you, and doesn't pull your attention backward.That would make it very difficult to pull it back to the frontagain. And when you listen on the phone, listen with the rightear. Make it a habit; don't listen with the left ear. Everythingthat pulls the attention to the left or behind you is not advantageousto you. Remember. That is one thing. Another thing is that youcan recite the Holy Names loudly for as long as necessary, oran hour every day, until the situation improves.
This is another prevention method for you,if you are fearful, sometimes you feel invisible beings aroundyou or behind you, or if you were possessed before you came tome and you're still fearful. You can put my pictures around youlike a circle. You have plenty of pictures; they don't have tobe big - just small. It's not the size that counts, it is theperson. Even with small pictures, just make a circle around you.The Tibetan tradition of the mandala is a leftover from this kindof practice. They always drew a circle. That was the beginningof it when the teacher taught them to sit in a circle with someof the artifacts that the Master had blessed and given to themfor souvenirs. Full of the Master's love and blessing, they justsurrounded themselves. Later they got more fanciful. They addedall kinds of things - flowers, incense, sand, color, and so forth.
You can do anything else you want as long asyou feel good - as long as you feel safe, secure, and protected.Put my pictures around, put flowers as well if you want, incenseor whatever, candles also. But don't make too much smoke and thenyou cough all the time. (Laughter) The incense or smoke from thecandles, even though it's romantic and it looks spiritual, manytimes it can cause irritation. Then you will have a sore throator some congestion in your chest later. It is a long-term sideeffect and no good. But if you can tolerate it, it's okay. I don'tforbid anything in our practice as long as it makes you feel good.You can even do the beads or recite a rosary, whatever; but thenyou become too attached to those beads and that habit and youforget to concentrate here. (Master points to Her wisdom eye.)It's difficult to call back again.
Every day we are already attached too muchto the outside world. In the morning, we get up, we have to washour face, clean our teeth, and put on makeup or put on a tie.That is already too materially conscious. In the job, we put ourconsciousness on money and even when we go home, we still thinkof money. So, every day we meditate on woman, man, ties, jewelry,make-up, or money already. That's why when we have time for ourselvesto meditate, we should put our attention inward. It is not thatany master or I, myself, forbid you to do this or do that becausewe are fanatic, because we are authoritative; it's not true. Weshould just forget everything else; just concentrate inside thewisdom center. But when you concentrate, you look right in thefront.
When you look right to the front, that is physicallyspeaking; actually, when you look with the wisdom eye, it is inside.Besides, we are not inside, we are not outside; we are not anywhere.It is just a matter of speaking so you know how to do it physically.Otherwise, when you close your eyes and shut your ears, everythingelse is inside. Then you have no contact with the physical worldthat much. You will be inside and alone with yourself, and thenknow yourself, realize yourself again - that you are the spirit,that you are God, that you are the Buddha. That is why all therosaries, beads, etc. at that time will be more detrimental, moreobstructing, to our concentration. It's not that it is no good.Everything that reminds you of God is good - a picture, a rosary,a cross, a Buddha statue, anything is welcome. Except when youmeditate, it is better to put down everything absolutely, becauseyou are the Buddha, you are the cross, you are God. There is noneed for any other reminders.
But the mandala is just to protect you whensometimes some of the people, some rare individuals, fear theinvisible beings that disturbed them before and the haunted memoriesthat still disturb them, or they fear the darkness. That is whyin the old time, they lit a candle to meditate, so that persondid not feel fearful. So, sometimes I advise some of you thatyou can leave the light on, and that is all right. However, itdoesn't mean that we have to do it all the time or everyone hasto do it. But then, one learns from another and says, "Oh,I feel good after the candle is on," and all that, and everyonedoes it. It just becomes a habit. It should not be that way.
When you sit, you should be alone - no needof any artifacts, no need of candles, no need of flowers, no needof incense. Everything is distracting anyhow. The candle flickers,flickers, flickers; the incense smells and, "Ahchu!"(Master pretends to sneeze.) (Laughter.) And you sit there andthink, "This is frankincense. I don't like it; I like sandalwoodbetter." (Laughter) You argue with yourself back and forth,and then two hours are gone. Next time, you put some other flower,"Oh, roses! I'm allergic to roses. I prefer chrysanthemums,"and blah, blah, blah. Then you spend all your time going out tobuy chrysanthemums just because the neighbor told you that whenhe meditated, he put chrysanthemums and it looked like Mastercame, it felt so good, he meditated better, and so forth.
Blind faith is a detriment; it is detrimentalto your practice. Everything everyone tells you, including myspeech, you should prove it. You should analyze it, whether itis logical, before you accept it. I think you accept most of myteachings or all of my teachings because they are logical to you;they don't defy your intelligence. They're in accord with yourintelligence, with common sense, with the most logical thinkingyou can think of, and that's why you accept them. Should theynot be logical to you, you are free to deny them, or tell me rightto my face, write a letter to me, or whatever, and let me tryto explain to you if I can. If not, and if you still don't acceptthem, then that means you think differently. That is okay. Weall have different choices to live our lives and different choicesof thinking. That is all right with me, but don't waste your timeif you already know it is not for you. And if you're here, tryall your best to do it, so that you get the best out of your money,your effort, and your time.
You can also massage your wisdom eye with alittle oil, or alone. If it's too dry, then with the oil, it goessmoother. It also helps with the wrinkles in some old persons,like me. (Laughter) I don't do it often; I just do it when I puton make-up. If you have difficulty in concentration, you couldmassage a little with your thumb or with your fingers up to thewisdom eye, and then you stop right there. (Master points to thearea just above and between the eyebrows in the middle of theforehead.) Stop like this, or you just massage it, and then stopafterwards.
Love and Practicing When you come to a retreat or group meditation,it's better not to look around too much. I know I told you ifyou don't look at women, you are not normal, (laughter) but thatis for that guy only, just to let him know that he is normal.He is single, a bachelor, and, of course when he sees beautifulwomen he looks. But the less you look, the better for you. Especiallywhen you are already married or have a girlfriend, or have a husbandor boyfriend. The less turbulence, the more you can concentrateto work on your relationship, and you will derive much more benefitand happiness from that relationship. It will boost your confidenceand your enthusiasm to go on with everything in life, includingthe practice of spiritual meditation. Just don't indulge in allthese physical pleasures too much and then you'll be too tiredto sit in meditation, too little time to devote yourself in spiritualpractice. That is why everything in moderation is fine.
If you need to go find a boyfriend or girlfriend,if you feel lonely and want someone to talk to, to accompany youeverywhere you go, then it's all right. But don't look aroundanymore. Once you find one, stick with it and work for it becausethat is how you'll be happy. The more partners you have, the lesshappy you are, believe me! That is why all the Masters adviseyou to take only one spouse. It's not because they're jealousof you or tell you anything else. It's not about being moral,even; it is for your own sake that you should be married or onlyhave one partner. Apart from being immoral, of course, it causesharm, hurt and injury emotionally to other people if you're flyingaround too much, hitting everyone in the heart. It creates unhappinesswhen you do that - very, very unhappy. You will feel empty.
There is a difference between making love andhaving sex. I am sorry to have to tell you straight. There's nothingwrong with that, is there? Making love is that you are involved- emotionally, spiritually, bodily, mentally - together, to beone, to be united with your partner, sharing all this love andaffection you have. All of your being is involved in it.
Having sex is just satisfying this temporarylust for a while, and then you will feel very empty. Sometimesyou will feel very guilty and get sick from it, and get terriblediseases also. Because you do it as a habit, any partner willdo, you'll forget to be cautious. And your body resistance isnot there to even combat the disease, should it be there, becauseyou're low in moral standards, in emotional fulfillment, low inspiritual guard, and low in mental preparation. Everything islow at the time when you just have casual sex. Your body's weak,your mind is weak, your spirit is weak, and so when you catcha disease, you're finished.
Making love to your partner is different. Youfeel blissful; you feel loved; you feel affectionate; you feeltogetherness; you feel trust. Everything is high: Your emotionsare high; your mind is high; your spirit is high; your passionis high. Your love is full. That's why you are a different levelbeing. Nothing can touch you. You're equipped with all resistance.Should any little disease come to you, your body repairs it. Itdoesn't even come to you, because the whole being is preparedfor this supreme act of love, dedication, and unification betweentwo persons. You become like one, so everything is all right.Everything is pure. You don't feel filthy; you don't feel guilty;you don't feel empty afterward. You don't feel exhausted. Youmight be a little tired but just from happiness. This is not likethe exhaustion and the emptiness, the sucked-out feeling, whenyou abuse the act of sexuality just for your own satisfactionphysically. That's entirely different. That's why we have to befaithful, to work at our relationship, because it will bring ushappiness. For us, it is number one, and everything else is numbertwo.
Any precepts that the Masters in the old timegave to us are the ocean of wisdom. They are not restrictions;they are not a controlling method; they are not a dictating kindof statement. They are for our own sake and happiness, and itwould be very, very wise to follow. So, if you don't want anytrouble, stop looking around too long. You can be polite and friendly,but don't deliberately look for trouble - especially someone else's.If you know it, don't look. Of course, sometimes you don't knowand you look, then you have trouble. But that is something else.If you already know, don't start. It is bad enough that you don'tknow and you start. Then later you have to take care of it. Butif you already know that they belong to someone else, you hadbetter never, ever start because you will get into deep trouble.
Once you have someone else already, the pastone, you should just put behind you. It doesn't serve you. Normallywhen we look at the past, it is always better. We forget the badparts; we only remember the good parts. But the present is thebest. When you look after your present situation, your presentrelationship, it always brings you immediate benefit. If you alwayslook at the past, or the future, it brings you nothing but worry,sorrow, regret, and illusion. So, always look to the present,whether it is in business, in spiritual practice, in retreat,or in personal relationships, because that is the only thing thatbrings you benefit right now. The past cannot do anything.
We always have illusions about the past - thatit is good. It is not good. The problem occurs when you go toretreats, you cannot put down everything the way you should, theway I always ask you to do. That is why you come up to the stageand ask me all kinds of nonsense. I am patient until I burn out.If you ask a very low-level question, you can bring the atmosphereto a lower level, too - throw dirt on everyone. Somehow, we wouldbe all affected, and I have to clear it in a different way. Pleaseforgive me if I use a "Lion Roar" method sometimes.I could use another method - the "Tiger Roar" method.If it will make any difference to you, I'll change. (Laughter)All right, that is about bettering your meditation.
