Sometimes you are not positive with your replies or in what you do. You should know how to make a comment. For instance, I told the Pingtung Center to use paint or P.U. (kind of a floor finish) to beautify the appearance of their center. They might have felt that there was a better way, but they did not speak up. They merely said, "P.U. is too expensive!" And they stopped at that. That is not the way we should comment. If they felt that they were experts and they knew a better way, they should go on and suggest to me that there is a better, cheaper and quicker way - not just criticizing, "It's too expensive, no good, lousy". There were no truly constructive opinions.

Most people can only criticize and they cannot contribute. That is where they go wrong. I make criticism as well as contributions. Only in this way is a comment useful! What is the use of criticism only? Anyone can make one. Using your month to speak is the simplest thing to do.

Whatever we say, our brains record. With all the "It's lousy, no good, too expensive!", no fresh information can fit in. Continuing to be negative, we get lower and lower. The more negative we are, the worse off we become. We recite our own negative mantra to curse ourselves. That is why it is bothersome to be your teacher. I am affected and collect a lot of karma, because everyday you keep using the negative power and qualities for me to hear or see.

For example, when I ask on the phone if someone is in, you could say, "Oh! Master, she is not here. Can I ask her to call You back later? Is there anything I can do for You or for her?" Is that not better than simply saying, "She's not here!" (stop dead) or "She went to the toilet." (stop dead here too)?

That's why I tell you go to group meditation, because here you have the truest friends. Then if you have problems, or maybe sometimes you make mistakes, because of many friends, they can talk to you, and they love you, encourage you. You will come back again to the correct direction. Having group meditation is just like having an unconditional good friend or a good beloved; and we all grow together, we share together some problems and happiness. This is very good for the human psyche, even not talking about spiritual practice.

So you see why we have to practice now, or why we must go to group meditation; because we are weak. Sometimes we go alone and if someone tempts us, we will fall. But if we go as two, three or four persons together, and if we want to be tempted, our friends say, "No, no! It's no good for you. Come back!" That's why we must have friends to practice together.

In this life everything is like that, even with politics. If a man wants to be president, he must collect a lot of followers who have the same ideal as he has, and who support him. Everyone knows that. Otherwise, do you think one person alone could create a particular movement? Or could one person alone change the whole of a country? There must be a lot of people to support! So, when we blame one person, we have to think more! It is a shared ideal, it is a responsibility of a lot of people, not only one or two men.

So it's the same with every ideal, the same with every goal we reach for, we must have supporting friends in order to go the same way. So when we fall, when we are weak, our friends will help us, or carry us. So, we must have friends. That's why we must have group fellow practitioners to encourage each other, because this is like a big family. When you come in and you meditate together you also share the spiritual energy together, not only the mundane problems; and then everyone just connected together. The stronger ones help the weaker ones, and then we have less weaknesses. Then we can come together at the same level. Everyone is happy. You are cleansed, and you become happier and happier; and you feel lighter and lighter everyday.