Selected Questions & Answers

Spoken By Supreme Master Ching Hai, International 4-Day Retreat,
London, U.K. August 25, 1997 (Originally In English)

Q. How can we know the motives of all our actions? I mean, if we're doing something out of service, out of proving our qualities, or if we're just doing something because of our ego?

M. We do know what we're doing, don't we? You know what you're doing it for. You can feel it right away. And even if you don't realize it in the beginning, later you check yourself and you'll know why you're doing this, and why you're doing that. If you've doing it for ego, then just check yourself, turn around, and be more selfless. Many times in the beginning, probably we do not know why we do this, and why we do that. We take up some service, some work, probably out of a competitive kind of attitude. But then as soon as we realize that we're being competitive, we turn around immediately and say, "Oh, no! I should not think that way. I should not feel this way. I should take this honor and opportunity to serve people selflessly."

That is more noble. The moment we realize that we aren't noble enough in our behavior and in our intentions, then we just check on ourselves and then change the attitude. The service remains the same, but just the attitude should be changed. Even if we didn't have a noble intention in the beginning, we still can change in the middle of it.

It's sometimes difficult because we cheat ourselves too. The mind cheats us into thinking, "Oh! I want to serve humankind and all that." But sometimes we serve more out of self-interest. After we check ourselves for a long while, we become more prudent in our attitude, in our thinking, in our motives. Then it becomes that we're just selfless by nature. Even sometimes if we do it with the ego, it's all right. Just forgive yourself. At least someone else is being served. Someone else benefits from your actions. Then it's okay. But it is better for us, if we know that our intentions are noble so that we know we're on the way to becoming a better being, more improved.

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