Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Anaheim, CA, U.S.A., April 3, 1993 (Originally in English)

Q: Dear Master, all things are said to come from the inner God Nature. If so, is there real free will or free choice?

M: No, we just dream that we have free choice. We make a lot of mess with this free choice, which we should have given up in the beginning, anyhow. But we can only do that with sincere devotion to God or whomever we believe in. And we can only do that through enlightenment, because then we know it's not we who do things, it's the Universal plan. Then we will not reject our job, we will not throw away our wife or children, get a divorce, or anything; we will know what it is and we will lead a more contented and happy life.

You see, this is free will: for example, God's plan is that I have to put my umbrella here. But now I don't like to put it here. Why should I put it here? I feel I should put it there, and so I put it there. Why not? Now I upset the environment and the plan for a while. Then I feel very uncomfortable, and my umbrella breaks over there, and I don't know why. If I had put it here, it wouldn't have broken. So now, eventually, I will have to bring it back and put it here.

Suppose you divorce your wife or husband or reject your job, and think, "Now I am free; that's it, fantastic. I have taken the matter into my own hands, and I am free of her or him." And you think you have done a decisive and very wise thing; and what happens? Maybe a few days or a few months later you meet someone else, maybe worse than that one. So, you have to go through the experience anyhow. You think you have changed it. But no! It's just been postponed, or maybe God lets you turn the corner, but you go back onto the same road again.

Free Will

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
March 27, 1996 Cambodia
(Originally in Chinese)

We have various options in this world. The universe is not as rigid and dull as you might think. It's really up to you to decide what you want to do and how much of a load and responsibility you want to handle. You can do it as long as you don't hurt other people. God has a few wishes, but we make the choices ourselves. Otherwise, it would be too boring if everything were predestined. We can change things, but we must make good changes, and then it is okay.

Take, for example, this package of tissues in my hand; I can keep it for my own use, or I can toss the tissues to people in need - two or three of them. I can toss them in different directions. I can also discard the package in the dustbin and then no one can use it. If I keep it, I am the only one who can use it; however, people can make use of these tissues if I put some everywhere. In this way, I have many choices. It's up to me to decide, and that's all right. It's impossible to say that God has arranged for me to throw this package of tissues to a designated person. It can't be like that. The universe isn't that monotonous; we have many choices.

All kinds of religions talk about free will, which sometimes brings harm to many people, as well as ourselves, and makes us transmigrate. If we make a good decision, the result will be good and we'll reap the benefits. Otherwise, we'll have to shoulder a heavy responsibility that makes us feel uncomfortable and is very tiresome. Even worse, we'll have to come back to amend the things we've done wrong, to compensate for the harm that we've done or the losses that all those people have incurred. That's just the way it is.

It's true; nothing is really good or bad in the universe, it's only a cycle. Everyone plays his or her role, and we go back to rest when the time comes. However, this is not an excuse for us to act irresponsibly. Certainly, we must choose to do good things because they will benefit us and others, too; and we won't have to exhaust ourselves with transmigration. There are many obstacles each time we come here. It's not definite that we can fix the things we've done wrong within the periods of time that we're back. Consequently, we have to carry on this way until all has been amended, and sometimes this takes thousands of years.