Living in An Illusionary World

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 24, 1992
(Originally in English)

Q: Do You mean to say that there are no evil spirits, because an evil spirit is sin, which actually, to You, is an illusion?

M: Yes, there are evil spirits, but they are also illusions. Therefore, there are no sins because sins are all illusions. But, as long as we live in this world, we cannot say, "These are all illusions so I can do what I want," because we will still have a bad conscience from it and we will have guilty feelings. Anyhow, even if we live in an illusory world, we also should behave accordingly.

Why shouldn't we kill someone else because we know it is only an illusion? - He doesn't know it and he will suffer. Therefore, we have to spare the feelings of other people and other beings, even if we know it's all illusion. Avoid evil and do good, because it's good for other people. We have to live together whether you are enlightened or not. It is just like if you are a father and when your children play with toys, you would not scold them if they break the toys into pieces, because these are nonsense. They are toys; they are plastic; they are childish. You play with them and even say, "Wow! This car is beautiful, fast!" It is a small, plastic car and you run, vroom, vroom, and say, "Wow! Beautiful and fast! You and I race together." And the children are happy. All the while, you know this is a child's game, but you don't criticize. You behave accordingly when you play with your children.