SELECTED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1
Spoken by The Supreme Master Ching Hai during the group meditation in
Seattle, U.S.A.
April 7, 1994 (Originally in English)Q: For enlightenment, is service in love to humanity as important as meditation or is service more important than meditation practice? M: Both have to go hand in hand. We meditate because we want to do service better, we want to be clearer in what we do. Therefore, we'll be more efficient in our work and more service to others. Without meditation, sometimes we have very best intention and we are willing to serve people, but we don't know what is the best way. Therefore, meditation is a helping factor to true selfless service.
Q: Is it possible to live a life completely free of doubt and fear forever and if so, what does one need to do or not do? M: Fear and anxiety comes only from darkness, from ignorance, from the fear of the unknown.
Once we get to know the stable side of nature, the real side of our life, our fear and anxiety disappear. We only fear because we thought after this life, we have nothing. We only fear because we know only the ephemeral existence of this world. If we know that life is eternal, if we know that we are the greatest beings in the universe, we have no fear at all.
So I invite you to get to know yourself through the means of initiation (into Quan-Yin practice).
Q: I love my original master very deeply and usually recite his name. If I continue to do this, will I lose Your love and blessing? I love both of you. No difference because without my original Master I would not be alive to sit here and listen to Your lecture. M: I'm not in competition with anyone. You can love ten more masters if you wish. No problem. Just be enlightened. That is the best way to pay, to show the gratitude to your previous master. Don't need to even be grateful to me or anything. Whatever you do, I love you all the same. It's you who probably do not love yourself, because you would think, "I do that very bad, I do this very bad." And it's you yourself, stop feeling being loved.
Q: How long must one meditate to reach enlightenment? M: Enlightenment comes immediately. As soon as you sit down with the Master and sincerely want it, it comes immediately. Even sometimes before initiation; sometimes I have not finished the instruction, and people already got enlightenment. Some people are in a hurry, you know, they have no time to wait.
But the meditation takes place daily, because we always want to be in the enlightened state, and we always want to renew our acknowledgment of enlightenment. Or also we want to strengthen it, to strengthen, to expand until infinity. Otherwise, even if you meditate for one hundred years, you don't get any enlightenment.
Meditation doesn't bring enlightenment, the Master power does, because during initiation, or during so-called meditation in our method, you do not meditate, because meditation means effort, but in our way, it's effortless. You might sit there sometimes even sleepy and then enlightenment even comes, even then. Or you will be enlightened during sleep because the Master power will wake you, wake your soul during your sleep. While your mind is asleep, your body is at rest, your soul will be awaken into the world of light and wisdom.
Therefore, meditation is not a means to enlightenment. But for lack of vocabulary in this world, we have to call it meditation. Actually, you just sit there and receiving the grace of God and acknowledging your own supreme power. There's no meditation actually that is involved, because anything that is earned or it is a result of some kinds of action, it is still the worldly production. It's still within the material framework. Therefore, our meditation is a non-meditational meditation, effortless meditation.
Q: What makes you the equal of other great masters? M: The same thing that makes you equal with other great masters that makes me equal. All of us are equal. You are as great as Jesus and Buddha, if you want to be, if you want to know, if you know where your greatness is. I know. That's what makes me great. If you don't know, okay it's fine. If you want to know, you will be as great as any.
Q: For enlightenment, is service in love to humanity as important as meditation or is service more important than meditation practice?
M: Both have to go hand in hand. We meditate because we want to do service better, we want to be clearer in what we do. Therefore, we'll be more efficient in our work and more service to others. Without meditation, sometimes we have very best intention and we are willing to serve people, but we don't know what is the best way. Therefore, meditation is a helping factor to true selfless service.
Q: Is it possible to live a life completely free of doubt and fear forever and if so, what does one need to do or not do?
M: Fear and anxiety comes only from darkness, from ignorance, from the fear of the unknown.
Once we get to know the stable side of nature, the real side of our life, our fear and anxiety disappear. We only fear because we thought after this life, we have nothing. We only fear because we know only the ephemeral existence of this world. If we know that life is eternal, if we know that we are the greatest beings in the universe, we have no fear at all.
So I invite you to get to know yourself through the means of initiation (into Quan-Yin practice).
Q: I love my original master very deeply and usually recite his name. If I continue to do this, will I lose Your love and blessing? I love both of you. No difference because without my original Master I would not be alive to sit here and listen to Your lecture.
M: I'm not in competition with anyone. You can love ten more masters if you wish. No problem. Just be enlightened. That is the best way to pay, to show the gratitude to your previous master. Don't need to even be grateful to me or anything. Whatever you do, I love you all the same. It's you who probably do not love yourself, because you would think, "I do that very bad, I do this very bad. And it's you yourself, stop feeling being loved.
Q: How long must one meditate to reach enlightenment?
M: Enlightenment comes immediately. As soon as you sit down with the Master and sincerely want it, it comes immediately. Even sometimes before initiation; sometimes I have not finished the instruction, and people already got enlightenment. Some people are in a hurry, you know, they have no time to wait.
But the meditation takes place daily, because we always want to be in the enlightened state, and we always want to renew our acknowledgment of enlightenment. Or also we want to strengthen it, to strengthen, to expand until infinity. Otherwise, even if you meditate for one hundred years, you don't get any enlightenment.
Meditation doesn't bring enlightenment, the Master power does, because during initiation, or during so-called meditation in our method, you do not meditate, because meditation means effort, but in our way, it's effortless. You might sit there sometimes even sleepy and then enlightenment even comes, even then. Or you will be enlightened during sleep because the Master power will wake you, wake your soul during your sleep. While your mind is asleep, your body is at rest, your soul will be awaken into the world of light and wisdom.
Therefore, meditation is not a means to enlightenment. But for lack of vocabulary in this world, we have to call it meditation. Actually, you just sit there and receiving the grace of God and acknowledging your own supreme power. There's no meditation actually that is involved, because anything that is earned or it is a result of some kinds of action, it is still the worldly production. It's still within the material framework. Therefore, our meditation is a non-meditational meditation, effortless meditation.
Q: What makes you the equal of other great masters?
M: The same thing that makes you equal with other great masters that makes me equal. All of us are equal. You are as great as Jesus and Buddha, if you want to be, if you want to know, if you know where your greatness is. I know. That's what makes me great. If you don't know, okay it's fine. If you want to know, you will be as great as any.
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