Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai,
Three-day Retreat in Cape Town, South Africa,
November 28-30, 1999 (Originally in English) Videotape No. 673

Q: Master, I just wanted to know if there is anything preventing people who are spiritual from taking part in married life because most people who are spiritual are single people as far as I know, such as priests and many others.

M: Oh, so priests are spiritual. Are you sure about that?

Q: They are religious; I can say that.

M: Okay. You can be single if you want, or you can be married if you want. There is no difference. But the difference is in how you handle it. Marriage doesn't mean you cannot find God. Otherwise, God wouldn't make man and woman, but God would make man alone or woman alone. Okay? Number one.

Number two, actually once you're married you get more used to that life, and you are even more concentrated on spirituality after awhile. Because you know what it is, you don't crave for it anymore, and after you live with your wife for some time you become friends. It's mostly like that. So single or married is almost the same in the end. But most people, when they are married, they are too concentrated on their partners and it's difficult to concentrate on God. That might be a problem. But if you know how to handle the energy of a relationship, that will help you even more spiritually, because you're happy physically and your mind is happy. When somebody loves you, you're happy physically, emotionally and mentally. So your spiritual life speeds up more. God doesn't invent love for nothing. It is all there is. Physical love or married love is a part of God's love; it's a replica of God's love. It helps you to find a greater love. Don't have an allergy to marriage. Just be normal. If you want to marry, marry. If you want to stay single, stay single.

Spiritual Interludes: Married or Not, Just Be Natural!
Dealing with Affairs of the Heart
Try Your Best to Keep up Your Marriage

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