135/Master's Word/The Correct Attitude

When you come here to practice, do not rely on your work achievements. Because we all help each other in spiritual practice, everyone makes some contribution. Even those fellow practitioners who have never put up a lecture poster, never helped me do anything, or never contributed any money have helped me a lot, too. Their coming here is already a help. Their practice is already a help. Their faith in me is already a help. They have been helping a lot by trying their best to be good, observing the precepts and a vegetarian diet, and keeping their own thoughts, words and deeds pure.

If you can offer some extra help in addition to that, then it is for your own good. It is your own merit. What is there to talk about? For instance, you help post a few posters. There is no way to know if anyone will see them. However, you have already gained merit. When you help in my work, you will have merit, regardless of success or failure; so there is no need to talk about it.

The more you help in my work, the more merit you will have. But you should not rely on this type of achievement, or it will be ridiculous! And besides, some people are sentenced by the Heavenly King to come down here. If they do not do well and gain merits here, later they will not be able to go back up there. For example, the Monkey King, Pigsy, the Water Spirit and the White Horse (characters in the Chinese literary work Journey to the West) have to help their master bring back the Buddhist scriptures and will attain liberation only after their mission has been accomplished.

Therefore, in helping to do my work, you have no idea whether it is your own merit or your karmic debt. But whatever it is, just do your best, and don't talk about it. Maybe some people will think that it is because of your karma that you have to help me, just like the Water Spirit and Pigsy. That only makes it worse! They do not acknowledge your contribution; instead, they say you have karmic debt and make you feel more miserable! So when you do anything for me, just do it quietly. If you talk about it, after a while, there will be obstruction from Maya. Some of you have experienced this already.

Sometimes during retreats or group meditation, you are allowed to talk about your inner experiences. It is all right when I allow you to share them in my presence. However, if you happily reveal yourselves afterwards without my permission, saying, "That day Master said that I had attained a level of .." If you continue to speak without discretion and then feel proud of yourself, you will encounter Maya's obstruction after a while.

It is not that I want to scold you. I just want to remind everyone that this "self-pride" will bring us trouble. If this Maya of pride emerges, it will be bad news. Some people may degrade or be kicked out without being aware of it. Only later will they feel the pain, but then, they will not know how to turn back. Maybe only after the karma has been eliminated can they return to start anew from scratch, and that is not good!

That is why I often say that you can only share your experiences with my permission. Without my permission, don't talk about it. Even if we talk with no pride but with much humility, we will still encounter hindrances because others may come to bother us. Hearing that our experience is so good, sometimes they may come and ask, "Hey, what has your level of spiritual practice been recently? What's the big deal in telling about it! I admire you so much!" Then they open their eyes so big. (Audience laughs.) Ah! At that time we cannot bear not to tell, and the more we tell, the more trouble there will be!

And then they will agree with us, making us feel great about ourselves, as though we can slash demons and kill monsters. And after a while, we will lose this power. And when people keep complimenting us, we have to keep matching up with their imagination. Suppose we originally do not have this power, or have not yet reached this level, but people keep praising us, and then we feel ashamed to pull down our face. As a result, our level keeps floating up in the air, without a seat. Then we are unable either to come down or go up. Therefore, there will be obstructions!

It is the same with our merits. It is best not to let others know. It does not matter if others come to know about it naturally. We do not have to take the initiative to talk about it. Otherwise, we will really get into trouble! I know too many such examples, but I do not want to reveal names. It will do so for these people to know it themselves. From now on, they should repent and mend their ways.