Activities Retreats 1988  
 

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Group Meditation

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"All of you are attached to visions in meditation, considering them to be real spiritual experiences, and visions that you see when you are not meditating just do not count. But actually, at that moment you are really meditating, because "Zen prevails in everything." Meditation doesn't mean that we sit tight and regulate ourselves. That is the incorrect way, because at that time, we meditate with our ego, and that's why we have no experiences. We should do it in a natural way in order to attain enlightenment.

If you are as relaxed in your meditation as when you see me, that is real meditation. We have heard the story about someone becoming enlightened while chopping logs, and another case about someone else getting enlightened upon hearing a few words from an Enlightened Master. That is it. Why don't you have an experience after hours of sitting vexed in meditation? It is because you do it with your ego, your mind. You focus your attention too hard; you push yourselves too much, so you become attached and nervous. That's why you have no experiences. That is not real meditation. It is just a kind of drill.

Real meditation takes place at any time. That's why some of you have good experiences when you are asleep or when you look at me attentively. That is meditation, for your attention is focused at that time. You concentrate because you are delighted to see me or listen to me, and you put aside your prejudices at that time. That is when you meditate, isn't it? That's when you have a normal experience."

From "The Real Meditation"
News 130, Master Says
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Seven-day Retreat in Yilan Center, Formosa
August 12-18, 1988
(originally in Chinese) MP3-2

"We should bear any difficulty or trouble we have in our spiritual practice. We should regard any adversity as a test to measure our confidence and courage. We should not withdraw, with shaken confidence, crying and complaining when a situation arises. What kind of spiritual practitioner is that, with no courage and acting like a child?

When we practice spirituality, we should check on ourselves, instead of keeping our eyes on others. We should look after how much courage we have, and whether our faith is strong. We don't have to look at how well or poorly others are practicing. It is enough already to look at ourselves. Each day we take care of our courage, our conduct as a great human, and our faith in the spiritual path (Tao), not allowing them to diminish, waver, or be destroyed. This is our responsibility.

If any fellow practitioner puts the Truth first and this mundane world second, he will be liberated for sure, no matter how quickly or slowly he progresses in his spiritual practice, or how much or less his experiences are. This is the best way to measure it. The world exists only for the purpose of tying us down. All the pleasures, anger, grief and happiness in this world are there to test our confidence and courage, our attitude as great humans, and our faith in the Tao.

It will be too cheap if everyone who practices casually also can become a Saint! What then would a Saint be if he is just the same as the ordinary person? If anyone can become a Saint even though he cannot tolerate anything, do anything, or pass any test, then what good is a Saint? How can he be worthy of praise by humans and heavenly beings? How can he be worthy of being a "Teacher of heavenly beings" or a "Compassionate Father of the Four Forms of Birth"?

So if you want to be a Saint, you should clearly understand that any unfavorable condition is there to test us. We should live on bravely. Even if it is very painful, things will get better in a couple of days. The darkest and longest night will only last till the next morning. The night cannot last forever; neither can our suffering. We must have learned this lesson as a child, that no painful situation will last forever. Even the most painful situation will not last too long. The happy situation will last even less time. So this world offers nothing for us to hold on to, nothing for us to become attached to!

Only one thing is eternal, and that is our inner Sound. It is always present and takes care of us every day. After a while we can rise and reside in that eternal place, where there is no night or day, no spring, summer, autumn or winter, and no pain like we have here. But when I say this, maybe someone will think, "Every day would then be the same and it'd be so monotonous!" It would not be monotonous! It is because our mind is still at the level of the mundane realm and we cannot imagine that kind of realm. That is why after reading the Amitabha Sutra, some people have asked me, "Who wants to live in that kind of realm?" And I've answered, "That realm is not as boring as you imagine."

Only after we have personally experienced it will we know the Pure Land and want to live there. Otherwise we cannot understand just by listening to others talk about it. When Shakyamuni Buddha was in the world, He had a disciple who was a queen. As a queen, she already enjoyed the most beautiful things and the happiest situations in the world. However, when she visited the Pure Land, she was eager to stay there. She asked Shakyamuni Buddha, "Can I live there after I pass away?" The place she had seen was that beautiful!"

From "The Tao Comes First and the Mundane World Second"
News 135, Master Says
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Four-day Retreat in Hsihu Center, Formosa
September 24-27, 1988
(originally in Chinese) MP3-3

Retreats Schedule

Center/City/Country
Date
Language
Titles
Yilan Center
Formosa
August 12-18, 1988
Chinese
7-Day Retreat
Hsihu Center
Formosa
September 24-27, 1988
Chinese
4-Day Retreat

   

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