"Whatever
you do, if it's a good, noble idea, you put all your effort, that
is devotion. So in everyday life, whatever you do, if it's good
for yourself and other people, put all your best. That doesn't mean
that you have to be successful in order to know that you are devoted.
You don't have to. Whether you are successful or you fail, if you
have put out all your best, your most sincere desire to do that,
to accomplish whatever you do, or to try to make that person happy,
that is already devotion; because devotion brings concentration,
one pointedness; and devotion, one pointedness brings success and
happiness to you.
Especially,
if you do it for a good cause, for a noble ideal, because at that
time you concentrate everything on that thing and then you forget
everything else so your mind is very clear. That is also a kind
of putting down everything. That's also a way of practice. Ah, that's
also a kind of samadhi. That's why it will bring you happiness and
relaxation, and then a contented feeling."
From News 82, Pearls Of Wisdom
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
7-Day Retreat in Hsihu Center, Formosa • October 25,
1995
(originally in English)
"That's
the purpose of keeping the precepts, so that we'll remember where
our limits are. We'll know where to stop. We'll know how we should
behave, or at least how to be honest with ourselves. If we're honest
with ourselves, other people will sense it. Inside of them is God.
Outside, maybe we can cheat them by telling lies or flattering them
with all kinds of untrue compliments in order to get something out
of them. But inside, the God within them knows. So we can't cheat
them for too long. That's why we must always be honest with ourselves.
The precepts are there for that reason, so that we become purer,
truer to ourselves and to other people so that we can be successful
in every aspect of life."
From "Be True to Others and Honest with Ourselves"
News 142, Pearls of Wisdom
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
7-Day International Retreat in Hsihu Center, Formosa •
October 30, 1995
(originally in English) Videotape No. 508
"Initiation
is a chance that occurs once in a million years. If you don't know
what it means, at least at the time you die you will know. At that
time, no one is around you, and no one can accompany you. No money
can buy you power. No position can protect you from hell fire. At
that time, the Master is the only one that comes to you, and then
you will know."
From News 104, Pearls of Wisdom
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
3-Day Europe Retreat in Hamburg, Germany • August 25,
1995
(originally in English)
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