"In
order to progress quickly, the way you always want and the way you
always ask me, 'Master, how do I progress quickly?' I tell you,
'Put down, put down, put down everything,' but you don't. You come
here with a lot of friends, relatives, sons and daughters. I tell
you, you have them all day long, all life long and you have only
five days here for God! But no, that Guy comes second. That's why
you don't progress.
The
only secret is to put it down. God takes care of everything. We
can't do anything! If God's Grace isn't there, we can't do anything.
Of course, you come here and ask me to intervene in your destiny.
Sometimes I could ask God to do it. But it's not my problem. I could
intervene; I could do anything for you. But it's your problem. Because
if you come here with that intention, that's all you get. Maybe
your son gets better or your daughter has a good marriage, but that's
all you get. The whole treasure, you leave behind. And that's a
pity for you.
That's
why I'm not bothered if you ask me any questions, even mundane or
petty questions; I can answer them for you. I can help you with
anything. But I just feel bad for you. You came here for only five
days, and you can't even remember God.
Just
for once, you should come here just for Hirm, just for God! But
no, you always come here and try to make excuses, asking for all
kinds of favors. All these kinds of favors you could ask for at
home. I tell you truly: Anytime you pray to God or the Master Power,
it's heard. We're not deaf! I hope you don't think so. (Audience
applauds.)
And
I hope you don't think that 'I' am here (Master indicates the physical
body) - that I am sick, I am ill, I am weak, I am small, I am big,
I am this and that. No, no, no! It's not me; it's not this person.
We're not deaf, we're not dumb, we're not blind and we're not stupid.
So there's no need to come here whining about your family and friends
or your problems and misfortunes. You can; you can talk to me about
anything you want. Of course, if you want to take me as a mother,
as a friend, as a shoulder to cry on, that's fine also. But remember,
these are only secondary.
And
whenever a retreat comes, you should take advantage of the time,
of no disturbances, no demands from family and friends, no business,
no work, no boss, no colleagues, no husband or wife - we separate
for you - no quarrels, no kids. You should concentrate. Treasure
this time as if, after this, you'll die. You'd have no more chance
then to even worry about your family, who would be left behind!
Will you have a chance to worry about them when you die? No! And
you don't know if I'll be alive again the next day, much less after
five days if I'll still be here to conduct another retreat. So you're
really silly.
The
ones who don't progress are really silly. Every time you come to
a retreat, we remind you to concentrate on one Guy only: one Husband,
one Wife. That's true faithfulness. It's not about you being loyal
to your spouse on this planet. But you have to be loyal to the Spouse
in Heaven; this is most important because the spouse here can leave
you at any time. If you become ugly, sick, old, or he meets someone
better, like the karma loosens and he meets someone from a past
life he feels better with, then you're doomed. But the Spouse in
Heaven will never, ever leave us. And we're very unfaithful; that's
bad news. Nevertheless, I hope you learned your lesson this time,
those of you who haven't progressed. Whenever or if we have a next
time again, take your chance then, OK?"
From "Remain Focused and Detached during
Retreats"
News 146, Master Says
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Christmas Five-day Retreat in Florida Center, USA • December
28, 2002
(originally in English)
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