Q. There are 84,000 methods in Buddhism. The Diamond Sutra says that all methods practice benevolence and they are all equal. However, in the Surangama Sutra, the Buddha said that sentient beings of the "Dharma Ending Period" should practice the Quan Yin Method. Is it because the Quan Yin Method is more suitable for sentient beings?

M. Not only more suitable, but sentient beings should be practicing the Quan Yin Method in the first place. Let's make this point clear. We are born as humans in order to practice the Quan Yin Method and if we do not, then we will not realize what we should do in our human lives. We miss this precious opportunity because we miss this vital point, and then we go somewhere to practice the 84,000 methods all over again. But when we finally reach the gate of the ultimate method and we are born again as human beings, we are reluctant to be detached. We refuse to practice even when we have met the Enlightened Master, and we have to transmigrate again and again.

Human beings are born to practice the Quan Yin Method; it is our obligation to do so. We are born as humans for the purpose of attaining sainthood and the great Wisdom. Our final, most precious, and one and only chance is to be born as humans for the goal of attaining this great Wisdom and being liberated from the other 84,000 methods that bind sentient beings. However, because we don't understand this truth, we don't know what we should do as humans. After practicing the Quan Yin Method, we slowly come to understand why we are born as humans and what our goal is. You may be skeptical right now but you give me no choice. Since you asked, I have to tell you about it. All the other 84,000 methods are useless; they only bind us within the three realms. They bring us blessed rewards, power, and supernatural powers, but still chain us within the three realms. The Quan Yin Method is the one and only method that will take us beyond the three realms. This is incredible, which is why we rarely hear about it.

Q. Buddha wanted to liberate all the living beings and wished all the living beings would become Buddha (fully enlightened) also. However, Jesus Christ said that only those who believe in Him can be saved. Those who do not believe will go to hell. You use the Bible and God's teachings to explain the Buddha's Sutras. Does that mean Buddha is better or greater than God?

M. No, they both speak the same thing. It is like this. The Buddha said that He wanted to liberate all sentient beings, but He could not, could He? Not everybody is liberated. Everyone who met the Buddha could have been liberated, but only when the Buddha was alive. We have to find the living Buddha (a fully enlightened being) in order to get liberated. Jesus said the same thing, that whoever believes Him will go to heaven. That was true when He was alive, but after He is gone we have to find another Jesus. Yes, so they both spoke the same thing. Therefore both say they want to liberate all beings, and that those who believe can go to heaven. But many beings are still not in heaven. After they left, other people came, and not many people always believe in Buddha or Jesus. Every time a Buddha comes only a few people, a handful of people believe Him. Understand? Therefore only this handful of people can go to heaven. Where the others are going depends on their karma.

Q. What is the right way to study Buddhist studies? And where to study?

M. The right way to study Buddhism is to go within yourself and see where the Buddha is, not in the doctrines but in you, because the Buddha said Buddha is within you. He didn't say the Buddha is in a doctrine or in any church or in any temple. We forgot this. After He died we built many temples, made His images, and bowed there to the wooden statues, and then we asked Him for this and that and other things. The wooden statue cannot give us anything, and so we become frustrated, and we think that the Buddha does not have any power. It is that we are looking in a wrong direction. To study Buddhism, go inside! And the go-inside method, I have! I can tell you how to find the Buddha.

Q. And Master, what would you say about the Bible and the Dharmapada, they, both of them, they talk about women. We are both women so this is quite an important subject. In the Dharmapada Lord Buddha mentions that He did not want women to enter the order.

M. I don't blame Him. Women are dangerous. Can you imagine, can you imagine the whole sangha all bachelors, all men with beauty and strong bodies and physical sexual drive with the physical body. Now, enters a few women. What do you think? It's already difficult enough for them to struggle alone and there now comes some temptation. What do you think? It is even more difficult. But anyhow, the Buddha was also considering the social custom of India at that time; also the difficulties in the sangha because they always had to move around under very difficult conditions and harsh conditions, and a woman probably could not bear it. Even some men could not bear it never mind women. Some of the monks when they just follow Me they just say, "I cannot catch, cannot catch up, I cannot catch up with Master. It is too much. It is to fast. It is too much." They all complain but after a while they all get used to it. It can be harsh sometimes. When I was in Philippines. There were a few monks and a few lay people with Me. Including one man and one woman newly arrived, newly followed, that were new practitioners. The man slept all day long and the woman could barely catch up. Now whenever I turned around and asked for woman.... There was also one uninitiated man around in the group . He was a political man because I had to deal with the Vietnamese refugees, at that time; so we had to work with some uninitiated political persons. And he was scared seeing the way I moved (Master pants to should he was out of breath.) . He was huffing, huffing like that. And one day I asked him, about that woman. I said, "Where, where is that, such and such, the woman ? Where is My woman disciple?" He said, "Dead. "(Master laughs) "She is half dead." I said, "What! I am leaving and then she didn't even come to the airport to send Me off. What kind of disciple is that? What is she doing? Nothing much." And he sighed very miserably and he said, "Oh Master, she is just an ordinary woman." (Master laughs) I said, "What you mean? What do you mean she is just an ordinary woman? What about Me? I didn't really understand I didn't mean to make difficulty. I was so surprised. I wanted to tell her something to tell her to do something for Me when I left, hut she wasn't there, so I was very, you know, kind of excited. And he said, "Oh! nobody can do the way you do." Straight like this. (Master laughs)" You're not, not a woman. You're not from this world. Nobody can catch up with You." He made it straight in My face like this. He said, "Not even a man can catch up with You never mind a woman." And I was so startled I had to think, I had to think. So I couldn't say anything. I still keep thinking ever since, whether it is true.

Q. When one is gardening, growing vegetables, is it a conflict with Buddhism to kill the creatures that eat the vegetables? How should one deal with these lower forms?

M. Yeah. If you feel the conflict, then I would advise you that we all starve to death. Because even breathing would kill a lot of invisible creatures. So what shall we do? We cannot eat vegetables, we cannot grow vegetables, we cannot even breathe, we cannot even walk, because we would kill all sorts of living things. What is the solution? No solution, except to meditate and cleanse this karma, this unavoidable karma. To live in this world, more or less, we have to kill others, kill worms, kill insects. Every time you wash your hands, that is killing. You understand? Disinfection of things are killings. But what do we do with it? We have to, but then we have other sins. When we don't do this intentionally, that's a different thing from violence, Understand? We have to live here, so we must eat something to live. We have to breathe, we have to wash our hands, but this unavoidable karma doesn't mean zero, even though we don't do it intentionally. We still have the karma, We still have the sin. So we have to do the Quan Yin Method every day to clean this out. Then we can be free of karma, otherwise there is no way we can be free of killing. I am sorry. Therefore we need to practice the method of cleansing. Otherwise you can do good deeds, you don't kill, that's enough. No, no, even eating vegetables is killing. Vegetables have life. So, you must use some powerful power to cleanse this small karma in order to be free.