Appreciate life, start with enlightenment.
Colorado, USA April 10, 1993.

After I realized that, I changed because that was a wrong conception. It's okay I wear the clothes if I want to. But that is not the leading motive of enlightenment. That is not the condition for enlightenment.

Enlightened people are very happy. And they accept the situation whatever it is. And I have a very positive knowledge that if all people are enlightened, then we don't need to change the world at all. We don't need to make India become rich, we don't need to change communism into capitalism, because everyone will be contented under whichever circumstances they are in. And we don't have to change anything. We don't need to even vote for a new president every four years. And Mr. Clinton can stay there forever, (laughter) whether he is good or not, because we are good. That is important. You see, one president however good can not do much. But the whole nation is strong when people in that nation are altogether, at oneness, because of the connecting network. And the whole world is altogether in unison because they're all connected with that network. And then, the president cannot help himself but to be good. He has to behave, right. I don't mean Mr. Clinton, please don't tell him. He might not give me visa next time. (Master and everyone laughed.) So the problems in this world are not to be blamed on politicians, not to be blamed on the economic system of any country or any ism of any nation, but to be blamed on the ignorance of our self-nature. That we do not know how great we are, that we do not know that we are the contentment incarnate, that we do not know that we are love personified. Therefore, enlightenment is a cure for all illnesses, for all worldly problems, for all wars, and is once and for all finished! And as long as all of us are enlightened, the world will never come to an end. Everybody predicts about the end of the world. I mean not everybody, everybody worries about it, just some people predict, and make many people worry. But even if the world comes to an end, the enlightened people will never feel bothered, because they know this world comes and then it will go one day. But the life eternal always goes on, and that nothing can affect it. Life eternal is what we are. Wisdom is what we possess. Love is what our nature is. And that cannot be destroyed with any bomb at all. It cannot be limited by space and time. Therefore, the masters initiate disciples without the limitation of the space and time. The master doesn't have to always be where the disciples are, but can help the disciples and bless them. And the disciples will grow into mastership, and also can do the same, yeah. So whatever I do you can do also. That was what Jesus said to us.

But can we do it? Can we do what Jesus did? No, not yet, because we did not learn what He learned. We have not tuned into the Kingdom of God. We have forgotten our Father who is perfect. Therefore we live in imperfection. Now to correct this is very easy. Yes, if we want to go northward, then we have to face north, and continue, begin and continue to walk or to go northward. But if we want to go south, then, of course we have to turn back and face south and begin to go there. It's very simple.

Therefore, everyday we face the world. We walk toward the world, we think toward the world, we merge ourselves in the world. All our attention, energy, emotions, best talents face the world. We don't face God. Now, it's very simple. Turn around. I will show you how at the initiation and there you are. Very simple. But you will ask me the question is that, If you face God, then you have to turn your back to the world? It is not so in the Kingdom of God. Because actually if there is no Kingdom of God then there is not this world. This world is only a copy of the real thing, of the real life. Therefore, you do not have to forsake the world in order to know the real. But you have to know that the world came from the real by realizing the real. Just like you get to know a beautiful lady instead of chasing after her shadow. Then you have both. If you want the shadow that much, you can include, because the shadow comes from this beautiful lady. It's no good always clinging to the shadow and not knowing the real. But soon as we know the real, the shadow also belongs to us.

Since ancient times we have always heard many stories about how fantastic a master is. Just like Jesus, yeah, Jesus, He is great, fantastic. He can do many things, and we admire Him. But He should not be the only one in this position, because it is said in the Bible that Know you not that you are the temple of God, and the Holy Spirit dwells within you.

We house God. You understand that? We house the almighty within ourselves. And here we are having nothing of this almighty glory. It is because we face the other way. We face the shadow, we chase after the shadow, and try to correct the shadow to suit our taste-that the legs were too long, the head is too flat, or the ear is too pointed. It was because of the light which projected the real and made it become the shadow. And if we chase that all the time, and trying to make it different, of course we make trouble for ourselves. We exhaust all our energy and we achieve nothing. We might be able to adjust a little bit here, a little bit there, but this is only a shadow. Right? Tomorrow it will become ah, ear, the ear will be pointed again. Therefore in order to truly enjoy we have to correct the real... we have to know the real one and adjust accordingly.

If you know the beautiful girl, where she stands, then you can even make the shadow become more beautiful if you wish. See, you can make the light behind her go a little bit above or under, and then her shadow will become very much like the real person; or do some technique to adjust the shadow. But if we do not know the real and try to adjust the shadow from the shadow itself, then we always have problems. That is the problem with the world. That's why our world is always in trouble, because we try to correct the shadow and not the real object.

And so many heroes have come and gone. So many great kings have reigned the world, but the world is still the way it is. If you have fixed some problems here, other problems will breed themselves elsewhere. If you have enough medical care for the people, now you have incurable diseases like AIDS for example, troublesome. And so we never come to an end without problems, if we always try to fix the world.

I have known one person, he is very much interested in our teaching and wants initiation and that. But he told me that he would like to stay in the world, to remain in the world as worldly people, in order to understand their problems and in order to help them. Many of the heroes of our history have thought the same thing, and the world has not become a paradise. Even though we have a lot of better equipment, more civilized society, but then we have other more troublesome problems. So you see, our brothers and sisters, what the conclusion should be. It's not that after enlightenment we forsake our political career. Or leave the President alone in white house and all the aids will go out, because they're all enlightened. But we stay there, and we do better job because we know how to adjust the shadow now. Or we don't bother at all to adjust the shadow anymore. Whatever the shadow may be, fine, because we know it's not important. We may feel amazed at the shadow, of its changing shape and size and color, of different time of the day. We might watch it with amazement, but we no longer chase after that, and we no longer put great importance upon this shadow. That's why everyone should be enlightened. And the world will be at peace. No other thing needs to be done. I don't know if you agree, yes or no? I tell you from example, not sheer talk. See, for example. Now you look at me, I'm wearing beautiful clothes. Actually we designed ourselves, I designed myself and I have seamstresses who are monks and nuns, together yeah. I mean we are those who live together and do not have family ties and that. So we work everything together without wanting any wages or any position anyhow. So, now it's very inexpensive anyhow. But it looks beautiful, right?! So now I am happy because I am beautiful, fine.

But when I am alone and I have not to see you in such a great event and important greeting like this, then I just wear whatever it is, right - very old clothes but very comfortable and old shoes flat. And I don't even care to wash them very carefully because I would just pitch my tent next to the river and put my clothes in the bucket and some soap in it, river water and I use my feet to stamp on them and while I clean my teeth at the same time, yeah. I use my feet to just, you know, walking on the bucket, walking on the clothes after a while and then let it be in the sun for a while. And then after I clean my teeth or I bathe, and I swim, and then I just shake them loose, yeah and get the river water to clean them. Then I throw them on the rocks and after some time they are dry. And that's a life of beautiful enjoyment that I most cherish.

But nevertheless when I go out I stay in, sometimes, hotels, sometimes stay in a very beautiful mansion which some of the disciple lend us for few days, and I also enjoy that. You see, I also enjoy the freshly cut lawn and the beauty of the flowers that you plant around in your gardens and every so-called luxurious thing that you have. I enjoy. Yes.

Therefore enlightenment affords us the enjoyment, not the situation. So I enjoy in both cases. I do not deny luxury, and I do not cling to asceticism, because both have its beauty. Whatever it is there, you accept it and that is the simple life. Some people ask me, Simple life means going to the forests and living in caves and eating weeds, and all that? I say no no no. Simple life means you stay where you are enjoy whatever you have. If you are rich, you enjoy your rich life and share whatever leftover, too much, with other people. If you are poor, enjoy your simple life and be happy that you don't have to worry about thieves. [Laughter] And that is simple living. You see, simple living, yeah - stay where you are, enjoy what you have, that is in my thinking a simple living. Do you think that's alright? Because if we try to change our life it makes us not simple. Right? You are so used to with clean bath rooms and all that. And now you have to punish yourself and adjust yourself to kind of outside open toilet and it freezes in the winter and maybe you are not used to with the cold. You'd get cold and you'd get sick. And then is that simple? No, then you have to be administered to in a hospital and get all the needles in your tongue, in your knees and wherever necessary. (Master laughs.) And that looks very complicated indeed. At least from the outside. Therefore simple living means you are comfortable where you are. But of course there are somethings we adjust to life. For example if we meditate a lot, then we cannot afford to eat meat too much because that excites our energy, stimulates the passion, and we would like to sit still in order to know our own treasure and wisdom. Therefore if we do not follow a simple diet then it will have some side-effects. Therefore, some people meditate at random and do not adhere to the vegetarian diet they come into a kind of disturbance, you see? Many people have mental derangements. It is because of violating the law of nature. The law of nature teaches us to be vegetarian.

You know all of this. And I think in the sample booklet that you were given it has already been proven scientifically that we humans are vegetarian species. Because our teeth and our intestines... is that right? yeah? okay - are made for vegetarian beings, yes. And the meat-eaters beings are different in the body construction and the inner organs and the digestive system are all different. Anyhow I'll be long about enlightenment and short about diet, okay? Because in case you are allergic to vegetarian diet I won't mention anymore.

But be enlightened anyhow, by all means and by whatever you can afford in your environment and in your mental state of preparation. There are many ways to enlightenment. But there is best way, quickest way, or longest way, yeah, safer way or a little bit risky way. Just like you climb the mountain there are many roads, but some roads are even and some roads are more rocky and some roads are dangerous.

So I have found that the Quan Yin Method, the method of observing the inner Word, the inner sound and the inner heavenly light is the best, and is the ultimate because ultimately we have to arrive to the light of God and to the Word of God in order to get the wisdom. All other roads are leading you to that state - that you could hear the sound of God and could see the light. Or other methods are having this same goal, but we are right here, - the teaching directly and you immediately experience the enlightenment taste, you see immediately. So you get this light and sound right away at the time of initiation. Whereby other methods, you have to take a long time or many years or many ascetic kinds of sacrifice in order to arrive there.

Therefore, actually this is not a method. It's just a fruit and the meal is already prepared for you hungry guests. The others, maybe they are not hungry so they try to mess around with their food or cook all the time and not eat it. Many of our people who stay permanently in many of our centers around the world, their life is very simple, but they are very happy. Our life is so simple that when compared to the most simple life styles in other countries, theirs seems pale! The other day we were speaking with some of the people who work with the government in Au Lac. They are not the governmental officials, they are just working in a businesswise and so we had a chance to talk about this. And then, I said, Actually the Au Lac people in Au Lac if they were enlightened they wouldn't feel so troubled about communism even.

I say because, actually I am a true communist. Because whatever I earn I share it all with people. Communist means you have everything not for yourself, but for the community, you see. You live in a community. Therefore, actually I don't talk communism, but the communists should give me the best medal for it, yeah, because I live what they preach. (Laughter.) I live in tent. I live simple life. I don't earn money for myself. All the money runs around the world for the sake of my disciples, for the enlightenment of others, and for the poor and needy. And even my clothes I design for myself so it's cheaper.