The method is transmitted without words. If we use language to be enlightened, we are still in the intellectual realm and the mind will be wrestling and all this is very tiring. So I do not teach you a kind of mind-wrestling method because I think that we are tired enough from working every day, struggling with our problems, so there is no need to go home, sit cross-legged and wrestle again! You probably heard there were different methods leading to enlightenment, and indeed there are several. However, there is only one that can lead you to the highest enlightenment. You can take different paths at the beginning, but you will have to take this one to reach the top. This path must include contemplation of the inner light, and of the inner vibration that the Bible calls the Word.

So, we get in contact with this Spirit, which is a manifestation of divine light and vibration, and by doing so, we know God. In fact, it isn't really a method. It is the power of the Master. If you have it, then you can transmit it. The method is a transcendental one that cannot be described by our language. Even if someone describes it to you, you will not receive the light and the vibration, the inner peace and wisdom. Everything is transmitted in silence, and you will see your old Masters like Jesus or Buddha. You will receive all that you need to follow their footsteps, and little by little you will become Christ-like, and you will become one with God.

I thought I could share with you a little secret technique that I have learned and mastered, and maybe it could help you use your own greatest power, to help yourself, your friends, relatives, your nation and greatest of all, the whole universe. Because I have seen with my awakened eyes that all beings in the universe are linked together. We are all the same essence, we are only one. I have not read it from books only, I have seen this. Therefore, if you think that you are still in misery, that your life is not smooth enough, that God has forsaken you, that you haven't seen God with your own eyes, then please let us help you and find God.

Before I encountered this easy technique, I had tried many other techniques, like the Secret Doctrine of Tibetan Buddhism, or the Thai, or the Burmese etc. It was so complicated and boring for me. Maybe I am too small, maybe for you it isn't too tiring. But it was very time-consuming and you needed a lot of equipment and instruments in order to carry out this type of practice. But not with the Quan Yin Method. I found out that it was easier than anything else. You can sit in a train, in a bus, in a park, anywhere, and you can be in tune with God's power. You feel the protection and you can see God face to face. You may be in contact with Jesus, Buddha or with whomever you love most in your heart. They will appear to you, they may teach you something, they may protect you, guide you, hold your hand so your life will never again be lonely. But this is not even the highest state. The highest state, is that you become like Jesus, and then, you have all the power to save the world and to be safe from the misery and the round of birth and death. You become all-wise, all-knowing and omnipresent.

After I give you the Quan Yin Method, then you meditate, you try to search within yourselves to find what kind of power you have, what kind of capability you have forgotten, how much intelligence you have used, who you are, and what kind of position you have in the universe. You search and search, and you will find it.

Q. Master Ching Hai, my question is two fold. Yeah! First, can You give me a brief description of the practice that You teach? Second, can You imagine any conflict between this practice and others?

M. Oh, yeah! A brief description is that I will show you how to concentrate yourself in order to contact this heavenly God power or Light within, and to hear the inner Word or the Word of God within. That is basically the so-called method. But to do so I don't use any language. I may talk to you and explain to you all different kinds of heavenly scenery, or different levels of consciousness, and so wherever you are, you may know what your level is. I may explain all these outer things, but the method is transmitted by complete silence. When I am silent, that is when I transmit to you, and then you will see the light and hear the sound. And now that I'm talking, you see nothing, and you hear nothing. So the method is actually no method. It is the transmission of the inner power from person to person, from heart to heart. Therefore we call it in Zen "Ying Hsin" (Chinese). It means "heart stamp". [Master laughs.] Do you understand that? That's it. "Heart" means our power, our inner wisdom, not this physical heart. Therefore there is no method to talk about really, except that when you are in contact with God, then you can transmit it. He allows you to. Understand that? But then whatever it is you will see, you will get enlightened. You will see the light, you will hear the sound, you will see some heavenly abodes. You may see Jesus, you may see Buddha. You may learn with them something of the ancient wisdom. And that is a benefit from the method, a success from the method, but the method itself is no method. It's only the silent transmission of the light.

Q. Master, could You please explain the origins of the Quan Yin Method of meditation and how to practice it?

M. As I have mentioned earlier, it comes from God. It comes from God knows when, from time immemorial, since creation began. Since we began to play the drama of life, God has granted us this way to go back to Hirm. That's where it began. And as to how to practice, I'll explain to you, if you're interested, in greater detail later if you stay behind. It needs to be explained more in detail so you will not be confused at home if I'm away. You have to know at one time and forever, then you'll never forget it again. You can do it all yourself at home, whether the teacher is dead, alive, there or here, or never seen again. So you have to learn carefully. It doesn't take long, maybe a couple of hours to explain everything, but that's for life.

Here we don't have so much time. I just briefly tell you that the Quan Yin Method is not a method really; it is the inherent power that is the power of God to prove that we're God. Because we have that God power, at the time of initiation, the master just helps you to remember it. And remember you will, immediately, and then you'll feel it. You will feel the power; sometimes it shakes you. But later on, you will calm down, because you know you're God. In the beginning, it might be exciting, but later on, "It's okay, so what? Everyone is God, no big deal." (Laughter)

Q. What are the steps to enlightenment, and what level of enlightenment does this technique take you to?

M. It will take you to the source of all beings, where you came from, and where all beings will return. Between this earthly level and that absolute level, there are five levels of consciousness, or different planes of existence. And if we, through the practice of the heavenly light and sound and with the guidance of an experienced teacher, pass through these five levels, then we will arrive at the house of the Masters, where all Masters came from and return to after their mission, and where we also will come from in order to help other beings, should we desire to return to earth, or to any other earth planet in the universe. So the first step is to get initiation, and then, everything else will come.

Since immemorial times, music has been a must to mankind. Even animals feel attracted to music and plants are supposed to grow faster with it. Thus, if the outer melody is so important to all lives, the inner celestial, wondrous Sound is even more enchanting, and full of grace and blessing.

The fetus, while in the mother's womb eats nothing. Inside there is no air, no sunlight and he doesn't seem to mind at all. The reason being that he is in contact with the inner wondrous Sound, the source of all love, bliss and power. The fetus grows at an incredible pace under such conditions, and if it were to continue, he would be as tall as the sky after he is born. But after his birth, he is disconnected from this vibration, and he cries at the first contact with the outer world. No child has ever been born laughing. It is because he feels a great loss as the sound is severed from him.

There are two kinds of sound: the worldly sound, and the supra-worldly sound. The worldly sound is very important to our sensual and mental comfort, but the supra-worldly sound draws us back to God.

The Heavenly Music spoken of in all Holy scriptures of different religions such as the 'Word' in Christianity, the 'Shabd' in Hinduism, the 'heavenly music' in Chuang Tse, the 'Tao' in the Tao Te Ching, etc. are the only real teachings direct from the Kingdom of God. They are the language of universal love and great intelligence. All teachings come from the Silent Sound, all languages come from this universal language. That's why high level initiates on this path speak all languages within the soul sphere. That is the level of the Master, the one who has mastered the language of the Kingdom of God. We all possess this wisdom, the wisdom to understand all things above this shadowy world, to be omnipresent and to function as the most perfect being in the universe, if only we desire to remember again what we truly are.

This Word or divine vibration is mentioned in all religions. We call it Yin, others call it celestial music, Logos, Tao etc. It vibrates within all life and sustains the whole universe. This inner melody can heal all wounds, fulfill all desires and quench all worldly thirst. It is all-powerful and all-love. It is because we are made of this Sound that the contact with it brings peace and contentment to our heart. After listening to this Sound, our whole being changes, our entire outlook on life is greatly altered for the best. The wondrous vibration will cleanse off all undesirable traces of 'original sin' or what others call 'karma'. It is like a mighty river carrying along with its current all ugly garbage.

This inner sound is the great creative force of the cosmos. It sustains and nourishes all things. Its manifestation in the outer world can be heard in the natural melodies of the wind, the water, birds etc., which are the lower manifestations. There are however more subtle and higher sounds which are inaudible to our physical ears, because they vibrate at a higher rate than our material world. The way to these higher dimensions lies in the Sound itself, which we follow back to its original source. To hear higher sounds and see higher worlds, we must open and develop our higher senses. And to do this, we need a guide, a Master of the Way, who is like a travel guide who knows what lies ahead. Religious scriptures only describe these worlds, just like a land map. To really know the land, we have to get there in person. When we have a guide, then it is quicker and safer for us.

In the Buddhist scriptures it is mentioned that the Buddha speaks only with one language, but every being can perceive it according to his own understanding. Now this language is not the ordinary verbal language, it is a kind of sound, of inner vibration, that everyone can use to communicate with each other, and the Buddha can use it to communicate with sentient beings. If we think that it is the language of our world, then it is impossible. Because no matter how intelligent the Buddha is, He can only speak one language at a time. And it is impossible for all beings to listen to all languages at the same time, including animals and lower beings that also understand it. So this must mean the Word in the Bible. Also in Taoism, in the Tao Te Ching, Lao-tzu mentioned that this name we cannot name, the Tao cannot be explained, we can hear it without our ears, we can see it without our eyes, we can perceive it without our sense organs. Now this Word, sound or vibration, is the creative force of the universe. All the scriptures, if you read carefully, mention this Sound, and this so-called inner music.

So now, if we somehow can get in touch with this Word or sound stream, then we can know God's whereabouts, or we can be in contact with God. But what is the proof that we are in contact with this Word? After we are in contact with this inner vibration, our life changes for the better. We know many things we never knew before. We understand many things we never thought of before. We can do, accomplish many things we never dreamed of before. We are getting mightier, and mightier, until we become almighty. Our being becomes more capable and more enlarged until we are everywhere, until we become omnipresent, and then we know that we became one with God.

No one who comes into contact with this Sound or Word will not experience a great change in his or her life. This is what we call an enlightened person. The more we are in contact with this Sound, or the Quan Yin Method, the wiser we become, the more saint-like we become, and the less vexation, attachment, anger, hatred, and lust we will have. We will have more freedom, more love and peace, more wisdom, and everything we wish to have, including a more comfortable life. We won't only develop spiritually, but also materially, and in all aspects. We will feel much different than before.

With our poor worldly language, every time I would like to speak about this great treasure within us, I feel so ashamed of doing such a poor job. But I have somehow to try to convey a part of this great wisdom so that you may feel interested, and find it out for yourself, and then you will know it for yourself without any language.

Q. What is the relationship between the divine light and the divine sound?

M. The light is to show us the way back to God, the sound is to pull you upward. It is like the light and the engine of the car; the light is to show you the road, the engine is to take you on the road. Whoever asked this question must have some experience already.

Do you practice the light and sound? Yeah? who is the Master? You want to say? Indian Master? Don't know his name?

Q. How does the inner sound bring you to liberation?

M. Because the inner sound is God. If you know the sounds, it means you know God, you get nearer to Him. And to come near God means you get away from demons. That's a simple thing. To be near God is to be liberated, or to be near Buddha. To become Buddha means to be a liberated soul, to be free from bondage, to be free from birth and death. That means liberation. But there is something more concrete, that is when you get transmission you immediately transcend death. And that's what we call liberation. Yesterday I gave transmission to about thirty persons, and some of them experienced the death experience. That's what is called being born again. Except thou be born again thou shall not enter the Kingdom of God. So what is being "born again", or "I die daily." One of the Catholic saints said, "I die daily." What is it that I am dying daily? We are living, and he said he is dying. He said he dies a hundred times daily. That means dying while living. You die but you don't die. You just transcend the limits of death, and then you live forever. Once the fear of death is transcended, is understood by our own very weak and scared soul, then we are forever eternal. We are normal, and we are immortal. That's what he means. Yesterday, a fellow practitioner said when he meditated just a few seconds, or minutes, he immediately saw the light and the tunnel. You know the dark tunnel and inside there is light. And he flowed through it like sailing on a boat. That's what he said. Now what is that? You have seen on TV and you have read books about the experiences of near death persons. Haven't you? Yes. And they see this great tunnel, and then they have to float through it, and then they see the great beam of light, and then someone explains to them that they are dead. But yet their time has not come, and then they have to come back to the earth again. And so some of these persons come home. One said she cried off and on for two weeks because she had to leave that wonderful world and come back to this terrible one. Is that not so? Yes. That is the limit between life and death. And some of these persons experience that while they're near death. Because they have been virtuous, therefore when they die they can immediately go to the region of light. But this region of light is not the highest one, may I tell you. There are some others higher. But this is only a kind of, how you say, frontier, a frontier between our world and the other worlds. It is just the beginning of the other worlds. The other worlds are higher, higher, higher, with limitless spheres of light. And the higher you go, the more speech-less you become. And there is nothing to say any more and nothing to talk about. Except that some stupid ones like Master Ching Hai like to convey this to others, and then She couldn't even say much. But I talk about this because yesterday this man, and other men, experienced it. They transcended the limits of life and death. They died and they came back again. They had the same experience as those recorded by Doctor so and so, who wrote about many hundreds of near death, or dead and come back again to life patient's experiences. So this is what we call born again, or transcending life and death, or being free from life and death. Once you know how to die while living, you will fear death no more, and you'll know how to do it any time. And when your earth time is over you will know it even in advance. Your master will come and tell you, "Three more days, and your time is up. Or in a week's time we will go to another place, so please prepare. So if you owe people money, give it back quickly, or your children need something, yeah, insurance, life insurance." We have to take care of such kinds of things. A master will take care of you, every minor detail, after the initiation. And that is his or her job. He does a lot of work, even paperwork, bureaucratic work. Because we live in this world with many complications, the master cannot avoid taking care of even these things, even though his job is not that. But without that the devotee can not be free. So we often hear of transcending life and death, being free of life and death, and we don't know what it means. It means exactly just that. At initiation you transcend and you know what life means, what death means, and you have no more fear.