One person makes a lot of difference. If you truly believe in your goodness, in what you are doing, you will influence other people. But if you don't believe, they will influence you. They'll try to make a weak person out of your personality. Whatever you believe is good, stick to it and don't let other people make you waver, because the good example in this world is rare. So make yourself a good example. Try your best in everything so that people will know that because you practice, you have become better. Then you really are being useful for society. That's how you prove. That's how you help other people. That's how we rescue the world from the great destruction that may be coming.
Therefore, we have the choice to think positively. Everything that is beneficial to other people and ourselves at the right moment, that is positive. And everything that hurts you and hurts other people, that is negative. So every time we have to consider what is negative, and what is positive and that is how we fight. And when we always think positively, speak positively, and love people, and always act in a positive way, which means properly, in the right time and beneficial for ourselves and to other people, that is when we are siding with the positive force and the positive force has one more storehouse of power to overcome the negative energy in this world.
The future is in our hands really. There are no aliens who can do anything about it. There is no God who punishes us. There is no enlightened being who blesses us. It's only ourselves. We have to make a choice, because that's how we grow -- by making a good choice.
The world is in need of such fast working people. It is so desperately short of these fast thinking, intelligent, conscientious, moral and honest people. Therefore, the more the better.
Another example: you may have run into trouble today on the road or in a certain place, you may have had a car accident or another accident. Then, you met two very compassionate people who cared and helped you, making you feel loved, safe and very comfortable. Later, you left when everything was alright, or after spending a week in the hospital and that loving feeling was still affecting you. Whomever you saw thereafter, or in a conference with many people, you would be very loving and patient to them and then, those who you treated compassionately would continue spreading the love outward, also treating others with love. And then, those whom they had lovingly treated would again spread this love to more people. The transmission would go on and on, just like a drop of oil, spreading outward continuously.
You have to reprogram your thinking and reorganize your reaction. Otherwise, you have wisdom, you have blessing from Master, you have power to act for success, but you always step back and worry. Because of your habit, you think you cannot do that. Some of our disciples are still like that. For example, last time Hong Kong... everybody wrote a humanitarian letter, to send to Hong Kong Government, but the Hong Kong didn't write. Said "Oh no! No, we can not offend Hong Kong Government." Things like that. They are brainwashed by some of the false information that some of the political people want to spread around to get the support from the people, so that they can get together and abuse the handful of the Au Lac refugees, because just want to get rid of them. And so even the disciples, they also go with the strong. You know, and suppress the weak.
Nevertheless our fear is not the real fear. We can conquer it. That's the difference. And we know how to do it. We know how to conquer it. But we are made like that, so that we help in cleaning the planet. Every Quan Yin practitioner shares the responsibility of cleaning the planet in some degree or another.
Q. Master, I am confused about what position to adopt when I see countries at war, being invaded, women and children being abused and tortured. Do you have any words of advice?
M. Your question is one of many concerned and considerate people, but there is no cure if people do not cure themselves. You know the law of karma. Suppose you succeed in killing the murderers and protecting the women. How can you do it in the whole world? And sometimes the innocent is not always so pure and the murderer is not the only one responsible. The whole society, the whole world is responsible. So what can we do? You can put that person in jail, but another person will come. We cannot change the world if people do not want to change, but we must try. Therefore, Masters go out risking their lives telling people to change themselves. So why don't you join them and light one more torch instead of sitting there and feeling sorry? Do something. Maybe you can save ten, maybe he can save twenty, and little by little we can save the whole world. There is no other way to change people, but to tell society how to change its pattern of life. Not to change the victim alone, but to change the whole society. And if we cannot stop the whole misery, we can at least stop some parts of it, and this is already a good accomplishment.
Q. Thank You Master Ching Hai, for having the patience with us today, (Master: It's okay) for answering our questions and being so generous. You spoke about a level where one is aware that they have powers that come from that awareness. Now what if you are aware of the powers, you don't know that you have them but you are aware of them. You may even feel like you do. How do you access it or not access it? If you don't access it, how do you not become impatient with the process that's going on around? Like you see the process taking a slow, mundane way when you know you can just pray or do something else to bring about a better or quicker resolution.
M. Yeah, understand.
Q. What does that mean and how does one access it with the blessing that it will come out okay? Do you understand what I mean?
M. I understand, I understand. What you meant is that when we have the power to change things and when the things around go in a bureaucratic way and a slow way, how would you have the patience to bear it, right? Or would you just pray or do some magic or point a finger and push it, right? No, I have patience because we have to work with the pace of this world in order not to bring it into chaos. Yes. For example, a child cannot run. Not because you are in a hurry or you want to run that you make the child stumble and fall. So we have to be patient. Even though we have the power to run, we walk with the child, yes. That's why sometimes I am also frustrated and impatient but I have to teach myself to be patient. That's why I have to go and bow my head from one president after another for the refugees, even though we want to add all the financial support. We would give all we have, everything, millions of dollars, or billions even. We have to go through the bureaucratic system. Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Understand? I am not going to wield my head or to point a finger at the U.N. even make them run. No, no. We cause disaster in this world if we use physical, magic power. Understand? It has to go the way it goes. But we can elevate people's consciousness by spiritual healing, by spiritual wisdom, understanding. Impart to them the knowledge that they are willing to do it, you understand, and cooperate. That's the best way, not to use magical power. I never intentionally use magical power in any aspect of life. But miracles just happen around the spiritual practitioners. That's very natural, but not intentionally. You understand? Not trying to push things. Yes, that's no good. The child cannot run. All right? You satisfied with my answer? If any of my answers don't suit you, please let me know, because I can explain further. But I trust you are very intelligent, being the most chosen and intelligent people of all nations. Therefore I don't elaborate very much, yeah. Any more question? Yes, behind there. It's good that we have United Nations, I have to say, by the way. Yes, yes. We eliminate many of the world's conflicts and wars, even though we cannot completely minimize. But I read your books of United Nations. Everyone is United Nations. And I have followed some of the United Nations work. And I must praise its effort and efficiency in rescuing hostages where other people cannot rescue, all the power of the world cannot rescue and one United Nations' commissioner did it.
Yes, and many other things concerning disaster relief, refugee problems. You have about twelve million refugees, I heard, responsibility. No? It's a lot of work, and the wars and everything. So it's good that we have United Nations, yeah! It's very good.
Q. Thank You, Master Ching Hai, for sharing Your wisdom with us. I have a question. It's about the escalating world population and its accompanying problem of further environmental abuse and the further greater demand for food. Would You like to comment something on this escalating world population? Is this a world karma? Or is this going to create certain kind of karma in the future?
M. Ummm, to have more people for this world is also very good. Why not? More crowded, more noise, more fun. No? It's not that we are overpopulated, really. We just not spread out evenly. People just condense in certain areas of the world and do not want to move to another area. That is all. Yeah, we have so many vast areas of wild land that have not been used. Many virgin islands, many vast.. you know, plateaus which are only green with forests and nothing there. Ummm, people just like to concentrate in New York, for example (Laughter) because it's more fun here. Yes, because if a government or any government is able to create jobs, you understand, and industry... and employment of different kinds in different places and people would go there also to work. They just condense in some places because it's easier to find employment here, or safety. If the safety, security and employment opportunity presents itself in those other different places, people would go there also. They would go for security, for their livelihood. That's very natural. Yeah? So, it's not that we should fear about overpopulation. We should be more organized to give people of the world more benefit of employment opportunities and housing and security. Then everywhere is the same. We would never be overpopulated. And about your question concerning food, you should know better. Because in America, we have so much information concerning how to preserve the world. Vegetarian diet is one of the best, to preserve the world's resources, to feed the whole population of the earth. Because we waste a lot of vegetarian food, energy, electricity, medicine, to raise animals. Understand? Whereby it could feed other people directly. And many countries of the third world nations, they sell their protein-enriched vegetarian food for cheaper price. But that is not a help to the other world nations' populations. If we spread all the food evenly and vegetarian diet will help this, not only for ourselves, not only for the animals, but for the whole world. One of the research something... magazines, they already said that if want... if everyone in the... how to say... Oh, last time, I was in United Nations, I mentioned that already. I've forgotten. If we eat vegetarian, the world will not be hungry anymore. And also we have to organize, yeah, organize. I know some person, he can make rice bran into nutritious food and milk even. And we have talked last time about that. He said he spend about three hundred thousand dollars and he can feed six hundred thousand people in Ceylon - the poor, the under-nourished, the mothers, and all that. Yeah, it was fantastic. Because the way we do it in many parts of the world, it's that we waste the natural resources, not that we don't have enough. God wouldn't put us here to starve. Actually, we starve ourselves. So we have to rethink... rethink, reorganize, and that needs the blessing of many countries' governments. They have to bless us with their absolute honesty, cleanliness and, you understand, dignity, and the will to serve people instead of serve themselves. If we have this blessing from all the countries' governments, you understand, we have no problem really. No problem. We have to have good leadership, good economic organization and ruling talents and honest governments. But that can come about more rapidly when many people or most of the people or all the people become spiritual. Then they know the discipline. Then they know the precepts. Then they know how to be honest and clean. And they know how to use their wisdom then. Then they can think of many things to do and reorganize our lives. Understand? Otherwise if you just run for power with your pocket money or with the money collected from the public and then you try to collect the same money again before you run out of power then. Does not help at all. Does not matter if you sit on gold mine, we die all the same of poverty. The leaders of many nations have to be aware of their power and responsibility. Have to think of the people, reorganize the system. Uh! Yes.
Q. That seems to be very difficult because as I see, much of the... as I understand, much of the environmental abuse today has to do with a growing population's demand for more living space, for homes, for living the way we in the 20th century know and want to live. Say the jungles in Brazil. The environmental abuse there. The destruction of the forest there, the rain forest. The land, it's being defoliated and that results in floods. And these are not unrelated to the problem of overpopulation.
M. Yes, everything is related to each other, of course, in this world. And the only solution is to solve it from the root, not the branches. And the root is spiritual stability. Understand? So all we have to do is to try to spread the spiritual message, what we know, and keep to the spiritual discipline. That's what people don't have. It's okay to plug yourself in the electric machine and have some lights and some buzzing music and get samadhi. But if you don't have moral discipline, then you only use the power for bad things sometimes. Can't control it. You understand? That's why we in this group, we keep... teach people the precepts first. Precepts are important. We have to know where we go and maneuver our power. Power without love, without compassion, without proper understanding of the moral value, then it's no use. It becomes black magic, abuse. Yeah. That's where black magic comes from. Understand? So it's easy to get enlightenment, it's hard to keep it. In our path, if you are not truly disciplined and morally equipped, the master will take away some of your power so that you cannot abuse it and do bad things to the society. Understand? That's the difference. Master has control. The master power, the master power, okay? Yes, I am very happy with all of your intelligent questions. Very intelligent. People do these things because they are not wise enough, you know, like abusing the land that you have said, or doing something just because their lack of wisdom. Yes, so the root is wisdom, spiritual practice. Get enlightened. Yes man.