The Omnipresent True Nature

Spoken By The Supreme Master Ching Hai, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
July 19, 1997 (Originally In Au Lac Language)

At this very moment, while we're sitting here and talking, we're simultaneously living through all the levels, which we have or have not realized. It's not that we only live the life of a human being here. We become fairies, saints, Gods and Buddhas as well; even ghosts by the way. It's because there are many such levels in the universe.

For example, you're going to have a vegetarian barbecue today. Someone is going to give you a skewer, on which you put a variety of things. A piece of bell pepper over here, a piece of tofu over there, a piece of wheat gluten, a piece of ham, so on and so forth. Then, when you hold the whole skewer up, you will be able to see its entire contents. Everything is in your hand. Human life is the same. In one instant, we're able to embody all nature, and knowledge of every level in the universe. It's just that we don't know this.

It's because now we're living in the world as a human being. We chose our life to be in human form, and therefore, we only close all the other gates in order for us to be able to fulfill the human life at this time. If the other gates were wide open as well, you would know that you are also a fairy, Buddha, God or past, present and future; then you would not be able to fulfill the responsibility, the duty as well as the journey you have chosen to take in this life. Hence, there are no third, fourth and fifth levels at all. Everything is us. The third is us, the fourth is also us, and the second is us as well.

If we want to return to all the things of which we possess such an immense knowledge again, then we should practice the Quan Yin Method to regain all this knowledge. The higher the level we practice at, the more we are able to know that we are indeed everything. All beings are one, for that matter. If we choose not to practice, then we only know that we are just a human being who goes to work day and night like walking on a treadmill. We go back home, go to work, to take care of spouse and children and then argue with them, argue with our husband. Then that's all we do without knowing anything else.

Whereas, if we see that the chosen journey of being this human being seems to be a mistake, which makes us bored and we want to know more, then by practicing the Quan Yin Method, we'll be able to know more. Our life will naturally become different. (Applause)

What's happened? What made you applaud so noisily? (Audience:Very good) You understood? Oh God, I had such a poor discourse but you all understood anyway. You're so good indeed. It's true. Actually, I was afraid that you would not understand because this subject is so complicated. It's hard to explain.

For example, now there's a skewer that has everything on it; but while you bite a piece of tofu, you only know the tofu taste. Ah, we're hungry and tofu is our favorite, so we eat the piece of tofu first, and we only know the tofu taste. At that time, we only chose tofu to enjoy just its taste; our mentality, our enjoyment was focused on that piece of tofu.

Although we have a skewer full of other things, we don't pay attention to them, so we don't know. Not paying attention also means that we don't know, because we just don't pay attention to them. Naturally, we have it all but we either do not pay attention to it or ignore its presence. It's because of our mind. Our whole attention is being focused on a piece of tofu. Since we so enjoy eating it and only think of enjoying its taste first, we inadvertently forget the others. Nevertheless, we know what happened before and after. Similarly, only when you choose to enjoy other tastes will you be able to recall something spontaneously.

Therefore, while living this human life we often think that we have the sixth sense. In retrospect, since childhood we often have had such an experience even before we practiced the Quan Yin Method. Sometimes, you've experience that. While sitting in one place, we sometimes intuitively feel that we seem to remember something so unfamiliar. We have never done such a thing before, but we know. Also we think that oh, sometimes we want to do something in the future but we feel frightened all of a sudden. We then call it the sixth sense. The sixth sense told us that we should not engage in such a business.

Sometimes, when we are in the middle of doing something, we think: Oh, this definitely can not be done. We know that instinctively. How could we know it when we haven't done that yet? Many say it's the sixth sense. Others say it comes from our past life experience. Actually, it's not. It's just a talk of the sub-conscious, a talk of a past life or future life experience.

Actually, there is no past life or future life. There's only human life, which is an infinite and endless chain. It's because we differentiate it into past and future, we chose it to be like that.

In so doing we have isolated and different experiences that are separated, each section. Like our home, we divide it into separate rooms. Actually, it's still our home. Before we subdivided it, it was an open space. Even when all the walls have been removed, it's still an open space anyway. We divide it in order for us to have separate areas to do our own private work.

Similarly, in the eternal life of a human being, of a being not entirely a human being, of a sentient being, there are many sections for that reason also. But, in reality, it is a long and endless chain. As we go through our present life, there is also past and future. It is because there is no time and space. They are just a result of our choosing to become a human being alone, to do the work we wanted to do now.

Otherwise, it would be so boring if we were to complete all the past and future work in one life. It would not be like what we wanted originally. What we wanted was to descend to this world at this time just to choose to become a human being only. We will then choose to be a fairy or a Buddha at another stage. Then when we want to choose to become a ghost or demon, we would choose to be it at another time. We would shut the time and space gate to create an isolated area in order for us to become a human being, ghost, demon or fairy.

Actually, the life of every being is a long and endless chain. All is housed in this time frame only, without any past, future and present at all. It is we who chose a certain angle of life to complete the program that we wanted or to experiment with what we like. We like to do it in order to experience it; that's all (Applause).

Hey, it's very difficult. But, actually, if at the same time we knew that we were also a saint or a Buddha, then we wouldn't be able to fulfill our duty as a human being at all. (Applause) It would be impossible because anything that we work on with our full devotion and energy, would be completed with its full taste and depth. But if we already knew that we were God then it would be impossible for us to sit there and cry after being left by a husband. Crying without real passion (Laughter, applause).

If we sob without real passion, then we wouldn't be able to feel the suffering of a wife being left by her husband. We wouldn't be able to completely fulfill the role we designed to test ourselves. We try it in order to know how deep the suffering will be. Thus, when someone speaks of the suffering of the one who was left behind, we can understand and express our sympathy toward him/her. We will then try to help resolve their problem for we have already walked the same road before.

If the Buddha would have sat still in one place, he wouldn't have anything to do at all. He wouldn't have had sorrow or worry, and it would still have been considered okay. If we happen to choose such a journey, then it's still all right. There are many people who choose to try all tastes of irony and bitterness just for fun. Because in the long, long life of eternity in the universe, if we didn't choose to try this today and try that tomorrow, then we would be bored to death. (Laughter) Today we leave the husband, tomorrow he will leave us and that's fun. (Applause, laughter)

For example, while the Buddha is sitting here, he has chosen to be a human being. At the time he's a human being, if he still thinks that he's the Buddha, then how would he react when his wife leaves him or when her husband leaves her? Oh well, all right, someday I'll go and find another husband. It's no big deal, life is so eternal. Then he looks into the future and says, "Ah, another wife is coming; she's even better." Then, he says, "Oh well, just leave, go away." And he's no longer sobbing.

Okay, now we should talk about a less complicated subject -- actors and actresses, for example. Your favorite actor or Liz Taylor. At the time she played the role of Cleopatra, she must have used all her mental strength, energy, focus and knowledge in order to perform that role well. If, at that moment, she still recalled that she was Liz Taylor, then she would not have been able to play the role well.

It was because the Liz Taylor in Beverly Hills had a husband, and had already left eight husbands, so this one was different. (Laughter) If she recalled the husband who had left her, she would sob her heart out about this sad story of her husband. Then how would she be able to play the role of Cleopatra? When she played the role, she had to be there, she had to be Cleopatra. From that, we should understand right away.

The saints or God are the same. When they have to play the role of a human being, they have to play it right, meaning that it has to be one hundred percent human. Whereas, if they still associates themselves with the sainthood or God, then they will never be able to play the role of a human being. The saints and God are so great with magical power, who couldn't sit there and sob his heart out because his wife had left him. It would never happen. That's it. (Applause)

Therefore, sometimes when I said you are a Buddha, a saint, you did not understand anything at all. It's because you have chosen to forget yourselves. Now you are so bored with being a human being; you haven't learned much. It's no fun to have chosen this path. Since it's not a good choice, you like to go back to being a saint, a Buddha; or you have been a human being for too long, you have tried this kind of life over and over without being able to get out. It's so boring; just think of it. Since there's nothing exciting anymore, we want to go back to being something highly conscious. Then, we should choose the Quan Yin path to follow (Applause).