People liked to listen to Jesus
Christ speak. Jesus often used
short stories to explain the
Truth to the audience. The
following is one of these
stories.
Once there was a farmer who went
out and sowed seeds to grow
corn. As he was sowing, some
seeds fell by the side of the
road, and then birds came and
ate them up. Some seeds fell
upon stony places, and when the
sun rose, they were scorched.
Some seeds fell among thorns,
and as the thorns sprung up and
choked them, they couldn't grow
big. Yet other seeds fell onto
good and fertile ground and they
began to germinate and gradually
grew into stalks of corn.
Jesus Christ explained that this
story was a metaphor for the
teachings of God. Upon hearing
God's teachings, some wicked
people might obstruct the
teachings and not let other
people know them.
Some people might like to
listen, but after a while when
they experience difficulties and
trails, they might lose their
faith. These people believe in
the teachings when they first
hear them. However, after a
period of time, they might feel
that the worries in their daily
lives or the feelings of the
husband and wife or their
families are more important than
God's teachings. Therefore, when
they are oppressed by their
worries or bound by their
feelings, they forget God's
teachings.
However, some people are like
the corn seeds that were sown on
good and fertile soil. They
clearly listen to and understand
the teachings, develop the
teachings that they have
understood, and make the
teachings a part of their lives.
We know this by looking at how
these people live, because
they've made God's teachings a
part of their daily lives. That
is, when we look at their lives,
we can tell whether they
meditate or not; whether they
keep the precepts or not, or
whether they're enlightened or
not. It's very clear and there's
no need to explain much!
Many people have come for
initiation and only a small
percentage of them have lost
their faith. Whatever I sowed
has grown, and very few of them
have fallen by the wayside and
been eaten by birds, or very few
have fallen on stony places and
are unable to grow. Most of you
grow quite well, while some of
you grow slowly but are trying
to grow. (Master and everyone
laugh) You can't be seen since
you're blocked by your taller,
initiated brothers and sisters.
Nevertheless, you still try to
compare, "All my neighbors are
taller than I am. (Master and
everyone laugh) But that's okay!
Some people who come after me
are shorter than I am." So you
just grow happily and slowly.
However, those who grow very
slowly give me a lot of
headaches. No matter how much I
water them, they can't grow
taller and hence make trouble
for me. Sometimes I get fed up
with them and then stop watering
them. I say, "You just grow by
yourselves!" (Master laughs)
Some of you are like seeds that
fall on stony places or by the
wayside and are eaten by birds
or dried up by the sun, unable
to grow.
Similarly, upon hearing the
teachings of God, our lay or
monastic disciples sometimes
understand right away. Their
souls realize and their minds
also suddenly understand.
However, after a while, due to
their carelessness or ignorance,
the newly germinated sprouts
will fall when blown by the wind
or will dry up when the sun
rises. Worldly worries and any
suffering and trials are like
the sun, the wind or the rain.
If you aren't strong enough and
don't grow up, you can't pass
the trials.
Sometimes I'm very surprised to
see that some people change
their minds very quickly. Today
they are very faithful,
enthusiastic and have the ideal,
but tomorrow they just go "Pu,
Pu, Pu," (audience laughs) like
a leaking balloon that is
pierced by a needle. When a
balloon is pierced by a small
needle, it'll go "Tzz, Tzz, Tzz"
and becomes very small. The
balloon looks big originally.
But since it's empty inside,
when it's punctured by a needle,
it'll go "Tzz, Tzz, Tzz" and
disappear. If a big piece of
bread is poked by a needle, it
won't be affected.
Many people like to boast about
big things. They talk about
something before they actually
do it. They criticize others for
not being able to do it and
boast that they can do
such-and-such. However, as soon
as they encounter obstacles,
they just go "Tzz, Tzz, Tzz,"
like a leaking balloon. This
surprises me sometimes!
Do you know why these people are
like that? Because they've
accumulated too many impressions
in their previous lifetimes.
Among them, there are too many
bad seeds and very few good
ones. This is just like the
story that Jesus Christ told.
Some seeds fall among thorns, so
they're choked and can't grow.
Even if they sprout a little,
they can't compete with the
thorns, so they just die!
As to our lay or monastic
disciples or anyone who comes to
get initiated by me and follow
me, I treat them equally and
give each one of them the same
thing, just like a farmer who
sows seeds with the same effort
and the same expectation.
However, some seeds can grow
while some can't.
Here's another story about a
farmer. This farmer cultivated
his land and planted wheat.
However, an enemy of the farmer
destroyed his work. When the
farmer and his family were
sleeping one night, the enemy
went to his land and sowed weed
seeds without letting anyone
know. When the weeds started to
sprout and grow, the servants of
the farmer came to ask him,
"Should we remove the weeds?"
The farmer said, "No. You can't
tell which are weeds and which
are wheat plants. I'm afraid
that you may root out both." He
then said, "Just let them both
grow until the time comes and we
can root out the weeds and
gather our harvest of wheat."
After Jesus finished telling
this story, people left. Then
His close disciples asked Him,
"What does this story mean?"
(Master laughs) The closest
disciples understood Jesus "the
best," and that's why they could
ask such a "bright" question!
Everyone else understood the
story and went home! (Master and
audience laugh)
Jesus Christ answered, "I'm the
farmer and the field that I
cultivate symbolizes the world!
The good seeds are those who
belong to God and believe in God
and me. The weeds are the
negative and satanic power that
belong to the enemies of God."
Nevertheless, the time of
harvest will come eventually.
Although the two kinds of seeds
grow together, look similar, and
mix when they are just growing,
it's no problem. When they all
grow up, we can tell which is
which."
After some thought, I think that
our initiates or spiritual
practitioners all look similar
when they first start to
practice. In the beginning, they
don't feel its significance
hence don't have much faith.
They believe in the Master for
one day and don't believe for
three days. They're just like a
mixture of one corn seed and
three weed seeds. They follow
the Master for one day and then
follow the world for three days.
Today they want to become
monastic disciples and follow
me, but tomorrow they want to go
home and get married or be with
their parents, sons or other
lovely debtors, et cetera.
They're just pulled around and
struggle hard inside. They don't
listen to me but argue, "I
believe in Master. Master is a
saint. But anyway, I have to
leave. (Master laughs) I'm going
to do what I want to do. It is
right only when I think by
myself. I know how to take care
of my life and know what I
should do."
They're all like that. However,
after a while, they'll regret it
and come back again. But then
they'll leave again and come
back again, wasting a lot of
time. However, after struggling
for a while, they'll settle down
and realize that we're different
than worldly peopl