In this episode, Supreme Master Ching Hai explains that true life is eternal and not confined to this physical body alone.
(“‘Refrain from sexual misconduct.’ Does this precept exclude intimate relations before marriage?”) (“‘Refrain from bad sexual behavior.’ Is this a teaching that does not include pre-marital…?”) Pre-marital? No. No. When you love somebody, you’re married inside already. Marriage doesn’t depend on that piece of paper. “Refrain from sexual misconduct” means you have one partner only. It’s good for you. A sexual activity should be a joy to both, should be enhancing your marriage and your loving relationship. And if we fool around, that means we abuse this sexual gift, and it will have a very unpleasant consequence on us – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When you love somebody and have physical contact, it’s different than when you just use the temple of GOD for pure physical experiment. In other words, making love, not having sex. It’s different. Alright?
(“What is life?”) Life? I don’t know. Such a question, huh?
Well, I can only tell you that true life is not contained in this physical body alone. True life is eternal, continuing all the time, from one station to the next, from one state of being to another. If that’s what your question means. In order to know this true life, we must be enlightened. Otherwise, we will be attached to this physical existence alone, and we’ll think that after we die, we have nothing else, and no other life exists.
(“You said that we can touch GOD, and we can even see Him and feel Him. I’d like to know if You’ve had that experience. Or what it meant?”) (You said that we can touch GOD, that we can look at GOD, or hear GOD.) Yes. (“I would like to know if You have had an experience like this?”) Of course. (“And what has this meant for You?”) If I have not had this experience, how would I be able to give you the same experience? If I don’t understand English, how would I tell you that I’ll teach you English? Everything I tell you is personal experience, as well as the experience of thousands and thousands and thousands of other brothers and sisters around the world who have shared this so-called method.
What does it mean to me? You must know the answer. What does it mean to be able to know GOD, to talk to GOD – what does that mean? How can that mean anything else? It’s the supreme joy. You can’t explain this. You can only experience it. But I also still suffer a lot. Because the people in the world still suffer. And that is the only thing that dampens my spirit and my happiness. Otherwise, after knowing GOD, you don’t want anything else. You’re satisfied even if you don’t have anything to eat or you don’t have anything to wear. Even if the whole world forsakes you, you don’t care.
(“How does this meditation differ from Buddhist meditation?”) (“What is the difference between Your kind of meditation and Buddhist meditation?”) The real, true, original Buddhist meditation from Lord Buddha is like my kind. And nowadays, there are so many varieties because of the lack of the original one. I am not responsible. The same with the real Christian meditation in the old days. That’s why Moses saw GOD as a flame, the bush, the flame of the bush, and heard GOD as the (inner Heavenly) Sound of many waters. This same experience, and more and more and more, we can have right now.
(“Is the Bible the only sacred book inspired by GOD, or are there others? Do the death and resurrection of [Lord] Jesus Christ guarantee us eternal life by Grace? Has GOD’s Love already saved everyone? And will everyone be granted eternal life? Thank You.”) (“Is the Bible the only holy inspired book inspired by GOD, or are there other books? And do the death and resurrection of [Lord] Jesus Christ guarantee us eternal life? Has the Love of GOD already saved everybody? And would everybody be given eternal life? Thank You.”) There are many other holy scriptures. If you take time to study them, they are exactly like the Bible. But you don’t need to. You don’t need to. The Bible is enough. If you want to, you can compare, of course. That’s the first. And the second question?
(Does the death and resurrection of [Lord] Jesus Christ guarantee us eternal life?) It does guarantee it for the people who followed Him and who were baptized by Him at the time the Lord was alive. That’s why the Lord said, “I am the Light and the Way of the world as long as I am in the world.”
Every time the Master passes away, someone else must take His place. That’s why Lord Jesus has promised to send the Comforter after Him. And life after life, we have many Comforters. We have to look for Them. We’re lucky to find Them. Because They come from sometimes unexpected places. We see Them in some unexpected situations. Similarly, when Lord Jesus was alive, people did not recognize Him. They even tortured and crucified Him. You see. Because they were waiting for the Messenger. And they accused Him of blasphemous sin. Yes. So listen to your own wisdom, pray to GOD dearly for guidance. Otherwise, we might miss the chance again. It’s very easy to see GOD, and it’s even easier to miss the chance to see GOD. I speak from the depths of my heart. You feel it. You know what to do. Thank you.
(“Is it possible that the sense of emptiness we feel inside, or the feeling we experience when we are depressed, is actually a mystical state – a longing for the Infinite?”) (“Is it possible that the sense, the feeling of emptiness inside us or the feeling that we experience when we are depressed, is in reality a state, a mystic state of nostalgia for something, a nostalgia for the Infinite?”) No. No. No. It’s different.
The emptiness that we feel when we are depressed is depression. That’s the lack of GOD, the lack of love that we feel within us. And the so-called emptiness we feel during the meditation, that is the transcendental kind of detachment from everything, even from this body, and we feel that we are one with everything. We don’t have this physical burden of individuality or the body anymore. One feels very bad, sad, and hopeless; the other one feels very joyful, happy, and elated. It’s completely different, like night and day. That’s why we must take care to have proper guidance in meditation, or else we might mistake the illusion for the real thing.
What time do we have to leave this theatre? Ten o’clock. OK. We still have some time? Alright. Yes. Because we must have initiation after, in here, right? OK. So please get on with the questions.
Photo Caption: “The World Is 1 GOD’s Family. It’s Nice Living 2gether in Harmony!”
