Water pollution is the worst. If for generations, day after day, year after year, chemicals, toxins and bleach flow into our water, rivers, or soil, they cannot be washed away. […] They will flow into our rivers and into underground water. They will contaminate our food and vegetables. We will ingest the toxins. […] And, those who still eat fish-people may suffer and fall sick sometimes. […] Poison will make them suffer and become disabled. It will be really bad. So, we protect the environment not for others but for ourselves.
Water pollution is the worst. If for generations, day after day, year after year, chemicals, toxins and bleach flow into our water, rivers, or soil, they cannot be washed away. Although we can use water to clean anything, we cannot wash away toxins. They will flow into our rivers and into underground water. They will contaminate our food and vegetables. We will ingest the toxins. They will flow into our streams and rivers and the oceans. Then people eat… Sometimes the seaweed we eat may become toxic as the toxins will cause widespread pollution. And, those who still eat fish-people may suffer and fall sick sometimes. Death is OK. If they die, so be it. They will be free of worry. But if they don’t die, they will be sick. Understand? Poison will make them suffer and become disabled. It will be really bad. So, we protect the environment not for others but for ourselves.
Everyone thinks it’s for others so no one does anything. It’s not. Any good deed we do benefits ourselves first. Whatever we give to others, later we will get back more than we have given. Because no one understands this principle, very few people want to do good deeds. After we begin to practice spiritually, we just practice without seeking returns. We do not perform good deeds for a reward. In fact, outside people benefit from doing good deeds too, just they do not know that. We spiritual practitioners cannot seek a reward for doing good deeds. It’s best not to tell anyone about our good deeds unless it is necessary. We will lose our reward if we tell others. First, it will be stolen or taken away by the power of maya. Second, we don’t want rewards to stay in this world anymore, right? If we do, we would need to come back to claim it. Do you want to come back? (No!) No! Of course not. So, any contributions we make should be unconditional.
But ordinarily, with regard to worldly reward and merit, whatever we do that benefits others, we will definitely be well rewarded. I have read many Buddhist stories to you, haven’t I? (Yes.) When in France, at my little home, I read many. Did someone translate them for you? (Yes.) OK. If we have a chance, we can air it on Supreme Master Television. For the world to watch it, so they can reflect and realize doing meritorious deeds will bring merit for themselves, firstly. It is beneficial for ourselves. I myself have had many such experiences. Not that I sought merit or wanted anything. It happened naturally. For example, sometimes I felt that I should do this or that to make my dog-people more comfortable, and it turned out that I also benefited from it. Suddenly, I found the place was comfortable for me too and I could enjoy it with my dog-people. I started out doing it for him or for some small dog-people, but the result made me feel good too. These are just trivial matters, minor things.
Or, sometimes I went out and helped people outside. For example, I saw a poor person begging on the road, so I stopped the car. I stopped the car to give him some money, and gave whatever I had on me. And then I left. Originally, traffic was so congested there. At that time, my driver said, “No, Master, it’s too inconvenient. If we turn around, we may get stuck there.” I said, “It might be inconvenient for us, but he is even worse off right now. We could spare a few minutes and turn around, right? Turn the car around.” And, we had nothing urgent to do that day. We were not meeting anyone important or the mayor. We were in no hurry. We should turn around. Oh, it was so slow. However, we went back to give him some money.
Wow, the person was so happy. He said his mother had been ill for a long time. The money would let her stay in the hospital for a few more days and she could recover. If her treatment was interrupted, she might not be able to go back and it might be too late. Ah! I was so happy that I gave him all my money. I said to the driver, “See! What did a little inconvenience matter?” And it wasn’t too inconvenient. He was just lazy and didn’t want to turn back. There was too much traffic. We had to drive on a little to turn the car around.
But after we did that, suddenly traffic was moving smoothly. The road was to be blocked the whole day. They said we should take another route. But all of a sudden, the work was finished, and we could drive through. I thought it was because we… I thought it was a miracle. Maybe because we gave the man some money and his gratitude was powerful. Or Heaven and Earth were touched! Understand? Then they made the traffic smooth. So I said to the driver, “See! See! Ah! Wasn’t it good?” He said, “Yes, yes, yes. We must listen to Master.”
There were many such incidents, but I can’t tell them all. I can’t. It was often like that. I can’t remember. But it was often like that. If sometimes I went out and saw someone who needed help, I just helped him. Understand? Later someone would help me solve more difficult problems. I didn’t ask, but suddenly someone just came and offered assistance. Before, I couldn’t find help and didn’t know how to solve those problems, but suddenly someone came along and helped. And so on and so forth. I am not sure. Sometimes you might think that the person is begging on the road due to poverty. Not necessarily so. Later I checked and found out that the person was not poor. He… It’s another one. Not the one with an ailing mother.
Sometimes people really need help. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes it’s a test from the angels. Since you talk so much about love and helping others, it’s to test if you can put it into action. Understand? The test may be difficult. It’s not that you want to help him so you stop the car and you can give him. It’s not always like that. Sometimes you have to drive around for a long time to come back. And you have to tell him, “I just want to help. That’s all. Don’t be afraid.” Because when he sees a car drive up so fast and suddenly stops by his side, he may be afraid. Understand?
He picked up his bag and held it. Would I want his bag? It was like that. He had his bag beside him. We were in a hurry to help him, but our urgency scared him a little. Our sense of urgency scared him. He took away his bag. He held it, asking, “What do you want?" I said, “Nothing. We just want to help.” So, when we help others, sometimes we need to be gentle or we’ll scare people. Well, that’s it.
Wow! So early today? You want to ask anything? Everybody has gone home? You still here? How long? Excuse me. How long do you want to stay? (I leave today.) Only today? (I leave today. I’m leaving tonight.) Tonight. Oh, sorry. Where to? (To Thailand.) Where? (I am going to travel a little bit in Taiwan [Formosa] for one week, then I go back to Thailand.) Ah, go back to Thailand. (I’m living in a jungle there.) You live in a jungle? (Yes.) In Thailand? (Yes.) Wow. Lucky boy. Where is that jungle? Can you tell me? Some time, if I get tired of this, I go live with you in the jungle. (Anytime welcome, Master.) OK. Give me the address, to one of my… I don’t know, whoever. I don’t have any personal people. Where is that? (It’s in the southeast of Thailand. It’s called Ko Pha Ngan, one island.) Oh, yeah? Wow. How long have you lived there? (Twenty-five years.) How can you do that? You married a Thai? (No, I just go in and out of the country.) Ah, every three months, have to go out. (Yes.) Yeah, I used to arrange that. But now I am stuck here. I’m like a prisoner in my own house. Yesterday, I just told them, to one of my people around that take the dog-person, and he said, “Master, we have to go out sometimes.” Something like that. I said I’m like a volunteer house arrest person. Looks like I’m so busy, I could not go anywhere.
I wanted to stay in Thailand but something happened, I couldn’t. At the moment I cannot go back there, but I love Thailand. It’s very free. Very nice people, people respect foreigners a lot. And even, for example, last time we went to Thailand for a retreat, with so many people – about more than 10,000 something. Ten or twenty thousand. Because inside the biggest hall of Thailand were already sitting like eight or nine hundred people, and outside they were swimming around, a big sea of people. The government said nothing. Did not come arrest me because of making trouble, nothing. They brought toilets because the hotel…
I didn’t know so many people had come. I approved only maybe ten thousand because I knew that’s all the hotel can contain. We booked the whole hotel. And all their facilities belonged to us, the cooking place for us, and the big meeting hall – all for us. Everything was ours. But I didn’t know they were coming more than that. So we had a problem with the bathrooms and the elevators – everybody could not use elevators to go back to their rooms. They had to walk 16 floors, remember? Sixteen, right? (Yes.) Sixteen. Everybody remembers that retreat. They’ll never forget because they had to run upstairs for the bathroom. Imagine running 16 floors just to go to your bathroom. And then, even in their rooms, there were many people together in one room, they could not… The hotel was big but we could not have each one in one room. So even had to queue inside your room for the bathroom also. Oh, that was really terrible. Because the elevators could not take all the hundreds or thousands of people at the same time. Then the government helped. They brought us these portable toilets. I’ll never forget.
I’ll never forget Thailand’s hospitality and the government there was so good to us. In other countries is not possible. Number one, the police will come. Number two, the newspapers will come and write anything, whatever they want: a sect, a cult, a money maker, whatever. But nothing. The government helped. I’ll never forget. That’s why for me, Thailand is like my home. It’s just at the moment due to some situation, I cannot go there anymore. Maybe in the future, I can. I don’t forget Thailand. Very good people, good government. So free. Such a small country, and we 20,000 some people, and they’re not afraid of us. Suddenly we all come from everywhere. And such hospitality, such a love, such a belief in the Buddha’s compassion, they treat all beings equal. Such a faith that they are not afraid that we’re going to do anything wrong over there in their country. Such a faith, not just kindness. Such a firm belief in Buddhist teachings that you have to be hospitable to the guest. And that they all have Buddha nature inside. They’re all future Buddhas. In that spirit, they treated us so kindly, so kindly.
They never asked us for money for these extra toilets. Nothing, nothing. Just brought them there. I didn’t even know until later. And later, of course, we went to pay respect to the local government who had helped us. And, of course, we donated whatever we had there but still they did not ask.
It was so touching. I cried all the way in the airplane. I cried all the way. Because I had to leave first, and I told the representatives of different countries to take care of that and go thank the government for me. But they never asked for anything. It’s really unconditional. Such governments really exist, still exist. Even in some so-called free countries, we don’t always have this kind of treatment. Not so freely available, freely offered like that. I have not experienced that much in so-called free democratic countries. Not yet, not yet. And now we’re OK here. So, I’m very happy with the government here as well. You don’t need to.
I’m talking. He also wants to say something, but... Since they don’t understand you, don’t make me a translator, OK? I’m busy here. He wants to say that it’s right, it’s correct – things like that. He always does that.
