Host: On Monday, September 20, the eve of the jubilant Moon Festival, our Most Beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai graciously took time from Her intensive meditation retreat for the world to call a Supreme Master Television team member and greet everyone for the holiday. Master also kindly shared Her thoughts on a question about the dress code mandate given by the Taliban for the Afghan women who would be allowed to continue their education.
(Hallo, Master.) Hi. (How have You been doing?) OK. OK. Not bad. How about you guys? (Oh, we’re very well, Master.) […]
Did you have cakes and grapefruit for Moon Festival that I told them to send you? (We did, Master. Very enjoyable.) A lot? (Yes, quite a bit.) I told them to give a lot, a lot, so you can have the whole month, maybe. Not Moon Festival, but “month festival.” (Thank You very much, Master. We really appreciate it.) […]
It’s Moon Festival and I wish all of you in-house, out-house, and everyone in the world, whoever can hear me, a very good Moon Festival and a more hopeful future. (Thank You very much, Master. We wish You the same. We wish You a wonderful and beautiful Moon Festival, Master.) I try to. I try to. I try to think that it’s Moon Festival, but I don’t even know what day it is and I don’t even know if it’s the Moon Festival already or not. I’m just reminded by your TV, that they are putting up some program or something ‒ and make me check ‒ to celebrate Moon Festival, and then I remembered, “Oh, the Moon Festival!” So I ordered the kitchen and supplier to bring you some good stuff, like moon cakes, (Yes.) chocolate and grapefruit. […]
Try it. It’s good for you. There’s a lot for everybody. I ordered at least 12 for each of you. (Yes. Thank You, Master. Thank You.) […]
(Master, we have some questions. If we could ask You, if You have time?) Sure, sure. […]
“Media report from DW News sept. 14, 2021: Women in Afghanistan will be allowed to study in female-only classrooms, and the subjects they take will also be reviewed.”
“Global News Interview Sept. 9, 2021: So we are trying our best to accept these new instructions from the Ministry of Higher Education and also encourage students to attend their classes.
Within this new policy, boys and girls will be separated and they might even attend classes at different times.”
(Master, the Taliban now say that Afghan women can continue their studies in universities, but they need to wear black hijab, which would cover them fully, except the face. They also need to be in separate rooms from the males. Master, what do You think about that?)
Oh, except the face, yeah? (Except the face.) That’s already an improvement. Before, they had to cover everything, like burka. (Yes, everything.) Now they… except the face. Are you sure? Hijab is except the face, right? (Hijab – except the face. Fully…) Fully from head to toe except the face. That’s already something. At least you can see the Sun. At least the Sun can kiss your face, to comfort you, (Yes.) and give you some nice color. Vitamin D, good for people, men and women alike.
What do I think? I think it’s a good improvement already, and people should be happy for any improvement. Any progress. The country has just been in turmoil recently, so whatever improvement, they should welcome it.
I know the women love to be beautiful and all that. I too, I too. But nowadays, I’m in retreat, I couldn’t care less much. Of course, that’s good. […] (Understand.) When I go out alone without any disciples, I mean, when I live alone without having to do anything with the work, the mission, then I don’t wear any makeup. I don’t wear anything luxury. All the things I wear are just because of work, like fashion. (Yes.) I designed them, so I wear them, like advertisement. (Yes, Master.)
Otherwise, nowadays, I think the most important thing is: You should focus on more than just the looks. (Yes, Master.)
Are you a woman or something? Why are you so concerned? (Well, Afghanistan is a very hot country and wearing hijab may be uncomfortable for some women.) Yeah, yeah, OK. But better than burka already. (Ah, yes.) Burkas cover everything except some net in front of your eyes, and you could not even see around. (That’s true, Master.) Difficult and you fall down sometimes. Or somebody might attack you and you don’t even know yet. Behind you, or when he comes near, you don’t even see. So this is an improvement already. Of course, it’s not completely to the liking of a woman or many other countries where the dress code is more relaxed and easy. (Right, Master.)
But we have to look on the positive side, like it is good for now because the important thing is to be wise, and to have peace in the country. So if you just accept it, that will calm down everything now at least, more, for the women, and be more peaceful for them. (Right. Right, Master.)
Because if you show your beauty, it could be also a risk. Especially now, when all over it says that the fighters go out door to door and kidnap girls and force women, raping and all that. So, it is better you cover yourself. (Yes, I have seen stories about that.) It’s wise to cover more yourself.
And also, if you want education, you don’t want anything else. If you want to go to school or outside, you want education, safety and peace. So it’s good, you just go along with it for now. Maybe in the future things will change and you will have more freedom. But right now, it’s good like that. (Right, Master.) It’s very good already.
And then if you’re separate from the men, it’s also good. So both can be more concentrated on education, (Yes.) instead of looking left and right, in front and back, just for something else. (Right.)
I think it’s not too bad like that. It’s not the worst thing that happened. At least you can go to college, university, that’s a good thing already. (Yes.) That’s the best thing for you if that’s what you want. (Yes.) Then you can help yourself for a nice future, and a good future, and for the country, contribute to your country and your family. (Yes, education is very valuable.) Yeah, education is important, more than looks. At least just for now, for peace’s sake. (Yes, Master.) […]
So, whatever situation, if it doesn’t endanger your life, then I think we should just accept it.
It’s good that you ask all these questions. I think it’s good that the men ask, because it shows that everybody cares, not just women who care about themselves. (Yes, we do, definitely.) It’s good. You happy with my answer? (Yes, Master.) Anything else? (Yes.)
(Some women don’t like the new dress code, and right now we see in the news that, “Afghan women around the world are protesting against the Taliban new hijab mandate by posting photos of themselves wearing colorful traditional dresses on social media.” Does Master have any comment on that?)
It’s also good like that. Why not? They are free to express their opinions. (Yes.) And besides, the traditional clothes are very beautiful, also very dignified. (Yes, very much so.) It covers also a lot of the body. (Very much so.) It’s also very, very, very nice clothes. I saw it. I saw it myself. It’s very colorful, very beautiful. It shows their national mentality. (Yes.) Like, they love beauty, they love brightness. They love colorful things that make life more bearable. (Yes, very elegant.) Elegant, oh, that’s good as well. […]
The Afghan women outside, they can wear what they want. (Right, Master.) And the people inside the Afghan country, they should just go with the flow, I think, just for peace’s sake and safety’s sake. (Right, Master.) More safety. More safety for them. It is good like that also. I’m answering you but I just hope they hear me. At least maybe their souls can hear me. And they can think about it and just accept it for now, for their own peace and safety. (Right.)
I pray that they have peace and safety, for the whole country, men and women alike. And the Taliban also, that they have peace with each other, so they have time to think more about enlightenment, more about the Prophet’s teaching, Peace Be Upon Him, more about Allah. (Yes, Master.) More about peace within their own country, with each other, and within the international community. (Yes, Master. We wish them the very best.) Yes. […]
So, it’s good the girls can study. That’s important. So I suggest that the girls accept whatever’s offered to them now, so that we have more steps forward for the country, and no more war, no more conflict within the nation. (Yes.) And can go ahead with development and more building for the country, more progress. (Yes.) (Definitely. More progress.) Yes, more progress.
(Master, women have gained for the past two decades much freedom in many aspects, including the clothing. Master, how can they protect that freedom?)
How? Not by going against any powers that be. Not like that, because let’s face it, women are weaker and they have not learned to fight physically. (Yes.) So, it is better just to accept what it is, as long as it doesn’t harm you physically. (Yes.) Then should just accept.
During the monarchy and the monarchic regime, they had more freedom. And this is the time that the country is going through a different period, a more upheaval type of situation. So, it’s better to just let it be, OK? (Yes.) Let it be. Otherwise, there will be more bloodshed, more restrictions, more curfews, more conflict. (Right, Master.) That is also no good, no good.
Things always change. Yes, the proof is that they had more freedom before. (Yes.) And now they have so-called less freedom. You see? (True.) So, things changed from better to worse, and maybe it will change to the better later. (Definitely, Master.) Life is like a river. In some places it flows smoothly, some places it flows through the rocks and waterfall and deeper area of water. So we just have to be calm, be peaceful, be more prayerful, and hope for the future. […]
First you have to survive. (Yes.) And do your best to survive and to help in whichever way you can. Then you can contribute to yourself, your family, your country, and to the world. The government, either the Taliban or any new government, should be proud if the women of their country achieve something noteworthy or great. […]
Should not suppress them, but let them develop their potential, because it’s good for them also. […]
“CNN Interview Sept. 16, 2021: How can you have any hope that this can get better? (I really have no other choice. I honestly don’t. None of us do. We have to. We have to believe that something is going to give, something is going to change, and we are going to be… something is going to be better. Our education, our place in society, as mothers, as daughters, as wives, as the women that we are. And all of that, I want to do according to Islam. We don’t want anything more, honestly! I don’t want to ask them anything more. Islam has given me a lot of rights, honestly. A lot of rights. And if those rights are given to me, I can live very finely in here.) And if the Taliban don’t listen to you? (They are going to be making mistakes, because they will not hear from us women, from our point of view, what we know, what we have learned, what kind of ideas we can give them, to make things better.)”
So, in order to achieve international recognition and equality, everyone should have freedom to choose their lifestyle. (Right, Master.) And then the whole country can benefit, and can take pride together, men and women, and it would be good for the children to follow up. […]
All right, any other questions, my love? No, Master. That’s everything. […]
OK. Then I wish all of you well and I thank all of you again. And may God bless us. May God bless all the world, bless especially the poor animals, so there’s no more suffering for them. May God bless our world to be completely vegan so that we can save ourselves, our children, our world, and the animals from all suffering. Amen. (Amen, Master. We wish Master the very best, may God bless Master, and may animals be forever protected and everyone to observe Heaven’s law so we can live in paradise.) Yes, that’s why. Vegan law is Heaven’s law.
God keeps warning us but we don’t listen. Any religion would teach you nonviolence: “Thou shall not kill.” (Yes, Master.) But the people who read that every day or who go to the church every week, who have the Bible in their home, they don’t obey that Commandment. (Yes.) That’s why God was angry, and God wanted to destroy the whole world. If it’s not been for some interventions from some good practitioners, then we’d have been doomed a long time ago already. (Yes, Master.) OK, my love. We pray, continue, OK? […]
I wish all of you, all the Quan Yin practitioners and all other practitioners, good, good practitioners, all the best from the most Gracious God, so that they continue to help and bless the world visibly and invisibly, to please God, to appease all the murdered, innocent humans and animals so that they don’t continue revenging on us, on our world. […]
Host: Obedience to God’s Commandments brings us Grace and purifies our world. May we all find the strength to abide by all that is wise, good and virtuous – thus keeping our dignity as loving and noble beings. With deep appreciation for Caring Master’s prudent words and advice, we continue to pray for global vegan law, with its miraculous world-saving power, to be quickly passed. We also pray that all citizens of Afghanistan will be united in peace and reap the fruits of prosperity and international respect. Wishing Master the best of health and a tranquil heart, secured by all Benevolent Godses.
To learn what else Supreme Master Ching Hai advises the Afghan people and how our world can be a paradise, please tune in to Between Master and Disciples, on Tuesday, September 28.
