So the Buddha said charity is good. Meaning material or mental charity is good. But the best charity is to give the true Dharma, the true teaching. Meaning, give people enlightenment so that they can be liberated forever.
To be a real monk, it’s when you are under an enlightened Master, like Jesus. At that time His monks are real monks. (Yes, Master.) Or when the Buddha was alive, at this time, His monks were real monks. (Yes, Master.)
And if the lineage is already broken by an unenlightened chief-priest, then, nothing more is left from that religion. (Yes, Master.) By no means, the teaching is still effective. It still helps people, to have some guidelines, to live a decent human life, to have some moral standards. (Yes, Master.) But that is not for enlightenment. And not for going to Heaven straight. (Yes, Master.)
Even if you do a lot of charity, just for gain and fame, or not. These are just inside the physical, the Three Worlds’ merits. It won’t help you to gain enlightenment – truly inside, the Kingdom, to recognize, to know the Kingdom. And you may gain some merit, like you’ll be born in some lower Heaven, enjoy some good time over there for a while. And then be reborn again. Depends on what your karma has in store next. If the next karma is enough merit for you to be a human, which is rare, then you will be born as a human. If the next karma in store for you is below human, then you have to be reborn as whatever next. (Yes, Master.) Or born in hell. So, to do merit, like giving charity, and all that, it’s nothing to boast about. That’s why Jesus said, “If you give from the left hand, don’t let the right hand know it.”
Many people give just for fame and gain. (Yes, Master.) And that kind, doesn’t even gain you any merit at all. Buddha said, “The person who gives must have a pure heart. And the person who receives must also have a good heart.” Otherwise, can give and take but no merit for either. You see that? (Yes, Master.) Ah! It’s not just like you want to do some charity, and then just do it, just for people to praise you, and all that. Then, it means nothing. It won’t take you anywhere.
A long time ago, there was a King Liáng Wǔdì of China. He’s supposed to be a devout Buddhist. He built many temples. And he donated to many monks and all that. (Yes.) he was very proud of it. And, of course, he’s a king. So, anybody around him would say, “Oh, Your Majesty, immense merit.” (Yes.) Big heart and great compassion, all that stuff. But it wasn’t like that. Because when he met Bodhidharma, the first Patriarch of Zen Buddhism in China, he immediately asked Him, “I built many temples. I helped many monks. How much merit do I have?” So Bodhidharma said, “Nothing.” “You have nothing. No merit.”
You don’t have to be Bodhidharma to see immediately that this king, Liáng Wǔdì he was just for fame. (Yes, Master. Understand.) All he worried about was merit. (Yes.) Like, so that people can count it. Like, 1,000 merit points, 2,000, 3,000.
And then he asked Bodhidharma, because people recommended Bodhidharma to him, like a great enlightened Master, from India at that time. So instead of asking Him, “How to get enlightened?” “How much merit do I have?” As if you can put it on the scale (Yes.) and weigh it. (Yes.) How much? Oh, 2560 grams of merit.
My God. (Yes.) Yes. The Buddha encouraged charity, that’s for sure. (Yes, Master.) But He also said that this only earns you merit in the Three Worlds. (Right.) The Three Worlds that we have, including this world, are destructible. One day they will be gone. But, He also cautions that the giver and the receiver both should have a pure heart. (Yes.) Pure intention. Unconditional spirit. Otherwise, they have no merit. (Yes, Master.) So, this is a trick in these Three Worlds. The Three Worlds are perishable. And it’s not conducive for enlightenment or liberation. (Yes, Master.)
It is if you find a Master, and learn how to get enlightened, which is within you. Easy to find anyway, but not everyone accepts that, or wants that. This life in front of them is all they remember. It’s all they think of. It’s all they care about. They don’t know time is running out all the time. (Yes.) And soon they will become nothing. Then they will go to hell or where accordingly. There, nobody will defend for them. No gold, no diamonds, no family, no wife, no kids, can come to his rescue. Not even his lawyer. (Yes.) Not even his cabinet of government officials. (Yes, Master.) If he is in a high office, like president, or prime minister. None can help him at all.
I hope everybody will realize that, but it’s so difficult to tell them anything. The material world blinds them, blinds them and binds them so hard, nobody can escape.
Sometimes I’m thinking to myself, am I too busybody. I’m taking on too much, too big. Too big. Too big a deal. (Yes.) Because, you see, most of the Masters came to our world, and initiated just a few. (Yes, Master.) Maybe some thousands, max. Because, in each and every epoch of our world, in every period of our time, there are only some handful of people who are virtuous and truly seek the Kingdom of God or want to seek the Buddha nature, want to go Home. True Home. (Yes, Master.) So, any Master who comes, they will just gather those. And they just ignore the rest. (Yes.) Because they know it’s a waste of time. (Oh.) Not because they are not compassionate. (Yes, Master.) It’s like that. Useless.
Just like the Zen Master (Mazu Daoyi) said, “You cannot keep polishing the brick and make it into a mirror.” (Yes.) You see, a brick cannot become a mirror, no matter how much you polish. (Exactly.) And all these rituals and all the things are nothing for enlightenment. (Yes, Master.) Even if you eat just once a day and do nothing bad to anybody and do charity, these are just merits within the Three Worlds. If you don’t know the principle of spiritual practice, if you don’t know the enlightening method, then you will be just in the whirlpool again, again and again. You got that? (Yes, Master.) This life you are good, next life maybe not. This life you are a king, next life you may be a servant. The recycling system of this world or within the Three Worlds are scary things.
Even many heavenly gods when their time is up, they also get recycled again, either as humans or less, or even in hell. (Oh!) Yeah. This is a very scary system. They spare no one, because they all go in the wrong direction. The only way to get out is go in the right direction, like a maze, in the labyrinth. (Yes, Master.) They could never get out unless they know the way. Unless somebody already knows the way and takes them out. It’s like that. And then the more they run around in there, the more they get exhausted. And then they get up and run again and get exhausted again, just like reincarnate again, again and again. Yeah? (Yes.) Sometimes good. Sometimes bad.
So the Buddha said charity is good. Meaning material or mental charity is good. But the best charity is to give the true Dharma, the true teaching. Meaning, give people enlightenment so that they can be liberated forever. (Yes, Master.) Out of the maze, yeah? Out of the labyrinth so that they won’t ever suffer again and they can also even help others to be liberated. You got that? (Yes, Master.) So what’s the use of being rich again and then being poor again, and rich again, being a king again, and being a servant next, and run around in this world. (Yes.) Even if you give them food and all that, it’s a temporary relief only. There is no help for the long run. (Yes, Master.) That’s why the Buddha said, to donate, to give the true Dharma is the best, the best gift, the best charity, the best donation. (Yes, Master.)
Nowadays, it’s very rare that you can find some enlightened priest or monk. If they are not evil, you should be happy already. You got that? (Yes, Master.) Not to talk about these Vati-gang and pedo-priests. They are devils incarnate. (Yes, Master.) Or they are under devils’ influence to do such things. Just like people drive wrongly because they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. There is no help much in this world.
And here I want to help the whole world, so that’s why it’s difficult, my life, my mission. Most Masters, they only came for a few. Because they know that’s all they can do. The rest are just blind, deaf and dumb. What for waste your precious time. (Yes, Master.)
Lao Tzu, He also said that when the people hear the Tao, meaning the true teaching, the wise one would immediately accept. The middle one thinks about it and the fool laughs out loud, laughs sarcastically. (Yes, Master.) Think they’re so stupid. And the stupid people, they say many things. And then some stupid also follow it. That is the thing. The blind lead the blind, all fall into the ditch. That’s what it is. You got it now? (Yes, Master.)
So don’t ever ask me about this devil of a Vati-gang chief. He’s not worthy of anything. He’s just from hell. That’s why he accepts all kinds of sinful activities and brushes them aside, like nothing. (Yes, Master.) Has no love, no compassion. You can see very well. (Yes, Master.) Anybody who has a little love and compassion would feel so sorrowful for the children who have been raped, molested and abused, and maybe tortured and murdered. But he, no. You see that? (Yes, Master.) You can see what he says and what he acts and his expression, you can know this guy is an empty shell and only the devil lives in it, controls it, maneuvers and manipulates it. (Yes, Master.) There is nothing of that guy. I just hope he gets out soon − kicked out, or resign, or run away in shame. But I’m not sure, because the devil is in him, so I don’t think he knows any of those things, (Yes, Master.) about shame or about remorse, about love, nothing. This is alien to the devils. That’s why they’re devils. (Yes, Master.)
