The
story about snake breeding that I have just told you is a true one.
It has even been reported in the newspapers. You can learn about it
if you read the papers. Or you can ask those snake breeders. Their bodies
must have a little snake venom in them, so they can have enough immunity
against snakes. Certain snake species are very dangerous. They only
have to touch you, and not bite you, for you to die. But nothing happens
to those people even if they are bitten. That girl even said that she
could not sleep unless she was bitten. This shows that we quickly become
assimilated with sentient beings we spend a lot of time with. Years
of contact with snakes, for instance, have made this girl almost one
of their kind. Although externally she looks like a human, inside her
body she is like a snake carrying venom. When snakes bite her, she does
not die, because she is with them every day. She is fully pervaded.
We
are also like that. If we spend much time with fellow practitioners
and virtuous friends, we will develop the same spiritual qualities.
Material qualities are infused in the material way. Spiritual qualities
are infused in the spiritual way. This is very logical. When we come
here or go to group meditation, we do not learn anything that is not
good. Everything is virtuous, very good for the self, the family, and
society. This is the philosophical aspect only. In terms of wisdom and
our spiritual nature, the benefits acquired through enlightenment are
invisible but receivable. If one can change into a snake through frequent
contact with snakes, can't one become a saint in the same way? Following
a saint turns one into a saint; following a snake turns one into a snake.
This is natural. Sometimes we see how people look differently when they
raise animals, or often slaughter pigs and cows. Sometimes people who
kill too many pigs begin to look like a pig, too. Don't they? (Audience
answers, "Yes.") For instance, I have seen two faces that
look the same in the newspapers. (Master laughs.)
Do
not be skeptical about the benefits of group meditation. Do not doubt
the benefits of meditating together. Do not have reservations about
the benefits of communicating with fellow practitioners. Like attracts
like. There is mutual encouragement and nurturing, and we grow closer
in oneness. This is certain. I have to be diligent and make an effort
to purify my thoughts, words, and deeds. You, too, should be diligent
and make an effort to purify your thoughts, words, and deeds. In this
way, we will have mutual benefits. We will certainly benefit from meeting
with each other. (Audience applauds.)
