Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Hsihu,
Formosa September 22, 1991 (Originally in Chinese)

Long, long ago, two birds and their fledglings lived near a farm. Every morning and evening, the parents would go out to find food for their little ones. One day, when they brought the food home, the baby birds said to them frantically, "Pa! Mom! This is the end of us!" Startled, the parent birds asked, "What happened? Tell us quickly."

The baby birds said, "We heard that the owner of the farm has asked his relatives and friends to come and help harvest the crops tomorrow. We will have nothing left to eat." Their parents comforted them, saying, "Don't worry about it. No matter what, his relatives and friends will definitely not come." The baby birds were confused, but they believed there must be some truth to their parents' words, because they were older, more experienced, and must know everything. Reassured, the baby birds ate heartily. Several days went by, and true enough, none of the farmer's relatives and friends came to help with the harvest.

Then, a few more days later, when the parent birds came back with food, their little ones told them again, "This is the end! We heard that the farmer has asked all his children to come home tomorrow to help reap the crops. We will have no more food. We are in serious trouble!" Their parents laughed and reassured them, "No! It won't happen! Don't worry. Their children will definitely not come to help them. Don't be afraid." The baby birds were happy to hear that. Their parents had made the correct prediction last time, so they must be right again this time. The family enjoyed their dinner joyously, and truly, as predicted, none of the children came to help the farmer harvest his crops.

Again, several days went by, and when the parent birds returned to the nest with dinner for their babies, the little ones again told them, "We are in trouble! We are in danger! We heard that the farmer and his wife have decided to harvest the crops by themselves tomorrow. They are not going to rely on others or ask for help." This time, the parents were really worried and said, "This is indeed the end!" (Master and everyone laugh.) The little ones asked, "This is strange! Why is that? The last two times we told you that they were going to get help from their relatives, friends, and children, you were delighted and said that nothing would happen. Why are you so shocked this time that they are going to reap the harvest by themselves and not rely on others?" The parents explained to them, "You don't understand. If they really rely on themselves, they will definitely do it. You cannot depend on others. Now that they have decided to be self-reliant, they will definitely do it. We will have no more food. We had better move to another farm."

The moral of the story is: We spiritual practitioners should rely on ourselves rather than on others; the Quan Yin Method teaches us how to rely on ourselves. Even this body does not belong to us, so practicing with the body only is not ideal either. That is why I emphasize that we should practice with our inner, original Self, and remind our original Self to practice spiritually every day. Only this is the best way. This is why we derive so much benefit from practicing the Quan Yin Method.

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