Master's Words
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai,
Surrey, United Kingdom, January 8, 2006 (Originally in English)
Anything in this world like that hurts me a lot. I can’t watch
TV right now because of things like bird flu, where they take
thousands of chickens or ducks, just take them by the neck,
throw them in a bag, close it, and throw it in the garbage. Can
you imagine, if it’s you? Imagine it’s you! They just bury them
alive, just like that! Or throw them in the fire, and burn them
alive. Imagine it’s you! If all the world could just be
vegetarian and not breed a lot of chickens and let them be them,
they wouldn’t bother anyone.
Oh
God, I cannot watch all this! It just hurts me, and I can’t
sleep. Anything in this world, when I look around, it hurts me
all the time. Even when I was younger, if you remember I made a
poem, “I Don’t Know What to Do with My Heart.” It’s because of
that. Even when I was younger, before big enlightenment, before
the Himalayas, I really couldn’t bear it. That’s why when I was
married, I couldn’t enjoy. If I watched TV, I would feel sad for
many days and many weeks. I worked in the Red Cross, and nothing
was happy. And when I was young, I witnessed people dying and
suffering, and war and all that. There’s just nothing really
good in this world.
So, anything can hurt me, so easily. Sometimes I even see
healthy, good children being pushed around in prams without any
covering in the front. Of course they are warmly dressed, but
the cold air can hit their face, also the debris from the street
or anywhere. Because you are tall, you are walking up here but
the baby is down there. So I also feel hurt for that baby,
because they are delicate and something can flow into their
eyes, or they can breathe something bad or the cold air into
their nose, which can be painful!
Some humans are very inconsiderate. Sometimes they put the dogs
behind them on the truck, without anything to grip. So they’re
just running under the hot June sun, or in some very hot weather
kind of country. The dog is just slipping here and there, and he
might be hurt on his legs or in the heat from the sun. We could
not even bear it! So I don’t know how a lot of people do a lot
of things. I don’t know how some humans have no feeling.
So
the thing is, whatever you do, consider the other party. Then
it’s easy to understand and to feel it. Don’t ask me how
enlightened you are and what level of sainthood you are in. Just
watch yourself. Watch how you react with other people, how you
treat other people and how you treat the less fortunate animals.
Then you know what level you are; you don’t need to ask me.
Because if you are enlightened, you must be more intelligent.
More intelligent human beings can see everything better than
before. When your eyes are open, you see better! So just watch
yourself. Don’t bother asking me when you’re going to reach the
Fifth Level and be a Master and all that.
You have to do the best, alright? If you can! There’s no use
rescuing some animals and then just putting them into another
different kind of hardship and neglect. Talking about these
things, it makes me feel painful again. I cannot rescue all the
dogs in the world, but if you see a neglected, suffering animal
or something that is not right, try to correct it. Don’t ignore
it just because of inconvenience.
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