the SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Penghu, Formosa.March 6, 1989.One day many people came to see Jesus, including Hisdisciples and followers. The followers were those who believedin Him but hadn't practiced with Him, and probably hadn't beeninitiated into the Quan Yin Method by Him. They only followedHim and came to see Him. Then Jesus went up onto a mountain andsat down. It might have been like that, because there were somany people; He had to speak on a mountain to let them see Him.
Jesus first said, "Blessedare the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."This means that those who are humble and know that they lack wisdomwill be blessed and loved by God. Then Jesus said, "Blessedare they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." Thisis just like what I often tell you: Our sickness is also a reward,because we're blessed in that situation. Blessed are the meek,for they shall inherit the earth. Here Jesus meant that thosewho comply with the will of God will be rewarded. He also said,Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness,for they shall be filled. I translated this into Chinese onlybriefly. Then Jesus said, Blessed are the merciful, for they shallobtain mercy. And, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shallsee God.
We know this already. Amongour fellow initiates, those who are the most clumsy, the mosthumble and the least troublesome have the best inner experiences;and those who make the least noise and never show off in frontof me gain the best rewards. During the experience report sessionsat meditation retreats, a few people, whom we have never noticedbefore, may suddenly come out and report their very high-levelinner experiences. They are the most pure and humble.
Jesus said, "Blessedare the peacemakers, that is, those who pacify the world and reuniteenemies, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessedare they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirsis the kingdom of heaven. And, Blessed are ye, when men shallrevile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evilagainst you falsely, for my sake." "For my sake"meant for Jesus Christ's sake at that time. That is, if one ishumiliated and slandered for his Master's sake and for believingin his Master, one is greatly blessed. When Jesus was in the world,His disciples were slandered, persecuted, and bothered. Jesussaid that those disciples were greatly blessed. He told them tobe at ease and not to worry about such tests.
Then Jesus continued, "Rejoice,and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, forso persecuted they the prophets which were before you."That is, if you're persecuted and slandered that way, you'll becomea Master and attain God-realization. Therefore, all the religionssay similar things. Jesus Christ said, Whosoever shall smite theeon thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any manwill sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him havethy cloak also. That is, giving two pieces all together to thatperson would make him look better.
When we read the Bible or theBrahmajala Sutra, we know that we shouldn't treat those who slanderus and act badly toward us in the same way that they treat us.We should treat them with double love and kindness. If you onlylet him slap you on your right cheek without reacting, he maythink that you're afraid of him or you don't know how to react.But when you also turn your left cheek to him, he may wake upand wonder, "Well! Why did this person react this way? It'snot that he couldn't react, but that he didn't care about beingslapped and has forgiven me." Only then will he benefit.That's why Jesus told us to turn the other cheek to him also.Otherwise Jesus would have said, "When anyone slaps youin the face, don't slap him back." If we turn the othercheek also to him, he'll think, "This person is alert andnot muddled. He's capable of reacting, only his reaction is theopposite of my action." Only then he may wake up. Therefore,I think that Jesus Christ was the greatest. What do you think?("Yes!" Applause)
Shakyamuni Buddha reacted inthe same way when a person who had killed ninety-nine people wantedto kill Him. The Buddha didn't fight with him but lifted him upto the level of Arhat. That was the correct reaction. Becausewe've pursued spiritual practice and sown virtuous seeds in manylifetimes, we'll react the same as what Jesus said, "Whosoevershall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."We'll naturally react that way and won't know why. It's becausewe've become used to reacting that way and we react that way automatically.
For instance, when we're young,we can't ride a bicycle. Then we keep practicing riding and thenknow how to ride it. In the beginning, we feel happy about it.But after we get used to it, we feel that it's not difficult.We can talk while riding a bicycle and don't feel that it's abig deal. Some people can even get onto the top of a bicycle andstand up there while riding. Some can ride a bicycle backwardsand feel that it's easy to do that. Similarly, if we do virtuousdeeds and feel that it's natural, it means that we've sown spiritualseeds in many lifetimes and that we're blessed and virtuous.
On the other hand, if any oneof us or other people do bad and vicious deeds to us or otherpeople, we should pity him, knowing that he hasn't sown virtuousseeds in his previous lifetimes or his virtuous seeds have becomerotten or haven't grown. Then we should pray to God to help himto open his heart and make him understand. We can't let him staythat way. To those who are bad to us, we should give them a chanceto introspect on themselves. Having no reaction when they slapus in the face isn't good enough. We should do something that'sbetter for them.
Now I understand the reasonwhy I always treat people better when they treat me worse. That'swhy I was called a "living saint." I was lovingly calleda "living saint" by some people even before I startedto pursue spiritual practice. They didn't mean that I was actuallya "living saint." What they meant was that no matterhow badly they treated me, I treated them better and better; sothey couldn't do anything about me except to say, "She'sa living saint." It was those who treated me badly who latercalled me a "living saint," not other people. Otherpeople didn't know who I was, because they didn't know me. Onlythose who knew me called me that.
This speech of Jesus Christon the mountain is exactly the same as what is stated in the BrahmajalaSutra in Buddhism. This speech is very famous and everyone knowsit. It is called "The Sermon on the Mount." Jesus said,"Ye (i.e., the disciples) are the salt of the earth;but if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted?"This means that we spiritual practitioners represent virtue, butif we aren't diligent and virtuous, who else can help us? Whoelse can make us become virtuous? Who else can be our role model?We should be our own role models. Jesus was correct.
This is why I emphasize thatwe pursue spiritual practice not only for ourselves, but alsoto be role models for others and to let others feel our sincerityand hence follow us. If we say that we're spiritual practitioners,but we seek pleasures, eat meat, and drink alcohol like ordinarypeople do, if we harm sentient beings instead of protecting them;if we slander other people, quarrel with others, fight with othersand gossip about others, who else can help us? Who else can savethose who don't pursue spiritual practice?
I've been telling you thisfor a long time, so you can't say that you don't have to be seriousabout the precepts when you pursue spiritual practice. If oneisn't virtuous, no matter how high a level he has attained, noone respects him or trusts him, because no matter how high hisinner level is, if he looks low outside, people are afraid ofhim. People are ignorant, so how do they know that his level ishigh? If he doesn't look good outside, people will say that he'sbad. We can't blame them. Therefore, even if some people say thatone who eats meat and drinks alcohol can also attain God-realization,we shouldn't listen to them. We want people to know that we cangive up certain foods in order to be diligent in our spiritualpractice, in order to be role models, and for the sake of pitifulanimals who are mortally afraid of death.
Jesus continued, "Yeare the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannotbe hidden." This means that everyone will notice it.If we practice diligently, we'll emit light and a kind, virtuousand peaceful atmosphere. Then people will feel it and sense it,so we can't hide and we don't have to hide. Even if we don't sayanything, people will notice us. Neither do men light a candleand put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it givethlight unto all that are in the house. Jesus said, "Letyour light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
This means that when they seehow great we are, they'll know that our Father is even greater,and that if we want others to adore God, we should first purifyourselves and be good role models to let them know that we trulyrepresent brilliant virtue and noble ideals, or in other words,the noble God. Was Jesus correct? Yes or no? ("Yes!"Applause) So you see why I praise Jesus Christ? Because what Hesaid was very good! Since you don't know how good Christianityis, I'm introducing it to you today. Because whatever I say isalso correct, I have reasons for praising Jesus Christ and I havereasons for praising the Biblical teachings or the Christian teachings.
Some Christians may go to extremes,do bad deeds, show disrespect for other religions, or be moreviolent; but this is the problem of individual people. It's Mayawho uses them to sneak into the group and ruin it. It's not thatChristianity isn't good. There are also many extreme, disturbedand violent individual sects or individual people in Buddhism,which isn't a problem of Buddhism as a whole. If there are suchpeople in any religion, including in Christianity and Sikhism,we can't say that that religion isn't good. If I happen to purchasea Sikh scripture, I will read it to you. There are also good teachingsin it.
Jesus also said, "Whosoevertherefore shall break one of these commandments, and shall teachmen so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.For I say unto you (Jesus was referring to the monastics andfollowers) that except your righteousness shall exceed therighteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no caseenter into the kingdom of heaven." The reason Jesus saidthat, might be because at that time the so-called priests andmonastics were not righteous. They sought pleasures, and tookdonations from others to build big churches but did not do anythinggood. They had a lot of money and became arrogant but were respected.They were not righteous but were praised. They didn't have meritbut were worshipped. They didn't do any work but accepted offeringsfrom other people every day. That was why Jesus said that theirkarma was heavy. He said that His disciples should be more righteousand pure to be able to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Just as I told you, the monasticdisciples here should be better than the monastic disciples outside.You shouldn't look at the monastic disciples outside and wonder,"Why can they accept offerings? Why doesn't Master allowus to accept offerings?" You can accept offerings. It's noproblem, but then you won't be my disciples anymore. If you staywith me, you shouldn't accept offerings. When you go out aloneand have no money, you can accept one or two meals and some money;and I won't say anything about it. But most monastic disciplesoutside have accepted too many offerings and enjoyed too muchwithout having done anything beneficial for the country and society.Maybe they don't fulfill their duty, have no manners, and aren'tvirtuous, so we can't blame other people if they think that themonastic people aren't good.
When you follow me as monks,you should take care of your manners. If I'm strict with you,you should know why -- otherwise you will have bad habits. Seeingthat the monks outside are more relaxed and have many good clothes,but our clothes are simple, self-made and we only have a few ofthem, and we don't have personal money, you may wonder what kindof monastic life this is. However, our manners and ideals can'tbe purchased with material things. So you should remember thisclearly and not forget that our manners and virtue can't be purchasedwith money and can't be represented by good clothes. We have innerlight that can be projected to make others feel good and respectus. These are our natural impressive manners and dignified clothing.It's not that we'll be respected if we wear good clotheing; it'snot necessarily that way!
Jesus Christ continued to explainto His disciples, "Ye have heard that it was said by themof olden times, 'Thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall killshall be in danger of the judgment.' But I say unto you, thatwhosoever is angry with his brother (e.g., our neighbors orpeople we know) without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment,and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in dangerof the council." It can be to such an extent! If we'reangry with others for no reason, that is, if we abuse others mentally,we'll go to hell or incur karma. How horrible this is! Don't thinkthat we'll go to hell only when we kill, but we should also keepour thoughts, speech and actions clean.
Therefore, Jesus said, "Ifthou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thybrother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before thealtar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, andthen come and offer thy gift." Jesus meant that it wouldbe useless when we made offerings to God if we weren't pure andkind. Jesus also told His disciples many other things, Agree withthine adversary quickly, whilest thou art in the way with him;lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, andthe judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.This means that we shouldn't engage in lawsuits and shouldn'tfight with others; we should reconcile with them quickly.
Jesus continued, "Yehave heard that it was said by them of olden times, Thou shaltnot commit adultery' But I say unto you, That whosoever lookethon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with heralready in his heart." Jesus was referring to our thoughts,speech, and actions, which is the same as the Buddhist teachings,isn't it? ("Yes.") What Jesus said previously aboutnot engaging in lawsuits but being at peace with others was thesame as what's stated in the Brahmajala Sutra in Buddhism or theBuddhist Monastic Precepts. Therefore, we can't say that Christianityisn't the same as Buddhism. They're the same.
Jesus said, "And ifthy right eye offend thee, pluck it out." It was to suchan extent! But don't pluck it out. Please take it easy. (Laughter)That was not what Jesus Christ meant. He was merely emphasizingvirtue and the commandments. He said, "For it is profitablefor thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thywhole body should be cast into hell." This means thatwe should be strict with the commandments. If we have bad thoughts,we should repent immediately and not wait until they become actions.You should quickly repent, recite the Holy Names, and think ofme or God, but don't pluck your eye out, or you'll look ugly.(Laughter) I wouldn't.
Jesus said, "Again,ye have heard that it hath been said by them of olden times, 'Thoushalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thineoaths'; But I say unto you, Swear not at all, neither by heaven,for it's God's throne; nor by the Earth, for it is Hiers footstool."This means that every place belongs to God. So we mundane peoplecan't swear in the name of the noble and holy spirit. Neithershalt thou swear by thy head. For example, some people swear,"If I treat you badly or something, I'll be beheaded or bestruck by lightning." Well! That's horrible! Jesus said thatwe can't swear like that; and that if we do, we're looking downupon heaven and Earth. We should respect them and shouldn't swearin their names. We shouldn't even swear in the name of our head,because thou canst not make one hair white or black. We don'thave the right to swear in the name of anything. This physicalbody is also created by God, so we can't use it in any way wewant. Jesus said, But let your communication be, yea, yea; nay,nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Jesus explainedthis very clearly! Well! He was more strict than I am. Oh! Congratulations!(Applause) From today on, I'll learn from Him (Audience laughs)and become more strict with you.
Jesus continued, "Yehave heard that it hath been said, 'An eye for an eye, and a toothfor a tooth. But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil, butwhosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him theother also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and takeaway thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shallcompel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him thatasketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee; turn notthou away." This means that we should help the needy.But if anyone wants to borrow money for gambling, of course weshould turn him away; if he borrows money for alcohol, we shouldpersuade him not to and not give the money to him.
"Ye have heard thatit hath been said, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thineenemy.' But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them thatcurse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them whichdespitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the childrenof your Father which is in heaven, for Hes maketh Hiers sun torise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the justand on the unjust."So we should learn the undiscriminating attitude of God. (Applause)
"For if ye love themwhich love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicansdo the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye morethan others? Do not even the publicans do so?" This means that we spiritual practitionersshould be higher, less discriminatory and better than they are.Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heavenis perfect. Jesus Christ said that His Father is perfect. TheBuddhists say that their Buddha is perfect. They all say the samething.
Jesus said, "Thereforewhen thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee,as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets. Butwhen thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy righthand doeth." This is the same as what Shakyamuni Buddhasaid: When one does alms without thinking that one is doing alms,one is truly doing alms. It's truly like that. What I have taughtyou is exactly the same as what Jesus and Shakyamuni Buddha taughtTheir disciples. (Applause) We do good deeds out of benevolence,righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, faith, duty and love, not tobe praised. So we shouldn't sound a trumpet and advertise it inthe market.
Jesus said that those who sounda trumpet while doing alms have their reward, but those who doalms quietly will have the reward of their Father which in isheaven. The "noisy Bodhisattvas" who sound a trumpetwhile doing alms will only have earthly and ephemeral rewards,but we'll have the eternal reward.
Jesus said, "And whenthou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocites are, for theylove to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners ofthe streets, that they may be seen of men. And But thou, whenthou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thydoor, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father whichseeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Jesus explainedthis very clearly. Only we who practice the Quan Yin Method understandwhere the secret closet is! (Master laughs. Applause) This isvery beautiful! Jesus also said, "But when ye pray, usenot vain repetitions, as the heathens do, for they think thatthey shall be heard for their much speaking. But be ye not thereforelike unto them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have needof, before ye ask him." So don't pray to God repeatedlyoutside. You don't need to do that loudly. Don't pray with loudspeakersor you'll wake up the whole village. (Laughter)
