Spot Light

The same with whether we should answer to people when they talk bad about us. You can answer, you also not answer, it's the same. Makes no difference to us. If we like to answer and we think it's proper, okay, why not. Pass time. Can do it, fine. If not also fine. There's nothing really important. Win or lose, bad or good, good reputation, bad reputation, fifty years later you and I all face each other in heaven. All good bad reputation, who cares. All the good kings, all the bad kings, where are they now? All gone. Whether we criticize them hundred thousand times over or condemn them thousand life sentence, make no difference to them at all. So we have to look beyond the immediate. Go beyond the future even. We don't have to even, we don't have to. It becomes effortless now, at least after some time with you. We look at everything as being so light and humorous. Therefore, when people look at us and they predicted, they predicted all wrong.

They predicted the way of the world, it's all wrong. Some people report to me, saying that we like to help the Americans because we want to be famous. That's nonsense. How about the Cambodians? How about the Africans? How about the Chinese in China that we don't even know? How about the Philippines? How about the South Africans that we don't even know? How about North Korea, that we could not even set foot in? Couldn't even talk. And the people there don't even know it's from us because we donated through the United Nations both times. And many like Bosnia, Chechnya and Rawanda, many of the war-torn countries, we always send money and medical supplies or something through different organizations. No one even heard of the Supreme Master. So sad. (Master laughs). No one cares, we don't care. We're only happy to have the opportunity to serve, to share what we have; because like this, it flows. It's not stagnant, like water in the tank. If it kept for itself, later it becomes rotten. Water is rotten and the tank becomes rotten too. No use for the tank, for anyone.

Money is there only to flow, to be used, to be helpful only in different ways. It's not for us to just keep there and do nothing. Not that I go out everyday and force people to take my money. Don't get me wrong and don't ask me for that. When necessary, according to our means and according to the necessity and the importance of that event. Sometimes we help one person and that person affects the whole country or the whole world. Then that person is important. Like if you help a president or a prime minister out of trouble, in turn he is more light-minded so he can devote himself to more important state issues and thereby affect neighboring states, affects the whole world and brings peace to the world instead of making the king or president worry about pennies. It is terrible. It's so low, so materialistic. Such a pity that a leader of a great nation, any nation, should be in debt, should be a suspect of any kind of crime. Either you respect him as your leader or you get him down. How on earth would you have a suspect as your president? Even if a suspect, in the polices' eyes is untouchable. Of course you're innocent until proven guilty. If that's what they say when you are a suspect, you're already done, eighty per cent. If you don't have a good lawyer, don't have good luck, then good bye honey. When you are called a suspect, people already look upon you differently. They don't want to have anything to do with you. That's why your president, not many people help, because they're worried, perhaps, to get involved with the law. Difficult for business and reputation. In such case, very difficult.

Not that you always have to help a lot of people in order to be righteous or to be reasonable. Sometimes help one person or two persons, it depends; and that person helps the whole world. Like if you help Jesus or if you help Buddha, what do you think? It's not to help Him personally. It's to help the ideal, the noble heritage, the spiritual awakening of humankind, if that person is alive, is comfortable, is supported, is helped, is understood, is protected, for example. Because these species are rare. Even though we are all Buddhas, but not everyone realizes that he is a Buddha. That's the difference. Even though we are all children of God, but not everyone realizes that he is the son of God the way Jesus did, for example.

So these people you can count on or important national leaders. If they are righteous, if they are doing good for their nations or humankind, we must support them; because righteous people, selfless people, selfless leaders are rare. If we find one, we must help. If really we believe that he is good, she is good, we must do it, we must stand up for our beliefs. Otherwise, what for do we practice? Suppose you are American citizen, and if your country or your government is in trouble, and I tell you, "Oh, don't get involve; you are Buddhas What kind of useless Buddhas are you? Anyhow, in this world, it's funny. If you do it, people say, "You are spiritual group, why you do this thing? And if you don't, they'd say, "What kind of spiritual group are you? You do nothing for us, what's the use? We don't need you! So if sometimes people don't accept our help, oh, it's a blessing. We don't have to do anything anymore. If we do it, it's fine. If we don't do it, it's fine. So no problem. Don't feel anything if people reject your help. It's good. Maybe your help should not be given there. Keep it. And like this later in the future, no one can blame you that you didn't do anything. We did a lot of things. Normally we did them quietly, until people dug it out and said, "Ha! You did this, you did that! So what? Whatever we did is all good. Even though we did it quietly.

It's just so funny that we didn't want the world to know, and now everyone knows, everything. Even many things that we never even reported in newspapers, like we helped the veterans hospital. I did it personally. I just wrote a check with the head of the veterans, whoever, I forgot his name. His name is Bob something. I promised him two hundred thousand dollars, and just wrote it -- two hundred thousand dollars, for the veterans, Central Headquarters. I signed my name and said, "Keep this. This means money. It was not a check because I didn't have a check. But I just wrote Supreme Master and my name. I said, "This you give to my people, that will be money. He couldn't believe it. He said, "This, money?

In America, you have a credit card or check. You don't just write your name on a piece of blank paper -- no letterhead even, no address, no phone number, nothing, and say, "Take my word for it. (Master and all laugh.) That's why he didn't do anything about it. Gave it was almost a year, and then I asked my finance minister, "How come my account's still the same? Suppose to be two hundred thousand dollars less. I see it didn't go anywhere, the two hundred thousand dollars, how come? No one claimed for it?

They said, "We didn't know anything about it. Maybe that veteran chief thought I was, you know, in the head, wires or something like that; made a joke, April's fools. So he didn't even think about it, didn't even push for it. I said okay, "Get in touch with, you know, Bob, I don't know his name, but if you ask the LA brothers.

They didn't even bother to trace us. They thought it was a joke, a piece of blank paper -- no letterhead, no telephone, no name, nothing, and just signed. Two hundred thousand dollars for so-and- so, signed, " Ching Hai. They didn't even know who "Ching Hai was, at that time. It was personal, I just did it.

I don't know if they reported it in the magazine or not. Maybe they did. Just casually mentioned, because we did it through the bank. No big deal, no ceremony, no photograph taken even. Didn't even know given to whom. Of course we knew the address, the hospital, but no person, not even. No newspaper even knew about it. I don't know how lately they dug it out and printed it. It had been two years already.

Many things we don't care. They predicted that we wanted to be famous so we gave to the Americans. Their predictions are not true. I am not a fortune teller but whatever they predicted about us, it's wrong. If we wanted to be famous by helping the Americans, there are many better ways to do it than this. Some officers, are bigger. There are many ways, channels to do it, and do it bigger -- With photographs, television, thank you ceremony. We don't care.

Some occasions the government knew because you did it through the government, like Hawaii. Sometimes we cannot do it alone. We have to ask the government's permission, whether they need it or not, or we don't know where to go and who needs. The government knows better in some disaster areas. The government has the list of the people, or the lists of poor people. Most of the time if we want to help poor people, we have to go through the government because the local government have the lists of the poorest people, or the people who are truly in need. We can't just go to any door and knock, "Hey, you need my money or not? They'll kick you, you know where. (All laughed)

In some cases like this, then the government knew about us and then gave an award, which was embarrassing sometimes; but never mind. I have gone through worse embarrassment than that. It's a kind of honorable embarrassment, mixed. Otherwise, these are small cases. The cases that people don't know are bigger than that. So whatever people have predict about us it's not correct. They do not know us. They cannot know such a thing exist, such a group. It's not even a charitable group. We don't even make big money, just ordinary folks. Well, I make some money, because I don't spend so much. You don't know the secret of making money. (I'll tell you how.) Cont. next issue.กน

Supreme Master Ching Hai, a controversial Taiwan-based Buddhist mystic, was brought into focus in the States due to the huge donation to Clinton by her followers being returned late last year. In the latest TIME magazine she erupts in defense of her followers' donation to Clinton, saying, "If the American people would allow me, I would give him $2 million right now," to help the "in debt" Clinton.

In the article "The Buddhist Martha" TIME magazine depicts Ching Hai's youth, background, experiences, religious viewpoints, and how she got recognized as a spiritual leader in Taiwan as well as in other countries. Except "Martha", a woman good at serving others in the Bible, Supreme Master Ching Hai is also described as "a clever merchandising mystic", "often appearing in gorgeous clothing and jewelry, which are available by catalog"

Late last year, officials of Bill Clinton's legal-defense fund returned a donation of more than $600,000 from the followers of the Taiwan-based mystic, adding to the President's "Asian money" scandal. However, when interviewed by TIME, Supreme Master Ching Hai remains in sympathy with the in debt, lawsuit-entangled Clinton. Ching Hai says, "The poor man. You must respect his office. How can he solve America's problems if he is distracted?"

"Scandal-plagued politicians are not the only objects of Supreme Master Ching Hai's charity. Whenever there is a natural disaster, she is there -- with money," says the report.กน