gardinen zum binden

international seminar the man who married a toad december 10, 28, 2008and january 19, 2009 france december 10, 2008france do you have any questions? we just want to look at you, master. look? (yes.) okay. i didn’t see you yesterday,i missed you so much.

ã‚u lạc (vietnam) now is the best,right? (yes.) more prosperous? yes, master. the country is glorious now. life is plentiful now? you have plenty, that’s whyyou’re able to come here. you’re good, good. because of you. hallo, you are doing well, comrades?

yes, we are well. do you feel cold sitting here?(no.) it’s cozy? if it’s cold, you can hug each otherand you’ll be warm in a bit – one lady hugs another. with you present, we are warm. it’s warm when i am here, truly? no need for warm drinks, no need to turn on the heater?(yes.)

would you like to hear an aulacese(vietnamese) folk tale? (yes.) you want to listen? okay. there was a guy who was illiterate. he saw thatthe highly educated people always wore big glasses,kind of thick, so he ran into a storethat sold eyeglasses and bought a pair. he tried them onbut was not satisfied, so he held out a book to read,and no matter how many he tried on,

he wasn’t happy. he read for a while and said, “this pair is no good,i’ll try another pair.” he kept trying but couldn’tfind any that he liked. the salesman sawhow he kept trying and thought maybehe didn’t know how to read. the customer said,“if i knew how to read, why would i come hereto buy glasses?” understand? (yes.)

you understand right away. very clever, really clever. hally, he loves to be hanging around,like kid. doesn’t sleep. normally this time… so love humans so much. very grateful. there was a guywho could not read at all. he was illiterate,

but he saw that many people who hada diploma from college and all that, they had very thick glasses, and they wore glasses, so he thought glasses made peopleable to read. so he went to an eyeglasses shopand asked to try. and he tried on one after another,and he kept trying. he said, “no, another pair,”and then another pair. so the salesman thought, “is it possible that maybeyou cannot read at all?”

so he said, “if i can read then would i have come hereto buy your glasses?” you understand everything, right? okay, this story is an ancient story,right? it’s called,“the man who married a toad.” a long, long, long, long time ago,very long ago, long, long time ago. there was an old couple, very old, but they leda very kind and gentle life.

however, heaven didn’t love them – didn’t give them any children. the aulacese (vietnamese) peopleusually say that a family with many children isa family that has merits, right? but this couple lived a virtuous life, howcome they didn’t have any children? it’s strange. so god isn’t fair? however, the aulacese (vietnamese)are strange – they say whatever they want.

one person would say, “oh, it’s a blessingto have many children – a lot of children and grandchildren.” my god, what kind of blessing is that? turning to the other person,they would say, “they are debt. your children are debt,your wife is your enemy, and property is bad karma(retribution).” right? but the other one said,

“oh, my god, how comethe family is so blessed? a big house, many children,” right? whatever they say is fine; we don’t know who to believe,so we’ll let it be. understand? anything they blame... they blame heaven for anything. a lot of times they eitherpraise heaven or blame heaven. “wow, heaven gives youmany children.” “wow, heaven blesses youwith property,

your business prospers,and you’re so wealthy!” and then they say,“without children, you have no debt. children are debt,your wife is your enemy,” etc. so they the say oppositeand they blame heaven, “i lead a virtuous life,how come i don’t have any children?” but other people saythat children are debt that they come backto ask for repayment. like debtors, you know… debt. debtors… come backto get money from you.

one day, as the couple returnedfrom the field, the old lady sawan enormous footprint on the road. this footprint was imprintedon the mud, understand? it was so big that it was unlikeany footprint of an ordinary person. she put her foot in it,measuring it for fun. after doing so, when she got home, she suddenly became pregnant. ladies, when you go out,if you see a big footprint, don’t measure your foot randomly.

if you want to have a child,then measure it; if not, avoid it. okay, you understand. you men also,don’t measure your foot randomly. don’t complainif you become pregnant. what a strange footprint. just by measuring it,you become pregnant. it means that all that moneythat was spent – on many doctors, hospitals –

so many hardshipsgoing through experiments, and still no baby. however, she just went out, measured the footprint for fun,then she got pregnant immediately. that’s why it’s odd. nine months and ten days later,she gave birth to…? gave birth to a what? a toad. you know everything.

how do you know everything? you have magical powers? she gave birth to a toad that was so dark,so black, and so ugly. the whole family was disappointedand sad; their faces were like a horse’s,really long. and their faces becamelike a horse’s face. they were really sad, so sad that they intendedto throw the toad out,

not wanting to raise it anymore. however, the toad suddenly spokein a very sweet voice, in human language. “mom and dad, take pity on me. please don’t throw me out. just keep me – i can alsodo many useful things in the house.” upon hearing her speak thus,the couple was touched – and the toad could speakin human language – so they kept her.

the toad maiden grew up, growing bigger each dayand chattering all day long, telling all kinds of storiesto entertain her parents, family, and relatives. therefore, everyone was happybecause of that, and really enjoyed her. moreover, the toad maidenwas also very diligent – she took care of all the housework. the toad was very industriousand clever in managing the home.

so, the maiden talked aboutmany things and was skilled in her work; therefore, her parents were very glad. her parents aged morewith each passing day – they walked slower,their eyes blurred – so the toad maiden waseven more industrious with the management of the home. inside and outside the home,it was always clean and orderly. at every meal,

tasty rice and sweet soupawaited her parents. is anyone here skillful like that? so now, in the neighboring village, there was an impoverished student. everyday he passed by the rice paddyof the toad maiden’s parents. one day, returning from school,he passed by and broke off a stalk of riceto chew for fun. suddenly, he hearda clear and sweet voice floating up from the baseof the rice stalks,

“don’t pick our family’s rice.” similar? is it similar to a toad’s voice? what does a toad sound like? no, no…“don’t pick our family’s rice.” no…“don’t pick our family’s rice.” sounds similar? what does a toad say? so, the student looked aroundbut didn’t see any girls.

he thought he was mistaken. thinking perhapshis ears were buzzing or something, then he left. the following day, he broke off another stalkof rice to chew and he heard the same voice again, saying the exact same thingas the day before, no… for it to be clear and sweet,then we have to say, it sounds clear and sweet.

this time he knewhe wasn’t mistaken, thus, he quickly searched around, looking around the baseof all the rice stalks. he didn’t see anyone,just a toad perching on a rice stalk. he then asked: “oh, toad,was it you who just spoke?” so the toad maiden replied,“yes, it was me.” it’s a clear and sweet voice. then, the toad maiden told himwho she was, and in which village she dwelt.

the toad maiden then continued,“our paddy is by the roadside with a lot of foot traffic,therefore, i have to keep watch here. otherwise, if each personbreaks off a stalk, then we’d have no rice left.” right? “hopefully you won’t be upset with mebecause of that,” in a clear, gentle voice. does anyone speak like that? the way other girls speakis not clear and sweet;

their voices are gruff. upon hearing the toad maidenspeaking so courteously and logically, the young man was smitten. from then on, he always stopped by to chat with her on his wayback from school. the toad was well-mannered, gentle, and knowledgeable aboutmany aspects of life – she even understood literature.

the student loved her even morewith every passing day. a toad that was loved like that –so great! any girl here who is loved like that? yes? no? that’s sad. you’re pretty like thatand no one loves you? why? how come? there are no male comradesto love you girls? yes, right? he loves you so muchthat you can’t go, right?

usually those who have husbandsoften say, “my god, if i’d known,i wouldn’t have gotten married.” then those whodon’t have husbands yet, “if i had known,i wouldn’t have loved him.” one day, on the wayback from school, the young man saw thatthe rice had been harvested. he called out for the toad,but there was no reply. he was so sad, so sad. at home he couldn’t enjoy his mealsand didn’t care to drink anything.

is there anyone who is lovesickto that point, who would love a toadto that extent? yes? anyone here who loved a toad? it’s possible. it’s possible, right? for example, many peoplehave toads as friends; many have a mouse,they also love the mouse; many have a small bird,they also love the bird; many raise snakes,they love them, too;

and many raise rabbits,they love their rabbits, right? many people ask for a chickenand they also love it. a lot of times they raisea turkey or a goose as a friend, just like i have dogs and birds.they also love them very much. there are also many peoplewho raise toads. toads or frogs, they put themin a bag and go out. maybe this guy is the same. he was really sad; he missed the gentle voiceof the toad maiden.

he couldn’t confide his thoughtsto the toad, so he was really sorrowful; he missed her so much. thus, he realized that he couldn’tlive without the toad maiden. “he’d have nothing at all.” the aulacese (vietnamese) people say,“have nothing at all.” so, this guy couldn’t bear itif he lived without the toad. moreover, he realized thatthis was no ordinary toad. it was a fated destiny“spun” by heaven.

what a strange arrangement! do you know what is meantby “spinning destiny”? it’s the spinning of the thread. it is said that, for example, if these two people are fatedto be a couple, then a deity, cupid,will spin a red thread and tie one end to the man’s footand the other end to the woman’s foot. these two will definitely get married;they can’t escape. usually it’s like that;therefore, we say that

we’ve found a partnerof the same ideal. if that guy spins the threadfor the couple, then they will inevitablybecome husband and wife. anyone got their destiny “spun”? do you know how to find it? “spinning thread” means“spinning in heaven,” tying their two souls together,their “feet” or their “spirit.” it’s not tying their feet down here. how can they walkif their feet are tied down here?

especially if one lives in america and the other livesin ã‚u lạc (vietnam), for example.perhaps it’s difficult to tie, right? if they are tied, they’ll be stuckhere and there when they get in a car. they’ll also get stuckgoing on an airplane. so now, the young manmissed her so much and he knew thatit couldn’t go on longer; therefore, he went to her house

and asked for her hand in marriage. the old couple had been worrying that their daughterwould become a spinster, now that they knewa handsome student, so courteous like that, and he wanted to marrytheir daughter – they were really pleased, right? they “okay” immediately. the wedding expenses,the bride side would bear it all.

on the day of the wedding the toad hurriedly hoppedto her husband’s home. soon, the story of the studentwho’d married a toad spread all over the region. people told the storyfor entertainment and spread it around as a wayto have a good laugh. many people didn’t believe it, so they went to see it for themselves; they became tourists.

the toad felt bad, but she loved her husband very much, because everyone wanted to comeand look. understand? who could bear it? they had just got married,they had their own home and every day someone came,knocked on the door, and stared at the toad. who could put up with that?

she felt bad for her husband,and worried that he would also be sad. but the husband wasn’t afraid ofanything and wasn’t sad at all. he comforted his wife, saying that as husband and wife, their love and connectionwere more important. it wasn’t thatthey wanted to show off, so she shouldn’t worry. such a good heart. it’s very difficult to findsuch a good husband.

has anyone found one like that? if you can’t find one,then let it be. upon hearing her husbandspeak so lovingly, the toad was so movedthat she burst into tears and loved her husband even more. their life was very harmoniousand loving. see that? that’s a true husband-and-wife love. marriage is not because of beauty.

it’s also not because ofphysical needs. marriage is not because of wealth, or because the guy is handsomeor the girl is pretty, or because of a glorious future. these two people clearlyhad unconditional love, right? she was a toad, so he reallycouldn’t do anything anyway. it would also be difficultfor him to take her out; he could only put herin his pocket. he was also a poor student,

therefore, their love was trulyunconditional. because they admired the virtues, and respected their lovefor each other. that was why they got married. it wasn’t because of any other reason. they truly didn’t profitfrom the marriage, right? they didn’t have money,demanded nothing, and had nothing to fulfillthe demands. understand? it really is true love.

is there any guy who loves someoneto that extent? no? no one would wantto marry a toad for a wife. this guy is clever; he knew that the toadwas no ordinary toad. what kind of toad knows everything? etiquette and scriptures –she knew them all. maybe the toad had practicedspiritually. maybe he also practicedthe quan yin method and could see the light and such.

he could see that the toad had a halo. when he went to school,his friends made fun of him, gossiped about him, said bad things, and triedto upset him and so on. they said, “maybe he wanted money,so he married a toad for a wife.” thus, every day they made fun of him. poor guy. yet, he didn’t take it to heartand was cheerful with everyone and continued to be diligentwith his studies.

he truly loved her;he wasn’t afraid of anyone. one day, his classmatesintended to tease him. they teased him all the time, but he didn’t pay any attentionto them, so they conspired tocome up with a scheme that was even more unusual. they discussed with the headmastersof the school to hold a cooking competition. each married student had to preparea tray of food for their teacher.

“mã¢m cỗ” means a lavish trayof food, understand? they could not ask anyone elseto prepare it – their wives had to do it. they deliberately made it difficultfor the young man. whichever tray wasthe most delicious – not this “cổ” (neck)but the “tray of food” (cá»— bã n) – whichever tray of foodwas the most delicious and most aesthetic would win a prize. whichever tray was the worst,

then he would have to sweepthe classroom and grind the ink for the studentsfor a whole month. in the old times,we do not have ready-made ink. the ink was made into blockslike that, into chunks or slabs, and had to be groundand mixed with water until it became watery. then you can dip the quillto draw or to write, or dip with a quillor some kind of brush.

sometimes the feather of a roosteror a pheasant was used; dip the tip of the featherand then write. in the old times, there were no ballpoint pens,no email. perhaps they didn’t have them yet. once he got home, the student was really sadand worried. his wife kept asking him,“why are you so sad? if there’s a problem,we have to tell each other.”

she kept asking himand he finally told her. when he finished talking,his wife said, “no problem.” “yes, i can do it. yes, we can! yes, we can! yes, we can. no problem.” next she assured him, “don’t worry about it. if it’s this, it’s no problem.piece of cake.” piece of cake!

“i’ll take care of it, leave it to me. let me handle it.” upon hearing that, the student was so gladthat he breathed a sigh of relief, because he knew that his wifewas very responsible. whatever she said,it would become a reality. she wouldn’t just say somethingso frivolous, understand? he knew that whatever she saidwould be true, so he was so happy.

nevertheless, after two,three days passed by, he didn’t see his wife go tothe supermarket to buy anything. he didn’t see hergo to the supermarket; she didn’t drive the car outto buy anything at all. when he saw nothingafter two, three days, he became anxious. that day at school, he was worried,feeling unsettled and anxious. when school ended,

he was so sad thathe didn’t want to go home. he wandered aimlesslyand eventually had to go home. his wife warmly invited him to eat and then pointed tothe tray of food on the table. it was all ready. the young man was so surprised because the tray was filled withdelicious and rare dishes that he had never imaginedthat he could eat. the aroma was so fragrant.

it happened that whenhe was away at school, mrs. toad had calledupon her fairy friends from heaven to come down and help her preparethe tray of food for her husband so that he could offer itto his teacher. that evening,at the home of the teacher and to his classmates’ astonishment, the teacher was most pleased withmrs. toad’s tray of food. it was so goodthat he kept praising it. of course, it was from loving hut.

vegetarian restaurant, loving hut –tastes so good. “so delicious,” the teacher kept complimentingthe food. the teacher praised, “to cook like this is whatcan truly be deemed as ‘talented.’ i’ve never tasted such fragrantand delicious food like this. this truly deserves the prize.” where can we findsuch delicious dishes? from loving hut.

the friends of the student,the husband of the toad, were very angry. they taunted him even more each day,got more jealous, and said increasingly unpleasant wordsto provoke the young man. he just ignored them. he had such a virtuous wifewho could cook so well like that, who cares what other peopleare saying, right? the whole world could say anythingand he couldn’t care less. one day, it wasthe teacher’s birthday.

these people colluded again, “okay, how about we hold a contestto make a set of clothes for the teacher as a presentfor his birthday?” but it had to be sewnby the students’ wives and no one else. the outfit that was the most elegant, fits the teacher bestwould win the prize. the condition was thatno one could measure the teacher; they could only estimate.

it’s easy – for me, from top to bottom,just one straight line. just by lookingyou’d know right away; no need to waste effortto make a measurement. they said that the contestants could notask for help from any other person; but she asked for helpfrom celestial beings, not human beings,so she didn’t violate the rules. people who work at loving hut – all of them are also celestial beings.

who else can they be? they’re all angels and saints, right? they are vegetarian, do good deeds, they even meditate –they truly are the real saints. upon hearing thus,the student became really sad. the other students, his friends,discussed with each other that this time the toadwould be done for – there was no way she could sew. how could she when her handsand legs were like that? right?

she couldn’t hold scissors,or a needle and thread. they thought that she would lose and they laughed uproariously. the student, the toad’s husband,was even more dejected. he was gloomy when he got home. during meals,he didn’t even pay attention and couldn’t enjoy the food. the toad tried to pry it out of him,“what is it that makes you unhappy?” he then recounted his friends’ planto do such and such.

after she heard it,the toad started to laugh, “no problem, leave it to me. okay, let me take care of it;it’s nothing. in needlework, i’m not so hopeless.don’t worry.” when he heard this,he was so elated. he was happy. the following morning, when her husband left for school,the toad wife entered the house, closed the door,

and turned into a flyand chased after her husband. she rode on his collarall the way to school. she even knewhow to transform herself. once in the classroom, the toad transformed intoa mosquito… that’s why i said you shouldn’t swatat flies and mosquitoes. you see that?don’t swat flies or mosquitoes. oftentimes, they could befairies in disguise and we wouldn’t know that.

right? in the ancient times, the monkey king could transforminto any kind of animal, right? he could transform into a monkey, into many people,or whatever animal, right? he could transform into a fly,a mosquito, anything… a small insect, to go through holesand go everywhere. therefore, we shouldn’t killany sentient being – mosquitoes, flies,we also don’t kill them – understand?

i’ve seen it’s truly so. many times i broughtthose tiny insects outside, i just put them outside, turning around as i walked back in,and they all disappeared. how could they crawl away so quick? this kind doesn’t fly – a tiny insect thatcrawls on the ground – so tiny like this, about this size… sometimes this size.

i thought that if i left them inside, i was afraid that i mightstep on them unknowingly. besides, there isn’t anythingto eat inside – they’d die. therefore,when i get back every night, i have to check for insectsand bring them outside, so i can tell them to go to the rightor the left because there’s food for them – those places that have grassand things. i just turned aroundand turned back and they’d gone.

every time it’s like that. i don’t know whatthose guys are spying on. i told them already,“don’t come into my house. my house is small and tight.”understand? two meters – if the insectscome in all over the place, i wouldn’t have a place to sit. every time i took them out, they vanished in a short while. so strange. understand?

don’t swat insects,don’t step on them, don’t kill them. understand? you have to take them outsidewhere they can survive. i wonder why she turnedinto a mosquito. mrs. toad turned into a mosquito and lightly flew aroundthe teacher’s clothing to take his measurements. yes, she didn’t go to schoolso she wouldn’t know. that was why the other studentsplayed such a dirty trick.

they could only usetheir eyes to measure, but she didn’t go to schoolso she wouldn’t be able to do that. he couldn’t bring a toadto school, understand? so, those guys thought thatfor sure the toad would be done for. once she was finished, she flew home and started to cutand sew a set of clothes for her husband’s teacher. when he got home from schoolthat afternoon, he saw an elegant set of clothesfor his teacher on a hanger,

already ironed. he took it downand was very surprised because rarely could anyonesew such uniformed, beautiful, and sophisticated stitches like that. his only worry wasif it would fit the teacher. he really is a man: every day he went to school, every day he looked at the teacherfor many hours, and he still didn’t knowhis teacher’s size.

it’s so clear, right? he’s not sensitive, right? thus, he couldn’t tell whether the clothes his wife madewould fit or not. on the teacher’s birthday, the students took turns wishingall the good things for their teacher. the teacher tried onone set of clothes after another – some were sewn beautifully,some were unattractive, some were made ofexpensive fabric, some were cheaper –

but none fit him at all, except for the setsewn by mrs. toad. hers was really to his satisfaction. the teacher was very delighted. both the pants and shirtfit perfectly – not an inch less or more. the stitches were elegantand skillful. once more, the prize went to the toad, to the astonishment and anger ofthe other students and their wives.

although they had twicesuffered painful defeats, they were still determined totry again to take revenge. human beings are truly like that,hm? a few months later, on the occasion of a festival,the classmates thought about havinga “beautiful wife contest.” oh, god! how can a toad competein a beauty contest? thus, on the appointed day,

each student personallybrought his wife to school to participatein the contest. these cunning classmatesthought that this time the husband of mrs. toad would neverbe able to hold his head high again. this time the husband was so sad and more disappointed thanthe previous occasions. of course. he staggered home like a drunkard, tossed his books aside,and threw himself on the bed –

he was so dejected. so sad, so sad! his toad wife kept askinguntil he told her what had happened. in the end, he concluded that these people were truly evil. i wanted to say that, too. you would probably say that also. how could they be so cruel? just like the previous two occasions,the toad kept smiling and said,

“no problem.” “no problem, i’ll take care of it. leave it to me. i won’t let you lose to anyone.don’t worry.” on the day of the festival,the student stumbled to school; his ugly toad wife hoppedalong behind him. he felt awkward whileat the same time loving his wife. his face was red and he dared not look upat anyone. how pitiful.

he loved his wifebut he was afraid that other people would criticize herwhen they went out. he knew that she couldn’t winthe contest. how could a toadwin over another wife? he was really sad. for example,if she was a human being, she could put on make-upand would look okay. but how can a toad put on make-up? whatever she put onwould slide right off

because her skin is too smooth. but as they neared the school gate, the wife asked her husbandto wait for a little while. then she hoppedinto a thick bush nearby. after he had waited for a while,the student was getting anxious and was going to run overto see why his wife was taking so longand hadn’t come out yet. then suddenly he sawa beautiful girl, so gorgeous that none could compare,stepping out from that location.

wow! who is this? (the toad.) mrs. toad? at her feet was the tough toad skin. he rushed into the bush, tore the toad skin to piecesand threw it away. he was afraid thatshe would go back there and became a toad again. afterward, husband and wife,side by side, entered the school gate. the festival-goers filledthe schoolyard.

everyone stared with eyes wide open. “wow!” “oh my.” “well, my god!” “my goodness!” “wow!” everyone oohed and aahed like that, jostling with each otherto gaze at the beauty. they gazed with their eyes wide open,unblinking. from then on, the impoverished studentlived happily ever after by the side of his beautifuland gentle wife.

the end. lived happily ever after. from the old times till now, we heard of a western storyabout a frog prince but no one has heard ofa toad princess. the frog prince whoturned back into a prince when a young lady kissed him. you have that story at home? you kissed that man and turned himinto a prince?

your husband? no? okay, you can go outto find a toad to try. who knows, maybeit will turn into a prince. a prince has a palace and is rich,and other things. then you let me know, so we will go there tohave group meditation – more comfortable. everyone go home, find a toad and try.

this story is probablynot about a real toad – maybe it’s a real toad, maybe not. maybe they mean thatthe wife was usually ugly. normally she was really shabby and did not put on any make-up,therefore, she was not pretty. it seemed like no one wanted her, but later, due to their love – a good personality,where “virtue triumphs over beauty” – they got married.

so naturally, the husband’s love made the wife more and more beautifuleach day. then naturally she put on make-up,dressed up, and became beautiful, right? many people who don’tdress themselves up don’t look pretty. when they put on make-up,wear beautiful clothes, it’s different – they become different immediately.right?

you women are the same, a little make-upand you’ll be beautiful. there was one time i showed some formosan (taiwanese)women how to put on make-up. remember? whoever i chose looked beautifulinstantly once they had make-up on. it’s because you don’t knowhow to put on make-up. and smile so you can look beautiful. smiling makes you beautiful, right?

if you don’t put on make-up, smile and it will be okayright away. make-up with a smile. do you remember nguyãªn sa’s poem? “adorn yourselfwith a beautiful smile.” okay, it’s finished. thank you. have a pleasant journey hometomorrow. do you need to ask any questionsabout this story

or spiritual practice? you can ask. no? everything’s okay? you have no questions? if you don’t ask,you’ll be upset when you go home. the aulacese’s (vietnamese’s)spiritual practice is better now? yes, blessed rewards. thank you, master. we all came.

have a good journey home. yes. thank you, master.(i love you.) see you next year. can you give me a hug, master? a hug. (thank you, master.) you can come back again. i never thoughti would see you. (why?) it’s been a while and i always wantedto come and see…

i know. thank you. (you’re welcome.) i’m just a first initiate…a few months. i heard from my cousinthat there was this retreat. “would you like to come?” and i said, “i don’t know. i have to ask my managerif they will allow me.” but i prayed so hard and i said,“master, please give me the chancethat i can see you.”

okay, love. good, good. here, you’re good, you’re good. here. that is for your tears,to stop you crying like a kid. okay. there. all right. all right. now, did you get somethingfor your mother, yes? you got something for your mother?the box? yes, i got it already.

tell her i send my love, okay? i didn’t want to say it before,but she wanted me to tell you that you’ve completelychanged her life. i did? (oh, yes!) okay. how? except vegetarian? no, you’ve given her a lot more. she meditates, right? yes. she’s making a paintingfor you. (is she?)

all right, all right.don’t worry. so, how’s father doing? yes, he’s good. yes, he’s still… magazine?(yes, big news) it’s good?getting bigger now? a lot of people read it, yes. wonderful! he’s happy, yes? yes, he’s okay. he’s a lot happier within.

have a good journey. (yes.) see you next year. (yes.) okay, guys. love you. love you, master. we wish you good health, and that you live a long timewith us. we wish you to be youngand beautiful, like a superstar. they say i’m like a movie star. bye-bye, master. (i love you.)

love love. bye-bye. the ninth fairy princess december 28, 2008france supreme master ching haiwearing veggie fur i read the story. this story is called“the ninth fairy princess.” the 9th princess,the princess number 9. i think the king had many princesses.

she’s the number 9. so we will see what she’s doing. a long time ago,there was an old woman. this old lady had a grown son, but she had no money for her sonto get married. every night, she’d watchher grown son sleep by himself and felt so bad for him. she didn’t know what else to do,so she’d run outside and cry. one night, she cried so much thatshe was exhausted.

we aulacese (vietnamese) call it“crying till exhaustion,” right? that night, she crieduntil she was so exhausted that she leaned against the walland fell asleep. while she was sleeping,suddenly there was a flash of light, really bright,and she woke up startled. we don’t know whether she woke upor if she was dreaming. she saw an old man withwhite hair and beard, wearing green clothes, green shoes, holding a green staffstanding on top of a jackfruit tree.

what kind of old manwould be standing on top of a jackfruit tree? frightened, she intendedto run into the house to wake her son up to protect her. she was alone so she was scared. but the old man gesturedwith his hand and said, “no, no, don’t run, don’t be afraid.i’m very kind.” he said, “don’t be afraid.i’m a deity. i know you’re destitute

and have no money for your sonto get married, that’s why i came down hereto help you. tomorrow, tell your sonto follow the path to the right and keep goinguntil he reaches a mountaintop that has large, white bouldersas huge as a house, then he will see nine fairiesdescending to a lake next to the mountain to bathe. whomever your son likes, he should just take her wingsand hide them.”

after saying so,the deity disappeared. the old lady was so happy, so happy. she ran into the house,started the fire, woke up her sonand told him the whole story. she cooked rice in preparationfor his journey early the next day. at the first light of day, with a package of riceand a flask of water, the son went onto the roadto the right and kept going. he passed through forestsand crossed rivers,

climbed one mountain after another,he also checked the map. it was noon the next day when he arrived on the mountaintopwith large, white boulders. those white boulders wereas big as our house here. then, a clear blue lakeappeared in front of him, just like the deity said. around the lake,there were fragrant flowers, rare plants, singing birds,colorful butterflies, and paths full of pebbles thatsparkled like pearls and diamonds.

the young man sawthe glistening sunrays and felt the gentle breeze. looking up, he suddenlysaw nine fairies flying down from the pink clouds tothe lakeshore. he quickly hid himself behind a bush. the fairies removed their wings,laid them on the pearl boulders, and went down together to batheand frolic in the cool lake. every one of the fairieswas beautiful, so bright like the sunrays,

but the ninth fairy wasthe most graceful and gentle. everyone likes to have a gentle wife;being beautiful is not enough. in choosing a wife, for example betweena virtuous and a beautiful wife, which onewould you gentlemen choose? beautiful. you’d rather beautiful? beautiful or virtuous? (virtuous.) virtuous?

a virtuous wife is more lasting,right? the scenery is described here.she is described as having smooth, black hairthat flows like a brook, her laughter trills like a flute, her mouth more vibrantthan a blooming flower, her eyes bright like the starsin the sky. wherever she looked,that place twinkled jubilantly. where can you findsuch a beauty? she was a fairy.

the young man immediatelysneaked to where the fairies dried their wings, stole the ninth fairy’s wingsand ran swiftly home. from heaven, the sound ofthe drums echoed seven times. it was time for themto return to heaven, so the fairies put their wingsback on and flew off. the ninth fairy couldn’tfind her wings; she hurriedly looked for themeverywhere. the heavenly drums continuedto beat

as she searched aroundthe waterfront, unable to find her wings. then she saw some footprints.which kind? tiger’s prints?(human footprints.) human footprints. so she guessed thatthe footprints were left by the one who took her wings. she immediately followedthe footprints and kept going until dusk,

when she arrived atthe foot of a mountain where the footprintsstopped at a small, lonely hut. she was indecisive, wondering whether to continueor go inside the hut. suddenly an old woman ran outand said, “my dear, it’s almost dark,and the road is long and deserted. it’s very dangerousfor you to go by yourself. come inside and rest in my house.” seeing that the old womanwas gentle and honest,

she burst into tearsand revealed her situation, then followed the old woman inside. the old woman knew everything,but feigned ignorance. the young man came outand greeted her. his mother then went to cook ricewhile he went into the woods to gather bamboo and mushrooms for the soup to preparea meal for her. when night fell,he sat by the fireplace, playing the mandolinto lull her to sleep.

very romantic, right? he was poor but he even knewhow to play the mandolin. for the first few daysthe ninth fairy was anxious. she missed her mother,her father, the scenery in heaven; but because the old ladyand the young man took care of her, she felt relieved. gradually, she began to forget. in the morning,she worked on the farm. in the evening,she brought water home to cook.

half a year later, the young man marriedthe ninth fairy. half a year, that’s quite fast. the married couple lived happilytogether in harmony. the villagers compared themto a pair of lovebirds: they were beautifuland diligent in their work. he never said a harsh wordto his wife and diligently went into the forestto find wood. then on a full moon night,she gave birth to a very cute son.

the whole house was cozyand even happier. until one day,the weather was calm, but suddenly black clouds amassed. the lightning flashed nonstop,the thunder boomed angrily. something is up. what could it be? so suspenseful. the wife stood holding her sonwhen she saw the thunder god suddenlyappear right in front of her.

the red-faced thunder god raisedhis hammer and said, “the sky god wants youto return to heaven immediately. if you refuse, your mother-in-law,husband and son will all die.” she loved her husbandand son so much that she cried inconsolably, but she resigned herselfto leaving her son on the mattress, left three fresh bamboo tubesof her milk nearby, and a lock of her hairfor her husband, then followed the thunder godback to heaven.

isn’t this very similarto the story, “the buffalo herderand the celestial weaver”? in the evening, the motherand the young man came home and saw the baby,the lock of fragrant hair, and the charred treesaround the house, so they guessedsomething bad had occurred. the young man carriedhis son on his back, ran to the forest, and with his face to the sky,cried for nine days and nine nights.

the villagers pitied him so much that they contributed moneyand effort and asked a blacksmithto make him an iron peacock. the young man and his sonrode the peacock straight up into the sky. how could it be so great like that? similar to an airplane, right?an iron peacock. they flew through many levelsof pink, blue, and white clouds and arrived at the shoreof a vast sky river.

due to the powerful windand fierce waves, the iron peacock could not fly across so the father and son had to stayon this side of the river. one day, the father and sonsaw the ninth princess washing clothes onthe other side of the shore, so the son, seeing his mother,started to cry and called, “mommy!” the couple saw each otherbut could not meet, so both of them criedbroken-heartedly.

one cried on this shore,the other on the opposite shore. the son also cried. the villagers of that sky villagepitied the young man, so they went to plead withthe sky god to let the pair meet. the sky god would not listenand made the excuse that he was about to marrythe ninth princess to another sky being. there is even discrimination up there. there’s a clear selection.

it’s not like you love each otherand can marry each other. only a sky being can marrya sky princess. so, the villagers kept askingand in the end, the sky god commandedthat if the young man could do three things thatthe sky god demanded, then he could meet the ninth fairy. first, he had to pick upall the sesame in a field as vast as the lengthof a bird’s flight until its wings tired.

second, he had to eatall the ripened fruits of a chili pepper forest. my god. third, he had tobuild a house of pearls in the middle of the sky river. the young man immediately agreed. building a house is easy. picking up the sesamemay be possible. eating chili peppers,how to eat them? an entire forest of chili peppers,not just one or two.

has anyone eaten chili peppers? the “needle” chili peppers? have you tried? no. but he agreed. early the next morning, the father and son made the effortto pick up the sesame. do you know what “vừng” is?it’s sesame. but by noon, they were unableto pick up much. the deity, taking pity on them,

immediately appeared and calleda flock of sparrows to help. it wasn’t long beforethe field was empty of sesame. the young man went intothe chili pepper forest and tried to eat them,but after eating just a few, his stomach was already burning, his eyes all red. the deity appeared again, calling the red-whiskered bulbulsto come to eat for him. within seconds,only green leaves were left

in an entire forestof red chili peppers. now, it was the sky villagers’ turnto help him build a house of pearls in the middleof the sky river. it wasn’t done in one month,nor even one season. this sky river wasn’tan ordinary river, right? the wind was powerfuland the waves were huge. the sky god knew it wasa tough place to build a house, so he challenged the young man, thinking that he wouldn’tbe able to do it.

first, sesame scatteredall over a field, how could he pick them all up? second, eat a whole forestof chili peppers, who could do that? perhaps both of these taskscould be done, but it would be impossibleto build a house in the sky river. unable to build the houseafter repeated attempts, the young man hugged his sonand cried by the riverside. a fish deity took pity on him

and called all the fishto come and help him. originally, when he was livingon earth, he was a vegetarian. he didn’t harm any animals. perhaps he’d also startedto practice some convenient method. if he wasn’t so romantic, if he hadn’t met this fairyand gotten heartbroken, if his soul hadn’t been“captivated” by her, then he probably wouldhave received initiation already.

so now, he was sitting there crying, so the fish deity pitied him and called all the fishto come and help him: the anguilla fish becamepillars of the house; the snakehead fish rolled aboutwith each other to make the floor; the armorhead catfish the beams; the carp the roof; the turtles formed the kitchen; the crabs the stove;

and the eels and loaches formeda bridge that connected the shore to the house, which glistened like pearlsin the middle of the river. the sky god and his group ofwicked deities had to send a boat to bring the impoverishedyoung man and his son to meet the ninth princess. the wicked deitiestook over the house. they lit a fire on the stove. the turtles got so hot –

the turtles who becamethe fake kitchen – got so hot that they disappearedinto the river. all the fish also went underwater, so the house disappeared. the pillars were madeby fish, by eels, and the kitchen by turtles, so when a fire was lit, it got so hotthat they all swam away. the wicked deities sankin the middle of the vast sky river. drowning, they screamed loudly.

from then on, the husband and the ninth fairyoverlooked the heavenly realm, regulating the rain and sunshine so that the crops on earthwere plentiful. once in a while,they flew down to bathe in the pearly lakeon the mountaintop, and visited the old motherand villagers. is this a true story? it’s probably true.

it’s probably a true story. this story is a depiction of our soul that has beenseparated from heaven. therefore, we suffer, but in the end,we become united. if we practice the quan yin method, then we can live happilytogether forever. very good. good story?

it’s very good. even in heaventhere are wicked deities. what is that? that is the negative powerthat separates our souls and doesn’t allow usto return to heaven. you can see it clearly in the story. this story is probablynot just for entertainment. perhaps at that timean enlightened master came up with these stories as examplesto let other people know,

and the disciples,so that they could remember. usually, if we sitand talk about a lot of things, no one wants to listen. if we tell them to be vegetarian, do good deeds,recite the buddhas’ names, but they love to listen to stories; stories about getting married,they love it. yesterday when i told youthe other story, you loved it. your eyes were so bright.

today, you liked this story too. hallo, everyone. hallo, master! how are you? (good.) long time no see. master! master! hallo, master. hallo, everybody! are you okay? (yes.)

did you havea good meditation? (yes.) how can we practitioners have trouble?(yes. none.) yes. all trouble will be gone in a little while. in the worst case, we die. we die sooner or later. qu yuan died whenhis king told him to, right? or did he die on his own? on his own.

he died on his own. what for? there isn’t only one kingin this world. there are many, right? if this king is not good,we look for others. being loyal to the kingdoesn’t mean to any king, only the good ones. to the bad kings,we shouldn’t be loyal to. there was a top scholarin ã‚u lạc (vietnam).

he also served in the royal court. he was a very smartand loyal official. all those wicked officialshated him. they made trouble for him every dayand gossiped to the king. but it’s strange. most kings liked thosewicked officials instead of the loyal ones. honest advice was rarely welcomed. so this king was not very smart.

not all kings were smart… very few. most kings were born as princes, so when their father died,they became the king. sometimes they madethe old king die even when he was not dying. yes, there were such princes. otherwise, if they werenot the crown princes, they would kill the crown prince. then they would take the throne,for example.

so, not every king was good. bad kings attracted those bad… wicked officials. both of them were wicked.wicked people often go together. first, there is a wicked king,and then there are wicked officials; they are a good match. those wicked officials knewhow to talk. whatever the king said,they’d say, “okay, okay. yes, yes.” it’s because this way

they could get by and get promotedhigher and higher. then they’d become more powerfulby being next to the king. they’d use their power sometimesto harm their subjects for their own benefit. it was the same withthis aulacese (vietnamese) king. he was not very smart. this loyal official was very smart. most of them were like this. he was both a vegetarianand a quan yin practitioner.

the king hated him. why vegetarian? the king liked beefsteaks, but the official insistedthat beefsteak was bad. what global warming? people liked big carsthat burn a lot of gas, but the official said thatthose created carbon emissions, which are bad for the world. he said that beefsteak was unkind,unloving, and harmful to the earth.

the king didn’t like to be criticized. he often criticized the king,so the king didn’t like him. but he couldn’t find any excuseto get rid of him. some of the diseases related tomeat consumption/production: rabies anthrax sleeping sickness q fever

norovirus swine flu ebola-reston virus cured meats and fish increaseleukemia risk in children antibiotic-resistant"superbug" infections from a strain of staphylococcus aureus blue tongue disease e coli salmonella

bird flu mad cow disease (creutzfeldt-jakob disease,90% of the population at risk) pig's disease (pmws) listeriosis shellfish poisoning pre-eclampsia campylobacter clostridium difficile

diseases hidden inhealthy-appearing livestock some of the costsof meat eating: infertility eating just one servingof meat per day increases the risk of women’s infertilityby 32 percent, with additional meat consumptionincreasing the risk. heart disease over 17 million liveslost globally each year cost of cardiovascular disease isat least us$1 trillion a year

cancer increased childhood cancersand adult reproductive cancers from hormones in meat colorectal cancer over 1 million new colon cancerpatients diagnosed each year more than 600,000 colon cancer-relatedmortalities annually in the united states alone, colon cancer treatment costsabout us$6.5 billion. millions of people are newly diagnosed

with other meat-related cancersevery year. diabetes 246 million people are affectedworldwide an estimated us$174 billion spent each year on treatmentin just the united states obesity worldwide 1.6 billion adults areoverweight with 400 million more who are obese costs us$93 billion each yearfor medical expenses

in the united states alone at least 2.6 million peopledie annually from problems related tobeing overweight or obese environmental uses up to 70% of clean water pollutes most of the water bodies deforests the lungs of the earth uses up to 43% of the world's cereal uses up to 85% of the world's soy

causes world hunger and wars 80% cause of global warming plus more... some of the costs ofmilk consumption cowpox from milking cows bacterial microbes, pesticides,and enzymes found in cheese, derived from the inner stomach liningsof other animals up to 80 percent of the caloriesin cheese are from pure fat breast, prostate and testicular cancerfrom hormones present in milk

listeria and crohn’s disease hormones and saturated fat leadsto osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes and heart disease linked to higher incidencesof multiple sclerosis classified as a major allergen lactose intolerance plus more… for more urgent information,please visit for help quitting, please visit

one time the wicked king and the wicked officialswere fed up with him. when they were boating on the river, the king saw the loyal official. he couldn’t bear to see himbecause he was such an eyesore. he said, “how long have you beenwith me?” he told him the number of years, then the king said,“why are you always picking on me?” then that king continued,

“why have you followed mefor so long?” the loyal official said, “your majesty, it isbecause i’m very loyal. i’m a loyal official. so if your majestydoesn’t dislike me, and still finds me useful somewhere,of course i’ll keep following you.” then the king said, “okay, okay. “okay, okay. you say you are a loyal official,very good.

i heard an ancient saying…” “if the king wants an official to die,he has to die.” what if the official doesn’t diewhen the king wants him to die? then his wicked officialssay unanimously, “he’s not loyal!” they had already conspiredahead of time. poor guy! everyone said he was disloyal. so the king said, “then ifi wanted you to die now, and you wouldn’t die,that means you are not loyal.

so, will you die?” he said, “yes.” the king said, “really?” he said, “really.” “okay, jump into the riverand die now. only an official like qu yuanwas regarded as a loyal official.” so he immediately jumpedinto the river. then the wicked kingand wicked officials drank champagne, sang, danced,and were very happy.

from that day on, that “mouth”would no longer be around. he would no longer stareat them eating beefsteak and drinking alcohol, etc. so everyone was happy celebrating. alas! after several minutes,he emerged again, from the bottom of the river,saying, “hallo! how are you, everyone?” then he climbed back onto the boat. then the king asked,

“you are not dead?why did you come back?” the loyal official said,“i originally wanted to die. but when i was sinking,i met qu yuan. so qu yuan asked me,‘why did you want to die?’” “i told him, ‘it is becausemy king wants me to die.’ then qu yuan said,‘you are so stupid! i died because i met an ignorant king. your king is a wise king. why would you want to die?

go back quickly and serve him! only in this way can you demonstrateyour loyalty to your king. you should serve the good king. why did you leave him there?’ wow, i thought what he saidmade sense, so i dared not dieand came back up quickly!” you know the rest. i don’t need to tell anymore. i don’t know what happened to themafter that incident.

of course, what else couldthe king say? nothing. if he insisted on him dying,he would become an ignorant king. he would have admittedthat he was an ignorant king, right? so, he wanted to be a wise king. if he was a wise king, of course he should lethis loyal official live. this guy was very eloquent. he was the top scholar, very smart,and he liked to help his country. the country was fortunate to have him.

otherwise, if he was gone, maybe the whole country wouldhave been different. so, sometimes we ask, “oh, this person is so goodand virtuous. why does he minglewith those people?” it is because he had to be there tobalance out the negative force; otherwise, everything wouldhave been negative and no one would be ableto lead them to a better place. so he had to balance it.

sometimes when the king wantedto do bad things, he could be there to give some advice. otherwise, if the king only listenedto the wicked officials, the country would havebecome chaotic. since ancient times, there have been these kinds ofkings and loyal officials. if you read chinese history,it’s full of these people. even many so-called wise kingsneeded very good ministers. the kings were not so outstandingoriginally.

for example, i think liu bei would not have been that greatif kong ming had not been there. han xin was also forced to die later. they were all like this,fighting over the throne. they were treated very wellin the beginning, but later things changed. so pitiful! such good talents,he should have kept them all. then they could work togetherto serve the country well.

but usually it was like this. even liu bang was like this. he was still considereda good king in history, right? but he wasn’t all that good. he still fought over fame and fortuneand he forced loyal officials to die. sometimes they didn’t carehow many people they killed; they just wanted tobecome successful. so they were not so good. they were not true gentlemen.

before, it was very easyfor a king to kill someone, right? one command and someone’s headwas gone. the head was originally here. as soon as he said “kill,”the head “moved” somewhere else. it was the same in ã‚u lạc (vietnam). we had a few kings credited forfounding and establishing the country, and expanding its territorybut their hands were full of blood. sometimes when a king capturedthe so-called enemy that they were fighting with,he would kill them cruelly.

not just beheading them,sometimes they were tortured badly. i don’t dare to talk about itor you’ll have nightmares. but the history books still sayhe was very “awe-inspiring.” he “expanded the territory, pacified and united the country,”etc., a lot of things. but i think he committed more crimesthan the credits he earned. anyone could pacifythe country and the people. if you had an army and supporters,and the king in power was weaker, you could replace him as the king.

it’s not that extraordinary. they gained their throne by using the army and weaponsand killing many people. it’s not such an easy thingto obtain, right? if you were invited to become a king,you should still think it over, let alone seize the thronefrom other people. even if you remove the kingbecause he is not good, sometimes, you are not much differentafter you become the king. it’s all for the throne,not necessarily for the people.

maybe after you seize the throne, you have some good officialsto help you to stabilize the country. that’s also not bad. i don’t know ifwe still have these now. in the past, when i wasin ã‚u lạc (vietnam), only those kings who madecontributions to the country would have their nameson the road signs, and were respected. but looking at history,it’s too brutal. too brutal.

to put his name on the road signs, how many people would have died; how many lives would have perished? it’s really too painful, too scary. we’d rather be an ordinary personthan being that kind of violent king. it’s because the bad karma(retribution) is unimaginable. after they leave the throne,where would they go? must be to hell, couldn’tbe anywhere else good. if you have killed so many people,

it would be impossibleto go to a good place. so when i read history,sometimes i don’t dare to continue. it’s too frightening. how come such a famous kingwho has a good reputation in history, even with his name on the road signsand palaces, would have his hands full ofsentient beings’ blood, understand? and he didn’t just allow decapitation, he allowed people to be tortured,and let them die slowly and brutally. it’s so scary.

it’s hard to find a wise king. why? it is because people don’tcultivate themselves, don’t bring harmony to their family before they want to governthe country and pacify the world. most people are like this. most of them are men;they have bigger egos. men have bigger egos. sometimes they cannotget along with their wives at home, so they go out to fight.

mostly it’s the men whogo to the battlefield. rarely do women go outto invade other countries, or fight with others. none. why? they like to fight. why wouldn’t women go? women are born kind. born kind? women are kinder. have you told your husband this?

it’s terrible! why do you men like to fight? it is because theydon’t practice spiritually. don’t practice spiritually. but women won’t go out to fight even if they don’t practicespiritually. is there any social reason? is it because we weretied up at home? yes, women were not allowed toparticipate in state affairs, right?

even queens were not allowedto come out in public. if the prince was too young, the queen would have to staybehind a curtain in order to say a few words. fortunately, we women haveless bad karma (retribution). i have said that one has topractice a long time in order to obtain a woman’s body. that’s why all humankind is bornfrom women. we would be in troubleif men gave birth to children.

we should just send men outto make money and leave the mother hometo teach the kids. it may be better this way. even so, we still have wars, not to mention letting the fatherseducate the children. if it’s not fighting overseas, it would be fighting with the peoplenext to them, with their bosses and colleagues, etc. it’s more difficult for mento practice spiritually, right?

women are born very kind. we rarely want to go out totake things or rob people. most robbers are also men, right?(yes.) we haven’t heard of any womanbeing a bandit leader. very rare. were there any? there were. there were, but rare. a few. only a few. they were forced.

there was also a very famousindian female bandit leader. she didn’t have much education. she went to workand she was raped by her boss. as a result, she was angryand became a powerful woman. people were very sympathetic to her. there was only one in india. most women wouldn’t go outand do those things. it’s always men. strange. it’s really strange.

you men should practice hard,since it’s a rare opportunity. it’s already very goodthat you come here. you already have less ego. okay, let’s meditate. animals have intelligence january 19, 2009france everybody okay, yes? we continue withlast time’s story, okay? you know, the hunter,i told you last time.

he went hunting and trappingand caging and doing all kinds of stuff to catch the poor innocent,unaware animals. so, one day he caught a bird;he held it in his hand. wow! beautiful bird! you know what we sayin ã‚u lạc (vietnam): “a bird in a hand is betterthan three in the sky.” same thing in english? “one in the hand is betterthan two in the bush.”

better than two in the bush? we say “better than threein the sky.” “three in the sky” is “forget it;don’t bother to even look.” he caught one in his hand already;it’s better than two in the bushes. of course africans,they say “bushes.” in ã‚u lạc (vietnam),we don’t have bushes; they’re in the sky – more open. ã‚u lạc (vietnam) –very beautiful country. behind is the mountain,in front is the sea.

it’s almost like a sofa. it's long like this,and behind is a high mountain. we call it “long mountain.”“træ°á»ng sæ¡n.” and in front is a long sea. i’m also the sea. not very long. short, but also the sea. so it’s very open, you see? it's not so big likethe african continent,

so we don't have busheslike the african continent. africa is very big, big, big. so the one who says that “one bird in the handis better than two in the bush,” they’re in the middle ofthe continent. they have never seen the sea –probably in the jungle. african is very lushful –a lot of trees, big, big, big, big – so probably he cannot see very far, not further than the bushin front of him,

especially a long time ago. this saying cannot be new, right? it must be a long time ago. in spanish also. spanish also says the same? what do they say in spanish? “a bird in hand is better thantwo flying.” a bird (a bird) in hand (in hand)

is better than two flying than two flying! you see? in the sky, you see? the different geographythey say different things. “two, but in the sky, flying,”you see? because… why? spain is also the same:mountain and big sea all over. so the guy who said this must have been standingin front of the sea somewhere…

on the beach, open space,so he says, “oh, flying!” and in ã‚u lạc (vietnam), we stand on the mountainand we look at the sea, we say “oh! two, three in the sky…” who cares… 5, 6, 7… one in the hand is stillbetter than – i don’t care – 500 in the sky, right? not just two but even 2,000.who cares? we can add many zeros -two million also -

it makes no difference to us. this guy, probably he didn't learnthe lesson from the spanish, like “a bird in handis better than two flying.” this guy, you will see he didn't learn this lessonat all from africa even, and the african peopleknow about birds. who knows more about birdsthan the africans? we have african parrots...such beautiful things in africa. and the african peopledo know about birds,

but this guy probablydidn't come from africa. you will see –he did not learn at all. not even fromthe aulacese (vietnamese): “one bird in hand is betterthan three in the sky.” i think the chinese saythe same thing. isn't that funny? anything that is wise, good,common sense, we all understand– spanish, africans, south,north, middle, whatever.

chinese, aulacese (vietnamese),all understand the same. they say the same stuff…in china also. this guy, i don’t knowwhere he came from, because he did not learn the lesson. he got the bird in the hand and the bird begantalking to him, saying, “if you let me go, i willgive you three advices, very valuable, very, very,very precious advice that i have never givenanybody else.”

he had never been caught before,this bird… first time. “i’m no use to you captive. set me free and theni will give you three advices.” the man said, “oh,how do i know if you’ll give me? if i let you go, maybeyou’re just gone away!” so, the bird said,“no, no, no, no. look at me. look at my eyes. i promise. okay, you just put me next to youon a branch nearby. so, i’ll give you the first advice

and if you don’t like it,you can always catch me.” to be sure, the man bit off a piece of his threadand then tied it on the bird’s foot and held it a little bit. “okay, okay,never mind, never mind. you’re right, you’re right. okay, okay, hold it, hold it.” and then, the bird said, “okay, if you put meon the branch there,

with the string there” – you know, “string attached”we call it – “i will give you the first advice.” so the man said, “okay, okay.okay, i’ll try.” holding him, he put himon a branch next to him, very near anyway,so it’s easy to catch back. and then the bird saidthe first advice, saying, “if you happen to lose somethingeven as valuable as your life, don’t ever regret it becauseit only makes you feel worse.”

the man agreed. yes, it’s true. if you lost something already, no matter what you do,you lost it, right? no matter if you cry,you scream, you do anything… what’s the use anymore anyway? continue living, move on;would be best, right? so the man said,“okay, good, good, good. not bad, not bad for a bird.

for a bird brain,you really have some wisdom!” so the hunter askedfor the second advice and the bird said, “you have to let mego to a higher branch, on top of the tree, then i will tell youthe second one.” by now the stringis too short anyway, so he said, “okay, okay, all right.” so he took the string off

and the bird went righton top of him anyway. “it’s not far away, it’s not far. you can always see me,yes? you can see me here. i’m not going anywhere!” okay, so the man let him go and he flew on top of the treeand was standing there. he gave him an advice. the bird said to the hunter, “never believe in anything,anything at all:

never believe anything that is contrary to common sensewithout any proof.” the man said,“oh, not bad, not bad.” truly like that. it is true. if we hear somethingor we know something or somebody told us somethingwhich is not sensible, is contrary to sense,like “no sense”– also without proof –then we should not believe it. “you’re right, you’re right.good, good.”

the man was still watching,wanting to catch the bird, so he said, “no, no, no, no, not yet.” the man demanded the third advice. so the bird said, “okay, i will fly tothe other tree over there, a little bit higher. i can see better a little bit. i’ve been in the trap for so long, i’d like some fresh air,and i’ll see the view”–

the bird liked to see the view – “and i’m right there.you can see me even! then i will give youthe third advice.” by then he knows that the mancannot shoot him anymore – cannot catch him,cannot shoot him, cannot do any net to trap him,anything at all. so the man said, “okay, okay.you have kept your promise and you’re still there. i can see you.okay, good, go there.”

so the bird flew overto the other treetop which is much, much higherand farther away from him, even though you still could see him. but he is still there, of course, a little dot,but looks like a bird… that’s a bird. so the bird felt very safe now –safe, safe, safe. so the man said,“okay, third advice?” the bird said,“you know what, silly guy?

i have two precious stoneswithin me, jewels. if you had killed mewhen you caught me in your hand, you would have had them. one is a diamond,the other is a flawless ruby. you silly!and you let me go!” so, the man was very,very miserable and upset. he said, “truly, that was a pity, okay, but at least give methe third advice, no?” the bird said,“what a fool you are!

i gave you three already. you could not evenmake do with the first one and then you ask for more?what for? i can stand here forevergiving you advice but you’re too foolish to use it. the first one: you could noteven make use of it. i had warned youfrom the first advice that if you’re losing somethingeven as good as your life, don’t regret it!

i had warned you that maybeyou were going to lose something, but you did not even moveyour brainwave one millimeter! you don’t know anything! and then the second one,i was warning you again: that don’t ever believe anythingthat is opposite to sense, the things that don’t make senseeven without proof. and you still continuednot heeding my advice! and now, you are doing both. you know?

like believing something ridiculousand feeling very grievous because you are losing them. i am so small like this, how can i house in metwo big jewels? i would have died already! how can i even swallow theminto my tiny throat anyway, you silly man?” “yes”, he said. so he said, “okay.since you’re such a fool,

you must stay withinthe usual restriction as made for humans.” you understand, yes? okay. in any case this is the storyto tell the students not to be attached to anything, first. they just prepare your mind,like in the muslim circle before, they prepare the students. even such a thing like this,they tell them

so that the studentsare already prepared. maybe they are something incredible, but then you have to listenand judge it for yourself. and of course,if you practice with a master, then you demand the proof, no? if the master says, “okay, you are goingto be enlightened,” then of course you demand,“i want to see the light.” no? and if you don’t see it,then he is not a master.

right? no proof. yes? so this teacher told the storyto prepare the student for something incredible; even if it doesn’t make senseto you at the time, it will happen,not like in this story. any questions? i was thinking aboutgetting a bird. yes, you are? (yes.) okay, story for you.

yes, so what would your advice be? what for you want a bird? adoption? i love animals. yes. i have a cat. you want to adopt one? a cat and a bird? i would like to get a bird. i am not sure they get on, unless they’ve been togethersince childhood...

maybe she understands,but it’s not for sure. you want to adopt a birdor you want to buy a bird? well, i’ve looked at both options. adopt one if you have to have one. adopt. always adopt, because buying, that meansone bird is not adopted and maybe dying somewherein a small cage because not every center for birdsor animals have a big cage. adopt one if you want one.

but it’s a lot of work. you cannot just have a birdand just put him in a cage and every day look at him. you have to talk to him daily, you have to put him on the handand caress him like a lover. truly like that. otherwise, it’s no use tobring a bird in your house just to look at, or just to possess a bird,not even adoption.

it’s a lot of work. cats are work. dogs are work. birds are work. you must know. there are things thatyou don’t know about birds. and if you really want to adopt one, and if you have room for it, you know, he needs roomto fly around. yes.

and you have to clean all the time,because the cage will not be clean. and if you let him flyall over the furniture, be prepared that you haveno sofa unturned, no electric cord uneaten, no television, sometimesin the middle of nowhere, just suddenly the televisiondoesn’t work. he eats the electric cord, and you have to know what plant you mustnot have in your garden

or in your house, because some plants are poisonous,even for dogs or cats or birds. you see, birds in the wild,they know what they do, because they have been trainedby their parents and by their flocks what to do. but birds in captivity,they have been in cages since the time of great-great-great-grandfather/mother already. they don’t know how to survivein the wild. they don’t knowwhich plant is poisonous even.

they don’t know electric cordis dangerous even. my bird eats a lot of electric cords. i’m surprised he’s still alive. maybe at that time,we switched it off, so, lucky guy. now i have to watch him all the time, in case he eats the electric cords. he eats it like noodles. looks like noodles,so he just eats it… try.

i told you already in my book. it’s a true story. and birds are very sensitiveto many things, like you can’t even bring himinto the kitchen too often, or when you’re cookingwith some kind of different utensils, because they emit some fumewhich is no good for them. and you have to knowwhat kind of solution to use to clean his cageor to clean him or to bathe him, to spray him when summer, winter…

how much… how many times… how many hours you have to spendwith what kind of birds; it depends on what kind of bird. some birds are very independent, some birds are very attachedto humans. they could die if you go away,or if you die or if you pass them awayto somebody else; they cannot continue beingheart-broken forever. maybe the old caretakergives it to the center, you know?

but if they give it to you, and then you give it away again,or you’re gone away, they will be heart-broken. really, they are very sensitive. dogs and cats,they can survive without… they can make it, but birds are different –very sensitive, very sensitive beings. their environment hasto be very, very clean,

because they are susceptibleto unhygienic condition. you see, in the sky,they fly, it’s always clean and they always alighton top of the trees, which are cleaned by sunshine,by rain, by wind, mostly. and they bathe in the big,grand river, they drink from the running brook. but in captivity,they have no choice. they can’t do it.

and they also have hormonesraging within themselves. it’s a lot of things to do, for birds. you can’t fix a birdlike you fix a dog or cat. it’s a lot of work to have a bird, so you have to consider it before,okay? you have to study, you have to buy a bookor something, and read whether or not this birdis suitable for you even, or your environmentis suitable for that bird or not,

and how much workyou have to put in for that bird, and can you? how much time you have per day? a lot of work, baby. my god. dogs are even less work than birds. because you can’t just let himrun around forever in the house. you have to give him a room to stay, or unless you train himfrom a little child, otherwise, he will bite everythingin your house.

my bird ate all my furniture before, and i told you,i became a yogi, naturally! no attachment to furniture, at least. not only furniture… the carpet!he eats it one block at a time. and the kitchen vinyl,eats also one block at a time. the fruit,he tries one piece of banana, doesn’t like it, throws it. apple? maybe try one bite, doesn’t like it, throw everything.

and maybe mango,okay, try one bite… oh, no, doesn’t like, he just grabs itand throws it on the floor. and i have to go and run aroundand clean it up and eat the leftover or give to dogsor do whatever with it. but he won’t clean it up for you. and he won’t go downand eat the rest. sometimes the dog, like you give hima piece of fruit or food,

maybe he eats half, and half he throws it somewhere, but later he might come backand lick it up, or clean it up for you. but the birds, no. no. they don’t go on the floor,that’s for sure. they like the higher the better. and sometimes they go upright on the ceiling there and just stand there forever.

you call him down,he won’t come down. when he comes down, you’re asleep and he comes,pokes your nose or whatever, and digs a hole in your blanket,your bed. the sponge they like to play,it’s soft, easy to dig. they dig the whole thing out, one hole at a time,one corner at a time. and it’s okay if you can affordto buy another one, and keep buyingbecause they like to chew things.

in nature, they chew ontodry branches and all that in order to keep their beakin a favorable condition. otherwise, they keep growing,you see? and then you have totrim their nails, cut their nails if you don’t have the things for themto trim it themselves. i do the clever way. i cover half with the sandpaper, so wherever he stands on,half of it - the top - is smooth,

no sandpaper,but the bottom is sandpaper, so, just right where the nails are. and every day he goes like that,he just trims his nails by himself. they don’t like to be trimmed,their nails, like that. and woe to you ifyou don’t take good care; he’ll just fly awayand then you’ll be heartbroken. not because you lose a bird but because you don’t knowwhat will happen to him. you don’t knowif he’ll live or die;

he won’t tell you. he can’t. he won’t come back. maybe he’ll come back but then he’ll bein a very bad shape… many days later. and then he may go again. they can always fly just a secondyou open the door; they come out, otherwise you have toput them in cages and you don’t like. everything.

birds are a lot of work. you have to knowwhat food to give him, see vet, checkup,vitamin, cleaning the body. not like a dog, you can shampoo him and then put in the gardenand hose him down like that. the bird’s different. you have to clean the featherssometimes; they get dirty. a lot of work, honey. and it’s not to talk about…

sometimes they’re angry, they dig a hole in your handor something, and the sharp nails... i’ve already been bitten once. told you, told you. everybody who has birdhas at least been bitten once. and what they love most is the ear. and if you have a birdand one day you come back and i see only one ear left,i will not ask.

or both ears gone, i won’t ask. any other animal you want before? just bird, right? just because we talk about birds. not to talk about that, your cat…he might be jealous and then he might eat your birdswhile you are not there. any second, it’d be done. and also not to talk about the birdswho are jealous with your cat. either way, either he picks himor he growls at them,

because they have not been togethersince they were young. and the cat has been with youa long time and is attached to you,like a partner, see? animals, they do take youas a partner. because they’re notin natural habitat. in natural habitat,they have a partner for life. so for you,it’s like a partner for life. either that or dad or mom,or brother, sister – it’s just for life,and just very, very faithful.

so maybe either of themwill get jealous. when one of my birds,adopted, came home and he saw other birds,he bit me also. first, he was kissing me all over and then he came homeand saw another bird, other male bird even! especially if it’s a male bird, or a male cat, or male dog, they really get jealousand you’ll be in trouble.

even if you keep them separate, there is a friction… atmosphere,in the house and you can feel it. sometimes it gives you pressure, too. it’s not like you like somethingand you have it. if you cannot have a bird, you just go and give donationto some bird that you like, like foster or something. “okay, i like that bird,” every day you can comeand see him, talk to him

and give some money for the caretakerto take special care of him, or buy a bigger cage for him,something like that. if you can do it,then of course you do it. you have to think carefullyand feel which one is suitable, okay? yes. i’ve been going to the pet storea lot just playing with the birds, trying to…. think which one. (yes.) well, that’s difficult for meto tell you, especially when you have a cat.

there’s a joke, it’s a bad joke, but i just read it yesterdayor something. a little kid was feeding a cat – he’s a housecat –with a bird nut and pellet. and the mother said,“lisa, what are you doing?” lisa said, “i’m feeding the bird.” “but he’s not a…you’re feeding the cat!” and lisa said, “but that’swhere my budgie is!” budgie, the small bird.

you see, inside the cat! you understand? it’s a bad story but it could happen. i’m sorry,enlightened is one thing, jealousy is another. i’m not sure if your birds or your catare that enlightened. even between enlightened people, there is still jealousy, more or less. but they control better.

but birds… and sometimesinstinct is strong. birds or dogs or cats,they are too strong, and just one second and too late,you know? i could talk forever about birds,but be careful. you have to read, read well, be well acquainted because you have to reallytake very delicate care of the bird. they are not like a dog or cat,you know what i mean? because you are used to with a cat,you think it’s no work:

he comes in and out by himself; he even washes himself and all that. no, birds are different, okay? right, any more questionabout cats? no? that’s all? okay, good, anyone else? master, i have a cat,her name is anabella. and i’ve got two cocker spaniels… cocker spaniel dogs. and i was wondering, master,

what the affinity isbetween the three of us because it’s amazing the relationshipmy three animals have, even just with one another,especially with the cat. usually the dogs are very protectiveand play with her. and in fact, one dog, i think he thinks he hasa relationship with her… (i know.) he’s lovingmore than normal. and they’re just really very cute. maybe they hada relationship before.

but normally, animals, they canfoster relationships very quick, especially if they’re togetherin the same household. they think of each otherlike either partner - doesn’t matter species,interspecies - or friends or family members, you see? but sometimes they’re jealous.it depends. mostly if they are very,very sweet, gentle, then they form a relationshipvery quick. remember before,i had a chicken and a rabbit?

the rabbit was enamoredwith the chicken. whatever the chicken does,he does. the chicken eatsnot the same as rabbit – he eats the same. he even eats instant noodleswith the chicken. some of my assistants,he gives them instant noodles, the dried one, broken,and gives to the chicken. of course the chicken eats it and the rabbit also comes and eats.

and he always wants to comeand hug the chicken, and kiss the chickenand the chicken just let him also. chicken is very docile, very sweet. but that rabbit definitelyis very, very enamored with the chicken. he follows her everywhere,eats everything with her, does everything with her. the chickens, they can fly quick. for example, they fly from hereto the higher table quick.

not flying, but easy to for him. and the rabbit cannot jump so high, so he looked left and rightand then he saw a chair next to it. so he jumped first on the chair,and then he jumped on the chair’s arm, and then he jumped on the table. wow! so he really could think logic. so, don’t ever thinkthat rabbits are stupid or animals are stupid. they are not.

i witnessed it myself,in front of me. he really climbed on the chair. first, he looked around -he wanted to climb the table, he could not - then he looked left and right,then he jumped on the chair. and then he tried tojump on the table again – he could not. it was still far. so he looked, looked,

and then he jumpedon the arm of the chair. and then, from therehe jumped on the table. and then they were together again. yes. incredible. he knows how to think. rabbits, they don’t jumphigh normally, but because the chicken was on high. that was a high table, not this. you know, those eating tables,dining tables? very high.

and it was outside in the yard, like for picnic tableand he does a jump like that. and he follows her everywhere.my goodness. so they have affectionfor each other, very deep, very deep. if you see them, you’d thinkthey were lovers for ages, for centuries, or something. and there’s a goat,also enamored with the chicken. you see the pictureon (yes.) the video.

the goat came and kissedthe chicken all the time, french kiss! i did not teach him like that. he’d always comeand go near the chicken and try to kiss her, all the time. very funny. and he’s a young goat,not very old. i guess they just liked each other,so cute. and the rabbit is very cute.

he follows us alsoand chases us around, like playing games around the bushesand things like that. they do have intelligenceand they know who is who. they know who loves themand who doesn’t. very, very good. okay, any other question? why you ask me about that? i was wondering, the affinity. affinity. what for?

of course we have affinitywith each other, normally. that’s why we go togetheras a family or as a group, or as pets, or as friends, or enemies, partners,business associates, etc., etc. and you have affinitywith each other. that’s why you sit herein the same room. yes, affinity for sure. the kings and the queens and all,they do have guards because they have todeal with so many people.

some people are just thereto bug them, not like intentionally sometimes, but sometimes intentionally; just want attention,just inconsiderate. and of course, like there’s onlyone king in the country, or one queen, one prime minister, everybody, when they have timeto see him or her, of course they want to takeas much time as possible, and as much attentionas possible, from that guy.

but they don’t understand,the poor minister, or the poor president,they’re very, very busy. don’t ever envy any presidentor prime minister or king or queen, they are very busy. so, if they have to see everybody, and everybody tries to clingonto their time like that, they’d be dead in no time. it really can be very hecticfor the leader of the nation. i also feel sorry for them,

because they are workingday and night just for the name’s sake. being a president,you look at them: they have a private airplane,whole army, and a lot of body guards. it looks very impressive,but what does he have? he can’t even go outin a coffee shop corner to have a quiet coffeewith his wife or children. never! you know,

he can never go and eat without people staringat his mouth or his soup. even flies come to the soup. president soup –it’s different from other soup. and the body guards,always day and night next to it. you can’t even eatwithout people staring, even your own body guards. i’m telling you,being a king, a queen or president, it looks glamorous, it looks fun,

but it’s not all that fun. you have power,but it comes with a price. you have the guarding, safety,but it comes with the guards. see what i mean? you have a presidential palace, but it comes withthe presidential work, which is a lot. it depends on the country. maybe a smaller countryis less hectic.

but still, it’s not like in mars,they are one nation. they don’t need to go tothe neighboring country: one planet, one nation. no need to go to havediplomatic relationship with any other country. so, they are better,they are more peaceful that way. in this planet, every countrymust have a group of diplomatic personnel. you must havea diplomatic relationship

with other nations. sometimes we look up to the presidentor king or queen and think, “wow,what a nice position. everywhere you go,the whole army protects you and everybody salutes you and everybody bows to you,and the respect, and everything seems so glorious,and impressive and powerful…” but what a price to pay. what a price.

sometimes they are notin control of their power, but they are victims of the powerthat’s invested in them. like, as a presidentyou are expected to do what, to do what, to do what, and you can never do everything. you can never please everybody. and then you have troubleall the time. even if you are votedinto the presidential palace, above 50%,

there is still 40-something percentwhich don’t like you. that’s a big force…that’s millions of people. if it’s a big country, that’s a lot of peoplewho are against you, who don’t like you. maybe don’t hate you that muchbut don’t really like you because their leaderlost the election, and they will not forgive youfor that. the winner and the loser,both lose something.

the winner lostsome of the affection, half of the country at least,or one-third of it. you see? one-third of peopledon’t give you their heart. no matter what you do,they won’t like you, because they lost their “business”. they lost their pride also. and because he has to live inthis kind of balance, very delicate balance,

no matter what he does,he still knows behind his back that “there are some peoplewho don’t like me.” and that is for sure. and no matter how much he does,it’s never enough. in a leader’s position,you cannot do everything; that’s always a compromise. you can never do eventhe things that you want, even the thing that is righteousand is correct and is beneficial to the country.

ciao, guys. if you go home,have a safe and pleasant trip. if you’re going home,have a smooth trip, and happy new year. thanks for the translation. thanks for coming. have a happy chinese new year. say hallo to all your countrymen,tell them i love them very much. really i do.

have a good trip home. have a smooth trip home, okay? are you happy? happy new year. happy new year, master. wish you good healthand all wishes fulfilled. wish you happiness, master.

gardinen zum binden 2019-05-09T18:08:00-07:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: ika