“Reunion of the Souls” Lecture by Supreme Master Ching Hai Auckland, New Zealand - April 27, 2000



Hallo.

Thank you so much! God bless you! I am very, very touched and honored. Thank God for giving me this chance to visit your beautiful land and getting to know your beautiful races of people, and thank you for coming.



Yes, I guess everybody's very touched, so I also thank the New Zealand brothers and sisters who have been working very hard to make this beautiful evening a special memory. Thank you, and God bless your land, your people, and bless all the wishes that you have in your dream.



I think you know why you are here. Everyone wants to know what God is and everyone wants to know where we come from, and that's the reason why we came here actually. That's the reason why we came to this planet, the so-called planet, physical planet, even though at the same time we are connected with Heaven, and spiritual planets, if we call that. But because we have forgotten the connection, so, many of us, or most of us, have just recognized this physical presence and this physical life we call human life.
 
 
In fact, we are not just human, we are also spiritual beings - we are highly developed beings. At the same time we are living here, we are also living in different levels of consciousness - we are also doing so many great things - but it is difficult for most of us to realize that. Our ancestors, for example, the ancestors of the Maori people that you have just seen, that they have sung so beautiful songs so spiritually developed, so highly elevated, so `souly' songs, because our ancestors have known a different level of spirituality than some of us do today.
 
 
But we still can develop this quality again... Not really develop - we still can remember it again, because what we once had we will not lose it; it's just sometimes we forget. So, in order for us to remember, we should... I will give you some practical experience after I explain a little, if you would like to, because if we experience it ourselves, it's better than thousands of theoretical words.
 
 
But I feel I should introduce it a little bit, even though God is not to be explained in language. But just like the Maori ancestors, they have known God, they have known spiritual levels that exceed our language, that go beyond our ordinary understanding, therefore, they could express themselves in poetry, in music, in songs, which are so beautiful, so out of the ordinary, and so touching to the soul when you hear it. It is because they express their own inner level of enlightenment.
 
 
For lack of this inner enlightenment, or because of forgetting this inner enlightenment and our true Selves, we often cannot express ourselves in beautiful ways, in the way that we would like ourselves to express and we sometimes could not behave or react in such a way that we would like ourselves to do. It is because we have forgotten the inner connection.
 
 
We have forgotten that our lives, our so-called being, is greater, greater, longer and higher and more, more, more, more, more multiple faces, multiple qualities, multiple expressions than just this physical being that we know ourselves to be; we have forgotten that. For example, for example, the whole being here is me, like, from head to toe, yes, the whole being. I am not just the toe, I am not just the finger, I am not just the forehead - the whole being is me, but if I just remember my toes or my fingers, then I am not complete.
 
 
Then it's not me, it's not complete. Similarly, if we just remember that we are a physical human being, then we are not complete. I am here today with the honor of God's permission and endowment to remind us, our fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, and little brothers and little sisters, that we should remember our whole being, and I'll show you how. It is very simple to remember, more simple than breathing, more simple than eating. Breathing, sometimes we have difficulty. If we have a blocked nose, we can't breathe. Eating, if we have indigestion, we can't eat, or if we don't have enough money to buy food, we're also in trouble.
 
 
But spiritual wealth is always there. We always have it. It's just we're too busy looking at the outside, remembering our physical body, taking care of too much mundane duties. The world makes us very, very concentrated in the physical and material aspects that we have hardly time to remember our 99% of our being, which is higher, greater, more powerful, more miraculous, more wondrous, more everything... more holy, more divine, more beautiful, more happy, more blessed,
more blissful - everything that is Godly, that is us.
 
 
All the teachers have come here, they told us like that: that we are the temple of God and God lives here, God lives there. So all we see here are God, or at least God's manifestation, individually, differently. But we have forgotten that God quality, that God Nature of ourselves. We just remember this small part of our being which is the human side of ourselves, just like because I like this ring so much, I keep looking at the ring and I just remember this finger all the time and I forgot everything else about myself.
 
 
And this is not how we should do it. So that is why we don't know God, because we have forgotten to look where we should look. That is all. That is why we often tell people “enlightenment is immediate” because you are already there. Suppose I am sitting here and I'm looking at the finger now. How long does it take me to know myself, if I don't look here? How long does it take me? One second, right? Not even.
 

As long as I don't look here, I remember again, “Ah! Here I am! All of this is me!” Yes! It's very simple; therefore, no one is your teacher. I'm not coming here to be your teacher, because you are already divine. I had also forgotten. At the age of three or four, we begin to forget.



If we do not try to remember the great being that we truly are, then we will forget, and that's why it is very easy to forget; and also, it is easy to remember. I am coming here to remind you of the good news that I have remembered, that I have remembered myself. So we can all remember anytime we want, and should we choose to stay in forgetfulness, this is also fine. It is also fine because you are divine, you are God.
 
 
I'm sorry if I might shock you in any way, but that's what you are. If you don't believe me, look back in the Bible. And the Buddhist scriptures say “you are a Buddha,” “Buddha Nature is inside you.” The Bible says God lives within this temple, so who is in there? Who else, except God? If we are only the temple and God is the only one who lives in there, who are we then, except we are God? Okay, we don't remember, fine, but we still are God.
 
 
So, whatever we choose to do, the God of all Gods that we are, respects that. The Father of all of these beings, which we are, respects our wish and our choice to live, to express our divine Selves in whichever way we want. That is why Jesus told us we do not judge people, because we do not know what is the path that being has chosen to walk. He does his things so that he may come to know God in a different way: he might choose to be a seemingly bad person; he might choose to be a seemingly very lowly person; he might choose to be, seemingly, a very so-called immoral person, but that is his way of knowing the divine.
 
 
By choosing to be unGodly, he will one day know that this is not him; he has to go back and learn the whole being again. Because if we always stay in Heaven and we are God all the time, we will not recognize ourselves as God. So we need to lower ourselves, for example, come down to this physical level so that we can once again recognize the greatness of ourselves. That is our choice, and that's why we came here.
 
 
So the answer to our question, “why we are here?” is because we want to know God. So when we feel that the time is up, it's the time that we choose to remember ourselves again, that is the time when we come to seek out spiritual friends, spiritual groups or maybe spiritual teachers, as we call them, so that we can remember quickly.



Because we have forgotten how to remember and where to look for, so some friends who had already remembered himself or herself may be able to help us, and then we recognize that we are nothing else but the Supreme Being, but God. We recognize the Supreme Being that lives, that is housed within this body. But actually, Hes is not housed within the body; Hes houses our body.
 
 
But then again, because spiritual terminology is never a very exact science, so no matter how much a teacher tells us about God, how eloquently a spiritual friend might express about the divine being within ourselves, we cannot just understand by listening. So the spiritual friend or teacher or the guide or a friend has to show us practically, not just theoretically.
 
 
For example, when Jesus came to our planet, he taught his disciples both ways - theoretical way and practical way - and that's why later his immediate disciples could also do wonders, could also see Heaven, could also hear the voice of God - the Word of the Creator - could also see the Light of Heaven, could ascend to Heaven and even see the angels or see the Father.
 
 
The Father spoke to them like the Father spoke to Moses; and the angels also spoke to them. Likewise, we could do that, because as great as Jesus' disciples, we are also great. We and Jesus' disciples are the same, equally, because Jesus said to us that we are all children of God. But because we have forgotten, so, sometimes one friend, two friends have to come to remind us; but only when we are ready, because if we are not ready, no one can do much for us.



*In the last days, many false Christs will appear, (Again?) showing great signs and wonders so as to lead, if possible, even the elite astray. How, without being initiated, can one tell whether you are true or false?

You can't. You can't tell whether I am true or false. So it's up to you.

*Thank you.

You are welcome. Okay, just one moment... Of course... but there are some little things that you can tell. For example - not because of me - if you meet a Master, you immediately feel something. All right? Or you don't. Either you feel something good about that person or you don't. We do have this intuition.
 
 
Even sometimes we see a stranger in the street, we feel like, “Yes, she gives me good vibes. She's lovely, she must be a good person,” and some person we just see for the first time, we feel kind of... we don't want to talk to that person; we're a little scared. Yes, we have this intuition. Or else, we come home and pray to God, “Please, God let me know who is the good one!” Yes? And then you follow your heart. No one else can tell you. You can only tell me from the outside, but inside you cannot.
 
 
Unless you go into a higher spiritual level, then you can see me, like a mirror; but from human to human standard, you cannot see anything. I am not here to prove to you that I am good or bad. I am here to tell you that you are great, you are good, and if you follow my instruction, you will feel, you will see, you will know that you are great, you are good.


You'll feel that you are great, that you know God; and suppose you don't feel like that, you can always leave. I don't charge any money, I don't follow you to your house, I don't call you at all. I'll be gone tomorrow, and you'll be lucky to ever catch me again, so don't worry that I am bad or good. Follow your instinct; learn to know, to remember your greatness. That's what I am here for; not here so that you think I'm great, okay? That's a different question. I am here to show you that you are great, yes? And if you want to know your greatness, then just follow my instructions; not follow me, follow my instructions, okay?



*Should our children be vegetarians, too, Master? Thanks!

If they wish to be, yes. Because children also have souls and they are also God, so if they wish to be, that means they're okay. If they don't wish, we cannot force children, or adults or anyone. We can only talk logically and reasonably, and if they want to, they can be. They should be, because children who are vegetarians are very healthy.


Look at her! She's so beautiful. She looks like a movie star and she's a vegetarian, no? Is she not beautiful? Our fellow initiates, when they are pregnant, the babies are vegetarians from the mothers' wombs already. And when they are born, they're the most beautiful babies, if you compare to other babies nearby. They are born pinky, healthy, and other children, sometimes they are born blue, and purple. Yes! Really! No, you go and take a look at the newborn babies; sometimes they're so blue, so dark. But our children are always born pinky, healthy and cry the loudest.


 

*What can I do to keep up meditation daily, when there's not enough waking hours in a day?

Cannot wake up? (Yes.) Yes, me too! Nobody likes to wake up when we're snug in bed, but we have to try, yes? Suppose if you have to get up to work, then you must. You must! For like, $2,000 per month, you wake up every morning... five o'clock, yes? For God, you don't wake up! So what am I to do? So make your own priority choice. We can wake up a little earlier than usual, and then get used to it. For example, it's too early to wake up at 3 o'clock, don't wake up at 3 o'clock.
 

Normally you wake up to work at 5 o'clock, okay, then wake up like 20 to 5 the first day, or 10 to 5 even, or even 5 to 5. And the next day or next week, 10 to 5, yes? Get yourself used to the idea and reward yourself abundantly. Tell yourself, “Okay, if you wake up early today, I'm going to give you a double bagels,” for example, or “one more cup of café.”



Whatever your mind loves to have, reward him. Reward yourself. You must love yourself also, because, let's face it, we have only one, this physical body, and we are so tired sometimes. We work so hard, 8 hours, 10 hours a day just to keep this “machine” running, and then we have to attend to, sometimes, other work like family, wife, children, and parents, friends, neighbors, relatives, etc.
 
 
We really are very hard-demanded on this physical body. So, of course, if you cannot wake up in the morning for meditation, forgive yourself. Don't be too hard on yourself, but train yourself slowly. Watch TV less, sleep a little earlier so you can get up better, or whatever the activities you used to do too much before in order to pass time when you are bored, use that time for knowing God. It is a matter of organization.
 
 
I am also pretty busy - you don't believe it - and it's hard for me also to get up early sometimes. But you have to put alarm clock, yes? Sometimes like that. In the old Indian tradition, there was one saint, he wakes up all right, but he sleeps sitting instead of lying, so it's just the same.



So, never mind, you try your best. That's what counts. So that person, the saint in India, you know what he did? He had long hair like me and he tied his hair onto the ceiling or something. Yes, yes, yes! Yes, I am not kidding! And then he became a Master because he tried so hard. He tied his hair to the ceiling, so whenever he nodded, “Oh! Okay...” Yes! Yes! I am not saying that you should grow your hair long or do that, but you find your way, yes?
 
 
Like, we wake up early and... In the beginning, I had to put, like, ice water next to me, a flask of ice, and then when the alarm rings, I reach for the ice and throw it on my face, and “Ohh! Blaaah!”- the ice comes through your clothes and everything and you just have to jump out of bed. But don't do it... just don't do it, I mean, you have your own ways. But when you want to do something, you can. Believe me, you can, because you are God. There's nothing impossible with God. Just remember that you have God inside you and that no one else is there. Don't listen to the mind and the brain. It's just a computer. The mind tells us, “Oh...sleep...sleep... sleep is good for you.” But that's not God's voice! God is behind that.


*Do you ever meet with Quan Yin?

Oh, yes. Yes. Why not? You can see all the saints in the past if you want to, but you have to work hard, tie your hair to the ceiling! Now you know why many yogis in India have long hair.



*As we are spiritual beings having a human experience, we are perfect in our expression of life; we are already divine. If God is everything without duality, then everything we are, everything we do is an expression of God. So do we need then to do nothing just to be without reward?



That's fine. That's fine. That's fine, too. As I said earlier, you chose to be what you want to be. But there are many aspects of God; God is the total sum of our being, yes? So if we want to say that we are God, of course we are already God, that is for sure, but then go back to the finger, see? Suppose we say, “Okay, I am God now. I don't need to do anything.” - it's fine!
 
 
But then we go out and steal, or we do things that are not proper or we harm other beings, because we say every expression is God anyway, so we don't try to be better, we don't try to represent ourselves in other aspects of divine quality and just concentrate on one point and do the physical things. And in that case, even though we are God, we have not the whole complete quality, we have not expressed ourselves in the whole, complete way.
 
 
So that is the only difference. Once we know the whole thing, the total sum of God, we act differently. We don't just look at the finger; we know the whole being, and that is different. If I just sit here and look at the finger, I look different, “My God! Nice finger!” But when I know my whole being, then I stand up, I walk, you see? I sing, I embrace people, I greet people with love, I write poetry, I play music, I go swimming - I do all kinds of things which a whole being would do, you see?
 
 
But if I keep looking at one finger only, I still have the whole being here, but it's useless. See what I mean? That's the difference. That's the difference between knowing the whole being of God and just saying, “Okay, whatever I do is God anyway.” But, of course, you are divine already, so you choose what you are doing. I am just answering your question.