~Spoken
by Supreme Master Ching Hai,
Singapore March 9, 1993
(Originally in English)
The
church, the outside church, mosque, and temple, are symbols of the kingdom
of God within us, which are built to remind us of our own temple, of
which Jesus said, Know you not that you are the temple of God and the
Holy Spirit lives within you.
I
think that the church and the temple are very holy, sacred symbols of
our devotion to God. Every time we pass through a church, a mosque,
or the temple of any religion, we should truly remind ourselves of the
reverence we have for these symbols of worship. It probably would be
better if the people who come to these temples, churches or mosques
truly could find their God within, within their temples also, not only
in the brick temple but also in the true temple of God.
~Spoken
by Supreme Master Ching Hai,
Thailand December 7, 1994
(Originally in English)
Just
sit anywhere -- on the bus, in the park, in your living room, close
your eyes and do your meditation. And more importantly, have group meditation
every week. Maybe we can arrange different days for different people's
convenience, like one on Wednesday, one on Friday, or one on Saturday
and one on Sunday. Whenever there is a great occasion, then we can celebrate
and gather together in one place. If it's not big enough, maybe we try
to look for a bigger place. Don't bother to build a mosque for me, just
a storeroom or something will do. So, you know now where the temples,
mosques, and churches come from -- from group meditation!
~Spoken
by Supreme Master Ching Hai,
Malaysia June 4, 1993
(Originally in Chinese)
The
Buddhist ashram was originally a place for group meditation for the
initiated practitioners. That's what it was originally intended for,
just like our group meditation Center. After they were initiated, they
would group together to meditate once every week or every two weeks.
They would listen to the Master's teachings and ask questions. The Master
would then send some disciples to answer their questions. Thus, they
encouraged one another to practice more diligently. During group meditation,
the blessing power is very great and they could progress faster. This
is the original purpose of the Buddhist ashrams.
~Spoken
by Supreme Master Ching Hai,
Hsihu, Formosa June 4, 1995
(Originally in Chinese)
The
pyramids were not built to be used as tombs. They found out later that
this was not the purpose. I think they built the pyramids for spiritual
practice. Just now I told you it was very difficult to get the 'Instruction
Manual of Wisdom' in ancient times. This is one of the reasons why they
built the pyramids. It was because spiritual practice was very difficult
in olden times for fear of being discovered by others. Where can you
sit when holding a group meditation in the desert? [Laughter] Even with
the guards around, everyone can still see you.
........In
the empty desert, you roast to death by sitting there in the daytime,
and freeze to death at night. The temperature in the desert is extremely
hot in the daytime and extremely cold at night. Two extremes - that
is why they built the pyramids. They are very, very quiet inside. It
was very difficult for people to locate the entrance later.
........The
entrance was known only to their own people. They were very spacious
inside, and completely empty. Of course there was nothing; they were
built for people to meditate inside, for initiation, etc., without being
seen by outsiders.
........A
real place of spiritual practice is only for people to meditate. There
won't be anything inside, or at the most a Buddha statue or the Buddha's
photograph. They used the Buddha's statue before, but now perhaps it
is faster to take photographs or use a portrait. It was empty because
people needed to sit in there, about the same as our place here.
