Good and Wise Advisors:
There's no knowing how many times we've met together before, as if in a dream. Since time without beginning, all living beings have mutually been relatives, parents and children, friends, brothers and sisters. We become stuck so closely together that when the time comes to part, we cannot relinquish our emotional ties. Not being able to relinquish them, we cannot be free. That inability to be free is what hinders us, so that we cannot see things clearly and be decisive. Why can't we be decisive? Because of ignorance and lack of understanding.

For countless eons, we have undergone birth followed by death, death followed by rebirth, going along in the cycle of the twelve links of conditioned co-production.

Lack of understanding is stupidity. Because of stupidity, there is activity. With activity, the seeds of stupidity are sowed. Once seeds of stupidity are sowed, there are names created out of stupidity. When there are such names, the six sense faculties (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) come into being and we become attached to them. The six faculties perceive the states of the six sense objects. When they perceive pleasant states, we have a pleasant experience. When they come into contact with something unpleasant, we have an unpleasant experience. Thus there are favorable and adverse states. If it is something we like, we want to hang onto it. If it is something we don't like, we want to get rid of it. When favorable states come, we feel happy. When adverse states come, we become upset. Thus feelings of like and dislike come into being. With such feelings comes birth into the next life. Once there is birth, there will be old age and sickness. And so this is how we make a mess of things, like a fly buzzing around to the east, west, north, and south, not knowing quite what it is doing. It crawls around on the windowpane, but cannot see what is on the other side.

We can't see through things and let go of them, and so we live as if drunk and die in a dream. In this way, in life after life, we argue and fight, laugh and cry, and become vexed and afflicted. It never ends, but we don't get tired of it. We think it's a lot of fun and very interesting.

There is merit in diligence.
There is no benefit in playing.
So be careful!
We should urge ourselves on!

The situation in the Middle East is very dangerous now. War is about to break out. This is because everyone is having deluded thoughts and putting out poisonous energy. It's emitted here, there, and everywhere. The individual releases his poisonous energy onto his or her family, and once the family is contaminated, there are family wars. But a family war isn't exciting enough, so it spreads into the society. You scheme against me, and I plot against you, both of us trying to find ways to benefit ourselves. All this fighting is for the sake of money.

There is a verse which describes the character for "money" in Chinese:

Two spears fighting over gold: the killing energy runs high.
Everyone is obsessed with money.
Those who know how to use it can transcend the Three Realms.
Those who don't fall into the underworld.

The way the ancients designed the Chinese character for "money" is very interesting. On the left side is the character for "gold." The character for "gold" has a "person" on top and three horizontal lines, a vertical line, and two dots below. The two dots represent gold nuggets, and the three horizontal lines are probably three people. The vertical line symbolizes the single-minded focus on fighting. And so there is a central vertical line, a gold nugget on either side, and people on top fighting over it all. What do they fight with? They use spears. So the character for "money" consists of a "gold" character and two copies of the "spear" character. So there is a lot of meaning behind the way the ancients designed Chinese characters.

The two spears are fighting over the gold nuggets, which could also be in the form of U.S. dollars or pounds sterling. So the verse says: "Two spears fighting over gold: the killing energy runs high." You want to kill me, and I want to kill you, because we're after the gold. So you take your knife, and I take my spear; you set off an atomic bomb, and someone else sets off a hydrogen bomb or uses poison gas, and waits to see if you survive. When that happens your gold nuggets are of no help, nor is the oil that you've seized. The energy of killing rises to the heavens.

"Everyone is obsessed with money." Money brings a lot of trouble. People lose their appetite, or commit suicide by jumping off buildings, all because of money. They place their bets at the horse races and lose several billion, almost losing their very life, all because of their greed for gold.

"Those who know how to use it can transcend the Three Realms." If you know how to use money, you can become a Buddha. "Those who don't fall into underworld." If you don't know how to use money right, you use it to create offenses until you fall into the hells. How dangerous it is! What advantages are there to money? Everyone is so confused. Wealth and sex have confused the people of the world so deeply that they have lost their wisdom. If you do not crave wealth and sex, your inherent wisdom will reveal itself. You should not crave fame, either. Don't always strive to be number one. Don't try to get in the spotlight and make yourself known to everyone.

Perhaps you don't want fame, sex, or money, but you can't put down your attachment to food. You aren't greedy for wealth, sex, or a good reputation, but you're greedy for good flavors. When the food is served, your eyes open wider than a cow's, because you want to take a good look to see if it's the kind you like. If it is, you take more--one serving after another, never getting enough. If it's not, you taste a little bit and push it aside. You are clever when it comes to eating, but not so wise when it comes to listening to the Dharma. When it comes to food, you know what's good and what's not.

You may be able to put down your attachment to food, but as for sleep, you can't bear to give up even a minute of sleep. If you haven't had enough sleep, you can't get up to go to work or to do morning recitation. During the morning and evening recitations, you doze off. When you bow to the Buddhas, you fall asleep and don't get up from the bow. Or you stand there and enter samadhi as you're reciting the Buddha's name, so you forget to walk forward. In this way people are confused all their lives, and then they die without knowing what will become of them.

The world situation now is incomprehensible. People cannot imagine what will happen to them. We don't know when some country will set off a nuclear weapon and annihilate the whole planet and everyone on it. I'm not trying to intimidate you; it's really that dangerous. For this reason, we have to trace the problem back to its source--fighting. Everyone ought to yield instead of fighting.

This is the responsibility of the leader of every nation. Every head-of-state should cultivate virtue, carry out humane policies, and teach the people to follow the five precepts and practice the ten good deeds. But some national leaders do not cultivate virtue and carry out humane policies. For example, the Crown Prince of England believes in Buddhism, but the royal family made a rule that when he assumed the imperial throne, under no circumstances could he sit in full lotus posture. So you see, even being a Buddhist is against the law! If every head-of-state could believe in Buddhism, every nation would be free of wars. On the other hand, if the head-of-state is not Buddhist and is infatuated with money, there will be war in the country. The heads-of-state have to be responsible for this.

Secondly, religious leaders have to be responsible. Why are religious leaders unable to set a good example for others? Why are they so greedy for wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep? The religious leaders have assume their responsibility. Furthermore, professors should not teach college students to be promiscuous and take birth control pills like crazy. Professors, thinking only about making money, have spoiled the students and condone their misbehavior.

It is said, "If the child is raised but not taught well, it is the father's fault." Why aren't parents teaching their children? Why do they let them do whatever they want? For example, American youths commit murder and arson, peddle drugs, and engage in other illegal activities. This is all because their parents didn't teach them to behave well and respect the rules. That's why everyone disregards the law and doesn't follow any rules. In their daily lives, people break the five precepts against killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxicants. These are the reasons the world has gone to ruin and education is morally bankrupt.

Parents have failed to educate their children; teachers and professors have not done a good job of teaching; and the clergy have not fulfilled their role as educators. The government is not doing anything to reform education, either. Since the world is in such a mess, the religious leaders should make it their responsibility to bring about educational reform. All religions should work together. It should not be like before, with people praising a religion when they were in it and slandering it after they left it. Catholics would say that Catholicism was good, Protestants would say that Protestantism was good, and Buddhists would say that Buddhism was good. Actually, we aren't supposed to praise ourselves. Only the praise and recognition of others counts. For example, everyone recognizes the fact that the Buddha attained Buddhahood. Your thinking of how you are limitless and boundless doesn't make you limitless and boundless. Your deciding that you have become a Buddha doesn't make you a Buddha.