Q: Most people say, for good fengshui (geomancy), we should: hang a mirror at the front door, have green plants on the left side of the room, hang two swords above the owner's bed, and hang wind chimes along the hall ways. Is it so?
A: 1. Mirrors symbolize purity
so that we are physically pure as we leave our residence.
We sweep the floor
to remove dirt from the house as we become spick and span.
Mirrors symbolize clarity
So that we become clear about phenomenon and noumenon.
We are content and accept life as it is,
for we are free from greed and the desire to seek.

Most ignorant people believe in diabolical ideas, thinking that demons won't dare to invade their homes by installing mirrors that reflect demons. Simply by thinking in this way, demons have already taken a hold of them. 2. Foliage are just decorations. 3. The sword of wisdom slashes away emotional ties. We should not be loose. If so, a man and a woman will each have a sword at hand to fight one another. Demons may not have appeared if we had not hung those swords. But once we have hung them up, demons come to challenge you. You never know who will win or lose either. 4. Wind chimes symbolize the process of withering away, meaning that the family will be on the decline, wilting away by the day.

Anyhow, fengshui actually comes from our minds: when we are kind, open and honest, everything will be fine. Even negatives will become positives. When we are unkind, everything will turn out poorly; even positives will become negatives. That is why the Buddha had said, "Everything is made from the mind alone." The ancients of China have also said, "Everyone believes that the excellent grave site is in the mountains. Little do they know that the best site is that square inch that is their mind." Street quacks argue forcefully and unreasonably, developing incorrect theories to fool ignorant men and women. What a pity! What a pity!

Q: Is it necessary to choose a day for putting a Bodhisattva statue in place and a position that the statue should face?
A: It is not necessary to choose a day and a position. It is fine as long as the Bodhisattva statue is located at a level above an adult's upper body. Demons and ghosts think about checking on dates and positions for this kind of thing.

Q: A certain Dharma Master said that Buddhists don't need to attend morning and evening services. Is that correct?
A: That is his problem. Since morning and evening services are unnecessary to him, then everything else must be unnecessary too. It must be okay for him to not eat, not drink, and not sleep. Has he reached the level of non-cultivation and non-certification? He can only say such things if he were to have reached that level; otherwise, he shouldn't say such things.

Q: How can we rescue our deceased ancestors and others?
A: Only preeminent monks who have cultivated virtue and samadhi can alter the suffering of the deceased and thereby help them to enter the heavens. When Meditation Master Lungku (Dragon Pants) of the Ming Dynasty saved the mother of Emperor Wanli, for instance, he said from the podium, "I was not going to come here, but you insisted that I do; without giving rise to a thought, may you transcend the three realms." With these lines, the emperor's mother entered the heavens.

Q: We hear that the merit from liberating livings beings is the greatest. Is that correct?
A: All the merit done for Buddhism are equal. We must liberate life out of compassion. If we were interested in merit, then we would not have much merit to speak of. It is incorrect to say that such and such a merit is the greatest because that is just our enticement.

Q: What does "being upside down" mean?
A: Being upside down means treating suffering as happiness, truth as falsehood, and impermanence as permanence. It also means a restless heart and a swarm of thoughts, inaction when a situation calls for help, and action when a situation holds out some gain for us. In general, we are upside down when we are not able to distinguish black from white, and true from false.

Q: Are lay people allowed to cook non-vegetarian meals for other members of the family during the designated vegetarian days?
A: It is your own business if you want to sew wedding gowns for people to get married.

Q: A certain Dharma Master told his disciple not to recite the Shurangama Mantra and the Great Compassion Mantra because by reciting them the heavenly demons and heretics will become fearful, which goes against the idea of compassion. Therefore, this Dharma Master told his disciples and followers not to use or read any sutra because there is no need to. He says it's fine to just recite "Amitabha Buddha" with a singleness of mind.
A: If people who recite mantras are said to be uncompassionate, then the Buddha would not have spoken the Shurangama Mantra and the Great Compassion Mantra so his disciples' compassion would diminish.

Q: Will we be affected physically and mentally if we had revealed our date of birth to those on a deviant path?
A: As long as your mind is correct, there is no deviance. If your mind were deviant, every path would be an evil path.

Q: Master, how do we get rid of attachments and idle thoughts?
A: Who gave you those idle thoughts? Who gave you attachments?

Q: I yawn every time I go to the monastery to listen to the Buddhadharma. Please tell me what I should do?
A: It's no problem if you just stop yawning.

Q: Are we acting in accord with the Dharma when we burn fake money with Rebirth Mantra written on them?
A: Why don't you think about whether that money is real or fake when you're burning papers with the Rebirth Mantra on them,? Once burned, those papers turn into ash, so how can it be used as money?

Q: Many words in Buddhist Sutras are Sanskrit transliterations. Is it more accurate to pronounce them using the Taiwanese or Mandarin dialect?
A: If you were to picture me in terms of form
or to pursue me with sounds,
You are practicing evil norms,
therefore cannot see the Thus Come One.

Q: My family used to worship Matzu (Goddess of the Sea) at home. Since we started learning about Buddhism, though, we have been worshipping the Buddhas. Please let us know if we could make offerings to Matzu along with the Three Sages?
A: If you want to, you could make offerings to all the Sanghas and Buddhas throughout space. Buddhas would not fight one another.

Q: Many people are puzzled because Dharma Master Chinghai has so many disciples. We hope to gain a better understanding by attending this Dharma Assembly so that we can prevent these disciples from walking down the wrong path.
A: When you took refuge with the Triple Jewel, the text to taking refuge made it very clear: "I would rather give up my life than to take refuge with demons and heretics ever."

Q: "Form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form." I can't seem to pass this test. Will the Master please provide me with instructions?
A: We were born because of sexual desire and we will die because of sexual desire. That is all. If you can't see through this, then you will be born from form and die from form.

Q: A certain Dharma Master said that when pregnant women recite the Shurangama Mantra, they will have miscarriages. Is this believable?
A: Nonsense.

Q: Buddhism is beyond materialism and universal truths; however, why is it stuck on and cannot seem to transcend the issue of sensual desire?
A: As Father Rogers had mentioned, cultivators want to keep the precepts purely. Not only do they do so physically, but they avoid any lewd thoughts too. We are all ordinary people who have not yet realized Buddhahood at this point, so who would dare to claim that he has reached transcendence? Don't we all need to eat, dress, and sleep still? Since we still need to eat, dress, and sleep, what have we transcended?

Q: Master, I have heard you call yourself stupid on many occasions. You are probably being humble. However, if you say that too often, it may reflect your lack of self-confidence and indecisiveness. How could you preside over an organization that way? And what exactly does stupidity mean?
A: If I were not stupid, why would I tell the mosquitoes to bite me and not other people? If I were not stupid, why wouldn't I be interested in more money? If I were not stupid, why would I renounce what most people find enjoyable? What else do you call this but stupidity?

Q: We often see newspaper ads promoting "offerings to the souls of aborted babies." Could we make offerings to these souls?
A: This can't be considered "offerings" because these souls are not a part of the Triple Jewel (the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha). It is a deviant idea to think so. Instead, we should say we are, "crossing them over [to the other shore of liberation.]" These souls have rather intense grievances and are difficult to liberate, however. Since we incurred this debt by taking away the lives of these babies, we must repay them with our own lives. However, if you meet a true cultivator who is not greedy for money, there may be an opportunity to cross these souls over.

Q: Many people give money to make offerings to the souls of aborted babies. Will these offerings alleviate their enmity?
A: The enmity cannot be alleviated that way.

Q: Many people nowadays are making money off of dead babies. Some Buddhists do not think it is wrong. What does the Master think of this? Will the souls of these dead babies cause the parties involved to become ill or to experience problems in other areas? Will they cause so much fear in those who had abortions that fear becomes the reason why they pay for these plaques for the deceased? What is the Master's view on this? Will these souls cause trouble? What can we do to tame them? How can we bring them peace?
A: Being alive in the first place would have been better than having plaques when dead. People should not have had abortions to begin with; abortion is a form of killing. If people did not kill, this extra step would be unnecessary. Setting up prayer plaques for these babies are just a superficial way to cover up the real cause of problem. Can these souls be crossed over? Can the debt be eliminated? It is not for sure. We should practice prevention instead of being sorry later. Don't use any contraceptives and have premarital sex. Why can't we wait? What is the rush? Why are we such gluttons? This is all because of our shamelessness.

Q: The Buddha said, "The Buddhadharma is not apart from the worldly dharma." How can we integrate the Budhadharma into our daily life?
A: By not fighting, not being greedy, not seeking, not being selfish, not pursuing self benefit, and not lying.

Q: Someone said that if we recite the Great Compassion Mantra 108 times a day and do so consecutively for three years, we will see some results. But I am quite busy with my work and can't spend over one hour reciting the Great Compassion Mantra 108 times in one sitting, is it okay for me to recite the mantra 108 times during different parts of the day?
A: As long as you are sincere, everything is OK.

Q: Cockroaches and mosquitoes are harmful insects that belong to one of the six paths. Could we kill them?
A: I am not a cockroach but I am a tiny mosquito. If you want to eliminate mosquitoes, you need to kill me first.

Q: I heard that Bhikshus can point out Bhikshunis' faults, but Bhikshunis can't do the same to Bhikshus. Is this oppression of women by men?
A: "[True] Dharmas are all equal, none of which is better or worse." Everyone is equal in Buddhism; no one ranks higher or lower. Here, if a Bhikshu makes a mistake, the Bhikshunis can point it out and when a Bhikshuni makes a mistake, the Bhikshus can do the same at any time. There is no oppression by either men or women. Even though men and women work separately and don't interfere with each other, they still regard each other with mutual respect. They don't try to dominate one another. If I make any mistakes, other people can point them out at any time.