Q: The Venerable Master had said that there are no women in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Why are men preferred over women in the Land of Ultimate Bliss?
A: Why is the Pure Land in the West named the Land of Ultimate Bliss? It is forever blissful and devoid of suffering. It is the Land of Ultimate Bliss because it is not like the mundane world, where sorrow occurs when bliss reaches its zenith. Yesterday I may have said that there are no women in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, but today I may say there are no men either. You must be thinking that I speak off the cuff. Actually, I give my answers depending on how you ask the questions. But we all should know that "there is no distinction between men and women along the great Way." Once we start to discriminate, the meaning becomes secondary. The Vajra Sutra says, "No mark of others, no mark of self, no mark of living beings, and no mark of lifespan." Along the same line, why should there be a mark for men and women? We can say that the Land of Ultimate Bliss consists entirely of men or women, as its residents are beings without desires. Since they have a clean self-nature, men and women there can replace each other.

Q: I would like to make some offerings to you, but I don't know with what?
A: The best offering to me is the recitation of the Buddha's name. To recite the Buddha's name sincerely is an offering of sincerity; to recite the Buddha's name with a commitment to precepts is an offering of commitment to the precepts; to recite the Buddha's name with samadhi is an offering of samadhi; to recite the Buddha's name with wisdom is an offering of wisdom.

Q: What exactly is "Dharma"?
A: Dharma means energy, energy that can penetrate heaven and earth. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and we are one because our energies are connected.

Q: Why must we sit in the full lotus position in order to enter samadhi? Why not with other methods? Is it okay if we just sit still when we cannot bend our legs into that position?
A: It is okay too. This position is the vajra position though, so it is stronger.

Q: Is the half-lotus sitting position analogous to a silver pagoda and the full-lotus position to a gold pagoda?
A: No pagoda for no position.

Q: What is the difference between the Great Compassion Mantra and the Shurangama Mantra? Which recitation will lead to enlightenment sooner?
A: I am not enlightened. I don't know how to answer this question of yours.

Q: What are the basics to Chan meditation?
A: The basics are: 1. not being greedy; 2. not being angry; and 3, not being deluded.

Q: What is the next step in meditation?
A: The first requirements in meditation are to clear our minds and lessen our desires. A clear mind has no false thinking. Less desire means being less emotional.

Q: Please briefly introduce meditation as it is taught at Gold Mountain Monastery.
A: You will find out when you come to Gold Mountain Monastery. To begin with, we train ourselves to sit in the full lotus position. The "Fruit Monk" sits this way also. This position is called the vajra position, which can subdue demon.

Q: The Youth Good Wealth visited 53 different teachers, so why can't I have a few more masters?
A: The Youth Good Wealth's teachers personally sent him off to his next teacher. He didn't disobey his previous teacher and sneak off to take refuge with other virtuous Dharma Masters whom he had been admiring.

Q: What is the difference between Buddhas and demons?
A: Demons have sexual desires while Buddhas don't. Therein lies the distinction.

Q: In a family, how should husband and wife relate? What kind of people relations is proper?
A: Husbands and wives should regard one another with respect. Children born from couples like this will definitely become presidents. Children of couples who do not regard each other with mutual respect will definitely become beggars.

Q: There are many couples who don't respect each other, so all their children will be failures?
A: Yes! That's why nowadays there are so many troubled children who kill and set off fires. Young children don't follow rules because they are controlled by televisions and computers.

Q: You said earlier that males are pure and women impure. Does that mean females are no good?
A: Females are the best. All men love women. Otherwise, they would never look for girlfriends to marry.

Q: Do you believe in ghosts?
A: If you don't believe in ghosts then you won't believe in Buddhas. Ghosts become Buddhas through cultivation.

Q: Can we cross over our late ancestors by reciting Sutras?
A: Somewhat. Seventy percent of such merit goes to the living and 30% to the deceased.

Q: So, how do we cultivate?
A: You should cultivate according to your ability, doing what you can and not forcing yourself into doing what you can't.

Q: What are the basics to cultivation?
A: We should not have so many discursive thoughts. Don't think so much. "A hundred things occur because of the move of a thought; ten thousand things cease with the stop of a thought." Everything can happen because of one thought. If not one thought appears, then the entire substance manifests and nothing will happen. The basic issue here has to do with thoughts of desire.

Q: I had studied transcendental meditation. While meditating, I would listen to a sound and visualize a scene by the ocean. In the beginning, I could concentrate very well and was in a pleasant state. However, after a period of time, things became more and more blurry and confusing. I don't know if this is a good way to meditate.
A: Any wish to listen for a sound is a type of false thinking. This type of meditation is false and not transcendental, which is natural, free of greed, seeking, or anticipation. That wanting makes you transcend nothing.

Q: Our transcendental meditation instructor taught us to imagine a particular sound.
A: It is a useless act, just like putting another head on top of a head or searching for a mule while riding on one.

Q: So, is transcendental meditation good or bad? It is now very popular in many countries around the world!
A: Novel ways to meditate were created for those who can't sit in the full lotus position. The fact is that we must learn to sit in full lotus to mediate. It's impossible to say that one has attained the Way without having sat in full lotus.

Q: I have often heard that everything we do become seeds in our eighth consciousness, but I don't understand the relationship between the eighth consciousness and the previous seven consciousnesses?
A: The seven consciousnesses work together in our body. The first seven consciousnesses are controlled by the eighth consciousness. If we separate these consciousnesses, the eighth consciousness is responsible for our actions. When the eighth consciousness can't control the first seven, a person dies. When a person dies, the eighth consciousness is the last to leave the body and will be the first to enter the womb; thus, the saying goes, "The host is the last to leave and the first to come." The eighth consciousness is the host, without which the first seven consciousnesses are rendered useless. When the former has failed, the rest fails to work. They depend on the former the way the rest of the car engine depends on the carburetor.

Q: Will my mantra be effective even if I do not pronounce it accurately?
A: In the past, there was a long-time cultivator who recited the Six Syllable Great Bright Mantra all the time. He may have made it up himself without checking with others or he may have forgotten what others had taught him, but he presumed that since most Chinese characters are pronounced one way depending on the radical next to it, he thought the last syllable in "om mani pa me hung" is pronounced "niu" (meaning "ox" in Chinese). So, he recited "om mani pa me niu" really sincerely and with the gusto of an ox, he recited it one million times every day. Instead of using the recitation beads, he used a million soybeans to help him count, taking one bean from one side to the other each time he recited the mantra. Gradually, he didn't even have to use his hand to pick up the beans as they would jump from one side to the other. Later on, someone told him that "om mani pa me hung" was the right pronunciation. So, he changed; but strangely enough, the beans didn't jump the way they used to. Though he went back to his initial pronunciation, the beans jumped again. This was because his faith had been shaken knowing that he had been reciting incorrectly.

Q: What is the heart of the Shurangama Mantra?
A: The long version of the heart of the Shurangama Mantra is: "Da Jr Two. Nan. E Na Li. Pi She Ti. Pi La. Ba She La. Two Li, Pan Two Pan Two Ni. Ba She La Bang Ni Pang. Hu Syin Du Lu Yung Pan. Swo Pe He."

Q: What is the basic difference between cultivating as a layperson as opposed to a left-home person?
A: Laypeople are men and women close to Buddhism while left-home people are a part of the Buddha's family. The former can't be considered family members of the Buddha. Left-home people must have a clear mind and few desires. Laypeople don't have to be so serious. Laypeople can marry while monastics must be single. In order words, one is pure and the other impure.

Q: What is life for?
A: Life is not for eating. It is to help others. Helping others is the source of happiness.

Q: If I were to give my afflictions to you, what would I be left with?
A: Wouldn't it be better if you were to have no more afflictions while I did? I can handle them.

Q: What should we do with a broken family?
A: Start from scratch. Everything is a test to see what we'll do. If we don't recognize what is before our eyes, we must begin anew.

Q: The Buddhist scriptures say that the contemplation of sound is the best for attaining enlightenment. The perfection of the ear organ is the most effective method to enlightenment. However, I believe our eyes are the most valuable among all the sense organs; our ears come next. In my opinion, our eyes ought to be the most effective organ to attaining enlightenment, not our ears.
A: Actually, every one of our sense organs is the best. There are no seconds. Whatever clicks is number one; what doesn't click is number two.

Q: We should recite the Great Compassion Mantra 108 times a day. How many times should we recite the Shurangama Mantra a day?
A: One thousand and eight times.