Hallo! Hallo, hallo,
hallo, hallo, hallo, hallo!
How are you, comrades?
Auntie, come sit up here.
Inside, inside, yeah.
Hug this one.
Cannot see anything?
Those people in the back can’t see, right? (Yes, Master.)
What a pity!
You come here but you cannot see anything.
If it’s too tight, then come up here, okay?
Do people in the back have space to sit?
If not, sit on your neighbor’s shoulders.
Find someone well-built and sit on him.
I said this before, didn’t I?
I told you already. We have to build a room
with two, three layers.
When you come in, you sit like this.
Then we will have room for everyone. Right?
A layer for sitting is here, yes?
And there is another layer above it.
If we can’t do that, then fatter people sit below,
and skinnier people sit on top.
Children and elderly ladies sit at the very top.
In Japan, they build their offices into small boxes, and they sit in there.
And the floor above is also like that.
We don’t need much, do we?
Just a computer, so this much space is enough to sit. Right?
Later on, when we have more people, you can’t sit near me.
You will have to sit far away and use computers to look.
You have to set up computers to look at me digitally.
Those leaving tomorrow are sitting in the front, right? (Yes.)
Who’s leaving tomorrow? Raise your hands. Oh…
You’re leaving me.
There are more, Master.
There’s another group leaving the day after tomorrow.
I know. They are sitting in the back.
Those leaving the day after tomorrow, raise your hands.
Tomorrow means today, right? (Yes.)
It’s today already. You are leaving already.
Goodbye!
Okay, if you comrades want to report anything, do it quickly.
When the meeting is over,
take some cookies and candies home for other people.
I said that already.
Respected Master,
I would like to thank you very much.
Today, we are very fortunate,
and I am very grateful to Master
for granting us the opportunity to come here to see you.
And on our last day,
we are very touched because you allow us
to see you one last time.
Why are you laughing at him? What’s wrong with what he said?
He said “one last time,” and that wasn’t correct, Master.
(We will see you again, Master.) Before leaving.
We’ll see you again, Master.
Many more times. See you all the time, Master.
What he meant was, the last time before leaving today. (Yes.)
Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. (Only today, Master.)
And the days after also. Understand? (Yes.)
Always laughing at the wrong thing.
He was so emotional, couldn’t express himself.
You didn’t support him at all.
It’s already very difficult for a man to talk,
especially sitting among the ladies like this.
He must be trembling to death.
He could say that many sentences, that was very good already.
You naughty ones.
(I would like to dedicate a song to Master.)
Okay, go ahead.
Because you’re leaving tomorrow,
however long you sing, you will still have to leave.
They wouldn’t let you stay.
So I’m not afraid if it’s too long.
Okay, sing. (Yes.)
I am the shoes that caress your feet.
I am the poems that you recite.
I am the cool breeze that lulls you into a deep sleep.
I am the plants that offer you exotic fruits.
Wherever you are, I am there.
I am the sweet sugarcane over the kitchen fire.
I am the fresh flowers that please your eyes.
I am the pretty umbrella
that shelters you from sun and rain.
I am the little joke you tell that makes me laugh.
Wherever you are, I am there.
Thank you, Master.
Thank you. But why are you crying so much?
Why cry so much? (We love you, Master.)
You’re leaving tomorrow, why cry? (We love you so much.)
Then stay a few more days.
Can you? You can’t?
A lot of work?
Oh, I’m sorry.
You planned to beautify me,
but you’re leaving tomorrow, so soon?
It’s been one week already? (Yes.)
I’m so sorry.
Cheer up, don’t cry.
Sitting near Master is a policewoman’s mother.
Where? (There, Master.)
This lady? (Yes.) My God!
Don’t arrest me, Mama.
My God, you should have told me earlier.
Who dares to sit near her! Oh, man!
Is she really the mother? (Yes.)
Don’t arrest me, Mama.
I’m a comrade,
real comrade, okay?
This comrade is a high-ranking comrade.
It’s Auntie Hải. Okay.
Okay. And this lady is a policeman’s mother, right?
Okay, Mama.
Stop crying, Mama.
This is to bribe you.
How is it now? Are the comrades over there happy?
Many government officials follow your teachings, Master.
But they do it in secret, right? (Yes.)
I have only one. This is for you two.
When you cough or have a sore throat, just a little bit.
There’s no problem.
Public security officers or policemen are also human.
They have compassion inside, Buddha Nature inside.
When hearing the right things,
the Truth, they’ll agree with it right away.
Such people exist in every country.
So forbidding people is useless. Eventually, they will follow anyhow.
No, because the government is a little scared.
They are afraid we’d go back and start a revolution.
But we don’t have to do that, right?
We only do the inner revolution.
We only revolutionize our destiny.
Nowadays, in China, many leaders have started the vegan diet.
They also know about Auntie Hải.
Even high-ranking police officials are vegan, Master.
Yes, I know. I’ve known it.
Being vegan and doing good are very good qualities.
They deserve the respect from the whole country.
It’s difficult for high-ranking leaders to go vegan, no? (Yes.)
So people behind there can see me.
I sit here, so people behind there can see.
Otherwise, what for I am sitting so high?
You want to sit up here?
You like to be promoted? Promoted.
Spiritual practice is our private affair.
The outside work, you still have to fulfill.
Security officers or police are good professions, nothing bad,
just to provide security for everyone, no?
As long as you are not corrupt
or wrongly arresting people, then it’s okay.
You are doing the righteous thing.
By doing that, sometimes you could even help those
who are wrongly accused.
Okay, sit up, Mama.
Sitting like that will hurt your back.
Do you want a back rub?
People here will get jealous, don’t you think, Mama?
(She must feel so wonderful, Master!) Wonderful, huh?
I sit here so that people in the back can see me.
Otherwise, it’s not that great.
It’s a little tough to sit here. No problem.
You see now? You see Auntie Hải now?
Seen her yet, comrades?
Did you see? (Yes.)
Good. What’s up?
Is there anyone else crying, complaining about anything?
Oh, God, why do you cry so much?
Now things have improved over there.
(Yes, there have been lots of improvements in recent years.)
Very open already. You could come here, right? (Yes.)
Before, when we had the so-called democracy,
you still couldn’t come here if you wanted to, yeah? (Yes.)
Only now could you come.
I remember a long time ago, not everyone could go if they wanted to.
It was during the war. (Yes.)
Under the democratic regime,
it wasn’t that easy to go abroad, right? (Yes.)
Is it true, guys? You see? (Yes, we’ve come here...)
Or I remember it wrong? (Master is right.)
(Yes, that’s right.)
At that time, only children of important people
could go to study abroad.
Why? Why do you go down?
I’d like to sit here so I can see you, Master.
I gave you the chair, and you don’t want. Your legs will get tired sitting on the floor.
(Sitting there, I can’t see you, Master.) I understand. That’s fine then. Okay.
This time, in general,
it was very difficult to get a passport and visa, Master.
(Really? Then how did you do it?)
And over two hundred of us could get it within a week.
(Two hundred people all in one place?)
Yes, one whole group. They sent passports of the whole group to Malaysia, Master.
That company said it was a miracle, Master.
Really? (Yes.) The company said that? (Yes.)
It was because you practice well.
The lady who processed our visas, she only started to do visas in 2008.
At that time, she was doing other visas,
and then she just started on this visa.
In the beginning, our initiates applied for it.
We lost a lot of money, but it could not be done.
We didn’t know how. (Not possible.)
After that, this lady came over, and some initiates went to apply.
This lady said she couldn’t do it.
She was still new, so she didn’t know how.
“But if you need, I’ll try to help.”
(Just try and see.) Yes, she tried.
And that night, at home, she saw a burst of very bright light
beaming into her house.
The whole house was bright.
(Wow.) She thought it was very strange.
So later, she told the initiates.
And then after that, the visas she processed were all passed, Master.
Passed 100%.
There was a blessing, huh?
Yes, Master.
So thanks to her, all 200 people got visas?
Yes, Master.
Over 200 people. Close to 300, Master.
Oh, that many?
They are still coming, Master.
Yes, many Aulacese (Vietnamese) come this time.
That’s right. That’s right.
The other day there was a group of people, and they went home already.
Now another group. That’s very good. (It never happened like that before, Master.)
It never happened like that before.
Hundreds of people came. What a big surprise!
Especially young people like us, Master. (Yeah, that’s right.)
When I applied for permits and everything,
they all passed, Master. (Everything went smoothly. Okay.)
When I went through customs, the officers just smiled.
Also okay. (Also okay.)
Thank you very much, Master.
You have good merits.
No, it’s because you meditate a lot,
so bad things were resolved.
You are vegan; you do good deeds;
you don’t kill, not even animals, let alone humans.
You don’t harm anyone.
So the government knows we just practice spiritually.
We don’t make revolutions or anything like that.
Auntie Hải also told you to be content with what you have.
We meditate, then everything will naturally turn out okay.
Protesting the government all the time is not necessarily a good thing. (Yes.)
Even if we protest the government,
the people’s bad karma (retribution) is still heavy,
so it wouldn’t do any good anyhow.
That would only draw more calamities and more bloodshed.
For example, in Egypt, you see? (Yes.)
They rebelled and they protested; this man must go down for that man to come up.
Now, he is overturned again, and who knows who’s going to be up next.
Down, up, all the time, it’s so tiring!
The people suffer.
No time to work; just attend demonstrations all the time.
So much hardship. It’s a pity! Both sides demonstrate.
Both sides claim they are right, and that sometimes triggers violence.
So many people die,
and yet nothing is resolved.
Sometimes, we have to resolve it from inside.
If the people are good,
naturally the government will be good.
They can’t be bad even if they want to.
But if the people don’t have enough merits,
even if the government is good, it can’t do much.
Obstacles will still be there.
That’s good. It means you practice well.
(Thank you, Master.) You are welcome.
How about other people?
Master, a few days ago,
during meditation, I fell asleep
and I had a very frightening vision.
It was like the whole universe was in turbulence.
It’s very difficult to describe. (Understand.)
At that time, many people,
including myself, wanted so much to help you,
but no one could do anything
because what was going on was so terrifying, (Too heavy!)
and you were all alone at that time! There was only you, Master!
How sad! How pitiful! It’s so cute, huh?
Thank you very much.
When I woke up… I couldn’t remember it clearly.
Thank you.
Everything was left to “her” alone.
Thank you.
So what is the point of talking about it?
I thought someone would help out, but in the end, “she” was all alone,
so what’s the point of bringing it up? We already know this all this time.
(When I was in there, I felt helpless.
I couldn’t do anything at all.)
When the collective bad karma (retribution)
of all beings comes together, no one can do anything.
So I apologize for not being able to see you a lot.
No embrace, no kiss.
Kissing hands, kissing feet, we also forget all that. (Yes.)
Just have a look, then you go back home and practice, all right? (Yes.)
The power is always here. I’m always there.
No need for hugging.
There are many masters who like to hug their disciples
just like this lady.
And the disciples love it. They love that. They love to be hugged.
But no, I don’t have time.
Hugging is okay,
but looking into my eyes is better. (Yes.)
The eyes are the window to the soul. (Yes.)
And then when you go home, get together and practice.
(Yes.) Then the country will progress more and more,
which is obvious, right? (Yes, it is.)
Âu Lạc – means peace and prosperity.
Thank you, Master.
Ever since I started my spiritual practice, my family has been good,
so are my friends and my neighbor.
And when seeing me wear Master’s picture,
they said, “I should be nice to you.
Because you wear this picture, I have to be honest to you.”
Everyone helps me, Master. (Oh, very good!)
Thank you, Master.
You’re welcome, you’re welcome.
Because of your spiritual practice, you earn merits.
Anything else?
Did anyone else see me going somewhere alone?
I’ve always been working alone
because very few people in the world listen to what I said.
It goes in one ear and out the other, and so they work very slowly.
I know Master is the supreme God.
(So, “she” might as well go do it.)
Therefore, I treasure greatly every second, every minute that I am here.
I find every second here is like a thousand years outside.
I cherish every pebble here.
Good, good.
But don’t take it home.
I’d love to, but I dare not take any.
Okay. You can, but if each one of you takes one,
then they will be all gone.
What for do you pick pebbles?
Bring home the atmosphere only, okay?
Yes, thank you, Master.
I wonder...
We should always maintain
a positive attitude.
But the negative energy
from many people around us
has a lot of impact on us.
(I know.) Therefore, I always feel very tired.
If I always keep a positive spirit,
will my positivity be able to
transform the negativity
inside the people around me, Master?
Yes, but it might take a while.
Quite a while.
Because we are outnumbered.
This world is their world.
We have to change it gradually.
But at least you can maintain that positive spirit,
without being harmed.
If we aren’t affected by them, that is already very good.
If you can’t influence them,
at least you can maintain the positive spirit.
Also, by reciting the Holy Names to protect you,
you can avoid being affected by them negatively. (Yes.)
That is very good already.
Thank you, Master.
And another thing is, as for me, who always likes to convince people
to switch to a vegan diet,
sometimes, I feel like
I’m pressing them
when I want people to be vegan
for their own good.
Advising people like that is very good. You’re not forcing anyone.
Sometimes, seeing people so used to eating meat
and craving for it, I feel very sad.
Of course, of course.
But sentient beings are very difficult to save, love.
It is not that easy, right?
If it was easy, this world would have been peaceful
long ago, would have become Heaven already.
See? It’s very difficult, very difficult.
Being able to save you guys is already wonderful.
It’s already a great joy.
Great joy. (Thank you, Master.)
Well, I should thank you. You are kindhearted and you practice well.
I am very proud, very touched,
and also thankful to you.
In such an upside-down world,
you’re still able to keep your hearts pure
and strive to protect your spiritual practice and be vegan like that.
Especially those who are still young, it’s very good.
It’s very difficult. You must have been
some kind of Bodhisattvas (spiritual practitioners) before.
In the past, you must have met me or other Masters
to have affinity to be able to practice spiritually like that.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t be that easy, right?
So many people around you are eating meat, doing bad deeds,
yet you’ve walked on the path all alone, right?
It’s very good.
Keep up your good work.
Excellent. (Yes.)
You want to say something else?
I wish that God and Heavenly beings
support and protect you, Master. (Thank you.)
I wish you good health.
Thank you. Thank you.
I wish you the same.
Keep up the efforts. It’s a little hard, but just try.
Things are obviously getting better and better.
It’s a little bit slow, and we’re impatient,
but that’s how the world is.
It’s much better than before, which is great already.
Better than nothing, right? (Thank you, Master.)
Oh, it’s not easy, not easy.
Master, in America,
there is a person who follows
Hòa Hảo Buddhism.
He told me
that there was a man in Âu Lạc (Vietnam)
practicing a certain religion in Âu Lạc,
which I don’t remember the name.
That person could see into
the past, present, and future.
And he informed the people
that... he used the term
“enlightened king” –
that an enlightened king will come forward later to save the world.
It will be a lady, born in Âu Lạc (Vietnam), and she is a lay practitioner.
It’s you, Master!
Therefore, they were quite confused as to who that might be,
but that’s what they said.
Since that prediction until now, they believed that a spiritual practitioner,
a Buddhist, or Prophet Huỳnh Phú Sổ (founder of Hòa Hảo Buddhism)
would return to unify all peoples of the world.
But I know it is Master.
Not her?
I also followed up with many predictions.
Recently, I heard people talk about Trạng Trình’s prophecies
saying that this lady was born in Âu Lạc (Vietnam).
She will help make world peace, Master.
(Is that so?) Yes.
And they also predicted that within the next three to five years,
the whole world will know who that lady is.
Thank you, Master.
We will know after three years?
(Yes, that’s what they said, Master.)
Okay, let’s wait. (Yes.)
When you know, let me know.
It’s often like that.
Everyone waits for Jesus Christ to come, perhaps descending from the sky!
If Buddha comes back, he will probably look the same as before, huh?
Wearing a yellow robe, with a topknot, and go begging with his bowl.
That was a different era. (Yes.)
As for spiritual practice, we do it inside, not outside.
But it doesn’t matter.
Three more years, then we’ll know. Okay, Auntie? (Yes.)
When you know who that lady is, tell me.
If it’s not this lady, then that lady!
You have white hair already, just need a beard.
You must add a beard to accompany the white hair.
The saints who practiced spiritually in the olden days,
we often think of them as having long white hair
and a beard flowing to their belly button.
Nowadays, it’s easy, we just implant them.
Okay, all right. Thank you.
Anyone else?
The Aulacese (Vietnamese) stories are enjoyable, huh?
(Yes.) The happy stories are amusing. (Yes.)
Greetings, Master. (Hi, Auntie.)
I’m from Âu Lạc (Vietnam).
I had two vegan restaurants in Âu Lạc.
But I don’t know why last year, I suddenly felt very sad.
Even though my business was very successful,
but on those days that I had a lot of customers,
I felt sad because I didn’t have enough time to meditate.
Therefore, I was very sad.
I kept thinking about how I could attract more people to come to eat
because if people can eat vegan food, then it’s good for them.
But at the same time, I must meditate enough.
My heart was troubled by this, and I was very sad.
Then, on Master’s birthday recently,
I decided to apply to go to Formosa (Taiwan).
The reason was that I wanted to be on Buddha’s land
and pray to Buddha for guidance:
“Should I forsake everything and stay home to meditate?”
Because I really didn’t know what to do.
In Formosa, I had an inner experience while I meditated there.
I dare not talk about it here unless Master allows me to.
In my meditation, I saw Master draw a picture of a cake
divided into four pieces, then take away one piece and tell me,
“Four pieces, remove one and keep three, all right?”
I came back to Âu Lạc (Vietnam) after two weeks in Formosa (Taiwan)
and still could not figure out what to do.
Then, within a month, I had to close one of the restaurants.
It just happened.
All the circumstances forced me to shut it down.
I had no choice but to close down one of the restaurants immediately.
I kept the other one and have been operating it until now.
The current restaurant is doing very well, also.
When I thought about it again,
I realized that things happened exactly as the inner Master had told me.
“Cut out one, keep three.”
Now, with one restaurant, I feel very good and relaxed.
And I have enough time to meditate.
This time coming here, I feel very relaxed because I already made arrangements
so that everything at the restaurant is stable
and I wouldn’t be distracted while away. I really enjoyed this trip.
And I think all the things I have today, Master has arranged it for me,
and Master arranged so that I could
run the vegan restaurant and meditate at the same time.
I am very happy, and I sincerely thank you, Master.
You keep crying while you talk.
You make me feel like crying, too.
Okay. Then that’s good.
Sometimes we pray inside, but if we don’t practice well,
we can’t hear the answer.
But you practice well and sincerely, so you could hear the instructions.
Sometimes you can’t hear it but you can feel it,
and somehow you still do it correctly.
Even though you can’t hear it, but there is something inside
that leads us to do it this way instead of that way.
That is also the inner Master power guiding you.
Having a Master is good, huh?
It helps, huh? (Yes.)
Whatever problem you have, you just call on her!
Now, you have only one restaurant,
but it has as many customers as two or three restaurants combined.
That’s very good already, and you also have time to meditate.
Master, from time to time, in my heart, I also wanted to ask you for blessings.
Just now, the sister behind me had a similar problem to mine.
I also have a very small “to go” restaurant.
Before, I used to have a helper.
But the helpers, any of them, would just quit after a few years.
And there are no initiates where I live.
Then in the last a couple of years, I’ve been stuck just like this sister.
The business is very good.
I have numerous customers, and there are also many orders
catering for parties, but there is only me!
I prayed to the inner Master to help me by sending me a helper.
In that whole area, there is no other vegan restaurant except ours.
There is only me. The restaurant is very small,
but there are so many customers, and I cannot handle it.
My husband is here also.
Sometimes, he was so tired that he confused me, he scolded me.
My husband keeps telling me to close the café because we are old now,
we should just meditate, not work anymore. (Understand.)
Sometimes I don’t meditate enough because
I work the whole shift all by myself.
I understand, it’s very tiring.
What do you want to say?
(Yes.) This lady belongs to that man. That man belongs to this lady.
I understand.
Here.
Thank you, Master. I would like to say a few more words.
Okay, give him that so he can say a few more words.
I was wounded in one leg and one arm.
So I am considered handicapped.
So I can only help the restaurant a few hours.
(You have to rest. Yes.)
I can’t bear working the whole day.
Going home, I can’t bear it at night.
I understand. I’m sorry.
I also don’t know what to do.
If I was there, I would go and work for you.
My husband thinks so, (Okay.)
but continuing or not, I can’t handle it by myself.
Okay, okay.
I can’t really say it’s hard.
I’m not afraid of hard work.
But the hardest thing for me is that (You can’t keep up.)
I can’t keep up when there are too many customers.
Seeing them waiting, my heart saddens.
Let them wait…
that means you have fame.
It’s okay. Let them wait!
I thought it was something else.
If they wait, just let them wait.
The longer they wait, the more they appreciate your food, right?
Sometimes, when I watch TV, in other countries…
Like in Japan, there is a shop which sells sweets,
a Japanese specialty.
And now, those people,
just two people partnered up, only two people.
They got together and created things.
For example, instead of the normal small cake,
they cut a piece from it, they cut out a triangular shape from it,
and gave it a new name.
They called it “Three o’Clock,” which means 3 pm.
At 3 pm at that place,
normally people would come and eat cake and drink tea.
For example, they gave it that name.
Similarly, when we make new vegan products,
we come up with all kinds of names, see?
And they open their shop only once a month.
Because it takes a lot of effort to make it.
Only two people, and they would not hire anyone else
because they worry that others could not make it as good, as delicious.
They open only once a month. My God, people line up for miles to wait!
It is the same with initiates who come to Miaoli to meditate every Sunday.
They park their cars miles away.
Then they carry their clothes, umbrellas, and climb up the hills.
It is very tough, but they do it every week.
So if they like it, they’ll come.
We just have to let them wait. What else to do?
Tell them, “I have a lot of work to do.
If you want it fast, come in here and help.”
If anyone complains, just say, “Sorry, I cannot find anybody.
I wanted to, but I can’t. (Yes.) You come?”
One time, I worked by myself, and there were so many customers.
The police driving by saw a big crowd;
they came and asked what was happening.
(Then what? Nothing, right?)
They asked, “What’s going on?”
I said, “Nothing. It’s the customers waiting.
I am by myself, so it’s very hard.”
Then the police came in and helped me bring out food!
Good!
That means your restaurant is famous.
A small restaurant with a lot of customers is better than a big restaurant but empty.
So you are pretty famous, semi-famous.
I would like to share my experience with this sister.
I was also in the same situation, and I thought of many solutions to the problem
such as when we couldn’t keep up with orders.
We can prepare the food in advance, right?
Yes. I prepare all the dishes and leave them there.
On the 1st and 15th of each lunar month, there was no way
I could serve fast enough, even with 15 to 20 employees.
(And you still couldn’t handle?) Right.
I couldn’t sell fast enough, couldn’t serve customers fast enough.
Early in the morning, all the cooks had to
prepare all the hot dishes to put in the stalls.
There are many floors, and every floor has food stalls.
(But she is alone, how could she prepare food for many floors?
She could hardly climb up the stairs.)
She has a small restaurant, so she can do it differently.
Mine is bigger. So I suggest you do the same way.
Prepare the food in advance, and let customers come in and self-serve.
On the 15th of the lunar month, customers come in and serve themselves.
I put up the sign: “Self Service.”
(That many customers? So many people
eat vegan nowadays, huh? That’s good news!)
We don’t serve customers anymore, they serve themselves.
They get the rice, (Right.) the food, all self-serve.
There is only one employee standing next to the food stall
to calculate the cost and give customers the bill.
When customers finish eating, they hand the cashier the bill and pay.
Very orderly and very fast.
Only in this way am I able to run my restaurant.
I think other initiates should also share their experiences.
Very good! Then let him sit.
If he can’t stand, just let him sit and prepare the vegetables.
Get a comfortable chair for him,
like a small sofa, with cushions all around like this one.
Then he can sit and chop, chop, chop!
This idea may be good in Âu Lạc (Vietnam),
but the Americans like hot dishes.
That kind of service is like a buffet.
No, there are buffets serving hot food, too.
I did the same thing at the open market, restaurants, etc.
You couldn’t buy the hot chafing dishes for the buffet? (Yes, we did.)
And still couldn’t serve fast enough?
Before I came there, I did it that way, but at another place.
I served the food outdoors and could earn US$5,700 a day.
Oh man! You are rich like that and still complain?
But I did the hot buffet style because customers ate in the open air.
And at my restaurant, the customers often like to order,
then wait for us to prepare the food and serve.
They don’t like the buffet style.
Understand.
It depends on each situation.
It’s because you cook delicious food.
They are used to it, now they don’t want the other way.
It’s your fault…
you spoil the customers.
It’s said, “A spoiled child is the mother’s fault.”
Here, the spoiled customer is the restaurant owner’s fault.
For years you’ve fed your customers like that, and they are used to it.
So now they don’t like the buffet style.
If it was outdoors, I cooked the food and they just helped themselves.
Then why don’t you sell outdoors? Why do you have to do it indoors?
(At that time, it was in the summer, so selling food outdoors was fine,
but in the winter, it isn’t possible.)
You have customers in the winter too? (Yes, a lot.)
Then that is something to be happy about.
(Yes, happy…) Happy but tired!
Okay, now, when you cook, recite the Holy Names. (Yes.)
Just consider it as if you’re meditating.
Pray to God and Buddha
so that they give you points, otherwise, what to do?
Okay? (Yes.)
It’s because of the situation.
In this situation, just think of working as meditating.
When you cook, remember to recite the Holy Names.
Then customers will enjoy delicious food and the blessings as well.
Just think of it as meditating while you chop.
Many people sit in meditation, but their mind runs to Germany, USA,
everywhere, then it is the same.
It’s even worse, they have even less merits than you.
When you work, just close your eyes…
No, not closing your eyes.
It’s because in Âu Lạc (Vietnam),
they used to say, “Just close your eyes and walk.”
Don’t close your eyes, okay?
This is not vegan stuff.
It’s a sin to chop it off.
Just think of working as if you are meditating.
And sit in meditation as much as you can, okay?
That’s because your job, perhaps your karma is like that.
Your mission.
Everyone is different.
Sometimes, many people sit in one place to meditate,
but their minds run everywhere, then they just waste their time.
So you just do it, think of it like you sacrifice
to serve other people, so that they gain merits.
And whatever happens to you is fine.
God and Buddha never abandon you.
In such a situation, you have to do it like that.
Otherwise, ask those from Âu Lạc (Vietnam)
to come and help, but you will have to sponsor them.
It’s troublesome.
In America, I don’t know if you can sponsor them.
Sometimes they don’t allow.
They want their citizens to have jobs.
The unemployment rate is kind of high over there.
But just try. (Yes.)
Sponsor this sister.
If you sponsor her, she has to work for a long time,
not just two, three months and then go find another man!
Anyone else want to talk? Give the microphone.
Here, here, here.
I also own a restaurant and have some experience.
You can hire helpers to work on an hourly basis.
Actually, if you pay them a bit higher, it might be okay.
You have to know your limits.
Shortages of employees happen everywhere,
and we have to accept the fact that workers come and go.
I am in Âu Lạc (Vietnam), and I have the same problem,
so I hire people on an hourly basis, but with higher pay per hour.
And during the peak days, such as the 1st and 15th of the lunar month,
the volume of customers increases manyfold.
Normally, just 7, 8 workers is fine,
but on those days, even 15 workers are not enough.
We still get scolded by customers, “You don’t serve customers attentively.”
But we can’t have someone who waits to work just two days per month.
Therefore, the trick is, on those days, I have workers all lined up.
I pay many times higher on those days,
so workers don’t go to other places. They stay with us.
Or for example, you can train one or two people
to serve the food for you after you cook.
These are experiences from my own restaurant.
(She did that, but it didn’t work.)
Another thing is that we have to be positive and pray also.
Sometimes, because Master said that
we should not hide our “trade secrets,” we should teach others.
So when people came to learn with me because they planned to open
a new vegan restaurant, I’d support them wholeheartedly.
But later, they took all my employees, cooks, and waiters.
That happened to me a few times. (Because they pay them higher?)
Maybe they pampered them, paid more, or they promised something,
but I was naive, I didn’t know.
Then they took all my employees.
I was shocked, a little shaken.
But then I remembered Master’s words which are very good,
“Think positive, believe in the Master’s power,
then everything will come.”
That night I was so scared, I had no one left,
and the 15th or the 1st of the lunar month
was almost here. I was nervous.
But then, Master miraculously arranged for other people to come and help out.
Then after that day, I hired new people.
We can’t always rely on initiates for help anymore because
they must take care of their meditation now.
I hire outside people, but I pay high rates, much higher.
And I am always prepared so that in case any employee quits,
then I still have people to fill in.
Still, I always have a shortage of employees,
especially now that there are so many people eating vegan.
But I have very good ideas. I changed the tactic.
Before, on the 15th of the lunar month, I did full service.
Then when too many customers came, we got scolded because we couldn’t handle it.
So I’ve switched all to buffet style.
We cook over 20 dishes (Automatically.)
and have one person outside to collect money.
Then we just take care to refill the food stalls,
and the customers serve themselves. But still, it isn’t adequate.
The restaurant is packed. We still have problems.
That is very good. Although it’s rather hard work,
the good news is that there are a lot of people
eating vegan now. (Yes. There’s a lot.)
However more vegan restaurants you open, it is still not enough.
Master arranges. Also, there have been changes
in the government of Âu Lạc (Vietnam). Big changes.
The thing is, it doesn’t meet our higher expectations yet
for the changes, but they changed a lot.
For example, if there are too many customers,
then I prepare many to-go containers to sell.
And one day, one person waited too long,
so he barged into the kitchen to get the food,
but there was no more food, it wasn’t ready in time.
Then he showed his card and said,
“I am the assistant of...” (Mr. so-and-so.)
Then I said, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier,
so I could prepare for you?” He said, “Buying food for him,
it must be kept a secret, or I will get in trouble.”
And there were many other incidents.
One man said, “Ms. Mai, do you remember me?
I am the assistant for the deputy minister of the police department.
I ordered ten dishes from you for an anniversary feast before.”
I told him, “Honestly, I ran out of food now.” They’re more evolved.
On those days, a lot of them came to eat. (Excellent!)
And my restaurant is located in a very peculiar location.
It seems Master arranged that.
I rented the place, but didn’t know until later on
that it was located in the government office building.
(The government officers all eat vegan!)
After the investment was done, I was sweating,
because they came to monitor us.
They couldn’t accept...
They figured that we followed because we turned on Supreme Master TV.
Every day I meditated and prayed that Master
would arrange so that Supreme Master TV can be turned on without any problem.
Because I knew for sure they were watching outside.
A whole group inside as well as outside were keeping a close watch on us.
It was almost obvious that they didn’t want our restaurant to operate at this location.
But my prayers brought in a lot of miracles,
and the restaurant stayed open.
In the beginning, they opposed us.
One man let his wife come in to buy food.
There is a monk who only eats food from our restaurant.
The man’s wife bought food from another vegetarian restaurant
for the monk, but he refused.
He insisted that the food had to be from my restaurant.
Because he was used to the food here, he liked it.
So, this man wanted to go to another restaurant but couldn’t.
His wife said no, it had to be here.
When he saw the decoration, the way we cook and serve,
(Cleanliness.) he knew right away it was that of Loving Hut.
The husband turned out to be a high-ranking officer
in the intelligence and security department.
He waited outside while his wife came in to buy food. He never set foot inside.
Half a year later, he came inside and started talking little by little.
Now he and his family have become vegan.
And then his staff changed too.
He told me, “Honestly, during the last six months,
I sent my staff here to keep a close watch on you.”
That was why I told my employees
to always provide the highest level of service,
because we don’t know who our customer is.
(Regardless of who... Okay. That is correct.)
We have to be like that because they all come undercover. (Right.)
And the highest-ranking officer
is the one wearing the simplest clothes. It happened many times like that.
Later on, I saw a person of a very high position,
very rich, come into my restaurant,
but he acted humbly before this very simply-dressed man.
It turned out this man was the deputy minister
of the police department. (It’s often like that.)
Many deputy ministers came to my restaurant.
When they boasted about their position, I said, “I served
many deputy ministers already, only the president I haven’t served!”
I said I serve everyone the same, so be at ease.
Because they kept telling me, “My superior is very high-ranked and very important.
You need to make it very tasty and beautiful.
I don’t mind the cost.” I asked, “Who is your supervisor?”
He said, “Deputy minister so-and-so…” I said, “Oh, I’ve served many of them.
Don’t worry, it will be delicious and plentiful.”
Gradually, they changed. It’s rather interesting.
When I first talked to them,
they opposed us, but later on, they became very open.
I went to school before and had a university degree,
but I said I do this because I want people to know how delicious and beautiful
vegan food can be, not just for my own good.
Some people came to eat out of respect for their friends who invited them.
They did not expect vegan food to be that delicious and beautiful.
But when they came, they changed completely from inside.
They even took pictures and shook hands with us.
(I am proud of you.)
There was a group of important people,
they all went abroad and were very successful.
And they gathered to eat at my vegan restaurant.
There were about 18, 20 people, and the highest-ranking one
was almost equal in rank to the minister of the Central Office.
Many of them are directors of companies.
Two-thirds of the group looked displeased.
They only came because their friend invited them.
But after they tasted the dishes I brought out,
they changed their minds completely.
They couldn’t believe these dishes were vegan.
They even asked if I tricked them. I said, “No, sir.
Our logo is posted everywhere, ‘Be vegan, make peace.’
We serve only vegan food, guaranteed.” And they took pictures.
More and more people are coming to my restaurant.
And after they eat, their preconception about vegan food changes.
They couldn’t imagine vegan food would taste like this. (And delicious too.)
When they go out for vegan food, they think that it will be some kinds of tofu,
but after eating, they change their minds completely.
Where is your restaurant?
My restaurant is at Quán Thánh, in the governmental bureau building.
Yeah, in case I pass by, I will come in to eat.
You keep advertising, but there is no food!
I said suppose, suppose I pass by.
Keep advertising, but nothing for me to eat!
I long for Master to go there and eat.
I keep dreaming... Everybody has to cook well.
Who knows, Master may return one day to establish Spiritual Blessing Lines
or quietly come to our restaurant.
Because I saw in Master’s videos,
one time Master went to... Austria or something.
There were two sisters working there.
Master quietly came to their restaurant,
and they said, “I saw Master’s Light manifestation body.”
But Master said, “No, it’s me, in my physical body.”
And Master ate vegan hash rolls.
I said to myself, “Oh God, my vegan hash rolls are very delicious.”
I told my employees to continue to work because who knows,
Master may come back to meditate to elevate the world.
Master would not tell us in advance.
Who knows, Master may visit any restaurant unexpectedly.
We have to cook really well, always making sure
our food meets the highest standard and is beautiful.
I always remind my employees as such.
(Very good.) I once met a person in the Central Office.
He was very gentle, Master.
He looked ordinary and was very gentle.
And the group he was with was also very nice.
They asked me why we needed to be vegan to make peace.
I prayed to Master because they were all high-ranking officers.
How should I speak so it makes sense.
Because they already had a prejudice that spiritual practitioners
are uneducated and poor people.
So how do I talk so that they will be persuaded completely.
I prayed to Master, then they liked what I said.
They decided from then on, they would buy vegan food
on the 1st and 15th for the altar offering.
And they would gradually adopt the vegan diet.
Many, so many people have switched to the vegan diet.
The young students of one of the elite schools,
they are children of influential families.
One day, a family came to order for their son’s birthday party.
I asked them why they chose my restaurant.
They said, “Our son has been eating at your restaurant
for one year already. Today is his birthday.
He requested that I return home from overseas
and come to this restaurant only, nowhere else.
There are other restaurants more luxurious,
but he kept asking us to come here.” He said, “Daddy, you must try the food.
Mom, Dad, come here for my birthday, you have to listen to me!”
And the parents also changed. (Good food, huh?)
A lot of students came to eat. I charged them very cheap.
They changed and they made their parents change too.
Many influential parents came to eat and changed. (Okay.)
I explained to them why eating vegan would make peace.
They found it logical and they changed.
The thing is, these people themselves
are very intelligent and competent. And they’re good too.
They all long for peace and prosperity in the country.
The individuals I came in contact with were all smart.
And Master’s power has changed a lot of people.
I found that selling vegan food on the 1st and the 15th
has resulted in so many people switching to the vegan diet.
But maybe our country needs a “Guan Zhong,” like Master said.
That is very good already.
It is very good that so many people are eating vegan now.
The country is getting better every day.
Saving sentient beings is not that easy, not easy at all.
If it were easy, Buddha would have saved them all already,
Jesus Christ would have saved all already.
Don’t have to wait for us, right?
It’s not easy, but if we can do it, it will be fantastic.
Here, this brother wants to say some more.
Master, I would like to ask a question related to spiritual practice.
If we are fasting, and during that time of fasting,
we still meditate
but we don’t contact outside people… We are fasting.
And after a week or two, we eat again.
Would that help us progress spiritually and cure our internal physical illnesses?
It does help.
It has a good effect.
Good effect.
Thank you, Master.
Anytime we eat or drink something, anything,
we incur some karma (retribution).
Because people have to work very hard to produce those foods for us, right?
Then they have to transport them from one place to another,
and that also pollutes the environment.
And it also harms the small animals, small beings.
And sometimes, the growers, if they are not pure,
then we will be affected also.
But if we meditate a lot, we can cover it.
We can pay off these things.
If we meditate less, then we are in debt.
We regress.
But it depends on your body, okay?
Don’t force it too much and you may die,
then blame Master for saying that fasting is good for spiritual practice.
Whatever we do, we have to be careful.
How much we can eat…
See how far we can go without food, then stop there.
Don’t force yourself beyond that.
Just like the bottle has its limit.
If we keep pouring water in it, it will spill.
(Thank you, Master.)
You are welcome. Anybody else?
(Yes, me, Master.) Here.
We feel very happy and blessed to be showered with your love today.
We know you have a lot of love for the Aulacese (Vietnamese) initiates.
As for me, it will soon be the 20th anniversary of my initiation with Master.
Seeing Master here today, I am very happy.
I would like to thank Master.
Now, I tell you this quietly. (Yes.)
Madame Hải has to go, okay?
She can’t stay any longer, okay? (Yes.)
It’s not that I don’t want to stay,
but it’s time I have to go. (Yes.)
I apologize to you. (Yes.)
Thank you for your love.
We wish you good health always. (Thank you.)
We wish you eternal youth and beauty.
Master, please take care. I love you, Master.
We wish Master good health.
Goodbye, Master.
Love you.
I don’t want to go, but I have to go. (We love Master.)
I don’t want to go, but I have to.
Thank you, Master.
I love you.
I love you, Master.