Maybe the moral of it is that you should check out your partner before you want to cooperate with him or her to make a business, because some people might not be as honest as we think they are. Sometimes outside they look very sweet and kind and gentle and honest, but inside it’s different. It happened to me also many times, including spiritual robbery and all kinds of stuff.
Now, are you happy that you don’t have any wife? No woman controls your life? I mean, the inhouse people. No husband, no wife, so you are free. At least you’re free. Every day you do your job, and then you rest when it’s time, you go meditate when it’s time, you eat when you’re hungry. Your life is better than mine, although I don’t have any wife.
The thing is, if you are with someone, unless that someone is truly one with you, it’s very difficult to enjoy your life. Husband and wife are supposed to be very close, tight friends, and helping each other. But it’s not always the case, and it brings a lot of sorrow and tears, and sometimes, affects the children, the family, the business, and even the country, and the world.
Many stories I read, sometimes, somewhere, some stories I read before that some people are frustrated with the wife, or frustrated with a one-sided love, so they went out and made war. They went out and invaded another country, just to vent out their frustration or anger. It’s possible. It’s possible like that. I even heard that the General de Gaulle, the hero of France, was very afraid of his wife. But it’s only a rumor, I have never met them. So, I don’t guarantee. But it is printed. It’s printed openly, it’s not like a secret gossip.
Now you are not here with me, or we’re not connected through the internet, so you cannot ask me any questions. It was just a story.
There was a story also in China. There was one very famous and powerful general of the whole China. But it’s a known fact that he was very, very scared of his wife. She treated him like dirt, or like a servant, or anything she wanted. So all of his other colleagues or subordinates felt very sorry for him. So they advised him thus: “Why don’t you bring the whole of your army to your house? So let her see how powerful you are, and how everybody obeys your command, how you are a man of might. So that she will be scared and she won’t harass you any longer.”
So the general felt, “Oh! It’s a good idea. Yes, of course, I’m a powerful general, mighty one. Why should I be afraid of her?” So he gathered all of his army men, came in front of his house. All over, in the garden, everywhere. Many kilometers long, powerful, in the position of ready-to-fight. And then he knocked at the door, he called his wife to come out. His wife came out, saw the whole army everywhere. And you know how she reacted? She yelled at the general, said, “What? What now? What kind of theatre are you making again today? Is it some new theatre? Some silly game of yours? Tell them to bug off right away, or else!”
So, the general said, “OK, OK, please calm down. I just wanted them to come here just to ...” You know, like, when some VIP came to a country, and that country will arrange for the army to show off in a certain way? “Biaoyan” (demonstration). “Diễn binh” (military parade). Just to make an array of the army in different formations and different positions, different kinds of walking and all that. Very, very beautiful. All in unison. This is for show, it’s not like in a combat. But this is like the unified kind of power, together, all the soldiers marching in the same way. Very beautiful also.
So he said he wanted to demonstrate for her to enjoy. That’s it. And then he ordered all his army to quietly go home, go back to where they were. Originally the plan was different. But he was too scared of his wife when she came out and roared like a lion, scared him to death. Scared him so much, that he was shaking in front of her and said, “No, it’s OK, it’s OK. I tell them to go. It was just for you to look, to enjoy.”
So in China, this story is called, “The Lion’s Roar of Hedong.” “Sư Tử Hà Đông.” “The Lion’s Roar of Hedong.” It’s a very famous story. I wonder if it’s a true story or not. But anyway, it’s similar to this story, so by the way, I tell you.
This story is not only about Satan. Maybe the moral of it is that you should check out your partner before you want to cooperate with him or her to make a business, because some people might not be as honest as we think they are. Sometimes outside they look very sweet and kind and gentle and honest, but inside it’s different. It happened to me also many times, including spiritual robbery and all kinds of stuff.
Because some people think that whatever initiation I give you, it looks like outside only, it’s not the inside, and all they have to do is just learn the outside things and then they can do the same. It’s not like that. You have to have the power inside to help the people you want to initiate. Otherwise, both of you will be in trouble because maya will control you and control your so-called initiated people, and make you do bad things, make your mind not pure, make your heart not clean. And then you will fall.
And every day, he will control you; the force of the negative will control you. And even if you do good things, it’s only for his credit, because you don’t do it with love, you do it just like blackmailing people so that people come and follow you, with that motive. Or the people will thank you, people will respect you or worship you, and all that stuff. All these kinds of things. The mind will trick you to do it, to think about such things like that and to have such a mentality. This is all the maya’s doing.
Even if you do charity, the merit is only within the Three Worlds, and you will be bound by it. You will never get away from the circle of life and death and karma, not to talk about the people that you are so-called leading. You’ll lead them to fall, you’ll lead them into the pit. You should never do business with maya.
That’s why in the old time, not many Masters would give people initiation at random. They would test, they would check every aspect of that person before they gave initiation. Very rare they just do it. Because sometimes, you will bring trouble for yourself. The evidence is with the Buddha. Devadatta, His cousin. Because He trusted His cousin, He thought − cousin, so He gave him initiation also. And later he came out, Devadatta, with jealousy with the Buddha, trying to kill the Buddha, all kinds of things that he did, and defaming the Buddha, and claiming every credit for himself. He has also his so-called disciples and monks and all that. Teaching nonsense, or copying, or stealing the teaching of the Buddha and making it his own. Like he’s the one who knows all that, all this, but in fact he knows nothing because he’s not the Buddha. He’s just working for maya, for the devil, so that he can get fame and gain, and all that. You know, people, they do that. That’s why when Milarepa wanted to leave, His Master told Him go to the mountain somewhere, be alone, meditate. Don’t bother teaching the worldly people, because they all want just material things. It was correct so. But nevertheless, Milarepa also taught somebody, I guess, so one of His disciples even poisoned Him to death.
Many instances, if I wasn’t lucky, I would not have escaped death, also. I guess Heaven still wants me around to do some more work. But not without suffering, not without trouble every day. If I wanted to tell you all the suffering I have endured and all the trouble that was heaped upon me ever since I took over this job, it would fill many books.
It would be more than suspense movies. You would be too scared to even want to proclaim yourself a Master, even if you want to. I don’t know, maybe I should (write it down). But I just, one after another, then I try to forget and I don’t really remember too much detail. And it happened too much and too many decades already, I can’t even remember them all. And I don’t want to remember. I don’t have even the mood to write down or to tell you all this stuff. I never wanted to. But maybe it’s good for people to understand what it means to really be a True Master, not just a copycat.