Now let's talk about how to choose a spiritual maser. This is a very important issue especially for the beginners. Most of them long for receiving the guidance of a spiritual master, as well as the transmission of the best cultivation method from a spiritual master, in order to succeed quickly. As far as choosing a spiritual master is concerned, we need to be furnished with some right knowledge in the first place, which means to be furnished with some correct views. We need to understand some basic religious knowledge and principles, otherwise we may be deluded by people and enter onto an erroneous path. We will then mistakenly consider ourselves to be right and misguide people.

    Although we did not see Buddha Sakyamuni in person, we have read the scriptures that have been passed down by Buddha Sakyamuni and know the discussions in those scriptures. The historic Buddha stated clearly, "After I die, follow the Precepts as one's teacher." But the Buddha did not say, "One can attain Buddhahood if he follows the Precepts as his teacher." He just stated that if one wanted to cultivate himself, it was a right view to follow the Precepts as his teacher, not an illusory view. (The Precepts are not to kill, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to tell lies, and not to drink intoxicants.) But today some people want to start something new to look different. They encourage people not to be vegetarian and not to follow the Precepts, saying they can have people rise up to heaven without being vegetarian or following the Precepts. They talk about they are this Buddha or that Buddha. Let me tell you that they are all demons. They are true demons. The more they emphasize those kinds of methods, the more people will follow them in cultivation. They have a lot of followers. I don't care about which school, sect, or method they claim. Remember that: it will not be spiritual cultivation if one does not follow regulative principles and the Precepts. Those are all evil paths. Not even to talk about bring the body up high, you won't have a chance to become a human again after you die. You will go where you belong. You are not engaged in the cultivation of the heart. You still eat meat, kill animals, harm others, cheat others, pursue profits, and speak inconsistently from what you think. Isn't that what those people teach? Isn't that what you are learning? In that way, can you go to the Buddha's land? Will the Buddha's land accept you? Is this that "five aggregates return to the void"? (There are five constituent elements of all existence: form, perception, conception, volition and consciousness)

    A Buddhist basically understands that spiritual cultivation needs to start with the Six Paramitas (six kinds of practice by which a bodhisattva attains Buddhahood: charity, observing precepts, perseverance, energy, meditation, and wisdom) and Four Holy Actions. The first one of the Six Paramitas is charity. The second one is observing the Precepts. How can people practice spiritual cultivation without observing the Precepts? What kind of Buddhahood are you cultivating without observing the Precepts? This is perversion of Dharma-wheel. As far as Qi Gong is concerned, Qi Gong is not Buddha-Dharma. It has its own reason of not asking people to observe the Precepts. In fact it is not true that it doesn't ask people to cultivate their heart, but it doesn't require all its practitioners to become vegetarian, because its goal is not heart-cultivation. Its attempt is to cultivate the body first, changing the false-ego, or the physical condition. Therefore its pursuit is not inadequate in this sense. But as far as identification of Dharma is concerned, how can it be right that one doesn't have to observe the Precepts and be vegetarian? The Vedas have been passed down for over two million years, but they are changed by you, who just jumped up from the eighteen levels of hell!

    Therefore if you choose such a spiritual master, it just caters to the temporary level of your morality. You think you don't have to make a big sacrifice, changing the food you eat. You still eat, drink, play, and indulge in what you did, thinking that you can still attain Buddhahood. In this light, of course many people are happy to follow. Then there would be no "difficulty" obtaining Dharma. Why did ancient people have to be willing to sacrifice their lives for Dharma? If people could attain Buddhahood by this kind of cultivation method, why are there so many people today? (When a person has attained Buddhahood, he will not transmigrate anymore.) Humankind should have been extinct long ago.

    We need to examine the people who adopt this kind of cultivation method. Are you different from others? Except for the fact that you have an illusory thought, did you change? Are you different from others? You say you have faith in someone. But let me tell you. You are more miserable because you believe in that person. If you didn't believe in that person, you would not have been misled and considered yourself to be right, nor would you have made slandering statements or spoken irresponsibly. Why do I say you won't even transmigrate to a human being in next life? You, this kind of person, are very likely to slander Dharma and the Way. Wouldn't someone who incurs this kind of karma go to hell? We are reluctant to modify our viewpoints, our habitual patterns in life, and our perspectives of how to be a human being. Then we can't improve our relationships with others; we can't improve our living environments and our lives; we can't eliminate our distresses and our sufferings. Don't cheat both yourself and others.

Therefore, you don't have to worry about the level of any spiritual master. If he tells you to start spiritual cultivation with being a good person, and he doesn't desire for any material profit from you; if he doesn't discuss such mysterious things but just tells you to engage directly in being a good person, to start with realization and human morality, to look inward and examine yourself first, to cultivate yourself step by step, to do things one by another, and to always inspect whether your heart has gone astray; then, he is the true spiritual master. He doesn't need to speak eloquently, recite some words, tell you who he is and whose incarnation he is, or show you some scriptures and ask you to take a malicious oath. Don't be cheated. That won't work.

    Realization is a kind of elevation of morality. The different orders in Buddha's territory represent different orders of realization. The Shravaka and Pratyeka enlightenment (the attainment of liberation by hearing the voice or following the Precepts without a teacher's guidance) is an order of realization; the enlightenment of equanimity is an order of realization; marvelous enlightenment is an order of realization; the supreme equal and perfect enlightenment is the highest order of realization. How can one cultivate Buddhahood by drifting away from realization? How can one discuss realization by drifting away from morality? How can one discuss morality by drifting away from being a good person? If you have already paid attention to the issue of being a good person, or of trying to be a good person, what are you eating? Who told you that humans could eat those things? You eat meat, drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes, but bragging that you are cultivating Buddhahood. You commit great offenses all the time and with this you act ostentatiously to cheat others. This kind of person is absolutely not a spiritual master.

    When you understand the above discussion, you will understand the concept of spiritual master, which means that you are the one who possesses a certain level of root faculties. If you trust and make good use of your discretion, it will be easy and fast for you to find your spiritual master. What I am discussing is the advertisement for Spiritual Master. If you can hear the advertisement, you will find the commodity. However, you don't have to rush. You have to wait for me to find you. You can't find me. The unknowing one can never find the knowing one. Therefore as far as choosing a spiritual master is concerned, it is actually that "a spiritual master chooses you." You just need to get yourself ready. Your problem was: when he didn't come to your side, you didn't know who he was, and, your choice was no more than a choice; even if he came to your side, you didn't have judging standards so you didn't know how to make a right choice. After understanding the principle in this discussion, you can then know who the person that comes to your side is, and whether he is qualified to be a spiritual master. Then, you can talk about making a choice.

    As a matter of fact, whether you make a choice or not at that time, he is already in front of you. He is heard, seen, and known by you. He is sitting in front of you. The Way is in front of the eyes! What are you looking for? He has found you. Did the Second Patriarch Huei-neng go to India to find Patriarch Bodhidharma? Would that work? Bodhidharma hid in that cave facing the wall and didn't go out. (Huei-neng met Bodhidharma after he came out of the cave and found Huei-neng.) You can't avoid him. It is right, not wrong. If it is your fate, you can't avoid it. It is only up to you to grasp the chance, since it is your cause and condition (predestined relationship)! You should use your subtle discretion to grasp your cause and condition.

    Whether you follow him immediately, or wait for a while to make a choice to follow him, you can't refuse to board that ship. (Time is eternal; you will board that ship eventually, only after billions and billions of lives.) You can't select him. It is only a matter of time, to board it sooner or later. If you can board it sooner, you can get on the no. 1 car; if you delay, you have to get on the last car. You have no other choices. The freedom of choice is yours, but one who can provide you choices is not you, but me. There is no way for you to resist my attraction. My energy is great enough to attract you. You may say that is not correct, but you can't stop thinking of me. You have been attracted by me. You take me to heart too much. Do you dare not to take me to heart? You can't ignore me. Try it and see if you can. If I don't save you this way, I will save you another way. (A spiritual master represents the energy of God.)

    Of course some people will miss it in this birth and come back again. This is possible. But that is not a big problem. To the Creator, you will be saved sooner or later. To you, you will just continue to suffer for many births to come. Buddha won't worry about it, as the living entities are not worried about it. Buddhas are like what is described in the song, "Holding Hands". They love what you love and suffer from what you suffer. If you say you are not suffering, Buddhas are not. If you say you are not worried, Buddhas are not. There has never been a Buddha who would force you to get on the stage of Buddhahood. No such a thing. And don't think of yourself so highly. They don't need to do that.

    Have you ever seen the chickens that are kept by people, running around in the yard? Sometimes they run out but will come back when the sky is turning dark, or at feeding time. You may want to catch them, chasing them from behind but seeing them flying ahead and chuckling. In fact you don't have to catch them, they are your chickens and can't run out of your palm. Therefore I don't have to struggle with you. Where can you run?

    Therefore you have to follow your causes and conditions in choosing a spiritual master. You can't go against your causes and conditions. Causes and conditions are not decided by us, nor can be changed by us. We can only choose our attitude upon facing a cause and a condition that comes to us. It will occur even if we don't want it; in this case, we will have distress. It will also occur if we are willing to accept it; in this case, we will not have distress. We can't change its manifestation and non-manifestation, nor can we change its existence. We don't have such energy. It means that you can't change me, but I can change you. This is an eternal rule.