~Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai at Hsihu, Formosa
January 1, 1995 (Originally in Chinese)

The title of this story is "Guru Bhakti." In Sanskrit, Guru means Master, Enlightened Master. Bhakti means devotion, absolute obedience to the Master, thinking only of Him/Her, and offering all actions, speech, and thoughts to Him/Her. Whatever a master or Enlightened Master says, we obey completely without any argument. That is called Guru Bhakti in Sanskrit.

A long, long time ago, there was a person who was a sincere seeker. Each time he heard that a great Master was giving lectures or a virtuous person was delivering a discourse, he would waste no time in going to the venue with his wife. He learned from the lecturers that one must have the blessings of an Enlightened Master to attain the Truth or sainthood, and become one with God, so he began to search for a perfect Master. He traveled to many places and met one master after another, but always found faults that made them imperfect in his eyes. Therefore, he could not find a real Master.

Those masters were not good enough for him because he had the wrong notion in his mind. He had read too many books, including all the scriptures, which made him very arrogant and put him on a constant lookout for faults in other people. He would, for instance, be dissatisfied with a highly enlightened but illiterate Master who couldn't read and knew little about the scriptures. He would turn away from a Master who could not outdo him in debates or did not know which scripture a particular verse came from. So, he could not find an Enlightened Master. If we still have this critical attitude and arrogant thinking, certainly we will not be able to find our own Nature. Even if an Enlightened Master were right before our eyes, we would not see Him/Her.

One day, the man was feeling very frustrated and dejected at home, thinking that he had no hope of ever finding a Master good enough to deserve his devotion. When his wife came to console him, he poured out all his anxieties. He said that because he had yet to find a Master capable of giving him liberation, he was very worried that he would die unenlightened. Being purer in mind and not so learned, his wife comforted him, saying, "Why don't we simply go into the forest and meditate there? We will pray, chant the names of the saints and God, and beg God to send a Master to us. We will revere the first person sent by God as our Master." Unable to think of a better idea, the husband agreed. The next day, they went into the forest and sat down by a path to pray.

Just at that time, a bandit escaping with valuable booty passed by. The couple immediately pounced on him and prostrated before him, begging him to accept them as his disciples. [Laughter] They implored him to teach them how to meditate and bless their mantras. In India, masters or more advanced spiritual practitioners sometimes grow very long beards, dress in saffron robes, and sit there for people to bow to as their disciples. Although the Indian people are already very familiar with mantras like "Om Mani Padme Hum" or "Nam.... Nam... Nam", the master blesses these mantras at the time of dedication, making their mantra chanting effective from that day on. This is called blessing the mantra. Though they still chant the same mantras, it seems to be more effective after they become disciples of a master. Therefore, many masters in India perform this kind of ceremony.

The couple forced the bandit to be their master and, like everyone else, asked him to bless their mantras. They didn't know then that he was a bandit. Unable to break loose from them, the bandit was both surprised and frightened. The couple then told him about their unsuccessful search for an Enlightened Master, and their vow to sit in the forest that day and become disciples of the first person who came along. They urged him not to run away, for he was their master. Their words touched the God Nature deep within the bandit. He felt that he could not deceive them, but when he tried to reveal his true identity, the couple simply would not listen. If he refused to accept them as his disciples and teach them the holy mantras, they definitely would not let him go. They did not care who he was; they were absolutely certain that he was their master.

Initially, the bandit was deeply touched, but he soon began to feel scared and nervous. If they continued to hold on to him, he would be in deep trouble when the police caught him. In his desperation to break loose, he promised to teach them, and commanded them to kneel down. The couple knelt and prostrated in a solemn ceremony of devotion. He then instructed them, "You will now sit here, put your hands over your ears, close your eyes, and remain still. If you move, God will go away. Keep this posture and do not stand up without my instruction. Then you will definitely see God." He commanded them to do this so he could tear himself away, since they had grabbed his legs with both hands and refused to let go.

The grateful couple sat still, obediently holding their hands over their ears. All day and all night, they sat in the same spot without taking any food or water. They dared not move or open their eyes to see if their master was still with them. After a long time, their feet became numb, their bodies ached, and their hands were sore. However, they had no other thoughts but the sincere yearning to see God. They continued to sit there with total faith.

Vishnu and Lakshmi were extremely touched by them. For the Indian people, Vishnu is one of the divine Lords. In terms of yin and yang energies, Vishnu is yang and Lakshmi is yin, representing the feminine heart. Deeply moved, Lakshmi asked Vishnu to manifest to the couple. Touched by their sincerity and the fact that they had remained seated for so long even though they had been deceived, Lord Vishnu appeared to them. The couple was delighted, but dared not open their eyes or get up to worship Him. They dared not do anything because their master had instructed them not to get up or open their eyes without his permission.

Lord Vishnu said to them, "Now that you know I have come, you may get up and stop suffering so much." Still, they dared not get up. They were very grateful to Him for coming to see them, but they could not disobey their master in order to obey Him. How humiliating! The bandit was greater than God. [Laughter] Lord Vishnu could not bear the sight of their suffering, so he went to the palace and appeared to the king in a dream. By that time, the bandit had been arrested by the police and thrown into the royal prison. He had committed far too serious offenses to be jailed in an ordinary prison. When Lord Vishnu appeared to the king in his dream, he instructed the king to release the bandit quickly. However, the king, burdened with heavy karma and often haunted by nightmares, thought this was another bad dream and ignored Him. Vishnu again came into his dream, but still the king did not understand. Only when he had the same dream for the third time did the king realize that something must be wrong.

Meanwhile, Lord Vishnu also appeared to the bandit in a dream and asked him to liberate the couple in the forest as soon as he was released. He told the bandit that they were still sitting there holding their ears and had not eaten a morsel or taken a sip of water for days. They were almost dying and God could not stand it. When the king released the bandit after his third dream, the newly free man rushed to the forest as he had been instructed in his dream. He commanded the couple to get up, open their eyes, and let go of their ears. As soon as they did so, the couple expressed their deep gratitude to their "master," because it was due to his grace that God had appeared to them. The bandit then shared with them his own encounter with God in his dream.

Suddenly, they heard a voice in the sky say to them, "I am really touched and delighted by your total devotion to your master without the least trace of doubt. I promise that I will come to see you again. From now on, you shall continue to chant the holy names, worship God, and meditate two and a half hours each day. Do not forget to observe a vegetarian diet and keep the five precepts strictly. I will definitely take you to liberation when you die." From that day on, the bandit turned over a new leaf and joined the couple in spiritual practice. That's too wonderful! [Applause]

There is a comment in the book that says, "When we are truly faithful to a master, even if he might not be a real Enlightened Master, it is still effective. However, if we can have such faith in a bandit, it undoubtedly means that our own Master has come, our wisdom has opened up and we no longer discriminate against others. We will thus certainly attain the fruits, but not because of the Master or the method." That is what the Indian people think. But do not forget that this Vishnu is only from the second realm. It is not easy to see the highest God. Even so, it is unusually great for an ordinary person to see the Lord of the second heaven immediately after revering a bandit as his master!

Your faith in me has touched me deeply, and I too will pray to God to help you. You will definitely be liberated when you die. [Applause] The vital point is that you should meditate well and have great faith, forgetting me as a person. Then you will definitely have spiritual attainments. When you have true faith and devotion in a Master, even God will come. When you meditate, you will behold brilliant Light and hear heavenly music. You will have lots of responses. This shows that it is good enough to have faith; never mind whether the Master is good or not. Whether I am good or not, you will find out when you die.