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Roving Over The World
- Book 111: Roving Over The World
- Chapter 09:
Nightclubs
- Written by Sheng-yen Lu
- Translated by Janny Chow
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Many nightclubs provide wine, dining and women in Hong Kong. They cater to human desires.
Big Boss, China Palace and Big City are the three most famous nightclubs in Hong Kong. All of them boast of palatial decoration.
The boss of Happy Valley nightclub is my disciple. He told me during his heydays, he had at least two hundred hostesses under his charge.
Most customers frequent the nightclubs for wine and women. The dancing floors are most of the time empty. Customers are entertained by residential bands, singers and performing artists from all over the world.
The nightclubs in Hong Kong compete in internal decoration, wine and women.
One nightclub even goes to the extent of providing a Rolls Royce to ferry its customers from the rooms to the toilet. This show is unmatched elsewhere.
A waitress will come first to take order for food and drink. After that a mamasan will come to introduce \`girls\`.
She has an album showing the photographs of all the hostesses under her charge. The client can pick and choose the girls. When the girl chosen arrives, the mamasan will introduce her to the client.
The client can drink and converse with the girl. Later the mamasan will return to bring the girl elsewhere. When she returns, she will ask the client whether he is satisfied with the girl who came. If the answer is affirmative, the the deal is considered close. Otherwise she will introduce more girls until the client is fully satisfied.
Nowadays the dance hostesses are very pragmatic. Besides drinking and joking with their clients, they expect the clients bring them out for two purposes:
1. Supper.
2. Staying overnight (price is to be negotiated).
For the sake of money, they are prepared to entertain strangers. They do all kinds of seductive, obscene acts to stimulate their clients` sexual desires. Eventually, the male pay the female for sexual service. This is the oldest profession on earth.
As sex drive is a human nature, people will not get sick of night life.
Ration and passion are fighting in human mind all the while. To be wise, we have to transcend our passion, otherwise we will have to mingle with the rest.
I know very well the root of transmigration is greed, which stems from desire. To break the chain of transmigration between the six realms of existence, we have to supress our desire. Since time immemoral, human beings have to suffer because of all kinds of greed.
In my view,
material is emptiness (Enlightenment)
Emptiness is material (Mingle with the mass)
A cultivator will have to pass a gruelling test balancing these two views.
It is mentioned in a Sutra:
90% wisdom and 10% passion - - residing in Heaven realm.
70% wisdom and 30% passion - - residing in Asura realm.
50% wisdom and 50% passion - - residing in Human realm.
30% wisdom and 70% passion - - residing in Animal realm.
10% wisdiom and 90& passion - - residing in Hell and Hungry ghost realms.
\`Human beings are born from sexual desire. Greed and hatred are the causes of transmigration.\` So said other sutras.
As we have inborn desires, the Chinese saying talks about \`Seven passions and six desires\`.
It is an uneviable task after shaving off their head, all the monks must purify themselves and give up all the material pleasures.
Shakyamuni Buddha said in the Perfect enlightenment Sutra:
\` Try your best to suppress your mind, in order to feel calm and have a perfect enlightenment. The act itself is a disease\`.
According to the views of phychologists, \`If you try to suppress your passion, your behaviour will change for the worst, although you can control it for a while, you cannot suppress it for the whole life. Once the threshold is reached, you will indulge in satifying your desire and do all kinds of unthinkable acts\`.
As you can see, suppression is not a solution, and indulgement is even worse, that is why Buddha taught us the transference method:
Unclean view : To view human bodies as something very filthy; so that our passion can be controlled.
White skeleton view: Our passion will be controlled if we know all human bodies will be reduced to skeleton after our death.
Moreover, many arhats and disciples of Buddha cultivated a ritual known as \`Meditative Stabilization of Unpolished Fire.\`
\`Transcend in the air,
Enter into fire of meditative stabilization,
the body engulfs in flame,
What a way to pass away.\`
\`When the time (of death) arrives, Buddha enters into fire samadhi, and his body engulfs in fire.\`
Unpollished fire is able to enter our veins and burn away all our thoughts, emotions and troubles. This is one of the top secrets of Tantrayana. I happen to be one of the accomplished vajra guru who has mastered this dharma.
I know we should not indulge in our desires, nor should we try to suppress our passion. As Tantricas, we must cultivate the ritual known as \`Meditative Stablization of Unpolished Fire\` , so that all our ill thoughts, emotion and troubles can be extinguished. I assure you that this dharma is solid, bright, pure and stable.
I pity those uninformed cultivators who abstain themselves and reside in high mountains. They may be pure for a while, but once they return to the mundane world, they will indulge in all kinds of desire and meet their waterloo.
Tantrayana mentions about four levels of empowerment:
The first empowement - Root guru
is the same as that of Mahayana i.e. to have spiritual response with ones` root guru
The second empowerment - cultivate Qi (psychic energy inherent in the Universe)
Qi, vein, and point (Meditative stabilization of unpolished fire).
The third empowerment - harmonisation of desire
Unsurpassed Tantra (all kinds of thoughts, desires and troubles are purified).
The fourth empowerment - emptiness
(emergence of Buddha Nature and obtain perfect enlightenment).
I was asked: \`Have you been to any nightclub?\`
\`Yes\` , I answered.
\`As a cultivator, how can you go to nightclub?\`
\`I am a cultivator who is unrestrained in any way, so I do what I wish.\`
\`What do you mean by that ?\`
\`Once a cultivator is enlightened, all the happenings in the surroundings will not affect him, as his mind is set in the void even he is physically in the nightclub.\`
\`Are these theory ?\`
\`It is both theoretical and pratical.\`
To me, whether I am alone in the high mountain, or under the neon light of a vibrant city, whether I am walking alone on a quiet moutain path, or sorrounded by many beautiful girls, my mind is the same.\`
\`What do you call this level of achievement ?\`
\`Perfect purification.\`
\`Once you are purified, even if you are physically in hell, the hell will be changed into a pureland. In other words, wherever a perfectly purified persons goes, the land will also be purified.\`
\`Do you go to nightclub on purpose?\`
\`No, only on certain occasions.\`
\`Do you mean to say, all of us can go if the situation warrants?\`
\`Those who have self-control may do so, otherwise, they should not go.\`
Let me quote you an example from the Zen texts:
When a Zen master was about to cross the river with his disciple, a beautiful girl asked for help. Without hesitaion, the old master embraced her and brought her over the river. The little monk was very upset seeing the old master physically carry the girl over the river.
He tolerated for a month before asking his master.
\`Master, the other day, when we crossed the river, why do you embrace the girl?\`
His master replied: \`I carried her over the river for a moment, and I have forgotten the incident after crossing the river. But you on the otherhand have carried this incident for more than a month now!\`
The problem lies in the teacher has no intention, while the little monk is intentional.
Once a person is enlightened, he is able to control his behaviour, he will not be moved, confused and be mentally decayed. Only a beginner will be easily influenced by his surroundings. He may indulge and be affected by the environment. As he has no way of controlling himself, we must use precepts to restrict him.
This is the reason why I say :
\`Those who can control can go, while those who can`t must observe precepts. You can go to such places when you have full control.\`
In Hong Kong , a company director of a nightclub took refuge in me and became a monk. Moreover, more than 100 dance hostesses took refuge in True Buddha School.
The colourful lifestyle brings properity to Hong Kong. Many women come to Hong Kong looking for fortune. Hong Kong is full of fun, a place where you can go astray easily.
Hong Kong is popular for its cuisines. It is also a leading force in fashion. There are many palatial residence; and the streets are full of Benzes and Rolls Royces.
Once when I was in Hong Kong, I stayed at the presidential suites of Holiday Inn. Wherever I went, I was feted by a Rolls Royce.
I was asked: \`How do you feel?\`
My answer: \`I am still an ordinary folk, a nobody!\`
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