Masters, reverends, fellow cultivators, good evening. We have just heard Rev. Lian-chuan talk about the events that led up to her ordination, and also listened to Rev. Lian-tu talk about how he came to take refuge and, later, the ordination vow. These are quite straightforward accounts, so I will not elaborate on them. However, since I have just returned from India and Nepal yesterday, I will talk about this trip and share some of my insights with you.

Before leaving for the trip, I prayed to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dakas, and Dharma Protectors at the Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple, True Buddha Tantric Quarter, Rainbow Villa, as well as at my residence by Phantom Lake, to join us in the trip. That is, whenever I ran into one of them, I would say, "Let's go and visit India!" [laughter] They are invisible and need no airplane tickets, so my inviting them would not incur any extra expenses [laughter]. So, whenever I came upon a Deity, I would extend my invitation, "Hey! Let's go together and have some fun!"

Therefore, although only eighteen of us masters and reverends went on the trip, numerous Dharma Protectors, Sky Dancers, and devas were, in reality, keeping us company and providing protection along the way. I would actually know in advance events that were to take place the next day. They followed us and briefed us wherever we were staying, so everything turned out to be very auspicious and successful. As this was a trip to India and Nepal, there could have been obstacles and difficulties but, through briefings from the Dharma Protectors, everything turned out very well. So I would first like to thank the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dakas, and Dharma Protectors for their guidance and support for making this a very safe trip. [audience applause]

You all know that during this period of time, two airplanes collided in midair above the New Delhi Airport. We were quite terrified when we heard the news [laughter]. Even though we are Buddhists, it was hard to dismiss from our thoughts the possibility of such an incident happening to us. From the time we left until our return, we took more than a dozen flights. During that time, there also seems to have been a plane which crashed into the Indian Ocean. Safety is always a major concern when one travels. During this trip, the condition of the roads was so bad that riding in a car was like rocking in a boat. One could actually witness cars flipping over right in front of one's eyes. The Dharma Protectors helped us through many such dangerous situations.

There were several main reasons for this trip. The first was to pay a visit to the Dalai Lama at Dharamsala in North India. It was my first meeting with the Dalai Lama. Secondly, there are three famous monasteries in South India: Drepung Loseling Monastery, Ganden Sokpa Monastery, and Sera Monastery. We visited both Drepung Loseling and Ganden Sokpa Monasteries. At Drepung Loseling Monastery, I was invited to take the teaching seat, where I delivered a talk to 1500-2000 lamas. Drepung Loseling, Ganden Sokpa, and Sera are regarded as the three great monasteries of Tibet, and not many individuals are invited to take the teaching throne to give a talk. Generally, unless one is very highly regarded, it is not possible for one to ascend to the teaching throne at Drepung Loseling Monastery to give a discourse.

We also visited many other sites. In Nepal we went to a monastery called Karma Lekshey Ling. The visit was totally unplanned, and the abbot of the monastery, Ghltsen Lama, honored me with a "bed sitting" ceremony. What is "bed sitting"? After a person has been recognized as a reincarnated tulku, the "bed sitting" ritual is performed to mark this official recognition. [audience applause] Some of our masters were unfamiliar with this ritual and said to me, "Grand Master, they want you to go to bed!" [laughter] The bed was huge, with special decorations, and it had a Dharma chair placed in front of it. At first we were going to leave after the tea, but Rinpoche Ghltsen invited me to do the "bed sitting" ceremony. Only when a special Dharma chair is used is it called the "bed sitting," which bestows official recognition on the reincarnated tulku.

Apart from these three major events, we also visited the eight holy sites at which Buddha Shakyamuni stayed from the time he was born until his nirvana.

India is a very poor country and we knew before our trip to be cautious with its water, salad, and many foods. There is a saying, "If one can stay healthy in India, one will absolutely have no problem when travelling anywhere else in the world." Therefore, before the trip, my seventeen fellow cultivators in the group all went to get their shots, six shots each. Master Lian-hsiang said, "Oh the shots! One here, one there, one here, one there, one here, one there! Just like doing the Macarena!" [audience laughter] She said that, not I. [laughter]

I was the only one who didn't go for any shots. [audience applause] Not that I did not want to take precautions, it is just that I have always been afraid of shots, even as a child! [audience laughter] But, as it turned out, I was the only person who did not get ill! [audience laughter and applause] The rest of our group suffered headaches and stomach aches. There is a place in India called Varanasi and we all started calling it "Wan-le-la-hsi [I am done in with diarrhea]" instead!

Many of the group demonstrated "Wan-le-la-hsi" right from the beginning [audience laughter] and continued until we reached Hong Kong on our return trip. Then it was Master Lian-hsiang's turn to do the "Wan-le-la-hsi"! [laughter] It was a good thing that they were well prepared. Besides the six shots, they also packed many medicines with them, including the strongest kind. How did the strongest medicine work? It was supposed to act like a plug for the bottom [audience laughter], like using a cork from a wine bottle.

If it was one person with diarrhea one day, it would be another the next day. Everyone was afraid to eat the food. I was the only one having a good time eating! [audience laughter and applause] I finished everything each meal. Why? I had a secret formula. I used alcohol. [laughter] Before each meal I drank a little hard liquor to kill the germs. [audience laughter] There were indeed germs. One even had to avoid using tap water for brushing one's teeth, we used distilled water instead.

I have said before that the air and water here in Seattle are of very good quality. Visiting India, was like placing a fish, that is used to swimming in very clean water, into a dirty-water ditch. The fish is going to turn upside down right away. The air there was also impossible! After going out, (I should not say "digging one's nostrils" as it sounds unsanitary), we cleaned our nostrils, and black stuff like the burnt end of a cigarette came out. It was a very dirty and poor place, with dust everywhere. Seattle was like heaven after the trip to India.

I met with the Dalai Lama and conversed with him for thirty minutes. The Dharma Protectors had told me ahead of time what I would run into, but I was not afraid. While there, the Dalai Lama asked me many questions which I answered. When it was my turn to ask him questions, he stood up. [laughter and applause]

The Dalai Lama kept asking me questions, one after another, and I kept answering them. He asked some pretty tough questions, relating to Tantric practice. The questions might have rendered another person mute, but my answers elicited only nods from him. So he kept asking and I kept answering, until finally it was my turn to ask and for him to be stumped, and he stood up. [audience laughter and applause]

I was going to ask him two questions. What were they? First, what was the difference between Sukhavati and the Avatamsaka Pure Land? You can all give this question some thought now. Second, since the Dalai Lama had given many ceremonies and teachings on Kalachakra, I wanted to ask him about the door of Kalachakra. What was it made of and what shape was it? What symbols were on it? How many more doors were there after entering the Kalachakra door? I was going to ask him these questions, but he knew he probably could not answer them, so he quickly stood up. Well, I let that go. Those are difficult questions because only direct experiences could have provided one with the answers.

He also asked me some difficult questions! What are the two key realms of Great Perfection? "Trekcho and Togel," I replied, "cut through and spontaneous, perfect accomplishment." What are the four stages of Maha Mudra? "At the first stage, the light drops emerge; at the second stage, the vajra chains emerge; at the third stage, the Buddha Body emerges; at the fourth stage, the Pure Land emerges." What are the three treaties of Nagarjuna? "The Hundred Verses (Satasastra), the Middle (Madhyamika sastra), and the Twelve Doors (Dvadasanikaya sastra)." What is the Hundred Prajna of Nagarjuna? "That is just another name for the Hundred Verses."

I had to be able to answer those questions, as they demonstrated my basic Buddhist knowledge. One has to be familiar with the works of past gurus, such as Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Asvaghosa, and Dignaga. A face-to-face test of this sort could have given somebody else a hard time but, since the Dharma Protectors were helping me, the Dalai Lama kept nodding to my replies. Things turned out very well, katas were offered, and we took pictures together. When the picture is developed and enlarged, we can hang it up there.

It is unheard of for a Chinese monk to take the teaching seat and give a discourse in front of more than of a thousand people at Drepung Loseling Monastery. The Tibetans consider Tantric Buddhism part of their heritage. They are very proud of their Tantric practices and regard them as high-level teachings, which are closely guarded and not easily transmitted to outsiders. A Chinese monk, sitting on the teaching throne and giving such a discourse to more than to a thousand lamas just has not happened before. So, when the picture comes back, we will have it hung over there.

The "bed sitting" ceremony performed for me marked recognition that a tulku had incarnated as a Chinese. In the past, tulkus were all Tibetans. As so many Tibetans are now living in exile, there will be the appearance of more living Buddhas in the West. One does not casually invite just anybody for a "bed sitting" ceremony. When I arrived at the place of Rinpoche Ghltesn and when he, the abbot, saw me, he invited me to have a "bed sitting" ceremony. At the ceremony, I said to him, "You come and sit next to me." He said, "I can't!" He was afraid to sit by my side and stayed far away at a corner of the bed. When that picture is developed, we will have it hung over there! [laughter and audience laughter]

We gained a lot on this trip. By observing the life of the lamas at the three great monasteries in south India, we should learn to cherish our own situation and work harder on our practices. Really, their living conditions are very poor. I will just discuss the aspect of food. They arise every morning at 5:30 a.m., have lunch at 11:30 a.m., and dinner at 5:30 p.m.. Breakfast consists of a small Indian biscuit and a cup of Indian tea, which is not even buttered tea. What is buttered tea? Butter and tea [audience laughter] and a little salt. Indian tea is tea with milk and sugar. Lunch is a larger biscuit and a cup of buttered tea. At dinner, they have either a bowl of rice or of noodles, with only one kind of vegetable. That is all. The same fare every day. If Rev. Lian-chi had gone there to become a monk, he would have starved to death a long time ago. [laughter and audience laughter] Where could he find such big bowls of white, steamed rice at mealtime? Just one bowl of rice and one vegetable and that is already the best meal of the day.

The cost of living for each monk is twenty U.S. dollars per month which covers all meal costs. The twenty dollars is not supplied by the monastery! One has to find a sponsor, and the money is then turned over to the monastery. Money collected this way is used to house and feed the lamas, unlike here where lodging and food are free, and meals invariably consist of at least a soup plus anywhere from three to five (or even more) different dishes. When I saw the way the lamas lived, I felt very bad. We eat so well here. That in itself is not an issue; however, what is at issue is that work is not even done here and people fuss over their responsibilities. Over there, provisions are not free, and monks have to find a way to pay for themselves. Their foods are simply one biscuit, one cup of tea, one bowl of rice, and one kind of vegetable. That is why most of the monks there in south India are very skinny.

The climate in south India is very warm. It is, however, necessary to be briefed on the weather before one travels. After she came back from her last trip to south India, Master Lian-zhi uttered, "It's so cold!" Since she said it was very cold, [audience laughter] we took some winter clothing with us. I brought two quilted jackets and one overcoat. [laughter and audience laughter] After arriving there, I was perspiring with even an undershirt on! [audience laughter] We had been misinformed. Perhaps she had meant that it was warm in India and cold in Seattle. [laughter] In the future before travelling, we have to make sure that we are correctly informed. Some of the things I took with me on the trip turned out to be useful, while others were inappropriate. Some of the information given to us was wrong.

Travelling can be quite arduous. Hotels we stayed at, which were five-star hotels twenty years ago, had slipped to one or two stars, the kind that are without any light. The lobbies exuded a smell and, as soon as the bedroom door was opened, a strong, bad odor rushed out. After sleeping on a bed sheet with stain marks like a map, I heard that Master Lian-man developed many swellings on his body. From then on, many problems started appearing. First one person started having "Wan-le-la-hsi," then another, and from then on, it was non-stop.

In north India we visited Dharamsala. In south India we visited two of the three famous monasteries, and the eight holy sites of Buddha Shakyamuni, which were spread over a large geographical area. Of course the intent of our trip to the eight holy sites was one of pilgrimage, so it was one which had to be undertaken, no matter how unpleasant. The time we spent in the car each day varied from at least seven to more than ten hours. I heard that Master Lian-deng was wearing disposable underwear made specially for travelling. As that underwear was triangular in shape, I preferred to wear my own boxer shorts, for I am more old fashioned. [audience laughter] He was more open-minded, so he wore the bikini style which was made out of paper. You know, after sitting in the car and being rocked for seven to nine hours, [audience laughter] when he stood up, shreds of paper started fluttering from under his robe. [audience uproar of laughter] It was indeed very unpleasant for him! [audience uproar] Master Lian-miu [Master Lian-deng's wife] couldn't help but quip, "Lian-deng, you might as well not wear any at all!" [audience uproar] So this was one of the interludes on the road.

Long car trips of up to twenty hours are common occurrences in India. So, after driving for a while, the driver suddenly pulls over to the roadside. What happens then? With umbrellas in hand, the men rush out to the right side and the women to the left side. [audience laughter] Make sure you don't go to the wrong side! They say umbrellas are used for beating the snakes (there are many snakes in India), for shielding oneself from the sun, as well as for shielding oneself under such a circumstance. [audience laughter]

The men ran to one side, and the women ran to another. Lian-tzi also ran to the women's side and, as there happened to be a wall right in her direction, she hurried. I have heard that, at the time of the Buddha, the ground of the Jetavana resort where he had delivered many teachings was laid of gold. [audience laughter] Master Lian-tzi was faster and ahead of everybody else, so she arrived at a place that was "laid with gold." [audience laughter] She put her foot down and it was slippery, just like stepping on a piece of cake! [audience uproar] The several ladies following her started teasing her, "The cake you have stepped on was still fresh!" Master Lian-tzi tried to save her shoe by having it wrapped inside a plastic bag, which she brought back onto the tour bus. The whole car started protesting, "What are you trying to do? Do you want all of us to inhale that smell?" [audience laughter] They wanted her to throw it away, as she had an extra pair of shoes. Other people have also stepped on the "gold." It is easy to step on such a "booby trap" if one is not paying attention. Do not think that it is uncommon for people to casually urinate or defecate there on the roadside; it happens all the time because there are hardly any public restrooms or sanitary facilities. If you find a place that can provide some kind of shelter for you, you may be sure that the same thought will have occurred to other people. [audience uproar] You think no one is going to see you behind the wall, but that is where you are going to find piles of it. It is just simple reasoning. At the place you think is the safest and most hidden, you will step on the "booby trap" as soon as you put your foot down. During this trip of ours, there were "booby traps" everywhere.

There are many strange sights in India as well as in Nepal. There are beggars everywhere. Whenever one got out of the car, beggars would follow you around the whole time. If you took out five rupees, four hands would at once be reaching out to you. That kind of begging scene brought to mind the existence of the realms of hells and hungry ghosts here on earth. One could not help but feel sorry for them. Our current living conditions, in comparison to theirs, are indeed heaven-like. If one were not there oneself to see it, one could not imagine the kind of poverty and suffering they live in. You have the opportunity to do spiritual cultivation here at a nice place, so you should practice vigorously and do not waste your time.

I have found in India a lack of will to make changes in many areas. For example, in the restrooms at Indian airports, hotels, and other places, the urinals in the men's rooms are very high. At first when I went into the men's room and saw how high the urinals were, [audience laughter] I was baffled. I had to stand on tiptoe. The Indians themselves are not that much taller than I, so why had they designed their urinals this high? Later I found out that the reason could be traced to the days of colonial rule by the British; the urinals had originally been made for the height of the British. Westerners are taller, so the urinals are just right for them, but are too high for us. India has been independent for so long now, yet they continue to install the same size urinals as before. From this example, one may see a lack of energy and a reluctance to improve. Improvement is needed. I have travelled around the world and have never come across a urinal that high. Someone made a joke about that, but I cannot repeat it here at the temple. It would not be appropriate.

Every day in India we had the same foods, which we referred to as the "common feed." That is, the same fried rice or fried noodles everytime. It really didn't matter. But people from the West would have a hard time getting used to the foods, long travelling hours, poor road conditions, and an abundance of beggars.

Talking about road traffic, Seattle's is much better than Taiwan's, while India's is terrible. There were cows, goats, camels, even elephants walking on the streets. Cows were ubiquitous. Beef is forbidden for Hindus, so no beefsteak for us during the twenty-something days we were there! [audience laughter] Also no pork, because the Moslems do not eat pork. India's population is mostly either Hindu or Moslem, so what was available to us was rice, noodles, chicken, and mutton, which was rather tough in texture.

Why is beef prohibited in Hinduism? The Hindus revere and worship cows, as Shiva, the Hindu deity of the force of destruction, rides a cow. This is also partly why one has to remove one's shoes before entering a Hindu temple. It would be disconcerting to Shiva's ride to see one wearing shoes made from cowhide.

Like India, Nepal is also a Hindu country. It was once part of India, prior to Nepal's independence. Therefore, one of the eight holy sites, Lumbini, is located in Nepal. The other seven sites are located at the border area between India and Nepal. While at Sarnath, the place where the Buddha first turned the Wheel of Dharma, I gave a talk to our group on the Four Noble Truths. After Sarnath, we went to Bodhgaya where Buddha Shakyamuni attained Enlightenment under a bodhi tree. At each site we visited, psychic messages were revealed to us. We next stopped at the Spiritual Vulture Peak (Rajgir), a place referred to in the offering prayer chanted every morning at our temple: Namo Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Spiritual Peak Assembly. We finally arrived there, the place where the Buddha had discoursed on the Lotus Sutra. There is one well-known verse, "Do not seek after the Buddha in the faraway Spiritual Vulture Peak, as the Peak is right in your own mind." This time the Spiritual Vulture Peak was not just in our minds, we had arrived there.

When the Buddha gave the talk on the Lotus Sutra, several thousand people were present in the assembly. On arrival, I took a look at the place and saw that it could, at most, accommodate around two hundred people. So, where had the rest of the people been seated? We can only say that they were hanging over the trees or the rocks. The platform at the Spiritual Vulture Peak is quite small, about a quarter of the size of the Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple. Only about two hundred people could squeeze in there, the rest would have to hang onto the slope. You may go and see this for yourself. There you may visit the cave in which Mahakashyapa and five others stayed. You may go to look at the caves where Ananda and Shariputra meditated. At those places, you will feel as if you are in a dream. The Bamboo-grove Vihara and the Buddha's bath are also located there. Before arriving there I had told our group, "There were two baths, one cold and one hot. One was clean and one not so clean. There was another upper hidden pool where the Buddha took his bath by himself." When we got up there, it was exactly as I had described. [applause] The Buddha only bathed in the company of two other people. I don't have to tell you who they were. [laughs]

After visiting all of the above places, we went to Jetavana Grove and then Kushinagar. At Kushinagar, the place where the Buddha entered into Nirvana, we saw flowers fluttering and descending from the spiritual realm, covering up the whole body of the Buddha. Someone also saw the eye of the Buddha opening up again, signifying that the Buddha is still in samsara, and helping many people.

Finally we arrived at Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, and the spiritual energy there was the strongest. While in Nepal, we visited many Tibetan temples, as well as the cave where our lineage guru, Padmasambhava, meditated. Inside the cave, when we pictured Padmasambhava meditating there, reverence and admiration spontaneously welled up inside our hearts. Looking out from the cave I realized what a powerful site it was. It may not be obvious to others, but in feng-shui terms, it is known as "the green dragon taking the pearl." The landform consists of a round hill cradled by a curved arm on each side. The cave where Padmasambhava did his retreat faces the round hill - it is exactly the pattern of "the green dragon taking the pearl."

This illustrates the great importance of selecting a land of strong earth energy in which to do one's practice. The Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple also sits on land with great earth energy. Perhaps, in the future, our temple may even be referred to as one of the thirty-six best places on Earth to do spiritual cultivation. Here many practitioners can undergo training to become great adepts in the future. [applause]

There are many places in Nepal worth visiting. I plan to write a travelogue recording our visit to north India, south India, Nepal, and the eight holy sites of the Buddha. It will be called "White Clouds over India." I have not started yet. Since tomorrow is Sunday, I shall start writing the first chapter on Monday morning.

"White Clouds over India" is a very poetic title; however, in reality, the clouds over India are quite dark. Indeed, it dawned on me why so many people in old India sought spiritual cultivation and why there were so many yogis. Perhaps material deficiency and poverty drove them to seek the alternative of spiritual liberation. Why were they able to sit so well in a full-lotus position? Perhaps there was nothing else for them to do. We saw many people just sitting inside thatched huts with legs crossed, looking bored. When our bus rolled by, we could see people sitting cross-legged next to market stalls, on the roadside, and inside grass huts. They looked like natural-born spiritual cultivators and arhats, sitting leisurely and properly in meditating postures, because there were no jobs and they were unemployed.

That is why, in our eyes, India is a fascinating country. The philosophical and metaphysical accomplishments in the fields of spirituality and religion have come about under pressures from a very harsh set of environments, and thus the people's hopes and emphasis have been placed on their future lifetimes. This contrasts sharply with the mental outlook of the contemporary West. Difficult and harsh living environments may engender a desire to seek spiritual emancipation, and the consequence of this is a spark of spiritual growth.

We can discuss more about this subject in the future. But, you should cherish the life afforded you here to do cultivation. The living conditions of the Tibetan monks in south India are very harsh. We must feel blessed to be here, and we must cherish this opportunity.

This concludes our general discussion of our trip to India.

Om Mani Padme Hum.

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