Why Budhi Dharma Sat Facing The Wall For Nine Years

  • Q. Do You Have Homosexual Disciples?
  • M. Yes. Do I have to report to you their private business? You see, homosexuality is just a misconception about their awareness. They misunderstand their body's function. And when they become enlightened, this will be less and less, because they will identify themselves less with the body, but more with the spirit. Therefore there's nothing wrong with that. Yeah, when the children are very young, they play with plastic models and they cling to their teddy bears, but when they grow up, they will leave them. So do not worry about your misidentification with your body or with your birth appearance. It's alright, just get enlightenment, and everything will fix itself in due course.

Q. Master, I often see that in meditation it is my mind watching my mind, I lose faith that I can't go beyond this technique. Any advice? Thank you!
M. Oh, of course, it's not the very suitable technique for you perhaps. Because if we use the mind to watch the mind, we are still inside the mind and inside the creation's destroying and nourishing process. We should go beyond the mind. Therefore in our meditation, we don't use the mind at all. Yeah, and that is the most advanced technique. So, maybe try ours, Okay?! Um.
  • Q. What happened to your husband?
  • M. Oh, thanks for your concern. We've lost contact for, I think, several years now. Well he waited for me six years, alright? And then, he remarried after six years. And during the time we wrote off and on, half a year a letter, or one year a letter. And after six years, he got married again, with a vegetarian doctor wife. And then he got a son and he reported that to me. That was the last I heard of him. If you are interested to know, maybe I'll go into the second level and have a look at his future. (Master and everyone laugh.)
Q. Master, how important is it to see the light eighteen inches in front of me. I only see it close to my forehead. Thank you.
M. It's fine, It's a good beginning. Don't worry. It will grow further.
Q. I don't know if it's my business to understand, but I would like to find out about Buddha's message when he came from India and sat facing the wall for nine years.

M. Oh! The patriarch, the Budhi Dharma? Facing the wall for nine years? Because He had nothing else to do. (Laughter.) If it weren't for you, I would probably sit and face the ceiling for nineteen years. (Laughter.)
You see. If they have things to do, they would do them whole-heartedly. If they have nothing to do, they just do what they want to do. Yeah, that's it. And if He loved the wall so much, why not? (Laughter & applause.) 
You see actually, of course I make a joke about it. But you see, to elaborate it further, you should understand that an enlightened person is very contented within him or herself, and does not desire to do anything when it's not necessary.

For example, if I don't come to you or if I don't lecture or if nobody requires me to come out to see them or talk to them, I am always in my room. Yeah. Of course sometimes I like to take a walk in the garden or in the forest whenever it's there. If not, I stay in my room. I do nothing, I am just happy. Yeah, I may read books, or not read books. I might meditate, or not meditate. I may sleep, or I may feel awake. I may eat something or not eat something. I'm fine within the walls. You see! That's the problem with the prisoners.
Because they are not enlightened, therefore they feel walls separate them. If they were enlightened they would sit pretty well in there and they'd never probably want to leave prison at all. Yes, it is because we are very contented within ourselves. You see. That's why the patriarch, He sat there and felt good. At that time, probably there was no lecture hall for Him, and not many people understood Him. So, He just sat there and enjoyed Himself. He could have done other things, but it wasn't necessary at that time.



There was a story about a Zen master and his disciple. I am afraid to lose your time. Is it okay to tell? (Audience: Yes.) Okay. One Zen disciple, yeah, very enlightened perhaps, came to see his master after some time, and then his master asked him, Ah, well, well, what did you do all these months? Yeah, you had a summer vacation, now what did you do? He said, Oh, in my backyard, there is a big piece of land. I cultivated it and planted some vegetables, and they tasted so good, they looked good. Yeah, and I feel very good about it. So, the master praised him and said, Oh, well, well, you did not waste your time, huh! You know how to use your time, it's very good, yes. And so the disciple asked the master: Then what did you do during this time that I was not here? What did you do? And the master said, Oh, in the daytime I ate and read books, in the nighttime I slept, hm. So, the disciple also nodded his head and said, Oh, well, well, master, you also know how to use your time, you didn't waste your time, you are very useful! You understand? Yes, it's very comfortable, huh! It takes an enlightened mind to understand an enlightened mind. So, that's what it is, with the enlightened people. If they have work to do, they do it. If they don't they don't miss anything. So, whenever we are on tour, we are sometimes in a kind of very famous place. You know? Like when we were in Mexico, we were next to the pyramid, yeah and of course people would like to go there. It was about one hour from our place actually, and my room was in the middle of the city, with all the noises and all the narrowness, everything. But still I didn't long to go to the pyramid. So, we never did go.

Even though I stayed there six days, and lectured only one day. But I saw people every day of course. But I had no longing to go to see pyramid, or anything else. I stayed always every day, every minute of the day in my room.

And so, I told you again and again, enlightenment is the only way for the cure of everything in this world. Otherwise, if anyone else, you put them in the room like that, yeah, and don't let them go to see pyramid, something, they will be unhappy. But we are not. I and my disciples, the immediate crew, you know, nobody wanted to go to the pyramid. I asked them, If you want to go, you are free to go. Don't have to wait for me or ask my permission. But nobody wanted to go. They are just happy to serve. They sleep when they have time. And when they wake up, they go and prepare for the lecture-equipment and all that. No one longs to go sightseeing, nothing. It's because we are very contented within ourselves.


Therefore, the first patriarch, Bodhi Dharma, the Buddhist who came to China and faced the wall nine years, it was the same situation, um.