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Today is the Commencement Ceremony for the Griffith University Multi-Faith Centre for the academic year of 2003. I am very
honoured and privileged to be here with you all and to have this opportunity to share a few words with you.
It is most imperative that our world finds the solution for resolving the conflicts and misunderstanding in our society, finding
a way to world peace and fostering mutual understanding and trust among people.
1. I believe that the Multi-Faith Centre should be playing a major role in this. To solve all the problems of our society,
it is necessary to keep the communication channel open among the different religions. There should be at least one gathering
each month, of course, the more the better. The frequent close communication will help us understand each other. Naturally,
it will help resolve all our mutual misunderstandings.
2. Next, it should strengthen the exchange of teachings of various religious groups. Religious education is a sacred education.
The guiding principle of all religions is true sincere love, pure love and love that is non-discriminating. If we can let
this kind of love permeates throughout the universe, this is the great bright light of the universe, and the splendor of God.
In Buddhism, we call it the wisdom and the loving-kindness of our true self-nature. Hopefully this bright light can shine
upon the whole universe and helps to get rid of the sufferings of all the sentient beings.
The sacred love of God is truly sincere, pure and unconditional. Any religious leader, clergyman or clergywoman
represents what is holy, and must enhance and glorify God's love. Therefore, the religious teachings are not limited to
one district, or a single city, but to educate people of the whole world and all the sentient beings
I wish that in the future, the school will have a channel on the satellite TV station specialized in the broadcasting of religious teachings.
What his channel transmits twenty-four hours a day is the gospel of God, the teachings of the saints and the sages, and
their sacred will. We can organize a multi-faith educational committee responsible for the planning and its execution.
This committee can invite all the religious leaders from various religions to teach on this channel. Using this as a tool,
all the various religious groups can broadcast their programs daily. These programs can be broadcasted twenty-four hours
a day, everyday throughout the year. This will give all the sentient beings a chance to learn the sacred teachings. Today
there are many television programs. I deeply believe that people do have conscience. They know how to compare and select the
right channel to watch. As the number of people watching this channel increases, they will change for the better. This will also change and
improve the trend of our society towards goodness and kindness. This is why we must put our efforts into the satellite TV
programs and on the Internet.
3. Moreover, our Multi-Faith Centre should invite delegations from various religious and academic groups for the purpose of keeping in touch,
having exchange- and dialogue-sessions with prominent statesmen or stateswomen and religious leaders as well as eminent
professors and scholars in academic circles. They are all messengers of what is holy. We should all work together, hand in
hand, for the purpose of saving this world, resolving its conflicts, preventing the nuclear warfare from ever happening and
for promoting world peace.
4. A month ago, a student found an article on the internet, entitled "The Message from the Water." I was very inspired by this article.
It reminds me what the Buddha said in the Surangama Sutra: "The Buddha told this to Ananda. It is often said by the Thus
Come One that all things arise from the mind. All causes and effects, as big as the world to the smallest particle are
formations of the mind."
It was said in the Flower Adornment Sutra: "All things derive from the mind. They are altered by our own consciousness." Mahayana sutra often said:
"Everything comes from the mind," and "Our environments are changed in accord with the change of our minds." In the
Surangama Sutra, it said: "If we are able to transform a substance, then we are equal to that of the Buddha." These are all
very important teachings. Their main principle is that "all things derive from the mind." Then the Buddha said: "All the
causes and effects, as big as the world to the smallest particle are formations of the mind." Here the World refers to
macro-phenomenon, and the particle refers to the micro-phenomenon. Why do we have these phenomena? These phenomena are
manifestations of our minds, derived from our minds. What is the mind? The mind is the all-knowing mind. The all-knowing
mind is the true mind, the "mind" referred to in the sutra. Therefore, all things are derived from the all-knowing mind,
which is very much alive.
Therefore, from this article, it proves that water can see, hear, and understand us. Its crystal formation changes according to the
intention of our minds. If our hearts are kind, the water crystals become very beautiful. When our hearts are unkind, the
crystals turn ugly. The Japanese scientists spent 8 years on this research, and reached this conclusion: "This does not
just apply to the crystal formation of the water, it applies to all particles as well. In another words, all substances
react in the same way. If we take a look at our physical body, its content is mostly water; 70% of it is water. Every cell
of our body, our world, the smallest particle, the pores of our skin to the tip of our hair, they were all mentioned in the
Buddhist sutra, will all change according to the change of our thoughts and our emotions. If we can understand this
principle, we should often keep our hearts happy without the wandering thoughts, the discriminating minds, the worldly attachments, or afflictions.
We will always keep true sincerity, purity, equality, proper understanding and compassion in our hearts. The crystals
formed under these conditions will definitely be the most beautiful and the perfect ones. The most beautiful and the perfect
ones are the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas. This is indeed most sacred.
In the Buddhist sutra, there is Amitabha Buddha's Pure Land, Virocana Buddha's Flower Adornment World, and the Heaven
mentioned in the Bible. What is the difference between our world and those worlds? They are actually the same. The only
difference is that the heart of the inhabitants of those holy lands is at its purest and kindest. Therefore, the crystal
formations of those worlds are also the most beautiful and are flawless. The inhabitants of our world are unkind, selfish,
and tend to make gains at others' expenses. These unwholesome thoughts make our world a polluted and an evil world. If only
we can change the way we think, have the same minds and behave like the people in the Pure Land, like the Bodhisattvas in
the Flower Adornment World, and the holy beings in the Heaven, our present world will be the same as these holy lands.
Before I left Singapore, I wrote a couplet to encourage the students there, the first half of the couplet said: "When in adversity,"
which means when our living environment is bad, when we encounter obstacles everywhere. "We go along with bad conditions,"
which means when people around us are all evil and troublemakers. Under such circumstances, "We feel no anger," which means
that our minds will remain pure, equal, without the slightest anger. We neither complaint nor become angry. If this is the
way we cultivate, we will achieve the perfect virtue in forbearance. Without taking revenge, we have fulfilled the
requirement for the precept of no killing. Thus "We get rid of all our karmic obstacles." Therefore, adversity and
difficult conditions are our good teachers. Our cultivation is not external but from within. It depends on how you
transform your mind. It has nothing to do with the external environment. We should be aware that it is necessary for us to
transform our minds, to change from bad to good, from being deluded to being awakened, from being ordinary to become a sage.
It is all about self-transformation. It has nothing to do with anyone else.
The other half of the couplet said: "When in favourable environments," which means when our living environments are good.
"We go along with good conditions," which means when people around us are good and helpful. "Do not become greedy or
ignorant," which means that people often become greedy and ignorant in favourable conditions. This is wrong. We should
neither be greedy nor ignorant. Only with a clear mind, we thoroughly understand it all. "Our wisdom and good fortune will
then come forth."
Therefore, how do we know we have improved in our cultivation? By looking at our outer appearance and our physical bodies.
If we have practiced properly and diligently, our appearance will change and improve for the better. Our countenance as
well as our environment will change along with the change of our minds, and our body is our most intimate environment.
5. The research done on the water crystal in Japan allows us to understand the Mahayana teachings that the empty
space is also alive. This empty space is also formed by our minds. How do we know that the empty space is alive? We all
dream. In our dreams, there is also the empty space. When we wake up from the dream, where did the empty space go? From this,
it proves that even the empty space is a manifestation of the all-knowing mind.
All the phenomena will change according
with the change of our thoughts. Our thoughts are our signals. When we respond to our thoughts, we create the changes.
For example, when they did research on water crystals, we learn that when we drink a cup of water, before we drink it,
if we look at the water with gratitude and loving kindness for a minute or two, the water crystals become very pretty.
Therefore this cup of water provides us with good nutrients. If you look at your cup of water with anger and ill temper,
this cup of water turns poisonous and its crystal formation becomes deformed. This was the result of a scientific experiment.
If we can understand this characteristic about water, so can we understand the foods we eat, even the cells in our bodies
will also react in the same way.
Madam Theresa Hsu is currently visiting us in Toowoomba. (She is an active and robust 105 years young lady who is
considered as a national treasure in Singapore.) She came to give us Yoga lessons. Madam Hsu told us that if we get angry
for three minutes, it takes us three days to get back to normal. From the experiment of the water crystals, I get my proof.
I urge everyone not to get angry. To lose one's temper is like committing suicide, it has nothing to do with anyone else.
To get angry with the other people can only bring us great harm. We can only cause 30% of the damage to the other people,
the remaining 70% we have to bear it alone. Therefore, it is not worthwhile to be angry with people. Even when we were set
up, cheated, or bullied, we should not get angry. Why? Because they can only cause external damages to us. Therefore, it is
not worthwhile for us to fuss over them.
We should come to understand that every thing we own in our lifetimes is predestined, and that it is not possible for
us to lose something that we are supposed to have. What we are not supposed to have, no matter how hard we try, we cannot
have it. It is important that everyone needs to nurture one's own purity of mind and the perfect goodness. We should not
try to grab things that are not rightfully ours. If all people can learn to be content with their lives, to cooperate with
one another, and to work in harmony, then all people will be happy, all families will be prosperous, our world will be in
peace, and the stability of our society will be ensured.
I hope this will help and enable us to encourage one another towards the common good. Here I wish you all good health,
long life and happiness. Thank you!
Talk given by Honorary Professor Chin Kung - 13/03/2003