217. Storytelling: The Treasure of the Dharma Realm
Last time, many people listened to the story. Afterwards, a beam of light shone on me. Whenever I spoke particularly well or accurately, I was made transparent by the beam of light, and the reflected light opened up a space containing treasures—three kinds in total: gemstones, ruyi (a type of scepter), and mirrors. The gemstones were of various colors, perhaps symbolizing the discovery of something useful to them. The mirrors allowed them to see their own problems. The ruyi disappeared before I could even see the image, suggesting that things might improve in the future. Every time I spoke, there were reactions from above, and just by looking at the reactions, I could tell whether my speaking was correct or not.
218. The efficacy of the Great Repentance should not be excessively and blindly promoted.
Doing great repentance during this period is very helpful in eliminating the karmic burdens accumulated over countless lifetimes. Is it possible that some illnesses improve after the karmic burdens are eliminated and the creditors forgive you? Yes. But don't widely publicize or promote your personal case, making everyone believe that great repentance can relieve symptoms or cure illnesses—that's incorrect. Your repentance will certainly move some karmic creditors, causing them to stop demanding repayment. If the karmic creditors are involved in medical matters, then it's very possible you won't get sick—this is a possibility, but don't take this as the whole story. Great repentance alone cannot cure illnesses; if you make it seem superstitious, you'll be superstitious. Including many people who, after reading this, don't go to the hospital for treatment, you will bear responsibility. You must be careful with your words—I've said so much, but I only dare say I'm telling stories; you can judge for yourself whether it's true or false. I can't speak the truth, only stories, like those from an overseas storytelling club. You can't bear certain things. I've said something wrong—this is a story, a joke, and doesn't involve anything serious. If you dare to claim you are officially spreading the Dharma, you will bear a heavy responsibility if you spread even the slightest mistake. We are only stating the rules; whether people believe, accept, or act upon them is their business, and you cannot incite them.
219. How do we view greed in the human world?
Experiencing everything in the human world inevitably leads to greed—isn't that what you're supposed to learn to control? First, without striving for anything. The core of the test is obtaining without seeking, obtaining without competing. Second, having obtained it. Someone gets 50 million from a land expropriation, quickly detached from their previous level and circle, and becomes arrogant. Many land expropriation recipients find it difficult to withstand wealth for more than five years—their blessings, understanding, and temperament are insufficient to bear such a large fortune. When you possess what you want, can you still be greedy? Can you remain low-key? Can you remain unaffected? Don't treat possession as possession, but as a tool—for example, earning 100 million in a game is just playing games, it won't change your real life. Real money or wealth will definitely change us; you can now possess what you couldn't obtain or possess before. Whether you become arrogant and excessively deplete your blessings is very important. Third, deprivation. When you have nothing, you can say money isn't important; when you have 1 billion, try saying money isn't important. If you have 1 billion and are instantly deprived of all your wealth, can you be indifferent and let it go? The human world is here to test the five poisons and four hearts; how can you be tested if you don't take the test? Many monks go deep into the mountains and forests, where they can't even find women—can they pass the test of lust? They don't even have the exam paper anymore. The real test of lust is when you're thrown into a crowd of women, and you see every woman as no different from looking at a cute kitten—you pass. There are indeed such people among students, even great bodhisattvas, who are immune to lust.
220. How to understand earning money without being greedy?
Will people become greedy after they have money, or will they become greedy when they want to make money? Absolutely—that's the test. We can't let the test prevent us from making money. Making money is extremely difficult; if you're on the wrong track or lack sufficient social resources, the possibility of making a lot of money is almost zero. Our focus is more on helping more people survive through rules, not on making a lot of money—it's not as simple as you imagine; many things need to be perfect. Otherwise, giving you money would be even more harmful; you'd get into trouble. We're more about teaching these things so that everyone can avoid detours and survive as much as possible. A money mindset—some people could earn hundreds of millions but don't, they don't care; during the pandemic, they had no money and weren't worried, even when friends offered them money. They don't feel anything when they have money, nor do they feel anything when they don't—their money mindset is immune to it. We come into this world to experience these things; in the cycle of reincarnation, there are rich people, poor people, and those who go from rich to poor—whether you can remain calm is very important.
221. How to view the practice of benefiting all beings through knowledge?
Yuan Longping and Qian Xuesen both benefited sentient beings through their knowledge, accumulating immense merit with minimal karmic burden. Yuan Longping was a general-level figure—the direct commentary stated, "He made outstanding contributions to human agriculture in his past life, and in this life, he will continue to make even greater contributions to human agriculture and production." Qian Xuesen was also a general-level figure, and his two assistants held high positions in the celestial realm—Qian Xuesen's assistants were all righteous gods, possessing divine status and divine drums. Such contributions are not made by ordinary people; they require the assistance of great bodhisattvas. Our storytelling community primarily helps ordinary people—those with little background, few powerful relatives, not minor figures, and whose accumulated energy from countless reincarnations is inherently low; even the gods and Buddhas of heaven would worry about them. But someone needs to do this.
222. Are we telling stories or doing marketing?
Some people think—are you telling a story or doing marketing? Why are you recommending this and that, with so many products? Especially purification—we painstakingly broke down the cleansing process into purification, allowing for very detailed selections, yet some people come in and sign up for the whole set. Even if someone has high income, a strong family background, and strong faith in the system, this shouldn't be the case. Do what you need, and wait for what you don't. Prioritize things with immediate results and specific needs. Don't do something that produces immediate results only to be said to have no effect—what's the point? Wealth and career luck aren't problems that can be solved immediately. Especially for many impoverished families, be careful when choosing products. When practicing Buddhism, we should seek inward and strive for self-realization. Why seek outward? Self-realization is not a problem; the more perfect you are, the less you need to seek outward. The poorer and more lowly you are, the more you need help. Because you are lacking, in an infantile state. Don't rush, take it one step at a time, address the most urgent needs first—spend less money, and spend it wisely. Assistants, only hire them if they need it; don't make random recommendations if they don't.
223. Ways to Make Money
Throughout history, there have been four ways to make money: **Money that increases value – Highly recommended.** Going to school is an example of increasing value; you become more capable through learning. Making buns by combining dough and filling and selling them for more money – product value increases. Selling iPhones by assembling components and making them more valuable than the individual parts – product value increases. Beautiful women are pleasing to the eye – visual value increases. When others recognize your value, you are indeed adding value for them, and the money you earn is perfectly justified. If everyone earned money that increases value, the world would be peaceful and beautiful. **Money that's just a bubble – a woman who isn't actually that pretty has been beautified; a beautified woman might receive more than five or ten yuan in tips. Bubble money depletes one's blessings – someone else has to bear the burden of the excess blessings you consume; you're earning money you shouldn't have. Bubble money isn't impossible to earn, but it requires expending extra blessings and can be recouped – you only dare to play if you have a strong ability to increase value. **Money earned through deception – a Ponzi scheme, which damages one's blessings. The Guangzhou Pan-Tea incident in 2024 was a Ponzi scheme. **Money earned through robbery – official robbery was particularly popular in ancient China.** They'll accuse you of a crime; you're definitely in trouble. It's impossible to make big money without colluding with others, doing things, or taking sides. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, they first made people self-report and pay taxes. If they were still short of money in the second round, they would report others—reporters could get 50% of the winnings. After this, there were no rich people left in the country. In the third round, the money from the whistleblowers was divided equally. Shen Wansan and Hu Xueyan both ended up wealthy. The former Soviet Union also liked to do this—faking crimes and paying bribes. Robbery is the fastest way to make money.
224. How to understand spiritual practice and making money
Many people believe that spiritual practice involves escaping the world and living a solitary life with only a lamp and a Buddha, while making money is a worldly matter, incompatible like water and fire. Traditional Buddhism holds this view, but true Buddhism requires fully utilizing all the rules of this realm, benefiting and helping sentient beings without being tainted by worldly desires. Different realms have different rules—the celestial realm uses celestial methods, the human realm uses human ways to benefit and guide sentient beings, and the demon realm uses attacks to communicate. Different worlds use different rules to guide sentient beings in their respective realms; in the Buddhist realm, people chant scriptures, meditate, and study Buddhist teachings. Shakyamuni's transmission of the Dharma was very correct, but 2500 years ago, this was the only way to transmit it; otherwise, the Dharma could not have been passed down. The requirement to renounce worldly life and live away from cities is what is called fundamental Buddhism—closer to the methods of Buddhist practice. There is no need for food, clothing, or conflict; only the need for self-purification and cultivation. True worldly law, the law of lower realms, must be humanistic Buddhism—fully utilizing all rules to guide and benefit sentient beings. Now, Buddhism is beginning to move closer to humanistic Buddhism—creating statues, charging money for temples, and organizing various activities. Shakyamuni Buddha absolutely forbade anything to happen, including sleeping under the same tree every day—he feared it would create attachment. He forbade building temples and sculpting statues—these rules were later broken. When spreading the Dharma in the human realm, it must be grounded in human reality. The more reverent, awe-inspiring, and insignificant humans are towards grand things, the more they feel themselves. The celestial realm isn't so complicated—eating isn't important, making money isn't important, life is simple. But the human realm is different; it has its own unique aspects. The Vimalakirti Sutra describes how wealthy people in the human realm lead others in spiritual practice—teaching the Dharma in a way that resonates with the human experience. We must cultivate ourselves fully in the six realms and ten realms. Previously, he spoke more about the Buddhist Dharma—meditation, chanting, sudden enlightenment, gatherings and meetings—similar to the Buddhist realm, because people don't have to worry about survival; they only need to cultivate. Other realms are different—we must fully utilize the rules of other realms to benefit sentient beings, and we cannot be disturbed.
225. Social skills are not about fawning over others.
Social skills are not about groveling to others; they don't involve groveling at all. Our social skills are about enabling you to better unite others and gain the favor of your superiors—not about groveling. We don't teach this to those who aren't at that level, because I'm not that kind of person myself. But the purpose of social skills is to ensure you don't offend others, to get along well with everyone, to exchange resources, and to make others enjoy communicating with you, trust you, and be willing to share their resources with you—this is the purpose of mastering social skills.
226. Why can those with Primal Wisdom of 8 or higher grow on their own?
My innate wisdom is only 8.5, but it's enough for me to grow through all kinds of problems. Even though I live in an ordinary dual-income family, and my parents and everyone around me can't give me any advice or help, I can still understand many things on my own. Those with innate wisdom of 9 or above have already reached the top of the pyramid in their respective industries—whether they are employees or bosses, they are very successful. Many people think that there are problems with their family of origin. If you don't reach innate wisdom of 8, it's difficult to grow in reverse and eliminate problems and mistakes on your own. Those with innate wisdom of 9 or above are really amazing—they don't necessarily have high academic qualifications, but their progress is too fast. It's impossible for all humans not to make mistakes, and those with innate wisdom of 8 or above, especially 9 or above, can quickly correct their mistakes, even if they are just minor. People are like missiles—if the launch direction is wrong, as long as you keep correcting it, you will definitely hit the target. The bullet is aimed at that moment; if it's off-target, it's off-target. The most terrible thing is not being able to correct yourself. The most important point of innate wisdom is to have the right direction—choice is more important than effort. With the right direction, it's not easy to have problems; with the wrong direction, it's just blindly exerting effort.
227. What should parents do if their teenage daughter is dating?
Teenage girls are dating; hormones are surging. If you interfere too much, she might not even know who she sleeps with at night or call you. Smart parents take precautions where necessary, letting her date whomever she wants. If she's not someone you can control, at least prevent her from causing problems so she's willing to talk to you—at least you'll know where she and her boyfriend are tonight. If something happens, you'll have a phone call to know where they are. Too much lecturing will annoy her, creating rebellious behavior; she'll stop telling you anything—does that mean she won't do anything? That's even more dangerous. It's better not to talk to her too much. If she's willing to talk, she'll explain what she did wrong, what problems she had, how to use contraception during her period, etc. If you can't stop her, don't stop her. Make sure the person speaking or the words are acceptable and understandable to the child. Many adults tell children, "You must study hard"—they can't understand at that age. You must say things they can understand; many adults are just spouting nonsense.
228. Reverse Achievement (Reverse Thinking)
Reverse achievement, also known as reverse thinking, is a crucial aspect of life, work, and spiritual practice. When a direct approach to something fails, try doing it in reverse. Instead of criticizing or restricting others based on emotional output, try going against the grain; life will surely be better. Many things are resolved by doing them the opposite way; going with the flow is itself a cycle of traps, called reverse cultivation. We are practicing reverse cultivation—not following our nature, not following our desires—and our spiritual level rises higher and higher. Buddhist and Taoist practices are essentially reverse achievements. The most important thing to improve yourself is helping others—the more you help others, the higher your achievement; the more you help others, the more you understand the world; the more you help others, the better you live. Even great Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, having already attained Buddhahood, continue to benefit and guide sentient beings daily. Without guiding and benefiting sentient beings, you cannot increase your own energy—the entire Buddhist realm requires energy consumption; where does the energy for a Buddha to maintain an entire realm come from? From benefiting countless sentient beings. The more you act for yourself, the less you gain; the more you act for others, the more you gain. Cooperate with others, helping them with the intention of helping them succeed—you will become better and better. Constantly scheming against others and extracting surplus value only leads to increasing pain. The same applies to storytelling—we strive to help students and clients succeed, but ultimately become mere tool providers, while they themselves study the theories. No one needs management—no rules, no clocking in, no management regulations, just a shared belief. Everyone acts according to this shared belief, and after several years, there seem to be no problems; it's all spontaneous action. Managing without managing, accomplishing without acting. Those who agree are willing to share my ideas with more people. When enough people speak, I can remain silent—but that doesn't mean my voice isn't spreading. Great sound is silent, great form is formless. Conversely, you don't need to do anything; just cultivate many people who can speak for themselves—that's called reverse achievement.