Brushing your teeth? Have you? You have to brush them well, otherwise your teeth will decay. Do not brush like this. Brush like this and this. OK? And also brush your tongue. By the way, talking about brushing teeth, I’ll tell you one more secret. Do not use too much toothpaste. Each time you only use this tiny bit, OK? Like our…chopsticks. As big as the larger end of the chopstick. Just a little bit. OK? The size of a pea, pea. How to say green peas in Chinese? (Bean.) Bean… Not mung bean. (Pea.) Green color, but not mung bean. (Pea.) Pea. OK. Like a pea. That much toothpaste is enough. Because if you use too much toothpaste, it’ll blacken your teeth; too much fluoride will blacken your teeth. That’s why some kids brush their teeth diligently, but their teeth are still black. Don’t use too much toothpaste. Got it? Brush three times a day, and in circular motion, or go up and down like this, up and down, up and down, and brush the tongue as well. Otherwise, you’ll have bad breath. (Bad breath stinks.) (Bad breath.)
There was a kid just about your age. He went to a dentist who was very friendly. The dentist tried to chat with the kid to keep him calm. The dentist talked and talked and then “poof,” the needle went in. Before we are prepared for it, he gets it done with a “woosh!” That way, it won’t hurt. If we anticipate it for too long, oh, we get so nervous that it hurts even more. While he was chatting, suddenly “poof,” wow, the needle sneaked in. For this dentist, that was his trick for treating children. He asked the kid while he was preparing the injection, the anesthesia injection. Not yet, no, no, no. You’re so quick. He was preparing. He patted the kid and asked, “Kid, you’re good. What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to be when you grow up?” While talking, he injected the anesthesia. As he was saying, “What are you going to do?” He stuck the needle in. That kid yelled loudly, “Wah!” It was very painful. He said, “I’ll ‘kill’ you when I grow up.” You’re so happy. But you can’t do that. Only bad kids do that. Our Quan Yin kids can’t think like that. OK. Got it? (Yes.)
What a pity. I have many stories for children, but I forgot them all. Many stories about kids. Strange. For example, a kid asked his father, “Papa, why do surgeons all wear masks?” (Dirty things may fly out from inside the belly.) It’s not like that. His father told him, “Ah! Because when he operates, in case something goes wrong, people won’t recognize him.” That’s why he covered his face. (They also wear a cap.) Why do they wear a cap? (They wear a cap to prevent hair from falling into the patient’s belly.) Oh-yo, why do you swallow hair?
A child told his teacher that in his house… Because his teacher told him, normally relatives cannot marry each other. It’s not good. The teacher was talking about marriage, saying, “Only people with different surnames, from different families, can marry each other. People in the same family cannot marry each other.” The kid said, “Teacher, in that case, my dad and mom are wrong. They married each other. And then, strangely, my older sister also married my brother-in-law. Our whole family married each other.” He said that it’s not good.
I’m trying to find those stories about kids. A boy went to school. He skipped school for three days. Then, on his first day back to school, the teacher asked, “Brother Wang, little brother, why haven’t you come to school for three days?” The little brother said, “Oh, I’m sorry, teacher. My dad was caught in a fire.” The teacher said, “Oh, really. How terrible! Oh my God! My God. I hope it’s not too serious. Was it very serious?” The kid said, “Don’t talk about being serious or not. In the crematorium, people don’t joke.” Understand? Cremation. (Understand.) Understand? He said that his dad caught fire. In fact, his dad died and was… (Cremated.) Cremated. (Cremation.) The teacher thought that his dad was burnt a little bit, but it turned out he was cremated. Not funny? Come on. Laugh. No laughter, no (vegan) cookies.
A teacher asked another person, “Strange! Why did Hsiao Ling lose her finger?” (Blessed food.) (Finger.) What finger? (Fingernails.) Finger, finger. A friend of hers said, “Because she put her hand in the mouth of a tiger(-person). A tiger(-person)’s (Mouth.) mouth. She wanted to count his teeth.” The teacher asked, “Then what happened?” Then… Her friend said, “The tiger(-person) closed his mouth, because he also wanted to count Hsiao Ling’s fingers.” Not funny. Not funny.
OK. That’s all. OK. Do you have any questions? No? How have things been around here lately? (Very good.) I’m asking the kids, not you. Of course it’s good for you. Ah? (Good.) Good? Really? (Good.) You all live inside the houses, don’t you? (Yes.) Wonderful. There is improvement this time. Last time we were staying in a hotel, and this time we stay in a “not-hotel”. This time, we’re at our own place, which is more comfortable. Did you feel very sleepy just now? Because the adults talked too much. I was supposed to see you at about ten o’clock, but they kept talking about their experiences, including “thank you letters,” and… “letter thank you.” Then it took a long, long time. I’m so sorry to you all. (No.) But because some of you are leaving tomorrow morning, or some of you haven’t seen me for a long time, until today… I forgot that you were here. I didn’t know. I only saw a few “heads” of you standing at the roadside and only then did I realize there are many kids.
(We just arrived today. Before that we were in Phnom Penh.) Huh? (Originally, we stayed at the dormitory in Phnom Penh and only arrived here today.) Really? (Yes.) No wonder I didn’t see you. It’s alright, you can stay for a few more days, till whenever you want to leave. (Thank You, Master.) Because it’s all our own people. It doesn’t matter. You can stay here as long as there’s space. Do we have space? (Very good. Yes.) Are you all staying inside the house? (Yes.) That’s good. Then I can let the kids stay. Because I’m worried about you staying in the tent. It’s alright for us adults, but it’s less comfortable for children. They like moving and running around, and rolling about. The tent is so small, like a coffin.
OK. How many of you are leaving? Raise your hand. Are you all leaving? Most of you are leaving, tomorrow? What about the others? How many days are you staying? (Till the day after tomorrow.) Ah? (The day after tomorrow.) (On the 23rd.) Till the day after tomorrow? (The day after tomorrow.) (The 23rd.) (The 24th.) Have you booked the flight tickets? (Yes, we have.) Did you book the flights on the 23rd and 24th? (Yes.) OK. Children have to go to school. (Yes.) If not staying, then you have to go home. You still have your family, don’t you? Husband and wife, etc. But, in that case, why are you bringing your kids? What is the fun in that? (To see Master.) I see. (To see Master.) To see Master. Very cute. So young, what does she know about seeing Master? (Master is very beautiful, so I want to see You.) Oh, please! Say it again. Alright, no need to say it again. “I” say it. She said, “Master is very beautiful, so I want to see Her.” The kids talk very well. My heart melted when I heard that. You see, my heart is open. I wear this specially for you to see, which means I’m very happy. Though the heart is open, there’s nothing at all. It doesn’t matter. It’s very pure, very good. Very happy.
Wouldn’t it be too tiring for children to take flights? (No.) Did your ears hurt? No? (No.) Got used to it? (Yes.) How many times have you traveled by plane? You get used to it. (Three times.) Ah? (I’ve done it a few times.) Quite a few times already. Oh my God. Oh my God. When I was young like you, I didn’t even know what an airplane was. How come you are so blessed now, so young and already flying.
Photo Caption: “Aren’t We All Uniquely Beautiful in GODLOVE!”
