I’ve told you many times. Though you appear to be laypeople, spiritually you should be like renunciates. Only then can you be regarded as a true spiritual practitioner. What does “renunciate” mean? It means a person who is not attached to worldly merits, not attached to reputation, not attached to worldly possessions, nor to any personal benefits. He does what he has to, what he should do – just because it’s right. Only then can he be called a renunciate. […] “Renunciate” or “layperson” depends on your own heart. Depends on what you do. If what you do benefits or brings merits to others, then you’re a renunciate. What you wear is not important. […]
Because the renunciate is not the clothes outside. Nothing belongs to the renunciates. Because our own Master inside has never renounced the world. It has never violated any precepts, it has never done anything wrong. So, what’s the need to renounce the world and keep precepts? Why bother doing anything at all? After understanding this, any outside forms have nothing to do with us. We are not this body even. So who is there to renounce the world? […] Most worldly people don’t understand, and are deceived by those things, bound very tightly. I was bound like that before too. That’s why I wanted to renounce the world. I wanted to renounce the world even before I got married. Luckily, I was obstructed for two years by my husband. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas sent him to obstruct me. […]
Otherwise, after ordination, you get stuck there, busy with temple duties, laying bricks one after another – what’s the use? Then I wouldn’t be here today. I wouldn’t have come to Taiwan (Formosa), I wouldn’t have done these things and met you. I wouldn’t have met an enlightened Master and become enlightened. Maybe only a little bit, not much. […] I wasn’t sure if I could really do spiritual practice after going there. […]
