Commitment, Sacrifice, Spiritual Merit (Part 1)

(Extract Q&A Session with Master Vi-Kien at the Meditation Center in Giessen, Germany, 23 June 1988)

Vo-Vi Practitioner:
Dear Master, I see that lately you have often talked about "Commitment, Sacrifice, Spiritual Merit". Please explain to us more clearly about this subject.

Answer by Master Vi-Kien:

Commitment: Do you clearly see now that you have a soul?

Your mouth is talking, but your soul is directing your mouth, in order for you to speak with me. It's the same with me. I am talking and exchanging my views with you. Your soul is imprisoned in this body, so you are already committed.

According to the law of the universe, you agreed to become a human, thus you are now a human Do you see it? You made a commitment.

But within yourself, there are many unorderly things. If you do not sacrifice your clutter, how can you return to order and achieve spiritual merit?

The path is very clear: Commitment, sacrifice, achieving spiritual merit. Order means spiritual merit. Do you see it?

You see that you already made a commitment. You are engaged in this body, which generates karma. You marry a wife, raise many children, all are karmas.

You keep facing an unending flow of happenings, like a big ocean. Now that you are committed, you have to be fully committed, you cannot untie it. If you are able to release the entanglements, if you are able to sacrifice your bad character and bad habits, then your family, your wife and children will live within order, and your family will become a family with spiritual merit.

When you know how to plant a flower, it will bloom beautifully. If you do not know how to plant a flower, it will wither away. Do you understand?

This is the truth that we need to learn in order to advance spiritually, and this is very realistic as it must be done by each family.

If your wife does something bad, people will say "This is the wife of Mr. Xuan." Isn't it true?

If she happens to cheat people, they would say "This is the fault of the wife of Mr. Xuan"... they will blame you first. Do you see it?

Therefore, you must be committed. They will blame Mr. Xuan for everything. The child of Mr. Xuan, the dog of Mr. Xuan, they will only insult Mr. Xuan. Do you see it?

Therefore, I am fully committed. There is not a single minute where people would not slander me.

You see that the more people insult me, the more I look brightened, the more I can learn.

When the father perfects himself spiritually, but his child does not, they would insult me. When the child perfects himself spiritually, but the father does not, they would also insult me.

Who knows? They suspect that Mr. Tám is practicing a malevolent method, so they would slander. People have a right to slander. About all kinds of things. There is not a single minute where people would stop insulting.

But the Lord Buddha and God are receiving heavier insults than me. Because the Lord Buddha and God are known by billions of people, while Mr. Tám is only known by a few, not many. Do you see it?

But in the future, in a few thousand years, Mr. Tám will receive even heavier insults.

Therefore, each day, we must commit ourselves with more strength, more courage, and more serenity, then we will be able to elevate ourselves higher.

Don't be afraid. What we have undertaken, we must complete it fully.

If we advance, we must advance to reach our goal. We should not be discouraged.