Extract from Seminar 4 at the “Vĩ-Kiên” Meditation Center, 12 June 1986

Question: Dear Master, when a practitioner meditates and hears a sound like rain during the meditative state, but it is not rain. I only see a flux of bright light from the empty void, looking like a fishing net, surrounding myself. Is this the flux of energy of the Lord Amitabha Buddha to support the meditation practitioners, or is this the flux of energy of the Divine Great Compassion?

Or is this the flux of energy of the Buddhas from all 10 directions? Or the energy coming from the meditation practice of the spiritual adept? Please explain to us.

Answer by Master Vi-Kien: 

When we practice both exercises, the silent invocation of Nam-Mo-A-Di-Da-Phat as well as the Concentration of Spiritual Energy, we will be able to receive this flux of energy.

This is the flux of energy of the Lord Amitabha Buddha Who shines His aura upon us and brings purity and lightness to us.

Spiritual adepts who steadfastly practice the silent invocation of Nam-Mo-A-Di-Da-Phat will receive the direct aura from the Lord Amitabha Buddha to support their efforts.

If you hear the sound of rain, it means that The Lord Buddha is testing your spiritual consciousness to determine if it is still agitated.

During our practice, if we are still moved by the sound of rain, it’s a failure!

We should not take in the sound of rain, because we want to cultivate ourselves spiritually to reach the state of serenity.

The sky is doing its assigned work to make rain, this is correct, it is unagitated.

But if I say that the sky is raining, I am agitated. You should remember this!

I must advance toward the unagitated state. All living beings, all perturbations in the whole universe must eventually return to the unagitated state.

My goal is to return to the unagitated state.

My life on earth is limited to a few decades, but if I follow the rain, the sun, the winds, the forms and colors,

then when will I be able to return to the unagitated state? Therefore, rain, wind, sun, all must end eventually, and forms and colors will finally return to emptiness as well.

My goal now is to return to EMPTINESS; therefore, I must keep a serene consciousness.

In the past, the Buddhist monks meditated even when someone next to them was playing crash cymbals.

They kept meditating and did not resent the person who played the cymbals.

In the past, there were monks who practiced in front of the Buddhist temple.

They kept practicing the invocation of Nam-Mo-A-Di-Da-Phat even when people used a hammer to knock on their heads. They did not reproach the person who knocked on their heads.

Today, you have just started your spiritual cultivation, but if you encounter some perturbations in your life circumstances, you already feel discontent.

This is a lesson!

The people who cause disturbances to us are our benefactors, not our enemies. They are our benefactors to guide use spiritually.

We must remember this point in order to awaken our spiritual consciousness.

We should remember that on this earth, there are billions of people, but if one particular person came to slander us, it means that they came to guide us spiritually.

If we think in that manner, we can easily comprehend the situation thoroughly.

We will be able to evolve further and return to Emptiness more easily.

When the flux of energy of the Lord Amitabha Buddha shines upon us, its aura is as bright as the light of a welding arc, very strong. Once we receive His aura, we will feel an infinite tranquility.

Thus, you should not waste your time and lose the opportunity to practice the silent invocation of Nam-Mo-A-Di-Da-Phat.

You should practice the silent invocation of Nam-Mo-A-Di-Da-Phat to achieve this tranquility.

There is no greater happiness than to receive a little bit of the aura of the Lord Amitabha Buddha.

You must understand this point, it is very important.

You will transform your whole life.  You will no longer think about rivalry and intransigence, you will only think about compassionate love and constructive contribution.