Lectures

Open the Door of Our Inner Temple
Master Ruma lectured at Prochumsakor Temple
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
November 19th, 2008


Hello. Good morning!

First, we close our eyes to pray and thank the Buddha for blessing us, blessing the country and blessing the whole world with peace, compassion and love. And pray for peace, no war, no anger, no fight.

Thank you. I don’t know why when I step to the temple, I feel like I am coming home.

This temple is the first temple I stayed at when I was 5 to 6 years old.  After that, I left here to go back to Vietnam to stay. And then I went to the United States of America. This time, I was 12 or 13 years old.

I wanted to come back to see this beautiful temple. Now, I a little bit remember this place, a little bit. I feel I want to cry because I see all the monks here is very beautiful and keep the temple very beautiful too.

Thank you all the monks, who welcome me to come back to see this beautiful temple and remind me of the long time from over 30 years ago. I’m very thankful to the head monk before. Though he’s not been alive, I know he’s gone to the Buddha land. He’s the one who helped me and my family to get out of the war and have peace in that time. I keep in my heart until now. I never forget him.

At that time, I saw a lot of suffering to the human being. After I went to the United States, I had everything for materials but I was not satisfied.

I remembered all the words of Buddha, he said: “Nothing is forever. We have to get enlightenment. We have to find the heaven for us to stay forever”.       
 
Before, I grew up in the United States of America. I said: “Buddha is a prince or a King in future but he can put down everything to be a monk and to be enlightened”.

After that, I said: “I have to go to India, to the Buddha land, to search for the truth, to find an enlightened Master, like how to find the truth inside. Like the Buddha, he could do it and I can do it too”.

I had a lot of materials but I was not satisfied. When I had money, I donated to the refugees in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia to help the poor people. I thought it was not enough.

Even if we had a million dollars, it would not be enough for the poor people. Then we have to go to be a monk to search for the truth, to learn the Buddha’s teaching. And after that, we can help human beings to be less suffering, and to understand the Buddha’s teaching.

Because if we do not understand the Buddha’s saying, then we’ll be suffering. That’s why the whole world is suffering, the whole world is fighting each other. That’s why we have wars.

If they can communicate with the Buddha and then they’ll have peace and love and compassion and they’ll have no wars, no poor, no fighting.

Because we’re born and live and die and we forget where our home is. We’ve lived here too long and we’re reborn and reborn for long time and we forget where the Buddha land is, where the heaven is.

That’s why I’ve gone around the world to search for the truth, to learn the Buddha way, to find if the key of the Buddha is still left on our earth or not.

Because I know the Buddha left us to go to the heaven over 2000 years ago but I know he’s here. He stays with us 24 hours. If we don’t know how to communicate with Buddha, we’ll be very lonely, we’ll be very suffered. That’s why I say to myself, I pray every day. I say: “Buddha, please come to me. Why you came to your time in India over 2000 years ago and why don’t you come in this time? Can you let me see you? Can you let me talk to you? Please come and come”.
I pray every day and after that. Yes, I know. He is here. He talks to me every day and  talks to all of you every day. But sometimes, you don’t pay attention. You are so busy and you don’t pay attention to whatever he tells you.

Human being has the human language to communicate with each other and the Buddha has the language to understand human being and to help human being to communicate with Buddha. After that, we are enlightened.

He’s here with us and he understands everything but we don’t. We’re too busy working. We pray but after praying, we stand up and walk away. When Buddha wants to answer us and makes us understand, we don’t hear. That’s why I went to India, I said: “May be I have to find the word of the Buddha. How he communicates with the human being, how he can teach me. I don’t want to read the bible, in the Buddha’s scripture only. I want to hear from your words. How to see you? How do I get to understand you?”

But I know all beings can see the Buddha. All beings have the Buddha inside. I think it’s very easy to get to the Buddha land if we have the key to get into the house of Buddha.

My job is not to teach you. My job is to give you the key to the Buddha’s house. My job is to come here to connect human beings with Buddha and help them to understand the Buddha’s language.

I don’t come here to be your master or to be your teacher but to teach you how to be a master, how to be the great teacher and the great Buddha.

Because the Buddha said: “I’m the Buddha, you are the future Buddha.” “Everybody has the beautiful temple inside.” “Everybody has the Buddha inside your heart.”

I’m the guide who works for Buddha to help the Buddha’s children to communicate with him and understand the Buddha’s language and open their wisdom. I don’t come here to be your master but (to come here) to awake your Buddha inside. Don’t sleep forever.

All of you are my parents for long time ago. All of you are my teachers because I see like that.

I think I stop here right now. I don’t know (what time to) your schedule but once again I’m very thankful to all of you, to the head monk with all my heart. And I don’t see another head monk as he passed away long time ago but I’ll pray to the Buddha to get him go home to the Buddha land.

Thank you very much. Your country is called Cambodia, right? But I call your country Cambuddha!

Answer questions:
Q: Dear Master Ruma. Thank you very much. I have a question for you: “Nowadays, there are so many natural disasters happening all over the world. What should we do to help to solve these problems and save us as well?”

A: Because no one looks to the Buddha. No one communicates with the Buddha. No one prays to the Buddha. That’s why we have problems.

They don’t want to listen the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha taught us and told us to do the good thing but they don’t listen. They don’t want to go to the temple. They want to stay home, drink, work and do everything that is opposite to what the Buddha said.

If we really understand the Buddha, then we will stop killing and we will have no disaster. If we listen to the Buddha’s teaching and follow whatever the Buddha said and do the same thing, and I know for sure there will be no disaster.

Q: I really appreciate your coming here and bringing us useful information about Buddhism. I have a small question. Can we practice Buddhism to become enlightenment in one life? If yes, please tell us how to do it. What is the best method to practice?

A: How do you practice enlightenment? Yes, you can. I can do. You can do it, right! Because you don’t have the chance to go to India to find the spiritual Master, you just stay here, in or out of the temple only. But you can. This is very easy. Enlightenment is very easy. Just 1,2,3.. gone. The enlightenment is not speaking. When I give you initiation (is not from the speaking), I keep silent but you can see the Buddha, can see the light immediately.

Q: How is the meditation sound and light? The Sound is the means of the word of Buddha.

A: The Buddha uses the words, the sounds to communication with human being. That kind of sound is to make all human beings understand Buddha.That is not the sound from outside. That’s the inner sounds. And the light… What is the light? Sound and light: The light means the light of Buddha. You see the Buddha? He has the light around. That is the light.

When you’re enlightened, you have the same light as the Buddha. You can see the light but you have to have a master to help you to open your wisdom, and then you can see the light.You can see it immediately when I give you initiation. You can see the light of the Buddha any time, any second.

I have the key. Whoever wants it, I welcome. It’s for you to get into the Buddha’s house.

I think we finish the time already and thank you, all the monks here, and especially for the head monk’s cooperation to let me share with you about the spiritual teaching from Buddha. I wish the Buddha will bless the whole world and this country forever and ever.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

See you again each other in the future in heaven. To this beautiful country and the beautiful people in Cambodia, I’ll pray to Buddha: “Please help human being. Please help the temple”.

Thank you very much.