Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai,
Los Angeles, CA, USA, October 30, 1999
(Originally in English)
Videotape #665A
Q:
How do we get away from the pressures of our profession?
M:
There is no gain without pain. Any profession has pressure. You can
ask anyone if they don’t have pressure. Even if they do housework,
they have pressure. If you raise your own children, you have pressure.
So, what do you do?
Q:
I teach Chinese literature.
M:
Do the students give you pressure?
Q:
The students complain and there’s competition between colleagues.
So we have the problem of competing in a very vigorous professional
field to get our tenure.
M:
Why?
Q:
Because every junior faculty member has to go through an evaluation
period of five or six years before their job can be secured. So there
are teaching evaluations, scholarships and publications, and it’s
a highly competitive field. A lot of times we’re left with no
time and I know that everyone has this problem of no time, but in our
case there’s simply no time to do anything more relaxed.
M:
Rushing all the time.
Q:
Right, and then I lose patience. I used to be a very patient person
but I don’t think I am anymore.
M:
So, there’s a lot of pressure. Do you also do housewife work at
home?
Q:
No.
M:
Just your professional work?
Q:
Yes. When I go home I write and try to do research for publications
so I can get tenure as a professor. I’ll lose my job if I don’t
get that.
M:
Do you like this job?
Q:
It’s enjoyable to a certain extent.
M:
Would you prefer to do something else? Never mind any doctrine about
what you should or should not do: Would you prefer to do something else?
Q:
No, that’s the thing I like to do.
M:
Then continue with that and pay the price. What makes you always be
in such a hurry? Why don’t you have time?
Q:
There’s so much that you have to finish. For example, once you
finish preparing for a class, you have to take care of the students
and you have a commitment to the publications.
M:
Yes, and then you have to read more homework.
Q:
But Master, You’re very busy Yourself.
M:
No, I’m not really busy. Look, I’m just sitting here talking.
Does it look like I’m busy doing anything? (Laughter)
Q:
But when you’re busy, do you lose your temper?
M:
I do! I lose it all the time, even when I’m not busy! (Laughter)
No, of course when you’re busy, you have more pressure. But that’s
normal, OK? Forgive yourself. Be cool if you can, but if you cannot,
then just be yourself. Hold something in your hand or wear something
for the times you get angry or you lose your temper.
Q:
Squeeze it?
M:
Yes hold it, just to remind yourself. Squeeze my picture or whatever.
You can also cut out things that are unnecessary. For example, in your
teaching of Chinese literature, select only the best. Don’t read
any other garbage; otherwise you read too much, which takes up all your
time. You should know by now which ones are the best so choose things
that are more spiritual and more nourishing for the students.
Choose what you like best and use it; that will be good for
them, too. They also don’t need to know too much garbage about
Chinese literature. Any literature contains garbage! So pick out what
you enjoy best, and limit it only to certain subjects. Don’t read
just anything. It’s difficult, but over time you will know which
ones you should select and read. Find it on your own so you can give
that out to the students.
Select it well. If you don’t know or if someone else
recommends something, research it somewhere like the Internet. See which
are the best, the most crisp, the most profitable for the students and
the ones you also enjoy. That way you won’t have to spend a lot
of time researching things that are not really fruitful. It will save
you time.
And if you have to read their homework, read it fast. You
have to learn speed-reading. That will help you, too. You can read one
book in a few minutes. So invest some time to learn this, which will
help you tremendously when you have to read books and review students’
homework. This will also save you a lot of time. OK, what else is it
that takes up your time?.
Q:
Competition and a sense of insecurity.
M:
No, there’s no competition with anyone! Just do what you do, and
if you lose, you lose, all right? Be a good loser. Look here: That’s
what makes problems for you. You want this position too much. Don’t
want it; just do it for fun. Do it to help the students gain knowledge.
Do it for the self- fulfillment of your life. If you lose a job, you
lose it. Forget the job. You don’t do it for the job; you do it
to pass your day in a perfect way, the way you want to.
Just do your best but forget the job. When I do a painting,
I never think about selling it. I do whatever I feel like doing because
it’s just for me. And that’s how it works. You do it for
yourself; do what you want. If you get the job, fine; if you don’t
get the job, there’s another job to do. So don’t need the
job too much.
Q:
But what if you don’t perform well?
M:
No, it’s not that! Do your best but forget the job. Don’t
do it to get the position; do it for the students’ knowledge and
for your own fulfillment. Have fun! Have fun with your job. Forget about
the position. If you do it just to get the position, then I’m
sorry but you’re cheap. So, don’t do it for anything. Do
it to help the students gain the best knowledge you can offer. Give
them the best that you know; meanwhile you’re fulfilling yourself
because you’re doing your best. You’re not doing it for
competition, understand? That’s the best way to do any job. Don’t
worry about the position. (Applause)
Even the president of the United States: Do you know how
much time is spent campaigning and how many millions of dollars are
wasted every year just to get into office for only four years? And sometimes
the candidates even lose all their money and don’t get anything.
So your effort is not much. It’s nothing. You make money while
they may lose it. They don’t even know if they’ll become
president; if not, they lose all the money. My God! I feel sorry for
all the money they spend. (Laughter)
So you’re doing this good job for the benefit of the
younger people. You’re doing your best, giving what you think
is best for them. That’s how you feel the best about yourself,
and if the world gives you this position, it’s fine, it’s
God’s will. If not, you know you did your best and that’s
the best reward. That’s your reward and that’s your position
- in your heart. It’s being the best professor, that’s all,
not to get the job or to gain more money. That’s cheap. We’re
practitioners. We don’t think about that.
And there’s one other thing as well: You’re never
sure if you’ll live another day to get that position or this position.
(Laughter and applause) Most pressure we give to ourselves. You’re
not even sure if you’ll live until tomorrow. So, don’t say,
“I’ll sit here and wait for five years until I get that
professor job.” What pressure! Sometimes we can’t help it
because we work with other people and they give us pressure for nothing
because they’re stupid. It’s true. We have to work with
idiots sometimes; it’s sad but that’s the way it is. But
if we can control it by taking things into our own hands, we do the
best we can and that’s it.
For example, if you go into work and say, “OK, here
it goes again. ‘This job may not be good enough for me,’”
then you have to think right away, “Who knows? Maybe this is a
good company. Maybe I’ll get a promotion. Maybe I’ll be
paid better here; maybe it’s a better environment; maybe it’s
a better job; maybe there’s a better working atmosphere here;
maybe I’ll meet a boyfriend here or maybe I’ll even get
married to the boss next year. Maybe he’ll love me so much. I’ll
inherit the whole company.” (Laughter) Why not? Who knows? Who
can guarantee that you won’t have that?
But if you say, “This will never happen; it’s
impossible!” how do you know that all those negative things you’re
thinking will be possible, anyway? Who can guarantee both sides? So
just think positively. Then, even if it doesn’t come true, it
won’t cost you anything. At least you’ve tried a new job
and had fun getting to know new people. That’s exciting. Even
if you don’t like that job, you’ll still have plenty of
chances to get out. Getting in is difficult; getting out is easy. You
know that. So you have choices all the time. If you don’t like
one job, you can get others until you find the one you like. So, just
have fun.
Be patient and give yourself time to get used to the environment
and your colleagues; have fun with them. Get to know new people; you
can learn from them. They might teach you something new or acquaint
you with other new people. They might teach you something you didn’t
know or take you to a new restaurant that you like, or maybe you’ll
find an apartment that’s better than you ever thought. So, just
try it. The worst thing is only that you might lose that job because
you can’t find an apartment or you didn’t get paid enough
money. Then you’ll know, but until then don’t give an answer
yet. Just do it first.
Think to yourself, “What would the Master do in my
position?” Try to think, “OK. What would She do now? Would
She run away? Would She think as I do now, or would She just try? Would
She think about the positive things and hope for the best?” Or,
you can think of what Jesus would think right now. Think of what Buddha
would think right now. Think of what the God inside you would like to
do right now in your situation. Think; use your God inside as your guide
and have fun. A job can be fun; new colleagues can be fun; a new company
can be fun.
Just make it a fun adventure.
Adventure is full of risks, right? No one can guarantee you that
if you go to Africa you’ll find a rhinoceros and ride on
it and then your picture will be on CNN. No, maybe the rhino will
kill you! But that’s the fun of adventure.
|
|
|
Refer this page to friends
|
|
|