Pearls of Wisdom

 

We Cannot Become a Saint
Without a Loving Heart
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, International Gathering in Europe,
December 17, 2008 (Originally in Chinese)

Anyone who loves others more than him or herself must be a Saint or a Bodhisattva. No matter what path you practice, you will surely attain a very high spiritual level. To love others more than yourself is the greatest secret. It doesn’t matter if you love other people or animals. If you can sacrifice yourself for others, then you are at the Bodhisattva level. There’s no mistake about it.

It doesn’t matter who you are. No matter how you feel about your spiritual practice, or how long you’ve been practicing, as long as you have this kind of love, you don’t need to ask. If you can sacrifice yourself for others or die for others, you will definitely be promoted to a high level. If you don’t care about others and only care about yourself, even if you’ve practiced for years and you’ve worn out your bottom, or even if you’ve sat there motionless for hundreds of years, it’s still useless. Love is very important because God is love. If we have love, we are one with God; we are the same.