Spoken By Supreme Master Ching Hai At 7-Day Retreat, Hsihu Center, Formosa
May 5-12, 1995

　When the karma has come, there is no use doing anything to make up for it. If it has not yet come, then you don't have to force yourself. For example, my clothes, they are very soft. Should they be caught by the thorns of a rose, could I take them away immediately? They would be torn. I have to disentangle them slowly and carefully; in that way, I can protect both the rose and my clothes. When the time comes we take all of them out. Everything will be fine, after we have taken the last thorn out. There's no need to pull so fiercely. Both would be destroyed, the rose and my clothes. So, practice can't be too extreme. We pass through many stages in life. We should do certain things at certain stages. Since we cannot avoid it, it's useless to force ourselves in order to avoid it.