Janna · Sep 2, 2026
WITH AND WITHOUT
A meditation practitioner took a foreigner to see Mr. Hai. The visitor asked him about meditation in English. Mr. Hai seemed to understand him, but the friend also helped interpret their conversation.
“I understand that meditation means discarding all thoughts to keep one’s mind peaceful. Is that right?”
“Yes, it is.”
The guest continued:
“If we don’t want to think, then we shouldn’t care or take any responsibilities for life, or communicate with any people. Is that right?”
Mr. Hai shook his head and said:
“No. It isn’t. You misunderstand it. Before you can stop thinking, you must have obtained many things. Most meditation practitioners misunderstand this point.”
“What you said surprises me. I have attended many meditation conventions in the world. I even went to meditation centers of Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Islam, and Christianity. They all told me that I need to let things go, then my mind can become tranquil.”
Mr. Hai smiled:
“If they were right and if you practiced right, then you wouldn’t need to come here because your mind was completely tranquil already. It’s because your mind is still occupied and you have to fight hard against your erroneous thinking, so you’re still confused about yourself.”
The visitor nodded his head repeatedly:
“Yes. You’re right. You can see through me right when we first meet. I believe in you. Please explain to me how it works, and why I need to have many things to have a tranquil mind, and what I need to do.”
Mr. Hai said:
“My friend, if a person wants to have a tranquil mind, he must have a great awareness. A dimmed mind is only a disordered mind. A little awareness is a little tranquility. Greater awareness is greater tranquility. The real tranquil mind is the one with very bright awareness.
My friend, there are three compulsory conditions for awareness.
One is having abundant inner strength, which is different from muscle strength, and comes from practicing Qi-gong properly.
The second condition is having saintly morality. A moral person has very high awareness, while An immoral one has a dimmed mind.
Finally, the meditation practitioner must have done many good deeds for life. It is the happiness we bring to others that helps our mind stay aware regularly.
We need to have those 03 conditions to experience the stage of awareness when we meditate. Those 03 conditions must be abundant and even endless so that our awareness can be strong enough to go deep into meditation. Therefore, anyone who wants to let go of all responsibilities for a peaceful mind is making a serious mistake.”
The foreigner was thoughtful for a while then burst into tears. He said:
“If today I didn’t see you, I would have brought that wrong view along the endless circles of birth and death. Yes, you’re right. Many practitioners, just like me, choose to let go of all responsibilities when we practice meditation. We are irresponsible for life. Therefore, we only receive insecure feelings, bad luck and hardship, while our minds keep getting more dimmed.”
“I’ll stay in your country for 2 more months until my visa expires. I’ll pick up trash in the morning, and teach English for free to poor students here in the evening. I’ll do that to express my gratitude to you and to this country for saving my soul. Anytime I’m free, please let me come here to practice meditation with you.”
Mr. Hai said:
“My friend, thank you for visiting our country. This meditating hall always welcomes you. There are some vacant rooms here. You can stay here as long as you like. Food is always available. Please make yourself at home.”
We thought that if we want to become Saints, we should be irresponsible for life. It’s wrong. Only practitioners who have high responsibility for life can see the door to Sainthood. We thought that a peaceful mind was made from nothingness. It’s wrong. Peaceful minds are made from sublime self-sacrifice.
Written by:
Janna
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