So after this man died, the people were very much troubled. No one came near this category of holiness, or diligence in prayer. There was no virtuous person in the village. So they were very much troubled. They didn't know how to get in touch with the Lord anymore. And their troubles kept mounting and mounting, and nothing helped. So they just thought hard and then gathered together, and decided to pick just any man. And they happened to pick a businessman.

This man was very wealthy. He didn't have to work very hard, so he could afford the time to pray for the people. That's what they thought. That would do. Money is better than nothing. If you don't have virtue and you do have money, that's also not bad. So the man became a reluctant priest, just like that.

So now, people entrusted to him the job of getting in touch with the Lord and praying for them. But this businessman, what did he know about praying? All he knew about was the bank, money, accounting, taxes and things like that. But everyone begged him to do it, so he accepted it finally. As he was always more interested in money than in God, he was no-nonsense. He would speak directly. He just sat in his house, in front of his accounting machine, and looked up to Heaven, or maybe he looked into his computer, and he said, "Now then, what kind of God are you, that You are perfectly capable of solving any problem in this world, which You have caused?" (This means the problems you have caused yourself.) "You're capable of solving them, but you just don't do anything about it. So what kind of God are you? And then you refuse to do anything that is your duty. Now you're waiting for what? You're waiting for us to get on our knees and beg you to do it? What kind of God is that? Just do your job, won't you?!" So God felt embarrassed. But Hes listened, and Hes helped the people anyhow. So there is a different manner of praying for different people.

Now, you pick what kind of prayers you like to apply for yourself. For me, I don't care. I don't think Hes has to be told what to do, but sometimes Hes does like that. Maybe it's because Hes does what we expect Hirm to do. For the holy man, he expected that God was difficult like that, and that Hes was a very holy and pure being. So we have to be very pure and holy, and go to a very special, isolated place in order to pray to God. And then maybe God will be moved by our holiness, our purity, our time, effort and respect for God. And therefore God will grant an answer to our prayers.

But the second man expected differently. He was not holy, so he expected that God didn't care whether he was holy or not, but Hes would help the people and it had nothing to do with his holiness. So God also fulfilled his desire because the man expected Hirm to be this way. And so Hes waited for this man to go to that special place. But at least this man, even though he wasn't holy, knew about the holy man, and he knew that the holy man always went to a very special place and said a special prayer. So at least this man thought that the answer from God was connected somehow with that holy place, with that special place in the isolated forest. So he clung to that notion and believed. That's why if he had prayed at home, it probably wouldn't have worked. Because his mind expected that, even if he was not holy, he had to at least be connected with that holy man through the special place. So, God waited for him to fulfill all this, and then Hes granted the blessing.

And now the third man didn't know anything about it. So he could not expect himself to go to find a special place in a special forest, or say a special prayer. Because he didn't have that kind of idea in his mind, so he just did what he thought. He prayed to God, "Please help the people." And because he prayed straightforwardly, sincerely and from his heart, God granted this prayer, too. And why not? God has nothing else to do. Don't you think? If even in that small thing Hes doesn't help, then what kind of God is that?

After all these three people, so sincere and so humble, the villagers were short of holy and humble persons. So they had to resort to any kind of person they thought would have time to pray for them, and this time they picked a businessman. Businessmen are no-nonsense; they care about their money and their business. So if they have to do a job, they just do it like it's a business. If you know how to do the thing, then you just do it. Why wait for people to beg you?

I would say the same thing. Sometimes I say, "Well, please do it. But if you don't, it's all right." Because you know what to do. You don't need my prayers. You have to do what is in your heart. We cannot imitate one, two, or three of these prayers and say, "Well! Master Ching Hai read this story for us, and She said it's OK." Because even if I tell you to pray like that, you cannot. You cannot pray the way I do, because you don't think the way I do. And when you pray, your attitude is not like my attitude. I'm like that, so I pray like that. But you are like this, so you pray like this. So every prayer is okay; it's no problem. And in my opinion, God or the Master power will work before we even have to pray - especially in an emergency. We just do our best whenever we can in each situation. And then God or the Master power will help accordingly. But do our best, we must.

And now, why couldn't the village people, even though they were not worse than the businessman, pray themselves, and why did they have to rely on some medium like this? It's because of attachment, habit and preconceived ideas. That's why most people, when they have a problem, come to a priest or go to a monk. I don't know what the difference is between a priest, a monk or any other being.

For example, in the Buddhist tradition, the monks of the Mahayana eat vegetarian at least, and they are unmarried. And then the ordinary person's mind probably thinks, "Oh! Yes! He's a very holy man. He eats vegetarian, and he's not married. He's very pure." OK, then maybe the people have an excuse. So whenever they have a problem, they think that because the man is pure, they can come to him to make a connection with God through him, like a very good bridge. That may be excusable. But in some of the other religious practices, the priests or monks get married, too. They eat meat and they drink wine; it's very liberal. They do the things that you do at home. They eat the things that you eat every day. And they pray through the book that you yourself pray through, and read, too. So now what is the difference between you and that priest, that you have to come to him? Or that monk, that you have to come to ask him to pray for you? Think about it. You see: There's no difference, or not much! Except that he lives in a very beautiful temple, while you live in a very shabby house or something like that. Maybe the temple, the place where he lives, is different, but I don't know if the people are different. So you see, what a ridiculous life some of us are living!

And what kinds of nonsensical habits do many of our planet's people keep and still believe in, life after life, that one generation passes on to another generation. And people never stop and think what nonsense it is. That's why I teach you the direct path - to pray yourself. If I have a method, I'll tell you, and you do it yourself. Why do I have to keep everything special for myself? Then you have to think that I'm a special person. There is no one special. You have to believe in yourself and do everything according to your own standard, your own belief, and your own idea of how God should be, how God should respond to you, or how God should do Hiers job. That, I think, is the best.

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