We’ve read a lot of scriptures, and we think we understand them, but actually we don’t. In the scriptures, Shakyamuni Buddha says, "We have to meet a Buddha and learn from the Buddha in order to attain Buddhahood." However, it's not very easy to meet a Buddha. Only those with the most blessings can meet a Buddha. It’s not easy to hear about a Buddha or to see a Buddha, not to mention to become his or her disciple.

What is “Buddha (Fo)”? You all know that “Fo” means “Fo Tuo,” which is translated from the Sanskrit as "Buddha." “Buddha” means a great enlightened being. If anyone can attain great enlightenment at any time in any place, we can call him or her “Buddha.” Although this person may not say he or she is a Buddha, he or she is a Buddha for sure. No one called Jesus Christ a Buddha, but he is a Buddha; no one called Lao-tzu a Buddha; nevertheless, he is a Buddha.

Sitting in front of a living Buddha or a great spiritual practitioner, we get a lot of blessings as long as we do not wrap ourselves in an invisible raincoat. Some people have wonderful experiences (visions) just by coming to listen to a Master’s lectures. Some have only a look at a great Master, and as soon as they return home they have great experiences (visions). That's because their mind is open and their spiritual level is already very high, and they can accept the blessings.

"Tathagata," meaning "one who has thus come" or "one who has thus gone," denotes someone who doesn’t come or go but is present everywhere; he doesn't need to come or go, but he can be seen in any place and at any level. It’s very hard to find such a being. When we meet such an individual in the world, we praise him or her as being a Buddha and Bodhisattva, but he or she will never say that he or she is a Buddha. A true living Buddha doesn't think of himself or herself as a Buddha or Bodhisattva, but when we hold him up to the descriptions in the scriptures, we recognize that he or she is indeed a Buddha. As “Buddha” is the worldly term used to address such a person, his disciples will praise him as a Buddha or Bodhisattva.

1. What's the Truth? Why do Shakyamuni, Lao Tzu and Jesus Christ all represent the Truth?
2. If we want to ask about the Truth, we should find a Buddha or Bodhisattva and ask him or her. Even though Shakyamuni Buddha said that Buddha is in our heart, and that all beings have the Buddha Nature, why can't we just randomly find a being and ask him? Why must we find a living Master, a Buddha or a Bodhisattva and ask him or her?
3. In ancient times, why did the disciples need to go through many tests and ask a great number of questions before a great Master passed the Dharma on to them?
4. If someone can pass the "Tao" onto us and also guide us to find the "Tao," is he or she a Buddha?
5. Shakyamuni Buddha has light, wisdom and power. Then do living Buddhas also have the same qualities?
6. We all think that the Buddha is in Heaven or in the Western Blissful Land and that we cannot see him. If that's the case, how can we know him?
7. Why did five thousand people leave while Shakyamuni Buddha was lecturing on the Lotus Sutra?
8. How can people still go to hell even while sitting in front of the Buddha?
9. We all know that all beings have the Buddha Nature, but why can't all beings find this Nature?
10. Why does a great Master feel very grateful and think nothing of it when others slander him?
11. It's said that UFOs have come to our Earth, and some people have witnessed them. Why do extraterrestrials come to the earth? Are they heavenly beings or astral beings? Or are they from some higher worlds?
12. If a Quan Yin practitioner has no respect and love for the enlightened Master, will he be elevated all the same?
13. When we worship a living Buddha and truly believe in him or her, even if only for a split second, he or she will still liberate us in an instant. Will we know it ourselves?
14. If spiritual practitioners have no respect and humility, they will progress very slowly and experience a lot of suffering and obstacles. Why is that?
15. Is egg vegetarian or not vegetarian?
16. Should we listen to the sound or think about the content when we recite mantras?
17. If someone's spiritual level is within the Three Worlds, will the Master help elevate him further if he dies sooner than the Master?
18. After meditating for more than ten or twenty minutes, things we normally don't pay special attention to will come to our minds. Why is that?
19. If the highest God has already taken control of us, we can never change it. Is that right?
20. In many books it's said that reciting Buddha's names according to some great Master's methods will also make one be reborn in the Pure Land. Is this true?
21. In what situations will great Masters teach people the method of reciting Buddha's names?
22. It is mentioned in the Bible that people have original sin at the time of birth. Is original sin our karma from previous lives?
23. What is the meaning of practicing "the Eight Precepts"? Does it accrue any merits? Or what blessings does it bring us?
24. What is the difference between a seven-day retreat of the Quan Yin Method and other kinds of retreats? Can anyone participate in Master's three-day or seven-day retreats?