(continued from issue #716 P.3)

Then it was parallel parking. Parallel parking took me a long time to learn. I drove my car parallel to the first car, then reversed in half way, turning the steering wheel until it couldn't turn any further, and slowly slid in. Parallel parking. He said 「Good.」 Then, I had to perform reverse parking with 90-degree turn. For parking on a hill, I also parked with same method. Then, I had to turn the wheels to brace the curb and pull the hand brake to prevent the car from rolling backward.

I got a perfect score. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas helped inspiring me with the idea of drawing pictures. By doing this, I passed my driving test. Later, I also passed my green card and then my citizenship test. It was just like this, very easy.

《Cultivate the Smoke Offering Practice, Enabling Success and Good Health》

Let's discuss the Smoke Offering. What is the advantage of Smoke Offering？ I've found that people not only have tangible hindrances, but they also have formless hindrances as well. All forms are illusory. Shakyamuni Buddha had taught that, 「All appearances are delusion.」 The real obstructions are karmic hindrances you've accumulated over your countless previous past reincarnated lives. They are your past karmic creditors (all the people and living beings that you have offended, harmed, persecuted, injured, or killed in your numerous previous lives). If they are currently reincarnated as gods or ghosts, they will look for you. Even though you may be healthy, you need to be careful with what you eat and drink, and you have to exercise -- this is common knowledge.

However, if these formless past creditors find you, they will cause you to get sick or have cancer. It is not that if you watch what you eat, you won't get cancer. If you are depressed, you can also get cancer. If you are moping around all day with all these anxieties and worries, your body's immune system will be weakened and you can develop cancer. Thus your state of mind will affect your body. The formless still can influence that which has form. So, this Smoke Offering is a very important practice.

You body will get sick. When you are sick, you should perform the Smoke Offering, but you should also perform this practice when you are not sick. Those who can do a fire offering (homa) should do a fire offering. Those who can do feast offering (called tsok in Tibetan) should do feast offering. If you can do water offering, then do water offering. These are all types of offering practices.

(to be continued)