How does Master Shengyuan view people joining and leaving a spiritual group?

People joining and leaving is part of what groups experience. If the environment suits you and you can learn what you need, we move forward together. After studying for a while, if what you want differs from what the group can provide, perhaps that connection has reached its end and you move into another part of life.

I compare it to school. Every year brings new students. Some continue studying and growing, while others reach the time to graduate and enter the next stage. Of course we hope for more new friends and for existing friends to keep learning together for a long time. But people's needs and circumstances do change.

Spending many years together and witnessing each other's growth is precious. I hope Sheng Zhen Men gives everyone a sense of family, with companions and support. Yet even within a family, relationships have times of closeness and distance. While we can learn and help each other along this stretch of the path, let us cherish it.

When I took acting classes, I met friends with shared interests and even formed a theater group with them. We often gathered, ate, and went out together, which was enjoyable. Later, some married and had children, everyone became busy, and the group became less active. I felt it was a pity, but a day has only twenty-four hours. As life's priorities change, the time available together changes too. Later, with Sheng Zhen Men, students and disciples became important companions and gave me another source of support from a group.

Cherishing a lineage also includes thanking those who once guided you. Dao Xuan encountered different places in earlier years and, through comparison, came to understand more clearly what to learn. I have reminded people that if a place does not suit them, they can go elsewhere while still remembering the help it once provided. Appreciating a connection and being forbidden ever to leave are different things.

Teaching students also shows teachers what they still need to learn. I once enthusiastically introduced friends in the same field to my disciples. Later, some really were influenced and moved elsewhere. I felt surprised at the time and reflected on whether everyone understood the teachings well enough and whether I had explained clearly enough. I cannot only demand that others remain firm; I must also teach the principles in a way they truly understand.

Before coming to learn, Ming Fen listened to the program and observed for a time before expressing a wish to continue spiritual practice. I also asked whether she had understood the place clearly. Treating somewhere as a spiritual group brings different expectations from simply wanting lively company and friends. Understanding what you want to learn first helps both sides know how to proceed together.

Not everyone with a connection to us has to become a student or disciple. It is also fine to remain a worshipper and visit occasionally. Formal learning does require willingness to invest in your own practice. But having encountered some people who seek only spiritual powers or come because of a reputation does not justify calling everyone who leaves insincere.