At 11:00 a.m. on June 9, Burlingame Mayor Bud Harrison and his wife called on the Ven. Master Hua at the International Translation Institute, south of San Francisco. In their three-hour visit, they discussed the troubled situation of education and politics, and also had lunch together at the administrative offices of Dharma Realm Buddhist University.

Mayor Harrison was a professor of political science at San Mateo College, and has been an educator for thirty-three years. He has taught more than fifteen thousand students. When the Venerable Master mentioned that education has failed worldwide, the two of them found much of interest to discuss.

In talking about current political figures, the Ven. Master pointed out that it is essential to have leaders who are models of honesty, who hold to the Six Great Principles: "no fighting, no greed, no seeking, no selfishness, no pursuing personal advantage, and no lying." Mayor Harrison feels that the Ven. Master's principles are noble but impractical. The Ven. Master replied, "Just because it is impractical, we have to do it even more. We must be like a candle which is not snuffed out by a gale, like pure gold which can stand the hot fire." Finally, the Venerable Master told him seriously, "Politics is just like teaching. If you teach well, you foster a lot of human talent. If you do not teach well, you produce a lot of demonic ability."