Special Reports

The gathering was held at a vegetarian restaurant in London run by a fellow initiate, which was also the new London Centre. Fellow practitioners crowded in and waited anxiously, unable to conceal their excitement and emotion. The Master that they had dreamt of day and night finally appeared wearing a simple yet elegant casual dress, which was a perfect match to Her short hairstyle. She looked gorgeously delicate and charming.

The weather in London was cold and windy with a persistent rain. To take care of Her disciples worldwide, Master has to endure not only such cold weather and physical exhaustion, but also the mental stress that is beyond the imagination of ordinary humans. Master commented that though She had crossed the Atlantic on an airplane to see the disciples, She felt as though she had swum alone across the ocean. This is indeed true! Each time Master wants to see disciples from around the world, She has to go through such ordeals and bear such karma for Her disciples that it is like crossing mountains and oceans all by Herself.

Speaking about Her homeless situation, Master issued a heartbreaking statement that was identical to what Jesus Christ had said two thousand years ago: Even the birds in the sky have their nests, but the Son of God is without a home! Yes! Even the birds flying in the sky have a place to rest when they are tired. Despite Her contributions and sacrifice for the world and the universe, there is not one peaceful corner where She can recuperate after Her endless work for sentient beings! With sighs of grief, fellow practitioners became more determined to practice diligently to help ease some of the pain that Master has to bear for their sake.

The gathering took place in a relaxed and carefree atmosphere. Apart from sharing Her infinite wisdom and love, Master also gave handfuls of blessed candies to everyone. All those present savored the sweetness and love from heaven, and felt an indescribable bliss and contentment.

Master was aware of the frustrations of some married disciples, and encouraged happily married initiates and non-initiates to share the secrets of their success. When a couple were sharing their experience, the wife kept nodding in approval while the husband was speaking. Master noted humorously: "No wonder you have a happy marriage. Whatever the husband says, the wife nods in agreement." Finally, Master concluded that each couple should feel happy and blessed living with each other, and should care for each other.

To satisfy the longings of disciples, Master patiently and elaborately answered their questions. In between, She again emphasized that the key to spiritual practice lies in one's sincere desire to realize God and seek liberation. Otherwise, it would be futile taking the initiation a thousand times or meditating ten thousand years, She said. The merciful Master also meditated and chanted the Holy Names with the disciples, blessing each initiate and initiate-to-be. Bathed in Her infinite holy love, they felt as exalted as though they were in heaven!

Master even stayed to have supper with the initiates. An atmosphere of bliss and contentment pervaded throughout the meal.

The precious moments with Master are always fleeting, and soon it was after midnight. She was exhausted by Her hectic schedule but had yet to take a rest. Therefore, fellow practitioners bid a reluctant farewell: "Good night, Master! Please take care!"

Looking out the window, one could see that it was still raining. It could have been the tears of God so touched, or perhaps the tears of London overjoyed.¡¹

It was a normal college day for me, except that in the afternoon I showed a video of Master's lecture to a few interested students before going home. No sooner had I arrived home, when I saw several urgent telephone messages from fellow initiates. I telephoned a brother, who was already on his way to the Edgware Center in North London. "Brother! Master is here! She's in London and She's coming to the Edgware Center tonight to see us!" he exclaimed excitedly.

When I heard this, it felt as if great waves of joy were crashing through me, rising from deep inside my heart! I was yelping like an excited puppy! All inhibitions had left me as I wallowed in the wonderful news. Quickly, I grabbed a few things, running around the house, giggling to myself. "Master's coming! Master's here!" My housemate could not understand what had happened to me. Then I was out the door, and running to catch the train to North London. I seemed to have boundless energy, running non-stop until I reached the station. It was so great to be on my way to see Master!

Although it was already late in the day when I found out about Master's visit, I was able to reach the Center in time before Master arrived. Amazingly, everything was so well organised and in good time, despite the fact that the first news of Master's visit had only reached the contact person that very afternoon. At the Center, fellow brothers and sisters were buzzing with excitement! The room was beautifully decorated with bunches of fresh exotic flowers. Master's chair was decked out in shining white lace, and surrounded with various foods to be blessed. All the brothers and sisters were looking especially beautiful to greet Master, and everybody was radiant with excitement! There were many fellow Initiates there whom I had not seen before, because they live so far away from London. At a moment's notice, they had dropped what they were doing and travelled long distances from Scotland or from Northern England.

Suddenly, Master's car pulled up. My heart was in my throat because I was in the back row right next to the entrance. Master came through the door, stopped and said. "Oh, hello......!" I, and the sister standing next to me, simultaneously stammered ".....Mmmmaa..." which, in the international language of 'overwhelming excitement', means: "Hello Master! It's so wonderful to see you!" Master looked so cute! She wore a stylish hooded coat and was sporting a beautiful new hairstyle. She went to the front of the hall, where Her chair was, then passed through into the kitchen, before starting to talk and joke with us.

Master also told us that it was not easy for Her to be there. It was not the physical journey which was so difficult, but the inner pressure on Her that was so intense. She told us that it was difficult to explain, because the suffering She feels cannot easily be understood or properly expressed in languages of the world. To give us some idea, She said that it would have been easier for Her to swim across the ocean to be there. Really, She said, that would have meant less suffering for Her. I know Master probably does not want us to know of Her inner suffering, but I think perhaps if we knew how much She suffers, it might make us more diligent in our meditation and practice, and encourage us to pray for less suffering in this world.

After this valuable lesson, Master quickly made the atmosphere more joyful by asking any happily married couples to tell of their joy in being together. Then She asked us all to meditate. She even showed the non-practitioners present how to do a simple form of meditation so that everyone in the room could meditate together. We meditated for a short time and then Master 'woke' us from our samadhi! Thereafter, we all seemed to be one big happy family. There was a single energy in the room, shared by all, so that even though the space was small and the room packed, we did not feel too squashed. Everybody was in a state of bliss. Master settled down to relax with us, and jokingly said, "Ah... You make me work again, huh?" as fellow initiates talked with Her and asked Her questions!

Master continually tossed sweets to us, as She talked to the people.It was so charming. She even made efforts to toss sweets all the way to the people at the back of the room. So there were sweets bouncing off people's heads. Everybody was very amused. After Master had answered many questions, we all ate together and, wow!The food was good! It was such a tasty meal with many different and delicious dishes.

Unfortunately,Master had to leave because it was getting really late. We waved good-bye to our beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai with smiles full of thankfulness for this wonderful blessing. The evening was over and we went home full of bliss.Due to pressing work elsewhere, She had to leave the U.K. very soon. But everyone was so elated after seeing Her and the atmosphere of bliss is still here!Thank you, beloved Master for coming to see us. Please, all encompassing Heavenly Father, may Master's suffering be eased through our diligent meditation and prayers.¡¹

I believe that the years before, when I thought I was on 'the journey', were merely a preparation for it. I had the good fortune to be sitting right in the front, at Master's feet. As I stared up at Her face I was overcome by a feeling long forgotten, the innocence, trust and unconditional love of a child toward her mother.Goodness and love seemed to embrace the whole room.The world outside ceased to exist as we floated on a sea of love. Master's love is like rivulets flowing from an inexhaustible source of water.Like the flow of a river, till it reaches the source, it cannot be stopped, instead it increases more and more. The flow of love was so potent that I felt liberated from the influence of the illusionary world.

I remember reading once, that liberated souls are completely indifferent to matter. I believe the Master was born on this Earth for the well-being of all people.She does not live for any selfish reason, but for the welfare, development and joy of others. Master's only interest is to guide us back home. Her physical body is a shelter for others.She provides a transcendental love service for those of us fortunate enough to follow Her.

If I never see Master again, having only seen Her once, I shall never forget that evening, when overpowered by feelings of happiness, my heart was alive with love. Master You are like the sun, Your love can travel everywhere, and like the air Your love is all pervasive, penetrating our inner being with peace. You've taught me that only with patience and perseverance can we realize our goal. We must not trivialise or accept the superficiality which has become commonplace in our daily lives. We must look beyond face value to the beauty within. And lastly, we must remember that when we search for enlightenment and eternal light, love comes with it.¡¹