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Bless Yourself with an Enjoyable Treasure -- Meditation  The Supreme Master Ching Hai
eNews Magazine No. 143
 
We should conquer someone else's heart with goodness, love, beauty and virtue,
not with weapons.

~Supreme Master Ching Hai

======= Contents =======

uElevation of the Soul
Supreme Master Ching Hai's Latest DVDs/ CDs/MP3s

uPanorama of Events
The Czech Repubilc/ USA/ The Philippines/ Formosa

uMedia Reports
The Intimate Mind-Body Connection/ Youth Daily News, Formosa

uPray for World Peace
God's Direct Contact - The Way to Reach Peace

uSelected Questions and Answers
Wars Come from Warlike Negativity/ Only God's Love Can Stop Wars/ 
Get Enlightened and Pray Powerfully!/ Get Enlightened and Build a Peaceful Futrure

uAphorisms
The Way to Reach Peace/ Breaking Habits Helps to Free Us of Karma

uPoems
God Within/ Journey Home

uSpot Light
Bless Yourself with an Enjoyable Treasure -- Meditation

uLetter from a Reader
Looking Forward to Serving You

uMaster Tells Jokes
No One Is the Oldest!/ Twenty-one Forever!/ An Unwelcome Honor

uGlimpses of Eternity
Song of the True Self - The Enlightened Writings of Walt Whitman

uBetween Master and Disciples
Master's Inner Knowledge Saves the Day!/ The Supreme Tour Guide/ Master's Loving Hugs

uMaster Says
The Ego and Sound Meditation

uPearls of Wisdom
The Power of Sound Meditation

uSpirituality and Science
Beyond Emotional Intelligence

uMaster's Wonders
The Highest Martial Art/ Saved from the Flames through God's Grace/ Health Improves Quickly with Master's Help!

uMaster Tells Stories
Wisdom Makes Us Masters of All Creatures

uThe Sentient World of Animals
The Story of a Vegetarian Cat - Little Bighead/ Two Wise and Perceptive Dogs/ The Protective Mother Eel

uWhile on the Path
Becoming Vegetarian Enhances Spirituality

uBeautiful People and Beautiful Events
Love Is the Best Remedy

uStory World
The Divine Love between Master and Disciples/ The Box that Was Just Right

uSupreme Art
Bamboo Longevity Lamps Raise Supreme Art to New Heights


uHow to Contact Us

uQuan Yin WWW Sites

A Little Message:
In speaking of God or the Supreme Spirit, Master instructs us to use original non-sexist terms to avoid the argument about whether God is a She or a He.
She + He = Hes (as in Bless)
Her + Him = Hirm (as in Firm)
Hers + His = Hiers (as in Dear)
Example: When God wants, Hes makes things happen according to Hiers will to suit Hirmself.

News No. 143
Published: June 20, 2003
Founded: April 1, 1990
Published By: The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association 
Publisher: Hsieh, Hsin Lin


The Supreme Master Ching Hai News magazine is published on the Internet in the following languages: 
Aulacese, Chinese (in both traditional and simplified versions), English, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese and Thai. Please refer to the "Quan Yin WWW Sites" of the News magazine for related websites.

 

Elevation of the Soul

Supreme Master Ching Hai's Latest DVDs

<In English + 24 language subtitles>

680 Beyond the Emptiness of Existence
International Six-day Retreat, Bangkok, Thailand, December 27, 1999

Do you know about the realm of emptiness in Zen? Do any realms higher than this exist? In the question-and-answer session on this DVD, Master not only explains the realm of emptiness but also the levels beyond it, through which we need to pass in order to reach a state of perfection. On this topic, Master says: "After you awaken through initiation, you begin to be alive, to be reborn, and then you grow up and become a truly normal human being and a saint at the same time." "You function in both worlds. You have Heavenly and human existence simultaneously." Thus, She informs us that we can enjoy the noble life in both the human and Heavenly dimensions and transcend the imbalance and imperfection of both extremes. Possessing delicate human consciousness along with the carefree state of Heaven, and living in the world without being tied to the world, all souls can attain the realm of true perfection and richness.

 

Supreme Master Ching Hai's Latest CDs

CD-CE03 <In English + Chinese Oral Translation>

Meditation Is Food for the Soul
Taipei, Formosa, September 27, 1985

The Power of the Sound Current
Taipei, Formosa, September 29, 1985

This CD is an invaluable first-time release covering Master's discourses in the early years before She began lecturing publicly in Formosa.

How should people remain alert to the ephemeral nature of worldly love and reach beyond it to attain true eternal love? Why did Alexander the Great - conqueror of Europe, Asia and Africa - order his subordinates before his death to allow his hands to extend from his coffin during his impending funeral procession? What did this once powerful historical figure face after his death? As the Scripture of the Earth Store Bodhisattva states, "Any thought of a sentient being incurs karma and sin." If so, what can human beings do to become liberated from the cycle of life and death? How does meditation help us to achieve a balance between Yin and Yang? Why is "the Sound Stream" the greatest benefit we can ever obtain in this world? For detailed information on these fascinating topics, we invite you to listen to Master's incisive discourse.

 

Supreme Master Ching Hai's Latest MP3s

MP3-CR11 <In Chinese>

Seven-day Retreat in Hsihu, Formosa (IV) Part 2 of 2 May 5 - 12, 1991

1. Studying Master's Teachings

2. God: The World's Provider

3. Studying Master's Teachings

4. Stories of Shakyamuni Buddha

5. Monastic and Lay Practice

 

 

 

To order Master's publications, please contact:

The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co., Ltd., 
Taipei, Formosa.
Tel: (886) 2-87873935 / Fax: (886) 2-87870873 
E-mail: smchbooks@Godsdirectcontact.org 
ROC Postal Remittance Account No.: 19259438 (for Formosa orders only)
Postal Account: The Supreme Master Ching Hai Publishing Co., Ltd.

Please visit our bookshop's website to download our catalogue and summaries of the contents of Master's latest publications: http://www.smchbooks.com/  (in English and Chinese)

 

Panorama of Events

Report from the Czech Republic

Master's Love Manifests in a Blissful Rainbow

[Prague] Fellow initiates from Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, were blessed with a beautiful manifestation of Master's love during a two-day retreat held from February 21-22, 2003 to celebrate Ching Hai Day. While the initiates were enjoying a festive lunch, a colorful rainbow unexpectedly appeared in the dining room, emanating from Master's picture on the wall and illuminating the entire ceiling.

The rainbow was so bright that we were all surprised and amazed! It was a thrilling experience and a wonderful present for us on Ching Hai Day that lasted a full fifteen minutes! The light began to appear from Master's picture and slowly expanded to form a rainbow. At the end, the rainbow became smaller until there was only a very bright white spot, which seemed to remind us to focus on the Wisdom Eye while meditating! Slowly the spot, too, disappeared, just as if Master were saying goodbye to us.

All the initiates in attendance felt gratitue for this amazing sign of Master's blessing power and wished Her a happy Ching Hai Day.

 

Report from California, USA

Food for Body and Soul at Two Successful Events

[San Jose] San Jose Center initiates were recently blessed with the chance to participate in two spiritual events within a space of seven days - the Bay Area VegFair and the Vegetarian House's second seminar featuring Master's videos.

The VegFair, Northern California's largest vegetarian festival, took place on Saturday, February 1, 2003 at the beautiful and spacious Santa Clara Convention Center. The event was publicized as a free educational expo offering food sampling, well-known speakers and authors and cooking demos to reveal the simplicity of vegetarian living.

The Supreme Master International Association Vegetarian House Restaurant hosted a booth at the fair and served two delectable dishes, Indian Dharma and Sechzuan Tofu, which have been great hits at numerous past events. A continuous stream of people eagerly waited to taste the delicacies, with many returning for more, not only to re-sample the delicious food, but also to experience the peaceful and serene ambience as Master's loving omnipresence emanating from the video screen at the booth. Many Truth seekers lingered to view Master's videos and seek answers to their questions.

Regular customers of the Vegetarian House also attended the event, expressing their great joy and satisfaction with their favorite restaurant's extensive and delicious menu. Back at The Restaurant, the chefs cooked nonstop in order to replenish the heavenly dishes at the fair, as large pots of food were delivered several times to keep up with the demand. All the other food booths at the VegFair stopped serving long before closing time, which made ours even busier. An hour before the fair ended, our busy volunteers finally got a chance to rest and bask in Master's joyful blessings and smiles.

To cap off the San Jose Center's successful participation in the VegFair, the day culminated in our fellow practitioners' mingling with fair attendees in a first for local initiates - a dance party, held in a local vegan caf? It was amazing to observe the boundless energy of the initiates, who had risen at the crack of dawn, and served the public all day, but still had enough stamina to dance in the evening and then attend group meditation soon afterwards!

Then on February 8, 2003, the San Jose Center's second spiritual video seminar was held at the Vegetarian House of the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association.

One of the attendees had learned of the seminar from a flyer distributed at the VegFair. He looked very pleased to be at the event and was eager to learn more about Master Ching Hai. Another participant had found out about the seminar while dining at the Vegetarian House just minutes before it began. The avid Truth seekers in attendance were very focused, with many asking questions and later learning the Convenient Method.

 

Report from the Philippines

Master's Teachings Reach a Remote Ethnic Minority

[Manila] Castillejos is a remote, mountainous area far from the city surrounded by a thick, lush forest. The rural people of the region are unaware of outside civilization and development, and their simple lifestyle revolves around growing vegetables for their daily living. But the weather in the Philippines is very hot, and the rainy season is short. Therefore life can be difficult for Castillejos residents, as they lack many of life's basic necessities.

A brother initiate happened to meet some of these local people while passing through the area and learned of their hardship. Then one day, after group meditation at the Manila Center, the initiate shared his experiences with the group. After hearing his story, everyone enthusiastically supported the idea of bringing Master's teachings to Castillejos and collecting gifts of clothing, candies and biscuits to share with the resident ethnic minority.

The residents of Castillejos were very happy and surprised to see the brother return with other initiates bringing along many boxes of sample booklets, magazines and gift packs especially for them. Using their distinctive dialect, they sincerely expressed their deep gratitude to Supreme Master Ching Hai, saying "Salamat po Master Ching Hai."

 

Report from Formosa

Delivering the Message of Peace in Azalea Season

[Taipei] Every March, when the faint fragrance of blooming azaleas spreads far and wide in Formosa, National Taiwan University (NTU) holds its grand Azalea Season Festival, heralding the arrival of spring. This year's Festival, which opened on March 8-9, 2002, featured exhibits sponsored by various University departments and a fair for student associations. The NTU Light and Sound Association, formed by University students who are members of the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association, earnestly participated in the activity.

Projects were carried out to share Supreme Master Ching Hai's latest publication God's Direct Contact - The Way to Reach Peace with the public. Members of the Light and Sound Association designed an interesting and unique game called NTU Vegetarian Food Tour - Monopoly to introduce visitors to vegetarian restaurants located around the campus. Vegetarian booklets were also distributed and the message of love and peace transmitted.

Professor Chu Hong-yuan of Formosa's prestigious research institution Academia Sinica and NTU's Department of Modern History, who served as chairman of the Academia Sinica seminar where Master gave a lecture, visited the Association's stand. Professor Chu picked up a microphone and gave an impromptu talk to the visitors at the booth. He prayed that in this world of tension and conflict, Supreme Master Ching Hai would continue to uphold the ideal of supreme compassion and lead the Quan Yin family and the rest of the world toward peace so as to spare humanity the suffering of war and preserve a civilization where love prevails. Professor Chu's brief but forceful speech drew a thunderous round of applause from the crowd! Coincidentally, former Legislator Chien Hsi-kai, another peace-loving person, also visited the stand. After reading the introduction to God's Direct Contact - The Way to Reach Peace, he lauded Master's efforts for world peace and contributions to humankind.

The students of the Light and Sound Association hoped that sharing the higher wisdom of the "Way toward Peace" through participation in the Azalea Season Festival could truly uplift their inner power of love and help guide them to self-realization. Influenced by their enthusiastic introduction to Master and the Quan Yin Method, over a dozen people requested initiation into the Convenient Method in hopes of experiencing the joy of direct contact with God.

 

Report from Formosa

An Inspiring Spiritual Feast in Southern Formosa

[Kaohsiung] On February 22, 2003, following the conclusion of the Taipei International Book Exhibition, a nine-day international book fair opened in Kaohsiung, providing residents of southern Formosa with an uplifting cultural and spiritual feast. The fair's inaugural ceremony began with Mayor Frank Hsieh reading the following prayer written by a fellow initiate: "Let knowledge enrich our lives, let wisdom purify our hearts, let us walk on the path of love and let us pray for world peace together." Then the event officially commenced with the release of peace doves and helium-filled balloons bearing the title of Master's new book God's Direct Contact - The Way to Reach Peace.

In order to help residents of southern Formosa experience the book's essence, the Supreme Master Ching Hai publishing house held an introductory seminar during the fair. Among those invited to share their insights about the text were Mr. Cai Zhizhong, an associate professor at National Chung Cheng University; Professor Xiong Binbin from the Department of Translation, Chang Jung Christian University; Dr. Cheng Huaxing, a physician at the Kaohsiung Medical College; poet Moeyai; and Mr Lai Tianman, senior civil engineer at the Chinese Petroleum Corporation.

Also during the book exhibition, a large outdoor informational seminar entitled "Love and Peaceful Mind Coffee Hour" was held. As the fragrant aroma of coffee filled the air, participants listened to a live performance of Heavenly music while video documentaries guided them through a history of Supreme Master Ching Hai's worldwide peace efforts. Poet Moeyai, musician Xie Rongyi, and environmental protection expert Lin Rouxi were invited to Master's booth to interact and communicate face-to-face with attendees, forming a heartwarming scene.

After the seminar, over 200 guests learned the Convenient Method, while several requested initiation into the Quan Yin Method, filling the working staff with incomparable bliss and comfort at this manifestation of Master's blessing. Through events such as the book fair, spiritual seeds are being sown farther and wider than ever before, and will hopefully sprout, grow and bear fruit in the near future.

News coverage of this event was broadcast by Sun TV in Serial No. 30 of the A Journey through Aesthetic Realms TV program. For online viewing, please visit:
http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/hichannel/index.htm (In Chinese, with English subtitles)

  1. Balloons carrying sign boards imprinted with the title of Master's new publication God's Direct Contact - The Way to Reach Peace
  2. A capacity audience attends the new book seminar.

 

Report from Formosa

Helping Others Live a Free and Happy Life

[Pingtung] In response to the current worldwide trend toward increased bodily, mental and spiritual health and environmental protection, officials from the Third Nuclear Power Station in the city of Hengchun, Formosa invited the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association to hold a spiritual seminar entitled "Living a Truly Happy and Free Life." The activity, held on March 7, 2003, was aimed at creating an opportunity for residents of southern Formosa to find the true source of happiness and freedom.

The seminar began with a large-screen video presentation featuring one of Master's world tour lectures, during which Her words of wisdom and love resounded in the depths of the souls of audience members, bringing them great joy.

The show was followed by a brief introduction to the Quan Yin Method delivered by a Quan Yin messenger and a Convenient Method teaching session, which gave the participants their first taste of samadhi. After the activity, the guests returned to their work posts filled with bliss. Quietly, their lives have begun to blossom, with fresh spiritual colors decorating their future journey and opening a new chapter to a free and happy life.

 

Media Reports

The Intimate Mind-Body Connection

Excerpted by the News Group, USA (originally in English)

In the January 20, 2003 Time magazine article "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body - Doctors and Scientists are Learning How Emotions are Connected to Our Physical Health," the author asserts that the world of the mind seems very different from the one inhabited by our bodies. Cut into the body, and blood pours forth. But slice into the brain, and thoughts and emotions do not spill out onto the operating table. Love and anger cannot be collected in a test tube to be weighed and measured.

Western philosophy sees this metaphysical divide as mind-body dualism. However, many Eastern traditions, contemplating the same inner space, have come to the opposite conclusion, and teach that the mind and body belong to an indivisible continuum. Psychologists and neurologists now agree that the mind and body are not that different. The thoughts and emotions that seem to color our reality are the result of complex electrochemical interactions within and among nerve cells. The disembodied voices of schizophrenia and the feelings of worthlessness and self-hatred that accompany depression, although they seem to be based on reality, are no more than distortions in brain electrochemistry.

Not only is the mind like the rest of the body, but the well-being of one is intimately intertwined with that of the other. What happens in the pancreas or liver can directly affect brain function. Disorders of the brain, conversely, can send out biochemical shock waves that disturb the rest of the body.

Thus the brain and body, once thought to be separate from each other, have been shown to have an intricate, balanced connection, wherein each continuously affects the other such that, a healthy physical existence depends on a healthy and positive approach to life. The body, nourished and exercised properly, can exist for many years, yet if the mind is not treated in the same way, it can wither and become diseased. So positive thinking and constant striving to do good acts create an aura of positive energy that permeates all the body's cells, resulting in a balanced environment in which a person can flourish both physically and spiritually.

For more details on this fascinating subject please refer to:
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030120/ 

 

Formosa Youth Daily News

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

Special Report on the good deeds of a virtuous national serviceman

  • Exemplary Serviceman:
  • Helping Others, Happily Doing Good Deeds
  • Director, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tri-Service General Hospital
  • Kind and Skillful Chen Wei-Hwa, a Blessing for Patients
  • Establishes Formosa's First Human Embryo Bank
  • Sacrifices Holidays to Use Expertise in Social Service with Civic Rescue Group
  • Exclusive report by reporter Guo Shi-xian

Selected as a military representative for the humanitarian project "Good People, Good Deeds," Colonel Chen Wei-Hwa, director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Tri-Service General Hospital, observed that in addition to upgrading medical services, he is devoted to cultivating local talent in the medical care, medical education and life sciences. Through his exquisite planning, Formosa's first Human Embryo Bank was established to facilitate high-tech research on human DNA functions, bringing the nation in step with global genetic research trends in the post-DNA era. Besides, in order to enhance the morale of medical and nursing personnel, and create a professional image for the Hospital's Obstetrics department, Dr. Chen is pushing for accreditation for the institution's mother- and infant-friendly environment.

Yesterday, Deputy Defense Minister Kang Ning-hsiang met with the military winners of the national "Good People, Good Deeds" award in the Bo-ai Building of the Bo-ai Regiment of the National Defense Ministry. Chen Wei-Hwa insists that he is only doing his work, adding that if we can extend our love to every member on our work team, it will increase team efficiency and the patients will in turn benefit more.

Mr. Chen also said that the obstetrics department of the Tri-Service General Hospital aims to provide mothers with comprehensive family-oriented maternity care. He strives to create a friendly environment for mothers and infants, female patients seeking medical treatment, and expectant mothers before and during delivery. He also works to ensure that newborns receive parental love and care from the moment of birth. Also, when a husband accompanies his wife during delivery, the love between them is enhanced, which in turn contributes to a harmonious society.

Chen Wei-Hwa emphasized that a doctor should not only care about healing, but also study patients' psychological state and maintain positive interactions with society. Therefore, apart from cooperating with the media in producing informative programs on women's health, he also conducts activities for Gynecologists, Obstetricians and women's groups to help women learn more about health issues.

Mr. Chen also promotes the idea of rescue medical treatment and better emergency-management skills. Despite his busy schedule, he sacrifices his holidays to participate in mountain and water rescue training to improve his physical strength and skills. He is an internationally certified mountain rescue worker and a member of the ROC Amphibious Rescue Society, one of the first civilian volunteer rescue groups to be recognized by Formosa's National Fire Administration. Should a disaster occur, Dr. Chen wants to be among the first to reach the affected area to help the victims, showing the spirit of empathy that "one who gives hope to others is an angel, and one who delivers people in suffering is a Bodhisattva."

 

Pray for World Peace

God's Direct Contact -- The Way to Reach Peace

It doesn't matter if we're right or wrong in war; it always creates misery for both parties. We understand that even our enemies have souls, sentiments, intelligence, compassion and understanding. It's just that we don't sit together and talk. We don't make friends. We're not supposed to make friends with our enemies so we sometimes forget that they're also human like us. Therefore, it's easy to slay someone whom we do not think much of or whom we don't hold in high esteem.

                                                          ~ Supreme Master Ching Hai

War has broken out again in the Middle East. The wartime casualties, desperation, hatred, homeless refugees and heart-wrenching scenes that appear constantly in the media strongly awaken our yearning for peace. At this moment, one cannot help wondering: "Why do human beings make war? What can we do to bring true peace to the world?" During the Kosovo War in 1999, people in troubled Europe asked the same questions to Supreme Master Ching Hai, Who compassionately offered answers in Her lectures. These words of wisdom have been included in the book God's Direct Contact - The Way to Reach Peace. The following are some wonderful excerpts from the book, in which a true Messenger of God expounds on the root cause of war and conveys to humanity God's message of Peace.

 

Selected Questions and Answers

Wars Come from Warlike Negativity

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Ljubljana, Slovenia, May 26, 1999 (originally in English) Videotape No. 660

Q: Why is there war in the world? And what can we do to stop war?

M: War exists because we have created some kind of warlike energy on this planet. Every time we hate, every time we want to kill, every time we don't love one another like God loves us, we create a warlike energy. And when enough of this energy sticks together, it materializes into war.

Hatred, envy, and all these kinds of negative feelings have energy, just like love has energy. When someone loves you or when you're in love with one another, you feel very blissful and happy. Even though you can't touch this love and you can't explain it, you know it's there. You bathe in this love, and you feel exalted.

Similarly, when we hate one another, we feel very uncomfortable. We even feel sickened sometimes because of it. Hatred, jealousy, possessiveness and ignorance - all of these will make war at any time. That's why we have to take care of what we think, what we do, and what we want in our daily lives.

Enlightenment is the only solution to all kinds trouble of in this world. God's love is the only medicine for all kinds of disease on this planet.

 

Only God's Love Can Stop Wars

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, The Czech Republic, May 28, 1999 (originally in English) Videotape No. 654

Q: Could You tell us something from the spiritual point of view about the influences of war?

M: What can I say? What can I say about the ignorance of humankind that drives people to kill one another in cold blood? What can I say to those who have suffered tremendous agony in the war, who lost their parents, who lost their children, who lost everything that they had worked their whole life for? I can only pray that their sorrow will be eased somehow, that God will bless them inside so that they know that life is eternal, and God always loves them. It doesn't matter if they're bad or good, and it doesn't matter how much they lose in this world, Heaven is still theirs.

I can only tell you that if we, the spiritual aspirants, try our best to raise our consciousness to a higher level of understanding, then the world will be a better place. This comes only by knowing that we are God inside, that we can respect the God who sits in front of us or next to us. Only with God's love can we erase all the hatred and differences between brothers and sisters, and then the wars will stop.

Since ancient times we have been warring with each other, destroying the property and the nutrition of this planet. We have even destroyed the teachings of the spiritual Masters; we damage their bodies and their way of life. And what has it brought us? We gain nothing out of this war or any war. I feel sorry for the ones who caused the war, and I feel sorry for the victims. But I feel even sorrier for the ones who caused the war because they are so far from God; they are so desperate that they feel they have to resort to violence.

They feel so much lack of love within themselves that they break out with crimes of such a violent manner because they are so desperate. They are so deep in the illusion of life. For the one who does not know right from wrong anymore, we can only feel sorry. And we can pray that God will bless them with more wisdom and more love, so that they will be awakened to a better way of life. We can help shorten the war and ease the conflict into a better state or even stop it if we all put our positive energy and thinking together, and we meditate daily for the betterment of this planet. The victims of the war, even though they suffer so much in this physical life, will be welcomed by God in the life after.

So I am here to try to remind you that you have the power within yourself to bless the world, to stop the war, to ease the suffering. It is up to you to make use of it. The more awakened the people, the less trouble in this world. Our world is getting better. There are more spiritual practitioners and more vegetarians. In a few more hundred years to come, we will see almost Heaven on this planet. If we live that long!

 

Get Enlightened and Pray Powerfully!

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Netherlands, May, 9, 1999 (originally in English) Videotape No. 647

Q: How can we help our brothers and sisters in war?

M: The best way to help is to get yourself enlightened, and once you're enlightened, if you have relatives and friends, you can even pray for them better. Because you can tell God what you want. God also knows what you want, but you don't know God. You don't know what God wants. That's the problem. That's why many prayers are not answered. God answers but we don't hear because God talks in a subtle language. We have to quiet down in order to receive it. We call this meditation, contemplation or quiet prayer. But we have to open our contact with God first. We have to plug back in, reconnect the telephone. Then we can talk to Hirm, and we can receive the answer. Now God tells us to do one thing, and we do another. Because we aren't connected, that's the problem in this world.

We can help by giving our loving thoughts and loving power, but our prayers must be powerful. At the moment, our prayers don't have power, because we aren't connected with the power inside. That's why Jesus didn't waste His time trying to go around stopping any wars. Buddha didn't go around trying to make peace between countries. They were busy teaching people to get enlightenment; because they knew that's the only solution to any problem on this planet, and on any other planet in the universe.

We can help through sincere prayer, but we must be enlightened. We must be connected with this God power first. Then whatever we think will come true, whatever we want will come true. At the moment, we want something but we don't have anything to back it up. Just like we want to buy a dress, or we want to buy shoes, but we don't have money in the bank. Have money in the bank first, then anything else you want, you can buy.

 

Get Enlightened and Build a Peaceful Future

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Ljubljana, Slovenia, May 26, 1999 (originally in English) Videotape No. 660

Q: How does enlightenment affect the future of a nation?

M: Of course, it's much better if everyone in your country is enlightened. It's like seeing God walking all over the country. This doesn't only affect your country; it will affect the whole world. There will be no more war. There will be more love, more peace, more abundant food and more necessities for everyone, not just for this nation. The blessings will be shared more equally. So even if this country is very prosperous and peaceful, we still should think more of the world. And we should also be enlightened so that we can bless the world more because there are still many more suffering beings in this world.

Aphorisms

The Way to Reach Peace

As long as people forget God, there will be war again. We have to truly know the God inside, contact Hirm in order to know the other person is also God, and then one God cannot kill another God. Then war will stop. When we don't know this, we just look at each other as another human being; we just look at personality, character, habits and national traditions. We forget that there is a God within that person, and that's the main thing.

~ Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Sofia, Bulgaria, May, 18, 1999
(originally in English) Videotape No. 651

 

 

God can't give us peace on Earth if we don't make peace ourselves. We have the power. We're the representatives of God here; we must do the things we should on this level because we exist here. Only if we have peace within ourselves can we make peace; only when we see God within ourselves can we see God in others.

~ Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Prague, Czech Republic, May 28, 1999

(originally in English) Videotape No. 654

 

 

Loving thoughts and positive thinking always make the atmosphere brighter, more positive and more loving. The more people who have the same thoughts, the better will be the influence. And the more concentrated each person's thought is, the more the influence. So actually if we want to have a more energetic influence on some matter, we must ourselves gather this concentration force and concentrate on this God power within us first. But we must know how; then we can direct that God force to influence the world. And that's why I'm here, to share with you the secret of how to find this God power again so that you can give the world a more positive influence whenever you want.

~ Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Sofia, Bulgaria, May, 18, 1999

(originally in English) Videotape No. 651

 

 

We should conquer someone else's heart with goodness, love, beauty and virtue, not with weapons.

~ Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Rome, Italy, May, 22, 1999

(originally in English) Videotape No. 646

 

 

To be the master of ourselves, to have victory over our own weaknesses, our ego and our evil tendencies is the best victory of any war.

~ Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, May 5, 1999, Madrid, Spain

(originally in English) Videotape No. 644

 

 

The more people know God, the more people contact God directly and become happier, the more peaceful the world will be, the less war there will be, and the more we can bring Heaven onto Earth.

~ Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Budapest, Hungary, May 24, 1999

(originally in English) Videotape No. 652

 

 

If everyone on this planet could know God, or at least half of humankind could know God ... if one-third of humankind could know God, or even one-fourth could know God, there would be no more war, no more famine, and no more trouble of any kind. This planet would become Heaven. There would be no more battles between different religions or even within the same religion. Because everyone would understand that we have only one God.

~ Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Rome, Italy, May, 22, 1999

(originally in English) Videotape No. 646

 

 

Breaking Habits -- Helps to Free Us of Karma

Spoken by the Supreme Master Ching Hai, Hsihu, Formosa,

June 28, 1991 (originally in Chinese)

Karma isn't always created by a sense of guilt; it also comes from our habits. Our brains deceive us by pressing a button to automatically replay the same reaction whenever similar situations arise. So we should think clearly. Whatever we don't feel good about, or whatever displeases us, it's just as bad as disasters, and we must break through instead of remaining attached to or bound by our habits. It's that simple.

Poems

Devoted to my dear Guru, in remembrance of Master's love

By sister initiate Theresia M. I. Adianingtyas, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

 

God Within

Light of Heaven, Rhythm of paradise,

Vibrating through the Eye of Light,

Revealing the hidden mystery,

The odyssey since ancient times.

 

Come inside and merge with the Ocean of Love,

Listen to the whisper of wisdom,

Fly inside the temple of Holy Mother,

Enjoy the freedom of the soul.

 

No mundane jewelry can compare

To the celestial treasure in the Heaven of Light.

When our inner Guru smiles sweetly

At the desperate son going Home!

 

Miss no opportunity for sacred meditation

After much struggling,

Many tears,

Much weariness.

 

Because I'll tell you why

The Mother of the universe,

The saintly sage of all times,

God Hierself

Is waiting to embrace Her son with abundant Love.

 

 

 

Journey Home

Shimmering stars gaze at the son

As a sign of the gate to Heaven,

With golden light and birds singing

Lighting the temple of the Holy Spirit.

 

The road Home is full of blocks;

The first step you take,

Thousands of mirages appear as stumbling stones;

Waves of illusion come to shake your faith.

 

Beware of Maya's strategies!

Once faced,

Recite the Holy Names;

Remember the graceful prophet.

 

The map is already there;

The power is in hand,

But... sometimes the world shows no mercy

Dragging the son into the pit.

 

Wipe off your tears.

Look! Angels are beside you,

The circle of sainthood gives a hand from above,

And the inner Guru bestows an abundance of love.

 

Visit Them in the Kingdom of God

Through sacred meditation;

Merge with the Ocean of Light;

Listen to the inner holy chanting,

And be in the presence of Holy Mother.

 

Spot Light

Bless Yourself with an Enjoyable Treasure -- Meditation

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, International Five-day Retreat, Florida, USA,

December 25, 2002 (originally in Aulacese)

D: I've found that if I'm too serious, for example, when I just started practicing and it was time to meditate, I used to say, "Oh, oh! It's time to meditate!" my mind felt kind of stressful. But if I think, "Ah! It's time to see God!" and recite the Holy Names and concentrate, then it goes smoothly.

M: That's right! Yes. Make it like a pleasure. It is a pleasure!

D: I even apply this to my work. For example, when I feel exhausted because of my work, I feel too tired, and have no more energy, but then I ask myself where the energy comes from, and remind myself that it comes from the universal source, not from my body, then I suddenly feel myself filled with an inexhaustible strength. I don't feel tired, and even if I do, I still recover quickly. Therefore, I think we have two choices; either we choose this humble "I" and are very limited, or simply think, "I'm nothing. I'm nobody. It's the universal power that does things." This way I feel very good. I see no problem.

M: Yes. That's right. When we sit, we should relax. That's right. We should thank God for giving us time to rest. The other yoga schools usually refer to meditation as "a time to relax." Nowadays, if you read newspapers or magazines, the regular ones, you'll find them mentioning meditation, or when they talk about how to live longer and healthier, they'll somehow mention that we must find time to "relax," rest or meditate. They do mention meditation.

Meditation is very popular now. They don't say "meditate to find God," but "meditate to relax, to become healthier, feel better, live longer and be successful." That is, to be successful in every aspect, we must choose a time during the day to rest, not to sleep, but to meditate, or breathe in, breathe out, or whatever. Everyone knows about it now because science has proven it. If we choose a time during the day to rest or meditate, our bodies become healthier. One of the best methods is meditation; that is, choosing a time to meditate every day. Now all the magazines, even the lousy ones, mention this. Meditation has been accepted by science and people worldwide. So don't make it sound so painful, like "Oh God! I have to meditate now; otherwise, I can't attend group meditation, or the contact person will say this and that." It's not like that. It's good for you.

It's a time for you to treasure. We've worked all day, busily taking care of the world and others. So whenever we meditate, that's a time for us. We must love ourselves first - love others but also love ourselves. Whenever we meditate, at that time we concentrate all the treasure onto ourselves alone in order to nourish our body and mind. It's not because I say this and that that you have to mediate enough otherwise this and that will happen. No. It's very good for you. The most precious time for you since the moment you were born and until you die is meditation time. It's the best thing you do for yourselves. No one can give it to you; only you can give it to yourselves. It's the best thing that you can do for yourselves - meditation. While you do it for yourselves, others will naturally benefit as well. Your family, relatives, dogs and cats will also benefit. Trees and flowers will benefit too. I've already told you this.

So when we meditate, the people and all the things around us benefit but we're the ones who benefit the most. It's the best thing that you can do for yourselves, the best medicine to nourish your bodies, the strongest energy to nurture your brain, the best book to develop your wisdom. No matter how beautiful a car you have, how big a pearl you get, and no matter how expensive they are, they're not as precious as the time you spend meditating for yourselves. That's the most precious gem in the whole universe that you can offer to yourselves. Like one initiate said, meditation is resting, nourishing ourselves, bringing in all the precious jewelry to beautify you. Who wouldn't want that? When our mind hears "precious gem" it says, "OK!" or "rest," it says, "OK. I like it. I don't like work. Relax, man! OK, I'm ready." It's just the brain.

Our brain only knows how to discriminate between "good" and "bad," "black" and "white." Work is a problem, or "job," "Oh, no!" It's been working all day already. "No. No. No." But if you say, "OK, let's take a break," then it's OK. Our mind knows what "good" or "bad," "resting" or "working hard" means. So whatever we say, it understands that way. We must teach it. Also, the cells in our body all listen to us. If you say it's good, then it's OK and if you say it's bad, it thinks so as well. Therefore, Buddha said, "All things are created by the mind." Our mind we must create; we must speak good things, think good things, and then we'll change the negative to the positive. We teach the cells in our own bodies to think positively. Whatever good you think or speak, your mind, your body, and the millions and billions of cells in your body all listen to it immediately. That's why I say you're your own master. You don't need me, but you've forgotten how to teach yourselves.

All day long you've been dragged down by the negative power, listening to bad stuff, and then repeating this trash in your head. Whatever your mind hears, you let it think that way. Therefore, I've told you, "Don't listen to bad things, don't think bad things and don't speak bad things." That's purifying your actions, speech and thoughts. If you hear anything bad, stop and toss it out. If you've already heard it, then tell your mind, "That's not true. She's wrong. Don't listen to her." We tell ourselves so our mind understands "Ah! These things are false information. Toss them out. Trash them." Because if we accept it, our mind will think this information is OK so it'll record it, and later it will spit it out. All the good and bad things in our lives are created by us. We say good things and our mind takes them and thinks, "OK! It's good." We speak bad things, and our mind hears them and thinks, "OK! It's bad." So, who else is our master but we ourselves?

For example, when you want to drink, is it you who tells your hands to get the water, or do you ask your neighbor to tell your hands to get it for you? And when you're hungry, is it your mind that tells you to look for food? Isn't it you who gives the order? And when you want to go to work, you must either look for a bus or drive a car yourselves to the office. We're our own boss in everything. Thus, we should direct ourselves with a positive perspective, in virtue and goodness, so that our lives will become better each day. The bad things that happen in our lives are all created by ourselves - if they weren't now then they were in the past. We put them in here, but we forget to cleanse them out, and thus they come back to harm us later. Therefore, don't blame anyone. From now on, whatever bad things you hear, you must tell yourselves immediately that this information is not true, is negative, is not good and not beneficial to anyone or ourselves. Stop it. You must get rid of it immediately. When you go home, at night, recite the Holy Names to cleanse it out. And in the morning, pocket a big reserve before you go out. Therefore, you should meditate in the morning, and at night, when you come home, if there's some leftover garbage in your pocket from outside, meditate to cleanse it out. The more you cleanse yourselves the better; the more surplus in your pocket the better; so that when you run into some garbage, you can cleanse yourselves right then so there's no need to carry it home with you.

 

Letter from a Reader

Looking Forward to Serving You

From Miss. F. B., Geneva, Switzerland (originally in German)

Dear Master Ching Hai,

While surfing the Web recently, I came across Your website and was very surprised by its contents! At the time I was looking for information about the Indian Saint Babaji, who promised to come back before he left the world. But unexpectedly, I found You instead!

I immediately ordered Your books, and found the contents easy to understand. According to Your description, the Quan Yin Method is easy to learn. I have been a vegetarian for 20 years, and am sure that the flesh of animals is not meant for human consumption.

I hope that I can be initiated by You and sincerely hope that I will have the chance to meet You when You visit Switzerland; I also hope that You can stay at my home instead of going to a hotel, which will be a supreme honor for me.

I have an important question to ask You: Before I was working in a bank, where I did not totally identify myself with the job. Now I have quit the job. I heard that You are a designer and I would like to serve You without any reward because I know everything You do is for a noble cause. It will be very beautiful if I can serve You!

Sincerely looking forward to hearing from You. Thank You!

Master Tells Jokes

No One Is the Oldest!

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Florida, USA,

December 28, 2001 (originally in English) Videotape No. 735

A bunch of women who lived in the same apartment went to court to file suit against each other for making trouble, and they all began talking at the same time. So the judge said, "I can't hear all of you at once. I want to hear from one person only. Whoever is the oldest one among you, please speak first." And there was absolute silence in the courtroom. So the case was dismissed because of a lack of testimony.

 

 

Twenty-one Forever!

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Florida, USA,

December 28, 2001 (originally in English) Videotape No. 735

In court a judge asked the witness, "How old are you? I mean, really, how old are you? And remember, you're under oath so tell the truth." The woman replied, "I'm twenty one and some months." The judge said, "Be specific: how many months?" So she said, "One hundred and eighteen months."

 

 

An Unwelcome Honor

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Florida, USA,

December 28, 2001 (originally in English) Videotape No. 735

A doctor came into the hospital ward and said to Mr. Johnson, "I have some good news and some bad news for you." Then Mr. Johnson said, "Please, give me the good news first." So the doctor said, "The doctors here are going to name an incurable disease after you."

 

 

Please visit the following websites to enjoy the original video versions of these jokes, and you may share the joy of Master's humor with those around you:

http://www.godsdirectcontact.org/eng/news/143/jk1.htm  (USA)
http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/news/143/jk1.htm  (Formosa)
http://www.godsdirectcontact.net/eng/news/143/jk1.htm  (USA)

Glimpses of Eternity

Song of the True Self The Enlightened Writings of Walt Whitman

By brother initiate Richard Stewart, Los Angeles, USA (originally in English)

No American writer has had as powerful an influence in as many parts of the world and on as many creative fields as the renowned nineteenth-century poet, essayist, journalist and mystic Walt Whitman (1819-1892). His profound impact on countless authors, artists and social thinkers stems from the spiritual insights and universal themes expressed in his works, which resonate with the message of all the great Masters of East and West throughout the ages, including our own Supreme Master Ching Hai.

Life and Work

Born in Long Island, New York, Whitman was the son of a humble Quaker carpenter and farmer. In the course of his lifetime, he worked as a teacher, printer and journalist, and during the American Civil War (1861-1865) did extensive volunteer service as a hospital nurse tending to sick and wounded soldiers while living on a government clerk's salary and modest royalties from his writings. He spent all of his extra income on supplies for the patients he nursed, and to support his widowed mother and mentally handicapped brother.

During the Civil War in the U. S., Whitman also sympathized strongly with the efforts to end slavery and save the Union, while fervently advocating the liberty, equality and unity of all beings in the universe. At the heart of many of Whitman's poems is a radically new, sympathetic view of women and African Americans and their significance to his vision of an egalitarian society.

Whitman's masterpiece is the inspired verse collection Leaves of Grass, published in various editions from 1855 to 1892, and widely considered the first uniquely American work of poetry. It contains a distinctive blend of spirituality and science that was unique in his time. Such writing has led some scholars to compare Whitman with the great spiritual writers of the East, including the Persian Sufi poet Rumi and the Indian poet-saint Kabir.

Also, in both his poetry and prose, the similarity between Whitman's writings and Master Ching Hai's words is often quite striking. Whitman's Leaves of Grass, like Master's lectures and poetry, reveals a positive attitude toward life and the universe, a robust belief in the unity and goodness of all beings, and profound spiritual wisdom. Like Master Ching Hai, Whitman espouses the universality of the Truth underlying all religions. For example, in one of Her lectures Supreme Master Ching Hai says, "You may call it Buddhism, Catholicism, Taoism or whatever you like; I welcome all of them. I will tell you that all religions are good. All religious Masters are good, speaking the Truth and leading you to it." Similarly, in one of his poems Whitman says he accepts "a hundred, a thousand Saviors and mediators and Bibles." And about himself he states, "Of every hue and caste am I, of every rank and religion."

 

Enlightenment Revealed

The mystical quality and lyrical power of Whitman's writing also suggest that he experienced some degree of spiritual illumination during his lifetime; although he may not have practiced a specific meditation method. His writings reflect his intense, ecstatic realization of the oneness of all beings and objects in the universe. His most dramatic poetry springs from this experience of becoming "one with all things." On this topic, Master Ching Hai says that achieving enlightenment and transcending the ego allows one to live in a new way, and to identify one's cosmic or true Self: "Enlightenment is the process of knowing what is greater than life, what is greater than the things we can see with our physical eyes, or touch with our physical instruments; it is the moment when we begin to know something greater than that, the true governor of the whole universe, which is also within ourselves."

Whitman describes this feeling of universal oneness in several verses from Leaves of Grass. One of the best known of these is the highly spiritual and inspired narrative poem "Song of Myself," which may be read as the song of the soul's journey to enlightenment. For the poem suggests that even though the physical body is restricted to the illusory realm of Maya ('all the art and argument of the earth'), the soul has the ability to transcend this dimension, enter higher realms and last forever. Consider the following lines:

Swiftly arose and spread around me the peace and knowledge

that pass all the art and argument of the earth,

And I know that the hand of God is the elder hand of my own,

And I know that the spirit of God is the eldest brother of my own,

And that all the men ever born are also my brothers .....and the women my sisters and lovers,

And that a kelson* of the creation is love.

And limitless are leaves stiff or drooping in the fields,

And brown ants in the little wells beneath them,

And mossy scabs of the worm fence, and heap'd stones, and elder,

and mullein and poke-weed.

*foundation

The results of Whitman's knowledge of the oneness of his individual self and the True Self are the end of his absorption in Maya, the expansion of his soul, and a gleeful sense of empathy with all that exists. Readers familiar with descriptions of the higher realms beyond the physical can recognize the feeling of bliss and ecstatic inner illumination expressed in these further lines from Leaves of Grass:

As in a swoon, one instant,

Another sun, ineffable, full-dazzles me,

And all the orbs I knew, and brighter, unknown orbs;

One instant of the future land, Heaven's land.

In discussing such experiences, Master says, "Because the universe is vast and is contained within ourselves, an ordinary person who gets enlightenment will see Light and hear Sound - Light of different colors or brilliance, sometimes more than a thousand suns. Most people see immediate Light from God."

After his enlightenment, Whitman also seemed to be in an almost constant state of samadhi, for he wrote in his notebook, "I cannot understand the mystery, but I am always conscious of myself as two (as my soul and I)." And throughout his poetry he uses the term "witness" to describe this curiously involved yet detached day-to-day experience of being "both in and out of the game" of life, as he calls it in "Song of Myself." Master describes this experience as follows:

"Samadhi means that you are in ecstasy, in bliss, tranquility and Light. You can be in ecstasy while living in this world every day through meditation, devotional longing or any type of ritual. When you are in samadhi, you forget the whole world. Sometimes you can hear the people around you, but cannot relate to the world."

Upon achieving some level of enlightenment, Whitman also became aware of the illusory nature of suffering, of which Master states, "All the perfect Masters say, 'Everything is perfect under the sun.' Jesus said, 'You are all the children of God.' They realize there is nothing to do; everyone is perfect. But we do not realize it yet, so we suffer. We have to realize the same as they do, and then we know why. Then we look at suffering as not suffering. You don't suffer. You do not sink into the suffering, but just float on top of it." Whitman showed his understanding of this principle in the following lines:

The real or fancied indifference of some man or woman I love,

The sickness of one of my folks or of myself, or ill-doing or

loss or lack of money, or depressions or exaltations,

Battles, the horrors of fratricidal war, the fever of doubtful

news, the fitful events;

These come to me days and nights and go from me again,

But they are not the Me myself.

Here the poet recognizes that the True Self ("the Me myself") doesn't really suffer from the pain caused by others, by personal or family illness, by societal problems, etc.

Conclusion

Based on abundant evidence from his biography and writings, it is apparent that Walt Whitman experienced some level of enlightenment during his lifetime, and that he expressed it in powerful, glowing terms for the whole world to appreciate. His intense love of others and identification with all of creation shines forth from his poems and prose works, and his profound influence on future generations of writers, artists and social reformers bears witness to the depth of his illumination, and his loving, world-embracing character. Whitman's tireless charitable work with the sick and less fortunate and his empathetic descriptions of nature also suggest that he had an enlightened person's understanding of the oneness of all beings and an ability to express love and compassion to all forms of life, down to the tiniest ants and lowliest plants - the leaves of grass.

He incarnated during a time in history, the beginning of the industrial age, when the United States and the world as a whole needed a voice of inspiration and understanding in order to move into a new era of challenge and change. And the similarity of Walt Whitman's words and ideas to those of Supreme Master Ching Hai and other great Masters serves as a refreshing message of hope that, even from the humble working classes of nineteenth century industrial America, an enlightened messenger of love and compassion could emerge to encourage and uplift the world. As the new millennium dawns, Whitman's compassionate, humanitarian outlook, together with his spiritual vision encompassing all religions can continue to inspire us all.

Between Master and Disciples

Master's Inner Knowledge Saves the Day!

By sister initiate Ruan Liyu, Taipei, Formosa

Soon after my initiation, I was extremely eager to attain Buddhahood, and in one of Master's talks from that period, I remembered Her saying, "Meditating with me for one day is equivalent to meditating at home for three years." So thinking that it was very worthwhile, I went to Sindian, where Master lived at the time, for group meditation whenever possible. One day, when I was halfway to Master's place, it occurred to me that the gate to Her residence had no doorbell and stood about 200 meters down the slope from the house. Also, no one inside could hear a visitor even if he or she shouted loudly at the gate as there was a roaring stream nearby. In any case, I thought, "Since I'm here, I may just as well let it be! A miracle might happen."

Then, the moment I reached the gate, it was immediately opened by my younger sister, who was an attendant and a resident there. Astounded, I said to her, "It must be Master who told you I was here!" She answered, "Right! Master said, 'Your sister has come. Go and open the gate!'" I would have been left outside the whole day but for the fact that Master is always able to communicate inwardly with Her disciples in this way.

 

The Supreme Tour Guide

By a fellow initiate, Hangzhou, China

After my initiation, whenever I meditated on buses, I always ended up missing my stop. Later I learned better. Before starting to meditate, I would ask Master to inform me when I had reached my destination, and my request was granted! However, sometimes after alighting from a bus, I had no idea why I had come to a particular location and where I was supposed to go. At such moments, I only had to ask Master for help and She would lead me in the right direction.

Once, some fellow practitioners invited me to an outing, and I only knew where we were to meet but had no idea about which bus to take to the place or where to get off. I just asked Master to take me there. On boarding a bus, I prayed, "Please, Master, tell me when I reach the right location." Then on arriving at a certain stop, I only heard the words "Get off now" inwardly and disembarked, my mind still unclear. Looking around, I saw the sister I was supposed to meet and when I approached her she said, "What a coincidence! My son insisted that we walk this way today. Now we see that the reason was to pick you up!"

On a different occasion, I went to a certain village in a mountainous region. While waiting for another fellow practitioner to arrive, I suddenly heard him talking to me. However, those around me heard nothing. I then asked everyone nearby to accompany me down the hill to meet the practitioner, and we arrived just in time to encounter the car that had brought him. Everyone was amazed since none of us could see the car or hear it coming. "It was You telling me privately, wasn't it, Master?" I thought.

 

Master's Loving Hugs

By a Quan Yin messenger

Master is very loving and always acts in a natural way with others. One day when I was accompanying Her in the United States with some other disciples, everyone went sightseeing. However, I could not go with the group because I had to answer the phone. Later Master returned and found me working alone, and out of love and sympathy, came over and gave me a hug.

The night before, I had been exhausted and had fallen asleep on the floor at others' feet. It did not bother me because I was just happy to have a place to lie down. But Master is always very thoughtful. She noticed my action and the next day said to us, "You're not taking care of each other. You're letting her sleep at your feet instead of making room for Her. She's been working very hard and you should take care of her." I realized then that Master even cared about how we slept. After saying that, She walked over and gave me a hug. I was overwhelmed and blushed, being overcome by shyness. Master is always very meticulous like this when it comes to taking care of Her disciples.

Master can truly sense all inner messages from Her disciples. So even though we may not communicate them verbally, She knows our feelings. For example, She always knows which person misses Her the most, and will call that person over to chat with him or her upon seeing them. Or She'll allow the person to stay with Her for a while in order to satisfy his or her longing.

Master Says

The Ego and Sound Meditation

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai,

Hsihu, Formosa, April 29, 1989 (originally in Chinese)

The Ego Arises from Habits

Where does the ego come from? We can say the ego is a kind of personality, a personal mental attitude. Where does the personality come from? The personality is nothing great; it's not our original Self; nor is it our enlightened God Nature. It's just our personality, born from habits that are continuously accumulated. Every time we're born, whether as a human, a wild animal, a Heavenly being, a hell being, a domestic animal or a demon, we possess certain habits. Each kind of being has its own particular habits and they are all learned.

For example, if we were tigers, of course, we'd be fierce. Every day we'd hunt for food and kill animals. This is how we'd live in that lifetime. Then if we were immediately reborn as a human after dying as a tiger, traces of our vicious animal nature would remain. We'd have a violent temper, love to devour meat and be very vicious. We wouldn't be easily compatible with others or forgiving, and we'd enjoy squabbling and always overdoing in trivial matters.

If after our life as a tiger was over we were reborn as another kind of animal, perhaps a more benign one like a lamb, of course, we'd "baah" our way through life and be very benign. Even if the tiger's qualities were still in the animal that we had become, it would have little chance to manifest. We'd gradually forget them and then this vicious nature would diminish. We'd stop killing and eating meat. Our animal qualities and killing instinct would diminish. If, after we left the body of the lamb we were reborn as another lamb, we'd become even more benign and "baah" our way sweetly through another life.

If we were reborn as a human being after our life as a lamb had ended, of course we'd look rather sheepish. We'd be very benign, and we wouldn't look very awful. We'd be docile and easily controlled and we would get along with others! Our palate would be easily satisfied. We might prefer to eat weeds, and go looking for leafy or wild vegetables. Thus we can see that each person has his own distinct personality since each collects different habits.

During our incarnations as animals, should we die as a tiger and be reborn repeatedly as another tiger or as some other fierce beast such as a wolf or snake before we were finally reborn as a human, our qualities would not be much different than that of a demon. That's why we find that some people are very fierce for no reason, and communication with them is almost impossible. It's because they've just transitioned from the life of an animal and taken on a new body. They've been reborn repeatedly as an animal, and very often, as a fierce beast. This isn't coincidental. Otherwise, why isn't everyone reborn as an animal, while continuing to be reborn as a fierce beast? It's probably because before they took the animal form, they had incurred lots of bad karma, having taken too many lives or been forced into the situation by destiny and letting violence overtake them.

For instance, we know that some criminals are imprisoned. The government's original intention in doing so was to teach them a lesson and give them a chance to repent, rectify their lives and become benevolent. However, they get worse in prison. Out of wrath, some try to escape and seek revenge when they succeed. They commit more crimes and it becomes increasingly difficult for them to pull themselves out of the situation. They may encounter unpleasant situations in prison and may misinterpret other people's good intentions. Sometimes their inferiority complex may mislead them into believing that they've been ill-treated though the police treat everyone equally. This feeling may intensify in their heart and they may seek vengeance when they get out by commit more serious crimes, thus end up receiving a harsher punishment. This harsh punishment in turn evokes greater hatred in them, which causes them to fall further until they finally become truly difficult or impossible to reform.

When we're fierce beasts, we're steeped in karma. Should we fall into such a situation, if we fail to reform or repent and continue to commit more vicious acts, we'll remain permanently at the animal level and have much difficulty rising to the human level again. Even if we wanted to become humans, it would take many, many lifetimes before we could succeed.

When we're tigers, we collect a tiger's qualities, vicious actions and habits. Our magnetic field becomes a vicious aura. And when we become human, this magnetic field is registered in our so-called Alaya consciousness, where the good and bad thoughts and deeds of our past lives are recorded. With its massive recordings, it reacts spontaneously to similar situations. This means that if a person or situation stimulates us, that quality immediately emerges because we forget that we're now humans, not tigers.

If we humans want to avoid such situations, we should check for the animal-like qualities that we possess. And then we'll know that we have very heavy karma. But what is karma? In the past we collected many habits. As we transmigrate, we collect and record far too many vicious actions, just as on a recording tape. When the button is pressed, it plays back. And what's this button? It's the opportunities or occasions we encounter that turn the recordings on automatically.

So sometimes we're very fierce to people, but we don't know why. It's because the button has been pressed. A particular person happens to say something that we'd heard in the past when those words upset us. Now when we hear something similar, we immediately get upset. Or perhaps in previous lives when we were humans or animals, someone set traps for us. Now, whenever we see something that resembles such traps, just in appearance, we become afraid. We have no idea why a particular kind of box terrifies us. Some boxes look similar to the traps that we encountered in our past lives so we dread and abhor them. That's why some people prefer round furniture, or hate square furniture or like triangular furniture. This is all related to past life impressions.

The conditions that we like, dislike, abhor or love constitute what's called the ego. "I" only like it this way; this suits "my" taste- this is called "ego." The "ego" means the personality. Such and such is "my" habit; this is what "I" think; "I" can't change; "I" don't want to change, or this is what "I" am and "I" can't change! This is called the ego, but in fact, the ego is the personality; it's nothing mysterious or incomprehensible.

Only the Vibration of Sound Meditation Can Cleanse Karma

To stop ourselves from getting more steeped in karma, we have to avoid our habits and prevent them from emerging. If a habit emerges, it will grow stronger, and we'll become even more irascible. For instance, in past lives, we may have been wrongly accused of committing crimes that we didn't commit. And we may have been beaten and painfully hurt, or persecuted by those in power. Then in our current life, we might meet someone who persecutes or hurts us for justifiable reasons. In fact, we're in the wrong, and it's right for him or her to persecute us. However, someone had wrongly accused and persecuted us in our past lives and we hated it. And when we encounter a similar situation again, we can't tolerate it and attempt to take revenge or counteractions. Thus, we deepen the animosity in our heart and let the malicious atmosphere grow denser and stronger. In the end, it forms our spiteful personality. So if we want to avoid this situation, whenever we want to take revenge on people, we should immediately tell ourselves: "Will tit for tat ever end?"

Each time we perform an action or learn a new idea, a new channel is created in our brains for storing the new material. This is for storing animosity, that's for love, this is for jealousy, and that's for fame and profit. Each spot is taken up by a different quality. The more habits we have, the more boxes or channels fill our brains.

Originally, these boxes or channels can disintegrate by themselves. It's very simple. If there's nothing inside, they'll fuse together and be reduced to nothing. However, there's a substance called "gray matter" in our brains that fills these channels or boxes. All new ideas and actions are registered in the gray matter, which fills up the empty channels in the brain, much like a computer that maintains records exclusively.

We can never erase the things or qualities that we've newly learned. So we have to practice the Quan Yin Method to flush away the bad habits inside. There's no other way to cleanse them! You've often heard about brainwashing a person, but brainwashing with words is not thorough enough. Our brains are very small, yet they can record everything, in infinite volumes. That's the trouble. Having recorded too much, it can't be erased quickly enough. We have distracting thoughts every day, all because we record too many things.

Therefore, if I'm now brainwashing you with words, I'm merely adding more channels and boxes. It's futile! You're already filled with old preconceptions and ideas. If I add more new ones, they'll simply mingle with the old, and it will be useless. The old ones will continue to function while new ones develop, and it only becomes more complicated.

That's why I say, "Truly, spiritual cultivation requires no language!" So during transmission of the Quan Yin Method, I don't speak and make no new additions. I'm chatting with you now only because there are knots and problems within you so I have to explain a little to solve your inner conflicts. Otherwise, I don't speak. Why do I have to talk so much? You already know more than enough. For instance, if you're not Buddhists and know nothing about the Nirvana Sutra or Diamond Sutra, you will not ask me questions about the scriptures, and I too will not need to speak so much to explain things to you. I speak a lot because you speak a lot. You've gathered too much garbage so I have to use many ways to remove and incinerate it.

So the Quan Yin Method isn't words; it's the vibrations, the electric current, the God-power that cleanses our distracting thoughts and wrong ideas. It doesn't add any channels or boxes inside us. That's because, if we want to use a certain thought to eliminate another thought, there will be resistance. It doesn't mean the old thought is cleansed! No, we're simply adding another one. Consequently, it becomes more crowded and we become more agitated. Therefore, all great spiritual Masters say, "The more learned and knowledgeable one is, the more difficult it is for one to attain the Truth." We simply heap things within us, squeezing them together until nothing can develop. Good and bad things mingle together. The good things cannot develop, and the bad things cannot be cleansed; it becomes heavily congested. Now you understand why the more learned one is, the more difficult it is to become enlightened!

So only the Quan Yin Method is logical for it's not Zen riddles or some kind of chant, which will only add more to our brains. Instead, we cleanse it. That's why I tell you that, although I've instructed you to recite the Holy Names and meditate on the Light, it's not effective if you don't practice "Sound meditation." This is so because chanting the Holy Names and meditating on the Light also add extra things; although these additives can control other things and make us forget worldly vexations. Suppose we're angry with someone and want to get even or scold him. Now when we recite the Holy Names, we forget the hostility. It means that we can use these benevolent Holy Names to control our distracting thoughts and stop them from troubling us. It doesn't mean that they've vanished, or been cleansed by chanting the Holy Names or Amitabha Buddha. No! We add tens of thousands of repetitions of the Holy Names every day, to control the distracting thoughts. After that, we should use the "Sound meditation" to erase them, including the Holy Names! (Applause) I'm very glad that you understand.

That's why I say, if someone doesn't practice Sound meditation every day and yet claims that he's been completely enlightened or become a Buddha, he's lying. Some people also say that when one becomes a Buddha, meditation becomes unnecessary. It means not doing the ordinary kind of meditation, where we tax our brains chanting the Holy Names, just reciting two names and forgetting the rest, or reciting one and forgetting the other four, or reciting the first and forgetting the fifth, or struggling with distracting thoughts. "Good grief! I have so many distracting thoughts. My God! I hate that person. My God! Amitabha Buddha, Amitabha Buddha. Good grief! That person is really disgusting. Amitabha Buddha, Amitabha Buddha.... Oh! I'll surely get even with him tomorrow. Amitabha Buddha, Amitabha Buddha...." Oh! What a painful struggle it is. This is called meditation because we're training our minds and suppressing our distracting thoughts, hatred and habits.

Buddhas Are in Constant Meditation

It's not true that a person doesn't meditate after becoming a Buddha, but he meditates without struggling. He still meditates without having to sit in meditation so we say he doesn't meditate. Now, when we meditate, we know that we're meditating. A Buddha doesn't know that he's meditating; he meditates effortlessly. This is what Lao Tze meant by "doing without doing." He didn't mean that we should sit the whole day long, remaining oblivious to the world, not managing the country, not taking care of the family, not bathing our body or doing the laundry and not even eating. This isn't "doing without doing"; it's being insane. (Laughter) Thus, when some people say that once we become a Buddha we don't need to meditate anymore and instead we just enjoy gambling and singing karaoke all day long, this is becoming the devil. This is becoming a negative Buddha instead of a Buddha like the Amitabha Buddha.

So when you notice that someone isn't meditating or reciting the Holy Names, you know he's ignorant. This is only befitting for the lowest Astral realm; he's been deceived! A Buddha (Enlightened Master) doesn't meditate, yet he does meditate. Why? He has to bless the world; he has to bless his disciples. If even we ordinary humans can derive such great merit from meditation, imagine what happens when a Buddha meditates. He can't shirk his responsibility. If a Buddha comes here and doesn't meditate, then what does he want to do? Besides, he also needs to replenish his inner spirit and vitality. Don't we feel physically comfortable and mentally happy when we meditate? Though we don't have a desire for inner levels, we attain them all the same!

We cannot remain physically healthy just by eating. Many people eat, yet their bodies are weak. For us, we only have to meditate for an hour or two, and we're happy in spirit, and can work tirelessly throughout the day. Therefore, even a Buddha needs to meditate to restore his power. Eating food alone cannot sustain his body. If he were only an ordinary person, then even if he ate a lot, he still wouldn't be able to take on the numerous responsibilities of a Buddha. Since a Buddha eats very little and has to shoulder so many responsibilities, how can he not meditate?

He does meditate, except that he doesn't struggle hard like we do or meditate with so much effort. A Buddha meditates in a very relaxed way. He enters samadhi soon after he begins to meditate and he's in samadhi even when he's not meditating! He's in samadhi twenty-four hours a day and he can meditate at any time. This is called meditating without meditating. Spiritual cultivation is not all about meditation. Even then, he still meditates to set an example for his disciples. Otherwise, everyone would think that he had become a Buddha and didn't need to meditate anymore, but just enjoyed worldly pleasures. In that case, everyone would be the same, and everyone could do it. Since there would be no need to meditate, lazy people could also claim that they had become Buddhas. What a wonderful excuse! No way!

Remember that after Shakyamuni Buddha became a Buddha, He meditated every day. That's why the scriptures mention that every time Shakyamuni Buddha came out of samadhi, He would begin to give a discourse to His disciples. They never mention Him giving a discourse after coming out of the washroom, or after enjoying karaoke, singing, dancing or gambling. Never! Therefore, reading the scriptures without really understanding them will bring us harm. Our spiritual practice will be impaired. We'll boast and thirst for fame and gain, and thus hurt ourselves.

Humility Is the Most Important Element in Spiritual Practice

So humility is the most important element in spiritual practice. Anyone who tests our patience is our teacher; people who beat and scold us are our teachers, training our tolerance and giving us a chance to reflect. This is also good. It's not bad unless such actions hurt the public, then we must try to stop them. If he's only testing us, then let him test us to the end; the harder it is, the better it is for us. Gold shines more radiantly when tempered in fire. Genuine gold fears no fire!

I'm not just telling you this; I practice what I say. I have to do it because I'm your example. So, don't ask me why I'm totally unmoved when people slander me. If I can't even tolerate that, then what can I tolerate? How can I teach people to be tolerant? Unless it causes harm to the public or other people, then I'll think of a way to stop it. If it hurts only me, it's all right!

Now you know what the ego is and how to eliminate it. Don't allow your ego to grow stronger and confine you like a wall. As such, you'll believe that you're this person and this is what you are. That's the ego. You'll just carry on and do the same wrong things, and subsequently, you'll become even worse. If no one stops it for you, you'll become worse. You'll think that it's fine and feel happy about it. Finally, it will become a habit, just like smoking and drinking. Though you know that it's bad for your body, you'll still become heavily addicted to the habit as you drink more and smoke more.

This is why we must learn to be humble. We shouldn't add more to the habits that we've accumulated through many lifetimes, and we shouldn't let them grow stronger until they become irreparable later. We already have a great many bad habits. If we don't minimize them but add more, how can we handle them? There's no way to minimize them even if we want to. When can we finish reducing them? We've collected so much. It's already difficult enough for us to avoid getting more, not to mention that we need to erase those firm habits, and even traditions, that we've gathered through many lifetimes! That's why we have to use this supra-worldly power, the vibrations of the Sound meditation, to cleanse them quickly. Ordinary brainwashing is useless. Only practicing the Sound meditation is the true "brainwashing."

You ask me how to avoid the ego. I advise you to do more Sound meditation. If you're aware, endeavor to check and control yourself. Don't add more to or repeat the habit. If you can avoid it, then stop. If we're not aware of our ego, then there's nothing we can do. That's even worse. We must do more Sound meditation! Do more Sound meditation! Do more Sound meditation! It cleanses us automatically; there's no other way. (Applause) Now you realize that the Quan Yin Method is truly great! Without it, we can never cleanse our myriad habits!

 

Pearls of Wisdom

The Power of the Sound Meditation

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Four-day Retreat in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

October 22, 1993 (originally in English) Videotape No. 383

Only through the QuanYin can we get through all kinds of levels of consciousness. That's why we see many people who meditate on the Light but haven't yet gotten to the level at which to contact the Sound, and their lives don't change much.

With many kinds of meditation that are on the intellectual level, like asking the meaning of koans (Zen Buddhist riddles), or that focus on a lamp, people see Light also, but their lives don't change much. Because some Light levels are below the elevating Sound level. Some people meditate on the Light, and in Samadhi, or in moments of extreme concentration, they will also contact the Sound automatically. And at that time, they are also doing the QuanYin. So, they have the Sound and Light together. But they don't know how to get to the Sound without effort because they haven't been connected with the Sound by a competent friend, a competent guide. So, it's easier for us because we know how. In the modern day, "know-how" is the key to success. So, know-how also applies in the practice of meditation. Therefore, even if we haven't been in true Samadhi, and we still get some taste of the benefit of the Sound Current, it helps to revive our body and spirit.

 

 

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Mexico City, Mexico,

May 23, 1998 (originally in English) Videotape No. 627

Whenever we're tired of the world's abuses, we're tired of the endless struggle for survival, we're tired of mental fatigue, and we sit down and do the Quan Yin for a while, we feel every bit of the happiness that shuttles back and forth in our inner soul.

 

Spirituality and Science

Beyond Emotional Intelligence

By brother initiate Chan Sheng-Chieh, Taoyuan, Formosa

Harvard University Professor Daniel Goleman, an expert in behavioral and brain sciences, created a great sensation with the release of his book Emotional Intelligence in 1995. The international bestseller highlights the fact that IQ is not the decisive element in a successful life. Conversely, EQ (emotional quotient) plays a very important role in that respect.

EQ refers to one's ability to handle emotions. Goleman's book discusses the discovery of an emotional memory center in the amygdala, a complex of nuclei (nerve cell groups) deep within the temporal lobe of the human brain, which reacts to the environment by stimulating instant emotional responses in the body. The brain's frontal cortex (outer layer), upon receiving signals from the amygdala and other areas, thus responds or modifies emotional responses by means of the amygdala. This process is the source of our daily habits and emotions. Memories of past life experiences are stored in these areas, and whenever a situation arises, the brain reacts according to this stored data, telling us what to do and what is right or wrong. If we receive the same stimulation repeatedly, the brain builds on and continually connects with the neural network for this stimulation, subsequently facilitating faster responses. This is the principle behind the common view that "old habits die hard."

The book also discusses ways in which one's emotions can be controlled, including medicinal and behavioral therapies, but they are not always successful. In one of Master's earlier discourses, "The Ego and Sound Meditation," She clearly states that each time we use new ideas or concepts to rectify old habits - a common method employed in behavioral and psychological therapy - we are merely inputting new data into our brains to replace old ones. And this new information creates a new attachment. Should we detect one day that it is not all right, we have to replace it with another, newer concept. In this way, the brain becomes filled with both old and new concepts. Therefore, Master recommends that if we genuinely want to change our habits and attachments, the best way to do so is to "meditate on the Sound" to completely replace the accumulated patterns and information with superior vibrations.

This may sound abstract, but it can be explained from the standpoint of modern physics. According to quantum mechanics theory, all substances and energies are formed by particles undulating at different frequencies. Thus, thoughts may be seen as a kind of energy, a concept that coincides with what Master has taught us: "Everything is created by the Sound Current. Due to their different frequencies, all phenomena take on different forms. Some are visible and some invisible." When an object of low frequency comes in contact with an object of higher frequency, its lower frequency will be adjusted to correspond with the higher one. Negative, sad, dejected and other undesirable thoughts have lower frequencies, while those of happiness and joy have higher frequencies. When our brain cells register undesirable information, their vibrations are lowered. At such times, if the cells come into contact with the Sound Current. Which is of a higher vibrational frequency, their own frequency will naturally be elevated, and the low frequency information will disappear naturally. This is why we feel relaxed and refreshed after meditation.

Thus it's no wonder that Master says "Sound meditation can cure all diseases." Everything comes from the Sound Current, and so it is the best therapy for treating or rectifying anything that ails us!

Master's Wonders

The Highest Martial Art

By sister initiate Peng, Paris, France

I work at a vegetarian restaurant in Paris, the staff members of which are all fellow initiates. On the evening of December 28, 2002, the restaurant staff who lived far away from the restaurant left work before me as usual. And after the last customers had finished their meals and left, I lowered the roller gate in front of the restaurant to half of its length, indicating that business hours were over, and we had stopped serving customers. Then I tidied up the eating utensils, cleaned the tables, closed the day's account, and prepared to go home.

Just before I left, I suddenly remembered that I needed to call a friend so I went back to the counter, picked up the telephone and called her. Just as I was talking to my friend, four youngsters, about sixteen or seventeen years old, suddenly crawled in from beneath the partly opened gate. I said to them, "Sorry, we're closed!" but they paid no attention to my words and walked straight towards me. Two of them stopped in front of the counter, while the third one approached the cash register. "What do you want?" I asked. At that time, the fourth person got behind me and encircled my neck with his arm. He also covered my mouth with his other hand and yelled to his companions: "Take the cash drawer! Take the cash drawer!"

The moment I saw the intruders enter, I already had the feeling that they did not come to eat. And while I was being held captive, I had only one thought in mind: "At the worst, I'll die!" I closed my eyes naturally and thought about Master, just as in daily meditation. My heart was calm and peaceful and my body relaxed, waiting for the worst to happen. However, within a few seconds, before I even had time to chant the Holy Names, a miracle occurred! I was released, the youth who had grabbed the cash drawer put it down, and the four robbers hastily escaped without even taking a cent!

This is a real-life event that lasted less than three minutes and that ordinary people would find hard to believe, but to Quan Yin practitioners, it was merely one of Master's innumerable wonders.

That evening, after the incident, I was filled with the utmost gratitude. I was grateful to the Master Power; I was grateful to the Quan Yin Method; I was even grateful to the four youngsters who had planned to rob me. Thanks to their attempt, I had experienced something very close to "doing without doing." As Master once said, "The Quan Yin Method is also a kind of martial art. With this martial art, we can conquer all kinds of negative forces within ourselves and without ourselves." I marvel at the fantastic power of this extraordinary martial art, which not only saved me from danger, but also wonderfully transformed me from within.

Before initiation, I was emotionally unstable, easily became impetuous or dejected, and feared disasters and death. Any unexpected incident would cause me to become extremely frightened. And when Master initiated me ten years ago, I was already forty-seven, an age at which it was hard for me to change my personality and habits. Nevertheless, at the perilous moment of the attempted robbery, my reaction and mindset allowed me to realize the tremendous change that had come about in my consciousness. I experienced no fear or terror and did not struggle or resist. I did think of death, but it only calmed me even more. Besides, at that moment, I had virtually no intention of getting outside help. Instead, I instinctively prayed for help from the Inner Master and the Quan Yin Method. Thus, I came to realize that it is very difficult to find a better form of self-defense than the Quan Yin Method!

For many years, day after day, I have devoted myself to self-cultivation and meditation. Now I have finally seen some encouraging results. How I wish that this insignificant spiritual achievement could transform into a thin, soft tissue with which to wipe from Master's face the countless tears She sheds for us. I also wish that it could transform myself into a pair of nimble hands to massage Master's back to ease Her pain and soreness. Finally, I want it to transform into a sweet melody to comfort Master's heart, which is constantly exhausted by Her imperfect disciples.

 

Saved from the Flames through God's Grace

By sister initiate Olga Molnár,

Canberra, Australia (originally in English)

On January 18, 2003, five hundred and thirty homes were destroyed, four people died, and many more were burned while trying to save their dwellings during a devastating brushfire in Australia's capital city Canberra, but my mother's life and house were saved from the flames by a miracle! How it happened can only be described as Divine intervention.

At 9:00 AM on January 18, my mother telephoned me from her home in Duffy, a Canberra suburb. It was very unusual for her to call so early and I became curious. "Please come and pick me up and take me somewhere," she said. "Where do you want to go?" asked my husband, knowing that my mother never liked to leave her home, especially on weekends. "I don't care. Just take me somewhere," she replied.

My husband then went to pick her up, and when they arrived back at my home, I asked her, "Mum, what's the trouble? Are you sick or something?" "No," she said, "I only had this feeling to come to your house today." So we settled down, thinking that everything was all right. But after lunch I noticed that Mum seemed very gloomy. She told me she wanted to go back to her house, because she had an anxious feeling about it.

As we were talking about going back to Duffy, the phone rang. It was a representative of the Red Cross, which looks after my mother. She told us to take Mum out of Duffy, because a bushfire was getting dangerously close to the suburb. We had hardly finished talking to the Red Cross representative when the phone rang again. It was my daughter, Ildik? who said, "Mum, turn on the radio and listen to the news" because the bushfire had already reached Duffy. As soon as I put the phone down, my son Árpád knocked on the door and when I answered he said, "Mum, Duffy is in danger. We have to go to Grandma's house and pick her up."

My mother was still insisting on going home to get her medication so at 3:00 PM my husband put her in his car and set out, but when they got to the road to Duffy, the fire was already raging. The smoke was so thick that the street lights had turned on automatically, and visibility was only 10 meters. The opposite side of the road was all alight, and everything was burning - trees, grass, houses. My husband then turned back because of the flames and smoke.

Next, my son decided to go to Mum's house to pick up the medication. But at Duffy, he was stopped by the police three times and told not to go on. When he finally got through to Mum's house, the house next door was already on fire, and burning fiercely. He and his partner then began to hose down Mum's house, trying to keep the fire from reaching it. Inside, the house was full of smoke and soot that had entered through the open windows. The grass and fruit trees in Mum's backyard had burned to within one meter of the house. My son stayed there until midnight, fighting the fire and defending his grandmother's property, and through God's grace, the house was eventually saved.

I have no doubt that it was a Divine miracle that saved my mother's life and her only possessions, for which she and my father had worked all in their lives. God's help also was revealed through the members of the Sydney and Canberra Supreme Master Ching Hai International Associations, who collected money to help my mother repaint her damaged kitchen. I pray to Almighty God to return their kindness a thousand times, and to save them from ever experiencing the kinds of terrible events that we underwent during the recent bushfire.

 

Health Improves Quickly with Master's Help!

 

Narrated by brother initiate Mario Roberto Falatycki, Brazil
Recorded by brother Huang, Brazil (originally in Portuguese)

For ten years, my fiancée, who only recently heard about Master, has had a disease called thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), which affects the victim's blood plasma, and can result in death without proper treatment. Because hers was the first case of TTP identified in Brazil, her family had to bring in a Canadian specialist and spend a great deal of money to properly diagnose and treat the illness.

The treatments she has to undergo are very tiring. Each time she must spend several hours connected to a special machine in order to extract the plasma from her blood and replace it with donated plasma from a blood bank. For her first three treatments, she required hospitalization for more than 60 days, and was sedated for each of more than a hundred plasma exchanges. During these times, she felt very weak from undergoing the arduous process, and always needed a lot of time to recover.

Finally, she decided to go to one of her treatments with a necklace bearing Master's picture, and asked for Master's help. This time, she had a very rapid recovery and did not need to be hospitalized, which surprised the attending physicians, who could not explain the sudden change. But we all know that it was due to Master's blessing force! Although her disease is a great burden, my fiancée's life has become easier and happier through Master's divine help.

Master Tells Stories

Human Wisdom

Makes Us Masters of All Creatures

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Japan, October 26, 1991 (originally in Chinese)

An Indian farmer and his child were toiling in the fields. It was almost dark by the time they had finished their work and the farmer said to the child, "Wow! It's getting dark! Quickly pack up the tools and run. Let's run quickly!"

"Relax. We're not far from home and we know the way home. Why are you in such a panic?" asked the child.

"There's something you don't know. I'm generally fearless. I'm not afraid of tigers or lions. I'm only afraid of the night. When the night comes, I'm completely powerless. The night is most terrifying to me. I'm really frightened of it. I can't stand it," answered the farmer.

It so happened that a lion was hiding nearby and overheard their conversation. "What's this thing called 'the night'? How could it be more fearful than I am? I must find out about it," the lion mused as it moved closer to the farmer, hoping to learn more about this "night" that was even more frightening than itself.

Then darkness fell and the farsighted farmer couldn't see nearby objects clearly. He only saw the vague outline of an animal approaching, thought it was the donkey he had recently lost, and beat the lion several times, saying, "I've been looking for you all day. Where have you been? How dare you come back so late?"

"This is the end of me," the lion thought with regret. "How could I have been so stupid as to come so close to this thing called 'the night' that beat me just now? It's really horrifying. What should I do now?" As these thoughts flashed through the lion's mind, the farmer again slapped it several times, urging it to go home with him. The petrified lion then obediently followed the farmer back to his house.

It was even darker when they reached home. Since the farmer continued to mistake the lion for his donkey, he tied it in a corner outside his house before he went to bed. That night, the lion stayed out in the cold, starving, petrified and not knowing what to expect of "the night" when morning dawned. It believed that the farmer was "the night."

Early the next morning, before dawn broke, the farmer got up and took his "donkey" to the fields. On the way, another lion passed by and found it hilarious to see a lion obediently following a farmer. It then approached the captive lion and asked, "What are you doing? Why are you walking behind this man?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down and leave quickly. Don't you know that this being walking in front is something called 'the night.' He's very terrible. Last night, he beat me and shackled me, leaving me cold and starving the entire night. I have no idea where he's taking me now. Run along or your life will be in danger!"

After hearing this story, the other lion said, "You're incredible. You idiot! You're a lion, the king of animals! You've been deceived! Just roar at him now and you'll know who is more terrifying." The lion accepted his advice and roared loudly, so the farmer took a closer look. Now that the sky had become brighter, he saw that it was a lion. Wow! He bolted like lightning, and the lion was free again.

The moral of this story is that we humans have wisdom, immense power and status. However, if we're stupid, ignorantly follow the Prince of the Devils, and are thus controlled by karma, we can't possibly be liberated. However, if another soul who knows who he is and is not afraid comes to teach us what to do, we can be liberated. This is what an Enlightened Master does.

There's a similar Aulacese story that I may as well tell you.

A farmer and his buffalo had a hard day plowing the fields. Both were exhausted, but since the work wasn't finished, the farmer beat the buffalo repeatedly, urging it to work faster. The buffalo was panting, with saliva dripping from its mouth and its tongue hanging out, and it was almost breathless, yet it still had to work ceaselessly.

A tiger was hunting for food nearby and saw the man and the buffalo, but couldn't decide which one to eat first. As it looked on, its curiosity was aroused. "This is strange! How could it happen?" It decided to postpone its meal and continue its observation. The buffalo was so huge and strong, yet it was subservient to a little farmer and obeyed its instructions. It dared not resist even when beaten. The tiger was baffled and dared not take a chance for fear of a hidden mystery.

After some time, the farmer stopped for a rest and found a place to take his meal and nap. The tiger then quietly approached the buffalo, which could only take a break and eat some hay during that time. The tiger came closer and shook its head, saying to itself, "How pitiful! It works so hard and yet eats so little. I really don't have the heart to eat it!" It came up to the buffalo and asked, "Excuse me! I don't mean to offend you, but I really must ask. You're so huge and strong and you have two sharp horns. You can kill the farmer with one kick. So why do you obey him? You've toiled for half a day. He beats you and you still continue to work. Only now has he given you a break but he only feeds you hay. What kind of animal are you? Why are you afraid of him? He's many times smaller than you!"

"You have no idea. I'm stronger and bigger than he is, but this little man has a very terrific weapon," said the buffalo. "I have no choice but to obey him because his weapon is truly powerful! Don't ask any more questions because you're filling me with shame. We don't have this weapon and that's why we're inferior to him!"

Then the tiger became even more curious and said, "Oh! Please! Please tell me. I've never heard about this. I've never been here before and have never seen such things!"

The buffalo took its time chewing the grass, and then closed its eyes and said, "Aah! Why must you ask about this?"

"I want to learn. This is a rare opportunity!" The tiger implored the buffalo. "I may not run into the same situation again. I usually stay in the mountains and have never seen this. I have the chance to see it only because I ventured down here today!"

"Since you're so sincere, I'll tell you!" said the buffalo. "The weapon is wisdom. Since humans have this thing called wisdom as their weapon, we animals are all dominated by them, no matter how big, fierce or strong we are. Do you understand?"

"No! I've never heard of it!"

"All right! Enough!" the buffalo continued. "Please stop annoying me and let me take a nap!"

The tiger then pondered for a long time, thinking, "What exactly is this weapon that's so powerful? I must see it. My mother never told me about it. If I can learn about it, I'll be more powerful than anyone, including my grandma, grandpa, dad and mom because they don't know about such a thing. We were never taught about this weapon in school."

Next the tiger waited patiently for the farmer to return. Though it remained skeptical, never having been conquered by any other animal before, fear stirred its heart and generated in it some respect for human beings. When the farmer arrived, the tiger held its forepaws together and respectfully asked him, "I heard that you have a 'weapon of wisdom' that gives you control over everything, including huge, strong animals like me. I beg you to let me take a look at it. I've never seen such a thing. Besides, I'm still skeptical about what I've heard. Your body is very small so how can you carry such a big weapon that allows you to control enormous animals like us?"

"Of course, this weapon is so big that I can't carry it with me all the time, so I left it at home," said the farmer.

"Will you please go home and bring it here so I can have a look?" asked the tiger.

"Of course, but I think this is a hoax. You don't really want to see my weapon. You only want me to go home so you can eat or abduct my buffalo," said the farmer. "What if I don't find you or the buffalo when I return carrying the huge 'weapon of wisdom' with such great effort? I won't do it."

"That's not true. I sincerely want to see your 'weapon of wisdom.' I've never seen it before. Oh, please! Go home and bring it here so I can take a look," the tiger begged. "Really, I'm not deceiving you. I won't eat your buffalo. I'll wait for you here."

"All right, if you want me to believe you, then you have to let me bind you to a tree before I go home to fetch it. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll do something evil after I leave," said the farmer.

"Of course, that's no problem! Tie me up quickly," said the tiger, extending its legs and allowing the farmer to tie them to a tree trunk with rattan. And before the farmer walked away, the tiger even urged him, "Please come back soon!"

The farmer did return very quickly with a huge stick. "This is my wisdom," he said, as he killed the tiger with the stick.

The on-looking buffalo laughed until it was breathless! It laughed so hard that its head rolled back and forth, hitting a rock and knocking out its teeth. Since that day, old buffaloes have been without teeth. This is one of our Aulacese stories, very similar to the previous one about the lion, though the moral is not very similar.

Therefore, we humans are truly the masters of all animals. We're honored to be the king of animals. Originally, God told us to take care of the animals, but in the end we dominate them instead. Good grief! We're truly "honored!" So these are our stories. The story about "the night" is lovelier, isn't it?

The Sentient World of Animals

The Story of a Vegetarian Cat -- Little Bighead

Narrated by sister initiate Liu Meiyun, Taipei, Formosa

Recorded by sister initiate Shi Ruichun (originally in Chinese)

Can a cat be vegetarian? Most veterinarians would say, "That's impossible. I've never heard of it. A cat would rather die than be a vegetarian!" However, Sister Liu has an amazing little cat named Bighead that is strictly vegetarian, refusing to touch any food that smells of flesh, or even vegetarian "meat." Below are some wonderful episodes about this unusual feline.

God must have arranged for sister Liu to meet Bighead. After her initiation, sister Liu did not keep pets, because she had to maintain a vegetarian diet and did not like the odor of animals. Then one day, she moved into a new home. After settling in, she found a small, scrawny wild cat on the stairs of her apartment building, and for a few days put out a plate of milk and crackers for the cat.

Sister Liu teaches English at home, and one day before class began, the hairless little cat followed her students into her apartment. However, sister Liu, who loves cleanliness, did not want to keep the animal and sent her away. That night, some fellow initiates came to sister Liu's home for group meditation, and someone suggested that she adopt the helpless feline. The following day, when sister Liu saw the cat on the stairs, she opened the door and spoke to her, saying, "If you want to live with me, you have to be vegetarian like me." Then she began to count from one to ten and decided that she would close the door if the little cat did not come in before she finished counting. But when she reached eight, the cat unhurriedly walked in and thereafter became a member of her family.

What exactly does Bighead eat? I am sure everyone must be very curious about that! Bighead eats cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts, papayas, persimmons, apples, pears, celery, cabbage, tomatoes, vegetarian meat floss, crackers and even potted golden pothos. She especially loves cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts and sweet and sour food. Even now, new items are being added to her menu! Another thing that deserves special mention is that Bighead prefers a light diet. She refuses vegetarian food that has a smell resembling that of flesh. It is incredible! We know that a cat has no molars, so how does Bighead chew her food? Sister Liu chews the food first and then places tiny morsels, each time no bigger than a mung bean, on her palm to feed the cat. Each meal takes as long as an hour. In the beginning, Bighead was unable to control her jaws well and her teeth would scratch sister Liu's fingers, but now the clever cat has learned to lick her food and not hurt her master. From this we can see that animals too have feelings and can be very understanding.

When sister Liu took Bighead to the vet for the first time, the animal was very defensive and fierce. By the third time, however, she had become meek and quiet, and was very cooperative. At first the vet did not believe cats could be vegetarian, but later he laughed and said that Bighead would soon be "enlightened," and through this incident became acquainted with Master's teachings. Under careful treatment, the hairless cat began to grow fur again, and because of her vegetarian diet, does not possess the animal odor that pets usually do.

Bighead is a spiritual "Quan Yin" cat. She moves around quietly among the initiates when they come for group meditation, and after meditation, one of the brothers often finds Bighead sitting motionless on his knees, just as though she is meditating. When the initiates are preparing to leave after each meditation session, she sits on the cushion of every one for a while in order to get blessings. Bighead is also sister Liu's alarm clock. Every morning, the cat wakes her up to remind her that it is time for meditation!

Since she began to eat vegetarian food, Bighead has become mild in temperament and has a pleasant demeanor, which makes her popular among both adults and children. However she is sensitive, too. She hides herself when strangers come but rushes out to welcome initiates. When sister Liu's students come for class, she hides, but when initiates' children come to her home, she plays with them and lets them caress her. What a lovely cat!

Bighead lives a happy, carefree life at sister Liu's home, where she enjoys skating on the clean floor and somersaults when she is alone. Sister Liu has learned the virtues of love and patience from Bighead, and now understands that all animals have spirituality within, the only difference being that they speak different languages. Bighead is another testimony to the fact that pets can be vegetarian, which makes them healthier and gives them prettier coats of fur. (Please refer to "Timely Vegetarian Diet Saves Dogs," News magazine No. 134.) Do you want to have a try at sister Liu's lifestyle? Perhaps your pet will be the next happy vegetarian cat or dog!

 

 

Two Wise and Perceptive Dogs

By a Quan Yin Messenger

On May 7, 2002, while I was traveling through Panama border by bus, the local customs officers asked all the passengers to line up their luggage for a drug inspection by a specially trained dog.

The dog faithfully discharged his duty by sniffing each piece of luggage without exception. However, when he came to my two bags, he walked past without taking a single sniff. And when he turned around to check the other side of the same row of luggage, he sniffed each piece just as before but again avoided sniffing mine. He thus diligently checked all the other passengers' bags, but skipped mine twice. I thought this was incredible and became very curious. Why was the dog so certain that he did not need to check my luggage? It might be reasonable to say that he was very sensitive and aware that it was unnecessary to check my bags because I truly was not carrying any drugs. However, everyone else's luggage also passed the inspection, which meant that they were not carrying drugs either. Yet the dog had still checked each of the other pieces of luggage with his "professional nose." The only explanation I could think of was that Master's photo in my luggage was shining, or that there was an invisible sign on my bags giving the dog the instant message that inspection was not necessary.

On a different occasion, I visited another country and found that there was a "resident" dog at the local center that was also very wise and sensitive. She could distinguish fellow initiates from non-initiates even when she was over a hundred meters from a visitor and behind the center's gate. If a guest came who was not a fellow initiate, she would bark and charge out. But if the guest was a fellow initiate, she would rush out to greet him or her but not bark.

She never once barked at me after I arrived at the center, but instead guarded me constantly, sometimes squatting outside my room or office but never trespassing inside. And when I went to different corners of the center, she would immediately follow me. She was also very friendly to all the other Quan Yin messengers who visited the center. The dog was really a good guardian, being huge in size and seriously guarding the center every day. Many people feared her for she would sometimes bite.

Several fellow initiates related experiences of how the dog had barked at them and even tried to bite them before they were initiated, and how she stopped doing so after their initiations. It seems that initiation endowed us with a special sign or vibration that let the dog detect a very obvious difference. However, the dog still barked at the few initiates who perhaps did not practice seriously enough.

The dog also had telepathic ability and always understood when someone tried to communicate with her. For example, a sister initiate once came to see the resident Quan Yin messenger very late at night about an urgent matter, and the dog slipped out of the bushes near the entrance gate to greet her. The sister then told her to go in first, and she obeyed immediately. On another occasion, the sister was assigned to sell a car belonging to the center. When she led the buyers in to tow the car away, the dog ran around the vehicle in panic. However, once the sister had explained that the car was being sold on Master's instructions, she became quiet and sat down calmly. The sister spoke Chinese, not the Spanish spoken locally, yet the dog understood her. One day, I was thinking that this dog was very responsible, and the only pity was that she did not occasionally act like a cute, playful child. Then a short while later, she came over and poked at my feet with her nose, trying to play with me.

The dog had originally arrived at the center by herself, and some of us jokingly said that she was sent by God with a special mission to look after the place. Her friend, also a large member of the same breed, often came to visit her. The friend eventually left, but the dog continued to stay, never abandoning her duty or slipping out to play. Not long ago, when she knew the place was in good hands, she succumbed to old age and died alone in peace beside a small stream that runs through the center. We all miss her very much!

Master once said, "Many dogs can see people's spiritual auras. That's why some dogs bark at certain people, but don't bark at others. So there's a thing such as spiritual power or different energy from different people." (Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai in English, during the Four-day Christmas Retreat in Florida, December 26, 2001, News No. 131) The stories of these two dogs are testimonies to the truth behind Master's words!

 

 

The Sentient World of Animals The Protective Mother Eel

From ancient Chinese folklore

In ancient China, there lived an educated man named Zhou Yu. One day, his friend brought him some fresh eels, a delicacy that Zhou Yu liked very much. Having little to do that day, Zhou Yu wanted to try his culinary skills, which he had long left unused, and prepared to make a batch of unseasoned eel stew.

He placed the eels in a pot, and when the stew began to boil, Zhou Yu lifted the lid and saw an extraordinary phenomenon. One of the eels had pushed its abdomen upward in an arch, leaving its head and tail in the soup. With great curiosity, Zhou Yu immediately spooned the eel out of the soup and cut open its abdomen. To his amazement, he saw countless eggs inside. In order to protect its spawn, the mother eel had struggled to prevent hot water from hurting its abdomen by pushing its body into an arch.

The sight left Zhou Yu dumbfounded, and he could not contain his tears. Even an eel knew how to protect its eggs, he thought, yet he, the highest of all creatures, had not been filial to his mother. Deeply moved, Zhou Yu vowed never to eat eel again. And he loved and respected his mother evermore.

 

While on the Path

Becoming Vegetarian Enhances Spirituality

By brother initiate Motoharu Saito, Tokyo, Japan (originally in Japanese)

Before meeting Master, I was a long way from a vegetarian lifestyle, as I consumed meat and fish, smoked a pack of cigarettes a day and drank liquor and beer. I thought that a person who did not drink sake (Japanese rice wine) or eat sashimi (raw fish) was not truly Japanese. Occasionally, I even went out to drink at restaurants, ate thirty skewers of roast chicken at one sitting and could not give up these habits.

At that time, I weighed nearly a hundred kilograms, was taking increasing amounts of medication for hypertension, and experienced numbness in my head and trembling in my hands. Becoming worried about my condition, I decided to visit a chiropractic school where I had a long term interest. Under the guidance of a teacher there, I began to learn about the Supreme Master Ching Hai.

During this period, I began to give up meat and fish, and through a simple calculation, determined that by eating 300 grams of meat daily I was consuming over 100 kg a year - more than my weight in dead animals! When I realized that my body was comprised of material from dead animals, I stopped eating meat.

I also noticed that I had lost the desire to smoke and so discontinued smoking altogether. I stopped drinking liquor as well because after drinking, instead of getting a hangover the next day, I immediately got a headache. I soon discovered many delicious vegetarian meals, and naturally began to follow a vegetarian diet, but was concerned about whether I could maintain it. As I proceeded with my diet, my understanding of Master's teachings deepened as well.

On November 3, 2001, I was initiated, and at the time was still worried about how long I could adhere to a vegetarian diet and continue practicing spirituality because I felt I lacked sufficient endurance. But now my health has greatly improved, and I am enjoying a deeper spiritual nature. I am anxious to know what my original role and purpose in this life are. These questions push me forward to continue practicing.

In addition, many fellow initiates helped me before my initiation and continue to do so today, giving me feelings of comfort, peace and security with or without words, and I ask myself, "Is this spiritual power?" Now, I drive two hours on the expressway, two or three times a month, to join in group meditation, in order to obtain more of this power.

From now on, I will live as a person who can give encouragement and comfort to others, even if I meet death tomorrow. I am grateful to Supreme Master Ching Hai for arranging my life every day.

:

Beautiful People and Beautiful Events

Love Is the Best Remedy

Narrated by brother initiate Chen Wei-Hwa, Taipei, Formosa

Recorded by the Taipei News Group

In Her lecture "To Know God We Must Be God" delivered in Rome, Italy on May 22, 1999, Master said, "Every time we act kindly to people, we create a great Heaven between us and that person, and also in the surroundings." Brother Chen Wei-Hwa has observed this principle in his career as a physician. Free from the desire for fame and fortune, and simply doing what he has to do, brother Chen recently won unexpected recognition when he received the Eight-Virtue Award, the highest distinction among the national "Good People, Good Deeds" awards granted by the Association for Citing Good People and Good Deeds R.O.C. Brother Chen will now devote even greater effort to his education and to lighting the flame of love in order to share Master's great care and compassion with all! May love light up every corner of the world and bring eternal peace and health to humankind.

Meeting Master through God's Grace

During my childhood and youth, I lived under the high expectations of my parents, eventually entering medical school and becoming a gynecologist and obstetrician. As I look back at my past, I clearly realize that God has always taken good care of me, and my gratitude is beyond words.

On the operating table at the hospital where I work, I often welcome the arrival of new lives. I have also seen many patients reach the end of the journey of their lifetimes. The two extreme situations of great joy and deep sorrow brought about by these events used to mystify me about the ultimate meaning of life, and I wondered, "Who actually rules our lives?" Many times I attended Buddhist retreats or worshipped Buddha's statues seeking an answer to this question, but nothing could help resolve the ongoing puzzle in my mind. However, these concerns gradually faded in the midst of my busy life as a doctor until I went to study in Oxford, England. When I read the wonderful lectures by Supreme Master Ching Hai published in the overseas edition of Formosa's Central Daily News, I suddenly felt enlightened, and the true meaning of life became clear to me, filling my soul with indescribable joy. Master's words printed every other week in the Central Daily News became the spiritual food that I craved.

It was a remarkable arrangement by God that in the last year of my study in England, Brother Loh from Formosa's National Defense Medical Center also came to study at Oxford, where he set up a local center for group meditation. With great happiness, I learned the Convenient Method, and began practicing meditation and vegetarianism. However, just as I was preparing for initiation, my father informed me that my mother was undergoing a serious illness and I rushed home. Two operations failed to save my mother's life. At this time I shared with my father the precious teachings of Supreme Master Ching Hai, and he decided to become a vegetarian and request initiation. Mother's death made me realize the urgency of pursuing spirituality. A few months later, on my flight home with my wife and children after completing my overseas studies, we began to follow a strict vegetarian diet, and sought initiation upon returning to Formosa.

About three months later, Master came back to Formosa, and on a holiday just before a typhoon, our whole family went to Hsihu for initiation. My wife was frightened and anxious on the highway as dark clouds loomed in the sky, but for me it was one opportunity in thousands of eons to be initiated by a living Master. Thank God, we were all initiated into the Quan Yin Method that day. Without my father's cultivation and Master's grace for bestowing on me a new life through our initiation, I would not be the person I am today.

Divine Blessings in the Operating Room

Since my initiation, Master's power has often graced my work and the lives of my patients. Practicing medicine in my hospital's maternity department is an honor as I can always see the radiance of true love in every mother-to-be. The magnetic field in the baby room is extremely tranquil and beautiful. Being the director of the department, I sometimes have to deliver babies for patients experiencing difficult labor during childbirth, or perform surgery in special cases. During these operations, I often find myself in a dilemma as to how I should continue. For example, once I was removing tumors from the uterus of a young patient while trying to preserve her womb. After I had removed dozens of tumors, my hands felt weak, but there were still some more to be severed. As I prayed for Master's blessing and repeated the Holy Names, I completed the operation smoothly before I even noticed it.

On another occasion some years ago, a female patient was brought into the emergency room, suffering from liver exhaustion with the complications of serious anemia, a shortage of blood platelets and low white blood cell count. And then I discovered that she was already eight months pregnant. In a group consultation, doctors from various departments told the patient's family that her life would be in danger whether she had a Caesarean section or natural birth. However, the woman decided to have her baby anyway. After examining her situation, I decided to go for a natural induction. Apart from taking all the necessary precautions such as giving a blood transfusion and injecting preventive antibiotics, I also recited the Holy Names and asked Master to bless the mother and child during the birth. As a result, both were miraculously safe except for the expected postpartum (after-birth) bleeding. Without the great power of Master and the Quan Yin Method as supports, I would not have been able to overcome so many difficulties on the operating table.

The Soul-touching Light of Motherly Love

As I have learned in many other touching incidents during my years of medical service, love is always the best remedy for any illness or problem. For example, I once told a sensitive mother-to-be that her five-month-old fetus was suffering from a congenital harelip and cleft palate, and she soon experienced enormous pressure from her family demanding that she have an abortion. I then had a sincere talk with the woman, hoping that she would be brave enough to keep the baby. Besides, I introduced her to some volunteer workers from a Formosan foundation for children with harelip, who were also mothers, to share her experiences. Finally, the woman decided to keep her baby. Then, on seeing her grandson's face, the patient's mother-in-law gave her a sharp reprimand without considering her exhausted condition after labor. I felt heartbroken and could not contain my tears. However, the radiance of maternal love enabled the new mother to overcome her difficulties and helped her through the two surgeries that restored the innocent and pure countenance of her baby. So strong were the woman's spirit of respect for life and the radiance of motherly love that each time I look at the sweet, innocent smile in the photo of her one-year-old baby I feel greatly touched and encouraged.

On another occasion, a young mother who was four months pregnant was suffering from a premature water break (leakage of amniotic fluid that surrounds a fetus). Disregarding her own health and the risk of infection, she gave up her secure job to stay in bed for four months to ensure the safe delivery of a fully developed baby. Such a condition during pregnancy often causes bacterial infection, which can lead to blood poisoning in the mother. To avoid medical disputes in such cases, physicians normally recommend an abortion. While praying in my heart to Master for help, I analyzed the risks to the woman and her family members, hoping that we could work together to preserve the little life in this crisis.

Thanks to Master, both the mother and baby ultimately were safe and sound. When the mother returned with her month-old baby for outpatient services and invited me to have a photo taken with her and her child, I was delighted to see the happy family. I was also deeply touched by the great courage and love of the young mother, who had disregarded her own safety and economic pressures to ensure her baby's survival. There are many similar stories in my medical career that affirm the truth, virtue and beauty in Master's teachings! Master has enabled me to experience life more profoundly through such events, and even though I help others through my profession, I feel I am actually the main beneficiary and receive the greatest benefit.

Awarded for Meticulous Love

Last year, the hospital informed me that in December 2002 I would be receiving the Eight-Virtue Award from the Association for Citing Good People and Good Deeds R.O.C. In recent years, gaining promotions in my career and holding the concurrent positions of physician, associate professor and hospital administrator have brought me greater responsibilities and obligations. In addition to my research in the life sciences, I have promoted medical education by organizing courses for maternity nursing staff and by encouraging the hospital's medical personnel to participate in on-the-job training. With regard to medical service, I established the Spicy Mom and Cool Dad Club to teach future parents the Lamaze (natural) childbirth delivery technique in order to lessen their pain and anxieties resulting from labor. I also opened the Happy Mother Delivery Room in which women wait, deliver and are observed after childbirth to eliminate the pain of changing beds. In addition, I encourage future fathers to stay around during their wives' labor so that husband and wife can welcome the arrival of their babies together. After a child is born, we present to the parents a congratulatory card bearing the footprint of the baby and marking its first step into life. I also suggest that mothers and children share a room and encourage breast-feeding to increase their interactions. The new mothers' diet is carefully planned by nutritionists to keep mother and baby in excellent physical, mental and spiritual health, thus ensuring a cozy and loving environment during their waiting period and in childbirth. In this way, not only do new babies enjoy parental love and care at birth, but the love between husband and wife is also enhanced while waiting for their baby. And thus family happiness further contributes to social harmony and contentment.

With these ideas in mind, I worked with the hospital staff to re-organize the obstetrics department, delivery room, baby room, maternity ward, outpatient department and nutrition department, in order to create a friendly, family-centered environment for those experiencing childbirth. Not only have many pregnant women benefited from these innovations, but the working staff has also been delighted, while the hospital enjoys a better reputation. I feel it was due to our overall efforts that I received the Eight-Virtue Award. A single person cannot accomplish much. Without a common goal and concerted effort by everyone involved, a good ideal can only remain a dream. The Award is thus the result of our teamwork.

Conclusion

For almost two decades, Master has been silently bringing light and peace into a world of turmoil, leading disciples in a global effort to create a beautiful tomorrow. In comparison, what I have done is less than a millionth of Master's achievements. I deeply understand that many people anonymously give much more to society than I do, and so are more worthy of receiving the Good People, Good Deeds Award. God's arrangements mean that I should work harder in spiritual practice in order to do a better job for God in the future!

I am lucky to be graced by God's love. Had I not been initiated by Master, I would have led a busy life, caring for patients, teaching students, doing research and blindly pursuing fame and fortune. Since I began to practice the Quan Yin Method, however, I have gone beyond such material pursuits and experienced God's love and blessings, which I share with anyone in need. In fulfilling the role of a physician, I thus feel a worthiness that is beyond language.

On the path of spiritual practice, there is much for me to do, and I sincerely pray that Master's almighty power will bless me with further progress in spiritual growth and family harmony. Let me continue to be God's instrument in benefiting more deserving people through my work!

An Interview with the author was broadcast by Sun TV in Serial No. 39 of the A Journey through Aesthetic Realms TV program. For online viewing, please visit:
http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/hichannel/index.htm (In Chinese, wtih English subtitles)

 

Story World

Remembrances of the Early Years with Master -- The Divine Love between Master and Disciples

By Wild Grass

On October 2, 1985 my life changed forever. That day, Supreme Master Ching Hai was invited by Reverend Hui Yin, abbot of Formosa's Long Shan Temple, to deliver a talk to temple devotees. When I went to the Temple that evening, I was not aware that a true Master was going to give a discourse. I only saw a petite female monastic, wearing a brown Buddhist robe, paying respects to the Quan Yin Bodhisattva. The moment my eyes fell on Her graceful appearance, however, my heart and my soul trembled; I simply could not take my eyes off of Her for a second. The way in which She worshipped the Buddha was so graceful and pious that I could feel the Buddha was right there before me. But while other people worshipped, the Buddha seemed to be as far away as the horizon. Then, after Reverend Hui Yin's introduction, I knew that the monastic was Master Ching Hai, Who had been invited to give a discourse at the Temple for the first time.

That day, Master spoke in both English and Chinese. I can only remember that the whole audience was laughing and very happy during the lecture. However, I was pondering whether this Master would accept me as Her disciple. Only a day earlier, I had fervently requested of the Quan Yin Bodhisattva, "I want a living Master who can teach me!" Unexpectedly, the Master appeared the next day.

Later, I found out about Master's address in Neihu and immediately inquired about how to get there. I took a bus, changed buses halfway, asked for guidance on the road, and found myself lost several times. Finally, I reached the district where Master lived. It was a new district that was large but where few houses had numbers on them. Each time when I felt lost and frustrated someone would appear "coincidentally" to show me the way. Of course, later I realized that it was Master manifesting in physical forms coming to help me. Someone told me that when I finally reached Her abode, Master told Her disciples, "I knew she was coming."

There happened to be a three-day retreat in progress, and non-initiates were not supposed to enter. However, Master considered that I had travelled a long way, and would very likely not be able to attend the initiation in time if I went back home and returned the next day; since the initiation was to be held early on the morning after the retreat. Thus, She kindly allowed me to stay overnight. During the initiation the following day, while enjoying various inner visions, I thought, "Wow! Really! Whatever Master mentioned during the instructions has actually appeared!"

Master's quarters were situated on a mountainside, and regional rain showers were frequent in the area. So I often went out in sunny weather, only to run into such torrential downpours when I arrived that even an umbrella did not help much, and I had to bring along another set of clothes to change into. When we initiates knew that a typhoon was coming, we felt a greater urge than usual to see Master in order to ease our worry about Her. Once, when Master saw us all wet and like a flock of "vegetarian chickens in soup," She felt very sorry for us and said, "There's a typhoon raging outside. You're out of your minds!"

Our compassionate Master never forgot to share with us anything that She had. Sometimes, when we bade farewell and left in a hurry because we had to catch the last bus home, Master would call us from the balcony, and then rain down blessed food fully charged with love. In the dark, we did our best to grab the food, while our hearts were warmed by Master's love. Looking back after reaching the end of the lane in front of Her home, we could still see the silhouette of Master waving to us.

Due to the remote location of her residence, few people could go to the group meditations held there each day. I myself had to spend four hours on the road to and from the place, and sometimes could only meditate half an hour with Master; yet those were the most precious moments of my life. After meditation, Master would sit on the floor with us and give enlightening and highly enjoyable talks.

These happy times passed very quickly, and Master soon had to leave Formosa because Her visa was about to expire. The duration of Her absence was six months. During this period, we fellow practitioners could only try our best to have group meditations and encourage each other, while hoping to hear news about Master. We all missed Master very much, and wished that we could have had wings to fly to Her. Then one day, I went alone to clean up the place where Master had stayed. Upon opening the door, the first thing I saw was Master's robe on the altar, and I seemed to see Master appear before me. Suddenly, all my emotions exploded into tears. I cried and fell on the floor. In my heart, I kept asking, "Master! When are You going to come back?" When Master eventually returned from India, She asked, "Who was the one who cried so fiercely that I had to come back even though I didn't want to?"

When Master was abroad, we missed Her so much that we even looked in the telephone directory and found the address of the Jisiang Temple where She had held Her retreats in earlier years. We then went to visit the Temple, which was a truly serene place. When we mentioned Master's name to an elderly lay practitioner there, she immediately revealed that the local people also missed Her very much. In addition, she told us about Master's diligent practice and humble attitude while She was there. The practitioner then led us to a place some distance behind the main premises. There we saw a small house built of very crude bricks. Even the wash basin was simply constructed with only a few bricks. This was the small meditation room where the living Master had held Her solitary retreats. Our merciful Master travelled such a burdensome spiritual path in order to bring peace and happiness to sentient beings!

 

 

The Box that Was Just Right

By a Quan Yin messenger

In 1993, when Master gave Her first lecture in Austria, Her humor and wit brought buoyant laughter to the whole audience. However, the way in which She made everyone so happy was really beyond our wildest imagination!

Master usually gave Her lectures in a spontaneous way through inner contact and interaction with the audience.

As Master walked into the hall and was seated before the lecture in Austria, there were two or three attendants including me standing close to the stage. While the emcee was speaking, Master looked at me and pointed to that small, flannel-covered box. She shook Her head to express dissatisfaction with it and instructed me to find a substitute immediately. Since this action was unexpected and sudden, I did not know where to find a replacement and felt very anxious. Having no other choice, I took the smallest paper box I could find, wrapped it with a piece of cloth, and gave it to another attendant to exchange for the flannel box. But that attendant was extremely nervous and asked, "Do I really have to do this in front of the audience?" Finally, she was brave enough to do so.

After the attendant put the paper box on the table in place of the flannel one, Master's body was totally blocked by the new box, with only Her face showing. She nonetheless conducted Her lecture like this while looking at the audience with great effort. Because of this sudden strange turn of events, the audience members nearly split their sides with laughter. Master made a wry smile and jokingly indicated having no other alternative. The laughter lasted for a long time. Initially the atmosphere in the venue had been very somber and all the guests were quite serious. But now, suddenly the ambience became harmonious and light. But standing offstage, I could not laugh at all. Making Master feel embarrassed in front of the public seemed like a really big mistake! I thought, "How stupid I was! By any casual measurement one can tell that the box is too big, and yet I put it on the table! No, I have to take it back by all means. It's adversely affecting Master's appearance and of course the brother from the video team will never forgive me for this blunder."

So, I begged the attendant to bring the box back. As she also felt the same way I did, she approached the lecture table stealthily and tried to take it back. However, Master pressed down on the box with Her hand, stopping the attendant from removing it, and I was astonished. Thus in this novel way Master continued to give the lecture, and the audience remained very cheerful after the incident.

In order to open everyone's heart so that they all became relaxed and carefree, Master played out this comedy! A pleasant, high level vibration lingered in the venue throughout the rest of the lecture. Besides imparting to us superior and elegant spiritual teachings, Master also brought us feelings of innocence, joy and happiness. That's how Master always tries to make people in this world joyful and carefree.

Supreme Art

Bamboo Longevity Lamps Raise Supreme Art to New Heights

Designer: Supreme Master Ching Hai

Master recently designed twelve new Longevity Lamps of supreme elegance, each constructed of flawless bamboo. Since each piece of bamboo in nature is different in size, shape and texture, each Lamp is handcrafted to best display the characteristics of the material. Master gave special instructions that the original look of the bamboo should be preserved in the production process. So each Lamp is a unique artistic masterpiece. All twelve designs are ingeniously fitted with energy-saving bulbs or LED lights so that they can shine in their own wondrous form. And of course, Master confers a special meaning and infinite love on each Lamp as it shines.

Heavenly Bridge

The Heavenly Bridge of extreme brightness transports sentient beings back to their Home on the other shore.

Heavenly Rain

The tiny bamboo pieces on the Heavenly Rain lamp dance gracefully in the air like showers of light drops falling from Heaven to soothe longing souls.

Elixir Vase

The inexhaustible Light and love in the Elixir Vase never fail to quench the thirst of spiritual seekers.

God's Hand

Whose hand can protect sentient beings anytime and anywhere? The five rays of love radiating from the five fingers lead us to the Fifth Realm.

The Lucky Ba Gua

The Ba Gua (an octagonal diagram derived from the ancient Chinese book I-Ching) covers all aspects of our lives. Lighting the Lucky Ba Gua will ensure a happy existence in this world.

 

 

Blessing Light

Arrayed in radiating form, the bamboo strips represent the Light of blessing that shines on every corner of earth. Follow the Light of blessing and find your way back to the Source.

Spiritual Lotus

The wisdom eye is best represented by a pristine lotus, with a Wisdom Pearl shining forever in the middle.

Tai Chi

There is Yin inside Yang, and Yang inside Yin. Positivity and negativity interchange incessantly in this world of duality, but the Inner Light is above them all.

Tree of Life

Nourished by the Inner Light, the Tree of Life grows and blossoms into a wonderful form.

Embarking

Board this UFO for souls and embark on a journey to planets of great brightness.

Door of Heaven

Hidden in a seemingly sealed-off castle is the only Door of Heaven, to which only an Enlightened Master has the key.

Peace Beams

Gentle Peace Beams radiate in all directions, bringing tranquillity and calm to the hearts of sentient beings.

How to Contact Us

A Journey through Aesthetic Realms TV Program Videotapes
E-mail: art&spirituality@Godsdirectcontact.org
Fax : 1-413-751-0848 (USA)

News Group:
E-mail: lovenews@Godsdirectcontact.org
Fax: 1-801-7409196 or 886-946-728475

Book Department:
E-mail: divine@Godsdirectcontact.org
Fax: 1-240-352-5613 or 886-943-802829
(You are welcome to join us in translating
Master's books into other languages.)

Spiritual Information Desk:
E-mail: lovewish@Godsdirectcontact.org
Fax: 886-946-730699

S.M. Celestial Co., Ltd.
E-mail: smcj@ms34.hinet.net
Tel: 886-2-87910860 \ Fax: 886-2-87911226

The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co., Ltd. Taipei, Formosa.
E-mail: smchbooks@Godsdirectcontact.org
Tel: (886) 2-87873935 \ Fax: (886) 2-87870873

LA Center Bookstore
E-mail: la_bookstore@yahoo.com
Fax: 1-909-738-9992

For the latest information of our liaison practitioners worldwide, please visit the following URL:
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(Book order—I Have Come to Take You Home)

To subscribe to the E-mail version, so that it can to be sent to your personal e-mail account, please sign up at one of the following sites:

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URLs for The Supreme Master Ching Hai News magazine:

Traditional Chinese: 
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http://www.Godsdirectcontact.com/eNews/chinese/143 (U.S.A.)

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English:
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http://www.Godsdirectcontact.org/eng/news/143/ (U.S.A.)

http://godsimmediatecontact.net/news/news143/ (U.S.A.)

http://www.Godsdirectcontact.net/eng/news/143/index.htm (U.S.A.)

http://www.Godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/news/143/index.htm (Formosa)

Aulacese:
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French: http://www.contactdirectavecdieu.org/News/index.html  (France)

German: http://www.godsdirectcontact.de/ (Germany)

Thai: http://www.godsdirectcontact-thai.com/ (Thailand)

Websites for downloading the free sample booklet The Key of Immediate Enlightenment (in 50 plus Languages)

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http://www.direkter-kontakt-mit-gott.org/download/index.htm

http://www.godsdirectcontact.org/sample/   

 


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