Readers' Letter

Dear Supreme Master Ching Hai,

How are You? Each time I bathe in God's light and sound, I always wholeheartedly thank Hirm for the tremendous love and grace that Hes has bestowed upon the Earth, in giving us Hes most beloved daughter, who selflessly offers us this method of liberation.

Your being, vast as the ocean, warms each soul longing for liberation; Your compassionate love of a mother pervades the entire universe; and wherever I am, I can always feel Your omnipresent love. Innumerable words cannot express my gratitude to You. I can only repay You with the merit of my spiritual practice. Through meditation, I understand the profound mystery of the universe. Willingly, I let droplets of love dissolve into the world, and shine my feeble light onto the ocean of people surrounding me.

Dear venerable Master, I firmly believe we will meet one day. There is a line in an ancient Chinese poem, "I doubly miss my kin at festival times." However, I deeply feel, "I am doubly thankful at festival times." Let me once again thank God for Hes enormous love, thank You for Your compassion, and thank all of creation for their sustenance.

Living in South Africa, but having come from mainland China, my family and I miss You very much. We wish You good health and auspiciousness in everything!

Love,

My name is Debbie Skelton. I am 32 years old. Although my life has been generally unremarkable, I have spent a great deal of it searching for enlightenment by trying out different meditation methods, reading books, and joining religious organizations. Thus far, there has been no reliable method of attaining that realm.

After a while, it seemed to me that although there are many people willing to tell wondrous tales of rebirth into God's Kingdom and insights into heavenly mysteries, this blessed state was somehow reserved for them alone. The rest of us ordinary mortals have to sit around and hope like mad that if we faithfully practiced certain rituals, we would eventually be "spotted" by some heavenly force and be transported into a state of bliss.

Well, it never happened to me no matter how hard I visualized, prayed, meditated, etc. I even got to thinking that either these people had overactive imaginations or otherwise they were just making fun of or wasting the money of gullible idealists.

Despite this, hope springs eternal in the human heart! One day, several months ago when I was at work, (I work in the library in a city) I saw a booklet lying on someone's desk entitled "The Key of Immediate Enlightenment." I thought, "Ha! Now they are promising the impossible." I walked off rather crossly. But for some reason I was later drawn back to the little book. After having read the contents, my tune changed entirely; as I was amazed to discover that although some of the concepts were quite foreign, on the whole, You were offering on a plate exactly what I had been looking for all these years. You also offered a concrete promise that even an ordinary person, born without any special spiritual favors, could attain it on certain conditions.

Soon after this, I went to a book selection meeting and to my surprise I found another one entitled, "The Key of Immediate Enlightenment - Questions and Answers I." This had apparently been donated to the library, so I quickly made arrangements to acquire the second book. After having studied them thoroughly, I eventually made the commitment to follow the five precepts, and contacted the nearest liaison fellow practitioners regarding initiation.

I do sincerely long for spiritual awakening -- to be reborn into God's Kingdom, learn Hiers will, and strive towards becoming a fully "enlightened" being. This I wish to do for myself, my family and the world; as I believe it is high time that all humanity start taking responsibility for themselves. I would, therefore, like to follow the light of those who have gone before me; and perhaps, in some way, act as a beacon for others who shall follow later.

Thank You very much for reading this letter. I would be honored if You could let me have any information regarding initiation. Thank You most of all for not only enlightening us, but also for promising to transmit the light. Although I know that I lack the understanding of how fully precious and unique this gift is, I still wish to express insofar as I am able, my heartfelt love and gratitude towards You for Your work on Earth.

Love,

				  The soul groans
		  Blinded by its own ignorance
   Trapped by its own contorted efforts to struggle free
	 Must it exist in this eternity of errors
				Or is there a way
	Past the dead paths, the empty words?

	  The soul waits for the day it will rise
	  Ignited by God's blazing radiance;
			Dancing in the pure light
		Like a prism refracting the sun's rays;
	 The myriad colours expressing endless
		  Kaleidoscopes of creativity
			Born of love and wisdom
	   Drawn from the one Great source.