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The entertainment performed by our
fellow initiates for the inmates in Tainan Prison warmed
their hearts.
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Introducing
the Convenient Method of meditation to all the inmates
present.
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For
many years, fellow practitioners from the Tainan Center have been visiting
the "victims of our time" in the Tainan Detention House, the Tainan
Ming-Teh Open Prison, the Tainan Juvenile Detention and Classification House,
and the Tainan Prison.
Four
years ago, at a spiritual seminar held at the Tainan Prison, an inmate broke
into tears as he raised his hand to speak. He said that he had been in jail
for several years. Before his imprisonment, he had attended one of Master's
lectures in Tainan, but had failed to grasp the opportunity to be initiated.
Instead, something happened and he was put in jail for committing a crime.
Extremely frustrated, he wrote to Master requesting that an initiation be
held for him in jail, but unfortunately, this was impossible due to prison
regulations. In addition to comforting him with a reply letter, Master also
agreed to send someone to teach him the Convenient Method, hoping that he
would practice diligently during his imprisonment. During this time, he diligently
kept the vegetarian diet and practiced the Convenient Method. As a result,
he has had very good inner experiences that have further strengthened his
faith in seeking the Truth.
Although
there are thousands of inmates in Tainan Prison, the Prison Authority permitted
only 300 to attend the seminar. This initiate-to-be happened to be one of
the rare lucky ones! He was so overjoyed to see the Quan Yin messenger and
fellow practitioners that he cried and wholeheartedly thanked Master for Her
arrangement. During this spiritual seminar, several dozen inmates in the audience
learned the Convenient Method of meditation.
This
initiate-to-be was indeed very pious; he even used his own money to purchase
a complete set of the Key of Immediate Enlightenment books to donate to the
prison library, in the hope that his fellow inmates could also be blessed
by God's love and realize the Truth. Inside the prison, he worked quietly,
sharing the message of Truth with other people. Due to his excellent conduct,
he is now completing his term in a Detention Center, and has been able to
receive initiation.
Some time ago, Hsihu Center
received many letters repeatedly requesting initiation from another inmate
in Tainan Prison. In the form of a prisoner-visit, we went to Tainan Prison
to meet with this Truth aspirant and found that he had been sharing a cell
with the brother initiate mentioned above. Inspired by this brother, he had
read all of Master's books and had been a vegetarian for eight years! He had
missed the seminar held four years before because of the limited number of
prisoner audience members allowed.
Even though he missed the
opportunity of learning the Convenient Method, he has had many wonderful experiences
and very good communication with the inner Master as well. Knowing that he
must grasp this opportunity to find a living enlightened Master, he was determined
not to miss learning the Method again even though he is behind bars. According
to him, among the inmates who learned the Convenient Method four years ago,
some have been transferred to other prisons and others have been released.
However, there are still many prisoners in Tainan Prison quietly practicing
the Convenient Method of meditation.
Although our visit was a
short one, only about fifteen minutes, he poured out all his aspirations to
us. During the conversation, he respectfully addressed the initiates-to-be
in the prison as "fellow brothers" or "fellow sisters".
After a dozen years of being with our spiritual group, we have become so used
to addressing each other as "brother initiate" or "sister initiate"
that we do not feel anything special about it. However, in the prison, it
was heartbreaking to hear him say "brother initiate" or "sister
initiate". We suddenly became aware that we have some unfortunate "siblings"
of the Quan Yin family trapped behind those bars.
Later, as we met with officers
in the Prison Education and Reformation Section to explain our purpose to
them, a young correctional counselor lamented: "Everything is extremely
difficult in prison. Here we only have team life, team actions, and team routines.
An individual meeting is out of the question, not to mention conducting an
initiation." Touched by our repeated efforts on behalf of an inmate with
whom we had no relationship, he said that originally it was the responsibility
of the Education and Reformation Section and not ours, yet we expended much
effort for the inmates, and this really impressed him. Perhaps due to God's
blessing, this officer lovingly comforted the inmate and earnestly recommended
our group to his superior and peer officers.
Since the aspiration of this
Truth seeker was so sincere and earnest, after we learned more about the prison
procedures, we were able to determine the fastest way to satisfy his request:
a Quan Yin messenger taught him the Convenient Method of meditation when paying
him a prison visit. At the same time, we also received a request from the
prison authorities to submit an official application to hold a group education
and reformation session in the prison. Therefore, we decided to convene a
"Love Feast" in the Tainan Prison on December 29, 1998.
The correctional counselor
who coordinated this activity with us expressed his surprise that he had had
to submit the application three times before it was approved, while for activities
held by other groups, he had only needed to submit a written report. Apart
from being grateful to this officer for his help, we also understood that
hindrances were inevitable if we wanted to help these souls behind bars to
achieve liberation. Although many complications occurred during the process,
there were also many very supportive people inside and outside the prison
who helped to eventually bring about this meeting.
At 1:00 p.m. on December
29, about thirty fellow practitioners, including performers, entered Tainan
Prison. Famous for its strict discipline, we had to go through four or five
barriers before reaching the venue, while being led by officers on full alert.
The first half of the Love
Feast consisted of an entertainment program, and our performance gained thunderous
applause from the inmates. Although part of our intent was to share joy with
these inmates who are under prolonged confinement, our main hope was that
they could come to know the Truth and find eternal tranquillity from within.
Next, a fellow initiate introduced the Quan Yin Method. This brother initiate,
who had spent decades studying scriptures, has followed Master for many years.
He introduced the Quan Yin Method profoundly yet in an easily understandable
way, and subtly conveyed Master's love to these friends in prison. He pointed
out that Master had generously given them the greatest convenience so that
they could practice the Convenient Method in prison thereby developing their
latent God Nature and finding inner peace hoping that they could cultivate
themselves under the difficult circumstances in prison. They can thus attain
the full Method later when they are released.
At present, in all prisons
in Formosa, Juvenile Detention & Classification Houses and Youth Correctional
Centers, all inmates are required to meditate for half an hour each day. Many
correctional counselor and officers unanimously agree that meditation is very
helpful in stabilizing the emotions of the inmates. The prison authority was
delighted to learn that we had included teaching of the Convenient Method
of meditation to inmates interested in the program. However, to maintain the
principle of team life inside the prison, the correctional officer asked that
all the inmates present learn the Convenient Method, so as to improve their
routine of meditation.
After the Quan Yin messenger
had explained the Convenient Method to them, everyone meditated together in
the room, while the saints from all directions and times came to bless them.
The inmates with their shaved heads, sitting there very dignified, resembled
statues of liberated saints.
The endeavors of this one
aspiring Truth seeker resulted in this prison congregation of Convenient Method
practitioners. He is now serving in the prison sickbay taking care of inmates
while sharing the doctrine of Truth with them. These inmates, already living
a difficult life behind prison bars, are further tormented by illnesses; thus,
they are in greater need of God's comfort. The correctional officer told us
that the inmates may be very strong and energetic outside, but once inside
the prison, they become very vulnerable and easily fall sick. And once they
fall ill, all possible complications tend to follow. To further worsen the
situation, many inmates do not receive visits from their relatives.
The stories of these inmates
reminded us of Master's words: "Some saints come to Earth playing the
roles of refugees, beggars, homeless wanderers, and others, just to give us
a chance to develop our compassion." So, are these friends in jail also
saints who sacrifice themselves for us? Master has also told us: "When
we occasionally go to visit those unfortunate people in hospitals or prisons,
it is also a way of spiritual cultivation. When we go home afterwards, we
will better cherish our lives, our blessed rewards, and our freedom. We will
be more compassionate to people, cherish our neighbors, good friends, our
spiritual Method, and our Master. If we are always too happy and comfortable,
we might become lax." 
Lighthouse
in the Darkness
Liberated
Souls behind Bars