From
February 13 to 16, fellow initiates and their families from around the world
gathered at the Florida Center to joyfully celebrate the Lunar New Year with
Master. Coinciding with the Lunar New Year holiday were the United States
Presidents' Day, St. Valentine's Day and the Indian Shiva's Night. Incidentally,
a major car race was also being held in Florida at the time. Therefore, all
the flights to Florida were fully booked well in advance; nevertheless, fellow
initiates tried all means to reach the Florida Center. Many U.S. and Canadian
fellow initiates drove long distances while some Asian fellow initiates flew
to other U.S. cities such as New York and then got a ride to Florida. Everyone
wanted to be present at this reunion with the Mother of our souls.
The Florida Center is located
in a beautifully scenic area where serenity prevails. Its main entrance, dining
hall and many trees were decked with colorful balloons, ribbons and other
Lunar New Year decorations. Initiates and their families received a warm welcome
from the working staff, who promptly helped them to get settled in. The kitchen
team worked nonstop to provide a continuous supply of warm and delicious food
and everyone experienced the joy of the holiday season in a warm and cozy
atmosphere.
As compared to other retreats,
this gathering was very informal and relaxed with no fixed schedule. Group
meditation was held in the early morning, followed by free activities during
the day and campfires in the evening. A timely shower had prepared a lush
green lawn under an azure sky and gentle breezes flowed. Fellow initiates
and their children delightfully enjoyed the beautiful scenery under the shining
sun.
At noon on February 13, Master,
whom we had been longing to see, appeared in front of the dining hall, and
like a magnet, immediately drew all the people to Her. Extending a hearty
welcome to everyone who had come to usher in the Lunar New Year at the Center,
Her relaxed (carefree) and humorous words brought waves of laughter and applause.
She also patiently answered questions raised by fellow initiates concerning
their spiritual practice, work and life.
A fellow initiate asked
Master if he could go to the fifth level with Her, and She elaborated: "Everyone
will go to the fifth level one day. To go there is easy, but to stay here
is hard." "We are distracted on the way. There are too many important
things to do, like gossiping and calling here, calling there on the phone,
checking the internet to see who's saying what and who's killing whom, reading
the newspaper or even watching television. These are very important things
to do, and so sometimes, we forget what we really want and what is really
important. Otherwise, we can go to the fifth level anytime. As soon as you
put your attention inward, one hundred percent, you are there."
We always hear big talk like,
'This world is illusionary; we have a real world, and everything is better
up there' - out there somewhere. But it is truly like that. If we know the
other world, we don't want anything in this world anymore. Moreover, we do
not really care. We try our best to do whatever we have to do in that situation,
but if we cannot succeed, it is okay. That is truly renunciation. Sometimes
we forget to let go of the illusory things. If we do not let go because we
know there is nothing to let go of, then it is okay. However, if we are still
very attached and cannot let go, then we know we are not okay. The more we
cling to this outer world, the less we can go inside to the inner world, and
the inner world is where the inner happiness begins."
One Au Lac initiate mentioned
that there was a person who, during a heart operation left her body and went
somewhere "up there". She saw Master Ching Hai, and that She was
very big and strong. Master was giving a lecture to many disciples that were
a golden color. Coming back, as she neared her body, she perceived that her
body was very smelly. She didn't want to come into it, but she had to. After
she came back, she kept smelling her body all the time and thinking, "Stinky,
stinky." Master pointed out that this is true. In the Buddhist Sutras,
it is mentioned that when the saints from the higher worlds look down on this
world, it is like a filthy cesspool. So, they are not really tempted or enticed
by this world, except when they have the great compassion to come down to
answer the call of the sentient beings to help them go up to their real Home.
Otherwise, no saint likes to stay here.
A physician said that he
is trying to bring in a new paradigm in medicine with more of the spiritual
principle, an "east-west" type of medicine. Master pointed out that
the job of the physician is truly to remind each patient that after he is
cured of his disease, he should also go back to the Source of healing. Otherwise,
just to rely on temporary relief, sometimes, is not always the answer.
When night fell, countless
bright stars glittered in the clear sky and the tropical temperatures plummeted.
After dinner, we lighted campfires by the lake and nestled around them to
keep warm as we enjoyed delicious Indian tea and cakes. Conversation was interspersed
with joyful laughter. When Master arrived, clad in bright orange casual wear
and a hat, the warm and romantic atmosphere reached its peak. Master invited
the Western fellow initiates to join Her around a campfire and addressed their
questions with answers that were right to the point.
In
response to one question, Master mentioned that most people have fear when
they go into the unknown, and they also fear leaving this stable planet. She
illustrated the point with an example of someone who has been imprisoned for
a long time and is afraid to go back into the free society. Freedom, to him,
is a great and frightening new adventure.
It is the same with us. We
have been imprisoned for a long time in this body. When we go out, it's so
free, so "nothing" and we're floating, so we feel scared. Some people
are scared, and thus they can't have that experience again for a long, long
time. Just tell yourself, "Don't be scared." Call the Master to
help you, and then let go. It couldn't be worse than dying a physical death.
It is similar to that. That is why when people die, they're also afraid to
let go. They don't know what is going to greet them. But the people who know
already what death is will exchange for the better environment, a better kind
of life, and they are eager to. It's not that they are miserable or hate life;
they just love life on a grander scale and in a freer state.
On the second day of the
New Year's gathering, more fellow initiates arrived at the Center. The crowd
grew to large proportions when Master arrived at noon dressed in white casual
attire. Addressing the difficulty of obtaining vegetarian food when traveling,
Master commented: "You can write to all the different types of hotels
and restaurants and request that they include a vegetarian diet on their menus.
Send them a recipe book and say, 'This is vegetarian. It is not just green
salad or celery sticks.'" It is obvious that Master makes use of even
small matters in life to teach us how to actively express our opinion when
it is appropriate. This is also one way to improve the world.
A Moslem brother recounted
the saga of his flight to Florida: "My flight was cancelled, and there
was no flight to Orlando, so I took a plane to Atlanta. I stayed in a hotel
there one night, but the next day, there was still no flight. So I prayed
really hard; I prayed to God, and Hes said to me, 'You will have a ticket.
You will be on the plane, and you will be in Orlando.' As I was praying, I
saw the golden manifestation of Master with angels all around. Then the airport
public address system announced that a plane had landed, but could not take
off because of technical problems. The next flight would be in four hours
time. I began meditating again, and then in my vision I saw that another plane
had already landed. Suddenly the announcer said, 'A plane has just landed.
We are refilling it, and it will depart in twenty minutes.' I leave everything
in God's hands and Hes does the rest. Without faith, we have nothing; with
faith, we can break all barriers." Master replied, "The Muslim people
have very strong faith. Thank God that they have faith in the right things."
When a fellow initiate requested
to take some blessed food home with her, Master answered, "Everything
here is blessed - the grass, trees, sky, stones, people. Take yourself home;
that is the best already.
That evening, the sky was
clear and it was still very cold. Again, we lighted campfires by the lake
and in this cozy atmosphere, we barbecued a wide assortment of vegetarian
foods and enjoyed all kinds of hot drinks. Master, in white casual wear and
a red shirt and hat, walked around and kindly greeted each group of fellow
initiates and their families and warmed our hearts even more. Later, She invited
the fellow initiates to sit around the fire with Her. Sharing jokes and casual
conversation, we spent another unforgettable night with Her.
In the afternoon of the third
day, we gathered with Master in the meditation tent to enjoy the performance
presentations. The stage was decorated with red lanterns, colorful fireworks,
fresh flowers, and mountains of candies and cookies. Amidst the resounding
of gongs and drums, Master arrived at the hall driving Her white golf car.
She looked elegant and beautiful in a white dress and cream-colored shawl.
Next, fellow initiates from around the world presented a wide variety of performances,
including dances, choruses, solos, and a harmonica presentation. Young fellow
initiates from Los Angeles won the loudest applause with a passionate and
energetic dance that they had choreographed and directed. In a sonorous voice,
a brother initiate from Indiana presented a solo performance of a song entitled
"My Hometown". "How can a vegetarian have such a loud voice?"
Master wondered humorously and the tent rocked with laughter. Although some
performances had to be hastily prepared, Master praised the performers for
their courage.
That night, Master came to
the gym to talk with fellow initiates who were leaving and again to try to
appease their questioning intellects. She also invited those who had had no
inner experiences during their meditation to sit around Her and meditate.
She blessed them by touching their wisdom eyes, upon which a sister initiate
immediately saw inner light and a brother initiate had better light and sound
experiences. Master also blessed other fellow initiates and the working team.
However, Master commented:
"I don't want to give you too much of the 'so-called blessings'. It is
because I don't want you to look upon me and rely on me for spiritual survival.
I want you to be strong and be a Master. It is not important for me to be
your Master. It is important that I cultivate a lot of Masters. So don't always
ask for baby stuff, pacifiers, and all that. I'm very good to you. When I
scold you, I'm good to you; when I neglect you, I'm good to you. Love has
many ways. If you really need that, I am willing to help you, but don't always
think, 'If Master doesn't touch me, I cannot become a Buddha.' That is nonsense."
Some fellow initiates also
shared their experiences of other spiritual groups and commented that since
they were able to make comparisons, they cherished our group very much. At
midnight, a fellow initiate said "Happy New Year" to Master. Then,
Master and all the fellow initiates sang "Happy New Year". Everyone
was reluctant to leave and lingered until two o'clock in the morning.
On the 16th, the last day
of the gathering, Master again met with fellow initiates in the gym. She said
that She knew many people had to overcome difficulties and hindrances in order
to come to see Her, and they had trouble with their families, work, colleagues
and friends as well. Master said, "The trouble is there so that you can
clean up your "stuff," so that you can bring love and blessings
into every corner of the world. If they were not binding you there, you would
not go back. Then you would only bless Florida, and maybe Florida would become
Heaven and the rest of the world would stay where they are. So maybe God arranges
it that way, so that we can stay where we are."
Master patiently answered
questions from fellow initiates about their spiritual practice and then walked
a group of fellow initiates to the door to see them off. When She returned,
She blessed those who had hindrances in their meditations, and meditated with
fellow initiates for a long time before She left.
Later
that night, Master stopped by the gym again to see those fellow initiates
who were still there. She blessed each one and said with a smile that since
we all loved to be blessed by Her, She would bless us right in the beginning
of the next retreat and "kick open your wisdom eyes". Then She recited
the Holy Names and meditated with us for a while. Fellow initiates continued
with their meditation until midnight, and thus ended the beautiful Lunar New
Year celebrations. We returned home, our hearts filled with joy, and just
as Master said, the freedom that we gained here during these few days will
be enough for us to enjoy for a year!
Special
Report
