Panorama of Events

Report from Formosa


The free medical service.

Free Medical Service at a Hiking Event

[Taipei]In September 1999, to celebrate the Sports Festival in Formosa, a 10,000-person hiking event was held by the Sports Committee of the Executive Yuan. And The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association was invited to coordinate a free medical service for the event since it had provided similar services in the past, which had been well received by the public.

The medical service team consisted of twenty-three fellow initiates who were medical professionals, including three traditional Chinese medical doctors, eight Western medical doctors, three dentists, and nine nurses. By public demand, the main services provided were blood pressure measurement and general physical examinations. Additional services included answering medical questions, prescribing medicine, providing health and hygiene information, eye and dental examinations and treatment, urine tests, abdominal ultra-sonograms, and electrocardiograms. New medical equipment was used in this most recent medical service. Moreover, portable dental equipment was purchased especially for this event and was popular among patients.

For the free medical services provided to the public by the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association, the Association was given an award by Ms. Zhao Li-Yun, Chairperson of the Sports Committee of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China.
A female participant in the hiking event who had fainted receiving emergency treatment.

Master's free sample booklets and News magazines were prepared for the public and were all taken within half an hour.

Summer Camp for Destitute Students

Students receiving financial aid from the Chinese Fund for Children and Families enjoy a trip to Leefoo Village.

[ Keelung]Junior high school students receiving aid from the Chinese Fund for Children and Families/ Formosa Keelung enjoyed a rare opportunity to visit the Leefoo Village in Hsinchu on August 22 during their three-day summer camp, jointly held by The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Keelung Center and the Chinese Fund for Children and Families. Considering the fact that these students seldom have the opportunity to go on outings, The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Keelung Center especially offered financial help for this trip to bring them some pleasure.

According to the chief delegate of the Chinese Fund for Children and Families, such excursions had previously been funded by business enterprises or private charity organizations, but fund-raising had not been easy this year. Two weeks before the summer camp, the organization was still troubled by a shortage of funds, when initiates from The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Keelung Center approached it and offered their help, which not only solved its financial problem, but also made the summer camp more interesting.

Tainan Hsinhua Center Inaugurated

The Hsinhua Center is inaugurated with lion and dragon dance performances. The Tainan Chorus conveys many beautiful spiritual songs to the audience.

[ Tainan] During a visit to Hsinhua Center in Tainan three years ago, Master advised the disciples on how to build a local Center and plant greenery. She also instructed that the construction project be completed within three years. True enough, on August 8 of this year, an inaugural ceremony marking the completion of the three-year project was held at the main hall, which Master said should be built to provide shelter from wind and rain.

A number of non-initiates employed to provide technical assistance shared stories of visions they had beheld during the construction process. Some saw the manifestation body of Master blessing the Center and supervising the construction work, while others beheld Quan Yin Bodhisattva towering above them as She sat on the open lecture platform.

The inauguration was scheduled for August 8. However, heaven tested the faith of the Tainan disciples with torrential downpours that continued for three whole weeks. On the eve of the inaugural ceremony, a typhoon struck southern Formosa, but the heavy rain did not deter the fellow initiates from working hard to get everything ready for the thousands of fellow disciples who would arrive at the Center for group meditation the next day.

On August 8, initiates arrived at Hsinhua Center amidst a heavy downpour and gusty winds. The sky was overcast, except for a clear patch of sky right above the Center. There, fellow practitioners saw heavenly Saints showering their blessings on the Center. A coach driver who had borrowed a motorbike to ride to a nearby town was met by heavy rain as soon as he rode into the hilly region off the premises. Only the Hsinhua Center and the nearby vicinity were spared the rain.

While the Tainan kitchen staff prepared a sumptuous meal for fellow practitioners who had come from all over Formosa, local disciples presented an excellent entertainment program for the audience. This included singing and dancing by young initiates, as well as singing, dancing, and musical recitals by grown-ups. The Tainan Chorus, which everyone had missed for a long time, appeared on stage to entertain the audience with many beautiful spiritual songs.

A lively performance by young initiates from Taichung.

Several songs were adapted from Master's poem anthology "Silent Tears", with music composed by fellow practitioners. Other songs were composed and lyrics written by initiates. While some participants were talented in music, others were housewives who knew little about music, yet were able to create very elegant and inspiring melodies based on tunes they had hummed while doing their laundry. This was a profound demonstration of their intense love for and gratitude toward Master.

As fellow practitioners enjoyed the wonderful food and performance, a blissful atmosphere set in at the Center without being affected by the typhoon. The rain started to fall only as the curtain fell on the entertainment program. In the afternoon, fellow initiates meditated together in the newly built main hall. As soon as they left, the rain came down and persisted for another week before stopping. The wet weather lasted almost a month. Yet the sky above the Center was clear and fine for a few hours on the opening day, allowing practitioners to enjoy the program, and the opening ceremony to be completed smoothly. Only initiates who had participated in the entire construction project could appreciate the wonder behind such a miracle.

Summer Camp and Birthday Party

A lively singing and dance program during the birthday celebration party at Laiyi Center, Formosa

[ Kaoping] Toward the end of August, the Laiyi Center in southern Formosa organized a summer camp for children and a birthday party for initiates, while the book circulation area was redecorated to exhibit Master's Celestial Clothes and Jewelry, and other creative artworks. The birthday celebrations included several entertainment programs; and the young participants sang and danced under the guidance of the sister who had organized the summer camp. These programs made the event more amusing and lively.

At the end of this first summer camp to be held this year, the young initiates demonstrated in their reports the team spirit and rapport that had developed among themselves during their training at the camp. One little initiate received an award for love in recognition of his consideration of the hard work of the sister who worked with the children, by taking the initiative and offering her a soybean drink. The summer camp and birthday party ended with the singing of the birthday song and the cutting of a cake in an atmosphere full of Master's love and blessing.