Each
time you fail, each time you feel miserable, each time you feel let
down or dragged into the cumbersome existence of the material world,
try to pick yourself up and tell yourself again, "This is not real."
The only real thing is positive; the only real thing is God; the only
real thing is love. The only real thing is that whatever you want, you
will get. And you will get all the good things, because that's what
God wants us to have.
~ By Supreme Master Ching Hai
Without
a doubt, the recent 9-11 incident in America has written a tragic page
in the history of humankind. The people of the world may have all kinds
of responses to this unfortunate catastrophe, but our fellow practitioners
worldwide still adhere to the ideal that "all people are brothers;
Creation is part of me," revealing the utmost love and concern
between brothers and sisters while conducting relief efforts after the
disaster. Especially, fellow practitioners in the United States, under
Master's guidance, amply displayed great calmness in the midst of the
catastrophe, and a spirit of doing our best to help others. From the
following reports and stories personally experienced by initiates, we
have again proven that "God's love is forever with us"!
During
the relief work at Ground Zero in New York City, it was very touching
that all the booths set up by many non-profit organizations became one
and everyone was a customer. Whatever one needed, one could ask for
from any of other booths without question. No one asked you anything.
Everyone loved to provide whatever was required. As Master has said,
in difficult situations, people tend to become more spiritual.
Our
booths offered Chinese food, sandwiches, lunch boxes, hot coffee, tea
bags, and fruit. Also, clothing, socks, gloves, and common medicines
were available. Twice a day, the Seamen's Church Institute of New York
and New Jersey provided us with regular supplies of ice bags and a variety
of soft drinks. Our food was prepared in a temporary kitchen set up
in the backyard of a sister's home near the disaster site, and transported
to the site for distribution. On average, more than a thousand lunchboxes
were consumed daily.
Since
our booths were beside the main entrance to the fenced and guarded area
at Ground Zero, most of the rescue workers needed to pass by our booths.
Many had the chance to be served by our organization and most were very
happy to associate with us. In t
he beginning, we could hardly get inside
the scene to serve. But later, many policemen, national guardsmen, and
volunteer workers from various organizations got to know us as a very
dedicated organization, and came to greatly respect our spirit of service.
On
the afternoon of September 18, Governor George Pataki of New York State
came by our first booth and complimented us for our work. The next day,
he visited the site again and as he passed by, cordially waved to us.
As
we knew that workers contracted by the government would be taking over
the rescue work on Thursday, September 20, we began to clean up and
move out our booths after serving breakfast. As we worked, it began
to rain, and gradually rained more and more heavily. We then delivered
two boxes of raincoats that we had brought to the site and passed them
out one by one. We felt that for the time being, our mission was over.
Master had once again blessed New York City with Her abundant love and
blessings!
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