By sister initiate Hsiung Yi-chu,
Tainan, Formosa

 

When I was initiated by Master in 1989, I was still a high school student. Since then, I have always been blessed with bliss. On Sundays and holidays, whenever I could find the time, I used to enjoy a short stay at the Hsihu Ashram, and then took the night bus home

I can still remember that day at Ilan Ashram, where our initiation session lasted late into the night. The ashram was a long way up the hill, so everyone hastily crowded into the small van that was taking them downhill. Filled with inner bliss, I was not in a mood to join the rush. In the end, only my older sister and I were left walking downhill. On the way, a white sedan car suddenly stopped by us. The window was rolled down, and there we saw Master looking at us with a smiling face. "Don't you have any transportation? These cookies and candies are for you!" She said. The next moment, we had a big heap of cookies and candies in our hands. Overwhelmed by emotion and joy, we could only smile at Master. Someone in the car told Master that one of the working team's vans would come and pick us up soon, then She said goodbye and left in the car. Soon after, one of the working team's vans came and took us downhill.

On another occasion, my sister and I had just arrived at the Hsihu Ashram and were walking by the toilets in the Ashram's small park. Suddenly, Master appeared and looked at us gently. Not wishing to hinder Her, we greeted Her briefly and proceeded to the Bamboo Grove. There, my older sister told me that she had felt car sick on the journey to the Ashram and was very uncomfortable after she arrived. That was why Master especially came to see us and bless my sister, after which she felt much better. I was amazed at Master's omniscience and immaculate consideration!

 

Jumping Really Hard

At another time, Master spoke to us in the small park at the Ashram. There were many fellow practitioners standing in front of me, so I jumped and jumped, hoping to catch a glimpse of Master. Unfortunately, however, I failed, because the fellow practitioners in front were too tall. Just when I was at my wit's end, Master suddenly said, "Can't you see me? Those in the front, squat down!" After everyone had squatted down, I could see Master smiling at me, and was overjoyed.

Another time, as we were seeing Master off at the main gate, my sisters and I were saying goodbye to Her at Her car window. Suddenly, Master pointed at a wheel of the car and said, "Watch out for the wheels! Don't let them crush your feet!" We nodded as Master departed. Shortly after, when one of my sisters was closing the main gate, the wheel of the gate suddenly moved and almost crushed her foot. Thanks to Master's reminder a short while earlier, the wheel barely missed her toe. Only then did we realize how much Master loved us. Even before leaving, She didn't forget to take care of Her disciples, even in regard to trivial matters.

In 1990, the Ashram underwent a renovation, and more flowers and grass were planted. As fellow practitioners were planting new grass in the small park, grass patches were cut neatly into square pieces, and placed on the soil about 60 cm from their adjacent squares in all directions. Seeing some sister initiates placing the patches on the ground at these carefully measured distances, we followed their example and did the same. Later, Master taught us a lesson: "You have to use your wisdom and love when you work. Don't just do it casually, causing trouble and wasting time. Just like the way you planted the grass, each patch was separated so far apart like by a river. When do you think the new grass will grow? And the soil beneath the grass is so dry. How can the grass absorb water? How can you plant grass in this way?"

Later, because we needed to plant some Korean grass around the basketball court, we had a chance to learn the proper grass-planting technique from Master. She taught us that, instead of planting it in small squares, we should gently divide the grass into patches with undulating edges. Before placing them, She said, we should first wet the soil beneath until it is muddy, then fit the grass patches alongside each other as in a jigsaw puzzle, leaving little space between to encourage smooth growth. Leaving too much or too little space would not be good for the grass' development, and so we should follow the "middle way." After that, we sprinkled some soil on top, and sprayed it with water to keep it wet. Then we remembered to water it every day. It didn't take us very long to find that the grass had flourished and turned a lovely green, totally different from the scattered dry grass patches in the small park. In the end, we had to dig up all the grass there and plant it again.

From such an insignificant task as planting grass, I observed Master's subtle love for plants and Her working spirit. Having to immerse our feet in the sticky mud, this grass-planting method was more troublesome, but the wet soil was precisely what the grass needed to grow close together under mutual encouragement. From this incident, I learned to work with wisdom and immaculate love, and to observe the environment with my heart.

One day, we were walking towards the Bamboo Grove with Master in the lead, and I was just behind Her. Suddenly Master stopped and told us all to stop as well, because an army of ants was crossing in front of us. Worried that we might step on them, Master led us by another route. The greatness of Master lies in Her constant observation of such seemingly insignificant details, and in Her infinite grace, love, and concern for all the beings around Her.

That year, whenever I had time to enjoy a short stay at the Hsihu Ashram, I always helped out with the Ashram's work. One day, when the Glass House was under construction, several sister initiates and I helped to carry some bricks and rocks. We were "book people" who usually held things no heavier than a pen, so moving a few bricks was tough enough for us! Nevertheless, we didn't give up, and exerted our utmost effort in doing the job. After a while, Master appeared with a big basket of cookies, candies, chocolates, and drinks, and told us to take a break and enjoy the refreshments. Laughingly, Master said, "You royal ladies are exhausted just by moving a few pieces of brick!" Ashamed, we could only look at each other and laugh. We knew very well within that Master had come to bless and comfort us because She was concerned about us fragile scholars. Naturally, we worked even harder afterwards.

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