On
October 2, 1985 my life changed forever. That day, Supreme Master Ching
Hai was invited by Reverend Hui Yin, abbot of Formosa's Long Shan Temple,
to deliver a talk to temple devotees. When I went to the Temple that
evening, I was not aware that a true Master was going to give a discourse.
I only saw a petite female monastic, wearing a brown Buddhist robe,
paying respects to the Quan Yin Bodhisattva. The moment my eyes fell
on Her graceful appearance, however, my heart and my soul trembled;
I simply could not take my eyes off of Her for a second. The way in
which She worshipped the Buddha was so graceful and pious that I could
feel the Buddha was right there before me. But while other people worshipped,
the Buddha seemed to be as far away as the horizon. Then, after Reverend
Hui Yin's introduction, I knew that the monastic was Master Ching Hai,
Who had been invited to give a discourse at the Temple for the first
time.
That
day, Master spoke in both English and Chinese. I can only remember that
the whole audience was laughing and very happy during the lecture. However,
I was pondering whether this Master would accept me as Her disciple.
Only a day earlier, I had fervently requested of the Quan Yin Bodhisattva,
"I want a living Master who can teach me!" Unexpectedly, the
Master appeared the next day.
Later,
I found out about Master's address in Neihu and immediately inquired
about how to get there. I took a bus, changed buses halfway, asked for
guidance on the road, and found myself lost several times. Finally,
I reached the district where Master lived. It was a new district that
was large but where few houses had numbers on them. Each time when I
felt lost and frustrated someone would appear "coincidentally"
to show me the way. Of course, later I realized that it was Master manifesting
in physical forms coming to help me. Someone told me that when I finally
reached Her abode, Master told Her disciples, "I knew she was coming."
There
happened to be a three-day retreat in progress, and non-initiates were
not supposed to enter. However, Master considered that I had travelled
a long way, and would very likely not be able to attend the initiation
in time if I went back home and returned the next day; since the initiation
was to be held early on the morning after the retreat. Thus, She kindly
allowed me to stay overnight. During the initiation the following day,
while enjoying various inner visions, I thought, "Wow! Really!
Whatever Master mentioned during the instructions has actually appeared!"
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