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Report from Japan
Promoting International Cooperation and Peace at a Pan-Asian Festival
By the Tokyo News Group
[Tokyo] Clang-Clang-Clang! Clang-Clang-Clang! These thunderous sounds accompanied an Indonesian traditional dance that attracted widespread attention at the Tokyo Asian Cities Festival 2004 held from September 18-19 at Hibiya Park. As participants from various countries conducted dance and musical performances at the Festival's amphitheater, a continuous stream of visitors poured into rows of exhibition booths displaying a wide variety of Asian foods and daily sundries. Each year the well-attended event, organized by the local group Make Friends with the World, aims to promote international exchange among many participating Asian countries.
This year marked the fourth time that Japanese members of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association participated in the event with the help of fellow initiates from Formosa and Korea. The disciples set up separate exhibition booths representing their respective countries. At the Japanese booth, Master's lecture videos were shown continuously, and Her paintings and publications were displayed as the disciples distributed sample booklets and information on vegetarianism. While the other booths also exhibited Master's publications, they each had a special feature, with the Korean booth providing Korean vegetarian food and the Formosan booth introducing and selling traditional Chinese tea to visitors. All three booths, especially the Korean one, were constantly mobbed with visitors, and despite sultry weather during the Festival, the Korean initiates prepared their food in admirably high spirits.
On the second day of the event, exhibitors were introduced at the amphitheater, while representatives of the participating countries shared their views on global cooperation and world peace with the guests. The Korean initiates played an active role in this exchange, and also spoke about the importance of vegetarianism with many visitors, who were impressed by their efforts and visited the Korean booth to sample vegetarian foods not readily available at local markets.
The visitors warmly responded to the sample booklets distributed during the Festival, and the Indian exhibitors adjacent to the Japanese booth expressed great interest in Master's teachings, coming over several times to view Her lecture videos and read copies of The Supreme Master Ching Hai News. The fellow disciples from Korea and Formosa assisted the Japanese sisters and brothers in introducing the Quan Yin Method to their guests.
All in all, the Tokyo Asian Cities Festival 2004 provided an opportunity for initiates from various centers in Japan, as well as neighboring countries, to strengthen their spirit of friendship through cooperative work. During the project, the sisters and brothers learned many valuable lessons from each other, and felt encouraged and motivated to continue working with practitioners from other countries to share the Quan Yin Method with the world.
Report from Japan
Master's Wooden Cottage - A Paradise for Japanese Initiates
By Shindo, Tokyo
[Tokyo] Nestled amid clusters of green trees by a clear, quiet stream is Supreme Master Ching Hai's wooden cottage in Japan. Being infinitely merciful and loving, Master offered the building as a retreat venue for local initiates, who believe that our omnipresent Master earnestly awaits their arrival there long before they even set out on their journeys to attend retreats. For the new brothers and sisters who were initiated this March, the long trip to the cottage is worth the effort due to the joy they experience in their monthly rendezvous with Master! At each meditation session, the initiates are blessed with extraordinary experiences. Some burst into tears on receiving consolation from Master's spiritual form, and others are so overwhelmed by Master's blessings that they become highly alert and feel an infinite loving energy emanating from their bodies.
Moreover, fellow practitioners who come from afar to the retreats are warmly accommodated by the local brothers and sisters, who arrange the events thoughtfully as if they were all one intimate family, bringing joy to everyone's heart. All the practitioners who come to attend group meditation are extremely grateful to Master for giving them this paradise, so free of worries, to be enjoyed with their real brothers and sisters. Coming to Master's house is just like coming to Heaven on earth! Especially unforgettable are the moments of farewell, when the initiates repeatedly wave good-bye and blow kisses as their eyes converge in the infinite Ocean of Love. Everyone is hesitant to depart from the cottage for Master's divine love is the love that unifies all with God. When the Father in Heaven beholds His children's happiness in these moments, He must also share their joy.
Report from Singapore
To keep pace with the planet's ongoing spiritual elevation, the local centers of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association are holding more and more video seminars and other Truth-sharing events.
You are welcome to join in these activities with your friends and relatives. For the latest schedule of our activities, please visit the following URLs:
http://www.Godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/latest_news/events-datebook.htm (English) http://www.Godsdirectcontact.org.tw/ch/latest_news/events-datebook.htm (Chinese)
