Frontline

A Beautiful Precursor of the Future
— Master’s Light Shines Brilliantly on the Frankfurt Book Fair

By the German News Group (Originally in German)

The Frankfurt Book Fair, whose origins date back to the fifteenth century, is the largest book exhibition in the world. This year’s event, held from October 6-10, 2004, was a special occasion in the Fair’s history as Frankfurt had the privilege of welcoming more than ten thousand exhibitors, authors, artists and intellectuals from around the globe, including guests of honor from seventeen member nations of the Arab League. With its motto “The Arab World — Visions of the Future,” the Fair’s cultural exchange provided a radiant symbol of hope and a bright, beautiful precursor of humankind harmoniously united in love and understanding!

Members of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association participated in this special event in hopes that the Fair would be a first step in bringing the light of the precious Quan Yin Method to a large audience, and in turn the manifold blessings that accompany spiritual practice and God-realization. The initiates felt extremely honored to be part of an event of such great cultural, political and historical significance, in which many celebrities and political figures from Germany, many Arab nations and other countries around the world took part.

To prepare for the Fair, the initiates quickly completed the second edition of I Have Come to Take You Home in German, added German subtitles to several DVDs, and obtained a new Arabic edition of I Have Come to Take You Home, an Arabic revision of The Key of Immediate Enlightenment sample booklet, and the addition of Arabic subtitles to several DVDs/VCDs. Also, a number of Master’s poetic works were translated into Arabic.

During the event’s opening ceremony, one of the distinguished speakers was Amre Moussa, Secretary-General of the Arab League, who expressed his hope that the 2004 Frankfurt Book Fair would be an “important milestone” in relations between East and West and that despite its cultural diversity and differences, human civilization was “one single entity.” Mr. Moussa went on to say, “Both the Islamic Orient and the Christian Occident believe in one and the same God,” expressed hope that through this meeting it would be possible to reduce violence and racism, and called on everyone to act together against the “dark forces” to create a brighter future. His speech ended with a fervent plea to “bring down the walls” and to use this opportunity to make the shared garden of culture flourish and become filled with light. His comments were greeted with enthusiastic applause, and some members of the Arabic-speaking audience were moved to tears.

Fellow initiates from Austria, Belgium, England, Formosa, France, Germany and Hungary cooperated to make The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association’s participation in the Fair a success. Also, three Muslim initiates from Morocco, Pakistan and Sudan now living in Europe made a special trip to Frankfurt to help introduce Master’s teachings to Arabic-speaking guests. The practitioners formed several multicultural work groups, and although some of the team members had never met each other before and could not always communicate in the same language, everyone worked together harmoniously as one family.

The Association’s booth was located in the Fair’s Religion and Spirituality section, among German and international exhibitors of various religious denominations, including Muslims, Hindus, Sufis, Buddhists and several Christian and non-denominational spiritual groups. The atmosphere in the section was calm and relaxed, and the initiates openly exchanged information and sweets with their visitors and with exhibitors from neighboring booths. The focal point of the Association’s beautifully decorated display was a large video screen, on which Master’s video lectures were shown continuously. Many Fair visitors felt attracted to the beautiful foreign lady giving the lectures, often pausing to watch, inquire about Her teachings and obtain Her publications and information packets on the Quan Yin Method.

While at the Fair the Muslim initiates became acquainted with representatives of a publishing house specializing in Islamic literature, who conducted a lively discussion with the initiates, asking many questions about the Quan Yin practice and how it was compatible with Islam. Also, for several days a Muslim visitor from Pakistan came to the Fair and actively joined in these discussions. In the beginning, the Muslim exhibitors seemed put off by this “strange” method, but when the initiates explained that they were not propagating a new religion, but a way of direct communion with Allah that would allow them to understand their own religion better, they became very interested. The Pakistani man then immediately asked for all available information on the Quan Yin Method. The next day he came back to the stand with a big smile on his face and said, “I read through your publications last night. They are good!”

In order to reach as many Arabic speakers as possible, the work team also offered Arabic flyers and sample booklets and other information to visitors at the Arab Pavilion, where more than 3,000 books on the Arab World and many works by Arab authors and poets were exhibited, and a number of cultural events took place. Most of the Arabic-speaking visitors were happy to receive the information, especially Master’s beautiful sample booklet.

In general, Muslims sincerely long for God and are deeply devoted to leading a spiritual life in accordance with the teachings of Islam’s sacred scripture the Holy Quran. Thus the initiates were touched by their high standard of morality and astonished by the great artistic skill and refined tastes displayed in the dance performances and Arabic literature at the Arab Pavilion. Altogether, the sisters and brothers managed to distribute approximately 500 sets of Arabic information in the hope that these first seeds of light will soon sprout.

Among the international visitors to the Association’s booth were an English-speaking man who exclaimed excitedly, “I have been looking for this!” and eagerly asked for more information on the Quan Yin Method. Several Chinese visitors also spoke to the initiates, including a man from Berlin who had attended Master’s lecture there in 1993. Another Chinese man came to the booth with his entire family, including his parents, and returned on the last day of the Fair to acquire a large collection of Master’s books and DVDs.

Generally speaking, the response to Master’s message at the event was very positive. For instance, one man commented: “Not everything you see at the Fair is good. But what you are doing is very, very good!” And several other visitors sincerely wished us all the best.

Also, in order for more people to benefit from the occasion, the initiates organized three spiritual seminars on the weekend; two in German entitled “See God and Attain Happiness and Inner Peace” and one in English called “Experience the Divine.” At each seminar, excerpts from Master’s lectures were presented and afterwards a Convenient Method teaching session was conducted. The audiences at the seminars, which included Muslims, were from many countries, and about a quarter of those who attended stayed afterwards to learn the Convenient form of practice.

In addition, the initiates organized an informational forum entitled “Peace Begins within Us” located in one of the international halls near the Fair’s Asian section. The activity began with a solo performance on the pipa (Chinese lute), followed by an introduction to the Association and its publication company, a reading of Master’s poetry, and a musical recital featuring the pipa and monochord (an ancient Western stringed instrument). Then an introductory DVD on Master and Her lecture DVDs were presented. In the lectures Master discussed the nature of peace and how it can be attained through meditation. The event ended with another solo pipa performance, during which the instrument’s lively yet peaceful sounds attracted a huge crowd of Asian exhibitors and visitors from nearby stands, some of whom later went to the forum’s information desk to obtain sample booklets and other information.

Both before and during the Fair, many miracles and wondrous manifestations of the Master power occurred, more than can be mentioned in this article. For example, on Saturday October 9, just at the time of day when the greatest number of visitors were attending the Fair, not enough initiates were present to take care of the crowd at the Association’s booth. But just then a family of Chinese initiates turned up and enthusiastically began distributing sample booklets, flyers and catalogues, without anyone having asked them to do so. Their little daughter was especially diligent, continuously asked for more flyers, and did not stop working even when her parents paused to have lunch.

On the afternoon of Sunday October 10, when the 2004 Frankfurt Book Fair ended, the initiates were exhausted but also full of joy and in high spirits so they spontaneously celebrated with a little party. And in the days following the event, many people contacted the local center asking for information about Master and the Quan Yin Method. The participating initiates thank Master for giving them the opportunity to contribute to this beautiful precursor of a future world, in which people of all nations and religious backgrounds will live together in peace and harmony. While working together at the Fair, the initiates sincerely felt that this dream was already materializing, for they were all one in spirit!

 

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