Sharing Love Overseas through
Master's 'Alternative Living' Flyers

(Originally in Chinese)

Bangladesh

Bangladesh lies to the northeast of India and has one of the world's highest population densities. Since the country is not a popular tourist destination, on the advice of their travel agent the initiates sought the help of Mr. Bian, a Formosan businessman living in the country, who arranged for their accommodations and met them at the Zia Airport in Dhaka, the capital city, on January 27. The next morning, due to time and transportation constraints, they quickly made plans to distribute the pamphlets only in Dhaka, which is home to thirty million people, and in the seaport community of Chittagong, the second largest city in Bangladesh.

The initiates' first stop was Dhaka University, where they divided into two groups, the first comprised of two medical workers who coincidentally chose the University's medical college as their first destination. When the workers saw future Bangladeshi nurses and medical technicians perusing Master's leaflets, they realized the great influence the flyers can have on changing people's diets. As they proceeded to other colleges, the initiates met several professors and lawyers, who were amazed that the sisters and brothers had traveled so far just to share the message of love and good health, and warmly provided their business cards, saying, "We'd be happy to have some pamphlets for our friends."

Tourists are rare in Bangladesh so the initiates attracted great attention as many locals curiously enquired about their country of origin and the pamphlets' contents. Also, knowing that the practitioners' intentions were pure and compassionate, the people were extremely touched by their efforts, with some warmly shaking hands and placing their palms on their chests to convey the message "God bless you." Moreover, in a loving show of support for Master's ideas, several students volunteered to help distribute the leaflets and explain their contents, and also provided their email addresses in hopes of receiving more information about Master and Her Association. The second group of initiates went to a marketplace packed with people, where, after listening to a sister initiate's explanation of the flyers' contents, an elderly woman embraced her with great emotion, saying, "You are truly wonderful! You have brought us such a precious message!" Some others seemed puzzled about why the pig on the leaflet was saying "I love you!" And when the initiates explained it was a grateful response to humans for not putting it on the dinner table, the inquirers laughed heartily.

On the third day, the disciples handed out leaflets in downtown Dhaka, where huge crowds were moving around bus stations and malls. Thus tens of thousands of leaflets were distributed within a couple of hours. Even police officers read the flyers with great interest, and a group of children earnestly guided the initiates in distributing the pamphlets, eagerly alerting them if anyone went by without receiving one. Very often, pedestrians on the opposite side of the street would venture through the heavy traffic, or come to the work team from a great distance to get the leaflets. During this experience a brother-initiate said, "I seem to have seen these scenes in a dream," and a young sister-initiate expressed a similar feeling. So the trip had evidently been arranged by God a long time ago!

After working in Dhaka, the practitioners proceeded to Chittagong, where the coastal area was so congested with people that the pamphlets were gone in no time, providing a truly remarkable scene. Later, when the team went to Chittagong University, several students led them to the school's administration building to distribute leaflets, and they were offered milk tea in the president's office. The timing was just right, as at that moment throngs of students were pouring into the university and again the leaflets were quickly distributed.

While in Bangladesh the work team conducted a newspaper readership survey and found that upper- and upper-middle-class citizens subscribed mainly to English dailies, and members of the lower-middle and lower classes, which made up the largest part of the population, read Bengali newspapers, but few could afford to pay for subscriptions. So the initiates decided to run front-page ads in the English papers, and also print several thousand additional Bengali copies of the leaflets, which Mr. Bian and his friends could distribute to middle- and lower-class people throughout the country.

In conclusion, the trip to Bangladesh was full of delightful surprises, as all the while the participants experienced Master's grace and care and realized that they were merely God's tools. Through the "Alternative Living" pamphlets, many Bangladeshis have come to know the benefits of the vegetarian diet, and the initiates hope that the URLs of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association websites printed on the leaflets will better acquaint them with the Quan Yin Method and allow more divine light to shine on their country.

Egypt

On February 4 and 11 twenty-six initiates went to Egypt in two groups. Before the trip, the work team members read information about the country's people, customs and climate, knowing that it would be a challenging mission, yet nonetheless embarking on their journey in the belief "God takes care of everything."

The initiates' travel agent made them airline and hotel reservations, but no transportation was arranged from the local airport to their hotel. However, unexpectedly, on the day of their arrival, a tour guide from Formosa helped them find transportation to the hotel and a local guide, for which the sisters and brothers were deeply thankful to God. In another delightful turn of events, the hotel owner expressed concern regarding the initiates' travel route and so they welcomed his suggestion to let his public relations manager plan a more suitable route than the one they had previously arranged. Again they thanked God for Hiers arrangement.

The first group of fellow initiates stayed near Cairo, while the second proceeded to Alexandria in the north and to Aswan and Luxor in the south. On February 5, the first group distributed flyers at Maydan al-Atabah Square, the busiest marketplace in Cairo, where people were receptive, and some even came over warmly to seek them. Thus in an hour 3,000 leaflets were handed out. Then, while passing by Cairo University, the work team noticed a huge crowd outside its entrance so they stopped and divided into three groups to distribute leaflets at the most crowded spots, where they again witnessed the zealous, curious nature of the Egyptian people. And since they were not allowed onto the campus, a large number of students reached out for flyers from within the surrounding fence. And after carefully reading their contents, many turned around and gave a thumbs-up gesture to the initiates, saying, "It's great!"

Over the next few days, the work team also visited several crowded marketplaces, such as the Khan al-Khalili and Suq al-Nahhasin markets, and also schools and subway stations, where people often gave the thumbs-up gesture, praising the initiates for doing a great thing. And after finishing the distribution, a group of peddlers nearby warmly applauded the sisters and brothers, inviting them to visit again the next day.

On the last day of their trip, the initiates visited the Imbaba district near Cairo's river port, where they found bus and passenger van terminals with crowded markets nearby, and luckily, school was just over for the day and crowds of students were going home so many people gathered around hoping to get a leaflet. Even drivers of buses and passenger vans stopped to get one, and so 6,000 pamphlets were distributed in an hour and a half.

Through their flyer distribution effort in Egypt, the initiates experienced the zealous, friendly nature of the Egyptian people as many praised them for doing a good job, and even spoke in English to welcome them to their country. Occasionally when people initially declined the leaflets, they would return upon hearing that the contents involved forsaking the meat diet. And several local vendors and youths, upon learning the flyers' message, volunteered to help with the distribution and explain them the subject of the flyer to those who are interested in it. Moreover, whenever they encountered problems or obstacles, the sisters and brothers always reminded each other to pray for God's blessing. For in such cases, all we need to do is discard our preconceived ideas and submit completely to the God power so as to fully serve our function as tools in spreading the noble information of non-violence throughout the world.

Fiji

Fiji is an archipelago of over 300 islands in the South Pacific with a flourishing tourism industry, where the initiates distributed flyers in the capital Suva, which contains a third of the country's population, as well as the neighboring cities of Nausori, Nadi and Lautoka.

On January 28, the work team began their efforts in downtown Suva, where they distributed 8,000 pamphlets in one afternoon. The next day was Saturday, when the streets were most crowded so to save time and increase efficiency, the team split into two groups. The first, which consisted of seven members, remained in Suva to distribute approximately 16,000 pamphlets in crowded areas. The other group of three Formosan initiates and a local fellow practitioner took a cab to Nausori, where they distributed about 8,000 leaflets. On Sunday, when most local people attended church, the streets were quiet and the shops were closed, the initiates rested and made plans. And in the early morning of their fourth day in Fiji, they traveled to Nadi and Lautoka, hoping to catch the crowds of local people going to school and work. As they distributed Master's flyers, Her message was warmly welcomed as the remaining 12,000 leaflets were distributed in just one morning. Thus, thanks to Master's blessing, the mission was accomplished in the shortest time possible.

Guam

Situated in the west Pacific, Guam is an island about twice the size of Taipei City and enjoys sunshine all year round and a population that is pure and simple living. From February 3 to 6, the initiates distributed leaflets at the island's Governor's House, administration centers, bus terminals, markets, schools and hospitals. Most of the inhabitants were pious Christians and happily accepted the leaflets outside churches, where the initiates met a woman who was a strict vegetarian and ran a vegetarian food store. Delighted to learn that she shared the same ideals with the practitioners, she eagerly gave them her telephone number and expressed a desire to visit them sometime.

While distributing the leaflets, the work team also met some enthusiastic teachers who gladly offered to distribute the leaflets in their schools. On this trip, about 26,000 leaflets were distributed, and ads featuring the flyer were also placed in the best-selling local newspapers, hoping to convey its message to more Guam residents.

Cambodia

Cambodia is located in the southern part of the Indochina Peninsula adjacent to Au Lac, Laos and Thailand. On February 3, ten fellow initiates went to the capital city of Phnom Penh with about 40,000 leaflets printed in the native language Khmer. As soon as they arrived, the work team split into two groups, with a group of two going to place ads in local newspapers, and another group of eight heading directly to the city's largest local marketplace, the Central Market.

To spread the message far and wide, early the next morning the practitioners hired a car and went to Battambang and then circled Lake Tonle Sap to Siemreap, before returning to Phnom Penh via Highway No. 5. Stops included Kampong Chnnang, Pursat, Battambang, Bamteay Meanchey, Siemreap, Kampong Thom, and Kampong Cham, where the flyers were quickly distributed at each location and almost every adult or child cherished their content and read them attentively with no one throwing them away. Even motorbike riders stopped to take leaflets and read them very carefully. It was truly touching to observe their grateful, serious attitude! Sometimes, when the crowd was too large and the initiates could not distribute to everyone at once, people who had not taken one would wait patiently on one side or come back later to get a leaflet. Most of the recipients accepted the leaflets with both hands and with great respect, and some even wiped their hands on their clothes before taking the circulars while smiling shyly. Thus, the initiates were very happy to see Master's message being highly cherished by the local people.

Before the trip, the work team had contacted a Mr. Pan, who was very eager to help the people of Cambodia. Besides arranging a tour guide and transportation, he also took very good care of the initiates throughout their trip. He was indeed a guardian angel sent by God! Mr. Huang of Battambang, an acquaintance of Mr. Pan's, waited patiently at a bridge for the practitioners for several hours, and what was even more touching was that he had to ride a bicycle for six kilometers to get there! Not only was he very humble and earnest, but Mr. Huang also strongly supported Master's vegetarian ideal, and with his guidance the work team visited numerous Buddhist monasteries and vegetarian restaurants, where all the people were happy to help spread the message of Alternative Living. When distributing leaflets at the Battambang Market, the initiates met a young English teacher who was accepting of all faiths. And after studying Master's leaflet carefully, he agreed with Her ideas and found people to help distribute 3,000 leaflets.

In Siemreap, Mr. Pan led the team to the Taipei Overseas Peace Services (TOPS), a body devoted to promoting non-conventional education, including hygiene and medical services, among refugees and impoverished people in backward regions. TOPS had chosen fifteen of the poorest regions to launch this project, and after learning about the purpose of the initiates' trip, TOPS participants decided that they embraced a similar ideal, and were happy to share Master's message with people in these areas. Also in order to help their underprivileged Cambodian brothers and sisters, the practitioners offered the TOPS representatives financial contributions.

In conclusion, although the January-February 2006 "Alternative Living" flyer distribution activity lasted only five days, all aspects of the work went so smoothly and the effort was so full of coincidences due to Master's grace that it turned out to be a fruitful and wonderful experience for the Formosan disciples and everyone else involved.

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