Creating the Miracle of Love Together -The 2006 Spiritual Books Contribution Activities

[Taipei] In 1999, 2002 and 2005, the Taipei Center had contributed Supreme Master Ching Hai’s spiritual publications to the public, which received warm and positive responses from various organizations and groups. This year, the Taipei Center again prepared a package of Master’s publications for contribution, which included “Of God and Humans - Insights from Bible Stories,” “God’s Direct Contact - The Way to Reach Peace, ” “Coloring Our Lives,” “Aphorisms,” “Supreme Kitchen” and the DVD “The Real Heroes.” Also included were the Alternative Living promotional items. In addition to the public, private and school libraries in Taipei, the list of recipients have been extended to 210 libraries in rehabilitating institutes and social welfare organizations targeting people of various age groups, with the hope to share Master’s spiritual teachings and the vegetarian ideal with everyone.

In early June, Golden Year 3 (2006), the book contribution ‘train’ went to the elementary and secondary schools in Taipei City and County, which included the Deng Gong Elementary School, Xin Xing Elementary School, Wen Hua Elementary School, the Dan Shui Secondary School, Guang Hua Elementary School, Shi Xian Elementary School and the Jian Kang Elementary School. Together with the books, we also presented the Alternative Living pencil pads and document folders to the teaching staff and students in these schools. These endeavors of love, apart from receiving unanimous and positive acknowledgement, also gave the students an initial understanding about loving animals and protecting the environment. We also have had excellent interactions with the school principals, and have exchanged practical ideas on education issues such as animal protection, developing compassion and respecting life.

On June 12, the book contribution train drove into the Tu Cheng City Library. This time we incorporated the Alternative Living message into the environmental protection agenda to emphasize the conservation of the ecological resources on our planet. Also included in the package were the “The Real Heroes” DVD and the “Supreme Kitchen” cookbook, guiding people to implement the vegetarian and environmental protection ideals in daily life. We hoped that people with affinity would be able to find the relevant information when they come to borrow the books. When Mr. Zheng Guo-cheng, secretary of the library, accepted the books, he said, “Supreme Master Ching Hai is a spiritual Master ahead of our time. She explains the essence of various religions to the people in plain terminology, and really lives what She teaches, which has become daily-life wisdom and guidelines for people.”

Famous for its tofu and tea, Shen Keng town has attracted a lot of tourists with its simple and original scenery and delicious tofu. On June 15, we went to the Shen Keng Township Library that has been repeatedly commended for its outstanding performance among the various town and township libraries in Taipei County. In addition to contributing Master’s publications to the library, we also distributed the Alternative Living leaflets to the local inhabitants.

The chief librarian, Mr. Lin Jia-rong, is an earnest and loving person. Upon meeting the fellow initiates, he said that during their telephone conversations, he could feel the cordialness of the initiates and wanted very much to meet us. As a Christian, he was particularly interested in the book “Of God and Humans - Insights from Bible Stories” and immediately started reading it. After the fellow initiates had explained the contents of “God Takes Care of Everything,” “Coloring Our Lives” and the other books, Mr. Lin delightfully said to us that Master’s books are all very good. They convey profound meanings with simple language, and achieving the effect of edifying people’s minds through the inspiration of some short stories. Mr. Lin was especially impressed by the book of aphorisms. It is compact and convenient for carrying, and the concise teachings in the book are particularly suitable for the reading of busy people today, and thus elevating their consciousness level. He said he would definitely find time to read these good books of wisdom carefully. He would display them in the “recommended books” area for several months before putting them on the bookshelves.

After fellow initiates explained to Mr. Lin the content of the article “Meditation Increases Brain Size” published in News No. 167, he was excited and amazed: “So, there is such great benefit from meditation!” He wanted to enlarge this article, mount it as a poster, and put it on the announcement board in the library as a permanent “advertisement” for meditation, so that people with affinity would come and learn meditation, thus purifying their minds and creating a harmonious, peaceful and prosperous society.

Chief librarian Lin further invited us to participate in the “Taipei County Public Libraries Excellent Books Exhibition Tour” which will take place in Shen Ken in July, so as to introduce these good books to the local inhabitants. He also suggested that we enlarge the articles related to vegetarianism and meditation and put them on big placards, making it more convenient for people to read. When fellow initiates proposed to hold a vegetarian food tasting activity and Convenient Method teaching session at the exhibition venue, and later to promote the vegetarian diet since Shen Keng is famous for its tofu, Mr. Lin happily encouraged our ideas, wishing us success.

On June 20, we delivered books to the Shih Hsin University, which were accepted by director Shi and Miss Lin. We gave Miss Lin a brief introduction to Master and our reasons for making this book contribution. Miss Lin was very interested in our activities and browsed through the five issues of the News magazine that we gave them. The next day, Miss Lin called us requesting some of Master’s audio publications. After assessing their request, we decided to give them ten DVDs of Master’s lectures and the TV program “A Journey through Aesthetic Realms.” Upon receiving these precious DVDs, director Shi and Miss Lin expressed their gratitude and said they could feel Master’s selfless sacrificing spirit. They believed that these publications full of wisdom would definitely bring great benefit to the teachers and students of Shih Hsin University, as well as to the inhabitants in the community.

Mr. Jian gladly accepted Master’s Buddha Chanting CD

The Zhao Ru Private Home for the Elderly in Mu Zha district is equipped with a first class library. When director Tsai received the books that we contributed, she was amazed and asked: “These books look very expensive. Are you really giving them to us free?” Upon knowing that these books were free gifts from Master with love, she happily started browsing through the “Supreme Kitchen.” She commended that the vegetarian diet is beneficial to health and for pacifying the mind, and that there are many seniors in the Home who are life vegetarians. Although they have professional cooks and nutritionists, they were unable to prepare such delicious vegetarian food. Besides, they also did not know where to buy the required ingredients. They hoped that we would help and teach them how to prepare vegetarian food, so that everyone in the Home could enjoy vegetarian meals. Director Tsai further hoped that we could contribute similar publications to their affiliated branches: the Yang Min Apartments for the Elderly, the Taipei Private Heng An Elderly Home and the Keelung City Ren-ai Senior Citizens Home. Responding to her loving suggestions, we delivered the books to these three Homes, and also arranged to hold an introductory vegetarian buffet at the Zhao Ru Home for the Elderly in mid July. Director Tsai was very grateful for our earnest support, and also grateful to the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association for arranging an introductory vegetarian buffet in such a short time, thus realizing her aspiration of guiding the seniors to embark on a healthy vegetarian diet.

Ping Xi Town Library

The book contribution train arrived at the Ping Xi Town Library on June 22, and the chief librarian Ms. Guo received the books. After listening to the introduction by fellow initiates and having some idea about Master’s teachings, ideal and compassion, Ms. Guo said she would read Master’s book carefully to know more about Her teachings. She also hoped that we would send each issue of the News magazine to the library for the benefit of the inhabitants in Ping Xi. The library was planning a Ping Xi Library book exhibition tour and she earnestly invited us to participate. This event would fully utilize the function of the library to encourage the reading habit of the local people and let them know more about the vegetarian diet. Therefore, we decided to participate in the book exhibition by combining the sharing of Master’s teachings with vegetarian food tasting.

Fellow initiates then introduced the Convenient Method to chief librarian Guo and proposed to teach the Convenient Method at the book exhibition. Ms. Guo was delighted that a soul-elevating meditation teaching session would be held during the book exhibition, and she regarded it as a blessing for the inhabitants. She also wanted to learn, and she would invite the town Mayor to come to try the delicious vegetarian food and learn the meditation.

God’s Power Takes Care of the Lost Lambs

On June 30, we visited many rehabilitating institutions and all of them welcomed the books, the Alternative Living fans and document folders that we contributed. A teacher in the Juvenile Detention Center sincerely said that the inmates responded very well to the books that the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association gave them, especially the illustrated book of wisdom—“God Takes Care of Everything.” The inmates really loved the exquisite and elegant design, as well as the cute and lovely illustrations. He hoped that members of the Association would join the team of compassionate counselors and hold group entertainment programs and meditation teaching sessions to help elevate the hearts and souls of the inmates.

We believe that God’s power has reached the hearts of these inmates through Supreme Master Ching Hai’s books and has rekindled the lamp of their life. We wish that God’s love will continue to guide them to embark on a bright and glorious future soon!

[Changhua] To provide more opportunities for people to know about the teachings of a living Master, the Changhua Center launched a series of activities from the end of June to the middle of July, contributing or replenishing spiritual books to the town and township libraries in Changhua County.

The Changhua Center first made a general enquiry through the telephone and Internet to find out the collection of Master’s publications in each library and further asked by the phone whether these libraries were willing to accept the book contribution. Many fellow initiates eagerly participated in the contribution project and delivered the books to the libraries in the area where they lived. All of them felt happy and honored to be able to share Master’s teachings with other people.

In addition to expressing gratitude, all the libraries receiving the books highly praised this activity. The Hua Tan Township Library even called to request the other volumes of The Key of Immediate Enlightenment. The librarian of Da Cheng Township Library was very impressed by the content of “Master Tells Stories” and expressed his wish to use this book as teaching material when they held story telling sessions. We sincerely hope that this book contribution activity will spread Master’s message of Truth deep into every corner, and bring upon a positive change to the society.

[Nantou] Depending on the age group of readers, the Nantou Center contributed to 145 elementary schools, 33 secondary schools, 13 high schools, 2 tertiary colleges and 13 town or township libraries in Nantou County, each of them two volumes of the following books: “Master Tells Stories,” “Master Tells Jokes,” “God Takes Care of Everything,” “Of God and Humans—Insights from Bible Stories,” “Coloring Our Lives” and “Supreme Kitchen.”

During the book contribution period, fellow initiates in Formosa representing Master presented the “Shining World Leadership Award” to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, which ignited hot coverage by local reporters.

When we delivered the books to the destinations, the people who received us immediately recognized Master from Her photographs on the book covers. Principal Xie Zai-zhi of Guang Min Elementary School welcomed us warmly and eagerly talked about Master and spiritual issues with us. Some teachers, upon getting the books, were impressed by the exquisite printing quality and started reading them right away.

Due to funding problems, many schools have recently reduced their purchase of new books. Therefore, these gifts from Master are like “nectar in the desert” to them. Most schools were very happy to receive the books and expressed their appreciation repeatedly!

The Divine Fragrance of Master’s Publications Permeates Shen Keng

By Taipei News Group, Formosa (Originally in Chinese)

[Taipei] When Taipei Center conducted a series of book contribution activities in June, Golden Year 3 (2006), fellow initiates made an acquaintance with Mr. Lin Jia-rong, the chief librarian of the Shen Keng Township Library. On the day they delivered the books to the library, Mr. Lin, who was very impressed by the exquisite printing quality of Master’s books, said, “The first time I spoke to you on the phone, I felt a kind of familiarity. And when I saw you come with the books, I felt a radiance of love and a selfless sacrificing spirit emanating from you.” For this reason, chief librarian Lin invited us to participate in the “2006 Taipei County Public Libraries Excellent Books Exhibition Tour,” which was to be held in Shen Keng in July.

The exhibition venue was the ceremonial hall of the Township Office, and our exhibition booth was located near the entrance. Master’s Longevity Lamps and paintings enhanced the venue with an artistic ambiance, while Her lecture DVDs were shown on the stage, blessing the whole venue with spiritual radiance. A broad range of books were exhibited at this event and Master’s books precisely filled the vacancy of spiritual publications. The township’s Mayor, Madam Gao Wu Mei-ying, expressed her gratitude to us in particular. She said, “Modern society is advanced in abundance of information. And, the number of children in each family is getting less, so they are very spoiled. As such, sometimes it is more effective for children to learn from reading books than from the discipline of their parents. The spiritual publications from the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association teach people to be virtuous which is vital for children.” The library is located on the first floor of the Township Office building. It has helped promote the reading habit of local people for the last decade. For three consecutive years, their library has been selected as one of the best in the country. As the book fair was held during the summer vacation, many parents brought their children to this exhibition.

During the exhibition, fellow initiates were invited to speak on the stage to introduce our Association and Master’s contribution to the world. After that, we invited everyone to enjoy some vegetarian food. The staff members of the township office highly praised our efforts, “Wow! I never thought that vegetarian food could be so delicious!” Some people felt that the vegetarian cakes were more delicate in texture and tasted better than ordinary cakes made with eggs.

Mr. Lin Jia-rong (right), chief librarian of the Shen Keng Township Library.

Commenting on the spiritual publications exhibited by our Association, chief librarian Lin said, “The soul is the master of human beings. If our souls are pure, we will be directed to walk on the right paths in life. The spiritual publications exhibited by the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association serve to guide people towards benevolence.” Mr. Lin accepted our invitation to learn the Convenient Method, and upon departure, he again confirmed with us the guideline of keeping a vegetarian diet as a precept for the Convenient Method practice. Actually, on the first day of the exhibition, six people learned the Convenient Method, four of whom were local inhabitants.

Madam Gao Wu Mei-ying,
Mayor of Shen Keng Township.

Mr. Chen Shui-sheng, the head of the Civilian Administration Department of the Township Office, was deeply touched by Master’s paintings on display at the exhibition. He said that he loved beautiful things, especially works of art. He even requested us to extend our exhibition for one more day after the book exhibition was closed, because he wanted to share the beauty of Master’s art creations with sixty villager representatives from Yong Kang of Tainan County. Later, Mr. Chen also learned the Convenient Method.

This nine-day exhibition provided an excellent opportunity to introduce the Quan Yin Method to many people. For the dozen or so people who learned the Convenient Method, they seemed to have come on their own because of their affinity with Master. They walked blissfully into the palace of God with a pure heart.