The Never-Ending Love - A New Diet Brings a New Life

The continuation of life and the sustainable development of the world depends on people’s devotion and endeavors. In Formosa, a group of such angels have continuously reached out with their precious love: the superintendent and teachers at the Yi Kuang Orphanage, who for a long time have made ongoing efforts to help homeless children and other youngsters who are physically and mentally disadvantaged. These angels have been manifesting God’s eternal love in this world; and their spirit is highly respectable!

On Women and Children’s Day this year, fellow initiates from the Taipei Center of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association visited the Yi Kuang Orphanage. They brought to the orphanage the most needed daily necessities, and enthusiastically served its inhabitants a sumptuous vegetarian feast. Some initiates also donned themselves in pink pig, cow, rooster and other animal outfits to entertain the children. Their efforts transformed the home of these orphans and disadvantaged youngsters into a joyous and shining paradise. Superintendent Ms. Li Shi Mei and the teachers were very impressed and expressed their high regard for the love and compassion of Supreme Master Ching Hai and the sincerity of fellow initiates.

Fellow initiates had been periodically visiting this orphanage to show their care and try to understand its needs. They had noticed poor ventilation conditions in the small bedrooms of the older apartments, which were not good for the inhabitants during the hot summer days. This posed a big health concern for those who could not easily move around or who were mentally ill. Fellow initiates further learned that the existing air conditioning equipment in the orphanage lacked maintenance and had a high rate of breakdowns. Being short of funding, the orphanage did not have the capability to keep the air conditioning operational, but the hot and humid environment imposed an even greater worry for inhabitants who had to stay in bed all the time.

Given these considerations, The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association contributed a new air conditioner to the orphanage and arranged for fellow initiates who were professional electricians to fix and maintain the existing air conditioning equipment, in the hope of improving the living conditions of the inhabitants. The tables and chairs in the orphanage were also old and peeling paint. Therefore, Taipei Center invited initiate professionals to paint the furniture in the orphanage an attractive and shining beige color, to make it a bright and comfortable home for the youngsters.

When initiates were discussing with the orphanage their offer of air conditioning equipment and the painting of tables and chairs, the superintendent expressed her gratitude for Master’s and fellow initiates’ compassion. She especially mentioned a previous appealing vegetarian feast, which she said had been very much appreciated by the inhabitants and the teachers. She further commented that the vegetarian food prepared by fellow initiates could only be served at five-star restaurants, and she asked if they would hold another vegetarian meal party to satisfy the appetite and long-held wish of the children.

On the morning of August 19, Golden Year 3 (2006), more than 20 fellow initiates went to Yi Kuang Orphanage for the vegetarian meal event as well as to contribute to and repair the air conditioning system. Upon arriving, they heard one of Master’s songs lingering in the hall. The superintendent used the best audio equipment in the orphanage to play Master’s songs, often asking fellow initiates, “Please turn it louder! Louder!”

After a brief presentation ceremony to offer the air conditioner as well as other contributions to the orphanage, zealous college student fellow initiates happily greeted all with a lively welcome song and hugged every youngster in the orphanage, marking the start of the next one-and-a-half hours of group activity. Singing and passing the ball was a game where everyone sang a song together; then, at the moment the song finished, the person who was holding the ball had to sing a song or perform a talent show. Encouraged by fellow initiates, the inhabitants who had the ball cheerfully sang or danced. Laughter reverberated in everyone’s ears, and the blissful atmosphere affected everyone’s heart. Teachers on the side happily danced to the music.

At the beginning, three youngsters were shy, hiding in corners, and did not want to participate. But when the aerobic dance started, as they watched others joyously following the rhythm with their bodies, they could not stop themselves from joining the group to dance. The aerobic dance was followed by competitions of ball passing, rhythmical dribbling and bouncing. These activities were intended to give the youngsters in the orphanage physical exercise, and to provide them with training for team building and rhythm appreciation. The party ended in a sincere prayer.

It was noon when the group activities finished. Looking at the sumptuous and delicate food on the table, everyone beamed with joy. Then they enjoyed the delicious food cooked with love. Besides the tasty food, fellow initiates also brought an abundance of blessed gifts. The youngsters were very happy when they got the beautifully wrapped presents. Some even held them to their chest, as if holding treasure. The way they showed their appreciation was very touching.

The vegetarian feast really gave the teachers and the children great happiness. Teachers invited the others, saying: “Come quickly! Every dish is extremely delicious!” The superintendent even asked the cooking team for the recipe of every dish, saying that she wanted to try and cook them herself. Fellow initiates suggested that the orphanage could provide one to two days of nutritious vegetarian food every week, or one vegetarian meal every day. The superintendent accepted the suggestion, and asked whether we had a nutritionist to hold a seminar on health for them to consult about vegetarian nutrition. This symbolized the beginning of another progress and elevation. Because of Master’s blessing and fellow initiates’ efforts, a new station for our “Golden Vegetarian Train” had just opened!

The superintendent told us she had originally suggested that fellow initiates prepare the same food as the last time. However, the cooking team said that due to the recent hot weather, the course composition must be adjusted accordingly. When the superintendent knew of the new courses, she repeatedly uttered her surprise: the sushi that was among the new dishes was exactly the one that an inhabitant had wished for a long time! Due to financial reasons, he had not been able to realize his dream. The superintendent added that almost everyone in the orphanage knew of this inhabitant’s wish. It was such a surprise for them to see that the prepared dishes really included sushi!

Through these activities, fellow initiates have deeply realized God’s meticulous love in taking care of every person and satisfying every soul’s earnest request. Regardless of location, God always knows our innermost hopes. The omnipotent God knows and really takes care of everything!

Joint Efforts to Extend Loving Care

While distributing the Alternative Living flyers, fellow initiates from Taipei became acquainted with volunteer workers from “Animals Taiwan” (http://animalstaiwan.org). This animal protection group was founded by a British national, Sean McCormack, together with four Formosan friends and three other foreign friends who all love animals. Animals Taiwan provides a sanctuary for stray cats and dogs at an animal shelter on the bank of the Keelung River in Taipei. Because the animals are accustomed to wandering the streets, they often cross the busy thoroughfares in the neighborhoods. The traffic poses grave danger for them.

The dogs, often kept indoors, take a look at the outside from a window.	This fence ensures that animal friends will remain within the safety of a roomy compound.

When our fellow initiates learned about the situation, they immediately offered help. Working hand in hand, the volunteers from Animals Taiwan paved concrete on an empty space under shady trees and our fellow initiates built a fence around it. This gave our animal friends, often kept indoors, a safe place to run around under the open sky.

McCormack, who does not eat meat, came from a distant land for the single purpose of saving stray animals and drawing public attention to the issue. The abandoned animals are similar to the street people. They need our loving care and respect. McCormack was grateful to The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association for helping his organization accomplish a long-pending project in such a short time. As soon as the cement dried, the animal friends would be moved outdoors and their current shelter would be used as a classroom. McCormack hopes to provide instructions for people who adopt animals from the shelter on how to care for pets correctly. This is the ultimate goal of the group’s endeavor to save animals.

We presented Master’s News magazines and 30 kg of vegetarian food in assorted flavors to Animals Taiwan in hopes that different animal species could enjoy vegetarian diets. The food offered included the “All-Natural Whole Food for Lively Doggie” made by Loving Food Corporation according to Master’s instruction.

A happy scene of Sean McCormack with his dogs and members of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association.

During our visit, we realized how much effort McCormack devoted to caring for the dogs. He fed them fresh food rather than processed dog food, however, he was very interested in the vegetarian food that we had brought. He said that as a vegetarian, he made a point to apologize to the chicken when feeding it to the dogs. He knew that there was a conflict in sacrificing one life to sustain another. He was attracted to a vegetarian dog food recipe, provided by a fellow sister, in our News magazine. He was surprised that cats could live on a vegetarian diet, too and said he would explore the matter further.

As we elaborated on the topic, he learned that vegetarian dogs and cats were not a minority, and abandoned the longstanding concept that a meat diet was a must for them. We were pleased that within an hour, we had shared with him the ideal of a vegetarian diet and aroused his interest in pursuing such a diet for animals. He promised to research how to prepare fresh vegetarian food for them.

McCormack made an excellent suggestion. He said he would try our vegetarian dog food with a few dogs and take pictures of them that we could use to help people realize that dogs will readily accept the healthy vegetarian diet. The visit ended in optimism that we would see a greater number of happy and healthy vegetarian dogs in the future.

Clothes for the Underprivileged

The Superintendent of Heping Hospital, Chu Da-cheng, presents a plaque of appreciation to The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association.

During the hot summer, a group of homeless and underprivileged patients in the Heping Hospital were in need of new summer clothes. When fellow initiates from the Taipei Center learned about this, they went to the hospital on August 29 to send love and concern to the needy.

Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association representatives were greeted by the hospital superintendent, Chu Da-cheng, and other department heads. A contribution ceremony was held at a top-level meeting attended by all department leaders. Items contributed included fifty sets of summer clothing, News magazines, and Alternative Living promotional items. In return, Superintendent Chu presented a plaque of appreciation on behalf of Heping Hospital to our association.

After the ceremony, Miss Yu, a volunteer worker at the hospital, accompanied the Taipei initiates to the community service office to brief the staff about the hospital volunteer team setup and their services for the homeless. According to Miss Yu, when the hospital found that the homeless and underprivileged patients were in need of summer clothes, its administrative staff sought help from the city’s bureaus of Labor Affairs and Social Affairs. Both departments recommended The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association and praised us for our prompt and earnest responses. Through our exchange of ideas, we witnessed compassion demonstrated at the Heping Hospital as it provides medical service to people without discrimination. This is another proof that the Golden Age has arrived and there is increased love and concern among people in the world.

On August 19, Golden Year 3 (2006), the Jiuhua Mountain Ksitigarbha Temple in Chiayi City was on fire. When firefighters rushed to the site to spray water, an explosion suddenly injured more than ten people, including firefighters and civilians. After learning about the news, the Chiayi Center of the Supreme Master International Association immediately arranged for fellow initiates to visit the injured firefighters to offer cash gifts and to express gratefulness from the public for the heroic actions of these firefighters who never considered their own safety.

Burn Center staff receiving sample booklets and cash gift on behalf of firefighters	Visiting firefighters injured on duty, and offering sample booklets and cash gifts

In the afternoon, fellow initiates arrived at the hospital where firefighters were being treated. The four in critical condition were placed in the hospital’s Burn Center. To avoid the spread of infection, a nurse informed fellow initiates that visiting and communication would only be allowed via the television and the telephone. Two of the firefighters were sleeping because of fatigue and light fever. Another was changing medication and was not in bed. So, we conveyed Master’s concern and fellow initiates’ respect to the firefighter who was awake. We asked him to convey our love, cash gifts, sample booklets, and vegetarian flyers to the three other firefighters.

Later, fellow initiates visited hospitalized firefighters in general wards. After understanding the reason for our visit, the firefighters and their families were very thankful for Master’s compassionate concern. Some family members told us that they had heard Master’s name before, and expressed their gratefulness for the visit.

<<	Contents	>>
Refer this page to friends