Spiritual Interlude
Like Dissolves into Like
There is a theory in chemistry stating that like dissolves like, and this also can be applied to spiritual practice. I have personally experienced this.
When I had selfish thoughts, or failed to keep the precepts clearly, thus causing my actions, speech and thoughts to be impure, I felt uneasy and alienated around Master and fellow practitioners; and even when Master passed right in front of me She would not look at me.
When I opened my mind and prayed for humanity, I would feel peaceful, blissful and satisfied; and Master would naturally give me several more loving, compassionate glances as She walked around the crowd to bless everyone.
Once during a spring seven-day retreat, I was transporting food from the kitchen. When Master was giving discourses, we were on the one hand taking care of the dining tables, and on the other hand praying that Master would bless the food so that fellow practitioners could obtain vigor and energy after eating, thus enabling their souls to soar heavenward.
It turned out that several times after Her discourses, Master came right to me to show me how to take care of the food and drinks for the fellow initiates. She said, for instance, not to add spicy seasonings to dishes, since some foreign disciples don't like them. However, we could put them on a separate plate for people to help themselves. She added that we should pay attention to whether the drinking water is adequate, and so on. Now I realize that maybe at the time I was close to Master's ideals and God's quality, so I was one with Her.
Before the end of the Ching Hai Day seven-day retreat, I prayed that God's love would help the most needy sentient beings in the whole universe, through the tool of my physical body. As a result, Master let me experience God's blessing power; my body was filled with white light, continuously emanating into the void until the vast sky overflowed with radiance, and my whole outer body was also emitting light. I thus enjoyed a taste of being a Buddha of great light, and further verified the theory that like dissolves into like.
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