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 At
a spiritual seminar held in mid December in Jakarta, the compere
-- a female professor -- was amazed to note that the spiritual
ambiance emanating from our fellow practitioners was very
different to that of other participants. Therefore, she curiously
inquired where we were from. We told her that we were followers
of Supreme Master Ching Hai and gave her a copy of "The Key Of Immediate
Enlightenment (Volume One). Happily, she said that she would
definitely read Master's teachings thoroughly to find out
why they were so wonderful!
This seminar was the first of
its kind in Indonesia, and was held at the five-star Sari
Pan Pacific Hotel. Speakers came from several meditation groups.
Many people traveled a long way to attend.
The convener invited
the former Army Chief of Staff, General Wismoyo Arismunadar,
now Chairman of the National Athletic Association, to deliver
the opening speech. General Wismoyo said that he had taken
part in innumerable meetings, but it was the first time he
had ever joined a seminar about meditation. His humor provoked
a burst of laughter from the audience, and the atmosphere
became very harmonious.
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More
than 90 percent of Indonesian people are Muslim, and the country
has the largest Muslim population in the world. The chief
speaker of this seminar was Professor Ace Partadiredja. He
is sixty-one years of age, and piously believes in Allah.
All his life, he has prayed sincerely and chanted the scriptures,
but he has not attained any lasting fulfillment. Every Muslim
believes in three things: God, contemplation to know God,
and being one with God. To experience and realize this oneness
with God, Professor Partadiredja travelled everywhere seeking
the Truth. During decades of searching he learnt many methods.
To his amazement, he discovered that all religions talk about
the same thing! Therefore, he said, "Though we have different
ways of thinking, we should accept others' ways of thinking
as well.
He
also explained, "God taught human beings to recite the scriptures
in different ways and on different levels. The first is Jahar
-- reciting loudly to help us head in the right direction,
become very virtuous, very peaceful in mind, and close to
God. The other way is called Khofi in Islam, which means reciting
silently with total concentration until all thoughts and feelings
are extinguished, then we can get in touch with God directly.
Meditation is equivalent to scripture chanting. He then conducted
a slide show showing the auras of spiritual practitioners
in meditation. With great sincerity he shared his insights
cultivated from his many years of spiritual practice and searching
for the Truth.
At
the seminar, another director of the host organization also
could read people's auras. Upon meeting our fellow practitioners,
he couldn't help telling us that the aura emanating from us
was really exceptional, and that he would definitely visit
our Center in the future. Fellow practitioners were glad to
hear thi??s. We are even more convinced that the Quan Yin
Method imparted to us by Master is truly good. It inspired
us to practice even more diligently.
Originally,
fellow practitioners worried about deciding to participate
in the seminar at the last moment. However, we were able to
distribute Masters sample booklets without difficulty. The
convener and the female Muslim workers even helped us to distribute
them together with other pamphlets. We were also provided
with a table for us to put the sample booklets on at the entrance,
thus making it more convenient for people to get them. All
fellow practitioners were very happy and grateful for God's
blessing, and for the nondiscriminatory goodwill of the convener.
After
the event, someone phoned us from hundreds of kilometers away
saying that he had read the sample booklet and knew that the
inner Light and Sound is the way back to the Kingdom of God
because he has been seeking this all his life! He immediately
became a full vegetarian and registered for the initiation.
A
Sufi (a Muslim spiritual practitioner) visited our Center,
and after watching Master's videotaped lectures, he planned
to bring his family on the coming Sunday.
This
Meditation Seminar was a unique gathering where everyone opened
up their hearts and talked about different ways of spiritual
practice. That was a very good beginning. How we hope that
this kind of seminar can be held more often in the future,
so we can understand each other and eliminate the barriers
among us.
Finally,
we hope God will bless Hiers children who want to go home
and help them quickly return to their homeland in the Heaven
Kingdom. This, also, is the true essence of Islam!
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