Attending the 5-day retreat in Long Beach, California, last Christmas was one of the many fortunate events in my life. During this retreat, as usual, I found several new things in Master's talks which touched me deeply.

She always seems to know what we think and always talks on the subjects that affect us the most at any particular time. Even though I've never had a chance to converse with Master directly, each time I see Her, I have found this to be true. I am often moved to tears when I hear Her talk or when I think about Her.

When a fellow practitioner expressed the wish to follow Her closely to serve humanity better, Master told us some of the dilemmas She has faced when dealing with disciples who work closely with Her. She was sometimes torn between conflicting prayers because while someone may want to follow Her closely, someone else, who is close to that person, may pray to Master to bring them back to their family. So sometimes Master had to play the role of a "bad guy to send that disciple back to their family to fulfill the wish of their loved ones. Master said She sometimes cried because She had to do things which She did not want to. The mother of too many children cannot satisfy every child all the time, and is always misunderstood by one child or another! Still, She is firm in Her direction, and always decides what is right at any particular moment, and moves on without being concerned about irrelevant opinions.

Yet regardless of how badly outsiders misunderstand Her, Master still serves them through various activities around the world. She does not stop doing what is good just because people are ungrateful and treat Her badly. This is the lesson She teaches us both verbally and by example.