By Singapore
News Group (Originally In Chinese & English)
In
late June, on an early Saturday morning, while a group of initiates
were meditating for Master, She unexpectedly came to the Singapore
Center. Her surprise visit delighted everyone. She humorously assured
disciples that they were looking at Her physical body, and not Her
manifestation one. Master personally gave blessed food to those present,
and treated them to vegetarian cakes.
After orchestrating
this delightful surprise, Master visited the Singapore Center again
several hours later. Obviously She couldn't have taken much rest between
the two visits. She ignored Her tiredness just because She wanted
more disciples to see that She was all right. She bombarded them with
humor and lightheartedness, trying to cheer them up. Nevertheless
fellow initiates noticed that She had lost some weight. It was not
difficult to imagine what ordeals Master has gone through in shouldering
all our karma. How can we ever repay Her eternal grace? However, Master
just humbly thanked the initiates for praying for Her.
After a cheerful
conversation, She meditated with everyone for a while. But, She soon
realized that the disciples would prefer to have their eyes open than
closed when She is with them, so She asked a fellow brother to take
some photographs of Her with the whole group. She then walked straight
into the crowd, and expertly directed the photographer as to how to
find the best angles to include as many people as possible.
Having satisfied
everyone, it was time for Master to leave. But, before She did, She
gravely reminded us not to bring any unhappy things in life or karmic
problems to the Center, to avoid contaminating the spiritual atmosphere.
She emphasized again that the Center is our last refuge in this world,
so it is most important to protect its purity.
Though very
reluctant, fellow initiates had to part with Master. A fellow initiate
reflected: "Previously, I always hoped to be near Master, and would
only feel happy when She touched my head or hands. Now I know this
is wrong! We should hope instead that She will be forever healthy
and happy, for this is the real happiness that we can derive from
Her."
Surprise
On Independence Day
By
Los Angeles News Group, CA, USA. (Originally In Chinese & English)
Independence
Day is the happiest day for Americans. National flags fly everywhere,
and the whole country rejoices. Without any notice, Master suddenly
visited the Los Angeles Center on Independence Day, bestowing a delightful
surprise on fellow initiates!
 |
|
Surprise
On Independence Day!
Master has come to the Los Angeles Center!
|
Master first
had a look around the LA Center, including the canteen and the main
hall. When a fellow initiate saw Her car, he noticed a very pretty
lady sitting inside. He thought that perhaps this lady had come to
the wrong place. Only after She had finished inspecting the Center
did he find out that this pretty lady was Master. She then summoned
all the resident disciples and told them what improvements should
be made to the Center. Extremely delighted with Master's presence,
everyone promptly carried out Her instructions.
The good news
of Master's arrival spread very fast. Fellow practitioners in the
area, including those from the nearby Centers in San Francisco, San
Diego and San Jose rushed in to see Her. Master's visit definitely
highlighted the festival atmosphere.
Since it was
a long weekend, many Centers had arranged a 1- or 2-day retreat to
celebrate the occasion. Fellow practitioners in Texas, Minnesota,
Arizona and other places also acted very quickly. They canceled the
retreats and entertainment programs, and came to Los Angeles by plane.
Amazingly enough, their airfares were cheaper than those of later
flights.
Master was
very happy to see them, and She was also delighted by their prompt
action. That evening, the Los Angeles Center was filled with cars,
while the hearts of fellow initiates were filled with bliss. Master
looked great, which made fellow initiates feel relieved. Master mentioned
that when She was in Singapore, She saw the Singaporean initiates
meditating diligently round the clock. She asked God what they were
praying for. God said that Hes didn't know. So, She asked Her attendant
what they were doing. The answer was: "They were praying for Master's
health."
Jokingly,
Master said that, to answer our prayers, no wonder God had to let
Her fall ill and stay in the hospital for a while before She could
recover. It was only to fulfill our prayers, She originally was not
ill. Master had only requested us to pray for Her task at hand, not
for the longevity of Her physical body.
From this,
She taught us that whatever we pray for would come true sooner or
later, depending on the situation and how many people were involved.
So we should make sure that we know what we want, and be consistent.
Otherwise, God doesn't know how to help us and we get ourselves into
complicated situations if we keep changing our minds.
Master lovingly
satisfied everyone's desire, and answered the unspoken questions in
our hearts. She granted an initiation on the Sunday due to the would-be
initiates' sincere requests. One American would-be initiate from LA
wanted to receive initiation from Master when She personally came
to LA, so she did not come for the previous initiations. As a result,
this time she was not informed. Originally, she was supposed to go
on a vacation with her family in the mountains, something she particularly
enjoys. Yet, for some unknown reason, she chose to stay at home alone
for the whole holiday weekend. Amazingly enough, the sister initiate
who introduced her to Master's teachings found out about the news
of Master's arrival, so she immediately called the would-be initiate
and took her to the Center for initiation.
When the Quan
Yin messenger was just about to start the initiation, Master unexpectedly
arrived to say "hi" to the would-be initiates, and thus totally satisfied
the heartfelt desire of this American would-be initiate.
Among the
new initiates this time was a famous Au Lac singer named Phuong Vu
and his wife, Phuong Thao. He sang Master's poems at the Long Beach
International 5-day retreat. Master cordially greeted them and blessed
them at the dinner afterwards.
A fellow initiate
had some misunderstanding about Master because the fellow practitioner
who introduced him to Master had gone to extremes in spiritual practice.
Subsequently, this fellow initiate did not have enough faith in Master
and Her teachings. This time, he finally had the chance to see Master
in person. To his surprise, he found Her to be a very flexible, humane,
reasonable and a charming person. Therefore, he was convinced that
Her teachings, both imparted by Her actions and words, are superlative.
He is now determined to meditate diligently and adhere to the teachings.
From this
example, we came to the understanding that each of us could be a Master's
representative. If our concepts of spiritual practice are inaccurate,
we will mislead others and make them misunderstand Master. All the
while, Master has been teaching us to practice the middle way, to
be ordinary and to fulfill our obligations to our families and society.
If all fellow practitioners can really carry out Her teachings and
become shining examples for the world, it would be much easier and
smoother for Master to accomplish Her mission in the world.
On the third
evening, Master told us stories about Her time in the Himalayas. They
were as dramatic and sensational as a novel. Everyone sat around Her
mesmerized by Her narration. Master is really talented in telling
stories. She can make people feel as if they are in the story, just
like watching a movie.
She mentioned
the Lake of Immortality. Alexander the Great once wanted to drink
from this lake. Just before he did, a very old man stopped him, and
asked him why he wanted to become immortal. Alexander the Great told
him that he wanted to conquer the whole world and enjoy the power.
The old man asked him to look at him. He had drunk the water and lived
a very long time, so long that he had no teeth left, only an old and
ugly body. So, what is the use of being immortal? Master joked vividly
about the toothless old man, inducing thunderous laughter from everyone.
Next day,
Master let everyone ask questions. She also asked if there was anyone
who wanted to become immortal. A fellow sister raised her hand, and
Master asked her why she wanted this. The profound question and answer
between Master and the disciple pinpointed many worldly illusions
and preconceived ideas, which were indeed worthwhile for us to think
about.
When asked
about the nature of Maya, Master explained that Maya normally is not
easy to be detected until we embark on doing something benefiting
the multitude. Only then can we see how Maya works, and realize our
own level. Tests are essential for spiritual cultivation, and Maya
is doing just that to check our spiritual level.
Finally, Master
told everyone to take a rest the next day, to take good care of their
families, because they had seen Her enough in those few days. Of course
we were reluctant, but it was already very precious being able to
be with Master for several days. Forever lingering in our hearts is
this memory of heavenly ecstasy.
Much to our
surprise, the compassionate Master again visited the Los Angeles Center
a few days later. That was indeed our greatest honor because we never
dreamed that we would see Her again in such a short time. On this
occasion, as usual, She bathed us with Her humor and left us intoxicated
in the ecstasy of samadhi. She also reminded us solemnly: "Whoever
does not practice or leaves the Quan Yin Method should continue to
keep the five precepts in order to be reborn as a human being again.
Otherwise you will be born as an animal." Hushed whispers came from
the crowd. Master continued: "When (with lustful desire) you looked
at the neighbor's wife it does not mean that you did not violate the
precept -- you did. You must purify your thoughts, actions and speech.
Keeping your mind pure is most difficult.
For people
who have the bad habits of smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, looking
and lusting at beautiful girls, committing adultery, or eating meat,
etcetera, at first there are only a few cells in their bodies having
this habit. But if they don't try to recite the Holy Names to correct
their bad thoughts right away, then gradually it will spread to many
cells, then the whole body. At this point, their minds will be so
weak that they cannot control their bodies and the bad habits becomes
addictive." Master even restated the five precepts and reminded us
of their meanings again.
In the evening,
She repeated Her promise to give liberation in one life to any of
us who sincerely practices the Quan Yin Method and keeps the five
precepts properly. She firmly stated: "I never refuse anything that
I can do for your benefit. No sacrifice is too much for me! Is it?"
We all agreed: "Yes."
Master continued:
"Because I want to finish my job before I leave and not come back
to this world again, whoever follows the teaching of Ching Hai will
be liberated in one life." Master raised one finger and repeated to
the crowd: "One life!" Initiates from every corner of the meditation
hall clapped and shouted: "Yes, Master!" Many people cried tears of
joy, because they sensed the feeling of truly being liberated.
During these
few days, fellow initiates have been awakened by Master's words of
wisdom and love. Her Love Power has opened all our hearts. There is
a sweet smile on every face, and all of us treat each other more cordially
and lovingly. It is Master who has brought us all into the Quan Yin
family so we can enjoy an enlightening freshness from heaven while
we are still in this polluted and suffering world.
Special
Reports
