Special Reports
The Mystic of Concentration By Brother Initiate Lin Yenting, Taipei, Formosa

The Korean retreat in May of this year was the first time I served as a dharma guard at an international event. Normally one would have expected that dharma guards would have little time for meditation. However, this was the one time that I learned to increase my concentration and obtain satisfaction in having the greatest number of group meditation sessions with Master.

Early one morning during the retreat, I was standing guard at the back of the Meditation Hall when I suddenly saw Master move quietly onto the platform to join us in meditation. Immediately I felt a soothing air of comfort envelop the venue! A subtle ambiance tenderly caressed my face like a gentle wind lightly kissing the thin lace. How different it was from the coarse atmosphere that had hung like a thick, heavy blanket over the meditating fellow practitioners just a while ago.

The day was dawning. In the cozy atmosphere, white light pervaded the venue, increasing the visibility. Outside, a light rain was falling, but the drop in temperature did not make me feel cold. I seemed hardly aware of my own body consciousness. I do not know if I chanted the five Holy Names; my mind seemed to have stopped functioning! Then an episode occurred. A fellow brother who had just gotten off duty walked by. I asked him, "Master is here. Why are you still here?" Strangely, he said he had not seen Her. I pointed to the chair where Master was sitting in meditation, but when I looked again carefully, She was not there anymore! After six, again I saw Master coming into the main hall. I experienced the same feeling, atmosphere, and brightness as I had earlier. When I asked the other guards, they replied, "Master came only once! What did you see?" I could only tell myself silently, "Don't say a word."

At this retreat, I have come to understand what it means to "miss" Master, and to realize Her quality and the magnetic field She creates. Her vibrations not only soothe and comfort the people around Her; more importantly, they removed the obstacles that had long hindered me in meditation. It was that moment of meditation with Master that I, without anyone telling me, soared high, happily and naturally to this realization.

At the birthday party on May 12 following the retreat, I once again received a testimony to Master's vibrations. That night, we had a great time with Master, laughing and singing with Her. She walked around, leading us in song and melding us into one with no discrimination between self and others. "Now you have seen my Original Self..." -- this phrase from Her brought a smile to my face. That evening Master's blessing graced the venue the way it did earlier in the Meditation Hall. In the accompanying brilliant white light with which even thousands of watts of lighting cannot compare, the ambiance reached its highest climax. It was truly an evening beyond words!

Later I asked myself why I was so fortunate to have had these experiences. Personally, I think it began with my chanting the five Holy Names to increase my concentration on my responsibilities. This time, the experience came as soon as I focused my attention on reciting the names in sincere hopes of doing my job well. The experience disappeared as soon as I diverted my attention to exercising my duties with fellow practitioners. From this, I have also perceived the difference between Master and disciples. Master once said that She can communicate with Her True Self while working with Her physical body without getting distracted because She is always in the Truth.