While On The Path

 

A Hard Nut Cracks

By Sister Initiate Huahua, Taipei, Formosa

I did not believe in ghosts, gods or miracles, and I measured everything in scientific terms. Fortunately, however, I subconsciously believed that there is a Creator in the universe. In early 1980, I began to feel that something was missing in my life. Life could not be limited to the false phenomena of birth, old age, illness, and death. I searched through books of philosophy and theology hoping to find an answer. However, none could clear my doubts and confusion. To make things worse, I did not believe that man had a soul.

It was in this paradoxical state of mind that I returned home from a temple one day with a portrait of Shakyamuni Buddha. I put the picture in my room for occasional worship. Perhaps God was moved by this action of mine. When I was taking an afternoon nap one day, I distinctly perceived two words: "Ching Hai." I woke up immediately and wondered what they meant. Could it be Qinghai Province in mainland China? But the word I saw was "Ching!" I scolded myself for this senseless dream, and then completely forgot about it.

Shortly afterward, I had another strange vision in my dream. I saw many sentient beings fall into an orderly line and walk silently across a shallow river to the other shore. The riverside was paved with pebbles. Countless numbers of people were crossing the river and I could not see the beginning or the end of the queue. I was among them. A monk in a short white robe was standing on the opposite shore, quietly watching the people cross the water. I could not see his face clearly.

On January 1990, not long after my father had passed away, I casually said to my mother, "If I could see just one ghost, I would believe that man has a soul, and I would have faith in a religion!" I had barely finished my words when a childhood vision appeared vividly in my mind. I did not recognize it during my younger days, but I realized then and there that what I had seen was an invisible being.

To save me, God had been looking for chance after chance to convince my obstinate mind. The time was ripe. Coincidentally, Master had just begun to share Her teachings in public. I became acquainted with Her teachings through a colleague, and attended Her lectures before deciding to request initiation. However, I had already wasted almost ten precious years!

After initiation, I had inner and outer experiences as my faith strengthened. I realized why I had fallen into this world; I also learned about my past lives and about the beginning of the universe. I saw that the universe had come from a stream of bright light and a big bang, just as the studies by scientists today assert. In another vision, I saw a dense conglomeration of extremely brilliant spots, exploding incessantly in all directions in the vast cosmos. My attainment is testimony to the truth behind the teachings of Master Ching Hai. If I had not practiced the Quan Yin Method, it would have been impossible for me to learn so much about the truth of life in such a short span of time!