My trade was in fabric merchandising. One day, with sudden insight, I realized that life has not brought me any happiness at all. I felt so fed up with this treadmill of work that offers no sense of excitement. Witnessing countless situations of human suffering happening daily around me, I asked myself what would happen to me tomorrow. Would I be able to avoid this suffering? I have an adopted sister whose name is Minh who loves me and has helped me a lot in many respects. I exchanged confidences with her and she advised me to start a vegetarian diet and turn to God and Buddha to avoid suffering. At that time, I vowed to keep a strict vegetarian diet for one month, but it was not as easy as I thought it would be.

One day she informed me that there were tapes in a video rental store by the famous fairy in America whose lectures were so impressive. The next evening, right after I had closed the booth, my brother and I rented a copy and brought it home to watch. It was a surprise beyond my imagination when I first saw Your image. I felt that You were so close and familiar to me and I was hooked by Your lecture. Your every word and gesture were magnificent and even touched me so much that I burst into tears. The whole night long, both of us watched it over and over again without getting bored. The next morning when opening the booth, I felt so depressed by looking at the worldly scene. Your voice still rang in my ears and I no longer felt interested in inviting prospective buyers as usual. My head was spinning with Your image and words of wisdom.

I closed the booth early that day with the idea of inviting close relatives to my home so that we could show them Your video. And I kept doing so day after day, and each time I watched it, I felt wonderful things in my soul. I felt that I was receiving the immense love that You were bestowing upon me. Over the next two months, each day I played Your video for everyone. One day, on the way to my booth, I had a thought that prompted me to say aloud, "If, indeed, You are the Buddha, please tell me where I can find Your books and tapes so we can further expand our knowledge of this new practice and also clear up the confusion of many people."

That night, as I was lying down, You were never out of my mind. Suddenly, I saw a section of my home become filled with bright light. It was clearly You who manifested in actual flesh and bone. You looked magnificent in the white dress as You radiated with shining light exactly like Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. I was deeply taken with Your divine face, which created a deep respect for You. You came and gently patted my shoulder three times and told me to go to sister Mai's home, which was roughly 10 kilometers away. As You showed me the direction, I felt so exhilarated with joy. Upon awakening, I still felt something so divine around me, uplifting and full of love and compassion.

The next morning, I took the day off and my brother and I set off together to find sister Mai's home as You had directed. Miraculously, roads that we had never set foot on seemed so familiar. That was right! As we stood at the gate in front of her home, the picture was still vivid in my mind. A girl walked out and asked us, "Who are you looking for?" I asked if this was sister Mai's home? She said, "Yes, this is my mother's home whose name is Mai." My whole body began trembling for it had happened so miraculously. You are indeed the Buddha! Only the Buddha could be so efficacious. We were invited in and as we approached the threshold, we heard Your voice speaking distinctly from inside. Struck with sudden emotion, I could no longer walk as the tears began rolling down my cheeks. With my whole body trembling, all I knew to do was quickly kneel down and thankfully prostrate to You for bestowing Your love upon us and guiding us toward a more divine and nobler path.

As we stepped inside the house, sister Mai and her husband asked about our inquiry. We explained what had happened last night and how You had guided us here to learn more of Your teachings. Sobbing uncontrollably, they quickly hugged us, as if we were so close to each other. She said that last night You had forewarned her of two men who would come to her home. You instructed her to give them all of Your teaching materials so that they could share it with others. She had prepared everything for us, which included Book I of The Key of Immediate Enlightenment, 9 videotapes, and 20 audiotapes. We felt so happy, as if we were receiving the most precious treasures, contented with inner joy and bliss. Feeling that You had chosen us to be Your instruments, we vowed to share Your teachings with every suffering sentient being while shouting with joy that the Buddha had been born, Jesus Christ had resurrected.

Having the precious dharma in our hands, we studied it in more depth and committed ourselves to becoming lifelong vegetarians and keeping the precepts. I sold my booth and ceased my operations. I studied ways to make tofu, salted cabbage, soybean milk, vegetarian buns, and learned how to process vegetarian food. When qualified, I registered and waited, forever hopeful for Your initiation. The challenging tests from my family and others around me did not make me give up and I persevered consistently. After exactly 18 months, I called Your Name for help to get initiated. I vowed to continue waiting with unshaken faith, even if my body disintegrated.

One night, as I went into a gentle sleep, I saw the boundless sky filled with radiant light and then You appeared. Oh! What a blissful, joyful moment to see You stand on a giant and beautiful lotus. Wearing a white gown and holding a bamboo cane with a gourd, You were surrounded by extremely bright light. Two lively giant platinum dragons whose tails and bodies followed Your every movement were at Your temples. Above their heads, a title created by a combination of light and clouds, read: "The Supreme Master Ching Hai." As You came near me, I looked up and immediately fell to my knees to prostrate to You. Many months of suffering quickly vanished and were replaced by love and joy upon seeing You.

Standing on the lotus pedestal of divinity and nobleness, You looked at me and asked, "What would you need from me?" With joy, I quickly replied, "I have been earnestly longing to get initiated." With a gentle smile, You stretched out Your right hand. Very vividly, I saw Your extremely bright eyes extend balls of light resembling longan seeds that rolled over Your right arm and through my eyes. Momentarily, the two dragons opened their mouths widely and violently wagged their tails as they shot rays of brilliant white light like electrical sparks right at the center of my chest. At that moment, I felt something unusually soft moving inside my body. After roughly twenty minutes, You said, "It's done. I leave now." The lotus pedestal started moving. The two dragons started wagging their tails as You slowly disappeared into the distance. I quickly prostrated to thank You and looked down to find a peaceful blue ocean with colorful rainbows stretching afar. You had gone to a world full of love and compassion, but I had to stay behind in a mundane world full of sorrow. I vowed to practice diligently to repay Your grace and to become one with You. Upon waking, I found my pillow soaked with tears. I knew that I had grown in self-confidence and felt an absolute reverence for You.

The following day, I still could feel Your loving care for me. I was very spontaneous and independent for I knew that You understood my aspirations. You were dwelling in me. It was so wonderful. I would like to thank my Lord, the divine and noble.

I deeply believe that You always take care of me. Everything now is peaceful as I feel so independent with my absolute faith. You forewarn me of anything that happens. One day, in May, 1993 I saw that I was walking in the middle of a glorious city. Suddenly, a piece of paper flew right in front my face. When I opened it, a large heading proclaimed: List of people who are eligible for initiation. I was so elated because my name appeared on the list. Upon awakening, I found that it was still dark, but I could not go back to sleep. I still felt joyful for I knew it surely was true. It was still dusky around 5:00 a.m. when someone knocked on the door calling my name. I already knew my visitor's purpose and was fully prepared for my initiation on that day. What an almighty blessing it was. In front of me lies a bright new path that is open wide and You are the torch shedding light on this road. I vow to follow Your footsteps and to live and work in accordance with Your high ideals.

I am deeply grateful for Your grace, my dear Master.