Between Master And Disciples


Master often talks to us. It seems like a casual exchange at the time but, in retrospect, we realize that every word is meaningful!

I used to have an insatiable desire for candy, especially chocolates. Chocolates were such favorites of mine that you could even find them in my bed. I would grab chocolates in the middle of the night and eat them even as I slept. This habit did change later, however. After I became a nun, I worked closely with Master and had almost forgotten about it until, one day, when we were in the United States, Master asked me to buy chocolates as presents for people. At the time She remarked, "Strange, why do so many people like chocolate?" I told Master what I thought. And She asked, "How do you know?" "Because I used to love chocolate," I replied. To this, Master immediately responded, "If you like it, then eat as much as you want so you won't have to reincarnate because of chocolate."

All the chocolate I had bought had been given away except one last box. It contained all kinds of handmade chocolates. Master gave it to me and said, "Finish the whole box so you won't have to be reincarnated again." It sounded like a joke, but it gave me the shivers. I had thought that only concepts were the causes of reincarnation. Could eating habits trap us in the cycle of birth? Even though Master had spoken casually, I took Her words seriously and gobbled down those chocolates. American chocolates are especially sweet, and I ate and ate until my stomach hurt. From that time on, I have felt sick and queasy whenever I saw chocolates.

As a matter of fact, the consumption of too much sweet food had caused an imbalance in my body and I easily got disturbed. I could not think clearly. My movement and thinking had been affected. By the time Master helped me get rid of my love for candies, my body had already become severely toxic. I did not realize that until I was in hospital for a complete medical checkup. I did not know that I had been living under Master's blessing power. Later I started to use the 'get fed up' strategy to change some of my habits. And it was truly effective. I used to suppress my desires or deceive myself before, and things only got worse. My desires only grew stronger.

Another example I would like to mention is watching movies. Most of our generation grew up watching TV. We are addicted to it. Therefore, Master used this 'get fed up' strategy, letting everyone watch movies and seeing who would be the last to quit. She often asked us to bring our steel cups and monthly supply of goodies when we watched movies. Watching two or three movies at a stretch was nothing out of the ordinary. When we got to the advanced level, however, we watched dozens of videos nonstop. Master carefully selected all the programs, but movie watching became a hard battle to win. We watched movies day and night until I felt my eyeballs were going to fall out. I wanted to go back to sleep in my tent but was reluctant to leave Master. Sometimes people fell asleep at the back while Master remained sitting upright in the front. It even got to the point that when it was time to watch movies again, we would sigh and drag our feet as if we had been asked to do something we really didn 't like to do. I thought of my early days, of how I tuned-out everyone and everything else when I watched TV. I could not have imagined then that one day I would dread watching it. Oh, my highest admiration goes to Master for Her unique ways of using eating, drinking, and having fun to free us from our attachments.