On
a beautiful autumn day, the Florida Center in U.S.A. received an unexpected,
little "visitor". He was a handsome chap, well mannered and
polite. Did I mention he had four legs? Yes! We would like to introduce
the Florida Center's newest resident: Peter, the Puppy! (Okay, okay,
he is a little old to be a puppy.)
Peter,
the name given to him by Master, is a stray dog that wandered into the
Center after the August Moon festival. He is a large, light-brown dog
with a collar but no name tag. At first, we did not pay much attention
to him, for stray dogs are a common occurrence here. However, Peter
just patiently hung around all day.
That
evening, Master came to have dinner with us, and Peter approached and
charmingly greeted Her by giving Her his paw! He offered it at least
twice to Master alone, without giving it to anyone else, male or female.
Perhaps his soul recognized Master's radiant light or knew She was a
living saint. She instructed a resident to bring Peter some food, which
he hungrily wolfed down. Master, worrying that the food was not enough
for him, took a plate and filled it with Her own food and personally
fed him. The little fellow ate plate after plate. Master even checked
the temperature of the food with her bare fingers. She commented on
how grateful and polite he was, eating everything from tasty steak (vegetarian,
of course) to bland, boiled vegetables! He even ate food that fell onto
the dirty ground. Master was deeply moved by his gracious behavior.
I
was present at the time and was not as impressed by Peter's actions
as I was by Master's compassionate treatment of the animal. I was so
deeply touched that it almost brought tears to my eyes. Seeing my beloved
Master treating a helpless animal so benevolently made me feel ashamed
for not being able to treat other human beings with the same amount
of love and tenderness. Master told us later that She was just fulfilling
Her duty as a hostess. However, I knew it was a lesson for me about
how to love and care for others. I sincerely hope that one day I can
comprehend and learn completely the priceless lesson that Master taught
me through Her personal example.
Between Master and Disciple
Blessing
of Joy in Florida