Thanks to the grace of God and the thoughtful consideration of Master, scenic Penang was graced with a surprise visit from Her at the beginning of June. Due to the longing and waiting of the initiates and to inspect the progress of the construction work on the Penang Centre, Master granted us this sweet surprise.
After arriving in Penang, Master accompanied the initiates to the vegetarian restaurant run by the local fellow initiates. Taken by surprise and unprepared, the sister-chef cooked dishes that were not of her usual standard and too sweet for Master. Being considerate as always, Master dissolved the disciple's embarrassment in a humorous way. In addition, She also personally explained to the sister-chef how to prepare a wonderful dish.
The next morning we accompanied Master to the meditation centre to inspect the progress of the construction work. This small mountain, which is to be a meditation centre, was purchased by Master several years ago. We stopped our car half way up the mountain and walked. On the road we passed by a plantation. Everyone was so surprised that, contrary to their normal behaviour, the dogs were all quiet; before, whenever we passed by, the owner's dogs never stopped barking. Observing this, the Quan Yin messenger immediately reported it to Master. She said, Say no more or those dogs will start barking again . Master omniscience is so unimaginable!
As we arrived at the meditation centre, we were greeted by a rambutan tree which was already full, as though welcoming Master's arrival. We were following Master as She looked around the area. On the left of the hill durians were flourishing, on the right there was a dense wood area. The top of the hill was a plain surrounded by rubber trees. From the mountaintop the scenery to the south was ever so pleasant, with bright mountains and beautiful rivers; at dusk, it was full of colorful clouds; at night, it was peaceful and quiet; to the east, there was the great bridge of Penang, grand and lofty, connecting the land of north sea, looking like a small dragon.
After inspecting for a while, Master went down the mountain. On the way She instructed the disciples and the Quan Yin messenger on how the construction work should proceed: "The most important thing is to get the roads properly built, allowing easy transportation for building materials and making it convenient for the other work in the centre. This will save a lot of man power. The practice of asceticism is no longer fit for the present time. Machinery should be used wherever possible. If all your strength is used in moving heavy loads, you will be exhausted when you arrive at the mountain top and unable to accomplish the work smoothly".
In the evening, Master gathered all the initiates in the Penang Centre, including those from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. During the lecture that night fellow initiates were entertained and delighted by Master's humour. Master's blessing of mercy and love filled everyone with bliss. At the end of the evening Master personally distributed blessed food. It was well into the night, and yet everyone was still reluctant to leave. They kept watching Master as She walked away to retire for the day.
Master originally planned to leave Penang at noon the following day, but because of the longing of the disciples - knowing that a group of initiates were rushing from Singapore to Penang, of which some of the group had already arrived that morning - the merciful Master had especially granted another gathering just before She left. Before departing Master was still concerned about those who had not yet arrived. She said, If I can be scheduled on a later flight, I will definitely stay and wait for them, even if I have to wait until midnight .
During Her visit to Penang this time, Master showed a lot of concern for the Penang Centre. The site of the meditation centre was bought many years ago. However, the progress of the construction work has been very slow. As a result, Master especially instructed the Quan Yin messenger to supervise the project, in the hope that when the construction project is completed, it will be shared and enjoyed internationally by all fellow initiates.
By Fellow Initiate Huneeus in New York, USA (Originally in English)
Not long ago, Master graced New York City with a surprise visit!
We knew that with Master's visit a lot more people than usual would show up, so from the start it was necessary for us to look for a much larger space. On the ground floor of the building where we have our center was an art gallery with a large comfortable room. Luckily for us the art gallery had just gone out of business that week, so we rented that space to accommodate all the disciples that wanted to see Master. Some New York disciples were having experiences about Master's visit to New York beforehand.
On the day of Master's visit, everybody started preparing very early so that everything would be ready for Her. The transformed art gallery looked absolutely lovely with tasteful decorations made by the disciples to honor Master.
Disciples came from as far as Indiana and Ohio, as well as the closer states of Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington DC. Every disciple was so excited about this unexpected visit of our dearest and wonderful Master!
Dozens of new fellow practitioners received initiation that day, and how fortunate were the new initiates who had an opportunity to meet Master right away.
At the exact moment that Master entered Manhattan a thunder storm started. The world outside was filled with very loud thunder and lightning and intense wind, as well as torrential rain. We were all sitting in the meditation hall when we heard the thunder, and we were certain that Master was very close by! Indeed She was, because just a little while later She arrived. The rain was pouring when She got out of the car, nevertheless it ceased completely once She entered the meditation hall. What a grand entrance that was!
Master arrived dressed in a very simple manner and She looked quite tired. In spite of Her tiredness, She still mercifully sat with us for a very long time and gave us a beautiful lecture. As usual, She spoke eloquently and full of wisdom. After Her lecture She was open to questions, that came mostly from the new initiates. Again, She showed immense patience and responded with great love to each and every one of the questioners.
Master felt sad when it was time for Her to take leave of the disciples, and said to us that now that She had seen us, She did not want to leave, but She had to, so She promised us that She would be back the following week. Everyone was very excited at the prospect of seeing Her again!
Once more the disciples worked very hard to set up the art gallery for Master's next visit. Everything was impeccable and we were all meditating with great concentration waiting for Her arrival. In the evening an announcement came that the Quan Yin messenger who stayed with Master was coming to convey a message to us from Master. He conveyed to us Master's compassionate and beautiful words. Candies that had come from Master's room were also offered to us. We felt so much love with this simple action!
Master, we have been graced by Your short visit to New York. We need Your Divine Presence once in a while in New York. We thank You from the bottom of our hearts. We love You!
Around Master, nothing should be done with too much planning because the more the mind is involved, the more complicated we make it. So it was no surprise that after hearing about purchasing the new International Vegetarian House on Monday that we would have the opening on Thursday of the same week! My first reaction was Impossible! , but of course I was only using my mind - Master's power moves in mysterious ways!
All of the San Jose and San Francisco disciples worked together to get the restaurant ready in the few short days. Some people were doing carpentry, many scrubbing the kitchen, everyone lent a hand. The restaurant location, in downtown San Jose, had been a famous French restaurant before we took it over, and the former owner even helped us train the waiters and cooks. Within a few days, the location had been transformed into a beautiful place, with not only an elegant dining room for the restaurant, but also a museum for Master's artwork and clothing, and even a piano bar featuring non-alcoholic cocktails.
On the day for the initial opening of the restaurant, all the local disciples were invited and even some special guests such as a reporter from the local newspaper, the San Jose Mercury News, Bonnie Coleen, Jared Wilkinson from Seeing Beyond , the radio talk show that interviewed Master last fall, and Mr. Do Van Tron from the Saigon News television and radio program in San Jose. Needless to say, it was very crowded and the food was fantastic. We had created the menu to include food from all over the world, so each dish was presented and unveiled before the special guests. Everyone agreed the food was delicious, but since Master could not attend, it didn't feel like a true grand opening.
Well, they didn't have long to wait because several weeks later, Master came and we finally had the real grand opening. That day, many people came from different areas to see Master and to attend this joyful occasion. Master was dressed in a beautiful and simple white linen outfit, looking comfortable and rested. She told a story about Her arrival in San Francisco.
Master said that when Her driver was taking Her through the city, She noticed how clean and beautiful it was compared to other cities around the world. Her driver remarked that Americans spend too much time thinking about money and material pursuit and not enough time on spiritual matters. Master told him that America was truly a unique place because in only a little more than two hundred years, the people who settled here were able to build a large, powerful, modern and beautiful country out of a savage wilderness and now after only a couple hundred years it is one of the most highly respected, leading nations of the world.
Master also said that some countries have been around for more than 5,000 years and haven't progressed much at all, whereas America has built a whole new world in such a short period of time. She said that the pioneers who settled here came escaping religious persecution and most came here for spiritual purposes because they were being hurt and killed for their beliefs in their own countries. Because they were trying to carve a civilization out of a wilderness, they had no choice but to focus on material pursuits. But now they are turning back toward the spirit more and more.
Everyone was very touched by Master's inspiring speech. We laughed, talked, and had a nice time just being together as a big multinational family.