By Fellow Initiate Zeng, Taipei, Formosa
I made a friend in the armed forces. He was in a predicament due to some mental pressure that could not be understood by others. He felt so hopeless that he decided to take his own life. Fortunately, due to the help of medics, his life was saved. After that, he stayed in bed for several days.
It was during the time of his recovery that I became acquainted with him. I sympathized with him. He was pushed to the limit. He felt so miserable, helpless and hopeless. No one around him ever sincerely paid attention to him or cared about him. I thought about Master's boundless love; and without hesitation, I took out one of Master's News magazines, which I had brought with me for him to read. When he read the article, "The Fallen Angels Of Our Era," he felt as if it were his own story. Besides comforting and guiding him, I also listened to him carefully. Most importantly, I told him what Master once said, "A person who commits suicide will fall into a very deep and dark place, very difficult to save." I hoped he would not hurt himself again. All I could do was to teach him to recite Master's name and believe in Master's power of compassion, which could save his wounded soul.
Unfortunately, since he was a soldier, trying to kill himself was like attempting to damage the property of his country. Consequently, he had to serve time in confinement. The day he left, I felt so sad. I held back my tears and helplessly watched him leave. From that day, I prayed to Master each day, "Master, I hope You will take care of him. I believe You will make the best arrangement for him."
When he was in confinement, he thought about killing himself again several times. But, Master's power of compassion always prevails at the most crucial moments and turns things around. After several tries, he gradually forgot about the thought of suicide. He remembered that I taught him to recite Master's name, and tried to do so.
My friend came back after a couple of weeks. He looked very excited. He told me that when he recited Master's name while he was in detention, he saw the light. He also saw Master's transformation body in the form of a little monk dressed in a robe, looking so benevolent and kind like the Quan Yin Bodhisattva. He also saw Master wearing a red mandarin dress just like the one on the cover photograph of one of the latest News magazines. He also saw a lotus flower which symbolizes holiness and the Quan Yin Bodhisattva, Boy Shan-Tsai and Little Dragon Girl. The Quan Yin Bodhisattva was sometimes standing and sometimes sitting, and at other times flying on top of a dragon, so beautiful and graceful. When he first saw them, he thought it was just his imagination. Several times, he would open his eyes and when he closed them again, he saw the same scene.
From then on, he gradually eliminated his intention to kill himself. He started to think, "I have to carry on, not despise my life, not do stupid things again, never, absolutely not." Such thoughts became stronger and stronger, allowing him to survive the unbearable days in detention!
This friend said that he really appreciated Master keeping him company! How fortunate for the sentient beings to have an enlightened Master's presence in this world.
By Fellow Initiate Shi, Taipei, Formosa
People in modern times carry many documents. The most important one being an identity card to prove who they are. But for the Quan Yin practitioners, there is another really important, very valuable document -- the initiate's identity card. With it, you can attend group meditation and retreat activities at any of our meditation centers in the world. Besides, it has an additional wonderful use. It can be used to get through difficult situations easily.
It has been said that several fellow initiates have used their initiates' identity cards instead of their driver's licenses when there was no other alternative. The following are their real stories.
Once brother Zhuang went to help display posters for Master's lecture in Korea. He was responsible for driving while others posted the posters for Master's lecture along the way. Suddenly, a policeman approached him. Brother Zhuang discovered that he did not have a passport, international driver's license or any other document with him, except his initiate's identity card. When the policeman asked for his documents, he thought, "Since I do not have anything, I might as well give my initiate's identity card a try!" Surprisingly, the policeman, after looking at the card, gave a salute and left.
Another time, similarly, a brother was driving a car as a guard following Master's car. In order to keep pace with Master's car, he overtook other cars several times. As a result, he was stopped by a policeman. This brother also did not have any documents except his initiate's identity card. From the moment the policeman inspected the identity card, he seemed to be in samadhi. He then returned the identity card to the brother and let him leave without even a word. The brother is still puzzled and unclear as to why he could get through so easily.
Sister Chen's car was once towed away. When she went to get back her car, she discovered that she did not have the car ownership, her driver's license or any other identification with her. Of course, she only also had her initiate's identity card! Even with no way to prove that she was the car owner, the towing unit still let her drive the car away. Sister Chen said happily, "The initiate's identity card is so very useful!"
From these few examples, it is apparent that the card we get after initiation is not an ordinary document that only proves our identity. It represents our blessing to be one of the big Quan Yin family, our blessing to follow an enlightened Mater to practice and be liberated in one lifetime. We have heard fellow initiates say that this identity card is more important than life. We have also heard Master say that it is a universal pass. We can believe that all the fellow initiates who have personally experienced its value will of course see it as a priceless treasure.
Ordinary identity cards can be applied for again when lost. How about our initiate's identity card? I remember a resident initiate at Hsihu Meditation Center said that it would not be replaced after being lost three times. So it can be seen that they are very cautious in reissuing the initiate's identity card, as it represents important documentary proof to identify whether one is a Quan Yin member! So, since I have received my initiate's identity card, never have I put it away carelessly, because if I lose it thrice in the future, I shall be sorry for life!
By Fellow Initiate Lin, Costa Rica
A few years ago, my husband and I bought a small farm on a mountain in Costa Rica, a short drive from the sea shore. The scenery there was beautiful and the climate temperate. It became our winter resort.
At the end of last year we were busy building a house on the farm. It happened that the welder did not show up for work so my husband (who is also an initiate) tried to do the job himself. He went up to the second floor to weld the iron railing on the stairs. A short while later, a worker came rushing to me, saying that my husband had fallen down from upstairs. The thought scared me so much that I rushed over there.
I found my husband sitting next to a concrete wall, looking really terrible. A very thick iron post was on the floor. According to the workers, my husband did not weld the iron post properly and it fell when he sat on it.
He only suffered some minor injuries to his face, hands and feet. Since he was rather heavy, it was quite a miracle that he didn't break any bones after falling from such a high place! Thank You, Master.
When my daughter and I approached him, my husband couldn't remember anything of what had just happened. He even asked me why he was sitting there. Then he looked at the workers who had been working with him for several months and asked me: "Who are they?" I was afraid that he might have lost his memory, but he could still remember my name and my daughter's. He told us that he had just gone to another planet with Master to spread Her teachings. He visited many places and saw many strange beings. Then Master told him that he had to return to take care of us. Therefore, when he regained consciousness, he only remembered my daughter and I. I couldn't help crying when I heard that. Thank You, Master, for taking care of everything so meticulously and for saving my husband's life. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how to face this sudden shock.
I cleaned his wounds and gave him some water to drink. That night, his memory seemed to have recovered. He gradually remembered building the house on the farm and how he fell. Thank You, Master, for Your help. I felt relieved in my heart, even though at that point he began to feel the pain all over his body, as if the accident had just occurred.
The next day I wanted him to rest for a few days, until his condition became more stable, before going home. However, he insisted on driving home. I was really worried, since I couldn't drive and wouldn't be of any help at all. I could only pray to Master for help to keep us safe.
It took several hours to drive from the farm to San Jose. A section of the mountain road had many curves making it very treacherous. However, with Master's blessing we finally arrived home safely.
Thank You, Master. I can only practice diligently to repay You for giving us our new lives.
By Resident Initiate Liu, Hsihu Center, Formosa
My relatives had not been initiated yet, but Master took care of them just the same. They very often had good experiences.
My little granddaughter routinely made trouble at home for no reason. Once when she was making trouble again, her mother was at her wit's end and suddenly remembered, "Master Ching Hai has great power, isn't it so?" Just as she was inspired, she immediately told her daughter to go and read Master's book. The child read the book for a while and fell asleep. Her dream was filled with Buddha's brilliant light; she saw Master come and give a lecture until daybreak. She then woke up and went back to sleep. Unexpectedly, Master continued to lecture to her and told her a lot about the proper ways of doing things. Now she has become very well behaved and dreams about Master very often.
The 'Limited' Mind And The 'Unlimited' Wisdom -
Narrated By Fellow Initiate Lin, Thailand Recorded By Fellow Initiate Chen, Houston, U.S.A.
To coincide with the recent S.M. Celestial Clothes Fashion Show Exhibition Tour, sister Lin, who is charged with the responsibility of making the Celestial Jewelry, accepted Master's drafted designs and was asked by Master to finish the production of the third series of the S.M. Celestial Jewelry before the launching of the fashion show. Seven substantial sets were to be finished in eight days, which included the time for acquiring all the material. To sister Lin, this sounded like the impossible fairy tales in the Arabian Nights stories because the last two sets of the S.M. Celestial Jewelry had taken two months to finish. She had no idea where to start, but she trusted in Master's blessing power and relied on Her sincerely. Therefore, she believed that the job could be accomplished in time. She worked extremely hard forgetting about meals and rest, and had almost no sleep at all.
Accidents always happen when you are in a rush! When there were only two days left before the Celestial Jewelry had to be finished and delivered to New York, the drilling pins to make the small holes for securing the diamonds broke, one after another, including all the spare pins. Sister Lin had worked as a jeweller for many years, but she had never before encountered anything like this. It was a Sunday, and all the other jewelry factories were closed, so there was no place where she could buy the pins. Surely under such circumstances, even the greatest artisans would shake their heads thinking it was impossible to finish production in time.
Adding to the disaster was an ultimatum set by the gold electroplating factory. They said that they would refuse to work on the finishing process if the jewelry was not delivered to them soon because this particular day was the Son Gran Festival - the most significant festival of the year in Thailand and all the factory workers were set to go on holiday. The sister was so anxious that she kept praying for Master's blessing in her heart, and broadcasted Master's audio tapes in the factory all day long.
After praying to Master, the sister was suddenly inspired by the proverb: 'With sincerity, even an iron bar can be ground to become a pin!' Therefore, they ground and sharpened the broken pins, and then drilled again. And it worked! They also requested the workers at the electroplating factory to wait, while a vehicle was hired especially to deliver the products to them as soon as they were finished.
The production of the third series of the S.M. Celestial Jewelry was accomplished in time even under these circumstances. Sister Lin knew only too well that it would have been absolutely impossible without Master's blessing.
Due to the urgency of the work, sister Lin did not sleep for several days. Even the workers who worked continuously on the job fell asleep on the work bench. Some workers in the sister's factory said amusingly: "You deserve an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for continuously not sleeping".
Very often, while working for Master, one experiences Her omnipresent power, and Her fantastic, ingenious arrangements. For instance, one set in the Celestial Jewelry Collection required some triangular jade pieces as ornamentation. Before leaving for Hong Kong, sister Lin mentioned to Master that she would be going to Hong Kong to purchase the required materials. She told Master that she was not sure whether she could find the jade in the shape required by Master because sister Lin believed that pieces of jade could only be either rectangular or circular in shape. "Where can I find the triangular jade pieces required by Master?", sister Lin thought.
Master seemed to have read her mind, and told her assuredly with a smile: "You will surely find them!" However, even then, the sister was still doubtful when she set off.
Having arrived in Hong Kong, and walked down one street where over a hundred gemstone wholesalers were located, an invisible force made sister Lin stop unknowingly outside a shabby looking shop. At first glance, she saw cords of Horse Eye Jade in various sizes hanging on the wall. Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind: "If the Horse Eye Jade were cut in halves, it would make the exact shape required by Master!"
She went into the shop immediately and bought a cord of jade. She asked the wife of the shop owner to cut the jade pieces in half. Unfortunately, the shop owner, who knew how to cut the stones, was not in - he had gone to the horse races. Sister Lin became anxious when she heard this because she had to fly back to Bangkok the next morning to continue with the urgent work.
She could not afford to wait any longer, therefore she tried explaining to the lady Master's ideas about producing and exhibiting the S.M. Celestial Jewelry. It so happened that the shop owners were also pious Buddhists. Knowing that the products were for a charitable event, the lady immediately promised to try to help. She phoned home and found that her husband was really there! The lady kept murmuring: "How is it possible?" Only the sister understood, and was laughing to herself because this was truly Master's arrangement.
Returning to the factory, sister Lin placed the cut stones on the diagram of Master's original design. Piece by piece, the gems fit exactly into place without the least discrepancy. One could only marvel at the incredibility of such a thing happening! In fact, Master had already arranged everything -- the sister was only the tool that Master had used to achieve the desired result.
Having been engaged in the gemstone business for many years, sister Lin always used a certain posture when selecting gemstones, which resulted in her getting arthritis in her shoulders. Very often, she suffered extreme pain and frequent relapses that affected her work.
Once, when she met Master, Master casually patted her on the shoulder to greet her. Sister Lin thought nothing of the casual contact but when she went back to the factory and carried on working till midnight, she suddenly realized that the pain of her recent relapse, which had distressed her for several days, was gone. Until now, her affliction has not recurred. She then realized that Master had healed her chronic disease unknowingly with Her 'do-without-doing' miraculous power.
Sister Lin admits that she has only done trivial service for Master, yet Master has given her many blessings. Therefore Sister Lin has said that she will practice even more diligently, and work more conscientiously for Master in the future.