By Fellow Initiate Bai, Indiana, U.S.A.
In order to celebrate Earth Day, various environmental protection organizations and advocates from around the U.S. launched a series of activities to promote environmental awareness, including a signature campaign to request the New Congress to preserve current legislation involving environmental protection.
On Indiana University's Earth Day, many student organizations united with other local groups to undertake an event called 'Free the Planet' at the Bloomington campus. The sponsoring organization invited influential individuals to give speeches. One of the student organizations sent an invitation letter asking Suma Ching Hai to deliver a speech at this event.
I was the only initiate who attended the activity. Since I represented a non-profit organization, the sponsor offered me a free exhibition table, on which I placed a poster of Master, and a banner that read, "Free Ourselves and the Planet." I also displayed sample booklets, News magazines in various languages, and albums of Master's pictures, as well as prints of Her paintings, and played a tape recording of Master's 'Hallelujah Song' in the background.
It was really Master's ingenious arrangement that Bloomington Solidarity and an animal rights group were right beside me. Bloomington Solidarity emphasizes social issues such as the homeless, AIDS, women's rights, and nuclear war. Because Master and our fellow practitioners always do work that benefits the world, sharing the same ideal with this group, its members agree with many of Master's teachings.
A member of the animal rights organization heard that Master teaches us to extend our love to all sentient beings and to keep a vegetarian diet, and thus he admired Her very much. In Master's News magazine he noticed that She was meditating in Hong Kong for the Au Lac refugees. Deeply moved, he said, "Other spiritual leaders are all hidden in mountains and seldom interfere with worldly matters. Your Master really cares about people's suffering, and this is really rare and commendable! She is indeed a perfect being." After accepting a sample booklet, he immediately asked his friends to take care of his exhibition table and, wasting no time, ran to the shade to read Master's words of wisdom. Most of the organizations participating in this event received sample booklets, along with flyers describing Master's views on environmental protection and vegetarianism. The response was very enthusiastic. An old gentleman came specifically to my table and told me, "Thank you very much for giving me these messages. We are very happy to know about the existence of an organization like yours." And many other people expressed the same sentiment. An American girl and a Chinese girl came to my table. The American girl immediately opened her eyes widely and said in an excited tone, "I lived in Formosa for several years and knew that Suma Ching Hai was very popular there. It's so amazing to see Her books here!" And she told the Chinese girl, "This is the great Master I told you about." So they left jubilantly with sample books in their hands.
Another girl spotted a medallion that I was wearing, which showed Master in Thai royal dress, and she exclaimed happily and with great surprise, "Oh, how beautiful She is! I like it so much!" So I immediately gave her a News magazine with the same picture of Master on the cover, and a sample booklet. She looked as though she had obtained great treasures, as though she could not believe that she could take them free of charge. Many people from different religious and spiritual backgrounds came to Master's table and were very pleased to get sample booklets containing Her teachings.
Also, there were many visitors who came from other states to visit their friends in Bloomington. They thus developed a good affinity with Master through this opportunity. One gentleman was leaving for Japan to study, and was very glad to know that there were fellow practitioners in Japan as well, so that he could learn further about Master's teachings there.
The day started off being warm and dry; but in the afternoon it began to rain heavily, so the Earth Day activities ended with rain falling from heaven. The Mother of the Earth -- our beloved Master, sanctified the world and blessed sentient beings with Her nectar. The hearts of all creatures are full of life and gratitude.