Recorded by Fellow Initiate Kuo from Hsihu, Miaoli, Formosa
Once, during our visit to the United States, Master took the three of us to eat at an Indian restaurant. After we went into the restaurant, a waiter came to serve us, and we seated at a rather small table. Later, the waiter said that Master was a VIP, and moved us to the best table in the restaurant. We ordered some Indian food and chatted along as we ate. At that time, Master said that She was very happy to have dressed in a simple, casual outfit, so that no one would recognize Her, how nice it was! But alas! Four guests came in and sat down at the table in front of and to the left of ours. A while later, they started babbling incessantly. Master couldn't help but take a look at them and found out that those guests had already recognized Her and had been talking about Her. Not until Master waved at her did the American lady dare to come over. This lady was not an initiate, but she was very devout and very respectful of Master. As soon as she walked over, she put her palms together and kneeled down in front of Master. She told Master that she had read Her books and watched Her video tapes, and she would cry every time. She had been sincerely longing to meet Master.
She already had an Indian guru who also teaches the Path of Light and Sound. She said Master was just as great and powerful as her guru. Then, Master gave her some blessed food, and she was all in tears and full of gratitude. As we watched, we all felt that this lady was really very sincere. Later, unable to stay any longer, she reluctantly left the restaurant taking with her Master's loving care and the happy surprise of having met with Master.
Master gave a tip to the waiter. This Indian waiter was a complete stranger who had never known Master or even heard Her name. But interestingly, he told Master that he would forever treasure the tip She gave him. As Master was leaving, the waiter suddenly prostrated himself to pay respect to Master, with the highest form of respect that an Indian person salutes his guru, and Master was shocked! He also apologized to Master for not paying the highest respect to Her when She first came in. He said that he would repent throughout the night when he got home that evening. After listening to what he had said, Master didn't even dare to go to the restroom, and the four of us left the restaurant hastily.
Afterwards, Master said in the car, "Did you see that? The Westerners do not care about the clothes you wear; as long as you are a true master, they don't care whether you are a man or a woman. They are truly sincere; they kneel down and bow down on the floor to you. That's why I did not dare to stay longer"(master laughed)
Master also said, "For an Indian person, to bow down and touch the feet of another is the highest form of salute. He would not do that to anyone other than his own guru, unless he knows that this person is just as great as his own guru." No wonder Master suddenly visited that restaurant, because the lady was very sincere and truly longing to see Her.
Spoken by The Supreme Master Ching Hai on Feb. 23, 1994
(Originally in English and Au Lac Language)
During the recent three-day retreat, Master spoke about the benefits of changing the name of Vietnam to "Au Lac".
She said, "Vietnam is getting better now. Yes, after we changed the name into Au Lac, things began to change. I told you, it's good. Doesn't matter if they didn't change over there because we changed. That's enough, because we are practitioners; we have a strong will and strong spiritual power, so whatever we wish is more likely to come true. See?! So we change the name and we believe in the name, and that's enough. Don't need the Vietnam country to change it. If they change it, it would be much better."
"Au Lac" means to live and work in peace and content. As long as the name Au Lac is used, the Au Lac people will sooner or later have a happy and peaceful life. In fact, they are beginning to do so now!