It has been several months since Master left Hong Kong. It was really an "extra bonus" this year being able to attend Master's lectures in Thailand. The sincerity of the Thai people towards Master was truly touching. Although I didn't understand Master's lectures which were spoken in English, I was satisfied within because of my heart to heart communication with Her. I was moved to tears several times. Observing Master's selfless sacrifice, I was more determined to follow Her footsteps in order to progress.
My beloved and venerable Master, I love Your noble personality; You have the majesty of a monarch, the demeanor of a great person, the compassion of a merciful mother, the magnanimity that encompasses the universe, and the style of great wisdom and courage. With my remaining lifetime, I shall strive for these ideals, and serve all sentient beings; hoping one day I shall be as perfect as You are.
By Singapore Co-ordinating Group
(Originally in English)
Singaporean fellow practitioners joined the lecture propagating work for the first time, and they really learned a lot. As the lectures were tightly arranged, the working team had to work very hard, very often the whole night through. They might have been physically exhausted, but mentally they were in bliss. The realization of Master's power supporting them gave them great courage.
They approached the chief administrators of the governmental institutions, universities and hospitals. Even though they couldn't communicate in the local language, they successfully gained permission to put up Master's lecture posters simply by showing them the posters. Some schools even announced the lecture news to the students in the classrooms for us. Throughout everything, fellow initiates experienced the miraculous arrangements of Master's almighty power.
The Thai people are simple and cordial. Their sincere attitude in reading Master's sample booklets and the leaflets revealed their longings for Truth. The beautiful poster of Master wearing the majestic Thai dress seemed to have irresistibly attracted them. The working team had difficulty trying to explain to the people that the posters were not meant for personal collection or for worshipping at home, but that they must stay on the walls to let people know about Master's lectures. Nonetheless, many posters were still taken home by some enthusiasts as a precious item to be collected.
As the co-ordinating team worked hard day and night distributing sample booklets and leaflets on the streets, the local inhabitants seemed to have become familiar with us. Very often, when we approached them, they would give us a cordial smile and acknowledging nod, and then indicate to us in a friendly manner that they had already received a copy of the sample booklet or leaflet. Also in the fully packed lecture hall, some seemingly familiar faces would smile and nod cordially to us, like friends getting together. It is hard to describe the blissful feeling of realizing these souls have been saved by Master's mercy.
The lecture tour ended successfully; the seeds of Truth have been embedded and sown in the hearts of the Thai people. Compared to the visible and invisible work Master does and the pressures She has to bear, what we have done is not worth mentioning. However, this remarkable experience has been indeed a very precious lesson for us. We cannot help but be eternally grateful to Master.
<Report From Hong Kong>
By Fellow Initiate Ho, Hong Kong
We have benefitted tremendously from this trip to Thailand. Besides attending Master's lecture, we also realized the importance of sincerity and faith and how the omnipresent Master is taking care of us with Her love at every moment.
When distributing leaflets and sample booklets in the park, I suddenly felt the raindrops falling on me. As the sky was getting darker, I returned to the pavilion in the parking lot intending to distribute the leaflets to the people taking shelter from the rain. At the pavilion, a fellow sister was delighted to see me, and asked whether I had any Chinese sample booklets. It happened that a Chinese tourist showed great interest in Master's teachings after having read the leaflet, but the fellow sister only had English and Thai sample booklets on hand. Fortunately, I had one copy in my backpack! As I stepped out of the pavilion, there was not a hint of rain in the sky. I realized that Master was taking care of everything perfectly.
Another time, on returning to the pavilion a security guard asked us to remove the sample booklets. With the help of another fellow sister from Singapore, we moved the boxes of sample booklets to another spot. Coincidentally, a large crowd of students was there asking for sample booklets from a fellow sister who had just finished distributing what she had. We brought her the required sample booklets just in time. This location also turned out to be a better spot for distributing sample booklets. So, we discovered that even the rather rude security guard was also a tool sent by Master!
I couldn't help feeling hurt when I observed some of the leaflets being discarded on the ground. As a result, I became more selective in distributing the propagating material. Later, a fellow sister told me that she went to Master's lecture and got initiation just because her husband had picked up a leaflet on the street and brought it home to her. Having heard her story, I was greatly relieved. My feeling was that each sample booklet or leaflet is alive with the power to draw sentient beings with affinity to Master. As long as we keep reciting the Five Names in our hearts, think of Master, avoid selecting with our minds, naturally the leaflets will be distributed very quickly. With the attitude of "cultivating hard, not focusing on the fruit of our actions", our bodies and minds become filled with bliss instead of being exhausted.
<Reports From Formosa>
Combined Reports From Formosa's Co-ordinating Team
Many tourists remark that Thailand is a poor and undeveloped country, but Master mentions Thailand as one of Her favorites. If we did not make this trip to Thailand, we could not understand Master's feelings. On the road from Bangkok airport to Chiang Mai, we passed through many poor and isolated villages. However, the people there have not lost their dignity in life just because they are poor. Instead, they decorate their simple houses with natural flowers, trees and potted plants which shows their taste for beauty. They are living a pleasant life.
Upon receiving the leaflets distributed to them, most Thai people would keep them carefully and not discard them casually. They would even gratefully acknowledge our good will with a smile. When attending Master's lecture, even if they had to leave early for some reason, they would first put their palms together to pay respect to Master. Their attitude is really touching. Then we really understood why Master praises the Thai people. Filled with gratitude, we thank Master for letting us learn, through this process, how to break through and surpass the false, superficial look of things and probe into their true nature with a non-biased view.
The cover photo on the sample booklet with Master in traditional Thai dress attracted the admiration of the Thai people; thus they were most eager to receive a copy. It was a pity that we could not answer their further inquiries in their language. However, our job was sowing the seeds. God will pick His children.
Many co-ordinating teams went deep into the mountain areas spreading the good news of Master's lecture to every corner of the country. Even up to the last few hours before Master's lecture, all the fellow initiates were still charging forward and working hard. Disregarding their fatigue, they encouraged each other and struggled until the last second before Master arrived. The lecture hall was fully packed. Fellow initiates had to stand to attend the lecture. However, they had absolutely no complaints. They were so happy seeing that so many people could hear the Truth and see an enlightened Master. From the anxious eyes of the audience awaiting Master's arrival, from their attentiveness during the lecture, and from their wet eyes when Master was leaving the hall, we understand why Master is willing to bear all this hard work and exhaustion.
Incredible things will always happen when a Truth propagating event is going on...
When waiting for the plane to Chiang Mai at the Bangkok Airport, we met dozens of Korean fellow initiates. They were praying to Master to help them get seats on the plane to Chiang Mai, as they only got air tickets from Seoul to Bangkok. Shortly after we were seated on the plane, we found that the Korean fellow initiates also got on plane one after another. After asking them, we learned that all of them luckily got seats. It was really incredible! Not until then did we find out that some of the earlier canceled bookings were actually reserved for this group of Korean fellow practitioners, who virtually had no idea that air tickets from Bangkok to Chiang Mai were so difficult to get. If they were to take this long journey by coach, the lecture would have ended long before they arrived.
There was another elderly fellow initiate on the plane who had just had a minor operation several days ago. To be able to attend the lecture, she begged the doctor to delay taking out the stitches for one more day. The doctor warned her that to delay may cause her great pain. She replied immediately both verbally and from her heart, "No, no, there won't be any pain!" That was exactly what happened during her whole trip; she was high spirited and blissful.
The working team stayed at the Youth Hostel in Chiang Mai. The young landlady was eager to cooperate with our work right from the start. Being a vegetarian herself, she cared for us like a fellow practitioner. Even though we had to move to another hostel after the rental period had expired, she still allowed us to use her place for the preparatory work. When Master arrived at Chiang Mai, she accompanied the fellow initiates to greet Master. At the airport, her plump lovely daughter constantly received Master's blessing hugs. In just a few short days, she had felt the loving power and perfectness of the Quan Yin Method. On the evening of the lecture, she joined the initiation and became a new fellow initiate. Master also jokingly remarked that we now have an place to stay, which could also be used as a meditation center.
There were times, when we were distributing the leaflets and lacked a Thai fellow initiate to lead the way, we might have gotten lost because of the language barrier with the local drivers. However, Master's almighty power would always arrange some English speaking persons, who were interested in Master's sample booklets and wished to know more about the teachings, to come to us to be our timely interpreter, and helped us get to our destination smoothly. Master's assurance encouraged us to work fearlessly in this strange land.
Some fellow initiates paid a visit to a temple in suburban Chiang Mai. On the way the driver suddenly put on the brakes. The entire inside of the couch was filled with black fumes. All the passengers had to get out, because the cooling tank had over heated and was broken. Also, due to the abrupt braking, the steering wheel even fell off! The coach had stopped half way up a slope, yet all the fellow initiates were safe and sound. Of course, we all knew that was Master protecting us, as always. Even the tourist guide had the same feeling, and asked our fellow initiates to give her Master's photo to wear.
A fellow initiate purchased some timbre in Bangkok. When the goods were delivered to the meditation center, the fellow initiate gave the sample booklet he was holding to the young delivery boy. Later, as some information from the booklet was needed, he approached the delivery boy trying to get back the sample booklet. He was surprised to find that the young man had locked himself in the car, blissfully reading it. Upon seeing this no one would dream of disturbing him. This blessed person kept on enjoying Master's blessing, totally unaware that we were knocking on the door outside!
It was almost midnight. A fellow sister was distributing leaflets at the night market. She was still working on the streets because there were still some sample booklets and leaflets remaining. At that time, the red traffic light came on and she saw a car stop at the intersection. She immediately ran over trying to distribute what she had. Getting closer, she saw that Master was in the car. Master lowered the window waving and greeting her. The sister was a bit shy but so excited! The timely appearance of Master made her feel as delighted as a child being cradled by her mother. Filled with joy, she pulled herself together and continued to distribute the sample booklets. As if sharing her bliss, the pedestrians also happily accepted them.
Last New Years Day I visited Thailand for the first time with the feeling of meeting a long lost family member. I was weeping voicelessly when I saw Mother Master. The spiritual comfort She bestowed upon me was better than any words. I came to Thailand again this time with a different feeling as I was joining the co-ordinating team, but the warm and lingering feeling from the last visit still remained in my heart.
Through the spreading-Dharma work, new life experiences were learned each day. Although it was not the first time for me to distribute sample booklets, but I was still a bit scared because I was shy in nature. However, observing the fellow initiates, old and young, working with total devotion, sincerity and egolessness, I really learned something. A fellow sister, because of her exceptional vigor and enthusiasm was given, by the fellow initiates, the title "little heroine on the road". I was touched by their good examples, and worked in higher and higher spirits!
Participating in the designing of the posters, I had the opportunity of working with some Thai fellow initiates. Despite the language barrier, our work was not affected. I deeply felt their sincerity, cordialness and no complaints in doing any assignment, just working silently and eager to help others. Among them was one fellow sister, who was happy to receive any assignment, big or small. If we worked through the night, she would also work with us. "Thanks to Master!" was her motto.
The days have flown by since parting with Master, I still often hear the English song that She sang to us through the car window as She left: I will follow You, follow You to wherever You may go....
Being a new initiate this year, I have never attended any of Master's lectures in person. When I received the message from the local center that Master would be giving lectures in Thailand and that the disciples may attend, I was so excited and nervous! After the initial shock, I started to cry out of joy, or perhaps it was because I've missed Master too much.
The location of the lecture was to be in Khonkaen. We were very quiet on our way there from the airport until we came into the city and saw Master's posters along the roadside. We exclaimed with excitement: "Master!" "There's another one!" "Here's a large one!"... The commotion created was like lost children who suddenly found their mother, calling out to her with exciting and sweet love!
The second lecture we attended was to take place in Chiang Mai. Early in the morning, as we went out to put up more posters, we saw someone removing our posters. We quickly ran over to negotiate with them, but they could not understand English and refused to return the posters to us. One of the sister initiates hung on to their truck and kept pleading, "No! No! No!" We could not speak the language, and standing under the hot sun, our hearts were afire with anxiety! We could only recite the Five Names silently and pray for Master's help.
They would not budge and insisted that we pay the fine in exchange for the posters after a few days. While a brother initiate was negotiating with them, I quickly took the time to clean the removed posters with tissue paper and put them into a neat pile. I thought if we could not keep the posters, at least we could make them clean and neat for the people to take them. Then a miracle happened! Those two people who were at first very stern and uncompromising were now helping to put Master's posters into a neat pile. I was kneeling down on the road as I cleaned Master's posters, and they helped to move them onto the sidewalk. The posters which were on their truck they respectfully stood them up so that they would be facing the road. Finally, they even gave me some tissue paper. I was dumbfounded! We were so happy after we got the posters back. We felt Master's love with us; we knew that as long as we were sincere, no language was necessary.
The lecture at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok was the last of the lectures, thus attracted even more people. It was also the last night of our stay in Thailand; we were flying back to Formosa the next day. Master felt the strong longings of Her disciples and allowed us to sit in front of Her during the initiation, and blessed us by touching our hands and our heads. As we went back to our hotel, we were all beaming with joy and had contented smiles.
Dear Master, You have been travelling around and have exhausted Yourself for the sake of liberating the sentient beings. Even when You worked through the night, Your eyes were still filled with love and compassion, You still talked with humor and laughed heartily; You never showed us how tired You were. Dear Master, thank You for giving me the chance to work for You and learn, while working, how insignificant I am. Thank You for Your love and "electrifying power" that is ever-flowing, thank You for... I can never thank You enough. I only wish to learn more in every way, to practice diligently and to progress faster spiritually, so that I may become a good instrument for Your work.