Special Reports

On Friday, January 24, 1997, the Paris International Jewelry Exhibition Bijorhca was officially opened. Arriving by plane, Master then rushed to the venue. Her graceful and humorous manner when conversing with everyone immediately commanded the focal point of the whole exhibition.

Also attending this feast of beauty were fellow practitioners from a dozen countries in Africa and Europe. Master cordially greeted them, and introduced Her own creations. While showing the Heavenly Dragon Cutlery Set to fellow practitioners, She said, "I have used this cutlery set." Her special recommendation was the latest addition to the Celestial Jewelry -- a dazzling and exquisite collection made immaculately with gold and diamonds, featuring a heart-shape ring and bracelet that represent love.

On camera in the exhibition hall, reporters continued to interview Master. They asked many questions regarding Her art creations and humanitarian actions. Master showed several pieces of Celestial Jewelry to the program host, who exclaimed: "They are beautiful!" Many spectators were attracted by the live interview broadcasted on the big TV screen in the exhibition hall.

That afternoon, Master was invited to hold a press conference in the meeting room of the exhibition hall. Mr. Vincent Dupont, a reporter from Le Figaro -- a French newspaper, Mr. Francois Chen of the Chinese Department of the French International Radio, and Miss Nadia Saadad of Radio Enghien attended the press conference. The reporters were undoubtedly impressed by Master's delightful conversation amid a cordial and friendly atmosphere.

Later, Master asked fellow initiates and the non-initiated people longing to see Her and were waiting outside, to enter the room. Master was wearing a long skirt in cheerful but soft colors, with a pink belt at Her waist, giving everyone a relaxed and delightful feeling. She said that She loves France and Paris, and that the media in France are superb because they respect the privacy of others. Again, She emphasized that She likes people who pay attention to positive thoughts, speech and actions.

An Enlightened Master Recommended By Jesus Christ

Among those listening attentively to Master was an eighty-six years old lady. Having longed to see Master for a very long time, she finally succeeded. According to this old lady, once when she was meditating, Jesus Christ appeared and introduced a great enlightened Master to her. Later, she received a copy of Master's sample booklet, and she was definite that Master was the great Master that Jesus Christ recommended to her. Since then, she had been longing to see Master. She even introduced Master and Her teachings to her friends, encouraging many of them to believe in Her. Responding to the longing of these earnest souls who wished to return to their holy Homeland, Master consented to give them the initiation. With great emotion, this old lady held Master's hands and said, "I want to be initiated!" Gently caressing her hands, Master said, "Okay! No problem." She also instructed the contact person to take special care of this old lady and prepare her for the initiation.

The following day, in a conference room in Paris, Master again met the disciples. She talked about some every day problems existing among fellow disciples. She has often received invitations from fellow disciples to visit their countries, so when Master finally came, everyone didn't waste this rare opportunity to be by Her side.

This rendezvous between Master and disciples lasted only a few hours, but for the fellow disciples it was a historical moment, a milestone at an important stage of their life.

Half past seven that evening, Master invited several reporters and their families dinner at the White Swan Hotel. To commend their diligence, Master presented gifts to the reporters, and took pictures together with them.

Tell Your Body To Comply With Your Will

The afternoon after the initiation, Master gave disciples another chance to see Her. She encouraged fellow initiates to shatter their notion of believing in what they think they are. She cited Her own experiences as examples. Sometimes, She felt extremely exhausted, and there was pain all over Her body. Still, She used Her willpower to command Her body to do what She wanted it to do. She told the body to comply with Her will. Master urged fellow initiates to walk out of this self-confining box, and break through the feelings of weakness and loneliness. She then gave a bunch of flowers to a fellow initiate who believed herself to be weak. Afterwards, this fellow disciple said that, though it was only three short days, this encounter with Master had given her a taste of the greatest spiritual ecstasy.

That evening at the Hotel George V, Master was interviewed by the host of World Music, a special program on Radio Orison FM. This one-hour program introduced Master's poems which Au Lac musicians had used to compose into music, fully portraying the undiscriminating love of the poet.

The Paris International Jewelry Exhibition lasted five days, from February 24th-28th. The S.M. Celestial Jewelry booth entertained many people who wanted to place orders for the Celestial Jewelry, or to make inquiries. The most common phrases of admiration expressed by the spectators were: 'Really beautiful!'; 'Extremely noble!'. These were good responses to Supreme Master Ching Hai's expectation of: "Show the utmost beauty in this world to people, to wake up the most beautiful and noblest quality in them."¡¹

I set off for London where a group of us were going to catch a train to Paris. There was a sense of beauty in the air -- there always is when we have a chance to see Master. There was also an inexplicable joy, playfulness and a lack of worries.

My intention of going to Paris was to serve. When I went to Los Angeles I just enjoyed the retreat, but this time I wanted to help others by being a security guard or doing anything else that was required. I wanted to put my own interests and comforts last.

In Paris, on the day of the jewelry exhibition, Master arrived at Her display booth in the afternoon. There were several hundred people there also. She looked splendid! She explained about the designs and their meaning -- it was so joyful. I was standing there and suddenly I felt a wave of intense gratitude rushing through my body. I had to hold myself up. My face quivered and tears of inexpressible gratitude streamed from my eyes. The experience made me feel very humble.

The following day was quite long. There was a group meditation and an all day initiation. Later in the afternoon while everyone was meditating, Master came in and spoke to us. I was sitting at the back and I asked Master a question. During the most blissful moments of my meditation I had been sending love and kind thoughts to Her in an effort to help ease Her suffering. I asked if this was a good way to do it. Master was very happy. She thanked me for my kind thoughts and threw me a rose. It was so beautiful. She explained that whenever we send a loving thought to anyone, that person receives it. I felt as if those thoughts had materialized into the beautiful rose as I looked at it. I noticed how pure my gaze was. I looked at Master in the same way, it was like when a baby looks at its mother in a pure, innocent way. It felt so good. Before we returned home I invited Master to the UK.

Oxford is a very good place, there are many seasoned practitioners and we have regular group meditations. It wasn't long before we got news that Master would come to London, where we had organized group meditations. When Master came to see us, She looked healthy and happy. Some new initiates had never seen Master in person before, so they were very happy and asked Her some very entertaining questions.

We all felt very blissful due to Master's visit and during the time we spent with Her we all learned some very important and valuable lessons. I have personally learned that the best way to progress quickly in spirit, is to selflessly help others until it becomes part of one's nature. Also when we make a mistake due to the ego or temptation, we need to pick yourselves up again and carry on, like when you are singing a song and you sing just one word incorrectly, you just need to continue and finish the song, instead of getting stuck there -- worrying and blaming oneself. We need to be the Master of ourselves -- strong and noble. We are only weak when you choose to be. Sickness or struggles actually help us to rediscover our immense strength. Most limitations are self imposed.

The last lesson was a very special blessing from Master that made me realize that I am totally free; that life is a series of choices for me to decide.¡¹

Several months ago, I ordered a Celestial ring "The Sun" for my husband and I received it during the jewelry exhibition in London. The night after receiving the ring, I waited for my husband to come home to give him the surprise.

When he saw the ring, he liked it, as I expected. However, he said that the diamond on the ring was too small. Later, he went to sleep wearing the ring, having forgotten to take it off.

The next morning when he got up, he told me that he had had a lucid, mystical dream. In his dream, the diamond in the ring was much bigger than the original one and the gold in the ring became diamonds and shone with bright, beautiful and dazzling radiance. He was deeply moved because the dream was so heartwarming. Now he always wears the ring when he sleeps and I wholeheartedly hope that his affinity with Master will yield positive results soon.

Through this miracle, I have realized that we should always have faith and positive thoughts, and become God's tool at every opportunity. Only when we meditate more and practice diligently can we perceive Master's invisible message and accept all kinds of situations in our lives with a gently and agreeable state of mind.¡¹

Since most of the jewelry in the exhibition was not real, Master's Celestial Jewelry, made of genuine precious materials, stood out prominently. Day after day, continuous admiration and praise came forth from all quarters, including from many other exhibitors.

After noticing our exhibition booth, an exhibitor accompanied his friends and relatives to visit us every day. He was especially mesmerized by the dazzling Heavenly Dragon Imperial Cutlery Set, causing him to stand as if glued in front of our counter. He shook his head and said emotively, "I have never seen such beautiful golden ware."

An Au Lac lady was fascinated by the Little Bodhi jade ring. After she was briefly told about Master's background, she excitedly said that she, too, was born into a Buddhist family in central Au La, and that her daughter was also a vegetarian. Watching her leaving contentedly with Master's sample booklet, I had a better understanding of Master's love. I also have a better understanding of why Master designs the Celestial Jewelry and exhibits them all over the world; Her sole purpose is to find and comfort the little "Lambs" who have lost their way!

Only eight months old (since my initiation), it was my greatest honor to be able to take part in this exhibition of the Celestial Jewelry. The merciful Master educated me in the most sublime ways while I was working. With laughter and tears, my soul has benefited greatly from this extra nourishment.

When Master visited England recently, I was extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to work closely with Her for several days. During this time I witnessed a living example of Truth, virtue and beauty. Needless to say, I learnt a great deal during this time.

The most memorable thing for me is the incredibly deep and boundless love that Master spontaneously gives at all times wherever She may be. Whenever Master saw an old, homeless or needy person on the street, She would stop and talk to them and give them Her warmest wishes. If She discovered that they needed money, She would give them financial help. Master once told me, "I have only this opportunity to meet them."

In the hotel where Master stayed there was an elderly doorman who often stood in the cold wind until very late in the night. She understood the hardships he has to endure to make a living, so She often gave him an extra tip.

The taxis at the hotel entrance often needed to queue for a long time to pick up passengers. Sometimes Master only went out to nearby places so therefore the fare was quite low. In such cases She would apologize to the driver and give an extra tip to compensate.

Master never forgets to bring happiness and satisfaction to those She meets. Once we did some work with a pretty young lady. When departing, Master reminded me in Chinese to tell the lady we all thought she was very beautiful. I am sure the young lady was in ecstasy all day that day.

In order to reward the initiates for their sincere invitation and hard work in arranging group meditations, Master went to several supermarkets and bought some cakes that did not contain eggs for them. She also remembered there was a flour manufacturer who provides recipes for egg-less cakes and biscuits, so She told us to find these recipes and publish them in the News magazine, giving the vegetarians a greater variety of tastes.

Within only several days, I deeply realized how Master lovingly teaches disciples. I noticed that She was capable of managing Her work all by Herself, however, in order to train us, She provides opportunities for us to learn. Whenever our egos were at work with our preconceived ideas resulting in poor judgment, Master would personally make a thorough investigation and then make the correct decision. We would then witness how much better the work proceeded to a successful completion in the shortest time possible. Each time, our preconceived ideas were completely shattered.

Recalling the time I worked closely with Master, none of the imagination I had proved to be correct. I realized deeply that if we work with our egos, we only succeed in obstructing Master's work.

The experience gained with Master will have a major impact on all aspects of my life. It will encourage me to work hard at my spiritual practice, to expand my love, to eliminate my ego and eventually to become one with Master, in order to repay Her for Her tremendous love and blessings.¡¹

From the time I was invited to be part of the S.M. Celestial Jewelry team, I was doubtful that I could introduce the designs to the public. How could I when I couldn't tell the difference between a real pearl and a fake one? This work seems to be so far away from our spiritual practice, but it is Master's work. There must be some significance behind it, just that my skull is so thick that I couldn't grasp it. It doesn't mean that other people couldn't appreciate it. So I dragged out the old magazines and carefully studied the information to prepared myself. I also prayed to the inner Master to help me to be a useful tool of God.

When the exhibition day finally arrived, it was the first time I really paid attention and looked at the jewelry. I have seen it in the News magazine, seen it in Cambodia, but each time I never paid much attention to it. I realized now that the Celestial Jewelry represents the Truth, beauty and virtues. It reminds us of the beauty, the glory that is always inherent within ourselves. It reminds us to seek the Truth, the eternal kingdom. The design, the selection, the cutting and composition of the each gem are secret codes to trigger and awaken our long term memory.

There is one particular piece that totally negates my preconception of jewelry as a rich man's toy. The sister who in charge of making the S.M. jewelry told me that it is the only piece in the world. The artisans had tried very hard to make another piece for exhibition purposes, many times, but without success. Therefore, they borrowed this piece from Master.

This "Angel" bracelet has eight tiny items dangling on its chain. They are an aeroplane, a helicopter, a U.F.O., a lotus, a phoenix, a church bell, an eagle, and a harp. Those items are symbolic to our spiritual practice. The first three items symbolize the physical world we are living in. Those are the tools to take us up high, but only as far as its limits. Then, there is the lotus. It represents the purity of our soul. We live in this world, but our soul is not contaminated by the negative force. Next is the phoenix. When we are initiated, our soul is reborn again. Master uses the heavenly fire to cleanse our karma, therein liberating our soul. Just like the phoenix, it has to dive into the fire to be reborn again.

Master once said: "When we hear the sound of the church bell, it means that we are at the level of 'never returning'." Then comes the eagle (ego). This is the biggest obstacle that binds us within the three realms. Once we can overcome the ego, then we will be home, safe and sound. As for the harp, if you practiced the Quan Yin Method, then you would know its significance.

I sincerely thank God for giving me this opportunity to work, to learn and to serve others. Thank You, God, for sending Supreme Master Ching Hai to us. You are truly a nice Guy!¡¹