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A Little Message:
News No. 166
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Report from New Zealand
Wonderful Camp Experience
By Auckland News Group
[Auckland] On March 11 and 12, Golden Year 3 (2006), the Auckland and Hamilton Centers in New Zealand hosted a “Life & Spirituality Happy Camp” at the Marine Education & Recreation Center in Long Bay. The activity attracted over 80 practitioners and guests. There were many activities for guests to participate in at the camp such as the marine and land based activities, as well as the indoor programs which relate to daily life and help people deal with their lives materially and spiritually. Most importantly, under the relaxed and joyful atmosphere, the hosts shared Master’s teachings and concepts of vegetarianism with guests who happily received the messages with open hearts. Master’s videotaped lectures were also shown at the camp, supplemented by fellow initiates’ explanations on various aspects of “Spirituality and Science”, and “Life and Spiritual Practice” with impressive pictures. To support Master’s instruction of promoting the vegetarian diet, Auckland practitioners presented an informative and lighthearted play called "The Secret of Food- the sixth volume of Harry Victor". It educates the audience about the benefits of a vegetarian diet and the reasons why humans should be vegetarian with humorous dialogs. The superb performance was made possible by brothers and sisters serving as director, actors, stage technicians, musicians, sound effects specialists, dance choreographers, and costume designers. The play won a lot of laughter and applause at the camp. In addition, Auckland Center’s Cooking Team prepared sumptuous vegetarian banquets to promote vegetarianism with delicious vegetarian dishes. Participants all enjoyed the feasts in the camp ground’s dining hall with a magnificent sea view almost surrounding the entire hall. The splendid scenery, amazing delicacies and joyous atmosphere seemed to create a heaven on earth, and everyone felt like an honored guest in God’s palace. Master’s wonderful arrangement touched the heart of every practitioner and guest. One of the sisters on the cooking team was accidentally injured while preparing for the dinner banquet the first evening. She overturned a pot of boiling soup, scalding both hands seriously. Even as her skin began to peel, she ignored her pain and continued to work without mentioning it to anyone for fear of affecting the schedule. When the activity ended, she wondered how she could return to work the next day when both her hands were so seriously scalded. But a miracle occurred. "When I woke up on Monday morning, I found my right hand completely healed without any scars. Some wounds remained on my left hand, but I felt no pain at all,” the sister said. “It seems as if the wounds are there to prove that I have been scalded. I am a pharmacist. The incident showed me that I have just experienced a medical miracle!" The initiates also did aerobic exercises with guests in step with Master’s song "Go! Go! Go!” at the camp. The rhythm is so lively and joyful that it seemed the participants were moving in sync with God, an indication that Quan Yin practitioners lead healthy, happy and joyful lives. After the guests became familiar with the song, two fellow brothers played guitars in accompaniment to a joyful chorus by all participants. This inspirational song created a heavenly atmosphere of great elation. Also the interesting games, humorous jokes and beautiful dances choreographed by fellow initiates all gave participants wonderful and unforgettable memories. The last program of the two-day event was “The Garden of God’s Love”, which presented inspirational stories and dances in combination with Master’s aphorisms and works of art. It moved the heart of every participant. At the end of the activity, each participant received a set of beautiful gifts featuring the inspirational stories with Master’s aphorisms and artworks. Through all the activities and programs at the camp everyone had immersed into Master’s boundless love and wisdom. Some people wanted to learn more about Master’s teachings and some expressed an interest in practicing the Convenient Method, while fellow practitioners experienced Master’s infinite blessings and omnipresent love. All participating practitioners learned the lesson of compassion and wisdom by serving others with unconditional Love.
Report from Formosa
Azaleas Carry God's Message
By the Taipei News Group (Originally in Chinese)
[Taipei] Members of National Taiwan University’s Light and Sound Association set up a booth to share Master’s teachings and the message of Alternative Living during the annual NTU Azaleas Festival on March 11 and 12, Golden Year 3 (2006). They were joined by fellow initiates from other Taipei universities and colleges. In addition to displaying Master's publications, the student initiates served a wide range of exquisite vegetarian snacks and arranged fun games related to spirituality to attract visitors. Some initiates, dressed up as lovely animal characters, performed comical shows to entertain visitors and remind them that human beings should love and live in peaceful co-existence with animals. The vegetarian delicacies were a hit during the weekend event, attracting crowds of visitors. A few students from other booths tried the vegetarian food and were so amazed by its wonderful taste that they immediately called a dozen of their peers to taste it too. Undergraduate initiates were not the only ones working hard. Many adolescent fellow initiates joined in the effort to promote vegetarianism. They might have been young in age but their spirit was high and their performance great. The fellow initiates were happy to see people reading the Alternative Living leaflets upon receiving them during the event. The leaflets, together with tasting of vegetarian delicacies, have already infused in people’s minds the concept of a healthy, nutritious and delicious vegetarian diet. Health Seminar On the evening of March 16, Golden Year 3 (2006) fellow initiates from the Light and Sound Association of National Taiwan University held a seminar on how to create a new self through the harmonious functioning of the body, mind and spirit, and on what constitutes a nobler and wiser lifestyle. Keynote speakers included Dr. Mei, Hsiang-Yang, initiator of the Worldwide Chinese Cancer Free Link; Mr. David Wu, an artist and founder of the Wu Jin painting method; and Ms. You Wen-ya, a professional lecturer from the PDP (Professional DynaMetric Programs) Institute Co Ltd & Leaders Association. The speakers shared their views on how to maintain good health, create art, and lead a successful life. They also engaged in in-depth discussions with the audience on the significance of Alternative Living from the physical and spiritual aspects. The audience agreed with the three experts from different fields addressing the theme splendidly. They were also fascinated by the color, aroma, and taste of the delicious vegetarian dishes served at the venue. They stood around the speakers hoping to further explore the topic. Some guests requested to learn the Convenient Method onsite, eager to experience the wonders of the harmonious functioning of body, mind and spirit that creates a new self. The seminar successfully integrated medical and health concepts with ethereal artistic ideas for a sound and successful life. For seminar attendees, it promised a Golden Age lifestyle that is full of hope and light. Note: The Worldwide Chinese Cancer Free Link is a team of volunteer workers led by Dr. Mei, Hsiang-Yang, who are committed to sharing correct vegetarian diet concepts with society at large.
Promoting Vegetarianism through
Establishing the "Healthy Vegetarian Society" in Hsinchu IT Research Institute
By Hsinchu News Group, Formosa (Originally in Chinese)
[Hsinchu] In support of Master's call for extending love and compassion to animals and keeping a lifelong vegetarian diet, fellow initiates working in the Hsinchu Industrial Technological Research Institute (ITRI) planned and established a Healthy Vegetarian Society on March 23, Golden Year 3 (2006) which caused a great response in the campus and attracted more than two hundred colleagues to join them. The ITRI is the primary driving force in Formosa's electronics and information industry. Currently there are more than six thousand employees, and over half of the researchers possess Master or Doctorate degrees. Many of Formosa's famous world-class technology enterprises were planned and founded by the ITRI. Numerous leaders in the technology industry are also fostered by this institution. Our fellow initiates established the vegetarian society with the hope of sharing Master's divine love and message to all the colleagues in the Institute. The grand opening was held in the form of a vegetarian food tasting event. The announcement was made through the institution’s informative system, and putting up posters, etc. More than two hundred colleagues joined the Society, which greatly exceeded the original expectation. At noon of March 23, the grand opening to establish the Society began with an introduction to the concept and benefit of vegetarianism, followed by the free vegetarian food tasting event. To support this occasion, the Hsinchu Center provided over thirty courses of Chinese and Western delicacies, which won warm praises from the guests. Some participants had the notion that theses dishes were ordered from outside restaurants, so they asked the fellow initiates for the contact number of the restaurants for future orders. Many employees were interested in the cooking method of these dishes, while others expressed their wish to switch to a vegetarian diet because they were truly amazed by the variety, delicacy, and the tastefulness of the healthy vegetarian food. In the venue, apart from playing songs composed by Master, distributing healthy diet guidelines, fellow initiates also displayed Master's artistic painted fans and Longevity Lamps. Mr. Zhang-fang, Operation Chief of the Mechanical Engineering Department, said that through the effort of the Healthy Vegetarian Society, he hoped that colleagues in the ITRI would become like Einstein, thus attaining keen observation and achieving superb results in research. Mr. Xie Zheng-xiong, the Project Manager of the Material Testing Laboratory and Deputy Chief of the Intelligence Services Department, who had been a vegetarian for over twenty years, said he was very glad to see vegetarianism promoted through a society. Miss Zhang Pei-jun from the Administration Office said that after working with our fellow initiates for years, she had been gradually influenced by them and changed her eating habit to a healthy vegetarian diet. Miss Wang You-wen from the Material Testing Laboratory on the other hand, could not stop praising the dishes served that day as extremely delicious and sumptuous. Through the founding of the Healthy Vegetarian Society, employees in the ITRI have gradually accepted the concept of loving animals and following a healthy vegetarian diet. They have also changed their general notion that the vegetarian diet is rigid and monotonous. Let’s hope that through continuous promotion for vegetarianism, these high-tech professionals will be inspired to follow the examples of great scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, and make greater contributions to our world.
Report from Korea
Love Life: Spiritual Seminar
and Vegetarianism Campaign
By Seoul News Group (Originally in Korean)
[Wonju] On March 25, Golden Year 3 (2006), Korean initiates held a video seminar at the Wonju Catholic Center to introduce the Quan Yin Method of meditation. In order to prepare for the event, sisters and brothers from Busan, Daejeon, and Seoul put up the posters and distributed the “Alternative Living” flyers throughout Wonju one week prior to the event. On the day, the Catholic Center’s cozy lecture hall, with 100-seat capacity, was filled with truth seekers who attentively watched Master’s video lecture. An elderly lady was moved, saying that she could feel Master’s mighty power while watching the video, and wanted to get initiation. However, due to the age limitation, she could only learn the Convenient Method of meditation,. About 20 guests learned the convenient meditation right away at the venue. The visitors were very happy to receive not only the spiritual gift but the vegetarian food and beverages as well, prepared lovingly by the initiates. In the mean time on the day before the lecture and during the event, brothers and sisters conducted a PR (Public Relations) campaign at the central market in downtown. They provided vegetarian food samples for people to try, and distributed the “Alternative Living” flyers. A “Love Life - 10 Million-Signature Collection Campaign” (*) was also begun and the initiates were amazed by the lively responses; 300 people voluntarily signed up in only three hours. Some people said they had already been on a vegetarian diet and rejoiced to see a vegetarian campaign, and others were astonished that vegetarian "meat" was so tasty. This helped to open their hearts toward vegetarianism. * Please refer to the report from Seoul in the column “Creating a Compassionate and Vegetarian Global Village” for more details about “Love Life - 10 Million-Signature Collection Campaign” |
| Master Tells Jokes
Silence Is Golden
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Florida, USA,
February 4, 2003 (Originally in English) DVD#754 One day, a guy walked into a bar and asked the bartender for a drink. Then, he asked for another. After a couple more drinks, the bartender got worried. “What's the matter?” he asked the customer. “Well, my wife and I got into a fight,” explained the guy. “And now she isn't talking to me for a whole thirty-one days!” The bartender thought about this and then said, “But isn't that a good thing, that she isn't talking to you?” And the man replied, “Yes, except that this is the last night!” Make Sure to Get the Right Information
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Florida, USA, February 4, 2003 (Originally in English) DVD#754
A farmer was in the post office when suddenly his neighbor came rushing in and shouted, “I think someone is stealing your pickup truck!” The farmer ran out and then returned right away. “Did you stop him?” asked the neighbor. “No,” said the farmer. “He was too fast. But I got his license plate number!”
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| Creating a Compassionate and Vegetarian Global Village
The Worldwide Effort to Share Master's Merciful Message ‘Alternative Living' Concerned about repeated outbreaks of epidemic diseases among animals and humans, Master has offered the world a fundamental solution to the problem by personally designing a friendly but convincing leaflet entitled “Alternative Living” to remind people to choose the vegetarian diet and stop killing in order to overcome global medical crises and save our fellow beings. Master has also instructed all initiates to share this message with their brothers and sisters in every corner of the world. In response, the practitioners have initiated an all-out effort to share Her words of love. Below are reports on activities related to this project conducted in various countries.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Master's Compassionate Message Reaches Africa
By Kinshasa News Group
Responding to Master's compassionate instruction, thirteen fellow practitioners from the Kinshasa Center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo happily distributed the Alternative Living leaflets at a market near their Center. Each fellow practitioner was assigned a specific area to work in. Out of curiosity, many people rushed to get the leaflets. The local people had already learnt about the impact of the bird flu from TV or radio broadcasts, so with further explanation from fellow practitioners, they fully supported the message of the leaflet. Some people further asked whether the leaflets were related to spiritual practice. Initiates finished distributing 3,000 leaflets in about thirty minutes, and there were still people asking for more copies. With the outbreak of the bird flu in Europe, people have already understood the graveness of the situation. Consequently, the sale of meat on the local market is slowing down. As such, it is especially meaningful that Master has instructed us to promote a healthy diet at this critical moment!
Republic of Congo
Truth-Sharing Is Welcomed in Brazzaville
By brother-initiate Kokou Dodji Offissa (Originally in French)
On March 19, 2006, we introduced Master’s Alternative Living flyers to the people of the Republic of Congo (RC). The Republic of Congo is separated from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by a river. With the help of Kinshasa (the capital of DRC) Center, we received the flyers that had already been printed. As the news of the bird flu is known by everyone in our country, people readily showed interest in Master’s suggestions for alternative living. Some asked if they could take extra flyers to give to their relatives at home. Other people asked about the vegetarian diet. Our initiates gladly shared their experiences about this way of living with them. Besides the love and blessings from our beloved Master that comes with the flyers, another piece of good news for our country is that with the help of Kinshasa Center, we will soon be able to open a Center in Brazzaville, the capital of Republic of Congo, to share Master’s teachings with those longing souls in search of the Truth.
USA
Dana Point, California
Celebrating Compassion for All Beings
at the Festival of the Whale
By Los Angeles Reporting Team (Originally in English)
Los Angeles initiates prepared excitedly for the 15th Annual Festival of the Whale, held this year over two weekends in March. The festival is a large outdoor fair celebrating the gray whale’s annual migration down the California coastline on its way from Alaska to Mexico. It seemed a perfect opportunity for sharing the message of Alternative Living, especially since the festival also featured other animal-friendly activities such as a ‘dog walk’ benefiting a no-kill animal shelter, and the Ocean Institute, which seeks to educate people about marine life. Prior to the weekend of March 4 and 5, Golden Year 3 (2006), initiates prepared food, flyers and display materials for the booth they had arranged. Very early on the morning of March 4th, they arose to a beautiful dawn. It seemed to initiates that God was already smiling upon them since the entire previous week had been wet and rainy. Around 15 fellow practitioners traveled together to arrive before 6 AM at the fair venue where they set up the booth with fresh flowers, banners, inflated balloons and played Master’s DVD. They also set up a display of photos from the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association’s disaster relief efforts such as Pakistan and hurricane Katrina. As soon as the fair opened at 10 AM, the area was immediately filled with people. Many families arrived with their children, who happily received the balloons from initiates while the parents stopped to take an Alternative Living flyer and converse. Initiates also went out into the crowd to distribute flyers. Along with the flyers, initiates had also printed some recipes with appetizing photos of the dishes themselves. People seemed to really like the recipes, with one person commenting, “This is nice because without the recipes, I wouldn’t know how to cook the vegetarian food.” Some fellow practitioners went to a large nearby park, Balboa Park, where they also had good success in distributing flyers. They found out they could get a permit to set up a table at this park as the “Alternative Living Group.” Many people had positive comments about the flyer and even remarked about the animals. One gentleman, for example, said that he really liked the dolphin picture on the flyer. Other people asked where they could get the food for vegetarian living. Along with the flyers, initiates passed out printed copies of recipes from the Supreme Kitchen web site and also pointed out the web sites on the flyers where they could find more information and more recipes. Initiates also noticed that those who wore the yellow vest, bearing the name of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association, were able to distribute far more flyers than the initiates who weren’t wearing it. Initiates commented to each other that Master’s recommendation for working teams to wear them really had a very good reason indeed and it brought great blessing to the people who saw Master’s name! At the end of the two days at the fair, some fellow practitioners went around to look for any Alternative Living flyers that people might have discarded on the ground or in the trash. But, miraculously, they could not find any! All 6,000 flyers passed out to the public had been kept rather than thrown away. Initiates left feeling deeply thankful for this opportunity to participate in God’s work.
Alternative Living – Flyer Distribution Extended
to Vicinities South of San Jose
By San Jose News Group (Originally in English)
San Jose A total of 100,000 Alternative Living flyers were recently printed through PennySaver business ads services and delivered to individual homes of different vicinities within San Jose. Aside from that, hundreds of leaflets were placed at the local vegetarian restaurants to provide convenient access to the daily lunch and dinner guests. On March 18-19, just that one weekend, 8,000 flyers were delivered on foot from car to car by our “walking” team at the Gilroy Outlet Shopping parking lot. On the Saturday walk, the security was cruising in their patrol car alongside the sisters at first, just out of curiosity. But later, they decided to help us place the flyers on the front windows of parked cars for the rest of the afternoon. On Sunday, a whole family who received a flyer from a sister was very excited, as if they received a valuable gift. They stood right in the parking lot reading the flyer and discussing it among themselves. The scene was just so beautiful. Continuing this noble effort, the following Sunday of March 26, sisters and brothers went to Salinas. Again the Alternative Living flyers were quickly and quietly distributed in the parking lots of several shopping malls. Salinas, similar to Gilroy, is a small town with mostly Hispanic-speaking natives. So the Alternative Living flyers were prepared in both Spanish and English. The people were very nice and simple and cheerfully received the flyers from us. In both cities many even approached us directly to ask for the flyers. Some people even drove by and softly honked for our attention to take a flyer from us!
Sharing the Message of Love in America
Combined report by USA News Group (Originally in English)
Since Supreme Master Ching Hai launched the Alternative Living project in January, Association members from 30 Centers in the US and Canada have participated. In total, more than 3,000,000 flyers have been distributed in the US & Puerto Rico, plus about 300,000 in Canada. Wherever people are gathered—festivals, expos, busy streets—fellow practitioners appeared to share Master Ching Hai’s love for all creatures. Another few million copies were distributed in the form of advertisements in newspapers and magazines. Several Centers have broadcast the flyer on TV or radio, dozens of internet forums and chain emails. In total, approximately 10,000,000 Americans have been exposed to the message. Association members devised many ingenious ways of presenting the flyer. One sister initiate used the flyer, in addition to the list of Eminent Vegetarian Scientists, as teaching materials for her elementary school class. Another distributed flyers while volunteering as a vegetarian Product Demonstrator in grocery stores. One brother emblazoned his car with magnetic decals, which advertised a website. Notes from the Field Austin One enterprising brother initiate stood at a highway intersection, passing out 300-400 flyers within the space of 3 hours. He reported, “When drivers were waiting for the green light, I walked to them and showed the flyers. Some drivers would read the flyers, and then decide to accept or deny them. But at least they read the flyers already. Although the number I distributed is limited at a few hundred, a lot more people read the flyers already, which cannot be counted.” Florida “I gave out one flyer at work and pinned it on the bulletin board. When I came back to work, the flyer was on the desk at the main nurses’ station and has been sitting there for days, and the girls have been making copies of it!” “There is a new movie coming up called “Celestine Prophecy”…They are running a full-length previews at churches and spiritual organizations. This is a very good opportunity to give out flyers. I attended two previews myself. “After viewing the movie, many people were deeply inspired by the notion of an upcoming spiritual era of love and divine power and they were very happy to receive a flyer about love for our animal friends. In the first preview, I asked the hostess for permission to distribute the flyers and she said okay (her husband is almost vegetarian). Later in the second preview, I saw a ticket lady (who is vegan herself) actually pointing people to take the flyer after they got the tickets as if it were part of the program.” Virginia After the ad in The Washington Post Express newspaper came out, a disciple who works in Washington DC reported that several of her co-workers came to tell her that they received the Express newspaper in the Metro subway stations and saw the ad from our organization, and that it was good information. As fellow practitioners handed out the flyers to pedestrians, there were several occasions that people turned back to tell us that it was very good information. A couple stopped to tell us that they have been vegetarians for 30/40 years and wanted to know more about our organization. We gave them our website and contact information, and they later called back requesting to be notified of our upcoming seminar in April. When one of the fellow practitioners was giving out flyers in the Fairfax area, an Indian lady liked our flyer and asked for a soft copy by e-mail. She is Hindu and has been giving out vegetarian booklets to people around her. She thought our flyers are better and wants to print many copies to give to others. We went to the Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC to hand out flyers to the tourists outside the Museums for two weekends. Washington DC is one of the most popular tourist destinations, where visitors come from all parts of the US, as well as from all over the world. We plan to pass out flyers routinely at various tourist attractions as the weather warms up, especially at the very popular Cherry Blossoms Festival. Canada One of the initiates was scheduled to visit her sister in Winnipeg, Manitoba just after the flyers came out. The instructions Master gave were to distribute in all parts of our country, so she quickly changed her flight plans and was able to continue onto the east coast of Canada, to Halifax, Nova Scotia (for a minimal change flight fee). She felt this was an exciting opportunity, for though she has been to other continents, she had never been to the east coast of Canada. In Winnipeg, she was pleasantly surprised. She went to stores, coffee shops, and a university, and in each place she came across young people who told her that either they were vegetarian, vegan, or their parents were. At the University of Manitoba, one young man said, "I’m so happy you are doing this. I am vegan." Many of the people seemed interested in the flyers. However, her biggest surprise was in Halifax. Prior to her visit she had the notion that Vancouver (west coast) was somehow more “advanced spiritually” than the east coast. She found out how wrong she was. People were open and friendly in accepting flyers. Almost all the shops she went into accepted the flyers happily. Quite a few of especially young people (in their 20's or so) said they were vegetarian or vegan. The whole feeling of the city was absolutely uplifting. For example, she went to an art college to see if she could put some flyers on the billboard. The college happened to be closed that day, with a security guard sitting at the entrance. When the initiate found out it was closed, she asked if she could leave flyers, half expecting to be refused. However, the security guard looked at it and said that of course he would put them up on the board and leave some in the animal protection area, and that students were very interested in this. Another example: the sister went into a pet store to buy a toy to bring back to her dog. Usually pet stores have got a lot of meat products, so she was not sure they would be interested in the Alternative Living flyer. However, the owner was a vegetarian who was totally delighted to accept them, and has another business of dog daycare where she gives the dogs vegetarian snacks. The conversation led to meditation, and the woman soon was the very happy recipient of a Sample Booklet. The initiate was able to leave many flyers and some Sample Booklets (mainly in a spiritual bookstore) in Halifax, so was very happy with her short stay there. She would love to go back whenever possible. By the way, this initiate now takes her dog for "distribution" walks, where they go house to house giving out flyers. The dog just loves it; she has been told the good work she is doing. There are also good stories from Greater Vancouver. Many people said they, their brother, sister, or boss are vegetarian. One sister was handing out flyers on the street. A couple passed and the woman said, "No." However, the flyer had already caught the man's eye and he happily accepted it. Both of them then read it intently. Many people seem to be looking at them carefully after they received them. We are all (including the dog!) loving this distribution work. Thank You, Master.
Spreading Loving Seeds in Southern Peru and Bolivia
By Brother-initiate Julio Cardenas Pelizzari, Arequipa, Peru
(Originally in Spanish) Tacna, Peru The first city I visited to distribute the “Alternative Living” flyer was Tacna, which is in the south of Peru. Before arriving at that city, something happened to the bus, but fortunately the driver and his assistant managed to repair the damage and we continued our trip without any other inconvenience. 5,000 flyers were distributed on the main streets of Tacna and at the Universidad Estatal de Tacna and the Universidad Privada. When there was no more sunlight, I stopped to buy some grapes and figs from a couple who were selling fruit on the street. The man asked me for a flyer and inquired of its purpose. He tucked the flyer into his pocket and it was completely wrinkled. When I saw his hands, I assumed he was a hard worker. He told me that he came from Majes, a beautiful valley in Arequipa, where he worked as a farmer. After we exchanged some words, he suddenly stared at me with bright eyes and said, “Give me some, so I can hand them out.” So I gave him some flyers and he stood up and started distributing the flyers as if he were giving something very significant and valuable, a treasure to share with others; he was even insistent if someone wouldn’t accept a copy. I felt very inspired by his good disposition. He didn’t even know what gluten or tofu was; nevertheless, he offered himself voluntarily to do Master’s work. Also, in Tacna, when handing out the flyers on the main square, a man repeatedly called to me to ask me about the flyers. When I explained the purpose of the flyers , he showed a great interest and we started to talk about some spiritual subjects. He voluntarily said, “Give me some flyers, please”, and started calling passersby, explaining that these flyers were something important for them to notice. “Get acquainted with this good news,” he said. Among the many things we talked about, he said that he used to pray before dawn and pointed out that the best hours for praying were around 3:00 o’clock in the morning. We conversed about some parts of the Bible and to my contentment, at the end of the conversation, he said that with the few words we had exchanged, many of his doubts were cleared. I was surprised to see how easily he understood the precepts, especially his acceptance of the concept that, being the children of God as we are, we cannot say that we are good if we kill Hiers creatures, the animals. Then I showed him a photograph of Supreme Master Ching Hai and told him that we also meditate early in the morning and that we keep the five precepts in order to progress spiritually. He repeatedly asked me what kind of meditation we practiced. As I perceived that he felt our meditation was the one, I finally told him that, if he wanted, I could teach him what we call the Convenient Method of meditation. Since we were not near his house, we went to a nearby cathedral, where I explained in detail the conditions necessary to practice the Convenient Method. Then we started to meditate. When half of the meditation had passed, the choir of the cathedral started to sing. I thought how silly I had been to take him there to meditate, because of the noise and other disturbances. But to my surprise, when we finished our meditation and asked him how was his experience: he told me he had seen Master in his inner vision! I also asked him if he had heard the noise and the chanting of the choir and the child who was moving around and hitting the bench behind us. He told me that he had heard nothing; “You told me to concentrate here, and that’s what I did,” he answered. When we left the building I felt very happy to have come across this person and thought that perhaps our meeting was predestined and arranged by God. Moquegua, Peru The next city was Arica, Chile. But because of the many regulations required to distribute any kind of flyer on the streets in that city, it was not feasible to carry out the task. Since there were 5,000 flyers destined to Arica, I thought it best to take them to Moquegua, a city between Tacna and Arequipa. In that little city 2,500 copies were distributed in the main square, some side streets, and the main avenue. Actually, this city has only one main avenue, so it was not difficult to reach a great variety of people. Among the people that received the flyers, one was a young lady about 20 years old who walked away reading the flyer. After going about half a block, she returned, very excited by its contents. She remarked that, even though Moquegua was a small town, people there had a strong habit of eating meat, and this undertaking in favor of vegetarianism, would be of great help to broaden the dining habits of the populace. This young lady was trying to give up meat consumption and perhaps with this help she would be able to succeed. Since one of the products mentioned in the flyer is wheat gluten, and as this product is not very well known in many of the provinces of Peru, I tried to explain to her how she could prepare homemade gluten according to the instructions Master gave to prepare that very nutritious food. Something else happened in Moquegua. In the morning, when handing out the flyers on the main square of the city, I met a man who, as soon as he received the flyer, said to me: “Oh, you are the one who is distributing this material. I would like to have a broadcast interview with you tomorrow at 13:00.” I told him that it would be impossible, because next day I was leaving for another city. To that he answered that there was no problem; the interview could take place this very day. So, later we met for the interview and he told me that the name of his radio program was “Alternative Radio”! His way of interviewing was very fluid and we were able to talk about a wide range of topics. At the same time, he commented on some of the points described in “Ten Reasons for Being Vegetarian”, the web site that is at the bottom of the flyer. So thanks to Carlos Vera Manárriz of Universal Radio of Moquegua, we had a live interview. Arequipa and Puno, Peru The 2,500 flyers that remained were destined for Arequipa. While in this city, we resorted to another kind of distribution: The flyer would be printed on the last page of an esoteric magazine, “Fantástico”numbers #81 and #82, which has a weekly issue of around 4,000. After that we printed another 10,000 copies and the trip continued to Puno, in the southeast of Peru. There, working with the contact person of that city, along with her husband and daughter, we handed out 5,000 copies on the main streets and at the State University of Puno. La Paz, Bolivia After that, with the other 5,000 copies, my trip continued to La Paz, Bolivia. I started the distribution of flyers mainly on Prado Avenue and in front of the State University of San Andres. At the university, some young people stopped to talk about the vegetarian diet, leaving their e-mail addresses to be notified of activities or future possible lectures in La Paz. In many cases, it was evident on the faces of the people who received the flyers, that they perceived in some way, that the information did not come from a common source. Some of them had the intuition that, behind the flyer, there was another kind of support that went beyond the basic dietary data and mere information; it is what they were longing for deep inside their hearts. The next day, the distribution proceeded at a private university and on some crowded streets of that city. After finishing the last 5,000 copies of the Alternative Living flyer, I returned to Arequipa. Thanks to God that I had such an opportunity to offer my humble service to spread some seeds with God’s blessing and love to so many people. Korea
Good Responses to “Alternative Living”
By Seoul News Group (Originally in Korean)
Daegu On March 12, 2006, sisters and brothers from Daegu City and nearby locations gathered at the city’s center to distribute “Alternative Living” flyers and provide free samples of vegetarian food to the public. Some initiates dressed in animal costumes that caught the children’s attention and who happily approached them to see the very cute animals. Some even had their pictures taken with them. Three children who became good friends with the animals joined the campaign to distribute Alternative Living flyers to Daegu citizens, and even followed the initiates back to Daegu Center and joined them for tea. In order to introduce young people to a compassionate lifestyle through vegetarian living, a Daegu sister who is a schoolteacher posted the flyer and News Magazine articles about vegetarianism on the board in her class so that her students could learn more about vegetarianism. Seoul From March 21 through March 24, 2006, the Seoul International Food Expo was held at Kintex and about 600 business groups from 50 countries participated in the biggest food exhibition ever held in Korea. Every day the venue was filled with a tremendous number of visitors including more than 50,000 professions in the food industry. This exhibition offered the best opportunity to disseminate “Alternative Living” because people from the food industry, some specializing in food ingredients, beverages, confectionery, baking and catering, attended the event and were the most appropriate targets to publicize vegetarianism. Therefore, fellow initiates from Seoul and Youngdong centers including initiates involved in the food industry participated in the exhibition and actively shared the concepts of “Alternative Living”. The “Alternative Living” flyers were warmly received by the people, most of whom had already seen the flyer through an advertisement on the subway, making the initiates realize the power of subway promotions. School nutritionists and catering companies showed a considerable interest in soy meat after learning that it would enable them to make clean, healthy, economic and nutritious food at half the price they normally spent. About 30,000 copies of “Alternative Living” were distributed and a variety of soy meat products were provided for sampling. In addition to this, Seoul center made and distributed special vegetarian information leaflets entitled “One Vegetarian Meal a Day Saves the Earth” raising the awareness among people that vegetarianism is easy to practice. Even people, who had previously declined to be completely vegetarian, were easily convinced that they could begin with one vegetarian meal a day and many of them decided to give it a try . During this event, the “Love Life - 10 Million-Signatures Collection Campaign” was initiated. The aims of the campaign are threefold: (1) to have one vegetarian meal a day, (2) to make a vegetarian option available in group meals within schools, companies, armies and prisons, and (3) to enforce animal protection laws. At first fellow initiates were worried about how many people would sign in support of the campaign, however, the world has changed now. In only four days about 8,000 people agreed to these aims and voluntarily signed the petition. To thank those who signed, fellow initiates gave each a gift; a vegetarian food can with the “Alternative Living” contents printed on it. Fellow initiates were also moved that people still signed even when the gift was not offered. This signature collection campaign will be continued nationwide and the list of signatures representing people’s hope for vegetarianism will be presented to the National Assembly, the Minister of Education and the National Committee for Humane Rights so that society can become more favorable to vegetarianism. All day brothers and sisters publicly called out slogans like “One vegetarian meal a day!” “Vegetarianism saves the earth!” “Vegetarianism means love!” all the while displaying selfless service in order to share Master’s messages. They were surprised that as time went on, they became fully charged and felt Master’s boundless grace instead of feeling tired. The initiates witnessed the elevated consciousness of people and their positive response to vegetarianism and were grateful for being messengers of “Alternative Living”.
The Philippines
Share the Message of a Compassionate Diet beyond Boundaries
Combined report by the Taoyuan News Group, Formosa (Originally in Chinese)
Motivated by Master’s constant concern towards all sentient beings on this planet, a team of thirty- one fellow initiates from Formosa, departing from Taoyuan and Kaohsiung, went to the Philippines. There they assisted the local fellow practitioners to share the message of Alternative Living to the Filipino people thus evoking the compassion in them. Hoping to spread the message to all parts of the Philippines as soon as possible, fellow practitioners divided themselves into four groups. One group stayed in Manila while the other three went to Baguio, Cebu City, and Tacloban. This February when the rescue team from The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association went to the Philippines to help the landslide victims, they had received tremendous help from Mr. Manuel Morato, Director of the Philippines Charity Sweepstakes Office (for details please refer to report in News No.164). Therefore, upon arriving in Manila on March 22, Golden Year 3 (2006), fellow initiates immediately paid a visit to Mr. Morato and presented to him a letter of gratitude from The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association, in which Master’s words of praise for him were mentioned: “He is not just a good officer, also a real gentleman polite and sincere.” Baguio On March 23, our cars reached Monumento where we saw a department store and some small commercial areas. We decided to make a quick distribution of leaflets, and very soon all people there were holding one. Many of them studied the content of the leaflet seriously. Some revealed that they were also vegetarians and strongly supported our message. They asked for more leaflets so that they could distribute them to other people. Fellow initiates were both surprised and touched. Next, we went to San Fernando to distribute the leaflets quickly. Early in the morning of March 24, we targeted the most crowded spots such as the entrances to the Subic Bay Industrial Park and the markets in the vicinity, and finished distributing a large quantity of leaflets in just an hour. Many people curiously asked about the contents of the leaflet and some even asked us where they could find vegetarian restaurants. We reached Baguio near sunset and the local Aulacese fellow initiates riding motorcycles led us to the destination. It was the time when people went home after work and school so there was an incessant stream of people. All of us quickly alighted and started distributing, mainly on the pedestrian bridges and walkways. The result was as amazing as in the Subic Bay Industrial Park and most of the leaflets went into the hands of the local people in a very short time. We also received earnest help from some local children. On March 25, the team divided into two groups, one went to the Baguio University and the other went to the marketplace to distribute leaflets. At the marketplace, a lovely vegetarian friend gave us a big thumbs-up as encouragement. Another person pointed at the picture of the cow on the leaflet and told us that he did not eat beef because he was a Buddhist. An Indian student studying in the Manila University happened to be sightseeing in Baguio and approached us to find out more about our activity. He understood and greatly supported our ideal and joined our distribution work. All these affirmative responses really made us feel encouraged. Thanks to God’s arrangement, a constant flow of people took all our leaflets in just two hours. Cebu On March 23, a team of six fellow initiates was waiting for their airplane to Cebu, and they used the waiting time to distribute leaflets at the airport. An old lady over eighty years old, after understanding the message of the leaflet, asked for several more to give to her neighbors. Upon reaching Cebu, the team split into two groups to distribute them in the shopping areas and the schools. There were many people in the shopping areas, so the leaflets were all distributed within 2 hours. The students were leaving after school when they received the leaflets. Some were surprised and some were very excited and quickly called their schoolmates to get some or took extra copies for their family members. Even the owner of a grocery store nearby came to ask about our message and earnestly helped us to distribute some. On the next day, we again split into two groups, and thanks to God’s blessing, we finished distributing all the leaflets in two days, which we thought would take three days. Tacloban Tacloban City is situated at the Northeastern point of the Leyte Island with a population of about 180,000. On March 24, our team decided to first distribute the leaflets in the village of Naval Biliram. When we brought this message of God to the blessed small village, most villagers were delighted and surprised; some even came forward to ask for the leaflets. Early next morning, we split into two groups to distribute at the marketplaces and along the streets. Inhabitants were going to work and school so there was an incessant stream of people. Everyone who received the leaflet read it attentively. In just two hours, all the copies were gone. Manila The fellow initiates staying in Manila split into many teams and went to China Town, Makita Station and market, Sunset Boulevard, Quezon City, and also targeted the crowded places such as bus stations to distribute the leaflets. The people here responded very friendly and with great curiosity. They would accept the leaflet immediately and read it attentively. Some people were greatly interested and asked us for relevant information, while some helped us with the distribution, especially the children. Even when some security officers and police asked us not to distribute at certain places due to their responsibility, they were very friendly and acknowledged the message of the leaflet. A police officer told us that he was also a vegetarian so he agreed with our ideal. In the evening of March 25, an old friend, Mr. Joe Lad Santos visited us, and with his help we put the message of the leaflet in the Manila Bulletin, the largest newspaper in Manila, to reach out to more Filipino people. From March 22 to 25, with God’s blessing, fellow initiates successfully distributed the 140,000 leaflets they prepared. All of us feel very honored to be able to participate in this task, and through interacting with the Filipino people in this period, we are impressed by their pure and benign nature. We wish that they are forever graced with God’s blessings.
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| Story World
Divine Love Manifests
through the Quan Yin Method
Narrated by Sister-initiate Li, compiled
and written by the Taipei News Group (Originally in Chinese) Before Sister Li was initiated in 1987, many people had tried to convert her to various religions from the time she was in secondary school. In her mind she always believed that it was good to have a faith, be it Buddhism, Christianity, or any other religion, and there must be a Great Power or common origin that underlies all religions. It may be called God or Lord of Heaven, etc. One of sister Li’s work colleagues, sister-initiate Fan, gave her a copy of The Key of Immediate Enlightenment, Volume One. After reading Master’s book, sister Li tried to adhere to a vegetarian diet. At the time, a Catholic co-worker became very curious about her being so engrossed in Master’s book and sister Li informed her that it was a book on the Truth. The skeptical colleague tried to find flaws in the book, but unexpectedly found herself totally convinced by Master’s perfect wisdom and later received initiation. Sister Li also yearned to be initiated, but Master was in retreat during that period. So she could only pray for it every day. When she finally received notification of an upcoming initiation, she was as cheerful as a bird in a tree. After initiation, each time when she went to Sindian to attend Master's discourses, sister Li became so filled with bliss and reassurance that she cried all the way to and from Sindian. On working days, sister Li meditated with sister Fan in their company storeroom during lunch breaks, after which they would feel absolutely refreshed, cleansed of karma, sharp and bright. They lived each day joyfully and all aspects of their lives went smoothly. Sister Li considered the two-hour commute to and from work the best time to recharge through meditation. Although the ride was bumpy and the bus stopped frequently, she could still enter samadhi and saw the sun, moon and stars in her inner vision, proving that the Quan Yin Method is truly fantastic! When the bus reached her stop, our merciful inner Master would always wake her up in time to get off, and sometimes, she was still so immersed in samadhi that she could not immediately find her way. Sister Li added, “Being able to receive Master's immense love is the best inner experience of all in spiritual practice.” On one occasion in July 1989, Master allowed fellow initiates to discuss their inner experiences at the White Flowers Grove in Hsihu Center. After sister Li shared her story, Master sent a resident to give her a hammock, which she still cherishes greatly today. She longed to attend a seven-day retreat, and so in order to get leave from her job, she brought unfinished work home and toiled day after day until midnight. Besides getting work leave, sister Li still needed permission from her husband and mother-in-law to attend the retreat. So she wrote a touching letter to her husband imploring him to let her realize her wish. On her knees, she entreated him to speak to his mother on her behalf. Her husband was so moved by her sincerity that he granted her request. On her way to Hsihu for the retreat, tears of joy completely soaked her handkerchief. Originally, it was almost impossible for her to attend a long 7-day-retreat, however with Master's grace all obstacles had been removed. One day during the retreat, Master asked more than 800 fellow initiates to line up, and one by one She embraced them, touched their heads and hands, and patiently listened as they poured out their hearts to Her. Like wandering children who had returned from afar into their Mother's arms, many of the initiates could barely hold back their tears during the session. Sister Li sat quietly in a corner of the mediation hall watching Master hug the disciples. The boundless mercy and love of the Holy Mother of the universe left a permanent impression in sister Li's mind! And after being hugged by Master, she had an especially good experience in meditation as an expanse of white Light fringed by red and yellow light cascaded down from above, and then the Lights interlaced while showering down onto her body. Sister Li then felt as though she were basking in an ocean of warm, tender love that she did not ever want to leave. Master accepts all of us unconditionally, without regard for our personal qualities. She shoulders all our karma just to elevate us. Any wish that is beneficial to our spiritual practice, She will help us to realize. Just as Master once said, "We walk one step and the Master Power will walk a thousand steps to help us." Sister Li will never forget Master's boundless love and concern for Her disciples.
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| Master Tells Stories
The Unrecognized Footprints
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Malaysia, February 27, 1992 (Originally in English) Videotape # 220
There is a story about a man who meditated all the time and was very sincere. But one day he complained to his Master, saying, “Master, when I meditate, I can see that on my many walks on the spiritual path there have always been two sets of footprints: one from me and one from you. You have always been with me then, but when I’ve needed you most, like when I’ve fallen or I’m the most desperate I see only one set of footprints. Why have you forsaken me then? Why have you not been with me when I’ve fallen or am desperate?” So the Master said, “No, I have always been with you. The one set of footprints are mine. That’s when I’ve carried you.” (Applause)
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| Master Says
We Create Our Own Heaven and Hell
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai in Tainan, Formosa, October 13, 1988 (Originally in Chinese) MP3-CG02
When you hear someone say that it’s not necessary to keep the Precepts or purify the body, speech and mind in spiritual practice, you should know that they’re joking. They are not serious in spiritual practice and treat spiritual practice like a children’s game. Since ancient times, no spiritual practitioner has been able to attain the ultimate Truth very easily. Only those superior beings from beyond the Three Realms who don’t have any problems and have very few obstacles can attain the Truth soon after embarking on the spiritual path. Even if they have obstacles, at the most it’s just seeing some demons, or it’s like Shakyamuni Buddha, Who, when He was about to reach Buddhahood, saw the Maya King transformed into His wife, son or a pretty woman to seduce Him. That’s all. However, at that time He simply said, "You are all but illusions!" Then He controlled the illusions and conquered them. That was the obstacle that confronted Shakyamuni Buddha; otherwise, He didn’t have any obstacles and attained Buddhahood after practicing for six years. If the method we practice is not the right one, even after six hundred years or six hundred eons, it will bear no fruit because we cannot cook rice from sand. But if we practice the Quan Yin Method we will definitely succeed! Also, we spiritual practitioners should ensure that our actions, speech and thoughts are pure regardless of whether our level is within or above the Three Realms. When we hear people say that we’ve transcended the Three Realms, we shouldn’t believe them immediately. Instead, we should first introspect ourselves, and if we’re still bound somewhere that shows we’re still within the Three Realms because we’re still chained, still not relaxed or free. At that time, we should quickly practice spiritually and then very soon we will go beyond the Three Realms. Every Buddha has to practice very hard before attaining the Truth. Jesus Christ said that He was the son of God, yet when He was practicing in the desert, the Maya King still came to tempt Him. He practiced very hard and when He was about to attain Sainthood, the Maya King said to Him, "All the Three Worlds I will give to you if you worship me." And Jesus Christ said, "Get thee behind me, Satan!" This meant that He was telling the devil to go away and out of His sight. In fact, it’s not an easy thing to become the king of the Three Realms. It’s best for us to always focus our thoughts on the Supreme Power. We should think of Hirm intensely while craving to go back to the highest realm and not linger in any other realms. In this way we can create a very positive, intense atmosphere and use it to build our own Heaven the way you build your own meditation Center. First you conceive and design it and then get together to build it. That’s how you have this Center now. Similarly, if we don’t conceive of a good design of Heaven, after we go there we won’t be able to find anything. But if we have a superior concept of Heaven’s design, we’ll go to a superior realm because "all is created by the mind." It’s very simple for us to create Heaven or hell. So don’t forget the Almighty Power within and pray every day to Hirm for help by saying, "I want only You! As for the other things, it’s fine if You give them to me; it’s also all right if You don’t. It’s fine if I can have enough to make a living, but if I don’t, I also don’t mind. Really, I only want to go Home. I don’t want to again become a deva, a human or an asura who has to transmigrate in the cycle of birth and death." That’s why I teach you to purify your actions, speech and thoughts. To pursue spiritual practice we must observe the Precepts. However, when we’re advanced on the spiritual path we naturally observe the Precepts. The more advanced we are in spiritual cultivation, the more sensitive we feel, and so we observe the Precepts spontaneously. At that time there’s no need to emphasize the Precepts, samadhi or wisdom; we naturally attain them. Only then do we have the true Precepts, samadhi and wisdom. We have wisdom as though we don’t have it and we don’t think we have it. It’s as natural and simple as breathing, washing our hands, washing our faces and going to sleep. It’s not necessary to deliberately renounce the world. We just need to persist in spiritual practice and the world will naturally let go of us one day. Don’t worry about being bound tightly by the world. Even if sometimes I’m rather stern and reprimand you for not being able to let go, and for continually clinging to this world, you don’t have to become agonized or irritated. Instead, you should introspect and persist in spiritual practice and sooner or later you will be able to let go. Sooner or later, all the fame, profit, money, all those things will mean nothing to you. It doesn’t mean we can’t use these things, but we don’t care about them. We use them if we have them and if we don’t have them it’s also fine. Therefore, when we think about things related to fame and gain, we’re chaining ourselves. In the very beginning, before anything came into being in the universe, there was absolutely nothing. We should trace our thinking back to that time. Everything was originally nothing. Before a flower came into being, what was it? Who were we before we were born? Nothing existed in the first place. Everything comes into being through the convergence of causation so we mustn’t be attached to these ephemeral things, all of which things come into existence only due to causation and they will disperse when the causation ends. To really understand this truth, we need to practice for a long time and then one day we’ll naturally realize that this is indeed the Truth. Having attained this realization, we will never lose it. Now as you listen to me telling you all this, it still belongs to me. I’m just letting you have a glimpse of it; you still don’t have the "money" to buy it. It only becomes your property after you have bought it so you must continue to practice. It’s not enough to just listen to me and then think, "Since everything is nothing and all karma is originally void, we have no need to practice anymore. This is too great! Whatever Master says is true. Just believe in Her!" This won’t do because you have not yet really understood. So we must be pure in our actions, speech and thoughts. The purer we get, the fewer disasters and illnesses we’ll have. We can’t blame anyone for any situation we run into; all the Heavens and hells are created by us.
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| Series of Shining World Leadership-
Enlightened Government Creating a Bright Future Reports according to Master's order and rating
Monaco
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ “Green Prince” Ascends Throne in Monaco
By Florida News Group (Originally in English)
In November 2005, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II became the ruler of Monaco, a small country next to France which is the last true monarchy of Europe. The country is distinguished by having no army, no income tax, and very open immigration policies. Additionally, its Constitution of 1962 states clearly, “The death penalty is abolished.” Prince Albert is no ordinary prince. He is a five-time Olympic bobsled racer and a judo black belt. Known as the “Green Prince,” he drives an electric vehicle. One of his first acts as Prince was to sign the Kyoto treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions. He followed this with an amazing act: he personally led a scientific expedition to the Arctic Ocean to study global warming. He is now preparing a more ambitious expedition in April in the vicinity of the North Pole. The Prince is now pushing European nations to provide more aid to Africa. He has personally funded development projects in Madagascar and other sub-Saharan nations. One of the Prince’s main missions is to turn Monaco into a humanitarian center in the worldwide fight to eliminate poverty and save the environment. He is a proud symbol in Monaco of a new era of spiritual as well as material prosperity. Brazil
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Brazil Leads World in Green Energy
By the Florida News Group (Originally in English)
As oil prices have skyrocketed, many world leaders have turned their eyes to Brazil. Brazil produces half of its car fuel (ethanol) from sugarcane. Ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline and is produced locally, which is more efficient and also eliminates wars over oil. Brazil’s oil independence has received much attention lately from Sweden and the US, which have both announced plans to follow its example. In January 2006, the US President—a former oilman—made a surprising announcement to replace 75% of US oil imports with ethanol by 2025. Ethanol scientists have now attracted large funds to develop technologies to make more efficient ethanol from different crops such as wild grass, which will potentially reduce global greenhouse emissions by 60-80%. http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/03/10/brazil.ethanol.example.ap/ Brazil is also a world leader in energy-efficient urban planning. The city of Curitiba, hailed by urban planners as the “most innovative city in the world,” has an ingenious bus transport system used by 85% of the city’s population. The fastest buses carry up to 300 people and are similar to subways. The system has resulted in a massive reduction in exhaust emissions. The city has also converted many streets to pedestrian walkways and created greenspace throughout the city, which improves air quality. The grass in the parks is cut by sheep and not machinery. 41 cities around the world now have urban plans based on Curitiba, and many more are following—notably, Beijing, in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0308-05.htm
Borders Open in Europe
By the Florida News Group (Originally in English)
In October 2007, the divide between Western and Eastern Europe will finally close when eight Eastern European countries remove their respective border checkpoints. These countries have joined a community of 26 countries that have signed the Schengen treaty, which establishes free travel and trade in Europe. Even the staunchly independent people of Switzerland voted to adopt the treaty in June 2005. Prior to the Schengen treaty, Europe was a patchwork of nations separated by troublesome border controls. For much of the 20th Century, the continent was split in two by a heavily guarded “Iron Curtain” between West and East. Now there will be nothing but welcome signs between the different nations.
Smoking – On Its Way Out
By Florida News Group (Originally in English)
Authorities in many countries around the world are becoming more mindful of their citizens’ health by taking full action against tobacco smoking and eliminating passive smoking. In Europe On March 21, 2006, the first-ever report on deaths in the EU from passive smoking was presented in the EU Parliament by MEPs Liz Lynne (UK) ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥and Adamos Adamou (Cyprus) ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥. The report, entitled “Lifting the Smokescreen,” concluded that 79,000 Europeans die every year due to cancer-related passive smoking. What is most intriguing about the new report is its explanation of how previous flawed studies have been used in the past as a “smokescreen” to delay EU smoking bans. In the past, tobacco companies have argued that it was too difficult to measure cancer risks due to secondhand smoke. This turned people’s attention away from an obvious fact: secondhand smoke is the same deadly substance that is known to kill smokers. The EU report refers to 800 secret passive smoking experiments performed by tobacco companies on animals, some of which found that chemicals released from cigarettes held in the hand or an ashtray were far more deadly than those inhaled because the cigarettes burned at a lower temperature.1 The report also refers to a series of studies on the effects of new smoking bans in European countries. Most recently, a study was released on February 20 in Norway which measured improvements in air quality and health factors in workers after the recent smoking ban in Norway. 2 The EU report provides a solid scientific basis for a future EU-wide ban on public smoking. Ms. Lynne announced, "A comprehensive ban is the only way forward to ensure employees and customers are fully protected…I am delighted that the UK will be enforcing a total ban on smoking in public places from next summer. Those member states [that] have not already done so must follow suit." 3 Also, on March 26, 2006, a new era began in Scotland ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ when a complete ban on smoking in public buildings came into effect, part of a broad new public health campaign which includes free eye exams for all citizens. The smoking ban is enforced by a new corps of uniformed smoking officers, who are authorized to collect a £50 (US$90) fine for smokers, and a £200 (US$450) fine for owners of buildings where people smoke. The law has been such a success that not a single fine has been imposed. The government has received a few reports of smoking through the new “national compliance hotline,” but these cases were solved easily through warning letters. A health officer said, “The levels of compliance are phenomenal.” The ban has broad support from the public. Even among Scottish smokers, 70% now say they would like to quit. 4 Calls to the national “quitline,” which gives advice to help smoker’s quit, have quadrupled since the ban. Calls to the quitline were already twice as high in 2005 as in previous years, due to anticipation of the ban. 5 The ban is a result of several courageous acts of leadership. It all began in March 2004, when the former health minister of nearby Ireland, Micheál Martin, ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ imposed a national ban, in the face of immense opposition from traditional Irish pub owners. This set off shockwaves around the world. Delegations from other countries came to Ireland to study the law, including Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell. McConnell ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ had suggested that a complete ban would not work in Scotland, but after his visit to Ireland, he announced that a ban would be enacted within a year. UK-wide bans have since been passed and will be in effect by summer 2007. 6 “Nobody now doubts that an EU-wide ban is possible,” said Professor Luke Clancy, chairman of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)-Ireland. “What a difference a couple of years can make in such an important health issue.” 7 Italy ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥, Norway ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥, Sweden ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥, Spain ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥, Belgium ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥, and Ukraine ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ all passed bans since Ireland’s. On March 28, 2006, Denmark ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ announced a nationwide ban. Even in Turkey where 60% of men smoke, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is spearheading a radical new smoking law, which will impose limited bans and require TV producers to blur out cigarettes shown on TV programs. Meanwhile, on March 1st, Uruguay ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ became the first Latin American country to impose a strict nationwide ban. In the USA New York City ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ In December, 2005, the City of New York launched a campaign for “A Smoke-free Home” in order to protect the health of pets and children. 8 These oft-forgotten victims of passive smoking are frequently confined throughout the day in smoky households. Recent studies have found up to 400% higher incidence of feline lymphoma, the most common cancer of cats, in cats living in smoking households, 9 and 250% increase in nasal cancer among dogs. 10 Secondhand smoke increases various respiratory problems in dogs, cats, and birds. It can be deadly for infants and causes respiratory disease, malformed lungs, and ear infections in children. |
| Beautiful People and Beautiful Events
Johan Eliasch - Millionaire Gone Green
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ By Sister-initiate Raffaella D’Agostino,
London, United Kingdom (Originally in English) It is not every day that a multi-millionaire spends his money to save the planet, instead of investing to make more money. Businessman Mr. Johan Eliasch did just that. Mr. Eliasch has a long list of achievements under his belt, his main one being Chairman and CEO of the company Head, better known for its Tennis rackets and ski equipment. A banker and film producer, Mr. Eliasch also serves as a Treasurer and Special Advisor to the Shadow Foreign Secretary and is deputy chairman of the Conservative Foundation, in the UK, as well as being a member of the advisory board of the International Peace Foundation, the sports advisory board of the Shimon Peres Peace Foundation, and the advisory board of The Centre for Social Justice. In March 2006, Mr. Eliasch purchased 400,000 acres of Amazon Rainforest from a wood logging company in Brazil. The land is estimated to have cost £8m pounds sterling (US$14m). His plot is located just north of the Madeira River and 1,600 miles (about 2,590km) northwest of Rio de Janeiro. His environmental beliefs and passion for saving the planet was the main reason for his purchase, saying: “The Amazon is the lung on the world”. Mr. Eliasch will also let scientists use his land to explore and search for undiscovered species. On a recent interview with Chanel 4, Mr. Eliasch expressed his love for trees and how it is important to preserve them. He continued by saying that - “the Amazon produces 20% of oxygen for the planet, thus it is important to preserve the rainforest”. He encourages others to do the same, stating that the more people buy the forest the less trees would be cut down; he adds that - “the investment was good value as it does something good for the planet; the situation of the trees being cut down is just getting from bad to worse, the greenhouse gases and hurricane activities have a huge connection with the cutting of the rainforest, we must preserve the rainforest to avoid global disasters and distraction”. I believe that if all multi-millionaires could invest in something so meaningful to help the planet, we would definitely be on the road to recovery. It gives me enormous pleasure to learn that people who have the means to make the world a better place to live in, are in fact doing something about it. Thus noble thinking and noble action is definitely the way forward.
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| Art and Spirituality
From Broadway Actress to Quan Yin Practitioner - the Colorful Journey of Marian Hailey-Moss
By the Florida News Group (Originally in English)
Acclaimed actress, writer and humanitarian Marian Hailey-Moss began her career in the early 1960s as a stage actress at Shakespearean festivals in the US. By the mid-sixties she had settled in New York, where she immersed herself in that city’s innovative theater scene, performing in six Broadway plays, numerous avant-garde productions and four major motion pictures. Of her signature film role as Brenda, an idealistic spiritual seeker in 1970’s Lovers and Strangers, the New York Times wrote, “the wacky, Khalil Gibran-quoting [character Brenda] succeeds because [she is] so engagingly portrayed.” The movie won an Oscar for the music of Fred Karlin, who later composed music for Supreme Master Ching Hai’s oratorio The Peace Seeker. Ms. Hailey-Moss was married to the legendary Jeff Moss, head writer and composer for Sesame Street, which has been called the most respected show in the history of television. For twelve years, Marian and Jeff lived in a glamorous apartment at Central Park West in New York City. Marian, meanwhile, felt a growing urge to pursue a more spiritual lifestyle and serve humanity, and in the high-stress New York environment she felt the best way to do so would be to work as a psychotherapist. Apart from serving people’s psychological needs, Marian also felt great compassion for the wild animals that struggled to survive in the City. So she began spending much of her time rehabilitating injured birds, many of whom had flown into the windows of skyscrapers. In 1993, Marian’s spiritual search culminated when she received initiation from Supreme Master Ching Hai. She currently lives, works, and practices the Quan Yin Method in Manhattan with her dog Ruffy, and birds Winkin, Blinkin, Nod and Spiffy. Besides her humanitarian efforts, Marian has written a novel about her life’s journey and those of her animal friends along with a number of short stories, some of which have been published in magazines or presented in public readings. Holistic writing teacher Fred Poole, who has coached Ms. Hailey-Moss in writing workshops, describes her as follows on his website: “The wildly creative, accomplished and multifaceted Marian Hailey-Moss has gone deep inside herself in her lives as a Broadway actress and psychotherapist, and now, as seen in these searing and brilliant stories, her life as an author.” Some of these short stories are available on Ms. Hailey-Moss’ website www.marianhaileymoss.net. The following is a recent interview with Ms. Hailey-Moss, in which she discusses her extraordinary career and long spiritual quest. Q: What was it like to be in the movies? Hailey-Moss: Very dramatic, a lot of ups and downs. You have to have courage to put yourself on the line, and stamina, stamina, stamina. Q: Was it difficult to pursue spirituality amid all the glamour of Broadway? HM: I was pursuing something. I didn’t know it was spirituality. I prayed to God only before opening night and before auditions. What I was consciously seeking was success in the business, but during every show I was in I became uncomfortably aware that show biz might not be it. Q: One of your most famous roles was Brenda in Lovers and Strangers. Was this a role you identified with at the time? HM: I identified with every character I played. Otherwise it doesn’t come from the heart. People who knew me said with Brenda I was just playing myself. Q: You played an incredible variety of roles, from classic Shakespearean heroines to spokeswomen in more than fifty TV commercials. What part stands out most in your mind? HM: The best Shakespeare I did was Juliet in ‘63 [at the] Ashland, Oregon [Shakespeare Festival]. I felt Juliet was my story too. My folks forbade me to see a wild kind of young man who was my first romance and in desperation I started dancing and acting. As an actor you learn to adapt to any script you’re given. I remember doing Harvey, a traditional comedy, on Broadway and in the afternoons going down to a workshop at an avant-garde theater where we actors wore leotards and expressed ourselves with moans and groans. Q: How did you find out about Supreme Master Ching Hai? HM: My friend, an initiate, invited me and a few people over one night to watch a video of Master addressing the United Nations. From that night on I was vegetarian and determined to become initiated. My private life was such that there was nowhere to go except to seek a spiritual way of living, and there She was! Q: How did you go from acting to psychotherapy? HM: It sort of happened naturally. I feel it’s similar to acting only you and the client/patient write the script. As in acting you try to find the truth. It seemed not to require such a dramatic lifestyle as being a performer. Meditation allows me to just be there with the person. That’s base line. Before I was always worried if I was saying the right thing, helping in the right way. Now I feel that with Master everything is OK and I can relax. Master will take care. My clients seem to behave as if they think so, too. Q: What inspired you to start writing? HM: I feel it’s a direct gift from Quan Yin. I have to meditate in order to write. Sometimes I feel I’m channeling the ideas from another source, maybe the Second Level, I don’t know. Q: How did you start rescuing birds in New York? HM: Finding a wounded chicken was my introduction to the “911” for birds. I also found a bird rehabilitator in my neighborhood who is highly skilled and trustworthy. Oftentimes she treats the birds I take home to recover. I’ve met many wonderful people helping the birds that grace New York City. One special time this past summer I released a hummingbird at the Shakespeare garden. It was a living poem to do so. I don’t think the needs of birds in NYC are different than anywhere else. There’re just more of them in such a dense urban environment. We need an educational system that includes “Kindness 101” so that people can become more sensitive to how precious the animal kingdom is. Q: If you had one thing to ask Master Ching Hai, what would it be? HM: Now I know what it’s been all about - to meet Master! I am thankful from the bottom of my heart and soul. There are no questions because Master is the answer.
Expanding Our God Nature
through Artistic Performance
By Sister-initiate Eva Gyurova,
Sofia, Bulgaria (Originally in Bulgarian)
Those of us who are Master’s lay practitioners still work in the world and inevitably face the question of how our daily profession or job can be useful or helpful to others. Of course the noble ideals behind certain professions such as physician, humanitarian worker and teacher are obvious. But other activities are also driven by a conscious or unconscious desire to master ourselves and better realize our God Nature, thereby enabling us to serve others more effectively. The creative power that inspires us to express ourselves through artistic work is one example of this process. Art not only teaches us to love beauty and harmony, but also makes us aspire to understand ourselves and realize our hidden capacities. The arts of acting and dancing have long held an allure for me, but I never understood why. Then, after spending time on stage and in dance studios, I gradually discovered at least part of the answer. While dancing or acting, performers more fully and consciously use the body, mind and soul, and are obliged to pay attention to qualities within and outside themselves that might otherwise be neglected in the course of daily life. Moreover, some of the best actors have confessed that while performing they have had out-of-body experiences. And through these experiences of witnessing themselves rather than performing self-consciously, they have learned to observe and use their physical forms more objectively, realizing that there is another power above the bodily aspect of human existence. Renowned theatre figures have developed techniques that allow this creative process to be emulated and many acting teachers also speak of extending one’s awareness beyond the physical body. The basic principle is that the more concentration one applies to an object or figure outside of oneself, the bigger one’s awareness becomes. Some call this an “expanded body” while others call it a “dilated body.” But the important point is that it causes the artistic performer to become much more conscious, open and understanding of his or her surroundings. Having applied some of these techniques and principles myself in acting and dance, I have also experienced this fantastic feeling of “supra-normal” awareness. Such situations allow one to lose all thoughts of one’s personal problems and break free of habitual behavior patterns so as to perceive many possibilities of change for the better. This occurs because by seeing oneself from the outside one can gain better control over oneself, and thus the performing arts can be a great tool for overcoming the ego. Of course our Master has taken the chance to teach us about this process, most recently in Her Hungary videotapes, where She discusses how important it is for us to consider the people and environment around us. Master says that each time we try to understand and help others, the act of reaching out to them causes us to expand. Thus, little by little, we learn to become bigger and greater. In addition, our ideals become nobler because we are able to observe the world from a more expanded perspective and are no longer limited to only our own body or personal concerns. And what more perfect example could there be of this phenomenon than our Master? Looking at Her we see a Being who radiates love and blessing energy to every corner of the Universe, to every single creature within it. * Sister Eva Gyurova is an actress and PhD researcher. |
| Selected Questions and Answers
Master’s Advice is in Accord
with Each Person’s Needs
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Four-day Retreat in Florida, USA,
February 15, 1999 (Originally in English) Videotape #635 Q: I have a yearning to do art. M: Then do it; why not? Q: But can we become attached to it? M: You are attached in your mind right now anyhow so just do it. I don’t encourage anything; I don’t emphasize anything. If you need something and you ask me, then I encourage you and you alone. But I don’t make it a big theme so that everyone has to follow my opinion. That’s the difference: I respond according to what you ask; I answer according to what you need. But I don’t make it into a theory, like, “OK, in my house, in my school, this is good and you must or you should do this.” I don’t encourage anything except to live a moral way of life, one that’s easy and not harmful to anyone. Q: I don’t have a problem with doing art, but I do have a struggle between it and whether I should devote all my energy to sacrificing and serving other people. That seems to be a nobler thing than pursuing one’s hobbies. M: You can do both. Q: It’s hard to judge where to draw the line. M: It’s OK. Do whatever you feel. You’re meditating and helping with the Center in some ways. That’s also helping others. Everyone chooses their lifestyle. Each person has their own aversions and attachments. Some people like to work; they feel responsible like they should work, and some people just enjoy working. But if you have other interests aside from that, then you’re OK, too. There are no set rules for anyone. My teachings are meant to set you free, not to tell you what to do, except the Five Precepts and meditation: nothing else.
The Essence of Work is Fulfilling Ourselves
Not Attaining a Position
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai,
Los Angeles, CA, USA, October 30, 1999 (Originally in English) Videotape #665A Q: How do we get away from the pressures of our profession? M: There is no gain without pain. Any profession has pressure. You can ask anyone if they don’t have pressure. Even if they do housework, they have pressure. If you raise your own children, you have pressure. So, what do you do? Q: I teach Chinese literature. M: Do the students give you pressure? Q: The students complain and there’s competition between colleagues. So we have the problem of competing in a very vigorous professional field to get our tenure. M: Why? Q: Because every junior faculty member has to go through an evaluation period of five or six years before their job can be secured. So there are teaching evaluations, scholarships and publications, and it’s a highly competitive field. A lot of times we’re left with no time and I know that everyone has this problem of no time, but in our case there’s simply no time to do anything more relaxed. M: Rushing all the time. Q: Right, and then I lose patience. I used to be a very patient person but I don’t think I am anymore. M: So, there’s a lot of pressure. Do you also do housewife work at home? Q: No. M: Just your professional work? Q: Yes. When I go home I write and try to do research for publications so I can get tenure as a professor. I’ll lose my job if I don’t get that. M: Do you like this job? Q: It’s enjoyable to a certain extent. M: Would you prefer to do something else? Never mind any doctrine about what you should or should not do: Would you prefer to do something else? Q: No, that’s the thing I like to do. M: Then continue with that and pay the price. What makes you always be in such a hurry? Why don’t you have time? Q: There’s so much that you have to finish. For example, once you finish preparing for a class, you have to take care of the students and you have a commitment to the publications. M: Yes, and then you have to read more homework. Q: But Master, You’re very busy Yourself. M: No, I’m not really busy. Look, I’m just sitting here talking. Does it look like I’m busy doing anything? (Laughter) Q: But when you’re busy, do you lose your temper? M: I do! I lose it all the time, even when I’m not busy! (Laughter) No, of course when you’re busy, you have more pressure. But that’s normal, OK? Forgive yourself. Be cool if you can, but if you cannot, then just be yourself. Hold something in your hand or wear something for the times you get angry or you lose your temper. Q: Squeeze it? M: Yes hold it, just to remind yourself. Squeeze my picture or whatever. You can also cut out things that are unnecessary. For example, in your teaching of Chinese literature, select only the best. Don’t read any other garbage; otherwise you read too much, which takes up all your time. You should know by now which ones are the best so choose things that are more spiritual and more nourishing for the students. Choose what you like best and use it; that will be good for them, too. They also don’t need to know too much garbage about Chinese literature. Any literature contains garbage! So pick out what you enjoy best, and limit it only to certain subjects. Don’t read just anything. It’s difficult, but over time you will know which ones you should select and read. Find it on your own so you can give that out to the students. Select it well. If you don’t know or if someone else recommends something, research it somewhere like the Internet. See which are the best, the most crisp, the most profitable for the students and the ones you also enjoy. That way you won’t have to spend a lot of time researching things that are not really fruitful. It will save you time. And if you have to read their homework, read it fast. You have to learn speed-reading. That will help you, too. You can read one book in a few minutes. So invest some time to learn this, which will help you tremendously when you have to read books and review students’ homework. This will also save you a lot of time. OK, what else is it that takes up your time?. Q: Competition and a sense of insecurity. M: No, there’s no competition with anyone! Just do what you do, and if you lose, you lose, all right? Be a good loser. Look here: That’s what makes problems for you. You want this position too much. Don’t want it; just do it for fun. Do it to help the students gain knowledge. Do it for the self- fulfillment of your life. If you lose a job, you lose it. Forget the job. You don’t do it for the job; you do it to pass your day in a perfect way, the way you want to. Just do your best but forget the job. When I do a painting, I never think about selling it. I do whatever I feel like doing because it’s just for me. And that’s how it works. You do it for yourself; do what you want. If you get the job, fine; if you don’t get the job, there’s another job to do. So don’t need the job too much. Q: But what if you don’t perform well? M: No, it’s not that! Do your best but forget the job. Don’t do it to get the position; do it for the students’ knowledge and for your own fulfillment. Have fun! Have fun with your job. Forget about the position. If you do it just to get the position, then I’m sorry but you’re cheap. So, don’t do it for anything. Do it to help the students gain the best knowledge you can offer. Give them the best that you know; meanwhile you’re fulfilling yourself because you’re doing your best. You’re not doing it for competition, understand? That’s the best way to do any job. Don’t worry about the position. (Applause) Even the president of the United States: Do you know how much time is spent campaigning and how many millions of dollars are wasted every year just to get into office for only four years? And sometimes the candidates even lose all their money and don’t get anything. So your effort is not much. It’s nothing. You make money while they may lose it. They don’t even know if they’ll become president; if not, they lose all the money. My God! I feel sorry for all the money they spend. (Laughter) So you’re doing this good job for the benefit of the younger people. You’re doing your best, giving what you think is best for them. That’s how you feel the best about yourself, and if the world gives you this position, it’s fine, it’s God’s will. If not, you know you did your best and that’s the best reward. That’s your reward and that’s your position - in your heart. It’s being the best professor, that’s all, not to get the job or to gain more money. That’s cheap. We’re practitioners. We don’t think about that. And there’s one other thing as well: You’re never sure if you’ll live another day to get that position or this position. (Laughter and applause) Most pressure we give to ourselves. You’re not even sure if you’ll live until tomorrow. So, don’t say, “I’ll sit here and wait for five years until I get that professor job.” What pressure! Sometimes we can’t help it because we work with other people and they give us pressure for nothing because they’re stupid. It’s true. We have to work with idiots sometimes; it’s sad but that’s the way it is. But if we can control it by taking things into our own hands, we do the best we can and that’s it. For example, if you go into work and say, “OK, here it goes again. ‘This job may not be good enough for me,’” then you have to think right away, “Who knows? Maybe this is a good company. Maybe I’ll get a promotion. Maybe I’ll be paid better here; maybe it’s a better environment; maybe it’s a better job; maybe there’s a better working atmosphere here; maybe I’ll meet a boyfriend here or maybe I’ll even get married to the boss next year. Maybe he’ll love me so much. I’ll inherit the whole company.” (Laughter) Why not? Who knows? Who can guarantee that you won’t have that? But if you say, “This will never happen; it’s impossible!” how do you know that all those negative things you’re thinking will be possible, anyway? Who can guarantee both sides? So just think positively. Then, even if it doesn’t come true, it won’t cost you anything. At least you’ve tried a new job and had fun getting to know new people. That’s exciting. Even if you don’t like that job, you’ll still have plenty of chances to get out. Getting in is difficult; getting out is easy. You know that. So you have choices all the time. If you don’t like one job, you can get others until you find the one you like. So, just have fun. Be patient and give yourself time to get used to the environment and your colleagues; have fun with them. Get to know new people; you can learn from them. They might teach you something new or acquaint you with other new people. They might teach you something you didn’t know or take you to a new restaurant that you like, or maybe you’ll find an apartment that’s better than you ever thought. So, just try it. The worst thing is only that you might lose that job because you can’t find an apartment or you didn’t get paid enough money. Then you’ll know, but until then don’t give an answer yet. Just do it first. Think to yourself, “What would the Master do in my position?” Try to think, “OK. What would She do now? Would She run away? Would She think as I do now, or would She just try? Would She think about the positive things and hope for the best?” Or, you can think of what Jesus would think right now. Think of what Buddha would think right now. Think of what the God inside you would like to do right now in your situation. Think; use your God inside as your guide and have fun. A job can be fun; new colleagues can be fun; a new company can be fun. Just make it a fun adventure. Adventure is full of risks, right? No one can guarantee you that if you go to Africa you’ll find a rhinoceros and ride on it and then your picture will be on CNN. No, maybe the rhino will kill you! But that’s the fun of adventure. Be Positive and Happy and Let God be Your Guide
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai,
Los Angeles, CA, USA, October 30, 1999 (Originally in English) Videotape #665 Q: I have a question about how to change limiting thought patterns. I feel as though my beliefs are the biggest limiting factor in my life, and the way I talk to myself inside my head limits the way I’m able to enjoy my life. M: Like what? What do you want to enjoy in life? Q: Well, I have very negative thought patterns. For example, I go for a job interview and start telling myself why the job is not the right one for me. Or, I’ll go out and date a guy, but within myself I don’t believe I’m worthy of... M: That guy? Q: Yes, the guy, the job, the money. M: I thought you said the ‘good’ is no good for you. Do you think the job is no good or that you yourself are no good? Q: Well, I judge myself inside and so I judge everything else outside as well. M: Maybe the job is no good, but you say you do that all the time? Q: Yes, all the time. M: Twenty-four hours a day? Wow! That’s very tiring. I don’t know how you’re able to still sit there and breathe. Why can’t you just let it go? Are you dating someone now? Q: No. M: Are you “dating” any job now? (Laughter) Q: No, I’ m not looking for a job. M: So what’s the reason that makes you think any job is no good? Q: Well, I start worrying about things like whether I’ll have enough time to meditate, whether they’ll be able to pay me enough money, whether I’ll be able to find a decent place to live nearby, just anything. And this is not just about jobs; it’s the way I approach everything in my life. It’s like I’m so negative in my viewpoint that I can’t let in the good things right in front of me. M: Well, it’s very positive that you recognize your own weakness. Q: That’s just it. I feel that everything I need is right here if only I could unlock some “door” in my brain and let myself accept it. M: OK. How do you unlock it? Do you have any idea? Q: Meditate more? M: No, you meditate enough already. I don’t think you’re neglecting your meditation. Just make use of your wisdom. You store too much in there (Master points to the wisdom eye), and you don’t use it. So, every time you go to a job now, when you start thinking negatively, push that thought aside and think a positive thought to replace it.
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| The Sentient World of Animals
The Love of Animals
By Sister-initiate Wang, mainland China (Originally in Chinese)
An Earnest and Warm-hearted Dog - Big Yellow In the autumn of 1969, I was sent to the countryside and was left all alone in the dormitory on a farm. I could not go home as often as other schoolmates because I needed to earn more work-points to help my family that was in financial difficulty. As a young girl between seventeen and eighteen, I felt very lonely and helpless, being the only one staying in the five big empty houses. Fortunately, the farm manager was keeping a big yellow dog at his house, who often kept me company. The dog had shiny yellow fur and was not only very beautiful, but also very understanding. We used to call him “Big Yellow”. He seemed to be able to read my feelings. When I was happy, he would dance and leap around me; when I was sad, he would sit quietly by my side. Sometimes, when I came back from work, he would run a long distance to greet me. In leisure times, I would chat and play with him. Big Yellow gave me much mental comfort helping me get through that difficult period. The most touching moment happened on the day I went home by train. Our dorm was more than 30 kilometers from the railway station, yet Big Yellow walked me all the way to the station. I squatted down to caress him and bid him farewell, but he refused to leave. After I boarded the train, Big Yellow still gazed at me silently. When the train started to move, I leaned on the window waved my hands, and told him to go home. But Big Yellow started to run after the train. As the train moved faster and faster, Big Yellow chased it faster. Finally, Big Yellow's silhouette gradually diminished in the distance. Tears rolled down my cheeks. How I longed to jump off the train and go back to Big Yellow! I was deeply touched. I knew animals have feelings, but I never expected that Big Yellow would be such a passionate friend. More than three decades have passed, but that touching scene is still vivid in my mind. I often tell this story to my children to let them understand that "animals are good friends of humans", and to recognize the sincerity and benevolence of the animals. The Return of the Lost Cat - Little Flower When my daughter was twelve years old, one day she picked up a stray kitten on the street and ran home delightedly yelling: "Mom! Look how lovely it is. Let us keep it!" I stopped what I was doing and turned around. I saw a newborn kitten resting in my daughter’s little hands. It had big round eyes and a tiny mouth, covered with silky fur with white and yellow stripes. It was extremely beautiful, just like a tiny and exquisite piece of handicraft made by God! I was enchanted by the kitten's eyes which seemed to beg me to keep it. Since then, we have had one more family member, and my daughter named her Little Flower. One day, Little Flower, when she was four years old, went missing, putting our whole family in anguish. We searched for her everywhere, while my daughter cried all day long. Several days went by without any news about Little Flower's whereabouts. When we began to lose hope, my daughter's aunt came to our house and told us that she dreamt of Little Flower’s return. My daughter immediately opened the door, waiting for the miracle to occur. At about six o'clock in the morning, Little Flower dashed in like crazy, covered with dust; she had also lost a lot of weight. After entering, she ran around the whole house for one time and then she swiftly climbed the ladder to the bunk bed and threw herself into the arms of my daughter. She was just like a lost child who had found her mother. Our whole family was overjoyed and each one hugged and kissed Little Flower lovingly. Little Flower stayed with my daughter refusing to move even one step away. Since then we also cherish this cute little cat even more. She keeps us company day and night and gives us a lot more comfort and fun. Each time we communicate with Little Flower, either spiritually or emotionally, we deeply realize Master's words: "Animals and humans are equal. They are identical to us."
Unlikely Animal Companions Lead the Way to a Loving World
A Young Hippo Keeps Pace with His Tortoise Elder
By Gary and Karen, Tokyo, Japan
[Mombasa] Following the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 26, 2004, a young hippopotamus in Kenya was separated from his herd and washed out to a coral reef some distance from the ocean shore. Standing alone, he was forced to fend for himself on the reef until local villagers used fishing nets to help catch and transport him to safety. Concerned that introduction to a new herd would cause him to be killed by its dominant male, the villagers decided to relocate the baby hippo they now called “Owen” to an animal sanctuary. Perhaps because Owen was looking for the closest match to his huge gray mother, or perhaps because he sensed the love of the tortoise whose name means “wise elder” in Swahili, the hippo quickly singled out 130-year-old Mzee. As soon as Owen saw the tortoise, he charged to Mzee’s side. At first Mzee ignored his young admirer, but ultimately he was unable to resist Owen’s enthusiastic pursuit and the pair became inseparable. A year later, this odd couple still sleeps side by side every night (see photo). Owen has even adopted the tortoise’s preference for eating vegetables instead of the hippo’s usual fare of grass. These two enjoy each others’ company immensely, often frolicking in the pond like children and going for walks together. Moreover, the two friends have been observed communicating in a new language. Neither of them utters sounds typical of their species, but instead they emit high-pitched notes to each other in a code that experts have not yet figured out. (Please refer to: http://www.npr.org/documents/2005/jul/owen&mzee_ebook.pdf) The Family Love Between A Cat and A Rat
By Brother-initiate Ar Sen, Formosa (Originally in Chinese)
It’s been known that cats and rats can’t get along just as water and fire can’t be mixed. Only in cartoons or movies, can we see the scenes when they stay together harmoniously. However, in the real world in Changchun City, Mainland China, there is a cat and a rat living together in peace. Moreover, the cat allows the rat to cuddle in its arms and sleep, raising a few eyebrows of people who see them. A while back, a person named Xiao Li from Changchun had a headache due to a rat getting into the middle of the window panels in his house and refusing to come out. The rat was so ferocious that no one could get close to it. As a last resort, Xiao Li turned to his friend’s cat named Big Yellow. He borrowed the cat and let it stay hungry overnight in order to sharpen its hunting skills and chase out the rat. The next day, as expected, as soon as Big Yellow entered the middle of the window panels and came face to face with Little Gray (name of the rat given by Xiao Li), its eyes were alarmed with green lights, its whiskers stood up, and it murmured a “miao woo” sound. Little Gray was so scared that it immediately retreated into a cardboard box, only showing its head to look at Big Yellow. Big Yellow quickly jumped over, caught Little Gray and dragged it out. To everyone’s surprise, Big Yellow showed no intention of eating Little Gray. On the contrary, it turned to Xiao Li and made a few “miao” sounds as if to complain: “This is not my food!” Until today, the couple, Little Gray and Big Yellow, lives together in harmony. Now and again, Little Gray gives Big Yellow kisses, maybe to show its gratitude to the cat for not killing it. Big Yellow is also very generous with Little Gray letting the rat cuddle and sleep in its arms, thus making a rare scene of a loving family of a cat and a rat. The above-mentioned stories reveal that no matter where we travel today, the power of love is growing stronger, beyond all limits of the imagination, joining even the most unlikely beings in friendship.
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| Letter between Master and Disciples
Faith in Master Yields Powerful Results
By Brother-initiate Miguel Mora, San Jose, Costa Rica
(Originally in Spanish)
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| While on the Path
A Tibetan Buddhist Monk Leads Me to Master
By Brother-initiate Matthew Sirpis, Tasmania, Australia
(Originally in English) In April 1999, while I was studying at Wollongong University on the southeast coast of Australia, I met a sister-initiate sitting behind a small table near the school’s duck pond on market day. On the table was a display of Master’s books and pamphlets that immediately grabbed my attention due to the words “Immediate Enlightenment” printed on their covers. Since my parents had introduced me to meditation at the age of twelve, I was familiar with spiritual practice, but during that time I was still living the university party life, although sparks of spirituality always remained burning within me. After asking the sister some questions about the Quan Yin Method I realized that two-and-a-half hours of meditation a day would not leave me much time to party but I nonetheless took a sample booklet as I was still very curious. I later read the booklet and thoroughly agreed with everything Master said, but knew I was not ready for such a method. However, the spiritual embers within were beginning to burn more strongly! During the course of the next year I began meditating daily using another method and read numerous spiritual books. Then one day I went to a local beach to read The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche, a master of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and learned that to become fully enlightened one needed a living Master. As I had never read this before, I was surprised. Then, while sitting on the grass overlooking the beautiful beach with my book in hand, I prayed sincerely to Padmasambhava, founder of the Nyingma lineage, to lead me to the highest Master and quickest method for reaching full awakening enlightenment because my longing to be enlightened had grown strong when the party scene and other things that entertained me became boring. Even my longtime surfing hobby failed to fulfill me anymore. The next morning I awoke early and my attention was drawn to a bright light shining forth from the chest of drawers in my bedroom. I then opened the top drawer, which was full of my university books, and found the source of the light to be Master’s sample booklet, which I had been given a year or two earlier by the sister-initiate and had forgotten about. Next I was reminded of my prayer the day before, called the local contact person and learned the Convenient Method. About six months afterwards another amazing miracle occurred around the time I learned that a Quan Yin messenger was coming to Australia to conduct an initiation. The contact person informed me of this fact and I registered to be initiated although many doubts and hindrances still remained in my mind. Then two weeks later I experienced intense mental anguish when I was caught in the middle of a devastating family feud, fell to my knees, and prayed deeply for Master to send the messenger quickly as I longed for initiation and felt ready. One minute later the phone rang and it was the contact person informing me of the date and time of my initiation! Thus, I thank Master for compassionately guiding my complex mind on this path of the highest wisdom through the wise words of a Tibetan monk.
When Her Disciple is Ready the Master Appears
By Sister-initiate Malka, Buenos Aires, Argentina (Originally in Spanish)
I was born into a Jewish family, and although we were not orthodox, I was sent to a Jewish primary school to get some knowledge of Jewish history and traditions. I also studied the Torah and Old Testament and as a child was fascinated by the way Moses guided the Jewish people out of slavery in ancient Egypt, overcoming many obstacles and dangers on the way to freedom. But what touched me the most was that Moses could see, speak and listen to God. I remember sitting on my grandma’s chair and looking up toward the ceiling, asking God why I was not able to do as well. And since I did not receive an answer, the longing to get in touch with God remained in my subconscious and lay dormant there as a mystery for a long time. Many years later, I reflected on my existence, my role in society and my development in the spiritual realm and wanted things to get better. I observed that many human beings were unable to identify with their neighbors as brothers and sisters and saw many divisions in a society that I did not want to be a part of. I yearned to belong to a community where all the members could live in peace and harmony despite having different backgrounds and religious beliefs. At that time, I used to watch the 1970s TV series Kung Fu and waited for the moment in each show when the hero Kwai Chang Caine remembered his Master’s teachings at the most dangerous and difficult time in the story. That program inspired me to search for my own Master, the One who could help me achieve a superior lifestyle, be a better person and provide me with the highest knowledge - things I knew I could not get at any university or from my parents, although they had been excellent examples of honesty and love. Because I wanted to improve my life, I began by changing my diet. On a doctor’s recommendation, I took up an egg-vegetarian regimen and definitely knew that my life was getting better and happier. But still, something was missing. Then one day, while I was buying some tofu, a woman came up to me and asked nicely how I would cook that food. After I explained the procedure to her, we began talking about my life and the fact that I had not yet found my path. The woman realized that I was looking for something she had already found, so she waited until I paid for my purchase and invited me to a café for a cup of tea. I accepted her invitation with pleasure and while we were sitting at the table and the waiter brought us some tea and cookies, I was surprised that she refused to eat the cookies because they were made with eggs. She then began talking about her diet and especially about how her life had changed since she met Supreme Master Ching Hai and learned the Quan Yin Method. After she explained more about Master’s teachings, I was happy to learn that the Quan Yin path was for everyone. I was unaware of all the blessings I would eventually receive through Master’s love and the practice, however, I was sure I had found my way. I soon learned the Convenient Method and a few months later was initiated. Since then, I have had no need to change either my Master or my method because Master has shown me what a true human life is like. She is very consistent and has never let me down because She is the living example of Her teachings, full of beauty, wisdom and Truth. While I know that I have a long way to go on my spiritual path, I am now much closer to reaching my highest goals.
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| Golden Age Technologies
The Enlightened Use of Precious Jewels
Can Benefit Humanity
By Sister-initiate Chiou, San Jose, California, USA (Originally in English)
The earliest recorded reference to diamonds is in the Sanskrit manuscript the Arthasastra, an ancient Indian treatise on economics written sometime around the 4th century BC. By the 6th century, the diamond was recognized as a noble substance that scratches that which is noble and that which is not and even scratches the ruby. The diamond scratches all and is not scratched by any. After the 18th Century, the increased demand for diamonds led to its discovery in Brazil, South Africa, Canada and Australia. Modern scientists agree that the diamond is one of the strongest and most chemically inert (non-reactive) substances on Earth. Diamonds are also extremely durable and have a low coefficient of friction (i.e, they allow other objects to slide across them easily). Diamonds are also stable at very high temperatures and pressures and allow a wide range of light waves to pass through them, from deep ultraviolet to the far infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Recently, scientists have been able to create synthetic diamonds that successfully imitate the strength of natural stones. This is done using one of two methods: high pressure and temperature (HPHT) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which applies diamond film to a solid base material. The diamond films created using CVD may soon be applied in many areas such as tribology (the science and technology of friction, lubrication and wear), rust-resistant coatings, electrodes, optical lenses, cooling devices, gas and particle sensors and coatings for medical devices. A news report on CVD work entitled “Very Large Diamond Produced Very Fast” discusses advanced diamond-using inventions developed by Dr. Russell Hemley and his colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University’s Geophysical Laboratory. These researchers were able to use the CVD method to synthesize colorless single-crystal diamonds, but unlike most CVD-produced stones, which are brown, these diamonds were fully transparent. When asked about the significance of their achievement, the scientists simply said, “The diamond age is upon us.” In the 20th century, the major invention was the computer, which led to the computer age. Similarly, in the 21st century, the diamond may well lead us into a new era by playing a major role in science and industry. For example, large, low cost and high quality synthetic diamonds can be widely used in high-pressure and high-temperature microelectronics required in the production of high-frequency telecommunications equipment. Also, as many news reports indicate, engineers are finding new commercial applications for diamonds. For instance, the Sony Corporation is now using a diamond film coating to increase the stiffness of its loudspeakers, thereby improving sound reproduction at very high frequencies. And current tweeter domes (speakers that reproduce high frequency sounds) are typically composed of a material that is susceptible to distortion at very high frequencies. However, Dr. Gary Geaves, Head of Research at the UK speaker manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins says, “The unique properties of diamond means that we can create tweeter domes that are stiff, light and remain rigid throughout the audible frequency [range] and beyond.” Thus, music lovers will soon be in for the ultimate listening experience through a new generation of speakers containing parts made of diamond. Another technological advancement employs diamonds in the field of medicine. This development, called the Rotablator, is discussed in the article “Diamond-tip Drill Adds New Dimension to Artery Cleaning.” The Rotablator is smaller, revolves much more quickly and can fit into smaller vessels than previous drills of its type. Thus it can break up the calcium-based plaque that collects on the sides of arteries causing high blood pressure and sometimes life-threatening blockages. Regarding future uses for diamonds, Master says: Originally, diamonds were not ornaments for people but a very precious mineral that could be used to make good scientific, civilized machines and tools. We cannot make use of them at the present time because we do not have scientists who are good enough to invent advanced equipment by blending diamonds, crystals, gold, etc. but we may have them in the future. If we get a chance to contact other planets and learn from them, then together with the wisdom and support of Earthians, we can make our Earth magnificent. I also hope that the time will come soon when the people on Earth will have greater comfort. (Excerpted from The News #93, “Master Says - The Mysteries of the Universe” ) It appears this new era that will allow humankind to lead a more comfortable life is now dawning. More importantly, the advancements in diamond research discussed above demonstrate that Master’s positive vision of our planet’s future is coming to fruition.
Robots Join in Lifesaving Rescue Work
By Sister-initiate Lorna, San Jose, California, USA (Originally in English)
In addition to being a professor of both Computer Science & Engineering and Cognitive and Neural Sciences at the University of South Florida, Dr. Robin R. Murphy is also director of the University’s Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR). And just two days after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, her unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) assisted in relief efforts in Pearlington and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The robotic craft proved to be valuable tools in saving lives by scanning rooftops for stranded victims and in aiding the injured by helping to perform triage (choosing patients who need immediate transport to the hospital to save their lives as opposed to those who can wait for help later). Similar to many other groups that tried to enter New Orleans in hopes of assisting with the Katrina relief work, the CRASAR ran into various obstacles. However, through Dr. Murphy’s determination the UAVs acquired a bird’s eye view of Pearlington, relaying images showing that floodwaters in the area had receded and that no one was trapped on the rooftops. This was very advantageous since rescue crews were unable to evaluate the town due to the chaos produced by carjacking, looting and shooting incidents. One UAV is small enough to fit inside two suitcases and can be assembled and launched in a mere fifteen minutes! The vehicles feature high-tech equipment such as cameras, microphones and sensors that supply crucial data to rescue workers, and work best at altitudes of 100 to 400 feet—just above the tree line but below regulated airspace. Thus no FAA approval is required for their use. One type of UAV is specifically designed to provide a “big picture” of a devastated area, and another resembles a helicopter and can hover much closer to the ground so as to detect environmental problems, document structural damage and peer into windows to search for victims. UAVs were first used after the 9/11 attacks in New York City, Virginia and Pennsylvania and earned credibility with various relief agencies. During these catastrophes the robots maneuvered under rubble searching for victims and key access points for rescue teams (robots routinely went five to twenty meters into the interior of the rubble pile versus two meters for a camera mounted on a pole). The androids could also enter fiery spaces, gaps posing the risk of collapse and areas too small for humans or search dogs. Besides gathering and relaying information to rescue worker, the robots transported fluids to victims and conducted preliminary triage on possibly unconscious victims. According to Dr. Murphy, future UAV designs will include a two-way radio that will make them nine times more likely to find victims. The next generation of the vehicles will also include a color video camera with zoom capacities and LED instead of halogen lighting, thus reducing the possibility of the craft igniting in an explosive atmosphere. These second generation UAVs will also be waterproof and have the ability to read surrounding temperatures and to function in conditions such as smoke, water, biohazards and radiological exposure. Dr. Murphy is optimistic about the future uses of UAVs such as helping highway engineers to work more efficiently and continuing to help rescue crews save lives. She explained that UAVs are just the beginning and many new radical and positive changes in artificial rescue technology are right around the corner. As Master says, “Natural disasters are not always caused by geographical complications, but generated from the atmosphere of the world. When human beings treat each other unjustly and with hostility, an irritating, vicious warlike ambience is generated and from this many disasters are created.” Thus, seemingly harmless negative thoughts from humans produce a type of energy that can contribute to creating disasters. In any case, as Master also states, “God is forever loving and forgiving” so even though humankind unknowingly generates catastrophes for the planet, Hes still bestows on us such hi-tech devices such as UAVs, through which scientists can more efficiently assist in relief efforts. So to show our gratitude for God’s mercy, we should be mutually supportive, contribute selflessly to society and serve God wholeheartedly, thus creating a more peaceful environment. In this way our world will not only become more spiritually elevated, but also have many advanced means to cure diseases and make our lives more comfortable.
Positive Improvements in the World -- BMW Hydrogen Cars Bring Great Hope for New Energy
By Florida News Group (Originally in English)
On March 14 2006 BMW announced that it will produce hydrogen cars within 2 years. This announcement was a major surprise to the car industry, since the company had recently announced that production would begin in 2010. Several car companies have been planning to release hydrogen cars after 2010 but BMW's decision will likely bring the whole industry forward. BMW's hydrogen cars, now in their 7th generation, are considered to have the highest level of performance. They run on either gas or hydrogen and reach speeds up to 134mph (216kph). One model, a racecar, reaches speeds up to 187 mph (300kph). A company CEO said, "The message we wanted to send is that you can have fun driving and be environmentally conscious at the same time." Hydrogen cars are part of a global "hydrogen economy" which is predicted to arrive around the year 2020. Largely cut off from oil supplies, the nation of Iceland has already piloted such an economy. Hydrogen is produced from wind and hydro power, distributed to hydrogen filling stations and transferred to a fleet of buses in the capital city of Reykjavik. BMW's cars serve as a bridge between gas combustion cars and hydrogen fuel-cell cars which have zero emissions apart from water vapor. BMW's engines burn hydrogen while fuel-cells extract the power through chemical diffusion, like batteries. In the future, cars will probably use various fuels apart from hydrogen. Hydrogen is extremely difficult to work with, being so light that it floats right through the atmosphere into outer space. Other sorts of fuel-cells and batteries are being developed, using synthetic petroleum products produced through wind turbines, solar panels or conversion of plants or algae. Hydrogen will likely still be used to power cell phones and various other electronic devices. Ultimately, scientists plan to base the entire energy system on hydrogen, the fuel of the Sun, through Sun-like hydrogen fusion reactors. Fusion reactors have the potential for enormous amounts power like nuclear reactors but use hydrogen from water instead of deadly and rare uranium.
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| Love in Action
USA
Nourishing Body and Soul in Serving the Homeless
By Sister-initiate Mai C., Los Angeles, USA (Originally in English)
Throughout the months of December through March, the County of Orange's Cold Weather Program opens the doors of local armories so that up to 250 individuals and families can be housed overnight during the coldest months of the year. Fellow initiates from the Los Angeles Center were glad for the opportunity to share Master's love with these less fortunate in their monthly service activity of giving back to the local community. So, on March 25, 2006, Los Angeles sisters and brothers prepared and served hot meals for the disadvantaged people in the Orange County armory of Santa Ana. Even as the initiates first arrived at the armory, Master’s blessings were evident. A person commented as the fellow initiates approached the area, "I can't believe there are actually people like you. God bless you for coming tonight!" As the meals were being served, many of the recipients, which included staff members as well as the homeless, expressed their pleasure about the delicious taste of the vegetarian cuisine. They also appreciated being given the Alternative Living flyers, which they read attentively. One person commented, "The food’s so tasty and yummy," and another said, "I like this vegetarian diet; it keeps me healthy." One of the staff members also asked fellow practitioners to prepare an extra 40 meal boxes to save for the homeless who would arrive later that night. Within an hour of arriving, approximately 245 underprivileged residents had received warm meals and Alternative Living flyers, reminders that God loves and looks after every soul. Practitioners felt grateful for this chance to serve. They pray that by following Master's teachings and setting the noble example of being vegetarian, all humans will soon turn toward a more loving, environmentally friendly lifestyle that includes the vegetarian diet. Moreover, through Master’s elevation of the world's consciousness and Her continued grace and blessings, humanity’s greater compassion for animals will allow all to be further uplifted spiritually.
Formosa
Extending Love and Care to the Young Souls in Children’s Homes and Lighting up Their Hopes for Life
By the Taipei News Group (Originally in Chinese)
As the Women and Children Festival neared, fellow initiates in Taipei noticed that two Children’s Homes in Taipei - Yi Guang and Zhong Yi, were in urgent need of daily necessities. Therefore, they approached these two Children’s Homes and offered to provide them with essential materials. In the morning of March 25, Golden Year 3 (2006), fellow initiates delivered the aid material, including clothes, toiletry and hygiene supplies, teabags, snacks, fruit juice, frog carts, color laser printer, electric magnetic stove, and gift packets to the Yi Guang Children’s Home. This Home accommodates orphaned infants and children, as well as physically and mentally disabled homeless children. Currently there are more than forty children living there. The Director of the Yi Guang Children’s Home, Ms. Li Xi-mei, has worked persistently for the last thirty-five years to open up the hearts of the children with her love. She even trained the disabled children in this Home to become athletes qualified to compete in the Special Olympics. On that day, fellow initiates dressed as lovely animal characters and handed out beautiful document folders printed with the Alternative Living message to school-aged children. They also went to each floor to visit those who were not able to move around easily. Observing the love and care of the fellow initiates, Ms. Wei, a teacher in the Children’s Home who has been a vegetarian for 8 years, gladly told us that she had wanted to receive initiation from Master Ching Hai a few years ago, but didn’t know how to contact us. On the same day, fellow initiates also served a vegetarian meal with over thirty dishes. Amid the sweet voice of Master’s singing from Her latest CDs being played, children in the Home cheerfully enjoyed a sumptuous meal as well as a sense of true family warmth. The teachers told us: “How fortunate and blessed our children are today to be able to enjoy a vegetarian meal that is even more exquisite and delicious than those served in a five-star hotel!” The Director expressed her gratitude to The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association and hoped that in the future, when they move to Wan Fang area, fellow initiates could continue providing services to their children. That afternoon, fellow initiates visited the Zhong Yi Children’s Home that provided family style care to abandoned infants, homeless children, and children who were abused or whose families had been hit by grave occurrences. Items were contributed for both daily necessities and spiritual nourishment, such as bicycles, microwave ovens, air conditioners, portable CD players, television sets, cleaning supplies, family-use medical supplies, teabags, snacks, clothes, Master’s publications, attractive document folders printed with Alternative Living messages, and gift packets. The Executive Officer of the Children’s Home, Ms. Gao, was very grateful for the aid rendered by The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association. This series of activities of love to Children’s Homes, aimed at lighting up the hopes for life, was accomplished successfully through the concerted efforts of the fellow initiates. Thus, Master’s love and care for the underprivileged people was extended to the needy areas.
Holding a Soul-elevating Seminar to Extend Concern
to Inmates in the Changhua Prison
By Changhua News Group (Originally in Chinese)
Fully charged with bliss and gratefulness, fellow practitioners from the Changhua Center of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association again visited the Changhua Prison on March 22, Golden Year 3 (2006), sharing a spiritual feast with about a hundred young inmates amid a warm atmosphere of love and gratitude. When the fellow initiate hosting the seminar cordially greeted the attendees and told them the seminar would bring them good news by introducing them to the Supreme Master Ching Hai, all the attendees responded with a warm applause. When showing the video "Walk the Way of Love", a short introduction to Master's life, they all watched attentively and nodded frequently showing their appreciation. Some browsed Master's sample booklet hoping to know more about Her teachings. Looking at their young faces filled with earnest and focused expression, we were happy for them in having the opportunity to know a living Master, and silently wishing them a brighter future in life. As the main speaker of the day, a fellow brother recounted his own experience in seeking the Truth from how he started from young exploring the meaning of life to questing after the Truth when he grew up, and finally realized that Master Ching Hai is a great Enlightened Master. The brother also cited Master's speech during Her lecture in the Hualien Prison to encourage the attendees. With sincere and earnest words, the brother reminded them: Life is transitory and thus will end sooner or later. The only correct direction in life is to repent and change for the better, and get enlightenment to find our self-nature. The attendees very much agreed with the brother's ardent and sincere speech, and showed it by applauding loudly! At the second half of the seminar, we showed an edited video introducing Master's lecture tours in various countries of the world, taking the attendees for a spiritual tour around the continents. Stunned by the beautiful scenery of these countries, the attendees cheered frequently from the bottom of their hearts. Especially when the beautiful images of Master lecturing in Africa were shown on the big TV screen, the attendees were all deeply enchanted and totally absorbed, as a peaceful and tranquil ambience permeated the venue. During the Convenient Method teaching session that followed, almost all participants followed the instruction and sat quietly together to experience the esoteric beauty of meditation. Finally it was time for everyone to express their love and gratitude. Fellow initiates encouraged the attendees to pour out their well-wishes and gratitude for other people on cards, to be read out aloud by fellow initiates. The response was good, and there were many cards full of words expressing their gratitude to their family and teachers, and also their self-promises. Some attendees even wrote down their gratefulness towards Master: "Master warms our hearts. We are very grateful to Master for enlightening us and we hope She will bless the inmates." Some cards expressed the sincere prayers of the attendees: "Let's pray that there will be world peace and all sentient beings will be liberated." These words written with heartfelt feelings and gratitude really touched and impressed the fellow initiates present. Finally we gathered all the gratitude cards from the inmates into an album and presented it to the Prison officers. Observing the wholehearted devotion of the inmates, the Prison officers were delighted and showed their appreciation. The event was ended amid warm applause of the attendees, and all the fellow initiates taking part felt deeply honored and were very grateful for Master's love and blessing that helped this soul-elevating seminar to be held successfully.
Expenditures for Charitable Activities in
Formosa from January to February 2006
Table 1: Details of expenditures for charitable activities in Formosa from January to February 2006
Table 2: Relief Funds Given to Needy Households in Formosa from January to February 2006
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| Introductory Book Notes
Ami, Child of the Stars - Conveying the Message
of Universal Love
By Brother-initiate Julio Cardenas, Arequipa, Peru (Originally in Spanish)
Forewords: When it was first published in 1986, Ami, Child of the Stars by Chilean author Enrique Barrios, achieved immediate success in the Spanish-speaking world. The story then appeared in several more languages and was endorsed by education experts in many countries as well as spiritual leaders such as Pope John Paul II. The book, which tells the tale of Pedro, a boy who befriends extraterrestrial beings, was written for both children and adults with high ideals, dreams and loving natures who are able to perceive the many wonderful, fascinating dimensions of our own and other realms. Thus, the story resonates with children “of any age or nation on this rounded and beautiful homeland, future heirs and builders of a new Earth with no division among brethren.” In relating the tale of the protagonist and his other-worldly companions, the author calls upon his own childhood experiences with a sense of inner contemplation, peace and spiritual upliftment and an understanding of universal law, showing a great concurrence with the teachings of Supreme Master Ching Hai. For example, the narrative envisions visits from extraterrestrials, the unveiling of cosmic secrets, an interplanetary fraternity and the Golden Age, and also addresses the topics of vegetarianism among these beings, their belief in God, their practice of meditation and the notion that every highly evolved world in the universe is based on love. Other interesting subjects handled in the book are the attitudes of other-worldly beings toward our civilization, the possible destruction of Earth, the spiritual levels of the various planets and the implications of karma. There is even mention of a music that requires a previous “initiation” to be enjoyed! By way of dialog between Pedro and the other main character, Ami, who travel on a spacecraft, the author uses a simple, direct, humorous style to express noble ideals about all civilizations. For instance, Pedro shows initial skepticism because of his incorrect views about “Martians,” and being unable to contain himself, wants to know when the extraterrestrials are going to invade and colonize Earth. To his surprise, however, Ami explains that these ideas are simply fantasies because if a planet were full of bad people they would destroy themselves first: “Once upon a time, thousands of years ago, there was on Earth a civilization akin to yours. The scientific level of that humanity went beyond its love level. Being thus divided, what happened was bound to happen.” The book also deals with the fact that any civilization not based on compassion and goodness towards all beings, which includes a vegetarian lifestyle, will not attain great advancement. For example, while he and Pedro are traveling in outer space one night, Ami uses a special camera to see through Pedro's house, notices a plate of food Pedro’s grandmother has prepared for him and is amazed to see a piece of meat! “Ugh!” cries Ami, feeling sick. “How can you eat a carcass!” After seeing the situation from this point of view, Pedro cannot eat the meat when he returns home that night. Another topic addressed is extraterrestrials’ beliefs about God whereas Pedro imagines God as an aged man wearing a beard and robe, his intergalactic friend Ami explains, “God has not a human appearance, has no form at all and is not a person like you or I. It’s an infinite Being, pure creative energy… pure love.” An extension of the extraterrestrial notion of God is their spiritual practice. The book says that beings from other worlds meditate on God and also on love. In fact, on Ami’s planet the name for God is “Love”; that is, the concepts of God and love are expressed by using the same term. As Ami states, “These people have around a thousand measures [of spiritual levels], but they concentrate on love to attain more than two thousand, … There are other worlds to which neither you nor I can [go] at the moment. There dwell beings that surpass the ten thousand measures: the solar beings—they are almost pure love.” In their travels, Ami and Pedro also discover the most fundamental law of the universe; namely, that every highly evolved world in the universe is organized on the basis of love. To quote Ami again, “Evolution means to get closer to love. The beings more highly evolved experience and convey more love. The true greatness and smallness of every being is only determined by the measure of their love. If you understand that love is the universal law, if you join together as a family, without frontiers, and if you organize according to love, you’ll manage to survive.” Finally, Ami, Child of the Stars even discusses the implications of karma: “The violations to love are paid in any number of ways. When you see the suffering in so many places—those who suffer accidents, who lose their beloved ones, ‘bad luck,’ so many things - that’s the way we pay the violations to love. And there are many other ways.” So how can one know if one is making spiritual progress? “The more highly evolved you are, the more you are like a child,” Ami explains to Pedro. “In these worlds we have many places like this one. An adult soul is also the soul of a child. We need to play; we need fantasy, creation. And there is no game, fantasy or creation greater than the universe, whose Creator is love.” These are just some of the correlations between the message of Enrique Barrios’ fascinating story and the teachings of Supreme Master Ching Hai, begging the question as to what it would be like going for a ride around the universe in a swift spacecraft in the company of Master, the most expert of instructors! Quan Yin practitioners are indeed lucky to be initiated by Her so as to be born again, retain the innocence of children, evolve in love and have the chance to help the entire planet remember the path leading to the Golden Age of peace, spiritual upliftment and comprehension of our universe through Her teachings and through books such as Ami, Child of the Stars. To read the entire text of Ami, Child of the Stars in Spanish, please visit the following website: http://www2.11argentina.com:8080/BOOKS/AMI_01.zip
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| Vegetarian Era
Vegetarian Diet in Space Voyage
By USA News Group
(Originally in English)
Food plays a very important role in contributing to the well-being of astronauts. A well-planned and varied menu is important for long-term space missions because a monotonous diet can lead to psychological problems and serious weight loss as experienced by some of the cosmonauts on the Mir space station. On their current missions aboard the Space Shuttle, astronauts eat food grown and manufactured on Earth. The amount is limited to about four pounds of food per person per day because their missions are relatively short. However, for long space voyages such as a mission to Mars, food preparation and storage is a bigger challenge. A trip to Mars takes about six months each way. Counting the additional year that the astronauts would have to stay on Mars to conduct studies, they would be gone for a total of two years. At even four pounds a day, this adds up to over 17,000 pounds of food for a crew of six. To reduce the prohibitive cost of carrying or launching huge amounts of prepackaged food, the obvious answer is to grow food on board as well as on Mars during the mission. Scientists thus have been studying how to grow vegetables and other crops in the space voyage environment. The space-grown food will be grown according to a practice known as hydroponics, in a mixture of water and nutrients rather than soil. While growing crops and vegetables on board during a long space voyage is achievable, raising animals on board for meat and dairy is not. The reason is that raising animals requires not only a great deal of room but also many more resources than a spacecraft or space station can provide. For example, approximately ten pounds of corn is needed to produce one pound of beef. Keeping animals onboard would also seriously pollute the surrounding environment. So, adapting to a diet that is at least mainly vegetarian is necessary for a long space voyage. In a three-year study funded by NASA and conducted several years ago by scientists at Cornell University in New York, 200 recipes were developed for astronauts that could be prepared from primarily vegetarian ingredients such as wheat, rice, soybeans and vegetables. Moreover, these key ingredients could all be grown hydroponically in artificially lighted and temperature-controlled space greenhouses. Only about 10 percent of the food calories came from Earth-manufactured food supplies, which included fats, flavor concentrates and various non-vegetarian or dairy-based foods used mostly as condiments, as well as a few luxuries such as chocolate. The goal of this study was to make the space cuisine not only nutritious, but also appealing and as similar to Earthly foods as possible. The recipes were taste-tested by 16 volunteers, who ate the primarily vegan diet exclusively for 30 days. The result was positive. Besides appetizing menus that included such dishes as seitan tacos with lettuce and tomato sprinkled with earthmade cheese, carrot ‘drumsticks,” tempeh sloppy Joes, basil pesto with soy nuts, pasta primavera and tofu cheesecake, questions of health and nutrition were also addressed. One participant who felt better after 30 days of a vegetarian diet vowed to continue the practice in her everyday life. Moreoever, some scientists are realizing the value of studying vegetarian nutrition since similar health issues must be addressed in space that are faced by people on Earth. As one scientist pointed out, “It is already apparent that as the diet of astronauts becomes more vegetarian, plant sources rich in calcium and high in antioxidants with a high energy content will be most desirable.” Thus it is clear that along with addressing health issues for space travelers, the findings from vegetarian nutrition studies will also benefit those who live on Earth. In fact, there have been several vegetarian astronauts. Lieutenant Colonel Timothy J. (TJ) Creamer, NASA Astronaut and Mission Specialist candidate, is a vegetarian. Astronaut Kalpana Chawla was a strict vegetarian. Dr. Janice Voss, another active astronaut with over 900 hours in space, is also a vegetarian. These professionally trained individuals have demonstrated their ability to adapt to the rigors of an astronaut’s training. To them, the meatless fare of a long space voyage would be as natural as their daily diet. But switching to a vegetarian diet may not be as difficult as some people think. For the study participants, it seemed to be a matter of becoming accustomed to a different taste. "We've noticed for example, that nobody liked our dairy substitutes, such as soy and rice milk, during our taste panels. But our subjects got used to them and accepted them just fine once they started eating them regularly," said Jean Hunter, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Cornell who was heading up the vegetarian diet project. The Earth itself can be likened to a spacecraft on a long space voyage, with similarly limited resources. So, adoption of the vegetarian diet on ‘spaceship Earth’ is important for practical reasons as well as compassionate ones, especially since issues such as hunger and environmental pollution could effectively disappear if everyone became vegetarian. But with the grace of Master, along with the ongoing efforts of fellow practitioners and other vegetarian organizations, more and more people will surely understand the importance of the vegetarian diet.
Continued list of Vegetarian and Vegan Elite of the World Actors & Film Stars Rosanna Arquette (American actress), Richard & Leslie Bach (Americans; Richard is an author and Leslie is an actress), Angus Barnett (British actor), Alexandra Bastedo (British actress), Meredith Baxter (American actress), Maureen Beattie (British actress), Dirk Benedict (American actor), Sandra Berkin (British actress), Traci Bingham (American actress), Christopher Blake (British actor), Gillian & Gayle Blakeney (Australian actresses), Peter Bogdanovich (American film director), Lisa Bonet (American actress), Tracy Brabin (British actress and writer), Cathryn Bradshaw (British actress), Lucy Briers (British actress), "Downtown" Julie Brown (British actress), Kirk Cameron (American actor), Dan Castellaneta (American actor and writer), Julie Christie (British actress), Rachael Leigh Cook (American film and television actress and model), Bo Corre (Swedish actress), James Cromwell (American actor), Sara Crowe (British actress), Peter Cushing (British actor), Amanda Dickinson (British actress), Madhuri Dixit (Indian actress), Jenny Donnison (British actress), Betty Driver (British actress), Mike Farrell (American actor), Pam Ferris (British actress), Jerome Flynn (British actor), Fiona Fullerton (Nigerian actress), Jennie Garth (American actress,), Sara Gilbert (American actress), Sheila Gish (British actress), Deborah Grant (British actress), Jill Greenacre (British actress), Woody Harrelson (American actor), Nigel Hawthorne (British actor and producer), Sherrie Hewson (British actress), Reina James (British actress), Jean Kasem (American actress), Cheryl Kennedy (British actress), Jarrett Lennon (young American actor), Jennie Linden (British actress), Rachel Lindsay (American actress), Joanna Lumley (British actress), Cal Macaninch (British actor), Virginia Madsen (American actress), Charlotte Martin (American actress), Bill Maynard (British comedian and actor), Paul McGann (British actor), Glenda McKay (British actress,), Virginia McKenna (British actress), Rue McClanahan (American actress), Amanda Mealing (British actress), Spike Milligan (Indian actor), Hayley Mills (British actress), Jessica Muschamp (Australian born-British actress), Stephen North (British actor), Simon O'Brien (British actor), Hazel O'Connor (British actress and composer), Maureen O'Farrell (British actress), Shaunna O'Grady (Australian actress), Kate O'Mara (British actress), Catherine Oxenberg (American actress), Anne Parillaud (French actress), Alexandra Paul (American actress), Anthony Perkins (American actor), Polly Perkins (British actress), Rhea Perlman (American actress and producer), Mandy Perryment (British actress), River Phoenix (American actor), Tracey Pollen (American actress), Pamela Power (British actress), Jacqueline Reddin (Irish actress), Joe Regalbuto (American actor), Linda Regan (British actress), Eric Richard (British actor), Linus Roache (British actor), Abigail Rokison (British actress), Carol Royle (British actress), Jenny Seagrove (British actress), Martin Shaw (British actor), Cathy Shipton (British actor), Alicia Silverstone (American actress and producer), John Gordon Sinclair (British actor), Marina Sirtis (British actress), Rob Spendlove (British actor), Imelda Staunton (British actress), Eric Stolz (American actor), David Thewlis (British actor, director and writer), Jonathan Taylor Thomas (American actor and producer), Rita Tushingham (British actress), Matthew Vaughan (British actor), Tim Vincent (British actor), Kristina Wagner (American actress), Sophie Ward (British actress), Dennis Weaver (American actor), Tico Wells (American actor), Ruth Whitehead (British actress), Spice Williams (American actress), Emma Wray (British actress), Gretchen Wyler (American actress). Pop Stars & Musicians Abnegation (American punk rock band), Bryan Adams (Canadian singer, guitarist and songwriter), Damon Albarn (British vocalist and keyboardist), Jon Anderson (British singer and solo artist), Fiona Apple (American singer and songwriter), Joan Armatrading (British singer, songwriter and guitarist), Gary Barlow (British singer/songwriter and producer), Martin Barre (British guitarist), Shirley Bassey (British singer), The Beloved (British electronic music group), Norman Blake (Scottish musician, songwriter, guitarist and vocalist), Blur (British rock band), Michael Bolton (American singer and songwriter), Elkie Brooks (British singer), Peter Buck (American guitarist), Charlie Burchill (Scottish guitarist), Kate Bush (British singer and songwriter), Terry "Geezer" Butler (British guitarist), B52s (American rock band), Boo-Yaa TRIBE (American rap group), Montserrat Caballe (Spanish soprano opera singer), Vivian Campbell (Irish rock guitarist), Carcass (British rock metal band), Captain & Tennille (American husband and wife pop music duo), Belinda Carlisle (American vocalist ), Gary Clail (British singer), Neil Codling (British singer and songwriter), Jessica Cody (Canadian vocalist), Phil Collen (British guitarist), Consolidated (American activist performing group), Julian Cope (British rock musician and writer), Elvis Costello (British musician and singer/songwriter), Sarah Cracknell (British pop singer), Beverley Craven (British musician), Peter Cunnah (Irish singer/songwriter), Dick Dale (American pioneer of surf rock and guitarist), John Dankworth (British jazz composer and performer), Dave Davies (British singer and guitarist), Carol Decker (British singer), Brad Delp (American vocalist), Cathy Dennis (British singer, songwriter and record producer), Des'ree (British pop singer), Michael Diamond (American drummer and singer), Corinne Drewery (British singer), Judith Durham (Australian singer), Earth Crisis (American Straight Edge band), Melissa Etheridge (American rock musician), Julie Felix (American folk rock recording artist), Fini Tribe (Scottish industrial dance-rockers), Peter Frame (British music historian), Michael Franks (American jazz singer and songwriter), Justine Frischmann (British singer and guitarist), Edgar Froese (Russian artist and electronic music pioneer), Fugazi (American Straight Edge band), Peter Gabriel (British musician), David Gedge (British musician and song writer), Boy George (Irish-British singer/songwriter), Dizzie Gillespie (American jazz trumpeter, singer and composer), Gary Glitter (British rock and pop singer), Kevin Godley (British musician and director), Dave Goodman (British producer), Eddie Grant (Guyana-born musician), Martin Lee Gore (British singer/songwriter and guitarist), Omar Hakim (American drummer and musician), Kirk Hammett (American guitarist), Polly Jean Harvey (British singer and songwriter), Juliana Hatfield (American guitarist and songwriter), Kirsty Hawkshaw (British female artist and songwriter), Tony Hicks (British guitarist), Doug Hoekstra (American singer and songwriter), Susannah Hoffs (American musician and actress), Steve Howe (British guitarist), Chrissie Hynde (American rock musician), Billy Idol (British hard rock musician), Eddie Jackson (American bassist), Joe Jackson (British musician), LaToya Jackson (African-American pop singer), James (British band), Wendy James (British singerand composer), Daniel Johns (Australian singer, guitarist and composer), Eric Johnson (American recording artist), Howard Jones (British singer/songwriter), Martin & Gary Kemp (British performing artists), Jim Kerr (Scottish singer and lyricist), Nik Kershaw (British singer and songwriter), Gladys Knight (American R&B singer), Edward Kowalczyk (American singer), Kraftwerk (German musical group), K D Lang (Canadian singer and songwriter), Annie Lennox (Scottish rock musician and vocalist), Living Colour (American hard rock band), Lene Lovich (American singer), Willy M (British musician), Marilyn (Jamaica-born rock musician), Johnny Marr (British musician and singer), Meat Loaf (American actor and rock and roll performer), Natalie Merchant (American musician), Moby (American electronic musician), Larry Mullen, Jr. (Irish drummer), Mutabaruka (Jamaican poet), Chris Novoselic (Croatian-American rock musician), Jason Orange (British musician), Ozzy Osborne (British singer and solo artist), Doris Pearson (British musician), Linda Perry (American musician and record producer), Steve Perry (American singer and songwriter), Keith Potger (Sri Lankan guitarist/vocalist), Rebel MC (British pop-rapper), Marisa Robles (British harpist), Rikki Rocket (American rock group), Tim Rogers (Australian vocalist, and solo artist), Tom Scholz (American singer and guitarist), Sandie Shaw (British singer), Shelter (American rock band), Captain Sensible (British singer and guitarist), The Shamen (Scottish experimental electronic music band), Sinitta Renet Malone (American singer), Siouxsie Sioux (British singer), Grace Slick (American singer), Heather Small (British soul singer), Jimmy Somerville (Scottish pop singer), Geoff Tate (American singer), Richard Thompson (British singer and songwriter), Tanita Tikaram (German pop/folk singer and songwriter), Farin Urlaub (German singer and guitarist), Steve Vai (American guitarist and record producer), Eddie Vedder (American singer and lyricist), Charlie Watts (British drummer), Jane Weidlin (American guitarist), Alan Wilder (British electronic musician and record producer), Wendy O. Williams (American singer), "Weird" Al Yankovic (American musician and lyricist), Yazz (British pop singer), Benjamin Zephaniah (British writer and poet). TV Personalities Andrea Arnold (British actress and director), Bob Barker (American TV host), Marian Chanter (first female winner of the British game show, “The Krypton Factor”), Phil Cool (British comedian and impressionist), Barbara Edwards (British TV weather forecaster), Angela Groothuizen (Dutch TV presenter), Larry Hagman (American actor and director), Antoinette Hertsenberg (Dutch TV host), Simon Hickson (British actor and writer), Viola Holt (Dutch TV presenter), Hennie Huisman (Dutch showmaster), Gareth Jones (British TV show host), Diane-Louise Jordan (British TV presenter and producer), Penny Junor (British writer and journalist), Ricki Lake (Jewish-American actress and talk show host), Joe Longthorne (British singer and actor), Don McLean (American singer and songwriter), Kevin Nealon (American comedian and actor), Leonard Nimoy (American actor, director and producer), Fred Rogers (American children’s show host), Peter Simon (British TV personality), John Simpson (British TV journalist), Lisa Simpson (animated TV personality), Julie Snyder (Canadian TV host), Sy Sperling (President of the Hair Club for Men), Jo Stevens (American actor), Jonathan Taylor Thomas (American actor), Wendy Turner (British TV presenter), Mary Tyler Moore (American actress and comedian), Maitland Ward (American actress), Vanessa Warwick (British director and actress), Victoria Wood (British comedian), William Woollard (British actor). Radio Personalities Tony Blackburn (British award-winning disc jockey), Jackie Brambles (British television and radio presenter), Casey Kasem (American radio personality and voice actor), Chris Mitchell (American ratio disc jockey), John Peel (British disc jockey and journalist), Janice Long (British radio broadcaster), Dianne Oxberry (British radio weather forecaster), Judi Spiers (British broadcaster), Claire Sturgess (British ratio disc jockey), Dave Lee Travis (British actor and disc jockey), Shelton Walden (American radio producer and show host), Ron de Rijk (Dutch sportscaster), Pierre Robert (American disc jockey). Sports Personalities B J Armstrong (American basketball star), Al Beckles (American body builder), Peter Burwash (Canadian longtime health advocate, motivational speaker and world-renowned tennis coach), Andreas Cahling (Swedish body builder), Chris Campbell (American world champion wrestler), Sally Eastall (British marathon runner), Clare Francis (Austrian sailer), Louis Freitas (Brazilian body builder), Carol Gould (British marathon runner, many-time medalist of British Road Race Championships), Estelle Gray (American cyclist), Ruth Heidrich (Ph.D., American health educator and three-time Ironman contestant), Sally Hibberd (British women's mountain bike champion), Sharon Hounsell (Welsh bodybuilding champion), Desmond Howard (American professional football player), Roger Hughes (Welsh ski champion), David Johnson (American basketball coach), Kathy Johnson (American gymnast), Alan Jones (British ski jumper), Killer Kowalski (Polish-Canadian professional wrestler), Donnie LaLonde (Canadian professional boxer), Tony LaRussa (American baseball team manager), Silken Laumann (Canadian champion rower), Judy Leden (British world hang gliding champion), Marv Levey (American football coach), Jutta Müller (German windsurfing World Cup champion), Jack Maitland (British triathlete and triathlon coach), Cheryl Marek (American cyclist), Leslie Marx (American fencer and two-time national champion), Kirsty McDermott (British runner), Robert Millar (Scottish professional cyclist), Paavo Nurmi (Finnish long-distance runner and 12-time Olympic medal winner), Bill Pearl (American bodybuilder, Mr. America), Anthony Peeler (American basketball player), Debbie Spaeth-Herring (American power-lifter), Jonathan Speelman (British chess player and three-time chess champion), Jacque Vaughn (American professional basketball player), Eustace Miles (10-time British tennis champion). Writers, Philosophers, Scientists Scott Adams (American writer/artist), Louisa May Alcott (American novelist), Clive Barker (British author, director and visual artist), William Blake (British poet and artist), Berke Breathed (American cartoonist), Charlotte Bronte (British novelist), Henry Heimlich, M.D. (American physician), Krishnamurti Jiddu (Indian spiritual teacher), Franz Kafka (German writer), Carla Lane (British TV writer), Milton (British poet), Alan Moore (British comic writer), Serge Raynaud de la Ferriére (French scholar, founder of Universal Great Brotherhood), Ruth Rendell (British writer), Upton Sinclair (American writer), Peter Singer (Australian humanist and philosopher), Colin Spencer (British food writer), Chandrashekar Subrahmanyam (Indian-born American Nobel prize-winning astrophysicist), Emanuel Swedenborg (Swedish scientist, philosopher and mystic), Alice Walker (African-American author and feminist), Alan Watts (British philosopher and comparative religion writer), H.G. Wells (British author), William Wordsworth (British romantic poet). Historical Vegetarians & Advocates of Vegetarianism Clara Barton (founder of American Red Cross), Annie Besant (British theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator), General William Booth (founder and 1st General of the Salvation Army), Fenner Brockway (British anti-war activist and politician), Rupert Brooke (British poet), Cesar Chavez (Mexican-American farm worker, labor leader and activist), St John Chrysostom (Syrian Christian bishop and priest), Clement of Alexandria (Egyptian first member of the Church of Alexandria), Sir Stafford Cripps (British Labour party politician), Dr John Harvey Kellogg (American medical doctor, brother of W K Kellogg), Lamartine (French writer, poet and politician), Martin Luther (German theologian, Augustinian monk and ecclesiastical reformer), Caitanya Mahaprabhu (Indian saint), Mahavira (Indian Jainism founder), Montaigne (French Renaissance writer), Barbara Moore (American Ambassador to the Republic of Nicaragua), Canakya Pandit (Indian philosopher and prime minister), Sir Isaac Pitman (British inventor of Pitman Shorthand), Origen (Egyptian scholar and Christian theologian), Plotinus (Egyptian Neoplatonism founder), Alexander Pope (British poet), Porphyry (Syrian Neoplatonic philosopher), HH A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Indian spiritualist), Ilya Repin (Russian artist), Richard St Barbe Baker (British world-famous environmentalist), Henry Salt (British artist, diplomat and Egyptologist), Schopenhauer (German philosopher), Sir Barnes Neville Wallis (British scientist, engineer and inventor), Mary Webb (British romantic novelist), John Wesley (British clergyman and Christian theologian), Ellen G. White (American writer and founder of Seventh Day Adventist Church). Models Angie Hill (American actress and model), Kathy Lloyd (British actress and model), Carre Otis (American plus-sized fashion model), Laetizia Scherrer (French model & designer). Politicians, Statespersons and Activists James G. Abourezk (U.S. Senator and Congressman), Tony Banks (British politician and Member of Parliament), Andrew Bartlett (Senator in Australian Parliament), Tony Benn (British politician and Member of Parliament), Anne Campbell (British politician and Labour Member of Parliament), Chelsea Clinton (U.S. President Bill Clinton's daughter), Harry Cohen (British Labour Member of Parliament), Willem Drees (Dutch politician and prime minister, 1948 - 1958), Anne Gilman (British politician), Andrew Jacobs (US Congressman), Kamel Junblatt (Lebanese Parliament member), Moritz Leuenberger (Swiss Minister of Energy and Transport), Robert Lutz (Swiss business executive), Vos Marijke (Dutch Member of Parliament), Piers Merchant (British politician and Parliament member), Albert Mokhiber (Arab-American human rights activist), Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (First Home Minister of India), P.V. Narasimha Rao (Prime Minister of India, 1991-1996), Philip Ruddock (Australian Attorney-General), Bernard Weatherall (British politician). And the list goes on…
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| Media Reports
Le Parisien Publishes an Article on Vegetarianism
By a Brother initiate Joseph, Paris, France (Originally in French)
The distribution of Alternative Living flyers started not so long ago in France and it already has generated an interesting media effect. Out of the blue, on 20 March 2006, one of the most renowned newspapers in the country published an article on vegetarianism. Le Parisien is the most read newspaper in Paris and the Paris region, and it is also one of the preferred in the provincial cities. It is known for the objectiveness of its information, as well as the highly selective attitude to its topics. It is extremely difficult to have something published in this newspaper, especially something that is delicately suggesting a vegetarian cuisine to people. The newspaper, so as to offer the most unbiased point of view, observes the tastes and likings of the French population in general. Just as an example, during the last 25 years the vegetarian topic was never mentioned nor was it even alluded in Le Parisien. And all of a sudden, little after Master’s loving instruction to spread the idea of a vegetarian diet, there was an article talking about the delicious menus in the 3 or 4 vegetarian restaurants in Paris. It also mentioned that some celebrities went regularly there to eat, thus making these places more alluring to the public. The vegetarian restaurant of our fellow initiates was also included. Mass media is one of the most sensitive indicators of the trend of the public. And from this tiny corner we can see the world’s attitude toward vegetarianism has begun to change. |
| Supreme Art
Inspiration from "The Perfect" Celestial Jewelry
By Brother-initiate Asen, Formosa (Originally in Chinese)
The above aphorism was spoken by Master in 1995, ten years before the 11th- generation Celestial Jewelry "The Perfect" was created. When I appreciated carefully these words of wisdom by Master, suddenly it occurred to me that "The Perfect" Celestial Jewelry was designed precisely based on this aphorism. Each sentence is closely linked to each section of "The Perfect". It seemed as though Master had crossed space and time ten years ago to make an elaborated illustration of this Celestial Jewelry collection. Inlaid in triangular shapes to reflect the qualities of Truth, virtue and beauty, "The Perfect" is carved with tiny sections of amethyst that look just like surging waves, symbolizing the upheaval of the material world. Inside the waves is the basic gold material, the surface of which is carved with ripples on the Sea of Light, symbolizing our radiant Self-Nature. The triangular shapes designed by Master are more rounded instead of being rigidly straight, meaning that spiritual practitioners should maintain their principles while flexibly handling matters without stubbornly adhering to rules. The necklace of "The Perfect" collection contains equal numbers of golden and amethyst triangles, but the golden ones are bigger in size. This means that spiritual practitioners, while focusing on their inner spiritual world, should also not neglect their obligation in the material world. But, of course, the main focus should still be on spiritual practice. From this collection of Celestial Jewelry-"The Perfect", I realized that only through our inner self can we penetrate the material illusion and find our radiant original nature, and be flexible or stern as appropriate. While diligently searching for our inner real self, we ought to take care of our worldly obligations too. Only a spiritual practitioner who has Truth, virtue and beauty can be revered as "The Perfect".
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| Elevation of the Soul
Supreme Master Ching Hai’s New Book Release:
Of God and Humans -- Insights from Bible Stories (English and Chinese Editions)
This special anthology includes thirteen Bible narratives, uniquely retold by Master on various occasions. What types of spiritual messages do Bible stories reveal to readers? In which ways are these revelations relevant to modern people’s lives? In this book, the Supreme Master Ching Hai provides in-depth answers to these questions and also guides us to the ultimate road to salvation, the Quan Yin Method, which leads humankind to regain its Paradise lost.
Following the first chronicle, “Paradise Lost,” are many other extraordinary Bible stories, such as those of Noah (Lecture 2), Lot (Lecture 4) and Moses (Lecture 6). These tales depict how God’s children misused their free will and deviated from the cosmic design of universal love, peace and harmony, with the inevitable result being destruction. How can human beings avoid such natural and self-made calamities? Figures such as Abraham, Lot, Moses and Samuel’s mother, Hannah, all humbly submitted themselves to God’s will to the extent of giving up their worldly possessions or even their beloved children. Consequently, they received blessings that were many times more valuable than what they sacrificed. Through this collection we hope to share with readers Supreme Master Ching Hai's profound wisdom and wish that it serves as a reminder of God's eternal love for humanity.
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