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On April 27, 2000, responding to the intense longing of many sincere souls, our beloved Master finally graced the Land of Long White Clouds -- New Zealand. (Note: the Maoris, the native people of New Zealand, call their country Aotearoa, which means 'Land of Long White Clouds').

The venue for the lecture was the Aotea Center in Auckland, a popular site in New Zealand for international conferences and performances. Fellow practitioners exquisitely decorated the huge stage using a beautiful background that consisted of a blue sky and white clouds. The edge of the stage looked like waves moving in a blue sea. The green mountains and trees on stage created a warm and natural feeling, while the brilliant sunrise in the middle perfectly matched the infinite radiance of our loving Master.

Maori Ceremony to Welcome Master

The Auckland lecture program began at 7:00 PM, and the several thousand seats were soon occupied by an earnest audience waiting for The Supreme Master Ching Hai to talk about how to experience the divine realm of heaven. That night, Master wore a striking short-sleeved dress suit with a long, close fitting skirt in light pink, decorated with tiny blue and purple flowers. She wore Her hair with two short plaits hanging down from Her temples, which added to Her gorgeous and dignified appearance.

While fellow initiates were sharing their personal experiences with the audience, a group of Maori people outside the venue performed a traditional Powhiri ceremony to welcome Master to New Zealand. A Powhiri is more than just a welcome; it is an acknowledgement of the dimensions of spiritual, physical and mental wellness. This introduced Master for the first time to Maori customs, which are an important part of New Zealand's heritage and Maori life.

A Powhiri is a way of life to the Maori people. On a physical level, the physical presence of the person being welcomed is acknowledged. In that acknowledgement, reference is made to the essence of the spiritual dimension of those who have died in the year, the month, the week and the day belonging to the person whom you are welcoming, and in particular, Manuhiri Tuarangi (those who have traveled across the seas). Reference is also made to the essence of the rivers and mountains, which joins with the essence of those Tangatawhenua (native peoples of New Zealand) who have passed over. The physical presence of the person being welcomed is a visual representation of the physical and mental dimensions.

A "Kaumatua", the Maori Leader, welcomed Master to our shores, thanking the Creator for the safety of Her journey, while verbally connecting all the different aspects of the "Powhiri". On this occasion, the "Kaumatua" was also a spiritual leader of the Maori. He then thanked Her for the tremendous work that She is doing for the higher good of all people. He said that as Tangatawhenua we have a responsibility and accountability to our people to Manaaki (embrace and host the Master with the reverence She deserves), and finished his speech by calling on the Creator and the holy angels to bless Her and Her stay in New Zealand, and to continue to support Her in Her journey.

Next, a "waiata" (song) about the gentleness and beauty of the female energy was sung by the Hato Petera (St. Peter's) Culture Group. The second waiata was a welcome to the shores of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Master was then given a "hongi" (a pressing of the nostrils and forehead or third eye area together, thus sharing the breath of the spiritual life force on all levels). This is a sacred greeting of the Maori given to those considered to be friends. Master then proceeded to give a hongi to everyone in the Culture Group.

Master was very moved by the ritual and remarked, "The welcoming ceremony and songs touch a person's heart." She also said that She could feel the strong spiritual tradition of the Maori people. Affirming Master's words, a newly initiated Maori sister later said to us, "The Maoris traditionally live a life emphasizing spirituality more than material aspects. The Maori race is like a sleeping giant in a half-awakened state waiting for someone to wake him up." She deeply believed that Supreme Master Ching Hai was the Saint who had come to awaken the giant to the Light.

In the words of the interpreter, Naida Glavish, "Master is absolutely dynamic and non-assuming, and has and portrays the Truth, something that is missing in this world. She has no fear, is extremely sensitive and picked up on the spiritual aura of the Powhiri. She is a powerful female energy that does not undermine male energy to sustain Her power." Later, the Kamatua who greeted Master, stated that he felt very honored to be in Her presence.

Following the Powhiri, Master entered the hall to the surprise of the New Zealand audience, and quietly walked down the aisle, and with a gentle touch and a beautiful, loving smile, acknowledged the outstretched hands that welcomed Her.

After She sat down at the front of stage, the St. Peter's Culture Group began a performance in honor of Master, which She watched with great interest, smiling lovingly as three Maori action dances were performed:

The first was about the unity of male and female. The second was youth acknowledging the wisdom of their elders, while the third dance signified the young generation's acceptance of the Maori language as being a "taonga" (heirloom or treasure) that is handed down verbally from generation to generation from their ancestors and is worthy of nurturing. Master was then invited onto the stage, where She greeted the New Zealand audience with a traditional Maori greeting, "Tena Koutou", (Greetings to you all) and then thanked everyone for welcoming Her to New Zealand.

Remembering Our Noble Inner Quality

In Her speech, Master said: "I think you know why you are here. Everyone wants to know what God is and where we are from, and that's the reason why we came to this physical planet. Even though at the same time we are connected with heaven and spiritual planets, but because we have forgotten the connection, most of us just recognize this physical life. In fact, we are not just humans; we are highly developed beings. Like the Maori traditional songs we have just heard -- these songs are spiritually developed, highly elevated, because ancestors of the Maoris have known a different world of the spiritual. We can remember it again, because what we once had we never lose."

Master continued by giving an example. We are the whole being, not just a toe, a finger, or a forehead. Similarly, if we just remember that we are a physical being, then we are not complete. She said that She was there with the honor of God's permission to remind everyone that they should remember their whole being. It is just like because we like this ring so much (Master shows Her ring) and we keep looking at the ring, we will just remember this finger all the time and forget ourselves. Actually, the spiritual wealth is always there, but it is just that we are too busy looking outside and remember only our physical being, so we forget the other 99% of our being which is higher, greater, more powerful, more miraculous, more wondrous, more holy, more divine, more beautiful, happy, blessed and blissful.

Master went on to say that we are temples of God, but we have forgotten our God quality. That's why we say enlightenment is "immediate", because it is already there. "It's very simple," Master pointed out, "you are already divine. I am here just to remind you to remember. God lives within you. So, you are God. Otherwise, who is God? Therefore, no matter what people choose to do, do not judge them. They chose a different way to know God. One day they will know they are God in their own way."

Experiencing the Divine

Finally, Master said that She could help us only when we are ready. Otherwise, no one can do anything much. Master asked the audience members whether they wanted to have a glimpse of heaven, and everyone earnestly answered, "Yes!" Master then taught them how to practice the Convenient Method and many people had visions of inner Light, or the sun, and thus experienced an initial taste of communicating with God.

Afterwards, Master answered a great variety of questions, advising one person who still hesitated about following the Five Precepts that God is the first priority. We should make up our mind to do anything to know God, to live a life of not killing sentient beings, live a life of not stealing, live a life with no sexual misconduct, and live a life of not telling lies, live a life without drugs and alcohol. We present ourselves as the being we want to represent. Whether we want to present ourselves as enlightened beings is our choice. With respect to the vegetarian diet, Master explained that animal energy is very heavy because they love life and fear death. She also said that all lives are actually one. When we hurt other sentient beings, we are truly hurting ourselves. Suppose we have our finger incised; although our nerves are not hurt, it is still true that we have hurt ourselves.

After the lecture, Master personally distributed the fruits and flowers on the stage to the audience. Everyone was extremely happy and reluctant to leave. Except those who had to go register for initiation, most people loitered around the exhibition area where Master's artwork, Celestial Clothes, Celestial Jewelry, paintings and Longevity Lamps were displayed. The crowd did not disperse until very late.

Sharing Experiences

A fellow sister from Auckland shared her story of getting initiation and embarking on spiritual practice. Since she was a young girl, she had asked herself, "Why do people come into this world?" and "Why do people have to suffer so much?" Although she believed in God, she could not find God within her, nor did she know where to find God. Gradually, her only way out was to become intoxicated through the use of drugs and alcohol, with only the illusion of happiness.

At this fateful crossroads in her life, she was led to participate in social work. Incidentally, she read the news of a local spiritual exhibition in the newspaper, and subsequently encountered Master's teachings. "Sneaking by, I took a sample booklet, and something came over me instantly". So she rushed home and read the book carefully. Although she promptly learned the Convenient Method, she knew that it was not enough. She just could not let this once-in-a-lifetime, or maybe once-in-a-million-eons opportunity pass her by.

Her life since her initiation has been full of happiness, yet as a human being she still has had to face many challenges. However, she has found that they can be easily overcome through the power of the inner Light and Sound that she experiences in meditation. The Quan Yin Method has brought great happiness, joy and inspiration into her life and she usually has a great deal of energy. This helps her social work career as well. Her sleeping soul has been awakened, and she now looks through very different and clearer eyes. She was happy to share with everyone her wonderful experiences, telling us how honored we should feel to be in the presence of a true living Master, Supreme Master Ching Hai, Who has the key to help them find the Truth within, which is their birthright.

A Maori sister, who had been initiated for just a month, told us that she once regarded Master's sample booklet as worthless. But later, because her older sister practiced the Quan Yin Method and had changed incredibly, she was inspired to explore Master's teachings again, and so didn't miss this treasure. Now, her parents, both of whom are over eighty, are practicing the Convenient Method.

In studying Master's teachings, what struck her most was Master's statement, "We are the Light, but life ties us up with money problems, work, and information, so that we become engulfed by these problems." Master teaches us that we have to look within to know who the boss is -- and what we need to do. Master's teachings have encouraged her to understand that enlightenment is our true Nature, and that we always have it. Master has also said that if we have a way to recognize it, it will always be there. The thing this sister really loves most is that Master will always be there for us, and that once connected with Her we will always be connected, no matter where She is in the world.

Postscript: The Work of Preparing for the Lecture

Fellow initiates were overcome with excitement when they learned that Master had accepted their invitation to give a lecture in New Zealand, and immediately launched a program of preparatory work. All New Zealand practitioners benefited immensely from this process, which was both enjoyable and fulfilling.

The majority of New Zealand fellow practitioners live in Auckland, on the North Island, with only a few scattered through other parts of the country. However, to spread the good news of Master's lecture to every corner of the land, each did his or her best. For example, one fellow sister living on the South Island drove all the way from Dunedin at the southernmost end of the Island to Christchurch at the northern end. While driving, her only thought was: "When the Lord comes again, the gospel shall be spread to far off lands." In some remote small towns on the South Island, she left just a few flyers. But when she saw the local shopkeepers taking up the flyers and reading them attentively, she was very moved. Several other fellow initiates living in Taranaki, in the southern part of the North Island, also drove north sowing Quan Yin seeds along the way, which they hoped would sprout and help people lean toward Master's divine Light. Their destination was Auckland, where they joined the preparatory work for the lecture.

Hamilton City is just one and a half hour's drive from the venue where the lecture was to be held. Apart from holding video seminars and sharing the news in the local downtown area and university, fellow initiates also put up posters and distributed flyers in the adjacent smaller towns. Many people were immediately overwhelmed by heavenly bliss upon first encountering Master's teachings. Consequently, a woman from Indonesia learned the Convenient Method and requested that the Center send sample booklets to her old friends in Indonesia. Another lady had received a copy of the sample booklet years earlier. This time, she was really delighted and determined to grasp the opportunity to get initiation. She even encouraged other people who had not followed Master to break through and overcome their worries about keeping a vegetarian diet and the daily meditation practice schedule. She informed them that they definitely could make it if they had enough determination.

Before fellow initiates poured into Auckland from around the country and abroad, local initiates had already done much preliminary work. Without exception, everyone who participated learned a great deal from the process. Since it is illegal to put up posters randomly in New Zealand, fellow initiates had to approach the manager of each shop they visited to obtain permission. On the first day, many initiates were embarrassed and not used to doing this kind of work, so the results were not very good. However, after attending a group meditation session, they realized that their thinking and willpower had not been firm and positive enough. The more they feared being refused, the worse the results would be. Beginning with the second day, their work attitude and thinking became more positive, and thus their results were more impressive. Finally, the posters were all put up before the scheduled time!

All the fellow practitioners involved in working on Master's New Zealand lecture contributed their utmost effort to the project, thus helping to convey the good news of Master's visit to all the longing souls in the area. Several thousand seats in Auckland's Aotea Center were filled for the lecture, and many people stayed afterwards to receive initiation and join the Quan Yin family. But even more important is the deep and lasting influence of the loving blessing energy from Master's presence in New Zealand!

Following Master's lecture in Auckland, fellow practitioners went to Hato Petera (St. Peter's) College to visit the students who had performed the Maori welcome on the evening of the lecture. The students were extremely impressed by their short encounter with Master. "I love this lady! When will She come back?" was the response of many. Others asked if they could write to Master or visit Her again some time.

We brought with us a loving gift from Master: a contribution of $800NZ (about US$ 400) to Hato Petera College, as well as an additional $500NZ for each of the 15 students who had performed the Maori welcome (a total of $7500NZ, or about US$3750). The students were very surprised, and then ecstatic after receiving such an unexpected and generous gift. Many of them cried, showing their sincere appreciation to Master for Her visit and gift. Both the elder who gave the welcome, the Kaumatua Takutai, and Naida Glavish, the lady who had "called" Master into the land of New Zealand, so-to-speak, were also offered a loving gift, as a token of love from Master Ching Hai.

Caption:

A group of Maori people performs a traditional Powhiri ceremony to welcome Master to New Zealand.

The Powhiri was led by the Kaumatua (first right) with Naida Glavish (first left) as interpreter.

As a token of love from Master, a contribution of NZ$9,900 (about US$4,950) was given to the Maori people, including the 15 students who performed the Maori welcome at Her lecture. The students show their sincere appreciation to Master for Her loving visit and gift.

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Special Report on Master's Second Stop on Her 2000 Lecture Tour:

Sri Lanka

April 29, 2000

Sri Lanka, rich in spirituality and famous for its Ceylon tea, is a small island country in the Indian Ocean, south of India. Gorgeous Buddha statues, illuminated at night, stand nobly at the corners of many streets in capital city of Colombo.

On the warm and sunny afternoon of April 29, people began entering the spacious Grand Ballroom of the Trans Asian Hotel. This beautiful facility in Colombo has a five-star rating and is located in a harbor on the country's west coast, facing the Indian Ocean.

It didn't take long for the lecture hall to fill with people. One Dutch man who attended the lecture said that he had flown all the way from the Netherlands to meet Master. He added that he had searched for many years, even going to India to seek the Truth, and was waiting now for an inner "signal" to tell him that the Quan Yin Method was the right path for him. Another person, a man from England, came to see Master because he was still not at peace with himself, even after becoming a monk in a monastery.

To introduce Master's work, the new videotape entitled "Looking at the Past... Stepping into a Bright Future" was shown, which described Master's European Lecture Tour from May to June 1999. Then, a local Kandian drum dance team led Master to the front of the hall, passing a respectfully standing crowd. (Kandy is a Sri Lankan city located in the middle of the country.) Wearing a light violet blouse and long, dark purple skirt, Master looked youthful as Her long, brown hair flowed down to Her shoulders. To pay Her respects, Master humbly bowed to the Sri Lankan monks sitting in the front row of the audience. Then, following a local tradition, Master lit a string in an oil lamp with a candle and passed the candle to other local people so they could light the remainder of the strings. To the delight of Master and the audience, the colorful dancers and drummers then performed a Kandian dance accompanied by chanting and drumming on tablas (traditional drums used in India and Sri Lanka).

The lecture began with a prayer for peace in Sri Lanka. Master said that although many of the people in Sri Lanka already have peace and happiness in their hearts, She asked everyone in the hall to pray for the people who have not yet found this happiness, and thus are suffering.

Master pointed out that peace and happiness are our true Nature. We might try using such means as violence or force, thinking that these are ways to get what we want in life, but ultimately we have no better choice than to find peace and happiness within. This is returning to our Self and our own God Nature. She went on to explain that the way of the Buddha and of all saints since time immemorial is the way of peace and love. That is also the way of our True Self. Some have attained this peace and love through deep meditation or prayer.

The Buddha came to this world to show us that we are also God. In one of the Buddhist sutras, it is mentioned that enlightenment is like a light that is passed from one to another. Hence, we still have candle-lighting ceremonies in the Buddhist tradition. Some people who have heard the name of the Buddha and may have even studied the scriptures of the enlightened ones still have not found peace and happiness, perhaps because their light has not been lit. Enlightenment is like lighting one candle with another already-lit candle. A person must have a lit candle before he or she can light those of others.

By remembering our own God Nature, we can remind others of their God Nature, because we are all born from God. The Buddha said, "I am the Buddha; you are the future ones." The God Nature inside the Buddha and inside of us is exactly the same. That is why we can also become God. The reason we do not see our God Nature is because we have not tried. If we sincerely want to try, we will be shown the way. It is written in the Diamond Sutra that no matter how long a room has been dark, it takes just one second for a light to make the darkness disappear.

Lighting Our God Nature Within

The light passed from the Buddha has never gone out. All we have to do is find where the candle was last lit and then our candle will also be lit. The light is the essence of our being; it's our own God Nature. Everything that is noble, holy and powerful is the God Nature. That's why we call it "enlightenment". Different religions identify the God Nature with different names. Sri Lankans call an enlightened person "Buddha"; in Hebrew, this person is called "Christ". Sri Lankans also call a teacher "Guru", while English speakers call him or her "Teacher". Sometimes because of the limitations of human language, we misunderstand each other and have religious disputes.

No matter where a Master is born, he or she is a "lit" candle, the light keeper for the next to come. Whoever comes to that person can be lit with this already-lit candle. The Universal Light never dies but must be upheld in different places: India, Sri Lanka, Germany, Jerusalem, and so on. It has to circulate so that the whole world will be awakened; it cannot be kept in one country or temple because the whole world has to know the light. Like water or rain, the light has to be in different places at different times to bless all the beings on this planet. So it doesn't matter where it is kept, if we want our own light to be lit, we should go to the Light-keeper.

All of us want to know what the God Nature is; everyone wants to know where God is. God is within us. Buddha and God reside in this temple (Master points to Her body). We have nothing inside but Buddha and God, and we are nothing but the children of God.

The one thing that separates us from our God Nature is the ego, also known as the mind. The mind is like a machine or computer, which records and then broadcasts the same thing out again. But the mind can only record and understand worldly information. It cannot comprehend the God Nature. In order to find our Selves, we have to bypass the mind -- go through it but not dwell in it. If we try to use the mind to find our Selves, we will only end up with worldly knowledge, customs, and habits. Even if we read the Buddhist Sutras and the Bible, we will not always understand what is written in these books. What is written by an Enlightened Master can only be understood by another Enlightened Master, by truly understanding, not guessing. Therefore, in order to understand the Master's teachings, we must try to become a Master.

From God Nature to God Nature in Silence

Master said that all of Her talk is actually boring theory, and that She prefers not to speak so much and would like, instead, to show the audience how to find their own God Nature. She said that it is simple because we already have God Nature. The problem is that we keep listening to the mind and forget to look for it. The moment we forget the mind, our worldly burdens and preconceived ideas, then we can find our God Nature.

Master further explained, "When I show you how, it is not by talking to you that you know; it is by showing in silence, from God Nature to God Nature. At that instant, if you really concentrate well, you will see the God Nature right away, which is the Light, which is the heavenly teaching, the Buddha's teaching -- without language. And you will be enlightened immediately."

"Not only do we see the Light, which is our own Nature, we also hear the teachings, our own Nature, which the Buddha mentioned in the Surangama Sutra. All the Enlightened Masters rely on this Sound stream, this inside knowledge, this inside teaching, to come down to teach sentient beings. And all sentient beings have to rely on this holy Sound, holy Vibration, holy teaching -- the inside teaching -- to go back to the kingdom of God. We will all become Quan Yin bodhisattvas, because we will all listen to the Sound that the Quan Yin bodhisattvas have listened to. We hear it inside without the ears and see it without the eyes. That is true knowledge."

Master said that at the time of enlightenment, we can see the kingdom of God; we can learn with the saints, with Jesus Christ, and with all of the past Masters who have left our physical planet. We can see Buddha on a lotus, Jesus with light all around, and we can listen to direct teachings from Them. You can see light that is equal to thousands of the suns of this planet, but it will never blind your eyes. This is the light mentioned in the Buddhist sutras that tell us when we die, we should follow the bright light which leads us to heaven, to the Buddha's Land, not the dim light which can take us to the 'Asura' (astral) world.

Each of us can see different kinds of light, due to our different karma, different concentration, or different sincerity. So each one sees differently when going inside, but everyone experiences a glimpse of his or her God Nature, a glimpse of heaven. That's just the beginning, and then we experience more as we practice each day. Master said, "I hope I have explained a little bit of this unexplainable thing. The only thing left is that you have to experience this thing yourself. You have to experience your own greatness, your own God Nature, because these things cannot be talked about, cannot be explained in any language at all."

"It is just like when I am drinking water, and I talk about water: It is cool and refreshing and quenches your thirst. But you also must drink it in order to understand. You drink more, or you drink less; it depends on your thirst. But you have to drink. If you are not thirsty, of course you don't drink. Then you don't know what I am talking about. But I think you do. You remember, because everything I said today is nothing new. Our souls understand; our God Nature understands. Even if we don't drink, we remember the taste of water because all of us have drunk water at one time or another. It's just that we have forgotten, since we did not drink for a long time. Similarly, with the God Nature, we have ignored and neglected It for so long that we do not even dream of becoming God. We think we are just very lowly human beings, when in fact the one who lives in this temple [Master points to Her body] is God! Only God lives in here, no one else."

Master continued: "That's why the Buddha said that you have to love and respect everyone, because everyone is truly God whether he knows it or not. But only an Enlightened Master can see this. In order to truly love everyone, you must also become a Master, or partially a Master. Actually, it's not 'becoming' a Master, but 'remembering' that we are a Master."

Master then taught the audience a brief form of meditation, the Convenient Method. "If you want to know more, to study more deeply about how to remember yourself as God again, how to open your love to all humankind again, we have to go through a process called initiation so that we can explain things in more detail. And you have to do more meditation, every day, to contemplate your own God Nature."

Referring to the process of attaining enlightenment, Master joked, "It took the Buddha six years; maybe it will take us ten years! No, the Buddha took six years because people taught Him the wrong way until the last method He found, then he became enlightened immediately. Only the direct recognition of the God Nature can make us enlightened. Every other method is like cooking sand; it will never become rice."

After the lecture, Master patiently responded to numerous questions from the audience. Asked by one woman how she could be free of anger toward her husband and children, Master responded that the only way is to gain enlightenment. She said that these things happen because we don't know we are God. We react as human beings because we think we are ordinary humans who are bad. Once we remember that we are God, we will become calmer, more secure, more peaceful, more loving, more tolerant and more compassionate. Then we can see that our husbands and children are also God. Even though they may not know their true Nature, we will love them and respect them like God.

One Muslim person in the audience praised Master, saying that She is the only One who can save us. Master thanked him, saying that Mohammed was a great Master also. She said that She already had caught up with the past Masters, but how about us? Master said we must hurry and catch up with them so that we can go to heaven together. Otherwise, She will be alone and that will be very lonely.

Another person asked if the Buddha would be born again. Master said that the Buddha is born all the time. "Look at you, look at your neighbors; they are all Buddhas!" She said that the Buddha once told His disciples that since His God Nature and everyone else's God Nature were the same, He wondered why people didn't see this. Master said that She wonders the same thing. It is so easy to know that you are God, yet we forsake the biggest Treasure because we are too worried and busy making a living. But when we become enlightened, we are more intelligent, more loving, and our worldly life gets better, too. Then we can use our money and possessions to give to the poor and to help everyone.

To overcome fear, Master said that we should become masters of our minds, and not let the mind tell us what to do. The mind thinks a lot of nonsensical things and makes us fear. Being enlightened, we don't lose anything and therefore have nothing to fear. Instead, we gain more inside and outside, so it is a good business!

Asked if She can end the war in Sri Lanka, Master answered "No," saying that the war is created by sentient beings and must be solved and finished by them. You don't force your knowledge on your children, but teach them to learn by themselves. She said that if She used (miracle) power to force the war to end, then later another war would start and it could be worse. It is better to let the war resolve itself naturally. But if more Sri Lankan people remember their God Nature and meditate more, then it will minimize the war. The people who make war are also God, so they have to realize themselves that war is really unnecessary; they have to come to peace together.

Responding to a question about whether people from all religions could become enlightened, Master said that everyone has the light of God inside; it doesn't matter what religion he or she follows. She further assured the audience of Her utmost respect for all of the past, present and future Masters. They taught the same thing; it's just that we have forgotten to look for the sameness between Their teachings.

When asked about how one keeps from coming back as an animal, Master said that we have to live like human beings. The Buddha taught the Five Precepts so that we could maintain our human standards. Follow the Five Precepts, and you won't come back as an animal; follow the God Nature to become God, and you won't come back at all.

After the lecture, many people learned the Convenient Method. Hundreds of Sri Lankans and others, such as the man mentioned earlier who had waited for an inner signal, received initiation. Finally, hundreds of "candles" were lit that night in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to shine in this little Buddha island!

Caption:

A local Kandian drum dance team welcomes Master to Sri Lanka.

Master humbly bows at the feet of Sri Lankan monks attending Her lecture.

Candle-lighting ceremonies in the Buddhist tradition remind us to light our inner True Nature.

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Special Report on Master's Third Stop on Her 2000 Lecture Tour:

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

April 30, 2000

On the day of the lecture, there was a heavy rainstorm, yet according to the local people, heavy rainfall is very unusual at this time of the year....

The lecture hall was conveniently located in a building called Menara PGRM. By 6:30 PM, thousands of people, Malays, Chinese, Indians, and others, had filled the hall. Malaysia is truly a democratic country with multiracial and multicultural citizens. The friendliness of the local people was clearly demonstrated when they heartily clapped their hands before and after the video "Walk the Way of Love" that was shown on two large TV screens. They also applauded loudly when a local initiate talked about her own experiences of following the Quan Yin Method.

When Master arrived wearing a light green dress, the crowd gave Her a very warm welcome. Feeling the positive vibrations from the audience, She said, "God blesses you for coming in the rain. May God bless you and your country, which is very beautiful, clean and prosperous. We have to be grateful to God, Buddha, Allah, Who have blessed our country and blessed the people here so much. The people here are very disciplined and very highly elevated."

Master emphasized, "All of you are God already! The essence of life is love. The essence of God, of Buddha, of Allah, is love. There is nothing else but love. When we make the choice of love, which is the highest choice, the noblest choice, which is our True Self, we will feel that we are very near to God, very near to Buddha. There are many choices that we can make in life, and depending on the choice we make, we will become the being that represents that choice. Over time, again and again, we keep making different choices -- to be a human being, an angel, a deva, to be one with God, or yet again to come back to human life in order to remember or relearn again the whole process. And when we remember or relearn again that we are from God, that we have God Nature, that the Holy Spirit lives within us, at that time, we say we are 'enlightened'."

"To know God, to know your Self, is as if you just turn your palm. Look at the front of the palm, we see God, we see our Self; looking at the back, we just see a mundane, human, mortal being. If you just turn around, then you know immediately that you are God. There is nothing else inside ourselves but God. It is up to us to try to remember or not. I am here to help you remember."

"God is the Light that is brighter than thousands of suns put together; God is the melody that fills our soul with all happiness and contentment no matter where we are, what race or personality, what kind of background, or what kind of religion we have. If we want to touch God, Hes even will manifest as one of us, for example, as Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, the Sikh Gurus, Krishna, a Master, etc. These are all the personal, individual manifestations of God for us to love, to see, to touch, and to believe. We still can contact these Masters when we raise our consciousness to their dimension, which is higher than the physical consciousness of this planet. If I can, you can; if our initiated brothers and sisters can, you can. It happens now; it's not thousands years before.

The good news is that we are one of these "Systems;" we are one with this godliness, we are one with everything that we see, dream of, or can imagine, we are that. Just like we are one of the members of the audience in this hall, but we are also the whole with the whole gathering. To see God, to know God, to talk to God even, is a very normal thing for us. Some of us have made many choices already. Sometimes we have chosen to be an ignorant person; sometimes we have chosen to forget that we are one with God and that God dwells within us. Sometimes we have chosen to do things that are even un-Godly, so-called 'un-Godly' or the opposite of love. We have chosen to do so many things, but maybe this is the time we have chosen to make the higher realization, higher remembrance of our Selves because we have done all of the lower part already.

Master then gave the audience a gift. She asked that whoever wanted to experience God close their eyes, concentrate on the wisdom eye, and taught them the Convenient Method. She also promised that She would be available 24 hours if they called Her name for help. When Master added that it is a local call, everyone laughed happily.

Open the Eye of the Soul

During the question and answer session, Master pointed out:

* The wisdom eye is also called 'Eye of the Soul'. Before we reach the level of seeing God with both the physical and wisdom eyes, we should close our physical eyes during meditation to minimize the distractions of the world.

* When Jesus said: "In the house of my Father, there are many mansions", the term "mansions" depicts the different levels of consciousness. Using the "soul road", we can ascend to heaven and see different levels of living beings or descend to hell to help people who suffer there and bring them up. These are choices we have when we attain enlightenment.

* "We cannot cheat ourselves at the time of death. Whatever we did during our lifetime, our subconscious records everything; even if no one in the world knows, our subconscious knows. So when we die, we shed the cover of the body and everything is transparent. We know absolutely everything, and everyone knows -- the whole universe knows absolutely everything about what we did; therefore, we must take care that our deeds, thoughts, and actions are pure and noble."

* "The wisdom eye is always open; it's just that we don't look with it. We usually use the physical eyes and physical ears of the physical body, and we forget our heavenly faculties. That's why we don't know ourselves."

* "If you meditate on the Quan Yin Method, for example, and your wisdom eye is clear. You will naturally solve problems without having to make any effort; you will be wiser. The actions you do in your everyday life will naturally bring a better result and you will lead a better way of life. You will feel better about everything."

* "We cause war because we do not recognize God; we do not recognize that we are part of God; we do not recognize the brothers who we kill are also part of God, also Buddha. That's why everyone should be enlightened, and we'll see that we are all one, we are all sisters and brothers, and there will be no more war."

* "We don't take meat because we want to develop or to remember our compassionate Nature. Because the Buddha and God are merciful, if we want to become God again, become one with God again, or near to God again, we have to exercise our Godly quality which is all compassion, all love."

* "I am not here to prove anything. I'm here to tell you that you are great. If you want to remember your greatness again, I can help you. That's the only proof, only for you to prove it to yourself."

With hundreds of people receiving initiation and many more having learned the Convenient Method and tasting the experience of communicating with God, Malaysia became richer in spirituality on the last day of April '00. These fortunate Malaysians will experience the true meaning of "Seek God first and everything else will be added unto you!"

Caption:

Malaysian people demonstrate their love for Master.

Thousands of people, including Malays, Chinese, Indians, and others, fill the lecture hall.

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Special Report on Master's Fourth Stop on Her 2000 Lecture Tour:

Kathmandu, Nepal

May 1, 2000

Caption: Master touches the hearts of people in the Buddha's Land - Nepal.

Monday, May 1, was a beautiful, hot day with the sun's rays warmly welcoming Master to Kathmandu, Nepal. Hours before the lecture, crowded buses and people jammed together in front of the city's Birendra International Convention Center. Many people also passing by on bicycles and cars slowed to a stop just to behold the billboards bearing Master's beautiful portraits.

About 30 minutes before the Convention Center's doors opened to the many anxious Truth seekers waiting outside, the dark clouds that had been looming overhead suddenly opened up and released a torrential downpour. Jagged flashes of lightning appeared and thunder crashed, as the temperature dropped a refreshing 10 degrees Celsius and Master's blessing power became evident!

Five large rooms in the Center had been prepared for the thousands of people expected to attend the Nepal lecture. Large-screen TVs and loudspeakers were also set up for guests who might be standing outside. The enormous crowd entering the hall filled the rooms to overflowing. Even at the end of the lecture, there were still at least a thousand people waiting outside the hall, longing to see Master.

When Master arrived, people rose to their feet applauding heartily, and the atmosphere teemed with excitement. Master, dressed in a simple yet elegant, ivory, traditional Nepalese sari-type dress with loose fitting sleeves, was radiant. Flowers and tall evergreen trees adorned the stage, while Master's sofa was covered in a multi-patterned Nepalese fabric. Local children wearing traditional Nepalese costumes and several adults made a flower offering to begin the program.

Addressing the large audience, Master said that She felt a great deal of love, as well as the purity of the people of Nepal -- Buddha's land, (Note: Buddha was born in Lumbini, in southwestern Nepal, approximately 2,500 years ago.), and that it was Her honor to be in this beautiful country. She expressed surprise at the hot temperatures of Kathmandu, explaining that She was once in the Himalayas of India and thought that Nepal would have a similar climate. Instead, She found Nepal to be warm, like the hearts of its people.

During Her lecture, Master reminded the audience that we are already love, warmth, and wisdom, but some of us have just forgotten. The people, who remember their own Self, their God Nature, or Buddha Nature, are called "enlightened beings". Those who don't remember their own Original Nature are called "not-yet-enlightened Buddhas", but Master pointed out that both are Buddhas. When we lack the knowledge that we are God, we feel that our lives are not fulfilled, not happy, not contented. Master said that all the misery and unhappiness on the planet are caused not by war, not by poverty, not by the conditions that we live in, but by lack of wisdom, lack of knowing that we are more than just a human body.

For example, many kings, many leaders, many rich and famous people are not happy and keep wanting more power, more money, more position, more everything, and they are still not happy. But the Buddha, even as a future king, forsook everything and had nothing with Him, and was happy; because the Buddha remembered who He truly was and the other people did not remember. The Buddha also said, "I have already remembered that I am a Buddha, and you will be the future Buddhas." In the Zen Buddhist tradition, the difference between enlightenment and ignorance is just one hair's breadth. Master asked, "How can we traverse this difference, even though it is so subtle? How can we? Can we?" and replied, "The answer is 'Yes', because the Light that is within us never dies out. The Light of Buddha that was imparted to the circle of His disciples, the Light of Krishna and the Light of Shiva has never died. It has been continuously transmitted from one being to another, from one country to the next, and is always shining. If we find this Light, it is transmitted to our unlit candle so that our candle will be lit right away. The only difference between enlightenment and non-enlightenment is where we place our attention. If we pay attention to the body, the physical surroundings, and everything that is in this material world, then we are material beings; we are in the material world. If we pay attention to the inward Nature of our Self and our God Nature, which is always within us, is inborn and never dies, then we become an enlightened Master. That's the only difference, and it's very simple to traverse this difference."

"When we turn our attention inward to our Original Self, we will see the Light, kingdom of God, heaven, and whatever will make us elevated, happy and wise. When we turn inward to hear our own Nature, we will hear the true teachings directly from God, from heaven, and from the past, future, and present Masters, which are nonverbal, which are direct, which are uncontaminated, which are everlasting. These teachings make us remember that we are God, that we are from God. This can happen immediately. We just have to turn inward."

"Only the actual Divine experience, only actual enlightenment, actual realization of our own True Self, can make us contented persons, and happier, wiser beings. After Buddha attained enlightenment, He still remained a monk. He had no need to be a king or to go back to His original life. Of course, Lord Buddha could also have become a king but He still would have been enlightened. After being enlightened, whatever you do, you are enlightened. Shri Rama was so enlightened that it didn't matter to him whether he was a king or in exile thousands of miles from home, he was happy. Afterwards, people demanded that he become king again, and he said, 'Fine!'

This is an enlightened person. There is no attachment of any kind, either to poverty, to renunciation or to kingdoms. Enlightened beings will do whatever the situation requires, whatever is beneficial to sentient beings, because within them are happiness, peace, and love. They have no need for material or nonmaterial assistance in order to be contented. To enlightened beings, everything they do is just for the benefit of others; they do it or don't do it; they take something or don't take something. Even if they eat food or drink milk, everything is for the sake of other beings. In order to be contented, to be peaceful, happy, loving and truly happy inside, we must remember who we truly are inside, like the Lord Buddha and so many other great Masters.

One of the great Masters of India was very poor. Someone, maybe a princess, gave him a diamond, a gem. It was worth a fortune, but he didn't bother to take it. She had placed it in the roof, and when she came back, it was still there. To an enlightened being, being poor is nothing. He could also become rich if he wanted. He doesn't have to stay in poverty, yet for him being rich or poor is equal. These Masters have no more attachment to what they have or don't have, because they already know everything in this world is not their true Nature. They already know the kingdom of God. To attain this kind of contentment and peacefulness, we also should search inside and find our true greatness.

It's easy to remember our Self -- easier than breathing, eating or talking. Advertisements don't fulfill our needs, they don't satisfy our desires. We need the real thing. Enlightenment is the real thing, not talking about it, introducing it, or advertising about it. An advertisement might say, 'Coca-Cola is great'. Another might say that apples are sweet. But we never feel anything from advertisements alone. We don't see any Light. We don't feel God's blessing when it's only an advertisement."

Master added that it was not like She was going to "give people" anything, because we have always had our true Nature. It's just that we have forgotten where it is. She will show us how to become enlightened, and then we will have our true Nature again forever.

At the conclusion of the lecture, Master walked into the crowd to personally greet as many as She could. Speaking through a microphone to the people outside, She said that although they did not have seats in the lecture hall, they had a seat in Her heart.

After the lecture, more than 600 people were initiated. And since the lecture, many people call each day to request initiation! The "waves" from the Ocean of Love Lecture Tour continue to roll ashore in Nepal, as Master's loving presence awakens the hearts and souls of Truth seekers, even after Her physical departure from their country.

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The Supreme Master Ching Hai -- Ocean of Love Tour Experience the Divine

From Miss Nepal 1996-97

My Experience at

The Supreme Master Ching Hai's Lecture

By a new sister initiate Punam Ghimire, Nepal

(Originally in English)

It was a wonderful experience! Everything was so fantastic and deserving of our appreciation: The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association's brothers and sisters, their unity, simplicity, sincerity, and politeness, The Supreme Master Ching Hai Herself, and Her lecture of wisdom. In my opinion, not only I but also everyone else who attended The Supreme Master Ching Hai's lecture and initiation certainly felt the same.

Caption:

Ms. Punam Ghimire Miss Nepal 1996-97

From the Chief Editor/Publisher of the monthly magazine, "Himshikhar" Nepal

(Originally in English)

Supreme Master Ching Hai,

Regards. Thank You for Your factual talks in the country of Mount Everest. I hope to welcome The Supreme Master to the Himalayan country of Nepal in the future as well, and pray that The Supreme Master Ching Hai will again set foot in the land of the Buddha.

I was one of those at the Birendra International Conference Center of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal who listened enthusiastically and attentively to the words of the venerable Master Ching Hai. Her talk was truly inspiring and targeted at world peace and the welfare of humankind. I sincerely wish that other people would also have the opportunity to listen to Her words of wisdom.

Sincerely Yours

Surya Prasad Koirala

Chief Editor/Publisher

Himshikhar Publications

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Special Report on Master's Fifth Stop on Her 2000 Lecture Tour:

Hong Kong

May 2, 2000

The fifth stop on Supreme Master Ching Hai's 2000 Lecture Tour of Oceania and Asia was Hong Kong on May 2. That day, a torrential rain turned the initially hot, dull Hong Kong weather into a cool and refreshing climate. Although it was still raining that evening, several thousand earnest Truth aspirants were not deterred from visiting the lecture venue, Queen Elizabeth Stadium in the city's Wan Chai district.

Soon after midday, many people were already lining up outside the Stadium. Around six in the evening, the Stadium was brightly lit inside and out, as anxious guests began to pour into the entrance hall and flood the exhibition lobby on the second floor, where Master's publications, Celestial Jewelry and Clothes were displayed. The faces of all the visitors reflected great admiration and praise for Master, and the seats inside the stadium were fully occupied before 7:00 PM. On a big screen high in the middle of the hall, a short video introducing Master, "Walk the Way of Love," was shown, after which a Hong Kong initiate shared his experiences on the spiritual path with the audience. At that time, Master entered the lecture hall in a graceful and elegant manner, and the room was immediately drowned in thunderous applause, while the excited audience members rose to their feet to greet Her.

Despite the fatigue caused by Her arduous journey, Master maintained a relaxed and humorous demeanor, while infinite mercy and love naturally flowed from Her. With words of humor and wisdom, She caused the whole audience to laugh delightedly and applaud continuously. Master's talk was lively and simple, yet easily understood, pointing directly to our inner Self and wisdom. Citing ancient sages and familiar experiences of daily life, She pointed out that even the greatest happiness on Earth cannot match the real happiness we discover when we silently find our Original Self within. Spiritual practitioners easily feel contented because they are free. They are not attached to poverty or wealth, since they have already found their True Self. She gave the example of Shakyamuni Buddha,who had a great kingdom and all the glory and wealth in the world, yet it was only after attaining full enlightenment that He possessed everything and became truly rich.

Caption:

With words of humor and wisdom, Master points us directly to our inner Self and Wisdom.

The truth is, only when one really possesses fortune and happiness can one give real fortune and happiness to others. Only when we have truly found our inner wisdom can we point out to others where wisdom lies. All the holy scriptures tell us that God dwells within us. Master posed the question, "Then why can't we find Hirm?" And responded, "It is because we regard ourselves as humans, spending all of our time doing human work, thinking in the human way, and struggling for the survival of this human body. We forget that we are God. If there were someone who could tell us the Truth, help us remember our Original Self and that we are God, then it would be very easy; there is nothing mysterious about it."

Master stretched out Her hand to show that getting enlightenment is really as easy as turning over one's palm. Through enlightenment we come to realize that the God Nature is within us, being an innate quality that we possess from birth. Only through rediscovering it can we realize that we all have the same God Nature and that we are originally one, without any discrimination between friend and foe, or me and you. Then we truly become peaceful and harmonious, and can bring real peace into the world.

Suppose we have carelessly injured our finger or another part of our body. This injured part will annoy us all day and not allow us to eat or sleep in peace. However, this is no reason to chop off the part; instead, we should try to heal it. After finding our God Nature, it is easy to love our enemies. Everything is easy. We are happy living in a palace or in a tent; we are comfortable with wealth or poverty; we feel great wearing fancy clothes or simple clothes. Nothing can make our heart waver. That is why Shakyamuni Buddha told us that all things on Earth are illusions; only finding our True Self is eternal. Jesus Christ also taught us that our treasure is not in this world, but in the everlasting heavenly kingdom. We always direct our attention outwardly. That's why we forget our True Self. As long as we look inwardly, we will know that we are God. There is a statement in the Buddhist scriptures: "Lay down your slaughtering knife and become a Buddha instantly." In fact, just by laying down this world, we immediately enter the kingdom of God. Heaven is within us; we can find it as soon as we reach inside.

Although Master's lecture was not lengthy, Her simple, yet profound, explanations were exceptionally powerful, and hundreds of people received initiation immediately afterwards. There was even a reporter from the press who asked to learn the Convenient Method after listening to the lecture. Apart from local Hong Kong residents and visitors from abroad, many Truth aspirants also came from every corner of Mainland China, including elderly people and young children.

After the initiation, all the new Quan Yin practitioners beamed with infinite bliss and satisfaction. A young fellow from Guangdong Province in China looked exactly like a youthful Maitreya Buddha, with his plump and laughing face. A little girl who had very good experiences during the initiation told us that she loved the initiation; she felt really blessed for being able to see our beautiful Master in person. There were also some people who were accompanied by their initiated relatives, who had traveled great distances to get initiation, and their faces clearly showed their joy. Having received initiation and enjoyed wonderful experiences, they said that they had forgotten all the hardships of their journeys, and only gratitude remained in their hearts.

Master's blessings encompass all sentient beings; She wakes us up so that we can escape from the illusory world and find our True Self and God Nature. She enablesus truly to realize that all parts of Creation are one, and further, recognize the true Love that has existed within us since the beginning of time.

Caption:

Master's art designs silently convey the beauty of Truth.

People eagerly desiring more information about Master's teachings.

Special Report on Master's Sixth Stop on Her 2000 Lecture Tour:

Manila, the Philippines

May 3, 2000

Without witnessing Master's lectures firsthand, any news describing Her amazing ability to attract huge crowds would seem like a gross exaggeration. But after seeing the unprecedented river of people drawn to the Ocean of Love Tour, describing Her as a crowd pleaser seems like an understatement. Such an impressively large group from all walks of life streamed into the Manila Midtown Hotel on May 3, 2000, to attend Master's Ocean of Love Tour lecture. The hotel's 3,000-seat Grand Ballroom was packed, with people in every corner. Many could not find a place, even in front of the several television monitors installed in the hotel corridors and lobby. A radio reporter announced that between 6,000 and 7,000 people gathered to hear Supreme Master Ching Hai, and an expert in Manila rallies said that, by his accounting, the number of people at the lecture might have reached 10,000.

As early as 10:00 AM, hundreds of enthusiasts had braved the burning mid-summer heat to ensure a free but prized seat for the 7:00 PM lecture. And as late as 9:00 PM, thousands were still gathered outside, waiting for the chance to see and hear Master. "This is phenomenal," said Midtown Hotel's manager. A banquet officer for the hotel also observed, "This is the first time we have experienced a crowd as big as this."

"This is unexpected, especially considering that the Philippines is a Catholic-dominated country, and meditation and vegetarianism are not very popular here," stated Dr. Rene Santos. Catholics, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and members of other religions were represented at the lecture. Many dignitaries also attended, including Mr. Manuel L. Morato, former Chairman of the Philippines Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO); Ms. Eva Estrada Kalaw, former Philippines Senator; Ms. Lourdes A. Genato, Secretary of the Philippines National Red Cross; Mr. Dante Le Jimenez, Chairman of the Crusade Against Crime and Corruption; Mr. and Ms. Joe Lad Santos, publishers of LEADER Magazine, and Mr. Nargarito T. Agnino, Chairman of the Board of LEADER Magazine.

Caption:

Filipino people open their hearts to the Truth.

Master arrived at the lecture hall looking very fresh and beautiful in a simple but elegant white outfit. To greet Her, a group of students performed a Philippine folk dance that depicted the country's culture and the Filipino way of welcoming guests.

Before beginning the lecture, Master asked audience members to close their eyes and pray for the Philippines and its people. She then apologized for the insufficient size of the lecture hall. Addressing those who were unable to obtain a seat inside, Master said, "You have a seat in my heart, always."

She further complimented the Filipino people for their warmth and sincere spiritual nature, particularly in the area of giving. "If we give and are kind only when we are in fortunate situations or when we are rich and wealthy and comfortable, then it is not so much of a surprise. Only when we give from a very humble situation or even in a trying situation, does the Lord know that we truly are Hiers beloved children, and we bring the love of God to this planet. Blessed are you. You are so great, so loving, so kind, so warm, and so generous. All your trials and tribulations just magnify these great qualities of the Filipino people." (The government and people of the Philippines accepted more than 5,000 Au Lac refugees and granted them Philippines national status.)

Going on to describe God as an almighty power -- all-loving, all kind and all-forgiving -- Master said that we have to go within to remember and return to the kingdom of God. Speaking with great compassion, She said, "We are from heaven, all of us. Even those who think they are the worst sinners are also from heaven. The reason they sin is just because they are frustrated here. In their deepest subconscious memories, they remember what heaven was like. They remember the freedom, the abundance, the richness and the mighty power they had when they were with the Father."

She said that newborn infants also remember their place in heaven, sometimes very acutely! "When we come to this planet and are encased in this physical body, we feel very restricted. That's why babies cry the first moment they come here. If this were such a happy place, they would smile when they were born. It is because when babies are first born, they are still very much in contact with the God power and the Father in heaven. When they contact this very coarse and suffering world, they feel immediate pain and cannot bear it, so they cry."

The older we get, the more our memory of heaven fades. There is a reason for this: so that we can continue in this physical life without feeling too homesick. We have to do whatever we have to do here, so God has arranged that we forget our origin, but only for a while. "We have come here so that we can know God. Even if our purpose in life is different, our reason for coming here is different, our way of living is different, the one and only goal we have in coming here is to recognize God. It sounds paradoxical, but it is like that."

Master explained that the reason we need this contrast between the physical and heavenly realms is because we have already been in heaven with the Father for all of eternity. We were one with the Creator for all of time. So we need a reflection of all this glory; we need to experience what is not real in order to know what is real. Just like we need a mirror to see our face. The mirror provides only an image or reflection. What we see there is not real, but because of the mirror, we know what we look like on the outside.

Similarly, this world is just an illusion, a mirror image, a reflection of the true world of Godhood. But we need it so that we know what God is like. That's why the Bible says to judge not because you will be judged. We should not judge our brothers and sisters because they are God's children also. They are of the same essence as God. We are all children of God, and no matter what a person does, he or she is God inside.

We all choose different ways to know God. Some choose a very moral way so that they get to know God more quickly. Some choose a longer and harder way by being less moral, less noble, less good, so that they can learn to know God in a more intense way. Of course, by our human standards, we value good and bad, moral and immoral. Therefore, we have judgment. But in the eyes of our Father, we are all equal, because everything here is an illusion, anyway. Bad or good is not real. It is just a reflection so that we know God in Hiers totality. We have been in heaven for so long where everything so good, so pure, and so perfect that we cannot really know perfection unless we see imperfection -- just as we cannot realize the nature of a man unless we have a woman to compare with. We cannot know goodness unless we contrast it with something bad. That's why we came into this world, so that we can know the worst of the suffering.

However, we don't have to continue to suffer or be forever homesick for our heavenly origins. Master told the audience, "I am going to show you the 'within' kingdom. That way, you can see for yourself that we are not human beings; we are not this mortal body. God lives within us. And when God lives within us we are part of God, we are one with God. We are not normal, mortal sentient beings. If we see this for ourselves, then we truly will understand the Bible when Jesus mentions that the kingdom of God is within us. We can see it for ourselves."

When describing the kingdom of God within us, Master said, "We will see some of the experiences that the past saints have had while they were in communion with God. For example, St. John heard the trumpet of heaven, and Moses saw God appear in a great column of light. He also heard God speaking to him with a sound like thunder and the sound of many waters. These experiences recorded in the Bible are real, but are not mysterious things that only happened to the saints in the past. They are real and can happen to any of us here today, because we are all children of God. Therefore, any time we want to go within to see the kingdom, we can do it. It's just that we don't. We normally see candy, flowers, people, work, money, cars, traffic, and the sun and moon outside. But we don't ever try to go inside, which is a completely different world and is the true world. The kingdom of God within is full of glory and full of Light that is brighter than 10,000 suns of this planet. But it doesn't burn your eyes; it doesn't make you feel uncomfortable. It makes you feel more elated, lighter, wiser, more loving, kinder, and nearer to our original abode, which we call 'heaven'."

Master continued, "The reason we are unhappy is that no matter how much money we have and how high a position we have in society, we have forgotten this true kingdom of God. Jesus said not to lay up our treasure in this world, that our true treasure is in heaven. What He meant is that we must see this treasure from the inside, and then our life becomes better all the time. Even in our outer life, the inside treasure will manifest and make us a different person. Our look will be different, our thinking will be difference, our work efficiency will be different, and our intelligence will be different. Our whole outlook will become different from the inside out."

"I look different today than 15 years ago. Everything I have today is because of what the kingdom of God has given me. As a human being, I could never accomplish anything. I was nobody until God graced my soul with Hiers own love and knowledge, until God was awakened within myself and showed me that Hes was there. Hes showed me that I could always love Hirm, rely on Hirm, and call on Hirm. Hes told me that Hes is the Supreme Master. 'Ching Hai' means Ocean of Love. It's not my physical name. It is the name of our Father. We can also call Hirm many different names; it doesn't matter. Just like we call our mother, 'mom', 'mommy', or anything, but she knows and we know."

"If we don't recognize our True Self, we can never truly be happy. But if we know God, we are already happy when we are in the physical body, so that when we die, we continue that happiness and only angels and saints will come to greet us. Being originally from heaven, we just 'borrow' our body for the time we are here. This is similar to living in a hotel or driving a car. Both are convenient for different purposes. But our Real Self is the driver; it's not the car. As the driver, we can step into or out of the car at any time, and enjoy different things. Similarly, since our True Self is within us, we can go within to the kingdom of God and then come back out. That is true liberation, true freedom while living."

"Having found the kingdom of God inside, we can take care of our family and other responsibilities while still enjoying heaven whenever we have free time. And when we become very adept at going within and coming back out, we even can do both at the same time. We can clean our teeth and talk to God. We can wash our dishes while seeing heaven, but this requires practice. We need practice because we have forgotten not only that the kingdom is within, but also that we can be free of the body at any time."

To illustrate the powerful hold of this habitual thinking, Master told the story of an airplane pilot who often had overnight duty. At work, the pilot became accustomed to sleeping in a chair that reclined rather than sleeping in a normal bed. He used this recliner chair often at work, which added up to a lot of time in his life. After a while, he found he couldn't sleep in his bed at home. He had gotten so used to sleeping in a chair that his ordinary flat and comfortable bed became uncomfortable to him. The pilot finally bought a chair exactly like the chair at work so that he could sleep at home.

Master asked, "Can you imagine? Habits can be so binding, so powerful, that they can make us forget everything else. Similarly, we have sat inside this body for so long that we have forgotten to leave it until the time of death comes, and even then we are reluctant to leave it. We cry and struggle. We don't want to leave the body that causes us so much pain and suffering and work. For this body alone we work ten hours a day. We have to do so many things to keep this body alive, and yet when we die we don't even want to leave it. But heaven is supremely beautiful! Once we know that, we want to leave the body and this world immediately. We don't want to stay here one more second. That's why the saints of the past and present have never cared about dying or not dying. They have never cared much about material comfort because they know a better life inside."

Master said that learning to return to our heavenly Home is actually easier than many of the things we have to learn in the physical world. "To learn to drive is difficult. Even learning to eat as a child is difficult. But to learn to go back to heaven is not because that is where we are from. We already know everything about heaven from the time before we came here. Otherwise, where do you think we came from? If we didn't come from heaven, where do you think we came from? Who is the 'we' that comes into this physical body, and who is the 'we' that leaves this physical body? It is the Real Self, the oneness with God, the essence of our Being."

"This essence of our being can always leave this body and come back again, anytime. This is the art, the real art of living, the true thing that we have forgotten. And that's why we suffer. We have so much pain, frustration, and sorrow. Sometimes we do things against our good judgment because we forget our great Self. We are just thinking about food, about our job, about problems. We forget that we are so great that all of these problems, all of this poverty and all of this struggling, are nothing at all to us. Once we regain our glory and power again, nothing matters to us anymore on this physical planet. Even though we still continue to work, it's just child's play to us because we know we are great."

Master's closing words for the lecture would inspire hope and inspiration in anyone seeking true liberation: "After you become one with God again, you remember your Self again, you will love without loving, give without knowing. You will become compassionate without thinking that you are even compassionate because we remember God, and God will do everything. The ego will go; the mind will die, and God will take charge of everything in our daily life. Every activity, every thought and every word that we speak will be from Heaven. That's how we become one with Heaven again."

During the question and answer session that followed the lecture, one person asked why God doesn't manifest Hiers power by performing as many miracles today as Hes did in the time of the saints. Master answered by saying that God is still performing miracles every day. However, since we are accustomed to seeing the world with only our physical eyes, we fail to behold these miracles with our heavenly eye. We can only see what God is doing if we go within and contact Hirm.

Elaborating on the vegetarian diet, Master said that it is a compassionate way of life, and that we do it because we respect and love all beings equally. By eating meat, we harm animals and cause them suffering because of their fear of death, whereas eating plants does not have the same effect because they can grow again.

In response to a question about whether She believes in the second coming of Christ, Master said, "Yes, I do. He comes every day!" She went on to say that Christ is not dead; he just lives in a different dimension now. If we want to see Jesus or any of the great past Masters, we have to leave this physical body and ascend to the higher places where all the Masters stay, and then we can learn from them. Master said that She is here to show us how to go to this "greater school" and learn with the great Teachers.

Humbly, Master said that God gave Her this job because all the other jobs had been taken. "Hes said, 'There is a vacancy. Every other job is already occupied. This job is vacant.'" She went on to assure us that we could all do this job. "We are all the same. It's just that you have forgotten how to step in and step out of the kingdom within yourself." She promised to tell people all that She knows, unreservedly. "What I know, you will know." She invited everyone to practice this Method, and to do the job of being Enlightened Masters together.

When asked, "What is the greatest happiness in this world?" Master replied, "To know God." In answering many questions, Master pointed out that we suffer because we don't know God. When one questioner asked, "Where does God's kingdom come from?" Master said She would guide people to see God, after which they can ask God directly. A person from the audience asked Master why She was wearing fancy clothes and jewelry, and Master said that She liked it. She added, "Just like you put flowers here (on the stage) for me, I try to make myself beautiful for you."

Master also mentioned that with the money She earns from fashion and jewelry designing, She could buy air tickets for activities such as the lecture tour. In this way, not only has She no need to accept offerings from others, but She is even able to contribute to the needy in many countries, including the Philippines. She then consulted the audience for their opinion: "Can I continue with my designing and dressing?" The audience replied loudly, "Yes!"

After the question and answer session, everyone rose and sang "Happy Birthday," to celebrate Master's birthday in advance. Some guests, including a clergyman and two nuns, went up onto the stage to embrace Master and bid Her farewell. After the lecture, several hundred people received initiation or learned the Convenient Method. Days after the lecture, with Supreme Master Ching Hai already gone, requests for information and initiation were still flooding into the lecture office in Manila.

Caption:

Master's biographical sketch and Ocean of Love Lecture Tour are prominently reported in local media.

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Special Report on Master's Seventh Stop on Her 2000 Lecture Tour:

Formosa

May 5, 2000

From newspaper ads, TV broadcasts, and numerous posters at MRT train stations, on buses and along highways, the people of Formosa got the news that Supreme Master Ching Hai, who had been absent from the island for quite some time, would be returning soon to deliver a lecture. The native Formosan people also spread the word: "Master Ching Hai is coming back!" Phone calls flooded our contact offices. The lecture was scheduled to start at 7:00 PM, but eager visitors from all around Formosa began to pour in from early in the morning, and the Taoyuan County Stadium was soon brimming with fervor.

Before the lecture, Formosa's major media reported the news of Master's upcoming lecture, and affirmed that the Miaoli Hsihu Center's legal problems had been formally resolved. Eastern Television, or better known as ETTV, covered the entire lecture, broadcasting it live to Formosa and North America.

Caption:

ETTV making a live broadcast of the whole lecture.

Reporters and vehicles from the major media covering the lecture event.

The zealous attitude of fellow practitioners from all parts of Formosa who volunteered to prepare for the lecture touched the hearts of observers. A fellow practitioner from the United States said, "Words cannot fully describe the loving attention that Formosan disciples paid to the countless details of this lecture. 'Divine' is truly the best choice of words." The Taoyuan County Stadium is a huge indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 20,000, and fellow practitioners took meticulous care of each elaborate detail in its decoration. After the lecture preparations were completed, the stadium's stage was transformed into a fairyland like those found in Chinese myths, with a waterfall in the background, ethereal clouds above the stage, and surrounded by orchids, green grass and trees. In addition, two gigantic TV walls were set up in the lecture hall, so that the audience could see Master clearly.

Caption:

Tens of thousands of people flock to Supreme Master Ching Hai's lecture at the Taoyuan County Stadium.

A crowd, consisting of people of all ages, began pouring into the hall at 4:00 PM. The visitors moved around the lobby, enjoying the beautiful display of Celestial Clothes and Jewelry and Master's paintings and publications, or sat in the stadium to listen to Chinese music performances and choral singing. By seven, not only were the seats and several thousand additional ones fully occupied; even the stadium passageways were fully packed with guests. In the corridors outside, many people sat watching a live broadcast of the lecture on TV or huge projection screens. Another crowded place was the registration counter for those who wished to receive initiation or learn the Convenient Method. The intense longing of these Truth aspirants was very obvious.

Beginning at seven o'clock, several fellow initiates recounted personal spiritual experiences, and Chinese music and choral singing performances were presented. Then, everyone waited eagerly as Master appeared, wearing a white outfit with colorful floral patterns. She looked like a gorgeous summer flower amid the zealous crowd. Since She had not visited Formosa for a long time, She immediately felt the intense emotions of people who had missed Her, and so, upon entering the stadium, She walked around the venue, greeting everyone in every corner. All the audience members rose to their feet and waved to Master, and of course, tried their best to get a handshake from Her.

Before Her lecture, Master, with eyes closed, led the audience in a sincere prayer for peace in Formosa, mainland China, and the rest of the world. She thanked the large numbers of Buddhas who came to see Her. Although not everyone knew that they were Buddhas, She saw the Buddha in everyone. She said. "We are all one. We are the same. Each one of us is like a drop of water in the ocean. Although every drop is individual and special in its own way, it is still the ocean. If we want to know rather than just hear others say that we are all one, it is not so difficult. We only have to approach it from the other side. If we listen inward to our Self-Nature, we will immediately see our God Nature. We have all read about "listening inwardly to our Self- Nature" in the Buddhist scriptures, but we don't know how to do it. Why do we need to 'listen inwardly', and not 'look inwardly,' 'touch inwardly,' or 'feel inwardly'? This is because it is really possible to listen to our True Self. We do not listen to It with our hearing faculty; we listen with our inner heart. We can really listen. Why do we say listen? It is because there will be heavenly music, Buddhist sutras, heavenly teachings, and the inner Sound current that is as beautiful as music, but no musical instruments are needed to produce It."

"No musical instruments are needed to produce this sound that is so beautiful and mystical that it makes our souls soar in bliss and happiness back to our original Home, like the Buddha Land or heaven. This is why the Buddha said that we should 'listen inwardly to our Self Nature.' Our Self Nature is not our 'heart' nor a 'quality.' It is free and easy, very, very wise, noble, great, and encompassing the whole universe. This is our Self-Nature."

In Her usual, humorous way, Master elaborated in simple language on the nature of the Divine Realm, and Her speech was greeted frequently by loud applause. "The Bible states, 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and then everything shall be added unto you,' Shakyamuni Buddha also said that when we have found our God Nature, even our life as a human being is happier, more successful, and more abundant in material terms. The purpose for finding the God Nature is not to get a more comfortable life, but after finding our God Nature, we become happier and more comfortable because, upon finding our Buddha Nature, everything is illuminated. All of our previously forgotten talents, our dormant wisdom, and our overlooked abilities develop with our God Nature. We become a different person, because from that moment on, we are no longer humans; in fact, we are not human in the first place. It is only after entering this body that we call ourselves humans. So, who are we before we enter this body? Also, who will we be after we have departed from this body?"

"Shakyamuni Buddha said that He and we are equal, that He attained Buddhahood and so will we in the future. He also said that all sentient beings have God Nature like He did; then why are we not aware of It? He asked Himself this also. It is because the illusions of this world are really alluring; therefore, we absolutely cannot remember who we are, we forget about our homeland in heaven, and we forget about the Buddha Land. However, it is also very simple if we choose to remember. It is as easy as turning over one's palm. It is simple, but also not simple. It is not simple because we are used to looking outside, so it is difficult for us to believe that we are God. We might have heard about heaven, the Buddha Land, and that the Buddha is in the heart or that God is within us. However, hearing it is one thing, but the next day we are still busy living the life of an ordinary human. When we die without a guide to lead us, we won't know where to go, and our soul will be in agony."

"If all of us would have found the heavenly Kingdom within, this world would have become nirvana long ago. The Zen doctrines say that only a strand of hair separates heaven and Earth. It's truly like that. We originally came from heaven, so we only have to revert our attention and listen inwardly to our Self Nature to find heaven."

In the middle of Her lecture, Master said that those who wanted to learn the Quan Yin Method could go outside to register. Then, there was a lot of movement in the venue, and many people went to the registration counters. More than a thousand people received initiation or learned the Convenient Method. For several days after Master's lecture, the "Ocean of Love Tour" hot line continuously received calls from every part of Formosa. Callers expressed their interest in learning more about Master's teachings and the Quan Yin Method. Some earnestly requested initiation or to learn the Convenient Method since they had missed the chance on the day of the lecture due to other engagements.

May 6, 2000

From 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Master attended a seminar entitled "The Supreme Master Ching Hai, the Quan Yin Method, and the Chinese in Southeast Asia," held at Academia Sinica in Taipei. Although Master's itinerary was very tight for Her lecture tour in Asia and Oceania, She still attended the seminar, which was one of a series discussing the relationship between various religions and Chinese people around the world.

Caption;

Supreme Master Ching Hai participating in a Seminar hosted by Academia Sinica

All the major newspapers in Formosa prominently reported the news about Master's lecture at the Taoyuan County Stadium, as well as Her seminar at Academia Sinica.

Academia Sinica is a world-renowned organization involved in academic research. The organizers of the seminar were members of the Southeast Asia Research Project from Academia Sinica, the Taiwan Religious Institute, Formosa's Central Broadcasting Corporation, the Overseas Chinese Research Group of the Contemporary History Research Faculty from Academia Sinica, and the Chinese Interdisciplinary Association. Participants in the seminar included professors from Formosan universities, research fellows and associates from Academia Sinica, media professionals, and other elite personnel from many fields.

At the seminar, Master's charitable and teaching activities in Asian countries including Formosa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Au Lac, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Mainland China were introduced. A printed copy of relevant material was also provided for reference. The various questions raised by the attending scholars, journalists, and guests, in counterpoint to Master's wise and humorous answers, created a lively and brilliant discussion. (The complete content of the seminar can be found in a special column, "Spiritual and Intellectual Interchange," included in this issue.)

After the seminar, the hosts followed their usual practice and presented a lecture honorarium to Master, Who was very touched by their sincerity. This was the first time in over a decade that She had been awarded compensation for a discourse. Master returned the money to them immediately, as a gift to help with the expenses of the seminar. Lasting two hours, the seminar was warm and interesting, and especially meaningful in regard to Asian academic research.

All the major newspapers in Formosa prominently reported the news about Master's lecture at the Taoyuan County Stadium, as well as Her seminar at Academia Sinica.

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Special Report on Master's Eighth Stop on Her 2000 Lecture Tour:

Tokyo, Japan

May 7, 2000

Caption:

Master emphasizes the power of inner concentration.

It was indeed the greatest blessing for the Japanese people that Master included our country in Her recent lecture tour. It has been seven years since She gave Her last lecture in Japan.

Once Master's tour schedule was confirmed, fellow practitioners threw themselves enthusiastically into the preparation work. Noticing that there were too few publications in Japanese to provide sufficient information about Master to the public, the Translation Group began working wholeheartedly to prepare News magazines, books and video subtitles in Japanese, finishing the task much more quickly than usual. Everyone knew that this work had been accomplished so speedily through Master's blessing.

With people in Japan becoming generally inclined toward material values in recent decades, very few were interested in spiritual practice, or had much idea about God or the Buddha. However, recently, and especially this year, the Japanese have shown a discernible change in their willingness to pursue spirituality. Therefore, we believed that Master's lecture would represent a new turning point in Japan's spiritual growth.

Using their inner wisdom, fellow practitioners contributed many suggestions on how to let people know more about Master, and how to make Her lecture a success. For example, realizing that Japanese people are generally reluctant to receive pamphlets, we came up with the idea of wrapping the flyers like gifts, with tissue paper inside transparent plastic sheets. Our hope was that this approach would make the flyers more appealing to the recipients.

The result was fantastic! When we distributed these "gifts" to passers-by in Tokyo and other cities, many were immediately absorbed in reading the flyers, which were adorned with beautiful photos of Master. Others were impressed by the devoted work of the fellow practitioners, and thanked them sincerely. In no time at all, many boxes of flyers were emptied, and the distribution project ended successfully. At the same time, we also dispatched the news about Master's lecture to the Web sites of various groups and individuals.

As the date of Master's lecture approached, we began advertising and also inserting leaflets in local newspapers. After the newspapers were distributed, inquiry phone calls and emails began coming in incessantly. This warm response greatly exceeded our expectations.

The week preceding the lecture was the "Golden Week" holiday in Japan, and many people were abroad for vacation. As we were distributing flyers, some people told us that they had attended Master's lecture in New Zealand; others said that they had seen many advertisements for Master's lecture in the MTR (underground train) stations in Hong Kong. Instantly, we felt as though all of Asia and Oceania was bathing in Master's divine light.

Not all went easily, however, in preparing for the Japan lecture. While it appeared that Master's activities in other countries were always accomplished smoothly, in Japan we felt crippled by many limitations and conceptual obstacles. For instance, we contacted several newspapers and radio stations very early on, hoping that they would report on the "Ocean of Love" lecture. But after reading our materials, they told us that they could not do any prominent promotion of spiritual groups.

Just as we were beginning to feel upset and frustrated by this setback, we received an important phone call. The sister answering the call was precisely the one who had approached the media and failed, while the person calling was a 74-year-old former journalist, who had previously worked as a reporter for a major Japanese newspaper, knew key people in many civic organizations, was familiar with a facilitator of the largest women's organization in Japan, and expressed a wish to know more about Master's lecture. So, our sister immediately went to meet him. After she discussed Master and the lecture with him, he was very touched, and promised to spread the news to representatives of major groups, as well as to the women's organization he worked with. As a result of his sincere interest in Master and Her teachings, he also brought several guests with him to the lecture.

It is often through continuous setbacks that we can empty ourselves completely. If in the face of these obstacles we can still maintain our faith to work for God, then God will naturally open up new paths for us. And without noticing it, we will accomplish all of our tasks smoothly.

Finally May 7 arrived, and the lecture was held at the U-Port Kan-I Hoken Hall in Tokyo. Wearing a silver-gray blouse, long blue skirt and blue jacket, and with Her hair tied at the back, Master looked very beautiful and graceful. The background of the stage was decorated in the pattern of a huge kimono, featuring a golden sun, silver moon and many stars, which symbolized peace in the universe and the oneness of all Creation. The stage itself was decorated with colorful flowers, fruits, and green plants, making it very pleasing to the eye. Before Her lecture, Master asked the audience members to silently pray for peace and prosperity in Japan and the world. We also prayed that worldly people would become enlightened and enjoy happiness forever.

In Her lecture, Master pointed out that there is something within human being that makes us know that we are great, and when we find it we will know that we are from God, that we are Buddha. Some of us find a portion of this something, and some of us find the totality of it. The Buddha and Jesus found it completely, as did many other Masters, such as Mohammed and Krishna. When they found it completely, they became Buddha, they became completely enlightened, they became one with God, and they knew where they came from and where they would go after leaving the physical body. And then they told us that we also have God Nature within us, that we have God dwelling within this physical temple. If we find even a portion of this magnificent quality, this magnificent Original Nature within us, we will become wiser, more intelligent, happier, more peaceful and more loving.

Some people in this world have found a part of this greatness, and therefore they have become greater than other ordinary beings who have not found it. But all of us have this greatness within us, and any time we choose to know this greatness or want to make use of this greatness, we can always do so. In order to find this greatness, this Original Self or God Nature of all beings, we simply need to concentrate in the right place and in the right way.

Even in this physical world, if we want to be successful at anything, we need concentration. And I think the Japanese people know that best. Most companies in Japan send their employees to Buddhist temples to learn the Zen method of concentration so that the company will have more efficient workers. Japan is one of the very few nations (if not the first or the only nation) that is aware of the power of inner concentration), and perhaps that is why Japan is very successful in many aspects.

But in order to be happy, to be more peaceful, and to gain lasting happiness, we also need to use our concentration to go to a higher dimension to learn the nobler purpose of life, the nobler wisdom of the universe. Then we can become complete beings, not just successful executives in this world, but also saints, Buddhas, in order to bless the world and the universe.

With just a little concentration, people can be very successful in this life already, so if we apply more concentration, deeper concentration, and in the right way, we will be successful even in heaven, and can leave this physical life any time we want, visit heaven, visit the kingdom of the Buddha, and come back again to discharge our duty on the planet and vice versa.

We always envy people who are more intelligent or more successful than we are. It is perhaps because these people know how to make use of their inner wisdom more than some of us that they become very intelligent, very sharp, and they know how to solve problems more quickly than many of us who do not make use of our inner wisdom. That's why the Buddha encouraged all of us to find our own God Nature, our own wisdom inside. That's why the Bible tells us "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all other things shall be added unto you." At any time, we can find this kingdom of God, this God Nature, which has made all the Masters great, and which makes every one of us great, because we are originally great.

During the question and answer session, the audience raised many spiritual points. One person spoke about feeling a very strong energy radiating from Master toward him during the lecture. Master said that everyone is not ordinary, everyone can develop this kind of power that makes you feel elevated, and then everyone around you feels elevated in just the same way. Not only can She, but also we, can have the same energy that radiates all over our surroundings and around the whole planet. Everyone who is near us, who is sensitive and a little spiritually elevated, can feel it. This energy is the God Nature, the God within us; once we have awakened this Power, we are powerful like that, and at that time, we can bless many people; we can bless the whole world with our energy.

Caption:

The younger generation in Japan is bathed in the infinite Light of God.

When the lecture ended, several children and teenagers offered flowers to Master, who graciously accepted them, and then shared all the flowers and fruits on the stage with the audience.

After the lecture, making use of the time while preparing for the initiation, we held a press conference to address the questions of news reporters and other media representatives. Among them was the chief editor of the periodical Religious News, who commented: "In our magazine, we published a series of stories about the Buddha, and I personally have tried to learn more about what a Buddha is through the study of news reports and books. My conclusion is that, once we have realized our Buddha Nature, we are the Buddha. In Master's lecture today, I noticed that Master was saying precisely the same thing. As a religious news specialist, I have visited with many Japanese religious leaders. Having listened to Master's discourse today, I realize that She is a truly Enlightened Master. Master has truly come from Nirvana, and Her wisdom is extraordinary." The chief editor also expressed a hope to remain in contact with us.

From these bits and pieces of information, we can see how Master's divine messages float in all directions like the flying petals of wind flowers: Once they come to rest in people's hearts, they will surely grow into beautiful flowers. We feel that Her lecture has been a great blessing for Japan. May more and more Japanese people awaken to the God Nature within them, and walk in the way of the heavenly light.

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Special Report on Master's Ninth Stop on Her 2000 Lecture Tour:

Seoul, Korea

May 8, 2000

Supreme Master Ching Hai's "Ocean of Love Tour" flowed like a global current from New Zealand, in the Southern Hemisphere, gradually upward into the Northern Hemisphere. The Tour was warmly welcomed along the way by tens of thousands of people, and ultimately reached Seoul, capital of the highly spiritual country of South Korea. Master's final lecture on the Tour was held at the COEX (Convention and Exhibition) Center, a brand-new facility in downtown Seoul. As Master's lecture was the first event to take place there, it seemed that God had especially arranged it to be the grand opening ceremony for the new COEX Center.

The new hall is large and spacious, and easily accommodates 10,000 audience members. Long, colorful banners, decorated with galaxies, the moon, and stars in sparkling silver and gold colors set a brilliant background for the raised stage where Master spoke. An elegant white lotus was gracefully wrapped around Her seat, with two smaller white lotuses at either side. Surrounding the stage were images of floating white clouds.

On the day of the lecture, people began entering the Convention Center early in the afternoon, and the lecture hall was soon filled. A welcoming team in traditional Korean dress could be seen lining the way from the first floor entrance to the third floor where the lecture hall is located. Thousands of Korean-language copies of The Supreme Master Ching Hai News magazine had also been prepared for distribution, and every copy was taken before the lecture began.

In the evening, Master arrived wearing a beautiful blue, yellow, and red "hanbok", the traditional woman's dress of Korea. Before Master spoke, a group of lovely female dancers performed a traditional Korean dance. After a fruit and flower offering, Master led the audience in a silent, sincere prayer for Korea (North and South) and for world peace.

Caption:

A traditional Korean dance brings memories of Heaven.

In Her speech, Master said, "We have all heard from the Buddha that Buddha's Land is right here, and you can find it within yourself. We have all read in the Bible that the Kingdom of God is at hand: 'Lo and behold, the Kingdom of God is at hand. The Kingdom of God is within you.' But we just read it, and do not even have time to think about how to find it. If it exists, we must be able to find it. Yes, we can!"

Caption:

Master elevates everyone to the True World, which is forever in perfection.

Master continued by saying, "There are only two worlds: one outside and one inside, one real and the other a reflection of the real. We already know the reflection of the real, which is the physical world in which we live; so, there is only one more world to find out about, that is, the real one, or the one inside -- the opposite of this world. The two worlds exist simultaneously together. If we look on this side, we will see the reflection, and if we look on that side, we'll see the real world. It's very simple; we just have to know where to look. Just like I have a mirror here. (Master holds a mirror in Her hand.) When I look into this mirror, I see the reflection of myself, and it's beautiful. [Applause] God makes some beautiful things, including myself." [Master laughs]

"Suppose I'm beautiful, and when I look into the mirror, I think that I'm beautiful, but even then, this beautiful image is just a reflection of myself. If I continue looking in the mirror all the time, and feeling 'Oh, my God! Who's that in the mirror? She is so beautiful.' I will never remember this real world. That's what it is."

"I can enjoy the image in the mirror, but I should also know that I, myself, outside, am real, even more beautiful, more real, and everything is more useful than in the mirror. Similarly, there are two worlds: the one outside that we see here, and the one inside. And once we close our eyes and know where to look, we'll see the other world, which is the same simultaneously, which is the real one, which is more beautiful, more splendid, happier, more everlasting, and will make us so satisfied, so contented that it doesn't matter what the influence of the outside world is. Afterwards, we will not feel the effects, but we'll always feel happy because we know the Real Thing."

"Suppose this mirror is fine now, but sometimes something happens, and it gets broken; and when I look in the broken mirror, I see my face all broken, and I feel like crying, 'Oh my God, do I look so ugly?' because I concentrate on the mirror; but once I forget the mirror and look at myself, I say, 'Oh, I'm still okay. My face is not broken; I'm not wounded anywhere. I look beautiful.' That is what we should do with this world and with ourselves. We should look back into the reality and find everything in perfection, as always. Since time immemorial, we continue forever in perfection. Then it doesn't matter how broken this world outside is, it's just like the mirror, and we won't worry."

"That's how the enlightened saints are -- forever happy and content in any situation, in any circumstances. Whether they have a lot of possessions or have no possessions, they are always happy because they know their True Selves, they know the true world, which is all glory, all splendor, all blessing, all happiness. The brightness of the inside world is ten thousand times brighter than our sun, in some of the worlds, and the diamonds, stones, and precious gems here, when compared to the diamonds, stones and gems in the inside world, look like dirt, like sand. They are useless and have no power, no vibration, and no loving response. The things in the real world have souls -- they can correspond with you. Even a table can talk to you; the trees will sing for you; the birds understand your language, and you understand them; and all the things, the gems, everything, the clouds even, understand you; and the clouds transport you everywhere without you even saying anything."

"That's why, when we have found our true world within ourselves, which we call the Kingdom of God, the Buddha Land, or the God Nature, we are contented, we are consoled, we feel no longer lonely, we feel no longer insecure, we feel no longer afraid of death or any disaster of any kind, because we know that we will never die. We know that there is a world which is billions of times more magnificent than this world of ours, so we are not afraid to lose anything, we are not even afraid to lose the whole world, any possession, or anything that was so-called 'very dear to us' before enlightenment."

"But we don't have to forsake anything in the world, we don't have to throw away everything in this world, and we don't have to become a careless person or a very sloppy person in order to show our enlightenment, or think that an enlightened person would like to make himself anything different than worldly people just to show that he doesn't care. He continues to live his very ordinary way of life. He continues to integrate himself with all his brothers and sisters. He does so even more, because now he knows he is one with all beings."

Master continued, "I've gone to many different countries, and some countries are very, very developed in technology and science, but are not too developed in the inherited wisdom within us, in spiritual understanding. And those countries seem very, very dry; so dry that even if you brought the Buddha and placed Him in front of their faces, they would not want to know about Him. Our world has developed very speedily in the last century, in technology and science and many aspects. It behooves us to also develop spiritual wisdom alongside of scientific discoveries. Otherwise, we will be in danger of imbalance. Our way of life will be too one-sided; we will be too attracted to, too dependent on technology and machinery, instead of relying on our True Self and the true world, which are more everlasting. And we are in danger of destroying ourselves if we do not have enough spiritual wisdom to handle our technological advancements."

Master also said that She was very happy that the Korean people show a very great interest in spiritual issues, and came in such great numbers to the lecture -- 10,000 people that day. [Applause] Master added: "That's a lot, because you don't even know me. But I think your soul knows. Your purity tells you, therefore, you came because you are very near to God, very near to your God Nature, and you sense that you are something more than just this human physical body. So you came." The entire audie