The Austin Ashram in Texas, USA originally a horse ranch, is situated on a mountain, about 40 minutes driving distance from Austin, the capital of Texas. It is about 56 acres in size. The slope is gentle. There is a stone house nearly a century old. There are also two stables, a few barns and an abandoned wind powered water pump. Some people called this place a desert. In the distance the landscape is piled with small stones and full of dry grass almost as tall as a person, evidence of the scorching sun.

After the land was bought, it was developed immediately into an ashram so that the local initiates could have a place for group meditation. The local initiates often make use of holidays to tidy up the ashram and pray that Master will come personally to bless the place. Hoping that Master may arrive earlier than expected, they especially contacted the nearby Texas initiates and arranged a 3-day "working retreat." In the morning and evening when it was cooler, they meditated together "to seek first the kingdom of God" inside. In the daytime when it was hotter, they built the roads and tidied the surroundings not only to exercise the body, but also to welcome more fellow initiates to the ashram for spiritual practice.

Feeling the sincere prayers of the local initiates, and also due to the timing being just right, Master arrived quietly in late July.

Before setting off, a fellow traveller said: "There is already a house, water and electricity at the next stop. This time Master is taking us on a holiday for several days. Just bring simple baggage along." In spite of that, a few fellow brothers and I still took all our belongings with us.

There were rows of trees and shrubs on both sides of the road to the Austin Ashram. It was so beautiful. Scattered among the houses were neatly-paved white foot paths. On the way, Master kept saying that this scenery resembles that of Au Lac. That triggered our memories to the relaxing, happy Au Lac times.

Getting out of the car we looked around. What welcomed us was a big, old stone building surrounded by tall trees. There seemed no sign of life there. On the path, there were a few tin sheds painted black; they emanated a cold feeling. The ground was full of unsightly ash heaps, and timber logs of various sizes were scattered all around, not a pleasant sight. Some of the weeds were already burnt-black. The soil was black. There were ant nests everywhere. Seeing these, Master shook Her head and said, "So dirty and messy! I don't think I can live here. Such a big place, it should to be tidy and clean. How can the work be finished? I have just developed one ashram and thought I could come here for a few days' holiday. I didn't expect to be kidnapped here to develop another ashram for them."

We know Master likes the environment to be clean and beautiful. She asks for Truth, Virtue and Beauty both inside and outside. But the places that She sees are always incomplete. Master asked the fellow initiates, "What has everybody been doing all along?" The contact person smilingly led Master and everybody to look around. We saw a metal shed, dimly lit and inhabited by many insects. It was in fact a bathroom which nobody would want to go into for a wash. There was a stable fully grown with grass. The only construction seen was a kitchen with the floor just made. They prepared a piece of land to build Master's house (designed, but not yet built). There was a very big kitchen, half-built (supposedly to be used for future international retreats). Also there were a few big trenches dug for toilets. After hearing all this, Master could only shake Her head and smile.

Supposed Vacation,
Truly Renovation

Master had come here not only for a visit but also to help the local practitioners in the task of cleaning up and renovating this place. After resting for a while Master instructed everyone first to clean up around the house. That afternoon we split up into different work teams, began to pitch tents and to clear the ground around the camp site. The evening meal was served soon after sunset. It consisted of vegetables picked from the garden plus whatever leftover we could find in the refrigerator. Some fellow practitioners, on the instructions of Master, went to buy mobile trailers. They could house people and had bathrooms. Soon everyone would have a roof over their heads.

Master, besides directing the workers, personally flattened the ground and raked the stones. With Master's instructions, the tasks seemed so easy and infallible. It seemed to be so relaxed, yet a lot got accomplished. It was truly like a military operation with cheerful talking. At first we really did not know how to begin. After Master's instructions, from near to far, we had transformed the useless into the useful. Master and disciples, had transformed the storeroom into a pavilion, the lavatory trenches into a lawn, the useless logs into tables and chairs, and the burnt turf into pavement with yellow sand.

The next afternoon, Master personally led us to begin cleaning around the premises, especially those piles of unsightly ashes. After lunch, Master allotted work to each of us and joined us in the work. She carried the trolley full of white small pebbles and then put them around the stone building. Strewing pebbles over the charred ground did neutralize the color. It was then followed by trimming the leaves and branches of the trees, and weeding. Instantly everything had become fresher and much more orderly! The pile of white pebbles placed around this hundred-year-old stone house had made the stone house seem full of energy and look much younger. Master explained that this way it would prevent ants and other insects from crawling into the house. Master wanted everyone to walk on the pebble path and not to step casually on the grass so that in a very short while there would be a green grassy lawn.

Later in the afternoon, the pebble paving was completed. Now the stone house took on a totally different look, fresh, beautiful and clean! The contrast of the pebbles made the monotonous wall look beautiful. A few hours before sunset, Master had the logs scattered all over placed under the trees. Thus they had expressed their new use - outdoor seats and they looked just great. Some cut down the branches, some cleared the wild grass, some leveled the ground and took away the rubbish. The whole crew was working so diligently that we forgot about food! When we remembered, the sun had already set.

The next target was the garage. The four walls were taken off leaving the roof and the frame. Then the inside and the outside were painted green and the floor was made with a layer of white pebbles. A set of white rattan chairs was placed inside and a potted plant was placed in the corners. Instantly a truly classical pavilion appeared in front of our eyes, where one could tie a hammock to enjoy the cool breeze in the day time, could enjoy tea at night, and could listen to the rain on rainy days. Master said, "Most people taking a look at this metal store room would say, 'very dirty and disorganized' and would shake their head and walk away. The most they would do would be to nail the door shut as it would be best not to look at it; or would pull it down. Very few people would try to beautify it and make it useful."

That torn bathroom also received the same cosmetic treatment. The walls were removed and long pieces of wood were nailed horizontally on the three sides. Thus it not only made the pavilion more solid but the long pieces of wood could serve as benches. The ground was paved with white pebbles and the roof was painted green. Master specially had white stripes painted around the rim of the roof and the vertical beams were also painted white. Thus this pavilion looked more lively and was different from the previous one which looked quiet and steady. One male fellow initiate liked this pavilion with the white stripes very much and made a suggestion to Master to have the first pavilion painted with such white stripes so as to make it look better. Master let him add the stripes. However, the next day Master had him change the first pavilion back to its

original green color scheme. She said: "It is not necessary that everything be the same! The original colors are more suitable. That fellow male initiate is very young thus he likes that kind of decor."

Then two big umbrellas were set up on the lawn. White rattan chairs and some lounge chairs were placed under the umbrellas. With hammocks strung between the big trees, the whole scene looked like an aristocratic garden. Master also instructed us to have the distant wooden railings removed and the wild grass cleared. The whole ashram looked like a big garden.

Due to the continuous efforts of tidying the ashram for days, Master said Her whole body ached and She could not bend Her body as if She was half paralyzed. Someone at the side joked that it was nothing because there was another sister initiate who was already fully paralyzed! Everyone laughed together. After Master and disciples had dinner, everyone enjoyed tea and some tasty light snacks in the candle-lit pavilion. With abounding laughter and jokes, the tiredness of the whole day's hard work was forgotten.

The moonlight and twinkling stars make a decorative curtain of the black night sky. The big trees around the buildings were decorated with red, blue and other colored lights. A cooling breeze blew from afar, giving everyone a pleasant relaxed feeling.

The Greatest Repair Person

Master wanted us to stop working and take a rest, considering that we had been working very hard. Besides, it was the time for a summer retreat. Master was supposed to take a good rest. But, our motherly Master considered that there would be many initiates here for group meditation over the weekend. The weather was so hot with temperatures ranging from 35 to 37 degrees Celsius (95 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit) in the day time. In order to have more space for the initiates to meditate and rest, Master personally took up the task of cleaning up the largest building, a horse stable, in the ashram with four disciples a few days before the weekend. The old stable was covered with metal sheets and was filled with junk and surrounded by weeds. It could accommodate hundreds of people. Nearby, there were several large hundred-year-old trees which provided shade in the summer. The building originally looked old and dirty. But, with Master's artistic eyes and some cosmetic surgery, it was transformed into an ideal place for meditation. We all worked together to clean up the mess in the building. Master saw some old chairs which could still be used after fixing them. She instructed us to clean them up and put them under the cool shady trees for fellow initiates to use. As Master expected, these salvaged chairs, after being placed at the designated locations, looked beautiful and comfortable. No wonder Master says that She is the greatest repair person, She can fix and repair anything.

The stable already had two sheet metal roofs, but it was still not quite enough to provide shade and keep out of the rain. Therefore, Master had two more roofs put up which transformed it into a place for relaxation, with roofed porches in four directions. A few windows were cut out of the old wooden walls and some walls were removed to provide light and better ventilation. The roofs were painted green and the interior and outer walls were sprayed white. (Master instructed us to buy a paint sprayer, which expedited the painting and saved the staff a lot of hard work.) After cutting and removing the weeds surrounding the stable, it looked bright and beautiful. The fallen guard rails in front of the stable were repaired. In just a few days, all the cleaning was done and the entire building was repainted. It looked new and nice. The roof and porch were green. The guard rails and the pebbles on the ground were white. The whole place looked quite impressive in the cool breeze.

Master placed a few large umbrellas under the trees. Lounge chairs were put under the umbrellas. Hammocks were hung on the trees. Fruit, drinks and a bonsai tree were placed on a large table in the spacious area. One can imagine how beautiful this horse stable meditation hall must look now!

The Life Style Of
A Master Is Art Itself

Again, with a paint-brush, instead of painting on canvas, Master painted stroke by stroke on real objects. She had picked some inexpensive yet pretty tables and chairs and placed them in appropriate locations. It was like making an artistic creation or performing magic. Master transformed a ruin into an aristocratic garden. Just a few days ago, what stood here was an old and broken building. Now, it has become a clean and comfortable meditation area. Viewed from a distance, it looks like a vivid picture. One can't describe its beauty. Master's artistic talent is not just confined to the canvas and paint brushes, but also is expressed in everything She does in Her daily life. She has integrated it into Her life.

Master once said, "When we take a dirty and useless place and change it into a clean and useful one, we are performing magic in reality." Within a few days, Master used Her great magical power to transform a ruin into a wonderland. She changed a dirty place once used to feed animals into a peaceful and graceful paradise. She turned an abandoned horse ranch into a meditation center where initiates are reluctant to leave. This is one of the lessons Master wants us to learn.

There was not enough time to move two large truck loads of pebbles into the building. Master decided to save them for the next day to give the initiates, who attend the group meditation, an opportunity to participate in building their own meditation center. Master also considered the little initiates and guests who may come to visit on the group meditation day. Regardless of the hard work and Her tiredness, She still personally looked around and found an undeveloped forest where the trees thrived and the air was cool. A nearby mobile home was placed there to provide water, electricity and a bathroom facility. It was well situated so that those in meditation would not be disturbed. On the day of the group meditation, following Master's example of designing, initiates took the morning time to cut grass, trim bushes, locate good places to hang up hammocks, and to set up large umbrellas, easy chairs and tables with fruits and drinks on them. A forest park was born.

That day all the initiates who came for group meditation highly praised everything. The children especially enjoyed it like fish in water. Their laughter could be heard from time to time throughout the forest. Just as Master said, "It's wonderful to see fellow initiates have a place to meditate, to rest, and to enjoy a comfortable surrounding. Our work has been worthwhile. Perhaps when we first started, we were not very enthusiastic, but when we see the final results, all our fatigue disappears."

The Story of Cola Cans

When Master saw a large bag of empty cola cans in the storehouse, She asked, "Where did all these cans come from?" A fellow initiate explained that they were left by fellow initiates, for him to sell. He then collected and put them in the storehouse. Master smiled and said, "The refund on those cans can't even fill half a tank of gas." She also said, "After fellow initiates drank the drinks, they didn't want to take the cans away with them, so they used the excuse of getting a refund on the cans, to cover up their own quality of laziness. They came to the ashram to help do some work and then left a lot of garbage for other people to take care of." We should be careful not to do the same kind of thing, helping others a little bit and then leaving a lot of trouble for others to take care of.

During the days that we were here, apart from the renovation work, all the male members also had to take turns to prepare the meals, thus cooking had become a routine job for us. From time to time, in spite of a full work schedule, Master still went into the kitchen to prepare delicious dishes such as curry rice, curry noodles, fresh herbs in rice paper rolls and taro sweet soup. We just could not help eating a lot more than our usual!