"Love Among
Human Beings,
Compassion On Earth"

Report From Pusan, Korea
By The News Group, Pusan Center, Korea

It was a touching moment, when several hundred prisoners together sang a song "asking an enlightened Master to give a dharma talk". Our fellow initiates could feel the longing in their hearts for Master. We conveyed Master's care to them, and that even though Master couldn't come personally, Her love would always be with them. They then showed them a video of Master's lecture. They watched Master's video with sincerity and cherished looking at Master's sample booklet.

After watching the tapes when it was time for questions and answers, the prisoners asked without hesitation. Their questions included, "Is it possible to feel Master's grace twenty-four hours a day?", "How can we learn meditation?", "How can we get enlightenment?"..., etc.; their longing for Truth was so sincere.

One of the prisoner's said, "Several years ago, my wife mentioned to me that Master had come to Korea, but I couldn't meet Her as I was in prison. How fortunate that I can see Master's lecture today!" While we were leaving, we gave Master's lecture video tapes to the prison, hoping the prisoners would get some spiritual comfort from them.

We also had printed in Korean, in the newspaper which is read by the prisoners and those in correctional centers, Master's lecture entitled "Forgive Yourself" spoken at the Hindu Temple, San Francisco, U.S.A.. The newspaper was distributed to all the prisons in Korea. Some prisons even particularly requested us to send them Master's books and cassette tapes.

In the future, every center in Korea will continue to visit the prisons, bringing Master's love and care to the prisoners.

In a Palawan Island prison in the Philippines, many people are waiting to practice the Quan Yin Method, in the hopes of being liberated in one life time. With Master's blessing power, a Quan Yin messenger, took every opportunity to help them learn the Convenient Method. Due to their deep sincerity for the Truth, their wish was finally fulfilled. They overcame their overcrowded and noisy environment, gathered together to meditate, and received a lot of inner experiences. Perhaps it is due to the fact that materially there is nothing worth clinging to, that they can persevere in concentrating their minds on spiritual practice without being lazy. Therefore God especially blesses and loves them.

The living conditions in the prison are quite difficult, yet they still continue to make all efforts to be vegetarian. A Quan Yin messenger often brings them vegetarian food and conveys Master's love. Master's books in the Filipino language and every issue of the News magazine are precious spiritual nourishment in prison. These sincere practitioners feel that having one of Master's elegant pictures is the highest gift and form of encouragement.

The inmates in the prison have the opportunity to listen to and share the blessing of Master's teachings, because of an Au Lac prisoner. This Au Lac inmate who was once a refugee, had the opportunity of meeting Master when She came to the Philippines to visit and console those refugees who wanted to commit suicide in their desperation for freedom. After that meeting, he contacted the Quan Yin messenger there, offering to help us spread Master's teachings and play Master's video tapes in the prison, so that these unfortunate people could receive Master's love. Even the workers in the prison ward and the warden came to see these lectures. They showed much love and respect toward Master.

Through Master's books and video tapes, the prisoners receive Her loving spiritual consolation. Presently many Filipinos in the prison have started to become vegetarians and practice the Convenient Method. These pure hearted and sincere people have very good inner experiences, and are extremely grateful to Master.

One afternoon in early winter, a group of fellow initiates drove to the Taipei Penitentiary on Turtle Mountain to convey Master's care and teachings. Master's love dissolved the wall between the inmates and the initiates within a few hours of the visit. The inmates were deeply touched and responded with enthusiasm creating a friendly atmosphere.

Among the group of visitors, initiate brother Wu, an ex-prisoner, described to the male inmates how he changed his bad behavior into good and his experiences in attaining a new life by following Master to practice spiritually. His wife, sister initiate Huang, talked to the female inmates about her own difficulties in life and how she walked out of the darkness into the brightness of a new life with the strength of Master. Their open and sincere talks gave great encouragement and earned a resounding response from the inmates.

The journey through which brother Wu found his spiritual path was a very unusual one. He was imprisoned for manslaughter when he was nineteen years old. For more than ten years, he was in various prisons. When he got out, he operated a gambling establishment and lived an indulgent life style. He was listed as a super vagabond by the police department, and had to deal with the fair-weather friends of the underground society, the gamblers, the police and his subordinates each day. The difficulties of helplessness and the pressures could not be understood by the outsiders. He no longer had any choice once he became involved in this type of business.

Because of the great pressures of his reckless life style over such a long period of time, his whole body became seriously ill. His doctor declared that he had less than one year to live. At this point, he began to think about the true meaning of life. He thought about what he had gotten out of his life. What had he left? Under the advice of a good friend, he began to visit Buddhist temples to pray for blessings and worship the Buddha in search of some peace of mind. Once in his dreams, Buddha told him to search for a living Buddha, a female master from abroad.

His affinity with Master was ripe. After being invited many times by his wife, an initiate, he went with curiosity to one of Master's lectures. In the first lecture, he saw Master manifest as five golden ancient Buddhas. He was in great shock. His dream was verified. He began paying full attention to Master's speech. He followed Master all over Formosa attending many more lectures. Finally, he surrendered under Master's perfect wisdom and eloquence. Master's infinite compassion for sentient beings deeply touched him and awakened his soul's longing for liberation.

However, he wasn't sure if a sinner like him was worthy of being Master's disciple. He didn't dare to register for initiation. Instead, he wrote a note to Master, asking sincerely, "Would You initiate a sinner like me?" Master answered without any hesitation, "No problem! As long as you truly reform your behavior, follow the five precepts, and be a good person after initiation. The merits of meditation can cleanse the karma accumulated in many life times." From then on, because of Master's compassion, this "Big Brother of the gangsters" became one in the circle of saintly spiritual practitioners.

As brother Wu, spoke with fervor and assurance, describing his various feelings of the journey in his heart, the inmates gradually dropped their defensive shields. Similar encounters and experiences, echoed like voices in their hearts; all the inmates listening to him attentively had shared the same feelings. As brother Wu talked about how he got initiated and all the wonderful experiences and incredible changes that took place after initiation, the inmates became very interested.

Then, brother Wu explained the harmful effect of drugs, to an individual, to the family and to the society as a whole. He sincerely advised the inmates not to try using drugs out of curiosity and those who were already addicted must think of a way to rid themselves of this addiction. His sincerity touched all the inmates; they responded with loud applause.

After he spoke, the Quan Yin messengers explained Master's teachings, the requirements for initiation and the benefits of practicing the Quan Yin Method. They encouraged the inmates to find time to meditate and to learn a skill so that when they were release, they would be able to earn a living. If they encountered any questions regarding spiritual practice, they were welcome to write to Miaoli Center. Their letters would have priority in being answered.

Some inmates asked questions about spiritual practice. Some eagerly registered to learn the Convenient Method. Master gave special permission for those in prison who wished to follow the spiritual path to learn the Convenient Method to be able to do so immediately on that day. This shows Master's love and concern for the inmates.

When the lecture concluded, there was continuous applause, indicating their approval and trust. It was very touching when some of them came over to help our working staff pack up before leaving, trying to take advantage of the precious time together to learn more about Master and spiritual practice. The prison supervisors were very grateful for our visit. They also confirmed Master's positive influence on the inmates.

Through Master's love and concern in the process of our visit to the prison, we saw the attitude of these inmates change from distrust to open heartedness. By the time we left them, they were even unwilling to let us go. This great change was the visible work of God's love. Master's loving care brought the rare message of liberation to those who needed genuine hope and had real longing. We believe that as long as we continue our work with sincerity and faith, it will be helpful to many others who have temporarily misused their intelligence and have found themselves in trouble with the law.

Through this visit, Master let us see the other side of love and Truth. She also let us realize that the ignorant and unenlightened mind is the true prison, the true life-time sentence.

The visits to the prisons will continue. Master's love and the Truth of the universe will also continue to flow to all those who yearn for it.

Report On Taoyuan Prison, Formosa
By The News Group, Taoyuan Center

We received Master's instructions that all centers should visit the prisons to spread the Truth, but due to the working habits of the mundane world and the lack of confidence, we judged the difficulties of the task before any actual attempt. As a result, nothing was accomplished. Later, some fellow initiates mentioned, "Why not look in the phone directory and contact the prisons directly?" This one sentence awakened our narrow-mindedness. After we made some contacts by telephone, in one day, we gathered a lot of the information about the various prisons, and received positive responses.

Our first stop in spreading the Truth was Taoyuan Prison. Mr. Chiu, a section chief of the prison, told us that the crime rate in our society is rising sharply everyday. Because rehabilitative manpower in prisons is not sufficient, they really need help from the public, and he hoped that we could start with the prevention of drug addiction and giving the inmates a clear view of life so that they could benefit themselves in a concrete way.

After passing through a series of iron gates we came to an auditorium in one of the men's wards. We could see that the inmates were looking at us curiously, kind of helpless and with resisting eyes. However, with Master's blessing and the inner sincerity of the fellow initiate who spoke, the inmates began to feel more open in Master's boundless love and started to listen more attentively. Eventually they set aside their inner doubts and the barriers came down dissolving the distances among one another.

At the conclusion of the talk, unexpectedly, two-thirds of the inmates registered to learn the Convenient Method! As we were leaving, Mr. Chiu said surprisingly, "It's very hard to believe that the inmates were willing to meditate with you for such a long time." Under the shower of Master's saintly love, even plants and stones feel it, not to mention these human beings who have blood and can cry.

The next day, we went to another section of the prison, a woman's ward, where the inmates sang a 'Welcome Song' to greet us. Fellow initiates, spoke respectively, from the experience of a reborn ex-prisoner and the point of view of a doctor, on the negative effects of drugs to the human body, and the benefits of practicing the Quan Yin Method. It was a very moving scene, both the audience off the stage and the speaking initiates on the stage laughing and crying in unison. The female inmates were also as eager as the male inmates to learn the Convenient Method.

Because documents are delivered from one ward to another in person in the prison, the news of our preaching in the wards was widely spread. When some female inmates doing the delivering met our fellow initiates in the prison, they hoped that we would visit their wards too. They said that they had read Master's books and hoped to be initiated and become our fellow initiates soon.

In the process of preparing to bring Master's teachings to the prisons, we went through many tests. We are grateful to Master, for letting us experience the real life situations so as to let us measure our growth in spiritual practice. From it we have truly realized that while doing Master's work we should break free of our own habits of worrying and aloofness due to fear; we should be fully prepared to act under any circumstances; we should have the attitude of cautiousness but without anxiety over the job's success or failure; we should continuously coordinate and communicate with each other but without depending on others.

Every assignment instructed by Master is full of Her unlimited love in disguise, and is also intended to help the disciples in their spiritual practice. We have, through this activity, allowed our spiritual practice to progress further. The most important thing in these prisons is that the seeds of spiritual practice have been sown because of Master's omnipresent power of love.

Report On Tainan Prison, Formosa
By The News Group, Tainan Center

Fellow initiates gave a lecture at the Tainan Prison. After giving an excellent testimonial, they especially allowed some time for inmates to ask questions concerning spiritual practice. Two of them raised their hands and asked for initiation. One was so touched that tears fell from his cheeks and he could not speak. After being comforted by the Quan Yin messengers, he calmed down, and then he told the moving story of his search for the Truth.

He had been in prison for several years. Before that, he had attended Master's lecture in Tainan. At that time he didn't perceive the ephemeral nature of life, and did not take the opportunity to get initiated. While in prison, his heart was filled with misery. He wrote to Master and asked Her to initiate him in prison. However, Master couldn't initiated him in private because the conditions in prison did not allow it. To comfort him, Master sent Her love in a letter, teaching him the Convenient Method, with the hopes that he would practice diligently while serving his prison term. He had been keeping a vegetarian diet for several years and had obtained good experiences in practicing the Convenient Method; he had communicated with the inner Master all the time. Still, he longed for the initiation and to practice the supreme method that would give him eternal liberation.

Miraculously, even though there were several thousand inmates in the Tainan Prison, only a few hundred were arranged to attend the event that day, and the probability was very small that this prisoner, wishing to be initiated, would be among the few arranged to be present at the meeting with the Quan Yin messengers and fellow initiates. Master's power arranged everything perfectly to satisfy his soul's longing. As for the fellow initiates, it was quite an emotional experience to see the suffering of a would-be initiate in prison. They could better understand that whatever Master instructed them to do, was all in response to the longing of the sentient beings; and no delay and laziness should be tolerated.

A fellow initiate who works at Tainan Detention Center had turned into a different person ever since he got initiated. He used to smoke, drink, and socialize constantly after work. Now, he goes home right after work and immediately after dinner goes into his room to meditate.

Because he is the only initiate at work, he has no one to share all the happiness and experiences with. Daily, he has to face the prisoners, carrying heavy burdens in their minds. Besides often introducing Master and the Quan Yin Method to the inmates, he prays to Master to add some initiates to his work environment. Recently, when he was checking the prison cells, he discovered that some prisoners had started worshipping Master's sample booklets. Since Master instructed fellow initiates to send love to the prisons, the Tainan Detention Center has been under the illuminating light of God. Some have already started practicing the Convenient Method. It seems his wishes will come true very soon.

Min-te Detention Center is situated in a mountain village in Tainan County. The scenery is beautiful. The red-tiled roofs of the Fu Kien style buildings, surrounded by the rolling mountains, look so simple and tranquil, a paradise away from the hectic world. It gave us the feeling that this is a good place for spiritual practice. Although there are some prisoners serving life sentences there, it is usually only those with good behavior that are sent there. Apart from the difference in uniforms they wear, it is hard to tell the prisoners from the workers.

We came to Min-te Open Detention Center to arrange a gospel talk. We talked with a man in the rehabilitation section about the concepts and understandings of spiritual practicing for a while and discovered that he was one of the prisoners. He had read almost every one of Master's News magazines, of which a few dozens are sent there each month. He hoped that we would be able to give them Master's cassette tapes, to share amongst themselves, to learn more about Master's teachings. Fellow initiates looked around this tranquil place once more and jokingly said, "If the few hundred people here all practice the Quan Yin Method, Min-te Open Detention Center would then become 'Min-te Meditation Center'!"

When Master compassionately requested every center to try their best to extend loving care to the prisoners, we all knew Master was preparing a completely new lesson for us to learn.

Kaohsiung Prison is classified as a grade one prison; half of the prisoners are repeat convicts or felons. At present, there are several thousand prisoners in the jail. After fellow initiates had drafted a request document and paid a visit to the warden of the prison, expressing Master Ching Hai's care to the prisoners, the warden enthusiastically invited fellow initiates from our center to visit the prison and spread Master's teachings.

Beginning the session that day, the liaison fellow practitioner brother Su first told the story of his initiation with Master Ching Hai. His humorous and interesting talk brightened the dull atmosphere in there. Master's lecture video tape "Meditation Is The Source Of Love" was then shown. Master mentioned practicing the Convenient Method of meditation. She said, "If we can meditate everyday for a while, in the morning and in the evening, it will make our souls feel relax and free." At that time, almost all the convicts present really paid attention to Master's talk. (Strangely enough, even those who fell asleep woke up!) Mr. Xia, a rehabilitation teacher, even took the initiative to ask questions and hoped to know more about "meditation" and the "Quan Yin Method".

After that, a sister initiate came up to the stage to tell her life story. She frankly, sincerely and bravely shared all her experiences with the convicts, mentioning that she has walked the same road that every convict has gone through, she has felt the pain that they all have undergone, to encourage them.

She disclosed her unpleasant experiences while she was being wean-off drugs. Later with the help and encouragement of the fellow initiates, she luckily went to Miaoli to see Master, begging Master on her knees for initiation. From then on, Master's positive compassionate power changed her escaping and suicidal tendencies, enabling her to face her life in prison bravely. Moreover, through Master's wonderful meticulous arrangements, she gained more and better care. Because of Master, her dark life completely changed to brightness. So she encouraged all the convicts to open their hearts to welcome Master just as she had done, and let Master bestow a new life on them.

After the sister's story, many of those present sharing the same feelings shed tears. Fellow initiates joyfully understood the reason why Master had instructed them to do this project. They realized that in the eyes of God, everyone is the same. Everyone is God's child, the most pure, the most benign, the most bright.

Following the project of spreading Master's teachings in the Kaohsiung Prison, the fellow initiates from Kao-Ping Center set off again to visit the inmates in the "Kaohsiung Detention Center", located in Yenchao Village, Kaohsiung. That day, the Judicial Chief of Administration happened to be there on an inspection tour of the south. Chief Ma repeatedly expressed his admiration and gratitude towards the Supreme Master Ching Hai; due to Her loving concern for the spiritual needs of the inmates, She has instructed Her disciples to visit the prisons.

Most of the inmates in the center were being held there awaiting trial and sentencing. They appeared very emotional because they were terrified. Many felt so inferior that they had already given up hope. They appeared to be very unstable. Some were so scared that they committed suicide even before they were sentenced. Inspector Shih was in charge of keeping order and rehabilitation. "At times, we instruct them to meditate for a few minutes before bedtime," he said, "so as to help them steady their nerves." He welcomed us to teach the inmates the correct method of meditation that would benefit them. Of course, Master already knew this and that's why she had instructed all centers to carry out this project. Through meditation, Master blesses them with love and comforts their injured souls.

Inspector Shih said, "The prisoners are the outcasts of society." He was glad that the government was sincerely concerned about the prisoners, providing their living and material needs. On the other hand, society needs spiritual organizations like "The International Supreme Master Ching Hai Meditation Associations" to care about the prisoners' spiritual longings, and to help give them the courage to establish a new life. If the prisoners become lawful citizens after their release, it is a blessing for society and for the nation as well.

During our visit, a fellow initiate introduced Master and the "Quan Yin Method". We then watched a video of Master's lecture together with the several hundred inmates there. We encouraged them to purify and uplift themselves and recognize their perfect inner Self through meditation, since only the love derived from meditation can change the outer habits. Through God's love radiating from within, we can truly benefit our family and society, and contribute to our country.

Fellow initiate Wu talked about his personal experiences and vividly described his life experiences before and after practicing spiritually. He encouraged the inmates to treasure and love themselves, to be drug free, to be at ease and confidently embrace their new life after their release.

The entire visit was filled with Master's loving and humorous words, and the sincere encouragement of the fellow initiates. The atmosphere was very lively yet relaxed, and it seemed that no one fell asleep. Inspector Shih said, "This is really a rare phenomena!" Afterwards, fellow initiates gave Master's books as gifts to the detention center. The photos of Master, pendants, bracelets, sample booklets and magazines, etc. that were brought, were eagerly and warmly received by the inmates. Watching how happily they accepted the gifts and their longing expressions, fellow initiates then took off the pins with Master's photo that they were wearing to give to the inmates. Fellow initiates also left the poster sized photo of Master, that they used to decorate the room, to be put up in a common area in the prison.

As we watched the prisoners reveal their inner emotions like innocent children, we realized more fully that everything Master instructs us to do always carries immense and profound meaning - other people's happiness is our happiness!

Being the wife of a rascal who was also a big brother of an underworld society (mafia ring), there was nothing luxurious and honorable in her daily life, and no happiness either. There were only senseless beatings, verbal humiliation and endless pain. In her despair, the Buddha and Bodhisattvas opened a window in her heart - to learn Buddhist teachings to seek peace of mind. At long last, she learned of Master and the Quan Yin Method. Like being born again, her life had new meaning and vitality, which also brought new changes to her family life. Her innocent heart full of gratitude and thankful words can be condensed into these few sentences, "Even though I have been suffering half of my life, it has reminded me to seek the Truth, and has also brought me to Master. The suffering has not been in vain!"

The father and brothers of sister initiate Huang are all good examples of family men who take good care of their families and neither smoke nor drink. So, since young, she has always looked down upon and has been angry with those indulging in smoking or alcohol. But God's arrangement always astounds people. Looking back on her past sorrowful times, she said softly and smilingly, "Maybe it is karma! You simply have to encounter the kind of people you used to laugh at. Luckily I have the affinity to meet an enlightened Master so that the karma can be changed. Otherwise, I don't know for how long I would have had to be tortured!"

During those days, sister Huang had tried, until she no longer had any tears left, all good words when talking to her husband. In her despair, she started to concentrate on Buddhist chanting and worshipping. She went every morning and evening to a nearby temple to practice and was never absent from any of the early morning chanting sessions. In this way, she put her mind at rest. Although frequently, someone would try to persuade her to worship this or that master, she was never enthusiastic, because in her heart she said to herself, "I am chanting and worshipping Buddha the same way as they are. Why should I worship them as a master?"

In trying to encourage her to attend Master's lecture, once a Buddhist friend told her, "There is an Au Lac female Master. Her eyes emit light when She gives a lecture!" She still didn't quite believe it. However, everything was so coincidentally and smoothly arranged. On that day, someone drove her to the lecture hall. Though she did not understand what Master was saying, in her heart she could feel that this Master was really different. When she applied for initiation, someone took the initiative to help her fill in the forms as she is illiterate. As her relationship with Master was formed, her fate was also changed.

After initiation, though she was not well acquainted with the teachings, she practiced meditation diligently. Extraordinary events gradually happened making her firmly believe that Master truly has power. Firstly, Master healed her hand problem; her right wrist, which was injured after being beaten by her husband, had always been very weak. Once during meditation, she heard cracking sounds from her wrist. It was also a bit painful. Surprisingly, the next day, her right hand could move at will and it has gradually become stronger and stronger. Also, when she went to the group meditation for the first time by herself, she did not know the address and was unfamiliar with the surroundings. Coincidentally, she met someone to show her the way on the bus. She believes that Master had been silently taking care of her all along.

Another time, during meditation, the inner Master gave her a handful of blessed popcorn. She had remembered Master saying that if you eat one piece of popcorn it is already enough. But why did Master give her a handful? The outcome was that, that night her husband came home drunk. He beat her up and kicked her without even a word said, but she didn't feel any pain at all. She knew Master was protecting her again. She was grateful and ashamed that her own misfortune had affected Master.

Since then, she has been following Master wholeheartedly. She has been more attentive and sincere in her meditation, often enjoying the inner bliss. When she attended Master's talks, she always had them audio-recorded. When she returned home, she would immediately ask somebody to translate it into the local Formosan dialect. She said happily, "It was strange that when I listened to Master's words I could not understand, but if there were parts that concerned me or if there were answers to what I wanted to know, then I could understand. Master said that the lectures are for the soul. That is indeed true!"

She was very reluctant in her heart to give talk at the female prison this time. She was willing to do anything except to give a talk. However, it was difficult not to comply with Master's instructions, so she followed the request. Regardless if her talk was good or bad, it was Master's arrangement. She only hoped the sisters in the prison would accept and benefit from her words, which may be helpful to their lives.

She could not sleep as the time of the talk approached. For a few days, she meditated all night. She could also feel Master's blessing. Thus, even though she was still nervous, she was not as frightened as before. That day, she shared her heartfelt feelings, in a local Formosan dialect: how she overcame her suffering, the physical and mental benefits of spiritual practice, why the more she practiced, the more happy, contented and secured she felt... It was all because Master had always accompanied her on the road of her life. She also wished the sisters in prison could find eternal peace and happiness like her.

After finishing the talk, the first she had ever done in her life, she felt relieved as if a stone has been removed. Life then returned to its usual quiet and calm. There maybe more "first times" waiting for her in the future. After this lesson, she feels she can face anything in life with more confidence and flexibility.