Once, I meditated all through the night. During the early hours of the morning, I suddenly felt that I was pulled up by a very strong force, strong enough to move Heaven and Earth. I was rushing upwards in great speed. Immediately my soul was released from the bondage of my physical body. My consciousness entered a unprecedented and indescribable level. The whole process was like going through a "great explosion". In no time, all my thoughts and ideas totally disappeared. It was just like what the ancient Zen masters said, "Both Heaven and Earth were shattered", and there was "The absence of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind." (From the Heart Sutra)

I left everything behind, surpassed time and space, and entered a "state of holy consciousness" that seemed to have existed since the beginning of time and that was everlasting. At that time, my heart was filled with bliss and total understanding. I felt that I was in an ocean of love, that I had become one with it. I felt like a long lost 'sheep' that had finally returned to his mother's arms. The sense of security and of being moved was immeasurable.

Meanwhile, in the darkness, there appeared a circle of radiating light from which a very bright white light shone at its center. Although the white light was bright, it did not hurt my eyes, and it seemed to contain unlimited power. The many waves of overwhelming light not only lit up my heart, but also awakened the supreme wisdom that had laid dormant inside me for so long.

Blessed by this loving power and great light, I suddenly came to realize, as if I had just awakened from a dream, "Oh! Life on Earth is indeed like a dream, and everything is truly created by one's mind." I totally appreciated what is written in the Diamond Sutra, "One should not be attached to anything, and that is how one's original nature will appear".

I also completely understood what Bodhidharma said, "One cannot know Buddha if one searches with the mind." Having gone through so many searches, so many struggles and so many conflicts in my heart, I finally found the "Buddha-nature" that Buddha talked about, the "Holy Spirit" that Jesus spoke of, the "Master of Wisdom" in Islam and the "Supreme Consciousness" in the Bhagavad-Gita. I truly and absolutely understood that "All of Creation is one, and everyone indeed has Buddha-nature".

I did not know how long this experience lasted, but I eventually came out of samadhi.

Then I felt rejuvenated, extremely happy and at ease. My body was overflowing with a blissful and joyful vibration. My heart was free and filled with peace. When I looked into the mirror, I found that I was like a changed person. My face was filled with brightness, and my skin was as smooth and tender as a baby. The energy channels throughout my body were unblocked. I kept feeling a stream of energy rushing from below my stomach through my lower back and surging up to the top of my head. A 'hole' seemed to have opened in the top of my head. Whenever I focused my attention on that 'hole', I could feel a high level vibration from above continuously pouring in through it. My consciousness would also leave through there at any time to experience other "great explosions" and enter a tranquil and peaceful world.

But there was even more than this, I also discovered that I seemed to be able to use this 'hole' to breathe! There really was a complete transformation, spiritually as well as physically. What a "rebirth from bathing in the great flames!"

Not long afterwards, a retreat was held at Hsihu. It happened to be the Moon festival, so Master especially joined the disciples to have a good time and set off firecrackers. Being on duty as a guard at that time, I was fortunate enough to be near Master's side.

Suddenly, I heard Master exclaimed, "Oh! Everyone look! The moon is out!" Although I was on duty, I also followed Master and looked up to appreciate the moon. "Wow! What a round moon! Wow! It's beautiful!", came the praises from the crowd repeatedly.

However, my heart was elsewhere. I only felt that the scene before my eyes looked familiar, as if I had seen it before. Then I suddenly realized, "Oh! This was it! Is this not what I saw during meditation some time ago?" Although the moon was not as bright as the white light in my vision, it was definitely the same! Of that I had no doubt at all.

Since then, in the quiet time of the evenings, I like to look up at the starry sky and search. Whenever I see the bright moon again, an unforgettable feeling emerges in my heart once more. I always take the opportunity to remind myself not to cling to the outer world of illusion, and seek inwardly for the eternal Kingdom of God!

Oh! Master, Your disciple finally understands why people in ancient times wanted to admire the moon!

When my husband was taken to the hospital for a lumbar disorder, I gave him Master's book, "The Key of Immediate Enlightenment", to read. His condition was very serious, and he had been confined to the bed for a year and required constant bedside nursing.

He had acquired some Buddhist knowledge in the past, but never had he been in touch with teachings so systematic, scientific and wise. After seeing Master's portrait and studying Master's teachings, an idea emerged in his mind: he decided that, should he recover and be able to sit up, the first thing he would do is engrave seals out of Master's dignified portrait, the aphorisms in Her teachings, and the words of veneration toward Master. (The art of seal cutting is a branch of calligraphy passed down for thousands of years from ancient China.) Awed by Master's supreme teachings, and Her boundless mercy towards humankind, he decided to depict Master's magnificence and great teachings through the art of seal engraving.

Something incredible happened. My husband had been bedridden for a year, not responding to any medical treatment and could not even turn his body in bed. In only over a month after having read Master's teachings, he could sit up to take his meals. With a dramatic improvement in condition, he was discharged from hospital.

Having returned home, he kept thinking about getting up and starting to cut the seals. Every day, he would lie on the bed reading Master's books and magazines, and began to

design the draft plans of the seals. The urge in his heart was so overwhelming that he insisted to sit up. Unexpectedly, he picked up the carving knives, ground the stone material, and started cutting the seals for seven or eight hours continuously. His absolute devotion made it hard for him to put down the knives, and he would not rest until he was strongly urged to do so.

After one night's rest, his condition did not deteriorate the next day. Conversely, he felt much more relaxed, and his lumbar problem was gone! He could even ride the bicycle around everywhere, which totally bewildered our neighbours!

Since then, he miraculously improved every day. After over half a month's incessant hard work, the seals were finally finished! He was extremely delighted. He had stopped cutting seals for over a decade, theoretically, and considering all other factors, his skill should have been inept. However, the result was unbelievable. The creations showed that his skills in calligraphy, composition and cutting had improved tremendously compared to a decade before.

Throughout the creation, he felt he was being supported by an invisible power. Sometimes, he was so totally absorbed in the cutting that he was oblivious of anything going on around him. Master's teachings pervaded all his works. He forgot that he was a sick person, and did not feel any lumbar pain. Obviously, it was Master who had mercifully blessed him, and saved him from the curse of illness.

A practitioner family in the United Kingdom who lived in a rural area found it inconvenient to purchase air tickets to attend the retreat in Germany. One of the fellow sisters thus entrusted another female practitioner to purchase the tickets for her. It was arranged for everyone to meet on the day of the flight at the check-in counter, one hour before take-off, so as to board the plane together. But because of heavy traffic, the whole family of four were late. When they rushed to the check-in counter, it was only half an hour before take-off. Being too busy, the other fellow sister who had bought the tickets had forgotten about the meeting and had already boarded the plane by herself. When she remembered, it was too late to disembark.

The fellow sister asked the airline staff for help and were even ready to purchase new tickets. Unfortunately it was the last flight of the day to Hamburg. Perhaps it was her sincerity which moved the attendants at the service counter. They helped the whole family book for the earliest flight to Hamburg the next morning without requiring her to pay anything (yet according to airline regulations, if a passenger misses a flight the

ticket is not refunded). Apart from arranging the night's accommodation, the airline staff also helped to arrange transportation to the airport for early next morning. The charges involved were very minimal yet the accommodation was a five-star hotel.

Due to the fact that the original plan was for everyone to leave together, none of the family knew the exact venue of the retreat or where to report. The next day, however, they fortunately met another U.K. fellow practitioner who was also going to attend the three-day retreat. So they all went together and smoothly reached the venue.

Everything seemed to be arranged by God. When the whole family knew that they could not board the original flight, they were afraid that they would miss the chance to attend the three-day retreat. But they single-mindedly thought that no matter what the cost was they were determined to attend. They left everything in the hands of God. All at once their fearless hearts overcame everything. Thus, she had learned the lesson of fearlessness.

Winding through the Au Lac Garden in Hsihu Center and singing in a low sweet tone is the crystalline Nectar River, which bestows a calming and tranquillizing effect on people. The murmuring song of the river is nothing less than the music from heaven, capable of guiding one into samadhi with ease. An ultimate creation by Master, the Nectar River might be small but it gives boundless benefits, just like the tiny nectar vase of Quan Yin Bodhisattva; one drop from which can transform the rotten into the wonderful.

For the last few years, I had often meditated and rested by the Nectar River; drinking from it and savoring the beautiful tranquillity it brings. My soul sang in peerless rapture and elevation, but I was not thoughtful enough to take home some of the heavenly blessed water to share with my family. It was not until I heard that foreign initiates had been taking the nectar water home thousands of miles away, and that each drop of nectar manifests into a lotus that I was awakened abruptly and quickly took home a bottle of nectar for my family.

Then, fantastic things happened! My younger brother, who was fond of arguing, often suspicious and even had violent inclinations, drank a cup of nectar water. That night, he

dreamt about driving through a vast golden land without boundaries. Below him, the gold, giving way to the two sides, was soft and extremely bright while the sky was an unfathomable blue, yet bright and clear as crystal. Since then, my brother always weared a smile that was rarely found on him before. He accepted Master's teachings easily, and became a full vegetarian in just a few days. Looking totally like another person, he even studied the scriptures.

My mother used to be a very stubborn person. However, after drinking the nectar water, she began to love reading Master's News magazines. She delightfully accepted my brother's dramatic changes, and expressed that she would use vegetarian food offerings in her worship rituals.

Master! How deep my gratitude is for Your infinite merit, that converts people without using any human verbal effort. I have also realized the superlative state of a saint in "do without doing"! The Nectar River water is truly the heavenly water of the human world. And the Quan Yin Bodhisattva who spreads the nectar and the supreme dharma is none other than our lovable, merciful Supreme Master Ching Hai!

When a liaison practitioner asked me to join the team to work at Hsihu for a few days, I did not investigate the details of the assignment. What I only knew was that we were going to build a zigzag bridge, so I brought some simple drafting equipment along with me, even though I wasn't sure if these were necessary. Just like that, I marched off to work in Hsihu Center for the first time.

The brother responsible for the task, conveyed to the work crew Master's instructions: build two gazebos on the lake, straw roofed and linked by walkways; the rails are to be made of natural wood; maintain a natural look as much as possible; build two fountains and three to four entrances; plant lotus flowers and water lilies to beautify the environment; endeavor not to harm the fish in the lake during the construction; do not pump the water out of the lake and do not bring the heavy cranes in. The deadline to complete the work was before the Mid-Autumn Three-Day Retreat.

Since I was young, I have been running a metalwork factory with my father and have undertaken many tasks. After repeated calculation and estimation, I found it impossible to accomplish the task on time, especially under these restrictions. I told the brother in charge that it was impossible to finish the work before the retreat. However, the brother said that we definitely could do it because Master had told him to go ahead with it: "Whatever Master has said can be accomplished."

Standing beside him, I felt a strong blessing power from Master, for the brother was not speaking with the power of an ordinary person or from his logic; he was being driven directly by Master's almighty power. Having received this tremendous assurance, I recalled Master's recent discourse: "In doing anything, we simply exert our greatest skill and effort, and not be concerned about success or failure. Just leave everything to God!" Therefore, I told myself, "Just give your best effort, and leave the rest to Master!"

Because of: not being allowed to pump out the lake water for fear of killing the fish; the lack of sufficient water equipment; not being able to use cranes; and the tight deadline not allowing us to finish one job after the other but forcing us to work simultaneously, we could not use conventional work procedures.

The depth of the mud layer and the depth of the water in the lake were uneven. Having no time to survey beforehand, we could only erect the first pillar, and determine its height before erecting the subsequent pillars. As each part of the construction was closely related with each other, it was impossible to speed up the work by using more labor to work simultaneously on different tasks.

During the construction, I could not help marvelling that only with our inner Master's guidance could we possibly accomplish a task of this nature, and under such difficult circumstances. With Master's power, it seemed that all units of the military force had joined our work. Fellow initiates from the 'Diver team' were dispatched, a small 'navy force' was deployed, and a small 'marine fleet' (improvised floating work platforms) was set up. With Master's blessing, all fellow initiates participating in the work fulfilled their duties and fought to the end. Miraculously, the whole construction was accomplished just before the retreat began.

When the construction was in progress, my mind was completely full of calculated figures for the Zigzag Bridge, even when I was meditating. I had virtually no time to think about other things. On the sixth day, the most vital part of the work had been completed; everything was basically fixed, and there was little chance for further alterations. I could meditate with a more relaxed mind that day.

After I had meditated for a short while, I suddenly recalled a forgotten vision. It was a dream I had about six months ago: Master was waiting for me to meet Her at a 'straw hut' on top of the water. The hut had no walls, and the roof was made of hay. From the shore, I had to walk on a zigzag bridge with many curves, which looked very primitive and natural, to reach Master's hut.

In the dream, I was thinking: "It is strange! Why would Master live in such a place waiting for me to see Her?"

When I entered the hut, Master did not use any words, but pulled me lightly towards the water. She told me to watch the small fish in the water. While pointing at the fish, with compassion in Her eyes, She told me these words filled with love: "These are also sentient beings."

When I woke up, I did not realize any special meaning. When the same scene appeared to me again, I realized instantly that the vision in my dream was exactly this Zigzag Bridge in front of me. It is amazing!

So Master had arranged everything long ago, and without leaving any clues. She was the real designer of the Zigzag Bridge who meticulously took care of each detail while ensuring that the sentient beings in the water were not harmed.

Through this experience, I can better realize Master's great wisdom, love, patience, consideration, and Her omnipresent almighty power. On my spiritual path, I have received many blessings and much encouragement from Master, which further affirmed my awed statement which I exclaimed when I first saw Master's lecture video on Channel Four: "She is the One! She is the great enlightened Master that I have been seeking for decades!"