Master's Wonders
A Triumphant Examination

"When I was stuck in that most suffering situation without even a break, Master granted me a smooth path for my spiritual practice. I will practice harder, and treasure the present more."

Narrated By Brother Initiate Jian-Chai Zeng, Taipei, Formosa
Recorded By Supreme Master Ching Hai News Reporter Yuan-Ming, Taipei, Formosa

Due to the requirement of his previous job, brother Zeng used to go to work early in the morning and got back home late at night everyday, working over ten hours. His workload was very heavy. Also sometimes he had to work overtime until dawn. After a long period of such living, his body could no longer bear this kind of pressure. He even lacked enough energy to meditate. In his heart, he deeply longed to attend the past several retreats. However, hindered by the inconvenience of his job, he had to eventually give up the idea. Each time he thought about this, the desire to change his job became even stronger, so he became more sincere in praying for Master's help.

After a period of time, unexpectedly, he received an official document giving public notice of the entrance examination for future drillmasters. He was more than happy to receive it. However, the exam date was in less than a week. Considering that he had not prepared for it, he felt that there was little chance of passing the test. But the next day, he received a phone call informing him that the exam date was postponed for another week. As brother Zeng relaxed, thinking that he finally had time to study for the test, his unit was suddenly assigned some urgent tasks. As a result, he was kept busy for several days.

So one night while meditating, brother Zeng sincerely prayed to Master, "Master, now in less than two days, I will take the exam. I've hardly had time to study, yet I truly want to leave my present job. Please help me so that I may have more time to practice. I promise I will practice more diligently then. So after meditation, he began to study. He casually flipped through several articles in "Mencius and picked one article in "Gems From Chinese Culture to read. As soon as he finished reading the first paragraph, he was unable to overcome his drowsiness and tumbled into bed, falling asleep immediately.

On the day of exam, the first test was Chinese. When brother Zeng obtained the test questions he said, "Wow, aren't these questions asking about the materials that I've just studied? Yes, they were exactly the same. So he answered them very easily. He understood that everything was due to Master's help. Thus his confidence increased many fold, sweeping away all the clouds of worries about lacking preparation, and allowing the sun to appear shining on his high spirits as he took the test. He was very confident that he could pass the test. Sure enough, on the published list of successful applicants, he ranked within the top five and was admitted as a drillmaster.

"All this was due to Master compassionate help, said brother Zeng. He was very touched and continued to say, "When I was stuck in that most suffering situation without even a break, Master granted me a smooth path for my spiritual practice. I will practice harder, and treasure the present more. I'm really too lucky! I will remember Master's care for me forever. Master has said before, that whenever we pray to Her for something helpful to our spiritual growth, beneficial to us, and if we truly need it, She would naturally help. Her promise was indeed true.

Master silently and compassionately removes the obstacles in our spiritual path. As disciples, we should do our part to practice diligently.

A Triumphant Examination What Master Says Is The Truth