Seventh Stop
Taoyuan, Formosa
May 5,
2000
Master Ching Hai is
Back!
From the newspapers, TV broadcasts,
and numerous posters at MTR train stations, on buses and along the
highways, Formosan people were aware of the news that Supreme Master
Ching Hai, who had been absent for quite some time, would soon
return and give a lecture. They spread the word to each other:
"Master Ching Hai is back!" Enquiring phone calls bombarded our
contact offices non-stop. The lecture was scheduled to start at
seven in the evening, but eager people coming from all over Formosa
began to pour in from early in the morning. The Giant Egg Stadium in
Taoyuan (nickname of the Taoyuan Indoor Stadium) was boisterous.
Before the lecture, the major media reported the news of
Master's lecture and that the legal problem of the Miaoli Hsihu
Center had been formally solved. The ETTV covered the whole lecture
that day and broadcast it live to Formosa and Northern America.
The zealous attitude of fellow practitioners all over
Formosa voluntarily involved in preparing the lecture touched every
person who observed it. A fellow practitioner from the United States
said, "Words cannot fully describe the loving care that Formosan
disciples paid to the countless details of this lecture. 'Divine' is
truly the best choice of words."
The Giant Egg at Taoyuan is a huge indoor stadium
with a seating capacity of twenty thousand. Fellow practitioners
took perfect care of each elaborate detail. After the decoration,
the lecture stage was transformed into a fairyland found only
in Chinese myths, with a waterfall in the background, ethereal
clouds above the stage, and orchids, green grass and trees all
around. There were two gigantic TV walls in the lecture hall,
so that the audience could see Master clearly.
The crowd, young and old, began pouring into the hall at
four o'clock. They roamed around to enjoy the display of Celestial
Clothes, Celestial Jewelry, Master's paintings and publications, or
sat in the stadium to listen to Chinese music performances and
choral singing. By seven, not only the original seats and the
several thousand added seats were filled, even the passageways were
fully packed with people. In the corridors outside, there were lots
of people sitting there watching the live broadcast from television
sets or huge projection screens prepared for them. Another crowded
place was the counter for serving people who wanted to take the
initiation or learn the Convenient Method. The intense longing of
these Truth aspirants was clearly discernible.
Beginning at seven o'clock, there were experience
reports from fellow initiates, a Chinese music performance and
choral singing. Everyone was eagerly waiting as Master appeared,
wearing a white outfit decorated with colorful floral patterns. She
looked like a gorgeous summer flower amid the zealous crowd. Since
She had not seen the Formosan people for a very long time, She
immediately felt their intense emotion of missing Her, and so, upon
entering the stadium, She circulated around the venue, greeting
everyone in every corner. All the audience rose to their feet and
waved to Master, and of course tried their best to get a handshake
with Her.
Master began the lecture by leading the whole
audience in prayer with eyes closed, for peace on both sides of the
Formosan Strait and to the world. After that, Master delivered a
brilliant elaboration on "listening inwardly to our self-nature" as
mentioned in the Buddhist scripture. Master asked us, why they said
"listen inwardly", and not "look inwardly", "touch inwardly" or
"feel inwardly"? It is because it is really possible to listen to
our true Self. They say "listen", because there are heavenly music,
Buddhist sutras and heavenly teachings within. The inner, heavenly
melody is as beautiful as music but there is no need for any musical
instruments. We do not listen with our hearing faculty. The
self-nature is not our characteristic or personality. It is free and
easy, encompassing wisdom, nobility, greatness and the whole
universe.
In Her usual humorous self, Master elaborated in simple
language on what the Divine Realm is, and Her speech was greeted
frequently by loud applause. She said, in the Bible it is said that,
seek you first the Kingdom of God, and then everything shall be
added unto you. Sakyamuni Buddha also said that, when we have found
our Buddha Nature, even our life as a human would be happier and
more successful, and more abundant in material aspects. After
finding our Buddha Nature, we will become more comfortable and
happier, because upon finding our true Self, everything will be
illuminated. All our previously forgotten talents, our dormant
wisdom, and our overlooked capabilities will develop with our Buddha
Nature. We become a different person, because from that moment
onward, we are no longer human; we are not human in the first place.
Only after we have entered this body do we call ourselves humans. So
who are we before we enter this body? Also, who will we be after we
have exited and departed from this body?
If the Buddhist scriptures say that all sentient beings
have the Buddha Nature, then why are we not aware of It? It is
because the illusions of this world are really absorbing, 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 the 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 the Buddha. We might have heard about heaven,
Buddha Land, and that the Buddha is in the heart or God is within
us. However, hearing it is one thing; 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 heaven long ago. The Zen
doctrines say that only a strand of hair separates Heaven and earth.
We originally came from Heaven, so we only have to revert our
attention and listen inwardly to our self-nature to find Heaven. We
come to this world for the purpose of elevating the universe, but we
have indulged in the pleasures here too long and forget to go
home.
In the middle of Her lecture, Master said that those who
wanted to learn the Quan Yin Method might go outside to register
their names. There was a lot of movement within the venue, and many
people went to the registration counters. More than a thousand
people learned the Convenient Method or received the initiation.
Academia Sinica, Formosa