Fifth Stop

May 2, 2000

The fifth stop of Supreme Master Ching Hai's Year 2000 Lecture Tour in Oceania and Asia was held in Hong Kong on May 2. A torrential rain turned the originally dull and hot weather into a cool and refreshing day. Although it was still raining in the evening, several thousand earnest Truth aspirants were not deterred.

Soon after midday, lots of people were already lining up outside the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai of Hong Kong. Around six in the evening, the Stadium was brightly lit inside and out. The anxious guests poured into the entrance hall and flooded the exhibition lobby on the second floor where Master's publications, Celestial Jewelry and clothing were displayed. All of the spectators showed great admiration and praise on their faces. Seats inside the stadium were fully occupied before seven o'clock.

High in the middle of the hall, a big screen showed a short video introducing Master -- Walk the Way of Love. After that, a Hong Kong initiate shared with the audience what he had experienced on his spiritual path. At that time, Master entered the hall in a graceful and elegant manner, and the hall was immediately drowned by thundering applause. The excited audience got on their feet to greet Master.

Despite the exhaustion from Her toilsome journey, Master still maintained a relaxed and humorous demeanor, while infinite mercy and love flowed from Her naturally. With words of humor and wisdom, She induced the whole audience to laugh delightedly and applaud continuously. Master's discourse was lively, simple, and yet easily understood, which also pointed directly to our inner Self and wisdom. Citing ancient sages and some familiar phenomenon in our daily life today, She pointed out that even the greatest happiness on Earth cannot match the real happiness we discover when we silently find our original Self within. Spiritual practitioners are always content because they are not attached to poverty or wealth, since they have already found their true Self.

Take Sakyamuni Buddha, for example. He possessed the whole kingdom and all the glory and wealth in the world, yet it was only after attaining fully enlightenment that He possessed everything and became truly rich. The truth is, only when one really possesses fortune and happiness can one give real fortune and happiness to others. Only when we have truly found our inner wisdom can we point out to others where wisdom lies.

The holy scriptures all tell us that God dwells within all of us. Then why can't we find Hirm? It is because we regard ourselves as humans, spending all of our time behaving like a human, thinking in the human way, and wasting lots of time for this human body. We forget that we are God. If there were someone who would tell us the truth, help us remember our original Self and that we are God, then it would be very easy; there is nothing mysterious about it.

Master stretched out Her hand to show that getting enlightenment is really as easy as turning the palm. Through enlightenment we will realize that the God Nature is within us, being an innate quality that we possess by birth. Only through rediscovering it can we realize that we all have the same God Nature and that we are originally one, without any discrimination between friend and foe, or me and you. Then we will truly become peaceful and harmonious, and there will be real peace in the world.

Suppose we have carelessly injured our finger or a certain part of our body. This injured part will annoy us all day and will not allow us to eat or sleep in peace. However, this is not a reason to chop off the part; instead, we should try to heal it. Similarly, it is easy to love our enemies if we are enlightened. After finding our God Nature, everything is easy. We are happy living in a luxurious mansion or in a tent; we are comfortable with wealth as well as poverty; we feel great wearing fanciful clothes or simple clothes. Nothing can make us waver. That is why Sakyamuni Buddha told us that all things on earth are illusions; only finding our true Self is eternal. Jesus Christ also taught us that our treasure is not in this world, but in the Heavenly Kingdom.

There is a statement in the Buddhist scriptures: "Lay down your slaughtering knife and become a Buddha instantly." In fact, just by laying down this world, we will be immediately in Nirvana. Heaven is just within us; we can find it as soon as we reach inside.

Though Master's lecture was not a lengthy one, Her simple yet profound elaboration was exceptionally powerful. Hundreds of people received initiation immediately after the lecture. There was even a reporter from the press who requested to learn the Convenient Method after listening to the lecture. Apart from local Hong Kong inhabitants and foreigners from abroad, many truth aspirants also came from every corner of Mainland China, including elderly people and young children.

After the initiation, all the new Quan Yin practitioners were beaming with infinite bliss and satisfaction. A young fellow from Guangdong Province looked exactly like a juvenile Maitreya Buddha with his plump and laughing face. A little girl who had very good experiences during the initiation told us that she loved the initiation; she felt really blessed for being able to see the beautiful Master in person. There were also some people accompanied by their initiated relatives who came from very far away to get the initiation, and their faces clearly showed their joy. Having received initiation and enjoyed the wonderful experiences, they said they had forgotten all the hardships of their journey, and only gratitude remained in their hearts.

Master's blessing encompasses all sentient beings; She wakes us up so that we can escape from the illusionary world and find our true Self and God Nature. She lets us truly realize that all of Creation are one, and further recognize the true love that has existed within us since the beginning of time.