By
sister initiate Ling Gao, Illinois, USA (Originally in English)
I
was initiated in 1995 and remained a single Quan Yin practitioner
for five years. During that time, my life was very simple, being composed
only of study and spiritual practice. Apart from my school work, I
devoted all of my spare time to studying Master's teachings, meditating,
participating in group meditation sessions, and going to see Master
whenever possible. I felt I was progressing and growing quickly, and
was a happy, single, carefree Quan Yin practitioner. I had never thought
of getting married and actually did not think I would do so in the
future.
In
2000, however, on a very unexpected day, I met my present husband
on the way to a job interview. It was so called love at first sight.
To me, it was more like a reunion with an old partner. We hit it off
quickly, getting married after six months, and having a baby afterwards.
Though my marriage happened all of a sudden, I was not unprepared.
Deep in my heart I knew that this was how I had consciously chosen
to live out my life: being successful in both spiritual and worldly
affairs. I wanted to test my spirituality through my mundane life,
and to apply the wisdom and happiness I obtained from practice to
everyday existence to see if I could make "heaven" out of
it.
My
husband is not a fellow initiate, and I cannot say he is one hundred
percent in support of my spiritual practice. But he respects my personal
beliefs and is tolerant of my practice, which is good enough to give
me the space and freedom to continue on my spiritual path. I also
fulfill my part of the job, sometimes giving up group meditation to
visit his parents with him on weekends. I occasionally go to church
with my husband to let him know that I fully respect Jesus Christ,
even though I am not a Christian. And I treat his friends well when
they visit our home to show him that I am not antisocial, though my
own friends are mostly practitioners.
Since
getting married, I have given equal importance to both mundane life
and spiritual practice. Actually, I find that I have to give them
equal attention in order to make them work better. Practicing the
Quan Yin Method gives me constant inner happiness and inspiration,
which in turn influences and renews my marriage. My secure relationship
with my husband gives me the peace of mind to practice spiritually.
I know that if I focus on only one part of my life, however, I will
eventually spoil both .
If
one knows how to handle both the mundane and spiritual aspects of
existence at the same time, there is no conflict between marriage
and spiritual practice. Practicing one-pointedly without distractions
becomes simple, but in the context of marriage it requires some additional
qualities such as people skills, quickness in doing housework, the
ability to be romantic, etc. Actually, Master has taught us all the
details of acquiring these skills in Her discourses.
However,
I learn more from Master's example than from Her verbal teaching.
Master never withdraws from showing her tears and laughter; She gives
hugs to people to show Her love, tells us exactly what She likes and
dislikes, and always dresses nicely to please our eyes. She never
says, "I quit" and never leaves us alone in the world, no
matter how hard the situation is for Her. The way She treats Her disciples,
lovingly and patiently, provides us with a good example of a how to
treat our lifelong partners.
Related article: Pearls
of Wisdom
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