[Youngdong]
On December 23, 2001 a one-day retreat and Christmas celebration were
held at the Youngdong Center. After 4:00 AM to 1:00 PM group meditation
session, the celebration began with a cake cutting ceremony conducted
by a Quan Yin messenger and local contact persons.
After
fellow initiates enjoyed a special Christmas lunch, a Quan Yin messenger,
dressed as Santa Claus, distributed gifts to the children. Then an
entertainment program was presented by young initiates. All the audience
members were very happy, and clapped their hands to accompany the
youngsters' songs and musical performances.
The second
part of the program consisted of performances by many other centers
in Korea, and included a crane dance and Korean traditional instrumental
pieces and songs. These lively and amusing presentations made the
audience laugh non-stop. We sensed that Master was accompanying us
and elevating our spirits throughout the entire show.
The following
day, fellow initiates from the Youngdong Center went to visit and
distribute rice and cakes to poor families living near the Center.
 |
 |
| Resident-initiates
from the Youngdong Center, dressed in Santa Claus suits, hold
candles and present a performance to entertain fellow initiates.
|
A
Quan Yin messenger gives Christmas gifts to young initiates.
|
[Seoul]
On January 20, 2002, a seminar entitled "Vegetarianism and Spirituality"
was held in Seoul, and the Seoul Branch of The Supreme Master Ching
Hai International Association was invited to share Master's teachings
about spirituality and vegetarianism at the event.
The participants
in the seminar were very pure and sincere in their desire to know
God. However, they seemed helpless in some respects in fulfilling
their desire.
To
help them enhance their understanding, we first provided various vegetarian
dishes for the participants to sample. While enjoying lunch, they
attentively watched a special videotape about vegetarianism that we
presented. They paid close attention to the presentation and exchanged
their opinions on vegetarianism with each other. After lunch, a sister
initiate gave a brief lecture about the benefits of a vegetarian diet.
And then the manager of the SM Vegetarian Buffet, run by the Seoul
Center, demonstrated vegetarian cooking methods. Most of the participants
were very interested in vegetarianism, and expressed a desire to visit
the SM Vegetarian Buffet.
Next,
we played a brief video introducing Master, along with one of Her
video lectures We also distributed Master's sample booklets and vegetarian
pamphlets so that the seminar participants could contact us afterwards.
