Brother Tian and his family live in a remote mountain village in northern China. An incident that occurred to them last year has been widely discussed in the local community, and also provides precious inspiration for fellow practitioners and others around the world.

Since the spring of 2001, northern China has been hit by a severe drought, and as a result, brother Tian’s family was recently left with over sixty acres of dry farmland without irrigation facilities. Other irrigated farms were not doing any better, because the local mountain stream had long ago dried up. Last spring, wild grass on the mountain was dry and yellow, a scene usually seen only in autumn. Brother Tian said that his family’s ploughing efforts turned up only dry soil, and the topsoil in the fields was easily blown away by the wind. It was about time to sow seeds, but Heaven simply refused to send down any rain. Looking desperately at the cracked soil in their region, most of the farmers around brother Tian predicted that it was going to be a very bad year. And they decided not to plant any crops, fearing that they would lose their seed and fertilizer, and waste a lot of effort, if the drought persisted.

Days passed and rain finally came, but it was too light to do any good, and the soil the farmers turned up was still dry. While the villagers speculated and waited, brother Tian and his family, bringing along their donkey, went up the mountain to cultivate their land and became the laughingstock of the area. Knowing that brother Tian was following Master Ching Hai in spiritual practice, they mocked him, saying, “You don’t have to farm. Simply let your God and Master feed you.” Brother Tian was never good at debating, and after following Master, he found talk to be even less constructive than he had before. He noticed that many families in the local village who had religious beliefs were not cultivating their land, trusting that God would bestow food on them. When the Tian family worked hard on the slope with their donkey, the villagers often looked on with scepticism.

Since there was very little rain, they could not cultivate in the usual way so brother Tian tried a new method of shallow planting. In this way, the water that was scarcely retained by the soil was kept beneath the surface after ploughing, and the dry soil that was dug up served to block the sunlight from evaporating the moisture underground. While working on his land, brother Tian thought, “Feed for livestock costs many times more than seeds for planting. The people don’t mind wasting food on livestock, but mind spending money for seed and fertilizer. The world is truly topsy-turvy! But since there is a little rain, I will give it a try. Otherwise, how will I know if my method works or not?” Incredibly, just after he finished cultivating his land, rain came to his area. It was not very heavy, but the water managed to penetrate the topsoil, and held together the dry surface soil and the wet soil beneath. Several rainfalls soon followed, and brother Tian always ploughed the land just in time to catch the water. Needless to say, he had to work much harder than in the past, but his efforts paid off. Surprisingly, most of the millet seedlings he sowed survived and grew!

When autumn came, of all the farmland on the slope, only the stretch belonging to the Tians was lush green and yielding a fair harvest. It was not as good as in past years, but after storing some for themselves, they still had several thousand catties (a catty equals 500 grams) to sell. At that time, the other farmers came to realize that they had been wrong. Some of them concluded, “From now on, be it a good year or bad, we’ll follow the example of the Tian family, and then we can’t go wrong!”

After the Tians harvested their crops, their harvest almost filled their barn. But then selling the surplus became their next problem. In previous years, buyers would come on their own initiative; this year, however, hardly anyone came. Even if they wanted to sell their crops cheaply, no buyer could be found. The Tians then meditated together each day, and finally thought of a solution. They sorted the millet meticulously and divided it into many grades. Then, brother Tian and his wife and eldest daughter went out together to sell the millet. Every morning, they each loaded about fifty catties of millet onto their bicycles and cycled for over twenty kilometers to a town where they sold the millet on the streets. Any crops that were not sold that day would be bartered for living necessities at the market. Thanks to Master’s blessings, their business was good, and they even fetched better prices than in previous years. Before Lunar New Year 2002, they managed to sell all their surplus crops, and earned a net profit of more than RMB four thousand. As they had to cycle back and forth for more than forty kilometers each day, they became physically stronger, which subsequently improved their meditation.

Mrs. Tian was simple, but intelligent when speaking about their good fortune. She said that when they first followed Master, they were still keeping a large amount of livestock, which is one of the essential sources of income for most Chinese farming households. Local farmers have the deep-rooted belief that growing crops alone can yield only a limited income, so they feel they have to keep livestock as a supplement to their livelihood from crops. When the Tian family learned the Truth through Master’s teachings, however, they decided to stop raising livestock. The short-term benefits derived from killing can never compensate for the harm done to sentient beings; such a practice only pushes us into the abyss of agony and disaster. Regarding his family’s transformation, brother Tian said confidently, “If we have faith in Master, in God, Hes will definitely take care of our lives.”

Another miracle that brother Tian revealed to us was that, in childhood, he was playful and never liked studying. Having spent only two years in primary school, he was basically illiterate. However, after following Master, he could understand every word of Master’s teachings, though he remained illiterate when reading other books or newspapers!

Living in the mountains of northern China, apart from farming and raising livestock, the only way that people like the Tians can earn money is by picking mushrooms. But when too many people began to pursue this business, the trade became highly competitive. Therefore, the Tians switched to digging medicinal herbs. Logically speaking, there was nothing wrong in what they did. But one day, they discovered that often there were numerous tiny creatures living on the roots of the herbs they picked, and they felt very sorry for them. Since then, they have stopped doing this work. In farming, killing is also involved, but that is inevitable. Digging medicinal herbs in not inevitable, so they decided to stop the practice.

God always bestows grace on those who have unwavering faith in Hirm. So some time later, brother Tian found a field of wild scallions with light-colored flowers on a nearby mountain. Since then, each morning, and at the cooler time of the afternoon, he and his family first meditate and then climb the mountain to pick wild scallions. At home, they wash and sort them, and then pack them in bottles. They then sell them to large restaurants along the local highway as seasoning ingredients. Since beginning this enterprise, several restaurants have come to their home to make purchases, and the business now gives them a handsome income. Each year, after deducting their living expenses and the fees for their two children who are studying in secondary school and high school in the nearby town, brother Tian and his wife still have a sizeable surplus.

Brother Tian was absolutely correct when he said that following Master in spiritual practice is never a losing proposition! In the past, he and his family worked hard at farming, but still had to worry about having no food for their next meal. Watching their children grow up, brother Tian and his wife worried that they would not have the means to give them a good education. After embarking on spiritual practice, however, although their fate of “bowing down to earth and arching their backs to Heaven” has not changed, Master’s love has transformed their way of thinking and implanted in them saintly hearts that are cheerful and free of ambitious desires. They still do the same work each day, but are always in a very good mood and enjoy special harvests. At present, the Tians live in a spacious house that was earned through their diligent labor, and are admired by their whole village.

On those of us who live in the secular world, God has already bestowed Hiers grace - the Quan Yin Method, which liberates us from transmigration, and the Supreme Master Ching Hai, who is most merciful and all-loving. As long as we can maintain our faith, practice diligently and implement Master’s teachings to live a sound and balanced life, God’s almighty love will forever protect and bless us, as it has brother Tian and his family.

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