By Sister Chung Wen-hung Taipei, Formosa

On May 5, 1999, in response to an audience member’s question at a lecture in Madrid, Spain, Master stated that overcoming our shortcomings, ego and evil inclinations to become masters of ourselves is the most splendid victory imaginable, superior to that of any war. I was deeply touched to learn Master’s supreme wisdom on this subject, for I was initiated over ten years ago, and although I feel I have been sincere on the path and undergone many challenges, I still fail one test after another. Fortunately, however, through Master’s sacred blessings, I am always able to restore my poise and continue to face life with confidence.

I was raised in a well-to-do family, and as a child listened to no one but my father. Throughout my school years, I made smooth educational progress and thought myself to be as intelligent and talented as any of my schoolmates. Then, after becoming a respected junior high school teacher, my ego grew even larger, and I came to admire few people in my life besides Master. Outwardly, I seemed quite easy-going, but inwardly I was arrogant and stubborn.

Then, after getting married, in order to become perfect in my own eyes and satisfy my eagerness to do everything well, I undertook all the household work for the family, working during the day and doing chores until midnight. I almost passed out at work a few times, but still refused to ask for help. Through this egotistical behavior I hurt myself very much! But fortunately, I was being taken care of by Master, who led me through many difficulties without my being aware of it. I am very grateful for God’s arrangements as my family members “cut down” my ego, and gave me a chance to learn the lesson of humility. Thanks to God, when I was young I was strictly trained by my mother, and before my marriage was taught by my mother and sister-in-law how to do housework, without which my life might have been even worse!

At the time of my initiation, Formosa was at its peak economically, and many people were indulging in all forms of physical comforts, so we spiritual practitioners, who maintained a vegetarian diet and meditated every day, looked quite alien. Also, as unruly students disrespectfully humiliated their teachers, I felt lucky because Master always teaches us to accommodate everything with love. Around this time, for example, several of young girls deliberately laughed at me in front of my husband and criticized spiritual practice. Their disrespectful words and my husband’s mocking response hurt my ego very much. Although I bore the pain on the surface, I was angry and sad inside. Due to Master’s understanding of my situation at the time, as She walked around the Hsihu Meditation Hall after a lecture, She smiled at me, winked and said, “Don’t mind what others say about you!” Suddenly, my inner troubles disappeared, and I was elevated by Master’s sweet smile as Her loving blessings overcame the deep hurt within me. Actually, these minor words of ridicule I had experienced were nothing compared to the slander and stress that Master undergoes regularly.

It often requires great effort and much time on Master’s part to train us to dispose of our bad habits. Furthermore, many kinds of subtle ego games are difficult for us to recognize, so we have to trouble our Master, the great director of the universe, to arrange many learning situations for us, and burden many beings of affinity to play the games with us, so that we can learn to diminish the ego. In this regard, I clearly remember the Christmas 2001 Four-day Retreat in Florida, U.S.A, when Master answered an initiate’s question as follows: “When people scold you, you should take it as my scolding you and be more loving toward them, and your anger will disappear.” These wise words provide an excellent remedy for overcoming the ego.