Story World

    Stories of Life with Master in the Early Years
    Part III:

Master likes to work at night when all is still and the tumultuous daytime atmosphere has calmed down. When everyone else is in dreamland, the Saint continues another stage of Her work.

Master once invited a resident disciple to sleep in Her room. The following morning, the sister came back to the office looking thoughtful. The other resident disciples felt curious and asked her why she was so pensive. She said that the night before, Master had given her many instructions about her work, and she was trying hard to remember them. We wondered why she had not brought paper and pen with her, and the sister responded, “How could I have known to bring a pen and paper when I went to bed?” After this incident, we realized that Master doesn’t really sleep when She goes to bed, but continues to tirelessly do Her work through the night.

In 1993, before leaving Formosa for Her World Lecture Tour, Master gave a wonderful talk at the Sun Yet-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei in response to the local community’s loving wishes. The night before the lecture, Master unexpectedly asked for the book of Chuang Tze, that was stored in Hsihu’s Treasure Pavilion. The messenger told us to find the book and have it delivered to Taipei as soon as possible. The next day, the theme of Master’s lecture was “Lao Tze, Chuang Tze and the Music of Heaven.” Later, Master went to Indonesia and continued talking about Lao Tze and Chuang Tze. Such impromptu situations often occur when we are with Master.

Another time, it was very late and I was working overtime in the office. Just as I began to feel drowsy and was about to go to bed, the phone rang suddenly. It was Master asking for a book about Master Tson-Kha-Pa, founder of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) monastic sect in Tibet, and where it could be found. I looked at the clock; it was midnight. Knowing that Master was still reading, my sleepiness vanished in no time.

Stories of Life with Master in the Early Years
Part IV:

Once when I had a chance to organize Master’s bookcase, a small, loose-leaf notebook caught my attention. I casually opened it and Master’s graceful handwriting greeted my eyes. I looked at just a few lines, but they were very powerful. I dared not read more and closed the notebook, which was of a very plain, simple style that few people used at the time. But Master used it to write down Her priceless inspirations!

Master is really a very simple person. But because of our complicated and unnatural minds, we often fail to perceive Her needs when attending to Her. For a period of time, Master would occasionally draw out some tissue-paper during Her public lectures, joking that it was Her “wise council.” It was actually because we had forgotten to provide notebooks for Master, so when She had inspirations at night, She had to make do with tissue-paper to write on. In order to jot down Her inspirations at any given moment, Master always placed a small flashlight by Her bed for writing at night.

Once Master visited our office. When she saw some yellow post-it notes on my desk, She was as delighted as a child discovering a new toy. She took them and kept them with Her on Her trip abroad. In the office, these convenient notes had been used for a long time, but not a single person thought of getting some for Master! And She was the one Who needed them most!

We also forgot to put a calendar in Master’s room, so She often telephoned us to ask the date. Besides, when Master drew Her clothing, jewelry and lamp designs, She had only a few colored pens available and often could not find correction fluid; while in our office, all kinds of colored pens were within easy reach, but we often failed to create anything. Master, the great designer, however, could paint the entire universe with just a few simple pens!

Stories of Life with Master in the Early Years
Part V:


One afternoon at Hsihu, it looked as though it was going to rain. The air was heavy and sultry. Then, while working quietly in the office, all of a sudden we heard an explosion coming from Master’s kitchen, which was only a few feet from our office. While we - a bunch of sister residents - became anxious and confused, we heard a ripple of joyous laughter, and then sighed in relief! We realized that things must be all right after hearing the laughter. But what had happened? It turned out that Master had asked someone to set off some fire crackers and then sent someone over to inquire, “Were you scared by the blast?” Our mischievous Master had succeeded in entertaining us, and the dreary atmosphere of the day was naturally and easily dissolved.