Preparing for a Retreat is a
Great Learning Experience

By brother initiate Thomas, France (Originally in French)

From July to August 2002, Hungarian initiates established a new center in Budapest, and a great number of tasks had to be accomplished before the start of the planned four-day European Retreat in August. So I decided to go to the site ten days early, and thanked Master for allowing me to join the working team responsible for the construction of the center’s meditation hall.

We worked in rainy weather for several days, and one day as I worked, I occasionally dreamed of something warm to drink. Then, all of a sudden, I heard the soft voice of the team leader saying to me, “Thomas, take a break, some tea is ready!” I rapidly went down and could not believe that a cup of warm green tea, prepared by the team leader, was waiting for me! During this short but wonderful break, the brother reminded me with his lovely smile and shining eyes that, while working, it is essential to remain concentrated on the task at hand and not be distracted by wandering thoughts.

 

Positive Persistence Overcomes Obstacles

By brother initiate Eric, Benin, Africa (Originally in English)

After a recent videoconference with Master, the initiate responsible for its video recording told me what had happened before the conference began. When he arrived at the university where the conference was to be held, he realized that he did not have enough blank tapes and batteries to record the entire event. In addition, he was unfamiliar with the university’s video equipment, and its technician was off duty because it was a holiday. Nonetheless, the brother insisted that the whole conference had to be filmed and kept that idea in mind, with the confidence that Master would help him overcome this unexpected obstacle, which appeared very complex because the time to react was extremely short. The brother faced many difficulties but persevered, and finally contacted a video company with an employee who was at that very time working at the university! The initiate quickly drove back and consulted the employee and finally solved his problems.

Thanks to Master for Her help and for the brother’s strong willpower, which helped him to reject the negative thought of not being able to film the entire conference. I was really impressed by this story by the initiate, and said to myself, “Whenever I face such a tricky situation, I should remember this story and the brother’s wise way of thinking and acting.”

 

A Grand Harvest from the European Retreat

by fellow initiate Rastislav A. Kovacic, Slovenia (Originally in English)

During the four-day European Retreat, our meditation sessions began with the playing of Master’s melodic Buddha’s Chanting tape. The meditation hall was thus immediately filled with Master’s blessing power. Previously, whenever I had tried to recite the Holy Names, I had trouble getting through the first one, and I could not even finish the second one. Ever since this retreat, however, I no longer have this problem. Thank you, Master, for your compassionate support.

 

Master’s Almighty Power
Helps in a Border Crossing

By the Hungarian News Group (Originally in English)

On the way to Budapest for the four-day European Retreat, a miracle occurred to a Romanian sister. As she was traveling to the Retreat in a bus full of passengers, the vehicle was stopped at the border between Romania and Hungary, and for some reason was turned back by the border guards. While encountering such a hindrance, the sister could not help but begin to repeat the Holy Names and pray to Master for help. Then, after holding back for a while, the bus driver suddenly made up his mind to try to go through the border checkpoint again, and unexpectedly, this time the bus went through almost immediately!

After this experience, the Romanian sister was amazed at Master’s almighty power and felt boundless gratitude to Her.

Group Meditation:2002 European Retreat