A Humble Offering to our
Beloved Master: 1995
On the day when Master’s office
at Hsihu was formally inaugurated, the resident disciples prepared a
large array of biscuits, candy, fruit and other blessed food, and
earnestly awaited Her arrival. Then, as a round of welcoming applause
broke out, we saw our weak, exhausted Master walk up slowly, Her body
supported by a disciple. It then occurred to me that just the previous
day She had returned from a trip abroad and had hardly had any rest
before being urged to cut the ribbon at the inauguration ceremony. When
this thought sank in I felt my heart ache.
Each piece of lumber for the
office, an exquisitely built wooden bungalow, had been cut, sandpapered
and painted with care by the disciples. The building was a humble gift
to express our gratitude to Master for Her incessant toil on behalf of
humankind. We sincerely hoped that it would provide Her with a place to
work and rest, sheltered from the wind and rain.
Feeling the disciples’ great
devotion and earnestness, Master said, “Initially, I wasn’t prepared to
accept such a big present from you. However, your sincerity has touched
me. Today, I accept your offering so that in the future people will know
how well my disciples treat their Master.”
After that, Master said
jokingly, “Am I entitled to have such a big gift just because I’ve been
your teacher for ten years?” I happened to be standing next to Master so
I casually replied, “It’s very reasonable.” Then Master continued,
“Really? Do your worldly teachers receive such large presents after ten
years of teaching?” and I responded mischievously, “That depends on how
they teach!”
To my surprise, Master was so
humble that She immediately looked very shy, and I was too embarrassed
to say anything more. But, in fact, for Her disciples, an offering such
as the Hsihu office is not adequate payment for even one-billionth of
the tremendous grace that Master bestows on us each day of our lives!