A Moon Festival
Full of Divine Love

In September 2005, Tainan initiates of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association launched a series of Moon Festival activities that brought joy and affection to residents of Yanshui’s Old Ciaonan Street, which has a rich history of maintaining cultural traditions, and also to people living in Tainan City’s Hungchia Sanctuary Center for the Handicapped and the Third Jingjhong Village.  

On the evening of September 5, a program with the theme “True Love Emerges on the Moon Festival” was presented at Old Ciaonan Street, where elderly residents account for over half the population. Hoping to create the warm atmosphere of a family reunion for the seniors during the Moon Festival, the fellow initiates carefully prepared entertaining performances for them. Song, dance and instrumental recitals were complemented by the chanting of Master’s Wu Zi Poems in the form of a folk opera. The initiates’ sweet, melodious performances moved the residents to chant along and the generation gap was invisibly reduced as the sisters and brothers gave the elderly audience members fond memories of youth!

The activity attracted more than 300 senior citizens and their families from eight villages, and was heartily received by local volunteer workers. In addition, a group of loving mothers voluntarily performed two lively dances during the program, and Ms. Chen Mingzhen, secretary to the Tainan County Magistrate, Director Chen Rongzhi of the Tainan County Bureau of Social Affairs and Yeh Mao-jeon, President of the Nan Jeon Institute of Technology also attended to show their support and concern for the elderly. The Tainan Center made a special presentation of Master’s books to these honored guests to thank them for tending to the needs of the older population.

A local community volunteer who had observed the joy of the Tainan initiates organizing the activity showed great interest in Master and the Quan Yin Method and wished to learn more about them. After the initiates provided her with some basic information she expressed a desire to visit the Hsihu Center, and also decided to become a vegetarian after tasting the vegetarian food the practitioners had prepared.

Moreover, Director Lin Huomu of the Yanshuei Ciaonan Community Development Association, who was impressed by Master’s care for the less fortunate, said, “I’m deeply moved to see you conducting this activity with such great love and sincerity, preparing such a delicious vegetarian feast and planning such excellent performances for the elderly people.”

Then on September 14, the Tainan initiates continued on to the second leg of their Moon Festival project at the Hungchia Sanctuary Center for the Handicapped, a social welfare institution serving over three hundred children and adults with severe physical or mental handicaps. In order to provide the residents with a warm, happy Moon Festival, one of Master’s videos was shown and a program presented that included dance, song and instrumental performances in which the audience participated. Several fellow initiates also acted as clowns to add to the fun. During the activity a number of the innocent participants danced and clapped their hands joyfully while others laughed and nodded in time with the music. Thus, led by the initiates, the Center’s teachers and students enthusiastically joined in the program, with some students simply moving their hands and legs along with the beat of Master’s music, and over a dozen singing and dancing in a touching expression of inner joy!

After the performance program, the Center’s director Ms. Shen Shuhui presented a certificate of gratitude to The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association, thanking the initiates for giving the students gifts, rice, daily necessities and an unforgettably joyous time along with Master’s love. Director Shen also said admiringly, “The activity organized by the Association was really an eye opener! The fellow initiates were so lively and passionate, and the program was so excellent that the students had the unprecedented experience of not having to use the restroom during the entire show!” Moreover, Ms. Shen was highly impressed with the rich, delicious vegetarian food the sisters and brothers had prepared, and besides presenting the thank-you certificate, she also expressed her gratitude by sharing homemade vegetarian moon cakes with the initiates.

Next, on September 16 the practitioners visited the Third Jingzhong Village, the largest community of former military personnel in Formosa, with about two-thousand residents. The sisters and brothers conducted this loving activity before the Moon Festival in a show of respect to the old veterans.

News of the event was announced from a van that moved around the Village, while the local activity center was prepared with its director’s assistance. All the participating initiates worked with devotion, cooking delicious vegetarian food, entertaining the veterans and their families and arranging a series of wonderful performances. Each aspect of the program was warmly received with loud applause. Moreover, the chanting of Master’s Wu Zi Poems accompanied by traditional music was a great favorite among the elderly people, who happily clapped their hands to the rhythm in a childlike fashion, creating a warm, sweet scene!

After the activity, on behalf of his community, Director Li Jianping of the local Self-Governing Council thanked the fellow initiates for their love and brilliant Moon Festival program and also expressed deep respect for Master. Then the disciples presented Mr. Li with one of Master’s DVDs and several books in recognition of his loving service to the public.

As the Tainan initiates conveyed Master’s love to local residents through their 2005 Moon Festival activities, their souls were blessed by God in a joyful, harmonious atmosphere, and they wish to thank Master for giving them this chance to learn and grow through selfless work.♥