As the Women and Children Festival neared, fellow initiates in Taipei noticed

that two Children’s Homes in Taipei - Yi Guang and Zhong Yi, were in urgent need of daily necessities. Therefore, they approached these two Children’s Homes and offered to provide them with essential materials.

In the morning of March 25, Golden Year 3 (2006), fellow initiates delivered the aid material, including clothes, toiletry and hygiene supplies, teabags, snacks, fruit juice, frog carts, color laser printer, electric magnetic stove, and gift packets to the Yi Guang Children’s Home. This Home accommodates orphaned infants and children, as well as physically and mentally disabled homeless children. Currently there are more than forty children living there. The Director of the Yi Guang Children’s Home, Ms. Li Xi-mei, has worked persistently for the last thirty-five years to open up the hearts of the children with her love. She even trained the disabled children in this Home to become athletes qualified to compete in the Special Olympics. On that day, fellow initiates dressed as lovely animal characters and handed out beautiful document folders printed with the Alternative Living message to school-aged children. They also went to each floor to visit those who were not able to move around easily. Observing the love and care of the fellow initiates, Ms. Wei, a teacher in the Children’s Home who has been a vegetarian for 8 years, gladly told us that she had wanted to receive initiation from Master Ching Hai a few years ago, but didn’t know how to contact us.

On the same day, fellow initiates also served a vegetarian meal with over thirty dishes. Amid the sweet voice of Master’s singing from Her latest CDs being played, children in the Home cheerfully enjoyed a sumptuous meal as well as a sense of true family warmth. The teachers told us: “How fortunate and blessed our children are today to be able to enjoy a vegetarian meal that is even more exquisite and delicious than those served in a five-star hotel!” The Director expressed her gratitude to The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association and hoped that in the future, when they move to Wan Fang area, fellow initiates could continue providing services to their children.

That afternoon, fellow initiates visited the Zhong Yi Children’s Home that provided family style care to abandoned infants, homeless children, and children who were abused or whose families had been hit by grave occurrences. Items were contributed for both daily necessities and spiritual nourishment, such as bicycles, microwave ovens, air conditioners, portable CD players, television sets, cleaning supplies, family-use medical supplies, teabags, snacks, clothes, Master’s publications, attractive document folders printed with Alternative Living messages, and gift packets. The Executive Officer of the Children’s Home, Ms. Gao, was very grateful for the aid rendered by The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association.

This series of activities of love to Children’s Homes, aimed at lighting up the hopes for life, was accomplished successfully through the concerted efforts of the fellow initiates. Thus, Master’s love and care for the underprivileged people was extended to the needy areas.

Fully charged with bliss and gratefulness, fellow practitioners from the Changhua Center of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association again visited the Changhua Prison on March 22, Golden Year 3 (2006), sharing a spiritual feast with about a hundred young inmates amid a warm atmosphere of love and gratitude.

When the fellow initiate hosting the seminar cordially greeted the attendees and told them the seminar would bring them good news by introducing them to the Supreme Master Ching Hai, all the attendees responded with a warm applause. When showing the video "Walk the Way of Love", a short introduction to Master's life, they all watched attentively and nodded frequently showing their appreciation. Some browsed Master's sample booklet hoping to know more about Her teachings. Looking at their young faces filled with earnest and focused expression, we were happy for them in having the opportunity to know a living Master, and silently wishing them a brighter future in life.

As the main speaker of the day, a fellow brother recounted his own experience in seeking the Truth from how he started from a young age exploring the meaning of life to questing after the Truth when he grew up, and finally realized that Master Ching Hai is a great Enlightened Master. The brother also cited Master's speech during Her lecture in the Hualien Prison to encourage the attendees. With sincere and earnest words, the brother reminded them: Life is transitory and thus will end sooner or later. The only correct direction in life is to repent and change for the better, and get enlightenment to find our self-nature. The attendees very much agreed with the brother's ardent and sincere speech, and showed it by applauding loudly!

At the second half of the seminar, we showed an edited video introducing Master's lecture tours in various countries of the world, taking the attendees for a spiritual tour around the continents. Stunned by the beautiful scenery of these countries, the attendees cheered frequently from the bottom of their hearts. Especially when the beautiful images of Master lecturing in Africa were shown on the big TV screen, the attendees were all deeply enchanted and totally absorbed, as a peaceful and tranquil ambience permeated the venue. During the Convenient Method teaching session that followed, almost all participants followed the instruction and sat quietly together to experience the esoteric beauty of meditation.

Finally it was time for everyone to express their love and gratitude. Fellow initiates encouraged the attendees to pour out their well-wishes and gratitude for other people on cards, to be read out aloud by fellow initiates. The response was good, and there were many cards full of words expressing their gratitude to their family and teachers, and also their self-promises. Some attendees even wrote down their gratefulness towards Master: "Master warms our hearts. We are very grateful to Master for enlightening us and we hope She will bless the inmates." Some cards expressed the sincere prayers of the attendees: "Let's pray that there will be world peace and all sentient beings will be liberated." These words written with heartfelt feelings and gratitude really touched and impressed the fellow initiates present. Finally we gathered all the gratitude cards from the inmates into an album and presented it to the Prison officers. Observing the wholehearted devotion of the inmates, the Prison officers were delighted and showed their appreciation.

The event was ended amid warm applause of the attendees, and all the fellow initiates taking part felt deeply honored and were very grateful for Master's love and blessing that helped this soul-elevating seminar to be held successfully.

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