| |
An Unforgettable Event: Golden Year 4 Lunar New Year Celebration and International Retreat
Combined reports by Formosa and U.S.A.
News Groups February 16 - Joyously Welcoming Master's Return Fellow initiates were busy decorating for the Lunar New Year International Retreat, when a yellow taxi drove up to the main entrance of Hsihu Center. The passenger inside rolled down the window and gently asked the guard at the gate: "May I enter?" At first, the guard was stupefied, then amazed, and shouted aloud: "Oh! Master is back!" Faces filled with the joy of seeing Master after such a long time, everyone rushed to the entrance and lined up to welcome Master Mommy who had returned to Hsihu after more than ten years. Master asked the driver to move forward at the slowest speed possible, so that She could wave and say "Hallo!" to all the fellow practitioners. Her merciful eyes, perpetually glittering like diamonds and deep as the ocean, gazed at each one as the car passed by. Tear-filled eyes and smiling faces revealed the remembrance and emotions of missing Master. Watching Her come back to Hsihu alone in a taxi, wearing casual clothes and carrying the luggage by Herself, we could imagine how She toiled around the world wishing to give the least trouble to Her disciples. Master's infinite consideration and love deeply touched the hearts of fellow initiates! February 17 - New Year Eve Reunion Celebration
In the afternoon, fellow initiates lined up on both sides of the road outside the main gate to Hsihu Center, cheering and clapping to warmly welcome the honorable guests from the Philippines. Master invited the guests to the Nectar River, joining the fellow initiates to enjoy a barbecue in the evening. Towards midnight, Master and the guests joined us again to greet the Year of the Pig in a countdown and a cheery toast. A long line of fireworks looked like cascading springs of light. The brightness and sparkles made us feel like we were in a fairyland.
February 18 - Happy Peaceful New Year
Fellow initiates from all countries, dressed in the most colorful traditional dress of different nations, celebrated the arrival of Golden Year 4. In a garden-party style, all fellow initiates and guests were treated to a sumptuous feast of New Year delicacies from different countries. Wearing the costume of the Ching Dynasty Emperor, Master arrived in a sedan chair and waved to greet everyone. She stopped at various food booths along the way to taste the snacks with the guests. When She came to the 'Aulac Village,' She was very happy to see some New Year delicacies and cultural artworks that She remembered from Her youth. Master explained each item in detail to the guests and cordially presented many of them as gifts. Later, Master went to the Hall of Sacred Love - the big meditation tent area - to celebrate with the fellow initiates and watch their exuberant performances. She sang a cheerful Happy New Year song with us from lyrics that She had created Herself as follows, sung to the tune of the Happy Birthday song: "Happy New Year Heaven, Happy New Year On Earth, Happy New Year All Beings, Happy Peaceful New Year." Master said, "There will be peace, just like God has spoken. There will be light. It seems like we are going to have peace and pretty soon, even though we still have little frictions here and there between some previous life incarnation enemies. So they are ironing it out, their problems. But looks like we have more peace than ever, and it's going to be more peace, and this is the way it has to be... because in peace we can rebuild countries, only in peace can we rebuild human relationships; only in peace can we attain Heaven." Master also gave an inspirational discourse on environmental issues, explaining that we ought to save energy, for example, by using energy-saving bulbs, buying pollution-free cars, sharing vehicles together to go to work or shopping, recycling usable materials, saving water, saving electricity, and so on. This is not just for saving money, but also for saving the world. It is good that we are already vegetarians,
because the vegetarian diet is also a crucial element in saving the
world, as proclaimed in a new report published by the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which states that livestock
generate a large share of harmful greenhouse gas emissions. (For more
information, please refer to Shining World Leadership Award Presentation That evening, a Shining World Leadership Award presentation ceremony was held at the Hall of Sacred Love, honoring the former President of the Philippines, Fidel Ramos; President of the Gusi Foundation, Mr. Manuel Morato; and Senator Heherson Alvarez, for their philanthropic deeds in helping the Aulacese asylum seekers many years ago. The local dignitaries that attended this grand ceremony were Mr. Gu Min, UNESCO committee member; Mr. Su Wen-hui, Chief of Miaoli Civil Administration Bureau, and his wife; Mr. Huang Lung-fu, Chief of the Religion and Traditional Customs Department; Mayor of Hsihu Township, Mr. He Mu-yan and his wife; Ms. Yang Xiu-xia, former Hsihu Township Mayor; Mr. Wu Jun-yi, Village Chief of Sanhu Village; Mr. Gu Mu-xian, Director of Hsihu Township Farming Society; Mr. Zhu Zeng-cheng from the Police Department; Town Citizens' Representatives Mr. Zhu Qiu-rong and his wife; Ms. Huang Mei-ying, former Director of the Taipei County Volunteer Worker Society; and many others.  Honored guests from Formosa The guests first watched "The Golden Heart of the Philippines," a documentary describing how the Philippine government and its people rendered humanitarian aid to Aulacese asylum seekers. In 1979, Imelda R. Marcos, then First Lady of the Philippines, was the first-ever vanguard in garnering support and providing temporary shelter for thousands of Aulacese boat people adrift in Manila Bay. In 1995, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) halted funding for refugee camps throughout Asia, so some countries found it necessary to initiate a repatriation process, much to the inexpressible anguish of the refugees. Feeling their deep sorrow, Supreme Master Ching Hai devoted much of Her time, energy and resources to alleviate the suffering of those desperate in their countryless plight. She offered them words of consolation, material comfort and spiritual support. At that time, Mr. Manuel L. Morato was deeply moved by the Aulacese refugee situation. Having just met Supreme Master Ching Hai and sympathizing with the desperation of the refugees, he took the initiative to appeal to the Ambassador of Foreign Affairs on their behalf. He then personally accompanied Supreme Master Ching Hai to meet both government and private officials, providing pivotal help in the quest to alleviate the refugees' suffering. In 1995, President Fidel Ramos issued an order granting permanent residence to 5,000 Aulacese refugees, at the same time that other nations were turning them back to sea. Mr. Heherson Alvarez worked to pass a law that gave rights of refugees to people like those coming out of Au Lac, so that they could stay in the Philippines. Dr. Rene Santos and family took Master to different television and radio stations so that She could have the chance, through their nationwide broadcasting network, to plead for the Aulacese refugees' plight. Countless other anonymous but compassionate hearts, including members of the Catholic Church and other Filipino citizens, all lovingly embraced and welcomed the Aulacese refugees as their own. 
Aulacese initiates offer flowers to their
Filipino benefactors.
After watching this documentary, fellow initiates from Au Lac offered flowers to their kind benefactors. The former president of the Philippines, Fidel Ramos, was invited to be the lead honoree. Even though he was unable to attend because of a previous engagement co-chairing an annual world conference in China, a larger-than-life photo of him dominated the center of the stage, and Master went up on stage specially to offer flowers to his photo in gratitude for the humanitarian help he rendered to the Aulacese asylum seekers. At that point, our loving and humble Master became quite emotional and shed tears. 
Master offers flowers to former president of the
Philippines, Fidel Ramos
Following that, Master presented the Shining World Leadership Award to Mr. Morato ♥♥♥♥♥♥ and to Senator Alvarez ♥♥♥♥♥♥. Mr. Alvarez recalled how they had helped the Aulacese refugees to settle. He also praised Master for Her help and for having so much love for the refugees. Mr. Morato, during the ceremony and in a correspondence sent after he had returned to his country, expressed his gratitude to Master and Her Association. He also praised Her as a very loving person and said that when She came to him for help, he felt it was his pleasure to do so. He also said the he felt electrified, very refreshed and enlightened in his time with our group, and added: "How I wish all the people of the world would behave the way Your fellow members do. Then the world would truly be a peaceful place to live in." 
 Master presented the Shining World Leadership Award to Mr. Morato and to Senator Alvarez. Master also spoke from the stage to express Her thanks to the Filipino people for helping the refugees in their time of need. She said the awards were being presented on behalf of all the refugees in the world to show our gratitude to all the nations. She thanked them again for helping the refugees to heal their wounds and get their human dignity back. She hoped that in the future, war would not exist and the word itself would be forgotten in the vocabulary of humankind, and that one day there would not be even a single frontier left between nations as we all would become brothers and sisters in the big global family.
After that, the Lunar New Year celebration program began. The high standard of performances from fellow initiates in various countries won thunderous cheering and applause from the entire audience. After the performance program, Ms. Cecile Alvarez, on behalf of Mr. Joe Lad Santos and Mr. Ricardo Nolasco from the Filipino Institute of Komiks Arts and Sciences, presented a plaque of appreciation to Master, together with samples of paintings by some Filipino artists. She also gave Master a videotape of a program that had been hosted by Mrs. Alvarez, which reported Master's compassionate actions in helping the disaster victims in the Philippines. Mrs. Alvarez also offered Master a piece of fabric from a Muslim community, symbolizing that "regardless of race and color, there is a common humanity," as well as her gratitude for assisting the Earthsaver's Dream Ensemble. On behalf of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Mr. Morato presented a painting to Master.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
