Although her parents were Catholic, they were open to Buddhism. Suma Ching Hai's grandmother, a Buddhist, whom Master loved to spend time with taught Her the scriptures and Buddhist worship. The Supreme Master Ching Hai developed a very open attitude toward religion due to this background. She would attend Catholic Church in the morning, Buddhist temple in the afternoon and in the evening would listen to lectures on the holy teachings. This left Her with many spiritual questions, "Where did we come from? What is life after death? Why are people so different?"

At one time, there was a shortage of doctors and nurses in Her town, so Master helped in the hospital after Her classes. She washed patients, emptied bedpans and did errands in Her efforts to ease the suffering. Her friends in different countries often called Her the "living Buddha" or the "funny saint" because of Her sense of humor and kindness to everyone.

She has always had a soft spot for animals and has been known often to take a wounded animal home, care for it and release it. If she saw an animal slaughtered, she would cry, wishing that she could prevent the suffering in the world. She has been a vegetarian and has always been repulsed by the sight of killing, and of meat all Her life.

When The Supreme Master Ching Hai was a child, an astrologer said that She was an unusual, very intelligent being with superior character and morals. It was predicted that She would be a renunciate and become enlightened if not married, but if married, She would have a happy relationship and an admirable husband. This same prediction was repeated many other times in Her later life.

When The Supreme Master Ching Hai left home to become a nun, Her mother went to a Quan Yin temple to pray for advice. She chose a temple where the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva was said to answer all questions of sincere devotees. She was told, "The Master is a very rare and noble child, one of a billion. She has come to this world, on the mission of Quan Yin, to save sentient beings from misery."

She worked for a time in Germany as a translator for the Red Cross. She translated Au Lac Language, German and English, and voluntarily also worked long hours in the service of Au Lac refugees at the expense of her own health and comfort. Her work with Red Cross put The Supreme Master Ching Hai in contact with refugees from many countries. She continuously saw suffering and turmoil brought on by wars and natural disasters. The Supreme Master Ching Hai suffered a great deal as She sought to alleviate the pain She saw, and realized how impossible it was for one person to stop the suffering of humanity. This drove Her more strongly toward enlightenment, as she realized that only this could help alleviate mankind's pain. Therefore, while living in Europe, She practiced Her meditation even more seriously. She sought out new teachers, read everything She could find and practiced many methods She often felt that this was not working, however, and that She was not experiencing the spiritual phenomena She read about in the scriptures, nor was she reaching an enlightened state. This was extremely frustrating for Her.

The Supreme Master Ching Hai has an unusual broad view toward all religions. She has studied and teaches the words of Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu and many others. She constantly shows the similarities among the great teachings and lets us see through Her eyes how all the great Masters are preaching the same Truth. She often explains how different religious opinions have arisen due only to the difference in opinions of different people in different countries at different times.

While in Germany, The Supreme Master Ching Hai was happily married to a German scientist. He had doctorates in two fields. He was a kind, attentive and supportive husband. He became a vegetarian, travelled with his wife on pilgrimages and was very supportive of her charitable works. Eventually, The Supreme Master Ching Hai felt that She needed to leave Her marriage in order to pursue Her spiritual goal. She discussed this at great length with Her husband and the separation was with his agreement. This was an extremely difficult decision for both of them, but She felt very strongly that this was the right decision for Her and that She needed to do this in order to pursue enlightenment.

After leaving Her marriage, The Supreme Master Ching Hai sought the perfect method which could lead one to attain liberation in one lifetime. In the Surangama Sutra, Sakyamuni Buddha said that the Quan Yin Method was the highest of all methods. However none of Her teachers knew it. She travelled and searched everywhere and finally, after many years, found a Himalayan Master who initiated Her into the Quan Yin Method and gave Her the Divine Transmission that She had sought for so many years. After a brief period of Quan Yin practice, She became fully enlightened and continued practicing and improving Her understanding. She remained in retreat in the Himalayas for some time, continuing Her daily practice.

Eventually, The Supreme Master Ching Hai travelled to Formosa. One evening, during a typhoon with heavy rain, as She meditated in a room behind a small temple in Formosa, a group of people knocked at Her door. When Master asked them why they had come they answered, "Quan Yin Bodhisattva (The Goddess of Mercy) replied to our prayers and told us about you, saying that you are the great Master and we should pray to you for the method to reach liberation." Master tried to send them away but they would not go. Finally Master was touched by their sincerity and devotion and agreed to initiate them after several months of purification and their agreement to adhere to a vegetarian diet.

Shy in nature, The Supreme Master Ching Hai did not seek out students to teach. In fact, She ran away from people who sought Her initiation. This happened in India, and in the United States where She was living the unassuming life of a Buddhist nun. When She was "discovered" for the third time in Formosa, She realized that She must not run away from the inevitable tasks that lie ahead. She began sharing with all who wished to hear Her message of Truth, and She began initiating sincere students into the Quan Yin Method.

The Supreme Master Ching Hai's work has spread by word of mouth from this first small group in Formosa to many hundreds of thousands. Most of Master's initiates are in Formosa, because that is where She has stayed the longest. In recent years She has travelled and taught throughout Asia, the United States, Latin America and Europe. Many people from all walks of life, and from many different religious backgrounds, have made great spiritual progress with Her help. Although no formal organization exists to spread Her teachings, grateful friends and disciples are to be found all over the world, ready and willing to help others learn from their beloved Master.

In addition to helping countless numbers of people through Her spiritual teachings and initiations. The Supreme Master Ching Hai has used her boundless energy to assist those who are suffering or in need. In recent years, Her humanitarian efforts have touched the hearts and lives of millions of people all over the world. Master does not discriminate between suffering caused by spiritual ignorance, material privation, or circumstantial events. Wherever there is suffering, She will help.

Some of The Supreme Master Ching Hai's humanitarian activities in the past few years include aid to: the homeless throughout the United States; victims of fire in southern California; victims of floods in the Midwest United States, central and eastern Mainland China, Malaysia, Au Lac, Holland, Belgium and France; disadvantaged elderly in Brazil; those displaced by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines; disaster victims in northern Thailand; destitute families in Formosa and Singapore; lepers on Molokai, Hawaii; spiritual communities in India, Germany and Uganda; families of mentally retarded children in Hawaii; victims of the Los Angeles earthquake; veterans of the United States; orphanages in Au Lac; institutions of medical research on AIDS and cancer in the United States; and many, many others. Of course, we must also mention The Supreme Master Ching Hai's neverending and tireless efforts to help the Au Lac refugees, those both inside and out of refugee camps.

Although She has not sought acknowledgement of any kind, The Supreme Master Ching Hai has been recognized and honored for Her humanitarian work by government officials throughout the world. For example, October 25, 1993 was proclaimed "The Supreme Master Ching Hai Day" by the mayor of Honolulu Hawaii, and February 22, 1994 was likewise proclaimed by the governors of the States of Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Kansas, Missouri and Minnesota. She also received the "World Peace Award" in Honolulu, an the "World Spiritual Leadership Award" at a ceremony in Chicago on February 22, 1994. Congratulatory messages were sent to the Chicago ceremony by many government officials worldwide, including Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Reagan.

In recent years The Supreme Master Ching Hai has also devoted Herself to creative expression of the beauty She enjoys within. Her creative works include paintings, decorated fans, lamps, interior decoration, garden designs, dress designs, poems, musical compositions and songs. Many of these items are made available for purposes of fundraising.

Master Ching Hai told us that She was not always enlightened. She lived a normal worldly life, and knows from experience about our problems, our heartaches, passions, desires and doubts. She also knows the Heavenly Realms of Buddhahood, and how to get there from here. Her sole function at this point in Her life is to help us with our journey from the suffering and confusion of the unawakened state to the Bliss and Absolute Clarity of Total Divine Realization. If you are ready, She is here to take you home!

The Supreme Master Ching Hai gives a variety of lectures to interested students according to their backgrounds and cultures; no matter if one is Christian, Moslem, Buddhist or Taoist, etc.. She speaks in English, French, German, Chinese, and Au Lac Language. Those who wish to learn and practice the Quan Yin Method with The Supreme Master Ching Hai are welcomed to receive Her initiation. Her lectures and initiation are offered free of charge.

ABOUT MASTER'S BIRTH

Young days | A wish | Before enlightenment | Practicing meditation | In the Himalayas

According to my mother, I came after, one day later. I am always late in everything, decided from childhood. (Laughed) You know, that is why I am always late now. You have to forgive me, I was born like that, born lazy, born late.

SOMEBODY ASKED ME before, when I was born whether the light was all over the body, the room. I said, "No, I was born very normal, no light." It is true, but one day later the room was blazed with light; because it came late.

ACCORDING TO MY parents, I was born no crying and eyes just open all day long; never blinked and never shut the eyes. So the parents felt very strange! What kind of child is this?

BUT MY FATHER said that the next evening, about 6 o'clock when it began to darken outside, and then suddenly the whole room, especially the bed I lay in was very, very bright. And they were thinking, "How come the light comes somewhere from the street?" Because we live next to a small path, walking path, and they were looking whether somebody put a shining light through the window. "Nobody there! But the light was there about 15 minutes," they said. And after the light was out, they then remembered, "Oh, it is dark!" And they began to light the lamps in the house. Because it had been shining for 15 minutes, so they did not light the lamps. And until the lights went off and they realized it was dark. And nobody was shining any light outside, no lamps on the walkway outside. So, therefore, the body was not functioning properly, the eyes just kept open and could not cry, and after that I think I cried very loud. (Master laughs.)

I THINK, I was very frightened to come down here. I tried to delay as much as possible until God kicked me down. He said, "Here just go," and no more choice. Yes, probably, I saw from heaven - hunger, AIDS, gems stolen (Master laughs) wars, so much chaos. What for come here? No fun. But probably, a promise is a promise. Once you promise you have to do it, and so here I am trying to do my job with you until time is up. (Over-population is not the main cause of starvation!)

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YOUNG DAYS

The Master is not born perfect, I must remind you. I have done a lot foolish things in my life, youthful foolishness. I was foolish, made a fool of myself. I ran out of school and went see movies when I should have been sitting there in mathematics lessons, et cetera. I did a lot of bad things too. I raced a motorcycle a hundred twenty kilometers per hour, with only Honda. I broke the exhaust pipe. The Honda can go faster but it made a lot of noise. I didn't care about other people's ears, I only cared that I raced better than the next one. (Laughter)

I didn't tell you I was born perfect. If I was good in school maybe it was because I was born with a little more IQ. But it didn't mean that I really strived to be good or was consciously being good. So the Master is not a perfect person. Never is, never will be. You must know. But the Master is the one who can Master his or her mistakes. Can learn from them, and vow to make it better, every day. Just like being a genius is continuous hard work to keep it, similarly mastership is the same. Mastership is all about mastering yourself, nothing else. If anyone else follows you, it's just by the way, just because of your aura. Your true sincerity attracts them from inside. That's why you don't need to talk. You don't even need to tell them anything. They believe you. Mastership is like that. Do not believe that I was born perfect, I am at the moment perfect, or I will ever be perfect. No! I'm learning like you. But I have mastered myself. I don't let my mind dictate to me what to do. Because I know the mind. I make friends with it, we make a deal, saying "You do this and I do that, both of us don't bother each other. If you do it well, I'll also reward you. I feed you well, don't I?" I tell it, "I give you anything when you want it." Just that now it doesn't want much, because it knows it cannot get much with me, so it forgets it. Even when it wants to sleep, I say, "No, get up and work." Then it has to do it. So it gets used to it after ten years. It says, "It's no good talking to this girl. She's very stubborn. She just does what she wants, and no good arguing." That's all there is to a Master, continuous striving for perfection, for a better, nobler personality. A better ideal not really personality because when you talk about personality you mean you still want fame and all that. You know you still have ego, wanting to be proud of yourself; it's not true. Just that you think whatever you want to do, whatever you think is noble, is the highly idealist, benefits others, is good, then you must try to do it. Doesn't matter what the cost, just do it and don't talk. That's the only difference. Otherwise, what is the difference?

People who have worked hard since a young age or who try to work hard whenever they can, they are more clever, sharp, very fast and very clear-sighted; because they have practiced a very long time. So, practice makes masters, because both of the jobs are similar. Most of the circumstances you can judge, if you are used to diversity. I also have had this experience, because since I was young, I loved to work. I loved to be of help. We had servants in the house, but I always ironed my own clothes, washed my own clothes. I even brought water for my parents to take baths and cooked tea for my father. Sometimes I learnt to cook and I took care and helped the servants voluntarily. We had about three, four servants at that time. No need for me to work, I always liked to work. Probably that's why I am good at many things, just because I am used to adjustments. For example, if you do something a long time, sometimes you don't need to measure, you just look and you know how much is needed. It's very fast. The same with many other things, the more you use your brain, the more it will become alert and intelligent. Otherwise, you just become more and more stupid and then regress into stone or tree. That's how people regress. So don't ask me how people can become animals or regress to a lower nature of life. They make it that way. They make themselves that way.

I was mostly an introvert when I was young. I didn't talk too much the way I do now - only rarely. I also didn't know what to talk about. Remember I told you how my husband's friends talked to each other about everything for so long and how I always wished I could talk about half that much to my husband? Things would have been more lively that way. But normally I didn't talk. I didn't know what to talk about. I've really changed. I've really changed into a different person. I don't know how, but things have changed.

Even many people who knew me before, from the times when I ran around Indian ashrams, were surprised that I talk so much. When these people read my lectures that you print in the magazines, or when they got some tapes from someone, they were surprised. They said, "Oh, Jesus! This girl - she talks?" Because when I ran around the Himalayas or different ashrams in India or elsewhere, I rarely talked to people. I didn't even have close friends. I was always very quiet, and very shy toward people, shy toward the public. God has changed me, really. Hes has changed me completely into a different person. I never talked like this before. I never knew how. I really couldn't talk. I never did. I am surprised myself.

So this is how God can change us if we just let it be, just put complete trust in the name of Christ, the name of God, or the name of the Buddha. Then everything will be arranged the way it should be. We should just become like kids. Don't forget the child inside you. It is always there, and whenever we call, he comes out. He peeps out. That is the God nature. That is the nature of purity. We shouldn't worry so much. We shouldn't calculate so much - "If we do this, what will we get in return?" A child doesn't do that. A child never worries about tomorrow. .....

Q. Did You know Yourself You would always spiritually lead the way? For example, Jesus was as a young man and, you know, that we saw Him from the early times and so on when He was twelve years old? Did you always feel that calling?

M. I did not have this calling when I was young. But somehow, I tended towards spiritual teaching, you know. books or Bible. Apart from the ritual one from the Buddhist and Catholic, I read more for myself. And I preferred these books since I was six or seven years, since I began to read a little bit. I read these books instead of the children's books or other things. So I don't know what is the sign.

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A WISH

I remember when I first wished for something, when I wasn't enlightened, before I became acquainted with the Quan Yin Method. It was the first Buddha (statue) I took home in Germany. That was not the first Buddha but the first Buddha in Germany. My Buddhist teachers believed that if I took a Buddha alone home, without the presence of a master, a teacher, a nun, then the Buddha is no good. I mean the Buddha will be good for nothing. So, if you want to worship a Buddha, you have to ask a monk or nun to bless it for you. Bring it to your house and have a ceremony with flowers, incense and food. Just symbolic. Then, you have to bow to the Buddha, then to the teacher and then make a wish. If your wish is to be granted, all the incense will curl like a spiral and never drop on the floor. Normally when incense bums, it drops like cigarette ashes. But when your wish is sincere and accepted, then all the incense will curl like a spiral.

WE BURNED A LOT of incense, not only one. That was the problem. i don't know why the Buddha has to test people's sincerity to this extent. So many incense and each of them had to curl like this. Oh, God! I was thinking, I don't think I will make it. Ha! Look at all the incense; and I always saw the incense ash drop immediately after it burned. So, anyhow I just did as I was told. I wished, "Okay! I don't mind that people told me that human life is very suffering, and that we have to make a lot of merit in order to get out' of human life. I don't mind if I stay in human life because it's not so bad for me. So, whatever good I have, it should be distributed to people who need it most, and don't let me even know about it."

THAT WAS MY WISH. Then, all the incense curled like this. (Master laughs, audience applauds.) I was thinking that my teachers had bought special incense for me, that was for sure. A special one already curled in advance, or not the spiral incense, the incense stick very straight and they have to curl by themselves with the ash, you know. (A: Yes!) That's how the Buddha tests the people's devotion. But I was thinking it was the blessing of my teachers. Yes, they were very holy, these people - the Buddhist nuns and monks at that time. The whole family had become nuns and monks. I think they helped me a lot in my time in Germany, taught me a lot of things. I thought they were very holy, and due to their blessings, the incense dared not go straight or drop but just curled. I thought that they had magical power, something like that.

SO, THEY WERE VERY happy for me. They thought, "Oh, whatever you wished will come true." I was not supposed to tell them what I wished inside, I just did it alone. So, today I am telling you just to let you know that I am very good. (Master laughs.) Okay, anyhow, you don't have to believe it. But after I've told you I don't know if I am good anymore. I don't know if I should have told you. It was just by tile way.

WHEN I READ THIS, it reminded me of my thing. At that time I didn't practice the Quan Yin Method yet. I just recited Buddhist's sutras, recited the Buddhist's great compassionate mantras and recited the Quan Yin Bodhisattva's name and the name of the Medical Buddha and whatever. Everyday, I was busy with all these thick books, of which I didn't understand half. (Laughter)

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BEFORE ENLIGHTENMENT

When I am now, I wasn't before. I must tell you the truth. No one is a saint when he is born. When we are born into this world of Maya, of illusion, we have to undergo all the procedures of a human being. Like we have to be ignorant again, we have to suffer all the illusionary desires, and then the disappointment of not fulfilling the desires, and all that kind of thing; until one day we have enough of it and say, "Okay, that's it! Now, whatever I have, I have. If I don't, I don't." That's the time when you reach complete liberation. You liberate yourself from all your own problems, from your own self-made prison, your own also learned prejudices of who you are.

Before enlightenment, of course I had criticism in my mind. I also had dislikes and likes of how other people should live their lives. I had my opinions about many things in this world, even though they didn't concern me, and didn't harm me, and had absolutely nothing to do with me at all. I would even venture to criticise them or to try to make things right. And that is how we have been busy with our lives. After becoming so tired with criticising the world and trying to make people right, I have come to realise that I am the only one who should improve, and everything else will be all right..

I also had many preconceived ideas before, and after enlightenment as well. Before, of course more, but after a little bit of enlightenment it was less, and it will become less and less each day. God made me become more humble each day, until I had no more of my own ideas left, except God's idea. I have to do absolutely what He wants. Just like you, I had to learn by mistakes.

Before I got enlightenment, I slept with the Bible every night. I looked at it every time I was in trouble. Without the Bible, I couldn't sleep. Sometimes, I alternated. In the morning, I would read the Buddhist scriptures that comforted me and sometimes lifted me up into some kind of very blissful state. It helped also. If you truly revere the Bible, you deeply believe in it, and study it very sincerely, it helps you immensely.

Q. How are You, Master? I believe, before You attained the Truth, You must have gone through innumerable severe tests. Can You tell us, when You faced all kinds of difficulties, like feeling depressed or even desperate, how did You detach Yourself from these agonising feelings to live optimistically while firmly pursuing Your spiritual path and continuing in Your daily life?

M. There were lots of tests! No one is free from trials. Sometimes, the tests were really senseless; sometimes, they were very fierce; sometimes, they were very vicious; sometimes, the tests made You want to die. However, in whatever situation, I always observed carefully and I would say: "Oh! You are in a bad mood today, you want to cry. All right, just go ahead and cry! You are feeling awful today, just let it be. Tomorrow will be different. I am sure tomorrow will not be the same!"

I AM TALKING ABOUT very logical things, spiritual practitioners or not. Ever since we were born, we have not lived one single day that is identical to another. If today is bad, tomorrow must be good, If it doesn't get better tomorrow, it definitely will be the day after. It may be raining today, but there will be sunshine tomorrow. We call understand this by observing natural phenomena. We shouldn't remain in a certain situation, and then hide behind it. Never mind where we are put, it is okay! We just carry on living there. It is only a kind of mood, and our moods change every day - for better or worse. I simply take it as it comes.

WHEN PAIN COMES, I feel the pain; when happiness comes, I feel the joy. I am not insensitive. When pain comes, just let it be. I say: "All right! So be it today. I will definitely be happier tomorrow." Just that. And you ought to keep this in mind.

ALSO, AT OUR MOST agonising moments, do not sink with the pain. Instead, cry to ponder: "Why do I have such pain?" Observe what you can learn from these painful situations. There must be something! If you observe clearly then all situations are good lessons from which to learn. Having realisations through observing, you will be enlightened and happy tomorrow. Understand frustrations with Buddhi (intellect), and don't let them pass by in vain.

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PRACTICING MEDITATION

I was studying with some of the Buddhist Zen monks, they told me that you have to sit and meditate like this (Master demonstrates the position of sitting straight, looking at Her nose) with your eyes open. I saw nothing! I only saw my nose and the floor! (Laughter) So one day I got tired and closed my eyes, then everything came. So I didn't listen to their nonsense anymore. (Master laughs) I did my stuff.

I studied with many masters before, because in search of enlightenment, I looked for many masters. One of the Zen masters told me, "When you meditate, cross your legs; and the more you cross, the better for you." So I squeezed my bottom, and twisted my limbs. It was terrible! Then whenever you didn't close your eyes properly, if you moved, or if you scratched, there was something like, "Bang!" (Master demonstrates being hit with a stick.) It shook you all over. Nothing (no light) happened anyway, so I decided to relax. Then all the heavenly beings came. (Master laughs)

They told me,"When you go to sleep, you can lie down and meditate, too." (Just like I told you; it is correct. You should lie on the right side when you lie down to meditate, just like the Buddha.) No problem, I do that. But when I lay there, meditated, trying with all my might, I saw nothing! When I turned over to sleep, wow! Everything was there! (Master laughs) But I tried many hours like this, and saw nothing. I was so tired and my eyes got dry and hurt. So I said, "Oh, now I will go to sleep." As I turned over, the light came. I lay on my right side, supposed to go to sleep, but I couldn't sleep anymore because all the light came. So do whatever you think is proper for yourself. If you want to see the light, even if you have to crawl on the floor to see the light, do it! I never tell you that you have to sit cross-legged. You won't fall asleep easily, that's all. But later on, you improve, and you experiment with your own body and mind, and have fun.

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IN THE HIMALAYAS

When I was in the Himalayas in India, I didn't have much money - I had to stretch my money very long, as I didn't know how long I would stay there. Sometimes I just ate chapatis and peanut butter. Chapatis that I made myself, too; they were even cheaper than buying them. It was very simple. You have a plate, which you use to eat, then you just have wheat flour, water and salt. That you call buy anywhere. You knead the flour and water, put a pinch of salt in it. Knead it the way you knead bread or pastry, but without yeast. Then you flatten it with your hands. Don't even need a rolling pin, just your hand. Flatten it and put it on the fire. You collect the wood from the forest and then you just cook it. After a while, you turn it on the other side and that's it. Put peanut butter on top and you are on top of the world, feeling good. Water you can drink from the spring or from the Ganges, no problem.

I LIVE LIKE THAT many, many months. Sometimes I ate only raw food if I went too high. You can't cook. You can, but it takes half a day to boil a little, two centimetres of water. I'd say, "Forget it. I'll drink it cold." You can't boil cabbage if you don't have a high power of gas. If you just collect wood, it's most of the time already damp from the snow.

THE MOUNTAINS IN the Himalayas are non-stop -- always covered with snow, even in summer, just less. The army digs a road between the mountains, so you can walk between the two mountains of ice. But the ice is always there, even in summer. They have only two seasons - snowing season and no-snowing season. The pilgrims normally go in the non-snowing season. If you happened to stay there too long, then you'd just be snowed under and stay there until next year, if you are still alive. Then you drink snow or whatever. Some people do that, it's okay! (Do not try it!)

EVEN IN WINTER you can pick some of the herbs, some of the wild plants In the Himalayas and eat them. Some of them don't look so much like, but taste like spinach. Except that they are a little bit red on the stem, not green; they taste exactly the same. Don't go there and eat nonsense. You have to know which plant to eat. Don't say the The Supreme Master Ching Hai said that and just taste everything whether it tastes like spinach or not. Before you know it, you'll already be finished. Don't make yourself become a laboratory.

I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE a tent. Can you imagine in the Himalayas no tent? But sometimes you find a roof or a so-called house. The house is not really a house the way it is here. That kind of house, you call see the stars through the roof,' you can see through the walls, and the wind is very free to visit you ally time of the day and night, bringing in the snow as well. Very generous. The floor is very wet. It's not cemented, because in the Himalayas people just put the wood together to make a very simple flat, grass hut. There are no facilities, no cot. You lay on the floor.

I WAS VERY CLEVER, I used a very thin mattress, thinner than yours. Not this kind. There is a thin like plastic sheet, one side gold and one side silver. You can use that too. When you unfold it, it's like a piece of paper tissue only, so thin. I couldn't afford to carry so many things, I could hardly carry myself! The higher you go, the heavier it becomes. The same luggage became heavier. Even your feet became heavier, got swollen with this snow, soaking into your shoes. Didn't matter what kind of shoes you had, the snow can managed to get in and soaked your feet. You know, like the way you soak bread in water, it becomes double the size. So if you go to the Himalayas, can't carry many things. So many months like this, I went from one place to another. I also survived.

I JUST TELL YOU, we can live through anything. We can survive, because if our spirit is strong, we have a noble purpose and a higher ideal, we call just look into that ideal and we forget everything else, truly like that. Like the way of the Tibetan air-traveller, they don't have aeroplanes there, so they travel like flying in the air. They just have to fix themselves on some point in the horizon or on some stars. Then they just concentrate on that. At that time, when you talk to them, they don't hear you. They don't know what's going on. Even if they get hurt, sometimes knock into branches or something or get bruised, they also don't know. After, they wake up from the trance and stop their voyage.

Questions or Comments Contents and words in this file are permeated with Grace and Blessings of Master. All rights reserved. No part of this file may be reproduced or further distributed without prior permission of Master or the publisher, the The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association.