by brother-initiate Qin, San Jose, California, USA

Ever since I was initiated by Supreme Master Ching Hai into the spiritual path, my life has been filled with delighted surprises, as shown by the following story.

From my high school days, I have enjoyed playing basketball, but my love for the sport was interrupted when my legs weakened after twenty years of running and jumping on concrete courts. Also, over the past two years, my appetite has grown smaller as I have progressed in my spiritual cultivation, but physically I have gotten healthier and stronger and can now even function effectively playing basketball on a full-sized court with the taller, sturdier white and black players whom I recently met.

The sixth anniversary of my initiation fell on the week when I met these new basketball buddies. And so on that day, remembering that the enlightenment experiences of many past masters were related to the number six, I anticipated a surprise gift from Master.

I went to play basketball with my friends that noon, and during the game, after making a skillful interception of the ball, I found our two-meter tall center forward (a player who often stays near the hoop to catch balls and make shots) already waiting under the backboard, and tried mightily to pass him the ball from the other end of the court. Given the weak physique I have possessed since childhood, I had never before thrown a basketball from one end of the court to the other. I can still recall the sensational scene of my robust high school physical education teacher scoring from the back of the court. And while many of my schoolmates of stronger build often competed in throwing the ball into the basket, I was never able to outplay them. This time, however, I thought, “If I can pass the ball across the court to the center forward, that will stretch my strength to its maximum capacity.” But then I immediately became skeptical and thought, “I’ve been skipping lunch lately and eaten very little at my other meals. How can I have enough strength to do this?” I nonetheless stretched my body as much as I could to throw the ball and stood to watch where it would land.

Incredibly, a miracle occurred! The ball flew over both the hoop and backboard, and across the nearby lawn until it hit the protective net bordering the athletic grounds. Everyone on the court was dumbstruck and looked at me in amazement. Holding up my hands, I too was speechless with wonder! For the rest of the game, even my sturdy white friends praised my muscles. But in fact, I am only a little larger than “skinny.”

This marvel continues to fill me with elation. It is said that both Quan Yin Bodhisattva and the Monkey King lived without eating any earthly food, but the Monkey King’s golden club weighed 17,000 catties (10,200 kg), while the pure-water bottle held easily by Quan Yin Bodhisattva contained an ocean! I believe that anyone who practices the Quan Yin Method will be able to do similar things one day. Through Master’s grace, it appears that I have had my first taste of being a giant!

A Perfectly Arranged Initiation

My Child is Born on Ching Hai Day