There was another master, supposed to be the Supreme Master Ching Hai's previous incarnation or something. She was born as a Golden Snail. She was sitting with the disciples one day -- together with the silver snails, the copper snails, the metal snails and the aluminum snails; the various kinds of snails according to their inner development. They were talking in the middle of dinner or lunch, and suddenly there was an earthquake; very, very, very strong -- 9.9 on the Ching Hai scale. Everyone was running as fast as a snail could; here and there, up and down, in and out. They bumped into the glass door, and everything. It was all very chaotic. The house of the snails was shaking like this and all their horns were kind of twisted together. The earthquake lasted about three minutes in these circumstances.

　After the earthquake finished, everyone went back to their seats and said, "Wow, thank God that's over!"

　The Supreme Master Snail was sitting there with Her horns up. (They don't have noses, they just have horns.) She just stuck Her two very long and fat horns up in the sky, and was quiet for a while until the disciples could not bear it any longer and asked the Master, "What is it?"

　Because they knew every time the Master stuck Her golden horns like that, She is about to make a very grand statement, some big lecture of how to become Buddha in one second, things like that.

　So, they were very, very nervous and expecting. But the Master kept on sticking the horns up and didn't say anything.

　Finally, the half-golden and half-silver attendant said, "Please, be compassionate, oh Master. What is it? Tell us the great thing that You have in Your mind now? Don't hesitate longer for all sentient beings are thirsty for the Truth."

　So, the Master slowly descended Her horns to an ordinary level of consciousness so that all the disciples could understand. If Her horns were too high, I don't think the ordinary sentient snails could ever have caught up. Now She lowered Her horns up to here, like this and said, "Did you see I was very calm during the earthquake?" (Laughter and applause)

　All the snails said, "Oh, yes, Master! Oh, yes!"

　The Master continued further, after a pause so that people felt more appreciative, "Did you see that I didn't run here and there like all of you fools?"

　The disciples said, "Of course, of course." And all their horns clapped together in unison to praise the Master.

　Now the Master Snail said, "Did you see that I calmly sat here, sipping tea while you were running here and there like that?"

　The disciples said, "Yes, we saw You calmly sitting here drinking, but that was the soy sauce that You drink, not the tea." (Laughter and applause)