Egypt, a nation founded on mystical ancient civilizations, has endured the influence of both eastern and western cultures during her history of several thousand years. Many saints from both spheres of the Earth have brought the message of God to this land. As early as five every morning, answering the call of the holy chanting from the mosques, all members of pious Islamic families proceed to the nearest mosque for morning prayer. (At the morning Muslim prayer gathering, one can see thousands of people performing prayer very similar to the "Sound Meditation" of the Quan Yin Method.) Facing the direction of Mecca, their holy place, devoted Muslims pray five times a day, in the morning, afternoon and evening. Before each prayer, they must first purify their body, speech, and mind. Friday is the Islamic Sabbath, which is in fact a major "group meditation" day for the entire family. Their most important time of the year is Ramadhan - the Islamic Holy Month, during which devout Muslims observe a fast (Arabic, `sawm') from sunrise to sunset and exercise alms-giving to the poor and needy. Muslims' pious faith in Allah (God) has brought about a strong centripetal force in the country, and has also invited the concern and blessings of the Enlightened Masters.

Truth-Revealing Guardian Angels

Cairo was originally scheduled to be the third lecture stop on Supreme Master Ching Hai's Middle Eastern and South African Tour. Quan Yin messengers and fellow initiates from around the world arrived early to launch the preparatory work. During this process, many people became interested in Master's teachings and subsequently learned the Convenient Method. As Muslims possess a strong faith in God from childhood, they had very good inner experiences practicing the Convenient Method, which gave them great confidence in helping with Master's work. Many of these initiates-to-be volunteered to help in preparing for the lecture, working around the clock with the Quan Yin messengers.

Some of the initiates-to-be were Yoga teachers. Since they had benefited greatly from practicing the Convenient Method, they arranged several seminars to introduce the Quan Yin Method to their Yoga students, advising them, to practice the Convenient Method and Quan Yin Method. Mr. R. Jayaram, a famous Yoga teacher from the Indian Embassy in Egypt, generously volunteered the use of a venue in the Embassy for group meditation at any time. He also earnestly recommended that his students practice the Quan Yin Method.

Many local and foreign government ministers and high officials gladly accepted our invitation. Among them was the Zambian Ambassador to Egypt, who even arranged for a consulate car to meet Supreme Master Ching Hai at the airport.

Warm Response from the Media

In mid October, the Quan Yin messengers met with the main editor of the sports section of the "Al-Ahram News," the leading newspaper in Egypt and the Middle East. Being a vegetarian, he was very interested in the Quan Yin Method and offered a full-page report free of charge so as to share the good news with the readers. With the help of the newspaper's press, we were able to display huge posters of Master at the most prominent locations along Al-Ahram Street to attract the attention of passersby.

After mid October, we paid a visit to "Egypt Today," the most popular English magazine in Egypt. The magazine's computer art expert spent three days' improving the design of the lecture advertisement, and eventually finished its composition. He commented, "Experiencing joy, happiness and wisdom through meditation is precisely the message that we people in Egypt want to know. I am much honored to be able to help you."

When the Coordinator of their Department examined the advertisement, he was deeply attracted by Master's photograph and asked our fellow initiates, "How old is She?" When we invited him to make a guess, he picked up Master's photo and carefully examined it. Scratching his head, he said, "She could only be 25 at the most! How could She be a Master at such a young age?" Our fellow initiate laughed and told him, "That is the power of Quan Yin Meditation!" "Then we really must go to the lecture!" To make sure to attend this lecture, he requested his secretary to cancel all his business appointments on lecture day.

Around that period, we also visited the most popular English monthly journal in Egypt, "The Community Times." Its Chief Editor, after reading some literature about Master's teachings, wrote an article free of charge advocating the benefits of practicing the Quan Yin Method.

At the end of October, we were invited to meet the Editorial Manager of "Teen Stuff," a magazine devoted to providing teenagers with good quality entertainment and educational material. The Manager said: "The Quan Yin Method teaches people to purify themselves, and to be moral persons and good citizens. Practicing the Quan Yin Method can help purify the bodies, minds and spirit of teenagers today." She also agreed to assign young reporters to conduct an interview with the Quan Yin messengers.

In November, "WAFD News," the third largest Arabic newspaper in Egypt, interviewed the Quan Yin messengers and twice published free of charge special articles about Master's teachings and the announcement of Her lecture. The interviewer said, "It is a great pleasure to bring such a good message to our readers."

A few days before the lecture, the Manager of the Cairo TV Tower helped to arrange a live interview with Master to be broadcast on "Good Morning Egypt," a program enjoying the highest viewer rating in the country. The special journalist of the program was deeply impressed by Master's life sketch and Her loving actions rendered to the world. She sincerely hoped that it would be possible to let millions of Egyptian spectators to see Master's countenance.

Blessings Showered on All Corners of Cairo

Through broadcasts in the media and the distribution of flyers, the news about Master's lecture reached every corner of Cairo. Our special hotline received a constant flow of calls from interested people wishing to know more about Master's teachings and the lecture. And our newly designed Arabic website had more than 4,000 visitors within a few days.

Although our Quan Yin messengers and fellow initiates came from different countries and spoke different languages, inconceivably they were able to cooperate with good understanding. In just three days, they distributed over 200,000 flyers, sprinkling Master's love and blessings to every part of Cairo and the adjacent areas. The response was especially sensational at Cairo's universities and colleges. Many university students and professors requested to learn the Convenient Method and earnestly helped with translating the advertising materials. A professor from the American University helped with the translation work. Observing fellow initiates from different countries working hard on the streets distributing flyers from morning until dusk for several days in a row, and yet always with a blissful smile, she was really touched. "Your selfless service shows that you are the best international group we have ever seen in Cairo."

Many pious Muslims, dressed in traditional Muslim attire, upon receiving the flyers, would immediately hold a group discussion on the street to study Master's teachings. Very often the result of the discussion was expressed by their "thumbs-up" gesture and the supportive remark: "You are doing good things!" They even helped us by calling loudly on the streets and distributing flyers in a way that was more enthusiastic than that of our fellow practitioners. From this we could see the pure heart of the Egyptians. Many owners of restaurants and coffee shops were so fond of Master's posters that they competed for ones to be posted in their shops.

The response to Master's upcoming lecture was so sensational that almost no one in and outside Cairo was unaware of Her imminent visit. Although the lecture was eventually cancelled a few days beforehand because the application had not been approved, a continuous stream of local people still flowed to the venue. According to local reports, between 4:00 and 6:00 PM, several thousand spectators arrived at the venue. Knowing that the lecture had been cancelled, many initiates-to-be cried sadly and said, "Whenever we think of Master, we feel as if we are bathed in the ocean of love. We really cannot wait to see Her." Many enthusiastic people offered to help in applying for a new permit for another lecture in another place.

On the day of the lecture, our merciful Master appeared at the hotel where fellow initiates were residing. She smiled, saying the situation was really nothing but a misunderstanding and that some day those people would understand. No matter what, we all knew there had already been good effects from Her presence. Just like the rain showering the desert, Master's infinite love and Her message of Truth have already permeated many sincere longing hearts in Egypt. Today, Master has become a major focus of attention among the Egyptian people and media.