In July 2004 I returned to London
after a three month trip to Italy to nurse my older sister, who was
receiving chemotherapy treatments for leukemia.
No one in my family in Italy
follows a vegetarian diet or meditates so it was difficult to meditate
alone for the whole three months and eat food prepared with dishes and
utensils used for meat; in addition, my family drinks wine with meals.
However, I was fortunate enough that my relatives at least tolerated
my behavior, which was very strange to them. During my stay, I constantly
prayed to Master to help my family, looked inward, played Master's chanting
tape in my room and recited the Holy Names as much as possible. Thus
I survived my visit without slipping away, and my sister's condition
improved by 70% during the time I was with her.
Back in the UK, I was again able
to rejoin our Quan Yin family and attend group meditation sessions at
the London Center. Participating once more in group meditation was truly
an amazing feeling full of blessings, true devotion to Master and pure
love, and I cherished every moment. It was a wonderful gift and I had
not felt so at home in a long time! Also, I was overjoyed to return
to England in the knowledge that my sister had gone through the worst
of her illness and that her condition was continually improving.
In addition, I have since been
blessed to be able to move into a house with two brother-initiates.
Together, we have begun a routine of evening group meditation practice,
as well as individual meditation in the morning before work. During
this time I have experienced a tremendous feeling of elevation, and
have been getting increasingly stronger, with each day being a genuine
blessing.
It is normally difficult to follow
the spiritual path in a city such as London, but through regular attendance
at group meditation, everything seems easy. I have never felt so much
love for such a harsh town -- love for strangers, love for the silliest
little things, even love for rush hour! Being able to feel God so strongly
with such heavy energy around me is truly amazing. My initiate housemates
are very special to me because when we all arrive home from work we
prepare a huge feast of blessed vegetarian food and then dive into group
meditation; it's a superb feeling! Our evening meditation sessions have
also made our morning sessions a true pleasure.
In addition, my sister called
me recently to say that the latest results from her DNA tests, which
are used to analyze levels of cancerous blood cells, showed no presence
of cancer in her body! The harmful cells had practically vanished. It
has been six months since she began her chemotherapy treatments, and
amazingly, she is now working part-time and looking after her three-year-old
daughter!
Master is truly remarkable. I
feel extremely blessed to have the Quan Yin Method of meditation in
my life and cannot find words to express my gratitude for being part
of such a wonderful group as the Quan Yin family, and for being able
to meditate even in the harshest of conditions and still come out smiling
and grateful. Thank You, Master.