Southeast Asians Grow Strong
in the Heavenly Light

Through the sustained influence of their traditional cultures, spiritual cultivation has become an essential part of the daily lives of many Southeast Asians. I recently had a chance to travel to the region to visit local centers in Indonesia, Thailand, Laos and Singapore. And despite a tight itinerary that allowed little time for sleep, I felt the intense blessing power of Master's divine love while participating in initiation and group meditation sessions at the various centers.

The inhabitants of Indonesia are pure and simple, as shown by the fact that in Bali and Surabaya the initiation session was held on a work day, and the local practitioners rushed to their center after work in the evening, while the initiates-to-be took the day off to be initiated. And because I was leaving the following day, the initiates cherished my rare visit so much that they held an extra group meditation session from four to seven A.M. Although the initiation ended late at night, it did not detract from the great sincerity with which the sisters and brothers meditated comfortably in the divine light of Master's Longevity Lamps. In addition, another initiation was held at the Jakarta Center, and despite the uproar created by an outdoor ball game being played nearby, the initiates practiced with deep concentration and enjoyed the inner blessings of love, unperturbed by the noise.

The initiates of Laos are new members the Quan Yin family. The Laotian people grow up in a religious culture, and as the New Age trend of healthy vegetarianism has begun to set in, restaurants serving simple vegetarian meals have sprung up around the country. Through Master's incredible arrangements, fellow initiates in neighboring Thailand often extend their assistance and care to the Laotian practitioners, as the people of these two countries have always been like brothers and sisters. Besides, most Laotians can speak Thai so they enjoy the blessing of being able to read Master's News magazines and other publications in that language. For Lao initiates, these materials represent God's most precious messages.

In Thailand, the Bangkok Center holds one- and two-day retreats at regular intervals and houses a publications office on the first floor, which has been remodeled in an urban style to provide greater opportunities for Truth aspirants to study Master‘s teachings. One corner of the Center features a professional art gallery, where prints of Master's paintings are on display, attracting many tourists. In addition, the Center holds frequent video seminars to share Master's teachings. During my visit, many seminar attendees were initiated and became members of the ever-expanding Quan Yin family.

The art gallery at the Bangkok Center

By participating in the Truth-sharing work before and during the seminar, the Bangkok initiates came to realize that helping others embark on the spiritual path actually helps their own spiritual consciousness expand. As they felt their inner levels rise, the Thai sisters and brothers were naturally filled with Heavenly bliss and simple joy.

Upon arriving in Singapore, I immediately joined the local initiates in group meditation. Before the meditation session, one of Master's lecture DVDs and the TV program A Journey through Aesthetic Realms were played. This practice is beneficial because attentive viewing of Master's discourses calms the mind and makes it easier to enter samadhi during meditation. Then after the session, a brief multimedia slide show was presented to introduce the initiates to Master's latest publications, and everyone in attendance was overwhelmed by Her enormous blessing power. If all potential practitioners can develop the good habit of studying Master's teachings as much as possible before initiation, they will be readily able to absorb spiritual nourishment from God and have a correct concept of spiritual practice. Not only will their meditation bear greater fruit, but their spiritual levels will also be elevated more quickly.

Through my Southeast Asian excursion, I came to realize more fully that the gate to the Heavenly Kingdom has been opened wide, and God's love and grace are pervading the earth's atmosphere. We pray and hope that people around the world will grasp the special opportunity of our age, which comes about only once in millions of eons, to follow a living enlightened Master in practicing spiritually so that we may all rise together to the realms of enlightenment and bliss. s

Contents