Group Meditation

A Charming Little Center In A College Town

A Report On The Branch Center In Oxford, England
By Initiate Huang at Oxford, England

The City of Oxford in England possesses the beauty of medieval architecture and breathtaking scenery. It is especially famous for its university, the oldest in the world. College campuses can be seen all over this town, which gives off an atmosphere of academic freedom. Within this leisurely, free spirited "heaven-on-Earth" surroundings, people's yearning for the Truth has not been diverted.

Starting From Nothing, Willing To Be The Stepping Stone

The Oxford branch center was established not long ago. However, due to the eagerness of fellow initiates to spread Master's teachings in the early days, and with the loving blessings of Master, this center has set down a healthy foundation from the start. The current contact persons at the center are a husband and wife team. They came to Oxford a year ago from Formosa to study. After spending a short time getting used to the surroundings, they started using their residence as a contact point for the initiates and for group meditations. They strive relentlessly to spread Master's teachings.

This branch center is located in a dormitory of Wolfson College. One room was allotted to be a meditation room and another, to be an office for handling Master's work. Besides the regular group meditation hours, the center is open every night, for a set time, so that initiates can join each other to meditate. The meditation room can accommodate dozens of people. Since the place used to be an apartment, it has all the essential facilities, and is ideal for our purposes at this time.

The Quan Yin Initiates Are Like A Family

Saturday afternoon is the time for group meditation at Oxford. In addition to those living in the vicinity of Oxford, sincere fellow initiates from as far away as London and its surrounding areas disregard the long journeys that they have to travel to come and join in the group meditation. For the convenience of fellow disciples, the Center arranges for those who drive cars to pick up those who do not, and also to take them back home, so that all the fellow initiates can get to the center smoothly.

After each group meditation, initiates have dinner together. Under a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere, they exchange views on their practice and discuss Master's teachings. The warm and friendly atmosphere invariably makes one feel deeply the close relationship between the brothers and sisters of the big Quan Yin family.

Vegetarian Dinner Party Achieves Good Results

The Center also opens every Wednesday night for the would-be initiates and those interested in the Quan Yin Method to practice the Convenient Method. For these beginners who are interested in spiritual advancement, fellow initiates are very considerate and prepare vegetarian food for them to enjoy after meditation. Besides learning Master's teachings and sharing the benefits of spiritual practice, they also use the opportunity to exchange vegetarian recipes and cooking techniques. This helps to further develop the confidence to be a vegetarian in the would-be initiates, many of whom have already learned to prepare several delicious and nutritious dishes. Some even volunteer their cooking for all to sample.

Consideration For Children To Be Looked After During Meditation

In order to accommodate the increasing number of people who practice the Convenient Method, the Center rented more space from the University, where a greater number of people can meditate, watch video tapes and join in discussions about Master's teachings. To allow those with children to meditate without distraction, the Center also provides a baby sitting service. This has been arranged so that the children stay in a room where they can watch TV. After meditation, parents are joined by their children to enjoy a delicious vegetarian dinner. There are now some children asking for half-initiation after hearing Master's teachings from their parents.

A Great Deal Of Thought Put Into Spreading Master's Teachings

The Supreme Master Ching Hai Meditation Association in England has formally been established and an application for a branch also has been submitted in Oxford to facilitate the spreading of Master's teachings and the Quan Yin Method. A small library containing Master's books, cassette and video tapes and other information has been set up in the branch center for use by fellow initiates and anyone else who is interested. Recently, they tried to set up in computer networking to provide up-to-date information on the movements of Master and the Quan Yin Method, through electronic mail (E-Mail), to the local government of Oxford, teachers and students. This kind of computer networking can reach the whole of Great Britain, and even the whole world. We believe that this will provide more information on the Quan Yin Method to many more people who long to be liberated in this lifetime.

In order to allow more people to see Master and to have the opportunity to practice the highest method -- The Quan Yin Method -- the Center is actively in the process of negotiating with major book shops in the area to let people be able to purchase Master's books, The Key Of Immediate Enlightenment, etc.

In addition to their local activities, the Oxford Center also cooperates with the Surrey Center to participate in events all over England, for instance, the Art Healing exhibition of last December and the upcoming one in London during May. This gives an opportunity to those longing for liberation, yet still looking for the Path, to fulfill their wishes.

The Lunar New Year Celebration In Chinatown

The Chinatown in London has the greatest concentration of Chinese people in Great Britain. The annual lunar New Year celebration has been carried on for years. Large crowds of people attend the celebration each year. Many local English people bring their entire families to watch and enjoy this traditional Chinese festival.

In order to be Master's good tools, fellow initiates gathered for a one-day retreat and worked all night to prepare posters and decorations for the celebrations on the next day. Much needed sample booklets and news magazines also arrived from the Hsihu Center in Formosa just in time.

Fellow initiates rented a space at an ideal location in Chinatown. That day, although it was snowing and the cold wind was blowing hard, it didn't stop the enthusiastic initiates from setting up the book stand, preparing vegetarian lunch boxes and giving out sample booklets.

They finished setting up and decorating the stand within a short time. It was the brightest and most eye-catching stand of all. Besides Master's books, also on display were the reproductions of Master's paintings, video tapes and cassette tapes. The longevity lamps designed by Master attracted many curious visitors to make inquiries and purchases. Vegetarian lunch boxes and groceries were also sold to promote the vegetarian diet. Large crowds came to ask for the sample booklets.

While working together, fellow initiates in England, new and old, got the opportunity to know one another. Over ten thousand sample booklets and news magazines were distributed within half a day. After that day, people continued to respond enthusiastically and contacted the Center for more information about the Quan Yin Method. This was the invaluable result of the exhibition.

The Double Harvest Of The Contact Person

Because the Center is still in its infancy, much time and energy needs to be devoted towards its development. So naturally the contact person, Brother Loh, is under a lot of pressure, and this is made greater by the added requirements of his academic quest for a PhD. How does he handle such dual responsibilities?

Brother Loh said, "In terms of time and energy, it is rather hard. Fortunately, I have learned a great deal from Master since I was initiated in Formosa many years ago. On top of that, making a habit to meditate daily has also improved my wisdom and efficiency. For example, when I am doing experiments in the lab, I listen to Master's cassette tapes at the same time. I also meditate or do some work for the Center during my breaks. This way, I not only receive Master's blessings and teachings, but I can also bring benefits to both the visible and invisible sentient beings.

As a contact person, I could understand better the words from the Bible that Master often quotes, 'Seek you first the Kingdom of God, and everything shall be added onto you.' In order to do Master's work well, I have increased my meditation time. Sometimes, I have been so busy that I could only spend a very little amount of time a week on my academic work. Incredibly, I was able to make breakthroughs in my studies and experiments with such smoothness and unexpectedly good results. What I received was truly much more than what I gave." He is grateful for Master's blessings and help, in both the tangible and intangible aspects.

The Power Of Cooperation

As of now, the Oxford Center, overflowing with Master's love and blessings, is beginning to get on track. Especially after a recent initiation session, the number of initiates have increased by ten. This is really exciting.

There is a saying, "Great power comes from cooperation." Currently, there are only dozens of initiates in England and they are mostly scattered in different areas. To spread Master's teachings in this conservative country truly needs the cooperation of all initiates. From now on, besides the regular national monthly, one-day retreat, both the Oxford and Surrey Centers will hold meetings periodically for discussions about spiritual practice and Master's teachings. I believe, in the near future, our Centers will grow at an even faster pace.

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