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{{short description|Vietnamese spiritual teacher}}
{{Infobox Person
{{for|other topics with a similar-sounding name|Qinghai (disambiguation)}}
| image = ChingHai Sydney in 1993.jpg
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
| image_size = 175px
{{Infobox artist
| name = Ching Hai (清海)
| honorific_prefix =
| caption = Supreme Master Ching Hai
| name = Ching Hai
| birth_name = Hue Dang Trinh<ref>{{vietnamese name|[[Trịnh]]|Hue Dang}}</ref>
| image = ChingHai Sydney in 1993.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1950|05|12}}
| image_size = 175px
| birth_place = [[Quang Ngai Province]], Vietnam
| caption = Ching Hai in [[Sydney, Australia|Sydney]] (1993)
| death_date =
| birth_name = Hue Dang Trinh
| death_place =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1950|05|12}}
| death_cause =
| birth_place = [[Quang Ngai Province]], [[Vietnam]]
| resting_place =
| nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]], <br> formerly [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]]
| resting_place_coordinates =
| residence = Taiwan
| movement = Quan Yin Method
| field = [[Spirituality]], [[mysticism]], [[poetry]] [[Entrepreneur]]
| nationality =
| works = Book:The Key of Immediate Enlightenment, [[Supreme Master Television|Supreme Master TV]], [[Loving Hut]]
| other_names =
| known_for = Founder of Quan Yin Method
| memorials =
| website = {{URL|godsdirectcontact.org}}
| education =
| employer =
| occupation =
| footnotes =
}}
}}
{{Chinese
{{Infobox Chinese
|title=Suma Ching Hai
| title = Supreme Master Ching Hai
|float=
| float =
|collapse=yes
| collapse = yes
| t = {{linktext|清|海|無|上|師}}<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1021065075 |title=Handbook of East Asian new religious movements |date=2018 |editor=Lukas Pokorny |isbn=978-90-04-36297-0 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |oclc=1021065075}}</ref>
|c=清海無上師
| s = {{linktext|清|海|无|上|师}}
|l=pure ocean without superior
| l = Clear Ocean Immeasurable Teacher <ref group="note">* Qīnghǎi wú shàng shī.
|hiragana=チンハイ

|qn=Thanh Hải Vô Thượng Sư
* Thanh Hải Vô Thượng Sư.

Literally; “Clear Ocean, Immeasurable Teacher”.

{{Cite journal |last=Winter |first=Franz |date=2018 |title=How to Download the Divine |url=https://heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/index.php/religions/article/download/23847/17589/65523 |journal=Online – Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet |volume=13 |pages=133 |via=Heidelberg University}}

* Both the Chinese and Vietnamese adjectives: "Immeasurable" are derived from the Sanskrit word "Anuttara" See: [[Glossary of Buddhism]]. For the Chinese title Teacher or Master see: [[Shifu]].
</ref>
| p = Qīng Hǎi Wú Shàng Shī
| qn = Thanh Hải Vô Thượng Sư<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 2003 |title=Vietnam: Country Report |url=https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/402a3c7c4.pdf |access-date=6 June 2023 |website=Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Home Office, United Kingdom}}</ref>
}}
}}
Supreme Master (or "Suma") '''Ching Hai''', (born May 12, 1950), is the self-titled founder and spiritual teacher of the ''Quan Yin Method'' with an estimated 20,000 followers world wide.<ref name="partridge">Partridge, Christopher (2004) ''New Religions: A Guide'', Oxford University Press, p. 264</ref>


'''Ching Hai''' (born '''Trịnh Đăng Huệ''';<ref group="note">[[Vietnamese name]] consisting of three parts in the following order: a family name, a middle name and a given name.</ref> 12 May 1950), commonly referred to as ''[[Abbreviation|Suma]]'' or ''[[Satguru|Supreme Master]]'' Ching Hai, is a [[Vietnamese people in the United Kingdom|British citizen]] of [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese descent]]; a [[Humanitarian aid|humanitarian]], [[Philanthropy|philanthropist]],<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Anual report |url=https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/about-us/publications/2020-publications/fy20-annual-report.pdf |website=American Red Cross |page=26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Archives |first=L. A. Times |date=1999-01-19 |title=CHARITY SCORECARD |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-19-cl-64890-story.html |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=President of the Republic of Slovenia > Reception of Supreme Master Ching Hai |url=http://www2.gov.si/up-rs/2002-2007/jd-ang.nsf/PrintWebForm?openform&ParentUnid=E48E71CC8B79253BC12572EC007FA553 |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=www2.gov.si}}</ref> and the [[Guru|spiritual leader]]<ref name=partridge/> of the [[Guanyin Famen]] (Chinese) or Quan Yin method transnational [[Cybersectarianism|cybersect]]. The practice had existed predating the common usage of the internet.<ref name="partridge">[[Christopher Partridge|Partridge, Christopher]] (2004) [https://books.google.com/books?id=bkcUAQAAIAAJ&q=Ching+hai New Religions: A Guide] [[Oxford University Press]], p. 263-264</ref><ref name=thornton08>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/7806399|chapter=Manufacturing Dissent in Transnational China: Boomerang, Backfire or Spectacle?|first=Patricia M.|last=Thornton|editor=Kevin J. O'Brien |title=Popular Protest in China |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2008 |pages=179–204|via=www.academia.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Taipei Review |journal=[[Taiwan Review]] |date=2001 |volume=51 |issue=7–11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kDRwAAAAMAAJ&q=supreme+master+ching+hai |access-date=31 January 2020 |publisher=Kwang Hwa Publishing Company |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Schumacher |first1=Elizabeth |title=Vegan restaurants run by cult leader who 'speaks to God' {{!}} DW {{!}} 13.08.2018 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/vegan-restaurants-run-by-cult-leader-who-speaks-to-god/a-45061424 |access-date=31 January 2020 |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |date=13 August 2018 |archive-date=31 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131032111/https://www.dw.com/en/vegan-restaurants-run-by-cult-leader-who-speaks-to-god/a-45061424 |url-status=live }}</ref> Based out of [[Taiwan]], she is estimated to have 2 million followers worldwide.<ref>{{cite news |title=China : Treatment of Guanyin Famen practitioners (Kuan Yin Famen, Guanyin Method, Quanyin Famen, Way of the Goddess of Mercy, Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association) |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/563c6b334.html |access-date=31 January 2020 |publisher=[[Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada]] |date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=31 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131032114/https://www.refworld.org/docid/563c6b334.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Goossaert |first1=Vincent |last2=Palmer |first2=David A. |title=The Religious Question in Modern China |date=2011 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-30416-8 |page=292 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bx83dlLMPdMC&q=ching+hai+2+million+followers&pg=PA292 |access-date=31 January 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
Ching Hai is a poet, painter, musician, self-published writer and entrepreneur who heads the ''Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association'', a business group with worldwide interests in restaurants, fashion and jewellery design.<ref name="chua"/><ref>{{cite news | last = Hackman
Ching Hai founded the [[Loving Hut]] [[Veganism|vegan]] restaurant chain and vegan Celestial Shop fashion company under Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association.<ref name="chua">{{cite magazine| last = Chua-Eoan| first = Howard| title = The Buddhist Martha| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985800,00.html| magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]]| date = 20 January 1997| access-date = 8 March 2010| archive-date = 21 July 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130721062502/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985800,00.html| url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = Maragay | first = Fel V. | title = Master of charity | work = [[Manila Standard Today]] | date = 20 November 2006 | url = http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=felMaragay_nov20_2006 | access-date = 8 March 2007 | archive-date = 3 November 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141103133648/http://manilastandardtoday.com/?page=felMaragay_nov20_2006 | url-status = live }}</ref>
| first = Nichollas
| title = The Peace Seeker
| work = Los Angeles Times
| date = 1998-12-13}}
</ref> She is known for her philanthropic and humanitarian work, <ref name="reliefworks"/> and has been criticised for making allegedly ostentatious displays of generosity.<ref>{{cite news | last = Maragay
| first = Fel V.
| title = Master of charity
| publisher = Manila Standard Today
| date = 2006-11-20
| url = http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=felMaragay_nov20_2006 }}</ref>


==Biography==
==Life and career==
Ching Hai was born to a Vietnamese mother and an [[Hoa people|ethnic Chinese]] father,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2013-08-29 |title=The Dui Hua Foundation-Dialogue – Issue 52: The "Cult" of Buddha |url=https://duihua.org/dialogue-issue-52-the-cult-of-buddha/ |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=[[Dui Hua Foundation]] |language=en-US}}</ref> on 12 May 1950 in a small village in the [[Quảng Ngãi Province]] in Vietnam.<ref name="young">{{cite news | last = Young | first = Gordon | title = God Inc. | work = SF Weekly | date = 22 May 1996 | url = http://www.sfweekly.com/1996-05-22/news/god-inc/ | access-date = 15 April 2007 | archive-date = 30 September 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181423/http://www.sfweekly.com/1996-05-22/news/god-inc/ | url-status = live }}</ref> At the age of 18, she moved to England to study and later to France and then Germany, where she worked for the [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|Red Cross]].<ref name=Maragay>{{Cite web |last=Maragay |first=Fel V. |date=20 November 2006 |title=Master of Charity |url=https://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=felMaragay_nov20_2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523231717/https://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=felMaragay_nov20_2006 |archive-date=23 May 2007 |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=[[Manila Standard]]}}</ref> In 1969, she began a relationship with a German scientist.<ref name="partridge" /><ref name="guzman">{{cite news | last = Guzmán | first = Rafer | title = Immaterial Girl | work = Metro | date = 28 March 1996 | url = http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/03.28.96/suma-9613.html | access-date = 5 January 2006 | archive-date = 21 December 2005 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051221055938/http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/03.28.96/suma-9613.html | url-status = live }}</ref> They married, but separated after two years to focus on spiritualism and she moved to India to study different religions.<ref name="young"/> In 1979, she met a [[Buddhist]] monk in Germany whom she followed for three years, but his monastery denied entry to women.<ref name="guzman"/>
The ''San Francisco Weekly'' cites 1995 research by a Berkeley graduate student in journalism which says she was born Hue Dang Trinh to a Vietnamese mother and an ethnic Chinese father, on May 12, 1950 in a small village in the [[Quang Ngai Province]] in Vietnam.<ref name="young">{{cite news
| last = Young
| first = Gordon
| title = God Inc.
| work = SF Weekly
| date = 1996-05-22
| url = http://www.sfweekly.com/1996-05-22/news/god-inc/ }}</ref> Trinh worked as a Red Cross interpreter in Europe and developed a relationship with a German scientist and doctor who was a relief worker.<ref name="partridge" /><ref name="guzman">{{cite news
| last = Guzmán
| first = Rafer
| title = Immaterial Girl
| work = Metro
| date = 1996-03-28
| url = http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/03.28.96/suma-9613.html }}</ref> They married, but separated after two years when she left him to pursue spiritual enlightenment.<ref name="young"/> In 1979, she met a Buddhist monk in Germany whom she followed for three years, but his monastery denied entry to females.<ref name="guzman"/> She immigrated to India to study different religions, and became a disciple of [[Sant Thakar Singh|Thakar Singh]].<ref name="young"/> During her stay at his ashram, she learned his 'Light and Sound' meditation technique,<ref name="guzman"/> from which her Quan Yin Method is derived.


According to an account by Patricia Thornton, Ching Hai's recognition as a spiritual leader began in 1982, when she tried to buy a copy of the Hindu sacred work the [[Bhagavad-Gita]] from a small shop beside the Ganges. The shopkeepers denied having a copy, but she insisted she had seen it there. An extensive search uncovered a copy hidden in a sealed box; word quickly spread that Ching Hai had an "unusually well-developed [[third eye]]."<ref name=thornton08>Thornton, Patricia M. (2008) ''Manufacturing Dissent in Transnational China'' in "Popular Protest in China," Kevin J. O'Brien (ed.), Harvard University Press, pp. 189-192</ref>
Ching Hai attempted to buy a copy of the [[Bhagavad Gita]] from a bookshop near the [[Ganges]]. Despite the shopkeepers' assertions that they did not have a copy, an extensive search revealed one in a sealed box. This led to rumours of her having a [[third eye]] circulating by 1982.<ref name=thornton08/> In 1983, she met a Vietnamese Buddhist monk in [[Taiwan]] named Jing-Xing, who ordained her in 1984 as "Thanh Hai", meaning "pure ocean".<ref name="guzman"/>


According to her official biography, Ching Hai was born to a well-off [[naturopathy|naturopathic]] family in [[Âu Lạc]], Hanoi, Vietnam. Though raised as a [[Roman Catholic]], she learned the basics of Buddhism from her grandmother. A Himalayas spiritual teacher showed her a particular meditation method which she named ''Quan Yin method''.<ref name="offbio">{{cite news | last= Hai |first = Ching Hai | title = God's Direct Contact | publisher = Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association | date = March 2009 | url = http://godsdirectcontact.us/bio.html | access-date = 11 March 2009 | archive-date = 2 February 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120202064328/http://godsdirectcontact.us/bio.html | url-status = dead }}</ref>
In 1983, she followed a Vietnamese Buddhist monk in Taiwan named Jing-Xing. Unaware of her prior connection to Singh, Jing-Xing ordained her in 1984 as "Thanh Hai". In Mandarin this is Ching Hai, which means "pure ocean".<ref name="guzman"/>


According to Ting Jen-Chieh (Ding Renjie), assistant [[research fellow]] in the Institute of Ethnology, [[Academia Sinica]], by the early 1990s Ching Hai was at odds with the Buddhist establishment in Taiwan. Rather than submit to their demands, she severed all connections to Buddhist organizations, abandoned the traditional robe, grew out her hair, dressed fashionably, and set out to create her own independent group.<ref name=eichman/>
According to her official biography, Ching Hai was born to a well-off [[naturopath]]'s family in a town north of [[Hanoi]] in [[Vietnam]]. Though raised as a [[Roman Catholic]], she learned the basics of [[Buddhism]] from her grandmother. She was given a divine transmission of the inner Light and Sound by a true Master in the [[Himalayas]]. She renamed the technique the ''Quan Yin Method''.<ref name="offbio">{{cite news
| author = Supreme Master Ching Hai
| title = God's Direct Contact
| publisher = Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association
| date = March 2009
| url = http://godsdirectcontact.us/bio.html}}</ref>


Currently, Ching Hai doesn't operate under the guise of traditional Buddhism. Her home page calls her "Supreme Master Ching Hai, a renowned humanitarian, artist, and spiritual leader" (lingxiu daoshi 領袖道士). Her current irreverence for religious traditions in general, have made her more synonymous to a [[Zen master]].<ref name=eichman/>
No initiation or membership fees are collected from disciples, but the bulk of her financial support comes from Taiwan,<ref name="young"/> where her following is the strongest; her followers in the US are predominantly new immigrants from China and Vietnam.<ref name="guzman"/> Her Supreme Master Meditation Centers, incorporated in Los Angeles and San Jose and several US states, benefit from tax-exempt status as religious organizations.<ref name="young"/> Ching Hai has been described by Rafer Guzmán of Metroactive as a "tireless publicity seeker". By her own admission, she presides over a "rather big organisation" with "a lot of centers around the world--40 or 50 countries". The organisation includes restaurants and outlets for jewellery and clothes designed by her.<ref name="guzman"/>


[[Transpersonal psychology|Transpersonal psychologist]], Timothy Conway writes: "Though Ching Hai can be stern from time to time with her disciples, she often can be seen happily singing simple, romantic folksongs with them for hours at a time. This attractive blend of power and simplicity, virtue and joy, has many people revering Ching Hai as a manifestation of [[Guanyin|Guan-yin]] Bodhisattva".<ref name=":1">{{cite web |last1=Conway |first1=Timothy |date=October 2017 |title=Women of Buddhism |url=https://www.enlightened-spirituality.org/Women_of_Spirit_Chapter_Two_Buddhism.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718062849/http://www.enlightened-spirituality.org/Women_of_Spirit_Chapter_Two_Buddhism.html |archive-date=18 July 2018 |access-date=9 February 2020 |website=Enlightened-Spirituality.org}}</ref> Ching Hai calls her meditation method the Guan Yin (Chinese) or Quan Yin method because She gave her first public teachings in Taiwan. Quan Yin is a Chinese term that means "observation of the inner vibration".<ref name=taeyoung1/>
==International profile==
On October 25 1993 the Mayor of Honolulu, [[Frank Fasi|Frank F. Fasi]], proclaimed the day as "Supreme Master Ching Hai Day" and awarded her Honorary Citizenship of Honolulu and an ''International Peace Commendation''{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}}. On February 22, 1994 she was awarded commendations from representatives of six US State Governors for contributions to various disaster relief funds. Ching Hai asks her followers to specifically acknowledge these two days each year, both referred to as ''Ching Hai Day''.<ref name=chingday>{{cite web
| url = http://www.godsdirectcontact.com/chinghaiday/chinghaiday.html
| title = About Ching Hai Day
| accessdate = 2009-07-16
}}</ref>


Her meditation centres in American cities such as Los Angeles benefit from tax-exempt status as religious organizations.<ref name="young"/> She presides over an organization which owns restaurants and sells her jewellery and clothes.<ref name="guzman"/>
She has claimed that seven United States governors proclaimed 22 February 1994, as "Supreme Master Ching Hai Day" in recognition of her charitable work including then governor of Iowa, [[Terry Branstad]], for her $65,000 donation to relief efforts for victims of the [[Great Flood of 1993|1993 Mississippi River flooding]] However in the same year, $200,000 which she promised to a relief organisation after the Southern Californian fires reportedly never arrived.<ref name="guzman"/> ''Metroactive'' reported that it was alleged in Taiwan that Ching Hai set up two front organisations to make awards to her, and manipulated a United States official into posing as the president of one in a public ceremony.<ref name="guzman"/>


==Corporate operations==
In 1994, the local government in [[Vinh Long Province]], Vietnam issued a declaration classifying Ching Hai's operations as "religious propaganda" intended to "illegally oppose the government." Actions were launched to curtail further activities by her organisation.<ref name=reactionary >{{cite web
Ching Hai is the founder of the [[Loving Hut]] restaurant chain, which in 2017 had 200 locations in 35 countries worldwide.<ref name=childs/> The restaurants are run on a franchise basis, with devotees managing each one and most workers belonging to the movement.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Twist|first=Amanda van Eck Duymaer van|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ksoFDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA137|title=Minority Religions and Fraud: In Good Faith|date=2016-04-22|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-09574-3|pages=137–138|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=New religious movements: alternative religions serving up innovations in food and faith|url=https://english.religion.info/2014/11/15/new-religious-movements-alternative-religions-serving-up-innovations-in-food-and-faith/|access-date=2021-12-31|website=ReligiScope}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Goldman|first=Marion S.|title=Food, Faith and Fraud in Two New Religious Movements|date=2014|url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315595535-8/food-faith-fraud-two-new-religious-movements-marion-goldman|work=Minority Religions and Fraud|pages=135–152|publisher=Routledge|doi=10.4324/9781315595535-8|isbn=978-1-315-59553-5|access-date=2021-12-31}}</ref>
| url = http://qppl.vinhlong.gov.vn/LinkClick.aspx?link=VanBan%2f1994%2f24.rtf&tabid=299&mid=720
| title = Prevent operation of the reactionary Supreme Master Ching Hai Thanh
| date = 1994-08-08
| author = PEOPLE'S COMMITTEE VINH LONG PROVINCE
| accessdate = 2009-07-16
}}</ref>


Her organization's numerous websites are offered in 17 languages. The Celestial Shop "includes a line of Celestial apparel and Celestial jewelry designed by the Master".<ref name=thornton08/>
In 1996, in an attempt to build political support abroad, Ching Hai asked her followers to contribute money to the [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] Presidential Legal Expense Trust.<ref name="jackson"/> Through convicted violator of US Federal campaign finance laws, [[Charlie Trie]], who had been initiated as a follower, the sum of US$880,000 was raised. However, the donations were returned when the Trust found irregularities involving identical signatures and consecutively numbered money orders. They also found donors listed who did not have the financial means to give that amount of money. The year-long scandal had a negative effect on her organisation, further damaged perception of the Clinton administration,<ref name=thornton08/> and rather than the intended "boomerang of international support" for her efforts, resulted in an extensive investigation and a congressional subpoena, which were followed by a rash of negative press reports about her fiscal dealings.<ref name=thornton08 /> The Taiwan government also investigated her organization for "alleged fund-raising improprieties," which included a transfer of $2 million outside of the country.<ref name="chua"/>


Liam D. Murphy, professor of [[anthropology]] at [[California State University, Sacramento|California State]] has stated that "Ching Hai is a textbook example of what [[Social science|social scientists]] call a [[Charismatic authority|charismatic prophet]]" and that the [[Religious abuse|abuse of power]] over her own members in loving hut is a hypothetical possibility “If anyone is in danger...it is usually their own members". Murphy states that the proper term for her movement is not “[[cult]],” but more accurately a [[new religious movement]]".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-12-28|title=Know thy master|url=https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content/know-thy-master/1896856/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-01|website=[[News & Review]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226102213/https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content/know-thy-master/1896856/ |archive-date=26 February 2021 }}</ref> The ''Database of Religious History'' ([[University of British Columbia]]), states regarding Ching Hai's movement "Does the religious group actively [[Proselytism|proselytize]] and recruit new members: No." with [[subject-matter expert]], anthropologist Stephen Christopher commentating "Not really. Of course Ching Hai herself uses 24 hour satellite TV programming to reach out to potential new recruits. It is more often the case that among the [[Five precepts|Five Precepts]] the [[edict]] of veganism is most actively promoted as lifestyle worth spreading among non-believers".<ref name="Christopher">{{Cite web|last=Christopher|first=Stephen|title=Supreme Master Ching Hai World Society (General Variables/Group interaction)|url=https://religiondatabase.org/browse/570/#/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-04|website=religiondatabase.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104024742/https://religiondatabase.org/browse/570/ |archive-date=4 January 2022 }}</ref> Christopher writes "The debate about the legitimacy of Ching Hai largely plays out through [[Internet forum|cyber forums]] from [[YouTube]] videos to [[Anti-cult movement|cult warning websites]]. [[Christian mission]]ary groups are particularly interested in debunking Ching Hai even though they may have no direct contact with the organization. These online forums often devolve into misunderstanding and exaggeration and Ching Hai adherents often express hurt and disappointment when they discover such material. Conversely, some adherents have disaffiliated after encountering anti-Ching Hai material".<ref name="Christopher"/>
Ching Hai was jeered at in the Western press as "The Immaterial Girl: Part Buddha, Part Madonna," and as "The Buddhist Martha Stewart ... merchandizing mystic from Taiwan."<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985800-2,00.html
| title = THE BUDDHIST MARTHA
| publisher = Time
| date = 20 January 2007
| accessdate = 2010-05-05
}}</ref>


In 2017, [[Yahoo.com]] reported that Chuck McLean, senior research fellow at [[GuideStar]], reviewed the [[Form 990|990s]] of two of the largest American chapters of the group: Los Angeles, which reports over $1.2 million in assets-more than any other chapter in the US-and San Jose, the parent organization of more than a dozen chapters across the country. "Taking their Forms 990 at face value, it seems unlikely that anyone is enriching themselves financially through these organizations&nbsp;... I don't know what the associated business interests are about, but it appears that they give almost all of their money to legitimate causes."<ref name=childs>{{cite news |last1=Childs |first1=Morgan |title=The Vegan Chain That Might Be a Cult |url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/vegan-chain-might-cult-173156426.html |access-date=6 February 2020 |work=[[Yahoo.com]] |date=13 April 2017 |archive-date=6 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206173837/https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/vegan-chain-might-cult-173156426.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Ching Hai was awarded the [[Gusi Peace Prize]] in 2006 in [[Manila]], [[Philippines]] for her work in Philanthropy and Humanitarianism.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5394&Itemid=2
| title = PGMA confers 2006 Gusi Peace Prize to 15 great achievers of the world
| publisher = Gov.Ph : The Official Government Portal of the Republic of the Philippines
| date = 23 November 2006
| accessdate = 2009-06-11
}}</ref>


=== International organizations ===
==Supreme Master Ching Hai International==
[[File:Supreme Master Ching Hai Int'l Asso Publishing 20131120.jpg|thumb|The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co. was founded on 1st Fl., No.236, Songshan Rd., [[Xinyi District, Taipei]], [[Taiwan]].]]
Supreme Master Ching Hai International is the corporate entity behind Guanyin Famen/Quan Yin. It is affiliated with World Peace Media, Oceans of Love Entertainment, Supreme Master Television, and several cable television series, all groups and businesses established by Ching Hai. Her organisation runs a string of vegetarian restaurants around the world, some of which sell her merchandise.


Ching Hai has founded organizations including the Supreme Master Ching Hai International, World Peace Media, Oceans of Love Entertainment and Supreme Master Television.
In late 2008 Ching Hai launched a media campaign in [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]] asking people to "Be Green, Go Veg, Save the Planet"<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/bleak-days-at-cape-grim-as-beef-bashed/story-e6frg6ox-1225791165315
| title = Bleak days at Cape Grim as beef bashed
| publisher = The Australian
| date = 26 October 2009
| accessdate = 2009-12-15
}}</ref>. Vegetarianism, clean energy, and tree planting were promoted as a solution to [[climate change]] and pollution. The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association also made submissions to the [[Garnaut Climate Change Review]] advocating large cuts to livestock production<ref>[http://www.garnautreview.org.au/CA25734E0016A131/WebObj/D0841971GeneralSubmission-SupremeMasterChingHaiInternational/$File/D0841971%20General%20Submission%20-%20Supreme%20Master%20Ching%20Hai%20International.pdf Ching Hai's submission] to the Garnaut Climate Change</ref>.
According to political scientist Patricia M. Thornton at the [[University of Oxford]], the Ching Hai World Society's heavy reliance on the internet for text distribution, recruitment and information-sharing, marks the group as a transnational "[[cybersect]]."<ref name=thornton08/>


In late 2008, Ching Hai launched a media campaign in Australia and New Zealand asking people to "Be Green, Go Veg, Save the Planet".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/bleak-days-at-cape-grim-as-beef-bashed/story-e6frg6ox-1225791165315| title = Bleak days at Cape Grim as beef bashed | work= [[The Australian]]| date = 26 October 2009| access-date = 15 December 2009}}</ref>
The source of wealth behind the group's charitable efforts and its media empire is a mystery, according to Thornton. Like the Qigong organisations that came to the fore in China in the 1980s and 1990s, Suma Ching Hai International adopted the structure of a business enterprise early on.<ref name=thornton08/>


The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association has made submissions to the [[Garnaut Climate Change Review]], advocating large cuts to livestock production. Hai is in favor of a [[meat tax]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 December 2011 |title=Go vegan, save the world |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/go-vegan-save-the-world-20150429 |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=[[News24 (website)|News24]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Animal-people Meat Tax Is Critical for a Vegan World - English |url=https://suprememastertv.com/en1/v/203171981606.html |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=suprememastertv.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
Much of the media produced by Suma Ching Hai International is heavily self-referential and promotional, according to Thornton, and aims to "build a public record of recognition for group activities."<ref name=thornton08 /> In 1998 the organization staged a concert for donating to several prominent children's foundations in the U.S., while highlights of the event were captured in a coffee-table book. Similar to the attempt of the [[Falun Gong]] to gain public legitimacy outside mainland China, Ching Hai has had local authorities in various countries declare particular dates "Supreme Master Ching Hai Day."<ref name=thornton08/>


According to political scientist Patricia Thornton at the [[University of Oxford]], the Ching Hai World Society's heavy reliance on the internet for text distribution, recruitment and information-sharing, marks the group as a transnational [[cybersect]].<ref name=thornton08/> Thornton claimed that the source of income behind Hai's numerous business ventures is unknown<ref name=thornton08/> and that much of the media produced by her television programmes is heavily self-referential and promotional and aims to "build a public record of recognition for group activities."<ref name = thornton08/>
==Operations==
Ching Hai supports many vegetarian and vegan restaurants, and is described as the innovator of the vegan concept behind the international [[Loving Hut]] restaurant group,<ref>http://lovinghut.us/about.html</ref> which she openly endorses on her websites.<ref>http://suprememastertv.com/loving-hut/</ref> Despite holding free public seminars, she has made millions of dollars as a painter, author, fashion designer, and jewelry designer. Her business activities have led some detractors to question her motives. Ching Hai has also been criticised because her disciples are reported to buy much of her artwork, which is seen as a ''de facto'' donation. One disciple is alleged to have bought a pair of used sweat socks for $800 [[USD]] because "when the Master leaves the physical world, at least I will have her socks".<ref name="young"/> In 1997, she stated that she earned more than former U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]]'s annual salary of $200,000.<ref name="jackson">{{cite news
| last = Jackson
| first = Brooks
| coauthors = John Gilmore
| title = Religious Leader Felt Sorry For Clinton
| work = CNN's Inside Politics
| publisher = CNN
| date = 1997-01-09
| url = http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/01/09/ching.hai/ }}
</ref> Followers respond that much of the money she makes is used for helping the poor, providing necessities to refugees and victims of environmental disasters.<ref name="reliefworks">[http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/humanitarian/index1.php The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association, Humanitarian Relief Activities]</ref>


Anthropologist Saskia Abrahms-Kavunenko at [[Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies]] stated that similar to [[Ravi Shankar (spiritual leader)|Ravi Shankar]] movement, Ching Hai group generally don't self identify as a religion and are very [[ecumenical]]. Abrahms-Kavunenko has also noted that while in the field in [[Mongolia]], Hai's group especially via ''[[Supreme Master Television]]'' 24 hour broadcast is influencing many Buddhists ideas on meditation and enlightenment, even though they are not sure of the authenticity of her claims.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Abrahms-Kavunenko |first1=Saskia |title=Enlightenment and the Gasping City: Mongolian Buddhism at a Time of Environmental Disarray |date=2019 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-3766-4 |pages=187, 193 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-KEDwAAQBAJ&q=+%22ching+hai%22&pg=PA193 |access-date=3 February 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
She launched an expensive clothing line in New York and Paris in 1995. Her "Elevation of the Soul" is a catalogue of 50 books, including a Supreme Master cookbook, more than 400 videos of public appearances by "the Supreme Master" which includes an $8 video of "Funny Non-Saint Stories" taped in Los Angeles, to footage of "Master's Birthday Celebration" in Taiwan for $64. ''San Francisco Weekly'' said: "Some of the videos have the ring of a Zen koan -- 'To Do Without Doing' -- while others are as unambiguous as 'A Message From God.' There are even [lip-synched] pop music videos..."<ref name="young"/>


In ''Prominent Nuns: Influential Taiwanese Voices'' ([[CrossCurrents]] 2011), Religious studies [[Research associate]] Jennifer Eichman of the ''Centere of Buddhist Studies'' at [[SOAS University of London]] summarizes: While to some, Ching Hai's movement is considered Buddhist [[Heresy]] and to others a [[New Age]] religious organization. Accusations of being a [[Cult]] group have been made repeatedly over the years, especially in newspaper articles and by cult watchers. Ching Hai's response to this accusation is that participants were free to leave at any time.<ref name=eichman/>
She has authored a few picture books, such as ''The Birds in My Life'' and ''The Noble Wilds'' among others.<ref>http://www.amazon.com/The-Supreme-Master-Ching-Hai/e/B002BM095G</ref> The books consist of hundreds of photos described to have been personally taken by Ching Hai with interlaced with short poems by her.


In Eichman's own view, as infuriating as Hai's persona, her materialism and unsystematic religious synthesizing is to the Taiwanese Buddhist community and to others who have called her a cult leader, when we set aside her Buddhist roots and compare her work to that of an ever-changing array of self-made gurus, spiritual guides and newly formed religions that make up the New Age marketplace, it becomes evident that Ching Hai's work is neither the most radical nor innovative. She states that the controversies swirling around Ching Hai should not stop us from noting just how gutsy it was for her to strike out on her own, and with her unusual prominence as a female spiritual leader, Ching Hai in effect demonstrates her ability to compete in a spiritual arena dominated largely by men. And we should be open to the idea that not all female leaders will remain within the religious mainstream.<ref name=eichman/>
The main website of the group contains a prominent link to the "Celestial Shop," along with the Suma Hai Ching publishing company. Items available online include a line of "Celestial" apparel and jewelry designed by the Supreme Master, along with a range of other items that included, as of August 2010, products from the Loving Hut restaurant chain, and many assorted lamps with names such as: The Lucky Bagwa, At One With All Creation, Blessing Light, and Celestial Rain, among many others.<ref name=thornton08/><ref>http://www.thecelestialshop.com/</ref>


==Humanitarian aid and philanthropy==
Ching Hai's group relies on the Internet to communicate. Web sites are maintained in at least 17 different languages, offering in-house news magazines, RealAudio and downloadable MP3 versions of radio broadcasts, and online WindowsMedia versions of Supreme Master television programs for those without access to cable stations.<ref name=thornton08/>
A 1996 [[United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs|United States Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs]] report states "Published criticisms of Ching Hai generally fail to credit her organization's good works. Her members reportedly are active in many [[Humanitarian aid|humanitarian]] and [[Charity (practice)|charitable]] causes...Ching Hai's greatest humanitarian activity continues to be working for the more than 20,000 [[Vietnamese boat people|Vietnamese refugees]] still in camps dispersed throughout Southeast Asia." The report also lists humanitarian aid to the victims of: [[1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo]] in the Philippines, the [[Great Flood of 1993]] in the United States and the 1995 [[Famine|food shortage]] crisis in [[Cambodia]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs |first=United States Congress |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YUBBozZSz0kC&dq=%22ching+hai%22+%22humanitarian%22&pg=PA2798 |title=Investigation of Illegal Or Improper Activities in Connection with 1996 Federal Election Campaign: Final Report |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1998 |pages=2798 |language=en}}</ref> According to a report issued by the [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]] in Hong Kong: Prior to the 1997 [[Handover of Hong Kong]], Hai donated 6 million dollars to Vietnamese refugees and other people who needed help.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 February 2001 |title=China: Meditation practice called "Kuan Yin Famen" (Guanyin Famen, Guanyin Method, Quanyin Famen); treatment of practitioners, particularly in Shandong |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be1b34.html |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Refworld.com |language=en}}</ref>


Upon receiving the [[Gusi Peace Prize]] in 2006, Political journalist Fel Maragay wrote in the [[Manila Standard]] that while "to her disciples and admirers, she is a messenger from the world of spirituality who has set the directions their lives aright by teaching them “method of enlightenment” through meditation", to the people she provides humanitarian assistance; "she is a [[Parable of the Good Samaritan|good Samaritan]] who has come to their [[Aid|succor]] during times of natural calamities. She has always carried out her charitable mission without [[Publicity|fanfare]] in any country hit by major disasters.".<ref name="Maragay" />
==Quan Yin==
In 1986, Ching Hai founded the 'Immeasurable Light Meditation Center' and the 'Way of Sound Contemplation' (Quan Yin) in Miaoli, Taiwan.<ref name=thornton08/> Quan Yin is markedly similar to the much older [[Surat Shabd Yoga]] from the ''[[Sant Mat]]'' tradition which also teaches meditation on light and sound. In 1988 she severed any connection with Buddhism and developed the flamboyant style with which she is now associated.<ref name=thornton08/>


[[ReliefWeb]] cites Hai Humanitarian aid to the victims of [[1996 Bangladesh tornado]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=1996-05-24 |title=Bangladesh - Storm. DHA Information Report No. 7 - Bangladesh {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/bangladesh/bangladesh-storm-dha-information-report-no-7 |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en}}</ref> the [[2009 Angola, Namibia and Zambia floods|2009 Namibia floods]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-03-31 |title=Namibia: Breweries donates to flood victims - Namibia {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/namibia/namibia-breweries-donates-flood-victims |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en}}</ref> the [[2015 European migrant crisis]] via the [[Croatian Red Cross]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-12-01 |title=Croatia: Population Movement Emergency Plan of Action Operation update n° 1 - Croatia {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/croatia/croatia-population-movement-emergency-plan-action-operation-update-n-1 |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en}}</ref> and in 2017 to [[Refugees of South Sudan|South Sudanese refugees]] via the [[Sudanese Red Crescent]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-07-19 |title=Sudan: Population Movement Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) MDRSD022 - Final Report - Sudan {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-population-movement-emergency-plan-action-epoa-mdrsd022-final-report |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en}}</ref> Humanitarian aid has also been reported in local news outlets in [[Florida]] (USA) during [[Hurricane Ian]],<ref>{{Cite web |title='We didn't let anything stop us': Nonprofit feeds thousands after Hurricane Ian |url=https://www.marconews.com/story/news/2022/10/07/tony-mansolillo-his-mission-feed-has-gained-new-import-since-ian/8205372001/ |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=Marco Island Florida |language=en-US}}</ref> 2011 flood victims in [[Belize]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 July 2012 |title=International Organization Donates Flood Relief |url=https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=22953 |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=www.7newsbelize.com}}</ref> 2018 [[2018 Northern Province floods (Sri Lanka)|Northern Province floods]] in Sri Lanka,<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 April 2019 |title=385 More Jaffna Families with Army Initiative Get More Relief Packs, Each worth Thousands {{!}} Sri Lanka Army |url=https://www.army.lk/news/385-more-jaffna-families-army-initiative-get-more-relief-packs-each-worth-thousands? |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=www.army.lk}}</ref> 2020 [[COVID-19 pandemic|Covid-19]] support for [[Ghana Red Cross Society]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 October 2011 |title=Kwaebibirem flood victims receive relief items |work=ModernGhana.com |url=https://www.modernghana.com/blogs/354844/kwaebibirem-flood-victims-receive-relief-items.html |access-date=27 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=27 June 2020 |title=COVID-19: Ghana Red Cross Society Receives US$150,000.00 from Supreme Master Ching Hai |url=https://thenewindependentonline.com/2020/06/27/covid-19-ghana-red-cross-society-receives-us150000-00-from-supreme-master-ching-hai/ |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=The New Independent Online |language=en-US}}</ref> 2022 [[2022 India–Bangladesh floods|Assam floods]] in India.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-08-28 |title=Flood Relief: Guwahati, August 2022 |url=https://media.belurmath.org/flood-relief-guwahati-august-2022-9009/ |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=[[Ramakrishna Mission]] |language=en-US}}</ref> In Taiwan, Hai has been active in [[Homeless street outreach]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-09 |title=清海無上師世界會贈冬衣 盼新北街友穿新衣禦寒 |url=https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E6%B8%85%E6%B5%B7%E7%84%A1%E4%B8%8A%E5%B8%AB%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%E6%9C%83%E8%B4%88%E5%86%AC%E8%A1%A3-%E7%9B%BC%E6%96%B0%E5%8C%97%E8%A1%97%E5%8F%8B%E7%A9%BF%E6%96%B0%E8%A1%A3%E7%A6%A6%E5%AF%92-173558335.html |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Yahoo News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=自由時報電子報 |date=2018-08-06 |title=清海無上師世界會 捐洗澡車助街友 - 生活 |url=https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/life/breakingnews/2510801 |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=自由時報電子報 |language=zh-Hant-TW}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-06 |title=屏縣遊民收容所歲末年終關懷 邀街友團圓迎新年 |url=https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E5%B1%8F%E7%B8%A3%E9%81%8A%E6%B0%91%E6%94%B6%E5%AE%B9%E6%89%80%E6%AD%B2%E6%9C%AB%E5%B9%B4%E7%B5%82%E9%97%9C%E6%87%B7-%E9%82%80%E8%A1%97%E5%8F%8B%E5%9C%98%E5%9C%93%E8%BF%8E%E6%96%B0%E5%B9%B4-184300541.html |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Yahoo News |language=en}}</ref> In 2018 Lu Wei-Ching, [[deputy mayor]] of [[New Taipei City]] stated that "the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association has always paid attention to the disadvantaged, and usually donates all kinds of clothes and shoes to the homeless.".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-06 |title=宗教團體再捐街友洗澡車 盼「洗盡前塵、重新出發」 |url=https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E5%AE%97%E6%95%99%E5%9C%98%E9%AB%94%E5%86%8D%E6%8D%90%E8%A1%97%E5%8F%8B%E6%B4%97%E6%BE%A1%E8%BB%8A-%E7%9B%BC-%E6%B4%97%E7%9B%A1%E5%89%8D%E5%A1%B5-%E9%87%8D%E6%96%B0%E5%87%BA%E7%99%BC-093632825.html |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Yahoo News |language=en}}</ref> Hai's website chronologically lists 1663 overall donations and instances of humanitarian aid between the years 1989 to 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Humanitarian Relief Activities by the Supreme Master Ching Hai and Her International Association |url=http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/humanitarian/index1.php?Page=1&RowsOfPage=1000&nation=All&category=All&keyword= |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw}}</ref>
Ching Hai has said, "It’s not that I invented the Quan Yin Method; I just know it. This method has existed since the beginning of time, when the universe was first formed. And it will always exist. It is not a method; it is like the way of the universe, a universal law that we must follow if we want to get back to the Origin, back to our true Self, back to the Kingdom of God or our Buddha nature."<ref>{{cite news
| author = Supreme Master Ching Hai
| title = Master's Words: The Quan Yin Method is an Eternal Universal Law
| publisher = Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co Ltd
| date = 1998-12-17
| url = http://godsdirectcontact.us/sm21/enews/www/178/mt_0.htm}}</ref> In her book ''The Key of Immediate Enlightenment'', it is said that those who recite her name would become elevated.<ref>{{cite news
|last = Chan
|first = Charmaine
|title =Cult branches spread worldwide
|work = South China Morning Post
|page = 7
|date= 1999-01-03
}}
</ref>
Ching Hai initiates spiritual aspirants into the Quan Yin Method, which is purported to exist in various religions under different names, as the "best, easiest, and quickest" way to get enlightenment.<ref>{{cite news
| title = Soundless Sound - The Tone That Fills The Cosmos
| work = Yoga International Magazine Issue 36
| date = July, 1997
| url =
http://godsdirectcontact.us/sm21/enews/www/084/i-01.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| author = Supreme Master Ching Hai
| title = Quan Yin Method is the Easiest Way to God
| publisher = Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co Ltd
| date = 1999-11-28
| url = http://godsdirectcontact.com/quanyin/htm/110/e110.htm}}</ref>
The method involves meditation on the "inner light and the inner sound of God", or the [[Shabd]] that she claims is also referred to in the Bible and said to be acknowledged repeatedly in the literature of all the world's major spiritual traditions. Ching Hai accepts people from all backgrounds and religious affiliations for initiation. One does not have to change one's present religion or system of beliefs.<ref name="young"/> Neophytes to the Ching Hai way may cease eating animal products gradually in what is termed the "Convenient Method." The practice involves half an hour of meditation a day and adherence to a vegetarian diet for a minimum of ten days per month.<ref name="young"/>
The Quan Yin Method requires two and a half hours of meditation per day and adherence to five precepts<ref>{{cite news
| author = Supreme Master Ching Hai
| title = Quan Yin - The Five Precepts
| publisher = Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co Ltd
| date = 2010-03-25
| url = http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng1/quanyin/subquanyin/five.php}}</ref> borrowed from the [[Five Precepts]] of [[Buddhism]]:


Hai has created a series of awards under the [[Umbrella title]] "World Shining Awards",<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-01 |title=Good deed earns an award |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northland-age/news/a-love-of-animals-shared/HF6HWIXQEIONIVKYYFRITVA2KM/ |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=NZ Herald |language=en-NZ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Animal water bowl project wins big award |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2020/dec/19/animal-water-bowl-project-wins-big-award-2238177.html |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=The New Indian Express|date=19 December 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2009-11-16 |title=Animal rights group wins award |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-11-16/animal-rights-group-wins-award/1143472 |access-date=2023-05-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-12-24 |title=Sebbie Hall: Teenager's daily acts of kindness lead to foundation launch |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-59668942 |access-date=2023-05-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Shining World Awards |url=http://award.godsdirectcontact.net/en/ |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=award.godsdirectcontact.net}}</ref> "...to recognize some of the most exemplary, generous, caring, and courageous people who walk amongst us and go beyond the call of duty to help others unconditionally".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-21 |title=Couple from Srinagar bags Shining World Compassion Award for rehabilitation of animals |url=https://www.greaterkashmir.com/srinagar/couple-from-srinagar-bags-shining-world-compassion-award-for-rehabilitation-of-animals |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=Greater Kashmir |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tan |first=Annabel |date=10 March 2021 |title=Power to the People |url=https://www.prestigeonline.com/sg/people/power-to-the-people-dipa-swaminathan-of-its-raining-raincoats-on-supporting-migrant-workers/ |access-date=18 May 2024 |work=[[Prestige Hong Kong]]}}</ref> A representative of Hai Association stated to [[The Washington Post]] that "An association committee selects individuals and organizations for donations based on their efforts to help others....Hai provides the money for the awards from the proceeds of her businesses, which include jewelry, clothing and vegetarian restaurants".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Terhune |first=Virginia |date=2012-02-29 |title=Bowie teacher receives $10,000 for work in Gambia |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/bowie-teacher-receives-10000-for-work-in-gambia/2012/02/28/gIQAuuO7hR_story.html |access-date=2023-05-27 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
* Refrain from taking life. This precept requires strict adherence to a vegan or lacto-vegetarian diet.
* Refrain from speaking what is not true.
* Refrain from taking what is not offered.
* Refrain from sexual misconduct.
* Refrain from the use of intoxicants.


Award recipients included organizations such as the [[Department of Environmental Affairs (South Africa)]] of its efforts to protect [[Pinniped|Seals]],<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2011-08-26 |title=SA recognised for seal protection |url=https://brandsouthafrica.com/105243/seals-260811/ |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=BrandSouthAfrica.com |language=en-ZA}}</ref> the [[Iranian Red Crescent Society]], for its humanitarian aid to victims of the [[2008 Sichuan earthquake]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-11-12 |title=IRCS received 'Shining World Compassion Award' |url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/182362/IRCS-received-Shining-World-Compassion-Award |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=Tehran Times |language=en}}</ref> and [[International Animal Rescue|International Animal Rescue Indonesia]] for its work saving critically endangered orangutans in [[Borneo]], [[Deforestation in Indonesia|protecting rainforest]] habitats and encouraging sustainable community development.<ref>{{Cite web |title=IAR Indonesia receives award for compassionate conservation from international humanitarian organisation |url=https://www.internationalanimalrescue.org/news/iar-indonesia-receives-award-compassionate-conservation-international-humanitarian-organisation |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=International Animal Rescue |language=en}}</ref> Or to individuals, such as a young boy from [[Ohio]] who bought special [[Cape (dog)|harnesses]] to [[Police dog]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Alicia |last1=Barrera |first2=Steven |last2=Chavez |date=2021-01-28 |title=11-year-old Ohio boy raises money, buys vests for SAPD K9 officers worth over $21,000 |url=https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/01/28/11-year-old-ohio-boy-raises-money-buys-vests-for-sapd-k9-officers-worth-total-of-10000/ |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=KSAT |language=en}}</ref> a lady from India for inventing non violent [[silk]] [[saris]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Art of making 'non-violent' silk saris |url=https://www.theweekendleader.com/Innovation/299/silk-sans-guilt.html |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=www.theweekendleader.com |language=English}}</ref>
===Quan Yin in China===
Quan Yin was introduced on the Chinese mainland in 1992, where it is commonly known as "Guanyin Famen"(Famen is chinese for method). It spread without notice for several years, but in July 1996, two years before the onset of a campaign to stamp out "heretical sects," authorities in Sichuan found a list of several thousand practitioners of the method in seven different province; it included many Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members, and some high-ranking cadres.<ref name=thornton08/>


==Quan Yin method==
The authorities asserted that the organization's beliefs and activities were fundamentally "anticommunist", and it was labelled a "reactionary religious organization."<ref name=thornton08/> At the time of the ban against "heterodox religions" was put into law in July 1999, Guanyin Famen/Quan Yin claimed an estimated 500,000 followers in 20 provinces and cities.<ref name=thornton08/>
Ching Hai first demonstrated the "Immeasurable Light Meditation Center and the Way of Sound Contemplation" or Quan Yin method of meditation in Miaoli, Taiwan.<ref name=thornton08/>


The method involves meditation on the "inner light and the inner sound" of [[God]] or the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]. Ching Hai claims that the [[Bible]] acknowledged the existence of this method: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” ([[John 1:1]]) and that this Word is the Inner Sound.<ref name=":0" /> Hai states that it has been repeatedly re-used by most major religions.<ref name="young"/> As an example, in Buddhism, she refers to the [[Śūraṅgama Sūtra]], [[Nāda yoga#Primary literature|where Avalokitesvara says]] that he attained [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]] through concentration on the subtle inner sound, and then Buddha asserts "That is how enlightenment is won. Buddhas as many as the [[Ganges]]’ sand entered this one gateway to [[Nirvana (Buddhism)|Nirvana]]. All past [[Tathāgata|Tathagatas]] have achieved this method. All [[Bodhisattva]]s now enter this perfection. All who practice in the future should rely on this [[Dharma#Buddhism|Dharma]].”.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Traces of Quan Yin in Religion - Contemplation on the Inner Heavenly Sound, Part 1 of 3 - English|url=https://suprememastertv.com/en1/v/130985368178.html#:~:text=All%20Bodhisattvas%20now%20enter%20this,should%20rely%20on%20this%20Dharma.%E2%80%9D&text=%E2%80%9CThus%20the%20LOGOS%20OF%20THE,It%20supports%20the%20All.|access-date=2022-02-09|website=suprememastertv.com|language=en-US}}</ref>
In January 2002 the manager of the Wuhan Zhongzhi Electric Testing Equipment Company was accused by the Chinese authorities of using the business as a cover to "support heresies" associated with Guanyin Famen/Quan Yin.<ref name=thornton08/> The enterprise allegedly supported 30 Quan Yin practitioners who "masqueraded as employees and business associates." The manager was charged with using the company's offices and buildings as "retreat sites," organizing "initiations" and "screenings" to recruit members, and illegally printing and distributing more than 6,000 copies of "heretical texts."<ref name=thornton08/>


The Quan Yin method "Full Initiation" involves a life-long commitment to a [[vegan]] diet, adherence to the [[Five Precepts]] of [[Buddhism]] and at least two hours meditation daily. "Quick initiation" or "Convenient Method", requires a half hour's meditation daily and abstinence from meat for ten days each month.<ref name="hughes" />
==Criticism==

===Dress===
A 2015 [[Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada]] [[Research report]] states "Sources characterize Guanyin Famen [Quan Yin] as a Buddhist group ([[Dui Hua Foundation]] 29 Aug. 2013; US 10 Oct. 2009, 115) or a "Taiwan-based sect" of Buddhism (ibid.)".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Immigration and Refugee Board of |date=2018-06-05 |title=Responses to Information Requests |url=https://irb.gc.ca:443/en/country-information/rir/Pages/index.aspx?doc=456054&pls=1 |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=irb.gc.ca |language=en}}</ref>
Her flamboyant dress sense has been criticised as unsuitable for a Buddhist monk or nun. In October 1995 on Ching Hai Day, she wore queenly robes "under orders from God," riding a sedan chair carried by eight bearers while devotees cheered "Your Royal Majesty!"<ref name="chua">{{cite news

|last = Chua-Eoan
Thailand [[Mahidol University International College]] [[comparative religion]] studies [[syllabus]] classifies Hai's [[sect]] as a [[Sociological classifications of religious movements|Religious movement]] within [[Mahayana|Mahayana Buddhism]], alongside [[Thích Nhất Hạnh]] and [[Tzu Chi]] movements.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heikkilä-Horn |first=Marja-Leena |title=ICIR 216 Religious Movements and Diversity in Asia |url=https://muic.mahidol.ac.th/eng/wp-content/syllabus/ICIR_216.pdf |access-date=30 May 2023 |website=muic.mahidol.ac.th}}</ref>
|first = Howard

|title = The Buddhist Martha
[[Transpersonal psychology|Transpersonal psychologist]] and [[Advaita Vedanta]] scholar Timothy Conway writes "While she was in deep [[Retreat (spiritual)|spiritual retreat]] in the [[Indian Himalayan Region|Indian Himalayas]], under a very old teacher who evidently taught the way of [[Surat Shabd Yoga|Surat Sabda Yoga]] (as found in the [[Radha Soami|Radhasoāmi]] tradition)", this final [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]] evidently dawned. After her breakthrough, Ching Hai continued to practice deep meditation for many months, then went to Taiwan". Conway lists Hai in the "Women of Buddhism" section of his Narrative Encyclopedic [[Sourcebook]] "Women of Spirit: Saints, Teachers, Healers, Sisterhoods and Goddesses of East and West".<ref name=":1" />
|url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985800,00.html

|work = Time Magazine
The [[World Religions and Spirituality Project]] has written "Ching Hai’s teaching against violence towards animals is very similar to [[Sikhism]], but her meditation teachings resemble Buddhism, and her [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] background enables her to incorporate [[Bible study (Christianity)|Christian Bible teachings]] as well.".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=24 June 2001 |title=Suma Ching Hai |url=https://wrldrels.org/2016/10/08/suma-ching-hai/ |access-date=30 May 2023 |website=wrldrels.org}}</ref>
|date= 1997-01-20

}}
[[Religious studies]] scholar Jennifer Eichman notes that this particular meditation method is not part of the standard Buddhist repertoire. Hai's modified synthesis of the method is primarily in Christian-Buddhist jargon with a sprinkling of Hindu ideas. Ching Hai is more likely to cite the Bible than Hindu texts. Ching Hai claims, following standard [[Zen]] doctrine, that everyone is the Buddha; they simply need to realize this fact. In a departure from Christian doctrine, Ching Hai claims that God is not the creator of humans; rather [[Karma in Buddhism|karmic]] accumulation is responsible for the repeated transmigration of the soul.<ref name="eichman">{{cite journal |last1=Eichman |first1=Jennifer |title=Prominent Nuns: Influential Taiwanese Voices |journal=[[CrossCurrents]] |date=2011 |volume=61 |issue=3 |pages=345–373 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1388514 |access-date=4 February 2020 |language=en |issn=0011-1953|doi=10.1111/j.1939-3881.2011.00187.x |s2cid=170393485 }}</ref>
</ref> In her lectures, Ching Hai explains that her way of dress is a statement to show that one does not need to dress as a nun or monk to achieve enlightenment through her Quan Yin Method.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}

Korean [[Brain & Body|Dahnhak]] [[Qigong]] expert Kim Tae-young, author of the popular ''Leading Experience'' guidebooks (in Korean) — published in 102 volumes since 1990,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Park |first1=Sung-Man |title=Caring for the Body and Minds (originally in Korean) |url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=ko&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fm.skyedaily.com%2Fnews_view.html%3FID%3D8584 |access-date=7 February 2020 |publisher=SkyeDaily.com |date=24 February 2013}}</ref> has written in ''Leading Experience'' vol 37 (1997) that ''Quan Chi'' (concentrating on [[Qi|Chi]]) and ''Quan Nian'', (observing [[concept]]ions) are more familiar terms than the term ''Quan Yin'' (observation of the inner vibration). Kim at that time; an initiate of Hai's "Convenient Method" explains "Quan Yin signifies the practice of observing sound in the literal sense. It is not the crude vibratory sound of matter we hear from the outside, but the deepest inner sound heard from the real self and the Truth". Regarding Hai's [[Lineage (Buddhism)|Master lineage]], Kim stated: Ching Hai rarely speaks about her Master ''Khuda Ji''.<ref name=taeyoung2>{{cite news |title=Exchange Of Spirituality/The Supreme Master And The Quan Yin Method |url=http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/news/97/n-1.htm |access-date=9 February 2020 |work=The Supreme Master Ching Hai News Magazine |issue=97 |date=October 1998 |archive-date=28 October 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051028100927/http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/news/97/n-1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=taeyoung1>{{cite news |title=Spiritual Interaction/The Supreme Master Ching Hai and The Quan Yin Method (continued) |url=http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/news/98/p-1.htm |access-date=8 February 2020 |work=The Supreme Master Ching Hai News Magazine |issue=98 |date=November 1998 |archive-date=9 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109132950/http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/news/98/p-1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kim |first1=Tae-young |title=Leading Experience 37 |date=15 November 1997 |publisher=Yurim Press |location=South Korea |isbn=8971620374 |url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=ko&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Flibrary.ne.kr%2Fpdt_detail.php%3Fcat_id%3D8%26pdt_no%3D11368 |access-date=7 February 2020}}</ref>

In 1999, attending and reviewing ''Immediate Enlightenment, Eternal Liberation'' seminar In [[Ireland]], part of Ching Hai's 1999 European Lecture Tour,<ref>{{cite web |title=God's Direct contact/Supreme Master Ching Hai /Lecture Tours‧Spreading Peace and Love/European Lecture Tour in 1999/Ireland |url=https://www3.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/en2/smch/lecture-99u-18.php |website=God's Direct Contact |access-date=7 February 2020 |archive-date=7 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207075942/https://www3.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/en2/smch/lecture-99u-18.php |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Dominican Order]] [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|priest]] Louis Hughes, [[chairperson]] of ''Dialogue Ireland'' a [[Christian countercult movement|Christian countercult ministry]],<ref>{{cite news |title=The cult watchdog |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/the-cult-watchdog-1.258347 |access-date=7 February 2020 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |date=22 March 2000 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Garde |first1=Mike |title=Losing a friend to a cult is like a death in the family – with no funeral |url=https://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/losing-a-friend-to-a-cult-is-like-a-death-in-the-family-with-no-funeral-29779566.html |access-date=7 February 2020 |work=[[Independent.ie]] |date=24 November 2013 |language=en |archive-date=7 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207065259/https://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/losing-a-friend-to-a-cult-is-like-a-death-in-the-family-with-no-funeral-29779566.html |url-status=live }}</ref> raises the question of the true origins of Ching Hai's teaching: "In a brief autobiography she [Hai] explains that her significant spiritual experience came about as a result of time spent in the [[Himalayas]] where she discovered 'the Quan Yin Method and the Divine Transmission'. Nowhere in the movement's literature is any mention made of how she came upon this enlightenment. Enquiring from one of her [[retinue]] as to who Ching Hai's teacher was, yielded the vague reply. 'Khuda Ji – he lives in a cave in the Himalayas – maybe has left his body now.' Such [[Wikt:reticence|reticence]] in regards to the identity of one's initiating guru is quite unusual among [[East Asian religions|Oriental religious]] teachers".<ref name=hughes>{{cite news |title=Dialogue Ireland – Newsletter 11 – 1999 |url=https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/1999/09/30/dialogue-ireland-newsletter-11-1999/ |access-date=7 February 2020 |work=Dialogue Ireland |date=30 September 1999 |language=en |archive-date=7 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207065258/https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/1999/09/30/dialogue-ireland-newsletter-11-1999/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Religious studies scholars, [[Michael York (religious studies scholar)|Michael York]] and others, include Ching Hai in the Indian [[contemporary Sant Mat movements]], where the method is called [[Surat Shabd Yoga]]. While adhering to formless devotion ([[Para Brahman#Advaita Vedanta - Nirguna Brahman|Nirguna Brahman]]), the initiation of the method from a lineage guru or master is paramount.<ref>{{cite book |last1=York |first1=Michael |title=Pagan Mysticism: Paganism as a World Religion |date=2018 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-5275-2308-1 |page=77 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CgR_DwAAQBAJ&q=%22ching+hai%22&pg=PA77 |access-date=2020-02-03}}</ref><ref name="JonesRyan">{{cite encyclopedia |surname=Jones |given=Constance A. |surname2=Ryan |given2=James D. |title=Sant Mat movement |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |url={{Google books|OgMmceadQ3gC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=2007 |place=New York |publisher=Facts On File |isbn=978-0-8160-5458-9 |series=Encyclopedia of World Religions. [[J. Gordon Melton]], Series Editor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020070415/https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC |archive-date=20 October 2022 |url-status=bot: unknown |page=384 |access-date=13 January 2022 }}</ref> Professor of religious studies at the [[University of Lancaster]] [[Christopher Partridge]] wrote that Ching Hai visited India and was initiated by [[Thakar Singh]], a [[Kirpal Singh#Ruhani Satsang|Ruhani Satsang]] Sant Mat master.<ref name=partridge/><ref name="JonesRyan" /> Investigator [[Terry Lenzner]] reported in the 1996 [[Committee on Governmental Affairs]] "Hue [Ching Hai] reportedly hid her association with Thakar Singh when she arrived in Taiwan in October 1983 because it would have prevented her from becoming fully [[Ordination#Buddhism|ordained]] in the Buddhist order".<ref>{{cite book |title=Investigation of Illegal Or Improper Activities in Connection with the 1996 Federal Election Campaign: Hearings Before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, First Session |date=1998 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=320 |isbn=9780160561672 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLX9G0CJDqIC&q=Singh+thakar&pg=RA2-PA149 |access-date=2020-02-06}}</ref> Professor of philosophy [[David C. Lane]], a controversial disciple of [[Charan Singh (Sant)|Charan Singh]] a [[Radha Soami Satsang Beas]] Sant Mat Master,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bellamy |first1=Dodie |title=The fraud that is Eckankar |url=https://m.sandiegoreader.com/news/1995/jun/22/cover-fraud-eckankar/ |access-date=2020-02-07 |work=[[San Diego Reader]] |archive-date=7 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207021034/https://m.sandiegoreader.com/news/1995/jun/22/cover-fraud-eckankar/ |url-status=live }}</ref> stated in his 2017 essay "Studying Cults, A Forty-Year Reflection" that "Ching Hai, tried to deny for many years her close association with the notorious shabd yoga guru, Thakar Singh, since she didn't want to be tainted by her former guru's sexual exploits".<ref>{{cite web |last=Lane |first=David |authorlink=David C. Lane |title=Studying Cults, A Forty-Year Reflection |url=http://www.integralworld.net/lane125.html |website=Integral World |access-date=2020-02-06 |archive-date=6 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206183948/http://www.integralworld.net/lane125.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Lane |first1=David |title=David Lane explains why he meditates |url=https://hinessight.blogs.com/church_of_the_churchless/2015/09/david-lane-explains-why-he-meditates.html?cid=6a00d83451c0aa69e201bb0873ab8d970d#comment-6a00d83451c0aa69e201bb0873ab8d970d |website=HinesSight.blog.com |access-date=2020-02-06}}</ref>

In an article titled "The Master from the Himalayan Cloud" published in ''Supreme Master Ching Hai News Magazine'' vol 79 (February 1997), Ching Hai stated while she did practice ''surat shabd yoga'' and attended different [[ashram]]s in the past, the master who gave her the final and breakthrough transmission was a master she called Khuda Ji, whom she encountered on a her spiritual journey in the [[Himalayas]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hai |first1=Ching |title=The Master from the Himalayan Cloud |url=http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/news/79/p-1.htm |access-date=3 November 2020 |work=The Supreme Master Ching Hai News Magazine |issue=79 |date=February 1997}}</ref>

=== Ban in China ===
{{See also|Antireligious campaigns of the Chinese Communist Party}}

The Quan Yin method and Ching Hai's group is banned in China since 1995.<ref name="blacklist">{{Cite web|last=Irons|first=Edward A|date=October 15, 2018|title=China's Blacklist of Forbidden Religions - The Chinese Communist Party's War on Religious Liberty|url=https://foref-europe.org/blog/2018/10/15/chinas-blacklist-of-forbidden-religions/}}</ref><ref name="thornton08" /> In 1996, authorities discovered a list of several thousand practitioners. "Following an investigation into the sect, its beliefs, and activities, party authorities concluded that the organization was fundamentally anti-communist and labeled it a 'reactionary religious organization.{{'"}}<ref name="thornton08" />

The Chinese government labeled the group as [[xiejiao]], roughly translating to "evil cult" but clarified in 2000 as meaning any group that:{{blockquote|
a. establishes an illegal organization in the name of religion, qigong, etc.;<br/>
b. [[Apotheosis|deifies]] its leaders;<br/>
c. initiates and spreads superstitions and heterodox beliefs;<br/>
d. utilizes various means to fabricate and spread superstitions and heterodox [or cultic] beliefs to excite doubts and deceive the people, and recruit and control its members by various means;<br/>
e. engages in disturbing social order in an organized manner that brings injury to the lives and properties of the citizens.<ref name=blacklist />}}

Further, in 2017 the China Anti-Cult website listed Guanyin method as one of eleven "dangerous groups".<ref name="blacklist" />

In 2002, the manager of the Wuhan Zhongzhi Electric Testing Equipment Company was accused by the Chinese authorities of using the business as a cover to "support [[Heresy|heresies]]" associated with the Quan Yin method.<ref name="thornton08" /> The enterprise supported thirty practitioners who "masqueraded as employees and business associates." The manager was charged with using the company's offices and buildings as "retreat sites", organizing "initiations" and "screenings" to recruit members, and illegally printing and distributing more than 6,000 copies of heretical texts.<ref name="thornton08" />

=== Ban in Vietnam ===
{{See also|Freedom of religion in Vietnam}}''The Vietnamese'' Magazine's Religion Bulletin – January 2020, states "The Vietnamese government views all developing religions today as heresy". Methods of suppression: preventing proselytization, imprisoning proselytizers, forcing citizens to sign vows to abandon their religion.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2020-05-13 |title=Religion Bulletin – January 2020 |url=https://www.thevietnamese.org/2020/05/religion-bulletin-january-2020/ |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=The Vietnamese Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hoang |first=Chung |date=2013-05-24 |title=New Religious Movements in Vietnamese Media Discourse since 1986: A Critical Approach |url=https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JASR/article/view/2289 |journal=[[Journal for the Academic Study of Religion|Australian Religion Studies Review]] |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=293–315 |doi=10.1558/arsr.v25i3.293}}</ref>

According to an official statement by Vietnamese authorities:
{{blockquote|
“Activities spreading superstition affect the social fabric. They have the clearest and broadest influence on the population in places where these new religions (heresy, strange faiths) appear: Supreme Master Ching Hai, Long Hoa Maitreya, Treasured Temple of the Three Religions, Protestant Word of Life…”}}

A publication of the [[Central Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of Vietnam|Central Propaganda Committee]] divided these “heretical religions” into three groups. The first two groups included religions that sprung up locally from [[Protestantism in Vietnam|Protestant]] foundations and Buddhist foundations. The third group contains those religions that were imported from overseas, such as Supreme Master Ching Hai.<ref name=":2" />

==Controversies==
In ''Uncompleted [[Transitional justice|Transitional Justice]] in Taiwan: Repression of Religious and Spiritual Minorities and the Tai Ji Men Case,'' Associate professor of [[Business administration]] at [[Shih Chien University]], Cheng-An Tsai wrote "After 1987 [in Taiwan], a [[Politics of the Republic of China|post-authoritarian regime]] followed, which proclaimed religious liberty but still persecuted religious movements perceived as hostile to the ruling party. In 1996, after the [[1996 Taiwanese presidential election|first direct presidential election]], the Taiwanese government launched a [[Purge|political purge]], targeting religious and spiritual groups that did not show support for the president in power during the election. The crackdown hit several of the largest religious movements active in Taiwan, including [[Fo Guang Shan]], [[Chung Tai Shan]], Tai Ji Men, the Taiwan [[Zen|Zen Buddhist]] Association, the [[Sung Chi-li|Sung Chi-Li]] Miracle Association, and later Guanyin Famen [Ching Hai Association]".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tsai |first=Cheng-An |date=2021-09-20 |title=Uncompleted Transitional Justice in Taiwan: Repression of Religious and Spiritual Minorities and the Tai Ji Men Case |url=https://doi.org/10.26338/tjoc.2021.5.5.5 |journal=The Journal of CESNUR |volume=5 |issue=5 |pages=68–93 |doi=10.26338/tjoc.2021.5.5.5 |issn=2532-2990}}</ref> Cheng-An Tsai added " [[Liao Cheng-hao|Liao Zheng-Hao]] Minister of Justice, actively carried out the “religious crackdown” to purge dissidents including: investigations, tax inspections by the [[Taxation Administration|National Taxation Bureau]], assets seizure, demolitions of “illegal” structures, and exorbitant fines. This elaborate campaign required the mobilization of a large number of media, judicial organs, national tax authorities, and so on. [[Apostasy#Other religious movements|Angry ex-members]] were encouraged to make vague accusations, each of which guaranteed a good three weeks of media headlines. The crackdown was supported by the media, most of which were not independent from the ruling politicians.".<ref>{{Cite web |title=台灣未完成的轉型正義:受壓迫的宗教心靈少數派與太極門案 |url=http://www.act1219.org/internation-article-01.php?id=163313376000090 |access-date=2023-06-19 |website=平反1219行動聯盟}}</ref> In 2019, speaking in a freedom of religion conference in Taiwan, Li Jianzhong [[Judge]] and president of the [[Shilin District|Shilin]] [[District court (Taiwan)|District court]] in Taipe, mentioned that the series of religious suppression incidents in 1996, of Song Qili, Miaotian, Taijimen, Supreme Master Ching Hai, and many other groups that have been targeted: Some lawsuits have been going on for more than 20 years. "They have been prosecuted for "[[fraud]]" related to criminal matters. After careful judicial trials, all of them were found not guilty".<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2019-03-20 |title=【新聞】台灣宗教自由與國際接軌 首當其衝做好人權保障 |url=https://fightforfair.tax/2019/03/20/%e3%80%90%e6%96%b0%e8%81%9e%e3%80%91%e5%8f%b0%e7%81%a3%e5%ae%97%e6%95%99%e8%87%aa%e7%94%b1%e8%88%87%e5%9c%8b%e9%9a%9b%e6%8e%a5%e8%bb%8c-%e9%a6%96%e7%95%b6%e5%85%b6%e8%a1%9d%e5%81%9a%e5%a5%bd%e4%ba%ba/ |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=法稅改革聯盟 |language=zh-TW}}</ref> [[SET News]] reported that in 1996 [[Miaoli County Government|Miaoli County government]] demolished an illegal building in Hai's meditation center and that it was searched by prosecutors and police on a large scale, but in the end she was not prosecuted due to insufficient evidence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=三立新聞網 |date=2019-10-08 |title=起底清海無上師!涉斂財…離台 反造就她事業遍布全球 {{!}} 社會 {{!}} 三立新聞網 SETN.COM |url=https://www.setn.com/News.aspx?NewsID=615076 |access-date=2023-06-19 |website=www.setn.com |language=zh-Hant-TW}}</ref> [[Eastern Broadcasting Company|ETtoday]] quoted Hai followers stating "Why did the investigation bureau spend so much manpower, but finally closed the case? because there was no victim".<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2019-10-08 |title=清海無上師背景曝!來台5天「觀音法門」賺破億 信徒:她充滿愛力 {{!}} ETtoday生活新聞 {{!}} ETtoday新聞雲 |url=https://www.ettoday.net/news/20191008/1552145.htm |access-date=2023-06-19 |website=www.ettoday.net |language=zh-Hant}}</ref>

In 1996 Hai's [[Americans|American]] followers<ref>{{Cite web |last=Public Eye |first=Metroactive News & Issues |date=December 1996 |title=Supreme Ordeal |url=https://www.metrosiliconvalley.com/papers/metro/12.19.96/public-eye-9651.html |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=[[Metro Silicon Valley]]}}</ref> donated $640,000 to [[Bill Clinton]]'s Presidential [[Legal defense fund|Legal Defense Fund]] which the trust returned. Following the [[1996 United States campaign finance controversy]] the fund took caution to what it deemed "suspicious" funding sources.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1997-08-01 |title=SECT LEADER BADGERED FOLLOWERS FOR CLINTON AID |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-08-01-9708010081-story.html |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AllPolitics - Ching Hai Interview - Jan. 9, 1997 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/01/09/ching.hai/ |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=edition.cnn.com}}</ref> Mark Csikszentmihalyi, Professor & [[Chairperson|Chair]] of [[International relations|International studies]] at [[University of California, Berkeley|UC, Berkeley]] wrote "Are donations from charismatic Buddhists one whit more threatening than those from [[Pat Robertson]]?" Csikszentmihalyi described the alleged controversy as [[scapegoating]] members of minority religious groups in order to divert attention from the real problem of [[Campaign finance|money in politics]].".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Csikszentmihalyi |first=Mark |date=1997-01-25 |title=WE DON'T FAIRLY COMPARE POLITICAL DONORS\ |url=https://greensboro.com/we-dont-fairly-compare-political-donors/article_fb1b0446-bede-5b31-98b8-c99f24bca419.html |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=[[News & Record|Greensboro News and Record]] |language=en}}</ref>

In 2003, park rangers discovered a man-made island and a {{convert|330|ft|m|adj=mid}} long boardwalk that had been illegally constructed in [[Biscayne National Park]] in [[Florida]] from Ching Hai's property just inland of the shoreline. The estimated cost to remove the boardwalk, [[Mangrove restoration|restore]] the damaged [[Florida mangroves|mangrove forest]], and remove the several tons of limestone boulders from the environmentally sensitive [[seagrass bed]], was US$1 million. [[Miami-Dade County, Florida|Miami-Dade]] seized the property of Ching Hai, known locally under the pseudonym Celestia De Lamour, to help recover the costs of restoration. The following year, park workers demolished the boardwalk and replanted between 400 and 500 [[mangrove]] trees in the area. The artificial island of boulders remained due to lack of funding to hire a barge, which would cost several hundred thousand dollars. According to the Miami Herald, "Federal agencies still hope to recoup costs from the landowner, but investigators say she and her workers have left the country."<ref name="miami3">{{cite news |date=26 March 2004 |title=Park service to eliminate island |work=The Washington Times |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/mar/16/20040316-115047-8380r/?page=3 |url-status=usurped |access-date=14 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104110144/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/mar/16/20040316-115047-8380r/?page=3 |archive-date=4 November 2012}}</ref><ref name="independent3">{{cite news |date=28 March 2004 |title=A mystery in Miami as sect leader and an instant island disappear |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/a-mystery-in-miami-as-sect-leader-and-an-instant-island-disappear-567888.html|url-status=live |access-date=24 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514145939/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/a-mystery-in-miami-as-sect-leader-and-an-instant-island-disappear-567888.html |archive-date=14 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="palmetto3">{{cite news |last=Morgan|first=Curtis |date=24 March 2004 |title=Park removes access to illegal bay island |work=The Miami Herald }}</ref> Removing mangroves without a permit is prohibited in Florida and carries a fine.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/man-let-em-grow-the-state-of-florida-mangrove-laws/ |title=Man Let 'em Grow: The State of Florida Mangrove Laws |first=Kellyalexis|last=Fisher |date=1998 |publisher=Florida Bar Journal}}</ref> Conversely, in 2010, when the [[Woodland Trust]] received a £100,000 donation from Hai's foundation in order to conserve an area of [[Snowdonia]] woodland in [[Wales]], and was challenged about the Florida Mangroves incident and criticism, Woodland Trust Spokesperson stated "...the Woodland Trust has procedures to rigorously check out all high value donations against key criteria pertaining to legality and Trust policy.” and that "the Trust always investigated corporate donors to safeguard its reputation. It found nothing untoward about Ching Hai, neither did the group request publicity."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-10-23 |title=Spiritual leader gives £100,000 to save valley |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/spiritual-leader-gives-100000-save-2078161 |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=WalesOnline |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-05-14 |title=Cult took my wife – now it's funding a woodland in North Wales |url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-news/cult-took-wife--now-2755615 |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=North Wales Live |language=en}}</ref>

==Awards==
*'''1993''' – [[Frank Fasi]], mayor of Honolulu, presented Hai with honorary citizenship.<ref>{{cite news |language = zh-tw |title= 檀香山市長代表美國政府頒贈 清海無上師 國際和平獎.榮譽公民和銅像 |newspaper= 聯合報 |location= 台灣台北 |date= 9 November 1993 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |language = zh-tw |author=記者劉乃游專訪 |title= 清海無上師獲國際和平和平獎 赴美賑災行善獲美政府 頒贈榮譽公民並豎像 |newspaper= 中央日報 |location= 台灣台北 |date= 6 November 1993 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |language = zh-tw |title= 清海無上師榮獲國際和平獎 |newspaper= 高雄晚報 |location= 台灣台北 |date= 6 November 1993 }}</ref>
*'''1994''' – World Humanitarian Leadership Award, presented by Barbara Finch, chair of the International Federation for Human Rights.<ref>{{cite news |language = zh-tw |author=記者陳碧華、李彥甫 |title= 談到同胞苦難 她三度淚下 國際人權大會 清海無上師致詞感人 |newspaper= 聯合報 |location= 台灣台北 |date= 26 May 1994 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |language = zh-tw |author=記者李秀姬 |title= 國際人權聯盟發表人權宣言 立委建議 福爾摩沙收容悠樂難民 |newspaper= 自由時報 |location= 台灣台北 |date= 26 May 1994 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |language = zh-tw |title= 重申國際正義人道精神 國際人權大會發表人權宣言 |newspaper= 中國晚報 |location= 台灣台北 |date= 29 May 1994 }}</ref>
*'''1994''' – World Spiritual Leadership Award, presented by General Secretary Chen Hung Kwang of the World Cultural Communication Association.<ref>{{cite news |author= 台北訊 |language = zh-tw |title= 美國頒發世界精神領袖獎清海無上師 |newspaper= 聯合報 |location= 台灣 |date= 1 March 1994 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |language = zh-tw |title= 清海無上師榮獲世界精神領袖獎 |newspaper= 中央日報 |location=台灣 |date= 4 March 1994 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |language = zh-tw |title=清海無上師榮獲世界精神領袖獎 |newspaper= 中國時報 |location=台灣 |date= 7 March 1994 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author= 台北訊 |language = zh-tw |title=清海大師獲「世界精神領袖獎」 |newspaper= 自由時報 |location=台灣 |date= 1 March 1994 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |language = zh-tw |author=記者 黃宏玉/特稿 |title=清海無上師渡化眾生免除苦難實至名歸 |newspaper= 台灣公論報 |location=台灣 |date= 1 March 1994 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author= 本報記者田人 |title= 美中西部六州聯合舉辦「清海日」 及贈送銅像晚會 場面盛大 氣氛莊嚴 近二千人出席大會 |newspaper= 美國芝加哥時報 |location= 美國 |date= 25 February 1994 }}</ref>
*'''2006''' – 27th Annual Telly Award Silver Winner for "The Peace Seeker" featuring Ching Hai's poetry.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-11-12 |title=The 28th Annual TELLY Awards {{!}} Winners |url=http://www.tellyawards.com/winners/list/?l=S&pageNum_winners=1&totalRows_winners=56&event=7&category=1&award=S |access-date=2022-07-01 |archive-date=12 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061112040139/http://www.tellyawards.com/winners/list/?l=S&pageNum_winners=1&totalRows_winners=56&event=7&category=1&award=S |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Peace Seeker |url=https://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng1/art/singing/poetry01.php |access-date=2022-07-01 |website=www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw}}</ref>
*'''2006''' – [[Gusi Peace Prize]], presented by President of the Philippines [[Gloria Macapagal Arroyo]].<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://www.gusipeaceprizeint.org/past-laureates/ |title = Gusi Peace Prize International 2006 |date = 22 November 2006 |publisher = Gusi Peace Prize Foundation |language = en |access-date = 4 April 2020 |quote = Supreme Master Ching Hai (Vietnam) for Philanthropy |archive-date = 7 February 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200207215754/http://www.gusipeaceprizeint.org/past-laureates/ |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url = http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/369191/carlo-among-15-gusi-peace-prize-awardees |title = Carlo among 15 Gusi Peace Prize awardees |date = 17 November 2006 |publisher = philstar Global |language = en |access-date = 18 July 2017 |archive-date = 29 July 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170729172200/http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/369191/carlo-among-15-gusi-peace-prize-awardees |url-status = live }}</ref>

==In popular culture==
Actress [[Joanna Ampil]] portrays Hai, in the 2011 [[Musical theatre|Musical]] "The Real Love". The musical follows Hai life in Germany from when she met her husband (portrayed by [[Adam Pascal]]), and her decision to follow her spiritual quest.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gans |first=Andrew |date=2 August 2011 |title=Betty Buckley, Shirley Jones, Cady Huffman, Adam Pascal Set for The Real Love: A New Musical |work=[[Playbill]] |url=https://playbill.com/article/betty-buckley-shirley-jones-cady-huffman-adam-pascal-set-for-the-real-love-a-new-musical-com-181422 |access-date=29 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rodis |first=Girlie |title=Joanna Ampil with Adam Pascal in musical concert The Real Love |url=https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2011/09/27/730958/joanna-ampil-adam-pascal-musical-concert-real-love |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=Philstar.com}}</ref>


== Bibliography ==
===Environmental Violations===
{| class="wikitable"
In 2004, an artificial island and 330 foot long boardwalk created in the [[Biscayne National Park]] cost $1 million USD to remove after being illegally constructed by Ching Hai, known locally as a wealthy property owner under the pseudonym Celestia De Lamour.<ref name="miami">{{cite news
|+
|title = Park service to eliminate island
!Series / Category
|work = The Washington Times
!Title
|date= 2004-03-16
!Year
| url = http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/mar/16/20040316-115047-8380r/?page=4 }}</ref> National Park workers replanted between 400 and 500 mangrove trees in the area once covered by the illegal boardwalk. The private property owned by Ching Hai adjacent to the national park was seized by police and later sold at auction to the village of [[Palmetto Bay, Florida|Palmetto Bay]], which planned to establish a park on the site.<ref name="palmetto">{{cite news
!{{Abbr|Ref.|References}}
|title = Park removes access to illegal bay island
|-
| first = Curtis
| rowspan="7" |''The Key of Immediate Enlightenment''
| last = Morgan
|The Key of Immediate Enlightenment 1
|work = The Miami Herald
|1989
|date= 2004-03-24
|{{ISBN|9789866895432}}
| url = http://www.rickross.com/reference/ching_hai/sumaching12.html }}</ref>
|-
|The Key of Immediate Enlightenment 2
|1991
|{{ISBN|9789866895111}}
|-
|The Key of Immediate Enlightenment 3
|1992
|{{ISBN|9789866895449}}
|-
|The Key of Immediate Enlightenment 4
|1996
|{{ISBN|9789866895180}}
|-
|The Key of Immediate Enlightenment 5
|1996
|{{ISBN|9781886544550}}
|-
|The Key of Immediate Enlightenment Questions & Answers 1
|1993
|{{ISBN|9789866895432}}
|-
|The Key of Immediate Enlightenment Questions & Answers 2
|2001
|{{ISBN|9789866895333}}
|-
| rowspan="8" |''Spiritual''
|Aphorisms I
|1995
|{{ISBN|9789866895364}}
|-
|I Have Come to Take You Home
|1995
|{{ISBN|9789868263505}}
|-
|Secrets to Effortless Spiritual Practice
|2005
|{{ISBN|9868106125}}
|-
|Of God and Humans—Insights from Bible Stories
|2006
|{{ISBN|9868106168}}
|-
|The Realization of Health-Returning to the Natural and Righteous Way of Living
|2008
|{{ISBN|9789868263536}}
|-
|Aphorisms II
|2013
|{{ISBN|9789866895654}}
|-
|Coloring Our Lives - Keys to Living a Beautiful Life
|2015
|{{ISBN|9789866895319}}
|-
|Love Is The Only Solution
|2021
|{{ISBN|9780578960067}}
|-
| rowspan="4" |''Noble Animals''
|The Birds in My Life
|2007
|{{ISBN|9789866895142}}
|-
|The Dogs in My Life, Vol 1
|2007
|{{ISBN|9789868536791}}
|-
|The Dogs in My Life, Vol 2
|2007
|{{ISBN|9789866895081}}
|-
|The Noble Wilds
|2008
|{{ISBN|9789868415232}}
|-
| rowspan="6" |''Children''
|Master Tells Stories
|1997
|{{ISBN|9789868263567}}
|-
|God Takes Care of Everything
|2003
|{{ISBN|9789866895340}}
|-
|Your Halo Is Too Tight!
|2005
|{{ISBN|9572824562}}
|-
|Mission on the Blue Water Planet (Digital)
|2013
|<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ching |last=Hai |url=http://www.smchbooks.com/ebook/data/english/E-Mission%20on%20the%20BWP.pdf |title=Mission on the blue water planet |publisher=Love Ocean Creative International Co. |year=2013 |edition=1st}}</ref>
|-
|The Underground World of Mars (Digital)
|2013
|<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ching |last=Hai |url=http://www.smchbooks.com/ebook/data/english/E-The%20Underground%20of%20Mars.pdf |title=The Underground World on Mars |publisher=Love Ocean Creative International Co. |year=2013 |edition=1st}}</ref>
|-
|Sunny the Fearless (Digital)
|2014
|<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ching |last=Hai |url=http://www.smchbooks.com/ebook/data/english/E-SunnyFearless_Kindle.pdf |title=Sunny the Fearless |publisher=Love Ocean Creative International Co. |year=2014 |edition=1st}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="8" |''Poetry''
|Silent Tears<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ching |last=Hai |url=https://smchbooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=61_68&product_id=967 |title=Silent Tears |publisher=SMCHIA Publishing Co. |year=1988 |isbn=9789866895043 |edition=5th}}</ref>
|1998
|{{ISBN|9789866895043}}
|-
|The Dream of A Butterfly<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ching |last=Hai |url=https://smchbooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=61_68&product_id=968 |title=The Dream of a Butterfly |publisher=SMCHIA Publishing Co. |year=2000 |isbn=9781886544451 |edition=2nd}}</ref>
|2000
|{{ISBN|9781886544451}}
|-
|The Lost Memories<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ching |last=Hai |url=https://smchbooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=61_68&product_id=969 |title=The Lost Memories |publisher=SMCHIA Publishing Co. |year=2001 |isbn=9781886544321 |edition=1st}}</ref>
|2001
|{{ISBN|9781886544321}}
|-
|Traces of Previous Lives<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ching |last=Hai |url=https://smchbooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=61_68&product_id=971 |title=Traces of Previous Lives |publisher=SMCHIA Publishing Co. |year=2002 |isbn=9781886544383}}</ref>
|2002
|{{ISBN|9781886544383}}
|-
|The Old Time<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ching |last=Hai |url=https://smchbooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=61_68&product_id=970 |title=The Old Time |publisher=SMCHIA Publishing Co. |year=2003 |isbn=9781886544161}}</ref>
|2003
|{{ISBN|9781886544161}}
|-
|Wu Tzu Poems<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ching |last=Hai |url=https://smchbooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=61_68&product_id=972 |title=Wu Tzu Poems |publisher=SMCHIA Publishing Co. |year=2005 |edition=2nd |isbn=9572824597}}</ref>
|2005
|{{isbn|9572824597}}
|-
|Pebbles and Gold<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ching |last=Hai |url=https://smchbooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=61_68&product_id=966 |title=Pebbles and Gold |publisher=SMCHIA Publishing Co. |year=2006 |isbn=9789868263529 |edition=2nd}}</ref>
|2006
|{{ISBN|9789868263529}}
|-
|The Love of Centuries<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ching |last=Hai |url=https://smchbooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=61_68&product_id=952 |title=The Love of Centuries |publisher=SMCHIA Publishing Co. |year=2011 |isbn=9789866895463 |edition=1st}}</ref>
|2011
|{{ISBN|9789866895463}}
|}


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Cybersectarianism]]
*[[Cybersectarianism]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}


==References==
==References==
Line 226: Line 316:


==External links==
==External links==
* {{official|http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/}}
* [http://www.suprememastertv.com/ Supreme Master Television]
* [http://www.thecelestialshop.com/ The Celestial Shop]


{{commons category|Ching Hai}}
*{{official website|http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/}}

{{Modern Yoginis}}
{{Sant Mat}}
{{New Religious Movements}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ching, Hai}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Shabd paths]]
[[Category:Hoa people]]
[[Category:People from Quảng Ngãi province]]
[[Category:British people of Vietnamese descent]]
[[Category:Vietnamese emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Founders of new religious movements]]
[[Category:Self-declared messiahs]]
[[Category:Self-declared messiahs]]
[[Category:Restaurateurs]]
[[Category:Shabda]]
[[Category:Religious faiths, traditions, and movements]]
[[Category:Women restaurateurs]]
[[Category:Religious leaders]]
[[Category:Veganism activists]]
[[Category:Vietnamese expatriates in Taiwan]]
[[Category:Vietnamese religious leaders]]

[[vi:Thanh Hải Vô Thượng Sư]]
[[zh:清海]]

Latest revision as of 14:52, 4 November 2024

Ching Hai
Ching Hai in Sydney (1993)
Born
Hue Dang Trinh

(1950-05-12) 12 May 1950 (age 74)
NationalityBritish,
formerly Vietnamese
Known forSpirituality, mysticism, poetry Entrepreneur
Notable workBook:The Key of Immediate Enlightenment, Supreme Master TV, Loving Hut
MovementQuan Yin Method
Websitegodsdirectcontact.org
Supreme Master Ching Hai
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese[1]
Simplified Chinese
Literal meaningClear Ocean Immeasurable Teacher [note 1]
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinQīng Hǎi Wú Shàng Shī
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetThanh Hải Vô Thượng Sư[2]

Ching Hai (born Trịnh Đăng Huệ;[note 2] 12 May 1950), commonly referred to as Suma or Supreme Master Ching Hai, is a British citizen of Vietnamese descent; a humanitarian, philanthropist,[3][4][5][6] and the spiritual leader[7] of the Guanyin Famen (Chinese) or Quan Yin method transnational cybersect. The practice had existed predating the common usage of the internet.[7][8][9][10] Based out of Taiwan, she is estimated to have 2 million followers worldwide.[11][12] Ching Hai founded the Loving Hut vegan restaurant chain and vegan Celestial Shop fashion company under Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association.[13][14]

Life and career

[edit]

Ching Hai was born to a Vietnamese mother and an ethnic Chinese father,[15] on 12 May 1950 in a small village in the Quảng Ngãi Province in Vietnam.[16] At the age of 18, she moved to England to study and later to France and then Germany, where she worked for the Red Cross.[17] In 1969, she began a relationship with a German scientist.[7][18] They married, but separated after two years to focus on spiritualism and she moved to India to study different religions.[16] In 1979, she met a Buddhist monk in Germany whom she followed for three years, but his monastery denied entry to women.[18]

Ching Hai attempted to buy a copy of the Bhagavad Gita from a bookshop near the Ganges. Despite the shopkeepers' assertions that they did not have a copy, an extensive search revealed one in a sealed box. This led to rumours of her having a third eye circulating by 1982.[8] In 1983, she met a Vietnamese Buddhist monk in Taiwan named Jing-Xing, who ordained her in 1984 as "Thanh Hai", meaning "pure ocean".[18]

According to her official biography, Ching Hai was born to a well-off naturopathic family in Âu Lạc, Hanoi, Vietnam. Though raised as a Roman Catholic, she learned the basics of Buddhism from her grandmother. A Himalayas spiritual teacher showed her a particular meditation method which she named Quan Yin method.[19]

According to Ting Jen-Chieh (Ding Renjie), assistant research fellow in the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, by the early 1990s Ching Hai was at odds with the Buddhist establishment in Taiwan. Rather than submit to their demands, she severed all connections to Buddhist organizations, abandoned the traditional robe, grew out her hair, dressed fashionably, and set out to create her own independent group.[20]

Currently, Ching Hai doesn't operate under the guise of traditional Buddhism. Her home page calls her "Supreme Master Ching Hai, a renowned humanitarian, artist, and spiritual leader" (lingxiu daoshi 領袖道士). Her current irreverence for religious traditions in general, have made her more synonymous to a Zen master.[20]

Transpersonal psychologist, Timothy Conway writes: "Though Ching Hai can be stern from time to time with her disciples, she often can be seen happily singing simple, romantic folksongs with them for hours at a time. This attractive blend of power and simplicity, virtue and joy, has many people revering Ching Hai as a manifestation of Guan-yin Bodhisattva".[21] Ching Hai calls her meditation method the Guan Yin (Chinese) or Quan Yin method because She gave her first public teachings in Taiwan. Quan Yin is a Chinese term that means "observation of the inner vibration".[22]

Her meditation centres in American cities such as Los Angeles benefit from tax-exempt status as religious organizations.[16] She presides over an organization which owns restaurants and sells her jewellery and clothes.[18]

Corporate operations

[edit]

Ching Hai is the founder of the Loving Hut restaurant chain, which in 2017 had 200 locations in 35 countries worldwide.[23] The restaurants are run on a franchise basis, with devotees managing each one and most workers belonging to the movement.[24][25][26]

Her organization's numerous websites are offered in 17 languages. The Celestial Shop "includes a line of Celestial apparel and Celestial jewelry designed by the Master".[8]

Liam D. Murphy, professor of anthropology at California State has stated that "Ching Hai is a textbook example of what social scientists call a charismatic prophet" and that the abuse of power over her own members in loving hut is a hypothetical possibility “If anyone is in danger...it is usually their own members". Murphy states that the proper term for her movement is not “cult,” but more accurately a new religious movement".[27] The Database of Religious History (University of British Columbia), states regarding Ching Hai's movement "Does the religious group actively proselytize and recruit new members: No." with subject-matter expert, anthropologist Stephen Christopher commentating "Not really. Of course Ching Hai herself uses 24 hour satellite TV programming to reach out to potential new recruits. It is more often the case that among the Five Precepts the edict of veganism is most actively promoted as lifestyle worth spreading among non-believers".[28] Christopher writes "The debate about the legitimacy of Ching Hai largely plays out through cyber forums from YouTube videos to cult warning websites. Christian missionary groups are particularly interested in debunking Ching Hai even though they may have no direct contact with the organization. These online forums often devolve into misunderstanding and exaggeration and Ching Hai adherents often express hurt and disappointment when they discover such material. Conversely, some adherents have disaffiliated after encountering anti-Ching Hai material".[28]

In 2017, Yahoo.com reported that Chuck McLean, senior research fellow at GuideStar, reviewed the 990s of two of the largest American chapters of the group: Los Angeles, which reports over $1.2 million in assets-more than any other chapter in the US-and San Jose, the parent organization of more than a dozen chapters across the country. "Taking their Forms 990 at face value, it seems unlikely that anyone is enriching themselves financially through these organizations ... I don't know what the associated business interests are about, but it appears that they give almost all of their money to legitimate causes."[23]

International organizations

[edit]
The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co. was founded on 1st Fl., No.236, Songshan Rd., Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan.

Ching Hai has founded organizations including the Supreme Master Ching Hai International, World Peace Media, Oceans of Love Entertainment and Supreme Master Television.

In late 2008, Ching Hai launched a media campaign in Australia and New Zealand asking people to "Be Green, Go Veg, Save the Planet".[29]

The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association has made submissions to the Garnaut Climate Change Review, advocating large cuts to livestock production. Hai is in favor of a meat tax.[30][31]

According to political scientist Patricia Thornton at the University of Oxford, the Ching Hai World Society's heavy reliance on the internet for text distribution, recruitment and information-sharing, marks the group as a transnational cybersect.[8] Thornton claimed that the source of income behind Hai's numerous business ventures is unknown[8] and that much of the media produced by her television programmes is heavily self-referential and promotional and aims to "build a public record of recognition for group activities."[8]

Anthropologist Saskia Abrahms-Kavunenko at Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies stated that similar to Ravi Shankar movement, Ching Hai group generally don't self identify as a religion and are very ecumenical. Abrahms-Kavunenko has also noted that while in the field in Mongolia, Hai's group especially via Supreme Master Television 24 hour broadcast is influencing many Buddhists ideas on meditation and enlightenment, even though they are not sure of the authenticity of her claims.[32]

In Prominent Nuns: Influential Taiwanese Voices (CrossCurrents 2011), Religious studies Research associate Jennifer Eichman of the Centere of Buddhist Studies at SOAS University of London summarizes: While to some, Ching Hai's movement is considered Buddhist Heresy and to others a New Age religious organization. Accusations of being a Cult group have been made repeatedly over the years, especially in newspaper articles and by cult watchers. Ching Hai's response to this accusation is that participants were free to leave at any time.[20]

In Eichman's own view, as infuriating as Hai's persona, her materialism and unsystematic religious synthesizing is to the Taiwanese Buddhist community and to others who have called her a cult leader, when we set aside her Buddhist roots and compare her work to that of an ever-changing array of self-made gurus, spiritual guides and newly formed religions that make up the New Age marketplace, it becomes evident that Ching Hai's work is neither the most radical nor innovative. She states that the controversies swirling around Ching Hai should not stop us from noting just how gutsy it was for her to strike out on her own, and with her unusual prominence as a female spiritual leader, Ching Hai in effect demonstrates her ability to compete in a spiritual arena dominated largely by men. And we should be open to the idea that not all female leaders will remain within the religious mainstream.[20]

Humanitarian aid and philanthropy

[edit]

A 1996 United States Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs report states "Published criticisms of Ching Hai generally fail to credit her organization's good works. Her members reportedly are active in many humanitarian and charitable causes...Ching Hai's greatest humanitarian activity continues to be working for the more than 20,000 Vietnamese refugees still in camps dispersed throughout Southeast Asia." The report also lists humanitarian aid to the victims of: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, the Great Flood of 1993 in the United States and the 1995 food shortage crisis in Cambodia.[3] According to a report issued by the Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Hong Kong: Prior to the 1997 Handover of Hong Kong, Hai donated 6 million dollars to Vietnamese refugees and other people who needed help.[33]

Upon receiving the Gusi Peace Prize in 2006, Political journalist Fel Maragay wrote in the Manila Standard that while "to her disciples and admirers, she is a messenger from the world of spirituality who has set the directions their lives aright by teaching them “method of enlightenment” through meditation", to the people she provides humanitarian assistance; "she is a good Samaritan who has come to their succor during times of natural calamities. She has always carried out her charitable mission without fanfare in any country hit by major disasters.".[17]

ReliefWeb cites Hai Humanitarian aid to the victims of 1996 Bangladesh tornado,[34] the 2009 Namibia floods,[35] the 2015 European migrant crisis via the Croatian Red Cross[36] and in 2017 to South Sudanese refugees via the Sudanese Red Crescent.[37] Humanitarian aid has also been reported in local news outlets in Florida (USA) during Hurricane Ian,[38] 2011 flood victims in Belize[39] 2018 Northern Province floods in Sri Lanka,[40] 2020 Covid-19 support for Ghana Red Cross Society,[41][42] 2022 Assam floods in India.[43] In Taiwan, Hai has been active in Homeless street outreach.[44][45][46] In 2018 Lu Wei-Ching, deputy mayor of New Taipei City stated that "the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association has always paid attention to the disadvantaged, and usually donates all kinds of clothes and shoes to the homeless.".[47] Hai's website chronologically lists 1663 overall donations and instances of humanitarian aid between the years 1989 to 2018.[48]

Hai has created a series of awards under the Umbrella title "World Shining Awards",[49][50][51][52][53] "...to recognize some of the most exemplary, generous, caring, and courageous people who walk amongst us and go beyond the call of duty to help others unconditionally".[54][55] A representative of Hai Association stated to The Washington Post that "An association committee selects individuals and organizations for donations based on their efforts to help others....Hai provides the money for the awards from the proceeds of her businesses, which include jewelry, clothing and vegetarian restaurants".[56]

Award recipients included organizations such as the Department of Environmental Affairs (South Africa) of its efforts to protect Seals,[57] the Iranian Red Crescent Society, for its humanitarian aid to victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.[58] and International Animal Rescue Indonesia for its work saving critically endangered orangutans in Borneo, protecting rainforest habitats and encouraging sustainable community development.[59] Or to individuals, such as a young boy from Ohio who bought special harnesses to Police dogs,[60] a lady from India for inventing non violent silk saris.[61]

Quan Yin method

[edit]

Ching Hai first demonstrated the "Immeasurable Light Meditation Center and the Way of Sound Contemplation" or Quan Yin method of meditation in Miaoli, Taiwan.[8]

The method involves meditation on the "inner light and the inner sound" of God or the Buddha. Ching Hai claims that the Bible acknowledged the existence of this method: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) and that this Word is the Inner Sound.[62] Hai states that it has been repeatedly re-used by most major religions.[16] As an example, in Buddhism, she refers to the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, where Avalokitesvara says that he attained enlightenment through concentration on the subtle inner sound, and then Buddha asserts "That is how enlightenment is won. Buddhas as many as the Ganges’ sand entered this one gateway to Nirvana. All past Tathagatas have achieved this method. All Bodhisattvas now enter this perfection. All who practice in the future should rely on this Dharma.”.[63]

The Quan Yin method "Full Initiation" involves a life-long commitment to a vegan diet, adherence to the Five Precepts of Buddhism and at least two hours meditation daily. "Quick initiation" or "Convenient Method", requires a half hour's meditation daily and abstinence from meat for ten days each month.[64]

A 2015 Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Research report states "Sources characterize Guanyin Famen [Quan Yin] as a Buddhist group (Dui Hua Foundation 29 Aug. 2013; US 10 Oct. 2009, 115) or a "Taiwan-based sect" of Buddhism (ibid.)".[65]

Thailand Mahidol University International College comparative religion studies syllabus classifies Hai's sect as a Religious movement within Mahayana Buddhism, alongside Thích Nhất Hạnh and Tzu Chi movements.[66]

Transpersonal psychologist and Advaita Vedanta scholar Timothy Conway writes "While she was in deep spiritual retreat in the Indian Himalayas, under a very old teacher who evidently taught the way of Surat Sabda Yoga (as found in the Radhasoāmi tradition)", this final enlightenment evidently dawned. After her breakthrough, Ching Hai continued to practice deep meditation for many months, then went to Taiwan". Conway lists Hai in the "Women of Buddhism" section of his Narrative Encyclopedic Sourcebook "Women of Spirit: Saints, Teachers, Healers, Sisterhoods and Goddesses of East and West".[21]

The World Religions and Spirituality Project has written "Ching Hai’s teaching against violence towards animals is very similar to Sikhism, but her meditation teachings resemble Buddhism, and her Catholic background enables her to incorporate Christian Bible teachings as well.".[62]

Religious studies scholar Jennifer Eichman notes that this particular meditation method is not part of the standard Buddhist repertoire. Hai's modified synthesis of the method is primarily in Christian-Buddhist jargon with a sprinkling of Hindu ideas. Ching Hai is more likely to cite the Bible than Hindu texts. Ching Hai claims, following standard Zen doctrine, that everyone is the Buddha; they simply need to realize this fact. In a departure from Christian doctrine, Ching Hai claims that God is not the creator of humans; rather karmic accumulation is responsible for the repeated transmigration of the soul.[20]

Korean Dahnhak Qigong expert Kim Tae-young, author of the popular Leading Experience guidebooks (in Korean) — published in 102 volumes since 1990,[67] has written in Leading Experience vol 37 (1997) that Quan Chi (concentrating on Chi) and Quan Nian, (observing conceptions) are more familiar terms than the term Quan Yin (observation of the inner vibration). Kim at that time; an initiate of Hai's "Convenient Method" explains "Quan Yin signifies the practice of observing sound in the literal sense. It is not the crude vibratory sound of matter we hear from the outside, but the deepest inner sound heard from the real self and the Truth". Regarding Hai's Master lineage, Kim stated: Ching Hai rarely speaks about her Master Khuda Ji.[68][22][69]

In 1999, attending and reviewing Immediate Enlightenment, Eternal Liberation seminar In Ireland, part of Ching Hai's 1999 European Lecture Tour,[70] Dominican Order priest Louis Hughes, chairperson of Dialogue Ireland a Christian countercult ministry,[71][72] raises the question of the true origins of Ching Hai's teaching: "In a brief autobiography she [Hai] explains that her significant spiritual experience came about as a result of time spent in the Himalayas where she discovered 'the Quan Yin Method and the Divine Transmission'. Nowhere in the movement's literature is any mention made of how she came upon this enlightenment. Enquiring from one of her retinue as to who Ching Hai's teacher was, yielded the vague reply. 'Khuda Ji – he lives in a cave in the Himalayas – maybe has left his body now.' Such reticence in regards to the identity of one's initiating guru is quite unusual among Oriental religious teachers".[64]

Religious studies scholars, Michael York and others, include Ching Hai in the Indian contemporary Sant Mat movements, where the method is called Surat Shabd Yoga. While adhering to formless devotion (Nirguna Brahman), the initiation of the method from a lineage guru or master is paramount.[73][74] Professor of religious studies at the University of Lancaster Christopher Partridge wrote that Ching Hai visited India and was initiated by Thakar Singh, a Ruhani Satsang Sant Mat master.[7][74] Investigator Terry Lenzner reported in the 1996 Committee on Governmental Affairs "Hue [Ching Hai] reportedly hid her association with Thakar Singh when she arrived in Taiwan in October 1983 because it would have prevented her from becoming fully ordained in the Buddhist order".[75] Professor of philosophy David C. Lane, a controversial disciple of Charan Singh a Radha Soami Satsang Beas Sant Mat Master,[76] stated in his 2017 essay "Studying Cults, A Forty-Year Reflection" that "Ching Hai, tried to deny for many years her close association with the notorious shabd yoga guru, Thakar Singh, since she didn't want to be tainted by her former guru's sexual exploits".[77][78]

In an article titled "The Master from the Himalayan Cloud" published in Supreme Master Ching Hai News Magazine vol 79 (February 1997), Ching Hai stated while she did practice surat shabd yoga and attended different ashrams in the past, the master who gave her the final and breakthrough transmission was a master she called Khuda Ji, whom she encountered on a her spiritual journey in the Himalayas.[79]

Ban in China

[edit]

The Quan Yin method and Ching Hai's group is banned in China since 1995.[80][8] In 1996, authorities discovered a list of several thousand practitioners. "Following an investigation into the sect, its beliefs, and activities, party authorities concluded that the organization was fundamentally anti-communist and labeled it a 'reactionary religious organization.'"[8]

The Chinese government labeled the group as xiejiao, roughly translating to "evil cult" but clarified in 2000 as meaning any group that:

a. establishes an illegal organization in the name of religion, qigong, etc.;
b. deifies its leaders;
c. initiates and spreads superstitions and heterodox beliefs;
d. utilizes various means to fabricate and spread superstitions and heterodox [or cultic] beliefs to excite doubts and deceive the people, and recruit and control its members by various means;

e. engages in disturbing social order in an organized manner that brings injury to the lives and properties of the citizens.[80]

Further, in 2017 the China Anti-Cult website listed Guanyin method as one of eleven "dangerous groups".[80]

In 2002, the manager of the Wuhan Zhongzhi Electric Testing Equipment Company was accused by the Chinese authorities of using the business as a cover to "support heresies" associated with the Quan Yin method.[8] The enterprise supported thirty practitioners who "masqueraded as employees and business associates." The manager was charged with using the company's offices and buildings as "retreat sites", organizing "initiations" and "screenings" to recruit members, and illegally printing and distributing more than 6,000 copies of heretical texts.[8]

Ban in Vietnam

[edit]

The Vietnamese Magazine's Religion Bulletin – January 2020, states "The Vietnamese government views all developing religions today as heresy". Methods of suppression: preventing proselytization, imprisoning proselytizers, forcing citizens to sign vows to abandon their religion.[81][82]

According to an official statement by Vietnamese authorities:

“Activities spreading superstition affect the social fabric. They have the clearest and broadest influence on the population in places where these new religions (heresy, strange faiths) appear: Supreme Master Ching Hai, Long Hoa Maitreya, Treasured Temple of the Three Religions, Protestant Word of Life…”

A publication of the Central Propaganda Committee divided these “heretical religions” into three groups. The first two groups included religions that sprung up locally from Protestant foundations and Buddhist foundations. The third group contains those religions that were imported from overseas, such as Supreme Master Ching Hai.[81]

Controversies

[edit]

In Uncompleted Transitional Justice in Taiwan: Repression of Religious and Spiritual Minorities and the Tai Ji Men Case, Associate professor of Business administration at Shih Chien University, Cheng-An Tsai wrote "After 1987 [in Taiwan], a post-authoritarian regime followed, which proclaimed religious liberty but still persecuted religious movements perceived as hostile to the ruling party. In 1996, after the first direct presidential election, the Taiwanese government launched a political purge, targeting religious and spiritual groups that did not show support for the president in power during the election. The crackdown hit several of the largest religious movements active in Taiwan, including Fo Guang Shan, Chung Tai Shan, Tai Ji Men, the Taiwan Zen Buddhist Association, the Sung Chi-Li Miracle Association, and later Guanyin Famen [Ching Hai Association]".[83] Cheng-An Tsai added " Liao Zheng-Hao Minister of Justice, actively carried out the “religious crackdown” to purge dissidents including: investigations, tax inspections by the National Taxation Bureau, assets seizure, demolitions of “illegal” structures, and exorbitant fines. This elaborate campaign required the mobilization of a large number of media, judicial organs, national tax authorities, and so on. Angry ex-members were encouraged to make vague accusations, each of which guaranteed a good three weeks of media headlines. The crackdown was supported by the media, most of which were not independent from the ruling politicians.".[84] In 2019, speaking in a freedom of religion conference in Taiwan, Li Jianzhong Judge and president of the Shilin District court in Taipe, mentioned that the series of religious suppression incidents in 1996, of Song Qili, Miaotian, Taijimen, Supreme Master Ching Hai, and many other groups that have been targeted: Some lawsuits have been going on for more than 20 years. "They have been prosecuted for "fraud" related to criminal matters. After careful judicial trials, all of them were found not guilty".[85] SET News reported that in 1996 Miaoli County government demolished an illegal building in Hai's meditation center and that it was searched by prosecutors and police on a large scale, but in the end she was not prosecuted due to insufficient evidence.[86] ETtoday quoted Hai followers stating "Why did the investigation bureau spend so much manpower, but finally closed the case? because there was no victim".[87]

In 1996 Hai's American followers[88] donated $640,000 to Bill Clinton's Presidential Legal Defense Fund which the trust returned. Following the 1996 United States campaign finance controversy the fund took caution to what it deemed "suspicious" funding sources.[89][90] Mark Csikszentmihalyi, Professor & Chair of International studies at UC, Berkeley wrote "Are donations from charismatic Buddhists one whit more threatening than those from Pat Robertson?" Csikszentmihalyi described the alleged controversy as scapegoating members of minority religious groups in order to divert attention from the real problem of money in politics.".[91]

In 2003, park rangers discovered a man-made island and a 330-foot (100 m) long boardwalk that had been illegally constructed in Biscayne National Park in Florida from Ching Hai's property just inland of the shoreline. The estimated cost to remove the boardwalk, restore the damaged mangrove forest, and remove the several tons of limestone boulders from the environmentally sensitive seagrass bed, was US$1 million. Miami-Dade seized the property of Ching Hai, known locally under the pseudonym Celestia De Lamour, to help recover the costs of restoration. The following year, park workers demolished the boardwalk and replanted between 400 and 500 mangrove trees in the area. The artificial island of boulders remained due to lack of funding to hire a barge, which would cost several hundred thousand dollars. According to the Miami Herald, "Federal agencies still hope to recoup costs from the landowner, but investigators say she and her workers have left the country."[92][93][94] Removing mangroves without a permit is prohibited in Florida and carries a fine.[95] Conversely, in 2010, when the Woodland Trust received a £100,000 donation from Hai's foundation in order to conserve an area of Snowdonia woodland in Wales, and was challenged about the Florida Mangroves incident and criticism, Woodland Trust Spokesperson stated "...the Woodland Trust has procedures to rigorously check out all high value donations against key criteria pertaining to legality and Trust policy.” and that "the Trust always investigated corporate donors to safeguard its reputation. It found nothing untoward about Ching Hai, neither did the group request publicity."[96][97]

Awards

[edit]
[edit]

Actress Joanna Ampil portrays Hai, in the 2011 Musical "The Real Love". The musical follows Hai life in Germany from when she met her husband (portrayed by Adam Pascal), and her decision to follow her spiritual quest.[114][115]

Bibliography

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Series / Category Title Year Ref.
The Key of Immediate Enlightenment The Key of Immediate Enlightenment 1 1989 ISBN 9789866895432
The Key of Immediate Enlightenment 2 1991 ISBN 9789866895111
The Key of Immediate Enlightenment 3 1992 ISBN 9789866895449
The Key of Immediate Enlightenment 4 1996 ISBN 9789866895180
The Key of Immediate Enlightenment 5 1996 ISBN 9781886544550
The Key of Immediate Enlightenment Questions & Answers 1 1993 ISBN 9789866895432
The Key of Immediate Enlightenment Questions & Answers 2 2001 ISBN 9789866895333
Spiritual Aphorisms I 1995 ISBN 9789866895364
I Have Come to Take You Home 1995 ISBN 9789868263505
Secrets to Effortless Spiritual Practice 2005 ISBN 9868106125
Of God and Humans—Insights from Bible Stories 2006 ISBN 9868106168
The Realization of Health-Returning to the Natural and Righteous Way of Living 2008 ISBN 9789868263536
Aphorisms II 2013 ISBN 9789866895654
Coloring Our Lives - Keys to Living a Beautiful Life 2015 ISBN 9789866895319
Love Is The Only Solution 2021 ISBN 9780578960067
Noble Animals The Birds in My Life 2007 ISBN 9789866895142
The Dogs in My Life, Vol 1 2007 ISBN 9789868536791
The Dogs in My Life, Vol 2 2007 ISBN 9789866895081
The Noble Wilds 2008 ISBN 9789868415232
Children Master Tells Stories 1997 ISBN 9789868263567
God Takes Care of Everything 2003 ISBN 9789866895340
Your Halo Is Too Tight! 2005 ISBN 9572824562
Mission on the Blue Water Planet (Digital) 2013 [116]
The Underground World of Mars (Digital) 2013 [117]
Sunny the Fearless (Digital) 2014 [118]
Poetry Silent Tears[119] 1998 ISBN 9789866895043
The Dream of A Butterfly[120] 2000 ISBN 9781886544451
The Lost Memories[121] 2001 ISBN 9781886544321
Traces of Previous Lives[122] 2002 ISBN 9781886544383
The Old Time[123] 2003 ISBN 9781886544161
Wu Tzu Poems[124] 2005 ISBN 9572824597
Pebbles and Gold[125] 2006 ISBN 9789868263529
The Love of Centuries[126] 2011 ISBN 9789866895463

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ * Qīnghǎi wú shàng shī.
    • Thanh Hải Vô Thượng Sư.
    Literally; “Clear Ocean, Immeasurable Teacher”. Winter, Franz (2018). "How to Download the Divine". Online – Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet. 13: 133 – via Heidelberg University.
    • Both the Chinese and Vietnamese adjectives: "Immeasurable" are derived from the Sanskrit word "Anuttara" See: Glossary of Buddhism. For the Chinese title Teacher or Master see: Shifu.
  2. ^ Vietnamese name consisting of three parts in the following order: a family name, a middle name and a given name.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Lukas Pokorny, ed. (2018). Handbook of East Asian new religious movements. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-36297-0. OCLC 1021065075.
  2. ^ "Vietnam: Country Report" (PDF). Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Home Office, United Kingdom. October 2003. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Congress (1998). Investigation of Illegal Or Improper Activities in Connection with 1996 Federal Election Campaign: Final Report. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 2798.
  4. ^ "Anual report" (PDF). American Red Cross. 2020. p. 26.
  5. ^ Archives, L. A. Times (19 January 1999). "CHARITY SCORECARD". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  6. ^ "President of the Republic of Slovenia > Reception of Supreme Master Ching Hai". www2.gov.si. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d Partridge, Christopher (2004) New Religions: A Guide Oxford University Press, p. 263-264
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Thornton, Patricia M. (2008). "Manufacturing Dissent in Transnational China: Boomerang, Backfire or Spectacle?". In Kevin J. O'Brien (ed.). Popular Protest in China. Harvard University Press. pp. 179–204 – via www.academia.edu.
  9. ^ "Taipei Review". Taiwan Review. 51 (7–11). Kwang Hwa Publishing Company. 2001. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  10. ^ Schumacher, Elizabeth (13 August 2018). "Vegan restaurants run by cult leader who 'speaks to God' | DW | 13.08.2018". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  11. ^ "China : Treatment of Guanyin Famen practitioners (Kuan Yin Famen, Guanyin Method, Quanyin Famen, Way of the Goddess of Mercy, Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association)". Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. 14 August 2015. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  12. ^ Goossaert, Vincent; Palmer, David A. (2011). The Religious Question in Modern China. University of Chicago Press. p. 292. ISBN 978-0-226-30416-8. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  13. ^ Chua-Eoan, Howard (20 January 1997). "The Buddhist Martha". Time. Archived from the original on 21 July 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  14. ^ Maragay, Fel V. (20 November 2006). "Master of charity". Manila Standard Today. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
  15. ^ "The Dui Hua Foundation-Dialogue – Issue 52: The "Cult" of Buddha". Dui Hua Foundation. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d Young, Gordon (22 May 1996). "God Inc". SF Weekly. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  17. ^ a b Maragay, Fel V. (20 November 2006). "Master of Charity". Manila Standard. Archived from the original on 23 May 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  18. ^ a b c d Guzmán, Rafer (28 March 1996). "Immaterial Girl". Metro. Archived from the original on 21 December 2005. Retrieved 5 January 2006.
  19. ^ Hai, Ching Hai (March 2009). "God's Direct Contact". Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  20. ^ a b c d e Eichman, Jennifer (2011). "Prominent Nuns: Influential Taiwanese Voices". CrossCurrents. 61 (3): 345–373. doi:10.1111/j.1939-3881.2011.00187.x. ISSN 0011-1953. S2CID 170393485. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  21. ^ a b Conway, Timothy (October 2017). "Women of Buddhism". Enlightened-Spirituality.org. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  22. ^ a b "Spiritual Interaction/The Supreme Master Ching Hai and The Quan Yin Method (continued)". The Supreme Master Ching Hai News Magazine. No. 98. November 1998. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
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