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Ching Hai

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Supreme Master Ching Hai
Born (1950-05-12) May 12, 1950 (age 74)
OccupationFounder of Quan Yin Method

Supreme Master Ching Hai, or Suma Ching Hai ("Suma" is an abbreviation of the said title), (Traditional Chinese: 清海無上師, Pinyin: Qīnghǎi Wúshàngshī; Vietnamese: Thanh Hải Vô Thượng Sư, Japanese: チンハイ) (born May 12, 1950) is the founder and spiritual teacher of the Quan Yin Method. She is also a poet, painter, musician, jewelry designer, fashion designer, and writer.[1][2] She is known for some philanthropic and humanitarian work.[3] Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association, Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co Ltd, S.M.Celestial Co Ltd and Supreme Master Television are the main groups and businesses established by Ching Hai. These enterprises and her glamor have led to criticism that they were out of line with the traditional concept of monastic life.

Official biography

Ching Hai was born to a well-off family in central Vietnam, the daughter of a naturopath. She was brought up as a Roman Catholic, and learned the basics of Buddhism from her grandmother.

At the age of eighteen Ching Hai moved to England to study, and then later to France and Germany, where she worked for the Red Cross and married a German scientist and doctor. After two years of marriage, with the consent of her husband, she left to pursue a childhood dream of enlightenment.[citation needed] Thus began a time of arduous pilgrimages to different countries.

Finally, according to Ching Hai, she rediscovered the Quan Yin Method and the "Divine Transmission" in the Himalayas and after a period of diligent practice attained complete enlightenment. [4]

Unofficial version

Internet articles offer other details about Ching Hai, however, they were never verified by Ching Hai herself and have been criticized[citation needed] for not offering solid evidence.[5] [6] According to those reports, she was born as 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. Afterwards, 19-year-old Trinh moved to Britain, and then to Germany. Presumably alone, she immigrated to India to study different religions, visited a wide variety of spiritual teachers and stayed in their ashrams. Among these teachers was the well-known Thakar Singh. During her stay at his ashram, she became the newest "prize pupil" and from him it is also believed by some that her Quan Yin Method is derived.

In 1984 a Vietnamese Buddhist monk in Taipei (Taiwan) named Jing-Xing ordained her "Ching Hai", which means "pure ocean" in Mandarin.

International awards

She was awarded the Gusi Peace Prize in 2006 in Manila, Philippines.

Spiritual career

In the years after her enlightenment, Ching Hai lived the quiet, unassuming life of a Buddhist nun, until people sought her instruction and initiation. Starting in 1985,[7] through the requests and efforts of her disciples in Taiwan and the United States, she began lecturing extensively throughout the world in Chinese, English and Vietnamese, and has since initiated many tens of thousands of spiritual aspirants. She continued to dress as a nun until around 1993 when she began wearing her own fashion designs and grew out her hair.[8]

The Quan Yin Method

Main Article: Quan Yin Method[4]

Ching Hai initiates spiritual aspirants into the Quan Yin Method, also called the "Inner Light and Sound meditation." The Quan Yin Method, which is purported to exist in various religions under different names, is the "best, easiest, and quickest" way to get enlightenment.[9][10][11] The method involves meditation on the "inner light and the inner sound of God", or the Word 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. The Quan Yin Method requires two and a half hours of meditation per day and adherence to the five precepts.

As part of their meditation routine, followers of Ching Hai partially cover their heads under a sheet of cloth or blanket while meditating. However, while meditating away from the view of uninitiated people, the meditators do not necessarily use this cloth to cover their heads completely.

The Convenient Method

For the people who would like to have some experimental experiences, or cease eating animal products gradually, the "Convenient Method" is offered instead as a preliminary to the Quan Yin 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.

Bibliography

Books

  • The Lost Memories (2002, ISBN 1886544328)
  • The Way to Reach Peace (2002, ISBN 1886544719)
  • Traces of a Previous Life (2002, ISBN 7886544387)
  • God Takes Care of Everything (2003, ISBN 1886544743)
  • Supreme Kitchen : International Vegetarian Cuisine (2003, ISBN 1886544735)
  • Secrets to Effortless Spiritual Practice (2005, ISBN 9868106125)
  • Wu Tzu Poems (2005, ISBN 9572824597)
  • Your Halo Is Too Tight! (2005, ISBN 9572824562)
  • Of God and Humans - Insights From Bible Stories (2006, ISBN 9868106168)
  • Pebbles and Gold (2006, ISBN 9868263522)
  • The Dogs in My Life, Vol 1 (2007, ISBN 9866895076)
  • The Dogs in My Life, Vol 2 (2007, ISBN 9866895084)
  • The Birds in My life (2007, ISBN 9866895149)
  • The Noble Wilds(2008, ISBN 9789868415232)

Paintings

  • Stone Cave (1990)
  • Harmony (1991)
  • Peaceful Time (1992)
  • Rescued (1993)
  • Desert Flower (1994)
  • Heavens' Gift (2006)

Criticism

Flamboyant entrepreneur

Detractors have thought that self titled Supreme Master Ching Hai may only be teaching these methods for her own profit, thus one news writer giving her the nickname, "Part Buddha, Part Madonna".[6] She has opened vegetarian restaurants, held public seminars, and has made millions of dollars as a painter, fashion designer, and jewelry designer.

Criticisms of Ching Hai tend to focus on the fact that her disciples buy much of her artwork, which critics see as indirectly donating to her. One disciple is supposed 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".[5] Followers insist that most of the money she makes is used for helping the poor, providing necessities to refugees, and victims of environmental disasters, however no detailed evidence of significant donations is provided.

She has also raised eyebrows for her flamboyant dress sense, which is not in line with that of 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 to the cheers of "your royal majesty".[1] Through her lectures, Ching Hai explains that her way of dress is a statement to prove that one does not need to dress as a nun or monk to achieve enlightenment through her Quan Yin Method.

In 1997, she stated that she earned more than former U.S. President Bill Clinton's annual salary of $200,000,[12] which is incongruous with a monastic lifestyle requiring that clergy do not engage in profit or commercial activity.

Awards

On October 25, 1993 she claims to have received Honorary Citzenship of Honolulu and an International Peace Commendation from the mayor of Honolulu Frank F. Fasi, however Fasi was no longer mayor on this date and the commendation does not exist. On February 22, 1994 she was apparently awarded commendations from representatives of six US State governors for contributions to various disaster relief funds as well as a World Spiritual Leadership Award from the World Cultural Communication Association. However neither the award nor the association appear to exist. Ching Hai asks her followers to specifically acknowledge these two days each year, both referred to as Ching Hai Day.[4]

Politics

In 1996 Ching Hai asked her followers to contribute money to the Clinton Presidential Legal Expense Trust after a meeting with Charlie Trie; the donations were eventually returned.[12] The Taiwan government also investigated her organization for "alleged fund-raising improprieties," which includes a $2 million transfer outside of the country.[1] Nothing unlawful was found and the case closed without prosecution.

Environmental vandalism

An artificial island 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.[13]

Teachings

The Quan Yin Method is allegedly similar to the practice of Surat Shabd Yoga from the Sant Mat tradition which also teaches meditation on the light and sound.

However, 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. And whoever knows them is only discovering, not inventing. If we discover them and follow them, the result is very precise. The Quan Yin Method is a flawless way. It belongs to God; it belongs to everyone."[14]

Followers of the Quan Yin method contend that a true living master's teachings and methods are fundamentally similar since ancient times. This method depends on the living master and it emerges in every generation at different place.

In the book The Key of Immediate Enlightenment, it is claimed that those who recite her name would become elevated.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c Chua-Eoan, Howard (1997-01-20). "The Buddhist Martha". Time Magazine.
  2. ^ Hackman, Nichollas (1998-12-13). "The Peace Seeker". Los Angeles Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Maragay, Fel V. (2006-11-20). "Master of charity". Manila Standard Today. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b c Supreme Master Ching Hai (1990-01-09). "The Key to Immediate Enlightenment". Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co Ltd. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "samplebooklet" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Young, Gordon (1996-05-22). "God Inc". SF Weekly. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b Guzmán, Rafer (1996-03-28). "Immaterial Girl". Metro. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Supreme Master Ching Hai (December 2002). "God's Direct Contact". Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co Ltd.
  8. ^ "Love Between Master & Disciples". Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co Ltd. 1992-10-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Soundless Sound - The Tone That Fills The Cosmos". Yoga International Magazine Issue 36. July, 1997. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Supreme Master Ching Hai (1999-11-28). "Quan Yin Method is the Easiest Way to God". Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co Ltd. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Shakyamuni Buddha. "The Surangama Sutra (Part VI)" (PDF). Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc.
  12. ^ a b Jackson, Brooks (1997-01-09). "Religious Leader Felt Sorry For Clinton". CNN's Inside Politics. CNN. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Park service to eliminate island". The Washington Times. 2004-03-16.
  14. ^ Supreme Master Ching Hai (1998-12-17). "Master's Words: The Quan Yin Method is an Eternal Universal Law". Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co Ltd. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Chan, Charmaine (1999-01-03). "Cult branches spread worldwide". South China Morning Post. p. 7. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Official websites

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