Examine individual changes

'{{short description|Vietnamese spiritual teacher}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}} {{for|other topics with a similar-sounding name|Qinghai (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox person | image = ChingHai Sydney in 1993.jpg | name = Ching Hai | caption = Ching Hai in Sydney (1993) | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1950|05|12}} | birth_place = [[Quảng Ngãi Province]], [[State of Vietnam]] | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | residence = <!-- If a residence is added, please include a citation to a reliable source. --> | nationality = | citizenship = [[United Kingdom]]<ref>{{cite journal |title=Notice on Various Issues Regarding Identifying and Banning of Cultic Organizations |journal=Chinese Law & Government |date=7 December 2014 |volume=36 |issue=2 |page=29 |doi=10.2753/CLG0009-4609360222 |s2cid=219307747 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Investigation of Illegal Or Improper Activities in Connection with 1996 Federal Election Campaigns: Witness Deposition Testimony |date=1999 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=583 |isbn=9780160597435 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AtREAQAAMAAJ&q=Citizenship+Ching&pg=PA583 |access-date=31 January 2020 |language=en}}</ref> | other_names = | known_for = Master of Quan Yin method | education = | employer = | occupation = Author, entrepreneur, founder of qanyin and teacher of Quan Yin method | footnotes = }} '''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 ''Suma'' or ''[[Satguru|Supreme Master]] Ching Hai'', is a Vietnamese [[Guru|spiritual leader]]<ref name=partridge/> of the [[Guanyin Famen]] (Chinese) or Quan Yin method transnational [[Cybersectarianism|cybersect]]. Based out of [[Taiwan]],<ref name="partridge">[[Christopher Partridge|Partridge, Christopher]] (2004) [https://books.google.com/books?id=bkcUAQAAIAAJ&q=Ching+hai&redir_esc=y 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> 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 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 news| last = Chua-Eoan| first = Howard| title = The Buddhist Martha| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985800,00.html| work = [[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> ==Life and career== Ching Hai was born to a Vietnamese mother and a Chinese father, 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> 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.<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 moved to India to study different religions.{{when|date=August 2017}} 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 | 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 | 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> 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 war 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/> Currently, 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" (lingxing daoshi 领袖道士). Her current irreverence for religious traditions in general, have made her more synonymous to a [[Zen master]].<ref name=eichman/> East/West PhD 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>{{cite web |last1=Conway |first1=Timothy |title=Women of Buddhism |url=https://www.enlightened-spirituality.org/Women_of_Spirit_Chapter_Two_Buddhism.html |website=Enlightened-Spirituality.org |access-date=9 February 2020 |archive-date=18 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718062849/http://www.enlightened-spirituality.org/Women_of_Spirit_Chapter_Two_Buddhism.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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/> 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"/> ==Corporate operations== Hai is the founder of the [[Loving Hut]] restaurant chain, which in 2017 had 200 locations in 35 countries worldwide.<ref name=childs/> 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/> 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>{{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]] vidoes to [[Anti-cult movement|cult warning websites]]. [[Christian mission|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".<ref>{{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> 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> === International organizations === [[File:Supreme Master Ching Hai Int'l Asso Publishing 20131120.jpg|thumb|The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co., Ltd. was founded on 1st Fl., No.236, Songshan Rd., [[Xinyi District, Taipei]], [[Taiwan]].]] 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 | work= [[The Australian]]| date = 26 October 2009| access-date = 15 December 2009}}</ref> The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association has made submissions to the [[Garnaut Climate Change Review]], advocating large cuts to livestock production. 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/> 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> 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/> 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 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/> ==Quan Yin method== 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/> According to Hai "The method is transmitted without words&nbsp;... In fact, it isn't really a method. It's the [[Adhiṣṭhāna|power of the Master]]. If you have it, then you can transmit it. The Method is a [[Transcendence (religion)|transcendental]] one that cannot be described by our language. Even if someone describes it to you, you won't receive the Light and the vibration, the inner peace and Wisdom".<ref>{{cite web |title=What is the Quan Yin Method? |url=http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/qym/qym-1.htm |website=The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association|access-date=7 February 2020 |archive-date=1 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101091101/http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/qym/qym-1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In Supreme Master TV series ''A Journey through [[Sublime (philosophy)#Ancient philosophy|Aesthetic]] Realms'', episode ''Path of Saints: [[Sant Mat|Sant Mat Tradition]] of Light'' it is stated "Sant Mat was first brought to the West by [[Sawan Singh|Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji]], who graced the Earth in the latter half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th Century...The lineage for contacting the inner Light and Sound has continued since time immemorial through various enlightened Masters. Today, Supreme Master Ching Hai is a living Master who is also able to impart the way of the Light and Sound through the Quan Yin Method.".<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Journey through Aesthetic Realms Path of Saints: Sant Mat Tradition of Light and Sound|url=http://suprememastertv.tv/ajar/?wr_id=409&page=8|access-date=2022-01-23|website=suprememastertv.tv}}</ref> The method involves meditation on the "inner light and the inner sound" of [[God]] or the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]. Hai claims that the [[Bible]] acknowledged the existence of this method and 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|Bodhisattvas]] 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> 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" /> [[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 }}</ref> 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|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 [[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 |work=[[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. 'Kutaji – 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://archive.org/stream/ConstanceA.JonesJamesD.RyanEncyclopediaOfHinduism/Constance%20A.%20Jones%2C%20James%20D.%20Ryan%20Encyclopedia%20Of%20Hinduism_djvu.txt |archive-date=2016-12-20 |url-status=live |page=384}}</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 |last1=Affairs |first1=United States Congress Senate Committee on Governmental |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 in China}} The Quan Yin method and Ching Hai's group is banned in China.<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:{{quote| 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" /> ==Controversies== Hai gave $640,000 to [[Bill Clinton]]'s Presidential Legal Expenses Trust which the trust returned in 1996 because of "suspicious" funding sources.<ref name="lat2">{{cite web|title=In Ching Hai, Clinton finds new type of special interest|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1996-12-20/news/mn-11036_1_ching-hai-group|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170530203908/http://articles.latimes.com/1996-12-20/news/mn-11036_1_ching-hai-group|archive-date=30 May 2017|access-date=13 September 2017|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref name="wp-22">{{cite web|title=Behind Clinton fund donations, sect with a flamboyant leader|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/12/19/behind-clinton-fund-donations-sect-with-a-flamboyant-leader/0d9332ac-dc9d-4b67-af91-24a57ac4a1ae/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917124645/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/12/19/behind-clinton-fund-donations-sect-with-a-flamboyant-leader/0d9332ac-dc9d-4b67-af91-24a57ac4a1ae/|archive-date=17 September 2017|access-date=13 September 2017|website=The Washington Post}}</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 (Link to Ross Institute)|url=http://culteducation.com/group/1251-suma-ching-hai/3662-park-removes-access-to-illegal-bay-island.html|url-status=live|access-date=11 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408224422/http://culteducation.com/group/1251-suma-ching-hai/3662-park-removes-access-to-illegal-bay-island.html|archive-date=8 April 2015}}</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> ==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''' – [[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> ==See also== *[[Cybersectarianism]] ==Notes== {{reflist|group=note}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{commonscat|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:Living people]] [[Category:Hoa people]] [[Category:Shabda]] [[Category:Self-declared messiahs]] [[Category:Women restaurateurs]] [[Category:Founders of new religious movements]] [[Category:Vietnamese religious leaders]] [[Category:Veganism]]'