The Great Love Behind the Twelve Dollar Award

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By a Quan Yin Messenger at Miaoli, Formosa

A taxi stopped in front of the Manila International Airport arrivals area. In the car were two female Quan Yin messengers and one female practitioner. The first Quan Yin messenger paid the fare of twelve U.S dollars and got out of the taxi immediately. The female practitioner did not realized that the fare had already been paid and asked the taxi driver about the fare, as to whether the fare had already been paid or not. The driver's reply was "NO". Then she took out twelve dollars and paid the driver. Later, the three of them were chatting with each other and realized that the taxi driver had actually taken double the fare. They were not willing to let the taxi driver's bad behavior just go by and decided to make a report to the taxi company. This taxi organization is a big company and are particular about their business reputation.

 The taxi company's decision was to fire the taxi driver and reimburse the complainant the twelve dollars. When the three complainants heard of the decision, they requested the taxi company not to do so. But, the taxi company insisted that they had to follow the rules of the company.

 That evening, while Master was talking to the disciples, She suddenly turned to ask the whereabouts of that female practitioner. The disciples briefed Master about the whole incident. Upon hearing this, Master insisted that they should not fire him." The disciples agreed and told Master that the taxi company's supervisor and the driver were now downstairs discussing the situation with the female practitioner. Upon hearing this, Master immediately requested one of the disciples to call them up. Master tried to explain to the supervisor: "This misunderstanding has probably occurred due to the differences in language. My disciple thought that the money was the taxi fare, and the driver thought that of was the tip. So it ended up like this. Please don't fire him. He is a good man. A lot of foreigners are very rich and they like to give tips. So, your driver thought this twelve dollars was a tip. One didn't say clearly and the other misunderstood, and consequently a simple misunderstanding has become a serious matter."

 Master immediately requested that the practitioner write a letter to the taxi company to explain the misunderstanding and to apologize. That letter was given to the supervisor and he was asked not to fire the driver. At that moment, the driver's eyes were filled with gratitude. He could not utter a single word. As if nothing had happened, Master took some fruit and gave it to the two gentlemen. Master then asked the driver if he was married. The driver replied, "Yes, I am married and I have three children." When the Master heard this she packed a big bag of sweets for the driver's children. Master also took this opportunity to give the driver a teaching. She said that in whatever you do, you should be honest and straight forward. In this way you set a good example for your children, everyone will trust you, and everything in your life will go smoothly; also you'll have a lasting job. The driver was very thankful. The supervisor was also very touched by our Master's actions. He had never met anyone who not only would not blame someone for being over-charged but who would also intercede on the driver's behalf; and above this, even present gifts to the driver. The supervisor is a Christian. He was a realistic person, and felt that only love could change this world into a better one. He felt that our Master was full of love. He was also given a bag full of blessed sweets.

 After the event, Master went on to clarify and explain to us that although the driver was in the wrong, we had to look into what caused all this to happen. If you want him to learn a lesson, there is no need to sue him, just speak to him personally and ask for the money back. Give him a warning that is enough. It is hard to get employment in the Philippines. It is also difficult to earn a living as a taxi driver. With three kids, this man's hope was to earn more to make his children happy. It is because of fatherly love that he committed such a mistake. If he was fired from his job because of the twelve dollars, then what would happen to his children. We must know that if he loses his job due to dishonesty then no one in all of Manila would employ him. If his only skill is driving a car, it would hurt his future and his family. If the pressures of life become too unbearable for him then this would force him to become a bad peoples. His children will not be able to have an education. Consequently, their lives will also be difficult and it will be easy for them to become bad person too.

 Most of the people involved in organized crime, robbers, etc. have become that way due to the desperate and unbearable conditions in their lives. All attempts to improve their lives have failed; no one helped them; no one pulled them out of their miserable condition so they made the same mistakes over and over again. This forced them to live a life of crime and dishonesty. Now, can you see how twelve dollars can cause such karmic hindrance? Of course both good and bad exist in society; but we have to look deep and far into the future so as not to commit any wrong, or cause karmic hindrance. Whatever we do, it has to benefit others as well as ourselves. The least we could do is not to hurt others.

 Through-out the event, that female practitioner felt that she was not to blame. She felt that it was the mistake of that driver. Later, after Master went further to enlighten them by saying "You all have been initiated by Master, knowing that at any time you will be safe, and have someone to rely on, regardless of your spiritual or material needs, she felt sorry. When you have an emergency or face any difficulty, the problem becomes small or non-existent. But this poor driver, if he loses his job then everything will be finished. So Master acted as a player to correct you. After this incident, this fellow will stop doing these things and will become an honest person."

 (All practitioners applauded.) Master went on to say, "The supervisor will treat his taxi drivers very well after be returns and all will have a good impression of him, but I lose twelve US dollars and two big bags of candy, biscuits and fruit." This humor by our loving Master made everyone laugh heartily!

 All the disciple felt that the use of twelve dollars in exchange for a person's life as well as his family, to be sincere and honest was extremely worth it. If it was not for Master's talent, the two wrongs could never have made a right - such a wonderful event would never have happened.