“The sign of the Mahdi, Peace Be Upon Him, is that He will … distribute large amounts of wealth and be compassionate towards the poor and the needy.”
Today, we shall continue to discover more about Al-Mahdi, Peace Be Upon Him, who is the Beloved Savior of justice foretold in the Islamic prophecies. According to the Hadith, in addition to defending the oppressed and elevating humans’ consciousness, the Mahdi will help the world materially as well, as a most generous benefactor.
“He (Jabir bin Abdullah) kept quiet for a while and then reported Allah’s Messenger, Peace Be Upon Him, having said there would be a caliph in the last (period) of my Ummah (community) who would freely give handfuls of wealth to the people without counting it. I said to Abu Nadra and Abu al-‘Ala: ‘Do you mean ‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-Aziz?’ They said: ‘No (He would be Imam Mahdi).’”
“Maybe you don’t know, but sometimes… If I see a Sea Shepherd (member) on the street, I always give donations, whatever money I have in my purse at that time. And they don’t even know who I am. And of course, I instruct Hsihu to give them donations now and then. And also Greenpeace. Yeah, we support all these wonderful people, wonderful organizations that are good for the world and good for the compassionate energy of this planet. Many other, unknown, less famous organizations. If I know of, I always support. And financially (Yes, Master.) or otherwise, and/or otherwise.”
As we have also found in our previous episodes, it is evident that the Mahdi’s transcendent qualities and actions are the same as those of Supreme Master Ching Hai today. Her material and financial generosity have benefited innumerable beings, and Her spiritual gifts are beyond measure. In both the inner and the physical realms, Master is constantly and joyfully giving “handfuls of wealth to the people without counting it.” Etc…
“(Supreme Master Ching Hai traveled to many countries. Wherever Master went, She did charitable work. She showed a shining example for the local people and elevated that country’s spiritual level. For example, in Africa, She gave money to the homeless people in their tribes. Sometimes She gave hundreds of thousands of dollars in one day. In some countries, some organizations, associations, clubs also came asking for help, so Master also made contributions. Such as in Armenia, She gave hundreds of thousands of dollars.)” Etc…
Plus, Master privately donated US$300,000 to an organization that helped victims of the Hurricane Katrina disaster in the USA from Canada.
Countless of Master’s donations go unrecorded, and we may or may not find out about them later. For example, in 2003, She was staying in Canada, carrying out charity work anonymously on a daily basis.
“(She went to Canada when it was affected by the SARS epidemic, and Canada lost a lot of financial benefits during that time. Master went to different places to support many charitable associations, and buy products made in Canada. She said that we should buy these products to stimulate Canada’s economy. Then we went to supermarkets, some well-known luxury shops, and Master just pointed at this and that, and paid. The manager was so happy, the employees too. So, She came to support that country in the aspect of spirituality and the economy. And within a few months of Her arrival, Canada’s economy improved.
I remember one story when She helped a Catholic church and also the nuns in the convent there. Master also contributed a sum of money to the convent where the nuns stayed. On our way home, Master told me that those nuns were all elevated to Non-Regressing Bodhisattvas. Wherever She went, She brought spiritual elevation there.)”
For Supreme Master Ching Hai, giving, and giving generously, is truly part of Her nature.
“A man will come to Him and say: ‘O Mahdi! Give to me, give to me!’ So He will fill in his garment whatever he is able to carry.”
“Here is for your whole study. (Thank You, Master.) You're welcome, and be a good lawyer later. Help the poor and the needy – don't charge too much.”
“(We were on the beach, and when we were walking towards the hotel, Master saw a person, it was the hotel's cook who was crying. Then Master immediately approached him and asked him what was happening, and the man replied that they had arrested his son, and that he could not pay the bail, because the bail was like three salaries, three months of his job. Then Master did not hesitate for a moment, and told him: “Don't worry, I'm going to pay the bail!” And sure enough, She did it, but She was so genuinely moved, that I had the perception at that moment, my God! She is feeling the pain, the anguish of this person, and I began to realize that She always acts like this, She feels what the person is going through, and acts immediately, not after, not later, no, no, immediately.)”
“The sign of the Mahdi, Peace Be Upon Him, is that He will … distribute large amounts of wealth and be compassionate towards the poor and the needy.”
“(Usually, when Master came to a new town, She would go around town, looking for the homeless people. On one occasion, I was driving, and Master told me to stop. There was a homeless man. It was cold outside, and we saw the homeless man and we saw the homeless man on the other side of the road. It was inconvenient to U-turn on that road, but Master said, ‘For that homeless man, it's even more inconvenient, so we must try the other road to reach him.’ So, we did. Master gave that homeless man US$10,000.)”
“(One time, I was a driver for Master, She asked us to stop the car, and She gave money to the homeless. And even though we knew Master was very busy, Master said that we may not see them again, that’s why when we have the opportunity to help them, just do it.
Many people give out money, but Master reached out to the homeless with Her very kind caring.)”
“(It was 2003, and we were in Canada, outside St. John in New Brunswick. And it was around Christmas time. It was one of the coldest winters for many, many years. I remember Master and the brother who’d go out every day in the morning. And then in the evening, they would return. I'd be in bed already, and I could hear them coming in and talking excitedly. And I knew there was something going on. So one of the evenings while I was taking care of the house, on the TV there was a story about this ‘Mystery Lady’ who was visiting the homeless shelters and the food banks and delivering food and toys and clothes and... As I was watching, I saw that the ‘Mystery Lady’ was Master! That evening when Master came back, I said, ‘Master, You were on TV! You were on the news.’ And Master said, ‘So now you know what we were up to all these days, huh?’)”
“It was an interesting time and I met good people. Like I met a good taxi driver. He helped me to bring bags of presents, running around in town because he lives there. So the taxi drives in the front and we’d follow him to go to the poor area. And then he helped me to bring bags after bags to different houses, and I helped him to ring the bell and then we run.”
“(So the next time Master went out, I was driving a big rental van. And we went to a large supermarket. We had lots and lots of trolleys. And we were going around, and Master was very specific and very thoughtful about what foods we should choose, that She knew people would need. So we were bringing the trollies up to the cashier. And it was growing, growing, growing, and getting longer and longer and longer. And all the staff were looking and were amazed – what was going on? And then the store manager said, ‘Are you putting on a huge event or something?’ And Master explained to him that these were for the homeless shelters and food banks. And it inspired him. So he got the staff all together, and everybody helped to load up the van. And so in no time, the van was full completely to the top.
So by this time, Master had been to other food banks and homeless shelters already. And the one that we went to that night, She hadn't been there before, and the shelves were empty. So when they saw the amount of food that Master was giving them, and the variety and the luxury foods and the essential foods and the baby foods, they were moved to tears. They couldn't believe it! This was something that was like a miracle. And they hugged Master, and they were thanking, thanking, thanking. And Master was saying, ‘No, this is what we do. It's a season of giving. My gift is a small token for the noble work that you are doing.’)”
Ms. Bobbie-Jean MacKinnon, the journalist who had written one of the newspaper articles about Master’s activities at that time two decades ago, recently shared in an email:
“‘([…] I remember the story very well. In fact, I think about Her every year around Christmas time and have always wondered who She was and where She ended up, so thank you for letting me know. […])’
‘Good Samaritan Goes on Shopping Spree’
‘[…] The mystery woman who donated truckloads of new clothing and toys to the Rothesay Regional Fire Department’s annual Christmas drive has struck again. She donated an estimated $16,000 worth of warm clothing, cash, cookies and chocolates to at least two local charities. […]
Jean Claude Isaac was one of the many people whose lives she touched on her latest venture. Mr. Isaac, 68, a resident at the Salvation Army on St. James Street, was sporting a new, top-of-the-line jacket, snow pants and hat. “I’ve never owned anything that’s this good before,” he said, his eyes welling with tears and pride. “I’m so grateful… It’s just wonderful. What a nice gift… I won’t be cold anymore.”’ […]
Staff at Mark’s Work Wearhouse were also struck by the woman’s generosity as she emptied rack after rack, filling her shopping cart. […] But she didn’t want to be recognized for her generosity. ‘I don’t want personal glorification,’ she said. ‘The Lord gives you, you share it… I don’t even think about it. We all do our best to contribute to the peace and love in this world… […]”’”
“(A few years ago, when Master was in Taiwan (Formosa), one day, Master and I went out together. When we drove on the road, Master told the driver to stop and park the car on the roadside, and then told me to get off and have a look. On the roadside, someone was selling chewing gum. I drew nearto find that it was a disabled person. So, I by the way bought some chewing gum that he was selling. I reported it to Master and Master took out an envelope of money from Her bag, telling me, ‘You go and give it to him.’ I quickly ran over to give the money to him. After that, I told him, After that, I told him, ‘This is for you, from my Master.’ That person was so surprised and said, ‘Why? How come there’s such a nice person? Who is She? How can I tell Her my appreciation?’ I said, ‘This is from God, from a living Bodhisattva. If you’d like to express your thankfulness, just thank God, Buddha, and Bodhisattvas.’ I also told him, ‘Our car is parked over there. I have to go now. Wish you good health.’ Then I returned and reported to Master that I had given that to him, and that he kept asking, ‘Who is Your Master?’ and that because Master didn’t tell me to say it, I didn’t tell. Then I told Master, ‘That must have been about 400,000 (New Taiwan) dollars, equivalent to about more than 13,000 US dollars, which is quite a large amount, Master.’ Master said, ‘It’s his merit,’ and then said, ‘Hurry, let’s go quickly. Let’s drive away quick.’)”
