 DIALING FOR DOLLARS: Supreme Master Ching Hai sells this merchandise on her websites, which—along with her sect—are banned in China. |
For two years Carol Wiebold has been a regular at Chinatown’s Vegetarian House restaurant, enjoying its friendly service and generous helpings of fresh-cooked food.
But seated last week in the small dining room with hospital-green walls and fluorescent lights, the nurse from Oregon City didn’t know the low-key eatery has a deeper purpose than feeding the meat-free masses.
Unbeknownst to Wiebold and many other Vegetarian House customers, the restaurant’s owner founded the eatery five years ago to promote the teachings of Supreme Master Ching Hai—the elusive leader of a movement that promises its followers instant enlightenment through meditation, and a chance to save the world by going veggie.
“I’m not into meditation,” says Wiebold, who otherwise dines happily at the restaurant about three times a month.
Ching Hai’s Taiwan-based sect boasts thousands of followers worldwide and has built a global commercial empire, including a string of restaurants like the one at 22 NW 4th Ave. in Portland.
But even now, with the world’s attention focused on the Beijing Olympics, few are aware that one of China’s most bizarre and successful exports has set up shop locally—or that the sect is recruiting new members to join the several hundred followers already here.
Just a few steps past the guardian lions at the gates to Chinatown, the restaurant advertises its veggie platters in Chinese and English.
A poster in the window highlights the restaurant’s real intent. The picture shows Supreme Master Ching Hai staring intently into the distance, her hair dyed blond and a cell phone cupped to her ear. For more than 20 years, she’s taught an Eastern spiritual path—and promoted herself as an earthly vessel of divine wisdom.
Inside the restaurant, a small table holds fliers that describe her teachings. Chalk drawings etched by Ching Hai line the walls. Hand-held fans designed by the master are sold for $300. Her books, also on sale, fill a small shelf. And a big-screen TV plays her own 24-hour satellite channel—ironically, one of the few public TVs last week not tuned to the Olympics.
The restaurant’s owner, Chao Ping, has been a devout follower of Ching Hai for 15 years. Originally from Taiwan, he opened the restaurant in 2003 to promote his master’s lessons.
“Mostly they teach you compassion for people, to be humble, to open your heart to people,” he says.
Others disagree.
“It fits the classical definition of a destructive cult,” says Rick Ross, a New Jersey-based expert on fringe religious movements. After talking with former members, Ross describes the sect as a personality cult that brainwashes followers, then takes their money.
The center of the movement is Ching Hai, a 58-year-old former Buddhist nun born in Vietnam who claims she found enlightenment with a Himalayan guru.
Joining requires a strict vegetarian diet and at least 2 1/2 hours of meditation a day. Her total number of followers is unknown but estimated in the hundreds of thousands, mainly among Chinese and Vietnamese immigrant communities.
In Portland she has between 200 and 300 devotees, says Zhong Youping, a financial analyst at Kaiser Permanente and a leader of the local chapter. Some members meditate in a manufactured home they rent in Northwest Portland, in weekly sessions where novices and reporters are not allowed.
Zhong initially was skeptical of Ching Hai. Today she’s fully devoted.
“It must have been the master’s power, letting me know that those thoughts were wrong,” Zhong says. “She is a master—a person who realized her own god nature, a true nature that does not change from life to life.”
Even Zhong doesn’t know what country her master lives in. But Ching Hai maintains a robust presence on the Web. Her site, godsdirectcontact.org, sells her artwork, jewelry, books and fashion designs. Even her used sweat socks have reportedly sold online for $1,100.
Ching Hai’s satellite TV station is also available at suprememastertv.com. It focuses on good-news international stories and a campaign to curb global warming through mass conversion to vegetarianism—a movement Ching Hai says will reverse climate change.
Ching Hai herself is no stranger to headlines. In 1997, President Bill Clinton returned a $640,000 donation from Ching Hai as part of his “Asian money” scandal. And in 2004, authorities in Florida shut down an artificial island she was building illegally in Biscayne National Park.
Ross says Ching Hai’s followers have made her a multimillionaire, but the source of that wealth is unclear. Much of it comes from her merchandise, he says. She also dispenses large donations during international disasters, which Ross says builds her legitimacy and keeps money flowing in.
Ching Hai reportedly owns dozens of vegetarian restaurants worldwide. At Vegetarian House, Chao says he makes personal donations to her, but he declined to say how much.
Asked if he believes Ching Hai is God, he was equally mum. “If you want to know her,” he says, “just follow her teaching.”
.nar.jpg)
The whole letter is pasted here for future browsing in case that link "disappears" in the future.
Hope this is of interest to some on this forum.
The link: http://forum.rickross.com/read.php?5,65333,65333#msg-65333
The Letter.
"This was a letter that I wrote to her, but I am not sure where to email it to. Since the master doesn’t have an accessible email account for the general public or her initiates to use to contact her. Oh wait, we have the direct contact! Contacting Supreme Master ching hai! Your members in SMTV are conducting fraud on every possible level!
To Supreme Master Ching Hai, et al.
I have put off writing this letter to you and foreign group for some time believing that I was the sole case of marriage fraud. However, I have learned that more than once SMTV, the broadcasting station that purposively promotes positive work, are also practicing shady methods to retain foreign workers here in the United States. I know two others, other than myself who were contacted and brought over for that. A close friend and another who was asked to have a divorce so that both could have marriage fraud to get people from foreign countries to stay in America to work here, is what I have just said. FRAUD.
Curiosity piqued, I went online and did an online search and found that there were others who fell for the “calling.” SMTV contacted us first informing us of doing simple jobs, but when we arrived there it was for marriage.
I will only elaborate on my experience, as it is mine that I can discuss. I was first contacted on November 17th 2007, for inquiries on work Visas. At first I thought it was akin to just a contact for working in the United States. Thinking that was all, I later received another email whether or not I could come to LA to work. I was only informed to bring my camera and nice clothing. The date would have been on December 9th 2007. With such short notice, I took off from work without pay in order to go to Los Angeles thinking that I would be able to work for SMTV.
My initial contact details: “hi (keeping my name out),
Can you come to LA next Friday or Wednesday? Better to come before thanksgiving otherwise it will be crowded. If you can, you will need a suit and 10 different shirts (nice ones). And bring your digital camera.”
I left to work at SMTV with the belief that I was being told the honest truth and would be photographing things for SMTV.
The story changed when I got there. I was not told who to expect or when I would be picked up till the driver got there. When the driver picked me up, I was informed of what I would really be doing. Getting married to a girl from Australia so she could stay here to work permanently for SMTV. I am pretty sure the premise of this faith and SMTV was positive work and honesty. How can that be when SMTV has tried to commit marriage fraud, and continues to do so?
You can only imagine the emotions I went through during that day. I went from being impatient to confused to furiously angry to emotionally distraught. To be told that I would be marrying someone who I didn’t know, loved, or even seen at all, instead of what was initially informed me what I would be doing is deceitful and betrayal. I immediately booked a car rental to go down to San Diego to my parents’ friends to stay for the week, as that was how long I would be in California.
I still have the emails from the beginning and ending, emails pleading with me not to send this to Foreign group or to Master. I thought to myself, that this was only once. Sad and disastrous as it was, maybe they changed after I sent them a promo letter to them of what I would be sending to you. After that email, I received an email lecturing me that I should not have worried about getting the marriage and that sort. And I decided to take a forlorn break from the practice, which I still am on.
The response to the letter that would have been sent: “Please make sure that you or anyone else does not send any letter of that sort to foreign group. This is extremely grave. You MUST make sure that (anonymous) keeps his cool and anyone else who wants to challenge or follow that route. Please do do do remind. DO NOT SEND THAT LETTER!!!!! You bear a tremendous weight if you do! And if anyone else tries to do so, they bear an extraordinary weight. Please have respect for the people here, and those who serve God. NO EGO! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REMIND!!! DO NOT SEND!!!!! EXTREMELY GRAVE!!!!! MAKE SURE ERIC DOESN’T BLOW a CAP!!!! NO LETTER TO FOREIGN GROUP!!!!! Otherwise DEADMEAT and worse!!! CONTACT (anonymous)!!!!!!!!! HE MUST BE AWARE!!!!!!”
I didn’t want SMTV to be blown off kilter, because at the time I believed that I was the only one and I still believed in the general premise of SMTV. So I decided that, might have shook them up. I was naďve.
Until two days ago of present, I thought that my debacle was the only event. But a close friend of mine went through the same ordeal and another friend was asked persistently to get a divorce from his marriage so that he and his wife could marry foreigners to stay here to work permanently. And then I found this online from countless sites that had topics on Marriage fraud. I took it with some grain of salt, however, it displays that this has been going on for some time. Which makes me wonder if you, Master or Foreign group, knows exactly what goes on with your heavily promoted supreme master television.
Many similar marriage fraud occurred within the SupremeMasterTV.com organization whose address is at 1431 N. Potrero ave, El monte, Ca 91733. SupremeMasterTV.com is an internet base and satellite television program claimed to show positive news especially advocate of prevent global warming. SupremeMasterTV.com (SMTV.com ) is an non-profit operation headed by the Supreme Master Ching Hai who also has a company called The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association. Many fraudulent marriage committed by volunteers of SMTV.com to keep the foreign volunteers to work for SMTV.com and also for One World Restaurant in West Covina (illegal alien work here). This Russian girl’s case is a good example but SMTV.com volunteers-crimers believe that they won’t get caught because Supreme Master Ching Hai has the magic power to protect them. Probably USCIS need to catch more cases like this to stop people from committing marriage fraud.
[www.topix.com]
Around topics on the discussion of marriage fraud, posts and discussions of this is highly prevalent. Although those are not from accredited journalists, they are from users who know or have experienced marriage fraud conducted by yours truly, Supreme Master Television.
Then there is the mentality of your members there that is also in question. How do you really promote good will, when your workers there consider anyone who does not work for SMTV as trash or in such disdain? How do you pertain positive change when your workers are informing those that may have second thoughts that those that did leave have suddenly died? I acknowledge that workers that left suddenly die as exaggeration, but that is fear tactics. So SMTV not only conducts marriage fraud to get workers to stay, but reinforces it with fear tactics?
The conducts of your workers at SMTV are disdainful and deleterious and should be examined by yourself or foreign group, let alone the US authorities. This kind of conduct generates much question to yours and your affiliates’ judgment and activity and I am hoping that there is resolution to this.
Whether this being resolved or not, is paramount to your organization because if left unresolved it opens up a Pandora’s box of troubles. Not only to you, but also mainly to the victims, such as myself, who see no justice being done to rectify this horrendous deed. The authorities already investigate marriage fraud on a countless basis.
Yours truly,"
More emerging info on the crazy cult of ching hai here:
http://ramsss.com/ching-hai/
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Exchinghai/
http://www.suprememastertv.com/bmd/