Editing Ching Hai (section)

==Quan Yin method==
Ching 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/>

The method involves meditation on the "inner light and the inner sound" of [[God]] or the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]. Ching Hai claims that the [[Bible]] acknowledged the existence of this method: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." ([[John 1:1]]) and that this Word is the Inner Sound.<ref name=":0" /> Hai states 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]]s 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" />

A 2015 [[Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada]] [[Research report]] states "Sources characterize Guanyin Famen [Quan Yin] as a Buddhist group ([[Dui Hua Foundation]] 29 Aug. 2013; US 10 Oct. 2009, 115) or a "Taiwan-based sect" of Buddhism (ibid.)".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Immigration and Refugee Board of |date=2018-06-05 |title=Responses to Information Requests |url=https://irb.gc.ca:443/en/country-information/rir/Pages/index.aspx?doc=456054&pls=1 |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=irb.gc.ca |language=en}}</ref>

Thailand [[Mahidol University International College]] [[comparative religion]] studies [[syllabus]] classifies Hai's [[sect]] as a [[Sociological classifications of religious movements|Religious movement]] within [[Mahayana|Mahayana Buddhism]], alongside [[Thích Nhất Hạnh]] and [[Tzu Chi]] movements.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heikkilä-Horn |first=Marja-Leena |title=ICIR 216 Religious Movements and Diversity in Asia |url=https://muic.mahidol.ac.th/eng/wp-content/syllabus/ICIR_216.pdf |access-date=30 May 2023 |website=muic.mahidol.ac.th}}</ref>

[[Transpersonal psychology|Transpersonal psychologist]] and [[Advaita Vedanta]] scholar Timothy Conway writes "While she was in deep [[Retreat (spiritual)|spiritual retreat]] in the [[Indian Himalayan Region|Indian Himalayas]], under a very old teacher who evidently taught the way of [[Surat Shabd Yoga|Surat Sabda Yoga]] (as found in the [[Radha Soami|Radhasoāmi]] tradition)", this final [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]] evidently dawned.  After her breakthrough, Ching Hai continued to practice deep meditation for many months, then went to Taiwan". Conway lists Hai in the "Women of Buddhism" section of his Narrative Encyclopedic [[Sourcebook]] "Women of Spirit: Saints, Teachers, Healers, Sisterhoods and Goddesses of East and West".<ref name=":1" />

The [[World Religions and Spirituality Project]] has written "Ching Hai's teaching against violence towards animals is very similar to [[Sikhism]], but her meditation teachings resemble Buddhism, and her [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] background enables her to incorporate [[Bible study (Christianity)|Christian Bible teachings]] as well.".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=24 June 2001 |title=Suma Ching Hai |url=https://wrldrels.org/2016/10/08/suma-ching-hai/ |access-date=30 May 2023 |website=wrldrels.org}}</ref>

[[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 |s2cid=170393485 }}</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]]ions) 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 |newspaper=[[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. 'Khuda Ji – 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://web.archive.org/web/20221020070415/https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC |archive-date=20 October 2022 |url-status=bot: unknown |page=384 |access-date=13 January 2022 }}</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 |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 of the Chinese Communist Party}}

The Quan Yin method and Ching Hai's group is banned in China since 1995.<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:{{blockquote|
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" />

=== Ban in Vietnam ===
{{See also|Freedom of religion in Vietnam}}''The Vietnamese'' Magazine's Religion Bulletin – January 2020, states "The Vietnamese government views all developing religions today as heresy". Methods of suppression: preventing proselytization, imprisoning proselytizers, forcing citizens to sign vows to abandon their religion.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2020-05-13 |title=Religion Bulletin – January 2020 |url=https://www.thevietnamese.org/2020/05/religion-bulletin-january-2020/ |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=The Vietnamese Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hoang |first=Chung |date=2013-05-24 |title=New Religious Movements in Vietnamese Media Discourse since 1986: A Critical Approach |url=https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JASR/article/view/2289 |journal=[[Journal for the Academic Study of Religion|Australian Religion Studies Review]] |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=293–315 |doi=10.1558/arsr.v25i3.293|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

According to an official statement by Vietnamese authorities:
{{blockquote|
"Activities spreading superstition affect the social fabric. They have the clearest and broadest influence on the population in places where these new religions (heresy, strange faiths) appear: Supreme Master Ching Hai, Long Hoa Maitreya, Treasured Temple of the Three Religions, Protestant Word of Life..."}}

A publication of the [[Central Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of Vietnam|Central Propaganda Committee]] divided these "heretical religions" into three groups. The first two groups included religions that sprung up locally from [[Protestantism in Vietnam|Protestant]] foundations and Buddhist foundations. The third group contains those religions that were imported from overseas, such as Supreme Master Ching Hai.<ref name=":2" />