The Bahamas Lifeboat(1)
■Book 111 - Roving Over The World
■Written by GrandMaster Sheng-yen Lu
It is a strange occasion that I went to the Bahamas.
After graduation from high school, Lu Fuo Qing my daughter went to the Bahamas for a tour. That was the first time I heard of the Bahamas.
\`Where is the Bahamas?\` I wasn`t quite sure.
\`Is it Panama, where a famous canal is situated?\` Guru Lian Xiang asked.
\` No it is not, it is the Bahamas!\` Fuo Qing corrected us.
\`Where is it ?\`
\`An international passport is required!\`
\`You mean going abroad.\`
\`You take a flight from Miami.\`
\`Then it must be a small country in the Central America.\` I tried to be smart.
In my mind, the countries in central America have tropical weather with lots of sunlight. People are relatively poor and success is hard to come by. They indulge in singing and dancing; and adopt a happy go lucky attitude towards life. They rely on foreign power to maintain peace in the region. Life there is about finding adequate food to eat.
To me, the characteristics of people in countries come naturally:
Bahamas: happy go lucky
Japan: elegant
Hong Kong : practical
America: Childlike
Germany: very subjective
China: insincere
France: romantic
South America: warm
Returned from the Bahamas, Fuo Qing had a tan. When she smiled, her teeth was sparkling white. Her face looked even more lovely.
She told me: the Bahamas is full of sunlight, beaches and coconut trees.
I did not fly to the Bahamas, instead I went there by ship from New Jersey. Dharma sister Su Ming and other disciples accompanied me after the initiation ceremony and the homa ritual at the Guan Zhao Rei Zhang temple.
We departed from Orlando, the space development center of the US. The journey to Lhasa, the capital of the Bahamas took 48 hours. A round trip will take at least 5 days. Most of the time, we remained on the ship. We went for sightseeing upon arrival.
The ship is called \`The Red Ship\`. As the words implied, its really a big ship (if you have watched the TV serial \`The Love Boat\`, you will know what I mean).
The ship has all kinds of facilities. Among them are swimming pool, shopping arcades, fitness center, casino, dance floor, meeting hall, cinema, entertainment center, dining hall and bars. The decor of the dining hall is very impressive, all kinds of cuisines such as French, Italian, Mexico are served in Western and European styles. The variety of food and wines served can be comparable to any five star hotel.
There are also cafes selling all kinds of sandwiches and hot dogs on a 24 hour basis.
When we arrived at the ship, the first program of the journey i.e. \`Survival drill\` already started.
The distress siren together with the tumultuous noise of the crowd made us nervous. We were out of our wits end, especially when we were in the small cabin, not knowing our direction in the big ship.
My wife Lian Xiang picked up the life vest and wore it hurriedly . She wanted to follow the instruction and went to the assembly point. On seeing I did nothing , she told me :
\`We must hurry !\` She was very nervous.
I told her:
\`The first rule in survival is to remain calm, and not otherwise.\`
\` I don`t care, I am leaving now.\`
