The Supreme Master Ching Hai
By Los Angeles Center, California, USA (Originally in English)
Due to global climate change, the state of California in the United States has been suffering from serious drought conditions since December 2011. In January 2016, 95 percent of the state was in a drought. Many trees either died or were in a very stressed situation. February is normally part of the rainy season, but the air was so dry in February 2016 that many forest fires broke out in Southern California.
To combat the raging fires, many firefighters from different counties were mobilized. While battling a wildfire in Malibu County on February 25, an inmate firefighter was struck by a falling rock and subsequently died in the hospital. When Supreme Master Ching Hai saw the news, She was extremely concerned about the safety of the firefighters who work to protect the lives and properties of others while risking their own well-being. Immediately She instructed our Association members in Los Angeles to send Her love to the firefighters, and contributed US$140,000 to support the firefighters’ work in Southern California.
During the next few months, our Association members arranged to send each of the following seven fire organizations US$20,000 from Master: Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, Orange County Fire Authority Foundation, San Diego County Fire Authority (through San Diego Regional Fire and Emergency Services Foundation), Riverside County Professional Firefighters Benevolent Fund, Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Kern County Fire Department and San Bernardino County Fire Protection District.
All of these organizations graciously accepted Master’s contributions, and sent Her letters of appreciation in return. Mr. Mark Hartwig, the Fire Chief of San Bernardino County Fire Protection District wrote, “Our Mission is: Duty, Honor and Community, and because of your donation, we will be able to continue providing the best services to the residents.”
We salute the heroic effort of the firefighters, and we pray that more people will turn to the planet-cooling vegan diet to reduce the chance of fire incidences in the future.
Photo Credit: US Department of Agriculture- 20140917-FS-UNK-0015-17Sep2014-flickr-CCBY 2.0
