Meditation Sect's Weird Conference In Jomtien

Her website is "Godsdirectcontact.com", and for most people, that name should set off alarm bells. (Read her FAQ.) You know what kind of religions are normally run by charismatic leaders who talk about "God's direct contact", right?

Anyway, in Pattaya these past few days, down at the Ambassador City Hotel in Jomtien, one Ms. Supreme Master Ching Hai from Vietnam hosted a conference on her meditation style attended by thousands of people from all over.

The secrecy of the conference, the choice of location, and the odd departure of the guru before the last day of the seminar has left the local authorities and television stations with more questions than answers.

Ms. Hai's little religion seems to be following the habit of all religions: The less you know about it, the more you fear it, and the more you know about it, the more you jeer it.

To quote from wikipedia.

Detractors have thought that Ching Hai may only be teaching these methods for her own profit, thus the media giving her the nickname, "Part Buddha, Part Madonna". Since claiming to attain enlightenment, she has opened vegetarian restaurants, held public seminars, and has made millions of dollars as a painter, fashion designer, and jewelry designer. She has also raised eyebrows for her flamboyant dress sense, which is not in line with that of a Buddhist monk or nun. In October 1995 on Ching Hai Day, she wore queenly robes "under orders from God," riding a sedan chair carried by eight bearers to the cheers of "your royal majesty".

She claims to be an incarnation of God, the Buddha, and the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, popularly known as Kuan Yin. Ching Hai teaches that what she calls "the Quan Yin Method" refers to a "Method of Meditation on The Inner Sound".

Well, Pattaya (like New York) gets all kinds.