Everywhere in the world, we can observe and be touched by acts of kindness. People from all walks of life, faiths, and cultures extend themselves beyond the call of duty to help others unconditionally. Through their noble deeds, humanity as a whole is elevated.

To commend virtuous actions and encourage more people to be inspired by their examples, Supreme Master Ching Hai has lovingly created a series of awards, including the Shining World Leadership Award, Shining World Compassion Award, Shining World Hero and Heroine Awards, Shining World Honesty Award, Shining World Protection Award, Shining World Intelligence Award, and Shining World Inventor Award, to recognize some of the most exemplary, generous, caring, and courageous people who walk amongst us.

When young Faith Maloney and her friends left England in 1966 in search of their life’s calling, they were unsure what lay ahead. Following some time in Mexico’s capital, Mexico City, the group set out for the Mexican state of Yucátan. After being guided by an inner vision during meditation, Ms. Maloney and others traveled to the remarkable village of Xtul along with several treasured German Shepherd companions. There they met a wise man.

After staying some time in this coastal haven, the group departed and the man bid them farewell, saying, “One day there will be another place for you. It is a beach without an ocean, and the sand is all red and there are animals, many animals.”

Nearly 20 years later many of the same friends gathered in the heart of the sacred Angel Canyon in Utah, USA, where the rock walls and sandy floor are tinted in shades of red, to start a special mission of love. Here, through God’s grace the Best Friends Animal Society was established, and a refuge called the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary was set up to help bring about a better world through kindness to animals.

I came over here to the United States in 1971 with a group of friends, some of us who actually started “Best Friends,” and knew each other back then. So we met each other through the years, raising families, doing our work, that kind of thing.

And then in the late 1970’s we decided this is something we wanted to do. And we started it in a place in Arizona (USA), not too far from here, but we knew we needed a bigger facility. And we found this piece of property and purchased it in 1984. So we’ve been here for 26 years.

Today, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary has evolved into the largest facility for homeless animals in the USA. The 1,500-hectare paradise is surrounded by gorgeous national parks and at any given time cares for up to 2,000 dogs, cats, birds and other animals with unique physical, emotional and behavioral needs. The animals are brought to Utah from shelters around the country for specialized care and attention with a focus on rehabilitation and re-homing.

To cater to the varied needs of its animal guests, the refuge is divided into aptly named areas such as “Dogtown,” “Cat World,” “Bunny House,” “Horse Haven,” “Parrot Garden” and “Piggy Paradise” to name a few. Those residents who are unable to find a new home are allowed to stay at Best Friends for life.

The sanctuary is the centerpiece of our work at Best Friends Animal Society. The Society works all over the country, all over the United States, and in a few foreign countries as well, to save animals. Our mission is to bring about a time when there are no more homeless pets.

For benevolently caring for countless gentle, homeless animals, Supreme Master Ching Hai honored Best Friends Animal Society and its vegan chief executive officer Mr. Gregory Castle with the Shining World Compassion Award and a US$20,000 contribution to assist in the residents’ medical care. The following is Supreme Master Ching Hai’s loving letter to Gregory Castle:

“Dear Mr. Castle, We are delighted and honored to present to Best Friends Animal Society the “Shining World Compassion Award.” Through this Award we recognize Best Friends outstanding achievements in providing comfort and sanctuary to our precious animal friends, and we pay tribute to the selfless spirit of service shown by all the staff of your priceless organization. Best Friends Animal Society helps light humanity’s path into a noble future of respect for all life.

Your philosophy, “A better world through kindness to animals,” indicates the deep wisdom of Best Friends’ founders - and making the almost 2,000 dogs, cats, horses, goats and other precious beings in your care blessed to have found you. Your beautiful understanding of the emotional needs of animals ensures they are not housed in cages but in special animal homes, with toys, friends and room to run and play.

It is no wonder that your facility at Angel Canyon is America’s largest animal Sanctuary - the nobility of the philosophy, the professionalism of staff, the efficiency of the operation ensure the admiration and thus the support of the community. For uplifting our world with your inspirational example of love in action, may Angel Canyon Sanctuary and all the staff and volunteers of Best Friends Animal Society flourish abundantly.

For lovingly and bountifully providing for the needs of our darling animal friends, for your wonderful philosophy of kindness and respect for all living creatures and for the dedication, intelligence and professionalism in the way you express your loving kindness, we hereby applaud and celebrate the compassionate deeds of Best Friends Animal Society, with special thanks to Gregory Castle, Chief Executive Officer. With Great Honor, Love and Blessings, Supreme Master Ching Hai.” Thank you so much.

Thank you. That is an exceptionally beautiful tribute. And I want to thank Supreme Master Ching Hai on behalf of all of us at Best Friends Animal Society, and of course on behalf of the animals at Best Friends Animal Society, and in fact animals everywhere, for such a beautiful tribute and for a very generous gift.

Our Association members presented the beautiful, crystal, heart-shaped Award plaque to Mr. Castle, who accepted it on behalf of the 300,000 Best Friends members across the US. The following is inscribed on the plaque:

“In Recognition Of Outstanding Achievement and Immense Loving Kindness, Creating A Haven Of Unsurpassed Contentment And Tranquility And Inspiring a Future Of Love And Respect For All Beings. With Compliments and Heartfelt Appreciation For Your Kind-Hearted Values, Compassion And Infinite Dedication To Our Animal Friends In Need.”

That is absolutely beautiful. Thank you.

And so, without further ado, it is our pleasure to be able to present Best Friends Animal Society with a check for US$20,000.

Thank you very much. That is wonderful. This donation will help us a lot at the sanctuary to care for some special-needs animals which we house here. Many of the animals that we have at the sanctuary do have special needs; they’ve maybe been rejected by other shelters, other sanctuaries.

And we are in a way a sanctuary of last resort for those animals, which sadly, in many other environments would not live. They would be put to sleep in shelters. So this donation will help us to care for those special-needs animals. Of course they have special needs. They have special requirements. And it’ll enable us to save many more animals here.

I really want to thank Supreme Master Ching Hai for the generosity which she is showing, and her organization is showing, in making this donation. We feel a great sympathy and closeness, empathy with Supreme Master Ching Hai and her work. We feel our philosophies are so closely aligned. We are really very, very grateful.

Supreme Master Ching Hai also presented the Society with gifts, including her #1 international best-selling books, “The Dogs in My Life,” “The Birds in My Life” and “The Noble Wilds,” along with a selection of her CDs, DVDs and other books.

We will treasure them here. Thank you very much. I can’t wait to open them and browse through them.

To express their appreciation to Supreme Master Ching Hai for her support and encouragement, Melissa Steimer, Director of Development for the Best Friends Animals Society wrote her the following letter:

November 20, 2010 Dear Supreme Master Ching Hai, Because of your generous giving, many animals will have a chance for a new life. The care and attention we give to the animals is very important to us at Best Friends as you know, and we are so grateful to you for helping to make it all possible. In thanks to you for your gift of $20,000.00, I am enclosing a Golden Circle certificate for you, which is just one more way that we would like to show our appreciation for your generosity.

We come closer every year to achieving our goal of ending the killing of dogs and cats in shelters in our lifetime. When Best Friends started, there were over 17-million animals put down every year. Through the hard work and dedication of many animal lovers like you it’s down to 4-5 million. Although it is a huge accomplishment, it hasn’t changed in several years.

We’ve uncovered reasons for this and are now focusing on those four main causes: feral and stray cats ; pit bulls and fighting dogs; puppy mills, which pour often unhealthy dogs into the market who then end up in shelters; and people unable to keep their pets in their home. You’ll be hearing a lot more about our work in these areas in the years to come. Thank you for all you do to help the animals. All the best, Melissa Steimer

In response to the organization’s warm letter, Supreme Master Ching Hai sent this affectionate message along with an additional donation to the Best Friends Animal Society:

May Heaven bless you forever. Dear beloved friends of the helpless animals: I'm deeply touched and impressed by your angelic work - please continue with all your might. Herewith another 30,000 US$ to chip in - love you + all my heart - Ching Hai.

Our sincere salute goes to Gregory Castle, Faith Maloney and the other committed Best Friends Animal Society staff members for providing a safe home and magnificent rehabilitation facility for our tender animal friends. May the Society’s noble endeavors and generosity inspire others to follow its example of excellence.

For more details on the Best Friends Animal Society, please visit

Thank you for your company today on our program. Coming up next is Enlightening Entertainment after Noteworthy News here on Supreme Master Television. May the lives of all beings be blessed with joy and loving kindness.