Chapter 17 - A Personal Interview By Ms Zhang Bi Fang

I was interviewed by Ms Zhang Bi Fang on December 24,1992 at 6:00 p.m. She is a well-known reporter from Man's weekly. I understand that she took up a law course at the same time and became a lawyer. She specialises in interviewing head of states.

Claiming to be a Buddhist, she wanted to interview me personally.

I acceded to her request.

Round face, medium built, regular features, she created quite a good impression on me. She also displayed the typical characteristics of a lawyer: She is cool and steady; smart and outrageous.

Her charming and beautiful eyes have become sharp and piercing after prolonged practical training.

A war was waged.

She fired questions at me.

I responded immediately.

When I threw a question back to her, she could not answer.

Her face blushed; She became restless and uneasy.

She is a smart and stubborn woman who has gone through the thick and thin in life. She is charming and has a strong personal view. She can be more feminine than most women; occasionally she shows her masculine nature. She is more capable than most men.

When her article on me appeared in the Man's weekly, my photograph became the front cover. To tell the truth, her special feature did not impress me. She holds too strong a personal view that the interview turned out to be her personal vindication. And her style of writing was too defying. She is more a lawyer than a reporter.

The feminity of being smooth and tender was totally absent, she showed undaunted and relentless proficiency.

I wonder if she is really a Buddhist, as she made quite a few fundamental mistakes on Buddhist terms, for instance, the name of Yin Shun was written as Ying Shun (Yin Shun, a prolific writer considered the beacon and the most well-known teacher in Buddhism. What a pity, she did not know one of the teachers I took refuge in, obviously she never read his books.)

Moreover, in the two falsified sutras that I mentioned, she wrote the names wrongly. Three vehicles became three layers .... and many more mistakes.

She claimed to have followed the noble eightfold path.

Maybe she did not know that when I explained the meaning of Heart Sutra at Lei Zhang Temple in Seattle, I spent more than three months to expound the concept of noble eightfold path. The concept was also scattered in the 104 books written by me.

1. Correct views (understand the four noble truths)

2. Correct thought and purpose (nurture right and eradicate false thoughts)

3. Correct speech (purify speech and avoid false talk)

4. Correct conduct (maintain best earthly behaviour and do ten good deeds.)

5. Correct livelihood (lead a normal life and distance from five improper ways of livelihood. Notes: the five improper ways of livelihood for a monk (1) changing his appearance (2) advertising his own powers and virtue (3) fortune-telling by physiognomy (4)hectoring and bullying (5) praising the generosity of another to induce the hearer to bestow presents.)

6. Correct Zeal (put extra efforts in cultivating the right dharma)

7. Correct remembrance (have the spiritual response and do not mourn over gain and loss)

8. Correct meditation (be pure and intact)

In her article, she was everything but tender. Moreover she is impatient and short-tempered.

Personally, I believe:

As Buddhists, we must learn to be patient even under duress. We must see things from a broader perspective. We must not be hasty and hot-tempered in our writing, and jump to conclusions. By doing so, it will only create more unwholesome karma.

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