Chapter 4 : A Celestial Gathering

The fifth day of the fifth Lunar month, known as the Day of Earth Curing, is also the day the Five Celestial Emperors

assemble gatherings to discuss and determine the conferring of government titles in the human world. On that day, many gods and deities convene in the heavens.

At the last assembly, I also attended the gathering. Now some may wonder, how did Living Buddha Lian-sheng Shengyen Lu manage to attend this event?

My reply is this:

I sleep among the immortal isles of Feng-lai;

In a flash, my soul soars into the spiritual realm;

Where I sit, brilliant lights blaze;

Where I walk, thunderbolts roar;

Transcending time and space,

A School that validates the authentic Buddhadharma,

Dawn or dusk, east or west, ascending or descending,

Interpenetrates all ten Dharma Realms.

The gathering could be described as "a meeting of ten thousand gods." Among those present were the Jade Emperor, the Three Celestial Gods of Heaven. Earth, and Water, the Four
Deva Kings, the Five Lords of Five Peaks, Yama-king of Ten Halls, Great Lord Wen Chang (Lord of Literature), Lord Guan Sheng (God of War), Lord Xuan Tian, Lord Zi Wei (of the Northern Constellation), Mother of Constellations, the Five Lords of the Lunar Palace, and the Dragon Kings of the Four Oceans.

Many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas also attended this gathering, including Shakyamuni Buddha, Samantabadhra Bodhisattva, Kuan Yin Bodhisattva, Cundi Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Golden Maize Buddha, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Medicine Buddha, Arnitabha, Avatamsaka Bodhisattva and many others.

At the assembly, many topics and motions were discussed. I was astonished, however, when one individual's name came up. Since it is inappropriate to disclose his name here, I will refer to him using the alias Cai Wang.

Cai Wang was the chief of a political party and also outstandingly wealthy. The Five Celestial Emperors first mentioned Cai Wang stating, "Cai Wang should be elected chief." The subordinates agreed, seconding the motion.

But the Great Lord of East Peak then stood up and spoke, "I object."

"What is your reason?" asked the Five Celestial Emperors.

The Great Lord of East Peak replied, "Cai Wang has the wealth and ranking to merit votes, but he has just recently raped a young girl. This girl became pregnant and, with broken body and mind, jumped off a building committing suicide. Now full of resentment and grief, she has come under my domain."

"Wow!" When I heard this, I was greatly shocked.

"Who then should be elected?" the Five Celestial Emperors asked.

"XXX will take his place," answered the subordinates. (The last name of this person contains the pictogram "wood.")

"What is going to happen to Cai Wang then?"

The Yama-king of Ten Halls answered, "Cal Wang has accumulated extraordinary credits from previous lives to merit the chief position. However, during this life, he has squandered many of these credits. Now, after committing this severe transgression, not only will the position of chief be removed and his wealth reduced, he will also be stricken with a vicious illness. It will not be long before he begins his transmigration through the six realms."

The gods then conceded, "That is it then."

In fact, during the great election, all the candidates personally visited, wrote, or telephoned me.

To each, my reply was, "I will give you blessing!"

Cal Wang even asked, "Will I win the election?"

My answer had been, "Put your utmost effort into doing good deeds and do not slack. Print more virtuous books and distribute them."

"But the election date is approaching quickly. What should I do between now and then?"

"Repent for your sins and make a vow to the spiritual realm to be virtuous for the rest of your life."

"But I haven't committed any sins," he replied. "What is there to repent for?"
I was silent and did not dare retort.

After the election, indeed the person with the pictogram "wood" in his last name won the chief position and Cai Wang lost. Everyone had regarded Cai Wang as the frontrunner in the election, and all were surprised by the outcome. In this world, too many things turn out contrary to one's expectations!

Cai Wang lost his bid for the chief office and his wealth also took a dive. I had inquired of the people around him about his health, but the initial reply I received was, "We don't know." So I asked a second time, this time inquiring someone from the inner circle who replied, "Don't tell anyone, but he has come down with an incurable disease!"

"Oh! How transient are things of this world!" I sighed.

I was worried for Cai Wang, because I know well that anyone who has committed transgressions of sexual misconduct will suffer the following retributions: deserved wealth will diminish, veneration and ranking will be taken away to be replaced by encounters with litigations and imprisonment, accidents, disastcrs, violent deaths, and other misfortunes

I sought the Great Lord of East Peak and asked, How can Cai Wang resolve his karmic retribution?"

The Great Lord replied 'It will be very difficult "How difficult?"

"Amid the endless seas of karmic transgressions, hindrances of sexual desire are among the hardest to remove The karmic bondage betwecn Cai Wang and the young girl shall continue intertwining endlessly through the six realms of transmigration."

"So they will be trapped with each other in vicious cycles of enmity?"

The Great Lord replied, "That is right." And he continued, "The knot of karmic enmity has now been fastened between Cai Wang and this young girl. In her next life, she will definitely be born as his wife or daughter. And in the future, there will definitely be the scenario of husband killing wife, wife killing husband, father killing offspring, or offspring killing father. The karmic retribution is quite tragic!"

A deep sorrow pervaded my heart as I heard this.

The Great Lord said, "The scenarios may begin as loving relationships between husband and wife or father and daughter. But, in the end, their initial feelings will mean nothing to them."

I asked the Great Lord, "I know it is difficult to untie such knots of karmic enmity and liberate oneself from the six realms of transmigration. But, since it is possible, in what way can such a goal be accomplished?"

The Great Lord replied, "The only way is through spiritual cultivation."

"How does one begin cultivation?"

"Repent, observe precepts, and enact the ten wholesome and virtuous deeds."

"How then can one be liberated from the sufferings of tansmigration?"

The Great Lord replied, "The mind is the Buddha, and the Buddha is the mind. This is the state where all concepts of self and other are obliterated, where the four ideas pertaining to the existence of a separate ego are absent, where the ten evils and eight improper practices are eradicated, where attachment to egotistic and possessive love is dissolved, and where lust, anger, and delusion do not arise. This also occurs when one diligently sits down to meditate four times a day and there is no slacking of discipline twenty-four hours a day. To escape the halls of the Yama-king, one must be in the constant company of Amitabha and Kuan Yin. This way, in a flash, one transcends the three realms of Form, Desire, and Formlessness and, in a thunderclap, emerges from the traps of transmigration."

"What if one is entangled in the snares of a karmic enemy?"

"Develop through the Dharma the patience to bear all external hardships and abide in the condition of the absolute."

"How is this achieved?"

"Practice until one attains the reward at the stage of fruition where no lust, anger, and delusion arise!"

The Lord of East Peak also said to me, "Cai Wang is not the only person suffering this kind of karmic retribution. Cases such as his can be found anywhere, among all people. In the eyes of gods and Buddhas, people of the world are merely rolling and tossing about amid oceans of dust. In the future, you, Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu, will also be subjected to the same kinds of temptations where beautiful women will attempt to seduce and offer themselves to you. You must be very cautious."

A pang of fear shot through my heart. "How should I handle such situations?"

"The Buddha teaches one to silently dismiss them."

"They will make impertinent remarks about their treatment."

"What is important is that you have a clear conscience!"

"What if people in the community misunderstand me?"

"Regard their reactions as a way to neutralize your karmic hindrance."

"What if people of the world censure me?"

"Just don't let it affect you."

"What kind of mind is this?"

"This is a mind developed through Dharma to patiently bear all external hardships. It is a mind that abides in the condition of the absolute."

After listening to the advice of the Lord of East Peak, I knew that my own ordeals would not be avoidable. I too, in the future, will encounter many such tests and challenges, enduring and suffering each interminable test, one by one.

When I face misunderstanding and reprimands from the whole world, I must understand that such happenings occur to help me neutralize my karmic retributions and also to help me develop an endurance to attain rewards in the fruition stage. Undergoing such ordeals, I will have no need to rebuke or reproach. I only need to silently bear them. Not even the slightest trace of anger or hatred will arise in me as I pulverize, in a flash, the myriad worlds of form into the state of Great Emptiness.

In the state of non-duality, there will be no self, no other, and no sentient beings. I truly am the Lotus Light Self-MasterY Buddha!

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