Chapter 9: The Temple of Madam Lin-shui

The temple of Madam Lin-shui is the temple of the patron deity Ch'en Ching-ku. This deity has demonstrated an amazing responsiveness, which has attracted a great number of people. The abbot of that temple, whose name is Ch'en Cheng, told me an auspicious story. I describe it as follows.

One night, the abbot dreamt of Ch'en Ching-ku appearing in front of him. Her face was pure and beautiful, with her right hand holding a precious sword, and her left hand holding a dharma spiral made from a horn. She looked just like the chief deity of the temple. She wore a divine dress and radiated a golden light.

Ch'en Ching-ku was attended by two children, whose appearance was very pretty and transparent. One child held a duster of immortality, and the other held a precious fan.

Ch'en Cheng brought his palms together in respect and asked, "Are you the Madam?"

Ch'en Ching-ku answered, "Yes."

"Is there any instruction you would like to give us for bestowing the honor of visiting our humble place, Madam?"

Ch'en Ching-ku announced: "These days, a gentleman, whose name is Ling-yuan, regularly comes to visit the temple. The top of this person's head is enveloped by colorful clouds, and his body continuously shines a five-colored light. When he sits down, he is also accompanied by several divine beings, with various colorful lights reflecting interweavingly."

Upon hearing this, Ch'en Cheng was surprised, and asked, "Mr. Ling-yuan looks very ordinary, so how could that be so?"

Ch'en Ching-ku said, "How can an ordinary person with material eyes know spiritual efficacy!"

Ch'en Cheng asked again, "What should I do if this person comes to visit?"

Ch'en Ching-ku replied, "Since Ling-yuan is of the same rank as mine, the fact that he sits down there and I sit higher than him disturbs me when he comes to visit. You have a lotus chair made out of sandalwood, which is the most valuable object in the temple. You can invite him to sit in it, and offer him the best tea. By so doing, I will have peace of mind."

Ch'en Cheng said, "I will follow your order."

Ch'en Cheng asked Ch'en Ching-ku: "What is the background of this gentleman Ling-yuan?"

Ch'en Ching-ku replied, "This person is the chief disciple of Ma Po-hsiu. Ma Po-hsiu comes from the Lu-shan Taoist Temple that is located in Jinling. Fot twenty years Ling-yuan practiced Taoist methods that have been transmitted by the Lu-shan Taoist Temple, and has accomplished cloud-like energy, and he possesses some supernatural powers. I am one of the disciples of Ma Po-hsiu, and therefore, Ling-yuan and I are of the same rank."

Ch'en Cheng was surprised: "Aren't you Ch'en Ching-ku?"

"I am the division body."

"What is the division body?"

"The straw head-like deity that is derived from Ch'en Ching-ku."

Ch'en Cheng did not understand: "What is the straw head-like deity?"

Ch'en Ching-ku replied, "The principal deity is Ch'en Ching-ku, and her division bodies are as many as straws. Therefore, a division body is called a straw head-like deity, and a straw head-like deity is a division body and division spirit of the principal deity."

Ch'en Cheng still was unclear about this, and Ch'en Ching-ku told him not to ask anymore. It didn't matter if he understood, as long as he could proceed and follow her order.

Upon awakening from his dream, Ch'en Cheng followed the instruction of the chief deity Ch'en Ching-ku. On every occasion that Mr. Ling-yuan came to visit, Ch'en Cheng would bring the lotus chair out especially for Mr. Ling-yuan and would invite Mr. Ling-yuan to sit in the chair. He made a special trip to the tea store to buy the best tea leaves in order to make tea for Mr. Ling-yuan. Ch'en Cheng was very respectful to Mr. Ling-yuan.

Ch'en Cheng noticed that Mr. Ling-yuan indeed demonstrated some spiritual efficacy.

If he claimed that it would rain, it rained indeed.

If he claimed that there would be thunder, it thundered indeed.

If he said that this time when a Typhoon arrives it would cause a flood, the place was indeed flooded.

His prediction was even more accurate than the weather broadcast bureau, for the latter always came up with a belated broadcast. The weather broadcast bureau is ridiculed by the Taiwanese, in the Taiwanese dialect, as madness.

Ch'en Cheng and Mr. Ling-yuan enjoyed chatting with each other.

After a while, Ch'en Cheng again dreamt one night of Chen Ching-ku. But this time, Chen Ching-ku only said, "You don't need to bring out the lotus chair for Mr. Lin-yuan anymore, and neither is it necessary to prepare a nice tea for him."

"Why?" Ch'en Cheng was puzzled.

"The colorful clouds above Mr. Lin-yuan and the five-colored lights that radiated from his body have been stripped away. He is an ordinary man and the divine beings who once accompanied him have long since abandoned him."

"Why?" Ch'en Cheng was surprised.

Ch'en Ching-ku replied detestably, "Ask him and you will know!"

Ch'en Cheng woke up from his dream, and did not understand what was going on. Previously, Ch'en Ching-ku had told Ch'en Cheng to treat Mr. Lin-yuan well, yet now she was countering her original instructions, and didn't want Mr. Lin-yuan to be treated with respect. Ch'en Cheng did not understand why, but he had to follow her command!

Ch'en Cheng's attitude towards Mr. Lin-yuan changed from hot to cold, and Mr. Lin-yuan seemed to notice it. Ch'en Cheng asked Mr. Lin-yuan: "What have you done recently?"

"Is there something wrong?"

"Ch'en Ching-ku is very angry!" Ch'en Cheng said.

Mr. Lin-yuan lowered his head, and pondered for a while. He said: "No wonder my inspiration and intuition have changed these days. It seems that many of my psychic responses are no longer accurate, and my supernatural power has disappeared. The method I practiced before has no efficacy, and the dharma-protectors have abandoned me. I've been feeling absent-minded."

"What have you done wrong, anyway?" Ch'en Cheng asked.

"I didn't do anything wrong for myself, but"

"But what?"

Mr. Lin-yuan said, "I have a friend who wanted to have sex with a woman in his neighborhood. He tried to seduce her, and was rejected. This friend of mine knew that I possessed a secret method, and came to ask me for a favor. I found it shameful to refuse him, and so I drew a talisman. This talisman serves to arouse another's sexual desire. Not long after I gave the talisman to my friend, the lady of his neighborhood came to him willingly, to be taken advantage of. They have been engaged in a sexual affair."

Ch'en Cheng was shocked: "This is a devious talisman, which destroys other people's minds!"

Mr. Lin-yuan suddenly realized: "Shame on me! Shame on me!"

After Mr. Lin-yuan left the temple he sincerely regretted his fault, and tried his best to perform good deeds.

In the meanwhile, Madam Li-shui Ch'en Ching-ku displayed unbelievably efficacy, Ch'en Cheng told me, and often appeared in his dreams and gave him instructions.

For example, during a temple festival, the arrangement of a banquet was required for the temple. Someone suggested that one hundred tables would be needed: one table would be needed for ten people, thus one hundred tables would be required for one thousand people. Someone disagreed, arguing that one hundred tables wouldn't be enough, for there could be more than one thousand people arriving, and perhaps two hundred tables would be needed for two thousand people.

The difference in number and cost between one hundred and two hundred tables was quite extreme.

Ch'en Ching-ku told Ch'en Cheng in the night: " One hundred and sixty tables will be enough"

Strangely enough, one hundred and sixty tables was just the right amount, not one more and not one less.

It seemed as though the guests were called upon by Ch'en Ching-ku. The amount of guests was so accurate that there was not a single one more or less.

Ch'en Cheng also told me: "Ch'en Ching-ku also mentioned you!"

I was surprised: "What did she mention about me?"

Ch'en Cheng told me: "Ch'en Ching-ku said that this person has no special qualities, for he doesn't have any light on top of his head or around his body!"

I nodded. "Ch'en Ching-ku was right, for I usually conceal all my pure light."

Ch'en Cheng went on: "One time, Ch'en Ching-ku saw that there was a Buddha in front of this man. When the Buddha in front of him disappeared, another Buddha appeared behind him. When the Buddha behind him disappeared, another Buddha appeared on his right. When the Buddha on his right disappeared, another Buddha appeared on his left. Thus, Buddhas descended in front of him, behind him, on his right and on his left, radiating a golden light. The four Buddhas with golden light were treading upon lotus flowers. These lotus flowers were as big as automobile wheels. This golden light is like a thin bean at the beginning, and then it expands to a large bean, further expanding to become like a date, further expanding to be like a dipper, further expanding to be as if filling a whole city, and further expanding to be like the sky. Ch'en Ching-ku was very shocked."

Ch'en Cheng asked: "Who are you anyway, who appears to be an ordinary man?"

I answered: "Sheng-yen Lu."

"Who is Sheng-yen Lu?"

I said: "An ordinary person."

Concerning the talisman drawn by Mr. Lin-yuan, merely by the one negligent act of drawing a talisman that can arouse another's sexual desire, he had offended Heaven. The colorful clouds, the light around his body, and his power were all taken away. Was his offence so severe? How could the heavenly realm know of it?

An ancient wise sage said: "A gentleman has to be cautious of his thought and his action. He has to know not to tread on the devious path, and not to be furtive in his actions. He ought to avoid corrupt and degenerate actions, and avoid being ungrateful to his parents. Thus, whenever his thought arises and he performs actions, he is always cautious as if facing a very dangerous situation and treading upon thin ice. He is quiet but honest: being cautious in his solitary living, and strongly upholding the foundation of morality."

What offence did Mr. Ling-yuan commit by drawing a devious talisman? It seems like a trivial matter, only a mere drawing, but this had already concerned:

"Privately accepting bribery, conspiring to harm others, being treacherous, engaging in the fraudulent practice of manipulating others, secretly taking another's possession, and being cunningly greedy and deceiving."

It is especially true for the practitioner who has mastered the dharma-methods. A practitioner should understand:

The correct path, whereby; one acts in accordance with the principle of nature; one is in harmony with the crowd; one is not self-deceptive; one is not arrogant; one is straightforward and honest; and one is upright and determined.
The devious path, whereby; one contradicts the principle of nature; one is disruptive with the crowd; one fails to abide by ethics; and one violates morality and justice.

Mr. Lin-yuan should have been determined, and should have not feared harming friendship. He should not have violated the principle only for the sake of his friend's sensitivity: "When advancing, one observes what is right and examines what is wrong; when withdrawing, one recognizes what is wrong and examines what is right."

Mr. Lin-yuan should also understand that deities dwell above everyone and observe everyone. There are deities that travel at daytime, deities that travel at nighttime, deities who record one's deeds, deities who are in charge of promoting and demoting according to one's merits, and deity inspectors of daytime and deity inspectors of nighttime. Deities are everywhere, and nothing can escape their observations.

One ought to remember that deities in heaven know even one's momentary deceptive thoughts, let alone the drawing of a talisman! Thus my advice is: "Since one's thought has arisen, one's spirit also moves. As one's spirit moves, one's heart will become disturbed. Caution! Caution!"

How can a talisman that arouses sexual desire be so powerful? This is because devious minds attract devious ghosts, and this talisman was assisted by devious ghosts!

There was a story before:

There was a specialist of talismans, who was attracted to a woman. That woman was beautiful and charming, and the specialist of talismans was fascinated by her. Looking at her eyes, he couldn't stop desiring her. This situation already belonged to an offence category: By seeing beauty, one arouses the heart of possessing.

The specialist of talismans drooled with desire, and he couldn't stop himself from proceeding to draw a talisman that would confuse the beautiful woman so that she would willingly be taken advantage of by him. He placed the talisman on a road where the woman often frequented.

Unexpectedly, instead of that woman passing by the road, a fat and strong pig stepped upon the talisman that day.

Struck by the talisman, that sow became sexually stimulated.

Every night, when that sow became sexual, she would run madly to the house of the talisman specialist, and would fiercely charge against the door. She charged so loudly and made so much noise with her squealing that the specialist of talismans became blue and unable to escape.

The talisman specialist had learned only half of the Taoist method. He only learned to initiate the talisman, but did not know how to withdraw the talisman. It was very embarrassing.

That is the joke about the talisman specialist.

Personally, I think talismans are not a special regional product of China. In India, Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, and countries of Southeast Asia, talismans or spells are common and are a custom of society. Talismans are divided into two types: good and virtuous talismans, and devious and evil talismans.

It is commonly misunderstood that talismans belong to the superstitious practice of supernatural magic and bizarre occultism.

In fact, talismans are a phenomenon of mind-power. The talismans I have learned can help people to dissolve disasters and eliminate misfortune, to heal illnesses and remove diseases, and to command ghosts and spirits. With a talisman, one can penetrate heaven and earth, achieve transformation, and fly freely.

The good or evil of a talisman is not derived from itself, but from the person who draws the talisman, for the nature of a talisman is neutral!

In my opinion, the path of cultivation is full of obstacles. Some have succeeded, and some have failed. There are also some who are halfway through their practice. Because of pursuing a devious path, and treading on a forked road, they have become failed practitioners.

The prevention of the harm of sexual desire should begin by restraining one's own mind. Do not allow one's mind to pursue external objects, and be cautious before one's thoughts arise. When one's thought arises, one should regard it as a thief, and regard one's ears as a robber. When the thief and robber invade one's internal arena, one's body and heart lose control. Thus, one should internally guard one's heart, and even more so, externally, one should guard one's ears and eyes. When one's ears and eyes no longer function to steal external objects, one's heart and will shall become determined, and one will be virtuous without corruption.

One ought to restrict one's arising thoughts, and be cautious of the moving of one's heart. Regardless of whether or not one puts it in action, as long as one's thought of possessing arises upon seeing beauty, one will suffer the punishment that one deserves by the law of heaven.

All practitioners should be careful regarding the issue of sexual desire!

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