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Preface/Chapter 1 - A lonely shadow under the moonlight I remembered long ago, in one of my deep meditations, I found myself in a dimly lit realm. Suddenly, I realized the extraordinary calm surrounding. No doubt this calmness was cooling and refreshing to my soul, but also had an indescribable loneliness and sadness. This feeling expanded and enveloped the whole surrounding. While walking to and fro, I noticed that I was in a thick forest with trees and shrubberyeverywhere. The big forest was dense with tall trees, and I just could not get through it. In between the tree leaves, the moonlight penetrated through. I saw the brilliance of the moon, the branches swaying, and the round moon illuminated every corner of the land. In the forest, the world became silver in color. The earth under the moonlight displayed the shadows of the trees and myself. I tried to go through the forest, hoping to find a village or a town with people living in it, as it was too deserted. Not even a soul was seen, nor my relatives, my children or my disciples. Now who would listen to my Dharma teachings? To whom could I pass my well acquired wisdom of the inner realization and transmit my immaculate and pure Dharma Milk ? I found that my only companion was the moon. Under the brilliance of moonlight, I felt lonely. I just kept on walking and trying hard to continue the pace. Most of the trees were very old. Trunks were lying on the floor and parts of the trees were bare on the ground. Vines twined the trees. Some barks and inner layers were already rotten. It seemed that this time I entered the forest; I would become like the old trees and would not be able to grow again. I was frightened to learn that. Am I dead? I was pondering on the subject of life, death and transmigration. If these were the phenomena of death that would extend forever then it would be a matter of great fear! Finally, from afar I saw faint light coming from a very little house. It was strange to find a little house in a forest with no sign of human habitation. Why was there a little house in shrubberyfull of entangled brambles? I knocked on the door. Nobody answered. The door was even left ajar; I just walked in without making a noise. The facilities inside the house were simple and very crude. On a small writing desk, there were some scattered papers and pencils. I was thinking that owner of the house must had done a lot of writing. I opened the door of the bedroom, and as a result I was greatly surprised. A man in deep meditation was on the bed. The man opened his eyes, looked at me and said, "You have come!" I asked, "Who are you?" The man replied, "I am Living Buddha Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu." My heart was beating heavily. No, it couldn't be, I was the Living Buddha Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu, how in the world had someone proclaimed to be Living Buddha Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu? This was rather strange. How could there be two Living Buddha Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu? I could not believe all this so I began to observe the person in front of me. He was not tall, bit chubby, with features similar to mine, balding as well and wearing red lama robe. I asked in a very impolite manner, "Hey! Who the hell are you? I am the real Sheng-yen Lu!" The man smiled and replied, "I am your future!" "Future?" I was transfixed. "Yes. The Living Buddha Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu will come to this thick forest, stay in this little house, and will spend his future life in the brilliance of moonlight. "This………" "This is the destiny of Living Buddha Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu." "But this is unbearable loneliness." I said. The man said, "Under the brilliance of moonlight, every moment, every movement, day and night, there will only be one lonely shadow. You will devote your pristine and pure life to pursue and attain liberation. Keep your due diligence and endeavor. The man waved at me, and in spite of myself, I just felt myself being flown up and merged with the man's body. Two had became one Contact: Living Buddha Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu
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