Chapter 31 - A Simple Discussion On Fate

Fortune tellers like to talk about fate, and people have a great interest in finding out about their own fate. There are, of course, people who claim that they do not believe in fate. However, these same doubters, when they encounter difficulties and crisis in life, are often the first to blame everyone else, as well as their own poor luck. Some people are born lucky. They pass their lives with relative ease from birth until old age and death. There are others who, from the moment of birth, have to live in disadvantaged environments, coping with poverty, hunger, violence, or lack of education. While still at a young and tender age, they have to struggle to survive. Is this not fate? Who can deny that this is not predestined fate? I have seen a terminally ill patient lying on his sick bed, gasping for breath and asking,

"Why does heaven have no pity on me? I have not done anything wrong. I am still young, and I am a kind person. God, why do you permit so many bad people to go on living and allow an innocent person to be struck with terminal illness. I have not done anything wrong! Why torture me? This must be fate. It must be fate that I have to suffer so much."

Cancer took away my friend's life. He suffered so much that he was no longer recognizable when he closed his eyes and died. Now he is far away, and no one will ever again see or hear him in this world. This good friend of mine lived only a short life of twenty-four years. Can one say that this is not fate? The blue-robed lady told me the following story: She said that she goes by the name of Chi O. She has never told me her real name, and I have, so far, not asked her. She is originally from the Village of Fu Li in Hualian County.

Her father, a technician in the county medical office, was an honest and decent person who did not believe in the existence of gods or ghosts and did not have any religious belief in life. Chi O herself has not been highly educated, but she was the only person among all her siblings who was born with a psychic vision. During her childhood, her family was not rich.

Since the Village of Fu Li is located in hilly terrain, Chi O. being the oldest of all the children, had to walk to the stream at the bottom of the valley to carry water back home for laundry and other household uses. In the Village of Fu Li there was a temple for the local village god. Hei Wu-chang and Pai Wuchang, the two spiritual attendants to the local village god, often liked to joke around with Chi O. One spiritual attendant dressed in black, while the other dressed in white. Both loved to laugh, play, and run back and forth along the hilly path with Chi O.

Chi O told me, "Hei Wu-chang and Pai Wu-chang were very mischievous. They often deliberately tipped over my water buckets."

"So you were able to see the world of the spirits when you were young?"

"As far back as I can remember, I have always been able to see it. But when I told my mother about it, she just laughed and ignored me. When I told my father, he thought that I was making it up. Later he even wondered if I were mentally ill! If I told them what I saw, he would rebuke me for acting up and say that something was wrong with my brain."

"Weren't you afraid of Hei Wu-chang and Pai Wuchang?"

"There is nothing scary about them when one sees them all the time. Besides, they were my playmates and good friends."

Before the awakening of my soul, if someone had told me that she could see Hei Wu-chang and Pai Wu-chang, I would not have believed her either. Even if she were able to describe them vividly, I would have taken it to be pure fabrication on her part. Therefore one can hardly blame her parents for not believing in her. After all, in this world, how many people can see into the world of spirits while they are alive?

As Chi O grew up. she became a devotee of the Golden Mother of the Jade Pond. The Golden Mother took special care of her, guiding her on tours of some of the worlds in the spiritual realm and teaching her the method of enabling other people to visit the world of spirits. That is why, as a female member of the Taoist Jade Pond Sect, she has become a well-known and outstanding personality among the Taoist community in Taiwan. Apart from her ability to see and hear the spirits' world, she also knows other occult practices. She is indeed a "superwoman" in modern day parlance.

As Chi O's father grew old, he became ill and bedridden.

When he got worse, he would often start talking unintelligibly and incessantly in the middle of the night, scaring the people who took care of him out of their wits. Chi O volunteered to keep her father company during the nights.

One night, the wind was howling and the windows were shaking as if they were coming apart. Outside it was pitch dark and inside the room was only lit by a small candle flame. At around 1:00 a.m., Chi O heard many footsteps arrive at the door. She did not feel the least bit afraid and went to open the door. A large group of men and women had gathered there, some were old and some were young. Chi O asked them,

"Who are you?"

An elderly man spoke, "Are you Chi O? I am Uncle Ah Ping who used to live next door to you. I died just last year.

Your father is about to lose his breath, that is why we are here to take him away."

"No, none of you can take him away. I won't let you come in."

She opened her arms to block their entry. This way her father dragged on for three more days. On the third night, a spirit general from the temple of the local village god came to knock on the door. His back was decorated with many banners, and he said,

"Your father should have been taken away by the spirits to the nether world three days ago. Your barring the way has caused a three day delay and obstructed the spirits from doing their job. The local village god has ordered me to take him away. You must not stop me now."

Yet Chi O loved her father dearly and she could not bear to see him being taken away by the general. She held out a spiritual charm that the Golden Mother had given her and, right away, a shield of brilliant light emerged from it. The general could not proceed any further and had to turn back to report to the village god. Not knowing the complexity of things, Chi O ran after him all the way to the temple and started arguing with the two other generals, Hei Wu-chang and Pai Wu-chang. She even spanked every one of the spiritual guards at the temple. The village god was so exasperated by her that he pulled a long face and his head tilted to one side. At this moment, propitious clouds appeared in the sky, and a floral fragrance infused the air. The divine light of the Golden Mother had descended. The village god came respectfully outside to receive her. The Golden Mother spoke to Chi O.

"Child, your love for your father is very moving, but the village god has been decreed to carry out his order. Your father has reached the end of his life and is predestined to fall into the realm of the nether world. Now quickly become my 'blue robe.' 'Blue robe' denotes that you are my disciple. And quickly, have your father put one on too. If he wears a blue robe, he will automatically belong to my domain and will not suffer in the nether world."

After hearing this, Chi O reluctantly nodded. When she helped her father put on the blue robe, she saw a ship descend from the sky and carry her father away.

This story was told personally to me by the blue-robed lady. From this story, we can understand that birth and death is predestined and fate is woven into the course of life in between. Birth and death is also fate. If one wants to transcend this cyclic transmigration of birth and death, there is only the path of spiritual cultivation and evolvement to attain self-determination and liberation. When one attains self-determination and liberation, one also becomes a great Bodhisattva who is beyond the constraints of birth and death.

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