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Chapter 31 - The Dance Of The Golden Snakes
I always loved the mountains and I have climbed many of them. I have visited many mountain temples. I know one that is especially fine, which houses a highly cultivated monk. When I visited there the temple was very quiet. All I could hear were the birds in the banyan trees. "Mister Lu, I need help from you," the monk said. "How can I help?" "Recently a mentally disturbed person has come here to stay. He used to be a benefactor for the temple, then suddenly he became unbalanced. He's visited lots of doctors and hospitals, but none can help. His family sent him here to the temple to live, hoping our blessed water and the Buddha would heal him, but there is no sign of recovery. He screams every night. Can you help?" "Male or female?" "Male. " "How old is he? What's his name?" "He is in his forties. His name is Kuo Te-hui." The living quarters were behind the temple, surrounded by a garden of chrysanthemums and roses. Orchids hung from the trellises, touching the air with fragrance. A young monk was sweeping fallen leaves. The patient was locked in the last room of the living quarters. We looked in the window and found him idle. He didn't even look at us. His meal was still on his table, hardly touched. Every day people came to care for him and to give him food. He didn't look weak, but he was unmoving. "He screams every night as if he is angry and fighting with someone." I scanned the top of his head and saw dark smoke there. I used psychic vision to look more closely. "I see two golden snakes twisting and turning," I said. "That's right! That's right! Every time after his screaming he yells, 'There's the snakes! There's the snakes! The snakes are coming up! Snakes everywhere! Help!' In the beginning we checked his room for snakes, but of course there were none. We knew then that he was mentally disordered. We ignored his screaming after that." "Did you give him any medicine?" "Yes, the doctor has prescribed something to calm him." I then returned to the temple hall, burned incense and worshipped Buddha. I meditated for five minutes. then turned to the monk and asked, "Could you ask his family to come?" "Yes, his family comes to visit once a week." The second time I went to the mountain the monk introduced me to Mrs. Kuo. She was young and attractive; a former school teacher. They had two children; a boy and a girl. They lived in a pleasant house in the foothills. Mr Kuo ran two factories. "Did you ever kill two snakes in your house?" I asked her. "No." "Then who killed them?" "My servant killed them." "When?" "It was just a few days before he got sick." "That's it then!" "That servant had nothing to do with my husband. Besides, nowadays there's snake restaurants everywhere! Lots of people eat snakes! Nothing happens to them. Why did this happen to my husband? He has a good heart; he believes in Buddha, and he has made so many donations to the temple! Why didn't Buddha protect him?" "Please don't get upset. Mr. Kuo created this situation when he was thirty-three. " She was silent for awhile, the she responded, "Mr. Lu, that was over ten years ago! How could you know?" "Buddha told me." The story was this: Ten years before, Kuo Te-hui was having an affair with another woman. Mrs. Kuo discovered it and was furious. The other woman was pregnant with Kuo's baby. Caught in this dilemma, Kuo finally gave the other woman some money and asked her to go away. But the girl really loved Kuo, and didn't want to take his money. She jumped into the ocean, killing herself. Not long after the woman committed suicide, the two snakes appeared in Kuo's house. The snakes were alert; they disappeared whenever people approached. Six months ago a servant had killed them. Then Kuo Te-hui lost his reason! Mrs. Kuo was silent after hearing all this. The monk was chanting, "Buddha, Buddha, Buddha." "Mr. Lu, is there any remedy?" "Nowadays people don't believe anything about reincarnation. Some say there is heaven and hell. Some say heaven and hell exist only in the mind or in the heart. It doesn't matter. Karmic retribution never fails. Only your husband can resolve this. When the karmic retribution is over, he will waken. This is why medicine will not do any good," I said. "Even if you asked Buddha, it would not help?" Mrs. Kuo asked anxiously. "All the natures of the dharma are empty and silent. No dharma can manifest at an improper time. Pushing something to happen at the wrong time will do no good; therefore, my prayers now will not help." I continued, "The knot must be untied by those who tied it. You must not worry yourself. Take things easy and let nature take its own course." I looked at the Buddha statue. I felt sad for this couple even though I knew that in time the situation would be resolved.
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