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Chapter 8 - Visiting The City God Of Peng Hu
Captain Wei and I were flying to Peng-hu, an offshore island near Southwest Taiwan. We were going to do some surveying on the military base there. "I've heard that you are a sincere believer in Buddha," he said. "Yes, I am. How about you?' "Me? I don't believe in anything," Wei said. "As far as I'm concerned, as long as I follow my conscience that's good enough. I have had people preach to me before, and I've attended church a few times. I heard that as long as you believe, you will be saved. Christianity and Buddhism seem the same to me. My wife wants me to worship Kuan-Yin, but I think that as long as I hold respect in my heart that's good enough. Why is it necessary to do such tedious things as burn incense and bow?" "You have a point," I conceded. "If everyone had as good a heart as you that would be great, but it's also true that some people experience the presence of the Bodhisattvas." "Oh, you must be talking about spiritual reading. I'll believe that when I see it. I was told you have this talent, but unless you prove it to me I won't believe it. You may think I'm stubborn, but if indeed it is true, maybe I will convert to Buddhism." The flight to Peng-hu took 30 minutes. Peng-hu is famous for its wind. From the plane window I watched blue waves tumbling on the ocean. When we landed, the wind was blowing with gale force. The doorman at the hotel said it was like this every day. Captain Wei and I toured the town. He told me that he and his wife had lived here some years before. His wife used to be sickly, and she went to Kuan-Yin Temple to pray for better health. She promised a special offering to the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Kuan-Yin. By the time we got back to the hotel it was nine o'clock-too early to go to sleep, but there was no place to go for entertainment. Captain Wei reached into his pocket and grabbed a handful of coins. He stretched his closed hand in front of me and said, "Let me test how accurate your spiritual reading is. Guess how many coins are in my hand. If you guess right I will believe in Buddha, otherwise you will treat me to a movie." This kind of test always took me by surprise and I didn't like it. Yet I had to face it. I closed my eyes, placed the palms of my hands together, and silently prayed, "Disciple Lian Shen, in accordance with highest dharma, respectfully invites any gods in the vicinity to come to me. I need help," I repeated over and over. Finally, a god appeared. He was very colorfully dressed in a robe with a dragon on it. He looked very stately. He emanated rays of light. Of course Captain Wei couldn't see the god. At that time I could see most of the gods, except the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who exist in the formless realm. "I'm the god in charge of this territory," the being said. "I don't know what you need, but you used a dharma method to call upon me." "I feel really embarrassed bothering you like this, however, the Captain has given me a test. He has asked me to tell him how many coins are in his hand. I'd like to answer him. Could you please find out for me?" I was thinking that to bother the city god over such a trivial matter must really anger him. The city god replied, "How trivial. Why are you so foolish as to do this sort of thing?" "If I can answer accurately, I can convert one more person to Buddha. There is great merit in that. Just this time, please? I won't ask again." "There are fourteen." The god disappeared. I told Captain Wei there were fourteen coins in his hand. He counted out the coins one by one. He hadn't known how many were in his hand. He came to the thirteenth and found one left in his hand. There were exactly fourteen! Captain Wei looked at me. "Amazing," he said. "Your readings are really very accurate, aren't they? I will keep my promise. When we have time I will escort you to all the temples in this town. In the meantime I am going to fulfill for my wife the vow she made to Kuan-yin by visiting the Kuan-Yin Temple with a special offering." Captain Wei did keep his promise. After we finished our work he escorted me to all the temples in town, both Taoist and Buddhist. Finally we went to the City God's temple. The City God was sitting in the middle near the altar. He saw us come in and immediately got up from his chair and said to me, "Oh, now I recognize you! You are the disciple of Master San-shan-chiu-hou. No wonder you can use such a high chant to call upon us. I apologize for my rudeness." "Oh no, no. I have come to thank you for your help. Now the captain has converted to Buddha. One day, if he becomes a Buddha, it will be all because of you." "Oh don't say that," the City God humbly said. I saw two guardian ghosts wink at us. By the time Captain Wei had returned to Tai-Chung, he had changed. He became a very devoted Buddhist. He printed many of the sutras to give away. He worshipped Buddha in his home. The Weis had three sons and Mrs. Wei had been praying for a girl. Later, she was blessed with a fourth baby, a girl. They were very happy. His wife's health improved and Captain Wei became even more devoted.
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