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Chapter 21 - The Ancient Jade Bangles
In Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, there is a student whose refuge name is Lian-k'ui. She is a lay Buddhist, about sixty years old, and quite well off. She keeps a pair of ancient jade bangles passed down by her family. This pair of jade bangles had twice been buried in and disinterred from the earth. This is what happened: the bangles were buried with the ancestors but, later, when the descendants reburied the ancestors' bones, the bangles, were recovered. This happened twice. From what people say, members of Lian-k'ui's family treat the jade bangles as the family's most treasured heirlooms. The bangles are emerald in color and marked with five-colored clouds. They are in absolutely flawless condition. It is said that, when they are being worn, the person wearing them feels an extremely comfortable and cooling sensation. The colored clouds are also known as blood specks. The jade had been in contact with human blood for a long enough time that it permeated into them, making them spiritually efficacious. The ancient jade bangles had once been worn by someone who spent a night in a haunted house. Legend has it that the jade emitted an immense green light that prevented the ghosts from entering the house. This amazed a lot of people. The ancient jade bangles have always been kept in a safe place and were seldom worn by the elderly woman. One day, just after the sun had set and the weather had turned cooler, a couple, who were distant relatives, came with their child from a nearby town to see her. Lian k'ui happily greeted them. The couple, who had heard of the ancient jade bangles, wished to see them. Without hesitation, Lian-k'ui went into her room and took out the bangles, which were wrapped in a red cloth. Coincidentally, right after the sun set, the sky became cloudy and it started raining. Seeing this, the old woman hurriedly went out to gather her clothes. The couple followed immediately to help. When they all returned to the house, they discovered that a strange thing had happened. The ancient jade bangles and the red cloth had disappeared from the table! Lian-k'ui's face turned pale, and the couple were anxious too. They asked their four year old boy what had happened. He looked blank, panicked when his parents shook him, and began to cry. Lian-k'ui couldn't believe she could lose the bangles in such a short time. Panic stricken, they searched all around the table and everywhere else in the living room. They could not find them. Lian-k'ui, feeling dizzy and anxious, didn't know what to do. She worried that she was old and forgetful and perhaps had never removed the jade bangles after all. So, she went back to her room and checked, but the bangles were not there. There was no one else in the house beyond the four of them, including the child who was only four years old. Who, then, was the thief? She wondered. Perhaps her relatives had only pretended to come just to see the bangles and had taken them when they had the chance. But this was impossible. They were Buddhists and looked very honest. There was no reason to suspect them. Yet, after searching the living room thoroughly, there was no trace of the ancient jade bangles. The couple were in a difficult position as they felt they were the cause for the disappearance of the valuables. For a long time they tried to help find the bangles, but they searched in vain. Although Lian-k'ui did not suspect them, they did not know what to say. The loss of the bangles was unthinkable and the couple was at a loss what to do. Finally, to show they were innocent, they opened the wife's hand bag and dug out their pockets. They even offered to compensate for the loss of the jade bangles. Lian-k'ui turned them down immediately, since the bangles were heirlooms and priceless and could not be replaced. Embarrassed, the couple and the child said goodbye and left. Lian-k'ui pondered the bangles' disappearance as she sat on a bamboo chair in the dark. She wondered what had happened. She thought of Kuan-yin Bodhisattva, and started chanting, "The compassionate Kuan-yin Bodhisattva, the compassionate Kuan-yin Bodhisattva, I've lost my jade bangles, please, Kuan-yin Bodhisattva, help me to find them." She also lit incense and bowed to the Master's Dharma picture on the altar. She sincerely prayed to the Master, "Vajra Master Sheng-yen Lu, the transformation of Padmakumara, please guide me with your spiritual light to find the lost jade bangles. They are the family's treasured heirlooms. They can't be lost! Please, the transformation body of Padmakumara, Vajra Master Sheng-yen Lu, help me to get them back with your power," she begged in tears. She couldn't sleep, tossing and turning most of the night. Sleep only came when it was almost morning Once she fell asleep, however, she saw Master Sheng yen Lu sitting on a lotus above an auspicious five-colored cloud. The Master was wearing casual clothing. There. was no Five Buddha crown on his head, but he was holding a mala and was reciting the name of Amitabha. Lian-k'ui shouted, "Master, Amitabha, the jade bangles!" She saw the Master pointing his finger toward the sky. A shoe appeared. Very soon, the Master and the shoe vanished. Then Lian-k'ui woke up. Thinking of the shoe pointed at by the Master, she searched all the shoes in the house but could find nothing. She was very disappointed, wondering if it was a mistake that the Master pointed to a shoe. Lian-k'ui went outside where there was a small vegetable garden. Between the door and the garden she saw a pair of worn-out rain boots. A sudden thought came to her and she quickly reached for the boots. She tried the first boot-there was nothing inside. When she put her hand in the second one she felt something solid, wrapped in cloth. She took it out. It was her ancient jade bangles! She was shocked and immediately thanked the Bodhisattvas and the Master. She was extremely happy. According to reconstruction in her letter to me, when she and the couple went out in the rain to gather the clothes, the four-year old boy probably took the bangles in the red cloth and stood by the door, watching them. The boy probably dropped the cloth bundle into the old boot without realizing what he had done. Anyway, she was grateful to have the bangles back.
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