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Chapter 26 - The Initiation Of Ghosts
Recently, we have moved our home to Redmond, Washington. The house is elegant and the atmosphere is full of joy and happiness for our family of four. Our home is decorated simply. All curtains, bed spreads and table cloths are made by my wife. Merchandise is expensive in the States; therefore, we often make things ourselves rather than purchasing them. There is a row of trees at the back of the house. In the autumn of 1984, many leaves fell, which we soon piled up into one great heap. I have always liked cleanliness. Whenever things become a little bit untidy, I go and tidy them up. I wipe the table if it's spotted, I pick up pieces of paper from the floor and put them into the garbage bin. My life is simple and practical. I have always done the sweeping watering and tidying myself. Since we moved to Redmond, Fo-ch'ing and Fo-ch'i have grown up a lot. They are very lovely and vivacious. When practice time comes, everyone meets at the True Buddha Tantric Quarter to do our cultivation. All of us, young and old, practice together. Having heard and practiced much, the children are beginning to understand the Truth of the Buddhist teachings. In my daily practice at the new residence, I still make "offerings" to the gods and ghosts. I have also invite all the gods and ghosts from my old house to the new residence and set up a separate altar for them. Each day at a fixed hour, I make a food offering to them. I have also gone to Seattle's coast to summon the ghosts in the ocean and, as a result, many sea spirits have come to take refuge in the Holy Red Crown Vajra Master Lian Shen. The relationship between the Master and the ghost students is harmonious. The relationship between a living person and a disembodied spirit depends on their affinity and is not affected by the fact that they are dwelling in different dimensions. If I treat the spirits well, naturally they will treat me well. This is a mutual Cause and Effect. In this respect, it is very difficult for many people to understand the true meaning. Even some Dharma teachers have mistaken the Holy Red Crown Vajra Master to be a person who keeps ghosts for personal gain, thus labeling me the "evil master," "spirit master," "demon master," and "ghost master." Every day students from both the living world and the nether world come to take refuge. Like stars in the sky, the number of students in the disembodied realm are too numerous to count. Autumn came. One evening I saw the fallen leaves on the ground and made a mental note to myself to clear them up early in the morning. When I got up the next morning and looked outside, I found the whole backyard was completely cleaned up! Not a single leaf remained. The great pile of leaves had been completely blown away by the wind. During the autumn, the trees shed their bases gradually, day by day, until winter arrives. By winter, all the leaves have fallen and only naked branches remain. But, during the whole autumn, the backyard remained clean. The leaves that fell in the daytime disappeared overnight. Sometimes, they were swept into one leap, as if someone had piled them up. As a matter of fact, I know that every night ghosts came. There was a ghost king who, with pale face and jutting teeth, tall and big and garbed in white, his head reaching to the heavens and his feet on earth, helped the Master to clean the front and back yards with a group of ghosts. They knew I was very busy. So, "when master is busy, students will run the errand." As a result, I did not have to take care of the yard during the entire autumnwinter period. My neighbors on either side had to sweep up the fallen leaves on their lawns every day. They said, "The power of Master Lu has resulted in no fallen leaves at his house." In fact, I knew there were plenty of leaves on the ground! It was just that they were cleared up by the ghost students. There was also another incident. This was how it happened: My wife, Fo-ch'ing, Fo-ch'i, and I were driving to downtown Seattle. While we were on Hwy 502, I suddenly smelled smoke. I was wondering what it was when, in a flash, I heard a ghost student in the sky telling me, "The stove was not turned off." Ah! It was indeed a serious matter if the stove was not turned off. As one knows, many houses in the States are built of wood, which easily catch fire. Leaving the gas stove on the whole day could have resulted in the house being gone when we got back. At the next exit on the highway, I turned back. "What happened?" My wife asked. "The stove was not turned off," I replied. "I did actually turn it off completely," my wife said. "You always say so; in fact you did not. What a muddle head." My wife is famous for being muddle headed. But, I am always very careful with everything. I always check all the lights and doors at night. "Let's bet on this," she replied. "All right," I said. When we got home, the water in the kettle had completely evaporated and the bottom of the kettle had melted. Perhaps, in a while, the whole kettle might have gone. Not only that, the whole house could have been reduced to ashes. This could have been very serious! The four of us might suddenly have ended up homeless. I told my wife it was a serious matter. But she did not care. Wasn't everything all right? After all, with me here, she could just sit back and relax. These ghost students have become my housekeepers. Whenever there is an emergency, they inform me. They are very accurate. They have also become my great helpers. When there are visitors to the house, they immediately know the motives of these people. They play mischief on people with bad intentions, to frighten them away so they won't return. All these ghost students also join in our group practice sessions. Every one of them has its own Personal Deity. They can listen to the teachings while suspended in the air or while clinging to the leaves of house plants. Every one of them has also received the initiation empowerment. They help the Holy Red Crown Vajra Master in spreading the teachings. The Holy Red Crown Vajra Master practices the Dzogchen (Complete Perfection Tantra), so everything is complete perfection. I not only save human beings, I also save all disembodied spirits. All of the ghosts recite the name of the Master and wholeheartedly chant the Guru Heart Mantra to get rid of all worries. The spiritual responses from the Padmakumara are unimaginable. Even spirits come to take refuge in the Master to liberate themselves. The Master taught them to chant:
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