Chapter 8 - Fishing And Other Things

An angler at the lakeside told me, "Lake Sammamish is known for poor fishing!"

"Why?"

The angler laughed, "Perhaps it has something to do with what the Chinese call Feng Shui¹."

But, Lake Sammamish has many kinds of fish: bass, trout, salmon .... Fish are numerous and big and swim in schools. Even at the lakeside large fish are sighted.

Yet, the angler's basket was indeed empty. No fish snapped at his baits. Only one puppy fish floated in a small wooden pail at the pier. The scene is quite pitiful.

The angler turned to me, "Do you fish?"

"Yes, I do." I replied honestly.

Swimming and fishing are my two consummate skills. When I was a boy, I often went fishing on the breakwater of the Hsitzu Bay in Kaohsiung. The amount of fish I caught was enough for my family for a few days. I used red worms as bait for fresh water fish and small brine shrimps for salt water fish.

My memory flashed back to the Hsitzu Bay of my youth, and the little angler on the breakwater.

Then one day, I too went to Lake Sammamish to fish. Using some leftover line I found, without a rod, I used a piece of rock as the sinker and tied it to the line so that the line would sink. Without a buoy, I had to judge by sensations transmitted to my hands. I made an estimate of the size of the fish's mouths, and picked a small hook of the suitable size. The bait was red worms borrowed from the neighbor angler.

I stood there at the pier, and threw the line into the water. This was the simplest way of fishing.

I gathered my thoughts. Gazing steadily at the water of Lake Sammamish, I started reciting a mantra in a murmur. I wanted all the fish in the lake to assemble here; as long as the fish saw my red worm, it would be hypnotized and would eat my bait only. At the pier I concentrated my mind to conquer all the fishes in the lake and make them calmly obey a guru's decree.

I know there is nothing that the great energy of this Universe cannot do. When we apply this energy to the lake, fish start to stare straight ahead, becoming vulnerable to the hypnosis. Following the will of the guru, they swim toward his bait which exudes a scent that they cannot refuse. The fish at Lake Sammamish lost all their caution and lined themselves up to be caught. One by one, they were pulled out of the water, and one by one they were dropped into the baskets.

The fellow anglers opened their mouths in awe.

"How did you do that?"

"I used my mind."

"Mind?" They shook their heads, bewildered.

Of course they would not understand. I did not explain any further because I know in this worlds people's knowledge comes from the exterior. They learn from words spoken by teachers in classrooms and many of them do not know how to cultivate their mind. They only learn exterior knowledge (superficial knowledge) without turning inward to cultivate their own inner meaning (interior wisdom). For one thing, they have never heard of the Buddha's teaching, and how can I explain?

This Universe has a hidden energy that is very subtle and miraculous. Many sages and saints in the past have walked on this path that brings Illumination to the Universe.

It is not the fish that one is after when one uses his mind to fish, but rather one is cultivating his power of concentration.

Someone joked and said that I was like Jiang Tai Gongs², fishing with the line three inches away from water.

"Jiang Tai Gong was a distant ascendant of the people with the last name Lu, but I am not like him. What he was trying to catch was the emperor's attention, but the fish in Lake Sammamish are my only object. And I can catch many." I replied.

Someone even suggested, "Master Lu, since your fishing skill is so marvelous, you can profit by selling the fish; you can even open a fresh seafood restaurant by the lake, fishing and cooking at the same time to provide the freshest seafood. Not everyone here has that kind of fishing skill!"

Now that is really going too far.

The philosophy that Holy-Red-Crown-Vajra-Master has learned is both "of this world" and "out of this world". Similarly, fishing is "of this world", but cultivating the will power by concentrating the mind is a training of "out of this world". We do not have to completely abstain from our human desires, or to fast, or to meditate like a hermit in an isolated cave, or to punish our bodies and spirits, to enforce abandonment of desires and achieve advancement.

Our way of cultivation is more natural. We use all kinds of methods that are "of this world" to arrive at places that are "out of this world". We know that there is an omnipotent God, truly holy and eternal, and when our energy becomes united with the Great Energy of the Universe, we become Him.

I am becoming more and more relaxed, and gradually merging with the Universe to become One. My philosophy of life is maturing and I bring together and understand various religious conceptions. More importantly, I have indeed obtained the Truth of Absolute Reality, and this Truth will extend for several centuries to come.

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