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Chapter 39 - A Trip To Seattle by Lian Han Many fellow disciples who have visited Seattle on a pilgrimage are familiar with the Lei Tsang Temple: the majestic and lofty shape of the building, the towering pine trees, the blue Lake Sammamish, the red tiles and white walls of the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, the extremely fresh air and the quiet environment, all leave an unforgettable impression on visitors. Blessed by the Buddha's power and endowed with great fortune, the present writer arrived in Seattle on June 23 to pay homage to the True Buddha Tantric Quarters and the Lei Tsang Temple and also to attend the birthday celebrations of Living Buddha Lian Shen. During the five weeks when I was very close to Living Buddha Lian Shen, I was bathed in Buddha light. To share this Dharma experience with fellow disciples, I have written this article "A Trip to Seattle". The Living Buddha's Birthday One June 23 (May 18 of the lunar calendar), I came out very early in the morning to the quiet Lei Tsang Temple, looking at everything admiringly while videotaping them. This was the birthday of Living Buddha Lian Shen. The morning sun was raising its head at the horizon, spraying its golden light onto the tiled roof of the temple, which made the roof more stately, very beautiful with many colours. Here in this sacred place longed for by several hundred thousand fellow disciples, bathed in the golden sunlight, I gazed at everything with sincere admiration and genuine delight. I stared at the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, where our great sage, Living Buddha Lian Shen, the enlightened one, worshipped by several hundred thousand followers, lived ... A crow that could chant mantras came from nowhere with a loud "Ah " and broke the quietude. I came out of my deep thought. In the afternoon, all disciples who came to congratulate on the birthday arrived from all parts of the world, all with the greatest sincerity and respect for a happy gathering. The abbot of the Lei Tsang Temple Master Chen Jue-huan (Lian Huo), his three brothers and the whole family, old and young, had got ready plenty of good food for the gathering and also a huge birthday cake. Everything was ready for the arrival of Living Buddha Lian Shen. At about five o'clock, Living Buddha Lian Shen accompanied by Grandmaster's wife arrived at the Temple. They were escorted by big crowds in front and behind to the Dharma seat, where they were to receive three prostrations from the disciples. But when we had just completed the first prostration, the Living Buddha and his wife stood up, turned around and prostrated, together with all of us, to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. With his tonsure, the Living Buddha looked more like a monk, dressed in a yellow robe and gray shoes. With a full moon face, he looked a real Buddha, extraordinarily kind, without the slightest air of a ruler of a sect, or the air of a Living Buddha. He was talking and laughing all the time. On the oversized birthday cake were written "Many happy returns of the day to Living Buddha Lian Shen!" and a candle was lit. Clapping to beat time, everybody joined in singing "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you..." The Living Buddha was looking around at the crowd with a gentle smile on his face. When the singing was finished, he bent down to blow out the candle. Everybody cheered and the Lei Tsang Temple was astir with jubilation. When the Living Buddha was cutting up the cake, the over two hundred pairs of eyes were fixed on him. Smiling, he slowly made a straight line on the cake, and unhurriedly he said in French with a Taiwanese accent: "A road goes straight!" His funny intonation set everybody laughing. Amidst the laughter, how many people understood the profound meaning of that sentence!? The gate of the Lei Tsang Temple was bustling with activity; people were eating and drinking to their heart's content. Just then, the Living Buddha took up the first slice of the cake with a knife and put it into my plate.... He had a picture taken with the crowd and then gave a Dharma talk with everyone sitting around him.
The Colour Dragon On The Way To Vancouver One o'clock in the afternoon, June 27, the Living Buddha and his family, Master Lian Shi and some of us, eleven in all, got into a bus and left the Lei Tsang Temple for Vancouver. The purpose of the trip was to spread the Buddha Dharma for two days in Bodhi Chapter in Vancouver; and also walk around the World Transportation Exhibition. Early summer in West America was like the late autumn in Hong Kong: cool, clear and fresh. And it was such a fine day, without a single bit of cloud, the best day possible for an outing. There were beautiful mountains and rivers all the way, making the scenery forever so picturesque. Everyone was in high spirit and the Living Buddha was talking and laughing merrily. By the time we got to the Canadian borders, some Canadian fellow disciples had been waiting for quite some time to welcome the Living Buddha. We joined forces and raced to Vancouver. We got our destination after three hour's ride. The Living Buddha didn't go to his hotel for rest nor to a restaurant for dinner, but to the place of the service ceremony, for what was uppermost in his mind was how to "continue the wisdom-life of the Buddha and to light up the lamp of the Dharma". In the service place, people from the Bodhi Chapter were busy getting things ready. They were working hard and conscientiously. They felt since Living Buddha Lian Shen was going to give a Dharma talk there the next day, it was an important occasion. Now the Living Buddha suddenly arrived, they stopped whatever they were doing to prostrate to him. Then several people started reporting to the Living Buddha, saying that they all saw, at the same time, a colour dragon in the sky. They vied to speak to him first and showed both tension and excitement. But the Living Buddha was smiling without a word. I couldn't wait any longer and asked: "What kind of dragon? Under what circumstances?" "When we were loading the log onto the lorry, I saw it first," one senior disciple told me. "That is an open country where you can see very far. The dragon was like some clouds but not exactly clouds; it was like some sun rays but not sun rays. It was half transparent, seven-coloured," another senior disciple explained. "When we saw it, the colour dragon was slowly flying." "About what time?" I asked. "Noon time today. About one o'clock." "In which direction? Where was the dragon flying?" I asked. "It was in the south. It was flying towards the northwest." "Was it very clear? Why didn't you take some pictures of it?" "Very clear! We were all carrying huge pieces of log. Nobody had a camera. When we thought of getting one, the colour dragon disappeared!" "What a pity that you didn't take any picture of it." Scratching the head, I showed obvious helplessness, while the Living Buddha was smiling at me. All of a sudden, I got some insight! South? To the south of Vancouver, wasn't that Seattle? Flying towards the northwest, wasn't that the direction from Seattle to Vancouver? One o'clock noon time? Wasn't that the time we left Seattle and set off for Vancouver? So I got it. A colour dragon appeared in the sky because a great sage set out on his journey! I was too excited to speak. I turned to look at the Living Buddha, who was smiling at me. His look told me what was in his mind. I understood him, feeling a current running through me.
The Service Ceremony At Vancouver One o'clock p.m. June 26, the service ceremony started. After a solemn ritual procedure by the masters led by the Living Buddha, they were ushered into the ceremony hall and seated on the Dharma seats. Below the platform were hundreds of heads quietly and piously listening to the Living Buddha teaching the Dharma. The Living Buddha gave an introduction to the True Buddha School, emphasizing that its guiding principle is: "Honour the guru, treasure the Dharma and practise diligently." He encouraged the students to practise diligently and to gain Buddhahood by real Enlightenment. At the ceremony, the Living Buddha asked the Canadian students who saw the colour dragon to raise their hands. Seven of them put their hands up. The ceremony came to a successful conclusion with an empowerment onto everyone by the Living Buddha. The next day, before the ceremony started, the Living Buddha had a few pictures taken with the students outside the ceremony hall. (When they were developed, in one of them, there was a big patch of white light under the red streamer where the Living Buddha and others stood so all the shadows were gone. That picture became one of the dozens of pictures that show supernatural powers of the Living Buddha. This picture will go into his latest book.) The next day, the Living Buddha gave a lecture on how Wealth Deities could help people to become rich. It was simply to arouse people's interest in the True Buddha School. (For further information, see Record of the Living Buddha's Dharma Talk at Vancouver June 29.) When the Living Buddha was giving an empowerment to everyone, I saw his wife and their two children, Fuo Qing and Fuo Qi, standing at the very back, piously prostrating to the Living Buddha, receiving the empowerment and devoutly putting the offering into the Offering Box. I was very much moved and ashamed of myself. A few masters on the platform and I did not prepare any offering for the empowerment. The Grandmaster's wife, having been with the Master all these years, still "honour the guru" so piously she really put me to shame! The two-day ceremony came to a successful end. On June 30, all disciples went to the International Fair with the Living Buddha in the lead. There were crowds after crowds of people and colourful decorations. The Living Buddha was talking and laughing cheerfully, completely free and natural. We walked around the whole day and visited nine exhibition halls. That evening I said goodbye to the Living Buddha and his wife, as I was going to Calgary early morning the following day all by myself. Our four-day stay in Vancouver gave a lot of trouble to the Canadian fellow cultivators of the Bodhi Chapter. They not only had to arrange everything for the service ceremony, which alone could have kept them very busy, but also looked after our accommodation and transportation. Their sincerity moved us all.
The Ocean Of Letters To The Living Buddha On July 15, I returned to Seattle from Calgary. The Living Buddha and the group had been back for three days. After ten busy days, everything returned back to normal. But the Living Buddha and his wife became even busier, because during the birthday celebration period, letters and cards of congratulations from over a hundred thousand disciples all over the world flew to Seattle like snow flakes. During his six-day stay in Vancouver, the Living Buddha did not write any reply. As a result, the letters had piled up like a little hill. So he asked me to help him with the replies. In the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, he took me to his living-room. Upon entering, we saw three full baskets of letter plus piles of them on the desk. Beside the baskets I stared tongue-tied, though I could not figure out how many of them altogether, they were certainly many times more than I had imagined. The Living Buddha was just smiling and took me further into his wife's living-room. I saw two writing desks both full of letters. Goodness me! Inconceivable! "Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, please help me! I am being drowned in the ocean of letters!" the Living Buddha couldn't help laughing after saying this. This is the state of mind of a Living Buddha never worry at the sight of worries; never rejoice at the sight of joy; never moved or touched by anything! Under the mounting pressure of having to reply to these letters, he was still free, natural, totally unconstrained still talking and laughing merrily! The Living Buddha took his own seat to his wife's room and placed it beside a desk. He ordered me to sit opposite to him and his wife at another desk. Thus, a three-man "letter-reply company" was set up and plunged into the writing task! Every reply was reinforced. As a matter of fact, to this mountain of letters, the only person in the world who can give a reply or explanation is the Living Buddha alone; nobody else could ever shoulder this task! If you know the supplications in these letters, you will understand at once that I am telling the truth. Some of these letters asked questions about how to learn the Dharma or how to practise according to the procedures, but the great majority of the letters requested reinforcement and asked for good fortune. Many letters requested for taking refuge but at the same time asked a dozen questions. Many of those who requested refuge had suffered all kinds of setbacks and failures, such as economic dilemma, emotional problems, illness or bad health in general, dejected or mental disorder for the loss of their dear ones. All these people were waiting the Living Buddha to bestow good fortune upon them. There were also many letters that would like to have the writers' fortunes told, or asked for both good fortune and fortune-telling or asked for refuge and fortune-telling. In short there was every type of request you can imagine in those letters. In those letters there were descriptions of the most bizarre events which one could hardly believe. For example, there were strange illnesses that did not respond to any treatment. There were also unusual ideas and people that were far from normal by any standards. One thing that is both funny and annoying is that some people took the Living Buddha as a fortune-teller. They asked him to foretell when their daughter-in-law would give birth to a grandson, or when they could make a huge fortune, or when they would get married and what the husband would look like or when their business would fare better, or when their husband would stop taking other women, among a hundred other things. Many requests for instructions were also trivial: "How many incense sticks do I burn at a time?" "What is stepping on seven stars?" "What is stepping on seven moles?" "Why is one in high spirit sometimes and in low spirit other times?" "Is our house all right if it faces the west?"... The most strange question was: "Could I kill my father? He scold my mother and me everyday! I want to get rid of the evil on behalf of the people!" Reading these letters, one can realize how millions of sentient beings are living. The Living Buddha's self-possession deserved our respect. He was never upset by these strange questions and silly requests. Some letters were filled with closely-written words in flying hands; they ran into a dozen pages without much content; you still wouldn't know what they wanted to say after reading three or four pages. No matter how trivial or how stupid the questions were, the Living Buddha would read each and every one of them and reply to each and every one. The patience was amazing. I was more astonished by the way the Living Buddha read these letters. Generally speaking, if you could read five or ten lines at one glance, you will be considered as extraordinary. But the Living Buddha read more than ten lines at one glance. A letter in hand, he could know what it said by just one second's concentration! Sometimes a letter had as many as ten pages, and he would just leaf through it and got to know all the questions raised in it. Such supernatural wisdom was only very natural for the Living Buddha, but for us it was miraculous! While I was helping to write replies, I was often baffled by the questions these letters raised and had to ask the Living Buddha for instruction. He would have a quick look at the letter and then offer the explanation then and there. No matter how strange and how complicated the question might be, he never seemed to need any thinking he had a ready answer to any question and always hit the nail on the head. I was often greatly surprised had I not seen with my own eyes, I would have believed they were tales from the Arabian Nights. The way the Living Buddha wrote those replies was even more incredible. He wrote so fast, his hand flying over the paper without stopping to think. In the twinkling of an eye, a reply was finished he would perform whatever operation that was needed: a prophecy worked out or a talisman drawn up. To every reply finished, the Living Buddha would give some reinforcement and sometimes put in a lotus symbol or a picture of a Buddha or a Bodhisattva before it was enveloped. For every reply, he would say "Amitabha" once and breathe some vital energy into it before it was finally sealed. To post these replies, the Living Buddha would take bundles of them, chanting the name of the Buddha while walking, all the way to the letter box. So every reply was reinforced by his vital energy and spiritual light. Such valuable blessing was piously treasured by all who received the letters, fellow cultivators and kind-hearted beings alike. They were indeed the luckiest people in the world. The majority of the letters requested for taking refuge in the Living Buddha. Many of these writers were masters, professors, doctors, intellectuals from various countries; the gentry or first-rate celebrities; successful people from all walks of life, technical people; housewives, students, armymen; people from all strata of all countries, rich or poor, including the disabled. The Living Buddha, with the greatest compassion and a strong sense of equality, would accept these requests for the refuge. Among the letters, there were requests for refuge for the whole family or for a group of people. To fill out the refuge certificates was the most strenuous part of the work. This part was given to Grandmaster's wife, Master Lian Xiang, who was not only to fill out the refuge certificates but also to address all the envelopes, which kept her busy from morning till night. Every day, piles and piles of certificates were thus issued; countless disciples for the True Buddha School were thus born under the pen of Master Lian Xiang. She was rightly regarded as the great mother for the twelve hundred thousand disciples across the world! During those days when I was working for the Living Buddha, I found that many, many letters requesting for refuge or prophecy or for good fortune did not contain any offering. Even some letters asking the Living Buddha to conduct a Tantric session before the shrine for help did not contain any offering. As a result, the Living Buddha had to pay for all the postage, the cost of the refuge certificates, offerings such as flowers and fruit made to the Buddha during the Tantric session before the shrine, among other expenses. However, the Living Buddha and his wife treated these "empty requests" equally without discrimination. They would grant whatever was requested and spend their savings on these disciples. Such is the heart of a great sage of genuine compassion and kindness take on all sentient beings equally and deliver them from suffering with compassion. When the Living Buddha was reading a letter describing some miserable and dreary situations, he would assume a sad look and shake his head, saying "What misery!" When he was reading a letter of thanks and gratitude or praise, he would simply smile dryly, appearing very indifferent. When he could see from the letter that some disciple has harbouring intentions against the discipline or had designs to deceive the guru and other people, he would also shake his head saying "Miserable creature!" But he would still grant his request hoping that some day the disciple would see his own mistakes from self-examination and turn from his evil ways. What is most unforgettable was one remark from the Living Buddha: "As long as a sentient being has one thought of turning towards the Buddha, I would regard him as a Buddha!" Such is the broad-mindness of our sage! Here may I appeal to all those fellow cultivators the world over that they keep the following three points in mind when writing to the Living Buddha:
A Regulated Life And An Energetic Look The Living Buddha dealt with a thousand things everyday but he lived a very regulated life, as disciplined as when he was in the army. The Living Buddha would get up at six thirty every day. After a Dharma practice session, he would start writing his books. Breakfast was set for eight thirty, after which he would continue with his writing till eleven thirty, when he would get some exercise jogging around the temple for instance. Lunch is at twelve, after which there are thirty minutes for opening the letters. From one o'clock to four, he would write replies to the letters. From four to six thirty, it is for meeting visitors. Supper is usually at seven, but sometimes as late as eight when there were too many visitors or too many things were under discussion. Then after a bath and another Dharma practice session he would take a walk; while walking, he would give some thought to what to write the next day. When night fell (it gets dark at nine thirty in Seattle), he would either open the letters or do some reading or play the piano or watch TV (to learn English). Before going to bed at twelve, he would drink a small cup of mild wine. This timetable was strictly followed except supper time which was delayed sometimes when there were too many visitors. What amazed me in particular was that though he was so busy every day, the Living Buddha was always so energetic. He never took a nap; he never dozed off either. I asked his wife about this, who replied: "He's been like this all these nine years. Luckily he is like that, otherwise how could he deal with so many things a day!" This reminded me of my visit to his place in 1983. He was already as busy as now, but he never looked tired, but always vigorous. I followed the Living Buddha a few times when he was jogging around the Temple. At eleven thirty, when it was warm and clear, he would put down his pen on time, and do some warming up exercises in the sitting room. Then he would open the door and run out. He would run to the gate of the Temple, get up the stairs, turn round the Temple and then he would stop and place his palms together in respect to the dragon god under three huge pine trees, before continuing with his exercise. On his way back, he would stop at the gate of the Temple to pay respect to the Budhisattvas inside the Temple, or simply go inside the Temple to perform prostration. Then he would put his palms together to pay respect to the Heaven God incense burner before running downstairs to go home. I enjoyed running after the Living Buddha. Dressed in a yellow priest robe, he looked so stylish when running, so free and so natural, with the tail of the robe dancing right and left. Moreover, the Living Buddha was always talking and laughing during the exercise, which made the activity enjoyable. I will never forget those happy moments when I was running together with the Living Buddha on a fine day in the fresh air around the Temple surrounded by beautiful scenery!
Seeing The Visitors No matter how busy he was, the Living Buddha never failed to set aside some time every day to meet the visitors. In the afternoon, when the clock in the entrance hall struck four, the Living Buddha, putting down whatever he had been doing, would come downstairs to see the visitors in the shrine. The shrine is the Tantric shrine in the True Buddha Tantric Quarters. On one side of the shrine near the window, there was a desk and three chairs. This was where the Living Buddha met his visitors. All people who came to pay respects to the Living Buddha had to make an appointment with his wife by telephone. This was the least courtesy one should show. By four o'clock every afternoon, the entrance hall was full of visitors. This was yet another item in the Living Buddha's already crowded schedule. His wife was busy, too, for the visitors. First, she had to see that every visitor had a seat and gave them a sheet of paper each to write down their requests for the Living Buddha, and arranged for them to go into the shrine in turn to see the Living Buddha. The entrance hall was always bustling with waiting visitors talking and moving around. The hostess had to treat them to tea, cakes and fruit. There was such a great variety of visitors, from all countries of the world, representing every type of sentient beings. What they asked mostly concerned the many kinds of worries in this world and requested the Living Buddha to bestow good fortune upon them. Among them, of course, there was no lack of those who were long-winded people who would really try others' patience. The Living Buddha's wife was a woman of great self-possession. No matter how wordy the visitors were, she always spoke to them smiling, showing no trace of impatience. We could easily imagine the great amount of patience and tolerance of the Living Buddha inside the shrine who had to grant all kinds of requests from all types of people. His wife said: "Grandmaster often teaches us that those people are miserable sentient beings whose requests we should always grant." From this we could see one speck of the boundless compassion of the Living Buddha and his wife. Because of the Living Buddha's great reputation, many visitors got very nervous and excited when they saw him. When their turn came to see the sage, their heart beat fast. Tongue-tied, they went in and came out, unknowingly and unfeelingly. One day, a woman visitor, who made a special flying trip of twenty hours to see the Living Buddha, was sitting dumb founded in the hall after her interview with the sage. When her friend came out of the Shrine after her interview and asked her if she prostrated to the Buddhas inside, this woman did not even notice that there were Buddha statues inside the Shrine. Everyone present felt strange inside the huge Shrine, there were many golden statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; no one could fail to see them. She said , however, "When my turn came, I was too nervous. I did not know how I went in or how I came out. All I know is that the Living Buddha asked me to sit down, that I took a seat in the chair and that I handed out the sheet of paper on which I had written my request. I didn't remember what the Living Buddha told me. After a little while, I came out. Honestly, I didn't notice the Buddhas... Even now my heart is still beating fast!" The Living Buddha's wife was kind-hearted indeed. She seized an interval where there were no visitors and took that woman visitor inside again to pay respect to the Buddhas. The woman was very grateful to the sage's wife. Sometimes there were also uninvited guests who rang the door bell. These people with no manners would have to "run against a soft wall" a polite refusal. As no appointment had been made in the tight schedule of the Living Buddha, these visitors had to be disappointed. However, for those who came from afar, the Sage's wife always tried hard to arrange their meeting with the Living Buddha within one week. If the Living Buddha happened to be traveling elsewhere, they had to come again next time.
A Great Woman Everybody is familiar with the saying, "Behind every successful man, there is a kind-hearted wife." The Living Buddha, with steady steps, walked along a path leading to great success becoming a Buddha in the present lifetime. His success is a wonderful demonstration for all sentient beings. Each step on his path is bright with golden light, showing the way forward for the sentient beings. Behind the Living Buddha is his great, compassionate wife! In helping the Living Buddha to success, she earned the greatest merit! Over the years, she was beside the Sage during the most difficult days! Early on, when the Sage was living a hard life, he was attacked by such malicious slanders from all sides. Behind the strong determination and will power with which he overcame all the difficulties was his wife's comfort and encouragement. There were many moving stories about those days. Sharing weal and woe, the husband became a Living Buddha and his wife the greatest Dharma protector. During the years when her husband became a Living Buddha the wife also gained much experience and stood the test of setbacks. She had reached a very high level in her cultivation, had got the ability for unmovable concentrated thought, and the self-possession to handle everything to its perfection. In "honouring the Guru, treasuring the Dharma and practising diligently", she set a good example with her own conduct. She had been quietly practising vigorously. She had long understood that "all existences were in themselves perfect and interfused". So the Living Buddha had given her empowerment to be a Master. Seven years ago, my wife and I met Master Lian Xiang when we went to see the Living Buddha. In 1983 I went to Seattle again to learn the Dharma and I stayed the Living Buddha's place for a fortnight. His wife had not taught me any Dharma. At the end of last year, my wife and I listened to her lecture on two occasions, once in Zhuang Yan Tang in Taibei and once in Chi Jie Tang in Taizhong, and we were impressed by her wisdom and her achievement in her cultivation. During the present stay in the Living Buddha's, I had a chance to chat with his wife; her couple of casual remarks of instruction left me dumb founded then and there, greatly surprised and overjoyed. I was surprised by the incredible speed she had been advancing in her cultivation and overjoyed by the fact that her unintentional instruction solved my long-standing problem in practice. The problem was complex and mystic and was meant for the Living Buddha. Such a problem was explained clearly by a few casual remarks by his wife in an informal chat! This showed clearly that she had reached a very advanced stage in cultivation. On the other hand, the Sage's wife had all the fine qualities of a Chinese woman: simple, hardworking, thrifty, and has her way of keeping the house and her ways of educating the children. She had her heavy "housework" as well as "Dharma work". Her housework was to look after the whole house, the cleaning, the cooking, the chopping, washing, sewing, looking after the children including taking them to school. Her "Dharma work" was to fill out a huge pile of refuge certificates, to address a huge pile of envelopes (from among twelve hundred thousand disciples), to entertain everyday, with tea, cakes and fruit, the pilgrims from all corners of the world, and to arrange for their meeting with the Living Buddha one by one. Besides, she had to listen patiently at any time of the day long-distance telephone calls from every part of the world. She was simply as busy as she could be! After all these years' practice and training, she would direct all the work with perfect ease. Another important piece of her "Dharma work" was to wait upon the Living Buddha the Grandmaster respected and worshipped by twelve hundred thousand disciples the world over. The great contribution she had done for the deliverance of sentient beings from their sufferings is a brilliant page in the annuals of the True Buddha School. In the education of children, she proved herself to be a fine example of a kind-hearted mother. Every day she helped Fuo Qing and Fuo Qi with their lessons, and taught them how to conduct oneself in this world. She was both kind and strict, patient and careful. I was very lucky that I had the chance to go out and relax every Sunday afternoon together with the Living Buddha and his family. Once, in the Central Department Store, Fuo Qi had been in the toy shop for a long time while the family and I were waiting outside. Fuo Qing went in again and got him out from the crowd. As soon as Fuo Qi came out, he tried to drag his mother in. The mother sat still. After a tug-of-war, the mother promised him to go in "just to have a look". In the end, his mother really went in and "had a look", Fuo Qi following behind with protruding lips. We left the toy shop and walked on. I saw that Fuo Qi was quietly crying at the back, turning for a look from time to time. So I bent over to whisper to him: "Let's go back to the toy shop quietly and I'll get you the toy. Is that all right?" I had expected that he would of course change into a smiling face, but he shook his head saying, "No!" The toy shop was receding further and further while I was talking at the back of the group with Fuo Qi, watching how he wetted his sleeves with tears. I had tried three times to drag him back to the toy shop, but he refused firmly each time by getting himself free from me. Finally I asked: "Don't you like that toy?" He nodded. "Why don't you go back with me to get it? If I get it for you, your parents won't scold you." "They won't like that!" he replied resolutely. Thus, I was helpless watching this eight-year-old boy saying goodbye to the toy shop tears running down his face. His mother's education of the children was shown clearly and deserved our admiration.
Gold Sunlight At Night At the gate of Lei Tsang Temple or outside the gate of the Living Buddha's True Buddha Tantric Quarters I was often lost in deep thought in front of the views around me. The sky here was dark blue against which a few clouds appeared exceptionally white. The green lawns and the sky-high pine trees served as a foil to the Temple with a golden roof. How beautiful the scenery! What grandeur! This was because the Living Buddha was living here! His spiritual light filled up Heaven and Earth, light up to the white clouds and deep down into the blue oceans. As I breathed in the fresh air, I felt carefree and happy and that all worldly worries disappeared. I turned my face upward, eyes closed I was intoxicated with happiness and no longer felt the existence of myself ... Very often I stood alone on the left side in front of the Temple, facing the three tall pine trees. Not long ago, when the Living Buddha stood right here, the dragon god in the pine trees shined golden light upon the Living Buddha ... I often went in the Temple early in the morning and late at night and sat opposite the Buddha statue in front of the sacrificial table. I know that was the center of the dragon's den and it was full of spiritual energy. Sitting there for meditation, the spiritual energy would soon settle upon the whole body, facilitating the state of Samadhi. One night, around ten o'clock, when I was meditating alone in a full lotus, I felt the spiritual energy running through my body and I entered the state of Samadhi. In a trance, I felt some light before me. When I opened my eyes, I saw some bright light on two glass windows of the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, very much like the dazzling reflection of sunlight; it was some sunlight from inside the house a ball of dazzling golden light, not on glasses nor on walls. I was surprised and overjoyed. With thought arising, I came out of the state of Sammadhi. As quickly as possible, I came out of the seat, and ran out of the Temple. (Numbed from the sitting position in the feet, I was actually running limping.) Looking at the two windows of the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, I could see nothing but darkness. There was even no light on. I walked slowly near the window and found nothing but quietude, with no light, no one talking, nothing! I stood there transfixed with puzzlement, reflecting on what I saw two minutes ago in the state of Sammadhi. Yes, what magic! There could be dazzling golden sunlight in the middle of the night! What light was that? What message did it carry? I know clearly only the Living Buddha could answer my questions!
The Unequaled Heart Method In the nearly two-month stay in the Lei Tsang Temple, what I enjoyed most was the walk I took with the Living Buddha. The Living Buddha enjoyed taking a walk around the Temple about noon time before lunch or after supper before dark, and he preferred me in his company. We would walk either around the Temple or around the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, or sometimes on the road outside. We would chat while walking and sometimes sit for a while on a staircase of the Temple. I learned a lot about the Dharma from each walk. The Living Buddha would often tell me a lot of his experiences in the past like fairy tales which often left me dumbstruck. The Living Buddha also explained to me the geomanic features of the Lei Tsang Temple. His clear and systematic exposition, with the specific objects and localities in front of us, filled me with great admiration. The Living Buddha's earnest and tireless instructions cleared up my doubts and suspicions. For any query, he would hit the nail right on the head in a very casual remark and touch on it very lightly. Such informal teaching, however, always gave instantaneous insight and moved me to tears! As earnest as a father and as kind as a mother, the Living Buddha implanted in me his great wisdom little by little during our walks and made me, a slow-witted boy, see light. I was just like a green sunflower, growing up rapidly with nourishment of sunlight and rain. Two days after the night I saw the dazzling golden light, the Living Buddha called me for a walk before eleven o'clock, "Let's get a stroll." It was not yet time for jogging by my watch. However, jogging or strolling with the Living Buddha was something I really liked. I hurried to put on a jacket and went downstairs with him. On the staircase, he started talking as in a chitchat, "Shakyamuni Buddha taught the Dharma for forty-nine years to show people just one Truth. But during the forty-nine years of lecturing he never explicitly told this one Truth ..." The Diamond Sutra says:
Of course I didn't understand, as it was such a profound question. I was wondering why, of all days, he chose that day to discuss this complex question. For a while, I did not see his purpose, and just listened attentively while walking along. The sage continued, "I've been writing books about the Dharma; I've finished sixty-five of them. There is a lot of Dharma discussion in them. Each time I lecture to fellow cultivators, I also talk about the Dharma. But..." "But I've not been really spreading the Dharma." I was at once puzzled and speechless. Smiling to me, he continued, "This is the same argument as in saying Shakyamuni had never taught the Dharma after forty-nine years of Dharma talk..." "Remember this one sentence from me: `All things in this phenomenal world are still on the other side of the mountain!'" "The Diamond Sutra says, `All things in this phenomenal world are like illusions, babbles, shadows, dews or lightning.'..." There upon the Living Buddha began to teach the most secret method of Shakyamuni: the "direct heart mudra" or the "unequaled heart method". (Other versions of translation include: mind-seal, seal of the buddha-mind, certification of one's enlightenment. It refers to the absolute mind-essence transmitted from master to disciple.) For over one month, the Living Buddha explained to me time and again what unequaled heart method was. Out of great compassion, he gave much thought to how to put across such profound theory in simple exposition, and to make it accessible, step by step, to my slow-witted mind. He did most of the instruction during our strolls, sometimes talking while walking , sometimes talking while sitting on the staircase of the Temple. We would either walk around the Temple or around the True Buddha Tantric Quarters or along the road outside the Temple. One day at about twelve, his wife came back home from outside and saw the sage and me sitting on the staircase leading to the doorway. She hurried inside to do the cooking, saying, "Poor creatures! Master and disciple must be starving!" The sage was actually lecturing to me, but he seized the chance for humour: "Right! We have been waiting for lunch at the doorway. Take pity on us, please!" Everybody laughed. His instructions on the unequaled heart method helped me to understand the Truth about gaining Buddhahood in the present lifetime and understand the secret heart mudra of Buddhas of the ten directions. "So this is what it is!" I was greatly surprised! The Living Buddha never formally told me that he was going to teach me the unequaled heart method; he taught it in our chitchats. When I vaguely realized that he was teaching me the Buddhas' greatest secrets which one might not hear of in millions of years, I was so excited that no words could adequately express how I felt. In my hotel room at night, I kept prostrating to the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, tears running down my face. I had several sleepless nights. I was even more amazed by his state of mind he had reached a realm difficult to fathom, incredible for commoners. The Living Buddha is a Mahavairocana alive! It is such a pity that mortals in this world cannot see the True Buddha before their eyes. They do not know how valuable the opportunity is! They are still being blinded by fame and gains, by greed, anger and ignorance. Their original nature is still deeply buried. Of the multitudinous sentient beings, who could understand that the Living Buddha has reached such a high realm and has such broad -mindedness? How great the sage is! How miserable the sentient beings are!
Accepting The Rules Of Conduct For Bodhisattvas May I mention here in passing that I have accepted the precepts for the rules of behaviour for Bodhisattvas and have been prophesied for renouncing the family life. On July 7, 1986, the Living Buddha presided over the ceremony for my accepting the rules of conduct for Bodhisattvas. Though there weren't many people or activities at the ceremony, it was very serious and solemn. I was to follow the precepts for household Bodhisattvas. The Living Buddha gave me empowerment in the True Buddha Tantric Quarters and witnessed that I swore to abide by the precepts. After the ritual, the Living Buddha gave me a certificate for having accepted the rules of conduct of Bodhisattvas. When I was reading books by the Living Buddha many years ago, it was already said that he would some day renounce the family life. At that time I had a wish when he renounced the family life, I would follow suit. Early this year, when I heard that the Living Buddha had renounced the secular life, my first react was: Too soon! Very bad! I couldn't follow suit yet. But my determination was not weakened. Sooner or later I would definitely follow his footsteps! One night in late July, I saw the Living Buddha and a Buddha statue behind him. I knelt down in prostration and, smiling, he tonsured me. I told my dream to the Living Buddha who nodded, saying, "Very good. You can first be prophesied to renounce the family life." On July 28, 1986, after supper, the Living Buddha conducted a very solemn ceremony for me during which he cut a tuft of hair from my head and then gave a "Shakyamuni Empowerment for Prophesy". During that empowerment, I felt a warm current entering from the top and traveling to the heart area where it paused for a while before dispersing to all parts of the body. At that moment, I felt sudden insight at heart with a huge mass of light. In that comfortable state, I was reluctant to open my eyes. I prostrated several times to the Living Buddha and all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The Living Buddha told me that I could be tonsured any time. My Dharma name is Shi Lian Han. Om Mani Padme Hum.
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