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Jan.
1, 1987
Esteemed Holy
Red Crown Vajra Master, Living Buddha Lian Shen,
Om Mani Padme
Hum.
Dear Grandmaster,
please pardon me for having not written to you for quite some
time.
I have read your
sixty-sixth book Miraculous Thinking of the Tonsured Head.
This is a book
I like very, very much.
I have told you
before that I like your book The Inner World of the Lake,
and Lake Sammamish. Now I say I like Miraculous Thinking of
the Tonsured Head too.
If people ask
me why I like this book, I would answer: because it is so
fine, so simple and it is about tolerance and accommodation.
In fact, I like every book by Grandmaster. I still remember
that when I was reading The Inner World of the Lake, I suddenly
thought of the earliest books by Grandmaster. I visited nearly
all the book stores to get your books. Luckily I got Informal
Remarks in a Dream Garden.
"What's the
reason?" other people may ask me.
"For no particular
reason, simply because it is written by Lu Sheng Yen. This
is reason enough for me to buy the book." (I apologize
to address Grandmaster by the full name.)
This name means
it is a book by the Living Buddha.
I know clearly
that my writing is not very good; my language is sometimes
faulty and is not expressive; but the devotion of a pious
disciple urged me to tell you how I felt after reading this
book, Miraculous Thinking (henceforth).
I felt deeply
that Grandmaster had suffered a great deal in the past: sufferings
that were beyond the endurance of ordinary people. The book
teaches all your disciples: "One has to suffer the most
before he can hope to become better than others." This
book also makes your disciples realize, "There is no
direct, straight forward road leading to success. Otherwise
all sentient beings can get there straight by bike."
This is what Grandmaster
says: "Only with endless tests and trials, there can
be endless attainments."
Miraculous Thinking
helped me to see even more clearly the true meaning of suffering.
I often say to myself, "Sorrows that have to come will
come sooner or later; those that don't come will never come."
This is arrangement
by Heaven.
This is training
by Heaven.
Miraculous Thinking
made me more broad-minded. I have nothing to feel bad about,
for I know that when "sorrow" is over there will
bee eternal joy.
Miraculous Thinking
gave me endless joy, happy memory and nostalgia.
I know clearly
that the Diamond Sutra says:
The
mind in the past is unobtainable.
The
mind at the present is unobtainable.
The
mind in the future is unobtainable.
But in a state
of mind that is not attached to anything, fond memories of
the past surged forward in my mind. I also felt after reading
the book:
Everything has
become part of the past.
Everything is
also the dream of the past.
I still remember
what The Inner World of the Lake says, "Many, many joys
and sorrows are water that has gone by."
Indeed, Miraculous
Thinking contains a lot of happy memories, remembrances, "wisdom
light" as inexhaustable as the ocean, secrets and mysteries
which make up the endless learning about the Universe. In
this book, Grandmaster not only teaches the disciples the
various states of understanding both in Heaven and on Earth,
but also teaches us how to "tolerate", how to ""put
up with humiliation", how to call up "great compassion
and kindness" to protect the sentient beings.
Grandmaster once
said, "I once regarded sentient beings as myself; I have
nothing else to desire." I have now understood this sentence
of yours, "When others chant the Sutra to me, I say to
them `whatever will do'"
Finally, I felt
that the most important thing, the most valuable and most
treasurable thing is that I have come to see the true meaning
of this "home" the "the home of Buddhism after
renouncing home life." " Nothing else is more important,
more valuable than this "home". When I was small,
the teacher at primary school taught me how to say and how
to write "home". When I was young, the teacher at
middle school taught me, "Rely on your parents at home
and count on your friends outside." Now I am approaching
my middle age, Grandmaster has taught the real meaning of
"home". This "home" is neither inside
nor outside; it rests with Grandmaster the Holy Red Crown
Vajra Master, Living Buddha Lian Shen. The true home is the
original perfection, bright, boundless, pure in nature the
nothingness!
These are my reflections
even though they may sound awkward or clumsy sentences!
Whatever happens,
whatever the "sorrow" may be, they are no longer
important. Life! Life is life! It has spring, summer, autumn
and winter. It has its "natural beauty"!
Before I took
refuge in Grandmaster, when I had sufferings, worries or sorrows,
I would moan: "Good Heavens! What is all this about?
Is life just like this?" Now I have taken refuge in Grandmaster
and have your books. When I have sorrows again, I feel some
"compassionate love", which is the "love that
embraces the whole Universe with boundless compassion."
This "compassionate
love' and "universal love" are implicit in each
and every book by Grandmaster. I thank Grandmaster for showing
me the importance of "Honour the Guru, treasure the Dharma
and practise diligently"! On the millions of staircases
leading to brightness I have just taken the first steps and
have just set out on the journey along the correct "bright
path".
I shall try to
understand "the true Buddha Dharma talk" from the
"bright path", and understand its "wisdom",
so that in the future I will get the ultimate realization
(Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi) together with the sentient beings
in the Dharma Realm.
Today I still
believe that all the karmas I have committed are due to greed,
anger and ignorance since time immemorial and are incurred
by body, speech and thought. Hereby I repent to Grandmaster.
Now I repent in
front of Grandmaster and request your reinforcement. "Om.
bie-za sha-ma-ye Su-die-ah."
I sincerely wish
that Grandmaster Buddha Lian Shen and Vajra Master Lian Xiang
will illuminate the whole world!
Your disciple
Lianhua Jinfeng
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