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Book 69 - Household Feng-Shui
During the nearly two months of my stay at the Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple, what I enjoyed most was accompanying His Holiness on his walks. Right before lunch after jogging around the temple, or right after dinner before dark, His Holiness loved taking walks and he liked me to accompany him. We sometimes walked around the temple or the True Buddha Tantric Quarter, or we would walk along the streets outside the temple compound. We would chat while walking, sometimes sitting down on the steps outside the temple. I learned much about the Dharma and benefited greatly from these walks. His Holiness recounted to me many of his early experiences that now seemed like fairy tales. They often left me dumbstruck. His Holiness also explained to me, "on-site," the feng-shui of the Ling Shen Ching Tze. His instructions were so clear and logical that I often found myself exclaiming with admiration! His Holiness' earnest and tireless teachings have resolved the puzzles and doubts in my mind. With one casual, penetrating remark, he would lay bare the truth and then touch on it lightly to straighten out my muddled thinking. When I suddenly saw the core of my problems, I was so moved that hot tears rushed to my eyes. During the time we took walks, His Holiness, like a kind father, continuously instilled the great wisdom drip by drip into this foolish child of his, opening up layers and layers of mental blockages. Like a tiny sunflower, I grew sturdily under the nourishment of plentiful sunlight and rain. Two days after the night of my vision of the golden sunlight, at 11:00 a.m., His Holiness suddenly called to me, "Let's go for a walk!" I looked at my watch and saw that it was still too early for the morning jog. But accompanying His Holiness in his jogging and strolling were my favorite things, so I hurriedly put on my jacket and followed him downstairs. As we walked downstairs, His Holiness started chatting to me in an ordinary tone, "Shakyamuni Buddha taught the Dharma for forty-nine years to show people one Truth. But, throughout those forty-nine years, he never explicitly stated the Truth... "The Diamond Sutra says, "If people claim that the Tathagata has taught the Dharma, then they are slandering the Buddha." After teaching the Dharma for forty-nine years, he claimed that he had not taught the Dharma. What on earth did He mean by that? Do you understand?" His Holiness' words were too profound for me-of course I did not understand. But, why did His Holiness bring up such a profound question that day? For a moment, I did not know his intent, so I just listened as we walked. Outside, the warm sunlight showered upon us and, when we strolled leisurely to the front of the temple, His Holiness continued, "I have been writing books to transmit the Dharma. There are now sixty-five books filled with Dharma writings. Every time we have a Dharma ceremony and group cultivation, I also teach the Dharma, but... "I still have not really transmitted the Dharma!" His last statement caught me by surprise! His Holiness smiled at me, "The principle behind this is the same as that of Shakyamuni Buddha's final claim that he had not taught any Dharma after forty-nine years of teaching the Dharma." "Remember this: all Dharmas of the phenomenal world are still Dharmas of the other side of the mountain! As the Diamond Sutra also says, 'all things of the phenomenal world are like dreams, bubbles, dews, or lightning!'" Thus, His Holiness started the process of transmitting to me the most secret method of Shakyamuni Buddha-the supreme method of the Transmission of the Mind. For over a month, His Holiness repeatedly and compassionately prepared me for the supreme mind practice. In order to help my slow-witted mind thoroughly understand him, he explained the profound truth in simple and accessible terms, and guided me systematically with skill and patience. These teachings usually took place during our strolls, sometimes while we walked around the temple or True Buddha Tantric Quarter, on roads outside the compound, or when we sat on the temple steps, One day at noon, shi-mu came home and saw His Holiness and me sitting on the steps outside their home. She hurriedly went to prepare lunch and laughed, "Ai-ya! You poor teacher and disciple. You two must be starving!" His Holiness was in the middle of giving me a teaching, and he seized the opportunity to humorously state, "We two are sitting at the front door waiting for our lunch. Have pity on us please!" We all broke into laughter. The transmission of the supreme mind practice from His Holiness allowed me to truly understand the truth behind attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime and the secret mind seal of the Buddhas in the ten directions. "Oh! So this is what it is!" I greatly marveled. His Holiness never formally told me ahead of time that he was transmitting to me the supreme mind practice and, when it happened, he seemed to be chatting casually. When I realized suddenly that His Holiness was transmitting to me the rarely encountered secret mind practice of the Tathagata, I was moved beyond words! Later that night, when I returned to my sleeping quarter, I was so grateful I started crying and prostrating repeatedly in the direction of the True Buddha Tantric Quarter. That was how I spent numerous sleepless nights afterwards. What amazed me even more and filled me with even greater admiration was the inconceivably high and unfathomable realm attained by His Holiness. His Holiness is completely a living "Great Sun Tathagata"! It is a pity that mortal people are unable to recognize the precious manifestation of a True Buddha before their eyes, thereby missing this rare and valuable opportunity. Hindered by the three poisons and tempted by fame and profit, their spirituality is shrouded. How many understand what a high realm the Living Buddha has attained and what an open and infinite heart he has? His Holiness is such a great sage! Pitiful are those who do not recognize this!
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