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Book 69 - Household
Feng-Shui
- Book 69: Household Feng-Shui
- Appendix 09 : Mountains of Letters to His Holiness
- Written by : Master Sheng-yen Lu
- Translated by : Janny Chow
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On July 5th, when I arrived back in Redmond from Calgary, His Holiness
had already returned from his trip three days ago. After being so
busy for more than ten days, I thought life would resume again at
a normal pace.
But His Holiness and shi-mu, Master Lian-hsiang, were even busier
than before. Many of the more than one hundred thousand students
from around the world had sent birthday cards. Since His Holiness
had not been able to reply to any mail while he was away during
his six-day trip to Vancouver, the letters were piling up fast.
So His Holiness asked me to help with the replies to the letters.
At the True Buddha Tantric Quarter, His Holiness showed me into
his bedroom. As soon as I walked in, I saw three huge baskets filled
with letters. In addition, there was another pile on top of the
desk and yet another next to the baskets. I could not guests how
many letters there were, but my eyes almost popped out when I saw
them. The number of letters had far exceeded my expectations.
Yet His Holiness only smiled. He took me to shi-mu's room and,
inside, there were two desks, both piled high with letters! Oh Heavens!
It was totally beyond my imagination!
"Help me, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, I am soon going to be buried
alive by these letters!" His Holiness couldn't help laughing after
uttering these words.
Actually His Holiness has reached the state where sorrow is no-sorrow
and happiness is no-happiness-a state of total imperturbability.
Although there was great pressure from the amount of incoming mail,
he was still free, relaxed, and cheerful!
After removing his chair from his room and placing it beside one
of the desk in shi-mu's room, His Holiness asked me to sit across
from him. Shi-mu then sat down to work at the other desk. Thus,
the three of us started the "Mail Reply Company" and plunged ourselves
into the high pressure and demanding job.
Each Reply Accompanied by Blessings
Actually, other than His Holiness, I could think of no one else
in the world who would have been able to reply to this mountain
of incoming letters. Anyone with even a slight knowledge of the
kinds of requests made in these letters would know the truth of
my statement.
As I had found out, although a portion of these letters asked about
problems related to the study and practice of Dharma, most requested
bestowals of blessing and fortune. Many sought to take refuge but,
at the same time, their seekers suffered problems in finances, love,
and health, and some asked for help on behalf of family members
who were depressed or suffered from other mental disorders. They
all requested the Living Buddha's blessings. In addition, many letters
asked the Living Buddha to give them life readings. Some letters
requested blessings and psychic readings, while others requested
refuge taking and psychic readings. There were all kinds of requests
in these letters.
In the pile of letters I was reading, I came across many accounts
of incredibly strange happenings, as well as descriptions of many
unusual and recalcitrant illnesses that were resistant to medical
treatment. Revealed in these letters were also some very strange
opinions and ideas.
One type of letter left me wondering whether I should laugh or
cry-the senders had taken the Living Buddha to a fortune-teller.
They asked the Living Buddha to foretell "when the daughter-in-law
would give birth to a grandson," "when they would make big money,"
"when they would get married," "what the profession of the future
husband would be," "when business would improve," "when a cheating
husband would repent and come back home," etc...
Many questions were quite trivial, such as "How many sticks of
incense should I burn?" "What does the Seven Star Footstep mean?
Does it refer to seven moles on the human skin?" "Why does one's
mood fluctuate?" "Is the orientation of my house, which faces west,
a good one?" I also came across this strange question, "Should I
kill my father? He is a bad person and scolds my mother and family
everyday. I want to get rid of him for the sake of everyone's welfare."
Reading the pile of letters brought me face to face with the myriad
kinds of people in the world. It was also awe inspiring to watch
His Holiness deal with the letters and the difficult problems asked.
Never did he show any annoyance at the triviality or silliness of
the questions. Several letters had been written in tiny, sloppy
handwriting that exceeded a dozen pages, yet did not say much at
all. After reading three or four pages, one still wondered what
the point of the letter was. Yet, no matter how trifling or absurd
some letters seemed, Grand Master read them and replied just the
same. His patience and tolerance were amazing.
The way Grand Master read these letters astonished me even more.
A fast reader could typically read five to ten lines at a glance.
Yet the rate at which Grand Master read the letters far exceeded
that. He only needed to hold the letter in his hand and concentrate
for a moment, and he would know its entire contents. Sometimes,
by merely flipping through a letter that had more than ten pages,
he would know the exact questions being asked. Though such abilities
appear totally miraculous to our eyes, they are very ordinary for
the Grand Master.
In helping with the replies, I was often baffled by the difficulty
of the problems raised and would ask the Grand Master for guidance.
He would take a quick glance at the letter and immediately offer
the solution. No matter how strange or complicated the problem,
the Grand Master never had to pause to think about it. He would
always give me an answer that directly addressed and solved the
problem. This astonished me greatly. Had I not witnessed it myself,
I would have considered such a feat only possible in stories from
Tales from the Arabian Nights.
The way His Holiness replied to the letters was even more inconceivable.
He wrote so fast his pen seemed to fly over the paper. Without pausing
to think, he addressed all questions. If a reply needed divination,
he would do a divination right on the spot. If a letter asked for
a blessing, he would immediately script a talisman to send with
the reply. It was such a speedy and smooth operation that, in a
twinkling, a reply was finished.
After placing a lotus logo or picture of a Buddha or Bodhisattva
inside each letter, the Grand Master would bless the letter on the
spot by chanting a Buddha epithet and blowing a breath of vital
chi into the envelope before it was finally sealed. While carrying
the big bundle of letters on his way to the mailbox, the Grand Master
also chanted Buddha epithets continuously. Thus, suffused in every
reply was the vital chi and spiritual light from His Holiness. These
blessings were so precious that their receivers were indeed the
luckiest of people!
Letters from people seeking refuge constituted the largest group
and came from people from all walks of life. Buddhist monks and
nuns, college professors, scholars with doctorate degrees, housewives,
students, soldiers, and even people with crippling disabilities
wrote in to take refuge. His Holiness displayed great compassion
and equanimity while drawing sentient beings to come and take refuge
in him. Quite a few letters from people seeking refuge came from
entire families and large groups of people. The arduous task of
filling out the refuge certificates fell on the shoulders of shi-mu,
who was also responsible for writing the reply envelopes. Under
the pen of shi-mu has proved herself to be the great mother of one
hundred twenty thousand students all around the world.
During this period, I noticed that many people writing to ask for
refuge, divination, or blessing had not enclosed any offerings with
their letters. Even those asking the Grand Master to perform Tantric
rituals on their behalf did not enclose offerings with their requests.
In those cases, His Holiness not only had to pay for the return
postage, the printing cost for the certificates, but also the flowers
and fruits purchased as offerings for the rituals. Despite this,
His Holiness and shi-mu responded to these requests equally, without
discrimination. They would rather live frugally, so as to save money
to spend on the students. Such is the heart of His Holiness, a great
and compassionate true sage, who has engendered a great vow to deliver
and draw all beings equally to him!
In these sessions, when His Holiness came upon letters that were
very sad, his face could not help but show great compassion. He
would shake his head and sigh, "What misery!" Upon reading letters
that were full of praise or gratitude, however, there would only
be a faint, indifferent smile upon his face. If a letter was from
a deceiving student, harboring dark intentions, he would shake his
head and sigh, "How pitiful!" Yet he would still grant the wish
with the hope that one day, the student would gain insight into
and turn away from his evil ways.
His Holiness once made a remark that I will never forget, "As long
as someone turns a single thought towards the Buddha, I will regard
him or her as the Buddha!" Such is the state of mind of our Grand
Master, the Holy Living Buddha!
Here I would like to appeal to fellow students from around the
world to take note of the following three points when writing to
the Living Buddha:
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Do not ask the Living Buddha for instructions on insignificant
matters. To consult with the Master on urgent matters, write
briefly and concisely.
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Do not treat the Living Buddha as a fortune-teller and bother
him with trivial or mundane questions, as this wastes his precious
time.
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When requesting refuge or other services, please remember
to include an offering. We students should make regular offerings
to our lineage root guru and also adhere to the traditional
practice of never making a request without an offering. Especially
within the Tantric tradition, making offerings to one's root
guru is considered one's first obligation. Although the Living
Buddha does not mind whether or not one makes an offering to
him (he always allows people to pay whatever they like without
stipulating a fixed price), it is impolite for a student to
make an empty-handed request. It is in fact a Tantric taboo
for a student to make a request without an offering. There are
many reasons why such a rule exists.
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