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When Jesus appeared in her deep meditation, Buddhist master Samantha Chou questioned, “Why me?” Jesus replied, “Because you heard my voice.” It is never a rare occasion when Samantha encounters spirits from various areas in her meditation. However, the meeting with Jesus was fortuitous because the timing was two days before Good Friday. The whole thing started with a charity event on March 31st, 1999. The staff at the Purple Lotus Institute delivered seven thousand dollars worth of groceries to a neighborhood nonprofit service center, Centro de Servicios. Richard Valle, a member of the Union City Council, and Jamie Jaramillo, the center director, together warmly welcomed their guests. During their meeting, an artist named Armando Cepeda read the flyers from the school and learned that this private elementary school had a Kuan-Yin Bodhisattva image which bore a deep resemblance to his painting of the Virgin Mary which he had painted two years ago. It was not a coincidence, said a monk, “the Virgin Mary has a Chinese name Kuan-Yin and Tibetans called her Tara.” Armando added that Latinos also call her “Lady Guadalupe.” Although of different names and different skin color, it is one deity, the symbol of universal love. It is understandable that a deity as merciful as the Virgin Mary will appear in various forms to deliver heavenly messages to various people, regardless of races, gender, occupation, and even religion. When everybody was welcomed to visit the school, Armando Cepeda and Louis Molina, a board member of Centro de Servicios, first saw the appearance that resembles Jesus Christ, while the vision of the Virgin Mary only becoming visible moments later to them. The images were on an unfinished concrete wall, which was to be covered with the names of those who donated to the construction of the school, but is now preserved because of its images. “Have you seen the Christ?” Armando asked Seamus. Seamus stared at the wall and yelled out right away, “Yes! Jesus is here! His Holiness was not here before.” A face of sadness and compassion overlays the right half of the face of the Virgin Mary. “Vivid and clear,” Armando said. He took pictures of it, sketched it on his pad and showed it to others. TV stations Channels 5, 14, and 48 reported this miracle. The San Jose Mercury News headlined “School Wall Images a Creation of Faith” and local newspaper The Argus shared the story with its readers on the front page of the local news (April 2nd, 1999). The Purple Lotus Society is part of the True Buddha School, which was formed by the Grand Master, Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu, in 1981. From the True Buddha School’s four million disciples and more than three hundred local chapters around the world, Master Samantha was the one who responded to the Grand Master’s appeal to reach people through education. Three years ago, when the school was short of money, Kuan-Yin communicated with Master Samantha and instructed her, “Find one thousand and eighty people to donate one thousand dollars each in 108 days. Present my words to them and tell them of the opportunity to build merits.” Samantha led her staff to work on the mission. One million dollars was successfully raised within 108 days. The Purple Lotus Institute opened in 1997 in a largely Catholic neighborhood in Union City. A disciple of True Buddha School observed, “The site had been chosen ten years earlier by Root Guru, Grand Master Lu. The reason why we are here now seems clear.” Questions have long been raised about the lost years of Jesus. Studied by theologians, there are thirteen years in Jesus’ life that are lost to history. There is no mention of these years in the Bible. Where could he possibly have gone? Some theorists believe Jesus crossed the Himalayas to search Enlightenment. When at the request of Western scholars, Tibetan lamas reviewed sutras written two thousand years ago, they said, “Your Jesus was here!” Did Jesus study Buddhism before he formed the religion that became Christianity? Jesus taught the Gospel for only three years before he was betrayed by his disciple, Judas. “If he had had more time, he would have started lecturing about reincarantion!” Seamus said. Buddhists recognize existence of God, Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Heaven was well depicted in Buddhist sutras twenty five hundred years ago. Miracles are part of daily life in the Purple Lotus Society. Samantha Chou gave birth to her first daughter two years after she had stopped menstruating. Rosalyn Ku was cured of breast cancer. Mary Tang saw a purple lotus blooming in her heart. Eric Basher quit drugs after he experienced the statue of Grand Master Lu embracing him. Beverly was guided to the Purple Lotus by her guardian angel. The list goes on. Above all, religion without miracles is not a religion. Samantha Chou, president of Purple Lotus Institute, points out, “Whoever follows Jesus’ deeds are his children.” The night before Good Friday, Jesus appeared again, “I offered my blood, so humans can live together peacefully and express respect for others. To forgive others is to cherish oneself.” Jesus said, “My teaching sets no differences among humankind, and you heard my voice.” Master Samantha Chou bowed to His Holiness. Jesus answered, “Rise up, my beloved child; I will assist you in your mission.” Right before Spanish TV network interviewed Master Samantha Chou on April 3rd, 1999, at the Purple Lotus Institute, in a short period of three minutes, we all experienced an extraordinary phenomenon. Strong winds blew, followed by a misty, gentle rain, then by sunshine. Not like regular weather at all. In spiritual terms, wind blows away negative things, rain washes out dark spirits, and sun brings all hope. This is the normal way that spirits show their support for Dharma.
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