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The Phoenix Who Bathed in Fire

  • from WTBN 500
  • «Guru's Talk»
  • By Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Sheng-Yen Lu
  • (Translated and edited by TBN)

There are two poems. The first one is:

A single chant of "Amitabha" gives birth to a lotus in a fire

Even the Five Schools [of Mahayana] and all the religions cannot explain.

Constant chanting keeps the demons away

Every thought, no difference, only the Buddha in front.

Another:

Since that night, I feel safe

My faith is further solidified, and without any doubts

My eyes glitter, as the world broadens in my mind

Peace and harmony without exception [since then] 'til now.

These two poems both point to one story. There was a female practitioner of the True Buddha School. Every night before sleeping, she would chant a single round of the True Buddha Sutra, this practice continuing for several decades, without any breaks. She had no doubts about this sutra.

One night, she dreamed that Guru, in her dream, instructed her to pack her money, clothing, and other important belongings to go away somewhere, because the area she lived in would catch fire in three days.

She believed Guru's advice without any doubts and followed his instructions. She then asked her family to move temporarily to a relative's home for three days.

Her family scolded her: "Crazy!"

She told her neighbours the same thing and they reproached her: "Superstition!"

Even though her family ridiculed her, they nonetheless followed her advice. They thought, "It's only for three days. If nothing happens, we'll just move back again. No big deal."

Coincidentally, three days later, her neighbour's homes did catch fire. A whole row of houses burned down, one after another. After that, her family stopped calling her crazy and her neighbours stopped calling her superstitious. They all now believed that the True Buddha Sutra was indeed miraculous and powerful.

Later, at another time, Guru entered her dream again and told her: "There will be another fire disaster. But this time, you don't have to move away. The fire will stop at the house next to yours."

She warned her neighbours, "Your homes will catch fire. Please be ready for it."

Her neighbours believed her this time.

The houses indeed did catch fire again, caused by an electrical short-circuit. The fire burned several houses, but when it reached the house next to hers, it was put out. She did not lose anything. And because her neighbours trusted her predictive ability, they were able to make preventive preparations early and their losses were minor.

Now, everyone recites the True Buddha Sutra with her. Through her guidance, many of them took refuge in the True Buddha School. She told people, "I don't have any ability to predict things. I just chant the True Buddha Sutra every night. Because of this, I have Guru in my dreams to protect me. Without Guru coming into my dreams and telling me what to do, it would be very hard to avoid the disasters."

Since then, she was given the nickname, "The Phoenix Who Bathed in Fire."

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