May 19, 2016, Special coverage on the ''Be with Buddha'' series

【Seattle Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple News, Translated by Lynn Ang, Edited by Shelley Higgins and DJ Chang】
During dinner this evening, Grandmaster mentioned that when he was in a daze while ill, Venerable Master Xuyun came to bless Grandmaster by putting his hand on Grandmaster's head. At that time, Master Xuyun told Grandmaster, ''Do not believe women who tell lies.'' Grandmaster asked, ''Who are the women who tell lies?'' Master Xuyun responded, ''All beautiful women tell lies!'' Naturally, all disciples in attendance were astonished on hearing this.

After this, Grandmaster went on to talk about Master Xuyun's life story. According to Grandmaster, Master Xuyun took ordination as a monk at the Yongquan Temple in Gushan, Fujian. Subsequent to his ordination, he lived in a cave in the mountain behind the temple for three years to practice cultivation. When his cultivation ended, with a full head of long hair and beard, he was scrubbed, shaved, and cleaned by the Yongquan Temple Abbot. Later, Master Xuyun took a pilgrimage trip to Mount Wutai to pay a debt of gratitude to his parents. On the way to Mount Wutai he passed through a barren area that was snowing heavily. Master Xuyun was feeling cold and hungry when he met a young beggar named ''Wenji'' who gave him food and medicine. The young beggar told Master Xuyun that he came from Mount Wutai. On recovery from his illness, Master Xuyun continued on his way to Mount Wutai. When he arrived on the mount, he asked everyone if they could tell him anything more about this person. However, no one knew him. It turned out that Wenji was the incarnated body of Manjushri Bodhisattva. Furthermore, Master Xuyun had also been practicing meditation in Thailand. While in meditation for more than ten days, he was visited by the King of Thailand who came forward and prostrated before him as a sign of respect. On another occasion, Master Xuyun was living in a hut and while waiting for a pot of yam to cook, he inadvertently went into deep meditation. On awaking and feeling hungry, he discovered, when he was about to eat the pot of yam he had cooked earlier, that the yam had become mouldy. Judging from the growth of the mould which was approximately an inch long, approximately 18 days had passed.

Grandmaster remarked that back in those days, he too had been to the Bodhisattva Peak of Mount Wutai where he prayed at various shrines and temples. As he arrived at each temple to pray, he would always encounter a young member of the sangha community. This young monk would be seen accompanying Grandmaster praying no matter which shrine or temple Grandmaster visited. Later, Grandmaster gave instructions to make offerings to this young monk but the young monk declined. Grandmaster asked if he could be of any assistance to this young monk to which the monk responded, ''I have been waiting for a very long time for the arrival of a truly accomplished person.'' Subsequently, with one hand he pointed to the sky and with the other hand to his heart. Afterwards, it became clear that the young monk was actually the incarnated body of Manjushri Bodhisattva.

According to Grandmaster, when Master Xuyun was a refugee fleeing from a disaster, he slept in a huge dormitory together with many other people. At that time, a young lady was sleeping next to him and she deliberately attempted to entice the master on her own volition in the hope of getting close to him. Master Xuyun, however, having spent his whole life cultivating without being influenced by sexual desires, was not tempted. Furthermore, during the Japanese Warring States era, a well-known shogun named Tokugawa Ieyasu stated, ''Do not trust the words of a woman,'' on the first page of his family precepts written as instructions to the next generation. With a smile on his face, Grandmaster said that in martial arts fictional stories, before Chang Wuji's mother died, she too gave a special instruction to Chang Wuji, ''Do not believe the words of a beautiful woman!''

Tonight, Grandmaster's remarks seem quite light-hearted. But at the same time, they serve as a basis for self-reflection and deep contemplation. As the saying goes, ''No one but the wearer knows where the shoe is pinching!'' Let us all ''savor'' the meaning of these remarks and also study in depth to learn from their wisdom!

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