May 14, 2016, Special coverage on ''Be with Buddha'' series

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【Seattle Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple News, Translated by Lynn Ang, Edited by Shelley Higgins and DJ Chang】
Today in Seattle, the taste of rain was everywhere. On the way to the great dining hall of the Lei Tsang temple to have their meal, Grandmaster and Shimu took a leisurely stroll in the drizzle, something they are very familiar with. Disciples in the U.S. and Canada arrived at the main Temple and observed the practice of not allowing Grandmaster to over-exert himself when blessing individual disciples by putting his hand on their heads. Their faces showed deep love and concern for the Root Guru.

During mealtime, Grandmaster mentioned that, ''When a buddha or bodhisattva falls sick it is still their wish for sentient beings to be 'safe and healthy'. It is also their wish for sentient beings to all be 'free from disasters and calamities'.'' In just these two brief sentences Grandmaster has completely showed the depth of his love for sentient beings. Even though he was ill, Grandmaster still harbored great care and concern for sentient beings in his heart and this feeling has never changed or diminished. Such profound affection is completely beyond the word ''compassion.'' At the scene, each and every disciple was truly moved by these remarks. Video Link: https://youtu.be/HwJWAbza4U8

Grandmaster mentioned that when he was sick, he had minimun mind strength and energy. His drowsiness made it impossible for him to cultivate and perform prayers. Even so, Grandmaster has always been able to retain even the slightest ounce of ''brightness'' in his heart. With Grandmaster's recent illness, during mealtime, Master Lianyin provides another perspective and affectionately commented from the bottom of his heart that Grandmaster has never had proper rest over the many years of dedicating his life in to dharma propagation. He implied that therefore, Grandmaster's illness may not be an entirely bad thing! Due to his recent illness, Grandmaster had to respond to the natural course of events, revise the pace of his dharma propagation. This served to strike a balance in having sufficient rest while still carrying out the duties of promulgating dharma. From Grandmaster's recent ill health, many disciples have felt profoundly the impermanence of life and life's ups and downs. They have learnt to cherish Grandmaster's health and wellbeing, in addition to having an even stronger determination to ''supplicate the Buddha to stay in this world.''

During lunch, news on Master Liandeng's passing arrived suddenly from Taiwan which made everyone feel extremely mournful and sad. Apart from personally performing bardo deliverance for Master Liandeng, Grandmaster gave specific instructions to the founding temple to recite prayers and conduct merit dedications to Master Liandeng that evening.

Master Liandeng was a highly virtuous person who practiced cultivation diligently. Further, he dedicated his life to propagating the True Buddha Tantra for many years. At this moment, having escaped the phenomenon of life and death to arrive at the Buddha land, Master Liandeng has absolutely made his life worth living.

During dinner, Grandmaster appeared to be in good spirits. After dinner, together, Grandmaster and Shimu proceeded to walk to the Temple to perform the Shakyamuni Buddha's birthday ''Bathing Buddha'' ceremony. Following the ceremony, Grandmaster happily sang nursery rhymes one after another. In addition, he also sang songs related to the ''rain.'' Fellow disciples applauded enthusiastically in response to this. Seeing Grandmaster's face light up in a happy mood is really something worth treasuring.

May Grandmaster's smile last eternally, and be imprinted in our hearts forever!

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