January 10, 1983, was the day the Venerable Master chose for me to take refuge. When the Venerable Master gave me the Dharma-name Qian
“to move,” he said, “Come out of the lonely valley and move to the tall tree. I hope your mind will be all-encompassing.” He then said,
“You are forty-one years old. In Buddhism, you are one year old.” The day I took refuge, the Venerable Master directed a Dharma Master to give me many books, all of which were the Venerable Master’s Dharma Talks and explanations of the Sutras. It was as if I had obtained a treasure. My heart was filled with joy and gratitude. After the refuge ceremony, I left Gold Mountain Monastery in a state of light-hearted bliss. As I was walking downstairs, I heard the Venerable Master, who was standing in the doorway, say,
“You’ve finally come back.”
＊ ＊ ＊ On the way to Gold Mountain Monastery (the old location), I thought to myself:
“I have a lot of difficulties and afflictions. In a little while I’m going to ask the Venerable Master for advice.” After I arrived at Gold Mountain Monastery and bowed to the Venerable Master, the Master motioned for me to take a seat on his left. I sat there for a long, long time. The Master seemed to have entered samadhi. I don’t know how much time passed, before I finally looked up and said,
“Master, I had a lot of problems before, but after seeing you, it seems all my problems are gone.” These words made the Venerable Master smile. I sat in the Venerable Master’s room for two hours, but it felt like an instant. I felt a bit reluctant to leave.
The Venerable Master: “You don’t
feel like leaving!”
On the way home, I felt extremely pure in body and mind. It was as if the Venerable Master had washed away all my karmic offenses from the past.
＊ ＊ ＊ It would be very difficult to describe the monk beside me. His external appearance is quite ordinary. When he is not speaking, he is constantly in Chan samadhi. Yet the answers he gives are full of wisdom. More and more, I feel that he is not an ordinary person. I feel as if I am dreaming: Could there really be such a sage in this mundane world? He seems about to vanish before my eyes at any moment. I cannot help but say,
“Venerable Master, you are a Buddha.” The Master remained silent for a while, and then whispered,
“Don’t you go around advertising me.”
＊ ＊ ＊ On two other occasions at Gold Mountain Monastery, I saw the Venerable Master meeting with faithful laypersons and holding class for disciples, never once taking a break. One day the Master was sitting in the last row listening to a lay disciple’s translation. I couldn’t restrain myself from saying,
“Venerable Master, you must get some rest!” The Master stood up, extended his right hand, and said firmly,
“Forget yourself for the sake of the Dharma!” Then he walked towards the lecture podium.
＊ ＊ ＊ Once when I visited the Venerable Master at Gold Mountain Monastery, it was very cold. I noticed the Master constantly wiping the mucus from his nose with the palm of his hand. Later at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, when we were circumambulating outside, I also saw the Venerable Master using his hand to wipe away the mucus from his nose. The Master lived so austerely, not even wishing to waste a piece of tissue. I was deeply touched.
＊ ＊ ＊ The First Time I Met the Venerable Master
Disciple: “I’ve read many Buddhist books.”
The Venerable Master shook his head: “You can’t read things at random.” The Master pointed at the right side of his head with his right hand.
“They think it is this way: ‘Ah! So this is how it is.’” The Master then pointed downwards with his right hand and said,
“So that’s how they set it down in writing.”
＊ ＊ ＊ Disciple: “They say you’re very
fierce and that you scold people.”
Venerable Master: “I not only scold people, I also beat people!”
＊ ＊ ＊ While visiting the Venerable Master, I can’t stop weeping. I think to myself:
“For the sake of living beings, the Venerable Master
has renounced everything. For the sake of living
beings, the Venerable Master has undergone
everything. The Venerable Master’s lofty virtue
makes me cry in gratitude!” Venerable Master: “Many
people cry when they see me.”
＊ ＊ ＊ I read the year-by-year account of the Elder Master Hsu Yun’s life.
Disciple: “What are sharira?”
Venerable Master: “They are formed from the cultivation and permeation of precepts, samadhi, and wisdom. Don’t be greedy for or attached to them. After I die, I want my body to be cremated and my ashes to be scattered in empty space.” The Venerable Master gestured in the air with his right hand.
＊ ＊ ＊ The Venerable Master did something for me, granting my wish.
Disciple: “Master, thank you.”
Venerable Master: “No need to say thanks.”
＊ ＊ ＊ I asked an inappropriate question.
Venerable Master: “Ah! You’ve wasted a lot of your gasoline!” (He was telling me not to be attached to senseless things.)
＊ ＊ ＊ Disciple: “What is the Buddha?”
Venerable Master: “There’s nothing at all.”
＊ ＊ ＊ Venerable Master: “Buddhism is
the truth, not superstition. If you want fame, you
will die for fame. If you want profit, you will die
for profit.”
＊ ＊ ＊ Seeing the Venerable Master’s eighteen great vows, I cried.
“Can you finish saving them?” I asked.
“No,” replied the Master.
I cried some more, moved by the Venerable Master’s vows.
“I just try my best!” the Venerable Master said over the phone.
(This was in 1983, when I had just begun studying Buddhism. That’s why I asked this question.)
＊ ＊ ＊ On the phone:
Venerable Master: “How have you been lately?”
I smiled and replied, “I’ve been busy over nothing.” (I was working for an airline.)
Venerable Master: “You’ve been busy doing nothing important!”
I was speechless and ashamed. Even today, I haven’t put things down yet.
＊ ＊ ＊ Venerable Master: “You should
help people. Help them secretly and don’t let them
know afterwards that you’ve helped them.”
＊ ＊ ＊ I told the Venerable Master about my job responsibilities.
Venerable Master: “You shouldn’t use power to pressure people. You have to use
your personal example to influence others.”
＊ ＊ ＊ Disciple: “Venerable Master, I
wish my mother would believe in Buddhism.”
Venerable Master: “That depends on you. It all
depends on how you influence her.”
＊ ＊ ＊ Disciple: “I hope my mother will recover from her illness.”
Venerable Master: “Recite the name of the Bodhisattva Contemplator of the World’s Sounds (Guanshiyin)
more often. You have to recite with complete
sincerity in order for there to be a response.”
Indeed, the Venerable Master treated every disciple with whole-hearted sincerity.
＊ ＊ ＊ After I returned from the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, the Venerable Master asked me how it was. I said I wasn’t ready yet. The Master said over the phone,
“If the melon is not sweet, it doesn’t taste good.” Then he raised his voice and asked,
“What does this mean?” I answered, “I still haven’t
seen through things, put them down, and become
free.”
Yes, this disciple’s offense karma is deep and heavy. When will I be able to break my attachments?
＊ ＊ ＊ On August 31, 1990, the Venerable Master was going to Taiwan to propagate the Dharma, and I went to the airport to see him off. The Master saw me and asked,
“You came back?” I shook my head, “I couldn’t get on the plane!” (Note: I had originally planned to go back to Taiwan to attend the funeral of an elder.) The Venerable Master said,
“I went for you.” (When I heard this I was very confused and didn’t grasp the Master’s meaning.)
＊ ＊ ＊ After the Venerable Master’s Nirvana, I wept without being able to stop. A few days ago, I went to Gold Mountain Monastery to bow the Earth Store Repentance. I took home with me a copy of the March 1986 issue of Vajra Bodhi Sea, the monthly journal of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. On page 22, the Venerable Master said,
“...If you held the precepts, you wouldn’t cry. People who don’t hold the precepts cry all the time...” Ah! The Venerable Master was speaking the Dharma to me! Here, I bow in respect to the Venerable Master.
＊ ＊ ＊ Venerable Master: “Some people
seek to live forever and never grow old. How can
there be a person who doesn’t die?!”
＊ ＊ ＊ Disciple: “Venerable Master, I’m very fussy about cleanliness. I always use a lot of water when I wash things.”
Venerable Master: “Wash until there is nothing left.”
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