(Minghui.org) Continued from part 2.
3. Attending the Lectures in Chengdu, Sichuan Province
After the lectures in Dalian were over, Teacher saw that we didn't want to part with him, and told us, “There will be a lecture series in Chengdu in June. Why don't you join me at Mount Emei.”
A few practitioners and I flew to Chengdu. Our taxi driver told us that there had been a pretty bad drought until a few days ago. It started raining the day Teacher arrived in Chengdu. We knew that Teacher had brought the city blessings.
It rained every day while we were there. We stayed in the same hotel as Teacher. Each day we left with him to go to class, it was sure to stop raining. After we returned in the evening, it would start raining right away. It happened every time, so none of us bothered to bring our umbrellas when we left the hotel.
That Sunday, the local practitioners invited Teacher and us to tour a few scenic places. As we were climbing up Qingcheng Mountain, Teacher said, “I may look relaxed, but in fact I am shouldering tremendous karma for practitioners. I have to resolve numerous historical conflicts and debts of yours. It feels like three large mountains sitting on me. It is hard for me to take each step. But if I didn't shoulder the karma for practitioners, none of you would be able to practice.” I was in tears after learning what Teacher has to go through for us. I told myself I would do anything for Teacher to lessen his burden.
Everyone was covered in sweat while climbing up the mountain. Teacher bought us cucumbers and said, “Cucumbers are good for you. They quench thirst and curb hunger at the same time.” Everyone smiled.
There was a Taoist temple on Qingcheng Mountain. Teacher led us in and told us how modern people often mix the two practices of Buddhism and Taoism. As we were leaving, I heard a Taoist priest talking about us, saying, “They're not just anyone. This is an extraordinary group of people!” I told Teacher what I had heard. He looked at the priest and said, “He has a pretty good foundation.”
Mount Emei is one of the four famous mountains in Chinese Buddhism. When we got there, the rain stopped, and it was chilly and misty. We heard that it would get really cold at the top, so we asked Teacher whether we should rent a few coats just in case. He told us just to buy a few rain ponchos. I spent ten yuan for ten of them, and Teacher said that he didn't need one.
We took the cable car to get to Gold Summit. A practitioner told Teacher, “I see a dragon.” Teacher hinted at her to keep it down. I asked Teacher whether there were really dragons. He told me, “Yes, they are not only inside the cable car but also outside holding it.”
Other tourists were wearing heavy winter coats at the top. I wore only summer clothes with a thin raincoat. However, I didn't feel cold at all. I felt there was heat coming up from my feet. I couldn't see much through the mist, so I just closed my eyes. As I did, I saw a golden Buddha sitting there, meditating. The Buddha disappeared, and then I saw bright sparkles. I opened my eyes and saw in the sky in front of me enormous Buddhas, one next to another. Some of them looked like Bodhisattvas, and some looked like Sakyamuni. I couldn't recognize all of them.
I tried to stay calm and just look. They were stunningly bright, and I couldn't keep my eyes open. I turned my head to the right, and more Buddhas appeared. The same happened on my left. Normally, I couldn't see anything with my Third Eye unless Teacher wanted me to. What I saw that day was a gift from Teacher.
As we shared our thoughts back at the hotel, Teacher came to see us. We stood up, and Teacher asked us to talk about what we saw that day. Jiang from Guizhou said that he saw many Buddhas, including Sakyamuni, Amitabha, Bodhisattva Guanyin, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Jehovah, the Eight Deities, and many others that he couldn't recognize. Teacher said that all the Big Buddhas were there today. I asked Teacher what the sparkles I saw were. He told me that I saw the explosion of the universe and the disintegration of the stars.
“Here, let me write a word for you!” said Teacher. He used his right index finger and traced a large “Buddha” character on the wall. I saw green light coming from his finger tip and asked whether the word would stay there forever. He nodded, “Yes, whoever stays in this room will be blessed.”
Half an hour later, a practitioner came to our room. She exclaimed the minute she walked in, “Wow, Teacher wrote a word here.” We asked her what the word was and where it was written. She got it all right. We were quite surprised.
I remember a story this practitioner once told me. One summer day in Beijing, she was sitting outside by the door. The weather was so hot that she thought, “How nice would it be if there was a cold watermelon to relieve Teacher from the heat.” As she thought this, a practitioner came over with a watermelon. She then thought, “It would be nice to have something more.” Shortly, another practitioner brought other kinds of fruits. She was excited to have all of her wishes come true. As she stood up, Teacher came to the door, and told her with a straight face, “That's enough. How much more do you want?” She knew that she shouldn't have those thoughts.
We then headed to Leshan and saw the Giant Buddha statue. The statue looked old and had cracks in some places. A practitioner told Teacher, “He said his third toe hurts, and his back is damp.” The practitioner and I went to find out what happened. The third toe of the statue was cracked, and there was a person standing on it having his picture taken. We climbed up and found that there was a creek that formed after the rain, and the creek dripped water on the back of the statue. No wonder he complained that it was damp and uncomfortable. It occurred to me that the statue was, in fact, a body of the Buddha. The stories of people who received karmic retribution soon after they smashed Buddha statues during the Cultural Revolution must be true.
Xu told Teacher that the Giant Buddha looked like a 15-year-old girl. She gave Teacher a gesture of respect and said, “Here is Buddha Tathagata.” Teacher said that the Leshan giant Buddha could only see up to the level of Tathagata.
When it was time to go, Teacher shouted, “Those from Falun Paradise, let's go!” I felt so happy, as this was the first time I heard Teacher say that we practitioners are from Falun Paradise.
After we got back, I realized that I hadn't put film in my camera. Hence, all the pictures I thought I took from the trip with Teacher were nonexistent. I knew that I had attachments of zealotry and showing off, of being able to take photos with Teacher. Or perhaps some things from the trip were meant to be kept secret.
(To be continued)
