Hurry! Find Sheng-Yen Lu and Take Refuge in Him!

    

     One time when I was giving refuge empowerment to a large group of people, there was a young lady in their midst weeping loudly with grief.

      After crying for a while, she then started laughing.

      Her behavior was very confusing to everyone.

   　When her turn came to receive the empowerment, she suddenly asked me, Are you really Sheng-Yen Lu?
　　Certainly, I am.

     That’s my name!?
　　In that case then, I have finally taken refuge in the right one!?she exclaimed with great pleasure.

　　This young lady then told us of her experience:
　　When she was little, she contracted a very strange headache disease. This headache bothered her quite often.

      When the great pain was coming, she would break out in a continuous cold sweat and her whole body would shake.

       And even more, she would almost faint, like a dead person.

 　　Her family brought her to see doctors, who prescribed medicines and injections.

       But none of them could stop her pain.

　　She also visited the largest hospital in the area for a brain scan.

      The results of the scan were normal; nothing unusual appeared.

　　The young lady felt that she could not take this anymore.

      She felt that her life was really too difficult for her to endure.

      She despaired to the point of wishing to die, even considering taking her own life.

　　Then, when she was sixteen, she had a dream that a divine being visited her, pushing aside her hair and from holes in her scalp had plucked out little black bugs, one after another.

      At that moment, her head felt like a pineapple, covered with many little round dimples and bumps.

     And, further, there were little black holes in it.

     The divine being was literally pulling little black bugs out of these dark holes, one after another.

  　The divine being said to her, “Tonight, I did not get them all. I will come back tomorrow night.”

  　As promised, the divine being returned the next night and again plucked the little black bugs from her head. He continued this for three nights.

  　The divine being then said, “The little black bugs are completely gone.

     Your headache disease is also completely cured.”

  　In her dream, the young lady asked, “How can I ever repay you?”  　The divine being replied, “I am the Golden Peacock King, one of the 28 groups of protectors serving under the Thousand Hands Thousand Eyes Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.

     I could see that you were being troubled by the evil bugs.

     I came specially to save you.

     You don’t have to repay me.

     You only have to take refuge in a different and most wonderful master.

     Follow him to learn the Buddhadharma. That’s it.”

 　”What is this person’s name?”

     The Golden Peacock King replied, “Sheng-Yen Lu. Hurry to find Sheng-Yen Lu and take refuge in him.”

  　After receiving the guidance in her dream, the young lady’s headaches were indeed cured, without any medicines.

     It was a miracle! She immediately followed up on the advice given to her, asking anyone she met, “Is there any master by the name of Sheng-Yen Lu?”
　　She went to a nearby temple and asked there.

　　The monk at the temple asked her, “Why Sheng-Yen Lu? Taking refuge in me is the same thing.

      ” But she would not take refuge in him.

 　　She went to ask a very famous great monk.

　

　The great monk said, “Sheng-Yen Lu? You should not take refuge in him.

      He is an unorthodox cultivator who calls himself a Buddhist.”

　　She asked the great monk, “Where is Sheng-Yen Lu?”
　　”I don’t know,” replied the great monk.

　　Some disciples who were gathered around the great monk sneered.

　　Someone said, “You wouldn’t take refuge in those with right beliefs.

      Instead, you prefer to take refuge in the evil ones.”

　　But no matter what people said, she still believed the Golden Peacock King, because he had saved her life and his master was the Thousand Hands Thousand Eyes Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.

      How could one not believe that the Golden Peacock King didn’t have the wisdom eye, or that the Thousand Hands Thousand Eyes Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva didn’t have the wisdom eye?

　　The young lady occasionally visited a local bookstore, where she saw some of my earlier published books. She found the name of the publication society that published the books.

　　Through the publication society, she was able to find me and formally take refuge in Sheng-Yen Lu, Living Buddha Lian Sheng.
Her name was Lotus Yi-Jin.

　　I said to Lotus Yi-Jin, “Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Diamond Protectors, Dharma Protectors, Dakas and Dakinis, and the heavenly deities ─ all of them have guided people to take refuge in me. To be guided by the Golden Peacock King, you are the first.”

　　I taught the Thousand Hands Thousand Eyes Avalokitesvara chanting dharma to Lotus Yi-Jin.

(From Book 181 : Point Towards A Sunny Path)

(本文刊登於真佛報第561期第2版「Guru’s Talk」專欄；題材選自蓮生活佛第181冊文集「指引一條明路」文章「速尋盧勝彥皈依去」)

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