Master's
quarters were situated on a mountainside, and regional rain showers
were frequent in the area. So I often went out in sunny weather, only
to run into such torrential downpours when I arrived that even an umbrella
did not help much, and I had to bring along another set of clothes to
change into. When we initiates knew that a typhoon was coming, we felt
a greater urge than usual to see Master in order to ease our worry about
Her. Once, when Master saw us all wet and like a flock of "vegetarian
chickens in soup," She felt very sorry for us and said, "There's
a typhoon raging outside. You're out of your minds!"
Our
compassionate Master never forgot to share with us anything that She
had. Sometimes, when we bade farewell and left in a hurry because we
had to catch the last bus home, Master would call us from the balcony,
and then rain down blessed food fully charged with love. In the dark,
we did our best to grab the food, while our hearts were warmed by Master's
love. Looking back after reaching the end of the lane in front of Her
home, we could still see the silhouette of Master waving to us.
Due
to the remote location of her residence, few people could go to the
group meditations held there each day. I myself had to spend four hours
on the road to and from the place, and sometimes could only meditate
half an hour with Master; yet those were the most precious moments of
my life. After meditation, Master would sit on the floor with us and
give enlightening and highly enjoyable talks.
These
happy times passed very quickly, and Master soon had to leave Formosa
because Her visa was about to expire. The duration of Her absence was
six months. During this period, we fellow practitioners could only try
our best to have group meditations and encourage each other, while hoping
to hear news about Master. We all missed Master very much, and wished
that we could have had wings to fly to Her. Then one day, I went alone
to clean up the place where Master had stayed. Upon opening the door,
the first thing I saw was Master's robe on the altar, and I seemed to
see Master appear before me. Suddenly, all my emotions exploded into
tears. I cried and fell on the floor. In my heart, I kept asking, "Master!
When are You going to come back?" When Master eventually returned
from India, She asked, "Who was the one who cried so fiercely that
I had to come back even though I didn't want to?"
When
Master was abroad, we missed Her so much that we even looked in the
telephone directory and found the address of the Jisiang Temple where
She had held Her retreats in earlier years. We then went to visit the
Temple, which was a truly serene place. When we mentioned Master's name
to an elderly lay practitioner there, she immediately revealed that
the local people also missed Her very much. In addition, she told us
about Master's diligent practice and humble attitude while She was there.
The practitioner then led us to a place some distance behind the main
premises. There we saw a small house built of very crude bricks. Even
the wash basin was simply constructed with only a few bricks. This was
the small meditation room where the living Master had held Her solitary
retreats. Our merciful Master travelled such a burdensome spiritual
path in order to bring peace and happiness to sentient beings!
<<
Previous Page
*
The Box that Was Just Right
