A True Account Of A "Wonder-Person"

The Reforming Of A "Natural Born Killer"

The Story of 'Little Lame',
The Big Brother Of The Underground In Tainan

Narrated by Fellow Initiate Wu, Tainan, Formosa
Recorded by A Resident Disciple, Hsihu Center, Formosa

'Little Lame' has been very unruly since childhood, and liked to fight. When he was in primary school he hit the teacher and was expelled. Many years ago, in a conservative farming village it was a very serious offense to strike an elder.

It was after his teenage years that Wu began to mix with the `underground' and spent his days fighting and killing.

Some years later, due to his violent character, he became a bodyguard at nightspots, including winebars and coffee shops, and lived on protection money.

During this time, he and another friend killed a Commander and he was subsequently sentenced to over ten years in prison. In prison, Wu did not repent and often fought, caused trouble, and did not obey the prison wardens. Because his behavior was not good, he never had the opportunity for early release. He served his sentence in the prisons of Tainan, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Keelung, Penghu, and others.

After he was released, Wu became worse. With the support of many friends in the `underground,' he began to operate gambling houses, spending his life eating, drinking, visiting brothels, and gambling. After several decades he had contracted all sorts of diseases and almost died.

After Wu had gotten very sick, he began to repent for what he had done. Later, with the guidance of a friend, he went to 'Wan Nien Kung' Temple in Yen Cheng, Tainan, to pray to Buddha and began to walk the path of spiritual practice. Whenever he had the time, he would visit 'Wan Nien Kung' daily to pray to Buddha. He even helped to take care of the environment by caring for the flowers and plants.

Quan Yin Buddha Manifesting And
Fortelling The Coming Of An Enlightened Master

One afternoon, a few years later, while he was visiting 'Wan Nien Kung' to pray as usual, a ray of white light suddenly appeared before him. After careful observation, he realised that it was Quan Yin Buddha who said to him: "Disciple Wu, these few years you have been very sincere, turning towards kindness and spiritual practice. I am very happy. Today, I especially want to tell you one thing; you must take it to heart. Next year, there will be a female Master from abroad who will come to lecture. She is a true Master and also your future Master. You must make good use of this opportunity. Remember it! Remember it!" She then disappeared.

After seeing this strange phenomenon, Wu dared not tell anyone. He was afraid that people would laugh at him saying that he had a mental problem. However, as was foretold, the next year, Master began to lecture all over Formosa.

Wu thought to himself: Could this Master Ching Hai be the enlightened Master that Quan Yin Buddha mentioned? When Master was to lecture at Shih-Chien Hall, Taipei, brother Wu, with encouragement from his wife, went to listen to the lecture with his whole family.

At the beginning of the lecture, for no particular reason, there was a large group of people arguing non-stop upstairs. At that time, Master pointed Her finger at those people and said: "Maya, Maya, Maya, you are all Maya". After Master waved Her hands and scolded the group they immediately quietened down, and dared not make any more noise.

Master's stance and Her imposing manner shocked the former scoundrel who had mixed with the `underground.' However what shocked him even more was that Master's face suddenly changed into that of Shakya-muni Buddha. He realized then, deep in his heart, that Master was not ordinary. Thus, he listened even more intently to Her lecture. Master's face continued to change into the faces of Quan Yin Buddha, Lao Tze, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and then back to Her own. At that moment, he was certain that Master was definitely the future Master that Quan Yin Buddha had spoken about a year ago. From then on, brother Wu began to follow Master to practice spirituality.

The Whole Family Practices, Even The Dog Eats Vegetarian

In the beginning, he was always bothered by his bad record, and would not dare to formally take Supreme Master Ching Hai as his master and be initiated. He knew that after being initiated, Master shoulders the karma of the disciples, so he was afraid that his black reputation and sins would affect Master. Only after his wife and children had been initiated for several months, did he have the courage to ask Master whether someone like him, who had committed so many sins, could be accepted as a disciple by Her.

Master replied: "As long as you truly and sincerely want to practice, and from now on can keep the five precepts of no lying, no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no drinking of alcohol and/or taking of drugs, as well as be a vegetarian for life, then you can be initiated."

After initiation, he went home and told his dog which he had kept for many years: "Now that I have been initiated by Master and will be vegetarian from today onwards, you have to be vegetarian too." Strangely enough, his dog which had always eaten fish and meat daily, and normally would not eat if there was no meat, accepted the vegetarian diet with no problem at all. Brother Wu then thought: "If a dog can do it and I cannot, then I am worse than a dog." From then on, he was even more determined to practice diligently.

At that time, he had an eight year old child who was just starting primary school. It was because brother Wu did not go to school as a youth, that he began to mix with the `underground.' Consequently, he was very concerned about his child's education. Even though he hired a private teacher to help the child with school work, the school results were not as he wished. The child was like him, and showed no interest whatsoever in studying.

After the first year of primary school, the child could not even recognize the numbers between one and ten. In every test, he would get five, ten but not more than twenty marks. Brother Wu lost hope. He thought that because he had run many gambling houses, and encouraged others to gamble, resulting in many broken families, his child was now suffering. This was the punishment of God Almighty. He believed it was too late to repent, so he had to accept life's fate.

When his child was in primary two, there was a sudden and very big change in his school work. His test marks were always between seventy and eighty and sometimes even ninety or one hundred percent. Brother Wu was very surprised with this sudden change and asked the child: "Did you cheat by looking at other people's papers during the tests to get such good results?"

The child said: "No." So brother Wu asked: "Then why have your results suddenly become so good?"

The child would not tell him, and brother Wu could not do anything about it. The test results continued to be the same. Brother Wu, though he was very happy inside, could not believe that the child really had the ability to have such good results.

One day when he saw that the child was in a very happy mood, he took the opportunity to ask him why he suddenly could get such good results. The child then said: "It was Master sitting on a lotus who came to teach me." The root of the matter was finally known. But after the child shared this secret, his test results reverted back to what they used to be. So brother Wu specially requested Master to help his child to let him have the same good experience as before.

Master said: "At the time of initiation, I already gave special instructions that after starting to practice, any inner or outer experiences we have, we should not let others know, (except with Master's permission), otherwise we would lose them. You did not listen to my instruction. Now no experience. You have to shoulder this consequence yourself. Don't blame the Master for not helping."

Of course, brother Wu would not blame Master. He only blamed himself for being too talkative, trying to convince the child to share his inner experiences. But he, as a result, was even more grateful to Master for silently taking so much care of his child. Consequently, after having a discussion with his wife, he decided to move the whole family to Hsihu Center permanently, to be faraway from the life of the `underground' and to concentrate on spiritual practice.

After coming to Hsihu Center to stay permanently, brother Wu thought of doing some public service to offset his past sins. But he was illiterate and had never learned any skill or craft. In fact, during his decades of indulgence, the only skills he had acquired were associated with fighting, setting up gambling places, chasing girls, eating, and drinking. While he was thinking deeply about his predicament, Master came up with a timely solution. Master knew he liked to plant trees and flowers so She let him do the job of gardening; watering and taking care of the grass and plants daily. She made sure he had something to do so that he would not get bored.

In order to make-up for his past sins, brother Wu was very serious and diligent in taking care of the gardens. He wanted to make the gardens pretty, make Master happy, and ensure that fellow practitioners would have a comfortable environment for practicing meditation.

Helping The Disciple Upon Hearing His Prayer;
Taming Goblins With A Few Words

When he first arrived, every morning he had to wake up at 4:00 a.m. to meditate for three hours. But he was used to the night life; going to bed late and waking up late. And his old habit of gossiping could not be corrected right away. He was also not accustomed to a life of practicing in a mountain forest.

Each morning he would see fellow practitioners sitting silently meditating, but he could only manage to sit for a maximum of fifteen or twenty minutes. Later, he felt embarrassed and dared not go to the main hall to meditate with everyone so he tried to meditate in his own tent.

One day, while he was meditating, many demons and ghosts suddenly appeared; each was more than ten feet tall. They were all trying to shred him to pieces and swallow him. Although he was known as the "big brother" of the `underground,' and was famous for being violent and cruel (he had even beaten up and killed police and penal officers) when faced with this group of huge goblins with green faces and protruding teeth, he did not have any strength to be violent! Seeing them slowly approaching, he quickly cried out loudly: "Master, help me!" After yelling, a ray of white light appeared. In the light he saw Master sitting on a lotus, with a monk standing on each side, slowly descending from the sky. Master said something to the goblins and then pointed at them with Her finger; they all disappeared. At that moment, he woke up in a cold sweat.

Recalling this scary incident, his heart filled with regret because he thought of the past when he had run gambling places, which broke up families and caused his parents and relatives much grief. Now that he had put down the "cleaver", so to speak, and started to practice, retribution was immediate. He was fortunate to have Master to save him. He thought that, from now on, he should make a more determined effort to be kinder and to practice diligently so that he would be worthy of Master's life saving grace. So he gathered his courage and joined everyone again in the hall to meditate.

But his determination fell short of his wishes. He could not acquire the art of meditation within one or two nights. So, although he had the intention of sitting down quietly to meditate, he felt as if he had a needle in his bottom so he could not sit long. After five or ten minutes he had to get up and wander around. But he felt embarrassed doing this each time, so he would take a bucket, turn it upside down, and sit in the toilet until the end of the meditation session.

Tremendous Progress After Master Gave Him A Fruit

Then one day, while he was taking care of the flowers and plants, Master happened to pass by. She picked a very big orange and said: "Brother Wu, this is for you. You must eat it!" He was very happy and politely said: "Thank You, Master." But when he had the orange in his hand, his brow began to knit together and he thought: This Tiger Head orange is still not ripe. It's so bitter, so sour. How can I eat it!? He cut the orange into slices, cooked it with water and sugar, and drank the soup.

That night, as usual, he went to the hall to meditate with everyone. He sat down, and the next time he opened his eyes, he found that the hall was totally empty. He thought: Could it be that everyone looked down upon him and did not like to meditate with him?

He was having this fanciful thought as he walked out of the hall. When he walked past the kitchen and looked at the clock, he realised it was already 10:30 pm! Normally during the evening meditation session from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. he could not sit still, and would often escape to hide in the toilet. How was it, he wondered, that tonight he could sit for three and a half hours straight. He felt it was really inexplicable.

The next morning when he woke up to meditate at 4:00 a.m. he also sat straight through until 7:00 a.m. The situation for the next few days was also the same. He was really very happy. He could not believe that his meditation had improved so fast. Before he would meditate for ten to twenty minutes and could not sit still. Now, only a few months later, he had improved until he could sit for two to three hours straight.

He told a few of the fellow initiates, who also had noticed this incredible change. One of the fellow initiates who knew that brother Wu had eaten the orange that Master had given him, said: "Brother Wu, don't be stupid. You improved so fast because Master gave you that orange. Only after you had eaten it did your meditation improve."

Only then was brother Wu enlightened. He realised that Master had given him the special care and blessing to make him feel more confident to carry on with his practice. Although brother Wu repeatedly had Buddhas and Bodhisattvas appear to him to instruct and bless him, his determination to practice spirituality was not strong enough. Once, while he was working, he started to think about the indulgent life he had lived as a "big brother" of the `underground' � everyday sleeping in high class hotel suites, driving luxurious imported cars, eating in high class restaurants, and frequenting nightclubs when he had nothing to do. Now he stayed on a mountain in the wilderness, slept in a small tent, and had to obey all sorts of rules and regulations. He thought: Why should I be so stupid to stay in the Center and suffer by doing heavy work.

Brother Wu had already secretly planned to go back to Tainan the next day to find his old friends so he could be with them again. While he was having this thought, Master suddenly came rushing down the hill. When She saw brother Wu, She said: "Brother Wu, brother Wu, don't run away!"

Brother Wu was dumbfounded. He immediately said: "No, Master, I am not running away."

Master then said: "Good! You are not running away. You have said so yourself."

Brother Wu said without hesitation: "Yes, I am not running away." Then Master hurried away.

Brother Wu was shocked! He was like a small child who was ready to do something bad, but was caught by a parent.

There was another occasion, a few months later, when he had a misunderstanding with another brother. In a fit of rage, he took his child to go pack to go home. At that time Master was lecturing in the U.S.A., so he thought while packing: Last time, when I was thinking of leaving the Center, Master caught me on the spot, but this time, Master is not home. Leaving now would not be so embarrassing. Unless Master is really omnipresent and lets me see Her, I will definitely leave.

Suddenly his small child inexplicably threw down the baggage and quickly ran up the hill. Brother Wu then ran after him. After chasing his son for several meters, suddenly someone appeared under a big guava tree wearing a long robe and white hat, leisurely waving a fan in one hand. It turned out to be Master who stood there smiling at him. Brother Wu was truly shocked and all his anger instantly turned into shame. He was caught again!

He hurriedly put his palms together and apologized to Master: "Master, I am sorry. I will not to run away again." Master then smiled and disappeared.

Brother Wu realized very well that if he were to return to his old lifestyle, sooner or later he would fall into the `underground society' again and sink into the bitter sea of life and death.

Master has showed Her spiritual form repeatedly to save him even though he has committed many sins in the past. If not a true Master, who would have such love and the power to save him from Maya, and transform him from bad to good?

Although he knows that in the future there will still be plenty of obstacles trying to stop him from practicing. Whenever he thinks of having Master's power protecting him at any time, his heart is filled with incomparable courage and confidence.

Although brother Wu was in the `underground' for decades, he feels very lucky that he did not got involved with drugs because when he was serving his prison term, he knew one prison mate who was a drug addict. Because of drugs that friend's happy family was ruined. He had tried to kick the habit many times but without any success. Once the craving for drugs started, his whole body felt like it was being bitten by hundreds of thousands of insects all boring through his flesh and bones and making him scratch all over.

Once while this friend was trying to kick the drug habit, he experienced withdrawal symptoms. In order to reduce the pain, he purposely rolled himself down two flights of stairs. He even had his hands broken but still he could not kick the habit.

After brother Wu saw this man's condition, he always looked at drugs as if they were the plague. He would not dare to touch any. Brother Wu also advises his young friends of today: Don't ever get hooked on drugs because of curiosity or just to be a hero to show off; the price is too great and it is too horrible. (To be continued.)

　－(To be continued.)－