True Story

May 12, 1994 is a day that I will not forget for as long as I live. That evening, I was speeding away on my motorcycle towards the Qigu Center in Tainan. The lights on the Majia Highway were dim and the road was under repair. The surface was uneven and bumpy and I was having a rough ride. Suddenly, I saw a huge rock lying right across my path. It was too late to swerve and in a matter of seconds, my motorcycle overturned. In what seemed like a haze and yet a dream, I saw a woman dressed exactly the way I was laying on the road. By her side was a green motorcycle that was overturning. This scene lasted a few seconds and then I lost consciousness.

About half an hour later, I slowly regained consciousness and found myself lying in the emergency room of a hospital. I was covered with blood and still wearing my helmet. I felt as though I was on a roller coaster racing away at the speed of light as a result of the heavy impact that my brain had suffered during the crash. My instincts told me to meditate and calm down, to let myself recover.

The hospital staff asked me my name, address and telephone number, but my mind was completely blank. I could only identify my own name from my identification card. I tried hard to think and finally gave the doctor my address: "Number such-and-such, Alley such-and-such, Wuxing Street, Taipei."

The doctor shook his head and said, "No, that cannot be. You must be suffering from concussion. How could a little woman ride a motorcycle all the way from Taipei to Tainan? Try to remember your telephone number so we can notify your family."

I still couldn't sort things out in my mind, but finally I gave him a number. The call got through but the person at the receiving end said, "This woman doesn't live here. But we know her."

Not long after that, the owner of this telephone number appeared. Apparently the only phone number I could remember was that of the director of a company where I had once worked. The strange thing was that he had been dead for four years and I had never dialed the number since his death. Yet at this most crucial moment, it was the first clue that I found in the database of my memory. It was the number of the son and daughter-in-law of the director, and they came to see me. Because of their concern I regained my memory and remembered who I was. I then asked the nurse to notify my family. The address that I had given the doctor was that of my home 20 years earlier, before I was even married. The house had long since been demolished and a mansion built in its place, and the address had changed as well.

This indeed was a wonderful though strange experience that once again gave testimony to Master's words: "Our minds are making records every day. Wherever we have been, we are sure to leave behind traces. How can we then not be cautious and careful about the paths we tread and the words we utter, lest we might have regrets?"

Before I met Master, the way I thought was easily influenced by how I felt and I often found myself in despair. Today, I think of the human body as nothing more than a corporeal thing that can move and wonder. After many summers and winters when the outward appearance has been worn with the passing of time and the breath of life is no more, wither will we go?

Through Master's guidance, and my personal experiences, my way of thinking has changed perceptibly - "positive energy can transcend all else". Now I have found that the human body is great. During the time when this human body is functional, we should use it well to benefit sentient beings. Meditation can free us from confusion, from emotional attachments, and from clinging to this world. When we have completed our human lessons on this Earth, the fruit of enlightenment awaits us in another dimension of time and space. So why should we worry that we may not become Buddhas?

Be positive about yourself. Wake up each morning to a day that will surely be filled with joy and hope.