In
ancient India, a king went to pay his respects to a saint - a genuine
and omnipresent saint practicing the Quan Yin Method. He had heard
from many people that by seeing a living saint, one could receive
immense blessings and benefits, and the karma accumulated through
many lifetimes could be changed completely. When the king went to
the saint, he asked, "I've heard that my karma can be changed very
quickly by seeing a saint. How is this done? What benefits can I
derive from seeing you?" The saint answered him briefly, "As you
sow, so shall you reap." Then he sent the king back to his palace.
The king was very
disappointed. He had heard that one could derive great blessings
and benefits from seeing a living saint, but all he got was this
short reply, "As you sow, so shall you reap." He thought, "I already
knew this. So what good was there in visiting him?" He was frustrated.
His country had received a bad reputation and he had hoped to see
improvements after his meeting with the saint. He had never dreamt
that the saint would only offer him these few words . Feeling bored,
he left the palace and went out hunting. He got lost deep in the
mountains while pursuing a rabbit. Overcome by exhaustion, he lay
down for a rest.
In his sleep,
he dreamt that he was a poor farmer. There was a famine and the
village had run out of food. He had a dozen children, a wife and
his parents to feed, but he was so poor that he didn't have any
food left. In desperation, he went out searching for food. He saw
some sour fruit on a tree and attempted to climb the tree to get
some. But he was so weak that he fell from the tree before he had
plucked any fruit. The fall woke the king from his dream. He found
himself lying under that very tree, his clothes covered with dirt.
He became even more frustrated. "I have gained nothing from my visit
to that saint today; and now I have this strange dream. I had better
not see him again!"
The king was alone,
having lost his way and been separated from his entourage. He had
awoken from his dream feeling hungry. He got on his horse to go
and look for food. As he came to a village, a large crowd rushed
towards him yelling, "So here you are! We've been looking for you
all over. Where have you been hiding? Your family is starving to
death. You were supposed to go and find food, but you hid yourself.
Instead of bringing food for your family; you have stolen these
handsome clothes and this horse. Why have you suddenly become so
wicked?"
The king was perplexed.
"What is wrong with all of you? I am the king!" Of course, no one
believed him. "How dare you speak such nonsense and call yourself
the king?" The crowd dragged him into the village, reprimanding
him all the while, "Your parents, your wife and your many children
are here starving, and you claim to be the king. You are really
talking nonsense!" Thinking that he was dazed, the villagers beat
and admonished him. There was no way the king could convince them.
In the nick of
time, his entourage arrived, as did the saint. The king quickly
entreated, "Oh, saint, what is this all about? These people insist
that I am this woman's husband and that these are my children."
The king was terrified by the sight of what was allegedly his large
group of children. The saint explained, "As I have said, "As you
sow, so shall you reap." The king still did not understand. He pleaded
with the saint to elaborate further. "It was your fate that you
should be a hungry farmer for sixty years, and be obliged to feed
your parents, wife and children," said the saint. "However, because
you came to see me today, I have turned your predestined karma into
a dream lasting five to ten minutes. This is what has happened."
The king nodded, "Now I understand." The villagers also understood
and comforted the farmer's family, "He should have been your husband,
but his fate was changed; he has become the king even though he
looks very much like the farmer."
A fully enlightened
saint is capable of changing the whole universe; there is nothing
that he cannot change. You must have read in the scriptures that
a fully enlightened saint can reduce the size of the universe until
it is small enough to be put in a pore of his skin. Have you heard
this before? Maudgalyayana was only an arhat (a liberated saint),
yet he could make two countries so small that they could fit into
his alms bowl. A fully enlightened saint can change fate. He can
easily put the whole universe in his heart without anyone knowing
where it is. None of the myriad beings in the whole of Creation
are aware that they are in a pore of the skin of a fully enlightened
saint. This goes to show that a fully enlightened saint has inconceivable
power.
