Avoiding a Land and
Mud Slide
■Book 148 - The Power of Mantra
■Written by master Sheng-yen Lu
One stormy night, Venerable Zhou Ying was meditating alone in his hut. The rain had been pouring for three consecutive days and nights. Venerable Zhou Ying was aware that the market place at the foot of the mountain was swamped. If the rain persisted, a flood would be inevitable.
Suddenly, the cry of a child was heard outside the hut, and the sound intermingled with the pouring rain.
'Mommy! Mommy!'
Venerable Zhou Ying raised his head and listened:
'Mommy! Mommy!' The words kept repeating and it was definitely a child's cry.
As he listened closely, it became: 'Marici! Marici! Marici!'
He recited a line of the Mantra, 'Om Marici Yeh Svaha.'
In the mist of the heavy downpour, Venerable Zhou Ying quickly got up and put on his raincoat and rain boots. Holding a torch in his hands, he hurried out of his hut to search for the crying child
'Mommy! Marici!'
Was it Mommy or Marici? He could not tell the difference.
The cry was swinging from the front to the back area, and switched from the left to the right. It was as if someone was playing hide-and-seek with him.
He walked for an hour in the storm.
Suddenly, the cry disappeared. He waited for a long time and listened. There was not a faint noise in range, and he quickly realized there was nobody living within the parameter of the vicinity. If there were no family living in this mountainous area, what would be the chances of finding any child crying?
Venerable Zhou Ying rushed back to his hut, only to find that it was gone. A mudslide had buried the hut under a pile of rocks and mud, forming a molehill.
Rocks and mud kept sliding downwards from the mountaintop, and he found himself in extreme danger. Frightened, Venerable Zhou Ying fled the area where he had spent two years meditating.
His life was spared, but his hut, together with all his possession were gone.
Upon reflection, Venerable Zhou Ying realized that he had to go through this calamity. He remembered that this was prophesied by Living Buddha Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu. The four spirit officials in black clothing were waiting to arrest him. It was the suggestion of Living Buddha Lian-sheng that he chant the Marici Bodhisattva Mantra, while placing more emphasis on it as his protection mantra.
Although Venerable Zhou Ying practices Zen, he was exposed to the teachings of other schools in his life. He chanted the Marici Bodhisattva Mantra in his younger days, and was now able to continue chanting the mantra upon my suggestion.
As the saying goes:
If you burn the incense, you shall be protected.
If you consume food, you shall be energized.
Mommy!
Marici!
They sound alike.
* * *
After leaving Bagua Mountain, Venerable Zhou Ying took shelter with various temples and monasteries all over Taiwan. He was used to living the life of a hermit and cultivating alone in his little hut, indulging in almost ascetic-like practices. After experiencing the calamity, he switched from being a hermit to living among others. This was a new experience for him.
He met many fellow cultivators and heard many mentions of Living Buddha Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu. Generally speaking, most would choose to criticize me as negative news, and such consciousness spreads its influence. Thus, most practitioners tend to reject me and only a handful chooses to reserve their comments. This is the state of affairs in the religious circle.
Venerable Zhou Ying listened but kept his views to himself. When others called me a Mara or a heresy, he sat in silence, knowing the truth about what had happened. He wanted to clear my name but being outnumbered, he would not stand a chance against the mass. He decided to save his breath and remained silent throughout the conversation.
Venerable Zhou Ying visited me and mentioned what he had heard.
He said, 'Why don't you change your approach to liberate sentient beings and use a new and different way altogether? You can start building a new foundation through it.'
I replied, 'People's minds are set about me. It may seem easy to start all over again, but it would take a lot of work and time to change things.'
'You must at least have some hope!'
'Once people make up their mind about you, it's going stay that way forever. I'm used to this and it doesn't matter.'
'You think it is unnecessary?' Venerable Zhou Ying asked.
'Yes. I take slander and criticism for the better. I take it as my own spiritual discipline!'
'But your reputation suffers!'
'Reputation is immaterial in the light of one's spiritual discipline. The experience is much needed for anyone to attain Buddhahood.'
Venerable Zhou Ying nodded.
I told Venerable Zhou Ying, 'When I was about to leave my master, Venerable Liao Ming and descend from the mountain, my Master told me that a person like me has only three options. The first option is to enter Nirvana immediately. The second option is to take seclusion in the deep mountains, never to appear again. Or take the last option, which is to act as a fool among people.'
'Oh!'
I smiled and continued, 'I am happy and contented within myself and I don't care what others say about me.'
'Do you have regrets?' Venerable Zhou Ying asked.
'No!'
'Are you hurt?'
'No!'
'What about praise and ridicule, misery and honor?'
'They mean nothing to me! Life is but a game to me, and I merely experience it to the fullest.'
Venerable Zhou Ying invited me to ascend to my teaching seat with the greatest respect, and he prostrated before me three times, in all sincerity.
'Why such prostration?'
'To thank you for saving my life!'
'I didn't save you. You saved yourself!'
'That's because you instructed me on what to do!'
I remained silent.
Venerable Zhou Ying told me this before leaving my place: 'I feel like leaving this human world of suffering.'
I told him, 'It's all in your heart. If your heart is free, then that is truly leaving this world behind.'
'You mean I should adjust and adapt to this world?'
'Nope! There is no human world to begin with.' I said.
Venerable Zhou Ying contemplated on this for a while, and finally nodded his head. He realized what I meant and said; 'I understand this in principle. But putting it into practice and eventually mastering this art constitutes a True Buddha!'
Here's a verse:
One two three four five six seven,
Still the mind and ascend to the Western Heaven.
It seems so easy when the words of Buddha are spoken,
Yet one stumbles, plunging into mud too often.
