■Book 200 - Pages of Enlightenment
■Written by Master Sheng-yen Lu
■Chapter fifteen
For more information, please call +1(510)473-4818 or fax +1(510)437-1987.
Contact Address: 3440 Foothill Blvd. Oakland CA 94601, U.S.A.
I Am a Non-Buddhist Heathen
I have been regarded as a non-Buddhist heathen since I was twenty-six years old. The reasons were simple: I had my divine eyes opened at age twenty-six; I visited heaven and hell; I saw that my past incarnation was Padmakumara and my pure land was the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds; I interacted with beings from spiritual worlds constantly, etc. These experiences set me apart from the Buddhist community in Taiwan, as if we were singing different tunes.
In the blink of an eye, I became extremely famous. My house was packed with visitors every day like a busy market. I saw around three hundred people daily who came seeking my guidance, help, or asking me to foretell their future. They all left saying I was so accurate and good. I helped cure many complicated and strange illnesses. I also cured countless strange illnesses caused by spirits (miracles). The entire religious community [of Taiwan] all knew about one person, and he was Sheng-yen Lu.
However, [the Chinese] Buddhist community kicked me out and branded me as a non-Buddhist heathen. This is a label that can never be removed once it has been given. Later, I formally studied Buddhism. Then, the Buddhist community branded me as a non-Buddhist-heathen-masquerading-as-a-Buddhist.
This is the label that I was forced to wear all my life. I was regarded to be different and they treated me differently. The Buddhist community classified me as a non-Buddhist heathen - not part of authentic Buddhism. They said that I was a mutation, a mutant, and an alien. Even worse, they regarded me as a natural disaster like flood, a monster, and the devil. (I observed myself and saw that I was very genuine, not as scary as they made me out to be).
After my awakening, I negated differences. Please note the word “differences.” I realized the Prajnaparamita class of Buddhist scriptures. There are no differences in Prajnaparamita. After my enlightenment, my patience and tolerance became exceptional. I became extremely carefree and relaxed, I passionately embraced the beauty of nature. I gained complete control over my own happiness and nothing really bothered me. I delivered sentient beings when the affinity presented itself. I let the good and the bad come and go as they pleased.
I wrote this verse:
Forty years, I crisscrossed this world.
Meeting countless people, who stay or go.
Numbers of Dharma teachings given, never counted.
No suffering, happiness, or cessation.
Listen to this one piece of advice from me. No matter whether something is alive or not, everything is all part of this boundless unity. Differentiation is not yet enlightened; non-differentiation is great enlightenment.
Awaken, awaken, awaken, awaken, awaken, awaken, awaken, have you awakened yet?
Forty years, I crisscrossed this world.
Meeting countless people, who stay or go.
Never counting the numbers of Dharma teachings given.
No suffering, no happiness, or cessation.
