Legend of Wetsandon & Chuchok

The Prajna Paramita Sutra says:

"It is by means of the Dharma of having nothing whatsoever which is given away that he perfects Dana Paramita. This is because neither giver, receiver nor object given can be found."

In the world of Thai Buddhism there is a certain deity of a crooked, old brahmin called Chuchok (Jujaka). This odd-looking figure is believed to attract wealth for the person who venerates it. Who exactly is Chuchok and what is the story behind him?

Chuchok is actually one of the characters in the Jataka tale of Prince Wetsandon (Vessantara), the Bodhisattva's last life before he was reborn in the Tusita heaven. It is in this existence that the Bodhisattva, as Prince Wetsandon, brings his Dana Paramita to perfection. The tale goes like this:

Phusatti, the principal consort of Sakka (another name for the Indian thunder god Indra) descended to earth and became the mother of the Bodhisattva in his final birth. Phusatti, at the age of 16, marries King Sanjaya, the sovereign of Sivi. Once pregnant, she built six alms' halls where she distributed charity daily. While visiting Vessa, the merchants' quarter of the city, she gave birth to Vessantara. Vessantara became a generous and charitable boy, always wanting to give away his possessions, distributing alms on his favorite white elephant with whom he shared birth and whom he grew up together. Many subjects attributed the kingdom's rains to this white elephant.

But one day he gives the elephant away to brahmin emissaries from another kingdom, which enrages the citizens. They compel King Sanjaya to force Prince Vessantara and his wife, Maddi, who insists on accompanying him and their children, to go into exile. Before leaving, the prince gives away all of his possessions, making the "gift of the seven hundreds". Along the way, they encounter a group of people begging for their horses. The prince gives them his horses and they are taken away by these people. When Vessantara gave away the horses, the devas turn themselves into deers to pull the chariot, but he also gives away the chariot later. The couple continue on foot carrying their children. They reached a town, and the people there invite the couple to remain as King and Queen, but Vessantara refuses and leaves. After a long journey on foot, they reach a spot in the mountains, where they settle down in a forest hermitage. Husband and wife make a vow to live in chastity.


In another village, there is an old brahmin called Jujaka (Chuchok). His wife is pretty a young girl who marries him to repay the family debts. Her faithful care of the rather repulsive Jujaka only provokes the ire of the other village women since it makes their husbands demand the same uncomplaining attention. Jujaka 's wife forces him to find a servant when she refused to fetch water any longer. Having no money, and as a last resort, he decides to test the fabled generosity of Vessantara by asking for his children. Jujaka goes into the forest and meets a hermit who knows where Vessandara is residing. Jujaka then tries to trick the wise hermit into showing him the way to the hermitage. He eventually succeeds. When Chujok arrives, Maddi is on the mountain gathering berries. The devas, knowing that she will not understand the tests of Vessantara's generosity, turn themselves into wild animals and hold her at bay. The brahmin pretends to be a messenger from the King and invites Vessantara to return; but his true motive is to ask for Vessantara's children.

Vessantara is at first shocked and angry when the Jujaka asks him for the children as servants. Then he realizes that he has only given away his material possessions, never anything that was a part of his own being. He explains this to the children and asks them to help him in the great sacrifice. Jali assents gladly but his sibling Kanha was reluctant. Vessantara, agreeing to a large sum of ransom money, hands them to the brahmin.

The old Jujaka takes the children away, driving them ahead of him through the forest and treating them cruelly. During the night Jujaka sleeps on top of a tree safe from snakes and scorpions, while the children are being tied up. They escape once and return to the hermitage but Vessantara will not let them break a bargain. He makes them return to Jujaka.

When Maddi returns from the mountain she finds the children gone. Vessantara, fearing to add to her grief, will not speak. She falls into death-like faint. Later he explained to her of his great sacrifices. Another old man appears and asks for his wife. This is actually Sakka, the king of the gods, who has assumed the old man's form. After Vessantara has passed the test, Sakka resumes his divine form and returns Maddi, binding her over to his care.

Jujaka finally loses the children and they make their way back to the palace of their grandparents, the King and Queen. When he hears their story the King is angry with Prince Vessantara but Jali explains the ultimate test of his generosity. The King finally understands and orders that Vessantara be brought back from exile. He then pays Jujaka the agreed sum for ransom of his grandchildren. Jujaka wastes the ransom money lavishly on wine, women and dies from gluttony.

Finally King Sanjaya and the court set off for the forest to bring back Vessantara from exile. They remain at the hermitage for a month, feasting and celebrating until a smooth road could be prepared for the triumphal return to their kingdom. As in all traditional Indian stories, the story has a happy ending. The family is reunited, all of Prince Vessantara's possessions are returned to him, and they all live happily ever after.

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So why is Chuchok, an evil brahmin who harassed the Bodhisattva in his last birth, associated with wealth attraction? Because it is precisely his meanness that helped Wetsandon to complete his perfection of giving. Paradoxically, he is believed to have made much merit in that way, and after he had finished suffering in the lower realms for his misdeeds, he would be reborn with great wealth and power. By venerating Chuchok, people believe they can share in his "merits" and also gain that kind of prosperity. But do these people really get what they seek? Hmm.. I leave this question for readers to think about.

The Dhamma of Wine

To refrain from taking intoxicants in one of the five most important precepts to be followed by any Buddhist follower. This is even more important in the Theravada tradition, where followers tend to follow the original teachings of the Buddha very closely. But for Mahayana and Vajrayana followers, the view against intoxicants, especially wine, is usually more liberal. A good example is Monk Ji Gong (1130-1209CE) of the Southern Song Dynasty. An enlightened but eccentric master who lived in Zhejiang province, Ji Gong was fond of eating meat and wine. Others ridiculed him because of this, but he replied them with this saying:

"Wine and meat may pass through my intestines,
but the Buddha remains in my heart."

This became a famous Chinese saying which is often misused by people today as an excuse to justify their craving towards meat and alcohol. Another interesting anecdote comes from the 2nd Patriarch of Chan, Huike. Many years after he transmitted the Dharma to his successor Seng Can, he went to Yedu city and transformed himself into a lay person. Huike frequented the wine shops and the butcheries. Sometimes he could be found engaging in idle chatter in the streets, or mixing around with urchins and vagrants. People who knew him were shocked to find him totally changed and together they asked him, "The Venerable Master used to be a great cultivator; how did you turn out like that?" To which Huike replied:

"I am tuning my own mind, what does that have to do with you?"

This again became an important Chan saying, and the term "tuning the mind" became synonymous with a drinking session. It is clear that enlightened beings did not take the precept against intoxicants very seriously; to them it is merely a skillful means to teach ordinary people. The same could be said for many other basic percepts. Outwardly these masters may break the percepts, but in reality their minds always remain pure and untainted.

Regarding taking wine as tuning the mind, HK-based journalist Zhang Li recently wrote an interesting story. 10 over years ago Mr Zhang visited Wutai Shan for the first time. It was a November evening and the weather was extremely cold. He was with a Chinese and a Mongolian Lama on the Northwest corner of Bodhisattva Peak. The Lamas invited him to a wine-drinking session to fight the cold, but they did not call it wine; they called it the "Nectar of Manjusri" instead. That night they told him:

"Speaking from the viewpoint of the Yogacara doctrine, one's Alaya or store consciousness can only be revealed after drinking alcohol. A person who is happy and jovial after drinking is destined for the realm of the Devas. Those that turn violent and create trouble belong to the realm of the Asuras. People who become depressed and cry will be heading towards the 3 lower realms. Finally the ones who become drowsy and fall asleep will be reborn as human beings."

Mr Zhang had a certain realization after hearing these words. In the future when he observed the behaviour of his friends after a few drinks, he could immediately know what were their future destinies. Once the black box of the Alaya was opened, a person's true nature became exposed without any holding back. But there was a kind of person, who no matter how drunk he gets, never loses awareness of himself. This is what it means by "when even the illusionary becomes real, then reality is none other than illusion." These are the enlightened beings.

The Buddha laid down the precept against intoxicants for his followers who do embarrassing and harmful things when they become drunk. This precept is to guard against the negative effects of alcohol abuse, rather than the substance itself. But when used correctly, alcohol is a medicine and also a catalyst that brings out people's mental essence. If alcohol brings out the good in people's mind, then it is known as Nectar. But if it brings out the bad, then it becomes the blood of Mara. When the great Tang dynasty poet Li Bai got drunk, he was truly a "Drunken Immortal"; most of the others are just silly drunkards. Do you want to know what kind of a person you really are? Bottoms up!

Dead Uncle Appearing as a Bird

The Ksitigarbha Sutra says:

"For all the sentient beings of the present & future eras, if they are close to death & have the chance to hear the name of one Buddha, Bodhisattva, or Pacceka Buddha; they will be able to achieve liberation whether they are with or without sin."

It also says:

"Even if the sentient beings of the present & future eras can recite the name of only one Buddha, they will gain immeasurable merits; how much more so if they are able to recite the names of many Buddhas!"

My uncle died last Thursday (12.4.2006) of liver failure in the hospital, and a funeral wake was held for him till Monday (16.4), after which he was cremated. Before he was about to die and even throughout the wake, there were people chanting Amitabha to help him on his way; but he did not do any practice or cultivation at all when he was still healthy and alive.

The strange thing is his mom reported seeing a black bird flying into her house 2 days after he died. No matter how they tried to scare it, the bird refused to go away. It even allowed my uncle's mom to touch and stroke its body. Suspecting the bird to be his son, the old lady told it, "If you are my son *his name*, be at peace and move on." The strangest part is that the bird seemed to understand that and immediately flew away! Although she was a Christian, she could not help but believe that there is such a thing as rebirth. We were quite amazed to hear the story at the wake on the 3rd day.

But the question is, can a person who just died for less than 2 days be reborn as a bird without first going through Bardo (intermediate state between death and rebirth)? As far as I know, only beings with powerful good or evil karma don't pass through Bardo. If he is still in the first stage of Bardo, can the spirit appear as a bird to visit his relatives? From my readings of the Book of Bardo, only when the spirit has reached the last stage of Bardo will it gain certain temporary supernormal powers like being able to go anywhere it wants and ability to transform.
I posed these questions to friends in the E-sangha and obtained 2 views. The first view is that the bird was not my uncle's reincarnation, but the emanation of a Dakini (a kind of dancing female deity) or a wrathful protector deity who manifests mostly as birds. They guide the dead to the pure realms as well as comfort the living relatives. The second view is my uncle had been reborn in a heaven realm as a Deva through the merit of hearing Amitabha Buddha's name and other Mahayana Sutras at his death bed. Thus he has the supernormal power to transform himself into a bird the next day. He appeared as a bird before his grieving mother so as to comfort as well as inspire her. Though these 2 views are both possible, my own feelings tell me that the latter one is much more likely. If my uncle is a Deva now, I hope he is well and happy. May he continue to watch over his family and may he start to follow the Dhamma in that heaven realm, sadhu.

"Tour" to the Nether Realms

Recently in Singapore, a Taoist temple in Geylang introduced a new kind of religious ceremony that claims to be able to take devotees on a tour to the Nether Realms to seek out their departed relatives. This kind of ceremony was first heard of in Taiwan and was even shown before in a National Geographic documentary. Now it had finally came to our shores and there are quite a number of people willing to try it, even though they are not Taoist. The best part is that the ceremony is open to people of any race or religion, so anybody can just take a tour of Hades, even out of curiosity! But are they really able to bring people there?

The Ksitigarbha Sutra says:

"Other than by supernormal powers or by karma,
One cannot reach this hell."

In the same way, for ordinary beings to visit the nether realms without these 2 causes is virtually impossible. This type of ceremony is merely a process of group hypnosis. Under the spell of the chanting and orchestra of ritualistic instruments, the blindfolded participants grow drowsy and enter a kind of trance, causing them to see various visions of the hells. These visions are conjured up by the mind from the sub-conscious impressions of hell that are gathered from popular mass media. Many of the participants could not see their departed relatives as they have hoped in these visions. Those who could probably think of their relatives so much that impressions of how they might be doing pop up whenever the opportunity arises. In reality, those dead relatives should have been reborn into other realms long ago; how could one still find them in hell? If they are not reborn, they will be stuck in the ghost realm and that would also make it impossible for them to be found by the participant. Either way it does not seem likely for the participants to actually go to the hells and find their relatives by such means.

Such tours only serve the purpose of self-delusion, which might or might not make the participants feel better about the death of their dear ones. For those simply curious to see hell, it serves to reinforce their sub-conscious impressions of it, though they might or might not be accurate. From a Buddhist viewpoint, it is totally unnecessary because the Dhamma teaches us to calmly accept the truth of impermanence, to perceive the arising and passing away of all things. By the avoidance of unwholesome thought, one eliminates the possibility of going to hell through the compulsion of karma. By the proper practice of Samatha Vipassana meditation, one will gain the insight to see not just the hells, but all the realms of existence as they really are. This is one of the 3 higher knowledge (Tevijja) that leads the mind to complete awakening and the end of suffering. Is that not infinitely better than taking any imaginary hell tour?

The Death of Asia's Richest Woman

"Surely man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nought are they in turmoil;
man heaps up, and knows not who will gather?"

Psalms 39:6

Gong Ruxin aka Nina Wang, once recognised by Forbes magazine to be the richest woman in Asia, died of cancer in Hong Kong on Wednesday (4.4.2007). She was 70 yrs old, and left behind no children. It is estimated that her assets amounted to around 4.26 billion US dollars, which would probably be distributed among her younger siblings now that she is gone.

An oddball character but at the same time a legendary figure in HK, Gong and her husband Wang Dehui built up the business empire of the Hua Mao corporation together since the 1960s. However, their fame and fortune attracted unwanted attention. Wang was kidnapped by criminals in 1983 and only released when Gong paid them a ransom of 11 million USD. In 1990 Wang was kidnapped yet again. But this time before Gong could pay his ransom of 30 million, the kidnappers suddenly cancelled the deal and Wang went missing forever. Gong was traumatized by the ordeal and only recovered 4 yrs later. In 1994 she started to retake sole control of the Hua Mao corporation and all its assets. Concentrating all her energies on doing business, she single-handedly brought the corporation to new and greater heights.


In 1997 Gong's father-in-law started a lawsuit requesting the high court in HK to declare Wang Dehui legally dead, and also seeking to claim all the wealth that he had left behind based on a will made in 1968. Gong of course could not accept this and produced another more recent will made by her husband in 1990, one that stated her as the sole inheritor of the money. Thus began the 9 yr legal battle to determine who was the rightful owner of the billions. Victory finally came in 2005 and 2006, where she not only won over the sole ownership, but also the compensation of 280 million HKD worth in legal fees. But the ironic thing is after such a long struggle, she died half a year later, before she could enjoy any of this hard-earned wealth.

One of the judges that presided over Gong's series of disputes with her father-in-law, Ren Yijun, made a statement in his judgement quoting from the Psalms in the Bible (seen above). This meaningful verse pretty much sums up the life of Asia's richest woman, Madam Gong Ruxin. She and her husband heaped up so much money, more than any person can dream about, yet it did not bring them any real happiness. Now that they are dead, who is left to benefit from that mountain of wealth? Huge as the amount was, it could not prevent Wang Dehui from being kidnapped and killed by criminals. It also could not save Gong from the years of trauma and stress that resulted from her husband's disappearance, as well as the long tussle with her father-in-law for her husband's money. No, it even did not help to prevent Gong from contracting cancer and dying when her troubles finally came to an end. Indeed, what is the use of having so much money?

Rich and famous as these worldly beings are, they live in delusion and could not escape from the sufferings of this existence; what more for the next? If only they knew the true purpose of wealth, if only they have a chance to understand the Dhamma; then their lives would not have been in vain. The Adiya Sutta says:

"My wealth has been enjoyed,
my dependents supported,
protected from calamities by me.
I have given supreme offerings
and performed the five oblations.
I have provided for the virtuous,
the restrained, followers of the holy life.
For whatever aim a wise householder
would desire wealth, that aim I have attained.
I have done what will not lead to future distress.
When this is recollected by a mortal,
a person established in the Dhamma of the Noble Ones,
he is praised in this life and after death, rejoices in heaven."

To provide satisfaction for your family, your workers, your friends and associates, to wisely ward off calamities caused by natural disasters and greedy men, to make the right offerings to the poor and to respected people, to provide for the needs of the Noble Ones who have gone forth, to dedicate all good for one's own unbinding, and for the realization of Nibbana - these are the greatest benefits that can be obtained from wealth. May all beings have the wisdom to use their wealth in such ways, sadhu.

The Trapped Soul of Telok Blangah

1. The Shin Min paper on 8.3.2007 reported a strange & interesting tale of a Malay guy named Riandy being haunted by the ghost of a long dead Chinese lady for the past 7 yrs. He & his family had lived in Telok Blangah since 1975, & only shifted away in 1999. Directly opposite their old flat in Telok Blangah is a stretch of forest & among the trees lies the sunken tomb of that Chinese lady, almost completely devoured by the surrounding undergrowth. Of course, the main character in this real life story had no idea of its existence until recently, when it was discovered by the SPI (Singapore Paranormal Investigators), people whom he seeked help from.

Apparently, the haunting started long before Riandy shifted away from Telok Blangah. Even at his old flat he had experienced loads of paranormal activity, like seeing a blurry figure appearing in the house, hearing somebody quarrelling but not being able to see anyone, smelling a foul stench, & even rubbing shoulders with the ghostly figure at times. Despite all these stuff happening, Riandy did nothing about it. The creepy thing was that the paranormal activity continued after he moved to Choa Chu Kang. For the past 7 yrs, on the 13th of every month, around 2-3am in the morning, he would dream of the long haired Chinese lady in white pleading for help in his old house. And everytime he would wake up in cold sweat. So after being haunted for such a long time, he could take it no more & finally summoned enough courage to seek help, which came in the form of the SPI.

After SPI listened to Riandy's story, a team of them followed him back to his old house at Telok Blangah to investigate. To their suprise, they discovered an abandoned Chinese tomb in the forest opposite his old house, being located under a big tree. Apparently the tree had grown right out of the tomb, crushing whoever lies beneath under its roots. The whole tomb had sunken into the earth, & only half of the tombstone could be seen. The inscription on the stone reads: "Madam Xue of the Yang family's tomb 杨门薛氏之墓", but her maiden name was nowhere to be seen. On the right side of the stone they could also see "Daughter - (Yang) Yueniang 月娘" & "Granddaughters - Qingniang 清娘 & Xiniang 溪娘". The 2 granddaughters would not be surnamed Yang if Madam Xue had no son. On the left side of the tomb is a date saying "Auspicious Plum month of the Xin Chou Year 次辛丑梅月吉". This means the 4th lunar month (May to June) of 1961, or maybe even 1901! The date may be the time this lady died, or the time she was born, but the former was more likely. Considering that the ghost appeared to Riandy on the 13th of the month, it might also indicate that was the day she passed away. The poor condition of the tomb also indicates that all her descendants have either died or were no longer in Singapore, leaving the tomb totally uncared for through the decades. That was why the tomb had sunken and a tree was able to grow out of it; this would make Shin Min's search for her descendants all the more difficult. Madam Xue's ghost, being trapped in that place, was not able to move on and be reborn. She probably could not give up her clinging to her previous human life & her bodily remains. Bur oddly, she seemed to have some affinity with this Malay guy Riandy, which explained why she went to him for help when she had nobody else to turn to. But alas, he too knew not how to help her.

After Riandy found the tomb, his monthly dreams of Madam Xue became much clearer than before. Whereas in the past he only saw the side of her face, now she could clearly see her face, her features, her long hair & even the white cheongsam top that she wore! But this only made it so much more disturbing for Riandy.

I don't know how SPI plans to help Riandy, but the wise thing to do now would be to find an auspicious time to exhume whatever remains in the tomb, ask some respected monks to conduct a Buddhist deliverance (超度 chaodu) ceremony for Madam Xue (since she is Chinese) & have the remains cremated. The ashes could then be placed in a temple & a tablet set up in her honour. Having listened to the Dharma & finally having a proper place for her remains, only then would Madam Xue's ghost be able to move on to a better existence. That would also mean the end of Riandy's paramormal woes. Good luck guys!2. The follow up report in Shin Min today (16.3.2007) reveals to us more clues on Madam Xue's mystery. Thanks to Taoism researcher Mr Wu Anquan, who explored around the Telok Blangah forest after reading last week's report, the other half of Madam Xue's tombstone had been recovered. According to the inscriptions on this piece of tombstone, the maiden name of Madam Xue is 音娘 Yinniang (full name - 薛音娘 Xue Yinniang). She died in the 27th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign 光绪二十七年, which is 1901, corresponding to the previous deduction. That is almost 106 yrs ago! Apparently, Madam Xue had 2 sons, (Yang) 福烈 Fulie and 福增 Fuzeng, besides daughter Yueniang. She also had 4 other grandsons, 丞仁 Chengren, 丞德 Chengde, 丞杰 Chengjie & 丞英 Chengying, in addition to the 2 granddaughters mentioned above. Now, the paper made a wrong assumption that because Madam Xue was a grandmother, she must have died quite old. They are thinking in the modern context, forgetting the fact that during the Qing dynasty, most women married quite young and it was highly possible to be a grandmother before 40. Since we don't know how she died yet, we cannot conclude that the person whom used to lie in that tomb died an old lady. Is the female ghost that haunted Riandy the same person as this long dead lady? That is something that still awaits verification!

Mr Wu's research into the history of Telok Blangah hill also tells us that it used to be known as Xieyuan hill 协源山, which had been used as a burial ground for the Yang family from Fujian province since 1882. All those dead people buried there belonged to the Hokkien Yeo clan. It was only until the 1970s that the government decided to take back the land, exhuming all the graves there & have them relocated to Choa Chu Kang cemetary. Could Madam Xue be forgotten at the time? Since then, a forest has grown over the land and some parts of it developed into Telok Blangah park, as we know today.

Considering that Madam Xue died 106 yrs ago, there is little doubt that all 9 children & grandchildren inscribed on the tombstone would also be dead. If there were any great grandchildren alive in Singapore today, they too would be quite old already. The only way to shed some light on who Madam Xue really was or whether her remains were moved to Choa Chu Kang at all, is to look for those great or great great grandchildren of hers. But even then, would these descendents of the Yeo clan which lived in Telok Blangah a century ago know anything about their great or great great grandmother? The oddest thing is that, what does a young Malay guy named Riandy got to do with the great great grandmother of the Yeo clan? His family only shifted to Telok Blangah around the time the government exhumed all the graves.. they should have nothing to do with this big Chinese family, right? Stay tuned, I believe this mystery would somehow be unravelled in time to come.

Visit to Wat Pah Ban Tad

The Dhammapada says:

"The mindful ones exert themselves,
They are not attached to any home;
Like swans that abandon the lake,
They leave home after home behind."

During my trip to Udon Thani & Nongkhai in January this year, I've travelled to many of the Forest Monasteries in the region. These monasteries are all started by Dhutanga Bhikkus belonging to Ajarn Mun's (above) lineage, places which tourists normally do not visit. On the last day of my trip I decided to follow a Singaporean friend (whom I met in Udon) to Luangta Mahabua's monastery, Wat Pah Ban Tad. This friend of mine stays there for 2 - 3 mths at a time for his meditation retreats. As those of you familiar with Ajarn Mun's forest tradition will know, LT Mahabua is one of his most famous disciples, widely believed to be an Arahant himself. He is also responsible for the various enlightening Forest Dhamma books on Ajarn Mun's life & teachings, as well as the Dhutanga practices. Having read those books, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of this living Buddhist Saint; but my friend told me it was not so easy as not everyone who came to visit can see him. Some people came many times, yet still did not manage to see LT Mahabua. So I did not make any special wish to do so, choosing rather to just let things take its natural course.

The monastery is half an hour's journey from Udon Thani city. The first thing that greets you at when you arrive there is this huge picture of Ajarn Mun standing in front of the main Sala, gazing at you. Although Ajarn Mun had entered Parinibbana for many years, his presence can still be felt wherever there is a group of noble individuals gathering to practice the Forest Dhamma that he taught.

Climbing up to the spacious hall, you get the feeling of deep serenity that seems to blend in with the surrounding forest. My friend told me that many invisible Devadas visit this hall, due to what lies inside the shrine room. What is so special about the shrine room?

Walking deeper inside, one comes face to face with the 3 golden Buddha statues of the shrine, representing the Triple Gems. All around the altar are the pictures of the various patriarchs of the Forest Tradition, including Ajarn Mun, Ajarn Sao & many of their distinguished disciples. In paying homage to these Masters, one recognises the true merit of the Dhutanga practices in purifying the mind, as taught by the Buddha.

The next thing that caught my eye was a glass cabinet on the left of the altar. On closer examination I realized that those small crystal stupas inside the cabinet contain the precious relics of the Buddha on the top tier, Ajarn Mun's relics on the middle tier & the relics of the other Masters from his lineage on the lower tier. So this is the main attraction for the Devadas who come to visit this Sala! No wonder the whole Sala radiates a aura of bliss. Filled with awe & joy I prostrated myself before the cabinet to show my veneration for these relics like all the men & gods before me.

At the side of the shrine room is another glass cabinet containing the relics of Ajarn Panna (above), LT Mahabua's most senior Caucasian disciple who passed away recently. Special mention must be given to him because it is only through his superb translation of the Forest Dhamma books from Thai into English that they managed to reach such a wide audience around the whole world. Without these translated books I wouldn't even have heard about Ajarn Mun & his Forest Tradition in Thailand. All I would have known are those famous temples with many worshippers & tourists. Ajarn Panna's profound knowledge & devotion to this path is without a doubt a shining lamp for all Westerners as well as all beings. As such he also deserves our deepest respect.
Inside the shrine room are also displayed other gifts of recognition to LT Mahabua from the country's highest institutions & the royal family. But of course, these are of little use to a forest monk.With that I finished my tour of the Sala. Just as I came down the stairs, a van drove in and stopped some distance ahead of me. I did not know who was inside, but seeing that 2 Thai aunties near me were kneeling down in its direction, I immediately realized who it was. I quickly kneel down as well. True enough, it was LT Mahabua (above) who came down from the van! He turned and smiled in the direction of the 2 aunties & me before walking into the forest path that leads to his kuti. I bowed towards this living Arahant. To me, managing to see him is like striking the lottery.. which seemed to link up with many of the coincidences that I encountered during this whole trip. Is this called 缘份 or affinity?I then followed my friend to his kuti, where another Singaporean guy also resided in. The living conditions are pretty tough, but they seemed content with it. I supposed these conditions are conducive to restraining the senses & would therefore help in their meditation. After chatting with them for a while, I bade my friend farewell & wished him good luck. With a satisfied heart I made my way back to Udon Thani city. The next morning I embarked on the return flight to Singapore. On the plane I thought to myself that although my tour to Udon Thani had ended, I know in my heart that my affinity with the Forest Tradition would go on long after the trip was over. Until the next time we meet, may they be well & happy.

The Renunciation of Chen Xiaoxu

The Dhammapada says:

"If by forsaking a limited happiness,
He would realize an abundance of happiness;
The wise man should forsake the limited
for the sake of the abundant."

It is all over the news - Chen Xiaoxu, once famous for playing the female lead Lin Daiyu in the adapted Chinese Classic "Dream of the Red Chamber" on TV in the 1980s, has renounced the world & ordained as a Bhikkuni in the Buddhist Order. From virginal beauty to famous actress to successful business women and finally to Buddhist Nun - the life of this 40 yr old Chinese beauty is nothing less than legendary.

Even at that time, most people thought that Chen awas perfect for the role of Lin Daiyu. As those of you familiar with the Chinese Classics would know, Daiyu is a frail beauty who is deeply sentimental & melancholic in character. Chen's ethereal features & real life character was no different from the role she portrayed in the "Dream of the Red Chamber". It was a role that shot her to instant stardom, but also one that ended her acting career. The portrayal of Lin Daiyu was so deeply ingrained in the hearts & minds of the people that nobody could really accept her as anything else. In fact, Chen herself was so deeply influenced by the character that it became her alter-ego. She only managed to act in another adapted classic before resigning from the acting scene altogether. With the end of her acting career also spelt the end of her first marriage.

Chen subsequently married her current husband, Hao Dan. Together, they ventured into the advertising business, & in a few years grew to become a successful multi-million Yuan company. With the fame & success brought material well-being for her whole family, but in her heart she continued to feel unfufilled in terms of true happiness.

One day in 1999, Chen happened to hear a recording of Ven Chin Kung preaching the Sutra of Amitayus in her friend's car. Ven Chin Kung is a modern day Patriarch of the Pure Land school and his teachings struck a chord in Chen's heart. She was so deeply moved by the Venerable's words that she wanted to meet him immediately. Learning that he had been preaching in Singapore for some time, Chen flew from Beijing to Singapore to look for Ven Chin Kung. She found him at the Amitabha Buddhist Society in Geylang and asked to be given the 3 refuges. Ven Chin Kung was happy to see her newfound faith, & promptly gave her the refuges and the 5 percepts. Chen was also bestowed the Dharma name of Miao Zhen.

From then on she dutifully practiced the Pure Land teachings everyday, reciting the Sutra of Amitayus in the morning & Ksitigarbha Sutra in the evening. After Chen returned to China, she became vegetarian & even set up an altar in her office for her chanting. Her gentle devotion to the Dharma also moved her husband, such that he too became a Buddhist.

But it was not until last year that Chen decided to take a step further. She contracted breast cancer & by the time it was discovered, it was already at an advanced stage. Struck by a life-threatening disease in her middle-age, she finally gained a powerful realization of impermanance; though she had a happy married life and great wealth, yet all the money in the world could not save her from the Lord of Death. So Chen decided to not to fight her cancer but rather put all her energies to purifying her own mind through intensive Amitabha recitation. She made a vow that if she could somehow survive, she would renounce the worldly life and devote herself to propagating the Dharma.

True enough, Chen managed to pull through without any chemo-therapy. She did have treatment by Chinese medicine, but the cancer still gave her a lot of pain. Despite the pain she had gathered enough mental strength to fufill her vow, which was to become a Buddhist Nun. And so on the 6th day of the Chinese New Year, with the support of her husband and her family, she went through with the ordination ceremony at the Xinlong Monastery in Changchun, China. Now she is known as Ven Bhikkuni Miao Zhen. Her faithful husband will also follow in her footsteps and become a monk in Shenzhen after settling all their assets.

The fact that Chen developed a heart of faith immediately after listening to the Dharma for the first time in 1999 shows that she had cultivated good roots for many lifetimes. Like a fertile seed within her mind, it came to fruitition upon meeting the right conditions in this life. Most of the ordinary people will just hear and forget if they were in her situation, like pouring water into a leaking urn. But not Chen, as her karma is already ripe for receiving the Dharma.

Whenever old age or illnesses befall us, foolish people will think how tragic it is to lose their strength, & wallow in self-pity. Only the wise see that these signs of decay are really Devaduta - divine messengers proclaiming the truth of Anicca (Impermanance), Anatta (Not-self) & Dukkha (Suffering) to us. They remind us not to waste time indulging in sensual pleasures anymore; prompt us to seek the Dharma & to reach the doors of the deathless. Will you take heed? Or will you rather be heedless and suffer in the future? That is the challenge they present to us everyday. Just like when Prince Siddharta witnessed the 4 sights, they inspired him to give up his family & kingdom to seek the Truth. In the case of Chen, her cancer was not bad karma as most people might be conditioned to think; it was in fact the catalyst that awakened her true potential. Without it she might not have gained the determination to let go of all her fame, wealth & love; which although provides us with temporary happiness, they are also the things that bind us to the wheel of samsara life after life. As sure as the Sun will rise in the East, Chen will be able to gain liberation in her remaining life & be reborn in Amitabha's Pure Land. Let us rejoice for her.

Year of the Pig 2007

The Classic of History say:

"When Heaven creates calamity,
There is still hope to be forgiven;
But if you yourself create calamity,
There is no hope of escape."

The Year of the Pig has arrived once again. This year belong to the heavenly stem & earthly branch of Ding Hai. Contrary to popular belief, this year is not the Golden Pig, but belongs to the Fire Pig, because the heavenly stem of Ding in under the element of Fire. According to the Tongsheng (Traditional Chinese Almanac) forecast, this year will be one of abundance in crop harvest. The Earth Mother Scripture says:

"Sowing in Summer one encounters thirst in Autumn,
The harvest in Autumn comes to 80 percent;
Plagues will be rampant among the people,
And the livestock will face great difficulty;
The joy of the silk women would be in vain,
For although the silkworms are many,
Yet they do not form cocoons."

So although agricultural nations can expect a good harvest, they will encounter drought in autumn. And for silk farmers, they will not be able to get much silk this year since the silkworms will be many yet unproductive.

One important thing to note is the mention of plagues among men & animals. Coincidentally, the annual Flying Stars movement chart also foretell of such problems. This year the 2 Black Star have taken central placing, whereas the 5 Yellow Star have shifted to the Northeast. These are the unlucky stars that bring trouble for Man. 2 Black is the Star of Pestilence & 5 Yellow is the Star of Plague or Calamity. Thus we might expect a virus outbreak in the central & northeast regions of the world. The "world" can mean China, Asia, or perhaps even the globe. Bird Flu is a likely candidate since it continues to plague many regions in Asia, but new viruses mutations are also possible. We should also not forget the year 2003, where the 5 Yellow Star was in the Southeast, corresponding to the SARS outbreak in Southeast China (Guangdong province) & Southeast Asia (Singapore). Will history repeat itself this year? The wise knows that precautions need to be taken no matter how things turn out.

Whenever plagues bring calamity to Man, the root cause can always be traced back to his negative karma of killing. In the case of SARS, it was the indiscriminate killing of civet cats & other wild animals in Guangdong that led to the birth of that terrible virus. In the case of Bird Flu, it was the inhumane killing of fowl that caused it to spread to human beings. Once every few years, the collective karma of all these killing will reach a boiling point, erupting into a new virus outbreak against Man. In reality the stars do not give us disaster, but we give ourselves disaster. The unlucky stars are merely a reflection of the bad karma we create by not observing the 5 percepts of refraining from killing, theft, sexual misconduct, false speech & intoxicants. But history reveals that often it is the sin of killing that bears negative fruits in the swiftest time.

Therefore if we really want to avoid suffering, we must stop taking lives & cultivate compassion towards all sentient beings. Although vegetarianism is optional in Buddhism, even though we need not give up eating meat in our Dhamma practice, we must always observe the 4 rules of pure consumption, namely:

1. Not to eat if one sees the animal being killed.

2. Not to eat if one hears the animal being killed.

3. Not to eat if the animal is killed specially for you.

4. Not to eat if the animal is reared by yourself.

If we can observe these 4 rules, then we would not create negative karma in our daily dietary needs. If we can be vegetarian, that is even better; but depending on physical conditions, not everyone can adjust to a completely vegetarian diet. That is why the Buddha recommended flexiblity on this point. The most important teaching to remember is to have compassion for animals in the same way as humans. Do not do unto them what we would not do unto ourselves. To refrain from killing as well as to observe the rest of the 5 percepts is the true path to happiness. If we observe the percepts as though our lives depended on them, then no plagues or calamities can ever befall us, sadhu.

The Original Face

What is the Original Face? It is the face all of us have before our parents gave birth to us. Before we even have the 6 sense organs of eyes, ears, nose, tounge, body & brain to perceive the 6 sense objects of form, sound, smell, taste, feeling & thought. Before we even know good & evil, happiness & suffering, samsara & nirvana. Simply the pure awareness untainted by all 6 senses - that is the real YOU. That is also me, that is also all sentient beings & all Buddhas. This is the Dharma that the 6th Patriarch revealed to his pursuer Hui Ming on Da Yu mountain. By temporarily shutting down your 6 sense organs and blocking out the 6 sense objects, by abandoning duality, what is left at that instant is your true nature. Like the still lake without a single ripple, or like the clear blue sky without a single cloud; the original face is vast, limitless, formless & completely free. It is not dull nothingness like an unconscious person, but a living, unmoving awareness that pervades all things, yet remaining unaffected by all things. Besides this, there is no other esoteric teachings that the Buddha & the Patriarches can impart to us.
But alas, for all of us, after we have picked up a physical body in our mother's womb, we have totally forgotten our original face. We started to grasp on to our sense organs, believing that to be our Self, our Ego. This is where the ignorance without a beginning - Avijja takes over. When our sense organs contact the sense objects, we instinctively allow the objects to enslave the organs, such that craving & aversion developes without an end, engulfing the entire universe. From Avijja arises craving & aversion, & from craving & aversion arises endless suffering.
Thus realizing this, the Zen practitioner should, in a single thought understand his or her own mistake, & immediately detach oneself from one's senses & its objects from within. Throwing away all concepts, directly penetrate the veil of Avijja & recover your original face. This is the common hope of all Buddhas & Patriarches for all sentient beings. Let none of us dissappoint them, sadhu.

Is Pure Land more practical than Zen?

There are some Pure Land teachers who claim that in this Dharma Ending Age, you can only hope to acheive result through Amitabha recitation. They believe that seeking rebirth in the Pure Land is the only reliable way of transcending Samsara. All the other Mahayana schools, especially Zen, only works for the ancients, who have greater aptitude & determination than any modern person. They say there are almost no enlightened Zen masters left in the world today, whereas there are still thousands of Pure Land practitioners who have achieved rebirth there. So this is a proven method with live examples that we should all follow. What are we to make of this kind of rhetoric?
Chan Master Ven Xuyun had this to say:

"For those who have attained enlightenment, all Dharmas are universally penetrating. Zen contemplation is the Way, Buddha recitation is the Way, even mundane chores like digging the soil is the Way. In my whole life I have never discouraged anybody from recitation, but I'm not happy with those people who discourage others from contemplation."

There are 84,000 methods that lead to enlightenment; no one path is superior to another. Zen is Zen & Pure Land is Pure Land, what good does it do to put down one in order to elevate the other? Saying that the ancients are superior to modern men is self-defeating talk. Although people of the present have much more distractions then those of the past, but in terms of intelligence, didn't modern men built airplanes, bullet trains, satellites, super computers, sky-scrapers & spaceships that could land on the moon? If we talk about the kleshas, the mental defilements that affect sentient beings are the same for all men, no matter whether they lived in the past, present or future. Just go through the Sutta Pitaka & you will realize that some of the Buddha's followers have even worse obstacles than we do, but that did not stop them from eventually reaching enlightenment in one lifetime. So why should we look down on ourselves & give up before we have even made a good effort?

As for saying that there are no more enlightened Zen masters left in the world; who then is Ven Xuyun? Who is Ven Yuexi? Are they Pacceka (Solitary) Buddhas who attain enlightenment on their own? Surely not. They too learned from other enlightened masters in their younger days. The fact is that the Chan lineage in China was never broken. The heart transmission of Zen carries on, generation after generation from the 6th Patriarch up to this day. The same could be said for the Zen lineages in Korea, Japan & elsewhere. Those who say that there are no more people who achieved result from Zen contemplation are surely misguided or misinformed.

Regarding the claim that many practitioners who practiced Amitabha recitation achieved rebirth in the Pure Land, with auspicious signs to prove, I believe that there is nothing wrong with that. These serve as inspirations for those inclined to practice the Pure Land teachings. However, at no point should anybody make use of these stories to put down other schools & propogate Pure Land as the only method that works! The scriptures say:

"Virtuous One, concepts of superiority & inferiority exist in your own mind. They are not in accordance with the Buddha's wisdom."

A truly wise teacher will not only encourage people to practice the method of his own school, but at the same time he should also praise the merits of the other schools without any discrimination. Only in this way the teacher can be in accordance with the Buddha's wisdom & ensure the long-term harmony of His Sasana, sadhu. Happy Chinese New Year 2007 to all!

Huang Bo's instruction to the dying man

Ven Huangbo Xiyun (776 - 856 CE), a native of Fuzhou in Fujian province, is one of the great Chan masters of the Tang Dynasty. He is also the teacher of Ven Linji Yixuan, founder of the Linji (Rinzai) school of Chan Buddhism. His teachings, recorded in 2 books, "The Dharma Essence of Chan Master Huangbo's Heart Tranmission" & "Wanling Records of Chan Master Huangbo", have a far-reaching influence on Chan or Zen practitioners up to this day.

Huangbo had this to say for instructions to a dying person:

"If an ordinary man, when he is about to die, could only see that -
The 5 aggregates & the 4 elements as void and not Self;
The True Mind as formless and neither coming nor going;
His nature as something neither beginning at his birth nor ceasing at his death, but as perfect and unmoving in its very core;
His mind and its projections as One --
If he could thus enter straight into sudden enlightenment, he would no longer be entangled by the 3 Realms and become a World Transcender.
One should not even have the faintest tendency towards rebirth.
If you should behold the glorious vision of all the Buddhas coming to receive you, surrounded by every kind of auspicious manifestations, you should feel no desire to follow them.
If you should behold all sorts of horrific forms surrounding you, you should also experience no fear. Simply forget your own mind and become one with the Dharmakaya, gaining absolute freedom.
This is the essential principle."

How should we understand this? It means that a person, whether living or dying, must come to the realization that our entire physical & mental world is totally illusionary. The true mind is like a movie screen. The elements, aggregates, sense organs, its objects, & our consciousness; all these are movie images projected onto the screen. These moving images tells all sorts of stories, some happy, others sad, some long, some short, but all coming to an end at some point of time. But the screen? It simply remains as a screen no matter how many movies have been projected onto it. Since time immemorial, this screen has always remained the same for all Buddhas & sentient beings alike. However, due to the obstruction of Avijja, sentient beings never see the screen itself, only the movies on the screen. They believe these ever-moving series of images to be their self, their life, their only reality. Death is like the short intermission between one movie & the next. At this point where all images dissolve temporarily, it is the easiest to see the movie screen, provided one possesses the Right View.

Therefore the Chan practitioner must cultivate Right View & let it be permanantly carved into one's mind. Even if you do not reach enlightenment in this life, it will surely guide you to enlightenment when you recall it at the moment of death.

The Legend of Phra Sai & Ong Tue

I just returned from a trip to Udon Thani around a week ago. While I was there I went to the various famous & not so famous temples in Udon, as well as Nong Khai. In Nong Khai there are 2 important temples, Wat Pho Chai & Wat Si Chompu Ong Tue. They house the 2 principal Buddha images of the province, LP Phra Sai (灵感佛) & LP Phra Chao Ong Tue respectively.
Wat Pho Chai is located just outside the Nong Khai town. The gold image of LP Phra Sai is in the posture of subduing Mara. The lap width is 28 inches while the height is 41 inches. This sacred Buddha image has been enshrined since the establishment of the province. The history of this image relates to many parts of Thai history but it is unclear when it was cast or who cast it. Prince Damrong Rachanuphap speculated on its origin in a book called "Histories of Important Buddha Statues", which was published and distributed in a royal kathina ceremony in the year 1925. Prince Damrong thought that LP Phra Sai was cast in the Lan Chang Kingdom in Laos. According to legend, 3 princesses were the people who caused the images to be casted. Another legend gives us more details. It goes like this:
King Chaiyachetthathirat's had 3 daughters named Serm, Suk, and Sai. They had the unanimous wish of casting their own personal Buddha images. They then asked their father for support, thus leading to the king's command to cost three Buddha images having different sizes according to their ages, the oldest having the largest image. They were named accordingly, Phra Serm for the oldest and largest, Phra Suk for the middle sister and second largest size, and Phra Sai for the youngest and smallest image. They were to be cast in an alloy of gold & bronze, a virtually impervious metal and a difficult one to mix. It required very high temperature to get the metal smelted enough to pour and although the Monks and Novices worked full time at the bellows for seven days and nights they still couldn't raise enough heat. On the eighth day the Monks were exhausted at noon when a white robed figure appeared and offered to take over the work. The Monks and Novices thankfully retired to take a break and eat. More white robed figures appeared to assist the first and when the Monks and Novices returned from their meal break and rest, prepared to take up the task of smelting again, the white robed figures were nowhere to be seen. They had disappeared as mysteriously as they had arrived - the metal was melted and ready to pour into the moulds!
The 3 Buddha images were in Vientiane until 1778, when the man who was to become King Rama I of Thailand went to Laos. He removed the images to Vientiane en route to Thailand taking the son of the Laos King with him as a future son-in-law (hostage) for safety and returned to Bangkok. The son-in-law, Chao Anu Wong, survived Rama I, Rama II and in the reign of King Rama III the King of Laos died. King Rama III then sent Chao Anu Wong back to Laos to take over the throne but the Laos people and his relatives persuaded him to declare independence for Laos. Subsequently King Rama III sent an army, led by his Commander in Chief to wage war against the rebellious Laos. He won and Chao Anu Wong was killed. The 3 Buddha images were then taken by raft on the Mekong river to Thailand.
The Phra Sai Katha is shown above. It goes:
Namo Tassa (3x)
Arahang Buddho Bodhijayo Seyyakuno
Bodhisatto Mahalabho Piyang Mak Mak
Bhavantuno Hotu Sappatha.

During the journey a storm capsized one of the rafts but the Buddha images were retrieved, until a second storm hit them and the image of Phra Suk sank through the bottom of the raft to the Mekong riverbed at Wern Pra Sook, Nong Kong Village. There it lies to this day, off the shore of Phon Phisai District in Nong Khai. The two remaining Buddha images were taken one to Wat Ho Klong and the other to Wat Po Chai until King Rama V ordered them brought to Bangkok. They were to be taken by buffalo cart but Phra Sai refused to leave and no matter what they tried. The buffalo cart could not sustain the weight and continuously broke down. So Phra Sai remained at Wat Po Chai while the remaining one, Phra Serm, was transported to Bangkok where it now resides at Wat Pa Tum Wanaram at Siam Square, behind the World Trade Centre. On every full moon day of the 7th lunar month the people of Nong Khai celebrate Pho Soi by having "Bun Bong Fai", the rocket flying ceremony at Wat Po Chai in honour of LP Phra Sai.

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Wat Si Chompu Ong Tue is in Tambon Nam Mong, Amphue Tha Bo, 43km from Nong Khai town. LP Phra Chao Ong Tue is the largest Buddha image in the province. It was also believed to be casted by Lan Chang artisans using an alloy of gold, bronze & silver. This image is in the posture of subduing Mara, having a lap width of 3.3m, & a height of 4m. The word "Tue" is an ancient measuring unit of Isan, equivalent to 1 ton.
LP Ong Tue is considered very sacred just like Phra Sai. There are no reliable records as to when it was cast, though it is believed to have been casted in 1562. King Chaiyachettha, the ruler of Vientiane (who was a son of Phraya Sinsuwan, born in Muang Wiang Khuk), commanded the casting for his wife, Queen Si Chompu (a villager of Ban Nam Mong or Muang Chompu).
The casting process was not successful until Indra, king of the gods & 108 Devadas came to help. The total time spent for the casting was 7 yrs and 7 months, at the expense of 400,000 baht. There is an annual paying homage festival to LP Ong Tue on the full moon day of the 4th lunar month every year.

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At both temples I did not hesitate to invite buchas of the 2 Buddha images back to Singapore. I've placed them in my office altar in replacement of the 2 small LP Tuad images, which I brought home.
This is the 3-inch brass bucha of LP Phra Sai. See how refined it is! The casting is beautiful indeed. The image of Phra Sai gives off a strong aura, & is not called 灵感佛 or the "Buddha of Inspiration" for nothing. The Phra Sai katha to be chanted is shown in one of the photos above. And this is the 3-inch Nawa bucha of LP Ong Tue. Somewhat different from the original Ong Tue image, but a good piece of Buddhist art nevertheless. The bronze is also of high quality. So those are the modifications to my office altar after I came back from Udon. Feel free to give me your comments.