When the Venerable Master was here, of course I could see him and hear his teachings. Even though the Venerable Master is not here, I have also seen him and heard his teachings.
In December of 1994, a new shipment of books was sent to the library of Amitabha Sagely Monastery in Hualian, and I noticed an illustrated book on medicinal herbs there. I was delighted, but didn’t know where I could buy a copy. The book had not yet been catalogued. If I could keep it with me and not return it, how happy I’d be. Unexpectedly, at lunch the following day, I heard the Venerable Master say in a loud voice (on tape):
“The books of the library cannot be kept personally.” If it hadn’t been for the Venerable Master’s immediate instruction, I would have transgressed the precept against stealing. What a fool I was.
A little after seven o’clock on June 9, 1995, I was at the mortuary reciting the Buddha’s name with the assembly. The Venerable Master had already been lying there for three days. When I went in, I saw the Master wearing a red
kashaya sash and entering the main hall from the corridor.
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