LIAN HUA JIA XING Told His 

Personal Experience

A Special Interview By Guru Cheng Ren

■Book 104 - A Plethora Of Scenic Splendours

■Written by GrandMaster Sheng-yen Lu

 

In order that the Buddhism fraternity all over the world can understand why the dead convicts can have sarira in their remains, the writer interviewed Lian Hua Jia Xing, a True Buddha disciple who was once sentenced to death in Singapore.

(In its 17th edition, the True Buddha News made Lian Hua Bing Fa the headline after he was acquitted from the death sentence)

Question: Lian Hua Jia Xing, why were you sentenced to death in the first place?

Answer: Because of drug trafficking.

Question: How old are you now?

Answer: I am thirty four.

Question: When did you commit the crime?

Answer: In 1985 (i.e. Seven years ago.)

Question: Do you know the rest of True Buddha disciples then awaiting their execution?

Answer: I know all of them. In fact, Lian Hua Yu Xing came to prison the same time as me. We are one of the earliest to have taken refuge.

Question: How do you take refuge? And when did you start the cultivation?

Answer: At first, I practised Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, and chanted Namo Horen Gekyo for nine hours daily. While Lian Hua Yu Xing chanted the great compassion mantra and recited the name of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. But we did not experience any spiritual response even after one year. One day in 1987, Lian Hua Yu Xing's wife brought him a few books written by the grand master. We started reading them and found what were expounded in the books to be true. We were so moved by the contents that we started to cry.

I learned from Lian Hua Yu Xing the way to recite the name of Avalokitesvara. After three days of recital, when I faced the wall, I felt the pain that was beyond description, I came to realise that life is nothing but sorrow and impermanence.

While reciting the name of Avalokitesvara, I pleaded with him to save my life. Suddenly, everything around me faded away, and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva stood in front of me. Dressed in white and taller than a few storey, he radiated golden lights. Two lads, his attendants were standing beside him.

He asked whether I knew him. I replied that I knew him as I dreamed about him five months ago, and I missed him very much. To my question of whether I could take refuge in Master Lu Sheng Yen who lives in Seattle, he answered affirmatively. Suddenly the Grandmaster appeared vividly from the ground and floated in the air, then he faded away gradually. Avalokitesvara assured me that as long as I cultivated the tantra, I would be released after serving five years in the prison for what I had committed. After the departure of the Bodhisattva, there were trace of fragrance in the room. I told Lian Hua Yu Xing the miracle I saw, and both of us took refuge together immediately.

Question: What are the living conditions in the prison?

Answer: Since all of us were sentenced to death, we had our own rooms, which was enough for a bed and a toilet bowl. Apart from eating and bathing, we had to be in our cells. Before taking refuge in True Buddha Tantra, it was unbearable. All the convicts indulged in singing, talking loudly and scolding one another. All of us were quarrelsome. 

Question: Any change after taking refuge?

Answer: The situation did not improve when we started the cultivation. Those who took refuge were very quiet and cultivated the tantra whole-heartedly. We learned the four foundations from “Top secrets of True Buddha School” without any teacher. As we had not seen a picture of Vajrasattva before, so we had to base on what was written in the book to do the visualisation. The spiritual response came slightly more than a month later. Whenever we visualised the image of Vajrasattva, grandmaster's face would appear. All of us agreed to use Grand master's face when we visualised Vajrasattva. We were glad to have done that.

With full confidence, all of us were serious about our cultivation. The prison was turned into a retreat centre. Apart from eating and bathing, all of us remained in our cells all the time. There was hardly any noise since no one talked, or singed any more. The cells were just like isolated ones. We just carried on our chanting and did a few rounds of cultivations daily. Doing great prostration to atone for misbehaviour, we hit our heads against the floor so hard that our foreheads were blackened and smooth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following is a fact. For the last few years , the True Buddha school has been the focus of world religions. The name of Master Lu Sheng Yen appeared almost daily as the headline in politics, social and cultural pages of the newspapers. All kinds of magazines that have a wide readership use master Lu's picture as over page instead of some actresses. There is nobody more controversial than Master Lu yet.

In Hong Kong, someone on the street pointed at me and said, “Look, this is the Living Buddha appearing in the front page.”

In Malaysia, the chef came out of the kitchen and exclaimed, “

Look, this is the Living Buddha that is the man of the hour.”

They used such terms as “Flower light carefree Buddha”, “Maya”, “Sari Buddha”, “Heresy”, “Righteous Buddhism”, “pagan”, “trickster”,”woman killer”, “a gentleman”, etc to describe me.

But there is no consensus.

I just laugh it off when they came to ask me.

There is no conclusion when I am alive, nor will they be any change after my death. The line between a genius and a madman is a very thin one. To those who like me, I am talented. For others, I am just a lunatic.

Forget about what they have just said, and listen to the truth I am telling you now:

Many dead convicts all over the world have taken refuge in Living Buddha Lian Shen and they are cultivating True Buddha Tantra now.

I am not sure whether the dead convicts made True Buddha Tantra well known or the other way round.

Which is the cause, and which is the effect?

There is no creator in this instance. The sarira found in the remains of the dead convicts were not created. They were formed naturally.

The sarira is to reaffirm what Shakyamuni Buddha said previously : “All human beings have Buddha nature in them. Putting down the Butcher's knife and be enlightened as an instant Buddha.”

In short, the dead convicts were merely confirming what the Buddha said.