Leaving the Home Life
| In Manchuria
A Buddha Living in the World
Respectfully written by Upasaka Shi Qi. |
When he was nineteen, his mother passed away, and he requested Venerable Master Chang Zhi of Sanyuan (Three Conditions) Monastery
to shave his head. He was given the Dharma name An Tse and style name
To Lun. Dressed in the left-home robes, he built a simple hut by his
mother's grave and observed the practice of filial piety. During that
period, he made eighteen great vows,
bowed to the Avatamsaka (Flower Adornment) Sutra, performed worship and
pure repentance, practiced Chan meditation, studied the teachings, ate
only one meal a day, and did not lie down to sleep at night. As his
skill grew ever more pure, he won the admiration and respect of the
villagers. His intensely sincere efforts to purify and cultivate
himself moved the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as well as the
Dharma-protecting gods and dragons. The miraculous responses were too
many to be counted. As news of these supernatural events spread far and
wide, the Master came to be regarded as an extraordinary monk.
One
day as he was sitting in meditation, he saw the Great Master, the Sixth
Patriarch, come to his hut and tell him, "In the future you will go to
the West, where you will meet limitless and boundless numbers of
people. The living beings you teach and transform will be as countless
as the sands of the Ganges River. That will mark the beginning of the
Buddhadharma in the West." After the Sixth Patriarch finished speaking,
he suddenly vanished. When his observance of filial piety was
completed, the Master went to Changbai Mountain and dwelled in
seclusion in the Amitabha Cave, where he practiced austerities. Later
he returned to Sanyuan Monastery, where he was chosen to be the head of
the assembly. During the period that he lived in Manchuria, the Master
contemplated people's potentials and bestowed appropriate teachings. He
awakened those who were confused and saved many people's lives.
Countless dragons, snakes, foxes, ghosts, and spirits requested to take
refuge and receive the precepts from him, changing their evil and
cultivating goodness.
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