Fan Ying Dong

For the rest of the day I followed the crowd like a common Chinese pilgrim from temple to temple. It was fun actually to scurry about like everyone else from bowing cushion to another.

I heard a story of a man talking to another man. One young man said to an older man, “I took refuge and then everything in my life got smoother. I am a true believer so I came to burn incense and bow.” I saw in the older man considering this was a good idea, something for him to do also.

When I returned to Putuo Shan I decided to take the shuttle up to “Fan Ying Dong” the Image Cave. I first heard of this cave from Rev. Heng Sure’s stories of visiting this cave with his teacher Ven. Hsuan Hua and a bus load of delegation. Before the start of the trip, Ven. Hsuan Hua told everyone to be on the trip they each had to memorize the “Universal Door’ Chapter” on Guan Yin Bodhisattva. When most people have paid their respects, Rev. Heng Sure was left with ManiPing the last two of the group to take their bows. Ven. Hsuan Hua reminded him that he had memorized the “Universal Door Chapter”. So while kneeling down, Rev. Heng Sure recited the “Universal Door Chapter” and ManiPing recited her name. Then he heard her say, “Oh you are just what I’ve always imagined you would be, a sweet, kind, gentle, nurturing, female Bodhisattva.” Upon hearing this Rev. Heng Sure opened his eyes and looked up, what he saw was a big, strong, tough ,male, looking very much like a General of an army speaking to him sternly. “Hm! Quit mess’n around!” He said he quivered. What he saw was not what ManiPing saw yet they were both Guan Yin Bodhisattvas speaking dharma to each of them according to what they both needed at the moment. This cave if famous for sightings of Guan Yin Bodhisatta.

As I hurried like everyone else to this famous cave and stuck my neck out like everyone else looking here, looking there. All I saw was a cave. It was fun, just to try. It was something I have always wanted to do ever since I heard the story.

Then I went on a long walk all the way down to the beach. It was very nice. I enjoyed the sounds of the waves. I enjoyed the trees I saw and all the natural beauty. I thought to myself, I could get used to living on this island.

Ten Yuan Poison

I got up for the 5:30am porridge breakfast for 2 yuan. Food was served by laymen. The tables were round, the following food was common for breakfast all over China, porridge, pickled cabbage, peanuts, steamed rice buns, fermented tofu, and sometimes fresh stir-fried vegetables. After breakfast I dashed out to the bus stop hoping to ride the first bus down to the wharf at 6:30am. Well, the bus was late and I made it down to the wharf two minutes before the 7:30am departure.

A couple from Fujian named Wu who ran a construction company at ZhouShan also stayed at the same monastery, was there for the porridge breakfast, and was also there at the bus stop. We were all racing to get onto the first boat to LuoJiaShan. Mr. Wu instructed me to get in line to hold our place in line and he would get the tickets. I stood in the boarding line with his wife handing her money for the ticket and she shook her head, with the palm of her hand pushed my hand that held money for them away. She told me that her husband would not allow it and that it would be okay to accept their generosity and hospitality.

By the time we made it onto the boat, it was full, not a single seat was available. Then we were ushered to the VIP room where the VIP seats were where we had our own room for an extra 10 yuan per person. We had no choice and entered. Mrs. Wu sat between us. She was a faithful Buddhist from Fujian who loved reciting the Great Compassion Mantra and lighting incense. I also love the Great Compassion Manta. In fact the first time I heard it, I was still a Sunday church girl who had no idea what it was. I just liked the sound of it and wanted to learn it from memory so I can sing it because I liked it. So I sang it like a song for a month and memorized it that way.

Mrs. Wu was fixated on the TV where it showed the Karaoke version of the Great Compassion Mantra chant. Mr. Wu kept asking curious questions from me. I started to feel dizzy and was growing a large headache. I felt sick like one would on a boat in the gut but mine was in the head. I was also preoccupied with the 10 yuan the service man was suppose to collect. Thoughts ran through my mind hypnotically, “Maybe the service man would forget to collect the money”, “Maybe Mr. Wu will pick up this one too”, etc…… that all these temptations would be okay. When we docked, I saw Mr, Wu discretely passed money to the service man as we exited. I saw that inquired the fact that the service man did not come to collect our money. He told me that it was okay. The “it was okay” rang like a bell in my head, it was the exact same thing that was running across my head.
I slowly got out of the ferry and climbed up the steps. I found myself in a weird state. I could not move my body easily and I found no particular reason why I couldn’t. My chi was blocked, I was heavy all over. My chest was shivering. It alarmed me and I knew something was wrong.

I could not get my mind off the 10 yuan. I knew there was nothing wrong with the Wu’s hospitality. But it was the running thoughts of greed, cheating, getting a bargain that was driving me mad. My body was experiencing a lot of internal distress. Then I realized clearly, this was the 10 yuan poison.

I quickly bowed in front of Guan Yin Bodhisattva and asked for her guidance. I told her I was not greedy for the 10 yuan, I have it in my hand except the couple would not take it from me. I am crystal clear that there is no free lunch and no one gets away with anything karmically. I put the 10 yuan in the donation box for the couple and prayed on their behalf. They don’t have children and would like to have children so I prayed for them. Then like magic, all that lifted from my body like feathers. Just like that it all went away.

How simple, how easy, how effortless without struggle, poof, lifted, gone, just like that. Whatever it was, whoever it was, none of it mattered, it was poisoning me. It doesn’t matter if it was my mind, my thoughts, my beings. It was not the issue of me or mine, where it comes from, where it goes, it does not matter. I didn’t want to dance and tango with it by analyzing it with my college educated intellect; by over analyzing it, labeling it, locking myself in chains by brewing over it and beating myself up with it.

This was my lesson, this was the point of this journey into Putuo, that not everything has to be a struggle in my life. I knew I had learned my lesson and it was time to move on and head for Shanghai instead of staying here for days.

Ningbo Tien Tung Si

Today I set out to Tien Tung Si. After many detours, I finally arrived at the Monastery. I didn’t get proper instruction on where to get off to get on to the proper connecting bus. I went with all my packs just incase in the spur of the moment I decided I would proceed to Putuo Shan. I really didn’t want to stay at that very weird Youth Hostel again. It was very unlike all the other Youth Hostel I came across all over China. The reception at the hostel wanted me to stay another night by leaving my luggage there.

While hiking into the monastery from the bus stop, a man named Han “Cold” from Sichuan ended up walking with me. Well, it was the only path, and there were just the two of us and no one else. He ran to catch up with me to chat with me. He wanted to carry my packs for me but I insisted on doing taking care of my own luggage. He was thin and looked like he could not handle my packs at all.

It was drizzling and Cold was taking a side trip from his job to burn incense and pray for a business deal to go through. I wanted to check out the old architecture out in the back where the Stupas were. Han didn’t want to go because that’s where the dead were buried. I wanted to pay homage to the past masters. I didn’t care for Cold’s work schedule, we were not traveling together, but somehow that was not what Cold thought.

Given the slow start in the morning and all the mix up on the bus, it was quite late already and I knew if I wanted to head to Putuo Shan, I would have to be at the wharf soon. It would take some time to get to the wharf by local public bus. I wanted to make sure I got to the island before sundown because I needed to locate housing on foot for the night. So I ended up skipping out on the rest of touring in Ningbo and went straight to the island.

I took the 2:10pm ferry to Putuo Shan. When I arrived onto the island I got onto a shuttle to Pu Ji Si to look for housing for the night. It was full and I was referred to another place, smaller, humbler and further off called Da Cheng Si by Thousand Steps Beach. People were nice here with a sense of humor and it was less touristy than the other place. I paid 15 yuan for a dorm bed and ended up with the entire room to myself. I later found out the 20 yuan bed was night and day compared to the 15 yuan. But, I preferred minimal crowd even if the accommodation was marginal. To stay warm tonight, I plan to sleep with all the blankets in the room.

After dropping my packs off I went to walk the grounds. By then, all the doors were shut and only a handful of people were still running about burning incense. I saw a woman kneeling in front of a set of closed doors and dropping two pieces of moon shaped wood onto the ground. I watched her do this from afar to give her privacy. When she was done and got up I approached her to inquire what she was doing.

It turns out this woman was from Fujian and came with friends from her town. I asked if she could teach me what she was doing, she shied away. Everyone else encouraged to her show me how to “Pu Gua”. The instructions she gave me was to hold the two half moon shapes in my hand, ask a question, then drop the pieces together and see how it lands. Depending on how it landed the answer to the question was a clear yes, a clear no, and you must be joking. I asked what I should do after Shanghai my last stop in China. I asked about many other countries, India was a clear yes and that I should enter India via Nepal and Nepal via Thailand. I have no idea how I would go about pulling that off.