Soft Hail on North Peak

I packed my bags, parted with the monastery and headed to join a car for a tour of 5 peaks. I met up with Ai from Beijing and two women from Guang Dong at the Car For Hire Center in town. We all met each other for the first time and decided to form a group together. We each had to pay 250 yuan for visiting all five peaks. It turned out to be a 12 hour day tour. Ai is an aristocrat, in the family blood line of Emperor Chien Long. The other two women make regular visits to the peaks because they have had real response to their prayers here. It was a fun car trip, even the cab driver was great. He warned us about where not to go, you'd get sick and you'd have to go back to the monastery for a healing, etc...... terrible stuff.

I love the mountain ranges here, they are beautiful to me. I like North peak and East peak the best. I like the energy in north peak. It hailed softly when we arrived. That might have been the last time anyone can enter north peak for this season.

On this peak, Ai and I discussed the subject of immigration. He works for a network station in Beijing. He says he owns a car and because of his job, he has access to many places that people normally don’t. He said he has a friend who can line him up with a job in US to do culinary work in a restaurant and work on his immigration paper work. I think I spoke for an hour straight, questioning whether or not he had his head together to trade in his chilled lifestyle here in Beijing as an aristocrat to go wash dishes in a restaurant and never get to really learn English or move on in life because he was too busy making ends meet on minimum wage. It sounds good when you do the currency conversion. But I reminded him that he’s doing better here in Beijing and that the currency conversion isn’t an accurate standard to base things on. People forget to take off standard of living expenses and then do the ratio and compare.

During lunch, one of the woman asked me why I don't burn incense etc....... The other woman replied for me,” I get it, it’s bad for pollution right!” I told her, syin yi is good enough. They didn't quite compute and I didn’t know how to go about explaining it either.

I stayed with women that night at a hotel. The room was heated and there was hot water for shower. I was happy to and feeling much better. It was 20 yuan a bed, we got a deal somehow, the receptionist upgraded us as soon as I became an addition to their room. In the bedroom, for some reason both women asked me about cultivation and Dharma. I’m not sure why, because I certainly don’t look the part at all. Cheng asked me how to help her mother who has been sick for the past 6 months. I recommended the method of transference. They have never heard of it and could not believe in its simplicity and empowered effectiveness. They felt insecure of such a method and wanted to go to locate a special someone who can do a special something for them.

Four Blankets in the Mirror Tile Room

For the evening I returned to my room at the Nunnery. The room was brand new, Taiwan style, everything tiled, etc.. and it smelled of fresh paint. The materials selected for décor were suitable for the hot humid Taiwan weather and not cold Wu Tai Shan weather. There was no hot water for shower. I learned they are into so called bitter practice. The more bitter the practice, means the more sincere, the more of not wasting blessings. Some how all of this is suppose to impress someone or add up to enlightenment

A nun who kept watch of me, ready to pound me raided my room and ran through my things many times. I didn’t mind and didn’t bother with wondering how life is on Wu Tai Shan that they have to work this way. I was sick, I had a terrible fever, my throat was all swollen, my body ached, I could barely speak or move. My fourth chakra swelled up into the size of a softball. I could only breathe by laying my body in a certain way. And this elder nun who was looking for any opportunity to pound me was not being understanding, I was not warm enough. I used all four blankets in the room and layered it over me. Because they tile everything and glass everything and mirror everything, it's especially cold there and difficult to retain heat. They could have offered me a coat or something for my legs. My jacket was enough for the day, it's just my legs along with this cold that makes it difficult to get up for morning ceremony and do evenings. Well, she didn't offer and I didn't ask.

She implied I was thoughtless, selfish of possible late comers who may join my room. I told her when there are other guests around I will share, now it's just me. She was into telling me, I was sick because I lack merit and virtue. Duah...... A Buddha is complete, everyone else it not. How's that going to heal or make me better. I just played dumb, that I knew nothing about Buddhism etc.....

The Chi on the mountain was good. Meditating in my room was good. But I decided then that I would leave the next morning and not meet their teacher who people revere. It's terrible but yes, it does reflect on my impression of their teacher. They are into saying they cultivate there, they cultivate bitter practice, they hold precepts strictly. But, lots of rules and what's it got to do with wisdom, and the rules aren't even uniform. It's such a circus on the mountain that I'd say they are doing okay, they are trying and so this should count for something, they are Pureland school, of Jing Kung.

Circus in Town

Also went to town where the White Pagoda was. It is said to hold one of Shakyamuni Buddha’s relic. I did the circling of prayer wheel around this pagoda. I paid attention to those who dressed the part but wanted tourist money lurking close by. Some even followed us. Bao as a local, kept me safe and unharassed as his guest. People who we passed by demanded answers to many question, mainly to calculate in their head how to go about making money off of me however, Bao was skillful in dodging every question and I kept my mouth shout while he did all the interface.

Right in this same square was a Chinese Opera Theatre. There were performers singing and a live orchestra too. The whole atmosphere felt like a circus to me.

Magic Water

We also stopped by a running spring that was also very sweet. And the story that goes with this spring water is this. A monk made a vow to recite a particular sutra thirty thousand times. It took him three years. He vowed that when he finished, a spring would come forth from this place. It is said that such a response did result and he retired after that and passed on. This spring still runs today. People believe in it’s healing abilities. I went along with it and washed my face with the water and asked for a healing to help me release the yin, icy chi blocking the channels of my back.

Thieves Who Raided the Dead

We then visited a Tibetan Monastery. Rumor has it that there were two flesh body cultivators who are sealed behind a wall. During the Cultural Revolution, people tried to raid the wall. They succeeded in locating the wall and attempted to remove the jewel that was in their mouths. It was a Chinese custom for those who have passed on to have a jewel in their mouth. The element that was most often used was jade. The story goes, when the thieves tried to pull the jewel out of the mouth, the lips started to bleed and they ran away screaming leaving the jewel in place.

Rebirth Through Lady Maya's Womb

In the morning, the security guard took it upon himself to run me through all the not to dos on this mountain. He also set me up with a tour group that was passing by to make room to take me in. There was no room but they made room, I squatted the whole way. We headed for a cave called Lady Maya's Womb to do the squeeze through. People see it or it was marketed as a place for rebirth, to start over. Those with blessings can make it through and those without it won’t. I think if you were thin enough you can.

I met a monk on the trail who offered me a card, I didn't want it. But somehow it was in my hand and then he asked for donation. I made an offering because I was up for making an offering to a monk not because this card was blessed by 1000 monks. I did one of the security guard’s list of not to dos, take anything offered by monks on the mountain because it would only lead to spending money. So I let this one go by as a warm up. But was able to avoid the ones on the path who called people in to tell them something in secrete and demanded money from you.

On the trail there were caged small animals for purchase to carry out the merit of liberating life. The thing is, these vendors then catch them again to do business with the next customer on the mountain. So much for liberating life, it’s more like a scam.

The whole trek involved climbing 1,600+ steps. I befriended a guy named Bao from Inner Mongolia. He had one working leg, the other he lost during an accident at work 5 years ago. Now he repairs shoes to make a living on Wu Tai Shan to raise his son by himself. I saw in his eyes a kind gentle light that was clear so I felt safe talking to him. I also befriend a mother son duo of Chen from Hubei, Wu Dang Shan. He had light on his face and he was filial. He’s on this pilgrimage to pray for his mother’s well being. He hopes she will become a Buddhist and start taking care of her practices. He's really into blessings, special this and that. He is of Ningma order of the Tibetan School.

It was fun hiking with them. They joked the whole way and told stories to pass time. I learned that the pilgrims were trying hard for a spiritual response and the key to response was sincerity. So the subject of bowing and sincerity was on and most people agreed the Tibetan way of full prostration passes for sincerity because it is more of a work out. It's funny how someone's idea of hardship is somehow better. Why look for hardship when it finds you, is what I think.

Both Chen and I made it into the cave. Bao was on a crutch with only one working leg and Mrs. Chen was in her 80's walking with a cane. They gave up trying. It wasn’t that they lacked blessings to make it through the cave, they both gave up too easily. Their method was off and they didn't turn their hip right to roll through the hole. Chen was very disappointed that his mother refused to make it through the hole after all this traveling in getting her here and the sixteen hundred steps. He had prepared a special ceremony he was going to lead in the cave, it meant a lot to him. Chen is very filial and wants to save his mother from paths of suffering. This trip was for her. He wanted her to acquire some Dharma insurance by getting blessings here and there. The disappointment was on their faces, I can already see how they already classified themselves as lower class, so much fate and deterministic thinking. What's the use of dharma if you can't turn things around is what I think. But I’m not going to impose my idea of what Dharma is on them.

While in Lady Maya’s Womb, I prayed and asked for guidance on how to go about protecting all living beings with kindness and compassion. I repented for past evil harm I have created onto all beings.

On the way down we had spring water that was sweet and really quenched the thirst. Chen decided to celebrate our gathering and brought out tea leaves from Putuo Shan, Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s Mountain and we made tea with Manjushri Mountain Spring water of Wu Tai Shan.. I missed having tea. I didn’t bring any on this trip thinking I would buy some on the tea street in Beijing but I didn’t find it on my last day of stay there. Chen was kind to give some to me for the road.

Chen tells me that the way to learning Dharma is through connections. You know this person, who knows this person, who then knows that person who can hook you up with this person who knows that teacher who can privately pass Dharma to you. I really don’t know what to make of this system. I am just grateful that my teacher Ven. Hsuan Hua made education of the Dharma free of connections and money. He is truly revolutionary, I am so glad I had the affinity to come across his teaching this lifetime.

Five Peaks Mountain

The driver smoked the whole way I lowered the window the whole way and caught a cold after hours of cold wind blowing into my head. We entered Wu Tai Shan, Five Peaks Mountain in the evening, the driver insisted I stay at his connected inn and refused to take me to Bai Yun Shi, White Cloud Nunnery where I wanted to stay. I refused to get off the car insisting this was not our agreement. He tried to peel me away from the seat and I hung onto the dash board. Even the elderly couple tried to convince me to back down and deal with it tomorrow to avoid a fight. I was scared, and had no idea what was planned for me in the inn. I refused to get off the car reminding him how unethical he was and that such acts lacked virtue. The driver yelled at me and then, demand more money from me. I had already paid him plenty but he already had the money so I couldn’t threaten him of not paying him. I finally agreed to the added 20 yuan for him to drive me for another 5 minutes in the cold dark night on this unfamiliar mountain.

I did not make prior arrangements to stay at the nunnery so I didn’t know if I could even get in. The security guard at the monastery front gate was very nice in helping me get in and pretty much took care of me the entire time. I had to meet with the guest prefect and she was nice to agree to take me in. I learned how useful and important it was to have my refuge booklet with me. But I left mine in storage box along with everything else I owned in Fremont. I was glad to have a place to rest in a Nunnery and be done with the driver.