Assignment 3 - Xiaodan Jin

The first book I read about the Venerable Master was back to around 1996. I still remembered that I was doing homework in the university library, and then I opened the book "The Life of Venerable Master Hua" and started to read, and then I could not put it down. I read a story about an old lady who kneeled down to ask the Venerable to fulfill her wish of having a grandson. The Venerable did not reply her; instead, he finished washing his feet and then told the old lady that if she drank the water he just washed his feet, her wish will be fulfilled. She was astonished and refused to drink. The Venerable laughed and drank all the water very easily (there is a picture here in the book and in the picture the Venerable was laughing happily). When I read here and saw the Venerable in the picture, I could not hold back tears and start crying. Why his life is so at ease and happy? It is because he has no self!

During yesterday class, we discussed the meaning of "I came from empty space and I will also return to empty space". In my point of view, the dharma body of the Venerable did not come and did not go. The physical body we saw was his transformation body. He manifested himself to be a nauty boy until 12-year-old he started to repent in order to teach us whatever bad people we are now, if we want to change ourselves and repent, we will become good people, if we cultivate, eventually we will become Buddhas.