Our
airplane touched down slowly in Qingdao after 5 ½ hours of flight. Our tour
guide was Liu. He brought along another senior tour guide who helped out with
the explanation of the various tourist attractions in Shandong. When I told the
latter that I wanted to see the cherry blossom, he told me I won’t be able to
do so because he just sent off a group of Singaporean tourists who came for the cherry blossom but left in
disappointment because the flowers had already withered. However, when we
set foot in the Zhongshan Garden, we were awed by the full cherry blossom in the
garden! Actually, the single-petalled cherry blossom had indeed withered but
the dould-petalled cherry blossom were just beginning to show their beauty and
welcoming our arrival. Silently, I thanked the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in my
heart, for they never disappoint anyone of his wish.
On the
first day, I told Liu that all our Chinese tour guides in the past took refuge in
Acho Rinpoche during the trips. He gave me a funny look but I just laughed it
off.
On the
second day, we drove on the 50.4km long Jiaozhou Bay Bridge – we were simply dumbfounded
by its sheer size! 5 hours later, we arrived in Feicheng. I saw a poster inside
a lift in the hotel that said “Feicheng is the hometown for big fat peaches,
and the county for the well-mannered.” I saluted this place silently in my
heart.
On the following
morning, Ma Yum La (my wife) had an upset stomach. I accompanied her to consult
a doctor in a community hospital while the rest of the group went ahead to visit
the hometown of Confucius – Qufu. On their way back, they saw a sun halo
appearing in the sky.
When we returned to Feicheng, we finally realized that there
was a very precious Buddha’s tooth relic being enshrined in the Baoxiang
Temple in Wenshang, Jining. According to the Buddhist records, there are only 4
pieces of Buddha’s tooth relic remaining in the world: one in Indra Heaven, one in the
Dragon Palace, one in Sri Lanka, and the last one in Beijing. Least did we
expect that the last one is actually being enshrined in the Prince Stupa in
Baoxiang Temple in Wenshang, Shandong!
In 1994, on
the 15th day of the 3rd lunar month, the Buddha’s tooth relic was
discovered in the basement of the Prince Stupa during its maintenance; the stupa dated
back about one thousand years ago. There were other Buddha relics and sacred
objects being discovered at the same time, totaling 141 pieces. The news
shocked the entire nation and rocked the world. Ever since the discovery of
these sacred objects, “Buddha Light” (a sun halo) would appear above the Prince
Stupa around the 15th day of the 3rd lunar month every
year without fail. Tens of thousands of monks and tourists would come to
Baoxiang Temple to witness the unusual phenomenon every year.
Actually,
we had already planned to visit Sri Lanka at the end of this year, to pay
homage to the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha. A special arrangement seemed to
have gone underway quietly without us knowing. We did a prayer before the
Buddha’s tooth relic and some of the Chinese tourists joined us in the prayer
too. Liu had some special experience during the prayer.
When we
stepped out of the basement of the stupa, a sun halo appeared in the sky! Both
Liu and the local tour guide found it just unbelievable. The latter said, “A
true enlightened master has come! That’s why the Buddha light appears in the
sky!”This time, Liu was fully convinced. One the very same night, he took refuge in
Acho Rinpoche, together with 6 other relatives of Dharma Sister Shen.
On the 4th
day, we ascended the greatest mountain of China – Mtn. Tai. It was indeed the greatest
mountain in China, for Dharma Brother Shao saw numerous Taoist deities appearing
in the space above and blessed him when he returned alone to the hotel for a
rest as he was feeling sick.
We also visited Black Tiger Spring and Baotu Spring in
Jinan. We were impressed by the rich underground water hidden beneath this
city. There were actually deities guarding the Baotu Spring too. After that, we
went to Penglai and saw some other deities who were of a lower spiritual rank. Rain
started falling when we were on our way to Yantai, followed by Weihai, and
finally reaching the Red Hill in Shidao. The moment we set foot in Red Hill, it
was already shrouded by a very thick mist. And there were cherry blossoms everywhere,
dancing in the mist and welcoming our arrival. We watched the performance of
the world’s only animated Avalokitesvara fountain and again enjoyed the scenic
view of full cherry blossom surrounding the entire place. The place was misty and
felt like a fairy land. It was drizzling slightly – as if the fairies were
showering us with flowers. We were immersed in the greatest power of blessing
during this period. After visiting the Lotus Temple, we paid our respect to the
Great Brightness Buddha of the Red Hill in circumambulation. At that juncture,
numerous Sun Moon Lamp Buddhas appeared in space while we entered the Lotus
Samadhi, thus achieving a spiritual response with the Sun Moon Lamp Buddha.
All the experiences we had during this extraordinary tour of
the Ancient Land of Qi-Lu were real. The aura of the Buddha and the rain of blessing were
there everywhere we went. Mtn. Tai, the greatest mountain in China, a sacred mountain
ascended by all the past emperors to pay respect to the heaven after their
enthronements, has awakened by the most supreme power of blessing. The Land
of China, you ought to be awake too! Life is impermanent. Do not continue falling…….
Acho Rinpoche
11pm, 15 May 2013
Pictures:
1) Red Hill
2) Mtn. Tai
3) Animated Avalokitesvara fountain
4) Buddha's tooth relic at Baoxiang Temple
