What Are The Three Types of Sickness (Part 2)

  • Added:
    Sep 06, 2012
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For those who have suffered from schizophrenia, the situation becomes worse if they were sent to a Mental Hospital for further diagnosis or treatment. How are we going to alleviate their pain and suffering? Those people must beg forgiveness from their karmic creditors; repent their wrong deeds truthfully to untie the knots of hatred. Such reconciliation must be agreeable to their karmic creditors. This way, they will soon recover from sickness.

Regarding this, I would like to tell you a story of Venerable Wu-Da. He was given the title “National Master” and the emperor made him a gift of a chair, the kind that only emperors used. It was so beautifully craved that when Venerable Wu-Da sat down on it, he suddenly thought, “How many Dharma Masters are there as good as I? How many have received a gift from the Emperor as fine as this chair?” One thought of arrogance laid him open for the attack of the vengeful ghost. Who was this ghost?

It happened in the past lifetimes when Venerable Wu-Da was an official who had murdered another official during the Han Dynasty in China. After that, the spirit of this official followed him awaiting the chance to take revenge. Realizing his mistake, Venerable Wu-Da left home and became a monk. He cultivated diligently and was no longer harmed by the spirit. Therefore, he vowed to become a monk in his succeeding lives. He lectured widely on sutras and not attached to either fame or wealth. However, during this lifetime, a sore which had the shape of a human face formed on one of his legs. It was complete with a mouth, nose, eyes and ears. It could talk and said, “You want to get away, but you can’t. I am determined to take your life.” This spirit had been following Venerable Wu-Da for ten lifetimes. It demanded to be fed, and would only eat raw meat. If Venerable Wu-Da did not give meat to the sore, it would cause him unbearable pain. Even though Venerable Wu-Da was a National Master, he had no way to get rid of the sore but turned to Venerable Kanaka for help.

Venerable Kanaka was an Arhat, an enlightened being who had freed himself from all worldly afflictions and sufferings. Previously, Venerable Wu-Da had looked after him who was seriously ill. When he was fully recovered, he told Venerable Wu-Da to look for him at one of the places in Szechwan if he was in big trouble. He remembered his words and looked for him. Venerable Kanaka used ‘samadhi water’ to wash Venerable Wu-Da’s sore. It was so painful that he lost his consciousness but when he regained his senses, he found that the sore with the human face disappeared. It was believed that Venerable Kanaka had reconciled the feuds of the spirit that had been following Venerable Wu-Da for ten lifetimes.

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