The Lady in Red and Looking Over Your Shoulder

Those that saw me regularly would have seen me wearing a bracelet made with powdered balls for quite a while before CNY, then stopped wearing the bracelet after this incident.

All this started with a dream I have had before meeting my client for their annual destiny at their home just before Chinese New Year.

In the dream, I don't remember much but I manage to subdue a spirit (I seldom dream about spirit ever since I started cultivation). It was very vague but I remember being in a house and suddenly a spirit appeared, then I did some binding ritual in my dream. After I woke up I did not think much about it. In our lineage of Taoist Cultivation, sometimes the mind test would come in the dream, you may act tough in the physical world, but in your dream state or unconscious that is where most of the spiritual test is being given.

I use to have many dreams which are ethical tests in my early days of cultivation. But it became less and less as the years go by. 

When I met up with my client in her home, after the Destiny explanation, she proceeded to show me a photo on her mobile phone.

She was taking a photo of the spreadsheet in her comp, and she was alone in her home, as you can see from the photo she was not alone! As she and her husband are both long time temple members, she asked me whether can she do, I told her that I would check with our Deities. But the image of the one standing behind her in the photo looks very familiar to me. 

Actual unedited photo

At that time, I did not think much about it. When I enquired with our temple Deities, they relayed to me that I have already fixed the problem in my dream. Because I know both her and her husband for donkey years, therefore somehow my spiritual self was able to settle the problem just days after she took the pic before I have even met up with her.  

How was this possible? Well, I have few temple members that dreamt about me helping them in their dreams. Don't get me wrong, if it was a real spiritual problem, what they saw in their dream is definitely not an extension of my mind, but most likely one of the many protectors in our temple.

The reason they saw my image in their dream, was because that is the most familiar face to them in their unconscious.

I asked our Deities in my meditative state if I have bound the spirit where did I store them? Deities replied, try to recall harder...Then it struck me. So I transferred 'it' from the temporary holding place to my bracelet.

The second spirit, sorry no real photos as you will have to take my word for it. Also came in my dream, wearing a red dress and her qi can extend outwards from the side like tentacles. This one was a week or so after I have set up the new temple. In my dream, I have also managed to tie her up and seal her. One of the reasons why spirit seldom appears in my dream, due to my natural reaction, never a good idea for them.

The only host I had that can transfer them was again my bracelet. Therefore have to transfer them from my 'storage' to the bracelet and keep them there. I have stopped wearing my bracelet since then because it is like bringing 2 more ladies anywhere I go.

my bracelet doing the transferring to statues

After the busy period of Chinese New Year with the new temple, I was finally able to transfer them to these small wooden statues (made from peach tree wood) and bind them there permanently. When any Rinpoche or monk come for dharma events at our temple, then we will hopefully able to send them on Bardo. Meanwhile, Deities have instructed me to place them under temple's Earth Deities supervision.

BEFORE just normal mini wooden statues

AFTER - 10 minutes after transfer

This all, of course, could be my imagination 😉. However, take a look at the figurines' face before n after the binding.

The Test from The Demon Within

I have met many people on the spiritual cultivation path. More often that not, after about 10-15 minutes into conversation, a lot would like to talk about spiritual attainments or spiritual powers.

Most of the people who got interested into spiritual path is also due to wishing to have extra sensory skills compare to others in modern society. Take a look at meditation class that talks about spiritual ability attendance usually would be full when compared to those meditation classes for mind stillness and so on.

And those that walk the path of spiritual cultivation, there will always be test and exams along the way. For some, they think tests and exams are things for when you are in schools, colleges and universities. Oh yes, spiritual path is filled with tests along the way and unlike educational institutions, there is no advance notification on the tests and exams that they will give you.

Usually tests and examinations on the spiritual path will be on your weakest link either in your character or the mind or both. Then it will also be separated into small test, such as events that occur in your dreams and see how you react. There will be also real life exams, which you will walk or thrown into situations, push to the extreme to test your own fortitude, strength, commitment and also the will to walk the path. 

Small test such as when a person have taken a vow to abstain from eating certain food. In one of their unsuspecting dreams, they will be in a situation where friends or people they know offer them the abstained food. If in the dream they suddenly realised and rejected the food, then they would have passed the test. If not, then their cultivation would have to drag on further before another test comes along.

Image from www.fanpop.com

Examinations however are a whole different ball game. If you have greed, you will be tested on situations where you will have opportunities to earn a lot of money however it will be at the expense of others. You will need to do something that goes against basic moral vows. The situation is real and the money rewards are also real. However if you failed the exam, the consequences will be a down hill road on your cultivation. Some took years to recover from one failure while others do not recover at all.

Some who are weak on relationship or particularly on controlling their sexual urges, when an exam comes along, out of the blue you will meet with someone who are highly attractive towards you, and although you may have a family or in a steady relationship, then how you react, whether to follow through on your urges will determine on whether you continue walking further and higher on path or to fail miserably and lose respect of not only others but family and close ones as well.

There are even cases where those who lost their sanity as a result of being unable to get through the exam. Buddhism called it Demon/Mara Within 心魔.

The Demon Within is much scarier than the ones outside as your subconscious knows you better than yourself. No matter how far a person walks on the spiritual path, there will always be tests and exams. There is no exception and the stakes will only get higher as one progress along the path.

The only solution is to develop integrity, congruency and also honesty before ones walks the path and continue to remind oneself the higher purpose of their cultivation.

The Promise

This incident happen more than 10 years ago.  My first Yin Feng Shui 阴宅风水 project is to handle my own ancestor's tomb. It is one of the key requirement to do Yin Feng Shui in our lineage.

And I started with a big one, because at that time I have to co-ordinate 4 of my ancestors and senior relatives separate tombs into 1 tomb. While at the same time, I have to also arrange and do the tomb of my late grandmother who just passed away at that time.

I have selected a good Feng Shui spot for the relocation of my ancestors and have also seek the opinion of my master. After which, my cousin who is living in Perlis, Malaysia have to ask permission from local clan association to acquire the land.

As my ancestors was considered pioneer of the area, because I am already a 4th generation Chinese in Malaysia. Anyhow initially we have acquired the land without any problems after my tedious selection, the vein of the hill flows perfectly to the spot that I have selected, and the strangest thing was it was covered by tree branch on the lower edge, therefore nobody thought of acquiring it as it was almost invisible to the naked eye for several decades.

After my cousin informed me of the good news, problems start arising, as there was a tomb on a higher ground above the area where I had selected, the family members of that plot of land started making big 'hoo hah' on why we do not have the right to acquire the land and many other sorts of problem.

My cousin had to go for meetings after meetings with the local clan association in order to sort out the problem and it was coming to a deadlock.

Therefore on one afternoon, before he went again to a meeting, I went into meditative stabilization in my home in Penang and trying to seek out the land deity of the tomb area. In my meditation, I saw an old man wearing all white appearing, I asked him if he was the local deity. He informed me he had been there even before the hill became a cemetery ground. However, there was not any altar or temple built for offerings to the local land deity of that area.

Then I told him our family problem, and asked whether he could help. He told me he can, then I made a promise to him in which if my family tomb was successfully erected on the area that I have selected on that hill, then I will build up a small local deity house for him and also do offerings to him each year when I am in Perlis for Qing Ming. He smiled and agreed and I came out from my meditative state.

I quickly called up my cousin, asked him to bring some curry chicken, ginger rice and also a big stack of gold paper money to go to the hill area and just burn it. When I call him it was almost late afternoon. After 1 hour of so, he called me back. He told me that after he made offering at the hill, when he burn the big stack of paper money, there was a sudden gush of very strong wind.

The next day, I received a call from my cousin again that our obstacle on the acquisition of the land has been settled amicably.

After few weeks, when the relocation is ready and tomb constructed, I was back in Perlis again to make the final adjustment on the tombstone, aligned the skull on my ancestors in the new urn after their exhumation before placing them in the new tomb.

I still remember that when I completed the tomb alignment, the sky was quite dark and ready to rain. Some of my cousins and relatives were telling me, its going to rain soon and lets get down from the hill. I told them don't worry it wouldn't rain until I have make the adjustment to the local earth deity house. I went down the hill, installed and make adjustment to the local earth deity house as promised, when I finished the alignment and walk towards my car, the rain came pouring down.

Previously there was a huge tree behind the earth deity house that we have erected. After the build the Tua Pek Kong Temple, the tree was chopped down and remove. However the local earth deity was not invited into the temple.

Done Smoke or in Tibetan called Sang Offering to the local earth deity and also unvisited grave in that area.

After many years have passed, the local clan association whom are owners of the area, decided to build up the Tua Pek Kong Temple next to the cemetery as in custom of all Chinese cemetery. However they did not manage to invite the local earth deity into the temple area. Therefore every year when I am back for Qing Ming, I still bring a big incense and also do smoke offerings for the local deity and also all the unvisited graves of the area.

View from my ancestors grave . The Tua Pek Kong Temple on the right. 

In the spiritual world, your word is the only measure of character and also your cultivation. Unlike the physical world, where words are cheap to many people - in the formless world it brings strong influence on any future help that you seek or request as your reputation spreads fast on whether you are a man/woman of your words or just a plain ignorant.

Let it Go ! the other version.....

Current trend in the news are young people tend to choose suicide as a solution to solve their hurt and disappointment. Some use it as a tool to threatened their parents to get what they want.

How does one relate that to cultivation in spirituality? Some will say that to be able to kill yourself takes great courage. Those are the very people that do not understand how the mind works.

When a person decides to terminate their life, most often is due to the mental pain they experience at that moment is perceived to be more than the physical pain of dying.

Therefore they choose to end their life. When a person is in mental pain from heart ache, severe disappointment and also total lost of any future hope, then the idea of terminating one's life will be taken as an option. This is also due to strong attachment to the SELF.

In a moment of lost hope and despair, they are unable to detach from their SELF emotion, therefore experiencing pain that seems to feel like eternity. Whereby they can only choose to physically detach from the self which is through termination.

Buddhist and Taoist Cultivation on the other hand is teaching us about how to Let the Self go. Meaning slowly learn to not take the self so seriously. Knowing that you have had many self(S) in your countless existence. Heart ache, pains, disappointment , hopeless are only expectation that is attached to the SELF. When other and your own inability to fulfill those expectations, therefore the EGO will feel the pain mentally.

Buddhist have monks and nuns. Which is the first step of cultivation of releasing the self. In Chinese word, for one who is ordained as monk or nun is 出家人, literally meaning one who has left home. Why leaving home? Because in Asian culture, the family unit plays a critical role in defining the self. Your ancestors, your parent, your relatives, what your familly does and more; all of that defines who you are and ultimately how you view your SELF. When one is define as the one who have left home, means they have release and let go a large part of their SELF.

Then slowly learning to cultivate through meditation, letting go of attachments to various emotions. Serving others in monastic life, is also a training to focus on other instead of the self. However all these comes with renunciation. Below is an excerpt that elegantly defines renunciation.

Someone asked Guru Nanak, "O saint, why have you not

shaved your head? You are a sanyasin." Guru Nanak replied:

"My dear friend, I have shaved my mind." In fact, the mind

should be cleanly shaved. Shaving the mind consists of

getting rid of all attachments, egoism, infatuation, lust, greed

and anger. That is real shaving. External shaving of the head

has no meaning so long as there is internal craving.

Many have not understood what true renunciation is.

Renunciation of physical objects is no renunciation at all.

True renunciation lies in the abnegation of the mind. It consists

of renouncing all desires and egoism, and not world-existence.

The real renunciation is the renunciation of the ego. If you can

renounce this, you have renounced everything in the world. If

the subtle egoism is given up, identification with the body goes

away automatically. 

As a layperson/householder, we too can practice daily on letting go which is through meditation. In 15-30 minutes a day, practice of letting go everything, your attachment, your failures, your success, and everything that defines who you are - Your SELF. Then you will find that slowly you will not be too attached to yourself, you can easily reach an emotional state of tranquility. 

If you don't practice now, when the actual day really comes for you to let go everything, how would you be able to do it?