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Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

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the statue of the god was st<strong>and</strong>ing outside the temple<br />

door, facing inwards. "Oh," said the master, "you have<br />

little faith; you can come back now." This the god duly<br />

did, moving his form back to his place in the temple.<br />

My friend, the Venerable Xing Zhong, gave up a good<br />

government post <strong>and</strong> became a monk, but although he<br />

followed a Chinese guru, he never received training in<br />

the exoteric doctrines.<br />

Now, my venerable friend had not heard the stories of<br />

the power of Guan Gong, as not everyone in China<br />

worships him. Coming to a Chinese patron's house, he<br />

saw the god's image on the shrine, placed with the<br />

Buddhas. Telling the people of the house that this was<br />

wrong, he broke the image, trampling it under his feet,<br />

proclaiming the uselessness of worshipping such a god.<br />

Later, when my friend came to India, again he saw an<br />

image of Guan Gong in a Chinese shrine, but this time<br />

he dared not destroy it, as many people were there.<br />

However, he complained to me about it, saying that the<br />

people were not real <strong>Buddhist</strong>s, <strong>and</strong> that the image<br />

should be removed.<br />

"Then tell me truly," I said, "have you destroyed other<br />

figures of this protector?" He told me. At this I warned<br />

him: "You are in danger." "You should now confess this<br />

misdeed before the Buddha <strong>and</strong> this Dharma-protector."<br />

Although he knew me well <strong>and</strong> had some regard for my<br />

197

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