amithabha::As the master continued to bow with everdeepening sincerity before the image, a distinct rosy hue began to suffuse the once snowwhite porcelain until it eventually took on the glow of living flesh amithabha

amithabha::As the master continued to bow with everdeepening sincerity before the image, a distinct rosy hue began to suffuse the once snowwhite porcelain until it eventually took on the glow of living flesh.
The connection between the master and the miraculous image of amitabha buddha is one of utmost purity that far transcends the kind of attachment found in the realm of dualism.
In a most profound sense, the image could be said to be indispensable to the master.
The dharma masters accepted the image with the full understanding that they would return it to the master when he had an appropiate place for it.
They considered it their own.
When the master decided to establish western bliss gardens, it was amitabha buddha whom he called on to aid him in carrying out the work.
Once he moved to the grounds and the construction of the temple began, he asked the two monks to return the image of amitabha buddha.
He was pointedly rude to them.
He picked up his tea pot and slammed it down on the floor in front of them.
He hurled his tea cup against the wall, smashing it to smithereens.
But even his most extreme attempts to teach and transform them were to no avail.
The two remained rooted to the floor, sustained by their greed for the buddhaimage.
Although each monk weighed over 200 pounds, he grabbed them under the armpits one at a time and dragged them outside.
But by the time he had evicted one monk and had a good grip on the second, the first had returned and was kneeling once more.
After the master deposited the second monk on the doorstep and walked back to evict the first, the second was already following close at his heels.
Satisfied, they got up and left.
But the master had spoken the truth, and by the next day, in the absence of the amitabha buddha image, he had fallen seriously ill.
Day by day his fever rose.
Since he lived alone and few people even knew where to find him, there was no one to fix gruel or fetch water for him.
As a result, he rapidly grew weaker and weaker, and his condition became grave.