Bodhi Stand Presents

Lin Kuo Shen

      When the Venerable Master was meditating in Kuan Yin Cave in Hong Kong, Upasika Lin heard of his virtue and compassion from friends and joined them when they went to take refuge with the Triple Jewel and bow to the Venerable Abbot as their teacher. That was 30 years ago. Visiting the Master at Kuan Yin Cave, she saw the three pools of clear fresh water that flowed beside the cave. "When the Master went to Kuan Yin Cave to start meditating, the pools were bone-dry. But after he meditated beside them for a time, pure water began to flow and all the time he was there, the pools were brimming. It was only after he left the cave that the pools dried up again. I tasted that water," Upasika Lin relates. "One time I remember that several of us laypeople went to the cave to pay our respects to the Master and he ended up giving us his lunch to eat! When we discovered what had happened, we bought some bread for him and that's what he had to eat that day!

      Over the years, Upasika Lin has visited all three of the Bodhimandas established by the Master in Hong Kong: Hsi Le Yuan (Western Bliss Gardens), Tse Hsing Sse (Flourishing Compassion Temple), and the Buddhist Lecture Hall. She has four sons, three of whom have also bowed to the Master as their teacher. "I am most grateful to the Venerable Abbot for the help, support, and guidance he has always been willing to give when our family needed it," says Kuo Shen. Now she and her husband are also blessed with seven grandchildren.

      As to coming to America, "It began as a kind of joke," related Kuo Shen. "When it was suggested that we all go to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas last March in Hong Kong, I laughed and said, 'Sure,I'11 go and make soup for everyone!' Then I went home and asked my husband and sons and daughters-in-law and to my delight everyone encouraged me to go." Basically, the visa arrangements are not easy to complete successfully, but in her case, the whole process went very smoothly.

      Of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas she says, "I am delighted! It is such a rare opportunity to find a place like this."

      Kuo Shen's own practices include reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha, and reciting the Earth Store Sutra; the Universal Door Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, which tells about Kuan Yin Bodhisattva; and the Chundi Sutra.