..續本文上一頁s! No matter what kind of illness a person has, all I have to do is tap him with the whisk, and he”s cured." "You”d better watch out. All those illnesses may end up with you!" I told him.

　　He continued working at his cultivation and didn”t pay much heed to my words. Later I took him along to Nanhua Monastery. That”s when he became possessed by a demon that was not afraid of the White Whisk Hand. The demon was known as the Hundred-Son Poisonous Snake, because it would have one hundred offspring each time it reproduced. This snake caused a lot of mischief at Nanhua Monastery. How

　　 It would invariably possess one of the novice monks or nuns during every precept transmission ceremony held at Nanhua Monastery and cause him or her to go berserk.

　　Venerable Elder Master Hsu could not do anything about it when it happened. The novice who went berserk would claim that he had attained Buddhahood and that his Buddha-name was such and such. He would run around naked, blabbering this nonsense without feeling the least bit embarrassed, causing a spectacle among the preceptees. Venerable Elder Master Hsu transmitted the precepts at Nanhua Monastery for many years, and every year this would happen. That particular year, it was my disciple”s turn. When he went berserk, his strength was such that he could overpower more than ten people. His body gave off a nauseating stench that made people vomit as soon as they smelled it. He went into fits of insanity day and night, and he would say, "My teacher”s Dharma is phony. The Forty-two Hands and Eyes are false." He said this because the demon possessing him was intent on destroying the proper Dharma.

　　At that time, Dharma Master Ming Xiang was at the monastery. He was over eighty years old, and yet he still slept sitting up. He had left home when he was eight and had cultivated diligently since then. He had attended eight ninety-six-day sessions during which he constantly walked and never slept. During such sessions, one usually recites the Buddha”s name or upholds a mantra, and one attains the Standing Buddha Samadhi. As a result, his spiritual skill was such that he could do things while in samadhi. When the Dharma Master first arrived, he must have eaten some bad food, for he had diarrhea and soiled his pants every day. Being sick, he couldn”t clean up his own mess. He lived at the guest hall, and I was the leader of the assembly at Nanhua Monastery. Every day I would go to the guest hall several times to see who came and went. Why

　　 Because I didn”t want to miss any eminent monks or special people who came to visit Nanhua Monastery. And so when this Dharma Master came, I saw him right away and felt an immediate affinity with him. When he got diarrhea, I helped him wash his trousers every day. After a few days, he got better.

　　It was then that my disciple went berserk. I told the elder cultivator, and he and I tried to figure out a way to cure my disciple. We entered into contemplation and saw that a snake--the Hundred-Son Poisonous Snake--was causing the problem. In fact, it had been causing trouble at Nanhua Monastery for a long time. Combining the power of our samadhi, we managed to overcome the snake and save my disciple.

　　Why do I mention this

　　 I wanted to point out that my disciple got himself into this mess because he didn”t follow my instructions. I had given him the whisk and told him to use it only in an emergency, but he disobeyed me and casually used it to cure people”s illnesses. That”s why he later went insane at Nanhua Monastery. Although it”s true that he recovered, the situation he”d gotten himself into was truly dangerous. Therefore, in cultivating the Way, if you”re off by a hairsbreadth in the beginning, you”ll miss by a thousand miles in the end.

《百子毒蛇作怪 The Hundred-Son Poisonous Snake Makes Trouble· 》全文閱讀結束。