A Truck Was Demolished Falling Off a Cliff, Yet the Occupants Were Unharmed

        My son Xiaoyu Tang once worked as a driver for the 4th company, 2nd barracks, 17th vehicular regiment of the Chengdu Military District. One night in the autumn of 1993, he went to H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu Holiest Tathagata to humbly request a blessing for the next day’s trip to deliver goods to Tibet. He said, “Grand Buddha Master, I will be driving into Tibet. The Sichuan-Tibet roads are very dangerous, and I fear an accident. I beg the Grand Buddha Master to bestow a blessing upon me.” The Buddha Master was painting at the time. Without giving it much thought, His Holiness smiled and said, “You do have a little accident in store, but it won’t kill you.” Xiaoyu knelt forward, and H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III put his hand on Xiaoyu’s head and blessed him. After Xiaoyu prostrated before and thanked H.H. Great Dharma King, he left for Tibet.

        A little after 9:00 on the morning of December 26, 1993, Xiaoyu’s convoy was delivering cement to a mountaintop outpost on the border between Tibet and India, climbing the extremely steep and frighteningly curvy Demula Snow Mountain in the Chayu district. At a turning point on the mountain road, someone had bridged a sagging spot with two logs and covered it with mud and grass. It appeared on the surface to be part of the road, but it was actually hollow and could not support the weight of a few dozen military vehicles. Below was a valley more than 180 meters deep. Beside the bottom of the valley was the raging Yaluzangbu River. When Xiaoyu and his partner Qilin Zhao drove up to this segment of the road, the logs gave away with a loud crack and the truck tumbled thunderously down the cliff! Xiaoyu yelled with all his strength, “Quickly save me, Grand Buddha Master!” Then he called out to his partner Qilin Zhao, “Hold on to me quickly.” His partner grabbed Xiaoyu by the waist, and the two of them went tumbling down with the truck. All of a sudden, Xiaoyu had the sensation of being supported from below. It was as though he was floating down lightly to the bottom of the valley while lying on soft cotton. At the instant they hit the bottom of the valley, the two of them were ejected from the truck as it disintegrated and the doors, engine, and tires flew in all directions. The vehicle was in pieces; all that was left were the tangled contours of the driver’s cab lying less than two meters from the riverbank. One more flip and it would have fallen into the river.

        Meanwhile, at the top of the cliff, the company commander immediately ordered that bugles be blown to stop the trucks. All of the soldiers took off their hats and stood in silent tribute for their “lost” comrades. Everyone knew that nobody could survive a fall from a cliff 184 meters (604 feet) high. The company commander immediately notified regiment headquarters to set up two makeshift altars. He also dispatched about a dozen soldiers down on ropes to gather the remains. Those soldiers were slowly let down that precipice. The company commander instructed them to find as many bones as possible so that they may be pieced together at a later time. When the soldiers reached the bottom of the valley thirty minutes later and found Xiaoyu and Qilin leaning on a boulder beside the debris of the truck, they fell back petrified, thinking they were seeing ghosts!

        When Xiaoyu and his partner got back to the road, the company commander immediately ordered them to go to the hospital for a check-up. No one believed that two people of flesh and blood could survive unscathed a fall from a cliff 184 meters (604 feet) high that completely shattered their truck. The soldiers all thought that even if the two of them were luckily able to escape death temporarily, their internal organs must surely have been damaged. However, the results of the hospital examinations surprisingly indicated that other than slight bruises to their legs, everything was normal with the two of them!

        A few days after the incident, Xiaoyu’s supervisor came to my home and recounted the accident in detail. He said, “Xiaoyu Tang and his partner are the first survivors of a falling vehicle accident in the Chayu part of the Sichuan-Tibet transportation line in decades. The truck fell from a cliff 184 meters (604 feet) high and was completely destroyed. Even the steel frame was smashed into pieces, but they came out safe and sound! This is too fantastic, too incredible.”

        How could they know that his survival was a result of the blessing of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III! I have not heard of any person in the world today besides my Buddha Master who possesses such magnificent power to save lives from the hands of Yama, the king of the hell realm! I solemnly swear to the following: My son, Xiaoyu Tang, fell down a 184-meter (604 feet) cliff in a vehicle, yet he truly came out of the fall safe and sound. If this account is a fabrication, my entire family will surely experience evil retribution and disaster. Because what I say is the truth, my entire family should enjoy profound blessings and wisdom and the happiness of human beings should increase!

        As a father, I must say something sincerely at this point. When that event happened, Xiaoyu Tang was a self-cultivator whose practice was in accord with the dharma. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas protected him. However, at this time, Xiaoyu Tang’s practice is not good. Thus, whether his future will be good or bad, it is totally in his control.

Buddhist disciple, Hui Han Da
January 16, 2007