Beyond Gold: The Legacy of Pan Shiao Rui and the Selfless Path of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III

        I want to reveal a secret that has to do with the ship-breaking king, Mr. Pan Shiao Rui. Mr. Pan Shiao Rui is a senior fellow brother of mine; he is also a virtuous elder whom I have tremendous respect for. Three days ago, I received the news that elder brother Pan has attained liberation and passed away. After his longevity, he has gone to his home in the Western Paradise. I was very shocked and could not hold back my tears. In his whole life, elder fellow brother always cultivated benevolence and virtue; he is deeply respected by others. He is also paragon for us cultivators. Honestly, when elder fellow brother ascended to the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss; I should be very happy. But we are no longer able to meet again in this human world, I can’t help missing him. For this reason, I have reviewed the records of all my communications with him. The more I read, the more I am touched. Not only was elder fellow brother a person of such a state of pure virtue and extraordinary benevolence; the memory of elder fellow brother also led me to think of the supreme, great holy one. Therefore, I started to organize my notes; I am fully responsible for any consequences of cause and effect regarding the validity of these ironclad facts.

        Here, I am going to reveal an astonishing secret about the selflessness and holy purity of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. These facts that I am going to reveal are from my personal experience; and this has to do with the famous ship-breaking king, the virtuous elder Pan Shiao Rui.

        The elder fellow brother Pan Shiao Rui is a sincerely devout Buddhist elder who believed in the law of cause and effect and learned Buddhism. 20 years ago, he and his family took refuge with the Buddha Master at Xinhua West Road in Sichuan. The elder fellow brother said that the Buddha Master has especially practiced the Mahavairocana Tathagata Empowerment Dharma for him. At the time, elder fellow brother saw two suns in the sky. Within one minute, one of the suns turned into Mahavairocana Tathagata in such bright golden light that he could not even open his eyes. Elder fellow brother said that the Buddha Master is the supreme dharma king among Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; there is none other in this world. In his early years, elder senior brother Pan was a high ranking military officials of the Kuomingtang. He was the Deputy Chief of Staff of General Dai Li; responsible for internal affairs and financial affairs, mainly in managing businesses. He told the Buddha Master that he and Master Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan went to Taiwan together. At the time, elder fellow brother Pan paid for all the expenses of Master Hsing Yun and his sangha. He had made significant contributions to Fo Guang Shan. When the Buddha’s Light International Association was established, Master Hsing Yun was the president, and elder brother Pan was the supervisor. The construction of the Hsi Lai Temple in the United States was also mainly funded by elder fellow brother Pan. I remember very clearly. Elder fellow brother Pan used to call H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III “Master.” At the Holiday Inn in San Francisco, the Buddha Master asked elder fellow brother, “How could you take on so much pressure? At the time, you just arrived in Taiwan. How much funds did you have, so you can give them such support? Elder fellow brother said: “At that time, I only have some basic livelihood. Just enough for having something to eat. That was about 28 billion Taiwan dollars.” The Buddha Master said, “That is not basic livelihood. That is already a magnate.” Elder fellow brother said that such amount was pathetic livelihood. Other than the 28 billion Taiwanese dollars, he also had money in Hong Kong. But when he arrived in Taiwan, he could not go and retrieve those money. “Later, I started doing ship-breaking business. That was very good business; and I became rich. Then my business became successful.”

        My acquaintance with elder fellow brother began in 1998. At the time, since he had no way to contact the Buddha Master, I got in touch with him. Because this was such a long time ago, I really cannot remember how that happened. But to fulfill his wishes, I accompanied him to pay a respectful visit to the Buddha Master in Shenzhen. From then on, we often stayed in touch. I became the only person to help him get in touch with H.H. the Buddha.

        In 1999, after the Buddha Master came to the United States, the very aged elder fellow brother came a few times to be of audience with the Buddha Master. He kept wishing to support the Buddha Master to spread the dharma and benefit living beings. In 1999, elder fellow brother brought a senior real estate staff Richard from his American company, and they accompanied the Buddha Master to see a naval base in San Francisco. There were more than 200 large buildings; and a small part of that base was an airport. The whole naval base was more than 2,000 acres. The navy had moved out. The land was donated to the government. Elder fellow brother decided to buy it as an offering to the Buddha Master. The Buddha Master resolutely rejected this offering. At the time, Peter Chang—-then president of the Foundation—-and I repeatedly persuaded the Buddha Master. The Buddha Master sternly reprimanded us, saying: “To learn Buddhism and cultivate our conduct, how can we have any bit of greediness? Let alone hiring people to cut the grass is a substantial expenditure. We cannot even afford the monthly fees.” Peter Chang said that the elder fellow brother will pay for the expense of cutting the grass. The Buddha Master said even more sternly, “With such a greedy mind, how can you attain liberation? How can you shoulder the burden of the Tathagatas to benefit living beings?” Afterwards, when the elder fellow brother saw that the Buddha Master did not accept, he said sadly, “This is a very rare opportunity. This kind of opportunity will not come by in the future.” He told the Buddha Master not to worry about the fund for purchasing this piece of land; he would take care of it. He also said that there was some pollution by the seaside, he would take care of that as well. The Buddha Master used the pretext that this base was too large, and rejected. The elder fellow brother then found a smaller piece of land in Richmond, San Francisco. That was a 37-acre piece of land. While Peter Chang and I were accompanying the Buddha Master; the Buddha Master did not want to go. After some persuasion from us, the Buddha Master reluctantly went there; and Richard went there together. But when we reached the foot of the hill, the Buddha Master did not step out of the car to see land. I personally persuaded, “The elder fellow brother is in such an age already, even if the Buddha Master do not accept this offering, would Buddha Master kindly come out of the car to take a look.” The Buddha Master then stepped out of the car to see the land. We saw that there were a lot of cracks on this piece of land; very deep cracks. The elder fellow brother said, “This is not an issue. You see right across there is an Indian temple. That piece of land also had a lot of cracks. Now it is so beautifully constructed. Do not pass over this piece of land. In the future, the value of this land will go up many times. Down there are the streets, this is very lively area.” The Buddha Master use the pretext that this piece of land had cracks, and likewise rejected. We respectfully asked the Buddha Master why He rejected this? The Buddha Master said, “This piece of land is equivalent to 201 mu in China. How much money does it take to build here? We do not have such financial resources to build such a temple. If elder fellow brother has to pay for the construction, how much more money does he have to put into it? What kind of merit and virtue do we have to let him shoulder such a burden? Looks like the elder fellow brother is determined to buy it. You must tell him for me, you must stop him.” The Buddha Master said this piece of land was not auspicious because of the cracks, a temple could not be built here. The Buddha Master used the pretext of the cracks to reject it. Then, elder fellow brother didn’t know what to do. So, he took the Buddha Master to Oakland to see a few buildings. One of those was a seven-storey building with a total area of 65,000 square feet. It was Spanish architecture. We went inside to visit, it was very nice. The Buddha Master was of the opinion that elder fellow brother was spending too much resources; and likewise rejected it.

        This is our supreme, great and selfless Buddha Master. There has never been anyone like H.H. the Buddha on this earth. After elder fellow brother failed to make an offering; every year thereafter, he would make offerings to the Buddha Master. Usually, each time is over US$1 million. What you cannot imagine is, at that time, I was the only contact person arranging for elder fellow brother Pan to seek audiences with the Buddha Master. Every time, when the elder brother wanted to make offerings to the Buddha Master, he would contact me. I would ask the Buddha Master for a bank account number. But the Buddha Master’s always told me to ask the dharma teachers for bank account numbers of either the temple, the World Buddhism Association Headquarters, or the International Buddhism Sangha Association. Every time, I would say to the Buddha Master, “It is not the intention of the elder fellow brother to make offerings to them, he specifically wanted to make offering to Buddha Master.” The Buddha Master always told me not to tell elder fellow brother which organization the offerings was made to; just give him the account number. “These are Buddhist organizations doing Buddhist works, these are organizations upholding true Buddha-dharma. I will practice empowerment dharma for elder fellow brother and transfer merit to him.” Regardless of what is said, the Buddha Master refused and did not accept any offerings. The Buddha Master said, “I have vowed not to accept any offerings and voluntarily benefit living beings. Regardless of what you say, I will not accept; this is futile.” But afterwards, elder fellow brother did know that not one cent of the offerings that he made to the Buddha Master had gone to the Buddha Master. For many times, he wanted me to let the Buddha Master know how sad he was that his offering did not reach the Buddha Master. For many times, he wanted me to let the Buddha Master know how sad he was that his offering did not reach the Buddha Master.

        On Dec 25, 2010, elder fellow brother and his grandson Daniel came to Los Angeles to pay a formal visit to the Buddha Master. He said to the Buddha Master, “This is the last time I come to see the gracious Buddha Master. Life is impermanent. Sooner or later, I have to go. I am too old, I cannot come any more. I have to leave this world.” The Buddha Master told him to stay more years. Elder fellow brother said, “I am too old, and every aspect is degenerating; what is important is to attain liberation from birth and death. This time, I am here to make offerings to the Buddha Master. And finally, I respectfully ask for some amrita (holy nectar) pills for myself and for making offerings. In the future, Buddhist works require substantial financial resources. This is the final effort that I want to make.” The Buddha Master said, “Do not mention making offerings. I will not accept. I only care about your health. I will give you amrita (holy nectar) pills.” Elder fellow brother said, “This time, the offering I am going to make is not money. I have already set aside money for Si Yuan, Si Liang and other children. I want to make an offering of gold. These golds will be sufficient for Buddha Master to spread dharma.” The Buddha Master asked him where the gold came from. Elder fellow brother said that these were the golds that he bought when he was an official for General Dai Li. It was kept in the treasury of the Hong Kong Bank. The Buddha Master asked him how much gold he had. With his trembling hands, elder fellow brother tried to show the sizes of the gold bricks: some weighed 2 kilos, and the heaviest ones were 5 kilos. The Buddha Master asked how many gold bricks he had. Elder fellow brother said, “It is not a matter of pieces, it is a huge quantity. Therefore, I want to discuss with the Buddha Master, whether it is better to send by ocean freight or by air cargo.” The Buddha Master instantly said very seriously, “This is too astonishing. Do not mention gold again. I don’t want it, I will not accept. I don’t want to hear the word gold.” The elder fellow brother then said, “This must be offered. This must be offered. As a disciple, this is my wish to make offerings to the Buddha when I am in this world. It’s very necessary for Buddhist works. This is the final wishes of your disciple, Shiao Rui, to support Master to propagate dharma. I will not come again. I have to leave.” Regardless of what he said, the Buddha Master did not accept. Elder fellow brother insisted to make the offering. Finally, the Buddha Master told me to speak loudly next to elder fellow brother’s ear and tell him, “Buddha Master will not accept. You are not allowed to mention the word gold again. This will damage the origination of the Buddha-Dharma. Buddha Master only cares about your health and your accomplishment.” Afterwards, I took elder fellow brother to dine in the kitchen of the Buddha Master. That day, the granddaughter of the owner of Ten Ren Tea Company, and elder fellow brother’s grandson Daniel dined together. The granddaughter of the owner of Ten Ren Tea Company asked elder fellow brother, “Grandpapa, do you remember me? I attended your grandson’s wedding.” Elder fellow brother said, “Sister Kuan, you don’t know this, Si Liangs career is very successful. He now has a few dozen five-star hotels.” That was the end of the matter.

        After elder fellow brother returned home; in mid-August of 2013, he attained liberation and passed away. I am both happy and sad about elder fellow brother’s passing. I am happy that elder fellow brother finally parted with the illnesses of an ordinary person. I am sad that in the human world, it is hard to find such a pure, great and virtuous Buddhist elder. Now that I reflect upon the greatness, selflessness, and pure holiness of our Buddha Master, how can any holy people do the same? There is simply no such persons in this world! The above account is all based on true facts. But the dialogue may not be exactly the original words. Because at the time, it was not recorded. But the facts are truly authentic. I am willing to be responsible for any consequences of cause and effect for what I wrote. If the multiple times that elder fellow brother Pan Shiao Rui made offerings to the Buddha Master did not happen; if the fact that the Buddha Master did not accept such offerings was not true; if the above facts about such extraordinary offerings are something that I fabricate out of nothing, then I am a liar and must descend to the Hell of Uninterrupted Sufferings, reborn as an animal, receive all kinds of evil retributions with unbearable sufferings. If the above said truly are the ironclad facts between me, the ship-breaking king Pan Shiao Rui and the Buddha Master, I shall attain great accomplishment and liberation. I dedicate all merit to my parents, my ancestors, living members of my family, and all living beings. May the merit bring them happiness and fulfilment.

This vow is made and recorded by
Judy Kuan, dharma name Dunzhu, on August 18, 2013.