(Clearwisdom.net) In the book, Ancient Books, Miraculous Code, Volume 125, there are tales of a respected monk from India, named Fotudeng, who stayed in China for nearly 40 years. He had a high level of virtue and manifested many divine powers, such as remote viewing, clairvoyance and telepathic ability.
Fotudeng stayed in a temple in Ye City for a while. Once, when his disciple Fazuo was on his way back from a trip, he met another disciple named Fachang, who was also traveling. Both of them were very happy to see each other and started to chat. They did not stop chatting until the next morning. Then, both of them were back on the road. When Fazou arrived at the temple, to his surprise, Fotudeng was waiting for him by the gate. Monk Fotudeng said to Fazuo: "I have waited for you for a while. You and Fachang chatted about me, your master, until this morning. You two really kept your interests high." Fazuo was astonished that his master knew everything.
The article says, "From then on, people started to tell each other, 'Monk Fotudeng will know if you develop an evil thought.' If Fotudeng was around, no one dared to spit or blow their noses in front of him. This means that people respected Monk Fotudeng very much. From then on, people tried to remind each other that they should not develop any evil thoughts, otherwise, Monk Fotudeng would know it no matter where you were. Later on, people did not even dare to blow their noses or spit in the direction where Monk Fotudeng lived.
After reading this story, I realized that people in ancient times believed in Buddhas and Gods, and they respected cultivators with high virtue. They believed that doing good deeds is met with good rewards, and being evil is met with retribution. They restrained their behavior and dared not to do evil deeds. These mentalities improved people's morality and elevated people's hearts, as well as benefited the whole society. When people thought about Monk Fotudeng, they did not dare to engage in bad habits such as blowing their noses or spitting. Would they even consider committing crimes such as stealing, bribery or embezzling? Mao Zedong, former Communist dictator in China said, "I am above God and above the law." With this attitude, Mao flagrantly committed countless crimes against heaven and the law. He used irrational and selfish thinking to delude himself into believing that he would escape heaven's justice. He did not care if Monk Fotudeng or anyone else was watching. Where was his conscience?
Monk Fotudeng was a real person in history, and this story is true. People at that time believed and respected Monk Fotudeng. Their behavior was based on facts. No one gave orders or used any propaganda to force people to respect him. There is a Chinese saying, "If people behave from their true hearts, the results are surprisingly powerful."
Category: Traditional Culture