【Description】
Human beings and all Nature’s creations engage in constant interaction. As stated in the opening of I Ching, “Astronomical phenomena can foretell auspiciousness and disaster.” So how can changes in celestial bodies foretell events affecting humankind? What kind of signals can we look for in order to predict auspicious happenings and disasters?
Using historical events as examples, Grandmaster JinBodhi analyzes various astronomical phenomena that indicated different important occurrences. He also assesses the facial characteristics of emperors in Ancient China and presidents
of the United States, teaching us how to tell human fate and behavior by facial features. Furthermore, he teaches us how to cultivate the good qualities some leaders have possessed, and how to transform our fate by gaining guidance and protection from Heaven.
After understanding these principles, we’ll effortlessly see the pathway that leads us to a successful career and an overall happy life.
【You will learn】
- How astrological phenomena resonate with events that happen in our world
- How our appearance affects our fate
- Ways to transform our fate
【Featured aphorisms】
- Great achievers are compassionate, tolerant, full of energy, and have boundless wisdom.
- Extending a helping hand and freeing ourselves from greed allow us to live with better health and more auspiciousness, ease and joy.
- A loving, compassionate and pure heart that loves the world and becomes one with it improves the outer landscape and cultivates an inner landscape of gentleness.
- Let the light of compassion illuminate our hearts, guide our speech and action, and banish our greed; that is how we can transform our lives.
【Content】
We live in this world; yet, our understanding of it is very limited. Human lifespan is limited. The first 20 years were spent learning some basic knowledge. The knowledge we have learned is very important, but it is far from enough for us to understand some natural rules. Therefore, we often find ourselves unable to deal with our problems due to not having the relevant knowledge. The ancients knew more about the world than we do. I have always hoped for you to know more about it.
These 2 days I have been saying that Heaven and Earth interact with one another, with all Nature’s creations standing between them. Remember the relationship among the 3: Heaven, Earth and humanity, or Heaven, Earth and all living beings. All living beings include plants and animals. Humans are living beings with higher intelligence. How do we observe the world then? We can’t do much currently. I can only share some of my knowledge with you, and I hope you can learn more and apply it when you need to. You will realize that this knowledge can be applied all the time in any situation.
The ancients often looked for astronomical phenomena to be inspired and predict major events. In Ancient China, people noticed the changes in astronomical phenomena before the passing of Emperor Qianlong, the queen or important ministers. There are many more examples in The Records of the Grand Historian. The ancients even made a list of phenomena.
Ningxia is an autonomous region in China; it is equivalent to a province. The Haiyuan county is located in Ningxia. In 1920, there was a huge earthquake in the county. There were phenomena before the earthquake. Almost all livestock behaved unusually; the chickens climbed up the trees, and the ducks ran about aimlessly; the dogs barked fiercely, and the cattle became crazy. None of the animals acted normally. All animals went crazy. The water from the wells became dark and smelly. That was unusual, right? Also, there was a long drought; there was no rain for many days. The weather was extremely hot. That was not common, right? People claimed to see burning spheres in the sky. I am not making up stories. These were the records kept by local officials.
Some interesting things happened then. There was an old Taoist priest who went everywhere holding a date (zao) and a peach (tao) in each of his hands. He went everywhere mumbling, “Zao Tao… Zao Tao…” If he were doing business, he would have brought a basket full of dates and peaches. So he went to places and mumbled: “Zao… Tao…” Very strange, right? What happened next? On Dec. 16th, 1920, in Haiyuan county, Ningxia, an earthquake killed 260,000 people. Ningxia is quite near Gansu and Tibet. Its inhabitants were spread out, not as densely packed as in Shanghai. In Shanghai, if only 10 tall buildings collapsed, a huge number of people would die. With a scattered population in Haiyuan county, 260,000 people died; it is a huge number. More than 300,000 people were injured.
More disaster was to come. The day after the earthquake, the county was hit by heavy snow. It was in the dead of winter, very cold weather. In Northwestern China, the temperature could be as low as sub-zero. I mentioned earlier that it was extremely hot before the earthquake. It was about 15-20 degrees Celsius before the earthquake. After the earthquake, it went as low as -8 degrees Celsius. There was heavy snow. From extreme heat to an earthquake to extreme cold, how can you survive continuous disaster? The people also suffered from a drought before that. This was a huge disaster.
This is a good indication that our world is alive and its creatures react. Look how the animals behaved and reacted before the earthquake. My hometown is in Hebei Province. There was a huge earthquake in Tangshan, Hebei. During the earthquake, some old houses in my hometown collapsed. The old man next door said his dog and donkey were trying to climb to the roof. The dog was chained and no one knew how it got up to the roof. Maybe it was the dog’s survival instinct. No words can explain that. All animals rushed to escape the disaster.
Before the earthquake in Haiyuan, the old Taoist priest had a date (zao) and a peach (tao) in each hand; he mumbled, “Date (zao), peach (tao).” What did he mean? Think about it. Zao tao (escape early), right? It was a warning, right? But why didn’t he just tell the people to run in the first place? Think about it. It is not difficult, right?
During the era of the Kangxi Emperor, an earthquake of 8.5 magnitude hit the city of Tancheng, Shandong. It was winter before the earthquake. The peach (tao) trees and pear (li) trees were blooming. What did that mean? (Tao li means to evacuate.) See! (Now that is something.) No way the peach and pear trees would bloom in winter. This is unusual, right? How do you explain only these 2 trees blooming at that time? Interesting, isn’t it? You need some analytical skill to decipher the message.
Some may argue that it happened in the past; we can’t verify whether it is true or not. Then how do you explain the 2004 tsunami? You can search it online; it happened in modern times. In Sri Lanka, there was a safari park 3km off the coast. There were various wild animals. The environment was well protected then. There were elephants, leopards, mountain sheep, and bison. There were many wild animals. All of them were crazy, running aimlessly; they all looked restless. The safari park management was shocked and had no idea what was going on.
Some of the animals broke the fence, wanting to escape. So they were safe from the tsunami. Some people were getting the message; they began to run for their lives when they saw animals like this. They ran away from their houses, and ran to higher ground. Some survived because they went to higher ground. When animals are behaving strangely, you better think about how to survive.
Nature and its creations warn about natural disasters.
Nature and its creations will show signs of not only bad but also good things that will happen. You have heard of Justice Bao, the judge who solved cases of not only human affairs but also supernatural events. Yes, Justice Bao was a man of extreme honesty and uprightness. The people who suffered from injustice came to him. His wisdom allowed him to connect with otherworldly beings. That is how he solved cases effectively.
When Justice Bao was born, people saw from afar that his village was under firelight. They shouted, “Put out the fire!” Then they gathered people and fetched water to put out the fire. People were compassionate. When they arrived at the village, they realized it wasn’t actually on fire. It was Justice Bao’s house glowing brightly. The house looked less bright as they approached. Hearing the shouts, more people approached. It was the same; bright from afar but not up close. That was the birth of Justice Bao. Interesting, right?
It is a good sign from Nature. Justice Bao was born smart. He was like a reincarnated scholar. Through a year’s study, he got the knowledge from first to eighth grade. He quickly gained the recognition from high-level officers; he was soon put in a key position by the emperor. He solved many cases for the emperor. During Yuan dynasty, his story was told in stage plays and Chinese operas.
There are many signs of auspicious blessing from Heaven. The auspicious blessings will always outnumber the disasters. Otherwise, humans wouldn’t exist now.
There was an astronomical sign during the reign of Emperor Wu (Liu Che) of Han too. It was the assembly of the 5 planets; that is when 5 planets align. People were not making this up. They saw Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn aligning while looking for astronomical signs. This happens rarely. It happened when Emperor Wu decided to attack the Huns. The Huns often invaded the Han’s northwestern border. The Huns were close to the northwestern border of the Han. They lived on horseback. They were good at fighting on horseback. They plundered almost everything from the Han, such as food, craftsmen, women. They caused the Han lots of trouble. One night, Emperor Wu saw the assembly of the 5 planets; It was the period that the Han army won the war against the Huns, and expelled the Huns from Han territory. This isn’t a made-up story. The Huns retreated into the Middle East and Europe. Some claim that the Huns were the ancestors of today’s Hungary.
After driving out the Huns, Emperor Wu ordered his people to craft stone tablets to commemorate the assembly of the 5 planets. They also imprinted the astronomical sign on fabrics, flags and coins. Emperor Wu did all of these things to commemorate the victory against the Huns. It was a hard-fought victory. It was difficult to find food and drink on the grassland; it was scorching during the day and freezing at night. It wasn’t easy. The soldiers had to brace themselves for swamps, traps and plagues too.
Well, these were astronomical signs that indicated changes about historical figures and world order. Liu Bang’s story is quite fascinating too. Prior to coming to power, Liu Bang served as a law enforcement officer. His job was to make sure the law was obeyed in his hometown in Pei county. There was a meditation practitioner named Li Yiji. He lived hundreds of kilometers from Liu’s place. He “saw” Liu illuminating bright auspicious light hundreds of kilometers away. He thought someone who had such light was a destined savior of the country.
So he followed the light and traveled to meet with Liu. Li was wise and full of ideas; he also had dharma abilities. He helped Liu in many ways. With his sword and words, he conquered several cities for Liu. He did it on his own. Li saw Liu’s aura, and it indicated Liu would be the emperor. Liu’s father-in-law, the father of his wife Lu Zhi, also saw auspicious purplish clouds around Liu’s head. It is a sign of wealth and auspiciousness. It is a remarkable sign. In history, only Lao Tzu had such an auspicious sign with him.
Lao Tzu would arrive at our town; he was just passing by while going to live in seclusion. How could one tell Lao Tzu would arrive? Someone saw auspicious purplish clouds emerging from the southeastern sky a fortnight earlier. It was so beautiful. It was impossible for a commoner to emit such an auspicious aura. 2 weeks later, Lao Tzu really arrived as predicted and left the famous Tao Te Ching. Inside, you will find Lao Tzu’s views on human nature and the Law of Nature.
Liu’s father-in-law saw Liu’s laziness and playfulness, but he also saw the auspicious aura around him. It was a blessing Liu was born with. Liu’s father-in-law had good vision. Liu’s auspiciousness attracted other generals to join him. People knew he was special. That was good for him. Heaven shows signs of auspicious events and people. To get these signs, you need a certain amount of luck and wisdom.
There is also the story about Empress Wu Zetian from the Tang dynasty. She was the only female emperor in the history of China. From her birth to having her fortune told to being crowned the empress, her story was full of legend. She came across a master when she dwelled in the royal monastery. She was often bullied by other concubines because she was intelligent and pretty. She was bullied by everyone. At the lowest point of her life, she met a master from the royal monastery.
The master offered her a lifeline, asking her to chant and meditate to build up the energy of purity and get rid of all impurities surrounding her. Only then could she find the auspicious light from insight to achieve great accomplishments. Wu was skeptical; as a woman, she lost protection when her lover died; she might not survive the bullying by the jealous concubines. “Don’t worry; the blessed one shall receive Divine protection. No way can the concubines kill you; you are the one chosen by Heaven. You will control the whole world in the future.”
“Me? Chosen by Heaven? Look how miserable I am now! Do you think I’ll control the world? What are you? A crazy monk?” The master told her that when he first saw her, he had visions of a phoenix observing the world on top of Lishan mountain. “You are that phoenix, my lady!” Wu was shocked and a little scared, but also excited. “Spread Buddhism; benefit all sentient beings; practice compassion; and kill less. That is what I want you to do.” Wu said there were people who deserved to die. For example, corrupt officials. “Less killing and punishment, more guidance.” That is how the master advised Wu.
After Wu successfully made it to her throne, she built Buddha statues and temples, and donated to meditation practitioners. Those were her compassionate contributions to Buddhism. The Famen Temple in Shaanxi is famous for keeping the fingerbone relic of the Sakyamuni Buddha, right? Inside, there is an underground palace with lots of valuable offerings with Empress Wu’s title on them. You can see how much Buddhism meant to her. She was heavily involved in protecting and promoting Buddhism.
I believe that she was deeply inspired by the concept of all-compassion in Buddhism. I believe she was good to her people. Now, did she kill while being an empress? All rulers did, and do. In her case, she killed those who deserved it. We are talking about murderers and other wrongdoers who didn’t deserve to live. As a ruler, she had to do it. Rulers are not buddhas, but they can choose to practice compassion; kill less and love their people more. That is what a loving ruler looks like. She was definitely inspired by Buddhism. I believe she was the most inspirational woman ever known in the history of China. Her story is inspirational and motivational. Our female practitioners should be motivated. You could be the next empress.
The world recognizes the births of auspicious people with auspicious phenomena.
Some people were born with an auspicious fate normally there are 2 reasons. The first is that these people have lots of past-life merit. In the context of reincarnation, if one accumulated enough merits in one of their previous lifetimes, always helped others and was less greedy, that will be enough for them to live with ease, joy, health and auspiciousness. To live an eternal life after being reborn so many times, one should be compassionate and practice samadhi. In the state of samadhi, one can see through all problems with an analytical mind. This will help you to keep calm and composed when solving problems.
All great achievers have some similarities. They are full of energy; they are compassionate and forgiving; they have boundless wisdom. Let’s refer to some photos of China’s past emperors and presidents from America. We will analyze how they presented themselves, and thereby we can learn how to transform our fate and mentality. There is a lot to learn to be able to analyze one’s fate and behavior according to their appearance.
Let’s look at the first Qing ruler, Nurhaci. Do you feel the energy from his face? Next, Hong Taiji. Do you feel his energy? And then, the third Qing emperor, Shunzhi. There were rumors of his premature death or his becoming a monk at Wutai. His appearance shows weakness; particularly, his lips, nose and eyes show a lack of energy.
Let’s look at Emperor Kangxi. This is Kangxi in his forties. These are photos of his middle and elder ages. In his elderly years, he looked like an old dragon king. His gaze, nose, lips and ears, when put together, show a sense of nobleness. We all know that he was an emperor. Not all emperors were blessed with a similar amount of energy. In his middle years, he was blessed with a firm gaze, confidence, and capability with pen and sword. In his elderly days, his ears looked abnormally big. The left ear looks higher than the right, correct? This indicates the blessing of good wives. So his empress was virtuous; his concubines were living in harmony. He was well received by women. His concubines, even his grandmother, were a great help to him.
Now, let’s look at Emperor Yongzheng. He had a squarish face.
Next, Emperor Qianlong. This emperor had lots of issues with the ladies. Who looked more generous and aggressive? Qianlong or Yongzheng? Like his grandfather, Qianlong’s left ear was higher than his right ear; but Qianlong’s nose was higher than that of his grandfather. Qianlong had a higher nose and a wider mouth. The 4 segments of his eyebrows symbolize peace in all 4 directions. It is a sign of auspiciousness. This young Qianlong looks handsome, like our modern youngsters. His young look hadn’t achieved all-round perfection. A thin face doesn’t necessarily indicate bad fortune.
Next, Emperor Jiaqing, the son of Qianlong. Next, this is Daoguang, who looks thinner. After Daoguang, we have Xianfeng and Tongzhi. This is the last one. Try to recall the earlier photos of the emperors. Which appearance looks to have more energy? This is the family tree of the emperors. Think about it.
Now, let’s go through some former presidents of America. Let’s go through them quickly. Each president had a different gaze and appearance that exuded a different aura. Some will look stronger, some weaker, just like the emperors. Let’s go through them. They were from 2 different races, but it shouldn’t be hard to compare them.
Now, Barack Obama. Ignore other things; do you feel his “power”? This is Donald Trump. He is 75 this year. At this age, most people can’t even walk properly. Presidential campaigns are extremely tiring. Listen to his campaign speeches, and you can feel his strong energy. At his age, will you still have the energy to argue with others? You may not have the energy and passion to do so. This is Ronald Reagan. Great photo. He looks good in his 70s; now imagine him in his prime, his 30s. He is a good-looking man, indeed.
You should have realized by now: Some people are born with the energy to rule and lead. Commoners like us need to cultivate such qualities. For those who were born rulers, they have critical-thinking ability, observation skills, awareness, public-speaking and decision-making skills. Apart from that, they are also blessed with wisdom, compassion, composure, calmness and quick reaction. They are intimidating, but perhaps you haven’t heard about this.
The first emperor of Qing dynasty, Nurhaci, exuded a cold and intimidating aura. How can we describe his look and aura? When his officers saw him, their legs were shaking; they wanted to kneel down, because standing was painful. They spoke while kneeling; they dared not look at his face. His gaze was intimidating, even though he didn’t intend to intimidate. It was such an aura that he was able to become the first emperor of Qing dynasty. The word “epic” is written all over him.
Qianlong was not only adept with the pen, but also the sword. He had everything laid out properly for him by his ancestors. All domestic and foreign affairs were settled. He just needed to take care of the economy and culture, and love his people. We may say that he found it easy. He didn’t have a weakling appearance in this photo. He has a conqueror look in this photo. We can see that in his middle and elderly years, he looks intimidating without having to get angry. When you look at his photo, you can see his noble, serious, yet approachable.
He looks serious and strict when he is not smiling. His people feared and respected him at the same time. That is a ruler’s aura. His gaze and nose show his ruler’s aura. A high, wide and long nose, like this, symbolizes an independent mind. When he made a decision, he stuck to it. Without an independent mind, one won’t achieve anything. This appearance fits him as an emperor with absolute authority. This is a perfect appearance.
After this retreat, you may look online by yourself. You may look at photos of emperors after Qianlong. The emperors after Qianlong had a somewhat immature look. Some of them died young before achieving anything. Their appearance lacked solemnity and perfection. Why was this the case? Does an emperor’s fate and his energy affect a country? Think about it.
Just collecting less tax is not enough to make a good emperor. A wise and capable emperor is a blessed emperor. Such an emperor promotes the development of industry and agriculture in the country. His country will be blessed with peace. What will an ill-fated but smart emperor get? Fires, floods, locust plagues, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, riots, etc. No matter how capable you are, it doesn’t help.
So we need to chant more and have a compassionate heart. We need to cultivate compassion, universal love and mind purity. Love the world. Vow to become one with Nature’s creations. I am the trees, and the trees are me. I am the river, and the river is me. I am the mountains, and the mountains are me. I am the sky, and the sky is me. When you meet someone whom you can’t understand, I am him, and he is me. That will make that person more understandable. When you are able to put yourself in other people’s shoes, you will be gentle and flexible. If there are more people like this, we will have a better world to live in.
The leaders have energy and excellent qualities. We can cultivate these qualities through meditative practice. However, it is not easy. We may learn only a few of their qualities after putting in lots of time and effort. There are some people who have these innate abilities. They have various strong and outstanding abilities. For most people, they need to practice for 10 to 30 years to learn just a little bit of those qualities. This is still better than nothing, right? Even if we learn just a little bit, our fate will still transform. The compassion we cultivated will glow, and like lamplight, it will illuminate our heart and guide our actions. The light can guide the way we talk, and inhibit our greedy desires. This will be enough to change our life.
Many other qualities can be cultivated; for example, composure and compassion. As the Buddha says, “If you want to know your past, look into your present conditions. If you want to know your future, look into your present actions.” Therefore, it is possible to transform your fate by learning and correcting your mistakes. Through our difficult learning process, our fate will start to transform, maybe not much, but it will happen.
Everyone is born different and our fate is written on our face. Compassion leads us toward a bright path. Become one with the world and love all Nature’s creations. Cultivate merits and wisdom to transform your fate.
I hope you gain more understanding of Nature. Let’s learn gradually. Understanding Nature will help you find peace and happiness. If you want to build your career, and are looking for the way, compassion will be the way. Show your love and respect to the world and all Nature’s creations. I mean true love, not faking it. Love the world genuinely and the world will show you a bright path. If you practice compassion and love all Nature’s creations, including the sky, Nature, grass, trees and the whole planet, if you have a great compassionate and forgiving heart, you will receive guidance and inspiration from the world.
After this, I hope all of you receive Heaven’s guidance and the Buddha’s compassion. (Got it.) May you be blessed by God. (Got it.) I hope you receive compassionate composure. (Got it.) I hope you receive the Buddha’s wisdom. (Got it.) I wish you lots of merits and a long life. (Got it.) Thank you very much. (Thank you, Master.)