(Grand Master Lu’s Article published at World True Buddha Newspaper 742) Translated by Gillian Yu Edited by DJ Chang and Shelley Higgins Proofread by Phoebe Tan True Buddha Translation Teams (TBTTs) At the age of 38 I immigrated to Seattle, Washington. By that time, I had already realized the significance of impermanence. As I have mentioned before, I lived in Kaohsiung for 19 years and in Taichung for another 19 years. Yet, to my surprise, I spent most of the latter half of my life in Seattle where I experienced seemingly endless long days, with downpour after downpour of drenching rain. ~ Seattle rain is quite famous. I still remember that one time when I was at Disneyland near Los Angeles and it suddenly began to drizzle. An American couple were nearby and I heard the husband say: “It is raining!” The wife responded: “Yes, but it will stop soon.” ”How come?” he queried. She responded: “This is not Seattle rain.” Aha! I spent the latter half of my life with prolonged periods of rainy days. Emotionally, I accept the fact that I am being surrounded by rain. However, it is not a threat, but rather an inspiration. Rainy days are endless, so are my inspirations! Let’s merge together! Rationally, I am clear that I want and have to do two very important tasks. Regardless of whether they are done unconditionally or with a motive, these tasks have their own profound significance. The tasks are cultivation and writing. I want to let everybody know that my cultivation is like the rain; my writing is like the rain. They are my life. ~ The Seattle sky is always gray. One rarely sees sunshine. Those who are pessimistic and passive can easily get depressed. However, I surprised myself as someone highly adaptive to the environment. There I became more optimistic and energetic and I did not have difficulty overcoming any adversity. Change passiveness to activeness. Turn adversity into prosperity. Transform rain into sunshine. Turn agony to joy. Change loneliness into enthusiasm. My personal experience of attaining enlightenment through cultivation is testimony to finding the true meaning of life. ~ I think Seattle rain is wonderful! Seattle rain is the best companion! Seattle rain is music! Seattle rain is art! Seattle rain is inspiring! Seattle rain is a flowing spring! …….. Even though there have been many obstacles and setbacks from unpredictable encounters in my life, the world is still beautiful; life is still lovely. Open my eyes. I see rain. That is happiness, isn’t it?
