SECRETS HIDDEN IN THE OPEN

Great Majestic Precious Hall

Great Majestic Precious Hall, photo taken from http://www.hong-kong-traveller.com/po-lin-monastery.html#.Wk-X2EuYPVo

There were two Shaolin Monasteries under heaven. One was in the Central Range of Song Mountain in Henan Province. It had a long history, and at the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, it was famous in the four four seas because of “thirteen monks with staffs saved the King of Qin” (who later became the first Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty). The Shaolin Monastery was conferred by imperial degree as the “First Monastery Under Heaven”.

Another Shaolin Monastery was built during the middle of the Ming Dynasty in Quanzhou of Fujian Province on Nine-Lotus Mountain. At that time, the areas around the south-eastern sea were frequently attacked by Japanese pirates who plundered ships, killed citizens and robbed wealth, causing great disasters to the people and instability to the country.

About the time of Emperor Jiajing (who ruled from 1521 to 1567), the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi submitted a report to the Ming emperor, requesting monks from the Shaolin Monastery to subdue the pirates. The Venerable Yuekong led Shaolin monks, together with General Yu Da You and General Qi Ji Guang, defeated the pirates. To honour them, Emperor Jiajing built the southern Shaolin Monastery.

(There were actually three Shaolin Monasteries, a northern monastery at Henan, and a southern monastery at the City of Quanzhou in Fujian. These two monasteries were known to the public. The third monastery, which was secretive, was built by the Venerable Chee Seen on Nine-Lotus Mountain. Both Quanzhou and Nine-Lotus Mountain were in Fujian Province.)

The Venerable Chee Seen and Li Chooi Peng arrived at the southern Shaolin Monastery on the Nine-Lotus Mountain. At the main gate was a poetic couplet with a head line and a end line. The two lines of the poetic couplet were as follows:

Behind the main gate was the main hall, known as Great Majestic Precious Hall. There were two poetic couplets in the main fall. The two lines of the first poetic couplet were as follows:

The two lines of the other poetic couplet were as follows:

Li Chooi Peng was enchanted by the monastery. She could read what was written in the poetic couplets, but could not understand the meaning. So she asked, “Sifu, what do the lines of the poetic couplets mean?”

The Venerable Chee Seen was taken aback. The poetic couplets were written in earlier generations, and although there was no explanation for all the individual words, each person could interpret the poetic couplets differently.

The first line of the first couplet, “Going out of the gate, at dawn see the face of the emperor” did not refer to the face of the Qing emperors, but to those of the Ming. In the end line, “Entering the monastery understand the heart of ancient Buddha”, “the heart of ancient Buddha” did not refer to government aims and aspirations, but to the task of “overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming”.

The poetic couplets inside the main hall were strange. In a Buddhist monastery, they should be such phrases like “Clear Heart See Nature” or “Cultivate and Understand Zen Secrets”, but why were they singing praises of heroes and champions, and martial art? Actually there were secrets hidden in the open. The line “All depend on martial art to repay the king” did not mean to protect the the Qing empire, but to restore the Ming.

But how would Chee Seen explain the secrets to a small girl? After some thought, he gently stroke the two goat-like plaits of hair behind Li Chooi Peng's head and kindly said, “After a few years, when you have grown up, sifu will then tell you.”

Li Chooi Peng nodded her head. Chee Seen was very please and led her forward.

After the main hall, there was another hall. On top was written “Red-Flower Pavilion”. There was much history behind the words.

When the Qing defeated the Ming, a Ming general Zheng Cheng Gong retreated to Taiwan and organized Heaven-Earth Society with the purpose of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming. They met at Red-Flower Pavilion.

The first patriarch of Hoong Moon, which meant Dynamic Gate, and was a gigantic secret society dedicated to overthrowing the Qing, the Venerable Tat Chong who gathered a lot of heroes and kungfu experts, named one of the halls in his temple “Red-Flower Pavilion”.

Behind Red-Flower Pavilion was a back hall. On top was hung a plaque with four words, “Restore Right Remove Evil”. Ordinary people might think the plaque glorified the tremendous power of the Buddhist faith, but its hidden meaning was to restore the Ming Dynasty and remove the Qing Dynasty.

Wong Kiew Kit,
11th January 2018, Sungai Petani

LINKS

Overview

Courses and Classes