PureInsight | September 4, 2008
[PureInsight.org] On the night of August 8th at around 7PM, we were studying Fa together in a room, when we suddenly heard the doorbell ringing. One practitioner went to the door and I also went out of the room. No one came in, and I asked the practitioner who it was. The practitioner said it was just a white cat that had been visiting here quite often. I saw the cat sitting beside the doorbell. When it saw me, it meowed and then ran away.
After I came home, I reflected on how this cat usually visited us, meowed to say hello every time, and never ate casually. At that time, I thought it was strange, but later when I talked with practitioners about cherishing the not-easily-won chance to cultivate, I suddenly understood the relationship between us and that white cat. The following is the story I would like to share with those friends who are interested in reincarnation.
During the Yuan Dynasty, when I was about 34 years old and a general, I was leading an army to suppress the enemy. One of my subordinates was careless and had allowed his horse to get pregnant. After we settled down, I wanted to ride around to inspect the troops. It was then that I saw there was a newborn horse in the horse stable. This little colt was very different and had some red hair on its head.
When animals are very small, they are very cute. Two days later I went to take the “mother and son” for a walk. As we walked along the mountain, I thought it was not very convenient for this colt to be with us because we would soon fight the enemy. It would be regretful if this animal was hurt. Therefore, I wanted to ask somebody to bring it back up the mountain. Later, we kept moving. When we got to a river, the horses were thirsty and they drank and ate the grass on the riverside. When we arrived at the other side of the river, I found a girl of around fifteen who was washing her hair beside the river. She liked the little colt very much and the colt liked her too. I asked, “Are you local to this area?” The girl said she lived with her father beside this mountain and made a living by collecting firewood. Then, I asked, “Would you like to help take care of this colt and its mother? When the colt is grown up, I will come back to collect them.” The girl was very happy and said she definitely would take good care of them.
Days and months flashed by as quickly as a weaver's shuttle. About five years later, after suppressing the enemy, the imperial government sent this general to a very remote area to be stationed. One day, a soldier said there was a girl who wanted to see the general. The general was very curious and went outside to see who she was. He saw a girl standing outside with a sword in one hand, leading a horse with some red hair on its head. The general suddenly realized who she was.
The general warmly welcomed the girl and prepared some very good tea for her. The girl elegantly drank tea and asked, “How have you been these past few years?” The general sighed, “I live a military life and everything has been the same.” Then the girl asked, “Can you guess what happened to me?”
The girl then told her story very excitedly, “About five days after you left the colt with me, there came an old Taoist priest. When he saw the colt, he asked, ‘Do you know the background of this little colt?’ Then he began to tell a story, saying, ‘Originally, this little colt was the horse of a Divine Being. Of course, it didn’t have the image of a horse when it was in his paradise. This Divine Being used to ride it to visit the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother. Later, something happened in the paradise and it came to this human world. Because it had some predestined relationship, it reincarnated as a horse. It is a very good horse and be sure to treat it carefully.’”
The girl asked this Taoist about what had happened in the paradise. The Taoist priest said, “It is not a good time to tell you now. I would teach you something if you could go to the nearby mountain on the night of August 15.” Then he left.
The girl knew he was a Divine Being, so she said goodbye to her father one day earlier than the prescribed date and prepared much food for the colt and then set off up the mountain.
Halfway up it started raining heavily, and her clothes were all wet. However, she didn’t turn back. On the way up the mountain, she sometimes encountered fierce animals, and she narrowly escaped unharmed. She finally reached the top of the mountain. She found she was early, and then went to rest in a tree. However, because she was too tired, she slept past the meeting time. She came down from the tree to look for that Taoist priest. She found him sitting on a rock and said, “Please forgive me because I overslept there in the tree.” The Taoist priest said, “You didn’t keep your promise. I would like to give you another chance. Follow me and jump down from this mountain. I shall wait for you at the bottom.” Then he jumped from the mountaintop. The girl found there was very thick fog. She knelt down and said to her father in her heart, “I need to keep my promise and could not take care of you anymore, please forgive me.” Then she told the colt, “Since you came from heaven, there must be a Divine Being taking care of you. I cannot take care of you anymore.” Then she jumped off the mountain without hesitation. She thought she would be smashed to pieces, but she found herself laying on a ‘bridge’ weaved out of rattan. The mountains on both sides were very steep. She could not see the bottom and she started crying. Later, that Taoist priest came out from a cave and laughed, “You are impressionable. Don’t be afraid. I will help you.”
Then, the girl learned martial arts and cultivation from the Taoist priest in the cave. About a year later, he took out a book on the art of war and let her study it. Nearly four or five years passed, and one day the Taoist priest said to her, “The reason I have taught you is to allow you to help that general who brought the colt to you. You need to help him to achieve success. This life is meant to develop a karmic relationship. In the future you two will need to finish one thing together.”
The girl asked, “When is the future?” He answered, “It is the time when the legendary Udumbara (Youtan Poluo) flowers blossom. Then you will know the time is coming. I give you one treasured sword and this book. Now go see the general with this horse.” The girl said, “I don’t know where the general is located.” The Taoist said, “There is a town two thousand li (Chinese mile) away from here and you will find him there.” Later, the girl went home and told her father everything. Although the father didn’t want his daughter to go that far, he found that the girl had already made up her mind. The girl took the horse and set out for the distant town. She suddenly realized that she had a deep karmic relationship with the general.
The general was very touched, and he had an impetus to be married to this girl. However, he remembered that he had made a vow that he wouldn’t get married again after his wife died because when she was pregnant the baby had been stillborn. He warned himself that he should not have the thought of marrying the girl. Then he told the girl, “I would treat you as my sister if you wanted to stay here.” Although the girl was a little reluctant (because she liked the general too), she agreed after the general told her the story about his wife.
With the girl’s help, the general achieved great success. Later, the horse died of old age. They were very sad. When they buried the horse, the Taoist appeared and said, “This horse is going to be reincarnated in a new body. Be sure to remember to do your best when the legendary Udumbara flowers blossom. Remember! Remember! You will see the horse at that time.” When they got older, the general quit the army and returned home with the girl. They lived just like brother and sister and took care of each other.
That war-horse then reincarnated into different lives, one of which being a horse of Zhang Shicheng at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Because it helped Zhang Shicheng do many bad things at that time, it went down to the second level of hell for a period of time after it died.
In the past hundred years, it has reincarnated into a boy in the countryside, as well as birds, etc. During one lifetime, it found a cat very adorable, and there was a little girl who always held that cat. That horse thought it would be great if it could be reincarnated into a cat, so that it could run around, live an easy life, and climb trees. Then in this lifetime, it became a fat white cat, and it always visits us here.
I hope that all the sentient beings with strong karmic relationships can cherish this historical chance. It is really true that everyone comes to this world for the Fa.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2008/8/12/54317.html
