Dear Dharma Sister Shirley,
I am so sorry it has taken so long to answer your kind letters. There really isn’t a good reason why it has taken this long. There truly is no shortage of time.
I am so grateful for the photo you included of Master Hueiguang. Each day when I arrange my meditation space, I can more easily visualize our Master while I take refuge in my guru, the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. I am so humbled to have received such a wonderful gift.
I am also so very happy that the IBS fund raiser went well. The work that you do is important to so many of us. The joy and inspiration that a visit from IBS brings cannot be put into words. Believe me when I tell you that your visit to Pleasant Valley changed my life. Although I had been on the path of about 2 years at the time of your visit; after your visit it was convinced I had finally found my true path. And although many changes have taken place since than I am as sure today as I was in May of 2008.
I almost forgot. Thank you so much for the chanting booklet. I actually have one of them from your visit to Pleasant Valley. At the time, we all hoped that your visits would be on a regular basis, and with Cody as my mentor, I vowed that as a gift for Master Hueiguang and Venerable Xian Zhong, I would memorize the booklet. I hope you can relay to both Master Hueiguang and Venerable Xian Zhong that was completed some time ago and that for over two years now I use the chanting booklet as my daily practice. I recite the booklet in conjunction with a number of other mantras. So you see, IBS is a part of me, as I am a part of you. Each day I realize how to actualize the teachings. Through an understanding of EMPTINESS (a small understanding); I see the interdependent nature of all things. Without you and your kindness, I surely wouldn’t be who I am. I am able to see that my happiness and suffering are shared. I am not alone. We are all linked to each other. I came to understand that truly, I have everything I need, there is nothing to attain, and there is nothing to be lost. By looking deeply I see that I have all that is needed to be happy. I only need to master letting go, to stop grasping, to give up on this life and concern myself with the well being of others. Your joy brings joy. Your happiness brings happiness. To share life gives life. This is my hope in prison.
Anyway, dear sister, I am going to close for now. Please know how grateful I am to IBS and all others for the chance to learn, to live to practice this wonderful DHARMA. Please give my kind regards to Venerable Xian Zhong and Master Hueiguang.
Your brother in the Dharma,
Richard
