Stories from Ancient China: Twenty Six Cuts

What are dreams? Many modern scientists argue that a dream is the cerebral cortex’s meaningless response to random stimuli from the brain stem during sleep. Many people, however, have vividly seen things or signs, other images or forms of life or things in their dreams that later actually took place in reality. These are phenomena that modern scientists cannot yet explain.

The following is a bizarre dream recorded from Chinese history that modern science cannot explain. Certain people in a cultivation community explain that, when entering other dimensions during sleep, what we see in some dreams are what our Main Spirits actually see or what other forms of lives allowed them to see. There are, of course, other complex reasons why dreams occur. Many dreams have nothing to do with us.

During the Qing Dynasty in China, there lived a businessman named Cheng Bolin. Cheng was originally from Anhui Province but lived in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province. He worshipped Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara(1). One summer during a civil war in China, a rebel army was about to pass through and maraud the City of Yangzhou. Cheng prayed to Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara for her blessings. Then he had a dream in which Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara told him, “All seventeen people in your family except you will survive this tribulation.” Cheng woke up and remembered what Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara had said in the dream. Having learned that he could not escape this tribulation, he prayed to Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara for mercy. The next night he dreamed of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara again. This time Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara said to him, “In a previous life, you cut Wang Mazi 26 times and killed him. You must pay for your karma in this life. You should tell your family members to stay put in the east wing of the house where they will be safe, while you wait alone in the central hall for Wang Mazi.”

Five days later, a rebel soldier beat on Cheng’s door violently. Cheng opened the door and asked him, “Are you Wang Mazi? I killed you with 26 cuts in my previous life, so I must pay you back now. You may take my life now!” The soldier was quite astonished, “How did you know my name?” Cheng told him about the dreams. The soldier sighed and said, “In the previous life you killed me with 26 cuts. If I took revenge now and killed you, won’t you also take revenge in return in your next life?” He then hit Cheng with the back of his sword 26 times and forgave him.

(1)Bodhisattva - Enlightened being with Fruit Status in the Buddha School, and one who is higher than an Arhat but lower than a Tathagata.

Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara - Known for her compassion, she is one of the two senior Bodhisattvas in the Paradise of Ultimate Bliss.

Source: Bizarre Stories in Verbal Language (or Jian Wen Lu Bai Hua in Pinyin)