This broadsheet notes the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations and a brief biography of the 17th Patriarch Jin Gong Zu Shi.

The fifteen day of the first Lunar Month fell on Sunday the 4th, and on that day Tao kins from Tian Di Prayer Hall celebrated the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations by having a pot luck lunch. Members brought in their specialities to share with others, while Tian Di organized the traditional meal of Yu-sheng vegetarian style. Yu-sheng is a salad dish made up of shredded ingredients and a variety of sauces and condiments eaten on the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations. It symbolizes abundance and prosperity. Before being eaten, the shredded ingredients are tossed into the air with chopsticks to mark the start of a prosperous new year. With this small gesture, we hope that those on the cultivation path will have a smooth year ahead and our propagation work for the year will be a prosperous one.

Many temples organize an annual pilgrimage whereby they visit other temples throughout the day as part of their Chinese New Year celebrations. Tian Di Prayer Hall often gets requests to be host to one of these temples being visited. On Sunday 4th, we welcomed about 250 visitors from a Springvale temple group. We hope that our hospitality will be remembered by those who visited us.

Besides the usual first and fifteen prayers, the only celebration for March is Jin Gong Zu Shi Cheng Dao on the 2nd day of the 2nd Lunar Month (20 March 2007). Jin Gong Zu Shi was the 1st Patriarch of the White Era and the 17th Eastern Generational Patriarch. As one of the reincarnation of Matrieya Buddha, he was born as Lu Zhong-Yi in Shang Dong, Ji Ning Province in China. Orphaned at a young age, with only a sister, Lu led a life of hardships. At the age of 22, Lu signed up for the army and after numerous years of service, dismissed himself from the army when he kept dreaming of Heavenly Mother instructing him to fulfill his destiny and not be infatuated by mundane matters.

Lu was guided to the 16th Eastern Generational Patriarch Liu by deities and after passing the sincerity test set out by Liu, he was transmitted Tao. As Lu was illiterate, he could only perform laborious tasks, where he did so diligently for many years. After some time, Patriarch Liu realized that the Tao Yun was weak and thus sought Heavenly Mother’s advice. Heavenly Mother decreed that this is the third and final era and widespread propagation of Tao is required. Lu Zhong-Yi was instructed to go to Guan Yin Yan (Nunnery).

Thus, Lu set off, still unclear where he could go as a Guan Yin Yan was where nuns cultivate, and as a man, how could he stay there? Only then did he remember that in his Shan Dong Jing Ning hometown, he still had a sister (reincarnation of Guan Yin Pu Sha, Goddess of Mercy). Upon reaching his hometown and reuniting with his sister, Lu told her about cultivating Tao, propagating Tao, transmitting Tao to all beings, and setting up a Prayer Hall. This was how Tao gradually propagated.

In 1925, on the 2nd day of the 2nd Lunar Month, Lu aged 76, was reunited with Heavenly Mother. By then he had thousands of disciples and among them were 8 outstanding leaders (in which one of them was Shi Zun). In 1926, on the 3rd day of the 3rd Lunar Month, Lu performed a miracle through Yang Chun Ling’s body where in the period of 100 days two sutras were recited. “JIN GONG MIAO DIAN” (The Mystic Doctrine of Jin Gong Zu Shi) and the “MAITREYA SUTRA” (The True Teaching of Maitreya Buddha). These became the valuable sutras of the White Yang Period.