A Taipei Times Saturday

No, that is not Louis Gossett, Jr. That is the mummified remains of Master Kai Feng (釋開豐), founder of the Lungfatang Buddhist asylum (龍發堂) in Kaohsiung county. Seems that he just can't keep out of the news, even after passing on to one of the 6 realms in 2004.

The Buddhist facility came into the spotlight in early 2000 when 5 psychiatric patients escaped from the facility and claimed abuse from their Buddhist disciple overseers. They claimed to have been stripped, tied to their beds, wear iron chains and urinate "without any help." Not sure about that last one, but it's probably not good.

However, their claims were quickly refuted by the managing disciple Master Hsinhsien (新賢法師) and other volunteer workers. "There are so many people here, how could I beat them all?" she (Hsinhsien) said.

"Patients beat each other up, but not the disciples," said one volunteer worker.

Hsinhsien went on to point out the practical skills the patients develop such as learning to play musical instruments and turning chicken excrement into fertilizer. They also learn leadership skills with the "chains of compassion." Two patients are chained together, one in front of the other. Here, I'll let Hsinhsien explain. The more stable patient is leading the other one, who's stupid," Hsinhsien said. When patients learn control they are then given the opportunity to escort others, she added.

Their spiritual life is not neglected, either. Patients learn the Four Noble Truths, with emphasis on the first two: 1) Suffering exists 2) Suffering arises from attachment to desires. The asylum inculcates these truths by using them as "free labor" and detaching 2.5 million NT from them and their families.

That was then, this is now. Re-enter Master Kai Feng. The above photo was from this past Saturday, August 11. For the past three years, the Master has been in a special jar ( 甕, weng4, ㄨㄥˋ) without preservatives that allowed him to return, as the Taipei Times captions, Back in Black. Oh, yeah. He'll be covered in gold foil and placed at the front of the temple / asylum / work farm for people to worship.

下一項

From Johnny Neihu's Saturday column in the Taipei Times, his preview of one of the upcoming Olympic events in Beijing.

10. Paralympics: Always a moving and exciting part of Olympics season, the Paralympics will once again feature no Chinese athletes, because, as we are told, the government thinks it is in the national interest to take the "Han" out of "Handicapped."