Often man thinks that for a heavenly saint to help beings like man with his many issues and problems, he must be made known as a saint, deity or a buddha. This is not necessary so but man expects that and wants to be awed by the majesty and heavenly radiance of the heavenly ones. In fact a good man himself can if he wants to be of great help to others even if he is no saint and history has no shortage of examples of such men.
Ji Gong was such a man and in his lifetime as man, he was sent out of the monastery as he could not keep to the norms and rules of man for monastic life. He continued his life as beggar and wanderer outside the temple he was sent out off. He did not even had the robes of a monk but continued in his own way the life of a monk wearing patchy beggar's clothes which came to be known as his holy robes.
Because he was pure and good at heart though he might had given the impression of someone who was eccentric, eating meat and drinking wine, frolicking with children and monkeys alike, he became better than lot of monks in monasteries.
His ability to solve problems and issues of men spread far and wide and he became an institution based on his own merits. His way or solution for those he helped is often simple and down to earth, often nothing miraculous or contradictory though history accredited him with many miracles.
Such miracles did happen but the greatest miracle was and is that he was able to help others through often simple and down to earth ways. No one today would doubt he is a saint and depending on where you come from, he is well accepted as a deity, buddha or a saint of God Almighty.
His axiom that what goes through the gut is not as important as that goes through the heart. Sincerity and modesty count more than heavenly majesty and divine might. His divine level is with the buddhas and the gods but he dons a tethered patchy robe, old worn out cloth shoes and a cloth hat and holds a tethered straw fan and carries a gourd. He has a rosary of 108 beads with him and this is usually made of wood.
His miracle which he repeats over and over again is that he helps the many earthly issues of man which may be considered not important or perhaps frivolous. He does so in very simple and down to earth ways. He has no qualms in helping even the criminals and those who did wrong so long as they could after his help change to be good and better. That is the miracle of Ji Gong. No wonder some say that the miracle of Ji Gong is no miracle but yet truly more than any of the miracles in the history of man at least in China, if not the world.
You don't have to be a Chinese, a Buddhist or a Taoist to deserve his blessing and help. You don't have to be his follower and you don't even need to be a human being to deserve his help. He treats you as his equal and in any place of worship, his image is often at the floor or not far from the floor. His image or shrine need not be in a temple, house or shop and can be in the open, under a tree and what you can have for him.
This is the Ji Gong I know. He cannot be confined, not even to his seat in Heaven with God and the Buddhas. He is a free spirit and he often prefers the floor to be with spirits, men and all beings. The sky or heaven is his roof. The whole wide dispensation and not just the world of man is his temple. This dear readers is the Ji Gong I know.
Namo omitofo.
Namo omitofo.
