The Late 17th Patriarch - Lu Zhong-yi
lateby Joanna Lin
Patriarch Lu, Zhong-Yi (路中一) is the incarnation of of Buddha Maitreya. Lu, Zhong-Yi (18 May 1852 – 26 February 1925) was the late 17th Patriarch of I-Kuan Tao. He was bestowed a divine title as the Jing Gong Patriarch (金公祖師).
He was born on the 24th day of 4th month of the Chinese lunar calender in 1849, in Jining City, Shandong Province, China. He was said to be illiterate, his father and mother died when he was young. He lived in poverty with his sister, Lu, Zhong-Jie, in a shabby cottage. At the year when he was 22, the government was in need for soldiers. Due to his financial hardship, he joined the army. With his dedication and hard work, he was later promoted to an officer. He got promoted 3 times during his army career. In 1895, at the age of 46, he was said to have a dream from God instructing him heading to city of Qingzhou (in Shandong Province, China) to find Tao and to become the disciple of the 16th Patriarch Liu. Next day, upon awaking up from his dream, he resigned his army duty, gathered his belonging with one hundred dollar of saving, and headed to Qingzhou. Every night, as he traveled and stayed in the each local motel, he received instruction on the route to be taken for the following day. One night, he received a special divine message: "Tomorrow, you are heading to the nearby mountain to receive Tao from a Master.”
Coincidentally, on the same night, Master Liu, Qing-Xu, the 16th Patriarch, also received a divine message in his dream:
"Tomorrow morning, one saint will come visit you. You will need to go to greet him by the front door.” Upon waking up from his dream, he got ready quickly and headed to the front door. While he was looking around to find a saint, he saw an ordinary short and chunky man, who wore shabby clothing with a big rounded trilby hat. Patriarch Liu did not see anything special about the chunky man. “Is he the saint?”, Patriarch Liu was puzzled. While he was still figuring out the answer, the chunky man, carrying his luggage, already walked right in the front of Patriarch Liu.
“Can I find Tao here?”, asked the chunky man. Patriarch Liu said:” You want to receive Tao? “
The chunky man replied: “Yes, I want to receive Tao.”
Patriarch Liu continued: “Come with me; I can transmit Tao to you.” He then led the chunky man to the temple situated on the hill. Upon arrival to the temple, Patriarch Liu prepared the ceremony. He transmitted the Tao to the chunky man. Afterward, Master Liu did not see anything special about the man, thus, he told the chunky man that you now have received the Tao and you can leave now. However, the chunky man explained that he wanted to stay in the temple to learn about Tao. Unfortunately, there was not much thing he could do as he was illiterate. Thus, Patriarch Liu assigned to the chunky man many labor-intensive works, such as chopping wood, carrying water, cooking, gardening, etc. The chunky man followed all the instruction lead by Patriarch Liu. The chunky man spent in the temple for 3 years for intensive labor chores. He accepted all the responsibilities given; he experienced hardships and toils with his sincerity. In this way, he accumulated infinite merits.
When Patriarch Liu was aged 50, he requested for instructions from God asking who could continue the lineage of Tao. He setup the altar and performed the ritual to communicate with God about who the successor would be. He got a reply: “The saint is in front of your eyes.” He was puzzled:” Who is he?”
A riddle was then continued: "If you want to find Maitreya, you need to search carefully – the one who always tells the truth and spread the kindness and compassion. When the Sun and the Moon is combined, the secret is hidden in the palm. Whose hands have the words of “Symbolic Seal” (合同) in the palm is the late 17th Patriarch.”
Patriarch Liu was confused about the riddle. Finally, he got an idea. He made an announcement and called all his disciples to wash hands and to prepare for a special prayer. In front of the altar, he requested everyone to have both palms face up. He exam each palm for any message. After checking all palms, he was disappointed as he did not see any sign of "Symbolic Seal" (合同). He did not know what to do.
Suddenly, the chunky man rushed out from the kitchen and ran to the Patriarch. “Do I have it?” he asked. Indeed, the chunky man has it. In his palm print, the palm lines clearly showed “Symbolic Seal” (合同). The chunky man was Lu, Zhong-Yi. However, Patriarch Liu did not want to pass on the lineage to Lu, Zhong-Yi.
Few years later, as the 16th Patriarch Liu was getting old, he told all his disciples to leave the temple. Some disciples decided to go back to their home town, and some disciples started to propagate Tao. The chunky man, Lu Zhong-Yi did not know where to go. The 16th Patriarch Liu told him he should head back to his hometown and stay in the Guanyin Temple, in Jining, Shandong Province. However, he was hesitated to go because Guanyin Temple is only for female nuns.
After many consideration, he reluctantly chose to go to his home town as he had nowhere to go, but he did not want to reside in the Guanyin temple. Later he found out, his sister, Lu, Zhong-Jie, stayed in Guanyin Temple. He was excited, and he immediately made a surprise visit to meet her in the temple. However, the sister did not want to acknowledge the brother as she had not seen him for more than 20 some years. The sister lost many years of contact with the brother since he was in the army. She was quite shocked and dis-believed when Lu claimed to be her brother. To convince her, Lu shared his childhood memories with her. He stated their parents passed away as he was a young boy. He and his sister lived in poverty in a shabby cottage, and they often pick up the left-over vegetable from the neighborhood. As he went on his childhood story, the sister cried and finally was convinced. Afterward, they joyfully started to discuss about the meaning of life and sharing their own experience.
In 1905, in Qingzhou, God ordained Lu, Zhong-Yi as the late 17th Patriarch to continue the lineage of Tao. This mandate signifies the transition from the Red Era to the White Era. With the Heavenly Decree from God, the 17th Patriarch Lu propagated Tao with assistance of his sister in Jining, Shandong Province of China. This started the Last Salvation Mission. Within a few years, Patriarch Lu managed to attract some 25 disciples, among them were Mr. Zhang Tian-ren (18th Patriarch) and Ms. Sun Hui-ming (late 18th Matriarch).
Patriarch Lu died at the age of 73 on the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month in 1925. God bestowed upon Patriarch Lu the Heavenly title "Jingong Patriarch" after his passing. On the 3rd day of the third Lunar month in 1926, the spirit of Patriarch Lu demonstrated a wondrous miracle by channeling through body of Mr. Young Chunling for 100 days to give revelations. This miracle marked the beginning of the usage of medium to propagate Tao.
Note: Patriarch Lu's younger sister, Lu, Zhong-Jie (also known as Lao Gu Nai Nai) who was believed to be the incarnation of Bodhisattva Guanyin, temporary took over the leadership for 6 years.
Patriarch Lu, Zhong-Yi (路中一) is the incarnation of of Buddha Maitreya. Lu, Zhong-Yi (18 May 1852 – 26 February 1925) was the late 17th Patriarch of I-Kuan Tao. He was bestowed a divine title as the Jing Gong Patriarch (金公祖師).
He was born on the 24th day of 4th month of the Chinese lunar calender in 1849, in Jining City, Shandong Province, China. He was said to be illiterate, his father and mother died when he was young. He lived in poverty with his sister, Lu, Zhong-Jie, in a shabby cottage. At the year when he was 22, the government was in need for soldiers. Due to his financial hardship, he joined the army. With his dedication and hard work, he was later promoted to an officer. He got promoted 3 times during his army career. In 1895, at the age of 46, he was said to have a dream from God instructing him heading to city of Qingzhou (in Shandong Province, China) to find Tao and to become the disciple of the 16th Patriarch Liu. Next day, upon awaking up from his dream, he resigned his army duty, gathered his belonging with one hundred dollar of saving, and headed to Qingzhou. Every night, as he traveled and stayed in the each local motel, he received instruction on the route to be taken for the following day. One night, he received a special divine message: "Tomorrow, you are heading to the nearby mountain to receive Tao from a Master.”
Coincidentally, on the same night, Master Liu, Qing-Xu, the 16th Patriarch, also received a divine message in his dream:
"Tomorrow morning, one saint will come visit you. You will need to go to greet him by the front door.” Upon waking up from his dream, he got ready quickly and headed to the front door. While he was looking around to find a saint, he saw an ordinary short and chunky man, who wore shabby clothing with a big rounded trilby hat. Patriarch Liu did not see anything special about the chunky man. “Is he the saint?”, Patriarch Liu was puzzled. While he was still figuring out the answer, the chunky man, carrying his luggage, already walked right in the front of Patriarch Liu.
“Can I find Tao here?”, asked the chunky man. Patriarch Liu said:” You want to receive Tao? “
The chunky man replied: “Yes, I want to receive Tao.”
Patriarch Liu continued: “Come with me; I can transmit Tao to you.” He then led the chunky man to the temple situated on the hill. Upon arrival to the temple, Patriarch Liu prepared the ceremony. He transmitted the Tao to the chunky man. Afterward, Master Liu did not see anything special about the man, thus, he told the chunky man that you now have received the Tao and you can leave now. However, the chunky man explained that he wanted to stay in the temple to learn about Tao. Unfortunately, there was not much thing he could do as he was illiterate. Thus, Patriarch Liu assigned to the chunky man many labor-intensive works, such as chopping wood, carrying water, cooking, gardening, etc. The chunky man followed all the instruction lead by Patriarch Liu. The chunky man spent in the temple for 3 years for intensive labor chores. He accepted all the responsibilities given; he experienced hardships and toils with his sincerity. In this way, he accumulated infinite merits.
When Patriarch Liu was aged 50, he requested for instructions from God asking who could continue the lineage of Tao. He setup the altar and performed the ritual to communicate with God about who the successor would be. He got a reply: “The saint is in front of your eyes.” He was puzzled:” Who is he?”
A riddle was then continued: "If you want to find Maitreya, you need to search carefully – the one who always tells the truth and spread the kindness and compassion. When the Sun and the Moon is combined, the secret is hidden in the palm. Whose hands have the words of “Symbolic Seal” (合同) in the palm is the late 17th Patriarch.”
Patriarch Liu was confused about the riddle. Finally, he got an idea. He made an announcement and called all his disciples to wash hands and to prepare for a special prayer. In front of the altar, he requested everyone to have both palms face up. He exam each palm for any message. After checking all palms, he was disappointed as he did not see any sign of "Symbolic Seal" (合同). He did not know what to do.
Suddenly, the chunky man rushed out from the kitchen and ran to the Patriarch. “Do I have it?” he asked. Indeed, the chunky man has it. In his palm print, the palm lines clearly showed “Symbolic Seal” (合同). The chunky man was Lu, Zhong-Yi. However, Patriarch Liu did not want to pass on the lineage to Lu, Zhong-Yi.
Few years later, as the 16th Patriarch Liu was getting old, he told all his disciples to leave the temple. Some disciples decided to go back to their home town, and some disciples started to propagate Tao. The chunky man, Lu Zhong-Yi did not know where to go. The 16th Patriarch Liu told him he should head back to his hometown and stay in the Guanyin Temple, in Jining, Shandong Province. However, he was hesitated to go because Guanyin Temple is only for female nuns.
After many consideration, he reluctantly chose to go to his home town as he had nowhere to go, but he did not want to reside in the Guanyin temple. Later he found out, his sister, Lu, Zhong-Jie, stayed in Guanyin Temple. He was excited, and he immediately made a surprise visit to meet her in the temple. However, the sister did not want to acknowledge the brother as she had not seen him for more than 20 some years. The sister lost many years of contact with the brother since he was in the army. She was quite shocked and dis-believed when Lu claimed to be her brother. To convince her, Lu shared his childhood memories with her. He stated their parents passed away as he was a young boy. He and his sister lived in poverty in a shabby cottage, and they often pick up the left-over vegetable from the neighborhood. As he went on his childhood story, the sister cried and finally was convinced. Afterward, they joyfully started to discuss about the meaning of life and sharing their own experience.
In 1905, in Qingzhou, God ordained Lu, Zhong-Yi as the late 17th Patriarch to continue the lineage of Tao. This mandate signifies the transition from the Red Era to the White Era. With the Heavenly Decree from God, the 17th Patriarch Lu propagated Tao with assistance of his sister in Jining, Shandong Province of China. This started the Last Salvation Mission. Within a few years, Patriarch Lu managed to attract some 25 disciples, among them were Mr. Zhang Tian-ren (18th Patriarch) and Ms. Sun Hui-ming (late 18th Matriarch).
Patriarch Lu died at the age of 73 on the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month in 1925. God bestowed upon Patriarch Lu the Heavenly title "Jingong Patriarch" after his passing. On the 3rd day of the third Lunar month in 1926, the spirit of Patriarch Lu demonstrated a wondrous miracle by channeling through body of Mr. Young Chunling for 100 days to give revelations. This miracle marked the beginning of the usage of medium to propagate Tao.
Note: Patriarch Lu's younger sister, Lu, Zhong-Jie (also known as Lao Gu Nai Nai) who was believed to be the incarnation of Bodhisattva Guanyin, temporary took over the leadership for 6 years.
