They Requested Mercy for All Living Beings

I am by no means a regular Coast to Coast A.M. listener. But sometimes a news item sticks with me and doesn't leave.

I don't know how long ago it was that in the news items which always begin the show George Noory (looked That one up to try and get the spelling right) announced that 1 or 2 Chinese monks were going a long distance, across a large part of China on their Knees, to visit the Goddess of Mercy.

I think the story might have been from 2009, but not sure. It was reported as though these monks were Crazy and by American standards it would look that way.

But I can't imagine doing such a painful and difficult thing in the wrong spirit. And if it was done in the Right spirit, then those monks took All of Us in their hearts With them. They took to the Goddess of mercy those in all nations who were homeless, who had to beg to survive, who had just been diagnosed with advanced AIDS or cancer. They took with them all who were struggling in violent or verbally brutal relationships. They took the Chinese elders who are committing suicide out of neglect, poverty, and loneliness. And they took with them the rural Chinese women who swallow farm chemicals to poison themselves to death.

I know most Christians and probably most monotheists won't agree, but what those two monks took on voluntarily was all of our pain. It is similar to Jesus' allowing himself to be crucified.

The monks may not have died in their attempt, but they may have, I cannot find out. If they hadn't had the sufferings of others in mind, why not just hitch a ride or take a train to where the Goddess of Mercy was? They chose to go on their knnees to endure sufering in the belief that this could help Others suffer a little less.

The Chinese government now says that Quan Yin is and always was male. It's what they tell tourists. But if the story was reported correctly on Coast to Coast, these monks even went against their powerful Government, by appealing for all suffering beings to the GODDESS of Mercy. I think of them often and am filled with admiration.

I wonder what happened to them, does anyone know? Many peoples around the world understand the ideas behind what these monks chose to do. Native shamans of many traditions face illnesses in which they die or nearly die, before becoming healers for their people. Some Catholic people carry crosses themselves and whip themselves until they bleed before Easter. Then their is the Sun Dance. Tibetan Buddhists practice taking on the pain of others and offering to others the good things they have, or that they wish others could have. It is called Tong-len.

Why was the report made in such a way as to make the monks sound crazy, because what they were doing was dangerous and hurt?

We forget that all over the Earth, every day, people are doing dangerous or painful work for the sake of others without compensation. Maybe I should tell you some more of these stories. But for now, som monks you will never meet cared enough about your suffering and mine to start a journey on their knees over hundreds of miles to request Mercy for All of Us.