Dharma Master Kang Falang lived in Canton at Zhongshan (中山) during the Jin Dynasty. From his youth, he enjoyed investigating the Buddhadharma and left the home life when he was quite young. Because he was extremely intelligent, when he investigated, read, and recited the Great Vehicle Sutras, he could memorize them rapidly. Soon he knew by heart the Lotus and Avatamsaka Sutras.
Sometimes when he was reciting the Sutras, he would come to a passage which mentioned the “Deer Park” or the “Bodhi Tree.” Then he would close the Sutra text and sigh, “My karmic obstacles are very heavy. I have not been born at a time when there is a Buddha in the world, and so I cannot meet a Buddha. But I should go and see all the holy places in Shakyamuni Buddha’s life: where the Buddha cultivated in the Himalayas, where he sat beneath the Bodhi Tree and saw a bright star one evening in his awakening to the Way, and where, after becoming a Buddha, he went to take the five Bhikshus
across. I should look into all these matters.”
On the strength of that vow, he began to look for companions who had made similar vows and who might be interested in travelling with him. After a long time he found four, and they set out from China for India.
Their journey took them through a desert which stretched for about three hundred miles. After three days without seeing any signs of life, they suddenly came upon an oasis where the grass grew taller than a man and the trees were very old. In the midst of the oasis were two dilapidated temples inhabited by two impoverished Bhikshus. Not only were they poor, but one of the Bhikshus was sick. The elder healthy Bhikshu had paid no attention to the young one who was confined to a single room. His body was covered with a mass of sores which seeped pus and blood so that the stench was unbearable. Furthermore, the bloody, pus-filled sores were infected by clutches of worms. He was a filthy sight. One glance at him made you want to vomit.
Kang Falang and his companions discussed the matter. “The Buddhadharma is a oneness,” they said. “Buddhists are of one family. That Bhikshu is really sick and the old Bhikshu isn’t paying any attention to him. We should stay here and take care of him.” So they remained there, boiled water for the sick Bhikshu and made tea for him. Then they bathed his sores, washed his clothing, and sincerely tended to his needs. They looked after him for six days, and by the seventh day, he was cured. The room no longer stank, but was filled with the fragrance of flowers. The young Bhikshu told the five of them, “The old Bhikshu in the other room is my teacher. He is a certified Sage. You should go seek the Buddhadharma from him.”
At that point, they realized that the young “sick” Bhikshu had feigned his illness. He was not really sick but had merely been testing them. They went in to see the old Bhikshu who said, “What are you planning to do?”
They replied, “We are headed for India to seek the Buddhadharma. That is how we happened to come here in the first place.”
The old Bhikshu said, “In cultivation, it is not necessarily the case that you have to go to any certain place to seek the Buddhadharma. If you cultivate intensely and do the work, you can accomplish the Way. Yet if you don’t do the work, then even if you could go to the end of the heavens, it wouldn’t be any good. You couldn’t accomplish your Way-karma. If you follow my advice, you will dwell here, and we will develop our skills together.”
Dharma Master Kang Falang and his four companions listened. They believed the words of exhortation spoken by the Sage, and decided to dwell there. Eventually, however, Dharma Master Kang Falang again set out to travel through other countries, and met with many learned advisors.
When people who cultivate the Way encounter a state, regardless of what it is, they should be patient. Dhyana Master Kang Falang encountered a sick Bhikshu. But if he had not been willing to tend to the Bhikshu’s disease, he never would have known that he was in the presence of a Sage who had been certified to the fruit. He would have missed the opportunity. Later, the monk Kang Falang was himself certified to the fruit, after which he disappeared—no one knows where, or even if, indeed, he did in fact complete the stillness.
Dhyana Master Kang Falang had a disciple whose Dharma name was Lingshao (令韶). His family name was Lü (呂) and, like his teacher, he was unusually intelligent. When he was still a householder, he engaged in some frivolous pursuits and was also fond of hunting, killing a lot of animals and enjoying eating their meat. He continued eating meat until it began to dawn on him, “Oh, animals don’t like to die. Why do I keep killing them? The correct thing would be to stop killing.” After that, he bowed to Dharma Master Kang Falang as his teacher, and investigated the doctrines of the Dhyana School. He could sit continuously for many days and so developed his skill in Dhyana samadhi. He cultivated until he forgot his teacher.
One day, he didn’t know where his teacher had gone and, being unable to find him, went into the mountains to sit in a cave. There he constantly meditated and never lay down. He carved his teacher’s image out of a piece of wood, and every day he recited the Sutras and bowed to the image of his teacher. He cultivated like this for over a decade. Then he, too, was certified to the fruit, and completed the stillness while sitting in the cave. At that time, the people in the nearby village saw a brilliant glow on the mountain. Some of the more curious villagers went to the mountain to investigate, and found the Bhikshu who had just died. Then everyone knew that the light had come from him, which caused many of the people in that area to become Buddhists.