Grandmaster Lu greets Master Wong

This video was captured in August 2006 at the Masters conference in Seattle USA when Master Simon Wong went to visit Grand Master Lu.

This was shortly after Grand Master Lu returned from his Tahiti retreat of over five years. During the meeting, Grand Master Lu questioned Master Wong why he had not been present at the London Temple when students from all over Europe had attended to meet him. [In Tibetan Buddhism, if the Master comes to your area and you don't attend, that signifies disrespect and is against the principles. You can go down to Vajra Hell for this transgression.]

After Grand Master questioned, "Where were you?" Master Wong humbly replied, "No one contacted me to let me know." Grand Master appeared shocked but quickly replied, "You must have been sleeping," joking the embarrassment away. Later the Temple who organised for Grand Master Lu to visit London sent a master to talk to Master Wong, requesting his telephone number. Master Wong laughed, "My number is on the True Buddha School website, as it has been for many years." As you can see, since Master Wong has joined the True Buddha School, slander and politics between different Chapters has always been prevalent.

Unfortunately, this has been been the case since 1993 when Grand Master Lu asked Master Wong to be a Master. This was shortly after Master Wong's mother had passed away and being bereaved, Master Wong humbly declined Grand Master Lu's request, "Sorry but I'm not good enough." In the restaurant, there were other Masters and a few students present at the same table Grand Master Lu had spoken to Master Wong. Later Master Ling Shin from Singapore came to speak with Master Wong, explaining "You can not refuse your Master if he wants you to be a Master. If you feel you are not ready, you can take the title first and in the meantime improve yourself. Later you will be good enough." Then Master Wong spoke with Master Lu's son, Fu Chi, asking him, "Can you speak with your father and ask his opinion on whether I should be a Master now or wait until later." The next day Fu Chi came back with Grand Master's reply, "My father said you have to make the decision." Master Wong thought asking Fu Chi was a waste of time. During a discussion with another senior Master, Master Wong was told, "if you are able to do the job, why refuse? Otherwise, someone else not capable to do the job may take the title and ruin the True Buddha School. This will also cause problems with students who will feel let down. Not only will you feel disappointed but students will feel disappointed too and give up." Due to this explanation Master Wong was persuaded and decided to accept Grand Master Lu's offer.

At the time, Master Wong did not have any ambition to have the title of 'Master'. He realised he was incompetent compared to Grand Master Lu. He thought being a Master is no joke, there are many sacrifices to helping people and in addition to that, rivalry and politics among Masters and between Temples. As Grand Master predicted before, being a master is like being a warlord. That is the reason Master Wong keeps to himself, he evades the limelight in order to continue training and improve himself. When questioned by another student at the chapter, "Master Wong you've heard I have said many nasty things about you, I'm sure you will retaliate," Master Wong replied, "If we have a commercial mind towards buddhism, playing politics, I'd better just be a business man!" Just like the old Chinese saying, even a king, general or present day Prime Minister can not train to be successful in Buddhism. Master Wong states, "I thank those students who make so many slanderous comments about me, this is a blessing in disguise as I have freedom to cultivate and learn many new things. If you think it is in my nature to beg Grand Master Lu for the title of a Master, why not ask Grand Master Lu himself, as he is alive and well? Or even ask Fu Chi, Grand Master Lu's son or any of the other master or students present at the table at the time." Although I know few masters and students will attempt to bring my name into disrepute, that is a way of life - those that are not accomplished or have not achieved spiritual awareness do not attract attention or jealousy from others. I welcome criticism as it is just like wood being thrown in the fire, making the fire burn more brightly. Compared with the attacks on Grand Master Lu, I still have a long way to go."