The crazy monk is a famous Chinese folk character who was
said fond of playing pranks on people while teaching them Buddhism. We can find
temples dedicated to this crazy monk set up wherever Chinese set foot on.
Jeffery who was an actor cum entertainment program host told me his mother’s bizarre
encounter when she was conceived with Jeffery about 30 odd years ago in Zhong’huan
(中环),
Hong Kong.
Zhong’huan was famous because the emanation of this crazy
monk was said to be seen quite frequently in that area. Subsequently, many
fortune telling stalls and temples started to flourish. The locals believe that
if a person is lucky, he/she may be able to meet with the crazy monk in person
and receives his advice.
As Jeff’s story goes, one day his mother walked passed a
crazy monk temple and she heard a voice called up at her: “Mam, can you spare
me a few minutes?”
At that moment, Jeff’s mother looked around and saw a blind
fortune teller sat on a stool inside the crazy monk temple waving at her. Due
to curiosity, she approached the blind fortune teller and the blind man said: “Mam,
your son shall be born twice.”
During that time, Jeff’s mom wasn’t too convinced and she
wasn’t too interested in getting her fortune read. So, she just turned her back
and returned home.
In that particular night, Jeff’s mother felt extreme stomach
pain and she was hospitalized. At first, the doctor thought she had a large
tumour in the lady’s stomach. But upon dissecting her abdomen, the doctor found
the woman was actually carrying a baby! Apparently, Jeff’s mother didn’t even
realise she was actually having a baby ironically speaking. So, the mother’s
stomach had to be stitched back. A few months later, Jeff was born. So, Jeff
had in fact, seen lights twice: the first was on the operation theatre, and the
other was in a labour ward.
After giving birth to Jeff, his mother told the granny about
her strange encounter with the blind fortune teller. The granny suddenly
remembered there was a local folklore mentioning that the famous crazy monk
would appear in the area to guide those lucky few. And that blind fortune
teller might be the emanation of this crazy monk! So, Jeff’s mom and his granny
brought little Jeff to where she last saw the blind fortune teller.
Luckily, the man was still around. As soon as they
approached the blind fortune teller, he said: “I know you will return! I have
been waiting for a long time!”
After that, the blind fortune teller told his mom and granny
of Jeff’s future with some advices.
A few days, later when Jeff’s parents returned to the temple
wanting to give some donation to this blind fortune teller, he was nowhere to
be found. When enquired, no one recalled of the presence of the blind fortune
teller.
Was it the real crazy monk; or the folks just saw a ghost? I
will leave the detective job to you…
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