In the previous episode, we learned about the widespread destruction of temples and Buddha statues during the Cultural Revolution in China from 1966 to 1976. These acts of desecration not only damaged cultural heritage and harmed the spirituality of the nation but also led those involved to face swift and severe consequences.
In 1969, the Beijing Military District targeted the Wulang Temple and the Diamond Cave on Mount Wutai to build a villa for Lin Biao, a prominent military leader, due to the area’s exceptional feng shui. As a result, nearly all the Buddha statues, architecture, and cultural relics were destroyed.
During the explosion, strange clouds suddenly appeared in the sky. A photographer quickly captured this unusual phenomenon. The valuable photograph clearly depicts the image of Manjushri Bodhisattva, who is now enshrined in the Xiangfu Temple.
In reality, the site, which was destroyed to build a villa for Lin Biao, was visited by his family only once, despite the thousands of cultural and historical relics that were lost. It is believed that this is connected to his earlier destruction of Mount Wutai and its temples. Such acts of desecration are thought to have led to retribution, resulting in him facing consequences for the damage he caused.
Why did he go to such lengths to build a private villa but only stay there once? After the villa was completed, he developed a strange illness: sensitivity to both cold and heat, persistent shoulder pain, insomnia, and an overwhelming sense of restlessness throughout the day that worsened at night. Despite numerous hospital visits, no diagnosis could be made, as if it was the restless spirit from the underworld seeking retribution. Ultimately, during a power struggle, his plot to assassinate Mao Zedong was exposed. In 1971, Lin Biao, along with his wife and son, died in a plane crash while attempting to flee to Mongolia.
No one could have anticipated that the actions of the past would continue to cast a dark shadow over the present, as acts of blasphemy still occur today. In July 2016, the Beijing authorities deployed the military to demolish the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, a sacred site and one of the largest centers for Tibetan Buddhist studies in the world. This destruction inflicted a profound loss on the Buddhist community and the traditional culture of the region.
More than 3,200 rooms at the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy were destroyed. Monks and nuns were forced to sign voluntary resignation letters, coerced into abandoning their vows and marrying, and subjected to going against their religious precepts and beliefs. Some were even tortured and imprisoned.
In 2017, the Chinese government continued to enforce strict policies controlling the religious and cultural activities of Muslim communities in Xinjiang. This control severely impacted Islamic holy sites in the region. Notable examples include the destruction of the Huanhu Mosque and the Tianshan Mosque in Urumqi, which resulted in profound cultural and religious losses for the Muslim communities in China.
The Dripping-Water Guanyin statue at Huang’an Temple in Hebei, China, carved into a cliffside, symbolized compassion and salvation and played a crucial role in preserving and promoting spiritual and religious values. However, in 2019, its destruction sparked outrage and discontent among religious communities and heritage conservationists, who viewed this act as a severe insult to cultural and religious heritage.
In 2019, the Chinese government ordered the destruction of the head of the nearly 60-meter-tall Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara statue. This project, valued at nearly 60 billion VND (~2.4 million USD), was carved into a cliffside. Fearing that the public might attempt to reconstruct it, the authorities subsequently detonated the entire statue.
Around the same time, the majestic Xiashui Great Buddha statue in Guiyang, Guizhou, was subjected to desecration. A local authority group covered the statue’s eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and cheeks with cement under the pretext of “strengthening the structure,” but in reality, they flattened the Buddha’s face.
These relentless acts of religious destruction, which have sparked widespread outrage, cannot be overlooked without considering their repercussions. Natural disasters have continuously struck – not only during the Cultural Revolution but also in the years that followed, and they persist today. The frequency of natural disasters in China has been increasing rapidly. Over the last few decades, the country has experienced almost all major hazards, including earthquakes, typhoons, floods, droughts and sandstorms, storm surges, landslides, debris flows, hailstorms, cold waves, heat waves, pest and rodent diseases, forest and grassland fires, and red tides. These events have caused severe damage to vehicles, homes, crops and resulted in heartbreaking losses of human lives.
Could the consequences of demolishing Buddha statues and sacred symbols be the reason behind Heaven and Earth’s wrath?
Two thousand years ago, Afghanistan was a significant center of Buddhism, especially in the Bamiyan Valley – a prosperous and thriving area along the legendary Silk Road. In the early 6th century, the tragic destruction of the Buddha statues took place, shocking the entire world. This ignorant act of desecration against the Divine opened the door to mysterious and profound tales of retribution, leaving a haunting mark on human history.
In 2001, two colossal Buddha statues were destroyed. The larger statue, approximately 53-meters-high, represented Shakyamuni Buddha and was one of the tallest standing Buddha statues in the world. The remaining statue, standing at 35 meters, is believed by many scholars to represent Vairocana Buddha. Both statues were carved into the niches of a rock face.
On March 14, 2001, Islamic militants forced prisoners to attach bombs to the Buddha statues. The commanders ordered the use of anti-aircraft missiles to target the top of the statues. Despite this, the statues proved incredibly difficult to destroy, defying the extremists’ attempts. Although the surface suffered significant damage, the two Buddha statues remained upright and intact. Determined to destroy them completely, the militants placed explosives at the base of the statues to collapse them from the bottom. They also inserted explosives into the crevices on the statues’ bodies to dislodge them from the cliff. Additionally, the militants climbed the cliff to set mines in the cavities of the statues and finally used a missile to completely obliterate the heads of the statues.
In their blindness and selfishness, the militants destroyed these priceless cultural masterpieces, leaving humanity with pain and helplessness as the complex political machinations of Afghanistan took a toll on the world’s sacred heritage. Nine months after the destruction of the two colossal Buddha statues, the militant group, which had controlled up to 90% of Afghanistan, rapidly collapsed within a month under the assault of the U.S.-led coalition in the global War on Terror. Many believe that this downfall was a direct consequence, a form of Divine retribution for their sacrilege in destroying these sacred cultural heritage sites.
On July 5, 2008, Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan) compassionately shared methods to prevent natural disasters and overcome calamities.
“Be vegan and helping each other, that’s all we need to do. And the planet’s disasters will cease to exist and cease to zero. All the disasters, including natural disasters, are man-made. Man-made in a sense that it is produced out of the negative energy that we have generated for centuries or millions of years. ‘As we sow, so shall we reap.’ If you do some bad thing, the bad consequence will return to us sooner or later.
Very simple. Be a vegan. Be loving and kind. Be forgiving. And if possible at all, be a bearer of light. Meaning, be enlightened. That should be absolutely enough to safeguard your life on Earth and to safeguard a place in Heaven.”
