English|Vietnamese

 

November 3, 1973 Saturday evening

On Expelling Poisons

Ven. Master Hua    

 

 

 

Guo Hui, you returned! Come up in front and tell us what’s going on with them [Editor’s note: referring to the two monks who were making a pilgrimage of Three Steps One Bow from San Francisco to Washington State].

Guo Hui: They’re over at Bodega Bay now, and they’re ready to start in the morning, again, from where they left off a couple of days ago. They had to stop for a while, because Heng Ju was hurting pretty bad. [Editor’s note: He had a bad case of poison oak from using poison oak leaves for toilet paper.] He’s looking pretty good now, and they’re going to try it some more. They have all the right equipment now.

Master: Where are they?

Guo Hui: They’re at the other side of Bodega Bay . They’re camping...

Master: Not having a barbeque? [Editor’s note: Laughter ensues.]

Guo Hui: They might have a little fire...

Master: Did Guo Yu eat the licorice root I gave him?

Guo Hui: Yes, he’s begun eating it.

Master: How is he eating it?

Guo Hui: I told him to put it in the tea, or just eat it. I’m not sure how he’s doing it. I thought I saw some tea he made.

Master: It doesn’t have to be brewed into a tea. The root itself can be eaten. It’s not as potent taken as a brew. When I gave it to you to take to them before, I didn’t expect them to be staying in people’s houses. My idea was that he could just chew on it. It can dispel poison. Honey is very good for that too. What else is going on?

Guo Hui: Guo Zhou is going to bring food to them tomorrow. They said the best time to find them on the road, if anyone goes looking for them, is at noon . They get on the road at daybreak, as soon as the cars can see them. And they start looking for a place to stay around 4 p.m. , sometimes later. They stay on the road; they don’t go on the beach.

 

Timely Teachings, pages 31 - 32.