The Novice by Thich Nhat Hanh Page B

its perfume helping everyone present to open up their hearts and embrace the entire cosmos. The deep, slow sounds of the giant bell, deliberately un-hurried, gently coaxed people to release all tension and be at peace.
    At this moment, there was not a single person in the crowd whose heart held any hatred or division. At this moment, there was not a single person in the crowd still harboring any bitterness or vindictiveness. Over three thousand people were present, yet every single person’s heart was infused with the energy of true love. The heart of novice Kinh Tam had entered into the hearts of all the people. Kinh Tam was distinctly present in this earthly world, as well as on the shore of true freedom.
    As flames consumed the pyre, the abbot, in ceremonial robes, pointed up at an unusually bright patch in the sky. Everyone looked up. Many saw a large area of multicolored clouds—a highly auspicious sign according to tradition. Novice Kinh Tam was a true practition er; it was evident that she had succeeded in attaining full liberation.
    It was two o’clock when the fire finally died out. The Venerables Chi Tam and Thanh Tam instructed devotees to sprinkle perfumed water over the hot embers and to gather the ashes of Kinh Tam. They found in the collected ashes seventy-five relics. Some relics were the size of the knuckle of a little finger, shining like pearls, while others were the size of sesame seeds, all shimmering with the auspicious combination of five colors. The two monks gathered the relics into a white ceramic urn, to be put on the altar in the temple for veneration.
    Standing on a high dais, the abbot began teaching the Dharma to the large audience. Although he was nearly seventy years old, his voice was as powerful and commanding as the sound of the great bell. He declared that although Kinh Tam was a novice and had not taken full vows, she had succeeded in the practice and gained full enlightenment. The novice was truly the manifestation of a great being. Kinh Tam’s full commitment to personally living a magnanimous life proved that the novice was already a true sage. Kinh Tam’s heart had become a boundless heart of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, with the capacity to embrace every living being.
    The abbot paused and then continued with a new air of reverence as he told the story of a visitation. In the abbot’s sitting meditation the night before, the Buddha had appeared, holding a lotus flower in his left hand and making the great auspicious mudra gesture with his right. The Buddha told the abbot that Kinh Tam had achieved the highest attainment of a bodhisattva and was now peacefully abiding in the Dharma Cloud Realm. A beam of bright light shone forth from the little finger of the World-Honored One’s right hand, still in the position of the auspicious mudra. Looking up at the sky in the direction indicated by the beam of light, the abbot had seen a magnificently jeweled lotus dais with a thousand petals. Sitting on the lotus dais was a bodhisattva whose bearing was extremely upright and whose facial features were exactly those of novice Kinh Tam. The bodhisattva had smiled and joined her palms in respect toward the abbot, who in turn joined his palms respectfully as his heart overflowed with serene joy and admiration. Interestingly, the abbot also saw the little aspirant Thien Tai standing with palms joined behind the bodhisattva’s lotus dais. Although the apparition lasted only very briefly, the communication was quite deep and clear. At that precise moment, an extraordinary and wondrous fragrance pervaded the abbot’s room that he had never sensed before.
    The abbot went on to publicly announce to the congregation that he was committed to begin building a temple where women could be ordained and practice as nuns, as Bodhisattva Kinh Tam had implored in her letter. This bodhisattva had practiced to full realization and was able to help her parents