HONG KONG—Each year on the second day of the Chinese lunar year the head of the Rural Council, the Heung Yee Kuk, goes to the Che Kung Temple to learn the region’s fortune. This year Hong Kong was warned how, during a time of trouble, disaster can be avoided.
On Feb. 1 Mr. Lau Wong-fat came to burn incense, and pray for blessings and ask for guidance for Hong Kong. Dressed in traditional Chinese clothes, he shook a bamboo tube and the first of the 96 fortune sticks to drop out bore the number 4.
The number 4 is linked to this poem, which tells the fortune:
“Fortune comes from heaven with no partiality./ Misfortune does not come for no reason unless solicited./ Earnest words with good intentions will naturally generate fortune and eliminate potential disaster.”
Dangerous Events
Fortunes are either high (good), medium, or low (poor). The number 4 is a medium fortune. The content of the fortune is influenced by the year.
In the Chinese calendar, time is divided into two basic heavenly and earthly systems, and each year combines one element from each system. The series of combinations comes to a full cycle each 60 years.
2014 is a year of “Jia Wu,” wood and fire. The wood fuels the fire, and so this combination of elements can lead to a dangerous year of important events.
The most recent “Jia Wu” cycles have been difficult for China. For instance, 1894 sparked the Sino-Japanese war, which was a painful year for the Chinese.
Official Fortune Teller
The temple’s fortunes have been accurate for the past 10 years,
The official fortune teller at the temple believes this year’s prophecy means fortune or misfortune is in one’s own hand. The Hong Kong people and the government need to coordinate to do more good and correct things for Hong Kong, the fortune teller said, and then naturally fortune comes misfortune goes.
Reporters asked Lau if the Chief Executive Leung Chun Ying, who is considered pro-Beijing, is a blessing or a curse and what misfortune he could bring. Lau replied, ”(Leung) should not do things that he should not do then.”
Metaphysics Expert
The president of the Che Kung Temple Association of Metaphysics, Ng Pui-Fu, found the omen itself not too bad, and blatantly clear: “Fortune is god sent, and there is a fixed rule, but one’s curse is self-induced. One should do his best to do the right thing and misfortune will dissipate.”
Ng also said this year’s omen is far better than the low one from 2003 when SARS broke out. This year if you don’t do the right thing, there will be a disaster that hurts Hong Kong, Ng said.
Feng Shui Expert
According to a feng shui expert, the fortune is a secret message to help the Hong Kong people to stay away from misfortune,
“Good intentions and accumulated kindness will generate good fortune and eliminate potential disaster,” the expert said. “So, it all depends on whether Hong Kong people believe it or not.
“It means that Hong Kong has to use kindness to bravely fight for, to speak out against, but not to coordinate with (an unreasonable) ruler.
“The writing on the fortune stick said ‘well-intentioned,” which refers to the Falun Gong practitioners who persist on telling the truth to society. Lend them listening ears, that’s the only way out.”
When Chief Executive Leung took office in 2012, the no. 29 stick was drawn. A medium omen, it said, “Who is a devil, who is God? Why can’t we tell the devil from the god? Believing the evil or staying righteous? Heaven and Earth will know it all!”
Councillor Inspired
Hong Kong LegCo member Leung Yiu-Chung said that his interpretation of the omen was that things would fall into place for the Hong Kong people’s pursuit of democracy.
“Even though we face difficulty we should not give up easily,” Leung said. “We should speak out bravely when we face injustice. Do not be afraid and try hard.”
Leung believes the line, ‘Well intentioned with accumulated kindness will naturally generate fortune and eliminate potential disaster,” tells the people of Hong Kong to persist with kindness, taking the Falun Gong practitioners as a good example.
Leung said the practitioners of the spiritual discipline face brutal suppression from the Chinese Communist Party, yet persist in earnestly telling citizens on the streets about what Falun Gong is and how it is persecuted.
“We have to learn from Falun Gong [practitioners], continue to explain, do not give up,” Leung said.
Lion vs. Red Dragon
According to folklore, in the beginning the region of Hong Kong was haunted by nine evil dragons. Gods sent a heavenly lion down to get rid of them and stand guard. Lion Rock Mountain has become the symbol of Hong Kong.
Among Chinese it is known that the symbol of the CCP is a red dragon. Hong Kong is said to be a blessed land, because the lion is suppressing the evil dragon. People fled from communist China to Hong Kong, and so the anti-communist sentiments have always been strong and persistent.
On the Dec. 22, 2013, the day of the winter solstice, the eyes of the Lion Rock turned red. Falun Gong practitioner, Siu Hung, who witnessed the phenomenon, said that everything happens for a reason.
Siu Hung speculated that the reddening of the eyes might have been a warning that Hong Kong is in trouble. Now, Siu Hung said, the omen from Che Kung gives the Hong Kong people a hint for how to escape danger.
“In the book ‘Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party,’” Siu Hung said, “The CCP is controlled by an evil spirit. People must understand that Leung Chun-ying, allied with the CCP, brings disasters to Hong Kong.”
If Hong Kong citizens support justice and stop the CCP from ruining Hong Kong, they can avoid catastrophe, Siu Hung said.
Siu Hung recommended a poem that discusses overcoming disaster, written by Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong.
Calmly Take a Look
The chaos in the world, like a teetering building
Disaster approaches and people don’t know to worry
Shaking heads and waving hands, rejecting the truth
Good words in earnest don’t make them reconsider
We ask for nothing in return and have no pursuit
It’s to save you once the disaster arrives
Don’t forget why you came to this world
There are reasons for ages of reincarnation
Life not about emotion and hatred
Quiet your mind, and take a look
The Fa that all beings have awaited has arrived
The truth will end your confusion and worry
Translated by Y.K. Lu. Written in English by Katy Mantyk.
“Calmly Take a Look” published with permission from FalunDafa.org.
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