Master Cau Chin The Man Who Answered My Question Without Me Asking
- Original Professional Hustler
- 4 days ago
- 16 min read
Updated: 20 hours ago
Twilight arrival. Physical responses to thought. This is not a charade.
NON-IDOLATROUS TEACHINGS
“God is known by those who people say God does not know.” Christopher Knight Lopez, International Best-Selling Author.
THE MORNING INVITATION
To explain my experience, it is prudent to know my origin. I am a Monotheistic Christ follower who reads Quran as the ultimate authority of religious governance on Earth. I recognize all scriptures but hold Quran as the final, unadulterated source which guides my behavior toward salvation.
This may seem contradictory to some but to me there is no contradiction. I walk this path based on nearly twenty years of my journey studying, reading and ultimately settling that my path is the relationship building religion I believe is appropriate to undertake with God.
I am a submitter to God alone.
I say this to substantiate the fact I am generally leery of idol worship. I do not view statues or icons with implicit trust. I do not believe in any authority beside or besides God. I do not think miracles come from anywhere but God.
That said. A friend of mine invited me to a Buddhist Temple. This occurred during a normal work out session yesterday morning. He is someone I have come to appreciate due to his depth. His thoughts are not cosmetic. His belief in something other than what we perceive is a defining character trait of his person. I meditate. I practice many Eastern techniques. I have studied Kenjitsu for twenty-two years of my life. I do so all without assigning any religious context but recognizing there is benefit.
Very much as one might consult a psychiatrist or psychologist to understand the human mind, I view certain people as person(s) I might consult to understand the unseen observable facts of God’s creation.
I responded to his invitation as, “Yes. I will go.” He was like, “Bro that’s great. You will like it.”
THE TWILIGHT ARRIVAL
There is no reservation. There is no payment you can make. There is no way to ensure preference.
To meet Master Cau Chin one must show up early. Master Cau Chin begins his day at 3am. There is a narrow window to arrive. You must arrive between 10 and 11pm the night before. This is a serious requirement. Only the first thirty (30) people who arrive are permitted to consult with Master Cau Chin.
Thousands seek him. Few find him. I watched people turned away who were late.
I arrived at 10:44pm precisely. I entered the gate of the temple. All about me were statues. My thoughts initially wanted to inspire prejudice, but I caught myself.
“I am completely ignorant of everything I am looking at. I know nothing of their significance. I know nothing of their purpose. I will form no opinions while I am here. I will simply experience what Master Cau Chin is.”
I settled my mind.
I drove up toward a greeter who took my name. The greeter started speaking Spanish to me. I responded in Spanish. I found that interesting. I was visiting a master Buddhist from Vietnam, yet his staff was assuming I spoke Spanish as my primary language of communication.
I travelled to Vietnam extensively in the 2010s. I am very familiar with their culture. It is rooted in mutual respect, courtesy, cleanliness and reverence for elders. It is a beautiful culture. I found it interesting to be greeted, given instructions and have my entire onboarding experience in Spanish.
I was happy to be bilingual.
My friend arrived a little past 11pm. He told me that it would be quite a wait. I would learn later he frequents the temple and was well known to the staff. This would later explain why he was one of the only people permitted to enter after the window. His plan was to sleep until about 245am.
My plan was to meditate. Meditation is what I did. What occurred during my meditation was not what I planned.
THE MEDITATIVE RESPONSE
I began my meditation around 1115pm. I trained my mind extensively throughout the past year and half. My training began with instrumental music but slowly moved to no stimulus whatsoever.
This type of meditation is really an act of being present.
It is not a calling for thoughts, visions or dreams. It is not about emptying one’s mind. It is less spiritual and more about being present. When you are present it is an action that requires you to reside within yourself. You must learn to be with nothing. Your breath, your posture and the complete lack of stimulus of a still environment is all you have.
Some call this stillness. Others call it simply being. I call it the state of being present.
I learned how to do this during house incarceration. While I was on pre-trial supervision I was left alone for long periods of time. I view this period as necessary preparation for potential incarceration. When one is detained or in custody is not unusual to be left in a desolate cell for long periods of time. Often this occurs with no schedule or expectations of reprieve. Detained people are not given any item to distract themselves from a sterile environment.
Isolation can also occur for any reason imaginable. The movement of a person in jail or prison is always restricted. All actions are controlled and movement limited. One can sometimes be limited to a single space such as a chair or a metal bench. Sometimes in shackles.
It is of great value to learn the technique of being present if one finds themselves in these restrictive environments. The act of being present can free oneself during these moments. It is also possible to manipulate time.
For example, I once breathed in and out once only to realize 43 minutes had passed. I was being present at a park while my daughter was writing her reflections. She interrupted me to say she was done. It was 43 minutes later. This is not my way of being analogous or thinking wishfully.
My present session was literally over in a single breath. It takes great training of presence to get to this place, but it can be done.
This was what I intended to do while I waited for Master Cau Chin. Given the fact I would wait for hours in my car I moved my windows slightly cracked to offer ventilation but keep out the bugs.
I began the meditative state of being present.
I was interrupted at one point. A single random word echoed in my mind
“Hot.”
The word that rang though my head.
It is not uncommon for a random thought to come into one’s mind during a present session. I observed it. Thought it was interesting. I proceeded to return to being present when…something happened.
BLOWWW.
My car started blowing cold air. Through air conditioning vents.
I immediately opened my eyes.
I glanced at the dashboard.
The center counsel was turned off. No lights. No key in the ignition. No pulse of electricity. Yet…cold air blew through my vents. I initially thought I was imagining it. I held my hands up to the vents.
One vent. Cold. Two vents. Cold. All vents…cold.
I have no explanation for it. The car held no current. No key was in the ignition switch to pump the anti-freeze…yet the fans blew ice cold air.
I looked down at my key. It sit quietly resting on the center piece of my car. I paused. Then…I decided.
I will return to being present.
My mind whispered a quiet, “Thank you.”
I made no stir. No reaction. I simply continued being present until a little after 245am when I previously set a phone alarm to sound.
Two hours later or so my alarm rang. I checked the vents. They still blew cold air. I reached for my key sitting adjacent to me. I put the key in the ignition. I turned it on. The turn activated the dash. Electricity pulsed throughout the car. I clicked it back to off. I withdrew the key. The fans and the entire car cut off.
I opened the door. Paused for a moment. I observed the car. I had no explanation for what happened. I suppose it didn’t matter really. Who, what, or why this happened is not explicable nor is the cause able to be perceived.
Acceptance of circumstance is now a cornerstone to my being. I simply accepted what happened and moved on.
I proceeded to the temple where everyone had began to line up. Though quiet gardens, wrestling leaves, soft water drops and small chalets which held quiet hums of focus we walked…until I passed though the entrance of the temple.
LISTENING TO MASTER’S SPEECH
Being present is useful. It was about forty minutes before Master Cau Chin came to address our very small crowd. I was seated in the front with a single empty chair adjacent to me. My friend would later come and sit next to me. He softly whispered to me about etiquette. He directed me to clap at certain times. He advised me how to respond.
When Master Cau Chin came in…he was immediately different than anyone I previously observed. His presence was calm. He was peaceful. He felt like the representation of…love.
He really did.
His stares were intense but not aggressive. He was able to look not at someone…but into someone. It’s as if his eyes saw not past you but into you. I am only familiar with the peripheral perception of Metsuke. Sometimes this peripheal perception is referred to Enzan no Metsuke — gazing at the far mountain. It is considered a soft stare.
I use this soft stare often when I wish to pay attention to many things.
Master Cau Chin held an intense soft stare which was different. His stare inspired no aggression but all the bit of its intensity. I believe someone who has not resolved themselves inside would find great discomfort in the way he looks at them.
I believe he can see who a person truly is. A person cannot hide who they are from Master Cau Chin in my opinion.
As I gazed around at various statues I wondered if he would offer a prayer to a statue. Praise to a statue is a form of idolatry which would require me to leave.
I never perceived any idolatry.
As a matter of fact…Master Chin spoke mostly about God. The God of Moses. The God of Abraham. The God of the Prophet Muhammad. The God of all of us.
I always assumed monks were non-theists (no god). Clarifying my false assumption calmed me. I have heard more idol worship propagated in some Christian churches than I did here. I heard no idolatry in his sermon. No reference to miracle workings. No reference to him claiming to be a prophet. No reference to him claiming to do anything other than ask a simple question
“God what you want me to do today?”
He said many Christians, Jewish, and Muslims refuse to come to him because of his title. He said many assume he is something he is not. The value of non-prejudicial thinking really proved useful here. I resolved to not have any judgment nor opinion. My rewards was truly understanding what this man saw himself as.
A man who asks God every day what to say to people.
The result?
Love. Fortitude. Faithfulness. Celibacy. Selflessness. Empathy. Patience. Conviction. Wise allocatoin of one’s time. Time devoted only to God.
He asked many people to speak about the miracles in their lives as a result of visiting temple. There were many who did. The stories were not said for testimony to post on Instagram. They were not for propaganda. These people were there simply to express their gratitude for the miracle. Interestingly enough after all of the testimonies…Master Cau Chin said he performed no miracles.
Master Cau Chin said only God performs miracles. He said he simply talks to God and says what God tells him to say. Nothing else. Master Cau Chin did not claim any power nor did Master Cau Chin claim any divination.
He only said, “I am so close to you because all of you my brothers. All of you my sisters. Everyone. Muslims. Christians. Jews. Everyone my brother. Everyone my sister.”
This is all he spoke about.
I found no conflict with this. I found…agreement.
After this, he fed us. Generously. He then left to a backroom. Another monk then asked us to stand to approach him in private. We lined up one at a time. I thought of questions I might ask. Reasons I might be here. What I could say. I hadn’t settled on any words, but I knew what was in my heart.
My sentencing. My trial that never happened. My daughter. My divorce. The loss of my home. The loss of my wealth. The loss of those who claimed to love me. The loss of a wife. The loss of my business.
I witnessed millions of wealth evaporate through government seizures, and freezes. All for the nominal role I played trying to protect my brother from an independent poor decision he made without my knowledge where my heart prevented me from doing the right thing. Turning him in. Instead, I tried to fix everything and cover it up like it never happened. I was guilty but not guilty of what they initialy claimed.
The result of well intentioned vigilantism is I am as bare today as I was when I was a child. I simply am the way God created me. With nothing material. I was and am only myself. Every thing has been taken from me but not everything.
My virtues still exist. The last bastion of my freedom exists too — the freedom to choose my response which is my choice to give meaning to the uncontrollable events of my life.
I cannot control what happens to me. I can only control the responses I choose. Despite my vulnerability I was cognizant to not unwillingly create Master Cau Chin as an idol. I did not want to ask him to perform any miracle for me. I did not want to recognize him for having any power. I believe all power rests with God. To divide power independent of God is to assign partnership. This is idolatry. If I were to have asked Master Cau Chin to do something for me (such as to alter or change my life) I would have set up an intercessor. This would have made me fall into idol worship (39:44). I would have failed a very key test (33:72).
Ultimately, I reserved to simply meet him. I would say nothing. Simply meet him.
MY PERSONAL CONSULT
I approached Master Chin. He talked indistinctly at first. Simply counting. Counting numbers. Expressing himself in fragments more than complete thoughts.
Then…he paused.
He looked at me. His eyes were as open and blank as marbles which show the whole world but reveal none of it.
His fragments materialized into complete sentences. He began talking directly to me.
“You a very successful person. Wow.” Master Chin said to me.
I stood there motionless. Holding an empty plate of food. Not feeling very successful. I had been eating as I was in line. I was instructed to finish my meal because it contained a special blessing. I finished it out of respect unsure of any blessing.
“I know why you here. You here for your trial.” Master Chin said to me.
I stared blankly. How could he know about my legal situation?
“You will be fine. You simply need faith. You need to keep faith in God. Faith in God alone.” Master Chin said to me.
I continued to look on.
“Oh wow. Where your partner? Where she? Why she not here?” Master Chin asked.
I answered, “She’s no longer with me. We are going through a divorce. She is sleeping back at home.”
He nodded. “She a good woman. She going through immigration issues. Tell her. She be fine. She will have everything work out. She simply need faith. She lack faith. She need more faith in people. More faith in you. More faith in God. Tell her everything be okay. She simply need faith.”
I stood. Still intensely listening. Offering nothing but a flabbergasted look.
“Oh, your grandfather. You know where he is?” Master Cau Chin asked.
I answered, “He died. A long time ago.”
“No. He right there. Right next to you. He said he love you. He said he be with you. He said you just like him. You will be okay.” Master Chin said.
I continued to look at him. I thought about something called Jinn. In Islamic tradition Jinn are different then what you find in Christian tradition — who identify them as demons. A Jinn is a fallen angel (18:50) appointed as a constant companion (50:23). Sometimes people seek people to perform what they think are false miracles through Jinn (72:6) like through witchcraft, or black magic. In Islamic tradition Jinn serve as our main witness on the day of judgment (50:23). Jinn are freed from being our companions when a body dies and the Jinn’s soul is free to move about (7:27). In Islamic tradition not all Jinn are bad and they too can be redeemed (See complete Sura 55) like us; although many will not. I thought maybe he was discussing my Grandfather’s Jinn when he commented about my grandfather standing next to me. My grandfather’s Jinn would personally know me and have witnessed every part of his life. I personally believe ghosts are typically Jinn holding onto a shared identity they had while a body still existed.
“Oh wow. 42, 44, 45 oh 46 you have beautiful family. Beautiful home. Beautiful cars. You going to be very wealthy. 50, 54, 55. Wow. Oh you watch your stomach. Your whole body very healthy but you must watch your stomach.” Master Chin said.
I thought of how sensitive my stomach has been of late. How I have issues with blood coming out of certain areas if my diet is not watched. How I can bloat if I eat the wrong things. Recently I ate too many jalapenos and my choice created a very unpleasant 24 hours for me while on a trip. I must carefully watch what I eat. Again, I said nothing — I simply listened.
“Oh your daughter. She have her own trials. She grow to be married. She have children. She be so successful. She has such a happy life ahead. She need to keep reading her bible! She need to say faithful. Tell her she need faith. All she need is faith. God will take care of her. She live to be very old. Old life.” Master Chin continued to rattle.
I gazed speechless at Master Chin. I had said nearly nothing to him yet he had said so much to me.
“You live to be…88 years old. You will love a long life. You will be very prosperous. Very virtuous. You will live a very long and fruitful life.” Master Chin looked up at me. “You have any question? You want something from me?”
I then responded, “What can I do for you?”
Master Chin smiled. “When you see hungry people. You feed them. No matter were they are. That all I want from you. Feed hungry people.”
I smiled. My daughter has an obsession with feeding homeless people. This obsession took root when she was a small girl. She would cry if she saw homeless people. We had to help them or she would enter sever bouts of sadness. As a result, we made conscious efforts to create care packages. Random things with food, toiletries and useful items for homeless people. We would typically pray over the care packages. Afterwards we would randomly find people who were homeless to hand the care packages out. We did so when God inspired us to do so.
“I can do that Master Chin.” I said softly.
“Good! God bless you! God bless you much. Go now.” He softly smiled at me. I smiled back. He gave me a small bag and told me what I needed was in there. Inside were two small beaded bracelets and an incense with strings. Very simple things. Perhaps, that was the point. I simply need to continue my faith in God alone. There was no other answer to the questions I had then the one I already knew.
Submit to God alone. Faith in God alone is all you need Christopher.
CLOSING VERSE
The Final Testament. The Holy Quran. [Unity of All Submitters]
[2:62] Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.
IN CLOSING
This entire experience was written from memory. It was not an Instagram session. It was not filmed for pictures. Phones were not permitted. Videos not allowed. This was a deeply sensitive matter meant only for those in attendance. I omitted some of the experience because I feel it should be individualized and kept private.
Especially, the second service portion after the consultation and the private breakfast Master Cau Chin invited a few of us to. I will not discuss that in a public forum.
If you want to discover that part I encourage you to exercise the patience to wait all night, attend the 3am session, and simply be present until about 6am. It is not for the faint at heart. It is not for casual seekers nor it is for those seeking curiosity (or novelty). I believe it is for mature people who have developed their souls to a certain extent or those in very desperate needs.
This is my personal experience, based on my memory. Your experience may be different. My sharing of this long narrative is simply my desire to share a unique story (with my readers) that proves to me there is more to this world than what one can see.
Do not be closed off by pre-judice, pre-judgment, superstitious beliefs or pre-determined minds.
The world needs more kindness. The world needs more love. The world needs more trust. Be open to those who are kind, loving and trusting. The entire world is not your enemy; rather, it is your family. Treat each other like your family. I saw nothing but kindness, love and trust.
Sign up for free to listen free of charge to my chapter in “Many Paths To Profit” to read about how I look at things. My dynamic form of observing and reframing will help you to accomplish things like what we have discussed in today’s article. I have a free podcast called Hustle Kick as well which teaches you how to hustle for free.
You can pick up a copy of my international best-selling and award winning book, “I Made It Then I Didn’t” as well for a deeper insight on some of the psychology I use to take me through difficult circumstances.
This article is meant to provoke thought — not argument. It’s a way of opening up the mind to alternative ideologies based on what one reads — not what one hears. The belief is personal and of course I respect everyone’s personal beliefs. I condemn no one for choosing whatever path — as clearly I mean to choose my own.
To Your Knowledge Success!
Sources
1) The life of Christopher Knight Lopez a Professional Hustler turned International Best Seller and Published Author of “I Made It Then I Didn’t”.
2) As Hyperlinked throughout the article.
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Not a form of investment advice. Please consult a professional registered to give you advice about your individual circumstance. This is not formal counseling or a form of psychology. Please consult a licensed therapist or psychiatrist for psychological concerns. Please do not email the author about advice on investing or strategies on making investments. This article is for educational purposes and entertainment purposes only.
About Christopher: Christopher Knight Lopez is a Professional Hustler turned International Best Seller, Award Winner of the December 2024 prestigious International Impact Book Awards — a premier award program dedicated to celebrating and recognizing the exceptional work of authors around the globe and Published Author of “I Made It Then I Didn’t”. He is also a Co-Author with Kevin “The Shark” Harrington “Many Paths To Profit”.
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