A Buddhist friend shared a mystery with me. For twenty years, he had offered an oil lamp, that uses a lit wick. Whenever the wick gets cluttered with carbon, he would put it in a bowl of water to clear it, so as to reuse it. One day, something strange and unprecedented happened. The wick moved about in an irregular (not cyclic) manner while afloat – for more than an hour. There was no discernible cause, such as an energy source. He had filmed it on his phone, and was eager to show it to those interested.
Having seen it, I have to agree it is indeed a mystery… which presents another mystery, other than what caused the movement. What does it mean? None of us knew what it implied. Was it an auspicious message? But if so, what was the message? I offered a simple solution… If it happens again, my friend should sincerely chant the Buddha’s name before it – for as long as it moved. If the movement is due to the presence of evil spirits playing a prank, it would stop. If it is a divine message, may the mindfulness chanting connect to the Buddha for an answer, to decode the meaning! Amituofo.