The Drunkard Who Met
H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III
My husband is an artist, and he was also a widely known “drunkard” in our town.
He studied at a well-known art academy in China. After graduation, he returned to our county to engage in artistic creation. He is naturally candid and uninhibited, neither slick nor adept at social maneuvering. Arrogant in his talents, he felt stifled and unfulfilled, unable to realize his ambitions. At some unknown point, he began turning to alcohol. But being unable to handle it well, he would become drunk every time he drank, and once drunk, he grew even more unruly and wild.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the culture of feasting and drinking was widespread. Cultural officials often visited rural towns, and drinking at banquets was inevitable. On one such occasion, a local business held a grand opening and invited officials from the city’s cultural department to lend prestige. However, when someone at the banquet spoke rudely while encouraging him to drink, he was so enraged that he smashed the dishes and overturned the table, causing the banquet to end in chaos. After returning home drunk, he would often disturb the peace, especially in moments of excitement—he would roughhouse with our young child, who would end up crying in fright.
The most serious incident happened one time when he was drinking with his elder brother back in his hometown. For some unknown reason, an argument broke out at the table. Fueled by alcohol, he smashed an unopened bottle of liquor on his own head. Glass shards flew, and blood gushed out…
I lived in a state of constant avoidance, as he hovered between partial sobriety and drunkenness. My parents were both angry and heartbroken, deeply disappointed and worried about him. Life during that time was unbearable, and our marriage was on the brink of divorce.
My husband was fully aware of the absurdity of his behavior. The emptiness and anxiety he felt after sobering up made him even more depressed, like a man drowning in a sea of suffering with no shore in sight.
At a gathering, a literary friend recommended a book to him titled “Learning From Buddha” Always a lover of books, he found the text to be simple and easy to understand. It struck a chord with him—especially when he saw the miraculous youthful appearance of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, he felt a deep, indescribable emotional stirring. A Bodhi seed was planted in his heart.
At another banquet, once again heavily drunk, he unleashed his fury. He scolded his superiors and coworkers without restraint, trashed the restaurant, and stormed off. On the way home, he threw his bicycle into the street. His colleagues helped him to our front door, but he couldn’t find his keys. After knocking a few times without response, he punched through the wooden panel above the door, reached in, and unlocked it from the inside. Our child and I were already asleep. He stumbled into the bedroom and collapsed on the bed fully clothed.
Around midnight, he woke up from his stupor to complete darkness. Disoriented, he struggled to recall where he was. As the pieces came together, cold sweat broke out all over his body—he had wrecked the restaurant, lost his bicycle, publicly insulted his director and department head… When he thought about all the disgraceful things he had done in the past, he wished the night would never end. If only he could hide forever in this blackness. But time moved relentlessly toward the next day and reality. He couldn’t imagine how to face life anymore and even contemplated suicide.
It was in that moment of utter despair that the image of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III suddenly appeared in his mind. That single thought became the turning point in his life. In that painful, hopeless night, he brought his palms together for the first time with true sincerity and chanted “Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III” with the devotion of a son crying out to his loving mother.
Perhaps due to the sincerity of his heart, as he continued to chant, the pain and torment within him dissipated. A cool clarity washed over his chest. As he went on, he felt his body dissolve, and before him appeared a vast, blue expanse… That miraculous night gave him true confidence in the Buddha-dharma.
And so, he entered the path of learning Buddhism. The incredible and supreme holy manifestations often moved him to tears. The book “What Is Cultivation” corrected his misunderstandings and biases. From then on, he firmly resolved to follow H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III for the rest of his life.
When the conditions ripened, he traveled to the United States and personally met H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III , receiving the Buddha Master’s personally transmitted supreme Dharma of meditative practice. After meeting the Buddha, his positive qualities such as eagerness to learn re-emerged. His previously volatile temper began to mellow, and his drunken episodes greatly reduced. As his bad habits faded, the family atmosphere slowly improved. Witnessing his day-by-day transformation, and through the passing of my father, I too began to reflect on the questions of life and death—and so, I also began to study Buddhism.
H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III often teaches in His Dharma discourses that true repentance is to never repeat the wrongdoing, and that we should start with small acts, beginning with those closest to us, then expanding outward to benefit others. My husband deeply realized how terrifying his past behavior was and how much suffering he had caused. He made a vow before the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to never drink again, repenting thoroughly for his past karmic offenses.
He quit drinking. He quit smoking. This once arrogant, unruly, self-centered man who lived for alcohol had finally turned his life around. Following the teachings and precepts of the Buddha Master with grounded sincerity, his progress was swift. He became mature and upright. In the eyes of his elders, he was now a respectful and obedient son. To our child, he was a mentor and role model. In my eyes, he became a gentle, hardworking, emotionally aware husband and Dharma companion. To colleagues and friends, he was a self-disciplined, warm, and dedicated elder. To fellow Buddhists, he was a diligent practitioner of the true Dharma of the Tathagata.
This return of happiness fills me with a sense of awe and deep gratitude. It is truly the Buddha-dharma of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III that transformed a mad “drunkard” into a man of value to society, a true practitioner with right view and right understanding.
Written by: A Beginning Practitioner
The Drunkard Who Met H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III
Source: https://dharma-hhdorjechangbuddhaiii.org/the-drunkard-who-met-h-h-dorje-chang-buddha-iii/
Link: https://hhdorjechangbuddhaiiidharma.com/2025/06/29/the-drunkard-who-met-h-h-dorje-chang-buddha-iii/
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