Rejoicing with the Buddha: Living Buddha Lian-Sheng and Shimu Revisit Lake Sammamish
【Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple News / By Shi Lian Yi】

On the afternoon of August 20, 2026, the fifth stop of the “Rejoicing with the Buddha” outings took place. Masters, Reverends, Dharma propagation personnel, and fellow disciples from Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple and Rainbow Temple accompanied the revered Living Buddha Lian-Sheng and Shimu Master Lian-Hsiang to Lake Sammamish State Park, where they strolled along the nature trail at the mouth of Issaquah Creek and enjoyed the lakeside scenery and stream ecology.
 
This particular outing held special significance.
More than forty years ago, Grandmaster had lived by the shores of Lake Sammamish. Swimming, fishing, meditating, chanting mantras, observing fish, and listening to the sounds of the lake—these experiences of lakeside life and spiritual cultivation later became the inspiration for Grandmaster’s 60th book, The Inner World of the Lake (《湖濱別有天》), written in 1985. In his later writings, Grandmaster even referred to Lake Sammamish as his “hometown along life’s journey.”
 
Today, “Rejoicing with the Buddha” returned once again to this very lake.
It happened to be the hottest day of the week, and the afternoon sun was particularly intense. Fortunately, the trail near the mouth of Issaquah Creek was lush with trees and shaded in many places, while the creek flowed quietly through the woodland. Shimu Master Lian-Hsiang remained in excellent spirits and walked briskly throughout the outing, keeping pace with the group without falling behind.
 
The main focus of this walk was learning about the salmon’s remarkable “journey home.”
Along the way, Master Lian Chi carefully explained the different species of salmon, their ecology, and the route they follow during their annual migration home. Adult salmon return from the Pacific Ocean to Puget Sound, pass through the Ballard Locks into Lake Washington, continue along the Sammamish River into Lake Sammamish, and finally return to Issaquah Creek to spawn.
For the adult salmon, this is a journey home. After the next generation of young salmon grows, they follow the same waterways in the opposite direction—leaving the creek and eventually making their way out to sea.
 
Master Lian Chi also explained that four types of salmon can be found in this area. Among them, Kokanee are particularly unique. Unlike other migratory salmon that travel to the Pacific Ocean, Kokanee complete their entire life cycle in freshwater. Even the fallen trees and logs scattered throughout the creek serve an important ecological purpose: they create sheltered areas and slower-moving water where young salmon can rest and hide from predators.
 
As everyone walked and listened, what at first appeared to be simply a quiet woodland creek seemed to come alive once they understood how generations of salmon had traveled back and forth through these waters.
 
Grandmaster enjoyed the natural scenery along the way and frequently reminded everyone to be careful.
When he noticed thorny plants beside the trail, Grandmaster cautioned everyone to watch where they were walking so they would not be scratched. He then joked that otherwise they might fall into the “Valley of Heartlessness” and be poisoned by the legendary “Passion Flower”—and once poisoned, “there would be no cure!”
Everyone burst into laughter.
 
When the group reached the creek, Grandmaster reminded everyone again, “Don’t fall into the water and get eaten by a crocodile!”
The disciples immediately laughed and replied, “There are no crocodiles here—only salmon!”
With one warning and one playful response, laughter once again filled the shaded woodland trail.
 
Walking beside these familiar waters naturally brought back many memories for Grandmaster.
Grandmaster recalled that many years ago, he used to swim in Lake Sammamish and would even dive down toward the lake bottom. Although the lake appeared calm on the surface, there were actually underwater currents below. He also remembered hearing unusual sounds beneath the water. These memories echoed the experiences of the lake, its sounds, and spiritual cultivation that Grandmaster recorded in ‘The Inner World of the Lake’.
 
Grandmaster also recalled that someone once took him to catch fish by a creek. A basket was lowered into the water, and when it was lifted back up, it was filled with salmon. The sheer number of fish left a vivid impression on him that has remained to this day.
When speaking about fishing by the lake in those days, Grandmaster even remembered the smallest details.
The fish here had small mouths, he explained, so a small fishhook had to be used. As for bait, it had to be a red earthworm—not a black one.
Why?
Grandmaster smiled and said, “Red earthworms smell better.”
Once again, everyone laughed.
 
In ‘The Inner World of the Lake’, Grandmaster wrote about fishing beside the lake using precisely a fishing line, a stone, a fishhook, and a red earthworm. Even the detail of the “red earthworm” matched exactly what he had written forty-one years earlier. Through these few lighthearted remarks, scenes of his lakeside life from decades ago suddenly came alive once more.
 
After completing the nature trail at the mouth of Issaquah Creek, the group decided not to continue along the latter portion of the originally planned route. Instead, everyone went directly to the area near Sunset Beach and rested beneath the shade of the lakeside trees.
 
A variety of popsicles, ice cream, cold drinks, and fresh fruit had already been prepared. After the walk, everyone settled beneath the large trees, cooling off while chatting together. Grandmaster and Shimu also relaxed and conversed casually with the disciples. Some admired the scenery, some enjoyed fresh fruit, while others even picked up hula hoops and began playing.
 
There was no need to rush to complete the entire itinerary, nor was there any requirement to walk a certain distance.
Everyone simply sat together beneath the trees, enjoying ice cream, conversation, and laughter.
 
One might have expected an outing beneath the hottest sun of the week to be exhausting. Yet with the lake breeze blowing gently and Grandmaster and Shimu accompanying everyone throughout the afternoon, the group walked, talked, and laughed together. Before anyone realized it, a delightful afternoon had passed.
 
Salmon leave the streams where they were born and journey out to sea. After many long years, they follow the waterways back to the very place where their lives began.
More than forty years ago, Grandmaster swam, fished, listened to the sounds of the lake, and observed the fish along these shores, eventually recording those experiences in ‘The Inner World of the Lake’. Today, accompanied by Shimu and surrounded by his disciples, Grandmaster returned to the lakeshore. Through conversations and laughter along the way, memories of those earlier days by the lake were brought vividly back to life.
 
The salmon returned home.
Grandmaster, too, revisited the lake of his past.
 
On this day of “Rejoicing with the Buddha,” the group did not explore every corner of the park. Yet among the creek, the lake, and the shade of the trees, another chapter of ‘The Inner World of the Lake’—one belonging to the present day—was quietly written.