Observations placeholder
Tibetan Buddhism - The monk who could imprint AUM
Identifier
004413
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
William Macmillan was a healer and had experiences of his own, but this one he obtained via a Buddhist monk
A description of the experience
The Reluctant healer – William J Macmillan
The monk asked me to clench my right fist. I did so, watching him carefully. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In a few seconds I felt a prickling sensation in the palm of my right hand. Involuntarily I opened my fist and looked to see what was happening. Imprinted upon the palm were white marks from pressure as though a pointed instrument had traced with considerable force a definite pattern. These white pressure lines spelled the word AUM.
As I opened my hand the monk jumped. He gave a quick gasp of breath. His face contorted slightly as though he had felt a sudden pain. "You shouldn’t have moved so quickly” he said. I apologized. At once his habitual expression of calm reasserted itself, I looked down at the palm of my right hand again. The word was still perfectly visible. The impression lasted perhaps five minutes before it faded. Except for the sensation of prickling there had been no other reaction at all.
The monk would give no explanation of how he had accomplished this remarkable feat. However, he did say with some emphasis that it was not easy to do and that my movement had caused him considerable momentary distress. It was then he asked me not to mention this demonstration except to a few selected friends. He explained his request on the grounds of incredulity and the danger of my arousing a reaction of unwise sensationalism.