General Luong related that he felt an electrical force or energy running from the top of his head down to his back, and that it was a very comfortable sensation. He was deeply moved by this mystical experience, but had great difficulty finding anyone to sympathize with him and also verify (confirm) the experience. He then confided in me his innermost thoughts.
He said that at the time he was living close to the Imperial tomb of Le Van Duyet called Lang Ong Ba Chieu or Lan Ong temple. People go there to pray to Le Van Duyet whom they worship as a Deity. He said he used to greatly admire the Deity Le Van Duyet, and one day turned towards the direction of Lang Ong temple and sincerely prayed to the Deity to protect him in his military career. He said that night he had a vivid dream in which a white haired and white bearded man carrying a staff spoke to him and said: "My child, when you are in charge of this battalion you will be defeated and the battalion will be broken up. However, when you command the next battalion you will be victorious in every battle in which you are involved." After he awoke, he was stunned because of the clarity and vividness and reality of the dream.

He later commanded a parachute battalion. As the Deity predicted, in less than one month the battalion was destroyed, leaving only 6 survivors including himself who was injured.
At that time war was raging and the South Vietnamese government sent many additional military forces into battle. General Luong volunteered to command a new battalion. His commanders asked, "you've been injured, are you ready for the battlefield?" The General responded that he was ready. The General took command, defeated a regiment of the North Vietnamese army at Long An and was promoted on the battlefield. His battalion suffered very few losses.

He told me another story of a battle in which he was involved and which he would never forget. His battalion was surrounded by the North Vietnamese army which numbered five times the size of his battalion. Every 30 minutes throughout that night, there was a fierce and constant attack. On the fifth attack, his battalion suffered many casualties including dead and injured. At the same time, his battalion was running out of ammunition. He was in complete despair. He looked up to heaven and prayed: "Please Supreme God help me! I am not good at anything. If you don't save me I will surely die." He then prepared for another round of attack. He put his pistol next to his side waiting to commit suicide. He waited and waited but there was no final attack from the North Vietnamese army. He had survived.

General Luong passed away about a year ago. It must have been 20 years since he told me that story, and we never met again. I only knew he passed away from an obituary that his family placed in the papers. As to my disciples, some of them I have met only once, some a few times and some who have heard of me but have never met me.

Until next time...
Old_Guru 18-08-08