

One of 41 foreclosed houses bought at auction by WPHO; Price $700



Only five months later, however, a break-in and theft of copper piping from one of the empty houses was described by the group’s 67-year-old leader, Ziguang Shang Shi, as the last straw in a series of hate crimes. He announced the WPHO would abandon future and current investments in the city. (A diary on DK companion site Street Prophets by figleef described an earlier burglary and theft in September that Ziguang also called a hate crime)

The WPHO quickly backed out of a deal to buy a closed public a school for $460,000, and the master told local press that he would sell back the foreclosed properties to the city for $1 each. Then he and his followers left the area.

But on March 31, the group’s spokesperson Jenny Wong told the Amsterdam Recorder that there was still no final decision about abandoning the approximately $3 million in local property, which included two former Catholic churches and a vacant summer camp a few miles away in rural Ephratah.



The WPHO spent $400,000 for the 206 acre Adirondack Center Camp



However, as far as I can determine, there really haven’t been any hate crimes at all, simply garden-variety break-ins of empty buildings. In fact, local people have largely welcomed the presence of the newcomers as the only ones in decades at all interested in making an investment in Amsterdam.

Many people, including elected officials wanted to believe the promises described in an Albany Times Union article, “Utopia Along the Mohawk?" The fact that Ziguang Shang Shi, whose legal name is Lucas Wang, claimed that he was told in a dream by Jesus to transform Amsterdam into a great spiritual and economic center might sound a little strange, but who else had the slightest interest in saving this once proud little city? His message of world peace and universal health certainly sounded pleasant enough. And Ziguang told the newspaper that he would build a solar energy plant, a cultural exchange center, and a theme park – all to be funded by investors whom he did not identify.



Ziguang preaching to his followers



To good to be true? Maybe, but on October 21 I went to see for myself and was immediately invited to sit in on a lecture being given by Ziguang at one of the former Catholic churches. Despite his English-style legal name, he spoke only in Chinese and soon brought me into the discussion, with his chief spokesperson Jenny as interpreter. I then asked a series of questions which I had heard from local people: Why were they buying so much property? How many people were coming from China to live in Amsterdam? Were they planning to settle permanently here?

It became apparent pretty quickly that members of the group did not see themselves as immigrants and had no particular interest in becoming American citizens. (Only the two non-Chinese members were US citizens, and they did not live with the group.) At one point, when Ziguang said he might go to France if people here did not want him, I asked the group if they would stay in that case or if they would follow their master. They cried out in almost one voice that they would follow the master wherever he went, surprised I would even ask such a question.

I noted that, of the approximately forty native-born Chinese people of varying ages whom I met over two days, three quarters were female, and all were staying in WPHO-owned residences. As far as I could tell, they had all met Ziguang in Asia and followed him here. They did not have employment outside the WPHO. Despite my persistent questions, I was never able to determine exactly how many people belonged to the WPHO, or whether they had permanently left their homes to live in communal quarters.

They all agreed that they were here to prepare Amsterdam for a huge influx of people from across the US, and from other countries, who would come to learn the master’s teachings about serenity and health. They believe they will be working on the many properties the group has purchased in order to accommodate the anticipated thousands.

But the promised good health, I soon learned, was dependent on personal interaction with the group’s master. One woman who spoke some English told me that she been confined to a wheelchair until a few months ago when he cured her. She said that she is now able to walk without a problem.

And the self-published book, Holy Master Ziguang Shang Shi in U.S.A; Miraculous Stories of Salvation, which Ziguang gave me made it clear that faith healing was at the center of his teaching. The book contains 161 statements from individuals who report being cured of many different kinds of illness, physical and mental, after meeting Ziguang. All of the testimonies are from persons with Chinese language names, and the text has been translated into sometimes awkward English by his aides. A great number of those he has cured speak of him as a deity. Xia-lin Shen is cured of saw Ziguang as the Buddha himself: “Wow!” Xia-lin says. “ I saw the Buddha on the stage.”. Wu Gong Nu is cured of a pain in her left foot and says, “This time I finally saw the real Buddha.” Xiang-rong Ma testifies that saw Ziguang rising into the air amid a golden light and Zhi Bei Lu saw him calm the ocean’s waves.



Illustration of a supernatural being from Ziguang's book

Many of the personal testimonies attribute to Ziguang the ability to cure comparatively minor ailments such as insomnia and migraines, but there are also claims that serious illnesses such as cancer, hepatitis, heart disease and Parkinson’s disease can be healed by Ziguang. According to Xue-Fang Kuang, “Unluckily, a metastasis on my left breast was found and was eventually led to other operation. It was eventually deteriorated to bone cancer. I had spent hundreds and thousands of dollars for having treatment and medication since the cost of each injection and blood transfusion was several thousand dollars. As the cancer cells spread all over my body, my doctor said that nothing he could do about it.” But when she meets the master, she says: “The feeling of having his supernatural power exertion was better than having blood transfusion.” Qiong-fang Lin also reports that she had an operation for breast cancer, but that “Holy Master Ziguang Shang Shi told me not to worry as the esoteric dharma would prevent the spread and transfer of cancer only if I practiced sincerely and did merit wholeheartedly.”

The confused syntax makes it difficult to know exactly what happened in such cases but the women may well have foregone accepted medical treatment in favor of faith-healing.

And then there are testimonies from people who have evidently been diagnosed with mental illness, and are told by Ziguang that demonic possession is the source of their distress. Xiaoling Lu, a 22 year old woman, says: “Doctor said that I had mental disease. I started to think of killing myself because I heard a voice that told me to do so.” She goes to see Ziguang and he tells her: “You are not insane. You are haunted by something evil. If nothing is done, you will be in bigger troubles.” Zuang works with her for three days and she says, “I was completely changed. His holiness brought me new life.” However, this young woman appears to be suicidal and experiencing auditory hallucinations. If untreated, there is certainly a risk her life will be in danger. And perhaps other people’s lives, if the voices in her head lead her in that direction.

Ziguang’s book describes the contemporary world as a fearful place filled with demons who cause sickness: “During the Dharma Vanishing Era devils are raging all over the world. The demons of illness rampantly endanger the physical and spiritual healthiness over the world. It causes the decline of human health.” And Ziguang himself is the only means of salvation from these demons: “During the Dharma Vanishing Era, Holy Master Ziguang Shang Shi descends to this mortal world for rescuing people with his divine power and his great mercy of Buddha.”

Many of the testimonies seem to describe a kind of exorcism. Yuan-Zhu Liao is suffering the after effects of a concussion and Ziguang tells her: “Don’t worry. You will be fine after the evil spirits in your body were driven away.” He tells one 62-year old that “Satan has already left your body. Your abdomen wouldn’t be swollen again.” And Guang-Pu Zhang says: “I was haunted by Satan. My wife was a Christian so I knew who Satan was. I sincerely begged Master Ziguang Shang Shi to remove the devil. When he used his divine power, I sweated a lot. Short while later, Holy Master Ziguang Shang Shi told me the devil was gone.”

Presumably, the individuals whom I met in Amsterdam also believe that Ziguang is a deity, a miracle-worker, and destined to save mankind from demons. But even though such beliefs are unusual in this town, there has been no great hostility expressed - except maybe on anonymous internet sites.

But the heavy spending, and the threat to take it away, makes this a serious public policy issue in Amsterdam and nearby Ephrata. How much of the money Ziguang has been spending is from the contributions of people he brought with him cannot be said, and none of the anonymous “investors” has ever been identified. But it seems obvious that any decision to abandon the several million dollars already invested is entirely up to Ziguang. Or possibly the threats to leave are simply an attempt to force tax concessions on the 40 some houses that were put under the name of Lucas Wang rather than under one of the several non-profits. There would be nothing unusual or illegal in such a tactic, of course, since churches do enjoy special privileges under our system.

Although it is necessarily an unscientific sample, I personally found no xenophobia or racism in my many conversations with long-time residents. Disputes such as that over maple syrup gathering over in Ephrata were due to WPHO misunderstanding of local ways. Most people, in fact, welcomed the group since they were spending money, not taking anyone’s jobs, and very peaceful. I was at one well-attended information session in which many local people were quite interested and curious about the WPHO version of Buddhism. And as to the hate crimes and vandalism cited by Ziguang as a reason for deciding to move on – it seems clear to me that these are a pretext for a decision Ziguang may choose to make for his own reasons.

What this story is mostly about, from my point of view, is the desperate plight of America’s once vibrant industrial heartland – which has now reached a point of such desperation that local people are practically begging this rather odd sect not to leave town. Ironically, the only place now hiring is the huge Target distribution center just outside the city limits – stock full of products imported from Asia.

For more on this story, see the several entries on my site Upstate Earth, which also includes an analysis by a native speaker who places the WPHO in the larger context of newly emerging sects within Chinese-language Buddhism.