Biography of Teen How (Tian Hou)

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Her name was Moniang Lin, born in Meizhou, Fujian province in China, on March 23, 960 A.D. Her father, Wayuan, was a government official who had one son and five daughters and wished to have one more son. Wayuan and his wife devotedly prayed to Buddha for one more son. Soon thereafter, his wife had a dream in which Quan Yin Bodhisattva (Goddess of Mercy) gave her a pill. After taking it, she became pregnant and later gave birth to a girl. During the delivery, the whole room was filled with a bright illumination and fragrance. For the first month of her life, Moniang never shed a tear. Since Moniang never cried in her first month of life, her parents named her Mo, which means “silence” in Chinese. Symbolically, this indicated her divine destiny; she is not faltered by human emotions and she exists in a higher spiritual plain. Moniang was very gifted. She could memorize everything, read well, and had exceptional perception. At the age of thirteen, she thoroughly understood all Zen teachings. She also possessed healing powers, metaphysical ability to cleanse evil influences, control the weather, save troubled ships at sea etc. On September 9, 987A.D. at the age of 27 years, she pronounced her ascendancy and entered Nirvana. After becoming a celestial deity, she often revealed her presence and saved mortals from danger. The Kangxi Emperor of the Ching dynasty entitled her formal name as Tianshang ShengMu (Holy Heavenly Mother). Local believers refer to her as Mazu meaning Maternal Ancestor or Tian Hou meaning Queen or Empress of Heaven.