At any time and any place, the enlightened person is prepared to help other sentient beings to attain enlightenment. There's no definite form that the person takes. The person may be a Ch'an master, or a lay person, or even someone who is looked down upon by others.

The tenth picture shows that the person can manifest in any form, take on any personality or walk of life, and help sentient beings. But no matter how the person manifests, he always follows the conventions of that form. If he takes the form of a monk, he portrays a monk maintaining the precepts. If he manifests as a lay person, then he follows the conventions of that form.

This person is somewhat different from the normal Ch'an or Zen master, who is only able to help certain individuals. When an enlightened being of the tenth stage takes a particular form to help sentient beings, he'll be limited, according to the form he has taken, as to which sentient beings he can help. But he can reappear later, or in another life, in a different form, to help other sentient beings.

In Taiwan there was a woman who claimed that she was saved, so to speak, by her daughter. Being saved can mean being enlightened, but in this case it meant that the woman was introduced to Buddhism and the practice. I asked how old the daughter was, and she said, "Eight years old."

I thought, "This must be a very special daughter, " and so I went to see her. She seemed to be a normal little girl.

I asked the woman, "Why do you think your daughter saved you?"