Q: Dear Master Lu, I stutter but I was not born with it. When I was little, I imitated the stuttering speech of others, and then I also started to stutter. Since I did not acquire this at birth, could this be related to karmic obstacles or foreign spirits?
A:
- Stuttering is an illness resulting from karmic obstacles. It does not matter whether you were born with it or if you acquired it from imitating other people, your stuttering is caused by your own karmic obstacles.
- It is possible that in your previous lives, you generated major karma of speech and made too many inappropriate remarks, and as a result, you are unable to speak fluently in your present life.
- It is also possible that in your previous lives, you consumed an excessive quantity of freshly killed animals, and made comments about whether they were tasty or not while you ate them.
- Since this is a problem caused by karmic obstacles, you need to diligently perform recitations, cultivate your mind, repent and repay your karmic debts.
- For your daily recitations, you can recite the Great Compassion Mantra 7 times, the Heart Sutra at least 21 times, and the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance 3 to 5 times.
Stuttering is a problem related to one’s mental health. Therefore, it is recommended that you complete more recitations of the Heart Sutra than you normally would. You can also say the following prayer: “May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me, <your full name>, grant me wisdom and help me to recover from stuttering.” - You can recite 49 Little Houses for the first batch, and then 7 Little Houses for every subsequent batch until you have fully recovered.
- In addition, it is strongly recommended that you also make vows and perform life liberations.