Q: Master Lu, I heard that the souls of people who are in a vegetative state are no longer present. For situations like this, is there still a possibility for them to recover if we perform recitations for them?
A:
- The souls of people who are in a vegetative state have indeed left their bodies. Using the method of calling their souls back no longer works. You can only seek help from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to have the soul returned to the body, and that requires making great vows.
- Great vows include the vow to complete reciting a certain number of Little Houses within a certain period of time. For example, you can vow to recite 892 Little Houses, and then persist with your recitation until the patient has fully recovered.
- You can include the following in your daily recitations: The Great Compassion Mantra 49 times, the Heart Sutra 49 times, the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance 7 times, the Cundi Dharani 49 times, the Gong De Bao Shan Shen Zhou 49 times, and the Mantra to Untie Karmic Knots 49 times.
- You also need to perform life liberations in large quantities.
- There have been successful cases from Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door where people have woken up from a vegetative state.