Deepest Gratitude to the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva!
Deepest Gratitude to all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Dharma Protectors!
Deepest Gratitude to Master Jun Hong Lu!
Good afternoon to all Buddhist friends.
Thank you for the opportunity to share with you how our diligent recitation of the Little Houses and my vow to become a vegetarian helped my deceased father transcend the six realms of existence. This is the best parting gift that my family and I could give to our beloved late father and one way for us to perform our filial duties.
On 29 June 2015, out of the blue, I received a distress call from my eldest sister, who was residing in Malaysia, about our father’s abrupt passing. Without hesitation, my second sister and I departed Singapore and immediately made our way back to Malaysia. Distraught and shaken, both of us were overwhelmed by sorrow and tears kept streaming down our cheeks throughout the journey.
Our father was someone we looked up to. He was blessed with relentless optimism about life. He was chatty and expressed his love towards his family, especially his children, through his words, actions and meticulous care. Unprepared for his abrupt demise, my siblings and I were so heartbroken that it felt like an eternity as we walked through the valley of grief. To say we adore our father would be an understatement.
At that time, my brother, second sister and I were just slightly more than a year into our Buddhism practice with Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door. It was indeed comforting to be able to tap into the more experienced Buddhist practitioners for advice at such critical junctures. Throughout the first two days of the wake, we took turns to be by our father’s side, buried away with the recitation of the Great Compassion Mantra, which we performed continuously.
Fortunately, there were also Buddhist friends, including a host from a neighbouring temple, from other dharma doors who willingly chipped in to recite the Buddhist scriptures for our father. We were both touched and grateful to these people for their kind gestures.
Admittedly, I was hardly steadfast in my spiritual cultivation at that time. Being new to Buddhism practice, we did not know about the importance of performing recitation of the Buddhist scriptures and Little Houses, and releasing captive lives for our parents. As such, we had only taught our father to recite the Great Compassion Mantra. I can still remember vividly the immense dharma joy that my father had after learning to recite the mantra. There were even times he would proudly inform me upon completing his daily homework of up to seven times of the Great Compassion Mantra.
Tinged with regret, I blamed myself for not being steadfast in my spiritual cultivation. I felt that my father’s sudden demise would have been averted had I recited Little Houses and released captive lives for him. It then suddenly dawned on me that I could still be filial to my father despite his passing by offering Little Houses to help him ascend to a higher spiritual realm.
My family and I came together and decided to offer solely vegetarian dishes to pay respect to our late father during the prayer rituals. Instead of burning the spirit money, we were determined to offer only Little Houses to help my father ascend to a higher spiritual realm.
With a strong sense of obligation, my second sister decided to go on leave for one month to solely focus on reciting the Little Houses for our father. As for me, upon returning home from work, without fail, I would start my recitation of the Little Houses, from 8pm until midnight. I was determined to offer Little Houses to my father daily. On top of this, on a daily basis, I would pray to Guan Yin Bodhisattva to help my father ascend to the Four Sagely Realm or the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, so that he would be liberated from the shackles of death and rebirth.
Looking back in retrospect, my father had been an impetus for me to progress in my spiritual cultivation. Because of him, I had that unwavering resolve to adopt a vegetarian diet for 100 days, as I planned to transfer the merits accrued to him. By the end of the 100-day cycle, the taste of meat had ceased to have any effect on me, so I decided there and then to make the great vow of becoming a lifetime vegetarian.
During the first 7-day cycle of my father’s demise, we burnt a total of 49 Little Houses. Collectively, we burnt 200 odd Little Houses within 100 days of his demise. In the first year of our father’s demise, we offered a total of close to 400 Little Houses. Thereafter, my siblings and I remained persistent in our recitation of the Little Houses, ‘sealing’ each Little House with our fervent and best wishes for our father. We so longed to liberate him from the six realms of existence, putting an end to the endless cycle of rebirth.
For a certain period post his passing, my mother had been wondering why my father had not visited her in her dreams. Upon learning this, my sister made a specific request to Guan Yin Bodhisattva and implored Her divine help so that my late father would visit my mother’s dreams.
Miraculously, this occurred some two weeks after my sister’s prayer. In the dream, similar to the past when my father was still alive, riding a motorcycle, he visited my mother, bringing her a basket full of large pomelos. This dream helped lighten up my mother, putting her at ease.
This incident reminds me of what Master Lu once said, “When people pray to Bodhisattvas with a sincere and respectful heart, their prayers will be answered; when people pray earnestly, their prayers are the most effective.”
My sister dreamt about our dad some two weeks after his death. It was a vivid dream that happened at 8am on the first day of the lunar month. In the dream, my sister asked him, “Dad, where are you now?”. He responded, “I am in the Formless realm!”. Not knowing what it was, after getting up, she checked against the Buddhist scriptures, only to learn that it is the pinnacle of the heavenly realm.
Master Lu once said that it is easy to transcend the cycle of rebirth once one is in the Formless realm. It is unbelievable for someone like my father who did not know about the existence of the Formless realm in his living to be able to utter those words with absolute clarity in my sister’s dream.
Sometime in August 2019, I was fortunate enough to ask Master Lu about my father. Master Lu said my father was an extremely kind-hearted person and had even saved two human lives in his lifetime. Master then divulged that my father had ascended to the third level of the Desire realm and recommended an additional 83 Little Houses to ascend him to a higher spiritual realm.
The outcome from the totem reading might somewhat differ from what my sister dreamt of, nevertheless, we were still deeply comforted by the fact that our father was in heaven. This gave us the confidence to keep on offering Little Houses to our father.
(Please refer to the translated text of the recording)
Master Jun Hong Lu’s Discourse, Sydney – August 2019
THE DECEASED HAS ASCENDED TO THE DESIRE REALM AND HAD SAVED TWO HUMAN LIVES WHEN ALIVE
Question: Hi Master, I’d like to ask about another Buddhist friend’s deceased father, <name of the deceased>.
Answer: He is no ordinary person; he’s now in the third level of the Desire realm.
Question: She had previously dreamt of her father ascending to the Formless realm. How many more Little Houses does he need?
Answer: We are talking about the heavenly realm. How is it possible for one to ascend to the Formless realm so soon? It’s already very good to be in heaven.
Question: How many more Little Houses should they offer?
Answer: Please recite 83 Little Houses. It’s possible to elevate his spiritual realm to the level of the Form realm.
Question: Thank you, Master.
Answer: Her father was an exceptionally kind person when alive and he had even saved two human lives.
Some two weeks after offering the recommended 83 Little Houses, my father visited me – performing some volunteering work – in my dream. In the dream, radiating white rays, he displayed a benevolent countenance and was beaming with dharma joy.
On 5 October 2020, with the help of a Buddhist friend, I managed to get Master Lu to perform another totem reading of my late father. Master Lu said, “The deceased has a master guiding him in heaven; he is not an ordinary man and has transcended the six realms of existence!”
(Please refer to the translated text of the recording)
Zongshu20201006 33:20
(Master Jun Hong Lu’s call-in radio program)
THE DECEASED HAS TRANSCENDED THE SIX REALMS OF EXISTENCE AND HAS A MASTER IN HEAVEN
Caller: Hi Master, would it be alright to take a look at another deceased? A male, <name of deceased>, who passed away in 2015.
Master Jun Hong Lu: The deceased has a master in heaven. Let me find out his whereabouts. This person is very good. Was the deceased a male?
Caller: Yes.
Master Jun Hong Lu: Was he someone of medium height?
Caller: I’m not sure about this because all that I know is just the name of the deceased.
Master Jun Hong Lu: Please tell her that the deceased has transcended the six realms of existence.
Caller: That’s amazing. Deepest gratitude to Bodhisattva. Deepest gratitude to Master. We are deeply grateful.
Upon learning this, I could hardly hold back my joy. With tears rolling down my cheeks, I fell to my knees, kneeling in front of my Buddhist altar and expressed my deepest gratitude to the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva. The verification brought indescribable elation and gratitude to my family. This is a clear-cut testimony of the authenticity of Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door.
Our unwavering faith in Guan Yin Citta and diligent recitation of the Little Houses had finally paid off. Looking back, our Buddhism practice started at an opportune time, and the unexpected twist of fate has completely transformed our family life in ways that we were never able to imagine some five years ago. Besides liberating our late father from the cycle of rebirth, our faith in Guan Yin Citta has deepened.
While the Little Houses we offered had been of great help in liberating my father from the six realms of existence, his foundation might have played a part in making his initial ascension and the eventual transcension a relatively smooth one.
Resonating this is Master Lu’s guidance on those who are able to transcend the cycle of rebirth from heaven would firstly depend on their Buddhism foundation and secondly, being offered a certain number of Little Houses. This also reminds me of what Master Lu once said, “We must consider the ultimate consequences of all our actions because every seed we sow is the fruit we reap. Therefore, it is important to understand the Law of Causation. Being ignorant of causation will surely land you in trouble.”
My father was a man of integrity and character. He was philanthropic and was always generous with his money for good public causes. In our eyes, he was an exemplary father, someone who kept his nose clean and steered away from gambling, intoxicants and smoking. He took great care of his family. Because of the good ‘causes’ that he planted during his living, he was able to reap his good karma in heaven. In order to generate some merits for him, we gave away his money and other possessions upon his death.
Many people have heaped praises on my parents for being blessed with children who practise Buddhism and recite the Buddhist scriptures. In reality, it is us – the children – who are blessed with good parents. After practising Buddhism, I have learned to cherish the affinities with my loved ones.
Master Lu once said, “Our affinity with those whom we love is only limited to this lifetime. Regardless of how long they are with us in this life, we must treasure it. After all, you will never cross paths ever again in future lives regardless of how deep your affinity is for each other in this lifetime.”
Buddhism has taught me the true meaning of filial piety, which is not necessarily being physically present by the side of our parents at all times. From a Buddhism perspective, filial piety includes utilising our virtues and merits to bless and shield our parents from harm.
My father might have passed on, but we could still continue to perform our filial duties through the recitation of the Buddhist scriptures, Buddhism learning, self-cultivation and the performance of virtuous deeds on his behalf, as means to liberate him from the shackles of death and rebirth.
I sincerely hope that my testimony would help strengthen everyone’s faith in Guan Yin Bodhisattva and Master Lu, besides transforming the hesitation that some Buddhist prospects may harbour into a positive force that compels them to pick up a sutra booklet or Buddhism in Plain Terms and set foot on their spiritual cultivation journey with steadfastness and the sense of desire to propagate this marvellous Dharma Door.
If my sharing today is improper in any way, I seek forgiveness from Guan Yin Bodhisattva and Dharma Protectors!
Once again, deepest Gratitude to the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva!
Deepest Gratitude to all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Dharma Protectors!
Deepest Gratitude to Master Jun Hong Lu!
Deepest Gratitude to all Buddhist friends.
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