Deepest Gratitude to Namo Shakyamuni Buddha!
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!
I’m deeply grateful to be given this opportunity to share my encounter with Buddhism and how my unyielding faith in Bodhisattva and Master Lu has helped me navigate the storms of life.
Sometime in 2015, in one of those random browsing on Facebook, I stumbled upon a testimony of a mother whose child made a full recovery from high fever after she offered three to seven Little Houses. The testimony piqued my interest because back then, my son was in and out of sickbed, beset by periodic recurrence of high fever. On one hand, I was curious to find out more about Little Houses, but on the other, I was sceptical about the authenticity of the story. In fear of it being one of those tactics used by scammers, I stopped short of exploring further.
Soon after, Master Lu started to appear in my dreams and this recurred thrice in succession. In the very first dream, wearing a gentle smile, Master Lu sat behind a bed of impeccably laid-out fresh flowers. In the second dream, donning His typical black suit and white shirt, Master Lu wished me, “Happy birthday” even though it was not my birthday that day. In the third dream, standing in a dimly-lit room, Master Lu covered my forehead with a piece of cloth while advising me to watch over my health. Master Lu was spot on because in reality, my health was far from optimal at that time.
Detecting the urgency of these ‘messages’, I decided to make my way to the Singapore Practice Centre on the very day of my third dream, and there and then, I started to practise Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door.
In all honesty, the initial stages of my Buddhism practice were fraught with challenges. I had had recurring and atypical nightmares shortly after offering my first few batches of Little Houses. In those frightening dreams, I would always come under savage attacks of wild beasts that came in various shapes and forms. Knowing that they were the manifestations of karmic creditors at my doorsteps demanding their karmic dues, I pressed on with my recitation of Little Houses until 4 April 2018 – the day when the karmic obstacles erupted. The ensuing period of misery – physically and mentally – was very much like hell on earth.
My facial nerves started to emit searing pain and even a light touch would set me off screaming. My health condition took a turn for the worse, as the pain started to radiate, engulfing every inch of my head and even my eyeballs could feel the throbbing pain. Every now and then, it really felt like my head was about to shatter. I would rather be dead than alive. Tormented, I shrank in size, losing almost 10kg in two weeks and my complexion turned dark. The experience was nothing short of surreal – I had the inkling that my final life chapter was closing in on me.
To make matters worse, medical help offered little to zero consolation. I went through a slew of comprehensive health checks – magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a computerised tomography (CT) scan, facial electroneurography, blood tests, you name it – but all these tests failed to detect any anomalies whatsoever.
By right, I should be relieved by the test results but, the harsh reality was they drove me and the medical specialists to our wits’ end. Back then, I did not know that I had developed trigeminal neuralgia (三叉神经痛) – a condition that causes painful sensations similar to an electric shock on one side of the face.
Having no place to turn to, I made my way to the Singapore Practice Centre on 31 July 2018. I made the vow to quit my job for the time being and dedicate my time to offering Little Houses to my karmic creditors. Over time, the frequency of my nightmares reduced and my facial nerve pain subsided. That said, the inflammation would still flare up every now and then and every episode was nothing short of torture. With help from some Buddhist friends, I started to perform life liberation on a daily basis in order to speed up the elimination of my karmic obstacles. I was extremely diligent in performing the five Golden Buddhist Practices.
Shortly after, I started to have good dreams. In one of the dreams, I was in an upward-moving elevator, and the moment the elevator door opened, a very bright ray of light shone through. Standing before me was a spacious room that offered sweeping and captivating views. Upon waking up, I knew that a promising new beginning was upon me. Even though sporadic facial nerve pain lingered on, I told myself that I must soldier on in performing meritorious deeds in order to change the course of my destiny.
Sometime in late 2019, I harboured the hope of securing a job so that I had the financial means to continue performing life liberation. As I was toying with the idea of rejoining my former employer, lo and behold, I received a text from my former manager, asking me about my health and whether I would be interested to rejoin his banking team on a yearly contract basis. Needless to say, I was over the moon and deeply grateful, knowing that I owed this to Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
Sometime in October 2020, my sister shared with me an article about a medical specialist who managed to cure a patient suffering from trigeminal neuralgia. I decided to consult the specialist and glad to say, my health has since recovered by almost 80%. This happened around the time that my work contract was renewed for another year. Thrilled with how things had panned out — I really couldn’t ask for more.
In recent years, I would seize every opportunity to release captive lives and make donations as long as I had some spare cash. After all, Master Lu once said, “Those who perform life liberation will never go broke”.
On 24 June 2022, I became a permanent staff of the bank and was given a 500 Singapore dollar pay hike. I was pleased beyond words because unlike some who lost their jobs following the outbreak of the pandemic, I managed to secure a good job that provided me with the financial means to purchase a new home in November 2021. On 3 September 2022, with the help of some Buddhist friends, a good-sized Buddhist altar was set up in my home. All these would not have been possible without the blessings of Guan Yin Bodhisattva. I felt it was high time for me to become a full vegetarian and hence, I made the vow to be one on 14 October 2022 after slightly more than two years of removing meat from my diet.
While I have yet to regain full health, I am confident that the day will come as long as I stay true to my spiritual cultivation. Master Lu once said, “Tough times don’t last. As long as we keep our faith in Bodhisattva and walk the path of Buddhism with determination, we are sure to reap the benefits from our practice”.
I still shudder what would have become of me had I let the opportunity to practise Guan Yin Citta slip through my fingers. I am deeply indebted to Guan Yin Bodhisattva and Master Lu for coming into my life when I needed Them most.
My experience taught me a hard lesson that I should never live a life with no sense of crisis. For the benefit of all Buddhist friends, I would like to quote what Master Lu once said,
“In life, we have to be prepared in advance for anything. Bodhisattva wishes for us to practise Buddhism as an early preparation. We should not wait until our body starts to fail us or for our family to meet with mishaps before we start performing recitation. It hardly occurs to us that misfortunes of others may befall us. This underscores the importance of spiritual cultivation in our daily lives”.
If my sharing is improper in any way, I would like to seek forgiveness from Namo Shakyamuni Buddha, the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva, all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dharma Protectors and Master Jun Hong Lu.
Thank you!
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