Purple Lotus Publisher > Journal > Volumn NO. 16

How the True Buddha Tantric Dharma Transformed My Life

By Ren Yu-lan (Taiwan)
(This testimonial was given in 2003 and originally appeared in the 2004 Lunar Almanac published by Purple Lotus Temple)

Translated by Janny Chow

There are two parts to my story. The first part deals with my husband who was incriminated in a legal case leaving him 80 million Taiwanese dollars in debt. The second involves my own illness of breast cancer for which I was given a prognosis of survival until 2002.

My husband and I had both been in the construction business until 1997. During that year, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. On the 8th of August '97, the day I had surgery, my husband's construction company closed due to a charge falsely brought against him. As a result, he not only incurred a debt of 80 million Taiwanese dollars but was also placed under arrest. In an instant, we lost our home and car, and I had to move into a small apartment for temporary lodging. I remembered Grand Master once saying, "When impermanence pays a visit, it is time to face your inherent nature." Since I found myself in such a situation, I decided to heed Grand Master's words and stayed home each day to do the True Buddha School practice.

Just at that time, Master Samantha was in Taiwan disseminating the dharma. When I heard that she would be at the Fo Lin Cultivation Center located on Ba De Road in Taiwan on an upcoming date to give consultations, I decided to seek guidance from her. I wanted to find out if there was a silver lining beyond the dark clouds that had overshadowed me. Master Samantha gave me a list of homework assignments and said, "There will be a favorable turn of events when you finish this homework." The homework involved chanting the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Original Vow Sutra and the chanting of a fixed number of mantras and sutras within a certain time frame. In addition, I had to perform a specific number of good deeds within a certain period. At that time, I no longer had any money, but I realized that doing good deeds was not limited to making monetary donations. I did not have financial means, yet I could still move around and donate my time and labor. So, each day I filled a shopping cart with the True Buddha News and circled my neighborhood handing the newspapers to passers-by and people at bus stops.

Each day for a month I did the practice and handed out the newspapers. But as the due date for the next month's rent approached, I realized I only had five hundred dollars left. I just had my surgery and was not yet able to return to work, and my husband was still being sought after by the law and could not work either. Just at that time Master Samantha came again to the Zhuang Yan Tang chapter, and I also went to hear her teaching. During the ceremony, Master said, "If you have problems, try praying to Zhuang Yan Tang's earth god. Give him some chores to do. He is too idle now." Although she had made her statements in jest, I took her words to heart and prayed earnestly to the earth god at the local temple for help. In my prayers, I told the earth god that people still owed us money for construction projects we had worked on, and that I needed money to pay for expenses and next month's rent. I prayed for twenty thousand dollars, but made clear that I was not trying to be greedy. I would pay the seven thousand dollars for rent and donate ten thousand dollars. The results were wonderful. After praying to the earth god, at 10 a.m. the next day a painter who owed us fifty thousand dollars came to see me and paid me twenty thousand dollars. After paying my rent, I immediately went and donated ten thousand dollars to fulfill my vow.

Another month went by, and it was again time for the next month's rent to be due. This time I prayed to the earth god at my apartment for help. I did not ask for too much, but only for the current problem I was facing that day to be resolved. During the practice, I visualized the earth god holding a golden ingot and I touched it lightly with my finger. Just as I finished my practice, a friend telephoned me and asked me what I was doing. I told her that I was meditating. She told me that she and her friends were going to pick some numbers for the lottery and asked me if I was interested in joining them. Since I had no money, I told her I would play twenty-five dollars and told her to pick three numbers randomly for me. And just like that, I won twelve thousand and five hundred dollars and was able to pay the second month's rent.

During the third month, I learned that Master Samantha was planning to conduct 108 fire pujas in the United States on behalf of the Purple Lotus Buddhist School. I wanted very much to register for the fire pujas but did not have any money. So again I prayed for help during my meditation practices. Soon afterwards, another person who owed our company money came to pay us. This time we received ninety thousand dollars. I used my share, half of that sum, to register for the pujas. During all this time, although blood was still seeping from my surgical wounds, I continued doing the homework Master had assigned me and volunteered at the local chapter. After the completion of the 108 fire pujas in the San Francisco Bay Area, Master came back to Taiwan. This time, at the Nei Ming Tang at Hsinchu, Master conducted seven White Jambhala fire pujas. I registered for the fire pujas and prayed that my husband would meet a benefactor to help him. Again, as soon as I went home after the ceremony, I received a telephone call. Although we were still in debt at the time, this person wanted my husband to take on a project that would pay us more than twenty thousand dollars. After that project, he also wanted us to work on the expansion of his factory which would bring us over 3 million dollars. As of now, my husband has been able to pay off all of his debt.

In 1997, I was originally diagnosed with a thyroid tumor. Then later that year, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. By 2001, the cancer had metastasized to my bones. My doctor told me that surgery would not help at that stage, and that chemotherapy was an option. But even with chemotherapy, there was no guarantee that I would be cured. I asked the doctor how much longer I had to live, and he replied that I would have about seventeen months. At the time, I thought my life was over. If I checked into the hospital for chemo treatment, I would not be able to continue my practice. So instead I decided against the chemo treatment and opted for periodical radiation therapy to relieve my pain. So, while most people worked eight hours a day at the office, I practiced and meditated eight hours a day at home. At the end of 2001, Grand Master appeared in my dream to empower me. Although it happened in a dream, I could still feel the continuing energy from his empowerment throughout my body when I awoke.

Last year, the cancer in my bones spread to the vertebrae in my neck. During my surgery and stays at the hospital, Grand Master also manifested to bless me. Around April and May, one month away from the deadline the doctor had given me, radiation no longer was effective in controlling my pain. I decided to forego the radiation treatment and went home to focus on my meditation and practices to better prepare myself for rebirth to the pure land. After arriving home, I paid a visit to a dharma sister, who is also a psychic medium, to thank her for helping me while I was in the hospital. While we chatted, Grand Master suddenly descended and empowered a glass of water for me to drink. He also told me through the dharma sister that if I was to abstain from treatment, then I must chant the Ksitigarbha Original Vow Sutra every day and also practice every day. I followed the instructions from Grand Master and chanted the sutra and meditated every day.

After that, my daily homework entailed the chanting of the Ksitigarbha Original Vow Sutra, the chanting of the Buddha Crown Vijiya Dharani, as well as a repentance practice offering the merits to the root guru and to my attached spirits. Even though I had been doing daily repentance practices for some time, it was only at that point that I learned to truly repent from my heart. By then, the cancer has spread to my pelvis. And every half hour during my practice, I would have to take a break, because the pain would not allow me to continue sitting. I still considered myself very lucky under such circumstances. At least I was not lying in bed comatose like other terminal cancer patients, and I was still able to move my lips and chant mantras. So I made good use of my time. Whenever I had a free moment, I would meditate and chant the mantras. I immersed myself into the practice and, surprisingly, the pain subsided seven days later. Afterwards, I continued practicing with this intensity, and the pain has not recurred since. My primary doctor was very surprised by this as well. My tumor index had originally been fifty-seven but decreased to thirty-seven, and is currently at seventeen.

I have realized that as human beings, doing practice is the most important thing you can do. When you die, you will lose everything in this world. The only thing you take with you is your karma. During my illness, some of my family members and friends judged and criticized me causing me anger and hatred. But I have come to realize that these occurrences happened for a reason. I am very grateful for my attached spirit. When I repented and asked him to forgive me, it was he who had said to me, "You want me to forgive you, but you don't want to forgive others. You must first learn to forgive before you have the right to ask others to forgive you." He has taught me this. If you are not able to forgive others, then won't you some day become another being's attached spirit? Therefore, only genuine repentance from your inner heart will free you from all pain and suffering.

Grand Master had written the following words in his reply to a letter from me: "Only a wisdom that is unperturbed by any circumstances will bring forth fortune and blessing." My illnesses have afforded me the best opportunity to learn. Without these trials and tribulations, I would not have practiced and meditated so hard and so diligently, and I would not have gained these realizations. Grand Master has said that to practice is to learn about patience and endurance. When you are able to sit down quietly and immerse into one session of practice, you are actually working on modifying your mind. Another important thing to do is to reflect on your own mistakes and genuinely repent. Examine the various thoughts, good or bad, that arise in your mind, and adjust and correct them. It is not easy to do, but we should not give up any opportunity to train and transform ourselves. After all, life is very short. I hope my story will help others understand and appreciate the preciousness of the True Buddha Tantric Dharma.