This story goes back to the early years of Master's mission when She was living in Sindian, Formosa. Once, a sister-initiate's father was struggling on his death bed in the intensive care unit of a local hospital. His eyes remained wide open as if he were in great terror, and his doctors were unable to close them. Besides, the old man's facial muscles were contorted in pain, and he repeatedly raised and lowered one of his hands. Anguished by this sight, the sister-initiate beseeched him, "Oh, Dad, please don't do that!" But he continued, and then, unable to bear seeing her beloved father in such pain and torment, the sister went to Sindian to beg Master to save him. Touched by her filial piety, Master taught her one of the Buddhas' names and told her to teach it to her father.
At that time, the old man was unable to speak so the sister-initiate whispered the name into his ear and said, "Father, if you're reciting this name, please squeeze my hand once." Her father indicated that he was repeating the name, and then suddenly a miracle occurred. His contorted face became normal, round and bright, giving the appearance that he had suddenly gained several kilos of weight. He then ceased raising and lowering his hand, closed his eyes and passed away peacefully. Upon witnessing this incredible sight, the sister cried with great emotion and later went with her mother to Sindian to thank Master.
After hearing the initiate's description of her father's painful appearance before death, Master said, "At the time, he was being attacked by ghosts." But the sister was highly skeptical and said, "My father was a law-abiding, decent and honest civil servant. How could such a thing happen to him?" I was present at the meeting, and hearing her words retorted, "Did he eat meat?" On hearing this, the sister became embarrassed and was rendered speechless. Our compassionate Master immediately eased the tension in the air by telling me, "Enough! She's already in great sorrow. You shouldn't make her feel worse."
Recently I was watching Master's lecture DVD Master's Transformation Body, in which a fellow initiate asks Her, "I used to practice a method involving chanting the names of the Buddhas. May I make use of my own time, apart from the two and a half hours of Quan Yin meditation, to continue reciting the Buddhas' names?" I felt exasperated at the lack of awareness reflected in this question so I decided to relate the personal experience above to let other fellow initiates better understand the true essence and effects of reciting the Buddhas' names.
