Lord Buddha's talk on Earth Treasure Bodhisattva

Greetings!

 After finishing my last post  A Display Stand in a store with Buddhist Books in Chinese , I saw how intricate the divine plan was.

In the last quarter of 1999 in the early morning hours, a man's voice, loud, clear and authoritative, woke me up.  I thought someone in the neighborhood was talking, but everywhere was so quiet.  It was the strangest sentence that I had ever heard.  Later that day, I called my younger son who just started his freshman year in a university.  I said, "Son, the message must be for you because you are wise . . ."  My son said, "Mom, the message must be for you because you are the one who received it."  Not knowing what to make of it, I tried to put it behind me.  However, more strange incidents happened.  (Re Words of Christ Part 1 ) 

In 2000, I finally went to the library to look for answers from books.  I eventually learned we all had spirit guides and angels.  During those years, I borrowed many English spiritual books from the library, but had not gone to the Chinese books section to look for spiritual book.  Everything is in divine order.  My introduction (or reintroduction * 😊) into Buddhism while I lived in the other state was in divine timing and of significant importance.  ( * In readings, I was told I had lived numerous lifetimes.  I had studied many different religions, and was not fixated on any religion.)

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In the early months of 2012, two things happened at the same time.  Our older son found another job in a state close to our home state, and my husband was hospitalized for the second time.  (Re Life is as God is - Turbulence is a life energy )  Though the teacher of the Thursday Circle and the stranger from another state had told me that I would live in that city / state for the rest / the last phase of my life, I was at peace with the move to a state close to our home state.  (Re Archangel Metatron and the Healing Session )  

In Nov. 2013, I had a phone reading by a known psychic / angel channel that lived in another state.  The psychic had instructed all her clients not to tell her anything until she finished relating the messages or information she received.  She saw that I had moved.  From my angels and guides, she 'got' that 'due to the circumstances, the divine plan had to be adjusted.'   (Re Fall only into the Divine Emotion of Love, the Creative Force )

In July 2012, our older son got a job in our home state.   We moved back and rented an apartment that was not far from our younger son's house.  Our daughter-in-law was pregnant with the third child.  Our younger son had to go to work during weekdays.  He asked us to go to their house and play with the kids (4 and 2 1/2 years old) so that our daughter-in-law could have some rest.  Most mornings we made some food and brought them over to their house.  I stopped chanting Amituofo in the morning.  (From time to time I still heard Amituofo when I came out of my sleep in the middle of the night, while I was out shopping, or sitting among other people.)

I was not disciplined in spiritual practices.  I saw it as my shortcoming, or, it might not be.  In readings, I was told I had lived many disciplined lifetimes.  In my Mar. 2006 reading, the psychic said I came to live an ordinary life as an ordinary person, and I wanted to live as an ordinary person in every way; however, I must also accept the truth that I AM.  What she said resonated with me.  Over the years, living an ordinary life as an ordinary person really helped me to relate and connect with others.  Meanwhile, it was also true that more could be manifested through me when I accepted my truth; in doing so, I was (am) serving others as well as myself since we were (are) one.  When we stood in our truth, we were serving one another for the highest good of all.  (Re The Lesson of Importance and Our Self-perceived Shortcomings and Disadvantages )

After our third grandchild was born, sometimes my daughter-in-law asked me to go along to the zoo and malls so that I could keep an eye on the kids.  It was a joy to be there with them.  Later, they moved to a city that had good schools.  That city was not near where we lived.  With 3 kids, they had a busy schedule.  We visited one another once in a while.

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My husband seemed to have let go of the practice.  He used to practice openly, and had stopped doing that after his second hospitalization.  However, I knew he had not completely let it go.  There were nights I woke up and saw him practicing on bed.  He lay down to sleep as soon as he realized I was awoke.  One night, I told him that there was no need to hide it from me if he still chose to do it.  He said he was only stretching.  I let it go.  There was no point of arguing over it.   One would only change when he / she was ready. 

After we moved back, I was the first one to go for walks in the school fields.  My husband said he did not feel like going for walks.  It was only much later that my son said he had seen his father practicing in the bedroom while I was out for walks.  He questioned his father who said he was only stretching.  He did not tell me because he really wanted to believe that was the case.  Besides, he only saw his father did that once in a while.  My husband eventually went out for walks by himself.  There was a period he suddenly chose to go out hours before sunrise, i.e. when outside was still dark.  I sensed something more was going on.  Later, I raised my objection telling him his waking up in the night disturbed our sleep; our son worked long hours, and needed a good night sleep.  The following few nights, he still woke up at that particular hour.  He looked agitated, but complied with my request.  I usually walked near where I lived.  He walked much farther than I did.   

      

A chance meeting in a restaurant in 2016 was an answer to my prayer.  My husband eventually joined his friends at the restaurant daily no matter rained or snowed.  Like him, most of his friends had retired.  They came to the restaurant at different time from 10 am to 2 pm.  My husband said he was usually among the last ones to leave the restaurant.  He said he often listened, and did not say much.  However, sitting among his friends for 3 to 4 hours everyday had definitely helped him.  I was very grateful for the divine grace.  The grace was not just for him, but for the family too.  

Divine grace is ever present for everyone.  However, sometimes we see them as nothing special or mere coincidences.  We fail to recognize the grace and blessings in our life.  Recognizing the grace, beauty, mercy, and wonders in life is the greatest gift to ourselves.  When we do, we live in the constant flow of love, appreciation, and gratitude.  Love modifies our views of life's situations, and gratitude is the best medicine for healing.  With appreciation, gratitude and love, we live in ease and grace; we see beauty and magic wherever we are despite of what happens around us.

A few months into 2020, the state issued the stay home order because many people had been hospitalized with covid-19.  The restaurant they used to gather closed its doors for dine-in and only kept the drive-through open.  It remained that way until the latter part of 2021.  

My husband used to walk for about an hour before walking to the restaurant to join his friends, and came home around 1 to 2 p.m.  He now had plenty of time on his hand.  He spent his day reading the same book** that he had read numerous times.  (** The official book of the practice, re It was his life, and it was up to him how to live his life - Part 2 )  Later, he went out for walks longer than usual.  When he came home, he slept again.  He woke up when lunch was ready.  It was the same old pattern while he practiced those moves.  There was a time I asked him to cook lunch so that he had something to do.  It did not last long.  He said he had cooked for others all his life, and did not want to cook anymore.    

Around mid-Nov. 2020, he came home and announced he would not go for walks until winter was over.  Unlike me, weather never deterred him from his daily walk.  Something must have happened, yet he would not say anything.  

Except for a couple of weeks in Feb., that winter was milder than usual.  April was nice and warm.  He knew the weather had been good because we went to stores twice a week.  In late May, 2021, he resumed his daily walk.  Some weeks later, he said he had a little discomfort in his abdomen.  He would not see a doctor.  When meals were ready, he would not eat saying he had no appetite.  He thought fasting would do him good.  He insisted on eating nothing for several days.  He lost weight and energy.  He began to sit on bed as if meditating, and came up with ideas to heal himself.  For instance, he bought milk and drank a lot of milk.  He did not drink milk before.  I told him it might cause upset stomach.  He said I was wrong for everybody knew milk was nutritious.  Of course, it did not go well.  For some days, he suddenly ate mangoes as his three meals.  Mango was one of my favorite fruit.  He always said he liked vegetables and not fruits.  I told him he should not simply eat mangoes for the day.  He would not listen.  He stopped eating mangoes when he had more discomfort.  (He always said it was not pain, but some sort of discomfort.)  When we urged him to see a doctor, he gave us that kind of look as if he was sure he would be fine.  He said, "Don't worry!  I am not going to die!"  

This time around I observed what went on.  I was concerned, but was not worried as I was years ago.   All of us moved on from the current physical life at a certain point.  As life is a continuum, death is not the end.  My concern was - with his blind belief in a dark entity / force, he might find himself stuck in the lower sub plane of the astral plane.  

There were books with stories that everybody went to heaven where we would meet up with our loved ones even neighbors and lived happily ever after.  Was that the heaven we looked forward to?  Many of us had lived hundreds or thousands of lifetimes.  We must have been a member of many different families.  Likewise, we could have a number of partners / soul mates during those lifetimes.  Was living with our earthly family happily ever after the purpose of living a physical life?  How many heavens we lived in or would live in?  These came to my mind as I was writing, and I thought of my post A Play on the Stage of Life . 

Did all people go to heaven(s) or the higher sub planes of the astral plane after they died?  Some professional mediums and people that could see (clairvoyant) had seen earthbound entities.  There were people that died and did not know they had died.  In a book, I read about a man who died in a shipwreck over 200 years ago still hanging onto part of the ship waiting to be rescued.  In my post The Dream of Three Japanese Soldiers, the soldiers did not know they had died and the war had long been over; in Why did he thank me?, the boy that fell off the cliff also did not know that he had died.  There were many reasons that ghosts / spirits of the deceased remained earthbound, e.g. some felt they had unfinished business (were being murdered, still very much attracted to a loved one / loved ones), some feared what their afterlife would be, those with strong addictions might want to stay to get a feel of drugs or alcohols from others, and some might simply want to stay around.  

My husband seemed to have nightmares quite often.  Sometimes he moved his hands as if fighting off something.  Sometimes he made sounds as if he saw something terrifying.  In later days, he said he felt very miserable because he could not sleep.  Still, he was adamant that he would not go to see a doctor.  

One day in July 2021, I was looking for one of my notebooks in the plastic boxes.  Mostly, I used those 70 page notebooks to record some of the things that happened in my life.  Some days I did not write anything at all.  I had over a hundred notebooks in two large plastic boxes.  I had not expected to write a blog.  Therefore, my notebooks were not organized.  Sometimes I had a hard time finding the notebook with the experience that I wanted to share. 

Anyway, I saw a notebook with Chinese words on the first page.  As I had mentioned, whenever I read something inspiring, I picked up any notebook and wrote it down on the last few pages.  Therefore, I was curious what I had written down on the first page of a notebook.  It was Lord Buddha's talk on Earth Treasure Bodhisattva (also known as Earth Store Bodhisattva or Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva).  (Please note that what I had copied down was not Earth Treasure Bodhisattva sutra or his vows.)  If I recalled correctly, I watched a video on YouTube.  The video was with Chinese words and no picture.  As I watched, my heart was deeply touched.  I decided to write down the talk.  I paused the video from time to time in order to copy down the words.  It was not long.  It took up only 3 and 1/2 pages, and about 5 to 6 minutes for me to recite the talk.  (I did not recall when I watched that video.  I could not find it on YouTube now.)

I had forgotten what I had copied down.  I realized how timely it was for me to re-read Buddha's talk on Earth Treasure Bodhisattva.  It was another experience of grace.  In his talk, Buddha talked about Earth Treasure Bodhisattva's great compassion who vowed to save all lost souls that had fallen into hell.  With my limited English, I could not translate the portion of Buddha's talk that accurately described my husband's condition.  I went to YouTube.  I found the English translation of that portion from Buddha Sutra Readings under the title of Earth Store Bodhisattva Mantra and what can the Bodhisattva do for you.

"In the future, men or women may long be bedridden and in spite of their wishes be unable either to get well or die.  At night, they may dream of evil ghosts, or family and relatives, or of wandering on dangerous paths.  In numerous nightmares, they may roam with ghosts and spirits.  As days, months, and years go by, such people may weaken and waste away, cry out in pain in their sleep, and become progressively depressed and melancholy.  These things happen when the force of karma has not yet been determined, which makes it difficult for them to die and impossible for them to be cured."

This video was an hour long, and had 16 chapters.  It was much, much longer than the video I watched years ago.   At first, I wanted to print out the above from YouTube, but did not know how to do it.  So I had to write it down on my notebook.  When I was done, I happened to glance over at the time on the computer.  I was surprised and overjoyed to see 1:53 p.m.  153, one of the numbers that turned out to be of great significance in my life.  (Re The Number I set for 3 old luggage bags )

There were instructions in the talk as what to do for someone that was in that kind of state.  I did not know any temple near me.  People were still pretty much living in the shadow of the stay home order.  I knew my husband.  He put up a wall when we talked to him.  Therefore, I could not talk to him as what to do.  Since healing energy came through me sometimes, I had prayed for energy to flow through me to him if it was in divine order.  Healing energy did flow through me to him when he was hospitalized for the first time, but it had not happened since then***.  ( *** Powerful energy flowed into me one more time.  I shall write about it in my next post.)  I greatly admired Earth Treasure Bodhisattva's love and compassion to save all lost souls.  I decided to recite the Chinese version of Buddha's talk that I had copied down three times every morning.  I set the intention to recite the talk for all sentient beings and Mother Earth.  (I did not specifically mentioned my husband's name since all sentient beings meant for all.)   When my son and my husband were not home, I recited the talk three times.  If one of them was home, I quietly read the talk with my heart.

During those weeks and months, I found myself in an expansive field of energy whenever I recited Lord Buddha's talk on Earth Treasure Bodhisattva.  I did not see any change of behavior in my husband.  I held onto the faith that what I did mattered.

(Next posts Divine Grace and Mercy and Honoring Lord Buddha and Earth Treasure Bodhisattva)

Love and Blessings,

Q of D