Inspiration of Chanting Buddha 36 - Cats Claim for Debt and Ask for Liberation 貓兒索債要求超度

(English and Chinese subtitles )念佛感應見聞記 , written by venerable laywoman Kanzhi Lin 林看治居士 (1906-1992 AD)
Subtitles:
At the end of a mortal's life, apart from the holy realm in the West, it is time to judge which realm he will go to, whether it's heaven, human, animal, hungry ghost, or hell. If the family dependent of the dying person can help him recite the Buddha's name, they are sending his consciousness to the sacred realm of the West, and he will be free from the suffering sea of birth and death forever. However, at the end of your life, with unjust karma in previous lives, all the creditors are coming, will they let you go?
Since you have not yet settled the debt, they won't leave you at ease at the end of your life. At that moment, most responsibility rests with the family members and chanting assistants. Therefore, if you are a Buddha chanting practitioner, you should not rely on the fact that you have been practicing for many years and have done a lot of merits and charities.
Except for those practitioners who are confident that they can leave any time at ease, it is important to help the dying to pray at the end of their lives.
Let me cite a lotus friend who was reborn months ago as evidence. Mrs. Huan Hong, 62 years old, the head of the Alms giving Class and the 48th Vow class of the Lotus Society of Taichung .
Among those who have been close to the respected Teacher BingNan Lee for 20 years, she is arguably the most blessed, the most devout, and the most big-hearted, and she is incomparable.
She has the blessing of the most peaceful family; she has a filial daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren; all her family believe in Buddhism and chant the Buddha; her family is well off. She is never stingy with giving, so the teacher appoints her as the leader of the charity class.
She is so devoted to Buddhism that whenever the teacher gives a lecture or holds a meeting, nothing can stop her, no matter it's windy or raining. She is not only very pious but also inclined to benefit others at every moment.
I often praise Huan Hong in public. The most difficult people to transform are the family and the neighbors."
But what about Huan? She is arguably both wise and compassionate and good at expedience. Not only is her family like-minded, but also almost every family in her community is devout to the Three Saints of the West.
It is unprecedented to see a person who can convert the whole alley of people to Buddhism.
That is entirely the achievements of her great bodhicitta. She also serves as secretary of the Women's Association of North Central District in Taichung, where she has persuaded a dozen families out of their discord.
When young couples face a broken relationship and are going to split up with their children, she persuades them with unparalleled eloquence. Then the families become harmonious, contented, and convert to the Three Jewels.
Therefore, everybody praises Huan for her excellent family environment. Associated with her compassion and willingness to give, you can say that she has a perfect life. Unfortunately, Hung suddenly contracted a gastrointestinal disease last year. She had a surgical operation once, and her condition was stable until February this year.
After she had been treated with Chinese and Western medicines, both cures were ineffective. When being seriously ill, she asked Teacher Lee for expounding.
The teacher saw that she was taking sedatives and was in a daze, so he instructed her children that they should never give her sedatives again in the future. If she becomes dizzy during the chanting, her spiritual consciousness will not go to the West.
At 3 pm on the 17th, in the Lotus Society, I received a call from her daughter, saying that her mother had passed out. Immediately, I went to help the chant with several people.
At that time, we all saw her panting rapidly, unconsciously, kept raising and lowering her hands, as if she was trying to push something away.
We kept chanting the Buddha's name until about 5 pm. When her shortness of breath subsided, and her hands stopped moving up and down, she gradually regained consciousness and was able to speak.
She told us: "Sisters, Thank you very much. I'm okay now! Please take a rest."
I said you must quietly think of the Buddha and not to talk much. It was already 6 pm at this time, so I told her children that in case of danger in the middle of the night, all of you children and grandchildren should step up to chant Buddha.
But the voices must be in unison. It is disallowed to have some chanting Ah, some chanting Tuo, and some chanting Mi. The front mixes with the rear, which will instead disturb the hearing of the dying person.
After I left the words, I went home with lotus friends separately. In the morning of the next day, when I thought of a close friend who was about to pass away, I couldn't help feeling sad. I immediately ran to see what happened last night.