Then, after returning to the home she shared
with a friend, mother suddenly could no longer stand the smell of
fish and meat, and felt nauseous upon eating it. Later, she told
me that she wanted to become a vegetarian for the rest of her life
and move to another place for she could not bear the cooking of
fish and meat where she was living. I immediately took her to live
with me and my family so that she could share a vegetarian diet
with us. Subsequently, she not only became a vegetarian but also
learned the Convenient Method of meditation.
Master has said that as soon as we are determined
to become vegetarian, God will bless us and help us to do so. And
although Master jokingly said to let me help my mother become vegetarian,
She had, in fact, quietly blessed her with loving power to turn
her into a vegetarian from that moment on.
Thus, we lived together in a household of
Quan Yin family members, where Master’s sweet, melodious chanting
was played continuously inside the house.
Over the next few years, my mother had many
inner experiences of Light and Sound just like other Quan Yin practitioners.
For example, she once asked me, “Did you come to my bedroom
last night?” And I replied, “No.” Then she said,
“I wondered if someone had come to my room to turn on the
light, but I saw no one at all upon opening my eyes.” Sometimes
she could also hear Master’s voice reverberating in her head!
Also, every day my mother respectfully remembered
to recite Master’s name, and on some occasions, family members
thought she was singing or talking to Master as if She were in front
of her. At other times, she was naturally aware of things we needed
to do and would even remind family members about them. For instance,
she would say, “Before eating something, you should recite Master’s
name then eat it.”
More than two months before my elderly mother
passed away, she had a fall and a number of fellow initiates visited
her. They comforted her, saying, “You’re all right. You’ll
live a very long life!” But she knowingly responded, “No,
at the most it will probably be two months.” During the week
before her departure, she only drank a little milk and stayed in bed
sleeping all day long, accompanied by a recording of Master’s
chanting placed by her bed. Then, on May 16, 2004, she departed from
this world in Orange County, CA, U.S.A., at the age of 102.
Afterwards, even though her hands, feet and
lower body were already cold, her upper body, especially from the
neck up, remained warm. According to the Buddhist scriptures this
is a sign of attaining one of the higher stages of birth in the Pure
Land. Also, after passing she retained a healthy complexion and looked
much like a person calmly sleeping. However, when her grandchildren
and nieces came to dress her in beautiful clothes for her funeral,
they were unable to do so for her hands were completely stiff. Finally,
one of the nieces said, “Grandma! Please relax your hands so
that I can put the clothes on for you.” Her hands then suddenly
softened and relaxed as if she were alive!
Thus, I once again witnessed Master’s
grace descend upon my elderly mother, and I continue to feel deeply
grateful to Master for taking care of her during the last peaceful
years of her life on earth.