1297：Appreciation to the guru for compassionately saving and blessing me

Title: Appreciation to the guru for compassionately saving and blessing me—August 03, 2025 Sunday, A Disciple Shares before Puja 

Prostrations to His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, the Lineage gurus, Dharma protector Achi, and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Greetings, fellow believers and Dharma brothers, I am Ma Hui Hsin of group 8, and my Dharma name is Hui Zhi Drolma. My mother is Hsu Miao Chi of group 8, whose Dharma Name is Hui Man Drolma. I am grateful to Rinpoche for compassionately bestowing upon me the chance to be here to praise the benevolence of the guru and repent the negative karma I have made. 

My mother and I took refuge in His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche on November 23th, 2003. The fate origination of our refuge is that when I was five years old, my body would suddenly convulse, resulting in a loss of consciousness. The convulsions happened at unpredictable times. Because I was still very young when the convulsions happened, almost all the details of what happened I knew came from what my family had told me. Sometimes the convulsion happened at home, and other times at kindergarten. There was even one time when a classmate from kindergarten came to my home to play, and just then, I had a convulsion again, which ended up scaring this child.  

At that time, my grandfather and grandmother lived in Kinmen, we would regularly go back to visit them every year. What left the deepest impression was that, during one trip back to Kinmen in one particular year, the convulsion that occurred to me was very severe. That morning, clearly, I was happily playing with my relatives, but as a result, when I woke up, I was already lying in a bed at a Taiwan hospital. At that time, I even asked my dad, “Where is this? Didn’t we go back to Kinmen?” My dad told me that I had a convulsion in Kinmen, so we immediately took a flight back to Taiwan. 

During the period when I was constantly having convulsions, my dad and mom took me to few doctors, and I also took a lot of medicine. Sometimes I had to be hospitalized to have blood drawn, receive intravenous drips, and et cetera. However, no matter how much medicine I took or how many doctors I went to, none of them were able to effectively treat the condition of my body convulsing unpredictably, and doctors also couldn’t identify the cause of this illness. Because of me, the whole family was in a state of anxiety and unease.
 
After my mother brought me to seek an audience with His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, something truly miraculous happened — ever since that day, and now at 28 years old, I have not experienced a single convulsion. I am deeply grateful for Rinpoche’s compassionate blessings and protection, which have enabled me to live for over twenty years just like any normal person. My family has no longer needed to take me frequently to doctors or have me hospitalized. Whenever I had a convulsion that required hospitalization, one of my parents had to take leave from work to care for me at the hospital, while the other stayed home to look after my younger brother. This prevented them from focusing on their work and severely affected our household income. I am profoundly thankful to Rinpoche for saving our entire family; without Rinpoche, we would certainly have faced enormous medical and caregiving expenses.

I often hear social news reports about the whole family being devastated because one member has been ill for a long time. However, because of Rinpoche’s saving, since then, I have never had another convulsion, and my family no longer has to be worried or feared about my health. Since I fell ill, my father began to grow white hair. Once again, I am grateful for Rinpoche’s help to our entire family. I also want to thank Dharma Brothers Cao and Lin, because it was through their introduction that my mother and I had this fate to seek an audience with His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche.

I am grateful to Rinpoche. Rinpoche not only helped me remain free from having convulsions but also saved me on numerous occasions. During my school days, I often rode my bike to a restaurant, which was near my home, to buy meals. One time, as usual, after buying food, I was about to ride my bike home. A taxi parked by the side of the road suddenly had its back door swung open by a passenger, and at that moment, I happened to be riding right next to that back door of that taxi, and it was so sudden that I couldn’t avoid it in time; Seeing that I was about to hit that door, I was very shocked in that instant, but very miraculously, I surprisingly managed to dodge it without any injury! The social news about accidents like this is occasionally heard of, where a suddenly opened car door causes the vehicle behind not to dodge it timely, resulting in the drivers falling and being run over to death by other vehicles. However, at that time, I neither fell down nor was rear-ended by the vehicles behind me, and at that thrilling moment when it happened, the image of Rinpoche very clearly appeared in my mind. I deeply believed that it was all due to Rinpoche’s blessings that I came through safely. I am grateful to Rinpoche. 

There was also another time, when I went back to Kinmen in some year to celebrate the Chinese New Year, I was setting off firecrackers with my relatives in the open area outside our house, and happened to see the children from the neighboring houses also playing with firecrackers. A firecracker that was supposed to shoot straight up instead flew sideways at extremely high speed, and it flew right past my cheek. At that moment, I could not react and was just frozen in place. If this firecracker had flown with a little deviation, it might have directly hit my eye or face, and the consequences would have been unimaginable! Fortunately, only the shoulder part of my jacket got a burn hole. I am grateful that Rinpoche saved me once again so that I did not get injured at all.
Next, I would like to share how, through Rinpoche’s blessings, I was able to successfully pass the bailiff examination. The year before last, as I wished to change jobs, I began preparing for the national exam. After taking the exam in August, I checked my answers and concluded that there was almost no hope, and ended up crying my eyes out at home. My parents felt speechless when they saw me like that. My attachment to the exam results was too strong, which is not at all like the behaviors a Buddhist disciple should have.
In September the year before last, my mother and I attended the puja in Shravasti, India. Under the Bodhi Tree in Jetavana, the guru led us disciples in chanting the Six-Syllable Mantra. Shortly after returning from India, the exam results were announced. The lowest passing score was shared by five candidates, and I was one of them. Though my chances had seemed slim, I was unexpectedly admitted through an additional quota, thus successfully passing the written test. I am deeply grateful to Rinpoche.

The following Saturday, I signed up to make an offering to Rinpoche. When it was my turn, Rinpoche asked, “What is it?” I replied, “Disciple is making an offering to Rinpoche.” Rinpoche then asked, “I have never seen her before. Who is she?” After a volunteer Dharma brother answered, Rinpoche said, “You have taken refuge for 19 years, yet I have never seen you.” At that moment, Rinpoche looked at me without speaking. I thought to myself, I’m in trouble. Deeply remorseful, I reflected on how I had been lax the past decade and more, failing to follow instructions and diligently learn the Dharma. I feared that Rinpoche might ask me to remove my vest and leave the Buddhist Center. After a while, Rinpoche said loudly, “Why are you not going to perform grand prostrations yet?” Upon hearing this instruction, I felt a wave of relief and immense gratitude that Rinpoche had not given up on me, but had instead allowed me to perform grand prostrations at the Buddhist Center. It was through Rinpoche’s blessings that I had the strength to make continuous grand prostrations for several hours. I am grateful to Rinpoche.
The following week, I once again sought an audience with Rinpoche to implore the honor of making an offering. During the audience, I became distracted for a moment and glanced to the side. Rinpoche rebuked me, saying, “What did you just look at? You were absent-minded!” My mind went completely blank, and I could not utter a word in response. Rinpoche then compassionately instructed me to perform grand prostrations immediately and didn’t accept my offering. For two consecutive weeks, Rinpoche mercifully allowed me to perform grand prostrations at the Buddhist Center. Then, I proceeded to take the grip-strength test required for the bailiff qualification. According to the regulations, the test must be conducted at a medical hospital within a designated period, and both the left and right hands must reach a grip strength of at least 30 kilograms.
The first time, my left hand could only grip 25 kilograms, and the doctor immediately said there was no way I would pass and told me to go back quickly. However, I thought that the deadline had not arrived, so I bit the bullet to go to the hospital every day to do the grip strength test. Until the second-to-last day, the pointer just touched the 30-kilogram line. The doctor saw this and said, “Touching the line means you barely passed!”

Grip strength cannot be increased by 5 kilograms in just one week. At that time, I consulted a fitness trainer to see if he could help me reach a 30-kilogram grip strength within a week. The trainer said he could not help and told me this required long-term training, with no effects in the short term! Rinpoche also once said to me, “Why can she become a bailiff despite having such poor health?” I am grateful to Rinpoche. If it were not for Rinpoche’s blessings as well as Rinpoche granting me to perform grand prostrations at the Buddhist Center, it would have been impossible for me to suddenly achieve a 30-kilogram grip strength, which is truly incredible!
 
In February this year, I signed up to seek an audience with Rinpoche again and implored Rinpoche to transmit me the grant prostrations of the Four Uncommon Preliminary Practices. The volunteer Dharma brother reported to Rinpoche that I had taken refuge for 21 years. Rinpoche said that I had taken refuge for 21 years but was only coming to implore now, and that I wasn’t cut out for practicing the Dharma. I deeply repent that after taking refuge, I slacked off in learning Buddhism, kept indulging myself, and, of course, did not live up to Rinpoche’s teachings that one should learn Buddhism with a mind like saving the head from burning. However, Rinpoche still compassionately expounded that my health was poor and that I should first see a Chinese medicine doctor. I am grateful to Rinpoche for reminding me to see a Chinese medicine doctor to take care of my health. My life was saved by Rinpoche, yet I was not even aware that I should see a Chinese medicine doctor to maintain my health.

Next, I would like to repent the negative karma I have made. Over a few more than twenty years since taking refuge, I had a mind of seeking blessings and protection in learning Buddhism, but did not make up my mind to be liberated from birth and death, and did my practice in a desultory kind of way. Moreover, Rinpoche once taught that if family members do not follow one to come to learn Buddhism together, it means one has not truly changed oneself. I repent that after taking refuge, I did not truly change myself and did not praise the guru frequently in front of my father; therefore, until now, he still has no fate to come here together to learn Buddhism. I have made a firm decision to change these habits and rely on the guru to learn Buddhism and to get liberated from birth and death. Dharma brothers, please take me as an example.

Lastly, I pray for His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s good health, longevity, and auspiciousness; that he may always turn the Dharma wheel and his Dharma activities may flourish; Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s lineage may endure eternally; and that the Dharma be widely propagated at his Glorious Jewel Buddhist Monastery, benefiting all sentient beings. I sincerely thank all fellow believers and Dharma brothers for listening patiently.

Respectfully written by Ma Hui Hsin, Group Eight, On August 3, 2025

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Updated on August 6, 2025