1311：Appreciation to the Guru for Compassionately Blessing My Father and Transferring My Mother’s Consciousness

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, Dharma brothers and fellow believers, I am Huang Hong En from Group Six, and my Dharma name is Hui Gen Drolma. I am grateful to His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for granting me to publicly praise the guru’s merits and to share with you the fate origin for my refuge as well as how my parents have been helped by Rinpoche.

My mother was born in a poor, remote village in Yunlin and had never attended school. When I was 19, my mother was diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer. She underwent surgery to remove half of her breast, followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy; the cancer still metastasized throughout her lungs five years later. Severe pleural effusion made my mother unable to breathe, and in such suffering, she passed away. My younger aunt conveyed my mother’s death wish. Having heard that breast cancer could be passed on to daughters, my mother instructed that she wanted to be cremated, not ground buried, hoping that by doing so, all harmful elements would be burned away, so that her daughters would not have the same disease as she did. I deeply reproached myself for not helping my mother in the slightest. When my aunt (the wife of my father’s younger brother who is the sixth oldest) asked if I was willing to participate in a one-day Buddhist puja of the Eight Precepts Retreat and then dedicate to my deceased mother, I immediately agreed. I had never come into contact with Buddhism; actually, I did not clearly know the meaning of the Eight Precepts Retreat, merely holding the thought that it could help my departed mother, and that would be fine. 

My maternal grandmother and my mother both passed away from illness before the age of 50; later, my maternal grandfather suffered a stroke and had lived in the intensive care unit for many years. During a casual conversation with a colleague, I mentioned my grandfather’s illness. This colleague shared with me that His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, in whom he had taken refuge, is a great practitioner and could help my grandfather; if my grandfather’s good fortune, merit and fate were sufficient, he might gradually recover; yet it was also possible that he would pass away after repaying all the debts owed to sentient beings. I cannot forget that when my grandfather saw my mother for the last time, the elderly man broke down and cried loudly. I also could not bear that my grandfather lived so bitterly. I wanted to fulfill filial duty on behalf of my mother, and since there was such a rare opportunity to help my grandfather get liberated, I hurriedly signed up to seek an audience with Rinpoche.

At that time, I went alone to seek an audience with Rinpoche, holding feelings of nervousness and unease. The moment I knelt, before I spoke, my face was already full of tears. Rinpoche asked, ‘What is it?’ I replied, ‘Rinpoche, please help my ailing grandfather.’Rinpoche then asked, ‘Have you consulted the opinions of the elders in your family?’ I replied, ‘No.’At that moment, I thought that I should promptly contact my uncles and aunts and that I should not make decisions on my own. Rinpoche continued to say, ‘Your uncles and aunts cannot accept it, except for one aunt.’Hearing such a teaching, my mind has already been completely blank, and I have been utterly at a loss. Rinpoche then asked, ‘Where is your mother?’ I replied, ‘She passed away many years ago.’Rinpoche said, ‘I will first transfer your mother’s consciousness.’I am grateful to His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for having compassion for the suffering of sentient beings, compassionately bestowing me the opportunity to still be filial to my mother，opening the fate for my learning Buddhism, and for even transforming my life.
 
Later, my father fell ill and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, complicated by dementia. I wanted to bring my father to seek an audience with Rinpoche, but he had never believed in Gods or Buddhas. His dementia caused him to have auditory and visual hallucinations, and he kept shouting that there were strangers at home. Even taking my father out to see a doctor required deceptive means. If I wanted to bring him to seek an audience with Rinpoche, it would probably be a devil of a job. But miraculously, when I said to my father just one sentence, ‘Shall I take you to see a great practitioner who is exceedingly incredible?’ He unexpectedly replied, ‘Yes.’Thus, I took my father and two sisters to sign up to seek an audience with His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, hoping to help my ailing father.
 
On the day of the audience, I was still very afraid that my father might suddenly change his mind and resist, but he was remarkably calm, without making any ruction. At that time, Rinpoche compassionately expounded, ‘Your father has committed acts of killing, and his karma is heavy. It is impossible for him to attend the pujas, so his children should attend the pujas on his behalf. If your sisters only wish to attend the pujas once, do not push them to attend anymore.’Subsequently, Rinpoche compassionately blessed my father. During the audience, I kept thinking in my mind whether I should implore Rinpoche to bestow me the opportunity to take refuge, but I just could not speak. Unexpectedly, just as my family and I finished prostrating and were about to get up to leave, Rinpoche asked me, ‘Is there anything else?’ My instinctive response, however, was, ‘No.’ And then the whole family left just like that. Every time I recall this, I feel immense regret—how could it have been ‘nothing’! I repent for not seizing the rare serendipity at that moment to implore Rinpoche for permission to take refuge, and for eventually choosing to continue squandering the time. 

In 2014, when Rinpoche said that those who have been believers for over one year but had not yet been granted permission after imploring to take refuge， would no longer be allowed to attend the pujas, I finally realized that the fate was slipping away, and thus promptly signed up to seek an audience. When a Dharma brother volunteer at the Buddhist Center asked me whether my audience was to implore for ‘continuing to attend the pujas’ or for ‘taking refuge,’ I immediately answered, ‘To implore for taking refuge.’ I am grateful to Rinpoche for still being willing to bestow me the opportunity to take refuge. After taking refuge in July 2014, I was fortunate to attend the pujas in Kyoto, Japan. After hearing Rinpoche expound the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, I repented for the evil karma I had created. Compared with everything the brahman girl had done to transfer her mother’s consciousness, all that I have done to repay my parents’ benevolence is so meager. I am grateful to His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for still being willing to bestow me the chance to repay the benevolence of the guru, the parents， and sentient beings.

I am grateful to Rinpoche for compassionately blessing my father. Although my father’s health occasionally had issues, he was always able to encounter good doctors and pass through safely and smoothly. Due to Parkinson’s disease, my father had been paralyzed and bedridden for many years. This September, he was hospitalized with a fever caused by lung and urinary tract infections, and before long, he passed away; I am grateful to Rinpoche for bestowing the precious nectar pill. During the few days before my father passed away, he remained in a drowsy state and did not endure much suffering from medical treatment. 
 
My father’s lung function was extremely poor. During his hospitalization, it was necessary to find an additional caregiver to look after him and assist with the frequent suctioning of phlegm. Despite the general shortage of caregivers, we were unexpectedly able to hire a male caregiver within a strikingly short time. The male caregiver was quite elderly but highly experienced. As no hospital ward could be arranged for my father, he had to stay in the noisy emergency room to wait for hospitalization; thus, the elderly caregiver helped plead with a supervisor of the hospital, and then a ward was arranged ahead of time. When my father lacked suitable suction catheters, the caregiver helped find someone to source the catheters. At the very moment my father took his last breath, the caregiver taught us, my father’s children, how to cleanse my father’s body and which items to prepare for the funeral, as well as the matters to be attended to. Because we needed to stay beside my deceased father chanting mantras for eight hours, the caregiver even specially called the supervisor of the funeral company who manages the hospital’s prayer room, and informed him that another funeral company had already been handling my father’s funeral arrangements, and asked the supervisor to allow some flexibility and to make sure a room is kept available and undisturbed. I later came to know that, according to the regulations, one is only allowed to stay in the prayer room for four hours. If it were not for the compassionate blessings of His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, how could I have found such an experienced caregiver to look after my father, prevent my father from enduring severe medical hardships in his final days, and ensure that everything proceeded smoothly until his peaceful passing! 

I am grateful to Rinpoche for opening the Glorious Jewel Antique Furniture Shop and the Japanese Food Shop! When I had just taken refuge, it was necessary to set up a mandala at home, which required buying the Eight Offerings, incense, Pu’er tea, tea offering cups, Buddhist beads, and so on. I thought to myself, ‘Where should I buy these items? What to do with the Buddhist altar table?’ The team leader reminded me that these items are all available in the Antique Furniture Shop of the Glorious Jewel Group; there was no need to worry about their quality, and they could even be confidently recommended to relatives and friends. Afterward, due to work assignments, I went twice to Zhuhai city in Guangdong province of China, each time working for half a year. I have heard of food safety issues in Mainland China from time to time. For example, oil tankers previously used to transport chemical products were reused for edible oil, or inferior products were passed off as high-quality ones, etc. In addition, vegetarian restaurants were extremely scarce in the areas to which I was assigned, and the nearest one was even an hour’s drive away. Regular restaurants, unlike those in Taiwan, did not offer vegetarian meals, so I had to cook all three daily meals by myself. However, using seasoning products from Mainland China was worrisome. I am grateful to the Japanese Food Shop in the Glorious Jewel Group for importing safe and reliable seasonings and ingredients. Not only can I eat safely, but also there is no need to worry even if my cooking skills are poor!

Lastly, I wish to repent here. Reflecting on all my deeds, fully aware that the evil karma I have committed is as abundant as the sand on the riverbank and riverbed, I nevertheless remained lazy and did not correct myself. I vow to truly be an obedient disciple, ceaselessly reflecting on whether I am applying the Buddha Dharma taught by the guru in my life, and whether I take the Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas as my guiding principles in conduct. Furthermore, I pray that I may personally accomplish repaying the benevolence of the guru, the parents, and sentient beings, and be liberated from the reincarnation of birth and death.

I pray for His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s good health; the Dharma wheel turns unceasingly; the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Monastery of Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche is smoothly and perfectly constructed, benefiting all sentient beings; and Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Dharma lineage spreads eternally. I thank all fellow believers and Dharma brothers for listening patiently. 

 

Respectfully written by disciple Huang Hong En, Group Six, 

 on December 21, 2025

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Updated on January 6, 2026