1308：Appreciation to the Guru for Compassionately Blessing My Father and Transferring His 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. I am Lin Wei Cheng from Group Three, and my Dharma name is Gong Chu Ding Yin. My wife is Tang Chih Hua from Group Five, and my son is Lin Po Wei from Group Five.
 
I am grateful to His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for bestowing me the opportunity to praise the guru, share with you how the guru blessed my father in the intensive care unit (ICU) and transferred his consciousness when he passed away, recount the fate origin of my taking refuge, and to repent the evil karma I have committed. 
 
I took refuge on July 26, 2015. Before taking refuge, through my wife’s introduction, I attended as a believer the Great Indiscriminate Amitabha Puja for Transferring Consciousness and the Grand Memorial Puja Commemorating the Lord Jigten Sumgon of Drikung Kagyu, both presided over by His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche. When I entered the puja venue for the second time and watched on the large screen displaying the footage of Rinpoche’s practice, my tears began to flow unconsciously.

Before our marriage in 2011, at my wife’s request, we invited both of our parents to come together to seek an audience with Rinpoche, imploring him to be our marriage witness and to bestow a wedding date. This was the first time my father saw the guru, and also the only time. In September 2012, my father was initially hospitalized for an examination due to a lumbar spine problem. A few days later, the doctors said no cause was found, and he was immediately discharged. When I drove my father back to my brother’s residence in Luodong, I then returned to our home in Su’ao. Life is impermanent. When I had just stepped into the house, I received a call from my mother saying that my father’s condition was severe and that I should hurry back to Luodong again.
 
When I arrived, my father had already been sent into an ambulance and was being taken to the hospital’s emergency room. The doctors diagnosed my father with pneumonia, and he was then transferred to the ICU. At that time, my father could not breathe on his own and required the assistance of a mechanical respirator. Coupled with difficulty in urination that led to edema in all four limbs, he was later fitted with three tubes simultaneously: a nasal tube, a gastric tube, and a urinary catheter. Because the medical staff were concerned that my father might feel discomfort and pull the tubes, they tied each of his hands to the bed rails.

Seeing this, we could not bear it. Thus, my mother, my wife, and I registered to seek an audience with Rinpoche on Saturday. When Rinpoche compassionately asked, “What is it?” I reported my father’s illness to the guru and implored Rinpoche to bless my father so that he would be spared the suffering of being inserted all the three tubes. After I reported my father’s name and Chinese zodiac sign, Rinpoche promptly entered Canding (Puja Teachings Index 06), expounded on my father’s illness, and pointed out that my father’s heart was still strong, but there were two white spots on his left lung; the doctors did not mention the former, and for the latter, the doctors needed the X-ray to provide an explanation. The condition described by the doctors was exactly the same as what Rinpoche had said, even the locations of the white spots matched perfectly; it was truly incredible.
 
Rinpoche inquired about my father’s work and its location. I replied that my father was an ironworker, and his workplace was on the mountain, repairing the cement factory’s transport cage.  Rinpoche then asked whether my father had ever caught fish or went fishing. My mother responded at once that he had never gone fishing and that in all the years they had been married, she had never seen him go fishing. Rinpoche immediately scolded my mother, “By saying this, you do not believe in karma! You do not believe in the Buddha Dharma!” Rinpoche also instructed us that, after returning, we should explain everything explicitly to my father and ask him to repent to the sentient beings he had harmed. His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche gave us a specific date then: if my father passed that date, he would be fine; if he did not, we should be mentally prepared.
 
I am grateful for the blessings of His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche; the next day, my father’s nasal tube and gastric tube were removed, leaving only the urinary catheter.  We brought Bao Yuan Gao and Rinpoche’s incomparably wondrous book Happiness and Suffering to the ICU. The nurse said that both could be left there and that she would help apply the Bao Yuan Gao to care for my father’s skin.

Because my father was unable to breathe on himself autonomously, the doctor recommended a tracheostomy. With the vote among the four children resulting in a two-to-two split, my mother ultimately cast the deciding vote against the tracheostomy. I am grateful to Rinpoche! Forty-five days later, the hospital was to transfer my father out of the ICU to the respiratory care room so that he could train to breathe on his own, but none of the attempts succeeded. On the third day, my father had already fallen into a comatose state and was transferred back to the ICU. That evening, after visiting hours ended, each of us returned home.
 
Impermanence pervades life. When I returned home, I received a call from my eldest brother saying that the hospital had issued a medical crisis notice. When I arrived outside the ICU, I just saw my eldest brother slapping the door and crying out, “Stop the shocks! Don’t shock him anymore!” We had already signed the Do Not Resuscitate consent form, and seeing my father being shocked was truly heart-wrenching. After the resuscitation of my father proved ineffective, the doctors came to ask our opinion: should the tubes be removed in the hospital, or wait until my father was sent back home? We thus brought my father’s body home, placed a holy pill bestowed by Rinpoche into my father’s mouth, and then chanted the Great Six-Syllable Mantra by my father’s ear for eight hours.
 
On the Saturday after my father passed away, my wife and I signed up together to seek an audience with Rinpoche. When I reported to Rinpoche that my father had passed away, I implored the guru to transfer my father’s consciousness and to bestow the date for the funeral ceremony. Rinpoche compassionately asked whether my father had ever met Rinpoche during his lifetime. My wife replied that he had, once. Rinpoche then asked when that was, and my wife answered that it was last November. After reporting my father’s name and Chinese zodiac sign, Rinpoche entered Chanding (Puja Teachings Index 06), chanted mantras for a long while, and expounded that he had already protected my father’s consciousness, which would not fall into the Three Evil Realms. Upon hearing this, I burst into tears and could not restrain myself. Afterwards, I was unable to take in or respond to anything Rinpoche expounded; everything was listened to and reported by my wife, who calmly knelt by my side. Rinpoche also expounded that my father had harmed aquatic sentient beings, and that his consciousness is now in a quilt made of rabbit fur or sheep’s wool, and asked me to go register the consciousness-transferring. After returning home, when my mother heard us relate Rinpoche’s teachings, she recalled a leather jacket with a wool lining that my father had worn when my parents got married, and it was simply my father’s most beloved piece of clothing.
 
On the night before the funeral ceremony on December 26, 2012, heavy rain poured down in Su’ao. The next morning, the weather turned sunny; although it was overcast, sunlight appeared.  In the morning, Dharma brothers, who came to attend the public memorial, shared with my wife that they had initially been worried about finding their way to Yilan Yuanshan Fuyuan, and another Dharma brother in the same car said that just head in the direction where the sunlight was shining, and it would be right! I am grateful to His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche. A miraculous thing happened: they not only smoothly arrived at the remote mountain area of Yuanshan Fuyuan, but also attended the public memorial punctually.
 
After my father passed away, his body was soft, his face wore a gentle smile, and his skin and complexion looked even better than when he was alive. After the cremation, my wife and I found my father’s skull, and we saw a smooth and perfectly round small hole at the location of the Brahmarandhra, which is remarkably incredible; the date of the Chod puja was December 30, yet we witnessed this incomparably wondrous and auspicious sign on the 26th. I am grateful to Rinpoche for preventing my father from falling into the Three Evil Realms. We immediately took photos to share with our family and marveled at the great compassion and grand vow of His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche. Please refer to the photos of Case No. 15 on the Rare and Precious Chod Puja.

On the Saturday after the funeral, my wife and I together sought an audience with Rinpoche and reported that my father’s funeral had been completed perfectly; my wife made offerings to the guru, and Rinpoche compassionately accepted them. At that time, I was still a believer, and Rinpoche expounded to me: “Do you think that learning Buddhism is your wife’s matter and has nothing to do with you? Since your wife is my disciple, reflect thoroughly on this when you are back.” Rinpoche then asked me if I had any other things. I replied that I implored to attend the monthly Chod puja, and I am grateful to Rinpoche for compassionately granting it!
 
I was also one of those Rinpoche mentioned—those who had attended the puja for over six months without coming to implore to take refuge, should not attend the puja again. It was not until I participated in the Japan trip in December 2014 that I heard Dharma Brother Huang from the same trip share that his roommate, before taking refuge, listed 100 reasons for taking refuge, and only then was he granted to take refuge after imploring. Upon hearing this, I was profoundly astonished. It turned out that others embraced such an attitude to implore to take refuge, and therefore, my thought of wanting to implore to take refuge arose.
 
At that time, whenever I came to seek an audience with Rinpoche, Rinpoche, in the end, would always ask me like a compassionate father, “Have you been a vegetarian? Have you taken refuge?” I reported to Rinpoche that I had been a vegetarian. Rinpoche then asked, “How long have you been a vegetarian?” When I replied, “Two or three years,” Rinpoche continued, “You’ve been a vegetarian for so long! Why haven’t you come to learn Buddhism yet?” Indeed! Looking back now, I realize that I was not only of poor root-capacity but also extremely dull-witted at that time. I recall that at the Sunday puja on November 2 this year, I listened to Rinpoche’s Dharma-teaching recording, in which Rinpoche mentioned that when he first met his monastic teacher, what Rinpoche asked was, “May I take refuge?” Nevertheless, I only wished to live a life of ease.
 
Before imploring to take refuge, I had reverently read His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s book Happiness and Suffering. During his hospitalization, my father also read the earlier chapters and once shared with me, “Your Rinpoche is exceedingly strict with himself” (in Taiwanese). I replied, “Yes!” When I implored the guru to take refuge at that time, Rinpoche compassionately asked, “What is it?” I reported to Rinpoche that I implored to take refuge. Rinpoche then asked, “Why do you implore to take refuge?” My first answer was, “Because my wife is pregnant.” Rinpoche reproached me, “Introspect carefully when you are back.” My second answer was, “For the sake of sentient beings.” Rinpoche scolded, “It’s nonsense!” He then asked again, “Why do you want to implore to take refuge?” I answered, “For my parents.” Rinpoche once more reproached me, “It’s nonsense. Think it through when you return, and then come to implore again.” In retrospect, I realize how ignorant, self-righteous, and arrogant I was, and I audaciously spoke in that way. I was truly irreverent to the guru, and I repent. 

Only after returning from the Japan trip, did I sign up again to implore to take refuge in January 2015. Rinpoche compassionately asked, “What is it?” I replied, “I implore to take refuge.” Rinpoche then asked, “Why do you implore to take refuge?” I answered, “Rinpoche once expounded that learning Buddhism is not just my wife’s matter; I also have a responsibility.” Rinpoche compassionately granted it, saying, “Go to register!” I am grateful to Rinpoche！
 
One Monday morning in March 2015, I was driving from Banqiao back to my home in Su’ao to get ready for work. Soon, I heard a knock at the door. When I opened it, a police officer asked if any other family members living with me were missing. I replied that no one was; I lived alone, and my wife and child were in Taipei. The officer then said, “Sir, whatever you see in a moment, don’t be nervous!” My heart sank instantly, “Could it be that someone had fallen from the embankment beside my home?” Subsequently, I followed the officer toward the front entrance of the house and saw a man who had committed suicide by hanging himself on the air-conditioner bracket. At once, I visualized His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche blessing the deceased. The officer briefly illustrated the situation and again asked whether I knew the deceased. I replied that I did not.

Later, while giving my statement at the police station, I learned from the deceased’s elderly father that the deceased had suffered from major depressive disorder and had one recorded suicide incident when he was living in Sanchong. Later, I learned that the elderly father had sold pork in the Su’ao market when he was young, the elderly mother also suffered from a mental illness, the second son had long been away from home, the family lived solely on government subsidies, and the two daughters had married and moved to Taipei. At that time, when the elderly father wanted to arrange the funeral, he even had no means for the burial expenses, and all depended entirely on the ward chief’s appeal for emergency assistance as well as the help of the funeral home. This incident confirmed what Rinpoche had once expounded, “Those who earn a living by taking the lives of sentient beings—that is, those engaged in the trade of killing—will, in this lifetime, suffer from illness and a short life, have their desires unfulfilled, fail to accumulate wealth, have incomplete family members, and will fall into Hell after death.”
 
After the incident, I did not dare sleep alone at home for nearly a month. On Saturday, my wife and I signed up together to seek an audience with Rinpoche, imploring the guru to transfer the consciousness of the deceased. Rinpoche compassionately asked, “What is it?” After I reported the situation to Rinpoche, the guru smiled and asked me, “Were you afraid of ghosts or afraid the house would not sell? You are not afraid of your own death, yet you fear another’s death.” Rinpoche instructed me to perform 300 grand prostrations at the Buddhist Center on behalf of the deceased, and agreed to transfer the consciousness of the deceased in the Chod puja. Rinpoche also asked, “Have you been a vegetarian? Have you taken refuge?” I reported that I had come in January this year to implore to take refuge, and the guru had already agreed. Rinpoche, like a compassionate father, said, “Alright, it’s fine now.” I am deeply thankful to Rinpoche! Because I had not yet taken refuge, I kept in my home the precious photo album of Rinpoche presiding over the Acalanatha puja in Japan, and at night I had to place Rinpoche’s book Happiness and Suffering beside me in order to fall asleep.

Moreover, I share with you that I was laid off by my company in June 2018 and again in April 2020, and I immediately reported my unemployment situation to the contact person. Rinpoche instructed the group leaders and contact persons to show concern for the Dharma brothers’ financial situations. At that time, both companies issued, in accordance with regulations, certificates of involuntary termination, provided severance pay and job-search leave during the notice period; I was able to register for job seeking at a public employment service agency and apply for unemployment subsidy by law. I am grateful to Rinpoche!

On both occasions, the group leader called to convey Rinpoche’s concern for me, asking whether my financial situation had been affected, and to relay Rinpoche’s instructions. The first time, Rinpoche instructed that my offerings to Rinpoche and donations to the Buddhist Center would be temporarily waived, allowing me to focus on finding a job calmly. The second time, Rinpoche instructed that my offerings to Rinpoche would be momentarily suspended, but donations to the Buddhist Center, following the user-pays principle, should not be less than NT$1,000 per month. Only after I found a job did I sign up to seek an audience with the guru. Rinpoche asked, “What is it?” I reported that I had found a job and implored to make offerings to Rinpoche. Rinpoche compassionately accepted my offerings. I am grateful to Rinpoche!
 
Here, I repent to His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche. From childhood to adulthood, I have eaten the meat of numerous sentient beings—cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, ostriches, fish, shrimp, and crabs—and have caught and harmed small insects, fish, and shrimp. I have committed theft, taking small change from my parents and grandmother to buy snacks and toys. I have committed sexual misconduct, watched a large amount of pornography, and my daily life has been filled with greed, hatred, and ignorance, especially while riding a motorcycle or driving a car. I hereby repent for having committed harsh speech, divisive speech, sexual misconduct, theft, killing, and other evil deeds in this lifetime and accumulated past lifetimes, and for the evil karma arising from all my thoughts; I am willing to accept all karmic retribution. I repent that I did not correct myself, nor did I obey as instructed.
 
I am grateful to the guru for tirelessly giving teachings and corrections, accepting me who is such an evil disciple, letting me have the opportunity to learn the authentic-belief Buddha Dharma, and for blessing me to reduce the obstacles to learning Buddhism, sever the evil deeds and practice virtuousness, and to repay, little by little, the debts I owe to sentient beings. I vow to have the chance to transcend from the reincarnation’s sea of suffering in this lifetime and rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitabha.

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 perfectly auspicious, benefiting all sentient beings; Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Dharma lineage spreads eternally! I thank all Dharma brothers and fellow believers for listening patiently. 

Respectfully written by disciple Lin Wei Cheng, Group Three, 

 on November 16, 2025

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Updated on December 1, 2025