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An Irregular Heartbeat "Arrhythmia"
- From TBN, issue 484 and 485
- By Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Sheng-Yen Lu
- Translated and Edited by TBN
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There is a holy disciple who has taken the
bodhisattva vows, read many sutras, who has a very good memory,
and who has learned many Tantric dharma practices and has received
responses with each practice.
This holy disciple is a very well-known medical doctor with knowledge
of both Chinese and Western medicine. When the door of his office
opens, many people come to see him and he has healed many patients.
His reputation is great. Many patients trust him and so his office
is always busy, like a public market.
Although he is very busy, he knows “the fleeting impermanence
of life;” therefore, every day when he has free time, he practices
the dharma or conducts a Tantric fire offering. If he is too busy
to manage this, then he will chant the name of the Great Compassionate
Guan Yin Bodhisattva. He even silently chants the name of Guan Yin
Bodhisattva as he treats his patients.
He chants his personal deity’s heart mantra and Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s
name without keeping count. He chants when is awake, when he is
asleep, and even when he is treating his patients. He doesn’t
know how many times he has chanted. Even if he tried to count the
number of times, he couldn’t.
This holy disciple knows that Guru Sheng-Yen Lu is in retreat at
Leaf Lake.
But he doesn’t know where Leaf Lake is.
Whenever this holy disciple would catch wind of Guru travelling
somewhere, he would also take a trip to the same place for holiday.
But this world is a vast ocean of people. He might have to travel
to the far edge of the earth, or to the farthest corner of the great
ocean, or to the middle of a public gathering place. Looking to
his left and to his right, this holy disciple hopes, even by just
a glimmer of a chance, that he might possibly see Guru appearing
suddenly in front of him. Will he?
He is a doctor, but he still has his own health condition, which
he’s had since birth. He has arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat.
One night, Guru entered this disciple’s dream and asked, “Are
you searching for me?”
“Yes!” he replied, weeping with sorrow.
“Do not search for me. I am with you always. I also know that
you have a health condition!”
“Guru, you know about it?”
“No mistake about it,” Guru said in the disciple’s
dream, ”I will help you to adjust it. The winder [like the
spring in a wind-up clock] in your heart is loose and I will help
you to tighten it a little.”
In the dream, Guru took the disciple’s heart in his hands,
massaged it a few times, then put it back.
Guru smiled and said, “Good! Everything is normal! We will
see each other again in the future! Chant the bodhisattva’s
name countlessly. All the Buddhas in the heavens and on earth praise
you!”
The holy disciple was astonished and woke up from his dream.
Every statement that Guru spoke in his dream was very clear, every
statement was understood, and the disciple was very much moved.
The strangest thing is that the holy disciple’s arrhythmia
was cured—his heart was now in good condition. The life-long
problem had been forever removed.
This holy disciple, although he had been searching for Guru for
many years, saw Guru in his dream, in his Samadhi state, and his
illness was cured. He has become even more intensive in his chanting
of his personal deity’s heart mantra and holy name.
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