| ON BIRTH AND DEATH AND THE PASSING OF LE LY'S 102 YEAR OLD MOTHER, TRAN THUI HUYEN (Part 9) | |
|
Tuan 49 day’s ceremony report: Thursday, June 22: As soon as I land in Ho Chi Minh City at noon, I am here only one night for the last shopping for Cung Duong Trai Tang at my parents’ house in Ky La. According to a story I learned from a Buddhist sutra called “Kinh Bao Hieu, Phu Mau Trong An”. The sutra was given to me in 1976, when I started to become a foster parent to many Vietnamese refugee children who came to the US in 1975. A Vietnamese social-worker named Rona gave me the sutra, and ever since then I understand the debt of love, appreciation and duty that we need to repay to ones parents, ancestors and much deeper. My outlook as a daughter and a mother changed forever. The sutra is based on the life of Muc Kien Lien, one of the Buddhas, and how he repaid his mother, Thanh De. Whether the story is true or not nobody knows for sure, but it’s a good lesson for all of us. From what I understand, there was an individual named Thanh De who had one son named Muc Kien Lien who wanted to become a Buddhist monk. Thanh De did not agree, but she gave in. Thanh De was a wealthy woman, who visited Kien Lien with gifts and donations to help the temple where her son studied to become a monk. One day while Thanh De was visiting at the temple, there was an old and poor lady who came to the temple and kneeled down in front of the monk and said “I am very poor, but I just harvested this cup of sesame seeds and would like to present it as my donation so that you have something to eat with the rice”. The head monk greeted the old lady and helped her to get up. The monk thanked her for the donation and walked her into the temple. This made Ms. Than De very upset, as she thought the monk overreacted to such a small donation of a cup of sesame seeds, while she, Thanh De give so much more! But the monk didn’t treat HER as anything special. From that point on, Thanh De became very mean and jealous about that poor old lady. Thanh De started to do all kinds of evil things to the monks when she donated food: she cooked it with meat, even though she knew it was wrong because monks are supposed to eat only vegetarian food. When she gave charity to the temple, she did it with an evil mind and selfish heart. All the monks knew what Thanh De was doing, but as a monk they must be grateful and accept all donations. After they accepted Thanh De’s donated food with meat they didn’t know what to do with it or where to put it. Therefore, they came up with an idea. They had long, large, deep sleeves in their yellow ropes, so they decided to put her food in one sleeve and take out their own vegetarian food hidden in their other sleeve so she thinks they are eating her donated food in order to make her happy. After Thanh De left, the monks would take out her food and make offerings to heaven, earth, and all Buddhas and gods from all four directions, in order to witness Thanh De’s actions, and pray for forgiveness for her evil mind and mean heart. After Thanh De passed away, her only son, Muc Kien Lien, became a very good and powerful Buddhist monk, and wanted to repay his debt to her. He loved and missed his mother so much. He used his meditation power to journey into the spirit world and looked for her. But he was disappointed because he could not find her there. Then he traveled to hell and went through to many “gates in hell”, and that is where he found his poor mother. Kien Lien was shocked when he discovered that his beloved mother's body was only a skeleton, her head small as an orange, and her neck like a string. She was so hungry and so afraid that other hungry ghosts would take her food away from her, that she covered her food and her mouth with both of her hands and tried to eat it that way! But sadly, when she put the food into her mouth it became a red ball of fire and she couldn’t swallow it. Muc Kien Lien was heartbroken to see his mother going through such hardship and bad punishment in hell. He talked to many gods and evil ones that control the gates of hell, and asked them to release Thanh De. But they all told Kien Lien that it’s Thanh De’s bad karma. She is the one who created all this while she was living on earth. Nothing and no one can help her. She must pay the price. No one can help her while she is inside the gates of hell. Kien Lien finally pleaded with Buddha to help release or reduce his mother’s punishments in hell. However, Buddha loves the way that Muc Kien Lien tried hard to find a way to help his mother get out of hell. Buddha showed him the way. He advised Muc Kien Lien the following: “You want to help release or reduce your mother’s sin in hell, but you don’t have the power or merit to help your mother. Therefore, you must invite as many monks and nuns as you can to help perform the prayer called ‘Cung Duong Trai Tang’. Together they must invite all 9 directions of Gods in Heaven, 10 directions of Buddha planets in Nirvana, and many monks and nuns on earth to come and say prayers to the evil spirits and devils in hell. Then together they will have ‘Tri Thuc’ lunch and bring your mother in for justice. But, you as a monk and son of Thanh De with all her sin, you must pray harder with all your power and your ‘nguyen-promise’, detailing what good will you do for humankind in the name of Thanh De, as well as all parents who have passed.” Buddha then advised him in what to do in every detail. Once a year on July 15 of the Luna Calendar, on that date we will bring all souls in for trial. This is called “xoa toi vong nhan” or “An xoa in real life”, It is an amnesty for those souls who are held in hell. Every person and every family can do it for each soul in hell who needs their family on earth to understand, and do this important ceremony for the souls, so they can release them early to go home. Muc Kien Lien vowed to follow and write the sutra name “Bao Hieu phu mau" Repay the debt to one parents. People on earth today learn from his sutra how one must repay their parents while living and after death. In this sutra, Muc Kien Lien clearly documented in great detail how the soul re-incarnated into a family because of their karmic debt in their past life with one another and how to get out of the cycle of birth and death. Since then people follow Muc Kien Lien’s promise to do create Trai Tang Kiet Thuc and they invite monks to come and help pray to ask Buddha and gods help release family souls in hell. Each year on July 15 of the Lunar calendar, people in Asian Buddhist nations do all kinds of volunteer works: they give to charities, donate to build temples, etc, all in the names of their ancestors and parents on the other side. Especially the first 49 days after one’s passing, because during the first 49 days, the soul must go trough 49 gates of jail cells in hell to present themselves to each gate. It’s very scary if the soul is all alone without any love or prayers. After Muc Kien Lien listens to the Buddha, he takes the advice from the Buddha instructions on how to “repay the debt” and rescue his mother, Thanh De, from hell by making the offering “Cung Duong Trai Tang” to the monks and nuns and ask them to help him to succeed on his dream. He wrote the best sutra there is and shows us the way to repay ones’ parents. In the sutra Kien Lien pointed out no matter how little or large, one must try to give back. He created the month of “July in Luna Calendar” so that human beings on earth have a chance and opportunity to repay the debt by saving and rescuing loved ones in hell, or for some souls still lost somewhere in limbo. Everyone needs to become vegetarian and volunteer to do charities in the name of the deceased in the family and deceased parents. They donate some wealth to build temples, altars and shrines or try to help the poor and needy in the world. He strongly suggests one to become a monk or nun, faithful and loyal to the family and bring pride to ones’ parents while they are living or after they are gone. There is no way I can explain in here how much good that sutra did for me! Since the East Meets West was founded in 1987 and continued with Global Village Foundation, each and every year in the month of July Lunar Calendar, we give out ten tons of rice, food supplies, and do all kind of charities all over Vietnam. We also released many birds from their cages each year, which is a traditional way of giving offerings. I have learned from that sutra since 1976, and 10 years after that I visited my mother, in 1986. Since then I have visited her as much as I could through our work. My relationship to my family, and mostly to my mother, was much deeper and closer because I understood what she went through to give birth and raise me as her child. There is no way in this world one can repay enough to one’s parents. Since I’ve been aware of this, I have vowed to find a way to pay it back. I tried and am still trying to be a good human being first, sharing love for humanity, and to our ancestors and our parents, whether living or now in death. When I have a chance and opportunity to repay a grain of sand to our family ancestors, the Phung’s, I do so. My mother requested in 1990 I help relocate 65 + remains of Phung family graves from all over Vietnam, and move them to one graveyard. In 1992, I helped to find my brother Sau Ban’s remains and brought him home to the military cemetery near our house. I paid to build a nice, big temple on our parents’ land in our yard in Ky La 1996. Each year I pay to maintain and keep our parents’ house and altars, 1 temple, and 3 shrines around our property. I also help my brother to look after over 100 graves and anything that I can do to related to our family sprits, such as worship and offering on the new year, or on big holidays. I also clean the graves and invite monks and nuns to chant most of the ceremonies when I am in town to help out. All these projects were in Ky La village where my mother could see and help be in charge. By repay to our ancestors, father, and our family name, I offered “Cung Duong Trai Tang” at our family ancestor’s temple in 2000, with 30 + monks & nuns. And I organized to celebrate our mother’s 90th birthday, and wanted so much to celebrate with her when she turned 100. But she begged me not to do so. With respect I didn't, but there are many more still needed to be done, but I cannot promise. Since our mother passed away I deeply understand and try my best to do what Muc Kien Lien wrote in his sutra. That is how he became one of the many Buddhas, with the name “Duc Phat, Muc Kien Lien”. “Cong Cha nhu nui Thai Son, Ngia me nhu nuoc trong nguon chay ra! The labors of father high as Thai Son Mountain, the Love from our mother is like the water that runs from the forest to the sea. Never ending! :: Part 1 |
 |
|