| 凌峰 文／晨瑛譯組 英譯 • By Ling Feng / English Translated by the Early Bird Translation Group VBS NO.621 |
家父淩懷本，1947年生於江南小鎮蘆墟。他小學時就有菩薩之風，常常主動為鎮上各家店鋪義務搬運重物，如是多年，這應是他多生修來的淳厚心地之表現。
My father, Ling Huaiben, was born in 1947 at Luxu, a small town in Jiangnan (region south of the Yangtze River). Ever since childhood, he exhibited qualities resembling that of a bodhisattva: voluntarily helping folk villagers carry heavy things, which lasted for many years. This should be the manifestation of the “thick and profund” good roots that he had been planting for many lives.
父親就讀於上海第一醫科大學（即今復旦大學醫學院），家母是同班同學。家父後來一直在河南省醫界任職，尤其在1990年代，藉以自己從事管理工作而極力提升醫務人員的業務水準，並且盡力協助滿足貧困鄉民醫療所需，期間從未曾有過頤指氣使，他總是平和待人。我一生之中從未聽到家父抱怨過任何人事物，其心胸寬廣可見一斑。
My father later went to study at Shanghai First Medical College, which is now the Medical College of Fudan University. My mother was his classmate. Ever since his graduation, my father had been working in the medical field in Henan Province. In the 1990s, he made good use of his managerial position influences to advance the overall professionalism of the hospital’s medical staff. Moreover, he strived to coordinate the efforts for providing for the needs of the impoverished villagers and meanwhile never displayed any air or act of arrogance; rather, he was always amicable and easygoing. During my life, I never heard my father complain about anyone or anything. From this, I can sense the broad-mindedness of my father.
父親中年譯書、立說，筆耕不輟，發表文章於國內各大雜誌，並翻譯了若干英文的醫學專業書籍和文章。直至晚年，由於我學佛的因緣，父親開始接觸了佛法，當他讀到恒實法師和前恒朝法師所撰寫的《修行者的消息》一書，不禁倍加稱讚；兩位法師從洛杉磯一直拜到三藩市以北的萬佛聖城，其中的艱難險阻及感應事蹟令家父欽佩不已。他常想，到底是什麼力量能讓這兩位美國法師甘受三步一拜之苦呢？難道生死大事真的可以通過修行來解決嗎？
Since middle age, my father started to do translations and publish his expertise, a kind of “pen cultivation” that he never grew weary of, publishing these articles in various major Chinese medical journals. He also translated quite a few English medical journal articles and books into Chinese. Also, due to my conditions of own studying the Buddhadharma, my father also came into contact with it in his old age. When he chanced upon the News from the Cultivators (the Three-Steps-One-Bow Pilgrimage to CTTB) by Reverend Heng Sure and Heng Chau, he was deeply impressed and was never stingy in lavishing praise on the books. He had a profound regard for the two practitioners of the Buddhadharma, and how they overcame all the obstacles along the journey and bowed all the way from Los Angeles to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB). Along the pilgrimage, there occurred numerous miracle-like responses that they evoked from their cultivation. He often thought, “What made these two American monastics willingly undertake all these trials and tribulations of making the three-steps-one-bow pilgrimage? What kind of power was behind that? Is it really the case that the issue of birth and death can be resolved through one’s cultivation?”
他開始學佛的時候，只是喜歡閱讀文字，而對佛門日課總覺得單調又重複。他誤以為佛法是和世間知識一樣，可以從學習和記憶中通達，殊不知佛法是心地法門，須靠實修才能夠入門。佛法的修行就是煉心，唯有逐漸止息妄心，才有機會見到本有的常住真心。
At his early stage of learning the Buddhardharma, he only preferred to read the Buddhist literature and had a predisposed view about the daily Buddhist liturgy, feeling that it was monotonous and repeating. He mistakenly felt that the worldly dharmas and the world-transcending Dharma are the same, that he could master it from mere study and memorization. Contrary to his belief, the Buddhadharma is a mind-ground Dharma-door. It is only through doing true cultivation can one enter the door. Cultivation of the Buddhadharma is cultivation of the mind; only through the gradual ceasing of false thoughts could the fundamental, ever-dwelling, and true mind reveal itself.
2011年，家父在西雅圖避暑之時身體開始不適。正好西雅圖金峰寺計劃舉辦三皈五戒。不過時間是訂在他們離美機票的兩週後才舉行。家母內心非常渴望能夠皈依和受五戒，讓父親得到佛菩薩的護佑。當時，他們深感遺憾：看上去似乎緣份不夠，要錯過良機。突然，法師宣佈把三皈五戒的時間提前，在我父母離美的前一個週日舉行。家母深深覺得這是佛菩薩聽到了她的懇請，於是他們欣然皈依宣化上人座下僧團，並且受了五戒，成為了萬佛聖城的皈依弟子。
In 2011, my father started to feel physically uncomfortable after he came to Seattle for a summer retreat. It just so happened that Gold Summit Monastery in Seattle was transmitting the Three Refuges and Five Precepts, but the date of the ritual was scheduled to be two weeks after my parents would leave Seattle. My mother was anxious and yearned to take the Three Refuges and receive the precepts so that my father could be under the protection of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. At that time, they deeply regretted that they lacked good conditions and might have to miss the opportunity to join these rituals. But, all of a sudden, the Dharma Master at Gold Summit announced that the ritual would be moved ahead of schedule — to be on the Sunday right before the day when my parents would leave Seattle. My mother deeply felt that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas must have heard her beseeching. Therefore, both my parents happily took the Three Refuges under the Sangha order of the Venerable Master Hua. They also received the five precepts, and became CTTB disciples.
回國之後，家父去醫院檢查，發現是結腸癌二期，手術切除後痊癒。自此，家父和家母開始了他們的修行功課：每天修行大悲懺、藥師經等等功課。他們並不是單單為自己修行，而是把修行功德迴向給周圍生病的親戚朋友，乃至法界所有眾生，希望大家都能離苦得樂，早證佛果。
After returning to China, my father went to the hospital for a checkup and was diagnosed with Stage-II colon cancer. He healed after the operation. Ever since then, my parents started their daily cultivation and recitations: Every day they cultivated the Great Compassion Repentance, and recited the Medicine Master Sutra. They were not just cultivating for their own good but also for dedicating the merit toward other relatives and friends around them who suffered from sickness, as well as all beings throughout the Dharma Realm. They hoped that all of them could leave behind suffering, attain bliss, and quickly realize the fruition of Buddhahood.
本來以為父親度過上次結腸癌的劫難，還了業債，就可以安然了此一生。豈知人生無常，業債再次找上門了。家父2020年罹患肺癌四期，醫學上不可能徹底治癒，只是拖延時日而已。
Originally, I thought that my father had passed the calamity of colon cancer and would be able to live out the rest of his life in peace. It turned out that he had it once more: his karmic creditor came up and “knocked” on his door to exact the debt from him again. By 2020, my father had Stage-IV lung cancer, which was beyond any hope to cure in terms of medical therapy. All he could do was drag on to live out each of his remaining days.
本來無心把家父的這些經歷撰寫出來，但是，考慮到死亡是我們每個人都遲早要面對的難題。無論是父母的辭世，還是將來自己本人的死亡，都是逃不掉懸在頭上的達摩克利斯（Damocles）之劍；更加糟糕的是，如果修行不夠，還不知道這把利劍什麼時候就掉了下來。所以，我寫出家父的人生經歷，以及他生命最後這一年的艱辛修行，希望對大家有所啟發。
Originally, I did not expect to write about my father’s experiences, but when considering how each of us has to face the challenge of death, I decided to write them down. Whether it be any of my parents’ passing, or my own future passing, death is as unavoidable as the sword of Damocles hanging right above each of our heads. What is worse is that if we lack the foundation of cultivation, we don’t know when this sword will drop and befall us. Thus, I wrote out these deeds and experiences of my father, as well as his arduous cultivation during the last year of his life in the hope of serving as inspiration for everyone.
人一生最大的考驗也往往是在臨終之時，家父面對末期肺癌外加癌細胞轉移的不幸，在這樣的病苦折磨之下，他依然能提起精神，一心念佛，這實在是相當難能可貴。而他最終也蒙阿彌陀佛接引，順利往生了極樂世界。他的現身說法，告訴我們：死亡這個終極難題是多麼的艱難，而又是有希望之解的！但願能夠鼓勵大家，努力解決自己的生死大事，並且積極栽培助道資糧，無論在為人處事或是日用功課，都盡心盡力。
The greatest challenge a person is to face is usually during this person’s terminal stage (usually from sickbed to deathbed). My father had to face the cancer cells that kept multiplying, transferring, and spreading throughout his body, which was very unfortunate for him. Despite the torture of his illness, he struck up his spirit and focused on reciting the Buddha’s name. This is quite rare and precious about him. That is also why as he was passing, he was receiving Amitabha Buddha’s guidance and protection, and was reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Through his own deeds and experiences, he was speaking “the Dharma” for all of us: Death is the ultimate test for each of us, and it is indeed a really woeful ordeal; yet at the same time, it has a solution and a hope to it. I hope that his example can encourage us to work hard on solving the problem of birth and death, a great matter to all. He encouraged us to actively develop and accumulate the provisions which assist us in our cultivation — no matter where we are, when we are dealing with others or doing things such as carrying on our daily Buddhist recitations— we ought to do our best.
在2021年6月初，考慮到父親即將要進行放療，副作用可能非常大，或許會影響他的腦力思考，所以特別懇求萬佛聖城的法師為家父在放療前給他一個正式懺悔的機會。法師非常慈悲，讓家父通過網絡在三位法師面前懺悔自己的業障，所謂「往昔所造諸惡業，皆由無始貪瞋癡；從身語意之所生，我今壇前求懺悔。罪從心起將心懺，心若滅時罪亦亡；罪亡心滅兩俱空，是則名為真懺悔。」通過懺悔，可以減輕甚至消除往昔的惡業，以便恢復本有的清淨。父親在懺悔的當晚連續做了幾個夢，其中一個夢是：見到一本《阿彌陀經》，上面標著「首頁」兩字，佛菩薩贈予一付加持過的手套。我的解讀是：家父開始念阿彌陀佛，「首頁」是指他剛剛開始修行，手套代表他這輩子在醫界。
At the beginning of June, 2021, I took into consideration that my father was about to receive chemotherapy, which could really result in serious side effects and affect the functioning of his mind or mental faculties. I requested the CTTB monastics to allow my father to have an opportunity to confess and repent his past wrongdoings before he underwent the chemotherapy. The three monastics were very compassionate and allowed my father to repent of his karmic hindrance virtually in their presence. It is well said in the verse: “Any of my wrongdoings from the past stem from beginningless greed, anger, and delusion, and manifest through my body, speech, and mind, hence now I seek to repent of them all at this pure platform.” Another verse says, “Offenses arise from thoughts, and so I repent from my thoughts of my mind. When these thoughts cease to be, my karmic offenses are also wiped away. When both the thoughts and the offenses are all emptied, this is called the true repentance. Through repentance, our karmic offenses can be mitigated or even completely eradicated. Thus our original purity will be restored.” On the very night of his repentance, he had a dream of the Amitabha Sutra. On the sutra appeared two Chinese characters: “Page One”. In the dream also appeared a pair of gloves which were blessed and given by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to my father. My interpretation was that my father had just begun to recite the name of Amitabha Buddha, and the pair of gloves represented that he spent his whole life in the medical field.
此時6月的西雅圖卻創紀錄的高溫。本來西雅圖的夏季一向涼爽無比，多數家庭沒有空調設置，我們家連個電扇都沒有。持續三天的攝氏40°C高溫，讓父親的體力急劇下降，而放療的副作用也變得雪上加霜。並且發現他的腫瘤對化療藥物產生了抗藥性，所以他毅然放棄了治療，選擇一心念佛以求生極樂世界。
The temperature reached a record-high in June, 2021. Usually Seattle has quite cool summer temperatures, and most families do not have to resort to air conditioning and thus do not have air conditioners. We did not even prepare a fan at home. The three consecutive days with a temperature higher than 40 degree Celsius caused my father to quickly lose his stamina. The side-effects from his chemotherapy further aggravated his conditions like adding layers of frost to snow. Furthermore, he found out that the cancerous cells started to develop immunity to the chemotherapy treatment. All of this caused my father to decisively give up on his therapy and choose to focus on his Buddha-recitation so as to seek rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
家父自知命不長了，所以努力求生淨土，他的功課基本上就是念佛，早上有點體力時會禮拜八十八佛，基本上是前面拜幾拜，後面就用跪著拜，再不行就坐著拜，他就是這樣盡心。他當時體力非常差了，其他時間多數坐在沙發上，一心持念阿彌陀佛。
My father realized that there were not many days left for him, so he strived with all the might he could muster to seek rebirth in the Pure Land. His basic daily recitation was to recite the Buddha’s name. In the morning when he had more stamina, he practiced bowing to the Eighty-eight Buddhas: for the first few bows, he was able to do the full bowing like an ordinary person, but for the remaining bows, he could only do the bowing in a kneeling posture; when the worst came to worst, he could only bow in a sitting posture. That was how sincerely he was doing his best in his bowing. By that time his stamina was very poor, and most of the time he sat on the sofa and focused on reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha.
到8月份，家父說話已顯困難。我們每每問他，有沒有在念阿彌陀佛？他就點點頭。如果仔細聽他含糊發聲的節奏，就會發現和念佛機的阿彌陀佛聖號的節奏是一致。他晚上睡不好的時候，也在努力地念佛。因為病苦的折磨，令他深深體會到娑婆世界的苦，所以他求生極樂世界的心也就特別強。我想，他的強烈願力也成就了他最後的成功往生極樂世界。
By August of 2021, my father was already having obvious difficulty in speaking. Whenever we asked him whether he was reciting the Buddha’s name, he nodded his head. When we listened carefully to the tunes of his semi-humming chanting, we discovered that the tunes were almost the same and well in sync with the tunes of the Buddha-recitation machine. When he had a hard time falling asleep at night, he worked hard to continue his Buddha-recitation. Due to the torture of his illness, he had a profound experience of how woeful this Saha World is, and thus he had a much firmer and sincerer resolve in his Buddha-recitation. I believe that his extremely strong vow power enabled him to finally and successfully be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
另外，值得一提的是，7月17日，我替父親做金峰寺舉辦萬佛懺法會的懺主；在第一支香的上香時，突然有個很模糊的感覺，好像是父親的冤親債主在訴說家父往昔曾對他們不好——雖然那只是一個感覺，而且是一剎那的極短時間；但此感受直擊我的心，就在那一瞬間，我的眼淚奪眶而出。萬佛懺是要拜11,100尊佛菩薩聖號，法會時間是週一到週五每晚禮拜2小時多，週六週日全天禮拜。我深深願以此懺悔功德，能幫助家父和他的冤親債主解冤釋結。當時我太太也在第一支香前，聽到了身後有十數人的粗重喘氣聲，而她是站在最後一排的，後面沒有任何人，這些聲音是無形眾生也來參加法會所發出來的。
There is another thing worth mentioning here, on July 17, 2021, as one of the repentance hosts who practiced the bowing on behalf of my father during the Ten Thousand Buddhas Repentance, I went up from the bowing cushion to offer the incense; I suddenly had a vague yet vivid feeling that his past karmic creditors had come up to relay how badly they were treated or harmed by my father in previous lives. Although that was just an fleeting feeling, that feeling struck my psyche, and my tears suddenly welled forth uncontrollably. A practitioner of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Repentance is supposed to bow up to 11,100 Buddhas’ and Bodhisattvas’ names. The Dharma session schedule at Gold Summit Monastery was a little more than two hours every night Monday through Friday, and full-day sessions on Saturday and Sunday. I sincerely bowed in hope of dedicating the merit and virtue towards my father and his karmic creditors so that they could resolve the enmity between them. My wife also heard immediately before the first incense that there were many beings behind her gasping for air. She was standing at the last row of the Buddha Hall, and there was no one else behind her. All these sounds were made by those invisible beings who came to join the Dharma session.
8月初，家父的病情再度惡化。8月16日清晨，他說昨晚夢見把自己所有的錢都供養了釋迦牟尼佛，佛為他摩頂摩了很久很久，他禮拜謝佛恩；佛說，不用再拜了，再拜就站不起來了。他說自己在夢中皈依了佛。這天下午，他告訴我們：「明天我要走了。」
At the beginning of August, my father’s conditions started to deteriorate again. On the morning of August 16, he had a dream in which he spent all of his money to make an offering to Shakyamuni Buddha, who rubbed his crown for a long time. My father rose and bowed in obeisance to the Buddha for the Buddha’s kindness. The Buddha said, “No need to make another bow; if you bow again, you may not be able to rise.” He said he took the refuges with the Buddha in the dream. That afternoon, he told us, “I’m going tomorrow.”
8月17日清晨醒來，他就說：「我今天要走了。」（當時大家並不認為他今天要往生。）然後對我說：「凌峰，你讓我走吧。」我回答：「我哪有那麽大本事！你要等阿彌陀佛來接你再走。最好能夠等法會圓滿再走（萬佛懺22日圓滿）。但是，如果阿彌陀佛現在就來接你，你馬上跟佛走，不要等！」早上，他開始拒絕了一切飲食。家母勸他，說你要排著隊等阿彌陀佛來接你，不要著急啊。
When he woke up at dawn on August 17, he said, “I will be going today” (At that time, no one thought that today would be the day of his passing.) Then, he said to me, “Ling Feng, let me leave, please.” I replied, “How could I have such abilities! You must wait for Amitabha Buddha to come take you. Also, it would be best to wait until the completion of the ceremony before departing (the Ten Thousand Buddha Jeweled Repentance was scheduled to finish on the August 22). However, if Amitabha Buddha came right now to take you, leave with him right away — do not wait!” When morning came, he started to reject all food and drink. My mother consoled him, saying that he had to wait in line to be received by Amitabha Buddha, and that there was no need to rush.
當日上午，父親說阿彌陀佛送東西來了。母親問送什麽東西？他回答，有粉紅色的玫瑰和很大很大的藍色蓮花。下午，他說：「有信息來了，我要走了。」 家母告訴他：「只能跟著阿彌陀佛走，不要跟著其他人走，即使來的是親人都不要跟，一定要記住！」他點點頭。不久，他說見到粉紅色的蓮花在空中飛舞。傍晚，他又看見了蓮花。
On that day, right before noon, my father said that Amitabha Buddha had sent something over. My mother asked what Amitabha had sent. He responded that Amitabha gave him a pink rose and a really big, blue lotus flower. That afternoon, my father said, “I have gotten some news, so now I must go.” My mother told him, “You can only go with Amitabha Buddha! Do not follow any other people, even if it is your relative. You must surely remember this!” He just nodded his head. Shortly after, my father said he saw a pink lotus dancing in midair. At dusk, he said he saw the lotus again.
8月18日早上，金鋒寺的三位法師，和近30位佛友聞訊，紛紛前來我家二樓輪流助念，甚至有數位佛友是從工作崗位請假前來的。大家非常發心，大聲念南無阿彌陀佛的聖號，念佛之聲不斷，為了就是助家父一程。在下午念佛功德迴向給家父時，父親試圖合掌作禮，怎奈力不從心。下午約5點，母親突然聞到一股清清香味，香味奇特，隱隱約約，難以言表。家母試圖辨認香味的來處，然不得其所源。
On August 18, three monastics from Gold Summit Monastery and nearly thirty Buddhist friends came to help recite the Buddha’s name when they learned of the news of my father’s imminent passing. They came to the second floor of our house and took turns to recite the Buddha’s name. Several Buddhist friends even took a leave of absence from their work, and that was how sincere people were: Together they chanted aloud “Namo Amitabha Buddha”unceasingly — just in order to help my father embark on his next journey of life. In that afternoon, when people dedicated the merit from the Buddha-recitation toward my father, my father tried hard to greet them by joining his palms; however, it turned out to be beyond his ability to do so. By 5 P.M, my mother suddenly smelled a kind of sweet fragrance at home, very exquisite and almost impalpable; it was hard to describe in words. My mother tried to discern the source of the fragrance, but to no avail.
一個多小時后，父親停止呼吸。助念中，母親驚訝自己竟然無一絲悲傷之意，她內心法喜充滿。念佛一個多小時，時值晚間8時左右，家母望見牆上的阿彌陀佛像四周閃爍著鑽石般的光芒，像是千萬顆鑽石同時閃耀。約莫11時，她看到一道光柱從屋頂上直射屋內，光射到佛像上，然後光柱又下注照到家父的床上。她認為這是阿彌陀佛來接他了。我太太在當晚大約10點多，從金峰寺拜完萬佛懺回來隨即加入助念，她也看到牆上阿彌陀佛像放光，頭頂有大圓光，左臂右臂都有光，佛足也有光，或者全身，光圈的移位是瞬息變化的，光的顔色也不停變化的，有淺青、淺黃、銀白等色。
More than an hour later, my father’s breathing stopped. During the Buddha-recitation, my mother was amazed to find that she was free of any sad feeling of bereavement but was filled with a sense of Dharma bliss. After over one hour of Buddha-recitation, it was about 8 P.M. When my mother looked up at the Amitabha Buddha’s image that hung on the wall, she saw that, around the image, there was a strong halo resembling the brilliance of hundreds of thousands of precious gems shining forth simultaneously. At about 11 P.M, she saw a beam of bright light piercing the roof and shining forth directly onto the picture of the Buddha image on the wall. Then the beam shifted and shone on my father’s bed. She believed that Amitabha Buddha was coming to take him to the Pure Land.
是夜，我們三人輪流念佛，雖然助念了一夜，但都不覺得疲累，念佛之聲愈念卻愈有精神。隔天家母清早4點醒來，我們給家父洗清身子，換好上路衣服，又繼續念佛。
That night, the three of us took turns reciting the Buddha’s name. Although we recited the Buddha’s name for him the whole night, none of us showed any signs of exhaustion — we did not feel fatigued; rather, our recitation became more and more vigorous and spirited. The next day, my mother woke up at four in the morning to clean my father’s body. After she finished changing his clothes to the proper attire, she continued to recite the Buddha’s name.
8月19日清晨，家母和我一起助念。她望著家父病床上方的阿彌陀佛像念佛……，突然看見天花板上出現文字，豎行，銀色，每個字都跳動變化，整個篇幅向右移動。沒多久，她看見兩個字分別是「家」和「安」，她認為這是佛菩薩或者家父告訴她，家父在外面輪迴流浪了很久，現在終於能夠平安回家了，回到了阿彌陀佛的國土。
At dawn of August 19, my mother and I continued to recite for him. She looked at the Amitabha Buddha image on top of my father’s sickbed and while doing so she suddenly saw words, that were silver-colored and vertically aligned, appearing on the ceiling. Every word jumped and kept transforming; then the entire writing shifted towards the right, until not long after she saw two distinguishable words: “Family” and “Peace.” She believed this to be an assurance from the Buddha, the Bodhisattvas, or my father to her: that he had long been drifting aimlessly in the sea of samsara, and now finally, he was able to return home safely — to Amitabha Buddha’s Buddhaland.
當日上午，法師帶領佛友前來助念，家母目正不轉睛地看著佛像念佛時，突然望見佛像後的牆壁正晃動，阿彌陀佛向她走來，然後牆上出現草體的漢字，從銀色變成了金色，而且字仍不停閃爍、變化、移動。隨後，阿彌陀佛像的腳下發出一根光柱，直照到家父的左腳，鞋尖周圍就出現了一圈光暈，之後又照到了右腳。接著看到阿彌陀佛身後有一隊人跟隨，而家父緊跟在阿彌陀佛的身後，他光頭身穿淺黃色袈裟，露出來左半邊臉，右邊半張臉被阿彌陀佛遮住了。阿彌陀佛的袈裟也不停變化，一會兒是身著袒胸露右肩袈裟，一會兒是披著淺黃色的右袖的袈裟，佛衣下裙的顏色也不斷變化並呈現綠色。
During the morning that day, Dharma Masters led Buddhist friends to come to aid us with the recitation. When my mother was reciting the Buddha’s name while gazing at the Buddha image with straight, unswerving eyes, she suddenly saw the wall behind the Buddha image shaking and Amitabha Buddha coming towards her, with many Chinese words appearing on the wall in cursive script. The words turned from silver to gold, ever-shining, transforming, and moving. Afterwards, a golden beam of light shot out from the feet of Amitabha Buddha and shone directly on my father’s left foot — a ring of light appeared around the tip of his shoe, and it later shone onto his right foot. Following this, she saw Amitaba Buddha with a group of others, amongst whom was my father, following closely behind Amitabha Buddha, with his head neatly shaved and attired in a light-yellow sash. The left-half of his face was visible, while the right half was covered by Amitabha Buddha. Amitabha Buddha’s sash was also ever-changing, sometimes appearing to be a sash that revealed the right shoulder, and sometimes a light-yellow sash with right sleeves. The color of the bottom of Amitabha Buddha’s lower garment was ever-transforming and gave off a light green hue.
父親最後的這些瑞相，證明了他已經安然往生極樂世界，這是最好的結局了。到了極樂世界，無有諸苦，但受諸樂，還和觀世音菩薩等諸位大菩薩一起修行，豈不快哉！很多事情，不是一般人能夠了解和想像得到的，連我們自己也覺得所有這些事情是完全意想不到的。通過我們自己的親身經歷，我們現在確切知道死亡這個難題是可以解決的，而家父也以身作則，晝夜努力念佛，最終得以順利往生極樂世界，給家人作了個好榜樣，我們也希望將來追隨家父，都去極樂世界。我現在把這段不可思議的經歷寫出來，希望給大家啟發和鼓勵，努力修行，將來我們都能夠去極樂世界再相見！阿彌陀佛！♣
These auspicious signs of my father’s last moments proved that he had peacefully been reborn into the Land of Ultimate Bliss — the best result one can ever wish for. After reaching the Land of Ultimate Bliss, one endures none of the sufferings but enjoys every bliss; there, one also cultivates along with Guanyin Bodhisattva and other Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas—isn’t that most fulfilling and wonderful beyond description? There are many things beyond the understanding and imagination of ordinary people, and even we think that all of these occurrences are unimaginable. Through our personal experiences, we now firmly know that the conundrum of death is solvable. My father also set an example and acted as a model for the family: He diligently recited the Buddha’s name day and night, finally succeeding in achieving rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. We thus wish to follow our father to go to the Land of Ultimate Bliss. I have now put into writing this inconceivable experience and hope it to be of some inspiration and encouragement to all, so that everyone can cultivate vigorously and that in the future we shall see each other again in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Amitabha!♣