Good Karma Music Stories

There is an old lady, living by herself, in my neighborhood. I have met and known her for quite a number of years from the Temple. I went to visit her sometimes when she did not show up at the temple. One time I happen to bring some “Great Compassion Water” (DA-BEI SHUI) to her, and found her not feeling well, later lying on the bed and feeling dizzy, so I quickly pour the “Great Compassion Water” in a cup and let her have a sip, and contacted her next of kin by phone. I kept reciting the “Great Compassion Mantra” by her bedside and stayed there with her until she felt better.

I was SCUBA diving in Honduras at 70 feet into the deep blue with a master diver as my partner. A group of us were out together on an exhibition. We all saw a huge sea turtle swimming past us. Two men decided to chase after the turtle but to no avail in getting any closer. On the contrary, the turtle was swimming further and faster away from them. Me and my partner for the day (master diver) just stayed put and watched the turtle now from 30 feet away.

Just then I had a thought… Grand Master Xu Yun in his biography mentioned about saving the sea creatures. I had the BC in my mouth breathing oxygen, but I didn’t care. I decided to chant ‘NAMO KSITIGARBHA BODHISATTVA’ as clear as I could with the BC in my moutha few times while wishing the sea turtle well and good health.

As soon as I started chanting the sea turtle turned it’s head around and look straight at me. Then it turned and swam towards me. Now it was three feet from me just observing me as I was observing it. This quiet silence between us went on for about thirty seconds if not more. Then the turtle went back to it’s original path.

When I’ve been practiced Buddha Dharma deeper and deeper recently, I really want to change myself to be a good person with reducing my greedy, hatred and stupidity. I vow to be Buddha’s disciple every life and practice sincerely as much as I can to save any beings related to me specially my kindness parents. I really want to have wisdom to guide people to believe in Buddhism and end birth and death.

I travel on the highway to work and often see trucks of chicken stacked in plastic cages in transit, I assume, on their way to slaughter. For many times I just prayed for them, may they leave the chicken body and reborn in better place. One day while driving behind the chicken truck, looking at them cramped together, I feel that it resembles the living conditions in Hong Kong, where the property price is so high that many people can’t afford a bigger space, they had to cook in the toilet or rent a sleeping place in small cages. Just like the chickens in front of me!

So I made a promise to the chickens, that if I had the choice, I will not order and eat chicken meat. I am not a vegetarian yet, my family and colleagues still eat meat so I follow them but I try to eat less meat. I hope that one day I can remove all meat from my diet, to avoid killing karma and truly walk the path of compassion.

Last Sunday I spent the day with a small organization that goes by Renegade Feedings. Their mission is to not only help those experiencing homelessness by providing them with items like clothing, personal care, and snacks, but more importantly to spend time with them; listen to them; see them as human beings. And that is exactly what we did. We spend about two hours at what many would call a homeless encampment. I saw it more as a community. There were about 20 living there in tents, but only half a dozen or so were around at the time. I got to meet Irene, Ellie, Lolita, Alex, Ben, and David to name a few. As well as two fo their dogs and a few cats! Irene seemed to run the show, so to speak. We, along with another organization, had brought lots of winter clothes. Irene went through each item, keeping nothing for herself, but asking the others who wanted what jacket or sweater. And then I saw her put aside items for others who weren’t around. She selflessly did this as the others ate. I heard her say she was hungry and encouraged her to eat, but she saw it has her duty to serve the others first. Finally, after everyone else had eaten and had a new blanket or jacket given to them, Irene finally ate. I didn’t want to pry, but was interested in her story. She had lived there, left for a year, and then returned. Some living in these camps had jobs. Most had portable generators to help operate things like their microwave…which I’d never seen outside of a tent before!
While there were a dozen or more tents in the community, it seemed most people flocked to Irene’s tent. She maintained her area clean and tidy, while allowing others a place to be respected and seen. Irene told us about her cat, which has a nasal problem, making it hard for her to breath. Irene said she would cry at night, as she listened to her cat struggle to take a breath; she promises to get her cat the necessary surgery when she has the money.
The day began with the idea that I would do some good for others…and I imagine I did do some. But in the end, as is often the case, I was given so much more. I hope to continue to pay forward the lessons that Irene taught me; no matter what I have, I can always serve others selflessly and with compassion.

I’ve been trying my best to be a fair dentist and to provide dental work at an inexpensive price for those in need. However, sometimes it can be frustrating when people states they are on MediCal and claim to have financial strain, but in mind, I don’t feel like they are. Or when patients first reaction is to haggle. So perhaps, I’ll have to try harder to give and to understand money – a work in progress.

I spent most of my time living in a mood thinking that the world doesn’t treat me well. It’s either people surrounding me are indifferent, or people are language abusing me. No matter what I do, the process is just not smooth. I don’t actually blame the world but sometimes I take aggressive action toward myself and can’t get rid of the thinking that I am miserable. Recently I am becoming more and more calm and I feel that it’s a positive sign that I am ready to take responsibility for myself as my destiny is defined by my past lives and what I do in this life. Also I am truly inspired by Rev. Heng Sure’s pilgrimage and the book. It was written long time ago but when I read it, I feel like it’s so vivid and so close to me. It helped me out when I was the most depressed. Thank you.