Good Karma Music Stories

I am working with a small Church in the rural Philippines. We like to call our projects to build longer tables not higher walls. The latest project I funded was a roadside coin-operated car wash. It has an adjacent small store and living quarters. The business will be given (except the coins) to a poor family of four. The mother and father will run the store and sell roadside coffee and snacks and the two boys 10 and 14 will hustle to operate the handheld washing wands for those interested in a break. The coins will be used to maintain equipment and build some additional business. An early project bought 3 hectares (about 7 acres) of the contiguous land and want to build homes and businesses for the poor.I have followed my own path after reading Hesse’s Siddhartha in Vietnam in 1968.

I recited the Universal Door Chapter for 5 days in a row. I like its tune as recited at Deng Bi An which I found online.

My husband and I have been involved in Sunday School Dharma class for more 8 years. As years passed, we can see that the children in our Sunday School has grown up to become an individual with good values such as becoming a responsible person and fillial to their parents. We felt so honor to be involved to help on every Sunday to make a changes for a better world with a healthy new generation.

An act of kindness (aka connection, appreciation, sharing, …) comes from times of openness and weakened boundaries At such times all interactions are acts of kindness, appreciation, love. These times can only occur when there is no sense of rushing or urgency. Unusual in our society. I have recently put together a collection of mp3 vocal songs, and have shared this with 2 people. One told me that she would never take that collection from her car CD player. The other (a couple), who were reluctant to listen to or accept it, called to thank me for it – telling me they were surprised how profound an effect it had on them and had been listening to it for over an hour before calling me to say how thankful they were.The artists are unknown in popular music, some hard to find on even YouTube. I believe these gifts are much more likely to increase sales (marginally) of their CDs than dig into sales. This spiritually base music would have a very limited audience. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVNVNDfGnnI for example

Last weekend, we organized a small camp for a group of 40 young Buddhists who aged between 6 to 18. I used my software programming skills to create a simple online Treasure Hunting Game for them. The topic of the game is finding the 3 most valuable Treasures in the World. The games lasted for 3 hours. They went around a Buddhist Temple and searched for QR Code, answered questions about Buddhist Dharma, tried to overcome challenges of memorize the Sutra, Buddhist songs. There were 6 stations and at the last station, a team gave me the correct answer: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. I am very happy that my simple piece of code could generate fun for young people, encourage them to learn more about Buddha’s teaching.

Gave free healing to sick people

My Shih Fu taught me the Great Compassion Mantra. We began reciting it 108x every morning. We did it for years. I came and went. I felt a little ashamed that I couldn’t be there everyday and dropped the practice, or atleast it was sporadic. But I also was in awe of my Shih Fu for continuing to keep it going, not missing a day, for all these years, all those early mornings, all those winters! Well, Shih Fu is 83 years old now and told me he’s getting a little tired. He continues to recite the Shurangama Sutra atleast 7x every morning but upon my return, I discovered he was no longer reciting the Great Compassion Mantra 108x. So without a second thought I vowed to keep it going. After all, its the greatest feeling in the world to recite it and share the blessings with the entire Dharma Realm. Shih Fu told me that it even makes the flowers happy! I taught my wife how to chant it, and she learned it much quicker than I did. And now, together, we chant the Da Bei Jou every morning 108x and its a joy that keeps on giving. We put our palms together and dedicate this merit to “all living beings, drowning and adrift” may they all be reborn in the Land of Bliss! Namo Da Bei Guan Shih Yin P’u Sa! (Oh, also, anyone else considering this wonderful Dharma door, check out the Great Compassion Dharani Sutra for some extra help from Sun & Moonlight Bodhisattva). Also, hold and purify the precepts! Its impossible to recite mantras effectively without them!