Translated By Tony Qin
Ever since Mrs. Zou Ling invited me to offer guidance to her mother-in-law, Madam Zhang, I made it a practice during each hospital visit to stop by her bedside. There I would quietly recite the Buddha’s name and share a few words of Dharma. While Madam Zhang’s condition steadily declined and she often slipped into unconsciousness, I continued to chant and speak to her. I knew that hearing is often the last sense to fade at life’s end, and that the sound of the Dharma can still reach the depths of consciousness.
One day, as I entered the ward, the patient in the next bed, Ms. Gao, told me gently that Madam Zhang had passed away the night before. With earnest eyes, she turned to me and said, “Venerable, I’ve listened to your teachings each time you visited. May I ask you some questions?”
“Of course,” I replied, though I was a little surprised. I had once asked her directly if she wished to talk, but at the time she declined with a distant look.
Now, she began to open her heart. From the age of nine, she had followed her mother into a group that claimed to be Buddhist. They held regular chanting sessions, but their leader demanded lifelong allegiance and forbade members from visiting other temples, warning that any disobedience would bring misfortune. These teachings, planted deep in her childhood, had bound her like invisible chains.
As an adult, she gradually encountered authentic Buddhism and sometimes visited temples as a lay guest. Yet fear still lingered. She dared not venture too deeply, and instead studied sutras and practiced chanting alone at home, relying on books and the internet. She knew the Dharma was vast and profound, but without guidance, her understanding remained fragmented, and could not find her way onto the path.
Now, facing terminal cancer, she knew her time was short. During the past weeks, as I spoke to Madam Zhang, Ms. Gao had listened quietly from the next bed. She felt the Dharma enter her heart and bring her comfort. Still, she carried a heavy worry: having once been part of a misguided sect and sworn vows under its influence, would such mistakes prevent her from being received by Amitābha Buddha and attaining rebirth in the Pure Land?
I patiently reassured her: “The heart of Buddhism is boundless compassion, embracing all beings without condition or distinction. Amitābha Buddha’s Pure Land is open to everyone—it is said to ‘cover the three capacities, and accept both the sharp and the dull.’ No matter a person’s abilities, wisdom, or even heavy karmic burdens, as long as they cultivate the three essentials of faith, aspiration, and practice, and sincerely recite the Buddha’s name at life’s end, they will be welcomed into the Pure Land by the Buddha’s compassion.”
Hearing this, Ms. Gao’s face softened, and the burden she had carried for so long seemed to dissolve. With gratitude, she said, “Thank you, Venerable. Now I understand. From this moment forward, I will devote every breath and every remaining moment to reciting the Buddha’s name—without doubt, without hesitation, without wasting any more time.”
I encouraged her gently: “The Buddha guides those with affinity. That you can now open your heart and entrust yourself to the Dharma shows your wholesome roots have ripened. Without question, you will fulfill your aspiration to be reborn in the Pure Land and find great peace and joy.”
Postscript:
The sutras remind us: “In the age of the Dharma’s decline, false teachers will be as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.” In today’s world of overwhelming information, it can be difficult to discern truth from falsehood. Many groups borrow the name of Buddhism but in reality manipulate and control their followers, exploiting their fear of death with harsh vows or secretive doctrines that forbid free exploration. Such methods only lead to confusion and spiritual confinement.
True Dharma, by contrast, is the teaching of compassion and wisdom. Authentic Buddhism encourages us to form wholesome connections, to listen, reflect, and practice. How could the true path ever fear its followers learning from other Dharma teachings?
May more people with affinity encounter the genuine teachings of the Buddha, enter deeply into the ocean of wisdom contained in the sutras, and walk the path with clarity. May all beings free themselves from the nets of delusion, realize the true meaning of the Dharma, and, through sincere practice, awaken fully to the perfect enlightenment of the Buddha.
