Performing recitations for people with serious illnesses

Question #82:

Dear Master Lu, I am very thankful that I get to know your Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door. I have a friend who suffers from cancer. How can I help him to save his life? Thank you very much.

Answer #82:

• First of all, the question is whether your friend has a religious belief or not. If he does, then there is a chance that he can be saved. If he does not yet have a religious belief, but is willing to believe now, then there is still a chance that he can be saved.

• Spirits that cause people to have cancer are usually very powerful. Generally, this happens when the time has come for them to undergo retribution; they still have a lot of karmic obstacles. People who pass away from a terminal illness (e.g. cancer, leukemia, etc.) usually pass away with an immense quantity of karmic obstacles and debts.

• Generally, when people suffer from terminal illnesses, their karmic obstacles have already broken out. At such times, it is best not to recite the Great Compassionate Mantra too much; the patients can recite it 21 times per day. They should do more recitations of the Heart Sutra, e.g. 49 times per day.

• Once their condition becomes stable, they can increase the recitations of the Great Compassionate Mantra to 49 times per day. They should continue to recite the Heart Sutra 49 times daily.

• During critical periods or before surgery, they should focus on reciting one sutra or mantra. In addition, they should keep reciting the Great Compassionate Mantra and say the following prayer: “May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me, <full name>, grant me good health and cure my illness in <part of body> soon.” It is important for people with cancer to persist with the recitation of the Great Compassionate Mantra for the rest of their lives.

• For people suffering from mental illnesses, avoid reciting the Great Compassionate Mantra too many times, usually fewer than 21 times per day. However, they should do more recitations of the Heart Sutra, usually 21 or 49 times per day.

• They should recite the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance 3 to 5 times per day to repent of their karmic obstacles. According to the message conveyed to Master Lu by Guan Yin Bodhisattva, reciting the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance is very effective in curing cancer and acute diseases. The Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance can eliminate and even activate karmic obstacles. Hence, to ensure good results it must be combined with the recitation of Little Houses.
Generally, if the patient recites the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance 3 to 5 times per day, they will need to give at least 3 to 5 Little Houses to their karmic creditors per week. Provided they can maintain the offering of a certain number of Little Houses each week, those suffering from serious illnesses can recite the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance 5 times per day.

• If they or their ancestors have karma of killing (animals), they should recite the Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Mantra 27 or 49 times per day in order to help the spirits of the deceased, whose death their actions caused, ascend to a higher spiritual realm.

• The patient needs to recite and burn at least 3 Little Houses per week. However, it is better to recite as many as they can. It would be best to make a vow to state the number of Little Houses they will recite in a single batch. For example, they could vow to recite 21 or 49 Little Houses before a certain date. After finishing the batch, they can continue reciting Little Houses in similar batches until they have recovered. In addition, whenever they finish reciting 3 to 4 Little Houses, they should burn them as soon as possible. Do not wait until they have completed the full number of Little Houses pledged before burning them.

• If the patient has dreams about deceased family members or have previously had an abortion or miscarriage, they should help the deceased and the aborted or miscarried child ascend to a higher spiritual realm as soon as possible. Generally, they need to recite and burn at least 7 Little Houses for an aborted or miscarried child (Address them to “Child of <full name of the mother>”) or a deceased family member (Address them to <full name of the deceased>). It would be best if they could recite more than 21 Little Houses.

• Meanwhile, it is recommended that they make vows. The greater the vow, the greater the effectiveness, but they must keep their vow. For example: “If I recover, I will introduce Buddhism to <number of> people, helping them become spiritually awakened,” or “If I recover, I will share my experience with others to demonstrate the benefits of practising Buddhism.”
If the patient thinks their abilities are limited, they can make such vows as: “For the rest of my life, I will adopt a vegetarian diet on the 1st and 15th day of the lunar month,” “For the rest of my life, I will not eat freshly killed seafood or other creatures,” “For the rest of my life, I will not perform the act of killing,” etc.

• At the same time, they should perform life liberations frequently, preferably in large quantities. For best results, they can perform life liberations on the 1st and 15th day of the lunar month. When they arrive at the releasing site, they can recite the Great Compassionate Mantra, the Heart Sutra and the Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Mantra. There is no limit to the number of recitations that they can do, but the more the better. Before reciting those sutras and mantras, they should state their full name and say the following prayer: “May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me, <their full name>, grant me good health and cure my illness in <part of body>.”
If it is inconvenient for them to perform the life liberation themselves, they can ask their family members to do it on their behalf. For best results, they should use the patient’s own money for life liberations.

• Performing recitations, making vows, and performing life liberations are the Three Golden Buddhist Practices that the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva bestows upon us to cure illnesses. We must learn to use them wisely and skilfully.

• Practising Buddhism and cultivating our minds can help resolve and eliminate karmic obstacles, and solve issues related to spirits. However, physical illnesses also need to be treated using modern medicine. This is because a lot of physical harm that is caused by spirit-related illnesses cannot be quickly alleviated simply by performing recitations. Therefore, to achieve good results, one should combine recitations with the use of appropriate medical treatments.

Source: Buddhism: Your Questions Answered

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