‧Written by Master Sheng-yen Lu‧
(Translated by Monita Chan; edited by Janet Ho and Kai Chung Ho; proofread by Jessie Loh; A US Daden Culture Publication)
There was a lady named Luo Shanan who asked me, “My father was very fond of me when he was alive. Before he died, he whispered in my ear that he would certainly come back to see me after his death. But until now, why do I still not feel anything?”
I answered, “Your father had definitely come back to see you!”
“No?”
I said, “He was perched on your shoulder, why do you say no?”
“Oh!” Miss Luo Shanan exclaimed surprisingly.
Miss Luo said, “There was a strange thing that happened at the eulogy ceremony. Halfway through the ceremony, suddenly, for no reason, a bird flew in and kept making chirping sounds. At last, it landed on my shoulder and stayed there for a long time. It was reluctant to leave. It also used its beak to affectionately peck at my collar. Was this my father coming back to see me?”
I said, “Correct!”
I told Miss Luo, “The bird was the transformation of your father. He has already fulfilled his promise of coming back to see you!”
“How could my father become a bird?”
I told Miss Luo, “The soul itself has no form. But, by attaching to an animal’s body which has form, it is then able to come back and let people witness its return.”
I told Miss Luo, “Once, I conducted a bardo deliverance ceremony for my friend. I said, ‘The bardo deliverance tonight will be very special because I have received a message that all the deceased relatives and friends will gather here tonight.’ ”
“Are there any special indications?”
“We will know when the time comes!” I said mysteriously.
In the evening, during bardo deliverance ceremony, a large group of “water ants” flew in from outside and these “water ants” could fly with a pair of large wings. It was amazing to see a flock of water ants pour in.
I said, “Do not kill the water ants!”
I said, “They are all soul-attached bodies.”
One of the “water ants” flew to the top of my sutra chanting books and stayed put. It actually was my friend that passed away recently.
I said to the “water ant,” “You can understand my words. If you are my friend, fly to the white candle and circle around three times.”
That “water ant” was really obedient. It flew to the white candle and circled around three times above it.
Of all the participants of the bardo deliverance ceremony, there was not one that was not deeply amazed at what they saw.
I told Miss Luo, in the past, Marpa, the Vajrayana Kagyu Lineage Master, reversed the sequence of worship, and this resulted in the death of one of his sons.
When his son fell down from riding a horse and died, Marpa used the magic of “The Yoga of Forceful Projection” and attached the soul of his son to the body of a big bird which was commanded to fly to India to search for an honorable couple.
Marpa’s son then reincarnated and was reborn.
(This story is widely circulated in Tibetan Vajrayana.)
I said:
People die and become ghosts.
Ghosts can return.
Return on the top of the altar.
Do not rashly kill a ghost-attached animal on the altar, because the deceased person might be attaching itself to the body of the animal.
After Miss Luo’s father passed away, his soul attached to the body of a little bird which flew into the mourning hall and stood on the shoulder of Miss Luo. This is the truth about souls, believe it or not?
