Power of mantra and chanting

Ever since I became a Buddihist and learnt to chant the mantra and sutra, I have always relied on mantra and sutra chantings for peace of mind and to overcome adversities.

When I underwent surgery in Nov 2006, my mind was only occupied with chanting until the anaesthesia knocked me out. I had asked for Buddha's blessings so that my surgery would proceed well, and had then concentrated on chanting silently. My preoccupation with chanting kept me calm and I felt no fear nor anxiety.

When I was warded, hooked onto oxygen and confined to bed, my mind was preoccupied with visualizations of the Buddha, my Root Guru and my local Master and continuous chantings while I was drifting in and out of morphine-induced sleep.

My lungs were flooded again before I stopped my chemo in June 2008. My onco wanted to start me on another round of chemo with different drugs. I refused as I was aware that it was more chemo that caused my lungs to be flooded again and also because I was taking ayurvedic herbal brews. Subsequently, when I was fit enough, I joined my prayer group for prayers and meditation. I recalled that it was only my 3rd visit with them when I realised that my lungs had cleared. I realised that I was suddenly breathing better. It was something like a choked sink, where the water was slowly dribbling through and suddenly the chokage was cleared and the sink was emptied of water. Yes, I had been on herbal brews and even the AM acknowledged that the effect is very slow and takes time. However, I believed that in my case, the blessings, chanting and prayers helped.

Some years back, my son broke his left little finger in an ice-skating accident. He was put on general anaesthesia during surgery to reset the broken bone. A friend told me once that after a surgery under GA, her surgeon had difficulty waking her. Her sub-conscious mind had resisted until her surgeon used the magic words "it's all over", only then did she allow herself to be awakened. I was in the waiting area outside and it was near midnight. I recalled that I had wondered about the length of time the surgery had taken and had thought about what my friend had said about being under GA. I asked for Buddha's blessings and chanted and sent positive thoughts to my son for him to come out of GA as soon as the surgery was over.

Later, when he was sent back to the ward, he told me that when he awoke immediately after the surgery, the nurses were surprised and commented that he looked so fresh and very different from people who just came out of GA.

During his national service, my son was attached to the armoured infantry. As a machine gunner of an armoured vehicle, the upper half of his body would protrude from the vehicle. During one training in Australia, the vehicle he was in slid into a ditch and came to rest at an angle, just stopped short of rolling over. In an emergency, his buddy inside the vehicle was supposed to pull him back into the vehicle. In that incident, it happened so fast, nobody had time to react. My son said, in those few moments he thought he was a goner. Fortunately, the vehicle did not roll over, and he came back to me safe and sound and I learnt what had happened. I told him I had been praying for him for the whole trip. I had chanted and had transferred merits to him throughout his national service days especially when he had life-firing exercises or other outdoor activities that I considered dangerous.

Some of the mantras and sutras comprised of a few syllables, but some are a few hundred syllables long, and it takes efforts and constant practice to memorize them. Over the years, due to various incidents and my own health, I have managed to memorized some of them. I admit I have not been very consistent and hardworking in my homework and it is due to all these crises that forced me to be a conscientious devotee. It is like 临时抱彿脚 , and I am fortunate that with Buddha's blessings I am able to share my thoughts today.