My most dear, most kind, most precious wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you very much your kind letter. Helping those young people who are suicidal, giving them advice so they become free from suicidal thoughts, that is exactly [the same] as when we liberate animals. We do this for the long life of somebody who is sick or having life danger.
One abbot in Taiwan liberated eight million fish and cows, and now it is possible he has liberated over 100 million animals from death.
Our center in Singapore, Amitabha Buddhist Centre, has liberated more than 200 million animals that were in danger of being killed. This was started by one student who was an army commander and now does many jobs at the center. He gets a huge truck filled with tanks that hold the fish and animals, then he drives the truck around the center, as there are many holy objects inside the center. The truck has many frogs, shellfish and so forth in sacks, so the student takes them around the holy objects, for example, those that are downstairs and in the gompa. Everybody recites mantras and blesses some water and then they sprinkle the water on the birds and pour it on the sea animals. This is to purify them and create the cause for enlightenment. By taking them around the holy objects it creates the cause for enlightenment.
This is the way we do animal liberation, benefiting the animals in three ways by:
- Reciting mantras, which leaves a positive imprint for enlightenment,
- Taking the animals around holy objects, and
- Blessing water with mantras and sprinkling that water on the animals.
Many people join in and some of those who have cancer and life obstacles have recovered. It has happened. At least one person I know of has recovered from cancer by doing animal liberation. She also recited Vajrapani, Hayagriva, Garuda mantras and took the eight Mahayana precepts. She liberated so many chickens and paid a person to take care of them. She did recover, but unfortunately I have not heard from her for a long time and she may have passed away. Her cancer did get better, but it may have come back if she did not continue with the Dharma practices.
I want to tell you that by freeing people from suicidal thoughts, actually you are liberating human beings each time [you do that.] This has incredible benefits, you have to know that.
This is unbelievably beneficial for them. By the way, when you do good things for others, due to karma, in return you will have long life and not only that, it is for 500 lifetimes. By creating the cause for somebody’s long life, the result is that you will have a long life for 500 lifetimes and then you will go to enlightenment. So it creates the cause for becoming enlightened.
At the moment, that’s all. Of course, if you can come to Bodhgaya that is excellent.
With much love and prayers ….
