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臺灣盛行拜拜，初一、十五、逢年過節、祖先忌日、神明生日、婚喪喜慶種種，都要拜拜。而我是遵奉「子不語怪力亂神」，所以拜拜只是媽媽的交待，婆家的規矩，我只是「入境問俗」，依樣畫葫蘆罷了。
一九九七年父親因肺癌末期住院治療，往生前三天姊姊從美國趕回來，也帶了一臺念佛機，念阿彌陀佛聖號，放在父親枕邊；父親往生前一天是星期六，我接媽媽到醫院去看父親。聽著不斷的佛號聲，病中的父親是這樣祥和平靜，一點也看不出就要往生了，我一時興起就留下陪爸爸。
那晚姊姊看我沒事，就提議念《阿彌陀經》迴向給爸爸。我對佛法一無所知，只是跟著她念。念完三遍我們迴向，說如果父親與我們的緣沒盡，就請阿彌陀佛保祐他病快好；如果已盡，也請阿彌陀佛保祐，別讓他受太多痛苦。
迴向完姊姊一人還繼續念經，念斯了很長一段時間，媽媽就喊她，「要不要休息？」就在姊姊回頭那一霎那，父親往生了！我們還繼續念佛號，要求院方八個小時後才送太平間。
父親往生時嘴巴張得很大，醫護人員建議拿紗布綁起來，我們都不願意。清晨法界印經會來了兩位蓮友助念。
我們念完八小時佛號，給父親換衣服時，掀開被單看到父親的嘴已合起來了，而且微笑著。從此我對佛法興起了好奇，並在那一年（一九九七）皈依了上人座下的僧團，法名親棋。
感謝諸佛菩薩，藉著父親往生示現的圓滿，讓我入了佛門，也希望自己在往後修行的路上能學得更多佛法，並去影響周遭的人也知道佛法的好處，以慰父親在天之靈。再次感謝佛菩薩給我這個機會可以學習。 阿彌陀佛！
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In Taiwan, ritual worship of deities is commonly practiced, particularly on the lunar first and fifteenth, during Chinese New Year and other holidays, on the anniversaries of ancestors’ deaths, on the deities’ birthdays, and at weddings, funerals, and other celebrations. I agree with the saying, “The Master [Confucius] does not talk about extraordinary things, feats of strength, disorder, and spiritual beings.” However, in order to “do as the Romans do when in Rome,” I went along with ritual worship to comply with my mother’s instructions and my in-laws’ household rules.
In 1997, my father was hospitalized for final stage lung cancer. Three days before he passed away, my elder sister returned from the United States bringing with her a Buddha recitation tape, which played the sacred name of Amitabha Buddha. She placed it next to Father’s pillow. The day before Father’s passing away, I picked up my mother and went to the hospital to see him. Listening to the continuous chanting of Amitabha Buddha’s name, our ailing father was serene and peaceful, and one could not tell that he was about to leave this world. On a sudden whim, I decided to stay and keep him company.
That night, my elder sister saw that I had nothing to do, so she suggested that we chant the
Amitabha Sutra and transfer the merit to Father. At that time, I knew nothing about the Buddhadharma. I didn’t even know what the
Amitabha Sutra was, so I simply followed her. After chanting the sutra three times, we transferred the merit by saying: “If our affinity with Father has not run out, then we humbly request Amitabha Buddha to bless him to a speedy recovery; if it has run out, then we also humbly request Amitabha Buddha to bless him so he will not suffer too much.”
After transferring the merit, my elder sister continued to chant the sutra herself. She chanted for a very long time, so Mother called out to her, “Do you want to take a rest?” At the very instant when my elder sister turned her head, Father passed away! We kept on chanting the Buddha’s name, and requested the hospital to wait eight hours before sending him to the mortuary.
When Father passed away, his mouth was wide open. The hospital staff suggested tying it shut with gauze bandages, but we did not agree. In the early morning, two Buddhist friends from the Dharma Realm Buddhist Books Distribution Society came to chant with us.
After chanting the Buddha’s name for eight hours, we went to help change Father’s clothing. Upon lifting the blanket, we saw that Father’s mouth was already closed and was smiling. Since then, I have become curious about Buddhism, and that year (1997) I took refuge with the Sangha under the Venerable Master and received the Dharma name Chin Chi.
I am grateful to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, for they used my father’s passing away to lead me to Buddhism. I hope that later on I can learn even more Buddhadharma and help others around me to know the benefits of Buddhism, so that I gratify my father’s spirit in heaven. Again, I must thank the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for giving me this chance to learn. Amitabha!
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