Child-seeking experience
The true experience of laywoman Guo Ying in seeking a child makes us realize the incredible power of Buddhism. This is her true story:
On October 1, 2006, Master Miao Zhen went to Yangzhou for a seven-day meditation retreat. Before leaving, he passed by my house and preached the many benefits of learning Buddhism to the lay Buddhists who came to visit in the Buddhist hall. Then he said to me earnestly: “You have been learning Buddhism for more than ten years. You have made donations everywhere, but you can’t even recite a scripture or mantra. It is precious to do good deeds. It is even more necessary to go deep into the Buddhist scriptures, break ignorance and increase wisdom.” Listening to the master’s earnest admonitions, I suddenly felt ashamed. I thought that I must work hard on the path of practice in the future.
My family life is happy, and my daughter is more than ten years old and smart. But I want to have another son, so that he can be influenced by Buddhism from prenatal education, and then abide by the great teachings of the Buddha for life, and be an upright Buddhist disciple to continue the Buddha’s wisdom. This idea stayed in my heart for a long time and could not be shaken off. Although I was eager to have a child, my daughter was already 12 years old, and I still couldn’t get pregnant during this period. I felt so regretful.
After I studied Buddhism and chanted sutras diligently, a miracle happened. One day, I went shopping in the mall and saw bright apples. My feet couldn’t walk and I wanted to eat them. It was the same feeling as the pain of eating during pregnancy. A few days later, I went to the hospital for a check-up and found that I was really pregnant! This good news made my husband and I feel very happy. However, after the excitement, I thought about it again. My husband is almost 50 years old, and I am almost 40 years old. What if this child is not a boy? After thinking about it, I felt that since I was a Buddhist, I would never dare to have an abortion. Abortion is killing, and the consequences are endless. Finally, with the teachings of Master Miaozhen and the full support of my husband, I decided to keep the child.
In the early stage of pregnancy, I was extremely uncomfortable. I just wanted to sleep every day, and I felt sore and weak all over. I heard from lay Buddhists that reciting the “Earth Store Sutra” and “Universal Gate Chapter” during pregnancy would benefit the child infinitely. For the sake of the child, I decided to try to recite the “Earth Store Sutra”. Hey! It’s really a miracle. I recite one sutra every day and I no longer feel nauseous or vomit, and I am no longer upset. When I recite the sutra, I am fully focused and can recite it in one go. I can recite the sutra fluently in about an hour.
As the weather gets warmer, I release animals with my Buddhist friends on every anniversary of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. I also invited dozens of monks and lay Buddhists to Tongjiao Temple to recite the Ksitigarbha Sutra for seven days and the Universal Gate Chapter for three days, and dedicate the merits to the fetus. I hope that this hard-won child will have deep roots of blessings and wisdom and be a pillar of the country. About six months into my pregnancy, I had the opportunity to meet with Guo Qing, the author of Modern Records of Cause and Effect, in Beijing. He told me that I was pregnant with a girl, which disappointed me. Because before that, an old Chinese doctor had said that I was pregnant with a girl, and several friends with childbirth experience also said that I was pregnant with a girl, and B-ultrasound also said it was a girl. Because I already had a girl, I really wanted a son, so why couldn’t my wish be fulfilled? I asked Guo Qing, what should I do?
Layman Guoqing said, “Although you believe in Buddhism, give alms, print sutras, and release animals, you have great merits, but because your husband has not given up meat and fish, your precepts are not pure. If you really want a boy, make a vow in front of the Buddha, give up all meat and fish, keep the five precepts from today, and ask the Buddha to send you a child who can spread the Dharma and benefit sentient beings in the future. Recite the “Jizo Sutra” and the holy name of “Namo Guanshiyin Bodhisattva” ten thousand times every day, and maybe your female fetus will be transformed into a male fetus.” I anxiously asked if there was still hope since the baby was due in another month. Layman Guoqing said, “The Buddha said that everything is created by the mind. The Buddhist scriptures are all true and real truths. If you don’t believe it, just pretend I didn’t say it.” Seeing that I didn’t have enough confidence, he told me about a woman in Henan who had three consecutive B-ultrasounds and was pregnant with a girl. She was about to give birth in a week. Because the couple made a vow together, if they gave birth to a boy, they would give up all meat and fish and follow the path of learning Buddhism. As a result, they received the acceptance and blessing of the Buddha’s power, and a week later, a boy was born, as they wished. This story strengthened my confidence. That night I made a vow in front of the Buddha that if I could give birth to a healthy and intelligent son, I would keep the Five Precepts, eat a vegetarian diet, study Buddhism and chant the Buddha’s name from now on. I also made a vow to donate 100,000 yuan to print Buddhist scriptures and do Buddhist activities. In the future, I would do more good deeds and spread Buddhism as long as I have the ability.
The fetus was getting bigger day by day, but I still insisted on chanting scriptures, eating vegetarian food, and releasing animals. I drove around every day and did not feel any discomfort. On the first day of hospitalization, I drove to release animals by myself. Although the due date had arrived, I had no signs of labor, so I drove to the hospital for a prenatal checkup. Thirteen years ago, I had heavy bleeding when I gave birth to my daughter. Now that I am older and have a second child, I am really a little scared. After examination, the doctor said that there was less amniotic fluid and that the fetus was in danger and needed to be hospitalized immediately. In the first three days after admission, the doctor gave me oxytocin every day, but I did not have any symptoms of labor. I did another B-ultrasound examination and found that the amniotic fluid was much more than before. On the fourth day, the doctor stopped giving me oxytocin and let me rest for a day. On the fifth day, I walked from Beijing Sixth Hospital to a nearby temple to worship Buddha (I kowtowed three times to each temple, each Buddha, and each Bodhisattva). I kowtowed dozens of times from beginning to end, and then walked back to the hospital. I never felt tired or uncomfortable. On the sixth day, I began to have spotting and my abdomen began to hurt a little. I still insisted on reciting the Ksitigarbha Sutra. When I finished reciting the last sutra, my amniotic fluid broke. I had severe abdominal pain, but I still insisted on chanting the Buddha’s name. About 15 minutes after entering the delivery room, the doctor said that the birth canal where the baby’s head was located needed to be cut sideways, but before the doctor could do it, as I chanted the name of Amitabha Buddha, the baby was born – a big fat boy!
The first person my son saw was his father. The whole family was very happy, and I was even happier! When my good friends heard that I had given birth to a son, they immediately sent live carp, black chicken, and pig’s trotters to bless me. After my friends left, I quickly asked my family to release the carp.
I breastfed my son, but my milk was too little. My family advised me: If you don’t eat meat, drinking some pig’s trotter soup will help you produce milk! For my son, I failed to keep the precepts, thinking that it was okay to eat three clean meats. The next day, I had milk, but my son stopped eating after a few bites and then got sick.
The doctor diagnosed it as erythrocytosis. If the condition cannot be controlled, he needs to be isolated and treated at the Beijing Military Region General Hospital. My poor son had two days of intravenous drips, and his red blood cells were still increasing. My milk was also swollen, so I had to let other children feed him.
Before feeding other children, I was thinking: Why did my child suck when he was just born, even though I had very little milk, but he still sucked, but now my milk is sufficient, my son doesn’t eat. I tried to find the reason myself, is it because I drank pig’s trotter soup? I have made a vow to eat a completely vegetarian diet!
What’s more, I asked the Buddha and Bodhisattva to give me a wise son. I drank pig’s trotter soup to increase milk production, and my milk became meaty milk. How could the child not get sick after eating it, and why would he still eat my milk?
Thinking of this, I was lying on the bed, my body was shaking with my heart, tears of regret burst out, I got up, got dressed, knelt in front of the Buddha to repent, and vowed to completely give up meat and fish…
That night, when I tried to feed my son again, hey! He really ate milk! After another blood test, the erythrocytosis was also cured, which was incredible.
So far, I have donated more than 300,000 yuan for my child. My one-and-a-half-year-old son kneels down in the Buddhist temple to kowtow to the Buddha every day. He is also very smart and looks round and lovable.
From then on, I became more convinced that Buddhism is a worldly and transcendental Dharma treasure. As long as we practice it according to the Dharma, we will definitely benefit endlessly. Here I also deeply thank the great master and the lay Buddhists for their help!
Guo Ying’s Tip:
This is a true story. It confirms the great and immortal wisdom of the Buddha, and it also confirms that the “Jizo Sutra” is a classic that changes destiny. This is true.
I hope that readers can make a vow to recite the Sutra of the Original Vow of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, one volume a day, one volume a week, or one volume a month.
It will definitely bring incredible benefits to you and your family. If you can strictly observe the precepts, eat vegetarian food and recite the sutra, you will have immeasurable merits and hope to leave the three realms.
In addition, this story also reminds us not to break our vows, and not to be like the airline technician who vowed to be a vegetarian but broke his promise because he ate a meat dumpling in “Talking about the Compassionate Liang Emperor’s Precious Repentance”. Otherwise, there will be the retribution of “words and deeds are inconsistent”.
