A Mother's Plea from the Beyond: A Message to Venerable Ding Hong

The Weight of a Mother's Sacrifice

On the fourth of June, 2017, the Venerable Fa Xi performed ten prostrations to the Buddha. With a sincere and compassionate heart, he invited the spirit of Lay Practitioner Zhao Liangyu, the mother of Venerable Ding Hong, to manifest and share her teachings. Namo Amituofo.

Lay Practitioner Zhao Liangyu spoke with a heavy heart, addressing her son and the community. She began by expressing her profound gratitude to the compassionate Venerable Master Chin Kung for his guidance in training her son to become a teacher of the Great Vehicle. However, she confessed that as a mother, the pain of separation and the news of her passing had stirred deep, worldly emotions within her son, which was the very thing she had feared most.

When she had personally sent her only son onto the path of monastic life, she had already accepted that there would be no one to attend to her final rites. Yet, she and her son had been inseparable throughout their lives. She knew his filial heart well. She understood that without her own strong encouragement, he might never have found the resolve to leave the secular world. Sending her only child into the Buddha’s gate was the most significant decision of her life, and she never regretted it. She had always hoped to be like the mothers of the ancestral masters—to send her son away and never speak of him again, allowing him to remain forever in his identity as a monk. But she admitted that she had not realised how difficult that would be to achieve in practice.

The Hidden Reality of Karmic Interference

As time passed, she found herself changing. She confessed to her son that she was no longer truly herself. She explained that she had long since departed from the human world, and what remained in her place was something else entirely. She asked her son, who had dedicated his life to saving beings, if he was truly happy in the depths of his heart. She asked if he had ever experienced the true joy of the Dharma.

She reminded him that when one person leaves the home life to practise, nine generations of ancestors can be reborn in the heavens. She did not speak to blame him, but to warn him: if he himself was not happy, then all the rituals and ceremonies he performed would lack true efficacy. If he was not at peace, the beings he sought to save would still remain by his side, unliberated. She was not saddened by her own inability to reach the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss or the heavens; rather, she was deeply concerned for her son's spiritual path. She knew he viewed Venerable Master Chin Kung as a father, and she had taught him to follow those teachings faithfully.

From the Depths of Suffering to the Dharma-Nature Land

Today, she has been rescued at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. She knows that her son is acquainted with Practitioner Su, a person of great capability, yet she understands that due to his relationship with Venerable Master Chin Kung, he has felt compelled to keep his distance. She is currently residing in the Western Land of Dharma Nature at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. It is not that this place is unable to send her to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss; rather, she is not yet willing to go. She is waiting—waiting for the day her son comes to personally send her on her journey. She believes that one day, through the compassionate guidance of Namo Amituofo, he will be led to this place.

She reflected on her own life, admitting that she had been a strong-willed intellectual. After separating from her son's father, she had endured great hardships to ensure her son never suffered. She confessed that she had never truly let go of her resentment toward his father, and that this hidden hatred had been her undoing. Upon her death, she had fallen into the snake realm. It was only through the compassion of Practitioner Su that she was saved. Before she died, her consciousness had already begun to scatter because she could not find peace amidst her lingering hatred. Without the protection of pure practice, she was vulnerable to her karmic creditors, who took turns seeking retribution.

A Mother's Final Wish for Her Son

After her son became a monk, her spirit began to drift away due to her constant, anxious thoughts. By the time she was in her sixties, her consciousness had largely departed. The person others saw in her place was a manifestation of their collective karma, which obstructed the natural affection between mother and son. Once her physical form was completely overtaken, she was judged for her sins and cast into the heart-gouging hell. It was only because of her son’s merit in becoming a monk that she was spared the most intense suffering and instead reborn as a green vine snake.

She recounted how the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre had compassionately called her name, causing the very fabric of space to vibrate. She was liberated from the snake body, clothed in white, and brought to this place. Through the benefit of listening to the Dharma, she gradually recalled the truth of these events. She urged her son to trust this place, even if only for a moment. She revealed that many practitioners, including those he deeply respected, have struggled to achieve rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. She often wept, feeling helpless that she could not assist him, despite the immense grace they had received from Venerable Master Chin Kung.

She concluded her message with a final, desperate plea: "My son, please try just once. Whether you believe it or not is secondary; just come and understand. Perhaps this is the only opportunity for change. I have so much more to say, but if you do not come, my words are in vain. I am waiting for you. My honest, simple-hearted Maosen, listen to your mother one last time. When your summer retreat ends, fly to Australia. I will wait for you forever, to have you send me on my final journey."

Written by the loving mother, Zhao Liangyu.

Recorded by the Venerable Fa Xi.

Namo Amituofo