Who He Was

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujgJ86R2vW8

For generations, Buddhism was taught on my mother’s side; my grandmother was brought up under a mother who was a very religious Buddhist. My great-grandmother made sure to raise her eight children, especially my grandmother and great uncle, to be kind to everyone around them, to not discriminate, to give back to the community, and to have good morals. Within her household, she would burn incense and pray to Buddha. She taught her children to help others in need and never ask for anything in return; she would set examples by helping fellow neighbors with their groceries and babysitting their children and having my great-grandfather help with mechanical repairs in their homes.

When she passed away, during her burial, my grandmother and my great uncle swore they witnessed a white light shoot out from the ground and into the sky. My great uncle had a revelation and knew that this sign was a calling to pursue Buddhism. Immediately, he gave up his career as a successful veterinarian and started attending meetings with other Buddhists and their master.

He attended weekly meetings and started to pray, and soon he was a devout Buddhist. He stopped spending money in excess and increased his volunteering time at his local hospital and soup kitchens. Every time he passed by a non-profit organization that was fundraising, such as the Salvation Army or the American Cancer Society, he donated whatever money he had in his wallet. He was taught that giving and expecting nothing in return was the way his life should be, for his mother taught him that that was the correct path to being useful in the world. He met many other followers of Buddha and networked all over the world. He followed his master wherever he went to teach Buddhism. Soon, he became almost like his master’s shadow because he gained so much knowledge.

Over time, he grew in rank and knowledge and was elected and won title of master and took over the position of teaching his followers the way of Buddhism. It became my great uncle’s mission in life to spread the religion and values of Buddhism. He sacrificed his social life, and kept his wife and children at home while he travelled the world to enlighten people about Buddhism. He sincerely believes his association with Buddhism has helped his family: previous business investments have prospered and his followers all have good fortune and comfortable lives.

When he travels he does not preach for people to convert to Buddhism, but instead stresses the importance of doing good for others; Buddhists believe that giving to others will result in good returns. He encourages people to become vegetarian because he believes that animals who are killed for their meat have done nothing wrong to cause their deaths and that it is sinful to deprive anything of its life. He chose to become vegetarian and now avoids meat, as well as garlic and scallion in the belief that they have contents that make people’s tempers irritable.

My great uncle believed that the light coming from his mother’s grave was the turning point in his life because he completely changed the direction he was going in. As a veterinarian, he still felt as if he did not serve great enough purpose, and wanted a chance to help people on a greater scale than merely taking care of their pets. He would volunteer at places such as hospitals and soup kitchens, but he wanted to do more. By converting to Buddhism, he believes his life is more meaningful, and he wishes to spread not just the religion of Buddhism, but the act of giving and helping out other people not for the sake of good fortune but for the sake of being selfless and philanthropic. He has taught families to be strict on teaching their children the values of respect to others and treating others the way they want to be treated in order for them to grow up to be good people.

Image Credits:

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