■Book 148─Power of Mantra
■Written by Master Sheng-yen Lu
■Chapter Four
The bodhisattva placed his hand on Jiang Wei's head and gave him a blessing. He then proceeded to touch his face and pressed on the area around his mouth.
Jiang Wei instantly felt a sense of relief and lightness. His gums seemed to harden and a tooth appeared to be growing.
Then, the strangest thing happened. Since that dream, Jiang Wei felt his gums hardening. In between the gap where the old tooth was, a white spot appeared. As the white spot grew larger, it became evident that a new tooth was emerging.
Miracle! A miracle indeed!
This was simply incredible.
Jiang Wei came to inform me of the news and I said nothing. I only mentioned that once a seventy-three-year-old Nyingma lama had lost most of his teeth. The lama recited the Seven Syllable Heart Mantra from the Padma family of Buddhas, [transliteration:] Om, ah-lu-li-ge, so-ha [Sanskrit: OM ARURUIGA SVAHA], countless times and his gums grew seven teeth. This incident was well known in Tibet and was told to me by a Tibetan rinpoche.
I was happy for Jiang Wei. Actually, when Jiang Wei's gums began to harden, I had my own interesting experience. My lower left wisdom tooth began aching.
I visited the dentist and he told me he could not diagnose the cause of my toothache. There was no decay in the wisdom tooth and no inflammation of the gums. The nerve was not infected and the wisdom tooth remained strong and firm.
The dentist gave me an injection to relieve the pain. However, the pain returned when the effects of the anesthetic wore off.
I felt uncomfortable. I knew how to draw a talisman to stop toothaches and hence I drew one with great sincerity. I burned it and drank the talisman ashes with water. Normally, this talisman was very effective, but it did not work on me. Despite several repeated attempts to take the talisman as a pain-killer, the pain remained.
I experienced first-hand the saying, “A toothache is not an illness, but its pain can kill you.”
I returned to the dentist and he said, “Anyway, you need to pull your wisdom tooth when you reach a certain age, and it's long overdue for you. I suggest you get rid of it once and for all.”
“Okay,” I said.
Once the tooth was removed, the pain was gone.
On the very day my tooth was removed, Jiang Wei's new tooth came through.
Someone asked me, “Grand Master Lu, are you taking on Jiang Wei's karma?”
I laughed. Was it substitution of karma or simply a coincidence? I did not have the answer.
I felt that it was kind of a waste to chant a mantra merely to grow a tooth. Padmakumara Heart Mantra can deliver one to the Pure Land and allow one to attain the very siddhi that I have personally attained and verified. I am not lying. If you chant the heart mantra of Padmakumara, you will become Padmakumara himself.
It was good to know that Jiang Wei did not stop his chanting and has since gained greater faith in this mantra. He told people, “This mantra brings great benefits and it's simply amazing.”
Here is a verse:
Don't hesitate to chant mantras
Its power can eradicate all karmic hindrances
Behold! The world of samsara is just a prison
Fame and fortune are but candles melting in the flame
Birth, aging, sickness, and death run in a natural cycle
All ties of love and relationships come and go
Thus, engage yourself in cultivation through chanting
When the time comes, you will find paradise within reach
This verse is a wake-up call.
