Ma Chi
It was 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when New York City was in quarantine. My 84-year-old grandmother had been feeling weak. We thought it was due to the gen-eral state of her health of being overweight. She also suffered from high blood pres-sure, cholesterol and high blood sugar levels.
When the city reopened in June, we brought our grandmother to the hospital for a comprehensive medical examination. We were very surprised when her test results revealed that she had developed COVID-19 antibodies. It turns out that grandmother had contracted the virus and had been unwell because of it, and not from the symptoms of being overweight as we had presumed. The doctor confirmed that having the antibodies meant that my grandmother had recovered from the virus, and that she only needed to be well cared for in order to fully recover.
My grandmother lives with my aunt and her family. Their household has more than 10 family members, the oldest being my 96-year-old grandfather and the youngest is a baby less than a year old. Our family is indeed very grateful. Not only did my grandmother survive the virus, but everyone in their family remains healthy and had not contracted the virus despite living together.
Usually, if a family member is infected with the virus, it is most likely that others within the same household will be infected too. I wondered about how our family was different. I believe that the difference lies in my practice of light offering and chanting. In April 2020, I made a light offering for my grandmother at the Bodhi Meditation Center and prayed to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas that my grandmother be blessed with good health, longevity, and that she would be mobile and self-sufficient. I participated in the 108-day Guan Yin Bodhisattva chanting sessions organized by the NY Bodhi Meditation Center during the pandemic.
I am also grateful to Grandmaster JinBodhi for praying for the well-being of all through the sessions held online. I also joined in the prayer sessions on Facebook. During each session, I would post my prayers for blessings for my grandmother, and asked Grandmaster to bless her with health, a quick recovery and auspiciousness.
In the past few months, I have been chanting consistently without interruption, and with sincerity. I am grateful to Grandmaster and I give thanks to Buddha and the Bodhisattvas for bestowing my grandmother and family members with serenity and auspiciousness.
The intent of the testimonial is to offer wellness information of a general nature. Individual results of practice may vary.