My ageing mum and aunt live with me. Mum had a few falls and as she was already old, these falls were very painful for her; many hair-line cracks were left to heal on their own with only pain-killers for relief. In the beginning I had to single-handedly look after her, so I took time off from a full-time job to care for her.

At the same time, my aunt, who had been on anti-depressants for years, started to get worse. She just went down the drain. Coupled with the fact that she is hard of hearing, it became very difficult to communicate with her, as she would always turn away when she did not want to listen to me.

There was a time when she over-dosed herself on medicine and had to be rushed to hospital where she stayed for about 5 weeks, almost becoming a permanent resident. The psychiatrist gave up on her, as he could not get her consent for a procedure which required her to go through electro-shock therapy to stabilise her brain waves – a procedure which would ensure a short-term recovery with slight memory loss.

I then had her discharged and she came home to the care of a housekeeper, who we had employed to also care for mum. There were many psychological wars between us, as she had to be “threatened” to get things done for her sake. There were days when she would go into “silent retreat” and keep to herself, refuse food and was generally negative towards a lot of things. The only constant thing in her life was making sure she had her daily dosage of medication.

At the same time, the situation I was facing at my workplace was not rosy either as my employer’s personal problems were brought into the office and affected all of us. In the end, the business suffered and many of my colleagues left. I ended up having to hold the fort alone while my boss travelled abroad.

Now, my mum has finally recovered from her falls; but she is bed-ridden and almost blind due to old age. My aunt recovered from her depression but recently suffered multi-focal infarction and seizures, and had to be hospitalised. Physically, these have taken a toll on her.

Both mum and my aunt are now staying with my younger brother, looked after by a housekeeper who has been with us for almost 5 years. She has said that after her contract ends, she wishes to leave and go back home. I pray hard that she changes her mind and look sincerely to our Protector for help and guidance. These have been especially trying times but my Dharma practice has helped me greatly. Had I not come under the protection of our Lama and Protector, I would not have had the strength to pull through all this.

~ Anonymous ~

Dear sir,
I wish to share with you a story about how your nation’s kind religion has helped me during my darkest days. Some of your deities have been particularly kind towards me, and I cannot thank you enough for your actions in promoting their name until their practices have reached the land I live, and brought me to the point I am today.

I came across this Protector some 10 years ago and was introduced to me by one of my good friends. At that time, I was going through hell in my life, my then husband cheated on me, cut me from all financial aids, and just left me literally empty and even attempted to kick me out of the house we once used to live in.

I was devastated and was willing to chant any mantra taught by my friend in the hope of overcoming this mid life crisis that stumbled out of nowhere in my life.

My mind was very confused and unstable, I was literally in a depression for months but with the blessing of the mantra, coupled with the “Black Tea” offering which I did every day, I slowly see my mind shifting from the miserable state of depression to a more fluid state, I somehow understood that this was my karma and that I needed to accept this and not to cling onto a state that would cause me continued suffering as I was attempting to win my husband back.

I certainly did not want to lose all the things that my husband and I have built up and established during our 14 years of marriage, even though I did not get much out of the court settlement, my mind was at peace and I literally did not feel any hostility towards him.

I counted this as one of the BIGGEST blessing from Dorje Shugden because I know most divorced couple have much bitterness against each others, especially when comes to separation of money, assets and for most cases, children’s custody. The ease of letting go and forgiving my husband were indeed something I could not have accomplished the journey without the blessing of Dorje Shugden.

Dorje Shugden’s blessing is like a candle in my dark room and my darkest state of mind, he made me see the reality that my husband had always been a womanizer and there was no way I could change him which I had tried for years. By accepting this fact, I felt a load of burden off my shoulder. I also could not believe that deep inside, I even wished him happiness with his new acquaintance.

I felt like a newborn with a new outlook the moment I decided that this man was not for me. This blessing of knowing when to “let go” and not clinging onto something that would give me prolonged sufferings has continued to help me with many areas in my life now.

I am grateful with the wisdom that Dorje Shugden has bestowed on the “ignorant” me.

With folded hands,
~ Debra Jones ~