Shi Ruyuan's Spiritual Response to Food Offering

Ven. Shi Ruyuan: Ever since my master taught me the method of offering food to sentient beings in the netherworld, every morning and evening I have offered food to the beings of the dark realms on time. In meditation, with a heart of compassion, I sincerely recite the mantra and single-mindedly visualize the food pervading everywhere. Because the mind is very pure and undistracted during meditative concentration, the visualization works quite well: I can clearly visualize the seven grains of rice being offered transforming into steaming hot white rice, filling empty space and reaching every corner—wilderness, mountains and rivers, trees, rivers, lakes and seas, in front of and behind houses, roadside grasses—then in my mind there appear all kinds of beings of the netherworld as well as the golden-winged garudas, all eating the hot food and drink.

One afternoon I forgot to offer the water used for washing the alms bowl, and only remembered it after eight o'clock in the evening. I felt very uneasy, and in my mind, like a movie playing, there appeared many beings of the netherworld: some with big bellies and long thin necks with heads bowed down, some on all fours, some leaning on crutches and holding broken bowls and broken ladles, all waiting like beggars for the water to be offered. I quickly took the bowl-washing water, went outside, recited the mantra, and made the offering. After the offering, those images disappeared, and my mind became at peace.

The next morning, I told my fellow practitioner about what had happened the previous evening, and she said that the night before her body had had a strong reaction—she felt very cold, unbearably cold. Then I knew it was caused by my forgetting to offer the water, and I felt deeply guilty. I vowed never again to forget to offer food and drink and the bowl-washing water. I am grateful to my master! You have taught this disciple to have compassion for sentient beings and the mind of benefiting oneself and benefiting others.