After performing the three golden Buddhist practices, I received Australian PR within a week.
My deepest gratitude to Namo Shakyamuni Buddha.
My deepest gratitude to the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
My deepest gratitude to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas from ten directions and three periods of time.
My deepest gratitude to the Dharma Protectors and to the Merciful Master Jun Hong Lu.
I am grateful for this opportunity to share my story about how I obtained Australian permanent residency in one week after performing the Three Golden Buddhist Practices of Guan Yin Citta: performing recitations, making great vows, and performing life liberation (releasing fish). In January 2018, my family and I relocated from Malaysia to Adelaide. On 7 September 2020, we submitted our PR application after fulfilling the South Australian government’s requirement. During the pandemic, the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) reported an 11-month processing time. We had hoped that our PR would be granted by July 2021. The processing time was extended to 24 months due to the unprecedented pandemic. Without a PR, we ran into problems and caused many inconveniences, such as:
1. Difficulty in getting a full-time job
2. My husband is unable to advance from part-time to full-time employment.
3. I was not invited to an interview for the job I wanted because they preferred candidates with PR status.
4.Inability to apply for housing or car loans, as well as having to pay more stamp duty on a house as a non-PR.
5. My daughter is not eligible for HECS-Help (a government loan available only to Australian citizens), and she must pay the full university fee just like other international students.
6. If we travelled to Malaysia to visit my parents, I would have had to pay to apply for a BVB (Bridging Visa B).
I was constantly concerned about not being able to support my family because I was unable to secure a permanent, full-time job. My husband, on the other hand, had been informed by his employer that they would be unable to offer him a permanent, full-time position unless he has PR. As a result, we frequently argued about it, and it harmed our relationship. The stress was too much for me, and it was affecting my health. My hair was suddenly turning grey and I’d get sick unknowingly.
Around July 2022, I was invited to join a Facebook group with 10,200 members from all over Australia who were waiting for their PR. At the time, I realized that many of them had been waiting for more than two years, while some had even waited for five to ten years. The weekly posts from those who had successfully received their PR did not match the processing time stated by the DoHA. The Facebook group members estimated that it will take at least 2 years for the government to approve PR applications. Many members became depressed because of the irregularity and delay, and some lost their jobs because they didn’t get their PR in time.
I realised that even after 2 years, we may not get our PR. Fortunately, I’m a Buddhist practitioner and I can utilise the Three Golden Buddhist Practices Master Lu taught us to get my PR sooner. Without further ado, I vowed to the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva to release 1,200 fish on 26 September 2022 (Master Lu said 1,200 is a starting point), hoping that my PR will be granted soon. However, after a two-month wait, there had been no updates. As a result, I sought advice from some of my Buddhist friends. They believed my vow-power was lacking and recommended that I use some merits to make the whole process smoother. To earn more merits, the first thing that came to mind was that I should do more voluntary work in Guan Yin Citta practice centre in Adelaide (the Australian Chinese Buddhist Association of Adelaide). The only way to earn more merit is to free up a weekday and come in during the week for voluntary service. (The temple holds a Buddhism propagation event on Saturday morning, followed by a Buddhist gathering in the evening. The voluntary duty shifts are pretty much filled on Sunday morning, and Sunday evenings are usually reserved for family time.) At the time, my workplace was undergoing a performance evaluation that would take weeks to complete. As a result, on 13 November 2022, I quickly made another prayer to the Bodhisattvas, asking for blessings so that I can pass the evaluation sooner in order to spare up more time to volunteer at the temple.
I made the following vows on 16 November, 2022:
1. I will use the merits earned from volunteering and from sharing the Buddha-dharma with community members to eliminate any obstacles in getting our PR so that I can get it successfully. May our PR be granted as soon as possible.
2.I will share my success story after my family and I have been granted PR.
After I made these vows, I had a dream. I had a dream that I was playing a slot machine, and the prize was food. I felt like I was being watched by someone, and they wanted me to put money in to play. Despite my reluctance, I dropped a few coins and placed the rest in my pocket. This time, I won three prizes, but I only remember an unappealing ice cream with a cone. I thought to myself that I would eat this and leave the more appealing food to others. I woke up with a sense of urgency. I felt compelled to act on my PR matter right away. Without further ado, I sought assistance from the Secretariat of Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door to determine where I went wrong. This time, the Secretariat staff members pointed out that, while I had made many great vows, none of them had anything to do with reciting Little Houses or Buddhist scriptures. I’m very grateful to the Secretariat for their advice. At the time, I was too preoccupied with work. On top of that, I had a conflict with Tai Sui in the year 2022 and my son was 13 years old, which was also a year of predestined calamities. With all these happenings, I didn’t dare make a vow to recite Little Houses. The Secretariat staff members told me that, according to Master Lu’s advice, while meritorious deeds (from activities like life liberation) may help , the most important factor is still Little Houses. If we want success in a particular matter or to recover from an illness, Master Lu said we can’t just focus on performing life liberations and not recite Little Houses. Meritorious deeds cannot be substituted for Little Houses.
As a result, on 24 November 2022, which is the first day of the 11th lunar month, I vowed to do the following:
1. Recite 21 Little Houses to resolve and eliminate any obstacles affecting our PR application.
2. Recite the Eighty-eight Buddhas Great Repentance 49 times to eliminate and resolve any obstacles to our PR.
3. Recite the Mantra to Untie Karmic Knots 1,000 times to resolve and remove any barriers to our PR.
4.To recite the Cundi Dharani 10,000 times. May Guan Yin Bodhisattva help us get our PR sooner.
I had a dream after making these vows that I was close to Master Lu. In my dream, I sobbed as I asked Master Lu if I would die if I dreamed of a watch. Master Lu said “your people, your people” and also mentioned a few English names. I also asked Master Lu how the names were spelled so that I could write them down on my phone. However, when I woke up, I only had a vague memory of it. I only remember the few letters, “OST”. So I went online to search what it could mean, and it appears that it was indicating that I have problems with my back and my legs. After sharing my dream with some Buddhist practitioners, one of them introduced me to their own Chinese osteopath. After a few consultations, I felt much better.
On Friday, 25 November 2022 (the second day of the eleventh lunar month), I had a dream that I had returned to my old job working at a dessert shop. Some female Buddhist friends appeared to be the receptionists, whereas I was in charge of preparing the cakes (different from my previous role). Then the scene suddenly changed, and I saw two plates of instant noodles with durian. I felt that on the plate, there weren’t a lot of noodles. I said in the dream, “Treat yourself better,” and I’m not sure if I said it to myself or to someone else.
On Thursday, 1 December 2022 – week after I’d made my vows—my husband texted me while we were driving to Guan Ying Tang with my son to tell me a good news. Our PR was finally approved! This is the best gift I’ve ever received, and it arrived one day early. With all my heart, I thank the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva!
Our visa to visit Australia was approved exactly 5 years ago, on 1 December 2017. This coincidence is absolutely incredible!
As Christmas approached, the group’s PR approval rate had reached a new low. It was lower than what it was in November. Simultaneously, DoHA increased its processing time from 24 to 27 months. Now I understand why I felt such a sense of urgency to get my PR. It is the Bodhisattva reminding me that for my prayer to be granted, I needed to do more meritorious deeds and make greater vows. I’m very grateful to Guan Yin Bodhisattva for always looking after us and responding to our prayers.
This case demonstrated that Little Houses is the main factor in achieving success for a particular issue. Buddhism provides us with solutions to our problems in life, but the Bodhisattvas do not interfere with the Law of Cause and Effect. With hard work and by performing more meritorious deeds, our future will be smooth sailing.
The above sharing is my actual experience. I hope it inspires more people to start performing recitations to be liberated from suffering.
If there are any inappropriate statements in my sharing, I beg forgiveness from Namo Shakyamuni Buddha, the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas from ten directions and three periods of time, the Dharma protectors, and our merciful Master Jun Hong Lu.
I once again express my deepest gratitude to Namo Shakyamuni Buddha.
My deepest gratitude to the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
My deepest gratitude to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas from ten directions and three periods of time.
My deepest gratitude to the Dharma Protectors and to the Merciful Master Jun Hong Lu.