Tao-ch'o, a Pure Land Buddhist monk who attracted
a large following, was also affected by an NDE episode:
- At the age of sixty-five, aged and sick, he felt himself to be on
his deathbed, and summoned his disciples and many followers
to recite the sutras. Thereupon T'an-luan appeared to him,
and in a voice heard by all present, commanded that Tao-ch'o
must continue to teach people for many years. It is said that
flowers fell from heaven, which were carefully preserved by
his followers. From that day on, Tao-ch'o became progressively
healthier, even regaining another set of teeth, and continued
to teach for almost two decades, living to the rare age
of eighty-three.
Land Buddhists, an activity which generated a body of written "evidence"
regarding the afterworld. The Ching-t'u-lun, a document
compiled shortly after Tao-ch'o's era, contains twenty NDE
accounts, half from monks and half from lay persons.
- In at least one case (that of Dharma-master Chu-Hung),
not only the dying person but all present were said to have
seen the body of the Buddha coming from the Pure Land to
welcome the dying monk....In other cases, devout laywomen
and laymen described visions of heavenly hosts on their deathbeds.
In yet another, a butcher first had a vision of hell,
whereupon he was terrified into chanting the name of Amida;
he then had a vision of Amida offering him the lotus seat, and
passed peacefully away.
Fascinating stuff huh?