Since knowing Mr Gan, he quickly became a friend very close to our hearts. Through him, we had learnt many things in life and in faith. I am writing this not only to commemorate Mr Gan, but also to thank him for all the invaluable experiences we have gained from being able challenge together with him.
When Mummy first met Mr Gan at the national cancer centre in Mar-2009 and encouraged him to chant, he attentively listened and accepted her suggestion unconditionally. It must be his vow in the past to be the Votary of Lotus Sutra that such situation would happen, as according to Cindy (Mr Gan’s wife), Mr Gan had never accepted any religion seriously in his entire 59 years.
Following the first meeting, Mummy told Shin Yang to follow up closely with Mr Gan and made this Kosen Rufu (Propagation of the Mystic Law) battle an unforgettable one, and so began our experiences with Mr Gan.
When we first contacted Mr Gan, his condition was pretty bad with his pancreatic cancer. He was in constant pain and unable to proceed with his chemotherapy due to various conditions. In fact, he had just been discharged from the hospital and doctors are hoping that he could continue with treatment. He was not able to sit or walk for very long either. Hospice help was already in contact with Mr Gan as recommended by the hospital. All factors seemed unfavorable, but Shin Yang and I agreed that this would be the chance to prove the greatness of Nichiren Buddhism to the family.
This was our first time challenging together with a terminally ill patient, and we had our fear of not being able to be of much help. Fortunately, many leaders came and supported us.
We started chanting frequently with him and his family, from 5 minutes gradually increasing to 15, then to 30 minutes and more. From the very first time we chanted together, we were very impressed with Mr Gan's attitude during chanting. Despite his condition, he always sat up straight and held his beads upright, as if in a very solemn and dignified ceremony. Indeed, that is how chanting should always be, isn't it? We also had dialogues after chanting to share about Nichiren Buddhism. As Mr Gan's faith began to pick up, his condition began to improve by leaps and bounds too. He completed his chemo successfully and quickly, could sit longer and eat better day after day. From a cancer index of more than 1100, Mr Gan was able to reduce it to a normal level of 30+ by Sep-2009. He was able to chant, live and eat normally, and even traveled a few times for short getaways, including once with Cindy who hardly took leave from her work.
In Buddhism, we believed that everything happened for a reason. For Mr Gan, it must be his role as the bodhisattva of the earth, as the Votary of Lotus Sutra, that his life span was extended. From his miraculous recovery since March, as described by his doctors, Mr Gan has created much value and many victories in Kosen Rufu. These are victories which some long-time members may not even have achieved! Through chanting, he has definitely prolonged his life. In Buddhism where we learnt that even prolonging precious life by a day can create much value, Mr Gan proceeded to enshrine the Gohonzon in July; share his testimonial in our zone discussion meeting in September and encouraged many members; encourage his sister-in-law to enshrine her Gohonzon in September, and converted all his family members to chant before his passing on in Jan 2010.
It is quite common that people in the society, including our friends and relatives, are fond of associating death with failure in life. It is erroneous to judge one’s victory or failure in life by one’s death. Death is inseparable from life, and nobody can escape death. Instead, we should look at the values one has created in his or her life rather than just the length of one’s life span. In the last 10 months of his life, Mr Gan has created the most noble of good causes by introducing Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to his loved ones.
In buddhism, we know that it is at the moment of one's death that one's past causes and deeds show most plainly in one's appearance. At that time, there's no way to conceal the truth of one's soul. Mr Gan passed away peacefully without much pain, very uncommon for a final-stage cancer patient. In fact, when Shin Yang first saw him in bed on Thursday afternoon, she was wonderin to herself how come mr gan's face looked so tender and fair, unlike the previous time she saw him. Hence, there is no doubt that he has indeed transformed his karma & his life is a victorious one.
We felt that Mr Gan had WON in his life during his last 10 months through the values he created. And through Nichiren Buddhism, he had also transformed his own Karma, and more importantly, passed on the Buddhism to his family.
We are grateful to Mr Gan for giving us the opportunities to play our roles as Kosen Rufu Leaders, to perform our human revolution and fight the battle together with him.
Mr Gan, we have definitely grown through these experiences with you. Thank you and we believe you will very soon be reborn in the Buddha land again.
