People often fall ill due to two main reasons: one is the disease of heat and cold, and the other is the disease of karma. The disease of heat and cold is influenced by the season and climate, or caused by the imbalance of the four elements within oneself, and can be treated with ordinary medicine. However, the disease of karma is caused by the various deeds done in the past, all stemming from the creation of ten evil deeds, and it cannot be cured by the efficacy of worldly medicine. It is necessary to sincerely repent and offer blessings and repentance in front of the Buddha’s scriptures and images, only then can one be cured.

Look at what the Buddha says in the ‘Dharma in the Earth Store Sutra’: Some people have been lying in bed for a long time and cannot get up, which is the main manifestation of the karma disease, that is, the disease of karma. At this time, ‘but when facing the statues of all the bodhisattvas, loudly recite this sutra once. Or take the patient’s favorite things. Or clothes. Goods. Ecological park. Residence. Shout loudly in front of the patient. I, some level, am offering all things in front of the scriptures and images. Or offer scriptures and images. Or create the entire image of a bodhisattva. Or build a temple or pagoda. Or oil lamp. Or offer long-term support.’ In this way, it can cure the ‘disease of karma’. Here, the Buddhist disciples should pay attention to several aspects of the convenient methods taught by the Buddha.

Firstly, the Buddha says to loudly recite the ‘Dharma in the Earth Store Sutra’ in front of all the statues of the bodhisattvas, so it is not necessary to be stubborn about reading it in front of the statue of the Earth Store Bodhisattva. For example, if the statue of Amitabha, the Medicine Buddha, or the Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva is worshipped at the home of a Buddhist disciple, there is no problem, as long as the ‘Dharma in the Earth Store Sutra’ is recited in front of the statue of the bodhisattva, it is the correct method.

Next, to offer ‘all things in front of the scriptures and images’ for the patient, this is an indispensable ritual for making wishes, the literal meaning of which everyone can understand, that is, to make a wish in front of any statue of a bodhisattva, and it is also necessary to have a copy of the ‘Dharma in the Earth Store Sutra’. Some people may not have a statue of a bodhisattva at home, but that is not a problem either, as long as there is a copy of the ‘Dharma in the Earth Store Sutra’, it is also possible, because the ‘Dharma in the Earth Store Sutra’ currently printed with the statue of the bodhisattva can be used as an offering image temporarily during the ritual.

Thirdly, the things offered must be the patient’s own things, naturally this offering is all dependent on the circumstances and the patient’s own abilities, and as long as one is sincere, respectful, and responsible, it is enough.

Fourthly, the most important point, the Buddha says, ‘Abandon all things, or offer scriptures and images, or create the entire image of a bodhisattva, or build a temple or pagoda, or oil lamp, or offer long-term support.’ It is to inform us that we must offer to the Triple Gems, for the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Offering scriptures and images is to offer the ‘Dharma in the Earth Store Sutra’ and the statue of the Earth Store Bodhisattva, and the method is to print or assist in printing the offering. The method of oil lamp is to offer light. Offering long-term support is to offer the living and daily necessities of the Sangha.

The Buddha also says in the ‘Nirvana Sutra’: If one offers a stick of incense and a lamp to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, or even offers a flower, it will bring peace to the entire country. To guard the Dharma, Sangha, and the land of the Buddha, to carve statues of the Buddha and pagodas like the thumb, will always bring joy, and also bring peace to the entire country.

Pay attention, here the Buddha does not mention the practices of taking refuge, offering food, etc., because taking refuge and offering food are good deeds, which do not belong to the blessings of offering the Triple Gems, and are not the subject here.

All the disciples of the Buddha, to cure the disease of karma, is to repent of past misdeeds; and to repent of past misdeeds, it is necessary to cultivate virtue first; there are many ways to cultivate virtue, and the most concise and convenient method is to loudly recite the ‘Dharma in the Earth Store Sutra’ in front of the statue of the Bodhisattva, which costs little and brings great blessings. It is also something that the Buddha often says in the ‘Dharma in the Earth Store Sutra’ that is hard to believe with the power of the Earth Store Bodhisattva’s hands.