The miracle of my father's spirit, who was lost after death, achieving enlightenment—

The death of my beloved father—

My father passed away five years ago. Even after turning 80, he continued to work as an active physician, and I worked as a pharmacist at his clinic. However, in the summer of 2012, my father coughed up blood while working and was hospitalized. In addition to his chronic diabetes, he became bedridden due to gastrointestinal weakness...

My younger brother, who is also a physician, took over the clinic, and I cared for my father while working at a local pharmacy. However, the following summer, my father quietly passed away at the age of 84.

At my father's house, people who heard the news of his passing rushed over, and friends of my father, including monks and funeral service providers, helped arrange the funeral. At the funeral held at the local hall, over a hundred people gathered to mourn the farewell to my father.

（Dad, you were loved by so many people）

To me, my father was like a mentor in medicine. I respected him deeply for teaching me not only medical knowledge but also how to interact with patients and important business perspectives.

（Dad, I hope you can return to heaven...）

In fact, I didn't believe my father could easily achieve enlightenment. This is because he was a materialist and always insisted that "there is no afterlife."

（Maybe Dad still doesn't realize that he has died...）

I have been studying the teachings of Happy Science open_in_new for about 30 years and knew that "people who die without knowing about the afterlife may not realize they have died and can become restless spirits, causing disturbances around them" (※1). However, since my father did not accept the idea of the afterlife, I was worried about him even during the funeral.

（※1）Although people continue to live as souls after death, if they did not believe in the afterlife or the existence of souls during their lifetime, they often do not even realize they have died. They may attach themselves to family and friends in this world, causing disturbances such as accidents or illnesses to make their presence known.

"Disturbances" that occurred one after another after cremation

After the farewell ceremony, our family headed to the crematorium, and my father's coffin was placed inside the cremation furnace. Just as we began to walk to the waiting room—

Bang!
My younger brother, who was walking in front of me, suddenly fell forward. I rushed over to him.

My brother has always been sensitive to spirits, able to see human souls and hear the voices of spirits. I thought my father's spirit had come to him.

（Dad, you're scared because your body is starting to burn, and you're "acting out"）

My brother was unable to get up after falling in the hallway and seemed to need help from those around him to finally stand up.

Such phenomena continued to occur. My uncle also suddenly had difficulty breathing on the way back from my father's funeral and was taken to the hospital.
However, despite numerous tests, they could not find the cause and said there was nothing they could do.

（Surely Dad is desperately seeking help from the family. I have to do something...）

Happy Science teaches that spirits shortly after death often wander around their close relatives.

Since my father's spirit should also be with me, as soon as I got home, I repeatedly played the CD of President Ryuho Okawa open_in_new's lecture "Heaven and Hell" ("The Path to Enlightenment" open_in_new book) directed towards my father's memorial tablet.

This lecture details the process of how a person transitions to the spirit world after death.

（Dad, if you listen to this lecture, you'll understand about the afterlife, so please listen carefully）

And I sincerely read the '《Shoshin Hōgo open_in_new》（※2）' so that my father could safely return to the afterlife. It is said to have more than ten thousand times the merit of the Heart Sutra (hannya shingyō), a scripture of Happy Science.

（ Lord El Cantare open_in_new （※3）. Please guide my father so that he does not cling to this world and can depart for the afterlife—）

The next day, I continued to play the lecture CD and read the 'Shoshin Hōgo'. Then that night, when I called my brother, he shared this story with me.

I felt a sense of relief and offered my gratitude to the Lord who guided us. Since then, I have prayed every day in front of our family's main object of worship (※4) for divine protection for my father.

I also applied for eternal memorial services (※5) at the Headquarters of Happy Science, Shoshin-kan open_in_new, wishing that my father would be guided to heaven after crossing the Sanzu River.

（※3）The fundamental scripture of Happy Science, 'Buddha's Teachings: Shoshin Hōgo open_in_new'
（※4）The name of the Earth God, which is the object of faith in Happy Science.
（※5）A memorial service in Happy Science that involves daily recitation for the deceased for eternity.

A message from my father

In May of the following year, I visited a Happy Science cemetery called "Reisei Kōfuku-en" open_in_new in Nasu County, Tochigi Prefecture, for my father's burial ceremony. Reisei Kōfuku-en is a cemetery protected by the light of the fundamental Buddha.

I sat in the chapel and began to read the 'Shoshin Hōgo' with gratitude to the Lord.
Then—

"Hey, K—"
（Ah! Dad...?）

Suddenly, my body felt warm, and my father's familiar voice resonated in my heart.
"It is very grateful to be memorialized here. Thank you so much..."

My father seemed incredibly happy and sent me words of gratitude repeatedly. The stubbornness he had as a materialist in life completely disappeared, and only joy came through.

（Dad... I'm so glad for you...）

(Ah, my father, who was a materialist in his lifetime, was guided by the Lord... Thank you very much, Lord El Cantare, for protecting my father.)

As feelings of gratitude overflowed, hot tears streamed down my cheeks one after another.

The most important thing is to know the world of the afterlife while you are still alive.

Through these experiences, I learned firsthand that 'even if you live a respectable life and do a proper job in this world, if you do not believe in the world of the afterlife, it will be a serious matter after death.'

If I had not known the teachings of Happy Science, my father would still be suffering and unable to attain enlightenment, and disasters would continue to befall our family.

In modern times, 'end-of-life activities' to prepare for one's death are becoming popular, but most of them do not touch on what happens after death. I worry that many people who engage in end-of-life activities may end up lost after they pass away.

In the future, I want to convey the importance of learning about religion to as many people as possible and spread the way of living that allows one to be happy both in this world and the next.