A Portrait of New York Member Pu Chi Lee

Pu Chi became a Shumei member in 1987. When she was a child, she always wondered how she could obtain the power of Kuan Yin1 to help the poor people. She was interested in improving their health, because they have no money to go to see doctors. In 1987 she had heard that Shumei has Kwan Yin powers to help people, she was very happy to become a member of Shumei. When she became a member, she first helped her son. She gave her son Jyorei to help his alleviate his chronic allergies, which manifested as constant sneezing and a runny nose. She gave her son Jyorei one night, and the next morning her son’s sneezing and allergies were gone! Her son talked to his classmate at school about this experience. The classmate then told his parents about this miracle. The following day, the classmate’s mother came to Pu Chi’s home in the morning, and requested Jyorei for her son. Pu Chi gave him Jyorei for three consecutive days. The classmate had some kind of sickness, and in only three days of Jyorei, he was cured. After the third day, the classmate knew he was cured, and did not have to come back for more Jyorei. These were Pu Chi’s first experiences with giving Jyorei.

Her second experience was with a new member. This member said that if Pu Chi could prove that Jyorei produced miracles, then he would believe in Jyorei. Pu Chi asked him if he knew someone who was sick to whom she could give Jyorei. He said that one side of his mother-in-law’s body was paralyzed, and at that time, she was in the hospital. Pu Chi went to the hospital with the new member to give Jyorei to his mother-in-law. After Pu Chi gave Jyorei to her, Pu Chi explained to her that if she felt any pain she was supposed to put her hands together and say “Thank you Meishusama.” She told her that she would feel better. Before Jyorei one of the mother-in-law’s hands was clenched, and she could not open it. After Pu Chi told the mother-in-law to put her hands together, amazingly, she was able to open her hand fully. Also she was able to move the leg that was paralyzed a little bit. The new member saw that this was the miracle that he was looking for, and then was able to believe in Jyorei. Pu Chi was very grateful to Meishusama that she could help people by giving them Jyorei.

Pu Chi’s husband had elevated blood sugar levels, and one day while he was working he lost consciousness and fell down. She got a phone call from her husband’s workplace, so she took another Shumei member with her, and together they went to the husband’s workplace. Pu Chi and the other Shumei member rode in the ambulance with Pu Chi’s husband, so that they could administer Jyorei on the way to the hospital. After that her husband recovered quickly and his blood sugar levels became normal.

Pu Chi believes that the more that she chants the more light she would receive from Meishusama, and that she would become closer to Meishusama. So she chants as often as she can.

She does hoshi2 at the New York Center very often. She does a lot of cleaning, and takes care of many things at the Center. She does this type of hoshi, because she wants more members to come to the Center and feel comfortable. Her goal is always to help more people.

Recently she became semi-retired, so that she can spend more time at the Center to do more hoshi.

She always hopes that more members come to the center for the activities and to perform Jyorei.

She believes that the home Scroll of Light3 and Kannon can help us, and can help our spiritual forefathers. She believes that the forefathers can become spiritually elevated and obtain spiritual food and light.

She hopes that the New York Center will grow, and that the community will be able to support the Center. Her wish is for more people to be able to learn about Meishusama, receive Jyorei, and become members.

1. Kuan Yin or ‘Kannon’ is the Buddhist deity of compassion from whom Shumei’s founder, Mokichi Okada, known as Meishusama, received his divine revelation concerning the future of the world in December 1926. Kannon is that aspect of divinity that is all loving and all merciful.

2. Hoshi is volunteer service, sometimes described as ‘sacred work,’ that Shumei members perform on behalf of the Shumei organization.

3. A Scroll of Light is a revered scroll usually placed above an offering table in a Shumei Center or home. The Chinese characters depicted on it vary in significance but the central character always signifies Divine Light.