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DHARMA IN EVERYDAY LIFE
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- THE CONCEPT OF REQUIEM
By Nhat Quan
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When it comes to prayer, you often think of two areas:
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- Praying for those who are still alive to be healthy, to
pass the accident, and to recover from the accident is
called praying for peace
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- Praying for the deceased to be reborn in a peaceful world
is called requiem.
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Whether praying for peace or requiem, all are areas of
spiritual cultural activities, activities of spiritual life,
which have long become a practical need for those who care
about spiritual values. In life, everyone wants to be
peaceful, happy, healthy, live a long life, and have many
favorable conditions and few unforeseen risks. Everyone
wants their loved ones to be reborn in happy realms after
death, to go to Buddha or Heaven, or at least to become
human again, not to fall into the sufferings of hell, hungry
ghosts, and animals. That is a legitimate need, so when
talking about:
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- Praying for peace is praying for self, family, society,
nation, and humanity is a beautiful gesture worthy of
encouragement and praise, a job imbued with human love and
rich in compassion.
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- Requiem means praying for your loved ones and also praying
for all the souls who have not yet passed away. It is a job
that shows the kindness and feelings of the living towards
the deceased, demonstrating the connection between people
despite living in two completely different invisible and
visible worlds.
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Requiem with the desire to help the souls who have not yet
escaped to escape, and are in a state of suffering, to
escape from suffering is also an expression of compassion,
and that work needs to be carefully developed. Some people
believe that praying for rebirth is a superstition of the
world and does not come from Buddhism. I think this person
has two reasons for saying that requiem does not come from
Buddhism:
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- The first reason is that this person does not understand
what the word requiem is.
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- The second reason is that they consider themselves good
and talented, but they do not understand that everything is
Buddha Dharma. All teachings are spoken from the Buddha's
golden mouth, to save all living beings. Depending on the
good and evil karma a person has done, they must suffer
retribution. Because the Buddha's heart was so
compassionate, he could not ignore it and used all means to
save them from falling into the three evil paths. The three
evil paths are not the Three Realms. If you understand that
the three evil paths are different from the Three Realms,
then you don't need to wonder whether praying for rebirth is
Buddha Dharma or not. About Requiem:
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- To pray means to expect,
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- Transcendence means going beyond the three evil paths.
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That is, praying for your deceased relatives or familiar
friends, and even more so for people you don't know, but
because you love them, you do meritorious deeds to dedicate
them so they can rely on that blessing born in a good world.
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Requiem in Buddhism is a method of praying for grace on the
Three Jewels of compassion, cultivating merit to dedicate,
and most importantly, applying the divine power of sutras
and verses, giving instructions to help awaken the soul, let
go of delusion, be born in the Pure Land, or be born in
peaceful realms. Regarding the objects that need to be
prayed for, there are roughly three main groups:
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1. When you have not escaped from the three realms: the
Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm, that
is, there is still samsara, the suffering of birth and
death, all living beings need to pray for liberation.
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2. When following evil karma, one is reborn in three paths
of suffering: Hell, hungry ghosts, and animals belonging to
the six realms of the Desire Realm suffer immeasurably and
are in great need of salvation.
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3. When the soul has just died and is in the intermediate
state, in the karma phase, with a maximum lifespan of about
49 days, they look forward to receiving blessings from their
relatives and praying for salvation.
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If you want to know whether your relative will rebirth after
death or not, based on the following characteristics:
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1. When your relatives were alive, they never did evil, but
only did good, and after death, they will be reborn in the
heavens to enjoy great blessings. People like that are very
rare Saints in life.
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2. People do extremely evil things when they are born, such
as; Those who kill their father, kill their mother, kill
people, are butchers, destroy pagodas, destroy statues...,
after death they fall into hell, there are not many people
in this group.
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3. When your relatives were alive, they did a lot of good,
but also a lot of evil. In general, good and evil exist, so
when you die, they usually go through an intermediate state,
and then your relatives will be reborn in a realm
corresponding to their karma in the six realms: Hell, hungry
ghosts, and animals, asura, the human world, and heaven.
Most of us belong to this group.
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Based on the characteristics mentioned above, any person, if
not a Saint, needs to pray for requiem when they die.
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Some one question: After praying for rebirth, can the soul
be liberated? According to Buddhism, the requiem method
needs to meet the following elements:
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1. Buddhas and Great Bodhisattvas compassionately help.
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2. Monks or nuns single-mindedly pray, recite sutras, and
give teachings.
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3. The family of the deceased must be sincere and
respectful, wholeheartedly protect, and perform meritorious
deeds to dedicate to the soul.
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4. The soul relies on the power of the Three Jewels and the
blessings of the family to dedicate to it, then awakens,
becomes enlightened, and transcends. Of these four factors,
three factors (1), (2), and (3) are important, but factor
(4) is truly the most important. Because the soul's
awakening determines whether the soul will escape or not.
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Therefore, do not simply think that if there is a requiem
organization, the soul will be liberated. Reality shows that
there are ceremonies where people pray for the soul to be
overcome, and there are ceremonies where they pray for the
soul not overcome. The reason is that the Buddhas are always
compassionate and provide salvation, the monks and nuns are
always single-minded in their prayers, and the family is
always wholeheartedly involved in organizing the requiem
ceremony, but because of ignorance, deep sins, and karma,
the consciousness of the soul is filled with burdens enmity.
When the soul's attachment is too heavy, it does not awaken
and takes suffering for pleasure, it cannot escape. That's
why you have to pray many times, create blessings for the
soul to be full, and recite prayers to let the soul absorb
the soul to be able to make the soul return to
consciousness, change its mind, to have enough blessings to
awaken, and be born to pure land.
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As for the issue of verification, whether the soul has been
liberated or not. It can be said that, except for the Saints
who have achieved heavenly vision, they know the birth and
death of living beings. I mortals like most of you cannot
know. You only believe in Buddha's words, sincerely pray for
your loved ones, and hope that your dead loved ones will be
reborn in a good world. And you need to frankly admit that
you are a mortal so you only have faith and cannot
accurately verify the results of the prayer.
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Most of the Mahayana Sutras mention it or use other words
that some people want to skip over, or intentionally
distort. Ask yourself, what are you doing, what are you
saying? As a Buddhist disciple, you say:
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- Praying for requiem has no benefit, which means you are
slandering Buddha and cutting off compassion.
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A person without compassion does not need to speak anymore,
because speaking will have no effect. Just like a doctor who
cures a disease, he is always devoted to the patient, but
once the body does not accept the medicine, then the doctor
gives up and there is no need to inject or give medicine.
Likewise, the type of person who does not have a
compassionate heart, that is, the type of Icchantika, who
does not have Buddha seeds, cannot become a Buddha. If
someone destroys prayer, calling it all superstitious and
useless, then what is the point of that person practicing?
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Even if you practice, don't be attached to any form, just
point directly at your mind to realize your nature and
become Buddha. But according to reason, you are still
attached because there is still non-attachment in you. You
should know that the Buddha preached the Dharma for such a
long time, but he said Tathagata never said a single word.
It's all here, this meaning explains all 12 Buddhist sutras,
but you don't read them carefully but instead criticize
haphazardly, causing beginners to study Buddhism to have a
regressed mind. These sins and karma are not a small thing.
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No one can force you to believe, but just do what you like
and feel happy about. But I believe that when Buddhists do a
good deed for someone and pray for them to escape suffering,
that is a very good deed. So don't let the words of others,
even if they are people in high positions and respected by
everyone, make you lose your good heart. I dare to assure
you that when you pray for the deceased's life, it is truly
beneficial and not useless. According to the Piety Sutra of
Buddhism, the Ksitigarbha Sutra teaches you that. Not only
being filial to our grandparents and current parents but
also being filial to all our parents in our past lives. When
you study Buddhism, you are practicing filial piety.
However, it must be truthful.
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Someone asked if it is necessary to pray for requiem within
49 days.
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The answer is: Praying for the deceased within 49 days is
necessary, especially during this time, praying for the
deceased and doing meritorious deeds are very necessary for
the deceased. That's not to say that doing it after 49 days
doesn't have any merit, but that the merit that the deceased
inherited is very beneficial, the rest belongs to the person
doing it. Therefore, Buddhists who want to pray for a loved
one who has passed away should do so within 49 days.
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According to Buddhism, if a person does many good deeds
while alive when he dies, he can be reborn immediately. If
while alive they did good deeds and also did evil deeds, the
soul of the dead person must live in the Bardo state for 49
days to wait for their karma to settle. During the time of
undetermined karma, if relatives pray for salvation for the
deceased, and do meritorious deeds for the deceased, thanks
to this blessing, the deceased can be reborn early. It is
possible that the first, second, and third weeks if
sufficiently blessed, will be the person's soul being
reborn. Until the 49th day, the 24th hour, whether with
enough merit or not, the soul of the deceased must be reborn
in the six realms of reincarnation, depending on the karma
the deceased has created. After 49 days, the good or bad
karma has been decided, just like the trial in the human
world has ended. Of the six paths that must be followed,
that person will be born into one of those six realms
according to their karma. Therefore, it is best to do the
merit of praying for deceased relatives within 49 days.
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The seven-week requiem offering for the deceased, according
to Ksitigarbha Sutra, Chapter Eight:
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- At the time of death, the dead person's consciousness is
dark and obscure, unable to know good or evil, to the point
that eyes and ears can no longer hear or see. The relatives
of the dying person should prepare large offerings, recite
repentance sutras, and recite Buddha's name and
Bodhisattva's name, then this good karma can help the lost
loved one leave the evil path. The ghosts, demons, and gods
all retreated.
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Thus, worshiping for 49 days is truly meaningful only for
those who have passed away, but it must be a period of karma
that has not yet determined what realm they will be reborn
in. Or are in a state of unconsciousness and awakening of
the intermediate state. Such requiem offerings have the
effect of reminding and evoking the deceased to focus their
minds on the good deeds they have done, or to earnestly
carry out good thoughts, thanks to which their consciousness
is reborn in a better realm.
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In my humble opinion, requiem ceremonies are not only a time
for relatives to commemorate the deceased and share in the
great loss, but also importantly a good opportunity for
relatives and friends of the deceased to celebrate many
merits such as: Making offerings to the Three Jewels, or
giving alms to the poor, etc. In reality, as in many cases
mentioned in the Sutras, many people, after leaving this
body, are immediately reborn in the realms of the Gods due
to good karma, or immediately born into the realm of heaven
or realm of Asura, Hungry Ghosts, or Hell because of
extremely bad karma. Thus, offering prayers for the deceased
in this case is only to express the gratitude or filial
piety of the living person towards the deceased. Similarly,
in the case of worshiping for 49 days, worshiping for 100
days, or avoiding the annual death anniversary of the
deceased, it is also to express gratitude to the deceased,
and at the same time create conditions for children or
relatives to come to the Dharma. Noble.
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Ksitigarbha Sutra, chapter 7, also clearly states this
issue. If a layperson makes offerings for the dead, he or
she will receive seven parts of merit, but the dead person
will only enjoy one part. The remaining six merits will be
enjoyed by relatives who organize offerings. This is very
consistent with the spirit of Buddhism: The power of others
is only a support part, each person's karma must be accepted
by themselves, and no one can bear the burden for the other.
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Buddhists believe that the requiem affects the salvation of
souls. However, that effect has certain limits. Because
requiem is only a secondary power, not the main power.
Therefore, when you are alive, knowing how to cultivate
goodness and create blessings is the main time. After you
die, your children and grandchildren will organize a
ceremony to pray for you and dedicate your merits of
cultivating and doing good deeds to you. The Ksitigarbha
Sutra says that the benefits of the requiem ceremony have
seven parts, six of which belong to the children and
grandchildren who organize the requiem ceremony, and only
one part of the benefit belongs to you is the person who has
died.
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The method of requiem ceremony in Buddhism has a slightly
different concept from folk customs. To say transcendence
means to escape from the realm of suffering, to ascend to
the realm of joy, is based on the influence of the good
karma of the deceased, not due to the chanting effect of the
monks and nuns alone. It is an induction due to the
combination of the good karma of the person who organizes
the salvation of the soul and the practice of the person
chanting the sutras.
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Therefore, Buddhism believes that the subjects of the work
of praying for the deceased are not monks and nuns but the
relatives of the deceased. Relatives of the deceased, at the
moment of death, if you know how to bring the dying person's
favorite objects, make offerings to the Three Jewels, give
alms to the poor, and make the dying person understand
clearly, that is making merit for the death, it will have a
great effect on the souls of the dead. It is due to the
influence of good karma, so the person's mind at the time of
death is comforted, and thanks to that the dead person's
consciousness moves towards the good realm. That is not
superstition, but it is the principle of a good mind moving
towards a good world.
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If, when a loved one has died, the children, grandchildren,
and family members have sincere devotion, organize offerings
to the monks, give alms, do great good deeds, and show
filial piety, then there can also be inspiration and help
the soul be reborn in a good realm. However, the effect is
not as good as doing it while the person is still alive.
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When a child has sincere filial piety, like Ksitigarbha
Bodhisattva, to save his mother, he makes a great compassion
vow, vowing to save his mother that he will save sentient
beings from the ocean of suffering forever and ever. Based
on the power of that great prayer, one can sympathize with
the dead and help the dead reduce or eliminate crimes.
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That is not superstition, but the understanding of great
filial piety, of great wishes, causing the mind and prayer
force of the person seeking salvation to sympathize with the
karma of the person needing salvation, both of them are
compatible throughout, thanks to which the dead can be
saved. Therefore, according to Buddhism, if children and
family members want to save the dead, they should do things
such as making offerings to the Three Jewels and giving alms
to the poor. If there were more monks and nuns to chant the
sutra for transcendence, it would be even better.
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Although Buddhism says chanting sutras to pray for the
salvation of the dead, the method of reciting sutras and
reciting Buddha's name is a relatively easy practice, so the
monks want everyone to know how to practice chanting sutras
and reciting Buddha's name. Only in cases where you do not
know how to chant sutras or chant too little, can you ask
monks and nuns to recite sutras on your behalf. The function
of monks and nuns is to maintain Buddhism in the world,
using Buddhism as a means to save sentient beings, not to
specialize in saving the dead. The merit of chanting sutras
is due to believing in Buddhism and practicing Buddhism to
live a peaceful life, so it is not only monks and nuns who
chant sutras, and it is not only necessary when someone dies
that they need to chant sutras heard.
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Furthermore, the best time to pray is within 49 days.
Because, Buddhism believes that, except for cases such as
people with great blessings, if they die, they will be
reborn immediately in the heaven or human world. Or those
who practice effective concentration, when they die, they
are reborn in the Heavens. Or if a person has heavy negative
karma, if he dies, he immediately falls into hell. For
normal people, when they die, they have to go through the
intermediate stage, which is 49 days of waiting for their
karma to settle. After determining the karma, the deceased
will decide which realm to be reborn in depending on the
blessing or karma of the deceased.
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If during this time, children and relatives know how to make
offerings to the Three Jewels and give alms to the poor to
pray for salvation, then the deceased will be born in the
good realm thanks to the merit and support of that good
karma that is, the Heavenly realm or the Human realm.
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Furthermore, you must pray once every seven days, and it
must be seven times to complete 49 days, which is 7 weeks
from the date of death. Because the 49 days are the time to
fix karma, of course, the soul needs good karma, so for the
soul, this time is the most important. There are souls
without children or relatives who pray, helpless souls who
don't know where to turn to, and sometimes even harassed by
other spirits or karma in life. Their consciousness is then
pulled by karma, debt collection, or revenge, drawn into the
dark world, falling into three evil paths: Hell, hungry
ghosts, and animals.
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If the spirits are sent to the temple, it is very good,
because they are not lonely, hungry, or cold outside. They
have a place to live, listen to sutras, and are protected by
the Three Jewels. That person's spirit is directed towards
the good realm and that person's consciousness will know how
to choose a direction for themselves. If you follow the path
of practice, the soul will be reborn in the Pure Land. If
you wait 49 days to organize a requiem, it will only
increase the blessings of the organizer, but will not
greatly affect the direction of the soul's rebirth.
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However, there are also exceptions, in cases where a loved
one dies unjustly or tragically, due to unpaid debt, so they
can be born in the demon world, and continue to extort and
demand from the living. In this case, people usually call it
demon possession. In this special case, it is necessary to
chant sutras for transcendence, meaning to preach the Dharma
to the ghosts so that the ghosts can see their direction.
Thanks to the Buddha's power, the soul can be reborn in a
good realm.
Other religions, including Shintoism, do not know about this
special Buddhist work.
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As for the death anniversary offerings each year, it is to
remember the gratitude of that loved one. If there is any
benefit, it is very little, but if many lives have passed,
the blessings will be received more slowly. Because after 49
days, they have already reincarnated into one of the six
realms, the commonly used word is rebirth. Therefore, when
commemorating a death anniversary, especially if you have
just passed away, you should fast, then you will truly be a
filial son. You should not make a big death anniversary,
kill chickens, ducks, or pigs, and call it filial piety.
That's just because of the delusion of the living, for the
sake of honor and reputation, they make it big, but if they
don't know how to do that, the dead will suffer.
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Some people say, why do dead people have to suffer? That
person didn't do it?
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That's right, that person didn't do it with their own hands,
but because of them, those lives were killed because of that
person, so it was their sin to bear, so it is said:
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- Without virtue, a child cannot understand the Dharma,
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You think that doing so is filial to your parents, but in
reality, you are the one who gives the passerby an extra
burden on their shoulders, so you must understand this. The
most important thing when making merit to pray for a loved
one is to be sincere. That way you can help your loved ones.
I'm just afraid that you're not sincere, you shouldn't doubt
whether doing so will help the dead. Don't doubt that you
won't get anything, but ask again if you are sincere. Are
you considerate to do it?
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Someone said: I don't believe that reading and reciting
sutras can help the dead escape evil consequences.
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What you don't believe is your story, whether you believe it
or not, it's still the same. If you try honestly, you will
understand, don't say whether you believe or not. Because if
everything is non-existent, then why is there merit or lack
of merit? This matter is not only heard by the dead but
everyone knows, especially if that person has virtue then
this merit is inconceivable.
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Don't be moved by a single word or make your mind doubt
whether what you're doing will get anything. You don't need
to do a job that doesn't benefit you. Please sincerely do
things that you find good and happy. You are not yet
enlightened and do not have the Dharma's eye, so you do not
know what that merit is like, but you have faith in the
Buddha Dharma. If it weren't for such a sublime mystery of
saving sentient beings, how could it be called Buddha
Dharma? If you can't save evil people, then why do you call
it saving suffering and giving happiness? Many Buddhists,
thanks to the opportunity to go to the temple regularly,
clearly understand this meaning. But many families rarely go
to the temple because of their busy work, so they do not
understand what praying for death and peace is like.
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In this world, if you do not know how to cultivate and sow
bad karma, but at the moment of death, thanks to the monks
and nuns' prayers and guidance and sending pictures of the
dead person to the temple to listen to daily prayers, it
will also be transferred, good life. To be a human being, to
be born in a rich, virtuous place, with enough intelligence
and clarity in these six senses, not to be a suffering
animal.
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Furthermore, if you pray for rebirth, give alms, make
offerings to the Three Jewels, print scriptures, and do
other good deeds, all are dedicated to the soul. That soul
will feel it. The Three Jewels prove to you, so you will be
blessed. At the end of the 49-day, 100-day, and full-year
period. Then time passes 10 years, 20 years, or more. Some
people think that a person has died a long time ago and has
been reincarnated, so there is no need to pray or worship
anymore... That's not true. The consciousness has
reincarnated and cannot use food in this world. But because
of filial piety, because of gratitude, because you want to
remember your gratitude, you must pray and worship. You make
a tray of vegetarian meals on the altar or at the temple,
kneel and light incense sticks to offer to the Buddha, and
offer them to the ancestral altar with all sincerity, first
paying respect to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, then
secondly paying respect to the deceased. Remember your
ancestors and the person who has just passed away. That is a
precious and beautiful act. If your work is like that, you
will naturally feel joy, lightness, and comfort in your
heart. Of course, you don't see it, but the things you do
like that, the souls of the dead, no matter how long ago, no
matter what realm they are in, will receive it all. The
souls of the dead receive your prayers, as well as your
offerings, which is similar to when you suddenly get lucky
or win the lottery.
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A dead person no longer exists in this world. You will
forever no longer see each other in smiles, in intimacy,
joy, and sadness. Human life is only possible, when you live
you exist, when you die there is nothing left, leaving only
good and bad memories in life, that is karma. Whether you
live your life doing good or evil, good karma and bad karma
will follow you in your next life. There is a proverb that
says:
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- Doing good will result in good, doing evil will result in
evil, and cause and effect is not wrong.
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Therefore, the Buddha taught:
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- Loving-kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity are four
immeasurable minds.
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Those who have faith in good deeds, and practice them in
your life, will feel extremely miraculous.
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In short, praying for requiem or praying for peace only has
meaning and value when the living person tries to cultivate
good karma to be at peace. And the living enlighten, warn,
and help the dead change their minds. Dharma words, sutras,
and verses have the power to help souls become enlightened,
and awake, and give birth to a joyful mind, thanks to which
they are peaceful and no longer suffering. The meritorious
deeds that relatives do to dedicate to the soul also bring
many benefits to the soul.
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When the dead know how to rejoice in actions to create merit
and blessings for their loved ones and develop devotion
towards the Three Jewels, they have partly transformed their
evil and unwholesome karma and increased their blessings
treasure for oneself, thanks to which one can be reborn in a
happy state. Like the case of Mrs. Thanh De, mother of the
Venerable Maudgalyayana. When she was alive, she was greedy,
and stingy, did not believe in the Three Jewels, and created
many evil and unwholesome karma, so after death, she fell
into the position of a hungry ghost and had to suffer pain,
hunger, and thirst. The Venerable Maudgalyayana invited the
Buddha and the monks of the ten directions to pray for her
salvation. Thanks to the merits and blessings of the
Venerable Maudgalyayana's offerings to the Three Jewels and
her joy at the Venerable's actions, she escaped the crime of
being born as a hungry ghost. Therefore, when you are still
alive, you should create good karma for yourself, because
that is the only luggage you can carry with you after death,
it determines your next life. This is what you need to pay
attention to the most. As for the issue of requiem after
death, it is only a predestined aid, it is only beneficial
when the soul of the deceased hears the sounds of verses and
sutras, becomes enlightened, awakens, rejoices, and
respectfully looks towards the Three Jewels, believing in
the Dharma but transform your mind.
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The role of the soul is the main one, followed by the purity
of the monks, the virtue and virtue of the monks, and the
sincerity and earnestness of the deceased's relatives along
with the blessings they created and returned direction for
the soul.
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Although the spirits play a decisive role, only if the soul
changes their thoughts, lets go of deluded ideas, lets go of
afflictions and attachments, and changes their karma, then
they can escape. But without the help and support of the
monks and relatives by enlightening, warning, and guiding
the soul to direct its mind toward the Three Jewels and do
good deeds to dedicate merit and blessings, the soul will
also die. It's hard to hope for escape. Therefore, relatives
need to support the soul so that the soul can escape
suffering and receive benefits.
---o0o---
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please e-mail to:
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