Chua Duoc Su

When it comes to prayer, you often think of two areas:

- 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

- Praying for the deceased to be reborn in a peaceful world is called requiem.

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:

- 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.

- 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.

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:

- The first reason is that this person does not understand what the word requiem is.

- 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:

- To pray means to expect,

- Transcendence means going beyond the three evil paths.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

If you want to know whether your relative will rebirth after death or not, based on the following characteristics:

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.

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.

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.

Based on the characteristics mentioned above, any person, if not a Saint, needs to pray for requiem when they die.

Some one question: After praying for rebirth, can the soul be liberated? According to Buddhism, the requiem method needs to meet the following elements:

1. Buddhas and Great Bodhisattvas compassionately help.

2. Monks or nuns single-mindedly pray, recite sutras, and give teachings.

3. The family of the deceased must be sincere and respectful, wholeheartedly protect, and perform meritorious deeds to dedicate to the soul.

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.

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.

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.

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:

- Praying for requiem has no benefit, which means you are slandering Buddha and cutting off compassion.

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?

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.

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.

Someone asked if it is necessary to pray for requiem within 49 days.

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.

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.

The seven-week requiem offering for the deceased, according to Ksitigarbha Sutra, Chapter Eight:

- 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Some people say, why do dead people have to suffer? That person didn't do it?

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:

- Without virtue, a child cannot understand the Dharma,

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?

Someone said: I don't believe that reading and reciting sutras can help the dead escape evil consequences.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

- Doing good will result in good, doing evil will result in evil, and cause and effect is not wrong.

Therefore, the Buddha taught:

- Loving-kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity are four immeasurable minds.

Those who have faith in good deeds, and practice them in your life, will feel extremely miraculous.

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.

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.

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.

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.