Prayers and Practices for the Deceased

If you are not able to do Medicine Buddha puja, then do a short Medicine Buddha practice:

Visualize the Medicine Buddhas, inseparable from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, stacked up above the head [of the person who has just passed away].

Do the motivation, then recite the seven-limb prayer at least seven times for each of the limbs. Recite the limbs for offerings and rejoicing extensively, in order to collect a lot of merit.

Then recite each Medicine Buddha's name seven times and make request for [the Sangha person who has just passed away] to be born in a pure land or gain a perfect human rebirth and meet with Dharma at a young age and actualize the path in that life.

After reciting each name, that Medicine Buddha absorbs to the one below. When the last Medicine Buddha has been requested and is on the crown of the Sangha person who has passed away, recite the very long mantra three times, followed by a round of the short mantra. Light rays radiate out from the mantra at the Medicine Buddha's heart, purifying and blessing the person who has passed away and all sentient beings. Then the Medicine Buddha absorbs to the heart of the person who has passed away.

Finally there is a requesting prayer to Medicine Buddha and dedications.

Afterwards, recite the King of Prayers and Lama Tsongkhapa's Prayer for the Beginning, Middle and End of Practice.

This gives some idea of what Sangha can do when somebody dies. Do the short Medicine Buddha practice with meditation. You can do the longer one, but with this shorter one there is more meditation.

Otherwise you can do Lama Chöpa and when you get to the powa prayer [v. 112], just repeat it three times, chanting it slowly. The main thing is the visualization. As you recite the powa prayer, visualize the consciousness going up to the heart of Maitreya Buddha.

[You can find links to these practices in the FPMT Catalogue.]

Rinpoche did prayers last night for the deceased with the abbot of Kopan Monastery and eleven Tantric College monks. Prayers and tsa tsas of Medicine Buddha and other deities have also been done for her good rebirth by the nuns at Rinpoche’s residence.

Rinpoche has checked and further things have to be done. These are:

• Statues of Vajrapani and also Padmasambhava have to be made.
• Reading of the Kangyur by Bati Kangtsen.
• Recitation of the names of the 100,000 buddhas (Sangye sem bhum). Rinpoche and five other monks will do this.
• Writing of the Prajnaparamita in gold.

When you watch TV, one benefit is when you see people or animals die (e.g. animals being cooked alive), then immediately you can pray:

By the merits of the three times collected by myself and all other sentient beings, may this being be reborn in the Pure Land of Buddha and achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.

Then, recite some mantras, just a few – mani mantras or mantras of the five powerful deities of purification. By the power of your merits from beginningless rebirths and others' merits, it becomes very powerful. It makes watching TV very worthwhile – you are able to be of benefit to beings who have no guide.

These are some ways that the Sangha community can help when an FPMT Sangha member is dying or has died. This is the most critical journey for that person, especially one who is going to the lower realms. It is important to receive support at least for 49 days, and the individual Sangha member who is dying will feel so happy, knowing that they are receiving this support from the FPMT Sangha community. What a joy for that Sangha member.

After the person has died, the Sangha can do pujas together at the end of each week—according to an intermediate state being’s week, which is seven days, counting seven days from the day the person died. Assuming the person who died is still in the intermediate state, the general length of life of intermediate state beings is seven days. The lifespan doesn’t have to be exactly seven days. It is possible that they take birth in the intermediate state, and then immediately take another rebirth right after. But if they cannot find a rebirth within that seven-day period, they are reborn again in the intermediate state. When a Sangha member dies, even in Dharma centers with no Sangha, if the students at the center want to sponsor or perform a puja, it is welcomed.

Especially where there are Sangha communities, you can recite mantras up until the 49 days. In this nun’s case, Namgyalma mantra was the most beneficial thing to recite, 21 times if possible. If it is too difficult for each person to recite the long mantra 21 times, then you can recite the long one 6 or 12 times, and then recite one mala or a few malas of the short mantra. The mantra is available in a book I translated which also contains the meditation of Namgyalma, with the benefits, the story about Namgyalma, and how powerful the Namgyalma practice is. It’s good for all the Sangha to have that practice, especially where there are Sangha communities. Maybe not all the benefits are mentioned there in the book, but the basic story is there, and some benefits.

Many years ago, Lama Yeshe and I went to Mundgod to meet our root guru His Holiness Zong Rinpoche, and he talked to us while he was doing his meditation. In the middle of the interview, Rinpoche mentioned that he was reciting Namgyalma mantra. He said people think that it is only for a long life, but it isn’t only for that; it is also very powerful purification. Rinpoche said he had received offerings from all over the world for people who had died, and therefore was reciting the Namgyalma mantra. Also, when I check what is the most beneficial mantra to recite for somebody who has died, normally it is the Namgyalma mantra.

If the Namgyalma mantra is written on a banner and put on top of a house, and the shadow of the banner touches a being, his or her negative karma is purified. If the mantra is on the top of the mountain, the animals and insects on that mountain have their negative karma purified, and so do people climbing the mountain. If you have this mantra or text in your house, the people living in the house are purified of their negative karma. It’s the same if the mantra is in water: the beings in the water are purified of their negative karma, liberated from the lower realms, and achieve a good rebirth. This mantra has incredible power and is a very powerful and easy way to benefit others.

Anyway, please recite this mantra and dedicate it to her and all sentient beings, especially the ones who are born in the lower realms, who have intense suffering. Then, dedicate the merits by reciting the King of Prayers, the Bodhisattva’s Holy Deeds. You can also recite malas of OM MANI PADME HUM, and whatever other prayers you normally recite. The mala of OM MANI PADME HUM can be recited for anyone.

It is very good to do the Vajrasattva tsog composed by Lama Yeshe. While reciting the mantra, visualize beams of nectar emitting from Guru Vajrasattva, purifying the person, and then all sentient beings, particularly sentient beings in the lower realms. When offering the tsog, the merit can be dedicated to that person and to others.

One can also practice nyung näs within those 49 days, individually or as a group, and dedicate the merit to that person.

The minimum is to recite Namgyalma mantra. That is extremely beneficial. The other practice is Vajrasattva tsog, and to make at least one stupa, which is very easy to do. I am not talking about a 500-foot stupa or the size of one of the high buildings in New York, Malaysia, or Taiwan. Regarding other mantras, there is the Stainless Beam Deity’s mantra. By reciting it 73 times, the person will be immediately liberated from the lower realms. This is the basic advice.

This can also apply for lay students. The centers can perform the practices of extensive light offerings, Namgyalma mantra, Medicine Buddha meditation (at least the very short one), and Vajrasattva tsog. On top of those, it is good to sponsor whatever other practices you can.

These are some basic ideas about how to help a person who has died. This also helps our life become meaningful, becomes purification for us, and collects extensive merit.

Jang-chog means "Purification Ceremony." It is a skilful Vajrayana practice for purifying the negative karma of those who have died, and transferring their consciousnesses to a pure land. It can liberate beings from the lower realms, and can benefit those who have died recently and are in the intermediate state on their way to a lower rebirth, by changing their rebirth to the human realm or a Pure Land. In that way, those beings have a chance once again to meet the Dharma and meet a fully qualified virtuous friend. At the same time, the ashes or remains of the deceased can be blessed, so they actually become holy objects, at which time they can then be placed in holy objects like stupas and statues. This becomes highly beneficial for the deceased and for those family or friends left behind, because every time they make offerings such as flowers or lights and pay respects to the deceased, they create a great deal of merit.

There are a number of sources where Buddha explains or depicts this as being appropriate to do. Also, in the very extensive commentary by Desi Sangye Gyatso (who organized the building of the Potala), he explains the extensive benefits of various actions performed with holy objects. He also quotes sources from the sutra.

This skilful practice that benefits the dead originated with Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. One deva's son died and was reborn in a lower realm. The devas perceived this, and requested Shakyamuni Buddha to help him. The Buddha manifested in the form of a deity named Kunrig, and then all of the practices of this deity, including the Jang-wa practice, were given. The practice of this deity is to liberate sentient beings from the lower realms. Later, the Jang-wa or Purification practice was combined with the practices of other deities such as Amitabha.

The names of the dead people should be written on a large sheet of paper (use thin paper that can easily be burned), and on the reverse side of the paper, write the first letter of the name of each person (e.g."A" for Alice).

We do not offer food to the dead people (as in the Chinese tradition), but we can make offerings of food, flowers, light, etc. to the Three Jewels on behalf of the dead people, to accumulate merit for them. Any food can later be distributed.

Traditionally, as soon as the person’s breath has stopped, the person’s wealth is offered to his or her gurus.

Another thing that is traditionally done when somebody dies is to make light offerings. According to how wealthy the person is, you can offer any amount of lights: 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, or more. Every day, up until 49 days after the person’s passing away, you can make light offerings. Or, you can make light offerings at the end of each week, using the practice for offering lights that I have composed.

If you are just doing the light offering practice, you can recite the prayers in that practice. However, if you are making extensive light offerings, you can use Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga or the Guru Puja, and make the offering during the offering section of the seven limb prayer, or at the beginning when you make the preliminary offerings. If you are making light offerings with other sadhanas, offer them when you come to the practice of the seven-limb prayer, in the part for offerings. If you are performing Chenrezig practice, which is the same as the nyung nä practice, there is a section for extensive offerings, and you can practice the meditation at that time.

One should perform the blessing when one is actually lighting the offerings. That is part of the normal practice. Before you do the extensive offering meditation, whenever you do group practice or when you perform a sadhana, it is good to recite the mantra of clouds of offerings. Even if there is only one light offering, numberless buddhas receive numberless light offerings. The Guru Puja merit field receives numberless light offerings. That mantra has the power not only to bless, but also to increase the offerings. It is very important to perform light offerings when somebody has passed away.

This is the minimum that can be done. But if somebody has more money, or people want to sponsor a puja for the person who died, there is the Namgyalma thousand-offering puja, and the middle and long Medicine Buddha pujas, which are extremely good to do, with many offerings. These pujas can be done at the end of each week, and especially at the end of the 49 days. They can be done in a Sangha community, and if there is enough money, the pujas can be sponsored and be performed in monasteries where there are many monks or nuns. This way, by making offerings to more Sangha, it collects more merit. You can request monasteries to perform these pujas. There is so much merit in making offerings to Sangha, as long as they are living according to their vows, especially the fully ordained. When money is offered to me after someone has died, I use it for pujas, to build stupas and prayer wheels, etc.

If you offer to the monastery by thinking that you are offering to the pores of your own guru, remembering your guru, you collect extensive merit. Any amount offered to all the ten directions’ Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and to the ten directions’ statues, stupas, and scriptures collects extensive merit.

Whatever money or property a person has, it is extremely good to use it for public service, in order to build monasteries, temples, centers, holy objects, and to support Western Sangha. That can make it most beneficial. Of course, the same applies to offering to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. If the offering is given to build holy objects, temples, or monasteries, whatever amount is given—$1, $5, $10—generates so much merit.

There is a story that just by offering a drink, one is born as a king in the human world. I think there was a very poor couple who offered medicinal drinks to some Sangha and they were reborn as kings in the place called Gashika, with an incredible amount of power. For millions of eons they were never poor through having offered food and drink. And that’s just concerning temporary happiness, without even mentioning ultimate happiness. One will receive so much happiness in all those lifetimes.

It is the same when building or buying a Dharma center, a hall for the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and for all sentient beings—a place for sentient beings to meet the Dharma, the unmistaken path to happiness. Through the unmistaken method, they can achieve future happiness, and more important, everlasting happiness, liberation from samsara, and most importantly, full enlightenment. This way, there is the deepest benefit by eliminating the root of suffering, which is deeply rooted in their minds. Nothing else can do that except Dharma,. Without Dharma, they will suffer without end. Even if they try to achieve happiness by other means, the happiness they achieve will be only temporary, and is actually in the nature of suffering. Creating the facilities for sentient beings to meet and practice Dharma brings them to the cessation of suffering and to enlightenment.