Phakchok Rinpoche held a Question-and-Answer session with the students from the Rigpa Shedra in Nepal. Samye Institute shares excerpts from this session as we can all benefit from Rinpoche’s direct advice on issues many of us face in our practice and in our daily lives.
In this excerpt from the Q and A, Phakchok Rinpoche answers a student who asks how praying for others brings benefit. How is this possible if the people praying don’t know the person or the person requesting the prayers? How can prayers be effective in this situation?
Prayer works because of the name that is given. It is similar to the way that rejoicing works. If we rejoice in good or bad deeds of others we will still experience a result. It is important to understand that the other person’s belief doesn’t matter in this case. Everyone has buddha nature, correct? So when we pray and dissolve a buddha into the person, that dissolves into the buddha nature–not to the person’s character or their disbelief. Atheists’ minds have emptiness too.
Rinpoche then explains that if we request prayers because we are going through difficulties and then those problems disappear, that means that the difficulties were conditions. But if we do prayers and the problem reduces but recurs, or comes back suddenly–then that means it is karma. If that is the case, then you need to confess, and chant the Vajrasattva mantra.
Finally, Rinpoche explains that the person doing the prayer is important. A fully ordained person has more potency due to their pure vows. He uses the metaphor of different vessels–gold, silver, and wood. The strength of the discipline–the ethical conduct and purity of the person multiplies the effectiveness of prayer. This is why the term sangha actually refers to fully ordained monks. This is why we stress the importance of fully ordained monks as crucial for the future of the Dharma.
We all should make aspirations that in the future, all our countries will have fully ordained sangha members.
To learn more about prayers benefit yourself and others, please visit the Sponsor Prayers section of this site.
