Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.
Tibetan tradition suggests that the best time to offer the dead person help and to perform practices on their behalf is during the first forty-nine days after their death.
If the dead person was a relative, or a good friend, and particularly if they were a Dharma friend, it is important that you:
– make offerings to the buddhas and bodhisattvas – sponsor rituals on their behalf
– chant mantras, and
– perform rituals for them yourself.
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Living is Dying
Prayer requests may be made through the Siddhartha’s Intent Australia prayer list
To sponsor prayers and ceremonies performed by monks in Khyentse Labrang, Bir, India or Chokyi Lodro Institute, Deothang, Bhutan please contact Ms Pema Buddha [email protected]
Beings in the bardo, in particular, are very receptive to meditation and prayers, as they live in a world of thought.
The peace, joy, and compassion that we generate by offering meditation and practices for a deceased person provide a safe harbor where bardo beings can rest and gain confidence, peace, and joy. Meditation is a more powerful way to help these beings than our usual discursive thoughts and feelings because it comes from a deeper, more peaceful level in our mind.
Like a magnet, a grounded mind draws floating consciousnesses and stabilizes them. The longer we remain in contemplation, the longer we can comfort these beings and the greater the chance to improve their futures.
Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth
A Tibetan Buddhist Guidebook
Tulku Thondup