lian hua dance10/29/02 at 08:46:09#1 :)
Once again we have a repentance ceremony coming up and I am hoping to not have to rush through the forms and guess what to put down like I usually do.
Name I can handle, where someone is buried (bardo form here) I just don't know most of the time, and then I get to the wish column. My over-worked bilingual fellow student tells me that in Chinese there are a number of standard phrases that get used - people aren't expected to be particularly original and come up with novel wishes for their attached spirits and departed ancestors. She told me some of these phrases, which I have forgotten.
Any help here?
thank you
Lian Hua Dance
mimosa10/29/02 at 09:09:19#2Re: filling out the bardo and blessing forms# where someone is buried (bardo form here
you can just put names and birthdays...if you know the city where they used to live, it will be sufficient!
#She told me some of these phrases, which I have forgotten
Ah, I learned one important phrase from one reverend in Seattle temple.
in the wish column, I will alway add
" I dedicate the merits to the lives that I have intentionally and unintentionally hurt or killed. May they be delivered to the Western Pure Land"
I used the word "lives" which include the little insects we killed and the food we ate
Mimosa
Last edited 10/29/02 at 09:10:36 by mimosa
lian hua dance10/31/02 at 11:00:36#3Re: filling out the bardo and blessing forms :)
She recreated her list for me:
"Stock phrases" - that's a good way of putting it. Some of these would be:
"increase in affinity with the buddhas" - note that buddhas only have 3 inabilities, namely the salvation of hell beings, the removal of fixed karma and the ability to transmit teachings to beings with no affinity (alias appropriate conditions) - affinity can only be built through positive karma.
"increase in wisdom" - only with increased intelligence and compassion, can we understand the inner meaning of sutras and dharma
"increase in faith in the teachings" - so that we do not waver from daily practice
"protection from jealous and petty foes"
"dissolution of past karmic debts"
"good health"
"success in our endeavours"
these last two seem appropriate only for the blessings form, not bardo form; are all the previous wishes appropriate for the bardo form and blessing form both?
thank you for any input you may give -
I wonder for all the people not giving input -
are you as confused as me?
Or just far away from any temple and not concerned with these things?
lian hua dance
Buddhafly10/31/02 at 13:06:46#4Re: filling out the bardo and blessing forms
If anyone wants to register at a temple for a Bardo deliverance and mails in their request, what would they put?
I have no idea. I always ask at temple what does everything mean. It would be nice to have a standard form and what one can put.
There is a tidy process regarding all this that likely most people do not know.
Buddhafly10/31/02 at 14:43:44#5Re: filling out the bardo and blessing forms
Normally I would enter in a Chinese form, where my ancestors plaques are, their number, and anyone else I am including, where they are buried and my wishes for them.
Usually we are also given another form for our own wishes.
This is what I could find for English Bardo Forms:
Bardo Deliverance Registration Form
Name:___________________________Address:____________________________________________
Name of Ceremony:______________________________Date of Ceremony:_______________
Please check the followings:
____ Yes, I want a receipt for my donation. ____ No, I do not want a receipt for my donation.
Thank you for your donation. Please make cheque or money order payable to:
**************************************************************************************************
OR fax form to us first and mail donation later.
Name of Deceased Burial Place
__________________ _____________________________________________
__________________ _____________________________________________
__________________ _____________________________________________
__________________ _____________________________________________
__________________ _____________________________________________
__________________ _____________________________________________
__________________ _____________________________________________
__________________ _____________________________________________
Donation:_______________________________________
Luljeta10/31/02 at 20:39:17#6Re: filling out the bardo and blessing formsHi Dance,
For the blessing forms, it's a good idea put the "stock phrases" you mentioned.
What I personally do is write in the same dedication I make in my daily practice, unless there are some special circumstances that would make me write in something else.
Why do I write on the forms the same dedication I make every single day during normal practice ? So that my message is loud and clear to the all the dakinis and celestial beings that travel through time and space and help us in our practice. This is something that Grand Master recommended. (If I can find the article I'll put the link here...)
If we keep making dedications for different things every time we practice, the dakinis will become confused. It's best to stick to one thing, or as few things as possible and to keep praying for these things (or doing dedications for them) each time you practice.
As for the Bardo forms, you can dedicate for the deceased:
-a better rebirth
-rebirth in Western Paradise
-hindrance eradication
-affinity to cultivate the Buddha dharma
I hope this helps
Om mani padme hum
Lu
mimosa11/01/02 at 12:28:13#8Re: filling out the bardo and blessing formsForms may be varied from chapter to chapter. dont mind the little details. For me, I created my own form in my computer. Whenever I want to register a ceremony, I print it out and mail it to them. That way, I dont have to worry if I forget someone at the last minute.
You can do the same, they dont require you to use their form.
Mimosa
lian hua dance11/14/02 at 21:42:08#9Re: filling out the bardo and blessing forms :)
To put all together all the help I got from people, here is one last bit from another source -
I was told that for the WISH column, we aren't required to be completely creative -
there are some stock phrases in Chinese that people tend to put there -
but I forget what they were.
What kinds of things are appropriate?
You can put anything. For repentance, it's good to express your repentance (if any, since we want to be truthful.) Or for blessings such as what we recite at the end of the daily practice--health, preseverance in cultivation, eradication of karma, development of wisdom and fortune, etc.
Bardo form is for dead people - my own ancestors, and who else? I am sure there are attached spirits I should be addressing somehow - what is the way?
Yes, ancestors, you can also say Dance Smith's ancestors, attached spirits, debtors, house guardian, land god, all beings that he intentionally or unintentionally killed (such as mosquitoes, spiders, whatever)
And the blessing form is for living people - for those most in need of blessings? or just people I want to receive blessings because I like them?
Yes, you can register anyone. Personally, I think it's ok to register as many people as you want, provided you really mean it. I personaly don't like people making fotocopies and just submitting a copy, it just doesn't seem to come out from
the heart. I'd say, at least we should read it from the heart if we're just submitting copies, so we remember who are registering and what for.
I remember from reading something from GM that we shouldn't have too long a list - things get diluted, unfocussed, lost in the forest.
for regular registration as a participant, I think it's ok. but if you're the requester (or primary beneficiance) of a ceremony, then, yes, you should focus. If you have nothing to ask, it's ok not to ask for anything. If you ask for too much for being greedy, well, we know what we should do then, right?
Last edited 11/15/02 at 05:25:55 by lian_hua_dance