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Highest Gift to the
Departed
The Buddha says that greatest gift one can confer on one’s deed ancestors is to
perform ‘acts of merit’ and to transfer these merits so acquired. He also says
that those who give also receive the fruits of their deeds. The Buddha
encouraged those who did good deeds such as offering alms to holy men, to
transfer the merits which they received to their departed ones. Alms should be
given in the name of the departed by recalling to mind such things as, ‘When he
was alive; he gave me this wealth, he did this for me; he was my relative, my
companion,’ etc. There is no use weeping, feeling sorry, lamenting and wailing;
such attitudes are of no consequence to the departed ones. Kindly refer (TIROKUDDA
SUTTA).
Transferring merits to the departed is based on the popular belief that on a
person’s death, his or her ‘merits’ and ‘demerits’ are weighed against one
another and destiny is thus determined. Lifetime actions determine whether one
is to be reborn in a sphere of happiness or a realm of woe. The belief is that
the departed one might have gone to an existence in the spirit world. The beings
in these lower forms of existence cannot generate fresh merits, and have to live
on the merits which are earned from this world.
Those who did not harm others and who performed many good deeds during their
lifetime will certainly have the chance to be reborn in a happy place. Such
persons do not require the help of living relatives. However, those who have no
chance to be reborn in a happy abode are always waiting to receive merits from
their living relatives to offset their deficiency and to enable them to be born
in a happy abode.
Those who are reborn in an unfortunate spirit form could be released from their
suffering condition through the transferring of merits to them by friends and
relatives who do some meritorious deeds. What happens is really quite
understandable. When the dead person becomes aware that someone has remembered
him or her, then he or she becomes glad, and this happiness relieves the
suffering. As there is greater happiness accrued from repeatedly being
remembered, the unhappy birth is transformed to a happy one. It has all to do
with the power of the mind.
Some people simply waste time and money on meaningless ceremonies and
performance in memory of departed ones. These people do not realize that it is
impossible to help the departed ones simply by building big graveyards, tombs,
paper houses and other paraphernalia. Neither is it possible to help the
departed by burning joss-sticks, joss-paper, etc; nor is it possible to help the
departed by slaughtering animals and offering them along with other kinds of
food. Also one should not waste by burning things used by the departed ones on
the assumption that the deceased persons would somehow benefit by the act, when
such articles can in fact be distributed among the needy.
The only way to help the departed ones is to do some meritorious deeds in a
religious way in memory of them. The meritorious deeds in clued such acts as
giving alms to others, building schools, temples, orphanages, libraries,
hospitals, printing religious books for free distribution and similar charitable
deeds.
The followers of the Buddha should act wisely and should not follow anything
blindly. While others pray to god for the departed ones, Buddhists radiate their
loving-kindness directly to them. By doing meritorious deeds, they can transfer
the merits to their beloved ones for their well being. This is the best way of
remembering and giving real honor to and perpetuating the names of the departed
ones. In their state of happiness, the departed ones will reciprocate their
blessings on their living relatives. It is, therefore, the duty of relatives to
remember their departed ones by transferring merits and by radiating
loving-kindness directly to them.
Source: What Buddhists Believe by Chief Reverand Dr.K Sri Dhammananda
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