Qing Ming festival, a day for remembrance and an opportunity to pay homage to one's parents and ancestors. It is also to show filial piety, a value one should uphold throughout and it should be passed on to the next generation.
Transference of merits.
According to Buddhism, when a person dies he/she could be reborn in any one of the 31 planes of existence. Some of these are the Deva (happy) realms, where beings that have developed good Karma are reborn. On the other hand, those who have accumulated evil Karma are reborn in woeful states ie. hells or animals.
There is an intermediate (unhappy) state where people who have not bothered to accumulate good Karma and yet at the same time have not done any serious evil deeds are born after their deaths.
Thus, the living relatives or friends of such beings can perform good deeds ie. give alms, donations, charities, etc and mentally transmit the merits accrued to them.
When the unhappy beings become aware that they have been remembered, they experience happiness and are hence propelled into better states of existence.
Transference of merits.
According to Buddhism, when a person dies he/she could be reborn in any one of the 31 planes of existence. Some of these are the Deva (happy) realms, where beings that have developed good Karma are reborn. On the other hand, those who have accumulated evil Karma are reborn in woeful states ie. hells or animals.
There is an intermediate (unhappy) state where people who have not bothered to accumulate good Karma and yet at the same time have not done any serious evil deeds are born after their deaths.
Thus, the living relatives or friends of such beings can perform good deeds ie. give alms, donations, charities, etc and mentally transmit the merits accrued to them.
When the unhappy beings become aware that they have been remembered, they experience happiness and are hence propelled into better states of existence.
Idam me natinam hotu,
sukhita hontu natayu.
May the merits accrued be transferred
to our departed loved ones
and may they be well and happy.
~
No comments:
Post a Comment