Four Queries On Buddhist Images & Ancestral Tablets

Dec. 24 | [1] Is It Inauspicious To Keep A Damaged Buddhist Image? Question: Is it inauspicious to keep a Buddha or Bodhisattva image with a defect, such as a missing finger at home? Answer: The defect is but a reminder of neglect, that it should...

Do We Chant Just To Show Respect?

Sep. 24 | Question: Is chanting to express respect to Buddha? How does it help us and others? Answer: Chanting should always be practised respectfully, so as to be attentive, to receive the teachings chanted well. But chanting is not done just to express respect...

Is There A Wrong Time To Chant?

Jul. 2 | Question: Is there appropriate timing to recite the Repentance Verse, the name of Amitabha Buddha (Nianfo in terms of ‘Amituofo’) and the Verse For Sharing Of Merits? Someone told me they should not be done after a certain time at night. Answer:...

Learn To Practise Accordingly

Apr. 18 | Much though he recites the sacred texts, but acts not accordingly, that heedless man is like a cowherd who only counts the cows of others — he does not partake of the blessings of the holy life. Little though he recites the sacred texts, but puts the...

What Language To Chant In To Help The Deceased?

Feb. 27 | Question: If there is sutra-chanting for a deceased Chinese person, with dedication of merits, both using a non-Chinese language, will the deceased be able to benefit? Answer: The power from sutra-chanting and dedication comes from the power of the...

Verse On Chanting

Oct. 11 | 讽诵经时， 当愿众生， 顺佛所说， 总持不忘。 – 文殊菩萨 (华严经: 净行品: 第129偈) When chanting sūtras, [reflect that] ‘May sentient beings, accord with [the] Buddha[‘s teachings] as said, totally retaining*...

Can Chanting Where The Deceased Are Not At Benefit Them?

Oct. 11 | Question: Is it alright to practise chanting at other temples or Buddhist centres, where ancestral tablets of deceased loved ones are not placed, while still benefiting them? Answer: Yes, as dependent on the factors that follow… Unless there...

Must Mantras Be Chanted Accurately?

Jul. 11 | Question: Is it such that when chanting a mantra like the Great Compassion Mantra, it must be chanted accurately?  Answer: Although sincerity matters more than accuracy, especially for longer mantras with many words, they should be chanted as accurately...

How Did Dharma Ceremonies Originate?

Aug. 30 | Question: Were there Dharma ceremonies (法会) in the Buddha’s time? If not, how did they arise? Answer: The original meaning of Dharma ceremonies is more accurately ‘Dharma assemblies’ – where people assemble to learn the Dharma....

Does Chanting Lead To Seeing Of Spirits?

Sep. 23 | Question: Someone said he sees more spirits (ghost beings) when he chants. Is this supposed to happen? If chanting attracts spirits, is it good for us? Answer: If what said is true, why this happened depends on what is chanted, where and when it was...

Is Collection Of ‘Blessed’ Amulets Buddhist Practice?

Mar. 9 | If you take refuge only in ‘blessed’ items, you have yet to take refuge in the truly blessed Triple Gem. – Stonepeace | Books Some believe that making money offerings to ‘masters’ who offer blessed amulets is true Buddhist practice...

How To Protect Mothers With Unborn Babies

Nov. 10 | Yatohaṁ, bhagini, ariyāya jātiyājāto, nābhijānāmi sañcicca pāṇaṁ jīvitā voropetā; tena saccena sotthi te hotu, sotthi gabbhassa. – Aṅgulimāla Paritta (Pāli) According to the Aṅgulimāla Sutta, when Venerable Aṅgulimāla was...

Is There A Birthday Sutra?

Mar. 17 | Question: May I know what sutra should I recite on my birthday? Answer: There is no custom of chanting any specific sutra for this day. Birthdays, or rather, rebirthdays are actually literally ‘grave’ reminders that not only are we still stuck...

Can Buddhists Chant In Restrooms & Bedrooms?

Feb. 17 | The true spiritual taboo is to embrace the three poisons, to let them grow unchecked. – Stonepeace | Get Books We often hear some Buddhists gravely discouraging the practice of chanting in toilets (restrooms) and bedrooms, deeming this to be most...

Why Trembling During Chanting?

May. 31 | Question: When we were chanting a sutra during a relative’s wake at a temple, a family member experienced involuntary tremors, after which she had to stop. She said she felt like she was going into a ‘trance’. What happened? Someone...