WHEN RECITING THE EIGHTY-EIGHT BUDDHAS GREAT REPENTANCE (LIFO) ON BEHALF OF OUR FAMILY MEMBERS, SHOULD WE VISUALISE OURSELVES AS THEM OR AS A THIRD PARTY?
Caller: Hi Master, how should we go about performing the recitation of the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance (LIFO) on behalf of our family members? Should we visualise ourselves as our family members or as a third party while repenting, especially when prostrating, to all the Buddhas, so that our repentance can be more effective?
Master has previously said that it’s best to recite five times of LIFO daily with different visualisations each time. I would like to know whether this method also applies when repenting on behalf of our family members?
Master Jun Hong Lu: That’s simple. You have actually raised an excellent question. Self-repentance aside, there are also those who repent on behalf of their family members, including their children. In the latter case, are you supposed to conjure up the sentiment of your child or your own while repenting? This is clearly a very pertinent aspect.
In cases where serious karmic obstacles are present, I think, it’s best not to imagine yourself as your child or the evildoer for that matter when performing the repentance. If you do so, you are going to shoulder the person’s karmic obstacles. It is that serious.
If you say that you are going to repent on behalf of an evildoer, who has committed a wrongdoing of grave magnitude, and you visualise being the person, you will end up shouldering a hefty amount of his karmic obstacles as they get transferred to you. After all, it’s not possible for these karmic obstacles to be eliminated over one or two rounds of repentance. Do you understand?
Conversely, for a small misdeed, it is no big deal even if you shoulder it for the person. For example, your child is having a fever and you implore, “May Bodhisattva bless my child and give him the opportunity to repent his karmic obstacles so that he can bounce back to health”. That’s not a big problem. Do you understand?
On this basis, it is best for you not to imagine yourself as the person whom you are performing the repentance for, because it can lead to serious consequences and may even cause your soul to leave your body, and in its place, the spirits may occupy your body. Look around you, you will see many people who babble away senselessly, not knowing who they actually are – a clear exhibit of visualisation gone wrong, where the foreign spirits of others occupy their bodies.
There are many of such cases. Previously, there was a girl who was infatuated with Andy Lau – a famous Hong Kong actor – and on a daily basis, she imagined herself relishing in his company and something untoward eventually happened to her, right? This is the precise reason why we should not practise visualisation.
Caller: I now see why we should not visualise. If that’s the case, do we recite LIFO on behalf of others without any visualisation?
Master Jun Hong Lu: This is how you should do it: Implore the blessings of Bodhisattva by saying,
“May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva bestow the blessings upon, <full name of the person>, and help resolve the negative karmic affinities of this person, who has today committed a wrongdoing. For that, I would like to repent on this person’s behalf before Guan Yin Bodhisattva”.
In your prayer, you must state ‘on the person’s behalf’ in order to make it clear that you are doing it on the person’s behalf. It’s a must to state the person’s full name.
Nowadays, many people do not even know the protocols when praying to the Buddha. Right before the Bodhisattva, they say, “May Bodhisattva bless me”, without even mentioning their names. It’s a must to cite one’s name. You must say, “May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva bless me, <your full name>”.
There are also many others who do not even know they must perform prostration before Bodhisattvas. All they do is say, “Gosh! Please bless me!”. This will not work at all. The Dharma Protectors may record your prayer but They also need to know your name.
Caller: I see. Thank you, Master.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s World Buddhist Fellowship Meeting (Q&A Session) – Question 11, Singapore, 10 April 2015
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