Q: Dear Master Lu, on your radio program you mentioned that after we pray to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and perform recitations, it would be best if we recite the Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan 3 times. Please tell us how to carry it out. Can we eliminate all our karmic obstacles in our present life by reciting the Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan?
A:
- By reciting the Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan, we can eliminate the karmic obstacles made in our present lives or those created recently, provided that those karmic obstacles are not severe ones. For severe karmic obstacles, we still need to recite the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance.
- Recitation of the Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan is very effective, but cannot completely replace the recitation of the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance.
- If you have a Buddhist altar at home, after making an incense offering (in the morning and at night), perform recitations and make prostrations, you can recite the Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan 3 times and then stand up.
- If you do not have a Buddhist altar at home, you can recite the Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan 3 times after you offer the “Heart Incense”.
- Generally, you can recite the Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan 3 times after you have completed a portion of your daily recitation, or after you have finished reciting Little Houses.
- It is not necessary to say any prayer before you complete the recitations of the Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan 3 times.
- Reciting the Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan 3 times will help us become purer; it also enhances the effectiveness of the recitations just performed. At the same time, it can eliminate minor karmic obstacles created on the day or during the week.
