I remember an incident some years' back when a student's sis-in-law was about to pass away.
She couldn't cope with it and sought my help.
I related the account to another student - a mutual friend - who told me, "Ask her to chant."
I looked at him incredulously
Cos' the student's best friend who claimed to know alot and who does alot of chanting everyday, told her to do the same thing - Chant.
I told this other guy student, "Her sis-in-law is going to die, and no amount of chanting is going to help. The important thing to do is to prepare the sis-in-law for death."
Seeing that he didn't quite understand my words,
I asked him, "Let's take a stone - and you chant day and night for the stone to float. Now throw the stone into the water. Is the stone going to float?"
"No," my student replied.
I asked again, "Now take a styrofoam and cut it to the same size as the stone, and chant again day and night for it to sink. Throw the styrofoam into the same water as the stone. Will it sink?"
"No," replied my student again.
The point is, you can pray/chant all you want
BUT if you continue to do evil, indulge yourself silly and NOT practise,
All your praying/chanting is NOT going to help you.
You can pray/chant your whole life - till your last breath even,
But you're still NOT going to the Heavens or higher realms just because of your praying/chanting.
It's the things you say and do that counts.
NOT the number of times you pray/chant.
Time to get real.
Wake up everyone.
****************************
Asibandhakaputta the headman said to The Blessed One:
"The brahmans of the Western lands, Lord — those who carry water pots, wear garlands of water plants, purify with water, & worship fire — can take [the spirit of] a dead person, lift it out, instruct it, & send it to heaven.
But The Blessed One, worthy & rightly self-awakened, can arrange it so that all the world, at the break-up of the body, after death, reappears in a good destination, the heavenly world."
"Very well, then, headman, I will question you on this matter. Answer as you see fit...
"Suppose a man were to throw a large boulder into a deep lake of water, and a great crowd of people, gathering & congregating, would pray, praise, & circumambulate with their hands palm-to-palm over the heart [saying,]
'Rise up, O boulder! Come floating up, O boulder! Come float to the shore, O boulder!'
What do you think: would that boulder — because of the prayers, praise, & circumambulation of that great crowd of people — rise up, come floating up, or come float to the shore?"
"No, Lord."
"So it is with any man who takes life, steals, indulges in illicit sex; is a liar, one who speaks divisive speech, abusive speech, & idle chatter; is covetous, malevolent, & holds to WRONG views.
Even though a great crowd of people, gathering & congregating, would pray, praise, & circumambulate with their hands palm-to-palm over the heart — [saying,]
'May this man, at the break-up of the body, after death, reappear in a good destination, the heavenly world!' —
Still, at the break-up of the body, after death, he would reappear in destitution, a bad destination, the lower realms, HELL ...
"Now, suppose a man were to throw a jar of ghee or a jar of oil into a deep lake of water, where it would break. There the shards & jar-fragments would go down, while the ghee or oil would come up.
Then a great crowd of people, gathering & congregating, would pray, praise, & circumambulate with their hands palm-to-palm over the heart [saying,]
'Sink, O ghee/oil! Submerge, O ghee/oil! Go down, O ghee/oil!'
What do you think: would that ghee/oil, because of the prayers, praise, & circumambulation of that great crowd of people sink, submerge, or go down?"
"No, Lord."
"So it is with any man who refrains from taking life, from stealing, & from indulging in illicit sex; he refrains from lying, from speaking divisive speech, from abusive speech, & from idle chatter; he is NOT covetous, NOT malevolent, & holds to RIGHT view.
Even though a great crowd of people, gathering & congregating, would pray, praise, & circumambulate with their hands palm-to-palm over the heart — [saying,]
'May this man, at the break-up of the body, after death, reappear in a destitution, a bad destination, the lower realms, hell!' —
Still, at the break-up of the body, after death, he would reappear in a GOOD destination, the HEAVENLY world."
— SN 42.6
- The Buddha, Samyutta Nikaya 42.6
*** Read : 'Purpose / All We Need To Do Is .....' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2009/11/purpose-all-we-need-to-do-is.html
"Though much he recites The Sacred Text
But acts NOT accordingly,
That heedless man is like a cowsherd who counts others' kine.
He has NO share in the fruits of The Holy Life."
- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 19
"However many holy words you read
However many holy words you speak
What good will they do you
If you do NOT act upon them."
- The Buddha
******* Contemplate on the above well, and have a Happy Vesak, everyone!
