慈悲道場懺法 8.39

8.39

Today, members of the assembly sharing this karmic endeavor in the bodhimaṇḍa! If among us there are those whose parents passed away when they were young, it is difficult to meet them again across the vastness of myriad kalpas; having not yet attained the divine eye and the clear knowledge of life and death, we do not know what realm our parents' consciousness has been reborn into after casting off their retribution. We must only strive to produce merits and virtues to pursue them and repay their kindness; if one does good without ceasing, when the effort succeeds, the result will surely arrive. A sūtra says: 'To create merit for the deceased is like sending provisions to someone far away. If they have been reborn as humans or devas, it increases their merits. If they are in the three wretched paths or in the eight difficulties, it swiftly brings them liberation.' If in their birth they encounter a Buddha and receive the teaching of the true Dharma, they will forever leave behind manifold sufferings, having all worries and fears eradicated; parents and kin of seven past generations and across successive kalpas, along with sentient beings of the ten directions, will all attain liberation together. This is the highest repayment of kindness through utmost compassion and utmost filial piety by the wise. Today, if any among us have deceased parents, we should weep with grief, yearning and lamenting with wailing and sorrowful cries, and on behalf of deceased parents and kin across successive kalpas, throw our five limbs to the ground to take refuge in the Great Compassionate Father of the World.