[Downtown Dharma Listserve] For the benefit of the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary, a Transferrence of Merit Ceremony

For the benefit of the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary,
from Robert Rhyne

The venerable monks at the Washington Buddhist Vihara invite you to a Transference of Merit ceremony. The ceremony will start at 4 pm on Sunday, December 23, 2012. The normal 3 pm to 4 pm sit will be canceled that day. The address of the Vihara is 5017 16th Street NW, Washington, DC.

For those new to Buddhism, to the Vihara, or simply interested, Buddhism teaches good deeds bring happiness to the doer both in this world and in the hereafter. Good deeds can be performed through body, speech or mind. Simply put, every good deed produces 'merit' which accumulates to the 'credit' of the doer. Buddhist traditions teach that acquired merit can be transferred to others, just as much as it can be shared vicariously with others. In this ceremony next Sunday, we will transfer the merits to departed ones. The method for transferring merits is quite straightforward and, if you can't make the ceremony, this can be performed absent a formal ritual. First, perform some good deed in body, speech or mind. An mental good deed means you only have to wish that the merit you have gained accrues to the merit of the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary, or to a wider radius, to include their loved ones, to the healing of confusion and attachment to violence in our human culture, to all suffering beings. This wish can be a pure act of the heart or a thought form without words or it can accompanied by an expression of words. Although the Buddhist ceremony changes slightly from country to country, tradition to tradition, generally at the heart of the ritual is the transference of water from a jug or other similar vessel into a receptacle, while chanting.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "IMCW Downtown Dharma social/volunteer listserv" group.
To post to this group, send email to downtowndharma@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to downtowndharma+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/downtowndharma?hl=en-US.