Question asked by chan
Hello Pastor: I am very confused please kindly let me know "Om Mani Dehwa Hri" Amitaba Buddha mantra can help soul going to Buddha Land or not? But if a dead person lost consciousness how can she/he prays?
Is Amitaba Buddha light is RED in colour? If so a soul should follow red light at death? Or yellow light? Or Blue?
Which way is the best way to purify bad karma? Does it depends on very bad karma or light ones?
Which one for light karma vs very bad karma?
Please kindly advise. Thanks so much for your kindness. Om Mani Pad Mehum.
Dear Chan,
Thank you for your question. Each Mahayana tradition will have different methods to attain being reborn in Purelands. So different traditions will place different emphasis on certain Purelands.
In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the mantra of Amitabha is Om Ami Dewa Hri”. This mantra can be recited by anyone to create a connection with the Buddha Amitabha.
From a Tibetan Buddhist perspective, the mantra of Amitabha alone will not be able to led a being to be reborn in his Pureland. That would require an extremely strong connection with Amitabha and a lot of merits, that comes from the transformation of the mind, meditation, etc.
At the momement of death, if a person has purified enough negative karma, generated enough merits and transformed their mind, then as they lose consciousness, their minds are fixed on Amitabha, then that can lead to them taking rebirth in his Pureland. So the practice of achieving rebirth in a Pureland is not done at the time of death, it is done throughout life, everyday until the momement of death itself.
At the moment of death, there can be many signs that occur, for example lights, images of monks, hearing chanting, etc. The main thing to concentrate on therefore is actually preparing yourself during life for that moment.
The best way to purify karma is to engage in Dharma practice, whether this is formal practice (daily prayers, sadhanas, etc, or specific purification practices such as Vajrasattva, 35 Confessional Buddhas, etc) and transformation of the mind following the teachings of the Buddha. The second one is the most important to purify great amounts of karma and generate merit.
You may find this video by Tsem Rinpoche helpful. Thank you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2aXpCTKT68