No..no .no the blessing in buddhism and the prayer u observe
from other religions is veery different.
There are many kinds of prayers. Some are to direct and
inspire our mind towards a certain quality or aim, thus creating
the cause for us to attain this. An example is praying to
be more tolerant and compassionate towards others. Other
prayers are for specific people or situations, as in praying for a
certain persons illness to be cured. To have either type of prayer
fulfilled depends on more than just praying: the appropriate cause
must also be created. It is not just a matter of saying,
"Please, Buddha, make this and that
happen, but Im going to relax and have tea while you do the
work!"
For example, if we pray to be more loving and compassionate
and yet make no effort to control our anger, we are not creating
the cause for that prayer to be fulfilled. The transformation of our mind comes from our
own effort, and we pray for the Buddhas inspiration to do
so. "Receiving the blessings of the Buddhas" does
not mean that something tangible comes from the Buddhas and goes
into us. It means that our mind is transformed through the combined
effort of the teachings and guidance of the Buddhas and
bodhisattvas and our own practice. Thus, we cannot pray to be born
in a pure land and expect the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to do all
the work! We must also make effort to actualize the teachings: we
gradually develop detachment from worldly pleasures, we practice
compassion as much as we can, and we generate wisdom. Then, praying
has an exceptionally profound effect on our mind. However,
if we do nothing to correct our bad habits of body, speech and
mind, and if our mind is distracted while praying, then there is
minimal effect.
As for our prayers for a sickness to be cured or the family
finances to improve or for a deceased relative to have a good
rebirth, these, too, depend on the person involved having created
the necessary causes. If he/she has, our prayers provide the
condition for the seed of a virtuous action he/she did in the past
to ripen and bring its result. However, if that person has not
created the causal seed through his/her own positive past actions,
then it is difficult for our prayers to be fulfilled.
We can put fertilizers and water on
the ground, but if the farmer has not planted the seed, nothing
will grow.
While describing how cause and effect works in our mental
continuum, the Buddha said that killing causes shortage of life.
Both abandoning killing and saving others lives cause us to have a
long life, free from illness. If we
neglect to follow this basic advice and yet pray to have a long and
healthy life, we are missing the point! On the other hand,
if in the past the person concerned has abandoned killing and has
saved lives, then prayers for him/her could be fulfilled.
In the same way, the Buddha said generosity is the cause of wealth.
If we have been generous in a past life and now pray for our wealth
to increase, then our finances could improve. Yet, if we are very
miserly now, we are creating the cause for poverty, nor wealth, in
the future. Being generous, helping those in need and sharing what
we have, will bring their desirable results sometime in the future.
On the other hand, when we experience some difficulties in our
life, it is good to ask ourselves, "What kind of action could I have done that
created the cause for this result?" This we can learn from
the Buddhas teachings. Then we can
change our behavior to avoid leaving more seeds to experience that
undesirable result.
