Dalai Lama Foundation Study Circle Montreal

It is very difficult to help somebody overcome his or her problems when the problems are unstructured, when in a certain way this person does not have any problems, though deep inside all the problems are there. It is very difficult for a human being whose problem is confused, whose ego is ill-defined and without foundation, to really purify, clarify, and develop anything.

The same principle applies to praying. As long as we have our self, our ego, we pray to the Buddha: “Please bless me so that my prayers for the benefit of all sentient beings be fulfilled.” Otherwise our prayer does not follow any line or direction. It would be like going to a big five-star hotel with five hundred rooms and not knowing your room number, or taking an elevator without knowing which floor to go to–this would be a big problem.

This is the reason for calling upon the great compassion of the Buddha and asking him to consider our prayers. The reason is not that the Buddha only listens to someone who prays to him; rather, without praying to the Buddha we are not developed enough to have the condition necessary to receive his blessing. Rain might be falling for ten thousand years, yet if our cup is upside down it will remain empty. Through praying we open up, we turn our cup to let the water get inside. (p.48)

–from The Third Karmapa’s Mahamudra Prayer by the XII Khentin Tai Situpa Rinpoche, translated and edited by Rosemarie Fuchs, published by Snow Lion Publications

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