There are certain times of year when the veil between ourselves and those who have passed feels especially thin — when our thoughts turn, almost of their own accord, to parents and grandparents, to friends and teachers, to all who walked before us and are no longer here. In the Buddhist calendar this is a season of remembrance, a time to gently hold the departed in our hearts and ask: is there still something I can offer them?
Love That Outlasts a Lifetime
The teachings answer with a quiet and hopeful yes. In the Tibetan tradition, death is not a door that closes but a passage that continues. Those who have died journey on, and our prayers can reach them still. The bond of love and gratitude that connects us is not severed by death — it simply changes shape. Where once we cared for them with meals and visits and small kindnesses, now we care for them through prayer, through offering, and through the dedication of merit.
The Gift of Dedicated Merit
Whenever we make an offering, recite a mantra, keep a moment of stillness, or act with generosity, a subtle goodness arises — what we call merit. The beautiful truth is that this merit need not be kept for ourselves. With a sincere heart, we can dedicate it to another, and above all to those who have died. Like a lamp lit from a lamp, sharing the light diminishes nothing; the flame only grows. To dedicate merit to a departed loved one is to send warmth across that thin veil, a way of saying: you are not forgotten, and I am still walking beside you.
Jangwa: Prayers of Liberation
Among the most tender practices we hold at Tashi Gephelling is jangwa — prayers of purification and liberation for the deceased. Guided by H.E. the 5th Bise Rinpoche, and often carried by the healing presence of the Medicine Buddha, these prayers gather the community to invoke blessings that clear obstacles, purify past actions, and lead the consciousness of the departed toward peace and a favourable rebirth. To sit within such a puja is to feel grief transformed into offering, sorrow softened into loving action.
How You Might Take Part
You do not need to be a lifelong practitioner to remember someone you love. Light a candle and say their name. Offer a bowl of water with them in mind. Recite the mantra of the Medicine Buddha and dedicate its merit to them. And when a jangwa or Medicine Buddha puja is held at Mayo Street, you are warmly welcome to join, or to request that your loved ones be included in the prayers — whether you live in Singapore or follow us from across the world.
Remembrance, in this light, becomes an act of great kindness. We cannot walk the road our loved ones now travel, but we can send our prayers ahead of them like lamps along a darkened path.
May all who have gone before us be free from suffering. May they be held in light, guided in peace, and may the merit of our practice reach every being, in this world and beyond.