AboutJustin Choo Expertise When in doubt seek it out. All your questions will be answered, and you may not have to agree with the answers. Such is the beauty of Buddhism. You are free to decide. I follow the Theravada tradition, and have been studying Buddhism for more than 40 years. Please view my profile for more details. I have answered more than a thousand questions since joining this category. You are welcome to try me.
Experience I was brought up in the 50's as a Buddhist. For the past 40 years I have read numerous books on Buddhism and listened to numerous talks on Buddhism by well-respected and learned monks and lay teachers. I conduct Buddhist classes for parents of Sunday School children in a Theravada Buddhist Temple.
My teacher was the late Chief Reverend, The Ven. K Sri Dhammananda of The Brickfields Buddhist Mahavihara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. You can view the relevent website in memory of my revered late teacher @
http://www.ksridhammananda.com
Organizations I am a life member of the Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia.
Publications YOU ARE INVITED TO VISIT MY BLOG @
http://lifeislikethat999.blogspot.com/
Published a book called "The Rainbow And The Treasure". It is a compilation of extracts from various sources to introduce Buddhism to beginners. (Currently out of print)
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Commerce And Administration, Victoria University Of Wellington, NZ.(1974)
Question May I know is it allow to pray to my mother one day before her 100th day after death? Also how about praying on 'Qing-Ming', must we pray on the actual day? Lastly, 1st year after death, can it be prayed in advance? Does it depend whether it is man or woman?
Answer Hi Catherine,
This is a follow-up of my earlier comments.
If you are interested, please read Rev Dhammika's blog everyday. He is based in Singapore. Should you like to visit him in person, just mention my name.
First I would like to bring to your attention that this is a "Buddhist site", which means this place is all about Buddhism, that is, about the teachings of the Buddha. Your questions are more inclined towards "traditional" Chinese "religious" practices, which are not Buddhist practices. As Buddhism is a very liberal "religion" many Chinese have mistakenly believed that their practices are Buddhist practices which in fact they are not. Be that as it may, I shall try to answer your questions in the Buddhist perspective. But please be forewarned that my comments will be very contrary to a so-called "typical Taoist Chinese".
"May I know is it allow to pray to my mother one day before her 100th day after death?"
You can pray to your mother any time you want. Why should you restrict your praying? I "pray" to my late mother everyday while paying homage to the Buddha, as a bit of my mother's ashes is placed in a receptacle beside the Buddha image.
" Also how about praying on 'Qing-Ming', must we pray on the actual day?"
" Lastly, 1st year after death, can it be prayed in advance?"
Why should we only pray on the actual day only, or in advance? Who knows for sure that it is actually the "actual day"? If our deceased loved ones depend on our praying, then we should pray everyday. Isn't this logical?
"Does it depend whether it is man or woman?"
We are all humans. Don't be succumbed to the nonsense of "man or woman".
If you are interested to know what is Buddhism, please go to this site to read the book written by my late teacher:
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/whatbelieve.pdf
"What Buddhist Believe" by Ven. K Sri Dhammananda. This book explains the Buddhist perspective on life's general questions.
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda was my revered teacher. His writings have benefitted countless people throughout the world. He had recently passed away (18 Mar 1919 -- 31 Aug 2006)
