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Seven-Limb Prayer

• Seven Limb prayer is a way to accumulate merit. ‘To accumulate merit’ means to decrease afflictive emotions. It means to increase love and compassion.
• Prostration is antidote to god realm. Offering is antidote to preta realm. Confession is antidote to hell realm. Rejoicing is antidote to asura realm. Requesting to turn wheel of dharma is antidote to animal realm. Requesting buddhas to remain is antidote to wrong view of permenance/ eternalism. Dedicating merits is antidote to attachment for results.

• 1) Prostration is antidote to pride. You should have the mindset to prostrate to anybody. In the view, there is no distinction between buddhas and sentient beings. Whatever you do to get rid of pride is a prostration. Prostrate with faith, devotion, respect. Be humble.

• 2) Offering is antidote to attachment. Whatever you do to get rid of attachment is an offering. Offerings can be a possession or visualized. Offer to buddhas and bodhisattvas. The essence of offering is not to be attached. Be prepared to go to Dewachen whenever. If you have to go, just go.

• 3) Confessing with Four Powers is antidote to anger/ aversion. a) Rely on enlightened beings, b) Have regret for accumulated negative karma, c) Have conviction that you will not repeat the same negative karma, and d) Apply the antidote - recite prayers, mantras. Do positive deeds.
• There is much we have done that we don’t remember. Such karma is not easy to purify. Know that we have done all those evil deeds, be fearful of the consequences, bow down in the presence of the merit field, sincerely think what you have done is wrong, and generate a strong mind “from now on I will never do it again”. Confession purifies, but you have to see your actions as wrong and promise not to do them again.

• 4) Rejoicing is antidote to jealousy. If you appreciate others, you gain the same merit. Rejoice in accumulating merits. Rejoice in the activities of holy beings to benefit beings. Merits repel obstacles on the path.

• 5) Requesting buddhas to turn the Wheel of Dharma is antidote to ignorance. Request holy beings to turn the wheel of dharma for whoever needs it. The gods realized that if they did not request, sentient beings will remain in dark. Requesting has vast merits. It is a profound way to accumulate.

• 6) Requesting buddhas to remain in samsara to benefit sentient beings is antidote to Wrong View of permenance/ eternalism. But actually, the buddhas will always be there. Request holy beings to remain, to live long to benefit sentient beings. Without buddha, there is no teaching. Sentient beings would not know how to abandon non-virtue.

• 7) Dedicating merits is antidote to attachment for results. The results will come anyway, but it is the attachment that we need to get rid of. Dedicate all merits to become cause to attain liberation for all sentient beings. Practice for all sentient beings to attain liberation. Dedication is antidote to doubt “If I practice, will sentient beings attain enlightenment or not?”