A Short Introduction
By Ven. Lama Choyeng

This Jang Chog Puja “Prayer for the Dead” is a puja for awakening the souls of beings in the Bardo stage (intermediate period). To Awaken being’s consciousness and transcend them to take their rebirth in the pure land of the Amitaba.

This ceremony requires the Bodhicitta mind of a highly attained officiating Gelong or we (called Lama). The Lama begins by taking refuge in the Triple Gems and Dharma protectors. He will generate the bodhisattva mind of Avalokitesvara and make offering to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions. Through the power of the Triple Gem, he’ll then invoke the spirits ( consciousness) and gather them in front of him and introduce them to the pure land of Amitabha Buddha. He will explain to them the sufferings of the Six Realms, thus arousing the soul’s desires for liberations. The Lama will give them the initiation then make offerings to them. Then invoking all their consciousness into the mantra paper in front of him, he need sprinkle them with holy water. Food offering will be burned so that those spirits of the dead that were in the hungry ghost realms will come to “smell” the smoke. This will relieve them from the pain of hunger, which in turn eliminated their bad karma of ignorance and confusion, then he’ll burn the mantra paper symbolizing the process of transcending their souls or consciousness after satisfying them.

This puja is very beneficial especially to those who had just passed away. And to those spirits that had long passed away, and had already entered the Six Realms of Rebirth, by offering this puja ceremony to them, they could still derive benefits from this ceremony as bad karma will be purified and thus they'll have better lives in his existing realm. For those who offered the puja, thousands of good merits will shower on them and their bad connecting karma with souls will be washed off. There are many such examples and stories that could be found in one of the Buddhist scriptures.

In Buddha Sakyamuni time, one of his benefactors asks Buddha why his son was always suffering. He was always sickly, and never succeeded in any thing he did. Buddha gave him the teaching to let him understand the sufferings of the six realms. However he the promised to help him. In Buddha’s meditation, he visioned the passed life of this child who was the father of a present benevolent family. Buddha then manifested himself as a poor monk and appeared in the door steps of this family to ask for food. The family was very kind and gladly gave him enough food and clothing. They asked Buddha, was all  alright; for them to stop making offering to their father who had passed away  30 years ago, Buddha advised them to continue their offering as this would be beneficial to both their father and themselves. From then on, the family started and continued to offer pujas to their deceased father, and this benefactor’s sons present life started to get better and later even attained wisdom and become a disciple of Buddha