The Power of Prayer with Lama Surya Das

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The Power of Prayer with Lama Surya Das

• Prayer is a conversation with God. It should be
  part of our spiritual journey, transforming
  confusion into clearness and suffering into joy.
  As per Lama Surya Das prayer can move mountains
  if only we would let it. If only you would
  realize just how effective prayer can be you
  would never feel hopeless.

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Prayer in Buddhism with Lama Surya Das
Buddhist prayer is a practice to awaken our
natural inner capacities of strength, feeling and
wisdom rather than to appeal external forces
based on fear, idolizing, worldly and heavenly
gains. Buddhist prayer is a form of meditation
it is a practice of inner rebuilding. Buddhist
prayer replaces the negative with the virtuous
and points us to the blessings of Life. The
purpose of Buddhist prayer according to Lama
Surya Das is to awaken our innate inner
capacities of strength, courage and wisdom rather
than to petition external forces. Only one
popular Buddhist teacher has written a book about
prayer, and thats Thich Nhat Hanh. Many Western
Buddhists and mindfulness practitioners today
seem unaware of the numerous prayerful traditions
and practices of Buddhism in the old world.
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I myself savor the mystic poems, songs, chants,
prayers and sacred music practices of Vajrayana
Buddhism. Perhaps because Mahayana-Vajrayana
Buddhism is very inclusive and open to
eclecticism, I too feel that way. I wanted to
share with you a prayerful poem gifted to me this
month, from some Catholic friends. A prayer with
Lama Surya Das As we turn our lives to the
crosswalkof Lents dark journey,let us locate
ourselves in the intersectionand there open a
holding spaceto welcome the world.
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Over these next weeksexercise your holding
heartand make room for the world.Go to your
listening place.Open up, within you,open up
around you,a space wide and deep. And in the
quiet,let the whole worldtumble in.All the
hurts and hopes of loved ones,of enemies, of
neighbors,let them all in.The complex
tanglesof struggles personal and global,let
them in.
Summon the most ravaged and despairing.Find room
for those who are sorely afflicted.Let them all
come. Bar none!Let this space hold and enfold
them!Let the expansive mystery of Gods love
envelopall that is confounding, disturbing,
unresolved or unrealized. Hold it, hold it all
till it fills you.Lift the brimming pitcherand
empty yourself into the vast vessel,that is the
Sacred Heart.
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Here are benefits of Prayer Prayer is the way to
a life of communion with God. Prayer helps
protect one from negative energies, (evil spirit,
ghost and devils) and creates armour around
oneself. Prayer is a vital tool of spiritual
practice in the generic spiritual path of
loyalty. Prayer increases our personality,
because in prayer we are having give and take
with God who is the source of our personality. As
a result, we gain clearer, solid grip of our own
self image. This makes for a more confident,
friendly and loving personality. Prayer is like
water for our soul. With the constant supply, our
personality becomes bright and beautiful. Prayer
gives us the self-belief to succeed. Usually fear
of failure comes from a bad self image. Prayer
changes our wrong self images and gives us
confidence in ourselves and what we must achieve.
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God provides us a great deal of strength through
prayer. It helps sometimes to know someone is
there for us, especially someone like God. He
gives us direction that offers strength. He
provides help through other people that gives us
strength. Prayer is a responsibility whereby
strength is derived from God against the desires
and corruptions of the heart, and the snares of
the world. Article Source http//askthelama.com/
post/80287219560/the-power-of-prayer