Toh 815A Prayer from The Series of Gifts

Exposition: A Prayer from the Series of Gifts

Background

"A Prayer from the Series of Gifts" (Toh 815) is a scripture in the Kangyur, the Tibetan Northern Canon, representing the Mahayana tradition with its profound vision of skillful means for liberation (upaya). This scripture appears in the context of prayers for the dedication of merit, an important scriptural genre in Tibetan Dharma, in which bodhisattvas and devotees use the language of prayer to focus the mind and direct merits toward unsurpassed liberation.

The "Series of Gifts" reflects the Mahayana idea of protecting and nourishing the mind of the path through dedication. Each "gift" here is not a useless material thing, but practical merit: wise and compassionate actions offered for the liberation of beings. This is an expression of the ideal of the bodhisattva path: mutual reliance on the path beyond birth and death.

Main Content

This scripture is a prayer for the dedication of merit (parinamana), in which those who practice the Dharma are encouraged to dedicate the merits they have accumulated, whether through meditation, recitation of scripture, observance of precepts, or acts of compassion, so that all beings may attain buddhahood. This differs from an idea of personal cultivation: one does not accumulate merit merely to liberate oneself, but uses merit as a "gift" for universal deliverance.

In the Tibetan Northern tradition, the act of prayer is not merely speech, but a deep spiritual commitment. When a bodhisattva prays according to the words of the scripture, they are activating the transcendent powers of mind, powers awakened by sincerity, compassion, and faith in the Dharma.

The scripture contains subtle imagery and terminology concerning the way merit is transformed and diffused. It reminds us that only by completely relinquishing the self (atma), relinquishing self-interest, can one truly make an offering.