Cattāri Brahmavihārā

My uncle died last week and, although we hadn’t talked in more than twenty years and we were never close, he keeps returning to my mind. Since learning of his death I have dedicated the merit of every souring to him,  given dana in his name but I wish there were more I could do. I know once that I had offered a donation to a Kagyu monastery (Tibetan tradition) with a request that they chant for the benefit of all beings but I do not know if one can sponsor such a dana for the departed in a similar way with a vihara remotely. In other words,  I’m not sure if you can send in a donation and request paritta chanting although I doubt it due to the fact that the money would need to go through a steward.

And,  this,  my friends is one of the problems with being a lay follower in the so-called West. Without belonging to a parisa that is truly grounded in both the Dhamma and the daily life of a living community I am a foreigner to the customs and traditions which take the tradition or of the books and ingrain then into the heart. I hope to find some answers to this conundrum and will be sure to bring it up in the PAD forum as well. Be well!