DEDICATION OF MERIT: ‘Hồi’ means to transfer or redirect, ‘hướng’ means to look towards, that is, the merits and good roots that one has cultivated, now one vows to dedicate towards one’s intended purpose. Therefore, the term ‘hồi hướng’ for Buddhist practitioners means turning one’s merits towards three places:
1- The place of realizing the true nature as it is.
2- The place of aspiring for supreme Bodhi.
3- The place of saving all sentient beings.
In addition, merits can also be dedicated to the Nine Generations and the Seven Ancestral Lineages to help them ascend to the Pure Land. But here, the term ‘hồi hướng’ specifically refers to redirecting merits towards rebirth in Sukhavati (the Western Pure Land). The Master has a couplet:
“Offer the body in dedication to the source of goodness,
Serve the Buddhas and Patriarchs with utmost sincerity and truth.”
(For Mr. Cò Tàu Hảo)
