Praying to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for a child

Question #88:

Master Lu, which sutras and mantras should I recite to conceive a child?

Answer #88:

• When a person desires a child but is unable to conceive, it is one of the Eight Sufferings in life, i.e. the suffering of not being able to obtain what one desires. Generally, the inability to conceive is caused by various karmic conditions and effects. It could be due to negative karma created in past lives, failure to do meritorious deeds on the part of their ancestors, or other reasons. These are usually major karmic obstacles. Therefore, different combinations of sutras and mantras should be applied to each individual accordingly.

• To pray for a child, you should recite the Great Compassion Mantra 7, 11, 21 or 49 times per day, the more the better. Generally, when you encounter major obstacles in life, suffer from a serious illness, or experience major predestined calamities, you should recite the Great Compassion Mantra at least 49 times per day. Before reciting, you can say the following prayer: “May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me, <your full name>, grant me good health, help me to resolve my gynaecological issues and allow me to conceive and give birth soon.”

• You should recite the Heart Sutra 7 or 11 times per day, with the following prayer: “May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me, <your full name>, grant me wisdom and help me to eliminate afflictions.” This should be included in your daily recitations. Reciting the Heart Sutra allows you to gain wisdom and inner peace. It helps you to broaden your perspective in order to solve problems.

• You should recite the Cundi Dharani 21, 49 or 108 times per day with the following prayer: “May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me, <your full name>, grant me good health, and allow me to conceive and give birth soon.”

• You should recite the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance 5 times per day. This is a very important Buddhist text. The inability to conceive is caused by major karmic obstacles, therefore it is best to recite the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance 5 times per day to repent. If you cannot recite it 5 times daily, then you can start with 3 times per day, and then increase gradually.
You can say the following prayer: “May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me, <your full name>, help me to eliminate karmic obstacles, and the gynaecological karmic obstacles, grant me good health and the ability to conceive and give birth soon.”
If you are already aware of the issues with your uterus or ovaries, you can specifically state the issues in your prayer. For example, “May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me, <your full name>, help me to eliminate karmic obstacles in <a specific part of the body>, grant me good health and the ability to conceive and give birth soon.”

• Once you begin reciting the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance, you should also start reciting Little Houses. Although reciting the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance can help you eliminate karmic obstacles, it may activate your karmic obstacles at the same time, transforming them into spirits. Hence, it is highly recommended that you start reciting Little Houses right away. Reciting Little Houses can help the spirit occupying your body to ascend to a higher spiritual realm; your problem can then be resolved. If you do not recite enough Little Houses in time, your condition may worsen.

• If you have ever had a miscarriage or abortion in the past, you will need to recite a minimum of 7 to 21 Little Houses for each child. You should address the Little Houses to “Child of <your full name>.” Please refer to Q&A 112: Naming aborted or miscarried babies and setting up spirit tablets for them.

• If you have committed or contributed to killing animals for work purposes, this creates major karma of killing. Therefore, you should change your job. Also, you will need to recite the Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Mantra and say the following prayer: “May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me, <your full name>, help the spirits of the deceased, whose death that my action caused, ascend to a higher spiritual realm.”

• At the same time, you should make great vows. You can say the following prayer: “May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me, <your full name>, I vow that I will never eat freshly killed seafood or other creatures for the rest of my life.” Other vows you can consider include: Introducing Buddhism to <number of> people within <a certain period of time>, and helping them become spiritually awakened and be free from suffering; Adopting a vegetarian diet for <number of> days per month, etc. The greater the vow, the greater the effects. However, you should make vows that are within your capacity based on your current condition. Do not overpromise and underdeliver.
You should also include the following prayer: “May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me, <your full name>, and grant me a child. I vow that I will accumulate more merits and virtues, do more good deeds, and raise this child to be a respectable person who propagates Buddhism.”

• Furthermore, you should also perform life liberations as often as you can. Life liberation encompasses all three types of giving: the giving of wealth, the giving of Dharma, and the giving of fearlessness. It is better to release in large quantities as the merits and virtues of doing so are immense.

• Those who wish to conceive should refrain from wearing high heels.

• Reciting sutras and mantras, making vows, and performing life liberations are the Three Golden Buddhist Practices that Guan Yin Bodhisattva bestows upon us. If you combine these three practices, and sincerely pray to Guan Yin Bodhisattva for protection and blessings, you will certainly have your wishes fulfilled. Countless fellow Buddhist practitioners have resolved their problems by following these Three Golden Buddhist Practices.

• We should also learn to act in accordance with karmic conditions. According to Buddhism, everything in the universe is governed by the law of cause and effect, and it is not up to us to reason or find justification.
When you receive something naturally, it is then auspicious. It is better not to forcefully request what you were not meant to have, especially when it comes to conceiving children. Children granted to you as a result of your forceful request are unlikely to be auspicious, and it is highly likely that they will enter your life to collect karmic debts (e.g. children who are difficult, disobedient, sickly, or have a short life expectancy).

Source: Buddhism: Your Questions Answered

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