Preciousness of Prayer
When I was in third grade, the elders in my family would play dominoes and gamble. All of us children would watch them play and eventually also learned how to play dominoes. At that point, sometimes the elders would let us take over when they needed bathroom breaks. We learned how to gamble at a very young age! And we enjoyed it! Gradually I got used to it and kept gambling into my teenage years.
In high school, I attended more and more classes at the temple because of class requirements. In Indonesia, students must take religious class in high school. Through temple classes, I realized one thing: gambling was not a good habit. In fact, gambling was bad. However by then I was addicted to gambling already, and even after 2 years, I could not break the habit. Finally I prayed sincerely to Maitreya for a year and through my sincere conscience prayer, I was finally able to completely break the habit of gambling.
Any bad habit is hard to break! I have heard stories of how people have lost everything, because of gambling. Their family, their friends and sometimes their lives! I felt extremely blessed that I was able to break my addiction to gambling before this bad habit lead me to a path of regret.
Thereafter, whenever I had problems, I would always look towards Maitreya for guidance. If I was scared, confused, or lost, I would not go to other people or the Internet in search for answers. I would go to Maitreya. I would use my conscience prayer. I genuinely believe in our conscience prayer. Whenever I have problems, I would sincerely pray and for some odd reason the answer or solution would always come to me! Sometimes it would come in a form of a person saying something. Sometimes the answer would come from a book I was reading. When I sincerely pray with my conscience, I feel that I will always be blessed with the solution to my problems.
When I was in high school, I wanted to attend a 4-month cultural class at the temple, but my father did not permit me to go. He had not yet attained Tao and did not understand the preciousness of Maitreya. I went to the temple to pray for my father to attain Tao. However, every time I asked him to attain Tao, he would refuse. Like many others, he had his set way of thinking and he felt that being a good person and doing good deeds were enough. I kept praying everyday in hopes that my father would attain Tao. The day before I was to leave for the class, I asked my father again if he would like to attain Tao. Previously when I asked him, the answer was always NO. Even as I was asking him, I had already anticipated his answer. But I was pleasantly surprised! For some reasons, he actually said YES! I was shocked! I was touched! I was so grateful! I truly felt the blessings of Maitreya!
The importance of the conscience prayer must be recognized. Its significance cannot be underestimated. From the beginning of my cultivation till now, I have always kept the preciousness of the prayer deep in my heart. It is my secret to everything, whenever I have problems, questions, or even when I feel confused. Sincere prayers always bring me serenity and peace. Prayer is a time for meditation, a time for reflection. The power of reflection is awe inspiring, as it leads me to think about my daily actions. I will treasure the opportunity to pray for the rest of my life. May you also find the preciousness of prayers in your life!
Gan En – Indonesia