Life, Death and Ancestors
When reciting for a deceased loved one, must you recite Amitabha Buddha's name, or can you recite Guanyin Bodhisattva's?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
When reciting for deceased relatives or friends, begin with their existing faith and choose a deity or Buddha they know and trust. It is not universally limited to Amitabha Buddha, nor should everyone automatically switch to Guanyin Bodhisattva.
For a Buddhist devoted to Amitabha Buddha who hopes to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, reciting Amitabha's name is natural. Someone usually close to Guanyin may find that reciting Guanyin Bodhisattva's name more readily inspires confidence and connection. Your own greater familiarity with one deity is not a reason to change everyone's faith to the same one.
If the deceased had no particular religious faith, those helping can ask the deities and Buddhas they themselves usually approach for assistance. At Sheng Zhen Men, for example, we worship Guanyin Bodhisattva and have confidence in the Bodhisattva, so we pray through that connection. This is my faith-based understanding of supportive recitation. The focus is the individual's circumstances, not comparing divine names to decide who must be effective and who is useless.