"Magic Prayers"

last saturday I met up with Cynde, a pet therapist who I met at the stupa a year ago with her dog Marley who was fighting cancer. She had told me about a young boy named JJ who was down at Phoenix Children's Hospital on the same chemo drugs that Marley was on. Marley died june 21st 2006, and JJ went on to get a bone marrow transplant, break his leg, and spent most of this last year in the hospital battling the cancer. Back then I promised Cynde that I would hold all of them in my prayers, both at the dailey tsogs at the temple, and at the Amitaba stupa. now that JJ is on the mend, he and his mom wanted to come and see this place of "magic prayers" in person. So we met last saturday at the entrance and made our way to the stupa. Even though JJ still has trouble with his leg, and alot of pain, he didn't want a ride, he wanted to walk himself up [ he's a handsome energetic 9yr old] He was full of questions about Buddhism, the stupa, mantras, prayer flags, etc. When we made it to the Amitaba stupa he circumambulated, making many prayers for all the others, human and animal, that he could think of, then shyly went and put his own money from his pocket into the donation box. [ I hadn't said anything about that, only in a general way of how people are moved to make all kinds of offerings as we stood in front of the altar } I had brought prayer flags for him to hang in his room and at his home outside, so I gave those to him as we made our way back down the path. He and his mom, Mary Lou, said thankyou many times, and I told JJ now all he has to do is see the stupa in his mind and he's there, the place of "magic prayers"