Q: I am a beginner and have never recited Little Houses before. I recently began reciting the Great Compassion Mantra, the Heart Sutra, and the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance. Can I now recite the sutras and mantras of the Little Houses?
A:
As a beginner, you can recite the sutras and mantras of Little Houses as soon as you begin performing daily recitations (i.e. the Great Compassion Mantra, the Heart Sutra, and the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance). Initially, you can recite 7 Little Houses, addressing them to your karmic creditors. Afterwards, you should continue to recite Little Houses (the exact number of Little Houses required depends upon your individual situation).
In general, as you continue your daily recitations, you could recite and burn around 3 Little Houses each week addressed to the “Karmic Creditor of <your full name>” to prevent misfortune. You will need to give additional Little Houses if you come across the following situations: Deceased people or aborted babies appear in your dreams, you have nightmares, sudden illnesses or misfortune, or you constantly lose your temper for no reason. These situations indicate that you have karmic creditors, so you will need to give additional Little Houses to them. The following scenarios provide a useful rule of thumb for LittleHouse recitation:
If you dream about deceased people, you will need to recite 7 to 21 Little Houses for each of them, and address the Little Houses to “<full name of the deceased>”. If you do not know the name of the deceased person, you can address them to the “Karmic Creditor of <your full name>”.
If you dream about being paralysed and are unable to move due to a spiritual attack, or if you dream about someone chasing after you, giving or asking for money or gifts, treating you to a meal, etc., then you can recite 7 to 21 Little Houses first and address them to the “Karmic Creditor of <your full name>”.
If you experience sudden illnesses or misfortune, you can recite 7 Little Houses first and address them to the “Karmic Creditor of <your full name>”.
If you lose your temper easily, or if you have frequent conflicts with people around you for no particular reason, you can recite 7 Little Houses first and address them to the “Karmic Creditor of <your full name>”.
Your intuition is very important. If you sense that foreign spirits are occupying your body, you can recite 4 to 7 Little Houses first and address them to the “Karmic Creditor of <your full name>”.
If you have had an abortion, miscarriage, or ectopic pregnancy, you need to recite at least 7 to 21 Little Houses for each child. You can address them to “Child of <mother’s full name>”. Avoid adding any extra phrases, such as “Aborted child of <full name>”, or “Nth child of <full name>”, etc. If you dream about well-dressed and happy children after you have recited the Little Houses, this means that they have most likely ascended to a higher spiritual realm. However, if the children appear to be in an unfavourable condition in your dream, then this means that they have not yet ascended to a higher spiritual realm, so you should continue reciting Little Houses for them.