It’s 1:30AM in Poolesville, Maryland.  The alarm goes off and Ani Aileen groggily rolls out of bed and turns the coffeepot on in preparation for her to take the helm from 2 to 4 AM at KPC-MD’s prayer vigil.   She has been doing this 2 – 3 nights  a week for the past 22 years.  Dressed and ready, Ani Aileen walks down the stairs from where she lives above the temple, cup of coffee and book of prayers in hand. 

Downstairs, Leigh is finishing her prayer shift and has a 45 minute drive ahead of her before she can go to sleep.  She will arrive home shortly before 3AM and have a few hours of sleep before she must wake for work.  Although she may yawn a few extra times that afternoon, the thought of not doing her prayer shift has not even occurred to her.  Being part of a continuous effort that has just entered its 23rd year is more important than the few extra hours of sleep she might have gotten.

While Leigh finishes chanting her prayers, Ani Aileen takes a few moments to read the names of people who have both sponsored and requested prayers for themselves and their loved ones.  She will dedicate her prayer shift to those names as well as those she herself is praying for, and ultimately all sentient beings.

2500 miles away, in Arizona, it’s 11:30 PM and Chris’ alarm has gone off as well.  Instead of waking him, this is a reminder to turn off the computer and get in the car to make the 2 mile drive to KPC-Sedona’s prayer center for the midnight to 2AM prayer shift.  He stops at the Circle K for an iced tea and is due at the Prayer Center shortly before midnight.  He sprints into the Prayer Center in AZ, a few minutes late due to a cash register glitch.  Palzang, manning the 10 to midnight shift, is still there since his shift does not end at midnight – it ends when the next person arrives so that there is a continuous, unbroken chain of prayer.  From time to time,  people have ended up signing up for a two hour shift and ended up taking a 4 hour shift due to an unforeseen circumstance such as traffic or weather conditions that prevent the next person from arriving on time.  It is not even an option in the mind of the person on the prayer shift to leave before his or her replacement has arrived – the commitment to the unbroken nature of the vigil is that strong.

Chris takes a moment to read the prayer sponsors and requests, many of which are the same ones Ani Aileen read, since prayers submitted online go to both centers.  Both Leigh and Palzang leave for their respective homes, as Ani Aileen and Chris center their hearts and minds on prayers to end the suffering of others.