Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen teaches proper form and meaning of prostrations as a foundational Lam Rim practice. In this 35-minute teaching, he explains how to position the cupped hands—thumbs bent inward, symbolizing holding jewels—and place them on the crown, forehead, throat, and heart, each point corresponding to a quality achieved: the jewel-holding of Buddha, the hair treasury, the sixty qualities of speech, and the omniscient mind. Physical technique matters: keep fingers flat and open, as if webbed like a duck, to avoid creating causes for animal rebirths; touch your forehead to the ground then rise fully upright, never half-bent. He stresses that a single well-executed prostration surpasses many rushed ones. Throughout, he emphasizes the necessity of proper motivation, mental visualization of light rays and offerings, and faith in the object of devotion—noting that the power of the field itself makes the practice effective even without perfect personal intention.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 06 LR 1995 07 23.mp3
UUID: 31435f5d-44a5-4b69-8743-4a56f0b2e343
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Lam Rim 1995 Jan-Dec (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1995-07-23
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 34.9 minutes
Words: ~2,031
Said that one one creates a cause to be reborn in a place where there’s no Buddha. And so then like a what do you call a little bit like getting together but you’re some space in between cup like cup, is the Buddhist way of cupping hands. So then you bend two thumbs inside while you’re having a portion of cupping, cupping, you see it. And it is like this bending of your two thumbs inside symbolizing a jewel. So like the the Buddha Samantabhādra in its hand, it holds holds a jewel in its hand.
So so that that that is the symbol, like, you hold your hand and bend your thumb inside, like a symbol of holding the jewels like the like the Buddha Samantabhādra. So so then, like, this this folding of hand in the form of folding the jewels, like put placing it on your crown create a cause to achieve the the quality of Buddha? So then second, placing between your eyebrows, your forehead here is that to, how do say, to achieve a quality of Buddha which is a hair treasury, hair treasury? So as you see the statue on the right side of the picture, the big one, you see the white point there, symbolizes the hair treasury, the treasury of the hair. So, among the thirty two major marks with the Buddha that one of that is the hair treasury.
So so placing it here at your at your forehead is is to create a cause to to achieve that quality. So then placing at your throat is to achieve the qualities of the speech, like the sixty qualities of speech that are like you want a conscience, for example, if you want to loud and strong, you can make it that. And if you want, I wanna say, thin and soft, like little, you can you can make that. So so to to achieve those qualities. So so then touching at heart is to achieve the qualities of the mind or becomes the cause to to achieve the the omniscient mind.
So so in sūtra, like touching touching at the heart, it’s like to achieve the quality of omniscient mind. And in in tantra, is to achieve the the union state. So through the practice of prostrations, you can collect both. Like that is the accumulation of merit and purification of negativities. So, yeah, you can collect both of these.
So when you are doing the prostrations, you shouldn’t shouldn’t clench your fist, your hand, fingers and then touch the ground. So, yeah, if you Clench. Clench. If you if you, like, if you go down and touch the ground with clench, then you you happen to be born as in some of the like animals. Some of the animals, like horse, cows, and so on.
So how you should touch the ground is you should flatten your fingers and then touch the ground. So so so to go like touching the ground or doing the prostration with the the straight fingers, flat fingers. Another reason is to achieve the qualities which is to, what do call, web between the fingers like a swan, a bird, which has webs in between. Yeah, like a duck. So so not like like close, but you’re putting it a little bit like open and yeah.
And then touching it. So it’s to achieve the qualities, one of the qualities, the webs between the fingers. And and should touch your forehead also on the ground. So so as soon as you touch your forehead on the ground, you should immediately get up. And at that time, what do you think you should think?
Or is that, like, getting out from saṃsāra quickly? So, like, in in Muslim, when they do when they do this prostration of respect, they, like, stay there with for a long time, but shouldn’t do like that. So if if one lie there a long time, then one creates a bad cause again. That is one creates a cause to be reborn like some of the animals. That is like a snake which moves with its stomach or the belly on the ground.
So when you get up, you should like get straight up. Not half bend but it should get up right up straight. And if you happen to do just half bend, get up only half like now it’s still bended then then it again creates a cause for you to be reborn as an animals, like those who moves bend like how’s it bended? Those who move with bended, how do call, four legs, or bended here. So so it said that to do one right prostrations, one right one, like which is like a perfect one, it’s best than doing many numbers.
So so in the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa, when he explains about the preliminaries, the preliminary practices, he said that there are like one hundred thousand different preliminaries that you have to do. And at the same time, Je Tsongkhapa explains saying, what do you call, the quality is more important than the quantity, more numbers. And with a perfect or a perfect prostration or like a good prostrations, perfect prostrations like the number. Let’s see. It’s best to do the best prostrations with the, how do say, with all the proper way.
If you’re to do the proper way, then it’s the best. So so So we, as a beginner, we should, at the beginning, try to see the importance of the purification practice and the accumulations. So so there was this practice four people doing retreat in the past and four people doing the same retreat. And then three of them was doing very fast reciting the mantras very fast and finished reciting all the mantras. And one of them was more concentrating on meditations, didn’t really do much of the counting of mantras.
And and the three of them finished and asked the the fourth one, and did you finish your countings? And he asked that. And then and then he asked back saying that you you you take the importance in counting. Like, he asked back that question to these three. So here, once you it’s very important to do the pure and and to make it proper.
So so the practice of prostrations, one doesn’t has to be doesn’t has to be planned. You can do anytime. So so anytime when you see a image of Buddha out of respect, if you’re just bowing down or when making your hand gesture like this, like prostration, then it it is a prostration. So if you know how to practice, then just a movement of your body, you can make it a practice. So, moreover, while you’re working on the path, you may see, you may meet other people.
It’s like you can physically by showing respect. That is we practice. And even if you face or see a beggar walking around, you shouldn’t look down or you should think maybe a manifestation or emanation of Buddha? So, accumulate, what do say, if one loses this opportunity of accumulating and purifying this practice, then it is a great loss. So so generally, when we when if if our whatever practice we do, if it is not conjoined with the with the with the motivation of three scope, then then the practice doesn’t become pure.
Doesn’t become pure, but then like some practices for example through the power of the object that even if you don’t have good motivation becomes it becomes to the power of the object, it becomes pure. So so even if you don’t have a motivation, if you do do prostrations and offerings towards the image of Buddha, then it it it it becomes a cause for for for fully enlightened state. Also mother is explained as one of the powerful objects and where one can accumulate merits. And for some people may have problem seeing mother being a powerful object. But then whatever, if one to do something positive towards mothers, then it becomes very powerful practice.
So, it’s like, for example, it’s like a field. Some fields needs lots of work. You need to bring lots of condition around to have a good sprout or good crops and for some field you don’t need much effort. Somehow you can enjoy many crops out of it with less effort. So it’s like that.
Mhmm. So we stop here today and if you have any question. So one first placing on your crown. Like, first one on the crown, like like this. Yeah.
Both both hand together on top. Yeah. And then And then between your eyebrows. And then the throat. And then the heart.
So not not not like flat, holding hands like like this. So make some space in between and like or cupping together. And like bend your thumbs inside to it. That’s how like Buddhists explain to do fold their hands, the prostrations. Yeah.
Like the Hello? One. Like this, and then you let bow down a little bit. Yeah. Yeah.
Buddha Buddha Śākyamūni comes from hello, Buddha? So, like, bring this also is a prostrations. And, like, we touch this different places to to achieve or to gain those qualities. And that’s that serves also our prostrations. Hello.
What do want? Yeah. So not like that, he said. Yeah. So all those that you emanate from you is yourself.
And then from like when you do prostrations physically, that is like the physical prostrations. And then verbally you chant prayers which is praise to Buddhas, and that is verbal prostrations. And then mentally, and then mentally you pay respect And having faith in in in. And these are the prostrations through your mind. So there are different phrases that you can recite or like the mantra of Buddha Śākyamūni.
Or I prostrate to Buddha Śākyamūni. Different prayers that you can chant. Yeah. So when you do like this or like this, about both mean the same thing, which you emanate light rays and then make many offerings. We visualize that you are making offerings like the different offerings like flower, incense, and so on, all in the form of umbrellas and victory banners and so on, like flower victory banner, flower umbrella, and so on.
Like, you’re making offering. That’s what you imagine. So with the offering thing, Geshe-la will explain next time. Mhmm. Yeah.
You accumulate more more merit with the full length. Yeah. And it said that the bigger the body we have, we accumulate more merits. Really? Yeah.
That’s true. So, one of the lamas known as Pabongka Rinpoche, while he was alive, he like, everyday he does two thousand prostrations. So, his homeland is from in Tibet. And usually the people from are quite tall. And he said that that I’m from Chamdo.
I’m tall, but I wish I have longer hands. Yeah. So Geshe-la is saying that as we explained before, it’s like the the physical and verbal also becomes powerful because of the objects that we are paying homage to or prostrating to of the mainly because of the power of the objects. And then and on top of that, if you have the mental thing and it’s it becomes more powerful. And it’s like, what do you say?
It’s like, as example, I guess, like I said was if there’s a delicious meat, meat dish, adding some more butter and making it more delicious or something. It’s more like that. Like make make with the mental one, making more powerful. So, unlike for for the for the Khampa, when they have a special dish or food. It’s like meat with butter.
Yeah. Yeah. I’m there. Yeah. I think there’s two So, another one is to accumulate merit according to that numbers which is in the text also says that to one get reborn as the universal king.
Like the numbers of atoms that covers the body and the universal king which means you come to accumulate merit according to the numbers of atoms. So we stop here.