Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A key insight runs through Geshe Pema Tsering’s 46-minute verse-by-verse commentary on the offering and prostration sections of the Bodhisattva Deeds: practitioners need no physical wealth, because all twelve categories of offering can be fully visualized. Working through verses twelve to twenty-five, he names and explains each offering in order — bathing, drying, garments, ornaments, scent, flowers, incense, food, lamps, a pure place, a crystal palace, and umbrellas — then covers offerings made through prayer, unequaled offerings modeled on Mañjuśrī’s example, and praises intoned through countless mental emanations. The prostration and refuge limbs follow. A Q&A addresses which foods are appropriate to offer, why visualized offerings reduce attachment more than their physical counterparts, and why butter lamps are said to develop inner wisdom.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 13 BD 2002 02 28.mp3
UUID: c7071401-edf8-4f71-a2ea-adc5156eafb4
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-02-28
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.4 minutes
Words: ~2,157
I beseech the Tathagatas and their sons to come and bathe their bodies from the many jeweled vases filled with water scented and enticing to the accompaniment of music and song. So having established the abode, which is attractive in various ways described, then one invites the Buddhas and their sons, the bodhisattvas, to come forth and then partake or then to use the facilities and within this fragrant scent and the pure water and the melodious sounds of music and so forth to bathe themselves. So then the next verse, verse number twelve. So then let me dry their bodies with incomparable cloths, clean and well anointed with scent. And then may I present these holy beings with fragrant garments and suitable colors of suitable colors.
So then once the Buddhas and bodhisattvas have finished bathing, then we make, appropriate offerings of clothe, of clothes and so forth to them. So really, as one reads through, then one simply visualizes the words themselves and offers in accordance with the words. So then having completed verse twelve, verse twelve refers to offering the second offering here, offering to dry after bathing. Then the third is offering garments, etcetera. So then as it states, I adorn with manifold ornaments and various raiments fine and smooth.
The aryas, Samantabhādra, Manjughosa, Avalokiteśvara, and all the others. So here, having bathed, then having been dried, then proper raiments are offered, proper clothing is offered, and then also the ornaments that are suitable to adorn the sambhogakaya or the enjoyment body are then offered to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. So then we’ve had the three types of offering. That is the offering of the bathing, then offering to dry, then offering raiment. Then the fourth is offering ornaments.
So this occurs also in verse thirteen, where it says, I adorn with manifold ornaments and various raiment fine and smooth. Raiment fine and smooth refers to the offering of clothing. And initially, they’re also which is the reverse order to the Tibetan, so the ornaments actually come after clothing. So in that, various ornaments or jewels or necklaces, ornaments for the wrists, ornaments for the ankles, ornaments for the neck and crown and so forth of various fine and precious materials are offered at this point. Now the fifth type of offering is made in verse fourteen, so which is the offering of scent.
So as it’s stated, just as just like polishing pure refined gold, do I anoint the Buddha’s forms that blaze with light with the choice of perfumes whose fragrance permeates a thousand million worlds? So therefore, on the physical form of the Buddha’s, then one offers the various types of scent, fragrant aromas, and so forth, and adorns the bodies possessing the thirty two major and the eighty minor marks of fully awakened Buddhas with suitable scents, suitable fragrance. Then the sixth type of offering here is offering flowers, so the fifteenth verse. And to the highest objects of giving, offer beautiful, well arranged garlands as well as enchanting sweet smelling flowers such as the lily or the lotus, the jasmine, and lotus blooms, etcetera. So here, then having offered scent or perfume and so on, then one offers the various types of flower which are worthy to be offered.
And then the next that is offered is the is incense itself. So as it states, I send forth in verse sixteen, also I send forth clouds of incense whose sweet aroma steals away the mind. And then the eighth offering is the offering of food. So in the second half of verse sixteen, it states, as well as celestial delicacies, including a variety of foods and drinks. So here, exactly that.
A variety of pure foods are offered. Then the next offering is the ninth offering, which is the offering of lamps. And as it says in verse seventeen, I offer them jeweled lamps arranged on golden lotus buds upon land sprinkled with scented water. Sorry. Just that first part.
And then the tenth offering is the offering of land or offering of a place itself. And as it states in the second half of the seventeenth verse, upon land sprinkled with scented water, do I scatter delicate flower petals? And so here, the offering is made of a pure place to dwell. And then the the next type of offering is the eleventh offering, which is the offering of a crystal palace or crystal house. So as it states in verse eighteen, to those who have the nature of compassion, I offer palaces resounding with melodious hymns, exquisitely illuminated by hanging pearls and gems that adorn the infinities of space.
Then the twelfth type of offering, now is the offering of umbrellas. So this is verse nineteen. Eternally shall I offer to all the Buddhas jeweled umbrellas with golden handles and exquisite ornaments embellishing the rims, standing erect, their shapes beautiful to behold. So then having completed those twelve types of offering, then further offerings are made, offering made by the strength of prayer itself. So this is the third category now, third of the original.
Three. So this is verse twenty and twenty one where it states, and in addition, may a mass of offerings resounding with sweet and pleasing music, like clouds that appease the misery of all, each remain for as long as necessary. And then as well, and may a continuous rain of flowers and precious gems descend upon the reliquaries, and the statues and upon all the jewels of dharma. So here, this further one makes the offering of this prayer for the benefit of beings through the offerings such as sweet music, pleasant music arising that removes the miseries of all and so forth. And then a rain of flowers and so forth descends of the jewel of dharma and so on to benefit beings.
So then now the fourth category is making offerings of the unequaled offerings or the highest offerings. So now in verse twenty two, as it states, in the same way as Manjughosa or Mañjuśrī and others have made offerings to the conquerors, similarly now do I bestow gifts upon the Tathagatas, the protectors, their sons, and all. So here, we seek to emulate the great deeds of the bodhisattvas in the past and make offerings in the way that they have done. So then, now the fifth category is, making the offerings of, praise and, song and so on. And so in verse number twenty three, as it states, I glorify the oceans of excellence with limitless verses of harmonious praise.
So therefore, verses are recited here in praise along with melody and so forth to those beings who possess the three aspects, that is comprehension, compassion, and potency or power. Possessing those three, they’re worthy of praise. And so the praise is recited to reflect the fact that they do possess those three. So then as it states, may these clouds of gentle eulogy constantly ascend, to their presence. And here, this also refers to, making, these praises, and establishing the causes and conditions for these praises to occur, praise which is like an ocean.
So here, one seeks to offer, establish the causes and conditions for offering praise like an ocean. And so to do this, one visualizes making many emanations, countless emanations of oneself. And then each of these emanations then, like oneself, has a mouth that is able to utter praise. So one visualizes this vast, countless number of emanations intoning praises and so forth to those who are worthy of such praise. Now, the second of the original divisions is Now, the limb of prostration.
So having made offerings, the limb of offerings has been covered. So now we do the limb of prostration. This is verse number twenty four, as it states, with, bodies as numerous as the atoms within the universe, I prostrate to all the Buddhas of the three times, the Dharma and the supreme community. So here, one is, again emanating, in various forms that engage in prostrating to the field, which is worthy of being prostrated to. So as it says, with bodies as numerous as the atoms within the universe, I prostrate all the Buddhas of the three times, the Dharma and the supreme community.
So in talking of the Dharma here, it’s referring to that the basket of teachings of the great vehicle, which teach the method of generating bodhicitta, such as the seven-point cause and effect instruction. Also, is prostrating to those beings, those persons who help one, assist one to generate bodhicitta. And, also, it refers to even the places where beings have in the past generated bodhicitta. One pays homage to those sites, those places, and in general prostrates there to the dharma and the supreme community. So then also included here is prostrations made with great respect also to those abbots who bestow ordination and full ordination vows, and also to those lay beings or those abbots that also bestow lay vows and so forth, and to those masters who teach language and so on, and then also those, who, teach the supreme ceremonies, the ceremonies within the, great vehicle and so on.
To all of those beings, lay and ordained, one also pays homage. So then the next is the limb of going for refuge. So here it states in verse twenty five, Likewise, I prostrate to all reliquaries, to the bases of an awakening mind, to all learned abbots and masters and to the noble practitioners. So here, in fact, one pays homage to those who have established the result within the causal refuge, within the process of attaining causal refuge, and also resultant refuge. All the resultant all the states of of full enlightenment that are attained either within one’s own continuum or the continuum of others, from this time on, one pays homage to.
Yeah. And then further, one is also paying homage to the jewels, the jewel of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, here the jewel of Dharma, which subsumes the truth of path and the truth of cessation of the great vehicle. One is also paying homage to those truths, the truth of path and cessation. How did it go? What do you understand?
Did you understand the the mode of making offerings? So it’s clear, isn’t it, that in order to make offerings, we don’t need to have great wealth, do we? So, really, it can the offerings themselves can be generated within the mind itself. They can be visualized. Oh.
That’s dry. Are there any questions on subject matter? Oh, yeah. Pure food. So here, in fact, in that section of the offerings, initially it’s stated that there are offerings that one actually has, and offerings that one visualizes or offerings which are possessed by oneself or offerings in general which are not possessed.
Here in offering food, of course, one wants to offer food that is something that we would like to eat ourselves. So something that’s clean and untainted and something appropriate in in that way. So something that we would feel would be qualified or appropriate to offer to such beings as Buddhas. It is, of course. It’s easier to make visualized offerings.
And there’s also the added benefit that because they’re visualized, one doesn’t have so much attachment to them. So there’s that benefit as well. Here, it’s seem to be something appropriate to offer. It’s, you know, something that has a particular purpose or potential purpose. So it’s offered in with that view in mind, but it’s up to the individual.
It’s what’s appropriate for the individual here in making such an offering, what one feels comfortable with or what one would actually offer oneself. Of course. Yeah. The one that one has less avarice or attachment to is the better. No.
It doesn’t help. Because, actually, the visualized offering, we don’t tend to have attachment towards. And even though we’re attached to the a similar type object in actuality, it doesn’t act as the opponent to that attachment. What we have to do is generate the actual antidote to that attachment in order to overcome it. In order to overcome attachment to a particular object, we have to think about the faults or the disadvantages of the object.
Already. Sorry. Cleaning. Yeah. Yeah.
That that’s true. There is the Buddhism themselves, of course, are completely pure, and one offers those bathing waters and the water and so forth to bathe them in order to help purify one’s own stains, stains of one’s mind itself. And then one offers various other substances in order to establish benefit for oneself. For instance, by offering, as you mentioned, by offering butter lamps and so on, that helps to develop one’s wisdom, light within one’s mind, and so on. I’ll be back tomorrow.
Are we gonna come and visit me? Sorry.