Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 40-minute commentary, Geshe Pema Tsering works through the cosmological visualization underlying every mandala offering — wind and water mandalas, a golden surface, and billions of world systems assembled grain by grain on the mandala base. He grounds the practice first in motivation: the offering must be driven by bodhicitta, with clear awareness that the offerer, the mandala, and the receiving Buddha are all free of inherent existence. He then covers the physical steps — purifying the base with scented water, clockwise and anti-clockwise grain wipes — before drawing on Abhidharma cosmology to explain the visualization in precise detail: the square Mount Meru with silver, lapis, red, and gold faces; iron and vajra fences surrounding individual and collective universes; the four continents. Suited to practitioners working with a mandala set who want the traditional cosmological framework behind the visualization.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 02 HM 2002 07 09.mp3
UUID: b00c68fa-84c0-414c-b2e2-d0c5735b5c2b
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: How to offer a mandala (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-07-09
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 40.4 minutes
Words: ~2,747
So when we offer the mandala, so if we should offer it in order to in order to attain enlightenment or become Buddha. So that is the altruistic intention. So if one offer the mandala with the intention of of attaining enlightenment for the sake of for the sake of all motherly sentient beings, then the the benefits of offering mandala would be would be greater. Therefore so when we offer the mandala to develop both the mind, the aspiring bodhicitta and the engaging bodhicitta. So for example, wishing to offer a mandala in order to attain enlightenment for the sake of all motherly sentient beings is the aspiring yeah, wish is so called it’s called aspiring bodhicitta.
And then actually offering the mandala that is also for the for the sake of all motherly sentient beings, then it’s called the engaging bod bodhicitta or altruistic intention. And and during during the offering of mandala, I want you to see all the three objects, offer offer I can’t say offeror, isn’t it? Oneself who offers the mandala, and second, the mandala itself, and the third, the the objects like where, for example, Buddha where you offer the mandala, all these three are see all these three as free of inherent existence and they are not truly exist, absence of true existence. And think means they are they are emptiness that they don’t exist the way they appears and it’s not but they do exist. They’re not nonexistent.
They do exist, but exist nominally they are nominally exist exist, but but free of inherent existence. So so and and and this is with such, yeah, ways one should offer it. Otherwise, one should not offer it with the seeing that they exist the way they appear to oneself. So by doing this, then it becomes like like like one is accepting the the so called the true existence of the phenomena. And then, yes, so with such understanding of lacking in the of being free of inherent existence of all the the three objects, oneself, the mandala, and the Buddha’s where one offer.
And then and and that is and also offering it with the intention of the bodhicitta altruistic intention. And then through this then one offers the mandala. So now which would now we are talking about the mandala which we normally offer. So the holding the basis on the one’s left hand, and first, it’s been wiped with the the so called the purifying water. So it’s been mixed with the nice fragrance in the vase in front of you or it’s actually meant water.
There is a purifying water. So sprinkle it. Yes. Wipe it entirely on this the the basis mandala base and and then recite the mandala so called from saying om vajrabhumi ah hum. So bhūmi is the land or a base foundation.
So visualizing that the basis of the mandala or yeah, mandala basis is like the field of It’s the golden ground or surface. And then so having done this then take the grain in one’s hand the substance of the grain of the mandala and in one’s hand and then wiped it, wiped the mandala set the bases base or mandala base three clockwise first. One, two, three imagining all the negativities, non virtuous has been purified and then Yeah, I’m sure there’s some left over. So the grain wipe it anti clockwise three times and that is thinking of imagining that of attaining the accomplishments like liberation, Buddhahood or even whatever one wishes like curing the one’s disease or, yeah, the wealth and so forth. So now, as we said, visualize that mandala base is the golden surface or golden field.
So now speaking of this now comes now the formation of the universe. So imagine that under that golden surface or the land is located or situate yeah, locate the wind, yeah, wind mandala. Yeah. So now speaking through coming through the the the treasury of knowledge or metaphysical studies comes in the Abhidharma, Vasubandhu’s text called the Abhidharma, one of the higher studies in monastic schools. They’re talking about the formation of the universe or the saṃsāra.
So under the golden surface or land situates the wind mandala. And now the measurement of that wind mandala speaking, the wind mandala is the whiteness is immeasurable, so no end at all. But the so this is breadth, isn’t it? Length. The length, the thickness of the length is one million six hundred thousand parsangs in Tibetan now.
So who’s good at mathematics? Math. The paktis is one parsang in Tibetan. It has five hundred dyangtas. So one dyangta is about a kilometer.
So one parsang is five hundred kilometers. So the length of that wind mandala is about one is one one million six hundred thousand parsangs. So sorry. So it’s how many now? So each parsang is five hundred kilometers.
So I mean, anyway, this is the the the size of the wind mandala. Right? So yeah. So that is the wind mandala. So on the top of the wind mandala situates the water mandala, right?
The water. So on the top of the water, so imagine visualize that our mandala base, the golden surface is there. So yep, one, two, three, yes. So, yeah, so on that basis now, which is the mandala base, the golden land or golden yeah. Golden base, golden land.
So it’s top of the water’s mandala and then the wind mandala. So on the top of that golden mandala, then now we have to visualize that hundred billions, hundred billion, billion, billions of of the universe now, to which means, say, one mandala offering, you know, mind, meaning, that one Mount Meru, four continents, eight subcontinents and so forth. This is one set. So likewise it’s going to be like billions of Mount Merus, billions of four continents. This is how one visualizes on that basis.
Yeah? Maybe I should use a kaku here. And remember they were talking about the wind the water water mandala is on the top of that wind mandala. So now we’re talking about this now it’s the size of that water mandala, which is it’s the the length. Yep.
The thickness of that water mandala is is one eleven million twenty thousand parsangs. Now remember, the one parsang is five hundred kilometers. Right? So and the the wideness is limitless. So so that water mandala is on the top of the wind mandala.
So what happens is now wind mandala makes the movement and shakes the water mandala entirely completely. So what happens is so out of those all the those sides of the mandala water mandala, and there are a lot of dust and so forth inside the water, so it’s wind shack and so forth, everything gathers. So out of those the size of that water mandala, the three hundred twenty thousand parsangs of that water mandala, which is collection collected by the wind by shaking it becomes our what’s called? The the golden surface of the mandala base. The basis now through our visualization.
So so on that surface, now remember that it’s been from the very beginning, you know, the purifying water has been purified surface. And remember that visualize hundreds and billions billions of universe, of numberless, billions of Mount Merus, billions of four continents, so forth. This is one visualize it. And likewise, now so on Vajrabhumi ah hum and on vajra rekhe ah hum, now we recite the second one. So that when you say vajra rekhe ah hum, so you now visualize that each and every universe now has been surrounded by the golden fence.
Yeah? One one one yeah. One visualized during the recitation of vajra rekhe, visualized so called the two fence, the inner fence and the outer fence. So inner fence, the golden fence, which is visualizing each and there’s a hundred and billions of universe. So hundred and billions of the what golden fence one has visualized for each universe.
And and also visualize that one huge golden fence that covers the the limitless huge golden fence that covers the limitless. So each one has one and then the communal one. I did the calculation here. And and and so visualizing those bright golden fence and the so visualize that so one part is five hundred kilometers still in in mind. And so visualize that the fence, you know, when you build the fence, some should be underneath, some should be up like a foundation bed.
So thinking that because the underneath is the water mandala. Remember? So the fence, the the so eight hundred parsangs of the fence is under the water, and it comes three hundred fifty parsangs up above the water level. So this is three hundred fifty parsangs turns out to be one hundred seventy-five thousand kilometers up. Right?
Okay. Yeah. So it’s the the basis is the golden surface or golden land and billions of universe. So a bit of a correction here that each under the individual fence for the individual universe is made out of the metal, the iron, sorry, the iron fence. And remember, the very big one for the communal entire universe, that fence is made of the dorje vajra.
So it’s the diamond fence. Right? The vajra fence. Diamond. Right?
Yeah. So so so back up a bit that the wind the the underneath was the wind mandala and then the water mandala and then comes the golden surface. So on the golden surface is is actually called on the yeah. So with the so called great oceans is situated on the the golden surface or golden land. And then by mixing that by shaking or making that the great oceans or which is on the top of the golden surface then first there’s three formations comes out of that great oceans.
The first one is called the Mount Meru, and then the second one is called the seven golden mountains comes, and then the third one, it forms the four continents now. No. So the the purpose of explaining this is because when you offer the Mandala offering, then what’s what’s it then it comes the first grain and you put one in the middle like grain in the middle of the mandala base So now imagine that but through the first mix, the mixture or shape are from that great ocean on the golden surface. And the first thing now is visualize, imagine that the golden, sorry. The Mount Meru is being produced.
Right? Visualize Mount Meru. And Right. So along with this the Mount Meru, imagine the Rirab Lhünpo and visualize that the Mount Meru has been formed along with the seven golden mountains with the seven lakes. And then then Chaturadvipa comes, you know, the four continents.
Chaturadvipa follows on from there. Yeah. So the shape of the Mount Meru is actually a box or a square shape. And look. So it’s a square.
Don’t look at me. So it’s a square. So it depends on the system. In terms of Kālacakra Tantra, it comes to the Mount Meru is actually in the round shape. So so here, which is so called square shaped, and it’s made out of the precious stones, so like, I guess this is like the diamond, the metal, diamond, stone.
And, anyway, so the four it’s a square shape. So it’s a four directions of the Mount Meru. And visualize that eastern part east part of the Mount Meru is the the silver. And the south is vaidurya. Is among Anybody know in English? Lapis.
It’s a bluish color. Anyway, lapis is the bluish color that is on the north sorry, south surface and to the north, which is Padmaraga. Any idea? Pardon? Gold.
Not gold. Pamaraka. It’s a red color. Red. And a bit of a light in a raised come shiny one.
It’s a red color. What what what was that? Ruby. I I have no idea about that anyway. I’m hopeless with the stones.
So anyway, so it’s called Padmaraga. What Diana said, it’s a reddish color. Yeah. And And in the north direction, north surface is the the gold. Pardon?
North. No. West is the the lapis lazuli. No. No.
No. So and the ruby, which is the reddish color, red color. Yeah. So that The pearl pearl is the white color, isn’t it? And the turquoise is blue.
So there is other one at the red color as well. What Diana said was ruby, isn’t it? So I’m a bit doubt about the ruby because in Tibetan word, we have achuru and it’s called the padmaraga, the lotus red. So both are red. The border red, border red.
So Churu is more expensive than the Padmaraga we’re explaining. Pardon? Coral? Coral? No.
No. No. Because it’s the right color anyway. Yeah. Because pardon?
That’s in the north. No. No. That’s in the west. West.
West. So if we Geshe-la said, if you go to the bookshop and then some statues and some decoration like stones in the using as a decoration, as ornament to the statues and so forth, we might find the Padmaraga we’ll be explaining here. One day. Yep. To do something in this regard.
And north is called the gold. Yeah. So we’ll stop here today. It’s very detailed in the text, Mandala text, whereas maybe people here might be thinking we might have probably was expecting to go through how to offer it said or why. This is how it means.
But Geshe-la said that well going through the text and the detailed explanation of how the formation of the mandala, the details, visualization, so forth, doesn’t look like we’re going to finish next week at all. Geshe-la said that he might cancel the meditation bit in the morning, sorry, in the beginning of the session and the motivation. Maybe shorten very short motivation, and then might probably be a little bit of help. But we still don’t think we’ll finish it. But our best.
Okay. So I say that the Tibetan masters, great practitioners, they don’t have any work, know, and they don’t have to do work. No. You know, they just have time for the practice all the time. So their teaching comes.
It’s very detailed and long, long teachings. And for us those teachings are too long because we are so busy and don’t have time. Okay. Yeah. Uh-huh.
Uh-huh. Okay. Yep. Okay. Pardon?
A square foot is very big. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Whatever it is, the t is great. Said it is so true. What you said is so true. What we are talking about is the first one should not be small and then the Right.
Right. So the when we yes. It’s not smaller than the square feet, which just means if you’re offering on the open space, like on a big rock or a rock or or just on the field, you know, you just build up some much layer to offer the mandala. And not smaller than the surface of the one cup is we are talking about in general, a mandalas, like, which you you, like, for example, that one, and you make offerings in the teaching and so forth. So on that basis, it should not be smaller than the surface of the round cup.
But the I wanna do much. You want to there? I’ve got this news. Should. Not it.
So, yep, just briefly speaking that the handheld mandala, the handheld mandala offering should not be smaller than this size. Yep. And the minimum size of a square foot is on the on the ground or on the rocks, so forth. So Geshe-la said that that when we said not smaller than the round size of the one mug, we and when speaking of this, should not think of the small glass. You know?
Yeah. Think of Tibetan cup. You know? Geshe-la said the smallest Tibetan cup surface should be at least this much. Small.
Yeah. Yeah. So what was your question, Anke? So what whatever it is, the mandala offering set, the the wood one or the gold, iron, metals or whatever it is, to make sure this depends on one’s visualization that one has got in the best quality. That’s the most important part.