Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute teaching, Kyabje Rinpoche walks through three limbs of the seven-limb prayer (Guru Puja), the core practice of guru yoga. He explains how the limb of confession purifies negativities through four counteracting forces: remembering our misdeeds, taking refuge in the lamas, resolving not to repeat them, and reciting the purification text. He emphasizes that unconfessed negativities double daily, but complete purification is possible if the four forces are applied. He then teaches the limb of rejoicing—celebrating all virtue accumulated by Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and ordinary beings across past, present, and future. Rejoicing counteracts jealousy and offers an effortless way to gather vast merit. Aimed at practitioners engaged with tantric training.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1992-09-25 – 15A – KR.mp3
UUID: f0c0276e-6418-4013-90ce-c2cf82c316c4
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Guru Puja – Lama Chopa
Date: 1992-09-25
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,226
G. Must eliminate all my various faults and bring forth all my excellent qualities. I must achieve the state of Buddhahood. Having attained that state, I then lead all living beings to a state where they are free from suffering and have complete happiness. And in order to achieve that end, I will reflect, listen to, meditate on the profound, the quick method of the universal vehicle that is Guru Yoga.
So we are looking at the seven-limb prayer, and the limbs of prostration which acts as an or homage, the limb of homage which acts as an inhibitor to arrogance, and the limb of offering in which we offer the four levels of offering, external, internal, secret, and suchness, which act as an antidote to miserliness. So the seven limb prayers consist of seven practices. We’ve completed the first of these two limbs. The first branch or limb of the prayer is that of the paying of homage, and the second is that of the offering section. Then thirdly, is the confessions, the confessions of negativities and downfalls committed through one’s three doors.
Then fourthly, limb of rejoicing, rejoicing in one’s own and other skillful actions. And then fifthly, the making of request that all worldly and happiness and well-being and that which is beyond the world comes about through the turning of the wheel of the Dharma that is to say by means of the teaching, receiving teachings and thereby request that the wheel of Dharma be turned, that is to say requesting that teachings be given. Then the sixth is the request to not pass beyond sorrow, requesting one’s root teachers that they remain in order to teach the Dharma to both oneself and others not to pass beyond. Finally, by means of these six preceding practices, one has gained all of the various skillful actions that one has accumulated by means of these practices. The limb of dedication, dedicating these skillful actions to the long life of the lamas and that one not be separated from them in all of one’s future lives.
So now we’re looking at the limb of confession. What antidote does the of confession act as? What does confession act as an antidote of? It acts as as antidote of the three poisons of attachment, hatred, and ignorance, but in general all of the afflictive emotions. So previous to the verse in the actual ritual of the text, it is extremely useful to retake the bodhisattva and secret mantra vows and to ensure that we observe our vows.
The two types of bodhisattva vows, the aspiring and practical bodhisattva vows and that before one is Lama Lobsang Tenzin Dorje Chang. And as we do when we receive an empowerment, we repeat three times alternately with the Lama. I go for refuge to Three Jewels. I confess individually all of my negativities. I rejoice in all of merits.
I take hold of the bodhicitta mind by means of this recitation of this verse, one cannot newly receive the bodhisattva Vows, but one can by means of this not allow the bodhisattva vows, having previously degenerated,. One can renew the previously degenerated bodhisattva vows and the the non-degenerated can be increased but one cannot newly take them simply by means of the recitation of this verse. So, this previous verse is recited if one has not degenerated one’s vow and having not degenerated by means of that verse, the bodhisattva vows can be increased in their power. And again, having received at the time of taking the empowerment the tantric vows and if the vows have not been degenerated by reciting the following verse three times, one can increase the potency of the tantric vow. Buddhists and bodhisattvas, please listen to me. I, (state your individual name).
So maybe in the future, can look at that. That’s Those two lines are the opening two lines of this verse, and we can look at the verse. It’s quite a long verse. And the final line is, beyond sorrow. So this can be recited three times in order to increase the potency of one’s tantric vows, but it’s necessary to observe one’s tantric vows to ensure that they do not degenerate.
Tantric path is a quick path if one observes the samayas of tantra. So then if we in fact act in contradiction to our vows, then we can rectify this by means of confession using the, for example, the confession of one’s downfalls, the confession to the 35 Buddhas or the general confession or we can make use of this present text in the following verses where it begins with, Before the eyes of those having great compassion, we lay bare with the mind of regret whatsoever non virtuous actions down to the most minute, we have committed from beginning of this time. Of others who do or in which we have rejoiced and we vow never to commit them again. So this is we have been reborn again and again since beginningless time within cyclic existence. We have not only taken this, our present rebirth, but have been experiencing rebirths again and again since beginningless time.
In all of these various rebirths, we have committed various types of negative actions, have accumulated unskillful actions. We ourselves have actually perpetrated negative actions. We have caused others to do negative actions. Even in those cases where we did not cause others to do negative actions, still we rejoice in the negative actions. And we have done this in the past.
We are doing it in the present and we will do it in the future. That we have created all these various negativities over the three times. And we are applying the four counteracting agents or the four forces in order to purify these negativities. And the first is by means of recollecting our negativities, remembering the various negativities that we have created, and developing a regret with respect to those negativities. So this is the first, the counteracting force of regret.
Then the second is that of reliance. Then we have as our object of refuge, Lama Lobsang Tenzin Dorje Chang with the entire retinue. We take heartfelt refuge in the objects of refuge and this constitutes the force of reliance, relying upon the objects of refuge. Then we vow not to commit these actions again, that I will not commit these actions This is the counteracting force reversal, reversing from our past negative actions. Finally, the recitation of the actual text itself is the limb of antidote, the counteracting force of antidote.
So we apply the four counteracting forces or counteracting agents. Since beginningless time, we’ve created a tremendous number of negativities, and we can understand that, in fact, we have these negativities with us because they act as a hindrance to our understanding. When we receive teachings, it’s difficult for us to understand their meaning. Or when we meditate, we don’t gain realization. This is a sign that we have hindrances, and these hindrances are these various negativities created out of our past negative actions.
So if we didn’t have these hindrances and if we were to meditate, we would quickly gain realization. Or if we heard a teaching, then we would quickly gain the understanding of that teaching. But it’s by the power of these negativities that we have difficulty in understanding and gaining realizations. So we have to, as a means of not only removing the possible experience of future sufferings which these negativities will bring us, but it’s necessary to again and again confess these negativities in order to remove the hindrances to the generation of the various paths and grounds. If we apply these four counter forces, there’s no negativity which cannot be completely purified.
Negative actions through physical, verbal, and mental negative activities. If, for example, we were to say a single harsh word and we were not to confess that by enacting through one harsh word,, negative verbal action, then tomorrow it would double the negativity as if we were to utter two harsh words and the next day would be four times, next day eight times. So the negativity would continually be increasing. But on the other hand, if we were in the evening in the context of regret to confess the negativity that we created, if we do this well, then we can remove, we can purify the negativity from its very root. But if we were to do it only in a middling fashion, at least the negativity would not increase.
Then the fourth limb of the seven-limb prayer, that limb of rejoicing. In the text, it is set forth. Though all things are like a dream lacking inherent or natural existence, we sincerely rejoice in the happiness and joy of all aryas and ordinary beings and in every white virtue that has ever risen. All phenomena lack the sign of inherent existence and they appear as dreams, mirages and reflections. Though they are not inherent and existent, they are not nonexistent.
Normally exist. Though all phenomena are of this nature, a non inherent existence, still we rejoice in the skillful actions created by the various types of beings. If in a more extensive fashion we can list five types of beings, the Buddhas, the Bodhisattvas, the solitary realizers, the hearers, and ordinary beings. If we were to condense them, we could condense them into two types of beings, those who are ordinary beings and those who are superiors. Ordinary beings are those who have not achieved direct realization of emptiness.
Superiors are, it says aryas, are those who have direct realization of emptiness. And I rejoice in all of the skillful actions created both by myself and ordinary beings and superiors in the past, present, and future. So what is the way in which we are to rejoice? First, can rejoice in all of the skillful actions of the Buddhas and looking back upon the course of practice by which the Buddha came to achieve that state, having initially for the sake of all sentient beings, I generated the awakening heart of love and compassion. Then went on to practice the six perfections, brought this practice to fulfillment, and then went about teaching the Dharma.
All of the skillful actions accumulated in the course of this means in order to benefit sentient beings are unimaginable. Understanding how through the teachings of the Dharma, then others were able to achieve liberation and they too achieved Buddhahood. So the unimaginable skillful actions created in the course of such practice of the Buddhist and all the various superiors, but also in terms of oneself. That one has a good body and we have lots of possessions, material possessions. These arise in dependence upon skillful actions.
These are indications that we have created skillful actions in the path and that we have a long life. This requires creative potential, that we’re able to practice the Dharma, that the fact that we are able to listen to the teachings, these are indicative that we have accumulated creative actions in the path, skillful actions in the path, that we should rejoice in all these. But also even the actions that we’re carrying on now, the recitations of our practices, the various offerings that we make, the meditating, listening, and all that we are doing at present in our various practices, that we should remember all of these skillful actions. Remembering all these skillful actions both in the past and that we’re creating now of ourselves and others is the way to apply the limb of rejoicing. He said, what is the way by means of little effort or difficulty we can accumulate a vast collection?
And he said, This is by means of rejoicing. Just by this, without any difficulty, we can rejoice in these skillful actions, and by doing that we accumulate vast collection. Even if we were sleeping and we were in the course of our sleeping to think of the wonderful qualities of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, then through this process of rejoicing, by means of this process of rejoicing, we would accumulate a vast collection. There’s no difficulty to do that. So rejoicing is extremely beneficial but it’s very rare that people do it.
Toward what does rejoicing act as an antidote for? It acts as an antidote for jealousy. When we become jealous of those who are our superiors, those who have higher qualities or in some way above ourselves, we generally generate jealousy toward even their excellent qualities or their skillful actions. We generate a sense of jealousy toward our peers. Those who are equal, we develop a sense of competitiveness toward them.
Toward those who are inferior in some way, we put them down. So rejoicing acts as an antidote to all of these, this jealousy, competitiveness, and putting down. But it’s very rare that people do it. The next is the request for the turning of the wheel of Dharma. It’s contained in the following verse.
We ask that rains of vast and profound Dharma fall from a cloud of Dharma with sublime wisdom and loving compassion to nurture, sustain, and propagate a garden of moonflowers for the benefit and bliss of those limited beings. The exalted wisdom and great compassion