Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Karmic warnings punctuate Khensur Rinpoche’s instructions on prostration: thumbs tucked in lest you take rebirth without Dharma; rise quickly after bowing lest you be reborn as a worm. In this 45-minute session from his 1997 series on A Hundred Deities of the Land of Joy, Rinpoche first describes the Tuśita realm — Ārya Maitreya seated on a chair, poised to descend into our world, with Je Tsongkhapa radiated from his heart and flanked by Gyaltsab Je and Kedrup Je. He explains these three as personifications of wisdom, compassion, and power, and as the nature of one’s root lama. The session then turns to the first of the seven limbs: homage. Rinpoche details proper hand positions, the four points of contact, and a powerful technique — imagining all one’s past-life selves prostrating alongside you — to multiply accumulated merit immeasurably.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 02 KoP 1997 11 25.mp3
UUID: 002282ad-ff62-4fa1-918f-aca46a910202
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: King of Prayers (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1997-11-25
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.6 minutes
Words: ~2,829
So the name of this prayer is A Hundred Deities of the Land of Joy. And the land of joy in or land of joy in Tibetan is Ganden, and in Sanskrit is Tuśita. But when we say Tuśita, don’t mean the place in India, but we mean India have Tuśita though. There are there there are both a Tuśita as a as a celestial abode, and and then there is the celestial there is the Tuśita, which is the place in which the superior Ārya Maitreya is residing and where he teaches the Dharma. And this is a very immaculate place.
It’s like a vast park full of flowers, extremely beautiful, and with it’s inhabited by, as it says in the name of the text, hundreds of deities. So these and who among all of them are receiving teachings from Ārya Maitreya. And you’ve probably seen him pictured. He’s sitting in a chair in a teaching position up on a chair. So the this is inhabited by beings such as a Tsongkhapa, Atisha, and hundreds of deities.
You know, when we talk about hundreds, we’re talking about that at a minimum hundreds, but many more than that. So in it’s as Ārya Maitreya is pictured, he is seen sitting on a chair. He’s not sitting in with his legs crossed, but actually on a chair with his hands on his knees as if he’s just ready to get up. And this is symbolic of the fact that he’s ready to get up and come into the world, to ascend into this world as quickly as he can. And and there is pictured above Maitreya, Ārya Maitreya, Buddha Śākyamūni.
And it is Ārya Maitreya who is representative of of the teachings of Buddhism Buddhism in general, of Buddha, those which have come through Śākyamūni Buddha, and now will be presented next by Ārya Maitreya. So it is said the Ārya Maitreya will descend into our world when the when the average lifespan is as come to that of ten years. And as an as an as an an expression of the teachings of Ārya Maitreya, there Je Tsongkhapa is radiated out from the heart of Ārya Maitreya. So if you’ll take a look at the the prayer of of the hundred the deities of the the hundred deities of lands of joy. So we the first line represents a a a line of supplication asking that it begins with the if you’re reading from Ganden Lhagyama there, Gandhin, as we said, was Tuśita, and then it is said that there there are a hundred deities.
This is a a minimum of a hundred deities, but there are there are many more. And that that within within this realm of Tuśita, the the land of joy, there is the protector Ārya Maitreya, and that from his heart extends like white clouds of curds, white in color billowing up. So extending out of his heart is this mass of clouds of curd white in color. And upon upon these clouds are three thrones, the center throne being slightly higher than the thrones on the right and left. On each throne has a lotus, sun, and moon seats.
Upon the central throne is is Je Tsongkhapa, and to the right is Gyaltsab Je. To the left is Kedrup Je. So first it’s necessary that we make requests asking them to please come so that they will be the focal point of our making offerings of our meditation. So initially, we ask them to please come to this place. And then the the prayer goes on to say that in the sky before ourselves.
And so we should we should imagine that this what is being visualized, the the focal point of our meditation is is raised above the the eye the the the eye level in within the sky in front of us, up in the sky before ourselves. And that we are, as has been described, that that we are upon a throne, the three thrones, each having a lotus sun and moon. First sitting sitting the the the venerable lama and who who is is having been requested with a great faith is extremely pleased with ourselves, and therefore is smiling down upon ourselves, and that we are asking them to act as a focal point for as by means of which we can accumulate creative potential, that that that they are this the field of which we can accumulate merit. So the the these three figures are in the aspects of fully ordained monks. But but in fact, Je Tsongkhapa is Mañjuśrī.
And to his right is Gyaltsab Rinpoche, who is Avalokiteśvara. And to his left is Kedrup Rinpoche, who is vajrapani. So if we were to to to condense all of the qualities of a Buddha, we could condense them into three. And that that is to say, the the the wisdom realizing emptiness, that is the wisdom aspect of a Buddha, is is is symbolized is personified as Mañjuśrī. That of the tremendous compassion of a Buddha is personified as Avalokiteśvara, and that of the great power, and that is the the ability to overcome that which is is discordant with with with the Dharma, that which is to overcome negativity, that power is personified as vajrapani.
So it is all of the the various qualities of the Buddhadharma and the Sangha are condensed with into these three. That that but whoever whosoever it may be, whatever quality we may apply to them, they can all, whatsoever, be subsumed within these three, that whether whether it be Chenrezig, whether it be Avalokiteśvara or Tārā or Vajrayoginī or Heruka or Yamāntaka or Guhyasamāja. They all all these vast varieties of Buddhas of the three times, the past, present, and future, all their innumerable qualities subsumed into these three of wisdom, compassion, and power. So we should we should think that that the nature of what of the of these three, that in fact they are are the nature of one’s root spiritual master, one’s root lama, that is that individual who teaches you the Dharma, that these three are in that nature of one’s root teacher. But in aspect, they they take on these three forms, that of Je Tsongkhapa, Gyaltsab Rinpoche, and Kedrup Rinpoche.
Quite quite often, we we make an offering pair where we we say, Lama Sangye, Lama Chö, Deshin Lama Gendün, that that the the the lama is embodies the Three Jewels. The the spiritual the spiritual teacher or the spiritual master, the lama is the Buddha, the Dharma, and the spiritual community. So thinking of of these three as being the embodiments of those three. So if you if you wanted to do the visualization even in a more extensive fashion, you could imagine that that at the heart of Je Tsongkhapa is Mañjuśrī. At the heart of Gyaltsab Rinpoche is Avalokiteśvara.
At the heart of Kedrup Rinpoche is vajrapani. And then each is marked at the crown with a white om, at the throat a red ah, and at the heart with a blue hum. But this extensive but we can just think that they are of these personifications of these three without having to visualize them at their hearts if if but as you wish. The actual So the first of the seven limbs begins with that of homage. And having having invited the objects of toward whom we’re going the the practice of our seven limbs will will be directed toward.
We we as a means of accumulating merit and that our practice goes well, we we begin with the limb of paying homage. So with regard to homage, it can be that of in terms of actual prostration, there there are two types of prostrations, that that of a fully extended prostration, which the body is fully extended on the ground, or what is called a five point prostration, where the two knees, the two hands, and one’s forehead touch the ground. It’s important that you if you’re going to do a prostration such as that, the four five pointed prostration, that you do touch your head to the ground. If you don’t, there’s danger of being born as a type of creature without a head. So and and if you can, then that the full length prostration is really excellent.
This is really a skillful way to accumulate creative potential merit. But if that’s difficult, then then a five point a five point prostration is sufficient. So in terms of prostration and the paying of homage, we can we can we pay homage through the three doors. We can through the door of body, speech, and mind. So this what the these first two types of prostrations where you actually the full length prostration or the five point prostration are the paying of homage through one’s body.
In in terms of paying homage with the body and that that particularly with your hands, you you should you should the thumbs should be placed within the hands. Should that you shouldn’t have your thumbs sticking out. The if the thumbs are sticking out, then your hands are empty, and and that will that will can act as a cause to bring about to take rebirth in a place where there’s no dharma. So imagining as if your thumbs were jewels and and you’re holding jewels within your hand. And then having And then the having placed the jewel in one’s hands, one places first the the hands at the at the crown of one’s head.
This this is the means by which is to establish the causes for achieving what is the uṣṇīṣa or the head protrusion on a Buddha’s crown. Then the the then the the hands are then placed at the mid brow. This is the to create the causes for for developing the the curl, the hair curl between at the mid brow or simply a way of paying homage with the body. Then they’re touched at throat, a way of paying homage through speech, and then at the heart paying homage through the So So you shouldn’t prostrate with your legs spread apart. So and having having paid homage by touching the four spots, places, then one does a pro performs a prostration. What you should it’s important that you not stay down too long having prostrated. If if you you stay down too long, you’re creating the causes for taking rebirth as a worm. And moreover, once you get up very quickly, this is auspicious in terms of the one will quickly be liberated from cyclic existence, the quicker you get up.
So in terms of the object toward whom we are paying homage, as we said, it is that of Je Tsongkhapa along with his two spiritual sons. But additionally, we should imagine that surrounding in all of space are innumerable Buddhas. Even just to prostrate to one Buddha brings about unimaginable accumulation of greater potential. What to say of if we were to direct that homage toward numberless Buddhas? Additionally, we should not think as if we were prostrating with only a single body.
If if we’re able, we should we should visualize as if there were we were thousands of bodies that we emanated from ourselves. There’s as it says within the the the the prayer of the ways of high and sublime, where it says with as many atoms as there are within all the vast numbers of worlds, with that numberless number of bodies. You know, it’s it’s it’s useful to think in in this context that, you know, that you had a life before this life, and that life you had a and you had a life previous to that life, and you had a life previous to that life, and back and back and back. There are we’ve had number numberless rebirths over the course of of our lifetimes, and that and that we imagine as if all of those beings who we have been through these numberless rebirths in an aspect of a person, of people, of human beings, and and visualizing them all prostrating with ourselves. All of these lifetimes that in previous lifetimes that imagine that they’re they are surrounding you in the aspect of human beings, and they are prostrating along with you.
In this way, the offering of prostration, we can we can purify the negativities of numberless past lives, and we can accumulate a tremendous amount of creative potential, more so than with the thought of a single individual. And this is tremendously beneficial if we can think in this way. So that’s how we we pay homage through our body, but we we can also pay homage through our speech. And we can we can imagine that, you know, all of these numberless individuals that we visualize about ourselves, that they that they all have many heads, and there’s many heads and many mouths, there’s many mouths and many tongues, and that they’re all praising the qualities of the Buddha in terms of the Buddha’s wisdom, in terms of the compassion and power. So imagining them offering these various praises of the Buddha’s qualities in terms of wisdom and compassion and power is the means by which we can offer a homage of speech.
And then there is the mental homage, which is, you know, taking the taking them to mind, recalling the the the wonderful qualities of the Buddhas. But here, as it says in the in the next in the next verse in which this is the way of recalling the the the wonderful qualities of the Buddhas. Your mind of pure genius spans the whole range of knowledge. That is to say, a a Buddhist mind is omnipresent. It it it it is extends to all phenomena whatsoever and to their to their knowing.
And that this is a this and then in terms of the Buddhist speech that this is in this wonderful in during a golden age or a fortunate age that that you that you taught the teachings that you gave and be mindful of those of the eloquent teachings that he gave, taking those to mind. And then in terms of the body, remembering the body of a Buddha, then it’s that it is in the aspects of Je Tsongkhapa where Jetsün Kapa is known as Losang Dragpa, and Dragpa means to be renowned, to and he that that renowned for his for his wisdom, for his his compassion, and for his his power, and that that he was just to see him was beneficial or to listen, even to hear his name was beneficial, even to just to remember, to recall him is said to be beneficial.
So the the offering of of prostration or homage is an antidote to, in general, to the various afflictive emotions, but mainly to the afflictive emotion of pride. So this is the necessity for for the offering of homage or or the offering of prostration as as a means of eliminating our pride. People with pride would not offer homage to another. But, you know, one can offer prostration or this homage. It’s the same word which is being homage and prostration.
Just, you know, when you’re when you’re looking about yourself and motivated out of and you see representations of the Buddha, and just out of out of motivated by faith, one simply you raise your hands in in the hand of the gesture of of homage, then that is that is a prostration. The the Buddha’s qualities are such that even that’s even when from our side we have no particular motivation, we have a sense of indifference. If if we raise our hands in the gesture of homage, then just through the power of the object, of the qualities of the Buddha, this can act as a means where we will be able to realize the Dharma. So this is due to the due to the the vast accumulation that the Buddha has has accrued in the past. So it’s very since it’s very hot, we’re gonna stop there.
So it is hot. So but, you know, if you have two or three good questions, we we we’ll take those. If not, we’ll we’ll stop. So Jay is is a title given to those who bring us benefit, who bring us happiness, who can act as a refuge for ourselves. They they are given the they are given the title j.
And as far as there’s there’s no particular reason why j comes first in Je Tsongkhapa and and second in Kedrup Kedrup Jay and Gyaltsab Rinpoche. It it seems like it would be hard to say j Gaussup and j Kedrup. It’s difficult to say that. It’s easier the other way around. Yes.
Think that is pictured wrathful.