Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Khensur Rinpoche opens this 48-minute commentary with personal advice he received from Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche before a Vajrayoginī retreat: never count toward the hundred thousand prostrations — attend only to quality. He then walks through the four powers that must be applied before prostrating begins: developing regret sharp as having swallowed poison, taking refuge, making the vow of reversal, and the actual antidote — reciting the names of the thirty-five Buddhas of Confession. He describes their visualization: seated on pearl-draped white elephants, arranged ten-ten-seven-seven around a central Buddha, with white then yellow nectar flowing down during prostrations. Three methods of reciting the confession are compared, and the session closes with dedication of merit — positive potential likened to a water drop that cannot be lost once absorbed into the ocean.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 12 PP 1989-06-17.mp3
UUID: 6cb67d84-18d5-432c-b34b-9a7fb08332b7
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Preliminary Practices (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1989-06-17
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 48.1 minutes
Words: ~2,700
All the various negativities that you’ve created and trying to develop the state of mind which thinks that, you know, considering all these various negativities that I’ve created, if I were to die now, then I would have to experience the fruit of all these negativities. I could experience all the various sufferings of the hell realms of the hungry ghosts, animals, all the various places that I could be reborn. And developing this sense of regret of having this negativity within you, that having created all these various negativities, just like someone would regret once they have taken poison, understanding what was to come. The sense that I wish I hadn’t done that in this sense, and then applying the vow, the antidote of the power of reversal, that is to the determination not to repeat again. This is, you know, however skillful we can be in applying this, one must determine for oneself that I am, you know, to make a commitment, that I am going to not repeat this action again for perhaps a day or month or a year, whatever that you can sincerely feel that you can commit yourself to not to repeat that action again.
So, what we’ve just described thus far, the three the application the three first antidotes, the three counteracting agents is done before one actually begins prostrating. You’re still sitting, for example, in your seat, and you’re developing the proper motivation going through these three antidotes. Without these three antidotes and the fourth antidote, these powers are properly applied, then there’s no purification of negativity, so they have to be done well. So, once having applied these first three antidotes, you rise up from your seat, and then you begin the actual performance of prostrations within a proper manner. So, if we can also combine this with the really excellent attitude of the understanding of the emptiness of the three spheres, that is to say, that the prostrator, the object of prostration, and the activity of prostration are all empty of true existence, are all empty of inherent existence.
So, in the, and as was explained previously, that trying to imagine that you’re on this vast plane and with as many bodies as there are atoms in the world, this might be quite difficult for you to imagine. Therefore, it might be more readily come to you, and it has very effective measure to consider that you have taken rebirths from beginningless time, rebirth after rebirth after rebirth after rebirth, and you’ve attained numberless bodies. And think of all these bodies as rebirths that you have taken in the aspect of a human body, and that they are going to prostrate along with you. So, on both sides of you, surrounding you, are all your previous rebirths in the form of having a human aspect of a human body, and they are going to prostrate with you. And this has the effect — they’re all in the aspect of a human body, of a human person.
And then just with not only the body of this present life, which would aid in purifying the negativities of this life, but all the bodies of previous lives, which is going to aid in purifying the negativities created in previous lives, are going to perform the prostrations in unison. In the practice of prostrations, we should always emphasize the quality of our practice in general, in all practices, the quality rather than the number, and especially here. Then we have to do if we do this, all these various preparations, you know, the motivation, the application of the three powers, if we do them well, then even one prostration can be extremely powerful in purifying negativities and accumulating positive potential. So we should always be concerned not with the numbers, but with the quality. This distinction between quantity and quality, you know, even in worldly situations, taking an example, if you had some type of article, and if this article was of a low quality, no matter if you had many of these articles, no matter what it might be, if they were all of low quality, then they’re really of not that much benefit to yourself and not much benefit to others.
So, even a great number of low quality articles really isn’t worth all that much. But if you have this one article which is of high quality, which is extremely worthwhile, which is extremely valuable, then it’s not only valuable to yourself, but you could make it, it could be a value to others. Therefore, what is to be emphasized is the quality, that even a small number of really quality practices, prostrations, articles is more immeasurable, more valuable than many articles, prostrations, practices of a low quality. So, when Rinpoche himself was living in India, and he performed the retreat of Vajrayoginī, and prior to that he had an audience with Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, the past junior tutor to His Holiness. And they were discussing, and the advice was given to him that to not be concerned about the number, the quantity, but only with the quality, that one shouldn’t think about the hundred thousand prostrations that one is supposed to do, that this was in accordance with the practice tradition of Tsongkhapa, which he performed at Kasula.
At Kasung, when he did prostrations, he was very concerned with the quality of his prostrations, but not the quantity. Prior to the first prostration, you should recite the mantra, which is contained in these books, which are on the heater there. Om Namo Mañjuśrī, Namo Sushri, Namo Uttama Shri, Svāhā. And this is the mantra which has the power to multiply the various whatever action succeeds it. It has the effect of it serves as a great blessing.
It has the effect of having the potency as if one had listened to and reflected upon the three scriptural categories of the Buddhist teachings. I want you to recite that mantra three or four or as many times as you wish. So, we’ve applied the first three powers: the power of recollection, reliance, and turning away, or reversal. And now, with respect to the fourth, the actual antidote. It is said in the sūtra that there are four types of actual antidotes for the purification of negativities, and these would involve the recitation of the names of the Tathagatas, that is, the Buddhas; the recitation of mantras; the recitation of various scriptures; the contemplation of the meditation on emptiness; the making of offerings; and the making of images of the Buddha — six methods which act as an actual antidote.
And in this case, we would be doing the first, that is, the recitation of the names of the Tathagatas of the Buddhas. So in accordance with the practice of Je Rinpoche, the Tsongkhapa at Lhunpo Gangchen, in which he made use of the confession of downfalls, the recitation of the names of Tathagatas. So in accordance with the practice of Tsongkhapa, who made prostrations in conjunction with the confession of downfalls. This is the way in which it would be explained here. So, in the confession of the names, the confession of downfalls, one recites the various names of the thirty-five Buddhas of confession, the thirty-five deities, in which one simply the names are enumerated and one recites those.
So all of the Buddhas can be condensed down to the five Buddha lineages, the five lineages of the victors, conquerors, literally, sometimes called the five Buddha families. And these are represented by the thirty-five deities. So, and then we have before us the visualization of the field of merit, the field for accumulating merit in accordance with the practice of Lama Chöpa, offering to the spiritual master, and making requests to that field, etc. And then in this central figure is called Lama Losang Tubwang Dorje Chang. And as I’ve explained, at the heart, you know, the aspect of Tsongkhapa, at Tsongkhapa’s heart is the Buddha, and at his heart is vajradhara. So, from the heart of the Buddha, lights radiate out, and these lights transform into the thirty-four Buddhas of Confession, the thirty-four Buddhas of Confession.
They are situated such that they’re at the top, there is a row of ten. At the bottom is a row of ten. And to the right and left are columns of seven. So, ten, seven, seven, thirty-four. In general, the merit field of the offering to the spiritual master contains the thirty-five Buddhas of confession.
But since this is specifically a practice to purify the negativities, we’re going to as if single them out. So, from the heart of the Buddha, radiates out these thirty-four streams of light, and at the end of each of these is the robes and columns, the ten, seven, seven of the thirty-four Buddhas. They are each seated upon a white elephant. So, each of the Buddhas of confession are seated upon a white elephant, and these elephants are adorned with pearls, strings of pearls, white pearls. So the reason that an elephant is represented here is because that it is the most powerful amongst all the types of animals, and therefore it has the auspicious coincidence power being associated with the most powerful ability to purify negativities.
Additionally, the color white is associated with pacification, and here we’re pacifying the negativities. The pearls are extremely precious and valuable, and also they’re also white, therefore they’re extremely effective in helping to eliminate, purify the negativities, the blackness of negativities. So then we, having done all this preparation, now we’re gonna actually begin the prostration to this, to the thirty-five Buddhas of Confession. And there are three ways of reciting Confession. The first is that we prostrate throughout the recitation of the entire text.
We begin at the very first words, begin prostrating, and we continue prostrating until we come to the very end of the entire text. Another way is to only prostrate during the recitation of the names themselves, of the thirty-five Tathagatas. Tathagatas means those gone thus, those gone thus, Tathagatas. Only during the in one section of the text is the actual names themselves. One only prostrates during that segment of the text, during the recitation of the thirty-five names.
This is the second possible way. So, the third way is that we single out as we go through these thirty-five deities, first, each of the Buddhas themselves. First, begin with the name of the first Tathāgata, the one gone thus, and perhaps we make a specific number of prostrations to that Buddha specifically. We perhaps do ten prostrations to that Buddha of confession. And then having done ten prostrations to that, then we recite the name of the second of the thirty-five.
And reciting that name, do ten prostrations. Then we move on to the third, reciting that name continually, doing ten prostrations to that, specifically that Buddha of Confession. This would be a third way of making use of the confession of moral downfalls. So this third method is probably the better of the three since what you’re singling out from some duration of time one specific Buddha of confession, and therefore you can get a much clearer visualization of its aspects. Having done prostrations to the first deity, however specified number, and moving on to the second, and completing prostration to all of the thirty-five Buddhas.
And one should imagine during the course of prostrations that nectars are flowing down from this whatever particular Buddha it may be, and that in this first case, it’s a white nectar filling one’s body, purifying all of negativity. And subsequent to that, a yellow nectar flows down, filling up one’s body, increasing all of one’s positive qualities. So, you know, you should look to see as an individual how many prostrations you could make during the course of each day of your practice. You know, the number is in accordance with what fits in with your ability, however, what your situation is. So, having the process of actual purification is very much dependent upon our faith in the object of refuge and our conviction in the ability to purify the negativities.
Having performed the actual practice, then coming to the conclusion, I have purified those negativities, come to this determination. And this serves as a real means to, as an effective means to, for the actual purification to come about, this conviction that it’s been purified. And then as a at the end of the practice, the prayer of dedication. So, then having performed the practice, it’s necessary to make it a complete practice to dedicate the positive potential that you’ve created. These two verses of dedication that we have on this sheet, through these merits, may I soon attain the enlightened state of Guru Buddha, etcetera, is quite appropriate, very excellent types of dedication to dedicate this positive potential that you created for the sake of enlightenment, for the sake of Buddhahood.
Just as a single drop of water, when placed in the ocean, will not be lost until that ocean itself is exhausted. Likewise, by dedicating this positive potential that we’ve created for Buddhahood, this positive potential will not be lost until we have actually achieved Buddhahood. So, generally, we’re involved in generating anger again and again and again, and all the various types of skillful actions that we create are lost due to the force of anger. It has the ability to destroy the potency of positive karma. But if we dedicate that skillful action, then it cannot be destroyed even through the force of anger.
Additionally, if we can, in making dedication, think of the three spheres, that is, the dedicator, object or the goal which is being dedicated toward, and that which is being dedicated as being empty of true existence, then the ability to withstand the force of anger is actually increased. So, you know, if you make the various dedications and prayers that we usually perform during the teachings, this would be very excellent practice. Sorry if you have some questions. Yeah. About So, you know, unless we had an actual painting and we could go through and describe each of their specific mudras and colors, it would be difficult for you to imagine what each of them would appear like and where they are positioned.
So, we can just, you know, make a rough approximation. In the central figure is the Buddha. So, we can make a rough approximation of how they would appear. In the central is Śākyamūni Buddha. And then there’s going to be, there’s these ten, ten, seven, seven.
And they are divided up according to, as was mentioned before, the five Buddha lineages, except for one. So, just in general, the five Buddha lineages, each of them, for example, those in the lineage of Akṣobhya are blue in color. Those who are in the lineage of Amoghasiddhi are green in color. Amitābha, red. Vairochana, Ratnasambhava, white.
And Ratnasambhava, yellow. So, these could be imagined approximately the same aspect, roughly. Then there is one — I forget the Sanskrit, something — in Tibetan, it’s Klu’i Gyalpo. I forget the Sanskrit, but anyway, he’s, he specifically has a white head and blue body, and he’s in the mudra with his middle fingers, his fists together with his middle fingers pointing up. So, he’s unusual amongst these.
But we don’t have time to go into detail of each one. So, Rinpoche says there is some kind of commentary about this sūtra, this discourse, which is called Confession of Moral Downfalls. There is a commentary in English which goes through specifically the mudras, that is the gestures and color of each specific Buddha image. Yeah. So, Klu’i Gyalpo, it’s not — Klu, Klu, which means Naga.
Klu means Naga. And he’s the only Naga amongst these. So, he’s special. This is the gesture of subduing the nagas. And you want to know?
So this is amongst the thirty-two major and eighty minor signs of the Buddha. This is the most supreme of all of these. It’s a mark which only a supreme emanation of body possesses.