Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The story of Naropa cutting pieces of his own ear to build a mandala — and gaining full realization when Tilopa struck him with a sandal — opens Khensur Rinpoche’s 48-minute commentary on the mandala offering, one of the nine preliminary practices. Rinpoche explains the Sanskrit etymology, the practice’s foundation in both sūtra and tantra, and its central purpose: accumulating the merit and wisdom needed for Buddhahood. He then gives step-by-step physical guidance — the size and materials of the base (gold ideal, wood acceptable), the four shapes and colors linked to peaceful, increasing, controlling, and wrathful activities, and the cleaning ritual where three outward rubs clear hindrances and three inward rubs invite blessings. The session closes by addressing the conflict between Abhidharma cosmology and modern science as a gateway into the Buddha’s skillful means and the gradual deepening of view across the four major philosophical schools of Buddhism.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 14 PP 1989-08-05.mp3
UUID: 07f0697a-a9ca-45f2-98e2-15d2503344a4
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Preliminary Practices (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1989-08-05
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 48.4 minutes
Words: ~2,797
We should initially adjust our motivation such that we are going to listen to this great vehicle profound teaching with the motivation that to attain fearless, complete, unsurpassable, precious Buddhahood as a means to establish all sentient beings equal to space and complete happiness and bliss. So, the, you know, we are discussing the nine preliminary practices and within the nine there is the preliminary practice which we are going to be discussing today which is the offering of the mandala. And this verse is taken up in the first fifty verses of Guru devotion saying that we should make an offering of a mandala six times each day to our root spiritual master. Within the verse which contained in the fifty verses of Guru devotion it says those who have received tantric empowerments should make an offering to their vajra master of the mandala three times during the day and three times during the night. So with respect to the actual word Mandala, Mandala is a Sanskrit word in Tibetan.
It is translated as kilkhor. So it’s two syllables. The word kil means essence and means to take. So the word is to take the essence. So the offering of mandalas has is the practice of the offering of mandalas has been often mentioned in both Sutras and the Tantras.
In the Sutras, it is said that the students of the Buddha before the teachings would offer Mandala. And also, it’s mentioned in the Guhyasamāja Tantra that before the teachings the Guhyasamāja Mandalas were offered by the students. So the purpose of offering a mandala is in order to collect the necessary accumulations for the attainment of Buddhahood. By offering the mandala correctly, even the offering of during the offering of one single mandala, we are practicing all these six perfections. The perfections of generosity, ethics, patience, effort, meditative concentration, and wisdom.
So there are the all the various benefits which are derived from offering the mandala. Essentially the accumulation, the collection of the two accumulations of positive potential and wisdom, but also the creation of prosperity in the future for gaining power, for being able to influence others. So there is the account of one nun by the name of Jetsün Palmo. And she made offerings to the eleven headed Chenrezig. And it was through this that she was able to gain insight into emptiness.
So this is just very briefly some of the benefits to be derived from offering the mandala. But on the other hand, there are many disadvantages or many faults of not offering a mandala that we will not be able to enlist the assistance of the Dakas and Dakinis. That also those who have taken tantric vows, as was mentioned, it’s necessary to offer the mandala three times during the day. Otherwise, one accrues a downfall of the tantric vows. And therefore, you would be accruing three downfalls each day.
So concerning the actual offering of the mandala itself, first with respect to the size of the mandala. This is mentioned in the sutras. Within the sūtra it is said that the type of mandala which is mentioned is a mandala which is one cubit, that is from the elbow to the tip of the finger in radius. So it’s in the radius of one, what we call cubit. And it can be leveled earth or stone.
These are, this type of mandala is mentioned in the sutras. When he was at a place called Waka, he offered the mandala on a stone which was one cubit in radius. So there’s an account of the offering of Mandala with respect to Naropa. Naropa was a student of Tilopa, and they spent twelve years together traveling. And one day they came to an area which is very barren, where there was no stones, and it was just a completely barren flat land.
And Tilopa said to Naropa that this would be a good time for you to offer me a mandala. But Naropa looked around and he didn’t see anything which he could make use of to offer a mandala. There was just dust everywhere. And this wasn’t an acceptable way to offer a mandala because the dust would just blow away. And so Naropa said, What can I do?
There’s nothing for me to offer you a mandala with. And Tilopa said, Well, you know, use your body. And so Naropa then proceeded. There was no water in this area. And so he cut himself and used the blood to mix with the dust and make it so it would remain firm and flat.
And then there was nothing to build up to make the various configurations of the Mandala offering. So Naropa cut off pieces of his ear and placed them around the Mandala and offered this. And as he was reciting the verse, Tilopa took off his sandal and hit him on the forehead at this moment. And due to the force of this, Naropa attained the wisdom, the great bliss, a conjunction of wisdom and great bliss. And he understood all the meaning of all the teachings of the Buddha.
This was the climax brought about through the offering of this mandala. So this can show the benefits from the degree of sincerity by which we offer the mandala that generally we just use various types of objects that we find around us. But here, Naropa was actually using his own body as a means of making offering to his spiritual master. And it was by this power that he was able to gain realization that he developed the various paths and stages that he was able to discern the meaning of all the teachings. So with respect to the actual physical basis using to offer the mandala generally as has been mentioned you can use the earth.
But this may be inappropriate in all circumstances. So in Tibet there was the custom of using an actual metal base. And this base, the best type of base was made of gold and then beneath that was silver. And then there was brass, copper, and even iron. But we can even use wood, a wooden base.
But this is just a degree of positive power or potential that we create depending upon the preciousness of the base itself. So with respect to the design of the shape of the base itself, this is in accordance with the within the Tantric tradition, the four types of activities, whether the activity is peaceful, increase, control, or wrath. A mandala which is for the purpose of pacification would be circular and would be white in color. For increase, it would be square and yellow in color. For control or sometimes called power, it would be half moon shape, and red in color.
And for wrath, it would be triangular and black in color. With respect to the substances which we’re going to build up the mandala with, it is best if there are various types of precious substances. Offering the mandala, if the substances themselves are precious, then it’s of a greater benefit. But beneath that we can use various types of precious substances in combination with various types of, for example, grains. We can use barley, rice.
We can use various stones to help build up the mandala surface itself. So then with respect to the base again, the base should not be of too small a size. If the base is too, the smaller the base the less the positive potential or merit that we’re creating. That’s why in the past they used such large types of bases. So we can use a base which is convenient though.
For example, a base which is one hand span, let’s say finger span in diameter and radius would be acceptable. Then the actual mode of building up the mandala that we, for example, grains, a combination of grains and precious stones, then we would first — we shouldn’t have it empty. So we’re going to hold the mandala in the left hand, and it shouldn’t be empty. This will decrease the positive potential that we’re building up. So take a handful of whatever substance it is that you’re using to build up the mandala, place it in your left hand, and then take, use that to having that in your hand, take hold of the mandala.
And then this is a great vehicle practice. So we should, we cannot just begin to offer the mandala. We have to necessary to take refuge in the generation of proper motivation of an awakening heart by going for refuge and it becomes a Buddhist practice. By developing the awakening heart it becomes a practice of the great vehicle. Then we should, so we recite the verse of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as we normally do, the four-line verse of generation of the refuge and awakening heart.
Then we’re going to initially take a handful of the grain and place it in the middle of the mandala. And we’re going to clean the mandala. And we’re going thinking that we’re going to rub the mandala three times in a circular fashion out away from us. And the first time you should imagine that you’re eliminating all of the hindrances of both, all the physical hindrances of both oneself and other, and all sentient beings. You’re eliminating it by wiping them away.
And then the second time that you’re eliminating all the hindrances, verbal hindrances by wiping away yourself and others. And the third time all the mental hindrances of yourself and all sentient beings. Imagine that you’re eliminating these by wiping the mandala base. You can do this preliminary of eliminating the hindrances either two ways. You can take a handful of grain and place it in the middle and do one elimination, one wiping away, and then place another handful in the middle and do another wiping away, and another, and do another wiping away, or initial, you can just use one handful of grain and do it three times either way is acceptable.
Having done that and then we’re going to then placing another handful of grain in the middle of the mandala and we’re going to wipe the mandala base again. This time in a towards yourself in a counterclockwise fashion, you, in towards yourself. And we should imagine that upon the first rubbing or wiping that all of the receiving all the blessings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas’ physical qualities. And then the second time, all the blessings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas’ verbal qualities. And the third, the blessings of the mental qualities.
So the reason we using the, what do you call this, the bottom, the outside of the wrist, the outside of the wrist, this portion of the arm to actually do the rubbing of the mandala. Call that the outside of the wrist. And the reason that we’re using that particular section is because there is a psychic nerve which runs in this section which if stimulated, brings clairvoyances. So it’s definite that by making use in this way that we’re going to achieve clairvoyances. So the actual formation of the mandala, placement of the various configurations.
There are different traditions. And according to one tradition of the great master, there is a, one makes a pile of, a configuration using thirty seven piles. And he was the initiator of this particular tradition. Whereas on the other hand, J. Rinpoche or Tsongkhapa used the Mandala configuration of using twenty three piles.
So the actual Mandala offering begins with the blessing of the ground where it says, or, Adamantine ground, And then the syllable is to actually bless the ground upon which we’re going to build the mandala. And these days there’s a discrepancy between the, how the scientific see how the scientists see the world and how the world was explained, the configuration of the world was explained in Abhidharma or knowledge, the scriptures of knowledge. That the course, the scientists see the world as spherical whereas and they do not have a conception of the King of Mountains, Mount Meru, in the center. Whereas this is explained according to Abhidharma our scriptures of knowledge, according to Vasubandhu, his interpretation of the configuration of the world. And there is no king of mountains in the scientific explanation of how the world looks.
But this is square mountain which is the center of our universe. And our world is flat and round. So this is there’s a discussion between the scriptures of knowledge and the scientific view. So, with respect to this, the Buddha said that we do not have to accept literally everything that he said. That he spoke in two different ways.
One was he taught in a way whatever in such a way what he taught was a benefit to that particular student at that particular time. According with that particular student, he would teach them, give them a teaching which would benefit them. And this was not necessarily the explaining the actual situation or explaining the reality of the situation. He may not actually explain that, but it would explain what was a benefit to that student. So there was the actual reality of the situation, that type of teaching, and the type of teaching which was provisional for that particular student.
So this variations in approach to his teachings is brought out in the presentation of the four tenets or four philosophic systems which make up Buddhism. For example, with respect to the lowest tenet that of the great exposition, The Buddha taught that all objects are functional and that they all are truly existent. Then as to those who were able to understand a little more deeper teaching, he said that all objects are not functional. There are some non functional objects, that is to say there are permanent objects. And that but still all objects are truly existing.
And then for those who were able to understand in a higher teaching such as the Mind Only School, previously he had taught that all objects were externally established, but then he brought in the concept of emptiness to the Mind Only School, and he said that objects are empty of being externally established. And then he moved those who were the most intelligent, that is the middle way school, he began to, with respect to the autonomy school, he said that things are not truly existent, but they are naturally existent. But then his final thought on the nature of reality, which he taught to the consequence school, was that things are neither truly existent nor naturally existent. And so there a gradual deepening of his actual approach to his final thought on the nature of reality. Just because a Buddha taught something to a particular student is not to say that this was his final thought on this particular subject.
It’s not to say that this is what he accepted for himself. So it’s the same situation with a skillful doctor. To one patient who suffering from fever, the doctor might prescribe that he not eat eggs or meat, that he not drink alcohol. And this would be beneficial for that particular patient. To another patient or even the same patient when this patient was cured of the fever but now is suffering from an energy disorder, he would suggest that he eat meat, that he eat eggs, and things of this nature that this would be beneficial.
So he’s giving contradictory prescriptions for two different people, even the same person over two different times. But this But each of these would be beneficial for each of those different people or at different times. Each prescription would be a benefit. So just as in the same way a doctor who possesses some type of extremely potent medicine would not give it to every one of his patience. Even though it was a very beneficial medicine, even though it was a very potent medicine, it would not be of use to all of his patience.
It actually would be of use to some, and actually might be harmful to others. And so he would have to use his discretion on which type of medicine to give to which type of patient, even though in general one type of medicine is extremely beneficial. It wouldn’t be beneficial for everyone. And likewise, the Buddha’s teaching, though they’re all beneficial, would have to, are given with respect to what is going to benefit a particular student. So it’s not necessary that one accept everything that has been said because that teaching might not be applicable to what would benefit you at a particular time.