Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 79-minute teaching from the Golden Light Sūtra, Lama Zopa Rinpoche explores the practice of making offerings and service to Buddhist relics. He explains this from Buddha’s perspective: such devotion is an expression of Buddha’s compassion and activates the power of merit. Those who engage in these practices will be freed from unenlightened existence, will encounter authentic spiritual teachers and eventually meet the Buddha, will maintain their commitment to bodhicitta, and will rapidly achieve liberation from saṃsāra. Rinpoche also addresses how to listen to dharma teachings with proper intention — by dedicating each word heard to benefit all sentient beings and support their swift progress to enlightenment. The session combines doctrinal exposition with practical guidance for practitioners at any level of experience.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 5 GLSC 2004 06 06.mp3
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: y Golden Light Sūtra Collection (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2004-06-06
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Words: ~327
It says here, the Buddha in other times, Buddha passing away through all the states, leaving the relics. It’s a skillful means of Buddha and says it’s due to says sentient beings making offering to the relics and doing service. You should look at this as due to Buddha’s compassion and the power of merit. The person — the the Buddha said, who make offering to the relics Buddha to offer service, then they will be free from this non-freedom. They will abandon.
Then those sentient beings who make offering to relics Buddha service, they will meet Buddha, and they will have virtuous friend, guru, and they will never renounce Bodhicitta, and the merit will be unimaginably increased, and they will never — they they will quickly liberate from saṃsāra. So, therefore, one must do precisely the practice with without destruction. Respecting these holy objects and offerings and doing service and things like that. It’s also good to think each word that I listen — may may able to benefit the most, may it be most beneficial to all sentient beings? The minute when they hear the words from me, immediately, they’re able to actualize path in the in the mental continuum and able to achieve enlightenment quickly.
So there’s also very good prayer when we listen to teachings to dedicate each word to be able to to be most beneficial for us in things like this. Differentiating the three kinds, it says.