Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 37-minute session, Lama Zopa Rinpoche guides practitioners through foundational bodhicitta practice rooted in a detailed refuge visualization. He begins by settling the mind with nine-round breathing, then constructs a vivid merit field with Śākyamūni Buddha surrounded by all gurus, Buddhas, and bodhisattvas. He moves systematically through the four immeasurable thoughts—equanimity, loving kindness, compassion, and joy—explicitly identifying self-cherishing as one’s “worst enemy.” He then contemplates each of the six realms (hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, suras and asuras, intermediate state beings), reflecting on their profound sufferings and their past role as one’s mother. The teaching culminates in a concrete application: blessing and offering food to all beings, showing how ordinary acts become vehicles for merit collection and bodhicitta realization. Suited for practitioners actively engaged in retreat.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 26 2004 04 17 MR.mp3
UUID: 651a2f07-e22a-4bfe-8f52-0583c1c598da
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: y Mahāmudrā International Retreat (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2004-04-17
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 37.2 minutes
Words: ~2,847
Combined, page nine. The refuge visualization. So first settle the mind by doing the nine round breathing. In space in front of me, there’s a large jeweled throne supported by eight great lions. On top of which is a seat on the very great lotus and moon and sun mandalas.
On top of this is the essence of my own root guru in the aspect of the conqueror Śākyamūni Buddha. The color of his holy body is the purest gold, and he has an uṣṇīṣa on the crown of his head. Śākyamūni Buddha has one face and two arms. His right hand is in the mudra of touching the earth, and his left is in the mudra of concentration, holding a bowl full of nectar. He’s wearing the saffron robes of monk and is adorned by the marks and signs.
His holy body is in the nature of transparent light. And he sits in the vajra posture in the center of an aura of light rays. Surrounding him are the direct and indirect gurus, deities, Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and protectors. In front of each of these holy beings on a lotus throne sits the Dharma explained by them in the form of texts having the nature of light. All of these beings in the merit field are in the aspect of being pleased with me.
By remembering their qualities, By remembering their kindness, I generate great devotion towards them. Surrounding me, going out endlessly are all sentient beings, all experiencing the various different types of suffering of the six realms, all in human form. They’re extremely pitiful and crying out for help. I lead them in taking refuge. Motivation.
From beginningless time until now, I and all mother sentient beings have been experiencing the various general sufferings of saṃsāra at numberless times, especially the sufferings of evil gone realms. Still, it is difficult to see the end of saṃsāra, to see the depth of suffering. At this time, I received a perfect human rebirth, qualified by the eight freedoms and ten riches, which is difficult to find, but once found is highly meaningful, can be used to attain a good future rebirth, liberation, and even enlightenment. Now after having met the precious teachings of Buddha, which is so difficult to meet, if I did not try to attain the most sublime state of full enlightenment, which is beyond the state of peace and all samsaric sufferings, I will have to experience over again the general sufferings of saṃsāra and the particular sufferings of three lower realms. Who has the power to protect me from these sufferings?
Only the guru and the three precious gems abiding in front of me. I must achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all mother sentient beings. Therefore, I’m going to take refuge in my guru and the three precious gems. Focusing on the guru, visualizing these as Śākyamūni Buddha, and the inside, then purifying. Purified oneself with all sentient beings.
Receiving all blessings, qualities. Received all realizations, oneself and all sentient beings come under protection and guidance of the gurus. Focusing on the Buddhas, the deities of four classes of tantra, purifying. Received all blessings, realizations. Oneself and all sentient beings come under protection of the Buddhas.
Focusing on the Dharma, the texts. Received all the blessings, realizations from good devotion up to enlightenment. Oneself and all sentient beings come under protection of the holy Dharma. Received all blessings, realizations. Oneself and all sentient beings come under the protection of holy Sangha.
From the heart, oneself and all sentient beings going for refuge in Buddha, Dharma, Sangha by remembering all the qualities. I go for refuge until I’m enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the supreme assembly. Then generating very strong thought to achieve enlightenment, strong determination. By my merits from giving and other perfections, may I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings? I go for refuge until I’m enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma, and supreme assembly.
By my merits from giving and other perfections, may I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings? Because of having developed this thought, guru, Śākyamūni Buddha, extremely pleased with oneself, replica absorbs to oneself, one absorbs into light, and re arises in the form of Śākyamūni Buddha. From every pore of your holy body, infinite infinite beams radiate out and the tip of each beam is a Śākyamūni Buddha, comes to crown in the hand of all sentient beings and all six realms, purifies, ripens, liberates them. Their minds become dharmakaya, their bodies become rupakaya. They transform into Śākyamūni Buddha, and these beams absorb back into your holy body.
Feel great joy thinking now I have ripened and liberated all beings and brought them to a state of full enlightenment. The remembering in reality, is just visualization. Sentient beings still suffering. Why? Because they’ve not yet eliminated delusions and karma.
Therefore, I’m going to generate the four immeasurable thoughts. Reflecting on the disadvantages, the faults of self-cherishing. My self-cherishing thought has harmed me in this and beginningless past lifetimes. My self-cherishing thought is what harms me even right now, prevents me from attaining even moment to moment happiness. This self-cherishing thought is my worst enemy, will continually interfere with my happiness and success in the future.
It will never allow me to achieve ultimate happiness and peace. Therefore, I must destroy it. I must target this as my enemy and destroy it completely. Generating the thought of equanimity, taking on the self-cherishing and destroying it, taking on all the emotional disturbing thoughts of all sentient beings. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were to abide in equanimity, free from hatred and attachment, not holding some close and others distant.
May they abide in equanimity. I myself will cause them to abide in equanimity. Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings which abide in equanimity free from hatred and attachment, not holding some close and others distant. May they abide in equanimity.
I myself will cause them to abide in equanimity. Please, guru deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were to abide in equanimity, free from hatred and attachment, not holding some close and others distant. Men abide in equanimity. I myself will cause them to abide in equanimity.
Please, guru deity, bless me to be able to do this. Think, took all the emotional disturbing thoughts of all sentient beings onto one’s heart, completely destroyed self-cherishing thought. Think now, I and all sentient beings have generated the realization of immeasurable equanimity. Then generating much more loving kindness. Remember, every time we say the word happiness, in our heart, what we’re thinking is ultimate happiness, liberation, enlightenment, not just temporary happiness.
How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings had happiness and the causes of happiness. May they have happiness in its causes. I myself will cause them to have happiness in its causes. Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings had happiness and the cause of happiness.
May they have happiness in its causes. I myself will cause and have happiness in its causes. Please, guru deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings had happiness and its causes. May they have happiness in its causes.
I myself will cause them to have happiness in its causes. Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. Think. Now I and all sentient beings have generated the realization of immeasurable loving kindness. Next is compassion.
Imagine taking upon one’s heart destroying self-cherishing thought. The whole package of suffering, each being, each hell being, each hungry ghost, each animal, each human, each sura and asura being, each intermediate state being, take all their sufferings onto one’s own self-cherishing thought, destroy it completely. Remember the harm of the self-cherishing thought. Target it and destroy it. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May they be free from suffering and its causes. I myself will cause them to be free from suffering and its causes. Please, guru deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were free from suffering and its causes. May they be free from suffering and its causes.
I myself will cause them to be free from suffering and its causes. Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were free from suffering and its causes. May they be free from suffering and its causes. I myself will cause them to be free from suffering and its causes.
Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. Think, completely destroyed. Now I myself and all sentient beings have generated the realization of immeasurable compassion. Next, dedicating all three time merits and all the results of these temporary and ultimate happiness to each and every single sentient being, giving away everything. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were never separated from the happiness of high rebirth and liberation.
May they never be separated from these. I myself will cause never to be separated from these. Please, guru deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were never separated from the happiness of higher rebirth and liberation. May they never be separated from these.
I myself will cause never to be separated from these. Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were never separated from the happiness of higher rebirth and liberation. May they never be separated from these. I myself will cause never to be separated from these.
Please, Guru deity, bless me to be able to do this. Think, sentient beings receive whatever they need, whatever they want. Think, now I and all sentient beings have generated the realization of immeasurable joy. Special bodhicitta. Even one hell being experiencing the suffering of the hell realms, even one instant is so unbearable for me.
Each one of these beings has been my mother countless times in the past, cherishing me with the greatest affection and love. Each one of these hell beings is the most precious and kind one in my life. And there’s not just one hell being experiencing this suffering, but countless. And not just for an instant, but for a very great length of time. Therefore, I must do something.
Therefore, I must achieve enlightenment. Therefore, I’m going to do this profound practice of Guru Yoga. Every single preta being has been my mother countless times in the past, cherishing with the greatest affection and love, protecting my life from dangers countless times each day. Each one of these preta beings is the most precious and kind one in my life. It’s so unbearable for me to think of even one of these preta beings experiencing the sufferings of hunger and thirst, unimaginable sufferings for even an instant.
Can’t stand. But there’s not just one preta being experiencing these sufferings, but numberless. And not just for a short time, but for a great length of time. Therefore, I must do something. I must achieve enlightenment.
Therefore, I’m going to do this profound practice of Guru Yoga. Every single animal being is a source of all my past, present, and future happiness. Every single one of them has been my mother countless times in the past, cherishing with the greatest affection and love. Even one of these animals having to experience the suffering in the animal realms for even an instant is so unbearable for me. But there’s not just one animal, there are countless.
And the suffering is not just for a short time, but for a very great length of time. Therefore, I must do something, therefore, I must achieve enlightenment, therefore, I’m going to do this profound practice of Guru Yoga. Every single human being has been my mother countless times, cherishing with the greatest affection and love. Every single one of them is a source for my past, present, future happiness. Even one of these human beings having to experience the numberless different types of suffering in the human realms for even an instant is so unbearable for me.
There’s not just one, there are countless. And the sufferings are not just for an instant, but for a great length of time. Therefore, I must do something. Therefore, I must achieve enlightenment. Therefore, I’m going to this profound practice of Guru Yoga.
Every single sura-asura being is the most precious and kind one in my life. Been my mother countless times, cherishing me, and protecting my life from dangers countless times. Even one of these sura-asura beings experiencing sufferings of the sura-asura realms for even an instant is so unbearable for me. But there’s not just one, are countless. And the sufferings are not just for a short time, but for a great length of time.
Therefore, I must do something. Therefore, I must achieve enlightenment. Therefore, I’m going to do this profound practice of Guru Yoga. Every single intermediate state being is a source of all my past, present, and future happiness. Each one of these beings have been my mother countless times in the past.
Each one of these beings sacrificed themselves for me countless times. Even one of these beings having to experience a terrible fear and panic in the intermediate state is so unbearable for me. And there’s not just one, there are numberless. And the suffering is not just for a short time, but for a great length of time. Therefore, I cannot stand.
I must do something. Therefore, I’m going to engage in this profound quick path of Guru Yoga. For the sake of all mother sentient beings, I shall quickly, quickly in this very life attain the state of primordial Guru Yidam Buddha. I shall free all mother sentient beings from suffering and place them in the great bliss of Buddhahood. Therefore, I shall now practice the profound path of Guru Yidam Yoga.
So stop there, have breakfast. Purpose of my life not just to attain happiness myself, lead me to free the infinite sentient beings, the oceans of sentient beings, therefore, I’m going to make this food offering. Think I’m going to make charity of this food to all sentient beings in my body. And through this connection, I’ll be able to teach the Dharma to them. Purify the food, all the food in the kitchen, into emptiness, and generating oneself as the deity, blessing the food.
Put palms together, visualizing numerous oceans of food, offering to the Guru Puja merit field, all the gurus there. With the awareness of each one of these gurus, direct, indirect, is all the Buddhas, all Dharma, all Sangha, all ten directions. Every single one in the merit field is a root virtuous friend. Even each pore of all the gurus is all merit field. Prostrate, make offering, generate infinite bliss in the holy minds.
Majority offered to numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless animals, numberless human beings, numberless suras, numberless asuras, numberless intermediate state beings. They fully enjoyed, liberated from all suffering as causes, actualize the path, became enlightened in the form of the deity that one practices. You see all these beings as a deity. By the offering to all Buddha Dharma, all the gurus or holy objects collected numberless merits, so many times numberless merits as each pore of the Guru Puja merit field is all Buddhas. So many pores.
Therefore, numberless merits are collected. Therefore, we dedicate. Due to all these merits, may I, my family members, all the organizers, everyone who’s offering service here, all the students and benefactors, the organization, all other sentient beings, and especially all those who died, who suffered to produce this food, who worked for this food, who created negative karma for this food, and the benefactors of this food. May all of us sentient beings in all future lifetimes never separate away from the triple gem. Always make offerings the triple gem.
Receive all the realizations of the path from good devotion up to enlightenment without delay even one second. Due to all the past, present, future merits created by myself and all sentient beings, which are completely empty, existing from that one side. May the I, which is completely empty, existing from that side, Quickly achieve Guru Śākyamūni Buddha’s enlightenment, which is completely empty, existing from its own side. And lead all sentient beings who are completely empty, the same as one side. To that state by myself alone, who is completely empty, existing from its own side.
So breakfast is one hour. We’ll come back at nine o’clock, and then we’ll do generating the merit field.