Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 21.5-minute guided practice from the Mahāmudrā International Retreat, Lama Zopa Rinpoche leads practitioners through foundational Lamrim meditations centered on compassion. He begins with the nine-round breathing visualization, drawing white light carrying all Buddhas’ blessings while expelling ignorance and attachment, then guides reflections from the Lam Rim Chenmo: the preciousness of human life, refuge in the three precious gems, and disgust with saṃsāra’s endless suffering. The core work is mother-meditation: recognizing that all sentient beings have been our mothers countless times, reflecting on this life’s mother’s boundless kindness, and extending that recognition to every living creature—including those who harm us. He concludes with compassion meditation and bodhicitta, the intention to take responsibility for freeing all beings from suffering.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 42 2004 04 20 MR.mp3
UUID: 88eacc53-1e44-4adb-b22f-ea157157370e
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: y Mahāmudrā International Retreat (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2004-04-20
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 21.5 minutes
Words: ~774
Bye. So there’s five people. And can I ask these five people, would you like to see the lineage of this? Precepts. Can you put your hand up?
That’s everyone. Okay. Thank you. Three. Three.
So the reason for asking the question actually is not it’s not a very good idea for him to give precepts because it affects the blood sugar level. So it’s really not a good idea. So as much as we would like, it’s really not a good idea for that to happen. So we reach page, not that it really matters. But we’ve reached page seventy nine in the Lam Rim Chenmo.
So on Page seventy nine. And then we’ll begin by doing the nine round breathing. So just settling. So since first of all just kind of sitting and just kind of settling and relaxing a little bit and then when you’re settled then trying to visualize the channels and then doing the nine round breathing cleansing, visualizing, breathing in the white light which has all the blessings, all the Buddhas, all the Gurus, the entire merit field breathing that in and then with the different channels breathing out the darkness, attachment, anger, ignorance. So just in a relaxed way.
Realizing how this body of liberties and endowments is found once, is difficult to obtain, and is easily lost, I seek your blessings to partake of its essence, make it worthwhile and not be distracted by the myriad affairs of this life. Aghast at the searing days of suffering in the lower realms, I take heartfelt refuge in the three precious gems and seek your blessings, I eagerly endeavor to practice the various means for abandoning what is found misfortune and accumulating virtuous deeds. Finally tossed amidst waves of delusion and karma, pained by coarse and subtle sufferings, three kinds of suffering. I seek, by this, to develop an intense longing to be free from this monstrous ocean of boundless and vicious existence. Having abandoned the mind that views this unbearable prison of cyclic existence as a pleasure grove.
I seek your blessings, partake the treasure of Aryas’ jewels by practicing the three higher trainings, and thereby to uphold liberation’s banner. Having considered how all these pitiful beings have been my mothers and have raised me in kindness again and again, I seek your blessings develop an affectionate compassion like that of a loving mother and precious child. First of all, meditating on equanimity, eliminating discriminating thoughts, the label friend, enemy, and stranger. Recognizing how these labels are just a projection of one’s own mind, completely made up nonsense. Feel a sense of equal engagement towards all beings without any discrimination.
Next, recognize the continuity of our mind stream has no beginning. Therefore, we have beginningless lives. For each of these countless rebirths, when we’re born from a womb or egg, we had a mother. Since these rebirths are countless, we’ve had countless mothers. All sentient beings have been mother, and not just once, but many times.
Now reflect on the kindness of this present life mother. How she carried us in her womb for nine months, cherishing and protecting, gave this human life to practice Dharma, taught us the ways of the world. Protected our life from danger and in so many ways sacrificed herself for us. Remember how when we were totally helpless, she did everything for us. Think even if I had to sacrifice my life countless times, I could never repay the kindness of this present life mother.
Even just the kindness of giving me this precious body to practice Dharma. Did I have this opportunity? It came from her? Then reflect that all sentient beings have been mother and kind in exactly the same way. Each moth, each ant, each millipede, each fly, each bird, and especially those who harm me, all have been mother countless times and kind. Feel that it’s my responsibility to now repay the kindness of all these mothers who are suffering And look at them with eyes of loving kindness, seeing them in beauty, seeing them with affectionate love.
Wishing them all to be happy and taking responsibility for that to happen. Now recognize how all sentient beings are continually suffering with never a moment’s rest, continually tormented by the three types of suffering. Continually migrating from realm to realm, experiencing number of sufferings, And this will never finish till the causes of suffering are eliminated from their minds. Think how they’re totally ignorant and helpless. Generating compassion and a special wish to take responsibility to free each and every sentient being from suffering by one’s