Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 36-minute session, Lama Zopa Rinpoche guides practitioners through taking the eight Mahāyāna precepts, anchored in guru yoga and bodhicitta. He begins by teaching how to transform the mind to genuinely recognize one’s guru as Buddha itself, a shift that makes the mind receptive to blessings and guidance. He then extends this outward, cultivating the recognition that all sentient beings are most precious and kind—having been one’s mother countless times and serving as the source of all happiness. From this transformed perspective, students undertake a one-day commitment to pure conduct of body, speech, and mind for the benefit of all beings. The session includes repeated recitations of the precept vows and aspiration prayers for universal liberation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 65 2004 04 24 MR.mp3
UUID: a99dcfb6-7638-49e8-99dc-6c128f947385
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: y Mahāmudrā International Retreat (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2004-04-24
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 36.2 minutes
Words: ~1,915
Transforming the ordinary mind. The mind that sees the guru and Buddha separate. Into the pure devotional mind that sees the Guru and Buddha as one. Look at your gurus with this new awareness, one hundred percent understanding in the heart, no matter how they appear, that they’re actually Buddha. By looking at them this way, allow them to appear this way to your mind and focus on that awareness.
Seeing the guru as Buddha, as pure, doesn’t come from the guru’s side. It has to come from one’s own side with effort. Be aware that the numberless Buddhas generated bodhicitta for the sake of all sentient beings, including myself. Who practiced the path bearing great hardships for all sentient beings, including myself. And who achieved enlightenment and the benefit of all sentient beings, including myself.
Are constantly guiding me and all sentient beings. The numberless Buddhas are guiding me from suffering to happiness to enlightenment in these ordinary forms. Guhyasamāja, Yamāntaka, Tārā, Mañjuśrī, vajradhara, the eight medicine Buddhas, thirty five Buddhas, all the Buddhas, guide me through these ordinary forms. Every action they do is all the Buddha’s guiding me to enlightenment. Every word that they say is all the Buddhas guiding me to enlightenment.
Even I see ordinary, but in reality, this is what is happening. My ordinary view has been cheating me. Not allowing me to generate the realizations, not allowing me to receive the blessings, not protecting me from the greatest obstacles and the greatest suffering that comes from wrong thoughts and wrong action to my gurus. Therefore, today, from now on, I will train myself only to see the guru as pure, and this will establish the root of the path in my heart. Guru is Buddha.
The Guru is Dharma. The Guru is Sangha also. The Guru is the creator of all happiness. To all gurus, the gurus, I go for refuge. Now on the basis of this mind of guru yoga, look at all sentient beings with the awareness that they are most precious and most kind.
The numberless sentient beings whom, generally, I ignore or feel no connection towards. In reality, they’ve been my mother countless times in the past, showing me the greatest kindness when I was utterly helpless and in their hands. The numberless sentient beings are the source of all my past happiness, my present happiness, and my future happiness. Only by depending on each one of these beings can I achieve both temporary and ultimate happiness. Therefore, they are most precious and most kind.
The Buddhas in whom I take refuge came from these sentient beings. Great compassion, which causes me to achieve enlightenment, to generate bodhicitta and enter into the Mahāyāna path, comes by depending on each one of these suffering, obscured sentient beings. Enlightenment is not possible if I ignore or miss out even one of them. Even when they harm me by cherishing them most, I develop my mind and patience and come closer to enlightenment. Therefore, always at all times, sentient beings are most precious and most kind.
I depend upon them completely. What these sentient beings want is happiness. What they don’t want is suffering. Therefore, I myself must accomplish this for them. To accomplish my own and other’s aims and generate the mind seeking enlightenment, Blessing all the offerings that are here, blessing all the offerings that are in all the rest of houses in my area, blessing all the offerings in all the various student homes, wherever their offerings actually arranged for the Buddhas, and then mentally visualizing skies more offerings, blessing and causing these to be received by numberless Buddhas.
Bless the Three Jewels, bless all Buddhas and bodhisattvas. By the power of great merit, complete the two collections, complete the two collections, complete the pure and inconceivable supreme reality. May all these offerings become just so. Reverently, I prostrate with my body, speech, mind. I present clouds of every type of offering, actually arranged and imagined.
And declare my negative actions accumulated since beginningless time. Rejoice in the merit of all holy and ordinary beings. Please remain until the endless cyclic existence. Objects of my attachment, aversion, ignorance, friends, enemies, strangers, my body and enjoyment. Without any sense of loss, I offer this collection.
Please accept with pleasure and bless me with freedom from three poisons. It is not sufficient just to receive a deva or human body in my next life, just to avoid being reborn in the lower realms. This alone is not the ultimate meaning of my life. And even to be free from saṃsāra is not the ultimate meaning of my life. Sentient beings who are numberless, who are like the sky, are the source of all my past, present, and future happiness.
The ultimate goal of my life is to free them from all their suffering and bring them to enlightenment. To do that, I need to achieve enlightenment. And for that, I need to actualize a path to enlightenment which depends on the root of living in morality. Therefore, for the benefit of each sentient being, for all happiness up to enlightenment of each sentient being, I’m going to take the eight Mahāyāna precepts. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas dwelling in ten directions, please pay attention to me.
Just as the previous tathagatas, foe destroyers, perfectly completed Buddhas, who like the divine white horse and the great elephant did what had to be done, performed actions, laid down the burden, subsequently attained their own welfare, completely exhausted the fetters of existence, and with well liberated minds, well liberated wisdom, the welfare of all sentient beings in order to benefit, in order to liberate, in order to eliminate famine, in order to eliminate war, in order to stop the harm from the four elements, in order to eliminate sickness, in order to fully complete the thirty-seven practices harmonious with enlightenment, in order to definitely actualize the unsurpassed result of perfect complete enlightenment, perfectly performed restoring purifying ordination. Similarly also, I, called [name]. From this time until sunrise tomorrow, the welfare of all sentient beings in order to benefit, in order to liberate, in order to eliminate famine, in order to eliminate war, in order to stop the harmful elements, in order to eliminate sickness, in order to fully complete the practice harmonious with enlightenment, in order to definitely actualize the unsurpassed result of perfect complete enlightenment, shall perfectly undertake restoring purifying ordination. All Buddhas and bodhisattvas dwelling in ten directions, please pay attention to me.
Just as the previous tathagatas, foe destroyers, perfectly completed Buddhas, who like the divine wise horse and the great elephant did what had to be done, performed actions, laid down the burden, subsequently attained their own welfare, completely exhausted the fetters of existence, with well liberated minds, well liberated wisdom, the welfare of all sentient beings, in order to benefit, in order to liberate, in order to eliminate famine, in order to eliminate war, in order to stop the harmful elements, in order to eliminate sickness, in order to fully complete the present practice harmonious with enlightenment, In order to definitely actualize the unsurpassed result of perfect complete enlightenment. Perfectly perform, restoring, purifying ordination. Similarly also I, called, from this time to sunrise tomorrow, the welfare of all sentient beings in order to benefit, in order to liberate, in order to eliminate famine, in order to eliminate war, in order to stop the harmful elements, in order to eliminate sickness, in order to fully complete the present practice harmonious with enlightenment, in order to definitely actualize the unsurpassed result of perfect complete enlightenment shall perfectly undertake restoring purifying ordination. All Buddhas and bodhisattvas dwelling in ten directions.
Please pay attention to me. Just as the previous tathagatas, foe destroyers, perfectly completed Buddhas, like the divine wise horse and the great elephant did what had to be done. Performed actions laid down the burden, subsequently attained their own welfare, completely exhausted the fetters of existence, with well liberated minds, well liberated wisdom for the welfare of all sentient beings, in order to benefit, in order to liberate, in order to eliminate famine, in order to eliminate war, in order to stop the harm of the four elements, in order to eliminate sickness, in order to fully complete the present practice harmonious with enlightenment, And in order to definitely actualize the unsurpassed result of perfect complete enlightenment, perfectly performed restoring purifying ordination. Similarly also, I have called from this time to sunrise tomorrow, the welfare of all sentient beings in order to benefit, in order to liberate, in order to eliminate famine, order to eliminate war, in order to stop the harmful elements, in order to eliminate sickness, in order to fully complete the present practices harmonious with enlightenment, and in order to definitely actualize the unsurpassed result of perfect complete enlightenment, shall perfectly undertake restoring purifying ordination. Just as the foe destroyers of the past abandoned misconduct the body, speech, and mind, such as taking the lives of others.
So shall I, for the sake of all beings, abandon for one day these wrong actions and devote myself to pure practice of training. From now on, I shall not kill, steal others possessions, engage in sexual activity, or speak false words. I should avoid intoxicants from which many mistakes arise. I shall not sit on large, high, expensive seats. I shall not eat food at wrong times.
I shall avoid singing, dancing, playing music. And I shall not wear perfumes, garments, ornaments. Just as the arhats avoid wrong actions such as taking the lives of others. So shall I avoid wrong actions such as taking the lives of others. Now quickly attain enlightenment, may the living beings who experience the various sufferings be released from the ocean of cyclic existence.
May I maintain flawless morality rules and immaculate conduct. May such moral conduct be completed by keeping morality purely and untainted by pride. This is my contribution to peace and happiness, all sentient beings, and particularly to peace and happiness all sentient beings in this world. May supreme jewel bodhicitta that has not arisen arise and grow. May that which has arisen not diminished, but increase more and more.
By the merit of taking ordination and keeping precepts, may I ripen all sentient beings into enlightened holy bodies created by the two accumulations of merit and transcendental wisdom. May all beings everywhere be freed from sufferings of body and mind obtain an ocean of happiness and joy by virtue of my merits. May no living creature suffer from evil or ever fall ill. May no one be afraid or have a mind weighed down by depression. May the blind see forms and the deaf hear sounds.
May those whose bodies are worn with toil be restored and finally find repose. May the naked find clothing, the hungry find food. May the thirsty find water and delicious drinks. May the poor find wealth, as weak with sorrow find joy. May the forlorn find hope, constant happiness and prosperity.
May there be timely rains and bountiful harvests. May all medicines be effective and wholesome prayers bear fruit. May all who are sick and ill quickly be freed from their ailments. Whatever diseases there are in the world, may they never occur again. May the frightened cease to be afraid and those bound be free.
May the powerless find power and may people think of benefiting each other. Making three prostrations.