Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 64-minute opening session of a Mahāmudrā retreat, Lama Zopa Rinpoche anchors the practice in death meditation, using vivid language to drive the reality of impermanence home: “This is going to happen to you.” From this stark recognition, he guides practitioners through refuge and bodhicitta, systematically cultivating compassion for beings in each realm—hell, hungry ghost, animal, human, demigod, god, and the intermediate state. The session’s heart is an elaborate guru yoga practice featuring detailed visualizations of the merit field and extended offerings (water, cloth, fragrance, jewels, ornaments) designed to dissolve ordinary perception and awaken devotion to the teacher as embodiment of all buddhas. The session concludes with practical instructions on maintaining silence and the day’s schedule. Suited for practitioners in or preparing for retreat.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 79 2004 04 26 MR.mp3
UUID: 40bc8622-039f-48bf-ae0b-79ac9b5f6341
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: y Mahāmudrā International Retreat (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2004-04-26
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 63.9 minutes
Words: ~3,564
So on page nine, Lama Chöpa. And then we’ll begin by sitting in the correct position. Checking the mind, casting away the thoughts, evil thoughts, attachment, clinging to this life. And then clearing the obstructions by doing nine-round breathing. Though you experience horrific hallucinations like a turbulence of waves and are overcome by unbearable, excruciating pain, pitiful though you may be, there’s nothing to be done.
The appearances of this life are setting like the sun. This is going to happen to you. Though with unbearable compassion, your lama and vajra friends plead in your ear for critical virtuous thought to arise, and even though they do so with loving minds, there’s no hope. It’s unthinkable.
This is going to happen to you. With an expelled, rasping sound, so so, at the time of death, the moment of your breath builds faster and faster, then breaks like the string of a lute, and the end of your life has come to its close. This is going to happen to you. There’ll come a time when your cherished and sadly lost lovely body is called corpse, disgusting and rotten, and the time when your body, which can’t bear even rough blanket and mattress, is laid out on the bare ground. This is going to happen to you. In space in front of me is a large jeweled throne supported by eight great lions. On top of which is a seat of variegated 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 as pure as gold, and he has an uṣṇīṣa on the crown of his head. He 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 filled with nectar. He is wearing the saffron robes of a 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, the deities, buddhas, bodhisattvas, dakas and dakinis and protectors. In front of each of these holy beings, on a faultless 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, permanent kindness.
I feel 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. From beginningless time until now, I and all mother sentient beings have been experiencing the various general sufferings of saṃsāra numberless times, especially the sufferings of the evil-gone realms.
Still, it is difficult to see the end of saṃsāra, to see the depth of suffering. And this time, I’ve received a perfect human rebirth, qualified by the eight freedoms and ten riches, which is difficult to find, but once found, is highly meaningful. It can be used to attain a good future rebirth, liberation, even enlightenment. Now, after having met the precious teachings of the Buddha, which is so difficult to meet, if I do not try to attain the most sublime state of full enlightenment, which is beyond the state of peace and all samsaric sufferings, I’ll have to experience over again the general sufferings of saṃsāra and the particular sufferings of the 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. I go for refuge until I’m enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Supreme Assembly. By my merits from giving and all 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 the Supreme Assembly. By my merits from giving and other perfections, may I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings. Replica buddhas absorb, transform into buddha, and then ripen and liberate all beings.
All sentient beings come fully enlightened in the aspect of Śākyamūni Buddha, absorbed back. The beams absorbed back into one’s own body. Feel great joy thinking now I have liberated all beings. Then remember in reality, this is just visualization. Sentient beings are still suffering continually because the causes of suffering, delusions and karma, are not yet eliminated from their minds.
Therefore, I must generate the four immeasurable thoughts. Remember the disadvantages of self-cherishing. That this self-cherishing has been harming myself and others since beginningless time. That this self-cherishing thought won’t allow even moment-to-moment happiness and peace in my life. That this self-cherishing thought will continually harm me forever, never allowing me to achieve ultimate happiness and peace.
Never allowing me to achieve realization and do perfect work for other sentient beings. Therefore, I must target and destroy this self-cherishing, eliminating it from my heart forever. And then do the practice of taking on disturbing emotional minds of all sentient beings onto yourself, destroying self-cherishing. Particularly think of all those negative emotional minds, the disturbing thoughts that you suffer from most, and take those from all 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 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. If you suffer most from attachment, take on the attachment of all beings. If you suffer most from pride, jealousy, anger, take that on from all sentient beings into your heart, destroy the self-cherishing completely. Think: self-cherishing thought completely destroyed. I have generated the immeasurable thought of equanimity in myself and all sentient beings.
How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings had happiness and the cause of happiness. May they have happiness and its causes. I myself will cause them to have happiness and 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 and its causes. I myself will cause them to have happiness 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 the cause 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 that. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were free from suffering and the cause 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 never separated from the happiness of high rebirth and liberation. May they never be separated from these. I myself will cause them 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 them never to be separated from these. Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be.
Special bodhicitta. Even one sentient being suffering in the hell realms for even one instant is so unbearable for me. Each one of these hell beings has been my mother countless times in the past, cherishing me with the greatest affection and love. Each one of these beings is a source of all my past, present, and future happiness. And there’s not just one hell being suffering, there are numberless. And not just for an instant, for a great length of time.
It’s completely my responsibility to free each and every one of these beings from their suffering and bring them to happiness. Therefore, I’m going to do this profound path of Guru Yoga. Every single preta being has been my mother countless times in the past. Each one is a source of all my past, present, and future happiness. It’s so unbearable for me to think of even one of these preta beings experiencing the unimaginable sufferings of hunger and thirst for even an instant, and they are numberless.
Therefore, I must do something, I must achieve enlightenment. Therefore, I’m going to engage in the profound quick path of Guru Yoga. Each animal is the source of all my past, present, and future happiness. Each one has been my mother countless times, cherishing me with the greatest affection and love. It’s so unbearable for me to think of even one animal being having to experience all the numberless sufferings in the animal realms.
And there are not just one, there are countless animals. Therefore, I must do something, I must achieve enlightenment. Therefore, I’m going to engage in this profound quick path of Guru Yoga. Every single human being is a source of my past, present, and future happiness. Each human has been my mother countless times in the past, caring for me in numberless ways, protecting my life from danger countless times each day. It’s so unbearable for me to think of even one of these human beings experiencing suffering for an instant, and they are numberless.
Therefore, I must achieve enlightenment. Therefore, I’m going to do this profound quick path of Guru Yoga. Every single asura being is a source of my past, present, and future happiness. It’s so unbearable for me to think of even one of these beings experiencing the sufferings of the asura realms for an instant, and they are numberless. Therefore, I must achieve enlightenment. Therefore, I’m going to engage in this profound quick path of Guru Yoga.
Every single sura being is the source of my past, present, and future happiness. Each one has been my mother countless times. It’s so unbearable for me to think of even one of these beings experiencing the sufferings of the intermediate state for an instant, and they are numberless. Each and every single intermediate state being has been my mother countless times, cherishing me with the greatest affection and love, and sacrificing themselves for me in numberless ways, totally caring for me when I was helpless.
It’s so unbearable for me to think of even one of these intermediate state beings undergoing the suffering in the intermediate state, the terrible fear and panic, and they are numberless. Therefore, I must do something. I must free all these beings. Therefore, I’m going to engage in this profound quick path of Guru Yoga. For the sake of all my mother sentient beings, I shall quickly, quickest in this very life, attain the state of the primordial Guru Vajradhāra 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 Vajradhāra yoga. The refuge field absorbs into light, which absorbs into oneself, and do the practice of taking the three kayas into the path and arising as a deity. I prostrate to the One Gone Beyond, the Foe Destroyer, completely perfected, fully awakened being, perfect in knowledge and in good conduct, Sugata, knower of the world, supreme guide of human beings to be tamed, teacher of humans and gods. To you, O Founder, Fully Awakened One, to all of you here, I offer this bath possessed of all qualities. The bathhouse has extremely fine fragrance, crystal floor and beautiful, sparkling jewel pillars. The roof is covered by a canopy decorated with shining pearls.
So this part of your practice is very powerful when you have a drowsy mind, when your mind is not clear due to pollution from outside, other beings having negative karma and inner pollution, broken samaya and vows. Just as after the birth of Buddha, the gods made offerings of pure water, I also offer a bath with the pure water of the gods. Holy body created by ten million excellent virtues, holy speech fulfilling the hopes of infinite migratory beings, holy mind seeing all existence as it is, I offer this bath. I offer this bath to the holy bodies of lineage gurus of extensive conduct.
I offer this bath to the holy bodies of lineage gurus of profound view. I offer this bath to the holy bodies of lineage gurus of vast practice. I offer this bath to the holy bodies of lineage gurus condensing all three refuges, taking the form of the virtuous friend from ordinary to sublime, granting supreme and common realizations. To the kind gurus I offer. Who show the education, reveal sūtra and tantra texts and advice, give vows, initiations, commentaries on tantra, to direct and indirect gurus I offer.
Controllers of speech, the heroes preserving the teachings with oceans, completely controlling the three realms, to you the incomparable ones I offer. Eyes to view all the vast teachings, supreme gateways of liberation for the fortunate, with skillful means, the loving kindness of a mother, to the illuminating spiritual friends, I offer this bath. To the four-armed Chakrasamvara and the assembly of deities, I offer this bath.
I offer this bath to the founding buddhas. I offer this bath to the guiding buddhas. I offer this bath to the three precious gems. In times long past before the Bhagavan, you committed to supporting all childlike beings. For beings practicing according to Dharma, to the assembly of Dharma protectors and supporters, I offer this bath to protectors. To the five long-life goddesses, Fortuna, Adamantine, all the protectors in the snow land of Tibet, especially those of this country and this place, to all the local gods, nagas, landlords, and spirits I offer this. Towards all of you now, vessels with many jeweled borders and scented water, beautifully filled up, excellent, with songs and a riot of music, I offer this bath. And now dry the holy bodies with incomparably clean, sweet-smelling cloth. Just as a goldsmith polishes gold already pure and refined, so do I apply the best fragrance of the finest in billions of universes to the holy bodies of the Controlled Ones.
By offering these soft, light, divine clothes, with indestructible faith in those who attain the indestructible vajra holy body, may I also achieve the vajra holy body. Because the conquerors were adorned by the natural ornaments, the marks and signs, they did not need any other kind of ornament. But by offering these supreme jewel ornaments, may all sentient beings achieve the holy body adorned by the marks and signs. By offering this auspicious vase, beautified with jewels and filled with various essences, may the stains of karma and delusions of all six-realm sentient beings be purified, may they be moistened with bodhicitta.
With most excellent light blazing forth in the ten directions, splendor of good fortune ablaze everywhere, crown ornaments with precious golden powders, the crown of the Shakra king I offer. May thereby the precious teaching spread in the ten directions, the world become pervaded by great happiness. And by becoming the crown ornament of the three realms, gods included, may all gain the level of one adorned with the ten powers.
Out of your loving compassion for myself and all beings, O Bhagavan, please remain as long as I continue to make offerings by the force of your magical powers. Dedication. Due to all the merits of the three times, gathered by me, buddhas, bodhisattvas, and all other sentient beings, may the bodhicitta cherishing others, letting go of oneself, letting go of the I, the source of the happiness and success of myself and all other sentient beings, be generated within my own mind and the minds of all sentient beings without even a second’s delay. May that which has already been generated increase. Due to all the merits of the three times, gathered by me, buddhas, bodhisattvas, and all other sentient beings, may all the father and mother sentient beings have happiness. May the three lower realms be empty forever.
May all bodhisattvas’ prayers succeed immediately. May I be able to cause all this to happen by myself alone. Due to all the merits of the three times, gathered by me, buddhas, bodhisattvas, and all other sentient beings, may the precious Dalai Lama, the Buddha of Compassion, and other holy beings, all our virtuous friends, have stable lives. May all their holy wishes succeed immediately. Due to all the merits of the three times, gathered by me, buddhas, bodhisattvas, and all other sentient beings, may I be able to offer skies of benefit to all sentient beings as Je Tsongkhapa did, by having within me Je Tsongkhapa’s realizations from now on in all my future lifetimes. Due to all the merits of the three times, gathered by me, buddhas, bodhisattvas, and all other sentient beings, which are totally nonexistent from their own side, may the I, which is also totally nonexistent from its own side, lead all sentient beings, who are totally nonexistent from their own side, to that enlightenment, which is totally nonexistent from its own side, by myself alone, who is also totally nonexistent from its own side.
I dedicate all my merits in a way greatly admired by buddhas and bodhisattvas of the three times and realized by Mañjuśrī. May I be able to completely actualize Je Tsongkhapa’s teaching, which unifies sūtra and tantra, within my mind and spread these teachings to the minds of all sentient beings. Thus, may Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings flourish forever. Due to all the merits of the three times, gathered by me, buddhas, bodhisattvas, and all other sentient beings, may any sentient being who hears me, touches me, remembers me, thinks about me, talks about me with praising or criticizing, abuses me or treats me badly, simply by having made that connection with me, may they never ever be reborn in the lower realms. May those sentient beings immediately be liberated from all disease, spirit harms, negative karma, obscurations, and quickly achieve enlightenment, actualizing the whole path, bodhicitta.
By my hearing that anybody is sick, may it cause that person immediately to get well. By my hearing that somebody has died, may it cause that person to immediately be born in a pure realm where they can become enlightened. May my life not just stay as happiness for myself alone, but free each and every sentient being from suffering, bring them to the state of happiness. And I’ll do this. I’m going to make this food offering and make offering to sentient beings.
By doing this, by making charity to those sentient beings in my body, through this connection, may I be able to reveal the Dharma to them in the future. Purify the food in emptiness, all the food in the kitchen, in the pots, everything we’re going to eat, others are going to eat. Then generate it into the form of uncontaminated wisdom nectar by means of one’s own deity. Palms together, offering numberless oceans to the guru and the merit field, with awareness that every single merit field is one’s own virtuous friend.
Not only offering the food, also offering all the offerings here, all the offerings at all the FPMT centers, in Rinpoche’s house. Generate infinite bliss in the holy mind. Then making charity to every hell being, every hungry ghost, every animal, every human, every deva, every asura, every intermediate state being. They are fully satisfied, liberated from all suffering and causes, actualize the path, and become enlightened in the form of the deity that one practices. By doing this, we accumulate skies of merits.
Due to all these merits, I and my family members, all the organizers of the course, everyone who is offering service, all the students and benefactors, and organizers who sacrificed their life for the Buddhist teachings and sentient beings, and all other sentient beings, especially those who died for this food, who suffered for this food, who created negative karma for this food, who worked in any way for the evolution of this food, may all of us sentient beings in all our future lifetimes never be separated from the Dharma. Always make offerings to the Dharma, receive all the realizations of the path from guru devotion up to enlightenment without delay, even one second. So have a merely labeled breakfast in the between-session break and come back at ten o’clock. But it’s merely labeled ten o’clock.
And please keep silence. So mornings definitely need to keep silence. In the dining room also.