Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 77-minute retreat instruction, Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaches a Kṣitigarbha practice that uses mantra to expand local offerings into a network spanning multiple Dharma centers worldwide — transforming altar offerings into an interconnected ocean of merit reaching all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. He covers the seven-limb structure step by step: prostrations and extensive offerings, purification through confession, rejoicing in merits and how it doubles their power, requests for the Dharma to flourish, and dedications extending protection and compassion to all sentient beings. The practice includes visualization of Kṣitigarbha’s healing light purifying sickness, spirit harms, and negative karma, followed by extending compassion impartially to friends, strangers, and enemies. For practitioners who have received Kṣitigarbha initiation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 03 KR.mp3
UUID: 2b909b78-41ba-4afd-ad6f-fa923bd6113c
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: z Kṣitigarbha Retreat Hong Kong (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2005 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 77.2 minutes
Words: ~2,226
To the purifying place and then blessing the offerings Purifying the place and then blessing the offerings with the the clouds of the mantra, clouds of mantra? Yeah. Purifying the place. The practice then placing the offering. Yes.
So visualize transform transform the place into pure land. Pure land. Pure as described, so to for the merit field. So when we recite the the mantra of clouds of offering, Not only thing is the offerings here. Remember, all the offerings, all the extensive offerings in all the centers in the Gompa, every center, Gompa, all the extensive offerings.
That’s all now. And the Washington, Woodside Street? There are so many hundreds of water offerings. The large bowl, many hundreds of water offerings, many thousands of light offerings, many flowers outside. And up in Aptos in California, the valley, again, so many many hundreds of water offerings there.
So many thousand, thousands of light offerings. Flowers, so many flowers outside. Fruit offering, tea offering, all those you can offer. Can offer everybody can offer. If you have you have that mantra, if you have that prayer book, then you read that.
So that’s so if you are familiar with that, then you start. The mind joined, mind taking place in all these offerings. Also, the offerings here, all the lights, not only the camera, all the electric light. So the flowers will blessed. Then there’s also offerings leading to belonging to Indonesia, her upstairs.
There are offerings performed by her maid, Philippine maid. Then, in Singapore, there’s one family direct in his house upstairs, extends the offering. Again, made offering every day by Filipino maid. So, those can be offered. So we can offer all those.
By the power of mantra. Each offering is a mudra light, appear limitless to each Buddha and to Bodhisattvas. By thinking each of them as the essence guru, then generate great bliss with them. So that Now we do the seven limb. So the first one, those who not familiar, so I just go over the you You can just mention.
Okay, I’ll mention. I prostrate respect with body, speech, and mind. Actually performed and mentally transformed offerings. So which is a blessing? So we offer all the we offer all the lights, I mean, all the offerings here.
The candle lights, altar lights, ceiling, and those flowers, whatever offering there is. They have food offerings here and all that. By chanting this mantra, all get blessed. As I mentioned before, all the extensive offerings, all the centers in Aptos, Gompa, and Washington, after some of those different places. So which are nature nature are nature nature of great bliss, we offer objects.
That’s everything that we offer. Generate great bliss bliss in the holy mind of the Buddha Kṣitigarbha, who is the essence of all those. Next, Also, prostrate, palms together, to Kṣitigarbha. Mhmm. Or thinking essence of all those Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, or the temples, shrines.
Now, put palms together, proceed towards all the ten directions, Guru, Buddhadharma, Sangha. All the offerings here, which are natural and all the offering that which is all the family center of Gumba, Washington, office house, those other places which are nature and offer to Next. Prostrate your palms together towards all the ten directions, statues, stupas, scriptures. thinking of the essence guru. And then all the Buddha’s relics, not all the relics here, all the relics Buddha’s relics in different parts of the world.
And Buddha’s the most precious teachings of the of of of of all the eighty four thousand teachings of the Buddha, the present, the the scriptures. So the unbelievable benefit to making offering and so. Palms together. Put your palms together. Prostrate towards all of them.
I don’t remember. Did I say to make offering? Did they make so if I didn’t mention to make offering, they make all all the offerings towards all of them. Yes. All the statutes, the scriptures, Buddha’s relics, the scriptures all the scriptures, Jātaka and Prajñāpāramitā.
Yes. Yes. Right. Okay. So next one, confession.
I’m I’m confessing all the negative karmas collected from beginningless birth individually. Then can get everything purified after expressing that. Then after that, rejoice. Feel happiness. Great happiness.
All the merits created cause of happiness, success. You created this life. I said, right now, limited merit you have collected by offering to all the Buddha, Bodhisattvas by sharing the blessing, by the power mantra, and you collect limitless merit having made offering to when you offer to Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha. Or the noble Bodhisattvas and then statues, stupas, scriptures, noble Bodhisattvas. So so so more than six times, created limited merit.
Then you create limitless merit, good luck good luck, cause of success by offering numberless Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and offer to all the gurus most extensive merit, then numberless statues and stupas. All those are the most precious merit fields. More than say, numberless three times numberless oceans of merit, require to right now feel how fortunate how fortunate I am. You rejoice. Then if you rejoice, all the merits become doubled up.
The number of limitless merit you’ve heard so many times right now, everything doubled up. So, then all the past merit, future merit, then after you feel happiness of your three time merits, then you feel happiness of all other Buddha’s sentient beings, their three time merits. Collective. So, next one, offer a throne, raised by snow lions, golden throne, decorative jewel, offer, request for long life. Buddhas, the nirmanakaya aspect, and the gurus.
Then offering Dharma wheels, thousand thousand small golden Dharma wheels offer requesting turning the Dharma wheel, and that’s one of the I dedicate all these merits to achieve enlightenment for all sentient beings. By offering mandala. Your for the whole entire universe, all the beautiful enjoyment offering that it has, everything human All your merits various offerings cover the whole sky, whole entire universe, however, in essence. So, those are familiar, then you do the visualization they offer. Now, dedicate Dedicate. May everyone offer this mandala?
May I want some family members, everyone of us, everyone here and there, all the residents, all the students in this organization and all the benefactors, all those who have sacrificed their life to the organization to serve and offer service to sentient beings and to the Buddha and all the rest of the sentient beings. May we become like you, Kṣitigarbha, like your holy body, your holy body indestructible, offer extensive benefits, like your lifespan, span, your pure land, your holy name, and the surrounding beings, and your holy name that offers extensive benefits, in enlightenment. And then, by having these qualities, have praised you. The universe, whichever universe, world, country, earlier place, house, myself, family members, all those who have connection to me. So this is relating to yourself.
May sicknesses may all the sicknesses poverty poverty of means of living. Poverty is not only a means of but there’s also poverty of dharma, poverty of realization, poverty of understanding, knowledge of dharma. So poverty doesn’t have to be only material poverty. For the sickness, poverty, fight, quarrels, wars, So, all these dangers of fire, water, earthquake, all this may may be may be pacified immediately. That’s happening.
May be pacified immediately. And may nobody in this world experience all these things. They did everything to be auspicious. They made the dharma flourished in in in their heart. And may everything be auspicious, good, positive.
And may the bodhicitta be actualized with one’s heart, in the heart all the in the hearts of all the sentient beings. In the hearts of everyone in this world, in the hearts of all the leaders of this world, in the hearts of other all the terrorists. There are all the people who have evil thoughts to harm others. May it be generated with with all of them without delay being second. So we so maybe out of the room of this.
Then we researched maybe one or two one or three times. The purpose of my life is not just to only achieve happiness for myself, not just to only solve my problems. Purpose of my life is like a limited sky. Purpose of my living is like limitless sky. That is to benefit us.
sentient being based on non-violence. To free them from all the suffering causes and bring them in full enlightenment. Therefore, I must achieve enlightenment. Therefore, need to actualize all parts of enlightenment for the success of all that. In my life, to be most beneficial for sentient beings like Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha to become like to be able to benefit like that.
So extensive. Unimaginable. So unbelievable, unbelievable extensive benefit. So for that then for the to be able to have that, I’m going to the whole transmission of the okay? Mantra.
So that’s Yeah. Short one. I don’t remember what I have received that lung. If you have done a lineage, you cannot give oral transmission. You have to have lineage.
So I don’t remember the short one. So, one, I have received the long. So so we can chant just a few times there. So here first, I prostrate, go on Here, you see the the second? This one.
I prostrate, go on. And then Okay. This this this part. Just this part. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. You have Okay. So so just just slowly follow follow. During this time, think beams emitted from Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, who is all the Guru, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, then totally illuminate with oneself.
All the sicknesses, totally heal if there are any sicknesses, Then, spirit harms, are liberating from spirit harms. Then, all the negative karmas are completely purified. Then, the same is towards all the sentient beings. So everyone who is here, they all the rest of sentient beings also purified. So sometimes, you know, with this visualization we chant, then sometimes receiving all the qualities of the Buddha, Dharma.
The Buddha the great renunciation, compassion bodhicitta, the six paramitas, all the qualities all the qualities they receive. You know? Not that. Just to determine what kind of truth is it? Yes.
From Kṣitigarbha, they receive all the qualities with oneself and all sentient beings. So, some part of the mantra, we can do that visualization. This one is visualized in embodiment of all the Guru, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, the embodiment of all the other. So think all the qualities of omniscient mind, perfect power, perfect compassion, those are all the qualities. And the whole path to enlightenment, starting from bodhicitta or the sūtra.
Particular wishes, whatever any their projects or any success in business or particular things that you want to have, I think you get a request for from the from the the heart to my strong request of success. Okay? Whatever. Mhmm. Mhmm.
Whatever activities your activities, you know, you want to have success. Okay? As long as long as long as not harm others, as long as not terrorist activities, that may not be good praying. That may not be good praying. The wrong prayer, then I have a wrong prayer.
No, I’m just saying, but of course you don’t that. I’m just saying. I’m just making up. Just making up. Okay.
This one? There’s some prayer. This one. Yeah. This one.
Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, melting into light can be absorbed at the center, between the two eyebrows, then bless the Buddha’s I think it’s all the qualities of bodhicitta. So after absorbed and blessed your body’s mind, then you think that you’re feeling compassion to all the sentient beings. So, all your body totally feel the compassion. Wishing not only the friend from this suffering cause and cause to that happiness, and also similarly to the neutral sentient beings, strangers and also wishing freedom from all the samsaric causes and to their happiness. Also, the enemy who do not like you, do not love you, then also same from your side, then have compassion, who harm you, but from your side, compassion and without wishing to free the enemy from all the suffering causes and to bring that happiness by oneself.
So these all seem to be free of all suffering causes. Who any sentient being who see me, touch me, remember me, think about me, dreams of me, even who see my picture, the cause immediately to be free of all the disease, spirit harms, karma and defilements and find the faith, the refuge karma, actualizing bodhicitta, and a complete achieving enlightenment as quickly as possible. And so they never ever to be reborn in the lower realms, just by seeing you, touching you, remembering you, dreaming of you. They’ve been seeing your photos. And these are the past.
That which exists but does not exist from its own side. That is totally empty. Achieve bodhisattva sittagapas, the enlightenment. All the all the realizations. That which is exists but which is empty from its own side, Nāgārjuna’s who exists general teaching of Buddha, particularly Lama Tsongkhapa’s teaching, may flourish forever in this world, maybe spread all over the world and flourish forever in this world, but completely actualize within the heart, what was the family members, and the hearts of everyone in this world.
Sorry. So tashi delek. So tashi delek. So good night.