Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 26-minute teaching from a Kṣitigarbha retreat, Lama Zopa Rinpoche outlines practical methods for accumulating merit even when physical circumstances limit practice. He shows how to visualize countless bodies during prostrations—especially powerful if you’ve received Chenrezig initiation—and collect merit as if all those bodies actually practiced. He explains how to make extended offerings through visualization and mantra, turning a single financial contribution into limitless generosity. For those traveling or ill, he teaches silent prostration with visualization while sitting in a car or plane. Throughout, he emphasizes the extraordinary purifying power of reciting the Buddha’s name: each recitation purges eons of negative karma. Practical guidance for serious practitioners.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 16 KR.mp3
UUID: a4b17bb8-b89b-4e4b-9e75-c06ac7f0c68e
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: 26.2 minutes
Words: ~1,249
So like so like that so still still there’s opportunity to make extensive offering besides mentally transformed ones. So, in those places, so as I meant, two different places, United States, so where I live. So there’s a exchange of there. So then what can offer. So in the past, I suggest the ideas Thought came in my mind that in Australia, Melbourne, there’s a large center powerhouse.
So the so anyway, there’s a large gompa. So I think the Geshe, their resident teacher was health is not so good, so I think the Sixteen Arhats, the puja needed be done quite a number of times, but students thought in the emphasis to make extensive offerings. So, right there came, either that or do that or whatever. So there’s one person who especially does a work to perform an extensive offering. Then maybe that person can get some, you know, pocket money or something.
So the students, those who don’t have time, they’re too many intensive offering or more space or something. So put some donation, something, you see, towards the offerings every month, something like that, however. Every month or six months or one year or whatever. So then, while they’re driving a car to the office or while even during the traveling, while they’re seated, you can bless the offerings there in the center, then give an offering to the merit field of Guru Śākyamūni Buddha. See?
You’re offer. So you just you know, it doesn’t you finish it within a minute. Within a minute, you see, they are less than you offer to Guru Śākyamūni so that so you create an you create an unbelievable, unbelievable, inconceivable merit, so much merit from each offering. Then that helps to everyone, all the students, everyone to collect the extensive merits every day so that that whatever projects they have, business or whatever, you see, then a way to no obstacle, everything goes smoothly and then success. And then, especially, realization of the path to happiness.
That idea that happened starting that. So that helps so many people or so many students, so many people or maybe it doesn’t have to be a student of the center, outside people also can do that. So what are the offerings done this time or you can do offering within during the same evening, the second second part practice is offering it all. You do that time. The actual commitment is offering.
So, the Buddha mantra, with the power of the mantra, the power of offering mantra. Then as power, it’s a Buddha, Buddha offering becomes like a limitless sky. Numberless offerings, sky, appear to Buddha. Each Buddha receives that many offerings, so each Buddha receives. So, by the power mantra, the next prayer, the words of truth.
By reciting that but this one too, your visualization. By reciting this, then if you visualize each Buddha, bodhisattva recipient, skies full of offerings. Each different offering fills the skies. Then they actually receive the words of the truth, then they actually receive the different offerings. So, there’s a little bit of difference.
So, the second one involves second one is here, you are actually taking each Buddha Buddha Buddha’s vast sea of numberless offerings, okay? And they actually receive. So, yeah. Now also. You can do this dedication because after the offering, mandala, same thing, you can dedicate.
Anyway, now here we just do the seven. Buddhist prostrations, to the objects of of the field. Numberless copies of your body, like ridge of mountains, either ordinary human body, or if you have received it, the great initiation of Chenrezig, Totarena, then you visualize numberless copies of your body in the form of Chenrezig, cover the whole ground in the four directions and corners during prostration, even though you’re putting palms together during prostration, while sitting, but you can do visualization. So how so how many body you are able to visualize? If you are able to visualize one billion one billion during prostration, then you see, you get merit, get merit even though it is only you visualizing, but in reality you are able to collect merit as if one billion actual bodies has done prostration, and you get merit.
So, you visualize one more body during prostration, visualize one body during prostrations, and then you get the same see, that this body how much merit this body collected, the actual body, by having the process, how much merit is collected? So you get the same merits. So, of course, the visualize one, of course, this actual body is very limited. The actual body that we have is very limited. Especially my body is small, so you see.
So, those who have a very tall body, so I am, actually, I was very fortunate because, say, if you do one prostration but I have to do two times because my body is short. Your body is very long, my body is short, so I have to do two times. I said, I’m very fortunate. Anyway, visualized body, see, there’s no limitation. Your body is small, but visualized body, you see, So, the same merit, so there’s no restriction.
You can visualize it for very long. Anyway, thousands of them. So, there’s so much freedom. You can collect it. It’s so easy to collect them.
Create a merit, you see. So you can visualize how come and see if you have received initiation, create numberless bodies, cover the whole ground in four directions, then they lay down in prostration, you see. So, this is what we can do, meditation. While we are reciting the mantra, the prayer of prostration. So, normally, this is what we should do, meditation.
What we do, many times the puja, or Tārā, or any of the seven practices. So, even if your physical body is not going proceed, put palms together during prostration. Mentally, can see numberless bodies, if you visualize like that in prostration. So, So, is what one can do. In the times when one is sick, actually can’t, your actual body can’t lay down during prostration, you have pains in knees or whatever.
Or due to sicknesses or someone who can’t actually lay down during prostration, then this is what you can do. You see, sitting prostration with the two palms together. This is sitting prostration, and here, you see, visualizing numberless bodies during prostration. So this sitting prostration is correct. As mentioned.
As I mentioned before, how many bodies you visualise, you get the same merit as if that many actual bodies have done prostration. Also, the airplanes in the airplanes or cars, when you’re traveling, so you can mouth the recitation of the Buddha’s name. And then you do visualization of prostrations. So also this practice. By reciting type of Buddhist name, many by reciting is a Buddhist name, so many eons of negative karma, get purified, different eons.
Then, there is one Buddha, if you recite that one’s name, one hundred thousand eons of negative karma get purified. And if you recite Śākyamūni Buddha’s name, eighty four thousand eons of negative karma get purified. In some text, they mention even much more than that. Unbelievable, unbelievable purification. The number of bodies during prostration.
If you visualize, you’re like, so powerful. And it may not make a difference with the external body, an actual body which is without being visualized. So now, here, number of the body you have visualized, so each one collects incredible merit.