Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 108-minute teaching at Taiwan’s Śākyamūni Center, Lama Zopa Rinpoche provides detailed practical guidance on combining prostration with Namgyalma mantra practice. He begins with the mechanics of prostration — positioning and stretching the body to maximize the ground covered and merit generated. He then addresses integrating Lamrim meditation with mantra practice: when and how to switch to Lamrim if the mind grows distracted, and how to structure a day of retreat with preliminaries, mandala offering, and formal sessions. He teaches the Namgyalma sūtra and mantra in both long and short forms, and emphasizes the power multiplier of group practice over solitary work. For practitioners already familiar with tantric initiation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 2005 06 15 3 TWN 3 Śākyamūni ctr 15thjune05.mp3
UUID: ab60ffb2-3b4b-4583-ae3e-cd085fa44a1e
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: z Taiwan (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2005-06-15
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 108.4 minutes
Words: ~3,596
If that, you know, if that prostration is created so many times numbness. And then next next next meditation that which is that visualize numbers of your body during the prostration. So, there’s a technique that the mentioned in the that yeah. So cover the whole each body covers all those atoms, covers all those atoms, see, per meter, and so on. I mean, it’s been made with that.
So, the the first bhūmi, Bodhisattva, which the first bhūmi manifests hundreds of bodies into prostration and make offerings to Buddhas. And then, second one, manifest a thousand bodies into prostration and make offerings. Then, the eighth or ninth or tenth bhūmi, I don’t remember, it’s a number, Billions and billions, zillions, trillions like that, as it goes higher, manifest the body into prostration and make offerings like this. So we, ordinary beings, of course, that we have to do even more. You see, prostration.
We can’t manifest, but we visualize. Okay. So so that’s it. But for that so one must pay attention when you prostrate how you’re behaving, your conduct. You must watch.
You must remember, make sure that do respectfully, not spread hands, you know. So, so when you do it on a so you go like this. So you cover more atoms, you go around like that. Go around like that. And then you do like this here, like that, then you stretch out.
Then you stretch out your arms. Up. Come around, then you do this. Can you stretch out? Like that.
Mhmm. As much as possible. So that. Also, feet keep like this. So, you’ll unbelievable the merits you see from the atom.
Jambhudvipa’s land and king, you can above atom from your top bottom, which your feet, you may keep flat, how much you can cover there? All those that was and because you lose those. So, so, keep the feet, you know, up flat. So that so there’s nothing I’ve one advantage being fat. You know?
And they cook like more meat, it more fat, more cover the more ground or longer hair, you know. More cover the more ground or more longer nail, you see. Or this longer nail, you know. That’s Up also up to you, say, you know, you they have to do like this. After you do that, then you stretch out to the but you don’t need to do it like that.
And it happens to me sometimes also. It happens to me also, but you don’t need to do it like that. Like swimming in the water. So we I think we maybe we chant the mantra. So bring all those in your heart and the purpose of my life to freedom.
Namgyalma helps us from the suffering cause. Namgyalma is the antidote to the suffering. To fulfill the excellent holy wishes immediately for that, and then I say, oh, yeah. To actualize the whole path to enlightenment, it was hard for for that purpose. To, you know, for the for that.
See, with with that delay in a second to that. Mhmm. Then then the Maitreya five hundred foot statue to be constructed as good as possible, can you complete as good as possible then, but by seeing it, whoever sees it brings to enlightenment as good as possible, especially cause in the everyone’s heart. They were a public bring perfect peace and happiness in the world to everyone. Every country and everyone is well done there.
Yeah. Then all the fundings or the needs will be received in there for the project, as well as all the rest of the projects on the the organization. Then same here at the the the center, you know, the most beneficial thing means. Then, you know, say all the plans to be succeed, to be able to be able to exercise as quick as possible, and to see what needs the other conditions to be received images. So that mhmm.
Yeah. For all this purpose for all this success, we’ll recite the dedication. Okay? Then the, you know, the Namgyalma mantra from the deity in the water. Now that they so here we did like this, you know.
Recite this long one three times and short one one mala, something like that, but not necessarily. This is the way way is one of the it doesn’t mean it happens all the time this way. It’s just that we have done this way. Here too, also, ideas to combine with the Lamrim after the Mandala offering, then do some Lamrim meditation. This idea is extremely important.
Mhmm. What we do preliminary to the meditation mandala body or whatever or combined with the Lamrim. So have our half hour or something around, you know, Lamrim meditation. Do Lamrim. Then some motivation, then you do the plan practice.
One hour or half hour, whatever, two hour, whatever you do. Like that. Like that. And then if you’re daily if if one is doing daily retreat, then same sessions, you see, beginning beginning, you see, half hour or or less Lamrim meditation. He used the motivation, then do the actual session, then the you know, the, you know, the, you know, Of course, can do, during the recitation mantra, when your mind is bored, tired, bored of visualizing deity, you know, those meditation, then also if your mind is very distracted, then you do meditation of Lam Rim, like, know, lower realms, hell the lower realms, the impermanence of death, the lower realms, precious human life, all those sufferings of saṃsāra.
Depending on what kind of medicine, what kind of depending on what kind of distraction you have, attachment or whatever, anger or Then you apply those different parts of Lamrim meditation. The mind is very distracted during the meditation mantra. If you cannot maintain on deity, then you don’t do then you see, then you cannot do other meditation. Not like that, you can do Lamrim meditation even in the deity’s retreat. You can do Lamrim meditation, you know.
So for example, if you don’t know by heart, if you cannot do Lamrim meditation by heart, Then you put the you keep the text here. You you you see, you start the mantra here. You start the, like, for example, Vajrasattva, you know, and then because it always visualize Vajrasattva, or something, or something, mind will distract you something. Then you read the Lamrim text, you see, that part of subject which you need to control your to cut the distractions, you see, whatever it is. Then you start Vajrasattva, you know, here.
Then that coming from the Vajrasattva is purified. Here. Then you you begin thinking the and that’s coming purified. Then you read the text, you see. You keep on reciting Vajrasattva, like that.
Then you see, you transform your mind to dharma, you know, a virtue. Then when it reaches here, then again, remember, purifying. So again, then in this, then you read. So that keep it down. So so in case the you know, the case other times it’s going to be individually, Guru Puja is going to be done.
Don’t necessarily follow what I did this time. Recite this mantra three times long, then do the one on one mala, or more, also. You can do more. You can do more number. You can start the long one many times.
And it is a long mantra many times. See, either you recite more the long one or more the short one. It doesn’t matter so much. Maybe you can do the long one more number. Then this one, the short one. So Namgyalma about this one.
Then a little bit then you can do the other one a little bit. So maybe this and this this one maybe. Long and this one. But that’s how much benefit explained here. So But the previous ones, if it can be kept like that, it’s very good.
The preliminaries and all how we did the procedure, the different question. Changing after one session this to create purpose after another session, then this is what I what I laid just before, that one. Okay. Then next session, again, to create purpose like that, after mandala. The precise motivation, the whole channel mantra again.
Just number of mantra doesn’t happen like this. The long one, you can recite minimum number, and then this one. Then also, the other thing is to read in the afternoon, some times, also read the sūtra. You know, some sections, the sūtra, you can read the this sūtra, you know, in the afternoon, some some you know, somewhere between ten to read the sūtra also. You know, liberally can do like that.
It’s also very good. This time, we didn’t get done, but could like that. I thought maybe to give the lung to the students during during this time, maybe. But there’s a one some page left, one session left that I haven’t given the oral transmission. So maybe that can be done in the future.
Could complete of the sūtra in. It’s very, very precious. So my suggestion, maybe a good tour, able to decide the long the long one more. Just yeah. Then another one is this one.
This one is about this one. There’s always a lot of benefits to explain there. So this one is regarded as short one, right?? Yes. Other one, that was kind of a side a few times.
Is it inside that? Yes. The last one? The last one. Yes.
There’s the last one. Yeah, last one. Yeah, the last one here. This last one here. I don’t mean last one here.
That one. This meant that when another country is attacking or some other is attacking the king or president, harming the country, harming the country. I guess that means you can use also somebody attacking you or something that’s harming, so I guess you can use this one. So there’s a sad sūtra that somebody or other country, somebody attacking to to your country or to the king or president, see, to the king like that, you know, leave with the oh, others attacking to the virtuous king, he says. Attack to the virtuous king coming in the coming country, and then this mantra should be recited to pacify.
So, like like that kind of cases, this mantra. So, I think that all transmission is gone, so The Tibetan. Buddha explained to the king of devas. You in the future in this Buddha field, a king king’s race, king, king, king’s race, virtue to protect the country. Tell this you, tell this mantra, this great mantra called the Heart of the Wheel of Non-returning.
So in order to protect the country, in the future, due to the power, and manifest the blessings of this word, the great mantra called Heart, the Wheel of Non-returning. In this field, the Buddha, kings and king raised virtue to all, to be harmed by the enemies, by those fighting enemies. Not sure. But saying this mantra, unable and fighting those enemies they can’t harm. From there, think from there, they develop the qualities and realizations.
From there, seems that kind of whole benefit is the path to liberation. Until the enlightenment is achieved. I’m not a hundred percent sure, but it looks like that. And until the guidance of the Buddha will will never never separate away, and they will protect it. I think it’s not separated away from Buddha.
Think Buddha and Buddha’s strongest will never separate away, and they always will be protected. A little bit. Then Buddha explains this mantra. So you can get the lung of this. So that’s the mantra.
Is it all there? Good. So that’s it. So we’ll just which hand? The the short one?
Sounds like, looks like a circus. Maybe it will stand up to to Tārā. It’s good. So that’s the place where twenty one Tārā in the future, one large Tārā and twenty one round. That’s the altar, Tārā.
The softer, light, the offered scarf. Offering to the indestructible holy body with the with indestructible devotion. Then yeah. Due to the merit of having offered the scarf and all the merit of offering by myself and others and then, may I become exactly like you, Tārā, like your whole body, like your lifespan, like your surrounding, like your holy name. And that that that now, by having met prayer and request, by having met by having met the request and praise you.
Now may I the may I his name is connected to who have connect connection to me, whichever universe world country I request as a abiding. May all sentient beings living there. Just about that, may all sentient beings living in that universe, world, country, or place, house. May their negative karma, immediately get purified, and immediately, immediately, Immediately heal all their sicknesses and their spirit harm, their wisdom increase, They may, as I mentioned, may all the war famine, you know, the suicide bombers, all the war, quarrel, fight, you know, famine, disease, torture, poverty, sicknesses, the danger of fire, water, earthquakes, all these things may may be stopped immediately, that’s happening, may it be stopped immediately, and then nobody experience this forever in this world. So back to that strong pair.
The world has it. By achieving Buddhahood, may individual beings, may a whole global, and a whole global, be filled with perfect peace and happiness. Okay. Let me sit down. Okay.
So let’s I want to request you to recite Namgyalma today. This is eight today, Tibetan eight. The the the. So we chant one. So we do the we’re gonna do the general offering and blessing then.
There’s a Namgyalma or the Kangsol where Namgyalma blessing or the offerings, the food offerings. But I bet we can do the normal offering prayer, blessing, so no offer. Seems the tongue has become more beautiful. Getting more and more beautiful. So this maybe and I didn’t get the frame, but maybe the until we get the big statue of Buddha to our backside, maybe.
So these two are framed, you know, in the place of where up there, where up, so that they have the statue of Buddha. So the the letter I don’t know. This is portrait. To yeah. To hang to hang outside the building so that many people can see, so many people from very far can see the Buddha, daytime and nighttime.
So many people can get benefited, they get liberated, Then everyone brings to it. By seeing this, it brings to enlightenment. This is a photo, but if a frame to put outside, the sun will destroy the color. Will destroy the color. This can be printed if this can be printed on another material, that’s that’s a rain proof.
The cloth, I think Japanese they make, Japan. And also, I think Mongolia also they make the one. Mongolia. They make, the Tanga, you know, in Mongolia they can make huge. They can make they can make that.
They can make they make one white thangka for me. Huge like that, you know. From there down, huge. So she’ll be able to adhere that one. And the rainproof.
So then I can be found to hang outside the building, to hang outside the building. So many people can see. It can be the Buddha is a lot larger, much bigger. So that that that be a very excellent thing to do, a very wonderful thing to do. So we start the mand short mand a few times.
Disease spirit and all the negative karma deposits are completely purified. All those negative karma deposits are completely purified. Received all the qualities of this together. To be able to fulfill all the wishes of sentient beings, which is immediately, instantly. For the Abble able to do able to do perfect work towards all the sentiments.
Able to do perfect work towards all those sentient beings. So So we do make a request dedication, but also request to. So as I mentioned in sūtra, you see, when you have such a problem, then if you sincerely make offerings and respect, pray to Namgyalma, you know, you see, the say, all the wishes that we fulfill there. It mentions it mentions so many times. So it seems to make an offering, besides very much to make an offering then makes strong request.
Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. So it seems great. It seems that another another method for great for great success to to say, to accomplish success. So it can be good sometimes for success of certain important projects to do one day retreat or in a one day retreat or two day retreat like that. The group group practice prayer.
So many people doing together together praying, it has much power. It is mentioned that you if you want to join prayer alone you see, if you do with a group, the same prayer that you do in the room alone, if you do with a group, the think I said hundred times much more powerful. The the the prayer you do. So like this, the Buddha’s Srikhava, the mantras, like that or the stupa, places, whatever. So practice, you see, practices.
So doing alone in the room, and then if you do the group with the people, doing the group, then there’s, I’d say, I think it’s a hundred times much more powerful if you do a group. That means much quicker to have success. And much more power, so that means quicker to have success. So that’s it is said in the Kadam masters’ teachings. So like that.
So I think It is I think it is going to be one more sanghas here at the Śākyamūni Buddha Center. It will very good to morning to do the morning to do Lama Chöpa, the Guru Puja Lama Chöpa, morning. And the evening time, Vajrasattva, and then protector prayers. Vajrasattva. In the meantime, you can do anytime Lama Chöpa Guru Yoga.
Also Vajrasattva can do. So they help help it helps for everybody. And then the protector prayers. The particular Palden Lhamo prayer. You can do also form.
You can do those four major protector prayer. You can can do it. You can do that. If not, then one, whichever you also can do from the four. So begin with Tārā puja practice, Tārā puja, you know, in the morning and then, kind of that or yeah, and that and begin with that then to the, Lama Chöpa, Guru Puja.
That’s what that’s that is it. There’s a commentary there’s a commentary on the Guru Puja you know, but I don’t know about the Chinese but English, that which we requested some number of years ago. So then that is the commentary that Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche gave during that time, this book, and he was an excellent commentary of Guru Puja. So, however, that’s unbelievable, extremely rich practice. That then the achievement in one lifetime, you know, in a brief lifetime, in a distant time.
That all those who yeah. Especially those who achieved enlightenment in one brief lifetime or distant time. They they such this practice is their their hard practice, and this is what made them to achieve enlightenment in a brief lifetime or distant time. So it is in the Guru Puja, there is sūtra, there is tantra, there is integration, everything. There is a lot of thought transformation practice, whole path of enlightenment.
It’s a and there’s also phowa transfer of consciousness to pure land. It’s just for that. So it’s integration of everything. It’s a a to begin the day with that, it will very rich. Extremely, that’s the best to begin the day with the Lama Chöpa.
Can do so that’s one long six-session Guru Yoga. Then you do, then you repeat two times. Whichever version you do, a six-session Guru Yoga. So a lot of lamas put it as one six-session Guru Yoga. And that becomes one six-session yoga.
So six-session in the morning, one long six-session Guru Yoga, it becomes like that. And then in the time, you begin begin with this. You can begin with the also can begin with three roots yoga, because there’s commitment. So those those who are taking commitment, high tantra can can also do that. Before, before can do it.
Then do can do that. Whatever version, can do also that. So this you can do Vajrasattva with the prostration. Maybe before sitting down, people were sitting down, one can do Vajrasattva with prostration. Can do that.
Without repeating the name over and over, just one just one time, then. Okay. That it’d be also very good. So that that so did some sort of some daily practice that guru does, then more sangha comes, you know, then it it continues on the it become sort of a, you know, normal practice then, and that’s very good. So, you know, what I was saying before.
So you’re doing prayer in the room alone, and doing with the group. Doing with the group has so much power, you know, asking for realizations, whatever it’s all the power. It’s so much power. So that’s the so that’s so that’s big differences big difference in yeah. Like that.
So it makes it easier for suck whatever success, you see. Well, for success, attaining realizations or projects, you know, the center activities, so much more power. K.