Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this three-hour daily practice retreat, Venerable Thubten Dondrub guides students through a complete structured session centered on Śākyamūni Buddha meditation, demonstrating a method that can be adapted from thirty minutes to several hours. He begins with careful posture instruction and nine-round breathing to settle the mind, then leads visualization of Śākyamūni Buddha with detailed instructions on his appearance and symbolic attributes. The core practice includes refuge taking with all sentient beings visualized around you, a purification ritual using mantra repetition with white light and black smoke imagery, the four immeasurable thoughts (equanimity, happiness, freedom from suffering, and never being separated from liberation), and a “glance meditation” through key verses of the Lam Rim—the graduated path covering guru devotion, precious human rebirth, impermanence and death, karma, the sufferings of saṃsāra, and the aspiration to enlightenment for all beings’ sake. Dondrub emphasizes that this practice can be done in full or abbreviated form, and that even a thirty-minute version plants the entire Lam Rim in your mind daily. He closes with Vajrasattva purification practice, using the four opponent powers to clear negative karma, and extensive dedication prayers. The teaching is pitched at those with some familiarity with Buddhist practice and visualization, though newcomers are welcome.
File metadata (for organising)
File: Venerable Dondrub – 02 – Daily Practice Retreat.mp3
UUID: 43196ed7-e1ad-42af-bb04-4132c30b5d3d
Teacher: Ven Thubten Dondrub
Collection: DB Daily Practice (Ven Thubten Dondrub)
Date: 2014 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 184.5 minutes
Words: ~13,164
Position, but in whatever way is comfortable. The main thing in the posture is to try to have your spine really straight and centered so that you’re not leaning forwards or backwards or to either side. And we place the right hand on top of the left with the thumbs lightly touching, our hands resting in our lap close to our body, but so our elbows and upper arms are not touching the sides of our body, but just a little bit away. So also if you lift your shoulders up and back a little bit and then relax them and then straighten one’s head. Tuck the chin in slightly.
We can position our head so that it’s not tilted down or lifted too high. So have your mouth lightly closed, your tongue the tip of your tongue resting at the back of the top row of teeth at the palate. Your eyes can be closed but much better to have them just a little bit open, just very slightly. And so you’re not really looking. You’re not seeing anything.
Act looking actively. Direct your gaze down just a short distance in front of you. And then just checking your posture by moving your awareness from the crown of your head down through your body just for a very short time. And as you do that, noticing any points of tension. And you can begin to observe that that tension tends to exist or persists because we are unconsciously pulling inwards, tightening up and holding on.
So as one becomes aware of that process, just through awareness one can begin to relax and let go. So having prepared the body we now begin to prepare our mind by doing the nine round breathing exercise. Combining that with a visualization of breathing in white light with each in breath. Imagining that spreads throughout one’s whole being bringing great calmness and clarity. Stillness and peace into the mind.
And with each out breath of the cycle, imagine you’re breathing out all agitation that’s existing in your mind right now, all sadness, suffering, fears, worries, confusion existing right now, but also all negative imprints, all disturbing thoughts, all negativities of any kind, you breathe that out in the form of black smoke. With each out breath, it dissipates, becomes completely nonexistent. So now we do the prayer together of purifying the place. As we chant this, we imagine that all our surroundings take on the aspect of, something very pure, very beautiful in the nature of light. The one not sitting in just an ordinary worldly environment, but it’s like we’re in a pure land.
A perfect place where we can invite the Buddhas to be present. So now as we recite the following offering cloud mantra. We imagine this blesses and multiplies all the offerings that we’ve set out on our altar. But also as we recite this mantra, we imagine visualizing all sorts of incredibly beautiful offerings, food and music, flowers and incense, all sorts of light, every kind of beautiful thing. And we imagine that as we’re reciting this mantra, that these offerings that we are visualizing also that we have set out on the altar are constantly multiplying, filling the whole of space.
And we’re making these offerings to the Buddhas, the triple gem of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha to create the merit, which is the basis so that our meditation practice will be as successful as possible. And then think by the power of truth of the three rare sublime ones, the blessings of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the great wealth of the completed two collections, and the sphere phenomena being pure and inconceivable, may these piles of clouds of offerings arising through transformation by the bodhisattvas, aryasamantabhadra, Mañjuśrī, and so forth, unimaginable and inexhaustible, equaling the sky, arise, and in the eyes of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions be received. So you think that all these offerings set out and visualized are now accepted by the Buddhas. This generates, we imagine it generates great bliss in their minds and therefore accumulates vast merit in our minds. So having made this preparation we now visualize Śākyamūni Buddha, our source of refuge, inspiration, and guidance in front of us.
So I’ll read this, describe the the visualization, and you just try to do it as much as you can. So think that at the level of your forehead, about an arm’s length in front of you, so you if as you could reach out and touch, there appears this beautiful golden throne in the nature of transparent radiating light. It is beautifully adorned with jewels and held up in space by white snow lions, two at each corner. So these white snow lions, these eight white snow lions symbolize or represent the eight great bodhisattvas who are the upholders of the Mahāyāna teachings of the Buddha. To think that on the throne there is an incredibly beautiful lotus with many petals, many different colors again in the nature of radiating light.
And the lotus symbolizing the mind of great renunciation. Then floating horizontally above the lotus, a little bit smaller in diameter. Firstly, a brilliant golden sun disc symbolizing the wisdom that destroys ignorance. Then floating above the sun disc, again smaller in diameter than the sun disc, A pure white moon disc that symbolizes bodhicitta. And then think that seated above the center of the white moon disc is Śākyamūni Buddha who has achieved the perfect cessation of all suffering and obscurations and has attained all perfect realizations.
He is the manifestation of the omniscient mind of all Buddhas, the ultimate guru. And he is inseparable from your own root guru either if you already have one or the root guru who will in the future lead you to enlightenment will be a manifestation of Śākyamūni Buddha. His body is in the nature of golden light. So he has a hollow body of golden light, very magnificent, wearing the three saffron robes of a monk. His face is beautiful and has a loving smile, compassionate eyes looking at you, but simultaneously encompassing all sentient beings.
His eyes are long, narrow, and fine. The eyes are half closed and half opened. The the iris of of the pupil is a deep blue color. His lips are dark red. His hair, a deep blue color.
Each hair individually curling to the right. On the crown of his head is the golden crown pinnacle or Ushnisha. the palm of his right hand rests on his right knee, the middle finger touching the moon underneath him. His left hand rests in his lap in the mudra of meditation supporting a begging bowl full of nectar. And this nectar symbolizes the wisdom that overcomes every kind of suffering and its causes.
His legs are crossed in the vajra posture. So Śākyamūni Buddha think that Śākyamūni Buddha is the very embodiment of all Buddhas, all the Dharma, all the Sangha. Think that our Śākyamūni Buddha looks at you with incredible compassion and says to you, child of the lineage, if you want to be liberated from the suffering of saṃsāra, I will guide you. So think as the Buddha appears directly in front of you, around you are all the infinite father and mother sentient beings completely intoxicated with suffering the sufferings of the six realms. So think continuously circling in Samsāra’s six realms.
I have been tormented by suffering during beginningless rebirths until now. I have still not found the opportunity to be liberated. Fortunately, this time, this one time, I’ve received a perfect human rebirth. Because of my good fortune, I have met the most sublime teaching, the Buddhadharma and the founder, Śākyamūni Buddha. But I have no certainty that I will not die today.
My death could happen even today. If I should die today, I would have no freedom to choose the real realm in which I would be reborn. I could fall down into one of the realms of the evil migratory beings. I should think carefully about whether I would be able to bear those sufferings for even one second. Although it is extremely unlikely, if I were to be reborn with the body of a Dev or a human, I would still be ceaselessly tormented by many hundreds of sufferings such as rebirth, old age, sickness, death, dissatisfaction, anxiety, lack of fulfillment, relationship problems, and so forth.
And after that, I would fall into the lower realms. So there’s nothing to trust about even being born in the upper realms. So, during this one time, I have obtained a precious human rebirth with freedoms and richnesses. And I have the wisdom to discriminate between the shortcomings of saṃsāra and the benefits of liberation. Therefore, I should quickly achieve liberation from this terrifying Samsāra.
Yet to liberate only myself is not sufficient. This is not the meaning of my life. Numberless sentient beings equaling the limitless sky are wandering in the suffering states of Samsāra. They have all been my fathers and mothers. Therefore, I must liberate them and lead them to peerless happiness of full enlightenment.
Who is the refuge and guide that liberates from the great oceans of beginningless Samsāra? There is no other except the three sublime ones of Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha. Therefore, together, I and each and every migratory being equaling the sky go for refuge to the guru, the triple gem, the founder, the fully enlightened one, the Dharma, the scriptural understanding and realizations, and the Sangha, the transcendent transcendental assembly. So try and generate that mind of refuge as strongly as possible as you think of the Buddha in front of you, all sentient beings around you, starting with your mother on your right, father on your left. Sorry.
Father on your left, mother on your right. No. No. No. Other way around.
Your mother on your left, father on your right, family, friends, and helpers behind you, harmers in front, then all the beings of saṃsāra around you. So as we hold that visualization, now we’ll do the refuge practice of purifying our mind of all the mistakes we’ve done in this and past lives in relation to the triple gem. So as we recite Namo Guruve we think of all the negative karma we may have created in this life or certainly in past lives in relation to the Gurus, such as having wrong views towards the Gurus, being disrespectful to them, not following their advices and so on. So think that as we recite this Namo Guruve, we’ll recite it out loud, or we’ll do it seven times together out loud. Think that this blissful white light and nectar comes from Śākyamūni Buddha, pours into us, eliminates all those negativities, the negative imprints from those negative actions.
So now as we recite Namo Buddhaya we think that this blissful white light and nectar comes from the Buddha purifying all the negative imprints due to negative actions towards the Buddha in this and past lives And because of those negative imprints they can ripen as all sorts of diseases and other problems of the body and mind and all sorts of obstacles in our life. So think that all of those are being eliminated by this white light and nectar. So again think that in this and past lives we’ve created negative actions in relation to the dharma. It’s even simple things like disrespecting dharma texts, putting them on the ground, walking over them, treating them as ordinary material but also going against our vows and commitments, engaging in naturally negative actions and so on, criticizing the teachings. So if we haven’t done this in this life, we’ve certainly done it in past lives due to ignorance and self-cherishing.
So think that as we recite Namo Dharmaya, this blissful white light and nectar comes from the Buddha’s body purifying us of all those negative imprints and all the resultant types of suffering that could occur if those imprints aren’t purified, such as sickness, physical sickness, mental sickness, all sorts of suffering and obstacles and difficulties. So all of that is eliminated with this blissful white light and nectar. As you visualize that coming in, can think that all those negativities leave the mind in the form of black liquid that pours out from the lower part of our body. So then finally think that in this and past lives, I’ve engaged in negative actions in relation to the Sangha and not respecting the Sangha in various ways, criticizing them, and so on. Maybe even in past lives stealing from the Sangha, which is one of the, you know, very heavy negative karmas mentioned in the prostration to the thirty five Buddhas.
So again, if these imprints from those actions aren’t purified, they ripen as all sorts of suffering, including bringing rebirth in the lower realms. So think that as one recites the Namo Sanghaya, this blissful white light and nectar comes from the Buddha, purifying one of all those negative imprints. So then focus strongly, concentrate with strong faith that one has definitely purified one’s mind of all these negativities. One has freed the mind, created that space for all one’s positive qualities to awaken, And with that and created this situation that with this purified mind, by applying this to Dharma practice, meditating on the lam rim, then using this purified mind, then the result will be so much more powerful. Understanding and realizations will come so much more easily now.
And think that because I’ve purified my mind of all these mistakes made in relation to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha due to ignorance, confusion, self-cherishing, now that I’ve purified that, think that now, my refuge in the triple gem is very pure. I’m completely under the protection of the Buddha, Dharman Sangha. So we’ll take a a three minute silent break. People can stand up if they like. From beginningless time.
It is my turn to carry the responsibility of liberating all these pitiful mothers. However, in my present state, forget about liberating others, I’m not even sure what I can do about my own life. Even if I were to achieve the state of an arhat, the work for myself would still not be complete, and the work for others would be limited. Therefore, in order to complete the work for myself and others, I definitely need to achieve full enlightenment, the state of Buddhahood. If I achieve the sublime state of Buddhahood, I will have ceased all the numberless mistakes and completed all qualities, and I shall then be able to work effortlessly for all kind mother migratory beings who fill all of space.
Therefore, I must achieve full enlightenment quickly. I am going to follow the brave, extensive, wonderful deeds of the bodhisattva in order to benefit others. So then reflect how wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were to abide in equanimity, free of hatred and attachment. May they abide in equanimity. I myself will cause them to abide in equanimity.
Please, guru deity, grant me blessings to be able to do this. So as we recite these four immeasurable thoughts, really have a strong sense of all sentient beings surrounding you. Think how wonderful it would be if they could abide in these various ways. And that they can, they have the potential to do so. So and I I will help them to do so, not just try and generate their thought, not just wanting this to happen, but I will make it happen.
I I need to make it happen. So then one requests the Buddhas to bless you to do so. So as you say that light of please bless me, think that this light comes from Śākyamūni Buddha empowering you to be able to practice, to give up the self-cherishing thought, to be able to follow the path that leads to the perfect benefit of all beings. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings had happiness and the causes 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 of suffering and its causes. May they be free of suffering and its causes. I myself will cause them to be free of suffering and its causes.
Please, Guru Deity, grant me blessings to be able to do this. So don’t reflect on this in an abstract way, but think that your mother and father are on either side of you. Your the rest of your family, your friends, people who have helped you are behind you. People who’ve harmed you or in front of you or who dislike you or you and then think how wonderful it’d be if at least these beings, were free of suffering and its causes, and that I will cause them to be free of suffering and its causes. At least generate that thought towards these beings, these actual beings that you know, that you’re connected to.
But as much as possible, extend it equally to other human beings, to all human beings, to all the beings in the animal realm, in the preta realm, in the hell realms, in the different god realms, in the Bardo state. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were never separated from the happiness of high rebirths and liberation. May they never be separated from these. I myself will cause them never to be separated from these. Please, Guru Deity, grant me blessings to be able to do this.
So then we reflect on trying to generate the special bodhicitta, which is that that that mind wanting to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible to stop the suffering of others as quickly as possible. In particular, I must achieve enlightenment quickly in order to free all numberless, kind mother sentient beings from the unimaginable oceans of samsaric suffering and causes of suffering and lead them to peerless, full enlightenment. For this purpose, I’m going to meditate on the stages of the path to enlightenment. Reverently, I prostrate with my body, speech, and mind. I present clouds of every type of offering actually are offered and mentally transformed.
I confess all my negative actions accumulated during beginningless time and rejoice in the virtues of all ordinary and holy beings. So let’s briefly do the rejoicing meditation. thinking that in the in the three times of the past, present and future myself and other ordinary beings having we we have engaged in virtuous actions, are doing so now, will in the future. So all these positive actions, accumulate merit. And that merit, when it ripens, while we remain in saṃsāra, at least it brings some kind of happiness, some good results in saṃsāra.
But more importantly, that merit, if we dedicate it properly, that becomes a condition to help us be free of Samsāra. More importantly, it becomes a condition to help us achieve enlightenment. So think how fantastic, how wonderful that I and other very ordinary beings like myself, we have these merits. We yeah. How amazing.
How wonderful. Because it’s gonna bring all these different kinds of happiness. How wonderful. Try and let your mind become light and happy, reflecting on that. Because this is true.
I do have these merits. Other ordinary beings have these merits. So how wonderful, how fantastic. But especially rejoice that there are people more spiritually advanced than myself. They’re still ordinary people, but they are really sincerely directing their mind in the Dharma path.
So as a result, some of these people are really working to renounce attachment to this life. Some who have actually achieved that and are really dedicating to achieve a good rebirth. So think how fantastic, how wonderful. And there are others who have have are working to renounce cyclic existence altogether, engaging in so many good actions of body, speech, and mind to do so. So think how amazing, how wonderful.
And there are those who have actually renounced saṃsāra and are working to achieve their own liberation. Think how incredible, how wonderful. And there are those who have actually achieved liberation from cyclic existence. So how wonderful. But what is truly wonderful are those people who have renounced interest in the bliss of nirvana, but I’m more concerned with others.
So they’ve generated bodhicitta. So think how amazing that there are people who have generated bodhicitta are on the path to well on the way to doing so. Are just about to generate bodhicitta. This is happening. So think how amazing, how wonderful.
And there are the different levels of bodhisattvas doing amazing things to benefit sentient beings. How wonderful! And all the time Bodhisattvas are actually transforming into Buddhas acting perfectly for sentient beings. How amazing. How wonderful.
And think that most wonderful of all is that from that perfect enlightened state, Buddhas are continuously appearing back in the world in what seems to be ordinary human form as my teachers, my perfect teachers guiding me in the path. So think how amazing, how wonderful. So then we continue. Pleasure remain until Samsāra ends and turn the wheel of Dharma for sentient beings. I dedicate all the virtues of myself and others to the great enlightenment.
So now with the mandala offering, we visualize the whole of the universe, all the beautiful things in it, especially those we’re most attached to. And we offer these up to the triple gem. It is a way to free our mind of all obstacles to following the path and to create create by making this offering, we create merit that becomes a condition for us to be when we meditate on the lam rim, for it to have the greatest impact on our mind. I prostrate and go for refuge to the guru triple gem. Please bless my mind.
Please bless me and all sentient beings, my mothers, to stop all wrong views from disrespect to our virtuous friends up to the subtle dualistic view, and bless us to easily develop every realization from guru devotion up to the path of no more learning and to pacify all outer and inner obstacles. I prostrate and go for refuge to the guru triple gem. Please bless my mind. Please bless me and all sentient beings, my mothers, to stop all wrong views from disrespect to our virtuous friends up to the subtle dualistic view, and bless us to easily develop every realization from guru devotion up to the path of no more learning and to pacify all outer and inner obstacles. I prostrate and go for refuge to the guru triple gem.
Please bless my mind. Please bless me and all sentient beings, my mothers, to stop all wrong views from disrespect to our virtuous friends up to the subtle dualistic view, and bless us to easily develop every realization from guru devotion up to the path of no more learning and to pacify all outer and inner obstacles. So as we say the next, the mantra, we think that the the mandala of the universe dissolves into the heart of Śākyamūni Buddha generating great bliss in the Buddha’s mind and therefore great merit in our mind. So now we’ll do it, because there’s not much time, unfortunately. We’ll just do a quick review meditation, a glance meditation on the path to enlightenment.
So as we to make it as effective as possible, if you can, as you’re reciting each verse, as one’s reciting it, think that white light is coming from the Buddha, eliminating all obstacles to gaining that particular understanding or realization. When it says please bless me, when it comes to that line, think that golden light comes from the Buddha actually blessing one to gain the realization. The foundation of all good qualities is the kind and perfect pure guru. Correct devotion to him is the root of the path. By clearly seeing this and applying great effort, please bless me to rely upon him with great respect.
Understanding that the precious freedom of this rebirth is found only once is greatly meaningful and is difficult to find again. Please bless me to generate the mind that unceasingly, day and night, takes its essence. This life is as impermanent as a water bubble. Remember how quickly it decays and death comes. After death, just like a shadow follows the body, the results of black and white karma follow.
Finding firm and definite conviction in this, please bless me always to be careful to abandon even the slightest negativities and accomplish all virtuous deeds. Seeking samsaric pleasures is the door to all suffering, they are uncertain and cannot be relied upon. Recognizing these shortcomings, please bless me to generate the strong wish for the bliss of liberation. Led by this pure thought, mindfulness, alertness, and great caution arise. The root of the teachings is keeping the pratimoksha vows.
Please bless me to accomplish this essential practice. Just as I have fallen into the sea of Samsāra, so have all mother migratory beings. Please bless me to see this, train in supreme bodhicitta, and bear the responsibility of freeing migratory beings. Even if I develop only bodhicitta, but I don’t practice the three types of morality, I will not achieve enlightenment. With my clear recognition of this, please bless me to practice the bodhisattva vows with great energy.
Once I have pacified distractions to wrong objects and correctly analyzed the meaning of reality, please bless me to generate quickly within my mind stream the unified path of calm abiding and special insight. Having become a pure vessel by training in the general path, please bless me to enter the holy gateway of the fortunate ones, the supreme vajra vehicle. At that time, the basis of accomplishing the two attainments is keeping pure vows and samaya. As I have become firmly convinced of this, please bless me to protect these vows and pledges like my life. Then, having realized the importance of the two stages, the essence of the vajrayana, by practicing with great energy, never giving up the four sessions, please bless me to realize the teachings of the holy Guru.
Like that, may the Gurus who show the noble path and the spiritual friends who practice it have long lives. Please bless me to pacify completely all outer and inner hindrances. In all my lives, never separated from perfect Gurus, may I enjoy the magnificent Dharma. By completing the qualities of the stages and paths, may I quickly attain the state of vajradhara. So we make the request to Śākyamūni Buddha in front of us.
Glorious and precious root guru, please abide on the lotus and moon seat on my crown, and taking care of me with your great kindness, bestow upon me the attainments of your holy body, speech, and mind. So think that as a result of that request, the, the lion throne on which the Buddha is seated dissolves into light. That light absorbs up into the lotus sun and moon. And the Buddha seated on these now comes towards us. And as he as the Buddha approaches us, the Buddha becomes smaller and smaller.
And then the Buddha eventually comes to the crown of our head, turns around to face the same direction as ourselves. Continue the practice after the break. We’ll just briefly dedicate now thinking of the Buddha above our crown. So if you turn to page seventeen, we will do the two dedications on page seventeen. Due to the merits of these virtuous actions, may I quickly attain the state of a Guru Buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state.
May the precious body mind, not yet born, arise and grow. May that born have no decline, but increase forevermore. Okay. Thank you. The way we went through the Lam Rim then, this prayer called the foundation of all good qualities or Yönten Shigyurma in Tibetan.
So that’s just the quick way where one just basically reads it. But as I said, Lama Zopa Rinpoche says even if you do that every day is fantastic to put the imprint of the whole Lam Rim in your mind every day. But if you can, as well as reading the whole thing, if there’s time to, like each day, reflect on each verse as much as one understands what the the verse is talking about. And of course the way to understand what each verse is talking about is to receive teachings on the lam rim. Some of you who have been doing the FPMT, as I said, program have received teachings on karma, what?
Death and rebirth, samsaric suffering and in the the student material for this course, there’s quite elaborate explanations of some parts of the the precious human rebirth meditation that the Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains, the the eight freedoms and ten endowments at least explains so one can reflect on those. So this becomes really very good if one can do that. Okay. So now it’s half past eleven. So it’s discussion time.
Right. So I’d like you just to discuss amongst yourself some things about Oh, is there a way to get into doing mantras and so rather than looking at them in a logical way? Well, I certainly don’t think they’re meant to be looked at in a logical way. You just do them. I don’t think well, what?
I don’t think it’s necessary to in fact I don’t think it’s helpful to expect any great experience to come from them. Some people may get that, but that’s not the point. I think as I mentioned, or maybe not in this course, but maybe it was in the Connecting to the Buddhas, the term my teacher Lama Zopa Rinpoche says the word mantra has the meaning, the connotation of mind protection. So while you’re reciting a mantra, you’re protecting your mind. You’re not you’re not trying to get some amazing experience happening.
In fact, the mind expecting some amazing experience is an obstacle to any experience happening. You’re just doing it because the the words have a meaning. They have a dharma meaning. They have, like, an actual meaning, whereas most of what we talk about is just rubbish. It doesn’t have any great meaning, any deep meaning.
Whereas mantras have a deep meaning, not necessarily in an intellectual way, but they correspond to qualities within or help resonate with positive qualities. So trying to concentrate on them is a protection for your mind. So that’s all you have to you know, you don’t have to worry about some amazing experience happening while you’re doing it or afterwards. Well, ignore that. Sorry.
It was terrific if you all have amazing experiences, but that’s not the point. That’s not the point. No. Yeah. Yes.
But I yeah. Yes. Well, yeah. Well, that’s see, that’s your mind doing things. So yeah.
So no. No. I’m trying to give you a hard time, but I’m just but that’s what we tend to do is we tend to think people, are having a much more amazing experience than they are or even even intend to convey. And then we compare what we’re doing and that’s pointless anyway to compare what other people are experiencing with what we’re experiencing. And actually there’s no real way to do that because what people say is happening doesn’t necessarily in any way capture what is actually happening for them.
And then we’re interpreting what all that anyway so that’s you know endless. Yeah. It’s it’s yes. I think yeah. Yes.
Yes. That’s the purpose. It resonates with like I said about, you know, with Lama and the pitchfork. Not pitchfork. The tuning fork that it helps, you know, that these qualities are within us, but reciting mantras helps to awaken, you know, activate that quality more than otherwise.
Yeah. That’s what it’s doing. So it may not be noticeable, but it’s starting because this is a long process. Right? But it’s helping to awaken those qualities and however much they’re already awakened to increase that, strengthen it, reinforce it.
Yeah. And but apart from all of that, it’s also just by reciting it, by as much as you concentrate on it, you’re keeping your mind in a virtuous state. So that itself is just a good thing. You know? So, you know, whenever the mind goes bananas, it’s always good to recite mantras to, you know, to, you know, let you rather than thinking about all this, recite a mantra is great.
It’s not because you can have an amazing experience, but it just just that is is good for the mind. And and while the mind is focusing on that, it’s more difficult for the mind to go into a negative state. So just that is a great thing. Yes. It can do those things.
Yeah. Yeah. Because your mind’s focused on something, so all the fears and worries. And, of course, it also depends if you have some faith in that mantra and the deity and, you know, it’s it’s many things. Yeah.
So of course if one doesn’t have any faith at all and expects somehow that this thing is going to do something for me just miraculously, not much is going to happen. But it really depends on having some faith in the Buddhas and these practices that have been practiced by people for many many many many hundreds of years and they’ve gained qualities and insights as a result. So any other questions? You find the backing group? I’ll cut it.
Yes, yes, Yes. Yes. Yes. That’s true. It is.
Yeah. I will do. I have to just organize it. Yeah. We’ll have a recording session.
We’ll see. Yeah. Have to organize a day and time to do this. Yes. There’s a whole lot of things that could be recorded, actually.
Yes. But any questions? Just for the next well, actually, we’re running over time now. Is there anything? Any terms, concepts, ideas?
Yeah. We Buddhists. Me who is a Buddhist, you eat meat, But we don’t. Buddhists like other people vary. There are good Buddhists, bad Buddhists, superlative Buddhists, ordinary Buddhists, extraordinary Buddhists, Buddhists who eat meat, and so on.
So, definitely, it’s it’s encouraged. Well, you know, not to. It’s best. You know, his holiness is very much in in encouraging people not to eat meat. But but he also, you know, he openly admits that he eats meat because he’s been advised by his doctor.
Because he he there’s a period when he didn’t. He and he got he got quite sick. And, you know, he does just so much. It’s just kind of amazing. But he says, it’s best if you don’t if you can, you know, and your health doesn’t suffer, then much, much, much, much, much better not to.
But if you do, then then, for example, it’s good to recite that mantra. It helps somehow. Meet. Yes. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. A bit. Yeah. But that’s another thing altogether, really.
But in general, it’s yeah. It’s it’s best not. It is said to be a obstacle to developing compassion. To do the lum rim, to meditate on the lum rim. Yes.
But yeah. But actually doing the Lam Rim is really in a sense no different than meditating on the breath because when you meditate on the you know, to meditate on the breath properly, you have to let go of everything which is not awareness of the breath. So meditating on the Lam Rim, you think about something, but in this case, you let go of anything which is not a thought about that topic. So in one sense, it’s the same. And in some senses, doing analytical meditation is easier because we like sinking.
We we think easily. So but it’s just a matter of training to think about that and and not drift off into other things that you know? And with everything about dealing with, you know, that that, I I think it’s really important to like, the motivation at the beginning of the session is so important. If we’ve really got our motivation strong and sincere, then that helps not to get distracted. Or when the distraction comes, we remind ourselves, I’m dedicating this time to all sentient beings, so how can I just let my mind think about this rubbish?
Alright. Oh, okay. One last one. Mhmm. Mhmm.
Yes. Oh, the four sessions just refers to in the tantric tradition, one does tantric retreats as opposed to sūtra retreats, you have to do four sessions of the of the the what is called the sadhana, the meditation on that deity. You you do four a day. Right? So here, it’s particularly referring to people who are at a very advanced level where basically their whole life is retreat.
So they’re doing four sessions every day, not just in a retreat, but their whole life kind of thing. But that’s what we’re aiming to do to be able to get to that point where we can, you know, do tantric practice and at least four sessions of it every day. Okay. So So we will start this session on page sixteen. Although we will do the refuge prayer again.
So we will start with the refuge prayer, the normal one that we do. So if you could turn to if you’re not familiar with it, go to the student material. Dimension we are on page sixteen we will do the Śākyamūni Buddha practice So we begin by sitting comfortably in the correct posture again as much as possible particularly paying attention to the positioning of our spine and the positioning of our head. We don’t want our head tilted down too much because this tends to make the mind or it encourages the mind to become dull and sleepy. If have our head lifted too high that tends to encourage the mind to become somewhat distracted.
Really it’s important to learn to pay attention to one’s posture particularly the positioning of the spine and head So then just check your posture for a very short time by moving your awareness from the crown of your head down through your body and as mentioned noticing those points of tension just and relaxing those. Then calming the mind with a nine round breathing exercise. And again if you find it helpful combining that with breathing out all ones disturbing thoughts, agitation and so on in the form of black smoke and with each in breath in the cycle breathing in this very soothing peaceful, calming white light with each in breath So then generating the mind of refuge in the triple gem and combining that with bodhicitta motivation for practicing. So in our last session we finished with the Buddha on the crown of our head. So this session we start recalling the Buddha seated on the lotus sun and moon above the crown of our head, the same direction as ourselves.
And think of all sentient beings surrounding you, starting with your mother on your left, father on your right, family, friends, and helpers behind, harmers in front. Then surrounding you, all human beings, beings trapped in the animal realms, in the preta realms, in the hell realms, all the beings in the different kinds of god realms. Also the Bardo beings, those in the intermediate state between death and rebirth. So recognizing one has a precious human rebirth, think that no matter what, I must use this precious human rebirth to work to give up the self-cherishing thought which has controlled my mind during beginningless time, but which has only been really a source of suffering to myself and others. And to and to use this precious human rebirth for what it what it’s really meant for, which is to awaken all my positive qualities and the ability to cherish others more than self, to attain enlightenment, to benefit all sentient beings.
I go for refuge until I’m enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma, the Supreme Assembly. By my practice of giving and other perfections, may I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings? So just reflect that once again during beginningless saṃsāra I’ve been controlled by the self-cherishing thought. I’ve been following, I’ve been motivated by the self-cherishing thought over and over again. And all that has resulted in is suffering.
Still remain a limited suffering being in cyclic existence. Whereas all those people who have given up the self-cherishing thought, trained to cherish others more than self, those beings who have been able to become bodhisattvas, have become buddhas, have freed themselves of all suffering, are experiencing peerless, everlasting happiness. So that peerless, everlasting happiness comes from awakening my potential to cherish others. So the greatest obstacle to that is my own self-cherishing thought. So generate that strong wish to be completely free of the self-cherishing thought and all its manifestations.
So make this heartfelt request to Śākyamūni Buddha on one’s crown to be free of all suffering and all the things that cause suffering, such as diseases, spirit harms, negative karma, all one’s delusions, all aspects of the self-cherishing thought. And make that request to be free of all these things, not just to be free of suffering, but to eliminate forever from one’s mind all the obstacles to being able to follow the path that is only for the benefit of others. So then as we recite the mantra, think that the Śākyamūni Buddha happily responds, sending from every part of his holy body this blissful white light, this intense blissful white light and nectar. So that pours down into us freeing us of all suffering, all the causes of suffering, all our delusions, negative karmic imprints, all our self-cherishing. Think all these negativities leave the mind in the form of black liquid, and that pours out through the lower part of our body, dissipates, becomes completely nonexistent, while our whole being becomes filled with this blissful white light and nectar.
So we’ll recite the mantra out loud for some time and then quietly to ourselves. So when you recite it to yourself quietly, try and do it fairly quickly but still pronouncing, enunciating each syllable of the mantra. To think that definitely my mind has now been purified of all negativities and causes of suffering. So now my mind is free to receive the blessings of the Buddha that will awaken, help awaken, and develop all my positive qualities and have the wish to be able to do that for the sake of all sentient beings. So now as we recite the mantra of Śākyamūni Buddha Think that blissful golden light and nectar flows from every pore of Śākyamūni Buddha’s body and that light and nectar flows into us, entering our body, our speech, our mind.
And so with this light and nectar, think that our our mind is blessed to receive all the qualities of the Buddha’s holy body, speech, mind because we have the potential for these things within us. In particular, concentrate on imagining that your mind has been transformed into the perfect understanding of the Buddha’s omniscient mind and that you have attained Buddha’s perfect compassion and perfect power. Think that as a result of the blessings of the Buddha, you become a perfect guide, able to fulfill the wishes of all sentient beings and to bring them every happiness, especially the highest happiness, the peerless, everlasting happiness of enlightenment. So think, due to the blessings of the blessings of the Buddha entering your mind in the form of this blissful white light and nectar Think that now your your compassion is fully awakened and that you feel strongly how the suffering of sentient beings is so unbearable. Feel how unbearable it is that even one sentient being must experience so many problems.
Try and feel that even one minute of suffering in saṃsāra is like the suffering of many eons. Generate a strong wish and determination to free every sentient being human, non human, friend, enemy, stranger from suffering and its causes. Not only that, feel how wonderful it would be to take completely upon yourself each being’s karma, delusions, sufferings, problems. And beyond even that, feel happy to take on as well the causes of suffering of all sentient beings in every realm of Samsāra and to give them the peerless happiness of ultimate liberation and complete enlightenment. Feel determined that you will live your life in this way, with a good heart, feeling great compassion and loving kindness for all sentient beings, and being committed to freeing them from all suffering and causes of suffering, and to bring them to the state of enlightenment.
Imagine that because you have generated this thought to benefit all beings, and because you are making your life worthwhile, imagine that the Buddha is extremely pleased with you. And the Buddha shows this pleasure by now melting into light. So the Buddha above your crown dissolves into this intense, blissful, golden light. And that light absorbs through the crown of your head down into you. As a result, your body, speech, and mind become inseparably one with Guru Śākyamūni Buddha’s holy body, speech, mind.
So think, in other words, that as this blissful light comes into you, this ordinary body that we’re grasping at as being me, that ordinary body just dissolves, disappears. This ordinary limited suffering body that is subject to aging and death, it just melts away. And what arises in its place is the subtle our most subtle physical energy manifests in the form of Śākyamūni Buddha, that we have a body, a hollow body of golden light, and we’re sitting on the lion throne, lotus sun and moon. Our body is adorned with the saffron robes. Our right hand is out arm is outstretched.
The right hand resting on the right knee, the fingers touching the moon disc underneath us. Our left hand is in the meditation posture, supporting a deep blue begging bowl, full of wisdom nectar. So try and imagine that we have become a Buddha exactly the same as Śākyamūni Buddha. Our Buddha potential is now manifesting in its completely. I think our ordinary mind is gone, and the the purest level of our mind is now manifesting as the enlightened mind of a Buddha, pervaded by great wisdom and compassion.
So now, as we recite the mantra, we think that from every pore out of great compassion, every pore of our body, our body, which is the golden light body of the Buddha, rays of light go out, reaching out to every sentient being, to our parents, family, friends, helpers, harmers, all human beings, all the beings of saṃsāra. Each ray goes out to each being. And it purifies them of all their suffering, all its causes. Imagine that as one continues to recite the mantra, each sentient being transforms from a suffering sentient being into a fully enlightened, blissful Buddha. That the whole of space becomes filled with Buddhas, and no sentient beings are left.
As you visualize yourself as a Buddha sending out the rays of light to the sentient beings, try and think of reflect on the sufferings that the beings of the different realms have to endure. And you think those rays of light go out from your body eliminating those sufferings and the causes of those sufferings. Imagine that all of the Buddha’s filling space dissolve into light. That golden light pours down into you. So then one can think that myself becoming a Buddha enlightening all sentient beings, this was only at the level of my imagination.
But I have the potential to become a Buddha. And as a Buddha, I have the potential to help enlighten all beings. So how wonderful if I could achieve that state. So I dedicate the merit of this practice to achieving enlightenment. Due to the merits of these virtuous actions, may I quickly attain the state of a Guru Buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state.
May the precious body mind, not yet born, arise and grow. May that born have no decline, but increase forevermore. Okay. Thank you. So please, if you haven’t collected your homework, please do so.
If you’ve got any to put in, put it in. And please fill out the forms. The satisfaction or dissatisfaction survey which is in the book and the completion form which was handed out separately at the beginning of the course. Okay, will a five minute break and then one more session. And could I borrow a pen from someone?
Has someone got a pen I could borrow? In comfortably in the correct posture as much as possible. Just briefly doing the nine round breathing exercise. So having that strong recognition that right now it is our own mind that’s giving rise to all our experience. And this is always the case.
It’s our mind that is giving rise to our suffering, our happiness. Understanding this, it becomes obvious if we want less suffering, more happiness, contentment, well-being. We have to take care of our mind. There’s no other way. And if we understand more and more that our mind is something that goes on forever, it will never ever ever cease giving rise to experiences, then in working with our mind we need a method which is complete perfect unbetrayal.
So such a method can only come from a perfect source which we recognize as the enlightened mind of the Buddha. So this is why we entrust ourselves to the Buddha, the Buddha’s teachings and the great practitioners of those teachings. The triple gem of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. So to help us take refuge we visualize Śākyamūni Buddha in front of us as the very object of the Three Jewels of refuge, the very embodiment of the Three Jewels of refuge, and at the same time, we think of all sentient beings surrounding us starting with our parents on either side, recognizing how they’re only kind but only suffering. And that the the real meaning of having a precious human rebirth is not just to not to chase after pleasure for oneself, not to achieve a good rebirth, not even to achieve liberation.
But the real purpose, the real meaning, the real essence of a precious human rebirth is using it to achieve its full potential, complete enlightenment, in order to repay the kindness of all these kind suffering mother sentient beings. So think, for this reason, today, this week, this month, this year, this life, and all my future lives, I will dedicate this to achieving enlightenment. I go for refuge until I’m enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Supreme Assembly. By my practice of giving and other perfections, may I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings. So then we do the seven-limb prayer.
I will do it slowly, a little bit in Tibetan this time. Also we will just stop briefly to do the rejoicing. I won’t explain it. Hopefully you remember how to do this. And then offering the mandala.
I prostrate and go for refuge to the guru triple gem. Please bless my mind. Please bless me and all sentient beings, my mothers, to stop all wrong views from disrespect to our virtuous friends up to the subtle dualistic view and bless us to easily develop every realization from guru devotion up to the path of no more learning and to pacify all outer and inner obstacles. So after each verse, I will stop just just for a few moments to to reflect on each verse. So we’ll do a little bit slower than last time.
The foundation of all good qualities is the kind and perfect pure Guru. Correct devotion to Him is the root of the path. By clearly seeing this and applying great effort, please bless me to rely upon him with great respect. Understanding that the precious freedom of this rebirth is found only once is greatly meaningful and is difficult to find again. Please bless me to generate the mind that unceasingly, day and night, takes its essence.
This life is as impermanent as a water bubble. Remember how quickly it decays and death comes. After death, just like a shadow, follows the body, the results of black and white karma follow. Finding firm and definite conviction in this, please bless me always to be careful, to abandon even the slightest negativities, and to accomplish all virtuous deeds. Seeking samsaric pleasures is the door to all suffering.
They are uncertain and cannot be relied upon. Recognizing these shortcomings, please bless me to generate the strong wish for the bliss of liberation. Led by this pure thought, mindfulness, alertness, and great caution arise. The root of the teachings is keeping the pratimoksha vows. Please bless me to accomplish this essential practice.
Just as I have fallen into the sea of Samsāra, so have all mother migratory beings. Please bless me to see this, train in supreme bodhicitta, and bear the responsibility of freeing migratory beings. Even if I develop only bodhicitta, but I don’t practice the three types of morality, I will not achieve enlightenment. With my clear recognition of this, please bless me to practice the Bodhisattva vows with great energy. Once I have pacified distractions to wrong objects and correctly analyzed the meaning of reality, please bless me to generate quickly within my mind stream the unified path of calm abiding and special insight.
So since the next the next verses are related to the tantric path, we’ll just go through these briefly. Just review them. Having become a pure vessel by training in the general path, please bless me to enter the holy gateway of the fortunate ones, the supreme vajra vehicle. At that time, the basis of accomplishing the two attainments is keeping pure vows and samaya. As I have become firmly convinced of this, please bless me to protect these vows and pledges like my life.
Then, having realized the importance of the two stages, the essence of the vajrayana, by practicing with great energy, never giving up the four sessions. Please bless me to realize the teachings of the holy Guru. Like that, may the Gurus who show the noble path and the spiritual friends who practice it have long lives. Please bless me to pacify completely all outer and inner hindrances. In all my lives, never separated from perfect gurus, may I enjoy the magnificent Dharma.
By completing the qualities of the stages and paths, may I quickly attain the state of vajradhara. To think that guru Śākyamūni Buddha in front of oneself is extremely pleased with one’s wish to follow the path, achieve enlightenment for the sake of others. And so because of this, the lion throne the Buddha is very pleased, and so the lion throne on which the Buddha is seated dissolves into light, absorbing up into the lotus sun and moon. And then Śākyamūni Buddha seated on these comes towards the crown of our head. And as the Buddha approaches, he becomes smaller and smaller.
And then when directly above our crown, the Buddha transform sorry, turns to face the same direction as our self. And we make this request, glorious and precious root guru, please abide on the lotus and moon seat on my crown, and taking care of me with your great kindness, bestow upon me the attainments of your holy body, speech and mind. So then, again, as we recite the mantra, just very briefly, that firstly the blissful white light in nature comes down, purifying us of all negativities, all suffering and its causes, all obstacles to following the path, our delusions and self-cherishing and so on. So now golden light and nectar flows from the Buddha down into us, blessing our mind to gain for all our positive potentials to awaken fully, especially the potentials of perfect wisdom, great love, and great compassion. So now think that the Śākyamūni Buddha dissolves into blissful golden light that pours down into oneself.
And due to the force of that, then this ordinary body that we are grasping at as me just dissolves, disappears. The the ordinary sense of I, all of that disappears, dissolves, and in its place, one the purest level of one one’s one’s being manifests as a Buddha exactly like Śākyamūni Buddha. So we have a body, a hollow body of golden light. We are seated cross legged on a on a moon disc, which is above a sun disc, which is above a lotus, which rests on the the lion throne, all in the nature of radiating light. We are wearing the saffron robes of a monk.
In our left hand, we hold a begging bowl full of wisdom nectar. Now the hair of our head is a deep blue color, and above it is the golden crowning uṣṇīṣa. Think that with our omniscient mind, free of all obstruction, we see the full extent of all sentient beings and their incredible suffering. So with great compassion from every pore of our body, we send out these rays of light that eliminate all that suffering, all its causes. Each sentient being transforms into a Buddha.
The whole of space becomes full of Buddhas as we recite the mantra. Now all the Buddhas filling all of space dissolve into blissful golden light, that blissful light pours into us from every direction dissolving into our heart. So think again that, actually, I have not achieved enlightenment. I haven’t enlightened all beings that was only done at the level of imagination. But I have the potential to achieve enlightenment and therefore the possibility of helping to enlighten all beings.
So it’s not just a fantasy. It can become a reality. So I dedicate the merits of this practice to making that possible, to becoming a Buddha in order to enlighten all beings. Due to the merits of these virtuous actions, may I quickly attain the state of a Guru Buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state. May the precious body mind not yet born arise and grow.
May that born have no decline but increase forevermore. Alright. So that was the so that was this text in half an hour. You see? Left some things out.
Instead of doing one verse three times, which is recommended, you can do it one time. So it’s not impossible. And of course, if you want to make it longer, you can make it longer, you can make it even shorter. So we can do this, we really can do it if we want, and we see the value, the importance of it, the benefit, especially of putting these wonderful thoughts and energies into our mind every day. You know, the chance to do that, we have almost never had the chance to do this before, not just in this life ever before.
Almost never have we done this. I mean, we have, but we’ve had gazillions and gazillions of lives. And, like, once once once every gorillion lives, we’ve been able to do this. So now we’ve got one of these once in a gazillion. So we have to really so we didn’t do so much with the other once in a grillions.
We have to really make this once in a gazillion chance really special because we can’t Because we’ve got all the other wants and ingredients to build on. We’ve got a ten minute break. I’ve never been taught one, but mostly do you have any like this. Usually, you hold it in your left hand. You don’t have to, but there are reasons for that.
But, yes, the left hand. Although, of course, know, Chenrezig reciting on Manipamyum, he holds his Mali in the right hand. And you you definitely pull them towards you. And there’s different reasons. You can use different fingers for different purposes which one you pull the beads with.
I usually use my thumb. But there’s particular energies related to each finger. So you’d pull it because you’re mentioning you’re pulling in this energy into as I’ve explained for people who come Thursday nights, when we do the lion-faced dakini mantra, which is about getting rid of obstacles, you do it the other way. You push the beads away because you imagine that you’re, you know, pushing all the obstacles away. But with every other mantra, you do towards you.
And ideally, of course, you’re supposed to hold it at your heart, but I don’t most of the time. You don’t have to do this bit. Don’t know I don’t know about that bit. Never heard this bit. And very, very, very strictly, you’re not even supposed to show this.
Don’t if you’ve ever seen like the what do call it? Who are they? Who are we what are those guys called? The dancing ones? Hare Krishnas.
Yes. If you see them, they have their mala in a bag, which actually very, very secret strictly, as a Buddhist one, should do. But I’ve I’ve only ever seen one lama do that, which was Geshe Sengge, who was the abbot of Sera Je monastery when he in Tibet. I when when I went with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Tibet, we met him there at at Sera, and he had a bag with his mala in it reciting. I’ve never ever seen anyone ever do that in the Tibetan tradition.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I don’t think I can’t remember if he had his hand in his bag bag, but he had the the mala in the bag and reciting. Yeah. But, yeah, that I don’t that’s not really necessary.
Definitely, the Tibetans are waving their malas all over the place. And they have huge ones, you know. But don’t ever become like Tibetan old ladies and old men who go, Om Mani Padme Om. So they’ve actually gone through one mala and recited about three mantras. And also meanwhile gossiping like anything about, you know, all sorts of stuff.
Anyway, now we have only got five minute break. I go for refuge until I’m enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the supreme assembly. By my practice of giving and other perfections, may I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings. So then one can imagine that Śākyamūni Buddha comes to one’s crown, dissolves into light and dissolves into you blessing your body, speech and mind. So now we apply the first opponent power which is necessary to begin to purify the mind.
So this is the power of regret. To think that almost every action I do twenty four hours a day is motivated by worldly concerns, the attachment to comfort of this life. It is like this from birth to death in this life and has been like that from beginningless rebirth. Nearly every action I have ever created has been non virtuous, the cause of suffering. Not only that, but continuously, I’ve been also been breaking my pratimoksha vows, bodhisattva vows, tantric vows.
Worst of all, I’ve created the heaviest of negative karmas in relation to my virtuous friends, my gurus, getting angry at them, generating wrong views, having nondevotional thoughts towards them, harming their holy body, disobeying their advice. So even if I haven’t done that in this life, I I may I must have done it in previous lives. Having these negative imprints on my mental continuum is unbearable. It’s as if I have swallowed a lethal poison. I must practice the antidote right away and purify all this negative karma immediately without a second’s delay.
Especially thinking that if I don’t purify these imprints, when they ripen, they will only bring suffering to myself. But even before they ripen, right now these negative imprints are obscuring my mind. And with an obscured mind, it’s so difficult to develop faith in the Buddha even to meet it, to have faith in it, to understand it, practice it, and gain the authentic experiences. So having these negative imprints is is such an obstacle to following the spiritual path. Let alone, the fact that when these imprints ripen, they will bring so much suffering.
But I also think that already many people my age or younger have died. So it’s a miracle that I’m still alive and have this incredible opportunity to purify my negative karma. Death is certain, but the time of my death is uncertain, it’s unsure. I could die today, and if I were to die right now, I would probably be born in the lower realms. Because I couldn’t practice the Dharma there, I would remain in the lower realms for countless eons.
Therefore, how unbelievably fortunate I am to be able to purify my negative karma right now without even a second’s delay by practicing the Vajrasattva meditation recitation. But especially think I’m not practicing this Vajrasattva purification for myself alone just to free myself from suffering. The purpose of my life is to release all hell beings, pretas, animals, humans, asuras, suras, and intermediate state beings from all their suffering and its causes, and to lead them to unsurpassed enlightenment. In order to do this, I must first reach enlightenment myself. Therefore, I must purify all my negative karma immediately by practicing the Vajrasattva meditation recitation.
So think that because of these strong opponent powers of generating regret and the opponent power of reliance on refuge and bodhicitta think that out of great compassion, the dharmakaya, the enlightened mind of all the Buddhas now manifests as the deity, the Buddha Vajrasattva, above the crown of my head. So firstly there appears just a few sentient beings above my crown an incredibly beautiful white lotus of transparent radiating light. Above the lotus, just a little bit smaller in diameter, lying horizontally above the lotus, a pure white moon disc. And seated above the center of the moon disc is the incredibly beautiful magnificent form of Vajrasattva, having a hollow body of pure white light, A body that appears extremely magnificent and beautiful and youthful. He is seated with his legs crossed in the vajra position.
He has one face, two arms. The right hand is holding the vajra at his heart and in his left hand he holds a bell resting on his left thigh. He is adorned with the six jeweled ornaments symbolic of the six perfections. So he, on his well, he has his hair is a deep blue color. Some is tied in knots above his crown, some hanging loosely over his shoulders.
And he wears, the the five pointed jewel crown, jeweled earrings, three rows of necklaces, armlets and bracelets, a jewel belt, and anklets. His lower body is adorned with a silk like robe of many different colors, and he has similar silk like scarves over his shoulders. So Vajrasattva represents the pure mind of all the Buddhas and represents the indestructible purity of mind itself. So think that at Vajrasattva’s heart, at the heart chakra, a small white moon disc standing at the center of the moon disc, upright, is a white syllable hum and then standing upright around the edge of the moon disc are the hundred syllables of the Vajrasattva mantra. They are white in color and they radiate this blissful white light and nectar.
Firstly we make a heartfelt request to Vajrasattva on our crown for our mind to be purified of all the negative imprints generated when we engage in negative actions of our body, such as killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct which we’ve engaged in in this life and in all past lives. Think that as we recite the mantra, this blissful light and nectar flows from all the syllables. It flows down inside Vajrasattva’s body and then pours out from the lower part of his body in into us through the crown of our head and fills our whole body. And as it does so, at the same time, imagine that all these negative imprints created from negative physical actions leave the mind in the form of black liquid. And this black liquid pours out from the lower part of our body, dissipates, becomes completely nonexistent, and we feel that our whole being is is in the nature of this blissful radiating white light energy.
So we’ll recite one mantra out loud, and if you can manage six more quietly to oneself. So then make a heartfelt request to Guru Vajrasattva for one’s mind to be completely free of all the negative imprints generated in this and past lives when we engage in negative actions of speech such as lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, meaningless idle gossip. Again, we recite the mantra, think that Vajrasattva happily sends this blissful light and nectar down into us. And this time we have visualized that it flows into us through the crown of our head, fills our body from the lower part upwards like a cup being filled, and at the same time, the negative imprints leave our mind in the form of black liquid. This black liquid floats above the white light and nectar.
So as that, rises up through our body, it pushes the the black liquid out through the crown of our head, which again dissipates, becomes nonexistent. Once again, we imagine our whole being filled with this blissful white light and nectar. So especially if you can try and get this sense of experiencing bliss coming into your mind from Vajrasattva, at least imagine that it’s happening, that one’s whole being is one’s whole body and mind becomes extremely light, free of pain. It loses all you know, the body loses all sense of heaviness, becomes very light, very blissful, and the mind also all the heaviness in the mind, the darkness, confusion is gone. The mind becomes imagine the mind becoming very light, very clear, incredibly spacious, and blissful because all that negativity is gone.
So then make a heartfelt request to Vajrasattva for one’s mind to be free of all the negative imprints generated in this and past lives due to engaging in negative actions of mind itself which are generating the thoughts of covetousness, ill will and wrong views. So as we recite the mantra, think that Vajrasattva again very happily responds, sending this bliss this time from every syllable of the mantra and the HUM at his heart. These intense rays of light, like bolts of lightning flash out, and instantly all those negative imprints are eliminated from the mind. And again, imagine that that experience is incredibly blissful. So then think that from the crown of your head, Vajrasattva says to you directly, child of the lineage, your negativities, obscurations, broken and damaged pledges have been completely purified.
So generate that strong faith that I have definitely purified my mind. So we now apply the fourth opponent power. Doing the Vajrasattva practice is the third opponent power of remedy. Now the fourth opponent power is applying the resolution. So again think of the different negative actions one tends to engage in this life.
Those which are naturally negative such as the ten non virtues or the breaking of commitments and vows and so on. And then think check carefully if I put real effort and are really conscientious about it how long could I avoid these actions? So you think of the different actions how long you could avoid each one if one put real effort into it and then make the commitment to Vajrasattva Making that commitment, that promise that I will avoid this action for this period of time I will avoid this action for this period of time. Think that Guru Vajrasattva is extremely pleased with your commitment and shows this by now melting into blissful white light. That light dissolves into us.
Think our body, speech, and mind become inseparably one with the holy body, speech, and mind of Vajrasattva. And then meditate that in emptiness, in the actual one is experiencing the true nature of oneself and phenomena, where everything is empty of inherent existence, empty of existing from its own side, in emptiness, there is no I, a creating negative karma. In emptiness, there is no action of creating negative karma. In the state of emptiness, there is no negative karma created. Reflect that in fact all phenomena are empty.
They don’t exist from their own side, under their own power, independently. So with this awareness of emptiness, we now dedicate the merit of doing this purification practice. We dedicate the merit of our whole day retreat. We dedicate the merit of the whole course that we’ve we’ve participated in of establishing a daily practice and all the efforts during the week, these these eight weeks to establish a daily practice. We dedicate all that merit.
Yes. So maybe we can do it in Tibetan this time, the dedication prayer. May the precious body mind not yet born arise and grow, may that born have no decline but increase forevermore. So now we can go to page eighteen of our Śākyamūni Buddha text. So we can read these quickly: Whatever suffering sentient beings experience, may it ripen on me.
Whatever merit and its resulting happiness I have accumulated, may it ripen upon others. May the glorious Guru’s lives be long and stable. May all beings equaling the extent of space have happiness. May I and others without exception accumulate merit and purify negativities, and may we be blessed to quickly attain Buddhahood. Due to the merits of the three times created by me, by others, and by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, may we be able to meet perfectly qualified Mahāyāna virtuous friends in all our future lives.
From our side, may we always see them as enlightened. May we always perform only actions most pleasing to the holy mind of the virtuous friends. May we always be able to fulfill their holy wishes immediately. Because of these merits, may my actions never cause even the slightest harm to any sentient being, instead may they bring only the greatest benefit. Whatever suffering or happy life I experience, may it be only of the greatest benefit to others, causing them to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.
Due to all the merits of the three times accumulated by me and by others, merely by seeing, hearing, remembering, touching, or talking to me, may any being be freed in that very second from all their sufferings, diseases, spirit harms, negative karmas and obscurations, and abide in the peerless happiness of full enlightenment forever. Like Lama Tsongkhapa, may I be able to offer extensive benefits, equaling the limitless sky to all sentient beings and the teachings of Buddha from now on in all future lives by having all the qualities of Lama Tsongkhapa within me. Just as the brave Mañjuśrī and Samantabhādra too realize things as they are, I dedicate all these virtues in the best way that I may follow their perfect example. Whatever dedication the victorious ones gone to bliss of the three times have admired as best, I shall also perfectly dedicate in the same way all these roots of virtue, so that I may perform good works, Due to the merits which are empty from their own side, accumulated over the three times by me and by the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, may I, who is empty from my own side, achieve the state of Śākyamūni Buddha’s enlightenment which is empty from its own side, and lead all sentient beings who are empty from their own side to that state as quickly as possible by myself alone.
Because of the past, present and future merit created by me and all the Buddhas, bodhisattvas and sentient beings. May I, my family, disciples and all sentient beings be able to actualize completely in this very lifetime, Lama Tsongkhapa’s path of unified sūtra and tantra, which is pure like refined gold. May this pure teaching of Lama Tsongkhapa spread in all directions and flourish forever because of all the merits of the three times created by me and all Buddhas and bodhisattvas and other sentient beings. No wars, famines, disease, quarreling, fighting or unhappy minds. May there be great prosperity and may everything needed be easily obtained.
May all the human beings in the world be guided by spiritual leaders teaching only Dharma and may everyone enjoy the happiness of Dharma. May everyone have perfect conditions and have only compassion and love for each other in their mind streams, and may they only benefit and never harm each other. So then we’ll do the long life prayers for his holiness, the Dalai Lama, for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the the spiritual head of this center and the whole FPMT organization. And then on the neck oh, that’s it. Right.
You who uphold the subdue as moral way, who serve as the bountiful bearer of all, sustaining, preserving, and spreading Mañjuśrī’s victorious doctrine, who masterfully accomplished magnificent prayers honoring the Three Jewels, Savior of myself and others, your disciples, please, please live long. That’s it. Thank you everyone. I hope you found it beneficial to some degree or to a large degree. If not, you can complain to the management.
Don’t complain to me. So, okay. Now is this now is the you get your wonderful, wonderful certificate, which I have to point out is a is a certificate of participation. It only shows you participated in everything, not that you understood a single word or passed or anything like that. You just participated.
But that is itself terrific. Judy, thank you. Round of applause. Michelle? Okay, that’s Judy’s.
And Michelle is round of applause. Margaret. Oh, the the rounds of applause are deafening. Just Cheryl. Cheryl.
Have you put in your I don’t think you’ve done this completion card. But, no, she doesn’t get around or withdraw. Christina, well, you haven’t where’s your completion? Oh, didn’t oh, sorry. Christine, you have to do the completion card form.
Okay. John. John. Yes. Thank you.
Danny and Maggie. Oh, could someone give me a pen for one second? Just chuck. Chuck it. Chuck it.
Thank you. Thank you. Okay. That’s it. So we don’t as I’ve said before, we don’t do prostrations because it’s the end of the course.
So auspicious for us to continue to meet in the dharma. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So