Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 21-minute session, Ven Thubten Dondrub guides practitioners through Day 4 prayers and meditations on exchanging self with other, a cornerstone of Śāntideva’s method for generating bodhicitta. He opens with the crucial preliminary step: equalizing oneself with all sentient beings, grounded in the recognition that there is no fundamental difference between self and others. The session weaves together refuge prayers, visualization of Śākyamūni Buddha, contemplation of the four immeasurable thoughts, and a detailed Lam Rim meditation on the graduated path. Each stage progressively addresses obstacles to practice through requests to the Buddha, clearing obscurations, and blessing the mind to meditate effectively on bodhicitta and the path to enlightenment. Suited for practitioners already familiar with Buddhist foundations.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 15a. Day 4 Prayers for Meditation Exchanging Self with Other.mp3
UUID: dc266baf-340c-42b2-8dc5-e37e90d44700
Teacher: Ven Thubten Dondrub
Collection: Meditations DTL (Ven Thubten Dondrub)
Date: 2006 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 21.2 minutes
Words: ~1,545
Generating bodhicitta. But we’ll do the first part of that tonight briefly which is the first stage of his or the unique stage of his method which is the practice of training to equalise ourselves with others, seeing ourselves as no different fundamentally to any other sentient being because we have to have that mind to be able to exchange ourselves with others, which is the heart of Śāntideva’s method. While we think we are are somehow different or better, then we really can’t generate complete loving kindness or compassion and therefore bodhicitta is not really possible. Of course, to actually be able to the basis also of the Lojong method, either went through the seven cause and effect instructions of bodhicitta through the Lojong method, but for those to work we have to, of course, realise renunciation and equanimity. And same with the Lojong method, we need to have meditated on and achieved some realisation where we see all others, friends, strangers and harmers as basically equally deserving of happiness.
So beyond that is the stage of equalising ourselves. We’ve equalised everyone else, but then we have to be able to equalise ourselves with everyone else. So that’s the next major step and the first step of Śāntideva’s unique method or the unique step in Śāntideva’s method. So we start with prayers as usual on the morning prayers on page twenty what is it? Twenty nine.
Twenty four, twenty five. And then in the Lam Rim section, we’ll go through the Foundation of All Good Qualities, which is on page seventeen. Section page seventeen. So again, we begin by sitting as comfortably as possible in the correct Vairocana posture, paying particular attention to the positioning of our spine and the positioning of our head and placing our awareness at the crown and moving it down through the body for a short time just to further check out our posture, fine tune it, note any points of tension that we can perhaps begin to dissolve. And then calming the mind with nine round breathing exercise, joining it with the visualization of the blessings coming with each in breath and all negativities and obstacles leaving in the form of black smoke with each out breath.
And then generating the strong devotional mind of refuge, wishing to gain mastery of the mind, and having that faith that the qualities of the Buddhadharma and Sangha are completely perfect, complete unbetrayable, especially putting our faith in the central refuge of the the Dharma coming from the enlightened mind of the Buddha. This is what we can follow wholeheartedly. Because it cannot harm our mind and and only benefit our mind. So to strengthen out that thought of refuge, we visualize Śākyamūni Buddha as the very embodiment of all qualities of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, Imagining the Buddha appearing on a lion throne with cushions of light of sun and moon with a magnificent body of golden light appearing as a pure and undeceiving embodiment of wisdom and compassion. So in that basic mind of refuge, we cultivate the bodhicitta thought, which is the Mahāyāna refuge, seeking to practice so that we can eventually realize all the qualities of the enlightened mind so that we need to benefit others perfectly to repay their kindness.
We generate this mind of bodhicitta by recognizing that we have Buddha potential within us. We can achieve enlightenment. Why we need to achieve enlightenment is because it fulfills our own wish for perfect happiness, but also because as we purify our mind more and more, we become aware more and more how we depend so much on others in every way from ordinary samsaric ways and in dharma ways as well. We completely depend on others. And the amazing thing is sentient beings are always there offering their support and kindness and encouragement and skills.
They’ve been our mother many times, But, unfortunately, all these kind beings are trapped in suffering and continuously creating the cause for more cyclic existence. So I have to help these beings repay their kindness in the very best way by guiding them to enlightenment. So to strengthen that thought as much as possible, we try to feel the presence of all sentient beings surrounding us, starting with our parents on either side, family, friends, helpers behind us, harms in front, and then all other beings. So thinking of all beings surrounding us, we contemplate the four measurable thoughts. May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May all sentient beings be inseparable from the happiness that is free from suffering. May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from desire for friends and hatred for enemies. Reverently, I prostrate with my body, speech, and mind. I present clouds of every type of offering, actual and imagined.
I declare all my negative actions accumulated since beginning this time and rejoice in the merit of all holy and ordinary beings. Please remain until the end of cyclic existence and turn the wheel of Dharma for living beings. I dedicate my own merits and those of all others to the great enlightenment. Thinking Śākyamūni Buddha is very pleased with this, We imagine that the lion throne dissolves into light, and then the Buddha seated on the moon, the light of sun and moon, comes to the crown of our head and turns facing the same direction as ourselves. And then we make a strong heartfelt request to the guru buddha for our mind to be completely free of all disturbing thoughts, negative imprints, obscurations, all the hindrances that we experience in practicing the Dharma, meditating on the graduated path, and in particular, on the hindrances that we have, meditating on bodhicitta, Śāntideva’s method, and and realizing it.
So then the Śākyamūni Buddha happily responds, sending powerful stream of white light and nectar from his heart into us, causing all those obstacles to leave the mind in the form of very thick black liquid pours out from the lower part of our body dissipating and becoming nonexistent. And then from Śākyamūni’s heart, there streams this blissful golden light and nectar flowing into us, blessing our mind to be able to meditate correctly, single pointedly, effectively on this method and gain and blessing us to gain the actual realization of Bodhicitta. So then we do the Lam Rim meditation, page seventeen, the Lam Rim section. The foundation of all good qualities is the kind and venerable 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 as 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 saṃsāra, 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 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 pacify distractions to wrong objects and correctly analyze 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 samayas like my life.
Then, having realised 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, as 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.