Edited and condensed from a talk during Medicine Buddha Puja

by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, LMB, 28 July 2001

"To the Bhagawan with equal compassion for all
Whose name when just heard dispels lower realms' suffering
Dispeller of disease and the three poisons
I prostrate to Medicine Buddha Lapis Light."

The Fifth Dalai Lama explains that the first verse expresses what Medicine Buddha is and talks about the qualities. Bhagawan means "Destroyer Qualified Gone Beyond One" or Chom Den De in Tibetan. "Destroyer" means not only destroyer of one's own gross and subtle defilements, the delusions, but also destroyer of other sentient beings' delusions and defilements. "Qualified" refers to six qualities. "Gone Beyond" means gone beyond the oceans of samsaric suffering. "With equal compassion for all" means Medicine Buddha's compassion is equal towards all sentient beings, there are no discriminating thoughts. Buddha doesn't just help those who have faith in him. Medicine Buddha has compassion to every single living being, equally-and that includes us. Then, "Whose name when just heard dispels lower realms' suffering".

Any living being who hears the name of Medicine Buddha never gets reborn in the lower realms-that's the benefit, the power of just hearing the name, the mantra. Buddha asked his attendant Ananda: "Do you believe this?" and Ananda replied, "Yes I believe what the Buddha says." Then Buddha said "Why?" Ananda replied, "Because Buddha has inconceivable qualities, therefore I have no doubt." Then Buddha said, "Even animals who hear Medicine Buddha's name from that time on will never be reborn in the lower realms." This is such an easy way to save living beings from heavy suffering. There's no question about animals having faith in Medicine Buddha's power-so how can there be any doubt that human beings who hear Medicine Buddha's mantra will never again be reborn in the lower realms, whether they have faith or not? Just hearing the name is enough, so when people are dying one of the best things to do is to recite the name loudly in the ear, then you save the person from the suffering of the lower realms for many aeons. The reason there is so much power is due to Medicine Buddha's compassion. In the past when he was a bodhisattva he made so many prayers and dedications with strong compassion for his name to be wish fulfilling, to bring happiness.

When he became enlightened, one of the ten powers of a Buddha is the power of prayer - that means that all the prayers that have been made get fulfilled. So it is extremely important in our daily life to practice Medicine Buddha and to chant his name for the animals. It's an unbelievably easy way to liberate yourself and to help others too.

If you eat meat, recite the mantra of Medicine Buddha and blow over the meat. This way the animal's negative karma gets purified. No matter how far away the consciousness is it receives the effect and helps the animal to a higher rebirth. Also, if you find insects in the house, by reciting the mantra and blowing on them it purifies their negative karmas and helps them to have a good rebirth. That fulfils the purpose of them coming into your house, into your room. It makes their life meaningful and since you are able to benefit them it makes your life meaningful also.

Some years ago I did retreat in Big Sur in America, in a cabin near the water. Many ants used to come into the kitchen. So I sent three tsa-tsas (images of Buddha) to the cooks and told them each time they found ants or insects in the house to put them in a plastic bag - don't seal it - or container, then hold the tsa-tsa in one hand and with the other hand circumambulate the bag clockwise at the same level as the tsa-tsa. With each circumambulation all the ants create the cause for enlightenment, and by the way the cause for liberation from samsara and by the way the cause for all the happiness of future lives for hundreds of thousands of lifetimes. This is such an easy way to help them, to liberate them. Since that time whenever we see insects in the house we try to take them around holy objects a few times. By coming into the house they make us do the best practice - helping others. They make our lives meaningful and we make their lives meaningful. We help each other.

Medicine Buddha practice also purifies any broken vows, like Pratimoksha vows, or precepts. It is very powerful for purification and for healing sickness. Normally people think that Medicine Buddha is for healing but it's not only that, it's also very powerful for purifying negative karma and very powerful for success. When I was in Germany I read the Medicine Buddha Sutra and actually the Medicine Buddha practice is so precious. It seems that you can do Medicine Buddha Puja for ANY purpose, ANY problem, ANYTHING. You can use the Medicine Buddha practice for any kind of problem, for court cases, to stop wars, to stop violence, anything. It is very good for business, for mothers who are pregnant to give birth successfully, anything.

The practice can be done for anything. It is very powerful for success and of course the most important success is to have the realizations of the Lam Rim, the path to enlightenment: to realize emptiness, develop wisdom, bodhicitta and guru devotion - to be able to give extensive benefit to other sentient beings.

Many of the Dharma kings in Tibet who did great benefit to preserve and spread the Dharma practised Medicine Buddha on every 8th day of the Tibetan month (that's the same as Tara day) and also on the fifteen special days of the Buddha performing miracles (the first fifteen days of the first Tibetan month). Recently I read a detailed explanation by the Fifth Dalai Lama on the Medicine Buddha practice, both sutra and tantra, and the biographies of the lineage lamas. Each one was able to give so much benefit to sentient beings and the teachings of Buddha and had great realizations by doing Medicine Buddha practice.

For example, Lha Lama Yeshe Oe, the Dharma king who invited Lama Atisha to Tibet did Medicine Buddha practice as a main deity and was able to establish many monasteries with extensive listening, reflection and meditation practice. He sacrificed his life to spread pure Dharma in Tibet by inviting Lama Atisha. When he went to look for gold as an offering, he was captured and put in prison near Nepal where he passed away. When they offered fire to his holy body rainbow lights were emitted and there were rainfalls of flowers for seven days. Then a Medicine Buddha, the size of a thumb, appeared from his heart and went to Pure Land. The sky was filled with the sound of music and there were so many wonderful signs. All the lineage lamas of Medicine Buddha did Puja on the 8th of every month, had incredible realizations and when they passed away there were wonderful signs like this king Lha Lama Yeshe Oe.

"Dispeller of disease and the three poisons" - the three poisons are ignorance, hatred and attachment, the sicknesses of the mind from which come the physical sicknesses-cancer, depression, etc.

"I prostrate to Medicine Buddha Lapis Light."

Medicine Buddha's mantra is: tayatha om bekandze bekandze maha bekandze radza samudgate soha.

Tayatha - means "like this". Om - is composed of the three pure sounds A U and MA, which signifies one's own body, speech and mind that get transformed into the vajra holy body, speech and mind. Then bekandze bekandze -"eliminating pain, eliminating pain". What eliminates pain is medicine. This pain is not ordinary pain - even animals do not want to experience that. The first eliminating pain is true suffering, the second is the true cause of suffering. The medicine that eliminates pain is first the graduated path of the lower capable being, and second the graduated path of the middle capable being. Then maha bekandze -"the great eliminating pain" is the graduated path of the higher capable being, which eliminates the subtle defilements. So bekandze bekandze maha bekandze contains the whole path to enlightenment, the ultimate medicine. Radza - is king. Samudgate. Soha - to establish the foundation in the heart, the blessing, the devotion from which the realization comes.

By actualising the meaning of the path contained in bekandze bekandze maha bekandze, the whole Lam Rim, you cease the defilements, gross and subtle, and purify the ordinary body, speech and mind into the vajra holy body, speech and mind. After this you are able to do perfect works for other sentient beings.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche on the Medicine Buddha Puja

The following is advice that Lama Zopa Rinpoche originally composed for Land of Medicine Buddha, but Rinpoche would also like as many centers as possible to do these pujas and offerings.

"It is very important that the elaborate Medicine Buddha puja with extensive offerings be done regularly. The offering should be as extensive and as beautiful as possible, and done in order to benefit all FPMT.

Medicine Buddha puja is also something that can be done for people who are dying or who have already passed away, and also for individual success in all kind of activities. This Medicine Buddha practice is extremely powerful and beneficial especially when it is done with extensive offerings beautifully arranged.

It is always the case that there are many students that have no time or very little time to do practice, always too busy. Such people can be encouraged to make regular offerings from their wages for the Medicine Buddha puja, i.e. towards the extensive offerings. In this way they are able to create merit, and as they know it is happening regularly, from their home they can mentally make the offerings to the Guru Triple Gems. Even they can do the mental offerings in their car or the office. This is a very good way to help the center to develop and also help the individual's Dharma practice.

Traditionally wealthy Tibetan families would have a monk or a nun doing this in their home and taking care of a beautiful altar, and making beautiful offerings as the family had no time. They would offer at least one hundred waterbowls etc. The offerings can be beautiful and extensive, include flowers, etc. This is also very good if it can happen at many of our centers, where someone who has the time and energy can do puja and the offerings for those who have no time and energy, and they in turn can be supported in doing this.

It would be excellent if the extensive Medicine Buddha could be done every week, at least once a month. If sometimes the extensive one is too long, the short Wisdom booklet one can be done. Of course other people can come to the puja, as many people as possible. There is a Medicine Buddha sutra, which can be recited. It is unbelievable inspiring to read. It explains the benefits of the Medicine Buddha practice. If that was available, that could be read occasionally.

The Benefits of Chanting "om mani padme hum"
Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Excerpted from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s invitation to join the Chenrezig Institute mani retreat, composed by Rinpoche during a stay at Deer Park Buddhist Center in Madison, Wisconsin, USA in July 2000, scribed and edited by Ven. Lhundup Damchö; excerpt edited by Dr. Nick Ribush. Rinpoche’s entire teachings at the retreat have been edited by Ven. Ailsa Cameron and will be published for free distribution by the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive in Teachings from the Mani Retreat, due in late 2001.

The benefits of reciting the Compassion Buddha mantra are infinite, like the limitless sky.

Even if you don’t have much intellectual understanding of Dharma, even if the only thing you know is om mani padme hum, still the happiest life is one lived with an attitude free of the eight worldly concerns. If you live your life with the pure attitude free of attachment clinging to this life and simply spend your life chanting om mani padme hum—this six-syllable mantra that is the essence of all Dharma—that’s the purest Dharma.

It looks very simple, very easy to recite. But if you think of the benefits, it’s not at all simple. Here, I’d to mention just the essence of its infinite benefits.

Reciting the Compassion Buddha mantra just once completely purifies the four defeats of breaking the four root vows of self-liberation and the five uninterrupted negative karmas¹.

It is also mentioned in the tantras that by reciting this mantra you achieve the four qualities of being born in the Amitabha Buddha pure land and other pure lands; at the time of death, seeing Buddha and lights appearing in the sky; the devas making you offerings; and never being reborn in the hell, hungry ghost or animals realms. You will be reborn in the pure land of Buddha or as a happy transmigratory being.

When one who recites ten malas a day goes swimming, whether in a river, an ocean or some other body of water, the water that touches that person’s body gets blessed.

It is said that up to seven generations of that person’s descendents won’t get reborn in the lower realms. The reason for this is that due to the power of mantra, the body is blessed by the person reciting the mantra and visualizing their body in form of the holy body of Chenrezig. Therefore, the body becomes so powerful, so blessed that this affects the consciousness up to seven generations and has the effect that if one dies with a non-virtuous thought, one is not reborn in a lower realm.

Thus, when a person who has recited ten malas of om mani padme hum a day goes into a river or an ocean, the water that touches the person’s body gets blessed, and this blessed water then purifies all the billions and billions of sentient beings in the water. So it’s unbelievably beneficial; this person saves the animals in that water from the most unbelievable suffering of the lower realms.

When such a person walks down a road and the wind touches his or her body and then goes on to touch insects, their negative karma gets purified and causes them to have a good rebirth. Similarly, when such a person does massage or otherwise touches others’ bodies, those people’s negative karma also gets purified.

Such a person becomes meaningful to behold; being seen and touched becomes a means of liberating other sentient beings. This means that even the person’s breath touching the bodies of other sentient beings purifies their negative karma. Anybody who drinks the water in which such a person has swum gets purified.

We are unbelievably fortunate to have met the Dharma and to have the opportunity to do recitation and meditation on the Compassion Buddha. It is an easy way of purifying whatever negative karma we have collected, in not only this life but in many previous lives as well.

Because we have met the Buddhadharma, and especially this method--the practice of Compassion Buddha and recitation of his mantra--it is easy to purify negative karma and collect extensive merit and thus to achieve enlightenment. We are unbelievably fortunate.

Therefore, there is nothing more foolish than not taking advantage of this great opportunity. Normally, we get continuously distracted and waste our lives. Not only that, but all the actions done with ego and with the three poisonous minds of anger, attachment and ignorance create negative karma, the cause of suffering. In all existence, there is nothing more foolish than using this perfect human body to create only suffering.

In places such as Tibet, Nepal, India and Ladakh, there’s a well-established tradition of doing the Compassion Buddha retreat and reciting 100 million om mani padme hum mantras. The one held at Chenrezig Institute was the first such retreat held in the West and the first in the FPMT organization. This is to happen there once each year—only once each year!

If you’re feeling guilt in your life, you can overcome this through the purification of attending this retreat.

The retreat is not just chanting mantras with sadhanas, but also includes taking the Eight Mahayana Precepts, if not every day, at least frequently. Whatever merit you collect that day increases 100,000 times. This becomes such an easy and quick way to purify, collect extensive merit, achieve enlightenment and liberate sentient beings from unimaginable suffering and bring them to enlightenment quickly.

Whoever attends a mani retreat is unbelievably fortunate. Even if you can’t attend the whole retreat, you can participate for two months, one month or at least a few weeks. You can do even just one week. I especially hope this retreat will also be established in Mongolia, since their main food is meat and so many animals are killed there every day. This practice helps purify that. After our temple in Mongolia has been built, I hope that thousands of people will attend mani retreats there. Gradually too, I would like this retreat to be established in other parts of the West.

This retreat also blesses the country where it is held and brings so much peace, happiness and prosperity.

Even if you know the teachings on how to meditate on bodhicitta, you still need to receive the special blessings of the deity, Compassion Buddha. You receive these by doing the meditation and recitation we practice in the mani retreat. Therefore, recitation of om mani padme hum is one way to actualize bodhicitta--to transform your mind into bodhicitta and make your meditation on bodhicitta effective.

Generally, according to my experience, in my home of Solu Khumbu in the Himalayas of Nepal, there are people who live their lives chanting om mani padme hum but have no idea of the three principal aspects of the path--renunciation, bodhicitta and the right view of emptiness--not even the words. Even though they can’t read and don’t even know the alphabet, they have great devotion to compassion and bodhicitta and live their lives reciting om mani padme hum. Such people are warm-hearted, very kind, very compassionate. This is proof from my experience that it has the effect of transforming the mind into a good heart and compassion.

Without bodhicitta, you cannot cause all the happiness for all sentient beings. You cannot do perfect work for all sentient beings, and you cannot achieve the complete qualities of the realizations and cessation, even for yourself.

Thus, everyone is most welcome to join the 100 million om mani padme hum mantra retreat.

Footnotes
1. These are karmas so heavy that they ripen immediately as a rebirth in the hell realm upon the exhaustion of the karma of this life. The five are: killing one’s mother, killing one’s father, drawing the blood of a Buddha, killing an arhat and causing disunity among the Sangha.

The Practice of Ksitigarbha to Avert Danger and Purify Obstacles

The Practice

It is good to recite daily the sutra prayer (after the mantra) praised by Buddha to Ksitigarbha and the prayer that I have added below.

"I prostrate, go for refuge, make offerings, please grant blessing. The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, who has unbearable compassion for me and all sentient beings whose minds are obscured and who are suffering, who has qualities like the sky and liberates sentient beings from all the sufferings and gives all the happiness." (x 3)

With hands folded in prostration, visualize doing the prostrations to all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas; that becomes prostration when you say the word prostrate. When you say the word refuge, think that you are asking to be free from the two obscurations (to be able to achieve enlightenment). When you say the word offering, you think that all the offerings that you have are then offered. When you ask for blessings, you think in your mind that the whole path to enlightenment is the blessing to be received.

This is the mantra that Ksitigarbha heard from Buddhas equaling the number of sand grains of the river Ganga. He made offerings to them and then received this mantra. This mantra is to be used for any difficulties, problems; it is the best one to do for any problems in any situation. Even reciting four or five times, just a few times, it is very powerful. It is powerful to recite or just to think of the name of the bodhisattva. It is very, very powerful.

tsimbo tsimbo / dze tsimbo / aga ga tsimbo / bagara tsimbo / om ah bara tsimbo / bara tsimbo / badzira tsimbo / aroga tsimbo / dehama tsimbo / tsatewa tsimbo / sadenewa tsimbo / bewaroga sharwa tsimbo / owashama tsimbo / nyana tsimbo / bagasama moni ran-nga tsimbo / chana tsimbo / begimaba ria tsimbo / shashe dala maba tsimbo / bea dahso / dama haley / dombay abbey / satasey / satabasaley / geley / gela garaba / bara baretey / hasaley / barebey / paresata bendaney / benra / tsatsa tsatsa / heleneley / agata / take takelo / tare tare / nelematey / nemtey gulemela / om gutsibatey / arregerey / gutashamaley / dunga dunga dungurey / huru huru huru / gunodumeley / marito / naretey / mendata / harakam rem / huru huru // Alternative mantra, which Rinpoche advised to do in preference to the above one: tayata muni/ muni gha bhe / muni ki dha ye / muni rogi ba tza le / muni hali de / muni gha me shu bha khye / mirla bhag / khe bhaa la la bhag khye / so ri kirta / tor na kir tsa le / bha tag sha kir te / ku ku la mir le / ava khya sa re / er ha ki li bha / muni bhaa thaba soha

Short Mantra

om ah khtiti garbha thaleng hung

Praise by Buddha to Kshitigarbha

You have generated stability of thought and pure thought (altruism / bodhicitta) and eliminated the sufferings of immeasurable sentient beings. I see (sentient beings) receiving happiness like the wish granting jewel, and like the vajra you cut the nets of the doubt (of others). You offer the Destroyer, Qualified-Gone-Beyond-Ones holy offerings with great compassionate thought and perseverance. You liberate the sentient beings from the sufferings with oceans of wisdom. Because you have no fear (delusions), you have gone beyond samsara.

This is especially beneficial for those who have heavy problems, serious health problems, big projects or financial difficulties. I will suggest it is extremely powerful to recite every day at least four or five times or more, depending on how crucial it is also, for protection. Even to grow crops well and to protect land and crops.

It explains in the sutra the extensive benefits and qualities, like the sky, of the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, like skies of benefit to all beings. There have been experiences, similar benefits received by those who practice Ksitigarbha.

This practice was translated, compiled and checked by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

The Benefits of Prayer Wheels

by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Given at Land of Medicine Buddha, June 1994

Transcribed and first edited by Jindati Doelter; second edit by Briege Wallbridge; third edit by Ailsa Cameron.

In Solu Kumbu all the old men and women turn prayer wheels every day. When they are at home in the morning and in the evening before they go to bed, they hold a mala in their left hand, a prayer wheel in their right, and recite om mani padme hung. And when they walk around, they constantly turn the prayer wheel and recite om mani padme hung.

I often used to think, "How does turning of the prayer wheel become Dharma practice?" I had this question in my mind, simply because I was ignorant as to the benefits of the practice. I didn't know what an important practice it is and how beneficial it is in terms of purification. Just touching and turning a prayer wheel brings incredible purification and accumulates unbelievable merit.

At Lawudo I found many old manuscripts, handwritten texts by the Lawudo Lama. The previous Lawudo Lama was called Lama (Kunsang) Yeshe and some people think he has something to do with my life. The Lawudo Lama did not have a monastery, but lived in retreat in a cave. He put a lot of effort into copying texts of the practices of various Vajrayana deities. At that time such texts were very rare, so he wrote many out by hand.

Because they had been stored in the cave which was very humid, the texts were damp, and I used to dry them in the sun. If you don't dry them, the texts grow fungus and are then destroyed by worms. The worms reincarnate among the texts and make some interesting holes in them.

One day when I was laying the texts out in the sun, I saw one old text with the title Mani Kabum. It contains all the history of the evolution of the world, including how Dharma came into this world and how the sentient beings of Tibet, the Snow Land, became the particular objects to be subdued by the Compassion Buddha Avalokiteshvara. Amitabha and the Compassion Buddha are the same in essence and are very strongly linked. And for more than twenty years, the Compassion Buddha and Amitabha have guided not only Tibet and China, but also Western countries, especially by spreading Dharma.

In Mani Kabum I saw a short explanation of the lineage of the prayer wheel practice and a few lines on how to visualize and meditate when you do the practice. In Tibet, and generally wherever there are the Mahayana teachings of Vajrayana, the practice of the prayer wheel has spread. Nagarjuna gave the practice to Lion-faced Dakini, who gave it to Padmasambhava, who then brought it to Tibet. After reading this, I developed faith that the practice was not nonsense, but had valid references and was valuable and meaningful. From this text, I got some idea of how powerful the prayer wheel practice is in purifying the mind and in accumulating extensive merits.

In 1987, when I was at Chenrezig Institute in Australia, I noticed that the place had become incredibly peaceful. It felt so serene that you wanted to be there, to live there. Chenrezig Institute had not been like that before, and I wondered why it had changed. At that time, Geshe Lama Konchog was there. Geshe-la has done a lot of Dharma practice. After he escaped from Tibet, he spent many years in retreat in Milarepa's caves in the Himalayas. He did 2,000 nyung-nays, the intensive two-day retreat on the Compassion Buddha, that involves taking the eight Mahayana precepts and doing many prostrations and mantras. Geshe Lama Konchog has trained his mind well in the path, so I thought that the serenity of Chenrezig Institute might be due to his bodhicitta.

However, one day near the end of my stay there, the thought came into my mind, "Oh, the change might be due to the prayer wheel—it wasn't there before." The prayer wheel is much smaller than the one here at Land of Medicine Buddha, but it also contains many mantras on microfilm and is very nicely made. Some time later, when I was in Brazil at the invitation of a meditation center there, a student gave me a book written by one of Tarthang Tulku's senior disciples about his experiences when he was in charge of building stupas and prayer wheels in Tarthang Tulku's centers. In one section he mentioned that after a prayer wheel was built, the area was completely transformed, becoming so peaceful, pleasant, and conducive to the mind.

This confirmed my belief, based on my own reasoning, that Chenrezig Institute had become so peaceful because of its new prayer wheel. Somebody else experiencing a similar effect from building the prayer wheel helped to stabilize my faith.

There are earth, water, fire and wind prayer wheels. One of the benefits of the prayer wheel is that it embodies all the actions of the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the 10 directions. To benefit sentient beings, the buddhas and bodhisattvas manifest in the prayer wheel to purify all our negative karmas and obscurations, and to cause us to actualize the realizations of the path to enlightenment. All the beings (not only the people but also the insects), in the area where the prayer wheel is built are saved from rebirth in the lower realms; they receive a deva or human body, or are born in a pure land of Buddha.

If you have a mani prayer wheel in your house, your house is the same as the Potala, the pure land of the Compassion Buddha. If you have a prayer wheel next to you when you die, you don't need powa. Having the prayer wheel itself becomes a method to transfer your consciousness to a pure land. Simply thinking of a prayer wheel helps a dying person to shoot the consciousness up the central channel and out through the crown to reincarnate in the pure land of Amithaba or the Compassion Buddha. Simply touching a prayer wheel brings great purification of negative karmas and obscurations. Turning a prayer wheel containing 100 million om mani padme hung mantras accumulates the same merit as having recited 100 million om mani padme hungs.

The prayer wheel here at Land of Medicine Buddha contains 11.8 billion mantras, so turning it one time is the same as having recited that many mantras. In that few seconds, you perform so much powerful purification and accumulate; so much merit. Turning the prayer wheel once is the same as having done many years of retreat. This is explained as one of the benefits of prayer wheels.

With the water prayer wheel, the water that touches the wheel becomes blessed. When that water goes into an ocean or lake, it carries the power to purify all the billions of animals and insects there.

I have had a wish, which has recently become stronger, to build a prayer wheel in the ocean. Because I have been requested to help with so many other Dharma projects, the idea of making a water prayer wheel had been postponed. However, when I was in the center in Taiwan recently, in a conversation about prayer wheels, I mentioned the idea. One of the benefactors, who has been running the family business for some years, was very happy to make a water prayer wheel because his father had started the business by buying fish. Since the family's prosperity came from fishing, he felt his family owed a lot to the fish, and he already had in mind of doing something to repay or to benefit the fish.

When I mentioned the idea of the water prayer wheel, he almost cried, and then he asked, "Why are you telling me to build this prayer wheel?" After I explained the reasons, he was very happy to build a water prayer wheel. I mentioned the idea of building it in the ocean near Taiwan, but he thought to build it in Hawaii where the water of the Pacific Ocean would touch the prayer wheel and bring great benefit.

A fire prayer wheel is turned by the heat of either a candle or an electric light. The light that comes from the prayer wheel then purifies the negative karmas of the living beings it touches. It is similar with a prayer wheel turned by wind. The wind that touches the prayer wheel is blessed by the power of the prayer wheel and then has the power to purify the negative karmas and obscurations of any being it touches.

Because prayer wheels are so powerful in purifying negative karmas, I think it is a very good idea to use them. After I explained the benefits of prayer wheel a few years ago at Kopan, Lorna and Terry voluntarily took it upon themselves to make prayer wheels available to other students who wanted to do the practice. They generously made many small prayer wheels and offered them to many students, including me.

I then offered mine to the king of Nepal. When I mentioned to him that having a prayer wheel helps when one dies, he suddenly became distant. I think it's not a subject commonly talked about to him. He asked, "Do I have to keep this?" So I said, "Yes."

It is also mentioned that prayer wheels stop harm from spirits and other beings and also stop disease, so one idea I have is use them for healing. Anyone with a disease such as AIDS or cancer, whether or not they have any understanding of Dharma, can use the prayer wheel for meditation and healing. For example, sick people could come here to Land of Medicine Buddha for several hours every day to turn the prayer wheel and do the visualizations.

There are two visualizations. With the first, you visualize light beams coming from the mantras in the prayer wheel, illuminating you and purifying you of all your disease and the causes of disease, your negative thoughts and the imprints of these left on your mental continuum. You then visualize the light illuminating all sentient beings and purifying all their sufferings, as well as their negative karmas and obscurations.

With the second visualization, beams are emitted from the mantras and, like a vacuum sucking up dust, they hook all the disease and spirit harms and, most importantly, the cause of disease, the negative karmas and obscurations. All these are absorbed or sucked into the prayer wheel. While reciting five or ten malas of the mantra, you visualize purifying yourself in this way.

At the end recite some malas while visualizing that the beams emitted from the prayer wheel purify all the sufferings and obscurations of the sentient beings of the six realms. These absorb into the prayer wheel and all sentient beings, including you, are then liberated, actualizing the whole path and becoming the Compassion Buddha. (You can also do circumambulations with the same visualizations.)

If someone with AIDS, cancer or some other disease meditated like this and every day, for as many hours as possible, there would definitely be some effect. I know quite a few people who have completely recovered from terminal cancer through meditation. Even though the person might not know about Dharma, about reincarnation or karma; because they want to have peace of mind now and a peaceful death; because they care about having a healthy body and a healthy mind, they should use this extremely powerful and meaningful method of healing.

I would like to emphasize that every large and small prayer wheel can be used by sick people for healing. This practice is very practical and very meaningful. Two years ago, I asked Jim McCann to build a prayer wheel here at Land of Medicine Buddha, not only for people to do the practice, but also to bless the land. It helps all the insects and animals as well as the human beings. Jim and his wife, Sandra, put a lot of time and effort into actualizing this extremely beautiful prayer wheel, though I'm sure many other people helped them. From the depth of my heart I would like to thank them very much for their achievement. A prayer wheel makes the place very holy and precious, like a pure land.

Tara Meditation
Composed by Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche
Tushita Retreat Centre, March 1986

Look at an image of Tara and see it as really her, not as a mere representation. In the middle of a calm and tranquil nectar ocean is a lotus, seated on which is Tara. She is the omniscient mind, the great compassion, and the power of all Buddhas. Through her power she liberates sentient beings from suffering and leads them to the peerless happiness of enlightenment, manifested in the female aspect of Buddha Tara. She has the appearance of a smiling sixteen year old girl.

Make the following request to Tara:

May every living being who merely hears me, sees me, remembers me, touches me, or talks to me, immediately be purified of all his or her problems and their causes – the three poisonous minds rooted in the ignorance that does not realize the nature of the self or of phenomena, and the ignorance that does not understand the cause of happiness or of suffering. And may they achieve temporal happiness as well as the ultimate happiness. May I be able to lead them to the peerless happiness of enlightenment by showing the various means that are suitable for them, just as you Mother Tara guide the sentient beings."

Breath in slowly and think of all the obstacles: the three poisonous minds, the actions called karma accumulated with disturbing thoughts that harm yourself and do not allow you to have temporal happiness or especially the peerless happiness of enlightenment, and which also harm others and interfere with their experiencing temporal and ultimate happiness. Besides the true cause of suffering, think of the remaining true suffering - every problem. All this, in the form of filthy, foul-smelling pollution comes out through your nostrils, from your heart, as you breath out slowly. Think that it goes beyond this earth and ceases to exist. Do this several times. Feel purified and empty of all the negativities within you.

Recite the mantra: OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA and visualize that from Tara's heart white nectar flows down through your crown and is absorbed through the pores of your body, entering your body and mind.

The first contemplation

Think that the essence of the nectar is Tara's omniscient mind, her great compassion for all sentient beings, and her power.

While continuously reciting the mantra, think that the essence of the nectar is the wisdom, the fully knowing mind. Then think that you receive all of Tara's wisdom. Your mind is completely in the nature of being able to guide sentient beings. Concentrate on this. Your mind is the nature of every single wisdom possessed by Tara.

The second contemplation

Again, while still reciting the mantra, nectar enters your heart from Tara and the essence is the great power to perfectly guide sentient beings. Place your mind single-pointedly on having the power to perfectly guide all sentient beings.

The third contemplation

Again visualize the nectar entering your body and mind from Tara; this time its essence is her great compassion. Single-pointedly concentrate on your mind being the nature of great compassion for every suffering sentient being. Feel that their suffering is unbearable and you want to liberate them from it this very second. Concentrate single-pointedly on your mind being completely transformed into the nature of Tara's great compassion.

The fourth contemplation

Again, reciting the mantra, the nectar enters your body, speech and mind altogether. Feel incredible bliss, so great that if it materialized it could not be contained in the sky. It completely fills your body and mind, and especially feel it at your heart. Every atom of your body from your head to your feet is filled with unceasing bliss. This has no comparison to ordinary pleasures. Single-pointed concentrate on the sensation of bliss.

Think: "My life is not to harm others. Just as I do not wish harm from others, all beings do not wish to receive harm from me. Just as I wish every sentient being to help me, to benefit me by giving temporal and ultimate happiness, all sentient beings wish me to benefit and give temporal and ultimate happiness to them. This is the purpose of my life. My responsibility is not only to not give harm, it is especially to give benefit; every capacity I have I give to others."

Because of this attitude to not harm and to benefit others, Buddha Mother Tara is extremely pleased and happy. She dissolves into you and your body, speech and mind become identical with Mother Tara's holy body, speech and mind. Concentrate on this for as long as you can.

Think: "Due to all the merit that I have accumulated, may I achieve the enlightenment of Mother Tara and immediately lead every single being to her peerless happiness.

Tara Prayer
Lama Zopa Rinpoche

om chom.den.day.ma phag.ma drol.ma chag.tsel.lo

Om I and all prostrate to the liberator, the transcendental bhagawati

chag.tsel drol.ma ta.re pel.mo

You are the glorious mother who liberates with TARE

tut.ta.ra.yi jig.kun sel.ma

You are the mother who eliminates all fears with TUTTARE

tu.re don.nam tham.che ter.me

You are the mother who grants all success with TURE

so.ha yi.ker che.la rab.tu

To the syllables SOHA and all we offer the greatest homage.

Firstly to help you understand the meaning of the prayer, it could be glossed as follows:

OM contains three sounds: AH, O and MM, and signifies the immeasurable qualities of the enlightened beings' holy body, speech and mind. According to the tantric teachings, the paths contained in the mantra OM TARE TUTTURE TURE SOHA lead to the omniscient state of mind. Through actualizing these paths in our mind we purify our impure body, speech and mind, transforming them into Arya Tara's vajra holy body, speech and mind. In this mantra, OM stands for the goal and TARE TUTTURE TURE the path.

TARE (Tibetan: Drolma): the liberating female. Usually Tara connotes liberating or releasing us from the suffering of the three lower realms, the general sufferings of samsara and the bondage of nirvana, the blissful state of peace. If we gain freedom from samsara but simply attain arhantship and fall into the blissful state of peace for ourselves alone, it takes us an incredibly long time to escape from that and do extensive work for sentient beings. Compared with the motivation of achieving the omniscient state of mind in order to extensive work for the benefit of other sentient beings, the idea of attaining nirvana for oneself alone is extremely limited and mistaken because it represents concern for only our own peace. Thus Tara not only liberates us from the bondage of samsara, she also liberates us from the blissful state of peace, leading us to the omniscient state of mind. This is the usual meaning of the first TARA: it represents everything from which we should be liberated, the liberating path – the entire method – and the goal to which Tara leads us, the omniscient state of mind.

            However, the meaning of TARE here is explained as being liberation from samsara, indicating the first of the Four Noble Truths, the Truth of Suffering.

TUTTURE : dispelling all fears. "Fears" is the translation of the Tibetan word used here – the main fear dispelled is that of the delusions;

the suffering of attachment, which is like a great flood;

the suffering of hatred, which is like fire;

the suffering of ignorance, which is like an elephant;

the suffering of jealousy, which is like a snake;

the suffering of pride, which is like a lion;

the suffering of miserliness, which is like a chain;

the suffering of wrong views, which is like a thief;

the suffering of doubt, which is like a spirit.

Thus an example is given for each delusion. If we take refuge in Tara, recite her mantra and practise her method, she will release us from not only the internal suffering of the delusions but also from external dangers such as floods, fires and thieves.

            Hence TUTTURE means that Tara liberates us from the true cause of suffering – karma and the unsubdued mind from which the karma arises. By reciting this our fears are dispelled, which shows that Tara leads us to the true path of the three vehicles, according to our level of mind, and to the absolute Dharma – the real remedy for the cause of suffering.

TURE: she who grants all success. Here success refers to the goals of those of the three levels – lowest, intermediate and highest – of capability: the bodies of the happy transmigrators, arhantship or nirvana, and the great nirvana, the omniscient state of mind. Furthermore, as it is taught here, all success also refers to success in all the pursuits of this life – business, other worldly activities, finding perfect conditions for our Dharma practice and accomplishing our Dharma goals.

SOHA. Each word of the mantra – from OM to SOHA – performs the functions explained above; each brings incredible benefit. Thus to the letters SOHA and the rest we pay homage.

SOHA: "May the blessings of Tara, which are contained in the mantra OM TARE TUTTURE take root in our hearts." If we want to harvest fruit in our garden, that is where we should plant the roots of the tree. Similarly, if we want to attain the omniscient state of mind, we should plant the root of the complete path, which is contained in the mantra OM TARE TUTTURE TURE SOHA, in our hearts. By praying to Tara and reciting her mantra we receive her blessings; as SOHA implies, through the blessings of Tara entering our heart we are able to generate the entire path to the omniscient state of mind. By generating the path – method and wisdom – in our own minds, our impure body, speech and mind are purified and transformed into Tara's vajra holy body, speech and mind.

The Visualization

When you recite this prayer, visualize that light beams with nectar running down them – like rain-drops running down a wire – emanate from the point where Tara's left thumb and ring finger touch each other. These reach you and all other sentient beings. Visualize in particular the people you dislike or who dislike you, in front of you. The rays and nectar flow constantly, purifying the hindrances to Dharma practice and the two obscurations of yourself and all other sentient beings. Remember, too, all those with specific problems for whom you are praying to Tara.

            The rays and nectar flow to all sentient beings: narak beings, pretas, animals, humans, asuras, devas, intermediate state beings, arhants and bodhisattvas. In the midst of whatever suffering they are experiencing – you can visualize, for example, humans fighting in wars, or full of anger, pride and jealousy – rays and nectar enter their bodies and minds and pacify completely all their true cause of suffering and the true sufferings themselves. All sentient beings become totally liberated. Recite the prayer with this meditation.

            You can also visualize the person for whom you are praying, yourself and all other sentient beings under Tara's right hand, which is in the mudra of granting refuge, completely covered and protected by it.

Think repeatedly, with deep conviction, that Tara has accepted your request and answers your prayers. You can do one rosary of the prayer with the purifying meditation, and another where you and all sentient beings become one with Tara. With each prayer identical Taras emanate from the principal Tara you are visualizing and dissolve into you and all other sentient beings. You become one with Tara's holy body, speech and mind.

Daily Purification: A Short Vajrasattva Practice
Lama Zopa Rinpoche

( This teaching and many other wonderful teachings by Lama Zopa and Lama Yeshe are available from LYWA lamayeshe.org )

This teaching was given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche during the Vajrasattva retreat, Land of Medicine Buddha, Soquel, California, USA, 1999, and revised in New York, November 1999.

Editor's Introduction

In Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, Pabongka Rinpoche explains how the great Atisha would purify any negativity, no matter how small, immediately. Even in public or when riding his horse, as soon as he noticed a breach of his ethics, he would stop what he was doing, drop to one knee and then and there, purify it with the four opponent powers-the powers of dependence, regret, remedy and restraint.

Of course, compared to us, Atisha may not have had that much to purify. Still, he would say, "I never break my pratimoksha vows; I rarely break my bodhisattva vows; but my tantric vows-I transgress those like falling rain."

Atisha practiced purification in this way because of his deep realization of the psycho-mechanics of negative karma, especially its four fundamentals: negative karma is certain to bring suffering; it multiplies exponentially; if eradicated, it cannot bring its suffering result; and once created, it never simply disappears.

Through the study and practice of Dharma, we should try to attain Atisha's level of understanding. In the meantime, we should try to practice as he did.

Therefore, out of his great compassion, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has composed this short Vajrasattva practice and requested that it be published in a format that is easy for people to carry around and have available at all times. Thus, we can be like the great Atisha-whenever we notice we have broken a vow or created any other kind of negative karma, we can whip out our little Vajrasattva book and purify that negativity with the four opponent powers without a second's delay.

Nicholas Ribush

A Short Vajrasattva Meditation

The Power of Dependence (A): Taking Refuge

"I forever take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha,
I take refuge in all the three vehicles,
In the dakas and dakinis of secret mantra yoga,
In the heroes and heroines, the gods and goddesses
And in the bodhisattvas of the ten bhumis.
But most of all, I take refuge in my holy guru forever." (3x)

The Power of Regret

First recall the definition of negative karma-any action that results in suffering, usually an action motivated by ignorance, attachment or aversion.

"Almost every action I do, twenty-four hours a day, is motivated by worldly concern, attachment to the comfort of this life. It is like this from birth to death in this life and has been like that from beginningless rebirths. Nearly every action I have ever created has been non-virtuous, the cause of suffering. Not only that, but continuously I have also been breaking my pratimoksha, bodhisattva and tantric vows. Worst of all, I have created the heaviest of negative karmas in relation to my virtuous friends-getting angry at them, generating wrong views, having non-devotional thoughts towards them, harming their holy body and disobeying their advice. Having these negative imprints on my mental continuum is unbearable. It's as if I've swallowed a lethal poison. I must practice the antidote right away and purify all this negative karma immediately, without a second's delay."

In this way, generate strong feelings of urgency and regret.

Remembering Impermanence and Death

"Many people my age or younger have died. It's a miracle that I'm still alive and have this incredible opportunity to purify my negative karma. Death is certain but its time is most uncertain. If I were to die right now, I would definitely be born in the lower realms. Because I could not practice 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."

The Power of Dependence (B): Generating Bodhicitta

"But I am not practicing this Vajrasattva purification for myself alone-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 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."

Visualization

"Above the crown of my head, seated upon a lotus and moon seat, are Vajrasattva father and mother. Their bodies are white; each has one face and two arms. He holds a dorje and bell, she a curved knife and skull cup. They are embracing each other. The father is adorned with six mudras, the mother with five. He sits in the vajra posture, she in the lotus.

"Vajrasattva is my root guru, the holy mind of all the buddhas, the dharmakaya, who out of his unbearable com-passion, which embraces me and all other sentient beings, appears in this form to purify me and all others."

In this way, your mind is transformed into guru devotion-the root of all blessings and realizations of the path to enlightenment.

"On a moon disk at Vajrasattva's heart stands a hum encircled by a garland of the hundred syllable mantra. A powerful stream of white nectar flows from the hum and mantra garland and I am cleansed of all sickness, spirit harm, negative karma and obscurations."

The Power of the Remedy: Mantra Recitation

"om vajrasattva samaya
manupalaya, vajrasattva denopa titha,
dido me bhava, suto kayo me bhava, supo kayo me bhava,
anurakto me bhava, sarva siddhi me prayatsa,
sarva karma su tsame, tsittam shriyam kuru hum,
ha ha ha ha ho, bhagavan
sarva tathagata, vajra mame muntsa,
vajra bhava maha samaya sattva ah hum phet"

The meaning of the mantra: You, Vajrasattva, have generated the holy mind (bodhicitta) according to your pledge (samaya). Your holy mind is enriched with the simultaneous holy actions of releasing transmigratory beings from samsara (the circling, suffering aggregates). Whatever happens in my life-happiness or suffering, good or bad-with a pleased, holy mind, never give up but please guide me. Please stabilize all happiness, including the happiness of the upper realms, actualize all actions and sublime and common realizations, and please make the glory of the five wisdoms abide in my heart.

Recite the mantra seven or twenty-one times or as many times as possible, practicing the three techniques of downward cleansing, upward cleansing and instantaneous cleansing.1

Generating Faith in Having Been Purified

"From the crown of my head, Guru Vajrasattva says, 'Son of the race2, your negativities, obscurations and broken and damaged pledges have been completely purified.'"

Generate strong faith that they have been completely purified just as Guru Vajrasattva has said.

The power of Refraining from Creating Negativities Again

"Before Guru Vajrasattva, I vow never again to commit those negative actions from which I can easily abstain and not to commit for a day, an hour or at least a few seconds those negative actions from which I find it difficult to abstain."

Absorption

Guru Vajrasattva is extremely pleased with your pledge. Vajrasattva father and mother melt into light and dissolve into you. Your body, speech and mind become inseparably one with Guru Vajrasattva's holy body, speech and mind.

Dedication

"In emptiness, there is no I, creator of negative karma; there is no action of creating negative karma; there is no negative karma created."

Place your mind in that emptiness for a little while. In this way, look at all phenomena as empty-they do not exist from their own side. With this awareness of emptiness, dedicate the merits.

"Due to all the merits of the three times collected by me, buddhas, bodhisattvas and all other sentient beings (which appear to be real, from there, but which are empty), may the I (which appears to be real but is empty) achieve Guru Vajrasattva's enlightenment (which appears to be real but is empty) and lead all sentient beings (who appear to be real but are totally empty) to that enlightenment (which appears to be real but is empty) by myself alone (which appears to be real but is also totally empty, non-existent from there).

"May the precious bodhicitta, the source of all happiness and success for myself and all other sentient beings, be generated within my own mind and in the minds of all sentient beings without even a second's delay; and may that which has been generated be increased.

"May I and all other sentient beings have Lama Tsong Khapa as our direct guru in all our lifetimes, never be separated for even a second from the pure path that is greatly praised by the conqueror buddhas, and actualize the complete path-the three principal paths and the two stages of Highest Yoga Tantra-the root of which is guru devotion, within our minds as quickly as possible.

"Just as the brave Manjushri and Samantabhadra realized things as they are, I dedicate all these virtues in the best way, that I may follow after them.

"Whatever dedication the three time victorious ones gone to bliss have admired as best, in the same way, I also perfectly dedicate all these roots of virtue so that I may perform good works."

Notes

1. See The Tantric Path of Purification, pp. 58-60, for details of these three methods of purification.

2. This "son of the race" has nothing to do with gender but refers to a sentient being of a certain mental type, which in turn relates to the buddha family into which one has been initiated.

SUTRA OF GOLDEN LIGHT

The kind and compassionate Guru Shakyamuni Buddha taught the Holy Sutra of Golden Light. It has skies of benefit for the world, for world peace, and skies of benefit for any individual who reads even a portion of this text.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche says:

This text is very precious, it brings peace and happiness and is very powerful to stop violence. It gives incredible protection to the country from violence etc. By hearing this text, one’s karmas get purified.

This text increases successes and especially for leaders, like king or presidents, it brings success in guiding virtue; the path to happiness. For those who have problems – if they are dying or dead, if the devas have turned against oneself and nothing is working, if merely by expressing, one’s friends, loved ones, husband, wife, family members, even servants get angry with you, if one’s wealth declines or if one has harm from black magic or spirits, bad dreams or fearful things happening, then one should wash, put on clean clothes and with a peaceful mind listen to the transmission of this text. Then all will be pacified. Anyone who hears creates so much merit and is highly admired by the Buddhas.

The place where this is taught, that whole country benefits. The king of the country doesn’t get attacked and disease is eliminated, everyone is happy and the country becomes harmonious. There are no quarrels, the king gives religious freedom and is always protected by the devas. It is especially good to be read in places where there is a lot of fighting, like Colombia.

Anyone who keeps, memorises or contributes to this text exceeds the eight worldly beings and all their wishes get fulfilled. Buddha told the four guardians to make offerings and do service to this text and always to protect the people who memorise or even just read it. The four guardians acknowledged they would protect those who read it and would help and fulfil all their wishes. As well, rains will come at the right time and all prosperity will come.

Memorising or making offerings to this text is like making inconceivable offerings to Buddha. In anyone whose ear these holy words are spoken, enlightenment will never be reversed. The life will always be directed toward enlightenment and one will never fall back. There is no question if you memorise the text. The deva, Hamachiwa Pala, told Buddha that she will protect the bhikshu who recites this text and that he will receive all that is needed; property, a stable mind and so forth. Who even tries to read or understand this text will experience comfort and happiness of the deva and humans for 100 billions eons; fame and perfect crops and they will become a Buddha. The earth goddess definitely will help even if only one chapter, one bodhisattva’s name, is mentioned; even if one verse (four words) is read and one tries to understand, she will protect those sentient beings and fulfil their wishes. Those sentient beings who hear only one verse will never go to the lower realms. The earth goddess told Buddha that even if a person hears only one verse, they will be born in the deva realm. Further, the earth goddess told Buddha, that the non-virtuous karma of the person who hears even one verse will be eliminated and they will achieve enlightenment.

It will be good to go to countries where there are much killing and read this 100 times or any number of times. This will be very valuable, very beneficial.

SANGHATA SUTRA

Also Visit www.sanghatasutra.net

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has recently suggested that all FPMT centers recite a certain Mahayana sutra called the Sanghata Sutra, 20 times. The recitation of this sutra yields enormous benefits for all those who hear or recite it, and has been recommended by Rinpoche specifically in order to generate the merit that will be needed to bring to completion the Maitreya Project, which itself will yield enormous benefits for countless beings.

The Sanghata Sutra is a direct record of a teaching that was given by Buddha Shakyamuni on Vulture's Peak in Rajagriha. This discourse of the Buddha, like all Mahayana sutras, was memorized by his disciples and later written down in Sanskrit. However, the Sanghata Sutra is unique in that it is a teaching that the Buddha himself had heard from a previous Buddha, and it is also unique in the scope of the effects it has on those who recite it.

The Sanghata Sutra is one of a special set of sutras called dharma-paryayas, or 'transformative teachings' that function to transform those who hear or recite them in particular ways. One very powerful benefit is that at the time of death, any person who has recited the Sanghata Sutra will have visions of Buddhas who will come to comfort them during the death process. A further benefit is that wherever the Sanghata Sutra is established, the Buddhas are always present, as explained in the text itself. As such, the recitation can bestow a powerful blessing on the place where it is recited.

In general, the recitation of Mahayana sutras is one of the six virtuous practices specifically recommended for purification, and the recitation of this sutra in particular has far-reaching karmic consequences that last for many lifetimes, as the Sanghata Sutra itself explains in detail. Within the sutra, the Buddha provides numerous descriptions of the ways in which the sutra works on those who recite it to clear away their seeds of suffering, and to assure their future happiness all the way up enlightenment. The sutra also includes some forceful teachings on death and impermanence, including a teaching on the physical and mental processes that occur at the time of death.

For many centuries, the Sanghata Sutra was among the most widely read and copied of all Mahayana sutras. In the 1930s, an archeological excavation conducted in northern Pakistan under British colonial rule, unearthed a library of Buddhist texts. This archeological dig was extremely important for historians, in that it yielded a large cache of manuscripts written in the fifth century AD, a much earlier period than can be found anywhere in India itself. Among these many important manuscripts, the text of which we find the largest number of copies was the Sanghata Sutra, more even than the Lotus Sutra, the Diamond Cutter Sutra or the Perfection of Wisdom sutras that nowadays are more familiar to us. Although the Sanghata had been translated into many languages of early Mahayana Buddhism, including Chinese, Khotanese and Tibetan, until that excavation in the 1930s, the original Sanskrit had been lost.

In more recent times, after first encountering the Sanghata Sutra while staying at Geshe Sopa la's monastery in Madison last year, Lama Zopa Rinpoche decided to copy the sutra by hand in gold, and has asked his students to recite the text on numerous occasions. On the anniversary of September 11, Rinpoche requested that all his students worldwide recite the sutra as many times as possible in order to prevent further attacks.

While reading such a powerfully transformative sutra, which Buddha Shakyamuni taught in order to make the path to enlightenment as easy as possible, we can feel very palpably the Buddha's incredible kindness for us. At the same time, because this sutra contains the actual words spoken by the Buddha, by reproducing that speech ourselves during the recitation, we are offering our voices to serve as conduits for the presence of his teachings in the world. Thus in reciting the Sanghata Sutra, along with all the benefits we ourselves receive, we are acting in a very direct and powerful way to keep active the teachings of the Buddha, which are so urgently needed in order to alleviate the sufferings of all beings.

Excerpts of some comments Lama Zopa Rinpoche made to Ven. Lhundrup Damcho regarding the Sanghata Sutra.

Planning to offer a copy of the Tibetan edition of the Sanghatasutra to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, I had deposited it on the top of one of the counters in the anteroom to his quarters. Before I had an opportunity to offer it formally - indeed, before I had managed to complete the title page or wrap it in a suitable text cloth - Rinpoche spotted the text and asked to see it. He opened it and began reading, first skimming the beginning and then turning to a later page at random. Immediately he translated for us what he had just read, "It says here that by hearing this text one receives the same merit as the merit of a Tathagata so that means one would have completed the two collections of merit and wisdom. So that means one would already be a Tathagata so that looks not logical." Looking up, he suggested instead one would have to understand that to mean that from hearing this text, in the future one would go on to amass that quantity of merit. One needs to understand it this way, he suggested, otherwise the text seems to be making unreasonable claims.

Rinpoche read selected passages from the sutra silently, and then commented that one feels very clearly the kindness of the Buddha reading this. We find it so difficult to put the teachings into practice, he said. We meet the Dharma but become lazy and don't find time to practice, or we practice but then after a while our mind just turns away from it. Or we are born in Buddhist cultures but go looking for something else. But here we see how the Buddha is making it so easy for us to accumulate such vast merit. It becomes so easy to practice, so easy to benefit others, so easy to become enlightened and enlighten countless others, Rinpoche said, due to such sutras as this one. So incredibly kind.

At that time, Rinpoche mentioned how he had stayed up all night and read the entire sutra- which he said was remarkable since he seldom gets that much time to do one thing from start to finish all at once. He described his experience reading the sutra. Hearing all the incredible benefits, he said, he began looking for that concrete thing that held all those benefits, the inherently existing sutra that was giving all those amazing benefits. As Rinpoche said this, he gestured with his hand, as if trying to grasp some essential thing that was eluding him. He laughed a little at himself, trying to find the concrete and inherently existing sutra. He went on to point out that many Mahayana texts first give an elaborate description of benefits and then offer some mantra that has those benefits. But, he said, there seemed to be no such thing in the Sanghata. Instead, it seemed to be the description of benefits that had the benefits. But in the end, very early that morning, Rinpoche said, it occurred to him that just as the Buddha has the ability to empower stones and other objects so that we can receive blessings from them, so he could empower the sutra to do the same. In this way, the sutra can contain the same powers as a Buddha to bless and benefit beings, Rinpoche explained. Rinpoche also added that after reading the sutra, when he was doing some meditation, there seemed to be some improvement in his meditation, as he put it, and that this could be taken as a sign of the effectiveness of the sutra.

Origin, Benefits and Practice of Namgyalma Deity

In the Indian Language
ARYA SATTVA DUGATHA PARI SHODANI MAHA BATSAYA NAMA DHARANI

In The English Language It Is A Mantra Called
“THE MOTHER OF THE SUPREME CROWN PINNACLE, VICTORIOUS IN ALL ASPECTS, COMPLETELY PURIFYING ALL THE BAD MIGRATORS”

Translated by Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche
Completed September 13, 1988 at Vajrapani Institute in Boulder Creek, California
For Tommyu Chen, a Chinese man in New York and by his kindness, for the benefit of all

I prostrate to all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas.

The deva’s son called Extremely Stable One abides in front of the Good Pure Dharma deva who is among the devas surrounded by devas’ great, unfathomable celestial mansions and enjoyments. With great multitudes of female devas playing and enjoying happiness, he experienced the great enjoyments of a deva.

One night he heard a sound saying, “The deva’s son, Extremely Stable One, will die after seven days and he will be born in the land of Dzambu after the death and will experience the seven migrators’ rebirths. After experiencing the seven rebirths, he will be born in the narak [realm]. Even if it is possible for him to be born as a human being, he will be born poor and blind.”

Upon hearing this, the deva’s son was extremely afraid and his hair stood up on end. He went far, far away to where the deva’s King Indra abides and prostrated at King Indra’s feet. Then, breathlessly, he said, “Oooooh! Oooooh!” While he was exclaiming “Oooooh! Oooooh!” he spoke to King Indra like this:

“Please listen King of devas. I, the deva, surrounded by multitudes of deva girls and happily playing and experiencing the pleasure of deva’s enjoyment heard a sound [saying], ‘The deva’s son, Extremely Stable One, will die after seven days and he will be reborn in the land of Dzambhu and will experience the seven migrators’ rebirths. After experiencing the seven rebirths, he will be born in the narak [realm]. Even if it is possible for him to be born as a human being, he will be born poor and blind.’”

“I heard this, what should I do now?” he asked King Indra.

When King Indra heard the deva’s son Extremely Stable One’s words, he was extremely surprised. The deva’s son thought, “Which seven rebirths of migrator beings will be experienced?

For a moment King Indra did not speak. “Seven migrators is a pig rebirth, dog, fox, monkey, vicious snake, eagle and hawk.” As King Indra saw the seven migrators he thought, “Oh! This deva’s son is going to experience great, unceasing suffering. Who else is there except a Having Destroyed Enemy Fully Enlightened Buddha who can be the refuge for him and can be a reliance and guide?”

So, carrying incense, flowers, various scented things, ornaments and cloth, King Indra went to where the Buddha was and bowed his head at the feet of Buddha. Seven times he circumambulated and made a great offering. Then he sat in front of Buddha and explained about the seven migrators rebirths of the deva’s son Extremely Stable One in detail.

Immediately after King Indra explained the seven migrators, various beams were emitted from Buddha’s crown pinnacle filling up the whole ten-direction world. Then, the beams returned back and entered into the Buddha’s holy mouth and Buddha smiled. He spoke to King Indra, “There is a mantra called ‘The Mother of the Supreme Crown Pinnacle Victorious In All Aspects Completely Purifying All the Bad Migrators’ that stops all the births that are with obscurations and suffering, completely purifying narak sentient beings, animal rebirths and the yama world and brings up to the path of the happy migrator beings.”

“Therefore deva, this mantra, ‘The Mother of the Supreme Crown Pinnacle Victorious In All Aspects’ purifies completely all the bad migrators. As soon as one hears it, the obscurations get purified, various types of sufferings get stopped, and one continuously achieves completely pure births. In every life one remembers [past] lives. One goes to Buddha’s pure realm from another Buddha’s pure realm. One goes to deva’s world from another deva’s world. One goes to the Thirty-three Deva Realms. As soon as this is recited the person whose life is finished, gets it extended [their life], collects the completely pure actions of body, speech and mind and abides in happiness. All the Tathagatas look at that sentient being, and their looking is unceasing and forever and even protecting, guiding and hiding and all the Bodhisattvas think of that person. Just by reciting this mantra the narak sentient beings, animal births, yama world and all the preta realms get dried up, destroyed scattered and eliminated. [They] become empty. Even that becomes opening the door of all the Buddha’s realms, all the deva’s realms and all the Bodhisattvas’ realms. Wherever one wishes, the being enters in there.”

Then King Indra requested of Buddha, “Destroyed Qualified Gone Beyond One, please tell this mantra for the benefit of all sentient beings.” Then Buddha understood King Indra’s request and this mantra was taught.

“This is the mantra of ‘The Mother of the Supreme Crown Pinnacle Victorious In All Aspects, Completely Purifying All the Bad Migrator Beings,’ purifying negative karma, actions and all the obscurations, and which leads to all the paths of the happy migrators, destroying all the aspects of the bad migrators.”

“It is taught, blessed, rejoiced in by all Buddhas Destroyed, Qualified and Gone Beyond equaling the number of grains of sand of 880 million Ganges oceans, and sealed by all the Tathagatas [so that] it makes all sentient beings become happy migrator beings. It stops them from falling down in the lower migrator [states] in order to liberate all sentient beings, narak beings, animal beings, inhabitants of the yamas, those who become pitiful in all the suffering places, [who] fell in the oceans of suffering. This is taught by the Buddhas. This mantra is left in the world for the sentient beings who have shortage of life and many diseases, having degenerated the mind and degenerated from the path.”

“You the deva, should memorize this mantra and read this to the deva’s son Extremely Stable One. By reading this [he] should attempt to recite and to pray, reflect, meditate, remember, make offerings, memorize and to actualize. I am giving you the base of the secret mantra, mudra to benefit all the deva’s sons who are abiding in deva realms. For the happiness and the for the sake of all sentient beings of the land of Dzambu you the deva should memorize this.”

“As soon as one hears this mantra it purifies all the karmic obscurations accumulated during hundreds of thousands of aeons. One should also know that one will not be born in various lives [as] narak beings, animal beings, yamas, pretas, asuras, yakshas, worms, jungpo’s tsorpo, lu-tsorpo, je-che, dogs, turtles, snakes, very mischievous wild animals, birds, mosquitoes, scorpions and ants in future lives. Except for other times meeting the types of Bodhisattvas the great reace is this, like the Brahma race the great shing sala, race of the king great shing sala and the great shing sala the race of the head of the household and like the great shing sala race of the business leader. Like these I say I will be born.”

“Therefore deva, due to the power of this mantra the beings will achieve complete pure births until the heart of enlightenment is achieved. Therefore one should know Deva that this mantra is powerful, of great benefit and great power. Deva, for the sake of all sentient beings here the mantra called ‘The Mother of the Supreme Crown Pinnacle Victorious in All Aspects’ remains. It is like this: the precious jewel, the essence of the sun, extremely unstained like the sky, completely pure clear light illuminating with beams is radiating here.”

“Deva, you should realize the sentient beings who recite [this] mantra are unstained. It is like this. The gold of the Dzambu is completely pure, extremely soft and beautiful. Like that deva, you should know that the sentient being who hears this completely pure will be born like that even in other lives. Deva, whoever recites this mantra, who writes this mantra in the scriptures, who memorizes, reads, recites, makes prayers, makes offerings, actualizes, listens, preserves, keeps it – all these sentient beings become completely pure. It ceases all the narak beings.”

“Deva, write the letters of this mantra. Put it on the top of the banner. Leave it on a high mountain, tall building, and on top of the life tree of the stupa. Deva, Bhikshus, Bhikshunis, Upasikas, other than that, Son of the Race, Daughter of the Race who sees that this is left on the top of the banner and if they are near to that, if they are in the shadow of this, even if one receives dust or wind, Deva, all the negative karmas and all the fears of going to the bad migrators won’t happen to that sentient being. You should know that these sentient beings won’t be born sentient beings, naraks, animal rebirth, yama inhabitant, yama world, preta and asuras.”

“Deva, the sentient beings are predicted by the Buddhas that they won’t return from the highest complete Enlightenment. Deva, no question if the sentient being makes offering [of] service, flowers, perfume, incense, rosary, ointment, paint, umbrella, banners and [flag] paden adorned with ornaments, makes stupa in the four roads. Leave this mantra and put the palms together and prostrate, circumambulate and prostrate. Indra, you should realize that this sentient being is [a] great sentient being, should know this is the Son of Tathagatas, should know [this is] Abiding in the Dharma, should know [this is] Stupa of the Tathagatas.”

Later on that night, at dusk, the Yama King of Dharma went to Buddha, the Destroyed, Qualified, Gone Beyond One wherever he was and make offering [of] flowers of deva, dress, ornaments and respect. [He] circumambulated seven times [and] bowed down to Buddha’s feet. [He] explained like this, “This mantra Destroyed, Qualified, Gone Beyond One is powerful and it has great benefits. I will abide as a protector all the time unceasingly behind that sentient being and completely protect that sentient being and that sentient being will be freed from all the narak beings’ [births]. The Destroyed Qualified Gone Beyond One won’t be able to repay.”

The four great guardians asked the Buddha, the Destroyed Qualified Gone Beyond One, to please explain how to do the practice of this mantra. Buddha explained to the four guardians, “Listen to me. I will explain to you how to do the practice in order to benefit all sentient beings. On the fifteenth day wash the Son of the Race and the Daughter of the Race, wear clean dress, abide in the eight precepts and recite this 1,000 times. The sentient being whose life is finished will be extended, will become free of disease, will achieve the cessation of all obscurations, will be liberated from all bad migrators, narak sentient beings and so forth. At least, one should recite this in the ear of the animals. One should know that this bad migrator is the last. Anyone who gets very heavy disease that even the doctors cannot cure gets liberated from the disease and ends all births of the bad migrators. After the death [he] gets born in the world of paradise. [He] should know that is the last birth in the womb. That being so, wherever he is born, he will only be born by entering in [the] heart of the lotus. [He] will remember every life in all lives. If one recites the mantra twenty-one times to the mustard seed for the sake of sentient beings who have accumulated karma and died, [then] if you throw the mustard seed over the bones of those dead sentient beings, those sentient beings won’t be born [as] narak sentient beings, or take animal birth or inhabit the yama world and preta places. Those sentient beings will be liberated from the bad migrators due to the power of the mantra. They will be born as devas after liberating from that.”

“Anyone who recites this prayer 21 times every day will become the worthwhile object of so many sentient beings’ offerings. [He] has a long life and experiences bliss and always has joyfulness. [He] will achieve the Great Sorrowless State. After the death transference, that sentient being will be born in the world of paradise. From there, that sentient being will go to various different Buddha fields and there will even meet all the Tathagatas, and all the Tathagatas will give breath. All Tathagatas will predict and by being in all the Buddhas’ fields one illuminates the world.”

“Deva, this method will purify completely all the bad migrators such as a narak, etc., and [one] will have a long life. So Deva, you go and recite this mantra completely to the deva’s son Extremely Stable One and for seven days all the migrators of the deva’s son Extremely Stable One will be extremely happy and will have devotion.” King Indra then took what was taught by Buddha and gave this mantra to the deva’s son Extremely Stable One.

The deva’s son recited this mantra six times a day and six times a night for seven days. Things became perfect all the time. Like this [he was] liberated from the bad migrators, completed abiding in the path of happiness and [received] a long life.

EMAHO! EMAHO! A LA LA BUDDHA. A LA LA DHARMA. A LA LA.

And this is how this great mantra that completely liberated me from this great danger happened in the world. I express this especially, what was expressed especially.

Here is completed the mantra of ‘The Mother of the Supreme Crown Pinnacle Victorious in All Aspects Completely Purifying All the Bad Migrators’:

Visualize one’s own Guru who is the Dharmakaya, the holy mind of all the three-time Buddhas, manifested as the Mother Victorious in All Aspects seated upon one’s own crown on the moon disc. Her holy body is white. She has three faces and eight arms. Her legs are in the vajra posture. The root face is white, right face is yellow, left face is blue. Each face has three eyes. The left face is in the [aspect] of slight wrath and slight grinning. [The first] right hand is holding a variegated vajra. The second right hand [holds] Amitabha in the lotus. The third right hand holds an arrow. The fourth right hand is in the mudra of granting sublime realizations. The first left hand is holding a vajra lasso with the threatening mudra at the heart. The second left hand is in the mudra of granting fearlessness. The third left hand holds a bow. The fourth is in the mudra of concentration holding the nectar vase on the palm.

In order to purify all of the two obscurations, the imprint and the whole entire suffering of samsara, and to lead oneself and all sentient beings to enlightenment, do the direct meditation on the Graduated Path to Enlightenment and make request to the Guru, the Mother Victorious in All Aspects, to receive those realizations.

I take refuge in the Holy Guru, the essence of all Buddhas, the original granter of all Holy Teachings and Lord of all Supreme Beings.

Please Oh Guru Buddhas, enable me to unify my mind with the Dharma and to succeed in practicing Dharma for receiving the Graduated Path. May nothing prevent my receiving this path.

Please bless me to take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha with all my heart and to practice virtue and abandon non-virtue through realizing that I have received a perfect human rebirth which is highly meaningful and for many reasons difficult to obtain, but perishable, transient and fragile – decaying in the shortest second because of its changeable nature.

Thus my death is definite but its actual time is most indefinite and karma is most profound (even in one hour I create more negative karma, bringing rebirth in the suffering lower realms, than positive. Even a small negative karma has so many suffering results and the potency of karma created to bring its result is never lost, even after more aeons than the ordinary mind can imagine) and the sufferings of the three lower realms are very unimaginably unbearable.

Through practicing in this way I might be reborn in the upper realms but would still have to experience unlimited samsaric suffering because of uncontrolled delusion and karma.

Please bestow upon me the ability to realize fully the evolution of samsara from uncontrolled rebirth to death and rebirth, so that I shall follow night and day the three-fold training of the path – Supreme Conduct, Supreme Concentration and Supreme Wisdom – the main method to release me from samsara.

But as each sentient being has been my mother and as most of them are in extreme suffering, please grant me blessing to bring success to all through renouncing the perfect self-happiness [nirvana] and practicing the Bodhisattvas’ deeds with Bodhicitta [exchanging myself with others], on the basis of the equilibrium meditation.

Thus, having trained my mind in the general path, I shall have no sorrow in experiencing the samsaric sufferings of all other sentient beings no matter how long it takes.

Please grant me blessing to be able to follow the quick Vajrayana teachings by feeling sentient beings’ suffering – very unimaginably unbearable for even the shortest second – as my own and to attain the enlightenment of Namgyalma immediately, at this very moment, by keeping my ordinations and the orders of the Guru with greater and better care than anything else in my life for the sole purpose of enlightening all sentient beings.

Your holy body which is complete in the holy signs and exemplifications and is meaningful to behold. Your holy speech which has sixty tunes – anybody who hears gets liberated. Your holy mind completely in the cessation and realizations, guiding all the migrators. I request you the Venerable Mother Victorious in All Aspects, whose appearance of the holy body just by appearing to the mind eliminates the darkness of the unknowing ignorance, grants life, fortune, wisdom and sublime attainments. To you, the Destroyed Qualified Mother of the Victorious One in All Aspects, I request.

The savior Buddha Amitayus is the supreme leader for those depending on change [the sentient beings]. I am requesting you the savior, praised in the center of the oceans of multitudes of surroundings, you the excellent holy object of refuge, to guide me, the pitiful one, with compassion.

When praised, by meditating on your holy body and reciting the mantra, you will grant life, fortune, power of mantra, clairvoyance and so forth, of any attainment that is wished for.

I am requesting you to please show me the power of all these blessings. If you will not grant the blessing because of our evil, bad behavior which displeases you, whom should I rely upon, who has greater compassion than you.

Please, you the great treasure of compassion, pay attention to us. As the mother especially loves the pitiful son, the Victors and the Sons of the Victorious Ones, have compassion for especially us – the pitiful ones. Therefore I am requesting you to guide us, the evil ones. In short, in all our lives we won’t seek any other than you, the one special deity, the Destroyed Qualified Mother Victorious in All Aspects. Please guide us with compassion and lead us in the path.

Long Mantra
OM NAMO BHAGAWATAY SARWA TAYLOKYA PARTI BISHIK TAYA/ BUDDHA YATAY NAMA/ TAYATHA OM DRUM DRUM DRUM SHODAYA SHODAYA BISHODAYA BISHODAYA AHSAMA SAMENTA/ AWABHASA PRANAGATI GAGANA SABAWA BISHUDAY/ ABIKINTSEN TUMAM/ SARWA TATHAGATA SUGATA BARABATSANA AMRITA AHBIKAYKARA MAHAMUDRA MENTRA PADAY/ AHARA AHARA MAMA AHYU SAM DARANI/ SHODAYA SHODAYA BISHODAYA BISHODAYA GAGANA SOBAWA BISHUDAY/ UNIKA VIJAYA PARISHUDAY SAHASA/ REMI SENTSO DITAY/ SARWA TATHAGATA AHWALOKINI KATHA PARAMITA PARIPURANI/ SARWA TATHAGATA MATAY DASHA BUMI PARTI TITAY/ SARWA TATHAGATA HRIDAYA AHDITANA AHDITITAY/ MUDRAY MUDRAY MAHA MUDRAY BENDZA KAYA SAMHATANA PARISHUDAY/ SARWA KARMA AHWARANA BISHUDAY PARTINIWARTAYA MAMA AHYUR BISHUDAY/ SARWA TATHAGATA SAMAYA AHDITANA AHDITITAY/ OM MUNI MUNI MAHA MUNI/ BIMUNI BIMUNI MAHA BIMUNI/ MATI MATI MAHA MATI/ MAMATI SUMATI TATATA/ BATAKOTI PARISHUDAY/ BIPUTA BUDI SHUDAY/ HAY HAY DZAYA DZAYA BIDZAYA BIDZAYA/ MARA MARA PARA PARA PARAYA PARAYA SARWA BUDDHA AHDITANA AHDITITAY/ SHUDAY SHUDAY BUDDAY BUDDAY BENDZAY BENDZAY MAHA BENDZAY/ SUBENDZAY BENDZA GARBA DZAYA GARBAY BIDZAYA GARBAY/ BENDZA DZOLA GARBAY/ BENDZOEBAWAY BENDZA SAMBHAWAY/ BENDZA BENDZERNI/ BENDZA MABAWATU MAMA SHARIRAM/ SARWA SATO NENTSA KAYA PARI SHUDIR BAWATU/ ME SADA SARWA GATI PARISHUDI TSA/ SARWA TATHAGATA TSA/ MAM SAMA SHASAYENTU/ BUDDHAYA BUDDHAYA SIDDHAYA SIDDHAYA BODAYA BODAYA BIBODAYA BIBODAYA/ MOTSAYA MOTSAYA BIMOTSAYA BIMOTSAYA/ SHODAYA SHODAYA BISHODAYA BISHODAYA/ SAMENTANA MOTSAYA MOTSAYA/ SAMENTA RAMIPARI SHUDAY/ SARWA TATHAGATA HRIDAYA AHDITANA AHDITITAY/ MUDAY MUDAY MAHA MUDAY/ MAHAMUDRA MENTA PADAY SOHA.

Short Mantra
OM DRUM SOHA/ OM AMRITA AHYU DADAY SOHA. OM AH HUNG TAM HRI/ ANG AH RAKYA RAKYA MAM SARWA SATAM TSA SOHA.

Recite this also a few times:

OM AHMITAY AHMITO DABAWAY/ AHMITA BITENTI/ AHMITA GITAY/ AHMITO GAMINI/ AHMITA AHYUDADAY/ GAGANA KIRTI KARAY SARWA LAYSHA KAYANG KARI YAY SOHA.

Then recite this mantra with this visualization:
From Namgyalma’s holy body nectar beams are emitted like sunbeams. Nectar flows on the beams and enters in one’s own body-mind. All the obscurations, negative karmas, diseases and spirit harms are completely purified. All the obscurations come out in the form of dirty liquid in the aspect of smoke or coal liquid. All the diseases come out as pus and blood. All the spirit harms come out as creatures such as snakes, scorpions and so forth.

After having visualized this for a little while with the mantra, the earth cracks open and the Lord of Death, Yama, is looking at oneself with open mouth – so eager for your life. So all the obscurations, diseases and so forth, everything goes into his mouth. It transforms into nectar. His mouth closes and becomes sealed with a vajra. The Lord of Death is extremely satisfied and goes down nine stories and it becomes impossible for him to come back. This becomes a method for long life by the way

Second visualization with the mantra:
As a glass fills up with milk it brings all the dirt out with the milk. Similarly, one’s whole body gets filled with the nectar rays and all the obscurations and negative karmas are pushed up by the nectar and go out of the head, like a hat blown by the wind.

Third visualization with the mantra:
Strong nectar rays are emitted like a flood of water. [They enter oneself] suddenly and all the obscurations, negative karmas, spirit harms, everything becomes completely non-existent, not knowing where it has gone. After this, feel the mental continuum is completely pure like a mirror, not having any stain [or] obscuration. The body becomes like crystal, so calm and clear.

When one purifies oneself one should also visualize purifying all other sentient beings, especially those who have diseases for which there is no cure. Especially narak beings, animal beings and preta beings who have the greatest suffering now and those people who have disease, whose lives are in danger and there is no cure. Those who the doctors cannot help and those who receive wrong treatment. Especially if one knows some particular sentient beings who are sick, dying, who are dead – particularly one can focus on purifying them. With this mantra one can benefit those dead ones as you know from the benefits [of the mantra] what you can do for dead ones – especially if the body is there.

Then dedicate the merits to be able to generate bodhicitta, the door of the Mahayana Path to Enlightenment, the source of all happiness, success for oneself and for all sentient beings.

Dedication:
Due to all these merits may the precious bodhicitta, the source of all happiness not yet generated be generated and may that which has been generated never degenerate but always increase.

How many sick sentient beings there are, may they all be liberated from their disease right in this second. May the sentient beings never receive disease.

It is only from the kindness of my Gurus that I have met the unequalled teachings of Buddha. I dedicate all this merit so that all migratory beings without exception may be guided in the future by kind and holy Gurus.

Due to all the three times’ merit accumulated by myself and by others may any beings just by seeing, hearing, remembering, touching and talking to me be freed in that very second from all their sufferings and abide in happiness forever.

Every supreme and general attainment follows solely upon pure devotion to you my protector. Seeing this, I give up my body and even my life. Please bless me to practice only what will please you.

Due to all these merits may all the father and mother sentient beings have all happiness and may the lower realms be empty forever.

Wherever there are Bodhisattvas may all their prayers be accomplished immediately. May I cause all this by myself alone.

May I be able to benefit, like Arya Namgyalma, to completely actualize all the wishes of all migrator beings just by seeing, hearing, remembering or touching me.

Due to all the three time merits accumulated by myself and all other sentient beings, please Guru Namgyalma understand and make possible for all the benefits of the mantra to be actualized right in this second by myself and all sentient beings.

Due to these merits may I quickly achieve the enlightened state of Nampar Gyalma and lead all sentient beings without exception to that state.

Just as the brave Manjushri and Samantabhadra have realized things as they are, I dedicate all these virtues in the best way that I may follow after them.

Whatever dedication the Victorious Ones Gone to Bliss of the three times have admired as best I also perfectly dedicate all these roots of virtue in that way so that I may perform good works.

Colophon:
This text was translated by Ven. Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche at Osel Shen Phen Ling in Missoula, Montana and was completed at Vajrapani Institute in Boulder Creek, California on September 13, 1988.

Mr. Tommyu Chen, a Chinese man in New York, has cancer and it came out the most beneficial to do this practice. So, by his kindness, this text was translated in order to be of benefit to all others.

Due to this merit may all the sentient beings’ sufferings be pacified and all the wishes for happiness to succeed according to Dharma; especially incurable disease by external factors to be cured immediately by this practice and quickly attain Namgyalma’s enlightenment.

Retyped by Marsha Clark, June 2003, California, USA

APPENDICES:

Generation As Namgyalma:
Whoever has received a great initiation in any of the tantras, you are qualified to generate yourself as Namgyalma. At the heart you can visualize a lotus and moon disc. In the center is a syllable DHRUM. In the ball of DHRUM one can visualize the Gurus lined [up] in the center. On the right side is one’s father. On the left side is one’s mother. The friend is behind and the enemy is in front. All the rest of the sentient beings are around, particularly those sentient beings who need to recover and need to be liberated from untimely death. The mantra is around the edge of the moon.

Beams emit from the DHRUM persuading all the ten directions Buddhas. From all of them the nectar of immortality is emitted and absorbs to the Guru, filling up the Guru’s holy body and those particular sentient beings who have life danger, those who are sick and those who are dying or dead – all their obscurations and negative karmas are purified. Those who have refuge in the mind and those who are living in the morality, their bodies are completely filled with the nectar of immortality and they achieve the undying realization. Also with the nectar one can think that all sentient beings were purified and they all achieved Namgyalma’s enlightenment.

The Meaning Of The Mantra
OM NAMO BHAGAWATAY SARWA TAYLOKYA PARTI BISHIK TAYA: OM from all three realms the Excellent Transcendental Aryan Qualified Destroyer Mother
BUDDHA YATAY NAMA: prostrating to you, the Buddha
TAYATA: like this
OM DRUM DRUM DRUM SHODAYA SHODAYA: purify, purify
BISHODAYA BISHODAYA: the Mother Who Sees With Equanimity
AHSAMA SAMENTA AWABHASA PRANAGATI: the Radiating Gone Mother
GAGANA SABAWA BISHUDAY: the nature of the sky, the completely pure mother
ABIKINTSEN TUMAM: I am requesting to directly initiate me
SARWA TATHAGATA: all those to suchness, the supreme
SUGATA BARABATSANA: the supreme sublime holy speech of Those Gone To Bliss
AMRITA AHBIKAYKARA: I am requesting please directly initiate me with nectar
MAHAMUDRA MENTRA PADAY: with the word mudra and mantra, please collect all and for all time
AHARA AHARA MAMA AHYU SAM DARANI: the mother who is holding all my life
SHODAYA SHODAYA: purify, purify
BISHODAYA BISHODAY: purify well, purify well
GAGANA SOBAWA BISHUDAY: the nature of the sky, completely pure mother
UNIKA VIJAYA PARISHUDAY: crown Namgyalma, completely pure mother
SAHASA REMI SENTSO DITAY: the mother who is sending away all the thousand beams
SARWA TATHAGATA AVALOKINI: gone to the suchness, the Mother who Sees All
KATHA PARAMITA PARIPURANI: the mother who completed all the six gone beyond
SARWA TATHAGATA MATAY: the mother of all the Ones Gone to suchness
DASHA BUMI PARTI TITAY: the mother who is abiding in the ten bhumis
SARWA TATHAGATA HRIDAYA: the essence of all Those Gone to Suchness
AHDITANA AHDITITAY: who is blessed and who is blessing
MUDRAY MUDRAY MAHA MUDRAY: seal, seal, the great seal
BENDZA KAYA SAMHATANA PARISHUDAY: mother in the vajra holy body, completely purified one
SARWA KARMA AHWARANA BISHUDAY: mother who has completely purified all the karmic obscurations
PARTINIWARTAYA MAMA AHYUR: again, please receive my life
BISHUDAY SARWA TATHAGATA: one of all the Gone To Suchness Ones’ Samaya
SAMAYA AHDITANA AHDITITAY: the mother who took pledge and blessed and blessing one
OM MUNI MUNI MAHA MUNI: mighty, mighty, The Great Mighty One
BIMUNI BIMUNI MAHA BIMUNI: the control aspect, the control aspect, the great control aspect
MATI MATI MAHA MATI: wisdom, wisdom, the great wisdom
MAMATI SUMATI TATATA: my wisdom wisdom deep only suchness
BATAKOTI PARISHUDAY: the extreme of complete purity is the Mother Of The Completely Purified
BIPUTA BUDI SHUDAY: the wisdom is the completely pure Mother
HAY HAY DZAYA DZAYA: victorious is victorious
BIDZAYA BIDZAYA: completely victorious, completely victorious
MARA MARA: remembrance, remembrance, increasing, increasing
PARA PARA PARAYA PARAYA: develop, develop, the Buddha is
SARWA BUDDHA AHDITANA AHDITITAY: the blessing of all, the blessing mother
SHUDAY SHUDAY: the pure mother, the fully pure mother
BUDDAY BUDDAY: Buddha vajra, vajra mother
BENDZAY BENDZAY MAHA BENDZAY: The Great Vajra Mother, purified
SUBENDZAY BENDZA GARBA DZAYA GARBAY: the essence vajra, the heart of The Victorious One
BIDZAYA GARBAY: The heart mother Of The Completely Victorious One
BENDZA DZOLA GARBAY: The heart mother Of Vajra Flame
BENDZOEBAWAY: mother where the nature of vajra is
BENDZA SAMGHAWAY BENDZA BENDZERNI: the mother having vajra, the vajra mother
BENDZA MABAWATU MAMA SHARIRAM: the vajra my body given by all sentient beings
SARWA SATO MENTSA KAYA PARI SHUDIR BAWATU: please make the body be completely purified, even all my superstitions
ME SADA SARWA GATI PARISHUDI TSA: please make completely pure these all the time
SARWA TATHAGATA TSA: even by all the Ones Gone To Suchness
MAM SAMA SHASAYENTU: I am requesting to give breath to us
BUDDHAYA BUDDHAYA: mother who is killed, mother who is attained
SIDDHAYA SIDDHAYA BODAYA BODAYA: realize, realize, realized aspect
BIBODAYA BIBODAYA: actualized aspect and liberate
MOTSAYA MOTSAYA BIMOTSAYA BIMOTSAYA: liberate and liberate completely
SHODAYA SHODAYA: purify, purify
BISHODAYA BISHODAYA: neatly purify, neatly purify
SAMENTANA MOTSAYA MOTSAYA: liberate completely and liberate
SAMENTA RAMIPARI SHUDAY: the mother who is completely pure beam all the time
SARWA TATHAGATA HRIDAYA: the Essence Of All Gone As It Is
AHDITANA AHDITITAY: the mother who is blessed by blessing
MUDAY MUDAY MAHA MUDAY: seal, seal, great seal
MAHAMUDRA MENTA PADAY SOHA: establish the base by the great seal, the words of the secret mantra

The Short Mantra
OM DRUM SHOHA/ OM AMRITA AHYU DADAY SOHA/ The Mother who is granting the immortal life
OM AH HUNG TAM HRI ANG AH RAKYA RAKYA MAM SARWA SATAM TSA SOHA/ establish the base, myself and all sentient beings to be protected and protected.

By the sound of the Great Dharma Bell May the sentient beings instantly be freed from their suffering

Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche

The Benefits of Offering Music such as Bells

If one offers the sweet sound of the bell, ting-shak, conch shell and so forth, one will have a very sweet and enchanting voice. With your enchanting voice you will be able to attract sentient beings – like world-famous singers – and bring them to enlightenment. One will also have a long life, no sickness, be born in a high caste with a perfect beautiful body, have great wealth and be very powerful. If you offer any of these music sounds to Buddha, it also becomes the cause to achieve Buddha’s perfect holy speech. One should make such offerings if one wishes for these results.

When you ring the gong (or bell), with each sound you can think that you are making offering of sound to the Gurus, to the ten directions’ Triple Gem and to the ten directions’ holy objects. This way, with each sound, you create numberless causes for enlightenment, by the way numberless causes for liberation and by the way numberless causes of happiness of future lives. Of course, it also affects this life – all your wishes for happiness get fulfilled as well as benefiting others.

How to Make the Offering

Motivation
Think: The purpose of my life is to free all sentient beings from suffering and lead them to enlightenment. Therefore I must achieve enlightnment and therefore I am going to make the offering of sound.

Making the Offering
Think: I am going to offer the sound to my root Guru, to all ten directions’ Buddha, Dharma and Sangha who are my Guru, and to all ten directions’ statues, stupas and scriptures which are my Guru.

Then one rings the bell. While ringing the bell, think:

The six realms’ sentient beings heard the sound of Dharma. What the sound of bell means is “Phenomena are empty of existing from their own side.” They all heard this teaching on emptiness, realized emptiness, become liberated totally from the ocean of samsaric suffering, delusion and karma. With the support of bodhicitta they completed the path, their bodies became rupakaya, their minds became dharmakaya. You can visualize them as any deity that you wish. You can do the meditation when you are ringing the bell or also you can dedicate: “May the sound of bell affect sentient beings in this way.”

Then recite the mantra: “om pema ushnika bimale hung phet” (7x) and blow on the bell.

(Anybody who hears the sound of the bell – not just humans but also spirits and animals in the area – the ten virtuous actions and even the five uninterrupted negative karmas are purified. And you should do the same with the gong or bell when you ring it bring people to meals or to sessions, so it becomes incredible purification for oneself and all sentient beings. The benefit is like an atomic bomb to purify negative karma. It is unbelievably powerful. When a bell is offered to the prayer wheel, each time it makes a sound, you are (making) offering).

Dedication
You created skies of merit by having the motivation of bodhicitta, by offering to the ten directions’ Buddhas, statues, stupas, scriptures, Sangha. Offering to the Gurus creates the most extensive merits. Give all the merits of the past, present and future, all causes of enlightenment to all sentient beings. Think, they receive whatever they need, cease all defilements and become enlightened. Again, one has collected limitless skies of merit from this. Then dedicate this merit:

Due to all this merit, may whatever suffering sentient beings have ripen upon me, may whatever happiness I have ripen upon other sentient beings.

Due to the three times merits collected by myself and all sentient beings, may the precious sublime thought of bodhcitta be generated in my mind and in the minds of all sentient beings without delay even one second. Whatever bodhicitta has been generated may it never decline but increase more and more.

Due to all these merits, may all the father and mother sentient beings have happiness, and may lower realms be forever empty. Whenever there are bodhisattvas, may all their prayers be accomplished immediately. May I cause this by myself alone.

Due to all three times merit accumulated by myself and all sentient beings which is completely empty of existing from its own side, may the I which is completely empty of existing from its own side, quickly achieve the state of enlightenment, which is completely empty of existing from its own side, in order to lead all sentient beings who are completely empty of existing from their own side, to that state by myself alone, who is completely empty of existing from its own side.

Just as brave Manjushri and Samantabhadra too, realised things as they are I too dedicate all these merits in the best way that I may follow their perfect example. I dedicate all these roots of virtue with the dedication praised as the best By the victorious ones thus gone of the three times, so I might perform good works.

Multiplying mantra to increase the merit 100,000 times:

Chom den de de zhin sheg pa dra chom pa yang dag pa dzog pai sang gye nam par nag dze o kyi gyal po la chag tsal lo (3x)

Jang chup sem pa sem pa chen po kun tu zang po la chag tsal lo (3x)

Tayatha om pancha griya ava bodhani soha / om dhuru jaya mukhe soha (7x)

Chom den de de zhin sheg pa dra chom pa yang dag par dzog pai sang gye ngo wa dang mon lam tham che rab tu du pe gyal po la chag tsal lo

Due to the power of the blessings of the eminent Buddhas and bodhisattvas, the power of the infallible dependent arising, and the power of my pure special attitude, may all my pure prayers succeed immediately.

NYUNG NA INSTRUCTION FROM LAMA ZOPA RINPOCHE
Given on 28^th June 2002 for
Nyung Na participants at Land of Medicine Buddha’s 8 Nyung Na Retreat
29^th June – 15^th July 2002

I am very happy that you are interested to do Nyung Na. It is great. Fantastic. This is not just purifying many eons of negative karma, especially developing compassion, that means Bodhicitta. Of course each Nyung Na makes so closer to enlightenment, that means so close to enlighten all sentient beings, which is our only ultimate goal of life. And this is also making yourself closer to the Guru-compassion Buddha.

As you chant more Om Mani Padme Hung, and generate more compassion to others, by doing one time Nyung Na, you will be guided by Chenrezig in all the lifetimes. By doing one prayer to Chenrezig, that you get guided in all future lives by Compassionate Buddha, again and again.

By example, a story to illustrate this …..

In the past, a person named Nyuktuk, wandered in the intermediate state after death. He had lots of fear, ran away from that. Then received white light – on tip of white light an Ayra Being. His right hand in mudra of giving sublime realizations. Left hand holding trunk of white lotus. Adorned with scarves and jeweled ornaments. Very holy and adorned, exemplified with marks and signs, very glowing one descended in front of him. He called the person “Son, don’t get afraid. I’m Arya Compassionate one ……… One. I came to guide you in the Path. Directly said this from His Holy Mouth. Then the hairs of Nyaktuk’s body moved, “stood on end” and tears fell from his eyes and arose devotion and prostrated his head at the feet of Compassionate Buddha and said …. “Why is it such a pitiful being as me, what is the cause that you guide me?” And Compassionate Buddha said “The cause is one of your past lives was looking after the elephant to one King. That time you threw a baby elephant off a cliff. Due to that karmic result, the next life you fell down off a cliff. At that time you made a request “Please Compassion Buddha, understand” At that time I saved you from falling down off a cliff. Since from that time I’ve been guiding you in all the lifetimes. Anyone who makes just one kind of request to me, like this I guide those sentient beings”

And every day, if you can recite Om Mani Padme Hung just one time, stops getting reborn in animal realm.

If you recite 100 times, it purifies negative karma to get reborn in lower realms.

If you recite 1,000 times a day, you will be reborn in the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha.

If you recite 10,000 times a day, you will do extensive work for sentient beings.

In the past, a person was looking after goats, and extreme fool …. Knows nothing about dharma. Only knows how to recite Om Mani Padme Hung. When he died, a rainbow came from the corpse. It absorbed into the sky. He went to the Pure Land – Naro Kacho. This was seen by other people. On his skull Om Mani Padme Hung naturally appeared. Worshipped by other virtuous friends.

So therefore you people, are unbelievably, unbelievably, unbelievably, unbelievably, unbelievably fortunate.

Your retreat is very important.

You can dedicate the merits to the world and all living beings for peace and happiness.

To generate compassion, good heart and bodhicitta in all those terrorists and violent people. In everyone’s mind who has so much hatred to America and also hatred to themselves.

Also to people who have heavy karma to suffer from fire and other elements. So many animals died in forest fires. Ants, big and small beings.

Pray for them.

Do Nyung Na’s for them.

Do Nyung Na for all the sick people.

Do Nyung Na for all the people who are tortured, homeless, have no living, no job.

This is jewel for offering during Nyung Na. But because so nice, can’t be stolen.

To read about the importance of Holy Objects, click here.