tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81645753303041389772024-03-13T11:11:18.719-07:00Krzysio Yonten GyastoAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-63223020786487146732015-09-17T06:57:00.002-07:002015-09-17T06:57:27.705-07:00Chenrezig Sadhana - XV Karmapa<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The
Continuous Rain of Benefit to Beings</b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">An
Abbreviated Annotation of All-Pervading Benefit of Beings,the
Meditation and Recitation of the Supreme Noble Avalokiteshvara</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">~
Khakyab Dorje, 15th Karmapa ~</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Svasti</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Arising
as the expression</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Of
the great compassion of all victorious ones,</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Avalokita,
your activity shakes samsara from its depths.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>To
you, inseparable from the venerable lord I bow.</i></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">His
noble heart and enlightened activity exceed that of all other
victorious ones. For as long as samsara has not been emptied, he does
not remain absorbed in the samadhi of peace, but throughout the
continuum of the three times eternally performs the activity of
guiding the six classes of beings. In particular, in accordance with
the enthronement and prophecy he received from the Victorious One,
Friend of the Sun, he took on as his noble realm of disciples the
country of the red-faced ones, the land of the extremely
difficult-to-tame. There, he directly performed enlightened activity
through assuming various forms, such as those of kings, ministers,
translators, scholars, yogic adepts, and young boys and girls.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
power of his blessing is illustrated by children who know how to say
his six syllables, the king of secret mantras, from the time they can
talk, without ever learning it from anyone. There is no special deity
for the Land of Snows other than this lord, the Great Compassionate
One. The supreme beings of the past who were his emanations wrote
clearly a limitless number of texts, both elaborate and condensed in
form, that deal with the practice of the Noble One. From among these,
our text here is called All-Pervading Benefit of Beings. It was
handed down to us by the Lord of Siddhas Thangtong Gyalpo, who was
actually Avalokita in person, emanated for the benefit of humans.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>1.1.
REFUGE AND BODHICHITTA</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In
the space before you, in an expanse filled with cloudbanks of rainbow
lights and flowers, is Avalokita, inseparable from your root guru,
vividly present as the essence of the three jewels and three roots,
all victorious ones combined. In front of him, led by you, are all
sentient beings of the six realms: friends, enemies, and those who
are neutral. You are all gathered together with body, speech, and
mind acting in unison. </span>
</div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Because
guru Avalokita has the ability and power to protect you from samsara,
the great ocean of suffering, develop therefore faith that completely
casts away all other hopes and objects of reliance, longing that
calls out for his protection, and trust in such protection being
certain. </span>
</div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Possessed
of these three, recite</u>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>In
the supreme Buddha, dharma and assembly,</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>I
take refuge until attaining enlightenment.</b></i></span></div>
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<br />
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Saying
that as many times as is suitable, go for refuge. Give rise to
unmoving certainty that from now onward you and all sentient beings
have been placed under the protection of the noble Great
Compassionate One. </span>
</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Now, turn your focus toward the
sentient beings visualized in front of you and think:</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Of
all these beings, there is not even one who has not been my kind
mother or father. Although they wish only to enjoy happiness and shun
suffering, they have practiced only the causes of suffering. As a
result, they are tormented without a moment’s release by the severe
sufferings of the lower realms of samsara. I must by all means
establish them in the most supreme of all forms of happiness, the
unsurpassable state of complete buddhahood. Because I do not now have
the ability to do this, I will practice the profound meditation and
recitation of the noble Avalokita and thereby attain the genuine
state of this supreme Noble One. For as long as samsara remains, I
will engage for the benefit of beings in conduct that measures up to
Avalokita’s example.</span>”</span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><u>In
the presence of guru Avalokita, with this genuine and fervent
aspiration, take on the oath of engendering bodhichitta, the mind set
on enlightenment, by reciting as follows</u></span>: </span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Through
the merit of practicing meditation and recitation, May I attain
buddhahood in order to benefit beings. </b></i></span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Saying
that a few times, develop clear certainty as to the purpose of this
meditation. Then multiple light rays stream forth from the body of
guru Avalokita. They strike the visualized sentient beings, purifying
their misdeeds, obscurations, and suffering, and establishing them in
happiness. The objects of refuge then melt into light and dissolve
into you. As they do, think that your mindstream becomes blessed.</span></div>
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</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>2.1.
MEDITATING ON THE DEITY</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Surrounding
you as you sit in your ordinary form are the objects of compassion,
the six classes of beings, visualized as at the time of going for
refuge. </span>
</div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">On
the crown of your head and those of others is a fully blossomed white
eight-petaled lotus with anthers. At its center on a stainless full
moon disc is the syllable HRI, white and shining like a pearl.
Meditate that it is the direct expression of the power of all
victorious ones condensed into a single form. From it streams
limitless light like the rays of the moon. The light makes pleasing
offerings of body, speech, and mind to all mandalas of the victorious
ones of the ten directions without exception. As the light strikes
yourself and others, it purifies all illness, negative energies,
misdeeds, and obscurations. Pervading the abodes of the six classes
of beings, it dispels beings’ suffering and establishes them in
happiness. The blessings of the assemblies of noble ones are then
gathered back in the form of light rays. These dissolve into the HRI
syllables above your head and those of others, where in an instant
there appears Avalokiteshvara, his body utterly white in color like a
sunrise shining on the snow.</span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From
his body, lucid and radiant, stream forth light rays of five colors,
which pervade the pure realms of the victorious ones. In this way, he
urges the noble ones to perform the benefit of beings. Below him, the
light rays pervade the abodes of the six classes of beings. The
suffering of each and every being is washed away, and they are
established in happiness. Showing that he is pleased, Avalokita’s
smile shines toward you and all sentient beings. His two eyes look
upon sentient beings continually throughout the three times; his gaze
always reflects his heart, which cares for and loves all beings,
oneself and others, just as a mother loves her only child. </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">He
has four arms; the first two are joined in anjali at his heart
center, his lower right hand holds a mala of white crystal, and his
lower left hand holds by its stem an eight-petaled lotus. He is
beautifully clothed in a silk scarf and an upper garment of white
silk with golden embroidery. He wears a skirt of red cloth. His
crown, earrings, short, middle, and long necklaces, shoulder
ornaments, and bracelets on his arms and ankles are all made of gold
from the Jambu River, adorned with many heaps of the precious stones
of the gods. Sweet-sounding music resonates from</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">his waist belt, a garland of
small bells. Thus, all parts of his body are well ornamented. His
left breast is covered by the yellow skin of the Krishnasari deer.
The hair that is not tied up in his topknot flows freely down his
back. His head is ornamented by the lord of his family, the supreme
buddha Amitabha, who is dressed in nirmanakaya form and seated in the
vajra posture. Behind Avalokita is a stainless and utterly full moon.
</span>
</div>
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</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Thinking
that he is the embodiment of all the rare and supreme objects of
refuge that appear throughout the three times and dwell in the ten
directions, recite the following</u>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>On
the crown of my head and those of others, sentient beings pervading
space, On a white lotus and moon, From HRI, appears noble and supreme
Avalokita. He is brilliant white and radiates the five lights.
Handsome and smiling, he looks on with eyes of compassion. He has
four hands: the first are joined in anjali; The lower two hold a
crystal mala and a white lotus. Adorned with ornaments of silks and
jewels, He wears an upper garment of deerskin. Amitabha crowns his
head. His two feet are in the vajra posture. His back rests against a
stainless moon. He is the embodiment of all objects of refuge. Read
slowly and divide the text into sections, clearly visualizing each
aspect of his body.</b></i></span></div>
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</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>2.2.
RECITING THE MANTRA</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>2.2.1. INVOKING THE
ENLIGHTENED HEART THROUGH SUPPLICATION</b></span></div>
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</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Supplicate
Avalokita, visualized as described above, in this way</span>: </span>
</div>
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“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Supreme
noble one, guru Avalokita, I and all sentient beings, with one voice
and with one-pointed mind, have cast away all other objects of
reliance and completely entrust ourselves to you. Please liberate the
six classes of beings from their samsaric existences and lead us to
the state of omniscience.” </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Thinking
in this way, recite</u>:</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Lord,
white in color, unstained by faults,</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>A
perfect buddha adorning your head,</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>You
look upon beings with eyes of compassion.</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Avalokita,
we prostrate to you</b></i>.</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Saying
that one hundred, twenty-one, or seven times, invoke his mindstream.
Recite until certainty arises that your perceptions have changed. If
you wish and are able, insert other prayers that carry blessings,
such as the “Po” Praise of Bhikshuni Lakshmi and the Lamenting
Praise of the master Chandrakirti. Adding supplications of any kind
that carry blessings will undoubtedly become a worthy extension.</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>2.2.2.
PRACTICING THE DEITY YOGA OF THE THREE GATES THROUGH EMANATING AND
GATHERING</b></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Through
your supplicating and invoking his heart with such one-pointed mind,
limitless light rays of five colors, with white predominant, radiate
from the body of the Noble One seated on the crown of your head.
Through their merely coming into contact with you and all sentient
beings, they purify everything that has accumulated in your
mindstream since beginningless time, as the light of a torch dispels
darkness. </span>
</div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">As
to what is purified, this includes the five acts of immediate
consequence, as well as the three non-virtuous actions of body -
taking life, taking what is not offered, and sexual misconduct; the
four non-virtuous actions of speech - lying (making statements that
harm one’s guru and others, such as boasting of qualities one does
not possess), inciting discord (creating rifts between others),</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">harsh speech (which hurts others’
feelings), and idle chatter (which is simply meaningless); and the
three non-virtuous actions of mind - covetousness (mentally scheming
about obtaining the wealth of others), malicious intent (thinking of
methods with which to harm others), and wrong view (viewing the
benefits of liberation and the shortcomings of misdeeds as untrue and
nonexistent). These are the ten non-virtuous actions, and they, along
with the actions that are conducive to them, are misdeeds. There are
also the actions committed out of passion, hatred, ignorance, pride,
and jealousy that have been prescribed in the ethical codes as things
to be abandoned, or, even though not so prescribed, naturally fall
into the category of moral faults. Since these obscure the attainment
of the happiness of the higher realms and liberation, they are called
obscurations. </span>
</div>
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</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Then
there are the downfalls - instances in which one has taken on the
vows of individual liberation, bodhichitta, or secret mantra, and
does not guard them due to disrespect or carelessness. They are
called “downfalls” because, through committing them, one will
fall down to the lower realms. There are also other forms of
wrongdoings, such as the transgressions of subtle points of training,
which may not cause one to fall to the lower realms, but nonetheless
delay the attainment of enlightenment. All of these impurities -
whatever wrongdoings and downfalls there are that have been produced
by the negative karma of misdeeds, obscurations, and mental
afflictions - are, in the very instant of the light contacting
yourself and others, purified. The light rays also cleanse the
knowledge obscurations and habitual tendencies that from
beginningless time have supported dualistic clinging to the confused
appearances of self and other. </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Beings
are blessed into the experience of inseparability from the body,
speech, and mind of noble Avalokita. The form of the Noble One,
appearing yet empty, like a rainbow, becomes increasingly vivid. The
light rays pervade the abodes of the six classes of beings, limitless
as space, causing the vessels of external worlds and all objects that
appear within them to become the pure realm of Akanishtha Sukhavati.
Free of even the names of rocks, mountains, and cliffs, its forms are
of the nature of precious jewels and spheres of rainbow light. The
inhabitants, each and every sentient being of the six realms, are
freed from their suffering, and the bodies of all beings suddenly
become the body of the noble Great Compassionate One. The speech of
beings, along with all the sounds of the elements, is the
self-sounding melody of the secret six-syllable mantra.
Conceptuality, the confused aspect of mind, is purified; and beings
realize the mind of the Noble One, the heart of inseparable awareness
and emptiness. Meditate that all of this has become so.</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In
this way, the pure appearances of kayas and pure realms, the sound of
the secret mantra, and the naked mind of awareness-emptiness are
inseparable from the appearances of the body, speech, and mind of
yourself and all others. </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><u>While
resting free of fixation in this great all-pervasiveness beyond
intellect, recite the following</u>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Due
to our supplicating one-pointedly in that way,</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Light
rays stream forth from the body of the Noble One</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>And
purify impure karmic appearances and mistaken consciousness.</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>The
outer world becomes the pure land of Sukhavati.</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>The
body, speech, and mind of the inhabitants within</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Become
the body, speech, and mind of Avalokita.</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Appearances,
sounds, and awareness are inseparable from emptiness.</b></i></span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-before: always;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Then, maintaining the
visualizations explained above, recite this mantra as the main
practice:</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="font-style: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>OM MANI PADME HUM</b></span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This
secret mantra, the six syllables, is the embodiment of the energy and
power of all the compassion and activity of noble Avalokita, who is
himself the embodiment of the wisdom energy of all buddhas. </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The
white OM</b>, born from the self-display of the five wisdoms of the
noble ones, is the syllable of combined qualities and is of the
nature of the perfection of meditation. It purifies the mental
affliction of pride, along with all the results thereby produced -
in particular, the suffering of the gods: death and falling.
Inseparable from the body and activity of Shatakratu, buddha among
the gods, it is the self-radiance of the wisdom of equality, arisen
in visible form. It guides the six classes of beings to the southern
pure realm, The Glorious, and enables them to attain the body of the
buddha Ratnasambhava.</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The
green MA</b>, born from the display of the compassionate noble ones’
limitless loving-kindness toward all beings, is the syllable of
activity and is of the nature of the perfection of patience. It
purifies the mental affliction of jealousy, along with all the
results thereby produced - in particular, the suffering of the
jealous gods: fighting and struggle. Inseparable from the body and
activity of Vemachitra, buddha among the jealous gods, it is the
self-radiance of all-accomplishing wisdom, arisen in visible form. It
guides the six classes of beings to the northern pure realm, Perfect
Action, and enables them to attain the body of the buddha
Amoghasiddhi.</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The
yellow NI</b>, born from the display of the great all-pervading and
effortless compassion of the noble ones, is the syllable that
reverses samsara into the expanse of nirvana on the spot, the vajra
wisdom of combined body, speech, mind, and activity. It is of the
nature of the perfection of ethics. It purifies the stains of
ignorant dualistic fixation, along with all the results thereby
produced - in particular, the four great rivers of human suffering:
birth, aging, sickness, and death. Inseparable from the body and
activity of Shakyamuni, the buddha among humans, it is the
self-radiance of self-existing wisdom, arisen in visible form. It
guides the six classes of beings to the pure realm of Akanishtha, the
completely pure dharmadhatu, and enables them to attain the body of
the sixth buddha, Vajradhara.</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The
sky-blue PAD</b>, born from the self-display of limitless equanimity,
the compassion of the noble ones that does not lapse into partiality,
is the syllable of body and is of the nature of the perfection of
supreme knowledge. It purifies the mental affliction of ignorance,
along with all the results thereby produced - in particular, the
suffering of animals: stupidity, dullness, and servitude. Inseparable
from the body and activity of Dhruvasimha, buddha among the animals,
it is the self-radiance of dharmadhatu wisdom, arisen in visible
form. It guides the six classes of beings to the central pure realm,
The Densely Arrayed, and enables them to attain the body of the
buddha Vairochana.</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The
red ME</b>, born from the self-display of limitless joy, the
compassion of the noble ones that is equal for all, is the syllable
of speech and is of the nature of the perfection of generosity. It
purifies attachment and miserliness, along with all the results
thereby produced - in particular, the suffering of the hungry ghosts:
hunger and thirst. Inseparable from the body and activity of
Jvalamukha, buddha among the hungry ghosts, it is the self-radiance
of discriminating awareness wisdom, arisen in visible form. It guides
the six classes of beings to the western pure realm, Sukhavati, and
enables them to attain the body of the buddha Amitabha.</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-before: always;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The black HUM</b>, born from
the self-display of limitless compassion, the compassion with which
the noble ones look upon all beings as they would their own children,
is the syllable of mind and is of the nature of the perfection of
supreme knowledge. It purifies dualistic anger, along with all the
results thereby produced - in particular, the sufferings of hell
beings: extreme heat and cold. Inseparable from the body and activity
of Dharmaraja, buddha among the hell beings, it is the self-radiance
of mirror-like wisdom, arisen in visible form. It guides the six
classes of beings to the pure realm of True Joy, and enables them to
attain the body of the buddha Akshobhya. </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
embodiment of all the energy of the limitless activity of shaking the
six classes of beings from the depths of samsara is this very
six-syllable king of mantras. Recite it for as long as you are able
as the main body of the session.</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Finally,
the entire phenomenal world, now transformed into kayas and pure
realms by the light from the guru’s body on the crown of your head,
melts into light and dissolves into guru Avalokita, who in turn melts
into light and dissolves into you, after which you too melt into
light. Rest evenly for as long as possible in the luminous emptiness
free of any conception about the three spheres that clings to self
and other, the deity and mantra. Let go of all references toward
fabricated attributes such as existence and nonexistence, “it is”
and “it is not,” and emptiness or non-emptiness. Free of viewer
and viewed, not differentiating appearance, sound, and awareness from
emptiness, rest for as long as possible in the mind of the Noble One,
the natural face of great all-pervading dharmadhatu.</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>3.1.
IMPLEMENTING THE PRACTICE IN DAILY LIFE</b></span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">When
you arise from that, rest evenly in the awareness that everything
included in the domain of the five elements - all things that appear
as self and other: rocks, mountains, cliffs, and so on - is the body
of the Noble Great Compassionate One. All sounds - whether they are
conjoined with the life force faculty of sentient beings or, as the
sounds of the elements, not so conjoined - are the speech of the
Noble One, the melodic resonance of the six syllables. All thoughts
are the mind of the Noble One - awareness and emptiness, free of
fabrication, the innate character of the dharmakaya. In all
activities - walking, sleeping, sitting, or talking - abandon
mundane, attached ways of thinking. </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Being
certain about the samadhi of these three outlooks, recite:</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>The
physical appearance of myself and others is the body of the Noble
One.</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Sounds
are the melody of the six syllables.</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Thoughts
are the expanse of great wisdom.</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>3.2.
DEDICATING THE ROOTS OF VIRTUE TO ENLIGHTENMENT AND MAKING
ASPIRATIONS</b></span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">By
the unsurpassable meritorious accumulation of whatever virtue exists
in my mindstream, dedicated equally to all sentient beings and
symbolized by this meditation and recitation, may I quickly attain
the unsurpassable state equal to that of Avalokiteshvara and thereby
attain the power that will enable me to establish beings limitless as
space, without even a single one left behind, in the state of the
noble, supreme Great Compassionate One, inseparable from perfect,
genuine enlightenment.” </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Thinking
this, recite:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>By
this merit, may we quickly</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Accomplish
Avalokiteshvara</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>And
establish all beings without exception</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>In
that state.</b></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-before: always;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In addition, engage in as many
pure-hearted aspirations as you can. </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b>Those
who do not have time to practice as described as above should
practice as follows</b></u></span><span style="text-decoration: none;">:</span></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Start
with refuge and bodhichitta as described above. For the main
practice, make several supplications with a focused, one-pointed
mind, thinking that noble and supreme Avalokita, with all of the
appropriate objects of visualization, is seated on the crown of your
head, and call to guru Avalokita, thinking, “Consider me!” Now,
OM is the syllable of the wisdom of the five kayas, MANI means
“jewel,” jewel,” and PADME means “with lotus.” Therefore,
“Jewel Holder of the Lotus” is an epithet of noble Avalokita. HUM
represents his performing the activity of protecting the six classes
of beings from suffering. Thus, with a mind of supplication, think,
“Embodiment of the five kayas and five wisdoms, Jewel Holder of the
Lotus, please protect the six classes of beings from suffering,”
while reciting the six syllables as many times as you can. Finally,
the guru Avalokita on the crown of your head, thoroughly pleased,
melts into light and dissolves into you. Think that the wisdom of the
Noble One has entered your mindstream and be free of doubt. Through
dedicating and making aspirations afterwards, one is sure to attain
the benefits listed below. Therefore, all should practice with
devotion and joy!</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>4.
THE TEACHING ON THE BENEFITS</b></span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Now
I shall speak very briefly on the essence of the immeasurable
benefits of practicing the meditation and recitation of noble
Avalokita. In regard to meditating on his body or engaging it
mentally, the Root Tantra of the Lotus Net says: The mandala of body
that accomplishes meditating on all buddhas combined Is the body of
the protector Avalokita. Through meditating on or even recalling it,
The actions of immediate retribution and all obscurations are
purified. </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Also,
in regard to the benefits of reciting the six syllables, king of
secret mantras, here is the stainless speech of the Victorious One,
the perfect Buddha Shakyamuni, the parting words left behind by
mahaguru Padmakara to the subjects of Tibet, and the
treasure-teaching of the great, undisputed, emanated
treasure-revealer, vidyadhara Jatson Nyingpo:</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>OM
MANI PADME HUM</b></span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">This
six-syllable mantra is the very embodiment of the wisdom heart of all
buddhas, the essence of the five buddha families, and the essence of
the holders of the secret. It contains the condensed oral instruction
of each of the six syllables and is the source of all sugatas and
excellent qualities. It is the root of all siddhis that bring benefit
and happiness, the great path to the higher realms and liberation.
Through even hearing once these six syllables, the supreme speech
that is the essence of all dharmas, one attains the level of a
non-returner and becomes a liberator and guide of beings. Through
hearing it at the time of death, ants and other animals will be freed
from that body and born in Sukhavati. Through the mere recollection
of the six syllables, like the sunrise shining on the snow, all of
the misdeeds and obscurations of negative karma that have been
accumulated during one’s lives in samsara since beginningless time
will be purified, and one will be born in Sukhavati. Through even
touching it, one obtains the empowerments of limitless buddhas and
bodhisattvas. Meditating on it even once fulfills the objectives of
hearing, contemplating, and meditating. All appearances will arise as
the dharmakaya, and the treasury of the activity that benefits beings
will be opened.</span>” </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Also,
“O child of noble family, though it is possible to measure the
weight of Mount Meru, king of mountains, in ounces, one cannot
measure the merit of reciting once the six syllables. Even if one
wipes a cliff of diamonds with kashika cloth only once every hundred
years, one will be able to cause its full erosion. Still one cannot
measure the merit of reciting once the six syllables. Though one may
drain a great ocean one drop at a time, the merit of reciting the six
syllables once cannot be</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-before: always;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">exhausted. All the atoms of earth
in the whole Land of Snows, and each and every leaf in a verdant
forest, can be counted, but the measure of the merit of reciting the
six syllables once cannot be taken. Similarly, it is possible to
empty a house one hundred miles long filled with sesame seeds, even
if one tosses them out one at a time, but the merit of reciting the
six syllables once cannot be measured. It is possible to count the
number of raindrops that fall in a year, but the merit of reciting
the six syllables once cannot be counted. Therefore, child of noble
family, it is not necessary for me to continue explaining day and
night. For though it is possible to measure the merit of serving ten
million tathagatas like myself, the merit of reciting the six
syllables once cannot be measured. This is what closes the gates of
birth for the six classes of beings. This is what brings one through
the paths and levels of the six perfections. This is what purifies
the stains of karma, mental afflictions, and habitual tendencies.
This is what refines appearances into the pure realms of the three
kayas. Listen, O children of noble family! This essence, the heart of
the blessings of all victorious ones, Is the source of all benefit
and happiness, And the root of all siddhis. It is the ladder that
leads to the higher realms. It is the door that blocks the lower
realms. It is the ship in which one crosses over samsara. It is the
torch that dispels darkness. It is the warrior that conquers the five
poisons. It is the blazing fire that burns away misdeeds and
obscurations. It is the hammer that pounds down suffering.It is the
remedy that tames uncultured lands. It is the dharma inheritance of
the Land of Snows. It is the condensed, pithy essence Of the many
sutras, tantras, and treatises, And of all hearing, contemplating,
and meditating. It is the precious king of mantras. Recite these six
syllables!”</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Thus
the benefits, which cannot be done justice by words, have been lauded
in both the direct oral lineage and the treasure teachings. Since
reciting the enlightened speech of the six syllables even once is
sure to produce the benefits explained here, do not let your three
gates lapse into their mundane states. Make a commitment toward
reciting this mantra between one hundred and ten thousand times a
day, continuously and without fail, which will gather a vast
accumulation of virtue that brings great benefit with little
difficulty. Strive in every way to make your life meaningful. </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<br />
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>May
the rope of the Noble One’s compassion Draw beings up from the
ocean of samsara. May they be confirmed on the mountain of Potala,
The completely free and blissful grove of liberation.</i></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-10240609593357712482015-01-05T13:01:00.004-08:002015-01-05T13:01:41.545-08:00Yidams - the Source of Accomplishments<div style="text-align: justify;">
The special methods of the Vajrayana aim at bringing the appearances, which we generally experience as impure, to a pure level. The central point of this transformation is the understanding that only on the relative level do all phenomena appear as we experience them. On the absolute level, they don't have any real existence - they are nothing but a dream, an illusion. If one understands the true essence of all things, this in itself becomes the experience of their purity. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One cannot transform impure experiences into pure ones just by reciting a mantra in order to change phenomena. It is also not through some special substances possessing such powers, or through offerings to some gods who in return help us. All this has nothing to do with what is happening in the Vajrayana. What it is all about is developing the understanding that the world of appearances does not present itself as confusion; it is our clinging to things which brings up confusion. In order to experience the purity of all things, there is nothing more to do than to understand that on the relative level things appear due to various conditions and due to dependent occurrence, but on the absolute level they are not truly existent. These two aspects are not separate from each other. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What is meant by "impure appearances" or "pure appearances?" "Impure" refers to our belief that things are real and exist independently from each other. The belief that things are truly existent is an extreme view which is not correct because the true nature of all things is emptiness. If one wants to recognize the emptiness of all phenomena one cannot just accept what one is told. In fact, it would be very difficult to understand the true nature of things simply by talking or hearing about it. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is not the mere appearance of things which brings about confusion, it is the way we relate to things and cling to them as being real. Because things in themselves are empty, they are beyond the categories of arising and ceasing. The fact that they appear is the aspect of unobstructed self-expression. The various methods of the Vajrayana are used in order to understand that. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For the practice of the Vajrayana, one needs the view that things only appear on the relative level but in their true nature they are not really existent. Nevertheless, one still believes things are real. These are the two different perspectives, and what it is all about is to connect both of them so that they are not constantly contradicting each other. The different Vajrayana methods, as for example the meditation on Buddha aspects (Tib.: yidam, lit.: mind-bond) and mantras are used to bring these apparent contradictions to an end. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Among the "three roots" of the Vajrayana - lama, yidam and protector - it is the lama who is the most important; yidam and protector are manifestations of the lama. The mind of the lama is the Dharmakaya, the emptiness of space. The yidams appear out of it as an expression of the mind's inherent compassion and clarity. Thus they do not have the kind of true existence as is attributed to worldly gods. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The reason that the yidams appear in manifold forms, for example peaceful and wrathful, is that the disciples have different attitudes, views and aspirations. In order to meet these different wishes, there are different appearances of the yidams as an expression of the compassion of the lama. The yidams also appear in so many different ways in order to symbolize that the whole spectrum of our clinging to impure appearances is purified. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now, we have a dualistic perception and are always thinking in dualistic categories. Therefore, we are not able to relate to the ultimate yidam and we need something which represents him. The many forms of the yidams which we know from pictures are in that form symbols for the ultimate yidam. The meditation on the yidam deities is divided into two phases, the so called developing phase (Tib.: Kjerim) and the completion phase (Tib.: Dsogrim). The meaning of it is as follows. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All appearances arise in a mutual dependence. Something arises at a certain time, stays for a while and disappears again. The two phases of meditation are used in order to symbolize that the principle of arising and disappearing is carried on to a pure level. The arising of a deity symbolizes that the clinging to the arising of the commonly experienced world is purified. The developing phases have different elements: first one visualizes oneself as the deity, then one visualizes the deity in the space in front of oneself, one makes offerings and praises, etc. The reason that one visualizes oneself first as the yidam is the following: we all consider ourselves as being very important. If now somebody tells us, "You are not really existent," then this is difficult for us to understand and to accept. In the developing phase one deals with it in a way that one does not think about whether one exists or not, but one simply disregards this question and visualizes oneself in the form of the deity. If one visualizes oneself as the deity, while being aware that the yidam is an expression of complete purity, the clinging to an "I" disappears naturally. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The visualization of the yidam in space in front of oneself works in a similar way. Now we cling to all the outer objects we perceive. In the developing phase one imagines the whole outer world as the palace of the yidam. The yidam is in the middle of the palace, and all beings appear in the form of the yidam. By visualizing the impure appearances in their pure form one overcomes the clinging to them. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Therefore, it is important to understand that all the elements of the developing phase have a symbolic content. Without this understanding, for example believing the deity to be truly existent, one just confuses oneself in the meditation and even increases the illusion. If one uses the various developing and completion phases of the yidams, it is important to know the meaning of their different forms. Why, for example, does one visualize 16 arms, four legs, etc., if two are actually enough? To believe that we must visualize this because the yidams actually look like this would be a misconception. To believe in the true existence of the yidam is a little bit ridiculous and very confusing. Instead of that, one should understand that there is something which is purified and something which is a method of purification. The visualization of an yidam with four arms, for example, is a symbol of purifying our general way of experiencing things in so-called fourfold categories. For example the four elements and everything else we believe to appear in a fourfold manner. The three eyes of a yidam symbolize the overcoming of our way of thinking in threefold categories. For example the three times. The same applies to all the other details of the deity; all of them have the meaning to purify our common clinging to the world of our experiences. </div>
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Without this understanding, one ends up in the meditation full of misconceptions. One either holds things to be true or to be not existent at all. That is how one enters an entirely wrong path, which does not have anything to do with Vajrayana or Buddhism as such. To believe the yidams to be truly existent and not understand that they are symbols of the purification of our conceptual ideas about the experienced world only increases concepts further. It has the effect that the illusions, which one already has, become stronger, which can then lead to the experience of fear during the meditation or to the appearance of thoughts which one does not know how to deal with. Therefore, it is so important in the meditation practice, especially in the Vajrayana, to acquire the right view. How does this right view look? It is the understanding that the relative appearance of things and their ultimate reality are a unity, that they are not separate from each other and not contradicting each other. </div>
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The developing phases of the yidam-deities correspond to the relative truth, the way things appear. The completion phases correspond to the principle that ultimately things are not truly existent. At the same time one needs the understanding that both form a unity. </div>
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The completion phases are used to avoid falling into the extreme view of believing things to be truly existent. The developing phases avert the extreme view of believing things to not exist at all, to only be empty. The understanding that both form a unity gives rise to the understanding that everything is the union of joy and emptiness. By meditating in this way, through the application of the yidam practice, the relative and the ultimate achievements can be obtained. In that sense, the yidam is called "the root of accomplishments." </div>
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The protectors, "the root of activity", can bee seen as the manifold expression of the yidams, which again are the expression of the Dharmadhatu mind of the lama. The meaning of the protectors, since the Vajrayana is a very profound path, is to protect one from the many conflicting circumstances and hindrances which may appear while being on that path. One relies on the protectors to pacify and eliminate these hindrances. Yidams and protectors are very important in the Vajrayana, however the lama, the root of blessing, is the most important element. The reason is that only through the lama can blessing and inspiration enter ones own mindstream. </div>
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All elements which are used on the Vajrayana path have a profound meaning. The body of the yidam is the unity of appearance and emptiness, the mantra is the unity of sound and emptiness, and the mind is the unity of awareness and emptiness. If one applies these elements to one's own practice, by abiding completely in this awareness, one can let the pride of the deity arise in oneself. But in order to do so one has to understand the real meaning of these things. It is not about simply visualizing oneself as the deity, because by the mere visualization one does not achieve this understanding. </div>
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Practitioners have to understand three things. The view is that both kinds of reality make up an inseparable unity. For the path, the understanding that method and wisdom are a unity is important. Concerning the fruit, one needs the understanding that the two kayas which are achieved are a unity. Especially when practicing Mahamudra or Maha Ati, the understanding of these three elements is very important. Otherwise, one cannot realize the fruit through this practice. </div>
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What about the so called "ultimate yidam"? Chenrezig (Loving Eyes) for example appears in a very specific form, with four arms, etc. Nevertheless, this is not the ultimate aspect of this yidam; it is just the way he appears. The ultimate yidam is the awareness that Chenrezig's expression is the compassion of all Buddhas. </div>
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The form Dorje Phagmo (Diamond Sow) has is a symbolic form. The ultimate Dorje Phagmo is that the space of phenomena is the highest transcendent wisdom, the mother of all Buddhas which gives rise to all Buddhas. She is the paramita of wisdom.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Vienna, October 1987</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Kagyu Life International, No.4, 1995</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Copyright ©1995 Kamtsang Choling USA</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-33944224731485305412015-01-05T08:32:00.003-08:002015-01-05T08:32:46.115-08:00Yidam Deities in Vajrayana<div style="text-align: justify;">
Generally speaking, there are three vehicles of practice in Buddhism: Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Today I wish to speak about Vajrayana.</div>
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Meditating a Yidam deity is central in Vajrayana. It is crucial for Vajrayana practitioners to know that Yidam deities are not external to one’s own mind, rather they are images that help us work with our own mind. Yidams are the unblemished reflection of the primordial and innate true nature of our mind that manifests in specific forms and colors. The purpose and goal of our practice is to attain perfect Buddhahood, which manifests in three aspects or forms at fruition – the Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya. It is important to know that the three kayas are indivisible.</div>
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Describing the three kayas briefly: Dharmakaya is the true nature or essence of Buddhahood that appears as the Sambhogakaya; the two kayas are not separate from one another. The Dharmakaya, that has no form and is therefore intangible, is the vast state or fundamental ground of the mind’s true nature that is free from inherent existence and adventitious stains; it cannot be fathomed and cannot be described in words. The unblemished, vast ground of one’s mind that is free from discursive thoughts, the Dharmakaya, is replete with great clarity and creativity and continuously manifests in a perceptible form, which, from the ultimate state of Buddhahood, is the Sambhogakaya, “the body of complete enjoyment.” Manifestations of the Sambhogakaya are referred to as Yidam deities. A Vajrayana practitioner turns his or her attention towards a depiction of one of the many Yidams that represent the ultimate state of enlightenment.</div>
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The great variety of Yidam deities have the same essence and are images of the many manifestations of enlightenment, for example, as Noble Chenrezig, Arya Tara, Bodhisattva Manjushri or the wrathful appearances such as Vajravarahi and Chakrasamvara. It’s important to distinguish between how things are and how things appear and to know that the essence of the manifold appearances of enlightenment is one and the same, namely the intangible Dharmakaya. Things appear in a limitless number of forms – thick, thin, flat, square, round, and so forth. They appear in many colors and in their combination – white, blue, yellow, red, and green. And so, enlightenment manifests in a great variety of forms and ways.</div>
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When we perceive and apprehend an appearance that accords with our propensities and inclinations – our wants and needs -, then we are happy about the appearance. When we apprehend an appearance that doesn’t accord with our personal inclinations, then we are less pleased with it. The manifestation of Yidams, which are an expression of enlightenment, are free from the necessity of appearing in a specific form or in a certain color, rather every Yidam is a reflection of our personal wants and needs. Being an image of people’s various capabilities and inclinations, some Yidams appear white in color, like Noble Chenrezig, others are blue, yellow, red, or green and have different forms. In truth, Yidams are the display of the immense compassion of the Buddhas.</div>
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Is the Yidam deity we meditate a truly existent, permanent entity? It is important to know that this is not the case. All Yidams arise in dependence in that they are created by our own mind. If one meditates a Yidam deity that one creates and cultivates with one’s mind intensively for a long period of time and accomplishes the aim of the practice, then one will have realized the actual and true manifestation of the Sambhogakaya.</div>
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A beginning practitioner works at creating an image of a Yidam like Noble Chenrezig by imagining his color and all details of his form as clearly as possible. It’s impossible for a beginner to see the image with opened eyes, so, knowing that one is engaging in the methods of practice by creating the image of a Yidam, one closes one’s eyes lightly and practices seeing the inner image until one sees it clearly. If one practices diligently, then the Yidam one meditates will eventually directly manifest. A practitioner of the Buddhadharma strives to attain Buddhadhood, complete and perfect enlightenment that manifests as the three kayas at fruition.</div>
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Buddhahood is attained through the gradual process of transforming oneself into the body of perfect enlightenment by overcoming and finally eradicating one’s destructive emotions that are veils concealing one’s true nature. One’s body, speech, and mind manifest as primordial purity when Buddhahood has been attained. When one has attained Buddhaood, one’s body will have been transformed into the Nirmanakaya, one’s speech into the Sambhogakaya, and one’s mind into the Dharmakaya. The three terms designate the goal that is eventually achieved through practice. Complete purification of one’s impurities that conceal one’s true nature is called Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya; they are called mind, speech, and body for ordinary beings who have not vanquished their impurities and who have not attained fruition. And all along, the essence of the pure kayas and the essence of the impure aspects of ordinary living beings are and always will be the same.</div>
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The main purpose of practice is to transform one’s impure perception of appearances and apprehension of experiences that determine one’s life into pure and untainted perceptions and apprehensions. Therefore, in order to cleanse one’s impure way of perceiving and apprehending things, one repeatedly meditates the immaculate appearance of a Yidam deity. Practice consists of focusing one’s attention on a pure image of enlightenment, a Yidam, until one’s perception of the purity of all appearances becomes clear and brilliant and determines one’s life. It isn’t possible to attain this goal right away, and that is why beginners fabricate thoughts about a Yidam while cultivating it during meditation practice.</div>
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Beginners close their eyes and imagine the form, color, and ornaments of a specific Yidam, i.e., they simultaneously practice creating the pure physical, verbal, and mental aspects of the Yidam. The physical aspect of practice is visualizing the body of the Yidam as clearly as possible. The verbal aspect is reciting the mantra of the deity. And the mental aspect is concentrating one’s attention one-pointedly on the image and mantra of the Yidam without becoming distracted. Of course, it isn’t possible to perfect all three aspects of a Yidam such as Noble Chenrezig all at once and from the start, so one begins slowly and step by step by concentrating on the eyes, then on the head of the deity, continuing with its shoulders and entire body. One practices again and again, and, like all things in life, practice makes perfect. Through repeated and regular practice over a longer period of time the entire image of the Yidam will clearly appear in one’s mind.</div>
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Practitioners can have doubts and wonder whether the Yidam exists or not and whether the practice is beneficial or not. There is no reason to have doubts if one is aware of the fact that the image of the Yidam is not born outside oneself, since one knows that one is creating it with one’s imagination and with one’s eyes closed. If one continues practicing, then eventually one will see the image of the pure deity as the manifestation of one’s own perception with opened eyes. It’s important to be assured that a practitioner doesn’t walk around seeing blue or white images holding flowers in their hands, rather fruition means that a successful practitioner sees phenomena free from any personal, conceptual and emotional blemishes.</div>
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Perception of the true nature of all appearances and experiences has three aspects – clarity, unchanging, and perfect purity. This means to say that by practicing meditation diligently, a practitioner eventually perceives the essence of phenomena clearly and brilliantly. Furthermore, he or she sees that the essence of phenomena doesn’t fluctuate by coming and going, but is changeless, and that it is perfectly pure, which means to say that it isn’t blemished by impeding veils of disturbing emotions and thoughts.</div>
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We are followers of Vajrayana, and the heart of the Vajrayana path is meditating a Yidam deity. As said, it’s important not to have any illusions and to know that it isn’t easy to clearly perceive an enlightened Yidam. Traditionally, Yidam meditation practices were carried out in a three-year retreat, but if one practices diligently and becomes accustomed to generating and visualizing a deity, then eventually the visualization will arise clearly and distinctly.</div>
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Red Chenrezig is the main practice of Kagyüpa three-year retreatants. If a practitioner isn’t distracted and naturally and easefully abides in one-pointed concentration on Red Chenrezig for a while, then it can happen that he or she sees the entire room bathed in a vibrant, red color. It can also happen that retreatants lose their feeling for time, i.e., they lose their feeling for morning, noon, and night, even while taking their meals. This is a sign that a practitioner’s perception has become lucid, constant, and pure, i.e., he or she has become unaffected by time. These two examples are based upon my own experience. Another experience I had is that when the three aspects described above manifest, then one reaches a point at which every appearance is seen in the same way.</div>
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Meditating a Yidam is extremely helpful when it comes to dealing with daily samsaric appearances and experiences that we continuously face. Cultivating and identifying with the pure appearance of a Yidam deity again and again and over a longer period of time alleviates the impact that impure and painful experiences otherwise have. Everyone has problems and they vary from one person to the other. If a practitioner becomes accustomed to a pure Yidam that is not made of matter, then the force and strength of problems that everyone encounters and that everybody has weaken and diminish and as a result it’s easier dealing with them.</div>
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There are three prerequisites for Yidam practice to be beneficial: the person who meditates, the object of meditation, and the way the visualization is practiced. All three factors need to be united. It is very important to remember that the image of a Yidam that one produces and cultivates in one’s meditation does not arise and exist outside one’s own mind. It would be a grave illusion to think that the Yidam one produces during meditation practice is an external entity that truly exists and is other than oneself. A Yidam is a beneficial and wholesome projection of one’s own mind that one works with.</div>
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There are various ways of generating a Yidam deity in the different traditions. For example, there is the tradition of visualizing a Yidam in front of oneself in space and there is the tradition of visualizing oneself as a Yidam. A practitioner visualizes Red Chenrezig both in space as well as himself or herself in the form of the deity during a three-year retreat. One visualizes one’s ordinary body in the form of a Yidam, because, as it is, one is extremely attached to one’s body, speech, and mind due to thinking that they truly exist and stand for a self one believes in and clings to. The purpose of visualizing oneself as a Yidam is to diminish and slowly overcome attachment to the self that one believes in and clings to.</div>
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Meditating again and again that one’s body, speech, and mind are not different than the pure body, speech, and mind of a Yidam and that they are indivisible decreases and eventually eradicates one’s attachment to the ordinary idea one has of oneself that one clings to and that one is convinced really exists. It happens naturally and isn’t hard identifying with one’s ordinary body, speech, and mind and calling it “me,” and it isn’t easy giving up clinging to the impure body, speech, and mind one identifies with so strongly and points to as “I.” One needs to exert energy and practice, seeing one isn’t accustomed to experiencing the true and pure nature of one’s being. The aim of Vajrayana is to progressively replace one’s ordinary, gross perception with a pure perception of what is true.</div>
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Hinayana practitioners also learn to vanquish attachment to a self by intensively contemplating the impure substances that make up everyone’s body. Vajrayana practitioners, in contrast, do not give up clinging to a self by shunning appearances, rather they learn to purify their delusive relationship with appearances and experiences and then can give up their attachment and clinging to what they call “self and others.” Mahayana practitioners realize that all appearances - including their own body, tiniest atoms, and all constituents - are empty of inherent existence and only exist in dependence on other things. By realizing the empty nature of all sensory perceptions and apprehensions, they purify their impure cognition of reality and in the process give up clinging to a self and others.</div>
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Lord Buddha presented many methods of practice so that we can purify our delusive apprehensions of the world and sentient beings. Vajrayana practitioners engage in the result of the path while practicing, whereas followers of Sutrayana focus their attention on the cause that leads to the result. We saw that Buddhahood denotes realization of the indivisibility of the three kayas. Vajrayana practitioners identify with all three ultimate dimensions of reality, the result, by meditating and cultivating a Yidam while on the path to enlightenment, which means to say that they take the result as the path.</div>
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Attainment of the result, Buddhahood, doesn’t mean arriving at another location or being transposed, rather it means having gradually transformed one’s subtle channels (nadi in Sanskrit), winds (prana), and vital essences (bindu). At Buddhahood, the subtle channels that support one’s body are completely purified and are the Nirmanakaya; the subtle winds that support one’s speech are purified and are the Sambhogakaya; and the vital essences that support one’s mind are purified to the extent that one’s ordinary, conceptual mind that creates dualistic thoughts is purified and transformed into pristine awareness, which is the true nature of one’s mind, the Dharmakaya.</div>
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There are four classes of tantra in Vajrayana: action tantra (kriya tantra in Sanskrit), conduct tantra (charya tantra), yoga tantra (yoga tantra), and hightest yoga tantra (anuttarayoga tantra). Anuttarayoga tantra is the profoundest level of practice that is carried out in the frame of the Six Yogas of Naropa, at which stage the subtle channels, winds, and vital essences are central. Practitioners of Anuttarayoga don’t visualize Yidam deities anymore, but directly employ the pure aspects of body, speech, and mind, i.e., the unblemished manifestation of the self-perfected state. At fruition, our ordinary body, speech, and mind are transformed into their innate purity, in which case our mind is free of all contrivances and abides in simplicity.</div>
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Generally speaking, the subtle channels, winds, and vital essences are very powerful. When blockages in the channels are unravelled, i.e., the knots untied, and the winds can flow through them smoothly, then a practitioner doesn’t become sick anymore. Sicknesses arise due to blockages and disturbances in one’s subtle body. These blockages and disturbances and their interplay bring on sicknesses and diseases, which one experiences with one’s mind with sadness and woe. This process is referred to as suffering. If through practice one frees one’s subtle channels, winds, and vital essences of knots and disturbances, then one will be healthy and will experience happiness and bliss. If one can unite one’s subtle body, speech, and mind with the purity of a Yidam’s body, speech, and mind, then one’s channels, winds, and vital essences will have become purified and free. As a result, one will experience less sicknesses and suffering and, instead, one will experience happiness and joy. We saw that meditating a Yidam is central to Vajrayana, just as it is central to Mahayoga, and we should know that Yidams are directly related to oneself and accomplished when one has perfectly purified one’s subtle channels, winds, and vital essences. And so, it is evident that Yidams don’t exist outside or are separate from us, but are images of our own purity.</div>
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It’s important to distinguish between a designated Yidam and an actual Yidam. When speaking of Noble Chenrezig, for instance, we are referring to a designated deity. The actual and true deity is one’s own purified body, speech, and mind. Impure appearances are impure perceptions and apprehensions. When one’s impure perceptions and apprehensions have been purified and therefore overcome, then one’s ordinary body, ordinary speech, and ordinary mind will have been transformed into a vajra body, vajra speech, and vajra mind, which are the three aspects of enlightenment (the Nirmanakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Dharmakaya). At the moment, one isn’t able to connect or experience the actual Yidam. So one identifies with a designated Yidam that one produces with one’s thoughts in order to eventually experience and realize the actual Yidam. A practitioner begins by visualizing and identifying as best as he or she possibly can with a completely pure Yidam. Calm abiding or insight meditation are not topics of Yidam practice, which deals with the practice of meditating a deity.</div>
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There are innumerable practices. Since followers and practitioners have a huge amount of varying propensities and inclinations, there are a great number of Yidams in Vajrayana, starting with their various colors and forms. The great number of Yidam deities in Vajrayana can be compared to a menu in a big restaurant – every guest is free to choose the meal they prefer having. Vajrayana is like that too, seeing one’s practice is enhanced if the Yidam one creates accords with and satisfies one’s preferences and needs. There are practitioners who prefer meditating Noble Chenrezig, others feel more comfortable meditating Arya Tara; others want to meditate Sangye Menla, who is Medicine Buddha. Yet other practitioners want to meditate Buddha Amitabha. These deities appear in different forms, but, irrelevant of the outer form, every practice is beneficial and leads to the same result. There are many disciples who prefer meditating wrathful Yidams, such as Vajravarahi or Chakrasamvara or Kalachakra or Mahakala, and these practices bring the same result as meditating a peaceful deity. There are disciples who fear practicing Mahakala, for example, whereas other disciples really like meditating Mahakala, and this is what is meant when speaking about individual propensities and inclinations. In any case, Vajrayana practice consists of identifying with a Yidam, which is an extraordinary method when compared to practices taught in other vehicles.</div>
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Again, it’s important to differentiate between a Yidam designated and created by one’s mind with one’s thoughts and the actual and true Yidam. Hinayana and Mahayana followers often have great doubts when they see all the Vajrayana deities and think, “What a lot of constructs that lead away from the absolute truth.” So it’s important to differentiate and understand the meaning and purpose of Yidam practice. Due to the exceptional methods, Vajrayana is also called “Secret Mantrayana.”</div>
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I have spoken briefly about the principle and foundation of Vajrayana practice here. Thank you very much.</div>
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Dedication</div>
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Through this goodness may omniscience be attained</div>
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And thereby may every enemy (mental defilement) be overcome.</div>
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May beings be liberated from the ocean of samsara</div>
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That is troubled by waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.</div>
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By this virtue may I quickly attain the state of Guru Buddha and then</div>
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Lead every being without exception to that very state!</div>
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May precious and supreme Bodhicitta that has not been generated now be so,</div>
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And may precious Bodhicitta that has already been never decline, but continuously increase!</div>
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May the life of the Glorious Lama remain steadfast and firm.</div>
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May peace and happiness fully arise for beings as limitless in number as space is vast in its extent.</div>
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Having accumulated merit and purified negativities,</div>
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May I and all living beings without exception swiftly</div>
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establish the levels and grounds of Buddhahood.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Instructions presented at Karma Theksum Tashi Chöling in Hamburg in October 2008. Photo of Chöje Lama Phuntsok taken at the center this year. With sincere gratitude to Madhavi Maren Simoneit for making the recording of the teachings available to us and for her immense help. Translated into English totally in reliance on the German rendering kindly offered by Rosemarie Fuchs by Gaby Hollmann, responsible for all mistakes. Copyright Lama Phuntsok, Karma Lekshey Ling Institute, as well as Theksum Tashi Chöling, 2008.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-12212651122678806302014-12-16T02:29:00.000-08:002014-12-16T02:38:26.472-08:00It’s enough, practicing one yidam!<div style="text-align: justify;">
An old saying has it that, “Tibetans ruin it for themselves by having too many deities.” They think they have to practice one, then they have to practice another, then a third and a fourth. It goes on and on, and they end up not accomplishing anything, whereas in India a meditator would practice a single deity for his entire life and he would reach supreme accomplishment. It would be good if we were to take this attitude. If we practice Vajrasattva, it is perfectly complete to simply practice that single yidam. One doesn’t have to be constantly shifting to different deities afraid one will miss something, because there is absolutely nothing missing in the single yidam one practices.</div>
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A line from one tantra says, “I apologize for accepting and rejecting the yidam deity.” Sometimes one feels tired with a particular practice, like “It’s enough, practicing this one yidam!” Then you give up that one and try practicing another one, then after a while, another. Try not to do this.</div>
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As I said earlier, if you accomplish one buddha, then you accomplish all buddhas. If you attain the realization of one yidam, automatically you attain realization of all yidams at the same time. Of course, there is nothing wrong with practicing more than one. The point is to not skip around between them. Practice whichever yidam you like best. You will naturally feel more inclined towards one yidam than another, and this feeling is a very good indication of which yidam you are connected to. The basic guideline is to choose whoever you feel most inspired by. Once you choose one, practice it continuously.</div>
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There are no essential differences between the yidams. You cannot say that there are good or bad yidams, in that all yidam forms are included within the five buddha families. It is not that one buddha family is better or worse than any of the other ones—not at all. People’s individual feelings do make a difference, in that some people want to practice Padmasambhava as their yidam, while some want to practice Avalokiteshvara or Buddha Shakyamuni or Tara. The preference varies from person to person due to karmic inclination. It is not that there is any distinction in quality between yidams. If you take the one hundred peaceful and wrathful deities as your yidam, you have everyone included.</div>
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Once you reach accomplishment, you have simultaneously accomplished all enlightened qualities, regardless of which yidam you practice. It doesn’t make any difference. For example, when the sun rises, its warmth and light are simultaneously present. If you accomplish one buddha form, you simultaneously accomplish all buddha forms. The reason is that all yidams are essentially the same; they differ only in form, not essence. The fundamental reason one attains accomplishment is because of recognizing mind essence while doing the yidam practice. The real practice is recognizing rigpa, and you use the yidam as the external form of the practice. Even though every yidam manifests various aspects of different qualities, in essence they are all the same.</div>
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You can describe the rising sun in all sorts of different ways: some people will say that when the sun rises, it’s no longer cold, or that there’s no more darkness, or that it becomes light and you can see. It’s the same with describing the different qualities of the enlightened state, in which all the qualities such as wisdom, compassion and capability are spontaneously present.</div>
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Try to see yidam practice as a gift which the buddhas have given to us because we have requested it. When we take refuge we are asking for protection, to be safeguarded, and the real protection lies in the teachings on how to remove the obscurations and how to attain realization. The real protection is the yidam practice. Through it we can remove what needs to be removed and realize what needs to be realized, and thereby attain accomplishment.</div>
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Although we have this enlightened essence, it is like a butter lamp that is not yet lit, not enlightened yet. We need to connect with, to touch it with a lit butter lamp in order to light our own. Imagine two butter lamps together here: one is not lit, the other is already enlightened. The one that is as yet unlit has to bow to the other in order to get the light.</div>
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In the same way, we already have the buddha nature, but we haven’t caught on to it yet. We haven’t recognized, trained in it, and attained stability. There is great benefit in connecting with those other “lamps” because they have already recognized their buddha nature, trained in it, and obtained stability. Our butter lamp is ready to be kindled, to catch the flame, but it hasn’t recognized itself, it hasn’t trained, and it hasn’t yet attained stability.</div>
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There is benefit in yidam practice. Mipham Rinpoche had a vision of Manjushri, his supreme deity, and through that became a great pandita, an extremely learned scholar. Many of the Indian mahasiddhas practiced Tara sadhana. They combined recognizing mind essence with the yidam practice and attained accomplishment. All the life stories of those who became great masters tell of yidam practice. You never hear of anyone saying, “I achieved accomplishment and didn’t use any deity. I didn’t need to say any mantra.” The yidam deity practice is like adding oil to the fire of practice; it blazes up even higher and hotter.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, As It Is (Volume 1)</i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-23397843348742565012014-12-11T03:50:00.002-08:002014-12-11T04:06:21.637-08:00A Discourse Virtuous in the Beginning, Middle, and End<h4>
by Kyabje Khyentse Dorje Chang Of Za Paltrul Rinpoche</h4>
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***</div>
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NAMO LOKESHVARĀYA</div>
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1.</div>
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If but a single drop of the nectar of your name were to fall upon my ears,</div>
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They would be filled with the sound of Dharma for countless lives.</div>
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Wondrous Three Jewels, may the brilliance of your renown</div>
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Bring perfect happiness everywhere!</div>
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2.</div>
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Like some persimmons in the autumn</div>
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Which, though inside still unripe, look ripe outside,</div>
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I myself am just the semblance of a Dharma practitioner,</div>
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And since my mind and the Dharma haven’t mixed, my Dharma teaching won’t be up to much.</div>
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3.</div>
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But since you, worthy friend, entreat me insistently,</div>
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I cannot refuse—I will speak out frankly.</div>
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Unusual though it is in this decadent age,</div>
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I offer you these words without treachery, so listen well.</div>
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4.</div>
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The True Ṛiṣhi, the Munīndra, god of gods,</div>
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Attained the true level through the true path,</div>
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And truly showed this true and excellent path to others.</div>
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Isn’t that why he’s known as the True Ṛiṣhi?</div>
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5.</div>
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Alas! For people in this age of residues!</div>
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The mind’s wholesome core of truth has withered, and people live deceitfully,</div>
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So their thoughts are warped, their speech is twisted,</div>
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They cunningly mislead others—who can trust them?</div>
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6.</div>
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Alas! How depressing to see the beings of this degenerate age!</div>
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Alas! Can anyone trust what anyone says?</div>
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It’s like living in a land of vicious man-eating demons—</div>
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Think about it, and do yourself a big favor.</div>
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7.</div>
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Not long ago, your consciousness was wandering alone.</div>
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Swept along by karma, it took this present birth.</div>
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Soon, like a hair pulled out of butter,</div>
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Leaving everything behind, you’ll go on again alone.</div>
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8.</div>
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Of course what we want is our own good,</div>
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So we have to be honest with our own selves:</div>
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If we don’t accomplish the essence of the Dharma for our own sake,</div>
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Won’t we be ruining our own life?</div>
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9.</div>
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In this dark age, what people think and do is vile.</div>
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None of them will help you, they’ll deceive and trick you;</div>
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And for you to be of any help to them will be hard;</div>
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Wouldn’t it be best to quit the whole rat race?</div>
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10.</div>
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Though you serve your superiors, they will never be pleased;</div>
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Though you look after your inferiors, they will never be satisfied;</div>
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Though you care about others, they won’t care about you.</div>
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Think about it, and make a firm decision.</div>
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11.</div>
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Being learned these days doesn’t help the teachings—it just leads to more debate;</div>
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Being realized these days doesn’t help others—it just leads to more criticism;</div>
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Being in a responsible position these days doesn’t help govern the country well—it only spreads revolt.</div>
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Think about these times with sorrow and disgust.</div>
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12.</div>
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Though you explain, people miss the point or don’t believe you;</div>
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Though your motivation is truly altruistic, people think it’s not.</div>
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These days, when the crooked see the straight as crooked,</div>
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You can’t help anyone—give up any hope of that.</div>
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13.</div>
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“All phenomena are like magical illusions,” said the Buddhas;</div>
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But these days the illusions are more illusory than ever,</div>
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Trickeries conjured up by devious illusionists—</div>
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Beware of the illusions of this degenerate age’s ways.</div>
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14.</div>
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“All talk is like an echo,” said the Buddhas,</div>
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But these days it’s more like the re-echo of an echo.</div>
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What the echoes say and what they mean are not the same,</div>
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So don’t take any notice of these insidious echo-words.</div>
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15.</div>
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Whoever you see isn’t human, but a fraud;</div>
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Whatever people say isn’t right, but just lies.</div>
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So since these days there’s no one you can trust,</div>
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You’d better live alone and stay free.</div>
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16.</div>
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If your actions conform with Dharma, you’ll antagonize everyone;</div>
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If your words are truthful, most people will get angry;</div>
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If your mind is truly good and pure, they will judge it a defect.</div>
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Now is the time to keep your own way hidden.</div>
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17.</div>
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Hide your body by staying alone in a mountain wilderness;</div>
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Hide your speech by cutting off contact and saying very little;</div>
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Hide your mind by being continuously aware of your own faults alone.</div>
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This is what it means to be a hidden yogī.</div>
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18.</div>
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Disgust, because there’s no one to be trusted,</div>
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Sadness, because there’s no meaning in anything,</div>
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Determination, because there’ll never be time to get everything you want;</div>
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If you always keep these three things in mind, some good will come of it.</div>
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19.</div>
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There’s no time to be happy; happiness is over just like that;</div>
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You don’t want to suffer, so eradicate suffering with Dharma.</div>
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Whatever happiness or suffering comes, recognize it as the power of your past actions,</div>
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And from now on have no hopes or doubts regarding anyone at all.</div>
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20.</div>
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Expecting a lot from people, you do a lot of smiling;</div>
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Needing many things for yourself, you have many needs to meet;</div>
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Making plans to do first this, then that, your mind’s full of hopes and fears—</div>
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From now on, come what may, don’t be like that.</div>
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21.</div>
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Even if you die today, why be sad? It’s the way of saṃsāra.</div>
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Even if you live to be a hundred, why be glad? Youth will have long since gone.</div>
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Whether you live or die right now, what does this life matter?</div>
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Just practice Dharma for the next life—that’s the point.</div>
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22.</div>
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Ah! Fount of compassion, my root teacher, Lord Chenrezi,</div>
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You are my only protector!</div>
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The six-syllable mantra, essence of your speech, is the sublime Dharma;</div>
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From now on I have no hope but you!</div>
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23.</div>
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Whatever I know I’ve left it as theory; it’s no use to me now.</div>
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Whatever I’ve done I’ve spent on this life; it’s no use to me now.</div>
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Whatever I’ve thought was all just delusion; it’s no use to me now.</div>
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Now the time has come to do what’s truly useful—recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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24.</div>
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The only never-failing, constant refuge is the Three Jewels;</div>
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The Three Jewels’ single essence is Chenrezi.</div>
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With total, unshakable trust in his wisdom,</div>
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Convinced and decisive, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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25.</div>
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The basis of the Mahāyāna path is the thought of enlightenment;</div>
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This sublime thought is the one path trodden by all the Buddhas.</div>
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Never leaving this noble path of the thought of enlightenment,</div>
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With compassion for all beings, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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26.</div>
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Wandering in saṃsāra from beginningless time until now,</div>
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Whatever you’ve done was wrong and will lead to further wandering.</div>
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From your heart acknowledge all wrongdoing and downfalls, and, confessing them,</div>
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With the four powers complete, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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27.</div>
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The mind, holding on to an “I,” clings to everything—this is the cause of saṃsāra;</div>
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So, as offerings to the exalted in nirvāṇa and charity to the lowly in saṃsāra,</div>
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Give everything—body, possessions, and virtue—and dedicate the merit to all;</div>
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Casting all attachments far away, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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28.</div>
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The noble teacher has the nature of all Buddhas,</div>
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And of all Buddhas, it is he who is the kindest.</div>
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Seeing the teacher as inseparable from Chenrezi,</div>
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With fervent devotion, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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29.</div>
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Purifying the obscurations, initiating the practice of the path and actualizing the four kāyas,</div>
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The essence of the four empowerments is the teacher Chenrezi;</div>
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If you recognize your own mind as the teacher, all four empowerments are complete;</div>
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Receiving innate empowerment by yourself, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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30.</div>
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Saṃsāra is nothing other than how things appear to you;</div>
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If you recognize everything as the deity, the good of others is consummated.</div>
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Seeing the purity of everything confers the four empowerments on all beings at once;</div>
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Dredging the depths of saṃsāra, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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31.</div>
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The mind cannot cope with all the many visualization practices;</div>
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To meditate on one Sugata is to meditate on them all.</div>
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Whatever appears, appearances are the form of the Great Compassionate One;</div>
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In the realm of the deity’s body, apparent yet void, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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32.</div>
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Recitations, sādhanas, and powerful spells are just complications;</div>
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The all-inclusive six-syllable mantra is the very sound of the Dharma.</div>
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All sounds have never been other than the speech of Sublime Chenrezi;</div>
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Recognizing them as mantra, resounding yet void, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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33.</div>
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As thoughts and the two obscurations are pacified, experience and realization increase;</div>
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As your perceptions come under control, enemies and obstructing influences are subjugated.</div>
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It is Chenrezi who bestows in this very life the supreme and common siddhis;</div>
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As the four activities are accomplished by themselves, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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34.</div>
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Offer the torma of whatever arises to the guests of immediate liberation;</div>
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Mold the clay of whatever appears into the tsa-tsa of void appearance;</div>
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Offer the prostration of nonduality to the Lord of Mind Nature.</div>
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Consummating these Dharma activities, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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35.</div>
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Overcome your enemy, hatred, with the weapon of love;</div>
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Protect your family, the beings of the six realms, with the skillful means of compassion;</div>
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Harvest from the field of devotion the crop of experience and realization.</div>
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Consummating your life’s work, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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36.</div>
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Cremate that old corpse of clinging to things as real in the fire of nonattachment;</div>
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Conduct the weekly funeral ceremonies of ordinary life by practicing the essence of Dharma;</div>
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As the smoke-offering to provide for the departed, dedicate your accumulated merit for all their future lives.</div>
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Consummating all positive actions done for the sake of the dead, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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37.</div>
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Put your child, devotion, at the doorway of your practice;</div>
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Give your son, renunciation, mastery over the household of ordinary life;</div>
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Wed your daughter, compassion, to the bridegroom of the three worlds.</div>
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Consummating your duty to the living, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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38.</div>
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Whatever appears is delusion and has no true existence;</div>
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Saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are just thoughts and nothing more.</div>
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If you can liberate thoughts as they arise, that includes all stages of the path;</div>
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Applying the essential instruction for liberating thoughts, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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39.</div>
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Your own mind, aware and void inseparably, is Dharmakāya.</div>
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Leave everything as it is in fundamental simplicity, and clarity will arise by itself.</div>
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Only by doing nothing will you do all there is to be done;</div>
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Leaving everything in naked void-awareness, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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40.</div>
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Let stillness cut the momentum of moving thoughts;</div>
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Within movement see the very nature of stillness.</div>
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Where stillness and movement are one, maintain the natural mind;</div>
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In the experience of one-pointedness, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
41.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
By examining relative truth, establish absolute truth;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Within absolute truth, see how relative truth arises.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Where the two truths are inseparable, beyond intellect, is the state of simplicity;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the view free of all elaboration, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
42.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
From appearances, cut away the clinging of mind;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
From mind, demolish the lair of fictitious appearances;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Where mind and appearances are one is infinite openness;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the realization of one taste, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
43.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the nature of mind, the simplicity of void awareness, everything is freed;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Thoughts, the spontaneous creativity of awareness, are purified in their own sphere.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Mind and awareness are one in the single essence.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the nonmeditation of Dharmakāya, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
44.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To recognize as the deity whatever forms appear is the crucial point of the development stage;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Clinging to appearance as beautiful or ugly is liberated into its own nature.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Free of clinging, mind as it appears is the body of Supreme Chenrezi.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the self-liberation of visual experiences, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
45.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To recognize sounds as mantra is the crucial point of recitation practice;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Clinging to sound as pleasant or unpleasant is liberated into its own nature.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Free of grasping, the spontaneous sound of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa is the voice of the six syllables.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the self-liberation of hearing, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
46.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To recognize smells as unborn is the crucial point of the completion stage;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Clinging to odor as fragrant or foul is liberated into its own nature.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Free of grasping, all smells are the fragrant discipline of Supreme Chenrezi;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the self-liberation of smelling, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
47.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To recognize flavors as a sacramental feast is the crucial point of offering.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Attachment to taste as delicious or disgusting is liberated into its own nature;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Free of grasping, food and drink are substances to delight Supreme Chenrezi;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the self-liberation of taste, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
48.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To recognize sensations as essential sameness is the crucial point of equal taste;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Feelings of repletion and hunger, hot and cold, are liberated into their own nature.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Free of grasping, all sensations and feelings are the deity’s activity;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the self-liberation of sensation, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
49.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To recognize all phenomena as void is the crucial point of the view;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Belief in true and false is liberated into its own nature.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Free of grasping, everything there is, all of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, is the continuum of the Dharmakāya;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the self-liberation of thoughts, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
50.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Don’t follow after the object of hatred; look at the angry mind.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Anger, liberated by itself as it arises, is the clear void;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The clear void is none other than mirrorlike wisdom.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the self-liberation of hatred, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
51.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Don’t chase after the object of pride; look at the grasping mind.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Self-importance, liberated by itself as it arises, is primordial voidness;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This primordial voidness is none other than the wisdom of essential sameness.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the self-liberation of pride, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
52.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Don’t hanker after the object of desire; look at the craving mind.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Desire, liberated by itself as it arises, is bliss-void;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This bliss-void is none other than all-discriminating wisdom.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the self-liberation of desire, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
53.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Don’t follow after the object of jealousy; look at the critical mind.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Jealousy, liberated by itself as it arises, is void intellect;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This void intellect is none other than all-accomplishing wisdom.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the self-liberation of jealousy, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
54.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Don’t just take for granted ideas forged by ignorance; look at the nature of ignorance itself.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The hosts of thoughts, liberated by themselves as they arise, are awareness-void;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This awareness-void is none other than the wisdom of the absolute expanse.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the self-liberation of ignorance, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
55.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Form is unborn, primordially void, like the sky;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The quintessence of this awareness-void is Chenrezi—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It is none other than the Sublime King of the Sky.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the view of voidness, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
56. Feeling is the lasso that binds mind and object together;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When you know it as nondual sameness, it is Chenrezi—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It is none other than the Sublime Bountiful Lasso.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the realization of same taste, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
57.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Appraisal, if you keep taking it as valid, is delusion;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When you turn to all beings with compassion, it is Chenrezi—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It is none other than the Sublime One Who Dredges the Depths of Saṃsāra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In compassion without bias, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
58.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Impulse, as saṃsāric actions, keeps you circling in the six realms;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If you realize saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are the very same, it is Chenrezi—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It is none other than the Greatly Compassionate Transformer of Beings.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Acting for others in one single taste, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
59.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Consciousness, the expression of ordinary mind, has eight functions;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If you realize ultimate mind to be Dharmakāya, it is Chenrezi—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It is none other than the Sublime Ocean of Conquerors.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Knowing that your own mind is the Buddha, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
60.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Believing the body to be solid is what causes servitude;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If you recognize it as the deity, appearing yet void, it is Chenrezi—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It is none other than the Sublime Khasarpani.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the recognition of the deity’s body, appearing yet void, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
61. Conceptualizing speech and sound is what causes delusion;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If you recognize it as mantra, resounding yet void, it is Chenrezi—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It is none other than the Sublime Lion’s Roar.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the recognition of sound as mantra, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
62.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Clinging to mind’s perceptions as true is the delusion that causes saṃsāra;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If you leave mind in its natural state, free from thoughts, it is Chenrezi—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It is none other than the Sublime Unwinding in Ultimate Mind.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In ultimate mind, the Dharmakāya, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
63.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Everything that exists is the primordially pure continuum of the Dharmakāya;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If you meet the Dharmakāya face to face, it is Chenrezi—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It is none other than the Sublime Sovereign of the Universe.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the continuum of all-pervading purity, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
64.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
One deity, Chenrezi, embodies all Buddhas;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
One mantra, the six syllables, embodies all mantras;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
One Dharma, bodhichitta, embodies all practices of the development and completion stages.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Knowing the one which liberates all, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
65.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What use is all you’ve done? Being so busy just causes saṃsāra—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Look how meaningless all you’ve done has been.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now you’d better just stop trying to do anything;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Dropping all activities, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
66.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What use is all you’ve said? It was all just pointless prattle—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Look how much irrelevant distraction it has brought.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now you’d better just keep silent;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ceasing completely to speak, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
67.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What use is rushing around? Coming and going just tires you out—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Look how far your wandering has taken you from the Dharma.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now you’d better just settle down and relax your mind;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Staying put, carefree and at ease, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
68.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What use is all you’ve eaten? It all just turned into excrement—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Look how insatiable your appetite has been.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now you’d better nourish yourself with the food of samādhi;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Quit all that eating and drinking, and recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
69.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What use are all your thoughts? They’ve just brought more delusion—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Look how few of all your aims you’ve managed to achieve.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now for this life’s concerns you’d better not think too far ahead;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Dropping all your plans, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
70.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What use is all you own? Property is just clinging—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Look how soon you’ll leave whatever you’ve got behind.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now you’d better put an end to your possessive grasping;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ceasing to acquire and hoard things, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
71.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What use is all the time you’ve slept? It was all just spent in a stupor—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Look how easily your life is running out in indolence.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now you’d better start to exert yourself wholeheartedly;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Day and night, spurning all distraction, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
72.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There’s no time, no time! There’s no time to rest!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When suddenly death is upon you, what will you do?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now you’d better start practicing the sublime Dharma right away;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now, quick, hurry—recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
73.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What can you say about years, months, or days—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Look how things change every moment, right now!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Each moment that passes brings you closer to death;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now, this very moment, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
74.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
As your life runs out like the setting sun sinking away,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Death closes in like the lengthening shadows of evening.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now what’s left of your life will vanish as fast as the last fading shadows;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There’s no time to waste—recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
75.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The six-syllable mantra, although perfect as Dharma,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Is fruitless recited while chatting and looking around;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And to cling to the number recited is to miss the point outright.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Undistractedly watching the mind, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
76.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If you check your mind over and over again,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Whatever you do becomes the perfect path.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Of all the hundreds of vital instructions, this is the very quintessence;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Fuse everything into this one single point, and recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
77.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The first part, my sorrowful tirade at this decadent age’s ways,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Was a reproof I had intended for myself.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This sad lament has affected me deeply;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now I offer it to you, thinking you might feel the same.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
78.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If that is not the case, and you have total confidence in the loftiness of your view and meditation,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Wise ideas about how to combine the worldly and the spiritual,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And the diplomatic skill to settle problems to the satisfaction of all—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If you have all that, then I offer you my apologies.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
79.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The second part, my dissertation establishing view and meditation—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Since of course I have no experience of realization at all—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Just sets out what I’ve understood by the grace of the teachings</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
From the precious lineage of the all-knowing father and son.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
80.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The third part, my exhortation to relinquish everything and practice,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Though you may well miss the point, just slipped out by itself.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Yet, since it in no way contradicts the words of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It would be truly kind of you to put it into practice.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
81.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This discourse, virtuous in the beginning, middle, and end,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Was written in the siddha’s cave of White Rock Victory Peak,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For an old friend whose pleas could no longer be resisted,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
By that ragged old fellow Apu Hralpo, ablaze with the five poisons.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
82.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I have just been prattling on and on, but so what?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme is of great worth and its meaning unerring; so the merit it brings</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I offer to you, and to all of us throughout the three worlds—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
May all the wishes we make, inspired by the teachings, come true!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-81864972308338894322014-12-11T03:19:00.001-08:002014-12-11T03:19:13.180-08:00Practice Of Chenrezi - "The Four Yogas" by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Buddhist path can be described comprehensively according to two systems: the cause vehicle and the result vehicle. Where the first, which includes both the Hīnayāna and the general Mahāyāna, speaks of the five paths, the second, the Mantrayāna, speaks of the four yogas: one-pointedness, simplicity, one taste, and nonmeditation. The teaching of the four yogas focuses on the union of the development and completion stages.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>ONE-POINTEDNESS</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Let stillness cut the momentum of moving thoughts;</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Within movement see the very nature of stillness.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Where stillness and movement are one, maintain the natural mind;</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>In the experience of one-pointedness, recite the six-syllable mantra.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The mind has, in general, two aspects, stillness and movement. Sometimes, the mind is quiet and free from thoughts, like a calm pool; this is stillness. Eventually, thoughts are bound to arise in it; this is movement. In truth, however, although in a sense there is a movement of thoughts within the stillness, there is actually no difference between these two states—just as the nature of stillness is voidness, the nature of movement is also voidness. Stillness and movement are merely two names for the one mind.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Most of the time we are unaware of our state of mind and pay no attention to whether the mind is still or moving. While you are meditating, a thought might arise in your mind—the idea of going shopping, for instance. If you are aware of the thought and just let it dissolve by itself, then that is the end of it. But if you remain unaware of what is happening and let that thought grow and develop, it will lead on to a second thought, the thought of having a break from your practice, and in no time at all you will find yourself actually getting up and going out to the market. Soon many more thoughts and ideas will arise—how you are going to buy this, sell that, and so forth. By this point you will be a very long way away from the recitation of the maṇi.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is completely natural that thoughts keep on arising. The point is not to try to stop them, which would be impossible anyway, but to liberate them. This is done by remaining in a state of simplicity, which lets thoughts arise and vanish again without stringing onto them any further thoughts. When you no longer perpetuate the movement of thoughts, they dissolve by themselves without leaving any trace. When you no longer spoil the state of stillness with mental fabrications, you can maintain the natural serenity of mind without any effort. Sometimes, let your thoughts flow, and watch the unchanging nature behind them. Sometimes, abruptly cutting the flow of thoughts, look at naked awareness.</div>
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Innumerable thoughts and memories, stirred up by the tendencies to which we have become habituated, arise in the mind. One after the other, each thought seems to vanish into the past, only to be replaced as the next, in its turn, becomes fleetingly present to the mind before itself giving way to future thoughts. Each thought tends to pick up the momentum of the one before it, so that the influence of a string of thoughts grows as time passes; this is called “the chain of delusion.” Just as what we call a rosary is in fact a string of single beads, so also what we usually call the mind is really a succession of momentary thoughts; a trickle of thoughts makes the stream of consciousness, the mind-stream, and the mind-stream leads on to the ocean of existence. Our belief that the mind is a real entity is a conclusion based on insufficient investigation. We believe a river we see today to be the same river we saw yesterday, but in reality a river never stays the same even for a second-the water that made up yesterday’s river will surely be part of the ocean by now. The same is true for the countless thoughts that run through our “mind” from morning to evening. Our mind-stream is just a succession of instantaneous thoughts; there is no separate entity that you can point out as being a mind.</div>
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Now, if we investigate the thought process according to the logic of the Madhyamaka, it becomes evident that past thoughts are already dead, like a corpse. Future thoughts have not yet been born. As to present thoughts, they cannot be said to have any properties such as location, color, or shape; they leave no traces; and indeed they are nowhere to be found. In fact, there could be no possible point of contact between past, present, and future thoughts; if there was any real continuity between, for instance, a past thought and a present thought, that would necessarily mean either that the past thought is present or that the present thought is past. If the past really could extend to the present in this way, it would also follow that the future must already be present. But nevertheless, ignorant of the true nature of thoughts, we maintain the habit of seeing them as being continuously linked, one after another; this is the root of delusion, and this is what allows us to be more and more dominated by our thoughts and emotions, until total confusion reigns.</div>
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It is of vital importance to be aware of the arising of thoughts and to still the waves of thoughts that assail you. Anger, for instance, is an extremely destructive tendency which spoils all the good qualities you may otherwise have. No one enjoys the company of an angry person. There is nothing inherently very frightening about the appearance of snakes, but because they are generally very aggressive, the mere sight of them inspires fear and loathing. Whether in a human or a snake, such a preponderance of anger is nothing more than the outcome of an unchecked accumulation of negative thoughts. If at the very moment an angry thought arises, you recognize it for what it is and understand how negative it is, your anger will calm down of its own accord and you will always be able to stay on good terms with everyone. On the other hand, if you let that first angry thought give rise to a second angry thought, in no time at all your anger will be completely out of control, and you will be ready even to risk your life to destroy your adversary.</div>
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Always remember, therefore, that a thought is merely the experience of many factors and fleeting circumstances coming together. Whether the thought is good or bad, it has no true existence. As soon as a thought arises, if you recognize its void nature, it will be powerless to produce a second thought, and the chain of delusion will cease there and then. As we have said, this does not mean that you should try to suppress the natural creativity of your mind, or that you should try to stop each thought with a particular antidote. It is enough simply to recognize the emptiness of thoughts and to then let them rest in the relaxed mind. The innate nature of mind, pristine and unchanging, will then remain vivid and stable.</div>
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Of the two aspects of meditation practice, tranquility and insight tranquility provides the foundation upon which insight, or vast perspective, can open out on the nature of mind and thus enable you to liberate your negative emotions. If the foundation, tranquility, is unsound, insight will be unstable too, and your deluded thoughts will be difficult to control. It is therefore essential to develop the yoga of one-pointedness, remaining in unwavering awareness.</div>
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<b>SIMPLICITY</b></div>
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<i>By examining relative truth, establish absolute truth;</i></div>
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<i>Within absolute truth, see how relative truth arises.</i></div>
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<i>Where the two truths are inseparable, beyond intellect, is the state of simplicity;</i></div>
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<i>In the view free of all elaboration, recite the six-syllable mantra.</i></div>
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In conventional, relative truth, we might accept that the phenomenal world can be broken down into indivisible particles; but the logic of the Madhyamaka shows that such particles could never have any independent or permanent existence. This being so, how can we say that material objects truly exist? Similarly, although we can try to dissect the mind into indivisible instants of consciousness, we find that these, too, must ultimately be devoid of any tangible existence.</div>
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To recognize the continuity and all-pervasiveness of this void nature, this absence of any true existence, is to recognize absolute truth. This is the natural state of mind, untouched by any obscuration, in which all phenomena are seen as the Buddhas see them, as dreams or magical illusions. Here, thoughts do not give rise to negative emotions or the accumulation of karma, favorable circumstances engender neither pride nor attachment, and adverse circumstances are quickly transformed into the path of enlightenment—for example, an encounter with someone who irritates you, instead of causing anger, helps you to generate compassion and becomes a chance to recognize the absolute truth which is inseparable from the bodhichitta. If you are unable to give up your attachment to things, it is simply because you fail to recognize their void nature. Once you have realized this void nature, you will no longer feel proud of dreamlike success or depressed by dreamlike failure.</div>
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Some people find themselves surrounded by beauty, comfort, natural abundance, and safety, whereas others may have to live in harsh, barren, impoverished, and dangerous environments. Now, this is the result neither of chance nor of some grand design. To have been born in a pleasant place is the result of generosity, helpfulness, and virtue in former lives, while adverse living conditions are the consequence of harm brought to others in previous lives by attacking them, imprisoning them, and so forth. Phenomena are not the work of a creator; they are simply what manifests as the combined result of many causes and circumstances. In the same way that, as the result of sunlight shining through rain, a rainbow appears in the sky, so also, as the result of a great number of actions in your past lives, in this life you are either happy, healthy, prosperous, and loved by all or unhappy, poor, beset by sickness, and despised. Indeed, every detail of the universe and the beings it contains is nothing more than the result of many interdependent factors momentarily coming together; this is why all phenomena are so impermanent and undergo such constant change.</div>
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So when you examine anything deeply, you always arrive at voidness, and only voidness; voidness is the ultimate nature of everything. As beginners who may be on the path of accumulation or the path of union, we ordinary beings have not had the actual realization of voidness. We know that smoke indicates the presence of fire but is not the fire itself; nevertheless, by following the smoke we can find the fire. Likewise, it is important to understand that the view of voidness is not the same as the actual experience of voidness; but by following the view and becoming familiar with it, we will arrive at the actual realization of voidness itself, free from any concepts or theories. This is the ultimate understanding of the Madhyamaka, the inseparability of the two truths, the union of appearances and voidness.</div>
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The void nature of all phenomena is the absolute truth, and the way they appear is relative truth. By examining relative truth you will come to realize absolute truth, since absolute truth is the ultimate nature of everything. If the whole world—all its continents, all its mountains and forests—were to be destroyed and to completely disappear, only all-pervading empty space would be left. Something quite similar happens when you truly realize what relative phenomena are, that they do not exist as solid entities: nothing remains but all-pervading voidness. But as long as you still believe in the solid, tangible existence of relative truth, you will never be able to realize absolute truth. Once you realize absolute truth, you will see what appears within it—the whole, infinite display of relative phenomena—as no more than an illusion or a dream, to which you will feel no attachment. To realize that appearance and voidness are one is what is called simplicity, or freedom from all conceptual limitations, freedom from all elaboration.</div>
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The two truths are not two distinct entities, like the horns of a cow; they are simply the “appearing” and “void” aspects of the natural state. Having first understood the view intellectually, develop first-hand experience and confidence in the oneness of appearance and voidness. This realization of the inseparability of the two truths is a profound experience, completely beyond any intellectual concept. This is the yoga of simplicity. Maintaining this view, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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<b>ONE TASTE</b></div>
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<i>From appearances, cut away the clinging of mind;</i></div>
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<i>From mind, demolish the lair of fictitious appearances;</i></div>
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<i>Where mind and appearances are one is infinite openness;</i></div>
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<i>In the realization of one taste, recite the six-syllable mantra.</i></div>
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The way objective phenomena appear to us subjectively is a function of the mind. Things seem to us either pure or impure, good or bad, attractive or repellent, depending solely on the way our own minds perceive them. As Shāntideva said, speaking of the hell realms:</div>
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Arise from the negative mind.</div>
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In fact, when your organs of sense encounter an object, the only part the object itself plays is to initiate the process of perception in your consciousness. From then on, as your mind reacts to the object, influenced by all your accumulated habits and past experiences, the whole process is entirely subjective. So, when your mind is full of anger, the whole world seems to be a hell realm. When your mind is peaceful, free from any clinging or fixation, and whatever you do is in accordance with the teachings, you experience everything as primordially pure. While a Buddha sees the hells as a paradise, deluded beings see a paradise as the hells.</div>
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Our perceptions are colored by delusions in the same way that the vision of a person with jaundice is colored by the bile in his eyes, making him see a white conch as yellow. It is clinging that makes the mind project its delusions onto appearances. As soon as the mind perceives something, it clings to that perception; then it appraises the object as being desirable, offensive, or neutral; finally, taking action on the basis of this distorted perception with desire, aversion, or indifference, it accumulates karma.</div>
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To cut through the mind’s clinging, it is important to understand that all appearances are void, like the water you might see in a mirage. Beautiful forms are of no benefit to the mind, nor can ugly forms harm it in any way. Sever the ties of hope and fear, attraction and repulsion, and remain in equanimity in the understanding that all phenomena are nothing more than projections of your own mind.</div>
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Once you recognize the true nature of mind, this whole fiction of relative appearances and your attachment to them will simply cave in. Good and bad, pure and impure, lose their compelling flavors and melt into one taste. You will reach the realization of Jetsun Milarepa, making no distinction between iron and gold. When Gampopa offered him gold and tea, Milarepa said: “I am an old man with no need for gold and no stove to boil tea.” Resting in this view, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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<b>NONMEDITATION</b></div>
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<i>In the nature of mind, the simplicity of void awareness, everything is freed;</i></div>
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<i>Thoughts, the spontaneous creativity of awareness, are purified in their own sphere.</i></div>
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<i>Mind and awareness are one in the single essence.</i></div>
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<i>In the nonmeditation of Dharmakāya, recite the six-syllable mantra.</i></div>
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The ultimate nature of mind is primordial awareness, from which thoughts emanate like light radiating from the sun. Once this nature of mind is recognized, delusion vanishes like clouds dissolving in the sky. The nature of mind free from delusion is without birth, existence, or cessation. In the terminology of the Mantrayāna, it is called primordial continuous mind, or ever-present simplicity. It is also described in the sūtras; for example, the Prajñāpāramitā says:</div>
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Mind does not exist,</div>
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Its expression is clarity.</div>
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When you examine the still mind, the moving mind, and the mind that can recognize stillness and movement, however long you search for “mind” you will find nothing but voidness: mind has no form, no color, and no substance. This is the void aspect of the mind. Yet the mind can know things and perceive an infinite variety of phenomena. This is the clarity aspect of mind. The inseparability of these two aspects, voidness and clarity, is the primordial continuous mind.</div>
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At the moment, the natural clarity of your mind is obscured by delusions. But as this obscuration clears you will begin to uncover the radiance of awareness, until you reach the point where, just as a drawing on water disappears the moment it is made, your thoughts are liberated the moment they arise. To experience mind in this way is to encounter the very source of Buddhahood, the practice of the fourth empowerment. When the nature of mind is recognized it is called nirvāṇa; when it is obscured by delusion it is called saṃsāra. Yet neither saṃsāra nor nirvāṇa has ever departed from the continuum of the absolute. When realization of awareness reaches its full extent, the ramparts of delusion will have been breached and the citadel of Dharmakāya beyond meditation can be seized once and for all. Here there is no longer any distinction between meditation and postmeditation, and experience is effortlessly stabilized; this is nonmeditation. In the limitless expanse of Dharmakāya, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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To summarize, the yoga of one-pointedness emphasizes taming the mind, and that of simplicity establishes insight. These two are united in the experience of one taste, and when this experience becomes unshakable, it is the yoga of nonmeditation.The four yogas of the Mantrayāna correspond to the five paths of the sūtra system. It is therefore important to keep the view, meditation, and action of both the sūtras and the tantras together. All the different levels of teaching have but one goal, to cut through the obscuring emotions; so they are in perfect agreement with each other. The many different streams of teachings, reflecting the needs of different students and the wisdom of different teachers, are really but a single river.</div>
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The peerless physician of Takpo, the holy Gampopa, first served a Kadampa master and practiced the Mahāyāna path. Later, at the feet of Jetsun Milarepa, he practiced the tantric systems of Mahāmudrā and of the inner heat and the rest of the six yogas of Nāropa, becoming one of the fathers of the Kagyu lineage. The great Kadampa teachers, famous for their practice of the sūtra system, also instructed their students in the completion phase of Mahāmudrā, and in the six yogas too, skillfully blending together all these practices. Never forget that the main point is not whether our practice belongs to the sūtras or tantras, or whether it is of this or that level, but that it serves as an effective antidote to attachment and the obscuring emotions.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-59664166408699291652014-12-11T03:08:00.002-08:002014-12-11T04:43:32.601-08:00Practice Of Chenrezi by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche<div style="text-align: justify;">
Chenrezi is a fully enlightened Buddha who, in order to benefit beings, takes on the form of a Bodhisattva. All the Buddhas have but one nature, and their compassion is embodied in Chenrezi. As the embodiment of the compassion of all the Buddhas, Chenrezi is at the same time the source of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, since compassion is the very root of enlightenment. Chenrezi is compassion itself in the form of a deity. Chenrezi is the Buddha, Chenrezi is the Dharma, Chenrezi is the Saṅgha; Chenrezi is the Guru, Chenrezi is the Yidam, Chenrezi is the Ḍākinī; Chenrezi is the Dharmakāya, Chenrezi is the Sambhogakāya, Chenrezi is the Nirmāṇakāya; Chenrezi is Amitābha, Chenrezi is Guru Rinpoche, Chenrezi is Ārya Tārā; and above all Chenrezi is our own Root Teacher. Like a hundred streams passing under a single bridge, Chenrezi is the union of all the Buddhas. To receive his blessings is to receive the blessings of all the Buddhas, and to realize his nature is to realize the nature of all the Buddhas.<br />
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The Buddha Shākyamuni himself is an emanation of Chenrezi; the Dharma, which shows us what to avoid and what to cultivate, is perfectly contained in the six-syllable mantra; the Saṅgha, the Bodhisattvas who help us along the path, are emanations of Chenrezi as well. Chenrezi is thus the union of the Three Jewels. Just as one reservoir collects countless drops of rain, Chenrezi’s compassion includes all the wisdom of Mañjushrī and all the power of Vajrapāṇi. With this one deity, one mantra, and one practice, you can accomplish everything.<br />
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The many deities are infinitely diverse: peaceful or wrathful, with one, three, or many heads, and with two, four, six, or many more arms, each one symbolizing a different quality. Yet you can be confident that all of them are included in Chenrezi. In the same way, since all the beneficial power of the immense variety of other mantras is contained in the six-syllable mantra by itself, you can put all your heart into reciting just the one mantra. Your body, speech, and mind are essentially one with the enlightened body, speech, and mind of Chenrezi; this you should recognize as the quintessence of the practice.</div>
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Chenrezi’s six-syllable mantra, OṂ MAṆI PADME HŪṂ, is the compassionate wisdom of all the Buddhas manifested as sound. Within it is contained the essential meaning of all eighty-four thousand sections of the Buddha’s teachings. Of all the many mantras of various kinds, such as awareness mantras, dhāraṇīs, and secret mantras, not one is superior to the six syllables of Chenrezi. The great benefits of reciting this mantra, commonly known as the maṇi, are described again and again in both sūtras and tantras. It is said that to recite the mani even once is the same as reciting the whole of the twelve branches of the Buddha’s teachings. Reciting the six syllables of the maṇi perfects the six pāramitās and firmly blocks any possibility of rebirth in the six realms of saṃsāra. It is a simple practice, easy to understand and accessible to all, and at the same time it contains the essence of the Dharma. If you take the maṇi as your refuge both in happiness and in sorrow, Chenrezi will always be with you, you will feel more and more devotion without any effort, and all by itself the realization of the Mahāyāna path will arise in your being. According to the Kāraṇḍavyūha-sūtra, if you recite one hundred million maṇis, all the myriad living organisms in your body will be blessed by Chenrezi, and when you die even the smoke from the cremation of your corpse will have the power to protect whoever inhales it from rebirth in the lower realms. When you feel yourself about to fall into the abyss of obscuring emotions, pray to Chenrezi; at the last moment, when the lasso of his compassion catches you, you will be filled with confidence in his enlightened omniscience. Therefore, with conviction and one-pointed devotion, recite the six-syllable mantra.</div>
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There is nothing in the whole world that can actually frighten away the Lord of Death, but the warm radiance of Chenrezi’s compassion can completely dispel the dread felt by anyone as Death approaches. This is what is meant by “undeceiving refuge.” Totally free from saṃsāra, Chenrezi is always ready to help sentient beings, and even his slightest movement—a gesture of his hand, a blink of his eyes—has the power to free us from saṃsāra. When we invoke him by reciting the maṇi, we should never think that he is too far away to hear us, in some distant Buddha-field; Chenrezi is always there with whoever has faith in him. Our own obscurations prevent us from actually going to the Potala Mountain or the Blissful Pure Land of Sukhāvatī to meet him face to face, but in truth his compassion never forsakes a single being. He manifests himself constantly in whatever form may benefit beings most, particularly in the form of great spiritual teachers; so we should understand with complete conviction that Chenrezi, the supreme protector who shows all sentient beings the path to liberation, is in fact none other than our root teacher. The rain of Chenrezi’s compassion falls everywhere on the fields of sentient beings impartially; but the crop of happiness cannot grow where the seeds of faith have been shriveled. To lack faith is to close yourself to the radiant sun of his blessings, as if you were shutting yourself away in a dark room. But if you have faith, there is no distance, no delay, between you and Chenrezi’s blessings.</div>
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To be able to free us from the whirlpool of saṃsāra, the basis of the refuge we seek must be something itself already totally free. There is only one source of refuge free from all the limitations of saṃsāra, complete with all the qualities of ultimate realization, and possessing the limitless compassion that can respond universally to the needs of sentient beings and lead them all the way to enlightenment: the Three Jewels. The Three Jewels are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. The Buddha is the teacher, who displays the four kāyas and five wisdoms. The Dharma is the path, the teachings that are transmitted and realized. The Saṅgha are the companions on the path, those who understand the meaning of the teachings and who as a result are liberated. Through faith and devotion in the Three Jewels, we will come to realize that they are not three separate entities, but the body, speech, and mind of Chenrezi, the Buddha of Compassion. His mind is the Buddha, his speech the Dharma, and his body is the Saṅgha. Even though at present we cannot meet Chenrezi in person, we should be aware of his limitless qualities as they are described in the sūtras and tantras. We should also remember that Chenrezi is inseparable from our teacher, who instructs us in the precious Dharma. Deeply appreciating this great kindness, praying to him and reciting the six-syllable mantra, there is no doubt that all our karmic obscurations and negative emotions can be cleared away. The time will come when we will actually be in the presence of Chenrezi in his Buddha-field, where he turns the wheel of the Mahāyāna Dharma for his retinue of Bodhisattvas.</div>
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If the taking of refuge is to be genuine and true, unshakable faith needs to be developed. Faith is a vital element in the path, opening us to the Buddha’s blessings. Expecting to attain realization without having faith would be like sitting in a north-facing cave waiting for the sunshine to pour in. There are four stages in the development of faith: clear faith, longing faith, confident faith, and irreversible faith. When you first realize what wonderful and extraordinary qualities the Buddha, Chenrezi, and your teacher possess, your mind becomes very clear and joyful. This is clear faith. When this clear faith inspires you to obtain Chenrezi’s perfect qualities for yourself, and you think what an infinite number of beings you would be able to help if you had those qualities, it has become longing faith. When you know with complete certainty that Chenrezi’s qualities are truly as they were described by the Buddha himself, it has become confident faith. Finally, when faith has become so much a part of yourself that, even at the cost of your life, there is no way you would ever renounce it, it is then irreversible faith. When your faith reaches this point, whatever circumstances you may meet you will always be completely confident, thinking, “Chenrezi, you know everything; no matter what happens, I rely entirely upon your wisdom and compassion.” From then on the blessings and guidance of Chenrezi will always be with you, and there is no doubt that even the sound of his name will have the power to free you from the lower realms. It is this irreversible faith that is needed for the taking of refuge to be truly authentic.</div>
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The “thought of enlightenment,” bodhichitta in Sanskrit, is the wish to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. Take Chenrezi as a witness of your determination to attain realization in order to benefit others. All sentient beings are the same in wishing to be happy and not to suffer. When your body, speech, and mind are completely saturated with the wish to help all sentient beings, when your aim both for others and for yourself is perfect Buddhahood, then even the smallest action, a single recitation of the maṇi or a single prostration, will swiftly and surely bring the fulfillment of your goal. The six syllables of the maṇi, the essence of Chenrezi’s being, are the six pāramitās in the form of mantra. When you recite the mantra, the six pāramitās spontaneously arise and the application bodhichitta is accomplished. It is said that when those who are afflicted in the prison of saṃsāra generate the thought of enlightenment, they are instantly adopted by the Buddhas as their sons and daughters, and they are praised by both men and gods. The whole of their existence takes on a new meaning. This is all due to the measureless power of the jewel-like bodhichitta. Bodhichitta is the essence of the eighty-four thousand sections of the Buddha’s teachings, but at the same time it is so simple, so easy to understand and practice, even for a beginner. Absolute Bodhichitta is the inseparability of voidness and uncontrived compassion. It is the simplicity of the natural state, beyond all concepts and intellectual limitations, out of which spontaneous, objectless compassion arises, benefiting all sentient beings. At present, you might find it difficult to identify with such inconceivably vast attributes as Chenrezi’s realization, compassion, and ability to help others. But if you recite his mantra with single-minded devotion, you too will one day be able to benefit beings on the same immense scale. Aspire from your heart to help all beings, and dedicate to them all your merit, with the conviction that Chenrezi acknowledges your aspirations and gives you his blessing to bring them to fulfillment.</div>
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It is of crucial importance to understand that holding on to the idea of there being an “I,” a truly existing self, is the fundamental cause of our wandering in the three realms of existence. Once this mistaken belief in an ego has taken root, we start clinging to my body, my mind, my name, my possessions, my family, and so forth; it is these notions that then make us crave pleasure and abhor pain. The result is an unceasing succession of alternating attraction and repulsion, and from these underlying urges arise the conflicting emotions that disturb our minds without respite. In countless past lives, we have had plenty of wealth and possessions; but we were so fearful of losing or using up what we had that we were incapable of being generous, in the form of either offerings to the Three Jewels or charity to others. Although it is true that your possessions are no more real than treasure found in a dream, or than a mirage city shimmering on the horizon, by offering them to Chenrezi and the Three Jewels you will accumulate dreamlike merit which will lead you to dreamlike happiness, long life, and prosperity, and eventually to liberation. To accumulate true merit, make all your offerings and gifts with great devotion and without any pride whatsoever. The six-syllable mantra, too, can be recited as an offering to the Three Jewels and to all sentient beings; it has the power to bring infinite benefit. Even the most ruthlessly cruel and arrogant beings, completely lacking the slightest inclination toward the Dharma, can be tamed and helped with this mantra, for it is the source of the bodhichitta, whose infinite power of compassion always succeeds where force and violence fail.</div>
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Your root teacher’s qualities and abilities are equal to those of all the Buddhas of the past in every respect but one: the kindness he shows to you is even greater. Deeply appreciating this unique kindness, you should always venerate your spiritual master as the Buddha himself. With unwavering and single-minded devotion, see the teacher as the Buddha himself and everything he does as perfect; then his blessings, the wisdom of all the Buddhas’ minds, will flow effortlessly into your being. Practice in accordance with his instructions, and, as all the clouds of doubt and hesitation are cleared away, the sun of his compassion will shine through, warming you with happiness. To pray to the teacher as inseparable from Chenrezi is the very essence of Guru Yoga. The literal meaning of Guru Yoga is “union with the teacher’s nature.” To blend your mind with the teacher’s mind is the most profound of all practices and the shortest path to realization. It is important, therefore, to pray to your teacher at all times and in all circumstances, from the depths of your heart and from the very marrow of your bones. All the pleasures you experience, all the beautiful sights and sounds, all the joys in your life, multiply them infinitely in your mind and offer them to him. When your circumstances are happy and everything is going well, think how it is all due to his kindness, and enjoy what you have with no more attachment than for a dream or an illusion. When you are weighed down by sickness, sorrow or ill treatment, reflect on how this is in fact your teacher’s kindness, too, for it is through such difficulties that you have the chance to purify your past wrongdoing and karmic debts; and make the wish that all beings’ suffering be added to your own, so that they no longer need to suffer. All the sublime practices of the sūtras and tantras can be condensed into devotion to the teacher, and all of them are included in the practice of reciting the maṇi. Remembering that devotion to the teacher is the source of all realization, and that the essence of Guru Yoga - to merge your mind with Chenrezi’s nature - is the most profound of all practices.</div>
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Chenrezi is white in color—the dazzling white of a snow peak reflecting a hundred thousand suns, dispelling the darkness of the whole universe. He has one head, symbolizing the oneness of the absolute nature; four arms, symbolizing loving-kindness, compassion, rejoicing, and equanimity; two legs crossed in the vajra posture, symbolizing the sameness of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa; he is sitting on a thousand-petaled lotus, symbolizing compassion, and a moon disc, symbolizing voidness. One pair of hands are together at his heart and hold a jewel, which represents the bodhichitta, the wish-granting gem which bestows the supreme and ordinary siddhis. Of the other pair of hands, one holds out a crystal rosary to his right, and the other a white lotus to his left; the rosary symbolizes his unceasing compassion extending like an unbroken thread through the heart of every being, and the lotus the unchanging purity of his wisdom blooming above the mud of saṃsāra. The jewel also symbolizes wisdom-bliss as the means, while the lotus symbolizes wisdom-voidness as the realization. His beautiful body, bearing all the major and minor marks of a Buddha, is clad in the jewels and silks of the Sambhogakāya.</div>
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The purpose of the visualization practices of the development stage, such as this one, is to develop pure perception-that is, to see yourself and all beings as wisdom deities and your environment as a Buddha-field, to hear all sounds as mantras, and to understand all thoughts as the display of awareness. This pure perception is not some artificial idea of purity that you try to superimpose upon phenomena; it is, rather, the recognition that all phenomena are truly and inherently pure. Visualizing your body as the vajra body of Chenrezi, you also have to see the whole environment outside as transformed into Chenrezi’s Pure Land or the Blissful Land of Sukhāvatī, graced with such marvels as the hill of jewels, the river of nectar, and the wish-granting tree; clouds of offerings fill the sky, the mantra OṂ MAṆI PADME HŪṂ resounds everywhere, and “suffering” is a word that is never even heard. While you are meditating on Chenrezi, ordinary thoughts will come to a standstill and the mind will settle in tranquility. If you then look at the nature of mind, it will begin to become clear to you that the deity is essentially one with voidness. This understanding will then expand into the realization that all appearances are void in nature and therefore perfectly pure. Once you see that all phenomena of both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are just fabrications of mind and that the nature of mind is void, then transmuting impure perception into pure perception is not a problem - all phenomena are simply revealed as primordially pure. This realization brings you, in general, unlimited control over all phenomena and, in particular, the ten powers of supreme beings - power over matter, power over life, power over karma, and so forth. It is said, “By mastering one’s own perception, one can master all phenomena.” </div>
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One of the principal elements in Vajrayāna practice is mantra. There is no mantra however, that can be considered superior to the maṇi, which includes not only all the functions but also all the power and blessings of all other mantras. The maṇi is not just a string of ordinary words. It contains all the blessings and compassion of Chenrezi; in fact, it is Chenrezi himself in the form of sound. As we are now, our karmic obscurations prevent us from being able to actually meet Chenrezi in his Buddha-field; but what we can do is listen to his mantra, recite it, read it, and write it beautifully in golden letters. Since there is no difference between the deity himself and the mantra which is his essence, these activities bring great benefit. The six syllables are the expression of the six pāramitās of Chenrezi, and as he himself said, whoever recites the six-syllable mantra will perfect the six pāramitās and purify all karmic obscurations.</div>
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The purpose of the meditation practice itself is to gain stability in the perception of all appearances as the deity’s form, all sounds as his mantra, and all thoughts as the Dharmakāya, thus recognizing the absolute nature of mind, void and luminous. Now, in periods between meditation sessions, whatever you are doing you must maintain this recognition without relapsing into ordinary habits, so that you can develop the understanding acquired during meditation. In this way all of your activities will be linked with the view, meditation, and action of the Vajrayāna.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-73895415027266960992014-10-17T02:05:00.000-07:002014-10-17T02:05:30.778-07:00Padmasambhava<div style="text-align: justify;">
As Buddha himself was passing away, he prophesied that Padmasambhava would be born not long after his death in order to spread the teaching of the Tantras. It was Padmasambhava who established Buddhism in Tibet in the eighth century. For us Tibetans, Padmasambhava, Guru Rinpoche, embodies a cosmic, timeless principle; he is the universal master.</div>
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I have always turned to Padmasambhava in times of difficulty and crisis, and his blessing and power have never failed me. When I think of him, all my masters are embodied in him. To me he is completely alive at all moments, and the whole universe, at each moment, shines with his beauty, strength, and presence.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">~ Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">, chapter 9</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-60579043778447317922014-10-03T09:35:00.000-07:002014-10-03T09:35:25.466-07:00Teaching on Seven Lines PrayerClick here: <a href="http://bodhiactivity.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/teaching-on-seven-lines-prayer-namkhai-nyingpo-rinpoche/" target="_blank">LINK</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-60476665735172488732014-09-30T01:50:00.002-07:002014-09-30T01:50:20.883-07:00Accomplishing the Lama through the Seven Line PrayerClick here: <a href="http://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/guru-chowang/seven-line-prayer" target="_blank">LINK</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-58496046769096920502014-09-29T09:55:00.001-07:002014-09-29T10:39:29.320-07:00The Vajra Guru Mantra<div style="text-align: justify;">
Although at present we do not have the good fortune to see Guru Rinpoche's face or to hear his voice, we have his mantra, which he blessed with his wisdom, loving-kindness, and strength to be identical with him. This mantra is not composed of ordinary syllables, but has the power to dispel all obstacles and confer all the qualities of wisdom. The scriptures tell us there is no mantra that carries more benefit than the Vajra Guru mantra. Its twelve syllables are the essence of the twelve branches of Lord Buddha's teachings. Bearing in mind the inconceivable benefit of reading the whole Tripitaka, if the twelve-syllable mantra is its essence, we can begin to appreciate the sheer power of its blessings. Then, our ceaseless wandering in samsara is due to the interplay of the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination, which arise from ignorance and culminate in our taking rebirth over and over again. By reciting the twelve-syllable mantra, these twelve interdependent links are purified, re leasing us at last from samsara. The Vajra Guru mantra can be explained in many ways, and in particular in terms of nine levels related to the Nine Vehicles. Such explanations can be found in a terma revealed by Karma Lingpa, in the writings of Dodrupchen Jikme Tenpe Nyima, and in other scriptures.</div>
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OM AH HUM</div>
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The first three syllables of the mantra represent the three kayas, as well as the vajra body, speech, and mind of all the buddhas. OM corresponds to the dharmakaya, the nature of Buddha Amitabha; AH corresponds to the sambhogakaya, and the Lord of Compassion, Avalokitesvara; HUM corresponds to the nirmanakaya, manifesting as the Lotus-born Guru, Padmasambhava.</div>
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VAJRA</div>
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The vajra (dorje in Tibetan) refers to the diamond, the hardest and most precious of all stones. A diamond can cut through all other substances, yet cannot itself be cut by any of them. This symbolizes the unchanging, non-dual wisdom of the buddhas, which cannot be affected or destroyed by ignorance, but cuts right through all delusions and obscurations. It indicates too that the qualities and activities of the body, speech, and mind of the buddhas can benefit all sentient beings, without hindrance from negative forces. Like a diamond, the vajra is free from all defects. Its indestructible strength comes from the realization of the dharmakaya nature, the nature of Buddha Amitabha.</div>
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GURU</div>
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As we have seen, the word" guru" in Sanskrit means "weighty," or "heavy." Just as gold is the heaviest and most precious of metals, the guru is the most weighty and most precious of all beings, because of his inconceivable and flawless qualities. Here the guru corresponds, on the sambhogakaya level, to Avalokitesvara, who is endowed with the seven branches of union.</div>
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PADMA</div>
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Padma, meaning "lotus" in Sanskrit, indicates the padma family from the five buddha-families. These five families - buddha, vajra, ratna, padma, and karma - are represented The Vajra Guru Matra by the five buddhas: Vairocana, Aksobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, and Amoghasiddhi, respectively. Guru Rinpoche is the nirmanakaya emanation of Amitabha, who corresponds to the lotus family and the speech aspect of the buddhas. It is stated in the sutras that simply by uttering the name of Buddha Amitabha, you will be reborn in Sukhavati, the Paradise of Great Bliss, never to be reborn again in lower realms. In the same way, reciting the name of the Lotus-born Guru will bring us every kind of realization.<br />
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The incomparable qualities of the six-syllable mantra, the Mani, are also described in all the scriptures as being able to bring us to the realization of the bodhisattva levels, or bhumis. The Mani mantra of Avalokitesvara is the sambhogakaya aspect of the Vajra Guru mantra, and also corresponds to the great Vairocana Buddha. This buddha, who is the size of the whole universe, holds a begging bowl in his two hands in the mudra of equanimity. It is said that within this begging bowl is a lotus with twenty-five rows of petals arranged one upon the other. These rows correspond to the various aspects of the body, speech, mind, qualities, and activity of the buddhas. For example, the body alone has five subdivisions: body-body, body-speech, body-mind, body-qualities, and body-activity. The present nirmanakaya paradise of the Buddha Sakyamuni is said to rest at the level of the heart, and corresponds to the row of the mind-mind subdivision, this being the reason why in this paradise the precious teachings of the Secret Mantrayana - the Vajrayana - could be taught and spread.</div>
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SIDDHI</div>
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The word siddhi means "true accomplishment." By remembering and praying to the body, speech, mind, qualities, and activity of Guru Rinpoche, both ordinary and supreme accomplishments will be ours. Ordinary accomplishments include freedom from sickness and endowments such as wealth and prosperity; the supreme accomplishment is to attain the complete realization of Guru Rinpoche himself.</div>
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HUM</div>
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Reciting the syllable HUM is like requesting or invoking the guru to come and to bless us with all the siddhis, ordinary and supreme. Our master, Guru Rinpoche, and the mantra are inseparable. So when we utter thee of the guru by reciting the mantra, it's as if we are calling out repeatedly to someone who simply cannot fail to reply. The guru cannot but tum his compassion towards us, and so, if we pray one-pointedly like this, there is absolutely no doubt that Guru Rinpoche will come at once to grant us his blessings. When rain falls on the earth, it falls evenly everywhere, but only the good seeds will germinate, not the rotten ones. In the same manner, the compassion of Guru Rinpoche is unbiased; it is directed universally to all beings, and yet his blessings will be swifter for those who have devotion and faith.<br />
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It is only through the blessings of a buddha that we can achieve realization. So a prayer like this, one that invokes Guru Rinpoche's very name, must go out from the marrow of our bones, from the core of our heart; then gradually our devotion will become spontaneous and unceasing. Remember that without faith, there will be no accomplishment. At the time of the Lord Buddha, for example, there were those who could see and hear him in person, and still had no faith in him. Some of the heretical teachers even tried to poison him. Similarly, when Guru Rinpoche went to Tibet, the evil ministers plotted and schemed to kill him. For people such as these, spiritual accomplishment is out of the question.<br />
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This shows how important it is to have a faith that is very pure and genuine. And so, as a support, we visualize our outer environment as Zangdopalri, the beings around us as dakas and dakinis, ourselves as Yeshe Tsogyal, and above our head Guru Rinpoche, surrounded by his retinue. Then we pray, reciting the prayer in seven branches and the other prayers in the practice, with the confidence and trust that by so doing, accomplishment will surely blossom.</div>
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<i>~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche - "Guru Yoga": The Vajra Guru Mantra</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-30974583548386429582014-09-28T00:25:00.003-07:002014-09-28T00:27:22.176-07:00The meaning of the Barched Lamsal prayer to Guru Rinpoche<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today we are going to do a practice of removing obstacles so that favorable conditions can manifest. With this practice we are able to remove our obstacles and benefit those who have asked for our help and made offerings with this purpose.</div>
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Besides removing obstacles for those who asked for the practice, we can extend the benefit to all sentient beings. However, our capacity of benefiting is directly related to the purity of our hearts.</div>
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The key point is motivation. We should keep a pure motivation at all times, not only within the context of this specific practice. The purity of the virtue generated will depend on the purity of our motivation.</div>
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In the first place, we acknowledge that, just like ourselves, every being – be it an enemy, a demon or a little insect – urges for everlasting happiness but never finds it; or, when they find it, it is temporary. In addition, though they wish to be happy, with their actions they just end up creating the opposite of what they want.</div>
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By seeing this reality, we feel compassion, but this is not enough. It’s necessary to do something. We spend most of the time focused on ourselves, and this is an attitude that doesn’t bring much benefit. Our action will be pure only if we detach our focus from ourselves, if we have the intention of helping others.</div>
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If we think of the number of beings that inhabit the realms of samsara, we will see that the number of human beings is extremely small in comparison to the beings in the hell and the hungry ghost realms. Among human beings, the number of people who search for some spiritual practice is not very large.</div>
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Besides, it is common that a spiritual practice is carried out wrongly, reinforcing jealousy, envy, pride and the feeling of superiority in relation to other spiritual traditions. The number of those who keep a spiritual practice with a pure heart is comparable to the number of stars that can be seen in the daylight.</div>
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In order for our practice to be pure, it needs to be devoid of attachment to the self. We need to have equanimity, avoiding ideas such as “I like this person and I will do something for her, but that other person is not good so I won’t do anything,” or, “my spiritual realization is better than the other’s,” or, “I will help my relatives, but I won’t help other people.” Our intention is to help all beings, the good as well as the ones who do harm.</div>
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When practicing, we make the aspiration that our obstacles as well as every being’s may be removed, and that auspicious conditions, worldly as well as spiritual, may increase. We also pray that short- and long-term benefits may arise. However, our ultimate goal is to reach enlightenment. If you have constant nightmares, you can try to eliminate them in order to have only good dreams, but still you will be dreaming. Our aim is to wake up from the dream. The same applies to our experiences in samsara: we want to eliminate difficult experiences and increase the good ones, but our final goal is to reach enlightenment so we can benefit whoever sees, hears or touches us. As Mahayana followers, we practice for the benefit of all beings. We should establish this kind of motivation and always keep it this way.</div>
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First line</div>
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<b>DU SUM SANG GYE GU RU RIN PO CHE</b></div>
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Precious teacher, the embodiment of all Buddhas of the three times</div>
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We address this prayer to Guru Rinpoche. In the outer level, Guru Rinpoche is the Three Jewels, in the inner level he is the Three Roots, and, in the secret level, he is the Three Kayas.</div>
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Outwardly, he is the embodiment of the Buddhas of the three times: the Buddha from the past, Dipankara, the Buddha from the present, Shakyamuni, and the Buddha from the future, Maitreya. Guru Rinpoche is the manifestation of ultimate essence of all Buddhas.</div>
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Inwardly, as the Three Roots, he is the lama, the source of all blessings, and, as such, he embodies the three lineages: the lineage of mind, which is the mind of the Victorious Ones; the symbolic lineage – or the lineage of the seals – from the awareness holders; and the oral lineage, transmitted from mouth to ear. Guru Rinpoche is the ultimate essence of the wisdom of the three lineages.</div>
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In a secret sense, in relation to the Three Kayas, Guru Rinpoche’s nature is the Dharmakaya, the nature which is emptiness inseparable from wisdom.</div>
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<b>NGO DRUB KUN DAG DE WA CHEN PO’I ZHAB</b></div>
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Great bliss, the Lord of all accomplishments;</div>
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NGO DRUB means “the source of true accomplishment”, therefore in the inward level, in relation to the Three Roots, Guru Rinpoche is also the chosen deity, the Yidam. Regarding the Three Kayas, in the secret level, he is also the Sambhogakaya, the great bliss.</div>
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<b>BAR CHED KUN SEL DUD DUL DRAG PO TSAL</b></div>
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Wrathful and dynamic guru, the one who subdues the maras, dispeller of all hindrances</div>
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Guru Rinpoche is the dispeller of all obstacles in the five paths and throughout the ten bhumis. The Sangha helps in the removal of hindrances and misfortunes, as well as in the increase of positive qualities along the spiritual path. Connected in this way, at the outer level, Guru Rinpoche is also the Sangha.</div>
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The dakinis and protectors are the source of accomplishment in the activities. With this practice, we remove all obstacles to spiritual practice, so that the four activities may be fulfilled. Thus, in the inner level, Guru Rinpoche is also the dakinis and Dharma protectors. He embodies the mandala of the Three Roots.</div>
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In the secret level, he is also the Nirmanakaya, the object of refuge of both superior and lesser beings. He manifests himself in physical form in order to benefit all beings not only through teachings but also, more directly, through giving empowerments and so setting them into the path to liberation. Therefore, Guru Rinpoche, who has all these qualities, is the object of our prayer.</div>
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In the outer level, he is the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. In the inner level, he is the Three Roots: Lama, the chosen deity (Yidam) and Dakini. In the secret level, he is the Three Kayas: Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya.</div>
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Guru Rinpoche is the manifestation of all enlightened beings, the source of all the teachings that bring forth temporary and definitive benefits. He is the holder of the crown of all sanghas and the holder of the crown of all enlightened beings.</div>
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DUD DUL DRAG PO is Guru Rinpoche’s secret name, which means “the one who fearlessly removes all the obstacles caused by hinderers.” He dispels the hindrances in the path, which are the four maras. When these obstacles are dispelled, the four kinds of activities can then be performed: pacifying, increasing, magnetizing and wrathful. Through these activities we are able to benefit all beings.</div>
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The object of our prayer is pure since the beginningless beginning. As we dispel our temporary obstacles, the two purities can be fulfilled.</div>
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Through the power of the great wisdom, the two obscurations (mental poisons and intellectual obscurations) can be removed. Through the fulfillment of the natural awareness beyond extremes, the obscurations are directly liberated in the basic space. That’s why Guru Rinpoche is called the holder of all manifestations.</div>
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<b>SOL WA DEB SO JIN GYI LAB TU SOL</b></div>
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When we recite this prayer, at an outer level we are calling the name of Guru Rinpoche, but what we truly need to understand is that Guru Rinpoche is the source of all pure qualities and, because of that, he has the power to dispel all our obstacles.</div>
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We think of Guru Rinpoche with deference and we pray to him with faith. And why do we pray? What do wish for when we pray?</div>
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With the external prayer, we approach the object to which we are praying. In Tibetan, this phase is called nyempa (approximation), which means “moved by faith, we approach”.</div>
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The other phase is called drugpa, which means “realization”. In an inner sense, we acknowledge that Guru Rinpoche is inseparable from the Three Jewels, the Three Roots and the Three Kayas. His body, speech and mind are the mandala of the wisdom body, speech and mind. Our body, speech and mind also have a pure nature since the beginningless beginning, which we couldn’t recognize before. To recognize this pure nature and to keep this recognition is the meaning of the realization phase (drugpa).</div>
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In the secret level, the nature of our mind is inseparable from the Three Kayas:</div>
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The Dharmakaya is the very nature of our mind, which is emptiness inseparable from its unceasing qualities. The Sambhogakaya assembles the five aspects of the awakened state, which are:</div>
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The wisdom of dharmadhatu, which is the nature of mind beyond extremes.</div>
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The wisdom of discernment.</div>
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The wisdom which is clear like a mirror.</div>
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The wisdom of equality.</div>
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The all-accomplishing wisdom.</div>
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There are also the Nirmanakaya and the Svabhavikakaya. The four kayas and the five wisdoms are our own mind, inseparable from the Lama. We need to gain confidence in this recognition. The nature of the one who prays and that of the object of the prayer are inseparable. Resting effortlessly in this nature is the enlightened activity.</div>
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JIN GYI LAB TU SOL</div>
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Here we invoke or request the blessings, but how are they bestowed on us?</div>
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By receiving the blessing of the wisdom body, our body turns into a body of light, the vajra body, which has the seven vajra qualities: it is invulnerable, indestructible, incorruptible, stable, unobstructed and invincible. By receiving the blessing of the enlightened speech, we accomplish vajra speech, which is the inseparability of sound and emptiness. By receiving the blessing of the enlightened mind, we accomplish the vajra mind. Thus, we request the blessing in these three ways and ask for the disclosure of the enlightened body, speech, and mind.</div>
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<b>CHI NANG SANG WA’I BAR CHED ZHI WA DANG</b></div>
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Regarding the obstacles that may arise in our practice and hinder our reaching enlightenment, there are the outer obstacles, which are the fears. All fears are the outer manifestation of our mental poisons and may be sort out in sixteen categories. For example, our pride manifests outwardly as the fear of earthquakes, anger is reflected externally as the fear of fire, and so forth:</div>
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Fear of the ground, fear of earthquakes.</div>
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Fear of water.</div>
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Fear of fire.</div>
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Fear of wind or hurricanes.</div>
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Fear of meteor rains.</div>
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Fear of weapons in general.</div>
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Fear of being imprisoned, fear of authorities.</div>
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Fear of enemies, thieves and robbers.</div>
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Fear of cannibal demons.</div>
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Fear of wild fierce elephants.</div>
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Fear of lions.</div>
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Fear of poisonous snakes.</div>
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Fear of contagious diseases.</div>
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Fear of unexpected death.</div>
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Fear of poverty.</div>
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Fear of not fulfilling one’s aspirations.</div>
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The inner obstacles are the four maras:</div>
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The mara of the body aggregates.</div>
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The mara of the mental poisons.</div>
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The mara of false contentment: believing in temporary happiness, without recognizing that everything changes all the time. It’s like licking honey out of a knife blade.</div>
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The mara of death.</div>
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The secret obstacles are the mental poisons: ignorance, desire, anger, envy or jealousy, and pride. All these obstacles create impediments to enlightenment. How do we remove the outer obstacles? With the recognition that every appearance is the pure body, every sound is the pure speech, and that mind’s nature is pure wisdom. Every form, everything we see, every appearance is acknowledged as the pure form of the deity. Every sound we hear is the deity’s mantra, the pure sound. We recognize anything that arises in our mind as inseparable from the timeless natural awareness, Dharmakaya.</div>
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When we reach the realization of the pure nature of all things, outer obstacles are dissolved. If we recognize the absolute nature, dual thoughts dissolve, we eliminate the attachment to the self, and, consequently, we subdue the maras, purify the five mental poisons, and consummate the five wisdoms. With this, any obstacle that arises will be transformed into something good or better.</div>
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The outer, inner and secret obstacles are removed by the power of the blessings of Guru Rinpoche’s enlightened body, speech, and mind.</div>
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<b>SAM PA LHUN GYI DRUB PAR JIN GYI LOB</b></div>
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SAMPA means the aspiration that everything we wish for in the temporary level may be attained and that, from this moment until we reach enlightenment, every favorable condition may arise.</div>
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What are these favorable conditions? An existence in one of the upper realms: in the realms of the gods, demigods or humans. For that we need to wish for the seven qualities, which are:</div>
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Having a long life. We need this human body. It is a good vehicle, and, being like a ship, the mind is the captain. The mind determines the direction and the body serves it. Therefore, we need to wish for a long life.</div>
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Being healthy. The mind may have positive thoughts, but, if the body is ill, we will not be able to put what we think into practice; because of that, we wish for a healthy, good and strong body.</div>
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Having good fortune, good luck and prosperity.</div>
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Having a good family, because, if we are born in a family of bad character, we may be negatively influenced.</div>
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Having good financial conditions, not being poor or going through difficulties.</div>
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Having qualities like intelligence, because, without intelligence, we are also unable to put things into practice.</div>
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Being good-looking.</div>
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These are the qualities of the superior rebirths.</div>
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The seven riches are:</div>
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Faith. Whatever your tradition may be, if you don’t have faith, there won’t be any connection. If you don’t keep the connection, your practice won’t bear any results.</div>
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Moral discipline. Abandoning negative actions and acting in a virtuous way.</div>
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Diligence, joyful perseverance.</div>
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Being conscientious. Being ashamed of doing wrong because you know that others will notice.</div>
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Knowledge (intelligence). You may want to do something positive, but if you are not knowledgeable, you won’t be able to. It’s important to have the good fortune of hearing in order to acquire knowledge.</div>
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Generosity. If you are miserly, not knowing how to share anything with anybody, even if you are healthy and able to hear, even if you have abilities and qualities, you won’t be of any benefit at all.</div>
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Having deep knowledge, or the transcendental knowledge, the best knowledge; in Tibetan, sherab.</div>
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In the spiritual path it is not enough to be diligent. Maybe there is something annoying you during practice and you feel like stopping, and you force yourself into keeping on practicing – this situation is not the ideal. However, if we know that the practice brings benefits to ourselves and to others, we will practice with enthusiasm. We will have the quality of perseverance with joy. If we don’t have joyful perseverance, whenever doubts arise our practice will get weaker.</div>
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We ask for the blessings in order that we may enjoy all favorable conditions along the path which will lead to the ultimate goal: to reach the extraordinary realization. Every being, may it be a human, an animal, or any other kind of being, has a mind. Mind’s essence is Buddha nature, which is pure. It doesn’t matter how big the being is, whether it’s big or small, since its essence is pure.</div>
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If we all have a pure essence, then how does the experience of samsara arise? Because we still don’t recognize our pure nature. It is covered by temporary defilements, such as the mental poisons and intellectual obscurations. We have the habit of not understanding, not recognizing this pure essence: this is what causes the experience of samsara. The path to transforming samsaric experience and reaching the consummation of the absolute nature is the accumulation of merit and wisdom.</div>
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Each being’s nature is inseparable from the four kayas and the five wisdoms (or the five aspects of the awakened state) and, at the moment, it is veiled by temporary defilements. With the practice of the development and the consummation states, we are able to remove these temporary defilements and reach the extraordinary realization: the recognition of mind’s true nature. We beseech the blessings in order to reach this extraordinary realization, the consummation of the effortless recognition of the absolute nature.</div>
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<i>~ Teaching given by H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche during an accumulation of the Barched Lamsal prayer. Khadro Ling, March 1997.</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-51399263651271812992014-09-27T00:28:00.005-07:002014-09-27T00:28:59.099-07:00Avalokiteshvara<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Pith Instructions by the Venerable Yangthang Rinpoche</b></div>
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The essence of the mind of all the buddhas and bodhisattvas is the bodhichitta, the awakened mind. When this bodhichitta assumes a form, it appears as Chenrezig, Avalokiteshvara.</div>
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Whenever we practice Avalokiteshvara, the most important aspect of the practice is the generation and development of the bodhichitta, which is the compassion that Avalokiteshvara experiences for all sentient beings. So, if we also generate this same compassion, this same awakened mind, it will be very easy for us to accomplish Avalokiteshvara because the essence of Avalokiteshvara is the bodhichitta. Thus, the blessings and the results will be very swift.</div>
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Avalokiteshvara has many different emanations and many different names, but essentially they are one essence, which is the bodhichitta, the nature of the mind of all buddhas. He appears in a peaceful manifestation, an increasing manifestation, and a wrathful manifestation. He appears in different colors—sometimes white, sometimes red. Sometimes he appears with one thousand eyes and one thousand arms, sometimes with one head and four arms, sometimes with one head and two arms, and often holding different types of hand implements. He is sometimes referred to as “Thugje Chenpo,” which means the “One of Great Compassion.” He is given this name because it is considered that he is the very force of the compassion of all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, the embodiment of the power of that compassion. He is also called “Chenrezig,” which means the “One Who Sees all Sentient Beings Equally and Simultaneously and is Always Aware of Them and Their Needs.”</div>
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His consideration of sentient beings is all encompassing and constant. He is also sometimes referred to as “Jigten Wangchuk” because, until the three realms of cyclic existence are emptied from their depths, from his concerned activity he will appear in any way and in all ways. He will emanate completely and all-pervasively to make connections with and liberate sentient beings throughout the three realms. Thus, he is called the “One Who has Power Over the World.” These different names refer to the one deity, Avalokiteshvara. They are but different names for different emanations of the same single essence.</div>
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To explain it from the point of view of the three kayas, in the dharmakaya nature Avalokiteshvara is Buddha Amitabha, in the sambhogakaya he is Nam Nang Den So, and in the nirmanakya he is Chenrezig, who appears both peacefully and wrathfully. In the peaceful expression he appears with one thousand arms and one thousand eyes, or with one head and four arms. In the wrathful expression he appears as Hayagriva. The wrathful expression is simply an intense expression of utter compassion that is necessary to tame the minds of beings who cannot be tamed through peaceful methods. Hayagriva also appears in many different emanations, sometimes with nine heads and eighteen arms, sometimes with three heads and six arms, sometimes with one head and two arms, sometimes red in color, sometimes black. When Avalokiteshvara appears as the protector, the dharmapala, he is the primordial wisdom protector Mahakala with six arms. When he appears as a wealth deity, he is the white Dzambhala.</div>
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All of these various expressions are but different methods that the expression of the mind‘s compassion manifests to accomplish the needs and the purpose of all sentient beings. And because the numberless sentient beings are themselves different from each other, many countless, different methods are necessary. In fact, there are so many methods that if I were to explain them all we would run out of time before I could finish and you would all become quite tired. In short, the number of manifestations of this deity is inconceivable, yet they are all nothing other than the mind of compassion, the expression of the great bodhichitta.</div>
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Therefore, we can say that, in a sense, more than accomplishing any other deity, to accomplish Avalokiteshvara alone is sufficient, because Avalokiteshvara is the essence of the mind of all buddhas and thus the essence of all deities. Furthermore, Avalokiteshvara is quite easy to accomplish. It is taught that if one practices Avalokiteshvara very well, for six months without interruption, then one will certainly have a sign of accomplishment. There is no way that there could not be a sign of accomplishment. This means that one will have a direct vision of Chenrezig or some other sign of accomplishment. Also, it is very easy to recite the mantra, “OM MANI PEME HUNG.” It comes quite naturally for everyone. Buddha Shakyamuni said that of all the different recitations, there is no greater benefit to be derived from any recitation other than the recitation of “OM MANI PEME HUNG,” the mani mantra. Of all practices that are based on recitation, this is the most powerful, the most beneficial.</div>
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To accomplish any other meditational deity we must know how to accomplish the generation and the completion stage, we must know how to perform the sadhana correctly, we must know how the practice is put together, we must know how to construct the mandala, and we must know many other things that can actually be quite difficult and complicated—just to accomplish the deity. But the accomplishment of Avalokiteshvara is quite different in that none of this is necessary.</div>
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There was a lama in eastern Tibet who was known as the “mani lama” because the only practice he did was Avalokiteshvara. He said that even when one is experiencing desire, or any of the other poisons, like jealousy or aggression, when negativity is arising in the mind, one can still practice Avalokiteshvara and recite “OM MANI PEME HUNG.” In other words, one doesn’t have to put the practice aside or transform the poison or do any other such thing, because the practice itself simply eliminates the conflicting emotions. This is because the six syllables of the mani mantra have the power to eliminate the six conflicting emotions, which are lack of awareness (delusion), pride, aggression, attachment, jealousy, and avarice. The six syllables also have the specific power to close the door to rebirth in the six realms of existence because each and every sentient being in all the six realms, without exception, has in its body six syllables that correspond to rebirth in the six realms. The cause of wandering in cyclic existence is due to the condition of the presence of those six syllables.</div>
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When you recite “OM MANI PEME HUNG,” the six syllables of Avalokiteshvara, it is important to understand that they have the power to subjugate and eliminate the ordinary samsaric six syllables, thus obstructing or closing the doors to rebirth in the six classes. That is one specific power of the mani mantra. Also, in this very lifetime, simply reciting “OM MANI PEME HUNG” will eliminate illness, disease, and demonic force possession. One will become happy and peaceful and fully endowed. Reciting it will enhance ones power to meditate and one will develop deeper levels of meditative absorption in this lifetime that will carry over into future lifetimes. At the time of death one will not have to take rebirth in the three lower realms and will instead be reborn in Dewachen, the Western Pure Land of Great Bliss, or in Avalokiteshvara’s own pure realm of Riwo Potala, and there one will gradually achieve the status of buddhahood. Until that time, the blessing and the power of ones practice will not be exhausted; it will continue to produce the result of enlightenment.</div>
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Avalokiteshvara is truly unlike any other deity. Many people are attracted to the wrathful deities, like Vajrakilaya, Hayagriva, Guru Dragpo, and so forth, and want to accomplish them, but unless one knows very well and exactly how to practice the generation and completion stage inner tantric practices of the wrathful deities, it is very difficult to accomplish them. Avalokiteshvara, however, is very simple to accomplish, and the mani mantra is very easy to recite. So keep these things in mind.</div>
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There are many who think that the Avalokiteshvara practice and the mani mantra are just for simple folks and children and old people, not for real practitioners and scholars. This attitude is based on ignorance; it is absolutely mistaken. In fact, of all deities, Avalokiteshvara is the principal deity and the most important. This is true today and it was true in the past, during the time of the great pandits and mahasiddhas of India, almost all of whom achieved their realization through their practice of Avalokiteshvara. Each and every one of them had visions of Avalokiteshvara, and it was through those visions that they received their spiritual attainments and realizations. And in Tibet, especially, all the greatest masters had the strongest connection with Avalokiteshvara. They had visions of Avalokiteshvara, they were given prophetic indications from Avalokiteshvara directly, and it was through Avalokiteshvara that they achieved spiritual realizations.</div>
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The blessings of accomplishing Avalokiteshvara are extremely great. Have no doubt about this. To recite even just one round of the mani mantra is of tremendous benefit, inconceivable benefit. To pray to Avalokiteshvara from the depths of ones heart and recite the mantra is truly a very profound practice in itself. If you pray to Avalokiteshvara regularly, and recite the six-syllable mantra as much as you can, it is absolutely certain that when you pass from this life you will not take rebirth in the lower realms. So, consider this and incorporate the practice into your life.</div>
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You should see all appearances as the form of Avalokiteshvara, you should hear all sound as the speech of Avalokiteshvara, which is the six-syllable mantra, and you should consider that all arising thoughts are the mind of Avalokiteshvara. You should have compassion and loving kindness for all living beings without exception, from the tiniest insect to the largest being, because all of them, just as you do, wish to be happy and have a desire to experience bliss. Not a single one of them wishes to suffer. So, it is important to always have loving kindness for all sentient beings, maintain the threefold state of pure awareness, and recite “OM MANI PEME HUNG” as much as possible.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-66934279797144870342014-09-07T22:07:00.002-07:002014-09-07T22:10:43.464-07:00<blockquote class="tr_bq">
'The buddhas are aware of your faith and devotion, and know the very moment you take refuge. Do not think that the buddhas are far away in distant, absolute realms where your prayers and aspirations go unheard and unheeded. Buddhas are as ever present as the sky.'</blockquote>
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~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-57114922218872941412014-06-30T10:11:00.001-07:002014-06-30T10:11:34.659-07:00Siedmioczęściowa modlitwa<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wszystkim Zwycięzcom, którzy przejawiają się w światach dziesięciu kierunków, Tathagatom trzech czasów, lwom pośród ludzi, bez względu na to, ilu ich jest, wszystkim bez wyjątku – składam pełen szacunku hołd ciałem, mową i umysłem.</div>
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Niech moc tego „Szlachetnego dążenia do doskonałego postępowania” przywoła do mego umysłu wszystkich Zwycięzców. Składając pokłony ciałami tak licznymi, jak liczne są atomy we wszechświecie, chylę czoła przed wszystkimi Zwycięzcami.</div>
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W pojedynczym atomie jest tak wielu Buddów, jak wiele jest atomów we wszechświecie, każdy z nich przebywa pośród duchowych synów i córek – tak właśnie wyobrażam sobie całe dharmadathu, całkowicie wypełnione Zwycięzcami.</div>
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Głoszę chwałę tego niewyczerpanego oceanu Zwycięzców, każdym dźwiękiem czerpanym z oceanu melodyjnych tonów opisuję doskonałe właściwości wszystkich Zwycięzców – tak oto sławię wszystkich Buddów.</div>
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Ofiarowuję Zwycięzcom najpiękniejsze kwiaty, najwspanialsze wieńce, muzykę, olejki, wytworne baldachimy, najjaśniejsze lampy, najwonniejsze kadzidła.</div>
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Ofiarowuję Zwycięzcom najwspanialsze szaty, najcudowniejsze zapachy, najlepsze pudry w ilości tak wielkiej jak Góra Meru. Wszystko to ułożone we wspaniały sposób.</div>
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Nieprzebranymi, najdoskonalszymi ofiarami wyrażam szacunek wobec wszystkich Zwycięzców. Mocą swej ufności w doskonałe postępowanie składam pokłon i ofiary wszystkim Zwycięzcom.</div>
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Jakiekolwiek negatywne czyny poczyniłem ciałem, mową, a także umysłem, pod wpływem pożądania, złości i otępienia, wszystkie i każde z osobna wyznaję ze skruchą.</div>
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Cieszę się z dobra czynionego przez Buddów, ich Dzieci, Pratjekabuddów, uczniów i tych, którzy wyszli poza uczenie się, oraz przez wszystkie czujące istoty.</div>
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Proszę Opiekunów, latarnie światów dziesięciu kierunków, którzy poprzez stopniowe Przebudzenie osiągnęli stan Buddy, będący poza przywiązaniem, aby obracali najdoskonalszym kołem Dharmy.</div>
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Tych, którzy chcą zademonstrować odejście w nirwanę, proszę, dla pożytku i szczęścia wszystkich istot, pozostańcie tyle kalp, ile jest atomów we wszechświecie. Składając dłonie, modlę się o to ze wszystkich sił.</div>
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Całą, niewielką nawet zasługę, nagromadzoną dzięki pokłonom, ofiarowaniu i wyznaniu, rozradowaniu, prośbie i błaganiu, poświęcam całkowitemu Przebudzeniu.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-48786545899342891682014-06-19T08:01:00.002-07:002014-06-19T08:02:18.552-07:00Yangthang Rinpoche’s teachings on Pureland<br />
LINK: <a href="https://bodhiactivity.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/the-ladder-that-leads-to-pure-land.pdf">The Ladder That Leads To Pure Land</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-67569423245938816782014-06-04T10:53:00.004-07:002014-06-06T10:00:30.349-07:00Modlitwa o odrodzenie w czystej krainie Sukhawati<div style="text-align: justify;">
Emaho!<br />
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Stąd, w kierunku zachodzącego słońca, za niezliczonymi światami, trochę powyżej nas, jest czysta kraina Sukhawati. Choć nie widzę jej mym wypełnionym wodą okiem, w umyśle mam jej jasny obraz.<br />
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Tam przebywa Bhagałan Amitabha. O rubinowej barwie, lśni majestatem. Ozdabiają go trzydzieści dwa dobre znaki i osiem cech, wśród nich usznisza na głowie i koła na stopach. Ma jedną twarz i dwie dłonie ułożone w medytacji, a w nich miseczkę żebraczą. Nosi trzy szaty Dharmy, siedzi w pozycji wadżry na tysiącpłatkowym lotosie i dysku księżyca. Plecami opiera się o drzewo bodhi. Spogląda na mnie z oddali współczującym wzrokiem.<br />
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Po jego prawej jest Bodhisattwa Avalokita o białym ciele, trzyma w lewej dłoni biały lotos. Z lewej jest Bodhisattwa Mahasthama w kolorze niebieskim, w lewej dłoni trzyma lotos ozdobiony wadżrą. Ich prawe dłonie ułożone są w mudrze obdarzającej ochroną. Każdy z nich jest jak Góra Meru, jasno widoczni i promienni.<br />
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Ich orszak stanowi trylion bikszu Bodhisattwów, z których każdy ma ciało w kolorze złota, ozdobione znakami Przebudzenia. Ubrani w szaty Dharmy, całą przestrzeń wypełniają żółtą barwą. Ponieważ dla szczerego pokłonu nie liczy się odległość, z oddaniem składam Wam pokłon trzema bramami.<br />
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Dharmakaja Amitabha jest Panem Rodziny. Ze światła Jego prawej dłoni powstał Avalokita i bilion dalszych emanacji Avalokity. Ze światła Jego lewej dłoni powstała Tara i bilion Jej kolejnych emanacji. Ze światła jego serca powstał Padmakara i bilion Jego dalszych emanacji. Składam pokłon Dharmakaji Amitabhy.<br />
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Buddo, z dobrocią, nieustannie, przez sześć pór dnia i nocy dbasz o wszystkie istoty. W każdej chwili znasz wszelkie myśli przepływające przez umysł każdej z istot. Zawsze wyraźnie słyszysz słowa wypowiedziane przez każdą istotę. Składam pokłon przed wszechwiedzącym Amitabhą.<br />
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Powiadają, że za wyjątkiem tych, którzy odrzucili Dharmę lub dokonali jednego z pięciu najgorszych czynów, wszyscy, którzy z wiarą wyrażają życzenia, by odrodzić się w Sukhawati, odrodzą się tam. Pojawiasz się w bardo i prowadzisz ich do swej krainy. Składam pokłon przed przewodnikiem Amitabhą.<br />
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Przez całe swoje życie, które będzie trwać niezliczone kalpy, nie odejdziesz w nirwanę. Jesteś znacząco obecny. Mówi się, że każdy kto modli się do Ciebie z wielkim oddaniem, nawet gdy jego siły się wyczerpały, jeśli tylko nie jest to rezultat dojrzewania karmy, będzie żył sto lat. Odsuniesz przedwczesną śmierć. Składam pokłon przed opiekunem Amitają.<br />
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Powiadają, że składanie z wiarą dłoni na dźwięk Twego imienia lub nazwy Sukhawati, przynosi więcej zasługi niż szczodre rozdanie klejnotów tak licznych, że mogłyby wypełnić całą przestrzeń. Z oddaniem składam więc pokłon przed Amitabhą.<br />
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Każdy kto usłyszy Twe imię, aż do osiągnięcia Przebudzenia, nigdy nie odrodzi się jako bezradna kobieta, ani w złej rodzinie. W każdym odrodzeniu będzie obdarzony czystą moralnością. Składam pokłon Sugacie Amitabie.<br />
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Ofiarowuję ciało, majątek i korzenie zasługi i wszystkie przygotowane ofiary, wyobrażone substancje i znaki pomyślności, i siedem klejnotów, bilion istniejących światów z bilionem czterech kontynentów, Górą Meru, słońcem i księżycem, wszystkie luksusy bogów nagów i ludzi. Wszystko to, zgromadzone w wyobraźni, ofiarowuję Amitabhie. Dla mego dobra, przyjmij ten dar ze współczuciem.<br />
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Wyznaję wszystkie negatywności, których wraz ze wszystkimi istotami, włączając rodziców, dopuściliśmy się od niemającego początku czasu, jak zabijanie, kradzież, zdrada małżeńska – wyznaję trzy negatywne działania ciała. Kłamstwo, obmowa, raniące słowa i plotki – wyznaję cztery negatywne wyznania mowy. Chciwość, złośliwość i błędne poglądy – wyznaję trzy negatywne działania umysłu.<br />
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Zabicie ojca, matki, mistrza lub Arhata oraz przelanie krwi Buddy ze złą intencją – wyznaję pięć najgorszych czynów. Zabicie mnicha, uwiedzenie mniszki, zniszczenie świętych wizerunków, stupy lub świątyni – wyznaję czyny niemal najgorsze.<br />
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Porzucenie Trzech Klejnotów, świątyń, pism lub trzech obiektów wsparcia, fałszywe przeciw nim zeznawanie – wyznaję błąd porzucenia Dharmy. Oczernianie Bodhisattów jest gorsze od zabicia wszystkich istot trzech sfer – wyznaję bezsensowne, wielkie negatywności.<br />
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Myślenie, iż pożytek płynący z dobrych a cierpienie ze złych działań oraz ból i długość życia w piekłach są nieprawdziwe, przesądami są jedynie, jest gorsze od pięciu najgorszych czynów. Wyznaję negatywności, z których trudno się wyzwolić.<br />
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Cztery rodzaje odrzucenia, trzynaście pozostałości, uchybienia, błędy do naprawienia, pięć klas wykroczeń – wyznaję naruszenia zobowiązań praktimokszy. Cztery negatywności i pięć, pięć i osiem uchybień – wyznaję naruszenia ślubowań bodhisattwy. Czternaście głównych i osiem pośrednich błędów – wyznaję uchybienia w samaja sekretnej mantry.<br />
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Negatywne czyny dokonane bez przyjęcia ślubowań, jak seks, który rani, i upijanie się alkoholem, postępowanie, które w oczywisty sposób jest niezdrowe – wyznaję nieświadome działania. Choć przyjąłem ślubowania Schronienia i abiszeki, przyznaję się do złamania zobowiązań spowodowanego niewiedzą na temat tego jak utrzymywać ślubowania i samaja.<br />
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Bez poczucia żalu oczyszczenie przez wyznanie nie nastąpi. Wyznaję więc wszystkie negatywności ze wstydem, strachem i żalem, jakbym właśnie połknął truciznę. Bez postanowienia poprawy oczyszczenie nie nastąpi. Od tej chwili, nawet za cenę życia, przysięgam nie czynić żadnego zła. Sugato Amitabho i Bodhisattwowie, udzielcie błogosławieństwa, które mnie oczyści.<br />
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Kiedy słysząc o zasłudze innych, pozostajemy wolni od zawiści i cieszymy się z tego z całego serca, powiadają, że zdobędziemy taką samą zasługę. Raduję się zatem wszelką dobrą aktywnością Szlachetnych i zwyczajnych istot. Raduje mnie rozwijanie bodhiczitty i przynoszenie pożytku innym.<br />
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Dziesięć dobrych działań jest przeciwieństwem złych: ratowanie życia, szczodre ofiarowywanie, wierność, prawdomówność, zażegnanie sporu, łagodna i bezpośrednia mowa, pełna znaczenia rozmowa, niewielkie pożądanie, rozwijanie miłości i współczucia, praktykowanie Dharmy – raduję się ze wszystkich dobrych działań.<br />
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Wy wszyscy, którzy osiągnęliście doskonały stan Buddy, w którymkolwiek z nieskończonych światów dziesięciu kierunków – błagam obróćcie wkrótce kołem Dharmy. Modlę się, usłyszcie mój głos. Wszyscy Buddowie, Bodhisattwowie, dzierżyciele Dharmy i duchowi przyjaciele, którzy pragniecie odejść w nirwanę – proszę, nie róbcie tego, pozostańcie.<br />
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Dedykuję tę i każdą inną zasługę zgromadzoną w trzech czasach dobru wszystkich istot. Oby wszyscy szybko osiągnęli niezrównane Przebudzenie i opróżnili samsarę trzech sfer całkowicie. Oby ta zasługa szybko we mnie dojrzała. Niech mnie ominie osiem rodzajów przedwczesnej śmierci. Obym był zdrowy i pełen sił młodości. Oby moje bogactwo było niewyczerpane jak wody Gangesu latem.<br />
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Zapomniany przez mary i wrogów, będę praktykował prawdziwą Dharmę. Oby wszystkie me życzenia spełniły się zgodnie z Dharmą i wyrażonymi intencjami. Obym przyniósł niezmierny pożytek Dharmie i istotom. Oby to ludzkie odrodzenie było znaczące.<br />
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Obyśmy, ja i wszyscy, którzy są ze mną powiązani, gdy tylko zakończymy to życie, ujrzeli przed sobą emanację Buddy Amitabhy otoczoną przez zgromadzenie Bodhisattwów. Niech ich widok rozbudzi w nas radość. Oby naszej śmierci nie towarzyszyło cierpienie. Oby ośmiu Bodhisattwów pojawiło się cudownie na niebie. Oby wskazali nam drogę i poprowadzili do Sukhawati.<br />
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Cierpienie niższych światów jest nie do zniesienia. Przyjemności bogów i ludzi – nietrwałe. Oby to napawało mnie strachem. Od niemającego początku czasu do teraz samsara wciąż trwa i trwa. Oby to przepełniało mnie smutkiem.<br />
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Być może ponownie będę się odradzał jako człowiek i bez końca znosił narodziny, starość, choroby i śmierć. W tej epoce upadku czyha na mnie wiele przeszkód. Radości bogów i ludzi są jak jadło wymieszane z trucizną. Obym nie pragnął ich nawet odrobinę.<br />
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Rodzina, pożywienie, bogactwo i przyjaciele są nietrwałe jak marzenia senne. Obym nie przywiązywał się do nich nawet na chwilę. Ziemia, dom, otoczenie są jak posiadłość, która pojawia się we śnie. Obym widział ich nierealność.<br />
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Obym wynurzył się z oceanu samsary, tak trudnego do opuszczenia, jak zbrodniarz czmychający z więzienia. Obym uciekł do krainy Sukhawati, nie oglądając się za siebie. Przełamując lgnięcie i przywiązanie, obym przeleciał przez zachodnie niebo jak sęp wypuszczony z klatki, w jednej chwili mijając nieskończone światy, i dotarł do Sukhawati. Obym ujrzał twarz Amitabhy, który rzeczywiście tam przebywa. Oby wszystkie splamienia zostały oczyszczone.<br />
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Z czterech, najlepsze są narodziny w sercu kwiatu lotosu. Obym tak właśnie się narodził. Niech w jednej chwili pojawi się ciało ze wszystkimi cechami i znakami. Wątpliwość do tego czy tak się stanie, sprawi, że pozostanę w lotosie przez pięćset lat. Byłoby mi tam dobrze i wygodnie, słyszałbym też głos Buddy, ale z zamkniętego pąka kwiatu nie mógłbym go zobaczyć. Oby tak się nie stało. Niech kwiat się otworzy tuż po mym narodzeniu, abym ujrzał twarz Amitabhy.<br />
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Dzięki zasłudze i cudownym mocom niech rozległe chmury ofiar wypłyną z mych dłoni, abym obdarował nimi Buddę i jego orszak. Po czym Budda wyciągnie prawą dłoń i położy ją na czubku mej głowy. Obym otrzymał przepowiednię swego Przebudzenia. Wysłuchawszy dogłębnych i rozległych nauk, obym osiągnął dojrzałość i wyzwolenie. Oby dwaj najwspanialsi Bodhisattwowie, Avalokita i Mahasthama, udzielili mi swojego błogosławieństwa i opieki.<br />
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Każdego dnia niezliczeni Buddowie i Bodhisattwowie przybywają z dziesięciu stron, by ofiarować Amitabhie dary i odwiedzić Jego krainę. Obym wówczas mógł ich spotkać i otrzymać nektar ich nauk. Mając nieograniczone cudowne moce, będę odwiedzał krainy Radości, Chwały, Doskonałej Aktywności i Wielu Promieni. Udając się tam o świcie, obym otrzymał abiszeki, błogosławieństwa i ślubowania od Akśobhji, Ratnasambhawy, Amoghasiddhi, Wairoczany i innych Buddów. Po złożeniu wielu ofiar, o zmierzchu, bez trudności, powrócę do domu w Sukhawati.<br />
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W krainach: Potala, Alakawati, Czamaradwipa i Uddijana, w bilionie krain nirmanakaji, spotkam bilion Avalokitów, Tar, Wadżrapanich i Padmakarów. Złożę im oceany ofiar i otrzymam abiszeki i dogłębne pouczenia. Następnie szybko i swobodnie powrócę do domu w Sukhawati.<br />
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Niech boskie oko pozwoli mi widzieć moją rodzinę, mnichów i uczniów. Obym mógł ich chronić i błogosławić, a po śmierci sprowadzić do Sukhawati. Cały okres tej pomyślnej kalpy odpowiada jednemu dniu w Sukhawati. Tam życie trwa przez niezliczone kalpy. Obym zawsze mieszkał w tej krainie. Kiedy wszyscy Buddowie tej pomyślnej kalpy, od Majtreji po Roczanę, będą pojawiać się na tym świecie, obym przybył tu w cudowny sposób, złożył im ofiary, wysłuchał prawdziwej Dharmy i swobodnie powrócił do Sukhawati.<br />
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Wszystkie właściwości i przymioty krain osiemdziesięciu jeden septylionów Buddów obecne są w tej krainie, najlepszej ze wszystkich. Obym odrodził się w krainie Sukhawati. Jej cenna ziemia jest równa jak powierzchnia dłoni. Rozległa i przestrzenna, lśni jasno i promieniście. Jest miękka i uginająca się pod stopami. Obym odrodził się w tej przyjemnej, łagodnej i rozległej krainie.<br />
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Klejnoty wiszą na drzewach spełniających życzenia, ozdobionych jedwabnymi liśćmi i cennymi owocami. Pośród nich nawołują się ptaki, a ich śpiew rozbrzmiewa dogłębną i wszechstronną Dharmą. Obym odrodził się w tej krainie cudów.<br />
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Jest tam wiele rzek pachnących wodą o ośmiu przymiotach, jak i wiele basenów kąpielowych wypełnionych nektarem, otoczonych chodnikiem i schodami z siedmiu rodzajów szlachetnych kamieni. Pachnące słodko kwiaty lotosu i owoce wysyłają niezliczone promienie światła, na których końcach widnieją emanacje Buddów. Obym odrodził się tej niezwykłej krainie.<br />
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Tam nie słyszano nawet o ośmiu rodzajach cierpienia i niższych światach. Klesie, pięć trucizn i trzy trucizny, choroby, duchy, wrogość, nędza, spory i każde inne cierpienie nie są znane w tej krainie. Obym odrodził się w krainie wielkiego szczęścia.<br />
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Tam nie ma seksualności ani narodzin z łona. Wszyscy rodzą się w kwiatach lotosu. Wszyscy są do siebie podobni, mają złociste ciała, o odpowiednich cechach i znakach, jak usznisza na czubku głowy. Wszyscy mają pięć nadnaturalnych mocy i pięcioro oczu. Obym się odrodził w krainie niezliczonych właściwości.<br />
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W samopowstałych pałacach ze szlachetnych kamieni czegokolwiek się pragnie, pojawia się samo. Wysiłek jest zbyteczny, wszystko, co potrzebne, jest spontanicznie obecne. Nie ma „ja” ani „ty”, ani przywiązania do ego. To czego się pragnie, w chmurach ofiar emanuje z dłoni. Wszyscy praktykują niezrównaną Dharmę mahajany. Obym się odrodził w krainie, gdzie powstaje wszelka radość i zadowolenie.<br />
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Pachnący podmuch wiatru przynosi deszcz kwiatów. Ze wszystkich drzew, rzek i lotosów nieustannie emanują chmury okazałych darów, piękne formy, dźwięki, zapachy, smaki i to, co miłe w dotyku. Choć zwyczajna płeć nie istnieje, emanacje bogiń bez ustanku przynoszą ofiary. Kiedy chce się usiąść, pałace się pojawiają. Kiedy chce się położyć, powstają wspaniałe łoża, a na nich materace i jedwabne poduszki.<br />
Kiedy pragnie się je słyszeć, ptaki, drzewa, rzeki i muzyka rozbrzmiewają melodyjnym dźwiękiem Dharmy. Kiedy się tego nie chce, niczego nie słychać. Nektar w basenach i rzekach ma taką temperaturę, jakiej się pragnie. Obym odrodził się w tej krainie, gdzie pragnienia się urzeczywistniają.<br />
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W tej krainie doskonały Budda Amitabha pozostanie nie odchodząc w nirwanę, przez niezliczoną ilość kalp. Obym cały czas przebywał w jego obecności. Kiedy Amitabha odejdzie w spokój, jego Dharma przetrwa dwa razy tyle kalp, ile jest ziaren piasku w Gangesie. W tym czasie, obym był nieoddzielony od Awalokity, Jego regenta, i pielęgnował prawdziwą Dharmę.<br />
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Kiedy ta Dharma zniknie o zachodzie słońca, następnego dnia o świcie Awalokita osiągnie stan Buddy, stając się Buddą o imieniu Król Wielkiego Splendoru Wyniesiony Ponad Wszystko. Od tej chwili będę mu służył i słuchał Dharmy. Będzie żył dziewięćdziesiąt sześć septylionów kalp. Oby dane mi było mu służyć bez przerwy i doskonale praktykować Dharmę. Po Jego odejściu w nirwanę ta Dharma przetrwa sześćset dziesięć milionów i trzysta tysięcy kalp. Przez ten czas obym utrzymywał Dharmę i był nieoddzielny od Mahasthamy.<br />
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Następnie Mahasthama osiągnie stan Buddy, stając się Buddą o imieniu Król Zgromadzonych Klejnotów i Stabilnych Właściwości. Jego życie i Dharma będą tak długie, jak życie i Dharma Awalokity. Obym nieustannie usługiwał temu Buddzie, składał mu ofiary i utrzymywał prawdziwą Dharmę.<br />
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Następnie, po tym życiu, w tej lub innej krainie, obym osiągnął niezrównany, doskonały stan Buddy. Będąc Buddą, jak Amitajus, obym doprowadził do dojrzałości i wyzwolił wszystkie istoty, które usłyszały me imię. Obym prowadził je swymi niezliczonymi emanacjami, bez trudu im pomagając, spontanicznie i wielce.<br />
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Tathagato nieskończonego życia, zasługi, właściwości, mądrości pierwotnej i majestatu, dharmakajo Amitabho, Bhagałanie niewyobrażalnego życia i mądrości – jak powiedział Siakjamuni, każdy kto wspomina Twoje imię, znajdzie ochronę przed ogniem, wodą, trucizną, bronią, jakszami, rakszasami i wszelkim niebezpieczeństwem, chyba, że byłby to rezultat dojrzewania karmy.<br />
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Wypowiadam Twe imię i składam pokłon. Proszę, chroń mnie od wszelkich zagrożeń i cierpienia, obdarz błogosławieństwem doskonałej pomyślności. Dzięki błogosławieństwu osiągnięcia trikaji przez Buddę, błogosławieństwu niezmiennej prawdy Dharmaty i dzięki błogosławieństwu niezachwianej harmonii Sanghi, oby te życzenia się spełniły zgodnie z wyrażoną intencją.<br />
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Składam pokłon Trzem Klejnotom.<br />
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TEDJATHA PANCIANDRIJA AWA BODHANAJE SWAHA<br />
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Składam pokłon Trzem Klejnotom.<br />
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NAMO MAŃDZIUŚRIJE<br />
NAMO SUŚRIJE<br />
NAMO UTTAMAŚRIJE SWAHA</div>
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~ Karma Chagme Raga Asja</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-75096106782934697892014-05-06T08:12:00.001-07:002014-05-06T08:12:56.281-07:0084000 video<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/cLmRgUAPmVM" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-65820156142961242502014-04-28T10:37:00.001-07:002014-04-28T10:51:44.486-07:00Gyalwang Karmapa Teaches on Compassion<a href="http://kagyuoffice.org/gyalwang-karmapa-teaches-on-compassion/" style="text-align: justify;">Compassion is not just about kind acts; actually it is about being aware of the suffering of other sentient beings from the view of the actual nature of things.</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-21056020618560185462014-04-15T02:23:00.003-07:002014-04-15T02:23:43.325-07:00Garchen Rinpoche on Tonglen<div style="text-align: justify;">
The main practice I did in prison was tong-len. Khenpo Munsel gave me many special oral instructions on tong-len that weren't in the text. In tong-len, generally, we say that we are sending happiness out to others and taking others' suffering in. But for the actual meaning of tong-len, you have to understand the inseparability of self and other. The ground of our minds is the same. We understand this from the View. In this context, even if there are many different types of suffering, there is really only one thing called "suffering". There is only one suffering, he taught. If there is really only one suffering, then at this time when you, yourself, have great suffering, you should think, "The minds of the sentient beings of the three realms and my mind have the same ground." However, the essence of the suffering of the sentient beings of the three realms and the essence of our own suffering is the same. If you see them to be the same, if you see them as being non-dual, and then meditate on that suffering, in the mind's natural state, that suffering goes away. At that moment, you have been able to lessen the suffering of all sentient beings of the three realms, all at once. The "len" of tong-len means "taking." First, take in this way. "Tong" means "giving." If you understand your mind's nature, then you recognize the essence of whatever suffering and afflictive emotions there may be to be emptiness. When suffering does not harm you anymore, the mind has great bliss. If at that time, you meditate, making self and others inseparable, then that bliss can diminish the self-grasping of all sentient beings. It can lessen the self-grasping. The happiness that is being given is the bliss that comes from the practice of giving and taking. This is how you should practice. This is very special. Others don't explain it this way.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-92154788837118900372014-03-20T13:28:00.000-07:002014-04-28T11:07:58.050-07:00Teachings On The Pure Realms - Dewachen (17th Gyalwang Karmapa)Link:<br />
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<a href="http://the17thkarmapa.blogspot.com/2012/07/gyalwang-karmapas-teachings-on-pure.html">GYALWANG KARMAPA'S TEACHINGS ON THE PURE REALMS TO THE EAST AND WEST</a><br />
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<a href="http://kagyuoffice.org/the-29th-kagyu-monlam-day-three-gyalwang-karmapas-teachings-on-the-pure-realms-to-the-east-and-west/">The 29th Kagyu Monlam: Day Three – Gyalwang Karmapa’s Teachings on the Pure Realms to the East and West</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-79097359634847698942014-02-16T23:19:00.003-08:002014-02-16T23:20:30.536-08:00Teaching on Seven Lines Prayer<div style="text-align: justify;">
If one can concentrate on practicing the (seven lines prayer) in this life, when you die you will dissolve into the mind of Guru Rinpoche. Guru Rinpoche is the ultimate nature of the embodiment of all Buddhas. In Guru Rinpoche’s termas, it is written that in the degenerated times, Guru Rinpoche’s compassionate blessings are swifter than that of other Buddhas. In this life, if you wish your body to be free from sickness or pain, pray to Guru Rinpoche and you will receive his protection. If you seek for wealth, longevity or wish to clear your obstacles, just by praying, all wishes can be fulfilled. Some people think that to practice Guru Rinpoche for wealth is of no use, but this is not correct. Just by relying upon Guru Rinpoche, all wishes can be achieved.</div>
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Guru Rinpoche once said, “Accomplishing me is the same as accomplishing all Buddhas; seeing me is the same as seeing all Buddhas.” In any case, Buddha Shakyamuni, Amitabha, Chenrezig , the Eight Vidhydharas, the Eight Mahasiddhas are no different from Guru Rinpoche. Therefore, if one wishes for attainments, then the sole method is Guru Yoga. There is no other way. Therefore, at all times, focus on the Seven Lines Prayer and supplicate Guru Rinpoche. This will have infinite benefits for this and future lives, there is no doubt about it.</div>
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If one cannot practice other methods, just practicing the seven-lines prayer is the same as a panacea that can cure all kinds of sicknesses. But if one is merely mouthing the prayers, it is not enough, one should have great faith and devotion to Guru Rinpoche and supplicate one-pointedly, then you are sure to receive Guru Rinpoche’s blessings and accomplishments. In the past up till the present, many great masters and practitioners have seen Guru Rinpoche directly. These are the best signs. The middling signs are to have good experiences arising. The lesser signs are to meet Guru Rinpoche in dreams and to receive prophecies and blessings from Guru Rinpoche. Just listening and contemplating the Dharma is not enough to attain liberation. Besides that, one has to practice. The three (listening, contemplation, practice) must be combined. When we are practicing, we should rely on one deity. It is just like in the past, Nagarjuna and Shantideva had yidams they relied upon. In this manner, single-mindedly praying to Guru Rinpoche and merge your mind with Guru Rinpoche’s wisdom mind. This way of progressing on the path to liberation has less difficulties and obstacles. With total confidence and faith in Guru Rinpoche, not just with faith and sincerity, but believing that in any moment, Guru Rinpoche will never deceive or let us down. We must have the faith that Guru Rinpoche and our root teacher is inseparable and no different. Rely on this faith to practice.</div>
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As our present root teacher has a very close connection to us, we are able to see our root teachers frequently. Therefore, their blessings enter our minds very swiftly. In the past, there was a Khamtrul Rinpoche. In his practice experience, he came to Guru Rinpoche’s pureland where many Dakas and Dakinis welcomed him and escorted him to see Guru Rinpoche. At that time, he wondered how Guru Rinpoche would look like. But when he came to the celestial palace, sitting on the throne was his own root master. The Dakas and Dakinis told him that the person sitting on the throne was Guru Rinpoche. This shows that Guru Rinpoche is no different from our root master. I hope everyone would be able to practice the Dharma correctly.</div>
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~ Namkhai Nyingpo Rinpoche</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">LINK: <a href="http://bodhiactivity.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/teaching-on-seven-lines-prayer-namkhai-nyingpo-rinpoche/">http://bodhiactivity.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/teaching-on-seven-lines-prayer-namkhai-nyingpo-rinpoche/</a></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-27198706855745342052014-02-11T13:08:00.002-08:002014-02-11T13:08:24.225-08:00Watching a Movie<div style="text-align: justify;">
His Holiness the Karmapa presented the Buddhist notion of non-attachment with a simple yet profound metaphor - that we all live our lives as if we are in a movie. The characters, including ourselves, are fabricated beings. We give them names and identities according to their family, education, socioeconomic location, surrounding culture and media, etc. We then attach ourselves to these characters. We cry, we laugh, we feel rage and elation, or attachment and aversion. We allow ourselves to get overwhelmed and discouraged by the suffering we experience or the changes we undergo. But non-attachment is a realizing that it is all just a movie. It's a recognition that our thoughts and visions have been clouded with the many fabrications, projections, and illusions inside the movie and that we actually have a second "I" watching. This second "I" can see from all angles and can therefore respond with greater awareness and compassion. So what if we were able to step back from particularly overwhelming moments of life and respond to it as if we were watching a movie?</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(From “Sustainable Compassion: A College Course with the 17th Karmapa”, May 2011, Gyuto; <a href="http://karmapaconversations.blogspot.com/">http://karmapaconversations.blogspot.com/</a>)</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-25606383078050370692014-01-06T10:44:00.003-08:002014-01-06T10:54:46.623-08:00Bodhicitta, Deity, Mantra by Garchen Rinpoche<div style="text-align: justify;">
What is the cause of liberation? It is bodhicitta, or the altruistic mind. If you give rise to bodhicitta, you do not think of yourself and thus, self-grasping diminishes. What we need to become free from, what we need to become liberated from is actually the grasping at a self. Self-grasping is the very cause of suffering. The altruistic mind is the cause of happiness.</div>
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What is most important is the foundation of faith, bodhicitta-- the altruistic mind. If you have the altruistic mind, the power of your Buddha-nature will naturally unfold; it is like an ice-block melting into water and the water can then be used naturally. If you do not possess the altruistic mind as a foundation, all the other practices, mantra recitation and so forth will not be so powerful. In The Ocean of Samadhi, a text, it is said, “If you do not have bodhicitta, if you lack bodhicitta, you will not attain Enlightenment.” It is just like a body without its life-force; someone without life cannot perform any function. The life-force of all practices is bodhicitta and if you only have bodhicitta, everything based on that will become very, very vast and very beneficial. Any virtuous activity will become very extensive. Therefore bodhicitta, the altruistic mind is the very root or foundation of all practices</div>
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It is the mind of a Bodhisattva, only caring about others is bodhichitta. This mind is the essence of all deities. If you practice any deity with this mind, you will be very close to the deity and receive blessings. What we call blessings is actually nothing but love. The mind that is free of selfishness and only cares about others is a bodhisattvas mind, such limitless love is relative bodhichitta. A Buddha has not only perfected relative bodhichitta but also ultimate bodhichitta, i.e. a Buddha mind has fully realized that all duality is delusion and that in fact there are no self and others. There are different levels of bodhisattvas, there are ten stages or bhumis a bodhisattva progresses through on the path. The enlightened mind is beyond all paths, there is no more training, it is complete awakening.</div>
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The love of the Buddhas is ever unceasing, always there and pervasive; whether we access it or not depends on the power of our own trust. When we supplicate to and think about the Buddhas and deities, they are actually there, like the Buddha Shakyamuni is actually here when we think about the Buddha. From a conventional perspective, this is due to the great love the Buddhas have for all beings. From the ultimate perspective, they are always there because they are already connected primordially to our own Buddha-nature. They are continuously connected to our own mind-stream.</div>
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If you cultivate faith in the Buddha Amitābha single-pointedly, the Buddha will hear us and feel us. It is just as if the Buddhas and deities are the mother and we are their child. When the child is suffering—for example, when the child is sick, the mother experiences an overwhelming, unbearable feeling and will go to help the child very quickly. The mind is just like light or electricity, so when sentient beings give rise to faith, in just an instant, very quickly, the Buddhas will feel this and will come and help beings with love.</div>
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We must also understand the mantra to be an offering. When we have faith in the deities that abide in the pure lands and recite the mantra, each of these mantras becomes an offering to the deities there. At the same time, it purifies the obscurations of sentient beings in the impure fields, in particular, the sentient beings living in the three lower realms. The mantra then becomes the protector of sentient beings; it protects those without protection. The mantra is an offering and also purifies obscurations.</div>
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The mantra is also a blessing. When we recite the mantra, we purify negative karmas and negative imprints from the mind-stream through the power of the wisdom deity. This is a quality of the wisdom deity. When we talk about the blessings of the wisdom deities, the blessing is nothing other than love and compassion. If we recite the mantra of the wisdom deity, we will destroy the negative imprints and karmas that we have accumulated since beginning-less time and come closer and closer to approaching Enlightenment.</div>
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With regard to the benefits of mantra recitation and the mantra itself, the Buddha himself had also said in the Liberation by Seeing mantra for example, that by only seeing a certain mantra, one will purify obscurations accumulated in three-hundred million aeons.</div>
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There are three types of uninterrupted-ness when we recite the mantra. There are uninterrupted offerings to the Buddhas; uninterrupted purification of obscurations of sentient beings, and uninterrupted attainment of siddhis or attainments. The siddhi is basically the increase of love and compassion; if love and compassion increase, wisdom increases and one attains Enlightenment. Due to compassion, one temporarily experiences the seven qualities of the higher realms*, the happiness of the higher realms and many other benefits that come from mantra recitation. </div>
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Any virtue you practice, even if it is just a single Mani mantra, you should think that it is for the sake of all mother sentient beings. If you have this intention, the virtue will become very vast and very powerful and it will have two benefits: the temporary benefit of birth in the higher realms and the ultimate benefit of attaining Enlightenment.</div>
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Even though you have received many empowerments, if you understand the nature of the deity, you understand that it is sufficient to only practice a single deity. By practicing a single deity genuinely, you are accomplishing the essence of all deities. In fact, it is better to focus on the practice of just one deity, because then it will be easier to habituate to the deity to the point where you will not forget about the deity. To accomplish the deity means to never forget about the deity, it means that the deity always remains in your mind, it never separates from you. As it is always in your mind, you become the deity. If you never separate from the deity, you will also remember the deity in the Bardo after death, upon which you will attain enlightenment into the samboghakaya form of the deity. Sometimes people worry about receiving too many empowerments because they think that they cannot keep all the samayas. Actually if you practice the root samaya of love, compassion and mindfulness, you are keeping all samayas of all deities, even if you only recite the mantra of one deity. In order to understand this you must understand the essence of the deity. If you think that the deities are all separate, there will be a conflict. Actually the power of one wisdom deity is contained within all deities. Various deities appear in order to suit the various thoughts and inclinations of sentient beings, but actually their nature is one and the same. The nature of all deities is bodhichitta. Therefore, if you practice bodhichitta and mindfulness, and only recite the mantra of one deity, you are keeping all your samayas. If you do not practice bodhichitta and mindfulness, no matter how many different mantras you recite, you are not keeping your samayas. That is because bodhichitta is the very life-energy of the deity. Without bodhichitta the deity is like a dead body. However, it is necessary to practice at least one deity on a daily basis. In the various empowerment texts it is mentioned in the section of repeating the samaya that one must recite the mantra of that deity, but this must be mentioned in each sadhana because in old days the masters would only receive this one empowerment and then practice this for the rest of their lives. For this reason it must be mentioned in each empowerment text. But for us, since we receive so many empowerments nowadays, it is crucial to understand the meaning and essence of the empowerment: It is said: "In the expanse of primordial wisdom, all the Buddhas are one."</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164575330304138977.post-23100529258180728222014-01-06T10:25:00.003-08:002014-01-06T10:25:37.701-08:00The Nine Benefits of Mantras As Taught By Garchen Rinpoche<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mantra can be understood as:</div>
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1. the deity. Every mantra we recite emanates one deity. These deities then work for the benefit of beings</div>
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2. offerings. When the light rays radiate out from the mantra rosary during creation-stage visualization, each ray of light bears an offering goddess. Each of these hundreds of thousands of offering goddesses further emanates five goddesses who emanate still five more, and so forth, until space is completely filled with goddesses. All of these make offerings to the Buddhas.</div>
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3. purification of obscuration. When the light rays radiate out a second time and touch all sentient beings, they purify beings’ obscurations. These obscurations are self-grasping, and the light rays are rays of compassion. The rays of love melt self-grasping like a hot sun melting snow.</div>
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4. siddhi. When the light rays return and reabsorb to the deity, they bear siddhis in the form of blessings of the Buddhas/ enlightened body, speech and mind.</div>
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5. blessings. Mantra brings about loving kindness and compassion in the practitioner due to the blessings of the deity’s mindstream.</div>
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6. mandala. When one has fully trained in creation stage, reciting the mantra once will invoke the entire mandala. One no longer needs an entire sadhana text. </div>
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7. enlightened activity. All of the four activities-peaceful, increasing, powerful and wrathful-are performed and accomplished through mantra.</div>
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8. a wish-fulfilling jewel. Whatever we need to accomplish, mantra will bring about.</div>
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9. dharmata. When we meditate while reciting the mantra, conceptual thoughts are cut, and free from conceptual thoughts, we see the nature of the mind as emptiness. Since it allows us to see the nature of mind to be dharmata, mantra can be considered to be dharmata. Mantra cuts conceptual thought because it is sound-emptiness. Other sounds produce the graspings of attachment and aversion.</div>
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These nine benfits occur whenever you recite mantra. They apply equally to the mantras of all deities. This is the speech of Guru Rinpoche and is also found in the tantras.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Translated by Meghan Howard, November 2005, for the Vajrakilaya Drupchen at GBI.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06451075325547964685noreply@blogger.com0