vajranam

[vajranam]

A Prayer To Amitayus

༄༅། །ཚེ་དཔག་མེད་ཀྱི་གསོལ་འདེབས་བཞུགས།

A Prayer to Amitāyus

by Shechen Gyaltsab Pema Namgyal

 གང་མཚན་ཐོས་པས་དུས་མིན་འཆི་བའི་དཔུང་། །

gang tsen töpé dümin chiwé pung

Hearing your name, O Bhagavān Amitāyus,

ཅིག་ཅར་གཞོམ་མཛད་བཅོམ་ལྡན་ཚེ་དཔག་མེད། །

chikchar shyom dzé chomden tsepakmé

Instantly destroys the armies of maras who bring untimely death.

ཁྱེད་ལ་སྐྱབས་མཆི་སྙིང་ནས་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། །

khyé la kyab chi nying né solwa deb

In you I take refuge! To you I pray from the depth of my heart:

རྡོ་རྗེའི་ཚེ་མཆོག་འགྲུབ་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས། །

dorjé tsé chok drubpar jingyi lob

Bless me, so I may attain supreme vajra-like longevity!

ཨོཾ་ཨ་མཱ་ར་ཎི་ཛཱི་ཝནྟི་ཡེ་སྭཱ་ཧཱ།

om amarani dziwentiyé soha

oṃ amaraṇi jīvantaye svāhā

 ཞེས་པའང་བི་ཛས་སོ༎ ༎

By Vijaya.

[vajranam]

Meaning of Manjushis Mantra

Mañjuśrī

Courtesy of Himalayan Art Resources

The Meaning of the Six Syllables of the King of Vidyā-Mantras, the Heroic Lord Mañjuśrī

by Jampal Dewé Nyima

I bow with devotion to Mañjuśrī!

The meaning of the six syllables of the Heroic Lord Mañjuśrī, the king of all vidyā-mantras, can be briefly explained in relation to three main themes:

the generation stage,the completion stage, andthe great perfection

1. The Generation Stage

Oṃ is the seed syllable that represents the five wisdoms and five kāyas, and this is applicable to all three themes.

Any yogin who has pleased the vajra-master, whose mind has been ripened through the four empowerments, who has kept the samayas completely pure, and who wishes to practice the generation stage of the enlightened body, speech and mind of the jñānasattva Mañjuśrī in retreat, should begin with the stages of the preliminary practices. Once the yogin has become familiar with these:

A symbolizes the samādhi of suchness, which is beyond birth, dwelling, and cessation, and endowed with the most sublime of all attributes.

Ra symbolizes the all-illuminating samādhi, the all-pervasive display of referenceless compassion for sentient beings, as vast as space, which arises unstoppably out of suchness and extends forever filling the whole of space.

Pa symbolizes the causal samādhi, the seed syllable which manifests as an indestructible bindu out of the state of great bliss, the inseparable union of the two aforementioned samādhis.

Ca symbolizes generating the reigning primordial protector, Mañjuśrī, within the enclosure of support and supported—the maṇḍala of the great purity of all that appears and exists—and thus awakening to the great display of wisdom’s clear appearance.

Na symbolizes the invitation of the jñānasattva from the all-encompassing space of samādhi, who merges indivisibly with the samayasattva, becoming of a single taste; and pleasing the deity through the offering—the magical net of all appearance and existence—and the praise—the equal taste of indivisibility.

Dhīḥ symbolizes the recitation in which sound never wavers from the samādhi of dharmatā; the dissolution of the unceasingly clear appearance of the generation-stage deities into the dharmadhātu, the all-encompassing space of great emptiness; and the profound seal of referenceless dedication and aspiration.

2. The Completion Stage

A symbolizes the wisdom of the innate great bliss of the unborn ground—primordially pure, free from complexity, intrinsic, and indestructible.

Ra symbolizes that which resides in the form of a letter within a bindu at the navel chakra, which is found in the body of the six elements, with its four chakras and three channels. In particular, there is a red a-stroke, which has the nature of fire, at the navel chakra of channels, and at the crown there is an upside-down letter haṅ (ཧཾ) which is the essence of the bindu of great bliss, the white pure essence.

Pa symbolizes the yogin seated upon a comfortable seat, who, having assumed the seven-point posture of Vairocana, brings the winds of the three channels to rest in the centre of the body through the four applications of vase breathing. He then summons the winds from the lalanā and rasanā channels and brings them into the avadhūti channel. Fire blazes forth from the a-stroke and travels upwards through the central chakras, until it touches the syllable haṅ at the crown. As a result, the passionate bliss melts and descends from the crown, down through the throat, heart, and navel to the secret place. The yogin traverses the four joys of stability from below, which allows actual innate wisdom to be born within the mind. Then, by relying on the winds and performing yogic exercises, the flow is reversed through the navel, heart, throat, and crown chakras, so that the ultimate non-conceptual wisdom is born within the mind and siddhi is attained.

Ca symbolizes the perfect application of key instructions related to the life-force—the wisdom of great bliss—and practicing with one’s own body,[1] and, afterwards, the supporting method of the pith instruction on the yogas practiced with a partner.

Na symbolizes the yogin who by relying on the support—a visualized or physical consort—actualizes the blissful wisdom of descending flow and ascending stabilization,[2] and thereby attains the non-conceptual wisdom of the path of seeing is attained.

Dhīḥ symbolizes traversing the four vidyādhara levels on the path of learning and actualizing the path of no-more-learning, the stage of a vajradhara with seven aspects of union with a consort.[3]

3. The Great Perfection

A symbolizes the present ordinary mind, when untainted by fabrications, the great dharmakāya whose nature transcends any words, thoughts, or description. This realization of the great dharmakāya is the direct introduction to the face of awareness itself.[4]

Ra symbolizes its radiance, the unceasing kāya, arising as the limitless display of the kāyas and wisdoms. While not grasping at this, one gains certainty in the nature of the basis, display, and adornment, the natural radiance of the dharmatā, free from proliferation or reduction. This is the realization of the sambhogakāya or the decision upon one thing and one thing only.

Pa symbolizes remaining effortlessly aware of this innate, indestructible state—this union of awareness and emptiness—devoid of ‘someone maintaining’ or ‘something maintained’. This is the wisdom of the nirmāṇakāya or confidence in the direct liberation of rising thoughts.

Ca symbolizes having confidence in this view and, on the basis of the three crucial points, remaining free from attachment to whatever arises in limitless ways through the gates of the wisdom of outwardly radiant visions on the path of the four lamps.[5]

Na symbolizes integrating these essential practices, so that one traverses the path of the four visions. Then, within the space of inner luminosity, the display of outer luminosity will dissolve within the inner space, by means of the six special qualities of Samantabhadra.[6]

Dhīḥ symbolizes actualizing the benefit for oneself, the attainment of supreme awakening, so that for eons to come one manifests the luminous body of great transference and continuously engages in compassionate activity.

Upon the request of the Dharma teacher Gendün Zangpo from Taktsé, in Serthar, this short verbal explanation was composed by the monk Jampal Dewé Nyima. May virtue and auspiciousness flourish!

| Lhasey Lotsawa Translations (Stefan Mang and Peter Woods), 2020.

Bibliography

Source text

'jam dpal bde ba'i nyi ma. 'jam dpal dpa' bo'i rigs sngags kyi rgyal po 'bru drug pa'i don. [s.l.]: [s.n.], [n.d.]. TBRC Resource ID: W8LS19407.

Secondary Sources

Garab Dorjé. The Three Statements that Strike the Vital Point.

Referring in particular to the yoga of heat (gtum mo).  ↩

Reading yab 'babs mas brtan as yas 'babs mas brtan  ↩

The seven aspects of union with a consort (kha sbyor yab yum bdun), more commonly referred to as the seven aspects of union (kha sbyor yan lag bdun) are the seven qualities of a sambhogakāya buddha. According to Jigme Lingpa, these are: 1. complete enjoyment (longs spyod rdzogs), 2. union (kha sbyor), 3. great bliss (bde ba chen po), 4. absence of a self-nature (rang bzhin med pa), 5. presence of compassion (snying rjes yongs su gang ba), 6. being uninterrupted (rgyun mi chad pa) and 7. being unceasing ('gog pa med pa).  ↩

The following lines in italics are the Three Statements that Strike the Vital Point by Garab Dorje.  ↩

Reading sgrol ma bzhi as sgron ma bzhi. The four lamps are: 1) the far-reaching water lamp (rgyang zhags chu'i sgron ma); 2) the lamp of the basic space of awareness (rig pa dbyings kyi sgron ma); 3) the lamp of empty spheres (thig le stong pa'i sgron ma); and 4) the lamp of naturally arising wisdom (shes rab rang byung gi sgron ma)  ↩

The six qualities of Samantabhadra (kun bzang chos drug) or six special attributes (khyad chos drug) define the process of gaining realization within the ground of being according to the Atiyoga teachings. They are: 1. awareness emerging from the ground of being (gzhi las 'phags), 2. perceiving its own manifestation (rang ngor snang), 3. distinguishing itself from any state of confusion (bye brag phyed), 4. gaining freedom in that distinction (phyed thog du grol), 5. not relying on any external condition for its presence (gzhan lung las ma byung), and 6. resting in its own natural lucidity (rang sar gnas pa).  ↩

[vajranam]

Quest Of Milarepa

When named I am the man apart; I am the sage of Tibet; I am Milarepa. I hear little but counsel much; I reflect little but persevere much; I sleep little but endure in meditation much. Knowing one thing I have experience of all things; knowing all things I comprehend them to be one; I have experience of true reality. My narrow bed gives me ease to stretch and bend; my thin clothing makes my body warm; my scanty fare satisfies my belly. I am the goal of every great meditator; I am the meeting place of the faithful; I am the coil of birth and death and decay. I have no preference for any country; I have no home in any place; I have no store of provisions for my livelihood. I have no fondness for material things; I make no distinction between clean and unclean in food ; I have little torment of suffering. I have little desire for self-esteem; I have little attachment or bias; I have found the freedom of Nirvana. I am the comforter of the aged ;

I am the playmate of children; the sage, I wander through the kingdoms of the world. I pray that ye men and gods may dwell at ease.

[vajranam]

Merits Vs Good Karma

Good afternoon, today it's my birthday but suppose to be a good day due to my situation being a very shaky day.

Good Karma

In the Buddhist tradition, karma refers to action driven by intention (cetanā) which leads to future consequences. Those intentions are considered to be the determining factor in the kind of rebirth in samsara, the cycle of rebirth

When we talk about good karma we also talk about something that doesn't stay forever.

Merits

Merit (Sanskrit: puṇya, Pali: puñña) is a concept considered fundamental to Buddhist ethics. It is a beneficial and protective force that accumulates as a result of good deeds, acts, or thoughts.

Merits work in a way that whatever karma you got will increase or decrease your merits, and the effect of merits will be good or bad, but if we accumulated good merit it's stay.

[vajranam]

Milarepa Guru Yoga

Milarepa

Courtesy of Himalayan Art Resources

༄༅། །རྗེ་བཙུན་བཞད་པ་རྡོ་རྗེའི་བླ་མའི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་བཞུགས་སོ། །

Guru Yoga of Jetsün Shepa Dorje

by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö

 ན་མོ་བྷཊྚ་རཱ་ཀ་ཡེ།

Namo bhaṭṭarārāya!

 མཚན་ཙམ་ཐོས་པས་ངན་འགྲོ་ཡི། ། སྡུག་བསྔལ་མཐའ་དག་སེལ་མཛད་པ། ། མི་ལ་རྗེ་ཡི་ཞབས་བཏུད་ནས། ། བླ་མའི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་ཉུང་ངུར་དབྱེ། །

The mere sound of your name is enough To dispel the sufferings of the lower realms. Lord Mila, bowing down at your feet, I shall here set out a brief guru yoga.

Refuge & Bodhicitta

དེ་ལ་དང་པོ་སྐྱབས་སེམས་ནི།

First, to take refuge and generate bodhicitta:

མཁའ་མཉམ་འགྲོ་དྲུག་སེམས་ཅན་རྣམས། །

khanyam dro druk semchen nam

Sentient beings of the six classes throughout the whole of space

བླ་མ་མཆོག་ལ་སྐྱབས་སུ་མཆི། །

lama chok la kyab su chi

Take refuge in the supreme guru.

སྲིད་པའི་མཚོ་ལས་སྒྲོལ་བ་ཡི། །

sipé tso lé drolwa yi

To find freedom from the ocean of saṃsāric existence,

སྨོན་འཇུག་བྱང་ཆུབ་མཆོག་སེམས་བསྐྱེད། །

mönjuk changchub chok semkyé

I set my mind that upon supreme awakening, in aspiration and in action.

དངོས་གཞི་རྟེན་བསྐྱེད་ནི།

Main Practice

Visualization

ཨཿ རང་སྣང་དག་པའི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ཆེ། །

ah, rangnang dakpé shyingkham ché

Ah. My own perception is a vast realm of purity.

མཆོད་སྤྲིན་རྒྱ་མཚོས་བཏེགས་པའི་དབུས། །

chötrin gyatsö tekpé ü

In its centre, supported by vast clouds of offerings,

པད་དཀར་ཟླ་བ་རྒྱས་པའི་སྟེང་། །

pekar dawa gyepé teng

Upon a white lotus and full moon disc

རྣལ་འབྱོར་དབང་ཕྱུག་མི་ལ་རྗེ། །

naljor wangchuk mi la jé

Is the lord of yogis, precious Milarepa.

དཀར་སྔོ་མཛེས་འཛུམ་ལྕང་ལོ་འཕྱང་། །

kar ngo dzé dzum changlo chang

He is pale blue, handsome and smiling, with long braided locks.

ཕྱག་གཡས་སྙན་གྱི་ཐད་ཀར་གཏོད། །

chak yé nyen gyi tekar tö

His right hand is held at the level of his ear;

གཡོན་པ་ས་གནོན་པུས་སྟེང་བཀབ། །

yönpa sa nön pü teng kab

His left, in the earth-touching mudrā, covers his knee.

གཅེར་བུ་ཨང་རག་རས་གཟན་གསོལ། །

cherbu ang rak ré zen sol

He is naked but for a loincloth and cotton shawl,

ཞབས་གཉིས་ཕྱེད་སྐྱིལ་སྟབས་ཀྱིས་བཞུགས། །

shyab nyi chekyil tab kyi shyuk

And is seated with his two legs loosely crossed.

གནས་གསུམ་འབྲུ་གསུམ་འོད་འཕྲོས་པས། །

né sum dru sum ö tröpé

Light shines out from the three syllables at his three centres

ཡེ་ཤེས་སྤྱན་དྲངས་དབྱེར་མེད་གྱུར། །

yeshe chendrang yermé gyur

To invite the wisdom form, who dissolves into him indivisibly.

བླ་མ་མཆོག་ལ་བདག་སྐྱབས་མཆི། །

lama chok la dak kyab chi

I take refuge in the supreme guru.

སྡིག་པ་མི་དགེ་སོ་སོར་བཤགས། །

dikpa mi gé sosor shak

I confess my misdeeds and harmful actions, one by one.

སོགས་རྒྱུན་བཤགས་བྱ། སྤྲོ་ན་མཎྜལ་ཕུལ།

Continue with the daily confession practice. Should you wish to practise more elaborately, offer the maṇḍala.

རྗེ་དྲན་པ་ཙམ་གྱིས་གདུང་བ་སེལ། །

jé drenpa tsam gyi dungwa sel

Precious lord, merely to remember you banishes all ills.

སྲིད་ཞིའི་རྒུད་པ་སྐྱོབ་མཛད་པ། །

sishyi güpa kyob dzepa

You who save from the strains of existence and quiescence,

བཞད་པ་རྡོ་རྗེར་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། །

shyepa dorjér solwa deb

Shepa Dorje, to you I pray:

རྟག་ཏུ་བདག་ལ་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས། །

taktu dak la jingyi lob

Always inspire me with your blessings,

མཆོག་དང་ཐུན་མོང་དངོས་གྲུབ་སྩོལ། །

chok dang tünmong ngödrub tsol

And bestow supreme and ordinary attainments.

ཞེས་དང་།

Mantra Recitation

ཨོཾ་ཨཱཿགུ་རུ་ཧ་སྱཱ་བཛྲ་སརྦ་སིདྡྷི་ཧཱུྃ།

om ah guru hasya benza sarwa siddhi hung

oṃ āḥ guru hāsya vajra sarva siddhi hūṃ1

ཅི་ནུས་བཟླ།

Recite the mantra as many times as you can.

དཔལ་ལྡན་རྣལ་འབྱོར་དབང་ཕྱུག །

palden naljor wangchuk

Glorious guru, lord of yogins,

དྲན་མཆོག་བཞད་པ་རྡོ་རྗེ། །

dren chok shyepa dorjé

Supreme object of recollection Shepa Dorje,

རྗེ་བཙུན་ཐོས་པ་དགའ་བར། །

jetsün töpa gawar

Venerable Töpa Ga, ‘Joyous to Hear’,

རྩེ་གཅིག་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས་ན། །

tsechik solwa deb na

As I pray to you single-pointedly,

བྱིན་རླབས་དབང་བསྐུར་སྩོལ་ཅིག །

jinlab wangkur tsol chik

Inspire me with your blessings and grant empowerment.

བླ་མའི་གསང་གསུམ་འོད་ཟེར་ལས། །

lamé sang sum özer lé

From the light rays at the guru's three secrets,

ཨོཾ་ཨཱཿཧཱུྃ་དང་སྭཱ་ཧཱ་འཕྲོས། །

om ah hung dang soha trö

The syllables oṃ, āḥ, hūṃ and svāhā emerge

རང་གི་གནས་བཞིར་ཐིམ་པ་ལས།

rang gi né shyir timpa lé

And dissolve into my own four centres,

སྒྲིབ་དག་དབང་དང་དངོས་གྲུབ་ཐོབ། །

drib dak wang dang ngödrub tob

Purifying obscurations and conferring empowerment and siddhis.

སྐུ་བཞིའི་ས་བོན་རྒྱུད་ལ་བཞག །

ku shyi sabön gyü la shyak

The seeds of the four kāyas are implanted in my mindstream.

བླ་མ་རང་ཐིམ་དབྱེར་མེད་ངང་། །

lama rang tim yermé ngang

The guru dissolves into me, inseparably.

མ་བཅོས་རང་བབས་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེ། །

machö rangbab chakgya ché

And I rest in that natural and unaltered state of Mahāmudrā.

དུས་གསུམ་དུས་མེད་རྟག་པར་སྐྱོང་། །

dü sum dümé takpar kyong

Sustaining an experience of timelessness beyond past, present and future,

སྣང་སྲིད་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོར་བལྟ། །

nangsi chakgya chenpor ta

I look into the Great Seal of appearance and existence.

ཞེས་མཉམ་པར་བཞག །

Rest in equipoise.

ཐུན་ལས་ལྡང་བ་ན། དགེ་བསྔོ་སོགས་བྱ།

When you rise from the session, dedicate the virtue and so on.

རྗེས་ཐོབ་བླ་མའི་ལམ་ཁྱེར་དང་མ་བྲལ་བར་བྱའོ། །

During the post-meditation, never fail to integrate the practice of the guru.

 ཅེས་པའང་ལྭ་དཀར་བསོད་རྒྱལ་ནས་རྩེད་མོའི་ཚུལ་དུ་འདི་འདྲ་བྲིས་ཤིག་ཅེས་བསྐུལ་བས་མཚམས་སྦྱར་ཏེ། འཇམ་དབྱངས་ཆོས་ཀྱི་བློ་གྲོས་པས་མཚུར་ཕུ་སྟོད་ལུང་གི་དགོན་པ་འཇིག་རྟེན་དབང་ཕྱུག་དགྱེས་པར་རོལ་པའི་གཟིམ་ཁང་ལྷ་ཁང་རྣམ་ཐར་སྒོ་གསུམ་དུ་བྲིས་པ་འདིས་ཀྱང་བླ་མ་རྗེ་བཙུན་ཆེན་པོའི་བྱིན་བརླབ་མ���ུར་དུ་འཇུག་པའི་རྒྱུར་གྱུར་ཅིག། སརྦ་དཱ་མངྒ་ལཾ།། །།

When Lakar Sogyal playfully asked me to write something of this kind, I, Jamyang Chökyi Lodrö, wrote this in the monastery of Tsurphu Tölung in the residence known as Display that Delights the Lord of the World in its Three Doors of Liberation temple. May this become a cause for the blessings of the great reverend guru to infuse us all. Sarvadā maṅgalaṃ.

 | Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Khyentse Foundation and Tertön Sogyal Trust, 2020.

 'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros. "rje btsun bzhad pa rdo rje'i bla ma'i rnal 'byor//" in gsung 'bum/_'jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros/ (dbu med/). TBRC W21813. 8 vols. Gangtok: Dzongsar Khyentse Labrang, 1981–1985. http://tbrc.org/link?RID=W21813 Vol. 1: 435–437

 Version: 1.2-20211029

↑ The mantra incorporates the Sanskrit version of Milarepa's name Shepa Dorje, i.e., Hāsya Vajra.

[vajranam]

Teaching For Dark Age

Namo Gurubey

First I like to say sorry for not being able to do Milarepa's life story and teaching as it was a program both my current hardships and also problems bit put this out of rail. Second today I saw that people in Ukraine was reading and listening and I can't imagine the horror they live in right now, just today I saw that Russian soldier killed from cold blood innocent peoples. I have both friends on both sides that I know for years one has been arrested for protesting for peace, the other is literally on the battlefield for his country. For some of us is more like Chris Cornell used to sing “ let the cheat around my eyes so I can sleep tonight” but in reality, if our world is like that with so many challenges that because generations after generations we act think carelessly.

Teaching for the dark age, the Buddha Shakyamuni, Guru Rinpoche and many other enlightened beings saw the time we live now. You can find very vivid descriptions of our time in the sutras and tantras. When I studied social science my political strategy tutor was talking about “elect your own dictator” but in today's time when we coming back to the dark age aka kali yoga we can see that those dictators flourish everywhere from the USA with Trump to Russia with Putin to Uk with Johnson and yes if we take the very down to earth reasoning of political strategy our leader represent us 100%. After this long reflection let's talk about dharma, this teaching come from Garchen Rinpoche himself he teach me this when I was with him and that teaching been very useful for years, rinpoche told me that when he is a concentration camp arrested by the Chinese he remembers Tara and in his head he started to recite the mantra day after day he was changing but his hardship too, he teaches me that because of Tara he gets out of Chinese jail she opens the path for him. Then he teach me that do like his focus on your yidam one deity can move mountains, at this time he teach me to follow Tara, I always had a very big connection to Tara and Dakini in general. But later on, I received empowerment from him and one of the deities from that empowerment make to me a lot of sense. In my experience, I did try what rinpoche told me he explained to me that the body got limits and ego to but Buddha as not, our mind and body are like a glass of water the glass is the body the water is the mind when the glass broke mind is free when we are egotistical our mind is stuck in glass no connection. When we are selfless we connect to all Buddha's vast like an ocean our mind is never really separate from it but our ego grasping builds a temporary veiled. We need also to understand that even the evilest person on earth got Buddha-nature and when we understand this. When I put rinpoche teaching to the application even if I still have hardship I see the mountain moving in mini scale I'm just a yogi but losing a job and same day finds a job. But we need to understand that yidam is the deity that resonates 100% with you even I had a massive love for Tara she doesn't resonate as much as that deity that has been practising for years now, yes that deity has been coming out of the blue but resonate with me, what I call resonate “ well when you're anxious to recite the mantra feel home when you got a problem to recite the mantra feel home, your yidam is your enlighten mother or father and will watch over 100% of the time no matter what.

Today this teaching I wanted to share that even in a most chaotic way even in hell Buddhas never give up on you. If you got a Yidam recipe as much as you can the mantra and you will be watched over if you don't have a yidam Tara and Chenrezig will always be there don't hesitate to break the glass and recite.

[vajranam]

Do We Need A War At Our Doorstep To Make Us Compassionate ?

Prayer:

I prostate, go for Refuge, make offerings, please grant blessings. The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, who has unbearable compassion for me and all sentient beings (whose minds are obscure and who are suffering), who has qualities like the sky and liberates sentient beings from all the sufferings and gives all the happiness. (Recite three times.)

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

THE MANTRA

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

Long Mantra:

CHHIM BHO CHHIM BHO CHIM CHHIM BHO / AKASHA CHHIM BHO / VAKARA CHHIM BHO / AMAVARA CHHIM BHO / VARA CHHIM BHO / VACHIRA CHHIM BHO / AROGA CHHIM BHO / DHARMA CHHIM BHO / SATEVA CHHIM BHO / SATENI HALA CHHIM BHO / VIVA ROKA SHAVA CHHIM BHO / UVA SHAMA CHHIM BHO / NAYANA CHHIM BHO / PRAJÑA SAMA MONI RATNA CHHIM BHO / KSHANA CHHIM BHO / VISHEMA VARIYA CHHIM BHO / SHASI TALA MAVA CHHIM BHO / VI AH DRASO TAMA HELE / DAM VE YAM VE / CHAKRASE / CHAKRA VASILE / KSHILI PHILE KARAVA / VARA VARITE / HASERE PRARAVE / PARECHARA BHANDHANE / ARADANE / PHANARA / CHA CHI CHA CHA / HILE MILE AKHATA THAGEKHE / THAGAKHI LO / THHARE THHARE MILE MADHE / NANTE KULE MILE / ANG KU CHITABHE / ARAI GYIRE VARA GYIRE / KUTA SHAMAMALE /TONAGYE TONAGYE / TONAGULE / HURU HURU HURU / KULO STO MILE / MORITO / MIRITA / BHANDHATA / KARA KHAM REM / HURU HURU

If we call ourselves compassionate we need to understand that compassion is for everyone, for the predator that runs after the prey and for the prey.

Both suffer one suffer from doing the wrong things the other suffer from being attacked. For a couple of decades, our society became more and more narcissistic more focused on selfies and looking at me “ I’m doing a good thing”. Problem since now a couple of others decade that we become also spiritual narcissistic “ look at me I’m Buddhist I’m at the gompa praying “ well the truth hurt but if we are Buddha student and want to develop a bit of compassion the day you pass a homeless starving on street and think “ yeah state gonna take of him or her” that day you should start to doubt if your practice works. We all talk tones of dogma about enlightenment but if we are not able to be compassionate ones for those who suffer that the day we need to think maybe I got it wrong.

Excuse that we found “ everyone suffers” yeah that work till a bomb exploded and touch right in the face and then that become “ I Suffer I need help now”. Ukraine shows us that peace is very fragile because like in past we let some big autocratic tyrant in power. After all, we are unkind and selfish.

Spiritual Narcissism is singing mantra all day walking out of the gompa and behaving like everything is fine.

As Milarepa quote :

In front of the Lama they dance and sing in back they all betrayed each other.

[vajranam]

HH’s Message Re: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

HH’s Message Re: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Many of us are shocked, angered, and disheartened, over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many have reached out for guidance on how as Dharma practitioners should be respond to these extremely uncertain and tumultuous times. This is indeed a very difficult time. Even as we are just starting to see some hope for the end of the pandemic, a powerful force has invaded its neighbor despite the protest of the rest of the world. This blatant act has sent shockwaves throughout the world. I personally pray and hope that world leaders can skillfully put to use their clear reasoning and their capacity to care - qualities that are innate to us all humans - to de-escalate this dangerous situation and prevent further suffering for all. I join in all other well-meaning and peace-loving people in our world in calling for an end to this conflict.

看到俄罗斯入侵乌克兰，很多人感到惊讶、愤怒、灰心。也有很多修行人问：作为佛教徒，我们要如何应对如此混乱、令人痛心的局面。当下的局势十分艰巨，我们刚看到疫情结束的希望，一个强大的军队就不顾全世界的抗议，入侵了它的临国，如此明目张胆，令世界震惊。我祈愿世界各国的领导能巧妙地运用他们的理智和能力（这也是所有人都具有的品质）来化解此次危机，阻止更多伤害的发生。我和其他爱好和平的人士一起，呼吁停止此次冲突。

Meanwhile, difficult times - the Buddha has taught - can be used as an opportunity for Dharma practitioners to deepen our spiritual practice. When the suffering of samsara became so obvious and intense like what we are experiencing right now, it forces us to recognize and eradicate its causes. As disciples of the Buddha, we should remember that the Buddha identified ignorance with regards to the true reality of “I,” “me,” and “mine” as the root of all sufferings subtle and obvious. This basic delusion quickly leads to attachment and aversion which feed into each other to produce the entire range of suffering from mere dissatisfaction to all the wars that have ever been fought and which the world will ever fight in the future.

同时，佛陀曾开示，艰难的时刻正是促进修行的机会。当轮回的痛苦像现在一样清楚强烈地摆在我们眼前时，它也逼迫我们去指认并铲除这些痛苦的根源。作为佛陀的追随者，我们应该铭记佛陀指出无明-即认为「我」是真实存在的-是一切痛苦的根源。从无明生出的贪与嗔，二者此升彼长，生产出小到不满、大到战争的各类痛苦。

So, what can we do? Our Teacher, the Buddha already answered this question more than 2500 years ago. In the “Dhammapada,” the Buddha said, “Hatred is, indeed, never appeased by hatred in this world. It is appeased only by loving-kindness. This is an ancient law.” Whenever we feel threatened, examine with wisdom whether the “I” who is threatened truly exists and compassionately contemplate on the fact that there is ultimately no real boundary between “I” and “they”. If your safety and life, or the integrity of your homeland is actually threatened, of course you will quite naturally defend your homeland. But do it out of loving-kindness and not out of attachment for your own or hatred for others. If you are in fact on the side causing the aggression, stop! Please know that your actions are causing suffering not only to those whom you perceive as a threat to your interests but ultimately you are creating suffering for yourself. For your happiness and security can never be achieved through aggression and war. Finally, if you are - like many of us - not directly on either side of this conflict but understandably feel horrified or outraged by it, please don’t forget that even those inflicting suffering are themselves under the power of suffering. Don’t let frustration turn into anger and hatred - there is already too much of those “enemies” in this world!

所以，我们要怎么做？我们的导师佛陀在两千五百多年前就给出了答案。在《法句经》中，佛陀开示到「世间的怨恨无法止息怨恨，唯有慈悲可以止息怨恨，这是永恒不易的古法」。当我们感到被威胁时，带着智慧去觉察那个受到威胁的「我」是否真实存在，并带着慈悲观以下实相：在胜义谛的层面，他人与我之间并没有真正的界限。如果你的生命和安全，或者你祖国的主权确实遭到了威胁，你自然要保卫祖国，但请带着慈悲去保卫，而不是带着自己的贪执或对他人的仇恨去做。如果你就是暴力发起者的一份子，住手！你需要知道，你的行为不仅对你认为的威胁到你利益的人造成了伤害，也最终会给自己带来痛苦，因为你绝不会通过暴力和战争获得幸福和安全。如果你和很多其他人一样，并没被直接影响，但也觉得当下的局面离谱或令人震惊，请牢记：那些伤害他人的人也正被痛苦困住，不要让你的沮丧变成愤怒或憎恨，我们的世界里已经有太多这样的「敌人」了。

Therefore, I request all of you, regardless of where you are right now, to not let the true causes of suffering further strengthen their grip on us but instead continue to develop wisdom and clear-seeing and practice love and compassion whenever you feel angered, desperate, or afraid. I pray that you can seize this precious opportunity to deepen your unbiased love and compassion and with wisdom create the true causes of peace and harmony for our world.

所以，我要求你们每一个人，不管现在你在哪，不要再被痛苦的根源抓得更牢，当你感到愤怒、绝望、害怕时，修行你的智慧、明见与慈悲。我祈愿你们能抓出眼前这个珍贵的机会去深化公正无私的慈悲，并带着智慧创造真正能为世界带来和平的因缘。

[vajranam]

All My Disciples

H.E. Garchen Rinpoche in Ukraine.

All my disciples should recite the Prayer to Tara Who Protects from the Eight Fears and the World Peace Prayer in support of Ukraine. Make good prayers for both countries; pray for peace and happiness for them both. Do not be angry with Russia. Only a few people are responsible for this, but not everyone wants to fight. Encourage others to recite the World Peace Prayer repeatedly. We are currently practicing Yamantaka, as are many practitioners around the world. When you practice Yamantaka, this is how you should reflect: Pray for well-being and peace in the world. Summon the hatred and jealousy of those with evil intentions and offer it all to Manjushri Yamantaka. Not everyone wants to fight. Please pray fervently! Mainly recite the Prayer to Tara Who Protects from the Eight Fears. Many Tashi Delek!

I love you!"

OM! Homage to she who protects from the eight fears!

Homage to she who blazes in auspicious glory!

Homage to she who blocks the gate to the lower realms!

Homage to she who leads on the path to the higher realms!

You are my constant companion.

I pray you will eternally protect me with compassion.

[vajranam]

A Being Is A Being

In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is any person who is on the path towards Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools as well as modern Theravada Buddhism, a bodhisattva refers to anyone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will be so.

Sorry to interrupt your night scrolling, tonight I saw that a child been killed in Keev, I still remember the Bodhisattva vows “I will free all beings from suffering no matter what” that means to free them no what it takes leaving ego, politic all our view and come back selfless and love. It's sometimes hard because we got our problems but if we take the subject of war well we never know that very true that even the sutras speak about a great time of war. That also true that our leaders represent us well being selfish and self-serving like us.

But if we on some kind of path when we practice may be we need to remember the first teacher of his path for us Shakyamuni Buddha, Shakyamuni didn't even think when he gave his rob to the homeless, he was compassionate. If we are Shakyamuni students maybe compassion is definitely what we need, it's not easy that clear if that was easy we should have world peace but that doesn't mean if a being suffer that fine not at all if we “ Buddhist” we need to think hang on I'm me to not suffer but let other suffer if you think that maybe time the teaching and think again.

[vajranam]

Garchen Rinpoche Message

Please Remember Ukraine in our Prayer !

For those with high mental capabilities yet lacks karmic cause and effect plays with life of other being. Those beings are intoxicated with ignonant mind have little to no mercy on other.

- His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche

May they find genuine Dharma and qualified master to guide them .

[vajranam]

Prayer For Time Of War

I can't close my eyes and see that kids the same age as mine gonna die because an egotistical monster decides to live back in the past glory of something that doesn't exist anymore.

Whatever sangha we in as Buddha student we must remain compassionate for innocents of the Medieval war.

[vajranam]

War Is Monstrous

WAR IS MONSTROUS

War is neither glamorous nor attractive. It is monstrous. Its very nature is one of tragedy and suffering. War is like a fire in the human community, one whose fuel is living beings.

I find this analogy especially appropriate and useful. Modern warfare waged primarily with different forms of fire, but we are so conditioned to see it as thrilling that we talk about this or that marvelous weapon as a remarkable piece of technology without remembering that, if it is actually used, it will burn living people.

War also strongly resembles a fire in the way it spreads. If one area gets weak, the commanding officer sends in reinforcements. This is throwing live people onto a fire. But because we have been brainwashed to think this way, we do not consider the suffering of individual soldiers.

No soldiers want to be wounded or die. None of his loved ones wants any harm to come to him. If one soldier is killed, or maimed for life, at least another five or ten people - his relatives and friends - suffer as well. We should all be horrified by the extent of this tragedy, but we are too confused.

~ The Dalai Lama

[vajranam]

Forever Wars

Buddhism in Ukraine has existed since the 19th and 20th centuries, after immigration from countries with Buddhist populations, mainly North Vietnam and Korea under the Communist period. Although sources are not readily available, Buddhists are believed to constitute 0.1% of the total population in Ukraine.

For some of us this is worldly affairs but I don't know you but for me I do have friends in Ukraine who told me they may have to escape to Poland if Russia invaded.

Lama Teunsang one day teach that humanity never learn and redo the same old mistakes and if we look at our world today we never have been closer to war than in our times. I who have kids think of that thinking well I certainly don't want them to live in an apocalyptic world.

We are all humans of the same tribe, tribe of that animal who walks with two legs straight and we still act like we were in Neolithic times. “ my my my” yet we don't have push to our real potential.

When I was a kid I still remember these lyrics,” hardcore war of today, war of tomorrow forever war “ we all say we look for peace and happiness but in the deep core our society is selfish, self-centred and immoral from the science itself fact that our leaders are more like Putin or Johnson than His Holiness the Dalai Lama the behaviour science will say that our leaders reflect who we are. So if we look are or actual leaders who are we?

Liars, dishonest, very self-serving yet all of this turn to the right way could become generous, kind and compassionate in action. Whatever we call ourselves Buddhist or not if we got no love for those who suffer or find excuses when someone is down maybe we should rethink again do “Buddha will do that? “

[vajranam]

Life Of Milarepa

Milarepa

The life of Milarepa

From the Gungthang province of Western Tibet, close to Nepal, Milarepa (1052-1135) had a hard childhood and a dark youth. He was only seven when his father died. Relatives had taken over his father’s property and mistreated the bereaved family. His mother, bitter, sent Milarepa to train in black magic, to wreak revenge on those who had blighted her life. She was given her wish – Milarepa proved adept at the practices he was taught, and unleashed a tide of destruction, killing many.

But he came to regret his actions, and looked for help in shedding the bad karma he had acquired during his vengeful adolescence. He first attached himself to the Nyingmapa Lama Rongton, who, observing that Milarepa had a karmic connection to Marpa, sent him to learn with him. Marpa, being aware that Milarepa had first of all to purify himself from the negative karma he had accumulated, exposed him to an extremely hard apprenticeship. Among other trials, he had to build towers out of rocks to Marpa’s specifications with his bare hands, only to be ordered to tear them down again. But finally, Marpa gave Milarepa full transmissions of all the Mahamudra teachings from Naropa, Maitripa and other Indian masters.

Practicing these teachings for many years in isolated mountain retreats, Milarepa attained enlightenment. He gained fame for his incredible perseverance in practice and for his spontaneous songs of realisation. Of his many students, Gampopa became his main lineage holder.

[vajranam]

Abandon Hope And Fear

ABANDON HOPE AND FEAR

“Kye Ho! Do not fear distraction,

trying to keep attention on the mind.

If you realize the nature of your own mind,

- then even the wandering mind will be seen as the Mahamudra.

In the state of Great Bliss all dualistic features become auto-liberated.

Like awakening from a dream,

pleasure and pain then seem to have had no reality whatsoever.

So, abandon hope and fear.

Let go of trying to accomplish something or exhibiting anything.

Since all the phenomena of both Samsara and Nirvana

- are devoid of "self-nature,"

any clinging to hopeful or doubtful thoughts is simply meaningless.

What is the point of striving to accept or reject anything?

Even visible form and sound vibration are like a magical illusion,

a hologram or a reflection in a mirror - they possess no substantiality.

That which realizes this, the magician, is the sky-like mind itself.

This one true nature is without centre or circumference,

nor is there anyone separate therefrom who can comprehend this.

Just as all the great rivers, the Ganga, etc.,

equally flow into the one Great Ocean,

so mind and mental content have only one taste in the Dharmadhatu."

Emaho!

~ Mahasiddha Saraha

[vajranam]

Tibetan Attitude

Tibetan Attitude to Women

One of the major flaws in Tibetan culture is its attitude to women. The world has never been fair to women and, much as I hate to admit it, the treatment of women in the Himalayan regions, particularly amongst Tibetans, has been and continues to be deplorable. And it seems to me that a sizeable chunk of Tibetan misogyny took root once the lamas had become the rulers of Tibet.

We human beings look up to people who successfully acquire power, money and influence. We admire them, take them as our role models and try to emulate them. We might, for example, take a photo of ourselves in a pastiche of a publicity shot favoured by our current role model. Like all human beings, Tibetans like to emulate their role models and often choose the same career path.

For the sake of argument, imagine what Tibet would have been like if laypeople, not lamas and monks, had run the country? Would the monasteries still have been seen as the nation’s elite institutions? I doubt it.

Ambitious young people would have had other options, including the possibility of aspiring to a secular alternative. Like everyone else in the modern world, Tibetans would have gossiped about fashion, style trends and new superfoods, and they would have sung songs about the musicians, soldiers, states people, scientists and actors they admired.

Novels would have been written speculating about the lives of the popular and the famous. The Tibetans would have dressed like their heroes, had the same haircut, worn the same makeup and so on. But none of this happened because, for centuries, the lamas ruled Tibet, and the lamas, monks, monasteries and the Dharma predominated.

I don’t think Tibetans thought that women were intrinsically bad or a lower form of life or anything like that, but as the Vinaya states that monastics should avoid women, that is exactly what they did. Once the monks ruled Tibet and became the country’s role models, their avoidance of women began to be seen as an expression of disdain.

Over time, a contempt for women seeped into the minds of the Tibetan community and became the norm. The majority of lamas were celibate and the most highly respected monasteries and institutions were full of celibate monks, so it is hardly surprising that Tibet’s celibate communities emphasized the practice of celibacy. But it’s such a shame, even disheartening, that the lamas failed to bear in mind that lay Tibetans tend not to be celibate.

As a rule, Mahayana Buddhism teaches that men and women are equals – except the teachings that elevate women above men. Gender equality is clearly stated in the teachings, but in Tibet it was never highlighted or celebrated.

The Prajnaparamita, one of the Mahayana’s most important teachings, is often described as yum or ‘mother’. One of the fourteen fundamental vows taken by Vajrayana practitioners is never in any way to disparage, denigrate or abuse women.

If you break any one of the fourteen root vows of the Vajrayana and do not regret having broken it – meaning your regret leads you to confess and purify it – your journey along the Vajrayana path will be at an end. But in Tibet, gender equality has always been overshadowed by the monkish culture.

Please do not misunderstand me, I am not suggesting that every single Tibetan who consciously makes a vow of celibacy and follows the path of renunciation will always disparage or despise women. Neither am I saying that monks should now get married or be allowed to have sex. What I am saying is that according to the Buddhadharma, none of us should ever denigrate, abuse or harm any other sentient being, no matter what their gender – or species.

Buddhist monks are expected to follow the rules of the Vinaya. Just as boys who stay at boys-only hostels in Asia are told to steer clear of the girls-only hostels, the Vinaya’s technique for overcoming the desire for carnal pleasure with the opposite sex is to forbid men who have a fervent wish to become bhikshus (Vinaya monks) to be alone with a woman. This instruction is about avoidance, not denigration, abuse, disparagement and so on. And the same goes for nuns; aspiring bhikshunis are also discouraged from hanging out with boys. It’s the same rule for both genders.

If a man or a woman chooses the life of a renunciant as a bhikshu or bhikshuni, they necessarily choose to renounce all aspects of worldly life. But making such a choice has absolutely nothing to do with the denigration or abuse of women.

Some Vinaya practitioners (monks and nuns who maintain the Vinaya vows) also practise the Vajrayana (and maintain Vajrayana samayas). For them, to avoid another being because they are supposedly impure or imperfect would utterly contradict their Vajrayana samayas.

I grew up in the same neighbourhood as an exemplary monk called Lama Gelek. He was a genuinely good bhikshu and exactly the kind of model monastic that my friends and I loved to tease – we were very naughty.

As a monk, he knew he should never be alone with a woman and panicked if there was the slightest chance it might happen. At the same time, Lama Gelek’s attendant, who is still alive, told me that he offered tsok daily and had it secretly distributed to several women. I myself noticed the tsok distribution, but it was a long time before I managed to persuade Lama Gelek to explain what he was doing.

“As a Buddhist practitioner,” he said, “I try to do all the practices – Shravakayana, Bodhisattvayana and Vajrayana. I do not hold wrong views about women but, as a monk, the Vinaya tells me that I must never be alone with a woman in case she triggers the emotion of desire in me. The trouble is that being paranoid about my monk’s vows sometimes leads me to act inappropriately, which is not right!

Women are none other than dakinis and being paranoid about being alone with them does my samaya no good at all. So I purify my broken samayas through tsok practice.” Lama Gelek set an excellent example.

You might be surprised by just how many people practise all three yanas as Lama Gelek did. Outwardly they abide by the Vinaya of the Shravakayana, inwardly they arouse the bodhichitta of the Mahayana, and secretly they practise the Vajrayana.

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse

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