chenrezig - the practice of compassion

8/12/2019 Chenrezig - The Practice of Compassion

1/162


2/162

:

This e-book is ntended for educational purpose only for thosewho can' aor o buy i

If you lie his boo, you shod buy t (i you can) nd support heBudha-Dhama.

Table o conents s cickable

tex n he boo is seachable.


3/162

y y

gu uku

tgul TsPU l I OS


4/162

uuPlRLCAT!O:S 13, S Franci; A\enu, Souhmptn S08 5QL England\"\"\.rglru>.or [email protected] b Pb

x Rngu Tulku a>e h orl r o b d h uthr f hs wrk.

Plas d n reprdc a a o h bkle" hu prmon rm h pblshr

Th Chg oary rnaed a' a or ahn \n b Rnu Tuk Rpoh

i Hasched, Gean i Nr 1998

ancb a i Cori Sgs h urhr n b n lnhnv panig ad ra g ) R. D Sala

yi b Pul Onr aju Dsn Irn

Phraphs of Rigl a T b Frncs Hnard

Th r x used e a> rgiall rlad b Tlr Dr o th trha Translaon work

undr h u che onop Rpoh, wh rrn o pr\u rsln b h and

ranaon Co rial pb Trn Cpon: Mns n h Mn

\alokeh\ara (th: Sw L Pblct.!, 200-) I h bn r-prnd hr th th nrus

prin S i liaio

r> dn Fbrar 211

Pr an bd i K h PG Book Grop Bm n Kn Lnn

ISB 97 8--96813--


5/162


6/162


7/162

NUO

HE OMMNY

Rfu

Bodhicia

S

Visalisatin of Cenrezig

Pai

Seve Ban aye

y f Libin Bins fm t i eals

lf-Visaliain as nzi

Maa eiaio

aparanes

Th Disin

,.; Conn

7

7

7

333

43

54

6


8/162

Re-emergence and Dedication

Additional Prayers and Phowa

Concluson: The Devotional Approach

DISCUSSION

Dedcaton

AL L-PERVING BENEFIT OF BEINGS

The Meditation and Recitation of the Grat Compassonat On

LOSSRY

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

OM MEMORTING IGU ULKU INOCHE'S OMELN IN IET

n1


9/162


10/162

1 L ]{ ) 0 c l I

Th Chrg sadhaa that will xplai t yu is a ry simp praiI's th srst ad mst pplar t f th sadhaa that was mpsd

by agg Gyalp agg Gyalp 44 was a l w adry grat mas Tit I's diut t atgrs hm ito ay partilarliag r tradti ut, alugh h std al is a ttally utrr

sial gur. Absly ydy rm all t dif shls awldgsis grass

Sm ppl say tat h lid at last yars trs ta h ld rha yars was a i aius lds, li sia wr ista bi may i rdgs, tirt r frt i ibt ad hua, sm

fwhih a sl usd y wr big r bridgs, mad wth ir hais,twstd tgtr t bggr ais, twistd aga t bggr hais ad tassmbld i rdgs s als th fudr fth ta pa H wldtsay i pla bt tralld al r it May astris ar as suppsdt a dd by him amg hm t gra Drgay Mastry wit itsfamus prss th ggst ita xylgraph prss (h stard th astry, t


11/162

te press) . He as a ver great being and tis parti car sadana, atog qite

sort and simpe, is terefore regarded as particar poerf and c arged it

great bessings.

Cenrezig or Avaokitesvara in S anskrit is te name of te bodisattvao is regarded as te Lord of Compassion or te embod imen t of compassio n.

e bodisattva of ompassion ca n be cons idered in t o as. From a istoric a

or m ndan e poi nt of vie e can sa tat Avaokit esvara as a pe rso n ike s ,

iving a ver ong time ago o fet innite compassion toards a sentient

beings and o as so tremendos corageos tat e committed imsefto postpone is on enigtenment nti e ad brogt a oter beings to

tat state of perfect iberation. He is te greatest eampe of compete corage

and nses ompassion. Anoter approac is to see im not as a man

bei ng, bt as co mpassi on emb odi ed in te form of a dei t. Avaokitesvara is

a smboi gre representing te compassio n o f a sentient beings, of a teddas and bodi sattvas. Not on does ti s form represent compassio n, i t

compete embodie s i t .

Cenrezig pratice is done in order to deveop or on compassion. From

te dd ist po int of vie, e can tr to generate compassi on trog canging

or retinkng or attitde and orkng on or ay of perceiving tings en

tere 's anoter a i is te on e I i main y epain e re, and tat is trog

feei ng ; i ts an eperientia, emo tion a approac.

I tin k its important to nderstand , tat, in order to be abe to fee compass on

and ave knd positive feeings toards oters, e rst need to o at sc

feeings are tis reqires tat e so d ae eperienced receiving tem orsees.

2


12/162

Tats preci sely one o the m ain thing s we work on thro ugh the dety yoga whic h

s the co re o a sadhana.

For instance in this practice we imagine the presence o Chenrezig the

bodhis attva o compassion on top o our he ad or in ront o us hatever wethik or say we have a certain experience linked to the concepts involved; we

naturally projec t som ethi ng. For example i you read the nae o a place and

a description o it an image o it orms in your ind. In the same way when

we thin k o the bo dhi sattva Chen rezig , when we say the L ord o Copass ion

our concept naturally creates the image o a compassionate being and not osom eon e who i s angry arrogant or u nhappy. he n we think a bou t a Bu ddha

an enl ightened being it evokes an i mage o complete perfecton o somebody

wthou t any ault o r conusi on who has d one away with ignora nce who is to tally

wise and completely compassionate who only wants to help and work or the

weare o other beings with no other i ntent ion no selsh otivatio nTi s i s what we visualise o r think o in thi s practic e e eel the p resence o

Chenrezig the ost courageous bodhisattva who took the coitent not to

becom e enl ightened himsel unti l all sentient be ings are copletely liberated and

enlightened. His compassion is o the strongest knd the knd that nspires one to

exchange one s own well bei ng and happiness or the wellbeing and happines s o

others to always cons ider others inte rests beore on es own

So we think o Chenrezig who embodies that knd o copasson who has

the will the wisdo and the capacity to help It may help or example to think

o a person in your lie a true riend somebody who loves you unconditionally

who always tries to help you without expecting anything in return and who has


13/162

the wisdo and the skll to do this in the best possible way. e try to iagine

soebody of that nature who is the very ebodient of copassion. e see

Chenrezig as the very essence of the copassion of all the enlightened beings

radiating loving kndness and wisdo.Visualising doesnt ean trying to look at soething o r to se e it a s if you were

lookng at a p icture f cours e if you can visualise as clea rly as if you were loo kng

at a picture thats very good however visuali sing is n ot as if you were sitting there

ju t passively watching a ovie. Its ore ip ortant to get involved in the proce ss

to feel th at Chenre zig is actually there is really present in whatever for you antto visualise h i It doesnt really atter whether you visualise h is for in one way

or another although it happens so eti es that a person has a certain c onnec tion

with a pe ci c for of a part icul ar bodhisattva o r Buddha. Te for o f Chenrezi g

doesnt really atter becaus e i n a way i ts our own true loving kndn ess the r oot

of our basic capacity to love and be copassionate that we project and that isradiating towards us

e try to feel that we and all the other beings in the whole universe - rece ive

this loving kindness. ere all baskng in the light and warth of the loving

kindness radiating fro this being who is the ebod iment of all the enl ightened

eings. ithout conceptualising this too uch we try to physically feel theradiance o f loving kndn ess and the wellbeing o f recei ving it. e feel th at ou r

inner heart is eing penetrated by this radiance a nd that we are really opening up

to it. e feel that we and all the othe r bei ngs are always in the p resence and u nde r

the protection of this e nlightened being who i s continuously radiating his he lp nd

uncond itio nal loving knd ness towards us.


14/162

Although we dont need to conc eptualise thi s too uch there are two aspects

in he editation Ive just described. ne aspect is that we are generating and

developing loving ndness in ourselves by receiving it by eeling it while the

othe r is that we are letting our ind relax bec ause we naturally relax when we eelloving ndne ss. So it s si ultaneo usly a edi tation that akes our i nd cal and

peaceul and a process o generating loving ndness.


15/162


16/162

( Yl Y E / R

A Bddst ate starts wih taig refuge and if it is a Mahaanaaie efge s amanied b the deemet f bdita is

what we d in te begnng f he sadhaa:

Sang e hO dan thok kyi chok nam la

Chan hub bar ak ni ap s hiDak gi jin ok p nam kyi

r la phn hir an e rup par hk

It meas, trug a te sitie deeds, ike gig et, ad a te stieress mig fm ta ma I attai egteme fr te beet f a

setiet begse rst tw nes ae e refge ad he net tw te deemet f

bdhhita I dnt thi it s eessar fr e t ean i deai the meanig frefge ad dhita ts time but as it's a er imrtan sbe I sa a fewwrds abu

1!


17/162

Reuge s not only the ormal ceremony that marks somebodys entrance nto

Buddhsm; nor s t just a prelminary to Buddhst practce. aking reugeencompasses the entre Buddhst practce: t sets our goal or purpose and denes

the path to ollow as well as th e way to travel on t. It is thereore esse ntal : we c old

say n a way tha t there s act ually no thing else n Bu ddh ism but takng reuge. All

the Buddhst teachng s and practc es are conta ined wthn t because everythng s

ncluded n the Buddha the Dharma and the Sangha.e can cons der t rom d erent angles talk abo ut t at d erent leve ls place

the emphass on derent aspects but the main point remains the undamental

desre o every beng not only human bengs but actually every sentent beng -

to be happy to have what s pleasurable and to be ree rom suerng problems

and pan. All bengs wsh or everlastng happness and that s where everythng

starts. All o us are busy runnng around worred and anxous because o ths basc

des re or happness . B ut however much we prsue happiness stll we are n ot happy

because we dont really understand how to nd the happness we seek. And when

we look a lttle deeper nto our predcam ent we may wonder whethe r t s poss ble

to realse th s undamen tal aspraton. How can we ache ve t ?

ur usual wy s to look or certan th ngs ce rtan si tuations that we beleve wll

make us happy. e try d erent ways and me ans to get such things and s tuation s

only to nd o ut aerwards that they are not real so urces o happness . In dee d they

are mpermanent and can even themselves become the cause o urther problems.

Tey are not lastng solut ons to our problems ; they are not real sources ohappness.

8 Cetry


18/162

I we then recon sider the s ituation and try to n d out what is really m akng us

happy or unhappy we are led back to our own mind. Happiness and unhappiness

do no t com e rom the things and s ituation s we create but from the way our m ind

reacts th e way our mi nd functi ons.hen I use the word mind here I do not only mean the thinkng mind but

also perceptions emotions eelings sensations - the whole of our experience.

Iwe could nd a way to work on the m ind and change our usua l way oreacting

might it be possible to nd a state o mind that doesnt bring us pain suering

and problems ? Ti s would mean workng less on the things and situations that weexperience and mo re on the experiencer o these things. From the Buddhist p oint

o view to be a ble to change one s way o experienci ng in a particular context and

sit uation is the main objec tive. Tereore the main Buddhi st practice come s down

to workng on our mi nd - that is on our own experience.

How things appear or me depen ds on the way I experi ence them . wo peopleplaced in the same si tuation may experience i t and thereore react to it in two very

dierent ways. Te way we experience something is the most important actor

because that is where all our happiness and unhappiness come from. a given

si tuation I may react in such a way that everyth ing is ne and no problem or me or

I m ay also re act di eren tly and eel very un happy. It all depends o n the way I react .Tis is why in t he Bud dhist approach we are es sent ially working on t he way

we react. In order to do this we have to talk about our emoti ons and percepti ons.

I we can transorm al l our negative emotions and im pure percep tions n othing

else is needed because we will then be completely happy and peaceul. Tat is

Buddhahood. Buddha or Buddhahood is no thing but a state in which the min d

i


19/162

constantly reains positive and never reacts with negative emotions, never gets

overpowered by them Tat state o mind is c ompletely ree rom proble s, which

is why i t is called enlightenment or Buddhahood

Tis can only coe about when one has a real and deep understanding, a deepreali satio n, o how to work with the m in d. It means that on e can see one sel very

clearly, without illusions, delusions, obstacles, hi ndrances or c onusion o any nd.

ith that understanding and experience, one can transorm emotions. Tat is

soetimes regarded as th e highest orm o Dharma. It is also sometimes called the

Buddha b ecause thi s absolute , perect Dharma is nothin g but the absolute , perectstate o Buddhahood Te realisation o Dharma is t he Buddha ; so it doesnt

really make much d ierence whether you call i t Buddha or Dha rma. Te Dharm a

copris es all the various ways, paths, means , methods and techni ques used i n order

to realise the state oBuddha.

Te people who tread these paths, who practise the Dharma in a genuine way,are the S angha However, the ultimate or highest orm o Sangha is also the Budha

It is thereore soetimes said that the true absolute reuge is only the Buddha and

that the two other aspects oDharma and Sangha are included in the Buddha

Although in the begin ing the udda Dharma and Sangha are presented as three

separate reuges, they really reer to this true realisation, this complete transormaiono our usual way o reacting, which, as long as it is conused, unclear and based on a

misunderstanding , i the source o ou suerings, problems and unhappiness

ur usual, mistaken way o reacting is called samsara. As long as we react in

this way we can never be completely happy because, at the most basic level, our

reactions are wrong they are not in accord with reality.

Cetar


20/162

e coul ientiy the pattern as ollows. e want omething; then we make

great eorts to try to get it. Tat very struggle to get happines brings worries an

aniety. You see, thi s way o going about it is wrong right rom the beginnin g. s

as i we come to si t near a re in orer to get cool. Te co oler we want to be, thecloser to the re we sit! It isnt going to work, an this is more or les what were

oing all the time.

It remins me o the story o a ibetan man who went on pilgrimage to

Bohgaya an came back complaining that Inia was so terribly ho hat even

when he heape nine blankets aroun his boy, the heat till woulnt go away. Inibet, heat is not a problem : the only problem is col. I the col is very intene

you cover your sel with mo re blankets an usually, une r nin e blankets, you no

longer eel the col. So he tho ught he c oul en o the heat i n the s ame way as

he protecte hi msel rom the c ol.

e ne e to ch ange our hab itual way o reacti ng through the pract ice . Howeverwe shoul be careul no t to practis e the Dharm a in the way we usually o every thin g

else, otherwise there wil be no ierence! I we practise Dharma in order to get

thigs, well just become more sams aric, bec ause were practising even the Dharma

in a samsaric way.

hat matters is not so much what we do but how we o it. Tats whyme itation is so imp ortan t. Trough meitatio n, we ry to make our min calm er

more relaxe, m ore spacious , mo re peaceul, to release the anxie ty the worrie , the

struggle. I our me itatio n is tight an nervous, ull o anxieti e an iwe struggle

to m ei tate, we will never achieve anything. e ne ed to learn how to work on o ur

mi : thats the Dharma practice.


21/162

Its all very well to ay that we have to practis e Dharma but the ques tion is

How ? e try to visualis e and to medi tate but what does m edi tation really me an ?

I we dont clariy thi quetion well all into the trap o a mistaken samsaric

practice e may call it Dharma but it s actually no di erent rom samsara whichis why Gampopa repeated this warning again and again : I you dont practise

Dharma as Dharma the Dharma will lead you to the lower realms ! So to pracise

Dharma means to work on our mind on the way we react.

ang reuge in the Buddha the Dharma and the Sangha is the rt thing

we do in our practice By taking reuge we set our goal our intention. ithoutan object ive were lost c onued we dont now what to do o r what is i mpor tant

an d what i not A lack o purpose i n lie i a bi g problem that places us in a ery

dicult position First we get bored and then aer some time we eel consed

and useless we are incapable o doing anything useul Ten be cause we dont

have a purp ose we eel worthles and all into de press ion .I think it s very mportant to nd a purpose. I s incerely believe that one

can never become depresed i one has a really good obje ctive in l ie. hen

people have a ense o purpose they may go through inc redib le su ering and

hardship without pycholog ical problem s while hose who lead an aim less li e

are more likely to have such problems aking reuge means asserting a greatand benecial purpoe

First we take reuge in the Buddha. course to understand the Budha

is not eay; it encompasses the whole practice ad experience o Buddhim.

However we should at least have this concept that Buddha i the compete

realisation the complete eradication o all conusion and ignorance a state o

R y


22/162

being that correspons to the transormation o all the negative emotions. e

shoul now that this is the true state o our m in. An that s what we want

to realise, to actualise, what we ourselves woul lke to be. e woul like to

econition ourselves rom our conuse state o min an return to the trueprimorial state o our mn, which is the Buha nature. Tat s our purpose.

Tat s our objective. An we ont want it just or ourselves but or all other

senie nt be ngs as well. Tey all suer an they all want to attain everlasting peace

an happiness, an it is or them also that we want to become enlightene. e

wish to bring them all to that state o enlightenme nt. Tat comm itmen t is goingor reuge to the Buha . It gene rally con sis ts o two aspects : th e wish to o t an

the conviction that t s possible. It is not easy even to simpl unerstan it, but

that s the main thing.

In orer to achieve our goal, we take reuge n the Dharma Te Dharma

encompasses all the ierent means, practices an tranings that woul lea us tothat realisation or actualisatio n. ing reuge in the Dh arma s the express on o

our wsh to train n those practices.

Finally, taking reuge in the Sangha s our reaness to open ourselves

to hos e who have the unerstan ing an exper ence o the teach ings an

methos, in orer to learn these ways an means. e open ourselves to recevethe pos t ive nuence, the instructions an teachng o the Dharma so that we

can work on ourselves .

Te whole o Buhs m is inc lue n these three acets o the reuge. Havng

tken reuge, we now what we want an what we nee to o, so we work on

tha an create the right circumstances that will enable us to o t Te reuge is


23/162

thereore the e ntre Buddh t practce . Tere actuay nothng more n Buddh m

than takng reuge

It may eem eay to undertand at an nteectua evel but a ul undertandng

m ore dcult than we rt magine. Even th e po bl ty o enlghtenment andt mpl caton arent eay to athom. A real dee p de re to acheve t dcu t to

deveop becaue we are too nuenced and o overpowered by our em oton hat

our de re not u ually orented toward that end.

everthele eve n t not eay t the mot mportant thng. coure

everybody want happne but the queton what wl brng u rea happnereal peace ? e ne ed to remn d oureve o our com mtm ent to work n hat

d recton and to revve our np raton and undertandng agan and agan. T

why we repeat the reuge p rayer daly and at the begnn ng o every practce .

I thnk you now undertand the mportance o the reuge. I wont go nto

more detal .

hh

Tere very lttle derence between bodhchtta and reuge n the Mahaanaapproach Te Mahayana reuge an apraton or commtment to attan

enlghtenme nt or the ake o all entent b eng whch the ame a bodhc hi tta.

Te man pont here to develop the thought: I take reuge n Buddha Dharma

and Sangha and my purpoe or dong that to benet all entent beng not

ut mye l For the ake o them all I would lke to bec ome a Buddha.

+ e Centry


24/162

Bodhichitta is i nspired by compassion, li mitless compassio n. e could dene

comp assio n in a genera way as unbias ed un iversa goodwill. It is love but - unlike

ordi nary love - this is unco nditi ona love. Usually when we love soeone we

expect this person to love us too and i this is not the cse we eel bad. Tatsconditiona love. hat were takng about here is unconditional love. It eans

that we wish the best or others whatever they eel towards us I soebody htes

me, its hi s or her problem I somebody loves e its aso his or her problem From

y side I have only good wishes benecial positive thoughs and intentions or

everybody. I dont worry about the reactions they may have towards e.From this point o view, being compassionate is not heavy; its light to bear.

From y side I hve no negative eelings towards anybody I lwys wish well

towards everyone whether they like me or not whether they treat e wel or not

and even whether I like them or no t Tat is I thin k also important to understand:

you dont have to like somebod y in order to eel compa ssion or hi or her Even iyou dont like soe one you dont wish him o r her bad things Som etimes pe ople

have dic uty developing copass ion or som eone they dislike becuse they think

that they have to like the p erson . As they dont they eel bd and guilty. However

its not necessary to like somebody in order to eel compassion or hi or her

Tere are people I like and people I dont like. e cant like everybody and thatsK as long as we j ust dont wish the b ad things.

Having generated c ompssi on we try to cultivte this otivation or spiration

to strengthen it and exten d its scop e. e recogn ise tha t it s good or us and good

or others. hen we dont have any negative thought a ny hatred or any ill eeli ng

towards anybody we already ee peaceu because in a way we hve orgiven

The Cea

h l h h d


25/162

Forgiveness means having no i wil or no negative thoughts towards anyone so

were ree rom our burden o negative thoughts and hatred. Tis is benecial or

us b ecause our mind is ear ree rom al the garbage and we have nothin g to hold

on to ; a nd o course a we no onger hod any negative thoughts against others itsaso good or everybody else

e become naturaly purer and more positive in our being and attitude

because theres nobody we consider as an enemy. Everybody is ike a riend

because we wish everyone well. Tis doesnt mean that we have to particuary

ike everybody but we wish them well and they are thereore ike unacquaintedriends o r unkown riend s. Ti s is the attit ude we try to generate as we develop

our bodhichitta.

Te compassion o bodhichitta aso includes wishing well to everybdy.

Moreover it i boundes or imitess or innite in our ways.

Te rst o the our lim ites s aspects i s the wish to see al sentient beings be reerom suering : not just me my amiy and my riends : not just the p eole o my

country or those who are Buddhi sts or the people o this word ; but every si nge

sentient b eing everywhere throughout the universe.

Te second is the wish that they a be ree rom a s uerin g not just a itte bi t

o this or that su ering but o every kin d o suering.Te third is the wish that they al wi not ony be ree rom all suering but

that they also attain the best achievement the highest orm opeace and happiness

which is enlightenment

Te ourth is the wish that they will not only enjoy this highest level o

attainme nt or a sho rt period o time b ut orever.

6 Cetay

C i d d i h li i l b b dhi hi


26/162

Compassion extended in these our limitless ways becomes bodhichitta.

Bodhichi tta has two aspects : compassion or all beings and the commi tment to

hel them attain enlightenm ent T ese two aspects are also caed compass ion and

wisdom. Te wisdom aspect i s the understanding that a state o everlasting peacean happiness - enlightenment - can be achieved. Te compasson aspect is the

wish to help all sentie nt bei ngs to attain that state. Tese two are like the two wings

o a bi rd : they must always go togethe r.

hen we recite this rst stanza o the text were reminding ourselves of

this commitment. e can either imagine that we take refuge and develop theboh ichi tta aspi ration in ront o a Reuge ree o r in the presen ce o Chenrez g

alone cons dering him as the em bod ime nt o all the aspect s o reuge o the whole

lin eage and o our guru. e then take reuge and the bodhic hit ta comm itm ent to

corm and reiterate our aspiration and understanding. e repeat these our lines

three times.

l o

ur present purpose is to get in touch with the presence of Chenrezig anenlghtened being who concentrates in himsel the energy o all the enlightened

beings o all the Buddhas.

e dont need to engage in conceptual speculatons about who or what

Chenrezi g actually is. hat matters is to eel that the real embod ime nt ounlimited

comp assion is actually presen t in the space abov e us. e magine all other sent ient

h oet 7

b i d d h i h i li hi b h d i


27/162

beings around us and then ei ther visualise hi m above our heads or in ront o us.

Its no t jus t my Che nrezig but everybodys Chenre zig.

Te text says:

Dak sok kha khyab sem chen

Ch tsuk pe kar da we teng

r le phak chok Chen re z

Kar sal zer nga den tro

Tis means

On top the head of myse and all sentent bengs,

s a lotus and moon, upon ths s a .

om the appe ars the noble Chenrezg,

wht e n colo u rad a tng the ve colo urs.

0.

0

Tis starts the process o creating our visualisation o Chenrezig o creating

the orm or the way n which he appears

First we imagine that a very beautiul lotus ower appears one or two eet

above our heads . n top o it oats a moon disc on whi ca letter HR justdrops rom nowhere, l ike a thunderbolt Tis le tter H RI , a very st rong hitelight that spreads in all di rections.

Tis light touches, inspires, and we could almost say awakens all the

enlightened beings throughout space. Carrying their blessings their grace and

ene rgy, the light is reabsorbed i nto the syllable. T e light goes ou very quickly, and

then zooms back into the H R , which is now charged with the blessings and

8 Cmmta

te energies of all te enligtened beings


28/162

te energies of all te enligtened beings.

Now t is very ene rgetic H R radiates anoter se t ofl igt rays tat toucal sentient beings trougout space. It completely puries eals liberates and

trasforms all te beings it touces. Having spread trougout space te ligt again zooms back into te letter H RI . Tis H RI is now even strongereven mo re energetic, be cause not only does it ave te en ergy and te blessings of

all e enligtened being s, but also te power of aving accomplised te be net

of all te sentient beings.

Tanks to tat strong energy and activity te HRI transforms into teimage of Cenrezig, wic is terefore very powerful, very energetic lively andactve. Tis is wat we sou ld try to feel .

Cenrezig is very beautiful. He appears to be young because compassion is

ageless and ne ver decays or deteriorates. H is b ody as wat we call te tirtytwo

maor and eigty mino r signs ofa great being and wit all of te beauty and qual itieswe can imagine belonging to a divine being. He is radiating compassion and

wisdom His colou r is wite a colour tat represents purity and also compassion .

As i s described in some tets, e is wite like t e snow mountains wen t e rst

rays of te sun s ine on teir slopes.

We souldn't categorise Cenrezig as any particular racial type. Hes neiterAsi an nor Weste rn no r African ; es us t comple tely beautiful. He s si mply watever

you can imagine as perfect ion . aybe te im ages of te deit ies are created a little

dierent from usual uman beings precisely to avoid teir being categorised into

one particular racial type; tis is not said in any commentary but it may be a

possible eplanation.

h mmta


29/162

t is believ ed - don't know wete tis is true or not tat if ou're lost in a


30/162

t is believ ed don t know wete tis is true or not tat if ou re lost in a

ungle and ou call for elp tis animal will come and lead ou out of te forest.

an stories ae told about tis animal one o f tem appears in te Jataka tales te

stoi es relating te Budda Sakamuni's former l ives.n tis story a unter once fell down a cli and got lost i n te ungle. lmost

ding e was crin g for elp wen a beautiful de er appeared and sowed i m te

way out of te forest tus saving is life. Tis anim al was so extraordinar tat te

unte r tougt te kng would reward im for catcing it . e told is s tory to te

kng and agreed to lead im to te place were e ad seen tis wonderful ani malan elp im to catc it in return for a rewad. Te king surrounded te forest

wit is men wo started sooting all te animals te could see.

Wen te dee e ard wat was going on e came face to face wit te ng and

asked im "W are ou doing tis? You sould not ll uselesl and senselessl

like tis. Wat do ou really want? earing te deer speak te king was verimpressed. e explained tat e lled animals because e and is subects ad

to eat. Te deer replied "t is true ou ave to eat but ou don't need to ll

sene lessl as ou're doing now. am te ng of te deer. f ou agree we can make

an arrangement tat will be good for all of us. rom now on will send a deer to

our kitcen ever da. mpressed and surprised te king accepted te deal andreturned to is palace.

Te next da a deer appeared at i kitc en doo r; and te next da and te next

an ever da. But on e day as te ng of te de er was walng troug te ungle

e e ard somebod weeping Loo ng around e saw a doe wo was sobbin g in

despair. We n e asked w se was weeping se answered tat i t was er turn

he Cmna

to go net day to te king's kitcen and tat se ad ust given birt to te sall


31/162

to go net day to te king s kitcen and tat se ad ust given birt to te sall

baby lying by e s ide e own deat would ean ta t e baby would suely die

too wic w as wy se was so unappy T e king of te de e co foted e and

told e no t to woy tat se wouldnt ave to go ; te net day e iself stoodnea te kings kitcen e looked so etaodinay tat te cooks iediately

infoed te king tat a vey special dee ad coe tat day. Te king ecognied

te king of te d ee and asked i :

" Wy ave you come ee youself ? You s ould ave sent one of you sube ct.

" oday I ave come myself so you c an kill e and eat e"Tis is not igt! You ae suc a wondeful being and you ae te king of te

dee I can't kill you You must go away at once

"No I canno t go beca use i f ave to send all y people in tun to co e to you

and be eaten ten wen y tun coes I oul d also sae te i fate. If you spae

my life because I a te king ow can I deseve y tie and lead my people? ytun as coe today so I must take y esponibility

Te king asked i wat e could do to spae i li fe Te d ee answeed " You

can declae tat fo now on you will no longe equie any dee to coe hee

to be killed You can fobid all te people in you county to unt dee and not

onl y te de e but all ot e anials too All te anis ae like us: te y ae afraidwen tey ae unted to tued and killed If you give tis o de ten aybe I will

go away

Te king was so supised and so oved tat e ageed iediately and

poised to ake tis announceent tat vey day. "Now you can go away!

e said

Cmma

But te deer was still not satised. "Te birds in te sky are as badly treated as


32/162

a a y a a a y a a

te oter animals by te umans e said "So are te ses in te rivers and lakes.

How can I be appy if only te forest animals ar e saved but t e b irds and ses

are still bein g unted ? I do nt want to leave if can only save my people, wile teote r animals are still no t free to live te ir lives appily.

So te kng agreed to issue a royal decree stating tat from now on, in is

contry, nobody wou ld be allowed to unt or s or kll any animal and tat every

livig being would b e free. Ten te d eer tanke d te king and went away.

Now te description continues:

pak me pe u en chen

In te kot of air on top of Cenrezigs ead, tees a small Amitaba.

Amitaba is te Budda of te Padme family. Cenrezig belongs to tis family

and is egarded as te emanation of Amitaba, wic is wy tis small im age i sadorning is ead.

hap ny d or je kyl trung zhuk

Dr me d a war ap t en pa

ap ne kun d ngo wor ur

He is sit ting in te lotus posture , is back resting on a wite mo on disc .

Its te presence of tis being, te embo diment of te Tree Jewels, carged

wit suc deep symbolism and signicance, and all te enligtened beings

enegies, wisdo m and c ompas sion , tat we feel and visu alise on top of our eads or

in font o f us

mmna

Altoug te text doesn't clearly mention anyting about te syllables


33/162

g y y g y

O AN PADE H UN G i t i s generally understood - altoug i t i sn ' t

absolutely necessary tat wen we visualise te deity we also visualise te

mantra in is eart As already reeatedly stressed te main ting in te visualisation is te

feeling. We ave to really feel te resence or te energy or watever you call

it. As in any ealing tecnique it's our own concentration our own trust and

cond ence tat draw te bles sings te ower te osi tive energies o f all te

enligtened beingst as to be clearly understood tat wen mention all te enligtened

beings', tese are not o nly te Buddis t enligtened beings. rom a Buddist point

of view tere i no di erence be tween Buddist and nonBuddis t enligtened

being s. Any being wo as reaced a ig s tage of reali sation , in watever way and

troug watever tradition is considered an enligtened being. You can includeeverybody all te great beings you know about or aven't yet eard about. You

invoke embo died and conc entrated in your visualis ation of Cenrez ig te total ity

of everyting tat is good, osi tive owerful bene cia l comp assio nate and wis e.

Tat is w at you feel !

We don't try too ard to concentrate' in tis ractice We visualise in testyle of a samata or s inay medi tation wic me ans tat we ust let t is gre

tis image or tis resence arise ligtly in our mind and we rest in tat state.

Alternatively we can also feel te energy te oyfulness te goodnes s te bli ss of

te deity and rest in tat feeling. Tat's also sinay.

Cea

If te mi nd is di stracte d and wanders around too muc we can sarpe n te


34/162

p

focus on one particular detail l ike Cenrezig's face or eyes or te letter HRI g ) . Wen te mind is scattered and agitated and we lose control over its

movements tat 's te m oment wen we sould concentrate on a small obect .e smaller te obec t te stronger te concentration i s You can visualise te

mantra or te syllable HRI ) in very small but very dist inct letters as ift ey were written wit a single air . O r if tere is m ental dullness i t elps to

look at som et ing wic is anging and us t about to d rop or fall down ti s

maes yo ur min d m ore alert .As we are conside ring tis p ractice from a devotional p oint of view i t

i s ainly as I sa id in te beginning te feel ing tat matters : feel ing te

warmt te prote ctio n feel ing te tr ust and com fort of aving a friend wo

as te capacit y te co mpass ion and t e wisdom to look after us is feel ing

can be nurtured and sustained during our daily l ife. or instance wen wego to bed we can feel tat we sleep under Cenrezig's protection. rom te

moment we get up we can carry on our daily activit ies i n is presenc e. In tis

way we feel protected and strengtened at every moment and we can better

face d ifficul ties anie ty or feel ings o f fear tis is also an impo rtant as pect

of te practice. We sould understand tat tis is not someting we createartici ally but tat tese posit ive quali t ies are in erent in our very nature in

te Budda nature tat is witin us . ese qualit ies are not separate from us

but can als o mani fest from outs ide.

Cmmt


35/162

Having created te visualisation we ten reci te t is praise :

Jo wo kyn i ma g ku d ok kar

D:ok sang e kyi u la en

Tuk j chn i dro la zi k

Chen re zi la chak tsallo

Tese are te Budda's own words in praise of Avalotesvara wic can befound in bot sutras and ta ntras. T is prais e is s aid to ave eiste d even before te

Budda Sayamuni compos ed it for us. It is a very simple p rayer but it is suppos ed

to be very sacred and to carry many blessings. It can be eplained according to

several dierent levels of meaning but for te moment we can ust stick to te

literal meaning of te wordsJo wo'can approimately be translated as Lord'

n gyi ma g ku dok kar' means : wose wite body as never been stained

by any delement Wite is te colour of purity.

zok sang gye kyi u la gyen' means : (you ave) a perfect Budda - tat is

Amitaba - as an ornament above your eadTukjey chen gyi dro la zik': you look wit comp assio nate eyes at all beings

Chen re zi la chak tsal lo': to you Cenrez ig I prostrate.

We try to develop devotion wile recit ing tis praise as many times as pos sible

and feel ing tat te ligts radi ating from Cenre zigs body carry ing is compa ssi on

and energy really penetrate into us Al te oter beings around us trougout

Cmmt

space, also receive tat energy and are ealed by it


36/162

At tis po int we can add two prayers if we wis Te rst is te seven point

practice o r te Se ven Bran c Prayer t e se con d is a prayer for libe rating bei ngs from

te si realms Tese two are added tey are no t originally part of tis particularsort practice If you only ave time for a very brief practice, you can recite one

prayer and leave te oter or, if you are really too busy, you can skip tem bot

' n n /

Te Seven Bran c Prayer is a mea ns of working wit seven type of prac tice on our

strongest armful emot ions i n order to develop more positive tendencies

Te rst branc isprosraon. Prostation is a way ofsowing respect i t's a token

ofsbm iss ion Wen we postrate we bow down to somebo dy, acknowledging is orer great qualities We sow umi li ty Prostrating is working on our pride troug

developing respect towards oters and sowing appreciation of teir qualities

Here, w e prostrate in a grand way A bodisattva's way of doing tings is always

gand and vast Tis means tat we dont do it alone but wit all oter sentient

beigs alongside us Not only ae we surounded by all sentient beings all over teniverse, we also imagine tat countless duplicates of ourselves emanate from ou

body and ta t al togeter we postrate to Cenrezig and to al l te Budd as of te

ten directions and te tree times Tat means we all prostrate to everybody Te

Buddas of te tee times ae tose of te past and present and also of te future

- wo are none oter tan all te sentient be ings we believe tat eac and every

h mmta

sentie nt being wil one day become a Budda. Te Buddas of te ten di rections are


37/162

tose residing in te east west nort and sout, in te four directions inbetween

and above and beow

Te second branc is making orings. Oering means giving be ing generous ,not olding on or clinging so tis works on our m iserliness and te tende ncy to

ci ng to wat we ave or desir e Of cours e, we can oer watever we want, but

te particular oerings mentioned in te tet are owers incense, ligts, music

and obects we nd pleasant troug te perceptions of our ve senses. Wat we

are clinging to wat we are attaced to, distracted by, and bound by, are actuallyte pleasures of our ve senses - te beautiful tings we see, te fragrances we

smell sweet tastes so tetures and te melodious sounds we ear. We now oer

watever we enoy troug our ve sense s in te form of actua materia belongi ngs

or oerings created in ou r imagination .

Tese practices are bas icay metods for working on our mind wic is wywe oer menta creations as well Buddists consider tat wat really matters is

te mental attitude. t doesn't mea n of course, tat re al oerings are unnecessary

or tat we souldn't give rea tings to oter beings. Of course not; te more we

give te better it is. But te point is tat ere we're working on our mind and,

terefore menta creations do count. iserliness, clinging and attacment arenot necessarily inked to wat we actualy possess. We don't ave to be ric to

be very attaced to our belongings One c an be very ric and ave lots of tings

witout necessarily being too muc attaced to tem. One can also be very ic

and completely attaced to all one's belongings But one can also be very poor and

desperately cling to watever wortless t ings one as . One can even be very muc

mmna

attaced to tings one doesnt ave. Wat we actuay ave or don't ave is not


38/162

wat determ ines our degree o f attacment . t's rater a way of reacting ; it 's a in

our mind. Tis is wy we're ere mainy workng on ou r mi nd an d wy we create a

menta image of watever were attaced to, watever we're grasping at, and tenturn it into an oering. t's a menta eercise o f etting go

Te tird branc is te purcaon, aso sometimes caed te branc of

con fess ion. Oerings and purica tion are two very important train ings tat we aso

nd in te ngondro and amost everywere in Buddist practices Teyre about

beig abe to et go of te good as we as te bad tings we're usuay attacedto. Te confession and purication is an eercise in etting go of te negative r

proematic tings tat we've done or eperienced and are sti oding on to. We

tin k of a te negative actions weve done in tis ife and a our previous ives and

we confess te m ; we fee regret and we resove not to do tem again. And ten we

fee tat we et tem go. We no onge r od on to any of tese negative ting s. T isis the esse nce of purication.

Te fourt branc is rocng. Oering counters attacment, purication

works on aversion and anger, and reoicing works on eaousy and envy. Here

we are reoicing at te good tings tat oter peope ave done or acieved. We

tink of a te good deeds acieved by te sravakas, te pratyekabuddas, tebodisattvas, te Buddas, and a ordinary beings, and we reoice We fee appy

abot wat teyve done and we fuy appreciate te ir goodn ess Very o en, wen

ome oy oes or receives so me ting etter an us, were iseas e. ere, o n te

contrary, we reoice. Tis is aso a very important practice tat soud be appied

in o ur daiy ife.

h Cmmta 9

Te branc is sking the Buddhas to turn the wheel ofDharma and te sit

h d h d T b b


39/162

is requesting them to ive ong and remain in this word Tese brances are about

areci ating te great value o f te Darma and wanting it to last and to sread far

and wide. e as te uddas to continue to give teac ings and guidan ce to us and

to al sentient beings and aso to live long. eacing is te main activity troug

wic a udda els oters because tat enables sentient beings to understand

ow to ractise te Darma and terefore ow to el temsel ves.

Te sevent and last branc is te dediation, wic is a way of saring e

osi tive t ing tat we ave wit all sentient be ings . It is a reminder o f our origi nalbod ici tta motivation of our wis and c omm itmen t to ut an end to te suerings

of sentient be ings and to lead tem all inc luding ourelves of coure to te igest

level of attainme nt te igest le vel of eace. Tat is wy we're racti sing. So now

tat we've done ome osi tive tings and ave refrained a litte from doing negaive

tings ten watever os itive eects we've been able to gater we dedic ate to allsentient beings we ray tat te wole result or fruit of tee activities may rien

in eac and every one of te countless b eings trougout sace. And we include in

our ded ication not o nly te ositive eects o f tis articular ractice but of al e

ositive tings we 've ever done in te as t and even toe we 'l l do i n te future ; we

oer it all to all beings tat tey may benet.Ti Seven ranc Prayer is regarded as an imortant mean to accumulate

wat we call merit' erit is accumulated troug doing ositive tings or

develoing good abits. At rst it 's imortant to eliminate our negative abits

and ecange tem for ositive ones. Later, on a rm bais of ositive abits we

may come to se e te true reali ty te way tings realy are, troug wic we will

3 C

trascend all abits even posit ive ones Tat's ow we can attain enligtenment

H ' b bl d if d ' k i


40/162

However we won't be able to do tat ifwe don't work rs t on our negative patterns

We sould beware of getting too caugt up wit sopisticated pilosopy

becoming fasciated by te ig views' and ig meditations' and overlooking

tis downtoeart aspect of te practice Some people only want to ear about

talk about and attempt to practise te igest teacings: Dzogpa Cenpo

aamudra Zen satori s unyata adyamika and tey're so eloquen t tey can

talk for ours about it - but tey avent caged in te least Teyre prone to as

muc anger p ride and attacment as b efore Tey may assert tat tere is n otingwe can call I ' and te y can disco urse on t e subec t but i f you sligtly provoke

tem tey are up in anger Teyre ust ordin ary people wove et ti s pilosopy

get into teir eads so teyve become all pued up Tey've become completely

ubalanced wit suc big iated eads !

I n aayana Buddis m we always n d tese two sid es o r facets te relative andte ul timate tat ave to go togeter in a balanced way erit and wisdom ave to

be developed simultaneously and support eac oter Te accumuation of merit

elps us to deveop positive ab its tat will create te favourabe environme nt and

circumstances for us to improve our understanding meditation and realisation

Accumulation of merit tus contributes to te accumulation of wisdom In turna deeper uderstandig and greater realisation of emptiness of te true nature

of reality furters te accomplisment of positive deeds because it reduces our

cling ing and sel sne ss It's terefore essential to develop tes e two aspects in a

balance d way

mt


41/162

A N PAD E HUN

ryr fr Lb B Sx 1


42/162

We ten recite te prayers for liberating be in gs from te si realms troug

Cenrezig's mantra.As I eplained in te beginning tis sort Cenrezig practice as composed by

Tagtong Gyalpo o is regarded as t e reincarnation of a nun call ed Gelon gma

Palmo o lived centuries ago in India. Se as born as te daugter of a local

ing but en se got leprosy se as epell ed from te palace. Se b ec ame a nun

a gelongma' or biksuni and se intensively practised Cenrezig. Troug erpractic e se as able to eal erself and se becam e a great master It is said tat

Tagtong Gyalpo compose d tis C enrezig practice and especially tis prayer

for libe rating beings from te si realms in remem brance of is past eistence as

Gelongma Palmo .

Wen e say te m antra e visuali se i t at te eart of Cenrez ig. In te ce ntre"of is e art tere s a

ite HRI it te si syllable s O A NI PAD E

HNG q arranged around it . O () is ite A ( is greenNI is yello PAD q ligt blue E red and HUNG is darkblue. Tese si syllables represent te si wisdoms or te si Buddas' o are in

a ay te si Buddas of te si realms . Visualising tem puri es speci c emotionscorresponding to te specic realms.

Te syllable H UN G ( ) is related to anger atred our incapacity to forgiveour feel ings of urt an d all te emo tio ns tat come from anger and atred . Wen

te prayer mentio ns te ell beings e feel tat dark blue l igt radi ates espec ially

from te H UNG ( ) and di spels all our negative emot ions related to anger atredh Ca

and utful fee ling And we alo feel tat ts s appen ng to all te ot e senti ent

beings tat all tei actions and emotions li nked to ange tat would cause tem


43/162

beings, tat all tei actions and emotions li nked to ange, tat would cause tem

to take ebit in ell ealms ae being completely pacied and puied by te

ligt emi tted by tis lette HUN G

) ee ling tis, we say te manta

Te paye ten mentions te ungy gost ealm', wic i lnked to stong

clinging intense attacment, m iselines, oldng on to tngs witout being able

to sae, give o even enoy tem S uc states of mind ae te man cause fo be ing

bon into te ung gost ealm Wen we ecite te manta we paticulaly

focus on te sllable E ) tat adiates ed ligt and diso lves o pui es - inouelves as well as i n all ote beings - all te emotonal tates of stong clingingand miseliness tat migt cause us to be ebon as ungy gosts t closes te

doo to ti ealm fo all be ing

Te tid ealm, te animal ealm, is associated wit ignoance and elated

states of mi nd dull nes, not knowng co nfusi on and so fot We feel tat a veybigt blue ligt adi ates fom te lette PAD z ) and dissolves all ou ignoace,dullness, obcuity and confusion, all ou unknowing states Tey'e completely

cleaed in us and in all sentient beings t pevents ou being ebon in te anial

ealm and bings u wisdom and complete claity

Te syllable N ) is yellow ts ligt dispels te sueings of bit, sicknessold age, deat and loss tat ae linked wit te uman ealm t comple tely pu este des ie, stong caving and attacment t at ae at te oot of tese s ueings, in

ouselves as wel l as in all ent ient bein g, clos ing te doo to unfo tunate ebi t in

te uman ealm

Te syllable A d ) is geen and its lig t puies wateve ne gative deeds

3 4 Cmmtay

we and all sentient beings trougout space may ave done due to ealousy and

env Te causes and ci rcustance s leading beings to take rebirt in te dei gods


44/162

env. Te causes and ci rcustance s leading beings to take rebirt in te dei gods

realm are tus stopped and puried, and te negative emotions linked to it are

transforme d in to te clear ligt of allaccom plis ing wisdom

Te syllable O () is wite and its ligt dissolves te pide and arrogancetat are connected to te eavenly realms of te gods. Altoug te gods lead

long lives of perfec t pleasure and enoyment , tat migt s eem de si rable to us, tese

sensual pleasures distract tem from any concern about beneting temselves or

oters . Not only are tey not m ind ful of any nec ess ity to practise tey are actuallyeausting te pos itive results of teir previous goo d karma . Even i f gods li ve very

long lives by uman standards, tey are not immortal and te pase of decay

preceding teir deat is very painful. Teir foresigt allows tem to eceive te

unbe arable vision of te m iserable future eistenc e awaiting tem i n lower realms .

Terefore, wen saying te mantra, we feel tat a wite ligt radiates from tesyllable 0 ( ) and puries, in ourselves and oters, all te manifestations ofpride tat migt lead us to a rebi rt in te god real m

Te s ound o f t e mantra itself a s a certain power Akong npoce d id an

eperime nt wit dowsing once, wen e was in Brussels. He switced te television

on and stood in front of it wit a dowsing rod. A dowsing rod twists violentlywen it comes across an electric current, and tat's ust wat appened. He asked

somebody to stand be tween te television set and te rod. T e movement of te rod

became even stronger because te person functioned as an electricity conducto

He ten put a protection' on tat person (some black pills from te armapa)

and te rod stood still: te electricity was blocked and no longe passed troug

Cmmn 5

te person. He took o te protection, and again te electric current owed

troug. Tis person was ten asked to recite te O ANI PAD E HU NG


45/162

troug. Tis person was ten asked to recite te O ANI PAD E HU NG

mantra and as wit te protection no electic current would pass troug i .

Suc tings appen !

Te ain power of te antra coes, of course, fro te dedication prayers

of Cenrezig isel but te power isnt ust contained witin te antra. Its

ecacy also depends on te person wo recites it. It depends on ow uc trust

and condenc e te person as i n tis antra and on tat person's state of ind. If

you're cal and concentrated, te antra will be very uc stronger tan if yourecite i t wit a dis tracted mind . And of course, te antra reci tation o f soebody

wose ind is even clearer wo as reaced a certain level of realisation will be

anoter undred tous and ties stronger. Like everyting in tis world it depends

on any factors . Ti s is wy we sould try as uc as possibl e to say tis antra

in a editative state. We sould let our ind becoe cal and clear, and tenwit out tension spaciously and peacefully reci te it.

Te ibetans usually repeat antras wile carrying on wit teir daily

activities . Te y ust keep te ala moving between te ir ngers and wak aroun d

and wen tey eet soebody else it s " Wat are you doing ? "O y neigbour

is terrible ! And som etimes tey dont even count te beads one by one tey countve or si togeter going on wit teir conversation. One can recite antras and

do all kinds o f tings. However i f one wises to say antras properly ten te b est

way is to recite wit te i nd co pletely focused, wit out any distraction . Net

best is to be distracted in a positive way, or to be distracted witout tinking, but

ust feeling at ease and pea ceful. T e worst is to say antras wile b eing distracte d

3

in a negative way like while bei ng very angry. However maybe don't know

it may be better to be angry and recite mantras than to be very negative without


46/162

y g y y g

reciting mantras !

We should also of course recite it with a good asiration with bo dhich itta

which is the bodhi sattvas asiration to be net all sent ient being s We should trus t

that this mantra has com e from Avalokiteshvara hims elf and that i t carrie s all hi s

blesings as well as those ofall the great bod hisattvas an d Buddhas of the ast. We

shold reci te it with full con dence convinced that through it s reci tation we will

really be able to hel all sentient beings and ourselves So we'e working on thenegative emoti ons o f all sentient beings while remaining ourselves in a clear and

calm state of m ind We visualise and feel - feeling it is the main thing that this

is what haens t o all sent ient b eings while we say the mantra

Te ositive motivation with which one recites a mantra contributes to its

ec acy. A story about Atisha Dipankara illus trates this. Atisha was a most learnedndian Pandit who was invited to ibet in the 1 1 th century. He develoed a

throat probl em due to the harsh ibetan cli mate and the altitude and he could n't

get rid of the infection for a long time. Somebody mentioned a ibetan who

had heled many eole by saying mantras and Atisha agreed to see him. Tis

ibetan man wa s brought in wh o recited the mantras very loudly with very goodintentions; but because he was ibetan he didn't ronounce them roperly

Atisha Diankara was so bemsed to hear the mantras ronounced in such a

completely wrong way that he couldnt hel laughing He laughed and laughed

and he laughed so much th at eventually the infec tious blis te in h is throat burst

oen and he was cured !

he ma 3

Tere's anoter funny story about fake mantras A man once asked a socalled

lama to teac im a m antra However tat lama was ust posing as a lama and dd n't


47/162

p g

actually know anyting Te man was earnestly requesting a mantra and te fake

lama didn't know wat to say Embarrassed, e looked around and saw a mouse

appearing suddenly from a ole in te wall He ten said in ibetan "Pop up

suddenly H e saw te mouse 's wiskers and added " It as wskers And ten as

te mouse ran to and fro searcin g and scratcing around , e added "I t rummages

ere and tere inally te mouse disappeared so e said "It disappears And

ten " Tere you are, tat's te mantra

Te man tanked te fake lama and went away, reciting is fresly learnt

mantra on t e way On is way ome e ad to travel troug a dangerous pla ce

infested wit robbers He ad to camp tere for te nigt and e was terried

Hopin g te mantra would protect im e recited it loudly One o f te robbers

caugt sigt o f im and decided to rob and kll im Te b rigand slowly crawledto te te nt He was ver y near it wen e eard a voice saying " Pop up suddenly

Surprised e tougt te man was aware of is arrival He stopped and listened

more carefully " t as wiskers Tis tief ad wiskers : e now really wonde red

weter te man knew of is presence Ten e started unting about to see

weter e could get old of someting outside te tent and e eard Herumm ages ere and tere By now te ti ef was convinc ed tat ti s man ad

secial powers and knew about is presence and intent ions He was getting really

scared and wonde ring wat to do Ten e ead He dis appears So e ran away

So te fake mantra worked quite well in a way And of course te man wo

recited i t ad total conde nce in is mantra and its ecacy

mta

lV as Cz


48/162

We now transform our own tree doors, tat is our body seec and mind into

te eitys body seec and mind Te tet says :e ar se sol ap pe

Pha pe u le ;er hr

Ma d a le nang hrul she jang

Ch n d e a en hng

Nang ye dr nga sem

Cenre ang u sung u

Nang dra r ong yer me ur

Having rayed to Cenrez ig wo is in front of us or above u s we feel te ligt

rays carrying is blessings and energy entering us and all sentient beings All ourdelements al negativities, al l te mi nd oisons are tus comletely wased away

and uried

Buddi sts be lieve tat all te negative asects o f sentient beings are only

temorary and acquired l ike dust covering a clear crystal Wen dust settles

on a cr ystal it lo ses its c larity and t ransarency b ut if you wie off te dust it isagain i mme diately clear and ure e dust is not ine rent to te crystal ; i t as

no t entered in to it s nature We beli eve tat te basic natu re of our m ind i s ure

awareness and c larity It is te Bud da nature i dent ical to te nature of all te

Buddas It is wat we call our bas ic goodnes s e negativity and defilem ent

are not art o f it tey are te result of a m isunderstanding eres noting

Cmmnt 3 9

wong wit ou actual natue; wat's wrong is te way we peceive tigs

at's te poblem at's wee all ou probl ems - attacmen t aves ion fear


49/162

dualis tic views and all te est - com e fo So we don't ve to do anyti ng at

te level of ou own natue ; we ust n eed to cange ou way of looking

Al te negative emotions come fom a basic isconception a wong

pecep tion tat we call ignoa nce' It's be cause of tis wong peception ta all

te negative aspects aise : te wong abit s and m is taken ways of eacting at

geneate destuctive pattens and all ou poblems and sueings Howeve tis

ignorance' is ust a mistaken way of seeing Tere's noting eally wrong wit

te basis wit ou actual situation Te poble i s ust due to a distoted way of

se ein g ti ngs and not to te way we actually ae It's t e way we perceive ti ngs

and ow we'e conditioned to eact now but it's not ou tue natue So te

mistake can be coected - altoug it 's not easy to do ti s We'e so used to is

way of see ing tat i t's dicult fo us to even i magine a state of be in g tat wouldbe d ieent fom te way we feel n ow It's very di cult bu t i t's not i mposs ible

All t e pactices ae fomulated on t e basis oftis fundament al undestandng

Howeve tis teoe tical backgound is not eplained i n te sadana itsel wic

functions not so muc at an analytical level but ate at a moe pactical and

epeiential level Teefoe ee we feel tat troug te blessings o f Cenezi gand all te enligtened beings ou negative emotons views pattens and

condition ings ae being puried

At te moment at wic all te impure karmic appearances and delusions

ae completely puied we become a Budda We ave unveiled our basc

pue natue te Budda natue and we ten perceive te oute wol as

- Cmt)'

D ewacen' te realm o f Budd a Ami taba and all te bei ngs in tat realm

as Cenrezig or Drolma Our own body takes te appearance of Cenrezig


50/162

our spee c becom es i s mantra and our tougts are Cenrezig's tougts of

compassion and wisdom.

Ti s i s te Va rayana way of practi si ng : using te re sult as te pat' O f

cou rse we can't totally understand o r imagine wat bein g Cenrezig feels l ike

or wat an enligtened being is tinking about but troug our studies and

troug our lim ited knowledge we can imagine wat it m igt be like.

We us t beco me C enrez ig, alm ost as if we let our m ind di ssolve or m ix

wit Cenrezig We don't analyse tis process; tere's no place for tougts

concepts and doubts We ust dissolve into Ce nrezig b ecome C enrez ig feel

tat Cenrez ig and we ave bec ome on e and rest i n tat state. We let our m ind

be' Cenrezig and remain in tis uncontrived nature of our m ind .

Uncontrived' is t e important word ere. We don't man ipulate ou r mind .We ust let i t comple tely be ' restin g in t e most ope n mos t relaxed, mo st natural

state. Te n watever we see is te u nio n of empt iness and appearance togete r;

watever we ear is sound and emptiness togeter and watever we tink is

tougt and emptines s togeter. Here empti ness me ans an absence of grasping

Watever comes, we ust le t it be wit out grasping at anyting We ust let t ingscome and go.

Tis stage is wat we call te selfvisualisation : visualising ourselves as Cenrezig.

mnt + I


51/162

M ta ta


52/162

I t i s at this point that we can recite the mantra OM MANI PAD ME HUNG.

Iside Chenrezig, at the l evel of his heart, we visuaise a ette r HR ( 8 )stading on a at moon disc oating above a lotu owe. It i theedimensiona.In the east, in front of this HRI ( 8 ) , is the letter OM ( . From the Buddhitpoint of view, the east is always the direction in front of the dei ty we visualise, soto the east ofHRI 8 ) means in front of the H RI ( 8 ) .

In the pictures, OM () is uualy repesented above thHRI ( 8 ) becauseits impossibe to paint i t in font without hiding the H RI (8 ). Te OM ( )should normally be facing inwards , that i towards the HRI ( 8 ) . If am the HRI( 8 ) , then I 'll see the OM ( ) in font of me , no t from the back but fom hfront . Te othe etters , MA ( ), NI (f) PAD ( ) , ME ( ) , HUNG are arranged clockwise around the HRI ( 8 ) and, if the manta cices, i t circl santi clocwise . Tere are many med itations in which the letters of the manta aemoving, and when a mantra does move, i t circles anticlocwie. In thi paticulapractice however there's no mention of moving lette s: the mantra i not tun ing- it just shines without evolving.

Whethe a mantra moves o not d iers acco rding to dierent viualiation sin d ierent adhanas. It also depends on whether the main focus is on having themind se ttle down o r on integrating the movement of thought in the pactice. Ifwe want our mind to be very quiet and sett led, then uualy he manta doesn tmove. We dont even think about movement. However, mos t of the time ou

mind is vey active and, in o rder to channel this movement, we can imagine that

J Cmmnt - 3

the manta i evoving and adiating ight It integrates the activity into themedi tation. Movement and immob iit y have dierent puposes and you don'th b d b I h k


53/162

have to be too igid about it I thinkWe can atenate between dieent things, sometimes concentating on

the deity on the eence of Chenezig some imes on the manta, sometimesviuaising the syabes, sometimes jut saying the manta with ou mind cam andeaxed without any paticua focus sometime concentating on the puicationof ou emotions and those of a sentient beings on eceiving the benet an theheaing Sometime we can focus on ou own purication and heaing ometmeson the heaing and the benets we as Chenezig bing to a sentient beins

Tese ae dieent things we can do atenatey We can concentate onwhicheve apect we want. Howeve an this is tue for any manta recitation when we tak about concentation', that concenat ion shoudn't be too stong

too igid o too ceeba. We shoudn't et it happen ony in ou head, but atheget the feeng though ou whoe body ; o thewise we' get a headache !Duing the st haf of ou manta ecitation, we can think about

Chene zig in font of us, and duing the second haf, we can concentate onthe puica tion proce . hat's the usua way, bu t what we actuay do doe sn't

eay matte that much. What kind of med itation o pactice we do at thi spoint actuay depend on what kind of instuctions we've aeady eceived,what eve of actice we've eached

A Mahamuda o a Dzogchen pactitione can appy that udestningthat type of pactice and medi tation hee If we have some uestanding of the

Madhyamika phosohy and the ike, we can so use i t hee If we don't have any

4 Cmm

such instructions or understanding we can practice shinay : we just e t our mindsette down and reax in te feeing that we have become Chenrezig that we are one

i h hi T di di i h d h hi i


54/162

with him Tese are dierent medi tation methods that we can appy at this pointIf we are beginners we can just say the OM MANI PAD ME HUNG mantra

as a kind of prayer and fee that we receive energies and bss ings that competeytransform us

We can aso use the mantra in o rder to work on the six negative emotionsand the six rea ms for ourseves or fo r other peope, in a s imi ar way as duringthe Prayer for ibe rating be ings from the S ix Reams W visua is e each of thesyabes of the mantra with i ts speci c coour preventing peope from beingborn i nto the correspond ing negat ive reams and heping the to free themsevesfrom the reated negative emot ion We then use the mantra as a i be rating andheaing medium

As you can see the same practice can be used at many dierent eves and thisis true ofwhatever practice youre doingTe mantra can be sa id in dierent ways You can sing i t e speciay if you

have a nice tune and a nice voice - otherwise you might drive your neighbourscrazy ! S inging it n icey can be very inspiring You can aso say it aoud sowy and

dis tincty Tere is another way that is compared in ibetan to the buzzing of beesof a beeh ive You can aso whisper the mantra or even say it in your mind withoutany sound

Te sound of the mantra is considered to be very important Whn a highevepracitioner reaches a stage of reaisation that is caed attaining the power of

Dhaani he or she can create a mantra and empower its sounds with bessings

T mm 5

We coud coae the anta to a code or asswod . If give you y asswodfo y coute, you can get into y eai s, for instance . A anta is soeth ingik k th t gi t th d iti f th B dd


55/162

ike a key that give you access to the owes and quaiti es of the Budda oodhi sattva who ceated it. If you have attained t e Dhaani ', you can eowe o ress a sound o sequence of sounds that ecoes your anta and has the owethat you have. If have a owe, then y anta has tat sae owe and I ceate i to othe eoe can ue i t and gain access to the quai ties I have deveoed.

Becaue the sound is so iotant, antas are not tansated ut ae keptin Sanskit . Howeve, a you ay have noticed, the sae anta ounds qui tedieent when ecited in S anskit with a Jaanese, ietan, Tai, Engish, encho Gean accent. Tee ae aso any stoies - ike the one I just eated ofantas woking quite we athough ecited a wong. So how iotant is theound eay ?

As I just entioned, how owe a antra is deends on any tings, notjust on the ounds Its ette to onounce i t coecty, ut the onunciation aoneis not a. I aeady entioned tat to say a nta with good intentions is moeiotant than to onounce it coecty And whie its geneay thought tat acoect onunciation of a nta gives it geate owe, thee are toies showing tat

a anta said incoecty can oeties have oe owe than when said coecty.Sakya Pandi ta, a ietan aste who ived aound the 12' centuy 1 1 8 2 1 25 1 ) ,was not ony a geat schoa ut aso a highy eaised actiti one. Athough he wasneve taught Sanskit, it was the rst anguage he coud seak as a a chid Heecae a geat Sanskit cho a. He used to trave to Indi a to deate with Ind ian

iosohe and he conveted any Hindus to Buddhis .

+6 T Cmm

Once , as he was traveing from ibet to India, he was passing though a deneforest . He coud hear the sounds of mantras emanating fom a over the pace

from the trees the rivers and the rocks He thought that a great practitione


56/162

from the trees, the rivers and the rocks. He thought that a great practitionemust be iving nearby. However, the sound of the mant ra he was hearing was no tcompetey correct and he thought, "What a pity i f this yogi is ab e to give suchpower to an incor rect mantra, how much more powe it woud have if he weresaying it correcty. So he searched around to nd the yogi. Having found him, heintroduced himef, paid his respects, prais ed him for his great achievement andsuggested that he p ronounce the mantra in the right way.

"Youre saying Om bendza chi chilaya' whereas it s uppoed to be Om vajrakili kilaya You shoud change it .

Te yogi then took his phrba, recited Om bena chili chiya; and truck a rockwith the daer It went through the rock as if through butter. He trned to SakyaPanita : "Now, peae, you do the same with kili kiya! But Sakya Pandita did not ty.

Tere are many stories ie this one. I think you even have im iar torie inChrstian ity One such story ingers in my mind, athough I dont emember thedetai s. I think this s tory has been tod by otoy.

A bishop once visited three monks who ived on an isand . Te three monks

were very happy to wecome the bishop. Te bi shop aked them what kind ofprayers they were saying. Te three men answered that they worshipped God fromthe bottom of their heart, but that the ony prayer they knew was, You three, wethree, peae bess us !

"Oh, no ! Tats not the right prayer. You mut earn how to pray propery,

excaimed the bishop.

mfY

With great enthuiam, the three mons begged him to teach them how topray, "Were so gratefu that you have come to teach u. en the bishop taughtthem the Lord Prayer : Our ather who art in Heaven


57/162

them the Lord Prayer : Our ather who art in Heaven .. .Unfortunatey, it a very hard for the three men to earn it by heart. e

bishop, ho as a very nice person, patienty ept on repeating it and spent a longtime teaching them unti , at ast, a of them coud say the prayer nicey. Ten hebid them faree, ent bac to hi s boat and sai ed aay.

e next morning, a he stood on the dec, he sa three uminous points on thehorizon ; they seemed to e moving toards the boat. As they dre near, the bihoprecognised the three mons, ho ere running on the ave. ey ere shouting,"Pease, pease , stop ! Pease te us the prayer once more because e have forgotten .

ite tunned, the bihop tod them that he thought they no onger neededhis prayer and that they coud simpy go on saying their on prayer, You three, ethree, pea e e u. I eemed to e orng just ne.

You can aso hin about or pace the mind on the mantra in dierent ays.You can viuaise a the etter of the mantra as hite or see their respectivedierent coours. You mainy visuais e the six coours hen you try to or onthe dierent emotion and the six reams. Sometimes you can aso imagine all the

dierent, rainoie coours rad iating from Chenrezig, from you and from thehoe mantra.You can repeat the mantra as many times as you ish: one, two, three, ten,

tenty, a hundred maa ; hatever. It ony depends on the t ime you have.When someody does a Vajrayana practice, there are three nds of critera or

standards to estabih that this person ha accompished the practice.

Cmmnt

e best attainment is to actay gain a cer tain eve of reaisation of reaexperience from one 's sadhana practice. So the best way is to practise nti onegets sch reaisation If thats not posibe a certain time imit is set One does the


58/162

gets sch reaisation. If that s not posibe a certain time imit is set. One does thepractice for a certa in ength of time and one can then be regarded a somebody whohas competed' that practice. at's second best. e th ird eve of accompihmentis set by the amont of mantras one has recit ed. For each practice theres a nd ofmin imm worabe nmber of mantras ! e m in imm nmber of mantras forOM MANI PAD ME HUNG i what we ca dr bm' which mean we recite eachsyabe one hndred thosand t ime m tipy thi by the nmber of syabes inthe mantra which maes 600000 mantra in tota If one rec ites 600,000 mantrasone has competed the min imm mantra recitation and one i then spposed to beabe to se thi practice to hep others as we. ere is of corse no garantee thatone has ths reached any eve of reaisation bt i t's a traditiona way of assessingthe average attainment of practitioners.

One conts the nmber of mantras with a maa. Usay we hod the maa inor e hand at the heart eve and we trn the beads between thmb and indextowards s and when we come to the end of or maa we trn it rond. Not goingover the end bead' may hep s maintaining m indfne ; it indicates that we're

aware that we have nihed 108 mantras. Bt if yo don't trn the maa rond Idon't th in anything bad wi happen to yo.Some peope prefer to recite mantras withot a maa. Using a maa is say

a way of sstaining awareness. e maa i tsef is an object of awareness ie thebreathing or any other object of medi tation. If yo're so concen trated and foced

on he meditation that yo don't need a maa it's OK. Bt if yo're not that

9

good, then maybe the maa brings you bac sometimes Tese things cannot begeneraised and shoud be adapted to individua needs

Te obje tive of the practie is not to concentrate excusive on one thing


59/162

Te obje tive of the practie is not to concentrate excusive on one thingand keep ony that one thing in mind Te aim is to deveop a peacefu, cam statewithin which one i aware without distraction One is sti aware of everythingthat is going on and one is ab e to do many things o be ony aware of one singeobject is rather a test of onentration, ike Arjunas archery this is a stor from theIndian cassi c, the Mahabharata

In thi s story, a great master had been teaching the Kauravas and the Pandavabrothers to shoot arrows He organised a test to determine who was his beststudent He put a sma ay gure of a bird in a tree and asked each of his studentsto aim at it Tey were a very good shots

"What an you see ? he asked the rst one " I see the eaves and the bird in themidde Te teaher did not et him shoot He asked the same question to the nextone "I an ee the bird, nothing ese He didnt et him shoot either One of thestrongest students said, "I an see just the head of the bi rd He too was refused theopportun ity to shoot F inay, Arjunas turn came

"What an you see ? asked the master

"I can see ony the eye of the bird, noth ing ese "Now you shoot! Te arrow pierced the cay birds eye, and Arjuna wasprocaimed the bes student

When one is very conentrated, the mind is very focused and one sees onythe object on which the mind is sett ed Tis is good in the beginning, but its not

the whoe thing In meditation, one has to be aware of everything going on, of a

O Cmnty

the ve senses open and reacting bt at the same time mainta in the clar ity and thecalmness In sch a state one shold be able to do several thing withot gettingdistracted, for instance hold the mala and recite the mantra, and not only that bt


60/162

, , yalso play the damar and the cymbals !

Tere are many instrctions regarding the mala for in tance how to ble it ,how to visalise it , how to eep it n icely with some respect

o bless the mala, we r st read the Sansrit alphabet and a certain mantra enwe place or hands one over the other lie the sn and moon - arond the mala,and we imagine that it d issolves en, the mantra appears ot of noth ingnes inthe form of the mala e mala i s no longer a material ob ect bt the garland of themantra itself that circles between or ngers

ere are also descriptions of dierent types of maas Some are spposed tobe be tter than others for certain practices For instance, malas made of bones aresally not ed for the Chenrezig practice Peacefl mantras are preferably recit edwith malas made ofwood, seeds, p recios or semiprecio stone e seeds of thebodhi tree are spposed to be very good for malas

Tere are actally many dierent Chenrezig mantras bt thi s ixyllable mantrais the most poplar and best nown ts meaning can be explained a follows

OM ( ) may be consider ed as the origin of all sond Of corse, it hasalso dierent meanings For instance , the three sonds of which the syllable OM( is made, A, 0 and M, represent the three aya ere are many possibeinterpretations bt sally OM () is regarded as the rst ond or the origin ofall sonds and therefore we nd it at the beginn ing of almost every mantra

MANI means the ewel, or wishllling ewel, and PAD ME, prononced PEME

Tlu, Cmmn 5

y ietans, mean the lotus ower e combiaton of the two can mean eithe thejewel in the lotus or the lotu in the jewel is is one of the names of Avaoitehvara

e MANI ao symol ises compass ion ecause , just as you can get whatever


61/162

y p j y gyou want thank to the wishfulll ing jewel, compassion ring you the greatest

enet you could wish for According to the Id ian legends , there is , omewhere inthis word, a very speia lue gem that can grant you al your wishes I order t getit, you must cro even seas and, i flucky enough, aer many trials , youll arrive on aniland in the midde ofwhich stands a paace where the jewe is guarded y eautifulwomen It's dicut to get in and even more dicult to get out ! I however, youucceed in getting this wishfullling jewel, you should rst wash it seven times ithsea water, then wash it seven times with sweet water, then wipe it dry with si andput it on top o a ole or anner en, if you pray and express a wish , rs t a li ttlewind wi clear the ground of any posile di rt, th en a li ttle rain will settle the ust,and nally whatever you wished or will fall from the sky ats the legend

e wishful ing j ewel represents compassion ecause compassion is hatgives the e t, mot enec ial results or oneself as well as for others Once wehave compassion, we are automaticaly ene ting ourselves and others is is whycompassion i aid to have the same quality a the wishfullling jewel from which

all good things come or all e ingsWisdom is here represented y PAME, the lotus e lo tus is the symolof cleanliness, of what is not tained, not spoi led e lotu ower usually grwsin muddy and sometime quite di rty onds ut, when it looms, the petals of theower are always erecty clean and uns tained, even if it's lossoming in the middle

of the most poluted, unclean area is is why the image of the lotus reresents

52 T Cm

pri ty, which also symbolises wisdom. Wisdom is synonymou with seeing thetrue nature of reality. When we nderstand the true nature of our mind and of allpheomena , then no delement, no negativity, can stain or contaminate us.


62/162

MAN PAD ME are thus the symbols of compassion and wisdom that, lik

the wo wings of a bird, should always be present simultaneouly, complementingeach other.

UNG is the syllable of the heart . It also means I ame whole mantra thus means, I am the jewel in the lous It reminds us of

compassion and widom. When we say this mantra, our mind naturally goes to theessence of Chenrezig, which is unlimi ted compasion and wisdom in un ion.

Originally, these syllables were written in Sanskrit. As the ibetan coldntread Sanskrit, i t was subsequently written in ibetan script. Somtimes however,we stll use the Sanskri t. You may wonder whether there any reaon for viual isingthe sylables in ibetan or whether it s just a convention. Its of course poss ible tose the Roman alphabet to visualise the mantra bu it would look quite d ierentbecause more than one letter is then needed to reprent one whol syllable.Personally, I think its not that nice. Moreover, a great symbolical meaning iscaptured within thei r graphic representation. Its especially true of the letters OM

and UNG ( ) , which are very artistic letter. S o I think it s better to stickto the ibetan o r Sankrit script. I you nd it dicult, why not foget about i t being ibtan and jst consider i t as gures, as drawing ?

ere are only six letters: OM MA NI PAD ME HUNG - it houldnt b toodiult to remember ! I wold advise you to look at a representation ofChenrez ig

and his mantra or to draw it yorselfi n order to memorize i t moe eaily

Cmmnt 5 3

One shoud however understand that this visuaisation is jus t a basis for themind to se tte down. It functions i n the same way as when one is meditat ing onan object or on the breath ing. Te ony dierence i s that the Vaj rayana favours the


63/162

choice of a pure en ightened being that functions as a basis to simutaneousy sette

the mind and deveop positive tendencies. One thus works on two eves at thesame time. Tis mantra recit ation i s the main part of the practice.

Weve now come t o the visuaisation o f ourseves and our whoe environmentas Chenrezigs body speech and mind , which is what we ca the pure vision o rpure perception.

ak


64/162

enlightened state for some time.

We should understand that this practice has two level Te rst correspondto the perception o r the feeling of an outer Chenrezig exiting outside of us Tenthrough the inuence and the blessings of this outer Chenrezig we awaken ourown inner Chenrezig - our own true nature - which is the second level of practice

fwe can carry a lit tle of this understanding into our daily l

chenrezig - the practice of compassion

Documents