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Prayer to Guru Rinpoche to Remove Obstacles

DÜ SUM SANGYE GURU RINPOCHE

Precious Teacher, the embodiment of all Buddhas of the Three Times:

NGÖ DRUB KÜN DAG DE WA CHEN PO’I ZHAB

To your lotus feet of Great Bliss, possessor of all spiritual attainments,

BAR CHED KÜN SEL DÜD DÜL DRAG PO TSAL

Clarifier of all obstacles, Düd¬dül Dragpo Tsal,

SÖL WA DEB SO JIN GYI LAB TU SÖL

I pray that you will grant me your blessings.

CHI NANG SANG WA’I BAR CHED ZHI WA DANG

Pacify all outer, inner and secret obstacles, and

SAM PA LHUN GYI DRUB PAR JIN GYI LOB

Grant blessings that all my wishes may be spontaneously accomplished.

OM AH HUNG BENZAR GURU PEDMA SIDDHI HUNG

A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life

by Shantideva

Chapter One: Benefits of the Awakening Mind

#5

Just as a flash of lightning on a dark cloudy night

For an instant brightly illuminates all,

Likewise in this world, through the might of Buddha,

A wholesome thought rarely and briefly appears.

#25

This intention to benefit all beings,

Which does not arise in others even for their own sake,

Is an extraordinary jewel of the mind,

And its birth is an unprecedented wonder.

Stupas

An excerpt from a teaching by H.E. Gochen Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche at Kunzang Palyul Choling in Sedona, Arizona on May 14, 2003. Tulku Sang-ngag is a renowned Stupa Builder and Vajrayana master. In addition to the many stupas he has helped to build and consecrate in the US, Kunzang Palyul Choling was very fortunate to have Tulku Sang Nang guide the construction of the Amitabha Stupa, to consecrate it, and to teach on the meaning of a stupa to the Sangha.

The enlightened mind of the Buddha

Before offering this Dharma teaching on the meaning of the stupa, I would like first to offer homage to the Three Jewels – the Supreme and Unsurpassed Guide, the Buddha; the teachings that the Buddha taught, the Holy Dharma; and the followers of the teaching, the Sangha. I offer homage to those three. And then to the Unsurpassed Guide, my personal teacher, who is the embodiment of all of those three in one single form. I am offering this teaching on the meaning of a stupa in accord with Jetsunma’s wishes.

That which is known as a stupa is called a “chorten” in Tibetan. A chorten means a receptacle of offerings. A stupa actually represents an outward expression of the Buddha’s enlightened body, speech and mind. First of all, we have the Buddha’s mind. The Buddha’s mind is such that it is non-composite phenomena. It has neither shape nor color, but it is all knowing. It is cognizant and lucid and yet you cannot identify it as being anything whatsoever. The Buddha’s mind is unelaborated cognizance.

In order to address the predicament that all sentient beings find themselves in, to tame those beings and bring them on the path to enlightenment, the Buddha has manifested in two specific forms in an effortless manner. In a non-artificial and natural manner, he manifests in two types of bodies. That state of the pure potentiality of enlightenment, that is the state of being a Buddha, is something, which is beyond any kind of representation. It is beyond having color or a shape or a size or any kind of form. That authentic state of enlightenment, which is yet to manifest, is the genuine stupa. It is the genuine stupa of basic space, “cho kyi ying,” which means the sphere of Dharma, the sphere of pure potential. That is what is known as the authentic stupa before the onset of manifestation. It is the potentiality. It is the actual state of enlightenment that we are talking about before it is actually manifest.

The state of basic space, the Dharmadhatu, manifests a display of appearances, which are spontaneously present, complete, and perfect. Because that basic space is an unhindered display of dynamic energy, a variety of stupas manifest in the four directions in order to benefit beings.

The state of the Buddha’s mind is such that it has the 32 qualities of enlightenment. They are the ten powers and the ten states of fearlessness and so on. Those 32 qualities of the enlightened mind of the Buddha manifest outwardly as the 32 characteristics of a physical stupa. They are actually a physical representation of those internal qualities of the Buddha’s mind.

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche called “Meditation”

The samsaric sufferings we experience are the result of non-virtuous actions of the body, speech and mind. For example, if somebody performed a negative action, such as killing, for instance, then the result based on that action, the reaction or its ripening Karma, is for the person’s life to shorten. And in the next lifetime he may be born in the hell realms where he has to suffer the result of the Karma he created. Similarly, if someone thinks that in this lifetime they could obtain material possessions by stealing or robbing, like a rat who steals all kinds of grains, such stealing ultimately ripens its fruit so that in the next lifetime, or maybe in this lifetime, this person may actually not have enough wealth and become very poor. Even the physical body’s negative actions, such as sexual misconduct, have negative results. This can be that within one’s lifetime, or in the next lifetime, one’s family will not be in harmony and will suffer quarrels and fighting. Similarly there are four negativities of speech, which are known as lies, interferences, harsh words and gossip. From these are certain negative results that one experiences, such that whatever one tries to tell, people will not believe. Even when one tries to say something beneficial it will seem like one is trying to harm somebody. Likewise with the three negative mental actions: Greediness, thoughts of harming others and wrong views. Based on these, one will not have success whatever one tries to do in this lifetime or in future lifetimes, one will experience a lot of harm from other beings, one will be unable to remain together with one’s masters, teachers or good friends and so on. These are examples of the ripening of negative actions.

So understanding all these causes and conditions are based on the actions of our body, speech and mind, we should then try to abandon all the ten negative actions and try to train ourselves so that our mindstream flows with the spiritual path. Then one can practice and accumulate all the virtuous activities. The teachings say that if one follows the worldly aspect of the Dharma practice, with good or positive behaviors, that naturally turns into a spiritual path through which one can have peace and happiness. In this way, with our bodies, speech and mind, in whatever conditions of life, it is very important to try to benefit others and have loving kindness toward everybody.

The following is from a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

May all sentient beings be fully satisfied in both relative and ultimate ways. May all who hunger and thirst for pure and deep Dharma be fully satisfied. May all who pray for more have twice as much. May all who crave what belongs to others have twice that, and all causes accompanied by all qualities and activities. May all who suffer in any way be mine to bear. OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA! In the three times, to the three jewels, I dedicate all merit. To Palyul I dedicate. To haters, to the sick, to the poor, to the planet in peril, to animal rescue. Gratitude.

And of course, the Root of all accomplishment…Tsewei Lama Kyabje Third Drubwang His Holiness Pedma Norbu Rinpoche, Padmasambhava Himself as he found me again!

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. All rights reserved