Transforming Problem

Teaching at Bodhgaya Meditation Hall @ Bangkok on 9 th November 2007 by Geshe Tenzin Zopa

Good morning everybody! First of all I would like to express my gratitude to this
great opportunity for me to be here, and for everyone to come together to create
positive causes to bring happiness within ourselves, also to live a life in most
meaningful way to benefit other beings in the best of one’s ability. Those who
organized this valuable moment, I would like to thanks them. And those of you
who find your valuable time to come here and try to extract the meaning of your
life by learning the theory of Buddha dharma, I highly appreciate all of you and
your presence here.

I am very happy that your arrangement is organized very beautifully, as the

offering to Buddhas, also to pleased whoever come here by arranging so many
holy objects and beautiful offerings, and you have arranged in very accurate
manner, I am very happy, and I would like to thank you on behalf of all the
Buddhas.

Before we start the session, I would like to brief you on what is happening in
today program here. I will start with a short meditation base on Buddha
Shakyamuni, after that there will be teaching session, then question and answer
session, then I will perform one very powerful purification practice which can also
be called as healing practice. There is one healing goddess called Nam-jom-ba
which regard as one of the emanation of the healing of ten direction Buddhas, so
I will perform this healing practice for those who are healthy and un-healthy. In
short all of us are in this samsaric world, all of us are trapped by the suffering
existence, so whether we are healthy or not healthy we still need this purification
practice to purify our karma and causes of suffering. After that I will offer a
blessing session which include some oral transmission on various mantras. Then
that is the end of today session.

What is meditation?
Meditation is a method or technique to bring peace within one’s mind, and create
positive condition within one’s mind to bring peaceful energy within one’s
physical form, so meditation is a technique of concentration by avoiding
disturbance thought. In order to achieve single pointed concentration on
whatever object that we wish to concentrate, first step it is very necessary for us
to stabilized or neutralized our disturbance and busy mind. So it is always
beneficial to start preliminary practice meditation by using breathing technique to
tranquilized or neutralized our busy mind.

Meditation posture
For that it is very beneficial for us to relax our physical form, and try to sit in the
manner of Buddha’s posture which is cross leg if possible, otherwise whatever
posture you are sitting now with comfortable manner. Your spine should be
straight up like an arrow. If you feel more comfortable with your visualization by
open your eye, it is then ok to open your eye. If not, it is more advisable for
oneself to slightly close, but not completely close your eye, and look down at
your feet or at the front. Then the manner of putting your palm together - left palm
underneath the right palm, and put your two thumb connect to each other, it has
great benefit, then putting your two palm 4 inches above your navel. And your
arm should be wide open, leave some hollow in between. So this is the body
posture. Each posture has different meaning and benefit.

By putting two thumbs together, it connects the method and wisdom energy or
channel together, then there is purpose of achieving the meditation. Wisdom can
refer to the clever mind that realized the true nature of existence. Method refers
to loving, kindness, compassion and bodhicitta. By the union of method and
wisdom through accumulating extensive good causes which is merit, and
purifying negativities which accumulated from beginningless life times, then there
is possibility for us to get into the purify state of Buddhahood.

In order for a bird to fly, you need two wings, one wing cannot fly. So in order to
reach Buddhahood, you also need two wings, the wing of wisdom and the wing
of method. Wisdom is to realized the true nature and true existence of all of us.
Method is compassion and loving kindness. With these two wings together, you
can fly to Buddhahood. 17:20

By having some hollow between the arm, it will brings natural air that will keep us
awake, we will not fall into sleep, it helps, because meditation is a process of
concentration, if we don’t apply the outer conducive environment, there is danger
of falling into sleep.

By putting your palm 4 inches above navel, there is a chakra called tu-mo chakra
where you can generate heat, by placing your palm there, the method and
wisdom energy through the connection of your two thumbs can able to activate
all the different nerves/ channels within your body, it has the natural effect.

The benefit of not completely closing and open your eyes, it is for us to overcome
2 major obstacles for our meditation and concentration. What are the 2 major
obstacles? The first one is excited mind, the second one is dullness or sleepy
energy. By closing your eyes totally, there is a danger of falling into sleep, our
concentration will be ended up in sleeping, that is not correct. By totally open
your eyes, there is danger of distract by the outer disturbance such as object of
attachment and anger etc.

Meditate in the most comfortable posture

These are the general way of the posture of meditation. But still it depends on
individual because some of human beings feel more comfortable to meditate by
walking, or lying on sofa, or with different hand mudra, so in fact it depends on
individual’s comfort, most important is our mind and physical have to remain in
relaxation, without dragging your concentration by your physical sensual. If you
focusing too much on where your hand to put, then your concentration is drawn
by your hand instead of your own meditation purpose, so in this case it is not
right for us to force ourselves to put our hand there. In short we have to make
ourselves comfortable.

So I would like to show you that in this session, everybody please feel
comfortable, if you feel like stretching your leg because after crossing leg is
painful, please feel free to stretch your leg. If you feel like to go washroom,
please stand up and go to washroom. You cannot force yourself especially you
come to meditate on Buddha dharma. Using the technique recommended by the
Buddha, all the practices and advices given by the Buddha for us to actualize into
practice has to do with joyous effort, with lots of happiness and joys, we cannot
force, as long as we force, we are wrong. So you have to feel happy and relax.

Breathing meditation
So now we start with breathing meditation. This breathing meditation is inhale
and exhale, and our mind should concentrate on the sensation of inhale moment
and exhale moment. You can do this for three rounds or nine rounds, or even
many rounds. Here we can do three rounds. 26:20

For this breathing, when you inhale, your stomach should be flat. Normally when
you put more air into the stomach, the stomach get bigger. But during meditation
when you inhale the breathe, the stomach should be flat. Then when you exhale,
the stomach should get bigger. The breathing should breathe from the navel, not
from chest or any other place. And you breathe out as long as possible, and
breathe in as long as possible. This is also stated that it is beneficial to prolong
and strengthen your life, as well as to extract the positive energy to bring better
health. So we will do together here, first inhale then exhale.

(meditation for short while)

Single-pointed Meditation & Analytical Meditation

Anyway today here we don’t have much time, but you can apply this meditation
technique when you go home in day to day life. It is very beneficial to release
your stress, and strengthen your mind, and bring peace to your mind, as well as
it brings more healthier life in physical and mental, and prolong your life. This
meditation even though is simple meditation but it is very effective. The best is
there is nature such as tree or water or plant or flower, even at home if there is a
vase of flower in front where you do this meditation, it is always better with
natural resources. Then there is advice on it is always beneficial for us to focus
on virtue object or holy object such as focusing on Buddha image. After
tranquilizing your mind, then focus on holy object such as Buddha Shakyamuni
holy body, or holy speech, or holy mind. You can train your concentration base
on that.

If you want to get into analytical meditation, then one can apply the meditation by
cognizing the quality of Buddha, or the 84,000 advices of Buddha about all the
suffering within our mind, physical form and existence environment. Also one can
do the analytical meditation base on the omniscience quality of Buddha, which by
abandoning entire faults and suffering, only qualities reside. By admiring the
qualities of Buddha, one can inspire to achieve that qualification within oneself.
So by doing this analytical meditation, it has great benefit of actualizing
Buddhahood by doing great purification within one’s mind and accumulating
great virtue, great merit or fortune to accomplish all happiness.

Meditation on Shakyamuni Buddha

Now we will do the actual meditation base on Shakyamuni Buddha holy image.
You can refer to the altar here, you can look at the holy image of Shakyamuni
Buddha, that is the picture you should reflects into your mind, not just into your
eyes but into your mind. It is like cut and paste into your forehead. Then I will
give you oral transmission on Shakyamuni Buddha mantra. So from our speech
we recite the holy name in mantra form of Shakyamuni Buddha’s name mantra;
our mind we reflect the quality of Buddha. There are these three things: 1) the
clarity image of Buddha holy body, and 2) the verbal recitation of holy name, and
3) mentally reflect on so much respect on His qualities. His qualities is
compassion, so much compassion. All the time, 24 hours, eons after eons only
wish to liberate entire living beings from entire suffering without any
discrimination. He has only that wish by abandoning entire selfish mind.

Benefit on meditation
The benefit on meditating or visualizing or contemplating on Buddha’s holy body
will create positive karma, or good karma, or good cause to achieve Buddha’s
holy body, the omniscient and most purity state of our form aggregates. By
reciting the holy name, one will achieve the Buddha’s holy speech. By reflecting
the qualities of Buddha – the omniscience mind, one will create the good cause
to achieve the omniscience mind. One will purify the negativities or defilement
within ourselves which accumulated since beginningless life times. So just by
doing this short meditation, it can affect ourselves to purify. 39:09

So please repeat after me three times the name mantra of Shakyamuni Buddha:
Tayatha Om Muni Muni Maha Muniye Soha

From now on those of you who has faith in Shakyamuni Buddha have re-
established the great blessing from which connected up to Shakyamuni Buddha
Himself through the oral transmission of this mantra.

Important of Oral transmission

Oral transmission is very important and has great benefit. The reason is that
whoever passed the oral transmission should have the lineage of oral
transmission received from a master who had received from somebody else up
to Buddha himself, who first transmitted down to a master, and passed to another
master without any broken lineage. Just by having the oral transmission from
somebody who possessed the lineage and then practice it within themselves, it
always connect the lineage from the blessing of tying up the mental continuum in
creation of virtue by recitation of mantra up to enlightenment, and this can
become a cause to bring oneself to achieve the holy body and speech of
Buddha. Reciting mantra without oral transmission and with oral transmission,
the accumulation of merit is hundred of hundred of thousand different in benefits.

Just for your information, this oral transmission lineage I received from His
Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and various masters
who has very profound lineage on the Buddha’s teaching.

As I mentioned earlier to reflect on the Buddha’s body, speech and mind, then
we recite this mantra together for 7 times:
Tayatha Om Muni Muni Maha Muniye Soha

Buddha’s teaching is definitely valid

Now we start a short introduction on Buddhism. Buddha dharma exists in this
Southern World since over 2,600 years ago which revived by Shakyamuni
Buddha to whom all of us pray to him and trust his advice and have conviction
and faith in his qualities and blessing. Up to today, numberless human beings,
bodhisattvas, arya beings, solitary realizer, hearer realizer, and divine beings had
actualized the great realization up to achieving Buddhahood by relying on
Shakyamuni Buddha. Therefore it is definite that his teaching is valid. It is definite
that he is enlightened, and it is definite that it has provided the potential to
achieve Buddhahood by every single living being. And by knowing that each and
every single living beings has equal opportunity to become Buddha from having
the Buddha nature which all of us also have.

What is Buddha’s teaching? Buddha’s teaching is summarized into two

categories: 1) Action and 2) View.

The View on Dependant Existence

The view is possessed by Buddha himself, and he lives a life holding that view,
and he teaches his disciples and followers like us to live a life holding that view.
The view which is to reflect on every single existence is dependently existing, it is
lack of truly existence, this mean lack of existing without relying on cause and
condition, it is exists by the cause and condition. There is not a single thing exists
without relying on cause and condition. So Buddha teaches us to have this view
in our day to day life – there is nothing exists without relying on cause and
condition. Every single existence including yourself and possession you have,
including the entire world and entire universe exists dependently, depends on
each other. I exist here in Thailand is depends on you people, you people exist in
this world is also because I am here, so we depend on each other. Children
depends on parents, and parents also depends on children. We called this the
view of emptiness.
Emptiness is not empty space
When we use the word “emptiness”, it doesn’t mean empty like a space, it
doesn’t mean the empty hall or empty space. This emptiness refer to different
meaning than empty. Emptiness is not empty. Emptiness is something like this:
in a bowl fill with rice and flower, the nature of every single rice, flower and bowl
is empty of truly existence, it is empty of not relying on each other, empty of not
relying on cause of the bowl, and empty of not relying on the farmer for rice,
empty of not relying on the flower planter, it exists dependently into this place
and particularly into this bowl in front of me because it is empty of not relying on
cause and condition, therefore it is emptiness because it exists in front of me.

Emptiness mean dependently existence, emptiness mean existence. If the thing

is not exist, there is no emptiness, it become empty. When we use the word of
“emptiness”, there is danger of falling into the two extreme of nihilism and
anihilism. By avoiding the two extremes, one can able to achieve the meaning
which talk about the existence of phenomena. So emptiness means existence.
Anyway I don’t want to go elaborate about this, you can refer to book that talk
about emptiness. Because you will be hearing a lot on this word called
“emptiness”, and there are many practitioners who mislead by grasping
emptiness in the meaning of empty. So what I want to clarify is the true meaning
of emptiness is dependently existence. What is the definition of dependently
existence? It is emptiness, it is not empty.

By understanding emptiness, the benefit is that one will not have clinging mind or
grasping mind. If we obtain realization on emptiness within ourselves, there won’t
be grasping mind on saying “I” – the truly manifested self from its own side, and
there won’t be grasping mind toward outer phenomena such as your possession.
By realizing emptiness on outer phenomena, any kind of possession such as
money will reflect that it is not truly exist on you as a belonging, so if something
happened with the money such as burned by fire, without understanding on
emptiness, you will suffer a lot, but by having the understanding on emptiness,
even if the money is burned, you will think “Anyway, this is dependently
existence. It is due to my karma, and due to fire it burned. So why make myself
hurt so much?” If it is almost like putting a knife in your heart when the money
paper burned by fire, this is because of grasping mind that make you feel in this
way. But if you start to transform your mind and reflect in your mind that it is due
to my past karma, due to cause and circumstances that burn the money, so then
you feel never mind, this maybe create an opportunity for you to have better job
tomorrow which will earn more money. So you will feel relief and will not suffer.

Who is “I”?
This is just an example. The topic on emptiness is in fact very deep, it is very
interesting and very effective. Another example, if somebody come and scold
you, “Your face is very dirty.” You might say, “How come you blame me? How
come you hurt me and how can you say I am very dirty?” Even though it refers to
face but it hurts the ego. The egoistic mind is what we called the self existing
mind but in fact it is not existing. But if somebody scold you or hit your head, you
will say “You hurt me!”, you will never say “You hurt my head!”. Even if you
simply said the word that you hurt my head, but in fact it is hurting your ego, the
“I” is the one who hurt. So in this case through the understanding on emptiness
on the self, the hurting “I” whether is on your head? The head is the “I”? Or the
arm is the “I”? Or your whole body is the “I”? Or maybe the particular cell within
one’s body could be the “I”? If you go to analyze, you will not find the “I” at all.
Within the whole of your aggregates, there is no “I” at all, so now where is the “I”?
And why you get so upset when somebody hurting your “I”. Then you might think
“oh! It could be my mind, the consciousness could be me.” But then why do you
differentiate into two – the subject and object, when you said “My mind! My
consciousness!”. When you talk about consciousness, you don’t just simply say
“Me.” You always refer to my mind, so there is subject and object. In fact there is
two existence but we kind of doubt that it could be one existence. Isn’t it when we
talk about my mind, there is subject of “my” and object of “mind”? There are
these two separate things. So even within the consciousness there is no “I”, no
yourself. You might think that whatever is the case, my mind should be the “I”. If
that is the case, there should be another question: “Because your mind within
one second there is thousand moments of the mind, so then which moment of
the mind is ‘you’? The first one, last one or middle one? If the first moment is the
mind, then how about the middle moment? Or the 10 th moment?” So there is
faults on finding numberless “I” within you, it is not just one. Then it becomes
more complicated that when somebody hurt you, you have to think which “I” is
hurting? The first one or the last one? In fact you can’t find “I” at all, so that is
called the emptiness “I”, this “I” don’t exist but we grasp that it exists there.

The moment we wake up, the “I” is there. Even your name, before you were
born, you are not the person. Let say me, Zopa, before I was born, I was in
womb, at that time there is no Zopa exists. After I was born, my mother labeled
me as Zopa, then after that Zopa exists. And after that my name also changes.
So there is no particular “I” to grasp until it makes you so upset, so down and so
frustrated in life, why don’t you just let go, there is nothing to grasp, accept
everything is dependent, that’s how the meditation on emptiness helps.

Benefit of understanding emptiness

Having understanding on emptiness, it can bring inner peace of mind. And by
being able to accept whatever lifestyle we have, whatever situation occurred in
our life, everything will become so easy to let go. By understanding dependant
existence that there is no fundamental object for us to grasp in any kind of
situation, this is very helpful to energize our day to day life, and it brings inner
peace to our mind through the practice of emptiness.

How to go about understanding emptiness?

So in order to understand deeper level on emptiness, and it is very necessary for
us to study the theory of impermanent and momentary changes, also it is
important for us to understand karmic cause and effect, or karmic law and effect,
and including the teaching on Four Noble Truths, one will then be able to grasp
the actual essence on the teaching on emptiness.

What is the method, or action, or character on Buddha’s teaching? This is

another most important category of Buddha’s teaching - wisdom and method, or
the view and action. The action can also refer to the character or loving, kindness
and compassion.

What is love? Here the love is far more different than the ordinary love which is
expressed by excited mind and introduced by attachment. It is far more different
than that.

True love is Unconditional love

The love expressed in Buddha’s teaching refer to as true love. The meaning or
definition of true love here is the mind which wish other beings to obtain
happiness. This is also called the unconditional love. This practice of love you
can generate to entire living beings. Whether one is able to actualize to provide
this love from you to all other living beings? It is possible.

The first step is one should start loving oneself. Because in Buddha’s teaching, it
advice us to love every being, and oneself is one of the being. If you don’t know
how to love yourself, no way you will know how to love other. Therefore one
should start loving oneself, then provide this love to one’s loved one, then to
one’s family, one’s friend, neighbor, country, human, then all the human beings in
countries, then all the ants, cockroaches, elephant, crocodile and every living
beings. 1:15:18

One should love oneself to liberate oneself into the state of peerless happiness,
everlasting happiness. Therefore one should introduce oneself to the cause
which will bring oneself into peerless happiness. So what is the ultimate cause?
What is the perfect and complete cause to actualize that? It is to benefit all living
being by practicing compassion, loving, kindness, to be a good person, a
forgiving person, a person with so much tolerance and a person with so much
respect. Not even a single moment living a life with a negative thought to harm
other. If one is able to benefit other, do benefit others; if one is not able to benefit
in one’s ability, at least don’t harm others. If one live a life like this, whether one
called it a Buddhist or other religion follower or free thinker, one is a perfect
practitioner on Shakyamuni Buddha’s advice. If one doesn’t practice that, even
one is called as a Buddhist but one is not qualified as a Buddhist.

If one can live a life providing this love in one’s relation, it will definitely be an
everlasting relation, true relation, one can bring all the initial purpose into the
relation – all the happiness. But if one is not able to provide this true love, rather
providing the love introduce by attachment, then even how much one expressed
that “I can give my life for you”, it is just merely word, it doesn’t actualized the
benefit, it doesn’t actualized the happiness in getting into relation. That’s why in
the world there are so many relations break. The purpose is to bring more
happiness, but the moment they get together, it is time to divorce because of
unable to handle each other, because there is no true love.

The practice of true love within relationship such as husband and wife, from the
husband’s side should only wishing the wife has happiness without any return for
his own happiness, only wishing the wife to obtain only happiness. And it is the
same manner for the wife to the husband, then how wonderful the relationship
will be? There won’t be any disappointment and any hurting to each other
because your entire time of having relationship together is to cherish and please
other party, and one will never reflect on the fault of other’s party, but only reflect
respect on other’s party.

The practice of true love contain the practice of forgiveness and respect. So the
best solution to solve the problem in relationship is to practice true love. This
practice can apply within any kind of relation, i.e. couple relationship, parent and
children relationship, organization to organization relationship, country to country
relationship. In every single aspect of relation with other, the best way to achieve
the purpose of unity and understanding, and bring happiness and help to each
other is by practicing true love.

Common & Uncommon Compassion

The compassion that expressed through Buddha’s teaching has two categories:
1) compassion in common 2) compassion in uncommon which is great
compassion. Compassion is the mind, or inspiration, or thought wishing all other
living beings free from suffering. Just now the love is to reside them in happiness,
but here compassion is to free them from suffering. Great compassion is the
inspiration taking by oneself alone the full responsibility to liberate entire living
being from entire suffering. It is to express that by myself alone to take on the full
responsibility to liberate all living beings without any discrimination on them from
entire suffering, so this is the great compassion. This great compassion is a
wonderful thought, mind and inspiration to generate even for a second. It is so
wonderful to generate even one moment in our mind.

Compassion reflect to yourself is called Renunciation

This practice of compassion should also generate to yourself, it is important to
generate compassion to yourself. When this compassion mind reflect to yourself,
we label it as renunciation. Renunciation means renouncing from suffering – I
don’t want to experience any more suffering, it is enough! It is like by
understanding oneself having stomach pain or toothache or migraine which is
Suffering of Suffering, then sometime feel like going for shopping having fun but
it ends up losing so much money, then oneself feel the pain. Or attending the talk
inside here is so cold because of air-con, then feel like going outside to the street
but then it is so hot, or the initial thought has so much happiness by getting boy
friend or girl friend but then end up with so much fighting, or the urge to have
spicy food such as tomyam but at the moment when tomyam get into your
mouth, it is so hot and you need icy cooling water, this is Suffering of Change. It
is not only all these on Suffering of Suffering and Suffering of Change, but our
existence itself is totally suffering. It is polluted and contaminated in the sense
that if you put one small needle here, it is painful, or if somebody twist your
finger, it is painful, or if somebody criticize you, it is painful, or if somebody praise
you and you feel so much ego, and because of so much ego then when
somebody criticize you, you drop down, then feel painful. Somehow everything
go with the existence of me, it is painful. So this is called contaminated by
suffering. By understanding this, we called it samsara, the whole thing we called
it samsara. And by understanding the whole samsara, you don’t want to live a life
like this anymore, you must seek liberation, therefore you must find a path to
liberate yourself, then you learn Four Noble Truths, Buddha dharma, advice of
Buddha, or becoming a good man, then you can be able to liberate. This is the
benefit of reflecting the compassion into you which is called renunciation. And by
practicing renunciation one is able to be free from suffering.
1:32:29

Don’t you think we are in total suffering even we feel good? If you think carefully,
every single moment we are totally dominated by suffering – attachment, anger,
hatred, jealousy, pride and ignorance, all these totally covered us, every single
moment we make mistake. Even we think is correct but most of the time it is
obviously mistake, innately all mistake, obviously also some mistake. In samsara
every action we are 99% dominated by negative emotion, because of that we
suffered. So now we understand, we should gain renunciation within ourselves,
now we must seek liberation.

Without attachment, there is no excitement in life?

At one time I gave a talk to westerner, it was a large number of foreigners from
all over the world, it was about two to three hundred people, so I expressed that
we are in the manner of total suffering which caused by attachment, anger and
hatred, so we must avoid and give up attachment. There were so many people
raised hand and asked, “How can you advice us to give up attachment? Without
attachment, there is no excitement in life, we must have attachment.” But here
you must think – what bring about attachment? What is the result of attachment?
Of course the attachment is an excitement mind, the ordinary senses feel
enjoyable through attachment but then what will end up with the action of
attachment? It is guilty, pain and most important is dissatisfaction, and
dissatisfaction is very painful. Of course when you say to give up attachment, it is
a big matter and you don’t want to give up attachment.

If one can get into relationship without attachment but with full satisfaction, how
loving the lover can be? The state of without attachment is full satisfaction. If one
can live a life in relationship with full satisfaction, how much joy the relationship
can be, how happy the relationship can be.
The object of great compassion which is to reflect toward others, and to inspire
oneself to take responsibility to liberate numberless beings from entire suffering –
Suffering of Suffering, Suffering of Change and the innate samsara which is
called Pervasive Suffering. For this purpose, one needs to gain entire ability and
entire power to do this task. So who has this power? It is only by becoming
Buddha. Then you should practice hard, meditate well, study well, accumulate
merit in great way, do purification on past negative karma. At the moment you
achieve Buddhahood, you can be able to do the job, you can be able to fulfill
your promise –I take on the full responsibility to liberate entire numberless beings
from entire suffering.

Whether one can able to do that or not? Whether one can achieve the purpose of
great compassion or not? It is definitely one can do that.

The reason is that at the moment when you can generate that inspiration, it
already purify so much negative karma, so much unwanted causes for suffering
1:41:36 Therefore the purpose for us to practice is to purify negativity and to
accumulate merit and accumulate causes for liberation. So one should at least
start this practice by generating toward your loved one first – inspiring yourself to
take responsibility to save your loved one from entire suffering. From beginning
one is no way to take on such big responsibility for entire numberless beings, but
one can start with one’s loved one, step by step. You can start practicing great
compassion from your loved one. This is the two important and essence teaching
of Buddha, which is also the essence of 84,000 teaching and advice of the
Buddha. All 84,000 teachings categorized into these two: method and view.

If one wishes to extensively practice method and wisdom into our daily life, then
there is one very effective practice one should practice which is Six Perfection.

In our day to day life if one has problem of being very stingy and miserliness, at
the same time one also has problem with business, gaining wealth, or achieving
profit in life when one lose the job, even one earned lots of money but never
enough, always come and go. So if one has all these difficulties in life, the best
practice is to practice generosity to avoid all these problem and difficulties.

Generosity is the mind of giving and letting go

What is generosity? The mind of giving and letting go. If you have material, you
can offer material to those who needs help; if you can able to provide protection
to those who needs protection; if you can able to provide dharma to those who
needs dharma, but if you don’t have all these three, at least you can generate the
mind of giving. You think: whatever I have, it is to share with others, it is for those
who needs it. This is the mind of giving and letting go, not grasp on it. This is one
of the most effective practice to generate wealth and prosperity in life.

Morality is the cause of earning respect from others

Every human being, especially normal human being like to earn lots of respect
from others, so if you have problem in earning respect, meanwhile receiving lots
of criticism or blame from others, the best solution is to practice morality or ethic.

Patient bring beauty into oneself

If you wish to live a peaceful life by overcoming all enemies, all harsh word, all
physical and mental harm by other, at the same time to earn the most beautiful
and respected aspect of yourself, it is to practice patient.

Joyous effort achieve qualities of Buddha

If one has problem to achieve what is suppose to be achieved such as good
quality of becoming Buddha, and one always get into the failure by laziness or
dullness, and because of laziness one fail in business or practice, then one
should practice joyous effort.

Concentration bring inner happiness

If one has difficulty to concentrate on one’s work, relationship, or spiritual path, or
if student who has difficulty to concentrate on examine, homework or study, and
if one wishes to gain the inner peace of concentration, the inner happiness which
can bring from the concentrated mind that can remain single pointed blissful
manner for hour and hour, days to days, eon to eon, so without obtaining the
concentration mind, there is no opportunity. And in order to obtain entire
happiness, especially the mental happiness, one should practice concentration.

Wisdom eradicate defilement to enlightenment

If one has obstacle of being so ignorance – do not know what is right or wrong,
what to cultivate and what not to cultivate in both mundane and spiritual life, then
one should practice wisdom which has the benefit including eradicating the
defilement up to enlightenment.
(#1 end here)
(#2 all puja)
(#3 begin here)

25:24
Here I would like to offer oral transmission of this booklet. As I mentioned in the
beginning of this session on the important of oral transmission, and in order to
give oral transmission, one needs to received it from whoever has the unbroken
lineage so that one can able to give the great benefit on recitation of mantra, so
the practice itself can become the knot which tied up to enlightenment or
Buddhahood by developing the inspiration. So for your information, the lineage I
have is from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in case any of you wish to perform this
practice to give to other for the great benefit of different purpose which
mentioned here, so it is always good and important to know which lineage you
are following, and you should remember this.
In order to develop compassion as well as to generate the activity of compassion
to benefit other, there is a very powerful practice to relate which is the
Compassion Buddha who is the emanation of all the Buddha’s compassion.

You can feel comfortable on the lineage and practice relate to His Holiness the
Dalai Lama because he is the non-sectarian practitioner in Buddhism. He
cultivates the Hinayana practice, Mahayana Bodhisattva practice and Tantra
practice. And he respects all other religions, he is a practitioner who has
successfully achieve all realization. Therefore many of you here who practice
Thai Buddhism which His Holiness has great respect, and he himself cultivate
Theravadan practice too. In fact His Holiness respect so much to Theravadan
practitioner as an older brother, he always expressed it is like younger brother
respect the older brother, and Theravadan practitioner is like an older brother.
Whenever His Holiness holds teaching, if there is any Theravadan venerable
sangha there, he always request the recitation of refuge in Pali language first,
and after that he continues his prayer in Tibetan. Because he born in Tibet, he
wear Tibetan sangha robe, and he practice Tibetan Buddhism, but there is no
different in essence and in purpose within different Buddhist sects, the purpose is
to become Buddha.

And what do we practice? We practice loving, kindness, compassion and

respect, and we cultivate entire teaching and to gain realization. If we don’t
practice Hinayana, how do we become omniscience mind? Hinayana is existing,
omniscience means all knowing mind, if we don’t practice Hinayana, how do we
become Buddha? If we don’t practice Tantrayana, how do we become Buddha?
This is also existed practice. It is important for us to have the knowledge in other
religion also. The purpose of religion is to bring happiness and good community.
But practitioner make mistake in every religion, including Buddhist, so it is
practitioner’s problem, it is not Buddhism problem. It is the same to other religion,
they have all the good part, good purpose and good aim, but practitioner makes
mistake. Therefore we all have to come together to be the good practitioner of
Buddhist, good fellow of Buddha Shakyamuni, we have to be the best public
relation to Buddha dharma, we have to make ourselves the example on how
compassionate we are, how loving we are, how caring we are, how respectful we
are, how gentle and glorious we are, the smiling face, even if we don’t smile on
face but the heart is pure and people can see the smiling face in us. Even if we
smile but inside is so negative, people will see it as evil. So the most important
thing here is inside has to be pure, relax, appreciate your life, this is so important,
otherwise we better don’t call ourselves Buddhist, there is a danger of pulling the
Buddha’s leg down, this is no good.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s book is the most reliable books
Even for books, normally I recommend to people His Holiness’s books for those
who wish to learn more about Tibetan Buddhism. Some practitioner has wrong
conception on Tibetan Buddhism, some practitioner has wrong conception on
Hinayana Buddhism, some has wrong conception on Mahayana Buddhism, all
these Hinayana, Bodhisattvayana and Vajrayana are Buddha’s teaching. All
contains the same purpose, it provided by Shakyamuni Buddha for different
capability of practitioner. Therefore it is so important for us to learn and study, so
His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s book is the best recommendation. He taught
Hinayana teaching, Bodhisattvayana teaching and Tantrayana teaching. His
book is very easy to get in any book shop. They are the most reliable book.

Nowadays there are many new scholar who straight away start to write book,
sometime they become sectarian which is not healthy and not good. If you are a
good Hinayana, you will respect the entire Buddha’s teaching, it doesn’t matter if
it is Tantrayana or Bodhisattvayana. If you are a good Bodhisattvayana
practitioner, you will respect Hinayana and Tantrayana teaching. If you are a
good Tantrayana practitioner, you will respect Hinayana and Bodhisattvayana
teaching. As long as you become sectarian, and teach to abandon one part of
teaching, this is a sign of something wrong, so I would like to just take this
opportunity to alert you. Thank you. 38:04

(oral transmission start…)

Compassionate Buddha
Please kindly repeat the mantra three times, visualizing Shakyamuni Buddha in
the aspect of Four-Arm Chenrezig in the picture here. Shakyamuni Buddha is the
one who manifest all these different aspects of Buddhas, so the sole refuge is
Shakyamuni Buddha. Sometime there are many different deities display and we
forget Shakyamuni Buddha, that’s wrong. Our main refuge and focus is
Shakyamuni Buddha. Even though you practice Compassionate Buddha but you
should reflect Shakyamuni Buddha in Compassionate Buddha. If you are
practicing Dzambala for wealth, you should reflect Shakyamuni Buddha in
Dzambala. Whatever deities you practice, Shakyamuni Buddha should be there.
Even you are placing any holy object at home, Shakyamuni Buddha should be
the main one.

Now you put palm together and recite after me:

Om Mani Padme Hung

Green Tara
Green Tara is the manifestation of the essence of activities of all ten direction
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. So whatever activities like the mundane activities or
spiritual activities that you need to accomplish, especially like you are not getting
job, or any project is not successful, or you wish to accomplish the practice of
compassion but never gain any compassion, or you wish to make better
relationship with your partner but it never happen despite how much effort you
put, then the mantra you should recite is Green Tara mantra.
Whenever you recite the mantra and derive the blessing, it is good to do a short
meditation with clear visualization on the image of Tara, and radiate light from the
holy body. The common light is golden light bright shining, and together with
nectar like sunflower oil radiates toward you. You can visualize it entering
through your crown, and the moment it touches your crown, you should feel bliss,
and it totally purifies whatever discomfort and negative karma done by physical
form, then obtain the holy light clean clear crystal form of Buddha. At the moment
when the light and nectar touches the throat, it purifies entire negative karma and
discomfort of all negativities of speech that accumulated from past life time; and
at the moment the light and nectar touches your chest, it purifies all the
negativities accumulated by the thought or mind, and accumulate the karma to
actualized omniscience mind. Then the whole body completely fill with nectar and
light, and you should feel great bliss and remain in that blissful manner through
your concentration for 1 minute or 2 minute, 1 hour or 2 hour, some practitioner
can remain that for day to days, this is also very good for health, purification and
healing practice.

Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha

White Dzambala
White Dzambala mantra is very effective to increase wealth and prosperity. He is
the manifestation of Kuan Yin, or Chenrezig. You can create a wealth corner in
your house by putting a small statue on a plate, then you pour water or nectar
onto the crown of Dzambala while reciting the mantra, this is the practice relate
to Dzambala, either Yellow Dzambala or White Dzambala. Another practice is
keeping the wealth vase. There is a vase created by various ingredient such as
five medicinal herbs, five precious gems, Dzambala mantra and image, and four
dakinis of Dzambala’s mantra and image, five different kind of grains, all
auspicious signs, such and such ingredients that need to include. After having
the wealth vase, then you need to create wealth cabinet in wealth corner, it is
also very effective to generate wealth. But easier is to host small Dzambala
statue and offer nectar on crown. The size of statue is not a matter, it is up to
you. If you have any finance problem, it is every effective to do. Then you recite
Om Dzambala Dzalen Daye Soha, you are pouring water but in your visualization
you should visualize pouring nectar, and even though you are offering in one
spoon, but you should visualize offering ocean of nectar on crown. This is the
practice provide by Compassionate Buddha for us to accumulate cause for
wealth.

Om Pema Drodha Arya Dzambala Hrih Daya Hum Phet

Here I would like to give oral transmission on Yellow Dzambala also:

Om Dzambala Dzalen Daye Soha

If you cannot afford to get a Dzambala statue, just by reciting the mantra it has so
much benefit. Whenever you have financial difficulty, just by reciting the mantra,
it has so much benefit.

Medicine Buddha
Medicine Buddha is a Buddha manifested in the essence of all ten direction
Buddha’s healing energy and power. Even though we say all buddhas has equal
power, but due to sentient being’s karmic affinity, by making prayer to Medicine
Buddha, it has swiftest effect to derive blessing to heal the suffering of
sicknesses.

Tayatha Om Behkanze Behkanze Maha Behkanze Behkanze Radza Samudgate

Soha

White Umbrella deity

White Umbrella deity manifested as a protection especially for traveling, if you
feel visible or invisible hindrances, especially robbery, black magic, charm etc,
whatever fears that you have, you can recite this mantra:

Tayatha Om Anale Anale Kasameh Vale Vale Someh Someh Sarwa Buddha
Abhishana Abhishitey Soha

Om Sarwa Tatagatha Uhnisha Sidartha Barthey Hum Phet

Om Mama Hum Ni Soha

Manjushri – Buddha of Wisdom

Manjushri is a deity who manifest in the essence of all ten direction Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas’ wisdom, especially those who are students, in fact all of us are
students until we achieve enlightenment or omniscience mind, so we need
wisdom to learn what is virtue and non-virtue, then to cultivate in virtue action.
And innately we need to cut the root of all faults which is ignorance, so wisdom is
very necessary, so you can recite this mantra:

Om Ahra Badza Na Dhi

For those who has short memory, like those who can grasp a lot but forget very
easily, you cannot restore memory, there is great benefit and effective just by
recite the last syllable DHI, you can recite like this:

Om Ahra Badza Na Dhi dhi dhi dhi dhi dhi dhi……..

Recite this as much as you can, especially in early morning, then whatever you
learn, it can remain in your mind.
59:29

Shakyamuni Buddha
Shakyamuni Buddha mantra is the essence of all the mantras, he is the
emanation of all teaching and all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas. For whatever purpose,
just by reciting his mantra, he is the greatest protection. His name mantra is the
sole refuge, so you can use for any purpose.

Tayatha Om Muni Muni Maha Muniye Soha

White Tara
There are 21 manifestation of different Taras, White Tara is specially manifested
to those karmic being who wish to live long, and who wish to clear the obstacle of
unwanted and untimely death, such as sicknesses or whatever that obstruct you
to live long, so to recite White Tara mantra is beneficial for longevity.

Om Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayur Puneh Gyana Pustim Guru Soha

Powerful mantra to purify ordinary substance

In order to actualized whatever food you eat and whatever drink you take, and
whatever beautiful object you see or whatever beautiful sound you hear or
whatever beautiful clothes you wear, the entire existence you can make offering
to please the five senses of Buddha in order to accumulate extensive merit and
do great purification. Here is a very powerful mantra with just three syllable: OM
AH HUM.

The moment you see beautiful object, you offer to Buddha by chanting OM AH
HUM three times. Whatever food you eat, you offer to Buddha by chanting OM
AH HUM, then you eat. Before drink, you recite OM AH HUM three times, then
you drink. The mantra has power to purify ordinary substance and create into
nectar substance, also to create vast and infinite nectar, OM AH HUM has that
much power. Also if you feel uncomfortable in any circumstances, you just recite
OM AH HUM three times, it is also very effective mantra to cleanse the ordinary
obstacle or negative energy, it will creates the negative energy into positive
condition for you to be happy, practice dharma etc. So OM AH HUM is very
powerful mantra.

OM AH HUM

So I would like to conclude the session here. Thank you very much!

1:05:30

Transcript prepared by Ven.Osel of Losang Dragpa Center on 7 th Jan 2008.