This was taught by Manjrushri to Nagarjuna.

Method One

To create the dependent relationship:

If you are traveling toward the East, hold in your hand a (curved) knife and swing it three times toward the East.

If you are traveling South, fill up a container of water in the southern direction and then start your journey.

If you are traveling West, light some incense, even matches (fire), hold it in your hand and move it in a circle.

If you are traveling North, hold one handful of earth and then throw it to the North and circle a knife in the air. This stops inauspiciousness.

When you leave, if you see a limping dog you must delay your journey.

If you travel on the Tibetan dates 2^nd, 6^th, 8^th, 12^th, 14^th, 16^th, 18^th, 20^th, 24^th, 26^th or 30^th, these are tritsong, which means if you travel on these dates some difficulties may arise.

Never build a house on the Tibetan date the 6^th. Generally, stop if there are any bad signs or inauspicious things happening.

Method Two

Put iron in the East.

Put water in the South.

Put fire (incense) in the West.

Put earth in the North.

Place twigs, plants, etc., with each substance in each direction.

Instructions to Accomplish all Success

This practice is in case you have to do something on an inauspicious date or astrological time. This is the practice to pacify the shortcomings of time, date, star, and so forth, and to accomplish success. Remember the buddhas and bodhisattvas who are in the direction where you are going. Put your palms together and recite:

I prostrate to the Three Rare Sublime Ones (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha).

I prostrate to the Tathagata, Enemy-Destroyer, and the Owner of the Date, Star, and Moment.

TADYATHA NAGA DRE NAGAPATI SARWA TITI MUHURTATI NAGA DRA NAMA SADUNTE NI BAWENTU SVAHA (3x)

Recite this three times. Then all your work will succeed.

Working on Projects on Inauspicious Days

All of these prayers are to be recited when it is an inauspicious day, or astrological time to build a house, start a project, start a business venture, travel, etc.

• Recite the Heart Sutra.
• Make prostrations to the Buddha Amoghasiddhi.
• Make prostrations to the possessors of the days, momentary stars, and momentary beings (devas of the days, stars, and momentary beings). These are not ultimate objects of refuge.

Recite the following prayer:

Prayer to Counteract Obstacles

I prostrate to the Buddha Amoghasiddhi.

I prostrate to the possessors of the days, momentary stars, and momentary beings.
[Devas of the days, stars, and moments are not ultimate objects of refuge.]

CHOM DÄN DÄ DE ZHIN SHEG PA SANG GYÄ DÖNYÖ LA CHHAG TSHÄL LOTSHE DÄN GYU KAR YÜ TSAM GYI DAG PO LA CHHAG TSHÄL LO

All the days are virtue, all the stars and planets are good (positive), all the arhats have ceased delusion, and all the buddhas have great merit of power. May all the earth not be disturbed.

OM AH KANI NI KANI ACHILA MANDALE MANDALE SVAHA

By reciting the above prayer and mantra, one eliminates any obstacles to starting a project or traveling.

Astrological obstacles and obstacles arising from superstitions will be eliminated by reciting this mantra and prayer from the yoga of the Ocean of the Supreme Bliss Dakini, who keeps a pure mind and cannot receive harm from inauspicious planets, inauspicious days, and those who bring obstacles. All the yogis who keep this will become non-superstitious (in emptiness) and thus will be immune to receiving harm from all the inauspicious stars and interferers who bring obstacles.

Other Practices to Eliminate Obstacles

Most of these practices are not yet available in English, or as Tibetan phonetics. For those that are not currently available, please contact a qualified geshe or lama for advice on how to acquire and perform these practices.

• Read the text Ngangja Ngang gye, “The Eight Appearances (Beings) of Sky and Earth”. If there is no time to read the text, then recite the above prayer and mantra, which is the essence of the text.
• Read Nyepa Kunsel, “Eliminating All the Faults”, as well as reciting the relevant mantra and performing the appropriate ritual.
• Perform the tea offering De gyä ser kyem, “Tea Offering to the Eight Groups”, making offerings particularly to the eight groups of worldly beings.

One can also do Chha sum, “The Ritual of Three Parts”. The tea offering prayer is very important to do before building or taking down a building or before travel in bad or violent weather (tornado, etc.) It is a very simple short prayer that you can finish in two minutes, or maybe you can even do it in one minute. By doing this practice you can prevent huge, terrifying destruction, like airplane crashes, terrifying weather, things that destroy whole cities within an hour. If people who take refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, particularly Tibetan Buddhists, use these methods, by just taking a few minutes to recite the prayers, it can help stop these massive problems connected with the weather, etc. All these problems that cause billions of dollars of damage, that cannot be stopped by Western scientific knowledge, can be stopped. But, of course, it depends on the person who makes the prayers. It can be done by a man, woman,lay person, ordained person, by anyone. If the person is more pure—living in samaya, living in the pure vows—and if one has realizations of emptiness and bodhicitta, the good heart, then the prayer or mantra will have a greater effect.

Other Texts to Recite

• Tashi Tsegpa, “A Heap of Auspiciousness”. This is particularly for travel and success.
• Chhog chüi Münsel, “Eliminating the Darkness of the Ten Directions”. The minimum one can do if traveling and there are obstacles, or it is an inauspicious time, is to read this text.
• If you are traveling on these days, recite Chhog chüi Münsel and recite Ngangja Ngang gye. Put your finger for a while into a vase of water and turn your finger three times anticlockwise.
• Dag pa ser gyi do thig, “The Pure Golden Line Sutra”.