Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis

Advice for Multiple Sclerosis
Date of Advice:
October 2013
Date Posted:
May 2021

A student with multiple sclerosis (MS) asked Rinpoche what to do.

My very dear, most dear, most precious, most kind wish-fulfilling one,

Thank you very much your kind letter, I am sorry it took eons, eons, eons to reply to you. I am very sorry for that. Here is my reply.

It is very good it you recite this text every day, The Dharani Called “Possessing the Attributes of All the Buddhas”. The motivation should be to benefit all sentient beings who need to be read that text.

There is one puja that comes out best for Khadro-la to do for you. I can try to request, but I’m not sure if Khadro-la will be able to do it, so if you ever meet her, please also request her to do it. The puja name is mamo trü kang.

The most important thing is to read the Diamond Cutter Sutra. If you are not able to finish it in one day, you can continue the next day. Read this generally in your life; it is a most powerful purification and you collect extensive merits. 

Sometimes you can also read the Golden Light Sutra, but mainly read the Vajra Cutter Sutra.

These medicines/precious pills came out for you. I can post these to you if you want:

  • Moon crystal precious pill: Take two each week for two weeks.
  • Mani pill: Take every day. These are very good to eat.
  • Rinchen yü nying: Take two a week for four weeks.
  • Kün khyen:Take one pill each day for two weeks.

Print the Amitayus Long Life Sutra 250 times.

Regarding your request for me to be your guru, I will try my best if you try your best, but I am not a qualified one.

With much love and prayers

Practices for Multiple Sclerosis
Date Posted:
August 2013

A student with multiple sclerosis also believed she had received spirit harm. No matter what practice she attempted, including lamrim meditation, she was unsuccessful. She felt empty, lonely and lost, and felt her time was limited, however, she wanted to teach Dharma basics to her three children before she died. She asked Rinpoche for advice on how to proceed.

Dear one,
In response to your request for advice regarding what to do so you can live at least five more years in order to learn and practice Dharma, I am sending you the following advice. The specific materials, protections, water, etc, will also be sent directly to you.

The pujas which need to be done for you are gyab shi (the main one), she nyin dü dog and chag sum. Request Geshe Ngawang Drakpa from the San Francisco center to do gyab shi for you, however, I will perform the remaining pujas for you.

These things will be coming in the mail to you:

  • The yellow cloth square is a protection which you should wear (usually around your neck).
  • The pills in the white envelope should be put in water. When washing, use this water, especially over your head. Think that it is holy and blesses you, purifying sickness, spirit harm, negative karma and defilements.
  • The Most Secret Hayagriva incense should be put on charcoal and burned, then you can breathe the smoke, waving it towards yourself.
  • There is also blessed water, which can be sipped from time to time.

Finally you should release/liberate 130 animals. Follow the instructions according to the book Liberating Animals [available from FPMT Foundation Store.] Have as many pictures and tsa tsas on the circumambulation table as possible, at the same level as the animals you are carrying around. Bless the water by chanting mantras, then blow on the water, and sprinkle it on the animals, in order to purify them. You should also recite mantras loudly to them for purification. You could also join the Sangha at Rinpoche’s house in Aptos and do the mantras there, if that is easier for you, or do them with Ven.Drimay.

In terms of what practices you should do, these are listed and explained below. Regarding the practice of the four immeasurable thoughts, don’t just recite the words, but also think of the meaning.

The lam-rim meditations and how long you spend on each scope should be the main focus of your meditation during these times. Go back to whatever realizations you don’t have and train until your realizations are stable, however many weeks, months and years this may take. Go one-by-one, in order to generate bodhicitta, and train until this is stable. First you must have familiarity with the subjects, so read Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand and also the Middle Lamrim. For your daily meditation, use The Essential Nectar and the lamrim outlines, as long as you have already read the whole lamrim, such as Liberation or the Middle Lamrim.

Practice Advice
Lamrim meditation
  • Path of the lower capable being: five months
  • Path of the middle capable being: three months
  • Bodhicitta: eleven months
  • Emptiness: nine months

The main deity for you to become enlightened and to bring all sentient beings to enlightenment is Kurukulla.

With love and prayers...

Multiple Sclerosis: Practices and Protection
Date Posted:
September 2011

A student with MS asked for advice on how to deal with the illness.

My very dear one,
Thank you for your kind letter, and sorry for the very long delay in replying. I checked regarding your health and this is what came out beneficial for you to do:

  • White Umbrella practice—recite one prayer to White Umbrella every day if you can. Also recite the long mantra and at least three malas of the short mantra every day.
  • Have you ever tried to take Tibetan medicine? This may be helpful.
  • Chag sum puja—maybe you can request Geshe Doga at Tara Institute to do this.
  • Drugchuma puja—four times. I will try to do some here, (I am in France), and maybe you can also request Geshe Doga to do it.
  • Recite (?) Sutra three times.
  • Invite Geshe Doga and Ven. Losang Yeshe from Tara Institute to your house to do Medicine Buddha puja, if you can. This would be very good.

There is a practice for someone who is in a lot of pain. Get a five-colored thread rolled together (of all five colors), then put the rolled thread through the eye of a needle. If you put this on your bed, one benefit is that your partner will not be disturbed by another man or woman. However, what you need to do is put the needle with the rolled five-colored thread above your door. This helps very much with preventing pain and possession by spirit harm.

There is a protection for you to wear, called Exalted One Unable to Be Controlled by Others Granting Fearlessness. I will send it separately to this letter. When you receive it, cover it in cloth and keep it on the upper part of your body. Some of its benefits are:

  • Others are unable to harm you.
  • You are protected when you go to dangerous places.
  • You are protected from danger and any harm, especially harm from spirits, cannibals, water, fire, poison, snakes, animals, thieves, and robbers.
  • Others are unable to control you.
  • It protects you in court cases, or when you are going to meet with someone who is fighting against you.
  • It protects you from war and physical fighting in the area, house, or town where you live.
  • You are protected from the dangers of fire, water, air, and earth—all the dangers of the elements.

By wearing this protection, all the buddhas and bodhisattvas will guide you and reveal all the Dharma. This has been taught by seven buddhas.

It would be good to listen to or recite the sutra Entering the Great City of Vaishali Sutra. [You can find links to this text in the FPMT Catalogue. To access the audio recording Recitations for Alleviating Pain, go to the FPMT Catalogue and scroll down to Audio Materials, then click on “Sadhanas, Prayers and Practices.”]

With much love and prayers...

Multiple Sclerosis and Spine Problems
Date Posted:
August 2009

Rinpoche wrote the following to a student who had problems with her spine and MS. Her letter and Rinpoche’s response are below.

Student's Letter

Dearest Lama Zopa Rinpoche,
First of all, I would like to thank you with all my heart for everything that you are doing and that you have chosen to do in this life. Thank you so much. It makes me so happy, and I know, even though I don’t know much, but I do know and feel that you and your thoughts are of great help to others. I wish you much happiness, offer you much merit, a full and happy life, and that all your wishes come to fruition immediately.

I am writing you for advice on bettering my practice and also bettering my health if possible. I have MS, juvenile diabetes, osteoporosis, cervical and lumbar spine problems (bulging discs), and my symptoms include not seeing clearly, a shaking right hand, so it’s hard to pick things up, write, etc., severe pain in the left side of my head, upper left side of my back, and left arm, the inability to walk alone, and swelling in my ankles. The pain occurs every night and I can’t sleep.

I feel I’m burning a lot of negative karma! And I’m glad of that, but my health problems do distract me. I have taken refuge with the very kind geshe at the center and in my clearer moments I am most happy that I have so much, including the ability to practice and a good partner who supports me.

In terms of medicine I take – the doctors who have seen me prescribed many different medications for both my pain and my inability to sleep. I stopped taking almost all of the drugs, as most of them did not work very effectively. The only drug that has helped me sleep was prescribed by my neurologist in the US and one that’s in Canada, but it’s only approved in Canada, which is where my partner took me to try it. It’s made from marijuana so I can’t get any more unless I get it illegally. I don’t know what to do regarding that.

I make offerings to the Thirty-five Buddhas, pray to the Venerable Green Tara, Medicine Buddha, Avalokiteshvara, His Holiness, and dedicate merit to all Dharma teachers, including Geshe Tsulga, Ribur Rinpoche, Lama Yeshe, and you. And the Four Immeasurables help me think of all beings, which is great, and which I love.

I would like to end my self-cherishing and I pray for that every day. Although it feels so difficult now, I feel I am practicing and praying more due to needs because of my poor health. But I would like to have better health and I would like to practice better as well. I know I need a good heart no matter what. In my not so clear moments – which is most all the time – I cry and worry.

My partner writes music, plays guitar, and sings. I used to dance and choreograph, but I sing with him now. We made you a CD and wrote a song when you came to the Center last (not that I would ever expect you to remember). It was titled the “Mani Song”. I mention it as I was so happy to do that with my partner, and I was so happy to be able to see you and also give that to you. I also received a stupa from you and a Medicine Buddha card that I have on my altar. Thank you so much! Your kindness and generosity are vast. And thank you for reading this long letter.

My best to you. 
Much love and peace ...

Rinpoche's Response

My very dear one,
Thank you for your very kind letter. Already you are doing excellent practices for your health. It would be great if you could continue, especially Medicine Buddha, and how you are praying and thinking is excellent. It would also be very good if you are able to do something like yoga or chi gong.

I checked regarding pujas that can be done to help you and according to my observations this is what came out. Ask your friend at the center to help you to arrange them:

  • Chab trü puja – this puja can be done by the geshe.
  • She nyin dü dog puja – this puja can be also done by the geshe.
  • Have the Prajnaparamita text read (the whole text). This can be done at Kopan Monastery or Sera Je Monastery.
  • Gyab shi puja (pronounced Geshe) – this puja can also be done by the geshe.

I will send you the following Tibetan medicine:

  • Ratnas precious pill: take two a week for five weeks
  • Kün khyen: four each day for five weeks
  • Mantra to eat

The practices that came out very good for you, apart from what you are already doing, are:

  • Black Manjrushri: Visualize the deity in front of you, and as you recite the mantra, beams of nectar emit and purify you of all sickness, spirit harm, negative karma, and defilements.
  • Recite 2,000 (minimum) Mitukpa mantras with practice, doing a very strong visualization.

Please make your life most meaningful with the thought of bodhicitta.

With much love and prayers...

Additional Practices for Multiple Sclerosis
Date Posted:
August 2009

A student had multiple sclerosis and other problems and found it very hard to be around people at all. She had written to Rinpoche previously for advice. Rinpoche sent the following additional advice to her.

My dear one,
I hope you are well and happy. Last night I checked about some additional things that you can do for your health. It is quite a lot, so do what you can.

  • Vajra claws: do this practice twice a day for two months.
  • Do four malas a day of Destroying all the Negative Karma for one month.
  • Gyab shi puja: Ask the geshe at your Dharma center to do this for you.
  • Che trul puja (Liberating from Naga Harm): Ask the geshe at your Dharma center to do this for you. It is best if you are present.
  • Recite seven or more malas daily of the Naga King name. This is very good purification for you and for all sentient beings.
  • Print (photocopy on yellow paper) forty Long-life Sutras for three weeks.