Long-life Sutra and Torma Offering (Audio and Unedited Transcripts)

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Taipei, Taiwan (Archive #1621)

Teachings on the Long-life Sutra, including the oral transmission, and teachings on torma offering. The teaching on torma offering is based on a text composed by Panchen Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave these teachings in Taipei, Taiwan, 15-16 April, 2007.

Commentary on Peaceful Torma Purifying Pollution, Part B

So the groups, the different groups whom you make offering, I think here it’s quite clear, it comes, it explains in the prayer, when you make offering, when you make request, so you visualize according to that. What is the, there’s some similarity but not exactly according to Vajrayogini, but not exactly like that but there’s some similarity. So that visualization in Vajrayogini, that’s similar in the sur, when you do, when you’re doing the sur practice, that’s the same visualization, according to Ngulchu Dharmabhadra, this great lama. So when you make sur, that’s the same visualization, in the Vajrayogini kusali tsog, when you do kusali tsog. In the skull your body, become nectar, then make offering, that one.

Then the second torma, same, dispelling, purified, dispelled, you should put it in the past, not the present. In English many times translated it is put in, it is translated as present. Then that means you can’t go next one, because you haven’t finished the visualization, so that means you can’t go, you’re stuck, you can’t go next. So in the Tibetan, everything is, when you visualize, everything is put in the past, so it makes it easy.

So dispelled and purified, and then, purified means purified in emptiness. So then here it describes different than the previous one. So there’s one technique, dispelled, purified in emptiness, then generate, then bless with OM AH HUNG. So now here, there are four things, so the, generally if you don’t do the dispelling, which is called sangwa in Tibetan, sangwa, jangwa, kyeba, jin gyi lab. Sangwa, dispelled; jangwa, purified; kyeba is generation; then jin gyi lab is blessed with the OM AH HUNG.

So now, there are four outlines, the whole entire meditation of blessing. So if you don’t do the sangwa, dispelling the interferers, if you don’t do that, with each offering there’s different types of spirits’ possession, dun, abides. Flowers has different, incense has different, light has different spirit possession, the food has different possessions, water has different spirit possession, every offering has different spirit possession. So if you don’t do sangwa, the first thing, eliminate, dispelling the interferers, for example with the flowers, then there’s, I’ve forgotten the name, there are different spirit possessions has a different name. So, however, this spirit, if you offer flowers without dispelling the interferers, without doing that, then if you make the flower offering then the spirit occupies the practitioner’s mind, and then makes, since it’s a flower, then this spirit possession particular damage what it does to your mind is to rise very strong attachment and your mind becomes so uncontrolled, and then unable to practice the pure vows and unable to do the practice of Dharma, even the mind to be in virtue. So, that your life has no control. So that’s the, if you don’t, before you offer flowers to the merit field, if you don’t do the dispelling, ?in the blessing.

Then the water, ?chu to yo wa, so the spirit possession called ?chu to yo wa, moving like water, so then that, if you don’t bless, before you offer, if you don’t dispel the interferers, and bless, if you don’t do that, what happens, spirit possession occupies, enters, occupies the practitioner’s mind, and then, , the mind becomes very unstable, from the name you can understand, ‘moving like water,’ so the mind becomes very unstable, you can’t concentrate, very unstable.

So then with the incense, if you don’t dispel and bless, if you offer then it becomes, then that spirit possession occupies your mind, enter the practitioner’s mind, then the mind becomes very sleepy and drowsy and you cannot have clear visualization, so when you do the practice, sleepy mind, drowsy mind, like that.

So I don’t remember the food, anyway, in the tantric teachings, in the commentaries very extensively explain many different, there are different types of spirits, beings there that when they enter in your mind, different ones are mentioned there.

So, it’s extremely important to dispel the interferers before you offer. According to Geshe Lama Konchog he used to say, if you don’t bless, there’s no use, better to not offer, he said better to not make offering if you don’t bless it before. But, that I’m not sure, but I mean there will be still merit, the minute you think of Buddha, you offer, or statue, stupa, scripture, I mean immediately you collect merit, cause of enlightenment even that, but then, of course if you don’t dispel the interferers and bless, don’t do the blessing, then there’s different spirit beings I mentioned before, occupies your mind and then, cause a lot of, a lot of obstacles to the practice, so that’s the reason why when you do sadhana, why all these practices, why the dispelling is there, where it starts, dispelling is very, so essential, now you can understand how it’s important, why begin the practice with that.

And then the purifying in emptiness, because, purify in emptiness, so when you purify in emptiness, there are two types of purification: one is the ordinary appearance, the concept of appearing real one in the sense existing from its own side, and you believe it’s true, so two things are purified. Not only that, then, at the same time purified the offerings which appeared as ordinary—ordinary light, ordinary water, ordinary this, so that, and that concept is purified, both. Then, generate pure offerings, pure appearance, pure thought, can do that because it’s the tantra practice.

So everything, tantra practice you stop ordinary appearance and then, ordinary thought, ordinary concept and appearance everything has to be practiced ?in pure thought, that’s why the generating pure, then blessing. So the main reason behind is that.

So when you do the jangwa, not jangwa when people die. This jangwa is purifying in emptiness, so there is a special technique from His Holiness Zong Rinpoche, special technique for us who don’t know how to meditate on emptiness, there’s a special technique. So the special technique is that, instruction from His Holiness Zong Rinpoche when he was giving instruction on Yamantaka retreat.

So here it’s talking about torma, so the torma, torma dissolved, then there’s just space. Now here, when you hear just torma dissolved that’s not meditating on emptiness, just that part is not meditating on emptiness. I mean that could lead to also nihilism. So torma dissolved, space. So now after this comes, then think, “It is empty of existing from its own side; it is empty of existing by nature, or existing from its own side, the truly existent.”

So then when you think that, when you use the word, empty of true existence, empty of existing by its nature, then it becomes meditation on emptiness when you think that. Of course, not just words, but you have to actually, you have to, you’re supposed to actually think, actually feel or see according to the words, then that’s actually meditating on the words, I mean, meditating on the emptiness.

So, if one, at least everyone doesn’t have an idea, everyone doesn’t have any idea, but at least one must use the word: empty of true existence, empty of existing by its own side, existing by its nature, whichever you use, at least use the word so it’s correct, so at least you should use the word, but the word is correct. So it leaves a positive imprint on your mind, even if one can’t think of what it is, but by using the word, correct word, what Nagarjuna said, what Buddha said, what Milarepa said, what Padmasambhava said, what Lama Tsongkhapa said, so by using that correct word, it leaves positive imprint on the mind, even not actually meditating, doesn’t know what it means, by using the correct word, it leaves a positive imprint on the mind now, then sooner or later, you are able to actually actualize the meaning of that and see the emptiness. This is just some clarification.

So anyway, it’s empty, okay, empty of true existence, so think that, while it’s just space, think that way. Then, it’s a little bit like dharmakaya meditation, first, you have appearance, space. Then you meditate this, whether it’s I or whether it’s empty. So now you can see that technique, meditation technique, is similar to dharmakaya, how you start dharmakaya meditation.

So then now while it’s empty, then here, the next one here, while it’s empty then appeared, transformed the skull outside white, inside red, inside is very expansive. Then there’s the five meats, the five nectars, in essence it’s oceans of uncontaminated nectar, oceans of uncontaminated transcendental wisdom nectar.

So here, [pause] when you generate into deity or things like that, similar when you start, so then also even the offerings, so however, so your wisdom seeing emptiness, so that, then that takes the form, so that takes all the form, from beginning of sadhana, like Lama Chöpa, it starts with great bliss, or from the refuge, then it starts with great bliss, so anyway, like Guru Puja, the whole thing down to the end, so that mind understands emptiness, then that, so that transcendental wisdom, your transcendental wisdom, that which is also guru’s holy mind, dharmakaya, anyway, the wisdom which is unified of two, that’s the wisdom there. The bliss-voidness. Then, however, so that one, deity, mandala, every part of the mandala, so however the whole sadhana, all the evolution, whatever happens, is that. The merit field is also that, so when we bless tsog, the tsog offering, all the, the very essence of the tsog offering is that, tsog offerings, all the other offerings.

So, anyway, so that, can think that wisdom, even though didn’t say very clearly in the commentary but, it’s like when you generate into the deity, that. However, here, so that took the form, the letter, syllable, AH, the shape, it manifests into that, then it’s labeled, AH, merely imputed AH, AH which exists in mere name, which exists in mere name merely imputed by mind, so that means AH is also empty. Now you can see it’s merely imputed so therefore AH doesn’t exist from its own side. So AH is empty while it is existing.

So now this AH, which is merely imputed by mind, now then it becomes a skull, transforms into a skull, outside white, inside red, and that’s also, took that form, and then because of that base, mind merely imputed skull, so the skull is merely imputed by mind, so the skull doesn’t exist from its own side, so the skull exists, but it’s empty.

So you meditate like that, empty, each one is empty, as you, evolution, each one is empty. So this is the correct way to, so you don’t meditate empty at the beginning then stop, then everything is truly existent. At the very beginning, empty, then everything becomes truly existent, all the offerings or yourself as deity, everything becomes truly existent—that’s not the way of meditating. So you’re supposed to keep the awareness, where you purify in emptiness, so you’re supposed to keep the awareness of empty through the whole evolution. So that’s the correct way to meditate. Otherwise, so then, while you’re meditating yourself, visualizing yourself as deity or the offering, then truly existent, then it doesn’t become antidote to samsara. So, at the beginning you meditate emptiness, but then there is no awareness after that, so it doesn’t become antidote to samsara, because your concept is that all this is truly existent, as it appeared truly existent then you believe it’s a real one. So you believe it’s a real one, existing from its own side, so that doesn’t become antidote to samsara.

But if you think, “this is like a dream,” even though appeared truly existent, but then from your side, think this is like a dream, this is like an illusion, this is merely imputed by mind, so then, then that becomes antidote to samsara, because in your heart there’s understanding this is not real, this is false, that which is false, so which means it’s empty.

So anyway, that’s the, then inside there’s the five meats and the five nectars, then became the uncontaminated transcendental wisdom ocean, then OM AH HUNG three times, then, you put inside torma, you put the pill, 21, and then 21 drops of water. At the same time chant, OM MANI PADME HUNG, 21 times chant OM MANI PADME HUNG. So 21 pills you put there; then you put a drop of water 21 times, at the same time while you are putting the drops of water, OM MANI PADME HUNG, OM MANI PADME HUNG, OM MANI PADME HUNG, like that, 21 times. So then in the mind you think, meditation, it becomes unceasing, in the mind you think, while you are putting the drops of water there, rainfalls of unceasing desire enjoyments, sense enjoyments, perfect sense enjoyments, rainfalls of unceasing, perfect desire enjoyments, sense enjoyments, came.

Then, at the end you snap fingers, then your body went into the skull, melted there, it’s like you put butter in the frying pan, while you’re frying there, hot, very hot, then you put butter in there, suddenly it all melts, so your body went inside the container, so the blessed, then it becomes one taste with nectar, then recite OM AH HUNG three times.

Then you offer to the, here the second offering is the direct and indirect gurus, that’s one thing, then the buddhas, bodhisattvas, who are in sambhogakaya aspect, buddhas, bodhisattvas who are in sambhogakaya aspect, and Dharma protectors, so it seems that’s one group.

Then it says, dakas and dakinis comes out, assembly of dakas and dakinis, so they all took the nectar and they are so pleased. So you offer with the mantra, NAMAH SARVA TATHAGATA AVALOKITE OM SAMBHARA SAMBHARA HUNG [snap fingers], 21 times. NAMAH SARVA TATHAGATA AVALOKITE OM SAMBHARA SAMBHARA HUNG [Rinpoche repeats several times with accompanying snap of fingers] so like that, so 21 times.

Then you say, ARGHAM, PADYAM, PUSPHE, make offering, then there’s a verse, you recite the verse, I’m not going to go over, you recite the verse, so since you have the text, so I don’t have to recite the whole thing. So here, it says that, then making prayer to purify all the negative karma, defilements, collected by yourself, by all sentient beings from beginningless rebirth up to now, the kind gurus, assembly of kind gurus, their belongings whatever received from them, so the pollution received. Then the, having eaten food with the money by selling holy objects, those things, disturbed the guru’s holy mind, and broke the advice, harmed the holy body, arising non-devotional thoughts, criticized the guru, so those purified, making prayer.

Then to be guided by guru from now on in all the lifetimes, to quickly achieve enlightenment, and to accomplish peace and happiness, cause to achieve peace and happiness to all the transmigratory beings. So requesting to bless, to be able to do all this.

Then this must be third torma, I think. So the third torma. So how to bless is there, so I don’t have to repeat. So here the blessing is, different here, three white, the torma, the essence of torma is three whites and three sweets, butter, milk, curd, three whites; three sweets might be honey, brown sugar, and then the sugar, might be three like that. So that’s, here it’s different, but essence of divine nectar, oceans of uncontaminated nectar.

So the visualization is same as before, then, again, same, your body went inside after the snapping the fingers, mixed with nectar, blessed with the three syllables, then you offer to the Shakyamuni Buddha, the nirmanakaya aspect buddhas and bodhisattvas; Shakyamuni Buddha, then around, there are buddhas and bodhisattvas who are in nirmanakaya aspect, [pause] the nirmanakaya aspect buddhas, but here it says, here he just put all the names together: buddhas, bodhisattvas, hearers, listeners, protectors, the nirmanakaya aspect buddhas, around Shakyamuni there’s nirmanakaya aspect buddhas, buddhas in nirmanakaya aspect. And then, after that, bodhisattvas, arhats, then protectors, so they took and they’re extremely pleased.

Then, 21 times make offerings, with twenty-one NAMAH SARVA TATHAGATA AVALOKITE OM SAMBHARA SAMBHARA HUNG. You offer, then ARGHAM, PADYAM, then the request, all other same, then: “May all the defilements, negative karma, having committed the ten nonvirtues, that’s additional added, and five uninterrupted negative karmas purified, making request that to be purified, and then, with compassion, kindness, the Triple Gems, may I achieve the three kayas quickly.”

For the fourth torma, so I don’t have to repeat, same, this is also here, different visualization here. Then same as before, your body goes inside, mixed with nectar, same, and then you offer, you give, to the six types of sentient beings, the dun, gek, spirit possession, interferers, with whom you have karmic debts, all those guests, you offer, they enjoyed, fully satisfied, so by thinking that, with that thought, then you offer seven or nine times with the mantra, NAMAH SARVA TATHAGATA AVALOKITE OM SAMBHARA SAMBHARA HUNG [snaps fingers]. So hand like this, you keep the hand like this, left hand like this, right hand [snapping fingers] snap the finger, which reminds you empty, yourself is empty, your action making charity is empty, and those sentient beings whom you are giving are empty, so, [snaps fingers] which reminds.

Then the, then you put in the container six pills and six drops of water, so when you are putting in the pills, each time when you put in the pills you have to chant, OM MANI PADME HUNG, OM MANI PADME HUNG, OM MANI PADME HUNG, when you put the drops also, OM MANI PADME HUNG, OM MANI PADME HUNG, so two times six, nine. No, sorry, I made a mistake. Not six times, so I made a mistake. There’s six syllables, talking about six syllables, so …. Must be nine, nine pills, nine pills and the drop of water, so with that you chant the six-syllable mantra, so that means, nine, nine.

So, also visualize rainfalls of the things what they desire, what every individual being desires, what the six realm sentient beings and the spirit possession, interferers whom you’ve karmic debts, whatever they like, receive like rainfall to them.

[Rinpoche talks quietly in Tibetan.]

Then you, ARGHAM, PADYAM, PUSPHE, so making offering, then you recite the four buddhas’ names: De zhin sheg pa gyal wa rin chhen mang la chhag tshäl lo…. So those buddhas names is there? You have the names, so, De zhin sheg pa gyal wa rin chhen mang la chhag tshäl lo, so that time you put palms together this like, so there are four buddhas, one is, how to think in the mind is, who are they, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, one is Vajrapani, one is Chenrezig, one is Manjushri, so there are four buddhas. This is what you should think, this is one explanation, this is according to Lama Atisha. So when you are reciting that, you put your palms together like this, prostrate to them, De zhin sheg pa gyal wa rin chhen mang la chhag tshäl lo, De zhin sheg pa zug dze dam pa la chhag tshäl lo, De zhin sheg pa ku jam lä la chhag tshäl lo, De zhin sheg pa jig pa tham chä dang dräl wa la chhag tshäl lo.

So that time, the six types sentient beings, so those beings with whom you have karmic debts, sentient beings with whom you have karmic debts, whose meat you have eaten or milk or, taken from them, then you have a karmic debts to them, like that story happened, maybe in Liberation in the Palm. So one lama, in Tibet, upper place of Tibet, he received from one family, animal, meat, no, so much milk, so much milk he received from one family, the family offered from this animal, from one animal. So after some time the animal died, also then he got the meat of that animal. So then what happened was, this lama died and he didn’t practice Dharma well, didn’t purify, so then, didn’t do intensive purification, so this lama was born as an animal, cow or, not yak, but the female or something, gives milk, yak doesn’t give milk, yak is male.

So I think the, then the family got milk from that, which is the past life that animal was a lama, so his karmic debts, the family got milk from that. Then one day the animal fell down from the cliffs, then when the family cut the meat, then from the bone appeared, “Now I finished my karmic debt,” so like that, that’s an example.

So, eating meat or milk or whatever you receive, so there’s karmic debts, karmic debts from animals, karmic debts from people, so all those beings with whom we have karmic debts, before when I explained, I related the spirit possession and interferers with whom we have karmic debts, but I think here it seems three: six types of beings, then sentient beings with whom we have karmic debts, then the spirit possession and interferers, so it seems three, it outlines three, so you offer them, then they are fully satisfied, by the rainfalls of the, whatever they like, so this is here in the prayer.

They purified, they finished the sufferings, ?which ?is karmic debts, then pacified the angry, vicious thoughts and actions, enriched the mind with loving kindness, compassion, and quickly achieve enlightenment. So you can see the prayer there, made in the form of prayer, so may they achieve all that. I should translate, may they achieve in that way. What comes last in translation, from Tibetan texts, when you translate, the last one comes before, so may they achieve, all those beings, then may they achieve, satisfied by the rainfalls of all what they desire, and then so forth like that, should come.

Then, here, what I mentioned before, there’s no this torma offering here, but later some holy beings they put it. The very first to Chenrezig, and the last one, but Chenrezig herself didn’t advise that. So, I said, Chenrezig herself, so anyway, Kuan Yin, Chenrezig, female Chenrezig so I think, so Varuna, the naga, so if one wishes to make offering, then you invoke, then, bless torma, like the very first one, one blesses the torma like the very first one, the way of blessing, then ?VARUNA SAPARIVARA IDAM BALIMTA KHA KHA KHAHI KHAHI, so you make that by reciting, then the request to pacify, I offer to the naga kings and so forth, by accepting this, myself and all sentient beings, the harm, here, by accepting this, myself and all transmigratory beings, the harm received from naga, dangerous naga and the landlord, be pacified. So I think this must do, this must do, this 51 must do that. So in case they, these three boys, not only that shrinking one, but two others who are on the process, so in case their harm is related with naga, then must do this.

So that’s it, now finished. Yeah, that’s it.

It says here, the Compassionate Buddha, Avalokiteshvara, by having compassion to the evil beings who contaminate or who carelessly, without conscientiousness, then using the devotional substances that’s offered to the holy merit field, so Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, holy objects, the Compassion Buddha, Avalokiteshvara, by considering like mother who is worried about her child who is engaged some dangerous action or some sick, however, like who’s involved drugs or who is engaged in the dangerous things, so the mother has compassion, mother worried, concerned, so like that, Avalokiteshvara concern to those, with compassion, to each individual beings, to each evil beings who are, whose mind is contaminated by carelessly enjoying the devotional substances that is offered to, by thinking the holy merit field, so Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, the guru and then the Dharma, Sangha, statues, stupas, scriptures, like that, then granted this the nectar flow, the purifying the obscurations, the pollution obscurations. [pause]

So this illumination of this practice, the intelligence of the thoughtful one, and then, who put, like reflecting in the mirror, moon, like reflecting in the moon-crystal mirror, like that, then, the ?doer, Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen, like that, the intelligence of the Thoughtful One, like reflecting in the crystal-mirror, so like that, so made clear, wrote down clear, by Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen. So by these merits, may all the sentient beings be pervaded by happiness.

So that’s, so I think it’s clear here whom you offer, so each section, so then if you think that, then you get the merit. So the idea is to do 1,000 times by, especially by Sanghas, and it will help yourself, it becomes great purification for yourself, and also to help these three boys to get better, to heal. But these three boys are the main ones, main for whom we do the practice, main one but then we should dedicate that anyone, any sentient being who needs this puja, who needs this practice to be done, any sentient being who needs this practice, this puja, I’m doing this. So this is how we should motivate. So it covers all those numberless sentient beings who need this practice, who has involved all these pollutions, who have received, so all that from guru, from holy objects, those things offered to them, then used, pollution received, so this way there’s great benefit to the sentient beings.

Dag gi ji nye sag päi ge wa di….

Jang chhub sem chhog rin po chhe…. [pause]

Gang ri ra wäi khor wä zhing kham dir….

Päl dän la mäi ku tshe tän pa dang…

[Prayer for fulfilling His Holiness the Dalai Lama's wishes] [pause]

Due to all the past, present, and future merits collected by me, the three-time merits collected by others, that which exists but which is empty, may the I, who exists but who is empty, achieve Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment, which exists but which is empty, lead all the sentient beings, who exist but who are empty, to that enlightenment, to Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment, which exists but which is empty, by myself alone, who exists but who is empty.

Jam päl pa wö ji tar khyen pa dang…. Dü sum sheg päi gyäl wa tham chä kyi….

I forgot the benefit of the four buddhas’ names. So that is the same as what is in sur practice. So the, [Tibetan], De zhin sheg pa gyal wa rin chhen mang la chhag tshäl lo, so the sentient beings, the miserliness and all the result of miserliness, all the sufferings, purified. Then they received, the suffering of poverty, all purified. They receive everything, whatever they need, like skies they receive everything whatever they need, and, the enjoyment is unceasing, like limitless skies. So when you recite that, this is what you should think. [long pause]

[Rinpoche asks Ven. Sophia] Did you write down? Did you write in the book? The benefit of each name? From sur or from where? [Answer is inaudible.] I see, I see. So by that, then many pretas…[cut off by Huang Chun Roo translating. Rinpoche is still talking to Ven. Sophia but inaudible.]

So that’s it.