Kadampa Teachings (Audio and Unedited Transcripts)

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India; 26 December 2003 - 02 January 2004 (Archive #1470)

Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave these teachings at Root Institute, Bodhgaya, in December 2003. There were seven days of teachings; days 1 through 4 are included here. You can listen to the remaining days here.

During these four days Rinpoche covered various lamrim topics and gave an oral transmission of Atisha's Jewel Garland and began to give commentary on it. 

Day Three: Benefits of offering, prostrating to holy objects

So, usually in our life, to keep our mind to Dharma, get inspired, to do pure Dharma practice, to keep the mind always strongly devoted to Dharma and to receive blessings, it’s very good to read the life stories, like Kadampa geshes, their life stories or Milarepa’s life story, Lama Tsongkhapa’s life story, so whatever is available in the language that you understand, those who completed the path, those who attained the path, to read their life story it’s one method to always inspire the mind, to always have devotion and to receive blessings, and also know how to practice Dharma by reading the life story, those highly attained, those great pandits or scholars, but, I mean scholar, attained scholar, with realization.

So, when we read the life story, such as Milarepa, Lama Atisha, so forth, then we generate a wish to be like that. So that is making preparation in our mental continuum sooner or later in the future to be like that, the attraction or the generating wish, strong wish to be like that, so that is positive wish, so from that wish then we become like that, having all those qualities, realizations, and able to offer extensive benefit to sentient beings. Then, while one is reading the life story, pray again and again, so usually I mention that, if you’re going through an art book of the buddhas or bodhisattvas, whatever, so you put your palms together, where there’s tangkas or many pictures of statues, each time you turn the page you put the palms together, and you recite these words in Tibetan, pal den lama.... So, in Tibet, when we went to Tibet this last year, so this is what we tried to do, after we offer a scarf to the, in the temple to the statues, then this is one of the prayers to dedicate.

So anyway, since I _______ this, I mention, so before you offer the scarf, then first you make charity the scarf to every hell being, every hungry ghost, every animal, every human being, every sura being, every asura being, intermediate state being, to every sentient being you make charity the scarf first. Then you offer on their behalf, so you’re sort of like benefactor to sentient beings. So you make charity first to all sentient beings, then the khatag, the scarf belongs to all sentient beings, then you offer on their behalf to the holy object. So this way, like you are manager, anyway, so everybody collects merit in this way. Every sentient being, every single insect, every single hell being, hungry ghost, those who are suffering unbelievable, _________, unimaginable, and every single human being in Africa or anywhere in the world, that there’s no karma to hear even mantra or Dharma words in their whole life, like those who live in jungles or however, like the people in Africa or somewhere, wherever it is, anyway, so everyone, this way everybody, if you offer the scarf one behalf of all sentient beings, then you offer to the holy object by thinking that this is all the guru, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, so at least your root guru. And the highest, most powerful, highest, most powerful that you collect the most extensive merit, that is the guru, so at least, anyway, think of the guru. So among the holy objects, most important one, to collect, which makes you to collect the most extensive merit, like that, the guru, the object of offering, the guru. So, the guru, either all the guru, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, then on top of that, that this is all the ten-direction every single statue, every single stupa, every single scripture, this is everything. Then you offer.

So there are two great advantages in this here. So with this meditation if you offer, you offer numberless holy objects, you offer the scarf every single holy object that exists in China, every single holy object that exists in Tibet, every single holy object that exists in Nepal, including those most precious, the stupa, very powerful to fulfill your wishes, very powerful to actualize all your prayers, like the Baudanath Stupa, called All-encompassing Wish-fulfilling Stupa or the Swayambunath Stupa, there’s, the top one is built by Padmasambhava when Padmasambhava came from Tibet, returned back from Tibet after subdued all those spirits who were disturbing to build the Samye Monastery in that part, well, the first monastery in Tibet. So daytime human beings built; nighttime spirits they tear down, and so it happened several times, then Padmasambhava, one minister suggested to invite Padmasambhava, I think. Padmasambhava, arose, manifested into deity, Heruka, I’ve forgotten the name, [Tibetan] or something, Heruka, and maybe there’s some relationship with Hayagriva, so anyway, manifested into this deity and then hooked the spirits and subdued, tamed their mind, and gave commitment to them to become Dharma protector, and they are situated around the Himalayan ridge mountains to help, Dharma protectors, to protect the teaching. So from this, then they become ?tenma chu nyi, twelve the female protectors, to protect the teaching. Maybe three, according to the karma of Tibet, maybe three ran away, three spirits, like that, ran away, something like that. Maybe they came to Bodhgaya. Anyway, I’m joking. So, built the stupa on the top of the Swayambunath mountain. So the actual stupa is a crystal stupa, that when Kathmandu was filled with a lake, that crystal stupa appeared in the lake. It’s not made by man, it’s natural, it’s a transformation of Buddha’s holy mind, dharmakaya, manifested into this stupa. Looking form stupa but actually Buddha’s holy mind, dharmakaya. So that stupa is covered by earth, so it’s inside that mountain. So that it makes sense why most people circumambulate the mountain, the whole, down below.

So, anyway, so with this meditation, if you offer the scarf even it’s one statue of Buddha with this meditation then it’s offered to every single holy object in Nepal, every single holy object in India, anywhere in the world. Even anybody’s making tsa-tsa, anybody’s making statue of buddha, tsa-tsa, and even in the market, in any shop there’s a statue of buddha to be sold, however, with this meditation if you offer, then these statues are all the guru, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, all the ten direction statues, stupas, scriptures, everything, all the holy objects, then you offer, then this scarf you have offered every single that holy object that exists in any universe, not only this universe, in other universes, so offered from here. So, first, so with a bodhicitta motivation, of course, we offer. You make charity, with a bodhicitta motivation, and then you make charity to sentient beings, then you offer on their behalf. So that means you collected, through the holy objects, statues, stupas, scriptures, even without attitude becoming Dharma, even it’s only worldly concern, attachment clinging to this life, nonvirtuous thought, but due to the power of the holy object, any circumambulation, any prostration, any offering towards the holy objects, immediately they become cause to achieve enlightenment and by the way, cause to achieve liberation from samsara, by the way cause to achieve all the happiness of future lives, so they all come, as it becomes cause of enlightenment, then all those things come by the way. All those other happiness you achieve by the way.

So, here, not only you collect numberless merits by having made charity, after that offered with this meditation, by thinking that one statue or one stupa is everything, all these holy objects of buddha, guru, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, all the ten direction holy objects, statues, stupas, scriptures, then this scarf is offered to every single holy object, numberless buddhas, numberless Dharma, Sangha, statues, stupas, scriptures, everything, all the holy objects that exist in all the directions, in all the universes, so with this scarf you created numberless cause of enlightenment, with this meditation if you offer the scarf. This one offering, scarf, whatever it is, numberless causes of enlightenment, that means same as before, numberless cause of liberation from samsara, numberless cause of all the happiness of future lives. So it becomes most profitable practice, it becomes most profitable way of collecting, extensive way of collecting merit. So many times, so numberless Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, statues, stupas, scriptures, [few words inaudible]. So, so many times numberless cause of enlightenment is collected, so many times, numberless cause of enlightenment not just one time, so many times, six times or more, numberless cause of enlightenment is collected. Then no question, cause of those other happiness.

Then, because by thinking of the guru, it’s offered, so you collected, another advantage is, by always thinking of the guru you offer, so you collected most extensive merit. So, by thinking of all the gurus, how many gurus one has, then by thinking of this, all the gurus, then collected that many times most extensive merit.

So, this is how we should do meditation when we make offerings. Even it’s a tiny flower making offering to a statue of buddha, scripture, stupa, scripture or whatever, whether it’s extensive offering, whether it’s one tiny flower, one rice, you think, with this meditation you offer. [pause]

It is mentioned in the sutra, I did mention also during Kopan Course, it is mentioned that, by offering one flower to the statue of buddha or stupa, it is said like this, the benefit of that, how extensive benefit it has, to get an idea of the benefit, how extensive benefit it has, that you get from that, by offering this tiny flower or this, to a stupa, so there it’s mentioned that, so all the happiness we experienced from time without beginning in samsara, all the samsaric happiness we experienced numberless times, time without beginning, you include all that and all the future happiness of samsara, what experienced ______ in the past, and what will be experienced in the future, all the samsaric pleasure, so even that much still doesn’t finish, the benefit is not finished. It is said there in the teachings, until you achieve liberation the benefit of offering this one flower to a stupa of buddha doesn’t finish. So this means not just the liberation, not just this mere liberation, liberation merely from samsara, not that, not the lower nirvana, because as I mentioned before, whatever offering you do to the holy objects, no question, actual living buddha, like that, but even a statue, stupa, scripture, the minute when you offer immediately become cause of enlightenment, immediately become cause of achieving great liberation, non-abiding sorrowless state, great liberation. So therefore, so this, until you achieve nirvana, the result doesn’t finish, so this you can understand, it’s not the lower nirvana, it’s the great nirvana, great liberation, full enlightenment. So, in the text, there what Buddha explained, until you achieve that, the benefit, the result, happiness never finishes, including all the samsaric pleasure that one has experienced numberless times, time without beginning, and what will be experienced in the future, that benefit of this one flower offering to a stupa, doesn’t finish, until one achieve liberation.

So, what I think is, even after you achieved great liberation, then you work for sentient beings, you benefit for sentient beings and you bring the sentient beings from happiness to happiness to enlightenment, you liberate the numberless sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering. So, what I think is, still, even after enlightenment still you are enjoying the benefit of this offering, this flower offering to the stupa of buddha, that you are enlightening, liberating numberless sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering and bringing them in full enlightenment. So, all this, benefiting to sentient beings, this extensive benefit that you’re giving to sentient beings, this of course is a result of good karma, of course it’s the result of good karma, it has cause, came from your merit, your good karma, so of course, so therefore, I think, even after you achieve enlightenment, still you are enjoying the result of this one tiny flower having made offering to the stupa of the buddha, or the statue or stupa or scriptures of buddha.

So it’s unbelievable, just one rice, one tiny flower offering to a stupa or scripture, stupa of buddha, the result, the benefit, the result, the happiness it’s like limitless sky, it’s unimaginable, beyond our concept, beyond our understanding, it’s beyond our imagination. In the Kangyur there’s a section of Buddha talking about the benefits of the offerings, I don’t remember now, there’s four words, inconceivable, unfathomable, unimaginable, there’s expressed like that.

That is due, why it has such limitless skies of benefit, that it has, one tiny offering, one rice or one tiny flower to a statue or stupa or scripture, why? Because, why it’s such limitless skies of benefit, result happiness, that’s because this is power of buddha, because buddha has inconceivable qualities, so therefore, when you do one prostration, even putting palms together like this, you prostrate to buddha, or one circumambulation, even one circumambulation, why it has skies of benefit, it’s because buddha’s power, buddhas has inconceivable qualities and buddha, and what caused buddha to achieve all this power, inconceivable qualities, it’s derived by the compassion that generated towards the sentient beings, even before becoming bodhisattva, even before entering in the Mahayana path, the great compassion that is generated towards the sentient beings, so that compassion persuaded to achieve all these qualities, limitless qualities of the holy body, holy speech, holy mind. So, achieved, obtained all these qualities and created the cause for so many eons collected merit to achieve these qualities, it’s for us, for us sentient beings. Buddha did this for us sentient beings, to benefit us sentient beings. From the very beginning generating compassion to us sentient beings, starting from there, so it’s all for us sentient beings, to save, to rescue us, to save us from the sufferings and to bring us from happiness to happiness to enlightenment. So therefore, the kindness of the Buddha to us sentient beings, kindness of the Buddha, trained the mind in compassion for so many lifetimes, eons, completed the mind training in the compassion and collected merits for three countless great eons for us sentient beings, to achieve dharmakaya, to achieve the two kayas, dharmakaya, rupakaya, collected merit of wisdom, merit of virtue, to achieve dharmakaya, rupakaya to be able to benefit, to be able to do perfect work to us sentient beings. To guide each of us, to guide every single, every one of us, Buddha did this, achieved enlightenment, for three countless eons, first of all by training the mind in compassion then collected merit, by entering the Mahayana path, actualized bodhicitta, collected merits for three countless great eons for sentient beings, to complete the path, then achieved dharmakaya, rupakaya, by collecting merit of wisdom achieved dharmakaya, by collecting merit of virtue then achieved rupakaya, to be able to save each of us, each one of us to save from the sufferings of samsara and bring to full enlightenment.

So, make the offering, scarf, then after that make dedication this, what is mentioned in the offering bath practice, the offering the divine scarf, yeah, divine dress. “By offering this thin, soft, light divine dress to the indestructible vajra holy body with indestructible devotion, I offer, may I also achieve the vajra holy body.” So here we include not only yourself, even though the prayer it just says only oneself, but normally when we do dedication, always we should include the sentient beings, always, when we do dedication always we should include everyone, as much as possible. So, by this merit, may I and all sentient beings achieve the vajra holy body, should dedicate like that. Then after that, then this, May I and all sentient beings become only like you, glorified guru. So here the meditation, way you understand, way you think is it’s oneness, so it’s offering to Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. So even the name “Guru Shakyamuni Buddha” set it up, by looking at it one, guru and Shakyamuni Buddha, so May I and all sentient beings, due to all the three time merits collected by me and by others, then offering the scarf, May I and all sentient beings become only like you the glorified guru’s holy body and his entourage, and life span and pure land and like your holy name. For example, if you recite lama tonpa chom den de...., if you recite one time, it has power to purify 80,000 eons of negative karma. In some texts it’s mentioned even much more than that. So the name has that much power to purify just by reciting one time that has power to purify sentient beings’ karma, 80,000 eons of negative karma.

So, for example, Chenrezig’s name, Compassion Buddha’s, Avalokiteshvara’s name, just by saying or by remembering, immediately we are saved from the lower realm sufferings and plants seed of enlightenment, anyway, immediately save from whatever problem you are experiencing and plants seed of the path to liberation and enlightenment. So sooner or later then one is able to be liberated from the oceans of samsaric suffering. Even the name, even hearing the name, Chenrezig, has incredible benefit to our mind. So becomes great purification. The reason why it’s mentioned name, even holy name, it’s like that.

And offering the scarf, this is, I think White Lotus Sutra, Pema Karpo Do, somewhere there mentioned that offering dress to the holy objects, the statue, stupa, scriptures, so same offering scarf, it’s a cause of great success, offering scarf, offering the dress to the holy objects. That’s what’s mentioned there, I don’t remember the word by word, but that’s the meaning what is mentioned there. I think White Lotus Sutra or the Sutra of Chenrezig, something like that. [Tibetan] something like that, mentioned. So it’s very, so the Tibetan tradition of offering scarves is very lucky, this is very fortunate, this tradition to offer scarf, this, whereas others doesn’t have but in Tibet there’s tradition of offering scarf, so it’s means of collecting so much merit, all your wishes get fulfilled.

So what I was saying before, [pause] so what I was trying to say before, like a book that has many pictures of buddhas or thangkas, then you turn, then you put palms together, so recite this prayer, May I become only like that..., that prayer or at least, May I be like you, may I become like you as quick as possible, to offer extensive benefit to all sentient beings, so at least or if possible the other prayer. Put palms like this, prostrate, and pray like that.

So, as soon as you put the palms together like this to a picture of buddha, so immediately you create cause to achieve perfect body, beautiful body, perfect body next life, and then perfect surrounding people, to have perfect surrounding people, so that they do according to your wishes, so this way all your wishes to practice Dharma, to benefit other sentient beings get succeed, so by having perfect surrounding people.

Then, next one, able to live in pure morality. That is another foundation of realizations. Without that you can’t really achieve, complete the realization of the path to liberation and no question realization of the path to enlightenment, then no question. So that is the foundation. Without pure morality you cannot achieve shi-nä, calm abiding, so that seems the main, most important one. How quickly you can achieve shi-nä, calm abiding, depends on how pure you’re able to live pure morality, so then if you achieve shi-nä, then there’s the great insight, achieve that, then that becomes foundation to achieve arya path, then able to cease the defilements with the wisdom directly perceiving emptiness, as you proceed the right-seeing path, path of meditation. So, then one achieves sorrowless state. Then similar, by achieving great insight, the samadhi, combined the calm abiding and the great insight, so same, by having generated bodhicitta, entered Mahayana path, then having achieved this, as you achieve the path of merit, small, middle, great, then achieve that, then you achieve preparatory path. Then, by achieving the exalted path or arya path, then you cease the disturbing-thought obscurations, then also the subtle obscurations, obscuration to the knowledge, to omniscience, then when the subtle negative imprint, subtle obscurations ceased completely then that time there’s nothing more to purify, there’s nothing more realization to be achieved, it’s all completed, so that’s the full enlightenment that achieved.

So, pure morality, so this cause to achieve third one, pure morality, to be able to live in pure morality.

And next one, the devotion, again devotion is also foundation for all the realizations of the path to liberation, enlightenment. [pause]

Then, brave heart, that to lead, to be leader of sentient beings, to do activities for many sentient beings, in among them, brave heart. Having courage.

Then, next, one get reborn human realm or deva realm.

Then, next benefit, one will achieve arya path. So by achieving the Lesser Vehicle arya path, the exalted path, the no more learning, arhatship, then one is able to overcome the cycle of death and rebirth, old age, sickness, all those sufferings of samsara. By achieving the bodhisattva arya path, the right-seeing path, then we have completely abandoned, completely free from the suffering of samsara, the death, rebirth, old age, sicknesses, all these things. When you achieve arya path of tantra, especially the clear light of meaning, then you are totally free from the cycle of death and rebirth, old age, sicknesses, all that, so number, just by putting palms together to the picture of buddha or statue of buddha, stupa, any of these holy objects, so number seventh is it causes to exalted path, arya path.

Then, number eighth, enlightenment, so you create, by putting palms together to a holy object, you create the cause of enlightenment. [pause]

So, in one picture, one thangka or in one picture, there’s so many buddhas there, so if we prostrate like this to all of them, so how many pictures of buddha there in one photo, one thangka, so that many, like Guru Puja merit field, a picture of Guru Puja merit field, so the minute when you prostrate, the minute when you put the palms together to all those merit field, in that picture there’s so many, there are so many pictures of merit field in one picture, so if you put the palms together towards all of them, so how many buddhas is there, that one photo, so that many, if there’s a thousand then you created immediately these eight benefits a thousand times. You received eight benefits a thousand times.

So when you finish the book, so these eight benefits so many times, maybe, I mean, you collected so many times these eight benefits, so so many causes of enlightenment is collected by the time when you finish the book. So like that, similar, so when we go pilgrimage or in the gompa of the Center or your own shrine room, so when we go to see temples, in Zen temple there’s nothing, in Zen temple it’s empty; there’s no, I’m not sure, I don’t remember whether there’s a buddha or not, a statue, I don’t remember. That’s the style, nothing. Floor and windows and ceilings and, because the idea is to, meditation is to stop thinking.

However, so when we go to pilgrimage, go to see temples, so there are many paintings of buddha, for example, the Tibetan monasteries, there’s so many paintings of buddha on the wall, that’s to collect so much merit and to benefit for sentient beings, so many buddhas painted, statues, so anyway, so you put the palms together, so you prostrate, in the mind you think, I’m prostrating to all the holy objects, like this. In my mind thinking, I’m prostrating to all the holy objects. So, prostrate like that, around. So, paintings of buddha, statues, there can be so many, millions, thousands, thousands, millions, so within that minute you turn round, you put palms together, you do like that, prostrating, so all these holy objects, so within that minute you created these eight benefits so many times, thousands, thousands of times. It made big differences to your life, before you came inside to this temple, after you, before you came inside the temple and after you come out of the temple, it made huge difference to your life, with all this merit, with all this cause of enlightenment.

So this came because I was mentioning the importance of reading life story of the lineage lamas of lam-rim path, so those great yogis who completed the path. Anyway, present ones, the ancient ones, however, those who accomplished the path and to read, so one comes to know how to practice Dharma. It’s one way of subduing the mind, this very concrete concept, the heavy mind, to soften, like cotton, get softened, so that, only then the realizations can come. [pause]