Member of the FPMT

Namgyalma mantra is very good, very powerful purification. One day Lama Yeshe, my root guru, and I were in South India and we went to see His Holiness Song Rinpoche. During the interview His Holiness was constantly reciting Namgyalma mantra. His Holiness told us that he was doing this because he receives the names of many people from all over the world to pray for, and sometimes they send offerings, but there is a lot of pollution from the offerings, therefore he was reciting Namgyalma mantra. He said people think Namgyalma mantra is only for a long life but actually it is very powerful for purification.

In the past I used to recite Namgyalma for people who had died. So the fact that you recite it is very good, that helps you very very much. By reciting Namgyalma mantra you will never be reborn in the lower realms because there is so much benefit and so much power from the Namgyalma mantra.

Guhyasamaja is your main deity to practice the tantric path, for your quickest enlightenment, so that is your object, your goal. Each deity’s sadhana has its own graduated path (lamrim prayer) at the end, so after you have received the Guhyasamaja initiation you should recite the deity’s lamrim prayer every day, even if you are doing the very short sadhana. Whichever version you are practicing, still you should recite the gradual path (lamrim prayer) every day. Presently, you are performing Guru Shakyamuni Buddha daily meditation practice. Within that practice there is a lamrim prayer. Also, there is guru yoga practice in it. The lamrim prayer of the deity, which also contains guru devotion, is the foundation or preliminary for tantra.

Lamrim is the fundamental practice. You should recite one lamrim prayer like this every day, as it leaves an imprint on your mental continuum of the whole path to enlightenment. So that means you become closer to realizing the path to enlightenment every day. Each day you are closer to enlightenment, closer to the ultimate goal, to liberating countless sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric sufferings and bringing them to enlightenment. It is like planting seeds every day of the whole path. By reciting the deity’s lamrim prayer every day it also plants seeds of the tantric path. Reciting any lamrim prayer every day plants seeds to realize the three principals of the path.

By planting these seeds in your mental continuum, either in this life or your next life it makes it much easier to realize the lamrim, guru devotion, and then the tantric path. It also eliminates all the defilements, gross and subtle, and enables you to enlighten countless sentient beings, which is the ultimate goal of one’s life. This is like laying the foundation of a house, or like removing the rocks and planting seeds in a field. This is very, very important for one’s spiritual growth, with guru devotion as the basis to receive blessings.

The next most important practices are purification practices and to collect extensive merit. The next most important practice is to meditate on the path. So, the basis is like planting seeds and this is done by reciting lamrim prayers every day. Then one needs to meditate on the path (lamrim), starting with guru devotion, then the graduated path of the lower capable being, trying to have realizations step by step. This is how to get enlightened.

Whether one has an extensive understanding of Dharma or a little understanding of Dharma, this is the best way to go. This should be the plan for your whole life, how to go about reaching enlightenment, in this life and in future lives, until you reach enlightenment. The more you learn Dharma, lamrim, sutra, and tantra, the closer you are to enlightenment. Even if one does not know the entire sutra and tantra extensively, this is the way to go about your life, what practice to do. Even if you study Dharma your whole life it is no use if there is no integration of Dharma into your life. Maybe you study many things, but you are not practicing, not integrating the lamrim into your life. Without lamrim the mind can’t really develop, and you can’t really achieve the realizations of the path. So one’s mind would always be empty of realizations. To get realizations you need to integrate the lamrim.

I mentioned four things:

1) Guru yoga (devotion)
2) Purifying obstacles
3) Collecting merit
4) Meditating on the path, meaning lamrim

These four things are the basis and the direction for your life: to meditate on the lamrim and the tantric path on the basis of guru devotion, purification, and collecting merits.

Start with guru devotion, meditate on this every day, regardless of which section of the lamrim you are focusing on. Continue guru devotion meditation every day. Sometimes, when you have more time, then meditate a little longer, however try to do even 10-15 minutes every day to have some experience of that subject.

So, meditate on the eight benefits for two weeks, the advantages of correctly devoting to the guru, and two weeks on the shortcomings, the disadvantages of not devoting correctly to the guru. Then, for a month, meditate on the four basic outlines to transform the mind to see the guru as Buddha. There are four outlines for training the mind in guru devotion. Meditate on the four outlines for one month. Then, for one month, start again from the eight benefits of correctly devoting to the guru for three weeks and then the shortcomings of not devoting correctly for maybe just one week.

Then, again, the next month meditate on the four outlines. Continue like this until you see the guru as all the buddhas, from your side, and the Buddha as all the gurus. You feel this spontaneously from your heart 24 hours a day, every day, not just for a few hours or days, but a stable realization that lasts weeks, months, and years. Once the realization is stable then you don’t need to put in much effort, or spend much time, just a little bit so that the realization does not degenerate. You need to meditate like this until you have stable realizations, no matter how many lifetimes it takes; there is no other way to have successful realizations.

Also, you have to practice the other meditations in the lamrim, to train the mind. Beginning with the graduated path common to the lower capable being, this starts with meditating on your perfect human rebirth and goes up to karma. It doesn’t mean you have to go over each section of the lamrim extensively, you just do a little bit each day. On one day meditate on the lower realms for 15-20 minutes, then whatever part of the lamrim you did not finish, you can do it later in the evening or the next day. Each day you scan the entire lamrim, but you spend more time on the section that you are focusing on (like guru devotion) and in that way move through the entire lamrim over the months.

Meditate for four months on the graduated path common to the lower capable being. It can be 10-15 minutes each day if you are very busy. Then, when you have finished up to karma, go back again. After four months then meditate for five months on the graduated path common to the middle capable being, on delusions, karma, the three types of sufferings, the six types of suffering, the Four Noble Truths, etc. When you have finished each subject, then start over again until the five months is finished. Then meditate for five months on the graduated path common to the higher capable being. After that meditate for two months on bodhicitta, in the same way, and then after that meditate for three months on emptiness.

To make this a little clearer:

Four months on the graduated path common to the lower capable being
Five months on the graduated path common to the middle capable being
Five months on the graduated path common to the higher capable being
Two months on bodhicitta
Three months on emptiness

When you finish, if you have already realized the first part of the lamrim, the lower path, then you don’t need to spend much time on that part, and instead focus on the middle path, etc. If you have not realized it, then start again from the graduated path common to the lower capable being. This is how to go about your whole life in order to become enlightened. Whether you are learning vast amounts of Dharma or not this is the way to go about it. Without doing this, without going over the lamrim, you are lost, you have no path.

Regarding what you said about your parents and how you do not have much time, your parents are teaching you how precious the human rebirth is, and how their opportunity has gone. While you are healthy, mentally and physically, you should do the practices, the meditations, and virtuous actions of the body, as much as you can. You can use your parents to remind you of Dharma, to remind you of suffering, the cause of suffering, that suffering can cease because there is a path. Your parents can remind you of this all the time.

You are doing Namgyalma and Medicine Buddha practice, so that is great. You mentioned about the pigs being slaughtered. When you practice Namgyalma you can include them. When I went to Taos, New Mexico, I passed a giant field with thousands of cows that were going to be slaughtered, so I made prayers for them.

Regarding the picture I am sending you of Medicine Buddha and the merit field, when you make one light offering to the thousands of merit fields, then you create thousands of causes for enlightenment.

Regarding the picture of the 35 Buddhas that I am sending you, when people prostrate, sometimes they only think of the 35 Buddhas, but you should prostrate to all the buddhas, however many you can think of. You can prostrate to all buddhas, Dharmas, and Sanghas in the 10 directions. When you think of the 35 Buddhas and prostrate then you create vast amounts of merit, even if you prostrate to only one Buddha. But if you think of the buddhas, Dharmas, and Sanghas in all 10 directions, as well as all the statues, stupas, and scriptures in the 10 directions, then even if you only prostrate one time it creates so many causes of enlightenment, as well as so many causes to be free from suffering. Think that there are countless stupas, buddhas, Dharmas, and Sanghas, so you are creating so many causes of liberation and enlightenment. If you think of only one Buddha then the merit is smaller.

If you can’t do the actual prostrations then you can put your palms together. When you put your palms together to one statue of Buddha that immediately creates eight benefits. The last of the eight benefits is liberation from samsara and enlightenment. So each time you prostrate to countless buddhas, Dharmas, Sanghas, statues, stupas, and scriptures it creates countless causes for your enlightenment, for you not to suffer, for happiness for future lives, and ultimately enlightenment. This is such an easy way to collect extensive merit, to achieve liberation from samsara, and to achieve enlightenment.

On top of this, you visualize thousands of your body prostrating, covering the whole ground in the four directions. The ground is covered with your body prostrating in the four directions, and they are all prostrating to all the holy objects. So, even if you are not able to prostrate physically, still you can visualize in this way. If you visualize even only one more body making prostrations, you collect double the amount of merit. So if you visualize billions of bodies prostrating (even for only one prostration) you receive the benefits of making one billion prostrations, and you receive the same amount of merit.

By prostrating to the Buddha 100 times you create the merit to be born 100 times as a wheel turning king. To be born as a wheel turning king one time you have to collect vast amounts of merits. The more atoms you cover on the ground when you prostrate, that many causes you create to be reborn as a wheel turning king, equal to the number of atoms.

Of course, the important thing before prostrating is to first motivate with bodhicitta. Each time when you look at Buddha so many defilements are purified, so do not close you eyes when you are prostrating. Also, think each Buddha is a manifestation of your guru, that this is your guru manifesting here. Then prostrate also with your mind, not only your body, thinking that the Buddha is the manifestation of your guru.

My very dear Sylvia,
Thank you very much for your kind letter.

I want to advise you to recite the Diamond Cutter Sutra seven times and to perform 100 prostrations every day, by reciting the 35 Buddhas names. Recite the rest of the confession prayer when you finish. That is best, because every day we create so much negative karma.

If you can, perform full-length prostrations, if you have space in the house or in your room. This would be incredible. When you travel long distances by plane or are sick and so forth, then I understand it is difficult to do these. Otherwise, you should try to do them.

This is actually an emergency because with all the negative karma that we have created from birth, and especially from beginningless rebirths, it is possible to experience the result—the terrifying lower realms—any minute, any time, the moment the breath stops.

The ultimate result is the achievement of liberation and enlightenment.
With big love and prayers...

From the student’s original letter:

“When I met you two years ago, I felt an immediate connection. I have felt you guiding me in many ways since that time, including in dreams. I am so appreciative of your kind and generous help as I struggle toward becoming enlightened for the benefit of all sentient beings. Recently, you asked FPMT centers to recite the Sanghata Sutra and dedicate it to the Maitreya Project. I decided to do this—recited it twice for that purpose, but I continue to recite it now in my daily practice because I just love it. I find it very useful in helping me have a good motivation during the day, and having a more peaceful state of mind. My cat is usually with me when I recite it, and I keep my window open so as to benefit all the creatures in my garden. So, I am extremely grateful for your guidance in asking us to recite this amazing sutra. I have a goal to some day actually write it out as well. I have previously memorized the Heart Sutra, and enjoy reciting that as well.

“I am a minister in a Christian church. This is not a traditional church, and I am not a traditional minister. Most people in my church are happy that I am also a Buddhist, and I often include Buddhist readings and ideas in my services. I imagine you will wonder if I believe in or teach about a ‘creator God,’ because that would go against my Buddhist precepts. I do not believe or teach about that kind of God. My emphasis is on Jesus’ teachings about love and compassion. When I refer to God, I almost always just use the word Love, because I don’t believe in a God that is an entity. A Buddhist monk and I have many conversations about this. I don’t know how long I will remain as a Christian pastor, but for now, I am happy to be the spiritual guide in this community. I believe my Buddhist practice helps me to be a better teacher and pastor for this community.

“I am writing to you to ask if you will consent to give me help and advice on my path to become a bodhisattva, on my way to becoming fully enlightened for the benefit of all sentient beings. I know I have been a Tibetan monk in other lifetimes, and I look forward to continuing that in future lifetimes. This time, I am a mother, wife, spiritual guide, and so late in remembering my Buddhist path! Maybe that is why I am so eagerly reading, practicing, and listening to teachings now—to catch up, to make up for lost time!

“As I said earlier, I have felt you were my precious teacher from the moment I met you. I have your picture all over my house, my office, and on my cell phone. In fact, my cell phone ring is your laughter! The monk I know has encouraged me to write to you to ask if I may formally be ‘under your wing’ as a student. Since the time I met you, my practice has steadily gotten much, much stronger, though I do still have a very long way to go. I have seen some little progress in my mind, in becoming a calmer, perhaps a little bit kinder person. My mind still becomes quite agitated sometimes, but much less anger arises than it used to. So, I do need someone to help me on this path, and I would be so grateful if you would agree to guide me. I will continue to hold you as my very precious guru, and I will perhaps be able to begin to learn guru yoga.”

Rinpoche replied as follows:

My Most Dear Jean,
Thank you very much for your great, inspiring story, which touched my heart. That you immediately felt a connection with me definitely shows a past life connection between us. Billions of thanks for reading the Arya Sanghata Sutra for the success of the Maitreya Project. I highly appreciate it. You read it two times, and now you want to continue as a daily practice. That is even more incredible and mind blowing.

I am so happy that you have found reading the Arya Sanghata Sutra very useful in helping you to have good motivation during the day and a much more peaceful state of mind. If you are able to do this, all your wishes will be fulfilled—all the heavy negative karmas are purified, and you will achieve all happiness –of future lives, all temporary happiness, and the ultimate happiness of liberation from samsara and full enlightenment.

Probably I don’t need to tell you what the text says about how much merit you collect each time you hear this sutra. Each time you hear it, how much merit do you collect? One buddha has completed the merit of wisdom and the merit of virtue—there is nothing more to collect. The merit you collect by hearing the Arya Sanghata Sutra is equal to the merit of the number of buddhas equaling the number of grains of sand in the Ganga River, multiplied by 12. And these grains of sand are not the ordinary type. It is explained in the teachings, in the great enlightened Pabongka Rinpoche’s notes, that these grains are made of extremely subtle atoms. There are seven kinds of subtle atoms: water atoms, earth atoms, and so forth. These sand grains are much, much finer than the normal kind.

In addition to that, when it comes to talking about the benefits of bodhicitta, or the benefits of the Arya Sanghata Sutra, the Ganga does not refer to the Indian River Ganges but to the Pacific Ocean. The merit of just one set of buddhas equaling the number of sand grains in the River Ganga is beyond words, unimaginable. Even just the merit that one buddha has collected is beyond words. So, beyond that, the merit that you collect every time you hear the Arya Sanghata Sutra is equal to 12 times the merit of the number of buddhas equal to the grains of sand in the River Ganga. That is just through hearing it. That means anyone—animals, frogs, birds—no question about your beautiful cat, your darling cat—or even spirits, outside or inside—collect so much merit. Can you imagine? It is like an impossible thing in life that happens. When those animals, your cat and other animals, hear you recite Buddha’s teachings, it definitely enables them to receive a higher rebirth and to meet the Dharma.

The minute you hear it, the five uninterrupted negative karmas—the extremely heavy negative karmas that send you immediately after death to the lowest hot hell, which has the heaviest suffering of the lower realms, with a lifespan that lasts for one intermediate eon—are completely purified. Therefore, in the past, when I was in Washington, I played a CD of the sutra in the car on the way to do shopping, which is a 40-minute drive. I was sitting in the front of the car, so I kept the window down. Sitting behind me were two nuns. The weather was not sunny; it was a bit foggy and cold. The wind was going back through the window and making them cold. But if I had cared only for them, then all those people living in the houses along the road and all the animals would not have heard the CD. There is a big difference. So, I kept the window down and played the CD very loud, like young people playing music in a car.

So, just while going to do shopping, you are liberating so many sentient beings on the way there—just one way. During that drive there was a deer in the road, so the car stopped and then the deer had the opportunity to hear a little bit of the sutra. So, if the five uninterrupted actions are purified, there is no question about the ten non-virtuous actions—they are also purified. I thought that was a great thing to do. Also, the people in the car are purified of all those negative karmas and collect incredible amounts of merit. It is such an easy way to make life meaningful. You just put the CD on in the car and play it, that’s it. As long as you are not deaf and can hear, you don’t need to use much effort. It’s the easiest way to purify negative karma and collect vast amounts of merit. It is the quickest, easiest way to achieve liberation from samsara and end all the oceans of samsaric suffering that one has experienced over and over, countless times, without beginning. It is a quick way to achieve enlightenment for anyone who hears it. Also, more merit makes it easy and quick to realize the emptiness of the “I,” the aggregates, and phenomena; it is a quick way to eliminate the root of samsara, ignorance, and a quick way to actualize bodhicitta. You need so much merit to actualize bodhicitta. If you have bodhicitta, you are a bodhisattva. In that second, you become the spiritual son of all the buddhas; you become the supreme object of offerings of all sentient beings. They collect so much merit when they make offerings to you—when they see you, hear your voice, touch you, or offer something to you. Even if some sentient beings harm you, after you have the realization of bodhicitta, then from your side, you only benefit in return. You pray for good things to happen to that person. There is a saying regarding bodhisattvas, “If you can’t make a good connection by doing good things, then by doing some harm, make a connection with a bodhisattva.”

This does not mean that you must harm a bodhisattva, but that in case that happens, it is saying it is worthwhile. In return the bodhisattva only benefits, only prays, so in return that sentient being is guided by that bodhisattva from life to life. For example, the Buddha, during his time as a bodhisattva, sacrificed his blood for the five yakshas; they drank his blood. Then, due to that connection, in the next life, they became his disciples as human beings—they became the first five disciples and Buddha gave them teachings at Sarnath. That was the first turning of the Dharma Wheel. They drank his blood, but the bodhisattva made a prayer for them in the next life to be his direct disciples, to be able to receive teachings and so forth. Of course, they then go on to liberation and enlightenment. There is incredible benefit for sentient beings if one is a bodhisattva. Only with bodhicitta can you complete the two types of merits and achieve the two kayas. Without bodhicitta, even if you have wisdom directly perceiving emptiness, you cannot achieve the two kayas. The highest you can achieve is arhatship, liberation from samsara—eliminating the delusions and karma.

If you read the Arya Sanghata Sutra, you collect far greater merit than just through hearing it, and if you write it, there is even more merit. Remember the merit of the buddhas equaling the number of grains of sand in the Ganges River multiplied by 12? The amount of merit if you write it is eight times that (eg, 96 x one set of buddhas).

The last time I went to Southeast Asia, because of my little advertisement about how much more merit you collect if you write it, many people had written it and had finished already. This is wonderful. The director of a Dharma center there told me that when they recited it incredible things happened, for example, somebody offered $100,000 to build a school. In another country, a student read it one time. When he read it, he thought, “Buddha wouldn’t lie,” and he read it with that strong faith. He then won the lottery and built a large house with the money to sell and use the money for Dharma projects. Also, when a woman who had been smoking her whole life read the sutra the first time, she was able to stop smoking just like that. This means that Buddha is really working and blessing through this text. Buddha is really in action.

Through the merit you collect, you are able to fulfill all the wishes of all sentient beings. You are able to liberate the countless hell beings and bring them to a higher rebirth, liberation from samsara, and to enlightenment. You are able to help the countless hungry ghosts, animals, humans, sura beings, asura beings, and intermediate state beings. Please remember each time you begin to recite the Sanghata Sutra these incredible advantages you can offer yourself and others from collecting so much merit.

Of course, naturally, you can dedicate the merit to all the projects I intend to do, as you have done already, not only to complete the Maitreya Project but for the statue to last a long time on this earth, until Maitreya Buddha descends to this earth, and for it to be most beneficial for all sentient beings, to purify sentient beings’ karma, enable them to collect extensive merits, and cause them to actualize bodhicitta, bring perfect peace and happiness to them, and bring them to enlightenment quickly. Also, another urgent project is in Tibet, a Padmasambhava statue, also an eye operation hospital in Kham, then to build as many holy objects as possible in different parts of the world, for the same purpose—1000 Maitreya Buddha statues—one story or two stories—around that size, in different parts of the world—some bigger than that. This helps to shorten the eon of famine, the eon of war, the eon of weapons, and the eon of sickness that are going to occur in this world. It makes them shorter and for the teachings of Maitreya Buddha to come sooner. Then, there is building monasteries and nunneries in different parts of the world, and providing education for the Sangha, fulfilling their needs. Also, there is preserving Dharma, spreading Dharma for sentient beings and continuing what has already been done, serving the Sangha in the large monasteries and Sanghas of different nationalities, providing many social services, like hospices and so forth, and establishing more projects like this, helping the centers who have financial difficulties, and for all the projects in all the centers to be most beneficial for all sentient beings. Of course, the very first thing is to fulfill His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s wishes immediately and for His Holiness to have a stable life.

Not only you, but so many people who have recited the Arya Sanghata Sutra have received so much benefit to their mind and heart, becoming more and more in the Dharma. Writing even a few lines of the sutra every day is extremely good. When you write it, of course you don’t finish many pages, it is quite slow, but when you write, also you read, so that is the benefit. If you only read it, you can finish it that day, in hours. One can do a few lines of writing and then read the whole text. Like that then, gradually, you can finish writing it. I am extremely happy that you enjoy it so much. You see the benefit for your mind and you see that it is an amazing sutra.

You said you have memorized the Heart Sutra. That is unbelievable. You must have a lot of good karma already because you are also enjoying reciting the Heart Sutra. I didn’t properly memorize the Heart Sutra. I don’t remember if I purposely memorized it, usually it is recited in the pujas. If I had to recite it from heart, I wouldn’t be able to recite it. I might jump around here and there. I don’t remember it exactly, only some number of years ago I got it right.

A few years ago, many students and I did a Mahamudra course in Adelaide, Australia. I thought I got the Heart Sutra right. I was leading the prayers and meditation. Someone corrected me because I left out the section counting the five aggregates at the beginning, the part after “form is emptiness emptiness is form, there is no form other than emptiness, no emptiness other than form.” After that, I jumped to the sense objects—no eye, no ear, etc. Since that person corrected me, I try to make sure, but still sometimes I miss it out, like slipping over the ice, and slip out to the next part where there is no form, no sound, no smell. I thought I would share my story about the Heart Sutra with you.

You are going to take the bodhisattva vows from the geshe at the Dharma center. That is incredible. That is like taking on a new life, you are newly born into a new life which leads to enlightenment, and you can bring sentient beings to enlightenment. That is like having zillions of birthdays. In the West, people regard birthdays as very important. This is like having much more than zillions of birthdays. That is how important it is. You are acting as a minister in a Christian church, but you present Buddha’s message or teachings and present Christian religion in that way. That is incredible. That is exactly what I would try to do if I were talking to Christian people. I would do the same thing if I were the minister of a church. It is all Buddha’s teaching, actually it is universal. When you talk about compassion, loving kindness, and patience, it is universal. When you know that, when you know the meaning, there is no problem, it is all universal, it is the same. Without the Sanskrit label, “Buddhist,” if you put it into English, it is universal.

In Tibetan “Buddha” is sang gye. Sang means purified, gye is developed, so “purified, developed”—fully purified of all the gross and subtle defilements and, because of that, having fully developed all the understandings. So, here again, it becomes universal. It is like when you say “professor” or “doctor”—it is universal. It means those who have that education, someone who is able to diagnose problems, and knows all the medicines to be given. The name is given on the basis of education and the work that is being done. With Buddhism it is the same. If you don’t use the Sanskrit name “Buddha,” if you just say the meaning, there is no confusion; it is universal.

It is extremely good that you emphasize loving kindness and compassion when you talk about God and all those things. When you emphasize God, emphasize love and compassion. Everything comes from that, all happiness for yourself and others. That is what you say in normal life: the essence of religion is loving kindness and compassion. Without that, you can’t really help or solve people’s problems. World problems can’t be solved.

One can call “God” compassion—your good heart. The other thing is, in Buddhism there is the Dharmakaya. The transcendental wisdom of omniscient mind is the Dharmakaya—that pure mind is Dharmakaya. The very nature of that, the emptiness of the Dharmakaya is the Svabhavakaya, the body of true nature. So, you can make the meaning of God very profound, very deep. I am not saying that you must talk about it this way. I am not saying that. I am just chatting with you.

As you mention in your letter, definitely the more we learn Buddhism, the more we can explain Christianity in a better and deeper way. Also, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has mentioned this. There used to be a meeting of His Holiness with priests. The priests talked about Buddhism and His Holiness spoke about Christianity. They did this in Bodhgaya under the Bodhi tree. One time, His Holiness chose the FPMT Root Institute to host the two or three days of meetings. That is the perfect place for such a meeting. It doesn’t have a very heavy Tibetan monastic culture. It is a little bit Indian—it fits the Indian country—with more space, kind of easy. Of course, there are Buddhist statues there of the Kadampa geshes and Buddha, and other thangkas.

I think it is very to good help as much as possible while you are a minister. We have another student, a lady, who is a minister of a church. Now she has become a nun.

I am extremely happy that since you met me your practice has steadily gotten much, much stronger and you are becoming a calmer and kinder person, with much less anger arising. Those things are the best signs of spiritual development, of Dharma within your heart, in your life, the best Dharma. It reminded me that during the Kalachakra initiation, His Holiness the Dalai Lama talked a lot about how to practice patience, how bad anger is for you and for others. My brother, who is called “Sangye,” was there, and while there he made a vow to never get angry. When I met His Holiness, I informed him of this. That made His Holiness very happy. His Holiness gives a lot of advice before the initiation and teachings, also practical advice. It benefits so many people, who come from all over India, Nepal, and especially from Tibet. The people get so much incredible benefit. They are able to change their minds and abandon bad thoughts. That is His Holiness’ main goal. Of course, the initiation makes them come. I just thought I would chat with you about this.

Definitely, of course, I agree to guide you, to help in whatever way possible, and accept you as a student.

So, I am going to give you some advice. In the future, when your responsibilities with family are not so great, then it is more beneficial to become a nun than to be a lay person. I think it is more beneficial to be a nun in the future when the children are OK and can take care of themselves. This is just a general idea from my divinations.

For your quickest enlightenment, to be able to enlighten sentient beings most quickly, you need a deity of highest yoga tantra to practice. For you, that is Guhyasamaja. The other one is Yamantaka. You can practice both, but the main one is Guhyasamaja. It doesn’t mean you can’t take other deities’ initiations and practice them, but this is the main one to practice being one with day and night. Then, through this practice, you actually become the deity (which means enlightenment, which means your body, speech, and mind become the deity’s body, speech, and mind) and then through this, you can enlighten all sentient beings. Through this practice, you bring all sentient beings to this deity’s enlightenment. You are able to free all beings from the ocean of samsaric sufferings and bring them to enlightenment.

If you haven’t taken this great initiation, then in the near future, when the opportunity comes, you can take it. I, myself, have done the retreat, but I am not satisfied enough with that to give the initiation. I will have to check. I guess if I am giving any of those, like Yamantaka, in the future, you are welcome to take them, or if another high lama, like Choden Rinpoche gives it, then you are able to take it. You can do the practice of the deity after the initiation. You can do retreat and daily practice and study the commentary.

However, now, especially now, before practicing tantra, even after you receive the initiation, until you realize bodhicitta, I would emphasize putting most effort into lamrim. You must have realizations of renunciation, bodhicitta, and right view, and, of course, the root—guru devotion. That makes for successful practice of the lamrim and the uncommon path of tantra. The tantric practice is second. Spend most of your time on the lamrim, then a little bit on tantric practice. Then, when you have the bodhicitta realization, you put more effort into tantra. Sometimes the person can do both, lamrim while also there is some development in the first stage of the tantric path.

Lamrim Meditations
Graduated path of the lower capable being—11 months
This means from precious human rebirth up to karma. It doesn’t mean you have to finish all the meditations in one day, you can do them in brief. What I am saying here is you should go through the details of these meditations. When you reach karma, then go back and practice them again. Try to achieve the realizations of these meditations. That is the main object that you are looking for.

Graduated path of the middle capable being—7 months

Graduated path of the higher capable being—7 months (this means on bodhicitta)

Right view—10 months

This does not mean you can’t meditate on other things, but this is the main focus. Of course, you should meditate on emptiness a little bit every day. Since you have memorized the Heart Sutra, recite the Heart Sutra and then meditate. The emptiness meditation analysis is looking at the real “I,” that which is appearing to you, in the sense of existing from its own side, as a hallucination. Looking at it as a hallucination because it is a hallucination. Another way of thinking is looking at it as empty because it is empty, because that real “I,” in the sense of existing from its own side, is the object of ignorance, is the object to which self-grasping is grasping and in which it is believing. Because there is no such thing as reality, self-grasping is a wrong concept, a hallucinated mind. It is the same when we cherish the “I.” For us, that real “I,” existing from its own side, is cherished. On the basis of believing that it is true, through self-grasping, then that “I” is cherished as the most precious thing among sentient beings, including the bodhisattvas and the buddhas. You can see there is no such thing. First of all, there is no such “I”. Second there is no such “I” that is more precious than others. Therefore, that selfish mind is a wrong concept. It is also a hallucinated mind.

In the future, also, another possibility is a three-year retreat on the deity, when the causes and conditions come together. What makes one’s life very profitable for the time being, as a lay person, is to take lay vows. You have taken refuge already, but there are also the five lay vows, if you haven’t taken them already. Why take them? Because the lay vows are taken until death. You are always collecting merit from having taken the vows, the precepts—however many hours you sleep, while eating, walking, even lying down at the beach. I am not sure whether you lie down at the beach, I am just giving you some idea. Even during those times, you collect the merit of having taken those vows. Even during many hours of work, you always collect merit. So, it makes life so meaningful, incredibly meaningful. Then, after taking vows, whatever merit you collect increases so much. It multiplies it by hundreds and thousands of times. It makes life so meaningful. The bodhisattva vows are a very high level of vow to take because of the many numbers of vows taken with bodhicitta. Whatever merit and virtue you collect once you have taken the bodhisattva vows increases millions of times. That is incredible, making your life so fruitful. After you have taken the bodhisattva entering vows, then every second you collect merit as vast as the sky. If you cannot take all five of the lay vows, you can take any number of those: one, two, three, or four. Generally, the more vows you take, the more merit you collect. You collect merit all the time and whatever virtues you collect also increase much more.

I will say that living in the pratimoksha lay vows helps also to be able to practice the bodhisattva vows. If you can’t practice any of the lay vows, it makes it difficult to practice the bodhisattva vows. The pratimoksha vow is the foundation for the bodhisattva vow. The bodhisattva vow is the foundation for the tantric vows, and from these three vows you are able to achieve liberation from samsara and enlightenment. Even within one life, by practicing tantra, and by practicing highest yoga tantra, you can achieve enlightenment within some number of years in a brief lifetime of these degenerated times.

Generally, in life, there are some practices that are good to do. One practice that is very good to do is Medicine Buddha. If you can chant one mala of the mantra each day, that is good. You can recite the names of the Medicine Buddhas. There is one small booklet that is a very good practice, very powerful and short, not the healing one (The Healing Buddha), but the Medicine Buddha Sadhana—this is very powerful purification, but also it brings success. Your wishes are fulfilled for attaining enlightenment, as well as for helping others and enlightening others. It is very good to pray to Medicine Buddha every day and do that practice. After you recite each name seven times, then you pray: “Whatever prayers, you, the Medicine Buddha, made in the past, may they be received by me and all sentient beings. Whatever prayers I make, may they be actualized immediately.” When you do that, then make a strong request to be able to complete the path to enlightenment as quickly as possible in this life and to be able to offer extensive benefit to others and be able to bring all sentient beings to enlightenment as quickly as possible. When you do this, if you want to make specific prayers for somebody who has passed away, is sick, or whatever, you can do them when you make this request “Whatever prayers I make, may they be actualized” At that time, you make the prayers, whatever you want to happen for a person.

The other practice to do is the Chenrezig meditation and the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM. That is extremely important in life to develop compassion—the root—then bodhicitta, the whole path, and to achieve enlightenment. The practice of bodhicitta, the Compassion Buddha (Chenrezig), is to take full responsibility onto oneself to free sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering and bring them to enlightenment. You can recite the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM for one mala or whatever—six malas or ten malas. Even if you have not received the Chenrezig great initiation (and so cannot generate yourself as Chenrezig), you can visualize Chenrezig in front of you and visualize that beams of nectar are emitted, enter your body and mind, and you are purified of all sickness, spirit harm, negative karma, and defilements—these four things. So, if you are reciting one mala, then do half of the recitation to purify yourself and half to purify sentient beings. Then, make prayers to Chenrezig and dedicate the merits:

Due to all the three times merits collected by me and by others,
May (name) generate the bodhicitta which has not been generated,
And may the bodhicitta which has been generated,
Never decline but always increase. (three times)

The first time you recite it, recite it for yourself, your family members, and all sentient beings; the second time recite it to generate bodhicitta in the hearts of all the leaders in the world; and the third time to generate bodhicitta in the hearts of all the terrorists, anyone who has harmful thoughts toward others—that they generate bodhicitta in their hearts without the delay of even a second.

Then recite “Gang ri wa rai…”—the dedication prayer for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Then recite:

Due to the three times merits collected by me and by others,
May I become only like you, Chenrezig, Buddha of Compassion;
Whatever your holy vajra body, retinue, lifespan, and pure land,
May I and others attain only these.

And:

Due to all three time merits collected by me and by others, that which exist but are empty, may the “I” who exists but is empty, achieve Chenrezig’s enlightenment, which exists but is empty; and may I lead all sentient beings, who exist but are empty, to that enlightenment, which exists but is empty, by myself alone, who exists but is empty.

You should recite this last dedication after you finish each practice. By dedicating to enlightenment, your merit becomes inexhaustible; it cannot end until you achieve enlightenment. By sealing it with emptiness, looking at it as empty, it protects the merits; if anger or heresy arises afterward, not only can it not destroy the merits completely, but it cannot make the merits weaker or less.

It is extremely important to know how to dedicate merits. Even a short dedication prayer like this is very unique, very powerful. So, this is what you should do each time you create merits, each time you recite mantras, or offer charity to the Triple Gem—whenever you finish a practice. After each practice, you should do this. For example, you sit down and begin a practice. Then, before you get up after finishing the practice, after the whole practice is done, then you make this dedication. Usually, with any practice you do there is a motivation, actual body, and completion. The completion is the dedication.

For the time being, maybe this is enough. I was telling the scribe that you are not here, but your letter is here in front of me, and it is like having an interview with you, chatting with you, it is the same.

As you always think of me and rely on me, you are always in my prayers. So, I am sending you a photo of my thangka of 1000-Armed Chenrezig that was blessed by His Holiness and has his handprint, and a White Tara thangka for long life. That will be sent to you. I hope to see you soon.

With prayers for the most meaningful life, to achieve enlightenment quickly, and with much love...

My very dear Wenyu,
Thank you so much for your kind letter. As your letter is not dated I am not sure how old it is—I apologize if there has been a delay.

The ultimate goal in life is to liberate countless sentient beings from oceans of samsaric suffering and bring them to enlightenment. For that you need to attain enlightenment, and for that you need to actualize the graduated path to enlightenment. So, this is a serious project, from life to life.

To have successful realizations of guru devotion, which is the root of the path, and the graduated path of the lower, middle, and higher capable being, you need to receive blessings from the guru in your heart. What causes this is guru devotion: seeing the guru as Buddha from your side, with all your effort, no matter how difficult it is, and no matter how long it takes. So, every day you need to perform one guru yoga practice—my suggestion is Lama Tsong Khapa guru yoga. Within that is a lamrim meditation and prayer. You should do that and meditate on the lamrim. After you finish that prayer which is called Foundation of Good Qualities, you can recite another prayer called Calling the Guru from Afar by Pabongkha, or Hymns of Experience of the Path by Lama Tsong Khapa. After finishing this, or within this prayer at the right point, then recite the ending of Lama Tsong Khapa guru yoga. If you have a Highest Yoga Tantra initiation then the guru enters your heart. If you don’t have a Highest Yoga Tantra initiation then you can’t do that visualization. In that case, the guru melts into light and dissolves into the center of the forehead between the two eyebrows, then blesses the body, speech, and mind.

In order to have realizations of the lamrim you need to purify defilements and collect merits, so here follow your preliminary practices:

• 7000 mandala offerings

• 300,000 Vajrasattva mantras

• 300,000 Samaya Vajra mantras

• 400,000 Guru Yoga mantras: This is the number of “Migtsema” mantras based on Lama Tsong Khapa guru yoga. You can also do these during Guru Puja. Sometimes you can do these on the basis of the Guru Puja, or begin each session with Lama Tsong Khapa guru yoga, then count the “Migtsema” mantras. You should study the instructions for the preliminary practices. You don’t have to do all of them in retreat. You can do a big number in retreat then the rest in daily life, then do retreat again to accumulate more numbers. You can do retreat, then your job, then retreat again. That way it doesn’t interfere with your job.

• 20,000 Refuge prayers

• 40,000 Bodhicitta practices—Taking and Giving. If you are not familiar with this practice, then study Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. There is a section on “Exchanging Self for Others—Techniques of Bodhicitta,” which discusses the bodhisattva practice of taking and giving.

• For you, service to the Dharma center is very beneficial.

• Every day, practice Chenrezig meditation and recite OM MANI PADME HUM. Medicine Buddha meditation and mantra recitation is also very important.

• In the morning perform prostrations by reciting the 35 Buddhas’ names. Prostrate toward all ten directions’ buddhas, Dharma, Sangha, statues, stupas, and scriptures, who are manifestations of the guru. For example, think of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This is what you think of when you start to lie down in the prostration. When you put your palms together on your head, then prostrate to all the buddhas, Dharma and Sangha who are manifestations of the guru. When you put your palms together on your forehead—in the center of the two eyebrows—then prostrate to the ten directions’ statues, stupas, and scriptures who are manifestations of the guru. When your palms are together at your throat, then prostrate to the ten directions’ buddhas, Dharma, and Sangha who are manifestations of the guru. When your palms are together at your heart, think of the ten directions’ statues, stupas, and scriptures, which are manifestations of the guru.

The following is how much time to spend on lamrim meditation:

• 8 months for the lower path, from perfect human rebirth up to karma. Practice that over and over until you achieve realizations of those meditations—especially impermanence and death.

• 11 months on the middle path

• 9 months on the higher path—bodhicitta

• Meditate on emptiness a little bit every day. You can recite the Heart Sutra or another short prayer. You will find different techniques in texts on how to meditate on emptiness. One day try one technique, the next day try another technique, or you can try the same technique for some days.

Your main deity for your quickest enlightenment is Vajrayogini. Also, Hevajra seems beneficial. But the main one is Vajrayogini. You can receive the commentary on this and practice the meditation on this only after you receive the initiation of the deity.

With much love and prayer,
Lama Zopa Rinpoche

The most important emphasis in life is mind training in the lamrim and to benefit sentient beings—offering service as well.

My Very Dear Jane,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. You mentioned you work in Sikkim. I recently visited Sikkim to see the very large Padmasambhava statue there. It was amazing. It is very good that those people have been able to collect incredible merit and benefit sentient beings by making that statue. I am not sure if you were there in Sikkim when I was there recently. I gave a Chenrezig initiation: “Chenrezig Liberating from the Lower Realms” at the Sera Je Monastery in Sikkim. They built such a beautiful monastery and I heard that maybe 1200 people came to the initiation. I gave some teachings and advice. I couldn’t do much as it was just one afternoon and there was translation into Nepali. Maybe you were there, I am not sure.

I was very impressed by the people because it seems that many young people there have faith and devotion. That was my first time meeting the people of Sikkim. It seems that many Sikkimese came to that initiation. The monks were very happy because usually they don’t come much. There were Tibetans there, too, and also, of course, Sherpas. Then I went down to Siliguri. There is a Segyu Monastery there. I have been offering food to them since almost a year ago, maybe for about 100 monks by now, so they wanted me to go there. I had lunch there and they asked for some advice. I saw so many people, and there was so much devotion, especially the young people showed devotion. It inspired me to go back there, and also to do more Dharma activities for them.

For your quickest enlightenment, to be able to enlighten sentient beings most quickly, you need a deity of highest yoga tantra to practice. For you, that is Secret Vajrapani (Vajrapani Great Wheel). It doesn’t mean you can’t take other deities’ initiations and practice them, but this is the main one to practice being one with day and night. Then, through this practice, you actually become the deity (which means enlightenment, which means your body, speech, and mind become the deity’s body, speech, and mind) and then through this, you can enlighten all sentient beings. Through this practice, you bring all sentient beings to this deity’s enlightenment. You are able to free all beings from the ocean of samsaric sufferings and bring them to enlightenment.

Here are your preliminary practices to do to collect the necessary conditions—the merits to have realizations of the path to enlightenment and purification of the obstacles and defilements:

400,000 Vajrasattva mantras
You can do this in the form of retreat (when there is a big number to finish), but also you can continue at home, wherever you are. You can do a few malas each day: one, two, three, four, five, whatever. So, you can count like that. Then, again, finish some in the form of retreat, being more strict and formal. If possible, also do retreat with the Eight Mahayana Precepts. It is the most powerful way to do it. This way, you are doing two very powerful practices combined. It is incredible purification. It is like one small flame can burn down a whole mountain, many thousands of acres of land, or can burn a whole city. If you let the fire burn and spread, it can burn the whole city. One small flame burns a house. Then it reaches the next house, and the next house, and the next, like that. With the Eight Mahayana Precepts, you collect so much merit and bring so much peace and happiness to the country where you are, to that area, so there is no question about yourself, about your benefit, and the happiness of this life. From that, all happiness comes. You achieve enlightenment, liberation from samsara, and the happiness of future lives, including the happiness and fulfillment of your wishes in this life. In the FPMT, usually we do the practice of taking the Eight Mahayana Precepts many times in retreat, not necessarily every day, but as much as possible. Also, doing it in retreat in a group is a very wise thing to do. It is also performed to stop war, famine, disease, dangers, poverty, and dangers from water, fire, and air. In the motivation, when you take the vows of the precepts, it contains that purpose for taking the vows, and you can also motivate in that way.

It is great that you have already done three months of retreat, but it still comes out in my observations for you to do this. That means, even if somebody had already recited the mantra one billion times, if it still comes out in the observations, then they still need it. That is the idea; that is the point.

Also, it comes out in my observations for you to do 50,000 tonglen. That is the preliminary of bodhicitta. This is the most powerful one to do (the requesting prayer together with the meditation of giving and taking). Here, you take sufferings and the causes of sufferings, including the negative imprint—take all sentient beings’ sufferings, including the delusions and karma, together with the negative imprints, and also the undesirable environments. For example, in hell, there is the ice fire, the ice mountain, the burning ground, the iron house; then for the pretas, the environment is a very depressing place with no water, and is so hot and cold; and for the human beings, the environment is a very dirty place full of thorn bushes. You take the environmental sufferings as well, those kinds of things, in the form of black pollution, and you give it all to the ego and destroy the ego—one’s own worst enemy. This is the greatest demon that has interfered so far with your being able to achieve enlightenment. It hasn’t allowed you to achieve enlightenment so far, has not even allowed you to achieve liberation from samsara, and hasn’t allowed you to enlighten all sentient beings, not even one. In these ways, you can see, one’s own ego is not only an enemy to you, but an enemy to all sentient beings.

Also, you collect countless merits by taking all the sufferings, causes of suffering, and undesirable environments. Then, when you give, you collect so much merit by giving your body as a wish-fulfilling jewel, and your possessions, to all sentient beings. However many possessions you have, they are given to sentient beings. So, however many possessions you have, you collect that much merit by giving them to sentient beings. Because sentient beings are countless, you collect countless merits with each possession.

Then, by giving all the past, present, and future merits, the three times’ merits, you collect vast amounts of merit. You give all your future happiness—your present happiness, from the next minute’s happiness up until enlightenment, including liberation and the realizations—to each and every single hell being, hungry ghost, animal, human, sura, and asura being. You can see that sentient beings are countless. By giving to each of them, you collect so much merit. You can’t imagine how much. I think if you really knew how much merit you will collect, you would faint and fall down– it might be difficult to get up! I hope it’s not for a long time! I hope people won’t take you to a hospital or a psychologist! I hope your family or friends don’t take you to the hospital because of it!

There is a prayer from Nagarjuna’s teachings:

Whatever sufferings there are, may they ripen on me; whatever happiness I have, may it ripen on sentient beings.

With the first part, you do the practice of taking; with the second, you do the practice of giving. Then you count on the mala (each time you recite the verse). I think you will be blissed out from this practice and that sentient beings will also be blissed out!

For you, there are not so many other preliminary practices to do. The other thing is to recite the Diamond Cutter Sutra 4000 times.

The last one is to do 300,000 Dorje Khadro burning offering pujas.

That’s it.

For lam-rim meditations:
Lower scope – four months
Middle – three months
Bodhicitta – four months
Emptiness – one month

This is done on the basis of guru devotion every day. The time you spend on the meditation is up to you, there is no fixed time for how long to do the meditation. You can do it for one hour, a half hour, 15 minutes, any amount of time, but do it every day as a daily practice until you see that one guru is all the buddhas, from the bottom of your heart, and it is very stable, long lasting, and that one buddha is all the gurus. After that, you don’t need to spend that much time on it. You still need to meditate a little bit to stabilize the realization. It is the same with any lamrim meditation that you achieve. When you finish all of the above lamrim meditations, do the same thing over again until you achieve the stable realization of each meditation.

For the deity practice, you need to receive a great initiation (Secret Vajrapani), then do the retreat, and do the daily sadhana practice.

Until you achieve the realization of bodhicitta, you should put more effort into lamrim. Then, the next stage is tantric practice. If you do it the other way round and spend more time on tantra and very little time on the lamrim, it will take a long time and you won’t achieve much. You can’t complete the tantric path without lamrim. That means you can’t achieve enlightenment without lamrim, the three principal paths.

The Diamond Cutter Sutra is incredible. It is one of the most profitable practices, because the root of all sufferings, yours and others, is the ignorance holding the “I” as truly existent, even though it is empty of that; and the ignorance holding the aggregates as truly existent, even though they are empty of that. The only antidote to cut that, to get rid of that, and through which to achieve liberation, the total cessation of the suffering causes—delusions and karma—is the wisdom realizing emptiness. This is the subject of the Diamond Cutter Sutra, emptiness. So, each time you read it, it leaves so many positive imprints. Without taking much time and without many difficulties, it is easy to actualize wisdom. You also create a lot of merit, so it helps to actualize bodhicitta quickly and all the other realizations. That is the business, that is the deal with the Diamond Cutter Sutra—so much merit is created that whatever you wish, for example, to help others, you can achieve easily. In Washington State there is one lady who works at Walmart. She has almost finished memorizing the Diamond Cutter Sutra. If you recite the Diamond Cutter Sutra many times, of course there is no worry about death at all. Goodbye fear of death. Goodbye fear of the lower realms. Almost, you can say, “A Diamond Cutter Sutra a day, goodbye lower realms.” Also, you can say, goodbye to self-grasping, which has cheated you, totally controlled you from beginningless rebirths, and made you suffer countless times—in the oceans of hell sufferings, hungry ghost sufferings, animal sufferings, human being sufferings, sura sufferings, asura sufferings, and intermediate state beings sufferings, etc. Also, reading it is an incredible source of collecting extensive merit. If, while you are reading it, listening to it, even just by hearing about it, if you continue with faith, you collect so much merit, it is mind blowing, amazing, incredible, wow! It makes you laugh.

If you made an offering of your body to sentient beings the number of times equaling the number of sand grains in the Ganges in the morning, then again at noon, and also in the evening, and continued every day, that would be incredible. Even if you were to make charity of your body to sentient beings only one time, it would be incredible. If we compare that many acts of charity with having heard the Diamond Cutter Sutra and not giving up faith, the latter collects much greater merit than the other. So, there is no question that if you read, listen to, write, memorize, or learn about the Diamond Cutter Sutra, there is far greater merit than just having faith in the Diamond Cutter Sutra.

Also, the sand grains we are talking about are not ordinary sand grains, they are very, very fine atoms. There are seven extremely fine atoms. The river Ganga is not the river Ganges in India, but refers to the Pacific Ocean. So, you can see that the number is incredible, and so is the merit that you collect. Again, you can do some of the recitations in the form of retreat and then, at other times, when you are doing a job, every day, you can recite it one, two, or three times, however many you can. Then, again, you do it in the form of retreat, for two days, three days, seven days, a month, a few months, whatever. When you do it in the form of retreat, do a half-hour or one hour on the lamrim and then read, say for two hours, for the rest of the session. That is just an idea, the amount of time is up to you, it is not fixed. If you combine it with lamrim, that is extremely good.

In the morning practice guru yoga, prostrations by reciting the 35 Buddhas’ names, and recite the rest of the prayer at the end of the prostrations. Then, at night practice Vajrasattva, and before bed, if you can, recite the King of Prayers, the most extensive dedication prayer, dedicating your life to sentient beings. That is another sutra that is also incredibly powerful for purification and collecting extensive merits. If you recite that when you die, you go to Amitabha Pure Land, there is no doubt.

Don’t worry. You don’t have to worry about all of this. This is your lifetime practice. It is not something you can finish in one or two years. You don’t have to think about that. The main thing is to just do it and become enlightened to be able to enlighten sentient beings. You are incredibly fortunate to be able to have this opportunity to do this. The more you understand Dharma, the more you will understand how fortunate you are, especially with the Diamond Cutter Sutra.

The lady at Walmart is a cashier. Before she started reciting the Diamond Cutter Sutra, while working, she recited Vajrasattva. She didn’t have a prayer wheel, but had heard about them. She didn’t know much about the benefits, but somehow she was very drawn to that idea. So, in Walmart at the checkout stand, she used the rotating bagging table, where you hang bags, and turned it like a prayer wheel. She had some intuition about it. I think she has a lot of positive, natural imprints from past lives. So, I sent a prayer wheel to her. Mine is a little bit more sophisticated, the boss might not like it, so I gave her a simpler one. So, she turns it at work. Of course, people ask questions, some people have negative imprints from the past and don’t like it, but most people like it. One boy came by and liked it so much. Then, the boy wanted a prayer wheel. The boy must have very strong karma with Tibetan Buddhism. She has benefited so many sentient beings there, liberating them from the lower realms, just by their seeing the prayer wheel. Just by seeing the mani prayer wheel, they are purified of the five uninterrupted negative karmas. These are negative karmas that after having been committed, when you die you immediately are reborn in the hot hell, the lowest hell with the heaviest suffering, the duration of which is one intermediate eon. So, those negative karmas that anybody has collected are purified, besides the ten non-virtues. Anyone who sees the prayer wheel is purified of these negative karmas, is liberated from the lower realms, and the seed for enlightenment is planted.

Much love and prayer, please enjoy your life with Dharma, especially bodhicitta...