Coma

Coma

Practices for Coma
Date of Advice:
December 2016
Date Posted:
April 2018

Rinpoche gave this practice advice to help someone who had been in an accident and was now in a coma.

1. Lama Chöpa tsog: 300 times

2. Recite the Thirty-five Buddhas' names 10,000 times. You can count each person reciting once as one. Think that nectar is purifying the person in coma and all the sentient beings. Visualize strongly that all his negative karmas are purified, so that he may take rebirth in a pure land where he can practice and achieve enlightenment.

3. The center can do more of the protector prayers and especially more of Palden Lhamo.

4. Do the full puja of Palden Lhamo, and kangshak should also be done 600 times by Drepung Loseling Monastery in India.

 

Mantras for Coma
Date Posted:
October 2009

Rinpoche gave the following advice to a student’s brother, who was in a coma after a brain operation. This advice can apply for anyone who is in a coma.

Dear James,
Here is the practice and mantra for your brother:

I prostrate to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas. This is the mantra called “Exalted one whose shape of the body is beautified.”

Mantra:

NAMO BI PULA BI MANA SUPRATISHTI TE AH SAM KHE YA/ SURYA SHATA SAHA SRA AH TI RE KA TE DZA/ PRABHA AH BHA BASITA MA AYUR TAYE/ MAHA MANI MUKUTA KUNDALA/ AH LAM KARA DHARINI BHAGAVAT PADMA PANA YE/ SARVA LOKA AH PAYA SHA MANAYA/ BI BIDHA KHU KHA SAMA BHASHA AH BISH THA/ SARVA SATVA PARI MO DZA KAYA/ TADYATHA/ OM BHURU BHU BA SVAHA/ MAHA AH LOKA KARANA TAMA SATI MIRA BATALA BINA SHAKA/ RHAGA DESHA MAHA MOHA JVALA SHA MAKA/ SHA SA KA RAKSHA KA/ SARVA AH PA YA DHUR GATI PRASHA MAKA/ SARVA SATVA SAMA SHASANA KARA/ SARVA AH SHA PARI PURA KA/ SARVA TATHAGATA SAMBHANA KARA/ HE HE MAHA BODHISATTVA/ BHARA BHARA DHAYA KA/ PADMA AH LOKA SAMBHATA/ MAHA KARUNIKA/ JATA MUKUTA/ AH LAMKRITA SHIRA/ MANI KANA KARA JA/ SHATA VAJRA BAIDURYA AH LAMKRITA SHARIRA/ AH MITA BHA ZI NA KAMALA AH LAM KRITA/ PRABHA RANA RAJA NA SHATA SAHA SRA AH BHI LAKHI TA KAYA/ MAHA BODHISATTVA BARA BINHA MABI DHAMA/ BINA SHAYA BINA SHAYA/ MAHA YAM TRA KALE SHAKA BATA AH BA BUDHA BI BODHISATTVA SAMSARA DZARA KA PRAMA THANA/ PURU SHA PADMA/ PURU SHA NAGA/ PURU SHA SAGARA/ PURU SHA SIMHA/ BIHA/ BIRA BIRA DZA/ SU DHANTA PARI BHRITA / DHAMA DHAMA/ SAMA SAMA/ DHURU DHURU/ PRASHASAYA/ PRASHASAYA/ PRADHVANA SAYA/ PRADHVANA SAYA/ GHIRI GHIRI/ DHIRI DHIRI/ BI DHIRI BI DHIRI/ BIRI BIRI/ BIBI RI BIBI RI/ TSIRI TSIRI/ SIRI SIRI/ SURU SURU/ MURU MURU/ MUNYA MUNYA/ DHUNA DHUNA/ BI DHUNA BI DHUNA/ DHURU DHURU/ GAYA GAYA/ GA DHAYA GA DHAYA/ HASA HASA/ PRAHASA PRAHASA/ NANA BIBI DHAK LESHA BASANA/ HARA HARA/ SAMHARA SAMHARA/ DHURU TI DHURU TI/ MAHA MENDHA AH LAMKARA NA/ SHATA PRA SEKA/ AHBHA BHA SITA MAHA BHISHAK SHAMA KA/ MAHA BODHISATTVA PARA DHA SVAHA

Visualize yourself as the deity on a sun disc, emitting beams of light, and recite the mantra.

Use kusha grass or a peacock feather to gently brush over the person, while visualizing the person being purified and the consciousness being revived.

Also you can recite the Vajra Armor mantra 100 or 21 or 10 times and blow on some water. Then sprinkle the water on the person’s body and visualize the person being purified.

OM PEMA SHAWA RE HUNG PHAT/ NEN PAR SHIG/ NAGA NEN/
TADYATHA/ SAWA/ BE RE TA/ HANA HANA/ VAJRA NA/ RAJA RAJA/ SVAHA

It is very good to also do Medicine Buddha pujas for the person. Even if he doesn’t recover from the sickness, the prayers will still benefit his future lives, preventing rebirth in the lower realms. You should also include all sentient beings in your prayers and dedications.

With much love and prayers...

 

Coma for 50 Days
Date Posted:
August 2009

A young man, aged 26, was knocked off his bicycle by a car and had been in a coma for 50 days. He had started to regain consciousness, but could not communicate or move and was kept alive by ventilation tube and liquid feeding. He was moved to a country hospital but the doctors held no hope of recovery.  A family friend wrote to Rinpoche for advice. Rinpoche's response is below.

My very dear Jeanette,
Thank you for your kind email. According to my observation the man should wear:

  1.  Black Manjrushri protection
  2.  One other protection, which I have drawn
  3.  Lion-face Dakini protection
  4.  Vajra Armor protection

I will bless these protections and they should be placed around the man’s neck.

Then, there are two pujas that need to be done:

1. She-nyin dü-dog – This needs to be done by Sera Je, the Samlo Khamtsen. If you are at Kopan Monastery now, then you can ask one of the monks there to arrange it and also how to pay the bill. You can say that I suggested this puja be done, give the man’s name, etc. If this is hard, let us know and we can arrange it.

2. Lu-zong puja – I need to try and do this. You may also arrange for this to be done at Kopan, sooner, that way it gets done twice.

Then, the mother should liberate animals every month. She should get animals that will be killed otherwise, like worms and insects. It is important to liberate them in the way I have explained (take the animals around holy objects, recite mantras, bless water, sprinkle the blessed water on the animals, and then let them go). This can be arranged at the center, at least once a month, and this way other students can join in – students who are sick, have cancer, also other family members, and children. It is not restricted to sick people, though, anyone can come. It would be very good to start this at the center. She needs to do this each month for her son.

The mother should also recite the seven Medicine Buddhas’ names, seven times, beside his bed, so he can hear. When she recites them, she should visualize the seven Medicine Buddhas above his head, beams of nectar emit from each Medicine Buddha, enter her son’s body and mind, and purify the four things (disease, sickness, spirit harm, and negative karma). Chant each of the seven Medicine Buddhas’ names seven times or more. Also, recite Medicine Buddha mantra, and make a strong request to each of the seven Medicine Buddhas for him to recover. At the end, think that each of the Medicine Buddhas absorb into him and he is completely healed. Make prayers for him to actualize bodhicitta and actualize the path as quickly as possible.

I am also making prayers for him, as well as the Sangha in my house.

With much love and prayers...

 

Practices for Man in Coma
Date Posted:
April 2007

Rinpoche sent the following advice for a student who was in a coma.

I am sending a blessed photo of Medicine Buddha  to the Dharma center, for the man in a coma. When it arrives put the picture on the pillow above the man’s head. The family and other people should make strong prayers to Medicine Buddha, recite Medicine Buddha mantra, and visualize beams of nectar being emitted from Medicine Buddha and entering his head. They should recite Medicine Buddha mantra next to him and around him, saying it out loud.

Also, you can visualize the seven Medicine Buddhas on his head, recite the seven Medicine Buddhas’ names, and make strong requests to each Medicine Buddha that the four things are purified (all sickness, spirit harm, negative karma, and defilements). Think that he is immediately purified, then that he has received all the qualities, from guru devotion up to enlightenment, especially bodhicitta. After reciting each Buddha’s name, think that Medicine Buddha fully accepts your request. For the last Medicine Buddha (of the seven) recite at least one mala of the name mantra, or more. Think and visualize strongly that it is purifying the four things, and then think that Medicine Buddha melts into light and absorbs into him.

This is the mantra pacifying all sickness:

TADYATA / VAJRA VAJRA / MAHA VAJRA / SARBHA BHAYA DHI / HANA HANA VAJRA NA SVAHA /

Visualize Guru Shakyamuni Buddha above the sick person. Visualize light beams radiating out, pacifying all sicknesses, obstacles etc.

It is also good for him to wear the protection of White Umbrella and Most Secret Hayagriva – you can organize this at the center.

It also comes out very beneficial to burn Hayagriva torma pills, 4-5 each day, and for each session to last an hour or more. Burn them close to the patient so the smoke goes near him. How many Hayagriva torma pills do you have?

I will also send you a little bit of water from all the holy places where I have been collecting it. The water is from:

  • Mount Kailash
  • Maratika (holy place of Padmasambhava)
  • Lake Manasarova in Tibet – tasting this you will be reborn in the pure land of Vajrayogini
  • Pabongka Rinpoche’s cave in Tibet – this is where Pabongka Rinpoche had a vision of Heruka, and the water dripping in this cave is in the sound of Vajrayogini mantra
  • Lawudo Lama’s cave
  • Potala Palace in Tibet
  • Wu-Tai Shan Mountain in China – extremely precious water
  • Reting in Tibet

This water is extremely rare and precious. I will send it to you tomorrow. You should sprinkle it on his body, specifically using kusha grass, so the water touches his skin a few times each day. Cut a few strands of kusha grass, so the ends can be dipped into the precious water, and sprinkle it on his face and body, so it touches his skin, at least four times a day.

If there is water left over, keep it for other people who are sick. Please understand that this water is extremely rare and precious.

The text Serwer Ngada needs to be recited by the geshe. Geshe-la should recite it in front of the man in the coma. The text is in Sung Du (Compilation of Holy Speech). Geshe-la should also do gektor and I am also going to do gektor.

 

Correct Puja for Coma
Date Posted:
November 2005

Rinpoche said the following while watching a television news item about a patient in a coma.

In such situations, usually we perform a few pujas or ask a monastery to perform them and that’s all.

I think Medicine Buddha puja is most important in this case. It should be done 30, 40, or 50 times, making strong prayers. This could bring about some change, although it may not be possible for the person to avoid the karma of the coma if it is heavy karma.

Pujas are related to nagas and other beings. What is important is to choose the exact, correct puja for each person. Doctors diagnose and treat sicknesses, and pujas have a similar effect if the correct one is done well, by the right person. A purer motivation and more compassion give power to the puja. Pure morality gives power, and also the realization of emptiness. The bottom line is you have to have faith.

There are also pujas which can be done on the body itself, using protections, which relieve a person from harm.