Motivation for Making a CD

Motivation for Making a CD

Date Posted:
October 2005

One of Rinpoche’s students, who is a famous singer from Hong Kong, had expressed a wish to make a CD for the one of Rinpoche’s projects. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola had asked her to make a CD for them and she felt no inspiration to make it, but had a deadline to do so. Rinpoche sent her the following message at that time.

You should pray before beginning your recording to have a virtuous motivation. The motivation becomes the thought of benefiting other sentient beings, which allows the action of recording the song to become Dharma, virtue, a cause of happiness, and for it not to become negative karma. This way you are protected from creating negative karma.

Pray like this: “Due to all the past, present, and future merits collected by all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, by sentient beings, and me, whoever sees this CD, whoever touches this CD, whoever hears this CD, thinks of it, dreams of this CD, whoever talks about this CD, and also myself, may they never, ever be reborn in the lower realms. May they immediately be liberated from all disease, such as cancer or AIDS, from mental problems, negative karmic defilements, and spirit harm, and may they actualize the whole path to enlightenment, especially loving kindness, bodhicitta, renouncing the “I,” and cherishing others, with each person becoming the source of happiness for all sentient beings, including the sentient beings of other worlds.”

Practice this each time you start work. Then, at the end, when you stop, you can also dedicate the merits in the same way, but especially dedicate so that this CD may offer extensive benefit to all sentient beings and bring them to enlightenment as quickly as possible. If you motivate yourself in that way, it can have this effect, causing everyone to develop a good heart, loving kindness, and compassion for every sentient being. If one person is able to generate a good heart, thousands of sentient beings can receive limitless benefits from that person. On the basis of their not receiving any harm, they gain only peace and happiness. Not giving any harm, that’s the peace you can give. Then, that person specifically benefits others, by giving them the four types of happiness: the happiness of this life, of future lives, liberation, and enlightenment. One person can cause all this for others.