My very dear one,
Thank you very much for your very kind letter. I am very happy to accept, as you requested. Of course, I am not qualified, as you mentioned in your letter, but for sure there is karma from your side and from my side, so you try and I will also try.
It is very good for you to practice Guru Shakyamuni Buddha daily meditation (a small booklet that I put together). Within this practice there is a lamrim prayer, so at that point stop and focus on a section of lamrim, read a few pages of a lamrim book, such as Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand or Lama Tsongkhapa’s middle lamrim. In this way, you practice lamrim meditation every day, continue going through the lamrim like this, and then start again, until you have stable realizations. In this way, become familiar with the lamrim path.
It is very good if you can do prostrations to the Thirty-five Buddhas in the morning, either one, two, or three sets of thirty-five. This means reciting the names one, two, or three times, and then you read the last confession prayers only once.
Then, in the evening, you can recite Vajrasattva mantra, either one mala, half a mala, or 21 times, with the practice of the four powers. You can also recite Vajrasattva mantra while prostrating if you like.
Your main deity for your quickest enlightenment and to enlighten others is Hevajra. If you can, take the initiation for this deity and then study the commentaries, and do the retreat and practices. This deity is more common in the Sakya lineage, but some Gelugpa lamas, like Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche, also give the initiation.
I have checked what practices you should focus on for your whole life. This is many years of practices, so you know what to focus on, have a goal to achieve, and something to do, so you just do these practices according to your time and situation in life. These are the practices that will direct you toward enlightenment quickest, so this is like a map and equipment—what you need to achieve enlightenment:
- 30,000 refuge prayers
- 300,000 prostrations to the Thirty-five Buddhas
- 500,000 Dorje Khadro
- 300,000 Guru Yoga
Please find attached instructions on how to do the practices, etc. Please make your life most meaningful with the thought of bodhicitta.
With much love and prayers...
