My very dear Liz,
Thank you very much for your kind email.
It is not a problem, very good advice to do lo-jong and tong-len. You can do tong-len like normal with your hand turning the prayer wheel. As long as you turn the prayer wheel for sentient beings, when you turn it, visualize light rays come from OM MANI PADME HUM purifying sentient beings, so their disturbing-obscuration thoughts, self-obscuration thoughts are purified.
Another way is to think that you receive all the realization, all the paths. The OM MANI PADME HUM mantra contains all the Chenrezig’s cause, so begin with that, with your hand turning the prayer wheel.
Then also you can do tong-len while turning the prayer wheel, taking all the suffering obscurations of sentient beings onto yourself. The other meditation is for all the sufferings to absorb into the prayer wheel. They sink into it like a vacuum, so all sentient beings are free, they are like dharmakaya. Then the prayer wheel becomes wish-fulfilling, so they get everything they want, especially to achieve Chenrezig’s qualities; the whole path to enlightenment.
The main thing with lo-jong is to end the self-cherishing thought. The main target is to destroy your self-cherishing thought; to avoid the self-cherishing thought while turning the prayer wheel. Take the suffering of all sentient beings, this absorbs into you and destroys your self-cherishing thought; then dedicate your three times’ merit to others. Dedicate all your temporal and ultimate happiness, liberation from samsara and full enlightenment for others, also your body in the form of numberless wish-granting jewels. Give all your belongings, surroundings and people as charity to the numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless animals, numberless humans, suras, asuras and numberless intermediate state beings. At the end of each of these dedications, think everyone in that realm becomes enlightened, becomes Chenrezig, that’s important. So, do this with your hand turning the prayer wheel, that’s ok.
Thank you for making your life most meaningful with the thought of bodhicitta. This is the most important thought and wish.
With much love and prayers...
