Protection from Spirit Harm

There’s another mantra also that can be recited. You have to recite it loudly, not quietly, but with sound, so the spirits can hear it. Then they won’t harm you. They are so happy with you and they respect you.

From the Sorrowless Sutra, the Kha-ba:

When Ananda was attacked by the 64,000 maras, as Buddha gave this mantra to the Bodhisattva Manjugosha, this mantra was announced. When the king of the maras heard it he generated bodhicitta, the thought of enlightenment, and the king of the maras let go of Ananda.

This is the mantra Abandoning Completely the Actions of Mara taught by Buddhas equaling the number of the sand grains of the ten times Ganga water. Devas, nagas, smell-eaters, asuras, nagading floating in the sky, myemchi, Toche Chenpo, the divisions of eight worldly devas, then human beings, non-human beings, devas abiding on the mountains, trees, waters, lake and families place, the minute they hear this mantra they keep the name of that person and respect that person. [That person will] also abandon [taking a] woman’s body, remember their past life, engage in celibacy, not eat wine, meat and so forth, and like solitude. If one recites this with devotion or writes it in scriptures, it purifies 77 x 100 billion negative karmas, non-virtuous actions. This mantra is said to have those benefits:

AMA LAI, PEMA LAI, NIR MA LAI, MOOGA LAI HAI, MALA ZA GHA GAI, GHA GAI, TSAMANTRA BAR TAI, SHAWA TA SA TEN NAI, BRAMA ATA TSA RA NAI, MA NA TSAI, ASHU DAI, PILA GI, AMA LAI THE, PA LAM ME, PA LAM PHA SWA RE, PUN NAI PUN NAI, MAN NO LA DE

Anybody who has spirit harms should recite this mantra loudly so the spirits can hear. Keep this with you.

My very dear one,
I am very sorry for the many eons of delay. According to my observation, this is what you need to do:

• Practice Lion-face Dakini every day—this is the most important one. Chant the mantra and clap your hands (as it says in the practice).
• Recite the Heart Sutra a few times each day.
• Wear the Hayagriva protection. Holly will send it to you.
• Wear the Sutra of Golden Light text in Tibetan as a protection. To do this you have to reduce the size of the text, but do it so you can still read it. Wrap it up in plastic so it doesn’t get wet from perspiration or water. Wear it all the time. You need to respect it, so if you are prostrating move it onto your back, and make sure you don’t lie on it when you sleep (you can take it off and keep it near your bed).
• Do the riwo sang cho incense puja (often done by Rigpa).
• You need the Vajra Armor protection.
• Do the attached practice (after reciting the sutra) a few times each day, doing more of the part where you clap.
• There is a puja called lu-zong that I will do for you.

I will bless and send you the protections. Please try this.

With much love and prayers...

Dear one,
I read your email and this is my advice:

1. Drugchuma puja: twice. Please request Geshe Jampa Tekchok to do this. You will need to make an offering for the pujas.

2. Focus on Most Secret Hayagriva for your daily practice—both you and your friend. Even if your friend does not have the initiation she can still do it, but she shouldn’t generate herself as the deity. Attached is a brief way to do it.

3. Wear the Liberation from the Three Lower Realms. Did you get one in France? This is the small one, sewn in a tiny yellow pouch, with a rolled-up mantra inside. I think you got one, but please can you confirm?

4. Sutra of the Sorrowless State: recite a few each day. When Ananda was attacked he used this.

5. The Mantra Completely Abandoning the Action of Mara: when 44,000 maras attacked the Buddha, he gave this mantra to Manjugosha. The minute the mantra was recited, the king of the maras heard it, he generated bodhicitta and gave up harming the “bhikshu joyful one.” If you read this mantra with devotion or write it, you purify 7,700 billion negative karmas. This is the mantra that has these benefits:

AMA LAI, PEMA LAI, NIR MA LAI, MOOGA LAI HAI, MALA ZA GHA GAI, GHA GAI, TSAMANTRA BAR TAI, SHAWA TA SA TEN NAI, BRAMA ATA TSA RA NAI, MA NA TSAI, ASHU DAI, PILA GI, AMA LAI THE, PA LAM ME, PA LAM PHA SWA RE, PUN NAI PUN NAI, MAN NO LA DE

Dear one,
1) Arrange for the extensive White Umbrella (Sitatapatra) prayer to be recited at least 80,000 times, by the monks at Samdeling Monastery. You can go with the monk to request and arrange it. It should be explained to the monks to please do it very well. The monk can help to arrange it and also to get clear the appropriate money offering, to give you an idea of the cost.

2) Your friend should do Vajrapani/Hayagriva/Garuda retreat (this is one deity with three aspects). It is very important to do this retreat.

3) Request Geshe-la to do gagön puja in the evening time with your friend present.

4) In the evening, when it gets difficult (it could also be any time), you should listen to the Sutra for Entering the Great City of Vaishali. [Find links to Recitations for Alleviating Pain, in the FPMT Catalogue. This MP3 is an audio recording of Rinpoche reciting the Sutra for Entering the Great City of Vaishali and other prayers and mantras.]

If you find that listening to this sutra helps, then maybe your friend doesn't need the gagön puja, so you can check. Play the sutra in the bedroom and other rooms in the evening. .

5) It is important to circumambulate the Boudhanath Stupa. If you can, go there quite often and try to go around it as many times as possible, according to how much time you have. Take the opportunity to make strong prayers at the stupa. .

I am also making prayers and send my love...

My very dear one,
Thank you very much for your kind email. Regarding your question about doing prayers from afar, that is completely ok. Overall the best practice always is to do Medicine Buddha practice.

Regarding your question about spirit harm and sickness, I can’t say, but with most sicknesses there is some spirit harm. There are different types of spirits and that is why there are different pujas to do, according to the different spirits.

Cancers in the West are not easy to treat. Often the patients are given chemotherapy, which can be worse than the sickness.

Generally, it is difficult to help, because not everybody is interested in Buddhism or they do not want to accept Tibetan medicine and pujas, so there are all these difficulties; then also many people do not want to recite mantras, so they find this difficult to accept. How you can help is by doing the Medicine Buddha puja—that is the first thing and the best thing.

If there is someone who can accept doing pujas or practices themselves, and who is willing to recite mantras or take other medicines, blessed pills etc, then I can check. If you send me the person’s name, I can check what is best for them when I have time.

But generally, if you want to help, then best to do the Medicine Buddha puja and strong prayer to the Medicine Buddha. From the Medicine Buddha’s heart, send light that enters the body and mind of the sick person and totally illuminates their body, which is in the nature of light. Think that all sickness, spirit harm, negative karma and defilements are gone. So, do very strong concentration like this, then chant the mantra.

This can really help, but of course it also depends on the other person’s negative karma, whether it is heavy or light.

Thank you very much for your good heart, wanting to help them.

With much love and prayers...

My very dear one,
I am very sorry for the delay. I checked regarding your question and this is what comes out:

• Peaceful and Controlling Fire Pujas: have these done.
• Have the Prajnaparamita read: twelve volumes, one hundred thousand stanzas; three volumes, twenty thousand stanzas; and one volume, eight thousand stanzas.

It comes out more beneficial for the nuns in Mongolia to do the reading. They should be sure to read the correct text, not an incorrect translation in Mongolian, and they should start immediately. Check with the nuns how many days it will take. It is good if you offer breakfast and make a tea offering for every session. You can also offer lunch, but the nuns should then do morning and afternoon sessions. Make a money offering each day, or one at the end.

Also, offer chag sum every day for five days, starting right away, and practice the Lion-face Dakini daily.

I am very happy that you have been taking the Mahayana precepts five times a week for the last four years.

With much love and prayers...