So that, so then throwing rice, grains, so this story helps to understand mandala offerings, how you collect extensive merits, you can understand from that, and also for other practices. It opens understanding many other practices this story, King Ashoka’s story. So first I mention the story, then I mention the other things, how it helps.

So when the Buddha was going for alms, when the Buddha was in India going for alms, so I guess one morning, so he was going for alms, and in the road there’s three children playing in the sand and one child wanted to offer sand to Buddha, wanted to put sand in Buddha’s begging bowl. So, Buddha’s holy body is very tall, that the children, their bodies are very short so what they did is, like a circus, so one child stands, another child stood on the shoulders, another child stood, so the third child then, a handful of sand grains then visualized as gold. Every single is gold, then offered in Buddha’s begging bowl. There’s no one single gold, but having visualized as gold and offered to Buddha, so in reality that child actually got the merits having offered that many, I think one hundred million, I’m not sure, maybe it’s ten million, actually got the merit having offered that many, how many sand grains there are, that many gold.

Then next life that child became King Ashoka, a very powerful king, a Dharma king. Dharma king means that with all that power and wealth, you can benefit so many sentient beings. So, built, in one day built ten million stupas, one day, King Ashoka, then also, so then in that life not only born as king and then, Dharma king and all the wealth and power, but then with that life, with all the wealth and power then he built ten million stupas in one day. And he built many monasteries and offered food for Sanghas. So then unbelievable, unbelievable merit collected in the life. So all that is past life offered sand grains, the child’s hand is not big, small, a small hand, so hand the sand grains, by visualizing, but the thing is by visualizing gold, real gold, then offered to Buddha, so actually got the merit having offered that much gold.

So all those, what happened next life, all these amazing things, bring benefit in this world, so there’s some holy places, Lumbini or some holy places you see these pillars, the lion design, I think maybe each holy place, King Ashoka put or something like that, I’m not sure, maybe for recognition or marking, I’m not sure. So, then there wasn’t any gold but visualized gold then actually collected merit having actually offered, got the same merit actually offered gold. So that’s what it is. So therefore, the mandala, this is just very small but grains or some, whatever material, so there’s no universe, there’s no continents, there’s no golden mountains, all these things, but you visualize the Mount Meru and all these continents, all this, even that, all the wealth, but afterwards then you visualize all that pure realm, pure land of buddha where there’s no suffering, only highest enjoyment, purest enjoyment, all that. So all this, seven golden mountains and the Mount Meru, which is only jewels, this side ruby and that side, sapphire, in the past it’s said lapis lazuli but I think it’s a wrong translation, so maybe sapphire, I’m not sure. Not Sophia! Sapphire. So anyway, the very shiny, deep blue. So then here’s the gold, then there’s the silver. However, then, the seven gold mountains, then all the wealth, then deva realm, all the enjoyments. So of course, the mandala, there’s outer mandala, inner mandala, secret mandala, absolute mandala. According to tantra then there’s those mandalas, not just outer mandala but the secret mandala, absolute mandala, like that.

So better quality, all these things, all these unbelievable things, better quality, more number you visualize. So if you visualize just one entire universe, you offer to the merit field, then you have collected merit in that minute, you have actually offered whole entire universe, pure land, all this. You actually got unbelievable merit. So many lifetimes, not only, thousand ________ to be wheel-turning king, create the karma. Then there are different types of wheel-turning kings. Wheel-turning king of human realm, wheel-turning king of deva realm, wheel-turning king that controls one continent, two continents, three continents, four continents, generally they are like that. So, unbelievable, unbelievable merit one collect, so it’s a great source of, but it’s all visualization, but it become, collect unbelievable merit and great source of achieving realizations. So Lama Tsongkhapa, I think the Wolka, I think, in the cave, so offered the mandala on the stone, not on the nice material, the silver or whatever it is, not on that, but on the stone, he offered mandala. I don’t know, so many hundreds of thousands. So still can see the mandala, the rock, the stone there. I didn’t make it, when I went in Tibet, I didn’t make, the second time, some of the students they were able to go but I was going to Amdo to see the monastery to find some texts, so didn’t make it.

So anyway, then you receive, by offering the mandala then received so much realizations. So from this small base, then offer mandala, you receive rainfalls of realizations, all the realizations of the whole path, liberation, enlightenment, and those inconceivable qualities that bodhisattvas have, arya bodhisattvas, then especially buddhas have, all those, you achieve all this from this small base offering mandala, visualizing mandala.

So now similar, when we offer water bowls, so when we do the practice of offering water bowls, so then you visualize, of course inconceivable merit you collect by just offering water, thinking of water, offering water, of course inconceivable merits you collect, the cause of enlightenment, liberation from samsara, happiness of future lives. But if you visualize and if you think nectar, you visualize nectar, you offer nectar, then you offered better quality, so then much more extensive merit you collect by thinking nectar. You actually get merit having actually offered nectar. So even it’s not, so the way to think is that, whether it’s offered by you or whether it’s offered by other people, so when you offer, this what buddha sees, nectar. So how things are perceived, it is a very interesting phenomena, how things are perceived is, things are not perceived the same to everybody. Even a food, it’s one food but if it’s eaten by a hundred people, some like, some do not like, for some it’s very delicious, for some it’s ridiculous. For some it’s disgusting, not the same. So, and even a person, even a person’s body, when a hundred people look at it, some see very beautiful, some see very ugly, so there’s all kinds of, there’s all different perceptions, so according to their karma.

So the water in the one container, like water bowl, in the container, that one container, for pretas they see pus and blood. In their view, pus and blood. They don’t have karma, merit, to see as water. We have the karma, we have better, more merit we have, so we see it’s water, better quality. And the worldly gods, devas, they see nectar. The worldly gods, in their view there’s nectar, this liquid. It’s the same, it’s a liquid for pretas, liquid for human beings, liquid for devas. But it’s pus and blood for pretas, water for human beings, and nectar for devas. Now here we’re talking about buddha, so of course it appears the most pure nectar. So, when you offer the nectar that a buddha sees, offer, so then that is the highest, that is the purest nectar. If you think nectar that a buddha sees, I offer, all this nectar that, what buddha sees, I offer, then highest, the best quality. So you collect much more, most extensive merit. So you actually collect merit having actually offered the best nectar, most pure.

So this story of King Ashoka, so anyway in the daily life practice, it helps to collect so many merit, extensive merit, like that, if you visualize better quality.

So similar, when we prostrate, as Lama Tsongkhapa advised in the Lamrim Chenmo, you visualize your body numberless bodies doing prostrations. Even your actual body is only one but you visualize numberless bodies doing prostrations from all the, covered all the ground from the four directions and corners and towards the Buddha, towards the altar, holy objects. So when your body lay down, and you can do the visualization even your, actually your body is standing but still you can do the visualization of numberless bodies, numberless of your body cover the whole ground, four directions, corners, lay down, can do that. Even you’re unable to do, when your body is actually laying down on the ground and able to at the same time, maybe other visualizations, so when you’re standing still you can do that. So here, it’s same, if you visualized one billion bodies, one hundred bodies, doing prostrations you actually, it’s exactly the same as you actually have manifested or however you actually a hundred bodies you actually have and did prostrations, you get the same merit. So then no question about billions or numberless of you covered the whole ground, no question. Even you did only one prostration but you visualize numberless like this, so then you have done many billions, numberless, prostrations.

So , you are supposed to do one hundred thousand prostrations but then even the very beginning when you did only one, your actual body did only one prostration, but you visualized so many, so you already done.

So here the story, the proof, that you actually get benefit, that story then covers many other practices. So, the same, now when you make offering, maybe there’s only one light or one incense, or however, a flower, but then you visualize the whole sky filled with the flowers, lights, all these things, then offer, then same benefit. Otherwise, it doesn’t have meaning why you say mentally transformed offerings, then there’s no meaning. When we do sadhanas there’s a lot of visualization of making offerings, then it has no meaning, it has no benefit if there’s no merit.

So anyway, so just to finish this. So, when you go round, whatever, stupa or whatever it is, so it’s good to have flowers or rice, food, rice, grains, like that, it has two benefits. So like this story here of King Ashoka, so you think all this, each one of those are a wish-granting jewel, how many there’s hundreds, thousands, whatever, how many there is, you think each of them is a wish-granting jewel, the highest, I mean the most precious one among the material possessions, so that’s the wish-granting jewel. Whatever you, after you’ve found that, whatever pray, any material possessions, any external enjoyments, get materialized by praying to that. So, but of course you have to have the karma anyway, from your side you have to have the merit. It’s like a person who, as long as the person who, somebody, some poor person buy a lottery and who won a billion dollars suddenly, didn’t expect but win a billion dollars, or a million dollars, so it’s many times happening in the United States, in many places, somebody who , buy a ticket and didn’t expect, but buy a ticket and then suddenly become a billionaire, millionaire, billionaire, suddenly become didn’t know what to do. Suddenly become didn’t know what to do. So anyway, I think didn’t know Maitreya Project. I’m joking, anyway.

So anyway, so that’s not just, that’s not instinct, that’s not independent, it’s a dependent arising, it has a cause. It has a reason why that person get suddenly a million, billion dollars, because that person has created the cause, reason exists before the person gets a billion dollars, wins a billion dollars, the reason exists before. The reason is the karma, good karma, created in the past to get that. And those who haven’t created the karma, even no matter how much they wish, they don’t get.

So anyway, [pause] so you visualize every single grain, wish-granting jewel, then with bodhicitta motivation, to achieve enlightenment for all sentient beings, but in the heart we should try as much as possible that, not just words, to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, not thinking of the words but feeling in the heart, in your heart, it’s for sentient beings. The purpose here, for sentient beings. So this is what we should attempt, try, sentient beings in your heart, and for them, so this is how we should practice. So when you go for pilgrimage, when you go to the stupa to practice then thinking in the heart, I’m going there for my happiness. Not like that. But I’m going there for sentient beings’ happiness. When we take ordination, when we take precepts, in the heart, sentient beings, for their happiness. When you eat food, sentient beings, you have sentient beings in your heart and for their happiness. When you go to, so for example, when you go to serve food, the self-serve food, it’s not that I always practice but it’s useful, even when you go to serve food, so instead of thinking that it is for me, but it’s useful that in your heart you think of guru or buddha, deity, this is for the buddha, make offering or, however, yourself, the guru-deity, to make offering. So even when you serve food, motivation like that, to make offering. So this attitude is totally different than, This is for me. Here it’s for the deity, for the guru or deity, so either in your heart or yourself. Then, you see here now, when you think that, mind is so peaceful, your heart is so peaceful. But when you think this is for me, your own mind is not peaceful, kind of tight or not peaceful. You can see the big differences, when this is for somebody, your heart is in peace, calm, peace. And when you think , this is for me, then totally different than, the mind is totally different experience.

So anyway, even, anyway, so whatever one can, as much as possible to practice, even those times to think like that, to train our mind, so it’s very good. So even when I remember just one second like that, big differences in the effect to the mind.

So, yeah, anyway, even when you’re doing retreat, if possible, then the heart should be like that, that’s the very foundation, all sentient beings in your heart, for their happiness. However, that means like how the mother feels her beloved child in the heart, the most precious one in her life, more precious than her own heart, how she feels that, in her heart. So that, so here, if that one if we can feel like that toward the sentient beings, to all the sentient beings, so that’s what, so this, then that itself becomes closer to actualizing bodhicitta, even it depends on effort. So however, so that even you’re doing retreat then in the heart that’s good, then for the sentient beings, okay, for the happiness of sentient beings. So even you wash your body, having bath, something, the sentient beings in the heart, for their happiness. So, I mean there’s all this practice when you’re washing that, according to tantra there’s, so there’s outer washing, inner washing, secret washing, like that, the yoga of washing. So, now, however, anyway, the motivation here, the attitude is then, whether you practice tantra or not but there’s very profound, very secret practices, however, the attitude, basic attitude that, if it can be like that, that’s extremely good, so makes you happy all the time, that you have peace of mind all the time, so in this way.

Same, who is working for the center, who is working for the organization, or looking after the family, same, that one can think for sentient beings’ happiness, you feel sentient beings in the heart, and then even you’re taking care of family or even you’re running the family or Dharma organization or whatever organization, social services or whatever, so if that attitude is there then I think it’s good, then it’s great, that’s the best thing for sentient beings. So, same, when you go to sleep, so for sentient beings. So this just ordinary one, then washing, you need healthy body, so if you keep the body clean you have a clear mind, it helps to have a clear mind so I think that’s why in Kriya Tantra why, even it emphasizes the outer yoga, keeping the body very clean, not eating, abandoning garlic, all those things that makes the body impure, unclean, and then all those things you stop, black food and then because that makes the body clean then that affects the mind, clean, as the mind is clear. So why the emphasis in the Kriya Tantra is like that. So anyway, however, so normal, so without even relating to tantra, so you need to, to serve other sentient beings you need a clear mind, so also you need to be healthy, so then wash, again for all sentient beings, for their happiness. So going to bed, then that’s also, you need, that’s like medicine, need for your healthy body and mind, so therefore, to serve for sentient beings, so again it’s all for sentient beings, for sentient beings’ happiness. So that’s the basic simple one. So whatever you do, any shopping, like that, so whatever, same thing somebody singing a song, or somebody dancing, I mean, other things, whatever activity you are doing, so then you can do with that, with this, for sentient beings.

So I remember advising for some singers that before they sing a song and they should pray that, I think, Fay Wong and a few other people, I think, that, those that to make the songs effective, so anybody who see me, touch me, remember me, think of me, talks about me, dreams of me, see one’s own photo or, so hear their voice, anyone, may their negative karma immediately get purified, may it cause them to purify immediately negative karma and cause them, all their sicknesses immediately get healed and free from spirit harms and all the negative karma get purified and to never be reborn in the lower realms and then to actualize bodhicitta, good heart, in all their hearts, loving kindness, compassion, bodhicitta in all their hearts, so anyone who hears the voice or sees the body or remembers or thinks of oneself, so that, so to pray this before act, before singing a song, before act.

Then also same, if you’re an artist, also same thing, you dedicate, anybody who see, dedicate your merits, anybody who see this painting, remember this painting, who touch, who dream of this, all this, yeah, so immediately heal all their sickness, spirit harm, and purify all their negative karma, generate compassion, generate the compassion, loving kindness, good heart in their minds and achieve enlightenment quickly. So I mentioned to some of the artists, so it’s very good to do, so that the painting, if you prayed so much like this, the painting can have power, the painting can affect to the mind, to heal or to purify, if you generate, if you pray very strongly, so due to, by the power.

So you offer this, so come back to the, now here the wish-granting jewel, all this, then you offer the statues, stupas, scriptures, whatever it is, thinking that they are all the guru, all the numberless Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, all the statues, stupas, scriptures, there are holy objects in many universes, not only this, so then by thinking that, with that meditation, then you offer. So this way then you have offered to every single holy object that exists in this world, in the shops, from here you create good karma, every single statue, stupa, scripture there’s on sale in the shops or in the monastery, every painting that’s in the monastery, Tibet, everywhere, how many paintings one temple has, you collect the merit, you collect the cause of enlightenment with all these holy objects and cause to achieve liberation from samsara, cause to achieve happiness of future lives. In one monastery there’s so many paintings and also in Chinese temple there’s so many those statues of Amitabha, or whatever, so many. So you, from your side wherever you are, your room or there, you collect merit, you received the merit, created the cause of enlightenment, liberation, happiness of future lives, all this, cause of all the happiness, from each one, with each one. You create the cause, the merit, with each one. So China or Tibet or any other universe, so just even from your room, your meditation cushion, from there you collect merit.

So if you actually travel, if you actually travel to go to make offering in the shop, every shop that sells statues , and every temple, then you have to go to other universes, so then you can’t, you don’t have enough life to do that. So but with this meditation, if you offer this, there’s one stupa, one statue, but you think that’s all the guru, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, all the ten direction statues, stupas, scriptures, everything, then it’s done. It is done. Yeah, so numberless causes of enlightenment, liberation, happiness of future lives, all the happiness numberless times, cause of all those happiness numberless times is done. So then what happens, there are two things, if it’s food, then afterwards the bird eat, there’s a bird or other animals, so it also becomes charity, not only offering but also become charity, so it becomes two things. So then monkeys or, there’s no monkeys here but , so then also monkeys’ food it becomes, become charity for them. So you can think two ways. So benefits also those animals, birds or things, so then it’s very good. Then flower, they don’t eat flower, so so anyway…. So offering ?flower, whatever one can do, offering, so I’m explaining here how to make your, how to become your offering practice cause of collecting extensive merits.

Then, yeah, then also, anyway, I’m going to mention this by the way, well, I’ll mention here. So, when you see temples, stupas, statues, like that, so then, after you finish your practice like this, then you rejoice. Again it’s also your merits, but here I’m talking about the lama or the abbot, whoever put the idea of the temple or statue, stupa, that and then the benefactors who donate, who put the money to build, so rejoice the abbot or whoever, who found the idea, okay, rejoice the abbot’s, whoever, found the idea to build, a temple or statue or stupa, all their merits, okay. Unbelievable merit they collected, how wonderful it is. And then, after that, then the benefactors who built, who put money to build, then you rejoice in all, you collect, then collect inconceivable merits, so many, so how wonderful it is. Then after that the people who did, who actually did the work, built the statue, temple or statue, then you rejoice all their, they collected so much merit, the workers, how wonderful is this. So then thinking this way then huge temples or whatever, holy objects, then you create the cause that you will be able to build like this many hundreds of times. In the future you can build like this many hundreds of times, so you create the cause if you rejoice their merits.

And also you collect, if their level of mind is lower than yours, you collect more merit, double merit, double, you create more merit than what they collected. If their level of mind is the same as yours, you collect the same amount of merit. And if their level of mind is higher than yours, you get half of that, half of what they collected. So usually I’m saying , I mean we haven’t built the Maitreya statue yet, but the 500-feet Maitreya statue, hasn’t happened yet, so normally I was saying, you know after built all this project then somebody comes along, Oh, how wonderful it is!

So, how wonderful is this, this organization or these people who collected so much merit, how wonderful it is! Somebody comes along, ?sees the project, then see the statue and rejoice, so this person didn’t spend one penny , but you got unbelievable merits. Didn’t do one work, putting one brick there, nothing, just came along and saw this, rejoiced, so unbelievable merit. So even this, to somebody comes along and rejoices, get unbelievable merit, so even this is part of the benefits of the project, part of the benefit of the statue, how it benefits to the sentient beings, to collect extensive merits. So including this. So then these sentient beings they have the opportunity, later in the future they build so many holy objects and they collect unbelievable merit and then actually have realization, and then they are able to help numberless of other sentient beings to collect merit by seeing these holy objects and circumambulating, prostrating, making offerings, or even by seeing to purify the defilements, so then able to help so many sentient beings, those persons seeing, who rejoice.

One thing is that, of course people talk about world peace and happiness, but you don’t talk about educating them how to create the cause of happiness. How to create the cause of happiness.

So even you give them money, medicine, food and shelter, it’s very good, they need, they definitely need, but that alone doesn’t give education, that doesn’t give education to the mind. It helps temporarily to solve the hunger and to be able to ______ this life longer or something maybe, by having medicine then recover, maybe a few months or some years might help. But their life actually doesn’t change and their mind doesn’t change and the anger, ignorance, attachment, and then engaging in killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, all that, all those things, all the negative karmas, cause of all the poverty and all the sicknesses and war and the life shortage and all the problems that’s happening in the world and the cause, they’re constantly creating the cause, because if their mind doesn’t change then not only this life but also future lives, if this life the mind doesn’t change, how can it change their future lives? So as there’s no preparation, there’s no basis.

So therefore, education becomes, we should offer these things, but at the same time you need to give education to transform their mind and especially the most important education is the compassion. Most important, there make so many ?experiments, but most important is the compassion, education of compassion, message of compassion, however, so I thought in Africa where there’s a lot of, many ______ where there’s so many millions of people dying, no water coming, drought, and all these things, so much trouble, so thought came, but of course I didn’t do, so thought came that you go there and make friends with the people, make friends with two or three people, talk about compassion, about how to live the life or compassion. So, positive mind, the good heart and compassion. Then, they, when they learn from you, then their friends will learn, then their friends will learn, then their friends will learn, so that’s how it can start, so when they generate compassion and the good heart, then their live can change. Then they collect, only then they can collect merit. Of course you don’t need to be Buddhist to collect merit. So when they practice some compassion and kindness to others, then they collect merit, so from sincere heart, so then this way from their side they create the cause of happiness. Then they achieve happiness, the wealth and long life, healthy, everything, then comes from their heart, from their positive mind, positive action. Then that also becomes the basis for future lives. In the future lives also there’s continuity of that and then positive actions and then, so this gradually, when they practice kindness, compassion, then gradually abandon their negative karmas more and more. So then that’s how, that’s the only way to improve their life. And if that education is not given then if that is missing, it’s good to give other education but then their mind doesn’t change, therefore they engage the same cause of all the problems, poverty, again and again.

So even the outside countries they send water, they send money and food, but then what happens is because they don’t have enough merit to get it, so then the leaders, other people, take it away, the actual people they get left very little or sometimes they don’t get or sometimes they get very little. So, for example, the one time the airplane took water in Africa, this place, I don’t know. So then the, the water was clean, drinkable before, but then when it arrived there in Africa immediately that water become very smelly, very bad. So that means from their side didn’t have the karma to get clean water. That’s what it is, so have to learn that, they have to know that. So from their side, world people have to know that, their side they need good luck, merit, to get clean water. So even people try to help but it changed, it became undrinkable when it arrived there. So that is a good, that is a very good example, proof, that from their side they need good karma. So therefore, like that.

Anyway, coming back, so when we do pilgrimage or normally when we see holy objects, this is how we can practice. So if you’re rejoicing then actually you’re able to build like this a hundred, thousand lifetimes, later in the future, then you’re able to benefit so many sentient beings. I’m not going to ?create any more, I’m not going to go on and on, that you already got. So I think just that.