Sanghata Sutra Commentary and Lung (Audio and Unedited Transcript)

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Shakyamuni Center, Taiwan 2007 (Archive #1607)

These teachings were given  at Shakyamuni Center, Taiwan, on February 28 2007. Included are introductory teachings and an oral transmission of the Sanghata Sutra.

Part C: Preliminary prayers

So we visualize Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, then the beginning, refuge, bodhicitta, four immeasurables, then seven limb, short mandala, then we do praise to Buddha. There’s different versions of praise of Buddha, anyway, not easy to, probably you may not have copies of that, however, so we do short one, Praise to Buddha, then the Three Principal Aspects of the Path, and yeah, then the mantra to multiply the oral transmission, the reading of the text.

Sang gyä chhö dang….   [3x]
Generating the four immeasurable thoughts, just one time.

Did you do today the extensive offering? You did? Extensive offering, blessing.

So when you begin Arya Sanghata Sutra or any other sutra text it’s good to, at the beginning, do refuge, four immeasurables then the purifying the place, then the blessing the offerings, then invocation, so good to start like that, then after invocation then the seven limb, short mandala, then the requesting prayer to Buddha and the pandits, there is a new prayer composed. If you are alone, or especially you are doing in a group, reading a sutra, then you make requesting prayer to Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, Nagarjuna, Asanga, all the pandits, that’s very good to do that, ?making prayer. Then after that do the lam-rim prayer then the, you do the TADYATHA OM MUNÉ MUNÉ MAHAMUNAYÉ SOHA, then the multiplying mantra. Then you do the sang gyä chhö dang sog kyi chog nam la, just even though you are reading text but as giving a teaching to all sentient beings, Due to the merits of explaining Dharma, may I achieve enlightenment in order to benefit for sentient beings. Then there are verses, inviting the devas and then giving teaching, explaining the purpose of listening to the teaching, explaining to them, things like that. Then you think you are giving teaching in the various language to all sentient beings, thinking all that, then it’s very good, before one, yeah, especially in the group when you read, to do the preliminary like this.

[Rinpoche chants the four immeasurables in Tibetan]
Ma lu sem chän kün gyi gön gyur ching….

No, I made a mistake, sorry, I made a mistake. It’s meant to be, supposed to be purifying the place. [RL] So this is chanting according to Pabongka, in the Jorchö.

Tham chä du ni sa zhig dag….
Lha dang mi yi chhö päi dzä….

[Rinpoche recites Offering Cloud Mantra once.]

Please think the offerings upstairs, besides the offerings here, upstairs all the water, still we didn’t get all the water bowls set up, so I think there is still maybe, how many left? One hundred. [Chun Ru: 140.] Still there’s half to come, right? To come? Still there is one hundred and forty to come, so there’s, I think more than half of the table is covered. And then outside candlelight, those big candlelight offerings outside, maybe there’s about a hundred. Idea was, my wish was, cover the whole ground there, upstairs, the whole, nicely, with the candle you don’t need the table, I mean, of course, we can put as respect, but I think water, need table. So offering on the ground, the light. So idea is to fill up the whole floor, [RL] not the floor in the room, just outside the room.

The other thing is the Christmas lights, the easiest way to make light offering is the Christmas lights, so it doesn’t cost much, it’s cheap, and then you have many thousands. Candles you need space, especially in a room, it’s difficult to find space for many candles. So, many times you offer from that, so the Christmas lights you can spread out on the roof, then you have thousands, so, if there’s five thousand or ten thousand, even though it’s small, but from each one you create the cause of enlightenment, as I mentioned before. And I mentioned before, relating to the flower, I mentioned how there’s unfathomable what benefits you get, from one tiny flower offering to a statue, stupa, so here when you offer one tiny light, can you imagine from that one light offering to one statue or picture of Buddha or a statue, or a scripture, can you imagine the benefits what I mentioned before from one small light offering, unimaginable, unimaginable, temporary happiness, ultimate, unimaginable. So now, there’s five thousand or ten thousand, so from each one you get all those unbelievable, those unconceivable benefits, all that you get from each light offering. So from each one you create cause of enlightenment, liberation from samsara, happiness of future lives, then no question about success, very powerful for success of this life, so it’s very easy to do. So like normally people when they marriage, wedding, when they have wedding, they put many lights, but something kind of ?dead. In India they use ?dead light, but it’s not bright, dead, dead light. [RL] So anyway, dead Christmas lights, when they have marriage, wedding. Anyway, [RL] if it’s possible, bright is better, even small. So anyway light offering dispels the darkness, that’s the function. So anyway, as I mentioned, unbelievable just offering one tiny flower or one light, so there’s here ten thousand, it’s very easy, put on kind of building or from the roof or something.

So then this, then on those days, there’s one hundred million merit from each light, each light becomes one hundred million light offerings, so such easiest way to achieve realization, to be free from samsara, to achieve enlightenment, such easiest way to have cause of success. If you’re thinking in business way, such easiest way to have cause of success.

By the way I am going to mention also this one, so I think I mentioned last time so, it would be nice to have, here at Shakyamuni Buddha Center, there the Buddha to have a very large thangka, I think the Japanese style this, not one that somebody produce this thangka, that’s very extremely cheap. Then also, it’s easy to, when it’s so cheap, not so, color not so bright, then it’s very easy for people to put somewhere storeroom, somewhere, kind of, then create also disrespect, then create much negative karma. So I think it’s good to make, unless some people who are very devoted and no matter whatever material it is, how, even the art is not so good, then you put high, clean, you respect and keep in a high place and you make offering. Otherwise, there’s danger, those very cheap, those things, put in a storeroom somewhere, and then disrespect, then create negative karma, obstacle for the realization.

So however, the Japanese does this, very good, that protection from rain, this very strong, also Mongolia, Mongolia has very good, they make huge like this, they gave me one of White Tara, I think, maybe larger than that or maybe the same, that size, I think, maybe bigger, I’m not sure, White Tara, huge one. So Mongolia they make, but much, maybe the same or not but strong material, protection, water cannot destroy. So I think, anyway, the idea is to have a large Buddha, maybe from there to there, large Buddha, something, I’m not sure. But maybe this one, what has many pandits, Buddha in the center and many pandits, these pandits. I think there is no Tibetan lama there, Lama Tsongkhapa, nothing. There’s only Indian pandits, Nagarjuna, Asanga, Lama Atisha, all those, Shantideva. In the monasteries, for so many years, the monastery in all their life they studied their scriptures, scriptures which are commentaries to Buddha’s teachings. Buddha explained so much in the Kangyur, sutras, so extensive, then they made kind of condensed, wrote root text and commentaries, so kind of maybe easy to study and memorize, because otherwise Buddha’s teachings there are many hundreds of volumes, you wouldn’t be able to memorize all that unless you are Manjushri or you are, achieved like that.

So anyway, probably that might be good, so people get that idea, something like very big. Then the Buddha you hang from the roof or so that many people can see from very far, many people can see from very, very far, night, at nighttime, with the light, light offerings around, Christmas lights around or the daytime people can see from very far, from their houses they can see. So it plants the seed of enlightenment in everybody who sees that Buddha, the painting, plants seed of enlightenment, that brings to, it purifies their mind, defilements when they see, and it brings, causes to actualize the path and brings to enlightenment. So something near future, so it would be very good, so inspiring, on Buddha’s day and then to offer, the whole floor, everything, to offer lights or candles, all the water offerings, anyway, whatever offerings.

There is a system in Tibet, I don’t know whether it came from India or, there’s a system in Tibet that each year many monasteries they have this huge thangka and there’s a wall like Tashi Lhunpo monastery that they cover that, then all the monks they make extensive offerings, offering bath and all the many prayers and the lay people come from all over the village, all, everywhere they come to offer incense and to make prostrations. So I think it’s another method to plant the seed of enlightenment and many sentient beings to collect merit, I think.

So in Kham, somewhere, there is a Padmasambhava thangka covered the whole mountain. You see in many art books. So I started that practice, so Chenrezig Institute in Australia they have got Thousand-Arm Chenrezig thangka, very big one, same artist, Switzerland student, but he didn’t have room, he didn’t have big place to paint, so he has a very small room in Switzerland. So what he did is by rolling, he did the painting by rolling, he knows the measurements. So even he himself didn’t see the whole thangka because no place to stretch out. Then Land of Medicine Buddha has the large Medicine Buddha thangka, but my idea was much longer, but of course he didn’t have space so made smaller, but it’s extremely, the quality of painting is extremely well done. So they have been doing the celebration, already three, four, already four, five times, I think maybe four, but I never had the chance to be there at that time. So now a thousand, the last time a thousand people came. The first one five hundred people came. So Vietnam people they arrange the food, like a party, arrange the food and so the idea is, so what they do is, so they bring the thangka and then all the Tantric College monks, there’s a center there, so they do procession, the play the music, trumpets, all that, lined up with incense, bring thangka up there then stretch out. And then set up many hundreds of water offerings, many flowers and then umbrella, banner, yeah, so thangka itself has also umbrella on top. That’s the idea. So I think they try what they can.

So at the beginning introduction to Buddhism and then about the activities of the center, because that day many people come who normally don’t come for meditation, for teachings, the people in the area. So then day, then after that we do puja, whichever the deity is, there it’s Medicine Buddha puja, then after that people, children, different people they offer the music, dance to the Buddha that day. So it’s a way to make a connection to Buddha, that day those people who normally don’t come for teaching, meditation, not interested, that day is sort of like a party, social. So then they offer to the Buddha, so this is a way to make connection and to bring enlightenment. So then they have something to eat. So kind of, entertainment, enjoy.

Chenrezig Institute, they have been doing that and the Lama Tsongkhapa Institute they are doing the Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga last time, I think they had some large thangka of Maitreya or Maitreya Buddha or I think it’s Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga, something like that, they hang from a building. So they started that. And I think the thangka, anyway, doesn’t matter.… So hopefully to, yeah to have, to start this tradition more and more, like that.

So because by seeing a statute or painting of Buddha, as I explain normally, so anybody who see from far or near, just merely seeing like that, you create, you collect far more greater merit, numberless far more greater merit, just merely seeing the painting of Buddha or a statue or whatever, stupa than atoms of, than making offerings to arhats, Solitary Realizer arhats, making offering to them, every day one hundred divine food nectar, not human being food, divine food nectar, one hundred, and one hundred divine dress, this means most expensive that no human being don’t have, in the human world doesn’t have. So you offer to arhats. How many arhats? Equaling number of the, there it is mentioned the sand grains of the universes, I think, something like that, the Pacific Ocean or the universes, something like that is mentioned, yeah, one of these is mentioned. So however, even the sand grains is unconceivable number, but then if it’s related to the Pacific Ocean then there’s extremely subtle atoms, so, it’s so much more. So you make offering to all those arhats, every day hundreds of divine food, divine dress, so you, even you collect that much merit, but if you compare just one time merely seeing a statue of Buddha, a picture of Buddha, this one collect far more greater merit, numberless merit, numberless greater merit, so this is it. So therefore, so now if you make offering, flower offering, incense offering, so forth, then even numberless greater merit than merely seeing a statue or painting of Buddha, a drawing of Buddha. So this is one way to help numberless sentient beings to collect merit, from anywhere who sees the Buddha, painting of Buddha, inconceivable, unimaginable merit. So it’s a way to liberate them, it’s a way to bring, it’s a way to cause them to have happiness, success in this life, future lives happiness, then liberation from samsara, enlightenment. So the, anyway, so behind there is all this unbelievable benefit if just merely seeing by anybody.

So anyway, because of all the reasons that I explained before, benefits of offerings all that, so now here you can see, benefits of making holy objects, statues, stupas, scriptures, scriptures to learn, how it is so important to make holy objects and wherever in this world you make holy objects, how it’s incredible benefit for sentient beings, besides yourself, incredible benefit for sentient beings.

So without the holy objects, then the teaching of the Buddha cannot exist. Teaching of the Buddha exists in this world, which is the originator of all sentient beings’ happiness, so for that there is need holy objects, we need the statues, stupas, scriptures, we need the holy objects to exist in this world. So that includes the Maitreya project, all the statues, all other holy objects. So first Maitreya has its own specific benefits.

So I thought to mention this large thangka, maybe Japanese style this, I’m not sure the material. So in the near future to have that, on the Buddha’s special days, it would be very good.

We bless all the offerings in all the FPMT centers’ gompas, all those extensive offerings, all the offerings in Aptos House where I live, all the extensive offerings there, flowers, lights and many, many thousands of lights and all those many hundreds of water offerings, food, and then Washington, Amitabha Pure Land, the retreat, all the flowers and many thousands light offerings and water offerings, so all those we bless all together then offer, okay.

Offer to Guru Puja merit field, with Guru Shakyamuni Buddha there, then whose essence of all the think, His Holiness Dalai Lama, the root virtuous friend, then after that you offer towards all the ten-direction Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, the ten-direction statues, stupas, scriptures, all the holy objects, okay, and then particular holy objects in this world, by thinking guru or His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

[Rinpoche recites Offering Cloud Mantra three times, then Power of Truth.]

Make offering.
[long pause]
Go sum gü päi go nä chhag, no, invocation.
Ma lü sem chän….dir sheg su söl

So here the chanting, the invocation you can do, the ?Dakpo Dorje Chang’s secret chanting which we, the chanting that we, the chanting that’s normally done from Kopan course, the same as the ?mandala. That’s not exact chanting, but that’s the basis, like that. Here I chanted the Pabongka one, for the invocation but the Dakpo Dorje Chang’s the secret chanting, that one, so that, the way it’s chanted ?different from the previous one. So it takes time to do that chanting, so already I finished chanting this one.

So now we do just straight, seven limb and short mandala.
Go sum gü päi…chhen por ngo

So this is Dakpo Dorje Chang’s secret chanting. I’m not sure even my one is really perfect, just some close, but I think it’s still not really correct one, most correct one. So I chant here, so you know what I was talking about.

Sa zhi pö kyi…chö par chog

So we make the request to Buddha that I have met the teachings of the peerless founder is by you, the Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s kindness and by this may all sentient beings meet also your, the teaching of the peerless founder, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha.

And you the Guru Shakyamuni Buddha trained your mind in compassion for numberless eons and then you sacrificed your life, wealth, family, even your own life for three countless great eons and completed the two types of merit and achieved the two kayas and revealed unmistaken complete path to enlightenment, so may I able to bring all sentient beings, Buddha has revealed unmistaken complete path to enlightenment to bring oneself to enlightenment, so may I bring also all sentient beings in that unmistaken complete path and cause them to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.

IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRYATAYAMI

The praise to Buddha, the one stanza. So I’m not going to go over that translation because it will take time.
The praise to Buddha’s holy body, holy speech, holy mind, that one.

The principal of the Shakya, whose holy body is the production of, by [pause] ten millions of merits, perfect merits, whose holy speech is fulfilling all the wishes of sentient beings, all the wishes of transmigratory beings, means suffering beings, whose holy mind directly see every single object of knowledge, every single existence exactly as it is, so to you I prostrate or I request, to actualize the whole path to enlightenment.

Phün tshog ge leg…sol wa deb

So instead of the lam-rim prayer, the Three Principles of the Path, I’ll just make a short one.

“Please grant me blessings to able to see the guru buddha, to be able to see the guru in buddha, then have aversion to samsara, [pause] in other words, to stop the attachment to samsara, the grasping mind. Then to able to take the responsibility on oneself to liberate all the transmigratory beings, to liberate from the suffering of samsara, to take that responsibility on the self. And then to quickly achieve the common path and uncommon the mahamudra, the glorified, the unified, [pause] the unification of the [pause] mahamudra,” to achieve that quickly, make request this to Buddha.

Please bless my [pause], you the father’s holy body to become one, you the father’s holy body and my body, you the father’s holy speech and my speech and you the father’s holy mind and my mind, so request to bless to become one. Requesting to Buddha.

Making this request to Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, but looking at it inseparable from the guru.

Then all the merit field absorbed to Buddha and then a replica of Buddha descended on the crown, all the buddhas what is visualized there, descended on the crown and then [pause] you become Buddha then purify, beams emitted from the mantra, purify yourself and purify sentient beings.

La ma tön pa chom dän dä…chhag tshäl lo

[Recitation of TADYATHA OM MUNÉ MUNÉ MAHAMUNAYÉ SOHA.]

All the sentient beings are enlightened in the Buddha. Then you rejoice.
Now multiplying mantra, the mantras to multiply, which increases millions of times reading the sutra. Sutra or tantra.

[Rinpoche recites OM DHARE DHARE BENDHARE SVAHA seven times.]

Sang gyä chhö dang… [1x] (with insertion of chhö ?shen)
Then generating bodhicitta to explain the Dharma, to give teaching.
Sang gyä chhö dang… [2x]

[Rinpoche recites preliminary to giving a teaching.]

Then think that you’re, oh, yeah, no matter how long, the purpose of my life is to free all the sentient beings from all the suffering and causes and bring them to enlightenment, so no matter how long it takes time, no matter how difficult it is, I must achieve full enlightenment. Then for that reason need to actualize the path, and for that I need to collect extensive merit and purify the obstacles, the defilements, negative karmas. Therefore, I’m going to take the oral transmission of the Arya Sanghata Sutra.

On the basis of what Kyabje Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche explained the meaning of Arya Sanghata Sutra, from that my guess is that, I don’t remember word by word from what Rinpoche said, but it seems phag pa zung gi do, so there is some part that is explained, young and old people how they are suffering hunger and thirst, so much then the example given like that, so however, phag pa zung gi do, it seems that even though, the number of human beings in the world, even there are many human beings, but everyone is like, everyone experiences the suffering of samsara, unbearable, and then the Dharma is like food and drink, those who are hungry and thirsty, so much unbelievable needed, so Dharma is like that, yeah, the sentient beings, the human beings, in this world. So now, so, very little number who has merit even to hear Dharma, I mean, first to believe, to have faith, having faith is extremely rare, very little number having faith, then who listen and then even though they listen but who practice is very little, okay. Even though they are able to listen, receive teaching but not, yeah, able to practice is very little. Then able to have realization is very little, is even much more scarce. So I think the Lesser Vehicle path, true path, true cessation of suffering, so starting from renunciation, so when their mind is unified with the path to liberation, when their mind achieves liberation, so that is, so their mind is unified with the path, so zung. But it was translated, connected by Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche’s translator, Voula. But however, I think it seems means unified, zung, the mind, the person’s mind and Dharma, the path, true path, true cessation, so mind is unified with that, the thought of liberation, unified.

And then the other one is, then person who has karma to, have wish to practice Mahayana, who has merit to receive teachings of Mahayana, it’s very little, very little number. Then same again, who practice, receive but doesn’t mean able to practice, who practice, little number. Then who has realization of the Mahayana path to enlightenment is very little, so here unified mean, that person’s heart, the mind unified with the, that mind becomes the path, Mahayana path to enlightenment, that and then when the person’s mind becomes enlightened, it’s unified, unified with the enlightenment. So I guess, it can be connected, same thing tantric path to enlightenment, Vajradhara state, so I think, Arya Sanghata Sutra, arya is the actual, so in Tibetan phag pa zung gi do, zung, so the sentient being’s mind is unified with the path, then the liberation or enlightenment, when the mind becomes enlightened. So I think the meaning looks like, from Rinpoche’s way of explaining, I don’t remember exactly word by word but I think general idea means looks like that. So that makes great sense.

So I think here you collect unbelievable merit, just by listening, as you start to listen, the minute when you listen this, the minute when you hear, listen, you collect merits, so one Buddha, one, Buddha is the one who has completed all the merit, nothing more to collect, merit of wisdom, merit of virtue. So now, how much merit you collect the minute when you listen this Arya Sanghata Sutra, then buddhas equaling the number of the, in the text says, sand grains of the Ganga, but this Ganga is not River Ganga in India, this is the Pacific Ocean and sand grain is not sand, it is much more, extremely subtle, there are seven types of subtle atoms, okay, so the buddhas equaling the number of those subtle atoms of the Pacific Ocean, so that’s unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable, can’t imagine. So that many buddhas’ merit, that much you collect, the minute when you listen, the minute when you listen the Arya Sanghata Sutra. So like this, so this is what is mentioned here. So it’s, can’t imagine how much merit you collect. So then, it will come down later.

Then if you read, then, read, write and then, so buddhas equaling the subtle atoms of the Pacific Ocean, that many buddhas, twelve times, that many buddhas, twelve times. Twelve times like that, how many, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven; twelve times like that seven, that many buddhas, how many, even they explain for eons, the benefits of writing they cannot, it cannot be finished, reading, writing, they cannot finish, talking about the benefits, the merit.

So therefore in Singapore, because of my advertisement, little bit advertisement, so Singapore, Malaysia, also in the West, I think mostly in Singapore, so many people wrote by hand, so many and ABC they made a book where children also can write, the letter, little bit unclear letter printed then the children can go over that, so they collect also unbelievable merit. So many, so many people wrote, completely finished, they gave me the book there that they finished. Besides reading. And they dedicated for Maitreya Project and for general FPMT projects and also other things, their own center activities and many things. And of course, by the way their own life is taken care of, their own success.

This is one of the best things to do and so, if one has difficulties in the life, for success of business or whatever, one can recite this for attainment, create cause for extensive merits for attainment, for realizations, for difficulties in business or whatever, whether it’s external conditions with difficulties or however, or to have inner attainment, however this is one extremely precious thing to do, to collect extensive merit by reading this, by reading, then especially writing. So normally I say, The Golden Light Sutra to read and then this one to write for success. When you read, when you write, also you are reading the words also, the benefits are also there.

So now, think that each word that I listen cause to actualize the path within me and most beneficial to all sentient being, each word that I listen, when they hear from me, immediately cause to actualize the path in their heart. Then each word that I listen it liberates me from oceans of samsaric suffering and brings me to enlightenment, so think that each word is wish-fulfilling, most precious wish-fulfilling. Then listen as much as possible, listen, pay attention as much as possible without missing the words, as much as possible.

[Rinpoche begins oral transmission of Arya Sanghata Sutra in Tibetan.]
It says here….
[Rinpoche continues oral transmission of Arya Sanghata Sutra.]

So here what it’s saying Buddha’s telling to ?Kuntu Pawa, Anybody from the heart, even somebody who just prostrates to this text, Arya Sanghata Sutra, then he can remember, ninety-nine eons can remember the life, your lives, you become the wheel-turning king for sixty eons and in this life everybody will be happy with you. Things like that, and also protect from black magic harms.

Then when you die you directly see ninety-nine ten millions of buddhas at the time of death. So it says, no question about if you actually hear the complete teaching, complete Arya Sanghata Sutra, then no question, so you don’t have to be afraid, so therefore don’t be afraid, that you will be liberated, that you will be freed from the lower realms. So I mean, ______ also free from samsara, so it could have that meaning as well.

So don’t be afraid means don’t be afraid to be born in the lower realms.

So that’s what we are doing, I mean, to recite complete and so you are listening. But of course, I just started. [RL]

[Rinpoche continues oral transmission of Arya Sanghata Sutra.]

So here it says that, Buddha said that just listening to four words, one verse which has only four words of the Arya Sanghata Sutra, reading one verse which has only four words, so just by that the merit that you collect from that, just from that, the buddhas equaling the sand grains of the eighty-four Ganga, so means eighty-four Pacific Ocean, so subtle atoms, buddhas equaling the subtle atoms of eighty-four Ganga, Pacific Ocean, continuously even they explain the benefits, how much merit you collect, one verse of Arya Sanghata Sutra, which has four words, so that many buddhas equaling the number of subtle atoms of eighty-four Pacific Oceans, even they continuously explain, cannot finish, cannot finish the merits, how to say, cannot finish explaining. So this is, so it says, so therefore the teaching of the Buddha, the teaching that revealed by Buddha is extremely difficult to find, it has infinite merit. [pause]

[Long pause while Rinpoche has a drink.]
Maybe they can hear in bathroom, that’s okay.
Usually it’s oral transmission by the bathroom. [GL]
Maybe if need to go to the bathroom can have a short break, can have some, maybe one or two, three minutes.
Then I drink more water. [RL]
[Short break]