So therefore, now can you imagine how fortunate we are, so, by having met Dharma in this life, something miraculous, surprisingly, surprising or, something unimaginable, okay.

So, now here, when we chant this mantra, remember all the offerings you have performed, all the offerings in the house here, upstairs, here, remember all the offerings, and then, so at your house, your garden or whatever, offerings there, remember that, because then, whatever offering made, the garden or, I mean, the flowers or whatever at the house, if you do that, light offering, whatever, then that becomes, by chanting this mantra, it becomes numberless, filled the whole sky, to each buddha and bodhisattva, so can’t imagine that, unbelievable, because buddhas are very unbelievably powerful, holy objects, bodhisattvas, buddhas, numberless.

So, then of course, they are most powerful, as I mentioned some time ago, so I mentioned, the, there’s guru, then there’s deity, there’s buddha, bodhisattva, arhats, dakas, dakinis, Dharma protectors, so like that. However, as I mentioned, so the highest, most powerful is the guru, as I already explained the other day, so that’s the most, so now with guru, of course, whether it is visualized or actual offering, most, the most extensive merit, the greatest merit, you collect. So therefore, when we make offerings to buddhas, bodhisattvas, how to say, to the deity, your personal deity, think always guru, think always guru, make offering, then collect most extensive merit.

So then tantric practice, also yourself as deity, guru-deity, then make offerings to yourself as guru-deity, in tantric practice, so collect every single offering, most extensive merit, you collect. So that’s how the, by practicing tantra, you are able to achieve enlightenment quickly, because you collect unbelievable merit, the quick way to pacify the dualistic view.

Okay, so now, do the, so you think, not only all these offerings, okay. Now when you chant the mantra, you think all the extensive offerings in the FPMT centers, you’re allowed to offer. You don’t have to have image, oh, you don’t have to see how the offerings are set up at each center, you don’t have to see all the gompas, how, and all the offerings, you don’t have to see, whether they are small or whether they are big, you don’t have to see. You just think all the extensive offerings in all the FPMT center gompas, so you can offer every day, any time, so when you do practice of offering, you remember all that.

Then, what you should remember is the house where I live in America, Aptos, California, Aptos house, so there’s all the flowers outside, sometimes may be less. So, anyway, all the flowers outside and inside, and so many thousands of light offerings, and so many water offerings, and then food offerings, tea also, all the different, offer, any time, whenever you do practice of offering, you remember that, offer.

Then, Washington, Amitabha Pure Land retreat place, there’s flowers outside, I planted many silk flowers, silk flowers, and then John planted, he planted the actual flowers, John, the monk there, so planted the actual flowers, I planted the silk flowers, because you don’t put water, they don’t get eaten by the deer. There are many deer that come.

So, anyway, so, many flowers, also many thousands of light offerings, water offerings, tea offerings, food offerings, like that. So you can think, every time when you make offerings, remember those two places, so this is what I request you, okay, so they are offered by Sanghas, there’s, that, mostly by nuns, then sometimes the monks, and sometimes a lay person. So here I’m mentioning this is what you can do, you can offer any time that.

That, at your own place, you don’t have much space to make offerings or you don’t have time to make offerings, you don’t have much space, you should make offerings, should make offerings at your home, whatever, even seven water bowls, whatever space, whatever you can do, whatever time you spend, it’s good, but, so the, other than that, so, extensive offerings you can do, could offer, especially these two places. So this I have been requesting last, introducing to others, whether it’s students in the FPMT or outside FPMT, whatever it is, anybody can make offering. So it’s a great, so it’s unbelievable, great thing to do that. So, from one offering, offering to buddha, can you imagine, or the guru, one tiny flower, I mean how much benefit that person gets, it’s incredible, also one tiny small light. So now there are so many.

So then you offer all the extensive offerings in all the FPMT center gompas, okay, you can offer, so like that. So especially if you don’t have time, jobs.

So now, okay, so when you chant the mantra you think of all those offerings, then they become numberless, offering to each buddha, bodhisattva, one offering, okay. So therefore, it’s very important to memorize the prayer, the basic one, at least the basic one.

[Rinpoche and group chant Lha dang mi yi chhö päi dzä… then Offering Cloud Mantra three times.]

So, by the power of this mantra, even if you don’t think, just by reciting this mantra, by thinking of the offerings, then, whatever, visualized or actually performed, by the power of this mantra, each buddha, bodhisattva receives skies of offerings, okay, because the mantra has that power.

Now the next one, Words of Truth, that one you have to visualize, so, one hundred thousand, or a billion, zillion, how much, filled the whole sky the offerings, how much you visualize, then that much they receive; how many you visualize, they actually receive, it appears to them, okay.

So, there’s the normal short version, I do the longer version, so, somebody must have that copy so then everybody can get that one, the additional one. But that can be recited in your own language, not necessarily Tibetan.

So the numberless buddhas, bodhisattvas, received sky filled with various offerings, okay, so can think like that. Then, by thinking that, it actually appears to them, okay, with this prayer.

[Rinpoche chants The Power of Truth in Tibetan.]

You have the English there, or the Spanish? [Ven. Paloma: The short verse.] I see, then everybody has.

OK, now, invocation. So, when you take, normally when you take the eight Mahayana precepts it’s good to, you can do this, you can offer, you can do this from beginning of refuge, you can do by, while you are standing, and hold incense in the hand, especially for the invocation, like that, particularly when you do invocation, but you can hold incense from beginning. Just it makes more offerings.

This is, maybe, from India, in the Buddha’s time, in India, Magadha Zangmo, this lady, must be somewhere near Bodhgaya, I think, Magadha Zangmo, Magadha, from Magadha place, I think, it might be Bodhgaya, somewhere around there. So, anyway, her husband is a Hindu, and she’s Buddhist, so she wanted the Buddha, she wanted to offer, she wanted to invite Buddha at her home, so she made clean the place clean, she made lunch to offer Buddha and Buddha’s disciples. So her husband said, no, Buddha won’t come, and she said, Buddha’s coming. So she made everything ready.

Then she stood outside while holding incense in her hand, Magadha Zangmo, the wife, then they recite this prayer, Ma lü sem chän kün gyi…nä dir sheg su söl. I think you have it, you have the Spanish, or the, so it’s there I don’t have to say. So she chanted this outside. Then came unbelievable, so all the disciples came first, so, each arhat came, then, riding on different animals, unbelievable glowing, by flying between, so anyway, came. So her husband said, Oh, is this Buddha, so she said no. Then another one came, unbelievable, then he said, is it Buddha, and she said no. So the disciples came first, then last one, Buddha. Then made offering. So this chanting, Ma lü sem chän… invocation is from her, so this is used.

So now, you should know that numberless buddhas, they are looking at you, they are seeing now what you are doing, you are making offerings to them, whatever you are doing, they are seeing all the time, they are right in front of you all the time, it’s just that at the moment we don’t have karma to see and ?receive ?guidance. But, when you, after you actualize bodhicitta, renunciation, bodhicitta, then you enter this five paths to enlightenment, path of merit, small path of merit, middle path of merit, great path of merit, when you achieve the great path of merit, at that time, then you see numberless buddhas, that time you see numberless buddhas, okay, nirmanakaya aspect, so like that.

Then, of course, when you achieve the right-seeing path, you achieve everything. You see all the buddhas in sambhogakaya aspect. Then when you achieve enlightenment, then you become one with all the buddhas, mentally, you become one with all the buddhas, numberless buddhas, okay. So, should know that. So that is same, you become the guru, you become one with all the buddhas, same, and also you become the guru, it’s the same, like that. So because, the ultimate guru that is the, all the buddhas’ wisdom, the dharmakaya, so then that time your mind becomes dharmakaya, all the buddhas’ holy mind, dharmakaya, so this is how you become the guru, okay. There’s absolute guru and conventional guru, so like that.

Okay, [pause] so then, so here, the meditation is, so all those offerings which I mentioned, then also you can visualize the whole sky filled with various offerings, then you, all this offerings here, everything, then you offer to the merit field, like that, okay. So here, taking eight Mahayana precepts, so then if there’s actual lama, then you think that oneness with the Buddha, from your side. It’s not saying I’m Buddha, but this is the meditation, this practice, so that’s, all that is all the buddhas or numberless buddhas, numberless Dharma, numberless Sangha, it’s everything, then, so you make offerings.

So, whether you are taking, even there’s no actual guru, even, but you visualize, guru, then, think that are all the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, all the guru, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, that’s everything, then make offerings to that, or you think, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, like here, all the merit field, then that’s the guru, aspect of Buddha, but the essence the same, with that meditation, guru yoga mind, make offerings, okay. So this is what, meditation, whom you offer, at this time here, okay. [pause]

It’s very important when you make offerings, think all their nature is great bliss, and then, offering, all the offerings nature of great bliss, then by offering, generated infinite bliss in their holy minds, so that’s very important. The meaning of offering is pleasing the holy mind, okay, puja, means offering, the very meaning of that is pleasing the holy mind, okay. So, think generated great bliss in their holy minds, okay.

Now invocation.

Ma lü sem chän…dir sheg su söl

Next, seven limb. So you look at in your text, so making offerings, prostration, you put palms together like this at your heart, and then you visualize doing, numberless of your body, either deity’s form, if you have received great initiation, like Thousand-arm Chenrezig, like that, or other deity, or ordinary human body, like ridge of mountain, very tall. However, cover the whole ground, four directions, corners, completely cover the ground, and then lay down doing prostrations.

So, if you have visualized one hundred thousand bodies doing prostrations, then you, in reality, you have done one hundred thousand prostrations, okay. So depend on how many you can visualize, okay. So this is Lama Tsongkhapa’s special technique to, one prostration, even one prostration becomes means to collect unbelievable, extensive merit, numberless causes of enlightenment, liberation from samsara, happiness of future lives. So as many bodies as you have visualized, cover the whole ground, so this is same when you actually do actual prostration, same, and if you are sitting, the chhag tshäl lo, prostration, same, that visualization is the same, okay, like that.

Then, when it’s the next one, offering, then offer, I explained already all the offerings, so, offer all that, okay, starting from here.

Then next one is confession, think all the negative karmas collected in all the lives, I’m confessing individually, okay, everything is totally purified, all the various negative karmas are completely, totally purified, okay, think that. Then, and collected from beginningless rebirth, not just only today, not only this life, from beginningless, completely purified, okay.

Then the, like that. Okay, we’ll do that. Numberless bodies laid down, filled the whole ground, four directions, corners, towards the merit field, prostrate towards the merit field, [a couple of words inaudible] the lama, or you visualize only as Buddha, from your side, then all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, okay.

Go sum gü päi … chhag tshäl lo [pause]

Ngö sham yi trül…tham chä shag [pause]

Feel totally happy, so, free, think, everything, all the negative karmas, all the defilements completely gone, purified. The mental continuum completely becomes clean, pure.

Then next one, rejoicing. So, I’m not going to mention much, just feel great happiness, okay, how wonderful it is, by remembering all the past merits, from beginningless rebirth, now, and future merits, then, think, collected by yourself, feeling happiness. Without merit, no success, no happiness at all, at all, nothing you can do, so the merit’s so precious.

Then, after that, then think, all this precious merit, unbelievable precious merit collected from beginningless rebirth, and now, what will be collected in the future, so how happy I am, so you count that, so it’s the same, each time you feel happiness in the heart, Oh, how wonderful it is. This is how to rejoice.

Then after that, you feel all the sentient beings, which includes bodhisattvas, all their three time merits, how wonderful it is, how wonderful it is, from where they get all the happiness up to enlightenment Then, after that, think buddha, okay, like that, all their three time happiness.

So meditate now. [long pause]

Then next one is, requesting to have stable life, to the buddhas who are in nirmanakaya aspect, the gurus and buddhas who are in nirmanakaya aspect, requesting to have stable life. And then, next one, then you visualize a golden throne, double vajra in front, then, eight snow lions surround, they signify the qualities, so, buddha’s throne like this, this all signifies qualities of buddha, four fearlessnesses, qualities, the four, anyway, the eight snow lions, each place there’s two, so, anyway, they are all, I think eight richness or something, there’s all qualities signifies, what buddha has. So you’re holding in the hand, offering, then absorbed to the throne, after the request. Then the merit field accepted your request in silence, happily accepted, OK.

Then, next one, requesting the Dharma wheel. So you hold the dharmachakra, thousand spoke, radiating gold, golden dharmachakra, thousand-spoke, radiating, offer. But when you do this, if you can, visualize yourself numberless, and holding these things, offer, then, unbelievable merit, that, okay, so do that.

Then last one, dedication, okay. And due to this mere, you can think, the all the past, present, and future merits collected by you and by others, then, okay, may I achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, okay, can do like that, by sealing with emptiness, like that. Okay, so now we do that.

Khor wa ma tong … chhen por ngo

Then, do short mandala. [Group offers a short mandala]

Yeah, I think, maybe then do three prostrations, okay, the lama, with the meditation, the lama, think Shakyamuni Buddha, okay, then can do like that, then, with that guru yoga mind, then, and all the buddhas, bodhisattvas. [Students make prostrations.]

Then, you can sit on chair or cushion, whatever. [Students sit down]

So, maybe just a very short motivation to take the eight Mahayana precepts, so think: at this time, I have received the perfect human body, the human body which has eighteen precious qualities—eight freedoms, ten endowments, ten richnesses—each one is wish-fulfilling, each one is unbelievable, like wish-fulfilling jewel, more than that, each one is more precious then sky filled with wish-granting jewels, okay, because even if you own that many wish-granting jewels, that alone doesn’t, that doesn’t make you to stop rebirth in the lower realms and get a higher rebirth, it doesn’t help. Then, it’s just only material possessions, whatever you pray, then you get that, but not those things.

Then, the, that doesn’t help also to achieve liberation from samsara, and that doesn’t help to achieve enlightenment, okay. But without the, any, without wish-granting jewels or without any wealth, but you have this perfect human rebirth, which has eighteen precious qualities, then you are able to achieve, stop rebirth in the lower realms and achieve happiness of future lives, pure land, to be reborn in pure land and happiness of future lives, deva, human rebirth, so all the, many things. Then, you are able to achieve the happiness of future lives, so the human body which has seven results to attain the path, the path to liberation and enlightenment, okay, and also you are able to achieve human rebirth which has the eight ripened/ing aspects that Lama Tsongkhapa highly recommend, that you can achieve, that you can have great attainment, very, I mean great attainment, quick success in attaining the path to enlightenment, liberation and enlightenment, okay, having eight ripening aspect human body.

Then you can achieve also the four, human body which has the four Mahayana Dharma wheels, you have all the conditions that to practice Dharma, the, not only sutra but also tantra, and achieve enlightenment quickly. So, any of these you can achieve, or then, pure land, to be born in pure land, become enlightened there, all these can. Then, not only that, then, if you practice Dharma, by practicing Dharma with this body, with the eighteen qualities, okay. And then achieve liberation from samsara, and on top of that you achieve enlightenment, then you liberate numberless sentient beings and bring them to enlightenment, so that’s what you can do.

So, with each freedom, each richness, what benefit you get from each of those, is this, all this happiness of future lives and liberation from samsara, full enlightenment, okay, and then liberate all sentient beings, then enlighten, okay.

So each freedom, each richness, you have, from each one this is what you get. So therefore, each freedom, each richness, there are eight freedoms, ten richnesses, each one is much more precious than the whole sky filled with the zillion dollars, trillion dollars, gold, diamonds, even wish-granting jewels, all those value is nothing compared to this: each freedom, each richness you have, okay, so think that. So unbelievable, unbelievable precious, so each one [is precious.]