This is an exceptionally powerful prayer composed by Mipham Jamyang Namgyal Gyamtso (1846–1912) who was also known as ‘Mipham the Great’. Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche was one of the most preeminent scholars of recent times.

According to Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, this famous prayer is very effective in accomplishing positive aims, aspirations and good fortune – such as the health and wellbeing of oneself, the human species and the living world with its great ecosystems.

Likewise, on this extremely auspicious day of the Buddha’s First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, we would like to offer all this prayer to you and all mother sentient beings.

We look forward to the blessings and merits that you and all mother sentient beings will accrue.

As seen in the book ‘A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency’:

Q: What is the role of Buddhist prayer and puja to reverse, in the invisible real, the potential disasters of global warming?

Thrangu Rinpoche: In general, when we talk about making aspirations and prayers in Buddhism, it looks superficially like mere blind faith. You might think there is no way it could help at all. Yet if we look at it closely, it really does help. This is my experience. For example, I have a well-off student in Malaysia who built a thirty-two story hotel. No matter how hard he worked, nothing came of it. One partner was less than honest and he simply lost lots of money. He asked me what to do about the problem and I suggested he recite the Verses of the Eight Noble Auspicious Ones daily. He learned it by heart and did so. The hotel ended up a complete failure – but his other property in Australia jumped so much in value that he recouped all the losses in Malaysia. He told me, “Reciting that prayer was really wonderful!’ This is just to show that reciting such prayers is not blind faith, but something genuinely beneficial.

for the full Tibetan version with accompanying translation:

Verses of the Eight Noble Auspicious Ones

Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche’s

Verses of the Eight Noble Auspicious Ones

Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche stated that this famous prayer is very effective to accomplish positive aims, aspirations and good fortune – such as the health and wellbeing of oneself, the human species and the living world with its great ecosystems.

Om: Homage to the Buddha, Dharma and Noble Sangha — 
All who dwell in the auspicious realms of the ten directions, 
Where all appearance is completely pure, its nature spontaneously perfect, 
May all be auspicious for us!

Homage to the Eight Sugatas, 
Merely hearing your names increases auspiciousness and success.
King of the Lamp, 
Stable Strength of Wisdom Accomplishing All Aims, 
Glorious Adornment of Love, 
Sacred and Glorious One Renowned for Virtue,  
Vastly Renowned & Considerate of All, 
Glorious One Renowned as Perfectly Strong and Exalted like a Mountain, 
Glorious One Renowned as Considerate of All Sentient Beings, 
Glorious One Renowned as Perfectly Strong who Satisfies the Minds of Beings.

Homage to the Eight Bodhisattvas,
Supreme in granting auspiciousness and success, 
Gracefully holding your emblems -
Utpala flower, vajra, white lotus, naga-tree, 
Jewel, moon, sword and sun -
The youthful Manjushri, the glorious Vajrapani, 
Avalokiteshvara, the protector Maitreya, 
Kshitigarbha, Nivaranavishkambin,
Akashagarbha and noble Samantabhadra.

Homage to the Eight Auspicious Goddesses -
Of beauty, garlands, song, dance flowers, incense, light and perfume,
Pleasing with offerings the Buddhas of all directions and time,
Holders of the eight precious symbols -
The precious umbrella, the auspicious golden fishes, the wish-fulfilling vase, the exquisite lotus, the conch of fame, the glorious knot of prosperity, the victory banner and the majestic wheel.
Pleasing with offerings the Buddhas of all directions and time,
Thinking of your essential qualities makes success and fame grow.

Homage to the Eight Guardians of the World -
Each one holding your divine emblem -
Wheel, trident, lance, vajra, vina, sword, stupa and banner of victory. 
Mahabrahma, Shiva, Vishnu, Indra the Thousand-Eyed, 
The Kings; Dhritirashtra, Virudhaka, Virupaksha Lord of Nagas and Vaishravana.
Auspiciously develop happiness and virtue in the three realms!

With all obstacles and harmful influences pacified, 
May the work we are now about to begin
Meet with ever-growing fulfillment and success, 
And bring good fortune, prosperity, happiness and peace!

Colophon:
If you recite this upon waking, all the tasks of the day will be accomplished.
If you recite it when going to sleep, it will bring you good dreams.
If you recite it when entering battle, it will bring total victory.
If you recite it at the outset of a project, all aims and wishes will be fulfilled.
If you recite it continually, you will enjoy a long life, glory, renown, prosperity,
auspiciousness, abundant happiness and positivity, and the fulfilment of all wishes.
All your misdeeds and obscurations will be purified,
and you will achieve the higher realms and liberation.
This was declared by the sublime victorious one himself.

This arose from the lake of the mind of Jampal Gyepé Dorjé  on the third day of the third month of the Fire Monkey year (1896),  an auspicious time according to the configuration of planets, sun and constellations. Mangalam!

The Eight Auspicious Symbols

Tibetan Mantra Offering 2010

Pray for Universal Peace in the Divine Presence of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba this coming February 2011 in Prashanti Nilayam, the Abode Of Supreme Peace.

By doing so, innumerable merits would be accumulated, multiplied across the number of sentient beings participating.

As blessed by Bhagawan Baba, the following Tibetan Buddhist Mantras would be chanted during this year’s programme:

1. Short Mantra of Chenrezig [108x]
2. Medicine Buddha Mantra [9x]
3. Green Tara Mantra [36x]
4. The Extensive Mantra Of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha [5x]
5. Bhagawan’s Eternal Mantra [9x]
6. Long Dharani of Chenrezig [9x]

For the Extensive Mantra Of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha and Bhagwan’s Eternal Mantra, the audio chanting and mantra sheet can be downloaded here:

http://buddhasai.com/category/audio

Jai Sai Ram.
Samastha Lokha Sukhino Bhavanthu.

? BuddhaSai
www.BuddhaSai.com
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*Tibetan Buddhist Chants For Universal Peace 2011 is not an organisation-organised event.*

Om Mani Padme Hung (Bodhisattva Chenrezig Mantra) carved and painted on stone wall.

The power of a mantra mainly depends on your faith in the mantra. How much negative karma you can purify or how many activities you can accomplish by reciting the mantra comes from your faith in the mantra, not from how you recite it. In other words, it doesn’t depend on whether or not you recite it correctly according to Sanskrit. Most Tibetans don’t learn Sanskrit; in Tibet, they recite mantras in their own way.

The power comes from having strong faith in the mantra and its benefits. Those of you who have heard of lam-rim teachings many times will know the story of the old woman who was able to cook stones by reciting the deity Chunda’s mantra. The mantra is actually OM CHALE CHULE CHUNDE SVAHA, but she recited OM BALE BULE BUNDE SVAHA.

One day, her son, a monk living in thirty-six vows, came home and heard his mother reciting OM BALE BULE BUNDE SVAHA. He corrected her, and she then changed to reciting OM CHALE CHULE CHUNDE SVAHA. This mantra is used when there is a famine; you recite this mantra and are then able to cook and eat stones. She was able to cook the stones with the mantra she used before, OM BALE BULE BUNDE SVAHA, but when she changed to the correct mantra, the stones didn’t cook. When the correct mantra didn’t work, she changed back to the incorrect one, which again worked.

The power of mantra comes from faith, not from how you recite it. Because they don’t know Sanskrit, many Tibetans recite mantras in a way that is not correct according to the Sanskrit. This might also be the same in the Chinese community. With those who don’t know how to recite in the Sanskrit way, the pronunciation changes.

It is said in The Ten Wheel Sutra of the Essence of Earth (Lord Ksitigarbha), “All comfort, happiness and peace in this world come from making offerings to the Rare Sublime Ones (the Triple Gem). Therefore, those who want comfort, happiness and peace should always try to make offerings to the Rare Sublime Ones.”

In general, all goodness in samsara and nirvana comes from making offerings to the Triple Gem, but specifically, different kinds of offerings bring you different benefits. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, the forth of the thousand buddhas of this fortunate eons, whose holy mind was enriched with the ten powers, announced in the Tune of Brahma Sutra Clarifying Karma that making light offerings bring you ten benefits:

1. You become like a light in the world

2. You achieve (when born human) the clairvoyance of the pure flesh eye.

3. You achieve the devas’ eye.

4. You receive the wisdom of knowing what is virtue and what is non-virtue.

5. You are able to eliminate darkness of ignorance, the concept of inherent existence.

6. You receive the illumination of wisdom; even in samsara you never experience darkness.

7. You receive much wealth and enjoyment.

8. You are reborn in the deva or human realm.

9. You quickly become liberated.

10. You quickly attain enlightenment.

Devas or human beings who accumulate the merit of making one light offering – will see the fully enlightened Buddha, Maitreya.

The Sutra of Arya Maitreya says, “Those who offer a thousand lights or a thousand blue utpali flowers or make the pinnacle of a stupa or a holy form will be reborn when Maitreya Buddha shows the deed of gaining enlighten- ment and will receive his first Dharma teaching.”

It is also said that those who offer even one flower or rejoice in the merit of others who offer will achieve buddhahood. This means that even if you don’t get enlightened during the time of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s teaching, dur- ing Maitreya Buddha’s teaching your mind will ripen and you will gain liberation.

Offering light, in particular, is a special door of dependent arising for quickly completing the accumulation of merit and receiving great blessings. It is said in the second chapter of the root tantra of Chakrasamvara, who is a manifestation of Shakyamuni Buddha, “If you want sublime realizations, offer hundreds of lights.”

If you want to know the detailed results of making offerings to holy objects or of offering service to the buddha or other holy objects, you should study The Sutra of the One Who Looks with a Compassionate Eye (Avalokiteshvara), the Sutra of Sogyal, where Buddha gave instruction to King Sogyal, or the Könchog Tala.

The text, Immortal Drum Sound Mantra, says, “If you devote yourself to the Inconceivable One, the results will similarly be inconceivable.” In the same way, The Sutra of the One Who Looks with a Compassionate Eye says, “Since the dharmas (i.e., the qualities) of the buddha gone thus (tathagata) are limitless, making offering to the tathagata brings limitless, infinite, inconceivable, in- comparable, unimaginable, numberless benefits.”

The Small Quotation (Lungtentseg) sutra says, “It is possible for the moon and stars to fall to earth, for mountains and forests to rise up into the sky and for the water of the great oceans to completely dry up, but it is not possible for the great sage (the buddha) to tell a lie. Keep this in mind and generate strong devotion to and faith in the root of all happiness and goodness – actions and their results (karma) and the blessings of the Three Precious Rare Sublime Ones. While you have this body and possessions – which are as if borrowed for a year, a month or a few days, night and day, all the time, attend to the practice of taking the essence of this human life, whose short duration is like a flash of lightning, by planting as many seeds as possible in the special field of merit.”

The Importance of Generating a Good Motivation

Having a positive motivation is essential in all that you do, therefore begin by setting your intention correctly.

Whether an action becomes positive or negative karma, it depends on the reason why the action was committed. All actions done with attachment to the happiness in this life alone, actions done simply for the comfort of this life, are negative. The karmic imprints such actions leave on the consciousness eventually ripen into an experience of suffering.

Positive actions, actions with the motivation of experiencing happiness in a future life, that benefit others, actions done with compassion, with sincerity, which brings happiness to others – leave positive imprints on our mental continuum. The imprints they leave ripen into happiness. In fact, the more we dedicate ourselves to others, the quicker and easier our own happiness arises. This is the natural evolution of happiness.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the highest level of motivation is one that is driven by Bodhicitta. It is the great compassion for all sentient beings, the compassionate heart that cannot bear to see sentient beings suffering and deeply wish for them to be liberated – that is the Bodhicitta mind.

If we can generate such a supreme motivation, the amount of merit and benefit that we naturally accumulate is inconceivable. The more genuine and sincere we are, the greater the benefit.

The Supreme Motivation

“We can visualise that all sentient beings are similar to me, being trapped in the cyclic existence of samsara endlessly and having to experience all kinds of suffering – all these beings, everyone of them, wishes to be freed from their present sufferings and even desire to achieve happiness.

However, by contemplating on our current self, we realise that we do not even have the ability to liberate them from sufferings. So who is able to help them achieve happiness? He is none other than the Buddha.

Hence it is necessary that we practice the essence of Buddha’s teachings, so as to attain the ultimate state of Buddhahood, to liberate and benefit all sentient beings. We should have this kind of motivation.”

His Eminence Kyabje Lati Rinpoche - Spiritual Advisor to His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama

Due to all the past, present, and future merits collected by all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, by all sentient beings, and me, whoever reads this artcle, or sees the most precious image of the Five Dhyani Buddhas on this article, and also myself, may they never, ever be reborn in the lower realms.

May they immediately be liberated from all disease, such as cancer or AIDS, from mental problems, negative karma defilements, and spirit harm, and may they actualise the whole path to enlightenment, especially loving kindness, bodhicitta, renouncing the “I”, and cherishing others, with each person becoming the source of happiness for all sentient beings, including the sentient beings of all the worlds.

I salute those magnificent images of Bodhichitta, including forms (Vairochana), sensations (Ratnasambhava), notions (Amitabha), emotions (Amoghasiddhi), cognitions (Akshobhya), the six sense-media (Rupavajra, Shabdavajra, Gandhavajra, Rasavajra, Sparshavajra, Samantabhadra), and the six sense-faculties (Kshitigarbha, Vajrapani, Khagarbha, Lokeshvara, Sarvanivaranaviskambhi, and Maitreya), and earth (Lochana), water (Mamaki), fire (Pandaravasini), air (Tara), and space (Manjushri)!

In the presence of the greatly compassionate ones (Maha Karuna Kaya – Buddhas and Bodhisattvas), I confess and repent with proper rites all mistakes caused by misperceptions in this timeless ocean of existence.

The five Great Buddhas of Wisdom are of uncertain origin, although their existence and their appearances appeared relatively early in India. Various symbolic interpretations have been placed upon these five Buddhas better known as the five ‘Dhyani Buddhas.’ They are believed to represent the five great moments in the life of Buddha, the five typical elements of Indian philosophy or the five directions. However the most important attribute that esoteric Buddhism places upon this set of five Buddhas is their ability to transform the five great human delusions into specific positive attributes.

The five Dhyani Buddhas are:

Ratnasambhava

Amitabha

Amoghasiddhi

Akshobhya

Vairochana

Here at the center sits Dhyani Buddha Akshobhya. He displays the bhumisparsha mudra. It is believed that by meditating on this deity the human imperfection of anger can be transformed into mirror-like wisdom.

Just above him sits Amitabha, better known as the Buddha of longevity. He displays the dhyana mudra. By meditating on him, the delusion of attachment becomes the wisdom of discernment. The dhyana mudra helps in achieving this transformation.

At the top right sits Vairochana. He displays the Dharmachakra mudra, and helps mortal beings overcome the delusion of ignorance by transforming it into the wisdom of reality.

At the top left is Amoghasiddhi displaying the abhaya mudra. By meditating on him, the delusion of jealousy is transformed into the wisdom of accomplishment.

Finally at the center of the bottom layer is shown Ratnasambhava displaying the varada mudra. Under his spiritual guidance, the delusion of pride becomes the wisdom of sameness. The Varada mudra is the key to this transformation.

At the right hand of the central image of Akshobhya can be seen Vaishravana the god of wealth, seated upon a white snow lion. His large, rounded body is golden-yellow in color and his expression stern. In his right hand he holds a banner of victory and in his left a mongoose, an animal associated with good fortune, which is shown vomiting jewels.

At the left hand of Akshobhya is Mahakala in his incarnation as Mahakala Panjaranatha or the Lord of the Pavilion. This particular form of Mahakala, easily recognized by the wooden gong he carries across his arms, is a favorite protector of the Sakya Order. He stands heavily upon a human corpse, and holds in his hands a huge vajra chopper and a large white skull bowl full of the blood and guts of demons turned into elixir. He carries across the crook of his elbows an ornamented wooden gandi gong, used in Buddhist monasteries to call the Buddhist monks to assemblies, symbolizing his vow to protect Nalanda monastic university and by extension all Buddhist monasteries.

Finally at the extreme right in the lower layer stands Vajrapani, deep blue in color. He wears a tiger skin cloth wrapped around his waist. This is a symbol of fearlessness. Both of his hands are in the threatening mudra used for overcoming hindrances, and in his right hand he holds a vajra, or diamond-hard scepter. Just as the Olympian Zeus brandishes a thunderbolt as a symbol of his might, Vajrapani wields a vajra symbolic of the enlightened power of spiritual awakening.

This thangka is characterized by a disciplined mastery over line, and though the painting is enchantingly colorful, the hues nevertheless are restrained, lending a homogeneity to this diverse composition made up of both peaceful and wrathful deities.

The success of the puja depends on the strength of one’s own karma. If the negative karma is very heavy and is supposed to result in a serious result, pujas can help to alleviate and lighten the problem. But if the negative karma is not so strong, and by the great merit of doing the puja, the obstacle can be eradicated. In whichever case however, the puja still plants powerful imprints and collects merit for avoidance of similar obstacles in the future. No pujas are ever wasted. Even in cases where we do not see tangible results, pujas are always very beneficial for us int he present and especially for our future lifetimes.

3 Simple Steps: Continue Reading

Tibetan Buddhist High Lamas conducting the Thap Khey Thug Jey puja before Swami’s Divine Presence during the ‘Tibetan Buddhist Chants for World Peace’ programme in February 2010, Prashanti Nilayam.

Puja is a ritual ceremony in which prayers are offered to the Gurus, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas to request their blessings and invoke their help.

Puja, are performed to avert and clear the three types of obstacles: conditions that prevent us from achieving our worldly and spiritual goals -

1. outer obstacles: these affect our day-to-day life, relationships, business and finances;
2. inner obstacles: these affect our health or mental state;
3. secret obstacles: these obstruct the attainment of innate wisdom and everlasting happiness.

They may also be performed for the dying to help pacify their mind, or to guide a deceased to a higher state of rebirth.

Pujas involve reciting sutras (sacred texts), chanting mantras (sacred phrases), visualising Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (enlightened beings), performing mudras (sacred gestures), and offering water, flowers, incense, light, food, music, etc. All these methods generate merit which is an indispensable factor in clearing the locality from diseases, and increases one’s lifespan, happiness and wealth.

Negative karma is being purified, and the merit acquired from the offerings is also used to trigger the forces of latent positive potential in oneself or others. The merit is used to awaken the forces of one’s own or other’s good karma so that obstacles can be overcome. Accumulation of merit also has a positive influence on the spread of Dharma and increases conducive conditions for a practitioner’s development on the paths to liberation and enlightenment.

Planting a seed of Buddhahood

An initiation is an empowerment ceremony meant to activate certain potentials inherent within an individual. The Master confers vows (which we need to keep purely to properly shaping our behaviour and practice) and gives you the blessings to embark on a particular deity practice.

Receiving an initiation establishes a close affinity between you and the deity – who should be perceived as one with your Master; and after the blessings, engaging in the practice i.e. chanting the mantra becomes more effective and reaps more positive results as compared to one who has not been initiated.

Only qualified Masters who have received the unbroken lineage of the deity are allowed to confer initiation ceremonies. Hence when initiated by qualified Gurus, you receive blessings of your Master and the deity, as well as the blessings of the whole unbroken lineage which traces back to Buddha’s time.

Receiving an initiation purifies all the actions of our body, speech and mind, and removes our moral and mental defilements. With the blessings, it also lays the seed for future transformation of our (laymen) impure body, speech and mind into the pure exalted body, speech and mind of a Buddha. It is like planting a seed, whereby later with the right conditions, the seed will ripen, sprout and grow into Buddhahood.

The blessings are immeasurable, and very precious and helpful to our spiritual practice. Our length is shortened as it helps to awaken the clear and pure nature of our minds, and invoke the innate Buddha potential within all of us. So, we can achieve Enlightenment more swiftly.

A body endowed with leisure and fortune is the supreme basis, which is difficult to find.

You have entered into the precious teachings of the Buddha

and, especially, have heard the Vajrayana Dharma.

So don’t waste your human life.

Cherish your practice.

This verse is concerned with one’s precious human life, with the qualities of leisure and fortune, and how difficult it is to find them. Leisure means having time to study and practice the precious Dharma teachings. Fortune means having all the necessary conditions, like interest in the Dharma, texts to study, and access to teachers. These form the critical basis for freeing ourselves from delusion, the cause of suffering. They are the supreme basis for attaining enlightenment.

Directly or indirectly, we have a connection with the Buddhist path and have entered into the precious teachings. Something has caused us to become aware of the precious teachings of the Buddha. The teachings are precious because if we take them to heart and practice them sincerely, they will free us from all suffering; indeed, they are the only way to attain complete joy and happiness. In contrast, the deluded joy and happiness that we ordinarily strive for are temporary and don’t last very long. Maybe we are happy today, but tomorrow we’ll again experience suffering and confusion. Maybe we are balanced for a few moments, but then we go back to the same routine of samsara. The precious Dharma teachings give us an opportunity to uproot our delusions – all the afflictions – they very cause of our suffering. We cannot replace Dharma with other methods; therefore, the teachings are called precious and holy.

The word Vajrayana, the diamond-like vehicle, has become widely known in the world these days, but its corpus of translation and meditation practices are not complete everywhere. Until recently, they were barely known outside Tibet. Even when Buddhism existed in many other countries, the complete Vajrayana teachings, all four classes of tantra, were developed and taught only in Tibet. So it’s quite rare to be able to hear and study these teachings. We who have contact with these teachings are so fortunate, but sometimes we take our good fortune for granted and don’t pay much attention to them or appreciate them.

We cannot waste this life. Making a living is a port of survival for this life but not the most important part. We should regard Dharma practice as the most important part of life because it is the means, the complete method, to free ourselves from all suffering in this life and those yet to come. This is the reason why we should cherish your practice.

an excerpt from: A Complete Guide To The Buddhist Path

by our most precious Guru, Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen