My most dear, most precious, most kind, wish-fulfilling one,

Thank you very much for your letter.

According to my observation, you should read the Sutra of Great Liberation three times. It’s been translated by one of the Sera Je Western monks, Gyalten Lekden. That is finished and it’s now being revised. You can also listen to it and get the actual oral transmission. [Note: The translation of the Sutra of Great Liberation is now complete. Find links to the PDF and audio file in the FPMT Catalogue.]

Also, you should stop the medicine you are on.

One practice for you is the White Umbrella Deity prayer, which includes its mantra. If you can recite that for your whole life, this is best, so recite that each day. It has unbelievable benefits. By reciting the White Umbrella Deity prayer, it purifies the five heavy negative karmas, those heavy negative karmas without break: killing one's father, killing one’s mother, killing an arhat, drawing blood from the Buddha and causing disunity among the Sangha.

Then for someone who likes to receive a child, a son, they’re then able to get one, and so forth. Also, when we die we will get reborn in Amitabha’s pure land, then after that, of course we will become enlightened. If we put the White Umbrella Deity prayer on top of a banner and do puja, then we’re able to purify war. In the family, if there’s harm received or contagious disease, fighting or wars from outside, these are all pacified, and we collect merit by reciting the prayer.

The Buddha, the destroyer, gone beyond—unimaginable, numberless, according to the number of sand grains of the Pacific Ocean, we’ll have that much merit. And we’ll be protected by the buddhas and bodhisattvas, according to the sand grains of the Pacific Ocean. They will protect us and guide us, so it goes to the heart and pleases all the holy beings.

The first preparation is the motivation, bodhicitta, and then you can recite this White Umbrella Deity prayer, not only for yourself but for all the numberless sentient beings who need this. Those who have obstacles, who need help, who have disease and so forth, you can recite it for them.

Before you do the recitation, recite this mantra to increase the power of recitation:

TAYATHA OM DHARE DHARE BHENDHARE SWAHA (7x)

Reciting this mantra before the sutra recitation multiples the merit created by one million times.

Recite the mantra a few times, then [the merit of] the White Umbrella prayer that you recite increases by 100,000 times, so it’s unbelievably powerful. That’s it.

It’s very good in the future, if there’s the opportunity, to take the White Umbrella Deity initiation, the full initiation, even though there’s also the short one, the jenang.

There’s also the practice of the Torma Gyatsa, the One Hundred Torma Offering Ritual. This should be done one thousand times.

So the gyatsa, in the torma there are one hundred times pills, so it’s a very special practice. We make offering to the Guru, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, the protectors, and after that to the six-realm sentient beings, and especially to the pretas. So you need to do this. It’s extremely powerful and creates incredible merits. You will need to receive the lung and commentary of that practice.

If you’re unable to read Tibetan, you will need the translation, and then with Geshe-la’s help, study the Torma Gyatsa with Geshe-la. If he has the lung there, this will be easier. So then you need to study the essence of the teachings with him.

So like that, you need to do it 100,000 times, which means doing the practice one thousand times and within that, it’s times one hundred. So it’s very, very important to do this. Due to the past harm given to sentient beings, that has created the difficulties. It’s the result of that.

Also, for two months, once each week, do the Riwo Sangcho incense puja. An English translation is coming. I don’t know if you read Tibetan or not, otherwise the translation is necessary so that you can do the visualizations. You also need the substances, so try to collect what is needed, the incense, etc.

If you can read Tibetan, then the monks here at Kopan do the puja with cymbals and things, so if you read Tibetan you can also join in and play, along with recitation of the Tibetan, with the English translation underneath so you know what it’s saying.

Also, for you, do the Heruka Body Mandala incense puja. You need to practice this and try to recite this.

I’m sending my regards also to Geshe-la, to the translator and to your husband.

The whole set that is needed for the incense pujas—the stand, the cymbals, etc—let me know if it’s too expensive in your country, and I will buy these things here and send them to you.

Regarding your question about moving forward in order to be of some use to others, whatever action you are doing, please dedicate it to the numberless hell beings, the numberless hungry ghosts, the numberless animals, the numberless humans, the numberless suras, the numberless asuras, and the numberless intermediate state beings, that’s it.

As you develop your mind from life-to-life on the path to enlightenment, you’re able to benefit others deeper and greater. So the greatest, of course, is when you achieve enlightenment.

With love and prayers ...