Lama Zopa Rinpoche's Online Advice Book
Health :
Practices for Pacifying Illness
- Practices for Protection and Healing
- Mantras for Pacifying Sickness
- Mantras Against Paralysis, Pollution, Black Magic and Spirit Harms
- Life Obstacles
Practices for Protection and Healing
| Blessed Water and Long-life Puja | |
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A few month ago a student had asked Rinpoche if a medicine was good for him and the answer was "very good". He started the treatment, however the medicine had heavy side effects, including exhaustion and nausea. He was advised by a rheumatologist to stop the medicine, so he did. He didn’t know why he felt so bad, and asked Rinpoche for advice. |
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My very dear Matt,
Thank you for your news. I checked regarding the medicine. Not taking it is not good and also taking it is not good, so it seems the issue is something else.
What comes out very good is mantra water, blessed with Vajra Armor, so I will do this for you and have it sent to you.
Then it comes out for the Amitayus Long Life Sutra to be recited 100 times. The geshe there can do some and you can also ask others to recite some. You don’t have to do it, you can get others to do it for you.
With much love and prayers...
PS: I arranged a very big puja at Sera Je Monastery. I dedicated it for a number of students, so I also had it dedicated for you.
| Protection Against Swine Flu and Other Illnesses | |
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Rinpoche thought it would be good to put The Dharani Called "Possessing the Limbs of All the Buddhas" on the website. This prayer protects against cancer and swine flu, as well as other new diseases, prevents untimely death, and possibly helps with old age. |
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My very dear brothers and sisters,
Human life is much more precious than mountains of gold and diamonds; more precious than the world being filled with wish-granting jewels, because without this precious human life we cannot be liberated. With all this wealth alone, we cannot achieve a higher rebirth; it is extremely difficult to achieve a human rebirth and it is impossible to achieve the cessation of the oceans of suffering of cyclic existence, including their cause: karma and delusion.
Not only that, but the great liberation of enlightenment in order to benefit numberless sentient beings, cannot be achieved . Of course, that means we cannot liberate numberless sentient beings, who are most dear, most precious and most kind, from the oceans of samsaric suffering and their causes. Not only that, but we cannot bring them to the great liberation of enlightenment, which is the cessation of all the mistakes of the mind and completion of all the qualities.
So many people are suddenly getting cancer, swine flu and other life-threatening diseases and dying, and this is happening all the time. Those who have faith and who are able to practice the Buddhadharma, are able to purify the past negative karma and they will not experience illnesses such as swine flu.
I am offering a suggestion of a short practice that you can easily try to read every day. This very precious method from Buddha is in Buddha's teaching in the Kangyur: The Dharani Called "Possessing the Limbs of All the Buddhas". It is extremely worthwhile to try to do this. Recite it three times if possible. If not, recite it just once.
Buddha has explained the benefits of this practice in the text as follows: you will not catch a serious disease, you will not be harmed by the dangers of the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, poisons and life-threatening diseases. It will help you to not be reborn in the lower realms—of hell, the hungry ghosts and animals—and it will benefit the lives of all sentient beings.
The motivation is not only for our own health and success in life. Think of all sentient beings, to benefit their lives and to bring them peace and happiness, not only temporary, but ultimate peace and happiness.
Thank you very much.
With much love and prayers...
| Pujas for Ill Health | |
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A sick student wrote to Rinpoche, advising that the doctors and hospitals could not find out what was wrong with her, and any medicine she took did not work. Rinpoche gave the following advice. |
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My very dear Jane,
This is what came out to help you:
- Mamo-trükang puja, four times. If there are four months, doing this can be counted as four times. It comes out best if the Gyuto monks in San Jose do this.
- Druk-chu-ma, 15 times. It is best if Yangsi Rinpoche does this. It also comes out very good if Jangtse Choje (Gen Tobtob) and other monks do it.
- Four Mandala Offerings to Tara puja, three times. The students at Maitripa College can do this.
| Toxins in the Body | |
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A student advised that after eight months of feeling well, he had relapsed due to the presence of many toxins—metals, viruses, bacteria and parasites—in his body. The student felt that there had been some improvement to his health, but there was still a lot left to do. Rinpoche gave the following advice. |
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It is best to recite both the Manjugosha prayer and the names of Manjushri. Also have six jung-shi (Tib: འབྱུང་བ་བཞི ) tormas made.
| Health Obstacles | |
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A student wrote to Rinpoche advising that her friend had bronchitis, pneumonia and severe asthma. New homes were found for their pets and her friend's breathing had improved, but her energy levels were low and she was bedridden. Rinpoche sent the following advice. |
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Dear Jill,
It seems serious and this is what you need to do. The first puja is the most important one, so do this first and soon.
- Che-trul: Either request Yangsi Rinpoche or Dagchen Rinpoche in Seattle to do this.
- Gyab-shi: To be performed by the Kopan nuns.
- She-nyin dü-dog: The Lama Gyupas here can do this.
- Ga-gön
| Blessing Medicine | |
| Rinpoche gave the following advice on how to bless medicine, including the meditation and visualization (for self and others). | |
Motivation
Think that every sentient being is wish-fulfilling for oneself, giving you, from beginningless past samsaric rebirths, all past happiness, future happiness, the ultimate happiness—liberation from samsara and the peerless happiness of full enlightenment. Oneself must become wish-fulfilling for every single sentient being, which is one’s own purpose for living—to cause all temporary and ultimate happiness up to enlightenment, and to cease all the oceans of each realm’s sufferings and causes of negative karma and defilements (negative imprints), and to cause all happiness. For that, I need to have a long and healthy life, therefore I’m going to bless the medicine and take the medicine.
Visualization
The medicine is purified into emptiness. The best method for blessing is according to Highest Yoga Tantra—the medicine becomes emptiness, resultant Dharmakaya. The wisdom understanding emptiness manifests in the form of the syllables OM AH HUNG. All the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, especially the eight Medicine Buddhas (the Seven Medicine Buddhas and Guru Shakyamuni Buddha), the eight bodhisattvas, all Buddhas and bodhisattvas in the ten directions, the yogis who have achieved the clear light and illusory body unification, from all of these, whose essence is the guru, beams are emitted. All the blessings of the holy body are absorbed into OM, all the blessings of the holy speech are absorbed into AH, and all the blessings of the holy mind are absorbed into HUNG.
Recite Medicine Buddha mantra while visualizing in this way. The medicine thus has all the blessings of the guru merit field. When you finish reciting the mantra with this visualization, the OM AH HUM transforms into medicine. Also, from five elements all are absorbed. It becomes so powerful that it can heal anything, even someone who has died can be revived. It has the power to instantly heal the 84,000 delusions and the 404 diseases. In short, it is so powerful for healing all the sicknesses of mind and body.
You can also recite this prayer:
Blessing and Prayer
By the compassion and truthfulness of the Three Sublime Ones, especially the Guru of Medicine Gone to Bliss Ones who accomplished truthfulness - (a“holy being sage”, one who has gained the power of speech by living in silence and not telling lies. Chöden Rinpoche said it means having sincere body, speech and mind, i.e. abstaining from negative karma of body, speech and mind) - may this medicine become sublime immortal nectar eliminating all sickness. Due to these merits of myself and others, may all the 404 sicknesses and the three poisonous minds, from where they originated, be eliminated completely, then actualize the three kayas.
Offering to Medicine Buddha
(Food or tea offerings or can be used during the Medicine Buddha puja)
To the Bhagawan Destroyer Qualified Gone Beyond whose compassion equals to all
Whose holy name just by merely hearing eliminates suffering of the evil migratory beings
You the Guru Medicine Buddha eliminating the sickness of the three poisons
And direct, indirect Gurus and Three Sublime Ones, Dakinis, and the oceans of protectors
To the sublime merit field I offer this uncontaminated ocean of nectar offering.
Please delightfully take this, and may I and so forth, the benefactors’ families, have a long life, no sicknesses, perfect happiness, enjoyments, and all my mother transmigratory beings, who are tormented by suffering, please pacify all their sickness, the disturbing thoughts and the three poisonous minds, and please grant every single common and sublime realization to all the mother transmigratory beings.
You can make a card with phonetics on it, of this practice, then people who take medicine can use it and also doctors can bless medicine with it.
I, the Mickey Mouse, Thubten Zopa, made a little change based on what was composed by Panchen Chokyi Gyaltsen, who is author of the Mahamudra teaching Geden Kagyur (the new Kadam tradition, which is Lama Tsongkhapa’s tradition of Mahamudra). By this, may I and all sentient beings quickly achieve the state of Medicine Buddha.
| Blessing Water | |
| Rinpoche gave the following instructions on how to bless water with the mantra of Dorje Namjom for purification, particularly to help with paralysis. | |
You can bless water for washing and purifying, with the blessing of Dorje Namjon or the deities that purify pollution. This mantra is particularly to heal paralysis.
In addition to the Nampar Jompa mantra, you recite the mantras for paralysis to bless the water. Recite Namjon and all the other mantras. Then, the water is blessed and you can wash and purify with it. It is very common for it to bring about healing. You have to do it many times, just one time is not enough. It also depends on your karma and the karma of the lama who does the puja. Generally, if you have severe paralysis then you have to do it many times, 30 or 40 times. So, you do that and then you collect water blessed by the lama. You can either put the water in a basin or container, and mix it with that water from the lama, and then you can use it for washing and purification. You need to have very strong faith that you are purified.
Or, you can bless the water yourself with Dorje Namjon and Tromo Metsek mantras. You can do the blessing in the bathtub or in the basin where you wash. Bless the water with Dorje Namjon or Tromo Metsek—another deity that purifies pollution. Then, after you finish the blessing, with wisdom and faith, use it to wash yourself.
Mantra of Dorje Namjon:
NAMASH CHANDA VAJRA KRODHAYA HULU HULU TISTHA TISTHA BANDHA BANDHA HANA HANA AMRITE HUM PHAT
| Commitments | |
| An old student of Rinpoche’s, who was very sick, checked with Rinpoche about fulfilling his commitments. He was attending lam-rim teachings every day, but was experiencing head pains, nightmares and had been admitted to hospital. In the daytime he could only lie in bed because of his illness, and at night he would attend the teachings. He explained that he was having difficulty doing all the practices Rinpoche had given him and asked if he could just focus on the teachings and Six Session Guru Yoga and leave the other prayers till after the teachings were over. Rinpoche replied as follows. |
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Attending the teachings and being able to do Six Session Guru Yoga—that’s great! Since you are sick, it’s understandable that you are not able to do the rest of your commitments. The fact that you are still able to do Six Session Guru Yoga anyway covers much of your samaya commitments. Six Session Guru Yoga is the essence of tantra.
| Serious Illness |
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| A student with a life-threatening illness wrote to Rinpoche asking what he could do. | |
Dear John,
The following are pujas that need to be done for you. These could be done with the help of a geshe:
Medicine Buddha Puja
Namgyel Tsechok
Long Life Initiation
Lagu Tsegu (Hooking the Life)
Then, you should make very strong prayers to Medicine Buddha on a daily basis and liberate five animals that you are definitely saving from being killed.
When you do Medicine Buddha practice, recite the names of the seven Medicine Buddhas. Make strong prayers to Medicine Buddha for your own purification and the purification of all sentient beings, especially those that have illnesses similar to yours. Visualize rays of light and nectar emanating from Medicine Buddha and flowing into you, purifying sickness, harm caused by evil spirits, delusions and negative karma, and obstacles. At the end, visualize that you are completely purified and in the nature of light—concentrate very strongly on that. Recite Medicine Buddha mantra as much as you can every day, not just when you are sitting doing formal practice but also when you are walking about. Put your whole life and trust, for this life and future lives, completely in the hands of Medicine Buddha. Have strong faith that Medicine Buddha can bring you complete happiness in this and all future lives, and enlightenment. Even when death comes, have total trust and faith that Medicine Buddha will help and bring you to the pure land. Always pray that you want whatever is most beneficial for sentient beings. Pray to Medicine Buddha in this way.
Also, you should take chu-len pills. These are the pills you take when you do a fasting retreat.
Heart Problems
Rinpoche gave the following advice to a student after he had heart problems, that Rinpoche said were caused by spirit harm from spirits. Rinpoche sent him a text and details on how to use it.
My very dear John,
This text called The Sutra of Seven Stars is from the collection of sutra and tantra teachings of the Buddha, which includes the Diamond Cutter Sutra, Arya Manjushri Namah Sangita, various texts on emptiness, and Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings praising Buddha after having realized subtle dependent arising according to the view of the Prasangika-Madhyamika school.
This collection contains extremely precious teachings that can be used in court cases, to heal various sicknesses, or as protection from the danger of elements—fire, water, and earthquakes. It can also be used to gain wealth and to prevent or pacify problems. Most of these teachings came directly from the Buddha and a few texts came from China. This very amazing volume of texts is called the collection of Sung. Sung can be translated simply as "Mantra," but it is not just mantra. Sung is the non-forgetting remembrance and wisdom awareness that stops non-virtue and engages in virtue.
I have known about the Sung since I was very small and lived in Solo Khumbu. It is very, very well-known there. Many families keep it in their homes and when they are sick or have problems they ask someone to read it. It is also very common in Tibet and Bhutan. In the past I didn't bother to read it much, thinking some texts don't have so much meaning, but recently I looked at it and have found more and more incredible benefits, including many different ways of healing.
This particular text, Star Sutra, The Seven Stars, was created by Buddha, maybe in the same way as Buddha manifests as Muslims, Hindus, different religious persons or priests, or as a religious founder, even as different gods. He takes different names and shapes so people will accept him and then he can benefit those followers who have that view, to guide them to engage in good karma and abandon negative karma, gradually bringing them from happiness to happiness up to enlightenment.
The way to use this text is to first check your age according to Tibetan astrology and find out what is the animal of that year. Generally, the way to do this is to add one year to your western age and look on a Tibetan calendar for the animal year. Then, check in the text to find your star (there are seven stars, which are manifestations of Buddhas). Each star has a particular mantra, which you print out and wear around your neck. Your age is 57, so your animal is the horse. Your star is Pu-khun, which is a manifestation of Medicine Buddha.
I have written and prepared your mantra, which is being sent together with the text. You should wear the mantra as protection. Keep the text on the altar and each morning make seven prostrations to the text. Then all the obstacles are pacified and happiness comes.
You need to carry the text with you until you get completely better. It may be useful to always carry it in case some sickness occurs. Keep it on the altar in the house or hotel and make seven prostrations to it in the morning.
With much love and prayers...
