Lama Zopa Rinpoche's Online Advice Book
Lam-rim Topics :
Making Offerings
- Extensive Offering Prayers
- Offering Practices
- Offering to the Sangha
Extensive Offering Prayers
| Offerings and Prayers |
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| Rinpoche uses the following offering practices and prayers in front of each of the various deities in the extensive offering room in his house in Aptos. | |
“The numberless hell realm beings from whom I have received all my past, present, and future happiness: I must free them from all their suffering and its causes and lead them to enlightenment by myself alone.
“The numberless hungry ghosts from whom I have received all my past, present, and future happiness: I must free them from all their suffering and its causes and lead them to enlightenment by myself alone.
“The numberless animals from whom I have received all my past, present, and future happiness: I must free them from all their suffering and its causes and lead them to enlightenment by myself alone.
“The numberless human beings from whom I have received all my past, present, and future happiness: I must free them from all their suffering and its causes and lead them to enlightenment by myself alone.
“The numberless asuras from whom I have received all my past, present, and future happiness: I must free them from all their suffering and its causes and lead them to enlightenment by myself alone.
“The numberless suras from whom I have received all my past, present, and future happiness: I must free them from all their suffering and its causes and lead them to enlightenment by myself alone.
“The numberless intermediate state beings from whom I have received all my past, present, and future happiness: I must free them from all their suffering and its causes and lead them to enlightenment by myself alone.
“I must bring every single one of them to enlightenment as quickly as possible. Therefore, I must achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible. Therefore I am going to make extensive offerings, collect extensive merit, and purify all the obscurations and defilements from beginningless time until now.”
Put your two palms together in the prostration mudra and make offerings. Purify oneself into emptiness and generate oneself as a deity. If you have received the great initiation of lower or highest tantra, meditate on one’s own deity by purifying oneself in emptiness and generating as the deity.
The incense is purified in emptiness, it is empty; experience great bliss. That wisdom seeing emptiness experiences great bliss, non-dual with emptiness. Experience great bliss, but understanding the incense is totally empty, there is not the slightest atom of it existing from its own side. There is no separation between wisdom-bliss and emptiness, it is non-dual Dharmakaya manifested in emptiness, filling the whole sky. Experience bliss, great bliss.
Meditate on Guru Yoga
“My kind root guru, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, manifested into tsa-tsas, pictures of buddhas, statues, various forms of prayer wheels and other holy objects in order to save me from the unimaginable sufferings of samsara, particularly the lower realms’ suffering, which is most unbearable, then the general suffering of samsara, and not only from samsara but even from lower nirvana, from those dangers of samsara and nirvana, and to bring me to enlightenment. All of these things have manifested out of compassion, to liberate me from all those sufferings, even lower nirvana, and bring me to enlightenment. So, with the mindfulness that every single holy object, every single tsa-tsa, every single picture, all the various forms are in essence my kind root guru, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with this awareness I prostrate", (holding your two palms together is the prostration mudra): “I prostrate, offer incense, and generate infinite bliss.”
There are four things here: first is guru yoga, that this guru manifested in this form for me, to benefit me, to save me.
“I prostrate, offer incense, and generate infinite bliss.” [Can be repeated many times.]
Medicine Buddha:
“My guru is in the form of Medicine Buddha.
“May I be able, Guru Medicine Buddha, to instantly liberate all sentient beings from all the causes of suffering, not only of the lower realms but also the general sufferings of samsara, and even save them from the danger of falling into lower nirvana, nirvana of the lesser vehicle path, cause them every happiness up to enlightenment, and instantly be able to fulfill the wishes and happiness of all sentient beings.
“I prostrate, offer incense, and generate infinite bliss.”
Chenrezig:
“My kind root guru, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, manifested here also for my benefit. May I become only like you, the glorified Chenrezig, Compassionate-Eyed Looking One, like your vajra holy body, like your holy entourage, like your life span, like your holy name, instantly able to save beings from the lower realms. Even through your holy name alone you are able to save beings from the lower realms. Just remembering or hearing your name immediately saves beings from the most unbearable sufferings of the lower realms, then plants seeds of realizations and seeds of enlightenment. It also liberates from the oceans of suffering of samsara, whose continuum has no beginning. Then, it ceases even the subtle defilements and brings sentient beings to enlightenment. May I become only like you, in all lifetimes.
“May I, my own family members, people who have a connection with me, helping or harming, those who are doing service for me (fill in this part according to one’s own situation), all the benefactors, those giving their lives to the organization, serving sentient beings and the teachings of Buddha, may they all become like this.
“By having praised Chenrezig and made requests, wherever we are, in whichever universe, world, country, area, place, or house, may all the negative karma of those sentient beings immediately be purified, may they never be reborn in the lower realms, and may they be free from spirit harm and spirit-possessions, be able to find faith in the evolution of karma, and able to generate loving kindness, compassion, and bodhicitta in their hearts. May they live their lives only to benefit others, not giving the slightest harm. May all their actions become only causes of enlightenment, with bodhicitta. This way, whatever they do, with bodhicitta, they collect extensive merits, so they have perfect enjoyment, peace, and happiness, free from quarrels, fighting, sickness, wars, famines, torture, and poverty, all the undesirable things. May they actualize the path and achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible. May they have the prosperity of Dharma, spiritual understanding, and realizations, and may all their virtuous wishes for happiness and spiritual aspirations be free from obstacles and succeed.”
Then, think that one’s own kind root guru in the aspect of Chenrezig happily accepts this request. With guru yoga in your mind think, “My kind root guru manifested into this form for me, for my benefit, to bring me to enlightenment.
“I prostrate, offer incense, and generate great bliss.”
Manjushri:
Think, “My kind root guru, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, manifested as Manjushri, in this thangka, this painting, for me, particularly to grant wisdom.”
Then, make this request: “May the wisdom of listening, reflecting, and meditation be increased within me. May the wisdom of explaining Dharma, writing, and debating be fully developed. Please grant general and sublime realizations. May I quickly become like you. May the transcendental wisdom of great bliss arise within me. Please remove the stains of the hallucinating mind grasping at true existence. Please cut the two-pointed mind of doubt. Please grant me blessings quickly to become like you.
“I prostrate, offer incense, and generate infinite great bliss.
“Kind root guru, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Manjushri, may I be able to illuminate the mental continuum of all sentient beings. May I be able to grant instantly the illumination of wisdom that dispels the darkness of ignorance and wrong concepts. May I be able do this from now on in all lifetimes.”
With guru yoga in your mind, thinking that one’s own kind root guru, His Holiness, is manifest in this form, Manjushri, say: “I prostrate, offer incense, and generate infinite bliss.”
The Sixteen Arhats:
They are called arhats but actually they are enlightened beings, they are not ordinary arhats. They are asked by the Buddha to be Buddha’s regents in this world, to protect Buddha’s teachings and to help practitioners. There are about nine benefits of praying to and worshiping the sixteen arhats: it helps to increase the Sangha and helps the Sangha to live according to pure vows; it causes a long life, and sicknesses to be healed, praying to and worshiping them becomes healing; it causes one to receive the conditions, such as prosperity, to practice Dharma, as well as the material necessities to benefit sentient beings, whatever they need, and to benefit the teachings of the Buddha.
Think: “Also, my kind root guru, His Holiness, manifested in this form for me, for my benefit.”
With your two palms together say: “I prostrate, offer incense, and generate infinite bliss.”
Now say the prayer: “May I be like you sixteen arhats, in all lifetimes able to protect the Buddhadharma and give all help to Dharma practitioners, as you do.”
The Gurus:
Gurus collect the most extensive merit. Each guru is all the gurus, all the Buddhas, all the Dharma, all the sangha, all the statues, stupas, scriptures—all the holy objects.
So, “I prostrate, offer incense, and generate infinite bliss within them.”
This way, you have made prostrations and offered incense to every single holy object, to all the Buddhas, Dharma, Sangha, and all the holy objects of the ten directions. It is already done.
The Three Aspects of Buddha:
The essence of compassion of all the Buddhas manifested in one aspect called Chenrezig, Compassionate-Eyed One. All the Buddhas’ wisdom is embodied in one form, called Manjushri. Chenrezig particularly grants us the realization of compassion, Manjushri grants wisdom. All the Buddhas’ power manifested into one aspect, called Vajrapani, to grant us perfect power. Also, one’s kind root guru, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, manifested in this.
“I prostrate to them, offer incense, and generate infinite bliss.”
Now make the prayer: “May I be able to achieve perfect compassion, understanding, and power—the essence of all Buddhas’ qualities, then bring numberless sentient beings to the enlightenment of the three types of Buddha: Chenrezig, Manjushri, and Vajrapani, as quickly as possible.”
Merit Field:
“This is the manifestation of my kind root guru, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Every single merit field and every picture is the guru.
“I prostrate, offer incense, and generate infinite bliss.”
Amitabha:
“My kind root guru manifested as this thangka for my benefit.
"I prostrate, offer incense, and generate great bliss.
“May I be able to bring all the numberless sentient beings to Amitabha’s pure land instantly, and through that to achieve enlightenment quickly. May I, my family members, and every sentient being who has a connection with me, whether harmful or helpful, at the time of death, without any obstacle, be born in Amitabha’s pure land. May all those who praise or criticize me, help or harm me, who are called friend or enemy, easily be born in Amitabha’s pure land at the time of death, without any difficulties.”
Thirty-Five Buddhas:
“I do not have the karma and my mind is obscured, so I cannot see the 35 Buddhas in their Buddha aspect, so my kind root guru manifested in this picture of the 35 Buddhas. Fortunately, at this time I have the karma to see them in the form of a picture.”
While thinking this, prostrate, offer incense, and generate infinite great bliss: “I prostrate, offer incense, and generate great bliss.
“May all my negative karmas collected from beginningless rebirths up to now instantly be purified without delaying even a second, as well as all the obstacles to achieving liberation and enlightenment. May I, from now, in all future lifetimes, be able to benefit sentient beings and purify all sentient beings’ defilements and negative karma, collected from beginningless rebirths up to now, instantly, without delaying even a second.”
Ganapati:
“Ganapati, who is in essence Chenrezig, manifested in this aspect to relieve the poverty of sentient beings. May I be able to obtain wealth and be able to eliminate all sentient beings’ poverty, according to Dharma and poverty of the means of living, and the enjoyments, immediately. My kind root guru manifested in this aspect.
“I prostrate, offer incense, and generate infinite bliss.”
Ksitigarbha:
“My own kind root guru manifested in the various Buddha-deities, but at the moment I am so obscured I cannot see them, so therefore, my root guru, so skillful, so compassionate, and so wise, manifested into tsa-tsas of various deities, which fortunately at this time I have the karma to perceive, at least as tsa-tsas, in the form of holy objects, statues, and pictures.
"They are my own kind root guru and therefore, I prostrate, offer incense, and generate infinite bliss.”
Ksitigarbha is in essence the kind, root guru. “Like bodhisattva Ksitigarbha himself, may I be able to fulfill the wishes and happiness of all sentient beings, and eliminate all their sufferings.”
Tara:
“As my mind is so obscured, I cannot see Arya Tara directly, but fortunately I am at least able to see pictures of Tara, so my kind root guru, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, manifested in this picture of Tara. In reality it is the guru.
“I prostrate, offer incense, and generate infinite bliss.
“May I be able to actualize the whole path, from guru devotion, the three principles of the path, and the two stages, in this very lifetime. May all the projects be completed as quickly as possible and all His Holiness’s wishes be accomplished. May all the funding be received to be able to construct the 500-foot Maitreya Buddha statue, to abide in this world to offer the most benefit for all sentient beings. May it be the cause for all sentient beings to purify their negative karma and collect extensive merit, in this way to transform their lives into the path and generate all the realizations of the path to enlightenment. May it cause them to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.
“May all the funding be received without delay to build monasteries to educate sangha in all parts of the world. May all the funding be received without delay to build holy objects in different parts of the world, which make it so easy for sentient beings to purify their negative karma and collect extensive merit, giving them the opportunity to easily generate realizations and attain enlightenment. May all the funding be received without delay to develop social services throughout the world, to repay debts, and for all the projects to succeed.”
