Mantra Recitations
Daily Mantras for a Meaningful Life
A student was encouraged to recite the Chenrezig and Medicine Buddha mantras every day, as this purifies negative karma, brings success and makes our life most beneficial for others.
My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you very much for your kind email. I’m sorry for the long delay.
Keeping our life in Dharma is the most important thing, because as Lama Tsongkhapa said in The Foundation of all Good Qualities, we have this perfect human rebirth just about one time, and not only do we have this, but we can be free from the lower realms and achieve the higher realms. We can be free from samsara and achieve nirvana; we can be free from lower nirvana and achieve enlightenment for sentient beings and free the sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric sufferings and bring them to full enlightenment. This is most unbelievable, most precious. This perfect human body is more precious than wish-granting jewels; this is not talking about diamonds and gold, but wish-granting jewels.
This perfect human body can be stopped at any time. Every day in the world, people die—after conception, after birth, while still young, middle-aged or old. Young people die all the time, and we don’t know if we will be in our next life in the next minute. Death can happen even in the next minute; we can’t say when. It is very easy to perish. Therefore, the best, most important thing is to practice Dharma. Nothing else is more important than this in every minute, in every second. And especially to generate bodhicitta, whether we practice tantra or do not practice tantra. This is the foundation.
In terms of daily practice and generally, two very important practices are reciting OM MANI PADME HUM mantra and the Medicine Buddha mantra and names. These two are very important.
Regarding Chenrezig, by reciting OM MANI PADME HUM it purifies our negative karma and obscurations collected from beginningless rebirths and we collect extensive merit. This is even without bodhicitta. Even reciting one mala purifies the negative karma created from beginningless rebirths, as well as all the obscurations. We collect merit more than the drops of water in the Pacific Ocean, more than the sand grains of the Pacific Ocean, more than the grasses growing on the mountains and on the lands of the earth. It is unbelievable.
If we recite this mantra OM MANI PADME HUM just one time, we collect more than skies of merit. In particular, if we generate compassion for the sentient beings, the particular benefit is that it causes us to achieve enlightenment more quickly, the stronger the compassion we generate.
To achieve enlightenment quicker is not just for our own happiness, like taking drugs, it is not like that, just to have some sort of bliss out. It is not like that. It is so that we can free the numberless sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric sufferings of the six realms and bring everyone to full enlightenment, buddhahood, the peerless happiness, the total cessation of all the obscurations and completion of all the realizations. This is unbelievable, unbelievable, the greatest benefit. This is what we need in our life.
If we recite OM MANI PADME HUM every day, however many mantras we can recite, it is most unbelievably, unbelievably meaningful. It makes our life most beneficial for the numberless sentient beings—the numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless animals, so this means every single animal living in the ocean, large like a mountain and so small that we can't see them, only through a machine (a microscope) and then every single ant that we see on the road to the house. So our life is benefiting every single maggot, every single tick, every single mosquito, every single worm, like that, then also we’re benefiting every single human being, every single sura and every single asura being. Also I’m not just talking about only in this world, but in numberless worlds. It is unbelievable.
Please recite OM MANI PADME HUM and generate compassion for every single one of these beings. Generate the motivation, whether you have realized bodhicitta or not, generate strong compassion and then dedicate the mantras for every single sentient being, even if you don't have the actual realization of bodhicitta.
My mother didn’t know the Tibetan alphabet, for example, she couldn't read the texts, so when lamas explained commentaries from the texts, she didn’t understand, she only knew the simple advices like how to sit in front of a lama with your hands in your lap, or to not pass over two beads on the mala, but count the mantra one bead by one bead, etc., so things like that. This is what she told me. So when the lamas gave commentaries on the texts, she would recite OM MANI PADME HUM. This is what she did in Tibet, when Tibet was free. She went to Tibet to listen to teachings from the root guru of Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche.
Even though she couldn't read the texts, she had a hundred times greater compassion than me, who can read texts and speak a little bit about Dharma. Not only her, I also saw older ladies who normally do nyung näs, the two-day Chenrezig retreat. I am sure they can't read texts, but they have strong faith in the guru, Chenrezig, and they recite mantras. The ceremony is done by the monks who lead the nyung näs or by the ngagpas, who read the texts. Most of the ladies and men who attend cannot read the letters or the texts, so they recite OM MANI PADME HUM. This is how they do nyung näs. I met one old lady who normally does nyung näs and she recites many mantras every day, so even just speaking one or two times to her, I felt she had great compassion. So we can see how important it is to recite OM MANI PADME HUM.
I'm thinking to write a book that has different Chenrezig prayers, maybe seven or eight different prayers and practices, so it can be used every day to recite different prayers to Chenrezig before reciting OM MANI PADME HUM, to inspire devotion for Chenrezig. I haven't written it yet, but I hope to soon. It will be in Tibetan and English as well as in other languages. I think this is very, very important. In the meantime, you can recite whatever short prayer to Chenrezig that you know before you recite the mantras every day.
The other very important practice is Medicine Buddha, for success. The most important, highest success is achieving enlightenment for sentient beings; that is the most important thing. Actualizing the path brings other success in our life—it happens just by the way. This practice is helping for any success, such as helping the Buddha’s teachings and sentient beings, so it is very important to recite the seven Medicine Buddha names and if you include the name of Buddha, then it is eight names. You can use the Medicine Buddha sadhana. This practice is unbelievably powerful, as the Medicine Buddhas have made prayers for all the success and to overcome all the problems, so then it happens to you.
So these two practices are very important to do every day: reciting OM MANI PADME HUM mantra and Medicine Buddha mantra. Also, recite the seven names of Medicine Buddha seven times each day, if you can. Recite one mala of the Medicine Buddha mantra, and of course, you can do more if you like. And do one mala or ten malas of OM MANI PADME HUM mantra every day if you can.
Reciting ten malas of OM MANI PADME HUM carries blessings for every generation of our family up to seven generations to not get born in the lower realms, to have higher rebirths and to meet the holy Dharma again. Then when we die, when our body is burned, any sentient being who is touched by the smoke from that, it purifies their negative karma.
When we go in the ocean, like for a swim, when our body touches the water, then any sentient being in the rest of the ocean receives blessings. So that means any sentient being who drinks the water or touches the water, even human beings playing in the water, all their obscurations and negative karmas are purified and they don’t get reborn in the lower realms, they don’t have a rebirth in a womb, from an egg, heat and so forth. This is what is mentioned. Then all those sentient beings from life to life are always with the buddhas and bodhisattvas. All those whom the water touched. This is after a person who recites ten malas a day goes into the water, just from the water touching their body. So it is an unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable blessing.
It’s the same thing if the wind touches a person who recites ten malas a day, if that wind then touches any other being, it has blessings, it purifies obscurations and negative karma and they don’t get reborn in the lower realms. This includes the breath. When the breath goes out, if it touches anybody, like, for example, if we blow on animals or insects, by our breath touching them it purifies their negative karma and they get a higher rebirth.
The life practices I am sending you are all to help you actualize the path to enlightenment, to achieve full enlightenment yourself and then to free the numberless sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric sufferings and bring them to the peerless happiness, buddhahood.
Thank you very much. Don’t worry, this is to plan well what to practice for however many years, months, weeks or hours that you have left to live, so it’s how to make your life most beneficial for sentient beings.
The Kadampa geshes advised to aim far to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. So not just thinking about this month or this year and then not having long-term patience. For example, thinking about this year only, so we try very hard now, but sooner or later we completely stop because it is taking a long time. Not thinking like that. It is like the Tibetan example of a flea jumping up and down, but it is the turtle that goes very slowly and steadily. It is the turtle that reaches the mountain by continuing on.
The Kadampa geshes also advised to extend the mind. This means to do all the preliminary practices, meditation on the lamrim and all these practices, studying Dharma and so forth, to extend the mind. At the same time, do not squeeze the mind, relax the mind. A third advice is to relax the mind, so not to get uptight, then getting lung disease and so many problems happen and we can't continue, so then completely stopping everything until some catastrophe happens and then we remember death and we remember the practices.
Regarding your question about doing Vajrasattva practice without the initiation, yes, that’s OK, because you are visualizing the deity above your crown. When you can get the initiation, it is very good.
With much love and prayers ...
The Incredible Benefits of Chenrezig Mantra
In this letter, Rinpoche advised that reciting OM MANI PADME HUM is unbelievably powerful and if we recite the mantra with bodhicitta we collect more than skies of merit.
My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. I was very happy to receive it. One practice for you to do every day is the daily motivation, How to Make My Lives Wish-fulfilling: The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness. This also has the blessing of the speech and daily mantras.
Please look for and read about the incredible benefits of reciting OM MANI PADME HUM in Teachings from the Mani Retreat. It is incredibly good, unbelievably good for you to recite the six-syllable mantra OM MANI PADME HUM. This mantra is an unbelievably powerful way to purify all the negative karmas collected from beginningless rebirths and to collect extensive merits.
For example, by reciting OM MANI PADME HUM with bodhicitta, we collect more than skies of merit. Just reciting the mantra alone, we collect merit more than the number of drops of water in all the oceans, more than the number of sand grains in all the oceans and more than the number of blades of grass on all the earth. It is just generally like that, then if we recite the mantra with bodhicitta we collect more than skies of merit. It is such a quick way to develop compassion for all sentient beings, so that causes us to achieve enlightenment, and it is so easy to go pure land.
From beginningless rebirths we have died working so hard for our own happiness and we have done this numberless times, but we are still in samsara and not free. We have died and been to the lower realms numberless times and we are still suffering in samsara. It is very rare that we have ever died for the holy Dharma, so even if we die while reciting OM MANI PADME HUM, that would be the best way to die. If we die with that, then definitely we would go to the pure land or go to enlightenment. So please recite the mantra as much as you can.
You need to practice guru devotion on the basis of renunciation, bodhicitta and right view.
If you can, recite your main deity’s lamrim prayer, which is usually at the end of the long sadhana. The prayer goes through the stages of the path, as well as tantra, so if you can read the prayer every day it leaves positive imprints and helps you achieve enlightenment quickly. Even if you don’t understand it, that doesn’t matter. Later, as you practice the deity, read the commentary or receive the commentary so you can understand more.
You are most welcome to buddhahood, in order to free all sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric sufferings and bring them to buddhahood. This is why I am giving you the life practices [not included here], which might also help your health generally.
Specifically for your health, if you can, recite Most Secret Hayagriva mantra. Visualize the deity in front of you or if you have received the initiation, you can arise as the deity. As you recite the mantra, think you have purified all negative karma, obscurations, spirit harm and all sickness and disease.
Please remember what makes your life most meaningful is meditation on the lamrim, and to live your life with bodhicitta motivation. This is the best.
With much love and prayers ...
The Benefits of Reciting Chenrezig Mantra
Rinpoche advised that if we recite one thousand or more Chenrezig mantras (Manis) every day, anything that touches our body, like wind or water, can purify the past negative karma of numberless sentient beings. Rinpoche also said that after reciting the mantra we can blow on containers of water and use the water for healing.
BENEFITS OF RECITING one thousand MANIS OR MORE EVERY DAY
Anything that touches you, even wind blowing over you, and then if it touches any creature it purifies them and they do not get reborn in the lower realms.
And if you go into water, such as into a river and especially into an ocean, when that water becomes one with the rest of the ocean, all those sentient beings—those like mountains or the smallest ones—touched by the water have all their past heavy karmas purified, and they get reborn in a higher realm. They will always be around buddhas and bodhisattvas until they achieve full enlightenment.
So, go as many times as you can to the beach and go into the water so that the water touches your body. This will definitely purify numberless sentient beings, the biggest ones like mountains and the smallest ones you can see only through a microscope. As much as you go inside the water—even half your body or half of half your body—of the ocean or lake or river (if you think of how the lake or river then finally goes into the ocean,) you benefit numberless sentient beings.
BLESSING WATER WITH MANIS
Fill one, two or three big containers with water. Every day when you recite the mantras, after every thousand blow over the water two, three, four or five times. It’s OK even if you only bless the water one time after one thousand mantras.
After two, three, five or seven days or even longer, throw the blessed water in the water of a river, lake or ocean. Even if you put the water in after one or two weeks or even more, it is OK. It depends on what is convenient for you.
Or, as it is blessed water, you can give it to anyone with cancer who would like to drink it for healing and purification. They need to drink it five or six times a day, starting from the early morning up to nighttime before they go to bed.
Long Chenrezig Mantra
Rinpoche sent this message via audio after going to the dentist. Rinpoche advised the benefits of reciting the long Chenrezig mantra before the appointment.
When I was at the dentist, I had the thought that the dental hygienist put so much time and effort, so now I should use this to free living beings from suffering and cause happiness to everyone. I mentioned after the cleaning that this is what I was thinking, and Roger said she had a little tear in her eye.
Then I thought if I don’t clean well, she has more work to do (joking). But then I thought if more teeth fall out, then she will have less work.
Also, when you recite the long Chenrezig mantra before going to the dentist then it purifies even the dentist (and dental hygienist).
When we recite the long Chenrezig mantra and then we go in water, when the water touches our body and then touches any being, it purifies their very heavy negative karma collected in past lives. All that gets purified until we achieve enlightenment. Also, we are always around buddhas and bodhisattvas, so we never get reborn in the lower realms. That means it is the end of womb rebirth and egg rebirth, etc. It also creates the cause to be born in the pure land.
Therefore, [recite the long Chenrezig mantra] if someone is going to touch your body, for example, a masseur or dentist. I try to finish that mantra before I go to the dentist, so they get these benefits.
Chenrezig Mantra, Lamrim and Preliminary Practices
In this letter to a new student, Rinpoche explained the innumerable benefits of reciting OM MANI PADME HUM and advised lamrim study and preliminary practices.
My dear, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you very much for your kind, long letter, which I have read. My suggestion is as far as possible every day, generally recite the Compassion Buddha, Chenrezig’s mantra, OM MANI PADME HUM and the Medicine Buddha mantra for success. This is very important as the basic practice.
By reciting OM MANI PADME HUM, the benefits are unbelievable. You can count the drops of the Pacific Ocean, but not the benefits of OM MANI PADME HUM, which are much more than that. Drops of rain can be counted, but not the benefits of OM MANI PADME HUM. The dust of the world can be counted, but not the benefits of OM MANI PADME HUM. Especially with bodhicitta, the benefits are more than the sky, purifying all the negative karma collected from beginningless rebirths and collecting extensive merit. With bodhicitta, the benefits are more than the sky.
The other thing is that it especially causes us to generate compassion for the sentient beings, which makes us achieve enlightenment quickly, showing compassion for even one sentient being. This is one of the main benefits of OM MANI PADME HUM. For example, my mother’s compassion is much greater than mine, even though she can’t read the texts. Every day she recited 50,000 OM MANI PADME HUM mantras, though later she couldn’t do that many.
Lama Tsongkhapa’s Middle-Length Lamrim is the text you should study. Read and study it from beginning to end three times. When you study, with an orange or pink highlighter respectfully mark the text, the things you don’t understand, like offering robes to a painting or statue of Buddha. Or buy a notebook and write down what you don’t understand and then discuss these points with students who have studied the lamrim well or with a geshe.
- Refuge: 300,000
- Water bowls: 30,000
- Dorje Khadro: 300,000
- Prostrations to the Thirty-five Buddhas: 60,000
Regarding your deity, you can choose between Yamantaka and Heruka. Practice whichever one you have a stronger feeling for.
With much love and prayers ...
Visualization While Reciting Amitayus Long-life Mantra
Rinpoche advised these meditations and visualizations for students reciting the Amitayus long-life mantra. This mantra is beneficial for the long life of our teachers as well as for our own good health, long life and realizations. Rinpoche also warned of the negative karma of even one second of anger toward a bodhisattva, a buddha or the guru. This advice is posted here.
While reciting Amitayus mantra, do these meditations:
His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Visualize immortal nectar from the ten-direction Amitayus Buddhas entering His Holiness’s holy body, so his holy body is calm and clear. You can think, “May he have a stable life until samsara ends and may all his holy wishes be fulfilled.” Controlling that from the ten-direction Amitayus Buddhas, visualize immortal nectar entering the holy body and filling it up. Then recite the mantra. Do some malas with that visualization. That is most important.
Rimé practitioners. Not just Gelug, Nyingma, Sakya or Kagyu, but all the holy beings who are in the world to benefit others. Visualize immortal nectar from the ten-direction Amitayus Buddhas entering the bodies of these holy beings. Their bodies are like crystal, calm and clear, their life is sustained, they are able to live for so long and all their wishes to benefit the teachings of the Buddha and sentient beings succeed.
Sangha, those who preserve and spread the Dharma. Visualize nectar coming from the ten-direction Amitayus Buddhas, purifying the Sangha of all their defilements and prolonging their healthy life so they are able to benefit the teachings of the Buddha.
Benefactors of the Sangha and the teachings. Visualize immortal nectar completely filling their bodies, so they become calm and clear, purified of all the negative karmas and defilements collected from beginningless rebirth. Think that their health [is good] and all their wishes to benefit and serve the Sangha and the teachings of Buddha succeed.
The Chinese who control China. Visualize immortal nectar from Amitayus purifying their karma and defilements collected from beginningless rebirth. Their bodies become calm and clear, and their minds are totally changed; the negative thoughts and heresy and so forth toward His Holiness the Dalai Lama are totally changed. They have unbelievable realizations that His Holiness is Chenrezig and they have strong faith to follow exactly as His Holiness wishes. They invite His Holiness to China so that all the billions of people can receive teachings. They are able to see His Holiness’s holy face and hear teachings and enjoy the happiness of Dharma, and then spread the pure Dharma in China either independently or by following the Middle Way view, which happened in Tibet. Visualize perfect peace and happiness in Tibet. Long-life nectar enters the bodies of the Tibetan people, purifying all their defilements and negative karma, so their bodies become calm and clear, they have a healthy body and mind, all their wishes succeed in the holy Dharma and all their actions become the cause only of enlightenment. Visualize more bodhisattvas and buddhas in Tibet, even more now than before, because that’s how to spread pure Buddhism, which helps not only in this world. Think, “May Buddhadharma spread and last a long time and may sentient beings meet the Dharma and achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.” Pray that all this happens.
Dolgyal practitioners. Visualize immortal nectar going inside their bodies, so they are purified, their bodies become calm and clear, and they are free from heresy and a negative mind toward His Holiness. Some of them have received teachings and initiations from His Holiness, like the Kalachakra, so they have His Holiness as their guru already. [Read advice about the karma of getting angry with the guru here.] Think the immortal nectar enters their bodies, purifying all the defilements and negative karma, their bodies become clear, their negative mind is totally changed, all the heresy to His Holiness is gone and they have unbelievable strong faith and realizations, that [he is] Chenrezig. Think that they have faith to follow His Holiness exactly, and they have meaningful long life.
FPMT: all the staff, all the students, all the benefactors and all the volunteers. Think immortal nectar is received, purifying all their defilements and negative karma collected from beginningless rebirths, so their body and mind becomes calm and clear. They receive immortal life, all their wishes succeed according to the holy Dharma and all their actions of the body become only the cause of enlightenment. Think they receive all the realizations, of guru devotion, renunciation, bodhicitta, emptiness and tantra realizations, so they have meaningful long life. Do this visualization and recite the mantra.
All those who rely upon me, whom I promised to pray for, whose names have been given to me. Visualize immortal nectar from Amitayus Buddha is received by them, purifying all their defilements and negative karma collected from beginningless rebirths, so their body and mind becomes calm and clear. They receive immortal life and all their wishes succeed according to the holy Dharma and all their actions of body become only the cause of enlightenment. Think they receive all the realizations—guru devotion, renunciation, bodhicitta, emptiness and tantra realizations, so they have a meaningful long life. Do this visualization and recite the mantra.
All the Sangha in FPMT, here in Nepal and in all the countries. Visualize that immortal nectar from Buddha Amitayus enters their bodies, so the whole body is purified of all the defilements and negative karma, it becomes calm and clear, all their wishes succeed according to Dharma and all their actions become only the cause of enlightenment. Think they actualize correctly following the virtuous friend, renunciation, bodhicitta, right view and particularly tantra realizations. They have an outwardly pacified manner, with conduct as a hearer-listener, and are inwardly extremely subdued, having the mind with bodhicitta and secretly developing the bliss, experiencing the great bliss nondual with emptiness. Think they actualize Lama Tsongkhapa’s teaching and they become like that.