Yesterday I was talking to a student on the phone for some time. I thought that in order to make the time useful I should do something else, so I took the opportunity to walk around many enlightened buddhas’ relics: relics of Lama Atisha, Nagarjuna, the Buddha, the Karmapa, Milarepa, and Lama Tsongkhapa, as well as stupas that contain the four powerful mantras. That means that each circumambulation purifies the five uninterrupted negative karmas (drawing blood from a buddha, killing an arhat, causing a schism within the sangha and killing one’s mother or father). There is no question that it purifies the ten non-virtuous actions, directs one’s life toward enlightenment, brings one health, long life, and other temporal benefits, as well as the ability to achieve all the realizations, such as the three principal aspects of the path, the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment, etc.

So, while I was talking on the phone I walked around all the relics, pictures of Buddha, and tsa-tsas that I have on a table in my room. I thought that my attendants Roger and Holly spend so many hours talking on the phone that it would be very nice to have a stupa that they could circumambulate. Also, the FPMT International Office could have small stupas, such as many tsa-tsas, and, especially, some stupas that contain the four powerful mantras, as well as photos of Buddha, statues, texts etc. on a table, beautifully set up, very pleasant and inspiring. Also, you can make offerings around the table, flower and water offerings, the seven royal emblems and eight offering goddesses* carrying offerings, around the edge of the table. The stupa could be either outside in the garden, in the middle of each room, or in the center of the building. Then, because people spend many hours on the telephone they can take the opportunity to circumambulate as much as they can. Even if our speech does not have a virtuous motivation, our bodily action becomes virtuous and the cause of enlightenment, liberation from samsara, and happiness in future lives. If our speech is virtuous, then our bodily action also becomes virtuous by circumambulating, so we collect much more merit. If our mind is also virtuous then it is even better. It is important to take the opportunity to make one’s body, speech, and mind virtuous, as much as possible, to put effort into that, because the nature of life is impermanence and death.

So, in this way, one’s life is not wasted. By performing circumambulations life becomes extremely profound. Lama Atisha always traveled with a Kadampa stupa and circumambulated it so many times. You can see that circumambulating is very important.

The other thing you can do while on the phone is use your other hand to turn a prayer wheel. This purifies all sentient beings in the six realms. Beams emit from the prayer wheel and purify you and all sentient beings. All the realizations, especially great loving kindness, compassion, and bodhicitta, as well as the whole path, the five wisdoms, etc., are achieved.

*Note: The seven royal emblems are the precious wheel, precious jewel, precious queen, precious minister, precious elephant, precious horse and precious general; the eight offering goddesses are those of grace, garlands, song, dance, flowers, incense, lamps and perfume…as in the long mandala offering.