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Giving B

reath to the Wretched

1

The M

ethod of B

enefitin

g Sen

tient B

eings a

t the

Tim

e of Dea

th:

Giving Breath to the

Wretched

by K

usa

li Dharm

a V

ajra

Tra

nsla

ted from

the T

ibetan b

y Lam

a T

hubten

Zop

a R

inpoch

e

28 G

iving Breath to the W

retched

Foundatio

n fo

r the P

reservatio

n o

f the M

ahaya

na T

raditio

n

Educatio

n S

erv

ices

2 G


retched

Colophon:

Th

is text entitled

The M

ethod

of Ben

efiting S

entien

t Bein

gs at th

e Tim

e of Dea

th, G

iving B

reath

toth

e Wretch

ed has b

een w

ritten b

ecause, let alo

ne th

e ord

inary b

eings w

ho

are un

der th

eco

ntro

l of th

e presen

t degen

erate time, I h

ave seen so

me w

ho

have th

e prid

e of b

eing th

elead

er of m

any tran

smigratin

g bein

gs and

wh

o, u

po

n reach

ing th

e bed

side o

f a sentien

tb

eing n

ear death

, kn

ow

no

oth

er way to

help

than

to p

ut b

lessed p

ills in th

e mo

uth

of th

atb

eing. F

urth

ermo

re, I tho

ugh

t that it w

ou

ld b

enefit so

me b

eings if I set d

ow

n th

ese meth

od

sth

at can b

e easily practiced

by b

oth

low

er and

sup

reme b

eings.

Th

is text was w

ritten at th

e very center o

f Flo

wer P

ark b

y Ku

sali Dh

arma V

ajra and

transcrib

ed b

y Bh

iksh

u V

agind

ra Sh

asenw

arta.It w

as translated

into

En

glish b

y Ven

. Lam

a Th

ub

ten Z

op

a Rin

po

che, tran

scribed

by V

en.

Th

ub

ten P

elgye, origin

ally edited

by H

ermes B

rand

t, and

first pu

blish

ed b

y Wisd

om

Pu

bli-

cation

s in 1

981. It w

as later reprin

ted b

y Wisd

om

in 1

98

4. T

he tran

slation

was m

ade fro

mth

e text inclu

ded

in: C

ollected W

orks of T

hu’u

.bK

wan.b

Lo.b

Zang C

hos.K

yi.Nyi.M

a, V

ol. V

II, pp

.241

–2

61, G

adan

Su

ngrab

Min

yam G

yun

ph

el Series, ed

ited an

d rep

rod

uced

by N

gawan

gG

elek D

emo

, New

Delh

i, Janu

ary 1971

.It h

as been

lightly re-ed

ited b

y Ven

. Co

nstan

ce Miller fo

r pu

blicatio

n b

y FP

MT

Ed

uca-

tion

Services in

July 2

00

1.

All erro

rs are the fu

ll respo

nsib

ility of th

e edito

rs.

© L

ama Z

op

a Rin

po

che, 1

981

, 20

01

All of th

e man

tras contain

ed h

erein are available, togeth

er with

Tib

etanscrip

t, as a separate b

oo

klet entitled

Pow

erful M

antra

s for the T

ime of

Dea

th. T

his b

oo

klet is part o

f a collectio

n o

f prayers an

d p

ractices tob

enefit th

e dyin

g and

the d

ead, called

the H

op

e packet, availab

le from

:

FP

MT

Intern

ational O

fficeE

du

cation D

epartm

ent

125B L

a Posta R

oadT

aos, New

Mexico 87571

USA

Tel: 1(505)758-7766

Em

ail: materials@

fpm

t.org

Giving B


27

Care of Dharma Books

Dh

arma books con

tain th

e teachin

gs of the B

ud

dh

a; they h

ave the p

ower

to protect again

st lower rebirth

and

to poin

t the w

ay to liberation. T

here-

fore, they sh

ould

be treated w

ith resp

ect – kept off th

e floor and

places

wh

ere peop

le sit or walk – an

d n

ot stepp

ed over. T

hey sh

ould

be coveredor p

rotected for tran

sportin

g and

kept in

a high

, clean p

lace separate

from m

ore mu

nd

ane m

aterials. Oth

er objects shou

ld n

ot be placed

ontop

of Dh

arma books an

d m

aterials. Lickin

g the fin

gers to turn

pages is

consid

ered bad

form as w

ell as negative karm

a. If it is necessary to d

ispose

of written

Dh

arma m

aterials, they sh

ould

be burn

ed rath

er than

throw

nin

the trash

. Wh

en bu

rnin

g Dh

arma texts, it is tau

ght to first recite a

prayer or man

tra, such

as OM

, AH

, HU

M. T

hen

, you can

visualize th

eletters o

f the texts (to

be b

urn

ed) ab

sorb

ing in

to th

e AH

and

the A

Habsorbin

g into you

, transm

itting th

eir wisd

om to you

r min

dstream

. After

that, as you

contin

ue to recite O

M, A

H, H

UM

, you can

burn

the texts.

Lam

a Zop

a Rin

poch

e has recom

men

ded

that p

hotos or im

ages of holy

beings, d

eities, or other h

oly objects not be bu

rned

. Instead

, they sh

ould

be placed

with

respect in

a stup

a, tree, or other h

igh, clean

place. It h

asbeen

suggested

to pu

t them

into a sm

all structu

re like a bird h

ouse an

dth

en seal th

e hou

se. In th

is way, th

e holy im

ages do n

ot end

up

on th

egrou

nd

.

Giving B


3

Contents

Intro

du

ction

3

Th

e Actu

al Bo

dy o

f the M

etho

d4

Th

e Ben

efits of th

e Meth

od

16

Au

tho

r’s Afterw

ord

22

Advice from

Lam

a T

hu

bten

Zop

a R

inpoch

e2

3

Appen

dix: T

he E

labora

te Seven

-Lim

b P

rayer

24

26 G


retched

Dedication

If any m

erits have b

een created

by tho

se wh

o co

ntrib

uted

to th

is pu

b-

lication

, we d

edicate th

ese to th

e lon

g lives of o

ur p

reciou

s guru

s,L

ama T

hu

bten

Zo

pa R

inp

och

e and

Lam

a Ten

zin O

sel Rin

po

che. M

ayall th

eir enligh

tened

wish

es be imm

ediately fu

lfilled, an

d m

ay all living

bein

gs qu

ickly reach u

ltimate h

app

iness.

4 G


retched

Introduction

I bow d

own

to the gu

ru an

d to H

ayagriva, wh

o are insep

arable and

wh

osecom

passion

ate pow

er releases all transm

igrating bein

gs from th

e miser-

able realms. I sh

all write d

own

the ad

vice that gives ben

efit to sentien

tbein

gs at the tim

e of death

.Th

is meth

od called

Ben

efiting S

entien

t Bein

gs at

the T

ime of D

eath is p

racticed by th

e yogis of Bh

agavan Sh

ri Hayagriva,

wh

o work for oth

ers motivated

comp

letely by love and

comp

assion.

It has tw

o sections:

•T

he actu

al body of th

e meth

od

•T

he ben

efits of the m

ethod

Giving B


25

special an

d elegan

t way, I offer to all th

ose conq

uerors.

Wh

atever offering objects exist th

at are peerless an

d vast, I offer to each

and

every con

qu

eror b

y the p

ow

er of m

y faith in

the d

eeds o

fSam

antabh

adra. I m

ake this obeisan

ce and

these offerin

gs to each of th

econ

querors.

Desire an

d lu

st, hatred

and

anger, ign

orance an

d d

elusion

, throu

gh th

ein

fluen

ce of these th

ings I h

ave comm

itted sin

s of body, sp

eech, an

d m

ind

.I n

ow con

fess each an

d every on

e of these sin

s that I h

ave ever comm

itted.

In th

e virtues of all con

qu

erors in th

e ten d

irections, son

s of bud

dh

as,pratyekabu

dd

has, th

ose on th

e stages of learnin

g and

of no m

ore learn-

ing, an

d in

the good

actions of livin

g beings I w

holeh

eartedly rejoice.

To th

ose wh

o are the ligh

ts of the w

orlds in

the ten

direction

s, wh

o have

attained

enligh

tenm

ent grad

ually w

ithou

t attachm

ent to bu

dd

hah

ood, I

entreat all of th

ese protectors to tu

rn th

e peerless w

heel of D

harm

a.

To th

ose wh

o have com

e to the p

oint of exh

ibiting th

eir nirvan

a, I pray

with

palm

s pressed

together th

at they m

ay remain

for as man

y eons as

there are atom

s in all th

e bud

dh

a-fields, for th

e benefit an

d h

app

iness of

all beings.

Bow

ing d

own

, makin

g offerings, con

fessing sin

s, rejoicing in

the virtu

esof oth

ers, entreatin

g, and

prayin

g, wh

atever small virtu

e I have p

rodu

cedfrom

these p

ractices, I ded

icate it all to the u

ltimate en

lighten

men

t.

Giving B


5

The Actual Body of the Method

Th

e holy gu

rus said

:

Even

for one w

ho h

as sough

t to practice virtu

e throu

ghou

t his en

tirelife, if, at th

e time of d

eath, h

is consciou

sness tran

sfers wh

ile actual-

izing stron

g non

-virtuou

s thou

ghts su

ch as an

ger and

attachm

ent, h

ew

ill be reborn in

a realm of evil tran

smigrators.

If, how

ever, one w

ho h

as practiced

non

-virtue th

rough

out h

isen

tire life generates p

ure virtu

ous th

ough

ts wh

ile his con

sciousn

esstran

sfers at the tim

e of death

, he w

ill be reborn in

a realm of h

app

ytran

smigrators.

Becau

se the m

ind

just before d

eath is extrem

ely pow

erful, it

greatly increases th

e tend

ency of p

articular p

reviously created

karma

to ripen

first, resultin

g in rebirth

in an

app

ropriate realm

. Non

ethe-

less, other virtu

ous an

d n

on-virtu

ous karm

a accum

ulated

du

ring

one’s life w

ill bear fruit at th

e app

ropriate tim

e, that is, w

hen

all the

necessary con

dition

s are presen

t. It never h

app

ens th

at karma th

ath

as not been

created can

be experien

ced or th

at karma th

at has been

created can

be wasted

.

Th

e essence of all m

ethod

s benefitin

g sentien

t beings at th

e time of

death

is generatin

g pu

re virtuou

s thou

ghts su

ch as d

evotion, w

ithou

t al-low

ing n

on-virtu

ous th

ough

ts such

as anger to arise stron

gly. Alth

ough

this m

ethod

can best be p

racticed by on

eself alone, ord

inary bein

gs un

-able to d

o so will be ben

efited if th

is meth

od is p

erformed

for them

by avirtu

ous teach

er or good frien

ds.

24 G


retched

Appendix

The E

laborate Seven-Limb Prayer

To all th

ose wh

o have in

the p

ast, are presen

tly, and

wh

o will in

the fu

ture

travel the p

ath to p

erfection, th

ose lions of m

en w

hosoever m

any th

eym

ay be in all th

e realms of th

e un

iverse, to each an

d every on

e of them

Ibow

dow

n w

ith bod

y, speech

, and

min

d.

By th

e pow

ers of aspiration

and

prayer of Sam

antabh

adra, all of th

e con-

querors ap

pear in

the field

s of my m

ental p

erception

, and

I bow d

own

toall of th

em w

ith as m

any bod

ies as there are atom

s in th

e bud

dh

a-fields.

On

each of th

ese atoms th

ere are again as m

any bu

dd

has as th

ere areatom

s in th

e un

iverse, each sittin

g in th

e mid

st of a vast assembly of

bodh

isattvas; in th

is way realizin

g all to be free from in

trinsic reality, I

wish

for the en

tirety of the u

niverse to be th

us com

pletely filled

with

bud

dh

as.

I praise th

e man

ifold su

blime qu

alities of each of th

e conqu

erors with

anocean

of songs of ad

ulation

praisin

g to the h

ighest of all th

e tathagatas.

Bu

t just like a bottom

less vast ocean, I can

never exh

aust th

e description

of their virtu

es.

Th

e finest flow

ers, the m

ost precious rosaries, m

usical in

strum

ents, an

oint-

men

ts, and

the m

ost excellent royal u

mbrellas, th

e finest lam

ps, an

d p

re-ciou

s incen

se, I offer to all those con

querors.

Th

e finest vestm

ents an

d m

ost excellen

t perfu

mes, a m

ou

ntain

of th

em

ost exalted

victuals eq

ual in

size to S

um

era, all arranged

in a m

ost

6 G


retched

How one can help

It is exceptionally im

portant for th

e one n

ear death

to avoid seein

g ob-jects th

at cause attach

men

t or anger to arise stron

gly. Th

is inclu

des su

chth

ings as m

aterial possession

s, relatives, person

s to wh

om on

e is strongly

attached

, as well as en

emies an

d so forth

, for wh

om on

e has h

atred.

Furth

ermore, w

hile a p

erson is d

ying an

d im

med

iately afterward

s asw

ell, it is imp

ortant to refrain

from sayin

g or doin

g anythin

g that m

ight

distu

rb the d

ying p

erson’s eq

uilibriu

m. T

herefore, w

ithin

the ran

ge of his

hearin

g, one sh

ould

not talk abou

t such

thin

gs as the p

ossessions h

e leftbeh

ind

, and

how

they are goin

g to be distribu

ted, n

or shou

ld on

e make

distu

rbing n

oises, such

as screamin

g, wailin

g, or engagin

g in lou

d talk.

As it is exp

lained

in th

e teachin

gs, the w

ind

s that m

ove the n

on-virtu

-ou

s sup

erstitions ru

n th

rough

the righ

t chan

nel. T

herefore, p

lace the d

y-in

g person

on h

is right sid

e and

block his righ

t nostril w

ith cotton

or the

like. Th

en, if p

ossible, place before h

is eyes holy objects rep

resentin

g the

sublim

e preciou

s ones togeth

er with

offerings – im

ages of his gu

ru, th

em

ind

-boun

d d

eities (yidam

) for wh

ich h

e has d

evotion, th

e pu

re realm of

the victoriou

s Am

itabha, an

d so forth

.E

limin

ate any base motivation

s that m

ight be p

resent in

one’s m

ind

such

as seeking rep

utation

, material offerin

gs, or respect for on

eself. Inth

eir place, gen

erate strong love an

d com

passion

for this w

retched

sen-

tient bein

g wh

o is app

roach

ing d

eath.

With

firm d

evotion an

d faith

in th

e qu

alities of the gu

ru, th

e sublim

epreciou

s ones, th

e holy n

ames of th

e bud

dh

as, and

the h

oly and

pro-

foun

d m

antras, say th

e followin

g slowly an

d clearly, w

ithou

t mistakes,

and

with

a loud

voice [to the d

ying p

erson]:

Recitin

g the follow

ing, th

ink th

at clou

ds of refuge objects com

e and rem

ain

in th

e space in

front.

With

out d

istraction, visu

alize above your crow

n you

r root guru

and

the

min

d-bou

nd

deities for w

hom

you h

ave devotion

. Surrou

nd

ing th

is main

group

, you m

ay also visualize oth

er guru

s and

bud

dh

as. You sh

ould

fol-low

my w

ords an

d m

ake prayers in

tensely from

your h

eart thin

king:

You, th

e guru

and

the p

recious su

blime on

es, please save m

e fromth

e fears of this life, th

e futu

re life, and

the in

termed

iate state, and

lead m

e to the blissfu

l sup

reme p

ure field

.I go for refu

ge, un

til I am en

lighten

ed, to th

e Bu

dd

ha, D

harm

a,an

d San

gha. B

y the virtu

e of giving an

d th

e other p

erfections, m

ay I

Giving B


23

Advice from Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche

For th

ose inca

pable of doin

g these pra

ctices the m

ethod of ben

efiting sen

tient bein

gs at th

e

time of dea

th ca

n be sim

plified as follow

s. Recite th

e followin

g prayers a

nd m

antra

s in th

e ear

of the dyin

g person, or even

over old corpses.

To th

e foun

der, th

e end

owed

transcen

den

t destroyer, th

e one gon

e be-yon

d, th

e foe destroyer, th

e comp

letely perfected

, fully aw

akened

being,

the gloriou

s conqu

eror, the su

bdu

er from th

e Shakya clan

, I pro

strate, gofor refu

ge, and

make offerin

gs. Please gran

t me you

r blessings.

Tön

pa ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog

päi san

g gyä päl gyäl w

a sha kya th

ub p

a la chh

ag tshäl lo kyab su

chh

i wo ch

hö d

o jin gyi lab tu

söl

To th

e end

owed

transcen

den

t destroyer, th

e one gon

e beyond

, the fo

ed

estroyer, the com

pletely p

erfected, fu

lly awaken

ed bein

g Havin

g a Jewel

Ush

nish

a, I pro

strate.

Ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog p

äisan

g gyä rin ch

hen

tsug tor ch

än la ch

hag tsh

äl lo

The Com

passionate Buddha’s m

antra:

OM

MA

NI PÄ

DM

E H

UM

The wish-granting wheel mantra, saving beings from

the lower realms:

OM

PÄD

MO

USH

NISH

A B

IMA

LE

HU

M PH

AT

Milarepa’s m

antra, granting rebirth in his pure realm N

gonga:

OM

AH

GU

RU

HA

SA V

AJR

A SA

RV

A SID

DH

I PHA

LA

HU

M

Giving B


7

qu

ickly attain en

lighten

men

t for the sake of all kin

d m

other sen

tient

beings.

Assem

blies of the root an

d lin

eage guru

s of the th

ree times,

min

d-bou

nd

deities, th

ree preciou

s sublim

e ones, h

earers, sky-goers,an

d D

harm

a protectors – you

wh

o are the origin

ators of all perfec-

tions, h

app

iness, an

d good

ness, w

ith you

r comp

assion p

lease come

and

remain

here.

Then

, if one w

ishes a

nd th

ere is time, offer th

e elabora

te seven-lim

b prayer (see th

e appen

dix).

Then

, makin

g these requ

ests inten

tly from you

r hea

rt, say:

I make req

uests to

the kin

d gu

rus w

ho

are the actu

al emb

od

imen

ts of

the B

ud

dh

a, the o

riginato

r of th

e eighty-fo

ur th

ou

sand

teachin

gs for

god

s and

men

and

the m

ost o

utstan

din

g amo

ng all th

e no

ble o

nes.

Also

, to you

wh

o are C

hen

rezig, great treasure o

f com

passio

n n

ot aimed

at true existen

ce, and

Man

jush

ri, master o

f flawless w

isdo

m, O

Tso

ng

Kh

apa, cro

wn

jewel o

f the sages o

f the S

no

w L

and

, at you

r feet, Lo

zang

Dragp

a, I requ

est:P

lease guid

e this sen

tient b

eing, th

is wretch

ed gu

ideless o

bject o

f com

-p

assion

from

the fear o

f this life, th

e futu

re life, and

the in

termed

iatestate.

Glo

riou

s on

es of k

no

wled

ge, Gu

hyasam

aja, Heru

ka, Y

aman

taka,

Kalach

akra, Hevajra, M

ahach

akra, and

so forth

, you

mu

ltitud

e of m

ind

-b

ou

nd

deities:

Please gu

ide th

is sentien

t bein

g, this w

retched

, guid

eless ob

ject of co

m-

passio

n fro

m th

e fear of th

is life, the fu

ture life, an

d th

e interm

ediate

state.

To

the h

ighest fo

un

der, th

e precio

us B

ud

dh

a; the h

ighest gu

idan

ce,th

e precio

us an

d h

oly D

harm

a; the h

ighest lead

ers, the p

reciou

sS

angh

a; to th

e ob

jects of refu

ge, the th

ree precio

us su

blim

e on

es, toyo

u I m

ake this req

uest:

Please gu

ide th

is sentien

t bein

g, this w

retched

, guid

eless ob

ject of co

m-

passio

n fro

m th

e fear of th

is life, the fu

ture life, an

d th

e interm

ediate

state.

To M

anju

shri, V

ajrapan

i, Avalokitesh

vara, Ksh

itigarbha, Sarvan

ivarana-

Visk

amb

ini, K

hagarb

ha, M

aitreya, and

Sam

antab

had

ra, to yo

u, th

eeigh

t closest great so

ns, I m

ake this req

uest:

22 G


retched

Author’s A

fterword

If the lovin

g comp

assionate on

e wish

es to benefit th

e living sen

tient be-

ings w

ho are abou

t to be eaten by th

e fearful can

nibal of im

perm

anen

ce,h

e shou

ld u

se this m

ethod

explain

ed by B

ud

dh

a.W

hen

the vivid

vision of th

is life sud

den

ly sinks an

d on

e find

s oneself

alone in

an u

nfam

iliar and

up

setting p

lace, thin

k: “Is there any m

ethod

other th

an D

harm

a that ben

efits?” Th

en, before th

at great fearful on

ew

ho can

not be d

elayed arrives, it is w

orthw

hile to strive for th

e Dh

arma

wh

ich is certain

to benefit, relyin

g on th

e guru

and

the p

recious su

blime

ones to be th

e guid

es on th

e path

in fu

ture lives.B

y the m

erit of this w

ork,m

ay I quickly release all m

other sen

tient bein

gs, wh

ose bodies are eaten

by imp

erman

ence an

d w

ho are exp

eriencin

g un

bearable sufferin

gs in th

elim

itless ocean of sam

sara.

8 G


retched

Please gu

ide th

is sentien

t bein

g, this w

retched

, guid

eless ob

ject of co

m-

passio

n, fro

m th

e fear of th

is life, the fu

ture life, an

d th

e interm

ediate

state.

To

you

mu

ltitud

e of sky-go

ers of th

e three realm

s, wh

o are p

ow

erful

with

forekn

owled

ge and

psych

ic ability, w

ho

reside in

the su

prem

eh

oly p

lace called E

njo

ying in

Sp

ace and

protect p

ractition

ers as you

wo

uld

you

r child

ren, to

you

I make th

is requ

est:P

lease guid

e this sen

tient b

eing, th

is wretch

ed, gu

ideless o

bject o

f com

-p

assion

from

the fear o

f this life, th

e futu

re life, and

the in

termed

iatestate.

To

the q

uick h

elper M

ahak

ala, to o

ath-b

ou

nd

Kalaru

pa, to

the m

ag-n

ificent an

d glo

riou

s Mah

akali, to

the great kin

g Nam

töse, to

the

Mah

akala w

ith fo

ur faces w

ho

se crown

is ado

rned

with

a crow

’s head

,an

d so

forth

, to yo

u p

rotecto

rs of tran

scend

ental w

isdo

m, I m

ake this

requ

est:P

lease guid

e this sen

tient b

eing, th

is wretch

ed, gu

ideless o

bject o

f com

-p

assion

, from

the fear o

f this life, th

e futu

re life, and

the in

termed

iatestate.

Yo

u, th

e ho

ly on

es, the n

ever-betrayin

g refuge, th

e time h

as com

e togen

erate mo

st stron

gly you

r com

passio

nate b

lessing p

ow

er and

be th

esavio

r-help

er of th

is sentien

t bein

g, this w

retched

, protecto

rless ob

jecto

f com

passio

n.

Please b

estow

blessin

gs to p

acify tortu

res and

sufferin

g.P

lease besto

w b

lessings to

pacify n

on

-virtues an

d d

elud

ed view

s.P

lease bestow

blessin

gs to gen

erate pow

erful virtu

ou

s tho

ugh

ts.P

lease besto

w b

lessings to

remem

ber th

e guru

’s advice.

Wh

en th

e chan

ge of th

e elemen

ts brin

gs the fo

ur en

emies an

d th

eth

ree fearful visio

ns, w

hen

the vario

us in

defin

ite signs ap

pear, p

leaseb

estow

blessin

gs to b

e rebo

rn in

the p

ure realm

by m

eans o

f the in

ner,

ou

ter, and

secret yogas.

Please b

estow b

lessings to

be reb

orn

with

the su

prem

e bo

dy, p

ractic-in

g secret man

tra in th

e pu

re realm K

achö

, or to

com

plete th

e realiza-tio

ns o

f the tw

o grad

ual p

aths an

d q

uickly to

achieve th

e three k

ayasb

y practicin

g the th

ree trainin

gs with

this b

od

y.

If there a

re particu

lar gu

rus a

nd m

ind-bou

nd deities for w

hom

he [or sh

e] has devotion

, then

it

is good to say th

eir prayers a

nd so forth

.

Giving B


21

ished

. On

ly then

, practice.

Gen

erally, even w

ith th

e Bu

dd

ha’s teach

ings, th

ere is a time to

check d

efinitio

ns an

d m

etaph

ors. T

here are, h

owever, p

oin

ts that are

un

imagin

able an

d b

eyon

d th

e examin

ation

of in

tellectual d

ispu

te.W

ishin

g to b

ecom

e pu

re thro

ugh

checkin

g with

small w

isdo

m is sim

i-lar to

ho

pin

g to p

ass Mo

un

t Meru

thro

ugh

the eye o

f a need

le. Th

ere-fo

re, make su

re you

un

derstan

d th

at the d

iscovery of th

e extremely

ob

scure asp

ects of existen

ce mu

st dep

end

solely o

n th

e auth

oritative

scriptu

ral teachin

gs.B

ecause o

f this it is said

even in

the S

utra

of the M

edicin

e Buddha (M

än

kyi lha bä

idurya

):

‘An

and

a, do you

believe in th

e explan

ation of th

e qualities of th

etath

agatas?’‘I h

ave no d

oubts abou

t the D

harm

a explain

ed by you

, noble foe-

destroyer Sh

akyamu

ni B

ud

dh

a, because th

e tathagatas n

ever have

the least im

pu

rity in th

e actions of bod

y, speech

, and

min

d.’

‘Th

e know

ledge an

d th

e activities of a bud

dh

a are difficu

lt tobelieve, A

nan

da. W

hatever you

have belief an

d d

evotion in

shou

ldbe seen

as being d

ue to th

e pow

er of the B

ud

dh

a.’

Recite th

ese profou

nd

man

tras in th

e ears not on

ly of hu

man

s, but also of

anim

als such

as your m

oun

t, daily as w

ell as at the tim

e of death

. Also

recite them

over the bon

es or hairs of d

ead on

es, and

even over silk, w

ool,or th

e meat th

at one is en

joying, th

inkin

g of the bein

gs wh

o provid

ed th

een

joymen

t; for silk comes from

caterpillars, w

ool from sh

eep, an

d so on

.I th

ink th

is is most n

ecessary in ord

er to not in

cur a d

ebt.I req

uest in

telligent on

es to pu

t these p

ractices into action

, since th

eyh

ave pu

re references, are so easy to d

o, and

have great m

eanin

g.

Giving B


9

Then

, with

a lou

d and clea

r voice, recite the follo

win

g verses of hom

age th

ree or seven tim

es or

as m

any tim

es as you

can depen

ding on

how

much

time you

have:

To Buddha H

aving the Jewel Ushnisha

To th

e bhagavan

, tathagata, arh

at, the p

erfectly comp

leted B

ud

dh

a Hav-

ing a Jew

el Ush

nish

a, I pro

strate.

Ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog p

äisan

g gyä rin ch

hen

tsug tor ch

än la ch

hag tsh

äl lo

To Shakyamuni B

uddhaT

o the bh

agavan, tath

agata, arhat, p

erfectly comp

leted bu

dd

ha, gloriou

scon

qu

eror Shakyam

un

i Bu

dd

ha, I p

rostrate.

Ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog p

äisan

g gyä päl gyäl w

a sha kya th

ub p

a la chh

ag tshäl lo

To the seven Medicine B

uddhasT

o bhagavan

, tathagata, arh

at, perfectly com

pleted

bud

dh

a, Med

icine

Gu

ru, K

ing of L

apis L

azuli L

ight, I p

rostrate.

Ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog p

äisan

g gyä men

gyi lha bäi d

ur yä ö kyi gyäl p

o la chh

ag tshäl lo

To bh

agavan, tath

agata, arhat, p

erfectly comp

leted bu

dd

ha, R

enow

ned

Gloriou

s Kin

g of Excellen

t Signs, I p

rostrate.

Ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog p

äisan

g gyä tsen leg p

a yong d

rag päl gyi gyäl p

o la chh

ag tshäl lo

To bh

agavan, tath

agata, arhat, p

erfectly comp

leted bu

dd

ha, K

ing of M

e-lod

ious Sou

nd

, Brillian

t Rad

iance of Skill, A

dorn

ed w

ith Jew

els, Moon

,an

d L

otus, I p

rostrate.

Ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog p

äisan

g gyä rin p

o chh

e dan

g da w

a dan

g pä m

ä rab tu gyän

pa kh

ä pa

zi ji dra yan

g kyi gyäl po la ch

hag tsh

äl lo

To bh

agavan, tath

agata, arhat, perfectly com

pleted buddha, Stain

less Excel-

lent G

old, Illumin

ating Jew

el Wh

o Accom

plishes A

ll Con

duct, I prostrate.

Ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog p

äisan

g gyä ser zang d

ri me rin

chh

en n

ang tü

l zhu

g dru

b pa la ch

hag

tshäl lo

20 G


retched

give him

the p

rediction

of the tim

e of his en

lighten

men

t.

Th

is explan

ation of th

e benefits of th

e man

tras and

the h

oly nam

es isn

ot metap

horical. O

ne d

oes not n

eed to in

terpret the m

eanin

g – the

mean

ing is exactly as stated

. Th

erefore, be dou

btless, for the h

oly guru

sh

ave emp

hasized

the ben

efits received from

devotion

and

belief.M

anju

shri’s root tan

tra Jam

päl tsa

g gyü states:

Hu

man

s wh

o h

ave devotio

n w

ill follo

w a co

nd

uct lead

ing to

en-

lighten

men

t. How

ever, tho

se with

ou

t the n

ecessary qu

alities, espe-

cially devotio

n, w

ill no

t follo

w su

ch a co

nd

uct an

d, in

particu

lar,w

on

’t achieve realizatio

ns in

any tan

tric practice.

Th

e text Preciou

s Sublim

e Pile (K

ön ch

og tseg pa) states:

On

e wh

o has received

the teach

ings of th

e victorious on

e and

wh

oh

as wisd

om accu

mu

lates mu

ch m

ore merit th

an on

e wh

o has on

lyfaith

. For ach

ieving th

e ultim

ate mean

ing, d

evotion is th

e root.T

herefore, u

pon

hearin

g, one sh

ould

elimin

ate the d

oubtfu

l min

d.

On

e sho

uld

practice w

ith firm

devo

tion

and

belief, th

inkin

g:“It is in

evitable to

receive these b

enefits as exp

lained

becau

se the

Bu

dd

ha’s w

ord

s never b

etray.”

If on

e generates h

eresy and

do

ub

ts abo

ut th

e truth

fuln

ess of th

eb

enefits an

d th

inks w

ith p

ride, “I am

checkin

g becau

se I am h

ighly

intelligen

t,” there is n

o w

ay to receive th

e ben

efits and

realization

s.C

on

cernin

g this, th

e third

chap

ter of th

e Y

am

anta

ka T

antra states:

Fo

r the w

ise on

e wh

o h

as no

do

ub

t abo

ut th

e mean

ing o

f the u

n-

imagin

able n

ature, realizatio

ns are clo

se. Fo

r the fo

olish

on

e wh

oh

as firm d

evotio

n, realizatio

ns are also

close. H

owever, if o

ne b

e-co

mes a th

ick-skulled

intellectu

al disp

uter vacillatin

g over the tru

tho

f the teach

ings, th

e realization

s are far.

On

e may w

ond

er, if this is tru

e, then

wh

y did

Gu

ru Sh

akyamu

ni B

ud

dh

asay:F

ully o

rdain

ed m

on

ks and

wise o

nes, d

o n

ot practice m

y teachin

gso

nly w

ith th

e reason

s of faith

. Rath

er check m

y wo

rds w

ell, as you

wo

uld

gold

, wh

ich sh

ou

ld first b

e melted

, then

cut, an

d th

en p

ol-

10 G


retched

To bh

agavan, tath

agata, arhat, p

erfectly comp

leted bu

dd

ha, G

lorious Su

-prem

e On

e Free from

Sorrow, I p

rostrate.

Ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog p

äisan

g gyä nya n

gän m

e chh

og päl la ch

hag tsh

äl lo

To bh

agavan, tath

agata, arhat, p

erfectly comp

leted bu

dd

ha, M

elodiou

sO

cean of P

roclaimed

Dh

arma, I p

rostrate.

Ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog p

äisan

g gyä chh

ö drag gya tsh

ö yang la ch

hag tsh

äl lo

To bh

agavan, tath

agata, arhat, p

erfectly comp

leted bu

dd

ha, C

learly Kn

ow-

ing by th

e Play of Su

prem

e Wisd

om of an

Ocean

of Dh

arma, I p

rostrate.

Ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog p

äisan

g gyä chh

ö gya tsho ch

hog gi lö n

am p

ar röl pä n

gön p

ar khyän

pa la ch

hag tsh

äl lo

To Buddha M

itrugpaT

o bhagavan

, tathagata, arh

at, perfectly com

pleted

bud

dh

a Mitru

gpa, I

prostrate.

Ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog p

äisan

g gyä mi tru

g pa la ch

hag tsh

äl lo

To Buddha A

mitayus

To bh

agavan, tath

agata, arhat, p

erfectly comp

leted bu

dd

ha A

mitayu

s, Ipro

strate.

Ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog p

äisan

g gyä ö pag tu

me p

a la chh

ag tshäl lo

To Buddha M

aitreyaT

o bhagavan

, tathagata, arh

at, perfectly com

pleted

bud

dh

a Maitreya, I

prostrate.

Ch

om d

än d

ä de zh

in sh

eg pa d

ra chom

pa yan

g dag p

ar dzog p

äisan

g gyä jam p

a gön p

o la chh

ag tshäl lo

At th

is point, recite th

e holy n

am

es of the th

irty-five buddh

as of con

fession (see th

e FPM

T

pra

ctice booklet, Th

e Bodh

isattva’s Con

fession of M

oral Dow

nfalls).

Giving B


19

sentien

t being h

as been reborn

as a hell-bein

g, a preta, an

anim

al, in th

ew

orld of Yam

a, or in oth

er evil transm

igrator realms, becau

se of the

pow

er of this m

antra h

e will be liberated

from th

ose un

fortun

ate realms.

It is stated in

the com

men

tary to the Stain

less Bu

dd

ha’s m

antra th

at ifon

e recites the m

antra O

M N

AM

A T

RE

YA

DH

IKA

NA

M, etc. (see a

bove)

twen

ty-on

e times, th

en b

lows o

n san

d an

d sp

rinkles it over th

e grave,th

ose w

ho

se bo

nes are to

uch

ed b

y the san

d, if b

orn

in an

y of th

e hell-

realms, are com

pletely liberated

from th

ere and

receive an u

pp

er rebirth

.If th

ey have taken

rebirth

in an

up

per realm

they receive a rain

fall of

flowers o

n th

eir bo

dy.

In th

e text The D

etailed

Pra

yer of Buddha D

önzh

ag it is stated

:

If on

e recites OM

PÄD

MO

USH

NISH

A B

IMA

LE

HU

M P

HA

T seven

times, th

en b

lows o

n clean

sand

and

thro

ws it over th

e bo

nes, th

eb

urn

t corp

se or w

hatever p

art of an

y deceased

sentien

t bein

g wh

oh

as accum

ulated

karma to

be reb

orn

in th

e hells, o

r of an

y fully

ord

ained

mo

nk w

ho

lost h

is ord

inatio

n o

r bro

ke the b

ranch

es of

the p

recepts, th

e basic m

oral co

nd

uct, o

r wh

o h

ad n

ot resp

ectedh

is abb

ot or h

is main

teacher, im

med

iately after the san

d h

as been

strewn

on

the b

od

y, even if th

at bein

g has b

ecom

e a hell b

eing,

preta, can

nib

al, or raksh

a, right in

that m

om

ent th

e bein

g’s lifech

anges an

d h

e is rebo

rn in

the h

igher realm

s, never in

the h

ells.

Th

ese are the ben

efits of reciting th

e man

tras for those w

ho are abou

t tod

ie or wh

o are already d

ead. B

esides th

ese, the ben

efits of reciting th

em as

daily p

ractice, of writin

g them

dow

n an

d p

lacing th

em in

side stu

pas an

dso forth

, have been

explain

ed exten

sively by Bu

dd

ha. If on

e wish

es tokn

ow th

ese, one sh

ould

see the p

rayers of the in

divid

ual d

eities.T

he b

enefits o

f the M

antra o

f Maitreya B

ud

dh

a’s Pro

mise are as

follo

ws:

Hearin

g the w

ords of th

is man

tra, readin

g and

reciting it d

aily, contem

-p

lating th

e mean

ing, or in

the case of bird

s and

wild

anim

als and

so forth,

merely h

earing it, cau

ses one n

ot to be reborn in

the low

er realms an

d to

become a w

heel-tu

rnin

g king for on

e thou

sand

eons, accord

ing to d

evas’tim

e. Also, on

e will follow

the p

ath of th

e ten virtu

ous action

s, receive allth

e enjoym

ents on

e seeks and

especially, w

hen

Maitreya B

ud

dh

a show

sth

e twelve d

eeds o

f a bu

dd

ha h

e will lead

this sen

tient b

eing fro

mp

overty. E

ven if th

e being is in

a hell, M

aitreya will d

efinitely fin

d h

im an

d

Giving B


11

Then

, from th

e five divisions of m

antra

, recite the root w

isdom m

antra

[of Kunrig] for pu

rifying

the n

egative ka

rma th

at resu

lts in th

e evil-gone rea

lms:

OM

NA

MO

BH

AG

AV

AT

E / SA

RV

A D

UR

GA

TE

PAR

I SHO

DH

AN

IR

AJA

YA

/ TA

TH

AG

AT

AY

A / A

RH

AT

E SA

MY

AK

SAM

BU

DD

HA

YA

/T

AD

YA

TH

A / O

M SH

OD

HA

NI / SH

OD

HA

NI / SA

RV

A PA

PAM

BISH

OD

HA

NI / SH

UD

HE

BISH

UD

HE

/ SAR

VA

KA

RM

A A

VA

RA

NA

BISH

OD

HA

NI SV

AH

A

Then

recite the m

antra

[of Mitru

gpa] pu

rifying th

e karm

ic obscura

tions:

NA

MO

RA

TN

A T

RA

YA

YA

/ OM

KA

MK

AN

I KA

MK

AN

I RO

CH

AN

IR

OC

HA

NI T

RO

TA

NI T

RO

TA

NI T

RA

SAN

I TR

ASA

NI PR

AT

IHA

NA

PRA

TIH

AN

A SA

RV

A K

AR

MA

PAR

AM

PAR

A N

I ME

SAR

VA

SAT

TV

AN

AN

CH

A SV

AH

A

It is good to recite Tsu

gtor Nam

gyälm

a’s lon

g mantra

if you ca

n. If n

ot, recite the sh

ort one:

OM

BH

RU

M SV

AH

A / O

M A

MR

ITA

AY

UR

DA

DA

I SVA

HA

Also recite th

e long m

antra

of Buddh

a T

sugtor D

rime [S

tain

less Pin

nacle], bu

t if that is n

ot

possible, recite the sh

ort one:

OM

NA

MA

TR

EY

A D

HV

IKA

NA

M / SA

RV

A T

AT

HA

GA

TA

HR

I DA

YA

GA

RB

HE

JVA

LA

JVA

LA

/ DH

AR

MA

DH

AT

U G

AR

BH

E / SA

MB

HA

RA

MA

MA

AH

YU

SAM

SHO

DH

AY

A M

AM

A SA

RV

A PA

PAM

/ SAR

VA

TA

TH

AG

AT

A SA

MA

NT

OSH

NISH

A B

IMA

LE

BISH

UD

DH

E / H

UM

HU

M H

UM

HU

M / A

M B

AM

SAM

JA SV

AH

A

Then

recite Buddh

a P

ädm

a T

sugtor’s m

antra

:

OM

PÄD

MO

USH

NISH

A B

IMA

LE

HU

M PH

AT

These a

re the prin

cipal m

antra

s. Oth

er mantra

s are: “S

ecret Relics,” “T

he O

ne H

undred

Thou

sand-O

rnam

ent E

nligh

tenm

ent,” a

nd th

e “Hea

rt Depen

dence M

antra

.” It is said th

at

reciting th

ese mantra

s has grea

t benefit. T

herefore, n

ow recite th

ese three m

antra

s:

OM

SAR

VA

TA

TH

AG

AT

OSH

NISH

A D

HA

TU

MU

DR

AN

I / SAR

VA

TA

TH

AG

AT

A D

HA

RM

A D

HA

TU

BIB

HU

SHIT

E A

DH

ISHT

HIT

E H

UR

UH

UR

U H

UM

HU

M SV

AH

AO

M SA

RV

A T

AT

HA

GA

TA

BY

AV

AL

OK

ITE

SVA

HA

/ JAY

A JA

YA

SVA

HA

OM

DH

UR

U D

HU

RU

JAY

A M

UK

HE

SVA

HA

OM

YE

DH

AR

MA

HE

TU

PRA

BH

AV

A H

ET

UN

TE

SHA

NT

AT

HA

GA

TO

HY

AV

AD

AT

TE

SHA

Ñ C

HA

YO

NIR

OD

HA

EV

AM

VA

DI

MA

HA

SHR

AM

AN

A Y

E SV

AH

A

18 G


retched

as tho

se of K

amk

ani (M

itrugp

a), Du

rgate (Ku

nrig), T

sugtor N

amgyälm

a(U

shn

ishavijaya), T

sugto

r Drim

e (Stain

less Pin

nacle), P

ädm

o U

shn

isha

(Wish

-Gran

ting W

heel), an

d so

on

in th

e perso

n’s ear after callin

g his

nam

e. On

e may also

recite the m

antras an

d th

en b

low

on

sand

, sesame

seeds, o

r water an

d eith

er throw

them

on

the b

on

es or o

n th

e corp

se,o

r wash

the co

rpse w

ith th

e water b

efore crem

ation

. On

e can p

laceth

e written

man

tras on

the co

rpse’s cro

wn

befo

re bu

rial. In th

e textM

antra

Purifyin

g the K

arm

ic Obscu

ration

s it is said:

Even

if the o

bject is a w

ild an

imal, b

ird, h

um

an, n

on

-hu

man

, or

spirit, if o

ne p

ossessed

by com

passio

n recites th

is man

tra with

inth

eir hearin

g at the tim

e of d

eath, th

ey will n

ot transm

igrate to th

eevil-go

ne realm

s. Or, if th

e time o

f death

has alread

y passed

, if on

erecites th

e man

tra on

e hu

nd

red, o

ne th

ou

sand

, ten th

ou

sand

, or

on

e hu

nd

red th

ou

sand

times w

ith lovin

g com

passio

n, even

if the

bein

g was alread

y bo

rn in

the h

ell-realms, at th

is mo

men

t he w

illb

e released fro

m th

ere. Recitin

g this m

antra an

d b

low

ing o

n earth

,yellow

mu

stard seed

s, sesame seed

s or w

ater, and

sprin

kling it o

nth

e bo

nes o

r corp

se, or b

urn

ing o

r bu

rying th

e bo

dy after h

aving

wash

ed it w

ith th

e water an

d p

laced th

e written

man

tra on

the

crown

, gives the resu

lt that, even

if that b

eing h

as taken reb

irth in

the lo

wer realm

s, with

in seven

days, in

evitably, h

e will b

e liberated

from

the low

er realms an

d b

e rebo

rn in

a hap

py realm

– th

at is, ifh

e do

esn’t take a go

od

rebirth

by th

e pow

er of h

is own

prayers.

It is state

d in

the T

antra

Purifyin

g the E

vil-Gon

e Rea

lms:

In sh

ort, to become th

e leader of th

e gods is p

ossible. Merely by re-

mem

bering th

e nam

es of guru

s and

bud

dh

as, the sen

tient bein

g ofsm

all fortun

e is comp

letely liberated from

all causes of th

e evil-gone

realms.

Th

is text men

tions th

e root wisd

om m

antra O

M N

AM

O B

HA

GA

VA

TE

SAR

VA

DU

RG

AT

E, etc. (see a

bove, p. 11

).

Also it is m

ention

ed in

the com

men

tary on N

amgyälm

a’s man

tra:

If one recites th

is man

tra twen

ty-one tim

es, then

blows on

yellowm

ustard

seeds an

d th

rows th

em on

the bon

es of the sen

tient bein

gw

ho h

as accum

ulated

mu

ch n

egative karma an

d h

as died

, even if th

at

12 G


retched

Then

recite the M

antra

of Maitreya

Buddha’s P

romise:

NA

MO

RA

TN

A T

RA

YA

YA

/ NA

MO

BH

AG

AV

AT

E SH

AK

YA

MU

NIY

E /

TA

TH

AG

AT

AY

A / A

RH

AT

E SA

MY

AK

SAM

BU

DD

HA

YA

/ TA

DY

AT

HA

/O

M A

JITE

AJIT

E A

PAR

AJIT

E / A

JITA

ÑC

HA

YA

HA

RA

HA

RA

MA

ITR

IA

VA

LO

KIT

E K

AR

A K

AR

A M

AH

A SA

MA

YA

SIDD

HI B

HA

RA

BH

AR

AM

AH

A B

OD

HI M

AN

DA

BIJA

SMA

RA

SMA

RA

AH

SMA

KA

M SA

MA

YA

BO

DH

I BO

DH

I MA

HA

BO

DH

I SVA

HA

The h

eart m

antra

is:

OM

MO

HI M

OH

I MA

HA

MO

HI SV

AH

A

The closer h

eart m

antra

is:

OM

MU

NI M

UN

I SMA

RA

SVA

HA

At th

is point, recite in

his ea

r other blessed m

antra

s that pa

cify nega

tive karm

a, su

ch a

s the

mantra

of the eleven

-face A

valokitesh

vara

. At th

e end of th

e mantra

recitation

, for those

alrea

dy dead, on

e may sa

y the follo

win

g pra

yer:

You w

ho h

ave passed

from life, all you

r obscuration

s and

negative karm

aSH

INT

IM (p

acified) K

UR

UY

E (all) S

VA

HA

(be).

It is extremely ben

eficial to recite th

e mantra

s with

this sh

ort prayer a

djoined a

nd th

en blow

on w

ater a

nd w

ash

the body w

ith it. A

lso blow on

dust, yellow

musta

rd seeds, and bla

ck

sesam

e seeds and th

row th

ese on th

e body. Also, w

rite out th

e mantra

s and pla

ce them

on th

e

crown or in

the gra

ve with

the body.

To effect th

e transferen

ce of consciou

sness w

hen

the brea

th stops, grin

d the tra

nsferrin

g ele-

men

t such

as in

creasin

g relic pills of holy bein

gs, bones of h

oly guru

s, dust from

burn

ed conch

shells (sm

all type), or m

agn

etic iron, m

ix this w

ith h

oney, a

nd pla

ce it on th

e crown.

In th

e case of som

eone w

ho died da

ys ago you

shou

ld hook th

e consciou

sness ba

ck into th

e body

by sa

ying th

ree times:

Nam

o. By th

e pow

er of the tru

e order of th

e Bu

dd

ha, th

e true ord

er ofth

e Dh

arma, th

e true ord

er of the San

gha, th

e true ord

er of the secret

man

tra and

wisd

om

man

tra, and

in p

articular b

y the p

ower o

f the

un

betraying d

epen

den

t origination

and

the tru

th of th

e un

chan

geablen

ature, m

ay the con

sciousn

ess of ...(say th

e nam

e)…, w

ho h

as passed

fromlife, be h

ooked h

ere instan

tly from w

herever it is, be it at th

e peak of

samsara, in

the low

er realms, in

one of th

e eighteen

hell realm

s or at any

poin

t between

these, u

nd

er, above or on th

e earth.

Giving B


17

Just by h

earing th

e nam

e of the con

qu

eror, the M

edicin

e Bu

dd

ha,

one is n

ot reborn in

the evil-gon

e realms.

It is said

in th

e su

tra c

alle

d B

eam

s of Lapis L

azu

li (Bäid

uryä

ö kyi do):

Fo

r tho

se wh

o h

ear the h

oly n

ames o

f these tath

agatas there is

no

op

po

rtun

ity to travel to

the realm

s of th

e evil transm

igrators.

Lam

a Atish

a also said th

at merely h

earing th

e holy n

ame of a M

edi-

cine B

ud

dh

a removes th

e sufferin

g of evil transm

igration. O

ther ben

efitsare th

at one w

ill not leave th

e path

leadin

g to the h

ighest en

lighten

men

t,n

egative karma an

d obscu

rations are p

urified

, and

one can

not be con

-tro

lled b

y maras. E

specially th

ose ab

ou

t to exp

erience th

e heavy rip

en-

ing asp

ect of th

eir evil action

s of m

iserliness, p

ride, jealo

usy, an

d o

fn

ot h

aving fo

llow

ed m

oral co

nd

uct are lib

erated fro

m su

ffering an

dreceive p

erfect hap

pin

ess by recalling th

e ho

ly nam

e of a M

edicin

eB

ud

dh

a after hearin

g it. Even

one alread

y reborn in

the evil-gon

e realms

is liberated

from

them

merely b

y remem

berin

g such

a ho

ly nam

e. Even

for th

ose w

ho

have let th

e practice o

f mo

ral con

du

ct degen

erate inth

is life, the rip

enin

g aspect an

d so

on

can b

e pu

rified b

y reciting a

Med

icine B

ud

dh

a’s ho

ly nam

e. It is said to

have in

finite b

enefits. It is

also said

that, in

ord

er to b

e bo

rn in

the b

lissful p

ure lan

d o

f Dew

achen

,recitin

g and

hearin

g the h

oly n

ames o

f the M

edicin

e Bu

dd

has is even

qu

icker than

reciting an

d h

earing th

e ho

ly nam

e of A

mitab

ha an

dp

raying to

him

. Th

ere are inco

nceivab

le ben

efits in recitin

g and

hear-

ing th

e ho

ly nam

es of th

e seven p

assed in

to b

liss (Med

icine B

ud

dh

as),as is stated

in th

e Med

icine B

uddha E

ight H

undred

Sutra.

Th

e ben

efits of h

earing th

e ho

ly nam

e of M

itrugp

a (the Im

mov-

able O

ne) are exp

lained

in th

e sutra o

f De zh

ing k

ö. Th

e ben

efits of

hearin

g Am

itabh

a Bu

dd

ha’s h

oly n

ame are exp

lained

extensively in

the teach

ing called

Kön

tseg, in th

e fifth ch

apter, en

titled “T

he B

eauti-

fully D

ecorated

Am

itabh

a.” Th

e amo

un

t of w

riting w

ou

ld b

e frighten

-in

g if I were to

qu

ote th

e com

men

tary to th

e Con

fession of D

ownfa

lls,exp

lainin

g the p

urificatio

n o

f so m

any eo

ns o

f negative k

arma an

do

bscu

ration

s by recitin

g the h

oly n

ames o

f the th

irty-five Co

nfessio

nB

ud

dh

as. Th

erefore, try to

un

derstan

d th

ese texts and

generate firm

faith in

them

.T

here is great b

enefit in

reciting th

e special b

lessed m

antras su

ch

Giving B


13

Then

say:

Hey! H

ey! You ...(sa

y the n

am

e)…, w

ho h

ave passed

from life, listen

! Youh

ave left the bod

y of this life an

d all you

r elemen

ts are gradu

ally absorb-in

g. Du

ring th

is time, variou

s fears occur to th

e min

d. T

hese are illu

soryvision

s caused

by the absorp

tions of you

r elemen

ts.So, w

ithou

t letting you

rself be controlled

by fear of these vision

s, med

i-tate like th

is: In th

e very center of you

r body, th

e central ch

ann

el is the

size of a bamboo arrow

, reachin

g from th

e navel u

p to an

d ju

st passin

gth

rough

the crow

n. In

side th

is chan

nel at th

e heart, visu

alize your m

ind

as a wh

ite drop

in th

e natu

re of light, abou

t the size of a len

til and

poised

to sprin

g up

ward.

Wh

en you

have com

pleted

these visu

alizations, th

en, from

the p

ure

realm of D

ewach

en, th

e savior Am

itabha, in

separable from

the root gu

ru,

and

all his en

tourage d

escend

un

der th

e control of th

eir imm

easurable

comp

assion, an

d are seated

, pleased

with

you, on

the ap

erture of you

rcrow

n.

Invok

e Am

itabh

a a

nd offer th

e followin

g seven-lim

b p

rayer:

Resp

ectfully, I p

rostrate w

ith m

y three d

oors.I offer all th

e actually p

erformed

and

men

tally transform

ed offerin

gs,w

ithou

t exception.

I confess all th

e negative karm

a and

dow

nfalls.

I rejoice in all virtu

es.I request you to turn

the w

heel of th

e extensive an

d the profoun

d Dh

arma.

I beseech you

to abide firm

ly with

out p

assing aw

ay.I d

edicate th

e virtue to th

e sup

reme en

lighten

men

t.

Then

, touch

one of th

e person’s ch

eeks with

your h

and a

nd, in

a very sw

eet tone, a

dvise him

[or her] lik

e this:

Hey! H

ey! You fortu

nate son

[or dau

ghter] of th

e essence. T

he en

d of

birth is d

eath. T

here is n

o differen

ce between

old an

d you

ng. T

his m

eans

that n

ow th

e time of you

r death

has com

e, you n

eed th

e Dh

arma th

at I, ah

um

an, h

ave explain

ed w

ell. You m

ust h

old it righ

t insid

e your h

eart,w

ithou

t men

tal distraction

.Son

[or dau

ghter], d

on’t be attach

ed to th

is body. D

on’t be attach

edto m

aterial enjoym

ents. D

on’t be attach

ed to h

ome an

d cou

ntry. D

on’t

be attached

to your close relatives an

d d

ear ones. For if you

are attached

you w

ill be reborn as p

reta. If you are n

ot attached

you w

ill go to a blissful

realm.

16 G


retched

The Benefits of the Method

Recitin

g the gu

rus’ h

oly nam

es in th

e ear of the sen

tient bein

g about to

die an

d cau

sing h

im to recall th

em is th

e best meth

od of tran

sference.

Th

e tantra req

uested

by Pu

ngsan

g states:

For a dyin

g being, to recall h

is guru

for one secon

d is th

e bestam

ong all m

ethod

s of transferen

ce. Th

at capable bein

g will be fu

llyen

lighten

ed.

Th

ere is great need

to make h

im recall h

is guru

, and

in p

articular to

make h

im gen

erate devotion

for his gu

ru an

d for th

e min

d-bou

nd

deities

with

wh

om h

e has a con

nection

.It says in

the text P

ä bu

m n

gön p

o:

Th

e one to w

hom

one d

evotes oneself su

bdu

es.

If one h

ears the h

oly nam

e of Bu

dd

ha R

inch

en T

sugtor C

hän

(Havin

ga Jew

el Ush

nish

a), one does n

ot fall into th

e evil-gone realm

s. Th

e son of th

eleader of th

e traders called Kyibu C

hubeb recited aloud th

is buddha’s h

olyn

ame w

ithin

earshot of ten

thousan

d fish an

d the fish

were born

as gods.It is stated

in th

e teachin

gs of Bu

dd

ha Ser Ö

Dam

pa (B

ody R

adiatin

gG

old):

Recitin

g Gu

ru Sh

akyamu

ni B

ud

dh

a’s holy n

ame p

urifies th

e nega-

tive karma of eigh

ty-thou

sand

eons an

d m

erely hearin

g the h

olyn

ame on

ce, one w

ill not tu

rn aw

ay from th

e path

to the h

ighest,

fully accom

plish

ed en

lighten

men

t.

It is said in

the S

utra

of Sublim

e Preciou

s Clou

ds (K

ön ch

og trin gyi d

o):

14 G


retched

Th

e end

of collection is d

ispersion

. Th

e end

of stockp

iling is loss. T

he

end

of meetin

g is separation

, and

the en

d of birth

is death

.You

, the son

[or dau

ghter], h

ave reached

the tim

e of death

, but you

aren

ot the on

ly one w

ho d

ies. Everyon

e has su

ch a n

ature. You

need

not

suffer th

inkin

g about d

eath, for n

o one is m

ore joyful or h

appy th

an you

.A

bove yo

ur crow

n, o

n su

n an

d m

oo

n d

iscs, is seated th

e savior

Am

itabha B

ud

dh

a, wh

o is insep

arable from you

r kind

root guru

. Wh

enyou

transm

igrate, all hin

dran

ces are ann

ihilated

by remem

bering h

im.

Now

, in ord

er to gain th

e path

of transferen

ce of the con

sciousn

ess to ap

ure realm

, make th

is requ

est from th

e very center of you

r heart:

Visu

alize th

e followin

g request a

s comin

g from th

e one w

ho h

as pa

ssed from life.

I request yo

u, savio

r Am

itabh

a Bu

dd

ha, w

ho

are the essen

ce of th

eu

nbetrayin

g three p

recious su

blime on

es, wh

o are the h

ero releasing be-

ings from

the fear of th

e evil-gone realm

s and

wh

o are the su

prem

e ferry-m

an, ferryin

g all to the p

ure field

.I req

uest you

to guid

e me from

the fear of Yam

a.I req

uest you

to release me from

the treach

erous p

ath of th

e fearful

interm

ediate stage.

I requ

est you to lead

me to th

e sup

reme blissfu

l realm.

I have n

one oth

er in w

hom

to pu

t my h

opes. P

lease guid

e me w

ithyou

r comp

assion.

Visu

alize th

at, beca

use of th

is inten

se request from

the depth

s of one’s h

eart, from

the h

eart of

the sa

vior hook

-like beam

s descend, en

ter the a

perture in

the person

’s crown, strik

e his con

-

sciousn

ess, which

is visualized

in th

e form of a

white d

rop, a

nd dra

w it u

p. While you

are

thin

king th

is way, in

tently draw

up th

e downw

ard w

ind a

nd m

ake m

any tim

es a h

iccupin

g

sound. B

ecause of th

is, the drop rises u

p throu

gh th

e centra

l channel, pa

sses out th

rough

the

apertu

re in th

e crown, en

ters the gu

ru’s secret pla

ce, and gra

dually a

bsorbs into h

is hea

rt. Due

to this, gu

ru A

mita

bha goes to th

e blissful rea

lm of D

ewach

en, lik

e a w

ell-aim

ed shot.

Thin

k that th

e person in

tently pu

lled up th

e downw

ard w

ind. A

t the sa

me tim

e, makin

g

many h

iccupin

g sounds, pu

ll up firm

ly the h

air a

t the cen

ter of the crow

n. T

hen

thin

k that th

e

savior A

mita

bha left for th

e blissful rea

lm, a

nd con

centra

te a w

hile on

this poin

t.

Then

say th

is prayer:

May h

e be born from

an extrem

ely beautifu

l holy lotu

s in th

e hap

py, p

ure

man

dala of th

e victorious on

e.M

ay the p

rediction

of his en

lighten

men

t be actually given

, and

may

Giving B


15

this on

e, wh

o has p

assed from

life, be received by A

mitabh

a, Bu

dd

ha of

Infin

ite Ligh

t.A

s qu

ickly as he is join

ed to th

e next life, m

ay he en

ter the p

istil, the

essence of th

e lotus in

the p

ure an

d blissfu

l realm. M

ay this p

rayer qu

icklybe ach

ieved th

rough

the p

ower of tru

th of Sh

akyamu

ni B

ud

dh

a, the lead

er,A

mitabh

a, the u

nd

efeatable, Maitreya, M

anju

shri, V

ajrapan

i, own

er ofth

e secret, those p

assed in

to bliss, those su

rroun

din

g, and

throu

gh th

epow

er of un

betraying d

epen

den

t origination

.

Also recite pra

yers such

as San

gchu.