A practice to do without initiation
Dear Rinpoché,
I had a couple more questions. Could you please explain the benefits of wearing a Buddhist pendant such as Avalokiteshvara, also I was wondering if there was a sadhana I could do (without initiation). Thank you.
Much warmth,
~Liz
(Source: http://blog.tsemtulku.com/questions?cat=16&pn=#comment-21996)
Dear Liz,
Creating sacred Buddha images is a practice dating to over 2,500 years old. Buddha images represent the full enlightenment of a Buddha. The total omniscience and qualities of a Buddha is represented in any form of any Buddha (Chenresik, Tsongkapa, Tara, etc). To see, feel, visualize, connect and remember any form of the Buddha plants seeds of enlightenment in one’s consciousness to be triggered open at a later date. Wearing Buddha pendants is an expression of our wish to be close an enlightened being. Also the Buddha pendant represents the goals we have in life and our higher spiritual aspirations. In the case of Avalokitesvara, our deep and determined aspiration to achieve altruism and full enlightenment.
When other animals, non physical beings, humans, etc see our pendant it will bless their minds and plant the seeds of enlightenment in their minds.
Our blessed pendants can be a powerful source of protection when we go to places or encounter negative energies.
I have all my dogs wear Buddha pendants I designed for pets. I want them to be blessed. I even put Buddha images in my lawns and carport area so the birds, insects and ethereal beings will be blessed by Buddha. What’s a statue but a large pendant. What’s a pendant of a Buddha but a small statue. LOL.
Anyway, most of us like to wear some sort of jewellery or pendant; what’s better than a pendant representing an Awakened being.
Yes there are practices of Chenresik and many Buddhas that you can engage in without initiation. And I am glad you are not opting for initiation at this time. That is something you should wait until you are very sure.
For now you can recite, meditate, achieve, accomplish the blessings of Chenresik using the 8 VERSES OF THOUGHT TRANFORMATION. There are eight stanzas.
1. Set up an altar to Chenresik or any Enlightened Being.
2. Have simple, clean and affordable offerings in front if it’s convenient.
3. Three prostrations.
4. Make a motivation to achieve highest altruism and awakening by connecting and engaging in the sacred energies of this Buddha.
5. Recite the first verse, stop, contemplate and then recite one mala (rosary) of Om Mani Peme Hung. Do the same for the rest of the remaining 7 stanzas left.
6. Upon completion, recite a dedication. Then, if you choose, you’re done for the day unless you wish to insert other practices. It’s up to you.
7. It would be good to study up on the 8 Verses of Thought Transformation daily and Shantideva’s treatise on Bodhisattva-cha-avatara. An excellent treatise on the practice of altruism, compassion and universal responsibility.
I hope this helps you and I wish you luck. With much joy and excitement for you,
Tsem Rinpoche
P.S. what I have written here for Liz can be substituted for any Buddha. Example – if your main practice is Tsongkapa,then after each stanza you recite migzeyma 21x or more, or if it’s Tara, then do Tara’s mantra one round instead and so on. This is a practice you can do without any initiations yet still be blessed. Practices and mantras are great sources of benefits, but study of dharma to stabilize our mind with knowledge through reason and logic is very important to do which are complementary to our practices. Without knowledge, our practice can fizzle away and become neglected.
Eight Verses of Thought Transformation:
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9BYGlvKms0
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jiDL1PY8i8
Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVspr9DdT-I
Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EhppX85eFM
Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZKcOgM5GnI
Part 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vayJifKU2O8
Part 7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mw3QcNlInw
Part 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GTNJsH1bhs
Part 9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQL2r6nGmy4
Part 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWvmYZlArdc
Part 11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HVLl-oI0Bg
Part 12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv-_kCHsyMI
P.S.
I have posted Liz Fields’ question and my answer here as I thought it can benefit many more people. If you also wish to benefit animals you may blow sacred mantras onto them daily.
If your animals have passed on, you can blow mantras such as Tara, Chenresik, Namgyalma or Medicine Buddha on their fur (if you have kept some) or even their picture and dedicate the merits for them. If you have neither, then you can visualize them or think of them while doing the mantras and visualize the mantras in the form of white lights touching them. You can do this daily. The white lights bless them. The white lights is the power of Tara’s mantra coming from your love to them and ask them to take a good rebirth. You help them on their journey. Pets are very important.
You can also do this for deceased persons. Usually for 49 days we can recite the mantra daily 1,000 times and dedicate to them. If they have passed on long ago, then you can do for as many days as you feel comfortable. To think of a loved one who has passed on will not benefit them much, but if you send your thoughts with powerful blessed mantras, there is some effect for them.
Thanks Rinpoche for sharing another super easy yet powerful sadhana for the ‘BUSY’ modern days people like us. This is really really easy for us.
I remember Rinpoche advised one of my friend when his very young son passed away not long ago. He and his wife (direct family) should recite at least 10 mala (rosary) mantra a day for 49 days, which could be OM MANI PEDMA HUM or Setrap and dedicate the merit to their son to have a good rebirth, so in very young age from the new reincarnation, the son will meet dharma, and he’ll be ok.
By doing this, the son will not only receive the blessing from the Buddha but also have the chances to be reborn in a good condition for him to practice altruism in the future lifetime.
On top of that, instead of keep crying everyday, both of them follow Rinpoche’s instruction reciting the mantra everyday, letting go their son from their sad emotion, and they feel much much more relieve.
Dear Rinpoche,
I love this beautiful practice very much.Thank you Rinpoche.
I shall recite the 8 Verses of Thought Transformation and Om Mani.. after each verse, with reflection on each verse, as my practice for the next two weeks when I travel to UK and Ireland to be with my daughters and son-in-law’s family.
Dearest Rinpoche
Thank you very much for sharing with us Liz questions. I am very grateful that you share it with us and also the ps section. I often think of my late son who passed away at the age of 19 (10yrs ago) as christian and only a mass has been done for him. I wished for him to have a good rebirth but I wont know where is he now. With your Ps section I will send my thoughts with the l blessed mantras and hope he can benefit from them. Thank you very much my dear Guru.
Thankyou Rinpoche for such simple yet so powerful teaching. Yes, 8 verses of mind transformation is one thing i put very close to my heart. Even though I couldn’t memorize all the verses, but one line i can memorize very clearly is “offering the victory to others..” This will immediately calm me down and look at things from another angle and accept whatever it is from the other person who has caused you damage. It is like a mirror image, if we ourself want to win, wouldn’t the other person wants to win as well? So we should practice kindness… Keep insisting we ourselves are correct even though sometimes we might be will actually bring more effort to create sufferings.
This practice is short, simple yet very very powerful. Please promote this post and share it with friends and family. Very easy to do and very beneficial.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thanks for sharing such a powerful practice to us.
This is easy to follow and we can just do it by ourselves to help our family members or beloved family members directly. And yet by doing a mantra recitation we heal our emotion problem too.
I will remember this and share it to everyone.
Prayer is important but what is more important is that the mind transformation and what we do during the 23 hours after our 1 hour prayer session.
When we face a problem or difficult situation, we are allowed to feel sad, angry, or hurt at the beginning but we are NOT Allowed to revenge, or treat the other party badly if we are following Buddha’s teaching or any religion that teach us how to cultivate altruistic mind.
I have a pendant of Lama Tsongkhapa and he is always around my neck except when I sleep or shower. I have more of a connection now then when I did when I first began practicing.
Liz you are very fortunate to receiving a tailored teaching and practise from rinpoche, as are the Kecharians. With a guru in our midst, the teachings and deities are truly alive through the mastery of a guru. This is fantastic and one can interchange it with whatever buddha that we fancy.