Principles of Karmic Fruition with explanatory stories

Dharma Master Jingjie

For both ordinary beings and enlightened beings, there are times of comfort and happiness in their lives. Whether it is the joy of an enlightened sage or the momentary feeling of relief in the sufferings of hell-realms -- all are produced by good karma.

Take the Avici Hell, the Hell of Uninterrupted Torment, for example. The suffering there goes on all the time. The beings are thrown into boiling oil to be fried; after being fried to death and reduced to a skeleton, they are scooped out. A cool breeze blows and revives the body, then it is thrown back in to be fried again.

For beings in the Avici Hell, there is only a single instant of happiness or comfort. That is when the cool breeze blows to restore their body. Where does this pleasant sensation come from? It is the result of past good karma.

Even the pleasant sensation of that cool breeze in the Avici hell is the result of good karma, because it is impossible for comfort and happiness to arise from negative karma.

Therefore, as long as it is a good result, it must be due to good karma. For instance, being able to walk right now—this itself is good karma. Do not think that walking is your natural entitlement; not everyone can walk. Being able to eat this bowl of rice and enjoying it is also good karma.

Not a single thing happens without causes. Being able to drink this cup of water and being nourished by it is the result of good karma. Anything that makes you feel comfortable and happy in this life is entirely due to good karma, and you should praise your past good deeds for it.

If you can walk, you should praise your past merits; if you can eat or sleep well at night, it is due to good karma! Nothing must be taken for granted. This is the first principle you must know: that all happiness is a result of good karma.  There is not a single exception to this law.

~~

When the Buddha was in the world, there were many lay practitioners who were benefactors or protectors of the Dharma. The most important protector was Elder Sudatta. Elder Sudatta grew up in a very wealthy family and he deeply loved giving alms to the poor and neglected elderly people. Therefore, he was also called Elder Anathapindika (Giver to the Destitute).

He had seven sons. The first six had already married... and Sudatta asked many people to make inquiries for a suitable wife for his youngest son. Later, he heard that in the neighboring country, in the city of Rajgir, there was a woman who was very beautiful, possessed of perfect virtues and from a wealthy family. Elder Sudatta took his attendants and travelled to Rajgir to propose marriage. The prospective in-laws had also heard of Elder Sudatta's name and invited him to stay in their guest quarters.

Towards dusk, Elder Sudatta saw many people busily preparing a vast amount of food. Elder Sudatta asked, "What are you all busy with?" and was told, "Our master is going to invite the Buddha to come tomorrow so as to make offerings."

Elder Sudatta asked again, "What is the Buddha like?" "The Buddha has thirty-two major marks and eighty minor characteristics, adorned with boundless qualities." According to the scriptures, upon hearing of Buddha's qualities, Elder Sudatta’s hairs stood on end and a great joy arose. This showed that Sudatta had deep virtuous roots.

When night fell and everyone went to sleep, Elder Sudatta could not contain himself any longer; he wanted to hurry and see the Buddha. He was unable to wait until tomorrow. In the middle of the night, he left his in-laws' residence to visit the Buddha by night.

The omniscient Buddha knew that Elder Sudatta was coming and waited for him. As soon as he arrived, the Buddha first emitted a great radiance. Upon seeing the Buddha, Elder Sudatta immediately fell to his knees. The Buddha taught him the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths and Sudatta gained the realization of Stream-Entry right away.

Due to realizing the first level of Arhatship, Elder Sudatta now had unwavering faith in the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha and the Shila (precept discipline), known as the Four Irreversible Faiths. He felt that there was no need to attend the banquet the next day, so early the next morning, he hurriedly returned home with his attendants. He felt that he had to build a monastery in the Kingdom of Sravasti and offer it to the Buddha.

However, the Buddha's monastic community was enormous, comprising one thousand two hundred Bhikkhus. Sudatta asked around to see where a monastery could be built; finally, he found a suitable place in Sravasti. It was a garden that belonged to the crown prince of King Prasenajit, Prince Jeta.

At first, the prince did not want to sell but he could not afford to offend this Elder, so he asked, "Why are you buying this garden?" Elder Sudatta said, "I want to make offerings to the Buddha and his monastic community. I plan to build many monks' quarters and a teaching hall and invite the Buddha to reside here and teach the Dharma."

Upon hearing this, Prince Jeta realized it was a good deed. Unable to flatly refuse but reluctant to agree, he decided to make it difficult for Sudatta instead. Jeta said, "If you can cover my entire garden with gold, I will sell the garden to you." Elder Sudatta replied, "Done! It's a deal!"

Prince Jeta said, "No, wait, I was just joking with you." Elder Sudatta said, "You are the crown prince today and the future King, can you speak words in jest?" Left with no choice, Prince Jeta had to sell it to him. Prince Jeta said, "You pave the ground with gold, but the trees will count as mine." That is how the name Jetavana (meaning “Prince Jeta's trees”) Anathapindika's Park came to be.

According to the scriptures, after Elder Sudatta bought the land, he used elephants to transport a huge amount of gold to pave the ground and he also built the monks' quarters and the teaching hall. When the construction was finished, all his money was spent. He became so poor that he didn't even have money left for food.

So what is there to do? Sudatta managed to find a sandalwood bucket in the storehouse. He took this bucket to exchange for a little money and his family cooked a pot of rice, preparing to eat. Just as they were about to start their meal, Venerable Maudgalyayana arrived to beg for alms.

Now, Sudatta was already a noble being who has achieved the first stage of realisation. Such beings have an unshakable understanding of cause-and-effect. They know that virtue will only bring happiness. We ordinary people might be influenced by the ups and downs in the situation, but Elder Sudatta’s mind was unshakably established in the Dharma.

Therefore, he said, "Divide the rice in half and offer the half-portion to Venerable Maudgalyayana." The family prepared to make do with the remaining half. Right then, Venerable Sariputra also arrived. Again, Sudatta had to make a difficult choice. Should he choose the current karmic result (rice) he already had, or should he prioritize creating a virtuous cause for the future? But the Elder's mind was resolute, he said, "Divide it again and offer half to Venerable Sariputra."

(Note: Shariputra and Maudgalyayana were great Arhats who were the foremost disciples of Lord Buddha.)

When Sudatta’s family was finally about to consume the last one-quarter of their ration of rice, the Buddha himself arrived. The Elder declared, "So be it! We will just go hungry today to make offerings to the Buddha." Elder Sudatta personally took this one-quarter portion of rice, ran to the Buddha, knelt down and offered it.

The Buddha compassionately accepted it. After accepting it, according to the scriptures, Lord Buddha spoke a four-line verse.

"This day onwards,

sins extinguished, merits born,

eternally prosperous,

never lacking ever again."

Lord Buddha said, “By this act of giving, Sudatta has eradicated the very last trace of stinginess and greed remaining from his past lives. In all his future lives, until he attains Buddhahood, there is only one type of situation he will find himself in —wealth and prosperity. Even though he has not attained Buddhahood, the word "poverty" will no longer exist in his life.”

We all know that the Buddha either remains silent or speaks the truth. The moment Buddha says something, it becomes fixed and unalterable. This is called the “Golden Mouth." As long as the Buddha gives a prophecy, there is no room for change in the matter. For example, the Buddha said that King Virudhaka would die in seven days and this fate could not be changed. Even though the king fled by boat, it was useless.

What is the point of this story? It shows that virtue definitely ripens into good results of happiness.

~~

Cause-and-effect often spans across lifetimes before bearing fruit. For example, some vegetarians attribute their poor health to their vegetarian diet, saying that it makes them unhealthy. This is illogical. Poor health comes from the karma of killing in past lives; it has nothing to do with a vegetarian diet. Even if there is any connection, it is only a secondary condition. (For example, when one eats an unbalanced vegetarian diet due to a lack of knowledge.)

By not killing, the result is a long life. When we practice good deeds, it is very easy to be misled by the results of existing karma from past lives. This is very troublesome. If good results from virtue appeared immediately, it would be very easy to believe in doing virtue and everyone would do it. If you practice charity and immediately gain wealth, this would be highly motivating.

But where does the difficulty lie? This is especially hard for beginners because their life’s karmic forces are suddenly shifting in direction. It can happen that when one is cultivating virtue, suffering intensifies instead. This is the most difficult part. It tests your understanding of the Dharma and how strong your refuge is in the Dharma.

Virtue can never cause suffering. It is extremely important to have conviction in this! Therefore, it is impossible for vegetarianism to be the cause of poor health. Absolutely impossible! There is no such logic in this world. If this were possible, then all the teachings spoken by the Buddha would be dismantled and cause-and-effect isn’t true.

So what is the explanation for poor health? Eating a vegetarian diet is based on a heart of compassion; this is karma that leads to longevity and good health. However, this karma does not ripen immediately; it is first stored. Karma must go through a phase of dormancy before it manifests in the next life. Present suffering of ill health is the result of other previous karma of killing. One needs to undergo the residual karma from past lives. This is how cause-and-effect works.

You must always believe this one thing: practicing virtue cannot possibly lead to suffering. This is absolutely impossible! Because cause-and-effect will never be mixed up or mistaken. Today's good karma cannot be used yet and must first be deposited into the "bank." Most of the karma we create in this life has not manifested. The seeds sown in the spring cannot be eaten as rice yet; they can only be harvested in the autumn. The rice you eat this spring was planted last year.

Therefore, in your understanding of cause and effect, you must remember the framework of past, present, and future karmas so that your mind is resolute in its faith. Otherwise, it is very difficult to cultivate. As soon as you are hit by obstacles or difficulties, your mind regresses and it is hard to walk the path steadfastly.

~~

What is virtue? It is any act free of afflictions. For instance, a mind free from desire or attachment as in the mind of generosity; a mind free from anger as in the mind of kindness and compassion; or a mind free from delusion as in wisdom. All these are virtues.

What is non-virtue? Any act initiated by the mental afflictions of attachment, aversion and delusion is non-virtue. If it is neither an affliction nor a virtue, it is a neutral karma. For example, when you are taking a walk or trimming your nails, if you are neither having a virtuous nor non-virtuous motivation, this is called neutral karma. It is neither good nor bad.

The formation of karma is determined by one's thoughts and intentions. If the mind is non-virtuous, no matter what you do, it is bad karma; if the mind is virtuous, even if you are scolding your son, it is good karma…

In Buddha’s time, King Pasenadi had three princesses, one was named Princess Virtuous Light. She was very beautiful, loved by people and had virtuous conduct. She was the most famous among King Pasenadi's three daughters. Due to her beauty and empathy, King Pasenadi doted on her most. Often, after finishing his official duties, King Pasenadi would take a walk in the garden with the princess and chat with her.

One day, during their walk, King Pasenadi said, "My daughter! You look so beautiful and are praised by others. This is due to my love and blessings for you." The princess was usually very compliant with her father, but this time she replied, "Father, what you said is not true. My karmic rewards in this life are due to past good karma."

Upon hearing this, King Pasenadi departed in a bad mood. The next day, he brought it up again, saying, "Your good karma comes from my favour and blessings on you." The princess’s answer remained the same. She said, "This is my good karma." For three consecutive days, she gave the same answer which enraged King Pasenadi.

So, King Pasenadi said, "Fine, let us see whether the power of your good karma is greater or my power is greater." He ordered his attendants to go to the streets to find a beggar. After finding one, the king said to the beggar, "I will marry my daughter to you, how about that?" The beggar said, "That's wonderful!" Thus, the princess was married to this beggar.

After marrying the beggar, the princess accepted her fate. People who really understand Dharma are different from others. Her conviction and refuge in the Dharma did not change.

After marrying the beggar, she asked him, "Where do you live?" The beggar replied, "I have no home, I am a beggar." "Then where did you live when you were a child?" The beggar said, "When we were young, we were originally a wealthy and prominent family. Later, a fire broke out and our parents died, so we siblings had no choice but to wander outside as beggars."

The princess said, "Alright, let's go take a look at your old home." The beggar took the princess to see his old home. It was in ruins and the house had burned down. The princess said, "It doesn't matter, let's settle down first." The two of them started growing vegetables and farming the land.

While the couple was farming, as they dug down with a hoe, there was suddenly a "clink" sound. It turned out that they found treasures left behind by his ancestors. The beggar excavated the treasures and built a residence even larger than the one that the princess had lived in before, with furnishings that were even more luxurious.

King Pasenadi, in the meanwhile, had just been acting out of a momentary fit of anger. After his anger subsided, he sent someone to check how the princess was doing. When the attendant took a look, he came back and reported, “The place that the princess lives in now is even better than her previous residence.” King Pasenadi was extremely surprised! He hurried over to see for himself.

The princess joyfully invited her royal father in. The king looked around and it was true! The furnishings inside were even better than before.

So, King Pasenadi took the princess to meet Lord Buddha and asked the Buddha to explain the causes and conditions that led to this karmic fruit. The Buddha said that the princess enjoyed giving to others in every life. This generosity had already formed a deep habit and transformed into a virtuous root. This means that her virtuous thought has now developed into a kind of conviction, her understanding of this Dharma principle is embedded into her very nature and is now very firm.

The Buddha said that the princess's wealth in this life comes from one past life. During the time of Kashyapa Buddha—the Buddha immediately preceding Shakyamuni Buddha— Kashyapa Buddha had four great disciples and the princess in that life had made offerings equally to these four great disciples.

At that time, the princess was a jobless woman. Her husband earned the money. Outside of what was used for their daily lives, she took a little of her husband's money to make offerings to Kashyapa Buddha's four great disciples. Initially, her husband opposed this, saying, "It's better if we just use this money ourselves, why should we make offerings to practitioners?" But the princess repeatedly persuaded her husband, saying that they should make offerings so that they would have wealth in future lives. Eventually, her husband reluctantly agreed.

Therefore, when the princess’s karmic reward ripened, there was a difference between certainty and uncertainty. Where did the money for the offerings come from? It was earned by the husband, so of course her husband had a share in the merits.

But why was the princess’s karmic fruit so firm and unshakable that it would not change no matter what the King did? Why did this beggar (her husband in that past life) have to meet the princess before his karmic fruit could be activated?

This was because he was passive in making the offering. He did not have joy and a firmness of intention in making the offering. In other words, his mind of generosity was weak. Although both the princess and him made offerings at the same time, their karmic fruitions were different.

It is like two identical horse carriages; one is pulled by a strong horse, the other is pulled by a weak and slow horse. Therefore, the karmic force these two people created are different in power.

Practicing virtue after understanding Dharma principles is completely different from doing so without understanding! Say you are attending a seven-day Amitabha recitation retreat because the president called you to attend. You attended out of a feeling of obligation, you feel embarrassed to refuse the invitation. This is also good karma, but when the karmic reward is received, its power will be weak because you only came out of obligation.

If you are proactive and enthusiastic and drive for four or five hours to attend the retreat, making a big effort, then that karma will be completely different. When the Amitabha’s name enters your mind, the feeling is very different.

The formation of karma itself is dominated by mental intention. When the mind or intention is strong, the karma is heavy and the karmic result will correspond to the level of the karmic force.

Even the princess’s father, a king, could not obstruct her karmic fruition. Her merits had reached such a level that it could no longer be obstructed by anyone. Even when her father married her off to a beggar, her good fortune manifested all the same. What is due to her still came forth; nothing could stand in its way. This is only because when the princess created the karma, her mind was firm and indestructible like a diamond and she had powerful aspirations.

Therefore, you must understand that the karma is absolutely guided by mental intention to produce its karmic force. Your intention governs the strength and direction of the karma.

'Amitabha' is also a mantra

8th Pureland Patriarch Lianchi

The Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra states: "Prajnaparamita is the great transcendent mantra, is the great awareness mantra, is the unparallelled mantra, is the supreme mantra." This implies that (the wisdom of) Prajna itself is the mantra, it is not merely referring to the phrase starting with "Gate gate…" as the mantra. 

People today think that mantras only belong to the secret (tantric) teachings, but (we can see that) the Heart Sutra belongs to the sutric teachings.  Therefore, sutric teachings can also be mantras. This is something that mantra practitioners overlook and fail to recognize. 

Furthermore, the four characters "A-Mi-Tuo-Fo" (Amitabha) are entirely Sanskrit. If earlier masters had not added commentary, how would “Amitabha” differ from the awareness mantras, Cundi Mantra or other mantras from the Tantric section? 

People today only think awareness mantras or the Cundi mantra are mantras, while Amitabha is the name of a Buddha. Actually, the Buddha's name is also a mantra. This too is something that mantra practitioners overlook and fail to recognize.

Story of the 6th Pureland Patriarch (an emanation of Amitabha)

Master Yongming Yanshou (904–975) was a monk during the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods. He is revered as the Sixth Patriarch of the Pure Land School and the Third Patriarch of the Fayan School. His secular name was Wang Chongyuan, and he was a native of Qiantang (present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang). From a young age, he believed in Buddhism, abstained from killing and liberated living beings. During the reign of King Wenmu of the Wuyue Kingdom, he served as a tax official. Whenever he saw fish, shrimp, birds and other animals, he would buy and release them. When his own salary was exhausted, he used official funds to continue this practice.

His unauthorized usage of the treasury funds was eventually exposed, a crime punishable by death. When Wang was escorted to the execution ground, King Wenmu instructed the executioner that if Wang showed fear, he should be executed; otherwise, he was to be released.

Right before the execution, Wang remained perfectly calm and his expression did not change at all. He said, "I have not used a single penny for myself; I spent it all on buying and releasing lives, countless in number. I will be born directly into Sukhavati when I die. Is that not a joy?" Hearing this, King Wenmu pardoned Wang and set him free.

Following his release, Wang went to Mingzhou and became a monk under Chan Master Cuiyan at the age of thirty. The Biographies of Eminent Monks in the Song Dynasty records the Master's ascetic life in the monastery: "He performed hard labor to serve the congregation of monastics, completely forgetting himself. His clothes were coarse and his food was plain. He spent his days in this manner." He labored during the day and practiced Chan meditation at night, subsisting on wild vegetables and fruits while living a simple, detached life.

Later, he visited National Master Deshao at Mount Tiantai where he quickly grasped the essence of Chan meditation. The Biographies records: "While Yongming was in Deshao's Dharma assembly, during a communal work period, he heard the sound of falling firewood and suddenly achieved awakening. He said, 'What falls away is not some other thing, what pervades everywhere is not dust. The mountains, rivers, and great earth all reveal the Dharma King's body.'" Through this realization, he became the Third Patriarch of the Fayan School.

(Note: 'Dust' is commonly used in Buddhist philosophy to refer to the sense objects, because they defile an unenlightened mind.)

Afterward, the Master set up an altar at Guoqing Temple on Mount Tiantai to practice the Lotus Repentance for twenty-one days. He also traveled to Tianzhu Peak in Jinhua to recite the Lotus Sutra for three years, deepening his cultivation and meditation skills.

During this period of practice on Mount Tiantai, he saw Guanyin Bodhisattva pouring sweet dew (amrita) into his mouth during meditation, conferring upon him great eloquence. While performing walking meditation in the middle of the night, he saw the lotus flower offered before the statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva appearing in his own hand.

Feeling undecided about the life-time focus of his practice, the Master went to Zhizhe Chan Monastery and wrote up two lots: one read "One-Pointedly on Chan Practice," and the other read "Myriad Virtues to Adorn the Pure Land." After calming his mind and praying, he drew lots seven consecutive times; each time, he drew "Myriad Virtues to Adorn the Pure Land." Resolving his doubts, the Master committed himself wholeheartedly to cultivating Pure Land practice.

From then on, the Master vowed to seek rebirth in Sukhavati, chanting the holy name of Amitabha Buddha 100,000 times a day. At dusk, he would walk to another peak to circumambulate and recite the Buddha's name, often accompanied by hundreds of followers.

On clear, moonlit nights, heavenly music and the sounds of conch shells were said to echo around him. King Zhongyi deeply respected the Master's virtue. Upon hearing of these occurrences, he was moved and remarked, "Since ancient times, among those who seek the Pure Land, there has never been anyone as earnest as this!" The king subsequently built the Western Incense Adorned Hall to support the Master's practice and bestowed upon him the title "Chan Master Zhijue."

The Master resided at Yongming for fifteen years, guiding thousands of disciples. He frequently conferred the Bodhisattva Vows upon the assembly and established 108 Buddhist practices as his daily routine, including reciting mantras, bowing in repentance, chanting sutras, sitting in Chan meditation, releasing lives, and teaching the Dharma. Every night, he offered food to spirits in the wilderness, dedicating all merits to sentient beings as a provision for their rebirth in the Pure Land.

*Manifesting Parinirvana*

In 974 (the seventh year of the Kaibao era of the Northern Song Dynasty), the elderly Master returned to Mount Tiantai. He established an altar to transmit the Bodhisattva Vows to more than ten thousand attendees, marking his final large-scale precepts-transmission ceremony.

Knowing that his worldly karmic affinities were drawing to an end, the Master closed his doors to visitors to concentrate solely on reciting Amitabha's name. On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month in 975, he rose in the morning, burned incense, bowed to the Buddha, addressed the assembly and passed away while sitting in the full lotus posture at the age of seventy-two, having lived forty-two years as an ordained monk.

*Anecdotes*

In 976 (the first year of the Taiping Xingguo era), his disciples erected a stupa and monastery on Mount Daci in his memory, which Emperor Taizong named "Shouning Chan Monastery." Later, a wandering monk from Lin'an regularly circumambulated this stupa. When asked why, he explained: "When I fell ill and entered the underworld, I saw a portrait of a monk enshrined to the left of the hall, before which King Yama bowed in reverence. When I asked about it, I learned it was Chan Master Yongming of Hangzhou who had achieved the highest grade of rebirth in Sukhavati. King Yama revered his virtue, and so I have come to pay homage to his relic stupa."

According to tradition, King Qian Chu of the Wuyue Kingdom once held a grand vegetarian feast for a thousand monastics. Afterwards, the King asked Master Yongming, "With a thousand monks gathered today, did any enlightened beings attend?" The Master replied, "Dipankara Buddha came today as Monk Da-er."

The King immediately went to pay respects to Monk Da-er to repent for not receiving him with proper honor. Da-er was meditating, but opened his eyes and said, "Amitabha talks too much," and immediately entered parinirvana. Startled, the King realized Master Yongming was Amitabha Buddha and rushed back to Yongming Monastery. Just as he arrived at the mountain gate, an attendant met him with the news that Master Yongming had just passed away. Because of this account, later generations established Master Yongming's birthday, the 17th day of the 11th lunar month, as the celebration of Amitabha Buddha's birthday.

Benefits of Offering Feast Offerings (Ganachakra/Tsok)

Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye Rinpoche

The Naturally Arisen Perfection Tantra states:

"The virtues of performing feast offerings
Are such that the obscurations of countless past and future lives
Will be purified in a mere instant in the presence of the peaceful and wrathful deities."

The two obscurations, the habitual tendencies, the general downfalls of transgressing the three vows, and the particular transgressions of the root and branch samayas of secret mantra that have been accumulated since time without beginning—all of these are purified and restored. The tantra continues:

"Wherever you are born in your lives to come,
You will never lack necessities,
The wheel of Dharma will always turn for you,
And you will always have an abundance of wealth,
Enjoyments, sustenance, and belongings."

As the karmic ripening, you will have mastery over a sky-treasury of both spiritual and material enjoyments. You will be blessed with an excellent environment, pure intentions, and vast accumulations of merit and wisdom. Such benefits will be reaped not just in your future lives, but you will experience them in this life too. Moreover, the Vajra Net tantra states:

"From among all types of merit, the practice of gaṇacakra is supreme.
Through these, all your aims for this life will be fulfilled,
And all negative forces and obstacles pacified.
In your future lives, in the pure realms of victorious vidyādhara,
You will reach the level of Samantabhadra."

As stated, all adversities—such as diseases, harmful forces, and hardships—will be pacified, and your lifespan, merit, and prosperity will increase. The infinite activities of pacifying, increasing, magnetizing, and subjugating will all be accomplished, just as you desire. The samayas of the boundless three roots (deities) will be fulfilled. The protectors and guardians of phenomenal appearance will be delighted, all beings of the six classes will be satisfied, and all siddhis will be effortlessly attained. In short, the benefits are limitless...

The Naturally Arisen Perfection Tantra continues:

"There are also the higher qualities that you will receive:
In the intermediate state, you will recognize your own perception as the wisdoms.
Being liberated there, you will remain on the unchanging ground.
Filling the three-thousandfold realm with emanations, you will fulfill the benefit of beings.
Qualities like this you will attain!"…

Those of the highest capacity will experience their innate, intrinsic nature dawning from within while seated in the gathering, and delusion will thereby dissolve without trace. For those of middling capacity, through the cause of gathering the two accumulations through the feast offering, they will capture the stronghold of accomplishment after death.

For those of lesser capacity, when the appearances of the intermediate state manifest, they will be invited to the pure celestial realms by vīras and yoginīs, accompanied by displays of offerings and a symphony of music. There they will be reassured and uplifted by the vajra-gurus abiding at the levels of great vidyādharas, and will be established at the supreme state. The Laghusaṃvara-tantra states:

"When practitioners pass away,
Glorious herukas and yoginīs
Will welcome them with flower-filled hands.
So-called ‘death’ will greet them
With victory banners and parasols,
With symphonies of music
And choruses of song,
And will lead them to the celestial realms."

~~

Gonpo Tseten Rinpoche
(A siddha who is an emanation of Vimalamitra)

Yeshé Tsogyal said:

“On the tenth day of the waxing moon and the tenth day of its waning,
On the eight day and the fifteenth,
Gather the gaṇacakra and make offerings.
Offering the gaṇacakra merely once will close the doors to the lower realms,
Is it not certain that one will be born in the irreversible stage?
Understand that this can be established with certainty, through logic.”

The victorious Longchen Rabjam said:

“Amongst all conditioned virtue, there is no merit greater than gathering the profound gaṇacakra.
Its excellent benefits are as follows:
It perfects the accumulations of merit and wisdom.
It restores all transgressions of samaya.
Assemblies of ḍākas and ḍākinīs will gather in the places of the practitioners and will accomplish the activities.
The masters and the gathering of the deities of the maṇḍala will be delighted.
The ocean of samaya-bound guardians will guard and protect you.
Your present life will be long, free from disease.
You will enjoy renown and numerous enjoyments and helpers.
Whatever you wish for will be effortlessly and instantly accomplished.
The supreme and ordinary siddhis will be attained.
All obstacles and negativities will be purified
And in a future life you will gain unsurpassable awakening.
Like this, you will attain inconceivable and unutterable qualities!"

Yeshé Tsogyal said:

“On the tenth day of the waxing moon and the tenth day of its waning (the twenty-fifth day of the lunar month),
If you pray with fervent devotion from the depths of your heart
To Orgyen Tsokyé Dorje, the Lake-born Vajra of Uḍḍiyāna,
With his retinue of ḍākas and ḍākinīs,
And if you generate bodhicitta—
Vast heart of the awakened mind for the benefit of beings,
If you strive in offering the gaṇacakra wherever you may be— In whatever land, place, great sacred site, monastery, or city— You will reap benefits and results defying the imagination.

In all lands and all places, crime will be averted, as will famine, war, evil, and unfavourable circumstances.
Rain will fall on time, harvests will be abundant, and auspiciousness will prevail throughout the land.
If you offer the gaṇacakra every month without interruption, the obstacles to your life will be pacified and whatever you wish for will be spontaneously fulfilled.
Material possessions, food and wealth will effortlessly come to you.

If you offer the gaṇacakra a hundred or a thousand times, you will take rebirth as a king with the power to transform the entire world.
If you offer the gaṇacakra ten thousand or a hundred thousand times, you will become a universal monarch with dominion over multiple world systems.
If you offer the gaṇacakra a million times, you will bring the three realms under your control; your glory and splendor will outshine the three planes of existence; you will accomplish without difficulty the four activities; and in your next life you will take rebirth in the buddhafield of Lotus Light, amidst vidyādharas and ḍākinīs, where you will receive the nectar-like speech of Guru Rinpoche. Thus blessed, you will be able to benefit beings in infinite ways.”

It is also said:

“Whoever strives in practicing the gaṇacakra
Will reach, in the future, the pure stages of the vidyādharas
In the realm of Lotus Light.
There is no doubt – they will not return to saṃsāra!”

The Guru’s Jewel Ocean by Pema Lingpa states:

“If we link the excellent benefits of practicing on the tenth day to the supreme siddhis of the four vidyādhara stages, then:
Offering a gaṇacakra on the tenth day of the tiger month will lead you to attain the mahāmudrā vidyādhara;
Offering a gaṇacakra on the tenth day of the snake month will lead you to attain the vidyādhara with power over life;
Offering a gaṇacakra on the tenth day of the monkey month will lead you to attain the spontaneously accomplished vidyādhara;
Offering a gaṇacakra on the tenth day of the pig month will lead you to attain the matured vidyādhara.

Or, if we link the excellent benefits to the ordinary siddhis of the accomplishment of the four activities, then:
Offering a gaṇacakra on the tenth day of the rabbit month will lead you to accomplish the pacifying activity;
Offering a gaṇacakra on the tenth day of the horse month will lead you to accomplish the enriching activity;
Offering a gaṇacakra on the tenth day of the bird month will lead you to accomplish the magnetizing activity;
Offering a gaṇacakra on the tenth day of the rat month will lead you to accomplish the subjugating activity;

Offering a gaṇacakra on the tenth day of the dragon month, will mean all illnesses, negative forces and obstacles will be pacified;
Offering a gaṇacakra on the tenth day of the sheep month will mean lifespan and merit will increase, and wealth and enjoyments abound;
Offering a gaṇacakra on the tenth day of the dog month will mean whatever you wish for will effortlessly come to be;
Offering a gaṇacakra on the tenth day of the ox month will mean all harm from unfavourable circumstances, enemies and obstacles will be pacified.”

The same benefits apply to the tenth day of the waning moon (the twenty-fifth day) of every month. The blessing that comes with gathering the gaṇacakra on every tenth and twenty-fifth day of every month will purify, without exception, all negativity and evil accumulated with body, speech and mind, and will guarantee that we become, in future lives, a buddha. Inconceivable and unutterable benefits such as these will be ours.

Always back to first principles

Phurpa Tashi Rinpoche

Our kind root guru Lama Achuk Rinpoche often admonished us, "For a beginner, practicing the Dharma is not the main point; the top priority is to thoroughly understand how to practice."

If we do not know how to generate the right motivation (of Bodhicitta) or do not know how to practice, even if we do good deeds in appearance, it may contravene the authentic Dharma in reality.

For example, some people were Buddhists for their entire lives, but after their death, when great masters observed (where they had taken rebirth), it was said that they were wandering in the bardo or even in the three lower realms.

Many people do not understand how this could be possible -- why is the outcome for a Buddhist the same as someone who has not learned and practiced the Dharma? Actually, it is quite common for a practitioner who does not know how to practice correctly to end up this way.

I believe that most of us have engaged in a fair amount of good deeds since we entered the Buddhist path, but do these good deeds conform to the principles of the Buddhadharma? How should we judge?

One just needs to look at how much the afflictions of desire (attachment), anger (aversion) and ignorance have reduced in the mind, and how much one's faith and compassion have grown. This is the standard of measurement.

The Buddhist view is very objective and fair. In the Dharma, “virtue” is not defined by external appearances, such as the size or quantity of the good deeds or how many prayers one recites. These are not indicators of the authentic Dharma.

As practitioners, we say that we wish to be reborn in Sukhavati and attain ultimate liberation. But where is Sukhavati and liberation? Just as the Sixth Chan Patriarch, Master Huineng, said, "For one whose mind is virtue, Sukhavati is right before their eyes."

That is to say, Sukhavati is not located at some specific location, it is an appearance or perception manifested by a pure mind.

Better not practice than practice wrongly

Dharma Master Jingjie

Externalists do not have the methods of Dharma to deal with thoughts. They use meditative concentration (samadhi) to extinguish thoughts; it is called the samadhi of non-thought. This suppresses thoughts like a stone pressing down on grass or like ice encasing a fish.

But why do they fall instead of ascending to liberation as they wish? This is because, after being reborn in the heavens in their next life, when they return to the human realm in the following life (the third life), their afflictions will become coarser and heavier than those of ordinary people. This is the result of suppressing afflictions at the causal stage.

You should take note of this! If you do not rely on Buddha's wisdom to transform your afflictions, but only use mantras and Amitabha’s name to suppress your thoughts, after suppressing them for a long time, when they rebound in your future lives, your afflictions may be even heavier. The Dharma uses the wisdom of Prajnaparamita and various skilful means to transform thoughts, but externalists rely entirely on brute force to suppress them.

In short, afflictions should not be merely suppressed because they will arise again. When the externalists lose their meditative concentration or exhaust their merits, the afflictions that surface will be heavier than those of ordinary people. Then they are very likely to create negative karma and fall into the lower realms. This is because your method of handling afflictions is wrong. This is the biggest blind spot of the externalists.

Thus, the consequence of not learning Dharma principles and investigating the scriptures is that, even though you are courageous and diligent, you may end up becoming a heavenly mara or externalist. This comes from not understanding the Buddha's skillful means…

Just as it is said in the Shurangama Sutra, our minds have many knots. The externalist's method is like pulling the rope from both ends, making the knot tighter. If this is the case, it would be better not to practice; because once they practice, they add another delusive thought on top of a delusion. Adding delusion to delusion is what makes an externalist.

Ordinary people have only one delusion, but externalists have two delusions—they have an additional wrong view. Buddhist disciples have the transmission of the Buddha; they know that this knot must be untied from the center, it should not be pulled from both ends…

This is the sorrow of the externalists: they very much want to improve, but they lack the right method, as a result, they make themselves worse off than if they hadn't practiced at all. Therefore, according to the Shurangama Sutra, practicing incorrectly is worse than not practicing. The Shurangama Sutra indeed has this meaning. When the past masters explained the Shurangama Sutra, they said, "One would rather go a thousand years without realisation than be possessed by the demon of wrong view for a single day"…

I met a Bhikshu in Taiwan who had ordained in his middle age, but he did not study Dharma theory. He told me that he didn't wish to study or read the texts. He was very earnest in bowing to the Buddha and reciting the sutras. I said, "Why don't you study the Dharma?" He replied, "Because I don't want to be a Dharma teacher."

Actually, studying the Dharma has nothing to do with being a Dharma teacher. If you want to practice, you must clearly recognize how to walk the path. That is to say, the principles of the Dharma are there to guide you, not for you to guide others. Of course, if you gain insights later on and wish to share them with others, that is doing your part according to the situation.

But the key point is, without the guidance of the Dharma, how would you know how to start dealing with the deluded thoughts you've accumulated since beginningless eons? This is the real point of learning Dharma.

Buddha said, "Take the precepts as your teacher"

Khenpo Yeshe Phuntsok

According to Lord Buddha’s and the lineage masters’ teachings, beginners on the Dharma path must uphold pure precepts and engage in listening, contemplation, and meditation/practice. The foundation of precept discipline must be solidly established before the profound and vast qualities of the Buddhadharma can truly arise.

The precepts transmitted by Lord Buddha under the Hinayana, Mahayana, and unsurpassed Vajrayana vehicles are different. They are respectively the outer Hinayana Pratimoksha vows, the inner Mahayana Bodhisattva vows, and the secret Vajrayana Samayas. 

Hinayana Pratimoksha vows primarily target the physical bodily actions and speech of sentient beings, hence they are called "outer." Mahayana bodhisattvas, who aim to widely benefit beings through the six paramitas, must generate supreme Bodhicitta, thus the Bodhisattva vows primarily target the level of thoughts or mental karma, hence they are called "inner." 

The Vajrayana directly engages in practice based on the nature of ultimate reality (Dharmadhatu), therefore the vows observed are even more subtle. Furthermore, the Vajrayana engages in secret conduct, thus its secrets are not revealed to those who lack the necessary caliber, who have broken samayas, or who have not entered the mandala through receiving the relevant empowerments, hence it is called "secret"…

After Lord Shakyamuni Buddha generated supreme Bodhicitta while on the path, he practiced for three asamkhyeya (immeasurable) kalpas and perfected the accumulations of merit and wisdom through the six paramitas by giving away his own flesh and blood countless times. After he attained the unequalled state of Buddhahood, Buddha first taught the view of non-self in the first turning of the Dharma wheel; in terms of conduct, he established the system of precept discipline and emphasized it greatly. 

Buddha Shakyamuni deemed it very necessary to have pure conduct. Through his omniscient wisdom, regulating one’s conduct was the very first thing that Buddha taught karmically-linked disciples upon entering his teachings.

Although the Buddha has passed into parinirvana like the setting of the sun, Buddhist disciples nowadays can still bask in the glory of Buddha's light—and that light is emitted by the precepts which are like the bright and pure radiance of the rising moon. Before his parinirvana, Shakyamuni Buddha earnestly exhorted his disciples to "take the precepts as their teacher" after his passing. He repeatedly pointed out that any disciple who practices properly according to the genuine Dharma will most certainly uphold pure precepts…

After receiving precepts, one must learn and understand the training of the precepts, otherwise keeping the precept-substance pure is not possible. Moreover, (without learning how to keep the precepts,) faults will increase day by day, causing more and more obstacles to obstruct one’s Dharma practice; at the end of one’s life, one finally falls into the hell realms. 

A moving car with a driver who doesn’t know how to operate the car or who doesn't know the traffic rules will inevitably end up in some sort of accident that damages both car and people. Venerable Milarepa once said, "Not understanding the precepts yet claiming that their observance of vows is pure — this is patently impossible. People who say this will only be mocked by others."

In the many commentaries on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, it is said that before a merchant does business, he must first check what trade to engage in and how to make a profit. At the same time, he must know what could lead to a loss and how to prevent this from happening. 

Similarly, one seeking liberation must uphold the precepts, and to uphold the precepts, one should know the trainings of the precepts, the vast benefits of keeping the precepts, the consequences of breaking the precepts, and the methods for preventing such breakage.

If beginners only see one or two quotes from the scriptures regarding the benefits of upholding precepts and the faults of breaking them, it is impossible to produce a deep impact on their mind-stream (so that they have the determination and strength to keep the precepts). Hence, it is necessary to utilize many scriptural proofs from various texts to elucidate the drawbacks of breaking the root precepts and the benefits of keeping pure precepts.

Mind-states determine karmic fruition

Dharma Master Jingjie

Cause-and-effect is entirely directed by consciousness. Therefore, when your state of mind changes, your karmic force changes and the result or fruition correspondingly changes too.

For example, if a practitioner who is usually laid-back and lax suddenly becomes vigorous and diligent in Dharma practice, oftentimes, many karmic obstacles arise for them. This means that the flow of their mind-stream was originally heading for the three lower realms, but suddenly changed course (due to their diligence). When this happens, the karmic force of the defilements within their mind will definitely be expelled first. This detoxification then arises as obstacles.

Therefore, the more diligent you are, the more obstacles you face. This is just how things work. Of course, if you endure and get through it, then eventually you reach a state of spacious freedom (when the karmic energy of defilements is exhausted).

The reverse is also true. Perhaps you were seriously observing the precepts and generating the karmic result of peace and happiness, then you suddenly break the precepts. It is sometimes said that a monk who breaks the precepts experiences great fortune (at first). This is because when you first change directions, your virtuous karmic forces will also be forced out first.

For some people, their cultivation is gradual — they go from defilement to purity slowly, so the obstacles they face will not be so obvious or heavy. But when you make the change in a very strong and drastic manner, then the obstacles easily manifest, because your life and mind-stream have undergone a massive reversal in direction.

Therefore, (when you change directions,) the existing karmic force within your mind-stream must first be released because it no longer fits with your new direction. This is saying that our karma has a storage place and this storage place is our mind-consciousness which is a continual stream of thoughts.  This is how karmic forces are stored and manifested as results from the perspective of conditioned phenomena where there is arising and ceasing.

Perverse aspirations - case studies

Khenpo Sodargye

There was an old monk in Xinlong with a submissive character who was frequently bullied by others. Later, he recited the Mahakala mantra 700 million times and on his deathbed, he made an evil aspiration, "In this life, I have been bullied by everyone. May I be reborn in my next life as someone with great power over people."

After he died, he was reborn as the tyrant Gonpo Namgyal in the Xinlong region (who lived around the 18th or 19th century). Throughout his life, this tyrant murdered many monastics and laypeople. Sometimes, Gonpo Namgyal would let little children drink their fill of milk and then throw them down from a nine-story building. After the children's bodies were smashed, the white milk would splash all over the ground. Seeing such a terrible sight, he would clap his hands in joy. He often killed people for amusement using various methods. This story of cause and effect was recounted by HH Dodrupchen Rinpoche.

Some biographies state that Gonpo Namgyal once forced Dodrupchen Rinpoche to promise that when he (Gonpo) died, Rinpoche would perform deliverance for his spirit, threatening to kill Rinpoche if he did not agree. HH Dodrupchen Rinpoche had no choice but to agree.

Later, when Gonpo Namgyal died, HH was in the Qinghai area. Upon hearing the news, he immediately rushed back to Xinlong. Rinpoche said: "Because I made a promise, I have no choice but to perform deliverance for Gonpo Namgyal. However, his karmic burden is too heavy; I can only prevent him from falling into hell this time, he will still be continuously reborn in the hell realms in future lives."

After seeing this case-study, we must remember that as a Buddhist practitioner, especially a Mahayana practitioner, you must not make a wrong or negative dedication of your merits!

(Note: The proper way of dedication is towards the attainment of Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings. Any other way of dedication could lead to unintended results as shown in this case.)

In the text “Cautionary Histories that Edifies The Mind in Virtue”, it is said that there was once a general Wu who forged a sword and went to a temple to make a vow: "May I use this sword to kill a thousand men." That very night, he dreamed of the temple deity who said: "A person must not make evil vows. I will protect you so that you do not die by the hands of others." Later, he was defeated in battle and committed suicide by slitting his own throat with that sword. This was a karmic result of the evil vow he had made before.

In the past, there was a high-ranking official Wador in the eastern Tibetan region. He had a feud for many years with Jamyang Shepa of the Gemang area. The two fought endlessly and in the end, Jamyang Shepa could not defeat Wador. However, after Wador died, his blind son Walong continued to wage battles against Jamyang Shepa. Finally, Walong was defeated.

Later on, Walong recited the Mani mantra 200 million times. On his deathbed, he made an evil vow with this merit. As a result, after he died, he was reborn as an evil demon that wreaked havoc in the Gemang area, doing many wicked things that harmed humans and livestock.

The “Great Tang Dynasty Records on the Western Regions” records that there was once a sage in the kingdom of Magadha who had attained the five spiritual penetrations through meditation. The local king revered him deeply and invited him to the royal palace every day to receive offerings. Each time the sage would fly to the palace and the king would personally carry him in his arms to the throne.

One day, the king had to go out on business, so he instructed a palace maiden, "Today, when the sage comes to receive offerings, you must attend to him just as I do." At noon, when the sage came to the palace, the maiden carried him to the throne as the king did in the past.

Due to his physical contact with a woman, the sage gave rise to a mind of desire and lost his powers instantly. Previously, he would fly back after eating, but now he could no longer fly. Feeling very embarrassed, he gave an excuse, "I heard that the people of this country have always wanted to see me. Today, I am willing to make a karmic connection with these people. I will walk back so that the masses may receive blessings."

The palace maiden believed his words, so she notified the people to sweep the streets and see the sage off respectfully. Thus, the sage walked back to his place of solitary retreat. Later, during his practice, there were many birds chirping and chattering in the forest that it was too noisy for him to enter into meditative absorption. So, he went to the riverside to practice, but the fishes in the river also made noises.

The sage got extremely annoyed and made an evil vow, "May I become a giant flying beast in the future, with a body three thousand li wide and two wings each spanning one thousand five hundred li, consuming all the birds in the forest and the fishes in the rivers."

After aspiring in this way, he resumed his practice and soon accomplished meditative absorption. After his death, he was reborn in the heavenly realms... After his heavenly lifespan ended, he turned into the flying beast that slaughtered fishes and birds.

During his practice, this sage made an evil vow because of the disturbance around him. Therefore, fellow practitioners should be careful. When someone disturbs you during your meditation or chanting, do not get angry and think, "This person is truly annoying. In the future, I will turn into a demon and eat them."

Creating merits on one hand while having evil thoughts or aspirations on the other hand will lead to truly terrifying consequences. Therefore, I hope that everyone will do their utmost to control their minds, engaging in virtuous thoughts/aspirations and putting a stop to evil ones.

(Note: Even a momentary thought can become a powerful aspiration.)

~~

HH 4th Kyabje Dodrupchen Rinpoche's last instruction before he passed into parinirvana:

We hear many stories of famous Lamas and spiritual leaders, many with big names. Geshes who have culminated their scholarship on the five great texts, the Buddha's canon and the great Indian treatises; big-named Lamas with names of "Khenpo," "Lama," and "Tulku," who have failed to tame their own minds, and therefore have become the servants of their emotional poisons, making heinous negative karma. They lead themselves and others to ruin.

To give you some examples, during Jetsun Milarepa's time, there was a Geshe named Geshe Tsagphuwa, who was so jealous of Jetsun Milarepa that he offered Milarepa yogurt laced with poison. Or the Geshe who accompanied Dragyur Marpa Lotsawa from India to Tibet, and became so jealous of Marpa Lotsawa that while the two were on a boat, he threw all of Marpa Lotsawa's sacred texts which Marpa had brought from India into the river. There was also the Geshe who led the Chinese army into Tibet, and then the Geshe who, when he was in debate with another Geshe, stuck a metal rod into the ear of his debate opponent. When we think of such things, it is truly horrifying and saddening. And there are countless more cases like the ones I mentioned.

Similarly, there are retreatants who stay many years on retreat, meditating on deity yoga development and completion stages, but whose minds are still not imbued with renunciation or bodhichitta, and their minds are turned in the opposite direction from the authentic path. They are bound up by their attachments and clinging, and they fall into the trap of thinking the deity exists as a real entity from its own side. So they end up turning into ghosts and king demons of broken samaya. There are many stories of these things happening as well.

For example, in my home country there are different demonic entities which are known as the Nyigyal demon, Dzigyal demon, Lug-gyal demon, and so forth. All of these demons were once retreatants and Lamas who turned into ghosts and demons. There are many demons, like (here, Rinpoche named a spirit), who were once big-name Lamas and hermits who spent many years on retreat. But because they did not tame their own minds, they went down the wrong path and ultimately became reborn as ghosts and demons who have taken the life-breath of many sentient beings. The root cause of all of this is not taming one's own mind. That's what it comes down to.

So I ask the teachers to please only teach the Lojong, the mind-training practices that tame the mindstream. Focus your teachings on the mind-training practices and teach in such a way that tears helplessly fall from your students’ eyes. Without mind-training, they will not become good Dharma practitioners. If you teach mind-training well and people practice mind-training, they will become good practitioners.

Benefits of the Seven-Line Prayer 3

HH Penor Rinpoche

If you recite the Seven-line Prayer from the very depths of your heart with your body, speech, and mind, having single-pointed faith and devotion, it has great blessings. If you make supplications single-pointedly, the obscurations of karma and afflictive emotions will be purified, and it will become the fundamental cause to attain the fruition, the state of enlightenment. Moreover, when some people were severely afflicted with tuberculosis and faced great difficulties such as having no medical treatment, they had no other option but to recite the Seven-line Prayer. Then, after completing the recitation two or three hundred thousand times, all of them recovered from the disease.

To practice the Dharma, you have to strive for it and put it into practice by contemplating from the very depths of your heart. Otherwise, just paying lip service will have no effect. For beginningless lifetimes, you have been committing only unwholesome negative actions. Therefore, just practicing a little bit of Dharma will not purify your karmic obscurations. Thus, when you practice the Dharma, be steadfast, completely eliminating all the conceptual thoughts from the very depths of your heart. Then, if you can practice the Dharma day and night, the fruition will ripen.

~~

His Holiness Sera Yangtrul Rinpoche

The prayer of seven vajra verses is commonly known as Guru Rinpoche’s prayer. The Vajra refers to something that is stable, unchanging and indestructible, which can destroy all negativities, adverse circumstances, obstacles and be all-victorious. There is no (obstacle) so firm that (the vajra) cannot remove.

The prayer of seven vajra verses has an exceptionally strong blessing. It is the most sublime amongst all the various supplication prayers to Guru Rinpoche. In Tibet, those great accomplished masters would mostly recite this prayer while giving blessings to the devotees. As Guru Rinpoche once said, “Reciting this prayer will invoke and invite all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.”

When oneself or others feel any discomfort in the body, or if the environment is unclean, or when meeting with any obstacle or negative provocation, just reciting this prayer of seven vajra verses with a completely sincere mind, all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Gurus, Triple Gems, virtuous protecting Dharmapalas would be sure to arrive and render help or give blessings.

~~

Yangthang Rinpoche

If you really recite this prayer from your heart, then there’s no way that you can avoid bringing Guru Rinpoche forth and invoking him. So it’s extremely powerful. And you should practice it at all times continually. . . If you really focus on the Seven-Line Prayer, then it is certain that the blessings will come. The blessings of Guru Rinpoche will spring out and be born in your mind stream.

~~

Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye 

The way to accomplish oneself as Guru Rinpoche, is all rooted in the Seven-Line Prayer.

~~

HH Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche

In general, all awareness mantras and dharanis possess inconceivable blessings and powers, but the Seven Line Prayer is said to be "foremost in bestowing sublime blessings and powers".

Therefore, eons and eons of reciting mantras and dharanis cannot compare to the blessings and power of reciting the Seven Line Prayer once.

~~

HH Dudjom Rinpoche (Jikdral Yeshe Dorje) Teaching On The Seven Lines Prayer

Extract of His Holiness’ teaching on Guru Pema Trötengsel Paris 1984

…Then we come to the invocation prayer known as “The Seven Line Prayer”, because it has seven lines.

This prayer appears a lot and will come again and again as an invocation. The reason why this prayer comes so often is because at the very moment Guru Rinpoche was conceived, in a lake in the North-West corner of Uddiyana, realization was achieved simultaneously. When this happened many millions upon millions of dakinis sang this praise in one voice as a praise to the Lotus-born Guru. These dakinis sang from three most sacred places. Therefore, it has great blessings.

To go just briefly through these lines, it says that: ‘being born in the North-West corner of the country of Uddiyana, in a heart-center of a lotus, endowed with the most marvelous attainments, you are known as The Lotus-Born Guru, surrounded by many hosts of dakinis countless in number, I will follow in your footsteps’. This is basically what it means.

This Seven Line Prayer should not be considered as just another supplication or invocation prayer. Instead it should be understood to be the principal prayer calling for Guru Rinpoche which itself carries tremendous blessings. Due to the power of the essence of this prayer and the blessings it holds, when you have obstacles or hindrances, if you recite it with confidence 100,000 times, normally these can be immediately removed. Moreover, when I was young, I did this practice several times and found that you can do 10,000 recitations a day, which means that you can complete 100,000 recitations in ten days. Since countless millions of dakinis have uttered this profound prayer it has remarkable blessings. So, we should consider this not only as an invocation but also a means to bring about the essential blessings of Guru Rinpoche himself.

Rinpoche’s root-teacher Gyurme Nyedun Wangpo, (otherwise known as, Podpong Tulku or Zapong Tulku because he was coming from Za region), would give this Seven Line Prayer practice to all his students and disciples to do. He would even give it to the mothers and children. Whoever came to him to ask for teachings, he would simply say: “Just recite this and have devotion while reciting this prayer. Recite this, that is enough”. Therefore, His Holiness’ root-teacher himself essentialized all practice down to this Seven Line Prayer. So, there is no need to get bogged down in the complexities of the kyerim and things like that which we don’t really understand. Simply doing this practice alone is sufficient.

~~~

Namkha Drimed Rinpoche

We face a time of mara-activity, with the wars and the fighting raging on, with the negative forces, terrorism and such, and people acting under the influence of the five poisons. All of this happens because beings have not tamed their five poisons of mind. And so, they obey the impulses of their five poisons, make evil aspirations and such, and many people are under this influence, many people rely on them, which causes huge problems. And this is a very big mistake.

So to counteract all these atrocities, there is no one who surpasses Guru Rinpoche. If you pray to Guru Rinpoche, especially in this degenerate age, it is said that Guru Rinpoche's incredible compassion, blessings and power are swifter and more powerful than any other Buddha, and are stronger even in these degenerate times.

So if you pray to Guru Rinpoche, accumulate the Seven-Line Prayer to Guru Rinpoche and the Vajra Guru mantra, there is nothing more powerful than this. This is the very best thing you can do.

~~~

Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche

This supplication prayer is the most supreme of Guru Rinpoche’s supplications. Before Guru Rinpoche’s emanation manifested, the wisdom dakinis invoked the wisdom-realization of Sangye Yöpakme (Buddha Amitabha) and Chenrezik (Avalokiteshvara) through the Seven Line Prayer; his emanation then was miraculously born.

The teachings of secret tantra are proclaimed to beings possessing devotion and pure perception. Therefore, receiving its blessings is solely dependent upon one having faith or not. Reciting this prayer with the altruistic motivation to benefit others will pacify plagues and diseases. Chanting and accumulating this prayer will certainly be a cause for peace in this world. Guru Rinpoche promised that chanting it one hundred thousand times with intense yearning desire, faith, and devotion, one will take birth in Zangdok Palri (the Coppered-Colored Mountain Pure Realm of Guru Rinpoche).

~~~

Terton Pema Trinley Drodul

Among the many different prayers to Guru Rinpoche, one begins with “Dusum Sangye Guru Rinpoche”. When this text says Dusum, it means of the three different times—past, future and present—the teacher of all of these three times is Guru Rinpoche. This shows that every single Buddha throughout all of these three times is included within Guru Rinpoche. So reciting Guru Rinpoche's mantra, the Seven Line Prayer, and any kind of practice on Guru Rinpoche is so important. And the Seven Line Prayer is especially important, as in so many different termas (treasure revelations) every terma contains these same lines. 

Although there are a great variety of terma practices and sadhanas based on Guru Rinpoche with many different forms and aspects, in all of them the Seven Line Prayer remains the same. That is a sign of how fundamentally important this Seven Line Prayer is. There are many different explanations of the Seven Line Prayer in these termas, and there are so many ways it can be understood. And so, in a sense, we can consider this Seven Line Prayer as the mother of all the terma texts. So chanting this Seven Line Prayer is so important, so powerful, and it can remove obstacles. 

In the world these days there are so many obstacles, particularly arising from the five poisons (the five negative emotions). These five poisons nowadays have been getting worse and worse in the world, and so this dark time has come over us. By this I mean simply that these poisons have gotten thicker, and heavier, producing this challenging experience of a dark time. For example we can see these days in the world that everyone is in competition, wanting to win, causing many people to wage war, which shows powerful pride: just one of the five poisons. So if we can focus on practicing the Seven Line Prayer and accumulating it, it is so, so, so very beneficial for this world. This is my real inner feeling that I want to share with you, that it is so very important to accumulate the Seven Line Prayer. And it's not only my vision, or my thought, it is said all the time in the texts, the termas, it was expressed by Yeshe Tsogyal herself, by so many tertons who have come since, by many high Lamas, all emphasizing how important this Seven Line Prayer is. So I wanted to humbly share my own inner feelings of faith and encouragement.

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Story of a practitioner of 7-line prayer

Before the year 2000, there was a Mahasiddha in the Namdroling monastery of the Nyingma Palyul tradition established by the lineage holder His Holiness Penor Rinpoche. He mainly recited the ‘Seven Line Prayer to Guru Rinpoche’. This accomplished master had white hair and a hunched back; he went about everywhere on bare feet and his name was Yama Gonpo.

Yama Gonpo was illiterate and had absolutely no idea about writing or reading the scriptures because he had not been taught in school. From his youth until he was old, he had been Penor Rinpoche’s layperson attendant. In his late years, he started wearing monk’s robes and became ordained. He did not know how to recite any scripture or prayer apart from some short mantras, thus, the only practice he was familiar with was the ‘Seven Lines Prayer to Guru Rinpoche’.

About 40 years ago, when the Tibetans fled to India, he followed His Holiness Penor Rinpoche out of Tibet and became Penor Rinpoche’s attendant and guard. It was after much life-threatening dangers that they arrived in India. For his entire life, he was Penor Rinpoche’s unwavering and devoted disciple, serving his Guru like a servant.

After following Penor Rinpoche to South India, because they were beginning to build Namdroling monastery, Yama Gonpo participated in the work of building the monastery. He endured long hours of toilsome labor. For instance, about 40 years ago, there was a large river flowing between the site of the monastery and the neigbouring town of Gusakar. The Indian workers, in order to save time, forced their cows to cross the river but there was no bridge at that time and it was extremely difficult for the cows who were bearing a large load to cross the river. Their Indian owners lashed their whips at these cows, often cutting deeply into the flesh on their backs. Penor Rinpoche decided that, in order to help the cows and everyone involved, it was necessary for him to spend his own money to build a mud bridge over the river although it was extremely expensive by the standards of that time. Yama Gonpo, by a single order of His Holiness, spent three years accompanying the workers to construct this bridge. By night, he slept alone in a grass hut at the construction site as it was his responsibility to watch over the building materials. At that time, his hut was located near the forests and grasslands where many wild animals lurked.

As narrated above, Yama Gonpo’s entire life was that of following the instructions of his Guru, Penor Rinpoche. In his late years, he received the Dzogchen essential pith instructions from Penor Rinpoche personally. From then on, he did not lie down to sleep but always remain sitting, whether during the day or night, becoming an extremely assiduous meditator. His level of realisation was very high and profound, his meditation was liberated and free, he was able to communicate directly with Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) or the Dharma Protectors.

However, externally, he seemed to be just a weak and ordinary old monk…

In his late years, he stayed outside Penor Rinpoche’s special protector hall, in a very simple hut made from mud. This hut was so small that most people could not stand up straight within it. There was an extremely simple altar inside – so simple that the only way to describe it would be ‘unbearably old and broken-down’. It consisted of several pieces of aged, hole-ridden pieces of Buddha images that had turned yellow.

Yama Gonpo personally had few belongings. It consisted of one strand of prayer beads and several pieces of cushions that looked like pieces of rubbish. There was also one small coffee-coloured fat-bellied bottle that had been abandoned by someone. And this was the ‘precious vase’ which Yama Gonpo used to contain his blessed pills mixed with water.

Yama Gonpo had infinite faith in His Holiness Penor Rinpoche and Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) and kept doing his practice without making a display of it. At first, no-one realised that this hunched-back old man was a great practitioner until something happened. Once, when they were setting up the first Buddhist college in the Namdroling monastery (reenacting the tradition of Buddhist studies in the Nyingma tradition for the first time in India), many students were painting the main hall. At that time, Yama Gonpo’s hunched figure appeared in the vicinity despite the fact that he had not been asked to come. Gonpo told the students in a kind and yet serious tone, “Last night, Guru Rinpoche said that the students who are painting the college have an obstacle coming, it would be better to temporarily stop painting tomorrow.

The college students thought that the old Yama Gonpo was mentally unhinged and merely pretended to agree with him with a smile. Then they invited him politely to leave. Before he left, Gonpo said again, “If you are not willing to stop work tomorrow, then please remember to recite the Seven Lines Prayer to Guru Rinpoche or his heart mantra or Tara’s mantra!”

On the second day, one of the students was reciting Tara’s mantra in a half-believing manner while standing with other students on the high structures for painting. In the end, there was an accident. All of a sudden, the high structure collapsed. Everyone was hurt when they fell on the ground. The only person who went unscathed was the student who had been reciting Tara’s mantra. From then on, many people started to ask Yama Gonpo about matters of the future and Gonpo never failed to help them. The future invariably worked out just as he predicted. There was even one situation where someone came to ask about some matter in the future and Yama Gonpo replied him saying, “Please, there is no need for you to ask me about any future problems, because you will soon die in seven days.” When this person heard his prediction, he was very nervous, but he was also half-doubting it. Finally, the prediction came true and he died in seven days.

This matter caused everyone to wake up and many people praised Yama Gonpo for his ability to accurately foresee the future. But somehow, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was appraised of this matter and became extremely displeased. He simply said one sentence to Yama Gonpo, “Why are you saying so much?” Thereupon, Yama Gonpo kept silent for about one year and refused to reply to anyone’s enquiry.

It was until much later when His Holiness Penor Rinpoche left the monastery to spread the Dharma that the sangha were unable to find anyone to help them when they had particular difficulties that they petitioned Penor Rinpoche to allow Yama Gonpo to help everyone with clearing their doubts and answering their questions with his special abilities. Under His Holiness’s permission, Yama Gonpo started to speak to help the masses.

Before Yama Gonpo answered anyone’s question, he will always meditate for a moment with his eyes open and then he will see the answer without need to recourse to any divination tools or any special preparations. The writer of this article once had the fortune of witnessing the way Yama Gonpo answered questions beside the eight great stupas of Namdroling monastery. It was truly rare and astounding!

Once, Namdroling monastery had a huge case in its hands. An Indian was murdered and his corpse was discovered beside the monastery. One of the monastery’s monk was suspected by the police of being the culprit and apprehended. At that time, Penor Rinpoche was away overseas and could not immediately return to solve this problem. Therefore, in a telephone call, he instructed that the monastery immediately begin to practice the Dharma protector rituals. The next day, Yama Gonpo told everyone, “Last night the Dharma Protector appeared to me and told me, ‘The real murderer has been caught, he is an Indian. Now the Dharma Protector has possessed the murderer and caught hold of his heart and mind, he will be leading the real murderer back to the area of the monastery. As the distance is far, he can only reach the monastery in 3 days.’”

Eventually, after 3 days, the true murderer was really caught. He was an Indian who had performed the killing act in the spur of a moment because of a mere 50 rupees. When the murderer returned to the monastery, his entire being was confused and dazed, and he turned himself in by confessing that the murder was done by him. Of course, he was not spared a beating by the people around him there and then when they heard his confession.

Everyone now knew that Yama Gonpo was an authentic Druptop (realised master). They liked to come by and ask him many questions. But his main reply was, “Recite the Seven Lines Prayer, then there would be no obstacles.” This was often his advice to people.

Although he was so accomplished, he continued his previous style of living, notwithstanding others’ respect and trust in him. He continued staying in his dilapidated hut, his living conditions did not improve, and all day and all night long, he continued to supplicate the Guru Triple Gems. Anyone who saw him felt that he was truly a very diligent practitioner who never had a respite. When anyone offered him money, he would ask the benefactor to offer this money directly to Penor Rinpoche. Even if he took the money to allow the benefactor to accumulate merits, he would still unstintingly offer the whole amount to His Holiness Penor Rinpoche. About 2 or 3 years before he left this world, he often said, “Human life and samsara is simply too much suffering… when the Lord of Refuge Penor Rinpoche has completed the building of the Guru Padmasambhava Hall, I will depart from this world.”

In the remaining days, he continued to behave like his role as an attendant and guard to Penor Rinpoche, he surreptitiously watched over the entire process of building the large hall whether it was a large or minute task. Once, he told some monks who were close to him, “For His Holiness Penor Rinpoche’s project of building the hall to be smooth and successful, countless Dharma Protectors have surrounded the boundaries of the hall in the space and on the ground to prevent any large obstacle from occuring.” Everyday, he would circumambulate the monastery bare-footed at least once. Everyone said that Yama Gonpo had not wavered in the slightest from his past role as the protector and guard, and used all his utmost strength to protect the beneficial activities of his Guru, Penor Rinpoche, in a quiet manner.

When the Guru Padmasambhava Hall in Namdroling monastery was completed. It was said that on one day, during the puja, Yama Gonpo was accidentally pushed to the floor by some young lama. He never recovered from that fall and finally, in the year of 2000, he demonstrated entry into parinirvana. Several days before his parinirvana, his body was thin and weak, and he was lying in bed but his mind was still extremely clear. After his parinirvana, His Holiness indicated that Gonpo was to be buried in the earth and that his body was to be placed in the vicinity of Namdroling, behind the nunnery. Penor Rinpoche also snipped a lock of white hair from Gonpo and kept it for memory sake.

The author (of this article), for fear of forgetting all that has been seen, heard or remembered with the passage of time, decided to pen down everything concerning Yama Gonpo diligently. Afterall, the author has had the karmic affinity of meeting Gonpo several times and had even held his hands while walking together around Namdroling monastery. We stood where would be behind the present elementary school for Namdroling, and enjoyed the scenery of Namdroling monastery from afar in the soft breeze of that afternoon… now that the Venerable one is no longer here, the author, in order to remember him and encourage others to do the practice of Guru Rinpoche, decided to write these notes on 23 August 2007 in Taipei, Taiwan.

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Teaching on 7-line prayer by Yangthang Rinpoche :
https://bodhiactivity.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/seven-line-prayer-yangthang-tulku.pdf