Kathok Rigzin Chenpo Rinpoche
Akshobhya Buddha is also known as the Immovable Tathagata. He presides over the Abhirati pureland in the East. In his time as a Bodhisattva, Akshobhya was an attendant of Vairochana Buddha. Having accumulated immeasurable merit, he made a vow while on the path to never give rise to anger towards sentient beings. This is how he earned the name Akshobhya which literally means "without anger"…
I have been reciting the Akshobhya Dharani since I was young. My earliest exposure to this practice was through my maternal uncle, Chaktrul Rinpoche, a reincarnate lama of the Jonang school who also practices in the Nyingma tradition. From a young age, he always performed the Akshobhya practice, whether it is for deliverance of the deceased or for the benefit of living beings. Due to my connection with him, I began practicing Akshobhya early on.
In this current degenerate age, the karma of killing is very heavy, making the practice of Akshobhya Buddha extremely important. It is very easy to practice. Whether one knows the sadhana or not, you can practice by simply reciting the dharani.
If you cannot recite the dharani, you can still receive benefit by looking at the dharani or wearing it on your body.
Texts related to Akshobhya Buddha are found in the Ratnakūṭa Sūtra in Sutrayana and the Mahāvairocana Tantra in Vajrayana. When Lama Atisha came to Tibet, Tibetans asked which Dharma was best for eliminating negative karma. Lama Atisha replied that Akshobhya practice was the best.
There are many practices for purifying negative karma, each has its specific requirements, precepts, and special means of practice. Akshobhya Buddha is a Kriyā Tantra method, which belongs to Outer Tantras within the Vajrayana.
In Outer Tantra, when one practices the sadhana, one must refrain from eating meat. However, if you are simply reciting the dharani, there are no such requirements; anyone can practice it whether they are vegetarian or not.
The Akshobhya texts mentions that any being who sees the Akshobhya mantra, or on whose body the dharani is placed after death, or any being who hears the dharani being recited in areas with heavy killing karma will not fall into the hell realms.
Therefore, living practitioners who recite the mantra can eliminate their own karmic obscurations, and reciting it for the deceased can eliminate the karma that leads to rebirth in the hell-realms.
In the degenerate times, maintaining pure precepts is difficult. The Akshobhya practice purifies the karma of breaking precepts. As Buddhists, we strive to follow Eightfold Noble Path, but achieving Right Livelihood is often very difficult because the environment has a great influence on us.
For instance, you may wish to be vegetarian, but your family is unwilling to follow suit. Someone in your family might engage in work that involves killing, such as selling fishing nets, pesticides, or rat poison. Some families own restaurants and engage in killing daily, or are involved in the businesses related to selling meat. Many of these situations are beyond one's control; even if you don't want to do it, you are forced to do it.
What should one do when such life situations conflict with Dharma practice? The Bodhisattva Shantideva mentions in one chapter of the Bodhicaryāvatāra that if something can be changed, change it with a joyful mind; if it cannot be changed, worry is useless.
In another chapter, Shantideva says that as long as your view or understanding is correct, whatever you do can be transformed into a cause for enlightenment. By utilizing this skilful method, your actions can become virtue and meritorious.
There are many kinds of skilful means, including Sutrayana’s skilful means and Vajrayana's skilful means. Vajrayana's methods involve reciting mantras and visualization, while the Sutrayana methods involve reciting Buddha names and dedication of merit.
If your environment cannot be immediately changed and you cannot avoid the situation, then by utilizing skilful means, you can become a Bodhisattva who liberates beings in that entire area. Because you are there, you connect with these unfortunate beings through the Dharma.
If you were not there, these beings wouldn't even have anyone who dedicates merit to them or blesses them. Therefore, do not be despondent. Through the blessings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, recite Akshobhya dharani, Primordial Buddha Samantabhadra mantra, Amitābha’s name or Mani mantra. These practices have fewer requirements, are easier to engage in and are of great benefit. Regular recitation of these mantras can benefit all surrounding beings.
Previously, we established a Dharma center in Keelung (Taiwan) within a fish market. I am someone who gets a headache from the smell of fish but we performed the Akshobhya practice daily, set up an Akshobhya maṇḍala, and recited his name. This benefited the beings and many people there, which was a wonderful thing. I have given the Akshobhya empowerment there many times and the members of the center frequently practice Akshobhya, Golden Light Sutra, Kṣitigarbha Sūtra, and Amitābha Sūtra, dedicating the merits to beings in the fish market.
Therefore, please remember that if you find yourself in such an environment and are unable to leave or change it, you should relax your mind and aspire to benefit all sentient beings. By doing so, you become their protector and their support. By relying on your stores of merit, these beings can escape samsara. You are the Bodhisattva who liberates them, so be brave and do it.
Apart from purifying the karma of broken precepts, the greatest quality of the Akshobhya practice is eliminating the karma of anger. Many masters who practiced Akshobhya no longer get angry.
For example, Kathok Khenchen Ngaga mentioned in his autobiography that after completing an Akshobhya retreat, he never got angry again in his life. My maternal great-uncle, Ontrul Rinpoche, was regarded by his own teachers as an arrogant and bad-tempered man. After completing an Akshobhya retreat, his temper improved dramatically. I stayed with him for a long time and never saw him getting angry. He always had a kind and peaceful countenance.
Therefore, people with a bad temper should frequently recite the Akshobhya dharani. It is very effective.
If you see someone getting angry, you should visualize Akshobhya Buddha above their head and recite the mantra for them. Pray to Akshobhya that this person gives rise to kindness and compassion in their heart and stops creating the karma of anger…
For purifying karma, one can also recite Vajrasattva and Primordial Buddha Samantabhadra’s mantra (Ah Ah Sha Sa Ma Ha). Samantabhadra manifests in Sambhogakaya form as the Buddha Akshobhya and as Vajrasattva in the Bodhisattva form. They are the same and are all deities for purifying negative karma.
(Note: Akshobhya Buddha dharani is also good for purifying the karma of slandering/abandoning Dharma and slandering noble beings/Bodhisattvas. It is also helpful to practice Akshobhya for people who are sick. Also, if you are eating meat, you can recite the Akshobhya dharani several times and blow it on the meat to repay and benefit the animal whose flesh you are consuming.)
