Advice on Practices for Life

My very dear Estelle,
Please find my advice on what is most beneficial for you to do in your life now:

1. Refuge: 30,000 times

2. Prostrations by reciting the Thirty-Five Buddhas, even when not doing nyung näs. Try to do this 100 or 35 times each day, or whatever you can.

3. Vajrasattva: 300,000 times. As well as this, it is still good to do one mala or half a mala every night, so when death comes we don’t have to be reborn in the lower realms, because the day’s negative karma doesn’t increase.  For example, if we kill one tiny insect during the day and we don’t purify that karma, the karma of that doubles. By the third day it quadruples, by the fourth day the karma has increased eight times, then by the next day, sixteen times, so it increases unbelievably, unbelievably, like that. If Vajrasattva practice is done that day, it purifies the day’s negative karma and our past life negative karma doesn’t increase the next day. This is the most amazing protection, so it is possible to get realizations quicker and our mind becomes more purified. This is important, and this is why we recite Vajrasattva mantras every day, not just as a preliminary practice.

4. Dorje Khadro (burning offering): 100,000 times

5. Water bowl offering: 8,000 times

6. Nyung Nä retreat: 300 times. Wow, you are a most lucky person, a most lucky one, because it came out in my observation that doing 300 nyung näs is most amazing. Doing just one nyung nä, we don’t get reborn in the lower realms and sooner or later we go to the pure land of Buddha and sooner or later we achieve enlightenment.

Within the nyung nä is the extremely important practice of prostrations by reciting the Thirty-five Buddhas, also there are prostrations to Chenrezig. Every atom of the ground that our body covers when we do prostrations is how much merit we create. It is inconceivable. We create that many causes to be reborn as a wheel-turning king for 1,000 life times. For example, however many atoms our hair, our toes or our fingers cover—even one finger, from the top of our hair to our toes, that amount of space, that many atoms—that means that many number of lifetimes we will be born as a wheel-turning king, equaling that many number of atoms that just one toe or one finger covers, so the merit is inconceivable. This is just to give you a brief idea of the extensive merits we collect from doing one prostration. So, if there is one atom under our body, we create that much merit. It is most amazing, most amazing. However many atoms one toe covers, then the rest of our body. Can you imagine? Can you imagine? Woooooooow!

This is not physical exercise. It is important to think we are prostrating to numberless buddhas, Dharma, Sangha, statues, stupas and scriptures. If we think we are prostrating to our Guru; that this is our Guru, then we collect the most extensive merits possible.

So, please study my teachings on how to do prostrations and the benefits. It is most amazing what we create from just one prostration; we can’t imagine the merit. Then, of course, dedicate the merit to achieving enlightenment for ourselves and for all sentient beings, sealing with emptiness.

Regarding reciting the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM: even reciting the mantra just one time purifies the five very heavy negative karmas without break. These heavy negative karmas are killing one’s father or mother, killing an arhat, drawing blood from a buddha and creating a schism in a Sangha community. “Without break” means that when we die, we are immediately born in the lowest hot hell and we experience the heaviest suffering for an unimaginable amount of time.

If all this heavy negative karma gets purified, then no question that the karma created from the ten nonvirtuous actions in this life and past lives gets purified. Can you imagine that the benefits of reciting OM MANI PADME HUM has this power?

Then there is the very long mantra of Chenrezig, if the merits of reciting the short mantra cannot be counted. The merit of reciting the long mantra is beyond concept, like the number of atoms of this earth or the atoms in the ocean; so we can’t count the benefits of reciting the mantra. It is the most amazing, most amazing, strongest purification. We collect merit and it is such a quick way to achieve enlightenment; it is a most amazing practice.

Please study the benefits of doing nyung näs, as well as the stories of the nyung nä lineage lamas. These are so inspiring. You could ask Nick Ribush about this. These are most inspiring life stories. There is one story about a layperson who killed fifteen people; he then did eight nyung näs and was reborn in a pure land. There are many stories like this, so please find them.

It is an unbelievable practice, so we can enjoy our life and then we have no fear when death comes. We are ready to die; there is no fear at all. This practice purifies not only the negative karma from this life but the negative karma from numberless past lives.

7. Four immeasurable thoughts: 200,000 times.

8. Tsa-tsas: the deity Vajrayogini, 2,000 times

9. Guru devotion: always do some meditation every day by following the lamrim outlines:

• The graduated path of the lower capable being: one month
• The graduated path of the intermediate capable being: one month
• The graduated path of the highest capable being: 
  o   Bodhicitta: one month 
  o   Emptiness: three months

Do this cycle twice. Continue to train the mind, carrying on no matter how many months or years it takes for you to get stable realizations, such as guru devotion—until you see your one Guru as all the buddhas and one buddha is all the gurus. Then, whatever realization you didn’t have, start from there, so if you didn’t have realization of the perfect human rebirth, then train the mind in the meditations one-by-one, no matter how many weeks, months or years it takes to get stable realizations.

10. Do some meditation on emptiness every day.

11. So please do like this, and then train your mind in tantra—in generation stage and later completion stage of Vajrayogini. When you have received the Vajrayogini initiation, plan to do a retreat if you can. If possible do even a year retreat, but before that plan to do shorter retreats on the deity, such as seven days. Initially try to do 400,000 mantras in retreat. You can do this over time, so not all at once, or you can do them all together. Then do the fire puja. If you are able to continue, then you can try to do 100,000 mantras in retreat each year. Probably you can finish this each year. It didn’t come out for you to do a three-year retreat, but what came out is for you to plan to do a retreat every year, becoming very familiar with the practice.

My dear one,
Water bowls (800,000), can sometimes be done in a group, for example, at the ani [nuns] gompa, the group can do 100,000 in a short time. At other times, do the practice alone.

Lamrim meditation is the most important thing for you to do, because it makes the life useful, the best. In the break times from sitting, do activities with bodhicitta motivation, then do the sessions again with bodhicitta motivation. In this way, the sessions and the breaks help each other.

For deity practice, these deities come out best according to my observation and according to karma. Take the initiations, then do the practices, recite the mantras and do the retreats. The main deity is Tara Cittamani. Before the initiation, a great initiation of Heruka, Yamantaka, Kalachakra or even Secret Hayagriva is required. Then you should receive the commentary and do a short retreat for one year or another long retreat until there are signs, or by mantra, reciting six million. You can do the preliminaries beforehand, and also do some during the retreat.

With much love and prayers...

• 12,000 refuge
• 300,000 tong-len practice/bodhicitta
• 200,000 Dorje Khadro fire pujas
• 700,000 tsa-tsas (Tara, Gyalwa Gyatso)
• 30,000 mandala offerings to collect extensive merits
• 400,000 guru yoga (recitation of migtsemas with Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga)
• 50,000 Vajrasattva to purify obstacles

Your deity is Vajrayogini. A three-year retreat in the future is good for you. Also, complete one nyung nä.

• Two months on the lower path
• Four months on the middle path
• Bodhicitta: two months
• Emptiness: three months  

My dear one,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. I am very sorry for the long delay in replying. It is very good of you to help the Loving Kindness Peaceful Youth Project.

So, my suggestion concerning your practice is you should do Compassion Buddha practice. There is a practice of Chenrezig Yoga, with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I am sending this to you.

Regarding the purpose of reciting OM MANI PADME HUM — this is not only for you to recite, but anyone who wishes for happiness should recite this mantra, even cockroaches, ants, elephants, snakes, and crocodiles; all of them should recite it. But, unfortunately, they don't have a human body and so do not have the opportunity to recite it. It brings all happiness, but, most importantly, generates compassion for all living beings.

From compassion you are able to achieve all happiness up to enlightenment, and then you are able to cause all happiness, including enlightenment, for all the numberless hell beings, preta beings, animal beings, human beings, asura, and sura beings.

Each day you should read some part of a lamrim text. Read slowly and mindfully, so that it becomes meditation. But, of course, read from the beginning, finish, and then go back to the beginning again. Do this three times.

I think this Chenrezig Yoga might have a lamrim prayer in it. If not, then add a lamrim prayer. Reciting a lamrim prayer makes your life extremely meaningful, and each time you recite it, it brings you closer to enlightenment and closer to enlightening all sentient beings.

In the morning it would be very good if you can do prostrations, reciting the names of the Thirty-five Buddhas. When doing prostrations you focus on the merit field, with all the Buddhas, Dharma and Sangha. Every evening before going to bed, either with prostrations or sitting, recite the long Vajrasattva mantra, at least half a mala or 21 times. If you recite the short mantra, OM VAJRASATTVA HUM, then recite this 28 times. This purifies today, this life's, and the last life's negative karma and stops it increasing the next day. Negative karma doubles each day that it is not purified.

Then, do one guru yoga each day, such as Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga or Guru Puja, if you have time.

Please go through the attached advice that I have put together as the most important practices to focus on.

Please make your life most meaningful with the thought of bodhicitta.

With much love and prayers...

My very dear one,
Thank you very much for your very kind letter. I am very happy to accept, as you requested. Of course, I am not qualified, as you mentioned in your letter, but for sure there is karma from your side and from my side, so you try and I will also try.

It is very good for you to practice Guru Shakyamuni Buddha daily meditation (a small booklet that I put together). Within this practice there is a lamrim prayer, so at that point stop and focus on a section of lamrim, read a few pages of a lamrim book, such as Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand or Lama Tsongkhapa’s middle lamrim. In this way, you practice lamrim meditation every day, continue going through the lamrim like this, and then start again, until you have stable realizations. In this way, become familiar with the lamrim path.

It is very good if you can do prostrations to the Thirty-five Buddhas in the morning, either one, two, or three sets of thirty-five. This means reciting the names one, two, or three times, and then you read the last confession prayers only once.

Then, in the evening, you can recite Vajrasattva mantra, either one mala, half a mala, or 21 times, with the practice of the four powers. You can also recite Vajrasattva mantra while prostrating if you like.

Your main deity for your quickest enlightenment and to enlighten others is Hevajra. If you can, take the initiation for this deity and then study the commentaries, and do the retreat and practices. This deity is more common in the Sakya lineage, but some Gelugpa lamas, like Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche, also give the initiation.

I have checked what practices you should focus on for your whole life. This is many years of practices, so you know what to focus on, have a goal to achieve, and something to do, so you just do these practices according to your time and situation in life. These are the practices that will direct you toward enlightenment quickest, so this is like a map and equipment—what you need to achieve enlightenment:

• 30,000 refuge prayers
• 300,000 prostrations to the Thirty-five Buddhas
• 500,000 Dorje Khadro
• 300,000 Guru Yoga

Please find attached instructions on how to do the practices, etc. Please make your life most meaningful with the thought of bodhicitta.

With much love and prayers...

My very dear one,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. Your inspiration to practice Dharma is the most important thing in your life. Without Dharma there is no happiness, and there is no question that you can't achieve enlightenment. You can't liberate sentient beings from all the sufferings and causes and bring them to enlightenment. You can't even achieve for yourself total liberation from samsara. All the happiness of future lives has to come from Dharma because it comes from past good karma, that which is Dharma. So, without Dharma one can’t have any success in this life: success in business, marriage, or any happiness you want.

So, the best thing to help others is Dharma, and the best thing to help oneself is Dharma. Among the best, most important, things in this life is to meditate on the lamrim and to have realizations—to complete the path to enlightenment and to make yourself fully qualified to liberate numberless sentient beings who are obscured and suffering and to bring them to peerless happiness and full enlightenment.

That is what makes life most productive—you begin the path, complete the path, and finish your Dharma practice. You don't need to practice forever, whereas the works of this life and samsara are endless. No matter how much you suffer and bear hardships for samsaric pleasures (temporary pleasures), there is no end.

First study the whole lamrim. Then, each day, practice one meditation, following the graduated path. Do that for maybe one year. When you have finished, start all over again. After the first year, try to meditate on each topic, one by one, until you have realizations.

Meditate on guru devotion every day in the morning, then after that, if one has time, in the morning or any time, then practice one lamrim meditation starting with perfect human rebirth. Also, do some meditation on emptiness every day. For the rest of the day, when you are away from actual seated meditation, which means your working life, then continue without removing the mind from the topic, whether impermanence, compassion, guru devotion, or emptiness. Whether it is your meditation session or working life, do everything with a bodhicitta motivation.

Your deity to achieve enlightenment quickest is Guhyasamaja. This is a Maha-anuttara Yoga Tantra deity. So, some time later, you can take the initiation when it comes around and read the commentary, practice meditation on the whole tantric path, and also do the retreat. That enables you to achieve enlightenment quickest!

Please study well these instructions. Then you will understand well how to follow the path.

With much love and prayers,
Lama Zopa

Please make your life most beneficial with bodhicitta.