Obstacles to Finding a Job
A young student had obstacles to finding a job for many years, although she was very well qualified. She also asked what she could do for her father, who suffered from Alzheimer’s.
My very dear one,
Thank you for your kind letter and very sorry it took many eons to reply. These are my suggestions for you to try; this is what comes out best:
1. Recite the Golden Light Sutra four times.
Click on these FPMT links to read about the Golden Light Sutra or to download the sutra.
2. Recite the Arya Sanghata Sutra three times.
The sutra is available for download from FPMT; also read about about the sutra on this Arya Sanghata Sutra website.
3. Recite the Diamond Cutter Sutra six times.
4. Recite the Noble Stack of Auspiciousness Sutra [Tashi Tsegpa] five times.
5. Recite Tendrel Nyesel [a prayer to Padmasambhava] once.
6. Put up a Samantabhadra protection card outside your front door.
7. Recite the Mantra Without Attachment from the Golden Light Sutra, 70 times each day.
Before doing any of these practices, generate your motivation well.
Think: “I have received all my happiness from beginingless rebirth, my present happiness and all future happiness up to liberation, including enlightenment, from every single hell being, every single animal, every single human being, every single sura being, every single asura being and every single intermediate state being. They are the kindest, most dear ones in my life, the most precious ones, and what they need to receive is all the happiness and its causes, up to enlightenment. Therefore I must achieve enlightenment; therefore I am going to recite these mantras or do these practices."
8. It also came out beneficial for you to please read some of my advices on rejoicing.
9. Do the short Medicine Buddha practice. This is very important to do every day, reciting the name of each Medicine Buddha seven times. After reciting the names, say: “Whatever prayer done in past, may it be actualized to me and all sentient beings.” At that time, make specific prayers to find the most beneficial job, situation or wealth.
Also, do prayers for your father at this time–this is the best thing that you can do for him. This is the best present, the best offering and best gift. Your prayer for your father should be specifically for his future lives—to be reborn in a pure land or to have a perfect human rebirth, to meet a perfectly qualified Mahayana guru and actualize the path. You can also make whatever prayer you need—whether to find wealth, a job or whatever you need to request. At the end, recite one mala of the Medicine Buddha mantra.
Within the Medicine Buddha puja, do the seven-limb practice . Do this part well, thinking about the meaning. This is the place that you really spend time on rejoicing. When you do the rejoicing practice, rejoice twenty times in your merits, then rejoice twenty times in the merits of all sentient beings and then rejoice twenty times in the merits of all the buddhas and bodhisattvas. The practice of rejoicing is very, very, extremely important and the easiest way to quickly create extensive merit.
The Medicine Buddha puja is available from the FPMT Store. [Find links in the FPMT Catalogue.]
At the end of any practice dedicate well:
"Due to all the three time merits collected by myself and all sentient beings, all buddhas and bodhisattvas, may the precious bodhicitta mind be actualized in my mind and in the mind of all sentient beings, and especially in the mind of the leaders of the world, as well as all the people of different religions, without delay, and whatever has been generated may it never decrease, but increase forever more.
"Due to all the three times merits collected by myself, numberless sentient beings, all buddhas and bodhisattvas, who exist, but who are empty from their own side, may the I, which exists but is empty from its own side, achieve Buddha’s enlightenment, which exists but is empty from its own side, and lead all the sentient beings, who exist but who do not exist from their own side—who are empty, to enlightenment, which exists but does not exist from its own side, and may I actualize all this by myself alone, who exists but who is empty from its own side.
"Due to all the three time merits collected by myself, all sentient beings, buddhas and bodhisattvas, by having generated bodhicitta in my heart every day, may myself and everyone in the world live their life only to benefit others, may no-one harm another and whatever myself and others do with our body, speech and mind—may it only cause enlightenment and happiness to all sentient beings and may no-one ever experience war, famine, disease, torture, sickness, dangers of earth, water, tsunami, wind, and the dangers of weather."
Please live your life with the thought of bodhicitta, so that every single action is coming from this thought. This is the best life.
With much love and prayers...