Purifying Negative Karma

My very dear Jason,
Thank you very much for your kind letter, I am sorry it took so long to reply. To purify the past negative karma that you mentioned, please do these practices and follow this advice:

• 50,000 prostrations by reciting the Thirty-five Buddhas’ names
• 400,000 Vajrasattva mantras

Build a statue of Vajrasattva. The material can be bronze—this is expensive to do in Nepal but cheap to do in China—or you can make it with cement or have it carved in stone. It should be six cubits high. If you don’t have a place to put the statue, you can offer it to a meditation center. It will then be useful for people to make prostrations and offerings, to circumambulate and so forth. It will help bring many people to enlightenment. The statue could be kept in a center in the US, India, Nepal or some other country.)

It is very important to meditate on the lamrim every day; this is very important. Also recite one lamrim prayer, such as the Foundation of all Good Qualities or the Three Principal Aspects of the Path, every day, reading it slowly to go over the meaning. Lamrim is what you need to actualize, no matter how long it takes, so please put your effort there. You are probably doing Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga every day. If so, this is excellent; if not, then start now. This is when you can stop and do the lamrim meditation—before the guru absorbs into you, stop and meditate on whatever section of the lamrim you are up to.

One meditation that you must try to do every day is on guru devotion. If you miss it sometimes that’s ok, but then just continue. There is no question of time—it is up to you to do what fits.

Then continue with whatever lamrim topic you are on, doing the meditation every day and going through the subjects slowly. Whatever meditation you did in the morning, continue with that mind during the day, so that way your mind is in lamrim all day.

Please try to meditate on the lamrim based on guru yoga like this; on this basis you will get all the realizations and most success in your life. It is important to try to achieve all the realizations in order to actualize enlightenment; this is in order to liberate numberless sentient beings and enlighten them. That’s the real project, the real goal of one’s life.

So, please practice as much as you can. Life is not long—the nature of this life is impermanent and death can happen at any time. This is the foundation of Buddha’s teachings, and this was the last advice Buddha gave before showing the aspect of passing away.

With much love and prayers...

This is my advice for your practice; what you should focus on for your life:

• Prostrations by reciting the Thirty-five Buddha’s names: 50,000 times. This is to purify the karma of the actions you mentioned.
• Recite the Vajrasattva mantra 400,000 times. This is to purify the karma of the actions you mentioned.
• Dorje Khadro (burning offering practice): 100,000 times
• Water bowl offering: 200,000 times
• Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga: 14,000 times, This means to recite the migme mantra 14,000 times. Please read my commentary on this practice.
• Your main focus every day should be to do Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga.
• Tong-len: 1,000 times. You can do this by reciting different prayers, the main thing is the visualization. You can use the verse in Lama Chöpa or the one from Nagarjuna: “May whatever suffering sentient beings have ripen on me; may whatever happiness I have ripen on other sentient beings.”
• Tsa-tsas: 40,000
  • Deity: Thirty-five Buddhas on one mould and stupas

• The graduated path of lower capable beings: two months
• The graduated path of intermediate capable beings: five months
• The graduated path of highest capable beings:
  • Bodhicitta: four months
  • Emptiness: one month

Do this cycle twice, then go through the meditations from perfect human rebirth one by one until you get the realization.

My very dear Jim,
Thank you for your long letter, which I read. I am sorry it took a long time to reply. I have been traveling in India, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and now in France.

What happened was not done with any intention. There was no thought to harm; the cause was that you were drunk. Maybe some negative karma was created, but I wouldn’t say that you have killed. To form the complete negative karma of killing, you have to have the intention to kill. I think the problem was the alcohol. It sounds like you really had the intention to help, but just didn’t have the power to help. As you did not have the intention to kill, it is not the complete negative karma of killing; the fault is the alcohol. I think if you hadn’t drunk alcohol, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. The alcohol was the condition.

• Please recite 15 malas a day of the Vajra Armor mantra, with strong bodhicitta. This is for protection.
• Recite 30 malas a day of Black Garuda mantra. This is for protection from harm caused by nagas.
• Recite one mala a day of the mantra Great Increasing Jewel. This is for your success and for your wishes to be fulfilled.

Now you can live your life happily without thinking about karma. Sorry, this is just to make you laugh.

I checked and for purification you should recite six hundred thousand OM MANI PADME HUM mantras, by using the sadhana. It should be the sadhana that we are using during this retreat. Do these mantras in a semi-retreat, one or two sessions a day. If you can, do four sessions a day. At the end of this, do the fire puja. Keep doing the sadhana and torma offering until you do the actual fire puja.

The sadhana we are using is from the nyung nä text, with the self-generation and then front generation. You don’t need to do the front generation every session—if you want to, you can just do it in the last session. Instead, visualize Chenrezig in front, invoke the wisdom beings, bless the offerings and the torma, make the request, then offer the torma to the protectors and landlords (this will make sense when you see the sadhana).

Start each session with bodhicitta, thinking how kind sentient beings are and how much they suffer. Spend time to really develop a bodhicitta motivation. Before you start you can recite the requesting prayers to the lineage lamas (from the nyung nä) and also praises to Chenrezig. There is one composed by Trulshig Rinpoche when he was 15 years old. Or you can recite Calling the Guru from Afar, the short or long version, the Foundation of All Good Qualities, or the Three Principal Aspects of the Path. Begin the session with any of these prayers, and end with a lamrim prayer.

Then, at the end of the session, make a very strong dedication for all beings, for your friend who passed away, your family, friends and all sentient beings.

Also recite these dedication prayers:

Ge wa di yi nyur du dag
La ma sang gyä drub gyur nä
Dro wa chig kyang ma lü pa
De yi sa la gö par shog

Due to the merits of these virtuous actions
May I quickly attain the state of a guru-buddha
And lead all living beings, without exception,
Into that enlightened state.

Then do these dedications:

Due to the merits of the three times collected by me, buddhas and bodhisattvas, and all other sentient beings, which are totally non-existent from their own side, may the I, which is totally non-existent from its own side, achieve Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment, which is totally non-existent from its own side, and lead all sentient beings, who are totally non-existent from their own side, to that enlightenment, which is totally non-existent from its own side, by myself alone, who is also totally non-existent from its own side.

In all my rebirths, may I belong to a good family,
Be clear in mind and free of pride,
Have great compassion, respect for my gurus,
And abide in the pledges of Avalokiteshvara.

O Avalokiteshvara, whatever your body,
Your retinue, life span, realm, and so forth,
Whatever your supreme and excellent name,
May I and others become only like that.

By the force of the praises and requests made to you,
May all diseases, evil spirits, poverty, and quarrels be calmed,
And may the Dharma and good fortune increase
In the regions in which I and others dwell.

May the precious mind of bodhicitta
Be born in those in whom it has not been generated;
May that which has been generated not decline,
But increase more and more.

Watch the different teachings that I have been giving during the retreat on the internet, and this can help in your retreat. The teachings are on the Institut Vajra Yogini website. So, please do these things.

With much love and prayers...

Student's letter

I am writing to you because I am totally desperate. Here is my story:

I have been a Buddhist since March 1999 and I have always had a profound respect for the life of sentient beings, for example, I don’t kill flies or mosquitoes. I felt, while reading your article in Bouddhisme Actualites, that you could help me.

A few years ago I was struck by a terrible illness that the psychiatrist called psychotic episodes (deluded states). I was caught up in an infernal spiral that culminated in the murder of my parents. I struck my mother twice with a knife and my father four times. It is the tragedy of my life, since I adored my parents. I was helpless, as the illness was stronger than me, and I am moreover convinced that negative forces came into play. I spent a year in prison and then it was recognized that I was not responsible for my actions and the case was dismissed. Today, a treatment that I am following has stabilized me and I am well, and my permanent release is approaching. I have to learn to live with this on my conscience and it isn’t always easy. My great preoccupation, and what I have read in a Buddhist book, is that the gravest murder is killing one’s mother or father, or one’s spiritual master, and this leads directly to hell without going via the bardo (without means of liberation).

I don’t want to have to go to hell. I am a good person and I want to do good. For this, I need to follow the Dharma path which leads to enlightenment and which is the opposite of hell. Please guide me so that I can get out of this situation that prevents me from living normally. I am counting on you for a reply.

Rinpoche's response  

My very dear one, 
Thank you very much for your kind letter. I am very sorry for the long delay. I understand how difficult your life has been. I would like to say first—don’t worry, you can still achieve enlightenment even though you have done these very heavy karmas.

There are five uninterrupted negative karmas, also called negative karma without a break from another life. These five uninterrupted negative karmas are: having killed one’s father and mother, causing blood to flow from a Buddha, causing disunity in the Sangha, and killing an arhat.

So, it means one goes straight from this life to another without going through the intermediate state. The only other time one is reborn without first going through the intermediate state is when one is reborn into the formless realm, which is the highest deva realm. Without a break refers to not going to the intermediate state.

When negative karma is not very heavy, it is not necessary to have to experience it immediately, so one experiences it in the next rebirth. It is the same with virtuous karma that is very strong—one experiences it in the next life, in a good rebirth. If one’s negative karma is not purified, then one has to experience it after some time, it could be after two or three lifetimes or even after a zillion, trillion eons.

However it is said in the Guhyasamaja Root Tantra:

If sentient beings commit an action 
As grave as the five heinous crimes 
He [still] can attain the superior Vajra Vehicle, 
But who from within disregards his master 
Shall never attain, even if exerted.

That means having given up your guru, criticized the guru, or having heresy or broken samaya with one’s guru. It is not possible to explain how heavy the negative karma is from these things. One who criticizes, hurts, or belittles one’s guru from the heart will not achieve anything in this life; even if one practices one won’t achieve anything.

Therefore, you don’t need to worry. Even with this negative karma you have done, still you can achieve enlightenment in this life, if you practice. This also means to have correct devotion to one’s virtuous friend. Therefore, you should be happy. Also, for this reason, it is extremely important now to purify these defilements and negative karmas. It is very important to purify not just this negative karma, but also many other negative karmas such as killing, stealing, telling lies, sexual misconduct, etc, also the negative karma of one’s body, speech, and mind, the 10 non-virtuous actions, as well as so many other negative karmas that one has created in one day, from birth up until now, and from beginningless rebirths. This means one must practice now to purify all the negative karmas, otherwise one will have to experience all the suffering results endlessly for each negative karma one has created.

So, my suggestion for you is first to protect yourself before you die. Otherwise, there is a chance of experiencing so many eons in the lower realms and the unending heavy suffering. So, this is the immediate thing to do, because the nature of life is impermanent and death can come at any time, and then it is possible to be reborn in the lower realms, with no opportunity to practice Dharma, because one would be totally consumed by the unbelievably heavy suffering, which is so much heavier than any suffering in the human realm.

Whenever we have a human body, it is an incredible opportunity to have all happiness up until enlightenment. This is because we have the opportunity to practice. An example is when we have stomach pain, we can’t meditate, it’s so difficult, unbearable. This is nothing compared to the suffering in the lower realms, this pain compared to that is great bliss. It is said that all the energy of all the fire on earth, if you combine it all together, that inconceivable fire is like cool air compared to how hot just one spark of fire is from the hell realms. So, you can imagine the unbelievable suffering in the hell realms, and how difficult it would be to practice Dharma. In the hell realms one has no opportunity to practice Dharma. Therefore, one has no opportunity to be liberated from the sufferings and the causes of suffering.

Now you can see why it is so important to immediately start practicing now, while one has the opportunity, so that one can again have a high rebirth, especially now when one is able to practice Dharma, when one has all the circumstances and the opportunity.

Now, it is vital to practice purification, to purify all these heavy negative karmas, also to purify the habit so one does not do it again, otherwise one will have to experience the suffering results of those negative karmas again and again. So, you need to purify now.

The result of the completed negative action of killing has four suffering results:

• ripened results
• results similar to the cause
• actions similar to the cause
• environmental results

An example of the results of great non-virtue that has been created will be rebirth in the lower realms, as a hell being, animal, or hungry ghost. Or if one is reborn as a human, one has a short life, with much sickness, or one is killed. The environmental results would be being born in a very fearful and dangerous place, where there are wars and diseases, where animals and insects cause diseases or kill people, also a place where there are earthquakes, the food does not have protein, or it causes sickness or death.

Experiencing the result similar to the cause would be dying in the mother’s womb, dying untimely, having a very short life, and receiving harm to your life from others, and actually committing the action of killing again. This is the result of the past negative karma of killing.

Another example of karma is how in one family one child is very compassionate, and feels very unhappy if he sees any living being harmed, and feels so happy when beings do not receive harm. Another child in the same family always likes to kill beings, likes to fish, and enjoys killing insects and other beings. The cause of this is due to past karma, past habits, killing others in a past life, and the habit of doing that. The other compassionate child’s behavior is also due to past karma and the habits created in a past life.

One solution for you, right now, is to abstain from harming others again, and to take vows. This is the most effective method to abstain from creating this negative karma again. You can take the five lay vows for life or the eight Mahayana precepts for one day. The eight Mahayana vows are usually just taken for one day, not for a lifetime. But you can take the five lay vows until death. The five lay vows are abstaining from killing, stealing, lying, etc. Also, you can take the eight vows for life. If you feel you cannot take all the five vows, then you can take just four, three, two, or even just one vow, if that is all you can do. Take as many as you can, according to your capacity.

For every good karma, also, there are four results of happiness, such as rebirth in the deva realm, etc. Experiencing results similar to the cause is the opposite to the negative karmas I listed above, for instance, living in a harmonious, peaceful place, with good food, where people and animals don’t harm you, the food and medicine doesn’t have any bad effects, and you do not receive harm from others. This means you will have a happy, long, and healthy life and in your next life you again practice morality, abstaining from killing, etc, therefore creating more good karma and the result—happiness.

You see, from this, you can create unending happiness. Taking vows and living according to the vows is very important practice. It creates an unbelievable preparation for one to have happiness and all the causes of happiness in one’s future lives and later to achieve liberation from samsara and enlightenment.

Definitely, if you can do this, it will make a huge difference in your life, not only this life, but future lives. The difference will be like the sky and earth. Also, in this way you help others to develop their mind on the path and to create the causes of happiness.

Regarding practice, it is very important to purify. This is what comes out very important for you to do:

Recite 500,000 Vajrasattva mantras (long mantra).  

• You can do 100,000 mantras in a group, with someone leading it. This makes it easier. Also, in a group you can have discussions, and in this way help each other and inspire each other. Any practice that you do in a group is actually 100 times more powerful than when you do it alone.
• You can do the other 300,000 recitations either partly in retreat and partly while you are doing your job or not in retreat, by doing one or two sessions a day and counting like that. If you discuss with other Sangha and older students they can help you and explain how you can do this. Also, there are commentaries on the practice that you should study.

Then, it is very good if you can go to Nalanda Monastery and stay there for a little bit, to learn from and discuss with the monks. This will inspire you and may be very good for you. Also, they can help you to do the Vajrasattva practice.

I am sending you some books, please read them and study them:

• Wisdom Energy 
• Making Life Meaningful 
• Becoming Your Own Therapist

If you are able to, get my book from the teachings on Vajrasattva; this may be very helpful for you. After reading these books, you can study Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand by Pabongka Rinpoche and the Lamrim Chenmo. You can visit Nalanda Monastery and the monks at Nalanda can help you if you have questions.

So, I hope you can understand. I am talking from my heart, giving my heart advice to your heart. I hope you will take this seriously, will use my advice, and that you will take this into your heart. This will make the time that I have spent meaningful as well.

With much love and prayers,

Lama Zopa

PS. Life is to be enjoyed, to be happy, but for that you need to know Dharma, need to know about karma, and need to practice the good heart.

PPS. In Buddhism it is said that even a mosquito can achieve enlightenment, because it has Buddha nature, so therefore for human beings there is no question, because we have the opportunity to learn, we have a human body, we are able to understand the meaning of the Buddhadharma, and are able to practice. It is an unbelievable, extraordinary opportunity to have this potential. Every sentient being has the potential to reach enlightenment. However, just being unhappy and not doing anything meaningful with one’s life is just torturing yourself. There is no use, so you should learn and practice, as I have mentioned. This will bring light into your life, so please illuminate yourself, enlighten yourself, liberate yourself. Don’t keep yourself in darkness.

The three ways that negative karmas become purified are:

1) The best way: One never experiences the suffering results of the most powerful negative karmas.

2) Although you were going to experience the negative karmas as being reborn for many eons in the hell, animal, and hungry ghost realms, instead you experience all of that negative karma in this life by being criticized by others, by having bad dreams, nightmares, toothache, headaches, or some other discomfort. Then you don’t need to reincarnate in the lower realms where you would experience heavy suffering for many eons.

3) You experience suffering due to the negative karmas, but you experience them much more lightly and for a shorter time, for example, even just for one minute or second, like the time it takes for a stone you threw to hit a rock.

This is how to experience problems and use them to develop compassion for others. It is good to meditate on these two verses from Guru Puja:

Please grant me blessings to realize that the chronic disease of cherishing the “I” is the cause giving rise to undesirable sufferings. Put the blame on that, begrudge it, and destroy the great demon: cherishing the “I.”

Please grant me blessings to cherish all mother sentient beings (the all-obscured suffering beings) and to have the thought to lead them to happiness. This is the door to infinite happiness. Even if all migratory beings become my enemy, may I be able to cherish them more than my life.

You can put these two verses on your wall and read them all the time.