Stupas

When you go around holy objects such as stupas, the first and most important thing is your bodhicitta motivation. You can also think about impermanence and death, that you have received a human rebirth this one time and you can die at any time. Lama Tsongkhapa mentions that the rarest rebirth is the perfect human one, so think this can end at any time, it can end today—any time.

Therefore, think, “I must go around the stupa and practice Dharma in order to not be reborn in the lower realms, but rather, to get a perfect human rebirth. Not only that, but also to be free from samsara, and not only that, to be free from lower nirvana and to achieve great liberation, full enlightenment for sentient beings.”

The greatest benefit, the most meaningful life, is to not harm sentient beings—from one sentient being to numberless sentient beings—and to benefit them and bring them happiness.

Think, “I must free numberless sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering and bring them to peerless happiness, the total cessation of the obscurations and completion of realizations—enlightenment—by myself alone. I must do that quickly, because the six-realm sentient beings are in the most unbelievable suffering. I cannot stand this for even one second, therefore I must achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.

“Therefore, I need to generate the path to enlightenment and in order to do that I need to purify the defilements, the negative karmas collected since beginningless rebirths with my body, speech and mind. In particular, from beginningless rebirths I have broken the pratimoksha vows, bodhisattva vows and tantric vows; I have created the heavy negative karma of harming the holy guru’s holy body, breaking the advice, disturbing the holy mind, generating nondevotional thoughts and belittling the guru. Therefore, in order to purify right away, I will go around the stupa.”

In your heart, make sure that you mainly go around the holy object for sentient beings, not for your own happiness. It is the means to become free from the oceans of samsara and achieve enlightenment.

Now, with that motivation of bodhicitta, if you go around the statues, stupas and scriptures of Buddha, then with each step you collect merit more than the sky. The merit you collect is unbelievable, unbelievable.

While you are circumambulating a holy object, for example, a stupa, you can do this meditation:

Think that this is in aspect a stupa, but it is His Holiness the Dalai Lama, for example. This is what I think. You can think in this way about whoever is your root guru, whoever you have received teachings from. You can also think that the stupa is the numberless past buddhas, present buddhas and future buddhas, as well as all the objects of refuge, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and all the statues, stupas and scriptures.

While you are going around the stupa, think beams are emitted from it and sent to you as well as to the numberless hell beings, the numberless hungry ghosts, the numberless animals, the numberless humans, the numberless suras, the numberless asuras and the numberless intermediate state beings. At the beginning, mainly purify yourself, then later, halfway through, purify the sentient beings. For example, for one circumambulation, half is to purify you, then half is mainly to purify others. That is the meditation for physical circumambulation.

Now there is speech circumambulation. You can recite this Buddha’s name and mantra:

CHOM DÄN DÄ DE ZHIN SHEG PA DRA CHOM PA YANG DAG PAR DZOG PÄI SANG GYÄ RIN CHHEN GYÄL TSHÄN LA CHHAG TSHÄL LO

To Bhagavan, Tathagata, Arhat, Perfectly Complete Buddha, Precious Victory Banner, I prostrate.

oṃ namo bhagavate ratna ketu rājāya / tathāgatāya arhate samyak saṃbuddhāya / tadyathā / oṃ ratne ratne mahāratne ratna vijaye svāhā 

By reciting this, one circumambulation is equivalent to ten million circumambulations.

Also:

LA MA TÖN PA CHOM DÄN DÄ DE ZHIN SHEG PA DRA CHOM PA YANG DAG PAR DZOG PÄI SANG GYÄ PÄL GYÄL WA SHA KYA THUB PA LA CHHAG TSHÄL LO

To Guru, Teacher, Bhagavan, Tathagata, Arhat, Perfectly Complete Buddha, Glorious Conqueror Shakyamuni, I prostrate.

oṃ namo daśadik trikāla sarva ratna trayāya / namaḥ pradakṣā supradakṣā sarva pāpaṃ viśodhani svāhā

You can recite the Buddha’s holy name and mantra any number of times: one mala or twenty-one times, or while you are doing the first circumambulation.

There are five benefits when you recite this Buddha’s name and mantra:

1. You receive the benefit of having prostrated and circumambulated to all the buddhas, Dharma, Sangha of the ten directions and of the three times, past, present and future;
2. All your negative karma collected from beginningless rebirth is purified;
3. You will quickly achieve full enlightenment;
4. You won’t be harmed by enemies and interferers;
5. You will be free from the disease and spirit harm.

Make sure you don’t miss doing this; it’s so important. 

Then you can recite one, two or three malas of Vajrasattva mantra. After that, recite the Thirty-five Buddhas’ names, which you can count. When you have finished and feel regretful, you can recite any prayer you want and that you know, like the King of Prayers. You can read the Vajra Cutter Sutra while you go around, or In Praise of Dependent Arising by Lama Tsongkhapa, or any other praise to Buddha. There are different praises to Buddha and you can recite any of them. [Find links to these practices in the FPMT Catalogue.]

If you are doing one, two or three circumambulations, something like that, for a short time, then at the end think everyone becomes enlightened. You become enlightened; everyone becomes enlightened.

If you have received a Chenrezig initiation, for example, you can visualize yourself and all beings as Chenrezig. If you have received a great initiation, either Kriya Tantra, such as Thousand-arm Chenrezig or Medicine Buddha, or any other initiation, or whichever Highest Yoga Tantra deity you are practicing, you can visualize that you and all sentient beings become that deity. You become enlightened; everyone becomes enlightened. Then dedicate the merits.

The mind circumambulation is visualizing beams of light emitting from the stupa and purifying your mind, also having compassion for sentient beings and devotion to the guru. It appears as a stupa, but in essence it’s the guru. That means it is all the buddhas—numberless past, present and future buddhas.

In a more elaborate way, if you’re going to circumambulate more, at the end of each circumambulation visualize that the sentient beings are purified and become enlightened. First, visualize that the hell beings are purified and become enlightened.

At the end of the second circumambulation, visualize that all the sentient beings are purified and become completely enlightened, especially the hungry ghosts.

After the next circumambulation, again think all sentient beings are purified and become enlightened, especially the animals.

After that, at the end of the next circumambulation, think all sentient beings are purified and become enlightened, especially the human beings.

The next one, at the end think all sentient beings are purified and become enlightened, in particular the suras.

Then after the next circumambulation, all beings are purified and become enlightened, especially the asuras.

Again, at the end of the next circumambulation, all sentient beings are purified and become enlightened, especially the intermediate state beings.

You can take the obstacles of the sentient beings’ karmic view and your own karmic view of the guru. Visualize beams of light are emitted from the stupa or holy object and all the obstacles are purified.

Think the obstacles to fulfilling the guru’s holy wishes are completely finished, the guru’s wishes all succeed and the guru has a long life. All the obstacles are pacified. Then the merits are dedicated for all the holy wishes to be successful and for the guru to have a stable life, forever.

If you are still going around, dedicate the merits for the teachings to last a long time and the obstacles to that are pacified. Beams of light are emitted from the stupa or holy object, pacifying those obstacles to the teachings. Dedicate for the teachings to last a long time and spread in all directions.

If you are still going around, dedicate for the Sangha, so their obstacles are removed, they have a long life and are able to serve sentient beings and the teachings of the Buddha. All their obstacles are pacified and all their wishes to preserve the Buddhadharma and spread the Dharma and benefit sentient beings are successful.

Dedicate the merits for the benefactors’ obstacles to be purified, for their long life and for all their wishes to serve the Sangha and the teachings to succeed.

If you have a particular person to pray for, then visualize beams of light are emitted purifying their heavy sicknesses and pacifying any other obstacle. Then dedicate for the success of all their wishes.

You can think like that, dedicate the merits in that way. These are just some ideas.

Thank you very much.

With much love and prayers ...

Rinpoche would like all centers involved in building stupas to know that the two curved banners adorning the top of stupas are an important aspect of the construction and should not be omitted, as they represent the two wings of the path.

These banners are shown in the line drawings in Benefits and Practices of Statues and Stupas, Part 2: Building and Blessing Holy Objects (2006 edn, pp. 115–121) and are not in many of the color photographs of FPMT stupas. Please refer to these line drawings when looking for a visual reference of how to build a stupa.

Rinpoche also said that the decorations along the bottom of stupas can and should be much more elaborate than those pictured in the line drawings and more like those shown on the color pages.

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you for your kind emails, I am very sorry for the delay.

I checked and the stupas can be in a public place where people can see them and go around them, then it causes everyone to achieve enlightenment, to become free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings.

If stupas are well-made and beautified as much as possible, they can go in public places where they will benefit sentient beings, then it plants the seed of enlightenment for anyone who sees or goes around the stupa—it benefits everyone, even the insects. It has unbelievable, unbelievable benefits.

As you have read in my advice, if the stupas have the secret relic mantra, even if there is just one inside, then anybody who goes around the stupa, that purifies the heavy negative karma to be born in the eight major hot hells. This karma gets totally purified. This is most unbelievable and it makes it so easy to be reborn in the pure land when we die.

Besides that, it causes us to achieve enlightenment and so many things. It is unbelievable. It causes sentient beings to be free from the lower realms, so the benefits are unbelievable, unbelievable—whether animals or people, it doesn’t matter, it can be beneficial for so many beings.

Thank you very, very much, a billion, zillion times, for making these stupas for the benefit of sentient beings.

With much love and prayers

My very dear one,
Regarding the type of stupa, I checked and what comes out best is the stupa of Namgyalma (a long-life stupa). It can be dedicated to the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and for success of all His Holiness’s wishes. You can write to His Holiness when the stupa is completed to let him know of the dedication of the stupa.

The stupa can also be dedicated for all those who do good by supporting the Sangha—those who teach the Dharma and spread the Dharma—for their success. Dedicate for all the benefactors who support the Dharma, all the Kopan monks and nuns, the Western Sangha (monks and nuns) and all the Sangha in the different parts of FPMT around the world. Dedicate for all my benefactors, who help to actualize the Dharma work, for their success.

Dedicate for all the people who do good things for others, including: Sonu Sood, the Indian actor who helped the poor in India at the critical time of COVID-19 spreading; Tsewang Gyatso, who helped many poor people on the road; and Kulman Ghising, the head of the Nepal Electricity Authority. He is very dedicated to the Nepali people and very, very kind to them. I invited him for lunch to thank him and also the Kopan monks thanked him. Also, dedicate for Dr. Govinda K. C., the doctor who built a public hospital for the poor in Nepal; MacKenzie Scott, the American lady who gave many billions of dollars for food during this COVID time in the USA; Lady Gaga, who helps many people; and Richard Gere, who helps Tibet and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Dedicate for all those people like butchers and those who harm to sentient beings, so that they can meet the Dharma and abandon the cause of suffering and generate only good actions.

Then dedicate the stupa to numberless sentient beings, for everyone to be free from suffering and for them to achieve enlightenment. So, the stupa is for everyone.

This is what you should write down, so that whoever comes to the stupa can see what it was dedicated for. It is for everyone, to achieve peerless happiness!

I have a project to build 108 stupas in Ladakh, to restore the old stupas there. It hasn’t yet started yet but when it starts, if you can help with this project and in the future you can visit the stupas. The other project I want to start in Ladakh is an animal sanctuary. I’m hoping I can do that when I go there in the future.

The people living near the monastery are very poor, so we need to build a place for them, and then we can help them to think according to Dharma, and maybe we can also build a prayer wheel and stupa for them to create merit. This is such an easy way to create merit. We can help them live their life according to Dharma. I have many projects like this one, which is just in Ladakh.

Kopan monastery can help you with what has to go inside the stupa. This work is very, very important. You need to put all the correct holy things inside, like mantras, etc. You can also get the details from the books I have written on this. We have an explanation in the stupa books, showing how to fill them, etc. Do you have those books? If not, it’s very important to read them first, to get the correct instructions. [Find links to Statues and Stupas PDFs in the FPMT Catalogue.]

We have just finished a 160-foot stupa in Australia.

I will pray that you will have success and no obstacles. It’s unbelievable that you plan to build this stupa. This will give happiness to many sentient beings—those in the water, on the land and in the sky. It brings them ultimate happiness too. The world has so many problems now, therefore it is so, so, so, so good to build a stupa!

With love and prayers for all the success ...

My very dear one,
Thank you very, very much. Here, I am experiencing the shortcomings of my self-cherishing thought, karma. If my mind is good and practicing strongly, then through this experience [of a stroke] I am taking on the suffering of all sentient beings, particularly those who have diabetes, high blood pressure and paralysis, to quickly remove their suffering, every second to remove their suffering from beginningless rebirths. Each time think like this, then limitless skies of merit are collected and this creates the cause of enlightenment, and brings more and more benefit for numberless sentient beings.

If my mind is good then I can practice, then there is benefit, so [my sickness] can be very, very positive, incredibly positive, and the quickest way to achieve enlightenment.

I am offering my sickness to the one object of refuge, for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s long life, to cause even one day of his longer life. Also for the long life of all the holy beings in the world, as well as the long life of those who benefit others; the long life of the Sangha who preserve the Buddhadharma; the long life of the benefactors; the long life of any person who recites OM MANI PADME HUM; the long life of those who do good things for others, and the long life of those who practice morality.

But my mind is like water, so weak. Not solid like iron rock, so I apologize for that.

Swayambhunath is incredible, most precious, nothing like this exists in the world. In a Tibetan text, the Kangyur, in particular it mentions a mountain called Langri Ruden, where the Buddha came and predicted that Kathmandu would be full of water, like a lake, and a crystal stupa—not made by a person, but a manifestation of dharmakaya—would appear in the lake. The Buddha actually mentioned this in the text; the Buddha predicted this in the text. It’s unbelievable, unbelievable.

I had this text translated many years ago into Nepali to offer to the king and all the ministers, but it didn’t happen because I didn’t know how to offer it directly. One monk mentioned having a party and then giving the books to the king and the ministers but I didn’t do that yet. But some other Nepali people may have it. It was translated from Tibetan into Nepali many years ago by His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s translator, who translates into Nepali when His Holiness teaches in Siliguri, which is between Darjeeling and Nepal.

The crystal stupa was covered by earth and then that became Swayambhunath mountain. It is said that Nagarjuna’s hair was sprinkled around the mountain and became trees. There is a similar story about the trees at Reting Monastery in Tibet. Higher beings see those trees differently; they see all the trees as manifestations, not as ordinary trees.

On top is the stupa. When Padmasambhava came from Tibet, he built one later. I don’t remember exactly, but in the text mentions that story. It is very interesting, but there are different stories and different views; some accept, some don’t accept.

I met a Nepalese man who said there is another stupa inside Swayambhunath and someone came from India and tried to find it, but could not find it. There is a new text that I have about Swayambhunath that has a different story.

There is similar story in China, told by Dhakpa Rinpoche, who is my Guru, who gave many initiations to different lamas, geshes, many lineages, requested by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to give to Ling Rinpoche. Dhakpa Rinpoche said in China there is similar story, but he doesn’t think it’s that one; he thinks it’s according to the text, as I mentioned before. So you don’t have to believe every one of the stories; you must examine them.

The story I mentioned is very common in the Kangyur, the Buddha’s teachings. It is put together in the Zungdu [Collection of Dharanis], that also has the Diamond Cutter Sutra, Arya Manjushri [prayer] and many different texts to solve the different problems.

This story is very common, and [there is another story] about Buddha Kashyapa Stupa. There is the arhat Kashyapa and Buddha Kashyapa [the third buddha of this eon], so in the text it talks about the importance of the Kashyapa Stupa, but I’m not sure if it refers to the buddha or the arhat. I have to find out.

Regarding these stories, only someone who has omniscient mind or clairvoyance, who can see many thousands of years back, can really know and can tell you about the stupas.

With much love and prayers for you, yourself, and for your wife and the dog.

How are you? I forgot to tell you where the tree is to go. It should be planted around the Lama Yeshe stupa as an offering, with this notice:

This tree is offered to Lama’s stupa, that which is the embodiment of all the past and present buddhas. This tree is offered as a wish-granting tree. This tree is offered on behalf of each and every sentient being; it belongs to every sentient being and is dedicated to the center, and that the center develops and is beneficial to all sentient beings so that they actualize the realizations in their hearts of the complete path to enlightenment.

With best wishes,
from Mickey Mouse, little sentient being, Zopa

I hope you put this notice beside the tree.