Various Practices for Animals

Most dear ones,

I have been thinking that it may be difficult for the ants to carry the tsampa, even if it is in very small pieces, when it is made like pak, a Tibetan food, like when you make a torma, then you make small pieces for the fish, so [do it] like that. I don’t mean a big size, but very, very small pieces—flat or round or whatever, but very small—so the ants can carry the food to their blissful mandala.

Regarding the worms, if it is very dry where we liberate them, then they might die. What do you think? If it is dark earth, especially a little bit wet, then it’s very good. You may even need to water it again after the liberation or a few days later. You can check. I have seen on TV that where the worms come from originally, the ground is very wet. It is where ocean or swamp water has been and when the ocean or swamp water goes back, at that time people carrying buckets dig and find the worms. They don’t find them all the time.

What do you think about this? I don’t know, but you are doing it often, so what is your opinion on this?

Numberless thanks to both of you.

My dear one,
Regarding purification for yourself and your dog, take strong refuge in the Buddha and think that the Buddha sends light to yourself and your dog, and to any other animals or beings you want to think about. Think nectar comes from the Buddha and purifies the negative karma, created from beginningless time, of yourself and the dog and other beings you are thinking about.

Then recite the refuge prayer. Keep reciting the refuge prayer while visualizing the Buddha sending nectar out of his compassion and loving kindness, like sunlight, to yourself and your dog. It’s like switching the light on in a dark room; it totally purifies the negative karma created since beginningless rebirths. You can keep the dog nearby when you do this so the dog can hear you reciting the refuge prayer. This leaves an imprint on the dog’s mind and plants the seed of enlightenment.

If there is no stupa near where you live, then maybe you can go to a center that has a stupa. If you are able to go there that would be very good, then you take your dog around the holy objects, the stupas. Go around the holy objects as many times as possible with the dog. This purifies the negative karma collected since beginningless rebirths, therefore go around as many holy objects as possible with the dog.

If you go to a center maybe you could stay for one week or a weekend and bring your dog, and then you can go around the holy objects every day. You could do sessions four times a day, reciting refuge, then nectar comes from the holy objects and purifies yourself and the dog.

This is my advice at this time. Later if you want to ask for more practices you can send me an email, but first do this to the best of your ability.

Also, please do The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment).

Any practice that you do, you can recite it out loud so your dog can hear. This also helps to purify.

With much love and prayers ...

Put up the Arya Vairochana protection around the garden.

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling ones,
I hope everybody is well. I am sure you remember, as we talked, that this precious human rebirth is just about one time and to open the mind toward Buddha, Dharma and Sangha is extremely fortunate, unbelievably fortunate. First we have a human rebirth, and not just that, but a perfect human rebirth.

The Omniscient One explained that every day, every hour, every minute, every second, the number of beings from the intermediate stage who are reborn in hell is like the amount of dust particles of the whole earth. The number of beings who are reborn as pretas is like the number of grass blades growing on the ground; there are so many. The number of beings born as animals is like the number of sand grains on the floor of the oceans.

The number of beings that are reborn as devas and human beings is like the number of dust particles that come under your fingernails when you scratch the earth. Like that you can see that deva and human rebirth is extremely rare. This is because the causes to be born as a human or deva have to be virtue—positive, pure action—and the causes to be reborn as a hell being, hungry ghost or animal are nonvirtue. Even if we collect virtue, it is so little and so rare because we don’t know Dharma and we don’t know how to practice.

The great bodhisattva Shantideva, who was from Nalanda University in India, the ancient university where there were three hundred pandits excellent in the five knowledges—not only in Buddhism, but having knowledge of poetry, logic, handicrafts and so forth, and then also having knowledge of Dharma, outer knowledge, so expert.

As Shantideva mentioned in A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life [Ch. 1, v. 28]:

The sentient beings, even though they don’t like suffering,
In reality every day and night they run to create the cause of suffering, nonvirtue.
That is due to ignorance; they don’t know what the cause of suffering is,
And they believe the action that they are rushing toward day and night is obtaining happiness.

Day and night, every action is nonvirtue. The cause of suffering is due to ignorance. Even though what they wish for is happiness, they destroy the cause of happiness day and night, as if it were an enemy. That is totally wrong understanding. Even if you explain, they don’t have the karma to understand. Only if it’s explained as a wrong philosophy, then they believe it. It is so difficult. That’s why those who get reborn in the higher realms are so few, but those reborn in the lower realms, it is beyond our imagination how many there are.

Those who receive a perfect human rebirth, which at this time is much rarer than just a normal human rebirth; just to be born as a human being alone, we need the preliminaries of pure Dharma practice and pure morality. In this life we can stop rebirth in the lower realms and we can receive rebirth in the higher realms, as a deva or human, and also to a pure land of the Buddha, and then in some pure lands we can become enlightened.

The basic method for this is by taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and by protecting karma, such as by taking the pratimoksha vows, if not the five lay vows, then four, three, two or one lay vow. Then also there are the eight precepts which can be taken by lay people,  the one-day pratimoksha vows, the eight Mahayana precepts which are only for one day. Then there are the 36 vows of a novice monk or nun, 253 vows of fully ordained monks or 364 vows of fully ordained nuns. The vows are for protecting karma.

Of course, there are those who practice the Mahayana teachings and there are also the bodhisattva vows and tantric vows. The pratimoksha vows are to achieve liberation from samsara. The bodhisattva vows are to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. The tantric vows are to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible; to achieve enlightenment in one lifetime. Highest Yoga Tantra is the quickest way to achieve enlightenment.

To achieve ultimate happiness, liberation from samsara, there are the three higher trainings—the higher training of morality, the higher training of wisdom and the higher training of concentration. This is what makes us achieve enlightenment, by taking bodhisattva vows and by practicing the Mahayana teachings and generating bodhicitta on the basis of all sentient beings; by generating bodhicitta and following the six paramitas. This is what makes us achieve enlightenment.

Then the tantric vows. There is lower tantra that makes us achieve enlightenment in this life. There is the path having signs and the path not having signs. Then there is the Highest Yoga Tantra path, the fourth one, which is practicing the generation state and completion state.

Of course, this life doesn’t last forever, and as you know, it can be stopped any time. This opportunity is most unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable, such an unbelievable opportunity, but it can be stopped any time. It is just this one time that we have been born in the Southern Continent where there are tantra teachings—not Hindu tantra but Buddhist tantra taught by Omniscient One—that give the opportunity to achieve enlightenment in this life.

Then to be able to free sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric sufferings, not only that but to do it quickly, to be able to do that and to bring them to enlightenment quickly. Therefore we are unbelievably fortunate, most lucky!

Therefore, to not waste this [opportunity] and to constantly, day and night, make it most worthwhile, most beneficial for sentient beings, not only for yourself. That is the best benefit, to benefit all sentient beings. That is the best benefit for yourself. Serving others is the best benefit for yourself. To not harm and to cause happiness for others is the best benefit for yourself.

Regarding Dharma practice, chant OM MANI PADME HUM or the Medicine Buddha mantra and practice whatever you can. Especially do the morning motivation, The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment). This has the blessing of the speech and the daily motivation, which is very important. It’s most important to live the life with that as much as possible.

Also, to live the life with a good heart toward others, the numberless sentient beings. To help others, to not cause suffering and to cause happiness up to enlightenment—from this life’s happiness up to enlightenment. This is the way to live the life in the most meaningful way; a perfect, best, happy life. This is how to live the happiest life.

I wanted to mention one thing. These days I have added in my prayers for the worms and insects harmed by growing, picking and offering flowers. So many worms die or are killed for the flowers. Often where I go there are flowers in my room, therefore after lunch, if I do purification of pollutions received, I also normally try to do dedication, especially for the calves, because I drink so much tea. I dedicate like this:

Due to all the past, present, and future merits collected by me and all the three-time merits collected by numberless sentient beings and numberless buddhas, may all the calves who suffered so much, or who have died for this milk—the mothers and babies who are separated, with so much suffering and worrying—may they never be reborn in the lower realms and may they immediately be reborn in a pure land where they can get enlightened. May they receive a perfect human body, meet the Mahayana teachings and meet a  perfectly qualified Mahayana guru revealing the unmistaken path to enlightenment, and by pleasing the holy mind of the virtuous friend, may they achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.

These days I also include the worms that have died. I guess worms died for the flowers. I should also dedicate for the people who killed the animals, so I also started to dedicate for the people.

Anyway, of course, flowers are very beautiful. Of course when people own flowers, it’s not so easy, and they have to indirectly kill worms and insects for the flowers to grow.

For this enjoyment we can also collect so many causes of happiness, all the happiness, as I have mentioned, and especially the happiness of enlightenment, by offering these beautiful flowers to the Guru, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. All this is received by the kindness of sentient beings, the animals that died for this, the human beings who worked so hard.

What I wanted to say is this, if there are a lot of animals and worms that die, then I think it’s better not to dig for the plants in the garden. If you want flowers, you can buy them from the flower shop. You can put flowers there in pots, so you don’t have to dig.

Anyway, in case some worms get killed or something, maybe you can offer candles to the Buddha for those worms and dedicate like this:

I dedicate all the past, present and future merits collected by me, and all the three-time merits collected by numberless sentient beings and numberless buddhas, for that worm to never ever get reborn in the lower realms and to have a higher rebirth, and to generate bodhicitta and achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.

At least do something like that, to pray for that worm, in case one gets killed.

Regarding flowers, maybe buy flowers which are in a pot from the garden shop. You can buy them and make offerings with them, and it is easy.

Thank you so much. I hope to see your family soon. Thank you very much for everything.

With much love and prayers ...

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you for your kind email and news. I will check later about your life practices, but regarding your questions about stupas and dead insects:

If you recite mantras and blow over the dead insects, then it purifies their negative karma, because negative karma is not with the body but with the consciousness. Wherever the consciousness is, you can purify the negative karma, so the consciousness can transfer from the lower realms and get a higher rebirth. This can happen because the body has a connection with the consciousness before [the insect is] dead.

After death I think no need to take the insect around the stupa. I am not sure but I never heard, so I’m not sure.

For sure, recite mantras such as Chenrezig mantra (OM MANI PADME HUM), Medicine Buddha mantra, Lotus Pinnacle of Amoghapasha (OM PÄDMO USHNISHA VIMALE HUM PHAT), the Stainless Pinnacle Mantra, also Milarepa mantra and Namgyalma mantra.^*

Think that the sentient being, wherever it is born, may it be liberated from the lower realms and receive a higher rebirth and may it meet Dharma and achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.

Recite one mala or half a mala or even ten or fifteen times, then blow on the insect and think that you have purified that being’s negative karma and defilements. Then you can think they become Chenrezig or the deity whose mantra you have been reciting.

With much love and prayers...

[^* These mantras and other resources are freely available online at FPMT.]

Recite OM MANI PADME HUM for the bird. The thing is that the bird has to eat insects to survive. Just being able to give food as charity is good, by thinking of it as Dharma practice, as part of Six-session Guru Yoga, the practice of charity and loving kindness, but that’s not enough.

The bird is in the lower realms; we are in the upper realms and can free the bird from the oceans of samsaric suffering and bring it to the peerless happiness of enlightenment. This is what it needs. Therefore recite OM MANI PADME HUM when you give food to the bird. Hearing the mantra has skies of benefit. It purifies the negative karma accumulated during beginningless rebirths and collects extensive merit. It enables one to generate compassion for sentient beings and plants much seed of enlightenment.

Also recite the Maitreya Buddha mantra. The monks should recite it by heart. Recite the mantra loudly so that the birds can hear it.

Also recite OM PADMO USHNISHA VIMALE HUM PHAT which brings strong purification; Medicine Buddha mantra; at least the short Namgyalma mantra, OM BHRUM SVAHA / OM AMRITA AYUR DADAI SVAHA; Kunrig mantra; and Stainless Pinnacle mantra. At least this much you should say.¹

Generally for animals, you should recite the Medicine Buddha mantra. Of course, the first is OM MANI PADME HUM.

Hearing those mantras stops rebirth in the lower realms. By hearing the eight Medicine Buddhas mantra,² the animal doesn’t get born as an evil person. Medicine Buddha also benefits to not be born in the lower realms and to get a higher rebirth. If possible, the animal should have a perfect human rebirth and receive Mahayana teachings from a perfectly qualified guru. You can pray like that. Then by correctly devoting to the virtuous friend, they achieve enlightenment.

At least recite OM MANI PADME HUM. Even you don’t know any other mantra, you can recite this for any animal.

Like this, you can recite for dogs, then by the way, people hear the mantra. Non-believers love their animals, so you are benefiting them by the way, even though from the outside it looks like you are only benefiting the dog.

By hearing the Maitreya Buddha mantra, when Maitreya Buddha descends, they can become disciples of Maitreya Buddha and receive teachings and prediction of enlightenment at that time, so there’s great benefit.

Those who have met Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism, tantra, the quick way to achieve enlightenment, must know of these things.

Life is not boring. The monk’s life is not boring. Tibetan Buddhism is not boring.

It looks like becoming a monk is for food, so that you don’t have to work and you have food from people’s offerings, but it’s not like that. It’s a very beneficial life. When you work and then get food, [and think that] is better than becoming a monk and you are living life only to get food—that, of course, is a very boring life.

So you must recite these mantras; it’s a great opportunity. Usually the bird comes at the exact time at the beginning of the preta charity, to eat the bread. But my time changes, so sometimes the bird is there and sometimes not there.

Notes

¹ For these and other mantras, see Ten Powerful Mantras for the Time of Death, in the FPMT Catalogue. [Return to text] 

² Includes the seven Medicine Buddhas and Shakyamuni Buddha. [Return to text]