Various Transitions

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
According to my observation, for you Vajrayogini pure land is best, therefore you must take Vajrayogini initiation and do that practice. Without practicing Vajrayogini, it’s an unbelievable loss, like the whole limitless sky filled with wish-granting jewels and losing that. It’s much worse than that. 

You must do this as quickly as possible, because death can come at any time—any day, any hour, any moment, even now. Without initiation you must recite the mantra and pray.

I am attaching a very precious photo of Vajrayogini. This was made with coral by one meditator who did a three-year retreat. It should not be shown around; it is just for your use.

Pray to be born in Vajrayogini pure land. Reciting the mantra is so precious, so blessed, because all the female enlightened beings’ mantras are contained in it. My guru, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, said that the mantra is even more blessed than the sadhana.

As well as reciting the mantra, which is a cause to be born in Vajrayogini pure land, you should also do tsog offering on the 10th and the 25th, either Lama Chöpa or Vajrayogini, anything. That’s one of the main causes to be born in the pure land.

Another cause is to follow the left side conduct, so you start eating, walking, with the left side hand or leg. That signifies wisdom, because everything comes from the wisdom of emptiness. The deity, the mandala, everything comes from the wisdom of great bliss, nondual with emptiness.

You can do the retreat, even a short one, again and again in the life, even you don’t do the long one. If you can do the long three-year retreat, that’s great.

There is a student who helps Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi at Amitabha Buddha Centre in Singapore. She has done Vajrayogini retreat many times, so you can discuss with her after you’ve received the initiation. I can give the initiation when I come to Singapore or if you’re able to come to Kopan, I can give it here.

You’ll need to have another great initiation beforehand, either Heruka, Guhyasamaja or Yamantaka. The best is Heruka Five-Deity initiation, so that is required first, before you can take Vajrayogini initiation.

You’re very fortunate that this comes out best for you. If we are born in Vajrayogini pure land, then definitely we can become enlightened there. Even if we are born in Amitabha pure land, bodhisattvas there cannot practice tantra because there are no tantric teachings there.

So the bodhisattvas pray to be born here, in this world where we are, where the tantric teachings are. We need a body born from the womb, having the six elements: three from the mother—blood, skin and flesh; and three from the father—sperm, bone and marrow. Bodhisattvas pray to be born here, to practice tantra and to achieve enlightenment quickly. So that’s why here, a human rebirth is unbelievably important, precious, more precious than Amitabha pure land.

Lama Tsongkhapa gave teachings, not so much on Vajrayogini, as much as Amitabha pure land, and he wrote prayers. Of the eight prayers, the Blissful Realm prayer [Prayer to Be Reborn in the Land of Bliss] is very, very important, because I think then it becomes very easy to be reborn in Amitabha pure land.

One thing, it’s very easy for ordinary beings to be born there [in Amitabha pure land] but if we are born there, there’s no suffering. There’s no suffering of suffering and no suffering of change. All the samsaric pleasures—food, sex, music, anything—are the suffering of change and there’s no suffering of that type there . There’s also no third type of suffering, pervasive compounding suffering, from where the other sufferings arise. There is not even the third suffering. It’s incredible the pleasure, the enjoyments, the situation beyond the asuras, the worldly god realm. It’s unbelievable, as there in god realm there’s suffering.

Probably we would stay there [in Amitabha pure land] a long time, I think, maybe like that, but we don’t achieve enlightenment there.

But in the Vajrayogini pure land, we’re enlightened right there, so there’s a big difference. It’s quicker and we are able to enlighten all sentient beings more quickly, that’s the whole thing.

Wherever you travel every day, even walking, going to the shop, to the beach, traveling, in whatever way, think you’re going to the pure land. Or wherever you are, think you’re already in the pure land, where there’s no suffering. Remember that. It’s incredible, unbelievable. Think everything is pure appearance, so to think about that on and on is good.

When we die, then that [pure land rebirth] comes very easily. Suddenly when death comes, then this thinking is easy and we’re already in the pure land. It helps; it makes it so easy.

Otherwise, even if we know the sufferings well, without practice, without training the mind in that, then at death time, maybe some heavy sickness or problem comes, then it is difficult to think about Dharma, it’s difficult to think about the pure land, all that. At that time our mind is thinking about something else, or we are missing the samsaric pleasures, or we just have very heavy suffering and the mind cannot think about positive things. It’s like this.

But all this depends on the basis which brings all the blessings and realizations, everything. That basis is very strong guru devotion, by seeing, looking at the guru as Buddha, by looking at the guru as Buddha, with quotations and logic as mentioned in sutra, lamrim and in tantra.

We must do actions to fulfill the guru’s wishes and advice, doing what most pleases the guru. That is the way to achieve the pure land and the quickest way to achieve enlightenment. That is the most important thing, not only to achieve Vajrayogini pure land, but to achieve the quickest enlightenment for the numberless sentient beings. That is the most important thing.

Thank you very much, billions and billions and billions.

With much love and prayers ...

My most dear, most precious, most kind, wish-fulfilling ones,
Here is what I want to ask you. Last time when I was at Sera, the Tibetan school needed to make a new kitchen and they needed food sponsored, etc. They asked me to help, so I helped them, then they came to see me and said they were very, very happy with the new kitchen and the new food.

This time when I was in Hunsur, I was asked to help the old age home, so I promised to help, to build a few extra rooms and build a stupa for the old people to go around. Also they will have prayer wheels, sponsored by Taiwanese people, so it will be easy for them to purify past life negative karma and easy to create merit and to achieve enlightenment. Now it is not easy for them to understand Dharma and there is no way for them to learn Dharma extensively, like Liberation in the Palm of your Hand.

Having holy objects is a very easy way for them to purify the negative karma collected in the past lives and in this life, and it also plants the seed of enlightenment, every day that they go around the stupa, in the mornings, the evenings or anytime, whenever they want. It is such an easy way to bring them to enlightenment, to free them from the oceans of samsaric suffering and bring them to enlightenment.

I went to see them and gave an oral transmission of OM MANI PADME HUM and explained some of the benefits. Then I was also asked to help the Tibetan old age home in Bylakuppe [a Tibetan settlement in South India.] There are 40 people at the Hunsur home at the moment and 20 people at the home in Bylakuppe, so I went also to see the old age home in Bylakuppe.

There I explained the benefits of OM MANI PADME HUM and I said that they are extremely lucky, even more lucky than billionaires or zillionaires in Western countries who have no opportunity to recite OM MANI PADME HUM even one time, in order to be able to purify heavy negative karma collected in the past and to be able to collect extensive merits. This is just by reciting OM MANI PADME HUM one time. These [elderly] people have much more opportunity and are unbelievably lucky. Even though at the moment they are not materialistically wealthy, that is like lightning and their suffering now is for a very short time.

What I told them was that when they recite prayers like OM MANI PADME HUM, even though they are poor now, from life to life, like the sun shining, their life will be unbelievable, just as from one sun the plants grow, the animals enjoy, and the people enjoy it. When it shines like that then all the life lifts up to enlightenment. They will have incredible, unbelievable happiness, all their wishes will succeed, and they will have unbelievable, incredible happiness, like the sun shining, they will go to enlightenment. I tried to give them the idea, but of course what they should understand, even those billionaires or zillionaires have this [wealth] for just a short time. They are extremely rich for a short time, then for so many lives after that they will be in the lower realms, with the most unbelievable suffering. If it manifested in form it couldn’t even fit in the sky, there will be so much unbelievable suffering, pain, [being born in the] lower realms as an animal or a hungry ghost, where there is so much suffering even for eons.

Anyway I am emailing you because the old age home has so many red flowers outside. It has very nice red flowers, but having too many red flowers is no good, it is a sign of death. When Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche gave Liberation in the Palm of your Hand in Kopan a long time ago, many years ago, he said Kopan had too many red flowers and it was not good. It becomes a dependent arising condition for death, and it is inauspicious, but we didn’t take them out just then. Also that was Lama’s 49th year and then he passed away.

I told the old age home to cut the red flowers, but to leave the more beautiful, rare ones.

What I want to request you to do, if you can, is to order big sunflowers from Italy, then send the seeds with instructions on how to plant them in the garden there. Also send some seeds to Osel Labrang [at Sera Je Monastery, India] and also to Kopan.

First, if you can, send big sunflower seeds and [instructions on] how to plant them and how to take care of them. I want to have many more sunflowers in the garden at the old age home and also at Kopan.

Thank you very much, that would be very kind.

With much love and prayer...

Dear Julie,
I checked and it’s best for you to be in retreat or doing serious practice, like the Manis. Doing work like you are doing now and focusing on a career doesn't come out well. Later, not now, it’s good to think about being a nun. This comes out very good, I am saying it as a possibility.

There will be a 100 million mani retreat from time to time. If you can join the retreat, that would be very good, if you can manage it.

The most important thing is to have a good heart and live with bodhicitta regardless of what you do. Whatever you do, do it for others and always have a good heart. Always keep your mind close to bodhicitta. Keep your mind motivated in bodhicitta, so you are living your life with bodhicitta. This way your actions are the best Dharma. This is what makes your life meaningful and future lives always happy.

Read the Essence of Refined Gold a few times every day, then meditate. Also, at the same time you can read the bigger lamrim texts like Middle Lamrim, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand and Lamrim Chenmo.

As a way to organize your lamrim meditation you can do this:

• Seven months on guru devotion
• Two months on the lower path
• Eight months on the middle path
• Two months on bodhicitta
• Four months on emptiness

First begin with effortful experience, from perfect human rebirth through the entire lamrim, so before you die there is a chance you will have some realizations and if not, a strong imprint for the next life. Thank you very much.

With much love and prayer ...

My very dear Joanna,
Thank you very much for your kind letter.

According to my observations, there seem to be some obstacles to you completing college. Not going to college also comes out negative. This means there is an obstacle. Whatever the obstacle is there is an antidote. It comes out best for you to recite the Heart Sutra 200 times.

If you can, recite it every day and, if possible, recite it along with meditation. You can read His Holiness's commentary on the Heart Sutra. You should study that.

When you read the Heart Sutra each day, focus on a different part and try to meditate on that. For instance, one day meditate on “Form is emptiness,” then the next day take another part and meditate on it strongly. Go over the meanings, meditating on the emptiness of different phenomena. One day meditate on the emptiness of the “I,” then the next day on the emptiness of the aggregates, in general or each one specifically.

I have given a few teachings on the Heart Sutra. If you can, try to get those; they may help you in your meditations to get some idea.

Please try to make your life most beneficial with the thought of bodhicitta.
With much love and prayers...

My very dear Karen,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. I am very sorry it took so long for me to reply.

I understand that you feel it is hard in London. A hard life is very good for learning, it is a teaching, it shows the nature of suffering. Look at it that way, as a teaching, to give you inspiration, liberate you, and free you from samsara. Seeing sentient beings’ sufferings and from that developing compassion leads to bodhicitta and the Mahayana path, which eliminates all the gross and subtle defilements and causes you to achieve enlightenment. Then you can enlighten all sentient beings. These benefits come when you experience hardships or a hard life. So, if you can, think like this.

My suggestion is to try to continue to study for one more year, approximately. You could move to a different house, but it still may be hard.

Please continue with guru devotion and live your life with bodhicitta, by developing your meditation on the perfect human rebirth, renouncing this life, and meditation on emptiness.

With much love and prayers...

Do retreat in Parphing in Nepal if you can find a place. You can become a nun immediately or maybe after five years, in the fifth year. Regarding your partner, maybe his mind will be happier without you. This is one choice.

In any case, pray for your life to become most beneficial for sentient beings, who are so many. That is the way you should pray all the time, and he should do the same. You are just one person. If you are happy, that is nothing compared to the happiness of other sentient beings. Just pray like that. If you are unable to make a decision now, then pray all the time like that. This helps to create the conditions to be able to be most beneficial.

In order for your partner not to get upset, since he needs somebody in his life, you can pray for him to find a companion quickly. Meeting a companion can make his life most meaningful, by making it most beneficial for sentient beings. Pray like that.

You should wish that he finds a partner not just for the comfort and enjoyment of the samsaric mind but to help him to make his life most beneficial. What brings peace, happiness, and fulfillment in a relationship is when couples think of others. The husband thinks of making the wife’s life most beneficial, and the wife of making the husband’s most beneficial. That’s how their attitudes should be. Regarding living together, if you don’t have the attitude of benefiting others, if it’s just for happiness for oneself, just the happiness of this life, many problems can arise: instability, dissatisfaction, depression, and guilt. All those things come from thinking just of this life.