Integration Practices - Discovering Buddhism (22 May 2007)

0:06 evening. evening. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 0:06 Highlight the passage at 0:06

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0:41 good for you. Thank you. I'll be energized and ready to go. going to say good now. Report an error in the passage at 0:41 Highlight the passage at 0:41

0:56 go lay down. have 10 minutes. Report an error in the passage at 0:56 Highlight the passage at 0:56

1:12 didn't have a door button. Report an error in the passage at 1:12 Highlight the passage at 1:12

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4:24 Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 4:24 Highlight the passage at 4:24

4:37 she's going to find out what's on those big conferences. Report an error in the passage at 4:37 Highlight the passage at 4:37

4:50 It takes a year for Lama. Actually, I'm going to wait because otherwise everyone will read it. Which might be the good idea, actually. While we're talking. Report an error in the passage at 4:50 Highlight the passage at 4:50

5:20 Someone secretly did it. Who knows what it's been recording. Anyway, so I usually start the class with three frustrations, just fitting tonight. Thinking that, learn more about frustrations, but thinking about the fact Report an error in the passage at 5:20 Highlight the passage at 5:20

5:42 going down to Report an error in the passage at 5:42 Highlight the passage at 5:42

5:46 qualities of the Buddhist body, speech and mind. We Report an error in the passage at 5:46 Highlight the passage at 5:46

6:01 usually do a mantra with it, and you can do this or not, you don't have to. Report an error in the passage at 6:01 Highlight the passage at 6:01

6:11 I found out much more merit to it when you do this mantra. Report an error in the passage at 6:11 Highlight the passage at 6:11

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6:56 So my Report an error in the passage at 6:56 Highlight the passage at 6:56

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7:37 Madonna mic. Hey, Sarah, coming in. Report an error in the passage at 7:37 Highlight the passage at 7:37

7:48 Is that one on? Is yours on? Namo Manjushriye, Namo Jushriye, Namo Jushriye, Namo... Report an error in the passage at 7:48 Highlight the passage at 7:48

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7:49 Okay, good. So I have to make sure that doesn't shine towards this or it will make a really horrible noise. Does it jump? Ooh. So you can definitely jump in whenever I leave something out. Report an error in the passage at 7:49 Highlight the passage at 7:49

8:03 Maybe this is a, can you hear from this distance? Maybe put your mug on the floor because I can just see what's going to happen if that goes shooting out in your excitement. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 8:03 Highlight the passage at 8:03

8:13 Just in the back of the room, it'll still, yeah. All right. So welcome everybody. Report an error in the passage at 8:13 Highlight the passage at 8:13

8:24 I wanted to just start with kind of giving an outline of what we're going to do tonight and then we'll start with just a quieting meditation on the breath and setting our motivation for tonight's class. Report an error in the passage at 8:24 Highlight the passage at 8:24

8:39 So we'll start with that and then I'm going to just check in with you guys about what happened this week and if you have any questions about the Vajrasattva practice or purification or anything before we get started. Not about frustrations though. You have to wait and see if we actually answer your question before you get to ask it. Then I'll introduce my lovely assistant Venomo Tsongmo and I'll start with saying a few things about frustrations in general and then something about the benefits and then Venomo Tsongmo will talk about She'll just kind of review the four opponent powers that we talked about last week a little, but we didn't spend so much time on it, so it's good to review that. And then we're actually going to have a little short break early for you guys with my normal clock. Report an error in the passage at 8:39 Highlight the passage at 8:39

9:30 And then Samuel will talk about the importance of setting up a good visualization before you do this practice and what that visualization is and then also the importance of setting up... And then she'll help us set our motivation for actually doing the practice. Then I'll talk about physically what they look like and demonstrate it. Report an error in the passage at 9:30 Highlight the passage at 9:30

9:57 And then we'll actually do a set of prostrations to the 35 Buddhas using a recording that Venmo Katie has of Venmo Abina reciting it. Report an error in the passage at 9:57 Highlight the passage at 9:57

10:12 And then we'll... Then Sangmo will dedicate and then we'll open it up for questions. Now clearly if you don't hear something or you just need clarification like that kind of thing, then just pop out with your question. But otherwise it's good to see if we're going to cover it as we go. So that's the general outline of what we're going to do tonight. So let's start with just making sure that we are present. Report an error in the passage at 10:12 Highlight the passage at 10:12

10:42 Letting our minds and bodies come into the room a little bit and bringing our minds to neutral. So we usually just start with checking our posture. And if you're in a chair, it's good not to lean back in the back of the chair. Just let your feet be on the floor and have your spine be extended and back straight. Report an error in the passage at 10:42 Highlight the passage at 10:42

11:04 If you're on a cushion, again, check your spine is extended and your sits bones sort of down like you were doing a yoga position. Report an error in the passage at 11:04 Highlight the passage at 11:04

11:18 Your shoulders back and level. Report an error in the passage at 11:18 Highlight the passage at 11:18

11:25 Your head tipped a little bit down, which kind of opens up the back of your neck. Report an error in the passage at 11:25 Highlight the passage at 11:25

11:34 Your eyes either open and unfocused, gazing off the end of your nose towards the carpet in front of you. Or if you're like me, meditating in a group is sometimes difficult with my eyes open. So you can have your eyes lightly closed. Report an error in the passage at 11:34 Highlight the passage at 11:34

11:56 And then your hands are usually in this tradition in your lap. Right over left, thumbs touching lightly about the level of your navel. But sometimes people like them on their knees and that's fine too. Report an error in the passage at 11:56 Highlight the passage at 11:56

12:17 Usually, traditionally, the Buddha taught to sit in what's called full lotus posture, but for most of us who were born and raised in the West, unless we do a lot of yoga, that one's a difficult posture to get into without training. And so basically just have your legs in a position that you can hold comfortably for 10 minutes. Report an error in the passage at 12:17 Highlight the passage at 12:17

12:46 You want to create a stable balance in your body. And then the eighth point, the final point, is your breath. Just allow your breath to be natural and unforced. Report an error in the passage at 12:46 Highlight the passage at 12:46

13:02 We're just going to start with the meditation on the breath, but you don't need to change your breathing in any way. Report an error in the passage at 13:02 Highlight the passage at 13:02

13:12 Just observe it from either the level of your nostrils. The sensation of the air going out and coming back in or the level of your abdomen expanding and contracting with each breath. Report an error in the passage at 13:12 Highlight the passage at 13:12

13:32 And try to count to ten of those cycles of breaths without losing the object, either through distraction by sounds outside or inside the building or by distractions to your own thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 13:32 Highlight the passage at 13:32

13:51 Just every time your mind gets distracted, just place it back on the object Report an error in the passage at 13:51 Highlight the passage at 13:51

13:59 and we'll take off. A few moments to do this, probably about ten minutes for Report an error in the passage at 13:59 Highlight the passage at 13:59

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20:54 tonight's class. Report an error in the passage at 20:54 Highlight the passage at 20:54

21:01 Just by thinking about all the sounds right now that you can hear in the street, you can hear the cars, motorcycles going by. Report an error in the passage at 21:01 Highlight the passage at 21:01

21:15 Every one of them is filled with somebody who just wants to be happy and to avoid all suffering, any kind of pain. And that way they're exactly like us. Report an error in the passage at 21:15 Highlight the passage at 21:15

21:35 All the people on the streets tonight, all the people on the sidewalks. The people in their homes, the people in their apartments, they all just want to be happy and to avoid pain. Report an error in the passage at 21:35 Highlight the passage at 21:35

21:55 In this simple way, we're all exactly the same the world over. And not just humans, but all animals and insects and all beings that we can't even see are exactly the same. Report an error in the passage at 21:55 Highlight the passage at 21:55

22:10 But the problem is that most of the time what we do to bring ourselves happiness actually ends up in suffering. Report an error in the passage at 22:10 Highlight the passage at 22:10

22:21 Most of the time through ignorance we create suffering for ourselves and for others, trying to grasp unhappiness or trying to get happiness through the wrong means. Report an error in the passage at 22:21 Highlight the passage at 22:21

22:36 And so let's do this class to begin to apply some of the Buddha's teachings to purify the negative karma that we've created through that ignorance as Report an error in the passage at 22:36 Highlight the passage at 22:36

22:53 a way to not only bring ourselves happiness but to be able to transform our minds so that we can... Truly help every being without exception. Report an error in the passage at 22:53 Highlight the passage at 22:53

23:16 The opening prayer. In Report an error in the passage at 23:16 Highlight the passage at 23:16

23:23 this larger book, in the very last page, in the very last text page, on page 8, we'll do this generating the mind of enlightenment, and we'll do it three times as a way of generating refuge in bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 23:23 Highlight the passage at 23:23

23:41 With the wish to free all beings, I shall always go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha until I reach full enlightenment. Inspired by wisdom and compassion, today in the Buddha's presence, I generate the mind of full awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings. As long as space remains. As long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world. Report an error in the passage at 23:41 Highlight the passage at 23:41

24:14 With the wish to free all beings, I shall always go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha until I reach full enlightenment. Inspired by wisdom and compassion, today in the Buddha's presence, I generate the mind of full awakening. For the benefit of all sentient beings, as long as space remains, as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world. Report an error in the passage at 24:14 Highlight the passage at 24:14

24:48 With the wish to free all beings, I shall always go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha until I reach full enlightenment. Inspired by wisdom and compassion, Today in the Buddha's presence, I generate the mind of full awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings. As long as space remains, as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world. Report an error in the passage at 24:48 Highlight the passage at 24:48

25:26 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 25:26 Highlight the passage at 25:26

25:31 One thing I would like to do logistics-wise, I forgot to do this last week. But this is just a little sign-in sheet that even if you think I already have it, if you could just put the best way to reach you in case we should have to cancel a class. Except our pen died. Oh, there it goes. It's one of those kind of bins. So, yeah, I'm just going to send this around. Report an error in the passage at 25:31 Highlight the passage at 25:31

25:56 Even if you think I have your information, it's just a quick, easy way to reach you if something should happen and we should have to cancel the class. Report an error in the passage at 25:56 Highlight the passage at 25:56

26:05 So... Which hopefully we won't ever have to, but we've learned the hard way that sometimes you do. And sometimes it's not me having to reach you, so it's just useful to put it all in one place. Report an error in the passage at 26:05 Highlight the passage at 26:05

26:21 Yeah, the class is actually over. Yeah, this class is only four weeks, so that's the fifth week. But it actually plays in perfectly. I was actually going to mention that one tonight with my announcement. No, that's okay. what's happening of the Steve Report an error in the passage at 26:21 Highlight the passage at 26:21

26:36 No, I definitely want to make sure that people know about Steve Carlier. So why don't we check in and see how you guys did with your homework, or if anybody did their homework, if anybody has any questions about bodhicitta. And we should use the mic. Do you mind, Sengo, getting that? It's got a nice long one on it now. Report an error in the passage at 26:36 Highlight the passage at 26:36

27:00 So the reasoning is, for those newer students, we upload all the classes. onto the website so anyone listening at home can listen Sorry, Report an error in the passage at 27:00 Highlight the passage at 27:00

27:31 this is more difficult than I thought. Singles demonstrating. and then the problem is if people don't talk into the mic when they're asking questions it's really kind of aggravating you know like you hear and then everybody kind of laughs what yet another dissatisfying some sorry experience sorry this Report an error in the passage at 27:31 Highlight the passage at 27:31

27:37 Now watch, there's not even going to be any questions. Well, here comes Peter. Peter's already got a question. Oh, it's okay. Single can get it. It's right next to her. Report an error in the passage at 27:37 Highlight the passage at 27:37

27:54 If somebody could explain what just happened. For the listening audience at home, Peter just got up, ran across the room and opened the window. Report an error in the passage at 27:54 Highlight the passage at 27:54

28:04 All right, anybody else? Did you? Yeah, Margaret. Once Single finishes, macrame-ing. A huge weaving. That's close enough. This is showing us how difficult it is to, yes, unravel our minds. And how thorough she is. It's always on. No, it's always on. Yeah, it's a new mic. Report an error in the passage at 28:04 Highlight the passage at 28:04

28:35 After all that. Trying to do the practice every day with the exception of today. You get to do prostrations today. My question is, when you're... yeah. Report an error in the passage at 28:35 Highlight the passage at 28:35

28:52 Yeah, that takes some study. You can kind of reason out sometimes. For example, if you're receiving a lot of harsh speech in your life, in other words, people are kind of snapping at you or swearing maybe at you or something like that, that kind of harsh speech, then you can assume that it's probably the result of your using harsh speech, if not in this life, then in a past life. Report an error in the passage at 28:52 Highlight the passage at 28:52

29:18 In the same, like if people are lying to you or deceiving you, then you can... Sometimes it's not so obvious. Sometimes they're taught. There are certain things that are called correlations and they're taught and they aren't so obvious, like skin conditions being sexual misconduct and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 29:18 Highlight the passage at 29:18

29:35 That would be kind of like, oh, because they say actually until you're... Everyone begins checking. Report an error in the passage at 29:35 Highlight the passage at 29:35

29:47 So... Sometimes we just have to do a little study. They say that actually karma is the most complicated of all of the teachings of the Buddha and that until you're fully enlightened, you're not going to really fully understand it. But there's places we can start. So in the case of physical... With physical... Yes, and you can do that. Report an error in the passage at 29:47 Highlight the passage at 29:47

30:07 Yeah, yeah. With a lot of physical stuff, it's doing physical harm. So if it's not killing, then it's definitely like hurting in some way, which is why I kind of made that joke last week about... I kept having all the problems with my left foot, and so I must have kicked a lot of people in my last life, yeah, like that. Or, you know, I get a lot of migraines, and so I'm always trying to figure out what that one is. Report an error in the passage at 30:07 Highlight the passage at 30:07

30:30 Although I've been told with migraines that it's more complex. It's like harming, doing a lot of different kinds of harm, and so you have to be really, really virtuous in a lot of different areas of your life. So it's not as simple as, like, I hit people on the head, but I often make that joke. But, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 30:30 Highlight the passage at 30:30

30:49 You can say whatever the cause. It's useful to try to figure out what it was because then when you're trying to work on your activities, your behavior, then you can kind of spot it. Report an error in the passage at 30:49 Highlight the passage at 30:49

31:03 And a lot of times people are like, well, I don't have any sexual misconduct in my life. And so then it's also useful to kind of think, you know, what one of my teachers calls the outermost co-centric circle of that activity. So even if I don't... yeah. Report an error in the passage at 31:03 Highlight the passage at 31:03

31:17 I happen to do a lot of lying in this particular life. Maybe I exaggerate a lot, which is a big one for me, or maybe I'm really sarcastic, which is also a big one for me, things like that. So you can look at, you don't have to be spot on that you're always like lying to the IRS or something like that. You can be kind of a little bit more, look at a broader view of your life to try to clean up that activity. Report an error in the passage at 31:17 Highlight the passage at 31:17

31:41 Because then when you're restraining from that action, right, that causes it, then you know what you're working on. So it is useful to figure out what the activity was if you can. Report an error in the passage at 31:41 Highlight the passage at 31:41

31:53 Study. It's listed in places. Yeah, The Wheel of Sharp Weapons is a really good text. I mentioned that last week. That's the one that Emily is starting to teach on Friday nights. But I think we have, actually, Geshe Sopa has a book, Peacock and the Poison Groove, I think it's called, and that has the text of Wheel of Sharp Weapons in it. Report an error in the passage at 31:53 Highlight the passage at 31:53

32:16 So you can just kind of look through it too. You don't even have to read it so much. But it may not have your particular one in there. But it's a good place to start. Anyone else? That's a good question. Peter, I knew you would. Report an error in the passage at 32:16 Highlight the passage at 32:16

32:34 Just apropos of that, what I was realizing this week doing, because I do Vajrasattva in one form or another pretty much every day, so I'm starting to see subtle and subtler levels in which my particular... Non-virtues, which I think are the non-virtues of speech. Those are the ones I have the hardest, hardest time with. And I was talking to an old friend of mine today, and I started talking about a friend of mine and how she raises her children. Report an error in the passage at 32:34 Highlight the passage at 32:34

33:00 And I wasn't really trashing her, but I could tell that I was being really judgmental about something. And I started realizing that there were all of these levels in which I subtly am constantly judging people. Totally, yeah. I mean, I'm not agreeing with you that you are. No, but you do. You go deeper and deeper and deeper into your delusions. Because you think, well, if I'm not calling someone a B-word, I'm not engaging in that activity. Report an error in the passage at 33:00 Highlight the passage at 33:00

33:29 I'm a really nice person. I'm a really virtuous person. We constantly, I mean, it can be a little subtle thing, like criticizing the way, in this case, a friend of mine is a little too hard on her daughter. It was probably work But Report an error in the passage at 33:29 Highlight the passage at 33:29

33:40 Well this friend of mine is really wealthy and all of her friends kind of slightly do this to her all the time and I realize there's envy there because she's very successful and is married well and blah blah blah. So you start seeing subtler and subtler levels in which you're still engaging in this activity even if you're trying to live your life in a dharmic way. Report an error in the passage at 33:40 Highlight the passage at 33:40

34:01 I'm realizing that there's still like how much I still need to purify, but how much is still there from earlier in our life in this life too. Yeah, yeah. And it's really important not to get discouraged when you see that. I mean, actually we should get encouraged. Rubina was very, Venerable Rubina was very strong with me on Sunday when I told her that I felt like I was having a prolonged Klesha attack last week. Report an error in the passage at 34:01 Highlight the passage at 34:01

34:28 And all this anger stuff was coming up. And I told her that, and she said sometimes when you're going deeper and deeper you realize, she said some people don't think they have a lot of anger and it's actually inwardly pointed at like depression, which is actually more of an issue that I have or have had. Report an error in the passage at 34:28 Highlight the passage at 34:28

34:43 And she said, so you're going deeper. She said, I rejoice. Chokyi, that's wonderful. The anger's coming out. That's great. So she was actually pointing out something that I think is really good because we sometimes get this view of ourselves as having a certain... Couple of choice afflictions, our delusions of choice. And then we go deeper and deeper and we realize, of course, we all have all of them. And actually, we get into subtler and subtler flavors of them, too. Report an error in the passage at 34:43 Highlight the passage at 34:43

35:07 So just to keep digging. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche always says, the dirt's got to come out, the dirt's got to come out, the dirt's got to come out. You know, when you're washing a shirt, you know, and we're washing our minds. And this is all really appropriate for tonight's class too because this practice of prostrations is also a purification practice. Because I think what Vajrasattva is showing me is all the ways in which I fool myself that I'm still not engaging in non-virtuous activity. Report an error in the passage at 35:07 Highlight the passage at 35:07

35:34 Yeah, no, it's true. You start seeing these subtle ways that you're still continuing habituations. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's my confession. No, that's great. That's great. Go Vajrasattva. Report an error in the passage at 35:34 Highlight the passage at 35:34

35:48 So I want to introduce Venerable Sangmo, who has been a member of the center and community here for quite a while. We both sort of engaged almost the same time in the center, and she became a nun about three years ago. And she's an incredible practitioner. Very, very, she didn't know I was going to say that. I traded notes with her, but I took that part off. She's very dedicated, she's very disciplined, and she can answer all your Vajrasattva questions too, because she's done that in the intro. Report an error in the passage at 35:48 Highlight the passage at 35:48

36:22 I came to learn. Report an error in the passage at 36:22 Highlight the passage at 36:22

36:26 So I wanted to start with just talking about prostrations in general really briefly, what a prostration is, and then just generally, and then the benefits, and then we're going to sort of trade off. And also jump in if one of us forgets what we thought we were going to try to cover. So don't think it's any kind of a conflict happening. Report an error in the passage at 36:26 Highlight the passage at 36:26

36:48 We're just simply tossing it out. So I want to talk about prostrations in general. Prostrations, like I said at the beginning of the class, You can do a prostration with your body, your speech or your mind and it basically has to do with an attitude of respecting or bowing down to, honoring. But always with that little element of I want what you have. I want that quality too. Chokselo actually translates that way. I want what you have. Report an error in the passage at 36:48 Highlight the passage at 36:48

37:19 Which I think is great because that's actually, we want to remember that attitude in our mind. It's not just a physical activity and it's not just, it's not like something outside of ourselves. We can't ever forget that all of these activities of purification, all of these activities of the integration, Practices are methods for transforming our minds. So we can't forget our minds as our body is going down. Like it's not a separate physical activity that's unrelated to our mind. Report an error in the passage at 37:19 Highlight the passage at 37:19

37:52 So my main teacher, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, says it's always really important to just, this counts as a prostration. Putting the two palms together counts as a prostration. Not for your hundred thousand. Report an error in the passage at 37:52 Highlight the passage at 37:52

38:07 But he says it's really, really important to do, like if you come into the gampa for the first time, you're looking at all these holy objects, or you go into, I mean, the Asian Art Museum is filled with holy objects, you're just kind of going around going like this, you're prostrating to each of them with that same sense of honor, awe, reverence, and I want those qualities that you have, you know, meaning to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Report an error in the passage at 38:07 Highlight the passage at 38:07

38:30 So this is a prostration. When you hear the phrase that you can prostrate with your body, speech, and your mind. Prostrating with your body is a little more obvious. I mean it's anywhere from this to what's called a half prostration to what's called a full length prostration and we'll talk about those a little bit later in the class. Report an error in the passage at 38:30 Highlight the passage at 38:30

38:50 With your speech it's basically any kind of a prayer that is honoring and respecting. The object of the prostration. And often, of course, that's combined with the physical prostration. We'll do a certain prayer or we'll chant something as we bow down. Report an error in the passage at 38:50 Highlight the passage at 38:50

39:09 And with your mind is doing the same thing with your mind. Now, when we're doing these prostrations, one of the things that Venerable Tsongkhapa is going to spend some time on is how to set up the visualization because you're going to try. To the best of our capabilities, to hold a visualization in your mind while you're prostrating. Now, we'll have a simple form for those of you that are like me, who can basically picture several colors of light. Report an error in the passage at 39:09 Highlight the passage at 39:09

39:35 And Lama Zopa in the middle. And it gives all the way up to this entire merit field, actually this entire merit field where Peter is now sitting. He always sits next to the objects that we're purifying with. He has Vajrasapha on his head and the 35 Buddhas next to him. So one other thing, a couple other things I wanted to mention just about prostrations in general. Report an error in the passage at 39:35 Highlight the passage at 39:35

39:59 I have one teacher who said that, you know, often people say, oh, it's just some Asian thing, you know, why does this aspect of Buddhism have to come to the West? What does it really have to do with us? And he said... If you really saw a Buddha in the flesh, you know, if you had the karma to perceive, because the Buddhas are actually here right now, if we had the karma to perceive, you would throw your body on the floor. Report an error in the passage at 39:59 Highlight the passage at 39:59

40:24 It would be a natural thing. He said it's not something that just has to do with some particular culture. It's what you would do under the circumstances if you saw 35 Buddhas or even one Buddha sitting in front of you. So I thought that was a really good... Because I hadn't thought about it like that before. And then one last thing, just like with every other Nundro practice, and basically just about anything else in Buddhism, people do things differently. Report an error in the passage at 40:24 Highlight the passage at 40:24

40:53 So I learned how to do prostrations from Geshe Lama Kunchuk at Kopan, behind the relics, or the relics came from him. And it's slightly different than the way a lot of people in the FPMT do it. But I, because I was one of the people that requested it and I received the information, I have learned very strongly that whenever you ask a Lama how to do something, it's really, really good to follow his advice. Report an error in the passage at 40:53 Highlight the passage at 40:53

41:21 So I continue to do them that way. So you'll notice that I do them slightly differently than, I don't know, actually. We didn't compare. Prostration techniques. But you will notice that people do them differently and people have strong opinions, just like with water bowls, just like with bodhicitta, just like with everything else. Report an error in the passage at 41:21 Highlight the passage at 41:21

41:39 And that's okay. You just absorb the information as you hear it and then decide how you're going to proceed. So I just wanted to point that out because we definitely have Dharma police everywhere. Report an error in the passage at 41:39 Highlight the passage at 41:39

41:53 The benefits of doing prostrations are many, many, many. And just a little FYI, there are a couple of really good texts on prostrations if you decide that you want to start working on your preliminary practice of prostrations. This one is from the FPMT and it's in the bookshop and it's brilliant. It's really, really useful. It has a couple of commentaries by Lama Tsongkhapa Rinpoche and gives the whole practice and the visualization, motivation and dedication and everything. Report an error in the passage at 41:53 Highlight the passage at 41:53

42:23 It's like your prostration practice in a kit. Ganden La Gama, which is not very easily available, it was this one that some of you were in that class that we were able to work at a deal with LPP because they had some. It's only available through Copan Monastery, but it also has a really nice commentary by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. And if anybody would like to either get a copy of that from me, like I could lend mine if you promise, promise, promise to bring it back, or I can make a copy of it, I'm happy to do so. Report an error in the passage at 42:23 Highlight the passage at 42:23

42:53 So I just want to toss that out for those of you that are taking it to the next step. The benefits from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, he cites the offering, the Butter Lamp Sūtra, and says that one receives a good body from doing prostrations, which I suppose that makes sense. And he's talking about that in terms of these are things that actually can help us when we're teaching the Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 42:53 Highlight the passage at 42:53

43:17 Having a good body isn't so much from the worldly standpoint that we all want to look like Angelina Jolie or something like that, but it's more from this idea that if we have an attractive... This is normal. Report an error in the passage at 43:17 Highlight the passage at 43:17

43:39 Some of us actually did want to look like Angelina Jolie. In robes, of course. Well, actually, maybe. Report an error in the passage at 43:39 Highlight the passage at 43:39

43:45 Um... Um... But Lama Zopa actually talks about the fact that when you think about the teachers who have drawn you like His Holiness the Dalai Lama, there is something about him. He glows. He stands out in a crowd, even if you didn't know who he was, which actually I can't remember not knowing who he was. But you can definitely see there's something about him where he almost glows. Report an error in the passage at 43:45 Highlight the passage at 43:45

44:07 He almost shines. You receive a perfect environment and the people inhabiting it are in harmony, which is also quite useful. You will receive faith or devotion. You'll have a brave mind for practice. And in this one he says, you'll be brave to face your own delusions, which I think is actually a good point. Report an error in the passage at 44:07 Highlight the passage at 44:07

44:34 You'll be reborn as a dev or human being. Report an error in the passage at 44:34 Highlight the passage at 44:34

44:40 Tain Arya, Arya hood, Arya, you become an Arya being, which means you'll directly perceive emptiness. You'll become enlightened. So it becomes the cause for enlightenment. And actually they say even any type of prostration, even putting your hands together, creates such an enormous amount of merit and becomes the cause for your own enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 44:40 Highlight the passage at 44:40

45:00 So even just that. And Lama Zopa adds to that, you'll have a very sweet voice, which also helps with teaching. Also, it'll help you overcome problems with your communication. So if you have a fear of teaching, which is a good one for me to hear. All of these were so good for me to hear. It helps you purify that kind of shyness. And if you speak in a way that's confusing for people, it helps you break through that particular obstacle, too, so that it clarifies. Report an error in the passage at 45:00 Highlight the passage at 45:00

45:33 That's a good one for single. I actually think you speak wonderfully. They say you'll always be accompanied by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. You'll have great wealth and enjoyment. You'll receive respect and service from others. This is also a good one. You'll have a very good memory and a clear mind. You'll have extensive realizations and achieve wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 45:33 Highlight the passage at 45:33

45:57 So all of this was said. That's our advertisement for why you should want to do prostrations. Do you have anything else? You were going to add something about the sūtra of the Three Heaps. Well, what's more to get? I have just a few thoughts, maybe some inspiring thoughts that can show us the impact of doing these practices on our day-to-day life. Report an error in the passage at 45:57 Highlight the passage at 45:57

46:30 So today we're going to practice the prostrations to the 35 Buddhas. So I thought I would mention a little of the context of where this practice comes from. It comes from a sūtra that the Buddha spoke himself called the Sūtra of Three Heaps. The three heaps refer to the activities that we engage in when we do these practices. Report an error in the passage at 46:30 Highlight the passage at 46:30

46:52 That is, confessing, we reveal our unskillful actions, and we rejoice, and we dedicate. So the Sūtra of Three Heaps is actually found within a larger sūtra. That sūtra is called Stack of Jewel Sūtra. Report an error in the passage at 46:52 Highlight the passage at 46:52

47:11 Nargajuna, which probably many of you are familiar with, the great Indian pandit, wrote a commentary to this sūtra, and that commentary is called the Bodhisattva Confession of Ethical Downfalls, which is the name of this practice that we use in English. So just a little history of where this practice comes from. It was in a sūtra spoken by the Buddha. In terms of... Report an error in the passage at 47:11 Highlight the passage at 47:11

47:38 What benefits that we can have from doing purification? You know, we think of why we do prostrations or any purification practice. It's twofold. We purify the negativities or impurities, you know, the unwanted elements from our mind stream, as well as then accumulate merit. Or we can consider that just positive spiritual energy or potential by doing this virtuous practice or others. So basically we are doing both of those, purifying and accumulating merit. Report an error in the passage at 47:38 Highlight the passage at 47:38

48:18 I'm sure that either you will, if you haven't already, found some teachings that have likened purification of your mind to preparing a garden, a flower garden. A vegetable garden in that you need to cultivate the soil so that you can properly grow whatever you want to grow. You need to cultivate it and then you also need to fertilize the soil. So that's what we're doing when we do these practices. We are removing the rocks or our negative actions from our minds so that we can have realizations from Buddhist teachings. Report an error in the passage at 48:18 Highlight the passage at 48:18

49:00 and then the way that we... What it fertilizes is by engaging in virtuous practices, whether it's prostrations or reading prayers or sutras. But that is really how best we take care of our minds in terms of these practices. And they help us to have the realizations we all engage in practice to have. In terms of the day-to-day benefits that we can see, We're probably all aware of the obstacles, how they manifest when we study or when we listen to teachings or we attempt to do virtuous practice. Report an error in the passage at 49:00 Highlight the passage at 49:00

49:40 Sometimes our effort is really weak. We fall asleep. We get distracted. These are all manifestations of our negative actions in the past. We're anxious. We're depressed. We have a busy, chattering mind. All of that we can subdue with prostrations and purification. So on a daily level, it helps us subdue our minds, and then we just build on that. Report an error in the passage at 49:40 Highlight the passage at 49:40

50:11 Also, when we meditate, we often encounter hindrances. We get sleepy, we're distracted, can't accomplish what we set out to do. Many hindrances during meditation. Purification helps us. Also develop more mindfulness so that when we are meditating and the hindrances are there, we can apply antidotes. So it sharpens our mental facility faculties. And I think really importantly, at least for me, a benefit that I have experienced in my life is that just on a psychological level, all of the guilt and discomfort that we've had. Report an error in the passage at 50:11 Highlight the passage at 50:11

50:57 Many of us have had in our lives. People carry this guilt and discomfort for years before they meet the Dharma. If you set aside a time to do these practices and you really create the effort, you can look honestly at your past and your present from the perspective of the Dharma. And you can really make determinations that you can... Report an error in the passage at 50:57 Highlight the passage at 50:57

51:23 You can change your behavior. You can learn to act and speak in ways that would please you. So, you know, there is no guilt here. It's only regret. We're only looking at the suffering we've caused ourselves and others, and we're looking at it honestly, and we have methods here to relieve us of that burden and find joy in transforming our minds and becoming the people that we all want to be. Report an error in the passage at 51:23 Highlight the passage at 51:23

51:54 And of course, in terms of practicing the Dharma in this lifetime, we have to continue to create the causes to do that. It just doesn't happen. And also, if we want to practice and have good conditions in future lives, it's essential that we do purification. So those are some of the day-to-day benefits. Report an error in the passage at 51:54 Highlight the passage at 51:54

52:19 Anybody want to add something that comes to mind? Be careful when you open up the floor. Report an error in the passage at 52:19 Highlight the passage at 52:19

52:29 Okay, then what I'm going to do is just go right into talking about the four opponent powers. Report an error in the passage at 52:29 Highlight the passage at 52:29

52:41 It's just a brief review. As Chokyi said, it's really important to make these practices a part of your mind and your heart. They're not something out there that's just separate from you. You really bring them in. And the four powers, I think, speak about those emotions that you try to get to, to use this method successfully. Report an error in the passage at 52:41 Highlight the passage at 52:41

53:09 So there's the power of regret, power of reliance. You're regretting your unskillful, harmful actions. The reliance, you're relying on the three jewels. And the power of... Resolve, you're determining not to do those actions again. And the power of remedy, which is whatever action you're engaging in. Report an error in the passage at 53:09 Highlight the passage at 53:09

53:31 So the first is the power of regret for having acted in a harmful way. Without deep regret, there is no motivation to really purify and your effort for the rest of the practice will be weak. Regret has an element of wisdom to it. You know, you're looking at the results, which is the suffering that you've created for yourself and for others. So it's a healthy mental factor. Report an error in the passage at 53:31 Highlight the passage at 53:31

54:03 It has to be differentiated from guilt, which is not a useful, helpful factor. It's an obstacle to any purification. You can notice in your own life that regret is often very dramatic. It's very me-based. And it just doesn't have that power to change one. Guilt is not useful. It's an obstacle. Or on the other hand, regret is a wholesome mental factor. You know, it will spur you to change your life. Report an error in the passage at 54:03 Highlight the passage at 54:03

54:43 So it said that... Regret is the foundation of the four opponent powers because it gives impetus and force to the other three powers. If you truly regret your action, you are definitely going to want to rely on some element to help you change. You're definitely going to want to resolve to not do it again, and you're willing to do the remedy. So it really gives a lot of force to the other powers. Report an error in the passage at 54:43 Highlight the passage at 54:43

55:14 So second is the power of reliance. Here we are taking refuge in the three jewels. It's said that when we create negativities, it's usually against holy beings or ordinary beings. So when we want to purify actions in connection to holy beings, we take refuge in the three jewels. We confess our negativities, we develop faith and conviction in the Three Jewels being able to help us. We think about our spiritual mentors and we develop some confidence that the Three Jewels can help us in our efforts. Report an error in the passage at 55:14 Highlight the passage at 55:14

55:54 In terms of repairing damage or purifying negativities in relation to ordinary beings, what we do is make a determination that We generate bodhicitta. We make a determination to attain enlightenment so that we can truly help them in far-reaching ways. So again, with holy beings we take refuge and with ordinary beings we generate bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 55:54 Highlight the passage at 55:54

56:20 So that's the action that we do in the power of reliance. In terms of repairing hurtful or harmful actions in relation to ordinary beings, if there's someone that we... Might want to go to, to apologize or talk things over. That's good. We should do that. But it's not always possible because people move, they die. Report an error in the passage at 56:20 Highlight the passage at 56:20

56:47 Some people might not want to meet us. So the real important part here is to reconcile that and purify that within your own mind. You know, even in other lifetimes, we also purify. For harming sentient beings in other lifetimes, we don't know who they are or where they are. So again, it's just important to make that reconciliation in your mind that you're determined that whatever you do, we're willing to do the remedy. Report an error in the passage at 56:47 Highlight the passage at 56:47

57:17 We will work towards enlightenment so that we can really benefit those that we've harmed. And the third one is the power of resolve. This is where we make a clear determination to act differently in the future. So you think about what action specifically that you would like to change, and it's recommended that you pick a period of time that you think you can be mindful of during that time, and you just say, for this period of time, I'm going to do what I can to refrain from committing that action again. Report an error in the passage at 57:17 Highlight the passage at 57:17

57:57 Bye. And so we go ahead and we decide that. There's some behaviors we know immediately. We probably won't do that again. We're so revolted by things that we might say or think about. But most of the time, like Lewis said, so much subtle behavior we engage in. So much of it is just... What we do day after day after day and it gets more and more and more subtle. So in cases like this, it's probably good to really get specific and recall what it is you want to look at. Report an error in the passage at 57:57 Highlight the passage at 57:57

58:39 And then alternatively just say, you know, I'm going to try this morning to not be so self-cherishing, you know, to really watch my lack of compassion, watch my improper speech, you know. so. Slowly, slowly, you know, it becomes evident that we can change. And we just continue on for the rest of our lives, and that's what we do. Report an error in the passage at 58:39 Highlight the passage at 58:39

59:07 Dr. Bina says, then we die. So the power of the remedy is, in this case, we're going to recite the names of the 35 Buddhas and we're going to prostrate other practices, you know, Vajrasattva. Making satsas, making offerings to your spiritual teachers or Three Jewels or the Dharma Center, doing community service, anything to benefit sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 59:07 Highlight the passage at 59:07

59:36 Meditate on emptiness. Meditate on emptiness. You want to say something about that? They say that's the biggest one. So, you know, with the remedy, if we have really strong regret, as I said, we will have these forceful other... Report an error in the passage at 59:36 Highlight the passage at 59:36

59:55 Experiences with the four powers and so we will be willing and happy to do these things. So that's really all I have to say about the four powers. Report an error in the passage at 59:55 Highlight the passage at 59:55

1:00:17 It might take a little bit of time. We can when we become Buddhas, hey? Report an error in the passage at 1:00:17 Highlight the passage at 1:00:17

1:00:27 Actually, I think at this point we were going to have a short break and then start with visualization, motivation and how to do the prostrations. Do people have questions on what has been presented so far? Anything about the four opponent powers or what we've said about prostrations? All those great benefits. Okay, so why don't we just take like a short break, maybe a ten minute break. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:27 Highlight the passage at 1:00:27

1:00:59 Where are we going to pick these up and then come back? No. After, no, because there's quite a bit still to do before we're going to pick up the cushions. Actually, that's a good point, though. When it's time to do the actual practice, we're going to go ahead and take up the cushions and get them out of the way. But there's still probably going to be... Report an error in the passage at 1:00:59 Highlight the passage at 1:00:59

1:01:20 Like, people are going to have to go out. There's not going to be room if everyone decides to prostrate. Now everyone doesn't have to prostrate, and they can just watch, or they can read the text if they'd like. Or you can do this one. This one's good, too. But anyway, we'll talk about that when it gets closer. I'll just take a break. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:20 Highlight the passage at 1:01:20

1:01:37 Can you pause that one? Ten minutes? Yeah, ten minutes. That was wonderful. Thank you. Happy? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:37 Highlight the passage at 1:01:37

1:01:54 So sorry. I haven't had a date book all day. went through a little bit. So Venerable Tsongmo is going to go through the visualization as simply as possible, I think, because it's kind of complicated. What I'm going to do is, if those of you who don't have something like this in front of you, maybe want to turn around and look at that tanka, because I will go through very simply what that visualization is, and Chokyi will add some elements to your practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:54 Highlight the passage at 1:01:54

1:02:28 When we are prostrating. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:28 Highlight the passage at 1:02:28

1:02:32 So you can see that the main Buddha is Shakyamuni. Buddha is above and at the center. From his heart you can see there are 34 light beams. They come out forming five rows of Buddhas. you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:32 Highlight the passage at 1:02:32

1:02:55 All of these Buddhas correspond to the five Dhyani Buddhas. Now these Buddhas are related to the cessation of the five delusions, which I'll talk to about in a minute. In the very last row, you can see there are eight medicine Buddhas. So you can see the top row of the Buddhas has six light beams with six thrones. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:55 Highlight the passage at 1:02:55

1:03:24 At the end of each. At the end of each beam, you'll see the throne, which is supported by white elephants and pearls. The white elephants indicate strong purification. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:24 Highlight the passage at 1:03:24

1:03:37 All of the Buddhas here sit on a seat of lotus, moon and sun. These symbolize the three principal aspects of the path. You can see Shaky Muni, Buddha, is in the center. He is usually golden in color. The left is left. The right palm is in his lap holding an alms bowl and the right palm is on his right knee with the palm down in the earth touching gesture. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:37 Highlight the passage at 1:03:37

1:04:07 So this is the first name we recite. You also can see that Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion, is in the heart of Shakyamuni and all of the light beams are coming out of Chenrezig's heart which is to signify that out of the Buddha's compassion Thirty-five Buddhas emanated to help you purify your negativities. So the first row, there are six Buddhas. They resemble Akshobhya Buddha, and they're blue in color. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:07 Highlight the passage at 1:04:07

1:04:41 They all have the same mudrā, which is the left hand is in the meditative equipoise, and the right hand is in the earth-touching mudrā. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:41 Highlight the passage at 1:04:41

1:04:52 There's one that has a blue body and a white face, and his hands are held together at his heart. This is King of the Nagas. only one that, um, Report an error in the passage at 1:04:52 Highlight the passage at 1:04:52

1:04:59 So they're all blue except one. Now, Akshobhya Buddha, what we're seeing here is the purity achieved through cleansing the delusion of anger. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:59 Highlight the passage at 1:04:59

1:05:14 The second row, the next seven Buddhas, resemble Varo Chana. Now this is the purity that we achieve through ceasing our ignorance. Varo Chana is white in color, with both hands at his heart, and the index finger is extended. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:14 Highlight the passage at 1:05:14

1:05:33 The third row resembles Ratna Sambhava, yellow in color. This is the purity that we gain through ceasing our pride. So all of the Buddhists here have the same mudrā. And in the fourth row, this resembles Amitabha. This is the purity that we achieve through the cessation of our anger. I'm sorry. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:33 Highlight the passage at 1:05:33

1:06:04 I have to look that up. Anyway, this Amitabha is red in color. And both hands are on the lap in the meditative equipoise. What's the mantra for the pride? For the pride is... I can't quite see. I have to... Yeah, I think it's earth-touching. I'm not sure. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:04 Highlight the passage at 1:06:04

1:06:32 So in the fifth row, we have the seven green Buddhas, resembling Amogaciti. In here, we develop the purity through cleansing jealousy. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:32 Highlight the passage at 1:06:32

1:06:45 So in the next eight are the medicine Buddhas. So if you learn all of the mudras and can include that in your visualization, that's great. But I think at the very beginning when you're getting used to all of these Buddhas and their names, it's important just to... Chokyi will talk more about this, I think. You know, mainly what you really want to do is feel that the Buddhas are really there. They are purifying you. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:45 Highlight the passage at 1:06:45

1:07:15 And however you can enhance your visualization is good. But I didn't necessarily want to get into the very specific mudras. You can look, you can find those in different books. This is a great book. It will explain all of the mudras. So just to say a little bit about when we are prostrating. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:15 Highlight the passage at 1:07:15

1:07:37 We want to remember to apply the four opponent powers. So we integrate that with our visualization of the 35 Buddhas. Chokyi will say more about what you do with your mind when you're prostrating. But it's important to remember to make your visualization as vast as you can. You know, think that you are prostrating to all the Buddhas of the past, present and future. Imagine that they're really there. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:37 Highlight the passage at 1:07:37

1:08:03 You can include visualizations of stupas, holy objects, scriptures. You can imagine countless other sentient beings taking the form of humans and prostrating along with you. You can imagine limitless bodies of your own that you have manifested in other lives. So the idea is to really increase the number of forms and bodies that you have prostrating in the ten directions to all of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:03 Highlight the passage at 1:08:03

1:08:06 scriptures Report an error in the passage at 1:08:06 Highlight the passage at 1:08:06

1:08:33 You can accumulate immense merit by having this vast visualization, just as you do when you're visualizing many water bowl offerings or mandalas or light offerings. So the more powerful, the more clear the vision is, the more powerful the effect it will have on your mind. Chokyi, do you want to add something to this point? Report an error in the passage at 1:08:33 Highlight the passage at 1:08:33

1:09:00 Oh, yeah, I was going to add. Yeah, so Lama Zopa Rinpoche was saying that if you are doing a lot of prostrations or doing it as a regular practice, like in retreat especially when you're doing lots and lots, to kind of keep your mind interested, it's good to vary the visualizations. So he said that, he actually makes a really good point that Whether or not we finish a preliminary practice has more to do with our minds than our bodies, contrary to popular belief, especially about prostrations, because often we'll blame it on our bodies, which do manage to fall apart over time. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:00 Highlight the passage at 1:09:00

1:09:38 But if our mind is interested in the practice and you keep... Keeping it lively and interested, this is true for all your practices, and you find enjoyment in the practice and you get into the practice, then you're more likely to keep it up. So he came up with some other things to visualize. So he suggests actually that you can think about, you can actually just stop and think about all the negative thoughts and negative karma that you've created just in one day, just today. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:38 Highlight the passage at 1:09:38

1:10:14 From the moment you got up. And just work on that. And then go back to beginningless time. So days and days and days. But actually I always find it better to be more specific. The more specific you can be when you're purifying the better. But then you stop and think that if you don't purify those. Those disturbing emotions, those afflicted thoughts and that negative karma that results from them, then you can't achieve any realizations from bodhicitta all the way up to enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:14 Highlight the passage at 1:10:14

1:10:44 So every moment that you haven't done that, not only are you stuck in suffering, but all these other beings that are surrounding you are stuck here because you're doing this for them, right? You have this bodhicitta motivation. So to keep that in your mind, Report an error in the passage at 1:10:44 Highlight the passage at 1:10:44

1:11:02 That you want to get these out of your mind stream as much as you can, as quickly as you can, because it's so unbearable that you're interfering with the happiness of even one sentient being, much less all sentient beings. They're waiting for you. It's kind of like that thought that they're waiting for you. They're egging you on. They want you to do this because you're doing it for them. You're also, of course, doing it for yourself, by the way, because your own happiness is also tied up with it. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:02 Highlight the passage at 1:11:02

1:11:27 And on all your success in the regular life, as well as your path. So he also suggests that you can meditate on your guru, if you have a guru, if you have a spiritual teacher, thinking that this is the way, this is the method, this is the practice in which the guru is able to guide me. And the guru manifests out of the Dharmakaya into whatever form. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:27 Highlight the passage at 1:11:27

1:11:52 Like in this case, the 35 Buddhas, the group can manifest into that form so that you know that although they all have all these different colors and mudras and shapes and all these things, they all are actually your own guru. And so that's useful to think about while you're prostrating that every time you're prostrating to them you're also prostrating to the guru and you're also thinking about the kindness of the guru in helping you overcome all your negative thoughts, your afflicted states of mind, all the ways that you're creating karma and suffering in your life through these methods helping you to reach all the way up to full enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:52 Highlight the passage at 1:11:52

1:12:30 So you're bearing that in mind while you're prostrating too. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:30 Highlight the passage at 1:12:30

1:12:37 Yeah, so you just bear that in your mind. You're doing the prostrations. He says, actually, the guru exists to be the object for my accumulation of merit and to reveal these methods. Each prostration purifies so many obscurations and negative karmas that would cause me to take rebirth into the lower realms. So I prostrate with this awareness. This is the way my virtuous friends are guiding me to enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:37 Highlight the passage at 1:12:37

1:13:00 So that's that. And then I think... You're going to do motivation. So this might be, well let's, no, you're going to lead this, right? So why don't you do this and then we'll clear up the questions. Okay. Okay. So we can use this period to set our motivation and then Chokyi will clear this up and Chokyi will demonstrate frustrations. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:00 Highlight the passage at 1:13:00

1:13:28 So after the motivation, let's try to keep it, you know, so that when we... are ready to do the frustrations. We still kind of have that. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:28 Highlight the passage at 1:13:28

1:13:39 motivation in our mind you want to get comfortable and just your your mind inside Report an error in the passage at 1:13:39 Highlight the passage at 1:13:39

1:14:01 So before we Report an error in the passage at 1:14:01 Highlight the passage at 1:14:01

1:14:16 engage in any virtuous activity, the most important thing to remember is to set our motivation. So if we're Mahāyāna practitioners, We always recall our bodhicitta motivation. Here it would be to purify negativities that obscure our true nature, our wisdom, with our purpose being to free ourselves from our ignorance and our unhappiness and our suffering and attain the state of Buddhahood. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:16 Highlight the passage at 1:14:16

1:14:50 We motivate to do this not just for ourselves, but so that we can really be of help to others to achieve that state as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:50 Highlight the passage at 1:14:50

1:15:00 So this is the Mahāyāna motivation. It's the mind of enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:00 Highlight the passage at 1:15:00

1:15:08 So think here we are. We have this great opportunity to use this period of time to transform our minds. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:08 Highlight the passage at 1:15:08

1:15:20 And with practice, it takes only a minute to really generate that deep conviction in your heart that you really want to do this for others. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:20 Highlight the passage at 1:15:20

1:15:30 This is a really important point. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:30 Highlight the passage at 1:15:30

1:15:36 A couple of years ago, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I felt that it was... I didn't know how to help her, and one morning when I was doing my prostrations, it was just so clear to me that she couldn't do them. My mother couldn't do them, but I could. So I really got a taste of what it is to do prostrations and do this work for the benefit of others. So if there's somebody that you can think of in your own life, that just enhances that feeling in your heart that you do want to benefit others in this life. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:36 Highlight the passage at 1:15:36

1:16:14 You do want to achieve Buddhahood for their sake. So it's really important to have this as your motivation. If you try to do any Dharma practice or virtuous activity without a positive motivation to benefit others, it's said that it isn't really Dharma. It may be virtuous, but it isn't Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:14 Highlight the passage at 1:16:14

1:16:38 So we can take a few minutes here to just set a strong motivation. So just think that in order to work for sentient beings, we need to become Buddhists ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:38 Highlight the passage at 1:16:38

1:16:52 We need to accumulate merit and purify negativities. So we're going to engage in this practice today to achieve all of these things in order to help all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:52 Highlight the passage at 1:16:52

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:18:04 Okay. Before we stand up, I just wanted to go through the sort of physical points of the prostration. And before we actually start the practice, we're going to give you like a minute to recall that motivation that Tsongkhapa just led us in. So what's called the five-limbed prostration is true for both what we call the half prostration as well as the full prostration. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:04 Highlight the passage at 1:18:04

1:18:28 And you, it's going to be interesting with the microphone, you have your hands, your palms together above your crown and they say that this creates the cause for us to have what's called the ushnisha or the crown protrusion, which is one of the signs of enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:28 Highlight the passage at 1:18:28

1:18:47 At your forehead it creates the cause to achieve what's called the Zuppa or the white curl of hair between the Buddha's eyebrows. And as you're placing your hands there you're actually visualizing one visualization that you can do is to imagine from Shakyamuni white light coming and purifying all the... Report an error in the passage at 1:18:47 Highlight the passage at 1:18:47

1:19:14 Negativities and obscurations of your body and all the resultant suffering. So if you're having a lot of physical suffering, then you think about the fact that that could be caused by physical obscurations and so that's one thing that can be purified with that particular aspect of your prostration. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:14 Highlight the passage at 1:19:14

1:19:38 And it brings all the qualities of the Buddha's holy body. So all of his enlightened activities, all of his physical capabilities, all of his tirelessness, which is my big one. I'm always praying for tirelessness, his ability to emanate in a billion different bodies, limitless bodies, they say. And then you place your palms at your throat. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:38 Highlight the passage at 1:19:38

1:20:02 And this is this part of the. The body symbolizes speech and that purifies As you imagine, at the same time, the red light coming from Shakyamuni Buddha and purifying all your negativities of speech. So this one's a good one for you, Peter. And all the resultant suffering. So if you know that you've done negative speech, again, you can think about that. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:02 Highlight the passage at 1:20:02

1:20:33 But also if you're just receiving the resultant suffering of it. So if people are lying to you, people are having harsh speech around you, this is one to do. And bringing you all of the qualities of the Buddha's enlightened speech. So again, the ability to teach skillfully, clearly, effectively and so on. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:33 Highlight the passage at 1:20:33

1:20:52 And they say with a really melodious voice, like His Holiness, without fear. Placing your palms then at your heart purifies all the obscurations and negative karma accumulated with the mind and the resultant suffering of that karma. Here you imagine blue light coming from Shakyamuni and going into your heart and purifying all the negativities of your mind and the resultant suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:52 Highlight the passage at 1:20:52

1:21:21 So if you know that you had a lot of negative thoughts, then you could be aiming for that. But if you're also experiencing a lot of negative aspects of mind, such as depression, doubt, low self-esteem, and so on. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:21 Highlight the passage at 1:21:21

1:21:36 This is a good purification for that. And so in this way, your body actually becomes more transformed into the holy body of Guru Shakyamuni. And then as you do each prostration, you go all the way down, which I'll demonstrate, and it's really important to have your forehead actually touch the ground. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:36 Highlight the passage at 1:21:36

1:21:58 A lot of times people... Try to jump back up again without doing that. Sometimes if you're in a big group, it's difficult. But they say it's really important. It's like you're sort of leaving off one of the steps if you don't touch your forehead to the ground. And they say that, oh, and then so you're imagining all these white nectar beams of light coming from the merit field into you, purifying, but then also giving you all of the qualities of the Buddhist body, speech and mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:58 Highlight the passage at 1:21:58

1:22:29 And then as you lie prone, the replica of the merit field absorbs into you, into all beings. So you can take that moment to really realize that. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:29 Highlight the passage at 1:22:29

1:22:40 And then when you go down and your forehead touches the ground, they say it's really good to jump back up again very quickly. In other words, don't take a break there. Like don't lay there on the ground thinking, and this feels really good. They say that you're... You should have the thought that you want to jump up and be released from saṃsāra. So that sort of active energy should be there. If you don't leap back up again, they say it creates the cause to be born as a snake or a reptile or something that moves along the ground on your belly. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:40 Highlight the passage at 1:22:40

1:23:12 So it's not so good. The only time I've ever seen people doing that is during a nunye. You definitely see it during a nunye. And you're like, get up, quick! But yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:12 Highlight the passage at 1:23:12

1:23:23 And His Holiness teaches that it's really good, and you see, unfortunately, Tibetans do this a lot, but His Holiness says it's really good not to only come up to like this, you know, halfway bent over. You should always come all the way back up again and stay straight, even if you're in a hurry. And sometimes I admit, like, right after teaching, we're trying to get into three prostrations or something, you might do it really fast. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:23 Highlight the passage at 1:23:23

1:23:44 But He says that it creates the cause to be born as some kind of animal that's sort of bent over like that. They always say these things. So now what we're going to do is clear up our cushions, just like it was the end of class, and I'm going to demonstrate the prostrations, and then we'll actually do them. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:44 Highlight the passage at 1:23:44

1:24:01 So if people would like a pad under their knees... I can probably get you, or if you have a sweater or something, that would be useful. I think there's like a blanket in the yoga mat side, or you could try using some of these. If you don't want to do it, you just want to watch, then I would just say stay in the back, like on the chair, so that you're kind of out of the way. Recite. Oh, and recite, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:01 Highlight the passage at 1:24:01

1:24:27 I'm like, what? Report an error in the passage at 1:24:27 Highlight the passage at 1:24:27

1:24:33 Yeah, go ahead and put away everything, just like it was the end, because at the very end we'll just dedicate and we'll just kind of gather around each other. I'm not going to have a mic for that. You can maybe try to hold it out to me. Or maybe that mic, yeah. No. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:33 Highlight the passage at 1:24:33

1:25:09 should tell my story about them the first time I tried to do a set of constations when I'm wearing a rose. Throw them. And you not pull it up and you kind of lost it. It's worse than that. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:09 Highlight the passage at 1:25:09

1:25:44 Oh, and you know what else we should set? Let me get your mic and we'll set that. Oh, actually, we'll just set her computer on your table. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:44 Highlight the passage at 1:25:44

1:25:58 You probably won't need your notes during. This is what I do for the dedication. At the end of the dedication. Right. Let's see. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:58 Highlight the passage at 1:25:58

1:26:08 Make Report an error in the passage at 1:26:08 Highlight the passage at 1:26:08

1:26:23 your water. That's going to help. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:23 Highlight the passage at 1:26:23

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:26:43 that's good so Report an error in the passage at 1:26:43 Highlight the passage at 1:26:43

1:26:50 So, I guess I could demonstrate sideways as well. We'll do the sideways version. And actually, on Venomal Tsuchin's website, there is one of her prostrating. It's like you can download a little image of Tsuchin's, because I actually did that. Remember, I think I was then also choosing it. And I wasn't expecting it. I was like reading some Report an error in the passage at 1:26:50 Highlight the passage at 1:26:50

1:27:17 stuff. So just to demonstrate the body and then again, Report an error in the passage at 1:27:17 Highlight the passage at 1:27:17

1:27:30 even if you don't, even if you probably will. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:30 Highlight the passage at 1:27:30

1:27:41 Just speaking as one who is going through the aging process. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:41 Highlight the passage at 1:27:41

1:27:47 Again, Report an error in the passage at 1:27:47 Highlight the passage at 1:27:47

1:27:52 of the head on the crown creates the cause. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:52 Highlight the passage at 1:27:52

1:28:09 Here, you can use that one. The question one. That one's not going to travel that far. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:09 Highlight the passage at 1:28:09

1:28:21 The question one. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:21 Highlight the passage at 1:28:21

1:28:28 Okay. So you're kind of holding it as though it were kind of with cupped hands. Um... Report an error in the passage at 1:28:28 Highlight the passage at 1:28:28

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:28:35 The thumbs inside are like the wish-granting jewels. The emptiness inside is the Dharmakaya, actually representing the Dharmakaya. And the left hand is wisdom and the right is method, for method and wisdom. And I've also heard Rupakaya. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:35 Highlight the passage at 1:28:35

1:29:02 So basically you don't want to just do this because then you're offering servants. They say it's inauspicious. There's symbolism for everything. I mean, take it with a grain of salt. If you freak out too much. But this is what the idea is. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:02 Highlight the passage at 1:29:02

1:29:21 And you visualize the entire merit field without merit. Can I add something? Yes. When you put the two hands together, method and wisdom, you're saying that you are accumulating and unifying the merit and wisdom, the method and wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:21 Highlight the passage at 1:29:21

1:29:42 We start with those same mantras that we do at the beginning of the class. You can hold your breath. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:42 Highlight the passage at 1:29:42

1:29:47 And what I found out when I was preparing for this class is that this actually increases the merit for each prostration a thousand-fold. So you don't want to leave them off. And they are written into the text, so if you have the text, that's fine. So again, we'll start with them later. I'm not going to repeat them now, but that's what you'll do. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:47 Highlight the passage at 1:29:47

1:30:09 You'll do your hands on the crown. If you're doing a half prostration, sometimes you just do crown, throat, and chest. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:09 Highlight the passage at 1:30:09

1:30:25 The forehead, the throat. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:25 Highlight the passage at 1:30:25

1:30:33 So I'll do a half one. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:33 Highlight the passage at 1:30:33

1:30:43 Leaping back up without tripping over one's robes. With great enthusiasm. And then if you're doing a full prostration, again, you hit all five points. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:43 Highlight the passage at 1:30:43

1:30:58 I'll do a side verse. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:58 Highlight the passage at 1:30:58

1:31:10 We don't have a working vacuum cleaner. So as you notice, I'm going down on my hands and then my knees, and I'm spreading out. Now the way that Lama Tsongkhapa... Are you getting this? I wish I had a video. He said to imagine that you were touching your hands to the robes of your gurus. So he did not teach us to put it up over a head. Now I'm going to demonstrate the way that I've seen. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:10 Highlight the passage at 1:31:10

1:31:56 I always notice Lama Zopa Rinpoche does stand straight up again after each frustration. It's beautiful to watch. And he talks about a lot. He talks a lot about how every atom of your body should cover as much as possible. And so he talks about that he really stretches out. When you see Lama Tsongkhapa doing a prostration, it's always like this. It's very cute, actually. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:56 Highlight the passage at 1:31:56

1:32:26 He stretches and stretches and you see his feet slowly stretching like that. And he says the bigger you are, the more merit you have. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:26 Highlight the passage at 1:32:26

1:32:36 have a lot much more um and And he said, oh, I'll mention that at the end. So there's a couple of other points. He said, really high places, you actually get more merit. So doing them at like Laudo or up in the Everest region. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:36 Highlight the passage at 1:32:36

1:32:54 I think that's it. So why don't we just take a moment to recall our motivation and find a good spot. Next time I want to talk to them about this one. I think just visualizing time. think, well, we could do Report an error in the passage at 1:32:54 Highlight the passage at 1:32:54

1:33:23 going to go from here. Is that going to be in a room line here? The audience will find it. So there's room here. Second room. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:23 Highlight the passage at 1:33:23

1:33:34 That's just classic. Oh, you guys are going, they're going this way. So maybe we should go that way too. So we don't cause like a cracking. Sorry. I'm sorry, I would have done that. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:34 Highlight the passage at 1:33:34

1:33:53 I'm sorry. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:53 Highlight the passage at 1:33:53

1:34:00 So take a moment to recall that motivation. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:00 Highlight the passage at 1:34:00

1:34:33 I have no idea. This is Minimal Katie's. I'm not seeing it there. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:33 Highlight the passage at 1:34:33

1:34:46 know. You're one of Annie. Maybe somebody go find Katie. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:46 Highlight the passage at 1:34:46

1:35:06 Okay, let's do that. That's fine. I don't really care whose it is. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:06 Highlight the passage at 1:35:06

1:35:20 There's a plug right there. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:20 Highlight the passage at 1:35:20

1:35:27 Oh, no. Katie! Okay, wait a second. Where would it be? Report an error in the passage at 1:35:27 Highlight the passage at 1:35:27

1:34:57 She had it all set and then I must have lost it. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:57 Highlight the passage at 1:34:57

1:35:29 one repetition, but she does it and maybe says it three times? Yeah, she says it three times. She says the names. Yeah, that's what we're going to, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:29 Highlight the passage at 1:35:29

1:35:46 you're all taking these numbers to cultivate. You're not going to be serious. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:46 Highlight the passage at 1:35:46

1:36:14 Oh, it's in a separate track. we want to that Report an error in the passage at 1:36:14 Highlight the passage at 1:36:14

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:37:24 Glorious Conqueror Shakyamuni Buddha, I prostrate. To the Founder, Bhagawan, Tathāgata, Ahan, Perfectly Completed Buddha, Glorious Conqueror Shakyamuni Buddha, I prostrate. To the Founder, Bhagawan, Tathāgata, Ahan, Perfectly Completed Buddha, Glorious Conqueror Shakyamuni Buddha, I prostrate. To the Thathagata, Thoroughly Destroying with Vajra Essence, I prostrate. To the Thathagata, Thoroughly Destroying with Vajra Essence, I prostrate. To the targeted thoroughly destroying with Vajra Essence. I prostrate. To the targeted radiant jewel. I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:24 Highlight the passage at 1:37:24

1:38:04 To the targeted king lord of the Nagas. I prostrate. To the targeted king lord of the Nagas. I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:04 Highlight the passage at 1:38:04

1:38:19 To the targeted army of heroes. To target a radiant jewel, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:19 Highlight the passage at 1:38:19

1:38:15 To the targeted king, lord of the Nagas, prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:15 Highlight the passage at 1:38:15

1:38:21 I prostrate. To the targeted army of heroes, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:21 Highlight the passage at 1:38:21

1:38:29 To the targeted delighted hero, I prostrate. To the targeted delighted hero, Report an error in the passage at 1:38:29 Highlight the passage at 1:38:29

1:38:38 I prostrate. To the targeted jewel fire, I prostrate. To the targeted jewel fire, I prostrate. To the targeted army of heroes, I'm frustrated. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:38 Highlight the passage at 1:38:38

1:38:34 I prostrate to the targeted knighted hero. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:34 Highlight the passage at 1:38:34

1:38:46 It's targeted dual fire. I prostrate. To the targeted dual moonlight, I prostrate. To the targeted dual moonlight, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:46 Highlight the passage at 1:38:46

1:38:59 To the targeted meaningful to see, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:59 Highlight the passage at 1:38:59

1:39:10 To the targeted dual moon, I prostrate. To the targeted dual moon, I prostrate. to the targeted dual moonlight and prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:10 Highlight the passage at 1:39:10

1:39:06 To target and meaningful to see, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:06 Highlight the passage at 1:39:06

1:39:18 targeted your mood. I prostrate. To the target of stainless one, I prostrate. To the target of stainless one, I prostrate. To the target of stainless one, I prostrate. To the target of stainless one, I prostrate. To the target of stainless one, I prostrate. To the target of pure one, I prostrate. To the target of pure one, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:18 Highlight the passage at 1:39:18

1:39:48 To the targeter, pure one, I prostrate. To the targeter, bestowed with purity, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:48 Highlight the passage at 1:39:48

1:40:03 To the targeter, water god, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:03 Highlight the passage at 1:40:03

1:40:13 To the targeter, deity of the water god, I prostrate. the target are bestowed with purity. prostrate. To the target are bestowed with purity. I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:13 Highlight the passage at 1:40:13

1:40:10 To the target of water, God, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:10 Highlight the passage at 1:40:10

1:40:18 To the targeted deity of the water god, I prostrate. To the targeted deity of the water god, I prostrate. To the targeted glorious goodness, I prostrate. To the targeted glorious goodness, I prostrate. To the targeted glorious sandalwood, I prostrate. To the targeted glorious sandalwood, I prostrate. To the targeted glorious sandalwood, I prostrate. To the targeted glorious sandalwood, I prostrate. To the target of infinite splendor, I prostrate. To the target of infinite splendor, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:18 Highlight the passage at 1:40:18

1:41:00 To the target of glorious light, I prostrate. To the target of glorious light, I prostrate. To the target of glorious light, I prostrate. To the target of sorrowless glory, I prostrate. To the target of sorrowless glory. Does target infinite splendor? I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:00 Highlight the passage at 1:41:00

1:41:16 I prostrate. To the target of sorrowless glory, I prostrate. To the target of sun of known craving, I prostrate. To the target of sun of known craving, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:16 Highlight the passage at 1:41:16

1:41:33 To the target of glorious flower, I prostrate. To the target of glorious flower, I prostrate. To the target of glorious flower, I prostrate. target a son of known craving, prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:33 Highlight the passage at 1:41:33

1:41:44 To the targeted pure light rays, clearly knowing by play, I prostrate. To the targeted pure light rays, clearly knowing by play, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:44 Highlight the passage at 1:41:44

1:41:58 To the targeted lotus light rays, clearly knowing by play, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:58 Highlight the passage at 1:41:58

1:42:07 To the targeted lotus light rays, clearly knowing by play, I prostrate. target a pure light rays clearly knowing by play they prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:07 Highlight the passage at 1:42:07

1:42:02 Just target a lotus-like race, clearly knowing by play, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:02 Highlight the passage at 1:42:02

1:42:12 To the target of glorious wealth, I prostrate. To the target of glorious wealth, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:12 Highlight the passage at 1:42:12

1:42:23 To the target of glorious mindfulness, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:23 Highlight the passage at 1:42:23

1:42:30 To the target of glorious name, widely renowned, I prostrate. To the target of glorious name, widely renowned, I prostrate. To target a glorious wealth, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:30 Highlight the passage at 1:42:30

1:42:26 To target a glorious mindfulness, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:26 Highlight the passage at 1:42:26

1:42:42 To the target of glorious name, widely renowned, I prostrate. To the target of king, holding the victory banner of foremost power, I prostrate. To the target of king, holding the victory banner of foremost power, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:42 Highlight the passage at 1:42:42

1:43:01 To the target of glorious one, totally subduing, I prostrate. To the target of glorious one, totally subduing, I prostrate. To the targeted king holding the victory banner of foremost power, prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:01 Highlight the passage at 1:43:01

1:43:10 To the target of glorious one totally subduing, I prostrate. To the target of utterly victorious in battle, I prostrate. To the target of utterly victorious in battle, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:10 Highlight the passage at 1:43:10

1:43:27 To the target of glorious transcendence through subduing, I prostrate. To the target utterly victorious in battle, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:27 Highlight the passage at 1:43:27

1:43:31 To the target of glorious transcendence through subduing, frustrate. To the target of glorious transcendence through subduing, frustrate. To the target of glorious manifestations illuminating all, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:31 Highlight the passage at 1:43:31

1:43:56 To the target of all subduing dual lotus, I prostrate. To the target of all subduing dual lotus, I prostrate. To the target of glorious manifestations illuminating all, I prostrate. the target of glorious manifestations illuminating all, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:56 Highlight the passage at 1:43:56

1:44:05 the target of all subduing dual lotus, clostrate. To Tathāgata-Aha, perfectly completed Buddha, King of the Lord of Mountains, firmly seated on jewel and lotus, I prostrate. To Tathāgata-Aha, perfectly completed Buddha, King of the Lord of Mountains, firmly seated on jewel and lotus, I prostrate. To Tathāgata-Aha, perfectly completed Buddha, King of the Lord of Mountains, firmly seated on jewel and lotus, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:05 Highlight the passage at 1:44:05

1:44:33 To Tathāgata-Aha, perfectly completed Buddha, King of the Lord of Mountains, firmly seated on Joran Lotus, I prostrate. The seven medicine Buddhas. The Bhagavan Tathāgata Ahant, perfectly completed Buddha, renowned glorious King of excellent signs, I prostrate. The Bhagavan Tathāgata Ahant, perfectly completed Buddha, renowned glorious King of excellent signs, I prostrate. The Bhagavan Tathāgata Ahant, perfectly completed Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:33 Highlight the passage at 1:44:33

1:45:03 Renowned, glorious king of excellent signs, I prostrate. The Bhagavan, Tatargata, Ahant, perfectly completed Buddha, king of melodious sound, brilliant radiance of skill, adorned with jewels, moon and lotus, I prostrate. Bhagavan Targata Ahand, perfectly completed Buddha, King of melodious sound, brilliant radiance of skill, adorned with jewels, moon and lotus, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:03 Highlight the passage at 1:45:03

1:45:28 Bhagavan Targata Ahand, perfectly completed Buddha, King of melodious sound, brilliant radiance of skill, adorned with jewels, moon and lotus, I prostrate. The Bhagavan Tathāgata Ahant, perfectly completed Buddha, stainless excellent gold, illuminating jewel who accomplishes all conduct, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:28 Highlight the passage at 1:45:28

1:45:47 The Bhagavan Tathāgata Ahant, perfectly completed Buddha, stainless excellent gold, illuminating jewel who accomplishes all conduct, I prostrate. The Bhagavan Tathāgata Ahant, perfectly completed Buddha, stainless excellent gold, illuminating jewel who accomplishes all conduct, I prostrate. The Bhagavan Tathāgata Ahan, perfectly completed Buddha. Glorious Supreme One, free from sorrow, I prostrate. The Bhagavan Tathāgata Ahan, perfectly completed Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:47 Highlight the passage at 1:45:47

1:46:30 Melodious ocean of proclaimed Dharma, I prostrate. The Bhagavan, the target of Ahan, the perfectly competed Buddha. Melodious ocean of proclaimed Dharma. I prostrate. The Bhagavan, the target of Ahan, the perfectly competed Buddha. I prostrate. The Bhagavan, the target of Ahan, the perfectly competed Buddha. Clearly knowing by the play of supreme wisdom of a notion of Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:30 Highlight the passage at 1:46:30

1:46:54 I prostrate. The Bhagavan, the target of Ahan, the perfectly competed Buddha. Clearly knowing by the play of supreme wisdom of a notion of Dharma. I prostrate. The Bhagawan, the target of Ahan, perfectly completed Buddha. Clearly knowing by the play of supreme wisdom of a notion of Dharma. I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:54 Highlight the passage at 1:46:54

1:47:12 The Bhagawan, the target of Ahan, perfectly completed Buddha. I prostrate. The Bhagawan, the target of Ahan, perfectly completed Buddha. Medicine guru, king of lapis lazily light. I prostrate. The Bhagawan, the target of Ahan, perfectly completed Buddha. Medicine guru. King of Lapis Lazuli light, I prostrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:12 Highlight the passage at 1:47:12

1:47:38 The seven medicine buddhas. The Bhagavan targeted Aham, perfected from Peter Buddha, renowned glorious... we can just read the confession, too. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:38 Highlight the passage at 1:47:38

1:47:52 So, we'll probably put back all the gold books. Anyway, just read it out loud and we'll just contemplate. She'll read it out loud and we'll just contemplate. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:52 Highlight the passage at 1:47:52

1:48:19 So you can either continue to posture or you can kneel on your right knee with your hands forward. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:19 Highlight the passage at 1:48:19

1:48:36 So all you 35 Buddhas and others, as many Tathagatas are Hats, perfectly completed Buddhas, as there are existing, sustaining and residing in all the world's system of the Ten Directions, all you Buddha Bhagavans, please pay attention to me. In this life and in all the states of rebirth in which I have circled in saṃsāra throughout beginning as lives, whatever negative actions I have created, made others create or rejoice in the creation of, whatever possessions of stupas, possessions of the saṅgha, or possessions of the saṅgha, the ten directions that I have appropriated, made others appropriate or rejoice in the appropriation of, whichever among the five actions of immediate retribution I have done, cause to be done, Or rejoiced in the doing of. Whichever paths of the ten non-virtuous actions I have engaged in, caused others to engage in, or rejoiced in the engaging in, whatever I have created, being obscured by these karmas, causes me and sentient beings to be born in the hell realms, in the animal realm and in the preter realm, in irreligious countries. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:36 Highlight the passage at 1:48:36

1:49:42 as barbarians or as long-life I am admitting and confessing all these negativities. I will not conceal them nor hide them. And from now on in the future I will abstain and refrain from committing them again. All Buddha Bhagavans, please pay attention to me. In this life and in all other states of rebirth, in which I have circled in some sorrow through our beginningest lives, whatever roots of virtue I have created by generosity, even as little as just giving one mouthful of food to a being born in the animal realm, whatever roots of virtue I have created by guarding morality, whatever roots of virtue I have created by following pure conduct, whatever roots of virtue I have created by fully ripening sentient beings, whatever roots of virtue I have created by generating bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:42 Highlight the passage at 1:49:42

1:50:42 And whatever roots of virtue I have created by my unsurpassed transcendental wisdom, all these assembled and gathered, combined together, I fully dedicate to the unsurpassed, the unexcelled, that higher than the high, that superior to the superior. Thus, I completely dedicate to the highest, perfectly complete enlightenment. Just as the previous Buddha Bhagavans is fully dedicated. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:42 Highlight the passage at 1:50:42

1:51:04 Just as the future Buddha Bhagavans are fully dedicated, and just as the presently abiding Buddha Bhagavans are fully dedicated, like that I too dedicate fully. I confess all negativities individually. I rejoice in all the merits. I urge and implore all Buddhas to grant my request. May I receive the highest, most sublime transcendental wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:04 Highlight the passage at 1:51:04

1:51:26 To the conquerors, the best of humans, those who are living in the present time, those who have lived in the past, and those who will likewise come, to all those who have qualities as vast as an infinite ocean, with hands folded, I go for refuge. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:26 Highlight the passage at 1:51:26

1:52:02 So when we finish reciting, prostrating, and the confession prayer, it's good to remain silent for a while, just generating strong faith at the nectar beams emitted by the merit field. And your recitation of the Buddha's holy names have completely purified you of your negativities. It's very important to feel strongly that you have been completely purified and that nothing negative whatsoever is left in your mental continuum. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:02 Highlight the passage at 1:52:02

1:52:30 This practice is much more powerful if you conclude in this way. So the names of the 35 Buddhas are very powerful. The strength of your faith determines how much negative karma you have purified. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:30 Highlight the passage at 1:52:30

1:52:43 Your mind creates negative karma and your mind purifies it as well. So take a moment and dedicate and rejoice in your mind that we took this opportunity to meet here today and to engage in these virtuous activities. So many other things we could have been doing, but instead we came and we planted virtuous karmic seeds that will surely ripen and benefit not only ourselves but others as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:43 Highlight the passage at 1:52:43

1:53:11 We created an imprint to continue doing virtuous activities and we purified eons of negative imprints. So let's dedicate. I rejoice at the infinite merit accumulated by this dedication. May the precious sublime mind of enlightenment, source of my own and all other beings, happiness and success that has not yet arisen in my mind arise without a moment's delay. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:11 Highlight the passage at 1:53:11

1:53:39 And may that which has already risen increase forever without degeneration. Because of the merit of the three times accumulated by myself, Buddhists, bodhisattvas and all other sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:39 Highlight the passage at 1:53:39

1:53:53 May the eye which is empty from its own side attain enlightenment which is empty from its own side and lead all sentient beings who are empty from their own side that enlightenment which is empty from its own side myself alone who is empty from its own side. Whatever virtue I have thus created, I dedicate to be able to uphold holy dharma of scripture and insight. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:53 Highlight the passage at 1:53:53

1:54:17 And to fulfill without exception the prayers and the deeds of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the three times. Throughout the power of this merit, may I never be parted in any future life from the Mahāyāna teachings and may I reach the end of my journey along the paths of renunciation, bodhicitta, right view in the two stages. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:17 Highlight the passage at 1:54:17

1:55:01 first prostrations! That was great. sweating a bit, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:55:01 Highlight the passage at 1:55:01