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Three Methods ofMerit AccumulationBy Khenpo SodargyeTranslated by the Wisdom and Compassion Translation CenterBodhi Institute of Compassion and Wisdom USA

Table of ContentsThe Merits of Heart Mantra of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva .............................................1The Merits of Circumambulating Stupas ...........................................................................14The Merit of Buddha Name Recitation ..............................................................................27Translators' Acknowledgments ..........................................................................................38About the Author ...............................................................................................................39Credit..................................................................................................................................40Copyright ...........................................................................................................................41About the Publisher............................................................................................................42II

The Merits of Heart Mantra of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva(Om Mani Padme Hum)Bow to the feet of Master Buddha Shakyamuni!Bow to the feet of Bodhisattva Manjusri of brave and great wisdom!Bow to the feet of Masters of great kindness in lineage!Surprisingly the unsurpassed, deep-profound, subtle, wonderful dharma,Yet in a hundred thousand million eons, is quite difficult to encounter,Now I am coming to receive and hold it, within my sight and hearing.I vow to fathom the Tathagata’s true and actual meaningsFor the enlightenment of all sentient beings, let’s generate a supreme andextraordinary Bodhicitta!Today I will give a lecture of the merits of the heart mantra of Avalokiteshvara.There is no other text book available this time, and I give this lecture only accordingto the teachings from some Mahayana sutras and sastras. Recently, I am quite busy, so Ihad no time to prepare specifically for this lecture. I planned to start the teaching of theWisdom Chapter after the Meditation Chapter, but I probably cannot make the lecture intime, so I will give the lecture of the merits of the heart mantra first.Personally, I have strong emotions and extreme belief towards the practice of theDharma of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva. There are several reasons. For one reason, I wasborn in a Buddhist family, which is quite different from those in the cities. I had unusualbelief of Buddhism since I was young. From another point, which is more obvious, about99% of Tibetan families believe in Buddhism. Almost every family recite the heartmantra of Avalokiteshvara. I could still remember that when I was young, there weremany families in my neighbourhood who recited the heart mantra by counting beads intheir hands after the super. When I recall my childhood, even though the materialconditions were inferior and I did not live in big buildings, everyone was pure-hearted.Because I grew up in such environment, even when I was child cowherd of yak, I wasreciting the heart mantra everyday with my rosary. I cannot remember how many mantraI have finished, but at least millions of it. That’s why without good preparation of thelecture today, the practice of Avalokiteshvara Dharma is still very familiar to me.Sometimes I think even if a person did not diligently practice Buddhism, but wasborn and grew up in Tibet, has confidence in Buddha and Dharma and can recite the heartmantra. Many masters state that the Tibetan people have a distinguished feature that thechild can recite the heart mantra of Avalokiteshvara without being taught. Maybe this isthe influence from the family or from their instinct or merits. When thinking about themerits of the heart mantra, even if one does not achieve in any profound dharma, he isstill fortunate to have been born in Tibet, unlike some people in big cities who start to1

learn the mantra when they are sixty or seventy years old. They cannot remember themantra even after receiving the teaching several times. And this made them quite sad.When some people asked me to teach them the mantra, I felt sorrow: “What a pity! Theycannot even recite the mantra of Avalokiteshvara at their age!” I taught him “Om ManiPedme Hum” while he repeated as “Oh Mama Mama”!For those who came to Tibet to learn Buddhism, they should be very clear that everyfamily here cannot be apart from Avalokiteshvara. All the prayer flags placed on themountain were printed with the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, some are hang on the tent,some hang over the house, some on the sacred hill, and some around temples……sowhen passing by foot or by car, it will always be seen everywhere you go. For everyvalley and river bank, there are collections of stones with the mantra scripts. When I wassix or seven years old, I started to carve mantra words on stones with a chisel. At thattime, I could not even write down a letter. There was a lama in my neighborhood namedLongzhuo, who wrote down the mantra on the stone board for me, and then I carvedthose letters of his writing. I did this every day. As a little kid, I often showed off howmany mantra boards that I did in a day as my achievement to others during the lunchbreak. And then my parents and some senior practitioners of Buddhism in neighborhoodwould praise and reward my good deeds. Maybe it was because I enjoyed getting morerewards, so I carved a lot of the mantra at that time which continued throughout myjunior period.In Tibet, people cannot live without the mantra of Avalokiteshvara. During the harshperiod of Cultural Revolution, some cadres who received and were influenced by adifferent education had ever been opposed to the Buddhism. But after the recovering ofpolitical policies, in case they were still alive, all of them were practicing the mantraeither publicly or privately with prayer beads in their old ages. So, the Tibetan people arefamiliar with the mantra and know its merit. Even those who are not really clear of themerit will still keep on reciting of the mantra. There are a lot of people in Tibet whopractice this mantra very rigorously in great quantities. Like those senior people in myparents’ age, each of them have recited the mantra at least 100 million times, some havereached 300 million times, 600 million times, 700 million times, etc. There are manypeople who do the same. Although the young people in Tibet right now cannot becompared with their senior generation and have less respect for practicing dharma, thereare still certainly many more people in Tibet practicing the mantra of Avalokiteshvarathan those in other nations.Through the study of the merit of the mantra of Avalokiteshvara this time, I wish thepeople of other races, especially the Chinese, generate an extraordinary faith to themantra. Before, it could be considered as an ordinary mantra without particular value, butfrom now on, people either in a temple or in a lay practitioner group must pay attention tothe practicing of this mantra. The main purpose of the teaching this time, on one hand, isto tell the merit of the mantra; on the other hand, I hope we can start reciting this mantrain our daily life.In Tibet, whenever we see that a sentient being is dying, we will recite the mantra atonce. For example, when we see a yak is being slaughtered, many people will keepreciting “Om Mani Padme Hum, Om Mani Padme Hum……” While some Buddhists in2

China or in some other countries may just show a smile without even uttering a word atthis moment or recite the name of Amitabha for a little while, there are very few peoplewho practice the Mantra of Avalokiteshvara at this particular moment. Therefore, fromtoday, we should adopt the habit of reciting this mantra whenever we see any sentientbeing dying or will be killed.Why is the mantra of Avalokiteshvara so important? The Lord Longchenpa describedthe merit of a sutra in Chapter 11 Hearing of the Dharma of The Precious Wish-FulfillingTreasure: A Commentary on the Pith Instructions of the Great Vehicle. This sutra is theDignified Mahayana Sutra of Treasured Kingdom, (this sutra was translated in the SongDynasty in China). In this sutra, it elaborates mainly on the merit of the name and themantra of Avalokiteshvara. The Lord Longchenpa said that: “even if one were to onlyhear the title of this sutra, one would not fall into the lower realms in his next life. Justlike the other honorable sutra, such as Nirvana Sutra and Samadhi Raja Sutra, the meritof this sutra is extraordinary, like the raging flames, which can burn down all of ourprevious sins from the time without beginning; like the clear spring, which can washaway our stains of bad karma; like the fierce wind, which can destroy all of ourdefilements of the body, of the word and of the mind……” With references in this sutra,you will generate a stronger faith to the mantra and the title of Avalokiteshvara. You maythink that the most important thing from now on is to devote yourself wholly to recite thismantra, and it doesn’t matter even if you cannot practice other mantras.I cannot remember the exact details in this sutra, but I can still give a generalintroduction: once upon a time, when the Buddha was in Sravasti, suddenly, there was animmense brilliant light. Nivaranaviskambin Bodhisattva asked for the reason of the greatlight. The Buddha told him that it was because the Avalokiteshvara was saving thosepitiable sentient beings from the three low realms. The Buddha also told many formidablepower and merits of the Avalokiteshvara, which surpassed even those of the Buddha.Nivaranaviskambin was confused why he could surpass the Buddha. Then the Buddhatold him that: “During the past kalpa of the birth of Buddha Vipasyin, I was aBodhisattva named Miao Xiang Kou( 妙 香 口 菩 萨 ), and the Buddha Vipasyin declaredthe immeasurable merit of Avalokiteshvara to me; during the past kalpa of the birth of theBuddha Sikhim, I was a Bodhisattva named Yong Shi( 勇 施 菩 萨 ), and the BuddhaSikhim declared the immeasurable merit of Avalokiteshvara to me; during the past kalpaof the birth of the Buddha Visvabhu, I was a Kshatyrichi( 忍 辱 仙 人 ) and the BuddhaVisvabhu declared the immeasurable merit of Avalokiteshvara to me.” The Buddha alsotold that there lived one hundred Tathagata in a pore of Avalokiteshvara. SamantabhadraBodhisattva once investigated the size of one pore of Avalokiteshvara and he could notfind the boundary in that pore within 12 years.Nivaranaviskambin asked why the merit of Avalokiteshvara was so incredible. TheBuddha told that: “Because he has the six-syllable charm -- Om Mani Padme Hum.”Nivaranaviskambin asked again: “Where does the six-syllable charm comes from?” theBuddha told him that he was not clear about that. (Just with this sentence, there are someignorant people of Buddhism who spread a rumour: “If the Buddha is not clear of that,this sutra must be a fake one and the mantra of Avalokiteshvara is also a fake.” This kindof person is really ignorant. They generate bad karma deliberately. We should definitely3

not behave like this. We should be aware of the fact that, with the purpose ofemphasizing the merit of some Buddha or Bodhisattva, according to some sutras ofMahayana and Hinayana, the Buddha often said: “I don’t know this merit, so you shouldask that from the Buddha.” Or “I don’t know this merit, so you should ask from theBodhisattva.” From this point of view, there are people who don’t know the secretmeaning or the concealed intention by Buddha, and they may think the Buddha is notomniscient or the sutra is a fake one if the Buddha says “I don’t know”. Those peoplewho haven’t studied and reflected upon Buddha’s teachings may only know somesuperficial things from one point of view, which could generate bad karma by theirmisunderstandings towards the Buddhism. It is really a pity. So we should try our best todestroy their wrong views. Otherwise, they could use their perverted beliefs to persuadeothers to follow and that would make those people abandon the real Dharma.Nivaranaviskambin asked: “Why is the Buddha not clear of this question?” the Buddhasaid: “Because this is the subtle nature of the heart of Avalokiteshvara. His stage isinconceivable and even for a Buddha it is difficult to know.” And then, the Buddha toldmany other merits of the mantra. For example, the Buddha is capable of counting thenumbers of dust in this world, but he cannot account the merit of reciting “Om ManiPadme Hum” even once. And I will introduce those kinds of merits later.Finally, Nivaranaviskambin bodhisattva said: “Since this mantra has so much merit, Imust get this mantra. I would like to offer seven kinds of treasures that could fill up thewhole world. If there are lack of paper and pen, I would rather pierce myself for theblood as ink, peel off my skin as paper, draw off bones from my body as the pen, andabandon my body without any regret and pity. When our great master Jigme Phuntsoktaught the lecture of Legend of Eight Bodhisattvas, he said: “How fortunate we are thatwe were born in Tibet, the snow region. Before, Nivaranaviskambin bodhisattva had tomake such an unbelievable promise of self-sacrifice in order to get the teaching of themantra of Avalokiteshvara. But now, we can get it so easily. It is really our big fortune!”Nivaranaviskambin asked the Buddha: “How did you get the teaching of themantra?” the Buddha told that: “In my past lives, I went through the worlds as manytimes as the number of dirt in the world, and I served and offered sacrifices to hundreds,thousands, and millions of Buddha, but I could not get the teaching or even hear of thismantra. Until I met with Buddha Bao Shang( 宝 上 如 来 ), who did not teach me thismantra, but he introduced me to Buddha Lian Shang( 莲 上 如 来 ). Buddha Lian Shanglearned the mantra from Amitabha, who had blessed Avalokiteshvara to teach the mantrato Buddha Lian Shang. And then I got the teaching from Buddha Lian Shang.”(Obviously, it describes many merits of the mantra. I wish you could read that sutra inyour convenient time.)Then, Nivaranaviskambin asked for the teaching of the mantra. The Buddha said: “Ina place in India, Avalokiteshvara appeared as a Buddhist layman. From the outside, helooks very dirty, and he has a wife as well as children. But you should not generatewrong opinions towards him. On the contrary, you should ask for the teaching of theDharma with a heart of respect, sincerity, and purity. He will deliver the teaching to you.”Then, Nivaranaviskambin paid a formal visit to that layman with his 1200 retinues and heeventually got the teaching of the mantra.4

Many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas attain enlightenment by the practice of “Om ManiPadme Hum”. It is really an extraordinary destiny that we can learn this Dharma in ourpresent life. Without the good karma of accumulating merits and purifying of sins duringour previous lives in the past millions of kalpas, it is impossible to encounter this mantra.Therefore, we must recite this mantra in our free time. Mipham Rinpoche said that:” inthe period of decline, the blessings from Avalokiteshvara and Tara are the most effective,and we can get the blessings most swiftly.” Either in Tibet or in China, there are manystories about receiving of blessings from Avalokiteshvara.The name of Avalokiteshvara in Tibetan is Chenrezig, while in Chinese the name isGuan Shi Yin. Guan Shi Yin is a better name compared with Chenrezig. But the namewas changed to Guan Yin to avoid using the personal name of Chinese Emperor Li ShiMin. Actually, the name of Avalokiteshvara was not given casually. It was conferred bythe Buddha personally. According to Lotus Sutra of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara was acrown prince of the king Cakkavattin, and his name was Bu Ju. When he made a vow toeliminate the sufferings by all sentient beings, Buddha Bao Zang therefore named himGuan Shi Yin. In the Surangama Sutra, a Tathagata named Guan Yin praisedAvalokiteshvara for his skillfulness in attaining enlightenment by observing sounds, andthe Tathagata also named him Guan Shi Yin.The practice on the Dharma of Avalokiteshvara can generate great merits. Inprevious years in our monastery, when some hostile obstacles occurred, our great masterJigme Phuntsok Rinpoche would request us to recite the mantra or the name ofAvalokiteshvara together in class. After the group recitation, the obstacles woulddisappear at once. This is not a legend, but it really happened. In fact, there are numerousproofs of the similar kind from Buddhist’s teachings. By observing the conducts of thegreat masters in lineage, it is true that the Dharma of Avalokiteshvara is really suitable tous.The merit of reciting the name of Avalokiteshvara is different from that of the otherBuddha or Bodhisattva. When I read the biography of Avalokiteshvara and the merit ofUniversal Gate by Avalokiteshvara, I really feel that with only the practice of the Dharmaof Avalokiteshvara is enough and the other practices are not so important. In the LotusSutra, the Buddha told Akchaya Bodhisattva that: “If one recites the names of theBodhisattvas as numerous as the sand grains of 6.2 billion of the Ganges River, and alsoprovides them with food, clothes, beddings and medicines during his whole life, thatmerit is the same as one recites the name of Avalokiteshvara, or even one shows theworship and offerings to him for a while. The merit of that good karma could not beexhausted in eons. From this respect, to recite the name of the other Bodhisattvas cannotbe compared to the reciting of Avalokiteshvara. Therefore, when we walk or when we areon the way by bus, before dinner or after, we should recite the name or mantra ofAvalokiteshvara as many times as we can. This is not difficult to do. But to those peoplelacking blessed rewards and don’t have a root of merits, they would not like to do this.That’s why I said just now that those people who are born in Tibet really had blessedrewards. If I cannot attain enlightenment this life, I would pray to the Buddha andBodhisattvas to make me reborn as a Tibetan for my next life. Because even a Tibetan isnot a good person, he can at least recite often the mantra of Avalokiteshvara. There is a5

sutra named “Holy Mantra of Avalokiteshvara with Eleven Faces”, in the sutra, it is said:“If one recites the name of ten thousand billions of Buddha, or one recites the name ofAvalokiteshvara, the merit of the two persons are equal without difference.» To recite thename of Avalokiteshvara just for once is simple, while to recite the name of ten thousandbillions of Buddha could not be that easy. So we should read those sutras for a betterunderstanding of the merits of the Avalokiteshvara.As a Buddhist practitioner, we should rely on reciting Buddha and Bodhisattvas’names to cultivate our merits as well as to eliminate the klesha. But there are people withstubborn bad habits and perverted views. To them, they cannot have faith on the merit ofthe holy names. They do not care about it even after the explanation. This afternoon, aBuddhist living in Hainan Province gave me a phone call to vent his grievances. ActuallyI was quite busy at that moment, but he insisted on talking to me and said: “Please don’thang up the call. I have something very important to tell!” I asked what the matter was.He said: “I have a girlfriend in Sichuan Province. And since I knew her, it has driven mecrazy from the body to the soul. I am in pain and I have not a single moment of peacewhen I think about her. All my friends told that I was out of control. Because mygirlfriend is very beautiful, I am afraid that many people will chase her. And I cannotcontrol my desires. So could you please give me some suggestions?” (Generallyspeaking, it is a common phenomenon that women complain with tears, but his case isunique.) I told him that: “According to the Universal Gate Chapter of Lotus Sutra, torecite of the mantra of Avalokiteshvara has great merits, so you`d better to practice that.”With the repetition of my suggestions two or three times, he just couldn’t obey, but keptasking “Do you have a way to help?” Eventually, I had no way to help.There is a great teaching in the Universal Gate Chapter illustrating that: “if there aresentient beings indulged in lust, they should be often mindful and show respect toAvalokiteshvara to get released from the lust; if there are some indulged in hatred, theyshould be often mindful and show respect to Avalokiteshvara to get released from thehatred; if there are some indulged in ignorance, they should be often mindful and showrespect to Avalokiteshvara to get released from the ignorance.” Even with my efforts ofpersuasion, he still could not change his mind and it seemed that he was suffering a lot.He said: “I have no freedom from the body to soul. I have no interests to do things in theday and cannot sleep at night. I am thinking about her every minute. And I lost so muchweight.” Also, he told me other interesting stories that I will not tell here. There are nosufferings or conflicting emotions that could not be solved by the blessing ofAvalokiteshvara. It has been declared by the true and diamond words of the Buddha.When we are trapped in covetousness, hatred, or ignorance, if we pray to Avalokiteshvarawith the whole mind, we will certainly get benefits from him.It is also written in the sutra that “the wonderful sound of Avalokiteshvara, the soundof contemplating of the world, the Sanskrit sound, the sound like the sea tide, the soundbeyond all worldly sounds. Therefore we shall always bear it in mind.” Among all thesounds in the world, the sound of reciting the name or the mantra of Avalokiteshvara issupreme. It is the sound of the sea tide, and it is the most sublime sound. Many peoplelike different kinds of bizarre sounds by some super stars, although those sounds areactually inferior and fake ones. The truly beautiful sounds come from temples or from6

Buddhist groups when they are reciting of the name of Avalokiteshvara. This kind ofsounds surpasses all the sounds in the world.Those people with blessed rewards from their good karma can have a natural affinitywith Avalokiteshvara. While those people who lack blessed rewards will not respondeven we recite the holy names all around his ears. Sometimes, when I saw beggars on thestreet in mainland China, I asked them to recite Om Mani Padme Hum, but they simplywouldn’t do it. While in Tibet, from the king to the beggar, everyone recites Om ManiPadme Hum. I am not trying to brag how great our nation is. But this is the fact. ThoseBuddhists, who are looking for of the Dharma in Tibet, know it well that the Tibetanpeople obviously have deep faith to Avalokiteshvara, and it is proven by whicheverfamily that they visit.Of course, with a better understanding of the merits of Avalokiteshvara, I believe thatyou will pay attention to the practice of this Dharma. Mipham Rinpoche tells in hisMerits of Hundreds of Mantra: “Avalokiteshvara is the liberation upon seeing, theliberation upon hearing, the liberation upon thinking, and the liberation upon touching.”Anyone, who hears the name or the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, who recalls his imagesaccording to the picture of Tangka, has great fortune of good karma. The popular imagesof Avalokiteshvara in Tibet are the form of four arms, the form of two arms, and the formof thousand hands and thousand eyes. Also, there are 32 forms of images ofAvalokiteshvara in Chinese tradition according to the descriptions in Avatamsaka Sutraand Lotus Sutra. But anyway, with any form of images, we should often think about andvisualize Avalokiteshvara, therefore, our mind could be transformed and purified step bystep.There is a Tibetan book named Mani Collection, which was written by the KingSongtsen Gampo. It mainly describes the merits of Avalokiteshvara and his mantra, aswell as the Tibetan history and his prediction. According to this book, the six syllables ofOm Mani Padme Hum can destroy respectively the seeds of the six realms --- the heaven,the asura, the human being, the animal, the ghost, and the hell; they can overcome sixkinds of barriers which exist from the body, from the language, from the mind, from theknown, from the conflicting emotions and from the habit; they can make one free fromthe sufferings of desire, hatred, ignorance, arrogance, jealousy, and miserliness; and thento obtain spontaneously the merits and merits from the Buddha, from the Dharma, fromthe Sangha, from the Lama, from the Daka and from the Yidam. Also, they can cure fourhundred and four kinds of sickness. Om Mani Padme Hum is actually the seed of the fiveBuddha families. And it can cover all the mundane and supramundane merits andmerits…… Hence, any sentient being can be liberated from the sufferings by reliance onthis mantra.In the mainland of China, the mantra of Avalokiteshvara should be spread also. Isthere anyone among you, young or old, who can make a promise to recite this mantra for100 million times? Perhaps many people are scared, because they are short ofdeterminations. However, in our Tibet, it is kind of easygoing to make a decision to recitethe mantra for 100 million times. When the great master Jigme Phuntsok went toDuoKang and Anduo, he asked people there if they could practise the mantra ofAvalokiteshvara for 100 million times. A lot of people raised the hands to show their7

determinations, although it may be kind of hard to do so with those long recitings such asthe name of Amitabha. But one or ten million of it should be no problem. On thecontrary, to those people from other nations, when they heard of reciting the mantra ofAvalokiteshvara one million times, they might be very surprised: “One million? Whencould it be accomplished?!” While, in the case of making a bad karma, it would be aseasy as a piece of cake to them. For example, people can eat bravely bowls of worms ordishes of fish and shrimp, at which we even dare not look. That’s why it is said someonemust really have strong roots of bad habits and heavily conflicting emotions. It should becorrected. Anyone can attain the accomplishment, if he can fix his shortcomings. Therewas an old man of 80 years old in India, after his practice of the mantra ofAvalokiteshvara for 100 million times, he attained the state of Vidyadhara of longevity.He lived in the world for 300 years and then went directly to the world of Amitabha.We should not be afraid of practicing this Dharma with certain quantity and we mustdo it. There are a lot of merits and merits for such reciting. But today, for the reason ofthe time, I cannot explain all in details. It is told in the Karandavyuha Sutra: “If one canrecite the Great Mantra of Six Syllables, he can be fulfilled with sufficient fortunes andmerits. At the time of reciting this mantra, Buddhas as many as the same quantity of thegrain of sand of 91 Ganges Rivers arrive, while countless Bodhisattvas arrive andcelestial beings, dragons, kumbhanda, the four deva-kings, and so on, arrive to protect.All the creatures in the body of the person who is reciting the mantra can attain nonreversalachievement as a Bodhisattva. If one carries with such mantra, he possesses thenthe body as a vajra body and also becomes a stupa. So, if there is someone who bows toyou and donates the offerings to you, you should carry with the Great Mantra of SixSyllables to be ready. And then, you can accept the gifts. (People laughing)In mainland China, there are people who do not believe in Buddhism but they reallybelieve in Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva. One day, I saw a picture of Avalokiteshvarahung in a taxi, but the taxi driver told me that: “I am not a Buddhist, but for the sake ofgetting blessed, I put up the picture of Avalokiteshvara.” In fact, whether you believe inhim or not, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva will bless you all the time. So we should wear orcarry his picture or his heart mantra as much as possible. Some people like to wearsomething without significant meanings as necklace, especially these young people, wholike to wear the animal necklace representing the year of their birth. What’s the value ofthis kind of necklace? It should be replaced by the picture or mantra of Avalokiteshvara.Henceforth, one will not separate from the Three Jewels—Buddha, Dharma and Sanghafor all of his future lives. This kind of wearing has great merits and merits. If we want towear something, of course we should wear those with significant power of blessings forpresent and future lives. According to the sutra, if we wear this kind of blessingaccessory, and persuade other people to wear it also, it can destroy all kinds of opposingor hostile conditions and fulfill all wishes in this life and be with true Dharma in futurelives.As to the merits and merits of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva and his mantra, even theBuddha cannot describe in full, so how could we ordinary people not have confidencetowards them? If we still do not believe in Avalokiteshvara, we are absolutely foolish.But there is still someone who does not believe without any reason. Even someone wrote8

on internet: “The mantra of Avalokiteshvara is a Tibetan mantra, which is practised onlyby Tibetan lamas, so I don’t believe it.” This person doesn’t have basic knowledge of thehistory of the mantra, and it is really a pity. The purpose that Buddha Shakyamuni gavethe teachings of the Treasure King Sutra in Sravasti was not only for Tibetans, but for allthe people! But there are some people who, with their very limited knowledge ofBuddhism, blindly discriminate against other sects. Those people expose their wrongbelieving and ignorance thoroughly. That is equal to making a performance in nude.It should be clear that the mantra of Avalokiteshvara can accumulate all the meritsand merits and dispel all hindrances of past bad karma. The worst downfalls according toSutrayana are five Anantarika karmas and five similar karmas, which can be purified bythe mantra of Avalokiteshvara. In the Lotus Crown Sutra, the Buddha taught that “Onlyby reciting, thinking, or even touching the Om Mani Padme Hum once, one can purifythe sins caused by those five Anantarika karmas and the sins by five similar karmas.”Since time without beginning, we have committed so many terrible bad karmas. If thepractising of the mantra can dispel the sins of five Anantarika karmas and the sins of fivesimilar karmas, it can also obviously destroy the other minor sins that we havecommitted. So it can purify the sins from transgressing against religious precepts, the sinsfrom false words, the sins from steals, the sins stipulated by the Buddha, and the other 10kinds of sins defined by the nature out of the stipulation by the Buddha. That’s why manyof our Tibetans keep rotating an Avalokiteshvara prayer wheel by right hand, reciting themantra by mouth, and accounting the number of reciting with a rosary by left hand. (Inoticed someone in our monastery holds the rosary by the right hand. It is not correct.According to the sutra, we should hold the rosary by the left hand and the prayer wheelby the right hand.)When we see an animal is going to be killed, if we are not able to save its life, weshould recite the mantra to its ears. By so doing, it will not fall into the lower realms butwill be born in the pure land of Amitabha. In the Ju Yi Suo Sutra (《 具 义 索 经 》), itsays: “If one person, who has heard the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, recites the mantra atthe ear of the animal, then the animal will be born in the pure land of Amitabha afterbeing liberated from the lower realms.” So when your good friends or close relatives aredying, crying and wailing are meaningless, but reciting the mantra beside of them cangenerate great benefits to the dead. The practising of Dharma is to benefit others as wellto the practitioners. If we do the practice according to the teachings in the sutraaccompanied with the faith, it must be a great help to others as well as to ourselves.In the southern part of mainland China, almost every family believes inAvalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, although they often regard him as a deity with the title of“Queen Guan Yin or “Mother Guan Yin”. Anyway, with a pure heart of respect to pray,the blessing and power by the Bodhisattva are incredible and the prayer will get benefits.In the past, there was an old saying as “Every family honours Amitabha and everyhousehold prays to Avalokiteshvara” in China, but it could be different right now. Manypeople do not believe in Avalokiteshvara, including our listeners of this lecture who maycome from those families. Does everyone’s family believe in Avalokiteshvara? Theanswer may be no. Someone’s parents may be against this belief. Therefore, it is9

necessary that we spread the mantra and the name of Avalokiteshvara. We should letmore people know his merits and merits.Especially at the moment of death of sentient beings, they can get the most powerfulhelp from Amitabha and Avalokiteshvara. In the Karandavyuha Sutra, it is told that “Theone, who can hear the Great Mantra of Six Syllables: Om Mani Padme Hum, will be ledto the pure land of Amitabha by 12 Buddhas and the 8 great Bodhisattvas at the momentof death.” According to some sutras about Amitabha, there are also the descriptions as:“If one can pray to Amitabha, Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva at themoment before death, the three honourable Buddha and Bodhisattvas will come to leadthe one to the pure world of Amitabha.” In Han Buddhism, it is highly emphasized torecite the name of Amitabha. However, the recitation should also include the name ofAvalokiteshvara. There are some bizarre rules existing in some particular temples of thesect of Pure Land that “The reciting of the name of Amitabha is permitted but it is notallowed to recite the mantra of Avalokiteshvara!” I feel this kind of restriction is notnecessary.Following Om Mani Padme Hum, we can add a word “Sei”. By the teaching from hisesteemed Longchenpa, it is Om Mani Padme Hum Sei. So, Om Mani Padme Hum iscorrect and Om Mani Padme Hum Sei is correct too. To the respect of the pronunciation,in Tibet, there are differences between the DuoKang district and Lassa. Also in myhometown, some senior may say Om Meni Padme Hum while some senior maypronounce Om Marni Padme Hum. So, which one is correct? Actually, as long as there issincerity and faith in Avalokiteshvara, it is not obligatory to standardize thepronunciation. For the people from the northeast and the people from the southwest,when they recite Om Mani Padme Hum, there must be differences in theirpronunciations. Also, there are differences of the Tibetan language from Lassa and thatfrom Sichuan. But with our faith, there is no big difference regarding the merits andmerits.There is a story in mainland China: there was a senior monk passing by a hill, hefound a red light that shone over the hill and concluded that there must be a practitionerof Dharma living there. So he went there to visit the practitioner. Finally, he only foundan old woman. She told him that she had recited the mantra – “Om Mani Padme Niu”every day for ten years. Then, the senior monk kindly told her that it was wrong with thepronunciation. It should be Om Mani Padme Hum. The old woman was very sad forbeing wrong with her practice for ten years. She was so regretful and corrected thereciting at once. When the senior monk descended the hill and he looked back to theplace where he found the red light, he saw that the light disappeared. So he ran back in ahurry to tell the old woman: “You are right. Your reciting of the mantra -- Om ManiPadme Niu is correct. I was joking just now.” Then, the old woman became happy andchanged back to his practicing as before. And the red light appeared again. So, with apure heart, even if we recite it incorrectly, there are still merits and merits. When werecite the mantra, we should behave according to the teachings of Yulin Master ( 玉 琳 国师 ) “To those who are reciting, the position of the body should be upright and solemnwithout slacking; the words that we pronounce should be smooth, complete and coherent;the mind should be concentrated without distraction.” The body, the language, and the10

mind should be focus on the object that we are practising with. This kind of practicingcan generate great merits and merits.Hereupon, I sincerely ask for the spreading of the Dharma of Avalokiteshvara withthe cooperation with all the great virtuous and devoted Buddhist laymen. Although thereare a lot of great honoured people in China who are promoting it with efforts, the scopeof the promotion is limited. For the dharma that can benefit the sentient beings, everyonehas the responsibility to promote and spread it. I know that some great virtuous people,like Monk Hai Tao, try to persuade many people in practicing the mantra ofAvalokiteshvara. This is great. Meanwhile, if there is someone who considers the mantraonly belongs to Vajrayana, this is totally wrong. It is a Buddhist mantra that is nodifferent from the nature of Surangama mantra. I heard that there was a temple in thenortheast China, where reciting this mantra was forbidden. It is not reasonable. As aBuddhist, if one cannot do beneficial things to sentient beings, at least he should not doharmful things.Another thing that deserves to be mentioned here is the promotion of the prayerwheel with scripts of the six-words-great-enlightening-dharani. We should let the otherspractice this wheel. Sometime before, I gave a lecture on its merits and merits. Somemonks in China helped to promote and to spread the prayer wheel at that time. But thereare still some people who oppose the prayer wheel with the faulty idea that the wheelonly exists in Tibetan Buddhism.Actually, in Han region, there is also a tradition of the prayer wheel. As the first timeof using the prayer wheel in China, it was called “wheel Tripitaka”. It was told that Fu DaShi in the Liang period of Southern and Northern Dynasties invented that wheel. It iswritten in Orthodox of Shakyamuni Dharma: “In the beginning of Liang period, a personnamed Shan Hui felt sympathy for these people who had faith in the Dharma but couldnot read it due to the reasons of illiteracy or being short of time. So, as a convenientmethod for those people, he invented a Wheel Tripitaka, which was to install an axle onthe book shelves where stored all the scriptures of Tripitaka. A devout believer may pusharound the wheel. The merit of one turn around the wheel is equal to that of reading onetime all the scriptures that stored on the shelf.” Later, Fu Da Shi and his two sons becamemonks and his Buddhist name was Shan Hui. Until Tang Dynasty, the Wheel Tripitakahas been decorated with niches for Buddha, colourful books, mirrors, etc. the appearanceof the wheel was refined. There is a similar story in the Biographies of Great Monks 1 ,also with the statement that: “Those who have generated Bodhicitta, by pushing and1It is written in Volume 10 of Biographies of Great Monks: “in the earlier time, Fu Da Shi in the Liangperiod of Southern and Northern Dynasty, for the sake to those people who cannot read so many sutra inthe daily life, built a big and tall wheel with different floors on the hill. It looks like a column with eightsides. It can be turn around with the Buddhist scriptures stored inside without obstacles. It is called asthe wheel of great scriptures. He made a promise that those who entered into the gate of the wheelwould not lose the chance as a human being for their future lives. And he persuades of other people toturn around the wheel accompanying with a pure mind of Bodhicitta. That merit is equivalent of readingall the scriptures stored inside of the wheel. From then on, all the buildings of wheel with scriptures aredecorated with the portrait of Fu Da Shi. That is the provenance.11

turning around the Wheel Tripitaka, can gain the same merits as reading and reciting thescriptures of the Tripitaka.”Today, the Wheel Tripitaka can be found in many Chinese temples stretching fromnorthern to southern areas. There is no big difference with big prayer wheels in Tibet.Since the Wheel Tripitaka can be turned around, why not the prayer wheel in hand?According to the tradition from Han Buddhist sects, the merits are the same. Don’t thinkthat “The prayer wheel by hand is not rationale because it is only for the TibetanBuddhists, and therefore it is not allowed in our temple”. I wish you would not say suchshameful things. Things that have no grounds in the Buddhist principles and may beharmful to the sentient beings should be forbidden. It is the same as in our TibetanBuddhism. If something is harmful to the heart of the sentient beings and has negativeeffect to Buddhism, we will stop it even it might sound good by false broadcasting. But,as to those really beneficial deeds to sentient beings, we can accept whatever the conceptscome from Han Buddhism, Indian Buddhism, or other nations. As the same, I wish wecan accept the practicing of the mantra and prayer wheel which can bring us so manybenefits.After the lecture today on the merits of the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, you’d betterhave a look to Sutra of the Mantra by Avalokiteshvara with Eleven Faces, KarandavyuhaSutra, Buddha Speaks Mahayana Sublime Treasure King Sutra and some otherMahayana sutras. We should get to know more about the blessing power and merit of themantra. According to some sutra, for the purpose of saving sentient beings in the lowerrealms, Avalokiteshvara was ever embodied as a bee, who makes the sounds of“wooooo…….”,which sound represents the meaning of the mantra of Avalokiteshvaraand taking refuge with the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha). When thosesentient beings hear the sounds, they imitate to recite the same. Eventually, in this way,they were released from sufferings. Obviously, the powerful lights by the mantra ofAvalokiteshvara reach everywhere in the six realms of samsara, and the embodiment byAvalokiteshvara can be anything that is out of our imagination. We cannot tell that who isthe real embodiment of Avalokiteshvara and who is not. So we should possess a puremind in our daily life. With a pure mind as a foundation of our practice, we should recitethe mantra as many times as possible.My request to you for this time is not so demanding. It is my hope that all the peoplewho learn this teaching, either by TV, CD, or attending the class in person, need to recitethe mantra of Avalokiteshvara at least 100,000 times. The time limit is 3 months from thedate of hearing this lecture. Otherwise, one may lose momentum of practice. It would bea shame if one cannot even accomplish 100,000 times of recitations. With suchtremendous merits from this mantra, we must plant a seed of liberation in our mind and tomake a wish of never being separated from this mantra for our future lives. SinceAvalokiteshvara possesses the power surpassing of all Buddhas, why don’t we depend onhim? We cannot meet with this great dharma by chance, so why not practice it? Thus, weshould devote our efforts to practice!Next, I will impart the mantra of Avalokiteshvara by reciting:“Om Mani Padme Hum……”12

“Your honoured vajra body, with the followers, longevity, pure land, sublimeappearance and other merits by the past Tathagata, I hope I can achieve those.”“If one has not yet generated the precious Bodhicitta, it should be brought forth; ifone has not possessed it, it should be cultivated and strengthened.”Okay, that is it so far for the course today.It is for attaining Manjushri's vigorous sagacity and for practicing Samantabhadra'sintellectual beneficences that I now dedicate all my cultivated good roots to adhere totheir ideals by incessant toil.As those great and most supreme Aspirations are being extolled by all Buddhas ofThree-Yugas, I dedicate all my cultivated good roots for the accomplishment ofSamantabhadra's Beneficence activities.Questions1. In which Sutra does the Buddha declare the merits of the Heart Mantra ofAvalokiteshvara? What is the main content in general? What do you think about this?2. Someone may think in this way: as it was said in some sutra, the Buddha did not evenknow the answers for certain questions. So, could we say that the Buddha was notomniscient, or such sutra was a fraud? What’s your opinion?3. Please enlist the merits of the heart mantra and the merits of the name ofAvalokiteshvara bodhisattva with the proofs from Buddhist teachings. Among theseproofs, which one is the most heart-moved to you? And why?4. When we recite Om Mani Padme Hum, if the pronunciation is not correct, could it ofany effect? And why?5. Please show concrete examples to prove that the prayer wheels also exist in Chinesetradition. With this knowledge, how could you persuade people who resist using prayerwheel?6. What new knowledge have you learned from this lesson? How do you plan to practiseand spread the heart mantra?13

The Merits of Circumambulating StupasThe unsurpassed, deep, profound, subtle, wonderful DharmaIn hundreds of thousands of millions of eons, is difficult to encounter,I now see and hear it, receive and uphold it,And I vow to fathom the Tathagata's true and actual meaning.To benefit all sentient beings, please resolve on attaining the precious and supremeBodhicitta.Today, I will take advantage of this class to introduce the benefit ofcircumambulating the Buddhist stupas. Most Buddhists are aware of the great benefitgenerated from circumambulating a stupa. However, some people may remain ignoranton this respect if certain details are not introduced. So today I will briefly talk to you onthis subject.The stupa represents the holy mind of all Buddhas. Historically, stupas exist beforeBuddha Sakyamuni -- in The Hundred Actions Sutra, there was a king called Chakpa. Inhis previous life, he built a sharira stupa (a stupa in which a relic of Buddha abides)following the nirvana of Krakucchanda Buddha. In the time of Kassapa Buddha, therewas a King Zhizhi who also built many stupas. When Buddha Sakyamuni renounced thesecular life and became a monk, he did so in front of the stupa of Brahma Tathagataya.The Swayambhunath Stupa 2 in Nepal also existed before the appearance of severalBuddhas. In this respect, the history of stupas differs from that of Buddhist statues andsutras.In India, after the nirvana of Buddha Sakyamuni, King Aśoka built 84,000 stupasaround the world; Nagarjuna also built a sharira stupa; there is also a Buddhist stupa atBodh Gaya in India. There are many Mahayana and Theravada stupas in India. Whenstupa was introduced to Tibet, King Trisong Detsen built many stupas including theSamye Stupa in Ü-Tsang, and the stupa later was spread to the Amdo and Kham regionsand gradually, the entirety of Tibet. The Qiyun Stupa at the White Horse Temple inLuoyang is one of the earliest stupas in the Han region. It was built in the Han Dynasties.However, some people claim that the Putong Pagoda dates earlier than it 3 . In any case,after the Buddha’s nirvana, stupas spread all over Jambudvipa (or the southern continentin the Buddhist cosmology), and many faithful ones presented offerings and prostrated tothese stupas. The sharira stupas built by King Aśoka is especially a great field of merit23The Swayambhunath Stupa is the oldest Buddhist stupa in the world. According to historicaldocumentations, when human lifespan was 10,000 years, a crystal stupa of a foot tall is formed naturallyfrom the wisdom of Buddhas; in the time of Krakucchanda Buddha, the entire Nepal was an ocean, thisstupa rose from the ocean; at the time of Kanakamuni Buddha, this stupa was called the stupa ofunimpeded speech of the realm of reality; at the time of Kassapa Buddha, Master Jide expanded theexternal form of this stupa in order to protect it, until today, this stupa still stands.According to historical documentation, the construction of the Putong stupa of Hebei Province beganin Emperor Ming Yongping Year 12 of the Eastern Han Dynasty (69 AD), and was finished on January15 th of Yongping Year 15, two years earlier than the stupa of Baima Monastery of Luoyang.14

for all human and non-human, paying reverence and presenting offerings to it to grantgreat merits.When it comes to the categorization of stupas, there are the eight great stupas inIndia, Tibet, and Kalachakra stupas, which are more commonly worshipped. Accordingto the rituals of the esoteric school of Buddhism, there are many different types of stupas.There are some stupas in Padmasambhava’s terms that are used for practicing theDharma. According to the Mahayana texts such as the Nirvana Sutra, Buddhist stupasdiffer to those of Sravaka and Pratyekabuddha in terms of shape and its divine power.The stupa embodies the mind of the Buddha, according to Guhyasamâja Vajra: “A stupais a palace where the Buddhas abide.” Therefore one must consider the stupas as thepalaces of all Buddhas. In Explanation of the Root Precepts of Theravada Buddhism, it iswritten that “The Stupa is the Dharmakaya”. In this respect, according to the Sutra of theGreat Accumulation of Treasures (aka the Maharatnakuta Sutra), “There is no differencebetween the merit of those who make offerings while I am alive and those who makeofferings to a stupa after my nirvana. And wherefore? For the Buddha is the puremanifestation of the Dharmakaya, and not Nirmanakaya or the physical body.” Therefore,the stupa is a symbol of the three jewels: it is a quintessential representation of Buddha’sDharmakaya, and embodies the mind of Lord Buddha.There are many stupas where Buddhism prevails. Take Thailand for example,whether you go to the mountains or the cities, you can see many stupas along the way.Likewise, in Tibet, one can see white stupas everywhere. The stupas in Thailand aregilded with gold and therefore have golden color, but perhaps due to the fact that weTibetans are poorer and cannot afford gold, white stupas are more common over here. Ihave heard the story of a chief government officer who came here to make an inspection,and said very discontentedly: “Why are there so many white stupas? I am not comfortableabout it!” (This is probably a manifestation of his negative karma. In normalcircumstances, a person should be joyous at the sight of so many stupas.) We Tibetanshave a tradition – when a Tibetan sees a stupa, a monastery, or a monk, he will get off thehorse, take off his hat and join his palms. If he’s in a hurry, and cannot approach toprostrate, then he will join palms inside the car, on the horse or on the road from afar.Such an action grants great merits.The specific benefits of building stupas have been explained in detail in The Benefitsof Constructing Stupas Sutra. The Avadana Sutra enumerated 10 merits 4 of building astupa, such as those who build stupas will not be reborn in remote places, nor will theysuffer from extreme poverty, nor will they hold erroneous views against Buddhism, etc.The Sutra of Constructing Stupas and Prolonging Lives also elaborated upon the sevenbenefits 5 such as those who build a stupa will not die suddenly and violently. Therefore,45The Avadana Sutra cited ten karmic rewards of building stupas: 1.One will not be born in borderlands; 2. One does not suffer from poverty; 3. One does not receive the body of ignorance and erroneousviews; 4. One receives the throne of 16 great kingdoms; 5. One’s life is long; 6. One obtains the VajraIndestructible Power; 7. One obtains immeasurably vast and grand blessedness and merits; 8. Onereceives the compassion of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; 9. One has complete three kinds ofsupernormal awareness, 10. One will be reborn in the pure land.According to The Merit of Building Stupas to Prolong Life and Accumulate Merits, when one buildsstupa with a pure mind, the merits that one accumulates are as such: 1. One will not be poisoned in this15

according to the Mahayana texts, we should build stupas if conditions allow and we havethe capability. In Tibet, many people from the monasteries or villages resolved to buildstupas. One year, HH Jigme Phuntsok called forth all his disciples to build stupasextensively, which was responded extensively and resulted in constructing over 10,000stupas. (I have forgotten the exact number, but it is a very big number anyhow.)In comparison, nowadays in the Han region, people are building fewer stupas. If youhave the capability in the future, you should build a stupa somewhere, so that those whosee it, circumambulate it, or prostrate to it will attain enlightenment eventually. LordBuddha has taught us the multitude of benefits of building stupas in the Vimala SuddhaPrabhasa Mahadharani Sutra and said that “Those who have committed the five acts ofevil leading to the avici hell, should he pass in the shade of a stupa, or catch sight of astupa from afar, or hear the chimes of the bells of a stupa, or hear of the name of a stupa,will be purified of the five heinous crimes, or any other hindrance of karma.” Therefore,the benefits of building stupas are inconceivable.Of course, a rather strict standard is applied to the construction of stupa. If it isbeyond one’s capability, then it is also advisable to buy a small stupa, which is relativelyeasy. The Buddha spoke about many types of stupas in The Benefits of ConstructingStupas Sutra and told us that even if a stupa is the size of a jujube leaf, or as thin as aneedle, it is still able to bring vast merits. Such small stupas are sold in many Buddhistshops. (Is our shop going to make a fortune? Do you sell stupas? No? Too bad…forgetit.) Normally relics or religious objects are inserted into stupas, if you don’t have themantras to put inside the stupa, you can put the four verses 6 from the Sutra in the stupa,which also counts as a form of relic. Then put it on the altar, and it becomes anembodiment of the Three Jewels. If a person really does not have the capability to build astupa, then offer other people miniature stupa made of gold, silver, wood, stone or glass,insert relics, and form a karmic link with him. Such an action also has great benefitsThe stupas with standard measurements, even those built by children when they areplaying games can bring enormous merits. It is said in Lotus Sutra, “The little childrenwho piled up here and there heaps of sand into stupas, those who have done such actionshave all reached enlightenment.” Sometimes when little children play, if they have someroots of beneficence, they will form a good connection with statues or stupas of Buddhas,6life, one’s life will be long, one will not die a sudden death, and eventually obtain the incorruptiblebody. All ghosts and gods dare not approach, all foes will disperse; 2. One will be free of all diseases;all sentient beings will be joyful upon seeing one; 3. The tainted precepts of one will be purified, theones who are not submissive will become tamed, the unclean ones will become purified, the abstinentialrules ones broke will be mended; 4. The four great prohibitions and the five kinds of evil acts leading toavici hell that one has offended will be canceled. All karmic hindrances accumulated through theimmeasurable past Kalpas will be purified; 5. If one wishes to give birth to a male offspring, he will beblessed with merit and health; 6. One will be constantly protected by the four celestial kings; 7. Even ifthe stupa is destroyed and becomes mote, and the mote is carried by wind across forests, mountains,rivers and oceans, all sentient beings that touch this mote will never be reborn with impure bodies andwill always be able to see the Buddha.Abstain from all unwholesome deeds, perform wholesome acts, purify one’s own minds--this is theteaching of the Buddhas.” Or “All phenomena arise from causal factors, and the Buddha says it is thecause;these phenomena end as the causal factors are gone, and this is the saying of the great shaman.”Both verses are fine, but the latter is more widely used.16

which will become the cause of their eventual enlightenment. This reminds me of myown childhood, in which I think I had rather good karma. When I was playing with somechildren from the neighborhood, and though we lived in a valley where there was nosand, we often pretended some sharp stones were stupas, and scattered flowers in front ofthem. Sometimes I found little white bones, some of which had pointed tips, some round,and I pretended they were stupas or statues, and prostrated and made offerings to them. Ihadn’t read The Lotus Sutra then, but I had many similar experiences like this. I thinkthey can gradually become the cause of enlightenment.Mending stupas brings forth great merit as well,as it was written on Mahasanghavinaya,“Alms giving with thousands of kilos of real gold with a distracted mind is not asmuch merit as mending a stupa with a ball of mud.” The merit accumulated fromdonating thousands of kilos of pure gold to poor people is not as vast as the merit oftaking a ball of mud and patching it to the cleft on a stupa. So last year several fellowBuddhists and I mended the stupas by the gate of the Institute. We were all aware of thegreat benefits it brings.While building stupas, it is preferable to follow the guidelines. However, there is stillgreat merit even if one does not follow them. At the time of the Buddha, the HonoredSumanas built and prayed to a stupa at a remote place, and in the stupa he inserted somehair and nails of Lord Buddha. At that time, five hundred Arhats resided there, and tookthe stupa as the true Buddha, and circumambulated it and prostrated to it in mornings andevenings. In this mountain there also lived 500 rhesus monkeys, who, after watching thedevout rites of the Arhats every day, fashioned a stupa out of mud and prostrated to it inmornings and evenings as well. Later, the mountain was flooded, the monkeys could notescape and were all drowned. The rhesus monkeys reincarnated into five hundred devasin the heavenly realm, who saw with their divine sights that the cause of their celestialbirth was due to the building and worshiping of the stupa made of mud in their previouslives. Out of gratitude, they descended to the human realm and circumambulated seventimes around the remains of the rhesus monkeys, scattered flowers on them and madeofferings. They later heard the Dharma from Lord Buddha and attained holy fruit.Generally, a statue or a stupa must be constructed according to universal guidelines.However, as stupas are holy objects, even building a non-standardstupa can be a sourceof immaculate merit. Try to imagine, the stupas built by the children in the Lotus Sutraare definitely non-standard, and have all kinds of irregular shapes; the rhesus monkeysthat we have just mentioned, no matter how skilled they are, the stupas they have builtcannot be comparable to those built by humans. Furthermore, children have a playfulspirit and rhesus monkeys only intended to imitate. While doing so, they did not intend togain the liberation nor did they revere it as a holy object. However, due to the fact that theobject of their action was a stupa, great merits were attained anyway. Therefore weshould not depreciate carelessly such a profound doctrine of cause and effect.Once the stupa was built, what are the benefits of circumambulating it? According toChaitya Pradakchina Gatha, “All the devas and dragons, yakshas and ghosts, willapproach and make offerings, if you circle around the stupa clockwise.” All devas anddragons, yakshas and ghosts will come close to you and make offerings to you, and they17

will not harm you intentionally. Many other benefits of circumambulating the stupa ismentioned in the sutra: please read it if you have some spare time.You must pay attention when you circumambulate a stupa, and you must do so in aclockwise direction. Avatamsaka Sutra or the Flower Garland Sutra also says,“Circumambulate three times in a clockwise direction”. It is obligatory tocircumambulate clockwise, if you do it counter-clockwise, not only will you not begaining any merit, but you will be generating negative karma by doing so. When we wentto Mount Wutai, we circumambulated the white stupa all day long. At that time we sawmany Buddhist practitioners and even some monks who were circumambulating counterclockwise.Among us was a lama called Yangyi. His task every day was to prevent themfrom doing so. Once he held a young girl by the hand and told her not to circumambulatethis way, but he did not speak Chinese, so he just tugged her hand and scared the girl,who kept shouting “stop dragging me, stop dragging me!” As a matter of fact, this lamahad a very pure intention – he had built many stupas in the area of Daofu, and oftenprinted prayer flags. He was in his 60s or 70s at that time and was not familiar with thelay Chinese customs: he merely stood there and asked people not to circumambulate inthe wrong way. Hence, stupas must be circumambulated clockwise, otherwise theconsequence is terrible, and this point is also specified in Chinese Buddhist sutras.Great merits result from circumambulating clockwise. It is written in a Buddhistscripture, that once upon a time, there was a group of merchants who set off for a questfor treasures by sea, and on their way came across a whale. When they were about to beswallowed, they called the Buddha’s name loudly. The whale shut its mouth and died.This whale later was reborn as a human, with the name Shariputra, who came to amonastery and became a monk when he was very young and eventually achieved thefruition of Arhat. What was the cause of his attainment of the holy fruition? As it turnsout, he was a fly in his previous life, and was attracted by the smell of cow dung near astupa. Fortunately, the fly flew around the stupa in a circle. Another saying has it that thefly stopped on the cow dung, which was flooded and floated around the stupa. With themerit of this act, he achieved the holy fruition at the time of Buddha Sakyamuni.Therefore, please do not underestimate the merit of making one singlecircumambulation or even making only one prostration to a stupa, because the stupa is aholy object of immeasurable power, and even a small good deed can purify our sins andaccumulate merits. In the Casket of Secret Relics Sutra it is written that “Those whoshould be punished to Avici Hell, if they make one prostration to this Stupa or walkaround this Stupa once in clockwise direction, will reach enlightenment.” Therefore,when you come across a stupa, you must circumambulate it, do not just take a picture andthen leave right away.In case you cannot find a stupa, some monasteries have the reliquaries of masters ofDharma, if this master is a true accomplished monk of great merit, then you mustcircumambulate his reliquary as well. (After HH Jigme Phuntsok entered nirvana, noreliquaries were built, but a stupa was constructed at the place where His Holiness wasborn, and every time we went there, we prostrated to it.) In case there isn’t any reliquaryof an eminent master, then you can circumambulate the statues of Buddha in monasteries.In Tibetan monasteries, the statue of Buddha is usually attached to the back wall, which18

leaves no room for walking around it inside the temple hall. But in most of the Chinesetemples, a space is left for people to pass by behind the statue. Walking around the statueof the Buddha enables the cultivation of tremendous merits. In the Sutra of the BuddhaLecturing King Prasenajit, it is said that “If it is with a pure mind that a personcircumambulates a stupa or an image of the Buddha, then in the next life, even theenemies will respect this person, and this person will possess merits and virtues andbecome a Mahayana Dharma vessel.” If one circumambulates a stupa or an image of theBuddha, then the demons, heretics, obstacles, or enemies that hinder one’s path ofpracticing the Dharma will disappear, and one will possess all merits and virtues, therebybecoming a Mahayana Dharma vessel.Seen from the surface, one circle around a stupa does not seem like a big deal, but infact, the merit is very big. In the past, when people visited Patrul Rinpoche, he used tosay all the time: “Just my luck! You won’t let an old man have rest. Why don’t you goand circumambulate the relic stupa of my Lama Jigme Gyalwai Nyugu? What good is itfor you to hang around with my corpse? ” In The Words of My Perfect Teacher, PatrulRinpoche talked about the former lives of Almsgiver Huajie and Tibet’s first sevenmonks 7 . When Almsgiver Huajie became a monk at the age of 100, many Arhats did notknow that he was in possession of the seed for immediate enlightenment. Only theBuddha himself knew. In fact, at the time of Kassapa Buddha, he was a pig who ranaround a stupa when he was chased by a dog. With this seed of goodness, he obtained theholy fruit of nirvana eventually. The seven monks were seven worms on the tree, who fellin the water, in which there was an old stupa. The worms were carried away by thecurrent and circumambulated the stupa clockwise seven times, and this became their seedof enlightenment.So if you have the opportunity, you should let your parents circumambulate a statueof the Buddha or a stupa, those who tie an auspicious bond in the teaching of BuddhaSakyamuni will be enlightened in the teaching of Buddha Maitreya. If they don’t believein Buddhism, you can trick them into walking around the stupa. If it’s a child, then enticehim by offering him a candy and asking him to follow you around the stupa. If they areyour parents, you can say, “Do you want to go on a tour? I know a good place.” Thenslowly take them to circumambulate a stupa – “Alright, end of the tour!”In the surface, circumambulating once around a stupa doesn’t seem like a great deal,but in fact only the Buddha knows its merits. In The Sutra of Wisdom and Foolishness(Damamukl Nidana Sutra), it is written, “Do not think small virtuous things are not worthyour attention. Even small drops of water can accumulate and fill a big vessel.” As an oldsaying goes: a tower is built up with sand, a mountain is piled up with dust, the ocean ismerged from rivers, and merit is accumulated from good deeds. Merit needs to beaccumulated little by little; it is impossible to instantly gain all provisions required for7The 7 trial monks: the first group of Buddhist monks in the history of Tibet. At that time, TrisongDetsen wanted to observe whether Tibetans could uphold the precepts, so he ordained seven people tobecome monks as a trial, following Shantarakshita who used precepts of Sarvastivada. And they are: BaSelnang, Ba Trizhi, Pagor Vairocana, Ngenlam Gyelwa Choyang, Kohnlui Wangpo Sungwa, MaRinchen Chog and Lasum Gyalwa Jangchub. In historical documentations of Tibetan Buddhism, thereare many different sayings regarding the names of these seven monks.19

ecoming Buddha. Even learning starts at kindergarten, and slowly progresses tosupervisor for doctoral students. It is rather difficult to obtain a doctor’s degree withouteven finishing kindergarten. Though we must believe in our Tathagata, we mustn’t be tooarrogant, and the little virtuous acts still need to be done. Liu Bei from the period ofThree Kingdoms said to his son Liu Chan at his deathbed, “Do not forsake an act ofkindness for its humble scale, nor commit an act of evil for its humble scale.”Therefore, no matter where you see a Buddhist temple or a monastery, an image ofthe Buddha or a stupa, at least circumambulate thrice if you don’t have much energy ortime to do more. Sometimes there are some survey groups or working groups who visitthe Institution. Among these people, those who have virtuous roots suggests that theyshould not only look at the Web of Grand Illusion Mandala, but also walk around it andsee how it feels. Then they take photos here and there, and unintentionallycircumambulating the stupa. If even the non-religious people are like this, as Buddhistswe should attach more importance to it all the more. When we have time, we shouldchant some mantras, prostrate or circumambulate a statue of the Buddha or a temple. Ifthere isn’t any, then we should consider the stupas that we have acquired as a purifiedobject, and circumambulate it.Such circumambulation was considered highly important by many Indian masters.When Master Atisha arrived in Tibet, Dromtonpa and his other disciples asked him,“Why do you attach such great importance to circumambulating stupas in contrast withall other virtuous acts?” Master Atisha told them, “Among all relatively virtuous acts,there is none that brings about more merits than circumambulating stupas, because it isthe amassment of good karma of the body, the mind and the soul. In India, there werepeople who attained enlightenment by circumambulating cities or holy temples, and therewere some who recuperated from sickness or attained enlightenment bycircumambulating the holy image of Avalokiteshvara… Therefore, everybody shouldcircumambulate with diligence!” After this, Lama Dromtonpa did as he was told andcircumambulated every day. When his legs were not so nimble anymore in his later years,it is said that he circumambulated with the help of a carriage (probably similar to awheelchair). He persisted on circumambulating thrice until the day he passed away.When Master Atisha was circumambulating the stupa in Bodh Gaya, sometimes hereceived oracles from the Tara, sometimes he received oracles from other Dakinis. Fromthese stories we can tell that Atisha attached much importance to circumambulation. TheThree Noble Brothers of the Kadampa lineage circumambulated stupas or scripture hallsas well. According to certain biographies, the great masters Patrul Rinpoche, MiphamRinpoche and Master Tsongkhapa also spared no efforts in circumambulation.In Tibet, circumambulating a stupa is a very joyous act. In this respect, Tibetanpeople have more advantages compared to other ethnic groups. Take the great whitestupa of Mount Wutai for example, it is a divine stupa of the Han region, so normallyHan people should be the majority there, but it is said that nowadays most of the peoplecircumambulating the stupa are Tibetans. When China was not opened up yet, there wereonly Tibetan people in front of the great Boudhanath Stupa (Jyarung Khasyor Stupa) ofNepal, besides Tibetans, very few Nepalese, Indians or any other nationalities werecircling the stupa. A similar situation can be found at Bodh Gaya as well. Especially in20

Thailand, many people do not know about circumambulating stupas at all, some peopleeven circumambulate counter-clockwise. At that time I really couldn’t bear the fact thateven these merits documented in Buddhist scriptures are ignored in a place whereBuddhism is so prosperous. I even wrote it down in my travel journals.I hope that by merit of this lesson, whenever you see a Buddhist stupa you will notonly look at it, but also circumambulate it for at least three times, no matter how busyyour schedule will be. When HH Jigme Phuntsok was circumambulating holy mountains,no matter how tight the schedule was, he would at least make three rounds. When youdrive by a stupa in a car, you should also drive around it once. On my way to Barkam,there was a stupa near Jinchuan that was consecrated by HH Jigme Phuntsok. Every timeI was passing by it I would drive around it once. I hope that whenever you see a stupa,you will make it a habit to circumambulate it. If you are making a pilgrimage to aBuddhist stupa, you should circumambulate diligently.In fact, the Han region also has a history of circumambulating stupas. In TangDynasty, there was a senior monk called Master Zilin, when he wanted to renounce thesecular life he encountered heavy obstacles. His parents strongly objected to it, so he hadto flee to Guang’ai Monastery of the Eastern Capital where he became a monk. Manyyears later, he went back to his hometown only to find out his mother already passedaway and his father was blind. In a state of grief, he went to the Yue Temple to recite theLotus Sutra in order to find out in which realm his mother was reborn. That night, theLord of the Eastern Peak said to him in his dream that his mother was reborn with a baddestiny, but if he made a pilgrimage to the sharira stupa of King Asoka Monastery, hismother would have a chance at emancipation. He then set off right away on hispilgrimage and prostrated there in tears and grief, and when he prostrated for fortythousand times, he saw his mother in the sky with his own eyes, telling him that she hadalready left the bad realm for the heavenly realm.Furthermore, in Qing dynasty, there was a “head-touching monk” of BaotongMonastery in Wuchang, who was able to heal any big or small disease with the lighttouch of his hand. Why does his hand have such miraculous healing power? It is said thatthere was a pagoda in this monastery in which he circumambulated daily, touching thebricks of the pagoda with his hand, reciting in silence The Mantra of the GreatCompassion. Because he ceaselessly circumambulated for ten years, and never stoppedfor a single day, his hand obtained such miraculous power.Be it Tang Dynasty or Qing Dynasty, there were many cases of great masterscircumambulating Buddhist stupas. Now we should also advocate this, especially to thelay Buddhist practitioners. They should circumambulate Buddhist statues or stupas in themonastery more often. Nowadays in monasteries, there are many people prostrating orburning incense, but very few of them circumambulate. One day we went to pay homageto the physical body of the Sixth Patriarch. At that time we circumambulated many times,but there were still many people who did not come and circumambulate. I had no otheridea but to call out: “Come and circumambulate with me!” So they followed me, andcircumambulated for a few times. Then many of them wanted to stop, not because theythought that no merits can result from this act, but many of them were not aware of theimmensity of the merits that they can acquire. In fact many Han Buddhist masters21

attached great importance to this. Senior monk Benhuan was 100 years old last year, theother day I went to pay him a visit, after the meal he said, “Let’s go circumambulate thestatue of Buddha!” He walked very fast; sometimes we could not keep up with his pace.Therefore, Han people should attach more importance in popularizing circumambulation,otherwise many people will have an inadequate notion in this aspect.When circumambulating, what should we recite? When HH Jigme Phuntsok took usto circumambulate the great stupa in Bodh Gaya, we recited a verse from The Practicesand Vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva – "The power to purify all acts of benevolence,the power to destroy all afflictions, the power to subdue all evil influence of Mara, andthe power to consummate all Samantabhadra's Beneficent activities". HH Jigme Phuntsoktaught us about many great merits of reciting this verse, and said that if we can perfectthese four powers, the practice of any Dharma will succeed. Therefore, when youcircumambulate in the future, unless you have your own special way ofcircumambulating which is quite fine, it is advisable to recite this verse from ThePractices and Vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.The merit of circumambulating stupas is immense, if you have the time, you shouldgo and circumambulate a stupa. There are stupas all over our Institute, among which theMandala stupa 8 is the most special one. When it was being built, HH Jigme Phuntsok hid100 extremely beneficial Termas of Buddhist statues and ancient Indian statues inside.Also buried inside were holy articles of immeasurable values that grant salvation uponseeing, upon hearing, upon touching, such as the relic of Namchos Migyur Dorje 9 , whichwere blessed by himself and many other great Lamas. Nothing but seeing the Mandalaalone is greatly beneficial. In Esoteric Buddhism there are many doctrinal evidencesregarding this, Vajrapani said, “those who saw the Mandala will be purified of elevenkinds of fundamental samayas and 25 kinds of branch samayas, and attain the incrediblebody, speech, mind, merit and activities of the Tathagata.” In Tantra of Salvation UponHearing, it is said that “those who see the Mandala will achieve enlightenment within 7rebirths.” It is also written in The Tantra of Peace and Wrath that “Those who haven’tseen the Mandala personally but have heard the name of Mandala of the Main Deity willavoid rebirth in hell.” Therefore, when the time allows, I hope everyone can visit andcircumambulate the Web of Grand Illusion Mandala personally blessed by HH JigmePhuntsok himself. (Many of the male and female practitioners go there often, but it’s sowindy up there that they have almost become Africans.)When circumambulating, you can recite the name of Ratnaketu Tathagata, or recitethe circumambulation mantra, which can multiply the merit by one thousand times 10 . Thecircumambulation mantra is:8910The Grand Illusion Web Mandala is also a stupa. It is classified as a Mandala stupa.The Namchos Migyur Dorje is the Tibetan name. He vowed to cure diseases with his remains.“Namchos” means the Heavenly Dharma sect that belongs to the Nyingma White Jade sect.According to Gongtang Danbi Zhunmei, the author of The Maxim of Water and Wood, the merit can bemagnified by 1000 times. However there are also sayings that it can magnify merits by 10000 times.22

ON NAMO BHAGAWATE RATNA KITU RATZAYA TATHAGATAYAARHATE SAMYAKSAM BUDDHAYA TAYATA OM RATNE RATNE MAHARATNE RATNE VIZAYA SOHA 11(Remember as best as you can, if not then it cannot be helped! When we werechanting The Warrior Songs of King Gesar, at the end of every song it was written,“Remember as much as you can, if you didn’t, then it’s impossible to be repeated.”)According to related teachings, there are many merits in circumambulating theMandala of the peaceful and wrathful Yidams. It is written in The Tantra of StainlessConfession that “Whoever prostrates to the Yidam of the peaceful or wrathful Mandala ofthe Web of Grand Illusion, all broken vows can be purified, all negative karmas that leadto unremitting hell can be cleared.” HH Jigme Phuntsok often quoted this doctrinalevidence. In fact, this doctrine can be found not only in The Tantra of StainlessConfession, but also in many ritual procedures of Termas. If we prostrate the peaceful orwrathful Mandalas with reverence, the fundamental and secondary samayas can bepurified, and even the most terrifying five sins leading to unremitting hells can bepurified as well. The practitioners here in present are so close to the Mandala of the Webof Grand Illusion, it would be a pity if you never circumambulate it after a long stay inthe Institute, much like an old lady who is born in Lhasa but dies without ever havingseen the statue of Jowo Buddha.There are some people who think that circumambulating stupas, reciting mantras,chanting the name of Amitabha or turning the prayer wheels are for people with lessercapacity or foolish people, or good deeds meant for old people. What we need to do is tostudy the Five Major Shastras, and we don’t need these kinds of practices. Such way ofthinking is unreasonable. In Ten Ground Sutra, it is written, “even Bodhisattvas from thefirst to the ninth ground must make offerings and pay reverence to the image of Buddhasof Three-Yugas”. Let alone ninth level, we have not even reached the path ofaccumulation or the path of preliminary practices, therefore should not easily destroy thebeneficent roots of worldly actions. Bodhisattva Ground Shastra taught many principleson how Bodhisattvas must honor and make offerings to the Tathagata. Even the greatBodhisattvas must act this way: we who have not yet entered the path of the Mahayanashould not underestimate any good deeds by all means.Perhaps certain people think they are great Bodhisattvas, but that needs someobservation. There used to be an old Lama named Kerang. Once HH Jigme Phuntsok wasteaching us about the merit of Bodhicitta and said, “You have all obtained the sanctifiedprecepts of the Bodhisattvas, therefore from now on you can be called greatBodhisattvas.” So he called himself “great Bodhisattva” every day. Once someone wasscrupulous about his words, so Lama Kerang said in all seriousness, “Are you saying thata great Bodhisattva like me will tell lies? Impossible!” Someone else asked, “Are youreally a great Bodhisattva?” “Of course! Didn’t HH Jigme Phuntsok tell us already? I ama great Bodhisattva.” I wonder if you all think that you are great bodhisattvas. In fact realgreat bodhisattvas are those who have reached the eighth ground or higher, and then theycan be called great Bodhisattvas.11There are other ways of chanting this circumambulation mantra.23

Some people are not even close to the path of accumulation, but already figure theyno longer need to recite any more mantras or chant the name of Amitabha, nor do theyneed circumambulation, for these are the acts of people with low capacity. Such thoughtsare unreasonable. Whatever we do, we must measure our actions with the speech ofBuddha, if Buddha said it is meritorious in Mahayana doctrines, then there will beabsolutely no doubt or deception about it, we must believe it 100% and do as Buddha hadtaught us. It is written in The Sutra of Samadhi King, “Even if the sky and the starsplummet from the sky, and the land and the sea, the cities and towns have collapsed, thevoid is indifferent but the heart changes, and the Tathagata never utters an untruthfulword.(The Tibetan translation differs slightly to the Chinese version.)" This means, evenif stars, the sun and the moon fall from the sky, the sea dries out and the land falls apart,Tathagata will never tell a lie. Therefore, with sanctified belief, we must trust allBuddha's Vajra speech; we have no reason to doubt what the Buddha said. If at somepoint we are confused, this is only due to our own ignorance that we cannot understand.If we can truly understand, the words of the Buddha cannot be untruthful. It is with thiskind of reverence that we should circumambulate Buddhist stupas.As of what to visualize while circumambulating, it is written in the teachings ofSongtsen Gampo. For example, when we are circumambulating the statue ofAvalokiteshvara, we should imagine that, "exterior" wise, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas areall merged into the statue of Avalokiteshvara; "interior" wise, all Lamas of the lineageteaching are all merged into the statue of Avalokiteshvara; and “exoteric” wise, Dakinisand the Yidams are all merged into the statue of Avalokiteshvara, and then chant “OMMANI PADME HUM” while circumambulating. During circumambulation, the lightilluminated from Avalokiteshvara merges into ourselves, all sins committed throughbody, speech and mind are purified. Many people of great merit have said that one cancertainly broaden his scope of contemplation, but if not possible, at least visualize thispart. For example, if you circumambulate a stupa today, then visualize that this stupa isthe aggregation of the blessing from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of all ten directions.While circumambulating, the light radiated from it sanctifies all the bad karma committedduring immeasurable past Kalpas. It is recommended to recite the mantra ofcircumambulation. If you can’t, then chant OM MANI PADME HUM or the hundredsyllable mantra, or the mantra of Vajrasattva. When I circumambulated, I generallyrecited the Vajrasattva mantra, because I have committed too many karmic hindrances inthe past immeasurable kalpas and the current life, and therefore should rely on such amandala of the holy honored one to purify our sins. Each time we visualize the lightradiated from the mandala, the sins committed by our body, speech and mind can be allpurified.As to the number of times of circumambulation, HH Jigme Phuntsok used to say, thesuperior ones should circumambulate more than 10,000 times, the intermediary onesmore than 1000 times, the and inferior ones more than 100 times. The seventh DalaiLama Kelzang Gyatso said, "The number of times of circumambulation should be likethe 500,000 applied practices, so 100,000 is the best number." As ordinary people, themore we circumambulate the better. Do not just circumambulate three times, and bealready out of breath, and say, “I can’t do it anymore, I'll just go home!" Some people24

don’t feel breathless at all when committing bad karmic hindrances, but when it comes tothe good deeds, their bodies cannot take it anymore or they start to getting into a badmood.Buddhist statues and stupas are true wish-granting jewels; they have great benefitand blessing for the current and the next lives. If we can have solid understandings ofthis, then relying on it, we can surely get rid of karmic hindrances, broaden the scope ofour wisdom prolong lifespan, and have all of our wishes come true. This is theunimaginable blessing power of the Three Jewels. We have doctrinal evidence andtheoretical evidence; therefore, the accomplished ones of the past attach great importanceto circumambulating stupas and statues of the Buddha.I hope that in the future, when you circumambulate, your heart remains pure, andconsider the stupa as the stupa of treasure, which is the accumulation of the merits of theBuddha's body, speech and mind. The other day when I was on a trip to Qinghai, therewas a Buddhist stupa inside which was the hair of King Tri Ralpachen. We thought it wasa great opportunity for circumambulation, and had an extraordinary feeling about this.When I was circumambulating, tears quietly streamed down, because King Tri Ralpachenwas a King who revered Buddhism very much. Whenever he saw a monk, he spread hishair on the floor, and let the monk walk on it. Hidden in this Stupa was his precious hair,I am very blessed to have seen such a stupa in this life.In fact, supreme objects such as stupas are everywhere; it's just that we are tooignorant to know their value. Now that we have understood more about it, we should doas such - firstly circumambulate as many times as we can when we see a stupa, and if thetime allows, circumambulate day and night. When I was studying in Garze NormalSchool, there was a Kyabje palace hall (meaning the hall of the protector). Icircumambulated every morning, during the day and in the evening. So we must not stopat one or two circles but circumambulate as much as we can. Secondly, as was written inBuddhist Scriptures, we must circumambulate clockwise, this is aimed at certain fewBuddhist practitioners. We must remember these two points. After circumambulation, weshould chant some simple or extensive dedication texts, devoting merits to theenlightenment of all sentient beings.Of course, making offerings in front of, prostrating to and even cleaning stupasbrings much merit as well, but due to the lack of time, I won't talk about it hereextensively. In short, the merit of circumambulating stupas is immeasurable. We mustdevelop unswerving faith!For practicing the Samantabhadra's acts of wisdom;I now dedicate all my cultivated beneficent rootsTo adhere to them by diligent studies.Extolled by all Buddhas of Three-Yugas,Such are the most magnificent Aspirations;I now dedicate all my cultivated beneficent rootsTo obtain the supreme acts of Samantabhadra.Questions25

1. What does the Buddhist stupa represent? What are the merits of building, mending andcircumambulating a stupa? Please demonstrate with specific doctrinal evidences.2. Is there merit if one builds a stupa or circumambulates it with a scattered mind? Why?3. If you don’t have a stupa in your surrounding, how should you do to accumulate meritin this respect? How can you help your parents and friends to accumulate this kind ofmerit?4. From ancient times till today, what kind of attitude did the great Buddhist masters heldtowards circumambulation? How do you feel about this?5. What should you recite when circumambulating? How should you meditate? Afterknowing the extraordinary merits that can generate from a stupa, what two activities willyou do?6. What kind of Buddhist stupa have you seen? What were you doing at that time? Afterstudying this lesson, what will you do in the future? How can you tell more people aboutthe merit of circumambulating stupas clockwise?26

The Merit of Buddha Name RecitationHomage to Fundamental Teacher Buddha Sakyamuni!Homage to the wisdom warrior Manjusri!Homage to all the lineage masters of great goodness!The unsurpassed, deep, profound, subtle, wonderful DharmaIn hundreds of thousands of millions of eons, is difficult to encounter,I now see and hear it, receive and uphold it,And I vow to fathom the Tathagata's true and actual meaning.In order to liberate all sentient beings, please generate the unsurpassable supremeBodhicitta!After having generated the supreme Bodhicitta, please listen attentively with thecorrect conduct of listening to the Dharma. Today, I will give a teaching on the merit ofthe names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Mipham Rinpoche expounded these merits withmuch clarity in the books that he had compiled, therefore I will not reiterate here.However, the reason that I am addressing this topic today is due to a recent causation ---the completion of the translation of A Collection of Buddha and Bodhisattva Names.After the completion of the translation, I requested that secular and non-secularpractitioners from all over the country carry out a Buddha Recitation Festival in order torecite the names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas together.There are many reasons for my request. First of all, the worldly gatherings of variouskinds have very little meaning and value for the most part, and are nothing more thanmere wastes of time and money. Even though there are certain Buddhist practitionerswho gather just to perform Tsok-offerings, fire pujas, and burnt-food offering, which arewholesome acts, and deserve to be rejoiced at, there are still some problems that need tobe scrutinized.You should know that the practices and rituals of Tantric Buddhism areextraordinary practices, but there are extremely rigorous requirements for the GuruAcharya—the one who confers oral transmission—and his disciples. After acceptingsomeone as our spiritual mentor, the practitioner cannot practice the Dharma in a randommanner. To practice Tantric Buddhism, one must receive a Mantrayana empowermentfirst, then start the preliminary practice, recite the mantras, and, having reached a certainlevel of cultivation, one must practice the generation stage and the completion stagebefore commencing the main practice. There are many requirements on how to perform aTsok-offering according to the canons of Tantric Buddhism. It is not as simple as a gettogether of several fellow practitioners supplied with biscuits and liquor, eating anddrinking as they chat loudly. There must be an actual significance to performing a burntfoodoffering. Of course, the practice of Esoteric Buddhism is very good for certainpractitioners with superior natural capacities who have received unbroken lineagetransmission and empowerment. There is no doubt in this regard. But to require all27

practitioners—the Chinese practitioners in particular—to reach such a state is perhaps anunrealistic demand.Therefore, for quite a while, I have been giving thoughts to a practice that is suitablefor old and young practitioners so that everyone can benefit from it. When I later saw thetremendous benefits mentioned in Mipham Rinpoche’s Name Collection of Buddhas andBodhisattvas, I decided to promote the practice of Buddha Recitation. Ever since 2008, Ihave demanded the fourfold assembly of the Bodhi Association, including laypractitioners, monks and nuns in all places, to participate in this Buddha RecitationFestival.The power of group practice is enormous, just as Patrul Rinpoche said, grouppractice is like raging fire, whereas solitary practice is like a spark. Therefore, during theauspicious days of each year such as the month when Buddha Sakyamuni performedmiracles, the day Buddha started to turn the wheel of Dharma, the day he descended fromthe godly realm of Tushita to Jambudvipa, the birthday of the Buddha, the day ofNirvana, everybody in each class or study group should gather in recitation of theseBuddhas’ names. Such a group practice is bound to be extremely beneficial.Of course, as a person who has shallow wisdom and limited knowledge, I do not daretalk about how meritorious such practice of chanting is without any reference. However,Mipham Rinpoche cited various Mahayana canons as doctrinal evidences, introducing themerit of each Buddha’s name. After reading this, you will immediately understand thetremendous merit of Buddha Recitation and resolve to participate in this group chantingpractice.Fellow practitioners of the Institute, if you have time, you should attend grouppractice during the holy days of every month. As for the fourfold assembly in China andabroad, including the practitioners of Vajra Bodhimandas, monasteries, Buddhist centersand each group of the Bodhi Association, we must attach importance to this. For each oneof you, in your rare and precious human life, this is an extremely important matter. Itappears that gathering together to chant the names of the Buddhas for one hour is not toodifficult, and the benefit and merit accumulated from this act is unfathomable. This iswhy I am here talking about the causal origination, so that everyone should regard thispractice highly. From now on, all local groups should organize a group chanting practiceas a part of our collective chanting festival.Then how do we apprehend the multitude of merits of chanting these Buddhas’names? I will make a brief introduction to everybody based on the sutras and sastras ofBuddhas and BodhisattvasThe Nirvana Sutra said that “Even if one were to open the great treasury/ And givealms to the people during one month/ The merit gained is inferior to/ That of a personreciting the Buddha’s name once/ Its merit surpasses the former/ By immeasurableamount”. This means that Buddha told the great king that if he opened the treasury of hiscountry and gave away all his gold, silver and other treasures to all sentient beings, themerit is unfathomable. But it is far inferior to the merit of a single Buddha Recitation.Some people might think that making financial offering to the lama or purchasingseveral bags of powdered milk for alms-giving generates great merit. But in fact, themerit of reciting the Buddha’s name single-mindedly far surpasses the previous actions.28

Nowadays, there are some successful businessmen and great alms-givers who seem tothink that donating tens of thousands of Yuan generates immeasurable merit. Althoughthere are merits in such actions as stated very clearly in sutras, the merit of reciting theBuddhas’ names surpasses far beyond that of donation.As a Buddhist practitioner, we must choose a practice that brings great merit. GreatMaster Shandao (the 2nd Patriarch of the Lotus Sect) of Chinese Buddhism has oncesaid, “All the other good actions/ Though virtuous/ When compared to BuddhaRecitation/ Are not comparable at all.” Other practices such as alms-giving and keepingvows are very virtuous as well, but far less meritorious compared to reciting theBuddhas’ names. This can be compared to lighting a candle in a dark room; although itbrings light, it can hardly be compared to the light emanated from the sun.Maybe you have read Sutra of Lauding All the Buddhas' Merits and Virtues. In thissutra, Buddha Sakyamuni said that he had heard of the name of Vajra-PramardinTathagataya from Buddha Dipamkara. With the merit of the name of this Buddha, thesins of life and death accumulated through over ten millions nayuta kalpas had beenovercome and Buddhahood had been attained sooner. Had he not heard of this name, hewould still not have attained the Buddhahood of Tathagata by now.Therefore, to have heard of the name of the Lord Buddha in this life means that wehave accumulated tremendous positive karma. Previously, while I was translating ACollection of Buddha and Bodhisattva Names, I kept thinking that my current levels ofself-awareness and cultivation are quite low, and I am not very adept in many aspects ofcultivation. Sometimes I feel ashamed thinking about it (these are words of truth and notmere words of phony humbleness). But having encountered these Buddhas’ names,whether it is by reading them with my eyes or reciting them with my mouth, or listeningto others reciting them, these are all results of good karma. If I had been reborn in a landof darkness where Buddha Dharma does not thrive, I wouldn’t have encountered this text;if I had been reborn in a world where one cannot hear the name of the Buddha, I couldnot have learned such extraordinary names of the Buddhas. Therefore, I feel from thebottom of my heart that I did not come to this world as a human being in vain, that thereis still a great significance. Then I am filled with more conviction in myself.I guess the fellow practitioners present here today must have such feelings too. A fewdays ago, I asked you to finish reading the text. But today, by show of hands, it appearsthat only about two thirds of you have read it, with still some who haven’t finishedreading. The reasons for not finishing your readings are still under investigation (theaudience laughs). But you should really read attentively. First, read about these meritstaught by Mipham Rinpoche. The teachings about these merits are based on varioussutras, and are not irresponsible and casual words.Whether it is reciting the Buddha’s name, chanting mantras or holding prayerfestival, how the merits of such practices should be like should be based on sufficientevidence. A while ago, there were rumors going around saying that chanting a certainnumber of times of The Great Cloud of Prayers and Blessings is equivalent to all themerit of “Vidyadharas Prayer Festival” currently held by the Institute; reciting 108 timesof the Heart Sutra can eliminate such and such disasters of this year; reciting 100,000times the mantra of Padmasambhava can bring the Olympic Games of 2008 to a29

successful close…... Many lamas have sent various kinds of text messages around, and sohave the secular devotees. A while ago, I asked some people, “What are the sources ofthis kind of information?” Because when H.H. Jigme Phuntsok was around, many peopledid not dare to misbehave, and His Holiness himself paid much attention to these merits.Without trustworthy reference, he wouldn’t have said chanting which mantra can preventwhich calamity from happening in 2008. There can’t possibly be anything written in thesutras about disasters of 2008, or how the 2008 Olympic Games would proceed, but it ispossibly for the personal purpose of some lamas and devotees. I don’t agree with some oftheir behaviors, and criticized some people a while ago.Of course, if you do have extra-sensory abilities, or some clairvoyance, and areomniscient of everything in the future, the present and the past, I wouldn’t deny what yousaid. But if people without such clairvoyance just speak as one pleases, then the meritsmentioned in the sutras lose their true meanings.So we must be careful! Even the great Buddhist scholar and enlightened master suchas Mipham Rinpoche cited records from sutras throughout his Name Collection ofBuddhas and Bodhisattvas, and not just saying that “I think you should chant such andsuch names, and by doing so you will receive such and such merits.” So both fellowpractitioners seated here and the devotees outside of the Institute should be careful ofwhat they say. Nowadays, information technology is rather developed; if a good thing issent out, the whole world will know; but if a bad thing is sent out, many people will alsoknow. Some Buddhist practitioners especially are very easily fooled. Maybe because theyare particularly devoted, so as soon as the words “Lama” or “Rinpoche” is brought up,they will regard them as fallen from the heaven and are absolutely worthy of acceptance.In fact the realities sometimes are not necessarily as they appear. I think of it this way:when you send text messages in the future, if you think that it’s very reliable, that it isbeneficial to Buddhism, and that it is based on evidential references, then you can send it.Reciting mantras and names of Buddhas generates tremendous merits, but to say thatthese particular merits can keep a particular disaster from happening, you need to checkwhether it has any referential support. The lamas who teach Buddhism should payattention in this respect as well. They should not say whatever they want and mislead thepractitioners. As a Buddhist, we should act responsibly towards Buddhism.In general, reciting the names of the Buddhas in an assembly accrues profoundmerits. Such merits are expounded by great masters of Buddhism such as MiphamRinpoche, which is based on scriptural authority and cannot be rebutted by anyone.Therefore, we should have absolute faith and must recite the names of the Buddhas.Some people may think that historically, the doctrine of chanting the Buddha’s namehas been preva lent in the Han region of China, and that it is sufficient to just invoke thename of Amitabha. What’s the use of invoking the names of so many Buddhas? Such away of thinking is mistaken. Like I’ve said before, reciting only one Buddha’s name andreading one sutra is extremely beneficial for people of certain innate capacity (forexample, some illiterate elderly people do not know how to practice Buddhism, but arevery devoted anyhow). For these people, a “Namo Amitabha Buddha” is veryextraordinary, and it is being popularized at the moment by many eminent monks inChina and abroad. Still, we should not repudiate other Buddhas’ names in order to adhere30

to one invariable practice. Because sentient beings that Buddha Sakyamuni tried tosubdue have different natural capacities and volitions, some sentient beings benefit fromreciting the name of Amitabha Buddha, some others need to rely on reciting anotherBuddha’s name, and yet some need to recite the names of many Buddhas…there arevarious kinds of situations. Therefore, different names of the Buddhas have differentmerits and virtues.The Bodhisattva Kishitigarbha Vow Sutra mentioned: “Even reciting the name ofone Buddha brings immeasurable merits, let alone the names of many Buddhas?” Thistells us that the doctrine of Buddha name recitation is not limited by just the name ofAmitabha Buddha. It was immediately written in the text that, whether the person is aliveor dead, if people can recite the names of multiple Buddhas, it could avert them fromdisasters and sufferings, preventing them from falling into evil realms. When a familymember dies or falls ill, even if there is only one person reciting the name of the Buddhaonce, all negative karmic conditions can be purified with the exception of the fivecardinal sins. Therefore, when a family member is sick or has passed away, if there is aperson who can do supportive recitation for him, it is bound to be helpful, as said in theBodhisattva Kishitigarbha Vow Sutra. Not only will it benefit others, its benefits tooneself are beyond measure, as it is written in the Sutra, “Those who recite or mindBuddhas’ names can attain limitless merits and eradicate countless offenses”.In the Jeweled Repentance with Ten Thousand Buddhas’ Names of the Chinesetradition, there are ten thousand names of Buddhas. In this text, there is no mention thatone should only recite the name of Amitabha Buddha. In Chinese Lineage, sutras such asThe Sutra of the Names of the Thousand Buddhas of the Past Kalpa of Glory, The Sutraof the Names of the Thousand Buddhas of the Present Kalpa of Merit or The Sutra of theNames of the Thousand Buddhas of the Future Kalpa of Constellations have documentednumerous names of Buddhas of the Three Times. Recorded in many sutras such as theSutra of the Increase Towards Great Liberation and the Sutra of the Jewel Mound are thenames of many Buddhas of the ten directions. Therefore, some great masters disseminatethe Pure Land Doctrine, which is very suitable for certain people and deserves ourappreciation. However, if they do not allow people, young or old, to recite otherBuddhas’ names except for the name of Amitabha Buddha, this kind of attitude is notvery reasonable. After all, sentient beings differ in their natural capacity, volitions, vows,and karmic conditions. Also, chanting different Buddha names generates differentbenefits. Therefore, when people recite Buddhas’ names, they should get rid of themistaken idea of “only reciting one Buddha’s name and none of the others”. This isproblematic.Another point that needs to be mentioned here is that there are ten epithets of theBuddha such as the Tathagata, Arhat, the Perfectly Enlightened, etc. Usually, only thename “Tathagata” appears in most Buddhist scriptures, the others rarely appear.However, if you can recite all ten names, the merit is colossal. The Questions of ManjusriSutra of the Chinese Buddhist lineage says: “If we recite single-mindedly the ten epithetsof the Buddha, the Buddha will often accompany us; we will be able to listen to theBuddha's teachings in the future, and meet the fourfold assembly of Buddha.” Suchpractice can also “prolong our lifespan, and avert us from diseases”, etc. The Sutra31

ecorded a multitude of merits. Therefore, it is very necessary to pray to the Buddha inthis manner.As documented in classical texts as well as in the Questions of Manjusri Sutra,during the recitation, it is best to put “I prostrate to, take refuge in, and make offerings to”before the name of each Buddha. I hope you can read it at your own convenience. If youreally cannot recite in this manner, you may also directly recite the names of Buddhas,such as “Prostration to the Immeasurable Light Buddha”, “Prostration to the TreasureBun Buddha” or the like. There’s nothing wrong about that. Especially for some oldpeople, or your relatives and friends at home who are elderly and oblivious, it is difficultfor them to remember so many names, so you can just teach them one name at a time. Forexample, you can teach him to recite 'Namo Amitabha' first. Once he has learned that,you can teach them to recite 'Namo Original Teacher Buddha Sakyamuni', then 'NamoTreasure Bun Buddha'...Teaching a simple name of the Buddha thus can bring wondrousmerits.Teaching others to recite the Buddha's name brings incredible merits that won’t beexhausted until the attainment of Bodhi-fruit, while the merit of visualizing the Buddhaor to recite the name of the Buddha while contemplating the image of the Buddha is alsoinconceivable, and will not be exhausted until the attainment of nirvana. The GreatCompassion Sutra says: “Reciting Buddha's name once/ Creates good roots that/ Untilentering the realm of Nirvana/ Will never be exhausted.” Therefore, whether you read orlisten to the name of Buddha with good intention or absentmindedness, this kind of meritwill not be exhausted until the attainment of Bodhi-fruit, just as the money that youdeposit in the bank will not be exhausted until you withdraw it all. Such merit istremendous.There is no need for too many pointless and mundane words. We should put ourminds into Buddha Recitation, reciting as diligently as our time allows. At present, PureLand Buddhism has done very well in this regard – many masters of Dharma advocatepractitioners to recite the Buddha’s name single-mindedly without distracting themselvesby various types of practices. Of course, to recite multiple Buddhas' names is not adistracting practice of lesser importance, neither are meditation and other wholesomedeeds. You should not have any doubts in this regard. The so-called distracting practice isto teach various practices to a person of lesser capacity, who should practice nothing butrecitation of the name of Amitabha Buddha. However, most other Buddhists should learnfrom the great masters of Tibetan Buddhism such as Chagmey Rinpoche or some notedmonks of Chinese Buddhism, who not only practiced meditation, but also recited theBuddha's name and thoroughly studied the sutras and sastras. From their biographies ortheir endeavors of spreading the Dharma and benefiting sentient beings, we can tell thattrue distracting practice that affect us are stray and unwholesome thoughts, and they arebound to be harmful to the attainment of enlightenment.Therefore, we should put aside all irrelevant activities and concentrate in BuddhaRecitation. There is a lyric that goes like this: 'Say one less sentence, recite once moreBuddha's name, you will not be lost in the vast ocean of desires.' Whether you are a monkor a lay practitioner, life is very short and a human being's body is difficult to obtain.Thus you shouldn't idle your life away in seeking mundane pleasures and gossiping all32

day. Many of the lay practitioners enjoy talking about the same topic everyday—Haveyou bought a house? Have you bought a car? Have you got married? Have you got achild? Have your children attended school? If he is in school, what grade is he in...?Discussing these things does not have much significance. What is truly meaningful is torecite more Buddhas’ names in daily life.Reciting the Buddha's name is not only tremendously helpful to the attainment ofBuddhahood, but is also of great help to our temporary well-beings. People who fearearthquakes, blizzards, tsunamis and so on can recite the name of "Nagaraja Tathagata".By reciting his name, all kinds of diseases, disasters, epidemics and so on can beeliminated. If you recite the name of 'Sun Moon Lamp Tathagata', you will not beafflicted with the evil spirits and heretic doctrines. Some people particularly fear the evilspirits and dare not go to latrines at night alone. Then you can recite 'Namo Sun MoonLamp Tathagata'. When you have the sun, the moon and lamps, no evil spirits will beable to harm you. Moreover, the merit of this Buddha's name is so immense that it isworth obtaining by offering enough pearls and treasures to fill the entire world a millionfold.If you recite the name of 'Moon Lamp Tathagata', the person who recites it or hearsit will be the object of offering from humans and gods, and there will be no differencebetween your body and a stupa. If someone prostrates to you, you can recite 'Namo SunMoon Lamp Tathagata, Namo Sun Moon Lamp Tathagata—OK. You can startprostrating to me. I can accept it." There are some people who are partial to appearingbeautiful, and wish to have elegant appearances. These people can recite 'Namo LotusSteps Tathagata'. In short, there are manifold merits of Buddhas' names in terms oftemporary benefits.In fact, nowadays quite a lot of people merely seek temporary benefits. CertainDharma teachers and practitioners seem to be only after worldly merits, their practicebecame the practice of Vehicle for Gods and Men (Deva-manu-sya-yana). The vehiclesin Buddhism begin with Deva-manu-sya-yana, then it’s Hinayana Buddhism, thenMahayana Buddhism. In the Vehicle for Gods and Men, practitioners seek well-beings inthis life, beautiful appearance, and good business. It is for this reason that many peoplepractice Buddhism. If your goal is to obtain worldly or godly merits, then it is enough tojust recite these Buddha names. If you want to obtain eternal benefits, you should makeextraordinary vows, like the great vows made by the Seven Medicine Buddhas: i.e. eightgreat vows made by Buddha Suparakirtita Namashri, or the four great vows of BuddhaSuvarnabhadra Vimala, or the twelve great vows of Buddha with Lapis Light. BuddhaSakyamuni also made five hundred great vows, and attained enlightenment eventuallywith the power of these vows. Furthermore, after having read these vows, we can knowthat having encountered these Buddhas’ names shows the fact that we have accumulatedincredible merits. Mipham Rinpoche quoted the textual reference from The Sutra of theSeal of Entering into Certainty and Uncertainty that if one fills the entire billion-folduniverse with gold and jewelry and worldly treasures to offer to the Solitary Realizer,such an action accrues inconceivable merits, but if one utters the words “Buddha”, “theOmniscient One” or “the Protector of the World”, or merely perceives these names bysound, the merits accumulated from the latter surpass far beyond that of the former.Besides mute people, anyone can say the word “Buddha”, and even little children can.33

Since its merit is so great, we should all regard the practice of Buddha Recitation highlyfrom this moment on.The method of Buddha Recitation that I am advocating is slightly different from themethod of the Pure Land Doctrine. In the Pure Land Doctrine, the practitioners are taughtto recite only the name of Buddha Amitabha without much emphasis on other Buddhas’names. Here, I require everyone to recite the name of various Buddhas’ names. If we canpersevere in this practice, the direct and indirect merits are tremendous.The Lotus Sutra says, “If with scattered mind/ A person enters a stupa or a temple/Or recites 'Namo Buddha' once/ He has already entered Buddhahood.” This means thatone can eventually attain Buddhahood by even chanting “Namo Buddha” once withscattered mind. This means that one can eventually attain Buddhahood by even chanting“Namo Buddha” once with scattered mind. There is a story related to this: at the time ofBuddha Sakyamuni, an old man saw that the group of Bhiksus had dignified manners,and that their comportment were pure and unrestrained, which he admired so much thathe begged to become a Buddhist monk (there are some old lay practitioners here who arethe same: when they see that monks are living rather comfortably, they are alsodetermined to have their heads shaved). At that time, many Arahats observed with theirclairvoyance that this man had not performed any wholesome deed in 80,000 kalpas(unlike us, after observing a person for three or four months, our administrative monksigns a piece of paper and this person can be ordained a monk), therefore he was in nokarmic conditions to receive ordination. This man was so sad that he kept on sobbing.Later, with the power of his clairvoyance that surpasses that of the Arahats, Buddhahimself perceived that this man used to be a woodsman at a time even earlier than 80,000kalpas ago, and one time when he was hunting in the forest, he ran into a tiger. When thetiger was about to devour him, he hurried up a tree and accidentally cried: 'NamoBuddha'. Thanks to this cry, his positive karmic root ripened that day, and Buddhagranted him to take the monastic vows, after which, he attained Arhatship.When we are in monasteries or at home, it is a very simple practice to recite NamoBuddha Amitabha or "I prostrate to, take refuge in, and make offerings to the Tathagata,the Perfectly Enlightened Buddha Sakyamuni", but its merit is unfathomable. In theWhite Lotus Sutra, it is said, "Buddha is unfathomable, Dharma is unfathomable, faith isunfathomable, its karmic maturation is unfathomable.” We must have accumulatedtremendous merits to have encountered Buddha and Dharma, and if we bestow faith in,make offerings to, prostrate to, and take refuge in Buddha and Dharma, the karmic resultof such actions are also unfathomable. In this regard, no philosopher, writer ortheoretician can obtain such merit, no matter how much they ponder upon it and try toobserve through their judgment.Without articulating the word "Buddha", the mere utterance of the word “Namo”alone brings merit. As documented in Agama Sutra, due to his hostility against BuddhaSakyamuni, Devadatta committed three cardinal sins which causes rebirth in the Hell ofUninterrupted Suffering, and was extremely scared when his life was coming to an endand that he was about to fall into hell. At that time, many of his kinsmen persuaded himto take refuge in the Buddha. But due to his intense jealousy towards the Buddha, hewould not say the word "Buddha". But he did manage to utter "Namo". With this merit,34

Buddha predicted that he would become Namo Pratyekabuddha Buddha. This isdocumented slightly differently in Mula-sarvastivada-vinaa, though the contents aregenerally the same.Therefore, reciting the Buddha's name brings great merits indeed, but I have onlymade a brief introduction today. And after this lecture I hope everyone could consultrelevant texts. Mipham Rinpoche had once cited The Sutra of the Jeweled Mound, inwhich it is said, “'Prostration to all Buddhas' is like a great gleaming torch which is boundto destroy all mental afflictions”. He also cited textual reference from Avatamsaka Sutra,which said that reciting the Buddhas’ names is like “having consumed Vajra-Dhatu, evenin small quantity, the Vajra-Dhatu cannot be dissolved”. Therefore, it is very rare toencounter Buddha Dharma in this present life. Such merit that is associated with theBuddha can never be exhausted throughout future rebirths.Mipham Rinpoche made clarifications in the small prints at the end of the text that,because of Dharma Cinta Mani, we can hear of such precious and honorable names ofBuddha. Were it not for Buddha Dharma, we would not have been able to encounter it inthousands of millions of Kalpas. So we must cherish this opportunity we have now. Thewise ones should try to recite the names of Buddhas. When we see someone dying orsuffering, we should teach them this practice by their ears. Some of the Buddhas’ namesare commonly used, such as Treasure Bun Buddha, Medicine Buddha, and Precious FireTathagata etc. H.H. Jigme Phuntsok used to say that if we offer the treasures of the entireworld to the Buddhas, the merit acquired is tremendous. However, we will gain muchmore merits if we recite the name of 'Namo Precious Fire Tathagata'. His Holiness alsoimparted its oral transmission to us. He used to emphasize often the merits of BuddhaRecitation.You should carefully read Mipham Rinpoche's words at the end of the text. It is alsowritten that it is very difficult to repay the kindness of your parents, relatives and friends.But if you can guide them to recite the names of the Buddhas, even if they don’t recite itoften, the occasional recitation will benefit them greatly, and this is also a way to returntheir kindness.Therefore, I have a requirement for all members of the Bodhi Association: if youwere to persuade their family members to participate in Dharma studies and practice, theyare perhaps in no karmic condition for this. However, they might agree to participate inan occasional group chanting practice that lasts for a little longer than an hour, whichthey should attend as a favor to you. If they are really unwilling to attend, force them to,even if it resorts to dragging them by the hair. Voluntarily or not, it will benefit themtremendously in all future rebirths only by listening to the names of so many Tathagatas.Therefore, at the end of the text, Mipham Rinpoche joined his palms together withearnest intention and advised us with motivating words to chant the names of Buddhasand Bodhisattvas. We should not be lazy in this practice. If we don't attach importance towhat a great achiever like Mipham Rinpoche had seriously requested with joined palms,then we are heartless creatures.Reciting these Buddhas’ names will benefit people whether they are old, young,powerful, rich, yellow or white. Anybody can benefit. Even for animals that areagonizing before dying, if you read the Buddha’s name by their ears, it can be35

tremendously helpful to them as well. In the future, if there is a Vajra brother or sisterwho has left this world or is about to, several fellow practitioners should gather andperform supportive Buddha recitation to him or her. From today on, the Institute willrequire everyone to practice in this way. For people from outside of the Bodhi Institute,when you see a dying person, giving him or her 100 Yuan does not help. Rather, youshould chant some names of the Buddhas to this person. After all, when one enters thestate of Bardo, money is useless. Chinese Yuan is useless even in America, let alone inBardo.A while ago, my mother’s sister was diagnosed of cancer, and was going to die soon.My mother gave her 1000 Yuan, so I said, what’s the use of giving her 1000 Yuan?You’d much better recite some Buddhas’ names to her. Therefore, when family membersor friends die, do not give them money; it is useless to give them money. If you are reallygenerous, you should give them money when he’s not sick or dying. When he’s dying,you should read him Buddhas’ names. This is a truly beneficial action for him.In the future, we should popularize this chanting festival, and everyone shouldpersuade at least ten people to recite the Buddha’s name. We will print as many of ACollection of Buddha and Bodhisattva Names as possible, and give a copy to whomeverpromises to read it more than ten times. We will continue the supply of this book, so youshould also try to be of help.Of course, if some people are particularly slow-witted, or when some people are tooold to read so many Buddhas' names, Mipham Rinpoche said that it is all right to readjust one, two or three Buddhas’ names. One should do his best. Some people haveparticularly strong karmic hindrances as a result of taking the lives of many sentientbeings. If those people cry in front of you and ask for forgiveness and want to repent theirwrong-doings, then ask them to recite these Buddhas’ names. If they can recite well, theywill absolutely go to the Pure Realm. You should use the expression “absolutely”. Why?Because many scriptures were very clear about the fact that reciting the Buddhas’ nameswill guide you away from evil rebirths and lead you to the Pure Land, so you would notbe lying if you tell this to them. Of course, if there isn’t enough basis and doctrinalevidence, you can’t just speak lightly.I am personally very happy that many people created an auspicious bond with thispractice. Mipham Rinpoche’s aspirations and merits are quite faultless, so if people recitethese Buddhas’ names, it is definitely beneficial to sentient beings. Also, knowing themerits of these Buddhas’ names is quite convenient. For example, when we are releasinglives, we need to recite the names of the Seven Medicine Buddhas, in which we should befluent by now. Anybody should be delighted when he or she sees the merit of thispractice, and a sentiment of joy will grow within. Maybe today I have been quitegarrulous. In brief, we should all recite these Buddhas’ names as much as we can withdevout faith.Of course, as to the method of recitation, I have mentioned it at the beginning of ACollection of Buddha and Bodhisattva Names. When you are gathered together, youshould first clean the venue, and then place a Buddha’s statue, some Buddhist scripturesand a Buddhist stupa on the altar so that people attending the prayer festival can prostrateto it. You can prostrate 21 times, 7 times or 3 times. After the prostration, perform the36

Seven Limb offering first, and then start reciting the Buddhas’ names. After therecitation, dedicate the merit by reading the Vows of Bodhisattva Samanthabhadra. If youcan practice in the ways indicated above, it can truly accrue inconceivable merits.Nowadays, people are very busy with professional and personal lives, and theirmental states are often chaotic. So if you ask them to spare one hour, they might beintimidated by the idea and flinch. But if they can give the merits of such a practice athought, all these worries and concerns will be dispelled. After all, if the grave problemof life and death can be solved in one hour, who wouldn’t do it? Who wouldn’t desire it?Therefore, you should first read the merits that Mipham Rinpoche had talked about,and then do your best to attend this Buddha Recitation Festival. People of any kind ofnatural capacities can attend it, and it is easy to promulgate, so I hope you can try yourbest to promulgate it extensively![1] Mipam Rinpoche(1846-1912), one of the most extraordinary figures of the Nyingmatradition and one of the greatest scholars of his time.[2]Patrul Rinpoche(1808-1889), spiritual teacher of Mipam Rinpoche, is considered asone of the most eminent lineage masters of the Nyingma tradition. His works include thefamous Words of my Perfect Teacher.[3] A celestial realm in which Bodhisattva Maitreya is believed to reside[4] Jambudvipa is a continent where humans live. In Buddhist cosmology, it is believedto be located south of Mount Sumeru,[5] A nayuta is equal to a hundred thousand millions.[6] Born in the 17th century, Chagmey Rinpoche is a prolific master and lineage holderof both the Kagyu and the Nyingma lineage.[7] The period of time between creation and recreation of a world or universe[8] An indestructible substance[9] A wish-fulfilling jewel[10] An intermediate state of being that occurs between the death of a person and hisnext rebirth.37

Translators' AcknowledgmentsMost members of the Wisdom and Compassion Translation Center are disciples ofKhenpo Sodargye Rinpoche. We would like to thank our master Khenpo SodargyeRinpoche and all the teachers of the lineage for their teachings. Only with theseteachings, were we able to gain understanding in the profound meanings of Shantideva'streatise which serves the ground of our translation task.We would also like to thank Megan Lung for taking her time to proofread this book.38

About the AuthorKhenpo Sodargye Rinpoche was born in Drakgo in Kham Tibet in 1962. He wasordained as a monk in 1985 and relies on H.H. Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche of Larung GarFive Sciences Buddhist Academy, Sichuan Province, China, as his root guru.Kheno Rinpoche was entrusted by Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche to take lead responsibilityfor teaching the Dharma to Han Chinese disciples. Endeavoring day and night over thepast quarter century, he has been translating volumes of sacred Tibetan texts into Chineseand expounding their meanings through numerous teachings, including teaching theMiddle Way in 100 lectures and The Way of the Bodhisattva in 200 plus classes. He alsohas transmitted his mastery and realization in the Great Perfection, the Great Illusory Netand Trilogy of Finding Comfort and Ease, etc., benefiting countless sentient beings andproducing many highly qualified Buddhist teachers. The quintessence of Rinpoche’steaching to his students is that, with the bodhichitta mind of Mahayana as the foundation,one should apply equal importance to the listening, contemplation and meditation of theDharma, and try to benefit sentient beings as much as possible.As early as the ’90s, Khenpo Sodargye Rinpoche accompanied H.H. Jigme PhuntsokRinpoche to give Dharma teachings in more than a dozen countries throughout Europe,America, and Southeast Asia. In recent years, he has been invited to many universities—Tsinghua University, Peking University, The Hong Kong University of Science andTechnology, University of Hong Kong, etc.—to speak with scores of intellectuals.Recently, he has been invited to give talks at George Washington University,Georgetown University, Max Planck Institute, Harvard University, Columbia University,University of Colorado, and so on, in his oversea teaching tour.Khenpo Sodargye Rinpoche also initiated a movement called “Promoting a LovingHeart,” encouraging Buddhist practitioners to cultivate loving-kindness and compassionin daily life and to stop ignoring the needy. While encouraging people to manifest ourinnate kindness in different ways, he stresses that compassion is not to be limited tohumans only, but rather encompasses all other sentient beings such as animals.Khenpo Sodargye Rinpoche often advises his students: “As long as we can benefitsentient beings, even if only one person generates one virtuous thought through ourefforts, we should be willing to serve that person for millions and millions of eons.” And:“I don't know how long I’ll live, but as long as I have breath in me, even if there wereonly one listener, I would try my best to benefit that person with the sacred Dharma.”39

CreditCover Design: Chang Hui40

CopyrightThree Methods of Merit Accumulation. Copyright © 2013 by the Wisdom andCompassion Translation Center. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have beengranted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded,decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storageand retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical,now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the BodhiInstitute of Compassion and Wisdom USA.41

About the PublisherBodhi Institute of Compassion and Wisdom USA (BICW USA)Website: http://www.buddhistweb.org/index.php/bodhi-institute/bodhi-institute-ofcompassion-and-wisdom-usaE-mail: publishing.bicwusa@gmail.com42