Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Why should they be called kon-chog sum? Among all material objects, gold, silver, diamonds
and sapphires are the most precious. But rarer than these is the wish-granting jewel. After
being in the world a long time, at the end, the buddhas’ relics go into the ocean and become
wish-granting jewels. I saw this evolution mentioned in a medicine book. That is one
explanation; I don’t know if there are any others.
A universal king is a bodhisattva who has collected the most unbelievable merit. They only
appear in the world one at a time, never two, and when a king does appear his people are
able to live their lives in the ten virtues. 80 This happens by the power of the universal king.
Universal, or wheel-turning, kings—great bodhisattvas who have unbelievable merit—are
able to find wish-granting jewels in the ocean. The jewels are cleansed of mud in three ways
and on the fifteenth of the month are placed on top of a banner. Then, whatever material
needs of this life you pray for you can have.
This is something Sai Baba was said to be able to do. He made a hand gesture and produced
gold chains, watches or things like that for people to have. These were not magicians’
hallucinations, things you took back home and they then disappeared. You could use them
for a long time. Because Sai Baba had a lot of merit he was able to produce material gifts for
people.
For example, Ming Ming, one of my students and the godmother of Sangye from our labrang
in Sera, had a special connection with Sai Baba. She has been inviting the monks in Sera to
do puja every year on Sai Baba’s birthday for ten years. She also invites them to do puja on
Chinese New Year. I heard that Sai Baba produced a gold chain or something for the head
monk.
It’s very strange, because usually, in other places, Muslims would never think of reciting
mantras; they might even become infuriated. But many Christians and Muslims come to
Singapore and her son recites the mantra of the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, which I gave to
him and his mother to chant. They have special karma. They made a CD of their chanting,
but they recite it so fast I couldn’t follow. It is very interesting how the mother and children
do this. One time when the son chanted it there were thirty-one thousand people there.
Everybody, including all the Muslims, chanted. That is very special. There was no
discrimination, no sectarianism, just everybody chanting the mantra. For Muslims, chanting
is the most difficult thing in the world. And after they left Singapore they continued to chant
the mantras.
Even though a wish-granting jewel is much rarer than diamonds, sapphires or gold, it cannot
purify our past negative karma, the cause of lower realms. Only the Buddha, Dharma and
Sangha can guide us from the lower realms to the upper realms, from the upper realms to
nirvana, liberation from the oceans of samsara, ultimate happiness, and from there to sanggyä,
the total elimination of all obscurations and the completion of all realizations. Wishgranting
jewels can give us whatever material comfort of this life we ask for but they cannot
do what the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha can.
So, kon-chog sum, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, is much rarer than a wish-granting jewel,
much rarer than numberless wish-granting jewels. Even skies of wish-granting jewels are
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