Dharma Talk: Mindfulness is like Yeast and Salt

I found some notes I have taken on July, 8, 2012 from a dharma talk I have attended then. But I did not write down who gave the dharma talk. My bad. Anyway, let me just share it. But most of the notes were on the mindfulness of dharma. If I am not mistaken, the talk was given by a Tibetan Lama. One of the Rinpoches. 

1. Mindfulness of body 

Sorry, I did not take notes on this, but from the notes below, it does appear this mindfulness of body is more towards Samatha, particularly when doing repulsiveness of the body. 

2. Mindfulness of feelings

Going to vipassana. Mindful of feeling of body from head to toes. 

3. Mindfulness of mind contents.

i.e. thoughts. Tibetan emphasis mostly on this. Mind stream/thoughts/feelings as they arise without interfering it. Everything from our ideas, creativity, identification, etc are in our thoughts. What is mind that gives rise to thoughts? Who is thinking? Observing the mind.

4. Mindfulness of dharmas

States of mind. When young, everything seems new and interesting. Time seems long at that time. When we get older, time seems to pass more quickly. As we get older, our mind becomes stale. We get caught up in our own inner world of problems, ideas, plans, worries, biases, etc. We don't see things in its freshness anymore. We colour it with our own perception. Washing dishes just to wash dishes. Justifying that it is easy with our own conceptual thinking. Allow our mind to be spacious, yet with awareness. Not being focus on our mindfulness in a tight way. Allowing our mind to "rest", yet doing things. Our life passes by without really savouring the moment's experiences. Why mindfulness is difficult is because our ego exists in the past or future and not experiencing the present. The ego does not allow us to stay in present. We can do this mindfulness anywhere, including in a committee meeting. But usually in the beginning, we do it without the need of much intellectual thinking. Mindfulness is like yeast, making bread with a little yeast. We add a little bit of it into our dough of life and let it grow. We don't have to leave our family, profession, etc. We just use mindfulness in our daily life. Mindfulness is also like salt, we can apply it to every dish. It brings out the vividness of our experiences. The truth is we are sleep walking. Buddha means The Awakened One. So we should wake up. Simple way is to apply mindfulness as much as we can. The point is to know - standing, sitting, walking, etc. 

#mindfulness #satipatthana #dhammanupassana

Saka Dawa Day being starting today according to the Tibetan calendar, here's wishing everyone a HAPPY SAKA DAWA DAY. 

If you like to know the significance of the Saka Dawa Day, read this post https://buddha-and-me.blogspot.com/2009/06/saka-dawa-day.html   

Namgyalma Mantra

From the previous post, now allow me to share with you the Namgyalma mantra. 

OM NAMO BHAGAVATE SARVA TRAILOKYA PRATIVISHISHTAYA 

BUDDHAYA TE NAMA 

TA YA THA 

OM BHRUM BHRUM BHRUM SHODHAYA SHODHAYA 

VISHODHAYA VISHODHAYA 

ASAMA SAMANTA AVABHASA SPHARANA GATI GAGANA SVABHAVA VISHUDDHE 

ABHISHINCHANTU MAM / 

SARVA TATHAGATA SUGATA VARA VACHANA AMRITA ABHISHEKARA  

MAHAMUDRA MANTRA PADAI 

AHARA AHARA 

MAMA AYUS SAMDHARANI 

SHODHAYA SHODHAYA 

VISHODHAYA VISHODHAYA 

GAGANA SVABHAVA VISHUDDHE

USHNISHA VIJAYA PARISHUDDHE 

SAHASRA RASMI SANCHO DITE 

SARVA TATHAGATA AVALOKINI

SHAT PARAMITA PARIPURANI

SARVA TATHAGATA MATE 

DASHA BHUMI PRATISHTHITE  

SARVA TATHAGATA HRIDAYA  

ADHISHTHANA ADHISHTHITE 

MUDRE MUDRE MAHA MUDRE 

VAJRA KAYA SAMHATANA PARISHUDDHE 

SARVA KARMA AVARANA VISHUDDHE  

PRATINI VARTAYA MAMA AYUR

VISHUDDHE SARVA TATHAGATA

SAMAYA ADHISHTHANA ADHISHTHITE 

OM MUNI MUNI MAHA MUNI 

VIMUNI VIMUNI MAHA VIMUNI 

MATI MATI MAHA MATI 

MAMATI SUMATI TATHATA 

BHUTA KOTI PARISHUDDHE

VISPHUTA BUDDHE SHUDDHE

HE HE JAYA JAYA / VIJAYA VIJAYA 

SMRARA SMRARA / SPHARA SPHARA

SPHARAYA SPHARAYA 

SARVA BUDDHA ADHISHTHANA ADHISHTHITE 

SHUDDHE SHUDDHE 

BUDDHE BUDDHE 

VAJRE VAJRE MAHA VAJRE 

SUVAJRE VAJRA GARBHE JAYA GARBHE

VIJAYA GARBHE

VAJRA JVALA GARBHE 

VAJROD BHAVE 

VAJRA SAMBHAVE  

VAJRE VAJRINI

VAJRAMA BHAVATU MAMA SHARIRAM

SARVA SATTVA NANCHA KAYA PARISHUDDHIR BHAVATU 

ME SADA SARVA GATI PARISHUDDHISHCHA 

SARVA TATHAGATASHCHA 

MAM SAMASHVAS YANTU 

BUDDHYA BUDDHYA 

SIDDHYA SIDDHYA 

BODHAYA BODHAYA

VIBODHAYA VIBODHAYA 

MOCHAYA MOCHAYA 

VIMOCHAYA VIMOCHAYA

SHODHAYA SHODHAYA

VISHODHAYA VISHODHAYA 

SAMANTANA MOCHAYA MOCHAYA 

SAMANTA RASMI PARISHUDDHE

SARVA TATHAGATA HRIDAYA 

ADHISHTHANA ADHISHTHITE 

MUDRE MUDRE MAHA MUDRE  

MAHAMUDRA MANTRA PADAI SVAHA

I got the above mantra from this link - https://shrawastionline.blogspot.com/2016/01/namgyalma-long-mantra-in-sanskrit.html

There are various Youtube channels on this mantra. I am sharing the video of Dzongsar Kyentse Rinpoche reciting this mantra. Although the video stated that is it Usnishavijaya, the mantra recited is more closer to Namgyalma. But of course, the two names are supposed to refer to the same thing. But as we can see, the actual words in these 2 mantras are somewhat different. Recite whichever is your preference. Or, the one that works most for you. In any animal liberation ceremony, and I would say funeral rites, the Namgyalma is often recited by Tibetan Lamas.  

If you like this post, I suggest you read another. https://buddha-and-me.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-pure-aspiration-prayer-to-triple-gem.html

#usnishavijaya #mantra #namgyalma

Usnishavijaya Mantra

Recently I saw this prayer book at the Jade Emperor temple and got a strong attraction to the Usnishavijaya mantra. I will present the mantra below. Please note the name is sometimes spelled with a “h”, as in “Ushnishavijaya”. Or, the “Vijaya” could be a separate word. This is just for your noting. Usnisavijaya is known as "Fwo Ding Zun Sheng" in Chinese Mahayana Buddhism. As I mentioned, I found the dharani in a prayer liturgy book (version 1 below). The deity probably originated from India, then spread to Tibet and then entered China. I'm just making a good guess but I could be wrong. Along the way, the words of the mantra got adapted or transliterated into Chinese language. And you know, how languages evolved and changed through the centuries. Even when it entered Tibet, there were most likely som evolution too in this dharani/long mantra. But it's okay, you can refer to the Tibetan version (i.e. Namgyalma mantra) in the next blog post.   

Version 1

namo bhagavate trailokya prativiśiṣṭāya buddhāya bhagavate.

tadyathā.

oṃ

viśodhaya viśodhaya. asamasama

samantavabhāsa spharaṇa gati gahana svabhāva viśuddhe.

abhiṣiñcatu māṃ. sugata vara vacana. amṛtābhiṣekai mahā mantrapadai.

āhara āhara āyuḥ sandhāraṇi. śodhaya śodhaya gagana viśuddhe.

uṣṇīṣa vijaya viśuddhe sahasraraśmi sañcodite.

sarva tathāgatāvalokani ṣaṭpāramitā paripūraṇi.

sarva tathāgata mati daśa bhūmi pratiṣṭhite.

sarva tathāgata hṛdaya adhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhita mahāmudre.

vajra kāya saṃhatana viśuddhe.

sarvāvaraṇāpāyadurgati pari viśuddhe. pratinivartaya āyuḥ śuddhe.

samayādhiṣṭhite. maṇi maṇi mahā maṇi.

tathatā bhūta koṭi pariśuddhe. visphuṭa buddhi śuddhe.

jaya jaya. vijaya vijaya. smara smara. sarva buddhādhiṣṭhita śuddhe.

vajre vajragarbhe vajraṃ bhavatu mama śarīraṃ.

sarva sattvānāṃ ca kāya pari viśuddhe. sarva gati pariśuddhe.

sarva tathāgata siñca me samāśvāsayantu.

sarva tathāgata samāśvāsādhiṣṭhite.

budhya budhya. vibudhya vibudhya.

bodhaya bodhaya. vibodhaya vibodhaya. samanta pariśuddhe.

sarva tathāgata hṛdayādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhita mahāmudre svāhā.

Version 2

namo bhagavate trailokya prativiśiṣṭāya buddhāya bhagavate

tadyathā oṃ viśodhaya viśodhaya

asamasama samanta avabhāsa spharaṇa gati gahana svabhāva viśuddhe

abhiṣiñcatu māṃ

sugata vara vacana

amṛta abhiṣeke mahāmantra pāne

āhara āhara āyuḥ sandhāraṇi

śodhaya śodhaya gagana viśuddhe

uṣṇīṣa vijaya viśuddhe

sahasraraśmi sañcodite

sarva tathāgata avalokana ṣaṭpāramitā paripūraṇi

sarva tathāgata hṛdaya adhiṣṭhāna adhiṣṭhita mahāmudre

vajrakāya saharaṇa viśuddhe

sarva āvaraṇa apāya durgati pariviśuddhe

pratinirvartaya āyuḥ śuddhe

samaya adhiṣṭhite maṇi maṇi mahāmaṇi

tathātā bhūta koṭi pariśuddhe

visphuṭa buddhi śuddhe

jaya jaya vijaya vijaya smara smara

sarva buddha adhiṣṭhita śuddhe

vajre vajra garbhe vajraṃ bhavatu mama śarīraṁ

sarva sattvānāṁ ca kāya pariviśuddhe

sarva gati pariśuddhe

sarva tathāgatāśca me sama āśvāsayantu

sarva tathāgata sama āśvāsa adhiṣṭhite

budhya budhya vibudhya vibudhya

bodhaya bodhaya vibodhaya vibodhaya

samanta pariśuddhe

sarva tathāgata hṛdaya adhiṣṭhāna adhiṣṭhita mahāmudre svāhā

These are 2 versions of the Usnishavijaya mantra, but there could be more. I got these from Wikipedia. Usnishavijaya is also known as Namgyalma in Tibetan tradition. But the mantra is somewhat different. I will post the Namgyalma mantra in another post. It is taught that the Usnishavijaya mantra is a very powerful mantra. It’s said that if you recite the mantra 21 times and blow it into a small lump of soil, and if you throw the soil to a ghost/spirit, the latter will immediately be liberated from its miserable existence.  There’s a story of one guy who goes around graves to do just that. He did this after a monk taught him this mantra and was rid of a ghost that had been stalking him. It was stalking him because he dug out some the grave of that dead person and took some things buried inside the grave. The monk saw the ghost after noticing this man has a black aura around him. It does not matter if the being has taken rebirth. Wherever he/she is, he/she will be better off. After the ghosts in the graves were liberated, the ghosts followed him.... But this time, they were following him as benefactors. They helped him. The man had a bright aura around him. So, this mantra is very beneficial! 

If you like this post, I suggest you read another. https://buddha-and-me.blogspot.com/2012/03/daimoku-is-part-of-buddhism.html

#usnishavijaya #mantra #namgyalma

The Lotus Sutra: A Comparison of the Chapters in the Chinese & Sanskrit versions

Today being Wesak Day, in order to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha, I will do a comparison between the traditional Lotus Sutra translation against the Sanskrit translation. I believe the common version is the one translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva. Then others use his version and translated into English. The names of chapters below that I am using for comparison is the one used in Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (2007 – publication by BDK English Tripitaka).

The common Lotus Sutra version

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. Skillful Means

Chapter 3. A Parable

Chapter 4. Willing Acceptance

Chapter 5. Herbs

Chapter 6. Prediction

Chapter 7. The Apparitional City

Chapter 8. The Five Hundred Disciples Receive Their Predictions

Chapter 9. The Predictions for Those Who Still Have More to Learn and for Those Who Do Not

Chapter 10. The Expounder of the Dharma

Chapter 11. The Appearance of a Jewelled Stupa

Chapter 12. Devadatta

Chapter 13. Perseverance

Chapter 14. Ease in Practice

Chapter 15. Bodhisattvas Emerging from the Earth

Chapter 16. The Lifespan of the Tathāgata

Chapter 17. Description of Merits

Chapter 18. The Merits of Joyful Acceptance

Chapter 19. The Benefits Obtained by an Expounder of the Dharma

Chapter 20. Bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta

Chapter 21. The Transcendent Powers of the Tathāgata

Chapter 22. Entrustment

Chapter 23. Ancient Accounts of Bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja

Chapter 24. Bodhisattva Gadgadasvara

Chapter 25. The Gateway to Every Direction [Manifested by Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara]

Chapter 26. Dhāraṇī

Chapter 27. Ancient Accounts of King Śubhavyūha

Chapter 28. Encouragement of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra

This is the more common text used in most Mahayana temples.

The Sanskrit version of the Lotus Sutra

Chapter 1. Introductory

Chapter 2. Skillfulness

Chapter 3. A Parable

Chapter 4. Disposition

Chapter 5. On Plants

Chapter 6. Announcement of Future Destiny

Chapter 7. Ancient Devotion

Chapter 8. Announcement of Future Destiny of the Five Hundred Monks

Chapter 9. Announcement of Future Destiny of Ananda, Rahula, and the Two Thousand Monks

Chapter 10. The Preacher

Chapter 11. Part 1 - Apparition of a Stupa

                     Part 2 - Devadatta

Chapter 12. Exertion  

Chapter 13. Peaceful Life

Chapter 14. Issuing of Bodhisattvas from the Gaps of the Earth

Chapter 15. Duration of Life of the Tathagata

Chapter 16. Of Piety

Chapter 17. Indication of the Meritoriousness of Joyful Acceptance

Chapter 18. The Advantages of a Religious Preacher

Chapter 19. Sadaparibhuta

Chapter 20. Conception of the Transcendent Power of the Tathagatas

Chapter 21. Spells

Chapter 22. Ancient Devotion of Bhaisajyaraga

Chapter 23. Gadgadasvara

Chapter 24. Chapter Called That of the All-Sided One, Containing a Description of the    

        Transformations of Avalokiteshvara

Chapter 25. Ancient Devotion

Chapter 26. Encouragement of Samantabhadra

Chapter 27. The Period

 

The Sanskrit version is translated by Hendrik Kern. The above chapters are extracted from his version. Note that Chapter 11 is split into 2, otherwise there would be 28 chapters altogether, same as the common translation version. The arrangements of the chapters are somewhat different for a few chapters. For example, the chapter on “Dharani” is usually chapter 26, but in the Sanskrit version, it is Chapter 21.

 

#TheLotusSutra #Wesak #ComparativeStudy

 If you have time, try to explore this post as well https://buddha-and-me.blogspot.com/2011/05/mothers-day-teachers-day-and-wesak-day.html

HAPPY WESAK

The Protecting Powers of Mother Achi Chokyi Drolma

I was on the way driving to KL last Saturday morning when an accident almost happened. 

I never liked driving long distances. Never. I usually preferred taking the express buses, trains or even take flights. In this case, I had to. I had the car checked and serviced 2 days before I drove down to KL. And I all these while, there was nothing wrong with the brakes. The tyres were okay. Just at about after the Ipoh tunnel, there were signboards for drivers to test their brakes. I checked and they were working well. For the last one hour, it was raining between heavy rain and slight rain. At that Ipoh tunnel, it was only a drizzle. So, it surprised me when the car suddenly went out of control - that is, it swerved left and right uncontrollably out of no apparent reason. I was shocked. I applied the brakes slowly and tried to take the car to the road side on the left. Thankfully, after awhile, again I am not sure what happened, but suddenly I was able to regain control of the car again and I was on the right track. I was also lucky that there were no nearby cars, otherwise I hate to think what might have happened. 

Before this journey, I was very aware and even conscious that I needed to do something to avoid any accidents. And so I started accumulating mantras, specifically Vajrasattva and Dorje Khadro mantras. And I chanted these 2 mantras all along the journey right from the start. But I wanted to relate a special incident that happened while I was praying to Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva the previous night. While praying to her, suddenly there was an "inner voice" that told me to bring along the Achi Chokyi Drolma talisman with me during the journey. It was strange because I never had any thoughts or intention to bring the talisman with me at all. So, for me to have that sudden thought during praying to Kuan Yin was very strange. But I did just that. I brought along the talisman and put it in my top left shirt pocket. 

After the "swerving" incident, I recalled the talisman in my pocket and felt grateful for whatever blessings bestowed on me. On my part, I did put in effort to recite the purification mantras all along the journey (before and after as well). Every week I do make incense offering to Mother Achi. For any blessings showered upon me, no matter how little, I cannot be ungrateful. And for this reason, I want to officially thank Mother Achi for her kindness! Thank you, Great Mother  - Achi Chokyi Drolma! And I thank Vajrasattva, Dorje Khadro, and my other protectors as well.  

Thank you.

#AchiChokyiDrolma #protectors 

You may want to read this other post - https://buddha-and-me.blogspot.com/2009/02/visited-by-vajrapani.html