Joyful Path of Good Fortune. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
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NAMO means ‘homage’ and MANJUSHRIYE means ‘Glorious Peaceful One’. A Buddha’s mind is peaceful because it is completely free from the two obstructions: delusion-obstructions – delusions and their seeds; and obstructions to omniscience – the imprints of delusions. Any being who is completely free from these is a Buddha. SU means ‘noble’ or ‘good’; and SHRI means ‘glorious’, and refers to the qualities of the Dharma Jewel. UTAMA SHRIYE means ‘glorious and unsurpassed’, and refers to the Sangha Jewel. Thus the meaning of the whole mantra is:
I pay homage to the Buddha Jewel,
I pay homage to the Dharma Jewel,
I pay homage to the Sangha Jewel.
We can also recite prayers as we physically prostrate. For example, we can recite the four verses of prostration from the King of Prayers of Superior Excellent Deeds Sutra:
However many Lions of Conqueror Buddhas there are
In the worlds of the ten directions and three times,
To all of them without exception
I prostrate with body, speech and mind.
By the power of my excellent pure view,
All Conqueror Buddhas appear clearly to my mind;
Bowing with bodies numerous as atoms of the world,
I prostrate to all these Conqueror Buddhas.
Upon each atom are Buddhas numerous as atoms
Surrounded by all Bodhisattvas;
In this way I visualize the Conqueror Buddhas
Filling the ground and all of space.
With an inexhaustible chorus of praise
And the sound of infinite prayer,
I proclaim the good qualities of all the Buddhas
And praise all Those Gone to Bliss.
If we physically prostrate while reciting the first verse we are making prostrations with our body, speech and mind. The second verse shows how to multiply physical prostrations by imagining that we have countless bodies prostrating simultaneously. The third verse shows how to make mental prostrations by generating faith and remembering the countless good qualities of Buddha, which go beyond our imagination. The fourth verse shows how to make verbal prostrations by offering praise to Buddha.
If we cannot recite these four verses, when we have finished reciting the mantra we can prostrate while reciting Buddha Shakyamuni’s prayer:
Guru, Founder, Blessed One,
Tathagata and Arhat,
Completely Perfect Buddha,
Great Victor, Shakyamuni, Lord,
To you we bow, go for refuge and offer gifts.
O Please bless us.
As we offer this prayer we prostrate to Guru Buddha Shakyamuni who is our main Field of Merit. Then we prostrate to all five groups of Gurus, including Guru Buddha Shakyamuni in the centre, and to all the holy beings who are the Buddha Jewel, reciting: ‘I prostrate to all the Buddhas such as the Yidams of all four classes of Tantra and the thousand Buddhas.’ Then we prostrate to the Dharma Jewel, reciting: ‘I prostrate to the holy Dharma, the actual protection.’ Finally we prostrate to the holy beings who are the Sangha Jewel, such as the Bodhisattvas, Solitary Realizers, Hearers, Heroes, Heroines and Dharma Protectors, reciting: ‘I prostrate to the supreme Sangha.’
When we are making prostrations it is helpful to remember all the benefits. According to Sutra the ten main benefits are that in the future we will obtain:
(1) A healthy and beautiful form
(2) Rebirth in an honoured family
(3) A great circle of assistants
(4) Offerings and respect from others
(5) Abundant resources
(6) The many benefits of listening to Dharma
(7) Strong faith in the Three Jewels
(8) A good and vast memory
(9) Great wisdom
(10) A deep and vast realization of concentration
There are also many other benefits. For example, prostration purifies negative karma and creates the cause to attain the Form Body of a Buddha.
offering
There are two types of offering, ordinary and sublime. All material offerings are ordinary. They can be either actually arranged before our shrine or imagined, and they can be either owned or unowned. If we see a beautiful garden and mentally offer it to the Three Jewels, this is an owned offering because the garden belongs to someone. If we see wild flowers and mentally offer them, these are unowned offerings.
There are four types of sublime offering. Two are mentioned in Sutra Requested by Sagaramati – the offering of putting Dharma into practice and the offering of generating bodhichitta. Applying effort to learn Dharma, meditating on it and explaining it to others are all examples of the sublime offering of putting Dharma into practice. Generating the minds of love and compassion are also sublime offerings.
The third type of sublime offering, mentioned in White Lotus of Compassion Sutra, is the offering of putting into practice whatever special instructions we have received from our Spiritual Guide. The great Yogi Milarepa said:
I do not have wealth or possessions and so I cannot make material offerings, but I will repay the kindness of my Spiritual Guide by putting the Dharma he teaches into practice.
The best offering that we can make to our Spiritual Guide is to practise the instructions he or she has given us. One Kadampa Teacher said:
Any Spiritual Teacher who prefers material offerings to the practice of his disciples is not qualified and creates the cause to take rebirth in the lower realms.
The fourth type of sublime offering is the offering of our virtuous actions imagined as beautiful substances. For example, if we meditate on love we can mentally transform this virtue into a gem, or a flower or a Pure Land, and offer it to the Three Jewels.
We can mentally arrange offerings by reciting prayers such as the one included in Yeshe Tsondru’s Lamrim, Essence of Nectar, or the verses of offering from the King of Prayers of Superior Excellent Deeds Sutra:
Sacred flowers, sacred garlands,
Cymbals, balms, supreme parasols,
Supreme butter-lamps and sacred incense,
I offer to all the Conquerors.
Superb garments, supreme scents,
Medicinal