Meditation on the "Eight Verses of Thought Transformation"
After each verse, visualize much light coming from Chenresig, flowing into you
and completely filling your whole body. It purifies the selfishness and ignorance
which prevent you from understanding the meaning of that verse and gives you
the ability to understand and integrate each verse into your daily life. Say
the six-syllable mantra om mani padme hum a few times while doing this visualization.
1. With the thought of attaining enlightenment
For the welfare of beings,
Who are more precious than a wish-fulfilling jewel,
I will constantly practice holding them dear.
2. Whenever I am with others,
I will practice seeing myself as the lowest of all
And from the very depth of my heart,
I will respectfully hold others as supreme.
3. In all actions, I will examine my mind
And the moment a disturbing attitude arises,
Endangering myself and others,
I will firmly confront and avert it.
4. Whenever I meet a person of bad nature
Who is overwhelmed by negative energy and intense suffering,
I will hold such a rare one dear,
As if I had found a precious treasure.
5. When others, out of jealousy,
Mistreat me with abuse, slander and so on,
I will practice accepting defeat
And offering the victory to them.
6. When someone I have benefitted
And in whom I have placed great trust
Hurts me very badly,
I will practice seeing that person as my supreme teacher.
7. In short, I will offer directly and indirectly
Every benefit and happiness to all beings, my mothers.
I will practice in secret taking upon myself
All their harmful actions and sufferings.
8. Without these practices being defiled by the stains of the eight worldly
concerns,
By perceiving all phenomena as illusory,
I will practice without grasping to release all beings
From the bondage of the disturbing, unsubdued mind and karma.
Purification meditation and mantra recitation
Chenresig now comes to the top of your head, facing the same direction as you.
Visualize Chenresig on the heads of all sentient beings who are seated around
you. At each of the Chenresigs' hearts, visualize a lotus and flat moon disc.
Standing at the center of the moon is the seed-syllable HRI, the essence of
Chenresig's omniscient mind of wisdom and compassion. This is surrounded by
the letters of the long mantra and inside this stand the letters of the six-syllable
mantra. All of it is made of light.
From the mantras and HRI much white light and nectar, which represent the nature
of Chenresig's blissful, omniscient mind, flow into your body, permeating your
entire nervous system. They totally purify all delusions, negative karmic imprints,
diseases and obscurations. Feel completely pure and blissful. Similarly, light
and nectar from the Chenresigs on the crowns of all sentient beings flow into
them, purifying all negativities and obscurations. Do this visualization while
reciting the long mantra 3, 7 or 21 times and then the six-syllable mantra 21,
108 or as many times as possible.
Long Mantra
namo ratna trayaya - namo arya gyana sagara - berotsana
buha radzaya - tatagataya - arhate - samyaksam buddhaya - namo sarwa tatagatebhye
- arhatebhye - samyaksam buddhebhye - namo arya awalokite - shoraya - bodhi
satoya - maha satoya - maha karunikaya - tayata - om - dara dara - diri diri
- duru duru - itte wate - tsale tsale - partsale partsale - kusume kusume ware
- ihli mili - tsiti dzola - ahpanaye soha
Six-syllable Mantra
om mani padme hum
Absorption
Think, "I will live my life in a meaningful way and do all actions with
the motivation to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings."
Because you have such a noble intention, Chenresig is extremely pleased. He
melts into white light and absorbs into your heart.
By Chenresig absorbing into you, your mind becomes the nature of great compassion,
loving-kindness and bodhicitta. Your body is filled with light and becomes very
pure and clear, like crystal. Concentrate on this for a while.
The Chenresigs on the heads of all the sentient beings melt into light and absorb
into the sentient beings and bless them so that they may absorb into the sentient
beings and bless them so that they may progress along the gradual path to enlightenment.
Then dedicate the positive potential from doing the meditation by reciting the
prayers below.
Dedication
Due to this merit may I soon
Attain the enlightened state of Chenresig
That I may be able to liberate
All sentient beings from their sufferings.
May the precious bodhi mind
Not yet born arise and grow.
May that born have no decline,
But increase forever more.
Due to the positive potential accumulated by myself and others in the past,
present and future, may anyone who merely sees, hears, remembers, touches or
talks to me be freed in that very instant from all sufferings and abide in happiness
forever.
In all my rebirths, may I and all sentient beings be born in a good family,
have clear wisdom, have great compassion, be free of pride and devoted to our
Spiritual Masters, and abide within the samaya (vows and commitments) of the
Spiritual Masters.
In whatever guise you appear, O Chenresig, whatever your retinue, your life
span and pure land, whatever your name most noble and holy, may I and all others
attain only these.
By the force of these praises and requests made to you, may all disease, poverty,
fighting and quarrels be calmed. May the Dharma and all auspiciousness increase
throughout the worlds and directions where I and all others dwell.
Daily Activities
When you are not meditating, but are doing your daily activities, visualize
and be mindful of a small Chenresig made of radiant light at your heart. This
is especially effective to help you be mindful of your actions, for Chenresig
is a witness to all you do or say during the day. Also, whenever you eat or
enjoy other sense pleasures, imagine offering them to Chenresig. Whenever you
are praised, rather than becoming proud, think the other people are praising
Chenresig.
In Kriya (Action) Tantra, to which this Chenresig practice belongs, the practitioner
develops the wisdom of clarity and profundity. Clarity is imagining having the
body of the deity; profundity is the wisdom knowing this body and self are empty
of inherent existence. Try to unify method and wisdom in one consciousness as
an enlightened being does, i.e. meditate that your wisdom realizing emptiness
(wisdom) assumes the appearance of the deity (method).
Four guidelines for someone practicing the Chenresig yoga method
" Avoid insulting others when they insult you.
" Avoid getting angry when others are angry at you.
" Avoid beating others when they hit you.
" Avoid observing others' faults even when they observe yours. " "
"