Tibetan prayers and mantras for everday use
Food offering prayers before eating :
Three jewel's food offering:
Ton pa la med san gye Rin poche
Kyop pa la med dam choe Rin poche
Dren pa la med ge dun Rinpoche
Kyab ne Kon chok Sum la Chod ba bul
Guru Rinpoche food offering:
Ja gar pen chen bod la Kar Rin Che
Pe ma lay trung ku la de trung med
dha ta lho nup sin po kha non zas
orgyen Rin po che la chod ba bul
Root Guru food offering:
om men choe kyi ying kyi phod rang ne
du sum sang je kung kyi ngo wo nyid
rang sem choe ku ngon sum ton zas pa
tsa we la may shap la chod pa bul
Namo Guru Beh,Buddha yah,Dama yah,Sangka yah( taking refuge)
La ma la chap su chio
San gye la chap su chio
Choe la chap su chio
Ge dun la chap su chio
The Lamp Offering Prayer :
Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche
Om Ah Hung
marmei noeni tongum gyi tong chenpei jigten
May this vessel of this butter lamp become
gyikham tsamdu gyurchig
equal to a thousand universes
Nyingpo niri gyelpo rirab tsamdu gyurchig
May this hert become equal to mount Meru,the King of
Mountains!
oeni sipei tsamo nena riggi nyelkham
May this light illuminate the worlds from the top of their
summits
Yenche selwar gyur chig
down to the bottom if the Avici hell realms
Marme didag chogchu duesum nashut pei
May these butter lamps appear and spread
Sangye Dang Jangchub sempa thamche kyi
in front of the eyes of all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas
Chenlam du Jungshing gyepar gyurchig
on the ten directions and of the three times!
Semchen Thamche Kyi loma rigpei munpa selne
The darkness of the ignorance of beings minds has been
dispelled
Yeshe dagpa chenpoi nangwa gyepar gyurchig
May the clarity of the great purity ,primordial
wisdom,radiate!
Om bendza aloke Hrih
Hung /Nyonmong dugsog marig munsel pei
Hung may the radiance of this torch of great wisdom burn the
poison
Sherab Ziden pelgyi dronme di
of disturbing emotions of the mind,dispel the darkness of
ignorance
trinme khala nyishar jishin du
and like the sun shining in the cloudless sky,
oezer nangwa chogkun khyabgyur chig
May the clarity of its bright rays spread in all directions
Om nama sarwa tathagata bendza aloke pratitsa puja megha samuda
saparana samaye ah hung
Om Ah Hung
Dechen dewei khyilkhor dampa dir
In this happy sacred mandala of great bliss,
Dagsog ngonmon zangpoe ledrel pei
all of us brothers and sisters,assembled here
Dorje checham dirtshog thamche kyi
by the conjunction of excellent former prayers
Ngoejor choetrin zangpo legsham shing
We here lay out excellent offering clouds of material
substances
lhagsam moelo gyacher pelje ne
and greatly multiply them by our superior intentions and
thoughts
Soenam yeshe tshogchen rabsag te
accomplishing excellent and vast accumulations of merit and
wisdom,
Shendon thegchen monpe tsamjar ne
setting the mahayana aspiration for the benefit of others
legje dithue ma ong chimei due
By the power of this excellent deed,in the future times
Bardoi thrulnang samde thongpei tshe
When we see unconceivable illusory appearance of the bardo
state
yingrig oesel mawu ngothroe ne
may the awareness,mother and child luminosity meet!
ngangtrag jigpa drelwei oelam la
on the path of light far from terrifying dangers,
chomden oepag mekyi dunne sue
may we be escorted by a vast assembly of Bodhisattvas
jangsem khortshog gyatshoe gyabne kor
be greeted by the Bhagavan Amitabha ,
Jigrung khorwei yangsa ledroi ne
and be delivered from the abyss of the frightening samsara !
Dechen Pemo koepei shingkham su
In the paradise of harmony of the lotus of great bliss
Padmei nyingpor thrungshing sangye jel
May we be reborn in the heart of the lotus ,meet the Buddha
Dampei Choethob salam tharchin ne
recieve the holy dharma,follow the path to its end,
Dzog sangye thob khanyam semchen kun
and obtain perfect Enlightenment
Ringmin Dene Dewar Goene pei
May I become a great guide capable of leading , without any
delay
Depon chenpor dagnyi gyurwar shog
all the beings who inhabit the universe,from happiness to
happiness
Sherab Yeshe selwei dronmei di
May this radiant torch of transcendant and primordial wisdom
lenyon dribnyi munpa rabsel shing
dispel the darkness of the two veils ,karma and mental
disturbances
Yandag lamgyi nangwa chergye ne
may this luminosity of the perfect path spread
tendei gyelsar goepei dronmer shog
may this torch which leads to the city of immutable happiness
radiate!
having thus prayed ,one sets the butter lamps down and in front of
the place of offering
Although none are included in this text, you may add any
auspiciousness prayers
you wish (such as those at the conclusion of the Nyung-ne,
etc.)
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Page 3
Prayers for Releasing Lives (Simple Method)
Refuge and Bodhicitta:
SANG GYE CHÖ DANG TSHOK KYI CHOK NAM LA
Until I reach enlightenment, I take refuge in the Buddha,
JANG CHUP BAR DU DAK NI KYAP SU CHI
In the Dharma, and the noble Sangha.
DAK GI JIN SOK GYI PAY SÖ NAM KYI
Through the merit of accomplishing the six perfections,
DRO LA PHEN CHIR SANG GYE DRUP PAR SHOK
(Recite three times)
May I achieve awakening for the benefit of all sentient
beings
Prayer of Praise to Chenrezig:
JO WO KYÖN GYI MA GÖ KU DOK KAR
Lord, not touched by any fault, white in color,
DZOK SANG GYE KYI U LA GYEN
Whose head a perfect Buddha crowns,
THUK JEY CHEN GYI DRO LA ZIK
Gazing compassionately on all beings,
CHEN RE ZIK LA CHAK TSHAL LO
(Recite three times)
To you, Chenrezig, I prostrate.
Mantra:
OM MANI PEME HUNG
(many times, while releasing animals)
Dedications:
SÖ NAM DI YI THAM CHE ZIK PA NYI
By this merit may all attain omniscience.
THOP NE NYE PAY DRA NAM PAM JE NE
May it defeat the enemy, wrongdoing.
KYE GA NA CHI BA LAP THRUK PA YI
From the stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness and death
SI PAY TSHO LE DRO WA DRÖL WAR SHOK
From the ocean of samsara, may I free all beings.
JAM PAL PA WÖ JI TAR KHYEN PA DANG
The courageous Manjushri, show knows everything as it is,
KÖN TU ZANG PO DE YAN DE ZHIN TE
Samantabhadra, who also knows in the same way,
DE DAK KÜN GYI JE SU DAK LOP CHING
And all the bodhisattvas that I may follow in their path,
GE WA DI DAK THAM CHE RAP TU NGO
I completely dedicate all this virtue
Prayers and Practices for the Deceased
Jangwa
[posted Sept. 2006]
Rinpoche gave the following explanation of the practice of
Jangwa.
JANG.CHOG means "Purification Ceremony." It is a skilful Vajrayana
practice for purifying the negative karma of those who have died,
and transferring their consciousnesses to a Pure Land. It can
liberate beings from the lower realms, and can benefit those who
have died recently and are in the intermediate state on their way
to a lower rebirth, by changing their rebirth to the human realm or
a Pure Land. In that way, those beings have a chance once again to
meet the Dharma and meet a fully qualified virtuous friend. At the
same time, the ashes or remains of the deceased can be blessed, so
they actually become holy objects, at which time they can then be
placed in holy objects like stupas and statues. This becomes highly
beneficial for the deceased and for those family or friends left
behind, because every time they make offerings such as flowers or
lights and pay respects to the deceased, they create a great deal
of merit.
There are a number of sources where Buddha explains or depicts this
as being appropriate to do. Also, in the very extensive commentary
by Desi Sangye Gyatso (who organized the building of the Potala),
he explains the extensive benefits of various actions performed
with holy objects. He also quotes sources from the sutra.
This skilful practice that benefits the dead originated with Guru
Shakyamuni Buddha. One deva's son died and was reborn in a lower
realm. The devas perceived this, and requested Shakyamuni Buddha to
help him. The Buddha manifested in the form of a deity named Kun
Rig, and then all of the practices of this deity, including the
Jang Wa practice, were given. The practice of this deity is to
liberate sentient beings from the lower realms. Later, the Jang Wa
or Purification practice was combined with the practices of other
deities such as Amitabha.
The names of the dead people should be written on a large sheet of
paper (use thin paper that can easily be burned), and on the
reverse side of the paper, write the first letter of the name of
each person (e.g."A" for Alice).
We do not offer food to the dead people (as in the Chinese
tradition), but we can make offerings of food, flowers, light, etc.
to the Three Jewels on behalf of the dead people, to accumulate
merit for them. Any food can later be distributed.
When Sangha Members Die
[posted Sept. 2006]
A nun who had been active in the FPMT organization passed away
after a battle with rapidly advancing cancer. Rinpoche asked the
rest of the Sangha to do the following practices for her.
These are some ways that the Sangha community can help when an FPMT
Sangha member is dying or has died. This is the most critical
journey for that person, especially one who is going to the lower
realms. It is important to receive support at least for 49 days,
and the individual Sangha member who is dying will feel so happy,
knowing that they are receiving this support from the FPMT Sangha
community. What a joy for that Sangha member.
After the person has died, the Sangha can do pujas together at the
end of each weekaccording to an intermediate state beings week,
which is seven days, counting seven days from the day the person
died. Assuming the person who died is still in the intermediate
state, the general length of life of intermediate state beings is
seven days. The lifespan doesnt have to be exactly seven days. It
is possible that they take birth in the intermediate state, and
then immediately take another rebirth right after. But if they
cannot find a rebirth within that seven-day period, they are reborn
again in the intermediate state. When a Sangha member dies, even in
Dharma centers with no Sangha, if the students at the center want
to sponsor or perform a puja, it is welcomed.
Especially where there are Sangha communities, you can recite
mantras up until the 49 days. In this nuns case, Namgyalma mantra
was the most beneficial thing to recite, 21 times if possible. If
it is too difficult for each person to recite the long mantra 21
times, then you can recite the long one 6 or 12 times, and then
recite one mala or a few malas of the short mantra. The mantra is
available in a book I translated which also contains the meditation
of Namgyalma, with the benefits, the story about Namgyalma, and how
powerful the Namgyalma practice is. Its good for all the Sangha to
have that practice, especially where there are Sangha communities.
Maybe not all the benefits are mentioned there in the book, but the
basic story is there, and some benefits.
Many years ago, Lama Yeshe and I went to Mundgod to meet our root
guru His Holiness Song Rinpoche, and he talked to us while he was
doing his meditation. In the middle of the interview, Rinpoche
mentioned that he was reciting Namgyalma mantra. He said people
think that it is only for a long life, but it isnt only for that;
it is also very powerful purification. Rinpoche said he had
received offerings from all over the world for people who had died,
and therefore was reciting the Namgyalma mantra. Also, when I check
what is the most beneficial mantra to recite for somebody who has
died, normally it is the Namgyalma mantra.
If the Namgyalma mantra is written on a banner and put on top of a
house, and the shadow of the banner touches a being, his or her
negative karma is purified. If the mantra is on the top of the
mountain, the animals and insects on that mountain have their
negative karma purified, and so do people climbing the mountain. If
you have this mantra or text in your house, the people living in
the house are purified of their negative karma. Its the same if
the mantra is in water: the beings in the water are purified of
their negative karma, liberated from the lower realms, and achieve
a good rebirth. This mantra has incredible power and is a very
powerful and easy way to benefit others.
Anyway, please recite this mantra and dedicate it to her and all
sentient beings, especially the ones who are born in the lower
realms, who have intense suffering. Then, dedicate the merits by
reciting the King of Prayers, the Bodhisattvas Holy Deeds. You can
also recite malas of OM MANI PADME HUM, and whatever other prayers
you normally recite. The mala of OM MANI PADME HUM can be recited
for anyone.
It is very good to do the Vajrasattva tsog composed by Lama Yeshe.
While reciting the mantra, visualize beams of nectar emitting from
Guru Vajrasattva, purifying the person, and then all sentient
beings, particularly sentient beings in the lower realms. When
offering the tsog, the merit can be dedicated to that person and to
others.
One can also practice Nyung Nyes within those 49 days, individually
or as a group, and dedicate the merit to that person.
The minimum is to recite Namgyalma mantra. That is extremely
beneficial. The other practice is Vajrasattva tsog, and to make at
least one stupa, which is very easy to do. I am not talking about a
500-foot stupa or the size of one of the high buildings in New
York, Malaysia, or Taiwan. Regarding other mantras, there is the
Stainless Beam Deitys mantra. By reciting it 73 times, the person
will be immediately liberated from the lower realms. This is the
basic advice.
This can also apply for lay students. The centers can perform the
practices of extensive light offerings, Namgyalma mantra, Medicine
Buddha meditation (at least the very short one), and Vajrasattva
tsog. On top of those, it is good to sponsor whatever other
practices you can.
These are some basic ideas about how to help a person who has died.
This also helps our life become meaningful, becomes purification
for us, and collects extensive merit.
How to Benefit Those Who Have Died
[posted Dec. 2005]
A student from a Dharma center died, willing a generous sum to the
center. When people at the center asked what practices to do,
Rinpoche gave the following advice, emphasizing that people must do
something for a person when he or she dies, as this is the most
crucial time for the person. Rinpoche added that these are general
instructions for what a Dharma center or individual students can do
whenever someone dies, to benefit them.
Medicine Buddha puja and Medicine Buddha practice.
Do the eight prayers that are normally done in monasteries when
someone passes away: King of Prayers (the Maitreya long prayer with
the mantra Jhampal Monlam); the dedication section from the Guide
to the Bodhisattva Way of Life; the Prayer of the Beginning, Middle
and End; dedication prayers for happiness (De mon); Je se Tub
jogUntil Enlightenment; the short Maitreya Prayer (called
Maitreya's prediction); Dechen LhundrupEffortlessly Achieving
Bliss; also Confession to the 35 Buddhas. Students should recite
whichever prayers are available in English.
Recite a certain number of the King of Prayers, for example, for
one full day or for a weekend.
Offer Vajrasattva tsog.
Make many thousands of light offerings. Make extensive offerings
of water bowls, flowers, or other offerings.
Practice Nyung Naes. This could be done over one weekend.
Do a weekend Vajrasattva retreat, Chenrezig retreat, or Medicine
Buddha retreat. Or you can do all of them.
Meditate on tong-len and dedicate it to the person who has died.
This can be for half a day, or for one session. While doing the
meditation, recite OM MANI PADME HUM.
Recite the Diamond Cutter Sutra.
Recite and meditate on the Heart Sutra.
Meditate on emptiness for one session, or for one day. Or you
could do a weekend retreat on emptiness with all the students,
dedicating it to the person who died.
Perform Dorje Khadro fire puja as a group with the students,
dedicating it to the person who died.
Make stupa tsa-tsas. As you put the four powerful mantras in the
tsa-tsas, dedicate them to the person who died and say his or her
name. Doing this can create the causes for a person who is going to
be reborn in the lower realms to have a good rebirth instead.
Make Mitukpa tsa-tsas.
Make thangkas or statues, and dedicate them to the persons good
rebirth. (Of course, it doesnt have to be a 500-foot
statue!)
Publish Dharma books.
If the person who died practiced tantra, then do self-initiation
of the persons main deity, and offer tsog to the main deity. Also,
do a weekend retreat on the persons main deity.
Make offerings on the persons behalf. It is very powerful to
make offerings to the Sangha on the persons behalf. Also, offer to
lay students who have the same guru as the person who died. This
collects a vast amount of merit, which you can then dedicate to the
person who died. Do not offer food to the dead person. Instead,
make offerings of food, flowers, lights, and so on to the Three
Jewels on behalf of the dead person, to accumulate merit for him or
her. Then the food can be distributed afterward.
Also, make offerings to the persons gurus, or you can offer to
your own guru on that persons behalf.
Offer charity or offer to the Dharma center on the persons
behalf, as the center is a place for people to meditate in, to
learn Dharma, where people come to purify their minds, collect
merit, and meditate on the path (lamrim).
Offer charity on the persons behalf to sick people, homeless
people, to solve other peoples difficulties, to charities, and to
poor people.
Offer charity on the persons behalf to animals.
These are all things that the Dharma center can organize as group
events, or people can do individually.
Praying for the Deceased
[posted Dec. 2005]
Rinpoche gave the following talk to sangha members in a restaurant
in Singapore on the benefits of performing pujas for those who have
died.
It is very important for the sangha to participate in praying for
someone who has died. Students can sponsor a puja for the person at
a Dharma Center. There are many benefits for the deceased, the
family of the deceased, and the sanghas mind. It reminds us of
impermanence. We can also recite prayers either at the persons
funeral or in the hospital; it helps peoples minds. When one
student of a geshe passed away, the geshe did elaborate prayers for
the student and took care of his family very well. It made the
family feel extremely happy. When time allows, the best would be to
perform the Medicine Buddha puja or recite the King of Prayers. If
there is not enough time to do a Medicine Buddha puja you can
perform Medicine Buddha practice with the visualization.
Disposing of a Deceased Persons Wealth
[posted Dec. 2005]
Rinpoche gave the following advice on how to dispose of a persons
wealth after death.
Traditionally, as soon as the persons breath has stopped, the
persons wealth is offered to his or her gurus.
Another thing that is traditionally done when somebody dies is to
make light offerings. According to how wealthy the person is, you
can offer any amount of lights: 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, or
more. Every day, up until 49 days after the persons passing away,
you can make light offerings. Or, you can make light offerings at
the end of each week, using the practice for offering lights that I
have composed.
If you are just doing the light offering practice, you can recite
the prayers in that practice. However, if you are making extensive
light offerings, you can use Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga or the Guru
Puja, and make the offering during the offering section of the
seven-limb prayer, or at the beginning when you make the
preliminary offerings. If you are making light offerings with other
sadhanas, offer them when you come to the practice of the
seven-limb prayer, in the part for offerings. If you are performing
Chenrezig practice, which is the same as the Nyung Ne practice,
there is a section for extensive offerings, and you can practice
the meditation at that time.
One should perform the blessing when one is actually lighting the
offerings. That is part of the normal practice. Before you do the
extensive offering meditation, whenever you do group practice or
when you perform a sadhana, it is good to recite the mantra of
clouds of offerings. Even if there is only one light offering,
numberless buddhas receive numberless light offerings. The Guru
Puja merit field receives numberless light offerings. That mantra
has the power not only to bless, but also to increase the
offerings. It is very important to perform light offerings when
somebody has passed away.
This is the minimum that can be done. But if somebody has more
money, or people want to sponsor a puja for the person who died,
there is the Namgyalma thousand-offering puja, and the middle and
long Medicine Buddha pujas, which are extremely good to do, with
many offerings. These pujas can be done at the end of each week,
and especially at the end of the 49 days. They can be done in a
Sangha community, and if there is enough money, the pujas can be
sponsored and be performed in monasteries where there are many
monks or nuns. This way, by making offerings to more Sangha, it
collects more merit. You can request monasteries to perform these
pujas. There is so much merit in making offerings to Sangha, as
long as they are living according to their vows, especially the
fully ordained. When money is offered to me after someone has died,
I use it for pujas, to build stupas and prayer wheels, etc.
If you offer to the monastery by thinking that you are offering to
the pores of your own guru, remembering your guru, you collect
extensive merit. Any amount offered to all the ten directions
Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and to the ten directions statues,
stupas, and scriptures collects extensive merit.
Whatever money or property a person has, it is extremely good to
use it for public service, in order to build monasteries, temples,
centers, holy objects, and to support Western Sangha. That can make
it most beneficial. Of course, the same applies to offering to His
Holiness the Dalai Lama. If the offering is given to build holy
objects, temples, or monasteries, whatever amount is given$1, $5,
$10generates so much merit.
There is a story that just by offering a drink, one is born as a
king in the human world. I think there was a very poor couple who
offered medicinal drinks to some Sangha and they were reborn as
kings in the place called Gashika, with an incredible amount of
power. For millions of eons they were never poor through having
offered food and drink. And thats just concerning temporary
happiness, without even mentioning ultimate happiness. One will
receive so much happiness in all those lifetimes.
It is the same when building or buying a Dharma center, a hall for
the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and for all sentient beingsa place
for sentient beings to meet the Dharma, the unmistaken path to
happiness. Through the unmistaken method, they can achieve future
happiness, and more important, everlasting happiness, liberation
from samsara, and most importantly, full enlightenment. This way,
there is the deepest benefit by eliminating the root of suffering,
which is deeply rooted in their minds. Nothing else can do that
except Dharma,. Without Dharma, they will suffer without end. Even
if they try to achieve happiness by other means, the happiness they
achieve will be only temporary, and is actually in the nature of
suffering. Creating the facilities for sentient beings to meet and
practice Dharma brings them to the cessation of suffering and to
enlightenment.
What to Do with a Deceased Persons Ashes
[posted Dec. 2005]
Rinpoche gave the following instructions on what to do with a
deceased persons ashes, to be of maximum benefit for them.
For your mother, it would be good to recite the mantra OM MANI
PADME HUM or the Medicine Buddha mantra many times, then blow on
her body to purify her, and to protect her from the lower realms.
You can also practice Medicine Buddha meditation for your mothers
liberation.
After the cremation, the ashes need to be blessed through the puja
Jangwa. Once Jangwa has been performed with some of the hair or
bone of the person, for purification of negative karma and for the
persons liberation, then the ashes, hair, or bone can be put
inside a stupa. Jangwa is a very powerful tantric puja performed to
transfer the persons consciousness into higher realms, such as
pure lands. Through Jangwa, the persons ashes, hair, bones, or
other physical remains are blessed and actually become holy
objects, and so can be placed in holy objects like stupas and
statues. This becomes highly beneficial for the person who died,
and for the family or friends left behind, because every time they
pay respects to the deceased by making offerings such as flowers or
lights to the stupa or statue, they create a lot of merit. Doing
Jangwa for your mother would also create extensive merit for those
she left behind that are doing the puja or rejoicing in having it
done.
There are many good geshes who have a good understanding of Dharma,
the entire path to enlightenment. The ashes can be divided for
different geshes to bless, or just one geshe can do it; it doesnt
matter. But the more times the ashes are blessed, the more benefit
there is for the person who died.
After Jangwa has been done, if possible, a lot of the ashes should
be put in the ocean, because when they are blessed, they become
like relics. When the ashes are put in the ocean, all the animals
are purified of their negative karma for the next rebirth and
future rebirths. This is mentioned in the Jangwa text, which also
mentions throwing the ashes into the wind on top of a high
mountain, so that all the insects and other sentient beings who are
touched by the ashes will be liberated. I think putting them in the
ocean would be better, because there are so many more sentient
beings there. You can also sprinkle them on the ground where there
are many insects.
A small amount of the ashes can be placed in the base of a stupa.
The person who has died will receive all the merit from having the
stupa dedicated to them. At Land of Medicine Buddha retreat center
in California, there is a temple to house stupas with peoples
ashes in them.
Some people say that you cant put the ashes of ordinary beings
inside a stupa, and that this is very heavy negative karma, but
this is not a well-analyzed thought. If the ashes are purified and
blessed by a good meditator, with good concentration, the ashes can
be put inside a stupa, and circumambulated. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche
says this is OK, and it is also mentioned in the text itself.
In case people have superstitious thoughts about not wanting to
circumambulate a stupa with ashes in it, then put the ashes in the
base of the stupa and not the stupa itself. It will make it easier
for people with those thoughts to circumambulate and worship the
stupa.
I suggest that a tsa-tsa stupa can be made at the end of each week
for the person. One, two, or three stupas can be made, but at least
one. Then the stupas can be filled with the four different mantras
that I have copied from the Kangyur or Tengyur. They have so much
benefit, and incredible power. It makes the stupa or statue so
powerful for people who are worshipping or circumambulating it.
There is one mantra called the Stainless Beam Deitys Mantra. If
you circumambulate a stupa or tsa-tsa with one of these mantras in
it one time, it has the power to purify the heavy negative karma
that causes one to be reborn in all the eight hot hells. This is
just from one mantra, and it is possible to fit many of these
mantras inside one stupa. The more mantras there are in the statue
or stupa, the more powerful it becomes.
I will also be saying prayers for your mother.
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