Essential Buddhist Prayers

Essential Buddhist Prayers An FPMT Prayer Book Volume 2 Common Center Practices 2009 Edition FPMT Inc. 1632 SE 11th Avenue Portland, OR 97214 USA www.fpmt.org © 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009 FPMT Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, record- ing, or by any informa on storage and retrieval system or tech- nologies now known or developed, without permission in wri ng from the publisher. Set in Calibri 12.5./15, Century Gothic, Lydian BT, and Tibetan Ma- chine Unicode. Printed in the USA. Contents Introduc on 5 Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga 15 Appendix: Extensive Medita ons 37 Extensive Off ering Prac ce 43 Off ering Even One Flower to the Buddha 45 Extensive Off ering Prac ce 51 Libera ng Animals from the Danger of Death 63 Introduc on 65 Libera ng Animals 67 The Wish-Fulfi lling Jewel (Medicine Buddha Puja) 99 The Abbreviated Four-Mandala Off ering to Chi amani Tara 139 Praises to the Twenty-One Taras (literal transla on) 193 A Short Vajrasa va Medita on 199 Appendix 1: Breathing Exercise 207 Appendix 2: How to Purify During Mantra Recita on 208 Appendix 3: The Meaning of the Mantra 210 A Banquet of the Greatly Blissful Circle of Off erings; the Heruka Vajrasa va Tsog Off ering 213 Introduc on 215 The Meaning of Tsog 217 The Heruka Vajrasa va Tsog Off ering 223 Four-Face Mahakala Puja 245 A Daily Pälden Lhamo Prac ce 267 Protector Prayers and Tea Off ering for the Success of FPMT Projects 285 Blessing the Inner Off ering and the Tea 287 Praise of Six-Arm Lord Mahakala 289 Praise to Achieve the Inner Kalarupa 291 Praise to Vaishravana 294 Off ering and Reques ng Prayer to Pälden Lhamo 295 Praise to Pälden Lhamo; Reques ng the Four Ac vi es 297 Torma Off ering to Hayagriva 300 Nagarjuna’s Praise to Four-Face Mahakala 305 Iron Hook Tea Off ering 306 Degyä Tea Off ering 311 Addi onal Prayers 319 Mandala Off ering of the Thirty-seven heaps 321 Special FPMT Dedica on Prayers 323 Prayer for the Long Life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama 325 Prayer that Spontaneously Fulfi lls All Wishes 326 Bestowing Supreme Immortality; A Supplica on for the Long Life of Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche 327 A Short Long Life Prayer for Lama Zopa Rinpoche 330 The Immortal Vajra Melody; A Prayer of Supplica on to Remain Immutably Amongst Us; A Long Life Prayer for Lama Tenzin Ösel Rinpoche 331 Mul plying Mantras 334 End of the Day Dedica on Prayers 335 Credits 339 Index 341 Introduction 5 Introduction 6 Essential Buddhist Prayers We dedicate this volume to the incomparably kind Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche, our spiritual master and guide, without whom the meaning of true Dharma prac ce would remain hid- den. May the merit accumulated from seeing, holding, recit- ing, or merely remembering this book be dedicated to Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche’s health and long life, and may all the Dharma wishes of holy beings everywhere be immediately fulfi lled. Introduction 7 Introduction Essential Buddhist Prayers: The FPMT Prayer Book Series This is the second volume in a series of collec ons of Buddhist prayers and prac ces under the tle of Essen al Buddhist Prayers. This series has been created primarily for the use of students and prac oners of the Founda on for the Preserva on of the Ma- hayana Tradi on (FPMT) under the spiritual guidance of Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. Volume 2: Common Center Practices Essen al Buddhist Prayers, Volume 2, Common Center Prac ces, contains a comprehensive collec on of the prac ces that Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche has indicated should be prac ced regu- larly by all FPMT centers. Briefl y, the contents are as follows: • Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga • The Extensive Off ering Prac ce and Libera ng Animals from the Danger of Death, for powerful purifi ca on and accumula- on of merit • The Abbreviated Four-Mandala Ritual of Tara Chi amani (to be prac ced on the 8th of the Tibetan lunar month and on the full and new moon days). • The Medicine Buddha puja known as the The Wish-Fulfi lling Jewel (to be prac ced on the 8th of the Tibetan lunar month and on the full and new moon days). 8 Essential Buddhist Prayers • Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s short daily purifi ca on prac ce of Va- jrasa va followed by the Heruka Vajrasa va tsog off ering puja composed by Lama Thubten Yeshe. • Protector Prac ces – Four-Face Mahakala Puja, A Daily Pälden Lhamo Prac ce, and a collec on of protector prac ces and tea off ering (including the Praise to Six-Arm Mahakala and Iron Hook Tea Off ering) as done by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for the success of FPMT Projects. (Protector prac ces are gener- ally prac ced on the 29th of the Tibetan lunar month.) • A new addi onal prayers sec on containing long life prayers, Special FPMT Dedica on Prayers, mul plying mantras, and end of day dedica on prayers. Helpful Additions As this volume of Essen al Buddhist Prayers presents group prac- ce rituals, we have endeavored to provide as much useful informa on as possible about each prac ce contained herein. Thus, each sec on or prac ce has an addendum en tled “Notes regard- ing this prac ce” which provides helpful instruc ons about altar set-up, materials and implements needed, and prac ce ps. Also, we have included small visual symbols throughout each prac ce of instruments to be played and hand mudras to be done in order to assist the prac oner in performing the aspects of these pujas in all their richness. A Note on the 2009 Edition This edi on of Essen al Buddhist Prayers incorporates several changes requested by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, as well as those requested by FPMT center staff , teachers, and students from around the world. These include: Introduction 9 • Consecu ve page numbers, a simplifi ed table of contents, and an index for easier use by students and centers. We have removed the tabs and color plates for increased convenience and durability under heavy use. • A new look incorpora ng fonts and forma ng suggested by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and larger type for easier reading. • As requested by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Tibetan phone cs and English transla on have been incorporated into each prayer in a line-by-line format. This layout allows the student to chant in Tibetan and simultaneously understand the meaning of each verse, allowing medita on and ritual to be combined into a seamless whole. This format is not intended to represent a line-by-line literal transla on of the Tibetan into English. • Colophons and endnotes have been moved to the end of each sec on. While the style and forma ng of the 2009 edi on has changed, the content has remained essen ally the same. Therefore, it is possible to use the old and new edi ons together. It is our sincere hope that this and all future collec ons of prac- ce materials from FPMT Educa on Department may be hugely benefi cial and useful to anyone interested in the Buddhadharma. May these words and pages incite realiza ons in the minds of all who see them, spreading wisdom and compassion among all sen- ent beings. Venerable Gyalten Mindrol Editor and Materials Development FPMT Educa on Department 10 Essential Buddhist Prayers Acknowledgments Essen al Buddhist Prayers: An FPMT Prayer Book, Volume 2, Common Center Prac ces, was fi rst printed in October 2001. This FPMT prayer book series represents a dedicated a empt on the part of the FPMT Educa on Department to provide our centers and students worldwide with standard prayers and prac- ces that are recommended by our spiritual director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The current focus for the Educa on Department is having the FPMT prayer books, now in their fourth edi on in English, trans- lated into all the major languages of our membership. To stream- line this process, we have made some signifi cant changes to the earlier edi ons. Most notably, at the request of centers, we have changed to consecu ve page numbering and have eliminated the tab dividers and color plates. Addi onally, we have changed the forma ng from Tibetan phone cs and English on facing pages to phone cs followed by English on the same page. This change has been made at the direct request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche so that students can more easily read the meaning if they are reci ng the prac ces in Tibetan. Responding to feedback that some found our 2006 edi on diffi cult to read, we have developed a new pre- senta on that is more spacious and easier on the eye. We hope you will fi nd this new edi on pleasing and easy to use. Volume 2 is the quintessen al prac ce book for common pujas performed on specifi c days of the Tibetan month. All of the prac ces contained herein are highly recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for receiving blessings, achieving success, aver ng obstacles, and helping others. This volume is an essen al com- panion for all group and personal prac ce. Acknowledgments 11 As with our fi rst volume, thanks go to authors, translators, tran- scribers, ar sts, editors, and printers who have made this work possible. Colophons at the end of each prac ce give full acknowledg- ment to those whose contribu on has allowed this book to come together.

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