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This book is published by Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive Bringing you the teachings of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche This book is made possible by kind supporters of the Archive who, like you, appreciate how we make these teachings freely available in so many ways, including in our website for instant reading, listening or downloading, and as printed and electronic books. Our website offers immediate access to thousands of pages of teachings and hundreds of audio recordings by some of the greatest lamas of our time. Our photo gallery and our ever-popular books are also freely accessible there. Please help us increase our efforts to spread the Dharma for the happiness and benefit of all beings. You can find out more about becoming a supporter of the Archive and see all we have to offer by visiting our website at http://www.LamaYeshe.com. Thank you so much, and please enjoy this ebook. Teachings from the Medicine Buddha Retreat Previously Published by the LAMA YESHE WISDOM ARCHIVE Becoming Your Own Therapist, by Lama Yeshe Advice for Monks and Nuns, by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche Virtue and Reality, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche Make Your Mind an Ocean, by Lama Yeshe Teachings from the Vajrasattva Retreat, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche The Essence of Tibetan Buddhism, by Lama Yeshe Daily Purification: A Short Vajrasattva Practice, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche Making Life Meaningful, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche Teachings from the Mani Retreat, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche The Direct and Unmistaken Method, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche The Yoga of Offering Food, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche Teachings from Tibet, by various great lamas The Joy of Compassion, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche The Kindness of Others, by Geshe Jampa Tegchok Ego, Attachment and Liberation, by Lama Yeshe How Things Exist, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche The Heart of the Path, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche The Peaceful Stillness of the Silent Mind, by Lama Yeshe Teachings from the Medicine Buddha Retreat, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche Freedom Through Understanding, by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche Kadampa Teachings, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche Life, Death and After Death, by Lama Yeshe Bodhisattva Attitude, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche How to Practice Dharma, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche For Initiates Only: A Teaching on Heruka, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche A Teaching on Yamantaka, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche In Association with TDL Publications, Los Angeles: Mirror of Wisdom, by Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama Lama Yeshe DVDs The Three Principal Aspects of the Path • Introduction to Tantra • Offering Tsok to Heruka Vajrasattva • Anxiety in the Nuclear Age • Bringing Dharma to the West • Lama Yeshe at Disneyland • Freedom Through Understanding • Life, Death and After Death May whoever sees, touches, reads, remembers, or talks or thinks about these books never be reborn in unfortunate circumstances, receive only rebirths in situations conducive to the perfect practice of Dharma, meet only perfectly qualified spiritual guides, quickly develop bodhicitta and immediately attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. Teachings from the Medicine Buddha Retreat ., Land of Medicine Buddha October–November 2001 Lama Zopa Rinpoche Edited by Ailsa Cameron Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive • Boston www.LamaYeshe.com A non-profit charitable organization for the benefit of all sentient beings and an affiliate of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition www.fpmt.org First published 2009 Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive PO Box 6 36 Lincoln MA 02493, USA © Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche 2009 Please do not reproduce any part of this book by any means whatsoever without our permission Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thubten Zopa, Rinpoche, 1945- Teachings from the Medicine Buddha retreat : Land of Medicine Buddha, October/ November 2001 / Thubten Zopa Rinpoche ; edited by Ailsa Cameron. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. Summary: “This book is a well-edited transcript of a three-week Medicine Buddha retreat led by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Land of Medicine Buddha, Soquel, Ca, in 2001. In his discourses Rinpoche covers a vast range of topics from the entire Tibetan Vajrayana path to enlightenment”—Provided by publisher. ISBN 978-1-891868-23-8 1. Spiritual life—Tantric Buddhism. I. Cameron, Ailsa. II. Title. BQ8938.T49 2009 294.3'444—dc22 2009030924 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Designed by Gopa & Ted2 Inc. Cover photos courtesy of Land of Medicine Buddha Printed in the USA with environmental mindfulness on 30% PCW recycled paper. The following resources have been saved: 23 trees, 647 lbs. of solid waste, 10,662 gallons of water, 2,214 lbs. of greenhouse gases and 7 million BTUs of energ y. Please contact the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive for more copies of this and our free books. Contents ., Editor’s Preface xv 1 Friday, October 26 Combined Jorchö and Lama Chöpa Puja 1 Extensive off ering practice 1 Renewing the bodhisattva and tantric vows 7 Samayavajra practice 8 Rejoicing 9 Th e Eight Verses 10 Dedications 16 2 Friday, October 26 Retreat Preparation 21 Motivation: impermanence and death 21 Blessing of the seat 23 Blessing of the body, speech and mind 23 3 Saturday, October 27 Discourse Before Medicine Buddha Preparation 25 Th e solution is lam-rim 25 A letter to President Bush 29 Four basic ways to help 33 Benefi ts of Medicine Buddha practice 34 Dedications for the retreat 39 vi Teachings from the medicine buddha retreat 4 Saturday, October 27 Preparation For Medicine Buddha Initiation 41 Medicine Buddha preparation 41 Th e false I 42 How time exists 43 Analyzing body and mind 45 Th e root of samsara 46 Th e dangers of self-cherishing 48 Cherishing others 49 Medicine Buddha preparation 50 Dedications 52 5 Saturday, October 27 Medicine Buddha Session 53 Simple visualization 53 Th e power of mantra 54 Counting mantras 55 Th e main point 57 6 Sunday, October 28 Discourse Before Medicine Buddha Initiation 59 Geshe Lama Konchog’s story 59 Th e root of samsara 72 Bodhicitta motivation 74 Dedications 77 7 Monday, October 29 Final Medicine Buddha Session 81 Th irty-fi ve Buddhas practice 81 Making requests to the Medicine Buddhas 83 Action Tantra mudras 88 Making off erings 89 Motivation for mantra recitation 93 End of mantra recitation 95 contents vii Tea off ering to the protectors 96 Dedications 97 8 Tuesday, October 30 Final Medicine Buddha Session 101 Th irty-fi ve Buddhas practice 101 Dedication of session 103 Mudras with prostration verses 103 Making off erings 105 Seven-limb practice 105 Meditating on emptiness 110 Motivation for mantra recitation 112 Tea off ering to the protectors 113 Dedications 118 9 Wednesday, October 31 Final Medicine Buddha Session 123 Meditating on emptiness 123 Motivation for mantra recitation 133 King of Prayers 134 Dedications 135 Benefi ts of holy objects 138 Dedications 139 Th e Bendigo Stupa 139 10 Thursday, November 1 Final Medicine Buddha Session 143 Requesting prayer 143 Aspects of the Medicine Buddhas 143 Th e nature of omniscient mind 144 Benefi ts of holy objects 146 Meditating on emptiness 148 Motivation for mantra recitation 153 Protector prayers 155 Dedications 155 viii Teachings from the medicine buddha retreat 11 Friday, November 2 Final Medicine Buddha Session 161 Th e power of compassion 161 Th e causes of abuse 165 Th e benefi ts of living in vows 167 Dedications 177 Using abuse to develop compassion 178 12 Saturday, November 3 Final Medicine Buddha Session 181 Benefi ts of Medicine Buddha practice 181 Multiplying mantras 190 13 Sunday, November 4 Final Medicine Buddha Session 191 Motivation for Th irty-fi ve Buddhas practice 191 General confession 192 Taking refuge 196 Meditating on emptiness 197 Form is empty 199 Motivation for mantra recitation 201 Divine pride and clear appearance 203 Visualization during mantra recitation 205 Meditations during mantra recitation 207 Th e meaning of retreat 209 14 Monday, November 5 Final Medicine Buddha Session 211 Palden Lhamo 211 Benefi ts of Medicine Buddha practice 214 Dedications 221 15 Tuesday, November 6 Final Medicine Buddha Session 223 Dangers of wrong views 223 contents ix Th e nature of mind 226 Th e views of the four schools 227 Dedications 234 16 Wednesday, November 7 Final Medicine Buddha Session 239 Motivation 239 How the mind exists 240 Teachings on the Perfection of Wisdom 245 Th e Diamond-Cutter Sutra 246 Life in Solu Khumbu 248 Benefi ts of Th e Diamond-Cutter Sutra 251 Dedications 256 Tasting tsog on precept days 257 Final dedications 257 17 Thursday, November 8 Final Medicine Buddha Session 259 Medicine Buddha’s prayers 259 Making extensive off erings 263 Medicine Buddha’s prayers 268 Dedications 268 18 Friday, November 9 Final Medicine Buddha Session 273 Combining lam-rim with sessions 273 How dharmakaya manifests 275 Piero’s story 276 Wish-Fulfi lling Golden Sun 278 What makes an action virtuous or nonvirtuous? 280 Dedications 287 19 Saturday, November 10 Combined Jorchö and Lama Chöpa Puja 289 Extensive off ering practice 289 x Teachings from the medicine buddha retreat Dedications 292 20 Saturday, November 10 Final Medicine Buddha Session 293 Bodhicitta motivation 293 Overcoming anger and ego 294 Benefi ts of Medicine Buddha practice 299 Tsog off ering 304 Protector prayers 305 Dedications 305 21 Sunday, November 11 Final Medicine Buddha Session 311 Ceasing samsara 311 Th e problem of desire 312 Saving the lives of animals 317 Dharma is the only solution 320 Harming others 323 Taking Mahayana refuge 329 Th e four immeasurable thoughts 330 Dedications 336 22 Monday, November 12 Final