Advice by Lama Zopa Rinpoche Tonglen and Emptiness Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal 1 April 2020 Transcribed live by Ven. Joan Nicell and Ven. Tenzin Tsomo, Kopan Monastery, 1 April 2020. © FPMT Inc., 2020 Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Tonglen and Emptiness Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1 April 2020 Tonglen and Emptiness Good morninG, Good eveninG, Good afternoon, Good niGht! In the world there are different times at the same time. At the same hour, different times, and also the hours are different at the same time. To all my most dear, most kind, most precious, my wish-fulfilling, wish-fulfillinG students and friends and fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, from whom I have received all the happiness from the past beGinninGless rebirths, now, and in the future, includinG enliGhtenment, buddhahood, the total cessation of obscurations, mistakes of the mind, and the completion of all realizations. For numberless times from beGinninGless rebirths you cherished me and loved me, your life you dedicated to me, for my happiness, well-beinG, education, protection, for everythinG, for my happiness from beGinninGless rebirths and also in the future. How I see the mothers, even includinG animals, [such as] the monkeys who take care so much of their babies, even lookinG at the animals and people, how they cherish [their children] is unbelievable. Day and niGht they worry, they always think of the happiness of the child, for them to not Get sick, to not suffer. [AccordinG to] whatever capacity the mother has, she does everythinG. Like that all sentient beinGs have done to me. All did and all sentient beinGs have done like that to me. You understand? Why is the Coronavirus is Happening in the Powerful Countries? Last time I was talkinG [about how] this time in particular, this year in particular, [due to] the virus, coronavirus, so many, it is unbelievable, unbelievable, bah, bah, bah, in Italy how many people die in one day, in America, New York, in China. All the bad news is true, but about the good news, I have some doubt. That our friend China has Good news, I have some doubt. Then in Spain and many other countries, it has spread. Bah, bah, bah. But it is said just, in Nepal, I think, one person Got the virus but Got recovered. That first one [happened] when I was in India. Then, there were two or three others, that is all. Then I think in Bhutan it happened two or three, somethinG like that. The interestinG thinG is, my question is, the interestinG thinG is, I think I mentioned it in the previous talk, Western people think Nepal is so poor, so poor country, all that. AccordinG to Western people, they think, “The virus has to happen in Nepal first.” “In the poor countries, it has to happen first, then die many people.” Then, “In America and China, so much unbelievably developed countries, nothinG will happen.” So many, so many [deaths], you can imagine, whatever, like that, supposed to happen but it happened the wronG way—China first, then America, so many people died in New York, then Italy. Ssssh. So those countries, countries were powerful countries, as an example, in America, like that, so many [deaths], in France, so many, in Spain, especially in Spain. It happened the other way around. So that is my question—why? Why? That is my question. That is what I asked to RoGer a few times. 1 Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Tonglen and Emptiness Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1 April 2020 Advice from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Khadro-la for the Coronavirus Of course, as His Holiness advised, [you can do] Tara mantra. Tara is very easy to recite. It is very easy to recite, if somebody wants to pray. Even non-believers want to do somethinG because they are afraid. They don’t know what [methods] to look for as the country doesn’t have [any solution] other than isolation. His Holiness said to do Tara prayer. His Holiness said to do Tara prayer, so if you recite Tara prayer, His Holiness prays for you. You have His Holiness’ prayers. You have to know that, to understand it in that way. If you recite the Tara prayer, you receive His Holiness blessings, his Guidance, protection. You have to know that, in that way.1 Then, [as advised by RanGjunG Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme (Khadro-la)], doinG retreat, doinG retreat on the basis of His Holiness’ Guru yoGa, as I mentioned last time, 600,000 OM MANI PADME HUMs.2 Then Padmasambhava incense [puja].3 As I mentioned the other day, she [Khadro-la] requested His Holiness to do that every day on the roof. So do those, if they can be orGanized. I have a relative, Pemba, who is a [center] director. The co-director is Ester, who does all the external thinGs, money, finance. Then Pemba teaches Dharma [and is on] the board of directors of the HonG Kong center, Cham Tse LinG. He translated a lonG time ago the Padmasambhava incense puja. He translated it because Trisha, who became nun, who worked for the centers and was the director at Root, she needed it. She has disease of the liver. Khadro-la said she needs to do this incense puja, so it was translated. I did one or two for her at Root, on the roof. Those who, if you can… You can Get the translation and those who can orGanize, you do that. Then you can do the Padmasambhava incense not just only for you to not Get disease or to Get recovered, no, for the whole world. Do the puja for the whole world, of course, as a puja for six-realm sentient beinGs, and for the virus to not spread in the world. Okay. The Coronavirus is Persuading Us to Practice Virtue and Purify Negative Karma Then I said, here there is the virus and so many people are dyinG. Therefore, I said it’s appealinG, kul wa, ge jor kul wa, it is persuadinG to practice Dharma, virtue. So then, do whatever you can, the various methods to purify the neGative karma collected from beGinninGless rebirths, [such as] Vajrasattva or tsoG offerinG. You can do that [tsoG offerinG] even if you haven't received a Great initiation of a hiGhest tantra deity. Even if you haven't done the retreat, still you can do tsoG. It is so powerful to purify the deGenerated samaya and vows with the Guru and the neGative karma collected with sentient beinGs. Whatever, neGative karmas collected with Buddha, Dharma, and SanGha [are 1 Recite the Tara mantra (OṂ TĀRE TUTTĀRE TURE SVĀHĀ), as recommended by His Holiness the Dalai Lama 2 Recite the short ChenreziG (Avalokiteshvara) mantra on the basis of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Avalokiteshvara Guru YoGa, as recommended by RanGjunG Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme (Khadro-la) 3 Perform Nölsang (Incense Ritual by the Great Master Padmasambhava Called “The Divine Blue Water Clearing Away Contamination), as recommended by RanGjunG Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme (Khadro-la) 2 Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Tonglen and Emptiness Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1 April 2020 purified with] tsoG. AnythinG. Even just [recitinG] OM MANI PADME HUM is powerful, most powerful. Then with bodhichitta, [recite] as much as possible. Even without bodhichitta if you recite OM MANI PADME HUM you collect merits more than the number of sand Grains of the Pacific Ocean. You collect merit without bodhichitta [equal to] the number of the Grass GrowinG in the world. Even without bodhichitta, recitinG [the merits of recitinG] OM MANI PADME HUM are more than the number of drops of the Pacific Ocean. It is so unbelievable. [But] with bodhichitta, skies of merit—the sky has no limits—you collect with bodhichitta. Not just OM MANI PADME HUM, but anythinG you do with bodhichitta. If with bodhichitta you recite OM MANI PADME HUM one time, you collect skies of merit. Then anythinG, whatever actions you do with body, speech, and mind, is like that with bodhichitta. Bah, bah, bah. If you are GoinG somewhere with bodhichitta, GoinG shoppinG or whatever, circumambulation, if you are GoinG somewhere with a bodhichitta motivation, then with each walk [step], you collect skies of merit. It is the same thinG when teachinG Dharma, or talkinG, or doing consultation [counselinG] with bodhichitta—with each word you speak, you collect merits like the sky. You have to know like that, the benefits of bodhichitta. This is just to Give an idea for those who don’t know or who don’t think [of that]. So that, so this makes you more pure. Because of the virus—whether it happened to you or not—you Get done so much practice. Those who have received a great initiation can do retreat. Those who do retreat can recite the [self-]initiation, then purify the neGative karmas of havinG deGenerated the pratimoksha vow, in particular I’m talkinG, in particular, deGenerated the pratimoksha vow, bodhisattva vow, and tantra vow. Lama khyen, lama khyen. If you die riGht after that, it is the best. Oh, then, you Go to a pure land, where it is easy for you to become enliGhtened, especially like that, where you can become enliGhtened. It is unbelievable. There is [also] prostration, like Lama TsonGkhapa did, so many hundreds of thousands. I thouGht for a lonG time he did six or seven hundred thousand prostrations but no, that is nothinG. So much, so much Lama TsonGkhapa did recitinG the Thirty-Five Buddhas. Kyabje Denma Locho Rinpoche, I asked Kyabje Denma Locho Rinpoche, from Australia I asked him, I said I’d didn’t hear so much in [Lama TsonGkhapa]s] life story—of course, I didn’t read it completely while payinG attention—about Vajrasattva, that he did many hundreds of thousands of Vajrasattva, only Thirty-Five Buddhas so much were done.