Mantras and Mudras: Meditations for the hands and voice to bring peace and inner calm

OVERCOMING ANGER

Anger obscures your mind and makes your everyday life unhappy. Anger causes you and others great problems from day to day. Anger is extremely harmful.

The antidote to anger is patience; as soon as anger begins to arise, you should immediately recognize it and remember its shortcomings. Practice patience and at once there is tranquillity, relaxation, and happiness.

The pain of anger is like red-hot coals in your heart. Anger transforms even a beautiful person into someone ugly and terrifying. What was happy, peaceful, and beautiful completely changes and becomes dark, ugly, and terrifying. As soon as you apply patience, however, anger stops, and as soon as it stops, even your appearance suddenly changes . . .

KYABJE LAMA ZOPA RINPOCHE

Making mandala offerings (#ulink_df0d5bf4-f4f6-579b-b5db-55d00d3c20f4)

The mandala is a representation of the universe, in its conventional form or as a completely purified realm of existence. There are many different mandalas with distinct concepts and for different purposes. Cosmic mandalas represent our universe and its development; deity mandalas represent our universe as an Enlightened Being’s pure realm. In Tibetan Buddhism, deity mandalas are visualized in meditation. They are also painted or created from colored sand as three-dimensional representations for special pujas (ritual offering ceremonies) or initiations; those made of sand are dismantled and dispersed after completion to signify the impermanence of all phenomena.

The mandala offering is one of the most engaging and uplifting of Tibetan Buddhist rituals. During pujas, or to precede teachings and practices, one makes a mandala offering. This is a powerful symbolic prayer offering of the entire universe to all the Buddhas of the ten directions. A mandala offering can be performed either long or short. Also, one can offer a mandala either using a mandala offering set, comprised of a base, rings, and substances that are piled up like a mountain, or with the mandala hand mudra. The mantra that goes with the ritual can either be long or short, depending on which ritual you wish to perform.

Practice making this mandala offering mudra. Place your hands in this mudra in front of you as you recite the mandala offering mantras (either long or short). The two upright fingers in the center signify Mount Meru (the Buddhist axis of the cosmos), while the four corners signify the four continents.

THE SHORT MANDALA OFFERING

SA ZHI PO KYI JUG SHING MAY TOG TRAM

RI RAB LING ZHI NYI DAY GYAN PA DI

SANG GYAY, ZHING DU MIG TAY UL WAR GYI

DRO KUN NAM DAG ZHING LA CHO PAR SHOG

TRANSLATION:

This ground anointed with perfume, and strewn with flowers. In the center is Mount Meru, around it the four continents, the sun and the moon. I imagine this as a Buddha Pure Land of bliss and I offer it. May all beings enjoy this Pure Land.

DAG GI CHAG DANG MONG SUM KYAY WAY YUL,

DRA NYEN BAR SUM LU DANG LONG CHO CHAY

PANG PA MAY PAR BUL GYI LEG ZHAY NAY

DUG SUM RANG SAR DROL WAR JIN GYI LOB

TRANSLATION:

The objects of attachment, aversion, and ignorance – my friends, my enemies, and strangers. My body, my wealth, and my enjoyments. I offer these with no sense of loss. Please accept them with pleasure and bless me with freedom from the three poisons of anger, attachment, and ignorance.

THE LONG MANDALA OFFERING

To perform this very auspicious and powerful ritual you need the mandala offering set, which comprises a base and three rings. Mandala sets can be purchased in India, Nepal, Tibet, and most Buddhist meditation centers around the world. They are usually made of silver and plated with gold. The belief is that the more valuable your mandala offering base, the more auspicious the effects of the ritual. For the filling, you can use rice, wheat, or other grains, and you can place as many precious things as you wish with the grain. I use a mixture of semi-precious stones – crystal, amethyst, tiger’s eye, jade, citrine, quartz, lapis lazuli, malachite, amber, coral, and so forth. To add greater value to my offering, I also include a few precious stones. You should use beads and colored stones, or anything that symbolizes something of value to you. Always keep your mandala set wrapped up in soft velvet or silk when you are not using it.

The Method

Take some grain in your left hand and hold the mandala base. With your right hand, sprinkle some grain on the base. Wipe the base clockwise three times with your right forearm, tipping the grain away from you. Visualize purifying incorrect motivation. Put more grain on the base. Wipe anti-clockwise three times with your right forearm, tipping the grain toward yourself. Visualize receiving great blessings from the merit field (the buddhas, gurus, or both, whose visualization bestows merit) to offer the mandala from your heart. Spread more grain to symbolize precious jewels.

The Long Mandala Mantra (English translation)

Recite the following:

OM vajra ground AH HUM, the mighty golden ground.

Place the first ring on the base.

OM vajra fence AH HUM, the iron fence around the edge. In the center is Mount Meru.In the east the continent Lupapo (Tall-Body Land). In the south, Dzambuling (Rose-Apple Land).

In the west, Balangcho (Cattle-Gift Land). In the north, Draminyan.In the east, the sub-continents Lu and Lupag, in the south, Ngayab and Ngayabzhan.In the west, Yodan and Lamchog dro, in the north, Draminyan and Draminyan Gyida.Here’s the precious mountain; the wish-granting tree; the wish-fulfilling cow; the unploughed harvest.

Place the second ring on the base. Visualize placing Eight Precious Objects belonging to a wheel-turning king who rules the four continents.

The precious wheel; the precious jewel; the precious queen; the precious minister; the precious elephant; the precious horse; the precious general; the great treasure vase.

Continue on the inner area of the second ring. Say the following:

The goddess of grace; the goddess of garlands; the goddess of songs; the goddess of dance; the goddess of flowers; the goddess of incense; the goddess of light; the goddess of perfume.

Place the third ring. Say the following:

The sun, the moon, the precious parasol, the banner of victory in all directions. In the center are the most perfect riches of gods and humans, with nothing missing, pure and delightful.

Place the Dharmachakra (the top object, usually a jewel-encrusted wheel) on top of the built-up mandala.

Making the Offering

To my holy and most kind guru, to all the lineage gurus, to the Buddha and the entire assembly of Buddhas of the ten directions I offer this mandala as a Buddha-field. Please accept this mandala offering with compassion, for the sake of all beings. Having accepted them, please bestow on me and on all beings abiding as far as the limits of space your inspiration with loving compassion. Please bless us with freedom from the three poisons – anger, attachment, and ignorance.

Hold the mandala at the level of your heart and offer it while reciting the mandala Completion mantra:

IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRYATAYAMI

THE LONG MANDALA MANTRA

OM VAJRA BHUMI AH HUM, WANG CHEN SER GYI SA ZHI

OM VAJRA REKHE AH HUM; CHI CHAG RI-KOR YUG-GYI

KOR-WAY U-SU; RIGYEL PO-RI RAB

SHAR LU PAG-PO; LHO DZAM BU-LING

NUB BA LANG-CHO; JANG DRA MI NYEN

LU DANG LU-PAG; NGA YAB DANG, NGA YAB ZHEN