With kindness that shines like a beacon to the world, His Holiness the Dalai Lama celebrates his birthday on July 6th.

Born July 6, 1935 (Wood Pig year, 5th month, 5th day), His Holiness has been recognized with the Nobel Peace Price, Congressional Gold Medal and countless other international honors. Just a quick glance at this short list of awards (below) gives a sense of his vast humanity and love of people.

“Kindness is my religion,” he famously said — and his life continues to exemplify kindness, love (metta), and compassion (karuna)

His Holiness is known by many names: Gyalwa Rinpoche, Lhamo Thondup or Dhondup (his birth name), 14th Dalai Lama, Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, Bstan-’dzin-rgya-mtsho, or Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness, or simply the Dalai Lama.

In this special feature, we celebrate the life of His Holiness, the shining light of compassion. We end with a prayer for his long life and some helpful resources for celebrating his birthday and wishing him long life.

His life as a Buddhist Monk

From the Dalai Lama’s official website, his life is summarized this way:

“His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. He is the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two, the child, then named Lhamo Dhondup, was recognized as the reincarnation of the previous 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso.

The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are realized beings inspired by a wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings, who have vowed to be reborn in the world to help humanity.” [1]

Who is the Dalai Lama? “A simple Buddhis monk”

In answer to the question, “How do your view yourself?” His Holiness the Dalai Lama answered:

“I always consider myself as a simple Buddhist monk. I feel that is the real me. I feel that the Dalai Lama as a temporal ruler is a man-made institution. As long as the people accept the Dalai Lama, they will accept me. But being a monk is something which belongs to me. No one can change that. Deep down inside, I always consider myself a monk, even in my dreams. So naturally I feel myself as more of a religious person.”

The Dalai Lama’s Three Commitments in Life

In His Holiness’s own words, he has three commitments in life:

• “human values such as compassion, forgiveness, and tolerence”
• “religious harmony between different traditions”
• “to act as a free spokesperson of the Tibetans.”

Past features on His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

• Full feature section of features on His Holiness on Buddha Weekly>>
• Laughter and Patch Adams — What they have in common>>
• Targeted Calm-Abiding Meditation: His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Tsongkhapa>>
• Metta Meditation and the Dalai Lama>>

A life of service to others

In addition to his religious and political commitments, the Dalai Lama has also been a teacher throughout his life. He has authored over 100 books on topics such as Buddhism, meditation, quantum physics, and neuroscience. He is also a regular contributor to academic journals.

The Dalai Lama’s work for peace

Throughout his life, the Dalai Lama has been an outspoken advocate for peace. In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his consistent resistance to the use of violence in his people’s struggle to regain Tibetan autonomy from China.”

In recent years, the Dalai Lama has continued to advocate for peace through his travels and teachings. In 2015, he spoke at the World Parliament of Religions where he said:

“When we meet someone of a different religion, or someone who doesn’t subscribe to any religious belief at all, we should remember that as far as ultimate goals are concerned, we’re on the same page. We’re seeking the same thing. The means may differ, but the ends are the same.”

The Dalai Lama’s message for the world

On his 87th birthday, the Dalai Lama’s message for the world is simple:

“My main hope for humanity lies in education – that and more altruism and less focus on ‘me and mine.'”

In pursuit of this goal of education, at 87 years of age, he not only continues to meet countless people, dignitaries, and world leaders, he still undertakes many teaching events, empowerments and gatherings, each month — even during the Covid Pandemic. [For details, visit the events page of His Holiness the Dala Lama’s official web page>>]

The Dalai Lama’s greatest lesson in life

Again, in His Holiness’ own words:

“Regarding religious experience, some understanding of shunyata (emptiness: lack of independent self-nature) some feeling, some experience and mostly bodhichitta, altruism. It has helped a lot. In some ways, you could say that it has made me into a new person, a new man. I am still progressing. Trying. It gives you inner strength, courage, and it is easier to accept situations. That’s one of the greatest experiences.”[1]

The Dalai Lama as an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara

Although His Holiness is most humble in his personal answer to the question of his status as an emanation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, his actions speak loudest in this repect. In Tibetan Buddhist belief there is a saying, “All men are Avalokiteshvara and all women are Tara” — which is a lofty concept embracing the truth of our universal Buddha Nature. With the Dalai Lama, his status as an emanation of the Buddha of Compassion is a more “literal” one. This means he is considered an emanation in aspect and reality, not in terms of “Buddha Nature” potential.

When asked “how do you feel about this?” he replied, modestly,

“It is difficult for me to say definitely. Unless I am engaged in a meditative effort, such as following my life back, breath by breath, I couldn’t say exactly. We believe that there are four types of rebirth. One is the common type wherein, a being is helpless to determine his or her rebirth, but only reincarnates in dependence on the nature of past actions. The opposite is that of an entirely enlightened Buddha, who simply manifests a physical form to help others. In this case, it is clear that the person is Buddha. A third is one who, due to past spiritual attainment, can choose, or at least influence, the place and situation of rebirth. The fourth is called a blessed manifestation. In this, the person is blessed beyond his normal capacity to perform helpful functions, such as teaching religion. For this last type of birth, the person’s wishes in previous lives to help others must have been very strong. They obtain such empowerment. Though some seem more likely than others, I cannot definitely say which I am.” [1]

When asked to clarify if this role as Chenrezig is helpful or not, he answered, unequivocally, “It is very helpful. Through this role I can be of great benefit to people. For this reason I like it: I’m at home with it. It’s clear that it is very helpful to people, and that I have the karmic relationship to be in this role.”

The Dalai Lama on the world stage

Even at 87 years, His Holiness, seems never to tire or slow down. In addition to his daily audiences with people who visit, some of the world leaders and dignitaries he has met or visited include

Date / Name of the Person / Title / Place of Meeting / Country of Dignitary

January 17, 2020 / Nitish Kumar / Chief Minister of Bihar / Patna / India

January 8, 2020 / Nitish Kumar / Chief Minister of Bihar / Bodhgaya / India

August 28, 2019 / L.K. Advani / Former Deputy Prime Minister of India / New Delhi / India

April 14, 2019 / J.P. Nadda / Minister of Health of India / New Delhi / India

April 5, 2019 / Kailash Satyarthi / Nobel Peace Laureate / New Delhi / India

December 31, 2018 / Nitish Kumar / Chief Minister of Bihar / Bodhgaya / India

December 6, 2018 / Ram Nath Kovinde / President of India / New Delhi / India

November 10, 2018 / Manmohan Singh / Former Prime Minister of India / New Delhi / India

September 22&23, 2018 / Mario Fehr / President of Zurich Canton / Winterthur / Switzerland

H.D. Kumaraswamy / Chief Minister of Karnataka / Bangalore / India

June 14, 2018 / Vytautas Landsbergis / Former President of Lithuania / Vilnius / Lithuania

January 16, 2018 / Nitish Kumar / Chief Minister of Bihar / Bodhgaya / India

December 1, 2017 / Barack Obama / Former President of USA / New Delhi / USA

November 20, 2017 / Naveen Patnaik / Chief Minister of Odisha / Bhubaneswar / India

November 18, 2017 / L.K. Advani / Former Deputy Prime Minister of India / New Delhi / India

October 17, 2017 / Najma Heptulla / Governor of Manipur / Imphal / India

October 17, 2017 / N. Biren Singh / Chief Minister of Manipur / Imphal / India

September 19, 2017 / Enrico Rossi / President of Tuscany / Florence / Italy

July 30, 2017 / Piyush Goel / Minister for Power of India / Mumbai / India

July 30, 2017 / Harsh Vardhan / Minister for Science & Technology of India / Mumbai / India

July 30, 2017 / Mufti Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed / Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir / Leh / India

May 23, 2017 / Siddaramaiah / Chief Minister of Karnataka / Bengaluru / India

April 26, 2017 / Manmohan Singh / Former Prime Minister of India / New Delhi / India

April 25, 2017 / L.K. Advani / Former Deputy Prime Minister of India / New Delhi / India

April 9&11, 2017 / Pema Khandu / Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh / Guwahati / India

April 6, 2017 / Padmanabha Acharya / Governor of Arunachal Pradesh / Guwahati / India

April 2, 2017 / Banwarilal Purohit / Governor of Assam / Guwahati / India

April 1, 2017 / Pema Khandu / Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh / Guwahati / India

April 1, 2017 / Sarbananda Sonowal / Chief Minister of Assam / Guwahati / India

March 19, 2017 / Shivraj Singh Chauhan / Chief Minister of Mahya Pradesh / Bhopal / India

March 17, 2017 / Mahesh Sharma / Minister of Toursim of India / Rajgir / India

February 12, 2017 / E.S.L. Narasimhan / Governor of Telengana / Hyderabad / India

February 10, 2017 / N. Chandrababu Naidu / Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh / Vijayawada / India

February 6, 2017 / Atal Bihari Vajpayee / Former Prime Minister of India / New Delhi / India

January 14, 2017 / Nitish Kumar / Chief Minister of Bihar / Bodhgaya / India

January 9, 2017 / Ram Nath Kovinde / Governor of Bihar / Bodhgaya / India

December 28, 2016 / Nitish Kumar / Chief Minister of Bihar / Patna / India

December 13, 2016 / Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala / Governor of Karnataka / Bengaluru / India

December 11, 2016 / Pranab Mukherjee / President of India / New Delhi / India

December 10&11, 2016 / Kailash Satyarthi / Nobel Peace Laureate / New Delhi / India

December 9, 2016 / Najeeb Jung / Lt. Governor of Delhi / New Delhi / India

November 18&22, 2016 / Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj / President of Mongolia / Ulaanbaatar / Mongolia

October 18, 2016 / Daniel Herman / Minister of Culture for Slovakia / Bratislava / Slovakia

October 16, 2016 / Andrej Kiska / President of Slovakia / Bratislava / Slovakia

October 15, 2016 / Mario Fehr / President of Zurich Canton / Zurich / Switzerland

October 9, 2016 / Pema Khandu / Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh / New Delhi / India

September 15, 2016 / Martin Schulz / President of the European Parliament / Strasbourg / Germany

September 15, 2016 / Thorbjorn Jagland / Secretary General of the Council of Europe / Strasbourg / Norway

September 15, 2016 / Nils Muiznieks / Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights / Strasbourg / Latvia

September 8, 2016 / Jan Figel / European Commission Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the European Union / Brussels / Belgium

June 22, 2016 / Thomas Monson / President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints / Salt Lake City / USA

June 21, 2016 / Gary Herbert / Governor of Utah / Salt Lake City / USA

June 20, 2016 / Jerry Brown / Governor of California / Sacramento / USA

June 15, 2016 / Barack Obama / President of USA / Washington / USA

June 14, 2016 / Paul Ryan / Speaker of the US House / Washington / USA

June 14, 2016 / Nancy Pelosi / Minority Leader of the US House / Washington / USA

March 11, 2016 / Kate Gilmore / UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights / Geneva / Australia

March 11, 2016 / Tawakkol Abdel-Salam Karman / Nobel Peace Laureate / Geneva / Yemen

March 4, 2016 / Paul Ryan / Speaker of the US House / Sea Island / USA

January 4, 2016 / Manmohan Singh / Former Prime Minister of India / New Delhi / India

January 4, 2016 / L.K. Advani / Former Deputy Prime Minister of India / New Delhi / India

January 4, 2016 / Najeeb Jung / Lt. Governor of Delhi / New Delhi / India

January 4, 2016 / Kailash Satyarthi / Nobel Peace Laureate / New Delhi / India

August 29, 2015 / Kailash Satyarthi / Nobel Peace Laureate / New Delhi / India

July 14, 2015 / Volker Bouffier / Prime Minister of Hessen / Wiesbaden / Germany

July 14, 2015 / Norbert Kartmann / President of the Hessen Parliament / Wiesbaden / Germany

July 12, 2015 / Claudia Roth / Vice President of the German Parliament / Wiesbaden / Germany

July 10, 2015 / Nancy Pelosi / Minority Leader of US House / New York / USA

July 6, 2015 / Jody Williams / Nobel Peace Laureate / Los Angeles / USA

July 6, 2015 / Shirin Ebadi / Nobel Peace Laureate / Los Angeles / Iran

July 1, 2015 / George W. Bush / Former President of USA / Dallas / USA

Honors received by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

Most famously, he is known for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. From the Nobel Prize website:

“The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso)

The Nobel Peace Prize 1989

Born: 6 July 1935, Taktser, Tibet

Residence at the time of the award: India

Prize share: 1/1

Prize motivation: “for advocating peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people”

The Committee, in part, awarded His Holiness the award because

“When the Nobel Committee chose the Dalai Lama, it emphasized that he based his Buddhist peace philosophy on reverence for all living things and the idea of a universal responsibility that embraces both man and nature.”

Other awards given to His Holiness the Dalai Lama related to leadership, human rights, and peace were:

1. 1959 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership
2. 1989 Noble Peace Prize
3. 1994 Freedom Medal
4. 1994 World Security Annual Peace Award
5. 1999 Life Achievement Award
6. 2006 Congressional Gold Medal
7. 2003 Jaime Brunet Prize for Human Rights
8. 2003 Human Rights Award
9. 2008 Guru Nanak Interfaith Przie
10. 2009 Lantos Human Rights Prize
11. 2009 Jan Langos Human Rights Award
12. 2008 Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award
13. 2010 International Freedom Conductor Award
14. 2012 Templeton Prize
15. 2022 Independent Publisher Book Awards for Nature

His Holiness Sakya Trichen and HH Sakya Trizen offer Long LIfe Prayers to His Holiness the Dalai Lama

On May 25,2022, His Holiness the Sakya Trichen and His Holiness the Sakya Trizen honored His Holiness the Dalai Lama and prayed for his long life:

“This morning a Long Life Offering was presented to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by members of the Sakya Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism at the Tsuglagkhang, the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala. Hierarchs of both palaces, the Dolma Phodrang and Phuntsok Phodrang, headed by Sakya Dagtri Rinpoché, led the ceremonies.

Sakya Dagtri Rinpoché greeted His Holiness as he stepped out of his car just inside the gate to his residence. The two of them walked steadily through the gate and into the garden, where they were welcomed by a group of dancing drummers. Walking through the garden, His Holiness smiled and waved to members of the public, stopping occasionally to greet young children. He rode the recently installed lift up to the temple veranda and continued to engage with the public on his way round to the temple door.

Once His Holiness was seated on the throne, the Sakya Lamas offered scarves in welcome and the ceremony began. Tea and sweet rice were distributed while the congregation recited the mantra of White Tara.

After the text of the long life prayer had been recited, statues of the deities of longevity, White Tara, Amitayus and Ushnishavijaya, were presented to His Holiness. Sakya Dagtri Rinpoché then offered him a bowl full of long life pills. His Holiness took one for himself and gave another back to Sakya Dagtri Rinpoché, a process he repeated when he was given a spoonful of long life nectar.

The incumbent Sakya Throne-holder, the Sakya Trizin, Gyana Vajra Rinpoché recited verses requesting His Holiness to live long while offering him a large, golden mandala. The previous Throne-holder, Ratna Vajra Rinpoché, continued to make prayers for His Holiness’s longevity as he presented him with a statue of White Tara, a volume of scripture, a reliquary object, a vase of the nectar of long life and a vajra and bell, which His Holiness rang. His Holiness briefly put on a Sakya hat.

Avikrita Vajra Rinpoché offered a mandala and representations of the enlightened body, speech and mind in thanks to His Holiness for agreeing to remain.” [4]

Short Long Life Prayer

There are many long-life prayers and practices dedicated to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s long life. One of the best known is this short, traditional prayer:

Gangri raway korway shingkham su

In the land encircled by a ring of snow mountains

 

Pendang dewa malu jungway nay

Is the source of all happiness and benefit,

 

Chenrezig wang Tenzin Gyatso yi

All-knowing Chenrezig, Tenzin Gyatso.

 

Shaypay sitay bardu tengyur chik

May you stand firm until samsara ends.

May the life of the Glorious Lama remain steadfast and firm.

May he live ten thousand years, may he be always youthful.

Fulfiller of all the aspirations of beings in this world,

To you I pray with a single mind. Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, may live long! “

Please extend His Holiness’ long life prayer to include the Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet:

“Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, may you live long and may you soon return to Tibet.”

Lama Zopa’s advice for celebrating His Holiness Dalai Lama’s birthday

“Start from LA MA SANG GYÄ and the refuge and bodhichitta verses that I added. Do the verse for purifying and blessing the place; visualize that the place becomes like a pure land. Then do the invocation followed by blessing the offerings. Offer them together with LHA DANG MI YI CHHÖ PÄI DZÄ, the long [Offering Cloud] Mantra, [and the Power of Truth]. When the cymbals are played, they should go around three times. They should be played slowly, not fast, as if you have to run for pee-pee!

“Then do the Seven-Limb Prayer. In the monasteries, they would do the Seven-Limb Prayer from the King of Prayers, which is longer, but since people in the centers are not familiar with this, they can do the short one that we normally do. Stop a little bit at rejoicing, then finish [the Seven-Limb Prayer].

“Do the long mandala offering with the long chanting, then SA ZHI PÖ KYI, then GANG RII RA WÄ… You can also add the verses from [the mandala offering in] the long life puja. Then recite IDAM GURU RATNA…

“Then do [the long version of His Holiness’] long life prayer. It can be chanted like we usually do for long life prayers, or like Losang Gyäl Tänma (Prayer for the Flourishing of Je Tsongkhapa’s Teachings) is chanted during the Monlam Chenmo (Great Prayer Festival). I led this chant during the Bendigo retreat. Or you can do the common quick way of reciting it.

“After that, you must recite the Sixteen Arhats Prayer.¹ Requesting the Sixteen Arhats to grant long life is very powerful. Recite it one, two, or three times. For Sixteen Arhats Prayer, there is no slow chanting; you can recite it like it is normally recited.

“The lama, geshe, or someone from the center should offer a mandala and body, speech, and mind, with a khata and a money offering in an envelope, [to His Holiness’ throne]. Then all the other people can offer His Holiness a khata, if they have one. You should touch your head to the throne and pray:

May you live showing us a healthy long life until our samsara ends.

May all your holy wishes succeed immediately.

Please guide me in all my lives

Until I achieve your state of full enlightenment, buddhahood.

“This request includes the prayer from Lama Chopa (LC 53) KHYÖ NI LA MA, KHYÖ NI YI DAM, KHYÖ NI KHA DRO CHHÖ KYONG TE…, and Calling the Guru from Afar by Kyabje Phabongkha Rinpoche. The meaning is that you request the guru to guide you until your death, in the intermediate state, and in all future rebirths, and in every day, every hour, every minute, and every second. This shows that this time we are the most fortunate ones. We can’t believe how fortunate we are. Just look at the rest of the people in the world, without counting the people in other universes. This prayer is also important in order to be able to follow His Holiness up to becoming oneness with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s holy mind. This prayer is the most important one because if from your own side you don’t follow Him, His Holiness cannot guide you.

“This prayer is not only for His Holiness’ birthday, but can be done whenever you offer a khata to His Holiness’s picture or take blessings from him.

“All these prayers should be chanted.

“During the long life prayer and Sixteen Arhats Prayer, the rest of the people can go to take blessings [from His Holiness’ throne]. You don’t need to be quiet while people are taking blessings; [you can recite these prayers].

“Tea can be served during the long life prayer, as well as sweet rice. You can recite JAM PÄL PA WÖI NGAG LA WANG GYUR ZHING and so forth for the tea offering. The tea offering prayer is in the English of Lama Chopa combined with Jorcho. After that, for the rice offering prayer, recite in Tibetan: SANG GYÄ YÖN TÄN SÄM MI KHYAB / CHHÖ KYI YÖN TÄN SÄM MI KHYAB / PHAG PÄI GEN DÜN SÄM MI KHYAB / SÄM MI KHYAB LA DÄ JÄ PÄI / NAM PAR MIN PANG SÄM MI KHYAB / NAM DAG ZHING LA CHHÖ PAR BÜL.

“After that, if you desire, you can recite DAG SOG KHOR CHÄ TSHE RAB THAM CHÄ DU and so forth. It is very good to recite it. The last line of that verse, KÖN CHHOG SUM GYI JIN LAB JUG PAR SHOG, contains a request to generate all the realizations from seeing the guru as a buddha, correctly following the guru with thought and action, which is the root of the path to enlightenment; the common path, the three principal aspects of the path to enlightenment; and, in particular, the two tantric paths, the generation and completion stages; up to enlightenment.

“[At the end,] you can do other [dedication] prayers. Do the short one that I normally lead, TSHE RAB KÜN TU GYÄL WA TSONG KHA PÄ and so forth. Then do MÄ JUNG NAM THAR TSANG MÄI THRIM DANG DÄN and so forth. Do PÄL DÄN LA MÄI NAM PAR THAR PA LA, KÄ CHIG TSAM YANG LOG TA MI KYE ZHING and so forth once again at the end to receive the blessings of the guru to develop devotion and respect toward the guru from now up to full enlightenment.

“Dedicate the merits for the world to have perfect peace and happiness. Recite the first verse from Eight Verses to be able to cherish every sentient being, from each realm, more than the sky filled with wish-granting jewels.

“Recite GE WA DI YI while doing the meditation of sealing [the dedication] with emptiness. Then, chant Final Lamrim Dedication or Losang Gyäl Tänma (Prayer for the Flourishing of Je Tsongkhapa’s Teachings) like I usually lead them, or, do them without, chanting, depending on how much time you have. This is talking in general but, if there is time, it is also good to do Tän Barma (Causing the Teachings of Buddha to Flourish). If you do it, then do Final Lamrim Dedication at the end. Thank you.

“If there is time, someone—the lama or geshe or even a student—can speak about who His Holiness is and about his kindness, so that people’s minds feel very connected to His Holiness.

“Doing [these prayers for His Holiness the Dalai Lama] will help your practice very much; you will get the realizations of the path.”

Past features on His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

• Full feature section of features on His Holiness on Buddha Weekly>>
• Laughter and Patch Adams — What they have in common>>
• Targeted Calm-Abiding Meditation: His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Tsongkhapa>>
• Metta Meditation and the Dalai Lama>>

CITATIONS and NOTES

[1] Dalai Lama biography on Dalailama.com>>

[2] https://www.dalailama.com/biography

[3] https://www.dalailama.com/

[4] Tibet.net>>

[5] FPMT website>>

The great Kyabje Garchen Rinpoche introduces the concept:

“…Every deity is the same… in this world there are so many diverse people, each with different faces, bodies, and styles of clothing. But the Buddha Nature of their inner minds is singular. This nature, shared by Buddhas and sentient beings alike, has but one basis. The only difference between Buddhas and sentient ones is the scope of their love, compassion, and bodhicitta… however, there are no differences within the mind that is Buddha Nature.” [1]

With the help of some of the great teachers — His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Kyabje Garchen Rinpoche, Lama Thubten Yeshe, Lord Atisha and Shakyamuni Buddha — we’ll try to point to the true nature of deity, guru — and you!

The most eminent Kyabje Garchen Rinpoche, explains the basis:

“Since all sentient beings possess the mind of Buddha Nature—the very cause of the buddhas—they are like the Buddhas’ children. Among them, one who obtains a precious human body endowed with freedoms and connections is exceedingly rare. When such a person gives rise to love, compassion, and bodhicitta, it is like the coronation of a monarch. Whoever receives the bodhisattva’s vow is like a king ascending the throne. Further, for practitioners of secret mantra, the pure deity with ornaments and implements is the natural physical expression of bodhicitta.”

In Buddhism, Yidam Deity, Guru, and “I” are not separate

Garchen Rinpoche explained the danger of misinterpreting the “deity” in Buddhism. In his teaching on Vajrakilaya, he warned against the danger of regarding “the deity as real and concrete, perceiving the yidam as no different from an ordinary being.” This is one of the biggest misconceptions.

Another great teacher, Lama Thubten Yeshe, described deities in great detail in Introduction to Tantra: A Vision of Totality[2]:

“Tantric meditational deities should not be confused with what different mythologies and religions might mean when they speak of gods and goddesses. Here, the deity we choose to identify with represents the essential qualities of the fully awakened experience latent within us. To use the language of psychology, such a deity is an archetype of our own deepest nature, our most profound level of consciousness. In tantra we focus our attention on such an archetypal image and identify with it in order to arouse the deepest, most profound aspects of our being and bring them into our present reality.”

Many people misunderstand not only the concept of deity but also the role of “Guru” in Mahayana Buddhism. It may become even more confusing — which is why it’s important to have a good teacher — if we try to grasp the profound, but the elusive concept that the Yidam deity, Guru and “I” are not separate.

Dalai Lama explains “deities”

Understanding aspects of enlightenment as “deities” is not the same as “worshipping gods.” The concept of deity in Buddhism is entirely different from faiths that believe in “creators gods.” In Buddhism, the creator is not other than Karma, cause, and effect — and there literally never was a beginning, just endless cycles of millennium after millennium of Samsara. The great Buddhaghosa, a Theravadan commentator, clarifies the Buddhist point-of-view:

“For there is no god, the maker of the conditioned world of rebirths. Phenomena alone flow on. Conditioned by the coming together of causes.” (Visuddhimagga 603)

In other words, “deva” in Buddhism has nothing to do with creator gods. What, then does it relate to? The Dalai Lama, in the forward to Mystical Arts of Tibet explained the “deity” very concisely[3]:

“The deities themselves are regarded as representing particular characteristics of enlightenment.

For example, Manjushri embodies wisdom and Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig) embodies compassion.

Paying respect to such deities, therefore, has the effect of paying respect to wisdom and compassion, which in turn functions as an inspiration to acquire those qualities within ourselves.”

Deity is not “other”

In fact, when we say “the deity arises from the Guru” this doesn’t mean Guru is above Buddha or vice versa. At the ultimate level, Buddha, Guru and “I” — or “you” — are one nature, Buddha Nature.

The meditational deity, which is a manifestation of Buddha’s Enlightened Body, Speech and Mind, arises from the Guru, as a teacher — not because they magically manifested the deity, but because they guided us and instructed us as previously guided by a long lineage of great yogis and yoginis. In fact “deity” arises from ourselves, from our mind, our Buddha Nature, which is no different from that of Buddha or Guru. In other words, Yidam deities arise from Buddha, Guru, and you. Not one, or the other, or these two and not that one. In Vajrayana, the goal is to pierce the illusory veil of dualistic thinking.

The “Changeless Companion”

Bear with us, we’ll break it down with the help of some great teachers, notable among them the great Kyabje Garchen Rinpoche:

“It is said in the common development-stage texts that the root of both samsara and nirvana is the mind. If one recognizes the actual condition of the mind just as it is, whichever deity one practices, one will know that deity to be the mind itself. The yidam is the guardian and protector of the mind. When one understands the qualities of the deity’s knowledge, love, and capability, one will know him or her to be a changeless companion.

“It is through the yidam’s steadfast friendship that one will become able to accomplish all the common and uncommon siddhis from now until the state of buddhahood is attained. Conversely, even though one may be diligent in deity yoga, if this point is not understood, one will end up practicing an independently existent, ordinary deity. This means that one will regard the deity as real and concrete, perceiving the yidam as no different from an ordinary being.” [1]

Deity is a poor translation

“Deity,” is perhaps a poor translation of the concept of Yidam. The concept of “Deity” is wholly insufficient for the translation task — at least the normally accepted definition of deity, which, according to Oxford is: “a god or goddess … the creator and supreme being … divine status, quality, or nature.” Buddhist deities are really not associated with these concepts.

Since the highest form of Buddhist understanding transcends ego — and god, goddess, supreme being or divine status are all “ego concepts” — the word is entirely wrong as a translation of “Buddhist” notions of “Deva.” The closest translation of “Deva” would be “divine, anything of excellence” and in the case of Buddhism, “Enlightened Excellence.”

Enlightened minds are free of ego. This means the concept of visualized deities with 1000 arms is a symbol and skillful means, not a literal, ego-manifested reality. Does that mean they are not real?

No, of course, Yidams are real in the relative sense — our minds make it so — but in ultimate Buddhist reality, they are Oneness with all. In other words, you, me, the Guru and the Yidam, the lineage gurus, the past Mahasiddhas, the Buddha, your aunt, uncle, mother, father, and all your enemies and friends are Oneness in the ultimate reality.

However, as long as we are obscured by Samsara’s dualistic thinking, we perceive them all to be separate. (But that’s a feature for another day!)

One nature, many forms

So, when we talk about the Guru, it is important to remember that the Guru is not “other.” The Guru is actually a reflection of our own Buddha Nature. In other words, the Guru is not above us or separate from us — the Guru is actually a manifestation of our own highest potential. When we bow to the Guru — or to the Yidam image — we are also bowing to the Buddha Nature we aspire to within ourselves.

The same goes for the Yidam deity. The Yidam may take on any form — male, female, non-gender specific, human, animal, wrathful or peaceful. The form is not important; what’s important is the quality that the form represents. For example, Tara’s representation of compassion or Manjushri’s wisdom.

The Yidam is also not “an other.” The Yidam is a manifestation of our own highest potential.

When we talk about the Guru and the Yidam, it is important to remember that they are not separate from us. They are actually expressions of our own highest nature. We are all One.

Heart in Buddhism

A Yidam “deity” literally translates as “heart commitment.” Yi means “heart” and Dam means “commitment. Heart is an important concept in Buddhism. As Kyabje Garchen Rinpoche wrote:

“The deity’s heart essence is love and affection.”

Why heart deity? The main reason has to do with our “commitment” to a single practice to help focus our meditations. Another reason is that the heart, in Buddhism, is the seat of “mind” or consciousness and also wisdom. The deity is specifically mapped to our own minds. The third reason, of course, has to do with compassion, metta and karuna, which are defining characteristics of all Buddhist “deities.”

Why is this different from the notion of deity in creator-based faiths? There are two main differences. Yidam deities are always Enlightened Beings — and are of “one mind” with Buddha. Equally important is Bodhichitta.

Again, Kyabje Garchen Rinpoche explains,

“Whichever deity one practices, his or her power derives exclusively from Bodhichitta.”

Lord Atisha: “Practicing one Yidam is practicing all Yidams”

The well-known saying, attributed to Lord Atisha, the great Mahasiddha is often used to clarify the concept: “Practicing one Yidam is practicing all Buddhas.” (paraphrased.) In other words, all Yidams are aspects of Buddha. We practice a particular Yidam to focus on a specific concept, such as “overcoming anger” or “developing compassion.” We might think of Yamantaka for the former, and Avalokiteshvara for the latter — but both have the same ultimate realizations.

His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin (now His Holiness Sakya Trichen) said:

“In Buddhist tradition, we have two truths: the relative truth and absolute truth. In absolute truth, there’s no deity. There’s nothing. It’s inexpressible. In other words, it is something that is completely beyond our present way of thinking and being. But relatively, we have everything existing. We have “I,” and “you,” and all this. [4]

Garchen Rinpoche, in part, is saying that all Yidams have the same root, the same source. The various practices are just different ways of looking at Buddha — like different colors in a rainbow. All colors come from one light.

The great teacher clarifies,

“Thus, from the perspective of great accomplishment, there are no contradictions among whichever deities and sadhanas one practices.

“Of course, there are differences in terms of deities’ colors, ornaments, implements, and numbers of faces and limbs. When one is drawn to those outer appearances, it is simply a reflection of one’s individual inclinations, interests, and past lives’ connections. So, although practitioners have diverse individual preferences, there is no distinction whatsoever among different deities’ power and force. The mind transmissions of all wisdom deities are the same.” [1]

In other words, the appearances, names, and symbols are all visualizations to aid us on the path, customized to our particular minds.

Why do we need so many Deity forms?

The main reason has to do with the explanation above, but the great guru Garchen Rinpoche clarifies,

“…In this world there are so many diverse people, each with different faces, bodies, and styles of clothing. But the buddha nature of their inner minds is singular.”

H.E. Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, the Third, wrote:

“Why are there so many? Yidams are visualized pure forms that manifest from dharmadhatu’s empty essence as the lucid self-display of our Lama’s compassion.” The goal of Yidam practice is critical to understanding these forms: ” What is the purpose of Vajrayana practice? Purifying one’s impure perception of all appearances and experiences.”

The role of the Guru

So, what is the role of the Guru? The main role of the Guru is to help us realize our own Buddha Nature — which is none other than their own Buddha Nature. In other words, when we see the Guru, we are seeing a reflection of ourselves.

The Guru’s job is to help us remember our true nature. The word “guru” actually means “dispeller of darkness.” In other words, the guru is like a light that dispels the darkness of ignorance.

Garchen Rinpoche said,

“One could say that all spiritual teachers are the same in that they each have attained complete and perfect buddhahood. Nevertheless, their activities are not identical. The highest and most sublime among them is the one who can induce others to generate bodhichitta spontaneously and effortlessly. Such a guru need not say much; his or her very presence is enough to guide disciples along the path.”

So, the role of the Guru is not to give us something that we don’t already have — but to help us remember what we already have.

Misunderstanding the Guru

What is often misunderstood about Guru yoga is that the relationship between student and teacher is not one of servitude. The student is not trying to become the slave of the teacher. The student-teacher relationship in Buddhism (and particularly in Vajrayana) is one of equals. The difference is that the teacher has more experience, and thus can help guide the student along the path. The teacher is not a “dictator,” but a friend, someone who has been down the road before, and can offer help and guidance.

The word “guru” comes from two Sanskrit words: gu means “darkness,” and ru means “light.” So a guru is someone who dispels the darkness, or ignorance, of the student.

The relationship between student and teacher is one of trust. The student trusts that the teacher knows the way, and is willing to follow the guidance of the teacher. In turn, the teacher agrees to teach only those things that will benefit the student. It is a relationship based on trust, respect, and friendship — not servitude. In fact, the language used between teacher and student is often “Dharma friend.”

In Vajrayana Buddhism, you can, and probably will, have multiple gurus in your lifetime. In the same way as we loftily view “all Yidams are of one nature” we likewise see all our Gurus as our Guru. For example, in Guru Yoga, we are instructed, if we doing visualization, to see all our Gurus above our head — often with the Yidam at their hearts (for example), who then merge into one. Then, that one merges into you. In other words, all the gurus, yidams — and you — merge into one.

The “I” in Buddhism

There is no separate “I” in Buddhism. This is perhaps the most difficult concept for Westerners to understand. We are so used to thinking of ourselves as separate individuals, with our own thoughts, feelings and experiences. But in Buddhism, there is no such thing as a separate “I.”

What we call “I” is just a collection of five aggregates: form, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness. These five aggregates are always changing; they are not static. And they are not separate from each other.

The idea of a separate “I” is just an illusion. It is like a mirage in the desert. When we look at it, we think there is water there, but when we get closer, we see that there is nothing there at all.

In the same way, when we look at ourselves, we think there is a separate “I” there, but when we examine ourselves more closely, we see that there is no such thing. We are just a collection of fleeting thoughts and emotions, always changing, never static.

This does not mean that we do not exist. We do exist, but not in the way that we think we do. We exist as a part of the ever-changing flow of life.

• See our previous feature: In What Way are Buddhist Deities Real?>>

Deity, Guru, and I (you) are not separate

In conclusion, it is important to understand that in Buddhism, the concepts of Deity, Guru and “I” are not separate. They are all aspects of Buddha, and they are all connected. Although we recognize and honor the experience, lineage and teachings our teachers convey to us, never-the-less, the best relationship between student and teacher is one trust and respect. And, the dualistic concept of a separate “I” is just illusory.

[1] Garchen Rinpoche, Kyabje. Vajrakilaya, Shambhala.

[2] Introduction to Tantra: A Vision of Totality, by Lama Thubten Yeshe [1987], p. 42

[3] Mystical Arts of Tibet, forward by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

[4] In What Way are Buddhist Deities Real, Buddha Weekly>>

The Dalai Lama, while teaching in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, felt a sudden bout of severe pain in his abdomen. During the drive to the nearest hospital (two hours away), he saw a poverty-stricken child with no shoes, a sick disheveled old man lying on the floor, among many such others. All along the drive, he was thinking about their suffering. Upon reaching the hospital he had completely forgotten about his pain. This is the power of compassion- it even works at the physical level. He admits that his compassion for others ultimately benefitted him.

The strength of the Dalai Lama’s teaching on compassion is that they are based on personal experiences, sound reasoning, and corroboration by science. Hence, its truth becomes apparent to the practitioner as we pursue and test it.

What is Compassion?

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying defines compassion as follows:

“It is not simply a sense of sympathy or caring for the other person’s suffering, not simply a warmth of heart toward the person before you, or a sharp clarity of the recognition of their needs and pain, it is also a sustained sense and practical determination to do whatever is possible and necessary to help alleviate their suffering”.

Hence, compassion is not compassion unless it is active.

What is the Logic behind the Virtue of Compassion?

The essence of the Dalai Lama’s teachings is this: the goal of all our lives is to be happy and too much self-centered thinking takes us away from our happiness and is the source of our suffering.

Genuine concern and compassion for others’ well-being is the only true source of happiness.

But why is compassion the only source of happiness? I have enough problems of my own. Why should I be compassionate and think about others too who are suffering?

Because we are all social animals. Much like us, even a person as powerful as the Prime Minister has to rely on the help of the rest of the community. So, if we want to have a happy life, we have to develop a serious concern for the well-being of others.

Being kind to people — experiment with it

While it is difficult to explain theoretically, it is something that we can experiment with in real life. Simple exercises like being kind to people, smiling, and saying good morning (even when we don’t feel like it), will eventually lift us. Why does it work? Because even science (read the research of Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist) shows that “we are all wired to be caring and generous to others. We shrivel when are unable to interact”. Even science admits that our basic nature is to take care of each other. When our circle of care becomes restricted to only us, then our happiness becomes elusive.

Also, take a look at history. Isn’t it the case that we always admire compassionate people? Why do you think the Dalai Lama packs stadiums for his teachings? The late revered Archbishop Desmund Tutu said

“It is largely because of who he has become. A person who has a certain spiritual stature that has made him so compassionate that he cares for others even in the midst of his immense suffering of being in exile.”

Can Science Explain the Mechanism Behind it?

Dalai Lama’s teachings that compassion is ultimately for our self-interest is what science calls reciprocal altruism. When we help others, we experience a phenomenon called the helper’s high as endorphins are released in our brains, leading to a euphoric state. The warm feeling that we get from helping someone else release oxytocin, a hormone that has several health benefits including a reduction in the inflammation of our cardiovascular system. Hence, compassion for others literally makes our hearts healthy and happy.

Compassion is also contagious. Science calls it upstream reciprocity. That is, somebody who has just received help is elevated, happy and grateful and thus more likely to help someone else. Research by social scientists, Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler has found that the ripple effect created by compassion extends to our friends by two or three degrees of separation. So, the more compassionate we are, the more likely that our friends, our friends’ friends, and even our friends’ friends’ friends are more compassionate and kinder.

How Can One Cultivate Compassion in Daily Lives?

The Dalai Lama says that compassion is something that can be learned and developed, first in our circle of immediate family, and then others in recognition of shared humanity.

He says that if someone is going through a tough time, then through compassion we will come to an automatic concern for their well-being. If it’s possible, then we must extend help. Even if not, then one can always pray and wish them well. This teaching reminds me of an anecdote that he shared once. He visited former concentration camp sites in Germany and was so overwhelmingly distraught at the suffering of the people who were killed, that he prayed for the peace of the departed soul. Hence, we are never helpless when we have compassion inside our hearts. Because even if we cannot provide material help, we can always help through our thoughts and prayers.

But do prayers really work when going through daily life issues?

The Late Archbishop Desmund Tutu, in his book, The Book of Joy (with the Dalai Lama), mentioned that the source of our stress is separating ourselves from the rest of the community and losing compassion for other people. To ensure that he never loses that aspect, Desmund Tutu dealt with problems like insomnia in a practical manner. When unable to sleep, he would think about everyone who was also awake and suffering from insomnia. It reminded him that he was not alone and he prayed for their peace. This automatically lessened his distress. The beauty of compassion lies in putting it to practical use. Just try.

Making a transition from daily life to the broader global issues

In line with the overarching theme of compassion and in this era of climate change, the Dalai Lama also encourages us to adopt vegetarianism as a gesture of compassion for the animals and the planet we inhabit. True to his reasoning, it is estimated that non-vegetarian diets have 59% more emissions than their vegetarian counterparts.[1]  Finally, in line with the logic behind being compassionate, research has also supported that people living a vegetarian lifestyle are happier than their non-vegetarian counterparts.[2]

We conclude with a humorous and succinct teaching of Dalai Lama:

“If you are truly selfish, then be compassionate. Taking of others, and helping others, ultimately is the way to discover your own joy and have a happy life. I call this wise selfishness. This is the opposite of foolish selfishness, which is only thinking of oneself, bullying and exploiting others.”

Hence, be wisely selfish, be compassionate.

Compassion — the wish-fulfilling jewel

Compassion is truly said to be the wish-fulfilling jewel because it is only when we are compassionate towards others that our wish of leading a happy and peaceful life gets fulfilled. Finally, the readers can read the beautiful Tibetan prayer to cultivate more compassion in their lives:

As for suffering, I do not wish even the slightest,

As for happiness, I am never satisfied

In this, there is no difference between others and me.

Bless me so I may take joy in others’ happiness

References

1. The Book of Joy by The Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu
2. The Art of Happiness at Work by The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler

Author Profiles

Payal Seth is an economist researcher at Tata-Cornell Institute, Cornell University, New York, USA. Tenzin Dakpa is a businessman in London, UK. He was formerly a Buddhist monk.

Sources and Notes

[1] No vegetarian diets associated with higher greenhouse gas emissions>>

[2] Nutrition Biomedcentral (NOTE PDF Download)>> 

Breath, as a focal point, however, is just one of many targeted calm-abiding meditations. Breathing mindfulness is specifically recommended for people who are dominated by “conceptuality,” and who are unable to see beyond ordinary appearances.

Many types of calm-abiding focal points

Since modern people, especially Westerners, tend to be intellectual, analytical and “conceptual”, a meditation on the breath is the most frequently taught method. However, the focal point of any calm-abiding meditation, as taught by the Buddha, varies based on the discursive or afflictive emotion the student is “tackling” in their practice. The Dalai Lama writes: “Those dominated by conceptuality can observe the exhalation and inhalation of breath because by tying the mind to breath discursiveness diminishes.”

The Dalai Lama, in his teaching commentary on Lama Tsongkahapa’s The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra (Vol.3), provides significant guidance for students. In this feature, we’ll focus on the advice of Shakyamuni Buddha, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the great Lama Tsongkhapa on topics for calm abiding meditation that suit your obstructions.[1]

Choosing the “object”

Whether we choose to visualize a Buddha, focus on a mantra, or just on our breath, depends on the result we expect or hope for.

The Dalai Lama explains: “In order to set the mind steadily on an object of observation it is necessary initially to use an object of observation suited to counteracting your own predominant afflictive emotion since its force remains with your mind now and can easily interrupt any attempt to concentrate the mind.”

Afflictive emotions

His Holiness then went on to describe the different afflictive emotions, and which contemplation works best — according to the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. The afflictive emotions include:

• conceptuality
• desire
• hate
• pride
• obscuration or dullness

There are others, but these cover the primary afflictions. The Dalai Lama pointed out instructions for each:

1. Conceptual  — main focus: breath.
2. Desire — main focus: meditate on “ugliness” such as the organs, feces and blood of the body.
3. Hatred — main focus: “Metta” and “love” meditation, Bodhichitta, loving-kindness.
4. Pride — main focus: a meditation on the divisions of the constituents (fire, water, earth, wind, space, and consciousness: breaking them down to their respective constituents, such as, for the earth: flesh, skin, bone.) By breaking down the constituents to its insignificant components you lose the inflated ego and realize.
5. Obscuration and dullness: meditate on the twelve links of dependent arising of cyclic existence because it sharpens thinking and intelligence.

Buddha body object

His Holiness explains that all meditations can benefit from the “Buddha’s body” object of meditation:

“A particularly helpful object for all personality types is a Buddha body, since concentration on a Buddha’s body causes your mind to mix with virtuous qualities. No matter what the object is, this is not a case of meditating within, looking at an external object with your eyes, but of causing an image of it to appear to the mental consciousness.”

His Holiness then described how the process might work. “For instance, if you are to concentrate on Buddha body, first you need to come to know it well through hearing it described or through looking at a picture or statue, getting used to it, so that it can appear clearly in the mind. Then, imagine it about four feet in front of you at the height of your eyebrows, about two inches high. It should be meditated as being clear, with a nature of brilliant light; this helps to prevent the onset of laxity, a condition in which the mind’s mode of apprehension is too loose. Also, you can consider the imagined Buddha body to be heavy; this helps to prevent excitement, a condition in which the mind’s mode of apprehension is too light. Once the object originally has been determined, you may not change its nature or size; it must be fixed for the duration of generating calm abiding.”

The Buddha body specialists

Typically, a “Buddha body object” would be one’s own Yidam, although there are “specialist” emanations of Buddha bodies for most afflictions. For example, the five Buddha Families oppose or transform the same five major stresses. Although the attributions are slightly different between Buddhist schools, they are, generally:

1. Conceptual: the stress of mental formations and concepts is opposed by the karma activities of Amoghasiddhi (Karma family)
2. Desire: the stress of “desires” and clinging is opposed by the generosity of Ratnasambhava (Ratna family)
3. Hatred: the stress of hatred is opposed by Amitabha (Lotus family), the compassion family
4. Pride: the stress of pride is opposed or transformed by the humility of Akshobya (Vajra family)
5. Obscuration or dullness: the stress of “Ignorance” is opposed or transformed the wisdom of Vairocana and his family

These families and other meditation deities “oppose” the five stresses with their own special emphasis: Desire is opposed by generosity; hatred is opposed by love and Metta; Pride is overcome by humility; and so on. For more specific meditations, there are also many deity practices that focus on these “stresses”:

1. 

   Green Tara (member of Amoghasiddhi’s family) or Prajnaparamita for “conceptual” and also the Heart Sutra teachings. [For a feature on Green Tara see>>] [For a story on Prajnaparamita and Heart Sutra see>>]

2. Jambhala practice is often recommended for “desire” (practicing generosity to overcome greed); also Kshitigarbha (Earth Store Bodhisattva) [For a story on Kshitigarbha see>>]; Vajrayogini is recommended for “sensual desire” [For a story on Vajrayogini, see>>]
3. Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig) for “hatred” [For a feature story on Chenrezig, see>>]
4. Vajrasattva to help us overcome “pride” through confession of our downfalls [For a feature on Vajrasattva see>>]
5. Manjushri (wisdom deity) for “obscuration and dullness”

If you’re really stuck, go wrathful

Only if you have appropriate initiation and full instruction from a teacher, if you are really stuck, you can also “up” the horse-power in your practice by meditating on the “wrathful” emanation of the same deity (assuming you have permission or empowerment). [For a feature story on wrathful deities, see>>]

For example:

1. Wrathful Dakinis (Wisdom Dakinis) such as Ekajati, Vajra Varahi, even Palden Lhamo (who famously renounced conceptuality in her gruesome story) and is famous for driving off our inner demons and afflictions. [For a feature on Palden Lhamo, see>>]
2. White Mahakala for general “desire”;  Kurukulle, another wrathful emanation of Tara is also recommended for “desire”.

3. 

   Hayagriva as the wrathful emanation of Chenrezig and Amitabha — again for hatred (Hayagriva is also good for many other obscurations). [For a feature story on Hayagriva, see>>]

4. Vajrakilaya, a wrathful emanation of Vajrasattva (famously, the practice that most often involves wrathful Phurba.) [For a story on Phurba, see>>]
5. Yamantaka as a wrathful emanation of Manjushri (the Buddha of Wisdom) — again for “dullness”

Excitement and laxity

Whatever the focus — breath, metta, or a deity — His Holiness advised us to develop:

• clarity of both object and consciousness itself
• staying one-pointedly on the object.

The two factors that prevent this are laxity and excitement. “Laxity prevents the development of clarity, and excitement prevents the stability with the object,” writes the Dalai Lama.

“That which interferes with the steadiness of the object of observation and causes it to fluctuate is excitement, which includes any scattering of the mind to an object other than the object of meditation. To stop that, withdraw your mind more strongly inside so the intensity of the mode of apprehension of the object begins to lower. If you need a further technique to withdraw the mind, it helps to leave the object of meditation temporarily and think about something that makes you more sober, such as the imminence of death…”

When speaking of laxity, His Holiness explains:

“It is not sufficient just to have stability; clarity is also needed. That which prevents clarity is laxity, which is a case of the mind’s becoming too relaxed, too loose, lacking intensity — the tautness of the mind having become weak, caused by over withdrawal inside.

The heaviness of mind and body can lead to becoming lax, which can lead to a type of lethargy in which, losing the object of observation, you have as if fallen into darkness; this can lead even to sleep.”

As a remedy for laxity, the Dalai Lama recommends: “When this begins to occur, it is necessary to raise, to heighten, this excessive declination of the mind by making it more taught, more tight. If you need a further technique to accomplish this, it helps to brighten the object of meditation, or if that does not work, to leave the object of meditation temporarily and think on something that makes you joyous, such as the wonderful opportunity that a human lifetime affords for spiritual practice…”

NOTES

[1] The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra (Vol.3), by Lama Tsongkhapa with commentary from H.H. Dalai Lama

• Series: Exposition of Secret Mantra (Book 3)
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Snow Lion (May 2, 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1611803608
• ISBN-13: 978-1611803600

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Palden Lhamo video documentary (with tea offering!)

Don’t miss the new Palden Lhamo documentary from Buddha Weekly:

“It is this ignorance and stupidity that … wrathful deities are directed against,” explains Rob Preece, a Psychologist.  [1] No nonsense, no bull-oney — that’s Palden Lhamo. In Her primary function as a Dharma protector, she protects us — from ourselves. In Tibetan Buddhism, Dharma Protectors serve an important function in cutting ignorance, anger, obstacles, and even dangerous situations.

Palden Lhamo — Nothing Can Stand Against Her

Palden Lhamo, also known as Shridevi, the dark emanation of Vajra Sarasvati (an emanation of Tara, and ultimately Prajnaparamita) — in her fierce form, she is like the no-nonsense stern mother, who so terrifies the neighborhood that none of the bullies dare to bother you. You shout, “Here comes Palden Lhamo” and all the little demon bullies go running.

She is the mother who can lift a car off of a trapped child — the awesome power of a furious mother. You could think of Tara as the “nice mother” supportive and protective, with embracing arms, and Palden Lhamo as the same mother, but super wrathful, enraged, and awesome in Her power; nothing, absolutely nothing, can stand against Her. You can also think of Palden Lhamo as the fierce aspect of wisdom, as the wrathful emanation of Vajra Sarasvati.

JHO! Your mind knows everything in essence and in detail;
You never leave the sphere of emptiness, but out of compassion
You tame enemies and obstacles, every method at your command.
I praise you, conquering female with a glorious body, speech and mind!

— from the Tea Offering to Palden Lhamo

• A small tea ceremony to Palden Lhamo at the end of this feature, suitable to honor the Glorious Goddess without empowerment. (Just a praise and prayer.)

Palden Lhamo: ferocious, but mother

Palden Lhamo, the ferocious yet motherly Buddhist protector, brings to mind the character Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), decked out in a robotic loader in the movie Aliens, confronting the massive acid-drooling demon-alien and snarling: “Let go of her!” Bam — angry, protective mother Ripley drives away the terrible demon.

In a separate feature on Buddhist wrathful deities, we used Arnold Schwarzenegger as the wrathful icon. We asked, if you were attacked by a violent gang, who would you rather have at your side, tough-guy Arnie or a man dressed neatly in a pin-striped suit. Except here, Palden Lhamo’s protective ferocity is magnified by Her motherly bond. Like Ripley, nothing can stand between Her and Her child.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You usually do NOT visualize yourself as Palden Lhamo. Her practice is almost always a front-generation practice (visualizing her in front of you) with yourself visualized as your own Yidam — or Yamantaka in most Sadhanas. Unless your teacher guides you differently, do NOT self-generate as Palden Lhamo.

This is symbolically reinforced by Her Ghoulish appearance, horrifying enough to send even the most terrifying demon yelping for cover. “She is almost naked, and her body is wreathed in snakes and adorned with bone ornaments and a necklace of skulls. In her left hand, she bears a brimming skull cup. In her right hand, she holds aloft a black skull-topped staff… Flames roar and black storm clouds swirl around her…” [3]

“Fierce maker, Fierce Being, Her reality is ferocious

Chief Lady of the retinue of the fierce,

Her symbolic body a glistening dark black!

I bow to the all-terrifying Mother Goddess!

Fiercely pray free of diseases, demons, foes and obstructions!” [4]

Of course, we’re also speaking metaphorically. Palden Lhamo, as the strong shadow of your psyche, if embraced as a Buddhist practice, can stand up against all the little doubts and conflicts and obstacles that arise within your own mindstream — those pesky demons. Or, if you prefer to think of demons as flesh and fang, she’s more than equipped to handle them for you, too.

According to Vessantara: “Not only can Shridevi control dark external forces; She is capable of pacifying all those hindering inner forces that bind us to the ‘wheel of fire’ of mundane existence. Hence she is also known in Tibet as the one who overpowers and crushes the hosts of the passions (Paldan Makzor Gyalmo).” [3]

A Praise to Palden Lhamo from the Dalai Lama

A Sorrowful Song to Palden Lhamo

by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Expanse of Great Bliss, all-pervading, free from elaborations,
with either angry or desirous forms related to those to be subdued,
You overpower the whole apparent world, Samsara and Nirvana.
Sole Mother, Lady Victorious Over the Three Worlds,
please pay attention here and now!

During numberless eons, by relying upon and accustoming

Yourself to
the extensive conduct of the Bodhisattvas, which others find difficult
 to follow,
You obtained the power of the sublime Vajra Enlightenment;

Loving Mother, You watch and don’t miss the (right) time.

The winds of conceptuality dissolve into space.

Vajra-dance of the mind which produces all the animate and inanimate world,
as the sole friend yielding the pleasures of existence and peace,
Having conquered them all,
You are well praised as the Triumphant Mother.

By heroically guarding the Dharma and Dharma-holders,

with the four
types of actions, flashing like lightning
You soar up openly, like the full moon in the midst of a garland of powerful Dharma Protectors.

When from the troublesome nature of this most degenerated time
the hosts of evil omens — desire, anger, deceit— increasingly rise, even then
Your power is unimpeded, sharp, swift and limitless.

How wonderful!

Longingly remembering You, O Goddess, from my heart,

I confess my broken vows and satisfy all Your pleasures.

Having enthroned You as the Supreme Protector, Greatest amongst the
 Great, accomplish Your appointed tasks with unflinching energy!

Fierce protecting deities and Your retinues who, in accordance with
the instructions of the Supreme Siddha,

the Lotus-born Vajra, and by 
the power of karma and prayers, have a close connection as Guardians 
of Tibet, heighten Your majesty and increase Your powers!

All beings in the country of Tibet , although destroyed by the enemy and tormented by unbearable suffering, abide in the constant hope of glorious freedom.
How could they bear to not be given Your compassionate hand?

Thus please come forth to face the great murderers, the malevolent enemy.
O Lady who performs the actions of war and weapons;
Dakini, I summon You with this sorrowful song:

The time has come to bring forth 
Your skill and power.

~ Any errors or omissions in this translation are solely the responsibility of her humble follower,
 Jangchub Ngawang Paldon Gyalmo.

Symbolism of Palden Lhamo

As with all Tantric Deities, every element and color of the image has many layers of meaning. As a higher Tantra practice — Palden Lhamo, typically, should not be practiced until the practitioner already has one Higher Tantric Empowerment — her symbols actually carry three-layers of meaning. From Robert Warren Clark, “Palden Lhamo,” in The Arts of India, South East Asia, and the Himalayas: [9]

“Every detail of Palden Lhamo’s appear­ance and accoutrements is symbolic on three levels: outer, inner, and secret. The outer level is related in her history as the woman warrior who fought the demon king of Lanka. The inner level consists of symbolic meanings related to the path to liberation. On the secret level, taught only to initiates, every detail becomes signifi­cant as an element in the mystical practice of internal Tantric yoga.”

Palden Lhamo has one face and two arms. On the inner level of symbolism, she holds in her mouth the demon of mental afflictions. She bites down on this demon with her sharp fangs of mindfulness, cir­cumspection, heedfulness, and diligence. Her red hair rising upward represents the blazing fire of perfect wisdom (jnana) that incinerates all worldly conceptions (vikalpa), which are the underlying causes of all misery. She wears the five-skull crown showing that she has extinguished the five poisons (greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and jealousy). The third eye of wis­dom is wide open in the middle of her forehead. The Tantric symbol of the sun of wisdom marks her navel, and the moon of compassion marks her crown. The peacock-feather parasol of ultimate attainment rises above her head. A long necklace of fifty severed heads is strung on a wire representing intestines. The fifty heads correspond to the fifty worldly states of mind that must be cut off.

Many Names and Tantric Source

Palden Lhamo goes by many names: Shri Devi, Magzor Gyalmo. Tibetan: pal den lha mo, mag gyi zor le, gyal mo. English: Glorious Goddess, the Queen who Repels Armies, or the Queen who has the power to turn back armies. Sanskrit: Shri Devi, Yakshi Remati. In fact, Shri Devi is more of a “class” of deities, which includes Magzor Gyalmo. According to Himalayan Art:

“Shri Devi, Yakshi Remati): belonging to the larger class of enlightened protector deities known as Shri Devi. Magzor Gyalmo is regarded as a wrathful emanation of the peaceful goddess Sarasvati, although popular in both Hinduism and Buddhism, the Buddhist deity is more properly known as Vajra Sarasvati and of a different entity and nature than the Hindu goddess Sarasvati. Within the Buddhist Tantric tradition Vajra Sarasavti is believed to be an enlightened deity while the Hindu form of the goddess is believed to be worldly in nature and not enlightened.

Amongst the many forms of Shri Devi, the specific form of Magzor Gyalmo, blue-black and wrathful, is recognized by having one face and two hands, holding aloft with the right hand a vajra tipped staff and in the left a skullcup held to the heart. She rides side-saddle atop a mule. Above her head is a large peacock feather parasol. In the Sakya and related Traditions there is a snake ornament for the right ear and a lion for the left. In the Gelug Tradition this is reversed and the lion is an ornament for the right and the snake for the left. According to the lunar calendar the special day for worship of Magzor Gyalmo is the 14th of the month.

The textual source for Magzor Gyalmo is the Dakinyagnijihajvala Tantra, Dege Kanjur, volume 98, pp.223-253. It is found in the Nyingma Tantra section, vol.3. TBRC w22084.”

Beloved, Terrifying Protector

Thinking of Her cannibal-demon face — with the garland of fifty blood-dripping decapitated heads hanging around Her neck — love is probably the last thing that jumps to mind. Your hands probably shake as you make a tea offering to this ferocious persona. Yet, like the stern parent, with wildly glaring eyes, she’s there to keep you on track, to keep you practicing, to keep you focused on Enlightenment.

Her snarling ghoulish face — in some ways more memorable and easily visualized than the lovely face of Her lighter emanation White Tara — is there to caution you: do your practice, get to work, help all beings, bring compassion to the world. Stop wasting time with video games!

Yet, despite Her terrifying image, Palden Lhamo, or Shri Devi as she’s known in Sanskrit, is a beloved emanation of enlightened Vajra Sarasvati, herself an emanation of Tara and Prajnaparamita. To Tibetan Buddhists, She is a national icon of Tibet, the protector of the Dharma and special protector of the Dalai Lama — and the angry parent who keeps you on track. She’s not an abusive parent; she’d never lay a hand on Her child. But Her voice, visage, and mantra are the protective mother power personified.

A full description of the Glorious Goddess

From Robert Beer: “Palden Lhamo (dPal-ldan lha-mo), the ‘Glorious Goddess’, is the main protective goddess of the Tibetan state, and she is depicted here in her form as Magzor Gyalmo – the ‘Queen who repulses armies’. She rides her mule across a swirling ocean of blood and fat, amidst a dark maelstrom of wind and fiery sparks. She is blue-black in colour, with one face and two arms. With her right hand, she wields aloft a vajra-topped red sandalwood club, and with her left hand she holds the upturned skull of a ‘misbegotten child’ in front of her heart, its cranial cavity filled with magical ‘charm blood’. She is adorned with black silks, a flayed human skin, a hair loincloth, and both jewel and bone ornaments. She wears broken chains around her ankles, a crown of five dry white skulls, a long garland of fifty freshly severed heads, a serpent necklace and belt, and her forehead, cheeks, and chin are smeared respectively with human ash, blood, and fat. She has three round red eyes, four sharp canine teeth, and her tawny hair streams upward like fire. A human corpse lies within her mouth, a roaring lion leaps from behind her right ear, and a poisonous snake darts from behind her left ear. She has a protruding stomach, sagging breasts, and thin limbs. The sun blazes from her navel, the crescent moon adorns her crown, and a canopy of peacock feathers floats above her head.

“A gale emanates from the crown of her head, and upon this wind ride the four ‘Queens of the Four Seasons’, each of which rides upon a different animal, holding skull-cups of blood in their left hands and different weapons in their right hands.

“Palden Lhamo possesses five magical weapons: a tally-stick scored with curses that is tucked into her serpent waistband; a pair of divination dice; a skin sack full of contagious diseases and a bundle of red curses, which hang upon serpents from the front of her saddle, and a ball of variegated thread that hangs from the rear of her saddle. Her saddle is fashioned from a cannibal’s skin, with a demon’s upper skull at the front and its jawbone at the rear. The bridle and reins of the mule are fashioned from poisonous serpents, and the three eyes of her mule gaze over the past, present, and future.

“At the front and rear of the mule are Palden Lhamo’s two attendants: Makaravakra, the blue ‘crocodile-headed’ dakini who leads the mule by its snake reins; and Simhavakra, the red ‘lion-headed’ dakini who guards the mule’s rear. In the lower foreground are skull offerings of the five sense organs (top), blood and nectar (center), and a torma or ‘sacrificial cake’ (bottom). In the bottom corners are the four goddesses who accompany and flank Palden Lhamo in each of the four directions. In the lower-left corner and riding upon a white mule is Zhi-ba’i Lha-mo, the ‘pacifying’ white goddess of the rear flank, who holds a silver mirror and a silver medicinal casket.

“Above her and riding upon a yellow mule is rGyas-pa’i lha-mo, the ‘enriching’ yellow goddess of the right flank, who holds a golden flask of nectar and a golden tray of wish-granting jewels. In the lower right corner and riding upon a black mule is Drag-po’i Lha-mo, the ‘destructive’ black goddess of the front flank, who holds together a mummified corpse and a rope snare, and a tally-stick scored with curses. Above her and upon a red mule is dBang-gi Lha-mo, the ‘subjugating’ red goddess of the left flank, who holds an iron hook and a rope snare. The turbulent landscape depicts swirling oceans of blood, clouds, lightning, hail, and sharp rocky peaks. Countless black spirits, black birds, black dogs, black animals, and black women follow in the retinue of Paldan Lhamo.”

Two attendants: Lion-faced Dakini and Makara-faced Dakini

She is joined by her two aco­lytes, Makaravaktra (sea monster-headed goddess) and Simhavaktra (lion-headed goddess). Both are important divinities of the dakini class of protective goddesses. Makaravaktra protects followers of the Buddha from dangers arising from the underworld, and Simhavaktra protects from dangers arising in the upper world. They serve Palden Lhamo and help extend her power to both worlds. The inner mean­ing of this relates to Palden Lhamo’s power to purify and transform both the upper world of the conscious mind and the underworld of the unconscious.

Embracing the Shadow: Wrathful Enlightenment

The Shadow can either be embraced or feared. For healing, psychologists usually describe the “Shadow” of our human psyche as something that should be integrated and embraced — rather than shunned as a cause of suffering. In fact, Psychologist Rob Peerce explains, “deity appears in wrathful form because it embodies potent power …all the destructive demonic characteristics exemplified in the deity are directed at the ultimate destruction of stupidity, selfishness and ego-grasping.” [1]

Why practice or meditate on such a ferocious emanation of Enlightenment? According to Venerable Losang Samtem,

“There are so many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who are constantly willing to help all living beings overcome suffering… The most important and powerful protector deity in Buddhist history is Panden Lhamo.” [2]

(Alternate spelling of Palden Lhamo.) The Venerable Director of the Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia adds, “Even though these Enlightened beings, including Panden Lhamo, are always willing to help, it is necessary for us to cultivate the potential within ourselves. We need to be open to receive the blessings of these deities. [Note: Practice suggestions in the last section of this feature.]

Begin Your Day With Tara, End with Palden Lhamo?

Tibetan Buddhists often begin their day with the lovely recitation of the Praise to the 21 Taras, a soothing and uplifting practice of lightness and comfort. Yet, for many lay practitioners, even those who do not have initiation into the practice, the Palden Lhamo tea ceremony is a short, but important, daily practice.

In the West, where ferocious and wrathful emanations of the Buddhas are easily misunderstood, teachers normally recommend full initiation prior to practicing. Certainly, to practice the actual sadhana of Palden Lhamo this is required. Why? In part, because the imagery is easily misunderstood unless a student understands the symbolism’s weighty meaning.

Venerable Losang Samtem explains: “In the Himalayas, people may go to temples, or in their own home… At home, they will offer the drink by themselves.”

It may seem odd to consider both White Tara, and dark Palden Lhamo as Mothers — emanations of the same being. Yet, mothers can be ferocious when they need to be. “She is a ferocious looking crone, a wild and terrible demoness, riding a mule across an ocean of blood…”, describes Rob Preece in The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra. [1] “Thus, as in all deities, a dual nature is evident; light and dark, upper world and underworld, peaceful and wrathful. The forcees of the Shadow are not inherently demonic and terrible. Light and dark, good and evil, creation and destruction are relative dualities that have no ultimate true nature.”

A Tara That Sends You Screaming?

Yet, one look at White Tara’s wrathful emanation, Palden Lhamo, and — never mind integration of the shadow psyche — She is enough to send one screaming for the light, never to return to the shadows. She is so terrible, that some teachers advise even initiated students to do the practice of Yamantaka — among the most wrathful of Buddhas — before attempting Hers. Is it because She is so terrible we need the protection of the great “death foe” Yamantaka?  Or, is it because She is so indelibly powerful that we need to be grounded first? Or is it because Yamantaka is Her consort?

Palden Lhamo’s Mantra chanting:

NOTE: With this wrathful protector, even in her Sadhana, usually we do NOT self-generate, but visualize her glorious presence in front of us. To practice Her Sadhana, we generally generate as our Yidam first. (In other words, we visualize ourselves as our Yidam, as given by our teacher, NOT as Palden Lhamo.)

Palden Lhamo’s mantra [6] is (Refer to your teacher for permission. You may or may not require Lung or empowerment, depending on tradition. This mantra is not “secret” today simply because it’s published everywhere, but it is best to refer to your Lama for advice on its use.):

Jo ramo jo ramo jo jo ramo thun jo kala ra chen mo ramo acha dacha thun jo rulu rulu hung jo hung

In Sanskrit (transliterated):

BHYO RAKMO BHYO RAKMO BHYO BHYO RAKMO T-HUN BHYO KHA LA RAK CHEN MO RAKMO ABYATABYA T-HUN BHYO RULU RULU HUM BHYO HUM

More commonly, the Sanskrti mantra is used, but the JHO is pronounced instead of BHYO:

JHO RAKMO JHO RAKMO  JHO JHO RAKMO TUN JHO KHA LA RAK CHEN MO RAKMO AVYATAVYA TUN JHO RULU RULU HUM JHO HUM

What is it about the ferocious deities of Enlightenment that is both repellent and fascinating to Westerners? What are we to make of fangs, a necklace of fifty blood-dripping (freshly cut) human heads, and a bag of diseases for destroying enemies? Not to mention, She’s a cannibal-demon, carries the skullcup of an incest-born child and… well, enough said. You’re either repelled and revolted at this point — or — you nodded your head with understanding of the deep, deep symbolism of these wrathful ciphers. For advanced Tantric Buddhist practitioners, there is nothing revolting about wrathful deities. The symbolism is vastly profound, made the more so by the fact that the imagery is so terrifying.

The mantra in script:

The Dark Cipher of Palden Lhamo

And ciphers they certainly are. Psychologists as early as Carl Jung have long understood the importance of embracing the Shadow.

The language of the psyche is symbol and cipher, which is certainly why so many psychologists see Tantric Buddhism as very grounded and effective. In Vajrayana Buddhism we visualize symbols with all the senses. We integrate the shadow and the light both.

Unlike some paths, that might shun the dark — or turn the unsavory into Devil and Demon — Tantric Buddhists take a holistic, psychologically sound approach to spiritual practice.

So, we might meditate on the merits of beautiful White Tara, emblematic of compassion, love, vibrant long life and healing — and then with as much enthusiasm visualize Her darker side, Palden Lhamo, the Cannibal Queen, riding on a black tornado, across an ocean of blood.

“The sun shines from her navel and her hair is adorned with a crescent moon – peacock feather jewel… Her steed is bridled and trimmed with vipers… from which hang a bag of diseases…” [7]

What do all the symbols mean? There are too many to cover in a short piece — a teacher might spend a weekend just explaining them all — but here are some of the most noticeable:

• a bag of dice — to determine men’s lives
• Lion decorating her ear: given by Kubera for protection
• a hammer given by Vajrapani (maybe to pound some sense into her children?)
• her saddle made of the flayed skin of her own child — to remind us not to be attached to worldly things
• red flaming hair indicates her wrathful nature and also wisdom
• crown of five skulls symbolizing the transformation of the five passions
• skullcap filled with nectar: blissful emptiness
• In her form as Tsomo Remati, holds a peacock feathered triple-blade dagger, symbolizing the “goddess’s triumph over the three poisons” [8]

Captain Kirk, Anyone? (Skip This Section if You’re Annoyed by Trek Metaphors)

I know, I know, Kirk metaphors are so tiresome, but I’ll throw one in anyway. For those who remember Star Trek, one of the most fascinating episodes involved a “transporter” malfunction that split Captain Kirk into a “Good Kirk” and a “Dark Kirk.” Although, at first, we see the Dark Kirk as revolting, as he foams at the mouth and is layered in sweat, with a leering, evil look on his face, it soon become apparent that “Good Kirk” can’t function without him. He can’t make life-changing decisions. He can’t save the Enterprise. He can’t even decide what food to eat. He’s full of compassion, and sweetness and love — very White Tara.

The Star Trek Scene “I’m Captain Kirk!” 

Then there’s the Dark Kirk. He’s nasty, inappropriate, selfish, angry, emotional, driven, nearly psychotic. And, he too, it seems, can’t function without his better half, “Good Kirk.” Only when the two are fused together in the transporter, can they, together, save the ship from destruction. Good Kirk-White Tara, and Dark Kirk-Palden Lhamo, together are powerful and perfect.

Okay, enough Star Trek, I promise. But that episode of the old sixties television show was soundly based on psychology (in my opinion).

Psychology of Shadow

The bottom line, Tibetan Buddhism has long embraced sound psychological aspects to practice. Palden Lhamo helps practitioners to face up to their Shadow psyche, then welcome and absorb the darkness into their entire integrated and whole being.

Psychologist Rob Preece explains: “It is important to distinguish between two different dimensions of the Shadow; one that has become sick and demonic because it is repressed, and the other… yet it is still an aspect of Buddha Nature… We fear this side of the Shadow as antithetical to the ego’s need for security and predictability, but it cannot be made light and beautiful; that is not its nature.” Repressed shadow can lead to illness.

In Tantric Buddhism, Preece continues, “All the forces of the Self in the aspect of the wrathful deity are directed against egoistic abuse of power… Only when this egotistical disposition is tamed and transformed can the Shadow be integrated into the spiritual path, rather than remaining a cause of suffering.” [1]

Palden Lhamo’s Many Roles

Not only is she an enlightened Dharma Protector, a ferocious motherly protector, she has also been taken as the chief Dharma Protector of the Dalai Lama and the Ganden monastery. A special scroll painting of Shridevi travels with the Dalai Lama’s wherever they go. Interestingly, for centuries no one looked at this thangka, kept sealed in a special red tube, until, in 1940 “the present Dalai Lama, then aged about seven and on his way to be enthroned, was met close to Lhasa by a great crowd of officials and notables, one of whom had brought the painting, hidden as usual in its case. On seeing it near the entrance to his tent, he promptly grabbed it, took it inside, and opened it. The picture that had not been unveiled for so long was revealed. The Dalai Lama surveyed it and then replaced it in its case. Everyone present was amazed at what he had done.” [3]

Palden Lhamo’s retinue is “so large that the description of it would fill a whole iconographical book.” [3] It includes four Queens of the Seasons, five Goddesses of Long Life, and a retinue of female protectresses known as Mahakali.

Jho!

Mind-essence working the four miraculous activities,

Not deviant from the essence, neither being mind alone,

Absolute indivisible, free of color or form

Her miracles mere magic, fitting each being’s mind;

She manifests, She the ferocious Glory Goddess!

 

Fierce maker, Fierce Being, her reality is ferocious

Chief Lady of the retinue of the fierce,

Her symbolic body a glistening dark black!

I bow to the all-terrifying Mother Goddess!

Fiercely pray free of diseases, demons, foes and obstructions! [4]

Palden Lhamo Tea Offering and Praise

This praise and prayer, accompanied by a simple tea offering, will honour the Glorious Goddess Palden Lhamo, without actually requiring initiation. The full Sadhana, of course,  DOES require initiation. If you do have Empowerment or permission, it is, of course, best to do the full tea ceremony per your tradition.

Tea

Prepare very strong tea, and put out a cup, usually on a deep plate or bowl — more formally, use a Serkyem. In the bowl you add some grains. Fill the cut with tea. Recite the praise, and with the last line in each verse, pour a little more tea so that it overflows (symbolizing abundance.). If that is too difficult, simply pour out the tea, then recite the verses. Make sure to “take refuge in the Three Jewels first” and “Dedicate the Merit” at the end.

Refuge and Bodhichitta

Bless the tea

Recite: OM AH HUM  (3X)

Prayer and Requests

Dedication

NOTES

[1] The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra, Rob Preece The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra,(* affiliate link)

[2] The Panden Lhamo Tea Ceremony from Losang Samtem. Losang Samten is spiritual director of the Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia, Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of Middletown, Connecticut, Chenrezig Himalayan Cultural Center of El Paso, Texas, and a frequent visitor and teacher in Lake Tahoe and Chico, CA, as well as in Canada. He travels extensively, sharing his knowledge of Buddhist philosophy and meditation, as well as his skill in Tibetan ritual arts. Download PDF>>

[3] Female Deities of Buddhism, Vesantara (Amazon affiliate link>>)

[4] Essential Tibetan Buddhism, Robert Thurman, HarperCollins, San Francisco 1996 (link to Amazon Buddha Weekly affiliate.)

[5] Serkyem: Golden Libation Offering to the Glorious Goddess Palden Lhamo.

[6] Losang Samten

[7] Khandro Net “Palden Lhamo” 

[8] The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols, page 128, Serinda Publications

[9] Robert Warren Clark, “Palden Lhamo,” in The Arts of India, South East Asia, and the Himalayas, Anne R. Bromberg (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013), 174-175.

“We are extraordinarily adept at taking refuge, the problem is we take refuge in the wrong things.” writes noted Buddhist teacher and psychologist Rob Preece, in his breakthrough book, Preparing for Tantra. [1]

Rob Preece explains what he means by “wrong things”: “We take refuge from our stress, our emotional problems, and our relationships in anything we find that will temporarily relieve us of discomfort… We take refuge in food, money, our home, the TV, entertainment, alcohol, drugs, sex, even work and relationships… [we] think, albeit mistakenly, these things will bring us happiness… they have become a refuge.”

Dalai Lama: “it is senseless to ask another who is in the same predicament”

Why take refuge in the Three Jewels instead of something worldly? The Dalai Lama explains: “… it would be like falling into a ditch and asking another who is in it to help you out. You need to ask someone who is standing outside the ditch for help; it is senseless to ask another who is in the same predicament. A refuge capable of protecting from the frights of manifold sufferings cannot also be bound in this suffering but must be free and unflawed.”  [6]

Very Venerable Kalu Rinpoche

“It should be understood that the taking of refuge is not a process whereby the Buddha takes those who appear to have devotion to him and leads them to his side. Through taking refuge, one begins a process oneself which, going through various stages, will lead to one’s own realization of the same state, the same experience as the Buddha.” [6]

H.E. Garchen Rinpoche

“We talk about the Three Jewels. They are actually contained within your mind. Your inner Buddha is your wisdom awareness, your inner Dharma is love and compassion. Although the Buddha taught 84,000 different Dharma teachings, their essence is love. If you give rise to love, wisdom awareness will naturally arise… If you abandon the causes of suffering then there is no basis of suffering.“ [6]

Beautiful chanting in Tibetan and English of Refuge in the Three Jewels and the Four Immeasurables by Yoko Dharma:

Venerable Zasep Rinpoche: Refuge should be in something meaningful

Venerable Zasep Rinpoche cautioned: “Taking refuge practice can be refuge in any object,” not necessarily the traditional Buddha, Dharma, Sangha refuge. He explained, however, that that type of refuge is not a Buddhist Refuge.

Buddhist refuge, in the Three Jewels can “help us to heal and remove obstacles in our lives. It teaches us to turn these obstacles and challenges into objects of practice.”

• Quoted from teaching on Lojong: [Full story here>>]

To Buddhists, we take meaningful refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. In a teaching on Ngondro, Zasep Rinpoche pointed out that taking Refuge in the

Three Jewels is an important practice especially today. “In the modern world, there isn’t much time for Dharma practice.”  As a practice, Refuge reinforces most steps Buddha identified in the Noble Eightfold Path:

• The simple act of taking refuge is the simplest expression of “right view”
• The act of taking refuge is a “right aspiration”
• The vocal act of taking refuge — “I take refuge in the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha — is clearly the most perfect “right speech”
• The karma (action) of refuge is the epitome of “right action”

Related Features:

• Padmasambhava: The Eight Great Qualities of Taking Refuge; Taking Refuge in the Three Precious Jewels, the Defining Practice of Buddhism, and How it Can Rescue Us From All Dangers.
• The Profound Practice of Taking Refuge
• The Maha Samaya Sutta: The Great Meeting Sutra: refuge from fear in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha
• Video: Part 2 of Buddhist Teachings on Ngondro, the Foundation Practices with Venerable Zasep Tulku Rinpoche: Teachings on the Truth of Suffering, the Importance of Taking Refuge, and a Guided Meditation Visualizing Shakyamuni Buddha
• Fearless Buddhist: overcoming fear and becoming Gesar, : How to overcome fear in uncertain times, according to Pali Sutta, Mahayana Sutra and Tantra

Robert Preece: Why Take Refuge At All? Refuge Brings “Deeper Happiness”

Taking refuge in the wrong things can be thought of as an addiction — in extreme cases. To relieve stress, many seek comfort in food, alcohol, or drugs. Preece writes, “It is disturbing that we are very often unaware that this is what we are doing until we take an honest look at our life and behavior… when our refuges fall apart and we realize how dependent on them we have become.”

This resonated with me. A friend of mine is going through a difficult divorce. She has sought various refuges — long phone calls with friends, diversions at the movies, a night out dancing — even though we “know it will not bring us happiness.”

Preece, a professional psychologist, explains why taking refuge in the Three Jewels can bring real comfort. “Many of us have realized that we do not need to constantly put so much energy into what are usually described as worldly concerns. We have probably made some attempt to turn our life around and are taking refuge in something we feel will bring us far deeper happiness, namely, the Dharma.”

But how does this work? Taking “safe direction” and refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, “is turning around our life and no longer expecting external things to be able to bring us ultimate or lasting happiness. At the heart of Buddhism is the understanding that both suffering and happiness come from the mind. If we change the mind, then we can free ourselves from suffering and experience happiness.”

Theodore Tsaousidis: Refuge is “The best medicine”

“The best medicine for what ills us and the world is Taking Refuge,” said teacher Theodore Tsaousidis of Medicine Buddha Toronto when asked to comment for this story. “It is easy to get lost in the noise of this world. Refuge is a kind of map to help us find our way home again when we have gotten lost. Refuge is an antidote.”

Theodore, who also teaches at the Mindfulness Centre Grey Bruce added, “Even when everything is going right its even more important the true meaning of taking refuge.”

Refuge chanted in Sanskrit by Gaeiea Sanskrit:

Choje Akong Tulku Rinpoche: “Refuge guides you and protects you…”

Venerable Choje Rinpoche explained refuge this way: “I think it has great benefit because then you cannot be lazy; you cannot change your ideas all the time, “Today I like everything and everybody”, and you go round like a ray of sunshine! The next day you think, “Today I am fed up with everything and everybody and cannot be bothered”! I think the fact that you have taken Refuge guides you and protects you from negative emotions, from feeling negative about experiences. I cannot promise that you will always be able to achieve it – but taking Refuge will channel vour energy towards feeling positive, and I think that it will always be useful.” [2]

Rinpoche described the nature of the commitment: “The commitment to Buddhism does not mean that you have to shut yourself away from society. The commitment to Buddhism Is the opposite. It is about learning how you can lead a more useful life and how you can help to create a more positive society. You make a commitment to Buddhism in order to develop your own spiritual path so that you may be better able to help other people. You enter the path for both your own self-development and, at the same time, to learn how to help others. The “commitment” is more like a resolution to study, to learn an understanding of how things are seen through the principles of Buddhism.”

Ch’an Master Sheng-Yen: You take refuge in “Buddha nature … already inside you.”

Refuge is not always an “external refuge.” Chan Master Sheng-Yen explains: “The genuine Three Jewels, in essence, are none other than the enlightened Buddha Nature that is already inside of you.” Mahayana Buddhists believe that all sentient beings have Buddha Nature — that all beings can ultimately be liberated by this Nature. For example, the tradition of “prostration” and “Namaste,” is often said to carry the meaning “I bow to the Buddha Nature in you.” [3]

Ch’an Master Sheng-Yen elaborates on the benefits of Taking Refuge: “Taking refuge in the Buddha, we learn to transform anger into compassion; taking refuge in the Dharma, we learn to transform delusion into wisdom; taking refuge in the Sangha, we learn to transform desire into generosity.” [4]

Bikkhu Bodhi: Refuge” the door of entrance to the Teaching of Buddha”

What are the Three Jewels, exactly? Noted Therevadan teacher Bikkhu Bodhi explained the practice of refuge in this context: “The door of entrance to the teaching of the Buddha is the going for refuge to the Triple Gem — that is, to the Buddha as the fully enlightened teacher, to the Dhamma as the truth taught by him, and to the Sangha as the community of his noble disciples.”

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche: “We are committing ourselves to freedom”

“Taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha is something more than a ritual,” wrote Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. “By taking refuge we are committing ourselves to freedom.” [5]

Rinpoche distanced this concept from the idea of “allegiance” to “this and that.” He explained, “The purpose of taking refuge is to awaken from confusion and associate ourselves with wakefulness. Taking refuge is a matter of commitment and acceptance, and at the same time, of openness and freedom. By taking the refuge vow we commit ourselves to freedom.”

Why is it so powerful? “We begin to see that in seeking security we can’t grasp onto anything; everything continually washes out and becomes shaky, constantly, all the time. And that is what is called life.”

Why is it important to make the commitment to freedom of the Buddhist path? “When we take refuge we commit ourselves to the Buddhist path. This is not only a simple but also an extremely economical approach. Henceforth we will be on the particular path that was strategized, designed, and well thought-out twenty-five hundred years ago by the Buddha and the followers of his teaching.”

Another Benefit of Refuge: “Cutting the Ego”

In Tibetan Buddhism, Refuge and prostrations are often taught in Lojong training as methods of “cutting the ego.” Ego is often thought of as the root of attachment and suffering. The Lojong root text teaches “Contemplate that as long as you are too focused on self-importance and too caught up in thinking about how you are good or bad, you will experience suffering.” The preliminary trainings — especially refuge and prostrations — are key methods of “cutting the ego” which leads to attachments and suffering. [More here>>]

How to Take Refuge

At some point, a Buddhist will probably take formal refuge to signify a life commitment. Formal refuge normally involves making the vow in front of a Teacher of your lineage.

However, the commitment is not an onerous vow or promise, but a commitment to work for our own Enlightenment, with the help of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, so that we may benefit all beings.

Many Buddhists, without any form of formal Refuge, speak their Refuge as a daily practice. Most Buddhist begin and end their day with a simple form of refuge. The simplest expression might be to prostrate or bow and say:

“I take refuge in the Three Jewels.”

Mahayana Buddhists will normally include the Bodhisattva compassion vow as well, making the shortest spoken refuge:

“I take Refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. By the virtues of practicing generosity and other Perfections, may I attain Enlightenment to benefit all beings.”

In Tibetan Buddhism, often the Guru refuge is added:

“I take Refuge in the Guru, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.” This is because the Dharma is taught via direct lineage through the Guru in those traditions.

A slightly more elaborate form can turn the Refuge into a bit of a verse:

“I take Refuge in the Buddha

I take Refuge in the Dharma

I take Refuge in the Sangha

Until I reach Enlightenment.”

Refuge does not, of course, have to be spoken, nor is the bow or prostration required. The most important thing is to keep Refuge top of mind as we journey through life, knowing that we are guided by the teachings of Buddha.

NOTES

[1] Preparing for Tantra: Creating the Psychological Ground for Practice, Paperback: 224 pages, publisher: Snow Lion (Sept. 16 2011), language: English, ISBN-10: 1559393777, ISBN-13: 978-1559393775

[2] “The Meaning of Taking Refuge” by Choje Akong Tulku Rinpoche

[3] “Taking Refuge: Becoming a Buddhist” Barbara O’Brien

[4] The Heart Sutra

[5] From an article “The Decision to Become a Buddhist,” Lion’s Roar, Feb 4, 2016

[6] Dalai Lama, quoted from Rigdzin Dharma

The great teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, who passed away at 00:00hrs on 22nd January, 2022, at the age of 95, often wrote about impermanence, with an optimistic take on death:

“When you look a cloud… and then later the cloud is not there. But, if you look deeply, you can see the cloud in the rain, and that is why it’s impossible for a cloud to die. A cloud can become rain, or snow, or ice, but a cloud cannot become nothing. And that is why the notion of death cannot be applied to reality. There is a transformation, there is a continuation, but you cannot say that there is death. Because in your mind, to die, means you suddenly become nothing. From someone, you suddenly become no one… When you can remove these notions, you are free and you have no fear.” [Source video embedded below.]

The Venerable monk also said, “The Buddha did not die. The Buddha only continued. By His Sangha, by His Dharma, you can touch Buddha in the here and the now.”

“Learning how to live”

Leonardo da Vinci is credited as saying, “While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die.” This may be a discouraging thought for some, but Buddhists view end-of-life meditation as an uplifting and powerful practice.

“Analysis of death is not for the sake of becoming fearful but to appreciate this precious lifetime.” — Dalai Lama [2]

Recently, at Gaden Choling Toronto, in a broad-ranging interview on many topics [1], I asked the most Venerable Zasep Tulku Rinpoche “Why do Buddhists meditate on death?” This led to a spirited and helpful teaching, especially as I had recently experienced the passing of several family members in one year — long, lingering and painful passings.

Zasep Rinpoche’s answer encouraged me to research what other eminent teachers have to say about death meditation. I’ve brought together some teachings from the Buddha, the Dalai Lama, Stephen and Ondrea Levine, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ribur Rinpoche, and also some helpful guidelines from the Journal of Palliative Care.

[For helpful suggestions for Palliative end-of-life caregivers specific to Buddhists, see the last half of this article.]

Life Without Boundaries — Thich Nhat Hanh

The great Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s gave us amazing translations of Sutra to help us contemplate the nature of impermanence. For example [12]:

This body is not me, I am not caught in this body.
I am life without boundaries. I have never been born,
and I shall never die.
Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars,
manifestations of my wondrous true mind.
Since before time, I have been free.
birth and death are only doors through which we
pass, sacred thresholds on our journey.
birth and death are just a game of hide and seek.
So laugh with me,
hold my hand,
let us say goodbye,
say goodbye, to meet again soon.
We meet today.
We will meet again tomorrow.
We will meet at the source at every moment.
We meet each other in all forms of life.

“So do not be afraid of death. Death is just a continuation, and so is birth. At every moment, death is happening in your body—some cells are dying so other cells can come to life. Death is indispensable to life. If there is no death, there is no birth, just as there can be no left if there is no right. Don’t hold out hope that life will be possible without death. You must accept both of them—birth and death.

If you practice well, you can gain deep insight into the ultimate dimension while remaining in touch with the historical, or relative, dimension. And when you are deeply in touch with the historical dimension, you also touch the ultimate dimension, and you see that your true nature is no-birth and no-death.

Living is a joy. Dying in order to begin again is also a joy. Starting over is a wonderful thing, and we are starting over constantly. beginning anew is one of our main practices at Plum Village, and we must die every day in order to renew ourselves, in order to make a fresh start. Learning to die is a very profound practice.” [12]

Zasep Tulku Rinpoche: “Death can happen at any time… meditating on death is very helpful.”

“Meditating on death and dying is very important,” Zasep Rinpoche said. “Meditating on death and dying helps motivate Dharma practice. Life is too short. Death can happen at any time, you don’t know.”

“I’ve got maybe ten years, fifteen years, maybe twenty years. So, the time goes fast, but death’s going to happen sooner or later. So, meditating on death is very helpful to motivate Dharma practice.”

Rinpoche added that “meditating on death and dying is helpful for other people. For instance, you know someone is dying, like family members — or, maybe you work around people who are dying, like a palliative nurse or doctor — so it’s good to know more about how to be helpful in these times.” [The full transcript of the 2 hour interview with Zasep Rinpoche is featured here>>]

This brought to mind, the memorable words of Chagdud Rinpoche, a Tibetan lama:

“When you have to go to the bathroom, it’s too late to build a latrine.” [6]

Preparing to die, it could be said, is a key meditation and concept in Buddhism.

Stephen Levine: “We are all going to die… live as if the present year was our last”

Stephen and Ondrea Levine became well known for their book, A Year to Live, [3] “which explores the practice of living the present year as if it were our last.” Stephen famously wrote,

“Death is just a change of lifestyles.”

Although Stephen has since passed away,  so profound was his message, that he inspired many people to meditate and practice as if they had one year to live. In an interview in Tricycle Magazine [4] — in answer to the question ” Why is it important for us to think about dying?” — he replied:

“Because we are all going to die. If we could bring that reality into our heart, that would be a practice unto itself. The last time Ondrea and I spoke with the Dalai Lama, he asked us what were working on. I told him we were writing a book called A Year To Live, which explores the practice of living as if the present year were our last. He wondered whether people who started this practice would run amok. In other words, if they imagined the end was coming, wouldn’t they just grab a lady or a guy and a bottle of tequila and head for the beach? And that’s what we thought as well. But the truth is, when people know they are going to die, that last year is often the most loving, most conscious, and most caring — even under conditions of poor concentration, the side effects of medication, and so on. So don’t wait to die until you die. Start practicing now.”

Dalai Lama: “Facing Death and Dying Well”

As with everything, the Dalai Lama teaches out of an abundance of compassion. He also manages to sneak in a laugh, even on a talk about death. “Many people just want to forget about death, and then try to seek protection in alcohol.” (See Video “His Holiness the Dalai Lama talks about “Facing Death in a peaceful manner” Meridian Trust, embedded below.)

“There are two ways to deal with suffering and problems. The one, is simply to avoid the problem. That’s one way… The other way is, they look directly at the problem and analyze. And make it familiar to oneself.”

He explained that sickness and dying “are just a part of nature ­— a fact of life… There’s birth. So, logically, there’s death. So, that is part of our life, whether we like it or not.”

His Holiness explained that “sometimes through difficult experiences, sometimes life becomes more meaningful…” Facing and accepting death is one of these difficult experiences. “I notice that the elder generations, those people who lived through the second world war, that these people, their mental attitude becomes much stronger.” He described some suffering as “good lessons.”

“I think of my own experience. In one way, I lost my own country… and there is a lot of unhappiness and a lot of suffering… But through that I had an opportunity to meet different people… so, I think that experience enriched… those tragic experiences, also had good affect.”

Dalai Lama: “Be Mindful of Death”

In his book Advice on Dying, the Dalai Lama wrote: “It is crucial to be mindful of death — to contemplate that you will not remain long in this life. If you are not aware of death, you will fail to take advantage of this special human life that you have already attained. It is meaningful since, based on it, important effects can be accomplished.

“Analysis of death is not for the sake of becoming fearful but to appreciate this precious lifetime during which you can perform many important practices. Rather than being frightened, you need to reflect that when death comes, you will lose this good opportunity for practice. In this way contemplation of death will bring more energy to your practice.” [2]

Zasep Tulku Rinpoche: “Think about what is more important… more worthwhile”

The purpose, then, of death meditation is to inspire an “energy to practice” — even if just for ten minutes a day. In our interview with Zasep Rinpoche, he helpfully suggested: “So, think about what is more important for you. What is more worthwhile? Making another ten-minute phone call, or sending text messages, or meditating? Just schedule ten minutes in the morning, ten minutes in the evening, or fit in some mindfulness meditation during the day. Or, you can do walking meditation, standing meditation. Yes, there are some things you have to do. You have to talk on the phone and do text messages. But, you don’t have to be so busy that you can’t find time to meditate for ten minutes.

“Just last week I was on the street car and I saw this man, in his car, sending text messages, and smoking a cigarette, and also sipping on coffee. He was doing four things at the same time, driving, texting, smoking and drinking coffee. I thought to myself, Why? Isn’t that a bit stressful, trying to do four things at once? (laughs) I could see he was stressed out, that’s why he was smoking. Tired, that’s why he was drinking coffee.” Meditation on impermanence, on death, can help us reset our priorities.

Einstein: “Past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

Einstein had a similar concept of “transformation” rather than “extinction.” After the death of a close friend, he wrote, in 1955:

“Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

He later elaborated on this notion. ““Space and time are not conditions in which we live, they are modes in which we think.”

Einstein famously wrote, in The World As I See It (1933): “Enough for me the mystery of the eternity of life, and the inkling of the marvelous structure of reality, together with the single-hearted endeavor to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the reason that manifests itself in nature.”

All carbon based life is made up of recycled material. Every atom in the universe is recycled. Nothing is every destroyed. Energy becomes matter becomes energy in an endless cycle. Of course that’s not the same as saying our “consciousness” continues after death, but it’s one reason scientists such as Einstein were supportive of many Buddhist concepts — and not fearful of their own deaths. The analysis of death, as suggested by the Dalai Lama, removes that fear.

Venerable Ribur Rinpoche: “people in the west don’t want to hear about impermanence and death “

One reason many Buddhist live fearlessly is a firm belief in the logical doctrine of rebirth, as partially described by Thich Nhat Hanh in his cloud analogy. Ribur Rinpoche — who, himself, lived day-by-day under threat of death under oppression in his Tibetan homeland for 23 years — explained why he thinks Westerners tend to fear death:

“In general people in the west don’t want to hear about impermanence and death… This is wrong. This is very wrong. At the time of death we don’t want to be sad… It is now, while we are alive, that we have to think about it. In this way, we have to think about it correctly, and to make the right preparation…”

[“Death and Rebirth” embedded video below]

He explained the importance of this understanding. “If you don’t understand impermanence, you won’t be practicing anyway. You’ll think, oh yes, I have to practice Dharma, but I can do it tomorrow. Or day after tomorrow. Or next year. As Lama Tsongkhapa said ‘In this way, I say I can do it later, I can do it later, and then your whole life goes by.’ You won’t achieve anything. Therefore, you won’t be able to abandon the fantasies related to this life… Your mind will be trapped within the eight worldly dharmas.”

“There are no methods that will prevent me from dying. Definitely, I’m going to die. That is certain…” He explained that without an understanding of impermanence, karma and rebirth, there is no encouragement to practice morality.

Ondrea Levine: “I think our fear on dying is a loss of control… Those thoughts are your conditioning.”

In their book, A Year to Live Stephen and Ondrea Levine wrote extensively about the key benefit of meditating on death from a palliative point-of-view. Stephen himself recently passed, and Ondrea has cancer, so they speak with authority.

“There’s a great deal of fear of death,” Ondrea said in a LevineTalks Video (embedded below). “People think they can get rid of it… Of course there’s fear of death. I’m not really afraid of death and what comes after. Because of my practice, I know this body will die… but, I do have fear around the process of dying.”

“No one wants to be in pain. No one wants to lose control. I think our fear on dying is a loss of control. This is natural. This is a normal fear… because death is the unknown.” She spoke about how we can rely on our teachers, such as the Buddha, and gain comfort, but that ultimately we have to experience, in our own practice, something “larger than our own little minds. So, whatever your practice is, you have to practice to work on your fears.” She illustrated with mindfulness practice.

She emphasized that those fears, “those thoughts are not you. Those thoughts are your conditioning.” She suggested mindfulness as a helpful method. “Become mindful of the situation. Become mindful.” She illustrated with a trip to her own doctor for test results. “I just examine my body. I try to slow my breath down. I’m sitting in the waiting room, instead of distracting myself by reading magazines… Slow the breath down. In slowing it down, it calms the whole body.” Analyzing your own body and your own fears is “a skillful means of being open to the unpleasant.”

Deathbed Wishes: “I wish I had played… more.”

In an interview in Trycicle Magazine, Ondrea Levine said, “I think the greatest benefit of the year-to-live practice is the opportunity it provides to reassess our priorities. When we worked with people on their deathbed, we would often hear the following three complaints: I wish I had gotten divorced earlier; I wish I had taken a job for love of the work, not money; I wish I had played and enjoyed myself more. So the beauty of the practice is that we can evaluate our lives even before we are on our deathbed. If we are not living the life we wish to live, how can we change that now, while there is still time?

“I can say this, because I have cancer. And I know that once you get that diagnosis, no matter how much you already know, something happens, everything becomes much more real. Ironically, it brings greater permission to be fully alive. I find it very exciting.”

Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing: Caring for End-of-Life Buddhists

“Tibetan Buddhism is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States,” wrote Marilyn Smith-Stoner, PhD, RN in her helpful article on Palliative care for Buddhists in the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing. She adds: “The care they request at the end of life is different in many aspects from traditional end-of-life care.”

This helpful guide, specifically written for Palliative caregivers, gave helpful insights for non-Buddhists who might be caring for a Buddhist: “In all Buddhist traditions, four fundamental contemplations compose the foundation of understanding and meditation: first, that a human rebirth is extremely precious and should be used to its highest spiritual potential; second, that all compounded phenomena are impermanent, and whoever is born is bound to die; third, that beings experience relative reality as compared to ultimate nature that arises interdependently with their own actions; fourth, that all beings suffer, and human beings suffer particularly from birth, sickness, old age, and death.”

Buddha: The Story of Krisha Gotami and the Mustard Seeds

In this helpful guide for Palliative caregivers, the author uses the commonly cited story of the Mustard Seeds:

“In all Buddhist traditions, four fundamental contemplations compose the foundation of understanding and meditation:[2] first, that a human rebirth is extremely precious and should be used to its highest spiritual potential; second, that all compounded phenomena are impermanent, and whoever is born is bound to die; third, that beings experience relative reality as compared to ultimate nature that arises interdependently with their own actions; fourth, that all beings suffer, and human beings suffer particularly from birth, sickness, old age, and death.”

From the Sacred Text “The Mustard Seed”:

Kisa Gotami repaired to the Buddha and cried: “Lord and Master, give me the medicine that will cure my boy.” The Buddha answered: “I want a handful of mustard-seed.” And when the girl in her joy promised to procure it, the Buddha added: “The mustard-seed must be taken from a house where no one has lost a child, husband, parent, or friend.” Poor Kisa Gotami now went from house to house, and the people pitied her and said: “Here is mustard-seed; take it!” But when she asked Did a son or daughter, a father or mother, die in your family?” They answered her: “Alas the living are few, but the dead are many. Do not remind us of our deepest grief.” And there was no house but some beloved one had died in it.

Kisa Gotami became weary and hopeless, and sat down at the wayside, watching the lights of the city, as they flickered up and were extinguished again. At last the darkness of the night reigned everywhere. And she considered the fate of men, that their lives flicker up and are extinguished. And she thought to herself: “How selfish am I in my grief! Death is common to all; yet in this valley of desolation there is a path that leads him to immortality who has surrendered all selfishness.” [10]

Tibetan Book of the Dead: “Describes the dying process in detail”

The Journal article cites the importance of palliative workers being familiar with the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and then goes on to summarize high-level understandings that might be comforting to the Buddhist facing end-of-life. Important, especially, is the definition of death, which in various traditions of Buddhism is quite different from the medical definition. Robert Thurman, the respected Tibetan Buddhist teacher, said the Tibetan Book of the Dead “organizes the experiences of the between—(Tibetan, bar-do) usually referring to the state between death and rebirth.” [11]

Leonard Cohen Narrates a Film on The Tibetan Book of the Dead (video):

The author instructs care-professionals from a Tibetan Buddhist point of view, “it is believed that the nexus of consciousness—at its most subtle level of cognizance and movement—can remain in the body for up to 3 days or longer, depending on the circumstances of death. If the body dies by accident or violence, if the body is undisturbed, or if certain rituals are performed to liberate it from the body, the consciousness may exit immediately. In these cases, the body is merely a corpse and nothing unusual needs to be considered. But, after a peaceful death, Tibetan Buddhists are exceptionally concerned about what happens to the body in the moments and days after death, and they try to ensure that the consciousness exits from the crown of the head.”

Helpfully, the article instructs care-givers to inquire who the patient’s teacher may be and cautions the teacher may live far away. The guide also mentions the practice of P’howa, which means “transference of consciousness” as part of the ongoing spiritual training. P’howa prayers may be recited for years prior to the actual time of death.”

Zasep Tulku Rinpoche: “You can do non-traditional Powa … for other people.”

In our extensive interview with Venerable Zasep Rinpoche we did have an opportunity to ask about Powa or P’howa. I asked, “Is Powa practice helpful for the dying (Transferring the Consciousness)?”

Zasep Rinpoche replied, helpfully: “Powa is a Tibetan word, it means “transferring the consciousness.” I usually say, not everybody should practice this. I don’t want to give people the wrong idea. We do Powa practice as a training. When you know you have some illness or you are dying, if you think death come soon, then it’s a good time to practice. But Powa requires instructions. In traditional Powa practice you have visualize chakras and channels and so on.”

Power Meditation guided by H.E. Zasep Rinpoche:

For caregivers, however, Rinpoche had some special advice: “But, you can do a non-traditional Powa—mild Powa, a simple kind of Powa—for other people. Sort of guiding. I call it Powa for the West. For instance if you’re a family member, or in palliative care, and you talk to the patient, you might say as they are dying: ‘You know you are dying now. Let it go. You should go peacefully. As you go, imagine you are going to the Pure Land, or going into the Light, or into Eternal Bliss or Nirvana.’ You could call this kind of help, Powa for the West. It’s not traditional Powa.”

The Zen Master and the Cake

Rinpoche told a story—  illustrating the importance of a peaceful death — during the interview:

“I’ll tell you a story of a Zen Master. He was dying. And he told his attendant ‘Bring me my favorite cake!’ Rice cake. While he was munching the rice cake, his consciousness slipped away. He slipped away while enjoying his rice cake. In a way, this was a kind of Powa. He enjoyed his rice cake peacefully, and no sign of struggling, fear, worry, just passing the consciousness peacefully, happily.”

Venerable Thanissaro Bhikkhu: When dying, “meditation is the one thing that won’t abandon you”

Dying is the one thing we all will face. Buddhists are usually taught to spend their practice hours in one form or another of meditation: mindfulness, analytical mediation (such as on Death), and visualization.

When the time comes to die, explains Venerable Thanissaro Bhikku, meditation is the one thing that will not abandon you:

“What all this boils down to is that, as long as you are able to survive, meditation will improve the quality of your life, so that you can view pain and illness with equanimity and learn from them. When the time comes to go, when the doctors have to throw up their hands in helplessness, the skill you have been developing in your meditation is the one thing that won’t abandon you. It will enable you to handle your death with finesse. Even though we don’t like to think about it, death is going to come no matter what, so we should learn how to stare it down. Remember that a death well handled is one of the surest signs of a life well lived.” [9]

On a more optimistic note, the Venerable teacher told the story of how meditation help keep a woman with cancer alive:

“You should be very clear on one point: The purpose of meditation is to find happiness and well-being within the mind, independent of the body or other things going on outside. Your aim is to find something solid within that you can depend on no matter what happens to the body. If it so happens that through your meditation you are able to effect a physical cure, that’s all fine and good, and there have been many cases where meditation can have a remarkable effect on the body. My teacher had a student – a woman in her fifties – who was diagnosed with cancer more than 15 years ago. The doctors at the time gave her only a few months to live, and yet through her practice of meditation she is still alive today. She focused her practice on the theme that, ‘although her body may be sick, her mind doesn’t have to be.’ A few years ago I visited her in the hospital the day after she had had a kidney removed. She was sitting up in bed, bright and aware, as if nothing happened at all. I asked her if there was any pain, and she said yes, 24 hours a day, but that she didn’t let it make inroads on her mind.”

The Five Powers: Thought Transformation for a Happy Successful Death

Of course no one wants to die. Without question, we will die. In Buddhism, dying without fear, with peace, with a sense of “happiness” is a key teaching. To that end, the teaching on the Five Powers —similar to the Four Powers widely used in Purification practice — can be helpful. These are:

• The Power of Purification
• The Power of Intention
• The Power of Remorse
• The Power of Prayer
• The Power of Familiarity.

For Tibetan Buddhists, this will immediately resonate. Vajrasattva purification practice encompasses similar steps. In fact, daily Vajrasattva practice, keeps the practicing Vajaryana Buddhist ready for a fearless death (even a sudden, accidental or traumatic death.)

1. The First Power, the Power of Purificaiton is basically purification practice (whether focused on Vajrasattva or not.) These are “the 4 powers of regret, reliance, remedy and resolution; give up attachment to your possessions and make offerings of them; meditate upon refuge in the 3 Jewels, give rise to positive thoughts such as Bodhicitta; reaffirm your commitment to whatever spiritual goals and values you cultivated during your life.” [7]
2. The Second Power, The Power of Intention This power is mirrored in the Palliative Care Suggestions from the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing article. The key is developing a strong resolution not to let your mind come under the sway of disturbing emotions, even in the face of pain and suffering, and remaining focused on altruism and Bodhichitta.
3. The Third Power: The Power or Remorse By meditating on these disturbing emotions, as with all focused meditation, we can make ourselves ready for them to “protect yourself from being overwhelmed by them.”
4. The Fourth Power: the Power of Prayer Making strong aspirations and reaffirming commitments not to become separated from the Dharma, Bodhichitta and the prayer to obtain fortunate rebirth in a situation suitable to continue practicing the Dharma.
5. The Fifth Power: the Power of Familiarity P’howa practice is one method to become “familiar” and practice for the time of death. “Taking and Giving” practice is also powerful, where we visualize and meditate on “taking on the suffering of other beings” and “giving our blessings” to other beings. For those not trained by a teacher in these methods, meditation on samsara, compassion, impermanence, and Emptiness.

Buddha: Palliative Care as Taught by the Buddha

“He who attends on the sick attends on me,” said the Blessed One, the Buddha. [8]

The Buddha taught extensively on nursing and caring for the sick and dying. On many occasions, Buddha personally cleaned and tended to dying people, personally washing out their puss and wounds, and staying with them, speaking the Dharma, as they passed.

“The Buddha has enumerated the qualities that should be present in a good nurse. He should be competent to administer the medicine, he should know what is agreeable to the patient and what is not. He should keep away what is disagreeable and give only what is agreeable to the patient. He should be benevolent and kind-hearted, he should perform his duties out of a sense of service and not just for the sake of remuneration (mettacitto gilanam upatthati no amisantaro). He should not feel repulsion towards saliva, phlegm, urine, stools, sores, etc. He should be capable of exhorting and stimulating the patient with noble ideas, with Dhamma talk (A.iii,144).” [8] 

For Care-Givers: Palliative Care Suggestions for Buddhist at End of Life

In the helpful care-givers article from the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, several useful suggestions are made. [Please see the full article, cited in our notes, for full details.]

In informing caregivers about the importance of a “peaceful” passing, suggestions included:

• Allow for uninterrupted periods for religious practice, and consider playing meditative audio recordings that are reassuring to the patient, such as mantra or sutra recitation where appropriate.
• Provide an altar with religious photos and relics and keep it in the line of vision of the patient.
• “Specifying who the patient would like to be present at the time of death. The preference may be for no one to be present, especially if family and friends are very emotional or unsupportive of the religious practices.”
• Importance of the attitude of caregivers and visitors: peaceful visits, turn phones off, be relaxed and peaceful.

The article emphasizes the importance of a peaceful environment several times and notes that managing disruptive or upset visitors might be important. During the dying process, the article suggests:

• Do not disturb the patient
• For Tibetan Buddhists especially, leave the body undisturbed for as long as practically possible after death. “Buddhists believe the dying process continues for 3–4 days after what is usually accepted as “dead.” Although many laws do not allow for the body to remain in a natural state for 3–4 days, remain mindful of this to be supportive as the family is approached about the death.”
• “You may want to help the patient sit up in order to practice, or to lie on the right side, which was the position of the Buddha at his death deceased has sometimes been reported as 100 days; however, in the Vajrayana.”

Of special note the author wrote: “the period for special rituals and prayers for the tradition, the period is generally 49 days. Although this may seem like a subtle difference, it is highly relevant in the provision of individualized bereavement services in hospice.”

NOTES

[1] Two hour interview with Venerable Zasep Tulku Rinpoche at Gaden Choling, fall teaching session 2015, full interview to be published in Buddha Weekly.

[2] Advice on Dying: And Living a Better Life, Dalai Lama

[3] A Year to Live: How to Live This Year as If It Were Your Last, Publisher: Harmony; 1st edition (April 14 1998), ISBN-10: 0609801945, ISBN-13: 978-0609801949

[4] Tricycle Magazine: Interview with Stephen Levine

[5] Levine Talks website.

[6] Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing article: “End-of-Life Needs of Patients Who Practice Tibetan Buddhism”

[7] “A Buddhist Guide to Death, Dying and Suffering” — Urban Dharma.

[8] “Ministering to the Sick and Terminally Ill” by Lily de Silva, Urban Dharma

[9] “Using Meditation to Deal with Pain, Illness and Death” Venerable Thanissaro Bhikku, Urban Dharma.

[10] Sacred Text “The Mustard Seed”

[11] Open Culture “Leonard Cohen Narrates Film on The Tibetan Book of the Dead”

[12] Cited from “Thich Nhat Hanh on Dying” — Shambala

The COVID-19 crisis brought us a sense of just how interconnected we really are. In a matter of weeks, it became clear that a challenge experienced in one locale of the world was quickly moving across waters. This emphasized that we are closer to one another than we might think. In an article published by Time Magazine after it became clear that the virus was a global concern, the Dalai Lama wrote:

“This crisis shows us that we are not separate from one another – even when we are living apart. Therefore, we all have a responsibility to exercise compassion and help.”

Feature by Gillian Sanger

[Bio below.]

When fear takes root

This call for compassion is essential in a time when fear and panic are causing many to forget or lose sight of our shared humanity.

When fear takes root, the fight-or-flight mechanism takes over and we begin defending ourselves – not only from the virus but from all other perceived threats.

The energy of the heart closes as we figure out what steps we want to take in the name of survival. Though the pursuit of survival is understandable, this fear response has led to many secondary challenges of this virus, such as hoarding of goods, aggression, and judgment of others.

The Benefits of Compassion

Yet if we are to effectively navigate this time of crisis, we will need to harness the loving energy that rests beneath our shared humanity – that is, the energy of compassion. Those of Buddhist and other spiritual traditions have long understood the power of compassion, but modern science is now also able to revel in its benefits.

Research has found that compassion meditations can help to reduce stress-induced subjective distress, and that both compassion meditation and loving-kindness meditation may be useful strategies in helping people to manage psychological challenges such as anger, social anxiety, and marital conflict (all of which may be on the forefront for many due to these recent events).

Metta increases social connectedness

Another study found that both mindfulness meditation and loving-kindness meditation can help to increase one’s sense of both social connectedness and nature connectedness. And when it comes to self-compassion, research shows that kindness and compassion towards ourselves can help to reduce both perceived stress and the physiological response to stress while also promoting better physical health.

Practicing compassion is, therefore, a direct and practical response to the understandable rise in fear so many are currently experiencing. Entailing more than just ‘kind thoughts’, it is a practice we can commit to in an effort to bring greater wholeness and healing to this world.

How to: Metta meditation

We can practice this simple technique by taking ten minutes each day to cultivate our connection to the heart space. Once grounded in this core of our being, we can begin silently offering kind and loving wishes to ourselves and to others.

Going through a standard sequence of individuals and ending with an image of the entire world can help us to soften the divides we perceive between us and others – even between us and those we have great difficulty with.

This practice invites us to repeat the following words to, in sequence: ourselves, a loved one, an acquaintance, someone we have difficulties with, and then the whole world as one living being. The words we might choose to use during this practice are:

May you be safe.

May you be healthy.

May you be loved.

May you be at peace.

As we begin to offer these wishes to ourselves and to others in the silence of meditation, we begin to soften our attachment to the surface-layer differences we experience. At the root of who we are is more commonality than our beliefs, opinions, and personalities give credit to.

As we realize our shared humanity, it becomes more natural – more effortless – to offer ourselves in compassionate, supportive ways. By grounding our thoughts in compassion, our actions follow suit.

Coming Back to the Heart 

By grounding ourselves in the heart – in its energies of love, compassion, kindness, and patience – we start to soften the mind that so easily becomes entangled in fear. Compassion practices like metta meditation do not impede with the need to make decisions about what actions we will take in the outside world. Taking certain action is indeed a part of our response to this crisis. Rather, compassion uplifts our actions, helping us to move in ways that benefit us, others, and the planet as a whole. One heartfelt moment at a time, we contribute to the collective movement beyond this time of difficulty.

At an earlier event (2019), His Holiness said:

“Those of you who have dedicated your body, speech and mind to the cause of Tibet and the preservation of our spiritual heritage have led meaningful lives. On my part, I always make a determination to live long. Trulshik Rinpoché recommended emulating Thangtong Gyalpo, who lived to be 125. That may be hard to do. Other friends among the meditators I know have suggested that I could follow the example of Panchen Lobsang Chögyen and live to 108. I don’t know about that, but I feel I could live into my 90s or to 100. Anyway, I always make prayers on behalf of sentient beings and the flourishing of the Dharma:

As long as space remains,
And as long as sentient beings remain,
Until then, may I too remain
And help dispel the misery of the world.

“I feel I have been able to be of some service and if I live longer I’ll be able to be of more help.

In regions where the supreme, precious teaching has not spread
Or where it has spread but then declined,
May I illumine that treasure of happiness and benefit
With a mind deeply moved by great compassion.

‘Otherwise to hope for a long life with no meaningful purpose makes no sense. Now you can offer the thanksgiving mandala.”

We, the volunteers at Buddha Weekly, wish His Holiness the Dalai Lama long life and good health.

The Dalai Lama — the man of Peace

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is recognized worldwide as a “man of peace.” In 1989 he was awardd the Nobel Peace Prize. He always advocates non-violence and compassion.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso is the spiritual leader of Tibet, born July 6, 1935. At the age of two, he was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama Thubten Gyatso.

He has taught and traveled to 67 countries and has now won over 150 awards. He is also a strong advocate of inter-religious harmony and often meets with the leaders of other spiritual paths. His Holiness is also a strong advocate of science, and is especially interested in neurobiology, quantum phsyics, cosmology and psychology.

The Dalai Lamas are believed by Tibetan Buddhists to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are realized beings, inspired by the wish to attain complete enlightenment, who have vowed to be reborn in the world to help all living beings.

Long Life Prayer

Tibetan Prayer – Long Life Prayer for His Holiness the Dalai Lama lyrics in Tibetan:

”Gang ri ra we kor way shing kam dir
Pen dang de wa ma lu jung way ne,
Chen-re-sik wang ten-zin gya-tso yi.
Shab pe si tay bar-du ten gyur chik.”

In English

”In the land encircled by a ring of snow mountains
You are the source of all happiness and benefit,
Tenzin Gyatso, the embodiment of Avalokiteshvara, resides.
May you stand firm until samsara ends.”

He’s always ready with the joke that makes large crowds gasp for breath as they laugh.

This isn’t just an act of empathy with the people around him. Laughter connects us to the very universe itself at a deep level. This power is not limited to enlightened teachers.

The Dalai Lama, like the famous “laughter doctor” Patch Adams M.D. both emphatically believe in the power of laughter to heal, energize, enable, and inspire. The Dalai Lama famously laughs at every opportunity and often cracks jokes at his teachings. Patch Adams spent his entire life using laughter to comfort — and even heal — the sick.

Patch Adams: trying to make laughter and compassion the core of “what medicine is”

Hunter Doherty “Patch” Adams, M.D., took awareness of laughter as therapy to a new level of acceptance within the medical community as a valid treatment option. His life inspired the movie, Patch Adams. In his lifetime, he opened a free hospital to pilot a treatment regimen with thousands of patients — a hospital where the main element of common therapy was humor.

“We’re trying to make compassion and generosity the centre core of what medicine is,” said Campbell about the Institute. [1]

 

This hospital became the Gesundheit Institute, famous for volunteer programs with clowns going to hospitals, refugee camps, orphanages and prisons. Patch Adams is a living model for comedian Charlie Chaplin’s famous quote: “Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain.” (For more on the scientific evidence for “laughter” as a prescription for health, see the last section of this feature.)

Laughter’s Power: heal, banish, energize

If you laugh when you are ill, you feel better. (Mom always said, “Laughter is the best medicine.) If you laugh in the face of sadness, you transform grief. If you giggle at your own stupidity, you learn wisdom. Laughter has the power to banish demons, both internal and external. If you smile in at the end of the day, you look forward to the next morning. Laughter is the ultimate magical power. If you can laugh, you are already a magician. If you tap into the magic of laughter, you have started on one of the paths to enlightenment.

Video: “Laugh with the Dalai Lama”: When the Dalai Lama laughs, everyone laughs. It’s a form of mindful medicine.

Mindfulness meditation pursues the blissful state of non-thinking, or rather, being in the present moment. Emptying the mind by sheer will is difficult, and methods include simply observing your thoughts, distraction, visualization, and mantra repetition.

All of these methods achieve a blissful state. Yet, an easier path, one we pursue intuitively in our lives, is laughter. When we laugh, in that instant, we enter the state of “no thought” or emptiness, if only for a microsecond. With practice, laughter can be a powerful path to enlightenment.

The power of laughter to heal

Laughter’s power is of benefit to anyone, of any spiritual path:

• science has proven that laughter is a genuine medicine, with real healing powers (various peer-reviewed articles and studies) [2]
• laughter has the power to charm and influence those around you in daily life
• laughter can extend life, and make those days truly worth living
• laughter supports us on the eightfold path, teaching equanimity, compassion, patience, kindness (Metta) and supporting us along the difficult path.
• laughter is beautiful.

Laughter and Mindfulness

Think about the moment of laughter. When you laugh, you are possessed by the laugh, in the present moment, no longer worrying about past or future. Laughter is a very powerful mindfulness meditation method. Thinking simply stops when you laugh. You experience genuine moments of no-mind.

Laughter Teaches Emptiness

For those who “fear” the emptiness of enlightenment—often misunderstood to mean nothingness of extinction—laughter teaches us what true emptiness is. In that moment of pure laughter, our mind is still. It is empty. But it is bliss.

Laughter, in Buddhism, is a very powerful daily meditation. I think of the innocent child, always laughing and giggling, smiles coming as naturally as tears, but everything spontaneous and real. Isn’t this the goal of meditation? To seek what is the inner truth. What is real. To be in touch mindfully with the real you?

Why do Enlightened Masters Laugh?

Throughout history, enlightened ones are the ones readiest with the smile or laugh. From Gandhi to Mother Theresa to the Dalai Lama, the smile is what people remember first. Gandhi, through hunger strike and strife, was always ready to smile.

The Dalai Lama who lost his entire country laughs more than most. The Dalai Lama suffered invasion, the death of his fellow monks as he fled Tibet, the ongoing struggle of his people, violence and bloodshed in his homeland. But he is the first person with the laugh and smile. That’s enlightened behaviour.

My Teachers all Laugh and Smile

From my root teacher through all the teachers I respect, one thing certainly connects them all. They are always willing to smile and laugh. If only it were so easy for the rest of us.

What happens between childhood and maturity, that we lose the spontaneous, ready, daily, hourly, minute-by-minute willingness to laugh? Stress, life, struggles, more stress, worry, clinging, on and on. But those who endured far more suffering than most of us—from Mahatma Gandhi to Mother Theresa to the Dalai Lama—were always the ones able to laugh and smile in any situation.

Laughter is also energy. It has been called “the best medicine” and perhaps it must also be considered the best meditation.

What Science says about laughter: “stress-relief, pain reduction, improved healing…”

In an Official Publication of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, William Stream (PhD) concludes:

“There are, however, several good reasons to conclude that laughter is effective as an intervention. Although the evidence (detailed below) demonstrating laughter’s benefits could be stronger, virtually all studies of laughter and health indicate positive results.” The evidence Professor Stream mention include “an exhaustive review of the medical literature.” [2]

The article maps out extensive clinical evidence, including randomized controlled clinical trials, “validating the therapeutic efficacy of laughter” particularly in the fields of geriatrics, oncology, critical care, psychiatry, rehabilitation, rheumatology, home care, palliative care, hospice care, terminal care and broad general patient care.

Groucho Marx once said, that ‘A clown is like an aspirin, only he works twice as fast.’ Patch Adams would certainly agree.

Laughter Researcher: “get all the laughter you can!”

Robert Provine, a well-known researcher on laughter said, in the documentary “Laugh Out Loud”:

“Until scientists work out the details, get in all the laughter you can!”

Provine is Professor of Psychology at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, an Assistant Director of the Neuroscience Program, and the author of Laughter: A Scientific Investigation. [3]

NOTES

[1] The Gesundheit! Institute, Founded by Patch Adams M.D. 

[2]  “Laughter prescription”, Official Publication of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, William Stream (PhD) 

[3] Laughter, A Scientific Investigation, Robert Provine, Viking, ISBN-10: 0670893757; ISBN-13: 978-0670893751 

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H.H. the Dalai Lama explains why the step-by-step approach is also the “fast” path:

“What distinguishes it … is its scope and clarity. It expounds the entire path from the way one should rely on a spiritual teacher, which is the very root, right up to the attainment of buddhahood, which is the final fruit. The various stages of the path are presented so clearly and systematically that they can be easily understood and are inspiring to put into practice.” [1]

Buddhist Teachers are universal in their enthusiasm for Lamrim. Venerable Zasep Rinpoche, who frequently teaches Lamrim — and is teaching a Zoom retreat in Lamrim November 29 – December 13 2020 (details below) — is always enthusiastic when describing Lamrim:

“Lam Rim is essence of 84,000.00 Dharmas! It is the gradual path to Enlightenment Buddhahood! Lam Rim was introduced by Atisha Dipamkara, the great enlightened Buddhist master to Tibet. The lineage of Gelug Lam Rim teachings are so helpful and powerful for our everyday life — how to overcome our suffering and how to generate care, love and compassion for others; and how to live in the world with peace and dignity.”

• Details on the online Lamrim Retreat personally taught by the Venerable Zasep Rinpoche November 29 to December 13, 2020, visit Gaden for the West events page>>

The Fast Path?

It seems counter-intuitive, to some, that the great lineage teachers, from Atisha through to Lama Tsongkhapa, through to modern-day teachers recommend Lamrim as our “step-by-step” path to realizations. In the classical metaphor of the Tortoise and the Hare, Lamrim would be the Tortoise: steadily progressing flawless, unstoppable on the path, while the Hare — in our metaphor, the practitioner who attempts the shortcuts — dashes here and there, trying Samatha, trying Vipassana, trying this, trying that, often without completing anything.

The great Lama Tsongkhapa’s commentary on Lamrim is three very thick volumes — giving you an idea of the vast, comprehensive scope. Yet, as you read through these 1200 or so pages (English translation version), you are taken, step-by-step, deeper, and deeper along the path. The gradual, step-by-step approach is, in fact, the fast path. Like the tortoise — because we make no mistaken steps, just steadily proceed along the path— we are always one step closer to our goal.

How fast is the steady, step-by-step path? Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the spiritual guide of FPMT, recently gave new advice on how to study Buddhism,  suggesting that students follow a Lamrim outline and meditate on each subject for two weeks or one month until all subjects have been completed. Rinpoche advised,

“The amount of time for meditation is up to the individual, but the general advice is to finish the lamrim in one year,” Rinpoche said. “To meditate like this each year, wow, wow, wow! That would be great.”[2]

Avoid going “off-road” with Dharma practice

Skipping a step can lead to long delays — metaphorically, like going off-road in a car to take a short cut, only to be mired in the mud. Lamrim is our safe and proven map — and we are fortunate that so many great, modern teachers have offered detailed commentaries and teachings — the Dalai Lama,  Geshe Lhundub Sopa, Lama Zopa, and many others. Our map is readily available, and well-proven by countless great master practitioners. There is no need to go off-road in our practice.

One translation of Lamrim is “lamp of the path.” It is, in fact, a complete, progressive path, missing nothing, containing every teaching proven ­— by a lineage of successful practitioners and teachers — to lead to Enlightenment.

It only seems “counter-intuitive” to the impatient among us Many of us, who start with Lamrim practices, jump quickly into powerful Kriya and Higher Yoga Practices — after all, deity visualizations are so enticing, so alluring, so powerful — only, to find our teachers recommending we go back to Lamrim “at least for a reboot or refresher.”

Even the great teachers practice Lamrim for decades

Zasep Tulku Rinpoche, who comes from a long lineage of Gelug teachers, explains the importance of Lamrim — a comment notable for his personal enthusiasm for the practice in his own life:

“There are three main paths: Renunciation, Bodhicitta and Shunyata. I have been practicing Lamrim since 1967 — for the last 53 years. I love Lamrim! Lamrim makes me a happy and healthy Dharma practitioner. Lamrim practice generates the potential for realizations. I will practice Lam Rim rest of my life, and, hopefully, my next life! I wish that all beings have the opportunity to do the same.”

Logic and mapped foundational practices

Lamrim is, arguably, is even more important today, than it was in ancient times. Our modern, distracted lifestyle is why Vajrayana Buddhism is so enticing, with its systemized approach — where everything is logical and mapped out.

It is for this reason, that the graduated path to Enlightenment — such as Lamrim — has always been the choice of teachers for their students. Even, for those of us with those fifteen empowerments, it is often best to “return to the foundation practices” as often as possible. It is through those practices that we can purify, and create the merit to make our practices really valuable.

“Even after twenty years, if you still feel like a ‘dharma baby’ still just starting out — and our dharma practice is so-so — why is this happening? In the ‘Wheel of Sharp Weapons’ it explained that it is partially our own laziness and procrastination… or your own cynical mind is blocking your progress… The remedy is just to practice diligently…”

— Venerable Zasep Rinpoche in a live-streamed Lo Jong teaching Nov 1, 2020 on YouTube>>

• NOTE: Zasep Rinpoche will commence an online intense Zoom-facilitated Lamrim retreat. The only pre-requisites are an interest in the Dharma. Details below. Website information page>>
  

H.H. the Dalai Lama explains the importance of Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, the Great Treatise:

“Of the many works of the Tibetan master Tsong-kha-pa, none compares in terms of popularity and breadth of influence with his Great Treatise, which has been treasured by practitioners and scholars alike for centuries.”

Outlining the “steps” of Lamrim

The steps are clear in Lamrim. Both teacher and student are guided progressively, and in order, through various stages. The key stages are — in order — and each of these has many sub-topics (See the chapters of Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo below):

• Guru Devotion
• The Opportunity of Fortunate Rebirth
• Meditation on Death
• Suffering in the cycle of Samsara
• Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels
• Karma
• Suffering of Beings
• Three Sufferings
• Samsara and Nirvana
• Generating Bodhichitta
• The Six Perfections
• Four Means of Gathering
• Calm Abiding
• Special Insight
• Tantra — how to enter the adamantine vehicle.

Lama Tsongkhapa’s peerless commentary on Lamrim References and books

Three Volumes English translation of Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo

We are fortunate that every word of the Lamrim Chenmo has been meticulously translated by the Lamrim Translation Committee under the stewardship of great teachers. It was desribed, appropriately, by Professor Robert Thurman, as “One of the greatest religious or secular works in the library of our human heritage.”

Contents of Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo

The contents of the three-volume translation of Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo gives outlines the step-by-step path:

• Atisha
• The Greatness of the Teaching
• How to Listen to and Explain the Teachings
• Relying on the Teacher
• The Meditation Session
• Refuting Misconceptions About Meditation
• A Human Life of Leisure and Opportunity
• The Three Types of Persons
• Mindfulness of Death
• Reflecting on Your Future Life
• Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels
• The Precepts of Refuge
• The General Characteristics of Karma
• The Varieties of Karma
• Cultivating Ethical Behavior
• The Attitude of a Person of Small Capacity
• The Eight Types of Suffering
• The Six Types of Suffering
• Further Meditations on Suffering
• The Origin of Suffering
• The Twelve Factors of Dependent-Arising
• The Attitude of a Person of Medium Capacity
• Ascertaining the Nature of the Path Leading to Liberation
• The Nature of the Three Trainings

VOLUME 2

• THE STAGES OF THE PATH FOR PERSONS OF GREAT CAPACITY
• COMPASSION, THE ENTRANCE TO THE MAHĀYĀNA
• THE SEVEN CAUSE-AND-EFFECT PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS
• EXCHANGING SELF AND OTHER
• THE RITUAL FOR ADOPTING THE SPIRIT OF ENLIGHTENMENT
• MAINTAINING THE SPIRIT OF ENLIGHTENMENT
• AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SIX PERFECTIONS
• TRAINING IN THE MAHĀYĀNA: PRECEPTS AND PERFECTIONS
• THE PERFECTION OF GENEROSITY
• HOW TO GIVE
• THE PERFECTION OF ETHICAL DISCIPLINE
• THE PERFECTION OF PATIENCE
• THE PERFECTION OF JOYOUS PERSEVERANCE
• THE PERFECTIONS OF MEDITATIVE STABILIZATION AND WISDOM
• HELPING OTHERS TO MATURE: THE FOUR WAYS TO GATHER DISCIPLES

VOLUME 3

Part One Meditative Serenity

• Serenity and Insight
• Preparing for Meditative Serenity
• Focusing Your Mind
• Dealing with Laxity and Excitement
• Attaining Serenity
• Serenity as Part of the Path

Part Two Insight

• Why Insight Is Needed
• Relying on Definitive Sources
• The Stages of Entry into Reality
• Misidentifying the Object to Be Negated
• Dependent-Arising and Emptiness
• Rational Analysis
• Valid Establishment
• Conventional Existence
• Production Is Not Refuted
• Not Negating Enough
• The Actual Object to Be Negated
• Misinterpretations of the Svatantrika/Prasafigika Distinction
• Refuting Misinterpretations of the Svatantrika/ Prasarigika Distinction
• Our Interpretation of the Svatantrika/Prasarigika Distinction
• Our Critique of Svatantrika Does Not Hurt Our Own Arguments
• Analyzing a Chariot
• The Person Lacks Intrinsic Nature
• Objects Lack Intrinsic Nature
• Insight Requires Analysis
• Uniting Insight and Serenity
• Summary and Conclusion

Source: Tsong-Kha-Pa. The Great Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightenment Vol 1, 2, 3

The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Volume 1) by Lama Tsongkahpa

Description: The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Tib. Lam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world’s treasury of sacred literature. The author, Tsong-kha-pa, completed it in 1402, and it soon became one of the most renowned works of spiritual practice and philosophy in the world of Tibetan Buddhism. Because it condenses all the exoteric sūtra scriptures into a meditation manual that is easy to understand, scholars and practitioners rely on its authoritative presentation as a gateway that leads to a full understanding of the Buddha’s teachings.

Tsong-kha-pa took great pains to base his insights on classical Indian Buddhist literature, illustrating his points with classical citations as well as with sayings of the masters of the earlier Kadampa tradition. In this way the text demonstrates clearly how Tibetan Buddhism carefully preserved and developed the Indian Buddhist traditions.

Details

• Publisher: Snow Lion
• 12/09/2014
• Pages: 440
• Size: 6 x 9.25
• ISBN: 9781559394420
• Available hardcover or ebook on Shambala site>>
• Available on the Penguin publisher website>>

The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Volume 2) by Lama Tsongkhapa

Description
This second of three volumes covers the deeds of the bodhisattvas, as well as how to train in the six perfections.

Details

• Publisher: Snow Lion
• 12/09/2014
• Pages: 304
• Size: 6 x 9.25
• ISBN: 9781559394437

The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Volume 3) by Lama Tsongkhapa

Description

This third and final volume contains a presentation of the two most important topics in the work: meditative serenity (śamatha) and supramundane insight into the nature of reality (vipaśyanā).

Details

• Snow Lion
• 12/09/2014
• Pages: 448
• Size: 6 x 9.25
• ISBN: 9781559394444

One of the best commentaries on Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo is the extensive five-volume set by Geshe Lhundub Sopa weighing in at over 2600 pages:

• Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo Volume 1: The Foundation Practices 608 Pages>>
• Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo Volume 2: Karma 512 Pages>>
• Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo Volume 3: The Way of the Bodhisattva 624 Pages>>
• Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo Volume 4: Samatha 201 Pages>>
• Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo Volume 5: Insight 728 Pages>>

Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand

Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, by Pabongka Rinpoche, and edited by H.H. Trijang Rinpoche, is probably the “easiest” step-by-step guide to Lamrim in the Gelug tradition. The contents of the nearly 900 page book came from a series of teachings by the learned Pabongkha Rinpoche. From the book bio:

“Pabongka Rinpoche was one the twentieth century’s most charismatic and revered Tibetan lamas, and in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand we can see why. In this famous twenty-four-day teaching on the lamrim, or stages of the path, Pabongka Rinpoche weaves together lively stories and quotations with frank observations and practical advice to move readers step by step along the journey to buddhahood. When his student Trijang Rinpoche first edited and published these teachings in Tibetan, an instant classic was born. The flavor and immediacy of the original Tibetan are preserved in Michael Richards’ fluid and lively translation, which is now substantially revised in this new edition.”

Introduction

• the greatness of the author of the lamrim, to establish the authenticity of the teaching

• the greatness of the lamrim itself, to gain respect for it

• the way the instructions are to be received and given

• the way the students are to be guided through the subjects. This fourth subject has two divisions:

• the way to rely on a spiritual guide
• the way to train your mind on the basis of the correct way to rely on the spiritual guide. This last heading contains the rest of the instructions under the headings:

• the way to encourage yourself to take the essence of this precious human rebirth
• the way to take the essence of this precious human rebirth (that is: training your mind in the paths of the three scopes included within the lamrim)

The path shared with persons who have the modest scope motivation

Striving for a rebirth in the upper realms:

• the reality that this life will end and that you will die
• the suffering in a rebirth in the lower realms (a rebirth as hell being, hungry ghost or animal, which you want to avoid)
• (so you) take refuge in the three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha
• (and adjust your behavior of body, speech and mind according to the) law of cause and effect/ karma which will lead you to a favorable rebirth within cyclic existence in the human-, demigod-, or god realm.

The path shared with persons who have the medium scope motivation

Striving for liberation of cyclic existence. The training in the medium scope path will lead to the development of the wish to be liberated from all un-free rebirths in cyclic existence through the power of afflictive emotions and karma. It consists of:

• The Four Noble Truths:

• The truth of suffering (in cyclic existence in general, including the favorable rebirths)
• The truth of the causes of suffering (the afflictive emotions, especially ignorance)
• The truth of cessation (there is a state that is free of suffering and its origins)
• The truth of paths (the way to attain this state free of suffering and its causes by practicing ethics, concentration and wisdom)

• Another presentation of the middle scope subjects is the presentation of the 12 links of dependent arising

The path for persons who have the high scope motivation

Striving for complete buddhahood:

• Developing mind of enlightenment (bodhicitta), the wish to become a buddha for the welfare of all sentient beings:

• the advantages of the mind of enlightenment;
• the way to develop the mind of enlightenment
• the 7-point instruction in seeing all sentient beings as your mothers (from previous lives and contemplating their kindness towards you)
• the instruction on how to exchange your self-interest for others’ interest (by looking at the drawbacks of self-cherishing and the advantages of cherishing others)

• the way to train your mind after developing the mind of enlightenment, by training the six perfections:

• training in the perfection of generosity
• training in the perfection of ethics
• training in the perfection of patience
• training in the perfection of joyful effort
• training in the perfection of concentration

• training in the perfection of wisdom

• Publisher: Wisdom Publications (November 3, 2006)
• Length: 896 pages
• ISBN13: 9780861715008
• On Amazon>>

Lamrim Texts

The following references compiled from the very complete FPMT reference page:

• Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand by Pabongka Rinpoche
• Lamrim Chenmo: The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Volumes 1, 2, 3 by Je Tsongkhapa
• Approaching the Buddhist Path; The Foundation of Buddhist Practice; Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature; Following in the Buddha’s Footsteps by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Ven. Thubten Chodron
• Steps on the Path to Enlightenment: A Commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo, Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 by Geshe Lhundub Sopa
• Practicing the Path by Yangsi Rinpoche

Vietnamese

• Lamrim Chenmo Volume 1
• Lamrim Chenmo Volume 2
• Lamrim Chenmo Volume 3
• Middle Length Lamrim by Je Tsongkhapa

Middle Length Lamrim Texts

• From Here to Enlightenment by Holiness the Dalai Lama
• The Path to Enlightenment by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
• Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
• The Essential Nectar by Geshe Rabten
• Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment by Atisha Dipamkara
• Lamrim Outlines: Extended Beginners’ Meditation Guide by Ven. Karin Valham

Concise Lamrim Texts

• Three Principal Aspects of the Path by Je Tsongkhapa
• Schedule for Three-Day Lamrim Retreat by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
• A Glance Meditation on All the Important Points of the Lamrim by Losang Jinpa
• The Foundation of All Good Qualities by Je Tsongkhapa
  • Polish – Podstawa Wszelkich Przymiotów Dobrych
• A Hymn of Experience by Je Tsongkhapa
• Calling the Guru from Afar
• Practicing Guru Devotion with the Nine Attitudes
• The Graduated Path to Liberation by Geshe Rabten Rinpoche

Details on the online Zoom retreat on Lamrim

From the website: “Gaden for the West is pleased to announce a two-week Lam Rim Retreat
with Zasep Tulku Rinpoche (November 29th – December 13th) on Zoom.
The cost of the retreat is $300 CDN and a sliding scale is available to those experiencing economic hardship.

What is Lamrim?
The lamrim (“graduated path”) is a textual tradition that organizes Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings into a complete step-by-step path to enlightenment.

Contact Debra Madsen to register.”

Website information page>>

NOTES

[1] Review for The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment.

[2] Lama Zopa’s advice on Lamrim>>

“There is something about conscientious Buddhist practice that results in the kind of happiness we all seek.” Dr. Paul Ekman, University of California San Francisco Medical Centre.

Intriguing research indicates that generating the compassionate mind—particularly all-embracing compassion for all beings—can have tangible health benefits. The research used a protocol dubbed a “Brain Stress Test” to test Buddhist monks against a non-meditator control group.

“The University of Wisconsin-Madison study team scanned the brains of people who had been practicing Buddhists for several years, looking particularly at areas important for emotion, mood and temperament,” writes Mark Henderson, Science Correspondent, Times Online.[6] “They found that the left side the “happiness centre” was consistently highly active in Buddhists.”

The study, designed by Professor Richard Davidson, University of Wisconsin-Madison, uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to map changes to the brains of Buddhist monks versus non-meditators. The fMRI allows researchers to live-map responses to negative stimuli, such as screams and cries (and the loud jackhammer sound of the MRI machine itself), then compare results between experienced compassion meditators—the Buddhist monks—and the control group of those who are inexperienced. They found the Buddhist meditators were happier, as demonstrated in brain scans, and less disturbed by stressful stimuli. The key takeaway is difficult for the layman; the study determined experienced Buddhist meditators demonstrated positive “epigenetic alterations of the genome.” (For a vide of Professor Davidson, “Transform Your Mind, Change Your Brain” by GoogleTechTalks, see video below.)

Buddhist Healthier?

How is it possible—beyond the obvious benefits of stress reduction—for experienced Buddhist practitioners to have apparently improved health? One area of the brain, the insula, contains a “map of the visceral organs of the body,” said Professor Davidson in “Transform Your Mind, Change Your Brain”, a GoogleTechTalk.

In tests of “experienced” Buddhist monks, this area of the brain was highly activated, versus the inexperienced control group, who show little activity.

Since, according to Tibetan Medical tradition, the mind can make positive changes to the body, this may explain the connection that facilitates this healing. In Tibetan and Indian tradition, many of the great meditators of various Buddhist traditions were known to have extraordinarily long lives.

During tests, the experienced meditators showed “strongly modulated responses” to negative stimuli, “whereas in the inexperienced meditators there was no difference.” (see inset photo “Changes in the Brain Insula”) Professor Davidson said, “it suggests the Insula is an important piece of the story in terms of how the brain is changed in response to compassion training.”

Professor Davidson adds, “It’s not just the Insula that’s changed. There are other parts of the brain that are dramatically altered by compassion meditation, and two of the areas that play a role are the Enigula, which plays a critical role in emotions, and an area called the TPJ in the right hemisphere. It stands for the Temporoparietal junction. The TPJ has been strongly implicated in perspective taking, and particularly the adoption of another person’s perspective. It has been strongly implicated in empathy.” The tests indicate that activity in all three of these regions is strongly elevated in the experienced long-term compassion meditators — but not with novices.

Buddhists Happier?

“Mind precedes all things; mind is their chief, mind is their maker. If one speaks or does a deed with a mind that is pure within, happiness then follows along like a never departing shadow.”

Shakyamuni Buddha, Dhammapada Verse 1


“Buddhists who claim their religion holds the secret of happiness may have been proved right by science: brain scans of the devout have found exceptional activity in the lobes that promote serenity and joy,” writes Mark Henderson, Science Correspondent for the Times Online, referring to the landmark study by Professor Davidson. “American research has shown that the brain’s ‘happiness centre’ is constantly alive with electrical signals inexperienced Buddhists, offering an explanation for their calm and contented demeanour.” [6]

In an article in New Scientist, Professor Owen Flanagan of Duke University, North Carolina writes: “We can now hypothesize with some confidence that those apparently happy, calm Buddhist souls one regularly comes across in places such as Dharamsala (the Dalai Lama’s home) really are happy.” [7] Previous studies had found that practising Buddhists showed lower activity in the fear/anxiety centres of the brain.

Universal Compassion Key to Happiness?

One particular branch of the study focuses on participants who “will learn compassion meditation — which teaches them to wish for an end to the suffering of loved ones, strangers, themselves, and eventually, difficult people.”[1] This is a close mirror of the Buddhist Metta ideal of embracing compassion to all sentient beings.

Professor Davidson, during a speaking engagement on GoogleTechTalks, explained where the inspiration for the study came from. During dialogues with the Dalai Lama at the Mind and Life Institute, “one of the ideas that emerged from these dialogues many years ago, was the prospect of putting Compassion on the Scientific Map.” [5]

Mapping Compassion with fMRI

“This is a ‘brain stress test’ if you will,” Professor Davidson explains.[5] The mapping is largely done with “real-time” MRI. The model used a “block design” where meditation and “neutral state” were alternated, overlaid with mapped events such as “negative auditory stimuli” (such as cries or screams). The fMRI depicts with imaging, “how practitioners respond to stimuli that depict human suffering when they’re either in the neutral state or the state of generating compassion voluntarily.”

The use of Buddhist monks for the compassion subjects was simply because “pure compassion takes a lot of practice.” Generating compassion voluntarily, as required in the study, is best explained by one high profile monk participant in the research, Matthieu Ricard: “Here, what we have tried to do, for the sake of the experiment, is to generate a state in which love and compassion permeate the whole mind with no other consideration, reasoning or discursive thoughts. This is sometimes called ‘pure compassion’ or ‘non-referential compassion’ (in the sense that it does not focus on particular objects to arouse love or compassion), or ‘all pervading compassion.'” (Matthieu is not only a monk, but holds a PhD in molecular biology.)

Researchers have long understood meditation has general health benefits, but the new study focuses on compassion. Alison Rowe writes, “In a previous NCCAM-supported study, researchers found that the time it takes for the threat center of the brain to respond and recover from a negative image is an indicator of neuroticism. The study showed that long-term meditators had a better recovery than novice meditators or non-meditators. In the new work, differences between mindfulness and compassion meditation will be examined and the relations between changes in the brain and changes in the body [is also] studied.” [3]

Beneficial Health Effects Indicated by Gene Expression Changes

“With evidence growing that meditation can have beneficial health effects, scientists have sought to understand how these practices physically affect the body,” reports Jill Sakai in the University of Wisconsin-Madison News. [2] The study, published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, revealed “gene expression changes with meditation.”

The study compared experienced meditators to an untrained control group who were engaged in quiet, but non-meditative activities. “After eight hours of mindfulness practice, the meditators showed a range of genetic and molecular differences, including altered levels of gene-regulating machinery and reduced levels of pro-inflammatory genes, which in turn correlated with faster physical recovery from a stressful situation.” This position, that meditation has “beneficial effects on inflammatory disorders” is endorsed by the American Heart Association as a “preventative intervention.”

Alterations of the Genome

This is “to the best of our knowledge” the first study to demonstrate alterations in gene expression from meditation practice, according to the study author Richard J. Davidson, found of the Centre for Investigating Healthy Minds.

Perla Kaliman, a researcher at the Institute of Biomedical Research in Barcelona, Spain, observed: “Most interestingly, the changes were observed in genes that are the current targets of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs.”

The key take-away from this study was: “the key result is that meditators experienced genetic changes following mindfulness practice that were not seen in the non-meditating group after other quiet activities — an outcome providing proof of principle that mindfulness practice can lead to epigenetic alterations of the genome.”

Other Studies Indicate Buddhists Happier and Healthier?

A previous study dating back to 2003, revealed that “Buddhists really are happier and calmer than other people,” according to BBC News. [8] Researchers at University of California San Francisco Medical Centre found that in Buddhists “areas of their brain associated with good mood and positive feelings are more active.” They also found that Buddhist practice can “tame the amygdala, an area of the brain which is the hub of fear memory.”

Previously, Buddha Weekly reported on a study by the National University of Singapore, which concluded, Vajrayana meditation, in particular, can improve cognitive performance and is promising therapy for degenerative brain disorders. (Story here>> ) Various other studies also show a direct relationship between mindfulness meditation and stress relief, with obvious benefits to health. Now, it appears, studies possibly support the health/happiness benefits of other Buddhist skillful means, such as metta kindness and compassion.

Anecdotally, the Buddhist correlation to happiness is supported by the famous “happiness index” of Burma, which inspired a modern political happiness movement around the world. The U.N. implemented Resolution 65/309 unanimously, placing “happiness” on the global agenda. According to the New York Times, In Burma, a largely Buddhist nation “With a population under 800,000, the average income is about $110 per month. Most Bhutanese do not earn enough money to pay taxes, which are only levied on annual incomes in excess of 100,000 ngultrum, or about $2,000. Despite these limitations, Business Week has ranked Bhutan the “happiest” nation in Asia and the eighth happiest in the world.” Critics, of course, point to the flip-side of Buddhist nationalism, the suppression of minorities, but overall the notion that Buddhism, even in a poverty situation, can bring happiness. [4]

Why Buddhists Might be Healthier and Happier?

“How does practicing meditation influence an individual’s emotions?” is one of the questions the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds hopes to discover. “Can a person reduce the number of asthma attacks by using meditation techniques? How is the content of our dreams affected by meditation, and how does this affect our health and well-being?”[3]

Is it the meditation that relaxes the body? Is it the visualizations that energize the mind? Is it a positive outlook created by an overall mission to be generous, compassionate and unattached? Whatever the root cause, some studies seem to indicate Buddhists are generally happier than non-Buddhists.

Four Essential Points

“One of the most geographically isolated cultures in the world may contain the secrets to happiness that the rest of us have been looking for,” writes Carolyn Gregoire in an article “What Tibetan Buddhism Can Teach Us About Happiness.” She suggests, “Perhaps in part because of the country’s remote location, the Tibetans have become the guardians of a deep, well-preserved wisdom tradition that modern science is only now catching up to.” [9]

Joe Loizzo, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and founder of the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science, is more assertive: “Tibet has probably the greatest treasure trove of ancient contemplative knowledge, science and wisdom about how to influence the mind from the inside out. The Tibetans have an unbroken lineage of oral knowledge and technical expertise … both in medicine and in psychology.”

In the article, four essential lessons from Buddhism are identified as methods to help anyone pursue happiness:

• Be intimate with your mind, particularly focusing on mindful awareness and compassion
• Practice compassion, at every moment: “These practices allow us to turn our sense of life as a battle, a struggle for survival against everybody else, into a communal experience of connecting with the larger world.”
• Embrace death — don’t fear it: “A central aspect of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy is the belief that death should be embraced, and the concept that dying can be the crowning achievement of a life well lived.”
• Be with others who support and share your journey.

Mindfulness compassion meditation, especially, has been shown by numerous medical and research studies to:

• lower stress
• reduce anxiety and relieve depression
• boost positive emotions
• reduce loneliness.

NOTES

[1] “How Does the Compassionate Brain, Measured in the Lab, Predict What Occurs in Real Life.” University of Wisconsin-Madison News, 2/1/12 media release. https://news.wisc.edu/releases/17127

[2] “Study reveals gene expression changes with meditation.” University of Wisconsin-Madison News https://news.wisc.edu/22370

[3] “Grant Supports Investigations into Mechanisms of Meditation, Impacts on Health and Well-Being” https://www.investigatinghealthyminds.org/cihmPressRelease0925.html

[4] “The U.N. Happiness Project“, Timothy W. Ryback, March 28, 2012, The New York Times. 

[5] “Transform Your Mind, Change Your Brain” a GoogleTechTalk by Professor Richard J. Davidson

[6] “Buddhists really do know the secret of happiness” by Mark Henderson, Science Correspondent, Times Online

[7] Professor Owen Flanagan of Duke University, North Carolina for New Scientist

[8] “Buddhists really are happier” BBC News May 21, 2003 

[9] “What Tibetan Buddhism Can Teach Us About Happiness” Carolyn Gregoire, Huff Post The Third Metric

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I have been particularly concerned with the sufferings of chickens for many years.”
HH Dalai Lama in a letter to KFC

Various Buddhist traditions advocate vegetarian diet on the grounds of compassion, with the notable exception of Tibetan Buddhists—due to the scarcity of plants and vegetables in Tibet. Since chickens are statistically the most butchered and abused animal on earth, they became the focus of a campaign to stop KFC from opening in Tibet.

Dalai Lama became a vegetarian after witnessing a chicken slaughter

The Dalai Lama himself is vegetarian, and became strict after witnessing the butchering of a chicken: “One day I chanced to see the slaughter of a chicken, which made me decide to become a vegetarian.” He explains that where possible, all killing should be avoided, but in particular smaller animals such as chickens and fish, because more of them must be killed to satisfy our hunger.

Killing is a prohibited act in Buddhism, but the argument arises as to whether animals and fish are included in the prohibition. Most traditions accept that the are, although Tibetan Buddhism and other cultures must make a survival exception due to the scarcity of vegetation. All beings are living beings, not just humans, and in most rebirth understandings we can be ourselves reborn as animals in future or past lives.

KFC slaughters 850 million chickens each year

KFC, who slaughters 850 million chickens each year (according to various sources, as of 2010) and has been accused of cruelty by PETA and others, received a letter from the Dalai Lama asking them to reconsider the move into Tibet.

“I am writing to ask that KFC abandon its plan to open restaurants in Tibet, because your corporations support for cruelty and mass slaughter violate Tibetan value,” wrote the Dalai Lama in a letter to KFC.

In Tibet, fish and chicken consumption is rare

Although KFC is in every area of China, and very popular there, the Dalai Lama explains, “It is considered more ethical to eat the meat of larger animals such as yaks… For this reason, consumption of fish and chicken are rare…”

PETA maintains that chickens “feel pain and have distinct personalities and intelligence.” They also state, through various statistics and investigations that “chickens are the most abused animals on earth, typically by “throat slashing” even in high volume butchers such as KFC.

Even though Tibetans don’t have the resources to be strict vegetarians, the Dalai Lama explained that “buying animals from the butcher and releasing them to save their lives was a common practice, and said that even in exile, many Tibetans continue this practice.”

Here is a letter from His Holiness the Dalai Lama written to KFC in June of 2004:

On behalf of my friends at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), I am writing to ask that KFC abandon its plan to open restaurants in Tibet, because your corporations support for cruelty and mass slaughter violate Tibetan value.

I have been particularly concerned with the sufferings of chickens for many years. It was the death of a chicken that finally strengthened my resolve to become vegetarian. In 1965, I was staying at the Government Guest House in south India. My room looked directly on to the kitchens opposite. One day I chanced to see the slaughter of a chicken, which made me decide to become a vegetarian.

Tibetans are not, as a rule, vegetarians, because in Tibet vegetables are scarce and meat forms a large part of the staple diet. However, it is considered more ethical to eat the meat of larger animals such as yaks, than small ones, because fewer large animals would have to be killed. For this reason, consumption of fish and chicken was rare, in fact traditionally we though of chickens as only a source of eggs, not as a food themselves, and even eggs were seldom eaten because they were thought to dull the sharpness of mind and memory. Eating chicken only really began with the arrival of Chinese communists.

These days, when I see a row of plucked chickens hanging in a meat shop it hurts. I find it unacceptable that violence is the basis for some of our food habits. When I am driving through the towns near where I live in India I see thousands of chickens in cages outside restaurants ready to be killed. When I see them I feel very sad, because in the heat they have no shade or relief, and in the cold they have no shelter from the wind. These poor chickens are treated as if they were merely vegetables.

In Tibet, buying animals from the butcher, thereby saving their lives, and setting them free was a common practice. Many Tibetans, even in exile, continue this practice where practically possible. It is therefore quite natural for me to support those who are currently protesting against the introduction of industrial food practices into Tibet that will perpetuate the suffering of huge numbers of chickens.