Mantra Recitation in the Meditation Practice of Avalokiteshvara

Yesterday we were discussing in the outline the first point, which comes from the root text: in this lifetime, meditate on our personal meditational deity. The point was divided into four. The first was the instructions for moving oneself into the practice, which provides the circumstance; the second was the instructions for developing a dedicated heart of bodhicitta, which acts as the cause; the third point, which was the point where we were at last time, was the actual method, which is the instructions for making requests to the spiritual master inseparable from the personal deity or yidam. 

As you recall yesterday, we had the visualization of the stupa on our head, and inside there is a small Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, and on each side of the stupa, there are a thousand doorways with the Buddhas in each of them. In our heart, we also had a Chenrezig on a thousand-petaled lotus. The petals were marked with the syllable AH. We had lights coming forth from the heart of Chenrezig on our head inside the stupa coming down, striking the heart of Chenrezig inside our heart. From that, lights go out and strike the syllables AH on the petals of the lotus around him, and then from those syllables AH, white nectars and lights flow and completely fill our body. They purify us of all our negative potentials, obstacles, obscurations and mental blocks. All of these leave us in various forms. Then the lights and the nectars come out of all the pores of our skin and reach to all the beings around us, likewise, the environment around us, and they change everyone into Chenrezigs and the entire environment into the Potala pure land realm of Chenrezig.

The sequence again is that lights and nectars flow from the Chenrezig on our head to the one in our heart; from him, out to the syllables AH on the lotus; and from those syllables AH, into our body, fill our body; and then from our body, they go out to everybody else. 

Or another way of doing this would be to have the lights and nectars come from Chenrezig and all the Buddhas on the crown of our head in the stupa. The light comes down, and rather than first going to the heart of the Chenrezig in our heart and then going out to the syllables AH and from there our body, we can have it come down and strike the personal deity and the syllables AH in our heart all together at the same time. From there, going and filling our body with all the lights and nectars, purifying our body of obstacles and negativity as before, and then when our body is completely full of light and nectar, we can imagine at that point our body transforms into the form of Chenrezig. This is another way of doing it. 

There are two ways of doing it. It comes down to the same thing, the only real difference is whether or not the lights and nectars go down to the heart of the Chenrezig in our heart and from there go out the syllables AH, or whether they go to the Chenrezig and the syllables AH altogether. In either case, the nectars continue to go out from there, fill our body, purifying ourselves of negativities, transforming us. Once our body is full of nectars and lights, then in both ways of doing it our body transforms into Chenrezig, and lights go out from all of our pores. There are various types of visualizations we can do at this point in terms of going down to the hell realms, lights going out to all the six different planes of existence, to all the six different basic life forms and purifying them of all their negativities, problems, sufferings, transforming everybody into Chenrezigs and the entire environment into the pure land Buddha-field of Chenrezig. 

At this point, we do the recitation of the six-syllable mantra of Avalokiteshvara and have the mantra located at our heart, around the moon disc where the seed syllable is, all the way deep inside our heart. This Mani mantra is something that is extremely important and beneficial to recite as many times as possible. It is also very easy and convenient to recite, there are only six syllables – OM MANI PADME HUM. It’s said that there are more benefits of reciting OM MANI PADME HUM than all the other mantras of the Buddhas. All the essential points of the sutras and tantras are incorporated and included in this OM MANI PADME HUM mantra. 

There are three worse types of rebirths and three better types of rebirths. These are all caused by being under the influence of compulsive behavior (karma) and disturbing attitudes (delusions), and if we recite OM MANI PADME HUM very well, it can purify us of these compulsive and disturbing types of rebirths in any of these six classes. It can purify the six types of rebirths states. There are likewise six major disturbing attitudes: attachment and desire, anger, closed-minded ignorance, pride and arrogance, indecisive wavering (doubt) and wrong types of views (distorted views). We can overcome all these six types of disturbing attitudes through the recitation of this mantra. There are likewise six perfections or far-reaching attitudes: giving, moral discipline, tolerant patience, enthusiastic perseverance, mental constancy and discriminating awareness (wisdom). All these types of practices of these far-reaching attitudes that dedicated beings or bodhisattvas have are likewise being incorporated into these six syllables. 

Chenrezig is the form that incorporates all the compassion of the Buddhas, so when we recite these syllables to protect our mind, it can help in terms of being able to develop this type of compassion for everyone. When we recite the prescribed syllables of Manjushri, then we do this with the feeling beneath of wanting to become very learned, clever and of clear mind. If we don’t have a perfectly pure type of motivation, then similar to what can come with the Manjushri mantra of wishing to become learned and clever ourselves, there is a danger when we recite the Vajrapani mantra that the feeling beneath it would be the wish to become very powerful, gain extraordinary powers and abilities greater than everybody else. 

The OM MANI PADME HUM is unlike these other mantras because the main feeling of this mantra is to develop compassion, to develop the wish for everybody to be free of their problems and have happiness. So, there is no danger when reciting this mantra of having the type of pride or wish to develop extraordinary qualities ourselves, which we might have with other mantras. As for developing great wisdom and discriminating awareness, when we recite the OM MANI PADME HUM, whether we want it or not, we will still be able to achieve this type of wisdom as well. When we say a lot of OM MANI PADME HUMs, we will gain a long life. 

There are examples of people who recited many many thousands of OM MANI PADME HUMs who have recovered their sight. There are examples of those who recited thousands and thousands of OM MANI PADME HUM, old people who had lost their teeth and grew new teeth. If we recite OM MANI PADME HUM as much as possible, it has a tremendous amount of benefits. If we always say OM MANI PADME HUM, it will rid us of the fault of always indulging in idle chatter all day. We will have that energy going to reciting OM MANI PADME HUM. If we continue to say OM MANI PADME HUM all the time, it builds up very strong habits and propensities, so we will find sometimes even in our dreams, we say OM MANI PADME HUM.  

If we succeeded in planting such strong positive instincts that we recite OM MANI PADME HUM in our dreams, then there is a very good chance these instincts will carry over in the bardo (in-between state) and when we are there, we will likewise be reciting OM MANI PADME HUMs. If we recite it very well, and we recite it in our dreams, in the bardo and later, even if we are reborn in one of the worse types of rebirth states, still, this instinct will carry over, and we will continue to have the instinct to say OM MANI PADME HUM. Rather than indulging in all types of idle chatter all the time, it is much better to use that energy to recite OM MANI PADME HUM. 

These mantras, these prescribed syllables to protect the mind, are something that have great ability and power. There are three things in the world that have great power or strength: mechanical things, medicines and mantras. We can see the ability of mechanical devices. For example, we can build rockets that can go to the Moon. We can see the power of medicine, how someone who has great injury or sickness, how medicine can cure them immediately. Whereas the power of mantra is even greater. Because mantras can benefit our future lives, whereas machines and medicine can only benefit this life. If we recite various mantras with great strength, even if we are reciting some type of black magic mantra, the power of such a mantra can cause, for instance, if we blow our breath onto a flower or plant, it can make it dry up and shrivel. So, if evil types of mantras can have powers such as these, then virtuous or good types of mantras will have even more power. It is difficult to see immediately with our eyes the strengths and abilities of these mantras. However, if we recite these mantras continually, then we will see in time the great benefits derived from them. 

For instance, there can be two types of persons or forces who can harm us – those that can hard us directly, that we can see and those who are sneaky and harm us in invisible and unseen ways. The various forces that are unseen that cause us harm cause us greater harm than visible forms. The same thing is true with the various forces and things that help us – the invisible forces are of much greater help. If we recite OM MANI PADME HUM very well, the benefit and potential built up from it are things we can bring with us to future lives. If we say ten million of the Mani mantra, it is something that builds up a tremendous positive potential, which we can carry over to future lives. If we have ten million dollars, we will be unable to carry even one of them with us. This OM MANI PADME HUM is something very easy and convenient to recite, we can recite it all the time, while working or walking around, or doing anything. To do so is extremely beneficial. 

When we recite the mantra, we should have as our aim the ability to be able to benefit all beings, and we should recite this for the benefit of everyone. When we talk about everyone, it is a numberless figure, then the potential built up will be beyond count as it will be proportionate to what we are aiming for. For instance, if someone in a very difficult situation asks us for help, if we make a request to Chenrezig and recite OM MANI PADME HUM, this will be of benefit to that person. If someone is being beaten up, and we call for the police, the police will come and stop it. When we recite OM MANI PADME HUM, we should have in our thoughts these kinds of benefits that can be derived. If we put all our energies into doing this type of practice so others’ wishes and aims will come true, then on the side, we will find our own wishes will also be fulfilled. It is extremely important to do these practices, meditations and mantra recitations of Chenrezig, and to build these up as beneficial habits of our mind. 

Mantra Recitation in Retreat

If we are doing an intensive retreat of Chenrezig, during the period while we are at the retreat and reciting the mantra, we should not eat any meat and drink any alcohol; this would be best. If we have received the initiation and wish to do the retreat of Chenrezig, we do 100,000 mantras for each of the syllables of his mantra, so we would do 600,000 OM MANI PADME HUMs. If we are doing a retreat in terms of the long mantra of Chenrezig, then we recite the syllables that come at the end of the mantra, OM DHARI DHARI DHIRI DHIRI and so on. To recite those, we would recite 10,000 times; therefore, it is quite easy to do such a retreat in just three days. 

If we have a mantra with more than 30 syllables in it, then we only recite those mantras 10,000 times for the retreat. If the mantra has less than that number of syllables, then we need to recite the mantra 100,000 times for each of the syllables in the mantra to constitute the retreat. We can just do in a retreat one session a day, it’s not necessary to make a total even for the whole time. If we are doing that, we would do one session in the morning, and then if we wished, we could eat meat after the session, let’s say for a lunch and afterwards, but if we could be vegetarian for the entire retreat, that would be best. 

When we are trying to actualize a deity, get the actual attainments of that deity – whether it is Chenrezig, Manjushri or Vajrapani – we find that each person will have a special connection with one particular deity that will make it easier to gain the actualization of that deity. There are different ways of examining which deity we have a propensity for. If we have made a certain type of strong connection with a deity in previous lifetimes, we will have a certain propensity for that deity, then if we do the intensive practices of that deity and the mantra of that deity, we will be able to gain the actual attainments of that deity more easily and quickly.

The fact that I have been explaining the benefits of the OM MANI PADME HUM mantra is because it is called for here in terms of the fact that we are explaining a Chenrezig practice. We should not infer that the benefits of other mantras have no powers. While we recite the mantra, we should not let ourselves have mental wandering, but we should be focused, making sincere requests and prayers that we will develop a kind, warm, good heart, that everything will go well for others, no harm will come to anyone, that everyone has good things happen to them, and we should focus on this well throughout our session. 

Proper Ways of Reciting a Mantra 

When we recite, we should keep the visualization very clearly of our own self-image as being Chenrezig, or if we are visualizing a Chenrezig in front of us and nectars flowing from that figure, then we should keep that visualization. Our voice shouldn’t be loud, and it shouldn’t be in total silence. It should be in a nice, soft type of voice. It is important to recite the mantra carefully, so we don’t leave out any syllables or add any extra ones to it. If we recite the mantra in a correct fashion, it will have great power and abilities will come. 

The reason why we don’t get anywhere with mantra recitations when we start out in the beginning, and we find that we don’t experience any effects, is because when we recite it, our mind is wandering all over the place. We are out in the supermarket, we are walking around in town, we are thinking about our business, our work, and it is because of that that we don’t get anywhere by reciting the mantras. There was a person in Tibet who always kept forgetting his business affairs and the work he was doing, but he would remember that as soon as he sat down to recite mantras, and if somebody asked him something he had completely forgotten, he would start reciting the mantras, and from his mental wondering, he would remember the thing that he had forgotten. 

Often people, when they recite mantras, have a lot of thoughts and mental conversations going on in their heads. It is better not to have such conceptual thoughts going on while we recite. We shouldn’t have extraneous thoughts while reciting mantras, but rather we should just have the thoughts of what is actually involved in the practice, which is imagining and visualizing the mantra in our heart, giving off lights and nectars, and these going out purifying people and various beings, helping them. We should have those thoughts appropriate to the practice and nothing else. If we had some important business that we had to do with a high official, and went to this person’s office, if we spent our whole time just talking stupid talk with this person and conversation about anything and went back home, it would be a complete waste of our time. It would be like that. It is the same thing if we recite mantras and spend all our mental energy with extraneous mental garbage. 

We should never feel that mantras are things that don’t have abilities and great powers. It is just a matter of how strong the negative potentials are on our mind-streams. If they are very strong, then it is going to take a long time to get rid of them and get anywhere. It’s important to have a very long and continuing practice of these mantras. We shouldn’t just do them for a few days, a few weeks or a few years. If we don’t get any spectacular signs, we shouldn’t just give it up, but rather we should think in terms of continuing and steady practice. The signs we should look for, whether or not we are gaining realizations and effects from the mantra, are the type of heart we have, the type of general mind and person we are. If things are getting better, it is a sign that it is beginning to have an effect, and if our heart and mind remain the same or get worse, then it is a sign that we haven’t achieved anything yet. We should look at the state of our heart and mind. 

Now we continue the practice by focusing on the syllable HRIH, which is in the heart of the Chenrezig in our heart. We imagine that the syllable HRIH now emanates lights out to everybody. The light goes out from the syllable HRIH and the heart of Chenrezig in our heart, it goes out and strikes the whole environment and all the beings in it, and they all, environment and the beings, melt into light. 

In the heart of the Chenrezig who is our spiritual master, inside the stupa on the top of our head, which has the thousand Buddhas in each of the doorways on each of the four sides, in his heart, we have the same types of things as we have in the heart of the Chenrezig in our heart. We have a thousand-petaled lotus with the syllables AH and a small Chenrezig, and in his heart, a moon disk and the syllable HRIH. Lights go out from that syllable HRIH, deep inside the heart of the Chenrezig on our head and inside the stupa, and that goes out and strikes all the environment and beings within it. They all melt into light. That light comes back and dissolves into the thousand syllables AH on the petals of the lotus inside the heart of our Chenrezig guru, who is on the top of our head inside the stupa. At the same time, all the Buddhas and the central figure of Chenrezig, the Chenrezig in his heart, all of those as well as the thousand-petaled lotus, all of that dissolves just into the syllables AH on the lotus in the heart of that deity. The stupa itself dissolves into thin air like a rainbow. Everything in that way is dissolved into the syllables AH. Then, we forget about the syllables AH. Now we are finished with everything on the top of our head. 

Dealing with us as Chenrezig with the thousand-petaled lotus again in our heart and Chenrezig in the center of that, the moon disk with the syllable HRIH in the center of the heart of that small Chenrezig, we have our external form as Chenrezig then dissolves into the syllables AH on the thousand-petaled lotus inside our heart, and then that with the deity in the center of that, and in his heart, the moon disk and the syllable HRIH then in stages dissolve. The lotus and so forth go into the deity, the deity into the moon disk with the syllable HRIH, and that gradually into the syllable HRIH, and it all dissolves into voidness. 

Through this type of procedure in the end, we become aimed just at voidness; the mind is not aimed at all in terms of anything having true inherent, findable existence, but we are just focused on the total absence of all fantasized ways of existing, and everything is gone.

This completes the third part of this particular outline, which is the actual method, namely the instructions for making requests to the spiritual master as the deity. The fourth is the meditation on one’s own mind not having any true inherently findable arising or production. 

The lines in the text says that all things which are in uncontrollably recurring situations (referring to things in samsara) and all things which are in situations which are released from troubles and problems (all things of nirvana), that all these phenomena, such as one’s own mind, all these lack any inherently findable existence. There is not even one atom of inherently findable existence among any of these either uncontrollably recurring phenomena or phenomena released from all problems. When we focus in the state in which there is the absence of any findable existence, where we are completely parted from any fabrications of such a fantasized ways of existing, and it’s similar to the space, in the sense that in space we don’t find anything. 

The space is the lack of impediment for the spatial existence of things. When we look at these lack of impediments, which is space, which is in itself like a vacuum, nevertheless, being defined as a lack of impediment, it what allows for various things to go through it. For instance, space allows airplanes to fly through. 

When we are focused on the ultimate level of reality on a total absence, at that point, all types of appearances of conventional reality are all ceased. We are only focusing on a total absence. This total absence is illustrated by the example of it being similar to space in the sense that when we think of bare space, it is an absence, namely an absence of impediments. When we are not just focusing on this total absence of fantasized ways of existence, then, in fact, we do have the actual conventional appearance of things that does appear on a conventional level; for instance, in space, we have airplanes and birds flying around. 

In the text, it refers to that we have the appearances arise of things, which are taken by consciousness, and the consciousnesses, which take them. Things that are taken by consciousness are similar to the airplanes and birds. These things do appear in space. Likewise, we have things that take them in consciousness, like our own consciousness that sees these things. We have both types of things. Objects and things that take objects appear within the context of the total absence of the fantasized ways of existing when we no longer are focusing on just the total absence aspect of them, but when we are focusing on the conventional, relative level of what actually appears. Just as when we are focusing on our total absorption on the total absence of the fantasized, at that point, nothing truly existent or inherently findable is there. We are focusing on the absence of findable existence, which is something totally fantasized; it does not exist. Likewise, when we are then focusing on what does appear, then these things still lack this type of a fantasied way of existing, they still do not exist as something inherently findable. Nevertheless, these things still do appear, and there are four examples mentioned in the text of what their existence is like, what their appearance is similar to. 

The first analogy of what these appearances are similar to would be an illusion that is created by a magician. Magicians can make things like horses and elephants appear; they can conjure them up. The horses or the elephants, when we are fooled by them, we think these things exist and are findable there, but, in fact, they are only a creation by the magician. The examples to be understood from this is that in general, all appearances are like this. They appear as one thing, whereas, in fact, they are not. Namely, things, in general, appear inherently findable from their own side, but they don’t exist in that way at all, they are not findable at all. 

The next example is like a mirage in the desert, when the sun is hot, and we are out in the desert, we might have a mirage, which appears to be water, but it is not. Like this example, all the various appearances that we have appear to exist out there from their own side, but they don’t exist in this fantasized manner. The third example is that of dreams. In a dream, we imagine we are going to a park, having a picnic and having a great time, but this is a deceptive appearance. While it appears to be true, it is not really happening. The example to be understood from that is that various appearances of things are deceptive like dreams, in the sense that they appear to exist from their own side, happening out there, but they don’t exist in that manner. The next example is the reflection of the moon in water. Although the moon appears to be in the water, it is not actually there. The various appearances we have only appear to be truly findably existent, when in fact they are not. 

We should apply this now in terms of the meditational practice of Chenrezig, the meditational deity. The one who is doing the meditation and the actual act and procedures of the meditation, we should realize that none of these three spheres (object, agent, action) involved in this process, none of these exist as inherently findable from their own side, as something existing in a vacuum or by itself. In fact, these things exist only in relation to each other. We can’t have a meditator without actually meditating, we can’t have a meditator without there being something to be meditated upon, and there can’t be something meditated upon without the fact that there is a meditation and someone actually meditating. These are all relative terms that are connected to each other and arise dependent upon each other. To say that all these things don’t exist by themselves in a vacuum, inherently findable and not related to anything else does not mean they don’t exist at all. In fact they do exist, but only in terms of these connections, of all things being interrelated. This is the type of understanding that we should apply here in terms of understanding the nature of what is going on in the procedure of the meditation we are involved with. 

Therefore, we should see that we are, in fact, involved in meditation; it’s not that we are not doing anything, that nothing is going on, but we should try to understand the way in which this whole process is existing. Things appear, but they don’t exist in a fantasized way that we might imagine them to exist, in terms of being inherently findable from their own side. They exist in terms of being dependent upon each other. We should understand that this dependent arising type of existence is what is meant by the absence of all the fantasized ways of existing, and when we understand the absence of all fantasized ways of existing, we should understand that what is meant is that things do exist, but in the actual way of existing, which is through dependent arising. This is the type of understanding we should have when we hear about appearance and voidness; these things are completely in harmony with each other. Things do appear in terms of dependent arising, but they are void in the sense that there is an absence of these fantasized ways that they would exist, of things being independent and findable. Likewise, the other way around. When we hear things are void, that there is an absence of this fantasized way of existing, together with it is the actual way things do exist, which is in terms of dependent arising. If we don’t understand that, there is great danger, and we can be misled. 

When we say that things don’t exist in an inherently findable manner or fantasized manner, to say that things do actually exist, if by that we assert a manner of existing that is still fantasized, that is a fault. We can’t draw that conclusion. To assert the existence of something which doesn’t exist is incorrect, and to deny the existence of what in fact does exist is likewise incorrect. It’s not said that everything is nonexistent. To say that things both exist and don’t exist – that as well does not make sense. To say that on the basis of findable existence some things in an inherently findable way are existent and other things in an inherently findable way are totally nonexistent does not make any sense either. Therefore, it is very important to make a difference between the inherently findable manner of existence, which is a fantasized way of existing, and just existence in general. We have to also differentiate well the total absence of the fantasized ways of existing (inherently findable ways of existing) from the total absence of all existence whatsoever. If we don’t make this clear differentiation, we will confuse these two and think that when it is said that things don’t exist in a findable manner, it means that things don’t exist at all. We will think when a statement is made that things exist as something findable, that this means that this is what existence really means. If we confuse that, we will fall to many faults. 

When we wake up in the morning, it is very important to start the day by feeling very happy that we didn’t die at night, that we are still alive and to feel that “Today I will try my best to be a kind and warm person and to be very devoted to helping others. I’m not going to hurt anyone.” In this way we set a very strong, positive intention for the day. If we started the day off with this very strong, positive intention, then even if during the day we don’t remain aware of it, nevertheless, whatever types of positive actions we do, even if it’s something small like making an offering a flower, it will be carried along with the flow of that positive energy that we have set up in the morning. Likewise, whatever type of spiritual practice we do, it will all be a vast-minded Mahayana type of practice. 

At the end of the day, we should review all the positive things we have done and feel happy and rejoice about that, feel positive about what we have done and set the intention that “Tomorrow I shall also have a good day and continue to be very positive and helpful towards others.” If we go to sleep with that strong, positive frame of mind, then the entire period of being asleep will be carried along by the force of this positive frame of mind. If we lead our lives like this, we develop the realizations and level at which we can direct the type of rebirth we will have in the future, which will be the highest, best type of actualization to achieve.