Prayer and Rituals

When we come to a Dharma center, we find in the West that people come with various interests and various motivations. Some people of course are very serious in terms of seeking some type of spiritual path, but there are others that come just to satisfy their wish for exotica,...

Homage to Manjushri in youthful form. Sixteen Verses on Requesting Instruction (1) Then the glorious Holder of the Vajra, the most superb tamer of those difficult to tame, the hero, triumphant over the world’s three planes, the powerful lord of the thunderbolt, ruler of...

In the past, I have wandered down long, lonely paths, but now, O my Guardian, by remembering you at the time when the light of my life comes to set, may the hook of your compassion catch hold of my mind. When my mind travels on to my future rebirth, may I sprout without...

The mechanism for how receiving an initiation prepares us for successful tantra practice.

Qualifications of a Kalachakra Master The third through fifth chapters of the Kalachakra Tantra present the alternative cycles of time. The third chapter, which concerns the empowerment, begins with a discussion of the qualifications of a Kalachakra tantric master and the...

Buddha Is Not an Omnipotent God The founder of Buddhism, Shakyamuni, was a prince of the small city state of Kapilavastu on the border of present-day northern India and Nepal two and a half thousand years ago. After seeing the physical and mental sufferings of his subjects,...

I prostrate to all the Triumphant (Buddhas) in the ten directions, together with their spiritual offspring. (1) May the boundless prayers I have offered with a pure, exceptional resolve to be able to free countless wandering beings from their compulsive existence be fulfilled...

I pay heartfelt homage to all of you Buddhas and sons of the Buddhas in all ten directions. (1) May the powerful Three Jewels of Refuge in Buddha, his assembly and teachings, all lacking deceit, and the might of the masters who teach what is true fulfill boundless prayers of...