Chapter 2 of “The Jewel in the Lotus”
[…] thing I want to do is to go through very quickly—quickly as we get through it anyway—practice of direct awareness or self-releasing. Page four, The Short Vajradhara Prayer. This prayer is very central in the Kagyu traditions, and traces one of the very important lineages of mahamudra. And then in the last four verses, […]
Chapter 5 of “Practicing the Diamond Sutra”
[…] period, or you do them alternating, it doesn’t really make much difference. And the other, a third method of building capacity and a very powerful method is prayer. Praying to develop the ability to know, because it’s not—just from what you’ve said—you know it’s not about understanding, it’s about knowing. And so letting that, […]
Chapter 5 of “Buddhahood Without Meditation”
[…] just fine. I’m not being burned in hell. Great! I’m not being roasted and scalded. Great! Or even more to the point, this is a wonderful little prayer. This is intended for people who are ill. “If it would be better for me to get better, may I get better. If it would be […]
Chapter 1 of “Releasing Emotional Reactions”
[…] how we live a life of no regret. By living each moment completely. So that’s one function that the prayers serve: as support, reminders and inspiration. Another prayer that we will do is refuge prayer. Refuge is a metaphor for orienting life towards this principle of being awake. That’s what buddha means: “awake.” And […]
Chapter 29 of “Then and Now: A Commentary on The Jewel Ornament of Liberation”
[…] We can say moral discipline, I suppose. Skipping a bit further down [Gyaltsen, page 196]: For one who keeps pure moral ethics (or moral discipline), All aspiration prayers will be accomplished. p. 196 I thought, that’s interesting. So, I’m going to throw this one out to you. How do you see that one working? […]
Chapter 8 of “Guru, Deity, Protector”
Student questions Ken: I’d like to take up any questions for a few moments. Student: In the devotional prayer [Far-reaching Cry to the Guru] the second verse from the bottom, it says, “When I practice I feel sluggish and sleepy.” That I understand. And then the next sentence is, “When I don’t practice, my […]
Chapter 6 of “Guru, Deity, Protector”
Student responses to the protector prayer Ken: This morning we are going to talk about protector. In the scheme of things actually, protector, dakini—it’s all in the same area. Now, some of you, maybe many of you, may have noticed there’s a kind of enchantment or intrigue around protector and dakini. It resonates with […]
Chapter 3 of “Practicing the Diamond Sutra”
[…] to a portion of a sutra. The portion of the sutra is known as Samantabhadra’s intentions or noble intentions. In the three year retreat, we recited a prayer every evening. That was the title Samantabhadra’s Noble Intentions. And Samantabhadra is one of the eight great bodhisattvas in the classical Mahayana. And, he’s one of […]
Chapter 22 of “Then and Now: A Commentary on The Jewel Ornament of Liberation”
[…] is the search for primordial wisdom, pristine awareness, however you want to translate it. And then further down (p. 128)we have a quotation from a very famous prayer (The King of Prayers): Limitless is the extent of space. Limitless is the number of beings. Limitless is the karma and delusions of beings. Such are […]
Chapter 4 of “Four Immeasurables”
[…] One of the elders said, “I know what to do. Leave it to me.” So the next day when she was right in the middle of her prayers, he went over to her house and knocked on the door and said, “Mrs. Fong, I would like to speak with you.” There was no response. […]
Chapter 1 of “Mind Training in Seven Points”
[…] lineage Ken: A great source of power and strength in the Buddhist tradition, in my mind, is the emphasis on lineage. In the Kagyu tradition, the lineage prayer, which is part of the preliminary practices, has 43 or 44 teachers in it. So it’s quite a long list now. And it goes back to […]
Chapter 1 of “Mahayana Mind Training”
[…] prayers. I’ll say more about these later, but you can just start memorizing, and do them every morning and every evening on your own. There’s a lineage prayer, which I will go over in the course of the retreat. Then there are the prayers that we will use at the beginning and end of […]
Article
[…] the noble Sangha. I take refuge in all who possess the eye of pristine awareness, the assembly of dakas, dakinis, protectors and guardians of the Dharma. Refuge prayer composed by Atisha and used in all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism Until I awaken, I take refuge in The Buddha, Dharma, and the Supreme Assembly. Through the […]
Chapter 4 of “The Jewel in the Lotus”
[…] very deep form of protection. Now, this is a technique that is not exclusive to Buddhism at all. Some of you may have heard of the Jesus Prayer: “Oh Lord Jesus have mercy upon on me, a sinner.” I don’t know the Greek for it, but in the Orthodox church, the Jesus Prayer serves […]
Chapter 9 of “Guru, Deity, Protector”
[…] great disciples. So when you read down in the next verse, you have the four great and eight lesser lineages. You see, this also in the Vajradhara prayer. These are four Kagyu lineages coming from Gampopa and then the eight minor ones coming from Phagmo Drupa. Some of those are still extant today. The […]