When we offer water to Buddha we should regard it as pure nectar because that is how it is perceived by Buddha. We can also arrange many sets of seven offering bowls filled with pure water, symbolizing our future attainment of the seven pre-eminent qualities of embrace of a Buddha.
The practice of offering is a very important preparation since it creates a vast amount of merit and makes our mind very strong. One of its special beauties is that everyone can do it easily because seven offering bowls are not hard to find and we can easily obtain water. Furthermore, when we offer water there is no danger of developing greed or miserliness as there is when we offer other substances. Therefore, this is one practice that we can perform very purely right from the beginning.
If people who are not religious come into our room and see our shrine and ask us why we are offering things in front of an image, we can answer them by pointing out that in every country it is customary to offer flowers in front of the pictures and statues of important citizens, and that many people offer flowers in front of the portraits and photographs of their loved ones.
sitting in the correct meditation posture, going for refuge, AND generating and enhancing bodhichitta
sitting in the correct meditation posture
When we practise meditation we need to have a comfortable seat and a good posture. The most important feature of the posture is to keep our back straight. To help us do this, if we are sitting on a cushion we make sure that the back of the cushion is slightly higher than the front, inclining our pelvis slightly forward. It is not necessary at first to sit cross-legged, but it is a good idea to become accustomed to sitting in the posture of Buddha Vairochana. If we cannot hold this posture we should sit in one which is as close to this as possible while remaining comfortable.
The seven features of Vairochana’s posture are:
(1) The legs are crossed in the vajra posture. This helps to reduce thoughts and feelings of desirous attachment.
(2) The right hand is placed in the left hand, palms upwards, with the tips of the thumbs slightly raised and gently touching. The hands are held about four fingers’ width below the navel. This helps us to develop good concentration. The right hand symbolizes method and the left hand symbolizes wisdom – the two together symbolize the union of method and wisdom. The two thumbs at the level of the navel symbolize the blazing of inner fire.
(3) The back is straight but not tense. This helps us to develop and maintain a clear mind, and it allows the subtle energy winds to flow freely.
(4) The lips and teeth are held as usual, but the tongue touches against the back of the upper teeth. This prevents excessive salivation while also preventing our mouth from becoming too dry.
(5) The head is tipped a little forward with the chin slightly tucked in so that the eyes are cast down. This helps prevent mental excitement.
(6) The eyes are neither wide open nor completely closed, but remain half open and gaze down along the line of the nose. If the eyes are wide open we are likely to develop mental excitement and if they are closed we are likely to develop mental sinking.
(7) The shoulders are level and the elbows are held slightly away from the sides to let air circulate.
A further feature of Vairochana’s posture is the preliminary breathing meditation, which prepares our mind for developing a good motivation. When we sit down to meditate our mind is usually full of disturbing thoughts, and we cannot immediately convert such a state of mind into the virtuous one we need as our motivation. A negative, disturbed state of mind is like pitch-black cloth. We cannot dye pitch-black cloth any other colour unless we first remove all the black dye and make the cloth white again. In the same way, if we want to colour our mind with a virtuous motivation we need to clear away all our negative thoughts and distractions. We can accomplish this temporarily by practising breathing meditation.
When we have settled down comfortably on our meditation seat we begin by becoming aware of the thoughts and distractions that are arising in our mind. Then we gently turn our attention to our breath, letting its rhythm remain normal. As we breathe out we imagine that we are breathing away all disturbing thoughts and distractions in the form of black smoke that vanishes in space. As we breathe in we imagine that we are breathing in all the blessings and inspiration of the holy beings in the form of white light that enters our body and absorbs into our heart. We maintain this visualization single-pointedly with each inhalation and exhalation for twenty-one rounds, or until our mind has become peaceful and alert. If we concentrate on our breathing in this way, negative thoughts and distractions will temporarily disappear because we cannot concentrate on more than one object at a time. At the conclusion of our breathing meditation we should think ‘Now I have received the blessings and inspiration of all the holy beings.’ At this stage our mind is like a clean white cloth which we can now colour with a virtuous motivation such as compassion or bodhichitta.
going for refuge
Once we are seated in the meditation posture and have generated a peaceful and alert state of mind, we can go for refuge and generate bodhichitta. We begin by going for refuge.
The objects to which we go for refuge are the Three Jewels: the Buddha Jewel, the Dharma Jewel and the Sangha Jewel. There now follows an extensive description of the Three Jewels as they are to be visualized whenever we do Lamrim meditation. Since it takes repeated practice to become familiar with the whole visualization, we should at first concentrate on visualizing the central figure of Buddha Shakyamuni. In time this will become clear and we will be able to extend the scope of the visualization. There is no need to feel discouraged if visualization seems difficult at first because it will definitely become easier as we become more familiar with the objects. Everyone can easily visualize someone they know very well. For example, if we close our eyes and try to visualize our mother we will be able to visualize her clearly. Visualizations are not switched on like the picture on a television screen, but with repeated acquaintance we can learn how to establish extensive visualizations quickly and hold them firmly in our mind. In the beginning we should be satisfied with just a vague image, remembering that the most important thing is to develop strong faith that the holy beings are actually present before us, full of life and looking at us with great kindness, ready to receive our offerings and respond to our prayers.
In the space in front of us, level with our eyebrows and at a distance from us of about one arm’s length, is a high, spacious throne. It is square and adorned with jewels such as diamonds, emeralds and lapis lazuli. On it there are five smaller thrones, one in the centre raised higher than the others and one in each of the four cardinal directions. The thrones are supported by snow lions, two at each corner. Covering the entire surface of the central throne, which faces east towards where we are sitting, is an eight-petalled lotus of various colours. The petals in the cardinal directions are red and the others are: south-east, yellow; south-west, green; north-west, yellow; north-east, black. The centre of the lotus is a flat, green disc surrounded by yellow anthers. Above this is a white moon disc, and above that a yellow sun disc. Upon this sits our principal Spiritual Guide in the aspect of the Conqueror Buddha Shakyamuni. His body is the colour of gold and he is in the posture known as ‘Buddha Shakyamuni Conquering the Demons’. His legs are in the vajra posture. His right arm is held with the elbow at the hip and the forearm on the right thigh extending to his knee so that his fingers touch the sun disc. This gesture indicates that he has conquered the Devaputra demon. His left hand is held palm upwards below his navel in the gesture of meditative equipoise, and holds a precious bowl made of lapis lazuli containing three nectars indicating that he has conquered the demon of uncontrolled death, the demon of contaminated aggregates and the demon of the delusions. He wears the three robes of an ordained person and his body is adorned with the thirty-two major signs and eighty minor indications of a Buddha. Buddha Shakyamuni is the main object of refuge because he is the founder of this present doctrine of Dharma.
We do not imagine the body of Guru Buddha Shakyamuni as if it were hollow or two-dimensional like a painting, or as if it were composed of any material substance like a statue or like the body of a human being with flesh, bones, inner organs and so forth. Buddha’s body is