ARRANGING BEAUTIFUL OFFERINGS
In front of the images of Buddha on the shrine we can arrange beautiful offerings such as flowers, incense, light and food, as well as bowls of water, regarding the water as pure nectar. We can also imagine that all the objects of enjoyment of humans and gods, such as gardens, palaces, mountains and lakes, are transformed into pure and precious offerings to the Buddhas.
The purpose of making offerings is not because the Buddhas need anything from us, but for the effect it has on our own mind. There are many people who place beautiful flowers on the graves of their loved ones, and even though the dead person is not there and cannot benefit from their offerings we cannot say that these actions are meaningless. How much more meaningful it is then, to arrange beautiful offerings with a mind of faith in front of Buddha images, because the Buddhas are actually present and can take delight in our offerings.
Having attained omniscient wisdom, a Buddha knows when we are making offerings to him or her. Moreover, a Buddha’s body and mind are the same nature, and wherever his mind exists so does his body. Our mind and body are different natures, and while our mind is not obstructed by physical obstacles, our body is. Our mind can easily roam the universe, but our body has to remain on the ground. A Buddha’s body, on the other hand, is no more obstructed by matter than his or her mind, and can travel just as freely. Because a Buddha’s mind is mixed with the ultimate nature of all phenomena and is free from the obstructions to omniscience, it pervades all phenomena; and because his body and mind are the same nature, his body is also all-pervasive. From this we can understand that Buddhas are present everywhere and that there is no place where Buddha does not exist. Buddhas are like the sun and our ignorance is like the clouds that obscure the sun. When clouds disperse we see that in reality the sun has been shining all along, and in a similar way, when we remove the clouds of ignorance from our mind we will see that the Buddhas have always been present all around us.
SITTING IN THE CORRECT MEDITATION POSTURE, GOING FOR REFUGE AND GENERATING BODHICHITTA
Sitting in the correct meditation posture
Although meditation is an action of mind, rather than of body or speech, as our mind and body are closely related it is important to sit in a correct posture when we engage in meditation because this will help us to maintain a clear and concentrated mind. If we are sitting on a cushion we should try to sit cross-legged, ideally in the vajra posture with each foot resting on the opposite thigh, but if this is too difficult we should sit in a posture as close to this as possible while remaining comfortable. If we are sitting on a chair we should have our feet resting on the floor. Our back should be straight, and the right hand should be placed on the left hand with the palms facing upward and the tips of the thumbs slightly raised and just touching at the level of the navel. The mouth should be gently closed, with the tongue touching the back of the upper teeth. The head should be inclined slightly forward, the eyes slightly open and the shoulders level. We should try to adopt this posture during formal meditation sessions, but in general we can meditate in any position and at any time—while we are resting, eating, cleaning and so forth.
Once we are in the correct meditation posture we should try to calm our mind, because with a busy and distracted mind neither our preparatory practices nor our actual meditations on training the mind will be successful. To dispel our distractions we can engage in the following simple breathing meditation. As we exhale we imagine that we are breathing out all our distracting thoughts in the form of dark smoke, which disappears into space; and as we inhale we imagine that we are breathing in the blessings of all the Buddhas in the aspect of white light, which enters our body and dissolves into our heart. We focus single-pointedly on this process of exhalation and inhalation, breathing out our distractions and breathing in Buddha’s blessings, until our mind has become clear and peaceful. At this stage our mind is like a clean white cloth that we can now color with a virtuous motivation such as compassion or bodhichitta.
Going for refuge
Having calmed our mind, we now go for refuge to the Three Jewels. The Three Jewels are the Buddha Jewel—all fully enlightened beings; the Dharma Jewel—the spiritual realizations developed through practicing Buddha’s teachings; and the Sangha Jewel—the Superior practitioners who have realized ultimate truth directly. Understanding that it is only these Three Jewels that have the actual power to protect living beings from fear, danger and suffering, we imagine and believe that in the space before us is the living Buddha Shakyamuni surrounded by all other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, like the full moon surrounded by stars. Then with strong fear of samsaric rebirth and with deep faith in the power of the Three Jewels to protect us, we recite the refuge prayer and make a strong determination to rely upon Buddha, Dharma and Sangha until we attain enlightenment.
Generating bodhichitta
We then generate the motivation of bodhichitta. The value of our meditation, and indeed of any virtuous action, depends primarily upon the motivation with which we engage in it. If we meditate with the motivation just to relax and improve our physical health, our meditation may accomplish these goals but it can hardly be considered a spiritual practice. The highest motivation of all is bodhichitta, the wish to attain full enlightenment to help all living beings. If we meditate with this motivation the merit of our meditation will be limitless. To generate bodhichitta we think:
Each and every living being trapped in the prison of samsara is experiencing danger, fear and suffering, life after life, endlessly. If I myself attain enlightenment my emanations will pervade all worlds and protect every living being. I must become a Buddha for the benefit of all living beings.
With this motivation we recite the bodhichitta prayer three times.
Going for refuge to the Three Jewels is the gateway through which we enter Buddhism in general, and generating bodhichitta motivation is the gateway through which we enter Mahayana Buddhism. Since the strength of our bodhichitta depends upon the strength of our love and compassion, we then recite the following prayer from the depths of our heart:
May everyone be happy,
May everyone be free from misery,
May no one ever be separated from their happiness,
May everyone have equanimity, free from hatred and attachment.
With bodhichitta motivation we then engage in the practices of accumulating merit, purifying negative karma, receiving the blessings of the Buddhas and contemplating and meditating on Eight Verses of Training the Mind.
VISUALIZING THE FIELD FOR ACCUMULATING MERIT
We imagine that in the space in front of us is the living Buddha Shakyamuni, who is one nature with our Spiritual Guide, surrounded by the lineage Gurus, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and other holy beings. At the heart of Buddha Shakyamuni is Buddha Amitabha, who is the same nature as Bodhisattva Langri Tangpa, the author of Eight Verses of Training the Mind. We focus on the assembly of these enlightened beings, and when we perceive a rough mental image we meditate on this for a short while. This assembly is called the “Field for Accumulating Merit” because just as external crops grow from seeds sown in an external field, so the internal crops of merit or good fortune grow from the seeds of faith and devotion sown in the field of all enlightened beings.
Although these holy beings are in reality present in front of us, because of our ignorance and negative karma we cannot see them. Even so, we can communicate with them by means of visualization. If we find it difficult to visualize the Buddhas, or if we do not develop any special feelings when we do so, this is because in the depths of our heart we do not believe that they are actually there. However, as already explained, Buddhas are everywhere. Visualizing Buddhas is not like a children’s game of make-believe, but a way of opening our mind to what is already there. Buddha Shakyamuni said, “Whenever anyone with faith visualizes me, I am there.” On an overcast day, although