At the beginning we do not need to visualize the Buddhas in detail; instead we should simply believe that they are present in front of us and develop strong faith. Through the power of our faith and familiarity, visualizing the Buddhas will eventually become effortless. We do not find it hard to visualize our mother, because we know her so well. In a similar way, when through studying and developing faith in Dharma teachings we come to understand the nature, functions and good qualities of Buddhas, it will be easier for us to visualize them. It is also important to understand how we too can become a Buddha, for when we are confident that enlightenment is a possibility for us we will naturally feel much closer to those who have already attained enlightenment.
OFFERING THE SEVEN LIMBS AND THE MANDALA
To accumulate merit and purify negativity we now offer the practice of the seven limbs and the mandala. The seven limbs are: prostration, offering, confession, rejoicing, beseeching the holy beings to remain, requesting the turning of the Wheel of Dharma and dedication.
Prostration
Focusing on the assembly of Buddhas in the space before us, with a mind of deep faith and respect we press the palms of our hands together at our heart and recite the appropriate line from the prayer of seven limbs.
Offering
To empower our mind with the positive energy needed to attain full enlightenment for the sake of all living beings, we make extensive offerings to the assembly of holy beings. We make not only the offerings we have arranged on our shrine, but also use our imagination to offer all objects of enjoyment existing throughout the universe, such as beautiful gardens, lakes, trees and mountains, as well as the sun, the moon and the stars.
Confession
In the presence of the great Compassionate Ones, the assembly of Buddhas, we confess with a mind of great regret all the non-virtues and negative actions that we have accumulated in this life and in countless previous lives, and we promise that from now on we will not commit them again. In this way we purify our mind of our burden of negative karma and remove the principal obstacles to spiritual development.
Rejoicing
To rejoice means to appreciate and take delight in the good fortune, virtue and happiness of others. If we rejoice in others’ good qualities, this will create the cause for us to develop similar qualities ourself. Overcoming all feelings of jealousy and competitiveness, we should rejoice in the virtues of all beings—those still in samsara and those who have completed the spiritual path to enlightenment. All those who are now Buddhas once wandered the painful paths of samsara, just as we still do now. However, through their great effort they entered the Bodhisattva’s path, and progressing through all its stages, attained complete enlightenment. From the depths of our heart we rejoice in their virtuous attainments and pray to become just like them.
Beseeching the holy beings to remain
Without Spiritual Guides, who are manifestations of Buddha’s compassion, to lead sentient beings on the path to liberation, this world would be plunged into spiritual darkness. From the depths of our heart we request Buddha’s emanations to remain with us until samsara ceases.
Requesting the turning of the Wheel of Dharma
As a result of the gods Brahma and Indra requesting Buddha to turn the Wheel of Dharma, Buddha taught many methods for curing the disease of the delusions, which have led countless beings to liberation from suffering. To ensure that these teachings remain in this world we request the holy beings to teach the precious Dharma.
Dedication
At the end of any virtuous action we should dedicate the merit that we have created toward the complete and perfect happiness of all living beings. If we do not dedicate our merit in this way, it can easily be destroyed by anger or other strong delusions, or dissipated through the fulfillment of our self-centered wishes. By dedicating our merit toward our own and others’ enlightenment, however, we safeguard it and thereby ensure that it will never be exhausted. In particular we dedicate all our virtuous actions, both past and present, toward gaining the realizations of Eight Verses of Training the Mind, and thereby to attaining the supreme happiness of full enlightenment.
These seven practices are called “limbs” because they support our meditation just as limbs support our body. Without bodily limbs we cannot accomplish much in the way of physical actions, and in a similar way, without the limbs of accumulating merit and purifying negativity we cannot accomplish much in the way of meditation. The practices of prostration, offering, beseeching and requesting accumulate merit; the practices of rejoicing and dedication multiply merit; and the practice of confession purifies negative karma. A detailed explanation of the seven limbs can be found in the book Joyful Path of Good Fortune.
Offering the mandala
The word “mandala” in this context means “universe.” When we offer a mandala to the holy beings we are offering everything—the whole universe and everyone in it. Since the merit we create when we make an offering accords with the nature of that offering, instead of offering an ordinary, impure universe we mentally transform the whole universe into a Pure Land filled with precious objects and inhabited by pure beings. Imagining that we are holding this pure universe in our hands, we offer it to all the enlightened beings. In this way we are offering everything that we have or could wish for. Making mandala offerings is very powerful, and if we wish for good fortune and spiritual attainments we should offer a mandala every day. A detailed explanation on making mandala offerings can be found in the book The New Guide to Dakini Land.
REQUESTING THE HOLY BEINGS
TO BESTOW THEIR BLESSINGS
Requesting blessings
The word for blessing in Tibetan is “jin gyi lob,” which literally means “to transform.” When we request blessings we are asking for our mind to be transformed from a non-virtuous state to a virtuous state, and from an unhappy state to a happy state. Most importantly, we need to transform our mind into the mind of an enlightened being, and it is for this purpose that we request the holy beings to bestow their blessings upon our mind so that we may attain the realizations of the stages of the path to enlightenment. To do this we recite the Prayer of the Stages of the Path while concentrating on its meaning.
Receiving blessings
We then imagine that due to our heartfelt requests the holy beings bestow their blessings, which descend from their hearts in the form of lights and nectars. These enter our body and mind, pacifying our negativity and obstacles and increasing our merit, lifespan, inner peace and Dharma realizations. We meditate on this experience for a short while.
Having received the blessings of all the holy beings we now imagine that all the holy beings surrounding Guru Buddha Shakyamuni dissolve into light and gather into him. He dissolves into Buddha Amitabha at his heart, who comes to the crown of our head. We mentally prostrate and make a short mandala offering to our Spiritual Guide in the aspect of Buddha Amitabha at our crown, and pray to him by reciting Eight Verses of Training the Mind:
With the intention to attain
The ultimate, supreme goal
That surpasses even the wish-granting jewel,
May I constantly cherish all living beings.
Whenever I associate with others,
May I view myself as the lowest of all;
And with a pure intention,
May I cherish others as supreme.
Examining my mental continuum throughout all my actions,
As soon as a delusion of self-cherishing develops
Whereby I or others