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The unsurpassed profound subtle wonderful Dharma
Is difficult to meet for hundreds and thousands million eons.
Since I get the chance to see, hear, receive and practice it now,
May I understand the ultimate meaning of the Thus Coming One.
In order to liberate all sentient beings Please generate the unsurpassable supreme bodhichitta!
We are studying the second chapter in the Bodhicaryavatara.
Today, we will continue to talk about “offering objects that have no owner”.
Yesterday, we covered making offerings to
the Buddhas, Dharma and Sangha of the ten directions
with fresh flowers, medicinal herbs sublime jewels and pure water.
Making offering in this way.
Now let’s read the following verse:
[Likewise gem-encrusted mountains,] [Forest groves, quiet and joyful places,]
[Heavenly trees adorned with flowers] [And trees with fruit-laden branches;]
The text explains it this way
[Lofty jeweled mountains, such as Gold Mountain,]
[pleasant and peaceful forests free from noise,]
[wonderful trees with their own incomparable sublime flowers]
[and branches laden with rich fruit.]
Here the offerings are jeweled mountains forests and wonderful trees covered with flowers.
First is “lofty jeweled mountains”.
According to the Abhidharma “lofty jeweled mountains” indicates Mount Meru
made up of four types of jewels
and the seven great Gold Mountains and Iron Mountains surrounding it.
These mountains are made up of all theses jewels.
Visualize these jeweled mountains and offer them to the Three Jewels.
In addition, besides these jeweled mountains
there are the lofty and spectacular mountains of the world
such as the Himalaya Mountains
or the highest mountain of the world, Everest.
In Han area
there are the four holy mountains of the four Great Bodhisattvas
the world-renowned Mount Tai, Hua, Kunlun.
We can offer the famous mountains of this world this way.
The longest mountains of the world is Andes
which passes seven countries.
We can offer these highest and longest mountains.
The most beautiful mountains of the world is Mount Meili
which is at Shangri-la, in Yunnan province.
this beautiful mountain is very close to Tibet
Some people appreciate it very much.
Practitioners don’t have much chance to climb mountains or play in waters.
There are many who used to travel a lot,
but after many years of Dharma practice
totally give up this habit
and meditate inwardly and intently every day.
They are interested in these things now.
Some people are different
it may be due to their hobby and mood,
if they get the chance they will go to scenic tourist sites
and take pictures of beautiful mountains and rivers.
Many people are fond of taking pictures.
This is not necessarily wrong for Mahayana Buddhist practitioners
however the key is to make mental offerings to the Three Jewels
whenever you visit those mountains or even when you just hear their names.
We can visualize all of these in our mind.
Here it says we should offer jeweled mountains.
We may not have mountains made up of precious jewels in the human realm
but we do have mountains decorated with beautiful flowers
in summer in Tibet and in the Han area.
We can see many beautiful mountains then.
If you immediately remember to visualize “offering to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas”
if we can do so, the merit is great
and this can be an indispensible practice for our daily life.
Here it also says
“Forest groves, quiet and joyful places,”
quiet forests that are free from noise and pleasant.
There are this kind of forests in the world
such as the forests of eaglewood and sandal woods in India.
There are many similar famous forests
such as Xishuang-Banna in Yunnan Province and Chang-bai Mountain in China.
Our guru once mentioned
that the small forest on the west mountain in our institute is very nice
The mountain is the Holy Mountain of the Wood Goddess.
It is a very comfortable place to spend some time especially in spring.
However, this area is designated to female practitioners
no male practitioners can go there!
Our guru once mentioned a teaching when he was alive.
Patrul Rinpoche once said
that the forest described in the Bodhicaryavatara should be as quiet as Aru Forest.
There is a forest, called Aru Forest on the border between Sichuan and Qinghai.
I passed there when I was on pilgrimage to the place our guru was born.
Patrul Rinpoche always said
that the forest described in the Bodhicaryavatara should be as quiet as Aru Forest.
In a word, wherever we see forests
pine trees, white poplar, eaglewood or whatever trees
we should remember to visualize offering them
to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions.
“Heavenly trees adorned with flowers and those with fruit-laden branches”
refer to heavenly trees richly decorated with a cascade of beautiful flowers and precious jewels.
If we see trees loaded with many apples or pears
no matter whether they are in an orchard or someone else’s garden
we should visualize immediately
“Such pretty trees! I offer them to all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas!
This is a mental offering and the merit is great!
Usually we do not have to offer jeweled mountains and trees.
If we see any pleasant scene, such as winding creeks
quiet hills and pretty villages
no matter what we see
as long as we think it is pleasant and beautiful
the first idea that should come into our mind is
“Oh! It is very beautiful. I offer this to the Three Jewels.”
You can say it out loud or visualize it in your mind
and a great deal of merit will be accumulated naturally.
Therefore, practitioners do not need a lot of money to accumulate merit.
it won’t happen that you can’t accumulate merit just because you have no money.
In fact, there is no big difference between making mental offerings and actual offerings
for yogis and those of higher realizations.
This is because on the one hand they have a very strong visualization capability
and on the other hand they are not attached to external materials
such as gold, silver, jewels and money.
When Great Master Padmasambhava was in Tibet
King Trisong Detsen offered lots of gold to him
to repay his kindness of giving Dharma teachings.
When he offered lots of gold to him
Padmasambhava then sang the following Dharma song
“What I see is a gold world; I do not need this bit of gold.”
The detailed story can be found in the Great Biography of the Great Master Padmasambhava
Generally, some good practitioners really can do so.
We ordinary people are so attached to gold, silver, jewelry and money.
If it is gold or silver
we grasp at it
however if it is a piece of stone or wood we feel it has no value at all.
So our attachment to gold or money is very strong.
However, to yogis of genuine realization
these two categories of matter have no difference.
Since external materials have no intrinsic existence
mental offering is not different actual offering.
As long as you can visualize making offerings Buddhas can accept them.
In terms of actual materials we can also make mental offering this way.
Here is the verse,
[Fragrances of the celestial realms,] [Incense, wishing trees and jewel trees,]
[Uncultivated harvests and all ornaments,] [That are worthy of being offered;]
[Lakes and pools adorned with lotuses,] [And the beautiful song of wild swans,]
Here is the its explanation
[In the celestial or other realms of the world,]
[there are aromatic fragrances and agalloch incense,]
[wish fulfilling trees, trees of rare and precious jewels,]
[uncultivated and spontaneously grown crops,]
[and all other precious ornaments that are worthy of being offered,]
[including lakes decorated with lotuses,]
[and the pleasant song of swans in the water.]
I explain the basic meaning of verse to everyone.
First, There are many kinds of rare incenses sachets, perfumes and fragrances in the world
which make us feel comfortable.
Also, there are eaglewood, sandal wood and clove from nature.
Some of them are artificially synthesized some grow naturally.
For example, flowers in summer emanate a rich scent.
We should visualize that
whether from the human realm celestial realm or Naga’s palace,
we make all kinds of offerings of rich fragrances
to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. We should visualize this way.
I often explained the wish-fulfilling trees and jewel trees in the past.
In the past when sentient beings still had great accumulation of merit,
there were wishing trees formed through merit.
In the Thirty-third Heaven,
there are wishing trees formed through virtuous actions.
We should offer them all through visualization.
Today, there is no wish-fulfilling trees.
But we have many other tress. When we see a pine tree, cypress tree,
algum, or other tall or impressive tree at the side of the road,
the first idea to come into our mind can be
“This tree is so beautiful. I offer this tree to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.”
Especially when you are travelling,
you see a row of tress at the side of the road passing by,
you should offer them to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas through visualization.
It is very necessary to familiarize our mind with this method.
At the beginning of this eon,
there were crops growing naturally without cultivation.
In Uttarakuru (the continent north of Mount Meru),
there were naturally growing and fragrant paddy fields.
We should visualize offering these to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
Although there is no such crops that growing naturally without cultivation today,
you can make mental offerings
when you see any broad paddy field or wheat field.
In fall especially,
it is very nice to observe the continuous golden waves of wheat in the breeze.
The color of the field changes through spring, summer, fall and winter.
These are very pretty scenes that we can see very often,
especially in Xinjiang Province or in Northeast China where fields are abundant.
At that time, if we can visualize them,
we should visualize offering them to all Buddhas and bodhisattvas.
It is greatly meritorious to do so.
Also, it says that offering the lakes that are adorned with lotuses of different colors,
such as red, yellow and white to all Buddhas and bodhisattvas.
There are so many fantastic lakes,
such as Dongting Lake, Chao Lake and Poyang Lake and so forth.
And also the West Lake in Hanzhou.
Recently, a geographic magazine rated some famous lakes
West Lake was the fifth,
and Qinghai Lake was at the top of the list.
Qinghai Lake was very famous in old times;
people praised it as “the sea has come into being from turquoise”
and it is also described beautifully by poets.
So the first was Qinghai Lake.
Kanas Lake in Xingjiang is rated second.
I wanted to visit Kanas Lake in the year before last year but I couldn’t.
Namutso Lake in Tibet was the third.
the fourth was Tienchi in the Changbai Mountains; the fifth is West Lake in Hangzhou.
People in Hangzhou may not like this result,
but I did not make this list up.
When seeing these lakes,
everyone has different feeling.
The reaction of many people is “how beautiful it is!
Please take a picture for me! This way!.. here!...one more.”
It seems impossible to think about making an offering to Buddhas and bodhisattvas.
If this is the case, no matter where you travel it will have very little meaning!
Many people have lots of chances to see beautiful scenery,
travel to historic and famous tourist sites
and go on pilgrimages to holy places and sacred mountains.
If offering to Buddhas and bodhisattvas never comes into their mind,
it is a great pity!
The other day, a man told me
that he has travelled around his entire life.
Although he was only over 30 years old,
there is no famous place in China he has not visited.
However, he said he had never made an aspiration anywhere,
this is a real pity.
It does make a big difference to actually go somewhere.
When you really visit the West Lake you will know this feeling.
When our guru was at Hangzhou while taking some pictures
he said, “The West Lake in Hangzhou is very famous
but only after actually seeing it do I have such an appreciation of it.”
This is how did he commended then.
So, our appreciation is different when at the scene
however, will you remember to make mental offerings to Buddhas and bodhisattvas?
I am afraid many people won’t.
When our guru taught the Bodhicaryavatara
he said, “Not only lakes and ponds
but also the great oceans of the world
such as the Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific and the Indian Oceans,
we should visualize all as offerings
if we remember to do so as we cross in an airplane, the merit will be great!”
We are always too stingy to offer our property
even if we make some offerings sometimes the value is small.
So we should think in this way
how much it will cost to purchase a mountain to offer?
Do we have this capability? Definitely not.
We cannot even afford the Ahla sacred hill, let alone the Kunlun Mountain.
Therefore, wherever you see pleasant things
the first thought you should think is
“I offer this to Buddhas and bodhisattvas,” or “I offer this to the Three Jewels.”
This is extremely important.
“And the beautiful song of wild swans,”
beautiful swans cruise in lakes and make beautiful sounds,
making people feel very comfortable.
In general, swans are very beautiful birds.
Many Indian and Tibetan poets use the sound of swans
to describe and praise the melodies of Buddhas and bodhisattvas.
There are many this kind of praising poems.
So we should visualize the sound of swan and make offering.
But not only do Tibetan and Indian people admire swans
their song is also an inspiration used by world musicians to compose songs and dramas,
such as Swan Lake and the Death of a Swan.
And these famous people like using swan as analogy in their working.
Many lakes in Tibet have white swans.
And as Khenpo Genhor said swans are of different colors
silvery white swans, coral colored red swans
pure gold colored yellow swans and sapphire colored blue swans.
All kinds of colored swans.
Our guru also says that
there is a group of yellow swans
that comes to the small river near our institute in the summertime.
When we practice mental offerings we should think,
“On a quiet lake are cruising swans of different colors making pleasant sounds.
People who see and hear this become very happy and joyful.
I offer these beautiful things to all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas.”
We can think this way.
Swans are elegant and appealing
stories of swans are also very educational.
Danish fairy tale writer Andersen Hans wrote one about swans.
It is okay if I don’t tell this story, the Ugly Duckling.
In this tale, it says that due to his mother’s carelessness
a cygnet was hatched among a group of ducks
When he was newborn
he was gray in color and not good-looking
because of this many of the little ducks teased him
and told him he was very ugly
compared to them who were pretty.
However, as time went on, this cygnet became elegant and beautiful as it grew into a swan.
When he was beautiful, the ducks then felt ashamed.
An ugly duck gradually became a beautiful white swan.
The moral of the story is that some people may not
have good looks or perform well in school
so many people may look down on them.
However, when they grow up, they might become so excellent in all aspects of life
that people look at them in a totally different light
and then nobody teases them anymore.
This is a worldly tale.
It is true in our life that
when hearing the pleasant singing of swans or other birds
we usually feel joyful.
Recently, I heard the singing of a cuckoo and felt very happy about it.
When I heard the cuckoo this time, I was chanting Liberation through Carrying in the morning.
I had a special feeling then.
There is a conventional saying in Tibet:
what you are doing when you hear the cuckoo for the first time in spring
will be what you do for the rest of the year.
For example, if you hear the cuckoo when you are very hungry,
then you would feel very hungry for the whole year.
When I heard the cuckoo I was chanting Liberation through Carrying.
So, I thought I should practice Dharma well this year!
However, it is hard to say if this is true.
Sometimes, folk sayings are wrong
maybe I will feel very hungry this year!
In a word, as I mentioned earlier
we should make our best efforts to offer
to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions
whatever good things we see, spectacular mountains and rivers
peaceful lakes, pretty fields, gardens, grand palaces and temples.
In the past, great Chan masters in China used to praise Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
as breeze in spring, pretty flowers in summer
a clear and bright moon in fall and the white snow in winter.
Or praised them as quiet environment.
Similarly
we can use this natural beauty of the four seasons
to make offerings to Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions.
We visualize them in our mind and make mental offerings.
In a word, whenever we see any pleasant things
even as said in Words of My Perfect Teacher
when we see handsome men and beautiful women,
the first idea comes to our mind is “Oh this person is very beautiful”
next we immediately say “I offer them to the Three Jewels”.
Yes! This is what Buddhas and Bodhisattvas teach us.
No matter what kind of situation or environment
as long as there is something that makes you feel pleasant
your first thought should be to offer this to the guru and the Three Jewels.
This is a practice that will accumulate a lot of merit without any hardship.
This is our practice.
Therefore, practice is not necessarily only limited to concentrated meditation.
The practice of the greatest practitioners is
to integrate the Dharma into their daily life from moment to moment
and contemplate the kindness of the Three Jewels day and night.
This is the practice of the greatest practitioners.
I hope you will make some efforts in this respect.
Although you will naturally feel it is hard to fulfill at first
this is because it is hard to transform the mind from having so many bad habits
to be familiar with unfamiliar virtuous deeds.
However, once you get used to this kind of offering it will no longer be difficult.
Here is the next verse.
[Everything unowned] [Within the limitless spheres of space;]
[Creating these things in my mind, I offer them]
[To the supreme beings, the Buddhas, as well as their Children,]
[O Compassionate Ones, think kindly of me] [And accept these offerings of mine.]
The text says that,
[I visualize all the unowned offerings described above in boundless space,]
[pure lands and Uttarakuru and earnestly offer them to Buddha Shakyamuni]
[and all the supreme Bodhisattvas the supreme offering field that will yield great fruits.]
I visualize the offering in my mind and make mental offering.
[Please accept my offering for the benefit of all sentient beings.]
[O, Lord of great kindness and compassion,]
[please watch out for me and take care of me by accepting my offerings.]
We should visualize this way.
The earlier described mountains, rivers oceans, lakes and forests
are representations of natural scenes of the human realm.
There are plenty unowned things in the human god and demi-god realms and pure lands.
I visualize all these offerings in boundless worlds
and offer them to the supreme offering field
Buddha Shakymuni and his Great Vehicle followers.
We make mental offering to all Great Vehicle followers one by one
because they are the supreme offering field
As said in the story of King Alanu
making simple offerings to the supreme offering field
will yield indescribably good fruit.
Many stories say
that making offerings to Buddhas and bodhisattvas has great merit.
We should be aware that
we are very fortunate to meet this supreme offering field in this lifetime.
When make offerings
we should fulfill the six conditions described by Bodhisattva Thogme Zangpo
or the six conditions mentioned by Bodhisattva Asanga
in his Bodhisattva Stages.
Recollect first
that the Three Jewels have unsurpassable good qualities.
Recalling that the Three Jewels have unsurpassable good qualities is the first one.
Second, that the Three Jewels is able to accomplish limitless benefits.
This is the second one. We should think this way.
Third, that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are unsurpassable in all realms.
This is the third thing we should think.
Forth, that the appearance of Three Jewels in the world
is as rare as the bloom of the udumbara tree.
This is the fourth thing should think.
fifth, that the Three Jewels are the only offering field in the three thousand great worlds.
We should make offerings with this idea.
sixth, we should think
that the Three Jewels are the source of all worldly and transmundane merit.
When we make offering, we should meet these six conditions,
or the six conditions made by Bodhisattva Thogme Zangpo which I explained yesterday,
or the six conditions mentioned by Bodhisattva Asanga in his Bodhisattva Stages.
Most people do not meet these conditions when they offer to monasteries or Sanghas.
What is their purpose of making offerings? “For my peace!”
“For my success!” These are their purposes.
Is it helpful to offer incense, make prostrations and pray in front of Buddhas
when we have some unfavorable conditions or difficulties.
admittedly, as long as it is not a fixed karma from previous lives, it is helpful.
I do not mean we should only make offerings
for the benefit of sentient beings and never pray for our own benefit at all.
This kind of idea is wrong.
After all, the need of every sentient being is different
since the Three Jewels are the source of all unsurpassable merit
sentient beings’ wishes will be fulfilled through praying.
The One Hundred Karmic Stories and other sutras said
that at the time of the Buddha
many sponsors, Brahmans, kings and other beings
asked for different things in front of the Three Jewels.
Parents who had no children asked for children
people in drought asked for rain
poor people asked for wealth.
We can say that except those with very severe karma
most people’s wishes were fulfilled through their pious prayer to the Three Jewels.
In a word, when making offerings to the Three Jewels
we should think in this way:
since I have met with this supreme offering field this lifetime
I should do my best to offer to the Three Jewels.
I wish that the Three Jewels bestow blessings to me and accept my offerings.
We should visualize this way.
Next verse is about the second issue.
[K2. Why do we offer unowned stuff?]
We have covered offering unowned objects above
but why do we do so?
Here is the verse
[Having no merit, I am destitute,] [And I have no other gifts to offer.]
[O Protectors, you who think of helping others,] [By your power accept these for my sake.]
[Question: why offer these unowned things rather than one’s own property?]
If we do not offer even one penny
but only offer things that have nothing to do with us
like mountains, rivers, oceans and lakes
we lose nothing.
Isn’t this like some modern people who are very stingy
and always say, “I do not need to make real offerings;
mental offerings are enough!”
Why do we offer unowned things?
[Since I didn’t accumulate any merit I am very poor now.]
[Besides these offerings I really have nothing else to offer.]
One is very short of resources,
so one has to offer in this way in order to accumulate.
Or although one does have some property to make offerings,
it is impossible for him
to buy entire Mount Meru, the four continents and all oceans and lakes
Although someone has lots of money
if you haven’t accumulated merit in previous lives, you would not have the same fortune
as that of the Wheel Turning King who is able to own mountains and lakes.
No matter how rich someone is he probably does not have this fortune.
Some people owning big businesses in Hong Kong or Southern China feel they are very rich
because they can buy a whole mountain. Actually, those are just small hills.
They think they are rich enough to buy a whole mountain.
Sentient beings in the Dharma degenerating time have very limited fortunes.
Even very rich people can only afford several hundred acres of land.
Therefore, mental offering is different from actual offering
because it can be much bigger and include much more.
[I sincerely offer to you and wish that you,]
[all gurus with the pure intentions and actions to benefit others,]
[accept my offerings for the benefit of me who makes offerings.]
As is said in Medicine Buddha Sutra Buddhas and bodhisattvas do not need this property
and will not benefit from what we offer.
So, why do we offer?
Although Buddhas and bodhisattvas have already perfected all good qualities
and do not need this property if we make these offering,
On one hand, it helps us to eliminate the stingy thoughts
and attachment in our mental continuum
on the other hand, making mental offerings
to the supreme field of the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions
allows us to perfect our accumulation of merit and wisdom.
This is very necessary.
Therefore, when making offerings we should think in this way:
Buddhas and bodhisttvas residing in the ten directions,
please accept all the offerings I have visualized today
through your super spiritual power.
Without this kind of mental offering,
for example, if I only offer a little sum of money or a few offerings
to all Buddhas and bodhisttvas in the ten directions
from my point of view, a few offering is not enough.
Therefore, it is greatly meritorious to make a great deal of mental offerings in one’s mind.
Some people may ask
“Is mental offering only in Tibetan Buddhism or is it recorded in the Sutra?”
Someone may have this question.
Bodhisattva Shantideva has cited a number of scriptural authorities
to support this in the Compendium of All Practices.
For example, in the Sutra of Skillful Means Buddha told many Bodhisattvas,
“If Bodhisattvas with genuine skillful means offer all unowned things
such as fresh flowers, garlands, incense perfumes, rivers and mountains
to Buddhas and bodhisattvas through their wisdom the merit is immeasurable!”
The Sutra of Skillful Means has this record.
Therefore, offering unowned things is not unique
to Tibetan Buddhism or some individual Indian masters.
Buddha Shakyamuni stated this in the Mahayana Sutras.
In the Precious Cloud Sutra
the Buddha says, “Noble Sons you should offer all unowned things
such as the flowers and fruits of the three thousand worlds
to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions six times every day and every night
and each time make mental offerings three times.
This virtuous practice will generate immeasurable merit.
You should dedicate all merit to all sentient beings.”
According to these Mahayana scriptural authorities
in The Precious Cloud Sutra and the Sutra of Skillful Means
it is apparent that “offering unowned things”
is one of the most profound Mahayana skillful means.
We should practice this anytime and anywhere in our daily life.
However, some people are not willing to make offerings but say
“I can visualize making offerings.” “Rejoicing is enough.”
“Mental offering is enough.”
If you ask them to make actual offerings
they even begrudge offering a butter lamp or a piece of incense
to a Buddha statue in their shrine.
Some people say, “Everything is empty.” “Great compassion is essential.”
But in reality when others raise funds for releasing captured creatures
they even begrudge the money to save just one creature.
Once, I met a businessman who is said to have assets of several hundred million.
He kept telling me he would like to release creatures.
I was very happy to hear this and believed he would donate a lot of money.
The next day, when we went to release creatures
he only donated a hundred Yuan.
A hundred Yuan of several hundred million Yuan is really a drop in the bucket.
It is true that the maturity level of virtue is very variable among sentient beings.
As I mentioned in the Footprint of the Journey
some Dharma friends in our institute barely have enough means to live
and yet they give much money to release creatures.
In general, no matter how much the wisdom
faith and compassion of sentient beings varies
nice chatter cannot replace actual practice.
The Sutra says “Rejoicing and doing it by yourself has the same merit.”
“The merit of mental offering is one hundred times more than common offering.”
The Sutra does say these.
The meaning of the Sutra and the verse here is
that if some monastic and Buddhists are too poor to make actual offering
they can make mental offering in front of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and gurus.
If one has the ability and wealth but is unwilling to make any offerings
he speaks pleasant words but no one knows what will he do finally.
For example, a very rich person visits his guru
he says, “Oh, my teacher, I am going to offer you the Pacific and West Lake?”
Then what will his teacher think if he does so?
I am not sure about it.
We should make offerings according to our faith and abilities.
This is very important.
Without faith
it is easy to think that the guru attaches to material things.
In fact, a genuine guru or spiritual friend has no attachment to materials or offerings at all.
Otherwise, he is not qualified to be a Mahayana spiritual friend.
As we learned earlier in this commentary
no “Mahayana spiritual friend” attaches to money, property or luxury lifestyle.
The definition of a Mahayana spiritual friend is
that they do not abandon the Mahayana Dharma even when their lives are endangered.
They have full mastery of the Mahayana scriptures.
These are the features of Mahayana spiritual friends.
At this Dharma degenerating time people of good and bad are mixed together.
It is hard to distinguish a spiritual friend from an evil friend.
Buddhists should keep their mind clear
and make offerings after careful observation.
Then, it is good that you make offering to qualified spiritual friend
Otherwise, you cannot accumulate any merit but can ultimately get hurt.
Many people of this time feel regret after making a rushed offering.
This is avoidable.
If you want to make offering the best offering is a dharma offering.
A genuine guru will be happy
when his students are listening, reflecting and meditating on the Dharma.
Why does the guru teach the Dharma? It is to make all sentient beings happy,
and the only way to obtain happiness is through the Dharma.
I am very happy at this time. Why?
Because besides Dharma friends here,
many benefactors of our institute and I get the chance to listen to the Dharma.
I always feel grateful when I meet them.
However, when I thank them in my heart or say “Thank you!” to them,
it does not repay them anything.
It is hard to repay their kindness.
As a practitioner, I feel the only way to repay others’ kindness
is to help them to listen to the Dharma.
The Dharma that I am teaching now is from our gurus.
There are no big mistakes
however little mistakes are unavoidable
because ordinary people cannot guarantee no mistakes when giving dharma teachings.
I mean that
if they get benefit from listening to the Dharma
this is the real benefit!
When I go to cities
I meet with different people and speak nice words
but it is of no real benefit.
Giving out property or help does not truly benefit them either.
What is the genuine benefit available for these people in this world?
I believe it is to help them access the Dharma.
I believe Dharma can give them real benefit.
Therefore, Dharma offering is the supreme offering in all aspects and will not cause any complaints.
Generally, worldly people behave in this way:
they quickly and hurriedly make offerings just as
they first establish a good relationship with their guru.
They hastily offer to this guru and that Khenpo.
But after a while, after the novelty has faded or when the relationship does not work anymore
they start to complain about their guru’s faults. I do not think this is good.
If you make Dharma offerings your guru will be very happy
and nobody will later be hurt by complaints or malicious words.
So, you should mainly make Dharma offerings to your guru.
So I believe make Dharma offering is important.
As mentioned earlier
it is very important for Mahayana practitioners to make mental offerings
when encountering pleasant objects or beautiful scenes.
Many great masters travelling abroad also teach the merit of mental offerings
and the principle about cause and effect.
If you can follow this teaching and change your behavior
it will benefit and help your future practice.
In summary, as mentioned earlier when we go to pleasant places
we should first visualize making offerings to Buddhas and bodhisattvas and make aspirations
instead of filling our three doors with meaningless thoughts and behavior.
When our guru went to holy mountains and seashores
he never forgot to make aspirations and recite offering mantras.
We should recite the Practices and Vows of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra
when we see good scenes
If you do not know how to recite the offering mantra
you can say “Making this offering to the Three Jewels.”
Everyone can do so.
If you become familiar with this method
you will easily remember to do it wherever you go! This is very important.
Let’s end it here today.