Purification Practices
These practices have the power to purify obscurations and negative karma that prevent us from actualizing the path.
Prostration Instructions, Mantras, and Meditation
Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave some instructions regarding prostrations, including some changes to the preliminary holy name mantras, and also dictated a new meditation.
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Confession of a Bodhisattva’s Downfalls to the Thirty-Five Buddhas and General Confession
The practice of making prostrations is commonly recommended as a daily practice to students for the purpose of purifying negative karmas and obstacles to spiritual practice. This text features everything necessary to make the practice complete, including a typical motivation by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the visualization of the Thirty-Five Buddhas and the Seven Medicine Buddhas, additional holy name mantras to make the practice more powerful, a translation of the main practice, and the final General Confession.
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The Preliminary Practice of Prostrations
Prostrations to the Thirty-five Confession Buddhas with recitation of the Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls from the Sutra of Three Heaps, is a powerful method to purify harmful actions we have done in the past. In addition, this practice clears away obstacles to our practice and opens the mind to gain realizations on the path. This recently revised version contains extensive commentary on the practice by Lama Zopa Rinpoche (from the Lama Tsongkhapa Retreat, ILTK, Italy, in 2004), as well as teachings on karma, options for extended practice, and instructions on how to complete a 100,000 prostration retreat.
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Thirty-Five Buddhas: The Flowing Water of the Ganga
Ngulchu Dharmabhadra’s The Flowing Water of the Ganga: A Thorough Praise of the Thirty-Five Sugatas is a versified homage to the Thirty-Five Confession Buddhas, which has been expanded by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to include the recitation of the names of the Medicine Buddhas, as well as the confession prayer from Confession of a Bodhisattva’s Downfalls to the Thirty-Five Buddhas. The Flowing Water of the Ganga, describes these buddhas according to Nagarjuna’s tradition of visualization. The text also describes the color of the buddhas, their hand implements, the pure lands in which the buddhas reside, as well as the specific negative karmas that the recitation of their names purify.
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Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls Poster
This image is a perfect meditation tool for visualizing the Thirty-Five Confession Buddhas. This downloadable PDF is formatted to be printed as a poster size: 17.5 x 11.5 inches (45 x 29 cm) approximately.
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Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Advice on Circumambulation is a short practice that can be done to make one’s practice of circumambulating holy objects as powerful as possible.
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Discovering Buddhism Online – Module 14: Special Integration Practices
Discovering Buddhism is a FPMT foundational education program set out in fourteen modules. It can be studied at many FPMT centers and can also be done online. This program provides a solid footing in the understanding and practice of Mahayana Buddhism as taught in the Tibetan tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa. Module 14 consists of intensive practices for the purification of negative karma and the collection of merit. Specifically, in this module you learn why and how to do:
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- the preliminary practice of 100,000 prostrations to the Thirty-Five Buddhas
- the preliminary practice of 100,000 recitations of the long Vajrasattva mantras
- a two-week lamrim retreat to review the whole path to enlightenment
- a Nyung Ne, a two-day retreat related to the buddha of compassion, Chenrezig
This module is offered free of charge on the FPMT Online Learning Center. Unlike the first thirteen modules, this module does not include audio recordings and transcripts of teachings and guided meditations. Instead, it consists of instructions for the practices listed above.
Learn more and enroll
The Preliminary Practice of Dorje Khadro
Making burning offerings to Dorje Khadro (Vajradaka) is considered to be “a golden Dharma” passed directly from Manjushri to Lama Tsongkhapa. It was one of Lama Tsongkhapa’s heart practices and, as such, has a special connection with the Gelug lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.
The collection provides everything one needs to be able to do the complete ngöndro of Dorje Khadro, the recitation of the principal mantra 100,000 times coupled with extensive visualization and prayers.
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The Four Dharmakaya Relic Mantras
Four Dharmakaya Relic Heart Mantras
Lama Zopa Rinpoche explained the benefits of these heart mantras in
The Four Causes of Unknowing and the Four Dharmakaya Relic Heart Mantras video of the Teachings on Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19 at Kopan Monastery. The complete set of mantras, with the root mantra, can be found in The Four Dharmakaya Relic Mantras and Their Benefits.
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A Short Practice of Mitrugpa, The Immovable Buddha
According to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, “Mitrugpa is very powerful in degenerate times in purifying negative karma, particularly the negative karma of having broken vows, such as the eight Mahayana precepts, lay vows, or the vows of nuns and monks. Even if you believe in karma and reincarnation and do not generate heresy, you create the cause to be born in the animal realm as a naga if you break or degenerate your vows.”
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Mitrugpa Long Sadhana
The translation and the Tibetan text consist of two parts. Part one is the sadhana portion of The Complete Rite for the Sadhana and Mandala of Bhagavan Vajra Akshobhya – “Opening the Door to the Pure Land of Superior Delight”. Part two is Prayers and Benedictions for Bhagavan King Akshobhya (both by Panchen Losang Chökyi Gyältsän.
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Mitrugpa Mantra
According to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, “Mitrugpa is very powerful in degenerate times in purifying negative karma, particularly the negative karma of having broken vows, such as the eight Mahayana precepts, lay vows, or the vows of nuns and monks. Even if you believe in karma and reincarnation and do not generate heresy, you create the cause to be born in the animal realm as a naga if you break or degenerate your vows.” The Mitrugpa mantra is also included in the collection of the Five Powerful Mantras for Liberating Sentient Beings from the Lower Realms, and the Ten Powerful Mantras for the Time of Death.
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The Sadhana of Samayavajra
A Short Vajrasattva Meditation: Purification with the Four Opponent Powers
Students can use this practice text to purify negative karmas with the four opponent powers: the powers of regret, reliance, remedy, and restraint. The practice is performed in dependence on Vajrasattva, a buddha considered particularly powerful for the purification of negativities.
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Heruka Vajrasattva Tsog Offering
This Heruka Vajrasattva Tsog Offering was written by Lama Yeshe. About the practice he said, “What follows is a tsog offering ceremony specifically designed to be performed in conjunction with the highest yoga tantra aspect of Vajrasattva. The Tibetan term tsog, which is often left untranslated, literally means “collection,” or “assembly,” and in the following practice it is often rendered as “pure offering.” However, the actual tsog is one’s meditation on transcendental, blissful wisdom.
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The Preliminary Practice of Vajrasattva
Experienced meditators have advised that, in general, it is more important to put our everyday life’s effort into the practice of purification – this is the way to attain spiritual realization. This text contains the short and long practice of Vajrasattva as well as Vajrasattva tsog. It also contains commentary, retreat advice, altar set-up, and retreat preliminaries by Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
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Vajrasattva Mantras and Meaning
Common to all four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, the practice of Vajrasattva is used to purify obstacles to spiritual development, negative karma and illness.The Vajrasattva Mantra and Meaning includes the Vajrasattva mantra as well as the word by word meaning of the Vajrasattva mantra and a translation of the mantra.
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Image of Vajrasattva
This image featuring Vajrasattva with Wisdom Mother can be used to help with one’s visualization. PDF formatted to a printing size of 7 x 5 inches (18 x 13 cm).
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Practices for Long Life
These practices can help to purify obstacles to our life and untimely death that are due to the exhaustion of our merit.
Amitayus Long Life Sutra
According to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, “This text is very precious and there is so much benefit in printing or writing it. This is one of the texts that, if written in gold, mountains of negative karma get purified…”
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Amitayus Short Sadhana
Amitayus is the Buddha of boundless life, a sambhogakaya aspect of Amitabha, particularly associated with longevity.
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Meditation on the Long-Life Buddha Amitayus
A short practice to remove obstacles to long life, translated and with commentary by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
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Practices of Namgyälma
The practice of Namgyälma removes obstacles to long life and brings powerful purification for all sentient beings. Even just reciting the Namgyälma mantra brings unimaginable benefit. Namgyälma pujas and practice help those with very severe disease. This practice contains the Pari Shodani Maha Batsaya Nama Dharani translated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and describes the origins, benefits, and practice of Namgyälma. Also included is the Namgyälma sadhana as well as a short teaching from Rinpoche on the benefits of practicing this deity.
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Namgyalma Mantras
Namgyalma, also known as Ushnishavijaya, is one of the three long-life deities. The Namgyalma practice not only dispels life obstacles; it also purifies negativities and downfalls and protects against birth in the lower realms. Lama Zopa Rinpoche had advised that the Namgyalma practice is a powerful purification and it is especially beneficial for the sick and those with cancer.
“The mantra has so much power to cure even what expert doctors can’t cure, if recited 1000 times or more. You can bless the cream (medicine) by blowing on it after each time you recite the mantra. That becomes a powerful healing method. And besides that, it becomes incredible purification and accumulation of merit!”
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1,000 Offerings to Namgyälma
The Supreme Gift of Immortal Life; The Way to Perform the Thousand Offerings in relation to the Ritual of the Self and Front Generation of the Noble Ushnishavijaya was translated by Ven. Tenzin Gyurme from the Tibetan using the text published by Sherig Parkhang. It is appropriate for those who have received a subsequent permission (jenang) of Ushnivijaya/Namgyalma, based upon a great initiation into the action class of tantra.
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Colorful Namgyälma Mantra eCard
The Namgyälma mantra is extremely powerful and is the main mantra to purify and liberate beings from the lower realms, purify negative karma, and help those who are dying or have died either by chanting it in their ear or placing it on their body.
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White Tara Practice: The Gathered Essence of Immortality
Composed by Phabongkha Rinpoche, practice instructions by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, translated by Joona Repo. This is a short, daily White Tara sadhana that integrates the practice of Amitayus. The practices of both deities are considered to support a long, healthy life.
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White Tara Meditation – Visualization and Mantra
Because of her swift compassionate activity, practitioners throughout time have relied on Arya Tara to help them overcome both inner and outer obstacles, and to attain the ultimate goal of enlightenment as well as temporal aims. White Tara is one of the three long-life deities. This is a short visualization and mantra recitation practice composed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
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The Practice of White Tara and Chenrezig Lion’s Roar to Eliminate Sickness and Life Obstacles
This practice was composed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for the long life of one of his students. White Tara is associated with the “realization of immortality” and Arya Chenrezig Lion’s Roar (Skt. Simhanada Avalokitesvara) is associated with healing sickness and purifying life obstacles.
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White Tara Chintachakra Long Sadhana for Retreat
Recommended to increase one’s life span and merits.
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Image of White Tara
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