Lama Zopa Rinpoche prostrating to the giant Guru Rinpoche thangka during the Guru bumtsok at Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery, January 2020

Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains that the solution to our problems is to do purification practice every day. These practices include reciting the names of the Thirty-Five Buddhas while prostrating to them, reciting powerful mantras such as Buddha Shakyamuni’s name mantra, doing self-initiation, and reciting OṂ MAṆI PADME HŪṂ, which purifies not only ourselves but even the microscopic creatures living in our bodies.

In the following short excerpt from Rinpoche’s video teachings on thought transformation, Rinpoche emphasizes that if we know these practices, we should do them now because we can die anytime!

Watch the eight-minute video “Purify Now Because You Can Die Anytime!”:
https://youtu.be/KNcFuxuCcpo

Here is the transcript of Rinpoche’s teaching in this video:

The Solution to Suffering Is to Do Purification Every Day

So therefore, you can see now that purification is so important. The solution is purification every day. Practice as much as possible purification. We are soooooooo most unbelievably, most unbelievably fortunate.

1. Purify by Reciting the Thirty-Five Buddhas’ Names

There are many different buddhas’ names to purify different negative karmas. There are many different mantras that are so powerful, not only Vajrasattva. But the Thirty-Five Buddhas are so powerful. Bah, bah, bah. By reciting [their names] one time, by practicing well the Thirty-Five Buddhas, it purifies the tsham me nga, the very heavy five heavy negative karmas without break: killed father or mother or an arhat, harmed a buddha, [caused] disunity among the sangha. So, that means there is no question about the ten nonvirtuous actions collected in this life and past lives. Then no question. Even the very heavy negative karmas without break, the five, the five heavy negative karmas, even them, they get completely purified, bah, bah, bah, those collected in this life and past lives. Ssssh. Wow, wow, wow.

That’s why Lama Tsongkhapa did so many hundreds of thousands of prostrations by reciting the Thirty-Five Buddhas. He did so many, so much, not just seven hundred thousand, but so many. That’s why in Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings, the Gelugpa lamas, the lineage lamas, every day they did much prostrations, so many prostrations. I think one lama, I don’t remember the name, Buton Jampa Rinpoche or some lamas do a thousand prostrations a day. Then, many do a hundred prostrations by reciting the Thirty-Five Buddhas. Ssssh.

2. Purify by Reciting the Powerful Mantras

Then there are many mantras, ssssh, very powerful. Even by reciting Buddha’s name mantra:

Buddha Shakyamuni’s Name:

[LA MA] TÖN PA CHOM DÄN DÄ DE ZHIN SHEG PA DRA CHOM PA YANG DAG PAR DZOG PÄI SANG GYÄ PÄL GYÄL WA SHA KYA THUB PA LA CHHAG TSHÄL LO
To [Guru,] Founder, Bhagavan, Tathagata, Arhat, Perfectly Completed Buddha, Glorious Conqueror, Shakyamuni, I prostrate.

Buddha Shakyamuni’s Mantra:

TADYATHA OṂ MUNE MUNE MAHĀ MUNAYE SVĀHĀ

It is said in Kangyur, the Buddha’s teachings, it purifies, by reciting it one time it purifies a billion, 80,000 billion eons of negative karma. Eighty, 80,000 billion eons of negative karma by reciting one time Buddha’s name mantra. You should know that. Everybody should know that. So, take the opportunity, rather than leaving it in the sky! That doesn’t help. You have to practice! Do what you come to know! Practice Dharma! Aaaah. These are incredible methods of sutra and tantra. Bah, bah, bah. Yeah.

3. Purify by Doing Self-Initiation

And those who received a highest tantra initiation, yes, then there is dag jug, self-initiation. You take the initiation yourself. There is a long one, elaborate, middle one, and short one according to your time. It is so good if you break the bodhisattva vow or tantric vow. If you break the pratimoksha, bodhisattva, or tantric vow and general negative karma, it all gets purified. His Holiness does every day Yamantaka self-initiation. His Holiness does it every day. No matter how much busy he is, he does it every morning before he comes out. So, like that, if even His Holiness does it, of course, there is no question that we have to do it.

So, this is the answer of what to do! You have to know this—what to do! Aaaah. Then, yeah, do purification. Aaaah. Purify all the negative karmas you have collected from beginningless rebirths! Beginningless rebirths! Yeah, not just today, not just this life. No. Many people just do this life, maybe. Even that is good but …

4. Purify by Reciting OṂ MAṆI PADME HŪṂ

Then by reciting OṂ MAṆI PADME HŪṂ, wow, wow, wow, that purifies unbelievable, most unbelievable. Purifying yourself, being Chenrezig purifies yourself. Then together are all the simbu nyetri, the twenty-one thousand creatures inside your body living, it is said in a text. So, they all get purified at the same time. So, for example, when you go around a holy object, also they get purified. They get the cause of enlightenment. We carry animals and then we go around for them to achieve enlightenment. The same thing, all the creatures, the twenty-one thousand living inside your body, all those sentient beings get purified and they also create the cause of enlightenment, not only yourself, not only yourself alone. No. You have to know that. Bah, bah, bah.

Do These Purification Practices Now Because You Can Die Anytime!

So, mantras and those things, [reciting] the buddhas’ names, if you heard them, if you know them, don’t leave them just there. No. Practice! Do it now because you can die anytime! Aaaah. You can die anytime. Aaaah. You can die in the middle of the night and the next morning you become a corpse. So, like that, it is never sure, never. Whatever happens to others, it happens to you. So, you can die anytime, so therefore, you must practice now! Just leave it for later, keep it for later, you keep it but don’t practice, that is laziness. Tsk, tsk. Myself too does like that. Many mantras have so much power, so much benefits, but you leave them there. So, you don’t make your life beneficial. Ha-ha. It is like information you found in Skype or something. It is like that, then you leave it there. You didn’t use it. Ha-ha. Okay. All right!

You can find more resources and links on the FPMT Education pages Purification and Mantras.

Watch more from the video series Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Teachings on Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19 and find links to videos in transcripts, MP3s, additional practice advice, and more:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/announcements/resources-for-coronavirus-pandemic/advice-from-lama-zopa-rinpoche-for-coronavirus/

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.