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    The Preliminary Practice of Dorje Khadro eBook
    The Preliminary Practice of Dorje Khadro eBook
    The Preliminary Practice of Dorje Khadro eBook
    Ebook182 pages3 hours

    The Preliminary Practice of Dorje Khadro eBook

    By FPMT

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    About this ebook

    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 practice of Dorje Khadro comes highly praised for its power to purify negative karma in general, but especially for its ability to purify obstacles caused by broken vows and samaya related to highest yoga tantra. It also assists us in assembling the most conducive conditions for success in long retreats.

    This practice is encouraged as a powerful way to help those who are sick or dying and as a method to readily clear the mind of challenging disturbing emotions.

    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. The book's practice section includes the Dorje Khadro practice text, Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga and lam-rim and dedication prayers. In addition, the book contains teachings that contribute to a student's understanding of how to best engage in this practice.

    A precise commentary from Geshe Lama Konchog, an inspiring teaching from Lama Zopa Rinpoche based on a commentary written by Panchen Losang Chökyi Gyältsen, and a unique teaching from Lama Yeshe comprise the commentary section. The book's advice section includes guidelines for how to use the materials to complete the preliminary practice, either as a full-time retreat or as a daily practice.

    "Offering the burning puja to Dorje Khadro is one of the very profound practices for purification, regarded as a golden Dharma, a precious one. It is Lama Tsongkhapa's heart practice, and his followers practice it knowing it to be extremely beneficial." – Lama Zopa Rinpoche

    2012 edition.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFPMT
    Release dateApr 8, 2018
    ISBN9780463330326
    The Preliminary Practice of Dorje Khadro eBook
    Author

    FPMT

    The FPMT is an organization devoted to preserving and spreading Mahayana Buddhism worldwide by creating opportunities to listen, reflect, meditate, practice and actualize the unmistaken teachings of the Buddha and based on that experience spreading the Dharma to sentient beings. We provide integrated education through which people’s minds and hearts can be transformed into their highest potential for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of universal responsibility and service. We are committed to creating harmonious environments and helping all beings develop their full potential of infinite wisdom and compassion. Our organization is based on the Buddhist tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet as taught to us by our founder, Lama Thubten Yeshe and our spiritual director, Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche.

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    The Preliminary Practice of Dorje Khadro eBook - FPMT

    Introduction

    Welcome to the Preliminary Practice of Dorje Khadro. Making burning offerings to Dorje Khadro 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 practice of Dorje Khadro comes highly praised for its power to purify negative karma in general, and especially to purify obstacles caused by broken vows and samayas related to highest yoga tantra. It also assists us in assembling the most conducive conditions for success in long retreats. This practice is encouraged as a powerful way to help those who are sick or dying and as a method to readily clear the mind of challenging disturbing emotions. Having a bad day? Make offerings to the wisdom fire of Dorje Khadro!

    The purpose of this collection is to provide you with everything you need to understand well how to do the practice of Dorje Khadro and be able to complete the preliminary retreat of 100,000 mantras. In the Practices section, you will find the Dorje Khadro practice text as well as Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga to help you structure your preliminary practice sessions for retreat. Also included is a collection of Lam-rim and Dedication Prayers. In addition to these practice materials, in the Commentaries section, we have included three commentaries, each intended to contribute to your understanding of how to best engage in this practice from the perspectives of Geshe Lama Könchog, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and Lama Thubten Yeshe. Finally, in the Advice section, you will find guidelines for how to use the resources in this text to complete the preliminary practice (ngöndro), either as a full-time retreat or as a daily practice. In addition, we have compiled a list of Helpful Resources to complement your retreat and add to your collection of materials related to this practice.

    Dorje Khadro (Vajradaka) is one of the nine ngöndros (preliminary practices) of the Gelug tradition. The remaining eight are 100,000 accumulations of prostrations to the Thirty-Five Buddhas, recitations of refuge, Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga (migtsema), the mantras of Vajrasattva and Samayavajra, and mandala offerings, tsa tsas, and water bowl offerings. FPMT Education Services is committed to making all of the preliminary practice texts available. You may find all current publications at the FPMT Foundation Store. Thank you for your sincere efforts to attain enlightenment for the benefit of others through engaging in powerful practices such as Dorje Khadro.

    As with all of our publications, we invite your feedback and suggestions. By making this preliminary practice more accessible to all, may the wishes of all of our holy gurus, especially Lama Zopa Rinpoche, be swiftly and easily fulfilled.

    Kendall Magnussen

    FPMT Education Services

    Editor

    October 2012

    PRACTICES

    Mandala

    Altar set-up

    When performing this puja, set up an altar, preferably outside near a place where you can have a small fire, with the following items:

    A picture of Dorje Khadro.

    Clean and beautiful looking offerings: One set of seven offering bowls for the deity. These should be placed from left to right as one faces the altar.

    Mandala

    Ritual items needed for this practice

    Mix 1/4 to 1 cup of clean black sesame seeds (which can often be found at a Chinese or Japanese specialty food shop) with a little bit of melted butter. Then place the seeds on a clean plate in the shape of a scorpion (or your best version of one!). The plate can be placed on the altar or on a small table within reach of participants. Each person making the burning offering should have their own plate of scorpion-seeds.

    Build a small fire before starting the puja so that the wood/charcoals are sufficiently burning to consume the seeds when they are offered. The fireplace should be white in color and round in shape, as represented by the circle in the mandala picture.

    If more than one person is making the burning offering, seat people in such a way so that everyone is close enough to the fire to be able to offer seeds into the fire at the appropriate time. Alternatively, one or more individuals can be designated to make the burning offerings on behalf of the group.

    It is also helpful to have a towel or other cloth in your lap to catch excess seeds and be able to wipe your hands before turning pages in the text as needed.

    If the place where you are doing your retreat is susceptible to high fire danger, it is recommended to have a bucket of water nearby in case of unexpected fire activity outside of the fireplace for safety purposes.

    Ritual implements

    One should have dorje, bell, damaru, and inner offering; a mala and counters (a means of keeping track of one's accumulation of mantras).

    Practice tips

    When offering the scorpion seeds to the fire, do so with your right hand. Take only a few seeds at a time with your thumb, ring and middle fingers and, with your palm facing upwards, respectfully offer them to the mouth of Dorje Khadro in the fire.

    When the puja is complete, allow the fire to burn out on its own. Sprinkle the ashes in a clean high place, such as on a mountain top, or in a river or large body of water. They are considered a blessed substance and so should be treated with care.

    Throughout the text, small symbols of bells Front view , damarus Front view , and mudras such as showing the dorje Front view appear in the margins to help the practitioner know when one should play these instruments or when to do certain mudras. It is hoped that these small indications will be helpful to those not yet familiar with these aspects of tantric practice.

    Practice requirements

    It is most appropriate to do this retreat on the basis of having received a highest yoga tantra initiation such as Heruka, Yamantaka, Guhyasamaja, etc. If this is not possible, then a great lower tantric initiation such as Thousand-Arm Chenrezig or Medicine Buddha (these are two-day empowerments) can also qualify you to do the practice. Without these empowerments, in order to dispel hindrances, bless the off , fireplace, etc. Lama Zopa Rinpoche has advised that one can recite OM AH HUM three times, meditate on the emptiness of the three spheres of subject, action, and object; and maintain a bodhichitta motivation.

    Front view

    Burning Offering to Dorje Khadro

    Taking refuge and generating bodhichitta

    I go for refuge until I am enlightened

    To the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Supreme Assembly.

    By my merit from giving and other perfections,

    May I become a buddha to benefit all sentient beings. (3x)

    Special bodhichitta prayer

    Especially to benefit all mother sentient beings, I shall attain the fully accomplished stage of buddhahood, quickly and more quickly. For this reason, I shall make the Dorje Khadro burning offering. (3x)

    Generating the fire into the deity

    Now say the mantra that dispels hindrances:

    OM VAJRA AMRITA KUNDALI HANA HANA HUM PHAT

    Now say the mantra that purifies the wrong conception and its view of the fire as self-existent:

    OM SVABHAVA SHUDDHA SARVA DHARMA SVABHAVA SHUDDHO HAM

    The fire is empty: that is, the wrong, ordinary view of fire as self-existent becomes empty. While you maintain this view of emptiness, a blazing wisdom-fire appears, and at its center are the seed syllable HUM and a vajra. These transform into the wrathful deity, Dorje Khadro.

    He is deep blue in color, has one face and two arms, and holds a vajra and a bell. He exhibits the mudra of divine wisdom, hum dze [hands back to back with pinky and forefingers interlaced]. Wearing a crown of five skulls, he snarls into space, showing four great fangs. He is also adorned by a necklace of fifty bleeding heads and a scanty, tiger skin loin cloth. He is seated with his legs forming a circle, and his whole aspect is that of a powerful, magnificent destroyer of all negativities and obstructions.

    He has a white OM at his crown chakra, a red AH at his throat chakra, and a blue HUM at his heart chakra. From the HUM at his heart, rays of light are emitted, inviting Dorje Khadro's transcendental wisdom and the initiating deities from their abode in absolute nature.

    JAH HUM BAM HOH

    They merge and never part, becoming non-dual.

    Thus initiated by these deities, he is crowned by Akshobhya.

    Offerings

    Front view

    Praise

    Absorbing negativities into the scorpion and offering them to Dorje Khadro

    While seeing yourself in ordinary human form, a black PAM Front view , seed syllable of all your negativities, appears at your heart. At your navel, from a red RAM Front view , a red fire mandala appears, and beneath your feet appears a blue YAM Front view , which transforms into a blue air mandala. Light rays emanate from the PAM, bringing forth all negativities and obscurations of your three doors, which appear as black rays and are absorbed into the PAM. From below, a blue wind blows and blue air rises up your legs, fanning the fire that blazes at your navel. Flaming rays pursue the PAM, chasing it out through the door of your nose. The PAM takes the form of a large black scorpion and is absorbed into the sesame seeds. These seeds are then offered to the mouth of Dorje Khadro.

    Front view

    Burning offering mantra

    OM VAJRA DÄKA KHA KHA KHÄHI KHÄHI SARVA PÄPAM DAHANA BHASMI¹ KURU SVÄHÄ

    Front view

    As this mantra is said, the following prayer should be made: All negativities and obscurations that I have created, and all pledges that I have broken since beginningless samsaric lifetimes, SHANTIM KURU SVAHA (all are completely purified).²

    Each time you say the mantra and make the prayer, also visualize clearly and strongly that you are continuously making offering.

    Offerings

    Praise

    In the center of the blazing wisdom-fire stands the dark blue, wrathful cannibal, Dorje Khadro. Just by remembering him, all demons and delusions are destroyed completely. To you, Dorje Khadro, I prostrate!

    Vajrasattva mantra to purify mistakes³

    OM VAJRASATTVA SAMAYA MANUPALAYA / VAJRASATTVA TVENOPATISHTHA / DRIDHO ME BHAVA / SUPOSHYO ME BHAVA / SUTOSHYO ME BHAVA / ANURAKTO ME BHAVA / SARVA SIDDHIM ME PRAYACCHA / SARVA KARMA SU CHAME / CHITTAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM / HA HA HA HA HO / BHAGAVAN SARVA TATHAGATA / VAJRASATTVA MAME MUNCHA / VAJRA BHAVA MAHA SAMAYA SATTVA AH HUM PHAT (1x or 3x)

    Asking forgiveness

    Please forgive all my wrong actions, done while powerless through not understanding, and through not having found the materials

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