dharma pratices

Practices
• The Six Preliminary Practices (to perform before starting a meditation or other practice)
1. clean the room; arrange an altar with symbols of enlightened body, speech, and mind
▪ left: scripture (enlightened speech, dharma jewel)
▪ middle: Buddha statue or picture (enlightened body, Sangha jewel)
▪ right: stupa (enlightened mind, Buddha jewel)
2. obtain and arrange offerings
3. sit in the meditation posture; set your motivation by taking refuge and generating bodhichitta
4. visualize the merit field
5. recite the Seven Limb Prayer (to purify negativities and accumulate merit); perform a mandala offering
6. request blessings from the merit field
• Seven limbs (embedded in many Buddhist rituals and practices)
1. homage/prostrations
▪ antidote to pride
▪ purifies negative karma of body, speech, and mind
▪ mantra to increase merit while prostrating: OM NAMO MANJUSHRIYE / NAMAH SUSHRIYE / NAMA UTTAMA SHRIYE SOHA
2. offering
▪ antidote to greed/miserliness
▪ creates causes for happiness and enlightenment
▪ reminds us of the value of enlightened body/speech/mind
▪ establishes karmic connections with enlightened beings
3. confessing
▪ antidote for all three poisons (attachment, aversion, ignorance)
▪ purifies negative karma
4. rejoicing
▪ antidote to jealousy/envy
5. beseeching (asking Buddha to hang around until everyone's enlightened)
▪ creates causes for our own longer life
▪ purifies negative karma associated with gurus, buddhas, and bodhisattvas
6. requesting (asking Buddha to teach)
▪ purifies negative karma from avoiding dharma, treating it carelessly, or underestimating its value
7. dedication
▪ antidote to the selfish negative mind
▪ purifies delusions and illusions (gross and subtle superstitions), the two minds that prevent us from attaining enlightenment
▪ mulitplies and increases merit
▪ directs future ripening of positive karma
▪ protects merit from being destroyed by anger or heresy
• Water bowl offerings (probably the most common type of offering [limb #2 above])
○ see ASWBO for more details and variations, but the basics are summarized below
○ do three prostrations
○ obtain 7 bowls and a cloth, and make sure everything's clean
▪ keep the bowls turned upside-down while they are empty
○ wipe each bowl three times clockwise, imagining you are dispelling negativities of body, speech, and mind
○ wipe each bowl three times counter-clockwise, imagining you are bringing blessings of the Buddha's body, speech, and mind
○ pass each bowl over burning incense to purify it, imagining you are filling all sentient beings' minds with enlightened wisdom, compassion, and power
○ fill the bowls left to right (in a cascading fashion to represent the lineage of transmission of Buddha's teachings) saying OM AH HUM upon filling each bowl (to prevent pollution of offerings)
▪ fill the first bowl completely
▪ pour most of the water from the 1st to 2nd bowl
▪ continue until you have water in all bowls
○ arrange the bowls in a straight line, one wheat grain width apart (symbolizing the wish to avoid becoming either separated from the guru or too complacent with the guru)
○ fill each bowl
▪ start with a thin stream, then increase the rate of flow, then taper off (like the shape of a wheat grain)
▪ stop when the water level is a wheat grain width below the top (symbolizing the wish to avoid incomplete wisdom and unstable wisdom)
○ think how all the objects on your altar represent the guru (and also the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), and present your offerings to them
▪ place your hands together
▪ recite OM AH HUM 3 times
▪ imagine that your offerings are received and that they generate great bliss in the guru's mind
○ other considerations
▪ you can think of the representations for each bowl (left to right): water for drinking, water for washing the feet, flowers, incense, light, perfume, food
▪ you can offer flowers, incense, light, and food as substitutes for water in the relevant positions given above
▪ try to avoid breathing on the offerings
○ do a dedication
○ at the end of the day, empty the bowls from right to left and use the water for whatever you wish
▪ stack the bowls upside-down or put them away
• Meditation
○ gom (Tibetan) = "to familiarize" [yourself with virtuous qualities of mind]
• Mudra (position for hands with special symbolism)
○ many different mudras are depicted in images of Buddhas (see BHG)
• Prayer
○ sometimes an aspiration for your own mind
○ sometimes a request to an enlightened being (for teachings or karmic conditions)
• Mantra ("mind protector")
○ typically a string of Sanskrit or Tibetan syllables, such as "om mani padme hum"
○ excerpts from handout from Discovering Buddhism: Introduction to Tantra class at Kadampa Center, June 2008:
▪ "It is a common misconception that reciting mantras is an external and unnatural mental exercise, rather than an internal and spontaneous occurrence. Reciting a mantra, however, does not mean the mere vocal repetition of speech syllables. Many meditators know from experience that the act of reciting mantras transcends external sounds and words. It is more like listening to a subtle inner sound that has always inhabited our nervous system."
▪ "Mantra becomes more powerful when imparted by a qualified teacher who has deep inner experience of the mantra. He has acquired the mantra's power from his own teacher, creating a situation that heightens our receptivity to the wisdom transmitted by the mantra."
▪ "The mantra functions in many ways. The reciting of a mantra a given number of times, combined with concentration, opens our minds instinctively to supernormal powers and insights. Mantras can also be used as therapy for the sick, and can bring peace to the mentally disturbed. This has been the experience of many meditators."
• Puja (ceremonial ritual performed at Tibetan Buddhist centers, thought to create powerful beneficial karma)
○ Guru puja creates karmic causes to meet qualified Dharma teachers and for them to have long lives
○ Tara puja mobilizes compassionate action
○ Medicine Buddha puja heals afflictions of body, speech, and mind
• Sadhana (script for tantric practice)
• Refuge / initiation / empowerment ceremonies (rituals for taking refuge, lay vows, bodhisattva vows, and/or tantric vows)
• One-day precepts (a special set of 24-hour vows that cultivate ethics and non-attachment, often taken on Buddhist holy days or on retreats; see EMPC)
• Dances