Back, Leg and Joint Conditions

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
Do you remember if you kicked an animal or a human being, or caused a lot of pain to one? Do you remember doing that in this life ? If not, then it is past life karma. If you remember something, then it could also be this life’s karma.

When my teacher Gen Jampa Wangdu was in Tibet, before he started studying, there was an old man in the debating place. Gen Jampa Wangdu picked up a stick and beat both the old man’s knees for some time. Later, in Dharamsala, I think seven years before passing away, Geshe la said he had a lot of pain in his knees, so much pain in his knees, and he thought it was because of what he did in the monastery a long time ago.

[He showed this] outside aspect, but he had very high realizations. [The pain in his knees] was instead of experiencing the lower realms for eons, with heavy suffering for a long time. Of course this is just what he showed. Of course, he is a buddha, but outside he showed that teaching, what he experienced in this life, then he finished the karma, so he showed that aspect.

Ordinary people would have to experience the lower realms instead, maybe for eons, and they would have to experience unbelievable, unbelievable suffering. Compared with that, the suffering of human beings is nothing. As a human, even the most heavy suffering is great peace compared to the suffering of the lower realms.

I checked and these are the pujas needed for you:

•  Golden Light Sutra: twice
• Torma Purifying the Obscuring Pollution: twice
•  Drugchuma 
•  Zung du at Tsawa Khangtsen [monastic house at Sera je Monastery, South India]

There might be other pujas, but this is what I can think of now.

With much love and prayers...

My very dear one,
Pujas that need to have done:

• Gyab-shi, three times.
• Mamo-trü-kang, twice. [Rinpoche will do this puja for you.]
• Lu puja, three times by Geshe Jinpa at Kopan.  

Send an email to Kopan to arrange the gyab-shi and lu pujas.

Practice meditation on tonglen, and alternate that with taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, very strongly reciting Namo Gurubhya, Namo Buddhaya… and doing the meditation explained in the refuge practice, purifying negative karmas accumulated with the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Recite two malas of the refuge prayer to purify and the next two malas to receive realizations. Then do tonglen. You can do sessions like that each day.

If you get better, you don’t need to come. If nothing gets better you can come to Mexico or Holland, wherever you are able to come.

With much love and prayer... 

My very dear one,
I am sorry to hear about your difficult situation, I checked many times and it comes out best for you to have osteopathy. It does not come out well for you to have the operation.

I want to mention some advice for you. Your situation is due to the shortcomings of living in samara, and your experience of pain is the result of past negative karma. If you understand and accept this, you will have happiness in the future, therefore, rejoice in the suffering.

Geshe Kharag Gomchung said, “Even this present small suffering finishes your past negative karma, therefore, rejoice in the suffering.” Each piece of advice ends with the expression ang, [a request]; there are thirty of these altogether.

The Fourth Panchen Rinpoche said in Lama Chöpa, [verse 96]: “Even the container and the contents are both filled with the result of suffering, and this makes undesirable suffering fall like rain. Please bless me to be able to see these bad conditions as causes to cease the results of our negative karma, and to take them in the path to enlightenment.”

Learn the next verse if you can [verse 97]: “Whatever appearances, bad or good, that arise—all the Dharma, whatever we do in life—take the essence and practice the five powers to transform them into the path to increase the two bodhicittas (the all-obscuring truth bodhicitta and the absolute truth bodhicitta). The essence is to always keep the mind in happiness.”

So, ask for blessings for this. Who are you asking? The guru.

With much love and prayer... 

Student's Letter

I am asking Rinpoche for some advice about a problem I have had since birth or early childhood, manifesting as pain in my knees and calves, stiffness in my body and painful feet. All of it is escalating with age, and it is worse with exercise and when I am cold. There is pressure on the muscles, stiffness in my ankles, strain in my knees and the soles of my feet are tender, particularly on waking up in the morning. I also feel very emotional, but I am not sure if this is part of the problem or because of lack of sleep and so much pain.

Rinpoche's response 

My very dear one,
I am very sorry for the many eons of delay in replying. I checked regarding your health and it came out beneficial for you to do the following practices each day:

• Black Manjrushri practice
• Black Garuda practice

You also need to have the following pujas done:

• Drugchuma puja: to be performed twice. If you can, see if the geshe in Auckland can do these for you. Explain that I recommended that these be done for you.
• Lu zong: I am going to try and do this puja for you. (You may want to also ask Geshe-la to do it, just to be safe.)
• Lü tor (naga torma): Do this for one month. You have to make sure you do it on the correct days. There are special days when the naga torma is performed, so check a Tibetan calendar or Liberation Prison Project calendar.
• Ri wo sang cho puja: eight times. This is a big incense puja—it is not yet translated into English. It came out best for you to do it yourself. It is a Nyingma practice, so I thought you could ask a Nyingma center or Sogyal Rinpoche's center—Rigpa—if they have translated it, and then follow exactly what it says. It is called the Mountain of Incense Offering. This came out very very beneficial for you.
• Gyag ngen lhasang puja: three times. This is also very beneficial for you. If you can, ask the geshe in Auckland to do it for you.

It also comes out very beneficial for you to take these Tibetan medicines:

• Moon Crystal: two a week for three weeks
• Khyung nga: five a day for two weeks

You mentioned in your letter about your morning prayers and the visualization that you mentioned when you recite OM MANI PADME HUM. You said it is just purifying your speech of negative karma and making your speech beneficial but it does not need to be limited to your speech, it can purify everything—your body, speech, and mind—of negative karma.

I checked regarding your practices. It came out very good for you to keep helping the center, and some time later you can do retreats from time to time.

Regarding the lamrim, keep circling for that number of months until you gain stable realizations. The main thing is the lamrim, so meditate on guru devotion for three months. This means to meditate a little each day, following the outlines and continuing for three months. Then meditate for five months on the lower path—the precious human rebirth, then its usefulness, and go on like this through the lamrim. Then focus on the lower scope and refuge, etc. Particularly, think in regards to purification of your negative karma for you and all sentient beings, and the urgency to be free from the sufferings of the lower realms by purifying negative karma, to be free from having to be reborn in the lower realms again and again. Follow the outline in the lamrim. When you finish refuge, with the lower scope, then continue doing one month on the middle path, one month on bodhicitta, and one month on emptiness.

You should also do a little bit of meditation each day, regardless of where you are in the lamrim, on:

• Guru devotion
• Emptiness

Please follow the outlines as they are in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. Here, the main point is to gain realizations. Keep doing the meditations until you gain stable realizations.

Regarding advice for your practice:

• Refuge: 30,000
• Mandala offerings: 100,000
• Vajrasattva: it would be good to recite 21 mantras each night
• Water bowl offerings: 100,000
• Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga: 100,000 (the actual migme mantra)
• Tsa-tsas:
        Deity: Amitayas: 1,000
        Deity: Namgyalma: 1,000
        Deity: Mitukpa: 4,000
• Golden Light Sutra: If you can, finish one complete recitation every month for the rest of your life. This means you can read a little each day. It doesn’t mean you can’t do more, but just try this.
• Four Immeasurable Thoughts: 10,000
• The graduated path of the lower scope: three months
• The graduated path of the intermediate scope: five months
• The graduated path of the highest scope: 
       Bodhicitta: one month
       Emptiness: one month

Thank you for your kind service to me, to sentient beings, and to the teachings of the Buddha. Please continue to make your life most meaningful with the thought of bodhicitta.

With much love and prayers...