Practice Advice for Centers

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you so much for the tea that you offered. I have been thinking about the tea. Many different centers only survive by donations, but in the past I did think about whether there could be a small business of selling tea that could help generate support for centers. At that time, I was told that the outer packaging is also important—like tea packaged in a Japanese way, looking very expensive. I was told that it seems the packaging is also important.

Thank you very much, I enjoyed the tea. I thought even without milk, this tea would be very good.

When I was thinking about the tea business in the past I had the thought that I would request Denma Lochö Rinpoche, a very high lama in Dharamsala, to bless one hundred packets of tea. I thought that with Rinpoche’s prayers on the tea, it could really benefit people, but Rinpoche passed away.

Anyway, regarding the tea that you are producing, this is what I suggest to bless the tea. It would be very good if the tea could be blessed by a group of Sangha, or it could be just one or two Sangha. The first day of the blessing could be a Medicine Buddha puja at the center. It would be very good to bless the tea for one week before it is sold, and that way many prayers could be done on the tea.

Doing strong prayers for seven days could have a lot of effect and bring benefit to the mind, not only the body. That would help a lot of people, especially those who drink with faith, but also for anyone who drinks it.

The way to pray

Specifically pray to Medicine Buddha:

May anyone who drinks this tea, may it help heal all their physical sicknesses and mental sicknesses, such as depression, cancer, diabetes, and all the curable and incurable sicknesses of the mind and body. May anybody who drinks this tea be healed immediately.

May anyone who drinks the tea be able to correctly follow the virtuous friend, to have all the realizations up to enlightenment, the omniscient mind, and especially to develop loving kindness, compassion and bodhicitta.

May anyone who drinks the tea, may it totally change their mind from harming others to cherishing others and benefiting others.

This is for the Sangha to know how to pray and to make strong prayers, and not only Sangha but anyone who blesses the tea.

The actual prayers to use

Best would be to start with the extensive Medicine Buddha Puja. This is very long and extensive so it may not be possible, but you can keep this in mind anytime the center does the extensive Medicine Buddha Puja, to bless the tea at the same time.

If not the extensive Medicine Buddha Puja, then start with the mid-length Medicine Buddha Puja. This is the normal Medicine Buddha Puja that is done at the centers. Make strong prayers to Medicine Buddha to bless the tea, as mentioned above.

Then for the following six days, you can either do the mid-length Medicine Buddha Puja each day to bless the tea, or you can do the Medicine Buddha Sadhana (this is a shorter practice, but it contains the Seven Medicine Buddha names recitations) or if there is only a short amount of time, then you can do the Blessing Medicine prayer that I have put together.

With much love and prayers...

[Note: the Medicine Buddha pujas and sadhana are available for free download from FPMT.]

It’s important to do nölsang, (Padmasambhava incense puja), each week for as long as possible. This can also be done for and dedicated to people who are sick and have other issues, such as mental illness, etc.

Recite the Guru Rinpoche prayer of the eight goddesses (Verses for the Eight Noble Auspicious Ones) every day at the center. This must be done.

Also recite the Arya Sanghata Sutra a few times. Do this every third week at the center. It is very, very powerful.

Suggested protector practices:

1. Six-arm Mahakala prayer
2. Four-arm Mahakala prayer
3. Kalarupa
4. Vaisanvara
5. Palden Lhamo prayers (four actions, plus offering and request)
6. Tea Offering – the Iron Hook Swiftly Hooking All Wishes

Out of all the protectors the main one is Palden Lhamo.

I suggest that all the meditators at Shine Land do the following:

1. For one month, recite a little of the Sanghata Sutra every day, as much as you like, and in this way work your way through the sutra. Then start from the beginning again and continue like this until the end of the month.
2. For the next month, recite a little of the Sutra of Golden Light each day, as much as you like, and in this way go through the sutra. Then start from the beginning again and continue until the end of the month.
3. For the next month, recite the Diamond Cutter Sutra each day. If you can do it each day that would be great. Otherwise, recite as much as you like, then start from the beginning again and continue like this until the end of the month.

This practice can be ongoing. You can do as little or as much as you like, depending on your time. Please read a little of each sutra each month, going through them in this way.

Generally, it is incredibly beneficial to write out the Sanghata Sutra. It creates an incredible amount of merit. Each day, you could write a little, even if it is just a word or two. It would be best to write it on nice paper, with beautiful colored pens or gold pens.

Another suggestion is sometimes to make prayers to Ksitigarbha. This is specifically when there are obstacles due to rain, related to the land, such as landslides, flooding, shortage of food, etc.

I am attaching an extensive dedication that you can make, or you can abbreviate it. Within this add a strong dedication for Shine Land.

In between sessions, rather than going on walks, although sometimes that is needed, you can make a stupa-like object, filled with tsa-tsas and the four powerful mantras, which you can circumambulate. Or you can circumambulate your house, which is full of holy objects. This is just a suggestion.

Last night I was checking what needs to be done before the meeting about the permit. These are the things that need to be done:

1. A puja called Gyag Ngen Lhasang—this is an extensive puja that makes protectors and worldly protectors happy, so that there can be success.

2. Do Ksitigarbha mantra recitation with a group, in front of the Ksitigarbha statue at the center. Recite the mantra and do the practice together for some time before the meeting about the permit. You can make offerings in front of the statue. Make prayers that the officials are extremely happy with the project and all the projects at the center, that they really wish to help and support them, and that the projects receive all the funds and necessaries for them to happen. Also, you can dedicate to all the FPMT projects, especially the Maitreya project.

The following practices need to be done for anyone that will be directly speaking to the officials at the meeting:

1. Mantra destroying the Maras—this keeps the spirits very happy, also so that you do not experience obstacles from maras. Recite this mantra each day, three times in the morning, three times in the afternoon, and three times at nightfall, in the evening.

2. Mantra to eliminate all the obstacles: Recite this five times a day.

I have and will continue to make prayers for your success.