Travel and Immigration
Border Crossing to Nepal
A Tibetan who had recently returned to his homeland wasn’t permitted to cross back into Nepal.
Rinpoche is saying prayers, and he checked and said to recite Sampa Nyur Drupma [a prayer to Padmasambhava for quick success] a few thousand times.
Obstacles to Getting a Visa
Rinpoche did a lot of checking and advised the following practices for a student with visa obstacles. After the student did the practices, he successfully got the visa.
- Most Secret Hayagriva fire puja
- Kalarupa puja
- Palden Lhamo puja with tsog
- Six-arm Mahakala puja
Removing Long-term Visa Obstacles
Rinpoche gave the following advice to a monk who asked how he could get a long-term visa so he could continue his Dharma studies.
Dear one,
These are the things you need to do:
1. Read zungdu [Collection of Dharanis] once.
2. Recite the mantra DONYON SHAGPA MARPO (for yellow Amoghapasha) 4,000 times.
3. Each month do the incense puja to Padmasambhava, Lhasang Namdak Choku. This is a particular offering to the guru, Buddha, yidam, dakas and dakinis and Dharma protectors. Rinpoche said this puja is good to do, but dedicate for all the Sangha who have visa issues and also please dedicate for the success of all FPMT projects, especially the Maitreya Project. This can also help for your success.
4. Do the general protector pujas and prayers regularly, especially Namtose, for your success and for all your obstacles to be removed.
5. Do the White Mahakala torma offering prayer regularly. This is very good for you and very good for visas. Make offerings such as biscuits and other things to the real White Mahakala in front of you (not a picture or statue), then offer the torma.
Mantra Recommended Before Traveling
Rinpoche gave the following advice on what to do before traveling.
Instructions to Accomplish All Success Wherever You Go
At the beginning, when you enter the road to depart, remember and prostrate to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas who are in the ten directions, particularly those buddhas and bodhisattvas in the direction (you are going).
Then make strong requests for the success of all your wishes and then recite seven times:
NAMO BUDDHAYA / NAMO DHARMAYA / MAMA SARWA ARTHA SITAYE SVAHA (7x)
This will accomplish all your works exactly according to your wishes without obstacles.
The next practice is done particularly in the case where you have to do something on a wrong date, wrong star, or wrong time. This practice pacifies the shortcomings of time, date, star and so forth, and to accomplish success. Remember the buddhas and bodhisattvas who are in the direction where you are going. Put the palms together and recite:
I prostrate to the Three Rare Sublime Ones (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha).
I prostrate to the Tathagata, Enemy-Destroyer, the Owner of the Date, Star, Moment.TADYATHA NAGA DRE NAGAPATI SARWA TITI MUHURTATI NAGA DRA NAMA SADUNTE NI BAWENTU SVAHA (3x)
Recite this three times, then all your works will succeed.
Translated by Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche at Deer Park in Madison, Wisconsin on July 24, 1999. Scribed by Diana Finnegan. Source of text unknown.
Improving Dependent Arising: How to Eliminate Obstacles before Travel
Rinpoche gave the following methods for avoiding various kinds of obstacles.
This was taught by Manjushri to Nagarjuna.
Method One
To create the dependent relationship:
If you are traveling toward the East, hold in your hand a (curved) knife and swing it three times toward the East.
If you are traveling South, fill up a container of water in the southern direction and then start your journey.
If you are traveling West, light some incense, even matches (fire), hold it in your hand and move it in a circle.
If you are traveling North, hold one handful of earth and then throw it to the North and circle a knife in the air. This stops inauspiciousness.
When you leave, if you see a limping dog you must delay your journey.
If you travel on the Tibetan dates 2nd, 6th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 24th, 26th or 30th, these are tritsong, which means if you travel on these dates some difficulties may arise.
Never build a house on the Tibetan date the 6th. Generally, stop if there are any bad signs or inauspicious things happening.
Method Two
Put iron in the East.
Put water in the South.
Put fire (incense) in the West.
Put earth in the North.
Place twigs, plants, etc., with each substance in each direction.
Instructions to Accomplish all Success
This practice is in case you have to do something on an inauspicious date or astrological time. This is the practice to pacify the shortcomings of time, date, star, and so forth, and to accomplish success. Remember the buddhas and bodhisattvas who are in the direction where you are going. Put your palms together and recite:
I prostrate to the Three Rare Sublime Ones (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha).
I prostrate to the Tathagata, Enemy-Destroyer, and the Owner of the Date, Star, and Moment.
TADYATHA NAGA DRE NAGAPATI SARWA TITI MUHURTATI NAGA DRA NAMA SADUNTE NI BAWENTU SVAHA (3x)
Recite this three times. Then all your work will succeed.
Working on Projects on Inauspicious Days
All of these prayers are to be recited when it is an inauspicious day, or astrological time to build a house, start a project, start a business venture, travel, etc.
- Recite the Heart Sutra.
- Make prostrations to the Buddha Amoghasiddhi.
- Make prostrations to the possessors of the days, momentary stars, and momentary beings (devas of the days, stars, and momentary beings). These are not ultimate objects of refuge.
Recite the following prayer:
Prayer to Counteract Obstacles
I prostrate to the Buddha Amoghasiddhi.
I prostrate to the possessors of the days, momentary stars, and momentary beings.
[Devas of the days, stars, and moments are not ultimate objects of refuge.]CHOM DÄN DÄ DE ZHIN SHEG PA SANG GYÄ DÖNYÖ LA CHHAG TSHÄL LOTSHE DÄN GYU KAR YÜ TSAM GYI DAG PO LA CHHAG TSHÄL LO
All the days are virtue, all the stars and planets are good (positive), all the arhats have ceased delusion, and all the buddhas have great merit of power. May all the earth not be disturbed.
OM AH KANI NI KANI ACHILA MANDALE MANDALE SVAHA
By reciting the above prayer and mantra, one eliminates any obstacles to starting a project or traveling.
Astrological obstacles and obstacles arising from superstitions will be eliminated by reciting this mantra and prayer from the yoga of the Ocean of the Supreme Bliss Dakini, who keeps a pure mind and cannot receive harm from inauspicious planets, inauspicious days, and those who bring obstacles. All the yogis who keep this will become non-superstitious (in emptiness) and thus will be immune to receiving harm from all the inauspicious stars and interferers who bring obstacles.
Other Practices to Eliminate Obstacles
Most of these practices are not yet available in English, or as Tibetan phonetics. For those that are not currently available, please contact a qualified geshe or lama for advice on how to acquire and perform these practices.
- Read the text Ngangja Ngang gye, “The Eight Appearances (Beings) of Sky and Earth”. If there is no time to read the text, then recite the above prayer and mantra, which is the essence of the text.
- Read Nyepa Kunsel, “Eliminating All the Faults”, as well as reciting the relevant mantra and performing the appropriate ritual.
- Perform the tea offering De gyä ser kyem, “Tea Offering to the Eight Groups”, making offerings particularly to the eight groups of worldly beings.
One can also do Chha sum, “The Ritual of Three Parts”. The tea offering prayer is very important to do before building or taking down a building or before travel in bad or violent weather (tornado, etc.) It is a very simple short prayer that you can finish in two minutes, or maybe you can even do it in one minute. By doing this practice you can prevent huge, terrifying destruction, like airplane crashes, terrifying weather, things that destroy whole cities within an hour. If people who take refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, particularly Tibetan Buddhists, use these methods, by just taking a few minutes to recite the prayers, it can help stop these massive problems connected with the weather, etc. All these problems that cause billions of dollars of damage, that cannot be stopped by Western scientific knowledge, can be stopped. But, of course, it depends on the person who makes the prayers. It can be done by a man, woman,lay person, ordained person, by anyone. If the person is more pure—living in samaya, living in the pure vows—and if one has realizations of emptiness and bodhicitta, the good heart, then the prayer or mantra will have a greater effect.
Other Texts to Recite
- Tashi Tsegpa, “A Heap of Auspiciousness”. This is particularly for travel and success.
- Chhog chüi Münsel, “Eliminating the Darkness of the Ten Directions”. The minimum one can do if traveling and there are obstacles, or it is an inauspicious time, is to read this text.
- If you are traveling on these days, recite Chhog chüi Münsel and recite Ngangja Ngang gye. Put your finger for a while into a vase of water and turn your finger three times anticlockwise.
- Dag pa ser gyi do thig, “The Pure Golden Line Sutra”.
Immigration Difficulties
Rinpoche gave the following advice regarding leaving a country and possible difficulties that could occur at airports with documents, etc.
Before leaving for the airport/immigration departure point, recite three malas of the short praise to Tara.
Recite the following mantra seven times:
Om Mani Padme Hum Tayatha Ded Ya Tha Nag Sha Te Sahhati Ti Mu Tai Na Sutra Ni Mega Mita Danyi Dani Bhagwantu Soha
When you are about to go through immigration, visualize Tara on the crown of the person (the immigration official) that you are dealing with. Then, make strong prayers to Tara – who is one with the Guru – that this person will be very happy and do whatever you want. Then, Tara absorbs into the person and the person becomes Tara.
Think that after doing this everything will be successful.