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Advice book

Various Cancers

Pujas for Multiple Myeloma

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Rinpoche advised these practices for a student with multiple myeloma, a type of bone marrow cancer.

My most dear, most kind, most precious one,
I checked regarding your health and you need to recite one mala of Hayagriva mantra. If you have received the initiation then you can do the sadhana, generating yourself into Hayagriva deity and then reciting the mantra. You can do this with sadhana if you want to; otherwise generate into the deity and recite the mantra. Visualize Hayagriva in front of you, whether you have received the initiation or not, then red beams are emitted and you receive all Hayagriva’s blessing qualities—all the omniscient power and compassion for every sentient being. [You receive] great compassion and then perfect power is received. Then all the sickness and spirit harms are dispelled.

These pujas need to be done:

  • She nyin dü dog puja: to be done by the Kopan Lama Gyupas. If you email Kopan to arrange this, they need to do it effectively for you. Say to them that this came in Rinpoche’s observation. Rinpoche is suggesting this to be done for your quick recovery and for your life to be most beneficial to all sentient beings, in all the lifetimes and for you never to be reborn in the lower realms.
  • Chag sum puja: To be done by the Kopan Lama Gyupas.
  • Lü tor (naga torma): To be done twice by Shekar Monastery. Explain the disease [and request the dedication for you] to immediately recover from this cancer and to have a most meaningful life that is most beneficial for all the sentient beings and to never be reborn in the lower realms. You are the main person, then second are all the sentient beings who need the puja.
  • Drugchuma pujas [torma offerings to Kalarupa and Yamantaka to eliminate obstacles]: To be done nineteen times. It comes out best for Samtenling, the Gelug Monastery near Boudhanath, to do these nineteen drugchuma pujas.

Also:

  • Wear the protection, Liberating from Bondage.
  • Sponsor the reading of the Kangyur by Chhabre [?] Khangtsen at Sera Je Monastery. Ask how much it will cost first.
  • Mani Rilbu [precious pills]: Take two pills every day for one month.

This is my advice at this time. I am also making prayers for you.

With much love and prayers ...

Advancing Prostate Cancer

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This advice about Medicine Buddha practice was sent to a student who had prostate cancer that was progressing.

Rinpoche checked and in his observation Medicine Buddha practice immediately came out as excellent. The student shouldn’t do the Medicine Buddha practice with the motivation of just purifying himself or getting rid of the cancer from himself alone—just thinking of this body in this life is a very, very small thing. He should think of all sentient beings and do this practice for the benefit of all living beings. After all, this body just finishes very shortly; it won’t last very long anyway. This is an opportunity to benefit countless, endless sentient beings, so with the bodhicitta motivation—to bring all living beings of the six realms to enlightenment—for that purpose to do this Medicine Buddha practice.

Rinpoche said to use the Medicine Buddha sadhana and recite the long mantra once or twice, but mainly to recite the short mantra. The student should try to recite one thousand of the short Medicine Buddha mantras every day.

Rinpoche is not sure what initiations the student has received. If he has received a Highest Yoga Tantra initiation then the full visualization can be done, but if he has not received that he can do the practice accordingly. Rinpoche thinks he must have had some initiation, then he can follow the visualization of purifying the six-realm sentient beings and purifying himself of the four things (sickness, spirit harm, negative karma and defilements) that have been collected since beginningless rebirth. He can do this visualization while reciting the mantra. Rinpoche again emphasized that he should do the visualizations as best he can, purifying the six-realm sentient beings and purifying the four things for himself.

At the end of the practice, it’s important to always make a proper dedication, dedicating the merits so that whenever death happens, without difficulty we will be reborn in the pure land of Medicine Buddha where we can become enlightened, or at least to receive a perfect human rebirth, meet the Mahayana teachings and a Mahayana guru who can lead us on the unmistaken path to full enlightenment, and to do this by pleasing most the mind of the holy guru.

Rinpoche always wants to send very special greetings and his prayers and love to this student. Rinpoche is just expressing how much he appreciates the student’s kindness and generosity in supporting the Dharma, particularly His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Rinpoche. Rinpoche appreciates what the student is doing to help others very, very, very much.

Rectal Cancer

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This practice advice was given to a student who had cancer of the rectum.

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,

There is a method, which is to have butter blessed with mantra by a good practitioner. This could be a layperson or a monk. Then put the butter inside [your body] where the cancer is, if this is possible. Do that a few times a day. Depending on where you are based, I can check if there are any lamas around who can do this.

Actually, you can do it yourself also. So you can recite some malas of OM MANI PADME HUM every day—you have ten spoons of butter and after each mala blow on the butter or even spit on it, but you have to visualize yourself as Chenrezig if you have received that initiation. If you haven’t received that initiation, then visualize Chenrezig at your heart.

If you have received teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, then think Chenrezig is His Holiness the Dalai Lama, your guru, and think the butter is being blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama/Chenrezig, then apply the butter two or three times a day.

Begin by generating bodhicitta motivation. Visualize the butter as completely blessed energy purifying all the four things: negative karma, disease, spirit harm and obscurations. You should feel that your body is totally filled with blissful purifying energy. Concentrate on that and at the end make strong dedications

You need to read the Arya Sanghata Sutra five times and the Golden Light Sutra four times.

Also, recite the Most Secret Hayagriva mantra. If you have the short meditation, you can do that with the mantra. You cannot arise as the deity unless you have already received the initiation; instead you visualize the deity above your crown. First it is most important to have bodhicitta motivation.

To have surgery for the cancer came out best. In regards to what you can do, try some meditation on emptiness. This is the best thing you can do. You can find the four vital points of analysis in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand.

Meditate on how you are empty and how the cancer is empty, so use different techniques.

Also do strong meditation on bodhicitta. Please try this. I am also making prayers for you.

Liver Cancer Diagnosis

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A student had recently been diagnosed with liver cancer. Rinpoche did prayers for the student, specifically on the day of their operation, and recited Dukkar (Skt: Sitatapatra; White Umbrella deity) many times. Rinpoche also checked and gave the following advice.

  • Amitayus Long Life Sutra (Tse do): to be recited 1,000 times by the Kopan Lama Gyupas. If you email Kopan Monastery this can be arranged. Make sure the prayers are dedicated for your health.
  • Vajra Cutter Sutra: you need to recite this five times.
  • Hayagriva tsog: Rinpoche will do this for you.
  • Ngang chu pills came out very good for you: take five each day for one week.

Animal Liberation and Pujas for Prostate Cancer

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Rinpoche gave this advice to a student whose father had prostate cancer.

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one, 
As well as Medicine Buddha puja, also liberate one hundred animals. They can be insects that would otherwise be killed, for example, eaten by another. So liberate about one hundred animals for his long life according to my advice on how to do animal liberation. This includes going around holy objects, sprinkling blessed water on the animals and so forth.

I will read the Diamond Cutter Sutra for your father and also do a puja called chag sum.

The puja she nyin dü dog needs to be done by Samtenling, the Gelugpa monastery near Boudha Stupa.

The best puja for your father to recite is this:

By my experiencing this sickness or cancer, may all sentient beings be totally free right now from disease, spirit harm, negative karma and defilements.

Your father should keep on reciting like that, just as Tibetan people recite OM MANI PADME HUM, like on a mala. That is the best practice, the best purification, the most powerful way to collect merit and the quick way to achieve enlightenment.

With much love and prayers ...

Tibetan Medicine for Lung Cancer

Date of Advice:
Date Posted:

Rinpoche recommended Tibetan medicine for a student with lung cancer.

Rinpoche got your message and said you should take:

  • Maratika long-life pills: take five each day for five weeks
  • Mani pills: take five mani pills each day for two months
  • Jüng nga: take five each day for nine days.

This was Rinpoche's advice. Rinpoche said the advice he sent previously on tonglen is most important.