by Ngawang Tenzin

The Preliminary Practice

The Preliminary Practice (Jorchoe in Tibetan) before the meditation.

1) To clean the meditation room, setting up representatives of Buddha's body, speech and mind

Normally, you sweep the floor and clean your room, to make it look good, and when you expect a guest. This time, you clean the room because we invite Lamas, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas room. So you must care more than when you expect an ordinary guest.

It is the tradition of Lama Serlingpa (the master of Atisha) to clean the meditation room before engaging in meditation and practice.

To invite the holy beings, your room has nothing to do with its size. More important, your room must be clean. In addition to that, you should have pure motivation.

Through cleaning, you experience the five benefits written in Sutra.

1. Your mind becomes clean.
2. Others who come to your room develop clear minds.
3. Gods are delighted.
4. you accumulate Karma of beauty.
5. You will take rebirth in Tushita in your next life.

The karma of beauty means the beauty of our body and the beauty of morality. For example, you lack of physical beauty, but you have pure morality. In the eyes of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, You are always beautiful. The Lord Tsongkhapa said: the bashful dress of person of wisdom is morality, not Dukula cloth; speech is necklace, not crystal; and the crown is Lama, not gem.

Many regard meditation as important, and belittle the sweeping. They didn’t know the significant of cleaning. During the time of Lord Buddha, there was a monk named Gomey who swept a temple everyday. One day Gomey missed to sweep the temple. No one swept in his absent. The Buddha himself swept the temple. Penchen Lama swept his room before the practice of Jorchoe. His brooms wore out, and it became like a tail of donkey. This generation gave us easy way for cleaning with the vacuum being available. Before you sweep with broom, you splash drop of water over the sweeping area. This slump dusts. Regardless of dust, you must clean your room every day.

You imagine you sweep your attachment, anger and ignorance. If you are old and cannot move your hands and legs, let others sweep, and you recite: abandon dirt. Abandon stain.

2) Set up a beautiful offering

We set up a statue or photo of Lama, Persona Deity, Buddha, Bodhisattvas, etc in order. It is not right to cherish the expensive one, placing it on the top. This is a sign of regarding our statue or pictures as money value. As for Thankas, you must hang them in order. Please do not show your feet to the side of your altar. If so, it clearly indicates that you have no refuge in the Three Jewels in your mind. To throw away your old statue is to throw your fortune. If you have a statue of Buddha, you must regard it as a real Buddha, and you will receive the same blessing as the living Buddha. Our familiarity with statues made us difficult to regard them as real one. When you look at a statue of Buddha, you must develop a feeling that the real Buddha is present in front of you.

You have doubt if they are present, or if they really give protection. Because of your doubtful faith, you might receive a doubtful blessing. Our perception is not certain. What we see is not often what it is. Look at the story of Asanga and Mitriya. The devotees from the parts of Tibet paid visit to Jowo temple in Lhasa. The Temple has Atisha's statue. A devotee did not see a statue; instead he saw a lag of Yak hanging over. As a butcher, he has overshadowed by his sins.

Some Buddhists saw Boudha Stupa (located in Nepal)in the sky. A Lama was asked who saw the Stupa in the sky. The Lama replied that many saw the Stupa in Sky, and those who have clean mind, they could see Boudha Stupa in the sky.

As representative of Body, you can have a statue of Buddha to remember your Guru. The Sutra or Lamrim is the representative of speech. And Vajra and the bell are the symbols of our mind. So it is unworthy to play with these materials. And you can set up the representative of Body in middle, Speech in right and Mind in left.

You might think: "Why I have to see these statues or pictures in my room every day? I know them very well. It is better to see the statues in the temple, or other places." Each time you see the statue, you create extraordinary legacy. In Sutra of White Lotus, although you stare at the image of Buddha drawing on a wall in the feelings of anger, you will gradually see thousands of Buddhas. If you look at Buddha with faith and respect, it is beyond doubt that you will have triple benefits. Sharipura was one of main disciples of Buddha. He remained inseparable from the Buddha, until the later departed from the world. In one of his previous lives, Shariputra was a postman. In a night he sojourned at a temple. When he repaired his shows, he saw a drawing of Buddha on the wall. He wished and prayed to see a such a wonderful person in real. With the influence of his prayer, he became the main disciple of Buddha, and inseparably lived with Buddha.

If you attain the Concentration of Dharma Continuity, you will see those statues made of mud, copper, etc as Buddha's Emanation Body (skt. Nirmanakaya). If you attain the first spiritual ground, you will see them as Enjoyment Body (skt.Sambhogakaya). So there is a valid reason to regard them as real one.

Geshe Wen (Kadampa Geshe) was expecting his sponsor in his room. After setting up a beautiful offering, he sat down and examined his motivation. He came to know he did the offering to merely attract his sponsor. And he got up, picked handful of dirt from outside, and threw over the offering. The great master Phadampa Sangye heard the story of Geshe Wen, and said, "Geshe Wen's offering was the best offering in Tibet. He threw dirt into the mouth of eight worldly affairs. Therefore the pure motivation is indispensable.

You must set up offering beautifully with your own hand. If you ask others to offer, you would not get the fortune and merit from offering. One day Atisha was offering the water bowl. He was in high age. His disciple said, you would fall down, and we help you to offer the water. Atisha said, "Do you say, Atisha, you would fall, and we will eat your food? In old times in India, when king gave alms, all gifts gathered at one place; and the king gave them by his hand.
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Before we eat, we offer to the Three Jewels, by picking up our plate, and reciting some offering verse.

The problem we have is that we remember our Three Jewels when we land in troubles. We must remember them in the time of both happiness and suffering.
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The poor might think that they have nothing to offer. You can offer the Seven Water Bowls. The water is possible for everyone. The Atisha introduced the Water offering in Tibet. Actually, water in Tibet is pure and mineral, which deserve offering. By merely offering water, you accumulate great fortune. There are eight benefits in the text known as Tsimzoe. 1) Offering cool water develops pure morality. 2) Offering delicious water cause you to find delicious food. 3) Offering light food ripen your body and mind. 4) Offering soft water develops soft character. 5) Offering clean water makes you mind clear. 6) Offering sweet smelling water purifies your negativities. 7) Water, which doesn't harm your digestion, prevent sickness. 8) Water that does not harm throat produces beautiful voice.

The great master Gelek Gyatso had no bowls to offer water. So he cleaned his bowl properly, filled water in, and offered it to The Three Jewels. And he borrowed the bowl when he needed for his own use.

After the offering, you can recite the Mantra: Hom Namo Bhaga wate benzatrama dhani, Tathagataya Ahara hati samya sambudha ya teyatha hom beze beze maha benze Mahabenze, mahateza benze mahabiya benze mahabodhi benze mahabodhi mendro pasam tramana benze sarwa karma awarana bishu dhana benze soha!

This Mantra blesses and multiple your offering. You can offer flowers, fruits, and eatable things. There are lots of juices, cakes, etc. You must guard against miser. If you offer with feeling of miser, it is better not to offer, since you hardly accumulate fortune. We enjoy delicious food and drink, and offer cheaper foods dishes to the Three Jewels. If we cherish ourselves more than Buddha, how could we receive blessing and protection? By offering, we accumulate fortune. The person with fortune fulfill his/her wishes easily. Whatever you offer, be it big or small, offer with pure motivation, and without stain of miser.

How to offer water bowl? You must clean water bowl. You place the seven water bowls in one row. The space between the bowls neither far, nor touch. The row must be straight. You fill the seven bowls, leaving one inch empty on the surface. It should not overflow. After that, you bless with Mantra— Hom Ha Hung. It is not right to place empty bowl on your alter. You pour water with two hands as if you are offering to a king. Butter lamp is the omen of long life. It is good idea to offer butter lamp, which could last as long as possible.

3) Sitting in the correct posture, and going for refuge and generating the Boddhichita.

The cushion should be high in back, and low in front. Penchen Palden Yeshi said: "This keeps your Middle Channel in a straight line, which also cause your mind straight."

Such a cushion hardly gives pain on your buttock while sitting for long. There are seven factures of posture of Buddha Vairochana.

1. You cross the legs in the Vajra posture. The posture of Lord Buddha is the Vajra posture. Among Buddhas, Vairochana Buddha is the most skillful in the sitting posture. And you can try the posture of Tara, or take any comfortable posture, but avoid stretching your both legs.
2. You place your right hand in your left hand, palm upwards, with the tips of your thumps slightly raised, and gently touch. The hands are held about four fingers width below the navel. This helps to develop good concentration. The right hand symbolize method and left hand symbolize wisdom. Both hands held in together shows the union of method and wisdom. The two thumps at the level of your navel symbolize the blazing of inner fire.
3. The back should be straight; your 21 spinal cords will stand straight. If your body is straight, your energy channel will be straight, and helps to flow winds freely. This develops a clear mind.
4. You hold your lips and teeth as normal, and touch your tongue against the back of your upper teeth. This prevents salivation, and you will not feel thirsty.
5. You tip your head a little forward with your chin slightly tucked in, so that you could cast down your eyes.
6. Your eyes remain half open, and gaze down along the line of your nose. It has significant to easily challenge mental excitement and mental sinking. It is not right to close your eyes. The shoulders are level. Your neck slightly bends down. If you straight your neck, there is danger of rushing the wind upward.

When you exhale, you imagine all disturbing thought, ignorance, etc goes out in the form of black light. When you inhale, you imagine that you inhale the blessing of Buddhas in the form of white light, which enter your body and absorb into your heart.

We maintain this visualizing of breathing for twenty-one round, or until your mind become clear. We do the breathing slowing, not under pressure. Please don’t try hard to remove disturbing thoughts. Rather, you can try to deceive them, by shifting your focus to another.

In cold winter at the death of night, you have one bed, but someone occupied. If you force him to get up, he would not. If you say there is something especial going on outside, he would get up and see what is happening. Then you can sit on your bed. So it is good idea to deceive your negative thought in this manner.

However, before engaging in meditation, it is important to develop motivation. Tsongkhapa said, "The first of all meditation is motivation, to observe your mind thoroughly." Atisha also said, if the root is poison, its branches will be poison. If the root is medicine, its branches will be medicine. All desirable experiences and undesirable experiences are created by our motivation.
In India there are two beggars. The younger one went to the monastery to beg food. He didn’t get food because he came before the monk had food. The elder knew the time when monks eat their food. Therefore, he got enough food.

"Did you get food?" asked the elder to the younger.

Being in anger, the younger replied, "If I have power, I would cut off the heads of these monks.

" If he has wealth", said the elder, "he would offer to Buddhas and monks.

They took nap under a tree. A chariot run over the younger one, and cut off his head. And all the shadows disappeared, but the shadow remained under the tree where the elder napped. A town has no leader, and its people were looking for a leader. Seeing him, they agreed to appoint him as their leader.

Sutra said that mind precede Dharma. It is the due to the matter of good and bad motivation. Whatever you do, it's important to develop pure motivation. As for meditation, it depends on motivation whether your meditation will produce effective and meaningful. For Mahayana followers, it is not enough to cultivate a virtues mind. Your mind must be motivated by Boddhichitta.

The Buddha has conquered the four demons. And it is our time to conquer the four demons.

How to imagine the Three Jewels
At Buddha's heart is a lotus and above that a sun disc on which Vajradhara sits. On the heart of Vajradhara is a letter Hum in blue color. Since we have many Gurus, we might face a difficult to pick one Guru as our refuge. In this case, we must visualize the guru who is more helpful to your mind, or to whom you have more faith.

At the right throne of Buddha sits Maitreya. At the left throne, Manjushiri take seat. At the back of Buddha sits Vajradhara. In front of Buddha sits our guru. We do not visualize any physical faults your Guru has. His right hand is in the gesture of teaching Dharma. His left hand is in the gesture of meditation, and hold a bowl filled with nectar of long life. That Guru teaches Dharma while meditating in emptiness, indicates that he is a Buddha. And because Death is the obstacle to the practitioner, the life bowl is the antidote of death.

These five Lamas are known as Lama Denga in Tibetan. The Guru who is alive has cushion, and those passed away had lotus and moon. In front of your guru sits your personal deities and Dharma protectors. They show delightful expression toward you.

In fact, we do not do what Buddha and Bodhisattvas told us to do, and instead we do things against them. Thus, there is no way that they would delight at us. When a naughty boy does something good once, his mother will be delighted. Similarly, although we always act against the words of the Buddhas, today we try to do virtuous actions. For that they are delightful.
We visualize them in the space before us, and take refuge...

We born in Samsara, as well as go through various sufferings. We are not sure where will we born again. In view of our present thoughts and actions, there is no doubt that we will not born as human being again. Therefore, I will take refuge in Three Jewels who have power to protect us from the lower realms.

Each of the Five Lama Denga has: On the crown Hom in white color, on throat Ah in red, on heart Hum in blue, and on navel Sa in yellow.

We need to visualize them clearly, and be convinced that those you visualize are real. The Five Lama DEnga we visualize are commitment beings. Then we invite the wisdom being. Actually, when we visualize, they are present in front of us. But we have doubt whether or not they are present. A question appears that if they are present, Why I could not see them? Your mind is covered by thickness of ignorance and Karma. It is the reason that you could not see them.
The great master Asanga threw flowers to see who can give him the swift blessing. The flower fell on Maitreya. He went to a cave to do close retreat on Maitreya. He remained in retreat for three years, but didn’t see any sign of development. Disappointed, he came out of the cave. He saw a old man penetrating metal with a needle. Asanga asked him how it happened. He replied, the person with persistence works, will bring out success. No matter how hard it is, if you do not lose your spirit, you can make a hill into rubbish. He thought that persistence is necessary. He returned to the café and did another three years retreat. Still he did not see any sign. He came out again. Drop of waterfall fell on a rock, and it was rotted. He thought he had to exert more efforts. He spent another three years in the café. However, he spent 12 years in retreat. Yet he didn’t see an even a sign of Maitriya.

To be continued...