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TRANSCRIPT
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
1
The M
ethod of B
enefitin
g Sen
tient B
eings a
t the
Tim
e of Dea
th:
Giving Breath to the
Wretched
by K
usa
li Dharm
a V
ajra
Tra
nsla
ted from
the T
ibetan by L
am
a T
hubten
Zop
a R
inpoch
e
28 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
Foundatio
n fo
r the P
reservatio
n o
f the M
ahaya
na T
raditio
n
Educatio
n S
erv
ices
2 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
Colophon:
Th
is text entitled
The M
ethod
of Ben
efiting S
entien
t Bein
gs at th
e Tim
e of Dea
th, G
iving B
reath
toth
e Wretch
ed has b
een w
ritten b
ecause, let alo
ne th
e ord
inary b
eings w
ho
are un
der th
eco
ntro
l of th
e presen
t degen
erate time, I h
ave seen so
me w
ho
have th
e prid
e of b
eing th
elead
er of m
any tran
smigratin
g bein
gs and
wh
o, u
po
n reach
ing th
e bed
side o
f a sentien
tb
eing n
ear death
, kn
ow
no
oth
er way to
help
than
to p
ut b
lessed p
ills in th
e mo
uth
of th
atb
eing. F
urth
ermo
re, I tho
ugh
t that it w
ou
ld b
enefit so
me b
eings if I set d
ow
n th
ese meth
od
sth
at can b
e easily practiced
by b
oth
low
er and
sup
reme b
eings.
Th
is text was w
ritten at th
e very center o
f Flo
wer P
ark b
y Ku
sali Dh
arma V
ajra and
transcrib
ed b
y Bh
iksh
u V
agind
ra Sh
asenw
arta.It w
as translated
into
En
glish b
y Ven
. Lam
a Th
ub
ten Z
op
a Rin
po
che, tran
scribed
by V
en.
Th
ub
ten P
elgye, origin
ally edited
by H
ermes B
rand
t, and
first pu
blish
ed b
y Wisd
om
Pu
bli-
cation
s in 1
981
. It was later rep
rinted
by W
isdo
m in
19
84
. Th
e translatio
n w
as mad
e from
the text in
clud
ed in
: Collected
Work
s of Thu’u
.bK
wan.b
Lo.b
Zang C
hos.K
yi.Nyi.M
a, V
ol. V
II, pp
.241
–2
61, G
adan
Su
ngrab
Min
yam G
yun
ph
el Series, ed
ited an
d rep
rod
uced
by N
gawan
gG
elek D
emo
, New
Delh
i, Janu
ary 1971
.It h
as been
lightly re-ed
ited b
y Ven
. Co
nstan
ce Miller fo
r pu
blicatio
n b
y FP
MT
Ed
uca-
tion
Services in
July 2
001
.A
ll errors are th
e full resp
on
sibility o
f the ed
itors.
© L
ama Z
op
a Rin
po
che, 1
981
, 20
01
All of th
e man
tras contain
ed h
erein are available, togeth
er with
Tib
etanscrip
t, as a separate b
oo
klet entitled
Pow
erful M
antra
s for the T
ime of
Dea
th. T
his b
oo
klet is part o
f a collectio
n o
f prayers an
d p
ractices tob
enefit th
e dyin
g and
the d
ead, called
the H
op
e packet, availab
le from
:
FP
MT
Intern
ational O
fficeE
du
cation D
epartm
ent
125B L
a Posta R
oadT
aos, New
Mexico 87571
USA
Tel: 1(505)758-7766
Em
ail: materials@
fpm
t.org
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
27
Care of Dharma Books
Dh
arma books con
tain th
e teachin
gs of the B
ud
dh
a; they h
ave the p
ower
to protect again
st lower rebirth
and
to poin
t the w
ay to liberation. T
here-
fore, they sh
ould
be treated w
ith resp
ect – kept off th
e floor and
places
wh
ere peop
le sit or walk – an
d n
ot stepp
ed over. T
hey sh
ould
be coveredor p
rotected for tran
sportin
g and
kept in
a high
, clean p
lace separate
from m
ore mu
nd
ane m
aterials. Oth
er objects shou
ld n
ot be placed
ontop
of Dh
arma books an
d m
aterials. Lickin
g the fin
gers to turn
pages is
consid
ered bad
form as w
ell as negative karm
a. If it is necessary to d
ispose
of written
Dh
arma m
aterials, they sh
ould
be burn
ed rath
er than
throw
nin
the trash
. Wh
en bu
rnin
g Dh
arma texts, it is tau
ght to first recite a
prayer or man
tra, such
as OM
, AH
, HU
M. T
hen
, you can
visualize th
eletters o
f the texts (to
be b
urn
ed) ab
sorb
ing in
to th
e AH
and
the A
Habsorbin
g into you
, transm
itting th
eir wisd
om to you
r min
dstream
. After
that, as you
contin
ue to recite O
M, A
H, H
UM
, you can
burn
the texts.
Lam
a Zop
a Rin
poch
e has recom
men
ded
that p
hotos or im
ages of holy
beings, d
eities, or other h
oly objects not be bu
rned
. Instead
, they sh
ould
be placed
with
respect in
a stup
a, tree, or other h
igh, clean
place. It h
asbeen
suggested
to pu
t them
into a sm
all structu
re like a bird h
ouse an
dth
en seal th
e hou
se. In th
is way, th
e holy im
ages do n
ot end
up
on th
egrou
nd
.
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
3
Contents
Intro
du
ction
3
Th
e Actu
al Bo
dy o
f the M
etho
d4
Th
e Ben
efits of th
e Meth
od
16
Au
tho
r’s Afterw
ord
22
Advice from
Lam
a T
hubten
Zop
a R
inpoch
e2
3
Appen
dix: T
he E
labora
te Seven
-Lim
b P
rayer
24
26 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
Dedication
If any m
erits have b
een created
by th
ose w
ho
con
tribu
ted to
this p
ub
-licatio
n, w
e ded
icate these to
the lo
ng lives o
f ou
r precio
us gu
rus,
Lam
a Th
ub
ten Z
op
a Rin
po
che an
d L
ama T
enzin
Osel R
inp
och
e. May
all their en
lighten
ed w
ishes be im
med
iately fulfilled
, and
may all livin
gb
eings q
uickly reach
ultim
ate hap
pin
ess.
4 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
Introduction
I bow d
own
to the gu
ru an
d to H
ayagriva, wh
o are insep
arable and
wh
osecom
passion
ate pow
er releases all transm
igrating bein
gs from th
e miser-
able realms. I sh
all write d
own
the ad
vice that gives ben
efit to sentien
tbein
gs at the tim
e of death
.Th
is meth
od called
Ben
efiting S
entien
t Bein
gs at
the T
ime of D
eath is p
racticed by th
e yogis of Bh
agavan Sh
ri Hayagriva,
wh
o work for oth
ers motivated
comp
letely by love and
comp
assion.
It has tw
o sections:
•T
he actu
al body of th
e meth
od
•T
he ben
efits of the m
ethod
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
25
special an
d elegan
t way, I offer to all th
ose conq
uerors.
Wh
atever offering objects exist th
at are peerless an
d vast, I offer to each
and
every con
qu
eror b
y the p
ow
er of m
y faith in
the d
eeds o
fSam
antabh
adra. I m
ake this obeisan
ce and
these offerin
gs to each of th
econ
qu
erors.
Desire an
d lu
st, hatred
and
anger, ign
orance an
d d
elusion
, throu
gh th
ein
fluen
ce of these th
ings I h
ave comm
itted sin
s of body, sp
eech, an
d m
ind
.I n
ow con
fess each an
d every on
e of these sin
s that I h
ave ever comm
itted.
In th
e virtues of all con
qu
erors in th
e ten d
irections, son
s of bud
dh
as,pratyekabu
dd
has, th
ose on th
e stages of learnin
g and
of no m
ore learn-
ing, an
d in
the good
actions of livin
g beings I w
holeh
eartedly rejoice.
To th
ose wh
o are the ligh
ts of the w
orlds in
the ten
direction
s, wh
o have
attained
enligh
tenm
ent grad
ually w
ithou
t attachm
ent to bu
dd
hah
ood, I
entreat all of th
ese protectors to tu
rn th
e peerless w
heel of D
harm
a.
To th
ose wh
o have com
e to the p
oint of exh
ibiting th
eir nirvan
a, I pray
with
palm
s pressed
together th
at they m
ay remain
for as many eon
s asth
ere are atoms in
all the bu
dd
ha-field
s, for the ben
efit and
hap
pin
ess ofall bein
gs.
Bow
ing d
own
, makin
g offerings, con
fessing sin
s, rejoicing in
the virtu
esof oth
ers, entreatin
g, and
prayin
g, wh
atever small virtu
e I have p
rodu
cedfrom
these p
ractices, I ded
icate it all to the u
ltimate en
lighten
men
t.
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
5
The Actual Body of the Method
Th
e holy gu
rus said
:
Even
for one w
ho h
as sough
t to practice virtu
e throu
ghou
t his en
tirelife, if, at th
e time of d
eath, h
is consciou
sness tran
sfers wh
ile actual-
izing stron
g non
-virtuou
s thou
ghts su
ch as an
ger and
attachm
ent, h
ew
ill be reborn in
a realm of evil tran
smigrators.
If, how
ever, one w
ho h
as practiced
non
-virtue th
rough
out h
isen
tire life generates p
ure virtu
ous th
ough
ts wh
ile his con
sciousn
esstran
sfers at the tim
e of death
, he w
ill be reborn in
a realm of h
appy
transm
igrators.B
ecause th
e min
d ju
st before death
is extremely p
owerfu
l, itgreatly in
creases the ten
den
cy of particu
lar previou
sly created karm
ato rip
en first, resu
lting in
rebirth in
an ap
prop
riate realm. N
oneth
e-less, oth
er virtuou
s and
non
-virtuou
s karm
a accum
ulated
du
ring
one’s life w
ill bear fruit at th
e app
ropriate tim
e, that is, w
hen
all the
necessary con
dition
s are presen
t. It never h
app
ens th
at karma th
ath
as not been
created can
be experien
ced or th
at karma th
at has been
created can
be wasted
.
Th
e essence of all m
ethod
s benefitin
g sentien
t beings at th
e time of
death
is generatin
g pu
re virtuou
s thou
ghts su
ch as d
evotion, w
ithou
t al-low
ing n
on-virtu
ous th
ough
ts such
as anger to arise stron
gly. Alth
ough
this m
ethod
can best be p
racticed by on
eself alone, ord
inary bein
gs un
-able to d
o so will be ben
efited if th
is meth
od is p
erformed
for them
by avirtu
ous teach
er or good frien
ds.
24 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
Appendix
The E
laborate Seven-Limb Prayer
To all th
ose wh
o have in
the p
ast, are presen
tly, and
wh
o will in
the fu
ture
travel the p
ath to p
erfection, th
ose lions of m
en w
hosoever m
any they
may be in
all the realm
s of the u
niverse, to each
and
every one of th
em I
bow d
own
with
body, sp
eech, an
d m
ind
.
By th
e pow
ers of aspiration
and
prayer of Sam
antabh
adra, all of th
e con-
querors ap
pear in
the field
s of my m
ental p
erception, an
d I bow
dow
n to
all of them
with
as man
y bodies as th
ere are atoms in
the bu
dd
ha-field
s.
On
each of th
ese atoms th
ere are again as m
any bu
dd
has as th
ere areatom
s in th
e un
iverse, each sittin
g in th
e mid
st of a vast assembly of
bodh
isattvas; in th
is way realizin
g all to be free from in
trinsic reality, I
wish
for the en
tirety of the u
niverse to be th
us com
pletely filled
with
bud
dh
as.
I praise th
e man
ifold su
blime q
ualities of each
of the con
qu
erors with
anocean
of songs of ad
ulation
praisin
g to the h
ighest of all th
e tathagatas.
Bu
t just like a bottom
less vast ocean, I can
never exh
aust th
e descrip
tionof th
eir virtues.
Th
e finest flow
ers, the m
ost preciou
s rosaries, mu
sical instru
men
ts, anoin
t-m
ents, an
d th
e most excellen
t royal um
brellas, the fin
est lamp
s, and
pre-
cious in
cense, I offer to all th
ose conq
uerors.
Th
e finest vestm
ents an
d m
ost excellen
t perfu
mes, a m
ou
ntain
of th
em
ost exalted
victuals eq
ual in
size to S
um
era, all arranged
in a m
ost
6 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
How one can help
It is exception
ally imp
ortant for th
e one n
ear death
to avoid seein
g ob-jects th
at cause attach
men
t or anger to arise stron
gly. Th
is inclu
des su
chth
ings as m
aterial possession
s, relatives, person
s to wh
om on
e is strongly
attached
, as well as en
emies an
d so forth
, for wh
om on
e has h
atred.
Fu
rtherm
ore, wh
ile a person
is dyin
g and
imm
ediately afterw
ards as
well, it is im
portan
t to refrain from
saying or d
oing an
ythin
g that m
ight
distu
rb the d
ying p
erson’s equ
ilibrium
. Th
erefore, with
in th
e range of h
ish
earing, on
e shou
ld n
ot talk about su
ch th
ings as th
e possession
s he left
behin
d, an
d h
ow th
ey are going to be d
istributed
, nor sh
ould
one m
aked
isturbin
g noises, su
ch as scream
ing, w
ailing, or en
gaging in
loud
talk.A
s it is explain
ed in
the teach
ings, th
e win
ds th
at move th
e non
-virtu-
ous su
perstition
s run
throu
gh th
e right ch
ann
el. Th
erefore, place th
e dy-
ing p
erson on
his righ
t side an
d block h
is right n
ostril with
cotton or th
elike. T
hen
, if possible, p
lace before his eyes h
oly objects represen
ting th
esu
blime p
recious on
es together w
ith offerin
gs – images of h
is guru
, the
min
d-bou
nd
deities (yid
am
) for wh
ich h
e has d
evotion, th
e pu
re realm of
the victoriou
s Am
itabha, an
d so forth
.E
limin
ate any base motivation
s that m
ight be p
resent in
one’s m
ind
such
as seeking rep
utation
, material offerin
gs, or respect for on
eself. Inth
eir place, gen
erate strong love an
d com
passion
for this w
retched
sen-
tient bein
g wh
o is app
roachin
g death
.W
ith firm
devotion
and
faith in
the qu
alities of the gu
ru, th
e sublim
epreciou
s ones, th
e holy n
ames of th
e bud
dh
as, and
the h
oly and
pro
-fou
nd
man
tras, say the follow
ing slow
ly and
clearly, with
out m
istakes,an
d w
ith a lou
d voice [to th
e dyin
g person
]:
Recitin
g the follow
ing, th
ink th
at clou
ds of refuge objects com
e and rem
ain
in th
e space in
front.
With
out d
istraction, visu
alize above your crow
n you
r root guru
and
the
min
d-bou
nd
deities for w
hom
you h
ave devotion
. Surrou
nd
ing th
is main
group
, you m
ay also visualize oth
er guru
s and
bud
dh
as. You sh
ould
fol-low
my w
ords an
d m
ake prayers in
tensely from
your h
eart thin
king:
You
, the gu
ru an
d th
e preciou
s sublim
e ones, p
lease save me from
the fears of th
is life, the fu
ture life, an
d th
e interm
ediate state, an
dlead
me to th
e blissful su
prem
e pu
re field.
I go for refuge, u
ntil I am
enligh
tened
, to the B
ud
dh
a, Dh
arma,
and
Sangh
a. By th
e virtue of givin
g and
the oth
er perfection
s, may I
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
23
Advice from Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche
For th
ose inca
pable of doin
g these pra
ctices the m
ethod of ben
efiting sen
tient bein
gs at th
e
time of dea
th ca
n be sim
plified as follow
s. Recite th
e followin
g prayers a
nd m
antra
s in th
e ear
of the dyin
g person, or even
over old corpses.
To th
e foun
der, th
e end
owed
transcen
den
t destroyer, th
e one gon
e be-yon
d, th
e foe destroyer, th
e comp
letely perfected
, fully aw
akened
being,
the gloriou
s conq
ueror, th
e subd
uer from
the Sh
akya clan, I p
rostrate, go
for refuge, an
d m
ake offerings. P
lease grant m
e your blessin
gs.
Tön
pa ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog
päi san
g gyä päl gyäl w
a sha kya th
ub p
a la chh
ag tshäl lo kyab su
chh
i wo ch
hö d
o jin gyi lab tu
söl
To th
e end
owed
transcen
den
t destroyer, th
e one gon
e beyond
, the foe
destroyer, th
e comp
letely perfected
, fully aw
akened
being H
aving a Jew
elU
shn
isha, I p
rostrate.
Ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog p
äisan
g gyä rin ch
hen
tsug tor ch
än la ch
hag tsh
äl lo
The Com
passionate Buddha’s m
antra:
OM
MA
NI PÄ
DM
E H
UM
The wish-granting wheel mantra, saving beings from
the lower realms:
OM
PÄD
MO
USH
NISH
A B
IMA
LE
HU
M PH
AT
Milarepa’s m
antra, granting rebirth in his pure realm N
gonga:
OM
AH
GU
RU
HA
SA V
AJR
A SA
RV
A SID
DH
I PHA
LA
HU
M
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
7
qu
ickly attain en
lighten
men
t for the sake of all kin
d m
other sen
tient
beings.
Assem
blies of the root an
d lin
eage guru
s of the th
ree times,
min
d-bou
nd
deities, th
ree preciou
s sublim
e ones, h
earers, sky-goers,an
d D
harm
a protectors – you
wh
o are the origin
ators of all perfec-
tions, h
app
iness, an
d good
ness, w
ith you
r comp
assion p
lease come
and
remain
here.
Then
, if one w
ishes a
nd th
ere is time, offer th
e elabora
te seven-lim
b prayer (see th
e appen
dix).
Then
, makin
g these requ
ests inten
tly from you
r hea
rt, say:
I make req
uests to
the kin
d gu
rus w
ho
are the actu
al emb
od
imen
ts of
the B
ud
dh
a, the o
riginato
r of th
e eighty-fo
ur th
ou
sand
teachin
gs for
god
s and
men
and
the m
ost o
utstan
din
g amo
ng all th
e no
ble o
nes.
Also
, to yo
u w
ho
are Ch
enrezig, great treasu
re of co
mp
assion
not aim
edat tru
e existence, an
d M
anju
shri, m
aster of flaw
less wisd
om
, O T
son
gK
hap
a, crow
n jew
el of th
e sages of th
e Sn
ow
Lan
d, at yo
ur feet, L
ozan
gD
ragpa, I req
uest:
Please gu
ide th
is sentien
t bein
g, this w
retched
guid
eless ob
ject of co
m-
passio
n fro
m th
e fear of th
is life, the fu
ture life, an
d th
e interm
ediate
state.
Glo
riou
s on
es of k
no
wled
ge, Gu
hyasam
aja, Heru
ka, Y
aman
taka,
Kalach
akra, Hevajra, M
ahach
akra, and
so forth
, you
mu
ltitud
e of m
ind
-b
ou
nd
deities:
Please gu
ide th
is sentien
t bein
g, this w
retched
, guid
eless ob
ject of co
m-
passio
n fro
m th
e fear of th
is life, the fu
ture life, an
d th
e interm
ediate
state.
To
the h
ighest fo
un
der, th
e precio
us B
ud
dh
a; the h
ighest gu
idan
ce,th
e precio
us an
d h
oly D
harm
a; the h
ighest lead
ers, the p
reciou
sS
angh
a; to th
e ob
jects of refu
ge, the th
ree precio
us su
blim
e on
es, toyo
u I m
ake this req
uest:
Please gu
ide th
is sentien
t bein
g, this w
retched
, guid
eless ob
ject of co
m-
passio
n fro
m th
e fear of th
is life, the fu
ture life, an
d th
e interm
ediate
state.
To M
anju
shri, V
ajrapan
i, Avalokitesh
vara, Ksh
itigarbha, Sarvan
ivarana-
Visk
amb
ini, K
hagarb
ha, M
aitreya, and
Sam
antab
had
ra, to yo
u, th
eeigh
t closest great so
ns, I m
ake this req
uest:
22 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
Author’s A
fterword
If the lovin
g comp
assionate on
e wish
es to benefit th
e living sen
tient be-
ings w
ho are abou
t to be eaten by th
e fearful can
nibal of im
perm
anen
ce,h
e shou
ld u
se this m
ethod
explain
ed by B
ud
dh
a.W
hen
the vivid
vision of th
is life sud
den
ly sinks an
d on
e find
s oneself
alone in
an u
nfam
iliar and
up
setting p
lace, thin
k: “Is there any m
ethod
other th
an D
harm
a that ben
efits?” Th
en, before th
at great fearful on
ew
ho can
not be d
elayed arrives, it is w
orthw
hile to strive for th
e Dh
arma
wh
ich is certain
to benefit, relyin
g on th
e guru
and
the p
recious su
blime
ones to be th
e guid
es on th
e path
in fu
ture lives.B
y the m
erit of this w
ork,m
ay I qu
ickly release all moth
er sentien
t beings, w
hose bod
ies are eatenby im
perm
anen
ce and
wh
o are experien
cing u
nbearable su
fferings in
the
limitless ocean
of samsara.
8 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
Please gu
ide th
is sentien
t bein
g, this w
retched
, guid
eless ob
ject of co
m-
passio
n, fro
m th
e fear of th
is life, the fu
ture life, an
d th
e interm
ediate
state.
To
you
mu
ltitud
e of sky-go
ers of th
e three realm
s, wh
o are p
owerfu
lw
ith fo
rekno
wled
ge and
psych
ic ability, w
ho
reside in
the su
prem
eh
oly p
lace called E
njoyin
g in S
pace an
d p
rotect practitio
ners as yo
uw
ou
ld yo
ur ch
ildren
, to yo
u I m
ake this req
uest:
Please gu
ide th
is sentien
t bein
g, this w
retched
, guid
eless ob
ject of co
m-
passio
n fro
m th
e fear of th
is life, the fu
ture life, an
d th
e interm
ediate
state.
To
the q
uick h
elper M
ahak
ala, to o
ath-b
ou
nd
Kalaru
pa, to
the m
ag-n
ificent an
d glo
riou
s Mah
akali, to
the great kin
g Nam
töse, to
the
Mah
akala with
fou
r faces wh
ose crow
n is ad
orn
ed w
ith a cro
w’s h
ead,
and
so fo
rth, to
you
pro
tectors o
f transcen
den
tal wisd
om
, I make th
isreq
uest:
Please gu
ide th
is sentien
t bein
g, this w
retched
, guid
eless ob
ject of co
m-
passio
n, fro
m th
e fear of th
is life, the fu
ture life, an
d th
e interm
ediate
state.
Yo
u, th
e ho
ly on
es, the n
ever-betrayin
g refuge, th
e time h
as com
e togen
erate mo
st stron
gly you
r com
passio
nate b
lessing p
ow
er and
be th
esavio
r-help
er of th
is sentien
t bein
g, this w
retched
, pro
tectorless o
bject
of co
mp
assion
.P
lease besto
w b
lessings to
pacify to
rtures an
d su
ffering.
Please b
estow
blessin
gs to p
acify no
n-virtu
es and
delu
ded
views.
Please b
estow b
lessings to
generate p
ow
erful virtu
ou
s tho
ugh
ts.P
lease besto
w b
lessings to
remem
ber th
e guru
’s advice.
Wh
en th
e chan
ge of th
e elemen
ts brin
gs the fo
ur en
emies an
d th
eth
ree fearful visio
ns, w
hen
the vario
us in
defin
ite signs ap
pear, p
leaseb
estow
blessin
gs to b
e rebo
rn in
the p
ure realm
by m
eans o
f the in
ner,
ou
ter, and
secret yogas.
Please b
estow
blessin
gs to b
e rebo
rn w
ith th
e sup
reme b
od
y, practic-
ing secret m
antra in
the p
ure realm
Kach
ö, o
r to co
mp
lete the realiza-
tion
s of th
e two
gradu
al path
s and
qu
ickly to ach
ieve the th
ree kayas
by p
racticing th
e three train
ings w
ith th
is bo
dy.
If there a
re particu
lar gu
rus a
nd m
ind-bou
nd deities for w
hom
he [or sh
e] has devotion
, then
it
is good to say th
eir prayers a
nd so forth
.
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
21
ished
. On
ly then
, practice.
Gen
erally, even w
ith th
e Bu
dd
ha’s teach
ings, th
ere is a time to
check d
efinitio
ns an
d m
etaph
ors. T
here are, h
owever, p
oin
ts that are
un
imagin
able an
d b
eyon
d th
e examin
ation
of in
tellectual d
ispu
te.W
ishin
g to b
ecom
e pu
re thro
ugh
checkin
g with
small w
isdo
m is sim
i-lar to
ho
pin
g to p
ass Mo
un
t Meru
thro
ugh
the eye o
f a need
le. Th
ere-fo
re, make su
re you
un
derstan
d th
at the d
iscovery of th
e extremely
ob
scure asp
ects of existen
ce mu
st dep
end
solely o
n th
e auth
oritative
scriptu
ral teachin
gs.B
ecause o
f this it is said
even in
the S
utra
of the M
edicin
e Buddha (M
än
kyi lha bä
idurya
):
‘An
and
a, do you
believe in th
e explan
ation of th
e qualities of th
etath
agatas?’‘I h
ave no d
oubts abou
t the D
harm
a explain
ed by you
, noble foe-
destroyer Sh
akyamu
ni B
ud
dh
a, because th
e tathagatas n
ever have
the least im
pu
rity in th
e actions of bod
y, speech
, and
min
d.’
‘Th
e know
ledge an
d th
e activities of a bud
dh
a are difficu
lt tobelieve, A
nan
da. W
hatever you
have belief an
d d
evotion in
shou
ldbe seen
as being d
ue to th
e pow
er of the B
ud
dh
a.’
Recite th
ese profou
nd
man
tras in th
e ears not on
ly of hu
man
s, but also of
anim
als such
as your m
oun
t, daily as w
ell as at the tim
e of death
. Also
recite them
over the bon
es or hairs of d
ead on
es, and
even over silk, w
ool,or th
e meat th
at one is en
joying, th
inkin
g of the bein
gs wh
o provid
ed th
een
joymen
t; for silk comes from
caterpillars, w
ool from sh
eep, an
d so on
.I th
ink th
is is most n
ecessary in ord
er to not in
cur a d
ebt.I req
uest in
telligent on
es to pu
t these p
ractices into action
, since th
eyh
ave pu
re references, are so easy to d
o, and
have great m
eanin
g.
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
9
Then
, with
a lou
d and clea
r voice, recite the follow
ing verses of h
omage th
ree or seven tim
es or
as m
any tim
es as you
can depen
ding on
how
much
time you
have:
To Buddha H
aving the Jewel Ushnisha
To th
e bhagavan
, tathagata, arh
at, the p
erfectly comp
leted B
ud
dh
a Hav-
ing a Jew
el Ush
nish
a, I pro
strate.
Ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog p
äisan
g gyä rin ch
hen
tsug tor ch
än la ch
hag tsh
äl lo
To Shakyamuni B
uddhaT
o the bh
agavan, tath
agata, arhat, p
erfectly comp
leted bu
dd
ha, gloriou
scon
queror Sh
akyamu
ni B
ud
dh
a, I pro
strate.
Ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog p
äisan
g gyä päl gyäl w
a sha kya th
ub p
a la chh
ag tshäl lo
To the seven Medicine B
uddhasT
o bhagavan
, tathagata, arh
at, perfectly com
pleted
bud
dh
a, Med
icine
Gu
ru, K
ing of L
apis L
azuli L
ight, I p
rostrate.
Ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog p
äisan
g gyä men
gyi lha bäi d
ur yä ö kyi gyäl p
o la chh
ag tshäl lo
To bh
agavan, tath
agata, arhat, p
erfectly comp
leted bu
dd
ha, R
enow
ned
Gloriou
s Kin
g of Excellen
t Signs, I p
rostrate.
Ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog p
äisan
g gyä tsen leg p
a yong d
rag päl gyi gyäl p
o la chh
ag tshäl lo
To bh
agavan, tath
agata, arhat, p
erfectly comp
leted bu
dd
ha, K
ing of M
e-lod
ious Sou
nd
, Brillian
t Rad
iance of Skill, A
dorn
ed w
ith Jew
els, Moon
,an
d L
otus, I p
rostrate.
Ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog p
äisan
g gyä rin p
o chh
e dan
g da w
a dan
g pä m
ä rab tu gyän
pa kh
ä pa
zi ji dra yan
g kyi gyäl po la ch
hag tsh
äl lo
To bh
agavan, tath
agata, arhat, perfectly com
pleted buddha, Stain
less Excel-
lent G
old, Illumin
ating Jew
el Wh
o Accom
plishes A
ll Con
duct, I prostrate.
Ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog p
äisan
g gyä ser zang d
ri me rin
chh
en n
ang tü
l zhu
g dru
b pa la ch
hag
tshäl lo
20 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
give him
the p
rediction
of the tim
e of his en
lighten
men
t.
Th
is explan
ation of th
e benefits of th
e man
tras and
the h
oly nam
es isn
ot metap
horical. O
ne d
oes not n
eed to in
terpret the m
eanin
g – the
mean
ing is exactly as stated
. Th
erefore, be dou
btless, for the h
oly guru
sh
ave emp
hasized
the ben
efits received from
devotion
and
belief.M
anju
shri’s root tan
tra Jam
päl tsa
g gyü states:
Hu
man
s wh
o h
ave devo
tion
will fo
llow a co
nd
uct lead
ing to
en-
lighten
men
t. How
ever, tho
se with
ou
t the n
ecessary qu
alities, espe-
cially devotio
n, w
ill no
t follow
such
a con
du
ct and
, in p
articular,
wo
n’t ach
ieve realization
s in an
y tantric p
ractice.
Th
e text Preciou
s Sublim
e Pile (K
ön ch
og tseg pa) states:
On
e wh
o has received
the teach
ings of th
e victorious on
e and
wh
oh
as wisd
om accu
mu
lates mu
ch m
ore merit th
an on
e wh
o has on
lyfaith
. For achievin
g the u
ltimate m
eanin
g, devotion
is the ro
ot.T
herefore, u
pon
hearin
g, one sh
ould
elimin
ate the d
oubtfu
l min
d.
On
e sho
uld
practice w
ith firm
devo
tion
and
belief, th
inkin
g:“It is in
evitable to
receive these b
enefits as exp
lained
becau
se the
Bu
dd
ha’s w
ord
s never b
etray.”
If on
e generates h
eresy and
do
ub
ts abo
ut th
e truth
fuln
ess of th
eb
enefits an
d th
inks w
ith p
ride, “I am
checkin
g becau
se I am h
ighly
intelligen
t,” there is n
o w
ay to receive th
e ben
efits and
realization
s.C
on
cernin
g this, th
e third
chap
ter of th
e Y
am
anta
ka T
antra states:
Fo
r the w
ise on
e wh
o h
as no
do
ub
t abo
ut th
e mean
ing o
f the u
n-
imagin
able n
ature, realizatio
ns are clo
se. Fo
r the fo
olish
on
e wh
oh
as firm d
evotio
n, realizatio
ns are also
close. H
owever, if o
ne b
e-co
mes a th
ick-sku
lled in
tellectual d
ispu
ter vacillating over th
e truth
of th
e teachin
gs, the realizatio
ns are far.
On
e may w
ond
er, if this is tru
e, then
why d
id G
uru
Shakyam
un
i Bu
dd
ha
say:Fu
lly ord
ained
mo
nks an
d w
ise on
es, do
no
t practice m
y teachin
gso
nly w
ith th
e reason
s of faith
. Rath
er check m
y wo
rds w
ell, as you
wo
uld
gold
, wh
ich sh
ou
ld first b
e melted
, then
cut, an
d th
en p
ol-
10 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
To bh
agavan, tath
agata, arhat, p
erfectly comp
leted bu
dd
ha, G
lorious Su
-prem
e On
e Free from Sorrow
, I pro
strate.
Ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog p
äisan
g gyä nya n
gän m
e chh
og päl la ch
hag tsh
äl lo
To bh
agavan, tath
agata, arhat, p
erfectly comp
leted bu
dd
ha, M
elodiou
sO
cean of P
roclaimed
Dh
arma, I p
rostrate.
Ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog p
äisan
g gyä chh
ö drag gya tsh
ö yang la ch
hag tsh
äl lo
To bh
agavan, tath
agata, arhat, p
erfectly comp
leted bu
dd
ha, C
learly Kn
ow-
ing by th
e Play of Su
prem
e Wisd
om of an
Ocean
of Dh
arma, I p
rostrate.
Ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog p
äisan
g gyä chh
ö gya tsho ch
hog gi lö n
am p
ar röl pä n
gön p
ar khyän
pa la ch
hag tsh
äl lo
To Buddha M
itrugpaT
o bhagavan
, tathagata, arh
at, perfectly com
pleted
bud
dh
a Mitru
gpa, I
prostrate.
Ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog p
äisan
g gyä mi tru
g pa la ch
hag tsh
äl lo
To Buddha A
mitayus
To bh
agavan, tath
agata, arhat, p
erfectly comp
leted bu
dd
ha A
mitayu
s, Ipro
strate.
Ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog p
äisan
g gyä ö pag tu
me p
a la chh
ag tshäl lo
To Buddha M
aitreyaT
o bhagavan
, tathagata, arh
at, perfectly com
pleted
bud
dh
a Maitreya, I
prostrate.
Ch
om d
än d
ä de zh
in sh
eg pa d
ra chom
pa yan
g dag p
ar dzog p
äisan
g gyä jam p
a gön p
o la chh
ag tshäl lo
At th
is point, recite th
e holy n
am
es of the th
irty-five buddh
as of con
fession (see th
e FPM
T
pra
ctice booklet, Th
e Bodh
isattva’s Con
fession of M
oral Dow
nfalls).
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
19
sentien
t being h
as been reborn
as a hell-bein
g, a preta, an
anim
al, in th
ew
orld of Yam
a, or in oth
er evil transm
igrator realms, becau
se of the
pow
er of this m
antra h
e will be liberated
from th
ose un
fortun
ate realms.
It is stated in
the com
men
tary to the Stain
less Bu
dd
ha’s m
antra th
at ifon
e recites the m
antra O
M N
AM
A T
RE
YA
DH
IKA
NA
M, etc. (see a
bove)
twen
ty-on
e times, th
en b
lows o
n san
d an
d sp
rinkles it over th
e grave,th
ose w
ho
se bo
nes are to
uch
ed by th
e sand
, if bo
rn in
any o
f the h
ell-realm
s, are comp
letely liberated from
there an
d receive an
up
per reb
irth.
If they h
ave taken reb
irth in
an u
pp
er realm th
ey receive a rainfall o
fflow
ers on
their b
od
y.In
the text T
he D
etailed
Pra
yer of Buddha D
önzh
ag it is stated
:
If on
e recites OM
PÄD
MO
USH
NISH
A B
IMA
LE
HU
M P
HA
T seven
times, th
en b
lows o
n clean
sand
and
throw
s it over th
e bo
nes, th
eb
urn
t corp
se or w
hatever p
art of an
y deceased
sentien
t bein
g wh
oh
as accum
ulated
karm
a to b
e rebo
rn in
the h
ells, or o
f any fu
llyo
rdain
ed m
on
k wh
o lo
st his o
rdin
ation
or b
roke th
e bran
ches o
fth
e precep
ts, the b
asic mo
ral con
du
ct, or w
ho
had
no
t respected
his ab
bo
t or h
is main
teacher, im
med
iately after the san
d h
as been
strewn
on
the b
od
y, even if th
at bein
g has b
ecom
e a hell b
eing,
preta, can
nib
al, or raksh
a, right in
that m
om
ent th
e bein
g’s lifech
anges an
d h
e is rebo
rn in
the h
igher realm
s, never in
the h
ells.
Th
ese are the ben
efits of reciting th
e man
tras for those w
ho are abou
t tod
ie or wh
o are already d
ead. B
esides th
ese, the ben
efits of reciting th
em as
daily p
ractice, of writin
g them
dow
n an
d p
lacing th
em in
side stu
pas an
dso forth
, have been
explain
ed exten
sively by Bu
dd
ha. If on
e wish
es tokn
ow th
ese, one sh
ould
see the p
rayers of the in
divid
ual d
eities.T
he b
enefits o
f the M
antra o
f Maitreya B
ud
dh
a’s Pro
mise are as
follow
s:
Hearin
g the w
ords of th
is man
tra, readin
g and
reciting it d
aily, contem
-p
lating th
e mean
ing, or in
the case of bird
s and
wild
anim
als and
so forth,
merely h
earing it, cau
ses one n
ot to be reborn in
the low
er realms an
d to
become a w
heel-tu
rnin
g king for on
e thou
sand
eons, accord
ing to d
evas’tim
e. Also, on
e will follow
the p
ath of th
e ten virtu
ous action
s, receive allth
e enjoym
ents on
e seeks and
especially, w
hen
Maitreya B
ud
dh
a show
sth
e twelve d
eeds o
f a bu
dd
ha h
e will lead
this sen
tient b
eing fro
mp
overty. E
ven if th
e being is in
a hell, M
aitreya will d
efinitely fin
d h
im an
d
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
11
Then
, from th
e five divisions of m
antra
, recite the root w
isdom m
antra
[of Kunrig] for pu
rifying
the n
egative ka
rma th
at resu
lts in th
e evil-gone rea
lms:
OM
NA
MO
BH
AG
AV
AT
E / SA
RV
A D
UR
GA
TE
PAR
I SHO
DH
AN
IR
AJA
YA
/ TA
TH
AG
AT
AY
A / A
RH
AT
E SA
MY
AK
SAM
BU
DD
HA
YA
/T
AD
YA
TH
A / O
M SH
OD
HA
NI / SH
OD
HA
NI / SA
RV
A PA
PAM
BISH
OD
HA
NI / SH
UD
HE
BISH
UD
HE
/ SAR
VA
KA
RM
A A
VA
RA
NA
BISH
OD
HA
NI SV
AH
A
Then
recite the m
antra
[of Mitru
gpa] pu
rifying th
e karm
ic obscura
tions:
NA
MO
RA
TN
A T
RA
YA
YA
/ OM
KA
MK
AN
I KA
MK
AN
I RO
CH
AN
IR
OC
HA
NI T
RO
TA
NI T
RO
TA
NI T
RA
SAN
I TR
ASA
NI PR
AT
IHA
NA
PRA
TIH
AN
A SA
RV
A K
AR
MA
PAR
AM
PAR
A N
I ME
SAR
VA
SAT
TV
AN
AN
CH
A SV
AH
A
It is good to recite Tsu
gtor Nam
gyälm
a’s lon
g mantra
if you ca
n. If n
ot, recite the sh
ort one:
OM
BH
RU
M SV
AH
A / O
M A
MR
ITA
AY
UR
DA
DA
I SVA
HA
Also recite th
e long m
antra
of Buddh
a T
sugtor D
rime [S
tain
less Pin
nacle], bu
t if that is n
ot
possible, recite the sh
ort one:
OM
NA
MA
TR
EY
A D
HV
IKA
NA
M / SA
RV
A T
AT
HA
GA
TA
HR
I DA
YA
GA
RB
HE
JVA
LA
JVA
LA
/ DH
AR
MA
DH
AT
U G
AR
BH
E / SA
MB
HA
RA
MA
MA
AH
YU
SAM
SHO
DH
AY
A M
AM
A SA
RV
A PA
PAM
/ SAR
VA
TA
TH
AG
AT
A SA
MA
NT
OSH
NISH
A B
IMA
LE
BISH
UD
DH
E / H
UM
HU
M H
UM
HU
M / A
M B
AM
SAM
JA SV
AH
A
Then
recite Buddh
a P
ädm
a T
sugtor’s m
antra
:
OM
PÄD
MO
USH
NISH
A B
IMA
LE
HU
M PH
AT
These a
re the prin
cipal m
antra
s. Oth
er mantra
s are: “S
ecret Relics,” “T
he O
ne H
undred
Thou
sand-O
rnam
ent E
nligh
tenm
ent,” a
nd th
e “Hea
rt Depen
dence M
antra
.” It is said th
at
reciting th
ese mantra
s has grea
t benefit. T
herefore, n
ow recite th
ese three m
antra
s:
OM
SAR
VA
TA
TH
AG
AT
OSH
NISH
A D
HA
TU
MU
DR
AN
I / SAR
VA
TA
TH
AG
AT
A D
HA
RM
A D
HA
TU
BIB
HU
SHIT
E A
DH
ISHT
HIT
E H
UR
UH
UR
U H
UM
HU
M SV
AH
AO
M SA
RV
A T
AT
HA
GA
TA
BY
AV
AL
OK
ITE
SVA
HA
/ JAY
A JA
YA
SVA
HA
OM
DH
UR
U D
HU
RU
JAY
A M
UK
HE
SVA
HA
OM
YE
DH
AR
MA
HE
TU
PRA
BH
AV
A H
ET
UN
TE
SHA
NT
AT
HA
GA
TO
HY
AV
AD
AT
TE
SHA
Ñ C
HA
YO
NIR
OD
HA
EV
AM
VA
DI
MA
HA
SHR
AM
AN
A Y
E SV
AH
A
18 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
as tho
se of K
amk
ani (M
itrugp
a), Du
rgate (Ku
nrig), T
sugtor N
amgyälm
a(U
shn
ishavijaya), T
sugto
r Drim
e (Stain
less Pin
nacle), P
ädm
o U
shn
isha
(Wish
-Gran
ting W
heel), an
d so
on
in th
e perso
n’s ear after callin
g his
nam
e. On
e may also
recite the m
antras an
d th
en b
low o
n san
d, sesam
eseed
s, or w
ater and
either th
row th
em o
n th
e bo
nes o
r on
the co
rpse,
or w
ash th
e corp
se with
the w
ater befo
re crematio
n. O
ne can
place
the w
ritten m
antras o
n th
e corp
se’s crow
n b
efore b
urial. In
the text
Mantra
Purifyin
g the K
arm
ic Obscu
ration
s it is said:
Even
if the o
bject is a w
ild an
imal, b
ird, h
um
an, n
on
-hu
man
, or
spirit, if o
ne p
ossessed
by co
mp
assion
recites this m
antra w
ithin
their h
earing at th
e time o
f death
, they w
ill no
t transm
igrate to th
eevil-go
ne realm
s. Or, if th
e time o
f death
has alread
y passed
, if on
erecites th
e man
tra on
e hu
nd
red, o
ne th
ou
sand
, ten th
ou
sand
, or
on
e hu
nd
red th
ou
sand
times w
ith lovin
g com
passio
n, even
if the
bein
g was alread
y bo
rn in
the h
ell-realms, at th
is mo
men
t he w
illb
e released fro
m th
ere. Recitin
g this m
antra an
d b
low
ing o
n earth
,yello
w m
ustard
seeds, sesam
e seeds o
r water, an
d sp
rinklin
g it on
the b
on
es or co
rpse, o
r bu
rnin
g or b
uryin
g the b
od
y after havin
gw
ashed
it with
the w
ater and
placed
the w
ritten m
antra o
n th
ecro
wn
, gives the resu
lt that, even
if that b
eing h
as taken reb
irth in
the lo
wer realm
s, with
in seven
days, in
evitably, h
e will b
e liberated
from
the lo
wer realm
s and
be reb
orn
in a h
app
y realm –
that is, if
he d
oesn
’t take a goo
d reb
irth b
y the p
ower o
f his o
wn
prayers.
It is state
d in
the T
antra
Purifyin
g the E
vil-Gon
e Rea
lms:
In sh
ort, to become th
e leader of th
e gods is p
ossible. Merely by re-
mem
bering th
e nam
es of guru
s and
bud
dh
as, the sen
tient bein
g ofsm
all fortun
e is comp
letely liberated from
all causes of th
e evil-gone
realms.
Th
is text men
tions th
e root w
isdom
man
tra OM
NA
MO
BH
AG
AV
AT
ESA
RV
A D
UR
GA
TE
, etc. (see above, p
. 11).
Also it is m
ention
ed in
the com
men
tary on N
amgyälm
a’s man
tra:
If one recites th
is man
tra twen
ty-one tim
es, then
blows on
yellowm
ustard
seeds an
d th
rows th
em on
the bon
es of the sen
tient bein
gw
ho h
as accum
ulated
mu
ch n
egative karma an
d h
as died
, even if th
at
12 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
Then
recite the M
antra
of Maitreya
Buddha’s P
romise:
NA
MO
RA
TN
A T
RA
YA
YA
/ NA
MO
BH
AG
AV
AT
E SH
AK
YA
MU
NIY
E /
TA
TH
AG
AT
AY
A / A
RH
AT
E SA
MY
AK
SAM
BU
DD
HA
YA
/ TA
DY
AT
HA
/O
M A
JITE
AJIT
E A
PAR
AJIT
E / A
JITA
ÑC
HA
YA
HA
RA
HA
RA
MA
ITR
IA
VA
LO
KIT
E K
AR
A K
AR
A M
AH
A SA
MA
YA
SIDD
HI B
HA
RA
BH
AR
AM
AH
A B
OD
HI M
AN
DA
BIJA
SMA
RA
SMA
RA
AH
SMA
KA
M SA
MA
YA
BO
DH
I BO
DH
I MA
HA
BO
DH
I SVA
HA
The h
eart m
antra
is:
OM
MO
HI M
OH
I MA
HA
MO
HI SV
AH
A
The closer h
eart m
antra
is:
OM
MU
NI M
UN
I SMA
RA
SV
AH
A
At th
is point, recite in
his ea
r other blessed m
antra
s that pa
cify nega
tive karm
a, su
ch a
s the
mantra
of the eleven
-face A
valokitesh
vara
. At th
e end of th
e mantra
recitation
, for those
alrea
dy dead, on
e may sa
y the follow
ing p
rayer:
You w
ho h
ave passed
from life, all you
r obscuration
s and
negative karm
aSH
INT
IM (p
acified) K
UR
UY
E (all) S
VA
HA
(be).
It is extremely ben
eficial to recite th
e mantra
s with
this sh
ort prayer a
djoined a
nd th
en blow
on w
ater a
nd w
ash
the body w
ith it. A
lso blow on
dust, yellow
musta
rd seeds, and bla
ck
sesam
e seeds and th
row th
ese on th
e body. Also, w
rite out th
e mantra
s and pla
ce them
on th
e
crown or in
the gra
ve with
the body.
To effect th
e transferen
ce of consciou
sness w
hen
the brea
th stops, grin
d the tra
nsferrin
g ele-
men
t such
as in
creasin
g relic pills of holy bein
gs, bones of h
oly guru
s, dust from
burn
ed conch
shells (sm
all type), or m
agn
etic iron, m
ix this w
ith h
oney, a
nd pla
ce it on th
e crown.
In th
e case of som
eone w
ho died da
ys ago you
shou
ld hook th
e consciou
sness ba
ck into th
e body
by sa
ying th
ree times:
Nam
o. By th
e pow
er of the tru
e order of th
e Bu
dd
ha, th
e true ord
er ofth
e Dh
arma, th
e true ord
er of the San
gha, th
e true ord
er of the secret
man
tra and
wisd
om
man
tra, and
in p
articular b
y the p
ower o
f the
un
betraying d
epen
den
t origination
and
the tru
th of th
e un
chan
geablen
ature, m
ay the con
sciousn
ess of ...(say th
e nam
e)…, w
ho h
as passed
fromlife, be h
ooked h
ere instan
tly from w
herever it is, be it at th
e peak of
samsara, in
the low
er realms, in
one of th
e eighteen
hell realm
s or at any
poin
t between
these, u
nd
er, above or on th
e earth.
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
17
Just by h
earing th
e nam
e of the con
queror, th
e Med
icine B
ud
dh
a,on
e is not reborn
in th
e evil-gone realm
s.
It is said
in th
e su
tra c
alle
d B
eam
s of Lapis L
azu
li (Bäid
uryä
ö kyi do):
Fo
r tho
se wh
o h
ear the h
oly n
ames o
f these tath
agatas there is
no
op
po
rtun
ity to travel to
the realm
s of th
e evil transm
igrators.
Lam
a Atish
a also said th
at merely h
earing th
e holy n
ame of a M
edi-
cine B
ud
dh
a removes th
e sufferin
g of evil transm
igration. O
ther ben
efitsare th
at one w
ill not leave th
e path
leadin
g to the h
ighest en
lighten
men
t,n
egative karma an
d obscu
rations are p
urified
, and
one can
not be con
-tro
lled by m
aras. Esp
ecially tho
se abo
ut to
experien
ce the h
eavy ripen
-in
g aspect o
f their evil actio
ns o
f miserlin
ess, prid
e, jealou
sy, and
of
no
t havin
g follo
wed
mo
ral con
du
ct are liberated
from
sufferin
g and
receive perfect h
app
iness by recallin
g the h
oly n
ame o
f a Med
icine
Bu
dd
ha after h
earing it. E
ven on
e already reborn
in th
e evil-gone realm
sis lib
erated fro
m th
em m
erely by remem
berin
g such
a ho
ly nam
e. Even
for th
ose w
ho
have let th
e practice o
f mo
ral con
du
ct degen
erate inth
is life, the rip
enin
g aspect an
d so
on
can b
e pu
rified by recitin
g aM
edicin
e Bu
dd
ha’s h
oly n
ame. It is said
to h
ave infin
ite ben
efits. It isalso
said th
at, in o
rder to
be b
orn
in th
e blissfu
l pu
re land
of D
ewach
en,
reciting an
d h
earing th
e ho
ly nam
es of th
e Med
icine B
ud
dh
as is evenq
uicker th
an recitin
g and
hearin
g the h
oly n
ame o
f Am
itabh
a and
prayin
g to h
im. T
here are in
con
ceivable b
enefits in
reciting an
d h
ear-in
g the h
oly n
ames o
f the seven
passed
into
bliss (M
edicin
e Bu
dd
has),
as is stated in
the M
edicin
e Buddha E
ight H
undred
Sutra.
Th
e ben
efits of h
earing th
e ho
ly nam
e of M
itrugp
a (the Im
mo
v-ab
le On
e) are explain
ed in
the su
tra of D
e zhin
g kö. T
he b
enefits o
fh
earing A
mitab
ha B
ud
dh
a’s ho
ly nam
e are explain
ed exten
sively inth
e teachin
g called K
ön tseg, in
the fifth
chap
ter, entitled
“Th
e Beau
ti-fu
lly Deco
rated A
mitab
ha.” T
he am
ou
nt o
f writin
g wo
uld
be frigh
ten-
ing if I w
ere to q
uote th
e com
men
tary to th
e Con
fession of D
ownfa
lls,exp
lainin
g the p
urificatio
n o
f so m
any eo
ns o
f negative k
arma an
do
bscu
ration
s by reciting th
e ho
ly nam
es of th
e thirty-five C
on
fession
Bu
dd
has. T
herefo
re, try to u
nd
erstand
these texts an
d gen
erate firmfaith
in th
em.
Th
ere is great ben
efit in recitin
g the sp
ecial blessed
man
tras such
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
13
Then
say:
Hey! H
ey! You ...(sa
y the n
am
e)…, w
ho h
ave passed
from life, listen
! You
have left th
e body of th
is life and
all your elem
ents are grad
ually absorb-
ing. D
urin
g this tim
e, various fears occu
r to the m
ind
. Th
ese are illusory
visions cau
sed by th
e absorptions of you
r elemen
ts.So, w
ithou
t letting you
rself be controlled
by fear of these vision
s, med
i-tate like th
is: In th
e very center of you
r body, th
e central ch
ann
el is the
size of a bamboo arrow
, reachin
g from th
e navel u
p to an
d ju
st passin
gth
rough
the crow
n. In
side th
is chan
nel at th
e heart, visu
alize your m
ind
as a wh
ite drop
in th
e natu
re of light, abou
t the size of a len
til and
poised
to sprin
g up
ward.
Wh
en you
have com
pleted
these visu
alizations, th
en, from
the p
ure
realm of D
ewach
en, th
e savior Am
itabha, in
separable from
the root gu
ru,
and
all his en
tourage d
escend
un
der th
e control of th
eir imm
easurable
comp
assion, an
d are seated
, pleased
with
you, on
the ap
erture of you
rcrow
n.
Invok
e Am
itabh
a a
nd offer th
e followin
g seven-lim
b pra
yer:
Resp
ectfully, I p
rostrate w
ith m
y three d
oors.I offer all th
e actually p
erformed
and
men
tally transform
ed offerin
gs,w
ithou
t exception.
I confess all th
e negative karm
a and
dow
nfalls.
I rejoice in all virtu
es.I request you to turn
the w
heel of th
e extensive an
d the profoun
d Dh
arma.
I beseech you
to abide firm
ly with
out p
assing aw
ay.I d
edicate th
e virtue to th
e sup
reme en
lighten
men
t.
Then
, touch
one of th
e person’s ch
eeks with
your h
and a
nd, in
a very sw
eet tone, a
dvise him
[or her] lik
e this:
Hey! H
ey! You fortu
nate son
[or dau
ghter] of th
e essence. T
he en
d of
birth is d
eath. T
here is n
o differen
ce between
old an
d you
ng. T
his m
eans
that n
ow th
e time of you
r death
has com
e, you n
eed th
e Dh
arma th
at I, ah
um
an, h
ave explain
ed w
ell. You m
ust h
old it righ
t insid
e your h
eart,w
ithou
t men
tal distraction
.Son
[or dau
ghter], d
on’t be attach
ed to th
is body. D
on’t be attach
edto m
aterial enjoym
ents. D
on’t be attach
ed to h
ome an
d cou
ntry. D
on’t
be attached
to your close relatives an
d d
ear ones. For if you
are attached
you w
ill be reborn as p
reta. If you are n
ot attached
you w
ill go to a blissful
realm.
16 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
The Benefits of the Method
Recitin
g the gu
rus’ h
oly nam
es in th
e ear of the sen
tient bein
g about to
die an
d cau
sing h
im to recall th
em is th
e best meth
od of tran
sference.
Th
e tantra req
uested
by Pu
ngsan
g states:
For a dyin
g being, to recall h
is guru
for one secon
d is th
e bestam
ong all m
ethod
s of transferen
ce. Th
at capable bein
g will be fu
llyen
lighten
ed.
Th
ere is great need
to make h
im recall h
is guru
, and
in p
articular to
make h
im gen
erate devotion
for his gu
ru an
d for th
e min
d-bou
nd
deities
with
wh
om h
e has a con
nection
.It says in
the text P
ä bu
m n
gön p
o:
Th
e one to w
hom
one d
evotes oneself su
bdu
es.
If one h
ears the h
oly nam
e of Bu
dd
ha R
inch
en T
sugtor C
hän
(Havin
ga Jew
el Ush
nish
a), one does n
ot fall into th
e evil-gone realm
s. Th
e son of th
eleader of th
e traders called Kyibu C
hubeb recited aloud th
is buddha’s h
olyn
ame w
ithin
earshot of ten
thousan
d fish an
d the fish
were born
as gods.It is stated
in th
e teachin
gs of Bu
dd
ha Ser Ö
Dam
pa (B
ody R
adiatin
gG
old):
Recitin
g Gu
ru Sh
akyamu
ni B
ud
dh
a’s holy n
ame p
urifies th
e nega-
tive karma of eigh
ty-thou
sand
eons an
d m
erely hearin
g the h
olyn
ame on
ce, one w
ill not tu
rn aw
ay from th
e path
to the h
ighest,
fully accom
plish
ed en
lighten
men
t.
It is said in
the S
utra
of Sublim
e Preciou
s Clou
ds (K
ön ch
og trin gyi d
o):
14 G
iving Breath to the W
retched
Th
e end
of collection is d
ispersion
. Th
e end
of stockpilin
g is loss. Th
een
d of m
eeting is sep
aration, an
d th
e end
of birth is d
eath.
You
, the son
[or dau
ghter], h
ave reached
the tim
e of death
, but you
aren
ot the on
ly one w
ho d
ies. Everyon
e has su
ch a n
ature. You
need
not
suffer th
inkin
g about d
eath, for n
o one is m
ore joyful or h
app
y than
you.
Ab
ove yo
ur cro
wn
, on
sun
and
mo
on
discs, is seated
the savio
rA
mitabh
a Bu
dd
ha, w
ho is in
separable from
your kin
d root gu
ru. W
hen
you tran
smigrate, all h
ind
rances are an
nih
ilated by rem
emberin
g him
.N
ow, in
order to gain
the p
ath of tran
sference of th
e consciou
sness to a
pu
re realm, m
ake this requ
est from th
e very center of you
r heart:
Visu
alize th
e followin
g request a
s comin
g from th
e one w
ho h
as pa
ssed from life.
I requ
est you
, savior A
mitab
ha B
ud
dh
a, wh
o are th
e essence o
f the
un
betraying th
ree preciou
s sublim
e ones, w
ho are th
e hero releasin
g be-in
gs from th
e fear of the evil-gon
e realms an
d w
ho are th
e sup
reme ferry-
man
, ferrying all to th
e pu
re field.
I requ
est you to gu
ide m
e from th
e fear of Yama.
I requ
est you to release m
e from th
e treacherou
s path
of the fearfu
lin
termed
iate stage.I req
uest you
to lead m
e to the su
prem
e blissful realm
.I h
ave non
e other in
wh
om to p
ut m
y hop
es. Please gu
ide m
e with
your com
passion
.
Visu
alize th
at, beca
use of th
is inten
se request from
the depth
s of one’s h
eart, from
the h
eart of
the sa
vior hook
-like beam
s descend, en
ter the a
perture in
the person
’s crown, strike h
is con-
sciousn
ess, which
is visualized
in th
e form of a
white d
rop, a
nd d
raw
it up. W
hile you
are
thin
king th
is way, in
tently draw
up th
e downw
ard w
ind a
nd m
ake m
any tim
es a h
iccupin
g
sound. B
ecause of th
is, the drop rises u
p throu
gh th
e centra
l channel, pa
sses out th
rough
the
apertu
re in th
e crown, en
ters the gu
ru’s secret pla
ce, and gra
dually a
bsorbs into h
is hea
rt. Due
to this, gu
ru A
mita
bha goes to th
e blissful rea
lm of D
ewach
en, like a
well-a
imed sh
ot.
Thin
k that th
e person in
tently pu
lled up th
e downw
ard w
ind. A
t the sa
me tim
e, makin
g
many h
iccupin
g sounds, pu
ll up firm
ly the h
air a
t the cen
ter of the crow
n. T
hen
thin
k that th
e
savior A
mita
bha left for th
e blissful rea
lm, a
nd con
centra
te a w
hile on
this poin
t.
Then
say th
is prayer:
May h
e be born from
an extrem
ely beautifu
l holy lotu
s in th
e hap
py, p
ure
man
dala of th
e victorious on
e.M
ay the p
rediction
of his en
lighten
men
t be actually given
, and
may
Giving B
reath to the Wretched
15
this on
e, wh
o has p
assed from
life, be received by A
mitabh
a, Bu
dd
ha of
Infin
ite Ligh
t.A
s quickly as h
e is joined
to the n
ext life, may h
e enter th
e pistil, th
eessen
ce of the lotu
s in th
e pu
re and
blissful realm
. May th
is prayer qu
icklybe ach
ieved th
rough
the p
ower of tru
th of Sh
akyamu
ni B
ud
dh
a, the lead
er,A
mitabh
a, the u
nd
efeatable, Maitreya, M
anju
shri, V
ajrapan
i, own
er ofth
e secret, those p
assed in
to bliss, those su
rroun
din
g, and
throu
gh th
ep
ower of u
nbetrayin
g dep
end
ent origin
ation.
Also recite p
rayers such
as San
gchu
.