Preliminary Refuge

From this moment until the heart of enlightenment is reached,
I and all sentient beings as limitless as the sky,
Go for refuge to all the splendid accomplished supreme Gurus.
We go for refuge to all the yidams, the deities gathered in the mandala.
We go for refuge to all Buddhas, the transcendent accomplished conquerors.
We go for refuge to all the supreme Dharma.
We go for refuge to the noble Sangha.
We go for refuge to all the dakas, dakinis, protectors and defenders of the Dharma
Who each have the eye of transcending awareness.

First Refuge and Raising Bodhicitta (three times)

In the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha
I take refuge until I reach enlightenment.
By the merit of (this practice), generosity and so forth,
May I achieve Buddhahood
For the benefit of all sentient beings.

Visualization of the Deity

He is arrayed in silks and jewels. He wears an upper robe of doeskin. His head ornament is Amitabha, Buddha of boundless light. His two feet are in the vajra asana. A stainless moon is his back rest. He is the essence of all those in whom we take refuge.

Make the following prayer, thinking that all beings are making it with you as if in a single voice:

Lord, not veiled by any fault, white in color
Whose head a perfect Buddha crowns in light,
Gazing compassionately at all beings,
To you, Chenresig, all-seeing one, I prostrate.

Taking Refuge (three times)

I take refuge in my Gurus.
I take refuge in Buddha.
I take refuge in the Dharma.
I take refuge in the Sangha.

Prostration

I prostrate before all the Buddhas who have come in the past, present and future; to the Dharma; and the highest Assembly, the Sangha, bowing down with bodies as numerous as all the atoms of the world.

Offering

Just as Manjushri and other Bodhisattvas have made offerings to the Buddhas, so do I make offerings to the Buddhas and their protecting sons.

Declaration

From beginningless samsara, in this and other lives, I have unwittingly committed many non-virtues or caused others to do the same. Bewildered by the confusion of my ignorance, I have rejoiced in my own and other's non-virtue. Seeing these mistakes, I declare all this to you protectors from the depths of my heart.

Rejoicing

With happiness, I rejoice in the ocean of virtues of developing the mind of enlightenment wishing to bring joy to all sentient beings and working for everyone's benefit.

Requesting the Teaching

With hands pressed together, I request the Buddhas of all directions to light the lamp of Dharma for those who are groping in the darkness of suffering.

Beseeching the Buddhas to Remain

These beings, blinded by ignorance, have no one to guide them.
O Buddhas, who might wish to pass beyond sorrow,
I beseech you with hands pressed together:
Please live for eons without number.

Dedication

By the merit I have gathered from all these acts of virtue done in this way,
May all the sufferings of every being disappear.

Offering to the Assembly of Buddhas

By the virtue of offering to the assembly of Buddhas,
Visualized before me, this Mandala, built on a ba,
Resplendent with flowers, saffron water and incense,
Adorned with Mount Meru and the Four Continents,
As well as with the Sun and Moon,
May all sentient beings share its effects.

idam guru ratna mandala kam nirya tayami

Prayer to Chenresig

I pray to you, my guru, Chenresig.
I pray to you, my yidam, Chenresig.
I pray to you, perfect noble one, Chenresig.
I pray to you, lord protector, Chenresig.
I pray to you, lord of love, Chenresig.

Buddha of great compassion, hold me fast in your compassion.
From time without beginning, beings have wandered in samsara,
Undergoing unendurable suffering.
They have no other protector than you.
Please bless them that they may achieve the omniscient state of buddhahood.

With the power of evil karma gathered from beginningless time,
Sentient beings, through the force of anger,
Are born as hell beings and experience the suffering of heat and cold.
May they all be born in your presence, perfect deity.

om mani padme hum

With the power of evil karma gathered from beginningless time,
Sentient beings, through the force of greed
Are born in the realms of pretas and experience the suffering of hunger and thirst.
May they all be reborn in your perfect realm, the Potala.

om mani padme hum

With the power of evil karma gathered from beginningless time,
Sentient beings, through the force of stupidity
Are born as animals and experience the suffering of dullness and stupidity.
May they all be born in your presence, protector.

om mani padme hum

With the power of evil karma gathered from beginningless time,
Sentient beings, through the force of jealousy
Are born in the realm of titans and experience the suffering of fighting and quarreling.
May they be born in your realm, the Potala.

om mani padme hum

With the power of evil karma gathered from beginningless time,
Sentient beings, through the force of pride
Are born in the realm of gods and experience the suffering of change and falling.
May they be born in your realm, the Potala.

om mani padme hum

May I, myself, through all my existences,
Act in the same manner as Chenresig.
By this means, may all beings be liberated
From the impure realms and
May the most perfect sound of the six-syllable mantra
Spread in the ten directions.

By the power of this prayer to you,
Most noble and perfect one,
May all beings be trained by me,
Take karma and its effects into account
And practice skillful means diligently.
May they take up the Dharma for the good of all.

By having prayed like this one pointedly, light shining from the holy form, removes all impure karma and bewilderment. The outer realm becomes the realm of bliss (dewachen). All knowledge, sound and appearances become inseparable from emptiness.

Meditate like this as you Recite the Mantra

om mani padme hum

Recite the mantra as many times as you can. Finally, let the mind remain absorbed in its own essence, without making distinctions between subject, object and act.

Dedication

With all the merit of these thoughts and words, may I and every being to whom I am joined, when these imperfect forms are left behind, be born miraculously in the realm of bliss (dewachen). Crossing the ten stages directly after birth, may emanations fill the ten directions in service for the benefit of all.

Through this virtue, may all beings gather the accumulations of merit and awareness; may they attain the two supreme kayas which arise from merit and awareness.

Bodhicitta is precious.
May those who have not engendered it, engender it.
May those who have engendered it, not destroy it.

Colophon: This meditation was presented to the members of Osel Shen Phen Ling by the Venerable Geshe Tsephel when he conferred the Four-Armed Chenresig Empowerment in Missoula, Montana in July of 1991.