Reciting the Mani Mantra to Free All Mother Sentient Beings from Suffering

by Drubwang Konchok Norbu Rinpoche

Everyone in the retreat should recite the mantra with a very pure and perfect motivation, which is generally to benefit the flourishing of the Buddha’s teachings and all mother sentient beings. You can also recite the six-syllable mantra in order to free all mother sentient beings from suffering such as the suffering of sickness etc.

By making supplications to the three ‘kayas’ when you recite the six-syllable mantra, it can truly dispel all the obscurations in your mind, such as the obscurations of attachment, anger, ignorance, pride, jealousy etc. During the recitation, you can pray that the obscurations in the minds of all sentient beings be dispelled. However, just purifying your defilements and obscurations is not enough. They should be eliminated from the root. When the obscurations are totally removed from the mind, that very moment one becomes a Buddha, an Enlightened being.

It is very fortunate that you have such a great opportunity to recite the mantra to benefit other living beings, in this age of degeneration. When you have such a precious opportunity because of your good karma and great merits in the past, do not waste it. Try to utilise this opportunity for the benefit of others and yourself.

If you recite the mantra with a very pure state of mind, you can benefit even those sentient beings who have not encountered the Dharma and have no knowledge of the Dharma. Over and over again, you should pray that your efforts can bring tremendous benefits to the infinite number of mother sentient beings living in the six realms of samsara. You should pray for the total elimination of their obscurations and for their enlightenment. In short, it means to do the recitation with all-embracing loving-kindness and compassion for all sentient beings.

THE MANI MANTRA IS THE BUDDHA IN MANTRA FORM

We are all followers of the great vehicle or the Mahayana vehicle and we must recognise that the mani mantra is the Buddha Himself in the form of mantra. Reciting the mantra in a retreat like this is extremely great as each participant receives the merits and benefits as if individually having recited the mantra 100 million times. If you were to recite the mantra alone at home for 100 million times, you will not finish even in one lifetime. Therefore, participating in a retreat like this truly makes your precious human life meaningful. How meaningful it is, you will realise at the time of your death. Mani is the true cause for attaining Enlightenment. Thus, when you have such a precious opportunity and you don’t recite the mantra, you are wasting your life meaninglessly. Make sure you do not have many discursive thoughts during the recitation. Rather, make the effort to supplicate at all times for the purification of the defilements, negative karma and obscurations of all sentient beings in the six realms. Wish that all in these realms can be liberated, by being born in the Western Pureland to finally attain perfect Enlightenment. This should be your constant prayer and motivation when doing the recitation.

Dedicating your merits to all sentient beings is a very powerful way of accumulating merits. It is very beneficial for all sentient beings, especially for the deceased. The benefits of doing dedication are immeasurable. A tsunami hit several countries and thousands of people lost their lives when the Mani retreat is still going on. There is a connection between these people and our practice. Therefore, it is extremely important for us to think of those who lost their lives and dedicate all our merits for their benefit. The consciousnesses of some who passed away are roaming around in this retreat hall. If we dedicate and pray for them, it will help guide them to their next birth. All those who passed away because of this disaster are our own parents. You should pray from your heart that they be born in the Western Pureland and ultimately attain Enlightenment. You should pray so that they can be liberated from the lower realms and from the samsaric states. Pray to Amitabha Buddha, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, Guru Padmasambhava and all the former enlightened beings, to support you in your dedication prayer to benefit all sentient beings headed by the people who passed away due to the tsunami. Everyone who is here to do such dedication has very good karma and aspirations in the past. Because of that, you are here to do dedication prayer for these people. Doing dedication for these people is extremely powerful in terms of accumulating merits.