Visualization Of The Field Of Accumulation

Note: This mediation is recorded in Tibetan and translated to English.

In this session, Geshe Sonam guides a meditation on the preliminary practice for the Lam Rim meditation - visualizing the field of accumulation. This meditation includes a brief recitation of the mantra of the Buddha: TADYATHĀ OṂ MUNE MUNE MAHĀ MUNAYE SVĀHĀ.

Transcript

The first of all,

Tashi Dele's greetings to all.

So today,

In this short time,

We will cover a couple of important points.

Today,

We will cover a couple of important points.

So today,

Just in terms of our topic,

There was a request to go through the Lam Rim,

Sort of the way to meditate upon the Lam Rim,

Emphasizing meditation.

So we will go through these topics with some meditation on the points.

And then we will go through the details of the Lam Rim,

The details of the Lam Rim,

And the topics that we will cover.

And then we will go through the Lam Rim.

And so then,

In terms of the approach to the Lam Rim,

Geshe-la is going to aim to each week go through one of the 22 topics.

So if you put the Lam Rim in a short form,

You can put them into 22 topics or points,

So as to be able to go through each of those.

So then,

On the basis of that,

Based upon your own understanding,

You can sort of expand and make each of those points a little bit vaster.

And if you want sort of a vaster or more elaborate presentation,

There are of course the longer classes that Geshe-la offers.

And so,

Then in terms of these 22 topics,

We could say that the first one is the visualization of the field of accumulation,

Sometimes called the merit field.

And this is a very important point.

So when we say the field of accumulation,

You might notice this word field there.

So when we say field,

We can think of like a field for apples or a field for oranges.

If you want to be able to reap a good harvest of either apples or oranges,

You need to have a good feel,

The basis on which to do that.

And so in terms of the field of accumulation,

There are different ways of visualizing that.

But today Geshe-la will present something that is one of the easier ways.

And so why do we need to visualize the field of accumulation?

Well,

Because we understand that we are aiming for this temporary and ultimate happiness.

We need this temporary and ultimate happiness,

But we have different obstacles,

Different obscurations that are blocking us from achieving that.

In order to be able to overcome those obstacles,

We need a way to activate and build upon our inner potentials.

So there's a very famous quote from the Buddha that,

One who is endowed with a great merit,

He or she has their wishes fulfilled exactly as they imagine and so what this means is that through accumulating these potentials,

We are able to build on those inner potentials or powers and through that we can achieve both our temporary and our ultimate aims.

So of course the main thing is that we're going to try to meditate on this.

So wherever you are right now,

Just try to put yourself into a relaxed position and state.

And so also in terms of where you're sitting,

Whether you are sitting on a chair,

Whether you are sitting on a cushion or on the floor,

That is not the most important consideration,

Right?

The important consideration is to have a body and mind that are at ease,

That are comfortable.

So the first step of this is to put the body and mind into a relaxed state.

So what we want to do is we want to imagine that any sort of thoughts or projections that arise is just like a stone dropped into a still surface of water.

After it ripples out,

Eventually we don't hold on,

We just let go and those ripples dissolve back into the stillness.

And we feel my body and mind are at ease.

So as we put our body and mind at ease,

Think about your motivation that the virtuous activity we're engaging in today is not just for our own happiness,

It is not just for the happiness of those who are close to us,

It is for the sake of the happiness of all sentient beings.

So it is for the sake of being able to contribute to all of their happiness that we are going to engage in the meditation and visualization of the field of accumulation.

So as a preliminary,

Whether we think about self,

Whether we think about others,

We understand that there is no pinpointable essence,

There is no pinpointable existence.

And in this way,

As much as you are able,

Contemplate emptiness.

So from within that space of emptiness,

Wherever,

Whatever place or abode you might be in nominally,

We visualize that from within that space of emptiness,

There is a beautiful place,

A beautiful place made of precious substances covered in beautiful meadows with pure water.

This is an environment where there is nothing that gives rise to suffering,

Only things that give rise to bliss.

In this environment where we look to our right or left,

Up or down,

Everything that we see only gives rise to happiness or bliss in the mind.

There is nothing that gives rise to suffering.

So in this space in front of you,

In this environment,

Visualize a beautiful throne made of precious substances held up by eight snow lions.

Then imagine that upon this throne there is a beautiful lotus cushion,

On top of which is a moon cushion,

On top of which is a sun cushion.

So we are going to invite Bodhisakhi Muni to sit upon this seat with three cushions and so we understand that they represent the necessary qualities of enlightenment,

Definite emergence or renunciation,

Bodhicitta,

And the correct view of emptiness.

The eight snow lions,

We understand that the lion is like the king of beasts,

Therefore they have absolutely no fear.

So these snow lions,

They represent Lord Buddha's fearlessness.

His fearlessness because he has completely defeated the four demons or the four Maras,

He has completely cleared away the two obscurations and so forth,

Therefore he is free from fear.

And then we bring forth a thought,

This thought is that we are actually now inviting the Buddha from his realm to come and sit upon this seat.

So then we imagine that he comes to sit upon this seat,

His right hand is in the mudra of touching the earth and his left hand is in the mudra of meditating equipoise,

Holding a bowl full of three nectars.

He is wearing the three robes of a monk and he has a golden colored complexion.

So we have the idea that the earth touching mudra,

This represents the Buddha's overcoming,

The right hand in the earth touching mudra represents the Buddha overcoming the four Maras.

And in his other hand which is in meditative equipoise there is the bowl containing the three types of amrit or nectar.

So within this begging bowl there are the three nectars,

The nectar of freedom from illness,

The nectar of deathlessness and the nectar of the uncontaminated wisdom.

And so we visualize that just slightly behind us on either side are our mother and our father and behind them are all sentient beings,

The six types of beings but in human form.

And then thinking of the Buddha's holy body,

His physical appearance,

We imagine that this gives rise to ease and happiness in the body and mind.

Do we imagine that through the Buddha's holy speech,

The activity of his holy speech,

It touches so many beings,

Whether humans or devas,

We rejoice in the happiness that that brings forth.

And then we rejoice in the qualities of the Buddha's mind,

The Buddha's mind which is able to see all,

There is no unknowingness,

There is nothing that is not understood,

This omniscience that conceives of all.

And then with faith we reflect that Buddha Shakyamuni,

You are the mama,

The teacher,

You are the yidam,

The tutelary deity,

You are the refuge,

The protection.

How fortunate am I that in this lifetime I have been able to become a follower of the Buddha.

I have been able to make my life something meaningful.

Through this practice I have been able to bring forth,

To activate an imprint to be of benefit to all sentient beings,

Meditate on a feeling of joy.

On the basis of the blessing I have received here,

There is no obstacle or difficulty that can hinder me,

They are cleared away.

From now and every lifetime until enlightenment,

May I be fortunate to be able to encounter the Buddha and the speech of the Buddha's teachings in every instance.

I am very grateful to be able to see all of the devotees and the devotees of the Buddha.

I am very grateful to be able to see all of the devotees of the Buddha.

So what we will do next is we will recite the mantra,

And as we recite this we imagine that all the sentient beings we visualize,

They are reciting with us.

We will just do this for a short time.

So now what we imagine is that from this visualization and practice that the Buddha becomes pleased with us.

Countless life rays and nectars emanate from him and then from that begging bowl filled with nectar we imagine that there is an overflowing manifestation of lights and nectars,

And that these dissolve mainly into ourselves but also into all of the sentient beings that we have visualized.

On the basis of these lights and nectars that we visualized we imagine that all of the difficulties of the body and mind,

All mental and physical illnesses completely cleared away.

So now make a dedication that through the merits that we have accumulated by visualizing the field of accumulation that all sentient beings are able to achieve both the temporary and ultimate happiness they seek.

And through these merits may all of the wars and conflicts in the world,

May the pandemics and illnesses of this world be completely cleared away.

So now let's do this for a short time.

So that concludes our session for today and Geshe was just explaining that the visualization that we did is known as the all-in-one jewel.

So this is you visualize one figure of the Lama in the manifestation of Shakyamuni Buddha and this represents all of the deities,

The Yidams,

Buddhas and so forth.

And if you wish to learn about a vaster visualization of the field of accumulation then you can listen to some of the previously recorded longer classes where this is explained.

So in this way we've completed the first of these points of the Lamrim,

The visualization of the field of accumulation and then next time we'll go to the second point and ideally we will finish all of these points.

Thank you very much.

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