A Mandala Offering

Today's practice is what the Tibetan Buddhists call a mandala offering,

Which they use as a kind of prayer and purification so that the mind is cleared and ready to meditate.

Tibetan Buddhists practice this offering up to 100,

000 times,

But thankfully we won't be doing that.

This practice can have movement in it,

But only do what feels comfortable for you.

The full position would be a full body prostrate to the ground,

But a slight bow forwards is absolutely fine or just imagine either of these postures.

When Buddhists practice this,

They visualize making the offering to Buddha or to their spiritual teachers.

For you,

This is whatever is your preference.

It could be the one who you call God or Allah or another spiritual teacher or mentor,

Or you could just be making the offering to the Earth,

To the universe.

Whatever you feel comfortable with is fine.

Doing this offering is about clearing negative thoughts and releasing any tendencies towards attachments.

For example,

We like to think this car is mine,

This house is mine,

This money is mine,

This job is mine,

This person is mine,

And we become attached to these things.

We can become attached to material things,

But we also get attached to ideas and identities,

Even our good health or happy life.

These attachments can cause us so many problems because we don't want our stuff to get damaged and so we get precious about them.

We want to make sure people know that that idea was mine because we want to get the credit and the glory.

We want to tell people our titles because we want the admiration and the sense of achievement.

But the attachments to any of these can result in a fear of not having them,

Of losing them,

And this causes us problems.

The Buddha said the root of all suffering is attachment.

A mandala offering is about visualising giving these things up,

Letting go of them,

Thus letting go of the clinging and attachment to them.

The hope of this is to come to a realisation of how little these things actually matter and therefore becoming less attached.

It is a practice of generosity.

Some say that rather than feeling sad and empty for visualising giving away everything,

One actually feels enriched and fulfilled,

Because the letting go of all these things is actually liberating.

You might have real difficulties during some of this practice.

You may struggle with being able to let some things go,

But try as much as you can to be wholehearted about your giving and know that this is developing you on a much deeper level.

If you observe struggle,

Then ask yourself the question,

Why am I finding it hard to let go of this?

Why is this so important to me?

What would really happen to me if I did lose this?

I invite you to find yourself in a comfortable seated position and close your eyes if you wish or look slightly downwards and soften the gaze.

And take your attention to your breath.

You're not changing the way you are breathing,

But you are just paying attention to it for a moment.

Really watch the inhale.

What happens to your body on the inhale?

What do you notice around the nostrils?

And the chest and ribs?

And the stomach?

Only the inhale.

What do you notice?

And now the exhale.

What happens around the nostrils on the exhale?

And the chest and ribs?

And the stomach?

Only the exhale.

Just noticing whatever happens in your body.

Notice whatever is within your body today.

Do a quick body scan and see what you can notice.

Are there any aches,

Tensions,

Pain?

If you spot anything,

Just imagine popping a little sticky note on that area and writing one word.

Itch,

Pain,

Sore,

Whatever is there for you.

And you might find it helpful to just remain in that area if you do feel any tension or pain and send the breath there.

So keeping your attention on that area of the body,

Inhale.

And as you exhale,

Imagine sending the breath to that area.

And keep doing this for the next few breaths.

You might notice a slight softening in any areas that were tense.

You might notice that some sensations have changed,

Softened or gone.

Just notice this.

Notice what is happening in your mind.

Watch your thoughts for a few moments.

Be able to get entangled in them but just watch them as if you are watching something that has nothing to do with you.

There will be four parts to this offering.

The first being the prosthetic of the body or the bow forward.

The second will be visualising the offering to God or the universe or whatever you have chosen.

Really seeing yourself giving it away.

Really imagine having it in your hands and giving it away.

Noticing how this makes you feel.

Observing the thought of not having it.

Noticing any reluctance in letting it go.

And if you do notice any reluctance in the offering,

Then in the third part you will identify this.

Acknowledge the hesitancy as an obstacle to your freedom,

To your development and maybe spend more time contemplating this.

The last part of the offering is rejoicing in where true value lies.

In the simplicity of life.

In the freedom of non-attachment.

If you wish to do so,

You might want to place your hands in a prayer position or you might feel more comfortable placing your hands over your heart centre.

So let's begin.

I reverently and wholeheartedly bow with my body,

Speech and mind.

I offer my home and every material possession I have.

Be as specific as you can here.

Imagine each object,

All furniture,

All vehicles,

All clothes,

Shoes,

Jewellery,

Every single thing.

Can you give them a word?

I acknowledge any desire to cling.

And I accept this unwillingness to let go of any of these things,

To let go of these attachments.

I recognise that this is an obstacle for me.

I rejoice that the true value lies in having peace in my heart and no attachments to any stuff which rots and fades away.

I reverently and wholeheartedly bow with my body,

Speech and mind.

I offer my job,

Career,

Money,

Titles,

Qualifications and ambitions.

I lay them all down.

Can you visualise being without any of these?

I acknowledge any desire for admiration and praise.

And accept that unwillingness to let go of these attachments is an obstacle for my freedom.

I reverently and wholeheartedly bow with my body,

Speech and mind.

I offer now my physical body,

My working mind and my health.

Can you imagine being without one or all of these?

I acknowledge any desire for things to be as I wish.

And I accept the unwillingness to let go of these attachments and recognise that these attachments can cause me more grief than is necessary.

I reverently and wholeheartedly bow with my body,

Speech and mind.

I offer my family members,

My friends and every relationship in my life.

Imagine now offering each person.

Envision what life would be like without them.

I acknowledge my desire to needing these people in my life and I accept this unwillingness to let go of these attachments.

I recognise that this is an obstacle for my freedom.

I rejoice that the true value lies in knowing that there is freedom from any such attachments.

Maybe you found the last offering difficult.

Letting go of the people in your life.

I know I did.

A quote from Jonkabat Zinn helped me in this.

He said,

It's not a matter of letting go.

You would if you could.

Instead of let it go,

We should probably be saying,

Let it be.

I like this.

I find it a little easier to say this.

Let it be.

Because for me that's more about accepting what I can't change,

Such as death or loss,

Rather than me deliberately choosing to give them away.

So then my challenge becomes imagining a life without them,

Which would be something that happens that I wouldn't be able to control.

Can I let that be?

That for me is more doable.

Maybe for you also.

Take a few deep breaths in and out and allow this practice to fall away.

I would like to end with this.

It's a short poem by William Blake called Eternity.

He who binds to himself a joy,

Does the winged life destroy.

He who kisses the joy as it flies,

Lives in eternity's sunrise.

Here is the end of the Mandala offering.

Thank you.

Thank you.