Satsang with Mooji Mooji So,
To begin our meditation session,
We will start with the four mind-changings.
Think to yourself,
I have a precious human life with all of the freedoms and advantages.
I have this opportunity to practice the Dharma.
I have the faculties to gain realization.
There are countless beings,
All with various faculties and forms.
And right now,
I have this rare opportunity,
The rare conditions to practice and to gain realization.
And yet,
This set of conditions won't last.
Everything is completely and totally impermanent.
I will die,
And all those with whom I'm connected will die.
It could be soon,
I could die soon,
Or I could die years from now.
I don't know.
But definitely,
Everything will fade away.
All the appearances of this world will fade away.
And all that will be left is consciousness.
And the seeds that we have sown,
The good seeds and the negative ones.
Because karma,
Cause and effect,
Is unfailing,
I will experience the results of my good actions and of my negative actions.
And samsara is completely defective,
Totally,
Utterly defective.
There is no way to assemble conditions within samsara that will bring lasting happiness.
Therefore,
I must use this opportunity right now to practice the dharma and gain realization for the benefit of every being,
Without exception,
To be able to help every single being,
To help liberate every single being.
So recalling this intention,
Adjust your motivation.
We adjust our motivation.
And think,
Think to ourselves,
May I gain realization for the benefit of every single being.
May I realize the ultimate samadhi,
The unity of wisdom and compassion,
Emptiness and compassion.
Maha Sunyata and Maha Karuna,
I must realize this unity,
This basic state for the benefit of every single being,
Without exception,
This ultimate samadhi taught by Shakyamuni Buddha.
Then we take refuge in the three objects of refuge,
The Buddha,
The Dharma,
And the Sangha.
In the Buddha,
The Dharma,
And the Supreme Assembly I take refuge until awakening.
Through the merit of generosity and so forth may I attain buddhahood for the benefit of beings.
In the Buddha,
The Dharma,
And the Supreme Assembly I take refuge until awakening.
Through the merit of generosity and so forth may I attain buddhahood for the benefit of beings.
The Buddha,
The Dharma,
And the Supreme Assembly,
I take refuge until awakening.
Through the merit of generosity and so forth,
May I attain Buddhahood for the benefit of beings.
Then,
Holding our hands like this in our lap,
We cultivate the four measurements.
May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May they be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May they never be separated from true happiness,
Free of suffering.
May they remain in boundless equanimity,
Free from concepts of near and far attachment and aversion.
May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May they be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May they never be separated from true happiness,
Free of suffering.
May they abide in boundless equanimity,
Free from concepts of near and far attachment and aversion.
May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May they be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May they never be separated from true happiness,
Free of suffering.
May they abide in boundless equanimity,
Free from concepts of near and far attachment and aversion.
Now,
We can practice a little bit of Tonglen.
We do this by enhancing our self-esteem.
We do this by inhaling all of the suffering,
Anguish,
Anxiety,
And negativity of beings in the form of dark smoke and taking on their suffering and anguish with the aspiration that it ripens on us.
And we give with our exhale love,
Compassion,
Merit,
Joy,
All of our virtue,
All the all the conditions and causes of happiness to sentient beings.
So we inhale all the suffering of beings and exhale all our virtue and happiness.
Shakyamuni Buddha sits on a lion throne,
Lotus,
Sun,
And moon.
He is golden colored with all the major and minor marks,
Vivid,
Bright,
Clear,
Full of love,
Compassion,
Full of wisdom,
Heavy with wisdom.
Shakyamuni Buddha gazes at you with eyes of love and wisdom,
Alive,
Omniscient,
Present,
The expression of wisdom,
The expression of the ultimate samadhi.
Shakyamuni Buddha is clear and awake.
And the love and compassion of Shakyamuni Buddha embrace all beings,
Embraces all beings and all phenomena completely and totally.
Shakyamuni Buddha is blissful.
Totally clear and awake,
Full of love and wisdom.
And yet the visualized form appears like a rainbow in the sky,
Immaterial but nonetheless heavy with the qualities of awakening.
Now Shakyamuni Buddha dissolves and we rest,
Relaxed,
Open,
And free from reference points.
Totally relaxed,
Totally open,
Effortlessly mindful.
Whatever arises isn't clung to.
Shakyamuni Buddha gazes at you with eyes of love and wisdom,
Just at ease.
Now we can dedicate the merit.
By the great power of this merit,
May the aims of the sponsors and their associates all be fulfilled in this very life.
May they enjoy auspiciousness free of obstacles,
And may their wishes be fulfilled in accord with the Dharma.
Through this merit,
For all infinite sentient beings,
May outer,
Inner,
And secret obstacles be pacified.
May they complete the path of the two stages and swiftly attain the state of the Lotus King.
Through this merit,
May all attain omniscience and conquer the enemy of wrong action.
May all be freed from Samsara's ocean and its pounding waves of birth,
Old age,
Sickness,
And death.
Through this virtue,
May all beings complete the accumulations of merit and wisdom.
And from this merit and wisdom,
May they attain the tukayas.
May the precious mind of awakening arise in those for whom it had not arisen,
And where it has arisen,
May it never wane but increase forevermore.
Just as the Bodhisattva Manjushri attained omniscience and Samantabhadra too,
All these merits now I dedicate to train and follow in their footsteps.
As all the victorious Buddhas of the past,
Present,
And future,
Praise dedication as supreme,
So now I dedicate all these roots of virtue for all beings to perfect good actions.
From the great Samantabhadra Vajradhara,
Down until our kind root guru,
May the aspirations made for the benefit of beings be fulfilled this very day.
By the blessings of the Buddhas who have attained the three kayas,
By the blessings of the unchanging truth of Dharmata,
And by the blessings of the unshakable will of the Sangha,
May our every wish and dedication be fulfilled.
