Mahamudra Teaching - Dharma Media

So for our own benefit just develop pure thoughts, pure vision, and then practice Dharma sincerely
because hatred and resentment are such a cause of suffering for our own mind.
Experiencing Difficulties with Rituals
Question: I feel like the part that is very difficult for me and a lot of Americans is the hand gestures
involved with the mandala offerings. These are complicated. How important are the hand gestures,
and so forth?
Answer: Generally these ten gestures or mudras have significance. Whether the gestures are
important or not depends on the individual, and how you try to do the practice. Of course, the mind,
the mental motivation, the mental, state is most important. Establish a pure motivation. With that
then, if you just join one hand to supplicate the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, as so precious, and
develop at that place, it has great beneficial effects. There is a recent story about a butcher who
always killed animals. At one time he saw Buddha Amitabha, so he raised just one hand, “Oh,
Buddha so wonderful.” When he died, he was reborn as a pig, but one hand was a human hand. A
human-handed pig. They took pictures and advertised this widely! So understand this in that kind of
way. The practice of gestures also helps your awareness, your body, speech, and mind. Somebody
sometimes said that in Tibetan Buddhism there are lots of flavors, all sorts. There’s meditation,
there’s discussion, and there are empowerment ceremonies, like when you do mandala. Like this, it
helps. For example, we say “All of the universe is in my hand, now I offer this to all Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas with my body, speech and mind.” This kind of mindfulness. Also there are other
gestures. Each and every one of these is of significance. Also, at the same time, when you feel it is
difficult or boring, then first check your mind. That is important. Don’t make other things more
important in your mind; always check your motivation.
Buddha Nature
Mahamudra, Buddha Nature Within All Sentient Beings
(Day Two)
Good morning everybody. So the teaching this morning is a continuation from yesterday. First we
cultivate the altruistic thought as we said in the prayers, to be free from the entire samsara and attain
the complete enlightenment, Buddhahood. For this purpose we study Mahamudra and how to
practice it. The Mahamudra nature is unstained, completely pure. The Mahamudra view does not
have any rejections, any acceptance. Because of that, in Mahamudra itself there is no path or no
remedy. This is the nature of the body of all the Buddhas. This is the basis of all the excellent
qualities. This is that kind of basis or foundation. It is spontaneously established by itself.
So what is this view of Mahamudra? Buddha said in the Samadhiraja Sutra “the Buddha nature is
pervaded to every sentient being equally.” So therefore there is not one sentient being who is an
improper vessel. Every sentient being has the possibility, the opportunity to attain enlightenment. So
now to reveal that Buddha nature, to see that Buddha nature, the Mahamudra, to attain Buddhahood,
according to some of Buddha’s life stories and texts may take three limitless kalpas or eons. But this
depends on the individual and the path that one takes. If we study and practice Mahamudra, it may
not take that long. There is some possibility of that because we have the Buddha nature and we just
have to see it. So we shouldn’t feel, “For me it is not possible. How is it possible for me to attain