Lama Zopa Rinpoche
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Why should they be called kon-chog sum? Among all material objects, gold, silver, diamonds<br />
and sapphires are the most precious. But rarer than these is the wish-granting jewel. After<br />
being in the world a long time, at the end, the buddhas’ relics go into the ocean and become<br />
wish-granting jewels. I saw this evolution mentioned in a medicine book. That is one<br />
explanation; I don’t know if there are any others.<br />
A universal king is a bodhisattva who has collected the most unbelievable merit. They only<br />
appear in the world one at a time, never two, and when a king does appear his people are<br />
able to live their lives in the ten virtues. 80 This happens by the power of the universal king.<br />
Universal, or wheel-turning, kings—great bodhisattvas who have unbelievable merit—are<br />
able to find wish-granting jewels in the ocean. The jewels are cleansed of mud in three ways<br />
and on the fifteenth of the month are placed on top of a banner. Then, whatever material<br />
needs of this life you pray for you can have.<br />
This is something Sai Baba was said to be able to do. He made a hand gesture and produced<br />
gold chains, watches or things like that for people to have. These were not magicians’<br />
hallucinations, things you took back home and they then disappeared. You could use them<br />
for a long time. Because Sai Baba had a lot of merit he was able to produce material gifts for<br />
people.<br />
For example, Ming Ming, one of my students and the godmother of Sangye from our labrang<br />
in Sera, had a special connection with Sai Baba. She has been inviting the monks in Sera to<br />
do puja every year on Sai Baba’s birthday for ten years. She also invites them to do puja on<br />
Chinese New Year. I heard that Sai Baba produced a gold chain or something for the head<br />
monk.<br />
It’s very strange, because usually, in other places, Muslims would never think of reciting<br />
mantras; they might even become infuriated. But many Christians and Muslims come to<br />
Singapore and her son recites the mantra of the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, which I gave to<br />
him and his mother to chant. They have special karma. They made a CD of their chanting,<br />
but they recite it so fast I couldn’t follow. It is very interesting how the mother and children<br />
do this. One time when the son chanted it there were thirty-one thousand people there.<br />
Everybody, including all the Muslims, chanted. That is very special. There was no<br />
discrimination, no sectarianism, just everybody chanting the mantra. For Muslims, chanting<br />
is the most difficult thing in the world. And after they left Singapore they continued to chant<br />
the mantras.<br />
Even though a wish-granting jewel is much rarer than diamonds, sapphires or gold, it cannot<br />
purify our past negative karma, the cause of lower realms. Only the Buddha, Dharma and<br />
Sangha can guide us from the lower realms to the upper realms, from the upper realms to<br />
nirvana, liberation from the oceans of samsara, ultimate happiness, and from there to sanggyä,<br />
the total elimination of all obscurations and the completion of all realizations. Wishgranting<br />
jewels can give us whatever material comfort of this life we ask for but they cannot<br />
do what the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha can.<br />
So, kon-chog sum, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, is much rarer than a wish-granting jewel,<br />
much rarer than numberless wish-granting jewels. Even skies of wish-granting jewels are<br />
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