The Treasure Vase of Nectar
An Offering Ceremony to the Eight Auspicious Ones
Composed by Zhechen Gyaltshab Gyurme Padma Tendzin
Om Svasti Vijayantu|
Before undertaking any sort of activity, arrange whatever offerings you have before the supports of the Jewels [of Refuge]. Having already gone for refuge and generated bodhicitta, then:
Through the power of the truth of the three supremes, the two collections, and the dharmadhatu
May the environment and the beings therein be beautified by
A beautiful throne, covered with inestimable jewels, in the center of the treasures of a pure land, and
Clouds of the most excellent of offerings.
Recite the Offering Cloud Dharani as well as the Essence of Causation Mantra
You whose mere names, when heard, increase auspiciousness,
The collection of victors and their children, the male and female bodhisattvas,
Together with the group of worldly protectors:
Through the power of your compassion and heart pledges, please come here, and,
Having enjoyed as you wish this clean and pure drinking water,
Water for a purifying bath, various ornaments,
Along with the beautiful throne that I have respectfully offered,
Please remain here forever and increase auspiciousness!
Having invited them thus, imagine that they abide as non-differentiated from the support in front.
Oṃ|
In the inestimable dharmadhatu, perfectly pure in all that appears and exists,
Self-arisen Awareness abides in the form of the body of youthful Manjushri,
Attractive, possessing the youth of the rising sun,
Holding in his first hand both a sword and utpala flower, and
In the other hand both a jewel and excellent vase,
Perfected with silks and precious ornaments, with legs crossed,
He is completely beautified, on top of lotus and moon seats,
With a wish granting tree supporting the back of his body.
By the eight auspicious goddesses, and so forth
The entire expanse of the sky is filled with offering clouds of supreme love.
Though merely recollecting them, on oneself is conferred
All majesty and glory just as you wish, and
All of the victors that exist in all directions, times and buddha fields, without exception,
Along with the bodhisattvas, as numerous as sesame seeds,
Rain flowers upon you, shout forth auspicious songs,
And clarify the expanse of space with the blazing light of their discrimination.
Having visualized thusly, then make offerings of prostrations, and so forth.
Oṃ|
To you auspicious ones, dwelling in the ten directions’ realms
Where all that appears and exists is perfectly pure, spontaneous in nature—
To the entire noble collection of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
I prostrate, make offerings, and go for refuge!
O King of Illumination, Intention to Accomplish Aims with Steadfast Power,
Glorious Adornment of Loving Kindness, Supremely Glorious One Renowned for Virtue,
Greatly Renowned as Consideration for All,
Glorious Renown that is Valour as Noble as Mount Meru,
Glorious Renown that is Consideration for All Sentient Beings, and
Glorious Renown that is Valour Which Causes Contentment:
Hearing your mere names increases fortune and glory.
I prostrate to the eight sugatas!1
O youthful Manjushri, glorious Vajrapani,
Powerful Avalokita, protector Maitreya,
Kshitigarbha, Nivaranaviskambin,
Akashagarbha, and supreme arya Samantabhadra:
You beautifully carry your hand implements—the utpala flower, vajra,
White lotus, naga-wood, jewel, moon,
Sword and sun— supreme of auspiciousness and glory!
To the eight bodhisattvas I prostrate!
The jeweled precious parasol, the auspicious golden fish,
The excellent vase pouring forth desired objects, the beautiful kamala lotus,
The conch of great renown, the glorious never-ending knot,
The always-flying banner of victory, and the powerful wheel of transformation—
O you for whom these eight supreme precious symbols serve as hand ornaments:
You goddesses who make offerings to the victors of all times and every direction, and cause them delight,
Lasya and so forth,2 by bringing you to mind you increase our glory!
To the eight auspicious goddesses I prostrate!
Mahabrahma, Source of Bliss,3 Son of Non-Craving,4
Thousand-Eyed One,5 kings Dhrtarashtra,
Virudhaka, Virupaksha the lord of nagas, and
Vaishravana, each holding your divine symbol—
Wheel, trident, lance, vajra,
Vina, sword, stupa, and victory banner—
You increase the virtue, goodness, and fortune for those who reside in the three realms.
To the eight worldly guardians, I prostrate!
The stainless, pleasant, divine offering substances simultaneously set out,
Those actually arranged and those mentally created,
Flowers, incense, lamps, the best of scents,
Food, music, objects to please the five senses,
The eight auspicious symbols, the seven precious royal emblems,
The seven most precious possessions, along with song and dance,
An infinite symphony made up of what is most beautiful
I offer to you! Having accepted it, please increase auspiciousness!
I confess the entire collection of negative deeds, amassed under the power of ignorance and afflictive emotions
By myself and others from beginningless time until the present.
I joyfully rejoice in all merit, and
Request you to remain forever to turn the wheel of Dharma.
All virtue collected during the three times in this way
I perfectly dedicate for great enlightenment, and
Those supreme modes of conduct which please the victors and their sons
I will hold on to and not give up, even at the sake of my life.
You wisdom protectors, bereft of defilement,
Recognize my own special aspiration, and
Not forgetting your heart commitments, produce the power of your intentions
And bring to fruition my requests just as I have made them!
May any activity we undertake here, today,
Obstacles and misfortunes having been pacified,
Accomplish its desired goals and increase in glory, in accordance with our wishes!
May fortune, happiness and prosperity abound!
Recite this three times, or however many you are able. Then:
Emaho!
Bhagavan, the essence of self-arising compassion,
Vajra body of incomparable wisdom, compassion and power
Constant protector for all wanderers, without exception,
The holy supreme refuge, please pay attention to me!
You, the self-arising wisdom that is great bliss,
Who transforms all wanderers without exception into your own state,
To us, sufferers due to inauspiciousness and degeneration,
From now until forever please bestow the most excellent of supremes!
The highest auspiciousness of all that is auspicious,
The auspiciousness of renown, fame with the characteristics of virtue,
The great sigh of relief, the extensive festival,
With the great song of your excellent joy, bestow the power of breath!
Glorious Manjushri, most supreme,
Out of your vajra generosity of offering, bestow on me the supreme!
Bestow on me the initiating empowerment of the vajra wisdom
Of the Wisdom Body of all of the tathagatas!
Holding the great jewel which grants whatever wishes arise,
The vast and great wish-fulfilling tree, which nourishes all wanderers,
Pervasive lord, the supreme of all precious things, clearing away poverty,
That supreme, great, excellent wish-granting vase—May I have such fortune!
Having departed, take care of me throughout all my lives,
As I have not achieved the highest enlightenment.
Having cut the stream of all discord and degeneration,
Perform the auspiciousness, bliss, and excellence of glory and prosperity!
If one were to be more elaborate:
The auspiciousness of daytime, pacifying obstacles and achieving what one wants,
The auspiciousness of the nighttime, seeing the nine types of excellent dreams,
The auspiciousness of any time, spreading the wind-horse of fame,
Increase all aspects of auspiciousness, bliss and excellence!
The auspiciousness of the gods, the roaring thunder of the fantastic,
The auspiciousness of the nagas, holding ocean-like fortune and wealth,
The auspiciousness of humans, thoroughly expanding virtuous dharma,
Make steadfast any and all auspiciousness, worldly and religious!
The auspiciousness of the guru, gathering clouds of blessings,
The auspiciousness of the meditational deity, simultaneously producing the two accomplishments,
The auspiciousness of the dakinis, increasing holy activities and herbal medicines,
Spontaneously establish the auspiciousness of these three roots, the two aims!
The auspiciousness of the Buddha Jewel, discoursing with the essence of what is to be abandoned and realized,
The auspiciousness of the holy Dharma Jewel, satiating desires with the two truths,
The auspiciousness of the Sangha Jewel, clearing away all faults and torments,
Make steadfast the auspiciousness of the three jewels in the world!
The auspiciousness of the dharmakaya, the wealth of uncontaminated treasure,
The auspiciousness of the sambhogakaya, everlasting and spontaneous accomplishment,
The auspiciousness of the nirmanakaya, spreading the holy activities of the four ways of taming,
Spontaneously establish the effortless auspiciousness of the three kayas!
The auspiciousness of the pratimoksha, renunciation, the fertile field,
The auspiciousness of the bodhisattva, enhancing the thought to benefit others, the seed,
The auspiciousness of the tantric, enriched with the two stages, the fruit,
Increase the auspiciousness of the three vows, the ripe fruit splitting open with training.
The auspiciousness of the beginning, the continuity of the basis, lapis lazuli,
The auspiciousness of the middle, the continuity of the path, skill in cleaning,
The auspiciousness of the end, the continuity of the result, satiating desires,
Spontaneously establish the everlasting auspiciousness of the three times!
The auspiciousness of the guru, satiating with the profound instruction of maturation and liberation,
The auspiciousness of the disciple, completely purified through holy faith,
The auspiciousness of the guru and disciple, coinciding in the manner of teaching and practice,
Spread and increase the auspiciousness of the Victor’s teaching to the end of existence!
The auspiciousness of the environment, the ten virtuous actions gathering within an abyss,
The auspiciousness of the inhabitants, an expansive life of glory and fortune,
The auspiciousness of the environments and its inhabitants, collected together as one due to dependent arising,
Enrichen all with the fruit of the auspiciousness of liberation!
The auspiciousness of the recipient of offerings, the victorious, holy activities of the four collections,
The auspiciousness of the benefactor, spreading the dominion of the four categories,
The auspiciousness of the offering water, enriched with the perfectly wholesome result,
Increase and spread any and all auspiciousness, bliss and excellence!
Thus the request for the desired goal is performed. At this point, if one wants to make it more elaborate, perform the purification ritual of auspiciousness and take the bodhisattva vows, as usual. In any case, to conclude:
All of the offerings of gods, nagas, yaksha, humans, and
The bodhisattvas in the ten directions
I offer to the great attainment, the chief of the world!
Please receive this blessed, most supreme offering!
Recite the offering dharani.
To the glorious auspiciousness of all that is auspicious,
The auspiciousness of renown, the great fame that is virtue,
The great sigh of relief, along with the sons of the conquerors,
Having respectfully offered praise, please grant the desired attainments!
To the spiritual friend who always takes me under his care, and
Has perfected the good qualities of properly abiding in listening, contemplating and meditating,
Through the interdependence of your marvelous mind of enlightenment
Please establish the great aims of the teachings and of wanderers!
May I realize the exalted mind of all sugatas and bodhisattvas, and
Their ways of holy action, prayer, intelligence, love and power, and
The highest discernment that recognizes, “In whichever way a magical emanation exists,
Only in that same way I and all else exists.”
Through the power of having faith in and made requests to you,
In whichever place I and others may abide,
May sickness, negative influence, poverty, and strife be pacified, and
May the dharma and auspiciousness flourish!
May the teachings, the source of all benefit and goodness, increase!
May I practice the dharma in all of my lives!
May auspiciousness increase in all kingdoms!
May all sentient beings have love! May they all achieve buddhahood!
Thus is the request for the desired aims.
If one wants to be more elaborate, with the support for accumulation in front one may scatter the flowers of aspirational prayers, believing it to be the speech of Jamgon Lama that recites aloud the supreme auspiciousness and he is showering down the rain of flowers. Then request patience, and so forth, with any mistakes committed, as is done in general.
Moreover, as for the benefits of the actions performed in that way: If recited when you get up, then you will achieve all your aims that day. If recited when going to sleep, you will see excellent dreams. If recited when engaging in battle, you will be victorious in all directions. If recited when beginning any activity, your desired aims will increase. If recited continuously, glory, fame, wealth, auspiciousness, bliss, excellence, and marvelous things all will be achieved in accordance with your desired aims. It is said by the Victor that all misdeeds and afflictions will be purified and all aims of higher rebirth and enlightenment will be established. You should make constant effort at the elaborate generation method described.
Colophon: This melody of the renunciant Jamyang Lodro Gyatso, piecemealed together from what was expressed by the omniscient Lama Jampel Gyepai Dorje, was written down at the Prayer Hall of the Assembly of the Eight Sugatas, a naturally occurring cave on the side of a cliff. May all be virtuous!
Translator’s Colophon: This text (Tib. bkra shis brgyad pa’i mchod chog bdud rtsi’i gter bum) was translated by Śakya Gelong Gyalten Lekden, one of scant knowledge, during the waxing of the first moon of the year of the Fire Monkey, February 2016, at Sera Je Monastery. I beg forgiveness for any mistakes, and dedicate any merit that arises due to this translation to our precious gurus, that they may manifest long and healthy lives, leading thick-headed sentient beings such as myself to perfect, complete enlightenment.
Notes
1. Pradīparājaḥ (Tib. sgron me’i rgyal po) / Vikramasthirasiddhārthacittaḥ (Tib. rtsal brtan don grub dgongs)/ Maitrālaṅkāraśrīḥ (Tib. byams pa’i rgyan dpal)/ Puṇyakīrtiparamaśrīḥ (Tib. dge grags dpal dam pa)/ Sarvacittayaśasvivistaraḥ (Tib. kun la dgongs pa rgya cher grags pa can)/ Merukalpāryasuvikrāntayaśaḥśrīḥ (Tib. lhun po ltar ‘phags rtsal grags dpal)/ Sarvasattvacittayaśaḥśrīḥ (Tib. sems can thams cad la dgongs grags pa’i dpal)/ Santarpitasuvikrāntayaśaḥśrīḥ (Tib. yid tshim mdzad pa rtsal rab grags dpal). All but the first Sanskrit name have been reconstructed from Tibetan by translator
2. Lāsyā (Tib. sgeg mo/sgeg ma), Mālā (Tib. ‘phreng ba ma), Gītā (Tib. glu ma), Nṛtyā (Tib. gar ma), Puṣpā (Tib. me tog ma), Dhūpā (Tib. bdug spos ma), Ālokā (Tib. snang gsal ma), and Gandhā (Tib. dri chab ma)
3. Śivaḥ
4. Viṣṇuḥ
5. Indraḥ