dedication

Three Sacred Elements

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

Talk given by Chowang Rinpoche during the 1998 Troma Retreat at Pema Osel Ling

There are three sacred elements that should be brought to any virtuous action.

Sacred Intention: The smallest of acts should be dedicated to the alleviation for suffering of sentient beings, including our parents, children, brothers, and sisters, who continue to experience birth, aging, sickness, and death in the wheel of samsara. Recollecting our love for them and remembering their suffering dedicate all we will undertake to do for the benefit of all beings ~ “may the benefit of this virtuous act help all sentient beings to realize their true nature and free them from their suffering.” Even though there are not really any existent beings, their experience is one of suffering and not exaltation; may all realize enlightenment.

Sacred Non-Referentiality: Maintain awareness in all your actions. There is no substantial reference point anywhere. There is only dharmakaya reality, and all that arises have no real substance but is just a dream that will fade. In any act of generosity maintain this attitude. This kind of generosity in which there is no giver, no giving and no receiver is the generosity of transcendent perfection. Bring this sacred attitude of knowledge of the insubstantiality of all phenomena to all acts of virtue.

 

 

The Three Supreme Methods

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

Whatever practices we do, whether the common ones of taking refuge and making prostrations, the various trainings in bodhichitta, the methods for purifying the defilements of body and speech, or the uncommon practices of the Secret Mantra (the visualization and recitation of Vajrasattva, guru yoga, or meditation on the yidam deity), all that we do—and this is very important—should be accompanied by the three “supreme methods.”

The first of these methods is the attitude of bodhichitta. All beings possess the
tathagatagarbha, the seed of buddhahood, but this is obscured and veiled. As a result, they wander in samsara. The first method is therefore to be determined to liberate them from this ocean of suffering.

The second supreme method is to have a mind free from conceptualization, which means to practice without distraction. Even if we make only a single prostration, we should not just go through the motions mechanically, with our thoughts and words elsewhere. On the contrary, we should practice with a concentrated mind, and never be carried away by distraction.

The third supreme method is to conclude with dedication. Whatever merit has been generated must be dedicated for the sake of beings, who are as many as the sky is vast. In fact, if we forget to round off our practice with the excellent attitude of bodhichitta, dedicating the merit to others, this merit could be destroyed in a moment of strong anger or defilement.

For this reason, all positive actions should immediately be followed by an act of dedication for the welfare of all beings. The benefits of this supreme method are immense; dedication renders merit inexhaustible and causes it to increase constantly.

Dudjom Rinpoche
Counsels from My Heart
Shambhala