True Mandala Offering Practice

I say:

As a result of cultivating the True Mandala Offering Practice, I (Grandmaster Lu) have more than everything I need in this life and this will also be true in future lives.

I can say that in the future, if it is my fate to be reborn in the human realm, I will be the wealthiest person in the human realm.

I say this with confidence:

I will absolutely be the richest person in the human realm.

There will be none who can compare with me. 

I am describing the Mandala Offering Practice as follows:

1. Form the mudra.

The mudra is the Offering Mudra.

The guru will instruct how to form the Offering Mudra.

(Lin Yun used to call this mudra the Invoking Good Fortune Mudra)

Mudra formation:

Interlace fingers (with hands back to back) so that palms and fingers face upwards. Hook the index finger of the left hand over the middle finger of the right. Hook the index finger of the right hand over the middle finger of the left. Press the thumb of the left hand over the little finger of the right. Press the thumb of the right hand over the little finger of the left. Manipulate the ring fingers so that they stand vertically, back to back. 

Explanation of the mudra: 

The Offering Mudra represents Mt. Sumeru and the Four Continents. (Purvavideha in the East, Jambudvipa in the South, Aparagodaniya in the West, Uttarakuru in the North).

It represents the entire universe.

2. Visualize the offerings in the mudra.

Some practitioners place a few grains of rice in the left palm.

In my personal practice, I visualize the offerings in my palms. 

Offerings:

Food.

Flowers, incense, lamps, tea, fruit, water, and soapy water. 

Wish-fulfilling conch.

Seven Treasures.

Eight Jewels.

(Diamonds, gold, silver)

Dharma implements, clothing

…..

3. Offering visualization:

Visualize the mudra transforming into the entire universe and all of space. (Key cultivation formula)

Visualize the offerings transforming to be as massive as clouds and the sea. (Key cultivation formula)

Visualize the offerings filling the entire universe. (Key cultivation formula)

4. Recite the mantra:

Om, sa-er-wa, da-ta-ga-da, ee-da-mooh, guru lana, man-cha-la, kan, nee-lee-yeh, dah-yah-mee 

Finish mantra recitation. 

Touch one’s crown with the mudra.

Release the mudra.  

5. Recite the Praise

Mount Meru together with the Four Continents, sun and moon,

Transforms into precious treasures to offer to the buddhas.

May the immeasurable merits arisen from these treasures

Quickly remove negative karma to realize Buddhahood.

*

I would like to tell you that:

The offerings of this mundane world can include food as well as one’s clothing, housing, and transportation. 

However, these are mundane things that are low, crude, and vulgar.

What are high class offerings?

Cultivation offerings (Dharma offerings).

Body, speech, and mind (purity offerings).

Qi, channels, and light drops (the highest class offerings).

Great bliss, light, emptiness (offering of sensations).

This is the most important key cultivation formula.

Offering Mudra:

Translated by TBTTs

Translator: Henry Wolf

Editor: DJ Chang