ANIMAL LIBERATION

A Blessing for Marine Life

In California
The numberless sentient beings that live in the ocean received a blessing on Tuesday, May 13 as Lama Zopa Rinpoche led forty-five monks, nuns and lay students from around the world in a three-hour sail from Santa Cruz to Capitola, California.

This was no ordinary outing. It was the first stop in Rinpoche’s mission to bring hope and blessings to each of the world’s seven seas.

“About eighteen months ago, Rinpoche asked me to get a Namgyalma mantra board made for a special marine purpose,” Pam Cayton explained. “It took this long to find anyone who could do such an intricate carving to use in the water and on the large size board as specified by Rinpoche.  Finally it was Peter Griffin in England who said he could do it, and he helped to brainstorm the material.  A slightly smaller wooden version was carved in Nepal, with the assistance of Tenpa Choden and this was used to print the mantra on to paper and cloth for prayer flags.

“It was truly an amazing event that inspired many people and attracted a lot of publicity, so helpful in these times of global warming and environmental turbulence.”

Lama Zopa and the crew of the Chardonnay II, set sail, dragging behind the boat the mantra board – a sheet of Plexiglass with the Namgyalma mantra inscribed upon it in Tibetan.

As an added benefit, small stupas were filled with Four Dharmakaya Relic mantras, then tied to the boat and dragged through the water as well.  The four Dharmakaya Relic mantras are: Stainless Pinnacle Deity, Secret Relic, Zung of the Exalted Completely Pure Stainless Light, and 100,000 Ornaments of Enlightenment. “They can be put inside prayer wheels, in tsa-tsas, in statues, etc. In this way, we benefit the whole world. We liberate so many sentient beings and bring them to enlightenment as quickly as possible,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche said.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s explanation of the infinite benefits of the Namgyalma mantra, when recited in many different situations, is excerpted from “Advice & Practices for Death & Dying for the Benefit of Self & Others” available from the Foundation Store.  It is also printed in the August-September issue of Mandala.

Here is the short Namgyalma mantra:

OM BHRUM SVAHA / OM AMRITA AYUR DADE SVAHA

OM AH HUM TRAM HRIH / AM AH MAM SARVA SATTVAM SHCHHA RAKSHA RAKSHA KURU SVAHA

After reciting this, say a few times:

OM AMITE / AMITOD BHAVE / AMITA VIKRANTE / AMITA GATRI / AMITA GAMINI / AMITA AYUR DADE / GAGANA KIRTI KARE / SARVA KLESHA  KSHAYAM KARIYE SVAHA

The long mantra is available in an FPMT booklet, “Practices of Namgyälma,” from the Foundation Store under Prayers & Practices/Practice Booklets.

In Singapore
A week later, Amitabha Buddhist Centre (ABC) in Singapore had reached its goal of liberating 100 million animals. Ven. Khen Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup, together with monks from Kopan monastery and ABC, went out to sea to liberate many more sea creatures. “We dedicated strongly for Rinpoche, whose kindness we will never be able to repay, to live long for pitiful sentient being likes us,” said Fred Cheong, “also for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.” [See Mandala April-May 2008.]

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