The Four Preliminary Practices of the True Buddha Dharma

by Living Buddha Lian-Shen (Grand Master Sheng-yen Lu)

Translated from Chinese by The Purple Lotus Society, August 16, 1991

3: The True Buddha Great Mandala Offering


Every time a Vajrayana practitioner practices, an offering had to be made. This is the Mandala Offering, one of the Four Preliminary Practices.

Living Buddha Lian-shen had said, f people of the world want to attain the greatest blessing, they need to make offerings to the guru, the Triple Jewels, the Vajra, and the Dharma Protectors. The offering is performed as an act of devotion by the practitioner. Because of one respect and devotion for the Triple Jewels, one can receive empowerment from the guru and the Triple Jewels which leads to limitless blessing and fortune.?

In the past, Dharma Master Shakya-hui-ling had told me:

Offering flowers to the Buddhas ?will result in exceptional physical beauty in the next life.
Offering incense to the Buddhas ?will result in a fragranced body in the next life.
Offering lamps to the Buddhas ?will result in high intelligence, shining with boundless radiance in the next life.
Offering tea [pure water] to the Buddhas ?will result in limitless and inexhaustible wealth in the next life.
Offering fruits to the Buddhas - will result in plentiful food in the next life.

Living Buddha Lian-shen says, f a person wants to attain the greatest blessing and fortune, to become a king, or to be born into the richest of families in the next life, one only needs to practice the True Buddha Great Mandala Offering and one will arrive at these accomplishments and receive limitless blessing and fortune.?

The Vajrayana Mandala Offering is as follows:

The practitioner enters the tantric shrine and sits down, forming the Offering Mudra with both hands - after first putting a small number of rice grains on the left palm.

The Offering Mudra: interlace fingers (with hands back to back) so palms and fingers face upwards. Hook index finger of left hand over middle finger of right. Hook index finger of right hand over middle finger of left. Hook thumb of left hand over little finger of right. Hook thumb of right hand over little finger of left. Manipulate ring fingers so they stand vertically, back to back.

Firstly, one visualizes Mount Meru at the center of the Universe, surrounded by the Four Continents. Above the Eastern Continent is the Sun, and above the Western Continent is the Moon.

Secondly, one visualizes the rice grains becoming a precious treasury, filling Mount Meru and all Four Continents.

Thirdly, one visualizes all this treasury is being offered to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Then recite the Offering Verse:

Mount Meru together with the Four Continents, the sun and moon,
Transform into a treasury which is offered to the Buddhas;
May this wonderful offering
Serve to purify us and further our Bodhi-realization.

In addition, one recites the Offering Mantra:

Om, sa-er-wa, da-ta-ga-da, ee-da-mooh, guru la-na, man-cha-la, kan, nee-lee-ye, da-ye-mee.
(In Sanskrit: m sarva tathagata idam guru ratna mandalakam nairatayami.?

As soon as the Offering Mantra is finished, one brings the Mudra upward, touches the brow point, then releases the mudra. When releasing the mudra, the rice grains can be tossed up in the air.

Thus one completes the Mandala Offering Practice.

Living Buddha Lian-shen has previously taught everyone the secret to the True Buddha Great Offering Practice.

For example, when one offers a lamp, one should first light the lamp and sit before the shrine, then lace the fingers into the Offering Mudra. Next impress the image of the lamp upon one mind. Visualize the lamp multiplied to first form a row, then multiplied to form a field, and multiplied once more to fill all space.

Then visualize all the Deities accepting the offering of lighted lamps.

Mentally recite the Offering Mantra, then touch the mudra upon the brow point before releasing it.

Another example is when one offers a single flower. After entering the shrine and forming the Offering Mudra, one impresses the image of this single flower upon one mind. Next visualize this one flower multiplied into one row of flowers, then this one row of flowers multiplied again into one field of flowers, and then multiplied again until the whole universe is filled with the flower of the offering.

Visualize all the Buddhas in the Universe appearing, filling up the whole Space and Universe, with each of them holding in his hand the one flower that has been offered.

Mentally recite the Offering Mantra, then touch the mudra upon the brow point before releasing it.

This transformation from one to many is as vast as the clouds and the ocean. The result is an expanding and limitless offering. Such a True Buddha Great Mandala Offering is most wonderful and extraordinary, sublime and purifying, and most expansive. The blessing and fortune resulting from such an offering is also boundless and limitless.

The Eight Offerings used in the True Buddha School are, from right to left: small conch, fruit, incense powder, lamp, three incense sticks, five red flowers, soapy water, and clean water. The Five Offerings are: flowers, incense sticks, lamp, tea, and fruit. Either kind of offering is acceptable.

Actually, according to the Buddhist sutras, the rites of offering are very complicated and the kinds of offerings are many. There are the so-called Five Offerings, Seven Offerings, Eight Offerings, Twenty-seven Offerings, and Thirty-seven Offerings. All kinds of treasures are considered as offerings, for example: Dharma wheels, pearls, rare trees, and rare elephants are considered as treasured offerings. My opinion is that, as long as it is something of value to you, you can transform it into an offering to the Buddhas.

One student has asked me,  don have any treasure that can be offered to the Buddhas. What should I do??

My reply was: his is actually the secret of secrets of the True Buddha Great Mandala Offering. When we lack material things to offer to the Buddhas, we can still form the Offering Mudra and think of the most beautiful things in our mind ?things that we have seen on the streets, things that we have seen in other people homes. We can impress these beautiful objects in minds and then transform [multiply] then from one to many, from many to infinity, and offer them to all Buddhas in the Universe.?

Again one recites the Offering Mantra before releasing the mudra.

Such an Offering also has great and expansive merits.

There are three keys to the True Buddha Great Mandala Offering: Mudra, Mantra, and Visualization. Actually, the true key to this practice is a heart that is sincere and devout. When we single-mindedly visualize the offerings multiply into an infinite offering, our blessing will be infinite too. That is why single-minded visualization is the most important.

The True Buddha Great Mandala Offering is a Tantric practice that will bring limitless fortune.

The True Buddha Great Mandala Offering is a Tantric practice that will bring empowerment from the Guru and the Triple Jewels.

The True Buddha Great Mandala Offering is a Tantric practice that will bring one protection by Vajra Dharma Protectors.

The True Buddha Great Mandala Offering is a great Tantric practice in which, through making offerings to the Buddha, the practitioner generates a heart of Giving. This Giving heart is then directed toward the sentient being, thus generating the Bodhicitta.

Through offerings made in the True Buddha Great Mandala Offering, one receives blessings from the Buddhas and is thus able to attain accomplishment in one cultivation.

Tibetan Tulkus believe that each Vajrayana practitioner must practice the Mandala Offering one hundred thousand times or more. The Mandala Offering practice is an obligatory part of the practitioner curriculum.

On the other hand, making an offering to one guru is an indication of respect, joy, and non-empty request (that is, when one requests a wish, one needs, as a token, to make an offering).

The Guru is the embodiment of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha and because of the Guru we are able to learn and practice the Dharma. It is therefore very important to make offerings to the Guru. A true guru will not covet offerings. A true guru will use the offerings made to him by sentient beings in an appropriate way to benefit, in turn, the sentient beings and to propagate the Buddha Dharma.

The True Buddha Great Mandala Offering is a kind of Tantric practice that allows the practitioner to receive empowerment through the practice of reverence, devotion, and service. When one is empowered, one can practice any Tantric practice and succeed. Without empowerment, one practice will not be efficacious.

To write a verse:

The heart of offering is the tenderest,
A sincere devotion naturally leads one to the goal;
Resulting in the great, limitless blessing and fortune,
Which is extremely wonderful and sublime.