Complete Dedication Prayer Book eBook

By FPMT

A collection of dedication prayers for use in FPMT centers and at events with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Recommended for students and those who are engaged in retreat, who wish to follow Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s way of doing extensive prayers.

Contents include:

Dedication Prayers

- Standard Dedication Prayers
A short set of dedication prayers commonly recited by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at the end of a teaching, puja, or retreat session. These are the recommended ‘minimum’ prayers to do.
- Extensive Dedication Prayers
A more extensive set of dedication prayers commonly recited by Lama Zopa Rinpoche when making extensive dedications, for example, at the end of the last session of a day of teachings or retreat. Please note that it is not necessary to recite all of the verses; students can choose the ones that they find particularly apt and inspiring.
- Additional Dedication Prayers
Further dedication prayers that can be done as desired for particular purposes. These can be added to either the Standard Dedication Prayers or Extensive Dedication Prayers.
- Lamrim Prayer (Lam rim mön lam, Der ni ring du)
- Prayer for the Flourishing of Je Tsongkhapa’s Teachings
- Causing the Teachings of the Buddha to Flourish
- Prayers for Multiplying Merit
- Migtsema Prayer to Lama Tsongkhapa

The Eight Prayers
A collection of prayers commonly recited in the gelug monastic communities for the recently deceased.

- King of Prayers
- A Daily Prayer to Maitreya
- The Dedication Chapter from Bodhicaryavatara
- A Prayer for the Beginning, Middle, and End of Practice
- Prayer to Be Reborn in the Land of Bliss
- Until Buddhahood
- Prayer for a Statue of Maitreya
- Prayer for Spontaneous Bliss

Long Life Prayers and Name Mantras

- Prayers for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and for His Wishes to be Fulfilled and Holy Name Mantra and Request
- Long Life Prayers for Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Holy Name Mantra of Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- Long life Prayer for Tenzin Ösel Rinpoche

2021 edition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: FPMT
• Release date: Mar 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005763732

FPMT

The FPMT is an organization devoted to preserving and spreading Mahayana Buddhism worldwide by creating opportunities to listen, reflect, meditate, practice and actualize the unmistaken teachings of the Buddha and based on that experience spreading the Dharma to sentient beings. We provide integrated education through which people’s minds and hearts can be transformed into their highest potential for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of universal responsibility and service. We are committed to creating harmonious environments and helping all beings develop their full potential of infinite wisdom and compassion. Our organization is based on the Buddhist tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet as taught to us by our founder, Lama Thubten Yeshe and our spiritual director, Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche.

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Technical Note

Comments by the compiler or editor are contained in instruction boxes. For example:

Recite these two verses three times.

Instructions or advice by Lama Zopa Rinpoche are marked by the symbol ❖. For example:

❖ Then recite the following verses and meditate on the guru entering your heart.

Italics and a small font size indicate instructions and comments found in the Tibetan text that are not meant to be recited. Words in square brackets have been added by the translator for clarification. For example:

This is how to correctly follow the virtuous friend, [the root of the path to full enlightenment].

A Guide to Pronouncing Sanskrit

The following points will enable you to easily learn the pronunciation of most transliterated Sanskrit terms and mantras:

Ś and Ṣ sounds similar to the English sh in shoe. The difference between the two is where the tongue is positioned in the mouth.

C is pronounced similar to the ch in chap. CH is similar but is more heavily aspirated.

Ṭ, ṬH, Ḍ, ḌH, Ṇ are retroflex letters and have no exact equivalent in English. These sounds are made by curling the tongue towards the front section of the palate. They correspond roughly to the sounds tra (Ṭ), aspirated tra (ṬH), dra (Ḍ), aspirated dra (ḌH), and nra (Ṇ).

All consonants followed by an H are aspirated: KH, GH, CH, JH, TH, DH, PH, BH. Note that TH and ṬH are pronounced like the t in target and tr in trap respectively, not like the th in the. The PH is pronounced like the p in partial, not like the ph in pharaoh.

Long vowels with a dash above them (Ā, Ī, Ū, Ṝ, and Ḹ) take approximately double the amount of time to pronounce versus their short counterparts (A, I, U, Ṛ, and Ḷ).

Ṃ indicates a nasal sound. At the end of a word it is generally pronounced as an m. Ḥ indicates an h-sounding aspiration. Ṛ is pronounced similar to the ri in cringe. Ṅ is pronounced similar to the ng in king.

For more information, please consult the FPMT Translation Services' A Guide to Sanskrit Transliteration and Pronunciation, available online: https://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/education/translation/guide_to_sanskrit_transliteration_and_pronunciation.pdf.

Front view

Standard Dedication Prayers

¹

❖ The two dedication prayers To Actualize Bodhicitta (below) and To Seal the Merits with Emptiness are the very minimum to recite at the conclusion of any session. The long life prayer for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche can also be recited.

To Actualize Bodhicitta

JANG CHHUB SEM CHHOG RIN PO CHHE

MA KYE PA NAM KYE GYUR CHIG

KYE PA NYAM PA ME PA YI

GONG NÄ GONG DU PHEL WAR SHOG

May the precious supreme bodhicitta

Not yet born arise.

May that arisen not decline,

But increase more and more.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche often elaborates on this prayer as follows:

Due to all the past, present, and future merits collected by me and all the merits of the three times collected by numberless buddhas and numberless sentient beings, may bodhicitta be generated in the hearts of all the sentient beings of the six realms, and especially in the hearts of everybody in this world, including all the students, benefactors, and volunteers in the FPMT organization. May it be generated in the hearts of all those who rely upon me, all those for whom I have promised to pray, and all those whose names have been given to me. May it be generated in my heart and in the hearts of all my family members, those who are living and those who have died. May the bodhicitta that has already been generated increase.

For the Long Life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama*

* Lama Zopa Rinpoche recommends replacing the usual long life prayer for His Holiness as follows:

GANG RII RA WÄ KOR WÄI ZHING KHAM DIR

PHÄN DANG DE WA MA LÜ JUNG WÄI NÄ

CHÄN RÄ ZIG WANG TÄN DZIN GYA TSHO YI

ZHAB PÄ SI THÄI BAR DU TÄN GYUR CHIG

In the land encircled by snow mountains,

You are the source of all happiness and good.

All-powerful Chenrezig, Tenzin Gyatso,

Please remain until saṃsāra ends.

JIG TEN KHAM DIR PHÄN DE MA LÜ PA

GANG LÄ JUNG WÄI SAM PHEL YI ZHIN NOR

KA DRIN TSHUNG ME TÄN DZIN GYA TSHO CHHOG

KU TSHE TÄN CHING THUG ZHE LHÜN DRUB SHOG

Incomparably kind and supreme Tenzin Gyatso,

The wish-granting Wish-Fulfilling Jewel—

Source of every single benefit and happiness in this world—

May you have a long life and all your holy wishes be spontaneously fulfilled.

For His Holiness' Wishes to Be Spontaneously Fulfilled

TONG NYI NYING JE ZUNG DU JUG PÄI LAM

CHHE CHHER SÄL DZÄ GANG CHÄN TÄN DRÖI GÖN

CHHAG NA PÄ MO TÄN DZIN GYA TSHO LA

SÖL WA DEB SO ZHE DÖN LHÜN DRUB SHOG

Savior of the Land of Snow's teachings and transmigratory beings,

Who extensively clarifies the path that unifies emptiness and compassion,

To the Lotus Holder, Tenzin Gyatso, I beseech.

May all your holy wishes be spontaneously fulfilled.

For the Long Life of Lama Zopa Rinpoche

THUB TSHÜL CHHANG ZHING JAM GÖN GYÄL WÄI TÄN

DZIN KYONG PEL WÄ KÜN ZÖ DOG POR DZÄ

CHHOG SUM KUR WÄI LEG MÖN THU DRUB PA

DAG SOG DÜL JÄI GÖN DU ZHAB TÄN SHOG

You who uphold the Subduer's moral way, who serve as the bountiful bearer-of-all,

Sustaining, preserving, and spreading Mañjunātha's victorious doctrine;

Who masterfully accomplish magnificent prayers honoring the Three Sublime Ones:

Savior of myself and others, your disciples, please, please live long!

To Seal the Merits with Emptiness

Lama Zopa Rinpoche uses a variation of the following dedication prayer to seal all the previous dedications with emptiness.

GE WA DI YI NYUR DU DAG

LA MA SANG GYÄ DRUB GYUR NÄ

DRO WA CHIG KYANG MA LÜ PA

DE YI SA LA GÖ PAR SHOG

Due to this virtue, may I quickly

Become a guru-buddha

And lead all transmigratory beings,

Without exception, to that state.

One possible version of this dedication is:

Due to all the past, present, and future merits collected by me, the numberless buddhas, and the numberless sentient beings, which are completely empty of existing from their own side, may I, who am completely empty of existing from my own side, achieve the state of full enlightenment, which is completely empty of existing from its own side, and lead all sentient beings, who are completely empty of existing from their own side, to that state, which is completely empty of existing from its own side, by myself alone, who am completely empty of existing from my own side.

To Dedicate in the Same Way as All the Past Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

²

JAM PÄL PA WÖ