Geshe Tenpa invites you to
his Long-Life Mantra Accumulation Group
– on the occasion of the 100th birthday of His Holiness Yongdzin Rinpoche
Tashi Delek to Everyone,
Today I would like to talk to you in order to keep you updated about the visit to Kathmandu to celebrate the 100th birthday of His Holiness Yongdzin Rinpoche. As many of you know, His Holiness will be one hundred years old in February 2025. So, that means, next year.
Earlier, we made some announcements on Facebook. And also, with the help of my uncle, we created our latest video together, which was posted on Facebook to give the general ideas and basic information about the upcoming event.
This was basic information, as I am still waiting for the Monastery to release the details of their plans. You know, more detailed information about the schedule of these very precious three ceremonies which are going to take place at the Monastery. But once they have made their announcements, we will also go to provide the detailed plans about what we will do.
But in the meantime, one of the most important contributions we can do, you know, we can do prayers for His Holiness Yongdzin Rinpoche 100th Birthday, the same as we, as Tibetans, we do for people’s birthdays. It does not matter if one is a Bön follower or from a Buddhist religious lineage. It does not matter. As Tibetans, we do long-life prayers. It is our tradition; we do prayers for longevity at the occasion of birthdays.
This is important. We chant mantras. That is what we do. Especially and even more, we offer long-life prayers and long-life mantra recitations to these precious Lamas at the time of their birthdays.
SO DRUM A KAR MU LA TING NAM Ö DU MU YE TSE NI DZA
This is a long-life mantra. I think it would be nice for us to do this as a group. Participating in the accumulation of long-life mantras for Yongdzin Rinpoche would bring great merit. There are many ways to join and participate in the 100th birthday blessing of His Holiness. Not solely by attending in person to the auspicious ceremony.
Of course, if you could attend, or if you could visit Nepal at this very auspicious time. I think it’s extraordinary and beyond any thing, because it’s once a lifetime! Our Venerable and Most Precious Yongdzin Rinpoche will be a centenarian!
Because we are Bön practitioners, because we follow the Bön teachings, we are fortunate. We can visit. We are free, it’s possible for us to visit. Meanwhile, more than a hundred thousand people from Tibet are eager to travel to Nepal for the events at Triten Norbutse Monastery. But due to the political problems, they cannot visit. So, they cannot go there. Here in the West, and in the rest of the world, there is a possibility to visit Nepal, if it is what you want.
I think this is such an auspicious and wonderful opportunity, you know, for practitioners in the West. This is very, very fortunate and this is a blessing for those of us who are able to visit.
Some of us are not able to travel to Nepal at this time, some of us have personal challenges in our lives or health concerns. We are living in difficult times. There is a lot of suffering in many parts of the world. But, whether it’s big challenges that bring a lot of suffering or smaller issues that also bring suffering, as human beings we’re all in this together. Everyone has personal, individual suffering and problems. So for those of us who cannot visit or attend the 100th birthday celebration of His Holiness Yongdzin Rinpoche in Kathmandu, Nepal, as Bön practitioners, we can come together and do some mantras.
We are going to organize a mantras accumulation group
For example, as a group we can accumulate one hundred thousand mantras, you know. Not just 100,000, but 200,000, 300,000, and the like. But even if it was 50,000 it would bring tremendous merit. Whatever number we can accumulate through recitation and chanting, I think it would be very nice.
My idea and my deepest wish is to make it possible for as many people as possible to take part in this auspicious time. Merit does not just come from going to see Yongdzin Rinpoche and doing something there. It is not just a matter of a visit to Yongdzin Rinpoche. But it’s more than that.
And we will write down people’s names, where they come from, and how many mantras they recited for His Holiness Yongdzin Rinpoche.
We are going to recite and compile the long-life prayers and mantras for him. We are also going to offer this to him as a gift.
So, I think this is also a way to connect with Yongdzin Rinpoche’s 100th birth anniversary. I am offering this opportunity to all of you.
In this way, my wish is that whatever situation we are in, no one will be prevented from being a part of Yongdzin Rinpoche’s 100th birthday celebration because of lack of funds or personal challenges.
So I invite you to join the group so that we can, sometimes we will do it live and individually. We can do some prayers together as I told you – SO DRUM A KAR MU LA TING NAM Ö DU MU YE TSE NI DZA – the long-life mantra.
How to chant
Whenever you chant mantras, you have to chant two times with the melody at the beginning. And then after your recitation, when you finish, you can also chant with the melody – you finish by chanting the mantra twice with the melody. I think this is our tradition in the Bön tradition. We do this not only for the long-life mantra, but we do this for every mantra when it is chanted.
When we chant the mantras, we do it like this. Two times with melody, and then you can chant or recite 100 times, 200 times, 1000 times, or whatever you can do. And then when you stop, let’s say you have to go eat, or you’re going to stop for the day, or maybe it’s time for you to go to sleep, so you can stop there. And you finish your session with chanting two times the mantra with the melody. Like that. I will record how to do the melody with the beginning and the ending with melody.
So when you stop, say, on your second session or something, if you need to stop, you’ll do another chant with the melody. Like that. Okay? This is a one way.
But another way, if you can, you can also recite His Holiness Request Prayer, you know, or the Longevity Prayer of Yongzin Lopon Rinpoche Request.
E MA HO,
LAP SUM TENPAI DAG NYI DRO WÉ GON
KUN KEN NI WANG NAM ROL GONG CHAL DZOG
DO DÉ NGAG KYI NÉ LUG DZOG PA CHÉ
TENPA ZIN KYONG TRIN LÉ NAM PAR DAG
YONGZIN MA WÉ WANG POR SOL WA DEP
This one, you can do recitation, you can do chanting, too. This chanting, it means that you can have a deep connection with Yongdzin Rinpoche. You know, chanting mantras with pure aspiration is very powerful. And it doesn’t matter where we live, how far, like 100,000 miles away. For us, in order to connect with Yongdzin Rinpoche, distance really doesn’t matter.
So this is one more option.
That would be all for today. I wanted to give you this information about, you know, the basics of how you can chant.
But also, you know, how many mantras we are going to chant. And also to inform you about the mantra accumulation group.
How to do the mantras accumulation on your own
If you would like to receive the form and start accumulating mantras, please copy or click on the following link:
https://forms.gle/GTPRrqyEqm7qQYM4A
This link will lead you to the form to fill out to start accumulating your mantras.
As an individual participant, you first decide how many mantras you would like to accumulate, for example, 100,000 mantras. Then recite the mantras and return the form before the deadline.
We will record your name, where you live, and how many Mantras you have accumulated. We will give this to Yongdzin Rinpoche in Nepal, as I told you. This way is going to be a very special and unique way to connect, because it is going to be a direct connection. This can be a very good help, as well.
As for the group live mantra reciting accumulations, details will follow soon.
Also, these were my simple ideas for today.
Thank you very much.
A very good day and many blessings to you all,
Geshe Tenpa