The Empowerment of Green Tara

June 5, 2006

I am in Cusco Peru at the moment. I hiked the Inca Trail....4 days...and just came back to Cusco last night. I was chanting Om mani padme hum on my mala as I walked the sacred trail and thought how the vibration of Buddhist prayer mixed in ancient sacred Inca is beautiful.We are all one.

Suzan Harding, emailed during Saka Dawa. After the mani's were all in, she added:

I was not aware of the Saka Dawa project until I received an e-mail from Linda while I was travelling in Peru. I had just returned from a 4 day hike along the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu.

What an absolutely magnificant place. The Andes mountains are massive and there is an incredible feeling of peace there. I hiked the trail slowly, letting others pass ....I held my mala as I chanted out loud, softly...Om mani peme hung... I felt so connected to the earth, the sacredness of my surroundings. What a beautiful meditation to send out to all sentient beings, what a gift for me.

When I read Linda's e-mail I was so happy to send in a note that I had been participating without even knowing.

This is a powerful time for all of us. What a beautiful effort made by all who contributed.

on the topic of group design:

watching the kids'

tropical fish....

swimming sometimes in schools

othertimes alone....

i had fixated on one fish having such a great time diving among short sea grasses,

supposedly designed for breeding..

...,

then another guy,

loving the bubbles --

over and over...up and down in the bubbles--.

suddenly the tiny neon tetras, surprising me by growing bigger in a short time..

[ i had told grandson to not expect them to last long]

all of a sudden from other places

neon tetras came together, darting

at once in one direction,

properly s p acing themselves..mindful of each other.

................................................

that fish school jolting action was like a gong for me-- such a clear tho silent signal

thats when i decided to do some

counting of manis..

.after i h ad

already decided not to!!!!!!

Wendy Yee, who also wrote that she recited mani's not only during silent meditation but also while waiting in supermarket checkout lines and at red lights.

For me, the thought of this group of people gathered together through the recitations is most striking. Even though we are scattered far and wide we are of one mind while we say the manis---as if we were meditating together. And that feels so powerful. To me, that's what Lama Norlha means when he says we each get the benefit of all the manis.

Anne Sauve

For me, there are several benefits I can identify:

1.The benefits of the mani's themselves, which are beyond anything I could say about it, but which I feel help connect us to awakened mind, and in particular to the aspect of fully awakened compassion, with the aspiration to make a similar connection for all beings and to liberate them from suffering.

2. Having a specific and challenging goal helps motivate me to take the time to do practice that might otherwise not happen in a day full of distractions.

3. As others have said, it's also very motivating to be part of a group engaged in the same practice and working toward a goal together. It's daunting to think of reciting a million mani's on my own in any time frame, but even though we had to work hard, all of us together surpassed the goal in just four weeks.

4. Each year when we do this, I am reminded how much of my time could be used for Dharma practice, even when I am outwardly otherwise occupied. At first it felt funny to do mantras while watching a movie (the first time I did that was when I went to see Hollywood Homicide during our first mani project in 2003). But if I'm going to watch a movie anyway instead of spending the two hours on practice, saying mani's in the back of my mind while I count them with my prayer beads at least adds a dimension of meaning. And I get used to it, so now if I watch a dvd, I like to have my prayer beads handy! Likewise with time in the car--instead of wasting my time lost in daydreams or negative thoughts, I can say mantras instead, while still being completely attentive to the road.

5. In the 25 years I have been his student, Lama Norlha Rinpoche has often said the best way we can repay his kindness is by putting the teachings into practice.

Linda

If you would like to add a comment about your experience and/or observations while participating in the 2006 Million Mani Recitation, send us an email.

"Let us trust the mantra, let us allow the body to attend to its work and the mind to its reflections leading to result, but at the same time let us recite the mantra om mani peme hung, without even being attentive. We will purify many karmic veils and finally attain awakening."

--Kalu Rinpoche, teaching at Samye Ling, Scotland, 1983