In order to have a stable foundation upon which to further develop spiritual practice, it is necessary to begin with the sincere practice of the preliminary practices. Among the external preliminary practices is the single-pointed reflection upon the Eight Freedoms and the Ten Fortunes that are difficult to obtain. In his An Ocean of Instructions for the Preliminary Practices of the A Tri, Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche explains the eight freedoms in his section on the external preliminary practices. Without these conditions of freedom, it is not possible to practice the Bön teachings. By deeply reflecting upon the truth of each of these freedoms, the practitioner realizes the importance of not wasting the opportunity to practice.

The Eight Freedoms that are Difficult to Obtain:

1. Freedom from Being Born a Hell-being

The cause of being born as a hell being is the negative karma of hatred and anger. The result is having to undergo the suffering and misery of heat and cold. The torment of heat and cold for the hell-beings is continuously unbearable and there is no freedom to act on the intention to practice Bön. 

2. Freedom from Being Born a Hungry Ghost

The cause of being born as a hungry ghost is the negative karma of desire and greed. The result is having to undergo the suffering and misery of hunger and thirst. The torment of hunger and thirst for the hungry ghosts is never-ending and there is no freedom to ever act on the intention to practice Bön.

3. Freedom from Being Born as an Animal or Beast of Burden

The cause of being born as an animal or a beast of burden is the negative karma of mental dullness. The result is having to undergo the suffering and misery of being stupid, mute, and being exploited for work.

From Shardza Rinpoche,

“When born as an animal, there is no opportunity to practice even a little bit of virtue. Even among the highest of the animals in the human world, such as horses and mules etc., even if you explain to them from a hundred different texts, apart from a little benefit from hearing, there isn’t the opportunity to understand even a single word. If they could recite the MA TRI a single time, they could have the opportunity to become enlightened. Because of having to experience the suffering and misery of stupidity and muteness, and never having an opportunity for any recitation, there is no freedom to ever act on the intention to practice Bön.”

From The Sutra of True Sincerity,

“Because there is no opportunity for study or listening during the time of having the body of a hell-being, hungry ghost, or animal along with their suffering and misery, there is no understanding. Because there is no understanding, there is no accomplishment. If there is no accomplishment, how can they attain enlightenment?” 

4. Freedom from Being Born as a Long-lived God

Again from Shardza Rinpoche,

“Being a so-called “long-lived god” is one part of the result of the gods that are in a state of sustained concentration. However, there is no concept of good or bad. From the time that they are born, except for the moment of their death, conceptual thought has stopped. They remain for many great eons until this karma has been exhausted and they are reborn in the lower realms.  Because there isn’t any teaching, listening, or meditation practice regarding Bön, there is no opportunity to progress towards enlightenment.

5. Freedom from Being Born as a Savage or in a Remote Place

“When one is born as a savage, such as those who believe that killing is a good activity, they will never experience even the mere sound of the word “Bön.” When killing, they experience intense negative emotions. Afterward, they see the act of killing human beings and taking life as good. They inherit this negative activity from their parents and all of this becomes a non-virtuous way of life. Because of that, there is no freedom to practice Bön. When one is born in a remote or outlying area where the teachings of Tönpa Shenrap have not spread, there is no opportunity to practice Bön.” 

6. Freedom from Being Born without the Five Senses or with Profound Mental Impairment

“If someone is born mute, even though they encounter the Buddha’s teachings, they are unable to perform mantra recitations. A blind person cannot see the images and objects of enlightenment that support faith and devotion. The deaf cannot hear the sound of Bön speech. Those with profound mental impairments can’t understand what to cultivate and what to abandon. Therefore, there is no freedom to practice Bön.”

7. Freedom from Having Wrong Views

When someone has mistaken concepts that are incompatible with Bön, such as having the view that actions have no result or believing that the teachings of enlightenment are not valid etc., this contaminates the mind-stream. Having contaminated the mind-stream, they are unable to generate devotion towards the completely pure teachings of Buddha Tönpa Shenrap. Therefore there is no freedom to practice Bön.

8. Freedom from Being Born During a Time When a Buddha has not Appeared

For those who will be born during a dark era devoid of the presence of a buddha, there will be no freedom to practice Bön. 

Reflecting again and again upon these freedoms brings the recognition of being in possession of a precious opportunity. By deeply appreciating the positive circumstances that support the opportunity to practice Bön, a lasting foundation for spiritual development and motivation is established.

Tibetan translation by Raven Cypress Wood ©All Rights Reserved. No content, in part or in whole, is allowed to be used without direct permission from the author.

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Every full moon the monks of Menri Monastery gather together to perform the shakpa practice. The next full moon corresponds with January 17, 2022 on the Western calendar. The practice of shakpa is one of the skillful methods to purify negative karma and is of great importance within the Yungdrung Bön religious tradition. The Tibetan term “shakpa” is often translated as confession. However, this only describes one part of the practice. It does indeed involve an admission of wrongdoing, but the reason for performing this practice is for the subsequent purification of negative karma.

The doubtless result of our positive and negative actions of body, speech, and mind is taught as one of the four foundational practices that prepare the mind-stream for further spiritual development. (For more about these four foundational practices, follow this link to a previous article: https://ravencypresswood.com/2016/01/09/the-four-realizations-that-reverse-the-mind/ ) Our actions are like the seed of a plant that naturally ripens into the corresponding fruit when it meets with the proper secondary conditions. Similarly, negative actions bring future negative results and positive actions bring future positive results. As stated by the modern-day saint Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche:

“In general, whatever happiness or suffering is experienced, all of it is according to previous actions. For example, when a plant emerges from the ground, the fruit will ripen into whatever was planted in the autumn. Whatever actions you have done previously, will ripen into the correct result. Whatever wrongdoing that has been done, will arise as a ripened future result. Suffering and misery from unpurified karma will arise even though it is unwanted.”

— Excerpt from an untitled poem composed by Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche and included in his volume of works entitled Advice and Hagiographies of the A Tri Lineage Lamas

Throughout our countless previous lifetimes we have accumulated an unimaginable amount of karma. This will ripen into its corresponding result whenever secondary conditions arise. Therefore, when problems and suffering occur, rather than looking outside for a cause upon which to place blame, the Bönpo practitioner understands that suffering arises as a result of one’s own previous negative actions. The result of negative karma is not only suffering, but also the obstruction of wisdom and realization. Again from Shardza Rinpoche from his advice regarding the practice of confession,

“If the dirt on a mirror is not cleaned, you will be unable to see your own face. In the same way, the natural state will not appear due obscurations and wrongdoing.

When not produced within the mental continuum of the natural state of emptiness, cyclic existence and karma are utterly liberated and do not exist. Therefore, the realization reflected from the mirror of the base-of-all appears. Because of that, it is necessary to strive to purify the previously accumulated defilements and obscurations. It is of great importance.”

Regardless of whether someone practices sutra, tantra, or dzogchen, or is a renunciant, a lay practitioner, or a householder, the practice of shakpa is important in order to develop spiritually and to experience wisdom and realization. The practice of shakpa involves four powers. When each of these powers are present, the practice is profound and effective. The four powers are: (1) the power of the exalted witness, (2) the power of openly admitting wrongdoing, (3) the power of feeling strong, heartfelt remorse, and (4) the power of promising to not repeat the actions of wrongdoing.

For the power of witness, the practitioner goes before a sacred object of refuge such as a shrine, a real or visualized image of an enlightened being, or a chorten. Then, the practitioner connects with the actual presence of the enlightened beings in the sky before them. For the second power which is the admission of wrongdoing, the practitioner brings into their awareness all wrongdoing and non-virtue of body, speech and mind that have been committed in this life, as well as any unremembered activities from this and previous lifetimes. This includes activities of direct or indirect involvement, and encouraging or celebrating the wrongdoing of others. For the third power, the practitioner generates an intense remorse for all of these actions understanding that they have brought harm to others and can only harm one’s self. For the fourth power, the practitioner makes a firm commitment to not repeat these activities in the future and to instead engage in positive activities of virtue and loving kindness. In this way, the negative karma is purified and can no longer ripen into a negative result. At the conclusion of the practice, the practitioner imagines and feels the blessings of the enlightened beings completely purifying them in the form of pure, wisdom light.

There are many prayers of confession. Below is an excerpt from Purifying Remorse and Confession which is attributed to Metön Sherap Özer and uses the visualization of Tritsuk Gyalwa as the central deity who is surrounded by his retinue that fills all of space. As a gift to the worldwide Yungdrung Bön sangha, the complete version of the translated prayer can be viewed and downloaded by clicking the Publications tab at the top of this page and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

“Venerable lama, before your eyes, I openly admit and confess to having had only a small amount of devotion and respect.

Gathering of yidam deities, before your eyes, I confess to accepting and rejecting incorrect things. 

Mother and sister khandro, before your eyes, I confess to not properly guarding my commitments. 

Bön religious guardians, before your eyes, I confess to not making regular monthly and yearly offerings in the past.

Spiritual brothers and sisters, before your eyes, I confess to having only a small amount of respect and pure vision.”

Raven Cypress Wood ©All Rights Reserved. No content, in part or in whole, is allowed to be used without direct permission from the author.

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