From the 25th lunar day of the 9th month until the New Moon day of the 30th, Déden Samten Ling will conduct their annual practice and recitation of The Precious Lamp. These dates correspond with November 14th-20th, 2025 on the Western calendar. Déden Samten Ling, or simply Samling, is located in Dolpo, Nepal near the Tibet border and has been greatly beneficial to Yungdrung Bön especially in the preservation of its sacred scriptures. (For more about Samling, see previous article: https://ravencypresswood.com/2019/08/03/the-monastery-of-blissful-meditation-deden-samten-ling/
The Precious Lamp is the tantra of The Great Mantra of Yungdrung Bön, the mantra known as the MA TRI. Lord Tönpa Shenrap himself spoke about the benefits of the MA TRI mantra especially for sentient beings living during the dark era and encountering obstacles to practice and achievement.
“This Precious Lamp, the extracted heart essence of all of those who have gone to bliss, is the fundamental essence of the entire collection of sacred teachings. It is the quintessential essence of all Bön. It is the ultimate of all recitations. It is the highest of all views. It is the innermost essence of all meditations. It is the fulfillment of all activities. It is the most superior of all results. It is the heart elixir of the principal teachings. It is a sacred connection for sentient beings during a dark time. It is a key to the collection of sacred teachings. It is the lamp of the collection of oral transmissions. It is the refined gold of the quintessential instructions. It opens the door of intellectual confusion. It is a lamp that clears away the darkness of ignorance. So that sentient beings during the five hundred years-long time of darkness will not have to exert themselves in meditation or accomplishment, this mantra recitation is the practice advice. For those reasons, it is a sufficient recitation.”
“As for this Sufficient Recitation that is a Precious Lamp, for ordinary men and women at the time when their awareness becomes free from its physical container, if they merely remember this mantra when the four elements of their body disintegrate, that alone will keep them from descending to a lower rebirth and they will attain a blissful place of liberation. This mantra is a precious lamp of sufficient remembering.
If anyone who has generated the mind of enlightenment writes the mantra and places it above the doorway of a retreat place or a home, whoever enters that doorway will attain liberation. This mantra is a precious lamp of sufficient entering.”
Extract from The Thirty-two Benefits of the Sufficient Recitation that is a Precious Lamp
The MA TRI mantra can be recited by anyone and is not required to be kept secret. It is one of Yungdrung Bön’s three essence mantras and is known as The Great Mantra. The complete mantra is OM MA TRI MU YÉ SA LÉ DU. There are many different melodies for its recitation. According to the text, when compassion is generated and its melody recited out loud, any sentient beings whose ear sense power perceives the mantric melody will attain liberation.
The profundity of the MA TRI mantra is inconceivable. It is said that if one wears it on the body, physical obscurations will be purified. If one recites it with speech, verbal obscurations will be purified. If one thinks of it in the mind, mental obscurations will be purified. If one recites the syllables continuously, there is no doubt that one will be reborn in a blissful realm immediately after death.
“The benefits of reciting this mantra just once are greater than filling all the worlds with the five precious substances and making offerings to the buddhas. All the aims of this life and the next will be accomplished.”
Commentary on the MA TRI mantra by Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen
Although the power of a mantra is not limited to what can be expressed through language and therefore cannot be defined through concepts, it is possible to make associations of the syllables with their manifested expression to give some idea of their unique significance. For the MA TRI mantra, the associations are:
- OM has the nature of the state of Tönpa Shenrap Miwo Künlé Nampar Gyalwa who is principally related to a skillful method of compassionately taming migrating beings.
- MA has the essence of Tükjé Jamma, the source of everything, the vast expanse of the mother’s womb, and the basis for omniscience. It represents the characteristics of the great mother Tukjé Jamma who is principally associated with wisdom.
- TRI is the seed syllable of Mucho Demdruk who protects from heat and cold through great love. He is the Subduing Shen of the hell realms. Hatred dissolves into the vast expanse of love.
- MU is the seed syllable of Sangwa Ngangring who satisfies hunger and thirst through great generosity. He is the Subduing Shen of the hungry ghosts. Desire and attachment dissolve into the vast expanse of generosity.
- YÉ is the seed syllable of Tisang Rangzhi who removes stupidity and muteness with great wisdom. He is the Subduing Shen of the animals. Mental dullness dissolves into the vast expanse of wisdom.
- SA is the seed syllable of Drajin Pungpa who tames jealousy through great openness. He is the Subduing Shen of humans. Jealousy dissolves into the vast expanse of great openness.
- LÉ is the seed syllable of Chegyal Parti who destroys pride through great peacefulness. He is the Subduing Shen of the demi-gods. Pride dissolves into the vast expanse of peace.
- DU is the seed syllable of Yeshen Tsukpu who tames laziness through great zeal. He is the Subduing Shen of the gods. Laziness dissolves into the vast expanse of diligence.
Prayer flags of the MA TRI mantra are currently available for purchase from the Nine Ways Shop. Their small size is perfect for hanging above doorways. Visit the Nine Ways Shop by clicking the link at the top of this page. Items sold support the construction of a memorial chorten for Yangtön Lama Tashi Gyaltsen. [Please note that items only ship within the continental United States.]
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