20) May the power of truth of the Three Precious Jewels
And the blessings of Buddhas Amitabha and Amitayus
Protect you inseparably until attaining
The essence of enlightenment! That is my heart prayer.
This verse entrusts my followers to the Three Jewels for protection until the attainment of Buddhahood.
There is important meaning to prayer. We can practice making prayers like the great Arya beings, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, who accomplished the practice of prayer and words of truth. For example, someone who has reached even the ‘heat’ stage of the path of preparation, second of the five paths, by reciting words of truth and praying, ‘May rain fall from the sky right now!’ can bring immediate rainfall. Or by saying a prayer they can instantly heal someone who is sick. Such power is rare unless a person has high inner realizations. With mutual relationships, however, such as between a guru and disciple, family members, friends, relatives, and so forth, if you have such a relationship with someone, it is definitely beneficial if you pray for them.
Therefore, at the conclusion of the commentary I have also made a prayer. Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, the Three Jewels, are the actual refuges of we Buddhists. Going for refuge to Buddha as the one who teaches the path, Dharma as the path; and Sangha as companions, if we take the path we will discover the ultimate refuge in our own mind. This is like what Buddha, himself, said: ‘You are your own Protector.’ Therefore, I, likewise, call on the truth of the Three Jewels.
Furthermore, Buddha Amitabha, as Dharmakaya, and Buddha Amitayus, as Sambhogakaya, apart from having different names according to the way they appear to trainees, are actually the same Deity. Amitayus is a long-life Deity and Amitabha is mainly for the future life, but they are actually the same Deity appearing in two different aspects to train different disciples. In any case, in dependence upon the power of the host of Deities of Buddha Amitabha’s mandala and my prayers, respectfully, for all sentient beings who have good or bad karmic connections with me, and especially you Tantric disciples and relations with whom I have sacred bonds of Dharma, in this life and all lifetimes up to the attainment of Buddhahood, like a body and its shadow, may you never be separated from the profound light of Dharma; and may the Three Jewels and Buddha Amitabha protect you. I make this prayer with the words of truth as another important part of my heartfelt advice.
Final excerpt from ” A Door of Entrance to the Heart Advice Called A Ship Sailing to Liberation. A Commentary to the Heartfelt Advice of Dharma Nectar” Written by Khenpo Karten Rinpoche, originally published in January of 2019. Text is available in Tibetan and English on the Teachings page.
