The second option is combination of everything – fifty thousand prostrations, fifty thousand recitations, and sixteen thousand remembering the Triple Gem, okay. I think the prostration and recitation; you know what I‟m talking about. Now what do I mean by remembering the Triple Gem?

Now this is one main point that is being lost again in the process of all this, you know Refuge; so let‟s say you‟re, let‟s say right now, this moment we think about the Buddha, just the name – count one. When you are in the toilet, you think about His robes – count two. While you are eating or just before you‟re eating, you think about Buddha, dharma and sangha – count three. As you put on your head on the pillow for a nap, you think about Buddha‟s begging bowl – count four. So you add up to either thirty-three thousand or sixteen thousand.

Method of disciplining again because what I‟m saying is, you know like all this time, you know many times we do, we just say, we just say the Refuge prayers, our mind going everywhere – much better to think of the Buddha one moment and count on that – that‟s what I‟m suggesting, okay.

Post-meditation; you also, you practice all the things that I‟ve mentioned earlier during the earlier post-meditation, the standard Refuge. Here I‟m suggesting you should go to one of the, at least one of the four places, physical place like Bodhgaya or Varanasi. I got the idea from Islam. And I think again this is important for creating that circumstance, because just by going to places like Varanasi, you will be physically, at the least some kind of closer or have some kind of influence.

And then if you REALLY can‟t go to any of these places, I will suggest you do sponsor someone to go. That‟s also something that‟s used to practice, something that is sort of dying down. As part of the post, post-meditation, I‟m now also bringing this thing called „karma yoga‟. Now this I got from Hinduism – hundred hours of voluntary work for any kind of charity, Buddhist or non-Buddhist work. I think it‟s good as part of the ngondro, right. You, you engage voluntarily work. Okay difference is this – earlier I ask you to do the voluntary work earlier; this time you are doing this as part of your ngondro practice. That way you are accumulating merit and purifying defilements.

Now something KIND of new – this is my suggestion of the next one. As a dharma practitioner, unless you are really, really, really wealthy and you have endless, endless wealth – I am suggesting to have, to open a new account in the BANK, okay actual bank, financial bank. And this is your practice fund. Make a vow, every time you make a little bit of money, put in some and you don‟t withdraw out of this. And you, this money you will be ONLY using for the dharma purpose, dharma practice; not for iPod, not for anything else. You can use for retreat in the future, going for pilgrimage, making offerings to buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Also if somebody gives you a present of money or something like that, if you take a little bit in there, the person who is giving will also get some benefit. Therefore you will not be karmic-ly indebted, in debt. This one I got the idea, combination of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, you know together (laughter). Buddhists – just so useless with the financial management, you know. They okay, they all want to practice but they have no money, like that, you know; so I‟m suggesting this.

And this, by the way; okay you have a separate account. You are now working. You are saving money and putting as much as you can in that account. That way, your mundane, worldly job has now become purposeful. So even you job is becoming part of the ngondro practice. Can you sense? – Because you are not saving the money to buy a Ferrari, you are saving so that you can practice the dharma. I‟ve, this is sort of, probably you will not find in the classical ngondro text but I think for the timely it‟s quite important. And also I think it‟s good for your discipline.

Okay, next is bodhicitta. Here it would be good if you take a bodhisattva vow. Okay, reading materials – any book written by Dogen Zenji. Anyway, the book list again, you find it; if you are interested, you can find later. What is it?

Student A: You said that this would put the, eh, roster…

Rinpoche: Don‟t take this seriously, huh; this is still work in progress. At this point it is good to receive teachings, Bodhicharyavatara, something like that, something to do with bodhi, bodhicitta. See as I said, the job is not finished because even earlier we should have practice of receiving teaching. Receiving teaching is very important. Receiving teaching itself can be a practice, can consider as a practice; and ideally received it from a person, if not listen to the tip from the MP3.

Then I have a suggestion of you know, the usual hundred thousand times of bodhisattva vow and I have included a few other options. Now for the first time, maybe I left. Oh, yeah even before that, I‟m sorry; during the Refuge, already you should get used to GROUP practice – it‟s important. So I‟m saying at the least, ten days of group practice. It doesn‟t have to be in one go. You can collect, you can accumulate the days but at the least, ten days.

Eh, as a daily practice, now you should add Heart Sutra as your daily reading sutra practice, okay. Now the post-meditation; again several suggestions but one that is not simple is I thought it is good also to get used to the concept of offering; so at the least, ten thousand lamp offerings. It can be, you know what, butter, what you call it – cup. This is during the bodhicitta.

Release at least ten thousand lives; it can be small worms all the way to oxen. If you can‟t release lives due to circumstance, a circumstance during the bodhicitta practice, try to take a vow of at least becoming fifteen days of vegetarian per month, so meaning one day eat meat, one day no meat. Post-meditation; again several suggestions but one noticeable – hand copy a Diamond Sutra.

Next is Vajrasattva; reading lists again, several – such as the „Sutra of Wise and Foolish‟ Lankavatara Sutra, Life of Milarepa and so on. And the, eh, for the meditation practice, I think you know we should do the hundred thousand eh, what do you call it? – Mantra. Now at this point, increase your group retreat, group practice up to twenty days. Again you don‟t have to do it together, lump it altogether in one go. You know, you can accumulate.

Post-meditation; I have a few suggestions. Noticeable things are – at least three hundred times of exposing our fault to a friend. For instance, if you are jealous, you tell somebody – I am jealous, because of this; and then hundred tsa tsa, you know it‟s a small stupa you can make. See all these traditions are very, very important in the sutras, but it‟s dying. I‟m trying to reintroduce that. And then fifty hours of voluntary work specially collecting garbage, you know like plastic and environmentally-related because I think it‟s something to do with the, you know, Vajrasattva practice. Not fifty hours, hundred hours – sorry, okay.

And then Mandala; at this point, you have also bigger reading list. Again here I will still encourage you to do the hundred thousand mandala because it‟s, it‟s really important to do. Daily practice will now include Riwo Sangcho and water offering. Post-meditation practice will include at least thousand candles, thousand incense, thousand flowers, never at one go, huh, you accumulate. And at least hundred times offer food and drink to those, those whose life is dedicated to dharma practice. And at least twenty times of making, giving a gift to someone who will never know you, someone who doesn‟t have your email address, someone who doesn‟t know your name. And again karma yoga, voluntary for the dharma centres or something like that.

And at least ten dharma books you offer to someone, somebody, other people; ten hours of dharma discussion, not again, not in one go, ten hours of dharma discussion. These, these are ALL in the sutras by the way, in order to combat our meaningless gossiping. You know this is kind of easy. You can just gather a few friends and talk about the dharma.

Okay from here I haven‟t finished it actually. The Guru Yoga bit is very difficult. Anyway all these things like tsa-tsa making, butter-lamp offering; all this is as I told you is to create that universe, your own universe of spiritual practice. Okay so I will now give you the transmission of Short Ngondro. (Rinpoche gives the transmission). Okay what I just give you is written by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo; very, very short ngondro practice. Oh, well that‟s about it. Eh, I have to go soon now to catch the plane to the uncertainty (laughter). Those who wish to kind of follow this, please note this is still a work in progress, but you keep in touch and see what happens, okay? That‟s it then, okay (applause).

THE END