We were collecting a Long Life White Tara Mantra for the benefit of Rinpoche's health and precious life. We planned to collect 10 million repetitions until Rinpoche arrives to Poland for Kagyu Monlam.
So far 13,477,792 Tara mantras have been recited (June 2nd, 2010)
The mantra is as follows:
OM TARE TUT TARE TURE SO HA
Our aim is to collect 10 million mantras as soon as possible. The ultimate deadline is the planned date of Rinpoche’s arrival to the first Kagyu Monlam held in the West to be organized in Grabnik on June 9-11, 2010.
Please email us the number of mantras you have recited. Please contact the Grabnik Benchen Karma Kamtsang Office:
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A letter from Lama Rinchen:
Dear Friends,
In relation to the Long Life White Tara collection of 10 million mantras for the benefit of Most Venerable Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche’s health and long life, our office has received numerous questions regarding this practice. I shall try to answer them in this letter.
The most often repeated question is: How should I meditate while repeating the mantra?
First of all, we need to keep in mind, that our basic intention during this practice should be the request to our Lama, inseparable from the Tara, to stay with us the longest possible, and in the best health possible. While reciting the mantra we should imagine the Lama in the form of the Noble Wish-Fulfilling Tara in the space in front of us. We should recite the mantra as a prayer expressing our longevity wish for Rinpoche. If someone has received a White Tara empowerment, that person may visualize himself or herself in the form of the Tara, although this is not necessary. Let us remember that the main focus is the prayer to the Lama-Tara, whom we imagine in front of us and wholeheartedly request to remain with us in good health. Through this practice we can also accumulate blessings and merit.
Thus, we may pray to the Lama to stay with us forever. We may also ask all Buddhas to confer the blessing of longevity to our Guru. If we want to, we can visualize that as a result of our prayers, brilliant light radiates from the Lama’s heart reaching all Buddhas. In turn all the Buddhas send back their blessing of longevity in the form of light which dissolves into the Lama.
At the end of meditation session we may imagine that the Lama-Tara dissolves into us bestowing his blessing in that way.
However, none of these visualizations are necessary. It is more than enough to recite the mantra as a prayer to the Lama, asking him to remain with us forever. Sometimes such a prayer can be more profound and more effective than focusing on technical details of the visualization, while forgetting about deep sense of devotion filling our heart.
It is crucial however to avoid the attitude of “giving blessing” to our Lama. It would be a misunderstanding to meditate that you are the Tara and the light streams forth from your body to the Lama-Tara (or even worse, the Lama visualized as a ordinary being!) and blesses him. Please remember that a disciple can never give blessing to his Lama. We are the ones who need Lama's blessing, not the opposite!
When we are collecting mantras, it is best to do it in a formal meditation session starting with reciting the Refuge and Bodhisattva vows, and ending with dedication of merit. However, in this case it would be also right to count in the mantras recited in other circumstances, like during a walk in a park, provided that they are recited with the particular intention - as a prayer that our Lama remains with us as long as possible and in best possible health.
Best wishes,
Lama Rinchen
see also:
Collecting Tara Mantras for Tenga Rinpoche's Health and Long Life