Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Discussion of meditation in the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions.
Post Reply
Opulent
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Sep 19, 2015 5:21 pm

Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by Opulent »

Hi, I was wondering if anyone knows any specific details about the routine and daily spiritual practice of the Dalai Lama?

He famously gets up at 3:30 every day and does about 4 hours of spiritual practice. I understand he is fully qualified to practice most of the "higher" practices and non-conceptual meditation methods, but does he still do other practices such as Tonglen? prostrations? energy or breathing? Tantra? analysis? Or is it just resting as primordial awareness?

If anyone knows or has any details I would be most grateful as I can't find any specifics anywhere, google searches bring up mountains of generalised advice and quotes.

:namaste:
Loren Enders
Posts: 141
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:20 pm

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by Loren Enders »

Padmasambhava guru yoga. Lama Tsongkhapa's yidams?
'Lorem', 'Loren', 'Loren Enders'
Russell
Posts: 218
Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 11:13 pm

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by Russell »

phpBB [video]
User avatar
Konchog1
Posts: 1673
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:30 am

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by Konchog1 »

Opulent wrote:Hi, I was wondering if anyone knows any specific details about the routine and daily spiritual practice of the Dalai Lama?

He famously gets up at 3:30 every day and does about 4 hours of spiritual practice. I understand he is fully qualified to practice most of the "higher" practices and non-conceptual meditation methods, but does he still do other practices such as Tonglen? prostrations? energy or breathing? Tantra? analysis? Or is it just resting as primordial awareness?

If anyone knows or has any details I would be most grateful as I can't find any specifics anywhere, google searches bring up mountains of generalised advice and quotes.

:namaste:
Lama Tsongkhapa and Lama Jigten Sumgon are well known for doing many so-called preliminary practices even as accomplished adepts. No doubt HHDL does as well.
Equanimity is the ground. Love is the moisture. Compassion is the seed. Bodhicitta is the result.

-Paraphrase of Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Tsephel citing the Guhyasamaja Tantra

"All memories and thoughts are the union of emptiness and knowing, the Mind.
Without attachment, self-liberating, like a snake in a knot.
Through the qualities of meditating in that way,
Mental obscurations are purified and the dharmakaya is attained."

-Ra Lotsawa, All-pervading Melodious Drumbeats
Schrödinger’s Yidam
Posts: 7885
Joined: Wed May 29, 2013 6:13 am

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

I like that they show him doing prostrations in the video Soar posted. Jogging on a treadmill too! :namaste:
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
Loren Enders
Posts: 141
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:20 pm

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by Loren Enders »

http://www.dalailama.com/teachings/training-the-mind

Eight Verses for Training the Mind by Geshe Langri Tangpa Dorje Senge.
'Lorem', 'Loren', 'Loren Enders'
User avatar
conebeckham
Posts: 5694
Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2010 11:49 pm
Location: Bay Area, CA, USA

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by conebeckham »

He does preliminaries, and I believe 7 deity yoga sadhanas, daily--though I can't recall where I heard thhis. You can bet he does Samvara, Vajrabhairava, Guhyasamaja daily..and I think Lerab Lingpa's Phurba is one...Kalacakra, too, I bet.
དམ་པའི་དོན་ནི་ཤེས་རབ་ཆེ་བ་དང་།
རྟོག་གེའི་ཡུལ་མིན་བླ་མའི་བྱིན་རླབས་དང་།
སྐལ་ལྡན་ལས་འཕྲོ་ཅན་གྱིས་རྟོགས་པ་སྟེ།
དེ་ནི་ཤེས་རབ་ལ་ནི་ལོ་རྟོག་སེལ།།


"Absolute Truth is not an object of analytical discourse or great discriminating wisdom,
It is realized through the blessing grace of the Guru and fortunate Karmic potential.
Like this, mistaken ideas of discriminating wisdom are clarified."
- (Kyabje Bokar Rinpoche, from his summary of "The Ocean of Definitive Meaning")
jmlee369
Posts: 693
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:22 am

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by jmlee369 »

His Holiness does at least five highest yoga tantra sadhanas a day, and I would agree with conebeckham's guesses as to which yidams they would be. The source for this is here under the section What to Do at the Time of Death. He also does prostrations as we can see from the video. I am about 99% certain that His Holiness recites Pachen Losang Chokyi gyaltsen's Lama Chopa everyday, as it is a common commitment given with the commentary.
Schrödinger’s Yidam
Posts: 7885
Joined: Wed May 29, 2013 6:13 am

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

HHDL has written at least one book on Dzogchen yet he does 5 different HYT deity practices daily? That sounds like he doesn't buy the "you only need Dzogchen" line of thinking. Has anyone read his Dzogchen book to see what he says about that?
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
Opulent
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Sep 19, 2015 5:21 pm

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by Opulent »

Thanks for all the answers and for the video. He clearly does prostrations and in the clip of his meditation he has his prayer beads in his hands, so could be some kind of mantra practice.

I see he has written some details on page 77 of the book "My Spiritual Autobiography" http://www.amazon.com/My-Spiritual-Auto ... obiography but I haven't been able to read these pages yet.
smcj wrote:HHDL has written at least one book on Dzogchen yet he does 5 different HYT deity practices daily? That sounds like he doesn't buy the "you only need Dzogchen" line of thinking. Has anyone read his Dzogchen book to see what he says about that?
I have the book "Mind in Comfort and Ease: The Vision of Enlightenment in the Great Perfection" and it is an excellent book, he goes through the entire Buddhist path through all the stages from beginning before introducing Dzogchen, so it is put into context that way and the impression I get is that he sees going through all the stages as equally important as the Dzogchen practices.
Last edited by Opulent on Sun Sep 20, 2015 3:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lobsang Damchoi
Posts: 52
Joined: Thu May 03, 2012 12:24 pm
Location: Southern California
Contact:

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by Lobsang Damchoi »

Getting back to the original topic...

Somewhere out there is an interview in which His Holiness gives a few tantalizing details on this. He mentioned a special/unusual long-life practice given to him by a highly realized (?non-Gelug) lama. (Perhaps Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche...?) Anyway, I recall him saying, in reference to his daily practice, in his usual jocular, semi-serious way, "Definitely too many mandalas!" I believe he mentioned 4-5 hours daily but not sure. The late Geshe Tsultrim Gyeltsen (a beloved Gelug lama based in Southern California) reportedly had 6 hours of practice daily.

Inspiring exemplars certainly! :bow:
Lobsang Damchoi
User avatar
Thomas Amundsen
Posts: 2034
Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2011 2:50 am
Location: Helena, MT
Contact:

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by Thomas Amundsen »

Topic locked for clean-up...
User avatar
Thomas Amundsen
Posts: 2034
Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2011 2:50 am
Location: Helena, MT
Contact:

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by Thomas Amundsen »

Off-topic comments have been split to the new thread Dzogchen Sadhana Practice.
MindTheGap
Posts: 158
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2016 5:41 pm
Location: Earth, 3rd Planet, 1 AU Sol; 4 ly @ RA 14h 29m 42.9487s Dec −62° 40′ 46.141″: to Proxima Centauri

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by MindTheGap »

This may not be what you're looking for specifically, but others drawn to check out this post might find it helpful.

I'm sorry I don't remember the source material - if I can find it, I'll post it. Probably I have a link in my bookmarks on my browser. And... These are notes I took from the original source material. So... Yeah, I hope I can find that link.

Until then...

__________

Dalai Lama's advice on daily practice:

Recite:

Homage to Shakya Buddha and all the bodhisattvas!

(make mental offering, disclose ill deeds, 
generate regret and abstaining)

Recite:

From the bottom of my heart, 
I make mental offerings and
I disclose to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
The the negative karma I have created.

(Admire your own good deeds, those of others
And of the innumerable Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
over limitless time)

(Entreaty: ask the Buddhas that have attained enlightenment 
but have not yet begun teaching to do so for all who suffer.

Supplication:  ask the Buddhas who have not yet passed away 
to remain teaching 

Dedication: dedicate your merit towards highest enlightenment)

Recite:

May the good karma I have generated 
help me attain full enlightenment 
For the sake of all sentient beings 

(Imagine the entire world system has been purified
Offer it with all conceivable marvels  
To the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas)

Aspiring to enlightenment for the care of others:

Recite:

Until I reach enlightenment, I seek refuge 
    in the Buddha, the dharma and the sangha
    
(1: Faith in the Buddha, the states of realization, 
     And faith in the community, maintaining the conviction
     That through them  all beings will find freedom
     From all suffering.

2: Compassion: not being able to stand 
      the enslavement of others to suffering
      Without doing something about it.
      Know that the Buddha is the teacher of refuge
     That the true paths and cessations are the absolute refuge
     And that the Bodhisattvas that have recognized the true
     Nature of phenomena are our spiritual community
     Leading all sentient beings to refuge
     With that knowledge, aspire to higher enlightenment )
     
 Recite:

Through the collections of my merit through giving and morality,
Patience, effort and concentration,  may I achieve Buddhahood
In order to help all beings. Through the force of these virtuous 
Actions, may I achieve Buddhahood not to help myself 
but to be of service to all sentient beings, in order to help them to achieve Buddhahood.

(generation of a compassionate intention 
to become enlightened in the form of a wish)

Central:

(With a strong wish to attain Buddhahood 
 in order to serve other beings, imagine before you a Buddha 
Or your own spiritual teacher as a representative of him)
 
Recite:

Until I reach enlightenment
I seek refuge in the Buddha, the dharma and the sangha
Through the collections of my merit, giving, morality, effort
And wisdom, may I achieve Buddhahood in order to help
All beings. (x3)

(generate this attitude with great determination)

Now when I have such a great opportunity
What could be more important than striving 
for the benefit of others from now on,
To the full extent of my ability
I will stop concentrating on my own welfare
And will commit myself deeply
to the advancement of all beings.
To accomplish this, I will achieve
unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment 

Recite: 

Until I reach enlightenment, I seek refuge in 
The Buddha, dharma, and sangha, 
Through the collections of my merit, giving, morality, effort
And wisdom, may I achieve Buddhahood in order to help
All beings.

__________

Now. Let me find that link... :coffee:
Last edited by MindTheGap on Tue Apr 19, 2016 6:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
And now, as long as space endures, As long as there are beings to be found,
May I continue, likewise, to remain, To drive away the sorrows of the world.

- Shantideva: Bodhicharyavatara

In this world there is no man, there is no woman. There is no person, self or consciousness.
Man and woman are merely imputed and have no essence. Thus, the minds of worldly beings are mistaken.

- Wisdom Moon: now known as the Bodhisattva Tara

When there arises a gap in the mind...

Image
MindTheGap
Posts: 158
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2016 5:41 pm
Location: Earth, 3rd Planet, 1 AU Sol; 4 ly @ RA 14h 29m 42.9487s Dec −62° 40′ 46.141″: to Proxima Centauri

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by MindTheGap »

I think this is it...

http://www.vajratv.com/daily-prayer/

However, when I followed that link, the original advice from HHDL seems to be gone. My browser is glitchy, though, so check it out and see if you can pull it up.

Might be on his website:

http://www.dalailama.com/biography/a-routine-day
And now, as long as space endures, As long as there are beings to be found,
May I continue, likewise, to remain, To drive away the sorrows of the world.

- Shantideva: Bodhicharyavatara

In this world there is no man, there is no woman. There is no person, self or consciousness.
Man and woman are merely imputed and have no essence. Thus, the minds of worldly beings are mistaken.

- Wisdom Moon: now known as the Bodhisattva Tara

When there arises a gap in the mind...

Image
crazy-man
Posts: 506
Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2015 2:22 pm

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by crazy-man »

If possible, Buddhist practitioners should use their time now to look ahead to their next lives. Bodhichitta practices and certain tantric practices are good for this. According to the tantric teachings, at the time of death there’s the eight-stage dissolution of the elements – the grosser levels of the elements of the body dissolve, and then the more subtle levels also dissolve. Tantric practitioners need to include this in their daily meditation. Every day, I meditate on death – in different mandala practices – at least five times, so still I’m alive! Already this morning I’ve gone through three deaths.
https://studybuddhism.com/en/tibetan-bu ... -and-dying
The Dalai Lama's daily morning prayer.
May I be a guard for those who need protection
A guide for those on the path
A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood
May I be a lamp in the darkness
A resting place for the weary
A healing medicine for all who are sick
A vase of plenty, a tree of miracles
And for the boundless multitudes of living beings
May I bring sustenance and awakening
Enduring like the earth and sky
Until all beings are freed from sorrow
And all are awakened.
- Bodhisattva Prayer for Humanity, Shantideva, Indian Buddhist sage 700 A.D. Prayer performed each morning by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Shantideva's Bodhicharyavatara, chapter 3, verses 18-21,
https://www.facebook.com/illuminareglob ... 6375564895
With our thoughts, we make our world. Our mind is central and precedes our deeds. Speak or act with a pure mind, and happiness will follow you like a shadow that never leaves. The second sentence. [Speaking in foreign tongue] May there be joy in the world with harvest and spiritual rest. May every good fortune come to be and may all our wishes be fulfilled. [Speaking in foreign tongue] This is my favorite prayer. Daily I pray this. That gives me inner strength. So I am asking to serve humanity. As long as space remains and as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too, remain and help dispel the misery of the world.
http://time.com/14056/dalai-lama-senate-prayer/
“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/29007-e ... today-i-am
WORDS OF TRUTH
A Prayer Composed by HIS HOLINESS TENZIN GYATSO, THE FOURTEENTH DALAI LAMA OF TIBET, Honoring and Invoking the Great Compassion of the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Teachings, and the Spiritual Community
O Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and disciples of the past, present, and future: Having remarkable qualities immeasurably vast as the ocean,
Who regard all helpless sentient beings as your only child; Please consider the truth of my anguished pleas.
Buddha's full teachings dispel the pain of worldly existence and self-oriented peace; May they flourish, spreading prosperity and happiness through-out this spacious world.
O holders of the Dharma: scholars and realized practitioners; May your ten fold virtuous practice prevail.
Humble sentient beings, tormented by sufferings without cease, Completely suppressed by seemingly endless and terribly intense, negative deeds, May all their fears from unbearable war, famine, and disease be pacified, To freely breathe an ocean of happiness and well-being.
And particularly the pious people of the Land of Snows who, through various means, Are mercilessly destroyed by barbaric hordes on the side of darkness, Kindly let the power of your compassion arise, To quickly stem the flow of blood and tears.
Those unrelentingly cruel ones, objects of compassion, Maddened by delusion's evils, wantonly destroy themselves and others;
May they achieve the eye of wisdom, knowing what must be done and undone, And abide in the glory of friendship and love.
May this heartfelt wish of total freedom for all Tibet, Which has been awaited for a long time, be spontaneously fulfilled; Please grant soon the good fortune to enjoy The happy celebration of spiritual with temporal rule.
O protector Chenrezig, compassionately care for Those who have undergone myriad hardships, Completely sacrificing their most cherished lives, bodies, and wealth, For the sake of the teachings, practitioners, people, and nation.
Thus, the protector Chenrezig made vast prayers Before the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas To fully embrace the Land of Snows; May the good results of these prayers now quickly appear.
By the profound interdependence of emptiness and relative forms,Together with the force of great compassion in the Three Jewels and their Words of Truth, And through the power of the infallible law of actions and their fruits, May this truthful prayer be unhindered and quickly fulfilled.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/tib/trueword.htm

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Lessons from meditating with the Dalai Lama
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/15/healt ... editation/

A Day in the Life of the Dalai Lama
https://www.lionsroar.com/a-day-in-the- ... alai-lama/

At Home With the Dalai Lama
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/victor-ch ... 83961.html
User avatar
Mantrik
Former staff member
Posts: 2248
Joined: Sun Apr 09, 2017 8:55 pm
Contact:

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by Mantrik »

smcj wrote:HHDL has written at least one book on Dzogchen yet he does 5 different HYT deity practices daily? That sounds like he doesn't buy the "you only need Dzogchen" line of thinking. Has anyone read his Dzogchen book to see what he says about that?
If your practice is Dzogchen you integrate it into your daily life, sadhanas included. I suspect HHDL may be rather good at that. ;)
User avatar
ratna
Posts: 470
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2010 2:32 pm

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by ratna »

“I am not able to do much Dzogchen practice, but these days I do Vajrakilaya, Hevajra, Five-deity Heruka, Vajrayogini, which comes from the Sakyas, Kurukulla, as well as the Kagye Chidril composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama. Rigzin Pema Trinley urged, ‘Though you let other teachings decline, don’t let the Kagye diminish’. I have a commitment to read daily from the ‘Treasury of Dharmadhatu’, so I’ll read the first chapter to you now.”
Source
omnifriend
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:42 am

Re: Dalai Lama's daily practice - specific details

Post by omnifriend »

One of his meditations is analytical meditation. He says this meditation has helped quell his anger.
Post Reply

Return to “Meditation”