H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's 1st Lecture on the Heart Sutra

This is the 30th entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 16.10.2010.

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The short version of the Heart Sutra mantra:

GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA
"Gone, gone, gone to the other shore;
Gone completely to the other shore (gone fully over).
Awakened, so be it!"
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According to Wikipedia:
The Heart Sutra is a well-known Mahayana Buddhist sutra that is very popular among Mahayana Buddhists both for its brevity and depth of meaning. Its Sanskrit name Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya literally translates to the "Heart of the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom."

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Here is a nice version of the Heart Sutra mantra that I really enjoy listening to:

H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's Lecture (Samatha and Vipassana Meditation Practice)

This is the 29th entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 15.10.2010.

*Although I had written around 33 pages in total by hand (by the end of H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's lectures), there were still a few things that I had missed out on during his speech. Mostly due to the fact that I didn't write quick enough to catch everything that he had said, for which I am sorry.
I should also mention that the English translation of every speech was done by Ari-Ma, H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's American disciple and personal translator.

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"I will give an introduction to these practices.

Vipassana in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the nature of reality.
Samatha (calm abiding) comprises a suite, type or style of Buddhist meditation or concentration practices designed to enhance sustained voluntary attention, and culminates in an attention that can be sustained effortlessly for hours on end.

To you dharma friends, I have no great scholarship or studied texts but I have experience with suffering. The Buddha's dharma has methods on how to eliminate this suffering.

H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's Public Lecture at the National Library of Estonia

This is the 28th entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 14.10.2010.

*Although I had written around 33 pages in total by hand (by the end of H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's lectures), there were still a few things that I had missed out on during his speech. Mostly due to the fact that I didn't write quick enough to catch everything that he had said, for which I am sorry.
I should also mention that the English translation of every speech was done by Ari-Ma, H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's American disciple and personal translator.

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"We have taken countless bodies yet the mind has not died. There is not one sentient being who has not been our kind mother. All of us who have a physical body, all have one wish - to become free of suffering and find happines. All sentient beings seek for methods to find happiness. Even after death when we have a new body we still wish for it.

H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's Lecture at the Sangha

This is the 27th entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 14.10.2010.

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H.E. Garchen Rinpoche arrived in Estonia to give us lectures. The first lecture that I attended was at the center.
Khenpo Tamphel translated Rinpoche's Tibetan speech into English for us and I wrote it down as fast and as much as I could.

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"Rejoice in your devotion and aspiration to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. You are lucky to have lama Sangyas. It's kind of him to teach you here. You are very blessed.

As soon as we become human beings our basic wish is to become free of suffering. In order to be happy we need to realize the causes of suffering. There is mundane wisdom and wisdom that's beyond the world.

We engage in all kinds of methods to be happy (mundane wisdom). Our mind experiences all kinds of emotions during sleep and when we're awake.

Phowa

This is the 26th entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 05.10.2010.

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Drupon Sangyas:

"This is the direct teaching from Buddha Amithabha. There are many different buddhas and every buddha has its own pure land. Amithabha's is the best one. We have the Phowa practice to reach his pure land and someday it will be very useful for you (at the time of death). We can become free from Samsara through this practice. It was founded during the time of Padmasambhava.

Phowa - the transference of consciousness. It's like pouring water from one cup (our body) into another cup (a different body or form). The body is only temporary. So Phowa is a teaching on how to transfer the consciousness from this body to the pure land.

The consciousness leaves the body directly through the top of the head (if you're an enlightened person). For gods and demi-gods - through the nose. And for animals - it's all over the place.
The center channel of the body is blue on the outside and red on the inside. At the heart level there's a lotus with our seeds (the essence from our parents) and the consciousness is formless.

Avalokiteshvara (Compassion & Purification Practice; A Short Chenrezig Meditation)

This is the 25th entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 04.10.2010.

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*I was unable to go so my mother wrote instead of me.

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Drupon Sangyas:

"You can recite this mantra whenever you want. It's one of the best buddhist methods - all sentient beings need help. We all need someone with an open heart. When you are loved and cared for, you also become more loving and caring towards other people - you become happier. We need to reach that state of love and become free of suffering spontaneously. Our mind would suffer without this practice.

The mantras can help one see things more clearly. All beings need love. If we don't help ourselves it's more difficult to get help from elsewhere. The mind is constantly thinking something but through meditation and practice we become more open and the mind is more loving and calm.

So this mantra is necessary. It brings blessings for the whole family-tree. It also increases your compassion and wisdom.
Material wealth and beauty will not make us happy if we have no compassion.

White Tara Practice

This is the 24th entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 29.09.2010.

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Drupon Sangyas:

"The White Tara mantra is for long life.

We need lots of meditation and practice to become free of Samsara. We need a long life for this so we need the White Tara's blessing.

Our lives become shorter every day. When we eat meat or kill an insect, our lives become shorter. We need the White Tara practice to increase the longevity of life. Through this compassion also increases and obstacles are removed.

When you do this practice visualize that you are making an offering to the White Tara. You can offer anything - light, water, flowers etc."

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The short version of the White Tara mantra:

OM TARE TUTTARE TURE MAMA
AYUR JNANA PUNYE PUSHTIM KURU SVAHA