Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

　　Mandala – dKyil-“khor

　　Translated by Peter Roberts

　　Introduction

　　When the precious Buddhadharma is being imparted it is very important for students to receive the teachings with the pure motivation, which is the wish to benefit all living beings without exception and to lead them to reliable happiness and peace. The motivation should not be restricted to those one likes by thinking, “Oh, I only want to help my family and friends.” The pure motivation of love and compassion embraces all living beings. How is the vast motivation cultivated

　　 By sincerely following the path of Dharma. Love and compassion can be developed and increased and then one will be able to help others most beneficially. Love and compassion can only be effective if one is impartial. Blind compassion means directing one”s compassion towards a few at the painful expense of others. Therefore it is important to always remember that true help can only be given if it is authentic. We earnestly generate the wish to develop and increase the altruistic motivation and know that we are receiving the pure teachings in order to learn to serve others without ego-fixation.

　　Everyone has inner and outer conflicts and runs up against personal barriers, which vary from one person to the next. Many people lead their lives reigned by their anger, others are jealous or proud, but a major conflict people have in common is desire. Attachment and desire can be quite varied, because there are so many things to crave; for example, some people are attached to wealth, others are preoccupied with their physical fitness, or their career, or their home, or their family, or their friends. So, there have to be just as many methods and means to pacify and eliminate the never-ending problems that arise from craving and attachment.

　　Meditation Deities – Yid-dam

　　In general, the Tibetan Tradition teaches that meditating on a very beautiful and peaceful form of a deity, yidam in Tibetan,1 is an opportunity to turn one”s attention towards values of being instead of upon one”s personal objects of desire. Furthermore, it is taught that meditating on a wrathful yidam is a skilful method to focus one”s attention on goodness instead of on one”s own anger. We can easily see for ourselves in which way concentrating and meditating on an extremely beautiful and extraordinary form diminishes and eventually eradicates attachment and desire for less appealing persons or objects one would otherwise have in mind. Let me tell you a story to illustrate remedies on how to put an end to the nagging struggles that desire and aversion always bring on.

　　Lord Buddha had a cousin named Gawo.2 The Buddha saw that it was time to introduce Gawo to the meaningful path of the precious Dharma. There was a problem, though. Gawo was married to a gorgeous woman called Pundarika, and they were madly in love with each other. Seeing that Gawo would have to become a monk in order to engage in a meaningful life, the Buddha managed to persuade him and finally the day arrived to pick him up to leave mundane concerns behind. Pundarika was terribly upset; she cried her eyes out and made her husband promise that he would return soon. Off and on their way, Gawo just couldn”t get Pundarika out of his mind. The Buddha exhorted Gawo, told him that clinging to samsara was the most useless thing in the world – to no avail. Poor Gawo just could not stop thinking of beautiful Pundarika. Lord Buddha decided to lead Gawo into a dense forest. When they arrived, he pointed to a female monkey and asked Gawo, “Who is more beautiful, Pundarika or that monkey

　　” Gawo was shocked and answered, “There is no comparison. My wife is 100 times, no, 1000 times more beautiful than that monkey.” Then, through his miraculous abi…

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