Geshe Jangchub Gyaltsen, Buddhist teacher shows
principles to practise first of «Seven Limbs»

Peace Times 10

Geshe Jangchub Gyaltsen, guest teacher of Kunpen Lama Gangchen in Milan, Italy, gave a series of teachings on the «Practice of the Seven Limbs». The Geshe, from the Ganden Shartse Monastery in India, spoke thus about the subject: «In teaching as in learning, motivation is fundamental. For those who listen, the right motivation is that of wishing to learn with the aim of removing the suffering of all living beings. For the one who teaches, the correct motivation is that of wishing to teach for the benefit of all beings, and that is not merely for those physically present at the lesson, but also for those invisible, who are not directly perceived».

The practice of Seven Limbs refers to the following arguments: prostrations, offerings, confessions, generating joy, the aspiration of continuing on the spiritual path, requesting the enlightened beings to remain and dedication. These seven preliminary practices are aimed at accumulating positive energy and removing impurities.

As far as the first limb is concerned, that is prostrations, Geshe Jangchub explains: «During prostrations one should imagine all enlightened beings before one, that is all those beings with great qualities: one’s lama is particularly seen as a the main deity and protector. In the same way the entire field of merit is visualised. For those who have no specific knowledge, simply visualise an enlightened being or a peaceful image.

To begin with, hands are joined with thumbs facing inwards: they are brought to the top of the head, then the forehead, the throat and the heart. One way of making prostrations is to lay full length on the ground. Another is simply to touch the ground on 5 points - the head, the hands and the knees. There is no substantial difference between the methods: if however, one has no problems of space, one can make the long prostrations, even though they are a little more tiring. When one has little time, 3 prostrations in the morning and 3 prostrations at night are enough to reap some benefit. It is useful to maintain a certain continuity. In some pilgrimage places, such as in Bodhgaya in India, many people gather together, especially in the month of December and January, to make prostrations for up to 8 hours a day.

When prostrating before enlightened beings we must visualise receiving blessings that purify all our negativities and inspire the development of our inner qualities. When one is afflicted by physical problems, one can imagine that rays of light come from the enlightened beings which purify and help to heal any illness».

Giuseppe Tommasi - Carmen Robustelli