Calling out

Something we can do when we feel powerless

There are times when we feel powerless to turn the tide of events around us, when we feel insignificant in the greater scheme of things and incapable of making the difference we would wish. We watch as tragedies unfold across our screens or, worse, across our own lands: social conflicts and wars, epidemics, natural disasters that feel beyond our scope and reach. And the ‘we’ here is not only the little people like myself (and maybe you) it is also those who are paid to lead. Our leaders, too, lack the foresight, insight or power to direct events in a beneficial way. Everything has become so complex and so globally intricate that we have turned into hapless sailors without captain or compass.

Right now the world is all over the place as one world order collapses and another is yet to come. The uncertainty and insecurity this brings causes so much anxiety. It also brings very physical torment: think of the millions of displaced and homeless people who have nowhere feasible to live. Think of the millions of refugees looking for sanctuary in hard-hearted lands. Think of all those who are unable to access medical care or sufficient food. These are realities on Earth today, realities in the present time that pierce the skin of our existence and threaten to tear human hearts to shreds.

Whenever we feel overwhelmed and groundless, or terrified and lost, then Buddhism offers a method we can use to find our inner strength. That method is prayer. It’s a way of calling out for help. It means admitting that we need help because we cannot find the source of our personal power alone. Who are we praying to? Not a God or gods, but rather to great spiritual figures of the past who, through mastering their minds, were able to master circumstance. We trust that their compassion is beyond limits of space and time and it will reach us and transform our lives if we call out with a genuine heart and open mind.

Padmasambhava is one such master who practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism often invoke for support and guidance. He is known to respond reliably and quickly to heartfelt prayers. Historically he was an 8^th century master from Uddiyana (Orgyen in Tibetan) in Central Asia who was instrumental in establishing Buddhism in Tibet and he is affectionately called Guru Rinpoche, the precious guru. But, importantly, he is not simply a historical person, he is a principle. He represents the nature of reality, the power of wisdom and limitless compassion that is our true nature. So we invoke an external figure and evoke our own inner nature at the same time, and in that process we reclaim our inner strength. We discover how powerful the mind really is.

One beautiful image he left us with is that, still now, he rides on the sun’s rays and even if you have no belief in Padmasambhava at all and feel no connection with him, the idea of calling out at dawn and dusk to everything the sun represents – warmth and light – and to all the goodness in the world: that might resonate with you. Here is one stanza on this.

Now, when this degenerate dark age reaches its final depths,

At dawn and at dusk you come, for those who have devotion,

Riding on the rays of the rising and the setting sun,

And on every tenth day of the waxing moon, you come in person.

Compassionate one, you act with vast power to help beings:

To the Lotus-born Guru of Orgyen, we pray!

Grant your blessing, so all our wishes be spontaneously fulfilled!

By ‘blessings’ we refer to the tremendous power of the compassionate mind that is able to transform our minds and our circumstances. The prayer continues.

Now in this dark age, the age of conflict, the final era of five hundred years,

The five poisons of the negative emotions grow more violent in all sentient beings—

Recklessly we indulge in destructive emotions, and let the poisons dominate our minds.

At a time like this, let your compassion be our refuge and protection.

Compassionate one, you lead those with devotion to the higher realms:

To the Lotus-born Guru of Orgyen, we pray!

Grant your blessing, so all our wishes be spontaneously fulfilled!

When nature turns against us, and earth’s resources fail;

When sentient beings are tormented by the plague of famine,

With no trace of doubt or hesitation we pray:

O Guru Rinpoche, with all your ḍākinīs and deities of prosperity,

You will dispel all poverty, all hunger and thirst—of this we have no doubt.

To the Lotus-born Guru of Orgyen, we pray!

Grant your blessing, so all our wishes be spontaneously fulfilled!

When faced by killers on all sides,

Who threaten us with lethal weapons,

With no trace of doubt or hesitation we pray:

O Guru Rinpoche, the protection of your vajra tent

Will cause killers to panic and weapons to be scattered.

To the Lotus-born Guru of Orgyen, we pray!

Grant your blessing, so all our wishes be spontaneously fulfilled!

When this lifespan is exhausted, and we come to die,

If we are racked by the intense anguish and pain of dying,

With no trace of doubt or hesitation we pray…

When beings of all six realms are tormented by immense pain,

And especially when our leaders and people are engulfed in suffering,

With intense longing and devotion, from the depths of our hearts,

With no trace of doubt or hesitation we pray:

O Guru Rinpoche, with your unchanging, unwavering compassion—watch over us!

To the Lotus-born Guru of Orgyen, we pray!

Grant your blessing, so all our wishes be spontaneously fulfilled!

May these words serve as a reminder to all those of you who already have a connection to Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava, so you remember to turn your mind towards him in times of need. And to everyone else, maybe you will discover you now feel a connection to him and maybe you won’t. Whichever way, calling out from your heart to the wisdom of the universe is a good thing to do.

The complete prayer can be found here.

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