How to Make Talking on the Phone Beneficial

Lama Zopa Rinpoche says:

"Yesterday I was talking to Fabrizio on the phone. Fabrizio is a long-term Italian student who was a monk for many years. Lama Yeshe, who is kinder than all the buddhas of the three times, was quite happy that he was a monk and was happy with his practice, especially with his guru devotion. Fabrizio also speaks Tibetan quite well and is a very good translator. He is now offering service to Ribur Rinpoche, as well as translating Rinpoche’s teachings and initiations, and, most importantly, inspiring many people because of the great serious devotion to his guru in his heart and mental continuum; as well as his faith in the Dharma. Because of that, when he translates the Dharma the teachings become very effective, very moving for other people. Of course, when Ribur Rinpoche is teaching, every word comes from Ribur Rinpoche’s realizations and is very moving, very powerful.

Recently, Fabrizio has been offering service to Ribur Rinpoche by doing gelato business. His father had a special lineage of making gelato so Fabrizio learned this and started a shop in California, the profits of which will help Rinpoche and other Dharma projects.

Fabrizio's parents had problems and wanted to sell their house to repay bank debts, but it was very difficult to sell and Fabrizio was very concerned and asked me to do a mo. I was chatting to him on the phone for some time. At the same time, I thought, in order to make the time useful, I should do something else. So I took the opportunity to go around many enlightened buddhas' relics, relics of Lama Atisha and Nagarjuna, Buddha’s relics, relics of the previous Karmapas, Milarepa's relic, Lama Tsong Khapa's relic, as well as stupas that have the four powerful mantras—this means that each circumambulation purifies the five uninterrupted negative karmas: drawing blood from a Buddha, killing an arhant, causing a schism within the sangha, killing one’s mother or father. No question that it purifies the ten non-virtuous actions, directs one's life towards enlightenment, and brings health, long life and other temporal benefits; as well as being able to achieve all the realizations, such as the three principals of the path, the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment, etc.

So, while I was talking on the phone I was going around all the relics, pictures of Buddha, and tsa-tsas that I have piled up on a round table in my room.

Then I thought, Roger and Holly spend so many hours talking on the phone, it would be very nice to have a stupa which they can go around. Also, this is my suggestion to FPMT International Office [and to all center staff].

Arrange some small stupas on a table. It can be many tsa-tsas, but especially you should have some stupas that contain the four powerful mantras, as well as photos of Buddha, statues, texts etc. It should be beautifully set up, very pleasing and inspiring. Make delightful offerings—flowers, water, lights and other offerings—around the stupas. The seven precious royal emblems and eight offering goddesses, carrying offerings, etc., can go around the edge of the table. The stupa could be either in the garden, in the middle of each room, or in the center of the building. Then, because people spend many hours on the telephone, they can take the opportunity to circumambulate as much as they can.

Even if their speech is not virtuous, due to motivation the action of their body becomes virtuous; not only virtuous but the cause of enlightenment, the highest success, and, by the way, liberation from samsara, and happiness in future lives. For more information on this please see the letter I wrote to Ian Green about the benefits of holy objects (Benefits of Having Many Holy Objects, available to read and download at http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/advice/Default.asp).

In this way one's life is not wasted; by doing circumambulations it becomes extremely profound. For example, Lama Atisha always traveled with a Kadampa stupa and circumambulated it very often. So, you can see that circumambulating is very, very important.

If one's speech is virtuous and, on top of that, the action of one's body also becomes virtuous by circumambulating, one collects so much more merit; no question, then, if the action of one's mind is also virtuous. This is why it is important to take the opportunity for one's body, speech and mind to be virtuous as much as possible and put effort in that; because the nature of life is impermanence and death.

The other thing one can do, as it doesn’t need two hands to talk on the phone, is to turn a prayer wheel with the other hand. This causes all the sentient beings to be purified. Beams emit from the prayer wheel and purify yourself and all sentient beings of the six realms. They achieve all the realizations, especially great loving kindness, compassion and bodhicitta; the whole path, the five wisdoms etc.

Fabrizio explained that because Kyabje Ribur Rinpoche is not in California and has been away a long time, he was feeling very lonely. It looked like maybe he cried; he said he felt his life was meaningless.

I said, "You are doing this work because Ribur Rinpoche advised you, so it is extremely beneficial. In fact, you are following your guru's advice, which means every day you are correctly devoting to your virtuous friend, so this is bringing you closer to enlightenment. Because you obtained the advice of your guru and are following it, this action is bringing you closer to enlightenment. Each day, you go to work thinking of the benefits of obtaining Rinpoche’s advice and how it is bringing you closer to enlightenment. You should be extremely excited. Every time you open the door of the gelato shop you should remember this. Each time you go to work it is bringing you closer to enlightenment, purifying past lives' negative karma and delusions and collecting the most extensive merit. Just as Buddha gave teachings differently to every being, exactly fitting their needs, according to their minds, in the same way this is Rinpoche’s method to bring you to enlightenment, this is what fits your karma; making gelato brings you to enlightenment."

This made Fabrizio very happy."

Colophon: Transcribed by Ven Holly Ansett at Kachoe Dechen Ling, Aptos, October 2004; very lightly edited by Ven Thubten Labdron, Nov. 2004 and Claire Isitt, Dec 2004

NB: the essence of this advice is available to read and download in the Members Area, Center Advice from Lama and Rinpoche.

This article is taken from the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT).