Question asked by Dongho
Who's Dorje Namjomma? Who's Guhyasamaja and what is the benefit of his/her mantra? Who's the Buddha Mitrukpa? Who's Namgyalma? Who's Veshawani?
How are items to be blessed if there aren't any gurus or lamas in the area? What are the benefits of name mantras? Is Saraswati a form of Tara? How many mantras of Taras are there?
Dear Dongho,
Thank you for your questions. Dorje Namjomma, is more commonly spelt Dorje Namjom in English, also called Vajra Vidarana in Sanskrit. This a form of Vajrasattva and is therefore a Buddha that is practiced for purification of negative karma. It is negative karma that is the cause of our problems in daily life, therefore purification practices help to alleviate this. As such Dorje Namjom’s practice is said to counter negativities through this function of purification. Associated with this is the Chabtrul Puja. During this puja the lama blesses water which is then used to purify a person’s negative karma by drinking or pouring over a person’s head.
Guhyasamaja is a Highest Tantra Yoga deity. Through his practice one can gain enlightenment in this very life time. In fact within the Gelugpa tradition Guhyasamaja is known as the King of Tantras as its practice is so effective. That being said it is one of the most difficult of the tantras to master. As the deity belongs to the Highest Yoga Tantra class of deities, the mantra and its benefits are only discussed amongst those who have received the appropriate empowerment.
Mitrugpa is the Tibetan name for the Buddha Akshobya. He is one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas together with Vairocana, Amoghasiddhi, Amitabha and Ratnasambhava. His particular path to enlightenment stresses that practitioners overcome and pacify their anger. His pureland is called Sukhavati.
Namgyalma, also known as Ushnishavijaya in Sanskrit, is one of the three long-life Buddhas. The others are Amitayus and White Tara. Through Namgyalma’s practice one can purify the karma that can lead to illness and also early death, so that they can concentrate on being of benefit to others and progressing further on the spiritual path towards enlightenment.
If you are in an area where there are no gurus or lamas to bless items, you can bless them yourself. You recite mantras many times and you blow gently on the object. This will energise the object with the vibrational energy and blessings of the mantras. The best would be to have a guru bless the item for you as they are able to use their practices to do it. However it is perfectly fine for you to bless your own item as well.
The name mantras of gurus, has many benefits. The first is that the student creates a very strong bond with guru, and through this creates the causes for the guru to remain (have a long life) to teach and preserve the Dharma. In Buddhism we believe that you can only receive Dharma teachings if you have created the causes to do so. The recitation of name mantras facilitates this and therefore leads to the long life of the guru to continue their work. The guru is considered a Buddha by their students, especially in tantra. Vajradhara (Buddha Shakyamuni in tantric form) taught that one should regard the guru as inseparable from your meditational deity. Therefore when we recite the mantra correctly, it has the same benefit as any other mantras. It can avert obstacles and overcome negative energies if you faith in guru is strong enough.
Saraswati is considered a Buddha in her own right, not as a form of Tara. She is the Buddha of learning, music and beautiful speech, and is also the consort of Manjushri. She was practiced strongly by Lama Tsongkhapa who wrote of the benefits of her practice.
As for the mantras of Tara, each form of Tara will have her own associated mantra. Traditionally there are said to be 21 main forms of Tara and each of them has their own mantra. The praise to the 21 Taras is included in the Kangyur, which means it was taught by Buddha Shakyamuni himself. You can read more about the Heroic Red Tara form here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/heroic-red-tara-suryagupta-lineage.html.