The Vajrasattva practice is a powerful way to clear away obstacles on the path to enlightenment and to bless the mind for gaining the realizations of the path quickly. In addition to being one of the nine preliminary practices of Lama Tsongkhapa’s tradition, it is a trademark of Lama Thubten Yeshe’s style of guiding students that they engage in Vajrasattva retreat, preferably in a group. However, if it is not possible to do the mantras in a full-time retreat situation, which usually takes about three months, 100,000 recitations of the long mantra can be done as an intensive daily practice.

For more information, see the booklet The Preliminary Practice of Vajrasattva (p. 149).

Note: This preliminary practice actually entails doing 111,000 recitations of the long Vajrasattva mantra. 10%, or 10,000 mantras, are added to the 100,000 to purify any mistakes made while doing the 100,000 mantras, and on top of that an additional 1,000 mantras are done to purify any mistakes made while doing the extra 10,000 mantras, for a total of 111,000 mantras.

There are a number of ways to fulfill this requirement:

1. Participate in a Group Vajrasattva Retreat

Vajrasattva retreats are offered annually at:

• Kopan Monastery in Nepal (January-April)

• Tushita Meditation Center in India (June-Sept or July-October): 

The support of a group is invaluable for retreat, especially for such a long retreat as this one. It also provides a chance to share your experience with others and to receive personal guidance in the case that you experience difficulties.

2. Do a Full-Time Vajrasattva Retreat Alone

It generally takes from 2-3 months to complete 100,000 long Vajrasattva mantras. In a full-time retreat, you would usually do 4 sessions each day of about two hours in length. Alternatively, you can do shorter but more sessions, such as 5 or 6 a day. Many FPMT centers offer retreat facilities for individuals wishing to undertake retreats and also offer help and guidance in doing the practice. See the “Retreat Facilities” section of the FPMT webpage to locate a retreat center in your region.

The Vajrasattva retreat can also be done in your own home, if the conditions are suitable and you have enough self-discipline. However, this is not recommended if this is your first long retreat.

3. Do a Daily Practice of Vajrasattva

While a full-time residential retreat is optimal, this is an option for those who do not have the luxury of being able to take three months off to do retreat. In your own home, set up an altar and a meditation seat as you would do for a full-time retreat. It is recommended to do at least two sessions each day, one in the morning and one in the evening. However, it is also possible to do just one session a day. Once you become familiar with the mantra, you can recite anywhere from 200-500 mantras each session. In this way, you can complete this requirement in 18 months at a slow pace and in 3 ½ months at a brisk pace while still maintaining a regular work schedule. If you choose this option, it is important to try not to interrupt it, meaning that you should try to at least recite twenty-one long mantras every day until you have completed the mantras. However, if an exception happens and you miss a day, you do not need to start counting all over again.

While doing the hundred-syllable Vajrasattva mantra 100,000 times (plus 11,000 to make up for mistakes) is the main aim of the practice, an important point is that the mantras always have to be recited within the context of doing a sadhana/practice of Vajrasattva. The booklet The Preliminary Practice of Vajrasattva (p. 151) says:

The second session begins with the longer version of the Heruka Vajrasattva Retreat Sadhana. For the remaining sessions (three or four) you may use the Abbreviated Sadhana. If you like variety, you may also choose “A Short Vajrasattva Meditation” for some of your remaining sessions. Regardless of which sadhana you use, the last session of the day should include a “Torma Offering” and more extensive dedication prayers.

Note that the above says "second session" in reference to having done either Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga or Lama Chopa as the first session. 

If you are planning to do this practice on a daily basis rather than in retreat and do not have time to do a first session of Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga or Lama Chopa, do your first session based on the Heruka Vajrasattva Retreat Sadhana (see p. 7 of the booklet The Preliminary Practice of Vajrasattva). If you have time to do additional sessions of Vajrasattva, you can use the Abbreviated Heruka Vajrasattva Sadhana (p. 25) or A Short Vajrasattva Meditation (p. 31). In the last session of the day (which could be the first session if you are only doing one session), conclude the session with the Torma Offering (p. 25).

IMPORTANT: Only count the mantras that you recite in the context of a sadhana. 

Even though you are not doing an actual retreat, you should try as much as possible to do a kind of "daily retreat," in the sense of doing the sadhana at a more or less regular time each day and giving yourselves time to do a fair number of mantra recitations in a session. When you are busy, you can do a quick session by reciting less mantras. And if you are really busy, you can do one of the shorter sadhanas and recite less mantras. It is good to try to do at least one of the shorter sadhanas every day in order to not break the continuity. However, at the very least, take refuge, visualize Vajrasattva, and recite either 21 long mantras or 28 short mantras, OM VAJRASATTVA HUM. But in this case, do not count these mantras toward the 100,000 as you did not do them in the context of a sadhana.

4. Do a Combination of a Daily Practice and Short Retreats

In general do a daily practice of Vajrasattva as described above, but, whenever you can, dedicate some days or weeks to doing more intensive practice in a full-time retreat situation.

Support Materials

Support materials for this practice available from the Foundation Store include:

• The Preliminary Practice of Vajrasattva: contains the necessary practice text together with full instructions for completing 100,000 mantras as well as a list of helpful resources to complete the practice.
• Becoming Vajrasattva (previously entitled The Tantric Path of Purification), by Lama Thubten Yeshe: contains the necessary practice text as well as an explanation of the Vajrasattva practice

In Conclusion

The special integration experience requirements of Discovering Buddhism were advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, FPMT Spiritual Director, for those wishing to get the highest benefit from this program. While the practices may at first seem daunting, the benefits of engaging in them are immeasurable. They are the foundational practices that clear away negative karmas collected from beginningless lives, preparing you for not only a peaceful death and a good future rebirth, but also for the ultimate happinesses of liberation and enlightenment.

If you have further questions or concerns regarding this module or any other aspect of the Discovering Buddhism program, please contact:

Foundational Program Coordinator
FPMT Education Services
fpc@fpmt.org