What is SHAKPA? How do we ATTONE for our wrongs? How do we acknowledge and dissolve the wrongs of the world? SHAKPA simply means we realize our mistake and apologize with firm resolve not to repeat the mistake. We can remove negative marks from our soul with the sincere emotion of regret. In Tibetan this purification process is called SHAKPA, meaning “to change direction”. Follow the video below.
Takeaway:
- The Practice of Shakpa consists of Four Steps.
- ATONEMENT in Every Culture and Religion.
- We Are ALL Directly & Indirectly Responsible.
- We Create Our Own Destiny. How do Past Karmic Errors Show up in Life?
- WHO IS BUDDHA VAJRASATTVA?
- What Can We Do? 4 Steps to Clear Negatives, Personal and Global.
To forgive yourself and others is called SHAKPA, or ATONEMENT.
1. The Practice of Shakpa (བཤགས་པ་) consists of Four Steps:
- I must recognize the error and admit it with intense remorse.
- I confess the wrongdoing in a sacred way. For example, I can pray about it in a sacred place, in the presence of a very powerful spiritual object, or admit it with an important master, or deity. This gives my admission serious power, more than a casual apology.
- I must utilize a very powerful practice, such as chanting the Vajrasattva mantra while visualizing his image. I can read his sutra of atonement, I can circumambulating a holy stupa, or perform a number of prostrations in order to deeply seed the positive change which shakpa practice must bring about.
- Lastly, I must have the strength to transform my life with a strong resolve to not perpetrate the error again. This means you find the strength to adopt a new way of living as an antidote. Maybe you focus on doing the OPPOSITE actions to clear your pattern. This commitment is necessary to adhere to your promise with permanent staying power.
These four factors make SHAKPA a powerful practice to transform one’s mind and character.
To remove the errors and curses from our soul for acts that we may have done in this life and previous lifetimes, we must APOLOGIZE. We can remove the scar with the sacred act of REGRET and a PROMISE. When we recognize our mistake, we can make a firm decision next time to never do this again. By feeling regret for wrongs that we have committed in this life and previous lives, we acknowledge the mistakes and ask for forgiveness to restore harmony and balance in the world.
Now is the time for all humans to move beyond blame, skin colors, religious differences and divisions, in order to unify and cleanse humanity, to restore our balance with Nature.
2. ATONEMENT in Every Culture and Religion
In Christianity, Atonement is the sacrifice Jesus Christ made to help people overcome sin, adversity, and spiritual death. Jesus’ atoning sacrifice took place in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary. In Judaism, Yom Kippur and the powerful Kol Nidrei recalls the moment when Moses stood in prayer before God and achieved forgiveness for the people despite the gravity of their sin. In Islam, the term Kaffārah (atonement) means redemption for the forgiveness of sins committed by mistake, on purpose, or as a result of coercion. This term expresses the forgiveness even for sins through good acts and deeds we do. Thus the soul is cleansed of all dark marks.
The traditional Hawaiian practice for Forgiveness is called “Ho’oponopono” . The word ho’oponopono means: “To bring things back in balance” or “To make things right.” It’s a concept to restore the power of equanimity in Nature. (In native Hawaiian, “pono” means “balance in life”.)
The Buddhist practice of ATONEMENT is SHAKPA. We realize our mistake and apologize with firm resolve to not repeat it.
The sacred cleansing prayer for SHAKPA is
Om Vajrasattva Hung.
We can remove the marks from our soul with the sincere emotion of REGRET and this prayer.
3. We Are ALL Directly & Indirectly Responsible.
How Many Ways Do We Harm Others?
- I did it knowingly for fun.
- I planned it and did it purposely to hurt others.
- I did it for money, sex, power.
- I did it for my family.
- We all participated. I was part of the team.
- I had to do it because they threatened me or my family.
- I was just following orders.
- I didn’t know what was going on, and I didn’t think of looking.
- I was “Forced” to do it or lose my job. I BLAME my boss.
- I knew it was wrong, but I had no choice, they MADE me do it.
- I did it, but I didn’t understand what I was doing.
- I temporarily lost my mind.
- I did it and benefited by receiving perks from the perpetrators.
- I benefited directly by being a wealthy citizen of the USA superior country financial exchange system.
- I didn’t exactly know what was going on, but I received kickbacks in exchange for my silence.
- I knew people were being harmed, but I was afraid to speak or it would endanger my position.
- I made expedient, selfish choices that damaged health and integrity in me, the planet, humans, plants, animals.
- I knew people were dying, but I did not wish to disturb the collective thinking.
- Everyone in my group received special treatment, while other groups lost everything and I said nothing.
- We robbed people of livelihood and life, as a normal course of events.
- We received lavish food, while in the next country (house, city, community), people were starving.
- As I child, perhaps I was innocent, but due to my parents silence about the wrongs, we were able to eat and have an easy life.
- I unwittingly donated money to a charity that was trafficking women and children for sex.
- I bought everyday goods produced in ways that harmed others and destroyed natural animal habitat.
- I elected politicians who selfishly misdirected public resources for themselves.
- Even my good actions brought unexpected harm to people and animals.
- I allowed myself to be swayed into buying toxic, addictive foods, which damaged my health and my family’s wellbeing.
- I participated in a society of acquisition, greed and selfishness, allowing it to grow disproportionately and distort human integrity.
Conclusion: If I participated directly or indirectly in centuries or lifetimes of injustices, in any lifetime, then I also carry the negative marks of culpability.
We are all responsible. Together we can clear these negative marks.
4. We Create Our Own Destiny. Don’t blame others.
Our soul is an integral part of the ever-changing universe. Your every experience is YOUR creation and responsibility. When we do a good deed, we create a positive universal memory. When we do something that goes against Nature, (a MISTAKE, against the Source of all), we create a negative mark, like a curse. Some traditions call this a SIN or an ERROR, which we can dissolve, or ATTONE.
How Do Our Past Karmic Errors Show up in Life?
Negative Karma can manifest in many ways. Every person’s destiny is unique. Negative past events can show up every day as a pattern of obstacles, rejection, relationship problems, illness, physical scars, or family disharmony. For example, maybe you were a cruel boss in your past lives, so in this life, you receive terrible cruelty from your superiors for no apparent reason. If you were miserly and selfish in the past, in this life you might continue the pattern, but people hate you and you don’t understand why. Don’t blame others. This experience of life is all created by YOURSELF.
What to do?
You can heal your Karma with SHAKPA. You can ATTONE and reverse cruel Karma by being extra kind to others. You can “pay it forward” with random acts of generosity to people around you. These conscious actions help to shift your thought patterns and uplift your destiny in a big way. Try it!
SHAKPA Synonyms: Atonement, Reparation, Apology, Forgiveness, Grace, Redemption, Reparation, Exculpation, Clearing, Changing Directions.
5. WHO IS BUDDHA VAJRASATTVA?
Vajrasattva is the main deity used for purification by tantra practitioners. Vajrasattva also goes by the name Dorje Sempa རྡོ་རྗེ་སེམས་དཔའ་, meaning “diamond being”. This Vajrasattva meditation is the primary cleansing practice recommended by Vajrayana Buddhism. The aim of the chant is to purify all our karma in order to reach enlightenment as quickly as possible, and to be able to help all sentient beings achieve spiritual realization, or freedom from the physical world.
This chant can be used to purify any broken vow. The Vajrasattva mantra is also used to purify karma, negative actions, to bring peace, and instill enlightened activity on a global scale in the world.
Vajrasattva practice is a tantric meditation done for the purification of karma. As a Mahayana practice, it is undertaken with a bodhichitta, meaning a compassionate mindset to help all sentient being to find their oneness, freedom, and enlightenment.
Just Say: Om Vajrasattu Hung
Use this chant to express regret, to make a promise, and remove negative marks from your soul.
6. Conclusion: WHAT CAN WE DO?
4 Steps to Clear Negatives, Personal and Global.
- Recognize the error and admit it with intense remorse.
- Confess the wrongdoing in a sacred way.
- Chant the Vajrasattva mantra while visualizing his image, or use an Atonement prayer of your personal religion. Or make your own sincere prayer.
- Transform your life with a strong resolve to not make the error again. Adopt a new way of living as an antidote – maybe you focus on doing the OPPOSITE actions to clear your pattern.
Wounded people wound others, but then healed people heal others. Secure people shelter others. Free spirits free others. Enlightened people illuminate others. And LOVE always wins.
So shine your light on all those who cross your path in life, because your actions MATTER. Take every opportunity to uplift others, and always do your best. It will take about a decade to clear the major wrongs on the planet.
So let’s get going!
Srijana, aka Jane Barthelemy, is a medical intuitive, author, and healer. Srijana has her MBA in financial management and has practiced Tibetan Buddhist meditation for over five decades, residing in the Rudrananda Ashram in the USA for 35 years. She practices kinesiology, craniosacral therapy, Acunect, and BodyTalk – an infusion of Chinese – Ayurvedic wisdom. She is trained in Qigong, Taichi, Daoist sexuality, and Kundalini activation. She has her BS in Italian Opera and MBA. Her two paradigm-changing cookbooks show how to build health with unprocessed foods. Her upcoming books include: “Heal Your Past Lives”, and “Buddha Speaks – Channeled Passages from the Master”. Her websites are FiveSeasonsMedicine.com and JanesHealthyKitchen.com. Srijana lives in Bhutan with her Bhutanese husband, D. Thinley.
More Sources:
Lama D. (D. Thinley)
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