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 BRIEF EXPLANATION OF BENEFITS OF DOING PROSTRATION BEFORE THE THREE JEWELS''Prostration'' is a general term describing a gesture of homage respect. There are many different ways to do prostration, and customs vary from place to place. However,in this case our teacher has taught us how to do them according to the words of the conqueror. So knowingly to prostrate in the wrong way, whether out of pride or in order to make it easier, is an act of disrespect and a demonstration of contempt. It should also be understood that to do prostrations as though paying a tax serves no purpose and will only bring the wrong results. Proper prostrations, on the other hand, bring immeasurable benefits. Once, when a monk was prostrating to a stupa containing hair and nail clippings of the Buddha, Ananda [Attendant of Buddha Shakyamuni] asked the Buddha what the benefits of such an act might be. The Buddha replied; a single prostration is so powerful that if, as a result, one were to become a universal emperor as many time as the number of grains of dust beneath one's down to the lowest depth of the earth, the benefits of the act would still not be exhausted From ''The Words of My Perfect Teacher'' by Patrol Rinpoche.[1808-1887] Prostrations also subdue pride. It is the antidote for pride. To do prostrations, we should join our palms together and place them on the forehead, then on the throat and then on the heart. This way we receive the qualities of the Buddha's body, speech and mind, as will as subdue the three portions [anger, lust, and stupidity]. The Buddha has 32 major and 80 minor signs is the protrusion on the head and this is a result of having made prostrations to the root guru and the three jewels with strong devotion and trust.Prostrations also subdue pride. It is the antidote for pride. To do prostrations, we should join our palms together and place them on the forehead, then on the throat and then on the heart. This way we receive the qualities of the Buddha's body, speech and mind, as will as subdue the three portions [anger, lust, and stupidity]. The Buddha has 32 major and 80 minor signs is the protrusion on the head and this is a result of having made prostrations to the root guru and the three jewels with strong devotion and trust. By doing prostrations we also purify the three negative actions committed by the body [ killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct]. Recitation of the mantras while prostrating purifies the four negative aspects of speech [lying, slander, harsh speech, and idle gossip].Thinking of the qualities of three negative aspects of mind [covetousness, malicious thought, and wrong view]. When we do prostration the five parts of the body [forehead,two palms, two knees] have to touch the ground to signify the subjugation of the poisons, and to receive the five qualities of Buddha, and also to achieve the five primordial awareness or wisdom. Therefore, doing prostrations bring very great benefits; they are very effective mean of swiftly realizing the ultimate state. In order to realize the ultimate state we have to purify negative karma, sins, obscurations and negative habitual tendencies. Otherwise we will never realize the ultimate state. For this reason the great Kagyu master Naropa [ca. 1016-1100], the root of guru of Marpa] underwent twenty four different trials before he received the supreme teachings his guru, Tilopa. These trials were given by his guru through his miracles powers in order to purify Naropa's negative karma, and also the great yogi Milarepa [1042-1123] went through great hardships under his root-guru Marpa [1012-1099] to purify his karma before he was given the teachings for attaining Buddhahood in one life-time. Milarepa built three houses of three different upon instructions from Marpa only to knock them down everytime he finished them.One time Marpa ordered him to build a nine-storey structure for his son Dharma Dhode Working on this new project his back became full of wounds; pus blood were already coming out due to carrying stones and mud on his back all by himself. In this way Milarepa went through hardship to purify his sins and obscurations. It is unbearable for us just to read about the hardships he went through for Dharma and yet never l0st devotion in his guru. The weak- heart can not stop from weeping whenever they hear Milarepa's life story.When he was narrating the story about how he met marpa and the hardships he went through, wandering from cave to cave, many of disciplines listening to him lost consciousness. Eventually, Marpa gave milarepa the teachings he sought and supported him with all his material needs while he meditating in the cave. At last Marpa declared that what he did with milarepa was to purify his negative karma. Thus milarepa saw his guru, Marpa, as Buddha in reality. For these reasons, we should make every effort to do three prostrations before going to sleep and after waking in the morning while thinking of Kagyu forefathers. As the proverb goes: When we do the three short prostrations, we should also recite the prostration mantra. It is best if we can do it in front of the shrine. If not, we can also do prostrations in our bedrooms. If there is no image of Buddha, copies of scriptures and stupa in our bedrooms. We can visualize our root guru, the Buddha, Bodhisattvas and deities in the sky before us. If we can do three or six prostrations everyday for the rest of life we can accumulate a lot of prostration. Nowaday, It is very difficult for a master to train his disciple same as the way of Lord Marpa to Yogi Milarepa. Hardship makes one's body strong, also it stress its muscles. It make one mind focus on his physical actions like shamatha meditation. If one's mind is not strong enough, he/she might feel frustrated easily during the practice. In order to help sentient beings practice dharma in a easier way, lama imparted the teaching of prostration as the subtitute.
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