Machig Labdron's Chod Offering Chant - Offering the Three Gestures

This post will be an off-topic post that is not related to Vajra Recitations. In fact, this post will be related to Chod practice. My heart have an unusually strong resonance to this particular vajra chant of Chod. I personally believe that practicing this simple chant by repeating it with mindfully and wholeheartedly even for a single repetition would help one's progress on purifying one's mind and karma and eventually see the clear light of the mind when there are no more obscurations.

The wholehearted repetition of such powerful chants and songs that clears away one's ego would allow the mind to quickly rest in it's own nature and with little hindrances in place, one could more effectively focus on one's practice (e.g. the Vajra Recitation).

The result of a clearer and settled mind in regards to the Vajra Recitation is that the channels appear to be clearer to the mind's eye without much effort and the fire would burn brighter with more vigour.

Below is the Chod Offering Chant:

TONG SUM RAB JAM JIG TEN THAM CHE DU / ZUG SU NANG WA THAM CHE KÜN
/ KU CHOGCHAG GYA'I CHÖ PA BÜL / KU GYUR BA ME PA'I NGÖ DRUB TSÖL

All forms appearing in the vast three thousand worlds I offer as the supreme mudra of body. Please grant the siddhi of unchanging form.

TONG SUM RAB JAM JIG TEN THAM CHE DU / DRA RU DRAG PA THAM CHE KÜN/ SUNGCHOG CHAG GYA'I CHÖ PA BÜL / SUNG GAG PA ME PA'I NGÖ DRUB TSÖL

All sound, and sources of sound, appearing in the vast three thousand worlds. I offer as the supreme mudra of speech. Please grant the siddhi of unimpeded speech.

TONG SUM RAB JAM JIG TEN THAM CHE DU / YI CHYI DREN TOG THAM CHE KÜN/ THUGCHOG CHAG GYA'I CHÖ PA BÜL / THUG THRÜL PA ME PA'I NGÖ DRUB TSÖL

All the mind’s discursive thought in the vast three thousand worlds. I offer as the supreme mudra of mind. Please grant the siddhi of undeluded mind.

TONG SUM RAB JAM JIG TEN THAM CHE DU / DE DANG DUG NGEL THAM CHE KÜN / TA ZHICHAG GYA'I CHÖ PA BÜL / DE NA DE WA TSHOG SU NGO/

All happiness and suffering in the vast three thousand worlds. I offer as the mudra of auspiciousness. May all the sky be pervaded by great bliss

DE WA CHEN PÖ NAM KHA CHYAB PAR SHOG / DUG NA DUG NGEL DAG GI KHUR/ KHORWA DUG NGEL GYI GYA TSHO KEM PAR SHOG /

If suffering, I bear the suffering of all beings. May the ocean of samsara’s suffering dry up.

I am not the most skilled in explaining profound concepts but here's my take. This chant is simply reminding you the empty nature of all things, to lay down one's ego by offering all that is good and to take on all that is not good. Ego is always a huge hindrance in any kinds of mundane or spiritual activity.

The ability to offer the three thousand worlds is actually something innate within us. We are no different to anything and we are everything. If the true nature of the mind is so huge, what can we not manifest and offer ? Since all phenomena are just perceptions and are the subject of the mind, thus all these phenomena of the three thousand worlds can easily be manifested by the mind. That is how great and limitless one's mind actually is.

If the mind is so huge, one's mind can create infinite amount of possibilities. We can create all the sufferings and happiness in the world with a single thought. By actively offering all the happiness one can imagine, wouldn't it become a chain reaction for the cause of bringing more happiness ? 

By the thought of taking on all sufferings of the world, instead of rejecting suffering, one acknowledges it exists, one takes suffering into oneself and wish happiness for everyone including oneself but what would happen to oneself if one takes on all the suffering of the world ? One should not become miserable and think oneself as pitiful to take on all the pain of others. One should think that the taking on of all sufferings of the world is to start a conscious chain reaction of wishing happiness to everyone and to make one mindful of not creating anymore sufferings of others.

Because the essential nature of suffering does not truely have a basis (suffering is empty in nature) and as I have said above, all the sufferings are the creation of the mind and the mind's nature is enlightened in essence, your partaking of everyone's suffering is like breathing, it just happens without much worries whether one would become sick if one takes on the suffering of others as suffering is empty and your empty nature dissolves it.

By practicing this offering chant, one's grasping ego would be lessened and finally dissolved into the nature of one's mind.

Offering Chant source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/93037840/Offering-Chant