8. Purification

There is no negative karma that cannot be purified. An especially powerful Buddha for this purpose is known in Tibetan as Mitrugpa (in Sanskrit, Akshobhya; in English, Immovable One). Depicted in the bodhisattva aspect, he has a blue body and holds a golden vajra in his left hand. The recitation of his mantra is said to purify the heaviest of negative karmas. Tibetans like to recite Mitrugpa’s mantra especially for the dying and the dead. They also write it out and put it near the dying person so that they can see the holy letters, or lay it on their body, thus blessing and purifying them. Reciting, listening to, and seeing the mantra of Mitrugpa is especially powerful to help remove the negative karmas of our loved ones so that they can die well and enjoy a happy rebirth.