When you recite these buddhas’ names, it would be extremely beneficial if you could do three sets as a daily practice. That means you could be doing as many as 150 prostrations each session, depending on how many you make during the confession prayer.
Also, if you have room, you should always do full-length prostrations. You create unbelievably extensive merit if you do. Cover as much ground with your body as you possibly can; when you go down, make your body as long as you can.
Start by doing three prostrations with the mantra OM NAMO MANJUSHRIYE.... Then, in English or Tibetan, recite the refuge formula. If you do it in Tibetan, make prostrations while reciting Lama-la kyab su chi wo (I take refuge in the Guru) as many times as you can during one prostration. Then, when your forehead touches the ground, change to Sangye-la kyab su chi wo (I take refuge in the Buddha), and keep reciting that until, on your next prostration, your forehead touches the ground again. Then change to Chö-la kyab su chi wo (I take refuge in the Dharma) and keep prostrating through Gendun-la kyab su chi wo(I take refuge in the Sangha).
Then, when you next touch the ground with your forehead, change to Tön-pa chom-dän-dä de-zhin-sheg-pa...(Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s name). If you have memorized it, you should recite it as fast as you can. It’s unbelievable—each repetition purifies 80,000 eons of negative karma. That’s why you should memorize all of the Thirty-five Buddhas’ names. The more times you recite each one, the better.
When you do business, you try to maximize your profits. You try to get as many dollars as you can from each transaction. It’s the same here, except that with reciting the buddhas’ names, the profits are so much greater. Reciting just one buddha’s name is much more profitable than billions of dollars of business profit. As I have been saying, reciting the name of just one of the Thirty-five Buddhas, not even all thirty-five, purifies many thousands of eons of negative karma. The merit you collect in this way is much more profitable than billions of dollars. Which is more profitable—making a billion dollars or reciting one buddha’s name just once? There’s no comparison. A billion dollars is worth nothing compared to that. No amount of money can purify many eons of negative karma or generate extensive merit, but reciting a buddha’s name can.
After your forehead touches the ground, change to the next buddha’s name and recite it as fast and as many times as you can. Keep going through all their names until you have recited all thirty-five. I recite the last one three times. Why? Not because other people do but because the thirty-fifth buddha’s name, Dezhin- sheg-pa...wang-gyi gyäl-po (Tathagata, arhat, perfectly completed enlightened one, King of the Lord of Mountains, Firmly seated on Jewel and Lotus), purifies broken samayas and negative karma created in relation to your gurus, which are the heaviest negative karmas of all. Therefore, I think it’s necessary to recite the last buddha’s name three times.
By then adding the names of the seven Medicine Buddhas, all your prayers—for special realizations from your Dharma practice, for good things to happen to you, for the benefit of others—will be successful. Your own prayers will be successful and you will also receive the beneficial effects of all the prayers made by the seven Medicine Buddhas in the past. Therefore, it is very important to recite the names of the Medicine Buddhas in addition to those of the Thirty-five Buddhas. Again recite each name as many times as possible during each prostration. However, you only need to recite the seven Medicine Buddhas’ names once each session—after the first repetition of the Thirty-five Buddhas. You don’t need to do them the second or third time.
If you recite them a second or third time, in the first set, recite the Thirty-five Buddhas and the seven Medicine Buddhas, then go back to the refuge for the second time. After the second set of Thirty-five Buddhas, go back to the refuge again, like that. Three sets. If you can make this your regular practice it would be extremely, unbelievably good. If three sets are not possible, do two. If not two, then one. But remember, with each prostration, recite that buddha’s name as many times as you can, over and over, rather than reciting it slowly throughout the prostration, just once. Each day that you recite the names of the Thirty-five Buddhas—each day that you recite just one buddha’s name— makes your life very different, like the difference between earth and sky. Your mind carries much less negative karma, and that which it does carry is much lighter. Your life will be much more successful, especially in attaining realizations, and you will be able to benefit others much more in both this and future lives.