With twenty-year effort in religion, meditation, and personal well-being, the researcher has observed the change that modern people tend to put more focus on searching for the meaning of life and on seeking physical and spiritual well-being, rather than pursuing success and material comfort. After practicing the Nyungnä retreat, also known as the “Eleven-headed Avalokiteśvara fasting,” and witnessing previous practitioners’ achievement, the researcher is devoted to the investigation into this ritual. The Eleven-headed Avalokiteśvara fasting practice has a continuous lineage of purity. It can be traced back to Nun dGe slong ma dPal mo, who practiced the strict fasting until she saw the face of Avalokiteśvara and experienced enlightenment. The practice was first established in India and then spread to Tibet. Because of its success in purification and accumulation of merit, it has received increasing attention among Buddhist centers. It has also been observed and practiced by a number of different Buddhist orders and gradually spread around the world. The fasting practice integrates the Eight Mahayana Precepts with the sadhana drubtab of the Eleven-headed Avalokiteśvara. The fasting practice not only manifests the merit and wisdom from the Eight Mahayana Precepts but also demonstrates significant effect on purifying negative karma in current life and elevating physical and spiritual well-being. The process includes actions of perceiving the enlightened spirit and Bodhicitta, persisting in the absence of food and water, and refraining from producing speech, together with the recitation of the sadhana of the Eleven-headed Avalokiteśvara. The mantra practice is a combination of Four Opponent Powers, Thirty-five Buddhas of Confession, the Vajrasattva Mantra, the “Po” Praise to the Eleven-headed Avalokiteśvara, the Great Compassion Mantra and the Six-character Mantra of Great Illumination. With full prostration and vipassana meditation, the Eleven-headed Avalokiteśvara fasting practice can purify one’s negative Karma and promote his spiritual well-being in a short time. It is thus very suitable for modern people to practice.
