Modern Buddhism

Also by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Meaningful to Behold

Clear Light of Bliss

Universal Compassion

Joyful Path of Good Fortune

The Bodhisattva Vow

Heart Jewel

Great Treasury of Merit

Introduction to Buddhism

Tantric Grounds and Paths

Ocean of Nectar

Essence of Vajrayana

Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully

Eight Steps to Happiness

Transform Your Life

The New Meditation Handbook

How to Solve Our Human Problems

Mahamudra Tantra

The New Heart of Wisdom

The New Guide to Dakini Land

How to Understand the Mind

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GESHE KELSANG GYATSO

Modern Buddhism

THE PATH OF COMPASSION
AND WISDOM

VOLUME 3 OF 3

PRAYERS FOR DAILY PRACTICE

THARPA PUBLICATIONS
UK • US • CANADA
AUSTRALIA • ASIA

First published in 2011
This digital edition published 2011
Second edition 2013

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Contents

Illustrations

Liberating Prayer
Prayers for Meditation
The Yoga of Buddha Heruka
Blissful Journey
Quick Path to Great Bliss
The Blissful Path
Liberation from Sorrow
Avalokiteshvara Sadhana

Glossary
Bibliography
Study Programmes of Kadampa Buddhism
Tharpa Offices Worldwide
Further Reading

Illustrations

Naropa
Tantric commitment objects: inner offering in kapala, vajra, bell, damaru, mala
Je Phabongkhapa
Dorjechang Trijang Rinpoche
Guru Vajradharma
Venerable Vajrayogini
The Twenty-One Taras
TAM and the mantra rosary

Volume 3 of 3

Prayers for Daily Practice

Liberating Prayer

PRAISE TO BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI

O Blessed One, Shakyamuni Buddha,

Precious treasury of compassion,

Bestower of supreme inner peace,

You, who love all beings without exception,

Are the source of happiness and goodness;

And you guide us to the liberating path.

Your body is a wishfulfilling jewel,

Your speech is supreme, purifying nectar,

And your mind is refuge for all living beings.

With folded hands I turn to you,

Supreme unchanging friend,

I request from the depths of my heart:

Please give me the light of your wisdom

To dispel the darkness of my mind

And to heal my mental continuum.

Please nourish me with your goodness,

That I in turn may nourish all beings

With an unceasing banquet of delight.

Through your compassionate intention,

Your blessings and virtuous deeds,

And my strong wish to rely upon you,

May all suffering quickly cease

And all happiness and joy be fulfilled;

And may holy Dharma flourish for evermore.

Colophon: This prayer was composed by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and is recited at the beginning of teachings, meditations and prayers in Kadampa Buddhist Centres throughout the world.

Prayers for Meditation

BRIEF PREPARATORY PRAYERS FOR MEDITATION

Introduction

We all have the potential to gain realizations of all the stages of the path to enlightenment. These potentials are like seeds in the field of our mind, and our meditation practice is like cultivating these seeds. However, our meditation practice will be successful only if we make good preparations beforehand.

If we want to cultivate external crops, we begin by making careful preparations. First, we remove from the soil anything that might obstruct their growth, such as stones and weeds. Second, we enrich the soil with compost or fertilizer to give it the strength to sustain growth. Third, we provide warm, moist conditions to enable the seeds to germinate and the plants to grow. In the same way, to cultivate our inner crops of Dharma realizations we must also begin by making careful preparations.

First, we must purify our mind to eliminate the negative karma we have accumulated in the past, because if we do not purify this karma it will obstruct the growth of Dharma realizations. Second, we need to give our mind the strength to support the growth of Dharma realizations by accumulating merit. Third, we need to activate and sustain the growth of Dharma realizations by receiving the blessings of the holy beings.

The brief prayers that follow contain the essence of these three preparations. For more information on them, see The New Meditation Handbook or Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
1987

Prayers for Meditation

Going for refuge

I and all sentient beings, until we achieve enlightenment,

Go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

(3x, 7x, 100x, or more)

Generating bodhichitta

Through the virtues I collect by giving and other perfections,

May I become a Buddha for the benefit of all.

(3x)

Generating the four immeasurables

May everyone be happy,

May everyone be free from misery,

May no one ever be separated from their happiness,

May everyone have equanimity, free from hatred and attachment.

Visualizing the Field for Accumulating Merit

In the space before me is the living Buddha Shakyamuni surrounded by all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, like the full moon surrounded by stars.

Prayer of seven limbs

With my body, speech and mind, humbly I prostrate,

And make offerings both set out and imagined.

I confess my wrong deeds from all time,

And rejoice in the virtues of all.

Please stay until samsara ceases,

And turn the Wheel of Dharma for us.

I dedicate all virtues to great enlightenment.

Offering the mandala

The ground sprinkled with perfume and spread with flowers,

The Great Mountain, four lands, sun and moon,

Seen as a Buddha Land and offered thus,

May all beings enjoy such Pure Lands.

I offer without any sense of loss

The objects that give rise to my attachment, hatred and confusion,

My friends, enemies and strangers, our bodies and enjoyments;

Please accept these and bless me to be released directly from the three poisons.

IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRYATAYAMI

Prayer of the Stages of the Path

The path begins with strong reliance

On my kind Teacher, source of all good;

O Bless me with this understanding

To follow him with great devotion.

This human life with all its freedoms,

Extremely rare, with so much meaning;

O Bless me with this understanding

All day and night to seize its essence.

My body, like a water bubble,

Decays and dies so very quickly;

After death come results of karma,

Just like the shadow of a body.

With this firm knowledge and remembrance

Bless me to be extremely cautious,

Always avoiding harmful actions

And gathering abundant virtue.

Samsara's pleasures are deceptive,

Give no contentment, only torment;

So please bless me to strive sincerely

To gain the bliss of perfect freedom.

O Bless me so that from this pure thought

Come mindfulness and greatest caution,

To keep as my essential practice

The doctrine's root, the Pratimoksha.

Just like myself all my kind mothers

Are drowning in samsara's ocean;

O So that I may soon release them,

Bless me to train in bodhichitta.

But I cannot become a Buddha

By this alone without three ethics;

So bless me with the strength to practise

The Bodhisattva's ordination.

By pacifying my distractions

And analyzing perfect meanings,

Bless me to quickly gain the union

Of special insight and quiescence.

When I become a pure container

Through common paths, bless me to enter

The essence practice of good fortune,

The supreme vehicle, Vajrayana.

The two attainments both depend on

My sacred vows and my commitments;

Bless me to understand this clearly

And keep them at the cost of my life.

By constant practice in four sessions,

The way explained by holy Teachers,

O Bless me to gain both the stages,

Which are the essence of the Tantras.

May those who guide me on the good path,

And my companions all have long lives;

Bless me to pacify completely

All obstacles, outer and inner.

May I always find perfect Teachers,

And take delight in holy Dharma,

Accomplish all grounds and paths swiftly,

And gain the state of Vajradhara.

Receiving blessings and purifying

From the hearts of all the holy beings, streams of light and nectar flow down, granting blessings and purifying.

At this point, we begin the actual contemplation and meditation. After the meditation, we dedicate our merit while reciting the following prayers:

Dedication prayers

Through the virtues I have collected

By practising the stages of the path,

May all living beings find the opportunity

To practise in the same way.

May everyone experience

The happiness of humans and gods,

And quickly attain enlightenment,

So that samsara is finally extinguished.

Prayers for the Virtuous Tradition

So that the tradition of Je Tsongkhapa,

The King of the Dharma, may flourish,

May all obstacles be pacified

And may all favourable conditions abound.

Through the two collections of myself and others

Gathered throughout the three times,

May the doctrine of Conqueror Losang Dragpa

Flourish for evermore.

The nine-line Migtsema prayer

Tsongkhapa, crown ornament of the scholars of the Land of the Snows,

You are Buddha Shakyamuni and Vajradhara, the source of all attainments,

Avalokiteshvara, the treasury of unobservable compassion,

Manjushri, the supreme stainless wisdom,

And Vajrapani, the destroyer of the hosts of maras.

O Venerable Guru-Buddha, synthesis of all Three Jewels,

With my body, speech and mind, respectfully I make requests:

Please grant your blessings to ripen and liberate myself and others,

And bestow the common and supreme attainments.

(3x)

Colophon: This sadhana or ritual prayer for spiritual attainments was compiled from traditional sources by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

The Yoga of Buddha Heruka

THE ESSENTIAL SELF-GENERATION SADHANA OF HERUKA BODY MANDALA & CONDENSED SIX SESSION YOGA

Introduction

Those who have received the empowerment of Heruka body mandala, but who are unable to practise the extensive sadhana, Essence of Vajrayana, can practise this short sadhana, which contains the very essence of Heruka body mandala practice.

It is very important to improve our understanding of and faith in this precious practice through sincerely studying its commentary as presented in Modern Buddhism – Volume 2: Tantra, in the chapter The Practice of Heruka Body Mandala. Having understood the meaning clearly and with strong faith we can enter, make progress on and complete the quick path to the enlightened state of Buddha Heruka.

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
April 2010

The Yoga of Buddha Heruka

PRELIMINARIES

Going for refuge

I and all sentient beings, until we achieve enlightenment,

Go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

(3x)

Generating the supreme good heart, bodhichitta

Through the virtues I collect by giving and other perfections,

May I become a Buddha for the benefit of all.

(3x)

Guru Yoga

VISUALIZATION AND MEDITATION

In the space before me is Guru Sumati Buddha Heruka – Je Tsongkhapa inseparable from my root Guru, Buddha Shakyamuni and Heruka – surrounded by all the Buddhas of the ten directions.

INVITING THE WISDOM BEINGS

From the heart of the Protector of the hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land,

To the peak of a cloud which is like a cluster of fresh, white curd,

All-knowing Losang Dragpa, King of the Dharma,

Please come to this place together with your Sons.

At this point we imagine that wisdom being Je Tsongkhapa together with his retinue dissolves into the assembly of Guru Sumati Buddha Heruka, and they become non-dual.

THE PRACTICE OF THE SEVEN LIMBS

In the space before me on a lion throne, lotus and moon,

The venerable Gurus smile with delight.

O Supreme Field of Merit for my mind of faith,

Please remain for a hundred aeons to spread the doctrine.

Your mind of wisdom realizes the full extent of objects of knowledge,

Your eloquent speech is the ear-ornament of the fortunate,

Your beautiful body is ablaze with the glory of renown,

I prostrate to you, whom to see, to hear and to remember is so meaningful.

Pleasing water offerings, various flowers,

Sweet-smelling incense, lights, scented water and so forth,

A vast cloud of offerings both set out and imagined,

I offer to you, O Supreme Field of Merit.

Whatever non-virtues of body, speech and mind

I have accumulated since time without beginning,

Especially transgressions of my three vows,

With great remorse I confess each one from the depths of my heart.

In this degenerate age you strove for much learning and accomplishment.

Abandoning the eight worldly concerns, you made your freedom and endowment meaningful.

O Protector, from the very depths of my heart,

I rejoice in the great wave of your deeds.

From the billowing clouds of wisdom and compassion

In the space of your Truth Body, O Venerable and holy Gurus,

Please send down a rain of vast and profound Dharma

Appropriate to the disciples of this world.

From your actual deathless body, born from meaning clear light,

Please send countless emanations throughout the world

To spread the oral lineage of the Ganden doctrine;

And may they remain for a very long time.

Through the virtues I have accumulated here,

May the doctrine and all living beings receive every benefit.

Especially may the essence of the doctrine

Of Venerable Losang Dragpa shine forever.

OFFERING THE MANDALA

The ground sprinkled with perfume and spread with flowers,

The Great Mountain, four lands, sun and moon,

Seen as a Buddha Land and offered thus,

May all beings enjoy such Pure Lands.

I offer without any sense of loss

The objects that give rise to my attachment, hatred and confusion,

My friends, enemies and strangers, our bodies and enjoyments;

Please accept these and bless me to be released directly from the three poisons.

IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRYATAYAMI

MAKING SPECIAL REQUESTS

O Guru Sumati Buddha Heruka, from now until I attain enlightenment,

I shall seek no refuge other than you.

Please pacify my obstacles and bestow upon me

The two attainments of liberating and ripening.

Please bless me so that I will become definitive Heruka,

In which state I shall experience all phenomena as purified and gathered into emptiness, inseparable from great bliss.

(3x)

GENERATING THE EXPERIENCE OF GREAT BLISS AND EMPTINESS

Due to my making requests in this way, all the Buddhas of the ten directions dissolve into Je Tsongkhapa who is inseparable from my root Guru, he dissolves into Buddha Shakyamuni at his heart, and Buddha Shakyamuni dissolves into Heruka at his heart. With delight, Guru Heruka, who is the nature of the union of great bliss and emptiness, enters my body through my crown, and dissolves into my mind at my heart. Because Heruka, who is the nature of the union of great bliss and emptiness, becomes inseparable from my mind, my mind transforms into the union of great bliss and emptiness of all phenomena.

We meditate on this belief single-pointedly. This meditation is called ‘training in definitive Guru yoga’. We should repeat this practice of special request and meditation again and again until we spontaneously believe that our mind has transformed into the union of great bliss and emptiness.

THE ACTUAL SELF GENERATION

In the vast space of emptiness of all phenomena, the nature of my purified mistaken appearance of all phenomena – which is the Pure Land of Keajra – I appear as Buddha Heruka with a blue-coloured body, four faces and twelve arms, the nature of my purified white indestructible drop. I am embracing Vajravarahi, the nature of my purified red indestructible drop. I am surrounded by the Heroes and Heroines of the five wheels, who are the nature of my purified subtle body – the channels and drops. I reside in the mandala, the celestial mansion, which is the nature of my purified gross body. Although I have this appearance it is not other than the emptiness of all phenomena.

At this point, (1) while experiencing great bliss and emptiness, (2) we meditate on the clear appearance of the mandala and Deities with divine pride, while (3) recognizing that the Deities are the nature of our purified channels and drops, which are our subtle body, and that the mandala is the nature of our purified gross body.

In this way we train sincerely in one single meditation on generation stage possessing these three characteristics. Holding the third characteristic – recognizing the Deities as the nature of our purified subtle body, and the mandala as the nature of our purified gross body – makes this concentration an actual body mandala meditation.

If we wish to practise completion stage meditation, we should change ourself through imagination from Heruka with four faces and twelve arms into Heruka with one face and two arms. We then engage in the meditations on the central channel, indestructible drop, indestructible wind, tummo and so forth.

Then, when we need to rest from meditation, we can practise mantra recitation.

Reciting the mantras

THE ESSENCE MANTRA OF HERUKA

At my heart is wisdom being Buddha Heruka, definitive Heruka.

O Glorious Vajra Heruka, you who enjoy

The divine illusory body and mind of clear light,

Please pacify my obstacles and bestow upon me

The two attainments of liberating and ripening.

Please bless me so that I will become definitive Heruka,

In which state I shall experience all phenomena as purified and gathered into emptiness, inseparable from great bliss.

OM SHRI VAJRA HE HE RU RU KAM HUM HUM PHAT DAKINI DZALA SHAMBARAM SÖHA

(21x, 100x, etc.)

THE THREE-OM MANTRA OF VAJRAYOGINI

At the heart of imagined Vajrayogini (Vajravarahi) is wisdom being Buddha Vajrayogini, definitive Vajrayogini.

OM OM OM SARWA BUDDHA DAKINIYE VAJRA WARNANIYE VAJRA BEROTZANIYE HUM HUM HUM PHAT PHAT PHAT SÖHA

Recite at least as many mantras as you have promised.

The 'three-OM' mantra is the union of the essence and close essence mantras of Vajravarahi. The meaning of this mantra is as follows. With OM OM OM we are calling Vajrayogini – the principal Deity – and her retinue of Heroines of the three wheels. SARWA BUDDHA DAKINIYE means that Vajrayogini is the synthesis of the minds of all Buddhas, VAJRA WARNANIYE means that she is the synthesis of the speech of all Buddhas, and VAJRA BEROTZANIYE means that she is the synthesis of the bodies of all Buddhas. With HUM HUM HUM we are requesting Vajrayogini and her retinues to bestow upon us the attainments of the body, speech and mind of all the Buddhas. With PHAT PHAT PHAT we are requesting them to pacify our main obstacle – the subtle mistaken appearance of our body, speech and mind; and SÖHA means 'please build within me the basic foundation for all these attainments'.

THE CONDENSED MANTRA OF THE SIXTY-TWO DEITIES OF HERUKA BODY MANDALA

At the heart of each of the sixty-two Deities is their individual wisdom being, their own definitive Deity.

OM HUM BAM RIM RIM LIM LIM, KAM KHAM GAM GHAM NGAM, TSAM TSHAM DZAM DZHAM NYAM, TrAM THrAM DrAM DHrAM NAM, TAM THAM DAM DHAM NAM, PAM PHAM BAM BHAM, YAM RAM LAM WAM, SHAM KAM SAM HAM HUM HUM PHAT

(7x, 21x, 100x, etc.)

When we recite this mantra we are making requests to wisdom being Buddha Heruka with Vajravarahi, and his retinue of Heroes and Heroines of the five wheels, to pacify our obstacle of subtle mistaken appearance and to bestow upon us the attainments of outer and inner Dakini Land. Outer Dakini Land is the Pure Land of Keajra and inner Dakini Land is meaning clear light. The moment our mind is free from subtle mistaken appearance we open the door through which we can directly see all enlightened Deities. For as long as our mind remains polluted by subtle mistaken appearance this door is closed.

Dedication

Thus, through my virtues from correctly performing the offerings, praises, recitations and meditations

Of the generation stage of Glorious Heruka,

May I complete all the stages

Of the common and uncommon paths.

For the sake of all living beings

May I become Heruka;

And then lead every living being

To Heruka's supreme state.

And if I do not attain this supreme state in this life,

At my deathtime may I be met by the venerable Father and Mother and their retinue,

With clouds of breathtaking offerings, heavenly music,

And many excellent, auspicious signs.

Then, at the end of the clear light of death,

May I be led to the Pure Land of Keajra,

The abode of the Knowledge Holders who practise the supreme path;

And there may I swiftly complete this profound path.

May the most profound practice and instruction of Heruka,

Practised by millions of powerful Yogis, greatly increase;

And may it remain for a very long time without degenerating,

As the main gateway for those seeking liberation.

May the Heroes, Dakinis and their retinues

Abiding in the twenty-four supreme places of this world,

Who possess unobstructed power for accomplishing this method,

Never waver from always assisting practitioners.

Auspicious prayers

May there be the auspiciousness of a great treasury of blessings

Arising from the excellent deeds of all the root and lineage Gurus,

Who have accomplished the supreme attainment of Buddha Heruka

By relying upon the excellent, secret path of the King of Tantras.

May there be the auspiciousness of the great excellent deeds of the Three Jewels –

The holy Buddha Jewel, the pervading nature Heruka, definitive Heruka;

The ultimate, great, secret Dharma Jewel, the scriptures and realizations of Heruka Tantra;

And the supreme Sangha Jewel, the assemblies of Heruka's retinue Deities.

Through all the great good fortune there is

In the precious, celestial mansions as extensive as the three thousand worlds,

Adorned with ornaments like the rays of the sun and the moon,

May all worlds and their beings have happiness, goodness, glory and prosperity.

Prayers for the Virtuous Tradition

So that the tradition of Je Tsongkhapa,

The King of the Dharma, may flourish,

May all obstacles be pacified

And may all favourable conditions abound.

Through the two collections of myself and others

Gathered throughout the three times,

May the doctrine of Conqueror Losang Dragpa

Flourish for evermore.

The nine-line Migtsema prayer

Tsongkhapa, crown ornament of the scholars of the Land of the Snows,

You are Buddha Shakyamuni and Vajradhara, the source of all attainments,

Avalokiteshvara, the treasury of unobservable compassion,

Manjushri, the supreme stainless wisdom,

And Vajrapani, the destroyer of the hosts of maras.

O Venerable Guru-Buddha, synthesis of all Three Jewels,

With my body, speech and mind, respectfully I make requests:

Please grant your blessings to ripen and liberate myself and others,

And bestow the common and supreme attainments.

(3x)

Condensed Six-session Yoga

Everyone who has received a Highest Yoga Tantra empowerment has a commitment to practise six-session yoga. If we are very busy, we can fulfil our six-session commitment by doing the following practice six times each day. First we recall the nineteen commitments of the five Buddha families that are listed below, and then, with a strong determination to keep these commitments purely, we recite the Condensed Six-session Yoga that follows.

THE NINETEEN COMMITMENTS OF THE FIVE BUDDHA FAMILIES

The six commitments of the family of Buddha Vairochana:

(1)  To go for refuge to Buddha

(2)  To go for refuge to Dharma

(3)  To go for refuge to Sangha

(4)  To refrain from non-virtue

(5)  To practise virtue

(6)  To benefit others

The four commitments of the family of Buddha Akshobya:

(1)  To keep a vajra to remind us to emphasize the development of great bliss through meditation on the central channel

(2)  To keep a bell to remind us to emphasize meditation on emptiness

(3)  To generate ourself as the Deity while realizing all things that we normally see do not exist

(4)  To rely sincerely upon our Spiritual Guide, who leads us to the practice of the pure moral discipline of the Pratimoksha, Bodhisattva and Tantric vows

The four commitments of the family of Buddha Ratnasambhava:

(1)  To give material help

(2)  To give Dharma

(3)  To give fearlessness

(4)  To give love

The three commitments of the family of Buddha Amitabha:

(1)  To rely upon the teachings of Sutra

(2)  To rely upon the teachings of the two lower classes of Tantra

(3)  To rely upon the teachings of the two higher classes of Tantra

The two commitments of the family of Buddha Amoghasiddhi:

(1)  To make offerings to our Spiritual Guide

(2)  To strive to maintain purely all the vows we have taken

CONDENSED SIX-SESSION YOGA

I go for refuge to the Guru and Three Jewels.

Holding vajra and bell I generate as the Deity and make offerings.

I rely upon the Dharmas of Sutra and Tantra and refrain from all non-virtuous actions.

Gathering all virtuous Dharmas, I help all living beings through the practice of the four givings.

All nineteen commitments are referred to in this verse. The words, 'I go for refuge to the . . . Three Jewels', refer to the first three commitments of the family of Buddha Vairochana – to go for refuge to Buddha, to go for refuge to Dharma and to go for refuge to Sangha. The word, 'Guru', refers to the fourth commitment of the family of Buddha Akshobya – to rely sincerely upon our Spiritual Guide.

The words, 'Holding vajra and bell I generate as the Deity', refer to the first three commitments of the family of Buddha Akshobya – to keep a vajra to remind us of great bliss, to keep a bell to remind us of emptiness and to generate ourself as the Deity. The words, 'and make offerings', refer to the first commitment of the family of Buddha Amoghasiddhi – to make offerings to our Spiritual Guide.

The words, 'I rely upon the Dharmas of Sutra and Tantra', refer to the three commitments of Buddha Amitabha – to rely upon the teachings of Sutra, to rely upon the teachings of the two lower classes of Tantra, and to rely upon the teachings of the two higher classes of Tantra. The words, 'and refrain from all non-virtuous actions', refer to the fourth commitment of the family of Buddha Vairochana – to refrain from non-virtue.

The words, 'Gathering all virtuous Dharmas', refer to the fifth commitment of the family of Buddha Vairochana – to practise virtue. The words, 'I help all living beings', refer to the sixth commitment of the family of Buddha Vairochana – to benefit others. The words, 'through the practice of the four givings', refer to the four commitments of the family of Buddha Ratnasambhava – to give material help, to give Dharma, to give fearlessness and to give love.

Finally, the entire verse refers to the second commitment of the family of Buddha Amoghasiddhi – to strive to maintain purely all the vows we have taken.

More detail on the vows and commitments of Secret Mantra can be found in the book Tantric Grounds and Paths.

Colophon: This sadhana or ritual prayer for the spiritual attainments of Buddha Heruka was compiled from traditional sources by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, June 2009, revised April 2010 and December 2012.

Blissful Journey

HOW TO ENGAGE IN A CLOSE RETREAT OF HERUKA BODY MANDALA

Introduction

Sincere practitioners of The Yoga of Buddha Heruka sadhana can perform a close retreat of Heruka body mandala in accordance with the following instructions.

Having set out ritual objects, and torma and other offerings, in either a traditional or simple manner, in the evening of the first day on which the retreat begins you should engage in the practice of The Yoga of Buddha Heruka from Going for refuge up to and including Reciting the mantras; then perform torma and tsog offerings as presented below. The session should be concluded by reciting the Dedication and remaining prayers from the sadhana.

Beginning on the second day, if you intend to do four sessions of retreat each day, in the first three sessions you should engage in the practice of The Yoga of Buddha Heruka from Going for refuge up to and including reciting the Dedication and remaining prayers, without any additions. In the fourth or last session you should engage in the practice of The Yoga of Buddha Heruka from Going for refuge up to and including Reciting the mantras, and then perform the torma offerings as presented below; the session should be concluded by reciting the Dedication and remaining prayers from the sadhana.

Having collected 100,000 recitations of the essence mantra of Heruka, 100,000 recitations of the three-OM mantra of Vajrayogini, and 10,000 recitations of the condensed mantra of the sixty-two Deities of Heruka body mandala you then need to perform a fire puja, or burning offering. This practice and its explanation can be found in the book Essence of Vajrayana. In this way your close retreat of Heruka body mandala will be completed. Until the fire puja is completed you should engage in at least two sessions of The Yoga of Buddha Heruka each day, making torma offerings in the last session.

Once you have completed the close retreat of Heruka body mandala you can engage in the practice of Heruka body mandala self-initiation, which can be found in the sadhana Union of No More Learning. It is most important that whenever you recite the sadhana The Yoga of Buddha Heruka you should strongly concentrate on its meaning, free from distraction and impure motivation. Between sessions you should carefully read the commentary to this sadhana presented in Modern Buddhism – Volume 2: Tantra, in the chapter The Practice of Heruka Body Mandala.

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
April 2010

Blissful Journey

TORMA OFFERING

Having engaged in the practice of The Yoga of Buddha Heruka from Going for refuge up to and including Reciting the mantras, now perform the torma offering.

Blessing the inner offering

OM KHANDAROHI HUM HUM PHAT

OM SÖBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SÖBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything becomes emptiness.

From the state of emptiness, from YAM comes wind, from RAM comes fire, from AH a grate of three human heads. Upon this from AH appears a broad and expansive skullcup. Inside from OM, KHAM, AM, TRAM, HUM come the five nectars; from LAM, MAM, PAM, TAM, BAM come the five meats, each marked by these letters. The wind blows, the fire blazes, and the substances inside the skullcup melt. Above them from HUM there arises a white, upside-down khatanga, which falls into the skullcup and melts whereby the substances take on the colour of mercury. Above them three rows of vowels and consonants, standing one above the other, transform into OM AH HUM. From these, light rays draw the nectar of exalted wisdom from the hearts of all the Tathagatas, Heroes and Yoginis of the ten directions. When this is added the contents increase and become vast.
OM AH HUM       (3x)

Blessing the outer offerings

OM KHANDAROHI HUM HUM PHAT

OM SÖBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SÖBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything becomes emptiness.

From the state of emptiness, from KAMs come broad and expansive skullcups, inside which from HUMs come water for drinking, water for bathing, water for the mouth, flowers, incense, lights, perfume, food and music. By nature emptiness, they have the aspect of the individual offering substances, and function as objects of enjoyment of the six senses to bestow special, uncontaminated bliss.

OM AHRGHAM AH HUM

OM PADÄM AH HUM

OM ÄNTZAMANAM AH HUM

OM VAJRA PUPE AH HUM

OM VAJRA DHUPE AH HUM

OM VAJRA DIWE AH HUM

OM VAJRA GÄNDHE AH HUM

OM VAJRA NEWIDE AH HUM

OM VAJRA SHAPTA AH HUM

Blessing the tormas

OM KHANDAROHI HUM HUM PHAT

OM SÖBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SÖBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything becomes emptiness.

From the state of emptiness, from YAM comes wind, from RAM comes fire, from AH a grate of three human heads. Upon this from AH appears a broad and expansive skullcup. Inside from OM, KHAM, AM, TRAM, HUM come the five nectars; from LAM, MAM, PAM, TAM, BAM come the five meats, each marked by these letters. The wind blows, the fire blazes, and the substances inside the skullcup melt. Above them from HUM there arises a white, upside-down khatanga, which falls into the skullcup and melts whereby the substances take on the colour of mercury. Above them three rows of vowels and consonants, standing one above the other, transform into OM AH HUM. From these, light rays draw the nectar of exalted wisdom from the hearts of all the Tathagatas, Heroes and Yoginis of the ten directions. When this is added the contents increase and become vast.
OM AH HUM       (3x)

Inviting the guests of the tormas

PHAIM
Light rays radiate from the letter HUM on the sun seat at my heart and invite to the space before me the entire assembly of the Deities of Chakrasambara together with his mundane retinues, such as the directional guardians who reside in the eight charnel grounds.

OM AHRGHAM PARTITZA SÖHA

OM PADÄM PARTITZA SÖHA

OM VAJRA PUPE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA DHUPE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA DIWE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA GÄNDHE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA NEWIDE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA SHAPTA AH HUM SÖHA

From a white HUM in the tongue of each guest, there arises a white, three-pronged vajra, through which they partake of the essence of the torma by drawing it through straws of light the thickness of only a grain of barley.

Offering the principal torma

OM VAJRA AH RA LI HO: DZA HUM BAM HO: VAJRA DAKINI SAMAYA TÖN TRISHAYA HO

(3x)

With the first recitation, offer the torma to the Principal Father, with the second to the Principal Mother, and with the third to the four Yoginis, beginning in the east and offering counter-clockwise.

Offering the torma to the Deities of the heart wheel, speech wheel and body wheel

OM KARA KARA, KURU KURU, BÄNDHA BÄNDHA, TRASAYA TRASAYA, KYOMBHAYA KYOMBHAYA, HROM HROM, HRAH HRAH, PHAIM PHAIM, PHAT PHAT, DAHA DAHA, PATSA PATSA, BHAKYA BHAKYA BASA RUDHI ÄNTRA MALA WALAMBINE, GRIHANA GRIHANA SAPTA PATALA GATA BHUDZAMGAM SARWAMPA TARDZAYA TARDZAYA, AKANDYA AKANDYA, HRIM HRIM, GYÖN GYÖN, KYAMA KYAMA, HAM HAM, HIM HIM, HUM HUM, KILI KILI, SILI SILI, HILI HILI, DHILI DHILI, HUM HUM PHAT

Offering the torma to the Deities of the commitment wheel

OM VAJRA AH RA LI HO: DZA HUM BAM HO: VAJRA DAKINI SAMAYA TÖN TRISHAYA HO

(2x)

Outer offerings

OM AHRGHAM PARTITZA SÖHA

OM PADÄM PARTITZA SÖHA

OM VAJRA PUPE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA DHUPE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA DIWE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA GÄNDHE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA NEWIDE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA SHAPTA AH HUM SÖHA

OM AH VAJRA ADARSHE HUM

OM AH VAJRA WINI HUM

OM AH VAJRA GÄNDHE HUM

OM AH VAJRA RASE HUM

OM AH VAJRA PARSHE HUM

OM AH VAJRA DHARME HUM

Inner offering

OM HUM BAM RIM RIM LIM LIM, KAM KHAM GAM GHAM NGAM, TSAM TSHAM DZAM DZHAM NYAM, TrAM THrAM DrAM DHrAM NAM, TAM THAM DAM DHAM NAM, PAM PHAM BAM BHAM, YAM RAM LAM WAM, SHAM KAM SAM HAM HUM HUM PHAT OM AH HUM

Secret and thatness offerings

Through Father and Mother uniting in embrace, all the principal and retinue Deities enjoy a special experience of great bliss and emptiness.

Eight lines of praise to the Father

OM I prostrate to the Blessed One, Lord of the Heroes HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you with a brilliance equal to the fire of the great aeon HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you with an inexhaustible topknot HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you with a fearsome face and bared fangs HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you whose thousand arms blaze with light HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you who hold an axe, an uplifted noose, a spear and a khatanga HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you who wear a tiger-skin garment HUM HUM PHAT

OM I bow to you whose great smoke-coloured body dispels obstructions HUM HUM PHAT

Eight lines of praise to the Mother

OM I prostrate to Vajravarahi, the Blessed Mother HUM HUM PHAT

OM To the Superior and powerful Knowledge Lady unconquered by the three realms HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you who destroy all fears of evil spirits with your great vajra HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you with controlling eyes who remain as the vajra seat unconquered by others HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you whose wrathful fierce form desiccates Brahma HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you who terrify and dry up demons, conquering those in other directions HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you who conquer all those who make us dull, rigid and confused HUM HUM PHAT

OM I bow to Vajravarahi, the Great Mother, the Dakini consort who fulfils all desires HUM HUM PHAT

Requesting the fulfilment of wishes

You who have destroyed equally attachment to samsara and solitary peace, as well as all conceptualizations,

Who see all things that exist throughout space;

O Protector endowed with strong compassion, may I be blessed by the waters of your compassion,

And may the Dakinis take me into their loving care.

Offering the torma to the mundane Deities

The directional guardians, regional guardians, nagas and so forth, who reside in the eight great charnel grounds, instantly enter into the clear light, and arise in the form of the Deities of Heruka in the aspect of Father and Mother. From a white HUM in the tongue of each guest, there arises a white, three-pronged vajra, through which they partake of the essence of the torma by drawing it through straws of light the thickness of only a grain of barley.

OM KHA KHA, KHAHI KHAHI, SARWA YAKYA RAKYASA, BHUTA, TRETA, PISHATSA, UNATA, APAMARA, VAJRA DAKA, DAKI NÄDAYA, IMAM BALING GRIHANTU, SAMAYA RAKYANTU, MAMA SARWA SIDDHI METRA YATZANTU, YATIPAM, YATETAM, BHUDZATA, PIWATA, DZITRATA, MATI TRAMATA, MAMA SARWA KATAYA, SÄDSUKHAM BISHUDHAYE, SAHAYEKA BHAWÄNTU, HUM HUM PHAT PHAT SÖHA

(2x)

With the first recitation, offer the torma to the guests in the cardinal directions, and with the second to the guests in the intermediate directions.

Outer offerings

OM AHRGHAM PARTITZA SÖHA

OM PADÄM PARTITZA SÖHA

OM VAJRA PUPE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA DHUPE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA DIWE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA GÄNDHE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA NEWIDE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA SHAPTA AH HUM SÖHA

Inner offering

To the mouths of the directional guardians, regional guardians, nagas and so forth, OM AH HUM

Requests

You the entire gathering of gods,

The entire gathering of nagas,

The entire gathering of givers of harm,

The entire gathering of cannibals,

The entire gathering of evil spirits,

The entire gathering of hungry ghosts,

The entire gathering of flesh-eaters,

The entire gathering of crazy-makers,

The entire gathering of forgetful-makers,

The entire gathering of dakas,

The entire gathering of female spirits,

All of you without exception

Please come here and listen to me.

O Glorious attendants, swift as thought,

Who have taken oaths and heart commitments

To guard the doctrine and benefit living beings,

Who subdue the malevolent and destroy the dark forces

With terrifying forms and inexhaustible wrath,

Who grant results to yogic actions,

And who have inconceivable powers and blessings,

To you eight types of guest I prostrate.

I request all of you together with your consorts, children and servants

To grant me the fortune of all the attainments.

May I and other practitioners

Have good health, long life, power,

Glory, fame, fortune,

And extensive enjoyments.

Please grant me the attainments

Of pacifying, increasing, controlling and wrathful actions.

O Guardians, always assist me.

Eradicate all untimely death, sicknesses,

Harm from spirits and hindrances.

Eliminate bad dreams,

Ill omens and bad actions.

May there be happiness in the world, may the years be good,

May crops increase, and may Dharma flourish.

May all goodness and happiness come about,

And may all wishes be accomplished.

At this point you can, if you wish, make the tsog offering.

Purifying any mistakes made during this practice with the hundred-letter mantra of Heruka

OM VAJRA HERUKA SAMAYA, MANU PALAYA, HERUKA TENO PATITA, DRIDHO ME BHAWA, SUTO KAYO ME BHAWA, SUPO KAYO ME BHAWA, ANURAKTO ME BHAWA, SARWA SIDDHI ME PRAYATZA, SARWA KARMA SUTZA ME, TZITAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM, HA HA HA HA HO BHAGAWÄN, VAJRA HERUKA MA ME MUNTSA, HERUKA BHAWA, MAHA SAMAYA SATTÖ AH HUM PHAT

OM YOGA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA YOGA SHUDDHO HAM

VAJRA MU

The mundane beings return to their own places, and the assembly of the Deities of the in-front-generation dissolve into me.

Dissolution and generating the action Deities

The charnel grounds and protection circle dissolve into the celestial mansion. The celestial mansion dissolves into the Deities of the commitment wheel. They dissolve into the Deities of the body wheel. They dissolve into the Deities of the speech wheel. They dissolve into the Deities of the heart wheel. They dissolve into the four Yoginis of the great bliss wheel. They dissolve into me, the Principal Deity Father and Mother, the nature of the white and red indestructible drop. I, the Principal Deity Father and Mother, also melt into light and dissolve into the letter HUM at my heart, in nature the emptiness of the Dharmakaya.

From the state of emptiness our world arises as Heruka's Pure Land, Keajra. I and all sentient beings arise as the Blessed One Heruka, with a blue-coloured body, one face, and two arms embracing Vajravarahi.

The session should be concluded by reciting the Dedication and remaining prayers from the sadhana The Yoga of Buddha Heruka.

THE TSOG OFFERING TO HERUKA BODY MANDALA

Blessing the outer and inner offerings, the environment and beings, and the substances of the tsog offering

OM AH HUM       (3x)

By nature exalted wisdom, having the aspect of the inner offering and the individual offering substances, and functioning as objects of enjoyment of the six senses to generate a special, exalted wisdom of bliss and emptiness, inconceivable clouds of outer, inner and secret offerings, commitment substances and attractive offerings, cover all the ground and fill the whole of space.

EH MA HO Great manifestation of exalted wisdom.

All realms are vajra realms

And all places are great vajra palaces

Endowed with vast clouds of Samantabhadra's offerings,

An abundance of all desired enjoyments.

All beings are actual Heroes and Heroines.

Everything is immaculately pure,

Without even the name of mistaken impure appearance.

HUM All elaborations are completely pacified in the state of the Truth Body. The wind blows and the fire blazes. Above, on a grate of three human heads, AH within a qualified skullcup, OM the individual substances blaze. Above these stand OM AH HUM, each ablaze with its brilliant colour. Through the wind blowing and the fire blazing, the substances melt. Boiling, they swirl in a great vapour. Masses of light rays from the three letters radiate to the ten directions and invite the three vajras together with nectars. These dissolve separately into the three letters. Melting into nectar, they blend with the mixture. Purified, transformed and increased,
EH MA HO They become a blazing ocean of magnificent delights.

OM AH HUM       (3x)

Inviting the guests of the tsog offering

PHAIM

From the sacred palace of the Dharmakaya,

Great Master, holder of the supreme lineage of the Vajrayana,

Who fulfil our hopes for all the attainments,

O Assembly of root and lineage Gurus, please come to this place.

From the twenty-four holy places throughout the world,

O Glorious Heruka, whose nature is the compassion of all the Buddhas,

And all the Heroes and Heroines of these places,

Please come here to bestow the attainments that we long for.

From the pure and impure lands of the ten directions,

O Assembly of Yidams, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Dharma Protectors,

And all the beings of samsara and nirvana,

Please come here as guests of this tsog offering.

OM GURU VAJRADHARA CHAKRASAMBARA SÄMANDALA DEWA SARWA BUDDHA BODHISATTÖ SAPARIWARA EH HAYE HI VAJRA SAMAYA DZA DZA

PÄMA KAMALAYE TÖN

Making the tsog offering

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please my kind root Guru, Guru Sumati Buddha Heruka.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please bless me so that I may attain outer and inner Dakini Land.

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the four Yoginis of the great bliss wheel.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please bless me so that I may attain spontaneous great bliss.

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the Heroes and Heroines of the vajra mind.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please bless me so that I may experience delight with the messengers of the vajra mind family.

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the Heroes and Heroines of the vajra speech.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please bless me so that I may experience delight with the messengers of the vajra speech family.

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the Heroes and Heroines of the vajra body.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please bless me so that I may experience delight with the messengers of the vajra body family.

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the Deities of the commitment wheel.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please bless me so that I may pacify all obstacles.

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please all other Yidams, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Dharma Protectors.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please bless me so that I may attain all the realizations of Sutra and Tantra.

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the assembly of mother sentient beings.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

May suffering and mistaken appearance be pacified.

Outer offerings

OM AHRGHAM PARTITZA SÖHA

OM PADÄM PARTITZA SÖHA

OM VAJRA PUPE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA DHUPE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA DIWE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA GÄNDHE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA NEWIDE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA SHAPTA AH HUM SÖHA

Inner offering

OM HUM BAM RIM RIM LIM LIM, KAM KHAM GAM GHAM NGAM, TSAM TSHAM DZAM DZHAM NYAM, TrAM THrAM DrAM DHrAM NAM, TAM THAM DAM DHAM NAM, PAM PHAM BAM BHAM, YAM RAM LAM WAM, SHAM KAM SAM HAM HUM HUM PHAT OM AH HUM

Secret and thatness offerings

Through Father and Mother uniting in embrace, all the principal and retinue Deities enjoy a special experience of great bliss and emptiness.

Eight lines of praise to the Father

OM I prostrate to the Blessed One, Lord of the Heroes HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you with a brilliance equal to the fire of the great aeon HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you with an inexhaustible topknot HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you with a fearsome face and bared fangs HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you whose thousand arms blaze with light HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you who hold an axe, an uplifted noose, a spear and a khatanga HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you who wear a tiger-skin garment HUM HUM PHAT

OM I bow to you whose great smoke-coloured body dispels obstructions HUM HUM PHAT

Eight lines of praise to the Mother

OM I prostrate to Vajravarahi, the Blessed Mother HUM HUM PHAT

OM To the Superior and powerful Knowledge Lady unconquered by the three realms HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you who destroy all fears of evil spirits with your great vajra HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you with controlling eyes who remain as the vajra seat unconquered by others HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you whose wrathful fierce form desiccates Brahma HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you who terrify and dry up demons, conquering those in other directions HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you who conquer all those who make us dull, rigid and confused HUM HUM PHAT

OM I bow to Vajravarahi, the Great Mother, the Dakini consort who fulfils all desires HUM HUM PHAT

Making the tsog offering to the Vajrayana Spiritual Guide

EH MA HO Great circle of tsog!

O Great Hero we understand

That, following in the path of the Sugatas of the three times,

You are the source of all attainments.

Forsaking all minds of conceptualization

Please continuously enjoy this circle of tsog.

AH LA LA HO

The Vajrayana Spiritual Guide's reply

OM With a nature inseparable from the three vajras

I generate as the Guru-Deity.

AH This nectar of uncontaminated exalted wisdom and bliss,

HUM Without stirring from bodhichitta,

I partake to delight the Deities dwelling in my body.

AH HO MAHA SUKHA

Song of the Spring Queen

HUM All you Tathagatas,

Heroes, Yoginis,

Dakas and Dakinis,

To all of you I make this request:

O Heruka who delight in great bliss,

You engage in the Union of spontaneous bliss,

By attending the Lady intoxicated with bliss

And enjoying in accordance with the rituals.

AH LA LA, LA LA HO, AH I AH, AH RA LI HO

May the assembly of stainless Dakinis

Look with loving affection and accomplish all deeds.

HUM All you Tathagatas,

Heroes, Yoginis,

Dakas and Dakinis,

To all of you I make this request:

With a mind completely aroused by great bliss

And a body in a dance of constant motion,

I offer to the hosts of Dakinis

The great bliss from enjoying the lotus of the mudra.

AH LA LA, LA LA HO, AH I AH, AH RA LI HO

May the assembly of stainless Dakinis

Look with loving affection and accomplish all deeds.

HUM All you Tathagatas,

Heroes, Yoginis,

Dakas and Dakinis,

To all of you I make this request:

You who dance with a beautiful and peaceful manner,

O Blissful Protector and the hosts of Dakinis,

Please come here before me and grant me your blessings,

And bestow upon me spontaneous great bliss.

AH LA LA, LA LA HO, AH I AH, AH RA LI HO

May the assembly of stainless Dakinis

Look with loving affection and accomplish all deeds.

HUM All you Tathagatas,

Heroes, Yoginis,

Dakas and Dakinis,

To all of you I make this request:

You who have the characteristic of the liberation of great bliss,

Do not say that deliverance can be gained in one lifetime

Through various ascetic practices having abandoned great bliss,

But that great bliss resides in the centre of the supreme lotus.

AH LA LA, LA LA HO, AH I AH, AH RA LI HO

May the assembly of stainless Dakinis

Look with loving affection and accomplish all deeds.

HUM All you Tathagatas,

Heroes, Yoginis,

Dakas and Dakinis,

To all of you I make this request:

Like a lotus born from the centre of a swamp,

This method, though born from attachment, is unstained by the faults of attachment.

O Supreme Dakini, through the bliss of your lotus,

Please quickly bring liberation from the bonds of samsara.

AH LA LA, LA LA HO, AH I AH, AH RA LI HO

May the assembly of stainless Dakinis

Look with loving affection and accomplish all deeds.

HUM All you Tathagatas,

Heroes, Yoginis,

Dakas and Dakinis,

To all of you I make this request:

Just as the essence of honey in the honey source

Is drunk by swarms of bees from all directions,

So through your broad lotus with six characteristics

Please bring satisfaction with the taste of great bliss.

AH LA LA, LA LA HO, AH I AH, AH RA LI HO

May the assembly of stainless Dakinis

Look with loving affection and accomplish all deeds.

Blessing the remaining tsog offering

HUM Impure mistaken appearances are purified in emptiness,

AH Great nectar accomplished from exalted wisdom,

HUM It becomes a vast ocean of desired enjoyment.

OM AH HUM       (3x)

Giving the remaining tsog offering to the spirits

HO This ocean of remaining tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the assembly of oath-bound guardians.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please perform perfect actions to help practitioners.

Send out the remainder of the tsog offering to the spirits.

HO

O Guests of the remainder together with your retinues

Please enjoy this ocean of remaining tsog offering.

May those who spread the precious doctrine,

The holders of the doctrine, their benefactors and others,

And especially I and other practitioners

Have good health, long life, power,

Glory, fame, fortune,

And extensive enjoyments.

Please grant me the attainments

Of pacifying, increasing, controlling and wrathful actions.

You who are bound by oaths please protect me

And help me to accomplish all the attainments.

Eradicate all untimely death, sicknesses,

Harm from spirits and hindrances.

Eliminate bad dreams,

Ill omens and bad actions.

May there be happiness in the world, may the years be good,

May crops increase, and may Dharma flourish.

May all goodness and happiness come about,

And may all wishes be accomplished.

By the force of this bountiful giving

May I become a Buddha for the sake of living beings;

And through my generosity may I liberate

All those not liberated by previous Buddhas.

Back to Purifying any mistakes made during this practice with the hundred-letter mantra of Heruka

Colophon: This sadhana or ritual prayer for the spiritual attainments of Buddha Heruka was compiled from traditional sources by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, April 2010.

Quick Path to Great Bliss

THE EXTENSIVE SELF-GENERATION SADHANA OF VAJRAYOGINI

by Je Phabongkhapa

Introduction

The instructions on the Highest Yoga Tantra practice of Venerable Vajrayogini were taught by Buddha Vajradhara in the forty-seventh and forty-eighth chapters of the Condensed Root Tantra of Heruka. This particular lineage of instructions, the Narokhacho lineage, was passed directly from Vajrayogini to Naropa, and from him through an unbroken lineage of realized practitioners to the present-day Teachers.

After Buddha Vajradharma had taught the practice he left the mandalas of Heruka and Vajrayogini intact in twenty-four auspicious places in this world. Thus even to this day there are countless manifestations of Vajrayogini in this world who help sincere practitioners to gain realizations by blessing their mental continuum.

In many respects the practice of Vajrayogini is ideally suited to the present day. By relying upon this practice sincerely, with a good heart and a mind of faith, it is definitely possible to attain full enlightenment; but to accomplish such results we must practise the extensive sadhana regularly.

This particular sadhana, Quick Path to Great Bliss, was composed by the great Lama Phabongkha Rinpoche. Compared to other sadhanas it is not very long, but it contains all the essential practices of Secret Mantra. To practise the sadhana successfully we should first receive the empowerment of Vajrayogini, and then study authentic instructions on the practice such as those found in the commentary The New Guide to Dakini Land. This sadhana is suitable both for our regular daily practice and for retreat; and we can practise it alone or in a group.

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
1985

Quick Path to Great Bliss

THE YOGA OF IMMEASURABLES

Going for refuge

In the space before me appear Guru Chakrasambara Father and Mother, surrounded by the assembly of root and lineage Gurus, Yidams, Three Jewels, Attendants and Protectors.

Imagining yourself and all sentient beings going for refuge, recite three times:

I and all sentient beings, the migrators as extensive as space, from this time forth until we reach the essence of enlightenment,

Go for refuge to the glorious, sacred Gurus,

Go for refuge to the complete Buddhas, the Blessed Ones,

Go for refuge to the sacred Dharmas,

Go for refuge to the superior Sanghas.

(3x)

Generating bodhichitta

Generate bodhichitta and the four immeasurables while reciting three times:

Once I have attained the state of a complete Buddha, I shall free all sentient beings from the ocean of samsara's suffering and lead them to the bliss of full enlightenment. For this purpose I shall practise the stages of Vajrayogini's path.

(3x)

Receiving blessings

Now with your palms pressed together, recite:

I prostrate and go for refuge to the Gurus and Three Precious Jewels. Please bless my mental continuum.

Due to reciting this:

The objects of refuge before me melt into the form of white, red and dark blue rays of light. These dissolve into me and I receive their blessings of body, speech and mind.

Instantaneous self-generation

In an instant I become Venerable Vajrayogini.

Blessing the inner offering

Purify the inner offering either with the mantra emanating from the four mouths or with the following:

OM KHANDAROHI HUM HUM PHAT

OM SÖBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SÖBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything becomes emptiness.

From the state of emptiness, from YAM comes wind, from RAM comes fire, from AH a grate of three human heads. Upon this from AH appears a broad and expansive skullcup. Inside from OM, KHAM, AM, TRAM, HUM come the five nectars; from LAM, MAM, PAM, TAM, BAM come the five meats, each marked by these letters. The wind blows, the fire blazes, and the substances inside the skullcup melt. Above them from HUM there arises a white, upside-down khatanga, which falls into the skullcup and melts whereby the substances take on the colour of mercury. Above them three rows of vowels and consonants, standing one above the other, transform into OM AH HUM. From these, light rays draw the nectar of exalted wisdom from the hearts of all the Tathagatas, Heroes and Yoginis of the ten directions. When this is added the contents increase and become vast.

OM AH HUM       (3x)

Blessing the outer offerings

Now bless the two waters, flowers, incense, lights, perfume, food and music.

OM KHANDAROHI HUM HUM PHAT

OM SÖBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SÖBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything becomes emptiness.

From the state of emptiness, from KAM come skullcup vessels inside which from HUM come offering substances. By nature emptiness, they have the aspect of the individual offering substances, and function as objects of enjoyment of the six senses to bestow special, uncontaminated bliss.

OM AHRGHAM AH HUM

OM PADÄM AH HUM

OM VAJRA PUPE AH HUM

OM VAJRA DHUPE AH HUM

OM VAJRA DIWE AH HUM

OM VAJRA GÄNDHE AH HUM

OM VAJRA NEWIDE AH HUM

OM VAJRA SHAPTA AH HUM

Meditation and recitation of Vajrasattva

On my crown, on a lotus and moon seat, sit Vajrasattva Father and Mother embracing each other. They have white-coloured bodies, one face and two hands, and hold vajra and bell and curved knife and skullcup. The Father is adorned with six mudras, the Mother with five. They sit in the vajra and lotus postures. On a moon in his heart is a HUM encircled by the mantra rosary. From this a stream of white nectar descends, cleansing all sickness, spirits, negativities and obstructions.

OM VAJRA HERUKA SAMAYA, MANU PALAYA, HERUKA TENO PATITA, DRIDHO ME BHAWA, SUTO KAYO ME BHAWA, SUPO KAYO ME BHAWA, ANURAKTO ME BHAWA, SARWA SIDDHI ME PRAYATZA, SARWA KARMA SUTZA ME, TZITAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM, HA HA HA HA HO BHAGAWÄN, VAJRA HERUKA MA ME MUNTSA, HERUKA BHAWA, MAHA SAMAYA SATTÖ AH HUM PHAT

Recite the mantra twenty-one times and then contemplate:

Vajrasattva Father and Mother dissolve into me and my three doors become inseparable from the body, speech and mind of Vajrasattva.

THE YOGA OF THE GURU

Visualization

In the space before me arising from the appearance of the exalted wisdom of non-dual purity and clarity is a celestial mansion which is square with four doorways, ornaments and archways, and complete with all the essential features. In the centre on a jewelled throne supported by eight great lions, on a seat of a lotus of various colours, a sun and a moon, sits my kind root Guru in the aspect of Buddha Vajradharma. He has a red-coloured body, one face, and two hands which are crossed at his heart and hold a vajra and bell. His hair is tied up in a topknot and he sits with his legs crossed in the vajra posture. He assumes the form of a sixteen-year-old in the prime of his youth, adorned with silks and all the bone and jewelled ornaments.

Beginning in front of him and circling counter-clockwise are all the lineage Gurus from Buddha Vajradhara to my root Guru. They are in the aspect of Hero Vajradharma with red-coloured bodies, one face and two hands. Their right hands play damarus which reverberate with the sound of bliss and emptiness. Their left hands hold at their hearts skullcups filled with nectar, and their left elbows hold khatangas. They sit with their legs crossed in the vajra posture. In the prime of their youth, they are adorned with six bone ornaments.

The Principal and all of his retinue have at their foreheads OM, at their throats AH, and at their hearts HUM. From the HUM at their hearts light rays radiate and invite from their natural abodes the Gurus, Yidams, hosts of mandala Deities, and the assembly of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Heroes, Dakinis, Dharmapalas and Protectors.

OM VAJRA SAMADZA DZA HUM BAM HO

Each becomes a nature which is the synthesis of all objects of refuge.

Prostration

With your palms pressed together, recite:

Vajra Holder, my jewel-like Guru,

Through whose kindness I can accomplish

The state of great bliss in an instant,

At your lotus feet humbly I bow.

Offering goddesses emanate from my heart and perform the offerings.

Outer offerings

OM AHRGHAM PARTITZA SÖHA

OM PADÄM PARTITZA SÖHA

OM VAJRA PUPE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA DHUPE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA DIWE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA GÄNDHE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA NEWIDE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA SHAPTA AH HUM SÖHA

OM AH VAJRA ADARSHE HUM

OM AH VAJRA WINI HUM

OM AH VAJRA GÄNDHE HUM

OM AH VAJRA RASE HUM

OM AH VAJRA PARSHE HUM

OM AH VAJRA DHARME HUM

Inner offering

OM GURU VAJRA DHARMA SAPARIWARA OM AH HUM

Secret offering

Contemplate that innumerable knowledge goddesses such as Pemachen emanate from your heart and assume the form of Vajrayogini. Guru Father and Mother embrace and experience uncontaminated bliss.

And I offer most attractive illusory mudras,

A host of messengers born in places, born from mantra and spontaneously born,

With slender bodies, skilled in the sixty-four arts of love,

And possessing the splendour of youthful beauty.

Thatness offering

Remember that the three circles of the offering are indivisible bliss and emptiness.

I offer you the supreme, ultimate bodhichitta,

A great, exalted wisdom of spontaneous bliss free from obstructions,

Inseparable from the nature of all phenomena, the sphere of freedom from elaboration,

Effortless, and beyond words, thoughts and expressions.

Offering our spiritual practice

I go for refuge to the Three Jewels

And confess individually all negative actions.

I rejoice in the virtues of all beings

And promise to accomplish a Buddha's enlightenment.

I go for refuge until I am enlightened

To Buddha, Dharma and the Supreme Assembly,

And to accomplish the aims of myself and others

I shall generate the mind of enlightenment.

Having generated the mind of supreme enlightenment,

I shall invite all sentient beings to be my guests

And engage in the pleasing, supreme practices of enlightenment.

May I attain Buddhahood to benefit migrators.

Kusali tsog offering

My own mind, the powerful Lady of Dakini Land, the size of only a thumb, leaves through the crown of my head and comes face to face with my root Guru. Once again I return and, slicing the skull from my old body, place it upon a grate of three human heads which has arisen instantaneously. I chop up the rest of my flesh, blood and bones, and heap it inside. By staring with wide open eyes I purify, transform and increase it into an ocean of nectar.

OM AH HUM HA HO HRIH       (3x)

Innumerable offering goddesses holding skullcups emanate from my heart. With the skullcups they scoop up nectar and offer it to the guests, who partake by drawing it through their tongues which are straws of vajra-light.

I offer this nectar of commitment substance

To my root Guru, the nature of the four [Buddha] bodies;

May you be pleased.

OM AH HUM       (7x)

I offer this nectar of commitment substance

To the lineage Gurus, the source of attainments;

May you be pleased.

OM AH HUM

I offer this nectar of commitment substance

To the assembly of Gurus, Yidams, Three Jewels and Protectors;

May you be pleased.

OM AH HUM

I offer this nectar of commitment substance

To the guardians who reside in the local places and in the regions;

May you assist me.

OM AH HUM

I offer this nectar of commitment substance

To all sentient beings in the six realms and the intermediate state;

May you be freed.

OM AH HUM

Through this offering all the guests are satiated with an uncontaminated bliss

And the sentient beings attain the Truth Body free from obstructions.

The three circles of the offering are the nature of non-dual bliss and emptiness,

Beyond words, thoughts and expressions.

Offering the mandala

OM VAJRA BHUMI AH HUM

Great and powerful golden ground,

OM VAJRA REKHE AH HUM

At the edge the iron fence stands around the outer circle.

In the centre Mount Meru the king of mountains,

Around which are four continents:

In the east, Purvavideha, in the south, Jambudipa,

In the west, Aparagodaniya, in the north, Uttarakuru.

Each has two sub-continents:

Deha and Videha, Tsamara and Abatsamara,

Satha and Uttaramantrina, Kurava and Kaurava.

The mountain of jewels, the wish-granting tree,

The wish-granting cow, and the harvest unsown.

The precious wheel, the precious jewel,

The precious queen, the precious minister,

The precious elephant, the precious supreme horse,

The precious general, and the great treasure vase.

The goddess of beauty, the goddess of garlands,

The goddess of song, the goddess of dance,

The goddess of flowers, the goddess of incense,

The goddess of light, and the goddess of scent.

The sun and the moon, the precious umbrella,

The banner of victory in every direction.

In the centre all treasures of both gods and men,

An excellent collection with nothing left out.

I offer this to you my kind root Guru and lineage Gurus,

To all of you sacred and glorious Gurus;

Please accept with compassion for migrating beings,

And having accepted please grant us your blessings.

O Treasure of Compassion, my Refuge and Protector,

I offer you the mountain, continents, precious objects, treasure vase, sun and moon,

Which have arisen from my aggregates, sources and elements

As aspects of the exalted wisdom of spontaneous bliss and emptiness.

I offer without any sense of loss

The objects that give rise to my attachment, hatred and confusion,

My friends, enemies and strangers, our bodies and enjoyments;

Please accept these and bless me to be released directly from the three poisons.

IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRYATAYAMI

Requesting the lineage Gurus

Vajradharma, Lord of the family of the ocean of Conquerors,

Vajrayogini, supreme Mother of the Conquerors,

Naropa, powerful Son of the Conquerors,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Pamtingpa, holder of the explanations of the great secrets for disciples,

Sherab Tseg, you are a treasure of all the precious secrets,

Malgyur Lotsawa, lord of the ocean of Secret Mantra,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Great Sakya Lama, you are powerful Vajradhara,

Venerable Sonam Tsemo, supreme vajra son,

Dragpa Gyaltsen, crown ornament of the vajra holders,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Great Sakya Pandita, master scholar of the Land of the Snows,

Drogon Chogyal Pagpa, crown ornament of all beings of the three grounds,

Shangton Choje, holder of the Sakya doctrine,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Nasa Dragpugpa, powerful accomplished one,

Sonam Gyaltsen, navigator of scholars and supremely accomplished ones,

Yarlungpa, lord of the whispered lineage of the family of accomplished ones,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Gyalwa Chog, refuge and protector of all migrators, both myself and others,

Jamyang Namka, you are a great being,

Lodro Gyaltsen, great being and lord of the Dharma,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Jetsun Doringpa, you are unequalled in kindness,

Tenzin Losel, you have practised in accordance with the [Guru's] words,

Kyentse, the expounder of the great, secret lineage of words,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Labsum Gyaltsen, holder of the mantra families,

Glorious Wangchug Rabten, all-pervading lord of the hundred families,

Jetsun Kangyurpa, principal of the families,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Shaluwa, all-pervading lord of the ocean of mandalas,

Kyenrabje, principal of all the mandalas,

Morchenpa, lord of the circle of mandalas,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Nesarpa, navigator of the ocean of whispered lineages,

Losel Phuntsog, lord of the whispered lineages,

Tenzin Trinlay, scholar who furthered the whispered lineages,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Kangyurpa, all-pervading lord upholding the Ganden doctrine,

Ganden Dargyay, friend of migrators in degenerate times,

Dharmabhadra, holder of the Ganden tradition,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Losang Chopel, lord of the Sutras and Tantras,

You have completed the essence of the paths of all the Sutras and Tantras.

Jigme Wangpo, scholar who furthered the Sutras and Tantras,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Dechen Nyingpo, you have the blessings of Naropa

To explain perfectly in accordance with Naropa

The essence of the excellent ripening and liberating paths of the Naro Dakini,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Losang Yeshe, Vajradhara,

You are a treasury of instructions on the ripening and liberating [paths] of the Vajra Queen,

The supreme, quick path for attaining the vajra state,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Kelsang Gyatso, you have completed all the profound and essential exalted states,

You are the compassionate Refuge and Protector of mother sentient beings,

You reveal the unmistaken path,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

My kind root Guru, Vajradharma,

You are the embodiment of all the Conquerors,

Who grant the blessings of all Buddhas' speech,

I request you, please bestow the spontaneously born exalted wisdom.

Please bless me so that through the force of meditation

On the Dakini yoga of the profound generation stage,

And the central channel yoga of completion stage,

I may generate the exalted wisdom of spontaneous great bliss and attain the enlightened Dakini state.

Receiving the blessings of the four empowerments

I request you O Guru incorporating all objects of refuge,

Please grant me your blessings,

Please grant me the four empowerments completely,

And bestow on me, please, the state of the four bodies.

(3x)

Contemplate that as a result of your requests:

White light rays and nectars radiate from the OM at the forehead of my Guru.

They dissolve into my forehead, purifying the negativities and obstructions of my body.

I receive the vase empowerment, and the blessings of my Guru's body enter my body.

Red light rays and nectars radiate from the AH at the throat of my Guru.

They dissolve into my throat, purifying the negativities and obstructions of my speech.

I receive the secret empowerment, and the blessings of my Guru's speech enter my speech.

Blue light rays and nectars radiate from the HUM at the heart of my Guru.

They dissolve into my heart, purifying the negativities and obstructions of my mind.

I receive the wisdom-mudra empowerment, and the blessings of my Guru's mind enter my mind.

White, red and blue light rays and nectars radiate from the letters at my Guru's three places.

They dissolve into my three places, purifying the negativities and obstructions of my body, speech and mind.

I receive the fourth empowerment, the precious word empowerment, and the blessings of my Guru's body, speech and mind enter my body, speech and mind.

Brief request

I request you my precious Guru, the essence of all Buddhas of the three times, please bless my mental continuum.

(3x)

Absorbing the Gurus

Requested in this way, the encircling lineage Gurus dissolve into my root Guru in the centre. My root Guru too, out of affection for me, melts into the form of red light and, entering through the crown of my head, mixes inseparably with my mind in the aspect of a red letter BAM at my heart.

THE YOGA OF SELF-GENERATION

Bringing death into the path of the Truth Body

This very letter BAM expands and spreads to the ends of space whereby all worlds and their beings become the nature of bliss and emptiness. Once again, contracting gradually from the edges, it becomes an extremely minute letter BAM which dissolves in stages from the bottom up into the nada. Then even the nada disappears and becomes the Truth Body of inseparable bliss and emptiness.
OM SHUNYATA GYANA VAJRA SÖBHAWA ÄMAKO HAM

Bringing the intermediate state into the path of the Enjoyment Body

From the state of emptiness where all appearance has gathered like this there appears a red letter BAM standing upright in space, in essence an aspect of my own mind, the exalted wisdom of non-dual bliss and emptiness.

Bringing rebirth into the path of the Emanation Body

From the state of emptiness, from EH EH comes a red phenomena source, a double tetrahedron. Inside from AH comes a moon mandala, white with a shade of red. Upon this standing in a circle counter-clockwise rests the mantra OM OM OM SARWA BUDDHA DAKINIYE VAJRA WARNANIYE VAJRA BEROTZANIYE HUM HUM HUM PHAT PHAT PHAT SÖHA. I, the letter BAM in space, see the moon and, motivated to take rebirth in its centre, enter the centre of the moon.

Light rays radiate from the moon, letter BAM, and mantra rosary making all worlds and beings of samsara and nirvana into the nature of Venerable Vajrayogini. These gather back and dissolve into the letter BAM and mantra rosary which change completely into the supported and supporting mandala, fully and all at once.

Checking meditation on the mandala and the beings within it

Furthermore, there is the vajra ground, fence, tent and canopy, outside of which a mass of five-coloured fires blaze, swirling counter-clockwise. Inside these is the circle of the eight great charnel grounds, the Ferocious One and so forth. In the centre of these is a red phenomena source, a double tetrahedron, with its broad neck facing upwards and its fine tip pointing downwards. Except for the front and back, each of the other four corners is marked by a pink joy swirl whirling counter-clockwise.

Inside the phenomena source, in the centre of an eight-petalled lotus of various colours, is a sun mandala. Upon this I arise in the form of Venerable Vajrayogini. My outstretched right leg treads on the breast of red Kalarati. My bent left leg treads on the head of black Bhairawa, which is bent backwards. I have a red-coloured body which shines with a brilliance like that of the fire of the aeon. I have one face, two hands and three eyes looking towards the Pure Land of the Dakinis. My right hand, outstretched and pointing downwards, holds a curved knife marked with a vajra. My left holds up a skullcup filled with blood which I partake of with my upturned mouth. My left shoulder holds a khatanga marked with a vajra from which hang a damaru, bell and triple banner. My black hair hanging straight covers my back down to my waist. In the prime of my youth, my desirous breasts are full and I show the manner of generating bliss. My head is adorned with five human skulls and I wear a necklace of fifty human skulls. Naked, I am adorned with five mudras and stand in the centre of a blazing fire of exalted wisdom.

THE YOGA OF PURIFYING MIGRATORS

At my heart inside a red phenomena source, a double tetrahedron, is a moon mandala. In the centre of this is a letter BAM encircled by a mantra rosary. From these light rays radiate, leaving through the pores of my skin. Touching all sentient beings of the six realms, they purify their negativities and obstructions together with their imprints and transform them all into the form of Vajrayogini.

THE YOGA OF BEING BLESSED BY HEROES AND HEROINES

Meditation on the body mandala

At my heart, in the centre of a phenomena source and moon seat, is a letter BAM which is the nature of the four elements. By splitting it changes into the four letters YA, RA, LA, WA which are the seeds of the four elements. They are the nature of the heart channel petals of the four directions such as the Desirous One. These transform starting from the left into Lama, Khandarohi, Rupini and Dakini. In the centre, the crescent moon, drop, and nada of the letter BAM, whose nature is the union of my very subtle red and white drops, transform into Venerable Vajrayogini.

Outside these in sequence are the channels such as the Unchanging One of the twenty-four places of the body, such as the hairline and crown, and the twenty-four elements from which come the nails, teeth, and so forth. These channels and elements, which are by nature inseparable, become the nature of the twenty-four letters of the mantra, OM OM and so forth, standing in a circle counter-clockwise from the east. These transform into the eight Heroines of the heart family: Partzandi, Tzändriakiya, Parbhawatiya, Mahanasa, Biramatiya, Karwariya, Lamkeshöriya and Drumatzaya; the eight Heroines of the speech family: Airawatiya, Mahabhairawi, Bayubega, Surabhakiya, Shamadewi, Suwatre, Hayakarne and Khaganane; and the eight Heroines of the body family: Tzatrabega, Khandarohi, Shaundini, Tzatrawarmini, Subira, Mahabala, Tzatrawartini and Mahabire. These are the actual Yoginis who are non-dual with the Heroes of the twenty-four external places such as Puliramalaya. The channels and elements of the eight doors such as the mouth, by nature inseparable from the eight letters HUM HUM and so forth, transform into Kakase, Ulukase, Shönase, Shukarase, Yamadhathi, Yamaduti, Yamadangtrini and Yamamatani. They all have the bodily form of the Venerable Lady, complete with ornaments and details.

Absorbing the wisdom beings and mixing the three messengers

Perform the blazing mudra and recite:

PHAIM
Light rays radiate from the letter BAM at my heart and, leaving from between my eyebrows, go to the ten directions. They invite all the Tathagatas, Heroes and Yoginis of the ten directions in the aspect of Vajrayogini.
DZA HUM BAM HO

The wisdom beings are summoned, dissolve, remain firm and are delighted. Now with the lotus-turning mudra followed by the embracing mudra, recite:

OM YOGA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA YOGA SHUDDHO HAM

I am the nature of the yoga of the complete purity of all phenomena.

Contemplate divine pride.

Putting on the armour

At places in my body arise moon mandalas upon which at my navel is red OM BAM, Vajravarahi; at my heart blue HAM YOM, Yamani; at my throat white HRIM MOM, Mohani; at my forehead yellow HRIM HRIM, Sachalani; at my crown green HUM HUM, Samtrasani; at all my limbs smoke-coloured PHAT PHAT, essence of Chandika.

Granting empowerment and adorning the crown

PHAIM
Light rays radiate from the letter BAM at my heart and invite the empowering Deities, the supported and supporting mandala of Glorious Chakrasambara.

O, all you Tathagatas, please grant the empowerment.

Requested in this way, the eight Goddesses of the doorways drive away hindrances, the Heroes recite auspicious verses, the Heroines sing vajra songs, and the Rupavajras and so forth make offerings. The Principal mentally resolves to grant the empowerment and the four Mothers together with Varahi, holding jewelled vases filled with the five nectars, confer the empowerment through the crown of my head.

'Just as all the Tathagatas granted ablution

At the moment of [Buddha's] birth,

Likewise do we now grant ablution

With the pure water of the gods.

OM SARWA TATHAGATA ABHIKEKATA SAMAYA SHRIYE HUM'

Saying this, they grant the empowerment. My whole body is filled, all stains are purified, and the excess water remaining on my crown changes into Vairochana-Heruka, together with the Mother, who adorn my crown.

Offerings to the self-generation

If you are doing self-generation in conjunction with self-initiation it is necessary to bless the outer offerings at this point.

Offering goddesses emanate from my heart and perform the offerings.

Outer offerings

OM AHRGHAM PARTITZA SÖHA

OM PADÄM PARTITZA SÖHA

OM VAJRA PUPE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA DHUPE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA DIWE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA GÄNDHE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA NEWIDE AH HUM SÖHA

OM VAJRA SHAPTA AH HUM SÖHA

OM AH VAJRA ADARSHE HUM

OM AH VAJRA WINI HUM

OM AH VAJRA GÄNDHE HUM

OM AH VAJRA RASE HUM

OM AH VAJRA PARSHE HUM

OM AH VAJRA DHARME HUM

Inner offering

OM OM OM SARWA BUDDHA DAKINIYE VAJRA WARNANIYE VAJRA BEROTZANIYE HUM HUM HUM PHAT PHAT PHAT SÖHA OM AH HUM

Secret and thatness offerings

To perform the secret and thatness offerings either imagine:

I, Vajrayogini, stand in union with Chakrasambara, who has transformed from my khatanga, and generate spontaneous bliss and emptiness.

or imagine that as Vajrayogini you transform into Heruka and with divine pride perform the secret and thatness offerings:

With the clarity of Vajrayogini I give up my breasts and develop a penis. In the perfect place in the centre of my vagina the two walls transform into two bell-like testicles and the stamen into the penis itself. Thus I take on the form of Great Joy Heruka together with the Secret Mother Vajrayogini who is by nature the synthesis of all Dakinis.

From the sphere of the unobservability of the secret place of the Father, from a white HUM there arises a white, five-pronged vajra, and from a red BÄ there arises a red jewel with a yellow BÄ marking its tip.

From the sphere of the unobservability of the secret place of the Mother, from an AH there arises a red, three-petalled lotus, and from a white DÄ there arises a white stamen, signifying white bodhichitta, with a yellow DÄ marking its tip.

OM SHRI MAHA SUKHA VAJRA HE HE RU RU KAM AH HUM HUM PHAT SÖHA

Through Father and Mother being absorbed in union, the bodhichitta melts. When from my crown it reaches my throat [I experience] joy. When from my throat it reaches my heart [I experience] supreme joy. When from my heart it reaches my navel [I experience] extraordinary joy. When from my navel it reaches the tip of my jewel I generate a spontaneous exalted wisdom whereby I remain absorbed in the concentration of inseparable bliss and emptiness. Thus, through this bliss inseparably joined with emptiness remaining in single-pointed absorption on the thatness that is the lack of inherent existence of the three circles of the offering, I delight in the secret and thatness offerings.

Then contemplate:

Once again I become Venerable Vajrayogini.

Eight lines of praise to the Mother

OM NAMO BHAGAWATI VAJRA VARAHI BAM HUM HUM PHAT

OM NAMO ARYA APARADZITE TRE LOKYA MATI BIYE SHÖRI HUM HUM PHAT

OM NAMA SARWA BUTA BHAYA WAHI MAHA VAJRE HUM HUM PHAT

OM NAMO VAJRA SANI ADZITE APARADZITE WASHAM KARANITRA HUM HUM PHAT

OM NAMO BHRAMANI SHOKANI ROKANI KROTE KARALENI HUM HUM PHAT

OM NAMA DRASANI MARANI PRABHE DANI PARADZAYE HUM HUM PHAT

OM NAMO BIDZAYE DZAMBHANI TAMBHANI MOHANI HUM HUM PHAT

OM NAMO VAJRA VARAHI MAHA YOGINI KAME SHÖRI KHAGE HUM HUM PHAT

THE YOGA OF VERBAL AND MENTAL RECITATION

Verbal recitation

At my heart inside a red phenomena source, a double tetrahedron, in the centre of a moon mandala, is a letter BAM encircled by a red-coloured mantra rosary standing counter-clockwise. From these, immeasurable rays of red light radiate. They purify the negativities and obstructions of all sentient beings and make offerings to all the Buddhas. All the power and force of their blessings is invoked in the form of rays of red light, which dissolve into the letter BAM and mantra rosary, blessing my mental continuum.

OM OM OM SARWA BUDDHA DAKINIYE VAJRA WARNANIYE VAJRA BEROTZANIYE HUM HUM HUM PHAT PHAT PHAT SÖHA

Recite at least as many mantras as you have promised to.

Mental recitation

(1) Sit in the sevenfold posture and bring the phenomena source, moon and mantra letters from the heart down to the secret place if you want to generate bliss, or to the navel if you want to generate a non-conceptual mind, and enclose them with the winds. As if mentally reading the mantra rosary, which stands counter-clockwise in a circle, collect just three, five, or seven recitations. Then, while holding your breath, focus your mind on the pink joy swirls spinning counter-clockwise in the four corners of the phenomena source other than the front and the back, and especially on the nada of the BAM in the centre, which is about to blaze.

(2) The red joy swirl at the upper tip of the central channel and the white joy swirl at the lower tip, each the size of only a grain of barley, travel to the heart while spinning furiously counter-clockwise. At the heart they mix and gradually diminish into emptiness. Place your mind in absorption on bliss and emptiness.

THE YOGA OF INCONCEIVABILITY

From the letter BAM and the mantra rosary at my heart, light rays radiate and pervade all three realms. The formless realm dissolves into the upper part of my body in the aspect of rays of blue light. The form realm dissolves into the middle part of my body in the aspect of rays of red light. The desire realm dissolves into the lower part of my body in the aspect of rays of white light. I, in turn, gradually melt into light from below and above and dissolve into the phenomena source. That dissolves into the moon. That dissolves into the thirty-two Yoginis. They dissolve into the four Yoginis, and they dissolve into the Principal Lady of the body mandala. The Principal Lady, in turn, gradually melts into light from below and above and dissolves into the phenomena source. That dissolves into the moon. That dissolves into the mantra rosary. That dissolves into the letter BAM. That dissolves into the head of the BAM. That dissolves into the crescent moon. That dissolves into the drop. That dissolves into the nada, and that, becoming smaller and smaller, dissolves into clear light emptiness.

THE YOGA OF DAILY ACTIONS

From the state of emptiness in an instant I become Venerable Vajrayogini. At places in my body arise moon mandalas upon which at my navel is red OM BAM, Vajravarahi; at my heart blue HAM YOM, Yamani; at my throat white HRIM MOM, Mohani; at my forehead yellow HRIM HRIM, Sachalani; at my crown green HUM HUM, Samtrasani; at all my limbs smoke-coloured PHAT PHAT, essence of Chandika.

To protect the main directions and intermediate directions recite twice:

OM SUMBHANI SUMBHA HUM HUM PHAT

OM GRIHANA GRIHANA HUM HUM PHAT

OM GRIHANA PAYA GRIHANA PAYA HUM HUM PHAT

OM ANAYA HO BHAGAWÄN VAJRA HUM HUM PHAT

The yoga of the tormas

Set up offerings in the traditional manner and then purify them in the following way:

OM KHANDAROHI HUM HUM PHAT

OM SÖBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SÖBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything becomes emptiness.

From the state of emptiness, from KAM come skullcup vessels inside which from HUM come offering substances. By nature emptiness, they have the aspect of the individual offering substances and function as objects of enjoyment of the six senses to bestow special, uncontaminated bliss.

OM AHRGHAM AH HUM

OM PADÄM AH HUM

OM VAJRA PUPE AH HUM

OM VAJRA DHUPE AH HUM

OM VAJRA DIWE AH HUM

OM VAJRA GÄNDHE AH HUM

OM VAJRA NEWIDE AH HUM

OM VAJRA SHAPTA AH HUM

Blessing the tormas

OM KHANDAROHI HUM HUM PHAT

OM SÖBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SÖBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything becomes emptiness.

From the state of emptiness, from YAM comes wind, from RAM comes fire, from AH a grate of three human heads. Upon this from AH appears a broad and expansive skullcup. Inside from OM, KHAM, AM, TRAM, HUM come the five nectars; from LAM, MAM, PAM, TAM, BAM come the five meats, each marked by these letters. The wind blows, the fire blazes, and the substances inside the skullcup melt. Above them from HUM there arises a white, upside-down khatanga, which falls into the skullcup and melts whereby the substances take on the colour of mercury. Above them three rows of vowels and consonants, standing one above the other, transform into OM AH HUM. From these, light rays draw the nectar of exalted wisdom from the hearts of all the Tathagatas, Heroes and Yoginis of the ten directions. When this is added the contents increase and become vast.
OM AH HUM       (3x)

Inviting the guests of the torma

PHAIM
Light rays radiate from the letter BAM at my heart and invite Venerable Vajrayogini surrounded by the assembly of Gurus, Yidams, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Heroes, Dakinis, and both Dharma and mundane Protectors to come from Akanishta to the space before me. From a HUM in the tongue of each guest there arises a three-pronged vajra through which they partake of the essence of the torma by drawing it through straws of light the thickness of only a grain of barley.

Offering the principal torma

Offer the torma while reciting three or seven times:

OM VAJRA AH RA LI HO: DZA HUM BAM HO: VAJRA DAKINI SAMAYA TÖN TRISHAYA HO

Offering the torma to the mundane Dakinis

Offer the torma while reciting twice:

OM KHA KHA, KHAHI KHAHI, SARWA YAKYA RAKYASA, BHUTA, TRETA, PISHATSA, UNATA, APAMARA, VAJRA DAKA, DAKI NÄDAYA, IMAM BALING GRIHANTU, SAMAYA RAKYANTU, MAMA SARWA SIDDHI METRA YATZANTU, YATIPAM, YATETAM, BHUDZATA, PIWATA, DZITRATA, MATI TRAMATA, MAMA SARWA KATAYA, SÄDSUKHAM BISHUDHAYE, SAHAYEKA BHAWÄNTU, HUM HUM PHAT PHAT SÖHA

Outer offerings

OM VAJRA YOGINI SAPARIWARA AHRGHAM, PADÄM, PUPE, DHUPE, ALOKE, GÄNDHE, NEWIDE, SHAPTA AH HUM

Inner offering

OM VAJRA YOGINI SAPARIWARA OM AH HUM

Praise

O Glorious Vajrayogini,

Chakravatin Dakini Queen,

Who have five wisdoms and three bodies,

To you Saviour of all I prostrate.

To the many Vajra Dakinis,

Who as Ladies of worldly actions,

Cut our bondage to preconceptions,

To all of you Ladies I prostrate.

Prayer to Behold the Beautiful Face of Vajrayogini

Bliss and emptiness of infinite Conquerors who, as if in a drama,

Appear as so many different visions in samsara and nirvana;

From among these you are now the beautiful, powerful Lady of Dakini Land,

I remember you from my heart, please care for me with your playful embrace.

You are the spontaneously born Mother of the Conquerors in the land of Akanishta,

You are the field-born Dakinis in the twenty-four places,

You are the action mudras covering the whole earth,

O Venerable Lady, you are the supreme refuge of myself, the Yogi.

You who are the manifestation of the emptiness of the mind itself,

Are the actual BAM, the sphere of EH, in the city of the vajra.

In the land of illusion you show yourself as a fearsome cannibal

And as a smiling, vibrant, fair young maiden.

But no matter how much I searched, O Noble Lady,

I could find no certainty of your being truly existent.

Then the youth of my mind, exhausted by its elaborations,

Came to rest in the forest hut which is beyond expression.

How wonderful, please arise from the sphere of the Dharmakaya

And care for me by the truth of what it says

In the Glorious Heruka, King of Tantras,

That attainments come from reciting the supreme close essence mantra of the Vajra Queen.

In the isolated forest of Odivisha

You cared for Vajra Ghantapa, the powerful Siddha,

With the bliss of your kiss and embrace and he came to enjoy the supreme embrace;

O, please care for me in the same way.

Just as the venerable Kusali was led directly

From an island in the Ganges to the sphere of space,

And just as you cared for the glorious Naropa,

Please lead me also to the city of the joyful Dakini.

Through the force of the compassion of my supreme root and lineage Gurus,

The especially profound and quick path of the ultimate, secret, great Tantra,

And the pure superior intention of myself, the Yogi,

May I soon behold your smiling face, O Joyful Dakini Lady.

Requesting fulfilment of wishes

O Venerable Vajrayogini, please lead me and all sentient beings to the Pure Land of the Dakinis. Please bestow on us every single mundane and supramundane attainment.

(3x)

If you wish to make a tsog offering you should include it at this point.

Offering the torma to the general Dharma Protectors

OM AH HUM HA HO HRIH       (3x)

HUM

From your pure palace of great bliss in Akanishta,

Great powerful one emanating from Vairochana's heart,

Dorje Gur, chief of all the Protectors of the doctrine,

O Glorious Mahakala come here please and partake of this offering and torma.

From Yongdui Tsel and Yama's palace

And from the supreme place of Devikoti in Jambudipa,

Namdru Remati, chief Lady of the desire realm,

O Palden Lhamo come here please and partake of this offering and torma.

From the mandala of the bhaga sphere of appearance and existence,

Mother Yingchugma, principal Lady of all samsara and nirvana,

Chief of Dakinis and demons, fierce female protector of the mantras,

O Great Mother Ralchigma come here please and partake of this offering and torma.

From Silwa Tsel and Haha Gopa,

From Singaling and the Ti Se snow mountain,

And from Darlungnay and Kaui Dragdzong,

O Zhingkyong Wangpo come here please and partake of this offering and torma.

From the eight charnel grounds and Risul in the south,

From Bodhgaya and glorious Samye,

And from Nalatse and glorious Sakya,

O Legon Pomo come here please and partake of this offering and torma.

From the charnel grounds of Marutse in the north-east,

From the red, rocky hills of Bangso in India,

And from the supreme places of Darlung Dagram and so forth,

O Yakya Chamdrel come here please and partake of this offering and torma.

Especially from Odiyana, Land of the Dakinis,

And from your natural abode,

Completely encircled by mundane and supramundane Dakinis,

O Father-Mother Lord of the Charnel Grounds come here please and partake of this offering and torma.

From the supreme places such as Tushita, Keajra, and so forth,

Great Protector of the doctrine of the second Conqueror,

Dorje Shugden, five lineages, together with your retinues,

Come here please and partake of this offering and torma.

I request you, I make offerings to you, O Host of Protectors of the Conqueror's doctrine,

I propitiate you and rely upon you, O Great Protectors of the Guru's words,

I cry out to you and beseech you, O Host of Destroyers of the obstructors of Yogis,

Please come here quickly and partake of this offering and torma.

I offer a torma adorned with red flesh and blood.

I offer drinks of alcohol, medicine nectars, and blood.

I offer the sound of large drums, thigh-bone trumpets, and cymbals.

I offer large, black silk pennants that billow like clouds.

I offer breath-taking attractions equal to space.

I offer loud chants that are powerful and melodious.

I offer an ocean of outer, inner and secret commitment substances.

I offer the play of the exalted wisdom of inseparable bliss and emptiness.

May you protect the precious doctrine of Buddha.

May you increase the renown of the Three Jewels.

May you further the deeds of the glorious Gurus,

And may you fulfil whatever requests I make of you.

Requesting forbearance

Now recite the hundred-letter mantra of Heruka:

OM VAJRA HERUKA SAMAYA, MANU PALAYA, HERUKA TENO PATITA, DRIDHO ME BHAWA, SUTO KAYO ME BHAWA, SUPO KAYO ME BHAWA, ANURAKTO ME BHAWA, SARWA SIDDHI ME PRAYATZA, SARWA KARMA SUTZA ME, TZITAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM, HA HA HA HA HO BHAGAWÄN, VAJRA HERUKA MA ME MUNTSA, HERUKA BHAWA, MAHA SAMAYA SATTÖ AH HUM PHAT

Request forbearance by reciting:

Whatever mistakes I have made

Through not finding, not understanding,

Or not having the ability,

Please, O Protector, be patient with all of these.

OM VAJRA MU The wisdom beings, guests of the torma, dissolve into me and the worldly beings return to their own places.

Dedication prayers

By this virtue may I quickly

Accomplish the actual Dakini,

And then lead every living being

Without exception to that ground.

At my deathtime may the Protectors, Heroes, Heroines and so forth,

Bearing flowers, parasols and victory banners,

And offering the sweet music of cymbals and so forth,

Lead me to the Land of the Dakinis.

By the truth of the valid Goddesses,

Their valid commitments,

And the supremely valid words they have spoken,

May [my virtues] be the cause for me to be cared for by the Goddesses.

Extensive dedication

If you have the time and the wish you can finish with these prayers, which were composed by Tsarpa Dorjechang:

In the great ship of freedom and endowment,

Flying the white sail of mindfulness of impermanence,

And blown by the favourable wind of accepting and abandoning actions and effects,

May I be delivered from the fearsome ocean of samsara.

Relying upon the crown-jewel of the non-deceptive objects of refuge,

Taking to heart the great purpose of migrators, my mothers,

And cleansing my stains and faults with the nectar of Vajrasattva,

May I be cared for by the compassionate, venerable Gurus.

The beautiful Mother of the Conquerors is the outer Yogini,

The letter BAM is the supreme inner Vajra Queen,

The clarity and emptiness of the mind itself is the secret Dakini Mother;

May I enjoy the sport of seeing the self-nature of each.

The worldly environment is the celestial mansion of the letter EH,

And its inhabitants, the sentient beings, are the Yoginis of the letter BAM;

Through the concentration of the great bliss of their union,

May whatever appearance arises be pure appearance.

Thus, through the yogas [numbering] the directions and the moon,

May I eventually be led directly to the city of Knowledge Holders

By the coral-coloured Lady of joy

With freely hanging vermilion hair and orange, darting eyes.

Having practised in a place of corpses with sindhura and a langali stem,

And having wandered throughout the land,

May the beautiful Lady to whom the swirl at my forehead transfers

Lead me to the Land of the Dakinis.

When the inner Varahi has destroyed the creeping vine of apprehender and apprehended,

And the dancing Lady residing in my supreme central channel

Has emerged through the door of Brahma into the sphere of the pathway of clouds,

May she embrace and sport with the Hero, Drinker of Blood.

Through the yoga of unifying [the two winds], meditating single-pointedly

On the tiny seed of the five winds at the lotus of my navel,

May my mental continuum be satiated by a supreme bliss

From the fragrant drops pervading the channels of my body-mind.

When, through the laughing and smiling play of the beautiful Lady

Of blazing light tummo within my central channel,

The youthful letter HAM has been completely softened,

May I attain the ground of the great bliss of union.

When the reddish-black RAM residing in the centre of the three channels at my navel

Has been set ablaze by my upper and lower winds,

And its cleansing fire has burned away the seventy-two thousand impure elements,

May my central channel be completely filled with pure drops.

When the five-coloured drop between my eyebrows has gone to my crown,

And the stream of moon-liquid originating from it

Has reached the stamen of my secret lotus,

May I be satiated by the four joys of descending and ascending.

When, through being struck by the rays of five lights radiating from that drop,

All stable and moving phenomena, my body and so forth,

Have been transformed into a mass of brilliant, clear rainbows,

May I once again enter the natural abode, the sphere of bliss and emptiness.

When the Yogini of my own mind, the union beyond intellect,

The primordial state of inexpressible emptiness and clarity,

The original nature free from arising, ceasing and abiding,

Recognizes its own entity, may I be forever nourished.

When my channels, winds and drops have dissolved into the sphere of EVAM,

And the mind itself has attained the glory of the Truth Body of great bliss,

May I care for these migrators as extensive as space

With immeasurable manifestations of countless Form Bodies.

Through the blessings of the Conquerors and their marvellous Sons,

The truth of non-deceptive dependent relationship,

And the power and force of my pure, superior intention,

May all the points of my sincere prayers be fulfilled.

Auspicious prayers

May there be the auspiciousness of swiftly receiving the blessings

Of the hosts of glorious, sacred Gurus,

Vajradhara, Pandit Naropa, and so forth,

The glorious Lords of all virtue and excellence.

May there be the auspiciousness of the Dakini Truth Body,

Perfection of wisdom, the supreme Mother of the Conquerors,

The natural clear light, free from elaboration from the beginning,

The Lady who emanates and gathers all things stable and moving.

May there be the auspiciousness of the Complete Enjoyment Body, spontaneously born,

A body, radiant and beautiful, ablaze with the glory of the major and minor marks,

A speech proclaiming the supreme vehicle with sixty melodies,

And a mind of non-conceptual bliss and clarity possessing the five exalted wisdoms.

May there be the auspiciousness of the Emanation Body, born in the places,

Ladies who with various Form Bodies, in various places,

Fulfil by various means the aims of various ones to be tamed

In accordance with their various wishes.

May there be the auspiciousness of the supreme Dakini, mantra-born,

A venerable Lady with a colour similar to that of a ruby,

With a smiling, wrathful manner, one face, two hands holding curved knife and skullcup,

And two legs in bent and outstretched positions.

May there be the auspiciousness of your countless millions of emanations

And the hosts of the seventy-two thousand [Dakinis]

Eliminating all the obstructions of practitioners

And bestowing the attainments that are longed for.

Concluding prayers.

THE TSOG OFFERING

Blessing the tsog offering

OM KHANDAROHI HUM HUM PHAT

OM SÖBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SÖBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything becomes emptiness.

From the state of emptiness, from AH comes a broad and expansive skullcup inside which the five meats, the five nectars, and the five exalted wisdoms melt and there arises a vast ocean of the nectar of exalted wisdom.

OM AH HUM HA HO HRIH       (3x)

Contemplate that it becomes an inexhaustible ocean of exalted wisdom nectar.

Offering medicine nectars

I offer this supreme nectar

That far transcends vulgar objects;

The supreme commitment of all the Conquerors,

And the foundation of all attainments.

May you be pleased with the great bliss

Of the unsurpassed bodhichitta,

Purified of all stains of obstructions,

And completely free from all conceptions.

Making the tsog offering

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the assembly of root and lineage Gurus.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please bestow a great rain of blessings.

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the divine assembly of powerful Dakinis.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please bestow the Dakini attainment.

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the divine assembly of Yidams and their retinues.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please bestow a great rain of attainments.

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the assembly of Three Precious Jewels.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please bestow a great rain of sacred Dharmas.

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the assembly of Dakinis and Dharma Protectors.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please bestow a great rain of virtuous deeds.

HO This ocean of tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the assembly of mother sentient beings.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

May suffering and mistaken appearance be pacified.

Outer offerings

OM VAJRA YOGINI SAPARIWARA AHRGHAM, PADÄM, PUPE, DHUPE, ALOKE, GÄNDHE, NEWIDE, SHAPTA AH HUM

Inner offering

OM VAJRA YOGINI SAPARIWARA OM AH HUM

Eight lines of praise to the Mother

OM I prostrate to Vajravarahi, the Blessed Mother HUM HUM PHAT

OM To the Superior and powerful Knowledge Lady unconquered by the three realms HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you who destroy all fears of evil spirits with your great vajra HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you with controlling eyes who remain as the vajra seat unconquered by others HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you whose wrathful fierce form desiccates Brahma HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you who terrify and dry up demons, conquering those in other directions HUM HUM PHAT

OM To you who conquer all those who make us dull, rigid and confused HUM HUM PHAT

OM I bow to Vajravarahi, the Great Mother, the Dakini consort who fulfils all desires HUM HUM PHAT

Making the tsog offering to the Vajrayana Spiritual Guide

Vajra Holder please listen to me,

This special tsog offering of mine,

I offer to you with a mind of faith;

Please partake as is your pleasure.

EH MA, great peace.

This great, blazing tsog offering burns up delusions

And in that way brings great bliss.

AH HO Everything is great bliss.

AH HO MAHA SUKHA HO

Concerning this, all phenomena are seen as pure,

Of this the assembly should have no doubt.

Since brahmins, outcasts, pigs and dogs

Are of one nature, please enjoy.

The Dharma of the Sugatas is priceless,

Free from the stains of attachment and so forth,

The abandonment of apprehender and apprehended;

Respectfully I prostrate to thatness.

AH HO MAHA SUKHA HO

Song of the Spring Queen

HUM All you Tathagatas,

Heroes, Yoginis,

Dakas and Dakinis,

To all of you I make this request:

O Heruka who delight in great bliss,

You engage in the Union of spontaneous bliss,

By attending the Lady intoxicated with bliss

And enjoying in accordance with the rituals.

AH LA LA, LA LA HO, AH I AH, AH RA LI HO

May the assembly of stainless Dakinis

Look with loving affection and accomplish all deeds.

HUM All you Tathagatas,

Heroes, Yoginis,

Dakas and Dakinis,

To all of you I make this request:

With a mind completely aroused by great bliss

And a body in a dance of constant motion,

I offer to the hosts of Dakinis

The great bliss from enjoying the lotus of the mudra.

AH LA LA, LA LA HO, AH I AH, AH RA LI HO

May the assembly of stainless Dakinis

Look with loving affection and accomplish all deeds.

HUM All you Tathagatas,

Heroes, Yoginis,

Dakas and Dakinis,

To all of you I make this request:

You who dance with a beautiful and peaceful manner,

O Blissful Protector and the hosts of Dakinis,

Please come here before me and grant me your blessings,

And bestow upon me spontaneous great bliss.

AH LA LA, LA LA HO, AH I AH, AH RA LI HO

May the assembly of stainless Dakinis

Look with loving affection and accomplish all deeds.

HUM All you Tathagatas,

Heroes, Yoginis,

Dakas and Dakinis,

To all of you I make this request:

You who have the characteristic of the liberation of great bliss,

Do not say that deliverance can be gained in one lifetime

Through various ascetic practices having abandoned great bliss,

But that great bliss resides in the centre of the supreme lotus.

AH LA LA, LA LA HO, AH I AH, AH RA LI HO

May the assembly of stainless Dakinis

Look with loving affection and accomplish all deeds.

HUM All you Tathagatas,

Heroes, Yoginis,

Dakas and Dakinis,

To all of you I make this request:

Like a lotus born from the centre of a swamp,

This method, though born from attachment, is unstained by the faults of attachment.

O Supreme Dakini, through the bliss of your lotus,

Please quickly bring liberation from the bonds of samsara.

AH LA LA, LA LA HO, AH I AH, AH RA LI HO

May the assembly of stainless Dakinis

Look with loving affection and accomplish all deeds.

HUM All you Tathagatas,

Heroes, Yoginis,

Dakas and Dakinis,

To all of you I make this request:

Just as the essence of honey in the honey source

Is drunk by swarms of bees from all directions,

So through your broad lotus with six characteristics

Please bring satisfaction with the taste of great bliss.

AH LA LA, LA LA HO, AH I AH, AH RA LI HO

May the assembly of stainless Dakinis

Look with loving affection and accomplish all deeds.

Blessing the offerings to the spirits

OM KHANDAROHI HUM HUM PHAT

OM SÖBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SÖBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything becomes emptiness.

From the state of emptiness, from AH comes a broad and expansive skullcup inside which the five meats, the five nectars, and the five exalted wisdoms melt and there arises a vast ocean of the nectar of exalted wisdom.

OM AH HUM HA HO HRIH       (3x)

Actual offering to the spirits

PHAIM

UTSIKTRA BALINGTA BHAKYÄSI SÖHA

HO This ocean of remaining tsog offering of uncontaminated nectar,

Blessed by concentration, mantra and mudra,

I offer to please the assembly of oath-bound guardians.

OM AH HUM

Delighted by enjoying these magnificent objects of desire,

EH MA HO

Please perform perfect actions to help practitioners.

Send out the remainder of the tsog offering to the accompaniment of music.

May I and other practitioners

Have good health, long life, power,

Glory, fame, fortune,

And extensive enjoyments.

Please grant me the attainments

Of pacifying, increasing, controlling and wrathful actions.

You who are bound by oaths please protect me

And help me to accomplish all the attainments.

Eradicate all untimely death, sicknesses,

Harm from spirits and hindrances.

Eliminate bad dreams,

Ill omens and bad actions.

May there be happiness in the world, may the years be good,

May crops increase, and may Dharma flourish.

May all goodness and happiness come about,

And may all wishes be accomplished.

By the force of this bountiful giving

May I become a Buddha for the sake of living beings;

And through my generosity may I liberate

All those not liberated by previous Buddhas.

Return to the torma offerings.

Prayers for the Virtuous Tradition

So that the tradition of Je Tsongkhapa,

The King of the Dharma, may flourish,

May all obstacles be pacified

And may all favourable conditions abound.

Through the two collections of myself and others

Gathered throughout the three times,

May the doctrine of Conqueror Losang Dragpa

Flourish for evermore.

The nine-line Migtsema prayer

Tsongkhapa, crown ornament of the scholars of the Land of the Snows,

You are Buddha Shakyamuni and Vajradhara, the source of all attainments,

Avalokiteshvara, the treasury of unobservable compassion,

Manjushri, the supreme stainless wisdom,

And Vajrapani, the destroyer of the hosts of maras.

O Venerable Guru-Buddha, synthesis of all Three Jewels,

With my body, speech, and mind, respectfully I make requests:

Please grant your blessings to ripen and liberate myself and others,

And bestow the common and supreme attainments.

(3x)

Colophon: This sadhana or ritual prayer for the spiritual attainments of Venerable Vajrayogini was translated under the compassionate guidance of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. The verse to Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso in Requesting the lineage Gurus was composed by the glorious Dharma Protector, Duldzin Dorje Shugden, and included in the sadhana at the request of Geshe Kelsang's faithful disciples. The verse to Dorje Shugden in Offering the torma to the general Dharma Protectors was composed by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and included in the sadhana at the request of his faithful disciples.

The Blissful Path

THE CONDENSED SELF-GENERATION SADHANA OF VAJRAYOGINI

The Blissful Path

THE CONDENSED SELF-GENERATION SADHANA OF VAJRAYOGINI

Those who wish to train in the self-generation of Vajrayogini as a daily practice, but who have insufficient time or ability to practise either the extensive or the middling sadhana, can fulfil their aim by practising this short sadhana with strong faith. However, whenever we engage in the recitation, contemplation and meditation of this sadhana, The Blissful Path, we should be completely free from distractions. With distractions we cannot accomplish anything.

The Actual Sadhana

THE FOUR PREPARATORY PRACTICES

Visualizing the objects of refuge, the gateway through which we develop and increase Buddhist faith

Faith in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha is Buddhist faith in general, and faith in Guru Vajradharma Heruka Father and Mother is Buddhist faith in particular in this practice of Vajrayogini. Guru Vajradharma Heruka Father and Mother are not different persons, but one person with different aspects. We engage in this practice following the contemplation presented in the sadhana:

In the space before me appears my root Guru in the aspect of Buddha Vajradharma, the manifestation of all Buddhas’ speech, with Heruka Father and Mother at his heart, surrounded by the assembly of lineage Gurus; Yidams – the enlightened Deities; Three Precious Jewels – Buddha, Dharma and Sangha , the pure spiritual practitioners; and Dharma Protectors.

We meditate on this great assembly of enlightened holy beings with strong faith. By visualizing our root Guru in this way we will receive the special blessings of the speech of all Buddhas. Through this we can quickly attain the realizations of speech – the realizations of the Dharma instructions of Sutra and Tantra. Only through Dharma realizations can we cease our samsaric problems in general and human problems in particular.

Training in going for refuge, the gateway through which we enter Buddhism

In this practice, in order to liberate ourself and all living beings permanently from suffering, we promise from the depths of our heart to go for refuge throughout our life to the assembly of Gurus, Buddhas, Dharma and Sangha, the pure spiritual practitioners. This promise is the refuge vow, which opens the door to liberation, the supreme permanent peace of mind known as ‘nirvana’. We engage in this practice following the contemplation presented in the sadhana:

I and all sentient beings as extensive as space, from now until we attain enlightenment,

Go for refuge to the Gurus, the supreme Spiritual Guides,

Go for refuge to the Buddhas, the fully enlightened beings,

Go for refuge to Dharma, the precious teachings of Buddha,

Go for refuge to Sangha, the pure spiritual practitioners. (3x)

As the commitments of our refuge vow we should apply effort to receiving Buddha’s blessings, to putting Dharma into practice and to receiving help from Sangha, the pure spiritual practitioners. Pure spiritual practitioners lead us to the spiritual path by showing a good example for us to follow and are therefore objects of refuge.

Generating the supreme good heart, bodhichitta, the gateway through which we enter the path to great enlightenment

In this practice, to attain enlightenment to benefit each and every living being every day, we promise from the depths of our heart to practise the stages of Vajrayogini’s path, which means the stages of the paths of generation stage and completion stage of Vajrayogini. This promise is our Bodhisattva vow, which opens the door to the quick path to great enlightenment. We engage in this practice following the contemplation presented in the sadhana:

Once I have attained the state of complete enlightenment, Buddhahood, I shall free all sentient beings from the ocean of samsara’s suffering and lead them to the bliss of full enlightenment. For this purpose I shall practise the stages of Vajrayogini’s path. (3x)

As the commitments of our Bodhisattva vow we should apply effort to practising the six perfections: giving, moral discipline, patience, effort, concentration and wisdom. A detailed explanation of these can be found in Modern Buddhism.

Receiving blessings, the gateway through which we can attain the enlightened body, speech and mind by purifying our ordinary appearance of body, speech and mind

In this practice, first we should make a short mandala offering:

The ground sprinkled with perfume and spread with flowers,

The Great Mountain, four lands, sun and moon,

Seen as a Buddha Land and offered thus,

May all being enjoy such Pure Lands.

IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRYATAYAMI

Then make the following request three times:

I prostrate and go for refuge to the Gurus and Three Precious Jewels. Please bless my mental continuum. (3x)

We then engage in the actual practice following the contemplation presented in the sadhana:

Due to requesting in this way, the great assembly of enlightened holy beings before me melts into the form of white, red and dark blue rays of light. The white rays of light are the nature of all Buddhas’ bodies, the red rays of light are the nature of all Buddhas’ speech, and the dark blue rays of light are the nature of all Buddhas’ minds. All these dissolve into me and I receive the special blessings of the body, speech and mind of all Buddhas. My ordinary appearance of body, speech and mind is purified, and my continually residing body, speech and mind transform into the enlightened body, speech and mind.

We meditate on this belief single-pointedly. Our perception of our body, speech and mind that we normally see is our ordinary appearance of body, speech and mind.

THE ACTUAL SELF-GENERATION PRACTICE

Bringing death into the path to the Truth Body, Buddha’s very subtle body

In this practice, through correct imagination, we transform our clear light of death into the spiritual path of the union of great bliss and emptiness. We engage in this practice following the contemplation presented in the sadhana:

The entire world and its inhabitants melt into light and dissolve into my body. My body also melts into light and slowly diminishes in size until finally it dissolves into emptiness, the mere absence of all phenomena that I normally see. This resembles the way in which all the appearances of this life dissolve at death. I experience the clear light of death, which in nature is bliss. I perceive nothing other than emptiness. My mind, the clear light of death, becomes the union of great bliss and emptiness.

We meditate on this belief, completely free from distractions. At the end of the meditation we think:

I am Truth Body Vajrayogini.

A manifest very subtle mind at the time of death is the clear light of death. Although this contemplation and meditation is imagination, its nature is wisdom and it has inconceivable meaning. Through sincerely practising this contemplation and meditation continually we will gain deep familiarity with transforming our clear light of death into the union of great bliss and emptiness through imagination. Then later, when we actually experience the death process, we will be able to recognize our clear light of death and transform it into the union of great bliss and emptiness. This transformation is the realization of ultimate example clear light, which will directly give us the attainment of the illusory body, a deathless body. From that moment we will become a deathless person and we will experience our world as the Pure Land of Keajra and ourself as Vajrayogini. Thus we will have fulfilled our ultimate goal. Vajrayogini imputed upon a Buddha’s Truth Body is Truth Body Vajrayogini, definitive Vajrayogini.

Bringing the intermediate state into the path to the Enjoyment Body, Buddha’s subtle Form Body

The state between this life and the next rebirth is the intermediate state. Beings in this state are intermediate state beings, also called ‘bardo beings’. In this practice we transform the experience of an intermediate state being into the experience of Enjoyment Body Vajrayogini. Vajrayogini imputed upon a Buddha’s subtle Form Body is Enjoyment Body Vajrayogini. We engage in this practice following the contemplation presented in the sadhana:

Maintaining the experience that my mind of the clear light of death has become the union of great bliss and emptiness, from the emptiness of the Truth Body, the Dharmakaya, I instantaneously transform into Enjoyment Body Vajrayogini in the form of a ball of red-coloured light, which in nature is great bliss inseparable from emptiness. This resembles the way in which the body of an intermediate state being arises out of the clear light of death. I am Enjoyment Body Vajrayogini.

We remain single-pointedly on the experience of ourself as Enjoyment Body Vajrayogini for as long as possible.

Bringing rebirth into the path to the Emanation Body, Buddha’s gross Form Body

In this practice we transform our experience of taking rebirth in samsara as an ordinary being into the experience of taking rebirth in the Pure Land of Keajra as Emanation Body Vajrayogini. Vajrayogini imputed upon Buddha’s gross Form Body is Emanation Body Vajrayogini. We engage in this practice following the contemplation presented in the sadhana:

In the vast space of emptiness of all phenomena, the nature of my purified mistaken appearance of all phenomena, which is the Pure Land of Keajra, I appear as Vajrayogini who is the manifestation of the wisdom of the clear light of all Buddhas. I have a red-coloured body of light, with one face and two hands, and I assume the form of a sixteen-year-old in the prime of my youth. Although I have this appearance it is not other than the emptiness of all phenomena. I am Emanation Body Vajrayogini.

We meditate on this self-generation for as long as possible with the recognition that the appearance of ourself as Vajrayogini in our Pure Land of Keajra and the emptiness of all phenomena are one entity not two. Our meditation on self-generation has the power to reduce and cease our self-grasping. In this practice we should improve our experience of training in divine pride and training in clear appearance through continually contemplating and meditating on the instructions of these trainings given in Guide to Dakini Land.

We should know that the four preparatory practices are like the four wheels of a vehicle, and the actual self-generation practice is like the vehicle itself. This shows that both the preparatory practices and the actual practice are equally important for the fulfilment of our ultimate goal.

We can train in a special tummo meditation at this point. A clear and detailed explanation on how to do this can be found in Guide to Dakini Land.

Reciting the mantra

At my heart is wisdom being Vajrayogini, definitive Vajrayogini, who is the synthesis of the body, speech and mind of all Buddhas.

O My Guru Deity Vajrayogini,

Please bestow upon me and all sentient beings

The attainments of the enlightened body, speech and mind.

Please pacify our outer, inner and secret obstacles.

Please build within us the basic foundation for all these attainments.

For this request we recite the three-OM mantra at least as many times as we have promised:

OM OM OM SARWA BUDDHA DAKINIYE VAJRA WARNANIYE VAJRA BEROTZANIYE HUM HUM HUM PHAT PHAT PHAT SOHA.

Outer obstacles are harm received from humans and non-humans, as well as from inanimate objects such as fire, water and so forth, inner obstacles are our delusions such as anger, attachment and ignorance, and the secret obstacle is our subtle mistaken appearance of all phenomena. Our perception of all phenomena that we normally see is our subtle mistaken appearance of all phenomena. At this point, if we wish, we can make a tsog offering. The ritual prayer for making a tsog offering can be found in Guide to Dakini Land.

Dedication

Through the virtues I have accumulated by practising these instructions,

May I receive the special care of Venerable Vajrayogini and her emanation Dakinis,

And through receiving their powerful blessings upon my very subtle body, speech and mind

May I attain enlightenment quickly to liberate all livings beings.

Prayers for the Virtuous Tradition

So that the tradition of Je Tsongkhapa,

The King of the Dharma, may flourish,

May all obstacles be pacified

And may all favourable conditions abound.

Through the two collections of myself and others

Gathered throughout the three times,

May the doctrine of Conqueror Losang Dragpa

Flourish for evermore.

The nine-line Migtsema prayer

Tsongkhapa, crown ornament of the scholars of the Land of the Snows,

You are Buddha Shakyamuni and Vajradhara, the source of all attainments,

Avalokiteshvara, the treasury of unobservable compassion,

Manjushri, the supreme stainless wisdom,

And Vajrapani, the destroyer of the hosts of maras.

O Venerable Guru-Buddha, synthesis of all Three Jewels,

With my body, speech, and mind, respectfully I make requests:

Please grant your blessings to ripen and liberate myself and others,

And bestow the common and supreme attainments. (3x)

Colophon: This sadhana or ritual prayer for the spiritual attainment of Venerable Vajrayogini was complied from traditional sources by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, 2012.

Liberation from Sorrow

PRAISES AND REQUESTS TO THE TWENTY-ONE TARAS

Introduction

Tara is a female Buddha, a manifestation of the ultimate wisdom of all the Buddhas. Each of the Twenty-one Taras is a manifestation of the principal Tara, Green Tara. Tara is also known as the 'Mother of the Conquerors'.

Tara is our common mother, our Holy Mother. When we are young we turn to our worldly mother for help. She protects us from immediate dangers, provides us with all our temporal needs, and guides and encourages us in our learning and personal development. In the same way, during our spiritual growth we need to turn to our Holy Mother, Tara, for refuge. She protects us from all internal and external dangers, she provides us with all the necessary conditions for our spiritual training, and she guides us and inspires us with her blessings as we progress along the spiritual path.

'Tara' means 'Rescuer'. She is so called because she rescues us from the eight outer fears (the fears of lions, elephants, fire, snakes, thieves, water, bondage and evil spirits), and from the eight inner fears (the fears of pride, ignorance, anger, jealousy, wrong views, attachment, miserliness and deluded doubts). Temporarily Tara saves us from the dangers of rebirth in the three lower realms, and ultimately she saves us from the dangers of samsara and solitary peace.

If we rely upon Mother Tara sincerely and with strong faith, she will protect us from all obstacles and fulfil all our wishes. Since she is a wisdom Buddha, and since she is a manifestation of the completely purified wind element, Tara is able to help us very quickly. If we recite the twenty-one verses of praise, we shall receive inconceivable benefits. These praises are very powerful because they are Sutra, the actual words of Buddha. It is good to recite them as often as we can.

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
1979

Liberation from Sorrow

Going for refuge

I and all sentient beings, until we achieve enlightenment,

Go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

(3x)

Generating bodhichitta

Through the virtues I collect by giving and other perfections,

May I become a Buddha for the benefit of all.

(3x)

Generating the four immeasurables

May all sentient beings possess happiness and its causes,

May they be free from suffering and its causes,

May they never be separated from the happiness that is without suffering,

May they abide in equanimity, without feeling close to some out of attachment or distant from others out of hatred.

Inviting Arya Tara

From the supreme abode of Potala,

Born from the green letter TAM,

You who liberate migrators with the light of the letter TAM,

O Tara, please come here together with your retinue.

Prostration

Gods and demi-gods bow their crowns

At your lotus feet;

O Liberator from all misfortune,

To you, Mother Tara, I prostrate.

Homage to the Twenty-one Taras

OM Homage to Venerable Arya Tara

Praising Tara by her life story

Homage to Tara, the Swift One, the Heroine,

Whose eyes are like a flash of lightning,

Who arose from the opening of a lotus,

Born from the tears of the Protector of the Three Worlds.

Praising Tara by the brightness and radiance of her face

Homage to you with a face like a hundred full moons in autumn

Gathered together into one;

Blazing with brilliant light

Like a thousand constellations.

Praising Tara by her colour, what she holds and her causes

Homage to you who are bluish gold,

Your hand perfectly adorned with a lotus flower;

Who arose from practising giving, moral discipline,

Patience, effort, concentration and wisdom.

Praising Tara by her being honoured by the Conquerors and the Bodhisattvas

Homage to you who surmount the Tathagatas' ushnishas,

Whose victorious actions are limitless;

Who are greatly honoured by the Sons of the Conquerors,

Who have attained every perfection.

Praising Tara by her subduing unfavourable conditions

Homage to you who with the letters TUTTARA and HUM

Fill the realms of desire, direction and space.

With the seven classes of evil spirits beneath your feet,

You are able to draw all beings to bliss.

Praising Tara by her being worshipped by the great worldly gods

Homage to you who are worshipped by Indra, Agni,

Brahma, Vayu and the other mighty gods;

And before whom the host of evil spirits,

Zombies, smell-eaters and givers of harm respectfully offer praise.

Praising Tara by her destroying opponents

Homage to you who by saying TRÄ and PHAT

Completely destroy the obstructions of enemies.

You suppress with your right leg drawn in and your left extended,

And blaze with a fierce and raging fire.

Praising Tara by her purifying demons and the two obstructions

Homage to TURE, extremely fearsome one,

Who completely destroy the chief of demons.

With the wrathful expression on your lotus face

You vanquish all foes without exception.

Praising Tara by the objects she holds in her right and left hands

Homage to you whose fingers perfectly adorn your heart

With the mudra symbolizing the Three Precious Jewels.

Adorned with a wheel of all directions

Whose radiant light outshines all.

Praising Tara by her crown ornament and the sound of her laughter

Homage to you whose very joyful and shining crown ornament

Radiates a garland of light;

Who, with your mirthful laughter of TUTTARE,

Subdue the demons and worldly gods.

Praising Tara by her accomplishing divine actions through the ten directional guardians

Homage to you who are able to summon

All the directional guardians and their retinues.

Frowning and shaking, with the letter HUM,

You rescue all from their misfortune.

Praising Tara by her crown ornament

Homage to you with a crescent moon adorning your crown,

And all your ornaments shining brightly;

With Amitabha in your top-knot

Eternally radiating light.

Praising Tara by her wrathful posture

Homage to you who dwell amidst a garland of flames

Like the fire at the end of the aeon.

With your right leg extended and left drawn in,

You destroy the hosts of obstructions of those who delight in the Dharma Wheel.

Praising Tara by the light that radiates from the letter HUM

Homage to you who strike the ground with the palm of your hand

And stamp it with your foot.

With a wrathful glance and letter HUM,

You subdue all seven levels.

Praising Tara by her Dharmakaya aspect

Homage to you who are happy, virtuous and peaceful,

Within the sphere of the peace of nirvana.

Fully endowed with SÖHA and OM,

You completely destroy heavy evil actions.

Praising Tara by her divine actions of peaceful and wrathful mantras

Homage to you who completely subdue the obstructions

Of those who delight in the Dharma Wheel;

Rescuing with the array of the ten-letter mantra

And the knowledge-letter HUM.

Praising Tara by her divine actions of wrathfully shaking the three worlds

Homage to TURE, stamping your feet,

Born from the seed in the aspect of HUM,

Who cause Mount Meru, Mandhara and Vindhya,

And all the three worlds to shake.

Praising Tara by her divine actions of dispelling internal and external poisons

Homage to you who hold in your hand

A moon, the lake of the gods;

Saying TARA twice and the letter PHAT,

You completely dispel all poisons.

Praising Tara by her divine actions of dispelling conflicts and bad dreams

Homage to you who are honoured by the kings of the hosts of gods,

And the gods and the kinnaras.

Through your joyful and shining pervasive armour

All conflicts and bad dreams are dispelled.

Praising Tara by her divine actions of dispelling diseases

Homage to you whose two eyes, like the sun or the full moon,

Radiate a pure, clear light.

Saying HARA twice and TUTTARA,

You dispel the most violent, infectious diseases.

Praising Tara by her divine actions of subduing evil spirits and zombies

Homage to you who have the perfect power of pacifying

Through your blessing of the three thatnesses;

Subduer of the hosts of evil spirits, zombies and givers of harm,

O TURE, most excellent and supreme!

This concludes the praise of the root mantra

And the twenty-one homages.

Benefits of recitation of this Sutra

The wise who recite this with strong faith

And perfect devotion to the Goddess,

In the evening and upon arising at dawn,

Will be granted complete fearlessness by remembering her.

Through the complete purification of all negativity

They will destroy all paths to the lower realms.

They will swiftly be granted empowerment

By the seventy million Conquerors.

They will attain greatness here

And advance to the ultimate state of Buddhahood.

Their violent and great poisons,

Both stable and moving,

And even those that they have eaten or drunk,

Will be thoroughly eliminated by remembering her.

They will be able to prevent all suffering

That arises from spirits, diseases or poisons;

And be able to help others in the same way.

If they recite these seven times, six times a day,

Those who wish for a son will attain a son,

And those who wish for wealth will attain wealth.

All their wishes will be accomplished.

No more obstacles will arise for them,

And those that have already occurred

Will all be completely destroyed.

Prayer of seven limbs

To Venerable Arya Tara

And all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

Residing in the ten directions and the three times,

I prostrate with sincere faith.

I offer you flowers, incense, lights,

Perfumes, foods, music and other offerings,

Both actually set out and mentally imagined;

Please accept these, O Assembly of Aryas.

I confess all negative actions,

The five heinous actions and the ten non-virtues,

That I have committed since beginningless time

Through my mind being overcome by delusions.

I rejoice in the merit of all the virtues

Collected throughout the three times

By Bodhisattvas, Solitary Conquerors,

Hearers, ordinary beings and others.

Please turn the Wheel of Dharma

Of the great, small and common vehicles,

According to the different wishes

And capacities of living beings.

For as long as samsara has not ceased,

Please do not pass beyond sorrow;

But with compassion care for all living beings

Drowning in the ocean of suffering.

May all the merit I have collected

Become the cause of enlightenment;

And before too long may I become

The Glorious Guide of migrators.

Offering the mandala

OM VAJRA BHUMI AH HUM

Great and powerful golden ground,

OM VAJRA REKHE AH HUM

At the edge the iron fence stands around the outer circle.

In the centre Mount Meru the king of mountains,

Around which are four continents:

In the east, Purvavideha, in the south, Jambudipa,

In the west, Aparagodaniya, in the north, Uttarakuru.

Each has two sub-continents:

Deha and Videha, Tsamara and Abatsamara,

Satha and Uttaramantrina, Kurava and Kaurava.

The mountain of jewels, the wish-granting tree,

The wish-granting cow, and the harvest unsown.

The precious wheel, the precious jewel,

The precious queen, the precious minister,

The precious elephant, the precious supreme horse,

The precious general, and the great treasure vase.

The goddess of beauty, the goddess of garlands,

The goddess of music, the goddess of dance,

The goddess of flowers, the goddess of incense,

The goddess of light, and the goddess of scent.

The sun and the moon, the precious umbrella,

The banner of victory in every direction.

In the centre all treasures of both gods and men,

An excellent collection with nothing left out.

I offer this to you my kind root Guru and lineage Gurus,

To all of you sacred and glorious Gurus,

And especially to you, assembly of Arya Taras, together with your retinues.

Please accept with compassion for migrating beings,

And having accepted, out of your great compassion,

Please bestow your blessings on all sentient beings pervading space.

The ground sprinkled with perfume and spread with flowers,

The Great Mountain, four lands, sun and moon,

Seen as a Buddha Land and offered thus,

May all beings enjoy such Pure Lands.

Thus, O Sublime object of refuge,

Please quickly protect all living beings

From fears such as sickness, spirits, obstacles,

Untimely death, bad dreams and ill omens.

IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRYATAYAMI

Requesting fulfilment of wishes

O Venerable, Blessed, Compassionate Mother,

May I and all countless living beings

Quickly purify the two obstructions, complete the two collections,

And attain the state of complete Buddhahood.

Throughout all our lives before we reach Buddhahood,

May we attain the supreme happiness of humans and gods;

And so that we may accomplish the omniscient mind,

Please quickly pacify and eliminate all interferences,

Evil spirits, hindrances, epidemics and sickness,

As well as the various causes of untimely death,

Bad dreams, ill omens, the eight fears,

And all other forms of danger.

May all mundane and supramundane collections

Of good fortune, happiness, goodness and excellence increase,

And may every beneficial purpose without exception

Be effortlessly and spontaneously accomplished.

May I strive in my practice of sacred Dharma and increase my realizations,

May I always accomplish you and behold your sublime face;

And may my understanding of emptiness and the precious bodhichitta

Increase and grow like a waxing moon.

May I be born from a sacred and most beautiful lotus

In the excellent, joyful mandala of the Conqueror;

And there may I accomplish the prophecy I receive

Directly from Conqueror Amitabha.

O Goddess upon whom I have relied in previous lives,

Embodiment of the divine actions of all the Buddhas of the three times,

Bluish-green One with one face and two hands,

O Swift Pacifier, Mother holding an upala, may everything be auspicious.

O Conqueror Mother Tara,

Whatever your body, retinue, life span and Pure Land,

And whatever your supreme and excellent name,

May I and all others attain only these.

Through the force of my making these praises and requests to you,

Please pacify all sickness, poverty, misfortune, fighting and quarrelling,

Throughout all directions where I and others live,

And cause the Dharma and all good fortune to flourish.

Mantra recitiation

OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SÖHA (21x, 100x, etc.)

The meaning of this mantra is: with OM we are calling Arya Tara, TARE means permanent liberation from the suffering of lower rebirth, TUTTARE means permanent liberation from samsaric rebirth, TURE means the great liberation of full enlightenment, and SÖHA means please bestow. Together the meaning is: 'O Arya Tara, please bestow upon us permanent liberation from the suffering of lower rebirth, permanent liberation from the suffering of samsaric rebirth, and the great liberation of full enlightenment.'

Dedication

By this virtue may I quickly

Become Arya Tara,

And then lead every living being

Without exception to that ground.

Through the virtues I have collected

By worshipping the Blessed Mother,

May every living being without exception

Be born in the Pure Land of Bliss.

Auspicious verse

You, who having abandoned all bodily faults, possess the signs and indications,

Who having abandoned all verbal faults, possess a heavenly voice,

Who having abandoned all mental faults, realize all objects of knowledge;

O Lady of blessed, glorious renown, may there be the auspiciousness of your presence.

Prayers for the Virtuous Tradition

So that the tradition of Je Tsongkhapa,

The King of the Dharma, may flourish,

May all obstacles be pacified

And may all favourable conditions abound.

Through the two collections of myself and others

Gathered throughout the three times,

May the doctrine of Conqueror Losang Dragpa

Flourish for evermore.

The nine-line Migtsema prayer

Tsongkhapa, crown ornament of the scholars of the Land of the Snows,

You are Buddha Shakyamuni and Vajradhara, the source of all attainments,

Avalokiteshvara, the treasury of unobservable compassion,

Manjushri, the supreme stainless wisdom,

And Vajrapani, the destroyer of the hosts of maras.

O Venerable Guru-Buddha, synthesis of all Three Jewels,

With my body, speech and mind, respectfully I make requests:

Please grant your blessings to ripen and liberate myself and others,

And bestow the common and supreme attainments.

(3x)

Colophon: This sadhana for the spiritual attainments of Arya Tara was compiled from traditional sources by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, and translated under his compassionate guidance.

Avalokiteshvara Sadhana

PRAYERS AND REQUESTS TO THE BUDDHA OF COMPASSION

Introduction

Avalokiteshvara, or 'Chenrezig' in Tibetan, is an enlightened being who is a manifestation of all Buddhas' compassion. He is known as the 'Buddha of Compassion'. He usually appears as white in colour with four arms. His first two hands are pressed together at his heart, symbolizing his respect for his Spiritual Guide, Buddha Amitabha, who is on his crown. Even though Avalokiteshvara is an enlightened being, he still shows respect to his Spiritual Guide. His first two hands hold a jewel, which symbolizes his own enlightenment. This mudra is indicating, 'I attained jewel-like great enlightenment through receiving blessings from my Spiritual Guide Amitabha.'

His second left hand holds a white lotus flower. A lotus grows in the mud at the bottom of a lake, but its flowers bloom on the surface of the water, completely free from the stains of mud. By holding a lotus flower Avalokiteshvara is showing that, because he attained enlightenment, he is free from all obstacles and has a completely pure body, speech and mind. His second right hand holds a crystal mala, symbolizing that he can free all living beings from samsara and lead them to liberation.

If we rely sincerely upon Avalokiteshvara and recite his mantra with strong faith, temporarily we will improve our realizations of the stages of the path, especially our realization of great compassion, and ultimately we will attain supreme Buddhahood in Avalokiteshvara's Pure Land, the Pure Land of Bliss.

This sadhana is very blessed. The main body of the sadhana was composed by a great Tibetan Yogi called Drubchen Tangtong Gyalpo, who came from Ngam Ring Monastery in western Tibet. The prayer of seven limbs, offering the mandala, requesting the five great meanings, and the final dedication verse were later added from traditional sources.

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
1978

Avalokiteshvara Sadhana

Going for refuge

I and all sentient beings, until we achieve enlightenment,

Go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

(3x)

Generating bodhichitta

Through the virtues I collect by giving and other perfections,

May I become a Buddha for the benefit of all.

(3x)

Visualizing Arya Avalokiteshvara

I and all living beings as extensive as space

Have at our crowns a white lotus and a moon seat.

Upon these, from HRIH, arises Arya Avalokiteshvara.

He has a white, translucent body that radiates five-coloured lights.

He has a smiling expression, and gazes upon us with eyes of compassion.

He has four hands, the first two pressed together at his heart,

And the lower two holding a crystal mala and a white lotus flower.

He is adorned with silks and jewelled ornaments

And wears an upper garment of an antelope skin.

His crown is adorned with Amitabha.

He sits with his legs crossed in the vajra posture,

Supported from behind by a stainless moon.

He is the synthesis of all objects of refuge.

Prayer of seven limbs

With my body, speech and mind, humbly I prostrate,

And make offerings both set out and imagined.

I confess my wrong deeds from all time,

And rejoice in the virtues of all.

Please stay until samsara ceases,

And turn the Wheel of Dharma for us.

I dedicate all virtues to great enlightenment.

Offering the mandala

The ground sprinkled with perfume and spread with flowers,

The Great Mountain, four lands, sun and moon,

Seen as a Buddha Land and offered thus,

May all beings enjoy such Pure Lands.

Contemplating how all these pitiful migrators are my mothers,

Who out of kindness have cherished me again and again,

I seek your blessings to generate a spontaneous compassion

Like that of a loving mother for her dearest child.

IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRYATAYAMI

Praise to Arya Avalokiteshvara

You whose white-coloured body is unstained by faults,

Whose crown is adorned with a fully enlightened Buddha,

Who gaze upon migrators with eyes of compassion,

To you Arya Avalokiteshvara I prostrate.

Requesting the five great meanings

O Arya Avalokiteshvara, Treasure of Compassion,

And all your retinue, please listen to me.

Please quickly release me and all my mothers and fathers,

The six classes of living being, from the ocean of samsara.

Please generate quickly in our mental continuum

The vast and profound Dharma of the unsurpassed bodhichitta.

With your compassionate nectar please purify swiftly

The karma and delusion we have accumulated since beginningless time.

And with your hands of compassion please swiftly lead me

And all living beings to the Pure Land of Bliss.

O Amitabha and Avalokiteshvara,

Throughout all our lives please be our Spiritual Guide;

And by perfectly revealing the unmistaken path

Please lead us all swiftly to the state of Buddhahood.

Mantra recitation

As a result of these single-pointed requests,

Light rays radiate from Arya Avalokiteshvara's body

And purify all impure karmic appearances and mistaken awareness.

The environment becomes the Pure Land of Bliss,

And the body, speech and mind of all the inhabitants

Transform into the body, speech and mind of Avalokiteshvara.

Everything that we know through seeing, hearing and thinking becomes inseparable from emptiness.

OM MANI PÄME HUM

The meaning of this mantra is: with OM we are calling Avalokiteshvara, MANI means the precious jewel of enlightenment, PÄME means liberation and HUM means please bestow. Together the meaning is: 'O Avalokiteshvara, please bestow the precious jewel of enlightenment to liberate all living beings'. Through the recitation of this mantra we train in the compassionate mind of bodhichitta.

The three recognitions

All the physical forms of myself and others are [manifestations of] Arya Avalokiteshvara's body,

All sounds are [manifestations of] the six-letter mantra,

And all mental activity arises from great exalted wisdom.

Dedication

By this virtue may I quickly

Become Arya Avalokiteshvara,

And then lead every living being

Without exception to that ground.

May the precious, supreme bodhichitta

Grow where it has not yet grown;

Where it has grown may it not decrease,

But flourish for evermore.

Prayers for the Virtuous Tradition

So that the tradition of Je Tsongkhapa,

The King of the Dharma, may flourish,

May all obstacles be pacified

And may all favourable conditions abound.

Through the two collections of myself and others

Gathered throughout the three times,

May the doctrine of Conqueror Losang Dragpa

Flourish for evermore.

The nine-line Migtsema prayer

Tsongkhapa, crown ornament of the scholars of the Land of the Snows,

You are Buddha Shakyamuni and Vajradhara, the source of all attainments,

Avalokiteshvara, the treasury of unobservable compassion,

Manjushri, the supreme stainless wisdom,

And Vajrapani, the destroyer of the hosts of maras.

O Venerable Guru-Buddha, synthesis of all Three Jewels,

With my body, speech, and mind, respectfully I make requests:

Please grant your blessings to ripen and liberate myself and others,

And bestow the common and supreme attainments.

(3x)

Colophon: This sadhana for the spiritual attainments of Avalokiteshvara was translated under the compassionate guidance of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, 1978

Glossary

Absorption of cessation An uncontaminated wisdom focused single-pointedly on emptiness in dependence upon the actual absorption of peak of samsara. See Ocean of Nectar.

Action mudra A Highest Yoga Tantra consort who assists in developing great bliss. See Clear Light of Bliss and Tantric Grounds and Paths.

Affirming negative See Negative phenomenon.

Aggregate In general, all functioning things are aggregates because they are an aggregation of their parts. In particular, a person of the desire realm or form realm has five aggregates: the aggregates of form, feeling, discrimination, compositional factors and consciousness. A being of the formless realm lacks the aggregate of form but has the other four. A person's form aggregate is his or her body. The remaining four aggregates are aspects of his mind. See also Contaminated aggregate. See The New Heart of Wisdom.

Akshobya The manifestation of the aggregate of consciousness of all Buddhas. He has a blue-coloured body.

Alertness A mental factor that is a type of wisdom which examines our activity of body, speech and mind, and knows whether or not faults are developing. See How to Understand the Mind and Meaningful to Behold.

Amitabha The manifestation of the aggregate of discrimination of all Buddhas. He has a red-coloured body. See Eight Steps to Happiness.

Amoghasiddhi The manifestation of the aggregate of compositional factors of all Buddhas. He has a green-coloured body.

Aryadeva A third century AD Indian Buddhist scholar and meditation master, who was a disciple of Nagarjuna.

Arya Tara/Tara A female Buddha who is a manifestation of the ultimate wisdom of all the Buddhas. 'Arya' means 'Superior' and 'Tara' means 'Liberator'. Because she is a wisdom Buddha, and a manifestation of the completely purified wind element, Tara is able to help us very quickly.

Attachment A deluded mental factor that observes its contaminated object, regards it as a cause of happiness and wishes for it. See How to Understand the Mind and Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

Attention A mental factor that functions to focus the mind on a particular attribute of an object. See How to Understand the Mind.

Bardo See Intermediate state.

Basis of imputation All phenomena are imputed upon their parts, therefore any of the individual parts, or the entire collection of the parts, of any phenomenon is its basis of imputation. A phenomenon is imputed by mind in dependence upon its basis of imputation appearing to that mind. See The New Heart of Wisdom and Ocean of Nectar.

Beginningless time According to the Buddhist world view, there is no beginning to mind, and so no beginning to time. Therefore, all living beings have taken countless previous rebirths.

Blessing The transformation of our mind from a negative state to a positive state, from an unhappy state to a happy state, or from a state of weakness to a state of strength, through the inspiration of holy beings such as our Spiritual Guide, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

Bodh Gaya The place where Buddha Shakyamuni showed the manner of attaining enlightenment; near the modern city of Gaya in the north Indian state of Bihar.

Brahma A worldly god who resides in the first form realm. See Ocean of Nectar.

Changing suffering For beings within samsara every experience of happiness or pleasure that arises from samsara's enjoyments is changing suffering. This is because these experiences are contaminated and have the nature of suffering.

Commitments Promises and pledges taken when engaging in certain spiritual practices.

Compositional factors The aggregate of compositional factors comprises all mental factors except feeling and discrimination, as well as non-associated compounded phenomena. See The New Heart of Wisdom and How to Understand the Mind.

Concentration A mental factor that makes its primary mind remain on its object single-pointedly. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune, How to Understand the Mind and Meaningful to Behold.

Conqueror Buddha Buddhas are called 'Conquerors' because they have conquered all the obstructions to attaining liberation and enlightenment, or maras. See also Mara.

Conscientiousness A mental factor that, in dependence upon effort, cherishes what is virtuous and guards the mind from delusion and non-virtue. See Meaningful to Behold and How to Understand the Mind.

Consciousness The six consciousnesses, or primary minds, are the eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness and mental consciousness. See How to Understand the Mind.

Contact A mental factor that functions to perceive its object as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. See How to Understand the Mind.

Contaminated aggregate Any of the aggregates of form, feeling, discrimination, compositional factors and consciousness of a samsaric being. See also Aggregate. See The New Heart of Wisdom.

Dakini Land The Pure Land of Heruka and Vajrayogini. In Sanskrit it is called 'Keajra' and in Tibetan 'Dagpa Khacho'. See The New Guide to Dakini Land.

Dakinis Female Tantric Buddhas and those women who have attained the realization of meaning clear light. Dakas are the male equivalent. See The New Guide to Dakini Land.

Damaru A small hand-drum used in Tantric rituals. Playing the damaru symbolizes the gathering of the outer Dakinis into our body, and the manifestation of the inner Dakini (the mind of clear light) within our mind through the blazing of inner fire. It is also used as a music offering to the Buddhas.

Deity 'Yidam' in Tibetan. A Tantric enlightened being.

Delusion A mental factor that arises from inappropriate attention and functions to make the mind unpeaceful and uncontrolled. There are three main delusions: ignorance, desirous attachment and anger. From these arise all the other delusions, such as jealousy, pride and deluded doubt. See also Innate delusions and Intellectually-formed delusions. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune and How to Understand the Mind.

Demi-god A being of the demi-god realm, the second highest of the six realms of samsara. Demi-gods are similar to gods but their bodies, possessions and environments are inferior. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

Desire realm The environment of hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, human beings and demi-gods, and the gods who enjoy the five objects of desire.

Dharma Protector An emanation of a Buddha or a Bodhisattva whose main functions are to avert the inner and outer obstacles that prevent Dharma practitioners from gaining spiritual realizations, and to arrange all the necessary conditions for their practice. Also called 'Dharmapala' in Sanskrit. See Heart Jewel.

Discrimination A mental factor that functions to apprehend the uncommon sign of an object. See How to Understand the Mind.

Dorje Shugden A Dharma Protector who is an emanation of the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri. His main functions are to avert the inner and outer obstacles that prevent practitioners from gaining spiritual realizations, and to arrange all the necessary conditions for their spiritual development. See Heart Jewel.

Dorjechang Trijang Rinpoche (AD 1901-1981) A special Tibetan Lama of the twentieth century who was an emanation of Buddha Shakyamuni, Heruka, Atisha, Amitabha and Je Tsongkhapa. Also known as 'Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche', 'Trijang Dorjechang' and 'Losang Yeshe'.

Dromtonpa (AD 1004-1064) Atisha's foremost disciple. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

Elements, four Earth, water, fire and wind. These elements are not the same as the earth of a field, the water of a river, and so forth. Rather, the elements of earth, water, fire and wind in broad terms are the properties of solidity, liquidity, heat and movement respectively.

Example clear light A mind of clear light that realizes emptiness by means of a generic image. See Clear Light of Bliss and Tantric Grounds and Paths.

Faith A naturally virtuous mind that functions mainly to oppose the perception of faults in its observed object. There are three types of faith: believing faith, admiring faith and wishing faith. See Transform Your Life, Joyful Path of Good Fortune and How to Understand the Mind.

Feeling A mental factor that functions to experience pleasant, unpleasant or neutral objects. See How to Understand the Mind.

Field of Merit Generally, this refers to the Three Jewels. Just as external seeds grow in a field of soil, so the virtuous internal seeds produced by virtuous actions grow in dependence upon Buddha Jewel, Dharma Jewel and Sangha Jewel. Also known as 'Field for Accumulating Merit'.

Form aggregate Includes all the objects of the five sense awarenesses – all colours and shapes (visual form), sounds, smells, tastes and tactile objects. A person's form aggregate is his or her body.

Form realm The environment of the gods who possess form and who are superior to desire realm gods. So-called because the gods who inhabit it have subtle form. See Ocean of Nectar.

Functioning thing A phenomenon that is produced and disintegrates within a moment. Synonymous with impermanent phenomenon, thing and product.

Gelug The tradition established by Je Tsongkhapa. The name 'Gelug' means 'Virtuous Tradition'. A Gelugpa is a practitioner who follows this tradition. The Gelugpas are sometimes referred to as the 'new Kadampas'. See Heart Jewel.

Generic image The appearing object of a conceptual mind. A generic image, or mental image, of an object is like a reflection of that object. Conceptual minds know their object through the appearance of a generic image of that object, not by seeing the object directly. See The New Heart of Wisdom and How to Understand the Mind.

Geshe A title given by Kadampa monasteries to accomplished Buddhist scholars. Contracted form of the Tibetan 'ge wai she nyen', literally meaning 'virtuous friend'.

Geshe Chekhawa (AD 1102-1176) A great Kadampa Bodhisattva who composed the text Training the Mind in Seven Points, a commentary to Bodhisattva Langri Tangpa's Eight Verses of Training the Mind. He spread the study and practice of training the mind throughout Tibet. See Universal Compassion.

Ghantapa A great Indian Mahasiddha and a lineage Guru in the Highest Yoga Tantra practices of Heruka and Vajrayogini. See The New Guide to Dakini Land.

Gods Beings of the god realm, the highest of the six realms of samsara. There are many different types of god. Some are desire realm gods, while others are form or formless realm gods. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

Gungtang Gungtang Konchog Tenpai Dronme (AD 1762-1823), a Gelug scholar and meditator famous for his spiritual poems and philosophical writings.

Guru Sanskrit word for 'Spiritual Guide'.

Heart Jewel The Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa combined with the  condensed sadhana of his Dharma Protector. See Heart Jewel.

Heroes and Heroines A Hero is a male Tantric Deity embodying method. A Heroine is a female Tantric Deity embodying wisdom. See The New Guide to Dakini Land.

Hevajra A principal Deity of Mother Tantra. See Great Treasury of Merit.

Hinayana Sanskrit term for 'Lesser Vehicle'. The Hinayana goal is to attain merely one's own liberation from suffering by completely abandoning delusions. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

Hungry ghosts Beings of the hungry ghost realm, the second lowest of the six realms of samsara. Also known as 'hungry spirits'. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

Imprint/s There are two types of imprint: imprints of actions and imprints of delusions. Every action we perform leaves an imprint on the mental consciousness, and these imprints are karmic potentialities to experience certain effects in the future. The imprints left by delusions remain even after the delusions themselves have been abandoned, like the smell of garlic lingers in a container after the garlic has been removed. Imprints of delusions are obstructions to omniscience, and are completely abandoned only by Buddhas.

Imputation, mere According to the highest school of Buddhist philosophy, the Madhyamika-Prasangika school, all phenomena are merely imputed by conception in dependence upon their basis of imputation. Therefore, they are mere imputations and do not exist from their own side in the least. See The New Heart of Wisdom and Ocean of Nectar.

Imputed object An object imputed by the mind in dependence upon its basis of imputation. See The New Heart of Wisdom and Ocean of Nectar.

Indra A worldly god. See The New Heart of Wisdom.

Inner fire 'Tummo' in Tibetan. An inner heat located at the centre of the navel channel wheel. See Clear Light of Bliss.

Innate delusions Delusions that are not the product of intellectual speculation, but that arise naturally. See How to Understand the Mind.

Intellectually-formed delusions Delusions that arise as a result of relying upon incorrect reasoning or mistaken tenets. See How to Understand the Mind.

Intention A mental factor that functions to move its primary mind to the object. It functions to engage the mind in virtuous, non-virtuous and neutral objects. All bodily and verbal actions are initiated by the mental factor intention. See How to Understand the Mind.

Intermediate state 'Bardo' in Tibetan. The state between death and rebirth. It begins the moment the consciousness leaves the body, and ceases the moment the consciousness enters the body of the next life. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune and Clear Light of Bliss.

Je Phabongkhapa (AD 1878-1941) A great Tibetan Lama who was an emanation of Heruka. Phabongkha Rinpoche was the holder of many lineages of Sutra and Secret Mantra. He was the root Guru of Dorjechang Trijang Rinpoche.

Je Tsongkhapa (AD 1357-1419) An emanation of the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri, whose appearance in fourteenth-century Tibet as a monk, and the holder of the lineage of pure view and pure deeds, was prophesied by Buddha. He spread a very pure Buddhadharma throughout Tibet, showing how to combine the practices of Sutra and Tantra, and how to practise pure Dharma during degenerate times. His tradition later became known as the 'Gelug', or 'Ganden Tradition'. See Heart Jewel and Great Treasury of Merit.

Kapala A skullcup used or visualized in Tantric meditation, symbolizing the indivisible union of great bliss and emptiness.

Lineage A line of instruction that has been passed down from Spiritual Guide to disciple, with each Spiritual Guide in the line having gained personal experience of the instruction before passing it on to others.

Living being Synonymous with sentient being. Any being who possesses a mind that is contaminated by delusions or their imprints. Both 'living being' and 'sentient being' are terms used to distinguish beings whose minds are contaminated by either of these two obstructions from Buddhas, whose minds are completely free from these obstructions.

Lord of Death Although the mara, or demon, of uncontrolled death is not a sentient being, it is personified as the Lord of Death, or 'Yama'. The Lord of Death is depicted in the diagram of the Wheel of Life clutching the wheel between his claws and teeth. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

Losang Dragpa 'Sumati Kirti' in Sanskrit. The ordained name of Je Tsongkhapa. See Great Treasury of Merit.

Mahamudra A Sanskrit term, literally meaning 'great seal'. According to Sutra, this refers to the profound view of emptiness. Since emptiness is the nature of all phenomena, it is called a 'seal', and since a direct realization of emptiness enables us to accomplish the great purpose – complete liberation from the sufferings of samsara – it is also called 'great'. According to Tantra, or Vajrayana, Mahamudra is the union of spontaneous great bliss and emptiness. See Mahamudra Tantra, Great Treasury of Merit and Clear Light of Bliss.

Mahayana Sanskrit term for 'Great Vehicle', the spiritual path to great enlightenment. The Mahayana goal is to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings by completely abandoning delusions and their imprints. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune and Meaningful to Behold.

Maitreya The embodiment of the loving kindness of all the Buddhas. At the time of Buddha Shakyamuni he manifested as a Bodhisattva disciple in order to show Buddha's disciples how to be perfect Mahayana disciples. In the future, he will manifest as the fifth founding Buddha.

Mala A set of prayer beads used to count recitations of prayers or mantras, usually with one hundred and eight beads. See The New Guide to Dakini Land.

Mandala offering An offering of the entire universe visualized as a Pure Land, with all its inhabitants as pure beings. See The New Guide to Dakini Land and Great Treasury of Merit.

Mara A Sanskrit term for 'demon', and referring to anything that obstructs the attainment of liberation or enlightenment. There are four principal types of mara: the mara of the delusions, the mara of contaminated aggregates, the mara of uncontrolled death, and the Devaputra maras. Of these, only the last are actual sentient beings. The principal Devaputra mara is wrathful Ishvara, the highest of the desire realm gods, who inhabits the Land of Controlling Emanations. A Buddha is called a 'Conqueror' because he or she has conquered all four types of mara. See The New Heart of Wisdom.

Marpa (AD 1012-1096) Marpa Lotsawa, or Marpa the translator, was a great lay Tantric Yogi and the Spiritual Guide of Milarepa. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

Meaning clear light A mind of clear light that realizes emptiness directly without a generic image. Synonymous with inner Dakini Land and with Mahamudra Tantra. See Clear Light of Bliss.

Meditation A mind that concentrates on a virtuous object, and is a mental action that is the main cause of mental peace. There are two types of meditation – analytical meditation and placement meditation. When we use our imagination, mindfulness and powers of reasoning to find our object of meditation, this is analytical meditation. When we find our object and hold it single-pointedly, this is placement meditation. There are different types of object. Some, such as impermanence or emptiness, are objects apprehended by the mind. Others, such as love, compassion and renunciation, are actual states of mind. We engage in analytical meditation until the specific object that we seek appears clearly to our mind or until the particular state of mind that we wish to generate arises. This object or state of mind is our object of placement meditation. See The New Meditation Handbook.

Meditation break See Subsequent attainment.

Mental continuum The continuum of a person's mind, or mind-stream, that has no beginning and no end.

Mental factor A cognizer that principally apprehends a particular attribute of an object. There are fifty-one specific mental factors. Each moment of mind comprises a primary mind and various mental factors. See How to Understand the Mind.

Mental image See Generic image.

Mere appearance All phenomena are mere appearance because they are imputed by mind in dependence upon a suitable basis of imputation appearing to mind. The word 'mere' excludes any possibility of inherent existence. See Ocean of Nectar.

Merit The good fortune created by virtuous actions. It is the potential power to increase our good qualities and produce happiness.

Migrator A being within samsara who migrates from one uncontrolled rebirth to another. See also Living being.

Milarepa (AD 1040-1123) A great Tibetan Buddhist meditator and disciple of Marpa, celebrated for his beautiful songs of realization.

Mindfulness A mental factor that functions not to forget the object realized by the primary mind. See How to Understand the Mind, Meaningful to Behold and Clear Light of Bliss.

Nagarjuna A great Indian Buddhist scholar and meditation master who revived the Mahayana in the first century AD by bringing to light the teachings on the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras. See Ocean of Nectar.

Nalanda Monastery A great seat of Buddhist learning and practice in ancient India.

Naropa (AD 1016-1100) An Indian Mahasiddha and a lineage Guru in the Highest Yoga Tantra practice of Vajrayogini. See The New Guide to Dakini Land.

Negative phenomenon An object that is realized through the mind explicitly eliminating a negated object. There are two types of negative phenomenon: affirming negatives and non-affirming negatives. An affirming negative is a negative phenomenon realized by a mind that eliminates its negated object while realizing another phenomenon. A non-affirming negative is a negative phenomenon realized by a mind that merely eliminates its negated object without realizing another phenomenon. See Ocean of Nectar.

Non-affirming negative See Negative phenomenon.

Object of negation An object explicitly negated by a mind realizing a negative phenomenon. In meditation on emptiness, or lack of inherent existence, it refers to inherent existence. Also known as 'negated object'.

Obstructions to liberation Obstructions that prevent the attainment of liberation. All delusions, such as ignorance, attachment and anger, together with their seeds, are obstructions to liberation. Also called 'delusion-obstructions'.

Obstructions to enlightenment The imprints of delusions, which prevent simultaneous and direct realization of all phenomena. Also known as 'obstructions to omniscience'. Only Buddhas have overcome these obstructions.

Offering That which delights the holy beings.

Phabongkha Rinpoche See Je Phabongkhapa.

Perfection of Wisdom Sutras Sutras of the second turning of the Wheel of Dharma, in which Buddha revealed his final view of the ultimate nature of all phenomena – emptiness of inherent existence. See The New Heart of Wisdom and Ocean of Nectar.

Pratimoksha vow 'Pratimoksha' is the Sanskrit term for 'personal liberation', and so a Pratimoksha vow is a vow that is motivated mainly by the wish to attain personal liberation. There are eight types of Pratimoksha vow. See The Bodhisattva Vow.

Primary mind A cognizer that principally apprehends the mere entity of an object. Synonymous with consciousness. There are six primary minds: eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness and mental consciousness. Each moment of mind comprises a primary mind and various mental factors. A primary mind and its accompanying mental factors are the same entity but have different functions. See How to Understand the Mind.

Pure Land A pure environment in which there are no true sufferings. There are many Pure Lands. For example, Tushita is the Pure Land of Buddha Maitreya, Sukhavati is the Pure Land of Buddha Amitabha, and Dakini Land, or Keajra, is the Pure Land of Buddha Vajrayogini and Buddha Heruka. See Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully.

Ratnasambhava The manifestation of the aggregate of feeling of all Buddhas. He has a yellow-coloured body.

Realization A stable and non-mistaken experience of a virtuous object that directly protects us from suffering.

Sadhana A ritual prayer that is a special method for attaining spiritual realizations, usually associated with a Tantric Deity.

Saraha One of the first Mahasiddhas, and the Teacher of Nagarjuna. See Essence of Vajrayana.

Shantideva (AD 687-763) A great Indian Buddhist scholar and meditation master. He composed Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life. See Meaningful to Behold and Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life.

Shepherd-like bodhichitta The wish to lead all living beings to Buddhahood in the way that a shepherd leads his sheep to safety. Just as shepherds first supply all the needs of their flock and attend to their own needs last of all, so some Bodhisattvas want to lead all living beings to Buddhahood first and then attain enlightenment for themselves last of all. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

Stupa A symbolic representation of Buddha's mind.

Subsequent attainment The period between meditation sessions; also known as 'meditation break'. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

Subsequent valid cognizer A completely reliable cognizer whose object is realized in direct dependence upon a conclusive reason. See How to Understand the Mind.

Superior being 'Arya' in Sanskrit. A being who has a direct realization of emptiness. There are Hinayana Superiors and Mahayana Superiors.

Sutra The teachings of Buddha that are open to everyone to practise without the need for empowerment. These include Buddha's teachings of the three turnings of the Wheel of Dharma.

Torma offering A special food offering made according to either Sutra or Tantra. See Essence of Vajrayana and The New Guide to Dakini Land.

Tranquil abiding A concentration that possesses the special bliss of physical and mental suppleness that is attained in dependence upon completing the nine mental abidings. See Joyful Path of Good Fortune and Meaningful to Behold.

Transference of consciousness 'Powa' in Tibetan. A practice for transferring the consciousness to a Pure Land at the time of death. See Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully and Great Treasury of Merit.

Tsog offering An offering made by an assembly of Heroes and Heroines. See Essence of Vajrayana and The New Guide to Dakini Land.

Vaibhashika The lower of the two schools of Hinayana tenets. This school does not accept self-cognizers and asserts external objects to be truly existent. See Meaningful to Behold and Ocean of Nectar.

Vairochana The manifestation of the aggregate of form of all Buddhas. He has a white-coloured body.

Vajra and bell A vajra is a ritual object resembling a sceptre and symbolizing great bliss, and a bell is a ritual hand-bell symbolizing emptiness. See The New Guide to Dakini Land and Tantric Grounds and Paths.

Vajradhara The founder of Vajrayana, or Tantra. He appears directly only to highly realized Bodhisattvas to whom he gives Tantric teachings. To benefit other living beings with less merit, he manifested in the more visible form of Buddha Shakyamuni. He also said that in degenerate times he would appear in an ordinary form as a Spiritual Guide. See Great Treasury of Merit.

Vajradharma The manifestation of the speech of all Buddhas. He looks like Conqueror Vajradhara, except that his body is red. There are three ways in which we can visualize him: in his outer aspect as Hero Vajradharma, in his inner aspect as Buddha Vajradharma, or in his secret aspect as Buddha Vajradharma with consort. See The New Guide to Dakini Land.

Vajrasattva Buddha Vajrasattva is the aggregate of consciousness of all the Buddhas, appearing in the aspect of a white-coloured Deity specifically in order to purify the negativity of living beings. He is the same nature as Buddha Vajradhara, differing only in aspect. The practice of meditation and recitation of Vajrasattva is a very powerful method for purifying our impure mind and actions. See The New Guide to Dakini Land.

Vinaya The moral discipline of the Pratimoksha, and in particular the moral discipline of the ordained Sangha.

Vow A virtuous determination to abandon particular faults that is generated in conjunction with a traditional ritual. The three sets of vows are the Pratimoksha vows of individual liberation, the Bodhisattva's vows, and the Secret Mantra or Tantric vows. See The Bodhisattva Vow and Tantric Grounds and Paths.

Wheel of Dharma A collection of Buddha's teachings. Dharma is compared to the precious wheel, one of the possessions of a legendary chakravatin king. This wheel could transport the king across great distances in a very short time, and it is said that wherever the precious wheel travelled the king reigned. In a similar way, when Buddha revealed the path to enlightenment he was said to have 'turned the Wheel of Dharma' because, wherever these teachings are present, deluded minds are brought under control.

Wisdom A virtuous, intelligent mind that makes its primary mind realize its object thoroughly. A wisdom is a spiritual path that functions to release our mind from delusions or their imprints. An example of wisdom is the correct view of emptiness. See The New Heart of Wisdom, Ocean of Nectar and How to Understand the Mind.

Wisdom being An actual Buddha, especially one who is invited to unite with a visualized commitment being.

Wrong awareness A cognizer that is mistaken with respect to its engaged, or apprehended, object. See How to Understand the Mind.

Yidam See Deity.

Yoga A term used for various spiritual practices that entail maintaining a special view, such as Guru yoga and the yogas of sleeping, rising and experiencing nectar. 'Yoga' also refers to 'union', such as the union of tranquil abiding and superior seeing. See The New Guide to Dakini Land.

Yogi/Yogini Sanskrit terms usually referring to a male or a female meditator who has attained the union of tranquil abiding and superior seeing.

Bibliography

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is a highly respected meditation master and scholar of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition founded by Je Tsongkhapa. Since arriving in the West in 1977, Geshe Kelsang has worked tirelessly to establish pure Buddhadharma throughout the world. Over this period he has given extensive teachings on the major scriptures of the Mahayana. These teachings provide a comprehensive presentation of the essential Sutra and Tantra practices of Mahayana Buddhism.

Books

The following books by Geshe Kelsang are all published by Tharpa Publications:

The Bodhisattva Vow A practical guide to helping others. (2nd. edn., 1995)

Clear Light of Bliss A Tantric meditation manual. (2nd. edn., 1992)

Eight Steps to Happiness The Buddhist way of loving kindness. (2nd. edn., 2012)

Essence of Vajrayana The Highest Yoga Tantra practice of Heruka body mandala. (1997)

Great Treasury of Merit How to rely upon a Spiritual Guide. (1992)

Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life How to enjoy a life of great meaning and altruism. (A translation of Shantideva's famous verse masterpiece.) (2002)

Heart Jewel The essential practices of Kadampa Buddhism. (2nd. edn., 1997)

How to Solve Our Human Problems The four noble truths. (2005)

How to Understand the Mind The nature and power of the mind. (4th. edn., 2013)

Introduction to Buddhism An explanation of the Buddhist way of life. (2nd. edn., 2001)

Joyful Path of Good Fortune The complete Buddhist path to enlightenment. (2nd. edn., 1995)

Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully The profound practice of transference of consciousness. (1999)

Mahamudra Tantra The supreme Heart Jewel nectar. (2005)

Meaningful to Behold Becoming a friend of the world. (5th. edn., 2007)

Modern Buddhism The Path of Compassion and Wisdom. (2nd. edn., 2013)

The New Guide to Dakini Land The Highest Yoga Tantra practice of Buddha Vajrayogini. (3rd. edn., 2012)

The New Heart of Wisdom Profound teachings from Buddha’s heart (An explanation of the Heart Sutra). (5th. edn., 2012)

The New Meditation Handbook Meditations to make our life happy and meaningful. (5th. edn., 2013)

Ocean of Nectar The true nature of all things. (1995)

Tantric Grounds and Paths How to enter, progress on and complete the Vajrayana path. (1994)

Transform Your Life A blissful journey. (2001)

Universal Compassion Inspiring solutions for difficult times. (4th. edn., 2002)

Sadhanas and Other Booklets

Geshe Kelsang has also supervised the translation of a collection of essential sadhanas, or prayer booklets.

Avalokiteshvara Sadhana Prayers and requests to the Buddha of Compassion.

The Blissful Path The condensed self-generation sadhana of Vajrayogini.

The Bodhisattva's Confession of Moral Downfalls The purification practice of the Mahayana Sutra of the Three Superior Heaps.

Condensed Essence of Vajrayana Condensed Heruka body mandala self-generation sadhana.

Dakini Yoga The middling self-generation sadhana of Vajrayogini.

Drop of Essential Nectar A special fasting and purification practice in conjunction with Eleven-faced Avalokiteshvara.

Essence of Good Fortune Prayers for the six preparatory practices for meditation on the stages of the path to enlightenment.

Essence of Vajrayana Heruka body mandala self-generation sadhana according to the system of Mahasiddha Ghantapa.

Feast of Great Bliss Vajrayogini self-initiation sadhana.

Great Liberation of the Father Preliminary prayers for Mahamudra meditation in conjunction with Heruka practice.

Great Liberation of the Mother Preliminary prayers for Mahamudra meditation in conjunction with Vajrayogini practice.

The Great Mother A method to overcome hindrances and obstacles by reciting the Essence of Wisdom Sutra (the Heart Sutra).

A Handbook for the Daily Practice of Bodhisattva and Tantric Vows.

Heartfelt Prayers Funeral service for cremations and burials.

Heart Jewel The Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa combined with the condensed sadhana of his Dharma Protector.

The Kadampa Way of Life The essential practice of Kadam Lamrim.

Liberation from Sorrow Praises and requests to the Twenty-one Taras.

Mahayana Refuge Ceremony and Bodhisattva Vow Ceremony.

Medicine Buddha Prayer A method for benefiting others.

Medicine Buddha Sadhana A method for accomplishing the attainments of Medicine Buddha.

Meditation and Recitation of Solitary Vajrasattva.

Melodious Drum Victorious in all Directions The extensive fulfilling and restoring ritual of the Dharma Protector, the great king Dorje Shugden, in conjunction with Mahakala, Kalarupa, Kalindewi and other Dharma Protectors.

Offering to the Spiritual Guide (Lama Chopa) A special way of relying upon a Spiritual Guide.

Path of Compassion for the Deceased Powa sadhana for the benefit of the deceased.

Pathway to the Pure Land Training in powa – the transference of consciousness.

Powa Ceremony Transference of consciousness for the deceased.

Prayers for Meditation Brief preparatory prayers for meditation.

Prayers for World Peace.

A Pure Life The practice of taking and keeping the eight Mahayana precepts.

Quick Path to Great Bliss The extensive self-generation sadhana of Vajrayogini.

The Root Tantra of Heruka and Vajrayogini Chapters One & Fifty-one of the Condensed Heruka Root Tantra.

The Root Text: Eight Verses of Training the Mind.

Treasury of Wisdom The sadhana of Venerable Manjushri.

The Uncommon Yoga of Inconceivability The special instruction of how to reach the Pure Land of Keajra with this human body.

Union of No More Learning Heruka body mandala self-initiation sadhana.

Vajra Hero Yoga A brief practice of Heruka body mandala self-generation.

The Vows and Commitments of Kadampa Buddhism.

Wishfulfilling Jewel The Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa combined with the sadhana of his Dharma Protector.

The Yoga of Buddha Amitayus A special method for increasing lifespan, wisdom and merit.

The Yoga of Buddha Heruka The essential self-generation sadhana of Heruka body mandala & Condensed six-session yoga.

The Yoga of Buddha Maitreya Self-generation sadhana.

The Yoga of Buddha Vajrapani Self-generation sadhana.

The Yoga of Enlightened Mother Arya Tara Self-generation sadhana.

The Yoga of Great Mother Prajnaparamita Self-generation sadhana.

The Yoga of Thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara Self-generation sadhana.

The Yoga of White Tara, Buddha of Long Life.

To order any of our publications, or to request a catalogue, please visit www.tharpa.com or contact your nearest Tharpa office listed in Tharpa Offices Worldwide.

Study Programmes of Kadampa Buddhism

Kadampa Buddhism is a Mahayana Buddhist school founded by the great Indian Buddhist Master Atisha (AD 982-1054). His followers are known as 'Kadampas'. 'Ka' means 'word' and refers to Buddha's teachings, and 'dam' refers to Atisha's special Lamrim instructions known as 'the stages of the path to enlightenment'. By integrating their knowledge of all Buddha's teachings into their practice of Lamrim, and by integrating this into their everyday lives, Kadampa Buddhists are encouraged to use Buddha's teachings as practical methods for transforming daily activities into the path to enlightenment. The great Kadampa Teachers are famous not only for being great scholars but also for being spiritual practitioners of immense purity and sincerity.

The lineage of these teachings, both their oral transmission and blessings, was then passed from Teacher to disciple, spreading throughout much of Asia, and now to many countries throughout the modern world. Buddha's teachings, which are known as 'Dharma', are likened to a wheel that moves from country to country in accordance with changing conditions and people's karmic inclinations. The external forms of presenting Buddhism may change as it meets with different cultures and societies, but its essential authenticity is ensured through the continuation of an unbroken lineage of realized practitioners.

Kadampa Buddhism was first introduced into the West in 1977 by the renowned Buddhist Master, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Since that time, he has worked tirelessly to spread Kadampa Buddhism throughout the world by giving extensive teachings, writing many profound texts on Kadampa Buddhism, and founding the New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU), which now has over a thousand Kadampa Buddhist Centres and groups worldwide. Each Centre offers study programmes on Buddhist psychology, philosophy and meditation instruction, as well as retreats for all levels of practitioner. The emphasis is on integrating Buddha's teachings into daily life to solve our human problems and to spread lasting peace and happiness throughout the world.

The Kadampa Buddhism of the NKT-IKBU is an entirely independent Buddhist tradition and has no political affiliations. It is an association of Buddhist Centres and practitioners that derive their inspiration and guidance from the example of the ancient Kadampa Buddhist Masters and their teachings, as presented by Geshe Kelsang.

There are three reasons why we need to study and practise the teachings of Buddha: to develop our wisdom, to cultivate a good heart and to maintain a peaceful state of mind. If we do not strive to develop our wisdom, we will always remain ignorant of ultimate truth – the true nature of reality. Although we wish for happiness, our ignorance leads us to engage in non-virtuous actions, which are the main cause of all our suffering. If we do not cultivate a good heart, our selfish motivation destroys harmony and good relationships with others. We have no peace, and no chance to gain pure happiness. Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible. If we do not maintain a peaceful state of mind, we are not happy even if we have ideal conditions. On the other hand, when our mind is peaceful, we are happy, even if our external conditions are unpleasant. Therefore, the development of these qualities is of utmost importance for our daily happiness.

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, or 'Geshe-la' as he is affectionately called by his students, has designed three special spiritual programmes for the systematic study and practice of Kadampa Buddhism that are especially suited to the modern world: the General Programme (GP), the Foundation Programme (FP) and the Teacher Training Programme (TTP).

GENERAL PROGRAMME

The General Programme provides a basic introduction to Buddhist view, meditation and practice that is suitable for beginners. It also includes advanced teachings and practice from both Sutra and Tantra.

FOUNDATION PROGRAMME

The Foundation Programme provides an opportunity to deepen our understanding and experience of Buddhism through a systematic study of six texts:

1. Joyful Path of Good Fortune – a commentary to Atisha's Lamrim instructions, the stages of the path to enlightenment.

2. Universal Compassion – a commentary to Bodhisattva Chekhawa's Training the Mind in Seven Points.

3. Eight Steps to Happiness – a commentary to Bodhisattva Langri Tangpa's Eight Verses of Training the Mind.

4. The New Heart of Wisdom – a commentary to the Heart Sutra.

5. Meaningful to Behold – a commentary to Venerable Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life.

6. How to Understand the Mind – a detailed explanation of the mind, based on the works of the Buddhist scholars Dharmakirti and Dignaga.

The benefits of studying and practising these texts are as follows:

(1) Joyful Path of Good Fortune – we gain the ability to put all Buddha's teachings of both Sutra and Tantra into practice. We can easily make progress on, and complete, the stages of the path to the supreme happiness of enlightenment. From a practical point of view, Lamrim is the main body of Buddha's teachings, and the other teachings are like its limbs.

(2) and (3) Universal Compassion and Eight Steps to Happiness – we gain the ability to integrate Buddha's teachings into our daily life and solve all our human problems.

(4) The New Heart of Wisdom – we gain a realization of the ultimate nature of reality. By gaining this realization, we can eliminate the ignorance of self-grasping, which is the root of all our suffering.

(5) Meaningful to Behold – we transform our daily activities into the Bodhisattva's way of life, thereby making every moment of our human life meaningful.

(6) How to Understand the Mind – we understand the relationship between our mind and its external objects. If we understand that objects depend upon the subjective mind, we can change the way objects appear to us by changing our own mind. Gradually, we will gain the ability to control our mind and in this way solve all our problems.

TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMME

The Teacher Training Programme is designed for people who wish to train as authentic Dharma Teachers. In addition to completing the study of fourteen texts of Sutra and Tantra, which include the six texts mentioned above, the student is required to observe certain commitments with regard to behaviour and way of life, and to complete a number of meditation retreats.

A Special Teacher Training Programme is also held at Kadampa Meditation Centres in certain city commercial spaces. This includes a special meditation and study programme that focuses on the following five books: Modern Buddhism, The New Heart of Wisdom, The New Guide to Dakini Land, Joyful Path of Good Fortune and Meaningful to Behold, the commentary to Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life.

All Kadampa Buddhist Centres are open to the public. Every year we celebrate Festivals in many countries throughout the world, including two in England, where people gather from around the world to receive special teachings and empowerments and to enjoy a spiritual holiday. Please feel free to visit us at any time!

For further information about NKT-IKBU study programmes or to find your nearest centre, visit www.kadampa.org, or contact:

NKT-IKBU Central Office
Conishead Priory,
Ulverston, Cumbria,
LA12 9QQ, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1229 588533
Fax: +44 (0)1229 580080
Email: info@kadampa.org
Website: www.kadampa.org

US NKT-IKBU Office
Kadampa Meditation Center
47 Sweeney Road
Glen Spey, NY 12737, USA
Tel: +1 845-856-9000
Fax: +1 845-856-2110
Email: info@nkt-kmc-newyork.org
Website: www.nkt-kmc-newyork.org

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Further Reading

If you have enjoyed reading this book and would like to find out more about Buddhist thought and practice, here are some other books by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso that you might like to read. They are all available in various formats from Tharpa Publications.

INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM
An explanation of the Buddhist way of life

An ideal guide for everyone interested in Buddhism and meditation. This book presents the central principles behind the Buddhist way of life, such as meditation and karma, as tools for developing qualities such as inner peace, love and patience.

'A brilliantly clear and concise introduction to this vast subject. Very highly recommended.' Yoga & Health Magazine

TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE
A blissful journey

By following the practical advice given in this book, we can transform our mind and our life, fulfil our human potential, and find everlasting peace and happiness.

'We all enjoy limitless possibility for happiness and fulfilment; this book can help us attain it … a work of deep spiritual insight.' The Napra Review

THE NEW MEDITATION HANDBOOK
Meditations to make our life happy and meaningful

This popular and practical manual allows us to discover for ourselves the inner peace and lightness of mind that comes from meditation. The author explains twenty-one step-by-step meditations that lead to increasingly beneficial states of mind, and that together form the entire Buddhist path to enlightenment.

'This manual provides a succinct and inspiring overview of the many ways in which Buddhism can be applied to the situations and activities of daily life.' Spirituality and Health

HOW TO SOLVE OUR HUMAN PROBLEMS
The Four Noble Truths

This book shows how Buddha's popular teaching on the Four Noble Truths can help us to solve basic human problems such as dissatisfaction and anger, and provides a profound illumination of our human experience and our potential for deep inner freedom.

'This book offers peace of mind in these troubled times.' Publishing News

'Geshe Kelsang Gyatso has a unique gift for addressing everyday difficulties.' Booklist

MAHAMUDRA TANTRA
The supreme heart jewel nectar

Tantra is very popular, but very few understand its real meaning. This book explains how we can attain the sublime union of bliss and emptiness, known as Mahamudra, which is the very essence of Buddhist Tantric meditation.

'This book renders everything so clearly that I would propose this book as both an excellent introduction to Buddhist practice and for those seeking to complete the training.' Amazon Reviewer, Madrid, Spain

To order any of our publications, or to request a catalogue, please visit www.tharpa.com or contact your nearest Tharpa office listed in Tharpa Offices Worldwide.