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A Torch for the Path to OmniscienceA Word by Word Commentary on the Text of theLongchen Nyingtik Preliminary Practices

by Chkyi Drakpa

Text translated by a nd presented o nline by Lotsaw a H ousehttp://www.lotsawahouse.org/chokyidrakpa.html

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Table of Contents

Blessing the Speech................................................................................................................................... 3THE ACTUAL NGNDRO...................................................................................................................... 5

1. The Ordinary Preliminaries............................................................................................................... 5a. The Difficulty of Gaining the Freedoms and Endowments.......................................................... 5

i. Invocation of the Masters Wisdom Mind (The Types of Faith)..............................................5ii. Recognizing the Eighteen Freedoms and Advantages.............................................................6

b. Meditating on Impermanence.......................................................................................................7c. Karma: Cause and Effect............................................................................................................ 10d. The Defects of Samsara.............................................................................................................. 12e. How to Follow a Spiritual Friend............................................................................................... 15

2. The Extraordinary Preliminaries..................................................................................................... 19a. Taking Refuge.............................................................................................................................19

i. The Divisions of Refuge......................................................................................................... 19ii. The Way to Take Refuge........................................................................................................19iii. Precepts and Benefits of Taking Refuge...............................................................................19

b. Arousing Bodhichitta..................................................................................................................21i. Training the Mind in the Four Immeasurables........................................................................21ii. Arousing Bodhichitta............................................................................................................. 22iii. Training in the Bodhichitta Precepts.................................................................................... 23

c. Meditation and Recitation of Vajrasattva....................................................................................25d. Mandala Offering........................................................................................................................30

i. Nirmanakaya...........................................................................................................................30ii. Sambhogakaya.......................................................................................................................30iii. Dharmakaya..........................................................................................................................31

e. The Kusalis Accumulation.........................................................................................................32f. Guru Yoga....................................................................................................................................35

i. Visualization of the Field of Merit..........................................................................................35ii. Seven Branch Practice........................................................................................................... 38iii. Prayer and Empowerments...................................................................................................40

Special Prayer......................................................................................................................................49Colophon............................................................................................................................................. 49

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A Torch for the Path to Omniscience

A Word by Word Commentary on the Text of theLongchen Nyingtik Preliminary Practices

by Chkyi Drakpa

Text translated by and presented online by Lotsawa House

http://www.lotsawahouse.org/chokyidrakpa.html

Empty in essence, expansive like space and free from the limits of conceptual elaboration, is the

Dharmakaya.

With the nature of clarity, blazing brightly like the sun and ornamented with the signs and

marks, is the Sambhogakaya.The display of compassionate energy, manifesting in various ways out of compassion, is the

Nirmanakaya.At the feet of the Lama, inseparable from the three kayas, I make heartfelt prostrations, mybody, speech and mind filled with devotion.

The rivers of the mind-direct, sign and aural transmissions,All come together and converge in Jigme Lingpa,

His wisdom-mind treasure was the Heart-Essence of Nyingtik,

And it is to the recited words of its preliminary practices,

That I now compose this commentary.

Blessing the SpeechFirstly there is the blessing of the speech. The syllables OM, AH and HUNG are the essence of theenlightened body, speech and mind. They purify obscurations of speech and bless your own ordinarybody, speech and mind with the enlightened body, speech and mind.

Upon your tongue faculty is a bright syllable RAM, from which arises a fire, consuming alldefilements and obscurations of speech.

The fire transforms into a three-spoked vajra of red light. In its centre, or belly, are the vowel andconsonant mantras, and around them is the Essence of Dependent Origination. The syllables are like a

string of pearls. From them stream out five-colored rays of light with countless offering substances attheir tips, to the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions, thereby pleasing them.

Then as the rays of light converge back, the letters of the vowel and consonant mantra and the Essenceof Dependent Origination descend like rain and dissolve into your speech chakra, purifying all yourobscurations of speech.

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Through this, all the blessings and siddhis of the vajra speech of the buddhas and bodhisattvas areobtained. If you recite the vowel and consonant mantras and the Essence of Dependent Originationseven times, or three times, at dawn before anything else, it is said that the power of your speech willbe multiplied one hundred million times.

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THE ACTUAL NGNDRO

1. The Ordinary Preliminaries

Within the actual preliminary practice, there are the ordinary (outer) and extraordinary (inner)

preliminaries. The ordinary (outer) preliminaries are reflections on:

The difficulty of gaining the freedoms and endowments; Death and impermanence; The karmic principles of cause and effect; The defects of samsara; and How to follow a spiritual teacher.

a. The Difficulty of Gaining the Freedoms and Endowments

This first section consists of an invocation of the masters wisdom mind, and recognition of thefreedoms and endowments.

i. Invocation of the Masters Wisdom Mind (The Types of Faith)

Firstly, as you recite O lama, care for me! three times, pray one-pointedly with an uncontrived faiththat is vivid, eager and confident.

Vivid faith comes from thinking of the qualities of the master and the Three Jewels. It is a very vividand joyful state similar to the way a small child feels when seeing its mother. Eager faith is the eagerwish to abandon negative actions having reflected on their faults and the eager wish to undertakepositive actions having considered the benefits they bring. It is similar to the yearning that someonesuffering from extreme thirst has for water.

Confident faith is a confidence in the qualities of the master and the Three Jewels, which cannot beshaken by temporary circumstances or events, and a trust in the laws of cause and effect strong enoughto survive the worst kind of circumstances such as illness. This is the kind of faith one should have.

If you dont have this kind of faith, and you just mouth the words O lama! and call out, you wontreceive any blessings. It says in the sutras:

The pure Dharma will not arise in those without faith,

Just as fresh shoots will not grow from burnt seeds.

So, giving an example to illustrate this kind of faith, the text says, The blossoming lotus of devotion atthe centre of my heart. When you go to sleep at night, consider that the lama descends from the top ofyour head [to your heart] and then fall asleep with your mind indivisibly united with the masterswisdom mind.

Then, as soon as you get up, early in the morning, recite, O lama, care for me! three times, with thethree kinds of faith described above. Like a lotus flower blossoming in the sunlight, the eight-petalled

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lotus at your heart unfurls its petals through the strength of your faith. Pray to your only constant refugein this life and the next, your lama, whose supreme compassion for you is such that he rises out of thestate of great bliss and simplicity of the dharmakaya, in his form body. Pray with these words:

Please look upon me with compassion! I have accumulated negative karma and harmful

actions in the past, and now, as a result, I am plagued by turbulent emotions, which are so

strong that I suffer terrible misfortune in my Dharma practice that hinders my progress on thepath. To protect me from the enemy of disturbing emotions, rise up through the central channel

to the space above the chakra of great bliss at the crown of my head, upon a lotus, and sun and

moon disc seats. Remain there as the jewel ornament and lord of my buddha family until Iattain enlightenment, I pray!

The method for guarding the mind from the disturbing emotions is described in theBodhicharyavatara:

If, with the rope of mindfulness,

You bind firm the elephant of the mind,You will let go of every fear,

And find virtue close at hand.

Your mind is like an elephant or a wild horse. The mindfulness of focusing on virtuous states of mind,like faith or devotion, is like a rope or a tethering post. The awareness, which discerns whether or notmind remains in that virtuous state, is like a shepherd. So as a guard to ensure that you are neverdistracted from mindfulness and awareness, you invoke the lama, by praying: Rise up out ofcompassion from the expanse of the dharmakaya, so that my mind does not become distracted fromwhat is virtuous. And look upon me with your eyes of wisdom, I pray!

ii. Recognizing the Eighteen Freedoms and Advantages

There are eight freedoms and ten advantages.

The Eight Freedoms:

1) Firstly, if you were born in the hell,preta or animal realms, you would suffer from intenseheat and cold, from hunger and thirst, or from enslavement, and it would be impossible for youto practice the Dharma.

2) If you were born amongst the long-living gods, it would also be impossible because you wouldnot have any thought of practicing the Dharma.

3) The Buddhas teachings are not found in uncivilized lands of the border regions, so livingthere is also an impossible state.

4) Those with wrong views do not have any possibility of practicing the Dharma because their

minds are contaminated by false beliefs, and they are just like Devadatta or Lekp Karma.5) If you were born in a world where a buddha hadnot come, or during a dark kalpa, it wouldbe impossible because even the words Three Jewels would be unknown.

6) If you were born incapable of understanding, it would be impossible to practice the Dharmabecause you would not be able to understand the meaning of the teachings.

7) When you have a physical body that is free from these 'eight states where there is no chancefor Dharma practice', it is known as possessing a support for Dharma practice complete with

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the eight freedoms.

The Ten Advantages: Secondly, the ten advantages are divided into the five personal advantages andthe five circumstantial advantages.

With regard to the five personal advantages, being born as a human being means that you have aproper physical support for practicing the Dharma. Having allfivefacultiesintact means you canstudy the teachings and contemplate them. In a central land means to be born in a place where theteachings are available. A lifestyle that is not harmful orwrong means that your body, speech andmind are in harmony with the Dharma. Having faith in Buddhas teachings means recognizing thatthey provide a special path leading to freedom from samsara, and a state which surpasses the situationof the worldly gods. When you possess these five endowments, 'the five personal advantages' are saidto be complete.

For the five advantages due to circumstances to be present:1. A buddha must have come into the world, an event as rare as the appearance of an Udumbara

flower,2. He must have taught the three wheels of Dharma3. The teachings must have survived without fading.4. There must be extraordinary friends who have embraced the teachings1; and5. A master or a spiritual friend must have accepted you.

These five are known as 'the five advantages due to circumstances'.

If you have every one of these eighteen freedoms and advantages then you have what is known as aprecious human life, and you are in a position to practice the teachings that bring about permanentfreedom from samsara. Nevertheless, if you succumb to negative influences and adopt an incorrectlifestyle and so on, then your human life will have gone to waste. As it is said:

Finding a human life with freedoms and advantages,Is like finding a priceless jewel,

Just look how those without renunciation,

Waste this opportunity!Or:

Used well, this body can be a ferry to liberation,

Used badly, it is an anchor in samsara.

b. Meditating on Impermanence

There are many circumstances that cause death. It is possible to die from an attack of epilepsy, after

becoming bed-ridden with a chronic terminal disease, from food poisoning, from falling from aprecipice, or from being attacked with weapons.

It is uncertain when death will come. Life is as precarious as a candle fluttering in the wind, or a tiny

1 There are different ways of interpreting this one of the five circumstantial advantages. Words of My Perfect Teacherexplains that it means we have entered the teachings.. Some commentaries, as is the case here, explain it as meaning thatthere are other people who have entered the teachings.

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bird perched on the branch of a tree. There is no telling if, having gone to sleep at night, you will wakeup the following morning. You are alive now, yet it is uncertain whether or not you will still be alive ina years time. Having left this life behind, you will have to go on to yet another realm of existence.

So pray: O Guru Rinpoche, from this day forward, turn my mind towards the practicecare for me!And see that my practice does not stray onto the wrong paths, such as practicing merely to avertsicknesses and demons in this life or to gain food and clothing! Keep me from falling into the inferiorattitude of seeking liberation from samsara for myself alone, leaving all my past mothers behind!Omniscient Master of Dharma Longchen Rabjam, you know me! Compassionate root lama, you whoare one with the Precious Master Guru Rinpoche, Longchen Rabjam, and Rigdzin Jikm Lingpacarefor me!

If you do not seize the opportunity to practice the Dharma offered by this present situation, havingobtained all the freedoms and advantages, then in future lives you will not find such a perfect physicalbasis for attaining liberation from samsara. That you have gained this happy existence now is a result ofthe slight merit you have accumulated in past lifetimes. If you do not practice virtue in your presentsituation, and instead accumulate only harmful actions, then once the merit from past lives thatprovided this physical basis is spent, after death you will wander as a being in the lower realms. Onceyou are born in such an unhappy state, you will not know good from bad, and you will never even hearthe sound of Dharma. You will not meet a spiritual friend. You will be just like a blind person left alonein the middle of a vast desert. What a terrible disaster! What a tragedy! Sentient beings in the hellrealms are as numerous as atoms in the earth. Hungry ghosts are as numerous as grains of sand on ariverbank. Animals are as numerous as grains in a barrel ofchang. If you think of the numbers andkinds of beings in the lower realms, you will realize just how slim is the chance of gaining a humanbody. In comparison to other beings, humans are as numerous as the particles of dust on yourfingernail. And even among human beings, those people whose behaviour is harmful and contrary tothe Dharma are like stars in the night sky, whereas those who really act according to the Dharma are asrare as stars in broad daylight.

Reflecting on this, pray: O Guru Rinpoche, turn my mind towards the practicecare for me!Omniscient masters Longchenpa and Jigm Lingpa, keep me from straying onto the wrong paths!Compassionate lama, you who are one with them, care for me!

Since practitioners of virtue are so scarce, to obtain a human body is like arriving at an island of jewels.To attain such a promising basis as this, complete with all the freedoms and endowments, and then useit only to amass negative deeds would be like a merchant landing on an island of precious jewels andthen returning empty-handed. With such a fickle and impetuous mind you will not have any foundationfor attaining liberation from samsara, and your body will only help you to create further suffering.

The eight incidental circumstances that make Dharma impossible

It is especially important not to fall prey to the eight incidental circumstances that make Dharmaimpossible or the eight impossible states where mind cuts us off from the Dharma.

1. Firstly, to be misled by corrupting influences, which means meeting teachers who do not actaccording to the Dharma.

2. Then, despite your occasional desire to practice Dharma, you may be prevented from doing so

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by your conflicting emotions, when the five poisons are raging inside your mind, and you areswept away by their strength.

3. Or whilst practicing, negative karma may overtake you and ripen as negative circumstances. Ifyou dont know how to integrate these into the path, then they will become obstacles.

4. You may wish to put the teachings into practice, but if you lack diligence, you will be distractedby laziness.

5. In some cases, you may have an interest in the teachings, whilst being a slave under someoneelses control.

6. There are also those who merely appear to be engaged in the path and just pretend to practicefor the sake of gaining food and clothing, or as a cure for illness or harmful spirits, or out of fear of p

7. Although your attitude conflicts with the teachings, you act like a practitioner in the company ofothers in the hope of gaining some respect or reward.

8. Being chronically senseless and stupid means not feeling any enthusiasm when learning of thequalities and benefits of positive actions and not fearing the consequences of negative actions,having been influenced by negative friends.

The eight impossible states where mind cuts us off from the Dharma.

1. The first of these occurs when, even though you see and hear about the sufferings of samsara,such as those in the three lower realms, you do not fear them, and therefore feel only slightdisenchantment and little renunciation.

2. It is said that faith (or devotion) is like a precious wheel, which rolls along the path of virtueday and night. And faith is the most important among the seven noble riches.

3. Yet there is a state in which you lack the jewel of devotion for the teachings and for the master.4. There is also a state in which you are caught in the bonds of worldly ties and cravings for

wealth, possessions and friends.5. In another state, you might have a negative character just like black coal that cannot be made

clean, and engage constantly in crude, degenerate behavior, incurable like a poisonous snake.6. Having never pacified your body, speech and mind, you may never hold back from negative,

harmful actions that conflict with the teachings.7. Owing to your lack of even the slightest real interest, you may not have even a hint of a virtuous

mind, just like an animal gazing at a temple.8. You might be left with your pratimoksha and bodhisattva vows all broken, or your samaya

commitments of the secret mantrayana torn to shreds through having disparaged the master andso on.

Pray as follows: When these sixteen impossible states come upon me, menacing my Dharma practice,O Guru Rinpoche, turn my mind towards the practicecare for me! Omniscient masters, Longchenpaand Jikm Lingpa, keep me from straying onto the wrong paths! Compassionate lama, you who are onewith themcare for me!You must rid yourself of such adverse circumstances because once you have fallen into any of theseimpossible states, you will not have the chance to practice Dharma purely and authentically.

At this present moment, your body is not ravaged by sickness, and your mind is free from pain, nor areyou like a slave under someone elses control. So now that you have this perfect, auspicious quality oftotal independence, if you waste the freedom and advantages of this human life through your own

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indolence or laziness and distraction, then there is no need to mention that you will be separated fromyour companions, possessions, relatives and loved ones when you die! Even this body you hold sodear, which is like the house of consciousness, will be carried out alone from its bed and taken to somedesolate spot to be torn to pieces by foxes, vultures, dogs and so on. When that happens, yourconsciousness will be swept through the bardo realm like a feather blown about in the wind and therewill be nothing but terror in store for you.

So you should pray, In order to protect me from these fears, from this day on, O Guru Rinpoche, turnmy mind towards the Dharmacare for me! Omniscient masters, Longchenpa and Jigm Lingpa, keepme from straying onto the wrong paths! Compassionate lama, you who are on with themcare forme!

In the sutras it is said:Those who are lazy and lack diligence,

May live for a hundred years.

But it would be just as well to live for a few days,Having constant diligence.

And in The Precious Treasury of Essential Instructions (Mengak Rinpochei Dz) it says:

Dont give away this human body with its freedoms and endowments to the enemy of foodand clothing,Dont give away this altruistic mind of bodhichitta to the enemy of lesser vehicles,Dont give away the jewel-like nature of mind to the enemy of delusion,Dont give away the two wish-fulfilling accumulations to the enemy of this present life,Dont give away the practice of compassion to the enemy of laziness,And dont give away the mind of fervent devotion to the enemy of wrong views!

This is exactly how you should practice.

c. Karma: Cause and Effect

The results of beneficial and harmful actions will follow me . This means the various individualexperiences of pleasure and pain undergone by beings in the six classes occur purely as a result of theirown positive and negative actions. As it says in the Sutra of a Hundred Actions:

It is the variety of actions,Which creates the variety of beings.

And in the Sutra of Advice to the King (Rajavavadaka Sutra) , it says:

When his time has come, even a king has to die,

And neither his friends nor his wealth can follow him.So for us wherever we stay, wherever we go

Karma follows us like a shadow.

Although the results of our actions do not manifest immediately, they never go to waste. The Sutra of a

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Hundred Actions says:

The actions of beings never go to waste,Even in a hundred aeons.

They are accumulated, and, once the time comes,

The result will come to fruition.

Even tiny negative actions should be avoided. The Sutra of the Wise and Foolish says:

Do not disregard small misdeeds, thinking they are harmless,Because even tiny sparks of flame,

Can set fire to a mountain of hay.

Once, during the era of the Buddha Kashyapas teachings, there was a monk called Shebu Kapila 2 whoteased the other monks by calling them names such as horse-head. Altogether he called them byeighteen such names. It is said that later, during the time of Buddha Shakyamuni, he was reborn as afish-like sea monster with eighteen heads. It is also said that a monk who compared another monk to amonkey was reborn as a monkey for five hundred lifetimes. And there are countless other exampleswhich could be mentioned.The great Bodhisattva Shantideva said:

If a single moments negativity,

Can lead to an aeon in the Avici hell,Then with all our harmful acts accumulated in samsara without beginning,

What chance is there of going to the higher realms?

The Sutra of the Wise and Foolish also states:

Do not disregard small positive acts either, thinking they are without benefit,

Because even tiny drops of water,Will eventually fill a large container.

In the past when the King Mandhata was a beggar, he threw a handful of peas to BuddhaKshantisharana. Four fell into the Buddhas alms bowl and two struck his heart. As a result, he reignedas ruler over the four continents for eighty thousand years, then became ruler in the heaven of the FourGreat Kings for eighty thousand years, and finally ruled the kingdom of Indra for half as long. Thenthere was the beggar woman who offered a bowl of water to a shravaka disciple of BuddhaShakyamuni and was reborn in the heaven of the Thirty-three. It is also said that if an animal hears thename of a buddha once, they will escape the lower realms and be reborn in the higher states ofexistence. The benefits of positive actions are inconceivable.The Treasury of Essential Instructions says:

Listen to the words of the master, the most cherished instructions!

Study the words of the victorious one, and put your trust in them!

2 According to Patrul Rinpoche he was a brahmin. See Words of My Perfect Teacher, p.115.

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By day and by night, dedicate your virtue and limit your misdeeds!

Reflect on how the interdependence of cause and effect will determine your future!

Relinquish your attachment to the body and possessions you hold so dear!And apply the points of the tantras, agamas and upadeshas to your mind!

Take this to heart.

d. The Defects of Samsara

Basically, wherever you are born within samsara, whether it is in the higher realms or the lower ones,you will only ever be tormented by the three kinds of suffering.

The Eighteen Hell RealmsIn particular, if you are born in the hell realms as a result of the karma of accumulating harmful actions,in the eight hot hells the entire floor beneath your feet will be of burning iron. In the first, the RevivingHell, whatever you see turns into an enemy who attacks you with weapons. Your head and body arehacked to pieces, and you experience the suffering of dying and being revived time and again. The lifespan of beings in this realm is described in theApplication of Mindfulness Sutra:

The beings of the Reviving Hell live for one hundred and sixty two thousand times tenmillion human years.

The life span doubles for each of the hells below this one.

In the Black-Line Hell multiple lines are drawn on your body which is then ripped apart with saws. Inthe Crushing Hell countless beings are wedged in mortars of iron the size of whole valleys and crushedwith red-hot hammers. In the Howling Hell you are trapped in a doorless cell of burning iron and wornout with suffering and pain. In the Great Howling Hell you are trapped in an iron cell like before, butwith double walls, and you scream out loudly in agony as you are beaten with hammers and other

weapons. In the Heating Hell you are impaled on red-hot spikes and tridents, and wrapped in strips ofheated iron. In the Intense Heating Hell you are boiled in great vats of molten bronze. Whenever yourhead is struck with a hammer you lose consciousness and in that instant you may experience a slightfeeling a relief, but otherwise you experience nothing but suffering and pain. The life span of beingsthere is impossible to count in years. In samsara, there are twenty intermediate kalpas for each of theperiods of formation, subsistence, destruction and void. The beings in the Intense Heating Hell live forhalf of one of these intermediate kalpas.

In the Avichi Hell of Ultimate Torment you are burned in a fire of the most intense heat, greater thanthat in the other seven hot hells. The bodies of beings there are indistinguishable from the flames andcan only be perceived by the sound of their agonized screams. Weapons fall from the sky and hell-

workers torture you with weapons causing you pain seven times more intense than that experienced inthe earlier hells. In this one of the eight Hot Hells, the life span is one intermediate kalpa.

All the eight Cold Hells are surrounded by snow mountains, which are completely frozen at their base.There, in the dark, on terrifying precipices of ice engulfed by squalls and blizzards of snow, your tender nakbody is lashed by freezing cold winds. You break out in blisters, which burst open into festering sores.You let out a ceaseless wail of agonized screams in the Hell of Lamentations. And in the Hell of

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Groans, you experience suffering hard to even think about, like a dying person whose strength is allgone, and let out deep gasps and groans. You grind your teeth and clench them together in the intensecold. Your flesh turns blue and the skin cracks open into four pieces like a blue lotus, and then the redraw flesh that is exposed cracks further into eight pieces like a red lotus. Finally it turns an even darkerred and splits even deeper into sixteen, thirty-two and then innumerable pieces like a great red lotus.Worms with metal beaks penetrate the cracked flesh and start to eat away at your insides. These eightdifferent sufferings are called the Eight Cold Hells.The life span of beings in the Hell of Blisters is equal to the time it would take to empty a containercapable of holding two hundred Koshala measures filled with sesame seeds, if you removed a singlegrain every hundred years. For the other cold hells, the life span and sufferings increase by multiples oftwenty for each one.Similarly, in each of the four directions surrounding the Hell of Ultimate Torment, there are fourneighbouring hells, such as the 'Plain of Razor Blades'. When the karma that led you there is exhausted,you leave the Avichi Hell and see an attractive plain. You walk towards it, but when you reach it, itturns into a plain of weapons, cutting your feet to ribbons. Similarly, you see what appears to be apleasant forest, but once you arrive there it becomes a 'Forest of Sword Blades' where your body isgashed and chopped. Then you see a river and go towards it to have a drink, but it transforms into a'Swamp of Putrefying Corpses'. You become submerged in it up to your head and worms with metalbeaks eat away at your flesh. Alternatively, you may see a shady trench, but once you arrive there itchanges into a 'Pit of Hot Embers' and sinking inside it, you suffer as your flesh and bones are burntaway. These are the sixteen Neighbouring Hells that ring the Hell of Ultimate Torment.

The Ephemeral Hells are changing, in the sense that their location is not fixed and the degree of painexperienced there is also uncertain. You suffer through taking birth in a door, pillar, fireplace, rope andso on--in a mortar, a broom, or a pot. You suffer as you are trapped inside a stone, crushed betweenrocks, burned in a fire, boiled alive, or cut limb from limb as a piece of wood is cut. These are the'Ephemeral Hells' in which you are always made use of and exploited.The cause of being born in any of these eighteen hells could be a vast accumulation of harmful actionsperpetrated out of desire or delusion. Even so, a single momentary act such as taking life or speakingharsh words to an exceptional being, when carried out with a mind of intense anger, will propel youstraight to the hells. As it is said in theBodhicharyavatara:

If a single moments negative action,Can lead to an aeon in the Avichi hell,

Then with all our harmful acts accumulated in samsara without beginning,

What chance is there of going to higher realms?

Pray with the words of the text, Whenever intense hatred and aggression arises, O Guru Rinpoche,turn my mind towards the practicecare for me! Omniscient masters Longchenpa and Jikm Lingpa,keep me from straying onto the wrong paths! Compassionate lama, you who are one with themcarefor me!

It is essential to give up your conflicting emotions. The Letter to a Friendstates:

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Having heard of these boundless sufferings,

Only someone with a mind as hard as a diamond

Would remain unaffected and unafraid.And if just seeing pictures, hearing descriptions,

Or reading and thinking about the hells brings you such terror,

What will you do when you actually experience there

The full, inexorable effects of your actions?

The Preta RealmLikewise, with sufferings similar to those of the hells, the preta realm is destitute of food and drink,creating hunger and thirst. It is a grim place of rocks and charred tree stumps, where the words 'food','drink' or 'comfort' have never even been heard. In the past, Shrona travelled to the preta realm and,growing thirsty, he asked the beings there where he could find some water. They replied that althoughthey were born there twelve years previously this was the first time they had heard mention of water.Since these pretas do not find anything to eat or drink for months and years on end, their bodies areemaciated like skeletons and they lack even the strength to stand. There are three different kinds ofsuffering they experience.

Firstly, those with external obscurations will go for many months and years without even hearing anymention of food or water. Then, from time to time, they might see a stream or some fruit trees far awayin the distance. With weak limbs and aching joints they struggle to get there, but as they approach theyfind that the water has all dried up or the trees have withered away. Or else the water and trees are stillthere, but they are guarded by beings who carry weapons, which they use to beat the pretas and causethem pain.3

The pretas with specific obscurations undergo sufferings such as having many creatures living on theirbodies devouring them.

The life span for beings in this realm is about fifteen thousand human years.

There are many reasons for being born as a hungry ghost, such as eating in the afternoon after takingthe vows of a one-day fast, but the principal cause is being miserly or greedy for wealth andpossessions.

The Animal RealmAnimals living in the wild are in constant dread of being eaten by one another or killed by hunters.Domestic animals are exploited and worked until exhaustion, forced to pull ploughs or carry heavyloads. Even when sores break out on their backs they are just given more to carry. They are made tocarry people on their backs and they are often killed. Bewildered as to what to do or not to do, theyhave no idea how to practice virtue and only amass negative actions, so they are oppressed by limitlesssuffering and lack any means of escaping from samsara.

The seed or cause for being born in such a state is wandering into the darkness of stubborn stupidity,and thereby failing to undertake virtue and refrain from non-virtue. So pray as follows, From this dayforwards, O Guru Rinpoche, turn my mind towards the practicecare for me! Omniscient masters,

3 Chkyi Drakpa does not specifically mention the pretas with internal obscurations.

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Longchenpa and Jikm Lingpa, keep me from straying onto the wrong paths! Compassionate lama, youwho are one with themcare for me!

Therefore we must practice virtue and give up negative actions.

The God and Human RealmsEven in the higher realms of the gods and human beings there is no real happiness.

As theApplication of Mindfulness Sutra says:

There is never any joy in samsara,

Not even the tip of a needles worth.

And the Lord Maitreya said:

There is no joy among the five classes of beings,Just as there can be no pleasant fragrance in a cesspit.

As humans we face the three fundamental sufferings, the four great rivers of suffering of birth, aging,sickness and death, the sufferings caused by fear of encountering hated enemies, or parting from lovedones, and the sufferings of facing situations we do not want, or not getting what we do want.The asuras or demi-gods suffer from wars and strife. The gods face the suffering of death andtransmigration, and the suffering of falling into the lower realms.

So, no matter where we might take birth, among any of the six classes of beings, there is nowhere thatis beyond the nature of suffering.

As the Treasury of Essential Instructions says:Our cherished homes and countries are like the iron cells of hell,

Wives and children are like the forest of sword blades,Decorations and fine clothes are like the fiery tongues of flame,

Food and drink are burning lumps of metal,

And servants and workers the guardians of hell,Angry quarrels are like a hail of glowing embers

Understand that they all bring virtue and goodness to ruin

e. How to Follow a Spiritual Friend

Having entered the path of the Dharma, and taken the outer vows of the pratimokshathe vows of anupasaka (lay practitioner), novice or a fully ordained monk or nunyou still havent put a stop to your

erring ways and transgress the four root4

and various branch vows.

You have entered the door of the Mahayana, aroused the bodhichitta motivation of wishing to attainbuddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings and taken the vows of the bodhichitta of aspirationand application. But you simply repeat phrases like, May all beings have happiness! and so on, whilstlacking any beneficial thought for others, and with an attitude that is malicious and deceitful.

4 The four root vows are not to kill, not to steal, not to commit sexual misconduct and not to lie.

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Having embarked upon the path of secret mantra, and received the vase empowerment you are requiredto practice kyrim, or the development phase. Having received the secret empowerment, you shouldpractice mantra recitation; having received the crystal empowerment, you should meditate on dzogrim(the completion phase); and having received the fourth empowerment, you should meditate on themeaning of shunyata. Though you have received these four empowerments many times you do noteven do the slightest practice of the development and completion phases of meditation.

Considering how you have strayed onto wrong paths, pray with the words, O lama, free me from thesefalse paths!

This is a prayer to avoid falling under the influence of your conflicting emotions. Through relying upona qualified master you should maintain the precepts of the pratimoksha, the bodhisattva vows and thecommitments of secret mantra, as they are described in their respective texts. Then, through the comingtogether of the masters blessing and your own faith and diligence, like a hook passing through a ring,you will be liberated from samsara, crossing over to its far shore.

Apart from that, there is not some other method whereby the lama just releases you from samsara,without your having to undertake positive actions and abandon negative actions, like a passenger beingcarried along in a ferry or someone being saved from a murderous attack. If this were the case, thensince the buddhas love all sentient beings equally as their very own children, they would liberate alllimitless beings in an instant, without leaving a single one behind in samsara. There was not theslightest hairs breadth of a difference between the love Buddha Shakyamuni felt for Devadatta and thelove he felt for Rahula.5 If his compassion and blessings alone could have liberated them, it wouldhave been impossible for Devadatta to fall into the hells.So it is very important that you take the words of the Buddha and your master to heart and put theminto practice just as they have taught. As our Teacher said:

I have shown you the path to liberation.But liberation depends on you alone. So practice with diligence!

And Shantideva said:

Countless buddhas, working for beings benefit,

Have already come and gone;Yet on account of my faults,

I have not been an object of their healing,

And if I continue on this course,

Again and again, it will be the same.

Although you have not realized the view of shunyata, you act recklessly as if you were 'a master ofcrazy wisdom' and disregard the law of cause and effect. Though you are distracted in your meditationand lack the qualities described in the scriptures, you allow yourself to remain stuck in concepts, andproudly refuse to follow a qualified teacher. If you were really putting your heart into the practice, your

5 Devadatta was the Buddhas jealous, scheming cousin. Rahula was Buddha's son.

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body, speech and mind would be in complete harmony with the teachings, as was the case withGlorious Atisha and Geshe Ben. Each time they had a negative thought, they would drop itimmediately, and get down from their horse to perform a mandala offering. This is how you should be.But instead of this, even though your mind is filled with disturbing emotions and the actions of yourbody and speech are at fault, you ignore your own shortcomings and dwell on the imperfections ofothers. This is like having a ghost at your eastern door and performing the ransom ritual of l at thedoor in the west. Having an intellectual understanding of the difference between beneficial and harmfulactions and then acting in a way that contradicts the teachings is a sign that you are Dharma-stubborn,like the hide of a butter bag, which is made tough by constantly being in contact with grease.Pray that the lama may free you from your stubbornness and non-Dharmic behavior and then practiceaccording to the teachings.

Although you suffer from sickness and could die tomorrow, you are full of craving for and attachmentto houses, clothes and possessions. Although your youth has passed and you are quite old, you do nothave the slightest disenchantment or renunciation for samsara. Although you possess only the slightestwisdom gained through study, reflection and meditation, like the frog who lived in the well, you prideyourself on all your knowledge. This arrogance comes from falling under the power of delusion, sopray that the lama will free you from such ignorance, and then abandon your attachment to samsara andyour pride in your own qualities.The time of your death is uncertain and, like a candle in the breeze or a little bird on the branch of atree, you are surrounded by potentially dangerous circumstances. Yet still you forget about death andbusy yourself with the affairs of this life, such as taking part in local rituals. With a mind that isdistracted, you may physically remain in solitary retreats, but all the while your basic character remainsas tough as a block of wood. To remain calm like a jackal in the woods, without having uprooted yourdisturbing emotions, speaking softly, while attachment and aversion boil inside your mind, is like thebehaviour of a crane or a cat. All of this is a sign that you are under the influence of the eight worldlyobsessions: gain brings you happiness, and loss makes you suffer; you are happy to receive praise, butblame makes you angry; fame makes you happy, and insignificance saddens you; and you are joyful inhappiness, but despair when you suffer.

Pray with the words, O lama, free me from these eight worldly concerns!

You should not allow yourself to become too preoccupied with concerns such as happiness andsuffering, but view them all equallyin one tasteand integrate them into your practice. This isachieved firstly by recognizing that the one who is happy when praised and becomes sad when blamedis essentially empty. Both are equally illusory, dream-like, and lacking in true reality. Secondly, it issaid:

When you are happy, dedicate it as a gathering of virtue:May all of space be filled with benefit and happiness!

Whenever you experience happiness by gaining wealth or renown, or new clothes, or eating a deliciousmeal, instead of holding onto that pleasure as your own, train your mind by dedicating it. Think toyourself, May all sentient beings, especially the hungry ghosts, the poor and the homeless, all enjoythis kind of happiness and pleasure!

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When suffering befalls you, such as when, for example, you hear something unpleasant or are afflictedby illness, it is said:

When you suffer, take on the sufferings of all,

May the ocean of suffering dry up completely!

Train your mind by thinking to yourself, In addition to my own sufferings, may I take on thesufferings of all beings and may they enjoy happiness and well-being!

Pray in the following way: Quickly rouse me from this deep sleep of ignorance, in which I am likean animal who does not understand the difference between positive and negative actions! And praythat you may be inspired by a healthy fear of causing harm and an enthusiasm for beneficial actions.

Throughout the course of your lifetimes without beginning, up until the present, you have not knownhow to practice the Dharma as a way of gaining freedom from samsara. Instead, you continue tolanguish in samsaras prison. Pray that you may develop a genuine heart of sadness and renunciationand be quickly freed from the dismal imprisonment within samsara, thereby attaining the state ofliberation and omniscience. Take this to heart.

The Treasury of Essential Instructions says:One birth is sufficient: cut the ties of attachment today!

One accumulation is sufficient: see the master as the Buddha!

One action is sufficient: accomplish the Lama Buddha!One training is sufficient: abandon non-Dharmic actions!

One recognition is sufficient: recognize the dharmata!

One practice is sufficient: abide by that very state of reality!

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2. The Extraordinary Preliminaries

There are six sections to the extraordinary preliminaries.

a. Taking Refuge

The first of these sections is taking refuge, which is explained in terms of the divisions of refuge, theway to take refuge, and finally the benefits and precepts of refuge.

i. The Divisions of Refuge

Generally, it is said that refuge is the foundation stone of all Dharma practices, and that which opensthe door to refuge is faith. The importance of the three types of faith has already been shown above. Itmay be further demonstrated by the stories of Ben of Kongpo and the old lady and the dogs tooth.

ii. The Way to Take Refuge

As for the method of taking refuge, the field of merit should be visualized according to the descriptionsin the various commentaries. Then:

The Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are supreme among all that is rare, like a priceless jewel. Theyconstitute the outer refuge. The real essence or embodiment of these three is the Sugata, the Buddha,as it says in the Sublime Continuum (Gy Lama):

The single refuge is the Buddha.

The three roots are the lama, yidam and khandro, the inner refuge of the secret mantrayana. They arelike the root or the basis for all the positive accumulations until you attain enlightenment.

Taking refuge in order to use the channels as the nirmanakaya, train the inner air as the sambhogakaya,

and purify the tiklswhose nature is the bodhichittaas the dharmakaya is the secret refuge.

The ultimate refuge is the primordial wisdom present within the wisdom mind of these objects ofrefugethe mandala of the empty essence, the cognizant nature and the all-pervading compassionateenergy. In order to accomplish this within our own mind-stream we take refuge until enlightenment isfully realized. With this in mind we take the vow of refuge.

iii. Precepts and Benefits of Taking Refuge

In terms of precepts, there are three things to be abandoned, three things to be adopted and threesupplementary precepts.

Firstly, having taken refuge in the Buddha, do not take worldly deities such as local spirits as your outerrefuge and do not make offerings to them. Having taken refuge in the Dharma, refrain from harmingother beings. Having taken refuge in the Sangha, do not associate with non-buddhist extremists(tirthikas), or anyone whose behaviour is contrary to the teachings.

Regarding the three things to be adopted, having taken refuge in the Buddha, you should honour andrespect any representation of his body, even a tiny piece of broken statue. Having taken refuge in the

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Dharma, you should respect and take care to preserve the written teachings, even fragments of paperbearing a single syllable. In the past, when Lord Atisha saw a scribe putting his pen in his mouth as hewrote, he cried out, Atsama! Thats not right! Having taken refuge in the Sangha, even a patch of redor yellow cloth from their robes should inspire you with faith. As supplementary precepts, rely uponyour spiritual master and practice without doing anything that violates or conflicts with his body,speech or mind. Listen to the teachings and follow the Dharma and the Sangha.

It says in thePigs Story (Pak Gi Tokj):

Whoever takes refuge in the BuddhaWill no longer be reborn in the lower realms.

Forsaking even the body of a human being,

They will be reborn among the gods.

And theParinirvana Sutra says:

Whoever takes refuge in the Three [Jewels]

Will swiftly attain enlightenment.

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b. Arousing Bodhichitta

There are three sections: training the mind in the four immeasurables; arousing bodhichitta, the mindturned towards supreme enlightenment; and training in the precepts of bodhichitta in aspiration andbodhichitta in application.

i. Training the Mind in the Four Immeasurables

Ho is an expression of compassion. The objects of compassion are the beings of the three realms andsix classes. They are mesmerized by the variety of perceptions, apprehending an I where there is noI, and a self where there is no self. These misperceptions are said to be like seeing a pile of stonesfrom a distance and mistaking it for a person, or perceiving a colored rope as a snake, or thinking, likea small child, that the illusory (not truly existent) reflection of the moon which appears in water is thereal moon.

Cultivate compassion for beings by considering their miserable situation: all of themthroughout thethree realms and six classesgrasp at their deluded perceptions, imagining them to be real, and wanderendlessly in samsara without finding any escape, like the turning of a wheel, or a rosary.

All beings, as limitless in number as space is vast, are our very own mothers and fathers who haveshown us exactly the same kindness as our parents in our present lifetime. So that these parents of oursmay remain no longer in their pitiful state, and instead attain enlightenment, finding comfort and easein the luminosity and all-pervading space of the true nature of their minds, we should train our mindsby means of the four immeasurables.

1. EquanimityInitially, we need to train the mind in equanimity. The way in which we are currently attached to ourfriends and aggressive towards our enemies is a fault which comes from failing to examine the situationthoroughly. In reality, todays so-called enemies have, in the course of our many past lifetimes, been

dear friends who have helped us enormously. And those whom we currently consider to be ourfriends have been our enemies in past lifetimes, having caused us considerable harm.

The Noble Katyayana said:

He eats his fathers flesh, while striking his own mother,

And cradles in his lap the enemy he killed;

The wife is gnawing at her husbands bones.

Samsara is enough to make you laugh out loud!

Recognize that this bias, which currently causes us to see some people as our friends and others as our

enemies, is a result of having fallen under the power of ignorance. Train your mind until you feel abenevolent attitude, like the one you have now for your present mother and father, for all beings,especially your enemies and those who create obstacles for you.

2. LoveThen, since these beings have shown you exactly the same kindness as your current parents, cultivatelove for them all and wish them happiness in order to repay their past kindness. Train yourself to be

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like parents caring for a small child, or a mother bird looking after her young, so that all your actions ofbody, speech and mind are undertaken only to ensure the happiness and well-being of others.

3. CompassionCultivate compassion, which is the wish for beings to be freed from suffering. Imagine a prisoner whois about to be executed, or an animal at the slaughterhouse, and put yourself in their position, orimagine that they are your own dear mother. When you experience an unbearably intense feeling ofcompassion for them, consider that although the one experiencing such suffering is not actually yourmother or father in this lifetime, he or she has been your mother and father countless times throughoutthe course of your innumerable lifetimes. practice cultivating this compassion until you feel exactly thesame compassion for all sentient beings as you do for your own mother and father.

4. JoyWhenever you see someone who is wealthy and powerful, and apparently enjoying all the pleasures ofthe higher realms, or whenever you see someone who possesses the qualities of scriptural learning andrealization, do not feel resentful or envious of them, even if you consider them to be an enemy. Instead,feel joyful and make the wish that their riches and power increase even further. And pray that allsentient beings may experience the same kind of good fortune. Train your mind in this way, again andagain.

If, when you practice training the mind in these four immeasurables, you proceed gradually firstconsidering your own parents; then including your friends and relatives; and finally extending thepractice to your enemiesyou will come to feel the same love and compassion for your enemies as foryour parents. This is the measure of your mind training.

ii. Arousing Bodhichitta

As for the actual practice of arousing bodhichitta, whilst in a state that is mindful and aware of thesepoints of training the mind in the four immeasurables, visualize the field of merit in front of youjust

as you did in the refuge practicewhich then becomes the witness to your arousing of bodhichitta.

The bodhichitta of wishing to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings is pledgingyourself to the goal. This is the bodhichitta of aspiration, which is like making a wish to go to Lhasa,for example.

Vowing that until you attain enlightenment you will practice the six perfections, such as generosity, andstrive with effort until samsara is completely empty, is pledging yourself to the cause. This is thebodhichitta of application, which is like making the actual journey to Lhasa up until your eventualarrival there.

TheBodhicharyavatara says:

Understand that, briefly put,

Bodhichitta has two aspects.

Just as one would know the differenceBetween wishing to go and going on a journey,

The wise should understand these two,

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to beings means working for the welfare of others through the four ways of attracting disciples[ii],7 oncethe time has come for you to do so, and when you are free from any selfish motivation. For beginners,it is most important to train the mind in the first two types of discipline with the bodhichitta motivationof wishing to benefit others.

Patience consists of being patient when wronged; the patience to bear hardships for the Dharma; andthe patience to bear the profound truth without fear.

Diligence is divided into armour-like diligence; diligence in action, which means exerting yourself topractice the Dharma and fearing laziness with as much energy as someone who discovers a poisonoussnake in his or her lap; and insatiable diligence. Insatiable diligence is never being satisfied by a little,or a few months, or even a few years of virtuous practice, and instead exerting yourself to practicethroughout your entire life.

Meditative concentration includes the childish concentration of those who practice in isolation awayfrom distractions and busyness, but are attached to the experiences of bliss, clarity and absence ofthought. There is also the clearly discerning concentration in which emptiness is clung to as anantidote; and the concept-free samadhi of intrinsic reality, which is known as 'the concentrationdelighting the Tathagatas'. These should be practiced successively, in stages.

Sixth, is the paramita of wisdom. Through the wisdom that comes from hearing, you are able torecognize the disturbing emotions. Then, through the wisdom that comes from reflection, you are ableto overcome the disturbing emotions temporarily. And finally, through the wisdom that comes throughmeditation, you conquer completely the enemy of negative emotions and obtain the confidence ofknowing inexpressible and inconceivable reality with the wisdom of discriminating awareness.

If you fail to arouse this altruistic attitude of bodhichitta in your mind, then, however much you mightact virtuously and avoid negativity for your own sake, you will not become enlightened.

TheBodhicharyavatara says:

What need is there to say more?

The childish work for their own benefit,The buddhas work for the benefit of others.

Just look at the difference between them.

7 The four ways of attracting disciples are 1) being generous, 2) speaking pleasantly, 3) teaching in accordance with theneeds of beings, and 4) acting in accordance with what one teaches.

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c. Meditation and Recitation of Vajrasattva

In the practice of Vajrasattva, the four powers must be complete.

The first of the four powers is the power of support. AH signifies the unborn nature. Reflect on how allphenomena included within your ordinary dualistic perception are empty, devoid of self and sky-like.From that state, the essence of which is clear and spacious, generate compassion for all those who havenot realized this themselves. And then, with the wish to attain enlightenment for the benefit of allbeings, visualize yourself in your ordinary form. Consider that about eighteen inches above your headis a white lotus. If you are following the extensive commentary [Kunzang Lamai Shelung] the lotushas a thousand petals, whereas according to the briefer commentary [by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo] ithas eight petals. Upon it, in the centre of a full moon-disc seat, is a white syllable HUNG, which meltsinto light and becomes your own root lama in the form of Vajrasattva. He is brilliant white, withcomplete sambhogakaya adornments.

He is ornamented with all thirteen adornments: the five silk adornments of the headscarf, uppergarment, long scarf, belt and lower garment; and the eight jewelled ornaments of the crown, earrings,short necklace, armlets, two long necklaces (one longer than the other), bracelets, anklets and rings.

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His legs are crossed in the vajra posture. His right hand holds a vajra at his heart, and his left holds abell against his hip. The consort white Vajratopa (Dorje Nyemma) has her legs crossed in the lotusposture, and is embracing Vajrasattva.

Consider that their bodies appear vividly and distinctly, yet lack any true reality, just like reflections ina mirror.

Then, understanding that it is through relying on you, Lama Vajrasattva, and taking you as a refuge andsupport with one-pointed faith that all our negative actions will be purified, we pray: Take care of meand all other beings! Look after us! Purify all our negative actions and obscurations! Pray like thiswith such intense devotion that tears come to your eyes.

The second power is the power of regret. Consider how, throughout all your lifetimes, throughoutbeginningless time until now, you have accumulated negative actions with your body, speech and mind.And even in this life, you have committed intrinsically negative acts such as the ten non-virtues, andproscribed negative acts, which are all the transgressions of the pratimoksha, bodhisattva andmantrayana vows.

With the deepest regret, like somebody who has swallowed poison, you should acknowledge all yournegative acts without concealing anything, and without hiding anything. Without any thought ofkeeping your negative actions secret, openly confess them, saying to yourself: I committed thisnegative action. I acted wrongly in this way. I did this and that.

Just as, in society, if we are guilty of a crime such as manslaughter we are made to express our regretand then pay compensation, here, too, we should confess our negative actions of the past and then vownot to repeat them.

The third power is the power of resolve, or the power of turning away from faults and misconduct. Inthe past, you have accumulated all kinds of negative actions out of ignorance, disrespect, recklessness,and turbulent emotions. But now, through the kindness of your spiritual master, you understand thegains and losses incurred as a result of positive and negative actions. So from now on, even if your lifeis at stake, vow to refrain from harmful actions.

The fourth power is the power of action as an antidote. Even though any virtuous action will functionas an antidote to our negativity, in this practice we concentrate on visualizing the deity and reciting themantra.

So, the text says:

In Vajrasattvas heart, upon a full moon, is the letter HUNG, encircled by the letters of the hundredsyllable mantra mala. Reciting the hundred syllables of the mantra causes rays of light to emanate fromthe mantra mala, invoking his wisdom mind. From the point of union of the bliss-emptiness play ofyab-yum, a cloud of nectar, the nature of which is bodhichitta, flows down like a stream of milk (orcamphor) and enters my body through the top of my head and the heads of all sentient beings of thethree worlds. Through this, my past negative karma and more immediate destructive emotionsthecauses of sufferingare purified.

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All illnesses are expelled through the pores of the skin and the two lower orifices of your body, in theform of pus and blood. All harmful influences (dn) are expelled in the form of creatures such asspiders, scorpions and snakes. All negative actions and obscurations are expelled in the form of blackliquid, smoke and soot. The ground beneath you opens up to reveal Yama, the Lord of Death,surrounded by his entourage, the controllers of karmic debts. All the impurities flow into their openmouths. They are satisfied. All your karmic debts are repaid and untimely death is averted. Yama turnsaway and the earth closes up again.

Pray that all your faults and imperfections, such as the wrongdoing of the ten non-virtues, which arenegative by their very nature, the downfalls that are infractions of discipline and the blockages due tobreakages of samaya are completely purified, till not a single one remains.

Recite the hundred syllable mantra, considering that as a result of your one-pointed faith, your bodybecomes clear and unobstructed inside and out, like a crystal vase filled with milk. As it fills withnectar, you obtain the four empowerments and the wisdom of the four joys arises in your mind-stream.

Cry out to your master like a child calling for its mother. We use the words, O protector! because themaster serves all beings as their refuge, and protector. Under the power of ignorance and delusion, notknowing the benefits of positive actions and the faults of harmful actions, I have gone against andcorrupted my samaya. Lama protector, be my refuge and protect me from the experience of suffering!Chief of all the mandalas, embodiment of all the buddhas, Guru Vajradhara you are the embodiment ofgreat compassion. Chief of all living beings, until enlightenment I take refuge in you!

There are twenty-seven root samayas of the body, speech and mind.8 Firstly, there are three sets ofthree samayas related to the body. The outer three are to abandon stealing, sexual misconduct andtaking life. The inner three are to abandon abusing your father and mother, your vajra family and yourown body; abusing the Dharma and other individuals, and striking your own body; and forcing yourselfto undergo the hardship of extreme ascetic discipline. The secret three are to abandon striking the bodyof a vajra relative, or criticizing ornaments they may be wearing; striking your vajra sisters or makingsexual advances to the lamas consort; and stepping on or over the lamas shadow, or acting carelesslywith your body and speech in the lamas presence.

There are three sets of three commitments related to the speech. The outer three are to abandon lying,slander and harsh words. The inner three are to abandon speaking disrespectfully about someone whoteaches the Dharma, who contemplates its meaning, or who meditates on the natural state. The secretthree are to abandon being disrespectful about what is said by vajra brothers and sisters, those in themasters entourage, or the master himself.

There are three sets of three commitments related to the mind. The outer three are to abandon malice,covetousness and wrong view. The inner three are to abandon careless activity; dullness or agitation inyour meditation; and clinging to the views of eternalism or nihilism. The secret three are to maintain anawareness of the view, meditation and action throughout every session of practice, to maintain anawareness of the yidam deity, and to have faith in the teacher and love for your vajra brothers andsisters.

8 SeePerfect Conduct, translated by Khenpo Gyurme Samdrub & Sangye Khandro, Wisdom Publications, 1996, p.126.

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There are twenty-five branch samayas.9 Firstly, there are the five to be recognized: the five aggregates,the five elements, the five faculties, the five consciousnesses, and the five objects. They should berecognized as the mandala of deities of the three seats.10 Once they have been understood, there are thefive to be accomplished: the vajra family, ratna family, padma family, karma family and tathagatafamily. There are five substances to be accepted at the time of accomplishment: faeces, urine, blood,semen and marrow. There are five signs of warmth in the practice not to be rejected: the transformationof the five poisons, which are matured into the five wisdoms. There are five to be practiced when thesigns on the path have become manifest: the three [negative] actions of the body and lying and idlegossip. You should practice them in order to accomplish the benefit of others.

I confess all my impairments of these commitments! I implore you: let my negative actions caused bydisturbing emotions, cognitive obscurations, and wrongs or downfalls, such as those described aboveall my flawsbe completely cleansed and purified!

By confessing and making a resolution in this way, with all four powers complete, Vajrasattva ispleased and smiling, says:

Son/daughter of an enlightened family, your negative actions, obscurations, wrong doing and

downfalls are all purified.

Granting his forgiveness, he melts into light and dissolves into you. Through this, you too becomeVajrasattva, appearing yet empty, like a reflection in a mirror. At your heart, upon a full moon, isHUNG, around which the four brilliantly radiant syllables OM VAJRA SA TVA emanate rays of five-colored light. Offering goddesses appear at the tip of each ray of light, holding boundless offeringsubstances, such as the eight auspicious symbols, in their hands. They offer these to the buddhas andbodhisattvas of the ten directions, who are pleased and send back their blessings and siddhis in the formof five-colored rays of light which dissolve into you. Light rays emanate from the mantra mala onceagain, transforming the outer environment into the pure land of Abhirati ('Manifest Joy'), and causingall beings to take on the nature of Vajrasattvas enlightened body, speech and mind. With this in mind,recite the mantra.

At the end of the session, the outer environment dissolves into the bodies of the Vajrasattvas within it.All their bodies dissolve into you. You melt into light, which is absorbed into the mantra mala. Themantra mala dissolves into the HUNG. The HUNG then gradually dissolves, beginning with theshyabkyu (the vowel sign), and you rest in the state ofshunyata.

Then, in a single instant, you visualize the environment and beings as the pure realm and Vajrasattvasonce again, and dedicate the merit and make aspirations.

When you practice visualization and recitation like this, it is vital not to interrupt the recitation withordinary speech, and not to allow the mind to become distracted. As it says in the tantras:

If you lack samadhi meditation,

9 SeePerfect Conduct, pp.126-9.10 The aggregates and elements are the seats of the male and female buddhas, and the sense-sources are the seats of themale and female bodhisattvas.

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You are just like a stone in the oceans depths:

You might recite the mantra for aeons,

But still there will be no result.

Nevertheless, if you can do the practice with the attitude of bodhichitta and with the four powerscomplete, then you will purify even serious harmful actions. As Shantideva said:

Like the inferno at the end of time,

Instantly, it will burn away harmful deeds.

Your practice should be embraced by the points of good in the beginning, good in the main part,and good at the conclusion.

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d. Mandala OfferingIf you are accumulating the practice and you have an accomplishment mandala, anoint it with bajungand scented water, and, having arranged five piles [of gems, medicines or rice] on top of it, place it onyour shrine. If you do not have an accomplishment mandala, visualize the field of merit as before.

The material of the offering mandala plate should suit your resources: precious metal is best; other

metals, such as bell-metal, are the next best; and stone may be used as a last resort.

Precious stones make the best offering substances; medicines are the next best; and at worst, you coulduse grains, such as barley or rice, when cleaned and washed with scented water.

Wipe the mandala clean again and again, and anoint it with scented water and bajung. Then offer theThirty-Seven Point Mandala as it is generally done.

In this particular context, we offer what is known as the Trikaya Mandala.

OM, AH and HUNG were explained earlier.

i. Nirmanakaya

The four continents, Mount Meru and the god realms up to the Abode of Brahma constitute a singlerealm. Multiplying this realm by a thousand, you arrive at what is called a first-order universe of onethousand worlds. Multiplying this universe by a thousand, you arrive at an intermediate universe ofone thousand times one thousand worlds. If you then multiply the intermediate universe a thousandtimes, you will have what is called a billion-fold universe, which is one hundred times ten millionworlds.

This billion-fold universe is filled with the seven precious gems and all the wealth of gods, nagas andhuman beings, both riches that are owned and natural riches possessed by no one. Visualize the whole

universe filled with precious gems and so on, and then consider also your own body, possessions andsources of merit and offer them all in their entirety. Pray that, as a result, you may turn the wheel of theDharma, just as Buddha Shakyamuni did.

ii. Sambhogakaya

The inconceivable paradise of the sambhogakaya is the highest heaven because it is above thenirmanakaya realms, and it is also a place of Great Bliss, because bliss and emptiness are indivisiblewithin the minds of beings who dwell there. It is known as Tukpo Kpa ('Densely Arrayed') because itis beyond measure, and it is perfect with the five certainties. The certain place is this pure realm ofGhanavyuha, or Tukpo Kpa. The certain teachers are the buddhas of the five families. The certainteaching is the Mahayana, or that which is beyond words. The certain audience is made up of tenth

bhumi bodhisattvas. And the certain time is the perpetually turning wheel of eternity.

Visualize this mandala of the buddhas of the five families and then consider that countless offeringgoddesses, such as the goddess of beauty and so on, manifest within it. The entire space becomes filledwith inconceivably vast clouds of offerings of every variety of sensual and emotional stimulants. Praythat through this offering, you may enjoy the perfection of the sambhogakaya fields.

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iii. Dharmakaya

Where all appearance and existence are completely pure signifies that there is no falling into thefixed view that the whole outer and inner universethe environment and beingsare solid and real.Instead, everything is vast, expansive and profoundly spacious. Since the essence of the dharmakaya isbeyond birth and death, it is described as youthful, and since there is a clarity that comes from itsknowing aspect, it is called the vase body.

When this wisdom mind of the dharmakaya is taken as the base of the mandala, then the ornaments ofthe dharmakaya are all the rising thoughts. These rising thoughts manifest from the dynamic energyand play of dharmata emptiness and unceasing compassion, which are unstained by disturbingemotions.

All clinging to the perception of kayas and tikls, which can occur from the stage of 'increase ofexperience' [the second of the four visions of tgal] until 'awareness reaching full maturity' [the thirdvision], is naturally liberated.

Pray that through this offering, with its piles representing the dynamic energy of the dharmakaya, you

may attain the level of the dharmakaya and enjoy the freedom of the dharmakaya reality.

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e. The Kusalis Accumulation

The word kusali means beggar. Hermits and renunciates who lack any other possessions makeofferings of their own bodies. We cherish our bodies more than any of our other belongings, so thebenefits of making them into an offering are also greater. As it is said:

Offering your horse or elephant is worth hundreds of other offerings;Offering your child or spouse is worth thousands;

Offering your own body is worth hundreds of thousands.

Jetsn Milarepa described the meaning of the syllable Phat as follows:

The outer Phat gathers together thoughts that are scattered.The inner Phat clears away the dullness of awareness.

The ultimate Phat is resting in the natural condition.

By abandoning all thoughts of self-grasping and attachment to this body held so dear, the demonic

forces of seduction through desire (the Mara of the Son of the Gods) are destroyed. Yourconsciousness becomes a sphere of light, which shoots out through the 'aperture of Brahma' at thecrown of your head into all-pervading space. Immediately, in order to destroy the demonic force ofdeath (the 'Mara of the Lord of Death') your consciousness transforms into Trma Nakmo, holding ahooked knife in her right hand and a skull-cup in her left, and with a sows head protruding frombehind her right ear.

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With her right hand she uses the hooked knife that symbolizes destruction of the demonic forces ofconflicting emotions (the 'Mara of Disturbing Emotions') to slice the top off your corpses skull,destroying the demonic forces of the aggregates of ego (the 'Mara of the Skandhas'). Her left handholds the skull-cup to carry out her activity, which she places on the hearth of three human headsinwardly representing the three kayas, each as big as Mount Meru. The skull-cup is placed so that thebrow is facing towards you and then the corpse, now an offering as vast as a billion worlds, is placedinside it with the hooked knife in her right hand.

Below the skull-cup, the fire of wisdom blazes up from the stroke of a letter A and this causes nectar tomelt and drip from the upside-down white syllable HAM above. Consider that any impurities arepurified through OM, the offering is multiplied through AH, and transformed through HUNG into greatclouds of 'space-treasury' offerings with the essential nature of wisdom nectar, but manifesting aswhatever beings desire. Recite OM AH HUNG as many times as ou can.

Then visualize the field of merit as it appears in the refuge practice, surrounded by all the beings of thesix classes, especially those beings that cause you harm. From your heart, emanate countless offeringgoddesses. Immaculate nectar is the white feast offered by the offering goddesses to the guests above,pleasing and satisfying them. Inconceivable offering substances manifest out of the steam that risesfrom the boiling nectar: the five offerings such as flowers, the five sensual pleasures such as visibleforms, the eight auspicious symbols, the seven emblems of royalty and the five meats and five nectars.This is the variegated feast, and offering it pleases the guests, whereby the two accumulations of meritand wisdom are accumulated and, as the attainment of the supreme siddhi, your mind is perfected in thetwo types of bodhichitta. You also attain the ordinary accomplishments of long life, increased merit andso on.

For the guests belowthe beings of the six classes of samsarathe dakinis take the nectar from theskull-cup and scatter it so that it falls from the sky like rain. Consider that all sentient beings receivesome of the nectar to drink and are satisfied. As the variegated feast, consider that whatever the beingsof the six classes desire rains down on them and through this they are pleased and satisfied. Thecreditors to whom you owe karmic debts that shorten your life because you have killed, that plague youwith sickness because you have attacked and beaten others, and that make you poor because you havestolen, receive whatever they desire: food, clothes, houses, land and so on. As they enjoy theseofferings, consider that all your debts are repaid.

In particular, think of thejungpo demons of the eighty thousand classes, who create obstacles for youand cause harm to sentient beings, together with the lame, the blind, the deaf and the mute, who gatherin the hope of receiving the leftovers. To all the harmful influences and obstructing forces that craveflesh and blood, dedicate a mountain of flesh, an ocean of blood and a mass of bones piled up like thebanks of a river, imagining it all to be like the flesh and blood of a seventh-birth brahmin.11Considerthat it satisfies them physically and they develop the attitude of bodhichitta in their minds. Then theremaining guests all receive and enjoy whatever they desire, such as food or clothing. The lame receivethe limbs of miraculous powers. The blind obtain the eyes of wisdom. The deaf hear immaculatesounds. The mute receive the tongue of intelligence and so on. In this way, all those who are weak and

11Seventh birth brahmins are bodhisattvas who have taken birth as brahmins seven successive times, in order that they maybenefit beings. Their flesh, bones, hair, nails and so on are said to be especially pure, and if consumed can lead to theattainment of rainbow body.

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underprivileged are satisfied.

Through the merit and virtue of this, all illnesses that plague the body, all conflicting emotions thatdisturb the mind, and all destructive influences and obstacles are pacified into all-pervading space.Harmful circumstances that conflict with the Dharma, all selfish clinging to wealth and possessions,and thoughts of self-grasping are exploded.

Finally, the offering of the body and the mind that offers, together with all the guests to whom theofferings are made, dissolve into the nature of Dzogpachenpo, the fundamental nature of your mind, inwhich they are no longer clung to as being true, but seen as illusory and dream-like. This is the state ofshunyata. Resting in this great simplicity, seal the practice into the dharmadhatu sphere of intrinsicreality with the syllable AH.

Unless you exert yourself in gathering the accumulations and purifying your obscurations throughpractices such as this, meditative experience and realization will never arise.

The Treasury of Songs of Realization (Dohas) says:

Ultimate co-emergent wisdom can only come,

From gathering the accumulations and purifying obscurations,And through the blessings of a realized master.

It would be foolish to rely on any other method.

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f. Guru Yoga

Within Guru Yogathe practice that brings swift blessingsthere are three sections.

i. Visualization of the Field of Merit

Emaho is an expression of wonder and amazement. What is so wonderful and amazing?

Guru Rinpoche, the Precious Master of Orgyen, was not stained by an ordinary birth, but was bornmiraculously in the Milky Lake in the northwest12 of Oddiyana. Then, in India and Tibet, he subduedarrogant spirits and demons and worked as a regent of the Buddhadharma. Finally, he attained theimmortal vajra body, and travelled to the island of the rakshasas in the southwest, where he nowresides, having established the teachings there and transformed the place into a pure realm. This iswonderful and amazing.

Do not perceive your surroundings as ordinary and constructed through effort and exertion. Instead,you should see your environment as a pure realm manifesting naturally and spontaneously throughOrgyen Rinpoches blessings. Although this is generally said to be a nirmanakaya realm for taming

beings, for someone who has extraordinary perception this is a realm of infinite purity, a heaven of thedharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya.

In thePrayer of Aspiration for the Copper-colored Mountain of Glory ,13the nine verses from the line,A spontaneous arrayetc to the line, Sending out clouds of offerings establish the nirmanakayarealm. Then the verse beginning, Above lies the limitless palace of the sambhogakaya, establishesthe sambhogakaya realm. Then the verse that begins, Above, in the joyful pure land of thedharmakaya, establishes the dharmakaya.

So this three kaya realm arrayed in complete and perfect detail is the Glorious Copper coloredMountain. And here, in the very centre of a palace, is your own body, manifesting with the essential

nature of Yesh Tsogyal, but the form of Vajrayogini.

She has one face and two hands, and her body is a bright blazing red. If you are following thecommentary of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, she holds a hooked knife in the right hand and a skull-cupfull of blood in the left. According to Patrul Rinpoches commentary, she is playing a skull-drum withher right hand, whilst her left hand holds a hooked knife against her hip. She is standing with her twofeet gracefully poised, the left leg slightly drawn in, and she is wearing silk and bone ornaments. Herthree eyes gaze into the sky in devotion.

In the sky directly above the crown of your head (according to Patrul Rinpoches commentary) or in thespace level with the top of your head and facing you (according to Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo), seated

upon sun and moon-disc seats and a multi-colored lotus with a thousand petals, is the embodiment ofall sources of refuge, inseparable from your own root master, in the form of the nirmanakaya 'Lake-born Vajra'.

12 The Tibetan text says southwest here, but northwest later on.13 Secret Path to the Mountain of Glory: A Prayer of Aspiration for the Copper-colored Mountain of Glory by RigdzinJikm Lingpa.

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His complexion is white with a tinge of red and he has the youthful appearance of an eight-year oldchild. He is wearing the dark blue gown of a mantra practitioner, the red and yellow shawl of a monk,the maroon cloak of a king, and the red robe and secret white garments of a bodhisattva. He has oneface and two hands, and he is seated in royal poise. In his right hand he holds a vajra at his heart, and inhis left hand he holds a skull-cup, which contains the vase of immortality, filled with deathless wisdomnectar, in its centre.

On his head he wears a five-petalled lotus hat, which has three points symbolizing the three kayas, fivecolors symbolizing the five kayas, a sun and moon symbolizing skilful means and wisdom, a vajra topto symbolize unshakable samadhi, and a vultures feather to represent the realization of the highestview.

Cradled in his left arm he holds the 'supreme consort', Mandarava, who arouses the wisdom of bliss andemptiness, concealed as the three-pointed khatvanga trident. The three prongs of the trident symbolizethe essence, nature and compassionate energy. Three severed heads, dry, fresh and rotten, symbolize thedharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya. Nine iron rings represent the nine yanas and five-colored strips of silk symbolize the five wisdoms. The khatvanga is also adorned with locks of hairfrom dead and living mamos and dakinis, as a sign that they have been subjugated.

He presides amidst a shimmering aura of rays and rings of rainbow light. All around him, enveloped ina beautiful lattice of white, blue, yellow, red and green light, are the King Trisong Detsen, the twenty-five disciples, all the panditas and mahapanditas of India such as Vimalamitra, the eighty mahasiddhas,and all the great scholars and accomplished vidyadharas of Tibet.

Also present are the peaceful and wrathful yidam deities associated with the four classes of tantra, thedakas and

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