f. Guru Yoga

Within Guru Yoga—the practice that brings swift blessings—there 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 born miraculously in the Milky Lake in the northwest[1] of Oddiyana. Then, in India and Tibet, he subdued arrogant spirits and demons and worked as a regent of the Buddhadharma. Finally, he attained the immortal vajra body, and travelled to the island of the rakshasas in the southwest, where he now resides, having established the teachings there and transformed the place into a pure realm. This is wonderful 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 through Orgyen Rinpoche’s 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 the dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya.

In the Prayer of Aspiration for the Copper-Coloured Mountain of Glory,[2] the nine verses from the line, “A spontaneous array…etc” to the line, “Sending out clouds of offerings…” establish the nirmanakaya realm. Then the verse beginning, “Above lies the limitless palace of the sambhogakaya…”, establishes the sambhogakaya realm. Then the verse that begins, “Above, in the joyful pure land of the dharmakaya”, establishes the dharmakaya.

So this three kaya realm arrayed in complete and perfect detail is the Glorious Copper Coloured Mountain. And here, in the very centre of a palace, is your own body, manifesting with the essential nature of Yeshé 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 the commentary of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, she holds a hooked knife in the right hand and a skull-cup full of blood in the left. According to Patrul Rinpoche’s commentary, she is playing a skull-drum with her right hand, whilst her left hand holds a hooked knife against her hip. She is standing with her two feet gracefully poised, the left leg slightly drawn in, and she is wearing silk and bone ornaments. Her three eyes gaze into the sky in devotion.

In the sky directly above the crown of your head (according to Patrul Rinpoche’s commentary) or in the space 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-coloured lotus with a thousand petals, is the embodiment of all sources of refuge, inseparable from your own root master, in the form of the nirmanakaya 'Lake-born Vajra'.

His complexion is white with a tinge of red and he has the youthful appearance of an eight-year old child. 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 one face and two hands, and he is seated in royal poise. In his right hand he holds a vajra at his heart, and in his left hand he holds a skull-cup, which contains the vase of immortality, filled with deathless wisdom nectar, in its centre. 

On his head he wears a five-petalled lotus hat, which has three points symbolizing the three kayas, five colours symbolizing the five kayas, a sun and moon symbolizing skilful means and wisdom, a vajra top to symbolize unshakable samadhi, and a vulture’s feather to represent the realization of the highest view.

Cradled in his left arm he holds the 'supreme consort', Mandarava, who arouses the wisdom of bliss and emptiness, concealed as the three-pointed khatvanga trident. The three prongs of the trident symbolize the essence, nature and compassionate energy. Three severed heads, dry, fresh and rotten, symbolize the dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya. Nine iron rings represent the nine yanas and five-coloured strips of silk symbolize the five wisdoms. The khatvanga is also adorned with locks of hair from 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 in a 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, the dakas and dakinis of the three abodes, and an ocean-like gathering of dharmapalas, guardians and protectors who keep the samaya. They all gather like billowing clouds.

All the deities are vivid and distinct, like reflections in a mirror. Visualize them in the state of the great equality of clarity and emptiness, so that all your ordinary perceptions cease.

Then, when you invoke the jñanasattvas, faith and devotion are extremely important. In the same way that the reflection of the moon will appear automatically in a pool of water that is clear and still, the wisdom deities will remain inseparable from anyone possessing faith.

It says in the sutras:

For whoever has faith in me,

I, the sage, will remain before them.

And the Kathang says:

If you pray to me, I, Padmakara, am there.

There is also the story of Magata Zangmo, who, with one-pointed faith, recited prayers to the Buddha, such as the one beginning “The protector of all beings without exception”, for a whole month. As a result of her prayers, he appeared instantly in the sky before her house, together with his assembly of arhats. Keeping such stories in mind, generate a strong and fervent devotion.

The Seven Line Prayer

HUNG is an expression of magnetism and a skilful means to invoke the wisdom minds of the jñanasattvas.

The place where the Precious Master took birth was in the northwest of the land of Oddiyana. There, in the Milky Lake, where the water has the eight qualities of purity, he was born in the form of an eight-year old child in the heart of a lotus flower. The King of Oddiyana found that he was endowed with the most marvellous attainments and invited him to his palace. As he had been born from the heart of a lotus, he became renowned as the 'Lotus Born'. At the time of his birth, he was surrounded by hosts of dakinis. Following in the footsteps of this wonderful master, vow to practise until you reach his level of realization. Pray that just as he arrived at the palace of the King of Oddiyana in the past, he may come now and inspire you with his blessing.

GURU means master. PADMA signifies that he is an emanation of Amitabha, since Amitabha belongs to the buddha family of lotus speech. SIDDHI stands for the accomplishments, and HUNG for gathering. So altogether it means, 'Gather the accomplishments of the Lotus Master!'

Praying like this, without even the slightest hypocrisy, will cause Orgyen Pema Thötreng Tsal and all the deities of the three roots to arrive from the pure land of Ngayab Palri and descend like rain, merging indivisibly with the samayasattvas.

ii. Seven Branch Practice

The seven branch practice (or the seven aspects of devotional practice) incorporates all the key points for gathering the accumulations.

The first branch is prostration, which is the antidote to pride. HRIH is the seed or the basis for the manifestation of the prostration offering. So, with HRIH, emanate bodies as numerous as atoms. Having created all these emanations, you say, “I offer you prostrations,” and consider that you prostrate together with all the beings of the three realms, expressing respect with your body, speech and mind.

As you touch your palms to your three centres, all the obscurations and defilements of your body, speech and mind are purified. As you touch the five points of your body to the ground, the obscurations of the five disturbing emotions are purified, and the blessings of the enlightened body, speech, mind, qualities and activity are obtained.

When offering prostrations, it is not appropriate to perform them crookedly, without standing up straight, or whilst swinging your hands about. It is said that practising in this way will only cause you to be reborn as a hunchback.

The second branch is offering, which is the antidote to stinginess. Arrange some clean offerings as a focus for the practice and offer them with a pure motivation, in which there is no trace of miserliness, hypocrisy or pretension. Then create offerings in your mind through the power of samadhi. Visualize the outer environment as a vast celestial palace made from the seven precious materials, with beautiful gardens and pleasure parks, within which all material objects appear as the five offerings such as flowers and so on, the five sensual stimulants such as visible forms, the eight auspicious symbols, seven emblems of royalty, and the sixteen offering goddesses.

All these offerings fill the whole of space and extend throughout the pure lands of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Seal them with the gesture of offering, as in the offering clouds of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, and offer them.

The third branch is confession, which must involve all four powers. As the power of support, trust in the field of merit as a method for purifying your harmful actions. As the power of regret, develop remorse for all the negativity you have accumulated including the ten non-virtuous actions (the three of the body, the four of the speech and the three of the mind). Feel as much regret as if you had just swallowed poison. As the power of resolve, vow not to repeat them in future.

For the power of action as an antidote, consider that all your harmful actions and obscurations, and all those of other sentient beings, are gathered together in the form of a black pile on the tip of your tongue. Then rays of light emanate from the field of merit, strike the pile, and purify it just like a stain being completely washed away.

Ultimately, the way to confess and purify is by resting in the luminosity of the dharmakaya nature of mind without grasping at the three spheres (of subject, object and activity) as being true or real.

The fourth branch is rejoicing, which is the antidote to envy. Rejoice at all the virtues accumulated by yourself and others, both those undertaken whilst observing the relative reality of cause and effect, and those pertaining to the absolute truth, such as the practices of emptiness and selflessness.

This is a way in which you can accumulate great waves of merit, without having to strain your body or your voice, or expending your wealth in offerings. In the past, when an old beggar woman rejoiced from the depth of her heart at the offerings made over four months by King Prasenajit to the Buddha and his disciples, it is said that her merit was even greater than the king’s.

Since rejoicing at negative actions will cause you to accumulate faults in a similar way, do not mistake what is to be avoided for what is to be adopted.

The fifth branch of requesting to turn the Wheel of the Dharma and the sixth branch of requesting the Noble Ones not to pass into nirvana both serve as an antidote to delusion.

Without someone to teach us the Dharma we would be like blind people left alone in the desert. We would have no chance of achieving liberation from samsara.

So multiply your body and present yourself at the feet of all the buddhas, bodhisattvas and spiritual teachers who have the capacity to teach but do not do so. Offer them wheels and conch shells, and just as Brahma and Indra requested the Buddha in the past, request them to turn the wheel of the Dharma of the three yanas—the vehicles of the shravakas, pratyekabuddhas and bodhisattvas—according to the receptivity and needs of different beings.

Then, pray before all the buddhas and bodhisattvas who intend to pass into nirvana, just as the layman Chunda did in the past. Multiply your body countless times and pray with the words, “Until samsara is completely empty, and all beings are liberated, do not pass into nirvana, but remain here among us!”

The seventh branch is the branch of dedication. Consider that the virtue you have just accumulated represents all the merit and positive actions accumulated by yourself and others throughout the past, present and future. Dedicate it all so that all beings may attain supreme enlightenment.

Remember that not only is the virtue you have accumulated illusory and dream-like, but so too are its recipients. Not grasping at the three spheres of subject, object or action as being real is what is called “free from reference”. This is not the same as meditating upon a totally empty state, which is the nihilist view and something you should avoid.

Generally, it is said that whichever virtuous action we undertake to perform, we should first arouse the motivation of bodhichitta, perform the virtuous action with the wisdom that is free of all grasping, and seal it with the illusory dedication.

All actions that are supported by these three noble principles contribute towards your liberation and are the cause of enlightenment. If your actions lack the three noble principles, then the merit you attain is ordinary merit, and having come to fruition once will then go to waste. Virtuous action embraced with the support of the three noble principles continues to yield beneficial effects a hundred times without ever being exhausted, and instead, increases further and further. As Shantideva said:

The tree of bodhichitta will forever

Bear fruit and grow unceasingly

iii. Prayer and Empowerments

Next there is the section of fervent prayer and receiving the path empowerments.

The attainment of liberation and omniscience is dependent upon the realization of co-emergent wisdom within your mind. Whether or not that realization arises in your mind depends on the blessing of the master; and whether or not you receive his blessings depends upon your devotion.

Drikung Kyobpa Rinpoche said:

Unless the sun of devotion shines

Upon the snow peak of the master’s four kayas,

The stream of his blessings will never fall.

So strive to arouse devotion in your mind!

And Rangrik Repa said:

Expecting to realize non-conceptual wisdom,

Without praying to the precious master,

Is like waiting for sunshine in a north-facing cave,

That way, appearances and mind will never merge.

Come to the firm decision that your own root teacher is equal to the buddhas in terms of his qualities, but surpasses the buddhas in terms of kindness.

Firstly, accomplishing the siddhi.

Jé means the lord of refuge for all beings. Tsün signifies that he is unstained by disturbing emotion. Guru means lama, the unsurpassed. Rinpoche means precious jewel. In the same way that precious jewels provide you with all that you need and wish for, the master is the basis for all positive accumulations until you attain enlightenment.

We pray by saying, “You are the embodiment of the compassion and blessings of all the buddhas of the ten directions and three times.”

Panchen Rinpoche’s Offering to the Gurus (Lama Chöpa)[3] says:

Even a single hair from the pores of your body,

Has been well praised as our field of merit

That surpasses all the buddhas of the ten directions and three times,

Lord of Refuge…etc.

And:

Adorned with the precious wheels and the three kayas of the sugatas,

Out of the alluring web of appearances, with skilful means,

You manifest in an ordinary form to lead all beings—

Lord of Refuge, compassionate master, to you we pray!

“The only protector of all beings, my body, my possessions, my heart and soul without hesitation, or the wish to hold anything back, I surrender to you! From now until I attain enlightenment, if I find myself in a state of happiness as my practice of virtue increases, even if I just enjoy a single delicious meal, I shall recognize it as the kindness of the precious master. When I am suffering from illness or destructive influences, I shall see it as the activity of the lama, helping me to exhaust negative karma that might cause rebirth in the hell realms. I will understand all good circumstances to be the master’s blessing and all bad circumstances to be the fault of my past actions. When I find myself in a high situation, I will not become arrogant. And when I find myself in a situation that is low, I will not despair, even if I am reduced to the level of a humble beggar. At all times, during the six periods of the night and day[4] I shall rely on you completely, O Padmasambhava, as being inseparable from my root master!”

Recite this prayer with such intense and fervent devotion that the hairs on your body stand on end, tears stream from your eyes and your only thoughts are of your master. Recite the mantra very strongly, as a kind of invocation of your master.

Then, recite the prayer once again and continue to recite the mantra as a practice of approach[5].

Next is invoking the accomplishments. For this you should pray as follows:

“I have no one else to turn to, no one to rely on but you, precious master! In these evil times, beings of the Kaliyuga like myself are sinking in a swamp of intense and unbearable suffering. We are plagued by outer sufferings such as illness, destructive influences, hostile enemies and thieves, and by internal suffering caused by the five disturbing emotions. It is as if we are caught between the jaws of a poisonous sea serpent. Free us from all this, O great guru! Bestow the four empowerments to mature our body, speech and mind, O blessed one! Direct your realization and experience into our minds, O compassionate one! Purify our emotional and cognitive obscurations, O powerful one! You, who have liberated your own being through your realization and have the capacity to liberate the minds of others out of compassion, care for me!”

Pray like this and then recite the mantra as the practice of approach.

The mantra begins with the syllables OM, AH and HUNG, which are the seeds of the three vajras (of the body, speech and mind). VAJRA signifies the dharmakaya, which is endowed with the seven “vajra qualities”.[6] GURU signifies the sambhogakaya, which is endowed with unsurpassable qualities. PEMA represents the nirmanakaya, since the radiant awareness of the wisdom of discernment arises as the family of lotus speech. Consider that through the power of praying from a state of recognizing the inseparability of the three kayas, all the supreme and ordinary accomplishments—SIDDHI—are obtained as you say, “HUNG” and think, “Grant them to me!”

You can recite the mantra while keeping this in mind or, alternatively, you can consider that VAJRA is the essence of the vajra family, GURU is the essence of the ratna family, PEMA is the essence of the padma family, SIDDHI is the essence of the karma family, and HUNG the essence of the tathagata family.

As you recite the mantra, train in perceiving the outer environment as the pure realm of Lotus Light, and all the beings within it as deities of the three roots. Allow any thoughts that arise within your mind to liberate themselves without leaving any trace behind, just like a bird flying through the sky.

Next, before receiving the empowerments, we come to the prayer to the root and lineage masters.

Here EMAHO signifies that this prayer to Samantabhadra and the other masters is wonderful. The heavenly realm of the dharmakaya is free from any limits, and is not restricted to any particular direction. It is immeasurable and pervades throughout the whole of space. It is here that the Primordial Buddha, the dharmakaya Samantabhadra, resides. His wisdom-play, like the reflection of the moon in water, is the sambhogakaya Vajrasattva. (Samantabhadra is like the moon in the sky and his emanation Vajrasattva is like the moon’s reflection). Perfect, with all major and minor marks and buddha qualities, is the nirmanakaya Garab Dorje, the emanation of Vajrasattva. Pray to them all, saying: “Grant me your blessings and liberating empowerments!”

Shri Singha is a master of the treasure of the ultimate Dharma. Mañjushrimitra is a universal ruler of the teachings of the Nine Yanas: the Vinaya, Sutras and Abhidharma; the Kriya, Charya and Yoga tantras; and the teachings of Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga[7]. Pray to them and to Jñanasutra and the great pandita Vimalamitra with the words, “Show me the way to make my mind free! Grant me the essential instructions and show me the path of liberation!”

Padmasambhava is the sole ornament of this world of ours because his power and his kindness are immeasurable. His supreme heart-disciples are the King Trisong Detsen, the subject Vairochana, and the companion Yeshe Tsogyal. Longchen Rabjam Drimé Özer revealed a vast ocean of the Precious Master’s wisdom mind treasures. Jikmé Lingpa was entrusted with all the teachings of the mind-direct, sign and word-of-mouth lineages, but especially with the space treasury of the dakinis. Pray to them all, saying, “Grant me the fruition of the essential instructions and immediately grant me the siddhi of liberating my mind!”

Jikmé Lingpa’s wisdom, compassionate love and spiritual power are like a great and glorious ocean. Through the three kinds of faith, Jikmé Trinlé Özer forged a channel to these qualities in Jikmé Lingpa’s wisdom mind, as if he was drawing water from the ocean to establish a reservoir on its shores. As he did so, his own wisdom mind was also filled. This process could also be compared to making a tsa-tsa from a mould. In turn, just as a field is irrigated by drawing water from a reservoir, Jikmé Trinlé Özer Palbar saturated the minds of his fortunate disciples with the qualities that had arisen in his own wisdom mind. This is how he brought them to maturity. Pray to him, saying: “May my faith and samaya commitment never fail, but go on increasing!”

If you are really practising the teachings genuinely, you should have true renunciation for samsaric existence and the wish to attain liberation. Consider all that you have experienced in the course of your lifetimes without beginning, so that you become disgusted, like somebody with a liver complaint seeing a plate of greasy food.

You should rely upon your vajra lama, the ultimate master whose mind is emptiness and compassion and who accomplishes the benefit of self and others, cherishing him as though he were your very eyes. Follow his instructions to the letter, and take to heart the profound practices he gives, not just now and then, but with diligent and constant application. Practise with unflagging diligence for as long as you live. Pray that you may become worthy of the transmission of his profound wisdom mind, so that your realization becomes indivisible from his.

Recognize with certainty that all appearances, samsara and nirvana, from the very beginning are the Akanishtha pure realm of Lotus Light. All perceptions of visible forms and material objects are perfected into buddha forms. All sounds, whether pleasant or unpleasant, are purified into mantra. And all rising thoughts are matured into the clear light state of dharmakaya reality.

Once the meaning of shunyata has been actualized, there is no longer any effort to abandon what is negative and adopt what is positive. There is no longer any grasping at things as being real. All that you see, good or bad, all that you hear and all that you think arises out of the state of emptiness and is purified back into the state of emptiness, just like a bird flying through the sky without leaving any trace behind. This is the perfection that we call the Great Perfection, or Dzogpachenpo.

As it says in the Prajñaparamita:

Form is without any true nature,

And whatever lacks true nature is inexpressible.

And:

Forms are dream-like and illusory.

And:

Form is empty of form.

Sound is empty of sound.

And so on until:

Omniscience is empty of omniscience.

There is not a single phenomenon belonging to samsara or nirvana, from visible form through to omniscience, which is beyond the nature of this Great Perfection or great emptiness.

This ultimate meaning is rigpa’s self-radiance beyond the experiences of shamatha, or the thinking and mental analysis of vipashyana. Pray that you may see this naked dharmata reality, like the sun free of clouds, with the wisdom of discriminating awareness.

The Sublime Continuum says:

The inner identity of the dharmakaya,

Is seen with the eyes of wisdom.

From the perspective of the various paths, this [stage] corresponds to the path of seeing. It is the first among the bodhisattva bhumis, and the first of the four visions of tögal, the direct experience of dharmata.

Then, when you train in the practice of tögal, material reality can evaporate into rainbow experience, and the kayas and tiklés can be experienced as the radiance and dynamic energy of rigpa. This equates to the lesser and middle stages of the path of cultivation, from the second to the seventh bhumi, and the second vision of tögal, which is known as 'increased experience'.

After that you will arrive at the third vision. Here, rigpa’s strength is enhanced, maturing into the fullness of sambhogakaya perfection. This is equivalent to the greater stage of the path of cultivation, from the seventh to the tenth bhumi. This is the point at which you perceive directly the sambhogakaya fields and the buddhas of the five families.

Finally you reach the level where all perception of phenomenal reality wears out, and the conceptual mind dies into the state of total enlightenment. This is the fourth vision, the fruition of Dzogpachenpo, and it is equivalent to the path of no more learning, or the level of buddhahood, the eleventh bhumi of universal radiance.

Pray that you may gain the stronghold of the youthful vase body, the meaning of which has been explained above, free from birth and death, the dharmakaya with its two-fold purity.

If you accomplish the practice of the great Atiyoga, and obtain the confidence of the ultimate state of the dissolution of phenomena, beyond the ordinary mind, there will be no need for you to wander in the bardos. But if you do not master the practice in this life, your gross physical body will not be liberated into the pure space of the rainbow body.

Then, when the constituents of life fall apart at the completion of the stages of dissolution at death, you should recognize the ground luminosity as the dharmakaya, pure from the beginning, as soon as your consciousness reawakens.

At this point, the ground luminosity will dawn in the minds of all beings, without exception. The only difference will be in terms of how long it appears for, and whether or not it is recognized. If you do recognize the dharmakaya, you will be liberated.

For those who have gained some familiarity with the practices of kyérim or tögal, the appearances of the bardo of dharmata experience will arise in sambhogakaya forms; and they will be liberated through meditating on their illusory nature.

On the path of trekchö, all the rigidity of mind’s clinging to an “I” where there is no “I”, and a self where there is no self, is cut through with Madhyamika Prasangika reasoning and the resulting conviction that an “I” or a “self” does not exist. Then, by examining [where mind] arises, dwells and ceases, you become certain of the absence of any true reality.

In tögal, all apparent objects are understood to be the energy and display of mind and are brought to perfection by the mind itself.

So, in the bardos, at first when you lose consciousness or stray into delusion, meditate immediately on the meaning of selflessness, and use your familiarity with the forms of the deities in tögal, or meditate on the illusory form of the deity as in kyérim. Pray that through the power of such practices you may be liberated, as naturally as a child running into its mother’s lap.

In this great secret mantrayana path of luminosity—Dzogpachenpo—the summit of all, enlightenment is to be sought nowhere but in the dharmakaya face of your own mind through relying upon the instructions of Atiyoga. Yet if you are not liberated into the primordial state by actualizing this, then there are the five practices of 'enlightenment without meditating for a long time': liberation through tasting the samaya substances, through takdrol[8], through touching the mudras, through seeing the chakras, and through hearing and remembering the phowa.

Pray that you may be born into the nirmanakaya realms of the five buddha families, such as Dewachen, through practising the phowa method of enlightenment without meditation. And pray especially that you may take birth in the “Palace of Lotus Light,” the Zangdokpalri heaven of Guru Rinpoche.

Pray that you may take birth in the presence of the Lord of Orgyen himself, chief of the ocean of vidyadhara masters, while he is celebrating the feast of the great secret mantra Dharma, and that you may become his favourite son or daughter. And pray that, having taken birth there, you may traverse the four levels of a vidyadhara, and reach the level of Samantabhadra. Then, emanating nirmanakaya forms to take on the task of helping limitless beings, may you bring benefit and happiness to them all!

Pray that through the inspiration and blessing of the ocean of victorious vidyadharas, and by the truth of the infinite dharmadhatu, beyond conception, and with this free and well-favoured human form, you may actualize the auspicious interconnection of perfecting the activity of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, ripening the minds of sentient beings, and purifying the whole outer and inner world into pure lands, and attain the state of buddhahood.

Take this practice to heart by combining your prayers of aspiration with actual mind training.

Receiving Empowerments

Next is the receiving of the path empowerments. All the surrounding deities dissolve into the root master. Consider that he is the embodiment of all sources of refuge, and practise from a state of intense devotion and longing.

In the guru’s forehead is the letter OM, radiant and shimmering, like moonlight; from it rays of light stream out and enter your forehead. The three negative actions of the body and blockages of the channels are purified. The blessing of the unchanging vajra body of the buddhas infuses you. The vase empowerment is obtained and you become a receptive vessel for the deity visualization practice of kyérim. The seed is sown for becoming a completely matured vidyadhara, whose mind is matured into the dharmakaya while maintaining an ordinary body. The potential or seed for obtaining the level of nirmanakaya is implanted within you.

At his throat is the letter AH, blazing like a ruby; from it rays of light streak out and enter your throat. The four negative actions of the speech and blockages of the inner air are purified. The blessing of the unceasing vajra speech of the buddhas enters you. The secret empowerment is obtained and you become a receptive vessel for mantra recitation practice. The seed of the vidyadhara with power over life is sown. The potential for obtaining the level of the sambhogakaya is implanted within you.

At his heart, from the letter HUNG, sky-coloured rays of light pour out and plunge into your heart. The three kinds of negative activity committed through the mind and blockages of the tiklé of clinging to reality are purified. The blessing of the undeluded vajra mind of all the buddhas is instilled in you. The knowledge-wisdom empowerment is obtained and you become a receptive vessel for the chandali practice of bliss and emptiness, known as Tsa Lung and Tummo. The seed is sown for becoming a 'Mahamudra Vidyadhara', whose body is transformed into the form of the yidam and whose mind is inseparable from the wisdom mind of the deity. The potential for obtaining the level of dharmakaya is implanted within you.

Again, from HUNG in his heart, a second letter HUNG bursts out like a shooting star and merges, indistinguishably, one with your own mind. The karma of the “ground of all”, cognitive obscurations, and all the subtle disturbing emotions, are purified. The blessing of the spontaneously arising vajra wisdom, the unchanging luminosity, pervades you. You obtain the empowerment of the absolute truth, symbolized by the word, through which the inexpressible meaning is communicated using a crystal, a mirror or a gesture. You become a receptive vessel for meditation on the meaning of trekchö and the primordial purity of Dzogpachenpo. The seed is sown for becoming a spontaneously accomplishing vidyadhara[9] who spontaneously accomplishes the benefit of self and others. The potential for the svabhavikakaya—the final fruition—is implanted within you.

When your life is at an end, at the moment of death, your whole perception should be the heaven of Ngayab Ling or Chamara, which is one of the eight sub-continents, and is also renowned as the “island of rakshasa demons”.

It is here that the Master Padmasambhava presently resides. Having miraculously liberated the king of the rakshasas, transferred his consciousness to a pure realm and entered his body, he subdues the demons there through a variety of peaceful and wrathful methods and establishes them in the Dharma.

In the centre of that field of Lotus Light and the Glorious Copper Coloured Mountain, the nirmanakaya pure land of indivisible appearance and emptiness created through self-arisen wisdom, visualize your own body as Vajrayogini in the palace that was described above.

You are transformed into a radiant, shimmering sphere of light, which dissolves into the heart of Guru Rinpoche above your head, and merging, inseparable, with Padmasambhava, you attain buddhahood.

Then, from the play of vast primordial wisdom, which is the miraculous manifestation of bliss and emptiness, or compassion and emptiness, for every single being in the three realms, you will emanate as their true guide, to lead them to liberation. Pray to Jetsün Pema so that he might grant this prayer.

Say the following: “I pray to you from the bottom of my heart. It’s not just words or empty mouthings: grant your blessings from the depth of your wisdom mind, and cause all my good aspirations that accord with the Dharma to be fulfilled!”

Visualize yourself clearly as Vajrayogini. From the heart centre of the lama a beam of light, red and warm, suddenly bursts out and touches your heart. Instantaneously, you are transformed into a sphere of red light the size of a pea, which shoots up towards Padmasambhava, like a spark that spits from the fire. It dissolves into Guru Rinpoche’s heart, merges and becomes one with him: one taste.

Visualize this and then rest in the inexpressible state beyond any reference or focus. If you are able to breathe your final breath in this state at the moment of death, then you will achieve the king of all phowas, “sealing transference to the dharmakaya”. If you would like to practise any of the other methods of phowa, this is the time to do so.

Then, as soon as you rise from the state of meditative equipoise, visualize your own body and environment as before and recite the prayers that follow.

According to Jamyang Khyentse’s commentary, the prayer beginning, “Glorious tsawé lama, precious one,” should continue with, “Dwell on the lotus-seat on the crown of my head.” Most versions of the text however, give the line as, “Dwell on the lotus-seat in the depth of my heart”. According to a mengak from the instructions on phowa, you can visualize the master in your heart inseparable from Amitayus. But aside from providing a support for long-life practice, I don’t think there is too much difference between these two versions.

The prayer continues, “Look upon me with the grace of your great compassion, grant me the attainments of body, speech and mind, and make my mind one with your wisdom mind!”

“Towards the lifestyle and activity of the lama, may wrong view not arise for even an instant, and may I see whatever he does, whether it seems to be in accordance with the Dharma or not, as a teaching for me.” In this respect, you should remember the story of Captain Compassionate Heart killing Black Spearman, and Brahmin Lover of the Stars forsaking his vow of chastity for the brahmin girl.[10]

“Through such devotion may his blessing inspire and fill my mind.”

“In all my lives from now until I attain enlightenment, may I never be separated from the perfect lama; and having benefitted fully from the splendour of the sacred Dharma, may I perfect the qualities of the five paths and ten bhumis, and swiftly attain the sublime level of Vajradhara!

“Through the power of the merit of this practice I have done today, may all beings completely accumulate the causal accumulation of merit and the resultant accumulation of wisdom. And from this merit and wisdom, may they obtain the dharmakaya for the benefit of self and the rupakaya for the benefit of others!

“Moreover, through all the merit that I and other beings have—whatever beneficial actions we have done in the past, will do in the future and are doing now in the present—may all beings attain the stage of perfection! May they attain the realization of a buddha, the profound wisdom of emptiness beyond the two extremes of eternalism and nihilism! In order that they may swiftly reach this level of realization, I dedicate all the merit and virtue accumulated by myself and others: may it be the cause of all beings attaining the stages of perfection and full enlightenment!”

There are two types of dedication: the dedication free from any reference to the three conceptual spheres of subject, object or activity, and the emulating dedication. The first of these was explained earlier in the context of the seven branch practice. The second is as follows:

“Just as the bodhisattva Manjushri knew how to dedicate and did dedicate towards the temporary benefit of all beings as well as their ultimate happiness with the attainment of enlightenment, just as Samantabhadra did too, I shall train to follow in these bodhisattvas’ footsteps. I make a perfect dedication of all this merit towards the enlightenment of all beings just as these bodhisattvas did in the past.”

“As all buddhas, past, present and future praise the dedication for the sake of all beings attaining enlightenment as supreme, all my sources of merit I dedicate completely, so that all may perfect Samantabhadra’s ‘Good Actions’ and attain the state of buddhahood.”

Special Prayer

“In all my lives, wherever I am born, may I obtain the seven qualities of birth in higher realms: long life, freedom from ill health, a beautiful form, high birth, great riches, good fortune, and great wisdom! As soon as I am born, may I meet the Dharma, and have the freedom to practise it correctly. Then, may I please the noble lama, and put the Dharma into action day and night. With confidence in the key points of the practice lineage and realization of the Dharma, may I practise the innermost meaning of emptiness and compassion until my mind is purified! May I cross the ocean of suffering existence in the very same life and attain buddhahood for the benefit of self! Having attained enlightenment, may I teach the sacred Dharma to beings wandering in samsara, and never grow mentally weary or physically tired of working to help others. Through my vast, impartial service and waves of virtuous activity for the benefit of others, may all beings, as limitless as space, attain buddhahood together as one in a single gathering! And may samsara be stirred to its very depths!”

As you recite these words with your speech, be sure to focus your mind upon their meaning.

In order to integrate the Guru Yoga practice [into your daily life], visualize your master in the sky above your right shoulder as you walk, and consider that you are circumambulating him. While you are sitting down, consider that he is on the top of your head as a support for your prayers. Whenever you eat or drink something, visualize him at your throat and offer him the first portion. When you go to sleep, visualize the master in your heart and merge your mind with his wisdom mind.

In short, you should train your mind in devotion at all times and on all occasions by perceiving all forms, sounds and rising thoughts as deity, mantra and wisdom play, and by considering all that you perceive through your six senses to be the display of the master’s enlightened body, speech and mind.

The Siddha Mokchokpa said:

If Achala (Mikyöpa) is blue, then blue he may well be!

If Avalokiteshvara is white, then white he is!

As for me, I’ve never been separated from the perception of the master!

And Jetsün Milarepa said:

When you grow weary of samsara which is by nature suffering,

There is no time to waste searching for fresh robes,

And towards the master, who embodies the buddhas of the three times,

There is no separation from a mind of yearning devotion.

This is how you should practise.

Colophon

This is the word-by-word commentary on the text of the Longchen Nyingtik preliminary practices entitled, “A Torch for the Excellent Path of Omniscience”. As there are many ocean-like commentaries on the preliminary practices composed by the omniscient father and son[11], this may seem as unnecessary as digging a well of salty water on the shore of a great lake of water possessing the eight qualities of purity.

The elaborate ngöndro commentaries give the root text without explaining each syllable, and since those with sharp faculties understand the meaning of the elaborate commentaries there is no need for them to rely on syllable-by-syllable explanations. Yet those with feeble minds like myself find that there is a lot we don’t understand when trying to match the points of the elaborate commentaries with the root text, so I thought a word-by-word commentary on the recitation text would make it easier to practise.

None of the learned and accomplished beings of the past composed a word-by-word commentary that definitively explained the straightforward and the subtle points of the root text, and recently my attendants Dorje Chödrak and Trinley Jinpa have been requesting me to write a word-by-word commentary to match the recitation text.

Dorje Chödrak made a commitment to remain in retreat, practising the ngöndro, for the rest of his life, completing one million prostrations and ten million mantra recitati