A Word by Word Commentary on the Text of the

Longchen Nyingtik Preliminary

Practices

by Chökyi Drakpa

Blessing the Speech

Firstly there is the blessing of the speech. The syllables OM, AH and HUNG are
the essence of the enlightened body, speech and mind. They purify obscurations of
speech and bless your own ordinary body, 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 all defilements and obscurations of speech. The fire
transforms into a three-spoked vajra of red light. In its centre, or belly, are the
vowel and consonant mantras, and around them is the Essence of Dependent
Origination. The syllables are like a string of pearls. From them stream out five-
coloured rays of light with countless offering substances at their 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
Essence of Dependent Origination descend like rain and dissolve into your speech
chakra, purifying all your obscurations of speech. And through this, all the
blessings and siddhis of the vajra speech of the buddhas and bodhisattvas are
obtained. If you recite the vowel and consonant mantras and the Essence of
Dependent Origination seven times, or three times, at dawn before anything else, it
is said that the power of your speech will be multiplied one hundred million times.

THE ACTUAL NGÖNDRO

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 master’s wisdom mind, and
recognition of the freedoms and endowments.

i. Invocation of the Master’s Wisdom Mind

Firstly, as you recite “O lama, care for me!” three times, pray one-pointedly with
an uncontrived faith that is vivid, eager and confident. Vivid faith comes from
thinking of the qualities of the master and the Three Jewels. It is a very vivid and
joyful state similar to the way a small child feels when seeing its mother. Eager
faith is the eager wish to abandon negative actions having reflected on their faults;
and the eager wish to undertake positive actions having considered the benefits
they bring. It is similar to the yearning thatsomeone suffering from extreme thirst
has for water. Confident faith is a confidence in the qualities of the master and the
Three Jewels, which cannot be shaken by temporary circumstances or events, and
a trust in the laws of cause and effect strong enough to survive the worst kind of
circumstances such as illness. This is the kind of faith one should have.

If you don’t have this kind of faith, and you just mouth the words “O lama!” and
call out, you won’t receive 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 at the centre of my heart.” When you go to sleep at
night, consider that the lama descends from the top of your head [to your heart]
and then fall asleep with your mind indivisibly united with the master’s wisdom
mind.

Then, as soon as you get up, early in the morning, recite, “O lama, care for me!”
three times, with the three kinds of faith described above. Like a lotus flower
blossoming in the sunlight, the eight-petalled lotus at your heart unfurls its petals
through the strength of your faith. Pray to your only constant refuge in this life and
the next, your lama, whose supreme compassion for you is such that he rises out of
the state 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 the path. 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 I attain enlightenment, I pray!”

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

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.
And the awareness, which discerns whether or not mind remains in that virtuous
state, is like a shepherd. So, as a guard to ensure that you are never distracted from
mindfulness and awareness, you invoke the lama, by praying: “Rise up out of
compassion from the expanse of the dharmakaya, so that my mind does not
become distracted from what is virtuous. And look upon me with your eyes of
wisdom, I pray!”

ii. Recognizing the Freedoms and Advantages

There are eight freedoms and ten advantages. Firstly, if you were born in the hell,
preta or animal realms, you would suffer from intense heat and cold, from hunger
and thirst, or from enslavement, and it would be impossible for you to practise the
Dharma. If you were born amongst the long-living gods, it would also be
impossible because you would not have any thought of practising the Dharma. The
Buddha’s teachings are not found in uncivilized lands of the border regions, so
living there is also an impossible state. Those with wrong views do not have any
possibility of practising the Dharma because their minds are contaminated by false
beliefs, and they are just like Devadatta or Lekpé Karma. If you were born in a
world where a buddha had not come, or during a dark kalpa, it would be
impossible because even the words “Three Jewels” would be unknown. If you
were born incapable of understanding, it would be impossible to practise the
Dharma because you would not be able to understand the meaning of the
teachings. When you have a physical body that is free from these eight states
where there is no chance for Dharma practice, it is known as possessing a support
for Dharma practice complete with the eight freedoms.

Secondly, the ten advantages are divided into the five personal advantages and the
five circumstantial advantages. With regard to the first of these, being born as a
human being means that you have a proper physical support for practising the
Dharma. Having all five faculties intact means you can study the teachings and
contemplate them. In a central land means to be born in a place where the
teachings are available. A lifestyle that is not harmful or wrong means that your
body, speech and mind are in harmony with the Dharma. Having faith in Buddha’s
teachings means recognizing that they provide a special path leading to freedom
from samsara, and a state which surpasses the situation of the worldly gods. When
you possess these five endowments, the five personal advantages are said to be
complete.

For the five advantages due to circumstances to be present, a buddha must have
come into the world, an event as rare as the appearance of an Udumbara flower; he
must have taught the three wheels of Dharma; and the teachings must have
survived without fading. There must be extraordinary friends who have embraced
the teachings [1]; and 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 a “precious human life”, and you are in a position to practise the
teachings that bring about permanent freedom from samsara. Nevertheless, if you
succumb to negative influences and adopt an incorrect lifestyle 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 a precipice, 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 bird perched on the branch of a tree. There is no telling if,
having gone to sleep at night, you will wake up the following morning. You are
alive now, yet it is uncertain whether or not you will still be alive in a year’s 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 practice-care for me! And see that my practice does not stray onto the
wrong paths, such as practising merely to avert sicknesses and demons in this life
or to gain food and clothing! Keep me from falling into the inferior attitude 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 who are one with the Precious Master Guru
Rinpoche, Longchen Rabjam, and Rigdzin Jikmé Lingpa-care for me!”

If you do not seize the opportunity to practise the Dharma offered by this present
situation, having obtained all the freedoms and advantages, then in future lives you
will not find such a perfect physical basis for attaining liberation from samsara.
That you have gained this happy existence now is a result of the slight merit you
have accumulated in past lifetimes. If you do not practise virtue in your present
situation, and instead accumulate only harmful actions, then once the merit from
past lives that provided this physical basis is spent, after death you will wander as
a being in the lower realms. Once you are born in such an unhappy state, you will
not know good from bad, and you will never even hear the sound of Dharma. You
will not meet a spiritual friend. You will be just like a blind person left alone in the
middle of a vast desert. What a terrible disaster! What a tragedy! Sentient beings in
the hell realms are as numerous as atoms in the earth. Hungry ghosts are as
numerous as grains of sand on a riverbank. Animals are as numerous as grains in a
barrel of chang. If you think of the numbers and kinds of beings in the lower
realms, you will realize just how slim is the chance of gaining a human body. In
comparison to other beings, humans are as numerous as the particles of dust on
your fingernail. And even among human beings, those people whose behaviour is
harmful and contrary to the Dharma are like stars in the night sky, whereas those
who really act according to the Dharma are as rare as stars in broad daylight.
Reflecting on this, pray: “O Guru Rinpoche, turn my mind towards the practice-
care for me! Omniscient masters Longchenpa and Jikmé 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 use it only to amass negative deeds would
be like a merchant landing on an island of precious jewels and then returning
empty-handed. With such a fickle and impetuous mind you will not have any
foundation for attaining liberation from samsara, and your body will only help you
to create further suffering.

It is especially important not to fall prey to the eight incidental circumstances that
make Dharma impossible or the eight impossible states where mind cuts us off
from the Dharma. Firstly, to be misled by corrupting influences, which means
meeting teachers who do not act according to the Dharma. Then, despite your
occasional desire to practise Dharma, you may be prevented from doing so by your
conflicting emotions, when the five poisons are raging inside your mind, and you
are swept away by their strength. Or whilst practising, negative karma may
overtake you and ripen as negative circumstances. If you don’t know how to
integrate these into the path, then they will become obstacles. You may wish to put
the teachings into practice, but if you lack diligence, you will be distracted by
laziness. In some cases, you may have an interest in the teachings, whilst being a
slave under someone else’s control. There are also those who merely appear to be
engaged in the path and just pretend to practise for the sake of gaining food and
clothing, or as a cure for illness or harmful spirits, or out of fear of punishment.
This is like putting donkey meat into a container and passing it off as quality
venison or camel meat. Although your attitude conflicts with the teachings, you act
like a practitioner in the company of others in the hope of gaining some respect or
reward. Being chronically senseless and stupid means not feeling any enthusiasm
when learning of the qualities and benefits of positive actions and not fearing the
consequences of negative actions, having been influenced by negative friends.
These are the “eight incidental circumstances that make Dharma impossible”.

Then there is the second set of eight. 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 slight disenchantment and
little renunciation. It is said that faith (or devotion) is like a precious wheel, which
rolls along the path of virtue day and night. And faith is the most important among
the seven noble riches. Yet there is a state in which you lack the jewel of devotion
for the teachings and for the master. There is also a state in which you are caught
in the bonds of worldly ties and cravings for wealth, possessions and friends. In
another state, you might have a negative character just like black coal that cannot
be made clean, and engage constantly in crude, degenerate behaviour, incurable
like a poisonous snake. Having never pacified your body, speech and mind, you
may never hold back from negative, harmful actions that conflict with the
teachings. Or 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. 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 and so on. These are the eight impossible states where mind
cuts us off from the Dharma.

Pray as follows: “When these sixteen impossible states come upon me, menacing
my Dharma practice, O Guru Rinpoche, turn my mind towards the practice-care
for me! Omniscient masters, Longchenpa and Jikmé Lingpa, keep me from
straying onto the wrong paths! Compassionate lama, you who are one with them-
care for me!”

You must rid yourself of such adverse circumstances because once you have fallen
into any of these impossible states, you will not have the chance to practise
Dharma purely and authentically.

At this present moment, your body is not ravaged by sickness, and your mind is
free from pain, nor are you like a slave under someone else’s control. So now that
you have this perfect, auspicious quality of total independence, if you waste the
freedom and advantages of this human life through your own indolence or laziness
and distraction, then there is no need to mention that you will be separated from
your companions, possessions, relatives and loved ones when you die! Even this
body you hold so dear, which is like the house of consciousness, will be carried out
alone from its bed and taken to some desolate spot to be torn to pieces by foxes,
vultures, dogs and so on. When that happens, your consciousness will be swept
through the bardo realm like a feather blown about in the wind and there will 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, turn my mind towards the
Dharma-care for me! Omniscient masters, Longchenpa and Jikmé Lingpa, keep me
from straying onto the wrong paths! Compassionate lama, you who are on with
them-care for me!”

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 Rinpoche’i Dzö)

it says:

Don’t give away this human body with its freedoms and endowments to the enemy
of food and clothing,
Don’t give away this altruistic mind of bodhichitta to the enemy of lesser vehicles,
Don’t give away the jewel-like nature of mind to the enemy of delusion,
Don’t give away the two wish-fulfilling accumulations to the enemy of this present
life,
Don’t give away the practice of compassion to the enemy of laziness,
And don’t 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 individual experiences of pleasure and pain undergone by beings in the six
classes occur purely as a result of their own 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 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 Kashyapa’s teachings, there was a monk called
Shebu Kapila[2] who teased the other monks by calling them names such as
“horse-head”. Altogether he called them by eighteen such names. It is said that he
was later reborn as a fish-like sea monster with eighteen heads, and was still in this
form at the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. It is also said that a monk who compared
another monk to a monkey was reborn as a monkey for five hundred lifetimes. And
there are countless other examples which could be mentioned.

The great Bodhisattva Shantideva said:

If a single moment’s 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?

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
Buddha Kshantisharana. Four fell into the Buddha’s alms bowl and two struck his
heart. As a result, he reigned as ruler over the four continents for eighty thousand
years, then became ruler in the heaven of the Four Great Kings for eighty thousand
years, and finally ruled the kingdom of Indra for half as long. Then there was the
beggar woman who offered a bowl of water to a shravaka disciple of Buddha
Shakyamuni and was reborn in the heaven of the Thirty-three. It is also said that if
an animal hears the name of a buddha once, it will escape the lower realms and be
reborn in the higher states of existence. 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!
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.
In 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 Reviving Hell, whatever you see turns
into an enemy who attacks you with weapons. Your head and body are hacked to
pieces, and you experience the suffering of dying and being revived time and
again. The life span of beings in this realm is described in the Application of
Mindfulness Sutra:

The beings of the Reviving Hell live for one hundred and sixty two thousand times
ten million 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. In the Crushing Hell countless beings are wedged in mortars of
iron the size of whole valleys and crushed with red-hot hammers. In the Howling
Hell you are trapped in a doorless cell of burning iron and worn out with suffering
and pain. In the Great Howling Hell you are trapped in an iron cell like before, but
with 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 of heated iron. In the Intense Heating
Hell you are boiled in great vats of molten bronze. Whenever your head is struck
with a hammer you lose consciousness and in that instant you may experience a
slight feeling a relief, but otherwise you experience nothing but suffering and pain.
The life span of beings there is impossible to count in years. In samsara, there are
twenty intermediate kalpas for each of the periods of formation, subsistence,
destruction and void. The beings in the Intense Heating Hell live for half 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 than that in the other seven hot hells. The bodies of beings there are
indistinguishable from the flames and can 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 in the
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 naked body 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 Groans, you experience suffering hard to even think about, like a dying person
whose strength is all gone, and let out deep gasps and groans. You grind your teeth
and clench them together in the intense cold. Your flesh turns blue and the skin
cracks open into four pieces like a blue lotus, and then the red raw flesh that is
exposed cracks further into eight pieces like a red lotus. Finally it turns an even
darker red 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 eight different 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 container capable of holding two hundred Koshala measures filled with
sesame seeds, if you removed a single grain every hundred years. For the other
cold hells, the life span and sufferings increase by multiples of twenty for each
one.

Similarly, in each of the four directions surrounding the Hell of Ultimate Torment,
there are four neighbouring 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, it turns into a plain of
weapons, cutting your feet to ribbons. Similarly, you see what appears to be a
pleasant forest, but once you arrive there it becomes a “Forest of Sword Blades”
where your body is gashed 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 metal beaks eat away at your
flesh. Alternatively, you may see a shady trench, but once you arrive there it
changes into a “Pit of Hot Embers” and sinking inside it, you suffer as your flesh
and bones are burnt away. 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 pain experienced there is also uncertain. You suffer through taking
birth in a door, pillar, fireplace, rope and so on, in a mortar, a broom, or a pot. You
suffer as you are trapped inside a stone, crushed between rocks, 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 actions perpetrated out of desire or delusion. Even so, a
single momentary act such as taking life or speaking harsh words to an exceptional
being, when carried out with a mind of intense anger, will propel you straight to
the hells. As it is said in the Bodhicharyavatara:

If a single moment’s 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 practice-care for me! Omniscient
masters Longchenpa and Jikmé Lingpa, keep me from straying onto the wrong
paths! Compassionate lama, you who are one with them-care for me!”

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

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?

Likewise, 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 although they 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 are emaciated like skeletons and
they lack even the strength to stand. There are three different kinds of suffering
they experience.

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

The pretas with specific obscurations undergo sufferings such as having many
creatures living on their bodies 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 taking the vows of a one-day fast, but the principal cause is being
miserly or greedy for wealth and possessions.

Animals 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 heavy loads. Even when sores break out on their
backs they are just given more to carry. They are made to carry people on their
backs and they are often killed. Bewildered as to what to do or not to do, they have
no idea how to practise virtue and only amass negative actions, so they are
oppressed by limitless suffering 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 day forwards, O Guru Rinpoche, turn my
mind towards the practice-care for me! Omniscient masters, Longchenpa and
Jikmé Lingpa, keep me from straying onto the wrong paths! Compassionate lama,
you who are one with them-care for me!”

Therefore we must practise virtue and give up negative actions. Even in the higher
realms of the gods and human beings there is no real happiness. As the Application
of Mindfulness Sutra says:

There is never any joy in samsara,

Not even the tip of a needle’s 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 loved ones, 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 and transmigration, 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 that is 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 embers¾
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
pratimoksha-the vows of an upasaka (lay practitioner), novice or a fully ordained
monk or nun-you still haven’t put a stop to your erring ways and transgress the
four root [4] and various branch vows.

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

Having embarked upon the path of secret mantra, and received the vase
empowerment you are required to practice kyérim, or the development phase.
Having received the secret empowerment, you should practice 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 the meaning of shunyata. Though you have received these four
empowerments many times you do not even 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 these false paths!” This is a prayer to avoid falling under the
influence of your conflicting emotions. Through relying upon a qualified master
you should maintain the precepts of the pratimoksha, the bodhisattva vows and the
commitments of secret mantra, as they are described in their respective texts. Then,
through the coming together of the master’s 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 carried along in a ferry or someone ‘liberated’ by
being killed with a weapon. If this were the case, then since the buddhas love all
sentient beings equally as their very own children, they would liberate all limitless
beings in an instant, without leaving a single one behind in samsara. There was not
the slightest hair’s breadth of a difference between the love Buddha Shakyamuni
felt for Devadatta and the love he felt for Rahula.[1] If his compassion and
blessings alone could have liberated them, it would have 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 them into 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 practise 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 of crazy wisdom and disregard the law of cause and effect. Though
you are distracted in your meditation and lack the qualities described in the
scriptures, you allow yourself to remain stuck in concepts, and proudly refuse to
follow a qualified teacher. If you were really putting your heart into the practice,
your body, speech and mind would be in complete harmony with the teachings, as
was the case with Glorious Atisha and Geshe Ben. Each time they had a negative
thought, they would drop it immediately, 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 your body and
speech are at fault, you ignore your own shortcomings and dwell on the
imperfections of others. This is like having a ghost at your eastern door and
performing the ransom ritual of lü at the door in the west. Having an intellectual
understanding of the difference between beneficial and harmful actions 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
behaviour and then practise according to the teachings.
Although you suffer from sickness and could die tomorrow, you are full of craving
for and attachment to houses, clothes and possessions. Although your youth has
passed and you are quite old, you do not have the slightest disenchantment or
renunciation for samsara. Although you possess only the slightest wisdom gained
through study, reflection and meditation, like the frog who lived in the well, you
pride yourself on all your knowledge. This arrogance comes from falling under the
power of delusion, so pray that the lama will free you from such ignorance, and
then abandon your attachment to samsara and your 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 a tree, you are surrounded by potentially dangerous
circumstances. Yet still you forget about death and busy yourself with the affairs
of this life, such as taking part in local rituals. With a mind that is distracted, you
may physically remain in solitary retreats, but all the while your basic character
remains as tough as a block of wood. To remain calm like a jackal in the woods,
without having uprooted your disturbing emotions, speaking softly, while
attachment and aversion boil inside your mind, is like the behaviour of a crane or a
cat. [6] All of this is a sign that you are under the influence of the eight worldly
obsessions: gain brings you happiness, and loss makes you suffer; you are happy to
receive praise, but blame makes you angry; fame makes you happy, and
insignificance saddens you; and you are joyful in happiness, 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 and suffering, but view them all equally-in one taste-and integrate them
into your practice. This is achieved firstly by recognizing that the one who is
happy when praised and becomes sad when blamed is essentially empty. Both are
equally illusory, dream-like, and lacking in true reality. Secondly, it is said:

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 delicious meal, instead of holding onto that pleasure as your own, train
your mind by dedicating it. Think to yourself, “May all sentient beings, especially
the hungry ghosts, the poor and the homeless, all enjoy this kind of happiness and
pleasure!” When suffering befalls you, such as when, for example, you hear
something unpleasant or are afflicted by 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 the sufferings 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 like an animal who does not understand the difference between
positive and negative actions!” And pray that 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 known how to practise the Dharma as a way of gaining freedom from
samsara. Instead, you continue to languish in samsara’s prison. Pray that you may
develop a genuine heart of sadness and renunciation and be quickly freed from the
dismal imprisonment within samsara, thereby attaining the state of liberation 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!

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, the way 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 opens the door to refuge is faith. The importance of the three types of
faith has already been shown above. It may be further demonstrated by the stories
of Ben of Kongpo and the old lady and the dog’s tooth.

ii. The Way to Take Refuge

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

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

The single refuge is the Buddha.

The three roots are the lama, yidam and khandro, the inner refuge of the secret
mantrayana. They are like 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 tiklés-whose
nature is the bodhichitta-as the dharmakaya is the secret refuge. The ultimate
refuge is the primordial wisdom present within the wisdom mind of these objects
of refuge-the mandala of the empty essence, the cognizant nature and the all-
pervading compassionate energy. In order to accomplish this within our own mind-
stream we take refuge until enlightenment is fully realized. With this in mind we
take the vow of refuge.

iii. Precepts and Benefits of Taking Refuge

As regards the precepts and benefits of taking refuge, in terms of precepts there are
three things to be abandoned, three things to be adopted and three supplementary
precepts. Firstly, having taken refuge in the Buddha, do not take worldly deities
such as local spirits as your outer refuge and do not make offerings to them.
Having taken refuge in the Dharma, refrain from harming other 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
and respect any representation of his body, even a tiny piece of broken statue.
Having taken refuge in the Dharma, you should respect and take care to preserve
the written teachings, even fragments of paper bearing a single syllable. In the
past, when Lord Atisha saw a scribe putting his pen in his mouth as he wrote, he
cried out, “Atsama! That’s not right!” Having taken refuge in the Sangha, even a
patch of red or yellow cloth from their robes should inspire you with faith. As
supplementary precepts, rely upon your spiritual master and practise 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 the Pig’s Story (Pak Gi Tokjö):

Whoever takes refuge in the Buddha
Will no longer be reborn in the lower realms.
Forsaking even the body of a human being,
They will be reborn among the gods.

And the Parinirvana Sutra says:

Whoever takes refuge in the Three [Jewels]

Will swiftly attain enlightenment.

b. Arousing Bodhichitta

There are three sections: training the mind in the four immeasurables; arousing
bodhichitta, the mind turned towards supreme enlightenment; and training in the
precepts of bodhichitta in aspiration and bodhichitta 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 and six classes. They are mesmerized by the variety of
perceptions, apprehending an “I” where there is no “I”, and a self where there is no
self. These misperceptions are said to be like seeing a pile of stones from a
distance and mistaking it for a person, or perceiving a coloured rope as a snake, or
thinking, like a small child, that the illusory (not truly existent) reflection of the
moon which appears in water is the real moon.

Cultivate compassion for beings by considering their miserable situation: all of

them-throughout the three realms and six classes-grasp at their deluded
perceptions, imagining them to be real, and wander endlessly 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 have shown us exactly the same kindness as our parents in our present
lifetime. So that these parents of ours may remain no longer in their pitiful state,
and instead attain enlightenment, finding comfort and ease in the luminosity and
all-pervading space of the true nature of their minds, we should train our minds by
means of the four immeasurables.

1. Equanimity
Initially, we need to train the mind in equanimity. The way in which we are
currently attached to our friends and aggressive towards our enemies is a fault
which comes from failing to examine the situation thoroughly. In reality, today’s
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 our “friends” have been our enemies in past lifetimes, having caused us
considerable harm.

The Noble Katyayana said:

He eats his father’s flesh, while striking his own mother,
And cradles in his lap the enemy he killed;
The wife is gnawing at her husband’s 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 a benevolent 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. Love
Then, since these beings have shown you exactly the same kindness as your
current parents, cultivate love for them all and wish them happiness in order to
repay their past kindness. Train yourself to be like parents caring for a small child,
or a mother bird looking after her young, so that all your actions of body, speech
and mind are undertaken only to ensure the happiness and well-being of others.

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

4. Joy
Whenever you see someone who is wealthy and powerful, and apparently enjoying
all the pleasures of the higher realms, or whenever you see someone who possesses
the qualities of scriptural learning and realization, 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 all
sentient beings may experience the same kind of good fortune. Train your mind in
this way, again and again.

If, when you practise training the mind in these four immeasurables, you proceed
gradually- first considering your own parents; then including your friends and
relatives; and finally extending the practice to your enemies-you will come to feel
the same love and compassion for your enemies as for your 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 these points of training the mind in the four immeasurables, visualize
the field of merit in front of you-just as you did in the refuge practice-which then
becomes the witness to your arousing of bodhichitta.

The bodhichitta of wishing to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient
beings is pledging yourself 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 practise the six perfections,
such as generosity, and strive with effort until samsara is completely empty, is
pledging yourself to the cause. This is the bodhichitta of application, which is like
making the actual journey to Lhasa up until your eventual arrival there

The Bodhicharyavatara says:

Understand that, briefly put,

Bodhichitta has two aspects.
Just as one would know the difference
Between wishing to go and going on a journey,
The wise should understand these two,
Recognizing their difference and their order.

Once you have taken the vows of the bodhichitta of aspiration and application,
whilst being mindfully aware of the words of the practice and their meaning, the
field of merit melts into light and dissolves into you. Consider that all the two-fold
bodhichitta present within the wisdom minds of the deities arises within your own
mind-stream. And then rest in the state of indivisible emptiness and compassion.

iii. Training in the Bodhichitta Precepts

Thirdly, there is training in the bodhichitta precepts. This includes, in the context
of the bodhichitta of aspiration, meditations on “equalizing self and others”,
“exchanging self and others”, and “considering others as more important than
yourself”. And for the bodhichitta of application there is the practice of the six
perfections.

1. Precepts of the Bodhichitta of Aspiration

Firstly, since all beings are equal in that they want happiness and wish to avoid
suffering, we should abandon the attitude of attachment and aversion which causes
us to cherish ourselves and feel aggressive towards others. Train in the practice so
that you view yourself and other beings as equals.

Secondly, the way to meditate on exchanging self and others is to practise giving
happiness and receiving suffering as you breathe in and out (the practice of
tonglen). No matter what unwanted suffering comes your way, focus on wishing to
take on the suffering of others as well. Train your mind in this practice, which is
illustrated by the story of Daughter, and the Buddha pulling a wagon in the hell
realm. [7]

When you train your mind in considering others as more important than yourself,
cultivate the willingness to take birth even in the hells should it be of benefit to
other beings. This is illustrated by the stories of Atisha’s teachers Maitriyogi and
Dharmarakshita; the bodhisattva Metok Dadzé; and the Buddha in his earlier
rebirths.

2. Precepts of the Bodhichitta of Application

Then, the training in the precepts of the bodhichitta of application, which is
training in the six paramitas, or the six perfections.
The first of these, generosity, is divided into material giving, giving the Dharma,
and giving protection from fear. You should practise these three kinds of
generosity according to your capacity. At the very least, you should offer Sur
(burnt offerings) and water tormas, since this offering incorporates all three kinds
of giving.

Discipline is divided into the discipline of avoiding negative actions, the discipline
of undertaking positive actions, and the discipline of bringing benefit to beings.
The first kind of discipline means that you give up even the slightest unwholesome
deed of body, speech or mind. The second means that you strive to practise virtue
as much as you possibly can, beginning with the tiniest of positive acts. Be sure to
embrace these acts with the proper preparation, main part and conclusion. Thirdly,
bringing benefit to beings means working for the welfare of others through the four
ways of attracting disciples [8], once the 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 motivation of
wishing to benefit others.

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

Diligence is divided into armour-like diligence; diligence in action, which means

exerting yourself to practice the Dharma and fearing laziness with as much energy
as someone who discovers a poisonous snake 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 practise
throughout your entire life.

Meditative concentration includes the childish concentration of those who practise

in isolation away from distractions and busyness, but are attached to the
experiences of bliss, clarity and absence of thought. There is also the clearly
discerning concentration in which emptiness is clung to as an antidote; and the
concept-free samadhi of intrinsic reality, which is known as “the concentration
delighting the Tathagatas”. These should be practised successively, in stages.

Sixth, is the paramita of wisdom. Through the wisdom that comes from hearing,
you are able to recognize the disturbing emotions. Then, through the wisdom that
comes from reflection, you are able to overcome the disturbing emotions
temporarily. And finally, through the wisdom that comes through meditation, you
conquer completely the enemy of negative emotions and obtain the confidence of
knowing 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 might act virtuously and avoid negativity for your own sake,
you will not become enlightened.

The Bodhicharyavatara 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.

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 all phenomena 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 have not
realized this themselves. And then, with the wish to attain enlightenment for the
benefit of all beings, visualize yourself in your ordinary form. Consider that about
eighteen inches above your head is a white lotus. If you are following the extensive
commentary [Kunzang Lama’i Shelung] the lotus has a thousand petals, whereas
according to the briefer commentary [by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo] it has eight
petals. Upon it, in the centre of a full moon-disc seat, is a white syllable HUNG,
which melts into light and becomes your own root lama in the form of Vajrasattva.
He is brilliant white, with complete sambhogakaya adornments.

He is ornamented with all thirteen adornments: the five silk adornments of the
headscarf, upper garment, 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.

His legs are crossed in the vajra posture. His right hand holds a vajra at his heart,
and his left holds a bell against his hip. The consort white Vajratopa (Dorje
Nyemma in Tibetan) has her legs crossed in the lotus posture, and is embracing
Vajrasattva.
Consider that their bodies appear vividly and distinctly, yet lack any true reality,
just like reflections in a mirror.

Then, understanding that it is through relying on you, Lama Vajrasattva, and

taking you as a refuge and support with one-pointed faith that all our negative
actions will be purified, we pray: “Take care of me and all other beings! Look after
us! Purify all our negative actions and obscurations!” Pray like this with such
intense devotion that tears come to your eyes.

The second power is the power of regret. Consider how, throughout all your
lifetimes, throughout beginningless 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, and “proscribed
negative acts”, which are all the transgressions of the pratimoksha, bodhisattva and
mantrayana vows.

With the deepest regret, like somebody who has swallowed poison, you should
acknowledge all your negative acts “without concealing anything, and without
hiding anything.” Without any thought of keeping your negative actions secret,
openly confess them, saying to yourself: “I committed this negative 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 regret and then pay compensation, here, too, we should confess our
negative actions of the past and then vow not to repeat them.

The third power is the power of resolve, or the power of turning away from faults
and misconduct. In the 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 the gains and losses
incurred as a result of positive and negative actions. So from now on, even if your
life is 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 function as an antidote to our negativity, in this practice we concentrate
on visualizing the deity and reciting the mantra.

So, the text says:

In Vajrasattva’s heart, upon a full moon, is the letter HUNG, encircled by the
letters of the hundred syllable mantra mala. Reciting the hundred syllables of the
mantra causes rays of light to emanate from the mantra mala, invoking his wisdom
mind. From the point of union of the bliss-emptiness play of yab-yum, a cloud of
nectar, the nature of which is bodhichitta, flows down like a stream of milk (or
camphor) and enters my body through the top of my head and the heads of all
sentient beings of the three worlds. Through this, my past negative karma and
more immediate destructive emotions-the causes of suffering-are purified.

All illnesses are expelled through the pores of the skin and the two lower orifices
of your body, in the form of pus and blood. All harmful influences (dön) are
expelled in the form of creatures such as spiders, scorpions and snakes. All
negative actions and obscurations are expelled in the form of black liquid, 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 open mouths. They are satisfied. All your karmic debts are repaid
and untimely death is averted. Yama turns away and the earth closes up again.

Pray that all your faults and imperfections, such as the wrongdoing of the ten non-
virtues, which are negative by their very nature, the downfalls that are infractions
of discipline and the blockages due to breakages 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 body becomes clear and unobstructed inside and out, like a crystal vase
filled with milk. As it fills with nectar, 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 the master serves all beings as their refuge, and protector.
“Under the power of ignorance and delusion, not knowing the benefits of positive
actions and the faults of harmful actions, I have gone against and corrupted 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 of great 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. [9] Firstly,
there are three sets of three samayas related to the body. The outer three are to
abandon stealing, sexual misconduct and taking life. The inner three are to
abandon abusing your father and mother, your vajra family and your own body;
abusing the Dharma and other individuals, and striking your own body; and
forcing yourself to undergo the hardship of extreme ascetic discipline. The secret
three are to abandon striking the body of a vajra relative, or criticizing ornaments
they may be wearing; striking your vajra sisters or making sexual advances to the
lama’s consort; and stepping on or over the lama’s shadow, or acting carelessly
with your body and speech in the lama’s 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 disrepectfully about someone who teaches the Dharma, who
contemplates its meaning, or who meditates on the natural state. The secret three
are to abandon being disrespectful about what is said by vajra brothers and sisters,
those in the master’s 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 in your meditation; and clinging to the views
of eternalism or nihilism. The secret three are to maintain an awareness of the
view, meditation and action throughout every session of practice, to maintain an
awareness of the yidam deity, and to have faith in the teacher and love for your
vajra brothers and sisters.

There are twenty-five branch samayas [10] 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 be recognized as the mandala
of deities of the three seats.[11] Once they have been understood, there are the five
to be accomplished: the vajra family, ratna family, padma family, karma family
and tathagata family. 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 transformation of the five poisons,
which are matured into the five wisdoms. There are five to be practised when the
signs on the path have become manifest: the three [negative] actions of the body
and lying and idle gossip. You should practise 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 by disturbing emotions, cognitive

obscurations, and wrongs or downfalls, such as those described above-all my
flaws-be completely cleansed and purified!”

By confessing and making a resolution in this way, with all four powers complete,
Vajrasattva is pleased 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 become Vajrasattva, appearing yet empty, like a reflection in a mirror. At
your heart, upon a full moon, is HUNG, around which the four brilliantly radiant
syllables OM VAJRA SA TVA emanate rays of five-coloured light. Offering
goddesses appear at the tip of each ray of light, holding boundless offering
substances, such as the eight auspicious symbols, in their hands. They offer these
to the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions, who are pleased and send
back their blessings and siddhis in the form of five-coloured rays of light which
dissolve into you. Light rays emanate from the mantra mala once again,
transforming the outer environment into the pure land of Abhirati (Manifest Joy),
and causing all beings to take on the nature of Vajrasattva’s 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. The mantra mala dissolves into the
HUNG. The HUNG then gradually dissolves, beginning with the shyabkyu (the
vowel sign), and you rest in the state of shunyata.

Then, in a single instant, you visualize the environment and beings as the pure
realm and Vajrasattvas once again, and dedicate the merit and make aspirations.
When you practise visualization and recitation like this, it is vital not to interrupt
the recitation with ordinary speech, and not to allow the mind to become
distracted. As it says in the tantras:

If you lack samadhi meditation,

You are just like a stone in the ocean’s 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 powers complete, 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.

d. Offering the Mandala

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

If you are accumulating the practice and you have an accomplishment mandala,
anoint it with bajung and scented water, and, having arranged five piles [of gems,
medicines or rice] on top of it, place it on your 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 stones may be
used as a last resort.
Precious stones make the best offering substances; medicines are the next best; and
at worst, you could use 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 the Thirty-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 single realm. Multiplying this realm by a thousand, you arrive at what
is called a “first-order universe of one thousand worlds”. Multiplying this universe
by a thousand, you arrive at an “intermediate universe of one thousand times one
thousand worlds”. If you then multiply the intermediate universe a thousand times,
you will have what is called a billion-fold universe, which is one hundred times ten
million worlds.

This billion-fold universe is filled with the seven precious gems and all the wealth
of gods, nagas and human 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 and sources of merit and
offer them all in their entirety. Pray that, as a result, you may turn the wheel of the
Dharma, just as Buddha Shakyamuni did.

ii. Sambhogakaya
The inconceivable paradise of the sambhogakaya is the highest heaven because it
is above the nirmanakaya realms, and it is also a place of Great Bliss, because bliss
and emptiness are indivisible within the minds of beings who dwell there. It is
known as “Tukpo Köpa” (Densely Arrayed, Ghanavyuha in Sanskrit) because it is
beyond measure, and it is perfect with the five certainties. The certain place is this
pure realm of Ghanavyuha, or Tukpo Köpa. The certain teachers are the buddhas
of the five families. The certain teaching 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 offering goddesses, such as the goddess of beauty and so on, manifest
within it. The entire space becomes filled with inconceivably vast clouds of
offerings of every variety of sensual and emotional stimulants. Pray that through
this offering, you may enjoy the perfection of the sambhogakaya fields.

iii. Dharmakaya
“Where all appearance and existence are completely pure” signifies that there is no
falling into the fixed view that the whole outer and inner universe-the environment
and beings-are solid and real. Instead, everything is vast, expansive and profoundly
spacious. Since the essence of the dharmakaya is beyond birth and death, it is
described as youthful, and since there is a clarity that comes from its knowing
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 of the dharmakaya are all the rising thoughts. These rising
thoughts manifest from the dynamic energy and play of dharmata emptiness and
unceasing compassion, which are unstained by disturbing emotions.

All clinging to the perception of kayas and tiklés, which can occur from the stage
of “increase of experience” [the second of the four visions of tögal] until
“awareness reaching full maturity” [the third vision], 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.

e. The Kusali’s Accumulation

The word kusali means “beggar”. Hermits and renunciates who lack any other
possessions make offerings of their own bodies. We cherish our bodies more than
any of our other belongings, so the benefits 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.

Jetsün 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. Your consciousness becomes a sphere of light, which shoots
out through the “aperture of Brahma” at the crown of your head into all-pervading
space. Immediately, in order to destroy the demonic force of death (the “Mara of
the Lord of Death”) your consciousness transforms into Tröma Nakmo, holding a
hooked knife in her right hand and a skull-cup in her left, and with a sow’s head
protruding from behind her right ear.

With her right hand she uses the hooked knife that symbolizes destruction of the
demonic forces of conflicting emotions (the “Mara of Disturbing Emotions”) to
slice the top off your corpse’s skull, destroying the demonic forces of the
aggregates of ego (the “Mara of the Skandhas”). Her left hand holds the skull-cup
to carry out her activity, which she places on the hearth of three human heads
inwardly representing the three kayas, each as big as Mount Meru. The skull-cup is
placed so that the brow is facing towards you and then the corpse, now an offering
as vast as a billion worlds, is placed inside 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 to melt and drip from the upside-down white syllable HAM
above. Consider that any impurities are purified through OM, the offering is
multiplied through AH, and transformed through HUNG into great clouds of
“space-treasury” offerings with the essential nature of wisdom nectar, but
manifesting as whatever beings desire.
Recite OM AH HUNG as many times as you can.

Then visualize the field of merit as it appears in the refuge practice, surrounded by
all the beings of the six classes, especially those beings that cause you harm. From
your heart, emanate countless offering goddesses. 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 rises from
the boiling nectar: the five offerings such as flowers, the five sensual pleasures
such as visible forms, 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 merit and wisdom are
accumulated and, as the attainment of the supreme siddhi, your mind is perfected
in the two types of bodhichitta. You also attain the ordinary accomplishments of
long life, increased merit and so on.

For the guests below-the beings of the six classes of samsara-the dakinis take the
nectar from the skull-cup and scatter it so that it falls from the sky like rain.
Consider that all sentient beings receive some of the nectar to drink and are
satisfied. As the variegated feast, consider that whatever the beings of the six
classes desire rains down on them and through this they are pleased and satisfied.
The creditors to whom you owe karmic debts that shorten your life because you
have killed, that plague you with sickness because you have attacked and beaten
others, and that make you poor because you have stolen, receive whatever they
desire: food, clothes, houses, land and so on. As they enjoy these offerings,
consider that all your debts are repaid.

In particular, think of the jungpo demons of the eighty thousand classes, who
create obstacles for you and cause harm to sentient beings, together with the lame,
the blind, the deaf and the mute, who gather in the hope of receiving the leftovers.
To all the harmful influences and obstructing forces that crave flesh and blood,
dedicate a mountain of flesh, an ocean of blood and a mass of bones piled up like
the banks of a river, imagining it all to be like the flesh and blood of a seventh-
birth brahmin. [12] Consider that it satisfies them physically and they develop the
attitude of bodhichitta in their minds. Then the remaining guests all receive and
enjoy whatever they desire, such as food or clothing. The lame receive the limbs of
miraculous powers. The blind obtain the eyes of wisdom. The deaf hear
immaculate sounds. The mute receive the tongue of intelligence and so on. In this
way, all those who are weak and underprivileged are satisfied.

Through the merit and virtue of this, all illnesses that plague the body, all
conflicting emotions that disturb 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 offer, together with all the
guests to whom the offerings are made, dissolve into the nature of Dzogpachenpo,
the fundamental nature of your mind, in which they are no longer clung to as being
true, but seen as illusory and dream-like. This is the state of shunyata. Resting in
this great simplicity, seal the practice into the dharmadhatu sphere of intrinsic
reality with the syllable AH.
Unless you exert yourself in gathering the accumulations and purifying your
obscurations through practices 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.

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 [13] 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 [14], 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 [15]) 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. [16] 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. [17]
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”. [18] 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. [19] 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 [20], 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 [21] 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 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. [22]
“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 [23], 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
recitations as part of the Guru Yoga. Trinley Jinpa also vowed to remain in retreat
practising the ngöndro for the rest of his life, and to complete one million
prostrations, one million hundred syllable mantras, and a hundred thousand
“Confessions of Downfalls”. Changchub Dorje also added his request for a
detailed commentary to those of the other two, and he, too, vowed not to leave his
retreat until the time of his death. He promised to complete ten million Siddhi
mantras and one million prostrations.

In response to their requests, and taking the works of the omniscient father and son
as a basis, supplemented by what I have seen or heard of the works of other
learned and accomplished masters, this was written by the beggar-monk with the
name of Chökyi Drakpa. May the merit of this become a cause for the main points
of the ngöndro practice to arise within the minds of all sentient beings, especially
those that requested it! May they never be without the qualities of the seven noble
riches, and may they swiftly attain the state of omniscience, becoming guides to all
sentient beings as limitless as space!
Virtue! Virtue! Virtue!

[1] There are different ways of interpreting this one of the five circumstantial advantages. Words of
My Perfect Teacher explains that it means we have entered the teachings.. Some commentaries,
as is the case here, explain it as meaning that there are other people who have entered the
teachings.
[2] According to Patrul Rinpoche he was a brahmin. See Words of My Perfect Teacher, p.115.
[3] Chökyi Drakpa does not specifically mention the pretas with internal obscurations.
[4] The four root vows are not to kill, not to steal, not to commit sexual misconduct and not to lie.
[5] Devadatta was the Buddha’s jealous, scheming cousin. Rahula was his son.
[6] This a reference to the Bodhicharyavatara chapter 5, verse 73: “Cranes, cats and thieves…etc.”
[7] See The Words of My Perfect Teacher, p.224-6
[8] The four ways of attracting disciples are 1) being generous, 2) speaking pleasantly, 3) teaching
in accordance with the needs of beings, and 4) acting in accordance with what one teaches.
[9] See Perfect Conduct, translated by Khenpo Gyurme Samdrub & Sangye Khandro, Wisdom
Publications, 1996, p.126.
[10] See Perfect Conduct, pp.126-9.
[11] The aggregates and elements are the “seats” of the male and female buddhas, and the sense-
sources are the “seats” of the male and female bodhisattvas.
[12] Seventh birth brahmins are bodhisattvas who have taken birth as brahmins seven successive
times, in order that they may benefit beings. Their flesh, bones, hair, nails and so on are said to
be especially pure, and if consumed can lead to the attainment of rainbow body.
[13] The Tibetan text says southwest here, but northwest later on.
[14] Secret Path to the Mountain of Glory: A Prayer of Aspiration for the Copper-Coloured
Mountain of Glory by Rigdzin Jikmé Lingpa.
[15] By Panchen Lobzang Chökyi Gyaltsen (1567?-1662). See The Union of Bliss and Emptiness,
H.H. the Dalai Lama, Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1989 for a translation of the entire text.
The two verses mentioned here are 48 and 49, which are given on pp.127-8.
[16] Dawn, morning, midday, afternoon, dusk and midnight.
[17] During the practice of approach, practitioners grow closer to, or approach, the deity by
reciting the mantra.
[18] The seven vajra qualities are: uncuttable, indestructible, true, solid, stable, completely
unobstructable and completely invincible.
[19] This is an unusual way to list the nine yanas. The first three vehicles are usually given as the
vehicles of shravakas, pratyekabuddhas and bodhisattvas.
[20] Takdrol means “liberation through contact or touch”. Numerous kinds of takdrol exist: many
are mantras in diagrams related to the Dzogchen teachings, and others belong to the tantras. The
takdrol can form part of a more detailed empowerment, or it can be given independently as a
simple empowerment on its own. Sometimes a text of a tantra is used as a takdrol and worn, for
example, in a locket on the top of the head. (Taken from Dzogchen, Ithaca: Snow Lion
Publications, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, p.231, n.17)
[21] Although this level of vidyadhara is usually called a spontaneously accomplished vidyadhara,
this translation reflects Chökyi Drakpa’s explanation.
[22] See Words of My Perfect Teacher, p. 125
[23] Longchen Rabjam and Jikmé Lingpa.
Translated by Adam Pearcey. Edited by Janine Schulz.

© Wu Tai Shan Clan 2004. All Rights Reserved.