Meditations of a Yogin

A spiritual song composed by Lama Neljorpa for Ani Tshering, along with a brief context.

Ani Tshering began her Dharma practice under Lama Neljorpa and spent many years meditating in solitude. Over time, as she met her teacher and fellow practitioners, she started sharing accounts of miraculous experiences. For instance, she claimed that a tiger had come to listen to her teachings and that her presence had improved the harvest in the area where she practiced, etc.

One day, she visited Lama Neljorpa and recounted an unusual experience. While traveling from Wangdue in central Bhutan to Trashi Yangtse, a bird had followed her the entire way. However, as she neared Lama Neljorpa’s retreat, where he and his students lived, the bird suddenly stopped and disappeared. She claimed that the bird must have been her spiritual guardian.

Upon hearing this, Lama Neljorpa explained that the bird was likely a spirit drawn to Ani Tshering due to her pride. However, it could not enter the retreat because the presence of the Lama and his students prevented it. He advised her not to be swayed by pride or boast about her supposed spiritual attainments.

Yet, when speaking to others, he still recognized her as an exceptional female practitioner, despite her slight tendency toward pride.
In time, Ani Tshering became a highly accomplished meditator and a respected Chöd master. Later in her life she gathered her own group of students and, when she passed away, remained in Thukdam.

𝘓𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴:

𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘥𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺,
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘵.

𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦— 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮ā𝘳𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘢— is 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸, 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘌𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸, 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮-𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘸𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵—𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴—𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘋𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦.

This account is based on the recollections of Lama Neljorpa’s living disciples and Dharma friends of Ani Tshering.

May their lives inspire our own 🌈

Listen, folks, I have to tell you, nobody respects Guru Rinpoche more than me. Believe me. Some say he's the Second Buddha. I say, yes, fantastic guy. The best. You look at all the siddhis he has, the miracles, absolutely tremendous. When he came to Tibet, boom, those demons, gone, just like that. People say, Donang Trungpa, how do you compare to Guru Rinpoche?’ And I tell them, listen, he’s on another level, okay? Amazing guy. A real winner. Probably the best tantric master, okay Before he came, Tibet was a mess. Total disaster. Black magic everywhere. Demons in our streets, sorcerers in our schools, corrupt kings. Very bad people, the worst. Then Guru Rinpoche shows up, and let me tell you, huge success. He tamed all the spirits, built Samye... beautiful monastery, by the way, they say it was modeled after a cosmic mandala, and let me tell you, I know mandalas, I’ve seen the best mandalas. And the teachings? Incredible. The Tantras, mind-blowing stuff. He even hid termas. Can you believe that? I like that. Great planning. Now, people say to me, 'what about your own realization?’ And I say, look, I’ve done ngöndro, probably more than anyone. People are amazed by my prostrations. They see me and say, ‘Wow, incredible devotion.’ I do Vajrakilaya practice… incredible, powerful, very powerful. I negotiate with dakinis, and believe me, nobody does phowa better than me in the region. Dewachen, fantastic, beautiful land, nice border, no problem. And the samaya? Perfect. Impeccable. People tell me, 'your discipline is tremendous.’ And they’re right. But let’s get back to Rinpoche, because I really respect him, folks. Great Rinpoche, I've met many Rinpoches, none like him. He taught the whole system, made Tibet great, and let me tell you, we love Tibet, don’t we, folks? Beautiful land, highest mountains, so high, unbelievably high, the roof of the world. And Guru Rinpoche? He saw it all. He knew it all. If he were here today, he’d say, Donang, you’re doing great, you’re spreading the Dharma in a huge way.’ And I’d say, ‘Thank you, Rinpoche, coming from you, that means a lot.’ Because we need wisdom. We need compassion. We need to make Tibet great again, folks, thank you.

So I told king langdarma that "you and these woke bonpos are trying to uproot my empire" but I told him, I told langdarma, and langdarma is a great guy by the way, I told him "you're a great man, langdarma, I sure hope the haters and the nyingmapas and Pelgyi Dorje don't come after you" but then Pelgyi Dorje did, so I can't do too much about that.

Compassion Possesses The Essence of Emptiness

"Free from all assumptions is non-dwelling truth. Knowing this fully is the perfection of wisdom (prajnaparamita). Not dwelling in the extremes of samsara and nirvana.

Compassion possesses the essence of emptiness and unifies upaya and prajna. This is self-existing co-emergence. In the same way, I understand bliss-emptiness and insight-emptiness as not being different."

~ Marpa Lotsawa

Yonten Gonpo was born in the Rudam Kyitram Valley in Kham in 1899. As a child, he excelled in his studies. Stories are told of his ability to tame ghosts and demons through his meditative powers.

He enrolled in Dzogchen Monastery, where the Fifth Dzogchen Drubwang (1872-1935) performed his tonsure ceremony and gave him instructions, transmissions, and empowerments from Nyingma treasure and oral transmission traditions. In addition, he trained in the monastic practices of chanting, rites and rituals, religious music, and dance.

Yonten Gonpo's main teacher was the famed abbot of Śrī Siṃha College, Zhenpen Chokyi Nangwa (1871-1927), from whom he studied Sanskrit phonology, grammar, poetry, medicine, and astrology, as well the full range of Buddhist teachings. He remained a close disciple of Zhenpen Chokyi Nangwa until his death.

In 1938, Yonten Gonpo was enthroned as the 27th abbot of Śrī Siṃha. After Yonten Gonpo retired, he settled at Gyawo Ritro, the monastic seat of Zhenpen Chokyi Nangwa. Despite being determined to dedicate his remaining life solely to meditation, he was appointed to be the personal tutor to the Sixth Dzogchen Drubwang (1935-1959), earning him the title Yongdzin Khenchen. He was a great Dzogchen practitioner, practicing for four meditation sessions daily. He strictly observed his monastic vows, distributing all of his offerings except the necessities: his robes and teaching texts.

When the Sixth Dzogchen Drubwang passed away in 1959, Yonten Gonpo completed his funerary rites amidst the turmoil of the Chinese Communist take over Tibet. He prophesized the circumstances of the Dzogchen Drubwang's rebirth in a letter to his nephew Sonam Tobden.

Two months later, he found himself surrounded by the Chinese army firing indiscriminately. Legend has it that he was unharmed by the bullets, in the midst of which he sat in meditation posture, covered his head with his robe, and deliberately ejected his consciousness from his body.

Yonten Gonpo's hagiography includes an extensive list of disciples, some of whom were instrumental in the preservation and transmission of the Dzogchen lineage.

https://treasuryoflives.org/biogra.../view/Yonten-Gonpo/9203

For the sake of world peace, the esteemed leaders of the Nyingma tradition, representatives of Guru Rinpoche, initiated and continue to conduct the annual Nyingma Monlam Chenmo (World Peace Ceremony) in Bodhgaya. This sacred event is held every year from the 1st to the 10th day of the 12th month in the Tibetan calendar.

This year marks the 36th Nyingma Monlam Chenmo, with 215 monasteries registered to participate in the event. The gathering includes over ten thousand participants, including monks, nuns, yogis, and devoted practitioners from various regions.

Meditate - Familiarize Yourself with the Dharma Practice

"It is not enough simply to look at food: you need to eat it.
It is not enough simply to hear the teachings: you must meditate."

ཟས་མཐོང་བས་མི་ཆོག་ཟ་དགོས་པར་འདུག །
ཆོས་གོ་བས་མི་ཆོག་སྒོམ་དགོས་པར་འདུག །

Naldjorpa Wangchug Milarepa

Note: On the first glance, this quote of Tibet's Great Yogi simply states 'Meditate! - not just hear about dharma teachings.' Moreover, the whole of buddhist learning is structured around the threefold training in listening, reflecting and meditating, tö sam gom sum (thos bsam sgom gsum/śruta cintā bhāvanā). However, the term gom (sgom), 'meditate' or 'contemplate', means also 'to train', 'to familiarize yourself with', 'become familiar, 'have real knowledge of', and so on. In this respect Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso states.

"While Buddhist scholars concentrate on studying or listening to the Buddha’s doctrine, the logicians study valid means of knowing and reasoning, the tools with which one reflects and is able to discern what is true and false. This corresponds to the stage of reflection. The yogins or meditators are those who have established through listening and reflection what must be the case and who are now engaged in training themselves in the art of abandoning their delusions. It is one thing to decide through reasoning what must be true and another actually to see the world in that way."

"All phenomena are like magical illusions," said the Buddhas.

But these days the illusions are more illusory than ever, Trickeries conjured up by devious illusionists - Beware of the illusions of this degenerate age's ways. All the infinite phenomena of samsara and nirvana are like magical illusions. Nowhere in the whole universe is there a single permanent, intrinsically existent entity to be found. There has never been a king who kept his kingdom forever; never someone born who did not die; never a crowd that did not disperse. Everything is like a drama in which actors play out wars, passions, and death. Everything is like a dream, sometimes good and sometimes a nightmare.

But it is in this degenerate age that we have reached the peak of illusion. People have long forgotten the purity of the golden age. They disregard their future lives and are preoccupied only by immediate gratification; unreliable and capricious, they bury the Dharma under a great heap of harmful and negative actions.

The world and beings change direction every moment like stalks of wheat swaying to and from in the wind, and what was true this morning is untrue by this evening.

Untimely rain, snow, hail, heat, and cold upset the natural course of the seasons.
Seeing all this, we must understand that there is no point in being excessively glad when something good happens to us, as it may well turn into its opposite at any time; and we must understand that there is no point in being too depressed by bad circumstances, as our difficulties are minute compared to those endured by countless beings in the lower realms."

"The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones", Collected Works Vol II, pages 259-60

- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

The Incomparable Gampopa

“At the beginning, gain knowledge of Dharma, be like a starving man before a good meal; in the middle, gain understanding of mind like one finding a precious jewel; in the end, develop an understanding of nonduality like the collapse of the charlatan’s greatest deception.”

Photo: An illustration of a young Gampopa practicing control over prana, dispelling a heap of ashes through wind charged from his finger tips...... under the tutorial-ship of Milarepa.

The Siddha Kokilipa The Complacent Esthete.

Non-action is the secret precept,
Non-attachment is realisation,
Non-referential pleasure is meditation,
And non-attainment is the supreme goal.

The king of Camparna, finding his palace intolerably hot in the summer months, would retire to the shade of his mango grove to enjoy the cool water running nearby, and the various flowers and fruits, the fragrance and rich colours.

He reclined upon silks and satins of his cushions and divans while many young girls attended him, some fondling him, some fanning him, some singing, some dancing, and others strewing flowers about him, tending to his every whim and to the desires of his entourage.

One day while he was wasting his precious human opportunity and the bounty of the kingdom in his orgy of self-gratification, a perfected monk approached the three hundred palace guards to beg for food.
They turned him away, but the king noticed him, and chiding the guards he called the monk to enter, inviting him to share refreshments.

"Which of our two life-styles gives the most joy?" he asked the monk complacently.

"A child would say your style", responded the monk. "But the wise man knows that your way of life is poison to the mind".

"Whatever do you mean?" asked the king.

The monk described the three poisons and continued,

" If you mix temporal power with the three poisons, you end up in a bad state. It is like eating good food and drink mixed with arsenic".

The king was a highly discriminating man, and receptive to this intelligence, and so he took refuge in the monk.
He received the initiation and empowerment of Samvara and was shown the path he should follow. He abdicated in favour of his son, so that he could be totally free of the old dispensation.

Yet, sitting in his mango grove, his mind still clung to the sound of the 'kokila' bird, and he was unable to concentrate.
His Guru showed him "the sudden dissolution of whatever constructs arise in the mind":

Like thunderclouds gathering in an empty sky
Pouring down rain upon fruit trees and crops,
After the Kokila's thunder in your empty ear
Clouds of conceptual thought- consciousness gather,
Constantly precipitating poisonous emotion
To generate a harvest of lust and hatred.
This is the way of the fool .

Out of the empty space of mind's nature
Inseparable sound and emptiness thunder,
With gathering clouds of inexhaustible pleasure
Sending sweet rain of self-radiant reality
To ripen a harvest of fivefold awareness.
That is the wise man's miracle.

The king followed this instruction and within six months he had reached his goal. He was called Kokilipa after the birds whose song he meditated upon. He worked indefatigably for others before attaining the Dakini's Paradise.

~

From the book :

Masters Of Mahamudra.

Songs and Histories of the Eighty-Four Buddhist Siddhas.

By Keith Dowman.

When the wheel of the mind stops, all phenomena stop. Thus, all phenomena are devoid of independent nature (Atman) and are, therefore, pure.

Nagarjuna

Guru Padmasambhava said: Many people allow their Dharma practice to become superficial.

Noble Tsogyal asked the teacher: How does this happen?

The teacher replied:

It is a superficial attitude to chant the sacred texts without possessing faith.
It is a superficial attitude to show selflessness without having compassion.
It is a superficial attitude to be generous without being free from avarice.
It is a superficial attitude to be a practitioner of Tantra without observing samaya.
It is a superficial attitude to be a monk without observing the vows.
It is a superficial attitude to be noble without meditating.
It is a superficial attitude to have knowledge without practicing Dharma.
It is a superficial attitude to engage in Dharma that lacks the essence of practice.
It is a superficial attitude to teach others when your actions contradict the Dharma.
It is a superficial attitude to give advice that you do not follow.

"Dakini Teachings"

Happy new year!

Om Svasti!

Catumahārājikā Plaques; In the Borān tradition, it is common to have plaques instead of statues to house the deities, often put on shrines, or put around a perimeter of a Temple for protection.

Phra Mae Baisri, Goddess of the Baisri-Su-Kwan ritual, is a revered deity of bestowing health, luck, and auspiciousness. She is the gatherer of spiritual essence that is called back through the ritual, and bestows them back to the afflicted.

Bhairava (Phra Pirab); Protector of Magic Practitioners, Destroyer of Occult Spells, Rituals, and Disease, Wrathful life taker of those who commit negative karmic deeds, and has the ability to help others to cross obstacles.

Santa Claus, a.k.a. Vaishravana, King of the North.

Merry Christmas! Peace on earth and goodwill to all.

White Ekajati tsatsa

Ekajati is an important female deity in Tibetan Buddhism, particularly within the Vajrayana and Nyingma traditions.

1. Appearance and Symbolism:

- Ekajati is typically depicted as a fierce, wrathful female deity

- She is often portrayed with one eye, one tooth, and one breast

- Her appearance symbolizes her intense, focused power and her role as a protector of tantric teachings

2. Spiritual Significance:

- She is considered a powerful dharma protector (dharmapali)

- Specifically associated with protecting the most profound and secret teachings of Vajrayana Buddhism

- Often invoked for protection against spiritual obstacles and negative forces

3. Iconographic Representation:

- Usually shown with wild, untamed hair

- Often standing in a dynamic, fierce posture

- Commonly depicted wearing a tiger skin and surrounded by flames

- Her single-pointed nature is represented by her one eye and one tooth

4. Tibetan Buddhist Context:

- She is particularly important in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism

- Considered a powerful manifestation of primordial wisdom and compassion

- Plays a role in both meditation practices and protective rituals

5. Esoteric Meaning:

- Her single features symbolize non-duality and the ultimate unity of phenomena

- Represents the concentrated, uncompromising nature of enlightened awareness

Ekajati is a complex and profound deity with deep symbolic significance in Tibetan Buddhist tantric practices.

Today's practitioners think: "Oh, we don't really need to use all these implements and substances, we can just substitute them with ones that are easier to obtain."

Then, they think: "Oh, we don't actually need to memorize all these tiny details regarding ritual and meditation, we can simply substitute them with ones that are easier to remember."

Then, they go on this way for years and wonder why they're stuck in their practice.

Many great yogis both ancient and contemporary were clear in their assertion: Without the proper samaya observed in both implements and practices, realizations will not arise.

Noble Tārā's Advice to Ngadag Nyangral Nyima Özer (1124-1192)

"Emaho!

Saṃsāra is not to be rejected, for it is none other than the mind.
Nirvāṇa is not to be achieved, for it is the essence of mind itself.
Saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are non-dual, just like ice and water.

Rest evenly in the inseperable state of luminous great bliss."

Tsogyal, I've been telling this to everyone, but no one listens. Once the mara of death takes hold of you, there is no chance of liberation. Those who do not practice the Dharma will regret it when approaching death. Years, months, and days pass by without lingering for a second. This life passes by without lingering for an hour or a minute, and then we die. The seasons go on, but your life ends and does not wait.

Guru Padmasambhava

Vajrakilaya tsatsa with ghau

Vajrakilaya is a powerful and complex deity in Vajrayana Buddhism, particularly prominent in Tibetan Buddhist practices. Here's an overview:

Religious Significance

Vajrakilaya (or Vajrakila) is considered one of the most important and powerful meditation deities (yidam) in Vajrayana Buddhist tantric practices. He is specifically associated with the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, though he is also practiced in other Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

Iconographic Representation

Typically, Vajrakilaya is depicted as:

- A wrathful deity with multiple faces and arms

- Dark blue or deep purple in color

- Holding a vajra (ritual thunderbolt) and a phurba (ritual dagger)

- Often shown in a dynamic, fierce posture

- Sometimes accompanied by a consort, representing the union of wisdom and compassion

Symbolic Meaning

The deity symbolizes:

- The power to eliminate obstacles to spiritual practice

- Destruction of negative forces and ego-clinging

- Transformation of negative energies into enlightened awareness

- Penetrating insight that cuts through spiritual impediments

Ritual Practice

Vajrakilaya practices often involve:

- Complex visualization meditations

- Specific mantra recitations

- Elaborate ritual ceremonies

- Use of the phurba (ritual dagger) as a symbolic instrument of transformation

Historical Context

The practice of Vajrakilaya is traditionally attributed to Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche), who is credited with introducing tantric Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century. He is said to have used Vajrakilaya practices to subdue demonic forces and establish Buddhism in Tibet.

The practice is considered extremely powerful and is typically transmitted only from a qualified master to a prepared student within the context of tantric Buddhist lineages.

True Dharma always has only the practical sense of realization. That is, for example, the real realization of what is obscuration, is possible only by practically overcoming obscuration. Otherwise, it will be a wandering of the mind - and it doesn't matter whether it wanders according to the rules of philosophical treatises or ordinary, arbitrary wandering.

If you don't understand this directly, you continue to wander in matters of definition - instead of immersing your mind in this indeterminacy, surrendering to it, relaxing, and giving up the subtle fears about the lack of support for being. That would be the practical step.

In realizing the basis of existence, the key point of indeterminacy is fully revealed.

The true nature of phenomena is such that there is no “transition” to it or change in it; therefore, there is no question of what distracts and what does not distract your attention.

It is not an experience that can be expressed.

Longchenpa

For Tantra Practitioners

This is considered essential knowledge:

The Ten Topics of Tantra

(Tib. རྒྱུད་ཀྱི་དངོས་པོ་བཅུ་, Gyü kyi ngöpo chu)

Longchen Rabjam structured the path of Mantrayana in his commentary of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions according to the ten topics of tantra:

1. View (Skt. Dṛṣṭi; Tib. ལྟ་བ་, Tawa)

2. Samadhi (Skt. Samādhi; Tib. ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་, Ting ngé dzin

3. Conduct (Skt. Charyā; Tib. སྤྱོད་པ་, Chöpa)

4. Mandala (Skt. Maṇḍala; Tib. དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་, Kyilkhor)

5. Empowerment (Skt. Abhiṣeka; Tib. དབང་, Wang)

6. Samaya (Skt. Samaya; Tib. དམ་ཚིག་, Damtsik)

7. Accomplishment (Skt. Sādhanā and Siddhi; Tib. སྒྲུབ་པ་, Drubpa)

8. Offerings (Skt. Pūjā; Tib. མཆོད་པ་, Chöpa)

9. Enlightened Activity (Skt. Karma; Tib. ཕྲིན་ལས་, Trinlé)

10. Mudra (Skt. Mudrā; Tib. ཕྱག རྒྱ་, Chakgya)

In Mipham Rinpoche's exposition, Essence of Clear Light, the tenth topic is divided into two (mudra and mantra) resulting in eleven topics.

How the Ten Topics Relate to the Ten Paramitas

Each topic can be related to one of the ten paramitas of the Mahayana path:

1. View is related to the Paramita of Wisdom (Skt. Prajñāpāramitā)

2. Samadhi is related to the Paramita of Meditative Concentration (Skt. Dhyānapāramitā)

3. Conduct is related to the Paramita of Patience (Skt. Kṣāntipāramitā)

4. Mandala is related to the Paramita of Primordial Wisdom (Skt. Jñānapāramitā)

5. Empowerment is related to the Paramita of Strength (Skt. Balapāramitā)

6. Samaya is related to the Paramita of Discipline (Skt. Śīlapāramitā)

7. Accomplishment is related to the Paramita of Diligence (Skt. Vīryapāramitā)

8. Offerings are related to the Paramita of Generosity (Skt. Dānapāramitā)

9. Enlightened Activity is related to the Paramita of Aspiration Prayers (Skt. Praṇidhānapāramitā)

10. Mudra & Mantra are related to the Paramita of Skillful Means (Skt. Upāyakauśalapāramitā)

Source: Mipham Rinpoche, Essence of Clear Light.

But if the mirage is the mind itself,
then what is perceived?
The Guardian of the World himself has said,
That the mind cannot be seen by the mind.
In the same way he said,
The edge of a sword cannot cut a sword.

Shantideva

Sarvaṃ ca yujyate tasya śūnyatā yasya yujyate |

Sarvaṃ na yujyate tasya śūnyaṃ yasya na yujyate ||

All is possible when emptiness is possible.

Nothing is possible when emptiness is impossible.

-Chapter 24, verse 14, of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Nāgārjuna).

“Although all sort of images appear in a mirror, they do not exist in any solid way. But we have to understand that the same is also true for all the infinite manifestations of samsara and nirvana. The emptiness and the manifestation are indivisible: the emptiness cannot be separated from the manifestation.

When we speak of emptiness and appearance, this does not mean that there are two things in the same way that we talk about the two horns of an animal. It means that there is no emptiness besides the manifestation and there is no manifestation besides the emptiness.

Once we are free from clinging to this sort of duality, our concepts of existence and nonexistence will naturally fall apart. It is important to have a clear understanding – free of doubts – of this unimpeded manifestation.”

~ Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Tsogyal, practicing the teachings that give liberation from sansara is necessary! If one does not do so, it will be extremely difficult to attain the same body again, endowed with freedoms and virtues.

Is it difficult to attain a similar human body? It is as difficult to find it as it is for a pea thrown into a temple wall to stick to it; as difficult as it is for a turtle to stick its head into a yoke floating in the ocean; as difficult as it is to throw a mustard seed through the eye of a standing needle.

Guru Padmasambhava

Guru Rinpoche taught that to increase wealth it is vital to know how to make offerings and practice generosity.

Using Vajrayana view and methods, the practitioner increases both material and spiritual wealth. These are described as outer, inner, and secret wealth. Outer wealth includes material things such as food, clothing, a comfortable place to live, and so on. Inner wealth is a person’s fortune and merit along with personal virtues such as contentment, generosity, and calmness of mind. Secret wealth is understanding the nature of things or emptiness, developing innate inner awareness, and the actualization of the qualities of awakening for the sake of oneself and others.

What a peerless bull is Gotama the contemplative! And like a peerless bull, when bodily feelings have arisen—painful, fierce, sharp, wracking, repellent, disagreeable—he endures them mindful, alert, & unperturbed.

- Sakalika Sutta  (SN 1:38)

No reference point (Skt. animitta, Tib. མཚན་མེད་, tsenmé, Wyl. mtshan med) is a term used in Vajrayana Buddhism to describe the state of mind that is free from any conceptual fixation or grasping. It is also called the state of non-meditation or non-fabrication, as it does not rely on any artificial or contrived methods of meditation.

No reference point is one of the key aspects of the Vajrayana path, as it allows the practitioner to directly experience the true nature of reality, which is beyond any conceptual labels or categories. It is also the basis for the practice of deity yoga, in which the practitioner visualizes oneself as a buddha or a bodhisattva, without clinging to any sense of self or identity.

"The essential point of all the modes of Dharma taught by the Buddha
can be epitomised as a method to subdue one's mind.

The entryway into the initial mind practice
is surely renunciation, without which there is no way.

If authentic renunciation arises, complusive activities will be few ;
if activities are few, the significance of non-action will be near.

When non-action is realised, it is the true nature.
There is no other Buddha outside of that."

~

Creation And Completion: Essential Points Of Tantric Meditation.

- Jamgon Kongtrul.

Free Buddhism Dharma podcasts

The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva
By Khenpo Sodargye

The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, composed by the renowned Tibetan master, Thogme Zangpo, is a great treatise that summarizes the entire bodhisattva path and provides excellent pith instructions for Mahayana practice. This text is not only popular in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, but is also studied and practiced by countless Buddhists from different parts of the world.

His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche held this teaching in high esteem, having received it himself from different masters over 150 times. His Holiness frequently taught this text at Larung Gar and also when he visited monasteries or Dharma centers in various places. Depending on the time available, His Holiness would sometimes present the teaching in great detail and at other times very concisely, sometimes giving only the oral transmission. Often acting as His Holiness’ attendant and translator, Khenpo Sodargye received this teaching, including the oral transmission, more than 100 times from His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche.

It is also this very text that created an auspicious condition for Khenpo Rinpoche’s Dharma activities in the Han regions of China. At the request of His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche, Khenpo Sodargye translated this treatise into Chinese and gave teachings to Han Chinese Buddhists during their visit to Mount Wutai in 1987. Since that time, Khenpo Rinpoche’s Dharma activities have been profoundly vast and successful.

This treatise categorizes all of the practices of the Buddhist path into those of lesser, middling, and great beings, in successive order. This works as a practical guide for following the path of the bodhisattvas, verse by verse. As a training manual, this treatise enables bodhichitta to increase naturally and become stronger in our minds after we completely understand it. Even if one doesn’t understand its real meaning, just by hearing the verses word by word, one’s compassion and loving-kindness will naturally increase.

In this commentary, Khenpo Rinpoche gives a precise explanation of the practices in a systematic way. Accordingly, this will help practitioners who are determined to incorporate these practices into everyday life and traverse the bodhisattva path, in developing stability in their understanding and practice.

Free download here:

https://m.soundcloud.com/khenposodargye/sets/the-thirty-seven-practices-of
===

Patience and steadfastness are the best means of destroying obscurations.

Sakyamuni Buddha

Absolute bodhichitta (Sanskrit :paramārtha cittotpāda; Tibetan : དོན་དམ་སེམས་བསྐྱེད་, döndam semkyé) - the wisdom that directly realizes selflessness. It only arises through the power of meditating on the path, and is therefore known as ‘subtle bodhichitta, which is gained through reality itself.’

Kamalashila's Intermediate Stages of Meditation says:

Absolute bodhichitta transcends the mundane; it is beyond all limitations; it is utterly clear; it is the absolute domain; it is stainless and unmoving, like a candle flame undisturbed by wind. To achieve it, we must devote ourselves for a long time to training in the practices of shamatha and vipashyana.

Tibetan practices of tonglen (exchanging self with others) and lojong (mind transformation ) are essential. Without the absolute, the relative can degenerate into pity and sentimentality, whereas the absolute without the relative can lead to nihilism and lack of desire to engage other sentient beings for their benefit.

Ngondro (Sanskrit: purvaka) is the foundational practices common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Longchen Nyingthig (Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse) was given by Padmasambhava. Kunzang Lama'i Shelung (Words of my Perfect Teacher) is the practice guide.

In Dzogchen, Longchenpa outlines three main categories of preliminaries:

General preliminaries on impermanence and renunciation of samsara;

Special - compassion and bodhicitta;

Supreme - two stages of tantric Deity Yoga as well as Guru yoga.

Longchen Nyingthig ordinary preliminaries are based on Atisha's 7 Point Mind Training (Lojong) & Laglenla Deblug, and contains contemplations:

4 thoughts:
https://t.me/tibetanbuddha/2836

Benefits of liberation;
Qualities of the lama;

The extraordinary preliminaries are:

Taking refuge in the 3 jewels;
Bodhicitta;
Vajrasattva purification;
Mandala offerings;
Kusali offerings of Chod, in which we imagine cutting up and giving away our ordinary bodies;
Guru Yoga, Buddha-nature in our lama and in us;

Ngondro (སྔོན་འགྲོ་) — the preliminary practices of Vajrayana, a profound and powerful means for effecting a deep purification and transformation, at every level of our being. This prepares the practitioner for the profound path of Vajrayana and teachings of Dzogchen, also lead then gradually towards enlightenment.

The Outer Preliminaries are contemplations on the four thoughts:

https://t.me/tibetanbuddha/2836

The Inner Preliminaries are taking refuge to the three jewels, bodhicitta, Vajrasattva purification, mandala offerings and guru yoga.

Purifying the Obscurations:
prostrations remove the obscurations associated with the body,
recitation of the hundred syllable mantra - speech,
mandala offering - mind, and
guru yoga - body, speech and mind.

Vajrayana masters are careful to point out that "foundational" does not mean "lesser," that the practice of Ngondro is a complete and sufficient practice of the spiritual path, and that it can take the practitioner all the way to full enlightenment.

Mahasiddha Tilopa

Mahasiddha (Sanskrit: mahāsiddha "great adept; Tibetan: གྲུབ་ཐོབ་ཆེན་པོ, druptop chenpo) is a term for someone who embodies and cultivates the "siddhi of perfection". A siddha is an individual who, through the practice of sādhanā, attains the realization of siddhis, psychic and spiritual abilities and powers.

The Ashta Siddhis :
Aṇimā: reducing one's Body even to the size of an atom
Mahima: expanding one's Body to an infinitely large size
Garima: becoming infinitely heavy
Laghima: becoming almost weightless
Prāpti: having unrestricted access to all places
Prākāmya: realizing whatever one desires
Iṣṭva: possessing absolute lordship
Vaśtva: the Power to subjugate all

Admin is just a chill yogin

May all beings be blessed by the prayers touched by the wind:

"All things are one - the same -
In lacking an intrinsic being.

All cognitions are the same
Not one of them is graspable.

Phenomena and mind are not two entities
They are one in their primordial purity.

For investigation and analysis there is no need
For from the outset, all is one, a state of openness and freedom.

Samsara and nirvana are not two
They're one within the mind's expanse.

As all rivers in the sea are one
All things are of an equal taste
And in their unborn nature, all are one.

The change and flux of the four elements
Are one within the space where they occur.

Asseverations and negations - are all one
Within the space of emptiness.

All things that arise subside by themselves
In this they are not different -

But are one in purity
Just like all the ripples in a single stream.

Those who realise this are wise indeed."

~ Longchenpa.

Finding Rest In The Nature Of Mind,
Vol 1.

Seated below Longchenpa:

On the left Jigme Lingpa
On the right Vimalamitra

I’d love to throw “meditation” to the winds!

What’s the use of sravaka who regards phenomena as the enemy?
What’s the use of developing bodhichitta like a mawkish old lady?
What’s the use of tantrika warped by negative emotions?
Enough! I’ve had it!
I’ll remain in the nature of mind, at ease, no matter what!

When I consider my own conduct,
I can do nothing but laugh.
When I consider the conduct of others,
I can do nothing but sigh.
Just now, whatever comes to mind is distressing.
Whomever I lay my eyes on, it’s depressing.

“Yes it is!” “No, it’s not!”
Nothing but useless babble!
“It’s like this!”
“It’s like that!”
Nothing but verbal deceit!
Duped by the theories of pig-headed academics,
I’d love to sweep their “view” out of the door!

Seeing deities, seeing demons,
Genuine meditation experiences lessen.
All this visualizing of wrathful wide-eyed deities,
Their maws agape, turns you into a bedevilled spirit.
Duped by myself to do stupid practices, I’d love to throw “meditation” to the winds!

Aimed at achieving worldly goals, your Vinaya conduct
Just look good from the outside.
Aimed at nothing but lust, your Mantrayana conduct
Only aims at private parts.
Duped by pursuing useless goals, I’d love to throw “conduct” down the drain!

- Dza Patrul Rinpoche

"Enlightened Vagabond"

“Letting go of any activity
is the pith instruction.

If there is no wanting,
this is realization.

If there is nothing to accomplish,
this is conduct.

If there is nothing to express,
this is experience.

If there is nothing to be adopted or rejected, this is the fruition.”

~ Dignaga

"In essence, in the one hundred million continents of this world system there are one hundred million manifestations of Orgyen Padma Jungne.

He subdues beings according to their faculties through his great merit enlightened body.

He subdues beings through his enlightened speech.

He subdues beings through his pure awareness mind.

He subdues beings through inconceivable miraculous activities.

In these four ways of subduing, he blesses beings by placing them in a high-realm body to go from high realms to high realms in order to attain enlightenment.

He reveals the path of enlightenment and blesses beings with the result of enlightenment.

It is as it says :

In one particle, there are immeasurable particles with inconceivable Buddhas and pure lands.

Orgyen Padmasambhava is free from being single or many. In all the pure lands of the Buddhas, he abides in one taste with the totality of their enlightened awareness.

From that unceasing nature and until the realms of beings are emptied, his activity of subduing the objects to be subdued is unsurpassed in place and time."

~

From the book :

A Cascading Waterfall Of Nectar.

By Thinley Norbu.

Just This

"This is the space, just this,
Directly know that every experience is magical.

The wisdom eye is now open, clairvoyance.

Now, here your body is no longer solid, you can travel unrestrained."

- Rigdzin Changchub Dorje

"Hey!

Wearing matted-locks, grasping at self and agent

Brahmins, Jains, Hedonists and Materialists, accepting a real basis for things

Claim omniscience but don’t even know themselves.

They are deluded and far from the path of liberation.

Vaibhāṣikas and Sautrāntikas, Yogācārins and Mādhyamikas, etc.

Criticize each other and argue,
Ignorant of the space-like equality of appearances and emptiness itself, they turn their backs on the innate."

- Vajragīti by Saraha

"If you’ve been practicing for years, you should be seeing some results, If you’re not, you may be missing the point.

The result of spiritual practice should be our inner transformation into better human beings. After practicing for months or years, we should be less prone to anger, pride, and jealousy. Our practice should lead us to a vaster, calmer mind.

For example, the whole point of dieting is to lose a few pounds, not to collect knowledge and become an expert on each and every diet. You may have heard about different diets and read many books, but you won’t lose weight unless you put one of them into practice in your everyday life. Similarly, if you do not implement the teachings, your destructive emotions and self clinging will not diminish, and the Dharma instructions will be of no use to you, no matter how many you recieve."

~ Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche

Just as the sun and its light always exist together,
Instantly, with an understanding of the nature of the mind, you will unmistakably understand the nature of all things.

Gampopa

When Shechen Kongtrul spoke about mundane affairs, he could be quite childish, but when he spoke about the Dharma, his wisdom was like the rising sun dispelling darkness.

In Lhasa I once had the chance to ask him who he felt were the most realised masters in Tibet.

"Take a look at Dudjom" he replied "His eyes are so bright and present, almost like a hawk.

In the eyes you can see the quality of complete open awareness. If anyone has realisation, he does."

Compared to him, everyone else seems quite dull and absentminded".

"What about that master Drukpa Yongdzin, who is greatly renowned"? I then asked.

"He's definitely got it too. His mind is wide open, without a shred of ignorance" replied Shechen Kongtrul. "I hear that he doesn't even sleep".

Then I asked him what he meant by 'high realisation'.

"It is when your awareness is unimpeded and free of fixation, and yet you are acutely present and attentive to detail".

He then precisely demonstrated just this. I feel sure that he was a highly realised master himself and I had deep trust in him.

- Blazing Splendor: The Memoirs Of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.

Luminous Essence of One's Mind

"Just as the brilliant essence of the sun

Is not obscured by the darkness of a thousand eons

So too, the luminous essence of the mind

Cannot be darkened by eons in saṃsāra."

དཔེར་ན་གསལ་དྭང་ཉི་མའི་སྙིང་པོ་དེ། །
བསྐལ་པ་སྟོང་གི་མུན་པས་སྒྲིབ་མི་འགྱུར། །
དེ་བཞིན་རང་སེམས་སྙིང་པོ་འོད་གསལ་དེ། །
བསྐལ་པའི་འཁོར་བས་སྒྲིབ་པར་མི་ནུས་སོ། །

- Tilopa's Ganges Mahamudra Upadesha

Photo: Tilopa statue in the Tilopa Cave, Pashupatinath, Nepal

When retiring to sleep, draw the Guru from above your head into the center of your heart,
abandon the coming and going of thoughts, memories, and all mental activity,
and relax into a state of undistracted devotion and prayer.
Then the clear light will gradually arise out of deep sleep.

If you want to do the meditation of recognising, changing, expanding, and purifying dreams,
you must maintain an attitude during the day that all appearances are dreams,
and then it will be easy to deal with dreams.

If you tend to solidify appearances during the day,
then at night, even if you recognise dreams, the practice will be difficult.

Also, to cut through the intermediate existence
you need to have cut through the dream experience.
If you don't realise that all waking appearances are like dreams or illusions,
then one vast mass of delusion will obscure another.

Jamgon Kongtrul.

Creation And Completion
Essential Points Of Tantric Meditation.

Translated by Sarah Harding.

“All of the faults of samsara arise from the deluded mind which apprehends a personal self or a self of phenomena.

Since this deluded mind also is adventitious like clouds in the sky, from the beginning neither mixing nor polluting the luminous clarity of the primordial basic nature, these faults are individually distinguished from the basic element and are suitable to be removed.

Therefore, the essence of the basic element is empty of these faults; it is untainted. Without depending on the polluting delusion, it is luminous and clear by its own nature; self-existing wisdom permeates the thusness of all phenomena. It is not empty of that which it is inseparable from, the basic element of consummate qualities, because in its essence this is the basic nature from which it is inseparable-like the sun and light rays.”

~ Mipham Rinpoche

Virtues of the Lay-follower

He has gone for refuge to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha.

He places the Dhamma first.

He gives according to his ability.
He guards his deeds and words.

If he sees a decline in the Dispensation of the Teaching of the Buddha, he strives for its strong growth.

He will not accept any other teacher, not even for the sake of his life.

— Milindapañha, Ch. IV

Don't sit at home, don't go to the forest, but recognize the mind where you are.
When one is in complete, perfect Enlightenment,
Where is samsara and where is nirvana?

Milarepa

Dza Patrul Rinpoche’s Pith Instruction

Four sessions of ritual, devoid of generation and completion;
Clamor of cymbal and drum, with no recollection of purity;
Murmur of recitation, with no hint of samadhi—
These do not even come close to the path of liberation.
Even if they’re present, the samadhis of generation and completion,
If they aren’t paired with true bodhicitta
They won’t help with attaining omniscience.
Instead, they’ll just be seeds for roving in the confusion of samsara.
Any dharma that doesn’t benefit your mind
Is Dharma in name only, not in truth.
If no change occurs within your mind,
A hundred years of practice in retreat is just toil.
Even when months and years of retreat are completed,
And a mantra count in the hundreds of millions has been reached,
If the mind’s attachment, aversion, and stupidity do not decrease,
Such dharma practice is utterly pointless, don’t you think?
So, instead of mimicking the look of the Dharma while missing its true meaning,
Or assuming the guise of a wandering monk while chasing the confused
appearances of this life,
Or imitating busy, petty lamas who gorge themselves on pious offerings,
Tame your own mind through the Dharma.

Samye translations, 2024.

Look at Your Mind, Dakini's Mysterious Home

"Naropa, you should strive
For Samsara and Nirvana’s unity.
Look into the mirror of your mind, which is delight eternal,
The mysterious home of the Dakini."

- Tilopa

Mahasiddha Naropa: The Indomitable Disciple

Cultivating Your Demon in the Hermitage

"By the time you have set yourself up with a comfortable place to stay, plenty of food, warm clothes and a generous benefactor, you have completely cultivated the demon before even starting to cultivate the Dharma."

- Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa

I'll do this one tomorrow, this one later,
and this one in the distant future.
When a man thinks like this,
the lord of death smiles to himself.

Chandragomin

Nairātmyā or Dagmema is a Dakini, the consort of Hevajra in the Hevajra-tantra whose name means "selfless woman".

Anattā or anātman (Sanskrit: अनात्मन्) is the doctrine of "non-self" – that no unchanging, permanent self or essence can be found in any phenomenon.

Practices in Vajrayāna Buddhism employs the concept of deities, to end self-grasping, and to manifest as a purified, enlightened deity as part of the Vajrayāna path to liberation from rebirths. One such deity is goddess Nairatmya which symbolizes that "self is an illusion" and "all beings and phenomenal appearances lack an abiding self or essence" in Vajrayāna Buddhism.

Niguma, lady of illusion, brought forth a tantric sadhana cycle, a cohesive set of spiritual practices : the Six Yogas of Niguma.

This practice works with the subtle body (also known as the vajra-body) system of channels (nadis), winds (lung, vayu), drops (bindus) and chakras. Through inner heat, the vital winds are caused to enter into the central channel (avadhuti), causing the four blisses or joys which is then unified with the wisdom that understands emptiness.

Mahasiddha Zoghipa… Yogipa / Jogipa (dzo gi pa):

“The Candali Pilgrim”

Yogipa was from Odantapuri of the candela caste, and his guru was Savaripa. Although he made great effort, he still had little wisdom. One day, his guru came to him and initiated him into Hevajra with instructions for the Developing Stage and the Perfection Stage, then sent him off to meditate. However, Yogipa was still unable to understand the meaning of the instructions, so he went back to his guru to express his concern, and made a request to perform meritorious acts by just using body and speech.

So his guru taught him the recitation of Vajra-Heruka and told him to consummate his practice by going to the 24 great places. Yogipa practiced diligently for 12 years, and eventually purified the stains and obtained the siddhi of Mahamudra. For 5 years he aided the various purposes of living beings, and then went to the realm of the Dakas in this very body.

- Lama Tenzin Lobsang

This last probably refers to the consort of the Mighty Lord of Supreme Joy, Garab Wangchug, who is known as Queen [Demoness], Tsünmo (btsun mo [bdud], devī[māra]).

According to the inscription of the block-print the Mighty Lord of Supreme Joy, Garab Wangchug, is in the center, where he remains with his consort. The other directions of the maṇḍala are indicated by the emblems of the remaining four buddha families – wheel, jewel, lotus flower, and sword – which are found in the east, south, west, and north with the colors blue, yellow, red, and black (instead of green). As the demons depicted in the page of the Himalayan Art Resources (HAR) are colored images, at times with inscription of the color of the deity or demon, we may also compare the colors of the Four Māra. As the central demonic force tis he Mighty Lord of Supreme Joy together with his consort, the eastern direction of the wheel is hold by the blue Māra of the Sons of the Gods, the southern direction of the jewel by the yellow Māra of One’s Aggregates, the western direction of the lotus flower by the red Māra of One’s Afflictive and Negative Emotions, and the northern direction of the sword by the black Māra of the Lord of Death. Thus, the order and direction in the maṇḍala is found as follows:

Center, white: Mighty Lord of Supreme Joy Garab Wangchug with his consort, the Queen Demoness (dga’ rab dbang phyug, btsun mo bdud),
East, blue: Māra of the Sons of the Gods, Lha’i bu’i Düd (lha'i bu'i bdud, devaputramāra),
South, yellow: Māra of One’s Aggregates, one’s psycho-physical constituents, Phüngpo’i Düd, (phung po'i bdud, skandhamāra),
West, red: Māra of One’s Afflictive and Negative Emotions, Nyönmong kyi Düd (nyon mongs kyi bdud, kleśamāra), and
North, black: Māra of the Lord of Death, Chidag gi Düd ('chi bdag gi bdud, mṛtyumāra).

Instead, the colors of the demons from HAR are different and the order and direction in the maṇḍala is found as follows:

Center, white: Mighty Lord of Supreme Joy Garab Wangchug with his consort, the Queen Demoness (dga’ rab dbang phyug, btsun mo bdud),
East, blue: Māra of One’s Aggregates, one’s psycho-physical constituents, Phüngpo’i Düd, (phung po'i bdud, skandhamāra),
South, yellow: Māra of One’s Afflictive and Negative Emotions, Nyönmong kyi Düd (nyon mongs kyi bdud, kleśamāra),
West, red: Māra of the Sons of the Gods, Lha’i bu’i Düd (lha'i bu'i bdud, devaputramāra), and
North, black: Māra of the Lord of Death, Chidag gi Düd ('chi bdag gi bdud, mṛtyumāra).

Whatever, their associated directions within the maṇḍala may be, the central direction of the wheel has changed with the eastern direction of the vajra. Therefore, the central and most important point is the vajra family in the center, which is here represented by the five arrows (mda’ lnga) held in the quiver of the Mighty Lord of Supreme Joy Garab Wangchug; after he releases the wish-fulfilling jewel held close to his heart he is ready to shoot off the five arrows, which represent all kinds of hindrances and obstacles (bar chad) caused by the five poisons (dug lnga) and the six main and twenty secondary negative and afflictive emotions (rtsa nye nyon mongs, mūlakleśa upakleśa).

Regarding one’s five poisons (dug lnga, pañca kleśaviṣa), as the vajra family, which usually represents the negative and afflictive emotion of anger-aversion (zhe sdang, dveṣa), is also associated with ignorance (ma rig pa, avidyā), this correlates with certain dzogchen instructions. Moreover, it is in accord with Tulku Urgyen’s statement cited before.

Compiled by pema, 2024, November 13th

Original photo via Deni Roger; thank You! HAR https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=2554

Further reading: Revue d'Études Tibétaines, Number 2, April 2003 - Numéro spécial Lha srin sde brgyad
https://www.digitalhimalaya.com/collections/journals/ret/

Six Aspects of One’s Demonic Forces Related to the Four Māras

Rare depiction of the Four Māras, Düzhi (bdud bzhi, catvārimāra) and its six aspects, which are found on one block-print page together with sixteen gods and demons of the Eight Classes of Gods and Demons (lha 'dre/srin sde brgyad, aṣṭagatyaḥ/aṣṭauparṣadaḥ). Comparing the twenty-two individual demonic forces with another set from the Himalayan Art Resources we find the same six aspects amongst the twenty-two gods and demons.

The Four Māras have a central role in the Chöd and Zhije traditions (zhi byed dang gcod) where they are known as:

1. Tangible Māra (thogs bcas kyi bdud)
2. Intangible Māra (thogs med kyi bdud)
3. Māra of exultation (dga' brod kyi bdud)
4. Māra of conceit (snyems byed kyi bdud)

In the sutra teachings these four are known as:

1. Māra of One’s Aggregates, one’s psycho-physical constituents, Phüngpo’i Düd, (phung po'i bdud, skandhamāra), which symbolizes our clinging to forms, perceptions, and mental states as ‘real’;
2. Māra of One’s Afflictive and Negative Emotions, Nyönmong kyi Düd (nyon mongs kyi bdud, kleśamāra), which symbolizes our addiction to habitual patterns of negative emotion;
3. Māra of the Lord of Death, Chidag gi Düd ('chi bdag gi bdud, mṛtyumāra), which symbolizes both death itself, which cuts short our precious human birth, and also our fear of change, impermanence, and death; and
4. Māra of the Sons of the Gods, Lha’i bu’i Düd (lha'i bu'i bdud, devaputramāra), which symbolizes our craving for pleasure, convenience, and ‘peace’.

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche states:
“The first of the four demons is the demon of the Lord of Death, which cuts our life short. Second is the demon of the physical aggregates, which prevents the attainment of the rainbow body. Third is the demon of the disturbing emotions, the three poisons which prevent liberation from samsara. Finally, there is the demon of the son of the gods, which is distraction in the meditation state and the tendency to postpone practice. Procrastination is the mara of the son of the gods, which creates obstacles for samadhi.
[However,] The real demon is our conceptual thinking. Falling into conceptualization is the demon. By recognizing our mind essence, all demons are defeated; the four maras are vanquished and all obstacles are done away with. The main point is to train in that."

The Great Tibetan Dictionary (tshig mdzod chen mo) gives the following descriptions:

1. The māra of the aggregates prevents one from accomplishing virtue, since if one possesses the aggregates (created by karma and destructive emotions), then one falls under the sway of sickness, aging and decay; the conditions preventing one from accomplishing virtue.
2. The māra of the destructive emotions prevents one from accomplishing virtue, since one is under the power of destructive emotions such as desire and anger. The coarse mara of the destructive emotions are the root and subsidiary destructive emotions. The subtle mara of the destructive emotions are for example the emotional habitual tendencies in the mind of an arhat.
3. The māra of the Lord of Death causes one to be powerless regarding the ceasing of the life-force faculty.
4. The māra of the sons of the gods prevent one from accomplishing virtue through the jealousy of the desire realm's sons of the gods.

The Great Tibetan Dictionary continues:
(4.1.= 5.) The coarse mara of the sons of the gods is the Mighty Lord of Supreme Joy Garab Wangchug (dga’ rab dbang phyug) aka the Deity of Love and Desire, Dödlha (kāmadeva), who is the lord of the realm Controlling Others' Emanations (gzhan 'phrul dbang byed, paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest of the six heavens of the desire realm (‘dod khams), where he enjoys all the pleasures created magically by other gods.
(4.2.= 6.) The subtle mara of the sons of the gods is for example distraction which makes one unable to overcome any of the first three maras.

"Yeah, that’s it.

All objects are appearance-emptiness inseparable.

All mental states are clarity-emptiness inseparable.

All feelings are bliss-emptiness inseparable.

This is how they truly are; recognize them to be so."

- Sixteenth Karmapa

Reply to the question “What is the essence of your mind like?” and answer “When I analyze my mind, I cannot find it, but, when it is resting, it possesses clarity.” He laughed and said, “Yeah, that’s it...."

Guhyagarbha Tantra (Tib. རྒྱུད་གསང་བ་སྙིང་པོ་, Gyü Sangwé Nyingpo), The Essence of Secrets Tantra is the main tantra of the Mahayoga.

It is the main Nyingma source for understanding empowerment, samaya, mantras, mandalas and other Vajrayana topics, and has influenced the Dzogchen tradition.

The core teachings : "holds that all things manifest spontaneously (thams cad rang snang), and mind and primordial wisdom also manifest spontaneously (sems dang ye shes rang snang)." The Secret Womb texts discuss numerous tantric Buddhist topics, such as the creation of mandalas, the practice of controlling the winds and drops within energy channels, the purification of the five aggregates, and the qualities and activities of the Buddhas.

This tantra is a guide to Mahayoga/deity yoga, a tantric method of realizing the true nature of reality and attaining Buddhahood by relies on the visualization to create a Buddha image in one's mind and then to merge this Buddha with oneself.

Mahayoga (Tib. རྣལ་འབྱོར་ཆེན་པོ་, naljor chenpo) — three yanas of powerful transformative methods according to the nine yanas of the Nyingma school focuses mainly on the development stage, & emphasizes the clarity & precision of visualization as skilful means.

Entry Point
Once one’s mind has been matured through receiving the ten outer benefiting empowerments, the 5 inner enabling empowerments & the three secret profound empowerments, one keeps the samayas.

View
The indivisibility of the higher levels of reality, according to which the cause for the appearance of the essential nature, the 7 riches of the absolute, is spontaneously present within the pure awareness that is beyond conceptual elaboration, & all relative phenomena naturally appear as the mandala of deities of the 3 seats.

Meditation
Generation stage yoga & Completion stage yoga.

Conduct
Elaborate, unelaborate & extremely unelaborate conduct.

Results
The four vidyadhara levels & finally the ultimate fruition of the Vajradhara of unity.

The mind, empty, effulgent, and infinite in its potentiality, can be understood as having five basic qualities: emptiness, mobility, clarity, continuity, and stability. These qualities correspond to one of the five basic elements: space, air, fire, water, and earth.

We have already described the mind as non-material: it is indefinite, omnipresent, and incorporeal, a void with the nature of space.

Thoughts and states constantly arise in the mind; such movement and fluctuation are the nature of the air element.

In addition, the mind is clear; it has the cognizing faculty, and this clear effulgence is the nature of the element of fire.

Also, the mind is continuous; everything it experiences is a continuous flow of thoughts and sensations. This continuity is the nature of the element of water.

Finally, the mind is the basis or foundation from which all cognizable things arise in both sansara and nirvana, and this is the nature of the element of earth.

Kalu Rinpoche

In Vajrayana, the syllable 'Ah' represents a number of different things depending on the Buddhist vehicle and the individual tradition. In Mahayana Buddhism, the letter 'A' relates to the shortest of all of the Prajnaparamita Sutras - the Prajnaparamita in a Single Letter. Also in Tantrayana, the Prajnaparamita Sutras, as a group, can be personified as the female deity of the same name - Prajnaparamita, regarded as the Mother of all wisdom and the mother of all Buddhas.

In the Nyingma Tradition the syllable 'A' is highly symbolic and closely related to the teachings of Dzogchen philosophical view. A physical yet still symbolic manifestation of the principal of the 'A' is a clear quartz crystal rock. During specific Nyingma initiation rituals an initiation card displaying the letter 'A' will be shown next to a length of clear quartz crystal, or drawn together on a single initiation card. The letter 'A' as an object of meditation can also be found in the Mahamudra traditions of the Sakya and Kagyu Schools.

The Six Dharmas / Yogas of Naropa (ན་རོ་ཆོས་དྲུག, naro cho druk) are a set of Tibetan Buddhist tantric practices taught by mahasiddhas Tilopa & Naropa & passed on to Marpa Lotsawa forming the basis of the inner yoga practices of Mahamudra.

Phowa (འཕོ་བ་, saṃkranti), the 6th Yogas – the yoga of the transference of consciousness to a pure Buddhafield.

Tilopa states: By means of these yogas, at the time of transference & also of forceful projection into another body, the yogi can utilize the mantric seed syllable of the deity and train in the deity yoga practice in conjunction with the exhalation and inhalation [of the breath], long and short, and project consciousness to wherever is desired. Alternatively, those desiring to transfer to a higher realm can apply themselves to two syllables of YAM, and also HI-KA, and HUM-HUM. Consciousness is thrown to the heart of the deity inseparable from the guru, and from there to whatever buddhafield is desired. This too is the instruction of Sukhasiddhi.

Phowa (Skt. utkranti; འཕོ་བ་) is the practice for directing the transference of consciousness at the time of death, either for oneself or another, transferred to the dharmakaya nature, to a pure land or to a favourable existence in the human realm.

Patrul Rinpoche five kinds of phowa:

Superior transference to the dharmakaya through the seal of the view.

Middling transference to the sambhogakaya through the union of the generation and completion phases.

Lesser transference to the nirmanakaya through immeasurable compassion.

Ordinary “phowa of three recognitions”: recognition of our central channel as the path; our consciousness as the traveller; and the environment of a buddha realm as the destination.

Transference performed for the dead with the hook of compassion

According to Marpa: If you study Phowa, then at the time when death is approaching you will have no despair. If beforehand you have become accustomed to the path of Phowa, then at the time of death you will be full of cheerful confidence.

An Aspiration for the Final Age
by Jigme Lingpa

"Namo! From the depths of my heart,
I take refuge in the Three Jewels.
Until I gain acceptance of the unborn nature of reality,
May I never again fall into the lower realms
But attain a human body, superior even to a godly form.

Even if I attain the higher realms, nowhere in saṃsāra
Is free from the bonds of the three types of suffering.
And even within fortunate realms, may I avoid a form
That would obstruct nirvāṇa, such as the unfree states.

May I avoid birth as an evil king
or minister lacking restraint,
Who takes delight in warfare
and twists and flouts the law.
May I not become a servant, lowly and tormented,
Or a merchant, or anyone who is devious or at fault.

May I not become a steward
who steals the Saṅgha’s wealth,
Or one without qualities or liberation
who appropriates funds.
May I avoid rebirth as a renunciant
who offends householders
As they strive for better rebirth
and who torments the minds of others.

May I not become someone as ill-natured as a serpent
Or one whose envy of others’ wealth
resembles an asura’s.
May I avoid rebirth as one who deceives the venerable
And despises the Dharma,
or as a thief, a robber or a hunter.

May I avoid the five boundless crimes
and five similar misdeeds,
And refrain from remorselessly committing
the ten non-virtues.
May I avoid all major forms
of wrongdoing and misconduct,
Such as setting forests ablaze
or stealing honey from hives.

Avoiding such plights, now,
at the close of the five hundred,
Having gained the precious support of a human body,
Whether as a monastic or upholder of lay vows,
May I inherit the lineage of the bodhisattvas.

As soon as I’m reborn,
may I meet a master who flawlessly
And authentically teaches the Mahāyāna path,
And by pleasing him or her in every way,
May I gain the wisdom of hearing,
contemplation and meditation.

Furthermore, by possessing the motivation of bodhicitta
And familiarizing myself
with the application of the six perfections,
May I gain the supreme good fortune
to traverse all at once
The five paths and ten stages
and master the tantra collection!"

“May we conquer the fortress of the view, cross the abyss of meditation and seize the life-force that is conduct!”

“I don’t see consciousness; I see wisdom. I don’t see sentient beings; I see buddhas.”

Marpa said to Milarepa, “Having taken on this aggregate of form—unrealized, it is a body of the four elements. Realized, it is union with the deity, which reverses ordinary clinging.” For all the sentient beings in the world in all six realms, except for the faults of temporary defilements, their basis is Buddha's nature. If you understand this, pure perception arises. As Milarepa said, “I don’t see consciousness; I see wisdom. I don’t see sentient beings; I see buddhas.”

By Garchen Rinpoche

The six paramitas are an essential concept in the practice of Mahayana Buddhism.

In The Essence of Buddhism, Traleg Rinpoche says :

“If we want to obtain enlightenment by becoming a Bodhisattva, it is necessary to actualize wisdom and compassion. This is done by the practice of what are called the six paramitas.

Para in Sanskrit literally means the 'other shore.' Here it means going beyond our own notion of the self. From the Mahayana point of view, if we want to progress properly on the path, we need to go beyond our conventional understanding of the self. So when we say that paramita means 'transcendental action,' we mean it in the sense that actions or attitudes are performed in a non-egocentric manner. 'Transcendental' does not refer to some external reality, but rather to the way in which we conduct our lives and perceive the world—either in an egocentric or a non-egocentric way. The six paramitas are concerned with the effort to step out of the egocentric mentality.”

"The darkness of a thousand aeons is powerless
To dim the crystal clarity of the sun's heart;
And likewise, aeons of samsara have no power
To veil the clear light of the mind's essence."

- Tilopa

From Tilopa's Mahamudra Instruction to Naropa in twenty Eight Verses

When an action is performed, a corresponding tendency is established, and it remains latent until circumstances come together under which it matures and manifests itself as a fact of our experience. The outstanding property of the karmic process is its inevitability. Karma not only can ripen - it is bound to ripen. Good actions lead to positive karmic tendencies that manifest as happiness and bring physical or emotional comfort. Unkind actions set negative karmic tendencies that surface as experiences of pain and suffering, physical or mental. It may take a lifetime or several lifetimes for a particular tendency to manifest; however, the process is inevitable.

Kalu Rimpoche

The Danger of Samsara

"There is a hell called ‘Great Parilāha’. There, whatever sight a hell being sees with his eye is unlikable, not likable; undesirable, not desirable; unpleasant, not pleasant. Whatever sound a hell being hears … Whatever odor a hell being smells … Whatever flavor a hell being tastes … Whatever touch a hell being feels … Whatever thought a hell being knows with his mind is unlikable, not likable; undesirable, not desirable; unpleasant, not pleasant.”

- SN 56.43 Parilāha Sutta (Full Sutta)

"When human beings pass away, the amount of beings reborn as humans in their next life is extremely few. However, when human beings pass away, the amount of beings reborn as hell beings in their next life is extremely large.

What is the reason for this?

It is because, monks, they have not understood the Four Noble Truths."

- SN 56.102 Manussacutiniraya Sutta (Full Sutta)

"Contemplating the lives of the Masters, one sees that, even a desire for more instruction is a distraction.

Keep the essence of the teaching safe in your heart.

Too many explanations without the essence is like many trees without fruit.

Though they are all knowledge, they are not ultimate truth. To know them all is not the knowing of truth.

Too much elucidation brings no spiritual benefit."

~ Marpa Lotsawa's Final Instruction for Jetsun Milarepa.

"All sounds of audible emptiness are the guru’s speech.
Thoughts and memories are integrated as the guru’s mind.
This is the integration of the guru’s three kāyas.

With this especially exalted integration on the path,
during all equipoise and subsequent attainment,
day and night, you know that everything that appears is the guru.

That very guru is your own mind.
The mind and the guru inseparable
is the natural arising of great bliss, clarity, and emptiness."

~ Niguma

"When retiring to sleep, draw the Guru from above your head into the center of your heart,
abandon the coming and going of thoughts, memories, and all mental activity,
and relax into a state of undistracted devotion and prayer.
Then the clear light will gradually arise out of deep sleep.

If you want to do the meditation of recognising, changing, expanding, and purifying dreams,
you must maintain an attitude during the day that all appearances are dreams,
and then it will be easy to deal with dreams.

If you tend to solidify appearances during the day,
then at night, even if you recognise dreams, the practice will be difficult.
Also, to cut through the intermediate existence
you need to have cut through the dream experience.
If you don't realise that all waking appearances are like dreams or illusions,
then one vast mass of delusion will obscure another."

                                         ~

Jamgon Kongtrul

Creation And Completion
Essential Points Of Tantric Meditation

Translated by Sarah Harding.

'Trekchö makes the inner elements dissolve,
They break down into particles, but into light are not refined.
By contrast, thögal makes the elements transform into
The vajra body of great transformation,
Which brings benefit to beings till samsara has been emptied.

Thus the thögal teaching is more eminent
Than all the doctrines on the grounds and paths,
On conduct and results,
That other Buddhist schools propose
Through mind's investigation.
Its special features are set forth in pith instructions.

And yet, until the adventitious factor: apprehension of the 'I"
Subsides in the pure space of dharmadhatu,
Beings are taken in by it.
This ordinary way of thoughts and things
Is lord and ruler of existence.'

~ Jigme Lingpa

No reference point (Skt. animitta, Tib. མཚན་མེད་, tsenmé) is a term used in Vajrayana Buddhism to describe the state of mind that is free from any conceptual fixation or grasping. It is also called the state of non-meditation or non-fabrication, as it does not rely on any artificial or contrived methods of meditation.

No reference point is often associated with the teachings of Dzogchen and Mahamudra, the highest forms of Vajrayana practice which emphasize the natural and spontaneous expression of the mind’s innate wisdom, which is not obscured by any dualistic thoughts.

To attain this, the practitioner needs to receive the transmission and instructions from a qualified Vajrayana master, who introduce the practitioner to the nature of one’s own mind. The practitioner then needs to apply the methods of meditation and conduct that are suitable for one’s level of realization, and gradually dissolve the habitual patterns of ignorance and attachment that prevent one from recognizing the true nature of reality.

bruh

"Firmly holding the central channel as the khaṭvāṅga;
The unstruck sound of the damaru resounds with the ultimate sound of emptiness.

Having adopted the conduct of a Kapalika-yogin, Kanhapada roams about in the city of the body,
Being of one disposition towards all beings."

- Charya song of the Mahasiddha Kanhapada

"The khaṭvāṅga is the divine body;
Prajna is the sound of the damaru.

The lord who holds the vajra is day;
The yogini is night."

- Charya song of the Mahasiddha Luipada

In the Unsurpassed Anuttara Yoga Tantra class, saṃsāra is the non-recognition of natural, innate, and uncontrived pristine wisdom, its cause, the karmic latencies of transference, is the principal origin. The truth of the path consists of not being distracted from the two stages of ripening and liberation, and the truth of cessation is the body endowed with the seven aspects of union (Tib. ཁ་སྦྱོར་ཡན་ལག་བདུན་, khajor yenlak dün) — the seven qualities of a sambhogakaya buddha. Jigme Lingpa quotes Acharya Vagishvarakirti in his auto-commentary on the Treasury of Precious Qualities, who lists them as:
(1) complete enjoyment (ལོངས་སྤྱོད་རྫོགས་, longchö dzog),
(2) union (ཁ་སྦྱོར་, khajor),
(3) great bliss (བདེ་བ་ཆེན་པོ་, dewa chenpo),
(4) absence of a self-nature (རང་བཞིན་མེད་པ་, rang shyin mépa),
(5) presence of compassion (སྙིང་རྗེས་ཡོངས་སུ་གང་བ་, nyingjé yong su gangwa),
(6) being uninterrupted (རྒྱུན་མི་ཆད་པ་, gyün michepa) and
(7) being unceasing (འགོག་པ་མེད་པ་, gokpa mépa).

Observing light is a cause of liberation for noble ones.

— Paṭisambhidāmagga (Khuddaka Nikāya)

All difficulties arise because you do not think of others. Whatever you do, constantly look into the mirror of your mind and check whether your motive is for yourself or others. Gradually you will develop the ability to control your mind under all circumstances; and, following in the footsteps of the accomplished masters of the past, you will attain enlightenment in one lifetime. A good mind is like a rich earth of glittering gold, illuminating the whole sky with its golden radiance. But if the body, speech, and mind are not tamed, there is very little chance that you will attain any realization. Please always be aware of your thoughts, words, and actions. If they go in the wrong direction, your study and practice of the Dharma will be useless.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Mandārava herself was an incarnation of the Buddha Paṇḍāravāsinī, the consort of Amitābha.

She attained full enlightenment alongside Padmasambhava in the famed Maratika Cave in Nepal.

Together there they received, practiced, and accomplished the Chime Soktik, a terma received directly from Buddha Amitayus who they met face-to-face. This terma is the central long-life practice of the Dudjom Tersar lineage.

Princess Mandarava Importance in Long-Life Practices

1. Attainment of Immortality: According to Tibetan Buddhist texts, Mandarava achieved the state of immortal vidyadhara (wisdom holder) through her mastery of advanced tantric practices, particularly the Chulen or “Extracting the Essence” practices. These techniques involve absorbing the essence of elements like air and light, nourishing the practitioner’s subtle body, and extending life force beyond the normal human lifespan.

2. Role in Padmasambhava’s Longevity: Mandarava is said to have practiced longevity techniques with Padmasambhava in the Maratika Cave in Nepal. It was there that both attained the “immortal life empowerment” from Amitayus, the Buddha of Infinite Life. This accomplishment is seen as pivotal in the continuation of Padmasambhava’s spiritual mission and his influence over centuries.

3. Spiritual Power and Influence: Mandarava’s realization exemplifies the potential for human beings to transform their bodies and extend life through spiritual practice. Her story and the practices associated with her inspire practitioners in Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhism) who seek longevity not only in terms of physical life but also as a way to deepen spiritual realization.

4. Embodiment of the Sacred Feminine: Mandarava represents a powerful symbol of the sacred feminine in Vajrayana Buddhism. Her life story demonstrates that women can attain the highest levels of spiritual realization and transcend ordinary existence through profound devotion, wisdom, and tantric practice.

Mandarava’s life and teachings hold great significance for long-life practices in Tibetan Buddhism, representing the potential for spiritual practitioners to transcend death and achieve a state of enlightened immortality.

Between One Breath and the Next

"Breathing gently, people enjoy their slumber.

But between one breath and the next there is no guarantee that death will not slip in. To wake up in good health is an event which truly deserves to be considered miraculous, yet we take it completely for granted."

- Dza Patrul Rinpoche

"Words of My Perfect Teacher"

Good morning; good studies and practice!

The Thirty-Seven Practices of All the Bodhisattvas states:

“When one has abandoned evil lands, afflictions gradually wane. When one is without distraction, virtuous practice waxes on its own. When one is clear-sighted, certainty in Dharma is born.

Keeping to solitude is the bodhisattva’s practice.”

Guru Nyima Ozer (Skt. Sūryaraśmi, Rays of the Sun) a manifestation of Guru Rinpoche, embodies the radiant energy of the sun, dispelling darkness and ignorance with his brilliant light of wisdom. He appears as a wrathful form of Guru Rinpoche, representing the powerful, transformative energy necessary to overcome obstacles and confusion.

“The tirthikas try to poison Guru Rinpoche, who transforms their concoction into amrita nectar. Irradiant from his drink, he inspires faith amongst the tirthikas, and is known as Guru Nyima Özer.”

~ Dudjom Rinpoche

May the light of Guru Nyima Ozer guide us toward liberation and enlightenment.

Just as the Buddhas have spoken of
"I" and "mine" for a practical purpose;
Likewise they spoke too of "aggregates",
"Elements" and "sense-fields" for a practical reasons.

Such things spoken of as the "great elements",
These are fully absorbed into consciousness;
Since they are dissolved by understanding them,
Are they not falsely imputed?

Nagarjuna (Sixty Stanzas on Reasoning)

“Gyelwa Chokyang was born in Uru Penyul Valley, north of Lhasa. He was part of the first group of seven Tibetans to receive full ordination from Śāntarakṣita and was renowned for his discipline.

According to legend, when he received the empowerment of the Eight Great Sadhana Teachings from Padmasambhava, his flower landed on the maṇḍala of Hayagrīva, the speech embodiment of all Buddhas. Perfecting the practice of Hayagrīva, he was able to display the horse-head deity from the top of his head, at which point the neighing of horses would be heard. It is also said that he was able to transmute his body into a raging fire.

Gyelwa Chokyang is said to have mastered the practice of long life. During the time of Ngadak Pelkhor Tsan, the grandson of Trisong Detsen, the translator Maben Jangchub Lodro was murdered and became a wrathful spirit who attacked the king. Gyelwai Chokyang was able to use a thread cross rite to vanquish the spirit and cure the king. He later concealed the liturgy for the thread cross at Karchu. It was revealed by Kampa Darberchen.

Gyelwa Chokyang’s reincarnations are said to include the Second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi. Longchenpa Drime Ozer was his descendant in the twenty-sixth generation.”

Emptiness

“There is not a single thing
That does not arise interdependently.
Therefore there is not a single thing
That is not emptiness.”

Root Verses of the Middle Way, XXIV, 19

“Everything that arises interdependently
Is unceasing and unborn,
Neither non-existent nor everlasting,
Neither coming nor going,
Neither multiple nor single,
To this teaching that pacifies all complexity,
The most sacred speech of the perfect Buddha,
I pay homage!”

~ Nagarjuna - Root Verses of the Middle Way