Living in the Charnel Grounds, by Pema Khandro

Summary of Mahamudra
An Discourse by
TULKU URGYEN RINPOCHE
(Shared by Julian Thearle and Jangchup Garma)
Mahamudra has three modes: Sutra Mahamudra, Mantra Mahamudra, and Essence Mahamudra.
Sutra Mahamudra is attaining the stage of complete buddhahood through traversing the five
paths and ten bhumis.
Mantra Mahamudra is experiencing the four joys via the third empowerment, which lead to the
four levels of emptiness. The four types: joy, supreme joy, nonjoy, and innate joy lead one to the
means for realizing the ultimate view of Mahamudra. In the traditional statement “to reach the
true wisdom by means of the symbolic wisdom,” the symbolic wisdom refers to the four levels
of emptiness invoked by the four joys while true wisdom is Mahamudra of the natural state.
Introducing Mahamudra of the naked, natural state in this way is called Mantra Mahamudra.
Essence Mahamudra is described in terms of essence, nature, and expression. The essence is
nonarising, the nature is unobstructed, and the expression is what manifests in manifold ways.
Essence Mahamudra is pointed out through skillful means as follows: “Essence Mahamudra is
your naked, ordinary mind resting in unfabricated naturalness.”
Although the teachings on Essence Mahamudra and Dzogchen of the Natural State use different
terminology, in actuality they do not differ at all. Through such teachings, the mind at the time of
death merges with dharmakaya the instant that the material body disintegrates. It is also possible
to attain true and complete enlightenment in the dharmadhatu realm of Akanishtha while still
remaining in this physical body.
This state of Mahamudra is the flawless realization of all the learned and accomplished masters
of India, without exception, the Six Ornaments and Two Supreme Ones as well as the Eighty
Mahasiddhas. Simply hearing the word ‘Mahamudra’ leads to the end of samsaric existence.
As Sherab Özer, the great master tertön of Trangpo, wrote:
"Mahamudra and the Great Perfection
Differ in words but not in meaning."
In terms of ground, path and fruition, Ground Mahamudra is the nonarising essence,
unobstructed nature, and expression manifest in manifold ways. The Dzogchen teachings
describe these three aspects as essence, nature and capacity.
Path Mahamudra is naked, ordinary mind left to rest in unfabricated naturalness.
Fruition Mahamudra is the final seizing of the Dharmakaya Throne of Nonmeditation.
The Four Yogas of Mahamudra are called One-pointedness, Simplicity, One Taste, and
Nonmeditation. The stage of fruition is realized when the dharmakaya throne of nonmeditation is
attained.
One-pointedness, the first yoga of Mahamudra, has three levels: lesser, medium, and greater.
One-pointedness,for the most part, consists of shamatha and the gradual progression through the
stages of shamatha with support, without support, and finally to the shamatha that delights the
tathagatas. During this process fixation gradually diminishes.
The next stage, Simplicity, basically means nonfixation. During the three levels of lesser,
medium and greater Simplicity, fixation falls more and more apart. While One-pointedness is
mainly shamatha, Simplicity emphasizes vipashyana.
One Taste is the state of mind in which shamatha and vipashyana are unified. Appearance and
mind arise as one taste. One does not need to confine appearances to being there and
consciousness to being here, but the dualistic fixation of appearance and mind mingle into one
taste in the space of nonduality.
When in retreat at Gampo Mountain, Lord Gampopa told one of his disciples, “The mingling of
appearance and mind is like this!” As he simultaneously moved his hand freely through the
room’s main pillar, the upper and lower parts of the pillar disconnected, not touching each other.
The caretaker was later frightened and thinking the roof would fall down, he placed a piece of
slate between the pillar sections. Gampopa’s act was an expression of reaching the greater level
of One Taste, the stage at which the world and beings, all dualistic phenomena, mingle into one
taste in the space of nonduality. Dualistic concepts such as good and bad, pure and impure,
pleasure and pain, existence and nonexistence, objects to be accepted or rejected, adopted or
avoided, as well as hope and fear: everything intermingles as one taste, the royal seat of
dharmakaya.
At this level there still might remain some sense of enjoying the spectacle of one nature, one
taste, but at the fourth stage, Nonmeditation, even subtle concepts of watcher and something
watched, meditator and object of meditation, are dissolved within the space free from mental
constructs. Thus, the Dharmakaya Throne of Nonmeditation is attained. Dzogchen calls this
stage the exhaustion of phenomena beyond concepts. Nothing needs to be meditated upon or
cultivated; that is dharmakaya.
"At the time of One-pointedness don’t fixate.
During Simplicity don’t fall into extremes.
Don’t cling to the taste of One Taste.
Nonmeditation transcends conceptual mind."
Here I have given a short and comprehensive outline of Mahamudra.
Tulku Urgyen
Nagi Gompa, Nepal 1988
From the book 'Heart Lamp,' a translation of two texts by Tsele Natsok Rangdrol - 'Lamp of
Mahamudra' & 'Heart of the Matter.'
Translated by Erik Pema Kunsang

Many Ways to Nirvana

The following teaching was given in response to a two-part question presented during Lama
Lodu Rinpoche's visit to Taos, New Mexico, earlier this year.
Question: How does one live in the world and do spiritual practice skillfully when one has no
spiritual teacher, and how does one who already has a path live and work in a world where
others don't share it?

Answer: Those who have no spiritual guide and are motivated by a strong aspiration can
practice on their own until a good spiritual guide is found. Those who have the intention to do
good things will, sooner or later, meet a qualified teacher.

With the motivation to do beneficial things and to follow the spiritual path, body, speech, and
mind can be used to generate right attitude and right actions through kindness and compassion.
One should also be motivated to develop the constant wish that all beings experience happiness
and freedom from suffering. As a result, one's body, speech and mind will become engaged in
expressing compassion. This is a basic preliminary spiritual practice that can be learned on one's
own without the help of a spiritual guide.

As Buddhists, we believe that we shouldn't do anything to others that would hurt them. So you
should always make an example of yourself. When someone speaks to you in a positive way, you
experience weil-being; therefore, you should speak to others in the same manner so they may
also have that experience. When you meet someone who communicates, without words, purely
motivated loving and compassionate mind-energy, you feel clear, more peaceful. In turn, you
should cultivate that same kindness and compassion as much as possible, and then bring that
attitude of speech, mind and body to all that you meet.

So this is my advice to someone who does not have a spiritual guide: It is not necessary for you
to sit down and do formal meditation and visualization practice. Expressing loving-kindness and
compassion can be done anywhere. There is always an opportunity for applying kindness and
compassion to others and for using your body, speech and mind in right action. This attitude is
very powerful and is the perfect preliminary spiritual practice. Sooner or later, through the power
of your positive motivation, you will meet the right spiritual guide, and the door will open to the
spiritual path.

In the second case, you are already in spiritual practice, and you are distracted by worldly
concerns. It is important that you follow the spiritual friend, the teacher and not go from place to
place. Stay with one spiritual guide, someone you really feel is true, and try not to change
teachers until you get the true understanding within.

The Bodhisattva attitude is very important; without it, you cannot practice Vajrayana and
Mahayana Buddhism. When your mind is motivated one hundred percent by this pure attitude,
then your body, speech and mind naturally turn toward the positive. From the Mahayana and
Vajrayana perspective, even if you are not able to sit on your cushion in front of your altar
because of children, because of a job, because you have all kinds of distractions in the world, you
can still practice. You must get true advice from your teacher and have confidence in him or her
and also in the teachings. Then your activity in the world will offer the same opportunity for
enlightenment as that gained on your cushion.

Question: Would you please explain how this done?

Answer: For guidance in such situations, we can turn to one of the great Tibetan masters,
Machig Labdron, the founder of the Chod practice. She was an extremely accomplished yogi and
teacher. Although most Buddhist teachings travelled only from India to Tibet, hers were
transmitted from Tibet back to India. She has a few great words of advice on this subject that for
me seem full, rich and simple. She reminds us that we human beings alternate between happiness
and suffering. One moment we are very happy, but the happiness does not last long; we grasp at
that happiness and suddenly it becomes suffering which is hard to get rid of. Occasionally there
is brief happiness again, but this causes more attachment and clinging, and thus more suffering.
This is the experience of all sentient beings, but it is more acutely felt by humans.

So, Machig Labdron taught: Do not worry. If you are suffering, you have an excellent
opportunity to practice. Remember, If I am happy, this happiness which I experience so
pleasantly, I wish for all living beings without exception. May everyone experience this
happiness just as I have. In this way happiness becomes purification, true practice and
accumulated merit. Secondly, If I suffer physical or mental pain, may I take on with my suffering
the suffering of all sentient beings, without exception. So our suffering also becomes useful as
purification and gives us a deeper sense of the bodhisattva conduct. This approach is highly
useful for those who have no time to formally practice in a world full of responsibilities and
distractions.
Expressing loving-kindness and compassion can be done anywhere. There is always an
opportunity for applying kindness and compassion to others and for using your body, speech and
mind in right action.

One person may practice for years sitting and counting mantras, and another person may practice
living in the world with the technique I have just mentioned. The second person may reach
enlightenment sooner because he or she has dealt with daily life as a spiritual practice,
transforming all worldly circumstances into spiritual phenomena. The person staying at home
sitting all day may not be practicing correctly; they may be daydreaming, distracted and unable
to accomplish realization.

We always have opportunities to be mindful. As we fulfill our responsibilities to our families,

our love for them remains strong in spite of problems. If we think of all sentient beings as being
equal to family, some day we will be able to serve all in the same way. For instance, at your
place of work, because of karma, a person has a dispute with you. By accepting responsibility for
the dispute, you take this suffering on yourself, you purify it, and the cause of the suffering is
removed. If, instead, you more forcefully continue with the argument, you will create more
suffering and pain.

Therefore it is very important to take on the suffering of other sentient beings. As you do this,
your selfishness will be weakened and you will become more selfless.

So those of you who have no time to practice should keep in mind Machig Labdron's words and
try to think of their full and rich meaning as you go through daily life. You definitely have to be
mindful, you must remind yourself morning and evening of these insights, and you have to apply
their meaning daily. Also remember that being busy is not an excuse. This is especially true in
the Mahayana tradition. Even in the Vajrayana, you think of yourself as the deity of the
initiation, whatever sound you hear is the sound of the mantra, and all beings are the entourage
of the deities. And yet all that is seen and all that is heard has no inherent existence. This is,
rather, the manifestation of the Dharmakaya, the manifestation of profound emptiness. If you are
able to apply your mind in this way daily, then your work, your taking care of your familyall
these things become your practice and you are progressing every moment. But sometimes our
problems come from laziness, lack of confidence and trust, insufficient faith and procrastination.
We think daily practice is a good thing to do, but not today. Suddenly, something important
comes up and we are willing to engage in practice seriously; only then do we take a spiritual
point of view. Instead, one should always dedicate all happiness to others and use every personal
suffering to take on the suffering of all sentient beings.

Remember when taking the Vajrayana point of view: every form is inseparable from the form of
the deity, every sound is inseparable from mantra; but every form and every sound is inherently
non-existent, an expression of emptiness. That's the way Vajrayana is practiced. ä_æ

Posted On: March 6 2017

Posted By: insight
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How To Practice Buddhism At Home

Desire: Why It Matters

Integral Buddhsim: Developing All Aspects of
One's Personhood
==

What Vajrayana Practice Has to Offer Us in

Our Daily Lives
Written By Lama Döndrup

Vajrayana practice, also known as secret mantra practice and tantric practice, can appear from an
observer’s point of view to be exotic, inaccessible, and far removed from our practical ordinary,
daily experience. After all, how could practices that originated in India in the 5th-7th centuries
and that were further developed in Tibet not long after that be relevant to our complex and
multifaceted Western lives today?

Whether we are parents, teachers, activists, artists, musicians, healthcare or mental health
professionals, whether we work in the fields of tech, engineering, science, law, business and
more, on a regular basis, we can find ourselves struggling because we don’t feel we have enough
patience, enough energy, time, compassion, empathy, creativity, or understanding. And with all
the demands of our lives beyond work, how could we ever find time to learn and develop these
qualities that could make our moment-to-moment experience more ease-full and fulfilling?

Imagine for a moment that you could have continuous access to unlimited resources of all these
qualities and more without having to develop them from scratch? How might your experience
with your family or partner be different? How might your experience at work and your downtime
be different?

From the point of view of Vajrayana or tantric practice, we don’t need to create these qualities
and skills in ourselves. Though it doesn’t appear to be so, all these capacities are already
inherently present within every one of us without exception. We already have an unlimited
resource of these qualities. The aim of Vajrayana practice is to help us recognize this and to then
access these ever-present resources. In the short term, this helps us to feel more capable and
supported in our lives which then allows us to better communicate with, engage with, and
support our partners, children, family, friends, work colleagues, clients, students, and those we
encounter but do not know. Ultimately, these practices can lead us to full liberation from all
habitual patterns and the suffering that they create.
The Sanskrit word tantra and the Tibetan equivalent gyü (Wylie: rgyud) both mean thread,
continuity, or continuum. The word tantra is derived from the term for weft, the thread that runs
continuously through the fabric in traditional weaving methods. In this case, this continuous
thread refers to the ever-present innate goodness, or buddha nature of every sentient being. Each
of us today, just as those living in 7th Century India and Tibet, are inherently pure. Though we
do not experience it this way, our mind is fully awakened, and we possess all awakened qualities.
This true, original nature is timeless. It is the thread that weaves from each of our lifetimes to the
next. It is present in each of us in this very moment and has been present in every moment of this
lifetime and all previous lifetimes. It remains dormant, though, because it is veiled to us by our
habitual ways of perceiving ourselves and others.

On a fundamental level, we have a deeply ingrained habit of coalescing around a sense of self
and perceiving everything else as other. We strongly identify with our body, our thoughts, our
habit patterns, our skills and talents, our history, the demographics with which we align and then
define everything else as something separate, different, and independent from us. We deepen that
separation by creating opinions and storylines around various people and phenomena. This
constructed experience of self and other and the need to preserve it takes an immense amount of
energy. We are so accustomed to it that we don’t recognize the amount of energy it takes. If you
place your hand in a fist and continuously exert muscle tension, focus, and energy to maintain
that tight fist, soon your hand and arm will get tired and begin to hurt. This is an infinitesimal
fraction of the intense energy we use to contract from the vastness of our buddha nature into a
contained sense of self. This severe contraction keeps us from accessing the unlimited energy,
creativity, and awakened qualities that are our birthright. As we learn to loosen that grip, the
energy that had been bound up in that contraction is released and available to us to use for other
purposes. Like the free flow of water that is stopped or restricted by bending the hose through
which it flows, when the hose straightens, the water unimpededly rushes forth.

Constantly constructing, maintaining, and functioning on this scaffolding of self and other keeps
us from letting go into the ground of our true nature. Similar to how the earth supports, provides
for, and nourishes us, the ground of our true nature is our ultimate resource. While we tirelessly
work to preserve our constructed world of self and other and function within that scaffolding, we
have cut ourselves off from the ground of our being which is our limitless source of patience,
compassion, wisdom, generosity, energy, time, creativity and more.

Like the sun and its radiance are inseparable, this ground of our being, our mind, is the union of
awareness and luminosity. This constructed world of self and other comes to be because we
mistakenly experience awareness and luminosity as two separate things. We have taken
awareness to be a self and we have taken luminosity, the natural radiance of mind, to be all that
we consider as other. After having made this fundamental separation, we have solidified it with
layer after layer of conceptual thought and emotional confusion.

Vajrayana practices are a brilliant methodology for helping us to repair that fundamental rupture.
They do this in a particularly skillful and unique way, by engaging us right where we are. They
meet us in the heart of our confusion. They meet us right in that constructed world of self and
other and liberate it from the inside out, so to speak. They provide a means for us to see the
transparency and innate purity of all we experience, even the scaffolding. They show us how to
relate to ourselves and our world in a way that allows us to release the energy bound in
constructing and maintaining our habitual experience and to let go into the ground of true being,
our ever-present, limitless resource. They shepherd us into an experience of who we truly are
which frees us to see, relate to, and engage with the true nature of all the people and phenomena
in our lives.

In order to function in our daily lives, we have become masters of multitasking, and this is
another way in which Vajrayana meets us where we are and is a practice that is effective for us
in our 21st century lives. It works to engage us simultaneously on multiple levels in relationships
and dynamics that are familiar to us by engaging us on the levels of body, speech, and mind as
we relate to others’ bodies, speech, and mind. We normally experience ourselves through our
ordinary body which we perceive as solid and tangible and dress and adorn with clothes,
watches, and jewelry; our ordinary speech with which we communicate thoughts, ideas, and
emotions with one another; and our ordinary mind which is a masterful thinking machine,
strategic planner, etc... In Vajrayana, we take the result as the path, or in casual language, we act
as if we are awakened as a means to help us recognize that that has been our innate state all the
long. We do this through a process of letting go of this ordinary experience of body, speech, and
mind and immerse ourselves in the experience of awakened body, speech, and mind.

Because we do not recognize our buddha nature, it is easier for us to recognize an awakened
expression of body, speech, and mind outside of us. Every Vajrayana practice is centered around
a particular being, called a yidam. A yidam is a manifestation of an awakened quality, such as
compassion. They arise in a body made of light that is ornamented with silk garments and
beautiful jewels. They appear like a rainbow, apparent yet insubstantial. The yidam serves as the
focus of a Vajrayana practice. We engage with them by activating our body through mudras
(sacred hand gestures) and offerings, by activating our speech through mantra and the chanting
of a text that expresses and praises the brilliance of awakened qualities and calls upon them for
support, and we activate our mind through visualization and recognizing their nature.
As we move deeper into the practice, the yidam dissolves into light, merges with us, and we then
visualize and experience ourselves as the yidam, as awakened body, speech, and mind, arising as
a beautifully adorned body of light. We enact our enlightenment. We experience ourselves as the
manifestation of a fully developed quality of awakened mind. Within the practice, we then
engage with the world around us. We see our ordinary environment and all the beings within it in
a way that is more representative that they truly are, in essence, the radiance of awakened mind.
Our ordinary environment now manifests as an exquisite palace and landscape in which
everything that we encounter is utterly delightful and blissful. We recognize the buddha nature of
all beings by seeing them as the yidam. We relate to them in this way. We train ourselves to
recognize that we can not only tap into an awakened quality in any moment of our daily lives,
but that we can be that quality, that we are that quality.

As we do this practice over and over, we gradually remove all the veils that have been obscuring
our innate goodness from our experience and come to recognize that we have been a
manifestation of awakened mind all the long. We loosen the constructs of self and other and see
and relate to the innate goodness in all people that we live with, work with, and encounter as we
move about in our lives. We are supported by the ground of our true being, we have access to the
limitless depth of our capacity as we engage in all aspects of our daily lives.
 Lama Döndrup

Lama Döndrup has been practicing and studying in the Buddhist tradition since the mid-1990’s.
After five years of Theravadin Buddhist training, she immersed herself in the teachings and
practices of the Shangpa and Kagyu Vajrayana lineages. In 2005, she completed a traditional
three-year retreat under the guidance of Lama Palden and Lama Drupgyu with the blessing of her
root guru, Bokar Rinpoche and was authorized as a lama. Upon her return to Marin County, she
began teaching at Sukhasiddhi Foundation. In January 2020, as Lama Palden’s successor, she
stepped into the role of Resident Lama, guiding the Center’s ministerial work. Lama Döndrup’s
teaching style is thorough and clear yet with light touch as she supports the natural unfolding of
each student’s innate wisdom and compassion. She aims to preserve the authenticity of the
tradition while making the teachings and practices relevant and accessible to the lives of 21 st
century Westerners. In addition to her Buddhist practice, Lama Döndrup trained the Ridhwan
School’s Diamond Approach for seven years and has a Masters of Fine Arts degree in piano
performance. She is an active classical pianist and teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area.

==

The Importance of View on the Buddhist

Path
The Importance of View on the Buddhist Path

A great deal of confusion along the path is born from misunderstanding its stages, and the larger
context in which it always takes place. It’s easy to underestimate the importance of view on the
Buddhist path – proper perspective and context helps keep us motivated and inspired.

By losing sight of where the path fits into the larger scheme of things, we set ourselves up for
unnecessary trouble when we are eventually forced to relate to this larger context. If we have the
view that shows us where we are headed, outlines the stages of our travel, and provides the
proper motivation for traveling, then the hardships that greet us along the path can be held within
the proper perspective. This, again, is the strength of framing our journey within the Three
Turnings.

Avoid Trouble by Having a Good Map

We may have some notion of where to go on the path, but without a clear map describing our
destination, where we are in relation to it, and how to get to it, it is easy to spin off into endless
detours. Imagine a foreigner landing in Seattle who is trying to find his way to Yankee Stadium
without a map. First he has to get to the state of New York. If he is unwilling to ask for
directions, it could take years of driving around just to get to the east coast. Then he has to get to
New York City, and once there he still has to find the stadium. He can do it on his own, but a
good map accelerates the journey.

The fiercely independent Western mind is as much a hindrance as a help when it comes to maps.
We like to find our own way, and that stubborn resolve creates unnecessary delays. The trail has
already been blazed and mapped, why waste time hacking it out on our own? Before I stumbled
upon a map I could relate to, I spent years lost in dead-ends.

There are many reliable maps, but the one I am most familiar with is that drawn by the Buddha.
I have studied others, and respect many, but have found that the Buddha’s map most accurately
describes the territory I have already traveled, and most reliably predicts the terrain I am about to
enter.

The Buddha’s Map

Hinayana

A simple way to summarize the Buddha’s map is to view the journey as an inverted pyramid, or
the letter “V.” We begin at the bottom, where the path is initially all about me. We start with
ourselves. At this level our path is necessarily narrow and “selfish.” We engage in spiritual
practice in an effort to clean up our act, so we isolate ourselves and go to work inside. The
primary concern is individual liberation, and the meditator’s world is as wide as their meditation
cushion. The idea is that we cannot bring peace to the world until we discover it in ourselves.
This level is called the “Hinayana,” the “lesser” or “narrow” vehicle.

Mahayana

At a certain point, when we have attained some stability, we get off our seat and start to engage
the world. We begin the ascent up the V. It is time to expand our view to include others. Our
sense of what meditation is also expands, and the path becomes wider and more inclusive. As
we ascend, our sense of personal self becomes smaller as our sense of identifying with others
becomes larger. Our identity grows to embrace others. This is the “Mahayana,” the “greater” or
“wider” vehicle.

Vajrayana

At the top of the V our sense of self is gone, we have reached the summit of egolessness. Our
identity now includes everything. Our sense of meditation also expands to include everything:
our entire world becomes a meditation, and we never leave it. There are no sessions or breaks.
Sleep, dream, sex, death – everything becomes meditation. At this level there is no more need
for retreat, for our life has become a retreat. Everything we do is now for the benefit of others,
for at this stage there is no self to benefit. We are selfless, radiant like the sun, and completely
expansive in our ability to benefit others with our shine. This is the “Vajrayana” the
“indestructible” or “diamond” vehicle.
Top Down

This thumbnail sketch helps us to understand hardship and prevent it because it creates a larger
perspective that situates our spiritual practice, and can therefore accelerate it. It is like having a
global positioning system in our pocket — we know where we are and where we need to go. It
also gives us a view from the top, and helps us understand our place in relation to it. Instead of
clamoring from below with no view of where we are going, we can look down from the top with
a clear perspective. It may be a theoretical glimpse given to us by those who have been up there,
but it helps us map our way. So much hardship is born of poor eyesight. We cannot see where
we are going, so we confine our vision and create our pain.

The three yanas are related to the Three Turnings: the Hinayana is virtually synonymous with the
First Turning; the Second and Third Turnings are included in the Mahayana; and Vajrayana,
often considered a sub-set of the Mahayana (its view is the same, only the methods for realizing
the view differ), is outside of the Three Turnings.

Without this far-sighted perspective, normal hardships can become insurmountable. After a few
years on the path we may not want to study and practice any more, it is just not worth the effort.
But a proper perspective immediately changes our motivation to travel the path, and our
willingness to endure its challenges. We are no longer doing it for ourselves. Even at the
earliest stages, where the motivation is for personal liberation, we now discover that this personal
liberation is ultimately for the benefit of others. With this fresh perspective we are now willing
to endure hardship because it is no longer just our trip. We are going to clean up our act, to
endure the difficulties, because now we are doing it for others.

It is like a parent going to work for their family. There are days we just don’t want to go, but we
do it for them. Inserting this perspective into any hardship instantly transforms it, because so
much hardship is created by implosive focus on “me.” I suffer because of my near-sightedness.
But if I can use my pain as a trigger to think bigger, I immediately remove or reduce the level of
hardship. Injecting this view forces me out of myself, and provides instant relief. I have jumped
to the top and reestablished the proper view. Being self-centered is the source of much
unnecessary hardship, so remove that hardship by becoming other-centered.

In practical terms, when we begin a study or practice session, set the aspiration that we will
endure the rigors for the benefit of others, and at the end of the session dedicate what we have
done to others. It is a powerful irony, but doing spiritual work to benefit others is the most
effective way to benefit ourselves. It is the best, and perhaps only, way to accelerate our path.

At the level of the Vajrayana this principal is so important that the Vajrayana simply does not
work without compassion. Trungpa Rinpoche said that having the Vajrayana without
compassion is like having a modern house with every conceivable electrical gadget, but no hook-
up. So if your practice is not working, perhaps you forgot to plug it in.
No Interruption

The “top down” perspective of the three yanas also expands our sense of what constitutes
spiritual practice. When we start the path and are still at the “bottom,” the point of practice is to
attain peace of mind. This attitude is initially healthy, but if we remain within that narrow view
then we limit ourselves and our path. We have sessions of peace in meditation, but then there is
the rest of the world to deal with. Meditation is put in contrast, and perhaps even opposition, to
daily life. The spiritual is set against the background of the material.

If we sustain this view, then life will interrupt our meditation. At this point we need to look up,
our view is too narrow. We need to expand our practice to include the rest of our life, and the
top-down model helps instill this perspective. When we are still at the “bottom,” we should
realize what we are doing in meditation and why, then we should take the insights from our
practice and expand them into the world. Bring more of the world onto our path. At some point,
the spiritual path is no longer held within the context of the material world, and is therefore no
longer set in contrast and opposition to it.

When we reach the top and become a buddha, nothing can interrupt our meditation. But while
we are still at the bottom our meditation is always being interrupted. Every thought that pops
into our mind interferes with our practice. But at the level of the Vajrayana, thought becomes
meditation. Obstacle has been transformed into opportunity. The barking dog, annoying boss,
and uncontrollable child that once cut into our spiritual life now becomes an integral part of it.

People often complain that if only they didn’t have to work, or raise children, or weren’t sick,
then they could really get down to spiritual practice. To get to the point where work, children,
and illness are actually aids is to hold the highest view. Even though this fruition may be years
away, cultivating this view transforms the way we relate to interruptions now. Take the
theoretical fruition of the path and put it into immediate application. Import the view from the
summit to help us see our way to it. We may not be able to relate to our annoying boss as part of
our practice, but holding the view that he really is can help us stretch our mind to include him.

This view reverses our relationship to unwelcome situations. Advanced meditators actually
place themselves in difficult situations as a way to enhance their path. Instead of removing
ourselves from distractions and interruptions, we place ourselves in the middle of them. We test
the fortitude of our meditation in the marketplace.

This is another instance of “aspiring and entering.” We may not be able to immediately apply
these lofty views, but we make the aspiration. We can believe in it, and do our best to implement
it. If we persist in our aspiration then one day we can enter. We “fake it till we can make it.”
Rhetoric becomes reality, and we find ourselves living at the levels that our aspirations paved for
us.

--
 Short Introduction of A 3-Months’ Course
on “Mind-Training and Dharma Practice”
(Back in 1999, in Hong Kong)
Tibetan Buddhism has a long history of more than one thousand years. Due to the fact that it has
many different ways of Dharma practices, with a lot of rituals and ceremonies, it may seem to be
exhilarating at the very beginning to the newcomers. But as time passes by, some practitioners,
whose basic foundations in the Buddhist teachings are weak, or those whose intentions are
impure, will soon find themselves becoming frustrated, or to be at a lost as to where they are and
what they should adopt or abandon. In this way, the more they practice the Dharma, the more
they are confused as a result.

A lot of questions and problems have been received by our Association from both laymen and
the Dharma practitioners alike, who have complained that it is, indeed, not easy to cross the
threshold of Vajrayana. Even when they have entered the door of Vajrayana, as it is so full and
rich in various arrays of outward fascinations, it is very often that these fascinations distract the
eyes and confuse the minds.

Hence, the more they go deeper, and enter into the more inner dimensions, towards the center of
the Vajrayana teachings, the more questions, difficulties and problems they will encounter, even
so much so that distorted conceptions and perceptions of Dharma practices start to arise. All in
all, these are long and winding roads with many twists and turns, just like a “maze”, and that it is
usually more easy to get in but very hard to get out, and is even more difficult to have a holistic
picture of what is going on with a sense of direction.

How about all those skillful means, as well as the teachings of liberation and perfect
enlightenment within a single life-time, as taught by Vajrayana? These are usually all the main
“attractions” of Vajrayana, and so what should we do about this ? Particularly, when we are at
the moment of death, the “single thought” will determine whether we will be liberated or to
continue on with samsara. To be or not to be, that is the question ?

Thus, this set of 12 lectures has been the first of a series entitled “Series on the Practice of
Tibetan Buddhism”, the contents of which touch upon the interplay and the interface of the
Dharma practice with our everyday life. “All Dharma practices are rooted in life itself”, and
so how to practice the Dharma, how to maintain our pure intention as well as our pure
awareness, in our everyday life experiences were the main focus of these lectures. Particularly,
our focus of training throughout will be mainly based on “Mind-Training” (Tib. བློ་སྦྱོང་, Lojong)
which is the most basic, fundamental and important aspect of one’s own Dharma Practice. Of
course, the ultimate aim for all our practices will lead to the realization of “Emptiness: Neither
Existence Nor Voidness” as the final fruition of Perfect Enlightenment.

Those who are long-time Dharma practitioners will find the materials to be very practical, not to
be found in books, and come from the essences of wisdom that flow from real life experiences in
the practices of the Dharma, and not just some kind of theoretical knowledge about the Buddhist
teachings. Basic concepts, fundamental principles and teachings, as well as the crucial points,
distractions, misunderstandings and the pitfalls of practices in Vajrayana will be introduced. As
the contents are very condensed and tightly structured, and interpreted in a very special way,
there is almost none of such kind of presentation before on the holistic picture of Vajrayana in
the propagation of Tibetan Buddhism.

Hence, for those who desires to learn about Vajrayana, for those who have not yet correctly
mastered the crux of the Dharma practices, as well as for those who have already practiced
Vajrayana for years but still having a lot of questions lingering on, and would like to review and
to consolidate on their Dharma practices, they would find this series to serve as a useful guide
with correct and clear directions. Even for the general practitioners, whether those of the
Hinayana, Mahayana, or Vajrayana, this will also provide insightful significance for their
Dharma practices.

We sincerely invite you all to enter the great door of the practical merits of Buddhism, so as to
re-orient one’s life, to re-define its meaning and to re-position oneself in it. If there are any
merits and benefits to be gained from these series of courses, these will be totally dedicated to
our Three Most Beloved Crowning Jewels (Root Gurus), namely: H.H. Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral
Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, H.H. Kyabje Chadral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche, and Ven. Lama
Sonam Chokyi Gyaltsen, as well as to all our motherly sentient beings, as limitless as the sky.

SARWA MANGALAM!

==

His Holiness Teaches on “Living the

Dharma”
January 13th, 14th, 15th, 2009

His Holiness taught on Living the Dharma, this was the first teaching in India directed
specifically at Westerners.

His Holiness was scheduled to start teaching at 9.00am and 3.00pm, and the final quarter of an
hour before each teaching began was designated as “silent meditation”.

Day One

His Holiness began by welcoming everyone in English and then continued in Tibetan. He said he
viewed everybody in the hall as his friends, and reflected on how they had come there from all
over the world, from different countries, environments, cultures and conditions, to hear about
living the dharma, so, in spite of his youth, he would try to share his own experiences.

First he tackled the question, “What is dharma?”

Practicing Dharma is more than performing rituals which require a special place or a special
time, or special equipment. At a deeper level, the Dharma is something that transforms our
minds, an ongoing process whereby we examine our minds, checking the afflictive emotions and
the three mind poisons, and slowly try to become less angry, less attached and so forth. The
practice of Dharma leads to a slow change in body, speech and mind from within, hence, it could
be done anywhere, even while you are at work; it doesn’t require a special time. Indeed, the kind
of dharma practice where you reflect on your aspirations, your way of thinking, how you relate
to other people, and how you react and connect with other people is very important. Drawing on
experience, Karmapa said that his own life seemed to be getting busier and busier, so that he felt
that the time he had to work for the benefit of others and the time to meditate was shrinking.
Thus his dharma practice these days involved trying to help the many people who he came across
daily, being very aware of his thought processes, and attempting to live his life with the intention
to benefit sentient beings. His priority was the happiness of others, and he examined his actions,
what he said, and his mind to check the fit. That in essence was his practice. When he was young
he had had time for formal prayers and recitation, about an hour each morning and evening.
These days, with little time for formal prayers, he kept all the people whom he met in his
thoughts, whether he was working, eating or sleeping. This seemed to be a very live, real and
practical form of dharma practice.

It was an important foundation for practice, keeping other sentient beings in the forefront of our
minds, as if they were there before our eyes in a real and very present way, otherwise we might
lose contact with the people we wanted to benefit, and become lazy in our efforts.

Another important support for practice was to use others to reduce our own self-interest, by
thinking deeply about their suffering and happiness, which would lead us to develop a feeling of
responsible concern for their welfare. This would not only help counterbalance our self-
cherishing attitude, it would also mean that our constant preoccupation with our own welfare
would diminish, and we would feel more inclined to transform ourselves.

This led to the next important aspect of practice: transforming ourselves by working on our
negative mental and emotional states. It was often difficult to truly see the negative aspects of
these mental and emotional states, but when you did, it was as clear as daylight that you had to
do something about them. It was like falling in love. People have many different relationships,
but there may not be a great commitment or there might be some confusion. Then one day you
fall in love. All the earlier relationships fade into insignificance, and there’s never any question
about it. You are in love with this one person and you want to spend your life with them. It’s as
clear and simple as that.

The experience of Bodhichitta was also like this – a wish-fulfilling gem. When we develop
bodhichitta our hearts fill with joy but until we find that wish-fulfilling gem in our hearts it can
be difficult; afterwards dharma practice becomes easy and the purpose of life becomes clear.

There were many parallels between life and dharma practice. In everyday life if our goals are
unclear or confused, we do not achieve what we want to achieve. Similarly, dharma practice
needed a clear objective too. Thinking too much about it was not beneficial and only produced
more conceptual thoughts! The crux was to work for the benefit of beings!
People often asked His Holiness what they should practice and he usually suggested the
Chenresig or Tara Saddhanas, but then if they asked,

“How many arms?” or “Which colour?” it showed they’d missed the point completely, failing to
comprehend the core meaning of these practices which is meditation on loving kindness and
compassion in order to transform our minds. Without this understanding, any practice becomes
blind faith not living dharma. Therefore when we practice dharma it has to be strongly related
with our minds; it has to become one with our life.

His Holiness then suggested a different tack, which beginners might find more useful, which was
to start instead from the point of our lives, look at the difficulties we are experiencing, and see if
the Dharma could shed some light on them. This would certainly be less disruptive and less
disturbing to our families than suddenly bringing home vajras, damarus, bells etc. and doing
strange things! If we lived with the intention of being useful and helpful to other people, the
dharma in our lives would become stronger, and our lives would become dharma practice.

But in order to transform our minds through dharma practice we needed to receive the pith
instructions, and we needed to receive them from a genuine lama. This was someone who had
realized the Dharma in their lives, someone who was a genuine refuge. There were also people at
a lower level of realization with whom it was possible to study. It was said that anything that
appears can be a lama – and His Holiness illustrated how the seasons could be our teacher. On a
superficial level, winter meant cold weather and warm clothes, but it was also a paradigm for
impermanence. If we used our eyes, there was a lot to be learned about the Dharma in life itself.

His Holiness concluded the morning session by launching the booklet he had produced on
protecting the environment: Environmental Guidelines for Karma Kagyu Buddhist Monasteries,
Centers and Community

In the afternoon session, Gyalwang Karmapa clarified the advice on integrating Dharma into
daily life he had given in the morning session. He had not meant that formal practice or retreat
were unimportant, but wanted to show how it was also not absolutely necessary to do formal
practice, in the context of the many Westerners who came to see him who had so much work to
do and very little time for meditation. It would also be wrong, he added, to give the impression
that those engaged in formal practice, retreat and meditation were the ‘real thing’.

He then went on to discuss how to integrate formal practice into daily life.

Generally speaking dharma practice was not restricted to the temple, monastery or retreat, or the
shrine room at home. It can be done anywhere, on a picnic, in the office, in prison; some great
masters had said we could even practice dharma in our sleep, if we knew how to do it, which was
useful as life was half-awake and half-sleeping. If possible, we need to set some time aside each
day, in the morning, for formal practice, and then the day can become worthwhile.

Then at work, if we make the commitment that our work will be useful and beneficial for society
then the work we do can become a form of giving – and hence the practice of generosity. When
we finish work and return home, if we can bring up our children in a way that will be beneficial
to the world that is also a dharma practice. If we reflect on the love we have for our partner or for
our family, it is possible to transfer that loving kindness to other sentient beings. His Holiness
gave the example of someone who is in love – even when they water the plants; there is a loving
quality to the action.

In the hectic schedule of our day-to-day lives we needed to create a time and space in which we
could rest our minds, otherwise they became too turbulent and disturbed. This was the role of
meditation. Through meditation we could develop a peaceful, calm, and joyous mind.

Gyalwang Karmapa returned to a theme he had introduced during the pre-Monlam teachings,
that of building a home for our minds, a place to come back to, where our minds could rest and
de-stress. These days he himself had limited time for formal practice, but when he did practice,
he did it one-pointedly. Nothing else was allowed to intrude. Mahamudra practice describes a
state free of conceptual thoughts, and it was important to aspire to this.

Too much clinging and attachment to things was a great obstacle to finding peace of mind,
because it was impossible to separate the mind when we were attached. Anger is present
sometimes but not all the time, whereas attachment is there all the time, making it very difficult
to separate ourselves from it. As the Tibetan saying goes: If we hold it, it burns our hand. If we
don’t hold it, it breaks.

Gyalwang Karmapa then explained how attachment arises and the difficulties it causes.

The first problem was that when we were attached to something we only saw the positive never
the negative. Something that we are attached to appears very good, and the object of our
attachment is seen as something desirable. Attachment deprives us of our freedom. We see
something we want, for instance, and feel compelled to buy it. In a way we are overpowered by
the object that we are attached to. We are trapped by it. His Holiness described how, as a child,
he was taken to shops in Beijing which stocked the most amazing toys. At that point he
understood why people might steal. What we see as desirable or undesirable is the product of our
own minds, perhaps sometimes through cultural conditioning, and we often overvalue
something, like someone being fooled by a fake diamond, thinking that it is 100% desirable
when it is worthless.

Could compassion be viewed as a form of attachment? His Holiness agreed that it could be
similar but the difference was that we had a choice whether to be compassionate or not.
Furthermore, the grounds for compassion were genuine- not to abandon sentient beings, whereas
with attachment it was “I want”.

Gyalwang Karmapa told a story to illustrate how attachment led to suffering.

There is a rule that monks cannot touch women. So, one day two monks came to a river, and
there they met a pretty young woman who asked for help because the water was so deep. The
younger of the two protested, “No,no! We are monks. We can’t touch you.” But the older monk
just picked her up and carried her across. The young monk was quite outraged by the older
monk’s behavior, and after a while, he challenged him about his action.
The old monk replied, “I carried her across the river only, but you are still carrying her.”

Returning to the question of the role of formal practice, His Holiness warned about some pitfalls
to avoid. Particularly, going into retreat required correct attitude and motivation. The purpose of
retreat was to pacify body, speech and mind, but some people seemed to regard retreat as a
tradition or something that had to be done saying, “Oh, I have to do a three year retreat.” In
which case, there would be little benefit.

Finally, the principal thing in the Dharma is the union of wisdom and compassion. These two
should also go together in our lives. We needed to know what the sources of suffering were, and
what would bring true happiness, so that we could understand what was to be abandoned and
what to be adopted.

Day Two

Gyalwang Karmapa dedicated the first part of the morning session to discussing his concerns
over the environment. Many of those present had bought copies of his booklet, Environmental
Guidelines for Karma Kagyu Buddhist Monasteries, Centres and Community.

He spoke of the need to preserve forests, the danger of glaciers in the Himalayan region
shrinking, pollution of the rivers, protection of wildlife from fur-hunting, the need to be
vegetarian or at least reduce the quantity of meat that we eat, and the crisis of climate change.
Monasteries did not have a training or culture in waste management so he intended to provide
training for them, in the hope that they could become examples to the community. If we were
really committed to working for the happiness of sentient beings, we had a responsibility to
protect the environment and all the limitless sentient beings therein.

A question and answer session followed.

During this session Gyalwang Karmapa elaborated further on how to combat the afflictive
emotions. He explained how the Buddha Dharma exists to clear all the impurities in the mind –
there is nothing which is not a direct antidote to the negative emotions. Different practices work
on different mind poisons. In fact there are different practices and methods for different purposes
and for practitioners of different capacities and different levels.

Usually, beginners try to evade confronting the mind poisons. Then the second stage is to
challenge them. The third stage, when you are stronger, is to use skillful means

His Holiness then began a more extensive answer.

The signature of attachment was feelings such as, “I must have it” and “No one else should have
it” and this was how it created suffering.

His Holiness gave the example of a couple in love,. His wife sees her husband talking to a
beautiful woman. What does the wife think? That is attachment. Because it focuses on feelings
such as “This is mine,” attachment is closed and restricts freedom. Genuine love means wanting
joy and happiness for others – wanting what the person you love wants. Of course , even with
attachment, you want to give them everything, but love also gives freedom. Attachment cannot
be the basis for a happy relationship because authentic love is open not closed.

As to aggression or anger, this was far easier to recognize because our speech becomes rough,
our face changes, and our whole demeanour changes. The antidote to anger was patience. Often
it was difficult to tackle anger because of the mistaken view that our anger was justified, foe
example after someone has been very abusive towards us. One way to defuse anger was to focus
our attention elsewhere, either we could bring our Lama to mind, or we could remember certain
teachings which had inspired us. If we focused on a particular incident the anger would grow
stronger and stronger so it was important to break that cycle, even if it meant thinking instead
about all the things we are angry about. His Holiness illustrated the point.

Once, there was a nomad trying to herd lots of frisky sheep, but they wouldn’t obey him and
were leaping and gamboling all over the place. He got so angry he started hitting one of them.
That didn’t help, so he hit another one, and another one, and another one…and after he had hit
sixty or seventy of them he was so tired and his arm ached so much that he couldn’t continue.
Then he understood how ridiculous his actions had been, his anger evaporated, and he burst into
laughter.

Responding to a question on the two truths, ultimate and relative, His Holiness talked about
dependent arising, and the relativity of everything. What is short only exists, he explained,
because something longer exists. East exists because there’s a west. Nothing can be established
without it having a relationship to something else. Take the example of a vase – we think of a
vase as an independent object , but if we put water in it, it becomes a water bowl, if we put tea in
it, it becomes a tea bowl. Talking about emptiness is also talking about dependent arising. The
nature of things is emptiness. Emptiness has to be understood in terms of relativity – as the moon
reflected in water. There is nothing that exists independently. A good example of our mistaken
view was poisonous plants. We classify them as poisonous because we do not consider the
relative nature of things – we think things are constant – but some animals eat these so-called
poisonous plants and thrive. Everything is relative.

There had been so many questions submitted by the audience that His Holiness chose to answer
more questions in the afternoon session. The first question he answered concerned explaining
reincarnation to people who do not have a Buddhist background.

His Holiness began by suggesting that belief in something continuing to exist after a person dies
is a common experience of humanity. It was also beyond proof either for or against, although it
could be doubted. Further, people exist who remember past lives, not just in the countries where
belief in reincarnation is widespread or part of the culture, so then this also cannot be
satisfactorily explained away or dismissed. It too falls into the category of things open to doubt.

From the Buddhist point of view there was also a logical argument. When a new born baby takes
its first breath there is definitely an awareness or consciousness operating, but this has to be the
product of causes and conditions, and causes and conditions have these to be of a similar nature
to the effect. Hence, the baby’s consciousness has to be produced by similar conditions, a
previous moment of consciousness. Observation showed that awareness or consciousness cannot
be created by matter, so the only possible cause is another consciousness. Matter has a
continuum, if it could turn into consciousness, then all matter should produce consciousness but
it doesn’t. The nature of consciousness is awareness and knowing. So, generally speaking, the
main point is that the matter continuum and the consciousness continuum are separate.

These days people are more materialistic so it can be difficult to demonstrate the mind
continuum though there might be methods – meditation is one. In meditation, gross
consciousness becomes more subtle and then you can remember your past lives. You can
experience certain memories of the past.

The next question concerned the meaning of “giving the victory to others” Gyalwang Karmapa
suggested there were two aspects to this. The first was to actually implement it – to act it out.
The second was training the mind so through meditation experience – such as tonglen, which
involves taking on the negativities of others, and then exchanging them for our own merit.

His Holiness explained the visualization to use. Imagining our self-interest and selfishness as a
fire or light burning in our hearts, we take in the suffering of others which is envisaged as
darkness, so that the fire of self-cherishing is extinguished by the darkness. This powerful
visualisation slowly changes our attitude. The second part involves giving our own merit away
freely to others, because we really want to give it. In reality, we are neither taking on their
suffering nor actually losing our merit, but training the mind.

There were instances when such generosity had a practical application too, such as offering a
kidney for a kidney transplant, but we had to have a clear understanding, having examined the
situation fully. If we were able to give the person a kidney and thereby save their life, such an act
would make us very happy. Another example would be when two people were competing for the
same job. Should you let the other person have it? Only if you could do so from your heart,
rather than because you felt forced to do it or you were supposed to do it.

The next question concerned how to live in a city without feeling lonely.

Drawing on his experiences during his American tour, Gyalwang Karmapa discussed the feelings
of dislocation and isolation that modern life brings. He wryly remarked that in New York there
was no need to consult the calendar if you wanted to know whether it was the weekend or a
weekday, because on Saturday and Sunday you could see people talking to each other on the
street. The rest of the week they were too busy to interact.

It seemed that life was getting faster and faster. In America, it felt as if you’d only just started
your journey and you’d arrived. His first day in America in New York at the Waldorf Astoria, he
had looked out of the window and he couldn’t see the ground, it was so far below. That felt very
strange.

His Holiness suggested that in the busy-ness of modern living, we had to find time to rest our
minds. He himself was increasingly busy but he managed to maintain a relaxed and peaceful
mind. We had to learn to pace ourselves. He gave the example of a horse. A horse can run faster
than a man, but, if the man trots along at a steady pace, eventually the horse will tire and the man
will catch up with it. If we were unable to stay mindfully aware we could be overwhelmed. For
instance, if someone fell in the river and panicked, they could drown. If, on the other hand, they
kept their heads and stayed calm, they could reach the river bank and survive. Maintaining
mindfulness could reduce stress.

The next question was about the Chenresig Practice for new dharma practitioners. His Holiness
said it was important to receive the empowerment ( Tib. wang) first before beginning any
Vajrayana practice. Then it would be helpful to receive some instructions and clarification of the
teachings behind the practice. He thought that if the person didn’t get either the empowerment or
the instructions, to practice Chenresig might not be so useful.

Many of the questions focused on issues arising from everyday life in the West. His Holiness
was asked for advice on how to deal with other people’s attachment and self-interest in the
workplace.

He responded by describing how the presence of a Buddha pacifies the disturbing emotions of
those around, because the Buddha has completely done away with negative emotions and is
totally aware. Sravakas make an aspiration prayer that nobody gets disturbed by their presence,
so people are not so affected by negative emotions around them

We take time on our appearance so that people find us attractive; it is just as important to present
our positive mental qualities, our loving kindness and caring for others, so that our presence does
not arouse their negative emotions. We can also set an example by our behaviour, which might
have an influence on the people we work with.

Laughter echoed round the hall at the next question – why do people look the way they do?

His Holiness told how Tibetans say people with big ears had them pulled by their teacher when
they were young. Chinese Buddha images have big ears, because they are meant to be very
graceful. But whether you have big ears or little ears will depend on several things, your race,
and the environment, and also karma, which affects the three aspects of body, speech and mind.

Generally, it is taught that the karma of body and speech create the conditions for a better
looking body. That is why Chenresig is always smiling , because he has done so many virtuous
actions of body and speech. His Holiness paused. “It is said that I don’t smile much, so I’m
worried about what I will look like in future!” he joked.

The next question was about the meaning of Buddha claiming the earth as witness to his
enlightenment. Gyalwang Karmapa explained that Buddha said that the earth is the basis of all
beings. The earth is also totally neutral, like the mother of everybody. The Buddha attained
enlightenment, touched the earth, and the earth shook six ways.

Finally, there was a question about one of the prayers which included the request to be born as a
male! Did this not conflict with Tara’s aspiration to attain enlightenment in female form?
His Holiness first pointed out that the prayer in question reflected what people desired, and that
wishing to be born male was a relic from the days when women had very low status and little
control over their lives. Thus they desired to be reborn as a man. We could pray for whatever we
wanted, and in the case in point it was important to distinguish between actual Buddhist thinking
and people’s wishes. He suggested that, if we wanted to, we could pray for all men to be reborn
as women, which provoked much laughter, so long as there was a good reason for the aspiration
and it was based on the wish to benefit others.

Thus the second day concluded.

Day Three

His Holiness began the last day of the teachings for foreign students by announcing that he
would bestow Refuge, the lung of the Preliminary Practice text that he composed last year, and
also bestow Bodhisattva Vows, but first he decided to devote the entire morning session to
questions and answers.

The first question concerned the profound meaning of reciting ‘Karmapa Khyeno’. His Holiness
began his answer by explaining the meaning of ‘karma’: activity, or action, and ‘pa’: one who
performs that activity.

He told how 100,000 Dakinis wove the black hat from their hair, consecrated it, and offered it to
the first Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa. He was the one who performed all the activities of the
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the three times and ten directions. His Holiness also said that it
does not need to be one particular individual who is called ‘Karmapa’, but that it can be a general
name for all Vajra Masters who do the activities of the Buddha. It can be regarded as a title for
all genuine masters. The Buddha had prophesied that when the Dharma is nearing extinction, he
would come in the form of Vajra Masters to perform his Buddha activity.

The activity of the Buddhas is the activity that brings out the white, or positive, side of people,
and that brings out the Buddha nature of all beings. So, when we recite ‘Karmapa Khyeno’, the
purpose is to bring out the white or light side of our nature.

‘Khyeno’ has the meaning of entreating, ‘please think of me’. The purpose of this entreaty is also
to remember the positive qualities of the lama again and again and to pray to the lama to
remember us. It is not necessary to recite aloud, but from the heart. Milarepa said: ‘When I am
alone, I call to my lama from my heart’. This answer was followed by a couple of questions that
His Holiness said he would answer at a later time, and then there was a question about how
people who are non-Buddhist can be helped when they are coming close to the time of their
death. His Holiness replied by saying that whether one has entered the Buddhist Path or not,
everyone has the opportunity to be reborn in a positive state. It is not necessary to practice
Buddhism to take a positive rebirth. The most important thing is the state of the mind at the time
of death. So, for those around the dying person, it is very good to create the circumstances for the
dying person to have a positive state of mind. Even if the person has not practiced extensively
during their lifetime, if they have a positive state of mind at their time of death, this can make a
great difference and is very helpful. His Holiness told the story of a butcher who killed many
animals during his life, but when nearing his death, he heard about the Buddha and was so
inspired that he passed away with one hand in the prostration mudra. When he was reborn, he
took the form of a piglet, but that piglet had one human hand. He was taken to a monastery to
live, and his life was saved. His Holiness emphasized that this was a true story and that he had
seen a photograph of the small pig with the human hand.

A couple more questions were shelved by His Holiness, and then he bestowed the lung for the
Preliminary Practices. He said that the students have come from many faraway places and need
to take back with them something so they can continue to practice. Many people are starting to
do their Ngondro practices now, so he planned to teach Vajrasattva and Guru Yoga in the
afternoon session. Last time His Holiness taught the Ngondro, he said he had not permitted video
or recording of his teachings on Guru Yoga, so this time, he would teach in such a way that it
could be recorded.

Finally, His Holiness gave Refuge Vows to the assembly, explaining first the purpose of going
for refuge. He explained that Refuge means that we can find support and safety, like the refuge
that our mothers or parents who love us very much show to us. By taking refuge, we feel
encouraged, and we receive a new hope, assurance and courage. These days, the world is passing
through many crises, and people feel they can have no confidence or security, and nothing they
can depend on. Through finding a true refuge, new hope and new confidence can be generated.

To go for refuge is similar to a small child running to his/her mother, and spontaneously calling
‘Ma’, when something undesirable happens. In the same way, when we face the sufferings and
difficulties of samsara and the great problems of the world, and we feel there is no refuge or
protection, we need to find not just an external refuge, but an internal, spiritual refuge, to give us
inner strength and protection.
Buddha Shakyamuni passed away more than 2,500 years ago, and so today we cannot find him,
but the power of his teachings remains. His radiance and his representations exist today. When
we practice, it is not enough that the teachings of the Buddha are here; it is necessary to practice
loving kindness and compassion. We need to use it, rely on it, and study with genuine masters. If
we do this, there is no difference between that and meeting the Buddha himself. If we can do
this, we will find protection and confidence within ourselves.

His Holiness made a comparison about the three Refuges. He said that the human brain has
advanced a great deal and that three reasons can be posited for this development. Firstly, the
experiences of past generations have been transmitted to us; we have learnt from previous
generations. Secondly, we have not just copied, but we have used our own intellects and found
new ways of doing things through our own wisdom. Lastly, life in this world is full of ups and
downs, sufferings and positive experiences. We rely on friends and companions to share our
tough and good times together, and for our support and progress. So, in the same way, we need
the experiences of the Buddhas of the past to give us the knowledge of how to free ourselves
from suffering and pain and to find lasting peace and happiness. This is the first refuge. The
second refuge is the Dharma, the teachings that help us work with ourselves to find happiness.
Then the friends with whom we can work together, with whom we can share support on the Path,
represent the third refuge. So with these three refuges, we are on the Dharma Path; we are
practicing a spiritual Path. We should feel that the Buddha is the Teacher, the Dharma is the Path
and the Sangha is the spiritual friend with whom we go together.

His Holiness advised those taking refuge to carefully observe the Refuge Vows, to carefully
follow what is prescribed and to avoid what is proscribed. He then completed the morning
session by saying that the stones that had been brought from all over the world to form the stone
altar that has stood beneath the Bodhi Tree during the Kagyu Monlam, have been imbued with
blessings. He would distribute each stone to the participants at the end of the afternoon session
so that they can take those stones out all over the world to carry each of our prayers and to spread
the blessings of peace.

In the afternoon session, His Holiness first gave the Bodhisattva Vows, preceding this with a
teaching on bodhicitta. He said there are many different liturgies for bestowing the Bodhisattva
Vows, but that found in the Bodhicaryavatara is the easiest and best. He began by explaining
how to generate bodhicitta in our hearts. To do this, it is important first to understand the Seven-
Point Cause and Effect, and that all sentient beings have been our kind mothers. We should
understand the great kindness of the mother, and feel gratitude for that, and also feel the equality
of self and others and understand the importance of exchanging self with others. We need to
generate strong compassion to arouse the wish to eliminate all the sufferings of beings. There are
two stages to accomplish this: first to liberate oneself, and then to work to liberate others. A
strong aspiration must be generated at the beginning.

His Holiness said that as we think primarily for the benefit of all suffering sentient beings, we
also have to think about the container for sentient beings – this world in which all the sentient
beings live. It has the capacity to provide all the necessities for sentient beings. We must be
aware of the environment, and know about the destruction of the environment. He described how
the forests are being destroyed in very terrible ways without any compassion or understanding,
and how with wrong understanding, we were ignorant of what to get rid of and what to keep. We
must know what we need to do for the benefit of others.

If we give rise to the aspiration to work for others, that is good, but we need more than that. We
need to complete that aspiration by making a commitment to work for sentient beings. We
should train and act in the Six Paramitas. This is what is meant by action, so we must do that
according to our level, and according to the strength of our minds.

His Holiness explained that it is good to generate bodhicitta and to take the Bodhisattva Vows,
but if we do not know how to work at our own level, it is not very useful. If we feel we have to
do something that is beyond us, we will not be able to accomplish it, so we need to work out
what is our own capacity. We are in a way inviting all sentient beings as guests, so it is therefore
very important not to give up on our promise for them. We need to work step by step, otherwise,
if we give up, it is like deceiving sentient beings. His Holiness emphasized that we must work
and train step by step without giving up.

Generally, if we truly generate bodhicitta, it is said that if that bodhicitta had form, it would not
be able to be contained within the whole of space, and that even if we are sleeping and not doing
anything, great benefit is always occurring. His Holiness said that this description of the purpose
and benefit of bodhicitta is not mere words, but has a very deep meaning. It means that wherever
there is space, there are sentient beings, and wherever there are sentient beings there is karma,
kleshas and there is suffering, so it is essential to have compassion and kindness. Bodhicitta
covers all the places where there are sentient beings, and sentient beings are wherever there is
space, so bodhicitta is everywhere.

His Holiness talked about pre-1959 Tibet, and said that most people there did not know about the
world, but they did have an understanding that wherever there is space, there are sentient beings
who need to be loved, who need to be freed from their suffering, who need to be covered by
compassion and kindness. Therefore, when we generate this mind of enlightenment, the love
covers wherever space covers, so it is understandable to say that when we generate bodhicitta,
the merit is as vast as space. It is right to say that. His Holiness said that there was nothing more
to say, our lives are full of talk, so let’s just do it, do it. He said that he would recite the verses
for taking the Bodhisattva Vow first three times in Tibetan because of his ‘ego’ [he said this in
English], as he is not so good at reciting in English, and then once in English, to make the
meaning clear.

After bestowing the Bodhisattva Vows, His Holiness said we have been very fortunate to receive
the bodhisattva attitude, and we should rejoice as if we have received a great treasure. If small
negative things occur, our possessing the Bodhisattva Vows should make it easier to let go and
deal with such small things, so we should value it and rejoice. We should feel that now we will
really do something concrete.
His Holiness then turned to the short Preliminary Practice Text that he composed, based on the
5th Sharmapa’s Ngondro text, and began to teach the Vajrasattva practice. He explained that,
basically the purpose of Vajrasattva practice is to purify negative deeds and obscurations. If we
rely on the four antidotes or powers, our practice becomes more strong and effective:

1. The power of the support

2. The power of relying on the antidote
3. The power of repenting the negative deeds
4. The power of resolving not to repeat the negative deeds

The first power of the support refers to the Triple Gem in which we take refuge. We should
briefly take refuge before starting Vajrasattva practice.

The second power of relying on the antidote is the actual visualization and recitation of the
mantra of Vajrasattva. This practice is outlined in the text. We should feel the presence of
Vajrasattva above the crown of our heads, as the union of compassion and emptiness. His
Holiness stressed the importance of feeling that Vajrasattva is really there. We should feel that
our negative deeds are purified through our strong request, after which nectar flows through the
big toe of Vajrasattva, enters our Brahma aperture, and fills our body. We should feel that all
obscurations are completely purified and that our body is clear like a bottle. In particular, His
Holiness said, if we have committed some very serious negative action, or have broken vows and
samayas, we should think of them, feel they are purified and feel there is really an effect.
The third power is to actually having strong repentance for the negative deeds we have
committed. His Holiness emphasized the importance of this part of the practice, and drew the
comparison of having a serious illness and undergoing surgery or treatment to remove it. In the
same way, the negative deeds must really be taken out and eradicated.

Making a commitment not to repeat the negative action again in the future is the fourth power,
and His Holiness said that if that intention is not present, however much we purify, the
purification process is not complete. This fourth power is the way to totally remove the negative
deeds. He said that undertaking not to repeat the action is a very difficult thing to do, but in order
to truly resolve not to repeat the negative action, we must see the negative aspect of the deed,
have revulsion for it, and strongly resolve not to repeat it. This is the basis of true purification.

The practice of Vajrasattva is used to purify all negative deeds, but it is especially important and
relevant for the purification of broken vows and samayas. The samayas are the basis of our
realizations, and it is of utmost importance to abide in the samayas and commitments, and not to
overlook our breaches, but purify them immediately. In Vinaya, if we are keeping the Vinaya
vows, we may not obtain a high level of attainment such as Stream Enterer in this life, but in the
next life we will attain such a level. This is clear from the life story of Shariputra. He heard one
word of Dharma and immediately attained the Path of Seeing. In the Vajrayana also, if we keep
our samayas, even if we do not meditate or practice much, in eight or sixteen lives we will attain
the Path of Seeing.

His Holiness stressed that the main point in Vajrasattva practice is not visualizing the colours or
mudras, but the attitude of repentance and the resolve not to repeat the negative action. In
Vajrayana practice, it is important to have clear visualization, but here in Vajrasattva practice, if
the four powers are not there, it is not true purification practice. He explained that the main long
mantra in the Vajrasattva practice is the one to be accumulated, while the short mantra should
just be recited a few times at the end of the session. He also said that prostrations seem to be very
difficult for some foreigners, so if they are really a problem, at least 1,000 prostrations should be
completed. He cautioned, however, that if possible 100,000 prostrations should be completed,
and only commuted to 1,000 if there is real physical difficulty.

At this point in the teaching, His Holiness said that people had also asked for teachings on Guru
Yoga, but that time had run out. He jokingly said, ‘OM STOP SVAHA’. But, after loud
persuasive cries from the audience, he began again to teach.

His Holiness said that there is the Uncommon Guru Yoga which is part of the Six Yogas of
Naropa, and the Common Guru Yoga, which is the fourth practice of the Preliminary Practices.
Vajrayana is a short cut, the quick path, and its main essence is devotion. Sometimes it is said
that it is more effective to visualize the Lama as he is now, in living form, without transforming
him into a Buddha, but here in the Preliminary Practices the Lama is visualized as Dorje Chang.
We visualize the Lama as Dorje Chang so we do not see him as an ordinary being. His Holiness
explained that in Vajrayana, we transform our ordinary way of seeing things, and so we also
visualize ourselves as a yidam. In the Karma Kamtsang tradition, Vajravarahi is the principal
yidam. The correct way to visualize is to hold the view of the union of emptiness and appearance
simultaneously – wisdom and skillful means together. If they are separated, there is not much
good effect.

Then, visualizing the Lama on top of the head as Dorje Chang, we should recite the Seven
Branch Practice as an offering to the Lama.

When we practice the Vajrayana and visualize the yidam, the practice has to be imbued with the
view of the union of wisdom and skillful means. We should see all as emptiness, and even if we
have not a full understanding of what that means, we should think of it as much as possible.
Because of that view, the right way of understanding, then that clarity, that consciousness
transforms into the deity. The one consciousness performs two activities at the same time: the
activities of skillful means and wisdom.
The deity has the qualities of the result – the enlightened being. Those qualities appear as the
deity. This is the very special characteristic of Vajrayana. This is its speciality, to use the result at
the beginning. In Sutrayana, we talk of the inseparability of wisdom and compassion, but the
cause being the result is not elaborated upon.

His Holiness emphasized that bodhicitta has to be there too. We generate ourselves as the yidam
with clarity and divine pride. We visualize the Lama on our head; maybe the pride becomes less,
he said, but the clarity must be very strong. At this point we offer the Seven Branches to the
Lama. We should see the Lama as the embodiment of the Four Kayas, but if we don’t know how
to see this well, we should think of any positive qualities the Lama possesses and concentrate on
those, and then make prayers from our heart. From the three places of the Lama, light comes and
enters into our three places.

His Holiness then abruptly stopped and said there would be no time to distribute the stones, and
then he would have to throw the stones at everyone! He told how the stones have come from 101
countries and that has made him very happy. He said that what he actually says is not so
important, but that the main thing is to see and meet everyone and be in the same place. He
expressed his happiness at seeing everyone with his two eyes. His Holiness said he enjoyed that
we all shared these three days of teachings together, and that he feels he has made a connection
with every one of the participants, especially by reading and answering the questions. He
thanked everyone for their questions and said even if he had no time to answer them all, he has
read them all. He expressed his wish that he will see everyone again and again, and that perhaps
everyone will return to the next Kagyu Monlam.

His Holiness said that the assembly should make prayers and dedicate the goodness that has been
accumulated. He said that during the Kagyu Monlam, when everyone performed the aspirations
and prayers, he hoped that they were not just words but that those words would take form in
golden letters that emanate out from our hearts and spread throughout the whole world and give
blessings and benefit.

Concerning the stones, His Holiness said that when he distributes the stones to each person, and
wherever we bring those stones, carrying them with us to other countries, there will also spread
the message of love and loving kindness in all corners of the world.
His Holiness said that in his heart he feels our presence, and it is his hope that we will become
like a great light that shines in the darkness so that he can see all of us wherever we are, like stars
in the sky, and that the shimmering of those stars will clear away the darkness of the world, and
remove all the suffering and sorrow in the world.

HHK Teaches on “Living The Dharma”, Jan 13, 14, 15, 2009

==

Vajrayana Training
What is Vajrayana?

Vajrayana is a Buddhist path for utilizing our life experiences as the fuel for the path. Vajrayana
is a system of practices to cultivate a wakeful clear presence and connect with goodness in
ourselves and others.

In Vajrayana ordinary life experiences become the focal point for our training. Vajrayana refers
to a path of “transformation” of these experiences. It is the transformation of thinking,
experiencing emotions, embodied experience, visualization, identity, moments of crisis,
dreaming and dying into opportunities for connecting with intrinsic wisdom.

The view of the world in Vajrayana is that innate wisdom and potential for awakening is always
present. Through Vajrayana meditation practices and Buddhist philosophy, we train to see the
world with a “pure view,” an openness to connect with what is good, uplifted, the positive
potential. Simultaneously, it is a training to wakefully address subconscious material, habitual
neurosis and conditioned scripts within the framework of Buddhist resources for training the
mind.

The term “Vajrayana” is used in the Nyingma lineage to refer to Buddhist Tantra and Great
Perfection teachings (Dzogchen). The latter refers to a class of Buddhist teachings that have been
practiced by non-monastic, non-celibate practitioners, yogis, tantrics and lay people who lived
dynamic lives. Vajrayana includes philosophy, visualization, mind training, body-mind yogas,
meditation practices and rituals.

Vajrayana, like all of Tibetan Buddhism, emphasizes the importance of relationships. The
relationship between the teacher and student, between the student and the lineage history,
between the community of people who practice and between the student and their world. These
relationships present a complex and dynamic landscape through which the lived meaning of the
teachings can be explored. Therefore a personal connection with others who teach and practice
Vajrayana is an important ingredient. No book or class can substitute for that. However those
experiences can be supported by a strong foundation in Vajrayana views, history and the context
of the practices. The Vajrayana Training is offered to provide a foundation and a ground to
encounter Vajrayana with understanding, to meet its teachers, adherents, rituals and practices
with a sense of their purpose and context.
For advanced trainings in Vajrayana – Tibetan Yoga and Dzogchen, learn about the Ngakpa
Seminary

The Need for In-Depth Training Online

As Buddhism has come to North America, ritual initiations (empowerments) have been widely
available, but education in Vajrayana has not. Likewise, exposure to Lamas has been available,
but in-depth personal training has not been accessible to all but a few people. The Vajrayana
training offers an opportunity to bridge these gaps, offering an orientation to the views, rituals,
symbols, practices and core principles of Vajrayana Buddhism in an accessible on-line learning
format.

Approaches to the Vajrayana teachings of Buddhism vary widely, with vigorous debates on the
topic throughout the history of Tibetan Buddhism. While some schools reserve Vajrayana for
advanced stages of the path, the Ngakpas (Buddhist Yogis) of the Nyingma lineage practiced
Vajrayana as the core of the path from start to finish, approaching the entire spectrum of
Buddhist vehicles from the view of Dzogchen and the methods of Vajrayana. The Vajrayana
Training continues this tradition, offering education in a non-sectarian environment that may
benefit students of any school of Tibetan Buddhism.

The course is taught by Pema Khandro whose background of growing up in North America has
provided her with an understanding of Western culture and learning styles. Thus the Vajrayana
Training offers advanced esoteric teachings in a modern format. She engages straightforward
language with a supportive teaching methodology that offers lecture, question and answer, slide
shows with outlines of the material, recordings of the class for viewing and reference and the
support of an assisting instructor who will follow up with one on one conversations after each
class. The training is given in the accessible format of live web-cast teachings to keep Vajrayana
accessible despite the demands of modern life.

Class Format

Vajrayana Training classes are offered twice a month on the 1st and 2nd Wednesdays of the
month. The Classes generally include a 30-minute lecture by Pema Khandro followed by 30-
minutes discussion. On occasion, due to retreats or special events, the classes may be scheduled
on other Wednesdays, but this will be announced in advance.

Dynamic Format including a Live Web-class twice a month

 Twice a month web-class.

o This focuses on major texts of the Nyingma tradition in shedra style format of reading
the texts line by line and reviewing the meaning and principles.
o This usually includes supportive materials such as slides or study guides, texts or video
recording available after class.
o This is usually held on the 1st & 2nd Wednesday of the month
o This is held on Wednesdays at the following times:
 6pm PDT San Francisco
  9pm EDT New York
 8pm CST Chicago
 Visit Timezone Converter to find the time in your time zone
 Self-paced modules offer focused topics in lecture-style formats to provide an overview of
Vajrayana culture and other themes
 Vajrayana retreat once a year is offered as an optional/suggested support to receive practices
and engage in the methods with support.

The tone of the class is geared towards *study

The tone of retreats and monthly meditation is geared towards *practice

Essential Ingredients & Disclaimers

Vajrayana tradition maintains the crucial importance of the student’s encounter with a teacher in
the context of ritual “empowerments,” initiations where a kind of inspired transmission and
inspiration is conveyed. For this reason, it is considered impossible to ever fully encounter
Vajrayana in books or on one’s own, it is a path that emphasizes the relationship between the
student and teacher, the experience of ritual and connection with other practitioners. The
Vajrayana Training course does not necessarily replace those elements but it can support it.

Whether or not transmission of Vajrayana practices can or cannot be given over the internet is a
matter of debate. Some Lama’s give empowerments over the internet these days, while others do
not. However, what is clear after the last four years of this course, and courses like it, is that
high-quality education and learning can take place through internet courses. Likewise, so can
support for ongoing inspiration, commitment, and training.

Vajrayana Training is not a series of “empowerments.” Empowerments are ritual initiations into
specific Vajrayana meditation practices where one trains to visualize oneself as a particular
Buddha and experience oneself as integrated with one’s buddha nature through the mantra and
imagery of a specific buddha from the tradition. These practices are called deity yoga or yidam
practice.

The only initiation connected with Vajrayana Training is connected to Ngondro, the foundational
practice that everyone begins within Vajrayana – and the practice that is the core of the
meditative tools that one trains by.

In modern Buddhism, access to empowerment is generally more available than in-depth

Vajrayana education. So the Vajrayana Training offers that education. Both Vajrayana and Great
Perfection (Dzogchen) views are taught in the course. It trains students to recognize the context,
philosophy, perspectives, questions and details of how to make use of and make sense of Tibetan
Buddhism as a whole. This material is equally important to the Vajrayana path. Vajrayana has
always been more than just empowerment and other rituals. It has a philosophical view, an
understanding of conduct in terms of Buddhist tantra and it has a rich history and lineage.

Furthermore, ritual itself can only be fully accessed through some training in Tibetan
Buddhism as a symbolic language, a kind of poetry of being where we learn to see the world in
terms of wisdom, compassion, sanity and presence. Therefore Vajrayana Training offers
education above all else. Students are encouraged to seek empowerments and develop personal
relationships with Lamas or enter Ngakpa Training with Pema Khandro for going further in the
Vajrayana Buddhist path.

Vajrayana Training

Vajrayana Training is offered in modules 2 classes per month. The final two classes of the year
may be special themed classes where other topics outside the modules are taught.

The topics of Vajrayana Training cover a range of essential themes and texts of Vajrayana
Buddhism.

One module of study explores the key aspects of Tantric Buddhism, and makes sense of its vast
array of ritual, art, philosophy, and esoteric yoga.

Another module offers initiation, training and support in Ngondro practice, the primary
meditation practice of Vajrayana practitioners of all traditions. Ngondro reveals the dynamic,
inspiring, visionary and artistic dimensions of Buddhist meditation, transforming the
practitioners sense of self, world and experience itself.

One module focuses on key elements of Buddhist Philosophy and the world according to
Vajrayana, defining key terms such as emptiness, from the vast view of Dzogchen and the
Nyingma Inner Tantra.

A self-paced module explores the controversial and essential topic of the teacher-student
relationship in Tibetan Buddhism, in Vajrayana and in modern contexts.

Another module explores esoteric Buddhist philosophy and practice through direct study of a
nineteenth-century Vajrayana and Dzogchen text.

One module unfolds the history, stories and lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and the ancient lineage
of Buddhist tantra and Buddhist Yogis, known as the Nyingma tradition.

After the modules are each presented the course repeats from the beginning with a new text
study. Each time the course is taught, although it is orienting around the same subjects, each
class is unique and varied. This is due to the living and intimate atmosphere generated between
the teacher and students.

After attending for three years, students are encouraged to continue with more advanced study in
Ngakpa Training and then later to repeat the course as teaching assistants. Students who repeat
the course are encouraged to serve as mentors to new students in order to facilitate learning
through verbal expression of these principles and sharing them for the benefit of others.

The courses are non-sequential and can be taken in any order. In web-classes, meeting once a
month, students will discover how to understand the pivotal principles of Tibetan Buddhism,
make sense of empowerments, and go deep into understanding oneself, one’s own world, and
how to make better sense of one’s own mind.

This Unique Training Covers

 Guidance and Support in accomplishing Ngondro, the unique foundational practice of Tibetan
Buddhism.
 Study of the schools of Buddhism, with special focus on the unique non-monastic Nyingma
lineage.
 Understanding of the symbology of Buddhist Tantra.
 How to enter into the path of Buddhist Tantra and Dzogchen, and much more.

Vajra World Module: Orientation to the Vajra World & Vajrayana Ritual

1. Four Thoughts
2. The Three Turnings
3. Nyingma Lineage
4. Vajra Guru Mantra
5. Vajra, Bell & Drum
6. Making a Shrine

Ngondro Module: Practice: Ngondro

1. Bodhichitta
2. Bodhisattva Vow
3. Tantric Refuge
4. Samaya
5. Ngondro
6. Emptiness, Self, No-Self and Identity in Buddhism

Module on Conduct:

1. Intrinsic Purity: Tantra, Conduct & the 5 Precepts

2. Savoring the Flavor of Experience: Tantra, Conduct & the 5 Precepts
3. The Inevitability of Death and the Vow to Help Beings: Tantra, Conduct & the 5 Precepts
4. 2 Truths & the Lie of Duality: Tantra, Conduct & the 5 Precepts
5. Ethics in an Ambiguous World: Tantra, Conduct & the 5 Precepts
6. The Five Precepts in Sutra & Tantra

Philosophy: Esoteric Philosophy

This module explores Buddhist philosophy from the point of view of developments in Nyingma
Vajrayana and Dzogchen.

Tibetan Buddhism’s Vajrayana path offers a systematic training to refine one’s view of reality.
This module focuses on refining, deepening and expanding one’s view of reality
  through an examination of the major themes of Buddhist philosophy from the Vajrayana
perspective.
 through a study of a Tibetan text on the outer and inner preliminaries
 through direct encounter with a major text of Nyingma’s esoteric treasure revelation
tradition

While many people often assume that all Buddhist philosophy has the same perspective on
fundamental topics such as non-self, emptiness, karma and the goal of the path, the major quality
of Tibetan Buddhism is diversity. Understanding these differences can help to supply students
with a wealth of support in their own pursuit of the big questions on the nature of reality and the
nature of mind. This segment of the Vajrayana training is intended to support a sustained
engagement with developing and expanding one’s view of self, others and reality.

In particular, the perspective emphasized in this course focuses on discovery of one’s own
inherent purity, innate wisdom and intrinsic spaciousness. This is the specialty of the Nyingma
lineage’s approach to Vajrayana which emphasizes the great perfection.

This is the longest and most advanced module of the Vajrayana Training modules. It continues
for 10 classes covering the major topics of Buddhism from the perspective of Vajrayana –
Buddhist Tantra and Dzogchen including:

 The view that all phenomena are empty and the particular view of this in the Nyingma lineage
 The view of the non-existent self-nature of phenomena and why, while being empty, persons,
personality, individuality and apparent phenomena are celebrated in Buddhist Tantra
 Cutting through hesitations with regard to the understanding of emptiness, clarifying the
distinctions between nihilism and Buddhist philosophy of emptiness
 Clarifying the nature of illusion, delusion and confused appearances
 Stepping off the roller coaster of hope and fear
 Discovering the ground of being as pristine awareness
 Understanding non-duality in terms of samsara and nirvana. What does it mean when higher
tantras state that samsara and nirvana are one?
 Embracing samsara and nirvana within a paradigm of the pervasiveness
 Identifying transcendent knowledge as opposed to ordinary mind
 Examining the gods and demons that manifest as beneficial and harmful experiences in this
lifetime
 Collapsing the habitual investment in things that are non-existent
 Discovering intrinsic purity
 How qualities on the positive side of nirvana are naturally occurring qualities
 Making the leap into spontaneous presence, effortlessness and lucidity
 Training so that one does not make errors in judgment on view or conduct
 Modes of impeccable conduct
 Making clear distinctions between ordinary mind and intrinsic awareness
 Modes of lineage transmission, the oral lineage, the treasure revelation tradition and the
heritage of stories of the lineage figures

Students will be invited to read chapters in advance in order to prepare for the class. Unlike
Ngakpa Seminary, students are not required to memorize passages, debate or give oral
presentations. However, small group sessions at the end of each class encourage small group
dialogue, optional quizzes are administered periodically and questions may be submitted during
class or throughout the month. Recordings, video, and slideshows are provided for all classes,
barring any technical difficulties which arise from time to time.

Lineage Module

This module explores the Nyingma lineage through the stories and major teachings of the most
influential masters in Tibetan Buddhism. These stories are set against the backdrop of the
fascinating major developments in Tibetan history, politics and religion. This topic is a specialty
of Pema Khandro and combines the entertaining and inspiration elements of story, myth and
legend alongside current scholarly insight to previously obscure elements of Tibetan
Buddhist history.

 The development of Buddhist tantra in India

 Transmission of Buddhism from India to Tibet
 The role of lineage and transmission in Vajrayana
 Making sense of lineage and transmission in modern terms
 Early Dzogchen teachings and their systematization in the fourteenth century
 The development of the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, Geluk and
Bon
 What does it mean to practice in a particular lineage?
 The roots of the Tibetan Yogi tradition in India and Tibet
 The major figures of the Nyingma nyingthig lineage, their stories and teachings
 The legends of Padmasambhava & Yeshe Tsogyal – the role of these figures in articulating
Vajrayana principles
 The great teachers and treasure revealers of the Nyingma lineage including Pema Sel,
Longchenpa and Jigme Lingpa
 The major teachers of the early Dzogchen teachings
 The refuge field visualization and meaning

Course Includes

 Two Monthly 1.5hour LIVE training class with Pema Khandro via webcast, You also receive the
recording. The classes are 60 minutes of teachings with Pema Khandro and 30 minutes of group
discussion – led by her senior students. Time for questions and answers.
 Membership in N.I. with the privilege of discounts, newsletters, and access to private meetings
with Pema Khandro during public retreats.
 Member Events and opportunity to join Sacred Service.
 Teaching Assistant Support:
o Optional monthly conversations with a Teaching Assistant via phone or Skype. The
supportive group environment allows for engaging with practitioners of Tibetan
Buddhism, which fosters the experience of genuine and long-lasting change. Working
monthly with the teaching assistants will help answer your questions and support your
integration of this life-changing information that is rarely explained in depth.
How to Know if Vajrayana Training is a fit?

Just like there is no one right path for everyone, no one teacher or learning format is right for
everyone either. Before enrolling in Vajrayana Training you may wish to:

 check out Pema Khandro’s blog

 Watch Videos of Pema Khandro
 Be sure to view the course prerequisites: Buddhist Ethics and Sutra Tantra Dzogchen.** These
two courses give an overview of Pema Khandro Rinpoche’s teachings and themes in terms of
Buddhist Philosophy.
 Become a Member of the Buddhist Yogis Sangha to maximize your opportunity to participate in
live and recorded classes with Pema Khandro and gain access to Vajrayana Training prerequisites.

**Students who have completed ngondro or sustainted Vajrayana practice in another tradition do
not need to complete these pre-requisites, however, they are recommended as self-paced learning
to help understand how the Vajrayana is approached in this school.

Disclaimer: Is Vajrayana Secret?

The approach to Vajrayana study varies within the different sects of Tibetan Buddhism. For
example, among the Gelukpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrayana materials are regarded as
secret and reserved for advanced students who have accomplished many decades of other
practices. In the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrayana is considered the main heart
of the path, beginning with ngondro and going onto to practices of Deity Yoga. Vajrayana
empowerments are given in public, though the general standard is to complete ngondro, the
preliminary meditation practices first.

Today, with the widespread publishing of Buddhist books, and proliferation of Buddhist
materials online, there are so many aspects of Vajrayana that are not secret. In some sense, the
secret is out. However because this information is presented in overwhelming quantities from
contradicting view points, it often leaves students confused in terms of how to sort through such
material. Particulars are taken as universals. Local realities are interpreted as ‘truths.’ Areas of
important philosophical questioning are lost in a sea of nuances. This adds obstacles to the
practice of sincere individuals. This Vajrayana Training is aimed at removing those obstacles –
by providing a step by step study, by making sense of the relationships between the variety of
perspectives, and their historical background, by highlighting which tenets must be understood
immediately and by providing frameworks for organizing Vajrayana paradigms.

Despite the proliferation of Buddhist materials, there is an element of Vajrayana which has
remained secret – in terms of transmitting the practices in the context of a teacher student
relationship rather than broadcasting them to the public. The secret is the practice liturgies, the
maps to Vajrayana contemplative practice. These are similar to recipes passed down in families,
everyone knows what spaghetti sauce is, but to produce grandma’s special spaghetti sauce
requires knowledge of the family recipe and family secret. Of course, Buddhist contemplative
practice is far more consequential than spaghetti sauce, but it is a helpful analogy to understand
what is meant by ‘secret’ in Vajrayana. It refers to practices which are cared for, regarded as
precious and shared with serious practitioners only. Similar to the example of spaghetti sauce,
even though deity yoga practices follow similar structures which are knowable and recognizable,
the important part of the practice, which is the particularities of that practice in the lineage, such
as the mantra, liturgy, and lived experience of the practice – are passed on only directly from
teacher to student. Vajrayana Training does not replace that transmission. However, it does aim
to provide the knowledge students need to attend empowerments and understand what is going
on.

Vajrayana Training does include ngondro meditation instruction and guidance, so that students
are prepared to go deeper into Vajrayana Training with the Lamas they will student with in the
future.

Further Disclaimers: The Small Print On What This Course Is Not

Pema Khandro offers a straightforward, warm, light-hearted, down to earth educational approach
to Buddhist training.

If you are looking for special transmissions, special powers, psychic abilities and so forth, this
training (and all her courses) would be incompatible with your goals. No “transmissions” are
given in this course. It is simply educational in nature.

If your goal is to become enlightened in terms of supernatural abilities, magic powers and
specialness, this course would be incompatible with your goals. Pema Khandro’s teaching
emphasizes Dzogchen views of human life which emphasize ‘naturalness,’ ‘authenticity,’ and a
general ambiance of basic sanity. The goal is to study Buddhism for the purpose of being a good
human being, leading a dignified, satisfying life and acting altruistically to help our world.

Pema Khandro’s teachings emphasize mainstream Buddhist ethics. Therefore if you are looking
for neo-tantric teachings which are western originated teachings focused on sexual techniques,
then this training and our courses are also incompatible with your goals.

If you are interested in learning about topics such as Buddhist philosophy, the nature of mind, the
source and workings of thoughts and emotions, Buddhist perspectives on karma, transforming
one’s state of being through contemplative practices, perspectives on the purpose of life,
questions about birth/death, meditation methods, pragmatic approaches to health, Buddhist
history, Buddhist stories and culture, the meaning behind Vajrayana practices and rituals, the
relationship between Vajrayana and Dzogchen… then yes, Pema Khandro’s courses
are compatible with these goals!

Our community does not discriminate against individuals based on sexual-orientation, race,
ethnicity, religion, ability, gender or religious background. We believe everyone has equal
amounts of Buddha-nature and that diversity is beautiful!

For students on the path of Vajrayana and Great Perfection (Dzogchen)


 o

 fuel your inspiration
 discover your hidden depths
 immerse yourself in dharma
 connect with other Buddhists
 cut through fictions to see yourself as you really are
 understanding your mind and emotions
 gain support for ongoing practice and study
 clarify the meaning of esoteric Buddhist philosophy, terms and rituals
 engage Buddhist philosophy to grapple with the issue of teacher-student
relationships in Vajrayana
 leave behind the maze of information and have a direct encounter with
the heart of Buddhism

==

The Practice of the Four Doors

Introduction

One of the instructions that it’s customary to give during drupchen practice stresses the
importance of pointing out – on a daily basis – the elements of practice that participants ignore,
and explaining how to do the practice. Lama’s usually do this by reading out loud the relevant
section of the Drupchen Digest[1], which is a compilation of instructions that includes the three
phases of practice (approach, accomplishment, and activity). But as it’s in Tibetan, most of you
are unable to understand it. All the Tibetans here have participated in numerous drupchens and
have heard the teachings in the Digest many times – I have also given them copies of that text.
So today, for the benefit of you westerners, I want to speak more freely.

Precious Human Birth

This lifetime, all the yogis and yoginis gathered in this shrine room have obtained a human body
endowed with all the freedoms and advantages. People fall into categories depending on their
relationship with Dharma: some don't know the Dharma at all, others are unable to put the
Dharma into practice, and some even dislike the Dharma. All these categories of people have
also obtained a human birth, but as they are not Dharma practitioners, their rebirth cannot be
described as a meaningful ‘precious human birth’. Their lives therefore are described as ‘mere
human existence’.
Renunciation

In addition to a precious human birth, Dharma practitioners also need to develop renunciation.
We practise the Dharma to free ourselves from the cyclic existence that is samsara, which means
we need to generate a strong desire to escape that cycle of suffering.

Bodhichitta

Once we have a deep longing to get out of samsara, we must then employ the most important
method taught in the Causal Vehicle of Characteristics: bodhichitta. And we must use both its
aspects: the bodhichitta of aspiration and bodhichitta in action. The generation of a genuine sense
of bodhichitta is the unavoidable basis for Dharma practice.

The bodhichitta of aspiration is to develop an appreciation of bodhichitta; acting on that

aspiration is bodhichitta in action. For example, the least you should do is, as you breathe in,
apply the visualization of taking on all the suffering of sentient beings; then as you breathe out,
send them all happiness. If you apply this practice a minimum of seven times every day, you are
definitely following the Mahayana path. And by maintaining the discipline of that practice, you
will gradually become more and more familiar with it. The signs that your practice is having an
effect are that your selfish desires become fewer and you think more about others, and they are
also the signs that you are following the Mahayana path of bodhichitta. When such results starts
manifesting, try putting the six paramitas – the first five paramitas are held with the view, which
is the sixth perfection, the paramita of wisdom – into action as often as you can.

The Challenge of the Vajrayana

Having aroused renunciation and bodhichitta in your mind, you must now reflect on whether or
not you want to follow the Vajrayana path. In India, people think hard about whether they really
want to be Vajrayana practitioners or not, before stepping onto the Vajrayana path, and only few
truly broad-minded people actually go ahead and do it. Most choose not to.

The Mahayana approach to spiritual practice is based on the wish to benefit all sentient beings
and to maintain the view of emptiness. These two approaches are very challenging for most
people, because they lack the openness to be able to relate to them. They are frightened by
bodhichitta and the view of emptiness, and the Vajrayana is even more terrifying. But no one in
this room seems daunted by these teachings, and anyway, you’ve all stepped onto this path so the
time for reflection is over.

What is it that is so frightening and daunting about these teachings?

The teachings say that to accomplish benefit for all sentient beings as numerous space is vast, we
should practice the paramita of generosity, and part of that practice is to be able to give up our
limbs, head and other parts of our body, if our sacrifice will help others. The paramita of
generosity won’t be accomplished, or perfected, until we have made generous offerings for three
countless great eons – and the perfection of generosity is just the first of the six perfections. That
is just an example to give you an idea of how long we would have to toil to perfect all five
paramitas.

Once you understand the first five paramitas and have aroused the appropriate motivation, you
can then turn to the paramita of wisdom. As Shantideva said:

All these branches of the Doctrine

The Enlightened Sage expounded for the sake of wisdom.[2]

For wisdom to arise, we must first definitively establish the view of the Prasangika Madhyamika,
which is ‘emptiness free from all conceptual elaboration’. What is this view?

When something and its nonexistence

Both are absent from before the mind,
No other option does the latter have:
It comes to perfect rest, from concepts free.[3]

You will intellectually understand emptiness the moment “when” you recognize this absence and
think of it as emptiness. When this understanding is also “absent from before the mind” and you
are completely free from any reference so that no mistake is possible, this is the view of
emptiness.

For many, including many Buddhists – for example, the followers of the Shravakayana, the
Sautrantikas, and the Vaibhashikas, and even the Mind Only school – this view is daunting. But
what this view teaches is buddha nature, and buddha nature is inherently present in all sentient
beings.

We are not concerned with the outer Kriya, Upa or Yoga tantras here. What we are doing is
going further into the Great Yoga, the Mahayoga. In that context, the Secret Mantra Vajrayana
teachings explain that the ground of buddha nature is present in the minds of all sentient beings,
and that this mind is the Buddha right now! This statement can be extremely unsettling.

No one I see in front of me today really understands what this teaching is saying. All you can do
is think, “This is probably what it’s like. The lamas say it’s like this and the books explain it like
this.” But you can only manage to think ‘it might be true’ because you haven’t fully understood
that the Buddha is your own mind, or reached that undeniable conclusion. Therefore, none of you
holds a high view. When you hold a high view, you actually experience it.

The ultimate point taught by Mantra Vajrayana is that all phenomena are the kayas and wisdoms.
But if you think that realizing everything is the kayas and wisdoms is an excellent understanding
and that as you haven’t realized it, you must be an inferior practitioner, you haven’t understood
the view.

For people who don’t realize the view and for whom it’s still obscure – which is most of us – the
methods for eliminating these habitual tendencies are meditation on the deity, recitation of
mantra, and so on. When you accomplish the deity nothing comes to you from the outside, you
simply actualize the view.

Drupchen Practice

This is why we do ritual practices – which I’ve explained at length to you in the past and which I
believe that you have heard.

Now, the most important things for you to know about are the four ‘doors’, or ‘handles’, of
Secret Mantra Vajrayana.

The Four Doors of Secret Mantra

1. The Door of the Words that Call to Mind the Absolute

This is the first door and it corresponds to the words that guide us towards actualizing the
essence of phenomena, the absolute – basically, how things abide – and corresponds to what you
refer to in English as the ‘sadhana’ text.

You must enter that door, right? Actually, you will have to pass through all four doors, but first,
to cross the threshold of this door of words that help you call to mind the absolute, you must
bring to mind the meaning of every single word in the sadhana as you recite it, from the first
syllable of the refuge prayer, to the last word of the prayer of auspiciousness. As it is said,

Secret Mantra is recitation and meditation.

This means that you practise the Vajrayana by saying the words of the sadhana text as you
actualize or meditate on their meaning. For the most important sections of the sadhana, the
‘tradition of the lineage vidyadharas’ is to sing or chant them slowly so you have more time to
think about what they mean, and to actualize and meditate on that meaning.

I really hope that you are able to pass through this first door – here at Lerab Ling I have often
spoken extensively about different sadhanas and how to do this kind of practice. Sometimes
sadhanas are practised elaborately, or concisely, or somewhere in between, but the meaning
behind those words come down to pretty much the same thing.

2. The Door of the Secret Mantra to Summon the Crux of Deity Meditation

Right now, you think the deities look different from you because of your notions about what is
good and what is bad – basically, you haven’t yet accomplished the deity. Here, you summon the
crux of deity meditation by uniting the deity and yourself as one. This is done through the three
phases of mantra recitation: approach, accomplishment, and activity. Having entered this
doorway, you recite the mantra.
3. The Door of Mind in Samadhi, Single-mindedly Focussed on the Practice

Next, you meditate on samadhi, focussing single-mindedly on the practice. The roots of this
aspect of practice are the four nails that bind the life-force of the practice – I have spoken about
them several times in the past. These four nails are incredibly important – in fact, they are
crucial. If you practise ‘the Mahayoga teachings that emphasize kyérim practice’ without
knowing about these four nails, you are practising without knowing the main points. The fourth
and last nail, the ‘nail of unchanging wisdom mind’, is especially important.

4. The Door of the Dance of Mudras: Significances, Symbols, and Correlations

Mudras are symbolic gestures that point to a deeper meaning. You perform mudras when you
actualize your body, speech and mind as the three vajras – enlightened body, enlightened speech
and enlightened mind – or the five buddha families and so on; or when you invite the wisdom
beings and offer prostrations, offerings, praises and so on. To cross the threshold of the ‘door of
the dance of mudras’ you must perform mudras.

These four doors therefore correspond to deity, mantra, mudra, and samadhi, as mentioned in the
tantras. If one of these four doors is missing, the practice is incomplete.

How to Correct Your Practice of the Four Doors

Actualize the Meaning as You Read the Words

You must apply these four doors when you do a Mahayoga practice that emphasizes the kyérim
of the Secret Mantra Vajrayana – for example, when you are doing a ‘great accomplishment
practice’ (drupchen). Having entered each of the four doors, you will eventually see the mandala.
These four points are extremely important.

Many of you are able to chant as we practise in this temple, because the practice texts have been
translated. So as you chant, your mind must be thinking about the meaning of the words of the
prayers – no? It is impossible to simply follow the words with your eyes and chant without
focusing your mind on the meaning – right? As you read, your mind must necessarily be
involved – your eyes alone are not enough. Try it and you’ll see I’m right. If you say the word
‘buddha’, for example, the sound will leave your mouth only after the mind has thought it – mind
and mouth come together. It’s therefore crucial that practitioners are able to recite the practices
in their own language – I have mentioned this extremely important point many times over the
years.

At least here at Lerab Ling a translation appears underneath the Tibetan phonetics. This should
be acceptable for those of us who practise Vajrayana on an aspirational level.

Chant the Mantra!

I notice that many of you appear to recite the mantra. During a drupchen the mantra should be
chanted out loud, yet even though there are three or four hundred people here, your voices can
hardly be heard! Everyone joins in when you chant Sogyal Rinpoche’s long life prayer, so it can
easily be heard – perhaps because you are more used to it.

Basically, mantra brings incredible blessings. Yesterday I spoke about the nine ways of relating
to mantras. Chanting the mantra is very beneficial. As it says in the tantras,

Even if space should cease to exist, the accomplishments of mantra will never cease.

Samadhi

I imagine that you are all trying to meditate in some sort of samadhi. Westerners, in particular,
love to meditate – but I can’t tell if you are actually meditating, or just very good at looking as if
you are. At Bodhgaya, for example, you will see many Buddhist monks, Tibetans and Bhutanese
people, all folding their hands in devotion and offering prayers, while the Westerners just sit in
meditation postures, as though in deep samadhi. Whatever it is that you are doing, for now I’ll
assume that you are actually meditating.

If you are practising Dzogchen meditation and therefore maintaining the continuity of the
recognition of the nature of mind, there is no better meditation. If you do that, you don’t need to
meditate on the deity – that is, if you know how to practise Dzogchen properly. But if all you are
doing is counting thoughts, that’s not useful.

Mudra

With our bodies we must perform mudras. But here at Lerab Ling, most of you aren’t practising
this element. A few at least attempt to do the mudras, but most of you leave your hands in your
laps – you’re no better than armless people! Noone here is physically incapable of forming
mudras so all you have to do is copy someone else. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about – in
fact, quite the opposite. What you should be embarrassed about is participating in a mantra
practice but not do the mudras because you don’t know how to copy others. You must perform
the mudras.

For example, the Causal Vehicle of Characteristics speaks about accumulating one hundred
thousand prostrations as you take refuge, yet it’s far more valuable to perfect a single revolving
lotus mudra and a clear visualization in a Secret Mantra Vajrayana practise than to accumulate
prostrations. In Mantra it is said that, “All movements are great bliss”. This means that even if
you are not able to do the mudra well, you will still derive some benefit from trying because it
involves physical movement.

To introduce mudras properly requires a great deal of explanation – including the presentation of
the ‘arrangement of channels, the moving winds, and the tiglés of bliss’. An entire chapter of The
Secret Essence Tantra (the Guhyagarbha Tantra) is devoted to explaining mudras.

I felt I really had to bring these points to your attention – although that doesn’t change anything
to me.
Be Confident

There is no longer any question about it, you are all yogis and yoginis. A yogi is a person who,
having received the empowerment, practises the three yogas, which you are all doing.

Dilgo Khyentse called himself the ‘fortunate, aimless yogi Mangala’, and by so doing
demonstrated that we must all recognize we are yogis or yoginis. Yogis need view, meditation
and action; if you recite a sadhana once every day without fail, all three will be covered.

Acquire the Vajrayana Practice Implements and Substances

When you receive an empowerment you acquire quite a few samayas. The five most important
are the samayas of the five buddha families. The samaya of the Vajra Family of Akshobhya is:

Cleave properly
To the mudras of vajra and bell.

Which means that you must have a bell and a vajra and that you should use them.

Wisdom and skilful methods are the nature of all things and we must bring them together in our
Vajrayana practice. The vajra and bell symbolize wisdom and skilful methods. This is why you
must “cleave properly to the mudras of vajra and bell”.

Vajras and bells are very easy to get these days. In India you can buy a set for just two or three
hundred rupees – about five euros. Vajrayana practitioners must have a bell and vajra.

Some years ago, I went to do a drupchen at Tashi Jong – which is near Bir, in India –where there
was a tokden called Chölik. Chölik often got wound up about all kinds of things. One year,
during the practice break, he asked every monk in the line for the toilet, “Do you have a vajra
and a bell?” Most of them said they didn’t, including one of our Chokling Monastery monks.
Chölik then asked our monk, “Do you have a mala?” Again the monk said he didn’t have a mala.
“How long have you been a monk?” asked Chölik
“Fifteen years,” replied the monk.
“Unbelievable!” exclaimed Chölik. “How is that possible? You’ve been a monk for fifteen years
and you don’t have a bell, a vajra or even a mala. I can’t believe it! It’s impossible!”

So, you also need a good mala with the right characteristics[4]. Of all the malas I have seen here,
there’s hardly a single good one – and I’ve see quite a few because almost everybody comes and
asks me to blow blessings onto theirs.

Not having a good vajra and bell, and a proper mala, are signs that you are not good Dharma
practitioners; you should start by getting the articles that support Dharma practice, and in
particular the special ‘samaya substances and articles’ required for Secret Mantra Vajrayana. So,
make sure you have all the required equipment. It should be of good quality and have all the
right specifications – which is actually very easy. Not like meditation.
After Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche passed away, Rabjam Rinpoche and those who helped him,
organized various ceremonies to which lamas and monks from all traditions were invited. Lamas
and monks from the five Buddhist traditions – the four schools and the Jonangpa – were present,
and so were the Bönpos. This meant that three or four hundred monks came together every day
to practise, so the ceremonies were organized in the spirit of Rimé. But many hadn’t brought
vajras and bells with them and the organizers ended up providing them for everyone.

For the conclusion of the ceremonies, we also invited some ‘benza acharayas’ – Vajrayana
Buddhists of the Nepali tradition. About three hundred and sixty practitioners came to do their
Vairochana practice, and each one brought his own vajra and bell and used them – some sets
were more than one thousand years old. I was quite amazed by that. Not only had they brought
their own vajras and bells, but they were really good, old sets. Only two or three of them had
newly made Nepali vajra and bells, all the rest were old! Rabjam Rinpoche and I checked out
each set and found one that was very special. It was almost the same as a bell Namkhé Nyingpo
had revealed as a terma. We asked the Nepali to show it to us, but he said, “I am not allowed to
do that: my vajra and bell can not be touched by anyone else, so you can’t put your hands on
them.” Then he added “They are my samaya articles; no one else can touch them.” So, I think
these Nepalis still maintain the practice tradition of Secret Mantra.

==

Transforming all ten poisons with the skillful psychology of Buddhist Vajrayana — the
creative approach to practice

The symbolism of Vajrayana spans every facet of life — and imagination — from the mundane,
to love-making, to demon-slaying, to wrathful conquering. Every aspect of practice is expressed
in visualization — in the vast expanse of imagination — rather than as two-dimensional words
on a page. The element of the practice is to involve all of the senses in the process of
transformation. Tantric practices are Yogas — which literally translates as “join.” The joining
here, is Compassion and Wisdom, Bless and Emptiness. The other joining, or connection —
often represented in Vajrayana as the consorts, Buddha and consort — is “skillful means” and
the “ultimate wisdom”. The skillful means refers to creativity, art, visualization, imagination,
psychology — all with the ultimate goal of understanding the true nature of reality — or
Enlightenment. This is expressed in its ultimate form in thangka art and Dharma statues, which
convey universal symbols and messages.
 Vajrakila
ya is the fierce aspect of the activity of all of the Buddhas, always with his consort who
compliments his active skillful means with wisdom. The psychology of symbol and archetypes
conveys visually more than words could. His wrathful appearance connotes skillful activity and
energy, the power to overcome our obstacles (the ten poisons). His six arms represent the six
paramitas, or perfections. The Purbha is the quintessential symbol of activity. The garuda over
his head represents the windy activity of Amoghisiddhi, the Buddha of the Activity Karma
Family. His consort is a wrathful aspect of Tara, the windy activity of Karma, and the Wisdom
mother of all the Buddhas.
--
The Psychology of Tantra — It brings practice into everyday living

Psychologist Rob Preece describes the benefits and uniqueness of Tantric methods:

--