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Naropa

The Yoga of the Guru

This has two parts:

1 General explanation

2 The practice of Guru yoga

GENERAL EXPLANATION

Practising Guru yoga sincerely is relying upon the Spiritual Guide, the root of the spiritual path. As practitioners of Highest Yoga Tantra we have a commitment to practise Guru yoga six times every day. Guru yoga is an especially powerful method for receiving the blessings of the Buddhas and increasing our merit. By following the Sutra path alone it would take a thousand aeons to accumulate the vast amount of merit needed to attain Buddhahood, but, as Sakya Pandita observed, by wholeheartedly practising Guru yoga we can accumulate the same amount of merit in the brief span of one human life.

Our mind is like a field, purifying negative karma and accumulating merit are like clearing the field of obstructions and fertilizing it, and meditating on generation stage and completion stage is like sowing good seeds. However, these seeds will grow into a harvest of realizations only if they are watered by a rain of blessings from the Yidams and Buddhas. Practising Guru yoga is the means by which we receive these blessings.

The practice of relying upon our Spiritual Guide, as explain­ed in Joyful Path of Good Fortune, is the best way to enhance our practice of Guru yoga. Yeshe Tsondru, a highly accomplished Teacher, says in Essence of Nectar:

When disciples rely sincerely upon their Spiritual Guide

All the Buddhas naturally enter and abide within the Spiritual Guide’s body,

And he, delighted with his disciples, accepts their offerings

And blesses their mental continuums.

At that time the minds of the faithful disciples

Receive the blessings of all the Buddhas.

Thus maras, evil spirits and delusions will not harm them,

And they will naturally gain the realizations of the spiritual grounds and paths.

Many Dharma practitioners, such as Naropa, Dromtonpa and Geshe Jayulwa, have gained instant, pure realizations of Sutra and Tantra through receiving the blessings of their Spiritual Guides.

Animals are generally unable to generate virtuous minds, but occasionally, through receiving the blessings of the Buddhas, they spontaneously develop minds such as compassion, love, and the wish to help others. If this happens when an animal is about to die, its mind will become peaceful and positive, and this will help it to obtain rebirth as a human or a god. Nagarjuna said that there is no living being who has not experienced the happiness of humans or gods through receiving the blessings of the Buddhas.

Whether or not we receive the Buddhas’ blessings through our Spiritual Guide depends upon how we view him or her. If we view our Spiritual Guide as a Buddha we will receive the blessings of a Buddha, if we view him as a Bodhisattva we will receive the blessings of a Bodhisattva, and if we see him as an ordinary being we will receive no blessings. Geshe Potowa said that whether or not our Spiritual Guide is precious depends upon our own view and not upon the Spiritual Guide’s qualities. It does not matter whether or not our Spiritual Guide is an actual Buddha. If we lack faith in our Spiritual Guide we will gain nothing from him, even if he is a living Buddha. Conversely, if our Spiritual Guide is an ordin­ary being but we regard him as a Buddha we will definitely receive Buddha’s blessings. The benefits of relying upon our Spiritual Guide and the methods for doing so in thought and in deed are explained in detail in Lamrim. It is important that we train in relying upon our Spiritual Guide in accordance with the Lamrim instructions.

Who is our root Guru? As Tantric practitioners our root Guru is the Spiritual Teacher from whom we receive the empowerment, transmission and complete commentary of our main Yidam practice. Thus if our main practice is Vajrayogini our root Guru is the Teacher who gave us the empowerment, transmission and complete commentary of Vajrayogini. Some Vajrayogini practitioners may have more than one root Guru, but when they practise Guru yoga they should visualize Buddha Vajradharma and regard him as being the essence of all their Gurus; and with this recognition make prostrations, offerings, requests and so forth.

THE PRACTICE OF GURU YOGA

This has six parts:

1 Visualization

2 Prostration

3 Offerings

4 Requesting the lineage Gurus

5 Receiving the blessings of the four empowerments

6 Absorbing the Gurus

VISUALIZATION

In the space in front of us, arisen from the omniscient wisdom of Guru Vajradharma and inseparable from emptiness, is a celestial mansion which is square with four doorways, ornaments and archways. It possesses all the essential architectural and ornamental features. In the centre of this mansion is a precious jewelled throne supported by eight snow lions. Upon this, on a lotus of various colours, a moon, and a sun cushion, sits our root Guru in the aspect of Buddha Vajradharma. He has a red-coloured body, one face, and two hands, which are crossed at his heart and hold a vajra and bell. He is in the prime of his youth, adorned with silk garments and the appropriate jewel and bone ornaments.

Around Guru Vajradharma are the lineage Gurus. They are arranged in a counter-clockwise sequence, forming a square around Guru Vajradharma. In front of Guru Vajradharma is the first lineage Guru, Buddha Vajradharma. In the sadhana it says ’Buddha Vajradhara’. Buddha Vajradhara and Buddha Vajradharma are the same nature. Here, Buddha Vajradhara is appearing in the aspect of Buddha Vajradharma.

To Buddha Vajradharma’s left is Vajrayogini, followed by Naropa, Pamtingpa, and Sherab Tseg. The next nine lineage Gurus from Malgyur Lotsawa to Sonam Gyaltsen are to Guru Vajradharma’s left, the next nine Gurus from Yarlungpa to Wangchug Rabten are behind him, the next nine Gurus from Jetsun Kangyurpa to Ganden Dargyay are to his right, and the last five Gurus from Dharmabhadra to Losang Yeshe are in front of him and to the right of Buddha Vajradharma. The complete list of the lineage Gurus can be found in the extensive sadhana, Quick Path to Great Bliss, in Appendix II.

From Buddha Vajradharma to Lama Losang Yeshe Dorjechang Trijang Rinpoche there are thirty-seven lineage Gurus, but the total number of lineage Gurus can vary for different disciples. For example, if a practitioner’s root Guru is Dorjechang Trijang Rinpoche, Trijang Rinpoche should be at the centre of his or her visualization in the aspect of Guru Vajradharma. For that practitioner the last lineage Guru would then be Je Phabongkhapa Dechen Nyingpo and the lineage Gurus would number thirty-six. Therefore, the number of lineage Gurus is not fixed.

We should visualize Buddha Vajradharma and Vajrayogini in their usual aspects. The remaining lineage Gurus are in the aspect of Hero Vajradharma. In the prime of their youth, they have red-coloured bodies with one face and two hands. They sit in the vajra posture wearing the six bone ornaments. With their right hands they play damarus and with their left hands they hold at the level of their hearts skullcups filled with nectar. Khatangas rest against the inside of their left elbows.

At the crown of each Guru is a white letter OM, the symbol of the body of all Buddhas; at their throat a red AH, the symbol of the speech of all Buddhas; and at their heart a blue HUM, the symbol of the mind of all Buddhas. These three letters show that these Gurus are the synthesis of the Three Jewels. Visualizing our root and lineage Gurus in this way is called ‘generating the commitment beings’.

From the HUM at the heart of our root Guru, light rays radiate and invite all the Gurus, Yidams, Buddhas and Dharma Protectors to come from their natural abodes. The natural abode of all Buddhas is the Nature Body, the ultimate nature of their omniscient mind. We then recite:

OM VAJRA SAMADZA DZA HUM BAM HO

Each becomes a nature which is the synthesis of all objects of refuge.

and we imagine that the invited wisdom beings dissolve into the commitment beings.

PROSTRATION

Focusing on our Spiritual Guide on the central throne we generate three recognitions: (1) he or she is the embodiment of all Buddhas, (2) he or she is inseparable from Vajrayogini, and (3) his or her kindness exceeds that of all other Buddhas. In this way we generate deep faith and respect for our Spiritual Guide. With this mind of faith and respect we imagine that we emanate countless replicas of our body pervading the entire world, and that with these emanated bodies we make physical prostrations to our Guru. At the same time, with our palms pressed together, we recite the following praise while contemplating its meaning:

Vajra Holder, my jewel-like Guru,

Through whose kindness I can accomplish

The state of great bliss in an instant,

At your lotus feet humbly I bow.

In this verse of praise our Guru is compared to a wish-­granting jewel because if we develop unshakeable faith in him he will help us to attain the wisdom of spontaneous great bliss. This bliss is the supreme, quick path to Buddhahood that enables us to fulfil all our own wishes and those of all other living beings. The phrase ‘accomplish the state of great bliss in an instant’ means that by practising Guru yoga purely we can attain spontaneous great bliss and Buddhahood within the brief span of one human life. If we constantly make prostrations to our Guru with our body, speech and mind, every moment of our human life will have great meaning.

OFFERINGS

We make the following seven offerings:

1 Outer offerings

2 Inner offering

3 Secret offering

4 Thatness offering

5 Offering our spiritual practice

6 Kusali tsog offering

7 Offering the mandala

OUTER OFFERINGS

To make the eight outer offerings we recite the offering prayers from the sadhana. As we offer each substance we imagine that countless offering goddesses emanate from the letter BAM at our heart and make the offering to the Gurus. First innumerable white Ahrghamvajra Goddesses emanate, each one holding a vessel of nectar. These are followed by white Padämvajra Goddesses holding vessels of bathing water, white Pupevajra Goddesses holding flowers, smoke-coloured Dhupevajra Goddesses holding incense, orange Diwevajra Goddesses holding lights, green Gändhavajra Goddesses holding vessels of perfume, multicoloured Newidevajra Goddesses holding precious bowls of food, and multicoloured Shaptavajra Goddesses playing musical instruments.

As we make each offering we perform the accompanying mudra and recite the appropriate offering mantra. Thus, when we make the first offering, nectar for drinking, we emanate the Ahrghamvajra Goddesses, perform the mudra of offering nectar for drinking, and recite OM AHRGHAM PARTITZA SÖHA. We then reabsorb the Ahrghamvajra Goddesses into our heart and emanate the next set of goddesses, the Padämvajra Goddesses. We perform the accompanying mudra and recite the appropriate offering mantra. Each of the eight offerings follows the same pattern.

Next we offer the objects of enjoyment of the six senses, such as beautiful forms and melodious sounds. We imagine that countless vajra goddesses such as Rupavajra Goddesses emanate from the BAM at our heart to make the offerings. Each offering that the Gurus receive causes them to experience uncontaminated great bliss. The different vajra goddesses are named after the Sanskrit word for their offering and they all have different aspects. Rupavajra Goddesses are white and hold jewelled mirrors reflecting all the visible forms of the universe; Shaptavajra Goddesses are blue and play various instruments such as flutes; Gändhavajra Goddesses are yellow and hold jewelled vessels filled with perfume; Rasavajra Goddesses are red and hold jewelled containers filled with various foods; Parshavajra Goddesses are green and hold an assortment of precious cloths, delightful to the touch, and Dharmadhatuvajra Goddesses are white and hold phenomena sources symbolizing the ultimate nature of phenomena. While visualizing these goddesses making the offerings we recite the offering mantras from OM AH VAJRA ADARSHE HUM up to OM AH VAJRA DHARME HUM and perform the accompanying mudras. All the various mudras are illustrated in Appendix III.

Whenever we make these offerings we imagine that all the visual forms that exist in the universe transform into Rupavajra Goddesses, all sounds transform into Shaptavajra Goddesses, all smells transform into Gändhavajra Goddesses, all tastes transform into Rasavajra Goddesses, all objects of touch transform into Parshavajra Goddesses, and all other phenomena transform into Dharmadhatuvajra Goddesses. These goddesses make offerings to the assembled Gurus and Deities, to the self-generated Deity, or to the assembly of the Deities of the body mandala.

INNER OFFERING

To offer the inner offering we imagine that red offering goddesses emanate from our heart, scoop up some nectar from the inner offering in front of us, and offer it to the Gurus. At the same time we dip our left ring finger into the nectar and flick some nectar into space while reciting the inner offering mantra: OM GURU VAJRA DHARMA SAPARIWARA OM AH HUM. We imagine that the Gurus accept this offering and as a result experience spontaneous great bliss. We then reabsorb the goddesses into our heart.

SECRET OFFERING

While reciting the prayers from the sadhana we imagine that countless attractive knowledge goddesses in the aspect of Vajrayogini emanate from our heart. These knowledge goddesses serve as Tantric consorts, or mudras. They are of three types: (1) Dakinis of the twenty-four places, (2) mudras with realizations of generation stage or the first stages of completion stage, and (3) mudras with realizations of the union that needs learning or the Union of No More Learning. The goddesses absorb into one another to become one single Deity. She then embraces Guru Vajradharma, causing both of them to experience uncontaminated bliss.

THATNESS OFFERING

Through embracing, Guru Vajradharma Father and Mother experience an uncontaminated bliss that realizes thatness, the emptiness of all phenomena. This realization of indivisible bliss and emptiness is the thatness offering.

OFFERING OUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

At this point we offer our practice of the Tantric seven limbs. This is the supreme offering that delights our Spiritual Guide more than any other. The Tantric seven limbs are our practices of purifying, rejoicing, ultimate bodhichitta, refuge, aspiring bodhichitta, engaging bodhichitta and dedication.

The practice of the seven limbs is indispensable for practitioners of Highest Yoga Tantra. According to the teaching of Highest Yoga Tantra, ultimate bodhichitta is the wisdom of spontaneous bliss that realizes emptiness directly. This is the actual quick path leading to the Union of No More Learning. Before we can realize ultimate bodhichitta we must generate the two types of conventional bodhichitta – aspiring bodhichitta and engaging bodhichitta; and all these attainments depend upon going for refuge, accumulating merit, purifying negative actions and dedicating virtue.

We can offer these seven limbs with the Tantric prayer of seven limbs from the sadhana:

I go for refuge to the Three Jewels

And confess individually all negative actions.

I rejoice in the virtues of all beings

And promise to accomplish a Buddha’s enlightenment.

I go for refuge until I am enlightened

To Buddha, Dharma and the Supreme Assembly,

And to accomplish the aims of myself and others

I shall generate the mind of enlightenment.

Having generated the mind of supreme enlightenment,

I shall invite all sentient beings to be my guests

And engage in the pleasing, supreme practices of enlightenment.

May I attain Buddhahood to benefit migrators.

The first four lines of this prayer come from Vajrapanjara Tantra. According to the Highest Yoga Tantra interpretation the first two lines indicate purification, the third rejoicing, and the fourth training in ultimate bodhichitta. The phrase ‘promise to accomplish a Buddha’s enlightenment’ means to train in developing the wisdom of spontaneous bliss inseparable from emptiness, which is the main cause of the enlightened mind of a Buddha. The first two lines of the second verse indicate Mahayana refuge, and the last two indicate the practice of aspiring bodhichitta. In the last verse, the first three lines indicate engaging bodhichitta and the Bodhisattva vows, and the last line is a dedication prayer.

Sometimes we can offer our experience of these seven limbs by imagining that our inner experiences transform into a variety of offerings such as flowers, beautiful gardens, parks, mountains and lakes. We can offer to the Gurus any of our virtuous actions, such as moral discipline, giving, patience, mental stabilization, or wisdom. All these offerings of our spiritual practice are called ‘sublime offerings’.

KUSALI TSOG OFFERING

‘Kusali’ literally means ‘possessor of virtue’. It is the name given to very special Dharma practitioners, like Shantideva, who appear to engage in little spiritual practice but who in fact practise extensively and powerfully in secret. In the kusali tsog offering we use our imagination to offer our own body rather than offering external things. Because it is our most precious possession, it is far more powerful to offer our body to our Spiritual Guide by performing the kusali tsog offering than it is to offer other material things. The kusali tsog offering is said to resemble the secret practices of kusali Yogis because it is made only mentally and other people cannot see it. The literal meaning of the word ‘tsog’ is ‘collection’. In this context it refers to the vast collection of merit that we accumulate by making this offering.

There are two ways to offer our body to our Spiritual Guides and the Buddhas. One way is to offer our body as a servant, as did Naropa, Milarepa, and Geshe Jayulwa. The other way is to generate a strong and clear determination to offer our body, mentally to transform it into nectar, and then to offer it to the holy beings and give it to all sentient beings. This method is similar to the ‘white distribution’ of the ‘chod’, or ‘cutting’, practice – the principal difference being that in the kusali tsog offering we do not use ritual objects such as a large drum or a thigh-bone trumpet.

The kusali tsog offering is an especially powerful practice of giving that can sever our self-cherishing and self-grasping. A similar effect can also be attained through the practice of taking and giving. Both practices greatly increase our collection of merit.

To practise the kusali tsog offering we temporarily abandon our clear appearance of being the Deity and resume our ordinary form. We then generate a special motivation by contemplating the following:

From beginningless time until now I have taken countless rebirths, and each time I had a body. Of all these bodies, my present body is the only one that remains. All my previous bodies have disappeared. Some were reduced to ashes by fire, some were buried in the ground, some were thrown into water, and some were eaten. To have taken all those forms would have been worthwhile if I had extracted some meaning from my past lives, but most of my lives were wasted. In the same way, to have taken this present form will prove just as futile if I do not use it in a meaningful way.

My main aim is to attain enlightenment as soon as possible so that I can benefit all living beings. To accomplish this I must use my body to create a great wealth of merit. Whether I use it in a meaningful way or not, this body will be destroyed sooner or later, as were all my previous bodies. Therefore I must use my body now while I still have the opportunity. The best way to do this is by practising the kusali tsog offering. I shall transform my body into nectar, offer it to the Gurus and Three Jewels, and give it to all living beings. Through this practice I will cut my self-cherishing and self-grasping and attain Buddhahood to protect all living beings.

Having generated this motivation we visualize that our mind is in the aspect of a letter BAM at our heart. We then develop a strong wish to separate our mind from our body. Our mind, the letter BAM at our heart, transforms into a thumb-sized Vajrayogini, referred to in the sadhana as the ‘powerful Lady of Dakini Land’. In this form our mind shoots up from our heart like an arrow, leaves our body through the crown of our head, and flies towards our root Guru. Coming face to face with our root Guru, our mind-Vajrayogini then increases to the size of a woman of average height. We retain this form for the remainder of the kusali tsog offering.

Now we transform our old body into a form that is suitable to offer. We imagine that we turn to look back at it and see that it has fallen to the ground, where it has become fat and oily, and as huge as a mountain. Those who are ordained should visualize their old body in the aspect of a lay person and not as a monk or nun. As we move closer to this gigantic corpse three enormous human heads spontaneously appear. They are arranged in a triangle, like three stones arranged to support a cooking pot. We touch the forehead of the corpse with our curved knife and instantly the skin peels away and the skull cracks open. The skullcap falls away to form a giant cup, or kapala, which is placed on the grate of three human heads. We chop the rest of the corpse into pieces and heap these into the skullcup. The pile of dismembered flesh and bones in the skullcup is as large as a mountain, and it is surrounded by an ocean of blood, pus and other bodily liquids. Our mind-Vajrayogini stares with wide open eyes at the skullcup and the substances inside. As it is inappropriate to offer such impure substances to the holy beings we must now bless these sub­stances and transform them into nectar.

The blessing of the kusali tsog offering includes all the profound meaning of the blessing of the inner offering and the visualization is very similar. The main difference is that on this occasion we need recite only OM AH HUM HA HO HRIH three times while performing the accompanying mudras. These six letters accompanied by the mudras contain the four stages of blessing that are found in the blessing of the inner offering. Clearance, usually the first stage, is the last stage in the blessing of the kusali tsog offering, and it is accomplished through a mudra. Purification and generation are accomplished in association with the letters OM AH HUM, and transformation is accomplished in association with the letters HA HO HRIH.

When we say OM, we should make our right hand into a fist at heart level. On top of this we place our left hand, which is open with the palm facing outwards, the fingers pointing upwards, and the thumb tucked in. This mudra symbolizes the wisdom of clear light realizing emptiness. Generally in Secret Mantra the left side or left hand signifies wisdom realizing emptiness and the right signifies method. Mother Tantras such as Vajrayogini Tantra emphasize the development of the clear light of emptiness, and to remind us of this we should try to begin each physical action with our left. For example, when we start to eat we should pick up the cutlery with our left hand and recall clear light emptiness. This helps us to maintain mindfulness throughout the day.

The letter OM symbolizes the ultimate nature of our body and all other phenomena. By reciting OM, performing the accompanying mudra, and briefly meditating on the lack of inherent existence of the skullcup and its contents we overcome our ordinary appearances and ordinary conceptions and thereby purify the skullcup and its contents.

When we say AH, we make a similar mudra but with our left hand in a fist and our right hand upright. This mudra symbolizes method, indicating the generation of the conventionally existent offering container. When we focus our mind on the huge skullcup on top of the three human heads, this is similar to generating the skullcup from the syllable AH in the blessing of the inner offering.

When we say HUM, we imagine that from a HUM inside the large skullcup the substances of our former body appear in the form of the five meats and five nectars. At the same time we perform the mudra symbolizing the ten substances. To do this we hold our hands at the level of our heart with the palms facing outwards, the tips of the thumbs touching, and the fingers outstretched.

Inside the kapala are the five meats and the five nectars. By reciting HA HO HRIH we transform them into nectar. The letters HA HO HRIH have the same nature and the same meaning as the letters OM AH HUM which are used to bless the inner offering. Both signify the three Vajra Buddhas: Akshobya, Amitabha and Vairochana. Akshobya is the Vajra Mind Buddha, the Buddha whose nature is the mind of all Buddhas; Amitabha is the Vajra Speech Buddha, whose nature is the speech of all Buddhas; and Vairochana is the Vajra Body Buddha, whose nature is the bodies of all Buddhas. HRIH and HUM are the seed-letters of Buddha Akshobya, HA and AH are the seed-letters of Buddha Amitabha, and HO and OM are the seed-letters of Buddha Vairochana.

In the space directly above the kapala we visualize a blue letter HRIH. This symbolizes the vajra mind, the nature of all Buddhas’ minds. To the right of the HRIH we visualize a red letter HA, the symbol of the vajra speech, the nature of all Buddhas’ speech; and to the left of the HRIH we visualize a white letter HO, the symbol of the vajra body, the nature of all Buddhas’ bodies.

As we recite HA HO HRIH these letters melt and fall into the ­skullcup, mixing with the ten substances. As the letters and substances mix together they transform into nectar possessing the three qualities, as explained in the inner offering. While reciting HA HO HRIH we perform the mudra of clear­ance, known as the ‘Garuda Mudra’. This mudra symbolizes the Deity, Garuda, who appears as a terrifying bird. At one time the people of this world were afflicted with many terrible diseases, caused by harmful naga-spirits, which were ex­tremely difficult to cure. After being requested by Vajrapani, Buddha Shakyamuni manifested as the Garuda and completely pacified the harmful actions of these malevolent beings.

To perform the Garuda mudra we touch the middle finger and thumb of each hand together and then touch the joined middle fingers and thumbs of both hands together. The tip of the right ring finger then crosses on top of the nail of the left ring finger and both little fingers touch at the tips and point away from us. The two index fingers point upwards. The spaces inside the touching middle finger and thumb symbolize the Garuda’s eyes, the index fingers the Garuda’s horns, the two ring fingers the Garuda’s tucked-in wings, and the two little fingers the Garuda’s tail. Seeing this mudra, naga-spirits remember the Garuda and immediately flee in panic. This mudra also drives away the many other spirits who harbour harmful thoughts against practitioners, as well as the spirits who try to interfere with the blessing of the kusali tsog offering. An illustration of this mudra can be found in Appendix III.

Now our old body has been blessed and transformed into nectar, and is ready to be offered to the holy beings and given to ordinary beings. First we offer the nectar to the principal guest, our root Guru, Guru Vajradharma. To make offerings to our root Guru we hold the inner offering container at the level of our forehead and recite the offering verse from the sadhana:

I offer this nectar of commitment substance

To my root Guru, the nature of the four [Buddha] bodies;

May you be pleased.

At the same time we visualize that seven leading offering goddesses, together with many other goddesses, emanate from our heart. With their skullcups they scoop up nectar from the huge skullcup and offer it to our root Guru. At the end of the verse we say OM AH HUM seven times. Each time we say OM AH HUM we dip our left ring finger into the nectar and flick a drop of nectar into space. We imagine that our root Guru is delighted with our offering and accepts it by drawing the nectar through his tongue of vajra-light. This causes him to experience spontaneous great bliss. We then reabsorb all the offering goddesses into our heart.

After making offerings to our root Guru we offer the nectar to the lineage Gurus of these instructions. Holding the inner offering as before, we recite the next verse while imagining that many offering goddesses emanate from our heart. With their skullcups they scoop up nectar from the huge skullcup and offer it to the lineage Gurus who surround our root Guru. At the end of the verse we say OM AH HUM once and flick a drop of nectar away from us. We imagine that the lineage Gurus are delighted to accept our offering and we then reabsorb the offering goddesses.

Next we focus on the Three Jewels. Visualizing them as in the Lamrim Merit Field, we make offerings to all the other lineage Gurus of Sutra and Tantra, to the Buddhas, to the Yidams of the four classes of Tantra, and to the Bodhisattvas. Holding the inner offering at the level of our throat we recite the next verse while imagining that many offering goddesses emanate from our heart. With their skullcups they scoop up nectar and offer it to the Three Jewels. At the end of the verse we say OM AH HUM and flick the nectar once. We imagine that the Three Jewels are delighted to accept our offering and we then reabsorb the offering goddesses.

Next we offer the nectar to the different types of guardian. We visualize all the local guardians, regional guardians and directional guardians throughout the universe, concentrating especially on those who protect our own country and the area in which we live or are doing retreat. We also visualize all the peaceful and wrathful spirits and nagas – those who help, those who harm, and those who are neutral. Holding the inner offering at the level of our heart we recite the next verse, emanating offering goddesses who scoop up the nectar and offer it to the guardians. At the end of the verse we say OM AH HUM and flick the nectar once. We imagine that the guardians accept our offering and we then reabsorb the offering goddesses.

Lastly we offer the nectar to all sentient beings in the six realms and the intermediate state. Holding the inner offering at the level of our navel we recite the next verse, emanating offering goddesses who scoop up the nectar and give it to all these beings. At the end of the verse we say OM AH HUM and flick the nectar once.

We imagine that all the guests are completely satisfied and enjoy uncontaminated bliss. All sentient beings receive whatever they wish for – food, drink, beautiful things – and their mental and physical faults are purified. Their environment is purified and transforms into outer Dakini Land, their bodies transform into the form of Vajrayogini, and their minds transform into the supreme inner Dakini Land, the clear light Truth Body.

After making the offering we reabsorb the offering goddesses and contemplate that the three circles of the offering – the guests, the offering, and ourself – are empty of inherent existence and have the nature of the union of bliss and emptiness.

There are other ways of mentally giving our body. For example, in Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life Shantideva teaches a method of giving our body in which we imagine that it transforms into a wish-granting jewel that radiates light throughout the universe, fulfilling the wishes of all living beings and causing them to experience great happiness and satisfaction.

OFFERING THE MANDALA

In general ‘mandala’ means ‘universe’, but a literal translation of the Tibetan equivalent, ‘kyil khor’, is ‘taking the essence’. By making mandala offerings we create the cause to experience outer and inner Dakini Land, and so we are taking the essence of this precious human life.

In Guhyasamaja Tantra Vajradhara says:

Those who wish for attainments

Should mentally and skilfully fill this universe

With the seven precious objects.

By offering them every day,

Their wishes will be fulfilled.

This verse reveals the mandala offering. Although it explicitly mentions only seven points, implicitly it refers to the full thirty-seven-point mandala.

It is important for practitioners to obtain a traditional mandala set, which consists of a base, three rings and a top jewel. The base and rings are used to support heaps of rice, or some other grain, which represent the various features of the mandala. Such simple things may seem useless to those who do not know their significance, but they can be very valuable in the hands of a practitioner who knows how to use them to accumulate a vast collection of merit.

To construct the thirty-seven-point mandala we first take a little rice in our left hand and hold the mandala base with that hand. With our right hand we scoop up more rice and sprinkle a little onto the base. With the inside of our right wrist we rub the base three times clockwise, which symbolizes purifi­cation of the universal ground. As a result all rocky and uneven ground becomes smooth and level, and all our delusions are purified. We then rub the base three times counter-clockwise and imagine that all the blessings of the body, speech and mind of all the Buddhas gather into us. We think that the whole ground has been blessed and we recite the mantra for blessing the ground: OM VAJRA BHUMI AH HUM. We then sprinkle the rice that remains in our right hand onto the base and visualize that the ground throughout the entire universe transforms into a pure golden ground.

While reciting OM VAJRA REKHE AH HUM we now put the largest ring on the base and, in a clockwise direction, pour a ring of rice inside it to symbolize the precious iron fence. We then place a heap of rice in the centre of the ring to symbolize Mount Meru, visualizing it as a huge mountain made of precious jewels. We then place another heap of rice in the east, the part of the mandala base nearest to us, to symbolize the eastern continent. Proceeding clockwise around the ring we place heaps of rice in the three remaining cardinal directions to symbolize the southern, western and northern continents.

We then place eight small heaps of rice to symbolize the eight sub-continents. Beginning with the eastern continent and proceeding in a clockwise direction we place one heap a little to the left and one a little to the right of each continent.

We then place four small heaps of rice inside the eastern, southern, western and northern continents to symbolize respectively the mountain of jewels, the wish-granting tree, the wish-granting cow and the unsown harvest. We imagine that there are countless continents and sub-continents, each possessing their own special wealth of resources and riches.

We now put the second ring on top of the rice and place a heap of rice clockwise in each of the cardinal directions – east, south, west and north – to symbolize respectively the precious wheel, the precious jewel, the precious queen and the precious minister. We then place a heap of rice clockwise in each of the intermediate directions – south-east, south-west, north-west and north-east – to symbolize respectively the precious elephant, the precious supreme horse, the precious general and the great treasure vase. We imagine countless numbers of each of these filling all of space. Again we place heaps of rice clockwise in each of the four cardinal directions – east, south, west and north – to symbolize the goddess of beauty, the goddess of garlands, the goddess of song and the goddess of dance; and then clockwise in each of the four intermediate directions – south-east, south-west, north-west and north-east – to symbolize the goddess of flowers, the goddess of incense, the goddess of light and the goddess of scent. We imagine that there are countless offering gods and goddesses filling space.

We now put the third ring on top of the rice and place a heap of rice in the east for the sun, one in the west for the moon, one in the south for the precious umbrella, and one in the north for the banner of victory. We imagine that all of space is filled with innumerable precious objects.

As we place the top jewel, which is the last thing we place on the mandala, we imagine an abundance of other precious jewels and resources enjoyed by both humans and gods. In the space above Mount Meru are the environments of the desire realm gods and above these are the form realms. These god realms transform into Pure Lands and the enjoyments of the gods become pure enjoyments.

Having constructed the mandala we take a little rice in our right hand and hold the base with both hands. We imagine that all the innumerable world systems and everything contained within them have completely transformed into Pure Lands and pure enjoyments. We imagine that all these are present on the base in our hands, and yet the base does not increase in size and the universe does not become smaller. Just as a mirror can reflect huge mountains, or a small television screen can show images of entire cities, so we imagine that the mandala in our hands contains the entire universe. We concentrate single-pointedly on these countless pure worlds, enjoyments and beings, and with firm faith offer them all to our Gurus and the Buddhas.

While we construct this mandala we recite the offering prayer from the sadhana. When we have recited the long mandala offering prayer we can continue, while still holding the base, to offer the twenty-three-point mandala. We do not need to construct a new mandala because the twenty-three precious objects are included among the precious objects of the thirty-seven-point mandala. The twenty-three precious objects are: Mount Meru, the four continents, the eight sub-continents, the seven precious objects (from the precious wheel up to the precious general), the treasure vase, the sun and the moon.

To offer the twenty-three-point mandala we recite the verse from the sadhana:

O Treasure of Compassion, my Refuge and Protector,

I offer you the mountain, continents, precious objects, treasure vase, sun and moon,

Which have arisen from my aggregates, sources and elements

As aspects of the exalted wisdom of spontaneous bliss and emptiness.