THE FOUNDATION

of
BUDDHIST THOUGHT

Part 6. An Overview of
Tantric Paths and Grounds

Geshe Tashi Tsering

The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition

This book is the sixth of a set of six which accompany The Foundation of Buddhist Thought
an FPMT two-year course in basic Buddhist studies.
The text of this book is also available in large print.
Please contact Jamyang Buddhist Centre for details.
Published by Jamyang Buddhist Centre 2003
The Old Courthouse, 43 Renfrew Road, London SE11 4NA, UK
Edited by Gordon McDougall
Illustrations by Grant Osman and Robert Beer
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Copyright Geshe Tashi Tsering, Jamyang Buddhist Centre, Grant, Osman, Robert Beer

All rights reserved. Please note that all text and illustrations in this book are in copyright.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any means without permission in
writing from the publisher.

CHAPTER ONE................................................................................................................... 10

THE UNIQUENESS OF TANTRA ................................................................................... 10

Materials ......................................................................................................................... 10
The Historical Evolution of Vajrayana ....................................................................... 11
1. A Brief History......................................................................................................... 11
3. The Rarity of Tantra................................................................................................ 12
The Unique Features of the Vajrayana Path.............................................................. 13
1. The Similarities Between the Perfection Vehicle and Vajrayana.......................... 13
i. no difference in terms of attainment........................................................................ 13
ii. no difference in terms of bodhicitta ....................................................................... 14
iii. no difference in terms of the six perfections......................................................... 14
iv. no difference in terms of the view......................................................................... 14
v. no difference in terms of the aim............................................................................ 14
3. The Unique Features of Vajrayana......................................................................... 15
4. The Four Complete Purities.................................................................................... 17
i. the complete purity of environment ....................................................................... 17
ii.

the complete purity of body................................................................................... 17

iii. the complete purity of resources ............................................................................ 18

iv.

the complete purity of activities ........................................................................... 18

5. Deity Yoga............................................................................................................... 18
6. Utilising Afflictive Emotions on the Path .............................................................. 20
Questions on Chapter One............................................................................................ 20

CHAPTER TWO.................................................................................................................. 22

ENTERING THE VAJRAYANA....................................................................................... 22

Entering the Vajrayana................................................................................................. 22
1. The Different Names for Vajrayana ....................................................................... 22
2. The Prerequisites for Entering the Vajrayana ........................................................ 22
3

The Four Classes of Tantra .......................................................................................... 24

1. Kriya Tantra ............................................................................................................ 24
2.

Carya Tantra ........................................................................................................... 24

3. Yoga Tantra............................................................................................................. 25
4. Highest Yoga Tantra ............................................................................................... 25
5. The Profundity of Highest Yoga Tantra................................................................. 25
i. praa yoga ................................................................................................................ 26
ii. generating the four types of joy.............................................................................. 26
iii. cultivating the state of non-conceptuality ............................................................. 26
Initiations ........................................................................................................................ 27
1. The Three Types of Initiations................................................................................ 27
2. Causal Initiations..................................................................................................... 28
3. The Mandala............................................................................................................ 29
4. The Qualities of the Vajra Master .......................................................................... 29
4. The Qualities of the Disciple .................................................................................. 30
Questions on Chapter Two ........................................................................................... 30

CHAPTER 3.......................................................................................................................... 32

THE LOWER TANTRAS................................................................................................... 32

1. Yoga with Sign and Yoga Without Sign ................................................................ 32
The Concentration of the Four Branches of Recitation...................................................33
1. Abiding on the Basis of Another ............................................................................ 33
2. Abiding on the Basis of Oneself............................................................................. 34
i. deity of emptiness .................................................................................................... 34
ii. deity of sound.......................................................................................................... 34
iii. deity of letter .......................................................................................................... 35
iv. deity of form........................................................................................................... 35
v. deity of mudra ......................................................................................................... 35
vi. deity of symbol....................................................................................................... 35
3. Abiding on the Basis of Mind................................................................................. 36
4

4. Abiding on the Basis of Sound ............................................................................... 36

5.

Combining the Branches........................................................................................ 36

i. bringing the life force under control........................................................................ 37

a. difference with regard to meaning .......................................................................... 37
b. difference with regard to time................................................................................. 38
c. difference with regard to purpose ........................................................................... 38
d. difference with regard to method............................................................................ 38
6. Two Types of Mantra Recitation............................................................................ 39
i. whispered recitation ................................................................................................ 39
ii. mental recitation...................................................................................................... 40
The Concentration of Abiding in Fire ............................................................................... 40
The Concentration of Abiding in Sound ............................................................................41
Bestowing Liberation at the End of Sound ....................................................................... 41
Another Way of Presenting the Path in Kriya Tantra.....................................................43
Questions on Chapter Three......................................................................................... 44

CHAPTER 4.......................................................................................................................... 45

THE GENERATION STAGE OF HIGHEST YOGA TANTRA .................................. 45

An Overview of the Generation Stage ............................................................................... 45
1. Father and Mother Tantra ....................................................................................... 45
2. Practising The Generation Stage ............................................................................ 46
How to Practise the Generation Stage in Connection with the Guhyasamaja

Sadhana ............................................................................................................................
Before the Actual Practice ............................................................................................ 48
2. The Main Preliminary Practice............................................................................... 49
During The Actual Practice .......................................................................................... 50
1. The Meditative Absorption of the Initial Engagement .......................................... 50
i. the way to be enlightened ........................................................................................ 50
5

ii. the generation of the deities, the form in which enlightenment takes place ......... 50
iii. deeds of the specially imagined deities................................................................. 51
2. The Meditative Absorption on the Supreme Victorious Mandala......................... 52
3. The Meditative Absorption on Supreme Activities ............................................... 52
Between Sessions ............................................................................................................ 52
Divisions of the Stage of Generation ..................................................................................53
1. Coarse and subtle yogas.......................................................................................... 53
i. coarse yoga ............................................................................................................... 53
ii. subtle yoga............................................................................................................... 53
2. The Four Levels of Achievement ........................................................................... 54
i. beginners level ........................................................................................................ 54
ii. slight dawning of wisdom....................................................................................... 54
iii. slight control over wisdom .................................................................................... 54
iv. perfect control over wisdom .................................................................................. 55
Questions on Chapter Four .......................................................................................... 55

CHAPTER 5.......................................................................................................................... 56

TAKING ORDINARY DEATH, INTERMEDIATE STATE AND REBIRTH INTO

THE PATH............................................................................................................................ 56
Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth ............................................................................. 56
The Yoga of Taking Death as Dharmakaya into the Path........................................ 57
1. The Eight Dissolutions............................................................................................ 57
i. the first dissolution the earth element dissolves into the water element ............. 58
ii. the second dissolution the water element dissolves into the fire element.......... 58
iii. the third dissolution the fire element dissolves into the wind element ............. 59
iv. the fourth dissolution the wind element dissolves into consciousness ............. 59
v. the fifth dissolution 80 conceptions dissolve into the white appearance ........... 60
vi. the sixth dissolution the white appearance dissolves into the red increase....... 60
vii. the seventh dissolution the red increase dissolves into the black nearattainment ...................................................................................................................... 60
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viii. the eighth dissolution the black near-attainment dissolves into the clear light
........................................................................................................................................ 61
2. The Basis of Purification, the Means of Purification and the Result of
Purification .................................................................................................................... 61
The Yoga of Taking the Intermediate State as Sambhogakaya into the Path ....... 62
1. The Intermediate State ............................................................................................ 62
2. How the Yoga of Taking Intermediate State as Sambhogakaya into the Path is
Done............................................................................................................................... 63
i. the clarification through suchness ........................................................................... 64
ii. the clarification through the moon ......................................................................... 64
iii. the clarification through the seed syllables........................................................... 64
iv. the clarification through the hand implements...................................................... 65
v. the clarification through the emergence into full form .......................................... 65
3. The Intermediate State Meditation at Base, Path and Resultant Levels................ 65
i. the sun, moon and lotus ........................................................................................... 66
ii. the three letters ........................................................................................................ 66
iii. the single moon ...................................................................................................... 66
iv. all animate and inanimate objects dissolving back into the moon disc................ 66
v. the seed syllables..................................................................................................... 66
vi. the vajra .................................................................................................................. 66
vii. transforming into the primordial buddha ............................................................. 67
4. The Basis of Purification, the Means of Purification and the Result of
Purification .................................................................................................................... 67
The Yoga of Taking Rebirth as Nirmanakaya into the Path ................................... 67
1. Ordinary Rebirth ..................................................................................................... 67
i. the development of the substances from the father and mother ............................. 68
2. The Five Stages of Birth and the Five Dhyani Buddhas........................................ 68
3. How the Yoga of Taking Rebirth as Nirmanakaya into the Path is Done ............ 69
i. conversion of birth into the emanation body........................................................... 69
ii. generation of the Emanation Vajradhara................................................................ 70
iii. blessing the body, speech and mind ...................................................................... 70
7

iv. generation of the triple being................................................................................. 70

v.

sealing with the lord of the family......................................................................... 70

Questions on Chapter Five............................................................................................ 71

CHAPTER 6.......................................................................................................................... 72

THE COMPLETION STAGE (1) ...................................................................................... 72

THE NATURE OF THE BODY AND MIND .................................................................. 72

1. The Nature of the Body........................................................................................... 72
2. The Nature of the Mind........................................................................................... 73
Channels, Wheels, Winds and Drops .......................................................................... 73
1. Channels .................................................................................................................. 73
i. cleansing the channels.............................................................................................. 75
2. Channel Wheels....................................................................................................... 76
i. the crown channel wheel......................................................................................... 76
ii. the throat channel wheel ......................................................................................... 76
iii. the heart channel wheel ......................................................................................... 76
iv. the navel channel wheel......................................................................................... 76
v. the secret place channel wheel................................................................................ 77
3. Loosening the Knots ............................................................................................... 78
4. Winds....................................................................................................................... 79
i. the indestructible wind............................................................................................. 80
5. Drops........................................................................................................................ 81
i. the indestructible drop.............................................................................................. 81
6. The Basis of Samsara and Liberation..................................................................... 82
EMPTINESS AND BLISS................................................................................................... 82
1. The Meaning of E-VAM .......................................................................................... 82
2. The Initiations Related to the Completion Stage ................................................... 83
3. The Union of Emptiness and Great Bliss ............................................................... 83
Questions on Chapter Six.............................................................................................. 84
8

CHAPTER 7.......................................................................................................................... 85

THE COMPLETION STAGE (2) ...................................................................................... 85

THE SIX LEVELS OF COMPLETION........................................................................... 85

The Six Levels of the Completion Stage............................................................................. 85
Physical Isolation ........................................................................................................... 86
1. The Four Ways of Generating the Deities.............................................................. 87
i. the ultimate physical isolation of the hundred deities............................................ 87
ii. the ultimate physical isolation of the twenty-five deities ...................................... 87
iii. the ultimate physical isolation of the secret three families................................... 87
iv. the ultimate physical isolation of the great secret one family .............................. 88
2. The Actual Meditation of Physical Isolation.......................................................... 88
i. the meditation on a subtle drop............................................................................... 88
ii. the meditation on emptiness ................................................................................... 88
a. the four joys and the four empties........................................................................... 89
3. Tum-mo Practice ..................................................................................................... 91
Verbal Isolation .............................................................................................................. 92
i. the mantra drop meditation ...................................................................................... 94
ii. the light drop meditation......................................................................................... 94
iii. the substance drop.................................................................................................. 95
Mental Isolation.............................................................................................................. 95
1. The Two Levels Mental Isolation........................................................................... 95
i. the action seal ........................................................................................................... 96
The Illusory Body........................................................................................................... 98
Clear Light.................................................................................................................... 100
Union.............................................................................................................................. 101
i. learners union........................................................................................................ 101
ii. non-learners union ............................................................................................... 101
iii. the seven exalted features of the non-learners union ........................................ 102
iv. the correlations to the bodies of the buddha........................................................ 103
9

Questions on Chapter Seven....................................................................................... 105

SUPPLEMENTARY READING...................................................................................... 106

Comparison of the Course Book Outline of the Sadhana with Akhu Sherap Gyatsos
Outline of the Sadhana Divided into 36........................................................................... 106
The Rite of Remedy For Mantra Downfalls ................................................................... 108

Glossary .............................................................................................................................

Chapter One
The Uniqueness of Tantra
Materials
1/ Paths and Grounds of Guhyasamaja by Yanchen Gewai Lodoe
published by The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1995, ISBN: 81-85102-94-5
Although quite technical, this book has a very good explanation of Highest Yoga Tantra
practice. Its two stages, the generation and completion stage, are explained in relation to
the Guhyasamaja tantra. If we know this process then we can easily apply it to other deity
practices, except for Kalachakra which has its own, slightly different explanation.
Although it might seem overwhelming for someone who knows nothing about tantra, I
would like you to try to read this book quite thoroughly, particularly the chapters on the
generation and completion stage. It is translated from Tibetan and you can see the typical
Tibetan style which is to divide it into different outlines. In Tibetan books you dont find
indexes, headings and contents, etc, normally but this book is good because it has been
set out with these.
2/ An Overview of Buddhist Tantra by Panchen Sonam Dragpa
published by The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1996, ISBN: 81-85102-99-6
This has a really quite good explanation on the four different systems of Tantrayana
Kriya, Carya, Yoga and Highest Yoga Tantra, particularly Kriya Tantra, which I think is
quite important to understand.
3/ An Introduction to Tantra by Lama Thubten Yeshe
published by Wisdom Publications, 1987, ISBN: 0-86171-021-5
Lama Yeshes book gives a very clear overview of tantric practice and how it works. It is
written in very simple, non-technical language and it is very nice to read. Rather than
trying to lead us to a deep understanding of the techniques of Tantra, it is an introduction
which looks at how tantra and our human nature work together.
4/ Highest Yoga Tantra by Daniel Cozort
published by Snow Lion Publications, 1986, ISBN 0-937938-32-7
10

Please visit Snow Lions website: www.SnowLionPub.com

An excellent account of Highest Yoga Tantra, looking at both the generation and
completion stages in some detail and comparing the Guhyasamaja and Kalachakra
tantras.

The Historical Evolution of Vajrayana

1. A Brief History
It is very difficult to talk precisely about the history of Vajrayana, the Vajra or Tantric
vehicle. (There are many terms we can use but I will generally stick with Vajrayana.)
Because the subject matter has been kept secret through many, many generations, there
are neither accurate records of the evolution nor even a sense of chronology about the
practices. And as you may know by now, I am not at all good at talking about historical
things. Nevertheless, I thought it might be good to say a few words about the origins of
tantra.
As His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said, there are two main ideas about when the
historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, taught Vajrayana. One maintains that he taught it a year
after he taught the Prajnaparamita Sutra near Rajagriya on the top of Vultures Peak.
Other scholars believe that he taught the Vajrayana teachings just one year before his
Parinirvana, the time he passed away.
Of course there has been a lot of debate about this but it seems the second date has more
consistency and more historical backing than the first, so we can probably put the date of
the Vajrayana teachings to a year before the Buddhas death. Although there is no dispute
at all in Tibetan Buddhism that the Buddha taught Vajrayana, there are different
assertions about when, where and how he taught it.
There are four kinds of tantra Kriya, Carya, Yoga and Highest Yoga Tantra and the
various tantras within these four all have root texts which explain their origins. The texts
all have a mystic quality to them, stating that the Buddha was in the form of the particular
deity he was teaching about. The famous Kalachakra tantra, for instance, says he taught
the Kalachakra root texts after arising in the form of Kalachakra with a consort.
It seems that although most tantras were taught in the form of a deity, there are a few
within the lower classes of tantra that the Buddha taught in his ordinary form as a fully
ordained monk.
So how they were taught differs from normal Buddhist teachings. There are also lots of
discussions about where they were taught. For example, there is a quotation in the
Kalachakra tantra root text indicating that he taught the Kalachakra teaching at a place
called Amravati in a small town called Gundur near Madras in south India.
It also seems that many Vajrayana teachings were not necessarily taught during the
historical Buddhas lifetime, but have been received through the extraordinary insight of
highly realised individuals who had pure visions of the deity they were practising. So in
some sense receiving tantric teachings happened at a very mystical level, not at the level
on which we ordinary people operate. Therefore the notions of time and place are not
necessarily as precise or rigid as modern historians have tried to establish. I think that this
is quite important to know about.
Not only was the Buddha in the enjoyment body aspect (Skt: sambhogakaya) when he
taught the tantras, his audience were too. Ordinary people do not have the qualities to
receive such high teachings or see that particular aspect of the Buddha, so the texts state
that the disciples listening to the teachings were not ordinary monks, as in the normal
teachings, but that they too had the particular deities appearances and unique features.
Originally Vajrayana practices were secret and only for the individual. It was not until
around the fourth and fifth centuries that they became more public, in terms of both the
availability of the materials and the fact that they were more often practised in
communities. With this came more commentaries and explanations on how to practise
them and then much later the great Indian masters started to categorise them into the four
kinds: Kriya, Carya, Yoga and Highest Yoga Tantra.
The Vajrayana practices came to Tibet in two stages. Firstly, around the late seventh and
early eighth century with Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava and the Acharya
Shankarakshita, and secondly when Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo made new translations of
the Guhyasamaja Tantra texts and the other tantras which came in the second period of
transmissions.
11

2. The Care Needed in Teaching Vajrayana

Although the four levels of tantra have differences and are therefore put into different
groups, there are many similarities. One of the things we will be looking at is how all
tantras have two stages. In the lower three tantras these are called yoga with sign and
yoga without sign; in Highest Yoga Tantra they are called generation and
completion stages. They are different is in terms of the methods used and the
profundity.
The completion stage is a very advanced practice. In some sense it is beyond our ordinary
concepts. We can use terms such as physical and verbal isolation, illusory body and clear
light but really at this stage we have no idea what they actually mean.
All the Highest Yoga Tantra deity practices have these two stages and I would like to
really emphasise that the completion stage is utterly impossible without a thorough
grounding in the generation stage. It is not like developing bodhicitta and emptiness
where of course one helps the other but they can be developed separately. These two
stages are two different levels of the same practice.
I myself have received many initiations and teachings on this subject, but I do not feel at
all qualified to talk about it. Very strictly speaking, to discuss this all parties must have
received a Highest Yoga Tantra initiation, but as there are now many books available
which anybody can read, maybe these days are exceptional.
A breach of one of the fourteen Tantric root vows is to give tantric teachings to people
who are not qualified, so I hope doing this will not cause any obstacles. If there are strong
doubts in your mind or if you are hesitant about this subject, maybe it is better to read to
the end of the chapter on Kriya Tantra and then leave it at that. On the other hand, if I can
make it as clear as possible and you can study the course as openly and sincerely as
possible, I dont think there is any risk. My feeling is that so many Westerners are
interested in tantra and there is so much spoken about it that it is better to receive detailed
and accurate teachings on it than to be left with half-truths.
3. The Rarity of Tantra
Not having enough information is one of the main problems when we try to practise
Vajrayana, for Tibetans as well as for Western students. In our monastic programme we
have tantric studies, but only at the very end after we have taken lots of initiations and
commitments, even after the geshe studies. We take on commitments despite the fact that
there is rarely enough information given during the initiation. Therefore it is important to
try and read as much as you can about Vajrayana if you really want to practise it.
The Vajrayana path is considered a secret one and in certain cases you are not allowed to
read about a certain practice unless you have taken the initiation and had permission from
the master. I feel this is more for people who are just reading out of curiosity. For people
who are really, genuinely seeking correct information in order to practise Vajrayana, I
think it is better to study it first, so that whatever practice we do is done with good
understanding, rather than to take initiations without having read anything. And of course
this all implies already having an excellent understanding of the common path of
Sutrayana.
In Sutrayana one realisation can help us develop another practice. Developing the
wisdom realising emptiness can help us develop bodhicitta and vice versa, or
renunciation can help us develop the realisation of emptiness and vice versa. However,
there is not such a strong sense of progression as there is in tantric practice, where one
stage leads to the next and if we miss one part of a sadhana then the practice is
incomplete. With Vajrayana, all the points and topics are very interlinked and it is
important to take it as seriously as possible.
In the traditional explanations about the rarity of tantra we can find many sources saying
that in this auspicious aeon there will be a thousand buddhas, of whom our present
Buddha, Shakyamuni, who lived 2,500 years ago, was the fourth. And he is one of only
three of those thousand who will teach Vajrayana. Therefore tantric practice is a very rare
teaching, in terms of the buddhas who are going to teach in this aeon.
It is also rare in terms of its practitioners. There are many more Sutrayana than Vajrayana
practitioners who practise in a very hidden way. Even rarer are people who practise
Highest Yoga Tantra. There are several Buddhist countries which have tantric practices
but they only practise the first three: Kriya, Carya and Yoga Tantra, not Highest Yoga
Tantra.
As Lama Tsong Khapa says:
12

It is said there are two vehicles

For the journey to perfect enlightenment,
The Transcendence Vehiclei and the deep Vajra Vehicle;
And the Secret Tantras are very much superior
To the Vehicle of the Transcendences!
This is as well known as the sun and the moon.
Yet there are those, weighty with pretended wisdom,
Who while verbally asserting the truth of that saying,
Make no inquiry into the vehicle of the profound!
If such as they are supposed to be intelligent,
How could anyone else ever be thought dumb?
Alas! It is amazing that any should repudiate
Such an unexcelled path, so hard to come across!
Therefore, I entered that deep treasury of twin accomplishments,
The supreme vehicle of the Victors, the Vajra Vehicle,
More rare even than the Buddha;
And I worked hard at it, and studied it long.ii

The Unique Features of the Vajrayana Path

1. The Similarities Between the Perfection Vehicle and Vajrayana
As you know, Buddhism is generally divided into two main vehicles or yanas, Theravada
or Individual Liberation Vehicle (also called Hinayana), and Mahayana. Mahayana is
further divided into Perfection Vehicle, Bodhisattva Vehicle and Vajra Vehicle. Although
still part of the Mahayana, the Vajra Vehicle or Vajrayana is different from all these other
vehicles in that it alone does not come from the three bundles of sutras (Skt: tripitaka),
but from tantras taught by the Buddha.
Within the Mahayana Buddhism which is taught in the sutras, Bodhisattvayana can be
found in the sutras belonging to the second and third turnings of the wheel of Dharma
concerning bodhicitta and the six perfections, and the Perfection Vehicle comes from the
Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. Although not identical, these two paths blend into each
other in many areas and, as a bodhisattva needs wisdom and a practitioner realising
emptiness need bodhicitta, for all intensive purposes we can refer to all non-tantric
Mahayana as the Perfection Vehicle.
Before we look at how Vajrayana and the Perfection Vehicle are different we will briefly
look at how they are not different. You will see that there is:
i.
no difference in terms of attainment
ii.
no difference in terms of bodhicitta
iii.
no difference in terms of the six perfections
iv.
no difference in terms of the view
v.
no difference in terms of the aim.
i. no difference in terms of attainment
On the surface, Vajrayana seems very different from the Perfection Vehicle but there is
absolutely no difference in terms of the attainment. The end result of both vehicles is full
enlightenment. Unlike practitioners on the Individual Liberation Path, the hearers and
solitary realisers, whose goal is liberation from samsara, those practising the Perfection
Vehicle will eventually attain enlightenment with the two kayas: the truth body (Skt:
13

dharmakaya) and form body (Skt: rupakaya). In that, there is no difference whatsoever
from the Vajrayana. (We will discuss the bodies of a buddha later.)
Having said that, there is debate about whether the Perfection Vehicle can actually take
us all the way. Some scholars maintain that before progressing very far on the five pathsiii
the practitioner will become a Vajrayana practitioner.
From the Theravadin point of view, Shakyamuni Buddha came into this world as an
ordinary being and through different practices he attained all the qualities he needed and
so became enlightened. But from the Mahayana point of view, he came into this world
not as an ordinary samsaric being, but as an emanation body (Skt: nirmanakaya). In other
words, he presented the aspect of becoming enlightened under the Bodhi tree in order to
teach us, but in fact he was already an enlightened being long before his appearance in
our world as Shakyamuni.
Lama Tsong Khapa says that without depending on Vajrayana practice, especially
Highest Yoga Tantra, enlightenment is not possible. His argument is that the final stage
before enlightenment relies on Vajrayana practice. Whether it is true or not that we need
tantra to become enlightened, the goal of the two vehicles is exactly the same.
ii. no difference in terms of bodhicitta
There is also absolutely no difference between the two vehicles in terms of needing
bodhicitta. Without bodhicitta, progress within either vehicle is impossible. In terms of
the bodhicitta itself, there is no superiority and inferiority; the mind of bodhicitta is the
same mind whether the practitioner is engaged in the Perfection Vehicle or Vajrayana.
iii. no difference in terms of the six perfections
Both the Perfection Vehicle and Vajrayana practitioner must engage in the six perfections
patience, generosity, morality, concentration, joyous effort and wisdom. With respect to
both the methods used and to the quality of mind developed, there is no difference at all
in the way the six perfections are realised.
iv. no difference in terms of the view
But how about the realisation of emptiness? Is there a difference in that? As a minimum,
to practise the Vajrayana path, the practitioner needs an understanding of the Cittamatrin
view of emptiness. There were great Indian masters who practised Vajrayana, even
Highest Yoga Tantra, based on the Cittamatrin view but how far it took them is
debatable. There have been lots of arguments about whether the Cittamatrin view of
emptiness is all we need for both the generation and completion stage of the Highest
Yoga Tantra. Many scholars argue that to practise the complete Vajrayana path we need
to have the Madhyamaka Schools view of emptiness, particularly that of the Prasangika
Madhyamaka.
With regard to the object that needs to be negated, there is no difference between the
Perfection Vehicle practitioner and the Vajrayana practitioner. Both types of practitioner
will initially realise emptiness conceptually and then directly, and the object of negation
to be eliminated is identical in terms of its degree of subtlety.
There is a difference, however, in the method used to realise that emptiness, as we will
see below.
v. no difference in terms of the aim
Finally the aim is identical. For both vehicles, the aim is to benefit other sentient beings,
and to achieve full enlightenment in order to do that.
One of the great masters uses a very nice analogy. We want to attain enlightenment
because we can see that sentient beings are suffering and we want to help them in the best
way we can. That is like seeing that a person is thirsty. We want to give them water, but
first we need a container to carry the water in. The path is the equivalent of searching for
that container while achieving enlightenment is finding it. The main aim is to quench
their thirst; the method is to find a container to carry the water to them. In that respect
there is no difference at all between the Perfection Vehicle and the Vajrayana Vehicle.
These two vehicles are not differentiated by the superiority or inferiority of their resultant
attainments, because the result in both cases is entirely free of faults and replete with
good qualities. The main goals are to benefit others and to achieve enlightenment.
14

So, in many important ways, the two paths are identical: in their aims and in their final
attainments, in the bodhicitta needed, in the realisation of emptiness and in the six
perfections that need to be practised.
3. The Unique Features of Vajrayana
There are differences, however, between the Perfection Vehicle and the Vajrayana
Vehicle. There are features which are unique to Vajrayana. If we can see clearly why it is
unique and, because of that uniqueness, better suited to our needs than Sutrayana, it will
help us to know how to practise it correctly. This will give us the motivation to put the
required effort into our practice.
In The World of Tibetan Buddhism His Holiness the Dalai Lama says:iv
The unique feature of Tantra concerns the process of attaining the kayas, the
embodiment of the enlightened beings, the form body or rupakaya and the truth
body or dharmakaya.
The unique feature of the Vajrayana practice is the process. It is not the result or the aim
but how we actually attain that result.
All Buddhist schools agree that to achieve results we must have causes and conditions.
Without causes and conditions, we definitely cannot achieve the results. That is the basic
philosophy in Buddhism, isnt it? karma or the law of cause and effect.
The result both vehicles seek is full enlightenment with the two kayas, the dharmakaya
(truth body) and the rupakaya (form body). To obtain that the causes to achieve those two
bodies must be accumulated. Practitioners of the Perfection Vehicle would agree with
that, but the key point we need to look at is how they accumulate those causes.
The Perfection Vehicle has two categories, the practice of method (which can also be
called skilful means) and the practice of wisdom. Everything Perfection Vehicle
practitioners do fits into one of these two. The method side of their practice creates the
cause for them to attain the form body, the rupakaya. The wisdom side of their practice,
realising emptiness and impermanence, creates the cause for them to achieve the truth
body, the dharmakaya.
One of Nagarjuna texts, Ratnavali (The Precious Garland), summarises this by showing
that the Two Truths is the base for the two bodies. Conventional truth serves as the base
for the method side of the path practising generosity, morality, patience, concentration,
compassion, love etc which leads to the form body, rupakaya. Ultimate truth is the base
for the wisdom side of the path which leads to the truth body, dharmakaya.
To attain full enlightenment, these two causes must be accumulated equally realising
emptiness will not take us all the way, nor will realising bodhicitta. However, the
Perfection Vehicle sees these as two distinct practices, one supporting each other. The
practitioner can combine these two sides of the practice method and wisdom but not
within one mind. The mind realising emptiness cannot become the mind realising the
method side of the practice and vice versa; the method side cannot become the wisdom
side. It is impossible for them to become unified in a single mind before attaining
enlightenment.
During the path, however, these two minds can support each other, or become what is
called conjoined with each other. For instance, meditating on emptiness just before
practising generosity or ethics etc. will influence that mind and therefore the method side
will become more effective. It is supported by (or conjoined with) the wisdom realising
emptiness but it is not the wisdom realising emptiness. And it is the same the other way
around. By meditating on bodhicitta just before meditating on emptiness, that meditation
on bodhicitta will influence the emptiness meditation, and so it is said to be combined or
conjoined with the meditation on bodhicitta. However, the mind itself which is realising
emptiness is not bodhicitta.
In the Perfection Vehicle, method and wisdom can support each other but before
enlightenment can never become unified within a single mind. This is not so in the
Vajrayana vehicle. Even before attaining full enlightenment, we can practise method and
wisdom within a single mind.
When practitioners of the Perfection Vehicle practise the method side there is not a strong
link between their practices and the form body. Practising generosity, morality, patience,
15

concentration, compassion and the other practices of the method side are the causes and
conditions to achieve bodhicitta and from that to attain enlightenment but they are not the
direct causes and conditions for the rupakaya. In the Perfection Vehicle there is a practice
that can be done when meditators reach a certain stage called meditating on ones own
buddhafield (Tib: shin-tak jor-wa.) Here, the practitioner meditates to establish their
own realm where they will finally attain full enlightenment. They are creating an
environment within meditation similar to the state they will attain when they are
enlightened.
In the Perfection Vehicle practice there are also some other practices which are the direct
cause to have a buddhas body. A buddhas golden colour, curly blue hair, long ears and
ushinisha (crown protrusion) etc. are all the direct results of specific causes. Apart from
that, however, there are not many causes and conditions being created on the path which
are similar to the result, the rupakaya.
In contrast, in the Vajrayana practice, particularly in the Highest Yoga Tantra practice,
there is a very strong connection between the practice and the result, the rupakaya. By
visualising him-or-herself as a particular buddha or deity, the practitioner is visualising
the resultant state of the deity. This is called deity yoga, a deity being a visualised
meditational enlightened being (a buddha) such as Chenrezig, Tara or Guhyasamaja.
Deity yoga is in fact just this by visualising ourselves as a deity, we are accumulating
the causes to be that deity. Because of this, we refer to the Perfection Vehicle as the
causal vehicle and the Vajrayana as the resultant vehicle.
In Vajrayana, the cause is concordant with the result, which is why it is so powerful.
Whereas there is no real difference between the causes and conditions to create the truth
body in either vehicle, there is that big difference between the vehicles in how to create
the causes and conditions for the form body.
As Buddhajnanapada says in Engaging in the Means of Self-achievement:
If the path does not possess characteristics similar to the Form Body, then it is not
the unsurpassed method for attaining the Form Body. The profound Truth Body
and the vast Form Body are attained by paths that accord with them.
A similar thing is said in one of the main tantric texts, Vajra Tent:
If emptiness were the method one would never become Buddha, since a result
cannot be at variance with its cause, and the method is not emptiness.v
It is saying that we cannot attain the form body through realising emptiness because the
cause is not concordant with the result. To achieve the form body we need the method
practice and the wisdom realising emptiness is not the method practice.
In the next two lines it says:
In order to reverse the self-grasping of others, who hold on to a view of self, and
those who wish to turn away from false views, the conquerors have shown
emptiness.
For this reason the mandalas and deities have been shown as a blissful method by
union with the pride of Buddhahood. Buddhahood is not far away.vi
These lines say that the method of attaining a buddhas form body in the Vajrayana
practice is to visualise mandalas and the deities. These are the main causes to achieve
buddhahood. If we meditate in that way, a buddhas form body will not be that far away
it can be achieved in a short period.
It continues:
Because the 32 marks of the teacher and the 80 minor signs are the results attained
by method, therefore method has the teachers form.vii
It is generally said that a buddhas body has 32 major and 80 minor signs or marks which
are achieved by practising the method side of the path. This and other texts state very
clearly that because Vajrayana practice has visualisations of mandalas and deities, it
16

uniquely creates causes and conditions to bring about a buddhas form body. By bringing
the result into the present through visualisation Vajrayana practice becomes a swift
instrument for achieving enlightenment.
We must remember that although in the Perfection Vehicle the truth body is achieved
through meditating on emptiness and the form body though the practice of the method
side of the path, when we attain buddhahood these are achieved simultaneously. There
are not two separate entities, the truth body over here and the form body over there. There
is no way, however, that they can be united before enlightenment.
In Vajrayana, this is exactly what is happening. By using the visualisation of the deity
combined with some understanding of emptiness, the practitioner is combining both
wisdom and method. Therefore Vajrayana is described as the path characterised by the
union of method and wisdom.
This union of method and wisdom, creating the form body and truth body of a buddha is
the union of illusory body and clear light which you might have heard about. At the
highest level of Vajrayana practice, the meditator can move all the winds or energies into
the indestructible drop which resides at the heart. These winds are the vehicles which
carry the mind. At this most subtle level, the winds are our most subtle body, the illusory
body, and the mind is our most subtle mind, the mind of clear light. The illusory body is
the direct cause of the form body of a buddha and the clear light is the direct cause of the
truth body of a buddha.
4. The Four Complete Purities
When you ask geshes who have trained in the monasteries what the difference is between
Sutrayana and Vajrayana they will almost invariably quote the four complete purities
(Tib: yongs dag-shi). They are:
i. the complete purity of environment
ii. the complete purity of body
iii. the complete purity of resources
iv. the complete purity of activities.
These four complete purities are technically why tantric practice can bring results quicker
than Perfection Vehicle practice in that they show the way in which Vajrayana practice is
similar to the resultant state.
i.

the complete purity of environment

The first one is the complete purity of environment. In almost all deity sadhanas
(meditation manuals) in Vajrayana there is a section where through meditation we build
the entire mandala of the deity we are practising. From the base, called the wind mandala,
we create different mandalas until the deitys mandala finally arises. What we are doing
here is developing our own buddha field, the environment in which we will attain
enlightenment. Although this is a visualisation, we are actually creating the causes and
conditions to eventually arise in our own buddha environment.
We visualise ourselves in that pure environment something which does not exist in the
Sutrayana path. By constantly imagining we are in a pure place, we build up a sense of
purity and the feeling of ordinariness drops away, at first in meditation, but then later
even when we are outside the meditation session. Although we are a long way off
attaining enlightenment, by visualising the result we can come to really believe such an
environment is attainable.
ii.

the complete purity of body

The second purity is the complete purity of body. It is very common within Vajrayana
deity yoga practice for the practitioner to visualise his-or-her own body in the form of the
deity. Most sadhanas have what is called self-generation where we generate our body
into the body of the deity. Of course externally we are not really the deity and our body is
not the deitys body, but through such a visualisation we develop a strong sense of
identity with the deity. Through that we can completely destroy our ordinary concepts
and have a feeling our identity is transformed into that deitys identity.
In the Perfection Vehicle we slowly chip away at our delusions until we have finally
purified them. Here, by imagining ourselves as a buddha, we lose that sense of
17

ordinariness that blocks our progress on the path, which is why it is so much quicker than
the Perfection Vehicle. This is the same process as the first purity, but instead of seeing
the environment as pure, we see our body as pure. We are taking the result the body of
a buddha into the path which means we visualise we have actually achieved that result
right now.
iii. the complete purity of resources
If you are already doing a Vajrayana practice, I think you will already know the
importance of offerings to the self-generation deity. No matter how many sets of
offerings we make or what they are ordinary flowers, ordinary incense, ordinary
perfume etc when we actually make the offerings during the sadhana they are no longer
ordinary. Through our meditation we visualise them as completely pure, what is called in
the texts divine.
Thus the resources we use while we are doing the Vajrayana practice are transformed into
pure substances. Whatever we eat, drink or wear, everything we feel or sense in fact
everything our mind comes into contact with is not seen as an ordinary object of the
senses but as divine.
In particular, if we have received a Highest Yoga Tantra initiation it is important to
remember that during every single moment of our practice we are not in our ordinary
form but we are the deity and whatever we have contact with is pure.
Seeing all objects as extraordinary develops a strong potential to experience joy or bliss.
This is a meditative state and far greater than any bliss we could experience in ordinary
life. Sadhanas have an instruction during the offering section to generate bliss. That is
what it means here to see all the objects of offering as extraordinary, divine objects
being experienced by the mind stream of a buddha. This is the complete purity of
resources.
iv.

the complete purity of activities

During the Vajrayana practice, the sadhana will instruct you to do many things to benefit
sentient beings. These are the activities of that deity and, as you have visualised yourself
as that deity, these are your activities.
In Sutrayana we can practise generosity, but in Vajrayana the generosity we practise can
be far more extensive, because we visualise ourselves as a deity giving objects food,
money, teachings etc to all sentient beings.
For example in the Guhyasamaja sadhana and in some Yamantaka sadhanas, there is a
section called activities where the practitioner, as the deity, emanates countless deities
going to all the universes to benefit all sentient beings, then returning to dissolve back
into him-or-herself. Those activities are not ordinary ones but divine ones. That is the
complete purity of activities.
These four purities the mandala visualisation, self-generation, making offerings and
doing activities are common to all sadhanas but some sadhanas are quite short so they
might not be explicit. Again, you will not find this in Sutrayana. It is one of the main
reasons Vajrayana is unique.
They serve as the main substantial cause to attain a buddhas form body, the rupakaya.
Although it is called a body it is not really a flesh-and-blood body like our current one.
As I have mentioned, when someone attains enlightenment, the clear light mind becomes
the truth body, the dharmakaya, and the wind which carries that clear light becomes the
form body of the buddha, which can manifest as either the enjoyment body (Skt:
sambhogakaya) or emanation body (Skt: nirmanakaya). It is mainly through the form
body that buddhas are able to help sentient beings and it is only in Vajrayana practice that
there is the practice to attain the form body very quickly.
5. Deity Yoga
Deity yoga (Tib: hla-i nal-djor) itself is another unique feature of Vajrayana. Deity yoga
is not just imagining buddhas; it is the practice which combines method and wisdom in
inseparable unity. This is quite amazing when you think about it. Here is one practice
18

where one single consciousness can become both the method path as well as the wisdom
path. Although in the Perfection Vehicle it is emphasised that the paths of method and
wisdom should not be separated, this really means that we should not focus on just one
path and exclude the other. In Vajrayana, however, method and wisdom are combined
from the beginning in the practice of deity yoga. Because such a technique brings both
method and wisdom into one single consciousness, Vajrayana is quite advanced.
We will discuss deity yoga in more detail when we look at the generation stage, but I will
mention it here briefly. There are several important aspects of deity yoga but three are
said to be the most important:
divine pride
clarity
profundity.
The first one is divine pride (Tib: hla-i nga-gyal). This is sometimes translated as selfidentity of divine being. This relates to the complete purity of body. It is seeing
ourselves as an actual buddha and has nothing to do with our ordinary pride, which is an
afflictive emotion.
The second aspect is clarity (Tib: sel-nang) which refers to the need for really clear
visualisations, specifically with regard to the deitys environment and body. For deity
yoga to be effective, the visualisations must be very vivid and strong.
The third aspect is called profundity (Tib: zab-pa) and refers to the realisation of
emptiness. We often combine these two in Tibetan, saying zab-sel the zab referring to
profundity and sel to clarity. With the strong, vivid visualisation of the deity and
environment, there must be the understanding of emptiness.
If you are doing a daily sadhana, you are probably already trying to visualise yourself as
a deity. At one stage in the sadhana it will instruct you to dissolve your ordinary
appearance and arise out of emptiness as the deity (such as Tara). That means that the
deity has arisen from the fundamental nature of our mind, that ultimate, subtle mind
which is empty of inherent existence. Tara, or whoever we are visualising, is not separate
from our mind. She is not something outside ourselves that we are evoking or asking to
come in. Nor is she newly arisen from nowhere. It is our own fundamental nature
manifesting as that figure. Tara is the manifestation of the buddhas activities and by
visualising ourselves as Tara arising out of emptiness, we are creating the causes to have
Taras qualities ourselves. This is why this is the direct cause of both the form and truth
body.
Chenrezig is the manifestation of the buddhas compassion. It is not that there was a
sentient being who went through practices and became a buddha called Chenrezig, but
rather that the buddhas compassion manifests as Chenrezig. Similarly, Tara is the
manifestation of the buddhas activities and the five Dhyani Buddhas are the pure state of
our five aggregates.
You often hear questions such as Do the deities really exist? or Is there an external
Tara out there? There is no simple answer to questions like these. There is a legend of a
princess who refused to become enlightened as a man but worked for an incredibly long
time to become enlightened as a woman. Its very inspiring, but whether it is true or not, I
dont know, and in fact I dont really think that it is such a relevant question.
Tara is the manifestation of the buddhas enlightened activities. Does that mean she exists
externally? If we really explore how buddhas exist, they are all the same they all share
the same absence of true existence. You cannot find any distinction between the female
deity and the male deity. But to arise into different forms needs different causes and
conditions. I am not denying that there are external deities. What we are visualising,
however, is not that external deity over there but rather our mind manifesting as a deity.
In Vajrayana there is a strong teaching that our mind, the guru (our spiritual teacher) and
the deity are one entity. This does not just refer to any kind of mind but to the subtle,
fundamental clear light mind. Of course, there are external gurus from whom we receive
teachings and initiations, but here it is referring to our internal guru, the fundamental
clear light. (We will look at this term later.)
So, in deity yoga practice these three aspects divine pride, clarity and profundity are
very important, although of course bodhicitta is the key to everything. But why do we
need divine pride? Only divine pride will directly activate our buddha nature, that
fundamental purity that lies at the core of our being. All beings have buddha nature but
that potential will not be activated unless the correct techniques are applied. At present
we cannot see this; we are clouded by our delusions and afflictive emotions and trapped
in our sense of ordinariness. By overcoming that sense of ordinariness, by seeing
19

ourselves as buddhas, we can really trigger this precious buddha nature and start to
generate it in our lives.
And to really get a strong and clear divine pride very much depends on the quality of our
visualisations. The clearer, stronger and more stable our visualisations of the deity,
mandala etc. are, the stronger our divine identity will be. I think this is very important to
know as we look at the four kinds of tantra, from Kriya Tantra upwards.
We visualise our body as the deitys body and our environment as the deitys
environment and at the same time try to understand the emptiness of the body and
environment. There is not a separate mind or action here. As we visualise, we see our
visualisation as empty of inherent existence. This is where the two paths method and
wisdom are conjoined. The method is the visualisation, the wisdom is the emptiness,
conjoined in one single consciousness. That one single consciousness, therefore, is the
cause for achieving both the form body and the truth body. That is the deity yoga.
6. Utilising Afflictive Emotions on the Path
The Perfection Vehicle focuses on reducing and finally eliminating afflictive emotions.
We must constantly strive throughout all our lives to abandon our afflictive emotions
such as anger, attachment or jealousy. There is no suggestion that they have any use in
our lives.
However, when the Buddha taught the Bodhisattvayana path, he showed that there are
occasions when afflictive emotions can be used temporarily. The eight, ninth and tenth
links of the twelve links of dependent origination (clinging, craving and existence) are
degrees of attachment. On certain occasions the Buddha taught that although eventually
attachment must be eliminated, as a bodhisattva some degree of attachment to this body
is needed in order to stay in this world system to help sentient beings.
The analogy he used is manure. It is dirty and smelly and nobody wants it, but for a
farmer to grow good crops it is a very useful fertiliser. In the same way, attachment, if we
analyse it, is something we definitely do not want it is dangerous and painful but in
order to really benefit sentient beings we need to be reborn in samsara again and again, so
for the time being, attachment to a body is beneficial.
Although the Buddha said this of attachment, in the Bodhisattvayana teachings he never
made any exceptions for the afflictive emotions such as anger, hatred or jealousy.
Afflictive emotions such as these must be abandoned without exception.
Only in Vajrayana teachings does the idea of using negative emotions such as these arise.
Within a Vajrayana practice it is possible to actually use hatred and anger in a positive
way. As you might know, in Vajrayana practice there are deities which have very
wrathful aspects. Hatred and anger and even on certain occasions ignorance itself can
be like an ignition key we can use to manifest as that deity. That is the theory, although
there is a lot of debate about this.
In Vajrayana practice as well, especially in Highest Yoga Tantra, attachment such as
sexual attachment is utilised on the path. Here we have to be very clear what this means.
Sexual attachment in this context has nothing at all to do with ordinary sexual
intercourse. The male and female practitioner, with a full understanding of emptiness and
with a mind of clear light, engage in a meditation which utilises sexual energy. Having all
the right qualities, a practice similar to ordinary sexual intercourse is used to trigger great
bliss and to realise emptiness. There has been a lot of misunderstanding about this, so we
should be very clear that although it might seem that ordinary intercourse is taking place,
in reality the practice is very advanced mentally the minds of the practitioners are full
of the understanding of emptiness and clear light.
If we start to have an idea of just how unique Vajrayana is, we will really come to
appreciate its special qualities and that will increase our motivation to practise it as
perfectly as we can.

Questions on Chapter One

1. Is enlightenment possible without Vajrayana? Explain your answer.
2. What are the similarities and differences between Vajrayana and Madhyamaka
(Prasangika) paths in terms of realising emptiness?
3. What are the three most important aspects of deity yoga?
20

4. How can you tell if you are qualified to receive teachings on Vajrayana?
5. Outline the difference between Vajrayana Vehicle and Perfection Vehicle, and
explain why the former is called resultant vehicle and the latter is called the
causal vehicle.
6. What are the four complete purities and how do they help us to become
enlightened?
7. Why is Vajrayana practice similar to the resultant state?
8. After reading this chapter, what are your feelings about Vajrayana practice?
9. Practising Vajrayana means practising deity tantras. What are your feelings
towards the great number of different deities in Tibetan Buddhism? What could
be their use? Is the Buddha figure himself not sufficient?

21

Chapter Two
Entering the Vajrayana
Entering the Vajrayana
1. The Different Names for Vajrayana
It is worth looking very briefly at the many names we give to Vajrayana, as each gives a
slightly different flavour. It can be called:
Tantrayana (or tantra)
Resultant Vehicle
Secret Vehicle
Mantrayana
Vajrayana
Vajrayana is commonly called tantra but that is a very broad term and includes Buddhist
as well as non-Buddhist practices. You will often see it referred to in Buddhist texts as
Tantrayana, the tantric vehicle.
It is also called the Resultant Vehicle. As we saw in the last chapter, it is unique in that
by doing deity yoga we are taking the result into the path. We are not just slowly working
towards being a buddha, we are imagining ourselves as a buddha now! We visualise
ourselves as a buddha now, our environment as a pure land the buddhas resultant
environment and our activities as resultant activities, where we have reached the
ultimate stage where we can constantly benefit countless sentient beings. In short, we
visualise the result in the present which gives it the name Resultant Vehicle.
Vajrayana is sometimes called the Secret Vehicle. Many of these teachings and practices
should be done in a very secret way. If they are not made public in any way, but practised
privately, achieving the result will be much quicker, and there will be less obstacles and
difficulties.
It is called Mantrayana. You probably often use the word mantra, but it is interesting to
look at what this term actually means. It is a combination of two Sanskrit syllables,
manas (mind) and tara (protect). Sutra teachings also protect our mind, but Vajrayana is
Mantrayana because in Vajrayana there is a strong practice to counteract our ordinary
appearance and concepts. It protects our mind from ordinariness in that we see ourselves
and our environment not as ordinary and impure but as extra-ordinary and pure. It draws
our mind away from the mundane concepts that keep it trapped in ordinary appearances.
Then it is called Vajrayana. As we have seen, these practices are unique in that they
combine method (in the visualisation of the deity) and wisdom (in an understanding of
emptiness), inseparably within a single consciousness. This is where the term Vajrayana
comes from. Vajra (Tib: dor-je) has many different meanings. It is sometimes translated
as adamantine or diamond but it is really closer to indestructible or inseparable,
and refers to the inseparability of these two aspects within one consciousness.
2. The Prerequisites for Entering the Vajrayana
If we feel Vajrayana is the path we want to practise, we have to understand what is
needed before we can enter such a path. What are the prerequisites or preconditions?
The most important one is to have a good understanding of the basic Buddhist path which
is far more than intellectual; it must come from the heart. You have probably read The
Foundation of All Good Qualities. This is a beautiful prayer that sums up the teachings of
the Gelugpa tradition. Lama Tsong Khapa starts it by summarising the lam-rim. Only
after that does he ask to enter the holy gateway of Vajrayana.
22

Having become a pure vessel by training in the general path,

Please bless me to enter
The holy gateway of the fortunate ones:
The supreme vajra vehicle.viii
So Vajrayana should not be entered until we have a good grounding in the general path
or what we would call the common path.
In The World of Tibetan Buddhism, His Holiness the Dalai Lama explains:
The practice of Tantra can be undertaken when a person has a firm foundation in
the essential features of the path to enlightenment as explained in the sutra
systemix.
It can happen that when a person comes across tantra in this life they are ready to enter
the path after only a brief study of Sutrayana. That is very much the exception, though.
That person will have already trained in the common path in previous lives and already
has the potential and all the qualifications. For the vast majority of us ordinary people,
however, we definitely definitely! need to train in the common path first.
And that common path, from the Gelugpa perspective, is:
renunciation
bodhicitta
the wisdom realising emptiness.
We should be well advanced on each of these three paths. For renunciation we can use
another word which I prefer, determination. We should have already developed a strong
determination to be free from samara. If we want to enter into Vajrayana practice, it must
involve much more than just a determination to be free from some particular suffering,
but from the entire samsaric existence.
Then of course we need bodhicitta. Without bodhicitta there is no way we can enter into
Vajrayana practice. As a very minimum, I think we must have some experience of the
mind of bodhicitta maybe not complete spontaneous bodhicitta, but still with a strong
sense of doing our practice in order to help all sentient beings in the best way we can.
The third prerequisite is the right view or the correct understanding of emptiness, to use
the Gelugpas terminology. Without some experience of emptiness how can we practise
any deity yoga? Deity yoga is always done within an understanding of emptiness, where
method and wisdom are inseparable in one consciousness. If there is no wisdom how can
there be deity yoga practice? And without deity yoga practice it is not Vajrayana.
These three trainings are the very basic prerequisites which are needed before we can
even think about entering into the Vajrayana path. We must at least have some
experience in our heart of renunciation, bodhicitta and an understanding of emptiness. If
there is any clinging to our body, our possessions or to any aspect of samsaric life, it
simply will not work. If there is any selfishness if we are not doing it purely in order to
help others it will not work. And if we cling to appearances as real and concrete, then
how can we feel we are actually a deity? Without these prerequisites Vajrayana is no
more than a virtual reality game. It is a fantasy that will not ultimately mean very much at
all.
Of the three trainings, bodhicitta is the main trigger. In the Bodhisattvayana practice, the
practitioner has a very strong determination to attain full enlightenment for the sake of all
sentient beings. Even if it takes the three countless great eons, as the sutras say, the
Bodhisattvayana practitioner will stick at it. But if we really do have bodhicitta, waiting
such a long time is unbearable. All those sentient beings are suffering now and yet we
must wait three eons before we can really help them! That unbearable feeling of not
being able to wait that long will lead the practitioner into Vajrayana practice, because in
Vajrayana there is a practice for attaining full enlightenment within a short lifetime.
In the Guru Yoga tsog offering, (Tib: Lama Chpa) there is a section where we generate
common bodhicitta and one where we generate uncommon bodhicitta. Common
bodhicitta exists in Sutrayana. It is the altruistic mind which wants to attain full
enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, even if it takes three aeons. Uncommon
bodhicitta is the bodhicitta which cannot wait that long, which determines to attain full
23

enlightenment within this one short lifetime. You will not find this in the Sutrayana
system.
So bodhicitta is the key but here again we have to be very, very careful. Others are thirsty
and we have the chance to get a glass to bring them water. That glass is enlightenment,
but we want that water for others to drink, not for ourselves. To become a buddha is not
the goal. To become a buddha in order to be able to most skilfully help others is.
Even though both the Perfection and Vajrayana Vehicles bring the same result,
enlightenment, in Tibetan Buddhism we consider Vajrayana supreme because it can bring
enlightenment so quickly. Because it is so powerful, however, there is a great risk that
unless our motivation is completely clear our entire tantric practice might be on the
wrong track and just serve to increase our ego. The traditional texts have many warning
stories of lamas who have been reborn in unfortunate rebirths because of this.

The Four Classes of Tantra

There are four classes or levels of tantra, and it is useful, before we go into any detail
about them, to have a brief overview of what they are. The four classes are:
1. Kriya Tantra (also called Action Tantra)
2. Carya Tantra (also called Performance Tantra)
3. Yoga Tantra
4. Highest Yoga Tantra (also called Anuttarayoga Tantra)
In Tibetan Buddhism there are teachings on all four classes, but in actuality the first three
are not as common as Highest Yoga Tantra.
The way we classify these tantras varies slightly depending on the traditions. In the
Nyingmapa traditions teachings on dzogchen, for instance, they talk about the nine yanas
or vehicles. The first three are the three Sutrayana vehicles, then the lower three classes
of tantra, with the Highest Yoga Tantra being divided into three yogas. The practices are
basically the same; the only difference is in the way they are counted.
What differentiates these four classes of Vajrayana? Each is suitable for a particular level
of mind and the masters often explain it in terms of how the practitioner can use the
normally negative emotion of attachment in a positive way. As I have already said,
Vajrayana is unique in being able to utilise negative emotions. How powerful our minds
are determines how well we can do this. Traditionally the suitability of a practitioner for
each of the four classes of Vajrayana is measured by their ability to utilise on the path the
sexual attachment they feel for a partner.
1. Kriya Tantra
In Kriya or Action Tantra the emphasis is on external actions, such as ritual cleaning. We
need to pay great attention to the cleanliness of the offerings as well as cleaning our body
between sessions, wearing clean clothes and avoiding smelly food such as garlic, onions
and meat. If we cannot shower between each session, we need to pay attention to the five
points: the face, the two hands and the two feet.
There are also lots of actions within the practices such as the mudras (hand gestures)
which are a vital part of this tantra. In Kriya Tantra, if we do not do all the mudras
correctly, we have not really completed the action. In Highest Yoga Tantra, there are also
mudras but if we do not do them, it is not as important. Of course internal meditation is
still important in Kriya Tantra, but there is more emphasis on external actions.
Using the analogy of sexual attraction to a partner, Kriya Tantra is explained as being the
equivalent of being able to use the desire that arises within the practitioner when they
simply see someone they are sexually attracted to. Sexual attraction is energy and that
energy can be used to fuel our meditation, but so easily it is our delusion which direct that
energy. At this stage, seeing their partner, the practitioner has enough control over their
desire to simply utilise it as a way of improving their meditation. Anything stronger
however, such as touching their partner, would overwhelm them and they would not be
considered capable of following the higher levels of tantra.
2.

Carya Tantra

Although there are still many external activities such as cleaning and mudras in the
second class, Carya or Performance Tantra, these are not considered as important as in
24

Kriya Tantra. Here more emphasis is placed on inner yoga such as recitation. It is called
Performance Tantra because there is an equal balance between the external and internal
practices.
When the masters compare Carya Tantra with using desire for a partner on the path, they
say that Carya Tantra goes beyond the ability of Kriya Tantra practitioners. Not only can
Carya Tantra pratitioners use the pleasure of seeing someone sexually attractive on the
path, they must also be able to use the feelings that arise from laughing and smiling with
their partner.
3. Yoga Tantra
By the third class, Yoga Tantra, the emphasis has become very much focused on internal
yogas. As the name implies, yoga, which is Sanskrit for union, is to do with a blending
of external and internal actions. External actions are still there but not as emphasised as in
the previous two levels.
For Yoga Tantra, the practitioner must be able to utilise on the path the sensual feelings
that arise through actually touching the body and hands of a partner. Whatever desire or
feelings of bliss that arise through holding hands and feeling the body must not become
afflictive emotions but must be used in the practice.
4. Highest Yoga Tantra
The last class is called Highest Yoga Tantra (Anuttarayoga Tantra) because here the
emphasis is even more on internal yoga, with more depth than with Yoga Tantra depth
in terms of the emphasis on trying to activate the fundamental innate clear light through
utilising the winds and channels etc.
When comparing the classes with the ability to use desire on the path, the masters say
that the practitioner of Highest Yoga Tantra must be able to extend beyond seeing,
smiling at and touching a partner to actual sexual activities. To be qualified to practise
Highest Yoga Tantra, the practitioner must be able to utilise on the path whatever desire
or bliss there is that arises during intercourse.
Normally when we see an object of desire, the afflictive emotion of attachment arises.
Our goal as a Buddhist practitioner is to reduce that attachment and finally eliminate it.
The energy of attachment is only energy after all it is our grasping on to the object that
makes it negative. If we are advanced enough to take it and use it in a positive way, it can
be very powerful. Some people can use that desire for a sense object, transforming it into
desire for enlightenment. How much desire we can use positively like this is the
demarcation of which of the four classes of tantra the practitioner is suited to.
5. The Profundity of Highest Yoga Tantra
All four classes of tantra, Kriya, Carya, Yoga and Highest Yoga Tantra, have the unique
features we looked at in the previous chapter. They all have deity yoga and visualisations
of the mandala but there are features of Highest Yoga Tantra which the other three
classes of tantra do not have which makes it even more profound than the others.
It is called Highest Yoga Tantra because it alone has the complete technique to activate
our fundamental innate clear light and develop the illusory body, which allows us to
attain enlightenment in one short lifetime. The three lower Vajrayana classes are still far
quicker than the Perfection Vehicle but they do not have the methods to achieve
enlightenment so incredibly quickly. One short lifetime here means starting the practice
as an ordinary being, entering the common path, then the Vajrayana path and the Highest
Yoga Tantra path and finally achieving full enlightenment. This is unique to Highest
Yoga Tantra.
There are three different techniques that make Highest Yoga Tantra so profound. They
are:
i.
praa yoga
ii.
generating the four types of joy
iii.
cultivating the state of non-conceptuality
25

i. praa yoga
Many Buddhist and non-Buddhist practices use the vital energy that runs through our
body, but not to the same depth as Highest Yoga Tantra where there is a technique called
praa yoga (the yoga of the wind). There are extensive teachings on the winds and how
to use them.
I am using the direct translation of the Tibetan word lung (Skt: praa) but it can also be
translated in many different ways, as energy, vital energies, psychic energy etc. In
particular, praa yoga is taught extensively in the Guhyasamaja tantra.
At present we operate at a very gross level of wind but it is possible, through practices
such as this, to train our mind and slowly bring it to a level that is more and more subtle,
until we eventually come to understand and are able to use the subtlest wind, which is the
vehicle of the fundamental innate clear light. This fundamental clear light, which is the
subtlest mind, is carried by this subtlest wind and these two are inseparable.
Praa yoga exists in Highest Yoga Tantra. It is the technique which allows us to
understand and use the energies or winds, because these winds accompany all our
consciousnesses. They exist within us and work together with the mind. Without them,
the mind cannot function. The traditional analogy used is the blind man and the cripple.
The blind man can walk but cannot see where to walk; the cripple can see but cannot
walk. When they come together to help each other, they can go where they want to go,
the blind man carrying the cripple who directs him where to go. The relationship between
the wind and the mind is like that. The mind is only able to travel from one object to
another because it is borne on the wind energy. The winds cannot function to experience
an object that is the work of the mind.
To be able to understand this relationship and to be able to utilise the winds in praa
yoga is a very advanced and very powerful tool on our path to enlightenment.
ii. generating the four types of joy
All classes of tantra talk about generating great bliss but again it is only in Highest Yoga
Tantra that there are extensive teachings on generating and using great bliss in
conjunction with the fundamental innate clear light. By meditation, all the winds or
energies enter into central channel, into the heart channel wheel and then into the
indestructible drop at the centre of the heart, abiding and then dissolving there. Due to
that, great bliss is generated.
This technique is called generating the experiences of the four types of joy. (Translators
use either joy or bliss. I will stick with joy.) It is particularly connected with the
Chakrasamavara or Heruka teachings, where there are practices for generating the clear
light and then experiencing the four types of joy within that clear light.
The four types of joy are:
joy
supreme joy
special joy
innate joy
These four types of joy are generated in the practitioners mind due to the melting of the
drops, a substance which resides at various parts of the body, originally coming from
the white and red drops of the father and the mother. The movement of the drops through
the central channel successively triggers each particular bliss. We will discuss both the
drops and the four joys in the chapters on the completion stage practices.
iii. cultivating the state of non-conceptuality
All Buddhist traditions talk about going beyond the conceptual mind, but practices such
as dzogchen are unique to Highest Yoga Tantra. Although dzogchen teachings do not use
the phrase fundamental clear light, they talk about touching the nature of the mind with
the bare hand, which refers to reaching the non-conceptual nature of the mind without
first going through the conceptual process. This requires a very forceful method. So
dzogchen is really describing the state of being free from conceptuality, a completely
pure, unadorned mind without the conceptual thoughts and emotions that usually fill it.
Again I will discuss this in more detail when we get to the completion stage.
26

Even though there are many aspects to Highest Yoga Tantra that are missing in the lower
tantras winds, drops, channels that does not mean we should immediately go to the
Highest Yoga Tantra practices. Of all the unique tantric practices, it is the most profound
but is it the one that suits us the most? We have to explore this.

Initiations
For many of us, the first thing we know about Vajrayana is when a lama comes to our
centre to give an initiation or empowerment. This is a special feature of tantra and yet we
often have no idea what an initiation is.
Taking an initiation is to advance to another stage in our spiritual training. There are
various stages on the Buddhist path that we need to go through on the road to
enlightenment. The most basic and fundamental one is taking refuge in the Three Jewels.
This defines whether we are a Buddhist or not and whether our practice is a Buddhist
practice. Of course that does not refer to the actual ceremony of taking refuge but to the
internal state of mind where we do actually rely on the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
We are bodhisattvas only when we have actualised bodhicitta. Without bodhicitta in our
hearts, even if we are doing all the other things that make up the Bodhisattvayana path,
we are not bodhisattvas. That is another quite clear demarcation.
When we have taken a Vajrayana initiation, we are on the Vajrayana path. But be careful
here. Many of us have taken Bodhisattva vows. Does that mean we have bodhicitta?
Many of us have been to initiations. Does that mean we have actually taken them?
Having bodhicitta is having within us that mind which cherishes others genuinely,
spontaneously and constantly. In the same way, being on the Vajrayana path means we
have totally and fully taken a tantric initiation. It is not that easy to do. It is more than
sitting in on an initiation; more than receiving the initiation substances; more than being
able to meditate during it. It requires great commitment, great understanding and great
participation during the ceremony.
Without our active participation, we cannot really say that we have received the
initiation. When His Holiness the Dalai Lama was asked at the end of the Kalachakra in
New York how many of the thousands of people there actually received the initiation he
said hardly anyone. And there were many high lamas on the stage!
It also requires not only strong participation but also great determination to actually
practise the commitment we have taken on. There are taking refuge and keeping the
Bodhisattva vows for a start. These are the minimum requirements without which, even if
we have participated in hundreds of initiations, we have still not actually received any.
These are the base.
Receiving an initiation means that, from the masters side, he or she is fully qualified to
perform the initiation, and that, from the disciples side, he or she is also fully qualified.
Only when the rituals are performed perfectly and we participate in all the visualisations
perfectly can we say that we have received the initiation.
So, to participate in an initiation does not to automatically mean to receive it. If we have
been to one, that does not mean we are on the Vajrayana path. Whether we have actually
received it perfectly or not depends on the basic qualifications refuge, bodhicitta, and
keeping both the Bodhisattva vows and whatever commitment is given for that particular
deity. If the initiation is from Highest Yoga Tantra, there will also be the Tantric vows,
something the other three classes do not usually have.
1. The Three Types of Initiations
The Sanskrit word abhishika (Tib: wang) is translated into English as initiation or
empowerment. In the Gelugpa tradition, there are three different types of initiations.
causal initiations
path initiations
resultant state initiations
Causal initiations (Tib: min-je gyur-wang) are given to disciples to help ripen their mind
streams. Min-je means in order to ripen. So a causal initiation is a preparation; it is
given to make the practitioners mind ready to enter the Vajrayana path. The initiations
we receive from the masters belong to this first category of causal initiation the disciple
has been given permission to practise the deity.
27

Path initiations (Tib: dol-je lam gyi-wang) are given once the disciple is on the path in
order to liberate them. Dol-je means in order to liberate. When we are on the Vajrayana
path there are times when we can take further initiations to move us on to the next stage
of our practice, to strengthen our realisations. These are path initiations.
Resultant state initiations (Tib: dol-wa dre-bu wang) come much later. Dol-war means at
liberation so these are the initiations we receive when we first become a fully
enlightened being, like a welcome to a new member of the family. This is something that
I think we dont have to worry about for the time being. Its not going to happen to us just
yet!
Besides the three types of initiations in the Gelugpa tradition, the Nyingmapa tradition
has a fourth, called the base initiation (Tib: shi-wang) which is performed before starting
a causal initiation in order to purify the fundamental innate clear light. (Again, this is a
Gelugpa term, the dzogchen term is rig-pa.)
2. Causal Initiations
It is important to know about these three but for us the first one, the causal initiation, is
the most important one. Very generally, when we receive a causal initiation, we are
allowed to visualise that deity, to read that deitys root text and commentaries, to listen to
teachings on that deity and we are allowed to do the practices.
The causal initiation itself has four initiations:
i.
vase initiation
ii.
secret initiation
iii.
wisdom initiation
iv.
word initiation.
Only Highest Yoga Tantra has all four. Kriya and Carya Tantra only have the vase
initiation.
There are various initiations associated with the vase initiation in Highest Yoga Tanta
flower garland, water, crown, vajra, bell and name whereas in the lower tantras,
particularly Kriya and Carya, the vase initiation involves only two initiations, the water
and crown initiations. (Although in the Carya Tantra there is sometimes the initiation of
the five Buddha families the Dhyani Buddhas as well.)x
i. vase initiation
When we receive a Kriya Tantra initiation such as the White Tara or the thousand-armed,
eleven-faced Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig) initiation, we only receive the vase initiation.
Within this initiation we receive the water and crown initiation, no more than that.
It is called the vase initiation because it is very much associated with an actual vase
which the master uses, a highly ornate silver container a little like a teapot. A lot of the
activities that go on during the initiation are performed with a vase. Having received the
vase initiation, the practitioner is generally then allowed to visualise both the frontgeneration (the deity in front of them) and self-generation deity (themselves as a deity).
This is the equivalent of the generation stage practice and the purpose is to purify the
gross negativities and gross imprints of those negativities created by the body.
ii. secret initiation
The second one, the secret initiation, is given in order to purify the gross negativities of
speech. Due to receiving a secret initiation, the practitioner is allowed to practise certain
stages of the completion stage, in particular the meditation called the impure illusory
body. (There is also the pure illusory body but the secret initiation only allows the
practitioner to meditate on the impure one.)
iii. wisdom initiation
The wisdom initiation is given for the purpose of purifying the gross levels of negativities
and imprints created by the mind. Having received the wisdom initiation, the practitioner
is allowed to meditate on the completion stage practice called the ultimate clear light.
iv. word initiations
The last initiation is called the word initiation. It is given this name because no physical
substances are associated with it as with the other initiations. Here, the vajra master
introduces the disciples to what is called the union of body and mind (Tib: ku-thuk
zung-juk), so the main purpose of the initiation is to give the word to explain what the
union of body and mind is and have the disciples meditate on it. When the disciples
28

manage to grasp the meaning, that is the initiation. There are no substances touched to the
crown of the head, as in the other initiations.
The word initiation is given in order to purify the subtle obscurations of the body, speech
and mind together. Due to this initiation the disciples can purify the most subtle imprints
which will allow them to really meditate on that union of body and mind.
3. The Mandala
An initiation is always given in a specific mental environment called a mandala. You
have probably seen mandalas, either as pictures or as sand mandalas. These are
representations of the abode of the deity. Mandala is sometimes translated in English as
celestial palace. Besides painted, drawn and sand mandalas there is a third type of
mandala, the concentration mandala, but that is very rare; it is really only for very
advanced practitioners. It means that both the vajra master who is giving the initiation
and the disciples who are receiving it can visualise the mandala vividly and clearly,
without any mistakes. Only if there is an occasion where that is possible is it then
permissible to give the initiation with the concentration mandala.
Every initiation must have a mandala. In association with that mandala, the vajra master
has to conduct the initiation. Big initiations like the Kalachakra have elaborate sand
mandalas that take many days to create; others might be simple drawn ones. Particular
initiations and particular lineages require particular mandalas.
4. The Qualities of the Vajra Master
In order to have received an initiation we have to rely on somebody to give it. That
person is called the vajra master and the texts state very clearly that the vajra master must
be completely qualified.
The qualifications as stated in Asvaghosas Fifty Verses of Guru Devotion are:
Reliable, disciplined and intelligent,
Patient, straightforward and without deceit,
Knowing the application of mantra and tantra,
Compassionate, an expert in the explanatory texts,
Learned in the ten categories
And skilled in drawing the mandala,
The master must know the exegesis of mantra,
Be full of faith and have his senses under control. xi
These are the qualities that the vajra master needs. In particular they have to be very
compassionate towards the disciples and must have their senses under control. That
means complete control over all six sensory consciousnesses, from eye consciousness to
mental consciousness.
The vajra master must also know the sequences of the rituals of the initiation. If there is a
mistake in the sequences the disciples will not have received the empowerment and if that
is so and the disciples still do the practice then there is a great risk. So it is very important
that the vajra master not only has these qualities but also that they take great care.
A master who is giving a Highest Yoga Tantric initiation must have done a retreat on that
particular deity, which does not just mean a weekend or a month. The mantra recitation
commitment should be complete and that differs with different deities. It could be
400,000 recitations or it could be several million. They should also have done the fire
puja at the end of the retreat, which is an elaborate ritual where many substances such as
sesame seeds are thrown into a fire as the meditator visualises all their negativities being
destroyed.
The vajra master also has to have knowledge of the ten qualities (stated above in the
quote) and be skilled in drawing the mandala. They must also have a clear visualisation
of the mandala in order to be able to lead the disciples into it during the initiation.
29

Knowledge of the mandala includes knowledge of the exact measurements. The master
must first perform the ritual of blessing the ground-breaking ceremony which is often
performed for major initiations where the empowerment is given on the base of the sand
mandala. And before the initiation the master must perform an extensive self-initiation.
So it is not easy from the vajra masters side.

4. The Qualities of the Disciple

An initiation is given between master and disciple, so in many ways the qualities of the
disciple are just as important as the qualities of the vajra master. If the disciple is not
qualified the empowerment will not take place.
These are stated in Vajra Garland as:
Faithful and full of respect for the guru,
Abiding always in the practice of virtue,
With wrong view completely abandoned,
Such a one must have received many teachings.
Free of the faults of killing and harming,
With his mind intent on liberating beings,
Always diligent and very pure,
These and others are the virtues he should have;
But the best of all is strong faith.xii
The disciple must have very strong conviction in the vajra master as well as in the deity
of the empowerment. Practising tantra is very heavily dependant on conviction or faith
but that does not mean blind faith. Faith really comes from the understanding of the
Sutrayana practices, particularly from practising bodhicitta and the wisdom realising
emptiness. With these two realisations our faith will be very strong and very firm.
In Vajrayana we also need a strong conviction and unshakable faith in the vajra master
and in the deity of the initiation, and for that we need good communication with and trust
in the master. To do that we really need to understand the master giving the initiation
their background, character and experience. Lama Tsong Khapa in Fifty Verses says that
we need to examine the master for up to twelve years before we reach a conclusion about
them.
Before the initiation, we need to check if our motivation is correct. Are we taking the
initiation because of bodhicitta or not? That is the first preparation. The second is to
check if we really can keep the commitments. Taking an initiation is a rare and precious
opportunity. We need to have a clear motivation and take it very seriously.

Questions on Chapter Two

1. Describe the prerequisites for entering the Vajrayana path, and why is it risky to
enter this path without them? Which is the most important prerequisite?
2. Each class of Vajrayana is said to be suitable for a particular level of mind. How
are the different levels of mind traditionally described relating to each of the four
classes?
3. What are the features of Highest Tantra Yoga that make it more profound than
the other three classes (Kriya, Carya, Yoga)?
4. In relation to your own experience, why might a subjective experience of joy,
happiness or bliss by useful during meditation practice?
5. Many people attend initiations, but what is required for an initiation to be
actually received by a practitioner? Why do you think both the vajra master and
the disciple need such profound qualifications? Is there any risk attending an
initiation without them?
30

6. An initiation into a particular tantra practice can be seen as the beginning of a

new phase in your way along the path. In your own life, have their been
significant events that marked new phases in spiritual growth? What were they?
7. Why is patience a prerequisite to being a vajra master? And what is your
understanding of have his senses under control?

31

Chapter 3.

The Lower Tantras

The difference between the three lower tantras Kriya, Carya and Yoga Tantras and
Highest Yoga Tantra extends beyond initiations. There are differences in the actual
practices.
Only Highest Yoga Tantra has the generation and completion stages because it alone has
practices associated with the death process. In Highest Yoga Tantra there are practices for
taking the three stages of the ordinary death process death, intermediate state (Tib:
bardo) and rebirth and using them by visualising them as the resultant states of the
three bodies of a buddha: the truth body (dharmakaya), the enjoyment body
(sambhogakaya) and the emanation body (nirmanakaya). Visualising these three kayas is
one of the main practices of the generation stage of Highest Yoga Tantra which is the
preparation for the completion stage. The lower tantras do not have this and so cannot
have anything like the completion stage.
In the same way, the lower tantras do not have practices where the practitioner visualises
the channels, winds and drops, or mixing the four joys and four empties, so there is not
the skilful means of utilising those energies. Being able to control our channels, winds
and drops is another prerequisite for completion stage practice of Highest Yoga Tantra.
Nor do the lower tantras have any practices where the practitioner visualises his or her
own body as an illusory body.
1. Yoga with Sign and Yoga Without Sign
What the lower tantras do have, however, are the two stages called yoga with sign and
yoga without sign. Yoga with sign is equivalent to the generation stage and yoga
without sign is roughly equivalent to the completion stage. Because of the reasons I have
just given, however, the results achieved during yoga with and without sign are not the
same as the results achieved in Highest Yoga Tantra practices during the generation and
completion stages.
Putting it very simply, yoga with sign is the practice of the lower tantric deities done
without a realisation of emptiness whereas yoga without sign is the practice done with a
realisation of emptiness.
Sign here refers to the concepts the mind still clings to before a practitioner has directly
realised emptiness. That is not to say that yoga with sign has no concept of emptiness at
all. From the start we need a good understanding of emptiness, but not an actual
realisation; rather, our understanding will still be at the conceptual, intellectual stage. At a
deeper level, however, the visualisations of the deities, palaces and mandalas done during
deity yoga still have the appearance of being inherently existent to the meditator.
Without sign on the other hand, means that the meditators mind has gone beyond
conceptualisation, self-grasping and grasping at inherent existence.
Each of the stages of the deity yoga we do requires a good understanding of emptiness
we dissolve into emptiness, the deity arises out of emptiness, etc. It becomes yoga
without sign when the conceptual mind (i.e. with sign) is transcended and we have a
direct realisation of emptiness.
Yoga with sign is done in three steps:
i.
the concentration of the four branches of recitation
32

ii.
iii.

the concentration of abiding in fire

the concentration of abiding in sound

The Concentration of the Four Branches of Recitation

I will take Kriya or Action Tantra as a model for the other two lower tantras. Any
practice of this type will be based upon deity yoga using a meditation manual called a
sadhana and that meditation session using the sadhana can be broken into two main parts.
They are:
the preliminary rites
the main practice
The preliminary rites refer to general Vajrayana practices such as taking refuge,
generating bodhicitta and making offerings. Making offerings at this stage means either
to the merit field which is visualised, or to the refuge field of the deity being practisedxiii.
For instance, in a Kriya Tantra practice, the central deity then all the other spiritual
beings of the mandala are visualised and then all the other practices, such as the seven
limbs, are done. These three practices taking refuge, generating bodhicitta and making
offerings are a very important part of the preliminary rites.
All these things must come first. Usually, for example, if we are doing a one-hour session
of deity practice, I would say that half, if not more, should be spent on the preliminary
practices, particularly taking refuge and bodhicitta. If we do the preliminary practices
well there will be less risk of disturbance when doing visualisations.
Only after we have fully completed the preliminary rites should we go on to the actual
main practice, which involves a clear visualisation of the deity (either as front- or selfgeneration) and the mantra recitation. Front generation means visualising the deity in
front of us; self generation means visualising ourselves as the deity. There are different
views as to whether we can do self-generation in Kriya Tantra. Some great masters say
we can, but some say no.
The first stage or concentration in yoga with sign is the concentration of the four
branches of recitation. (In fact not all of these branches involve recitation, this is simply
the term used.) The sequence of the four branches is:
1. abiding on the basis of another
2. abiding on the basis of oneself
3. abiding on the basis of mind
4. abiding on the basis of sound.
The sequence explained in traditional texts is different, with abiding on the basis of
oneself first, and of another second, but in actuality, visualising the deity for the
preparatory practice (abiding on the basis of another) will almost always come first,
followed by the main, more extensive visualisation of the deity (abiding on the basis of
self).
1. Abiding on the Basis of Another
Abiding on the basis of another is associated with almost all the preliminary practices.
There are in fact four stages we need to go through in abiding on the basis of another
before we can say we are doing a complete deity practice. They are:
visualising the divine palace (the mandala)
inviting the principal and other deities and the wisdom beings
visualising the offerings
refuge, generating bodhicitta and so forth.
When we are doing a sadhana these preliminary practices are all there, one after the other.
First we visualise the deitys palace or mandala, then we invite the actual deity or deities.
Then we invite the wisdom beings and visualise vast amounts of offerings in front of
them, which we purify before offering to them. Then we take refuge, generate bodhicitta,
confess our negativities, rejoice in the buddhas abiding there and request them to stay
long - in other words, the seven-limb practice. Finally we recite the four immeasurable
thoughts prayer.
Abiding on the basis of another is a very important part of the sadhana. You will usually
see it called Accumulating Merit and Purifying Negativities. No matter whether it is
done in a very short or very elaborate way, without it our deity meditation is incomplete.
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There are some sadhanas where this is the key section and it is incredibly extensive, such
as in some Vajrasattva practices, but it must be included in any sadhana we do.
Once we have visualised the deity in front of us abiding on the basis of another and
performed the preliminary practices, we are ready to move to the second branch, abiding
on the basis of oneself.
2. Abiding on the Basis of Oneself
Abiding on the basis of oneself is the first branch in the traditional list, but the second
branch we practise in a normal sadhana. Again it is to do with visualising the deity,
although, as this is within the main section of the sadhana, the visualisation is more
elaborate and is usually done in six steps.
There are two ways we can visualise the deity, either as self-generation, where we
visualise ourselves as the deity, or as front-generation, where we visualise the deity in
front of us.
The six steps involved in visualising the deity in Kriya Tantra are:
i. the deity of emptiness
ii. the deity of sound
iii. the deity of letter
iv. the deity of form
v. the deity of mudra
vi. the deity of symbol.
The more effectively we follow those six steps, the easier it will be for us when we move
to Highest Yoga Tantra.
i. deity of emptiness
The first step can either be translated as the deity of emptiness or the ultimate deity.
When we have completed all the visualisations and practices of abiding on the basis of
another, we should then pause and meditate on emptiness. This is what the deity of
emptiness really means. We should take at least fifteen minutes to do this first meditation.
We bring whatever understanding of emptiness we have into the meditation. At the initial
stage it will only be a rational understanding of emptiness. We need to use the reasons we
have learnt to investigate how the deity, the mantra etc. is completely empty of inherent
existence. At first it is an investigation of whether the deities exist from their own side or
not, using all the reasons we have learned and going as deeply as we can. That is the deity
of emptiness.
Slowly, however, as our meditation deepens and becomes firmer, we will be able to focus
on the object of our meditation, emptiness, and place our entire mind there. Having
explored this rationally, we should try to generate as strong a feeling as possible for
emptiness and hold on to that feeling with our mind for as long as we possibly can.
If we can do that then the next steps the deities of sound, letter, form, mudra and
symbol will all come very purely from that first understanding, pure in terms of being
free from concepts of inherent existence.
ii. deity of sound
The deity of sound refers to the sound of the deitys mantra. For instance, if we are
meditating on Chenrezig, this will be OM MANI PADME HUM. Within that understanding of
emptiness, there is the sound of that mantra OM MANI PADME HUM. From that realisation
that all things and events, including the meditational deity, ourselves as meditator and the
path, are all empty of inherent existence, within that atmosphere there is the sound of the
deitys mantra.
Normally it will be our conceptual mind which imagines the sound OM MANI PADME HUM
but if we can slowly move that mind which is concentrating single-pointedly on
emptiness to the sound of the mantra, that sound will be very pure. Although the aspect is
the sound, the manifestation is in the nature of the deity.
So it is very important to start with an understanding of emptiness and then, without
disturbing that understanding, to gradually transform that mind into the sound the
mantra of the deity we are practising. That is the deity of sound.
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iii. deity of letter

With the deity of the letter, the sound of the deitys mantra, still diffused with the
understanding of emptiness, gradually transforms into the letter, the seed syllable or
mantra garland. We visualise our own mind, which is realising emptiness and is
inseparable from the deitys mind, in the form of a moon disc. On that disc the sound
gradually transforms into the syllable or syllables, HRI or OM MANI PADME HUM or
whatever.
Although naturally enough the sadhanas do not mention this, I think that holograms are a
good model to help us picture what the moon disc and mantra garland look like.
Imagining a three-dimensional hologram can really help with the visualisation.
The colour of the syllables of the mantra is very important. The mantra must not be solid.
Its syllables must be composed of very bright, completely transparent light. Although
each deity has its own colour, at the initial stage, particularly when the meditator is still
developing shin, it is good to visualise that they have a really bright colour.
Commentaries often say that we should visualise them as a pure golden colour.
iv. deity of form
Then the syllables, which are standing on the top of the moon disc (which is in the nature
of our own and the deitys mind), gradually transform into the deity of form, the actual
body of the deity.
To do this we visualise rays of light radiating out from the syllables on the moon disc,
going out in all the directions, reaching out to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas and
meditational deities and bringing back their blessings and inspiration.
Again, we are luckier than the meditators of previous generations, who only had their
own imagination. Now we can see laser beams shooting out in movies and in firework
displays. They are a really good model for the beams of light that shoot out from the
letters.
Some sadhanas say that when the beams of light come back to us, they do so in the forms
of the deities themselves, of all sizes and all types of meditational deities. For instance, if
we are meditating on Chenrezig, we imagine millions of different-sized Chenrezigs
coming back from the buddha, bodhisattvas and meditational deities.
When those deities reach the syllables and moon disc they dissolve into them. From the
seed syllable or the letters of the mantra the actual form of the deity appears. In the case
of the Chenrezig sadhana, first we imagine the sound of the mantra OM MANI PADME
HUM, then we see the letters of the mantra, then from them Chenrezig himself appears.
v. deity of mudra
The fifth step is called either the deity of mudra or the deity of seal. When we have a
complete visualisation of the deity, we visualise the three syllables OM AH HUM OM at
the crown, AH at the throat and HUM at the heart. There are also far more elaborate
visualisations where we can imagine different syllables at various parts of our body, such
as our eyes, shoulders, brow etc. With the visualisation of each syllable we do a particular
mudra (hand gesture). This is the deity of the mudra or seal.
vi. deity of symbol
With the deity of symbol, we take the syllables we have visualised at the various parts of
our body and generate a strong sense of divine pride or divine identity, feeling that we
ourselves are that deity.
These six steps are very important to follow in order to get clear and vivid visualisations
of the deity. Whether we do self-generation or front-generation in our practice, they will
help us greatly in creating clear and strong visualisations. In Kriya Tantra this is called
the six deities, not because there are six different deities, but because there is a six-part
process of visualising the deity.
Through each of these six steps, a firm understanding of emptiness and a strong sense of
divine identity are so important. Without them, it is just daydreaming. It should be like
when we go to the movies. As the cinema darkens and the film comes on the screen we
lose all sense of our own identity and we become absorbed in the action of the film.
When the action is in some fantastic imaginary country we are there with it. That is how
35

we should feel when we are doing the sadhana. When we enter the mandala we should
feel that we really are a deity entering a beautiful celestial palace.
In fact mandalas assume even more importance when we go on to Highest Yoga Tantra,
where they represent our entire practice. For example, the four doors of the palace
represent the Four Noble Truths. Everything about the mandala, the walls, the
surroundings, the deities within, are all symbolic of our various realisations. There is an
excellent section describing the Kalachakra mandala in Kalachakra Tantra Rite and
Initiationxiv by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Jeffrey Hopkins.
3. Abiding on the Basis of Mind
After the first two branches, abiding on the basis of another and of oneself, the third
branch, abiding on the basis of mind, is really an intermediate step before the mantra
recitation.
It comes after we have generated ourselves as the deity and visualised a moon disc at our
heart. Abiding on the basis of mind means that although we visualise the aspect of a
moon disc, this is in fact our own mind. Of course it is not our ordinary dualistic mind but
the mind realising emptiness manifesting as the moon disc. This applies to both the moon
disc at our own heart, as the self-generation deity, and the moon disc at the heart of the
front-generation deity, if that is our practice.
To do this as self-generation, we should visualise ourselves as the deity with all the
aspects of that deity (e.g. one face, two arms, etc.). On the moon disc at the heart there is
almost always a seed syllable such as a HUNG or a TAM with a mantra garland around it.
With some deities there is just one syllable at the centre of the moon disc, with others
there is both the syllable and the mantra garland.
Although the seed syllable is in the form of a letter, it is important to understand that it
represents the nature of our own mind. Our own mind has manifested into the syllable.
When this visualisation is very clear we should then do the vase breathing (see below).
It may seem very difficult to do all these things simultaneously, but when we get used to
the practice we will be able to hold the entire visualisation with divine pride not just the
aspect of the deity, but also the moon disc, seed syllable and mantra garland.
The practice needs to be done in stages. At first the visualisation will be quite crude, but
eventually it will become stronger and more detail can be added. This is what is meant by
practising tantra.
This meditation, which comes after the visualisation of the deity and before the mantra
recitation, is a very important step.
4. Abiding on the Basis of Sound
The fourth branch of recitation is abiding on the base of sound. We use the same
visualisation that we have built up during the previous three branches. This time,
however, we do not think that the seed syllable is the nature of our mind but that it is a
divine sound. If the seed syllable is a HRI, then we think that it is making that sound. We
should try to have a very strong feeling that this is a divine sound, or that the deity is
sound.
We are not reciting the sound, we are imagining that we are hearing the sound, in the
same way that if we think of the sound of a bell, it is the bell making the sound in our
imagination, not us. Here, if the mantra garland is OM MANI PADME HUM then the sound
we hear is OM MANI PADME HUM which is coming from the letters.
5.

Combining the Branches

The last two branches, abiding on the basis of mind and of sound, can be done in
conjunction with the first two, abiding on the basis of another and of oneself.
If we do self-generation, we visualise ourselves as the deity of the practice we are doing,
with the moon disc and its seed syllable at our heart and see this as the nature of our own
mind. If we do the last two in conjunction with abiding on the base of another, we should
not stop the session in that front-generation mode, but move the visualisation back to
ourselves as self-generation, then stop the session.
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Some sadhanas have both front- and self-generation. If that is so, we should always do
self-generation first, then front-generation. If we have moved our visualisation from self
to front-generation, before we finish the session we must bring the visualisation back to
the self-generation. This is a very useful practice for when we go on to Highest Yoga
Tantra.
There are certain times when we have to visualise swapping the mantra at our own heart
to the deitys and back again. In that case, although there are two separate deities
visualised, in terms of divine pride we are also that front-generation deity.
i. bringing the life force under control
An important part of mantra recitation is called bringing the life force under control
(Skt: praayama, Tib: tsog-sol dom-ba). This name exists in all the levels of tantra, but
the practice differs depending on the level.
In Overview of Buddhist Tantra, (p.36) Panchen Sonam Dragpa says:
By stopping the movement of winds to the outside and through the power of
keeping them inside, ones conceptual mind is forced to cease wandering towards
objects and becomes, instead, firmly fixed upon the clear appearance of the deity.
In this way, through the practice of praayama, one generates the clear
appearance of the deity and then performs the mental recitation and the whispered
recitation.
In the three lower classes life refers to the winds (which is generally taken as our
normal gross breathing), force refers to our conceptual mind, and under control means
trying to stop these two. How do we do this? Normally if we stopped our winds, our
breathing, we would die. The act of breathing and the winds associated with it are all very
gross and the connection between the two is very strong. There are techniques in the
lower tantras, however, such as holding the winds in a vase which we will look at later,
which enable us to temporarily stop our inhalations and exhalations.
The term bringing the life force under control is also used in Highest Yoga Tantra. We
can understand how the term is used differently by looking its meaning in both tantras.
Panchen Sonam Dragpa explains on page 35:
Although we speak here of bringing the life force [praayama] under control and
also in Highest Yoga class of tantra bringing the life force under control is
explained, although the same term is used in both cases, the words are understood
differently [in the two systems] with regard to their meaning, time, purpose and
method.

a. difference with regard to meaning

In the Kalachakra Tantra life means wind and refers not to the air we breath but the
more subtle psychic energy that circulates throughout our body. There are three main
channels that this energy runs through, the central channel just in front of our spine and
the right and left channels which run either side of it. Force in this sense is explained as
that which stops the movement of air or wind within the right and left channels and
concentrates it within the central channel. So, bringing the life force under control is not
an actual wind, but an action the action of forcing the winds which abide normally in
our right and left channels into our central channel.
In the Guhyasamaja Tantra there is another meaning where life refers to the general
wind and force to the particular wind or energy which prolongs our life.
Here, in Kriya Tantra, life refers to wind and force means conceptualisation, so it
refers to the action of bringing the winds to one spot in order to stop our conceptual
thoughts.

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b. difference with regard to time

The second difference is with regard to time. In the Highest Yoga Tantra, the practice of
bringing the life force under control is done at quite an advanced stage. It is done when
the practitioner has already managed to develop the union of calm abiding and special
insight and has reached the completion stage. Only when they have very vivid
visualisations and a realisation of emptiness is this attempted.
In Kriya or Action Tantra as well as Carya Tantra, however, this practice is done at quite
an early stage. The practitioner does not have calm-abiding nor vivid visualisations of the
deity or divine palace and, of course, is still a long way from the realisation of emptiness.
The time of the practice is different and that is because the purpose of the practice is
different.
c. difference with regard to purpose
In Highest Yoga Tantra, the purpose is to gather all the different types of wind and
energy into the central channel. The ultimate goal is not only for them to abide in the
central channel, but to actually have them dissolve into the indestructible drop at the
centre of the central channel. This can happen naturally at certain times such as death but
here the practitioner is able to do it through meditation. So it is a very advanced practice.
(We will look at channels, winds and drops when we look at the completion stage.)
The purpose of this practice in Kriya and Carya Tantra is much more modest. Here, the
practitioner is doing it simply to temporarily stop conceptual thoughts. The practitioner
has not yet achieved shin and bringing the winds under control is one method to develop
it. The winds do not go into the central channel, as in Highest Yoga Tantra, but they are
made to stay at a point in the body usually near the concentration of energy at the navel
called the navel channel wheel.
d. difference with regard to method
And of course the method of bringing the life force under control is different in the
different classes of tantra. In the Highest Yoga Tantra, it is done by manipulating the
various energies that are in our body. Principally, the practitioner controls the downwardand upward-moving energies through visualisation. By playing with these two winds the
meditator is able to move them and all the other winds into the central channel.
In Kriya Tantra, the winds we are dealing with are much grosser. They are in fact our
ordinary in-breath and out-breath. By temporarily stopping both our inhalation and
exhalation, we can control our life force, which here refers to our conceptualisation.
Using the correct technique, if we stop our breath for a long enough period our
conceptual mind will temporarily stop too.
It is important to make these distinctions between the different levels of tantra. Bringing
the life force under control is a common term in all the tantras, but the actual practices
are quite different.
ii. holding the winds in a vase
The actual practice of bringing the life force under control in Kriya Tantra is usually a
technique with a much more descriptive name, holding the winds in a vase or vase
breathing. With this technique we can actually control and stop our breathing (life) for
quite a long time and because of that our conceptual thoughts (force).
Like swimming under water it is something we need to develop over time. We need to
slowly learn to control our breathing and thoughts for longer and longer periods without
damaging our body or our inner systems.
The first thing we need to have is a very good body posture. This is very important. Then,
a good preliminary step to the actual vase breathing is the nine-round breathing
meditation. That is three rounds of breathing in through the right nostril while visualising
white light flowing in through the right channel, then exhaling from the left nostril,
visualising black smoke pouring out of and purifying the left channel. Then the three
rounds are reversed, breathing in through the left nostril and out through the right, then
three rounds where we breathe in through both nostrils, visualising white light flowing in
through both channels and the central channel being purified during the out-breath. (For a
more complete description of the nine-round breathing meditation used in the completion
stage of Highest Yoga Tantra, see chapter six, page XX)
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Having prepared ourselves like this, we breathe in through the nose (never the mouth)
then gently bring the upper wind (Tib: deng-lung) the in-breath down while at the
same time tensing our lower stomach muscles slightly. This has the effect of forcing the
lower wind the psychic energy that abides in our abdomen to rise. This should be
done very gently.
With the upper wind coming down and the lower wind rising, they should meet at around
the navel. We focus our entire mind on the meeting of these two winds and hold them
there consciously as if they are being cupped between the muscles above and below. This
becomes the vase for containing the winds.
We should hold those winds at the navel for as long as we can. Then, when we need to
breathe again, we very gently breathe out through the nostrils while relaxing the lower
part of our body. By repeating this and slowly increasing the time we can hold the winds,
we will gradually be able to bring our life force under control.
What happens is that inside the vase the conceptual mind will cease. Initially it will be
just our ordinary conceptual mind which ceases for very a short period but with training,
when we do this as part of our sadhana, our conceptual mind will vanish and our divine
appearance will become incredibly clear.
Wind and mind have a very strong connection. Here we are not just talking about the
gross wind our breathing but the subtle winds or energies that flow within our body
which carry all our conceptual consciousnesses. By stilling the winds we are also
automatically stilling the conceptual mind.
We should have already developed a strong sense of divine pride. When we hold the
winds in the vase, that divine identity increases, which resembles special insight, and
conceptual thoughts cease, which is an approximation of shin. It is said that this
technique is unique to Vajrayana.
If you seriously want to practise this in a retreat, it is good to mention here that for people
who are inexperienced it is not advisable to do it more than ten times. After that, you
should just relax and focus more on your own divine identity and the visualisation you
have already established. After you have done this for a while and are more relaxed, then
you can return to the vase breathing. Alternating like this gives a good balance and
reduces the chances of your mind becoming too tight.
Tantric practice is very powerful but very easy to misuse. Vase breathing can really boost
our practice but if we are not ready for it, it can quite seriously disturb our mind. It is
because of the power of practices like this that we have to be very careful.
For example, when we have achieved the third concentration on abiding in sound, we
have definitely achieved certain realisations and certain powers and we can control some
external elements. If any trace of ego remains at all it is so easy for this power to be used
solely for our own benefit and to increase the ego.
6. Two Types of Mantra Recitation
With a strong sense of divine identity and a very clear visualisation as the deity, we recite
the mantra. The mantra can be recited in two ways:
whispered recitation
mental recitation
Normally if we are doing a particular deity practice, we would recite either silently or in a
whisper, rather than chanting aloud as we might do in a puja. Whichever type of
recitation we do, whispered or mental, the four branches of the recitation must be there:
abiding on the basis of another, of oneself, of mind and of sound.
As I said earlier, some sadhanas do not have front generation. If that is the case it seems
we are missing the branch of abiding on the basis of another. Even if there is no front
generation, however, it must have the merit field which we have visualised in the
preliminary section. At this stage, we bring it into stronger focus. Within the merit field
there will be the deity we are practising, so we bring that deity more vividly into the
picture.
i.

whispered recitation

When we do the whispered mantra recitation, while we are reciting the mantra we
visualise either the front-generation (or the deity from the merit field) and self-generation
deity very clearly. We also need to visualise a moon disc at the front generations heart
39

which is in the nature of our own mind. Then, on top of that moon disc the mantra which
we are going to recite appears. These are the four branches of recitation which we keep
clearly in our mind aiding on the basis of self (self-generation), of other (front
generation), of mind (the moon disc) and of sound (the mantra). These make up are the
whispered recitation.
The whispered recitation is just that. We say the mantra very quietly but very clearly to
ourselves, with each syllable distinct. This is to establish the mantra very firmly in our
mind.
When we are reciting the mantra while using the front-generation deity there are three
things we focus on: the actual deity, the syllable or syllables on the moon disc at the
deitys heart and the sound of the mantra coming from the syllables. So there are many
factors operating together when we do mantra recitation.
As we recite the mantra, the focus of our meditation is important. Often in retreats the
visualisation during the mantra recitation is of nectar flowing from the heart of the deity
into us in order to receive the deitys blessings. What we have been looking at until now
has been more to do with developing shin and special insight. So where we focus
depends on the purpose of our meditation.
It is good, if you can, to visualise all the mantras of the deity standing upright around the
moon disc. The moon disc itself is almost always flat, not standing upright like a mirror.
(There are one or two exceptions in Highest Yoga Tantra.) Some masters say the moon
disc has a slight bump at the middle but most say it is simply flat.
The mantras stand around the edge in a clockwise direction. Where there are more
syllables than can fit around the edge, then they spiral inwards towards the centre. At the
very centre is always the seed syllable of the deity, for instance a HRI for Chenrezig or a
TAM for Tara.
ii. mental recitation
When we have done a round of the mala of whispered recitation (i.e., said the mantra 108
times) we can go on to mental recitation. To do that we should once again bring the life
force under control and then, when our breathing has stopped and the upper and lower
winds are held together, our mind should simply focus on the sound of the mantra. So,
although it is called mental recitation there is no actual reciting. The recitation is the
sound of the mantra coming from the mantra garland at the front-generation deitys heart.
Again, we must have the four branches of recitation in our mind. When we do the mental
recitation associated with the front generation, the front generations body must be very
clear, which is the first branch. Then at the heart of the front-generation deity is the moon
disc and on top of that the mantra we recite.
As we are holding the wind we need to mentally recite the mantra. When we cannot hold
the wind any longer, we slowly let the breath go and, at the same time, let the mind start
to focus on the front-generations body. As we do this we stop doing the mental
recitation. This should be repeated again and again.
Mental recitation can also be associated with self-generation. The first thing we need to
visualise is the front-generation deity which should not be very far from ourselves and a
little bit higher than us, with the moon disc at the heart and the mantra on the moon disc.
Just before controlling the life force, on the in-breath we imagine the mantra moves from
the front-generation deity to the top of the moon disc at our own heart. At the same time
the breath is controlled and we do the mental recitation. When we cannot hold the breath
any longer, we breathe out, imagining the mantra held on the breath is also breathed out
and placed on the moon disc of the front-generations heart. We repeat this again and
again.
Although we can do the whispered mantra recitation without controlling the life force,
with the mental recitation this practice must be done.

The Concentration of Abiding in Fire

There are many parts and sub-parts to deity yoga and it can become quite confusing. So,
to summarise, the three main divisions of the sadhana are the concentration of the four
branches of recitation, which we have just covered, the concentration of abiding in fire
and the concentration of abiding in sound.
In Overview of Buddhist Tantra (page 37) Panchen Sonam Dragpa defines the
concentration of abiding in fire as:
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The concentration of ones mind upon the sound of the mantra that emanates from
the midst of a lamp-like brightness upon the moon at the heart of oneself clearly
visualised as the deity.
This technique should not be attempted until you can maintain strong divine identity and
keep the life force under control for quite a long time. There is a progression to this
whole meditation and the concentration of abiding in fire forms part of the next stage of
that process. Without the concentration on the four branches of recitation this
concentration cannot work.
Although it has some similarities with the well-known practice in Highest Yoga Tantra
called tum-mo or inner heat meditation, where the practitioner can develop actual heat in
the body, this technique is nowhere near tum-mo.
We move to this stage after the whispered and mental mantra recitation. If we are doing it
in association with a meditation on self-generation, we visualise a moon disc at our own
heart and on the moon disc there is a very bright light, shaped like a candle flame with a
rounded bottom coming to a peak at the top. The flame is tiny and incredibly bright and it
has no movement at all, like a candle on a completely still night. We imagine that this is
our own mind realising emptiness manifesting as that flame and then concentrate on the
flame.
The external sign that this meditation is becoming more established is that we become
less dependent on food and drink. We are able to meditate for long periods without
hunger or thirst. Internally, there is a sense of great bliss or joy. The Tibetan word is dedod, which has the connotation of bliss with a feeling of warmth.
Success in this practice does not mean that we have developed pure shin. There is still
the need to revert back again and again to bringing the life force under control in order to
eliminate subtle forms of the conceptual mind.

The Concentration of Abiding in Sound

The third concentration, the concentration of abiding in sound, is even more advanced
than the second.
Panchen Sonam Dragpa defines it as:
The concentration of ones mind upon the sound of the mantra situated on the
moon at the heart of oneself clearly visualised as the deity.xv
This concentration is very similar to the previous one, abiding in fire. The difference is
that here, on the moon disc at the self-generation deitys heart, is another deity. It is in the
same form as the self-generation, such as Chenrezig or Tara, but very tiny. And at that
deitys heart is a tiny, bright flame and in that flame (in the same way as in the previous
concentration) is our own mind realising emptiness which manifests into the sound of the
mantra. Here our mind just focuses on the sound which is inside the flame, not on the
flame as with the previous one.
The sign of being successful in the concentration of abiding in sound is that we will see
the main deities colour, hand instruments etc, much clearer than if we were actually
looking at a picture of the deity with our own eyes. The visualisation is very clear and
very precise. We will also constantly hear the sound of the mantra, not like when we
recite the syllables one-by-one, but the entire mantra sounding simultaneously. And it is
very clear, like listening to a top-quality CD player, with every instrument crystal clear.
When we say hear, however, it is very much a mental hearing, rather than through
our ears.
These three concentrations of the four branches of recitation, of fire and of sound
belong to the yoga with sign. The concentration we will look at next, bestowing liberation
at the end of sound, belongs to yoga without sign.

Bestowing Liberation at the End of Sound

The final concentration is called the concentration of bestowing liberation at the end of
sound. The previous three concentrations have involved mantra to some degree, whether
41

it is whispered or mental recitation. Up until now the main meditation has been to
establish calm-abiding through those practices but they still do not have the power to cut
the root of samsara.
At the end of the concentration of abiding in sound, freedom from samsara (liberation)
will only be achieved if the meditator has gained the wisdom realising emptiness so they
must focus on emptiness without a conceptual mind. This stage, therefore, is called
bestowing liberation at the end of sound because they have now gone beyond
conceptuality.
At this stage the practitioner has already gained calm-abiding but that calm-abiding is no
longer focusing on the deitys body or the mantra or any other of the other conventional
objects of meditation. Here, through analytical meditation on emptiness, the meditator
mainly progresses to attaining single-pointed meditation on it. Through that, the union of
calm-abiding and special insight realising emptiness is established. This brings the result,
which is the aim of the last stage of yoga without sign, bestowing liberation at the end of
sound.
From the point of view of the lower tantras, by developing through the yoga with and
without sign, a practitioner of Kriya and Carya Tantra will gain common and uncommon
siddhis. Common siddhis are things such as clairvoyance or longevity; the uncommon
siddhi is realising the union of body and mind, which is enlightenment. According to
Highest Yoga Tantra, however, it is not possible to attain enlightenment relying solely on
the lower tantras.
It is called bestowing liberation at the end of sound because the practitioner has gone
beyond mantra recitation etc., and has realised emptiness by the union of calm-abiding
and special insight. This is also what yoga without sign means the practitioner has
transcended reliance on things such as mantra and visualisations and the conceptual
realisation of emptiness the signs.
Bestowing liberation here refers to that union of calm-abiding and special insight
conjoined with visualising the divine form which leads to the meditator actually
achieving the state of the deity they have been meditating on. If the practitioner is doing
Chenrezig practice they will eventually achieve the qualities of Chenrezig.
What we have looked at so far in studying the three lower classes is the structure of Kriya
and Carya Tantra in connection with yoga with sign and yoga without sign. Having a
good understanding of this process in the lower tantras is very important when moving to
the Highest Yoga Tantra.
As Lama Tsong Khapa says:
Seeing clearly that if I do not understand
The methods of the paths and the three lower Tantras,
My decision that the Unexcelled Yoga Tantra is best of all,
Would be no more than an unsupported assertion,
So I enquired deeply into general and specific
Three types of Action Tantra...xvi
The lower tantras two stages, yoga with and without sign can be divided like this:
Yoga With Sign
1.

The Concentration of the Four Branches of Recitation

i. abiding on the basis of another
visualising the divine palace, (the mandala)
inviting the principal and other deities and the wisdom beings
visualising the offerings
refuge, generating bodhicitta and so forth
ii. abiding on the basis of oneself
the deity of emptiness
the deity of sound
the deity of letter
the deity of form
the deity of mudra
42

 the deity of symbol

iii. abiding on the basis of mind
iv. abiding on the basis of sound
2. The Concentration of Abiding in Fire
3. The Concentration of Abiding in Sound
whispered recitation
mental recitation
Yoga Without Sign
Bestowing Liberation at the End of Sound.

Another Way of Presenting the Path in Kriya Tantra

Vajrayana is a very skilful and powerful vehicle because it uses meditations where we
take the result into the path. That means that, while we are still on the path, developing
wisdom etc., we visualise ourselves as the deity, imagining that the result has already
been achieved. Kriya or Action Tantra does this in three ways:
actualising enlightened body
actualising enlightened speech
actualising enlightened mind.
The path of actualising the enlightened body is through visualising the deity; the path of
actualising the enlightened speech is through mantra repetition; and the path of
actualising the enlightened mind is through the concentration of bestowing liberation at
the end of sound.
Actualising the enlightened body refers to the six steps of visualising the deity, either as
front-generation or self-generation: the deity of form, sound, mudra etc. Actualising the
enlightened speech refers to mantra recitations at all the stages of the practice, with the
four branches, with whispered and mental recitation, the concentration of abiding on fire
and the concentration of abiding on sound. Actualising the enlightened mind comes with
the last practice, bestowing liberation at the end of sound. Specifically, this is by gaining
the union of calm-abiding and special insight realising emptiness.
Normally when we meditate we can concentrate on clear visualisations or we can
concentrate on developing the single-pointed mind. There is really no sequence where we
must do one first followed by the other. In Kriya Tantra there is. Developing a clear
appearance here the clear appearance of the deity is the first stage. The single-pointed
mind will come later. It does not necessarily have to be of the entire deity; it can be a part
such as a hand or a face, but maintaining that clear appearance for a long duration is very
dependent on our concentration. The more focussed our mind is the longer we can keep
that clear appearance.
In order to have a clear appearance of all the features of the deity we need to go step by
step. For example, when meditating on ourselves as Tara, if we have a clear appearance
of even one single strand of hair we can build upon that bit by bit. To have the clear
appearance of the face, we need to take each feature at a time: an eye, the mouth etc.
Then when we have the face we can start to build up the clear appearance of the whole
body. If we always try to visualise the entire body, we will never get anything clear.
It is like when you have a small photo on the computer. You click on it to make it bigger
and bigger, and the larger it gets the fuzzier it is. I talked to Peter Griffin who was
creating a digital image of the prototype of the Maitreya statue. He said that although the
model looks perfect when small, when you digitally enlarge it to the equivalent of 500
feet (151 metres) the slightest fault is huge, so they have to take every tiny section pieceby-piece and work on the computer image of it. When I heard that I thought of how
similar it was to building a visualisation in tantra. In order to get a clear appearance of the
deity we need to build it up step by step otherwise we will never get a clear appearance of
the entire body.
Tantra is very complex. If you look at the recommended reading book Overview of
Buddhist Tantra you will see that there are many lists which talk about many deities with
different mantras and environments and practices. There are instructions on doing
retreats, such as how many millions of mantras are needed to complete a retreat where the
deitys mantra is less than thirteen syllables and how many hundreds of thousands if the
mantra is over thirteen.
I have not gone in to those sorts of details because it varies so much with the particular
buddha family you are practising and it is not the purpose of this course book to give you
43

instructions on doing retreats. What I have tried to do is give you an overview of the
processes, such as visualisation and bringing the life force under control. If you can start
these on a reasonably simple level and continue to develop them, it will help so much
when you practise Highest Yoga Tantra and will definitely be instrumental in developing
shin.
This chapter has been about Kriya Tantra but as Kriya and Carya Tantra are so similar,
we will not be looking at Carya Tantra.

Questions on Chapter Three

1. What are the main differences between the three lower tantras and Highest Yoga
Tantra?
2. What steps do we need to take to ensure that our deity visualisation is more than
just daydreaming?
3. What do you understand by divine pride in Vajrayana practice?
4. What are the three steps of yoga with sign?
5. What are the six steps involving the visualisation of a deity in Kriya Tantra?
6. In what way is mantra protection for the mind?
7. Although the seed syllable is in the form of a letter, it is important to understand
it represents the nature of our own mind. What is the meaning of represents the
nature of the mind?

44

Chapter 4.
The Generation Stage of Highest Yoga Tantra

An Overview of the Generation Stage

For the rest of the course book we will be looking at Highest Yoga Tantra and its two
levels, the generation and completion stage. The purpose of the practice of the generation
stage is to ripen the practitioners mind for the completion stage. It is really a rehearsal
for the more advanced stage where the practitioner meditates on the things that will
actually happen during the completion stage, such as the winds or energies dissolving in
the central channel. We pass from the generation stage to the completion stage by
bringing our imaginative vision to such a height of clarity and power that our imagination
starts to become real.
Death, intermediate state and rebirth are also imagined. It is a time to really understand
each process and do the meditations on the three embodiments of the enlightened
resultant state of buddhahood, where the dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya
are equated with the resultant states of death, intermediate state and rebirth. These are the
things we will be looking at in the next three chapters.
Yangchen Gawai Lodoe in Paths and Ground of Guhyasamaja (page 19) defines the
generation stage as:
a yoga classified as being a meditation newly contrived or visualised to accord
with any of the aspects of death, intermediate state or rebirth. It is also a factor for
ripening ones mental continuum by its resultant state, the completion stage, and it
does not arise through the [actual] meditation practice of the winds entering,
abiding and dissolving in the central psychic channel.
This definition states that the generation stage is a practice leading to the resultant or
completion stage. We imagine the winds entering, abiding and dissolving in the central
channel and, due to that, the clear light occurring, but at this stage it is still imagination.
Because of this, it has some synonyms. They are:
imputed stage
contrived yoga
yoga of the first stage.
1. Father and Mother Tantra
Within Highest Yoga Tantra, certain tantras belong to father tantra, certain to mother
tantra and there is even a category called non-dual tantra. According to His Holiness the
Dalai Lama, in The World of Tibetan Buddhism:
Within the four classes of tantra there are many subdivisions. Highest Yoga
Tantra consists of certain categories, such as Father Tantra, Mother Tantra,
45

and, in addition, according to some scholars, Non-Dual Tantra. Great

scholars such as Taktsang Lotsawa Sherab Rinchen divide Highest Yoga Tantra
into these three categories on the basis of the three initiations that ripen
the various faculties of the trainee towards the realizations of the
Completion Stage. From this point of view, tantras emphasizing the secret
initiation are categorized as Father Tantras, those emphasizing the
wisdom-knowledge initiation, as Mother Tantras, and those emphasizing the
fourth initiation, as Non-Dual Tantras. This manner of defining the three
divisions has profound significance.xvii
Lama Tsong Khapa explains it in a slightly different way. He says that father tantra refers
to the Highest Yoga Tantra practices which emphasise the attainment of enlightenment
through the realisation of the illusory body, whereas for mother tantra the emphasis is on
the attainment of enlightenment through the realisation of the clear light. So, although all
Highest Yoga Tantra practices have the practice of illusory body and clear light, there are
different emphases. These can also be called method tantra and wisdom tantra, method
tantra being the same as father tantra in emphasising the illusory body, and wisdom tantra
being the same as the mother tantra in emphasising clear light.
In non-dual tantra, method and wisdom are equally emphasised. Method here refers to
pristine cognition, which is the union of great bliss and wisdom realising emptiness.
Because of this Lama Tsong Khapa states that, in one sense, since all the unsurpassed
yoga tantra texts must have as their subject matter the union of indivisible bliss and
wisdom realising emptiness, all the Highest Yoga Tantra practices are by definition nondual tantras.
2. Practising The Generation Stage
To practise both the generation and completion stages of Highest Yoga Tantra, the human
body is the perfect instrument. It is said that to do Highest Yoga Tantra the practitioner
needs a particular physical body which is composed of six vital constituents or elements.
These six are:
the three obtained from the father: bones, marrow and regenerative fluids
the three obtained from the mother: flesh, skin and blood.
This kind of body is not only important for the generation and completion stage but also
acts as a basis of purification where ordinary death, the intermediate stage and rebirth can
be turned into the path to enlightenment.
The actual generation stage practice is done with three meditative absorptions:
the absorption of initial engagement
the absorption of the supreme victorious mandala
the absorption of the supreme activities.
Within the first one, the absorption of initial engagement, we meditate on the three kayas
(bodies). This is where we take the meditation on the three processes of death,
intermediate state and rebirth into the path. During the generation stage, the experiences
of these three processes occur only within our imagination, not as actual experiences. But
during the completion stage, as the practitioner advances, they progressively gain deeper
and deeper experiences of these processes until they are able to experience the actual
dissolution experiences in meditation, and especially the experience of the subtlest clear
light like that which occurs at the actual time of death.
In the generation stage death process meditation, at the point where we are experiencing
the clear light at an imagination level, we should engage in meditative equipoise on
emptiness. This is the meditation on the truth body (dharmakaya) and that process
purifies ordinary death.
Just as an ordinary person after experiencing the clear light of death enters into the
intermediate state and assumes a subtle intermediate state body, the generation stage
practitioner, after arising from the meditative equipoise on emptiness, imagines assuming
a subtle body. This is the meditation on the enjoyment body (sambhogakaya). And that
factor purifies the ordinary intermediate state.
Then, just as the ordinary being leaves the intermediate state and assumes a gross
physical body, thus taking rebirth in a new life, in the same manner the generation stage
practitioner imagines arising from the enjoyment body, which is a subtle body during the
46

intermediate state visualisation, and assuming the emanation body (nirmanakaya). This
meditation on the emanation body is the factor which purifies ordinary rebirth.
(illustration of Guhyasamaja full page to coincide with the start of this section)

How to Practise the Generation Stage in Connection with the

Guhyasamaja Sadhana

The generation stage is practised using a deity sadhana (meditation manual). I am going
to use the example of the Guhyasamaja deity sadhana. Here, although we will see many
sections in the generation stage, the main practice is taking death, intermediate stage and
rebirth as the three bodies (kayas) of a buddha:
death:
dharmakaya (truth body)
intermediate state: sambhogakaya (enjoyment body)
rebirth:
nirmanakaya (emanation body).
During the generation stage the practitioner is not ready to actually take their real death,
bardo and rebirth as the three bodies. The main practice here is imitating these three
processes and imagining them transforming into the three kayas.
That practice is done with many different combinations of meditations and recitations.
So, here I will explain the outline of the full Guhyasamaja sadhana, which I hope will
help people who want to do a generation stage practice based on a deity sadhana. If we
get a clear understanding of how to do the generation stage practice based on the
Guhyasamaja sadhana, then we can easily transpose it to other Highest Yoga Tantra
deities such as Yamantaka or Heruka.
The Vajramala Tantra mentions some conditions we need before we start a generation
stage practice. Firstly, our mental continuum must be very rich in the knowledge of the
common path in other words, renunciation, bodhicitta and emptiness. On top of that, we
must have received the full initiation in the mandala from the vajra master, plus we must
keep whatever commitments we have taken during the initiation very purely. We must
have also received the permission from the vajra master to practise the sadhana.
There are also conditions concerning where the generation stage should be practised.
Again, to quote from the Vajramala Tantra (chapter 12) it should be a place where we
feel very safe physically, and mentally we must feel calm and have very few distractions.
We must also have all the necessities to do the practice, such as a meditation cushion.
The final condition is knowing how to practise the generation stage. This is where an
understanding of the outline is needed and this is what this chapter is all about.
The sadhana has three main sections:
what to do before the actual practice
what to do during the actual practice
what to do between sessions.
The actual outline of the Guhyasamaja sadhana is quite complex and can be confusing so
below is an outline, which it might be worth referring back to from time to time.
Can this table fit on a full page with bullets and indents as similar to this as possible
Outline of the Guhyasamaja Sadhana
what to do before the actual practice
1. what to do at the beginning of the session
i. generating oneself into the deity (1)
ii. blessing the vajra and bell and the inner offering (2) and (3)
iii. offering the preliminary torma (ritual cake) (4)
iv. blessing the self-generations offering (5)
v. practising the Vajrasattva practice (6)
2. the main preliminary practice
i. accumulating merit
offering (7)
prostration
purification of negativities
rejoicing & dedicating all virtues
taking refuge
generating bodhicitta
making pledge to practice the path
ii. eliminating obstacles
meditating on ultimate protection (emptiness and divine pride)

47

meditating on the protection wheel

o
generating the principal deity of the protection wheel (8)
o
generating the wrathful retinues.
o
stabbing the obstacles by use of a phurbha (9)
o
meditating on the vajra fence (10)
what to do during the actual practice
1. the meditative absorption on the initial engagement
i. the way to be enlightened
meditation on the ground of pristine cognition (11)
meditation on the vajra ground (12)
meditation on the celestial mandala (13)
ii. generation of the deities
generation of the specially imagined deities (14)
withdrawal of the specially imagined deities into the body
iii. deeds of the specially imagined deities (15) (16)
the yoga of specially imagined class, taking the dharmakaya into the path (17)
generation of the primordial lord, the yoga of taking the intermediate state of sambhogakaya
into the path (18)
the yoga of taking birth as nirmanakaya into the path (19)
o generation of emanation body of Vajradhara
o visualising the mandala on its body (20)
o blessing the three doors (21)
o generation of the triple being (22)
o sealing with the lord of the family (23) and (24)
the rite of union with a consort
o seeking the consort (25)
o blessing of the secret places (26) (27)
2. the meditative absorption on the supreme victorious mandala (28) and (29)
3. the meditative absorption on the supreme activities
i. the subtle yoga (30)
ii. mantra recitation (31)
vajra recitation
speech recitation
iii. songs of evocation (32)
iv. offerings prayers (33)
v. tasting of nectar (34)
vi. meditation on dissolution. (35)
what to do between the sessions (36)
1. making torma offerings
2. the yoga of eating
3. the yoga of sleeping
4. the yoga of waking
5. the yoga of washing
6. the yoga of enhancing ones body

The numbers in brackets refer to the list of 36 activities of the sadhana from Akhu Sherap
Gyatsoss commentary on Guhyasamaja, The Sacred Words of Lord Akshobhya. For
those of you using that commentary, I have included a table in the supplementary
reading, comparing it with the outline above.

Before the Actual Practice

The sadhana starts with the preliminary practices which have two sections:
1. what to do at the beginning of the session
2. the main preliminary practice.
What to do at the beginning of the actual session has five parts:
i. generating oneself into the deity
48

ii. blessing the vajra and bell and the inner offering
iii. offering the preliminary torma (ritual cake)
iv. blessing the self-generations offering
v. practising the Vajrasattva practice.
i. generating oneself as the deity
Here we generate ourselves as the deity with a very strong devotion towards the direct
and indirect lineage masters, make a strong prayer or request and then through that we are
generated into the deity in the case of Guhyasamaja it is Krodha Vajra (Diamond
Anger) with consort, Sparsha Vajra (Diamond Touch). There should be a very strong
divine pride as well as a very strong appearance of the deity.
ii. blessing the vajra and bell and the inner offering
There are many different ways of blessing the vajra and bell but here it is mainly by
remembering their significance. The second part of this section is blessing the inner
offering. The inner offering is visualised as five meats and five nectars impure
substances such as rotting flesh etc. which represent our afflictive emotions etc. We
cleanse these substances, purify them and generate them into the specific things, then
make the blessing.
We actually cleanse the substances by reciting the action mantra OM AH VIGHNANTAKRT
HUM/OM SHUNYATA JNANA VAJRA SVABHAVA ATMAKO HAM and by remembering the
substances are empty of inherent existence. By repeating OM SUNYATA, the emptiness
mantra, all the substances in the inner offering turn into clear light.
iii. offering the preliminary torma (ritual cake)
This is what we call nyondro torma, the preliminary torma offering. Torma is a ritual
cake offered to the deities. First we bless the six or seven offerings on our altar then we
need to bless the actual torma itself, which is a separate offering. We next need to invoke
the protectors of the ten directionsxviii, offer the torma offering and make requests to them.
iv. blessing the self-generations offering
Again, with the understanding of emptiness, we cleanse the offerings by saying the action
mantra, purifying them with the emptiness mantra (OM SUNYATA). Inside capalas (skull
bowls) which arise from an AH, each offering is marked by a syllable the first Sanskrit
letter of the name of that offering. Then with strong concentration, we say the mantra of
each offering while doing that offerings mudra (hand gesture). This is the same as the
previous blessing for the preliminary offering and preliminary torma.
v. practising the Vajrasattva meditation
The Vajrasattva meditation comes into all sadhanas and is practised in order to purify
negativities.
2. The Main Preliminary Practice
From what to do at the beginning of the session we have now moved to the main
preliminary practice. This has two major parts: accumulating merit in order to have the
conditions to practise the sadhana, and eliminating obstacles by meditating on the
protection wheel.
i. accumulating merit in order to have the favourable conditions to practise
In order to have the right conditions to practise the sadhana, with great compassion,
understanding that all samsaric beings are in samsara under the power of ignorance and
delusion, we generate love, great compassion and bodhicitta. Then, within those great
minds we invoke the merit field and do the Seven-Limb Practice which consists of:

offering

prostration

purification of negativities

rejoicing & dedicating all virtues

taking refuge

generating bodhicitta

making a pledge to practise the path.

ii. eliminating obstacles by meditating on the protection wheel
This has two sub-sections: meditating on ultimate protection (emptiness and divine pride)
and meditating on the protection wheel.

49


meditating on ultimate protection (emptiness and divine pride)
We meditate on the ultimate protection by meditating on emptiness. In that way, we place
our own mind in the dharmakaya, and through that have strong divine identity or divine
pride.
meditating on the protection wheel
Then we meditate on the actual protection wheel and the protectors inside the wheel
which has four sub-outlines:
o generating the principal deity of the protection wheel on
the centre cushion
o generating the wrathful retinues
o stabbing the obstacles by use of a phurbha a sharp
stake with a protector or body handle and a long blade
o meditating on the vajra fence (the fire wall and the entire
protection wheel itself).
Now we have finished the necessary steps, which we normally call preliminary practices,
before the main part of the practice.

During The Actual Practice

Now we have reached the actual practice. It has three sections:
1. the meditative absorption on the initial engagement
2. the meditative absorption on the supreme victorious mandala
3. the meditative absorption on the supreme activities.
These three are the main practice of the sadhana. Within these three, the first one the
meditative absorption on the initial engagement is the main practice and within it there
is the practice on taking death, intermediate state and rebirth as the buddhas three bodies.
The masters have said that this part is the most important part, so if we do the sadhana we
should never miss it out. The second and third parts, the meditative absorption on
mandala and supreme activities, can be missed if we are very busy, although there are
important parts in them. But the most important part in the generation stage practice is the
first one, the meditative absorption on the initial engagement.
1. The Meditative Absorption of the Initial Engagement
This first section of the main practice has three main sub-sections:
i. the way to be enlightened
ii. the generation of the deities, the form in which enlightenment takes place
iii. deeds of the specially imagined deities
i. the way to be enlightened
In the first one, the way to be enlightened, there are three sub-headings:
meditation on the ground of the pristine cognition which shares
parallels to an empty aeon following the dissolution of an earlier
universe
meditation on the vajra ground which shares a parallel to the
evolution of the next universe
meditation on the celestial mandala on the centre of the double
vajra.
To do the first one, we need to understand the shared parallel, to understand the
dissolution of an earlier universe, then to understand similarities in the process on the
dissolution of an earlier universe and then meditating on the ground of the pristine
cognition. In Tibetan this is literally the ground of wisdom and refers to an
understanding emptiness of inherent existence so we seal the meditation with this
understanding.
ii. the generation of the deities, the form in which enlightenment takes place
The second part, the generation of the deities, has two sub-headings:
generation of the specially imagined deities
withdrawal of the specially imagined deities into the body.
50

In the first sub-heading, the generation of the specially imagined deities (i.e., the deities
associated with that mandala), it says that within the specially imagined deities mandala
the specially imagined deities are generated in a split-second and then gradually
visualised, which is similar to the earlier evolution of the universal beings and how they
came into existence.
iii. deeds of the specially imagined deities
Under the third heading, deeds of the specially imagined deities, there are four outlines:
the yoga of specially imagined class, taking death as the dharmakaya into
the path
generation of the primordial lord, the yoga of taking the intermediate
state as sambhogakaya into the path
the yoga of taking birth as nirmanakaya into the path
So, now we have reached the essence of the sadhana. I will gloss over it now as we will
be looking at it in detail in the next chapter.
The third one, the yoga of taking birth as nirmanakaya into the path, has five sections:
o generation of emanation body of Vajradhara.
That is taking the primordial lord which we have visualised in the intermediate state into
the emanation body as Vajradhara
o visualising the mandala on its body
This has two processes: the body as resident mandala and the aggregates as the resident
deities. In the meditation on the aggregates as resident deities, the body parts have to be
taken as the basis of generation and they should serve as the material cause of the actual
deities. When this happens, our body and the deities become indivisible in the manner of
a red-hot iron becoming one with the fire. Certain aggregates generate into certain deities
female deities, wrathful deities and so on.
o blessing the three doors
The consecration of the three doors is the consecration of the body, speech and mind.
That means blessing our body into vajra body, blessing our speech into vajra speech and
blessing our mind into vajra mind.
o generation of the triple being
That means stacking the three beings, one inside the other. The triple being is the
commitment being, wisdom being and concentration being. The commitment being is
ourselves as Vajradhara. The wisdom being is the being evoked from the ten directions
who sits at the heart of Vajradhara. At the heart of the commitment being on a moon
cushion is a blue five-spoked vajra. The concentration being is a blue HUNG at its hub.
o sealing with the lord of the family.
Here, we visualise the lord of the family, which at this stage is ourselves as Vajradhara,
and then do an extensive visualisation of the mandala on his body.
the rite of union with the consort
The rite of union with the consort indicates that attachment of triple-embodiment is
dependent on the path of desire. It has two processes: seeking the consort and blessing the
secret places.
o seeking the consort
Here we are engaging in the placement of the 32 deities on our body with ourselves as the
emanation of Vajradhara. (There is an explanation of the 32 deities in the next chapter.)
This is a meditative practice derived from father tantra. At this point we should visualise
that there arises from our heart the consort corresponding to the visualised buddha family.
o blessing of the secret places
The secret places of the principal deity and his consort should be dissolved into emptiness
and generated into a vajra and lotus which appears from outside as male and female
organs respectively. Through the central spoke of the vajra and at the hub of the lotus are
the passages in the form of a straw of light with each entrance blocked by the yellow
letter PHAT.
This is the main practice of the generation stage. This is where we should really be
focusing on taking the process of death, intermediate state and rebirth into the path. It is
so important to know the normal death process itself and the last dissolution of arising
into clear light, and from that light trying to realise emptiness within that experience of
clear light by imagining it as the dharmakaya.
51

2. The Meditative Absorption on the Supreme Victorious Mandala

In the actual practice of self-generation, of three major outlines the meditative absorption
of initial engagement is the means of realising ones own interests and both the
meditative absorption of the supreme victorious mandala and the meditative absorption of
supreme victorious activities are the means of realising the fulfilment of others interests.
So far we have just looked at the first one, the meditative absorption of initial
engagement. With the meditative absorption on the supreme victorious mandala, the main
meditation involves visualising that the entire mandala or celestial palace and the resident
deities of the mandala are generated at the consorts lotus. After that the deities descend
in order to purify the environment and the sentient beings. To do this the resident deities
are emanated from the consorts lotus, purifying all the sentient beings negativities and
obscurations. Then the mandala is emanated from outside the consorts lotus which
purifies all the obscurations of the external environment.
3. The Meditative Absorption on Supreme Activities
In this practice, the process is:
i. the subtle yoga
ii. mantra recitation
iii. songs of evocation
iv. offerings prayers
v. tasting of nectar
vi. meditation on dissolution.
The subtle yoga is not really in the sadhana, but here we are mainly practising the lifesupporting praa, praa yoga, which we will discuss briefly in the completion stage. Just
to mention it here, the subtle yoga meditation focuses the visualisation of the tiny hand
instruments at the certain parts of the deitys body and the meditation on the tiny drop
visualised on the tip of the nose.
Mantra recitation has two steps:
vajra repetition
speech recitation.
Again, we will come across the mantra recitation in a little more detail in the completion
stage.
With the songs of evocation, just as the Buddha engaged in numberless deeds by
manifesting and dissolving countless emanations in infinite world systems, so too the
principal deity, which is actually ourselves visualised as the deity with the four
goddesses, does the same. So this meditation is called by its short title, songs of
evocation.
With offering prayers and tasting the nectar, the meditation is a similar procedure to that
of receiving the Buddha by singing his praises, our making offerings and his acceptance
of the offerings through conferring the blessings. Here, also we manifest into the five
Dhyani Buddhas and make offerings.
Meditation on the dissolution really depends on whether we have previously completed
the body mandala visualisation and the visualisation of the meditative absorption of the
victorious mandala. As I have mentioned, in the actual practice there are three sections
meditative absorption on the initial engagement, on the mandala and on the supreme
activities and of course it is good if we can do all three sections, but if we do not have
time and leave the last two, the masters say that does not mean our meditation is not
complete. But if we do those two, when we reach here the dissolution needs to be done
according to our visualisation.

Between Sessions
Then if we go back to the first outline, there are three main sections: what to do before
the meditation session, what to do during the meditation session and what to do between
the sessions. Between sessions we need to do several things such as:
1. making torma offerings
2. the yoga of eating
3. the yoga of sleeping
52

4. the yoga of waking

5. the yoga of washing
6. the yoga of enhancing ones body.

Divisions of the Stage of Generation

1. Coarse and subtle yogas
The generation stage itself has several divisions or levels of practice. The first division is
between coarse and subtle yogas. Because this is the generation stage everything is still
done on an imaginary level but within that there are huge differences in the levels of
practice.
i. coarse yoga
Gross or coarse yoga is the earlier part of the generation stage, where a meditator is still
not able to generate a clear appearance. Making the transition from coarse to subtle yoga
involves going from crude and spasmodic visualisations to being able to hold very
detailed visualisations of each of the deities and the entire mandala at the same time.
During the coarse yoga stage the practitioner can visualise the grosser details of the
deitys body but not subtler ones. Even so, if the mandala has thirty-two deities, they still
need to have a powerful visualisation to include all thirty-two! At the gross level of
visualisation the deities are still imagined quite big, taking up a large area, although of
course here we are not referring to physical space. Not only does the entire retinue take
up a lot of mental space, but it is impossible to get a clear picture of the details of the
deities: the eyes, the hand mudras, the clothes etc.
The visualisation of the mandala during the coarse yoga is sometimes called the yoga of
single-mindedness in the gross generation stage. This is because during this stage the
practitioner focuses intensively on the mandala, building up a mental image of it and the
various deities, their ornaments and features and so on. So the main focus is really on the
bigger picture, building up all the parts of the deities and the mandala step by step rather
than focusing on the very tiny details such as the deities at the sense organs etc., which
will be done in the subtle generation stage yoga practice. The entire visualisation is
practised every session which means doing the sadhana from beginning to end.
During the later part of the coarse yoga, the meditator will be able to visualise the entire
gross mandala with all its deities (all their arms, legs and most minor features) but not
that clearly. There might be some sense of them there, but there will be no clear
visualisation. That is why this is called coarse yoga.
As they refine their visualisations, not only will the details they can visualise become
finer and stronger, but they will be able to imagine all the features within a smaller and
smaller space. They will slowly move from the coarse to the subtle yoga when they will
be able to visualise the deities and the entire mandala inside a sesame seed.

ii. subtle yoga

How can we differentiate between the final, most subtle stage of the gross yoga of singlepointed mindfulness and subtle yoga? While the practitioner is still practising gross yoga,
they still visualise the deities and mandala taking up quite a lot of space. To try to
visualise them in a small space might mean a loss of concentration or clarity. It becomes
subtle yoga when they are able to visualise everything within an extremely small space.
A synonym is the yoga supremely involved within. Yangchen Gawai Lodoe explains:
For example, within a spot of light on the tip of the nose a practitioner can
visualise both the residence and the resident mandalas.xix
As you can see on pages 42 to 44 of The Paths and Grounds of Guhyasamaja this
visualisation is incredibly complex, so therefore being able to perfectly visualise it within
a spot of light or within a sesame seed at the heart is a really advanced practice.
53

The aim of Vajrayana practice is to gradually bring calm-abiding and special insight
together. When the meditator visualises a mandala in such great detail, they are actually
developing special insight because they are analysing the many details of the mandala
step by step. And to focus on the entire mandala is developing calm-abiding.
2. The Four Levels of Achievement
There are various levels the meditator moves through in the generation stage. They are:
i. beginners level
ii. slight dawning of wisdom
iii. slight control over wisdom
iv. perfect control over wisdom.
i. beginners level
At the beginners level, it is very important to get a sense of the whole scheme of the
sadhana. The practitioner should not try to hold the entire visualisation at one time, which
would be impossible anyway at this stage. When the sadhana describes Guhyasamajas
face they concentrate on that; when it describes a hand they move to that, and so on.
When they do the sadhana four times a day in a retreat, at the beginners level, they are
not supposed to break the sadhana in the middle but should go all the way, right to the
end of the sadhana. This is so that they can really get a good picture of the entire thing.
At the beginners level the meditator is seriously trying to build up the various parts of
the image at one time while performing the entire visualisation in every session.
ii. slight dawning of wisdom
The second level is the slight dawning of wisdom, which is more advanced. The
difference is that by the slight dawning of wisdom the practitioner can hold the
visualisation of the deity and the mandala for a whole day, starting from the morning
right through to evening session. So not only can they visualise some details in the deitys
features, they can hold that visualisation for an extended period. At the beginners level,
these things were built up step-by-step; here the practitioner can hold the entire
visualisation with some degree of clarity, but the details of the deities are still missing.
They are still unable to clearly visualise the subtle elements of the deities and the
mandalas such as the tiny deities residing in the sense organs of the principal deity or the
intricate details of the decorations of the mandala. Slight dawning means we have some
control over the visualisation but to get more detail still needs a lot of effort.
iii. slight control over wisdom
When the practitioner has reached the third stage, slight control over wisdom, they can
visualise the mandala and the principal deity easily including the hand gestures and
symbols etc. instantaneously, within one moment. Not only that, they can hold the tiny
deities and the intricate decorations of the mandala with great clarity. For example, the
principal deity of the Guhyasamaja mandala has various deities at each sense organ and
joint etc. The meditator can visualise all these on the principal deity clearly and vividly.
In terms of the size of the visualisation, at this third level the practitioner can not only
visualise all the gross and subtle deities and details of the mandala but they can do this
within a very tiny drop or a hand-held symbol such as a vajra or a lotus.
Here when we say slight control over wisdom it refers to the ability of the practitioner
to visualise the deity and mandala created from the wisdom realising emptiness. At this
stage, the practitioner is able not only to realise emptiness, but is becoming expert at
visualising the wisdom realising emptiness and great bliss manifesting into the deities and
mandala. They can develop not only the single-pointed mind of shin but also special
insight. Furthermore, based on the meditation on the deities and mandala, the meditator
can gain the union of calm-abiding and special insight.
Unlike the Sutrayana practitioner, where calm-abiding and then special insight needs to
be developed separately, the Vajrayana practitioner, by using the unique meditation on
the deities and mandalas with all the subtle points of visualisation, can develop both
calm-abiding and special insight simultaneously. This is called the union of calm-abiding
and special insight through deity yoga conjoined with great bliss and emptiness.
54

iv. perfect control over wisdom

At this fourth level, perfect control over wisdom, the practitioner has attained actual the
clear light. They have managed to realise emptiness through experiencing the clear light
and here they have a direct realisation of emptiness which is the actual antidote to
obscurations to liberation.
Although the fourth level of achievement, perfect control over wisdom, is technically
included in the generation stage, by this stage the practitioner will usually have already
commenced the completion stage. That means through meditation the winds will enter,
abide and dissolve in the central channel causing the four empties to occur, the last of
which is all-empty, which is clear light. (We will look at the four empties later.) That
clear light realises emptiness, but not as yet directly.
The union of calm-abiding and special insight referred to in the perfect control over
wisdom is a particular kind of union. It is the union of calm-abiding and special insight
gained from the visualisation of the deities within their mandala which arises from the
realisation of emptiness and great bliss. The entire visualisation of the deities and the
mandala, with all the gross and subtle features, are all in the nature of emptiness and great
bliss. Focusing on that kind of object and developing the union of calm-abiding and
special insight is the kind of union referred to here. This is what I will mean whenever I
use that term later on.
By meditating on this union of calm-abiding and special insight, the practitioner can
achieve a more subtle level, such as being able to visualise the deities and mandalas
within a tiny drop or hand symbol at a particular place such as the opening of the central
channel and so on. Through this, the practitioners channels are opened and winds enter
into the central channel, abiding at the centre of the heart channel wheel and finally
dissolving in it, gaining that realisation.
In Paths and Grounds of Guhyasamaja on page 47, it says:
This is an occasion where after having completed the generation stage, one has
gained the ability [to fulfil] the completion stage.
Practitioners on this level have not only perfected the gross and the subtle yogas of
the generation stage, but have also achieved an ability to fulfil the completion
stage. This level, therefore, belongs to the completion stage.

Questions on Chapter Four

1. Broadly speaking, what do you understand by the generation stage in Vajrayana
practice? How does the generation stage prepare us for the completion stage?
2. Why is the human body the best instrument in which to practise Highest Yoga
Tantra?
3. What are the three parts of the actual practice of the generation stage and which
of those is the most important? Why?
4. Describe the progression from coarse to subtle yoga in generation stage practice.
5. What might the benefits be of such clear detailed and complex visualisations in
the generation stage? In general, in your own life, are you good with complex
details and subtleties?

55

Chapter 5.
Taking Ordinary Death, Intermediate State and
Rebirth into the Path
Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth

There are many reasons why we need to understand what happens when we die. Even if
we do not mean to use it in Highest Yoga Tantra practice, to meditate on the three stages
of the death process death, the intermediate state (Tib: bar-do) and rebirth is
important. Usually at the time of death we experience great fear and many difficulties, so
understanding what is actually happening to us will definitely help us lessen our fears so
much. And it is the same with the bardo and the rebirth process. During a normal bardo
experience, we not only have fears, many illusions also rise up to disturb our mind
The reason we are looking at these three stages here is more than that, however. We all
possess basic clear light, which normally only manifests at the final moment of death
when the mind is completely free of conceptual thoughts. This fundamental clear light is
called the mother clear light but normally we cannot recognise it and it is of no help to
us. This practice is to help us really understand and recognise the clear light we pass
through in the last stage of the death process. If we can clearly meditate on it, it is called
the son clear light.
Within an understanding of emptiness we visualise the death process, the final stage of
which is the clear light. Initially this is just imagination; it is our conceptual mind at
work. But slowly, as our understanding of emptiness deepens and our meditations
strengthen, that son clear light goes beyond the conceptual. When we can directly
perceive the son clear light, what occurs is a merging with the innate clear light which we
possess but which is never manifest. This is called the meeting of the mother and son
clear light.
We all have the mother clear light but it has not realised emptiness. It is just the pure
nature of mind, completely free from all conceptualities and all gross levels of the mind.
It does not only occur at the final moment of death, it actually occurs in our life when
dropping off to sleep, when we sneeze and during a sexual climax. But it is almost
impossible to recognise because there are always gross minds operating at those
moments. For us, the last moment of death is the best chance we have to seize this mind
of clear light and to introduce to that mind the understanding of emptiness called the son
clear light.
This meditation on the process of death, intermediate state and rebirth, done in
connection with the generation stage of the Vajrayana practice, is always based on a
sadhana (meditation manual). As in the previous chapter, where I went over the entire
outline of how to practise the Guhyasamaja sadhana, I will again use the Guhyasamaja
sadhana as a model.
As outlined in the last chapter, the second part of the sadhana, the actual practice of selfgeneration, had three major outlines:
meditative absorption of initial engagement
meditative absorption of the supreme victorious mandala
meditative absorption of the supreme victorious activities.
Sometimes those terms are used slightly differently but here I have mainly used the
commentary translated by Geshe Jinpa, so I will stick with these terms.
From these three major outlines, the first one, meditative absorption of initial
engagement, has three main sub-outlines:
56

i.
the yoga of taking death as dharmakaya into the path
ii.
the yoga of taking the intermediate state as sambhogakaya into the path
iii. the yoga of taking rebirth as nirmanakaya into the path.
The idea is that we take the three processes that happen in our normal existence, death,
intermediate state and rebirth, and use them as tools to achieve the three bodies of a
buddha. On the path, death is used to achieve the truth body (dharmakaya), intermediate
state the enjoyment body (sambhogakaya) and rebirth the emanation body (nirmanakaya).
These three sections are what we are looking at in this chapter.

The Yoga of Taking Death as Dharmakaya into the Path

1. The Eight Dissolutions
In the Guhyasamaja sadhana, before doing the yoga of taking death as dharmakaya into
the path there is a section called the generation of the deities of the specially imagined
class followed by withdrawal of the specially imagined class into ones own body.
In this case the specially imagined class are the 32 deities which we visualise, first
within the mandala and then withdrawing into our own body. This is not the body
mandala meditation. It is simply the 32 deities which we earlier visualised now being
placed at specific parts of our body.
These are the 32 deities that are drawn onto the body from the mandala. As I have already
said, this is not the body mandala. It is called withdrawal of the specially imagined
class into ones body. This visualisation is a very important part of this particular
sadhana in connection with the death meditation.
The location on the body, their colour and what they signify can be seen in the following
table.
again it would be very good to have this table on a full page as close to this as possible
deity
colour
location
significance
Vairochana
white
crown to the hairline
reality of the form aggregate
Amitabha
red
hairline to the throat
reality of the conceptual
aggregate
Akshobhya
blue
throat to the heart
reality of the consciousness
aggregate
Ratnasambhava
yellow
heart to the navel
the reality of the feeling
aggregate
Amoghasiddhi
green
navel to the groin
the reality of the aggregate of
emotion
Lochana
white
navel
earth element
Mamaki
blue
heart
water element
Pandaravasini
red
throat
fire element
Tara
green
crown
air element
Kshitigarbhas
white
eyes
reality of the eye organs
Rupavajras
white
doors of the eyes
reality of visual forms
Vajrapanis
yellow
ears
reality of the ear organs
Shaptavajras
yellow
doors of the ears
reality of sound
Akashagarbha
yellow
nose
reality of the nose organ
Gandhavajra
red
door of the nose
reality of the sense of smell
Lokeshvara
red
tongue
reality of the tongue sense
Rasavajra
green
door of the mouth
reality of taste
Manjushri
red
heart
reality of the mind or mental
sense
Sarvanivarnaviskambhini,
green
door of the vajra
reality of the body organ
Sparshavajra
blue
door of the vajra
reality of textures
Samantabhadra
green
joints
reality of the joints
Maitreya
white
crown
reality of the nerves and sinews
Yamantaka
black
right hand
reality of HUNG
Aparajita
white
left hand
reality of HUNG
Hayagriva
red
mouth
reality of HUNG
Vignatakrt
black
vajra
reality of HUNG
Achala
black
right shoulder nerve
reality of HUNG
Takkiraja
black
left shoulder nerve
reality of HUNG
57

Nilandanda
Mahabala
Ushinishachakravarti
Sumbharajas

blue
blue
blue
blue

right knee
left knee
crown
two foot-soles

reality of HUNG
reality of HUNG
reality of HUNG
reality of HUNG

When we reach this stage in the sadhana, the meditation on the yoga of taking death as
dharmakaya into the path, all these deities which we have visualised in our body dissolve.
The text clearly says that the deities of the body dissolve into clear light in sequence.
i. the first dissolution the earth element dissolves into the water element
Factor Dissolving
earth element
aggregate of forms
eye sense
colours, shapes
basic mirror-like wisdom
(our ordinary
consciousness that clearly
perceives many objects
simultaneously)

External Sign
body becomes very thin, limbs
loose; sense that the body is
sinking under the earth
limbs become smaller, body
becomes weak and powerless
one cannot open or close eyes
lustre of body diminishes;
ones strength is consumed
sight becomes unclear and
dark.

Internal Sign

appearance of mirages

Deities Dissolving
Vairochana
Lochana
Kshitigarbha
Rupavajra
Maitreya
Yamantakrit
Achala

With the first dissolution, the earth element dissolves into the water element, and with
that the first set of deities, Vairochana, Lochana, Kshitigharbha, Rupavajra, Maitreya,
Yamantakrit and Achala. Vairochana is the reality of the form aggregate. Dissolution
here means that they dissolve in stages into clear light. While visualising the earth
element dissolving in the water element, as we recite the names the deities associated
with the form aggregate (Vairochana etc.) we need to visualise them dissolving with the
earth element, as well as the form aggregates, forms such as colours and shapes and the
eye sense.
The external sign is that our body becomes weak and thin; the internal sign is the
appearance of a mirage. This shows that this first set of elements and senses dissolve,
meaning that they are weakening and deteriorating and the next element, the water
element and its accompanying senses etc., is becoming more manifest and obvious. This
is what the practitioner on the generation stage has to visualise.
ii. the second dissolution the water element dissolves into the fire element
Factor Dissolving
water element
aggregate of feelings

ear sense
sounds
basic wisdom of equality
(our ordinary consciousness
mindful of pleasure, pain and
neutral feelings)

External Sign
saliva, sweat, urine, blood and
regenerative fluid dry greatly
body consciousness can no
longer experience the three
types of feelings that
accompany sense consciousness
one no longer hears external or
internal sounds
sounds in ears no longer arise
one is no longer mindful of the
feelings accompanying the
sense consciousness.

58

Internal Sign

appearance of smoke

Deities Dissolving
Ratnasambhava
Mamaki
Vajrapani
Shaptavajra
Aparajita
Takkiraja

With the second dissolution the water element dissolves into the fire element. The deities
which dissolve in the second round are Ratnasambhava, Mamaki, Vajrapani, Shaptavajra,
Aparajita and Tikkiraja. Ratnasambhava is the reality of the aggregate of feeling. You can
see that each deity from this group represents the water element, ear sense, ear organ and
sound, so when we recite their name, the second round of deities dissolve in stages into
clear light along with the associated elements.
The water element dissolves, in that it becomes weaker and deteriorates and along with it,
the aggregate of feeling, the ear sense and sense organ and sense consciousness and the
object of that consciousness, sound, all weaken.
The external signs are that our body consciousness cannot experience the three types of
feelings etc., and the internal sign is the appearance of smoke. So again with the
dissolution of the water element, feeling, ear organ etc., these elements weaken and the
elements of the next dissolution become more manifest.
iii. the third dissolution the fire element dissolves into the wind element
Factor Dissolving
fire element
aggregate of discriminations
nose sense
odours
basic wisdom of analysis (our
ordinary consciousness
mindful of the individual
names, purposes and so forth
of persons close to us)

External Sign
one cannot digest food and
drink
one is not mindful of affairs
of close persons
inhalation weak, exhalation
strong and lengthy
one cannot smell
one can no longer
remember the names of
persons close to us

Internal Sign

Deities Dissolving

appearance of fireflies
or sparks within
smoke

Amitabha
Pandaravasini
Akashagarbha
Gandhavajra
Hayagriva
Niladanda

Amitabha, Pandaravasini, Akashagarbha, Gandhavajra, Hayagriva and Niladanda all

dissolve along with the deterioration of the fire element and the other aspects of this
dissolution: the discrimination aggregate, the nose sense organ etc. The internal sign of
this dissolution is that we will experience the appearance of fireflies or sparks within
smoke.
Amitabha is the reality of the aggregate of discrimination and the other deities represent
the other aspects such as the fire element and so forth. All these deities dissolve,
the appearance ceases and we acknowledge that the next dissolution will occur.
iv. the fourth dissolution the wind element dissolves into consciousness
Factor Dissolving
wind element
aggregate of compositional
factors
tongue sense and body sense

tastes and tangible objects

basic wisdom of achieving
activities (our ordinary
consciousness mindful of
external activities, purposes
and so forth)

External Sign
the ten winds move to
heart; inhalation and
exhalation ceases
one cannot perform
physical actions
tongue becomes thick,
short; root of tongue
becomes blue and also one
cannot experience
smoothness or roughness
one cannot experience
tastes and tangible objects
one is no longer mindful of
external worldly activities,
purposes and so forth.

59

Internal Sign

Deities Dissolving

appearance of a
sputtering butter-lamp
going out

Amoghasiddhi
Tara
Lokeshvara
Rasavajra
Sarvanirvaranaviskhambini
Sparshavajra
Samantabhadra
Vighnatakrt
Mahabala

Here, in the sadhana, the group of deities dissolving is Amoghasiddhi, Tara, Lokeshvara,
Rasavajra, Sarvanirvaranaviskhambini, Sparshavajra, Samantabhadra, Vighnantakrt and
Mahabala. Amoghasiddhi is the reality of the aggregate of compositional factors. When
we do the recitation we imagine the wind element dissolving in consciousness and with
that the other aspects of the dissolution: the aggregate of compositional factors, the
tongue sense and body sense etc., all dissolve. The internal sign is the appearance of a
sputtering butter lamp going out. At the same time we think that the next dissolution will
come, which is the 80 conceptions dissolving in the white appearance.
v. the fifth dissolution 80 conceptions dissolve into the white appearance
Factor Dissolving
80 conceptions and basic
wisdom of the nature of
phenomena

External Sign
winds to the right and left
channels above heart enter
channel at the top of the
head

Internal Sign
at first, burning
butter-lamp, then
clear vacuity filled
with white light

Deities Dissolving
Ushinishachakravartin

Now we need to think that the entire 80 conceptions dissolve into the white appearance.
The long Guhyasamaja sadhana lists the last three deities together,
Ushinishachakravartin, Sumbharaja and Manjushri, but it seems that they dissolve
separately with each of the last three dissolutions, Ushinishachakravartin with the white
appearance, Sumbharaja with the red increase and Manjushri with the black nearattainment.
In this dissolution, we visualise Ushinishachakravartin dissolving in clear light and as we
recite that, we think that the 80 conceptions are dissolving in the white appearance. At
this stage the internal sign begins as a sputtering butter lamp which then becomes a very
clear vacuity filled with white light. Either that kind of appearance will occur due to the
strength of our meditation or we need to imagine it strongly. Into the white appearance
is not talking about the actual white appearance itself, but about the winds or energies
which carry the 80 conceptions dissolving in the winds or energies which carry the white
appearance.
We need to have a vivid image of the clear vacuity filled with white light. Sometimes
slightly different terms are used, such as the appearance like moonlight in an autumn sky.
At this time we think that now the next dissolution will occur.
vi. the sixth dissolution the white appearance dissolves into the red increase
Factor Dissolving
mind of white appearance

External Sign
winds in the right and left
channels below heart
enter central channel at
base of spine

Internal Sign

Deities Dissolving

clear vacuity filled

with red light

Sumbharaja

Again, the white appearance dissolves into the red increase means that the winds which
carry the white appearance dissolve into the winds or energies which carry the red
increase. The sadhana now refers to the second deity in the last group, Sumbharaja, who
dissolves into clear light. We should either have this experience due to the strength of our
meditation or imagine it strongly. At the same time, there is the internal sign which is a
clear vacuity filled with red light, caused by the dissolution of the winds carrying the
white appearance consciousness. Some translators say it is the appearance of sunset in a
clear autumn sky. While we are visualising this, we should think that the next dissolution
will occur.
vii. the seventh dissolution the red increase dissolves into the black near-attainment
Factor Dissolving
mind of red increase

External Sign
upper and lower winds
gather at heart; then winds
enter drop at heart
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Internal Sign
at first, vacuity filled
with thick darkness;
then, as if swooning
unconsciously

Deities Dissolving
Manjushri

unconsciously
In the sadhana, the deity of the last group, Manjushri, dissolves and the winds which
carry the red increase dissolve into the winds which carry the mind which experiences the
black near-attainment. The internal sign in the earlier part of the dissolution is the
appearance like thick darkness in a clear autumn night sky. We should experience a great
sense of darkness very vividly when the energies which carry the red increase dissolve
into the energies which carry the mind of black near-attainment. As before, as we
imagine that internal sign, we think that the next dissolution will occur.
viii. the eighth dissolution the black near-attainment dissolves into the clear light
Factor Dissolving
mind of black nearattainment

External Sign
all winds dissolve into the
very subtle life-bearing wind
in the indestructible drop at
the heart

Internal Sign
very clear vacuity free of
the white, red and black
appearances; the mind of
the clear light of death

Lastly, the energies which carry the mind of black near-attainment dissolve or deteriorate
and that brings the clear light, the actual mind of death. In the sadhana, it says and then
the lord also dissolves in stages into the clear light. The lord refers to the principal deity
which here is Guhyasamaja.
This is the most important stage, where we should imagine that the clear light actually
occurs and we need to seize that clear light. Actual death occurs when the clear light
appears and we should not just recognise it, leaving it as an ordinary visualisation, but
through that recognition try to understand emptiness. The main point here is seizing that
clear light and channelling it to realise emptiness, recognising that it is empty of inherent
existence. The clear light is the subject and its emptiness of inherent existence is the
object of the meditation. The clear light which understands emptiness is our dharmakaya
or resultant unenlightened mind and with that we generate a very strong sense of divine
identity or divine pride, a sense that this is really me.
At this stage these two the mind which is the clear light and the object which is
emptiness are indivisible and not only that, the mind which is clear light is also in the
nature of great bliss. We think, This clear light experience of great bliss (the subject)
which realises emptiness (the object) are of indivisible nature which is my resultant
dharmakaya, and that resultant dharmakaya is me.
We need to meditate on this as long as we can. In the texts it sometimes says that this is
the actual meditation of the yoga of taking the dharmakaya into the path. At the
generation stage, however, this is very much at the imagination level.
Meditating in this way will purify ordinary death. The clear light which normally occurs
at death will be purified in terms identifying its emptiness and meditating on how that
mind which experiences great bliss and its emptiness are indivisible and their nature is
the dharmakaya. It is very important to understand what is meant by purifying ordinary
death.
As we discussed earlier, if we do the deity yoga meditation of the sadhana, combining the
dissolution of the aggregates with that of deities becomes the essence of the generation
stage practice. As it is the generation stage, however, it will of course still be very much
at the imagination level.
2. The Basis of Purification, the Means of Purification and the Result of Purification
When the practitioner reaches the isolation of mind in the completion stage, they will
have gone beyond imagination and actually experience these things. Although it is still
imagination during the generation stage, it is very important to make it feel as real as
possible, to see the signs of dissolution as clearly as possible. This will help when we
actually undergo the death process. Maintaining a degree of visualisation whilst
dissolving deities such as Vairochana, will help the virtuous mind to manifest during
death and therefore benefit the next life.
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Deities Dissolving
The Lord
(Guhyasamaja)

This meditation is not just to aid our actual death but also our spiritual path. During the
dissolutions within the completion stage the four empties will occur empty, very
empty, great empty and all-empty. These four empties are associated in ordinary death
with the last four stages of the dissolution, the white appearance, red increase, black nearattainment and clear light. In the generation stage, imagining these four empties will
leave a great imprint on our mind but so that when we reach the level of the mind of
isolation in the completion stage we will actually be able to experience them.
In the ordinary death process, after the clear light occurs the intermediate state will take
place. But at the completion stage level of the mind of isolation, after all-empty occurs at
the time of the clear light, we will be able to arise into the illusory body. If that happens,
then we will attain full enlightenment in that very lifetime. So taking death as
dharmakaya into the path is such an important meditation in that it creates the propensity
to achieve the actual dharmakaya.
The basis of the purification is our ordinary death. What purifies this ordinary death is the
metaphor and meaning clear light. (I will explain these terms later.) That is the path
which purifies the base of the ordinary death and the result is the dharmakaya. So when
we do the meditations on the death process, it is very important to understand three
things: the basis of purification, the means of purification and the result of purification.

The Yoga of Taking the Intermediate State as Sambhogakaya into the Path
1. The Intermediate State
In the previous stage, the yoga of taking death as dharmakaya into the path, we paralleled
our practice with our ordinary death, meditating that we achieve the dharmakaya using
the same process as our ordinary death. It is similar here, when the ordinary bardo or
intermediate state is paralleled in our meditations on taking the sambhogakaya into the
path.
The first thing we need to know is the nature of the bardo or intermediate state because
that is the basis of purification. In ordinary people, after the clear light of death occurs,
that clear light mind acts as the cooperative cause to bring about the mind of the bardo
being, with the wind or energy which serves as the vehicle to carry the clear light acting
as the main or substantial cause of the bardo body.
As soon as this happens, the reverse order of the death process starts to occur. The first
stage after the clear light is the black near-attainment. At that time the bardo being
actually comes into existence. As soon as that occurs, the karma of our previous body is
finished and a new body is established. Although it is called body it is not a physical
body, but a wind body in that it comes from those two causes, the wind which carries
the clear light and the clear light itself. That body is exactly the same as the body the
person will be born into in the next life, in terms of its features.
Then, after black near-attainment, the other appearances follow: red increase, white
appearance, the appearance like a sputtering butter lamp, the appearance like fireflies, the
appearance like smoke and the appearance like a mirage.
That bardo state being is called spontaneously born because all the faculties and all the
limbs spontaneously come together. It is not a body like our physical body; it is merely
established by that wind and that mind. Wherever that bardo being travels there are no
physical obstructions such as mountains or walls. The being is said to arise from the mind
because its body does not come from the mothers egg and fathers sperm. Another name
for it is searcher for existence because during the intermediate state it is searching for
its next rebirth. It is also called a smell eater because its main food is smell. It searches
for and eats smells. And it is called an intermediate state being because it occurs after
the previous lifes death but before the next lifes rebirth.
It can see its previous body, home and environment, but other beings such as its relatives
cannot see it. Only other bardo beings or people who have some kind of clairvoyance can
see it. The appearance of the bardo being is directly related to where it is going to be
born. For example, if it is going to be born as a human being, the bardo being will have
all the features of a human being. The orientation of its body as it travels from one place
to another depends on where its next rebirth will take place. If it is going to be born in the
lower realms it travels upside down, with its head down and legs up. A bardo being who
is going to be born in the upper realms such as the god or human realms of the desire
realm moves horizontally. Bardo beings who are going to be born in the form realm move
in an upright position.
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Beings who are going to be born in the formless realms do not pass through the
intermediate state. For them, when the actual death occurs, they move from the clear light
straight to the next rebirth.
For those capable of seeing it, the bardo being has a different appearance depending on
which realm it will be born in. If it is going to be born in the lower realms it has a dark
appearance, if in a fortunate rebirth it has an appearance like moonlight. There is also a
difference in the colour; bardo beings going to be born in the hell realms are very dark
like a tree trunk burnt by fire; those going to be born as hungry ghosts have the colour of
water; those going to be born as upper realm beings have the colour of moonlight.
The lifespan of the bardo being is seven days. In Tibetan the term is chi-chung, which
means that after seven days it will die very briefly and then be born again. That can only
happen seven times which means before 49 days it will have found its next life.
If the bardo beings form is that of a lower realm being, does that mean it will definitely
be born in the lower realms? According to the Abhidharmakosha the being will definitely
take rebirth in the realm indicated by its bardo beings body. But according to the
Abhidharmasamakaya it can be changed. For example if the bardo being has a lower
realm body, and hence is destined to be born in the lower realms, but the relatives or the
being itself manage to generate very strong virtue, this might change the future of the
being, allowing it to be born in the upper realms. So there are different ideas about this.
This brief explanation about the bardo or intermediate state, with the colours and the
ways it travels etc., comes mainly from the Abhidharmakosha by Vasubandhu, where it
saysxx:
Intermediate existence, which inserts itself between existence at death and
existence at birth, not having arrived at the location where it should go, cannot be
said to be born.
Being similar to the series of rice, existence does not reproduce itself after having
been interrupted.
The existence of the reflection is not proved; should it be proved, the reflection is
not similar; hence it does not serve as an example.
For two things do not exist in the same spot.
For it does not form a series.
For it arise from two causes.
The intermediate state being is called by its name.
It is the Gandhavara.
An intermediate state being is proved by the text relative to the five.
And by the Sutra of the gatisxxi.
Being projected by the same action that projects the purvakalabhavaxxii, and
intermediate state being has the form of this being, that is, the being of rebirth to
come after his conception.
This is before death, after conception.
He is seen by the creatures of his class, and by the divine eye.
He is filled with impetus of the supernormal power of action.
His organs are complete.
No one can resist him.
He cannot be turned away.
It eats odours.

2. How the Yoga of Taking Intermediate State as Sambhogakaya into the Path is
Done
This practice is done with what is called the five clarifications. They are:
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i.
the clarification through suchness
ii.
the clarification through the moon
iii. the clarification through the seed syllables
iv. the clarification through the hand implements
v.
the clarification through emergence into full form.
Through the process of these five clarifications the primordial lord or buddha is
generated.
i. the clarification through suchness
The first clarification we need to look at is the clarification of suchness or emptiness. Just
after the clear light of death, there is a meditation using the mantra OM SHUNYATA JNANA
VAJRA SVABHAVA ATMAKO HAM, which roughly translates as the mind of clear light
experiencing great bliss which realises emptiness, and this indivisible nature is me as my
resultant dharmakaya.
ii. the clarification through the moon
The Guhyasamaja long sadhana says:
Upon the central seat from the HUM a solar disc arises and in its centre from OM a
moon disc and upon that from AH an eight-petalled red lotus, and in its centre
stacked up are OM AH HUM. These merge and become a single moon disc. It admits
light rays and all animate and inanimate objects gather and dissolve into the
moon.
OM DHARMADATU SVABHAVA ATMAKO HAM

By this stage, all the deities have been dissolved. There are different traditions, but
generally they say that all the seed syllables have also been dissolved except the seed
syllable of the principal deity. At the central principal deitys seed syllable we visualise a
letter HUM which transforms into a solar disc with, in its centre, a letter OM which
transforms into a moon disc. On top of that moon disc is a letter AH which transforms into
an eight-petalled red lotus.
We next stack up the three letters OM AH HUM on top of the red lotus, the bottom is OM,
the middle is AH and the top is HUM. The sun disc, moon disc and red lotus represent the
reverse order of the death process at the start of the intermediate state: black nearattainment, red increase and white appearance respectively.
The six letters represent the six winds: the first three which became the seats represent
the three winds which carry the minds of black near-attainment, of red increase and of
white appearance; the other three represent each of the three winds which arise as a result
of those previous winds.
Then the three syllables OM AH HUM and the three seats merge together to become a
single moon disc. This signifies that the ordinary intermediate being is a result of the
subtle wind and subtle mind, which are the three letters and three seats.
From the moon disc, light is emitted which reaches all universes and all sentient beings
and then draws back all animate and inanimate objects into it. That signifies that all the
animate and inanimate objects are the result of the subtle wind and subtle mind.
The clarification through the moon means identifying oneself strongly with the moon.
When we recite OM DHARMADATU SVABHAVA ATMAKO HAM, this means I am the
appearance of the moon whose mere energy and mind is the root of all beings and
things. We need to meditate in this way, having that kind of strong identity.
iii. the clarification through the seed syllables
After that meditation, the sadhana says:
Upon the moon, like water bubbles bursting from water are white OM, red AH and
blue HUM. They emit light rays and invite infinite masses of Five Clans and their
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retinues from the ten directions. They dissolve and completely transform into a
white five-pointed vajra marked at the centre with OM AH HUM.
On the top of the moon disc we visualise a blue HUM. At its right there is a red letter AH
and at the left a white letter OM. From these three letters light rays go out in all directions
and invite the countless numbers of buddhas of the five families, who slowly dissolve
into these three letters. Then slowly the two side letters, the red AH and the white OM,
dissolve into the central blue HUM. Due to that dissolution, the colour of the HUM changes
from blue to white. We need to meditate on that white HUM. That meditation is the third
clarification, the clarification through the seed syllables.
iv. the clarification through the hand implements
We then meditate on the five-spoked vajra marked with the three letters OM AH HUM,
which comes in the sadhana with the mantra VAJRA AMATKO HUM. As we do, we have to
feel strongly that the vajra is me. The meditation on the vajra marked with the three
letters is the clarification through the hand implements.
v. the clarification through the emergence into full form
After that meditation, the sadhana says:
The vajra together with its letters completely transforms into myself, the white
Primal Protector [or Buddha]: three faces, white, black and red; six arms holding
vajra, wheel and lotus in the rights and bell, jewel and sword in the lefts. Adorned
with precious jewels and various robes of silk.
From that we emerge into the Primal (or Primordial) Buddha with three faces and six
arms and with hand implements and so on. That meditation is the fifth clarification, the
clarification through the emergence into full form. The Primordial Buddha is white
because this is the natural colour of the subtle wind, so this represents the fact that this
buddha has come into existence from the subtle wind.
This is the intermediate state meditation through the five clarifications. At the beginning
we meditate on emptiness and clear light and their indivisible nature which is the
dharmakaya or truth body: the clarification through suchness. Then we visualise that the
single moon disc emerges from those three letters and sun, moon and lotus: the
clarification through the moon. We next visualise the three syllables on top of the moon
disc, with the OM and AH dissolving in the HUM which becomes a white colour: the
clarification through the seed syllables. After that we visualise the five-spoked white
vajra with the three syllables at its hub: the clarification through the hand implements.
Then, finally, we visualise that from the white vajra emerges the white Primordial
Buddha: the clarification through the emergence into full form.
In some Highest Yoga Tantra practices such as Yamantaka, the first clarification,
suchness, is not counted. Instead there is a practice called clarification through the sun.
The meditation talks about the Primordial Buddha because when a sentient being attains
full enlightenment, it is said to first happen in the Akanishta realm, where that buddha
(which is the sambhogakaya) is called the Primordial Buddha. In the Yogacharyatantra it
also says that when a sentient being first attains full enlightenment, at their heart the fivespoked vajra appears which is the nature of ultimate bodhicitta. This is called the
primordial vajra.
3. The Intermediate State Meditation at Base, Path and Resultant Levels
This meditation on the yoga of taking the intermediate state as sambhogakaya into the
path has three levels: the base or ordinary level, comparable to the ordinary bardo state;
the path level, comparable to what the meditator experiences during the completion stage;
and at the resultant level, which relates to what actually happens when the meditator
actually gained full enlightenment.
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i. the sun, moon and lotus

At the ordinary level the sun, moon and lotus represent the three appearances which
occur when the person comes out of the clear light of death and moves towards the
intermediate state, starting with black near-attainment, then red increase and finally white
appearance.
On the path it is no longer imagination; these appearances actually occur. Here the sun.
moon and lotus represent white appearance, red increase and black near-attainment which
precede the dawning of the metaphor clear light and meaning clear light at the level of
mind isolation. The terms metaphor and meaning clear light refer the clear light realising
emptiness with conceptuality and directly metaphor clear light still has conceptuality
whereas meaning clear light realises emptiness directly. We will look at this in the
completion stage.
At the resultant level, they represent the white appearance, red increase and black nearattainment that occur just before the attainment of the dharmakaya that is just before the
person actually attains enlightenment.
ii. the three letters
At the ordinary level, the three letters, OM AH HUM, which transform into the sun, moon
and lotus, represent the winds which carry the mind of the three appearances. On the
path, these three appearances occur just before the metaphor clear light and meaning clear
light. At the resultant level, they occur just before attaining full enlightenment.
iii. the single moon
In the meditation on the clarification through the moon, OM AH HUM and the sun, moon
and the lotus merge and become a single moon.
At the ordinary level, this signifies that the consciousness and the wind are united in one
nature when the person moves into the intermediate state.
On the path it represents the three appearances that occur at the level of mind isolation
moving into the metaphor and meaning clear light. At the resultant level, it represents the
wisdom mind or dharmakaya.
iv. all animate and inanimate objects dissolving back into the moon disc
In the meditation, we visualise that light rays are emitted from the moon disc and reach
all animate and inanimate objects which then dissolve back into the moon disc. At the
ordinary level, that represents the fact that the entire universe and all the sentient beings
within the universe have originated from the subtle consciousness and subtle wind.
Dissolving everything into the moon disc signifies that the root of all phenomena is the
very subtle consciousness and subtle wind.
v. the seed syllables
With clarification through the seed syllables, we visualise a white OM, red AH and blue
HUM above the moon disc. These three letters come after the previous appearance of the
OM AH HUM and sun, moon and lotus have merged. Coming from the single moon, they
appear like water bubbles bursting from water. At an ordinary level they represent the
speech of an intermediate state being; on the path they represent the speech of the illusory
body being; on the level of resultant they represent the exalted speech of the
sambhogakaya buddha.
From the moon disc and OM AH HUM, light rays are emitted and invite an infinite mass of
buddhas of the five families and their retinues which dissolve back into the moon disc.
This represents the activities of the intermediate state being as well as the enlightened
activities of the sambhogakaya. On the path it represents the activities of the illusory
body being.
vi. the vajra
The next meditation is the clarification through the hand implements. When the five
Dhyani Buddhas have completely dissolved into a white five-spoked vajra, at the
ordinary level the vajra represents the mind of the intermediate state being; on the path it
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represents the mind of the illusory body being; and at the resultant level it represents the
mind of the sambhogakaya buddha.
The five spokes of the vajra represents the five wisdoms, or as Geshe Jinpa translates it in
the Guhyasamaja commentary, the five pristine cognitions. At the hub of the vajra, we
visualise the three letters OM AH HUM which represent the Sambhogakayas body, speech
and mind.
vii. transforming into the primordial buddha
In the meditation of the last clarification, the clarification through emergence into full
form, the vajra and letters completely transform into ourselves as the white primordial
buddha. At the ordinary level, this represents the completely formed intermediate state
being; on the path it represents the pure and impure illusory bodies; and at the resultant
level it represents the sambhogakaya itself.
The intermediate being at the ordinary level originates from the subtle mind and subtle
wind, which come from the clear light. The subtle wind radiates five colours. Similarly,
the Primordial Buddha is the embodiment of the five pristine wisdoms. In addition, the
intermediate state being possesses a subtle mental body, as we have already discussed.
Similarly, the Primordial Buddha possesses an extremely subtle body, often called a
rainbow body.
4. The Basis of Purification, the Means of Purification and the Result of Purification
We can summarise what we are doing by taking the intermediate state as the
sambhogakaya into the path like this. At the ordinary level, after actual death has
occurred and all the dissolutions have finished, the process of becoming an intermediate
state being starts. That process is in the reverse order to the process which takes place
during death. This is meditated on with the five clarifications. Through the five
clarifications, when we have reached the final one, emergence into full form, we visualise
emerging as the sambhogakaya and feeling that this being is me. Doing that kind of
meditation purifies the ordinary intermediate state process.
As in the previous meditation, it is very important to know the basis of purification, the
means of purification and the result of purification. The basis of purification is our
ordinary intermediate state, what naturally occurs after we ordinary people die. It is
purified by the meditations on the five clarifications. At the end of the fifth clarification
we really feel that the enjoyment body (sambhogakaya) which emerges is actually me.
If we do the meditation while we are alive, the purpose of doing this is that, when we die
and the ordinary intermediate state occurs, there is hope that we will be able to turn this
into the path through the meditation process. If we do the meditation this will also
accumulate the cause to bring about the pure and impure illusory body during the
completion stage, as well as leaving an imprint to attain the enjoyment body at the
resultant level.

The Yoga of Taking Rebirth as Nirmanakaya into the Path

We have now reached the third stage, which is the yoga of taking rebirth as nirmanakaya
into the path. Again, as with the previous two meditations, it is important to first of all
know how we move from the intermediate state to the next stage of being reborn, from
the Buddhist point of view, in order to clearly know the basis of purification and how it
corresponds with this meditation.
1. Ordinary Rebirth
To understand how this ordinary birth can be taken into the path as nirmanakaya, we
must know what actually happens in the ordinary process of rebirth. So, we will look at
the process as it is described in a sutra called Entering into the Womb Sutra. The sutra
describes three favourable conditions that need to be there and the three obstacles that
need to be absent in order to move from the intermediate state being to the next life. The
three favourable conditions are:
the female must have the monthly cycle
the male and female have sexual attachment and are engaged in sexual union
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 the intermediate state being is close by.

The three obstacles which must be absent are:
the male and female do not have the karma to be the parents of that
intermediate state being and the intermediate state being does not have the
karma to be the child of those parents
the physical womb is deformed in some way
the male and female substances do not come together (due to time
differences, birth control or one party being infertile).
All these conditions must be met. The intermediate state being, being close to two people
it has karma with, sees them engaged in sexual intercourse and enters the womb of the
mother, which is fertile and not deformed in any way, and it is at the right time of the
menstrual cycle so the sperm and egg come together.
If the favourable conditions are all there, while the mothers 72,000 channels are filled
with pleasure due to the sexual act, then the intermediate state being enters her womb,
either through the mouth or the crown. An intermediate state being who is going to be
born as a male has a strong sense of dislike towards the father but attachment for the
mother, whereas if it is going to be born as a female it has a strong dislike for the mother
but some kind of attachment towards the father.
The combination of that aversion and attachment really acts to end the bardo existence,
forcing the being to move from the intermediate state to its next rebirth. When that
happens the death process starts to occur in the same order as we have discussed before
appearances like mirage, smoke, fireflies up to black near-attainment dissolving in clear
light. With the last process, that clear light enters the mothers womb and then the reverse
order starts, from the clear light to black near-attainment up to the appearance like a
mirage.
i. the development of the substances from the father and mother
With the coming together of the sperm and egg, traditionally it is said that the embryo is
formed from two substances, the white substance from the father and the red one from the
mother. There are five stages of development related to these two substances which are
generally explained separately, but in fact they occur simultaneously. These are
equivalent to the stages of development of the foetus.
The first stage of development related to the white substance from the father is when the
outside of the substance is thick like a cream but the inside is still liquid. This is called
mer-mer-pa in Tibetan. The second stage is when both the inside and outside become
thick, which in Tibetan is called bar-po. Then the third stage is when the substance turns
flesh-like but if it were touched it would still move like jelly. This is called gor-go-po.
The fourth stage, called tar-ta-po, is when the substance becomes firmer so if we were to
press it, it would have the resilience and elasticity of meat. Then the fifth stage is when
the limbs start to emerge, which is called in Tibetan yam-lak-gu-pa.
The first stage of the development of the red substance from the mother is when the
substance is liquid. In Tibetan this is called shu-wa which refers to melted butter. With
the second stage it starts to solidify, (in Tibetan kom-bu) which refers to becoming solid.
The third stage is called mar-po which means becoming coloured, here meaning taking
on a reddish meat colour. The fourth stage is called tar-ta-po, the same name as the
fourth stage of the substance obtained from the father. The fifth stage is called yung-dakpa-gyu-wa.
After the five stages there are explanations about the general process of how long the
child will stay in the mothers womb and its positions during those nine months
indicating whether it will be a son or daughter. For example, the sutra explains that a son
will lie in a different position to that of a daughter and so on.
The rebirth process is the basis of purification. We have looked at it from an ordinary
level. At the path and resultant level it corresponds to the nirmanakaya or the emanation
body, so it is important to understand this in order to understand the yoga of taking
rebirth as nirmanakaya into the path.
2. The Five Stages of Birth and the Five Dhyani Buddhas
These five stages of development of the two substances correspond to the five Dhyani
Buddhas. All buddhas are associated with one of the five ways the primal energy divides,
traditionally represented by the five buddha families or the five Dhyani Buddhas:
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Vairochana, Amitabha, Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava and Amoghasiddhi. This is further

linked to the five aggregates and, here, to the development of the embryo.
At first, the white and red substances are quite thick on the outside and liquid on the
inside, mer-mer-pa in the white and shu-wa in the red. This first stage corresponds to
Akshobhya. The second stage of the white substance is bar-po and the red substance is
kom-bu. This corresponds to Ratnasambhava. The third stage of the white substance is
gor-go-po and the red substance mar-po which corresponds to Amitabha. The fourth
stage of the white and red substance is called tar-ta-po and corresponds to the buddha
Amoghasiddhi. The fifth stage of the white substance is called yam-lak-gu-pa and the red
substance is called yung-dak-pa-gyu-wa, completely mixed or merged. This stage
corresponds with the buddha Vairochana.
There is a very clear purpose for linking the ordinary five stages of birth with the five
Dhyani Buddhas. In ordinary existence, when a person is conceived in the mothers
womb that persons subtle mind and wind are inseparable from these five stages.
Similarly in enlightenment when the emanation body emanates into countless deities,
they are all inseparable from the five Dhyani Buddhas. No matter how many emanations
or what an emanation manifests as, it will always be associated with one of the five
Dhyani Buddhas.
Moreover, the first process in ordinary existence, (mer-mer-pa for the white substance
and shu-wa for the red) corresponds with Akshobhya because, as we will see in the later
meditation, the Primordial Buddha enters into Askhobhya after which the process takes
place in the emanation body. That corresponds in ordinary rebirth to the intermediate
state being moving from the intermediate state to ordinary rebirth.
3. How the Yoga of Taking Rebirth as Nirmanakaya into the Path is Done
Having discussed what is to be purified in ordinary birth and how it corresponds with the
emanation body, we are now going to look at the meditation of the yoga of taking birth as
nirmanakaya into the path.
i. conversion of birth into the emanation body
The long Guhyasamaja sadhana says:
From their natural abode the male and female Transcendents embrace in union,
creating streams of enlightenment spirit which suffuse all the realms of space with
hosts of Akshobhyas in order to tame all beings.
This is where the meditation starts. In the meditation, inside the mandala just under the
roof, there is a beam called the circular beam. Under this, we visualise Akshobhya in
union with his consort which is indivisible in nature with the body, speech and mind of
all buddhas who have all emanated from their nature abodes. This meditation corresponds
in ordinary birth to the mother and father engaging in sexual intercourse.
Then, from the place where Akshobhya and his consort meet, countless streams of
bodhicitta are released which radiate out to the entire universe and transform into
countless Akshobhyas, the same number as there are sentient beings. This corresponds in
ordinary birth with all of the mother and fathers 72,000 channels being filled with the
white and red substances during sexual intercourse.
Then the sadhana continues:
They bless all beings to experience uncontaminated physical and mental bliss.
All the Akshobhyas bless all the sentient beings. This means that all the sentient beings
not on the spiritual path are drawn into it, those who are on the path attain liberation and
those who have already attained liberation go on to attain full enlightenment. Blessing
all beings can also be thought of as Akshobhya leading all sentient beings to the state of
the union of bliss and emptiness. In the ordinary birth process this corresponds to the
great pleasure the father and mother experience due to their channels being filled with the
white and red substances.
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ii. generation of the Emanation Vajradhara

The sadhana continues:
Then the Akshobhyas merge together into one blue Akshobhya in the Mandala
Palace.
All those emanated Akshobhyas, who are the resultant state of all the sentient beings who
have become enlightened, merge into one Akshobya (not with a consort). We visualise
this Akshobhya under the circular crossed beam of the mandala palace. At this stage we
still visualise ourselves in the form of the Primordial Buddha at the centre of the mandala
seated on a cushion. Then, that Primordial Buddha lifts up into space to just below the
circular beam where Akshobhya was sitting and Akshobya moves down to that cushion
where the Primordial Buddha was sitting. So we visualise that the two buddhas change
places. Then, slowly the Primordial Buddha moves down and enters into Akshobhyas
crown. This visualisation corresponds to the intermediate state beings consciousness
entering the crown or mouth of the father while the father and mother are in sexual
intercourse, emerging through the sex organ into the mothers womb and the white and
red drops meeting so the being develops into the full form.
In the sadhana the blue Akshobhya is now called the Emanation Vajradhara or Emanation
Vajrasattva but he still has the features of Akshobhya: three faces, blue, white and red;
six arms, holding vajra, wheel and lotus in the right hands, and bell, jewel and sword in
the left hands; adorned with precious jewels and various robes of silk. This corresponds
at the ordinary level with the actual birth of the child, when the child comes out of the
mothers womb.
This meditation purifies the actual rebirth which will take place in our samsaric process.
The base which is purified in the completion stage is our ordinary birth; by this
meditation pure and impure illusory bodies create the gross emanation body
(nirmanakaya); and the result is that, due to this meditation, while we are in the form of
the enjoyment body (sambhogakaya) we can emanate countless nirmanakayas according
to the sentient beings mental dispositions.
In the meditation our five aggregates transform into the five Dhyani Buddhas and the four
elements we all possess in our ordinary form transform into the four consorts or female
deities. We then visualise the other attributes of our ordinary body as also being
transformed: our eye organs transform into bodhisattvas, the five objects of sense
consciousness transform into the five vajra dakinis and our joints and limbs into wrathful
deities.
iii. blessing the body, speech and mind
Blessing the body in the practice corresponds at the ordinary level to the body being fully
formed. Blessing the speech corresponds at the ordinary level to the organs of speech (the
tongue etc.) being completed. Blessing the mind corresponds at the ordinary level to the
completion of the mind when the person is born.
iv. generation of the triple being
In the sadhana we now visualise the triple being: the commitment being (the main deity),
the wisdom being (a tiny deity at the main deitys heart) and the concentration being (a
seed syllable at the wisdom beings heart).
Visualising the commitment being corresponds at the ordinary level to the ordinary
person being completed. Although body, speech and mind are all complete by this stage,
this consecration is important to feel that our own body, speech and mind are indeed
divine. Visualising the wisdom being corresponds at the ordinary level to the persons
subtle innate body. Meditating on the concentration being corresponds at the ordinary
level to the subtle mind.
v.

sealing with the lord of the family

After that comes the meditation on sealing with the Lord of the Family. The Lord of the
Family is generated and the male and female deities enter into union and we are initiated
with streams of nectar flowing from this union. At the crown of ourselves as Vajradhara
70

we visualise a white Vajrasattva, who is the nature of our guru. He or she holds a bell and
vajra and embraces the consort Vajradhatveshvari (Queen of the Vajra realm) who is his
or her own resonance. We visualise that we are empowered by the streams of nectar,
which flow from the union of male and female deities, purifying all our negativities. This
meditation corresponds at the ordinary level with the time the new-born child is seen by
others the child is the object of the eye consciousness of others.
This is a brief explanation of the first part of the actual generation stage practice, the
meditative absorption on the initial engagement of taking the three kayas into path. As we
have seen, it falls into various stages:
the main meditation of the yoga of specially imagined class: the yoga of taking
death as dharmakaya into the path
the generation of the Primordial Lord: the yoga of taking the intermediate state as
sambhogakaya into the path
the yoga of taking birth as nirmanakaya into the path
o transforming into the emanation body of Vajradhara placing the mandala
within the body (i.e., the body mandala)
o blessing the body, speech and mind
o the meditation of the triple beings form
o sealing with the Lord of the Family.
Although there are another two main stages done during the actual practice the
meditation on the supreme victorious mandala and the meditative absorption celebrating
the supreme victorious activities this first part is the most important.
Lama Tsong Khapas prayer in the long Guhyasamaja sadhana says:
May the yoga of the creation stage be achieved
Which purifies all percepts and concepts of the ordinary
In the process of birth, death and between,
By gradually generating in the spiritual process,
The supreme Vajra of proper practice of death as the Body of Truth, the between
as the Beatific Body
And of birth as the Body of Emanation the supreme technique
To realize the exaltation of the Three Bodies!

Questions on Chapter Five

1. In what way do you think that the practice of Highest Yoga Tantra can help us
face ordinary death?
2. What are the main stages of the death process and how do they relate to the
meditational sadhana?
3. Why are the last four stages of the death process called the four empties?
4. What conditions do we need to move from intermediate state to rebirth?
5. What is the purpose of doing the meditation of taking the intermediate state as
sambhogakaya into the path?
6. How might it be possible to develop an ability to be aware of the eight
dissolutions at the time of going to sleep, sneezing or orgasm? Is it worth trying
to do this? Why or why not? If you wished to try, which of there three would you
choose and why?
7. What is the difference between mother and son clear light and what does the
meeting of mother and son clear light mean?
8. What do the five clarifications clarify?

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Chapter 6.
The Completion Stage (1)
The Nature of the Body and Mind
By the time the practitioner has reached the final level of the generation stage they
already have a very strong understanding and experience of the subtle yogas. They are
able to hold a clear appearance of the entire mandala the principal and other deities as
well as the mandala itself inside a tiny space such as a point of light visualised at the
secret place at the base of the spine. They can also vividly visualise the death process up
to and including the clear light, and the bardo where the entire process is reversed.
Only then is the practitioner ready to move to the next stage of the practice, the
completion stage. In fact the demarcation between the two stages is not very clear-cut
because the practices and realisations that make up the final part of the generation stage
and those that make the initial part of the completion stage are very similar.
The main difference between the two stages is that whereas in the generation stage the
entire practice is done from beginning to end each time, now in the completion stage,
each part of the practice is to be done individually, one part at a time. Only after a section
has been done again and again until a certain realisation is achieved should the meditator
move to the next section. This is because in the completion stage the practices are no
longer just imagination; they are real. The practitioner now actually makes happen in the
body and mind what was previously only visualised. Therefore, without gaining
experience in the first step it is difficult to gain experience in the second and so it is
pointless to move on.
1. The Nature of the Body
Because we are working with our body and its substances in the completion stage, it is
important to first have a good understanding of the body from a Vajrayana perspective. In
Buddhism, especially in Highest Yoga Tantra, we refer to three types of body:
the coarse body
the subtle body
the very subtle body.
The coarse or gross body is what we would normally refer to as the body. We can touch
and see it; we feed it and clothe it; it consists of flesh, bone, blood etc. The subtle body is
the network of channels, the winds or energies and the drops. The very subtle body (Tib:
shin-du ta-wa lung) is made up of the particular winds which act as a vehicle they
serve as a mount to carry the mind which experiences the four empties, (of white
appearance, red increase, black near attainment and clear light). The wind which carries
the clear light is our subtlest energy and is sometimes translated as the very subtle
fundamental wind. Just as our normal conceptual mind needs winds or energies to move
upon, so does the very subtle mind, and this is what the very subtle body does.
This very subtle fundamental wind is sometimes called the permanent body. It is not
permanent as in not being reliant on causes and conditions but permanent meaning that it
is that which passes from life to life, and will even remain after we have attained
Buddhahood. It exists as long as we exist and it stays as long as we stay. Of course it is
impermanent in the normal way we use this term; it changes momentarily as does every
phenomenon, it is dependent on causes and conditions.
All these three bodies are very important in Vajrayana, particularly in Highest Yoga
Tantra. We need gross substances such as blood, bone, flesh etc, to do Highest Yoga
Tantra practices and we need to understand how the gross body co-exists with the subtle
and very subtle bodies in order to utilise these bodies in our practice. This becomes very
important as we get more advanced.

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2. The Nature of the Mind

Again in Buddhism, the mind is divided into three categories:

the coarse mind

the subtle mind

the very subtle mind

The coarse or gross mind refers to the normal minds we are aware of: our sensory
consciousnesses, feelings and conceptual thoughts etc. Of course, within these minds,
there are degrees of grossness some very gross, some not but compared with the next
two types of mind, they are all gross.
The subtle mind refers to the 80 conceptual thoughts which we have already looked at
which cease to function during the sixth, seventh and eighth cycles of simultaneous
dissolution. Their dissolution gives rise to the various appearances which the person has
at the time of death: the white, red and black appearances.
The very subtle mind is the clear light mind. As I have already said, this only occurs to a
normal person at the last moment of death or at certain times such during a sneeze or an
orgasm when it is too brief and subtle to be apprehended. For the meditator, however, it
is possible in meditation to move all the winds into the central channel and into the heart
channel wheel and actually experience the clear light. That is the very subtle mind.

Channels, Wheels, Winds and Drops

1. Channels
In the Vajrayana system there are said to be 72,000 channels in our body. Some
commentators refer to them as the psychic nervous system and say that they run parallel
with the physical nervous system. These channels are the intricate network of energy
lines that run throughout our entire body, branching out again and again, starting from
centres of energy called channel wheels or chakras situated within the main three
channels.
Generally however, in Vajrayana practice we deal with the three main channels. They
are:
the central channel (Skt: avadhuti)
the right channel (Skt: rasana)
the left channel (Skt: lalana)
Ordinarily, while we are alive the central channel does not really function, because the
winds travel through the right and left channel, effectively squashing it.
It is important to understand how the channels actually exist in our bodies because very
often in meditation the visualisations we do will be slightly different at different times for
a variety of reasons and so we could easily become confused.
(illustration of channels possibly 2/3 page fitted here or nearest convenient place)
The central channel starts between our two eyebrows; the right and left channels start
from our nostrils. Although where they begin is different, the rest of their route is the
same. All three go up to our crown to just under the actual scalp then curve over and run
down the body. The central channel runs down the exact centre with the right and left
channels either side. They run just in front of the spine and start to curve up at the base of
the spine, coming together at the tip of our sexual organ.
The central channel is said to be red inside and white outside although this varies slightly
depending on which commentary we read. Some masters say that it is reddish or simply
red and white; some say they do not think there is a very distinctive colour. The central
channel has four attributes:
it is very straight from the crown to the navel chakra, like a trunk
its inside is very oily and red in colour, like pure blood
it is clear and transparent. (The text says like the flame of a butter-lamp using
very pure butter)
it is very soft and flexible. (The example given is like a plant that has just
sprouted).
The central channel is also called the mind channel because the winds, the essence of
the mind, flow through it at the time of death and it is the goal of the completion stage to
move the mind carried by the winds into it through meditation. Another name for it is the
two abandonments referring to the fact that through meditation, when the winds enter it,
they dissolve and because of that the two obscurations are abandoned the obscuration to
the achievement of clear light and the obscuration to the achievement of liberation.
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The right channel, which is red, is called the speech channel because red bodhicitta
substance, the essence of speech, flows through it. Another name for it is the sun
channel. It can also be called the channel of the subjective holder because the main
function of the winds which flow through it in our everyday life is to make our
consciousness go towards objects. Thus, with the relationship set up between the subject
(our consciousness) and the object, a degree of subjectivity is established which hinders
us from knowing the object directly.
The left channel, which is white, is called the body channel because white bodhicitta,
the essence of the body, flows though it. Its other names are the moon channel or the
channel of the held object because one of the main functions of the winds which flow in
it is to hold the object, such as form or sounds.
Below is a table showing the channels, colours, names and which substances flow from
them, but it is very general. There are different interpretations and differences from deity
to deity. Some explanations are given according to the channels actual existence and
some according to visualisations done during meditations where colours and shapes etc.
can differ. Here we are following Guhyasamaja system.
channel
central channel
right channel

colour
red inside,
white outside
red

left channel

white

other names
mind channel
the two abandonments
speech channel
sun channel
channel of the subjective holder
body channel
moon channel
channel of the held object

what flows in it
the winds at the time of death
red bodhicitta
winds which move our
consciousness to objects
white bodhicitta
winds which hold objects

Although these descriptions may seem very physical, that does not mean that the
channels are material things that we can see and touch, flesh-and-blood things like veins
or muscles.
In our ordinary day-to-day lives all our various consciousnesses occur due to the winds
flowing in these two side channels. If we could empty them, the ordinary consciousnesses
associated with these winds would stop which is one of the main aims of the completion
stage.
A very important point about the right and left channels is that although they run parallel
with the central channel they are not completely straight. At the channel wheels or
chakras they twist due to the conceptual thoughts travelling through them. These twists
are usually called knots but they are not really like a knot in a piece of string. They are
more like kinks or twists, to the left, a curve around and then back to the right again or
vice versa, constricting the central channel and stopping any winds from moving within
it.
During a normal persons life these knots will always be there, restricting the central
channel and stopping it from functioning at all. In Tibetan we describe them as blind. In
an ordinary person it is only at the very last stage of the death process that the side
channels loosen and allow the winds inside them to flow into the central channel,
allowing the clear light to become active. It is of course the goal of the completion stage
to move the winds into the central channel and activate it.
Of the 72,000 channels that run though our body, the ones that branch directly from the
channel wheels or chakras are the ones we need to concentrate on in our visualisations.
They are:
the 32 starting from the crown channel wheel
the 16 starting from the throat channel wheel
the 8 starting from the heart channel wheel
the 64 starting from the navel channel wheel
the 32 starting from the secret place channel wheel.
It is mainly through these channels that the winds and the red and white bodhicitta drops
travel.
Generally however, it is the central and the left and right channels that we need to focus
on. Of those, the central channel is the most important because great bliss is generated
when the winds are moved into it. Within the central channel, moreover, the area around
the heart is the most important part to visualise as clearly as possible. That is because
during our ordinary death and birth it is within the central channel, at the hub of the heart
74

channel wheel at the heart of the central channel, that our ordinary consciousness enters
when we take a new birth and departs when we die.
Similarly on the path, when the practitioner is on the completion stage meditation of the
metaphor and meaning clear light, they start at the centre of the heart channel wheel.
Therefore, within these three channels, the central channel is the most important and
within the central channel, the heart channel wheel is the most important place to get a
very clear visualisation of.
i. cleansing the channels
I would like to describe a practice called clearing or cleansing the channels (Tib: tsa-lam
shang-pa). It is a practice that helps to activate the central channel and protects our mind
from possible harm during the practice.
It is best to do this in association with deity practice. In the generation stage the meditator
would have done very elaborate visualisations, imagining themselves as such-and such a
deity with so-many arms and faces, with a consort and all sorts of divine things. But that
is no longer necessary in the completion stage. For instance, in the generation stage
practice of Guhyasamaja, Guhyasamaja has six arms, three faces and is with a consort. In
the completion stage he only has two arms and one face.
One of the reasons that the visualisations are so complex in the generation stage is that
they are a tool for the mediator to generate calm-abiding and special insight. Practitioners
of the completion stage already have this, so they do not need to do such elaborate
visualisations. But in order to cleanse the channels properly they must have deity yoga
with divine pride and clarity and a strong identity as a deity (in this case Guhyasamaja
with one face and two arms).
It is very important for the meditator to seek the blessing of the lineage masters and their
spiritual masters before starting to cleanse the channels because here it is no longer
imagination; they are actually experiencing the channels.
So, after making sure they have a good body posture, the meditator visualises the three
channels slightly differently from the way they actually exist. The central channel starts
between the eyebrows as it really does and curves just below the crown, then goes really
straight, to end four finger-widths below the navel.
Again the right and left channels start where they actually start in real life, at the right and
left nostrils, following the path of the central channel around the crown and down. At the
bottom, however, they end four finger-widths below the navel coming together to fit
inside the central channel. Their colours are the same as above, right channel red, left
channel white and central channel red inside and white outside.
The next part of the practice is the nine-rounds breathing meditation.
a. the first to third rounds
First the meditator cleanses the left channel. They should breathe through the right
nostril, not the mouth. This is usually done by placing a finger at the side of the left
nostril, closing it. They breathe in deeply visualising the air or winds moving down
through the right channel and passing into the left one. They then close the right nostril
with a finger and as the air passes up the left channel they imagine all imperfections are
purified, straightening the knots. Then they think, The obstacles which exist in the left
channel are cleansed. This is done three times. For each breath, they breathe very gently
at the beginning, quite forcefully in the middle and again very gently at the end. This is
the same for all of the nine rounds: the three breaths through the right nostril, the three
through the left and the three from both nostrils.
b. the fourth to sixth rounds
Now they do the same for the right channel, by breathing through the left nostril and
visualising the winds going down the left channel and into and up the right channel,
cleansing any impurities there. Again, they think, The obstacles which exist in the right
channel are cleansed.
c. the seventh to ninth rounds
Then they take three long breaths through both nostrils, visualising the winds going down
both channels then entering and moving up the central channel, thinking, From both
right and left channels, the energies are moving through the central channel and cleansing
all the obstacles that exist there. They are all cleansed.
With the last three breaths of the nine-round breathing, they also take some air through
the mouth and breath quite forcefully, really feeling that all obstacles are being pushed
out by the air.
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Cleansing the channels is a practice we do before we visualise the channel wheels.

Although it is not a difficult practice, there is a big warning here, for this practice and all
the practices that follow it. If you try to do this without the proper preparation (which
means a thorough grounding in the graduated path) and not in the context of a stable deity
practice, you will lose your mind. I mean that quite literally. This is a very common
problem. You will really lose your mind. There are many meditators who have gone
completely crazy because they have not to followed the practices exactly or have taken
short cuts.
Vajrayana can seem very exciting and simple, but in reality it is neither simple nor
straightforward. It is very powerful and so our motivation has to be very pure. Practices
like this are very advanced and so we really need to know what we are doing, otherwise
all sorts of things start to happen with the mind. If the energies move into a wrong area,
moving them back again is so difficult. The mind goes berserk like a wild horse.
2. Channel Wheels
At the various places where the right and left channels twist around the central channel
there are concentrations of energy where lines of energy radiate out, multiplying and
spreading throughout our bodies. Because they resemble the spokes of wheels, these
places are called channel wheels (Skt: chakra Tib: tsa-khor) and the lines of energy are
called spokes. They can also be called petals as the radiation of energy can resemble a
flower but in fact it is more like a tree with large branches dividing into smaller branches
etc.
The number of channel wheels we have in our body depends on the number of knots we
have in the right and left channel. For the purposes of meditation the number also varies.
For some meditations there are five channel wheels, for some there are six certain
meditations even have ten channel wheels. Generally it is said that there are five larger
channel wheels and three smaller ones. Here we will look at the five larger ones but just
to mention them, the three smaller channel wheels are:
between the eyebrows: the wind channel wheel which has 6 spokes
between the throat and heart: the fire channel wheel which has 3 spokes
in the middle of the sex organ: which has eight spokes.
We will look at the five main channel wheels. They are located at:
i. the crown
ii. the throat
iii. the heart
iv. the navel
v. the secret place (the lower end of the spine).
i.

the crown channel wheel

The crown channel wheel is called great bliss channel wheel. Although the white
bodhicitta which helps to increase great bliss exists in different channels and channel
wheels, its main location is in the crown channel wheel, so the name comes from that.
ii. the throat channel wheel
The throat channel wheel is called the enjoyment channel wheel because it is through
our throat that food and drink pass, which are things we enjoy. Here, however, we are not
really talking about normal eating and drinking but the offerings of food and drink we
make during our deity practice.
iii. the heart channel wheel
The heart channel wheel is called the phenomena channel wheel because it is the abode
of the indestructible drop (the very subtle body) and clear light (the very subtle mind)
which are the root of all external and internal phenomena, samsaric as well as
enlightened.
iv. the navel channel wheel
The navel channel wheel is called the emanation channel wheel because during the
completion stage practice heat is generated or emanated from this wheel. This melts
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the white bodhicitta at our crown and causes it to start to flow down, generating great
bliss.
v. the secret place channel wheel
The secret place channel wheel is called the utilising great bliss channel wheel. This is
because in the completion stage meditation when the four empties and four joys are
experienced, there is a particular meditation called the innate great bliss meditation
which is practised in forward and reverse order at the secret place.
Although some commentaries use different names, the way they describe the shapes of
the channel wheels are all similar. They are:
crown wheel: triangle
throat: circle
heart: circle
navel: triangle
secret place: circle.
The triangle is always backward facing with the point at the back and the flat surface
facing the front. It is not really like a mathematical triangle however, with exact or deadstraight lines.
The channel wheels are not completely flat. They either bend slightly downwards or
upwards. So the crown wheel is a triangle whose corners droop slightly downwards
whereas the throat wheel is a circle which is slightly raised at the edges. The directions
which the channel wheels bend are:
crown wheel: down
throat: up
heart: down
navel: up
secret place: down.
The numbers of spokes at each channel wheel are:
crown wheel: 32 spokes
throat: 16 spokes
heart: 8 spokes
navel: 64 spokes
secret place: 32 spokes.
There are thirty-two spokes at the crown channel wheel. Here, the right and left channels
twist around the central channel forming a knot or coil between the brain and the scalp.
The right channel twists to the left around the central channel and the left channel twists
around it to the right before they both realign and move down four twists in all. It is
here that the spokes begin. The four spokes each divide, becoming eight, which then each
divide in turn becoming sixteen and then 32.
The throat channel wheel is located between the neck bone and the voice box. It divides
in the same way, the four spokes caused by the knots in the side channels becoming eight
and then sixteen.
(illustration of throat channel wheel taken from large illustration of chakras, maybe 1.5
2 cms high)
The heart channel wheel is not where our physical heart is, but in the exact middle of our
chest. Some texts say that there is one knot at the heart, others that there are three.
Whichever it is, the wheel divides once to become eight spokes.
In the same way, the navel wheel does not exactly coincide with our actual navel but is
one or two finger-widths below it it can differ from individual to individual. Here the
number of spokes is 64 four becoming eight, becoming 16, becoming 32, becoming 64.
The secret place has 32 spokes, divided in the same way as the crown.
Although they are called spokes or petals, that is not really a good description of their
shape. They are more like a soft plastic straw blocked at one end and blown through until
it bulges slightly.
Although it varies slightly depending on the practice, the colours of the channel wheels
are:
crown wheel: white
throat: red
heart: white
navel: red
secret place: red.
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So to summarise, here is a description of the channel wheels.

channel wheel
name
shape
crown
great bliss
triangle
throat
enjoyment
circle
heart
phenomena
circle
navel
emanating
triangle
secret place
utilising great bliss
circle

direction
down
up
down
up
down

number
32
16
8
64
32

3. Loosening the Knots

We looked at cleansing the channels above. Now we can consider a practice to loosen the
channel wheel knots. Obviously such practices are completion stage practices and come
only after completing the generation stage.
i. visualising the deity as transparent
During this practice, whatever deity is their main practice Guhyasamaja, Yamantaka or
Kalachakra etc. the meditator visualises him- or herself as that deity with one face and
two arms. The deitys entire body is visualised as being completely transparent, like a
resin statue which we can see right through. Every detail is clear nails, strands of hair
etc. but they are all completely transparent. In Tibetan this is called tong-ra gom-pa
ones own body completely empty.
ii. visualising the channels
After establishing the visualisation really well, the practitioner concentrates on the
channels, starting with the central channel. In the Guhyasamaja practice this is white on
the outside and red on the inside. It starts at the place between the eyebrows, moves up to
the crown then curls down in front of the spine to the tip of the sexual organ. After that
the meditator does the same with the right and left channels. Although in reality these are
the ones which are active and the central channel is blind or inactive, they are visualised
it as if it were the other way around, with the side channels flat and inactive and the
central channel really full.
iii. visualising the heart channel wheel
Then they visualise the channel wheels. For this, the Guhyasamaja practice says you
should start at the heart because that is the most important wheel and the hardest one to
loosen the knots around. At the heart wheel three knots are visualised. From the second
knot the spokes of the channel wheel start to spread out, four and then eight, turning
slightly downwards as they do.
iv. visualising the other channel wheels
The other channel wheels are visualised in the same way. After that, the meditator needs
to take time to really establish the visualisation, going up and down the central channel
making sure the wheels are visualised clearly.
v. preparing the path of the channels
The next step is called preparing the path of the channels. In the second of the three
knots of the heart wheel a tiny drop is visualised as white but with a reddish hue. The
meditator thinks that this drop is the essence of their root masters, the principal deities
and their own three doors of mind, body and speech. If this sounds impossible, remember
that by this stage they will have already gained shin and so will be used to visualising
such minute details.
vi. entering the drop
The next stage is called entering the drop. In this visualisation, the meditator visualises
their mind entering into the drop and the mind and the drop becoming one. (In reality, of
course, their mind is not that drop.) The mind enters the drop at the centre of the heart
wheel, then that drop which is one with the meditators mind circles around, starting from
the front and then to the right and left. It looks through the channels and spokes which
start from the heart channel wheel and sees them as being hollow and without any
obstructions. That is the meditation.
Then, when their mind, which is inseparable from the drop, sees the channel and spokes
are free from any obstructions, they move to the next stage. This involves looking down
from the heart channel wheel to the navel channel wheel and then down to the secret
channel wheel. After that the meditator looks upwards in the same way, examining the
throat channel wheel and the crown channel wheel. In some sense the meditator is
checking that the path is completely hollow and free from obstructions. For me, it feels
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colour
white
red
white
red
red

like we have a really powerful torch and we are looking up this hollow transparent tube
and are able to see everything.
vii. checking the throat channel wheel
Now they move up through the channel wheel, riding up the central channel to the centre
of the throat channel wheel. As with the heart wheel, they start by making a full circle
around it, examining everything: the colour, the way the knot is formed, the way spokes
radiate out everything.
viii. checking the crown channel wheel
After that, the meditator moves to the crown channel wheel, circles it and comes to rest at
its centre. After inspecting the entire wheel, they look at how it rests right at the very end
of the central channel. In fact it bulges out, half in the central channel and half out. We
are not talking about the physical body here, but if we were the channel wheel would
protrude slightly from the crown. It is as if you have come to the top of a high tower, you
can look out from it and see the entire mandala with all the attendant deities before you.
ix. moving down through the wheels
Then again, the meditator gently moves their mind from the crown wheel back through
the central channel, looking down at the throat wheel then moving to it, then moving to
the heart wheel, the navel wheel and the secret place wheel. By doing this, they are
loosening the knots at each of the channel wheels. This is a very exacting meditation. It is
recommended that if you get tired, you stop for a while and do some prayers and
dedications.
As I have said before, the completion stage is to be done step-by-step. Only when a
practitioner has completely mastered the meditation on cleansing the channels will they
go on to this practice of loosening the knots, and this needs to be perfect before going on
to the next.

4. Winds
The winds are what move through the channels. Wind is a direct translation from the
Sanskrit praa (Tib: lung). You might also know the Chinese term for it, chi. They are
the energies in our body. They cause all movement, both external bodily movement and
the internal activity of organs and muscles, the circulation of blood and air etc., and the
movement of things such as urine and waste. Because the winds are another substance we
need to utilise in Vajrayana practice it is important to understand them.
The winds are also used in the practices in three lower levels of tantra remember the
technique of controlling the life force called holding the wind in a vase but that is
very crude compared to the ones used in Highest Yoga Tantra. Here it is much more than
stopping the winds from escaping outside in order to still our conceptual thoughts, it is
trying to move the winds into the central channel and then dissolving them into the centre
of the central channel wheel where the indestructible drop and clear light are.
The first stage of the completion stage, physical isolation, involves connecting with the
winds. This comes before we can control them and make them enter, abide and dissolve
in central channel. But even connecting with them is far more advanced than the vase
breathing we saw in the lower tantras.
There are five major or root winds and five secondary or branch ones. The major winds
are:
i. life-supporting (or vitalising)
ii. downward-voiding
iii. upward-moving
iv. equally-abiding
v. pervading.
(There are different translations for these in English.) If you want to know about the
branch winds in more detail see Kalachakra Tantra Rite and Initiation by His Holiness
the Dalai Lama and Jeffrey Hopkins.
When studying the winds there are different things we should know about each one,
which can be summarised in the following chart.

buddha
family

lifesupporting
Akshobhya

downwardvoiding
Ratnasambhava
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upwardmoving
Amithaba

equallyabiding
Amoghasiddhi

pervading
Vairochana

colour
element
seat

white
water
heart

yellow
earth
navel

red
fire
throat

function

to support and
maintain life

to retain and
release urine,
faeces, semen,
blood, etc.

to speak,
swallow,
etc.

direction

from both
nostrils, gently
downwards

from both
nostrils,
horizontally
forwards heavily

from the
right
nostril,
violently
upward

green
wind
the two lower
doors: the anus
and the sexual
organ
to cause the
blazing of the
inner fire,
digest food and
drink, etc.
from the left
nostril, moving
to the left and
right from the
edge of the
nostril

pale blue
space
both the upper and
lower parts of the
body, mainly the
360 joints
to enable the body
to come and go; to
allow movement,
lifting and placing
this wind does not
flow through the
nostrils except at the
time of death

Each wind is associated with a particular colour and Dhyani Buddha. For example, the
life-supporting wind is white and associated with Akshobhya, the downward-voiding
wind is yellow and associated with Ratnasambhava etc. This becomes important when we
do the body mandala where each wind turns into a particular Dhyani Buddha.
The winds are also associated with a particular element: the upward-moving wind with
fire, the pervading wind with space etc. And although certain winds, like the pervading
wind, can be situated anywhere in the body, most have a location. For instance, the lifesupporting wind at the heart, the upward-moving wind at throat, etc.
The functions you can see on the chart are gross generalisations but it is still very
interesting to look at them. The function of the life-supporting wind (also called vitalising
wind) is just that, to support and maintain life. There are certain practices in Vajrayana
using the life-supporting wind to extend our life in order to complete the practices. For
example, it is said that how long we are going to live depends on how much of this lifesupporting wind we have and this in turn is due to our previous karma. We can actually
calculate our lifespan from the rate of our breathing.
The downward-voiding winds function is retaining and releasing urine, water and
substances like that. The upward-moving wind assists speaking, swallowing and so on.
The function of the equally-abiding wind is to cause the inner fire to blaze as well as to
digest food and so on. And the pervading wind enables the bodys movements.
It is very easy to think of these winds as somehow entirely different from the air we
breathe. They are in fact the same type of element but, as with all of these substances we
are looking at, there are various degrees of subtlety. Obviously, the air that moves
through our nostrils and that which is we use in holding the wind in a vase is gross
whereas winds such as pervading wind are much subtler, but it is wrong to think of them
as totally different things.
The direction of each wind given in the chart might seem a bit strange. At present we
breathe and that seems to be it. We cannot determine whether our breath is moving gently
downwards from both nostrils, like the life-supporting wind, or horizontally forward
heavily like the downward-voiding wind. These are only of academic interest until we
reach that stage in our practice where the direction of the winds does actually come into
the scope of our meditation. However, whether we are aware of them or not, all these
winds are operating. The pervading wind alone does not flow through the nostrils until
the time of death. Out of all the winds, by meditation or even during the natural process
during death, the hardest wind to dissolve is the pervading wind which pervades our
entire body, although its main abode is our joints.
The significance of all five major winds, and where they abide and their functions, is
important to know for completion stage practice, particularly when we reach the level of
speech isolation.
i. the indestructible wind
It might seem strange that the indestructible wind, the subtle wind which carries the
subtlest mind of clear light, is not included in this list. The life-supporting wind has two
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levels, gross and subtle, and the indestructible wind is the subtlest life supporting wind.
The life-supporting wind itself abides at the heart, but this indestructible life-supporting
wind abides at the very centre of the heart channel wheel.
This indestructible wind can be thought of in several different ways: as the subtlest white
and red drops which abide at the heart channel wheel; as the wind which carries the
ordinary clear light which occurs at the time of death; or as the subtlest life-supporting
wind which carries the subtlest mind.
This subtlest life-supporting wind is called:
the indestructible wind
the clear light wind
the innate wind.
So the wind itself has different names which carry different connotations. It is called the
indestructible wind because, although it is impermanent in that it changes momentarily, it
cannot be destroyed by any other thing. It is called the clear light wind because it is
always there. It is there at the ordinary level, during the path and at the resultant stage
when we reach enlightenment. At the ordinary level, all the gross winds and minds are
dissolved into it at the time of death. During the path the clear light occurs from it, and at
the resultant stage the dharmakaya occurs from it. It is also called innate wind because it
is inseparable from the subtlest mind.
5. Drops
Another kind of substance that it is important to know about is the drops, (Skt: bindu,
Tib: tig-le). Because their origin the indestructible drop which itself originates from is the
male and females white and red drops, the drops themselves are of two types, white and
red. They are also called bodhicitta drops or simply bodhicitta.
Although they originate at the centre of the heart channel wheel, most texts say that the
white drops which evolve from the original white drop abide at the crown and the red
drops which evolve from the original red drop abide at the navel. In reality, however, the
drops pervade our entire body and this distinction is made to help meditation. The ones at
the crown and navel that the texts talk about are gross; the ones pervading our body are
subtler. In the meditation the white drop at the crown is signified by a HAM and the red
drop at the navel by an OM.
Although we mainly hear about two drops, we can also come across four drops referred
to. They are described according to when they are produced and where they are located.
They are considered to be drops we produce:
during the time of sleep
during the time of dreaming
during the time of being awake
during the time of sexual intercourse.
The drops which we produce during very deep sleep are produced at the heart and the
centre of the sex organ. The drops which we produce during the time of dreaming are
produced at the throat channel wheel and the secret place channel wheel. The drops
which we produce during the time of being awake are produced at the crown channel
wheel and the navel channel wheel. The drops which we produce during the time of
sexual intercourse are produced at the crown channel wheel and the secret place channel
wheel.
i. the indestructible drop
The indestructible drop, which is the origin of all the drops, itself originates from the
fathers white drop the mothers red one. It is said these are the essence or the male and
female combined to become the basis for the physical body.
We talk of the indestructible drop as one entity but in fact it consists of two elements.
Generally, when we say indestructible drop we mean the indestructible drop of this life.
This is a very subtle material object which is destroyed at the end of our life. Within that
there is also the eternal indestructible drop which is the very subtle wind and mind. It is
the first consciousness that enters our mothers womb and the last consciousness when
we separate from our body. When our mind enters into the union of sperm and egg of our
parents, there is already a consciousness it hasnt come from nowhere and that
consciousness has needed an energy or wind to travel on. That consciousness and its
wind is the eternal indestructible drop.
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Our clear light mind will separate from the body riding on that drop. It is called eternal
because of the continuation which is always there, not because it is unchanging.
In a sense the two indestructible drops are the container and the mind and wind inside are
the contents. Mind and wind depend on each other without mind there can be no wind
and without wind there can be no mind but it is container of the indestructible drop
which holds them together.

6. The Basis of Samsara and Liberation

Mind and body co-exist. When we look at the subtle and very subtle body the winds or
energies which carry the consciousnesses, we see that gross minds, such as anger and
attachment, and the gross winds co-exist, that the subtle minds such as the 80 conceptual
thoughts co-exist and are carried on the subtle winds and that the very subtle minds and
winds operate together. The winds and the minds carried on those winds are
interdependent.
Furthermore, the very subtle wind (the very subtle body) is the energy which carries the
clear light (the very subtle mind) and these two are inseparable and are sometimes called
the basis of samsara and liberation. This concept is very important because whereas for
us this inseparable very subtle mind and wind are the basis of samsara, utilising them in
the right way will bring liberation. In both generation stage and completion stage
practice, the subtlest mind and wind arise as the pure and impure illusory body and
through that process the practitioner can gain the enjoyment body. In the same way, this
inseparable subtlest mind and wind used by an unskilful mind leads to samsara. This is
why it is called the basis of both samsara and liberation.
In the enlightenment process, the subtlest wind is the substantial cause for the form body
(Skt: rupakaya) and the present subtlest mind is the substantial cause for the truth body
(Skt: dharmakaya). The inseparability of these two is the substantial cause for the union
of form body and wisdom body which is enlightenment.
Therefore it is very important to understand the different levels of subtlety of the basic
body and mind we all have: gross, subtle and very subtle.

EMPTINESS AND BLISS

1. The Meaning of E-VAM
It is said that the whole of Highest Yoga Tantra is captured by the two-syllable word EVAM. Not only does this word contain the whole meaning of the completion stage
practice, in some sense it also condenses the meaning of the entire Highest Yoga Tantra
as taught in the scriptures.
(illustration of a Sanskrit e-vam maybe 1.5 to 2cms high)
It can be discussed at three different levels:
the E-VAM which corresponds with the base
the E-VAM which corresponds with the path
the E-VAM which corresponds with the resultant.
The word E-VAM is made up of two syllables: the E and the VAM with the VAM made of
two sounds, the main body of the syllable being the WA with the MA as a circle above it.
At the base or ordinary level, the E represents the crown and navel channel wheels which
are triangular; the WA represents the heart and throat channel wheels which are round and
the MA represents focusing on these channel wheels using the right methods. By doing
this, great bliss is generated by the melting bodhicitta being drawn down from the crown
and up from the secret place. That union is represented by the MA and the inseparable
nature of great bliss and emptiness is E-VAM.
With the meaning of the E-VAM associated with the path, the syllable E represents the
wisdom realising emptiness during the path; WA represents experiencing great bliss
during the path and the vowel MA represents the inseparable nature of these two during
the path. So the whole word E-VAM during the path represents the inseparable nature or
wisdom realising emptiness and the experience of great bliss.
With the E-VAM which corresponds to the resultant, the first syllable E refers to the direct
realisation of emptiness by the wisdom of a buddha; the lower part of the second syllable
WA symbolises the great bliss of the wisdom of a buddha; and the inseparability of great
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bliss and the realisation of emptiness in the wisdom of a buddha is symbolised by

consonant MA, the circle above the WA.
E-VAM represents another union corresponding with the resultant: the union of two truths.
Here, the first syllable E represents the inseparable nature of a buddhas wisdom and
great bliss. The base letter of the second syllable, the WA, represents a buddhas form
body (rupakaya) and the circle, the MA, represents the one nature of body and mind. In
other words a buddhas realisation of emptiness and experience of great bliss and a
buddhas body are one entity. So, E-VAM symbolised these two truths where ultimate
truth refers to the inseparable nature of a buddha realising emptiness and experiencing
great bliss and the conventional truth is a buddhas form body.
2. The Initiations Related to the Completion Stage
Just as there are two stages in Highest Yoga Tantra, the generation and completion stage,
there are also different initiations which are the corresponding ripening factors for these
two stages.
The initiation which empowers the practitioner to practise the generation stage is the first,
the vase initiation. The second initiation, the secret initiation, empowers the practitioner
to engage in the practice of the illusory body which is part of the completion stage. The
path of the illusory body also includes the three isolations: physical, verbal and mental
isolation (sometimes called meditative stabilisation of the isolated body, speech and
mind.)
The third initiation, the wisdom knowledge initiation, empowers the practitioner to
undertake the meditation on the clear light which purifies the illusory body into clear
light. The fourth initiation, the word initiation, empowers the practitioner to undertake the
meditative practices of the union.
3. The Union of Emptiness and Great Bliss
As we have seen, there are two unions we encounter in Highest Yoga Tantra: the union of
the two truths and the union of emptiness and great bliss. We have already seen the
meaning of E-VAM in terms of the union of the two truths so I would now like to look at
the very important union of emptiness and great bliss, in particular the type of emptiness
and great bliss connected with Highest Yoga Tantra.
There are four different types of emptiness taught in the Buddhist philosophical schools.
As we have seen in our previous module, there is the emptiness or selflessness asserted
by the schools below Svatantrika Madhyamaka which is being empty of substantial
existence. The Cittamatra School explains emptiness as the absence of duality of
appearance of subject and object. Then there is also emptiness explained in the
Svatantrika School which is being empty of existing from its own side, without
depending on the mind. Finally, there is the emptiness asserted in the Prasangika
Madhyamaka, which is being empty of existing inherently.
There are no teachings in Vajrayana on the union of great bliss based on the first
emptiness, the emptiness of substantial existence. But there are teachings about the union
of great bliss with the emptiness asserted by the Cittamatra and Svatantrika Madhyamaka
Schools.
However, in Highest Yoga Tantra practice, particularly when we are talking about the
practice of the jewel-like practitioner the highest level of meditator the union of
emptiness and great bliss specifically refers to the last definition of emptiness, the
emptiness of inherent existence as asserted by Prasangika Madhyamaka. So, this is the
level we are talking about when we use the term emptiness.
The other side of the union, bliss, also has different levels. We can experience bliss when
we gain actual calm-abiding (shin). There is a second level, called uncontaminated bliss,
which we will experience when we realise emptiness directly.
In the three lower classes of Vajrayana, Kriya, Carya and Yoga Tantra, a meditator who
successfully does the vase breathing meditation based on deity yoga also experiences
another level of bliss. Yet another type of bliss is experienced during consort practice,
when the practitioner mentally or actually embraces the consort. Due to this, when the
bodhicitta moves down from the crown channel wheel but is blocked by the meditation,
the practitioner will experience bliss. However, this bliss is not due to the winds entering
and dissolving in the central channel.
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The last type of bliss is the great bliss experienced in the completion stage, when the
winds actually enter, abide and dissolve in the central channel. That bliss is called innate
great bliss. That is the bliss referred to when we discuss the union of great bliss and
emptiness.
To summarise, there are four different types of emptiness we can realise and there are
many different types of bliss we can experience. In Highest Yoga Tantra, however,
whenever we refer to the union of emptiness and great bliss we are always talking about
the innate great bliss generated during the completion stage practice when the winds
enter, abide and dissolve in the central channel. The emptiness is always the realisation of
the Prasangikas definition of emptiness, being empty of inherent existence. This union
refers to the indivisible union between wisdom realising emptiness and the profound
experience of great bliss. In such a union, the previously gained wisdom is generated
within a blissful state of mind, and these two wisdom and bliss are experienced within
a single unity of consciousness. This is a unique practice within Highest Yoga Tantra.
Which of these two comes first? There are two possibilities. Practitioners who have
gained a realisation of emptiness based on the teachings of the Cittamatra or Svatantrika
Schools might experience great bliss due to the meditation of the winds and drops
dissolving in the central channel. That original understanding of emptiness ignites the
inner heat which allows the winds to enter, abide and dissolve in the central channel and
from that experience of great bliss they will slowly, naturally move to the highest
understanding of emptiness asserted by the Prasangika Madhyamaka, as opposed to their
original realisation of emptiness.
For most practitioners in Highest Yoga Tantra, however, the sequence works the other
way around. They first gain the wisdom realising emptiness of inherent existence and
then the experience of great bliss.

Questions on Chapter Six

1. What are the main differences between the generation stage and completion stage
in terms of practice and realisations?
2. How do you conceive the relationships between the gross body and subtle/very
subtle bodies and the gross mind and subtle/very subtle minds?
3. What is the correlation between ordinary death and the completion stage?
4. If we cut our body open we would not be able to physically see the channels,
winds or drops, not even under the microscope. Describe how you personally see
or understand the channels, winds and drops.
5. The very subtle fundamental body is sometimes called the permanent body. It is
said to pass from life to life and remain even after attainment of Buddhahood.
Does this invalidate the Buddhist teachings on impermanence, emptiness, and no
soul? Would you see this body as the essence of a person? What do you visualise
the very subtle body to look like?
6. The heart channel wheel is also called the phenomena channel wheel, because it
houses the very subtle body and very subtle mind which are the origin of all
existing phenomena. Explain how the indestructible drop and clear light can be
the root of all existing phenomena in your opinion.
7. How can we loosen the knots of something that is not a physical entity?

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Chapter 7.
The Completion Stage (2)
The Six Levels of Completion
In our previous chapter we looked in some detail at the body and mind, and within the
mind the gross, subtle and very subtle mind, as well as the drops and so forth. In this
chapter we are going to look at the actual practice of the completion stage. Although
there are many different practices, I will again be taking the Guhyasamaja tantra as a
model. Most other Highest Yoga Tantra completion stage sadhanas have a similar outline
although the Kalachakra tantra is slightly different. See Daniel Cozorts Highest Yoga
Tantra for an interesting comparison between the two.

The Six Levels of the Completion Stage

All the practices within the completion stage are a gradual refining of the meditations on
the winds, where the meditator is actually moving the winds with more and more skill,
getting them to enter first the central channel, then the heart channel wheel and finally the
indestructible drop. This process which happens during ordinary death before the
intermediate state commences is mimicked in the generation stage. Now it is actually
experienced through meditation. The goal is to have all the winds dissolve in the
indestructible drop and so experience great bliss which realises emptiness. Through that
process the illusory body is actualised.
The main practice of the completion stage again concerns the death process. During the
generation stage, the death process was an elaborate visualisation. Now the practitioner is
doing much more than that. They have gone beyond imagination and are actually trying
to experience the process, particularly the last four stages of the dissolution, the four
empties, which occur during the minds of white appearance, red increase, black nearattainment and clear light. The four empties are actually experienced in their mental
continuum as the winds are made to enter, abide and dissolve in the central channel by
the power of the meditation.
At the same time, the different levels of bliss are experienced. In the generation stage,
these processes were just imagination, although during the last part of the generation
stage some practitioners can generate the deity through the mind realising emptiness and
experience bliss. This is not considered a completion stage practice, however, because the
winds still have not entered and dissolved into the central channel. This can only be done
in the completion stage where the practitioner experiences great bliss which is generated
into the deity.
That in fact is the definition of the completion stage:
a yoga in the mindstream of a trainee which has arisen from the winds entering,
abiding and dissolving in the central channel by the power of meditation.xxiii
(This and the subsequent definitions come from The Paths and Grounds of
Guhyasamaja.) As you know, all the winds will naturally enter, abide and dissolve in the
central channel during the death process. But the definition says by the power of
meditation. That is accomplished by the two meditations we looked at earlier, cleansing
the channels and loosening the knots.
There are different ways of counting the stages of the completion stage according to the
Guhyasamaja practice but I will divide the practice into six, as in the Guhyasamaja root
tantra and the sixth chapter of the commentary by Chandrakirti, The Clear Lamp, which
is the main commentary on the Guhyasamaja tantra. (In other parts of his text he divides
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the completion stage into five, adding the generation stage and counting all the isolations
as one.)
Using Chandrakirtis commentary, there are six levels within the completion stage:
1. physical isolation
2. verbal isolation
3. mental isolation
4. illusory body
5. actual clear light
6. union
Some other texts, on the other hand, divide the completion stage into five levels, with
physical and verbal isolation counted as one.

Physical Isolation
Because of the unclear distinction between the last part of the generation stage and the
first part of the completion stage, there are some differences in the assertions of the
commentaries. Some say that the entire physical isolation practice comes within the
subtle yoga of the generation stage, whereas others put it entirely in the completion stage.
Some practitioners assert that physical isolation falls into both generation and completion
stages. This is the assertion I will follow, that within the several different stages of the
realisations which count as physical isolation, some belong to the generation stage and
some to the completion stage.
The physical isolation which belongs to the generation stage again belongs to different
stages of the practice according to different levels of capability. During the first level the
practitioner can generate into the deity purely from the realisation of emptiness, not by
the meditation on bliss at all.
Another slightly more advanced practice is by the generating into the deity through the
experience of bliss realising emptiness. This bliss, however, is not due to the winds
entering, abiding and dissolving in the central channel, but due to certain meditations.
This level of physical isolation also belongs to the generation stage.
The last one is bliss realising emptiness which is generated by the winds entering, abiding
and dissolving in the central channel. Due to that, the bodhicitta melts and the practitioner
experiences great bliss. Through that the meditator realises emptiness and then that
understanding is generated into the deity. This type of physical isolation belongs to the
completion stage. This is what we are talking about in the definition.
The definition of physical isolation is:
The isolated body of the completion stage is a yoga such that while in equipoise
one meditates on the wisdom of bliss and emptiness arising from the winds
dissolving in the central channel. Waking up from that in the post-meditation
period, all objects that appear are sealed by bliss and emptiness and arise in the
aspects of deities, such as those of the hundred [Buddhas] families.
The isolated body is so called because it is a yoga that seals the body [the basis of
isolation] composed of the aggregates, constituents, sources and so forth within
ones mindstream, by the bliss and emptiness of the completion stage. Having
isolated the body from ordinary appearances and grasping, it appears in the
aspect of pure deities. In general, the isolated body contains parts of both the
generation and completion stage.xxiv
An analogy which some practitioners us about this stage is how using one colour such as
blue an artist can draw many different pictures. Another is how within a single opera or
play a performer wearing different masks and performing different roles can appear as
many different figures. It is the same thing here. Due to the meditation on the winds
entering, abiding and dissolving in the central channel and the meditator experiencing
great bliss, that single mind itself can manifest as many different deities. This level of
practice belongs to the completion stage physical isolation.
The term physical isolation comes from the fact that at this stage we are isolating the
twenty-five physical aspects of the gross body and mindxxv. These are not all physical,
some are minds, such as the five basic wisdoms. They are called gross and physical
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because they all have collective features. These twenty-five gross phenomena are the
basis of the physical isolation, the objects which are actually turned into the deities by
that single mind experiencing great bliss while actually realising emptiness.
Isolation means we are eliminating any sense of ordinariness in these twenty-five
physical things; they will no longer appear as ordinary but as the twenty-five deities of
the body mandala.
When the practitioner meditates on physical isolation, the winds enter, abide and dissolve
in the central channel and due to that dissolution great bliss is experienced and then that
mind realises emptiness. It is that mind which is generated into the deity. In the case of
Guhyasamaja there are four ways of doing this, differentiated mainly in terms of how
elaborate they are, i.e., whether they use many deities or just a single one.
1. The Four Ways of Generating the Deities
There are basically four levels of complexity when visualising the deities. The
practitioner can visualise 100, 25 or six deities or a single deity. The four levels are:
i. the ultimate physical isolation of the hundred deities
ii. the ultimate physical isolation of the twenty-five deities
iii. the ultimate physical isolation of the secret three families
iv. the ultimate physical isolation of the great secret one family.
i.

the ultimate physical isolation of the hundred deities

The first one is called the ultimate physical isolation of the hundred deities. In it 100
deities are generated from the elements of the practitioners body. Each of the five
aggregates is generated into the five Dhyani Buddhas (which makes 25 deities), then the
four elements are generated into four consorts with each consort generated for each of the
five Dhyani Buddhas (making 20). Then the six sources (eye sense, ear sense, nose sense,
tongue sense, body sense, mental sense) are generated into six bodhisattvas, one set for
each Dhyani Buddha (making 30). Finally the five sense objects are generated into the
five offering dakinis for each Dhyani Buddha (making 25). So that makes 100 deities
altogether.
5 aggregates
=
5 x 5 Dhyani Buddhas = 25
4 elements
=
4 consorts for each Dhyani Buddha = 20
6 sources
=
6 bodhisattvas for each Dhyani Buddha = 30
5 sense objects =
5 offering dakinis for each Dhyani Buddha = 25.
ii. the ultimate physical isolation of the twenty-five deities
The second one, the ultimate physical isolation of the twenty-five deities, is a little less
elaborate. Here the four elements and consciousness (which constitute the five
phenomena within us) are visualised as the five Dhyani Buddhas, making 25. This is
done using the same process as above. The practitioner visualises the winds entering,
abiding and dissolving in the central channel and due to that the bodhicitta melts and
great bliss increases. Through the experience of bliss that mind realises emptiness and
from that the mind is generated into the five deities using the four elements and
consciousness.
The air element generates into Vairochana, the water element generates into
Ratnasambhava, the fire element generates into Amitabha, the wind element generates
into Amogasiddhi and the consciousness generates into Akshobhya. This is the second
most elaborate practice of physical isolation.
iii. the ultimate physical isolation of the secret three families
The third one, the ultimate physical isolation of the secret three families, uses the same
process. This time the mind experiencing great bliss and realising emptiness uses the
three doors of body, speech and mind to generate six deities. The body is generated into
Ratnasambhava and Vairochana as vajra body; the speech is generated into
Amoghasiddhi and Amitabha as the vajra speech; and the mind is generated as
Vajradhara and Akshobhya as the vajra mind.
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iv. the ultimate physical isolation of the great secret one family
In the last one, the ultimate physical isolation of the great secret one family, using the
same process, the practitioner visualises the three doors of their body, speech and mind
transformed into the three doors of Vajradhara.
In each of these four methods the process is the same. The difference comes after the
inseparability of great bliss and emptiness has been achieved, when that realisation is
generated into different deities and different numbers of deities according to the
practitioners level.
2. The Actual Meditation of Physical Isolation
There are three divisions:
i. the meditation on a subtle drop
ii. the meditation on emptiness
iii. maintaining meditative equipoise on emptiness during the post meditation
session.
i.

the meditation on a subtle drop

The first division is the meditation on the subtle drop, used to draw the winds are into the
central channel. The practitioner who has achieved both the gross and subtle generation
stage realisations generates him- or herself into Vajradhara and has a strong sense of
identity as Vajradhara. They then meditate on the subtle drop which is almost the
continuation of the subtle drop meditation in the generation stage practice.
Here the difference is that the meditator generates him- or herself into Vajradhara by
means of the winds entering, abiding and dissolving in the central channel, then
experiencing great bliss and through that realising emptiness.
Then, at the lower end of the central channel at the tip of the sexual organ, they visualise
a subtle tiny drop or a very tiny hand instrument. Within that they visualise the entire
mandala and its deities and the representations of all kinds of objects within it.
Concentrating very intensely on that point, because the mind and the winds work
together, the winds will start to be drawn into that place.
Then the lower part of the central channel will open, and due to that, the winds will enter
into it. The texts sometimes say as if entering your mind into that tiny drop or hand
instrument. That kind of meditation will help to draw winds into that place and open the
central channel and through that process the winds will actually enter the central channel.
Usually when we breathe, the wind passing through the right nostril is a bit more forceful
than through the left, but when the winds enter the central channel the breathing will
become very balanced, with no one side more forceful than the other. And the sign of the
winds abiding in the central channel is that the winds which normally pass through our
nostrils will stop altogether. When the winds dissolve in the central channel, as we have
discussed in the death process, the signs will occur like a mirage, black smoke, fireflies
and all the appearances.
ii. the meditation on emptiness
The second division of physical isolation is the meditation on emptiness which generates
bliss due to the winds entering, abiding and dissolving in the central channel. When the
winds enter into the central channel, the downward voiding wind, whose seat is normally
the lower abdomen just below the navel channel wheel, moves upwards. It is located in
the place where heat, called tum-mo (sometimes translated in English as fierce woman)
is generated. The movement of the downward voiding wind ignites this heat and due to
that the subtle substances (the white and red drops) melt. That melting and flowing to
various spots in the body brings the practitioner an intense feeling of bliss. The
consciousness which experiences that blissful feeling is a really powerful mind and it can
be used to realise emptiness.
In Guhyasamaja this practice of generating heat at the navel channel wheel area through
the melting of the two substances is done by the wind entering the central channel and
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igniting the heat. It is similar to tum-mo practice but it is not called that. Tum-mo comes
into other practices such as Heruka.
Although obviously this feeling of bliss we are talking about comes through meditation, it
can also occur to the non-practitioner in an ordinary orgasm in sexual intercourse. In this
ordinary pleasure, however, the white drop melts and flows but not into the central
channel and it is very temporary. The great bliss that we experience through meditation
where the central channel opens and the winds enter, abide and dissolve in it is much
more powerful than the ordinary pleasure experienced during ordinary intercourse.
a. the four joys and the four empties
Through this meditation the meditator experiences different levels of bliss or joy.
(Translators use either joy or bliss so I will use joy.)
Due to the winds dissolving in the central channel, the white bodhicitta drop melts and
moves down from the crown to the throat, to the heart, to the navel and finally to the
secret region. At each of these four stages four different types of joy are experienced.
They are:
joy when the bodhicitta moves from the crown to the throat
supreme joy when the bodhicitta moves from the throat to the heart
special joy when the bodhicitta moves from the heart to the navel
innate joy when the bodhicitta moves from the navel to the secret place.
The four joys can be experienced not only when the white drop descends from the crown
to the secret place but also when the red drop moves from the secret place upwards to the
crown. Although the joys experienced at each of the four places on the way up are given
the same four names, it is in fact always innate joy. This is because the joy experienced
during ascent of the red drop is far more powerful than that during the descent of the
white drop. Until the knots at the heart channel wheel are loosened, there are some
similar experiences but it is not the complete experience of the four joys.
From the entering, abiding and dissolving of the winds in the central channel, the
bodhicitta drop descends and the four joys are induced, but something else happens as
well. With the four joys, the four empties are experienced. For some scholars the four
empties and the four joys are the same thing, going under the name the four empties.
Although these four empties are called the exulted wisdom of emptiness, this is not the
wisdom realising the emptiness of inherent existence which is the normal meaning of the
term. Here emptiness refers to the subtle consciousnesses experienced during the
dissolution or by meditation: the white appearance, the red increase, the black nearattainment and the clear light, occurring not due to normal death but by the meditation on
the winds entering, abiding and dissolving in the central channel.
The four empties are:
empty white appearance
very empty red increase
great empty black near-attainment
all empty clear light.
By now you already know that these four empties occur during the last part of our
ordinary death process, but here we are talking about the actual experience of them
through meditation; it is no longer imagination.
The first empty occurs for the meditator with the mind of white appearance when, from
above the heart, all the winds from the right and left channels enter into the central
channel and the white drop located at the crown melts and drips down. When the drop
arrives at the top of the heart, the practitioners mind is filled with a brilliant white
appearance like moonlight, which is why it has the name white appearance. At this
stage the empty will occur, so called because all the 80 conceptual thoughts and the
winds that carry them all dissolve.
The second one, very empty, occurs when the winds from the right and left channels
from the area between the heart and the secret place enter into the central channel. That
brings the red drop located at the navel up towards the heart. When it touches the lower
part of the heart channel knot, the practitioner experiences a reddish appearance like
sunset therefore it is called red increase. It is also called very empty because at this
stage the mind is not only devoid of all the gross conceptual minds and their winds, but it
is also devoid of the previous mind of white appearance and the wind which carries it.
The third one, great empty experienced with black near-attainment, occurs when the
winds from above and below the heart start to come closer. The heart channel knot
loosens and at the centre of the heart channel wheel the indestructible drop starts to move.
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As they come closer and closer to the indestructible drop during the earlier part of this
stage, the practitioner experiences vacuity or blackness like a clear autumn night sky. It is
called near-attainment because it is getting closer to clear light. This mind is called
great empty because it is not only devoid of all gross minds and winds but also of the
previous two subtle minds of white appearance and red increase and the winds which
carry them.
The fourth empty, all-empty, refers to the mind of clear light. This occurs when all the
winds dissolve in the indestructible drop. The white substance from above and the red
from below dissolve in the indestructible drop in the centre of the heart chakra and all the
winds dissolve in it. From that, the subtlest or primordial wind and the mind of clear light
become manifest. In other words the actual clear light will occur, totally filled with nondualistic appearance of mere vacuity, free from white, red and black appearances. It is
completely devoid from all the subtle and gross minds and winds, which is why it is
called all-empty.
Because it is very important I would like to repeat, this empty does not refer to the
emptiness of inherent existence but to the particular thing which each stage is devoid of:
the first empty is empty or devoid of all the 80 conceptual minds and their winds; the
second empty, very empty, is devoid not only of them but also the white appearance and
the wind which carries that mind; great empty is empty or devoid of not only these
previous two but also of the mind of red increase and the winds which carry those minds;
the last one, all-empty, is not only devoid of the others red increase, white appearance
and the 80 conceptual minds but is also completely devoid of all the subtle and gross
minds and their winds.
The time for doing this practice is important. Although the four empties and four joys are
practised together, the focus sometimes changes. Some practitioners focus on the four
empties and then the four joys and some do it the other way around. The time when the
focus is on the four empties is dawn, just as daylight is starting to show. If the practice is
more on the four joys then it should be done at dusk, after the sun has set but before it
actually gets dark. At a certain stage these two must be practised together.
Meditating on the inseparable nature of emptiness and great bliss, that mind is generated
into the aspect of the single deity. Of the four ways of generating into the deity this is the
last, the ultimate physical isolation of the great secret one family. Here it is just ourselves
visualised as the inseparable nature of great bliss and emptiness generated as one deity,
Vajradhara. Meditating on that is called concentration and during that meditation three
aspects are experienced:
mental bliss
the bliss of pliancy
single-pointed meditative stabilisation.
These three, mental bliss, the bliss of pliancy and single-pointed meditative stabilisation,
are all experienced within the single mind which is inseparable from great bliss and
emptiness. That is the meditation on meditative equipoise. This is what the practitioner
does in the main meditation session during the physical isolation stage.
iii. maintaining meditative equipoise on emptiness during the post meditation
session
There are three main activities during the post-meditation period:
withdrawal
individual investigation
analysis.
To the meditator during the post-meditation period, all phenomena appear equally empty
of inherent existence by mere label and mere imputation. All these phenomena, however,
appear as they do in our normal existence in all their variety of shapes and sizes.
Although all are equally empty of inherent existence there are countless appearances so
the Tibetan saying is one taste appears as many different forms. And vice versa, all the
many different forms that phenomena take still appear to the meditator as empty of
inherent existence, so the expression here is many different forms appear as one taste.
During that post-meditation time, the practitioner needs to constantly remind him- or
herself of what happened during the time of meditative equipoise, where they combined
the realisation of emptiness with the experience of great bliss. Remembering that helps
them see all phenomena as a manifestation of bliss and emptiness.
The meditator restrains from any other mental activities apart from the appearance of all
phenomena as a manifestation of bliss and emptiness. Stopping other appearances is
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called the practice of withdrawal. This is a mental consciousness rather than a sensory
consciousness. Although the practitioner is not actually in the meditation session, when
they start to focus on certain things such as the subtle phenomena or on emptiness and
great bliss, all the sensory consciousnesses naturally withdraw from the object, which is
why this practice is called withdrawal.
There is also a practice called individual investigation, which we have already
discussed, when the practitioner meditates on the 25 gross phenomena, seeing them as
manifestations of bliss and emptiness, the same as all other phenomena and perceives
them as the different deities we have already discussed 100, 25, six or a single
Vajradhara. This way of seeing is called individual investigation because it investigates
the identity of the deities and sees them as an expression of bliss and emptiness.
Another post-meditation practice is analysis which is very similar to the previous one of
individual investigation but more thorough. Whatever phenomenon appears to the
practitioner (such as the 25 gross phenomena) is experienced in the inseparable nature of
bliss and emptiness, which causes them to enter into a state of meditative equipoise. By
the object appearing as a manifestation of bliss and emptiness, either the mind
experiencing bliss triggers a realisation of emptiness or the other way around, the mind
realising emptiness triggers bliss.
In some sense, when we have reached this stage, it is quite difficult to differentiate the
actual meditation and the post-meditation session. Here we can see something very
unique. The mental activities of the post-meditation session help the meditator go into
meditative equipoise.
3. Tum-mo Practice
Tum-mo practice is not emphasised in father tantras such as Guhyasamaja but when the
winds enter, abide and dissolve in the central channel generating heat at the navel, the
result is similar to tum-mo. Tum-mo or inner heat practice is a technique used in mother
tantra. As it is a term many of you will have heard of, I think it is useful to give a very
brief explanation of the practice.
i. visualising the crown wheels
At the crown there is a HUM. The moon disc is flat and the HUM is upside down below it,
looking as though it is wearing the moon as a hat. Although it is in the shape of a letter, it
is the actual white drop. The crown channel wheel itself is a little bit like a dome, curving
down. And the moon disc, where the HUM is situated, is in the very centre of the channel
wheel.
At the throat is the letter AH, this time the right way up, and red, like blood, the nature of
the red drops. The channel wheel itself is curved a little bit upwards. In other words, the
crown and throat channel wheels form two umbrellas.
At the heart channel wheel is the letter HUNG, blue in colour, hanging down from the
moon disc as if it is wearing a hat. The channel wheels petals are curved down a little
bit.
Then at the navel is the short letter AH, what in Tibetan is called an AH tung. It is used
when writing to lengthen the AH sound in Sanskrit consonants and is just a horizontal
line. It is not considered a Tibetan letter. It has the nada (dot) and tigli (flame). It is red,
but not blood red, more like a flame, very hot and reddish in colour. It is also on a moon
disc.
Although the main meditation will be on the AH tung at the navel, it is very important to
visualise all the mantra syllables very clearly at the beginning. When we visualise this
short AH, we must again visualise our entire mind, ourselves, our personal deity and our
spiritual master and the entire environment as being inseparable from it. It is the nature of
all these things. It is very bright and reddish and has an intense heat although at this stage
it is not really blazing, but the heat is in the short AH itself. Feel that it exists there.
Because the knots have already been loosened in the previous meditation, (see the
meditation on clearing the paths and channels in chapter six) the heat will definitely
travel through the central channel, and because of that, the four joys will be experienced.
a. engaging in vase breathing
We discussed vase breathing in the Kriya Tantra chapter. It is very similar here, but there
are a few differences.
To do this meditation, we have to take long breaths from the nostril, not from the mouth.
There are three steps.
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The first one is to imagine winds moving a little bit upwards from the lower part of our
body. This is just imagination. They move up through the central channel to the bottom
of where the short AH is.
Then we take long gentle breaths through the nostrils and imagine that it passes through
the central channel, the breath moving down to above the short AH, effectively trapping it
between the two winds.
We then strengthen this by tensing our bottom muscles a little. This further constricts the
space and increases the tension around the short AH.
Then we swallow a small bit of saliva, without any sound, feeling it further press down
on the vase at our navel, making the heat being generated by the short AH even more
intense.
There are only two entrances to the central channel, at the secret place and at the crown,
but Lama Tsong Khapa says that if we practise this technique with strong concentration it
will definitely make a new opening in the central channel at the navel channel wheel and
the winds will definitely enter. Not just that it will also cause the short AH, which is the
nature of heat, to become hotter and in fact start to burn. During the vase breathing
meditation it will flare up and die out, flare up and die out. It will not stay continuously.
b. igniting the flame of inner heat
To ignite the flame of inner heat using the vase breathing meditation, and to really
experience the heat that is there, we need to prolong that experience of heat. The short AH
completely becomes the flame which is hot enough to start melting the drops above
which in turn increases the heat. Due to the melting of the upside down HUM at the crown
channel wheel, in the nature of a white drop, we have the experience of the four joys as it
descends through the channel wheels. Within the four joys, it is the last joy, innate joy,
we need to employ to understand emptiness.
Lama Tsong Khapas prayer from the long Guhyasamaja sadhana says:
May I attain the profound path of the five stages,
Together with the three careers of yogis,
Which includes completely the six branches,
Withdrawal, contemplation, vitality control,
Stabilisation, verification, and samadhi!
May the downward and upward four ecstasies be produced,
Brought forth by the stages of reversal and emergence,
Of the stems of nectar when the sun melts, down the moon,
Relying on the mind in the subtle drop in the jewel tip!
Arising from that, amid all the appearances that dawn,
May I perfect the body isolation of withdrawal and contemplation,
By the samadhi of the Diamond Body, arising
As one hundred, five, three and one classes!
If you want to study this particular tum-mo practice there is a good commentary in Glen
Mullins translation of Lama Tsong Khapas Six Yogas of Naropa. Tum-mo practice
should never be done before this stage in the practice, otherwise it could cause serious
problems.

Verbal Isolation
The second stage of the six levels of the completion stage is verbal isolation.
The mode of transference from isolated body to isolated speech:
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By relying on the Vajra repetition for the manifestation of the winds entering,
abiding and emerging to resonate (naturally) with that of the three syllables (OM
AH HUM), the channel knots above and below the heart are loosened. Due to this
the winds above and below the heart dissolve into the heart channel and
consequently the wisdom of appearance arises. When that happens one is
transferred from the isolated body to the isolated speech.
Etymological explanation of the isolated speech:
It is so called because of its being a yoga that isolates the most subtle wind, the
source of speech, from its ordinary flow and combines it inseparably with
mantra.xxvi
from THE PATHS AND GROUNDS OF GUHYASAMAJA by Yangchen Gawai Lodoe
The main practice in verbal isolation is vajra repetition which involves the winds. We
have already discussed the five main winds, the buddhas and elements they are associated
with, and so on, so I wont repeat this here, but I will briefly mention the types of winds.
Although all the five main winds and branch winds are used at this stage, the main wind
for this practice is the life-supporting or vitalising wind. This wind has two types, gross
and subtle and it is the subtle wind that we use in verbal isolation. The subtle lifesupporting wind is also called indestructible drop.
Just as indestructible drop has many meanings (the two tiny drops at the centre of the
central channel, the base clear light we all have as well as this subtle life-supporting
wind) this wind has many names:
the indestructible wind
the clear light wind
the innate wind
the inherently-generated wind.
It is called the indestructible wind because it cannot be destroyed by any force. It is called
the clear light wind because at the base level (in a normal sentient beings life) as well as
on the path and in the resultant stage, all the gross and subtle minds and winds dissolve
into this wind and arise from it. It is called the innate wind because it is inseparable from
the clear light.
The practitioner needs to know how the five main winds and the five branch winds
operate at the ordinary level, on the path and at the resultant stage. At the ordinary level
they are the cooperative cause for sentient beings to remain in samsara because they serve
as the vehicle to carry self-grasping, attachment, anger and so forth. They also have gross
functions such as maintaining inhalation and exhalation and all the other bodily activities.
It is also very important to know what these winds do during the path and how to utilise
them. By using the five main winds during the path the practitioner can attain the illusory
body and so attain enlightenment in this lifetime.
From the generation stage, through physical and verbal isolation up to the illusory body
and the union of learning, all the stages have the practice of vajra repetition. In verbal
isolation it is mainly done with the subtle life-supporting wind in order to loosen the knot
at the heart channel wheel. The purpose is to move to the next stage of mental isolation.
In the verbal isolation stage there are three practices:
the mantra drop meditation
the light drop meditation
the substance drop meditation.
Although all three must be done, the most important is the second one, the meditation on
the light drop. Associated with the vajra repetition, it is the one which will help loosen
the knot at the heart channel wheel. The first and third, on the mantra drop and substance
drop, are not actual verbal isolation practices because they do not really involve the
winds. They do, however, support the second meditation, on the light drop, and as such
are still important.

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i. the mantra drop meditation

The first stage of verbal isolation is to meditate on the mantra drop. There are two types
of mantra drop, a syllable such as HUNG or what we call a short A, or an entire mantra
garland. Here we will just discuss the short A. It is in the shape of a Tibetan punctuation
mark.
This needs to be visualised at the centre of the heart channel wheel where the white and
red drops of the indestructible drop abide. During the physical isolation practice the
practitioner has generated him- or herself into Vajradhara, with both a clear appearance
and a strong identity. At the centre of the indestructible drop, they visualise this short A,
the size of a sesame seed. Due to strongly focusing on this, the winds enter, abide and
dissolve in the central channel. Although at this stage the knot at the heart channel wheel
has not yet loosened, the mind can still enter the central channel and the practitioner can
experience all the four empties and four joys as well as generating the wisdom of the
inseparability of bliss and emptiness. By using this method lots of obscurations will be
overcome.
ii. the light drop meditation
As I have already said, the light drop meditation mainly involves vajra repetition and it is
the main practice of the verbal isolation stage because this is the one which will loosen
the knot at the heart channel wheel. To do this, again the practitioner has to generate into
Vajradhara with all the visualisations but the vajra repetition practice is particularly
centred around the practice of holding the wind at the heart. (It is suggested, however,
that when this practice is first done, focusing on the navel is less risky.)
The actual practice is done at the heart, but it also involves meditating on a tiny light drop
at the tip of the nose and the three syllables OM AH HUNG which have the potential of a
buddhas body, speech and mind. So these three aspects are involved: the winds, the light
and the three letters.
The vajra repetition practice has three phases, linked to the phases of our breathing:
inhalation, holding the breath and exhalation. Although we are never normally aware of
it, when we breathe there is some kind of vibration. That vibration has a certain natural
sound and it is said that the sound coincides with the sounds OM AH HUNG. It is neither
the written words OM AH HUNG, nor the mental perception of the sound, but a natural
vibration. When we inhale, in that vibration there is a sound of OM; when we hold the
breath, in that vibration there is a sound of AH; and when we exhale, in that vibration
there is a sound of HUNG.
The meditator combines the light drop meditation with vajra repetition by imagining the
tiny light drop at the tip of their nose whilst breathing in. With the in-breath they singlepointedly concentrate on the vibration OM passing through the central channel, forcing it
past the knots in the channel. The reverberation of the OM starts to force the knots to
loosen. It is as if we have a bundle of wires so twisted that we need to insert something
into the middle to prise them apart.
It is not the mental sound OM, but a natural vibration that travels with the light drop
through the knots of all the channel wheels. When the mind really focuses on it, certain
types of energy move which actually loosens the knots.
At the end of the in-breath, when the practitioner holds their breath, there is a vibration
AH. That stabilises whatever has happened with the OM during the in-breath. Then, when
they exhale, they observe the vibration HUNG rising with the light drop, back through all
the channel wheels, again forcing through the knots and further loosening them.
Vajra repetition enables the wind in the central channel to actually move backwards and
forwards, forcing the knots to loosen. It needs to be done again and again until all the
knots, particularly the knot at the heart channel wheel, are loosened.
Due to the vajra repetition meditation the knot at the heart channel wheel will loosen and
the winds, particularly the subtle vitalising wind, will enter the indestructible drop, abide
there and then dissolve. From that the practitioner experiences the four empties and four
joys and due to this they experience the inseparability of great bliss and emptiness. This
experience is a much higher and more profound realisation than the previous one. Before
the winds just entered the central channel whereas now they are actually entering the
heart channel wheel.
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At this stage the practitioner needs to learn what is called mixing the three rounds
which means learning to meditate while awake, asleep and dreaming. What will happen
then is that the dissolutions which the practitioner can achieve while awake will continue
while they sleep and even during dream time.
iii. the substance drop
The third meditation within verbal isolation is the substance drop meditation. It enhances
the process of drawing the winds into the indestructible drop.
Here the meditator imagines a white-and-red drop, the substance drop, residing at the
point where their own central channels lower end and the (real or imagined) consorts
meet.
It is important that before they start this meditation the channel knots are opened with
vajra repetition so that the drops, particularly the indestructible drop, can move through
the channels.
Until now the meditator has been visualising him- or herself as a deity with consort. Now
they focus on either the union with a wisdom (visualised) consort or with an actual
consort, that is, a real person. We will discuss this later in mental isolation.
In this meditation, with the knots loosened, due to embracing the visualised or actual
consort, the winds start to really enter into the central channel and the four joys arise
again. This time, though, because the practice is more advanced and the concentration is
stronger, each of the four joys will be correspondingly more intense.
When they occur due to the meditation, the white and red substances of the indestructible
drop from the male and female deities hearts move downward towards the sexual organ
where the two deities central channels meet, but no substance is released outside because
the channels are joined.
By focusing intensely on this, the meditator really makes the earlier result the opening
of the knots far more stable. Until now they have gathered the winds in the central
channel and there has been some movement as the knots loosened, but with the substance
drop meditation the meditator is able to hold the knots open and so have a clear channel
to move the winds through.
Lama Tsong Khapas prayer from the long Guhyasamaja sadhana says:
By concentrating the king of drops, the best mantra drop, on the tip of the lotus of
the heart,
May the twelve energies that generate
All notions of subjects and objects
Dissolve into the indestructible drop!
The vibration of the drop of light at the nose-tip
By dawning as the uncontrived three vajras,
By samadhi of speech isolation speech vajra,
May I break free from my hearts eggshell of ignorance!

Mental Isolation
1. The Two Levels Mental Isolation
By relying upon an internal condition of Vajra Recitation of the pervasive wind
and an external condition of the Vitality and Exertion of a consort, channel knots
at the heart are completely untied. Due to this a part of the pervasive wind along
with the primary and secondary winds dissolves into the indestructible drop at the
heart, which produces the wisdom of appearance. Whenever that happens one is
transferred from the isolated speech to the isolated mind.
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It is so called because of its being a yoga that isolates the mind [which is the root
of everything in cyclic existence and the state beyond] from the indicative
conceptions and the winds which serve as their mounts and the mind appears in
the entity of indivisible bliss and emptiness.xxvii
from THE PATHS AND GROUNDS OF GUHYASAMAJA by Yangchen Gawai Lodoe
During verbal isolation the practitioner does the three types of meditation: on the mantra
drop, the light drop and the substance drop, but particularly on the light drop. This
involves vajra repetition which serves to loosen the channel wheel knots particularly at
the heart channel wheel. By these practices which loosen the knot the practitioner moves
into the next stage, mental isolation.
The four empties and four joys are experienced during all the isolations but the more
advanced the practice the more intense and clear they are. If the winds simply enter the
central channel but do not abide in a particular location, which is what happens in
physical isolation, the experience will not be as intense as when the winds actually abide
in the central channel wheel.
In mental isolation the winds not only enter the central channel wheel but also into the
indestructible drop, which will only happen when the heart channel wheel knot is
loosened due to vajra repetition. Therefore the experience of the empties and joys is even
clearer and more intense.
At the earlier stage of mental isolation, however, some but not all of the winds enter,
abide and dissolve in the indestructible drop. The pervasive wind, in particular, does not
enter it.
There are two conditions needed to complete the mental isolation stage:
the internal condition (vajra repetition)
the external condition (relying on a seal).
The internal condition is vajra repetition which we have already discussed and the
external condition involves the practice with a consort (seal).
There are also two levels of mental isolation:
mere mental isolation
final mental isolation.
During mere mental isolation, the meditator continues with vajra repetition while at the
same time, in order to advance, they practise with a wisdom seal a visualised consort.
Due to the visualisation of themselves in union with the wisdom consort, bliss increases
which causes the winds to gather in the central channel at the heart level. There is even a
chance that they will enter the indestructible drop.
However, the goal of this stage is to achieve the illusory body and this cannot be done
with a visualised consort. For that they need to either rely on an actual consort if they
wish to achieve the illusory body in this very lifetime, or they can wait until the death
process, when the final mental isolation can be done.
i. the action seal
An action seal is a real consort. They are called seal for the same reason the basic tenets
of Buddhism (All compounded phenomena are impermanent etc.) are called seals.
There is no argument about the Four Seals. We need to understand them and accept them
to really be called a Buddhist. In the same way this is something unarguable. There is no
other way to make all the energies enter, abide and then dissolve in the indestructible
drop, apart from death. A visualised consort can only take us to a certain stage. In order
to actually achieve the illusory body, particularly the pure illusory body in this lifetime,
the practitioner needs to depend on a real consort.
The definition of a seal is:
A seal is the sexual consort that assists one to achieve a bliss consciousness that
realises emptiness. This sexual union, real or imagined, causes the substance drop
to appear at the tip of the sexual organ, but the drop is not emitted, being wilfully
held in place.

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During the union with the consort, although great bliss occurs and the white and red
drops both function and move to the place of union of the central channels of the male
and female deities, they are never released. This is in fact a Tantric vow commitment.
It is not until this stage in mental isolation that it is safe to use a consort. Before that the
practitioner is not ready and it is very, very dangerous. Although I am sure there was no
risk at all to Lama Tsong Khapa from this practice, as an example to his followers he
never sought a consort but attained the union of clear light and illusory body during the
death process. If you read his life story you will see this stated quite clearly.
Other masters have done the same. If they had taken a consort during their lifetime they
would have achieved the union of clear light and illusory body, but they chose not to do
so because that might have given the wrong message to their followers. That shows how
dangerous this practice is if we do it before we are ready.
For the practitioner who has reached this stage but does not want to seek the level of
illusory body in this lifetime by the means of an action seal, the only occasion they can
achieve it is at the time of their death. Then they can use the vajra repetition practice to
slowly draw all the winds into the central channel and into the indestructible drop and
from there, when all the appearances, all the joys and all the empties occur, with the last
empty, all-empty, which is the clear light, they can then move to the illusory body instead
of moving to the bardo body as in normal death.
Choosing a consort is a very complex business and I dont really think I need to go into it
in detail here. The consort has certain qualities depending on the Dhyani Buddha family
the practitioner belongs to and the main deity practice they are doing. They should be
practising at the same stage as the practitioner or they should have at least received the
initiations which the practitioner is practising (at least to the fourth initiation) and keep all
the vows and commitments very purely. If they have not reached the completion stage the
consort must have an established practice in the generation stage.
At this stage there is a practice called blessing the two openings. Embracing either a
visualised or actual consort the father and mother in union great bliss is increased
because the winds move down and increase the heat. When the drops reach the end of the
sexual organ the fourth joy, innate joy, and the fourth empty, all empty (or clear light)
will occur. With the mind of clear light, the practitioner meditates on emptiness.
If the consort is a wisdom or visualised consort then that realisation of emptiness will still
be conceptual because the very act of visualising the wisdom consort means there must
still be a trace of conceptuality. If the meditator relies on a real consort then the clear
light will be without any conceptuality and then that triggers a direct realisation of
emptiness.
This is called the metaphor clear light of the mental isolation stage and it occurs as the
practitioner starts to move to the next stage. The metaphor clear light is the cooperative
cause of the impure illusory body and the wind which carries it is the main cause to bring
it about.
When this happens with an actual consort, the practitioner is then actually free from the
physical body. Even though they still possess the physical body they have cut all
connection with it. They are now free from all delusion and karma which means that,
according to the sutra system, they are liberated from samsara. They are still not
enlightened but no longer dependent on this physical body. This does not happen by
relying on a wisdom consort.
The activities which the meditator performs with an actual consort also have stages, as
they move to the later part of mental isolation after attaining all the realisations associated
with the earlier part. These activities are called:
elaborate
non-elaborate
very non-elaborate.
The first of these is called elaborate because the practitioner and the consort perform
activities such as wearing special masks and clothes and calling and responding to each
other and so forth. Non-elaborate deeds involve less activities, but still include wearing
masks and clothes but not the calling and responding. Very non-elaborate only involves
the sexual union.
Lama Tsong Khapas prayer in the long Guhyasamaja sadhana says:
By meditating vitality control of the substance drop,
At the root of technique, wisdom, and mystic channels,
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Clearing away the darkness of superstition energies,

May the clear light sun dawn in the centre of my heart!
By meditating vitality control of the three drops
At the three nose-tips, by the lights of moon and sun
And the dark of gloom in the cloudless sky,
May the mind isolation of the three voids arise!

The Illusory Body

In the ordinary body, after death occurs the intermediate state commences but now, due
to the internal condition of the vajra repetition and the stages of withdrawal of the two
concentrations and the external condition of vitality lengthening involving a seal, the
practitioner achieves the illusory body.
At this stage in the meditation they bring not just some of the winds into the central
channel but all of them, including the pervasive wind, and not just into the central
channel but into the indestructible drop. This causes the experience of the four empties
conjoined with the four joys with last joy realising all-empty actually being the clear
light. Once all the winds have dissolved into the indestructible drop the practitioner starts
to experience the dissolutions in the reverse order and the illusory body commences.
Its main cause is the wind which carries the clear light which realises all-empty and the
cooperative cause is the clear light itself. That wind is called the wind with five rays of
light and that clear light is called the metaphor clear light or example clear light. As I
have said before, when the practitioner reaches this stage there are only two ways to gain
the illusory body, by seeking an actual consort or by waiting until the actual death occurs
and using the process to experience the four joys and empties.
In The Paths and Grounds of Guhyasamaja, Yangchen Gawai Lodoe talks about the
mode of transference from the isolated mind to the illusory body:
As one begins to wake up from the exemplary clear light of the final isolated mind,
which has been explained, [its] wind is slightly stirred, due to which the mind of
near-attainment of the reversal [process] is accomplished. Along with it, like a fish
leaping out of water, an illusory body characterized by the noble signs and
auspicious signs is literally accomplished as distinctively separate from the coarse
body precipitated by ripening [actions]. The wind with five rays of light as the
mount of the clear light serves as the substantial cause and the clear light itself
serves as the cooperative condition.
Thus, to accomplish an illusory body, both the coarse and subtle bodies have to be
distinguished from each other by the power of meditation, though they need not be
accomplished on different [physical] bases (go sa) The Lamp Illuminating the
Five Levels also says: As stated earlier, for [an illusory body] to be separated
from the old body, it is not absolutely necessary for it to abandon the basis (go sa)
of the old body to exist. The same thing can be understood from the Bright Lamp
which states that the pure illusory body exists within the vessel of the old
aggregates and so forth.xxviii
As this quotation says, the illusory body is gained when the practitioner reaches the final
mental isolation due to the practice of vajra recitation and the action seal. All the winds,
including the pervasive wind, dissolve in the indestructible drop and the last empty is
realised by the last joy. From there, when the wind starts to move and the reverse order of
the dissolution process begins, then the illusory body is accomplished, like a fish leaping
out of the water. It is as if there is nothing on the surface of the water, and then suddenly
a fish appears. In the same way, this is not gradual. As soon as the reverse order
commences, the illusory body occurs.
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The illusory body which the practitioner arises into is not just a body but a divine body.
From the beginning of the generation stage, the practitioner has visualised a divine
appearance, held divine pride and performed divine activities, but here the actual divine
body occurs. For example, a Guhyasamaja practitioner will arise as Guhyasamaja, with
the body adorned with all the 32 major and 80 minor marks and the entire Guhyasamaja
mandala. Because the main cause is the wind called the five rays of light this body is
entirely unobstructed. It is like a dream body or a mirage, never being hindered by other
things. Although in both the generation and completion stage meditations, the deity has
many faces, colours and arms, at this stage the illusory body is only white with one face
and two arms.
In order to arise into the illusory body, which is a very subtle body, it is necessary to
separate from the gross body. In the ordinary death process the subtle consciousness of
clear light and its wind separate from the gross body. Here the process is exactly the
same. However, the practitioner is not doing this through ordinary death but through
meditation. Without separating from the gross body it is impossible to arise into the
illusory body. This separation does mean that the illusory body is located in a completely
different place from the gross body. It is within the gross body. Different masters have
different interpretations on this.
In Vajrayana, there are two types of practice to separate the subtle clear light and its
winds from the gross body. The first one is the practice of transference of consciousness
at the time of death such as the Six Yogas of Naropa in order to gain rebirth in the highest
pure land. In this case, although the practice can separate the subtle mind and wind from
the gross body, it does not attain the illusory body.
It is also possible to use the meditation of the final isolation to separate the subtle body
from the gross body, which causes all the winds to enter, abide and dissolve in the
indestructible drop with the help of an actual consort. This technique will lead to the
attainment of an illusory body. When the practitioner initially arises into the illusory body
at the end of the final mental isolation practice, it is within the heart channel wheel of the
gross body. This is called the inner awakening of the illusory body. At this initial stage
the practitioner cannot abandon the gross body because it is the result of previous karma
so that karmic connection is still there. Until that previous karma is cut, the gross body
cannot be abandoned.
There is also the outer awakening of the illusory body. This means that the illusory
body occurs in a separate location from the previous gross body.
While the practitioner has not abandoned all the afflictions, although they arise into the
illusory body it is called the impure illusory body. Once they have abandoned all the
afflictions, it becomes the pure illusory body. The pure illusory body is the body that they
attain enlightenment with.
In The Paths and Grounds of Guhyasamaja, (pages 73, 74) there are twelve examples
which illustrate the illusory body. They are:
1.
like an illusion: Just like an illusory person created by a magician from a
magical substance and an incantation of mantra appears a real person, an
illusory body of Vajradhara with complete characteristics arising from the
most subtle wind and mind appears as a real deity.
2.
like the reflection of the moon: Just as the reflection of the moon in a body of
clear water, the pure and impure illusory bodies also appear to those who
have the suitable disposition to see them [like the clarity and stillness of open
water].
3.
like a shadow: Just as the shadow of a body has the shape of the body but
lacks flesh and bone, similarly an illusory body has a complete form but no
flesh or bone because it is a wisdom body.
4.
like a mirage: Just as mirage appears and disappears instantaneously, when
its necessary conditions are gathered, an illusory body can also appear and
disappear instantly.
5.
like a dream body: Just as a dream body, an illusory body can leave the
coarse body of a yogi, go elsewhere to perform various activities, and return
to the old body afterwards.
6.
like an echo: Just like an echo made by shouting into an empty cave, an
illusory body exists distinctly from the old body, which arose from previous
ripening actions, although the two bodies belong to the same mental
continuum.
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7.

8.
9.
10.
11.

12.

like a spirits town: Just as a town of Gandharvas (ethereal beings known as

smell eaters) come into existence miraculously wherever they are born by the
power of their karmic actions, similarly the residence and the resident
mandalas of an illusory body are accomplished miraculously.
like a hallucination: Just as in a hallucination; e.g. the moon appearing as
two moons to a defective perception, so an illusory body can also appear as
a multitude of deities.
like a rainbow: Just like a rainbow, an illusory body has many colours.
like lightning amidst clouds: Just as lightning occurs from amidst the clouds,
an illusory body also occurs from within the old body, and is precipitated by
ripening karmic action
like bubbles in water: Just like bubbles bursting from water, the impure and
the pure illusory bodies arise from the stirring of the subtle winds of the
exemplary clear light of the final isolated mind and the meaning clear light
of the fourth level.
like the reflection in a mirror: Just like an image in a mirror, an illusory
body has complete form.

Clear Light
From the illusory body, the practitioner moves to the actual clear light. The Paths and
Grounds of Guhyasamaja quotes the root text on this as such:
The mode of transference from the illusory body to the meaning clear light:
An impure body engages in any of the three types of conduct (spyod pa) for
[periods] such as six months. Consequently, when the signs appear indicating
quick attainment of the meaning clear [light], the yogi enters into union with a seal
[consort] and meditates repeatedly on the two types of concentrated dissolution
process. Consequently, the [minds] of appearance, increase, near-attainment and
clear light dawn. At the time when the spontaneous blissful clear light ascertains
emptiness directly, the meaning clear light of the fourth level is actualized. At the
time there is the cessation of the impure illusory body, attainment of the
uninterrupted path of seeing as a direct antidote to the obstructions to liberation,
attainment of the first ground of Highest [Yoga Tantra], and becoming an Arya or
a Superior. Moreover, this meaning clear light of the fourth level is attained at
dawn when the sky is free of its three faults sunlight, moonlight and darkness.
From this point of view, it is considered as an external perfect realization. And
also, from the point of view of its being actualized at the time when the mind within
has transcended its three faults of white, red and black [appearances], it is
considered as an internal perfect realization. Therefore, if anything is the meaning
clear light of the fourth level it must necessarily be both external and internal
perfect realizations. In [this context] the Clear Light Illuminating the Five Levels
says: During the exemplary clear light, there is an objective appearance like that
of the clear sky but there is no such appearance for the meaning clear light since
for it even the subtlest dualistic appearance has disappeared and [therefore] space
[itself, not its appearance] is taken as an example to illustrate its being free of the
stains of fabrication.xxix
The clear light which occurs in the previous stage, from the final part of mental isolation
up to moving into the illusory body, is called metaphor clear light. It is so called
because although it is a subtle mind realising emptiness, it still uses a mental image to do
this rather than realising emptiness directly.
Meaning clear light is the clear light which realises emptiness directly. When the
practitioner, with the illusory body, practises with an actual consort and through that
experiences the four empties, the last stage is innate great bliss which realises emptiness
directly without any conceptualisation. That is meaning clear light. At that stage all the
afflictions are abandoned and the practitioner has become an arya being and their body is
a pure illusory body.
There are three types of clear light:
basic clear light
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 path clear light

resultant clear light.
The basic clear light is the clear light we all possess, path clear light is the clear light
which occurs through meditation and resultant clear light is the clear light which occurs
when through meditation we attain a buddhas mind.
The basic clear light which all sentient beings possess does not have any object to realise,
it is just the mind which is free from all conceptual thoughts. But the clear light which we
are trying to manifest during the path is the mind which realises the emptiness of inherent
existence, so it does have an object to realise. And obviously there are different levels of
that clear light. There is the clear light which realises emptiness conceptually and that
which realises it directly but is not stable, so that we lose it when we come out of
meditation. There is also the clear light which we have when we achieve enlightenment.
That clear light realises emptiness forever and is resultant clear light.
With resultant clear light there is no occasion which can be called meditative, nonmeditative or post-meditative clear light. When we have attained full enlightenment,
there is no time when our clear light does not realise emptiness. So that is again different
from the clear light during the path.

Union
Union is the last of the six levels of the completion stage. Here we are talking about the
union of clear light and the illusory body. The two causes of both are the same, the subtle
wind and the clear light, but their roles change. For the illusory body the main cause is
the subtle wind and the co-operative cause is the clear light, but for the clear light, the
main cause is the basic mind and the co-operative cause is the subtle wind. The mind we
are talking about here which is the main substantial cause for the clear light is the basic
mind which experiences the third empty, great empty. That mind acts as the substantial
cause for the clear light. Then when the dissolution process begins in the reverse order,
the clear light mind acts as the substantial cause for that basic mind. At this point the
illusory body is accomplished and the mind becomes the clear light mind.
The texts talk about the two stages of union:
learners union
non-learners union.
Learners union means that during meditation the practitioner can have the illusory body
and clear light together, but this does not happen outside the session. Non-learners union
is a buddhas body.
i. learners union
Through meditation we move from learners union to non-learners union. There comes a
stage when in meditation the abandonment of obstacles starts to cease.
When the meditator experiences the meaning clear light for the first time, realising
emptiness directly, they start to move from the meaning clear light through the reverse
order of the dissolutions. At that stage, because they have abandoned all the afflictions
and karmic seeds and all the subtle conceptualisations of cyclic existence (also called the
subtle obscurations to liberation), the reverse order of the appearances or empties will
occur. The abandonment of all the obscurations to liberation and the illusory body is the
union here. It is not, however, the union of no-more-learning because although the
obscurations to liberation have been abandoned, there are still very subtle obscurations
those blocking the meditator from full enlightenment which need to be overcome.
The texts say that this union happens within one meditation session. But that does not
mean that after the first meditation session in the learners union the practitioner will
immediately move to non-learners union. When they meditate on learners union which
is illusory body and clear light, the tendencies or seeds in the mind stream decrease more
and more.
ii. non-learners union
When those potentials stop completely, the next step is the non-learners union. So what
the texts mean is that, although it might take a long time to destroy the subtle delusions
that remain as seeds on the mind stream, the final part of the process happens very
quickly. It is sometimes said that the meditation might start at dawn, move through the
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stages during the day and turn into complete enlightenment at dusk. To move from
learners union to non-learners union, the practitioner needs to have four vajras.
The first vajra is the joining of the ends of the two central channels of the practitioner and
consort while they are embracing. This is called the channel vajra.
When the two sexual organs of the male and female deities meet, the winds, particularly
the downward-moving winds, are constantly at the place of meeting. That is the wind
vajra.
Then, due to the channels being joined, the energy moves and the drops descend,
increasing the bliss and further increasing the number of drops coming together at the
joining of the two central channels. This continuous coming together of the drops is the
drops vajra.
And due to the moving of the drops, there is the experience of great bliss realising
emptiness, which is the vajra of great bliss and emptiness.
Lama Tsong Khapas prayer in the long sadhana says:
Becoming expert in the key points of the complete secret instruction
Of the nine mergers, three to each of three,
Illusory body of Beatitude, Clear Light Body of Truth,
And the variegation of the Bode of Emanation,
May I perfect the holding of the absolute clear light,
By means of the relative Illusory Body,
The reverse order verification practice,
The samadhi of integration, and the three careers,
constructed, unconstructed and extremely unconctructed.

iii. the seven exalted features of the non-learners union

When the non-learners union has finally been reached i.e., when the practitioner has
become a buddha there are seven features that show this. They are:
i. their complete enjoyment body has the 32 major and 80 minor marks of a
buddha
ii. their complete enjoyment body is embracing a wisdom seal
iii. their mind always remains in a state of great bliss
iv. that bliss is always mixed with the cognition of emptiness
v. their mind never wavers from great compassion for all sentient beings
vi. the continuum of their body never ceases
vii. their emanations pervade the universe ceaselessly performing activities for
the benefit of others.
The first one is that the person has the complete enjoyment body of a buddha with its 32
major and 80 minor marks. They would have had many of these signs during the learners
stage but there is a difference between an actual buddhas body and the body we have
while we are on the path. It is only when we reach buddhahood that there will be all these
major and minor marks.
The second feature is that the complete enjoyment body embraces the wisdom seal. The
non-learners body is constantly in union with the consort which represents the fact that
the enlightened being is all the time inseparable from the wisdom realising emptiness.
The third feature is that the mind always remains in the state of great bliss. There is no
time great bliss is not experienced and it is always mixed with the cognition of emptiness,
which is the fourth feature.
The fifth is that the mind never wavers from great compassion for all sentient beings and
the sixth is that the continuum of the body never ceases. After attaining the union of
illusory body and clear light, at no time does that particular body cease because the
causes to have this body are not those that determine what body the person has. Ours
deteriorates due to causes and conditions; a buddhas body never will.
The final feature is that the emanation pervades the universe ceaselessly performing
activities for the benefit of others. Although the person is constantly in the meditative
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state realising emptiness which experiences great bliss, there are countless emanation
bodies covering entire universes going out to benefit sentient beings.
iv. the correlations to the bodies of the buddha
Correlations to the Bodies of the Buddha
body of
buddha

entity of
body

truth body
complete
enjoyment
body

actual
clear light
pure
illusory
body

emanation
body

emanated
forms

correlation
to ordinary
states
clear light of
death
intermediate
state

correlation
to single day

correlation
to path

correlation
to sleep

correlation
to death

deep sleep

actual clear
light
impure
illusory
body

mind of
clear light
dream body

conception

waking

re-enter
coarse body

re-enter
coarse body

mind of clear
light
illusory body
in place of
intermediate
state body
emanation
body used to
complete
path

dreaming

If you look at the bodies of the buddha in the chart, you will see there are three, truth
body (dharmakaya), complete enjoyment body (sambhogakaya) and emanation body
(nirmanakaya). The next column, entity of the body, shows the cause of that body. So the
truth body comes from actual clear light, the enjoyment body from the pure illusory body,
and the emanation body emanates from these two.
In the third column, the Buddhas body is correlated to the ordinary states. So the truth
body and the actual clear light have very similar features to that of the clear light during
the death process. The complete enjoyment body and pure illusory body have similar
features with the appearance we have during the intermediate state. And the emanation
body and the emanated forms are similar to our concepts because just as our conceptual
mind goes everywhere and thinks many things, so does the emanation body which occurs
wherever it is needed to benefit sentient beings.
The correlation to a single day is: what happens in deep sleep is very similar to the truth
body, or clear light; dreaming is similar to the enjoyment body and pure illusory body,
and waking is very similar to the emanation body because it is when we are awake that
we perform all our activities.
Then the correlation with the path: the actual clear light will occur while we are alive
through meditation, the impure illusory body is also possible during the path and the
emanated forms correlate to our mind re-entering into a gross body. As we have seen,
when the practitioner stops meditation the mind which is in clear light reverts back to the
ordinary body, then performs the activities.
The correlation to sleep: the mind of clear light is quite similar to the mind during deep
sleep, the impure illusory body is similar to the dream body and the mind which leaves
the bardo and enters another body is similar to the state of waking up.
Stages

Levels of Stages

buddhahood

non-learners union
(buddhahood)

completion stage

learners union
actual clear light

Dissolution of
Winds in Central
Channel

Correlation With
Sutra Paths
path of no more
learning

at indestructible drop path of meditation

at heart (all winds)
path of seeing

impure illusory body

path of preparation
mental isolation at indestructible drop
at heart (some
winds)
verbal isolation
at heart
103

physical isolation

at lower opening

subtle stage of
generation

imaginary
path of accumulation
dissolution
coarse stage of
generation
*Solid lines = distinct categories, broken lines = overlapping or equivalent categories
(Read from the bottom up)
generation stage

The last thing I would like to look at is the chart showing the general system for Highest
Yoga Tantra which is quite interesting. Looking from the bottom up we can see the
generation and completion stage and the result, buddhahood. The next column shows the
divisions for the generation stage there are coarse and subtle yogas and for the
completion stage there are the six stages we have just looked at, from physical isolation
to union, finishing with non-learners union which is actual buddhahood.
The third column shows the stages of the dissolution of the winds from imaginary
dissolution in the generation stage, through the early completion stages where the winds
simply enter the central channel, to the final stages where they actually enter, abide and
dissolve in the indestructible drop.
The last column shows the five sutra paths. During the generation stage the meditator is
on the path of accumulation. That really means they have renunciation and wisdom. A
practitioner can be in the generation stage with quite similar capability, can have the clear
visualisations and all those things, but still not have bodhicitta or renunciation, so here it
is talking about a practitioner who has bodhicitta. The six levels of the completion stage
fit into the next three paths: preparation, seeing and meditation and buddhahood, of
course, is the path of no-more-learning.
And with the actual practice, the dissolution of the winds into the central channel, with
physical isolation, the meditator is really focusing on trying to open the lower end of our
central channel. With verbal isolation the focus is at the heart, using vajra repetition and
other techniques, and with mental isolation the main focus is dissolving all the winds into
the indestructible drop.
The illusory body and clear light during the stage of learners union correlates to the path
of preparation in the sutra path, which means, from a Sutrayana perspective, that the
practitioner has already attained the direct realisation of emptiness. So you see how that
ties in nicely with the completion stage description. Similarly, during the learners union
the practitioner is meditating on emptiness to abandon all the innate obstacles which
correlates to the path of meditation.
I have really just touched the surface of Vajrayana practice. Each practice can be
explained very thoroughly, in a lot of detail. It is difficult on one hand to explain the
meanings of the terms such as mental isolation and what kind of practices are involved
and on the other hand to explain how those practices should be done. It is quite a
dilemma how to put those two together.
There are books available explaining the technical side, and although I have not really
seen books with step by step guides on how to do the meditations, I think there are some
books on this. But bringing together these two the technical explanations and how to
actually engage in the meditations is difficult.
For us, the difficulty actually is engaging in the meditations. We learn a bit here and a bit
there but when we really start to do the actual meditation we do not know how to start.
The generation and completion stages need to be approached slightly differently. In the
generation stage we really need to get an overall understanding, but in the completion
stage we need to take it step by step.
Then, of course, there are variations within each practice and the methods we use for
them. For example, we can talk about how channels actually exist in our body but when
we meditate on them, for various reasons, we visualise them slightly differently, so we
need to get this right in order not to misunderstand such things.
The texts I have taken my explanations from are condensed texts. It would be impossible
to go through the elaborate ones because of space. They are so complicated. What I have
been able to say in this book is very, very little.
So if you really want to do the practice, you definitely need to search for more
information and take more teachings. I feel that I have explained the most important
104

parts, things we normally would not get during a commentary after an initiation because
of the shortage of time.
Vajrayana is such a complicated subject and I have tried to cover it as best as I can, but I
really dont know how much I have succeeded. I myself havent studied Vajrayana in
anywhere near the detail that Ive studied the Sutrayana teachings so I feel that I lack
depth of understanding and knowledge. Therefore Im not sure how much I have
managed to convey to you.
So, we have now finished all six modules of the Foundation of Buddhist Thought but that
doesnt mean you have finished! Hopefully the material which you have studied over the
last two years has been useful to you. I think that the six subjects do actually form a
foundation for all of the Buddhas teachings, but it is just a foundation. Its now up to you
to continue. How much progress you make on the path depends on how much effort you
are willing to put into it in the future.
That effort, of course, can take many forms: getting involved with a Dharma centre,
studying and meditating at home, integrating what you have learned into your everyday
life. Whatever form it takes the important thing is to build on what you have learned over
these two years.
The vital point is not how profound our intellectual understanding of a Dharma subject is,
but how much we have integrated Dharma into our life. By sincerely taking the teachings
of the Buddha into our hearts we can really transform our lives and make ourselves better
people. At this stage I really dont think it is important whether or not we are able to
obtain the mind of clear light. I feel the most important thing is to train our mind, to do
something with it to make ourselves gentler, more loving, more caring more sincere
towards ourselves as well as others. I think that is what is both most effective and most
needed at this stage.

Questions on Chapter Seven

1. Are we in a position now to even get a glimpse of what it might be like to
attain the union of great bliss and emptiness? Explain them in simple terms,
as if you were talking someone who has just heard the terms for the first
time.
2. What are your feelings about the practices of Highest Yoga Tantra that
mirror ordinary sexual intercourse? What is the purpose of such practices?
3. What is meant by the illusory body and clear light?
4. Although we are a long way off practising the completion stage, do you think
it has helped your practice to know the technicalities? What do you think you
have gained from this study (if anything)?
5. What is meant by metaphor clear light and meaning clear light and how
important are they in the completion stage?

105

Supplementary Reading
Comparison of the Course Book Outline of the Sadhana with
Akhu Sherap Gyatsos Outline of the Sadhana Divided into 36
Outline of the Sadhana

Akhu Sherap Gyatos 36 Divisions

what to do before the actual practice

1. what to do at the beginning of the session
i. generating oneself into the deity
ii. blessing the vajra and bell and the inner offerings
iii. offering the preliminary torma (ritual cake)
iv. blessing the self-generations offering
v. practising the Vajrasattva practice
2. the main preliminary practice of the actual practice
i. accumulating merit
offering
prostration
purification of negativities
rejoicing & dedicating all virtues
taking refuge
generating bodhicitta
making pledge to practice the path
ii. eliminating obstacles
meditating on ultimate protection (emptiness
and divine pride)
meditating on the protection wheel
o generating the principal deity of the
protection wheel
o generating the wrathful retinues.
o stabbing the obstacles by use of a
phurbha
o meditating on the vajra fence
what to do during the actual practice
1. the meditative absorption on the initial engagement
i. the way to be enlightened
meditation on the ground of pristine
cognition
meditation on the vajra ground
meditation on the celestial mandala
ii. generation of the deities
generation of the specially imagined deities
withdrawal of the specially imagined deities
into the body
iii. deeds of the specially imagined deities

the yoga of specially imagined class, taking

the dharmakaya into the path
generation of the primordial lord, the yoga of
taking the intermediate state of
sambhogakaya into the path

106

1. instantaneous self-generation
2. consecrate vajra and bell
3. consecrate inner offering
4. make torma offerings
5. consecrate self-generation offering
6. engage in Vajrasattva meditation and recitation

7. offerings to merit field

8. visualise the uncommon protection circle of the ten

wrathful deities
9. drive the stakes
10. visualise the parameter fences and tent

11. you wear the protective armour

12. meditate on the ground of pristine cognition
13. generate the elemental mandalas
14. generate the deities

15. visualise the activities of the specially imagined class

16. place upon the body the deities of the specially
imagined class
17. meditate on taking death into the path as dharmakaya
18. meditate on taking intermediate state as
sambhogakaya

 the yoga of taking birth as nirmanakaya into

the path
o generation of emanation body of
Vajradhara
o visualising the mandala on its body
o

blessing the three doors

o
o

generation of the triple being

sealing with the lord of the family

the rite of union with a consort

o seeking the consort
o

blessing of the secret places

2. the meditative absorption on the supreme victorious

mandala

3. the meditative absorption on the supreme activities

i. the subtle yoga
ii. mantra recitation
vajra recitation
speech recitation
iii. songs of evocation
iv. offerings prayers
v. tasting of nectar
vi. meditation on dissolution.
what to do between the sessions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

19. meditate on taking birth as nirmanakaya

20. visualise your body as the mandala residence and your

elements as the deities within
21. consecrate both individually and collectively your
body, speech and mind
22. meditate on the generation of the triple being
23. seal yourself with the lord of the family
24. recite the 100 syllable mantra as a yoga to enhance
ones body, speech and mind
25. visualise the consort through the three-staged
generation procedure and place deities on her body
26. consecrate the [consorts] space and the [deitys]
secret place
27. enhance great attachment and maintain identification
with this
28. generate the deities of the supreme victorious
mandala
29. imagine they engage in enlightened activities and are
withdrawn
30. one should encompass all into the yoga of the subtle
drop
31. mental and verbal mantra recitations

32.
33.
34.
35.
36.

making torma offerings

the yoga of eating
the yoga of sleeping
the yoga of waking
the yoga of washing
the yoga of enhancing ones body

107

sing songs of evocation

sing the praise verses
make offerings of inner, outer, secret and suchness
undertake dissolution meditation
during sessions, yogas of torma offerings, eating,
sleeping, waking, washing, and enhancing your body.

The Rite of Remedy For Mantra Downfalls

(Make three prostrations, stand and say):
All buddhas and bodhisattvas, dwelling in the ten directions, and community of
knowledge-holders, please listen to this rite of remedy for measureless transgressions I
have committed in violation of the vajra vehicle discipline from what are described as
grounds for defeat, and grounds for gross misconduct.
(The vajra master replies):
Please proceed in accordance with the teachings and the discipline.
(Squat down and recite):
All buddhas and bodhisattvas dwelling in the ten directions and community of
knowledge-holders please consider me.
I, knowledge-holder, (secret name), have committed measureless transgressions in
violation of the vajra vehicle discipline from what are described as grounds for defeat: I
have committed measureless transgressions which are gross misconducts with incomplete
branches and approximations of them, that belong to the class of fourteen root downfalls:
such as disparaging the master, taught as the first root downfall, because of which
Vajradhara said: Attainment comes from following the master, etc.
I have committed measureless transgressions in violation of the vajra vehicle discipline
from what are described as grounds for gross misconduct: I have committed measureless
transgressions which are actual downfalls belonging to the class of gross misconduct and
approximations of it:
the eight gross misconducts such as taking a wisdom consort by force, taking its nectar by
force, etc.; not properly performing the preparations; teaching secrets to the unfortunate;
teaching the physical mudra to a mudra who is not an expert; performing mandala
activities without having properly performed the approach retreat, etc.; unnecessarily
transgressing the two vows of Pratimoksha and Bodhisattva, etc.
Furthermore, I have committed measureless transgressions that are actual downfalls and
approximations of them in violation of commitments and vows of the five families in
general and individually, which I have sworn to protect. I have committed measureless
transgressions of actual downfalls and approximations of them in violation of what I have
sworn to protect, such as the twenty five ascetic practices; in particular, not recollecting
six times daily the meaning of the commitments and vows of the five families in general
and individually; not enumerating six times daily the root and branch commitments and
vows; not conforming to the way of serving the spiritual guide as explained in The Fifty
Verses of Devotion to the Spiritual Guide; stepping over things of divine significance,
old ritual substances, etc.; breaking the six sessions yoga of vowed intention; not making
an effort in four session yoga, the torma offering of the last session, the yogas of
sleeping, rising, washing, and eating; and not meditating on whatever appears as divine
sport.
Furthermore, not praising the deity and the spiritual guide with the Eight-legged Praise;
not meditating on, prostrating to and circumambulating women; not making an effort in
the left side practice, and the offering of the tenth day. In brief, I have committed
measureless transgressions in violation of the vajra vehicle discipline.
I, (your secret name), with the title of knowledge-holder, confess these transgressions of
mine before all the buddhas and bodhisattvas dwelling in the ten directions, and the
community of knowledge holders; I reveal them, I do not conceal them; henceforth I take
up restraint. If I reveal and confess them, I will live in happiness; but if I do not reveal
and confess them, that will not happen.
(Repeat 3x).
Conclusion
(Vajra master): Do you see these as transgressions?
(Others): I do.
(Vajra master): Henceforth, do you properly restrain yourself?
(Others): I will keep up most restraint in accordance with the teachings and the
discipline.
(Repeat 3x).
(Vajra master): This is the way.
(Others): It is well.
108

(Then another bhikshu puts the questions to the vajra master)

(Make three prostrations, stand and say):
All buddhas and bodhisattvas dwelling in the ten directions, and community of
knowledge-holders, it is very kind of you to listen to this rite of remedy for measureless
transgressions I have committed in violation of the vajra vehicle discipline from what are
described as grounds for defeat and grounds for gross misconduct.
(The vajra master replies):
It is most wonderful that you act in accordance with the teachings and the discipline.
The pratimoksha is a bridle
With hundreds of sharp spikes, suited to
The horse of the mind, so hard to steer
And always driven with effort.
The Pratimoksha Sutra

109

Glossary
Abhidharma
action seal
aggregates, the five
arhat
arya
Avalokiteshvara
bardo
Bodhisattvayana
calm-abiding
capala
cyclic existence
damaru
dharmakaya
deity
deity yoga
Dhyani Buddhas
divine pride
dorje
dharmakaya (truth
body)
drops (bodhicitta
drops)
dzogchen
emanation body
example clear light
five paths
five pristine wisdoms
form body
front-generation
fundamental clear
light
Gelug / Gelugpa
geshe
Guru Puja
illusory body
impure illusory body
individual liberation
practitioner
Lama Chpa
lung
mandala
mantra
mantra garland

one of the three baskets of teachings from the sutras the one on metaphysics
actual consort (as opposed to wisdom seal visualised consort)
also five heaps the traditional division of body and mind up. They are form (body),
feeling, discrimination, compositional factors and consciousness (mind)
a practitioner who has achieved the state of No-More-Learning in the individual
liberation vehicle
a superior being, one who has gained a direct realisation of emptiness
(Tib: Chenrezig) the deity of compassion
intermediate state of existence between death and rebirth
the vehicle of the bodhisattva the path they follow
meditative stabilisation, also called shin (Tib) and samatha (Skt)
offering bowl made out of, or in the shape of a human skull
samsara, the state of being constantly reborn due to delusion and karma
small hand drum with two weights on strings struck by rotating
truth or wisdom body: the aspect of buddhahood attained when the mind is completely
purified. (see also: rupakaya, the aspect of buddhahood that comes from the winds)
enlightened energy in the form of a being (such as Chenrezig), used as a tool in
meditation
a meditation or yoga where the meditational deity is used either as self-generation
(where the meditator imagines him- or herself as a deity) or as front-generation (where
the deity is visualised in front)
the five Buddha families, representing five primordial energies. They are: Vairochana,
Amitabha, Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amoghasiddhi
the sense of self as a deity, also called divine identity
(Tib) (Skt: vajra) meaning indestructible, usually refers to small four- or five-pronged
object, symbolising method and held in hand with bell
one of the two bodies achieved when a being attains enlightenment. This is the result
of the wisdom side of the practice.
one of the types of substance in the body, either white or red, coming from the
indestructible drop and pervading the body, also called bodhicitta or bodhicitta drops
a forceful means of going beyond the conceptual mind used in the Nyingma tradition
Skt: nirmanakaya. the aspect of the form body (rupakaya) of a buddha which is able to
emanate in countless forms in order to benefit beings
(metaphor clear light) the clear light which still holds a trace of conceptuality
in the Sutrayana, the path of accumulation, preparation, meditation, seeing and nomore-learning
(also called the five wisdoms or five pristine cognitions). The basic energies in their
purified form, relating to the five aggregates. They correspond to the five Dhyani
Buddhas
(Skt: rupakaya) the body of a buddha resulting from the winds (as opposed the truth
body from the mind)
visualisation of deity in front of self
the innate nature of the mind, carried by the most subtle wind, beyond all
conceptuality. This corresponds to the mother clear light
founded by Lama Tsong Khapa, one of the four traditions within Tibetan Buddhism.
The others are Sakya, Ningma and Kargyu.
title of a teacher in the Gelugpa sect who has completed the extensive training at a
monastery
(Skt) (Tib: Lama Chpa) extended prayers and ritual honouring the guru usually for
Gelug, Lama Tsong Khapa
body attained when winds dissolve in indestructible drop at the heart
illusory body obtained with a wisdom (visualised) consort, with still a trance of
conceptualisation
a practitioner on the path to liberation (as opposed to universal liberation practitioner,
one on the path to enlightenment)
(Tib) see Guru Puja
(Tib) wind or praa (Skt) the life energy that runs through us
the environment of the deity
that which holds usually a series of syllables said over and over again
the mantra made of light and standing around the rim of the moon disc
110

meaning clear light

merit field
metaphor clear light
mother clear light
mudra
nirmanakaya
(emanation body)
Perfection Vehicle
praa
Prasangika
primordial lord
principal deity
pure illusory body
refuge field
rupakaya (form body)
sadhana
sambhogakaya
(enjoyment body)
seal
self-generation
shin
son clear light
special insight
specially imagined
class
triple being
truth body
tsog
vipasana
winds
wisdom seal

the clear light which is without trace of conceptuality, resulting from a direct
realisation of emptiness
the buddhas visualised during the preliminary practices of a sadhana
(also called example clear light): the clear light achieved which still has a trace of
conceptuality (as opposed to meaning clear light which comes from a direct realisation
of emptiness)
the innate clear light we all possess which manifests at the time of death, so called
because the contrived clear light gained in meditation (son clear light) can be conjoined
with it
hand gesture
Of the two bodies of a buddha, this is the form body (rupakaya) which can be seen by
ordinary beings
The Mahayana path from the Sutras, i.e., not Vajrayana
(Skt) (Tib: lung) wind or energy within the body
the Consequence School the higher of the two sub-divisions of Madhyamaka. (The
other is Svatantrika)
Vajradhara, the most fundamental aspect of a tantric deity
the principal deity visualised (e.g., within a Guhyasamaja session it would be
Guhyasamaja)
illusory body obtained through using an action (actual) consort and hence without
conceptualisation
visualisation of buddhas done in the main part of the practice
one of the two bodies a buddha gains on enlightenment. (The other is dharmakaya.)
This is the result of the method side of the path.
meditation manual
of the two bodies of a buddha, this is the form body (rupakaya) which can be seen by
arya beings
a consort
the visualisation of oneself as a deity
(Tib) calm-abiding (Skt: samatha) the meditative state of single-pointed concentration
the clear light gained through meditation to be conjoined with the innate clear light
called mother clear light
(Skt: vispasana) deep insight into a subject (usually emptiness) gained through
meditation
the 32 main deities of the Guhyasamaja practice
the three parts of a visualisation done a one stage of a sadhana: the commitment being
(the meditation deity), the wisdom being (a small deity at the heart) and the
concentration being (the seed syllable at that deitys heart)
(Skt: dharmakaya) the aspect of a buddhas body resulting from the purification of the
mind (as opposed to rupakaya form body)
the offering substances (usually in a puja)
special insight the mind that conjoins with calm-abiding to really know an object
(Tib: lung Skt: prana) the life force within ones body
visualised consort

i.e., the Perfection Vehicle

from Destiny Fulfilled by Lama Tsong Khapa, taken from the Life and Teachings of Tsong
Khapa, (page 42) (edited by Prof. R. Thurman) 1982, published by the Library of Tibetan Work
and Archives ISBN 81-85102-16-3
iii
the five paths in Mahayana are the path of accumulation, preparation, meditation, seeing and nomore-learning
iv
The World of Tibetan Buddhism (page 97) by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Wisdom
Publications, ISBN 0-86171-097-5 Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama 1995. Geshe
Thupten Jinpa, English translation 1995. Reprinted from The World of Tibetan Buddhism with
permission of Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm St., Somerville MA 02144 U.S.A,
www.wisdompubs.org
v
quoted in Overview of Buddhist Tantra by Panchen Sonam Dragpa, page 19
ii

111

vi

ibid
ibid
viii
from the FPMT Prayer Book, Volume One
ix
The World of Tibetan Buddhism (page 93) by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
x
Yoga Tantra also has the whole vase initiation as in the Highest Yoga Tantra and the secret
initiation but generally not the wisdom and word initiations, although there are some deities within
Yoga Tantra that have the wisdom initiation. In some Yoga Tantra initiations Tantric vows are
given, which does not happen with the lower two classes.
xi
from Overview of Buddhist Tantra (page 67)
xii
from Overview of Buddhist Tantra (page 68)
xiii
the merit field is the visualisation of the deities, their attendants and the environment done at the
beginning of a meditation session in order to take refuge. The refuge field is the visualisation
(often more extensive) during the main part of the session.
xiv
Wisdom Publications, 1985, ISBN 0-86171-028-2
xv
Overview of Buddhist Tantra (p. 37)
xvi
from Destiny Fulfilled by Lama Tsong Khapa, taken from the Life and Teachings of Tsong
Khapa, (page 42)
xvii
The World of Tibetan Buddhism (page 105) by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
xviii
the ten directions are north, south, east, west, the intermediate directions (NE etc) and the
zenith and nadir
xix
The Paths and Grounds of Guhyasamaja (page 42)
xx
an extract from the Abhidarmakosabhasyam by Vasubandhu, translated into French by Louis
de La Valle Poussin and into English from the French and Sanskrit by Leo M. Pruden. Published
1991 by the Asian Humanities Press, an imprint of Jain Publishing Company, Inc.
www.jainpub.com. . ISBN 0-89581-913-3
xxi
gatis = realm of rebirth
xxii
purvakalabhava = future rebirth
xxiii
taken from The Paths and Grounds of Guhyasamaja (page 51) All the subsequent definitions
are translations in the book from the root text, An Eloquent Presentation for the Fortunate Ones to
Enter the Paths and Grounds of Mantra According to the Glorious Guhyasamaja of the Arya
Tradition.
xxiv
taken from The Paths and Grounds of Guhyasamaja (page 53)
xxv
the 25 gross objects of dissolution are: four elements (earth, water, fire, wind), five aggregates (
form, feelings, discrimination, compositional factors, consciousness), six sources (eye sense, ear,
sense, nose sense, tongue sense, body sense, mental sense), five objects (colours and shapes,
sounds, odours, tastes, tactile objects), five basic wisdoms ( mirror-like wisdom, wisdom of
equality, wisdom of analysis, wisdom of achieving activities, wisdom of nature of phenomena).
xxvi
taken from The Paths and Grounds of Guhyasamaja (page 54)
xxvii
taken from The Paths and Grounds of Guhyasamaja (pages 54 and 59)
xxviii
taken from The Paths and Grounds of Guhyasamaja (pages 63, 64)
xxix
taken from The Paths and Grounds of Guhyasamaja (pages 75, 76)
vii

112