Facebook Answered: Vajrayogini’s Sacred Initiation
(By Tsem Rinpoche)
Dear Students and Friends,
I would like to share with you the transcript about a talk I did on Vajrayogini in response to the Facebook question: What are the Commitments After Receiving Vajrayogini’s Sacred Initiation.
I hold Vajrayogini’s practice very close to my heart, which is why I have a dedicated section on Vajrayogini in my blog. I am so fortunate and humbled to have received Her practice from my Guru which is H.H. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, who had received it from His Guru, H.H.Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, who in turn received it from H.H. Kyabje Pabongkha Rinpoche… so whatever I said here is not made up by me but based on what these great masters had taught. It was Pabongkha Rinpoche who recommended and promoted the Vajrayogini practice as a main meditational deity. Vajra Yogini is highly treasured and practiced within the Gelug tradition.
Vajrayogini is a very very sacred practice. In the past no layman could see Her, not even monks. Due to the commitments involved, the Guru does not simply give Her initiations to just any student. So it is very rare to receive Vajrayogini, but She is very powerful and relevant for the people of this age. Vajrayogini is a tantric practice, it is the swift path. It is NOT a path for those who want a shortcut because they are lazy and want the easy way out. No.
So in order to qualify to receive Vajrayogini’s practice, the first thing you need to do is to do your homework! Do you really want it?? Only students who work hard for it, are committed, keep their promises, don’t make excuses and show sincere practice through their actions may qualify to receive her practice. You cannot win a marathon if you never trained for it. So if you want it then you should start training now… don’t give yourself excuses not to… She will bring you to Kechara Paradise within 7 lifetimes. I have briefly explained what the “warm up exercises” for Vajrayogini practice are here. You must prepare yourself ahead of time well, starting now for this practice.
If you care to receive Vajrayogini, do read carefully what I had said about the commitments in the video below… I have roughly explained what tantric initiation it involves as well. It is important for you to have some understanding about it. Read it, contemplate on it and strive towards it. I wish you good luck. If you have received Her, then please listen to what I share with you here. Important.
Tsem Rinpoche
Facebook question: What are the Commitments After Receiving Vajra Yogini’s Sacred Initiation
This is in regards to the Facebook post on sacred Vajrayogini’s initiation, and what are the commitments afterwards.
Some people have this idea that they don’t have to ground themselves, learn up, and make themselves very stable in the preliminary practices and preliminary teachings, that they feel that tantra is the fastest path, so therefore it bypasses everything else and once they go into tantra they receive the magic initiation from the Lama on the throne and they get the sacred, secret mantra and they just go into their rooms and they recite, that everything will transform, everything will change, everything will be overnight success. Well, it doesn’t really happen that way and that’s not the way tantra was actually presented.
Unfortunately, some people throughout the world have advertised tantra the wrong way, in the first place. The wrong way is to advertise that it is the fastest path, the quickest path, and that if you just rely on tantra alone, you can achieve everything and nothing else is much needed, that it just bypasses. So as a result you get a lot of people running for initiations, running for these secret practices, running for the sacred, running for everything that is tantric in nature.
Well, there are people out there who are qualified to give tantra and they practice, they do get results, some quickly, but most of us including myself are not. So therefore what I like to elucidate is here using Vajrayogini’s tantra as an example, but it definitely applies to Kalachakra and Yamantaka, Guhyasamaja, Cittamani Tara, Heruka, Gyalwa Gyatso Chenrezig, it applies to all of those. And what happens is, during the tantric initiation, in short, I can’t explain too much for those of you who don’t have initiation, as I would be breaking my commitments, but in short, during tantric initiation, you have the preparatory initiation which is 1 day, the first day, then you have the actual initiation the next day and during the preparatory initiation you’re supposed to examine to see if any inauspicious signs or dreams or anything happened that should give you a warning that you shouldn’t get this initiation as you are not ready. From the side of the tantra or the initiation there is no fault, from the side of the receiver, sometimes you are not ready.
So therefore, the next day, the second day is the actual initiation. When you receive the initiation, you have to take certain vows, you have to take certain commitments, you have to make certain promises, and those promises and vows and commitments that you take during initiation are extremely important. They are more important for you to gain attainments, for you to get the result from the initiation. The initiation itself is to plant the seeds into your mindstream, but the actual work happens after the initiation, the actual process of gaining attainments happen after the initiation. There are cases where during initiation some people get attainments but those are far and very distant in between. Those you should not rely and hope on, because we have to look at our qualities, do we have Bodhicitta?, Do we have some realization and understanding of shunyata that is manifested in our daily activities, not just an intellectual understanding? So therefore, simply to hope that we will get some attainments from the initiation itself is the hope of a beggar, the hope of a very poor person wishing to buy a huge, big building but they have no money.
So, like that, what’s important is that whatever we have promised during initiation is much more important after initiation and after whether you meet your Lama or not, whether you’re getting special care from your Lama or not, whether your Lama has, is unfortunately passed away or is still living or not, it doesn’t matter, because during initiation, you have taken oaths and commitments and samayas and promises from your Lama as a deity. So during the initiation of Vajrayogini, you don’t visualize your Lama as a human being or a monk or a teacher, or whatever. You visualize it as taking it directly from Vajrayogini. So whether your Lama is hanging around you or is alive or has passed away, makes no difference because actually during initiation, the correct mode of receiving initiation is to think that you have received the Vajrayogini, or in the case of Yamantaka, Yamantaka.
So therefore, Yamantaka is deathless, Vajrayogini is deathless, therefore if your Lama is around or not, if they’re alive or not it doesn’t make any difference. It should not impact your practice whatsoever. So therefore, during your initiation, you have promised several things, many things in fact but let’s put it in a nutshell that’s easier. After one has received the initiation, one should not talk about the initiation to people who are not qualified, who do not know anything. The reason is because, it might give wrong understanding or misunderstanding, and is your understanding enough to share, so we have be careful about that. So not to reveal tantra to people who are not ready and to reveal tantra to people who have taken tantra but who have lost faith or who have not committed…who have…um… kind of not stuck with the Lama and went away, we’re not allowed to share the tantric practices with them anymore. That is not something I made up, this is what it says.
So therefore, everyday in fact after initiation, it is said that if we want to keep our practice very strict, we should not reveal the images of our Yidam. It should be covered away, it should be not be seen by anyone, whether it is a statue or it is a picture. Now my teacher, one of my teachers, Kensur Jampa Yeshe Rinpoche, the Abbot Emeritus of Ganden Shartse told me that if we were to keep a picture of our Yidam because we just like to see the Yidam, we like to make offerings, we like to have something visual there, it is permissible that if we have one original photo, thangka, a representation fully covered and think that this is my Yidam, this is my main Yidam’s image and put it away behind something that no one can see and then have a second picture or second image that is revealed and open, so the second one can be seen by others, that’s what Rinpoche told me, then you won’t be breaking the commitments of keeping it so called secret, alright?
Then you have to do your 21 Vajrasattva mantras daily, so in the Vajrayogini long sadhana it’s already inclusive. So every single day, you must recite the Vajrasattva mantra 21 times according to the tantra that you have received. The reason is because…because we have heavy habituations, it’s very hard for us to keep our commitments totally pure. So when we do Vajrasattva daily, we stop the karma or infraction of our commitments to increase. So the infraction, the karmic consequences of infracting, or the infraction of it will not increase. Then everyday, we must do the 6 session Guru Yoga. The 6 session Guru Yoga, the short one, if we can do the long one, that is the best, the short one written by Kyabje Pabongkha Dorje Chang or Pabongkha Rinpoche is used. So after the Dalai Lama’s initiation, after initiation in Ganden, Sera, Drepung, all of Ganden, Sera, Drepung, Namgyal monastery, all of these great monasteries, all of these great sanghas, all these practitioners, they use the 6 session Guru Yoga as composed by Kyabje Pabongkha Rinpoche, Pabongkha Dechen Nyingpo in Tibetan and Pabongkha was requested to recite, to uh, compose something short for people who claim they didn’t have time to do the long one. So the short 6 session Guru Yoga you should recite 3 in the morning, 3 at night. If you find that difficult, 6 times per day as and when you like, all right.
And then you have to do tsok twice a month on the Tibetan, on the lunar 10th and 25th, you must do tsok twice a month and if you cannot make it to tsok for a very good reason, then you need to do your Yidam’s mantra, three times more than a normal commitment. So if you promised to do 3, then on tsok day if you cannot make it you do 9, all right? Then the next one is you have to do your mantra every single day, whatever mantra you commit to, if you break it you have to double it, if you break it again you have to double it, if you break it again you have to double it, so if you promise 3, if you break it you have to do 6, if you break it, you do 12, if you break it you do 24, if you break it you have to do 48. So it’s double the amount, not double from the original, okay. So 48 times 2 and so on…so on if you break it. When can you go back to the original? You can go back to the original if you get that initiation again, all right. If you get the same exact initiation again, it doesn’t need to be the same Lama in case if your Lama has passed away, if you have to get the same initiation again and when you swear in for the number, you cannot swear in the original number, you have to swear in the next number. So, if you swore in 3 originally, the next time you have to swear 6. So let me make that clear, the only way you can clear your breaking of the mantras is if you get that initiation again. If you get the initiation again, you cannot promise what you promised the first time. You have to promise double what you have promised the first time. So it’s the second time towards your Vajrayogini initiation, and the first time you promised 3, the second time you have to promise 6, all right? That is if you are to then from henceforth, you can do the mantra 6 times everyday, and/or more. Of course you should do more, all right?
So uh, next one is, some Lamas ask you to do the short, some Lamas ask you to do the long, some Lamas ask you no mantra, uhh no sadhana, just the mantra, okay. So if you have to do the sadhana everyday of course you do it everyday but that is optional according to what the Lama gave you, but just because you don’t have the commitment, you shouldn’t say “I don’t have to do it.” Because you see, the actual commitment to do is the sadhana, the meditation, the practice, the mantra, Vajrasattva, you know and the 5 Buddha family commitments, the actual practice is the whole thing. So what Lamas are doing now is they’re condensing the commitments everyday, hoping that without the commitment to do it everyday, you will automatically do it anyway. Because if you have to do 10 to become fully enlightened, how could you do 2 every single day to replace the 10 to become enlightened? So if you are supposed to do 10 every single day, you have to do 10 every single day whether you have the commitment or not. For example, if there’s a long sadhana of Vajrayogini for you to do to become enlightened, you got to do the long one. By skipping out on the long one and just doing the short one, you’re not going to get the benefits of the long one. Then you might think why is there a short one. Well, there’s a short one just to keep up the blessings so you overcome your particular problem or obstacle, maybe you’re travelling, maybe you are sick, maybe you’re not well, maybe you have some issues, so it’s just to do for a few days and then you do the long one. Although you don’t have a commitment to do the long one, you should do the long one. If you don’t do it, you don’t break your promise, you don’t break your commitment but neither do you get faster to enlightenment. So therefore, if you are supposed to do 10 things to achieve enlightenment through Vajrayogini’s practice, Yamantaka or Heruka, then you say “Well, I only promised to do two, so I’m gonna do 2 every single day and I’m going to wish for enlightenment through that”. Well you know, that’s not going to happen, because you promised to do…you promised to do two when you should do ten. So if you promise to do, if you didn’t promise to do 10 it doesn’t meant you shouldn’t do 10, does everybody understand that? Alright I am not being tough on this, I am trying to be very clear, very open and very pragmatic about tantric practice, and this applies to Yamantaka, Heruka, Guhyasamaja, all the other ones, so don’t think this is only for Vajrayogini, alright?
The next one is, you should, before your death, actually, this is what Zong Rinpoche told us before at our initiation, before our death we should in fact have the will and the, create the causes and circumstances and actually finish a full length Vajrayogini retreat with fire puja, with offerings and the full ritual. So before we die, we should think “I will learn up how to do that, I will do that and I will finish it” so that’s very important to do before we die. For any strange reason that we make this wish today and tomorrow we die, well, we didn’t break this commitment if our intent was there to do it. We do break our commitment, thinking “Aiyah, I’m not going to do it, I’m not going to do it, aiyah maybe later, aiyah maybe maybe maybe because you know what? You can kind of fool people around you, but you can’t fool your own karma. You can also play games with your own mind, but you can’t fool your own karma. So therefore, before you pass away, you should, you should finish a full-length Vajrayogini retreat, full mantra count, with full ritual, concluding with a fire puja, alright?
Last but not least, there is a…… there are tantric clothes, tantric ornaments and tantric instruments that everybody is supposed to carry with them, wherever they go, like a vajra and bell and damaru and all that stuff. Wherever you go you should carry that with you. Well, it’s gonna be a little heavy, and it’s going to be a lot, and there are some things like you know, bone dresses, bone ornaments, bone armlets and bone bracelets and bone skirts, I mean, where are we gonna get that today? So what happens is that there is a sheet, there’s a sheet that is available that is drawn out all the tantric ornaments, all the tantric dress and all the tantric offerings that we need is um, kinda drawn out on a sheet and um we can carry that around, alright.? We can carry that sheet around and that would be all right. If there is a big demand on that, I can actually Xerox or I can blog that piece of paper, and I can put it up on my blog site where people can download it and keep that sheet inside their book, not to be seen by others. So therefore, if that’s kept with you then you keep the tantric commitment of keeping all these items near you that are auspicious and that are necessary for your attainments, alright? So therefore if there is no request for that, you can get it from somewhere else or you have it already that is wonderful. So therefore, in short, after initiation, after initiation, post initiation is much more, much more important than the actual initiation. So we need to get a very good grounding in teachings such as the Bodhisattvacharyavatara, the Wheel of Sharp Weapons, especially the Lamrim, the Three Principle Paths, um if we can, if we can, Ornament of Clear Realization by Maitreya. We should study up on our tantric vows, that’s very important and afterwards, we have to hold our tantric vows. That is one very strong commitment. We should read our tantric vows daily or weekly till we are totally familiar with them. We should read and study up on our bodhisattva vows. Dagpo Rinpoche in France has written a beautiful book on the Bodhisattva vows and everybody should get that and take a read and study it. It is very clear and very precise.
So therefore, uh, after initiation, we should hold our vows very strongly. We should hold our tantric and bodhisattva vows as if we protect our own eyes and if we don’t hold our vows and we do everything else, we’re not gonna get many attainments. You know, sometimes when we get angry or sometimes when we’re not happy or sometimes when we’re dissatisfied, we want to get someone back, or we want to perhaps, say something or do something and we’re satisfied from getting that…getting that person back, well you have to think, is it worth it to get this person back and sacrifice my Vajrayogini practice? Is it worth it to get this person back or get this situation back or just to win or look good or have a face, and then sacrifice my Yamantaka, Guhyasamaja or whatever practice I am doing? Because when you do that you kinda break your vows. So you’re kinda selling out on your tantric practice for that one person. Is that one person and winning over them more important than holding your vows? Because sometimes we get lost in the heat of the moment and the passion and what’s happening, and we have to always think that whatever we say and do, whether it is wrathful or peaceful or you know whatever we say or do, we gotta think it through fast, and if we cannot think it through that shows us that we’re not ready for tantra. We got to think it through fast, clean and clear, and then do what we need to do, because we know clearly what we are doing. We can’t say later “Oh I was angry, sorry I didn’t mean it that way” the deed has been done and the vow has been broken. So therefore, in order to look good over someone and not to lose face, you don’t want to admit you’re wrong, you don’t want to apologize, you don’t want to, you know, come out with the truth, you don’t want to say something that might mean something else to somebody else because you want to look good, you don’t want to lose face, is that worth it? Is that worth it over your vows and your practice? If it’s not, then let the other person win. Very simple.
So therefore, after, (I’m looking at my notes here), after tantric commitment, sorry, after tantric initiation, once you hold your vows, bodhisattva and tantric vows, once you do your Vajrasattva every single day, 21 times minimum or more, you have to do your 6 session Guru Yoga, you have to do your tsok twice a month, and if you can’t do it, you gotta do your mantra triple, you have to do your daily mantra recitation or more, and you have to do, up to you, what your Lama has given to you, your short or long sadhana. But let me repeat again. just because your Lama didn’t ask you to do it, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it because that is part of the path. That’s what we should be doing to become enlightened, otherwise why did we get the initiation in the first place, okay? And before death, we need to do a full length retreat of Vajrayogini, completed by a fire puja, sealed by a fire puja. How do we do that? If we don’t know how we can get someone to help us, okay? And we should keep our tantric instruments and if we don’t have those then we should keep those on a piece of paper drawn out, because whether they are drawn out or 3D, doesn’t specify so drawn out is fine, okay?
Remember, all these things, post initiation practice for the rest of our life is more important to gain attainments. Once you get an initiation, you don’t have to run for any other initiations. You don’t have to run for many tantric deities. Lama Tsongkhapa recommended, [Tibetan phrase] Guyhasamaja, Heruka, Yamantaka. He recommended for us as his disciples, to do all 3 tantric practices because they complement each other and for these degenerate times, they are very, very beneficial. But you know, as times become even more degenerate after hundreds of years after Lama Tsongkhapa has gone into parinirvana, well, Pabongkha Rinpoche recommended all of us to do Vajrayogini, solely and he kind of said that “Look, this is the synthesis of all the Buddhas. This one counters all the negative attachments arising from desire we have during the kaliyuga. My first teacher, Kensur Lobsang Tharchin Rinpoche, Kensur Lobsang Tarchin has passed away, his incarnation is back, he is from Sera Mae Monastery and he told us, this was his exact words, when I was like 14 and we received the initiation from him at Howell, New Jersey, great master, great Tibetan master and he said “You guys are very lazy, and for lazy people like you who want big attainments, Vajrayogini is the perfect deity.” That’s what he said to all of us, okay. That’s not what Tsem Rinpoche says because Tsem Rinpoche doesn’t know much, but this is what great masters, my Gurus have said and I have full confidence in what they say so I sit here talking to you with full confidence not because I know so much, but because these came from the mouth of very learned masters, so I dare say with a lot of confidence. So therefore, Kensur Lobsang Tarchin Rinpoche said that this would be the perfect Yidam for lazy people. When he said lazy means attached, people who make excuses for not enough time, people who say they don’t have enough knowledge, they don’t have enough merits, well, this includes lazy because his meaning of lazy is very, very pervasive. He is very skillful. He is very compassionate. So therefore, I am not calling you lazy, but I am saying that we are all inundated with samsara and so if we want to combine all the deities into one, Vajrayogini would be totally perfect, totally wonderful for this day and age, all right?
So this is the kind of commitments we need to keep after Vajrayogini and I want to share that with you on this video. I wish you good luck and I really wish that all of you would pursue the Vajrayogini path, and I wish that you would find a qualified master, not me, a qualified master and go and learn and listen. You see, I don’t see my job as being a Guru. I see my job as someone that is pushing you towards finding a Guru, pushing you towards learning the Dharma. I hope inspiring you towards doing more in your life to do Dharma wherever you are. I’m not here to become the Guru of the world, I’m not here to be the master of the world. I am not here to be the maha teacher of the planet. I have no intention and I don’t have the qualification, and I wouldn’t want to be in that kind of position even if I was qualified but I’m kind of here to let you know that I have learnt a lot of things in the last 30 years. I’ve sat at the feet of great Lamas, I’m from Ganden, and uh, well I thought I’d share that with all of you. I thought I’d share that you should go and find your teachers. You should go and rekindle your relationship with your teachers, keep up your relationship with your teachers and be very devoted and find one practice, whether that is Vajrayogini or you know, Yamantaka or Heruka, doesn’t really matter. Find that one practice, go all the way and don’t run for a lot of initiations. After a lot of initiations, unless you are really qualified, you get confused, you’ll have more to do and you won’t understand, I’ve talked to hundreds of people who have got into that situation, alright? One Lama, one practice, one Yidam, one commitment and go all the way with it, and I wish all of you luck, I truly do and I want you to attain something great within Vajrayogini’s practice or any of your practices. Good luck, thank you.
Transcribed by Joey Wong
Proofread by Lily Tan and Yee Ling
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A sacred image of the rare form of Vajrayogini known as Ucheyma, the Buddha that shows us the path to eradicate the ego. For this and many other high-resolution images of the enlightened beings to download for free visit: https://bit.ly/2oxb4qU
Ucheyma (Severed Headed Vajrayogini) (Main figure)
(Top to bottom): H.H. the 7th Panchen Lama, Ucheyma (Severed Headed Vajrayogini), Vajra Varnani (green assistant), Vajra Vairocani (yellow assistant), Dorje Shugden and Citipati.
The central deity is known as Chinnamasta or Dorje Neljorma Ucheyma. Both Chinnamasta (Sanskrit) and Ucheyma (Tibetan) literally mean, ‘She Whose Head is Severed’. The meaning behind her form is to show practitioners that they need to completely remove the grasping and self-identification with the “I” or the ego. Generally, the identity of the self is strongly associated with our face more than any other part of our body. We usually recognise a person when we look at a person’s face. Hence, our self-identification or ego is strongly associated with our face. To show us that this self-identification needs to be overcome on the spiritual path to enlightenment, Vajrayogini uses her ritual chopper to decapitate herself. This is symbolic of her practice eradicating the ego.
The Severed Headed Vajrayogini, as she is also known, removes all afflictive mental constructs by removing the root cause – the identification of the self, the ego. We are either attached to or averse to people and circumstances because we have an ego to please, gratify and protect. But in the grander scheme of things, this self-identification with the ‘I’ is illusory and does not really exist. Therefore, Vajrayogini reveals this ultimate truth through the dramatic decapitation of her head and at the same time is still able to live and function. She is able to live due to her direct perception of emptiness and egolessness.
Contrary to what some people might think, the eradication of the self does not destroy individualism, our personality or make us into a mindless person. In fact, the eradication of the ego makes us become a vibrant and compassionate person, someone that has greater awareness of the suffering of others. In other words, we become much warmer, kinder, forgiving, tolerant, conscientious, generous, contemplative and we are become a joy to be with. The cutting of the ego or the ‘I’ brings us towards awakening our true self, the Buddha nature within.
The Severed Headed Vajrayogini has two dakini attendants. From the trunk of her neck, there are three severed blood vessels spurting three jets of blood that flow into the mouths of her own decapitated head that she carries in her left hand and into the mouths of her two attendants. Tsem Rinpoche explained that the three jets of blood represent that her practice purifies the three psychic poisons of ignorance, hatred and desire. In turn, this leads to the attainment of the three bodies of a Buddha – the emanation body, the enjoyment body and the truth body. In other words, the severance of the ego via her tantric path leads to the purification of all delusions and ultimately, the attainment of Buddhahood itself.
The 7th Panchen Lama, Palden Tenpai Nyima is featured floating above because of his compilation of sadhanas from the ancient Sadhanamala texts. This includes a particular sadhana or collection of prayers, visualisation and mantra focused on Ucheyma. Incidentally, Dorje Shugden in many of his previous lives was a lineage master of the Vajrayogini tantras as well. These previous lives include the likes of the Mahasiddha Naropa and Tsarchen Losel Gyatso. The Lord and Lady of the Charnel Ground, known as Citipati, are one of the main protectors of the Vajrayogini Tantra.
Last of all, the ascetic meditator engaging in his devotional practices towards Ucheyma in the cemetery represents the ideal environment for tantric practice because such environments invoke deep renunciation towards worldly affairs and attachments. All Buddhist traditions advocate meditating on the bones of the deceased because it reminds us of our mortality and hence, we develop revulsion towards the transient nature of worldly or ordinary existence.
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Read more about Vajrayogini: https://bit.ly/2iVLCuG
Ucheyma (Severed Headed Vajrayogini) (Main figure)
(Top to bottom): Maitri Kacho (Flying Vajrayogini), Maitri Kacho (One-Leg Up Vajrayogini), Naro Kacho, Sukhasiddhi, Ucheyma (Severed Headed Vajrayogini), Vajra Varnani (green assistant), Vajra Vairocani (yellow assistant), Citipati, Vajravarahi and Dorje Shugden.
The central deity is known as Severed Headed Vajrayogini, Chinnamasta or Dorje Neljorma Ucheyma. Both Chinnamasta (Sanskrit) and Ucheyma (Tibetan) literally mean, ‘She Whose Head is Severed’. The meaning behind her form is to show practitioners that they need to completely remove the grasping and self-identification with the “I” or the ego. Generally, the identity of the self is strongly associated with our face more than any other part of our body. We usually recognise a person when we look at a person’s face. Hence, our self-identification or ego is strongly associated with our face. To show us that this self-identification needs to be overcome on the spiritual path to enlightenment, Vajrayogini uses her ritual chopper to decapitate herself. This is symbolic of her practice eradicating the ego.
The Severed Headed Vajrayogini removes all afflictive mental constructs by removing the root cause – the identification of the self, the ego. We are either attached to or averse to people and circumstances because we have an ego to please, gratify and protect. But in the grander scheme of things, this self-identification with the ‘I’ is illusory and does not really exist. Therefore, Vajrayogini reveals this ultimate truth through the dramatic decapitation of her head and at the same time is still able to live and function. She is able to live due to her direct perception of emptiness and egolessness.
Contrary to what some people might think, the eradication of the self does not destroy individualism, our personality or make us into a mindless person. In fact, the eradication of the ego makes us become a vibrant and compassionate person, someone that has greater awareness of the suffering of others. In other words, we become much warmer, kinder, forgiving, tolerant, conscientious, generous, contemplative and we are become a joy to be with. The cutting of the ego or the ‘I’ brings us towards awakening our true self, the Buddha nature within.
The Severed Headed Vajrayogini has two dakini attendants. From the trunk of her neck, there are three severed blood vessels spurting three jets of blood that flow into the mouths of her own decapitated head that she carries in her left hand and into the mouths of her two attendants. Tsem Rinpoche explained that the three jets of blood represent that her practice purifies the three psychic poisons of ignorance, hatred and desire. In turn, this leads to the attainment of the three bodies of a Buddha – the emanation body, the enjoyment body and the truth body. In other words, the severance of the ego via her tantric path leads to the purification of all delusions and ultimately, the attainment of Buddhahood itself.
Severed Headed Vajrayogini is surrounded by some of her other forms, including Naro Kacho, two forms of Maitri Kacho, Sukhasiddhi and Vajravarahi. These forms of Vajrayogini are more commonly practised compared to Severed Headed Vajrayogini and are prevalent in most Tibetan Buddhist lineages. Though they may look different, all forms are indivisible from her true nature and all her practices can lead practitioners to enlightenment. Naro Kacho arose from a vision beheld by the Mahasiddha Naropa, Maitri Kacho from a vision beheld by Maitripa, and Indra Kacho from a vision beheld by Indrabodhi. The Lord and Lady of the Charnel Ground, known as Citipati, are one of the main protectors of the Vajrayogini Tantra.
Last of all, Dorje Shugden is a protector with special affinity with Vajrayogini practitioners because he arose from an incarnation lineage that includes Naropa and Tsarchen Losel Gyatso who practised and proliferated her Tantra.
More free downloads: https://bit.ly/2oxb4qU
Read more about Vajrayogini: https://bit.ly/2iVLCuG
Vajrayogini (Main figure)
(Top to bottom): Naropa, Vajradharma, Hero Vajradharma, Naro Kacho, Maitri Kacho (Flying Vajrayogini), Dorje Shugden and Vajravarahi.
Vajrayogini is a female tantric Buddha and she has many forms that are derived from various lineages. She mainly embodies the fully enlightened female (shakti) aspect of a Buddha. She belongs to the Mother Tantra classification, which refers to her practice concentrating on the wisdom aspect of the path to Buddhahood. She is also the principal dakini, the compassionate female guides and nurturers of tantric meditation who lead practitioners to enlightenment. In the thangka, the main figure in the middle is Naro Kechari as she arose from the pure vision of the Mahasiddha Naropa.
In Anuttara (Highest) Yoga Tantra, principal dakinis normally appear in union with a male consort and this can be seen in the cases of deities such as Guhyasamaja, Hevajra, and Kalachakra. In the case of Vajrayogini, she is the principal female Buddha of the Chakrasamvara Tantra and therefore, she is normally in union with Heruka Chakrasamvara. Furthermore, Vajrayogini is also considered a Vajradakini, who are yidams or meditational deities in their own right. Their practices have evolved from the main practices of their consorts, simplifying the otherwise complicated original practice by reducing it to a single-deity meditation without sacrificing the main benefits and features of the original. Hence, Vajradakini practices such as Vajrayogini and Nairatmya are derived from the original Chakrasamvara Tantra and Hevajra Tantra respectively.
In essence, Vajrayogini is known as “Sarvabuddha-dakini” or the Dakini Who is the Essence of all Buddhas. Her mantra is known as the King of All Mantras as it has the most powerful ability to bless us with spiritual attainments even without any visualisation or meditation. There are 11 Yogas in the generation stage of her practice and a few which have the power of transforming ordinary actions like sleeping, waking and ordinary daily tasks into a collection of merits. Ultimately, her Tantra offers salvation for ordinary practitioners at death with her special promise of guiding practitioners towards Kechara, or the Paradise of the Dakinis, in which we can continue deep practices to become a Buddha without fear, obstacles and interruptions.
Within Vajrayogini practice, soliciting the blessings of the lama and the lineage master are of paramount importance in order for our practice to bear results. Hence, the lama is visualised as the red Vajradharma with arms crossed at the heart, holding the vajra and bell. The lineage masters are visualised as Hero Vajradharma, holding a damaru and skullcup while cradling a khatvanga. Aside from the main Naro Kechari form, Vajrayogini also appears in the form of Maitri Kechari, who is known as Flying Vajrayogini, and arose from the vision of Maitripa. Another common form is known as Indra Kechari, or Vajravarahi, who arose from the vision of Indrabodhi.
Last of all, Dorje Shugden is a Dharma protector with a special affinity with Vajrayogini practitioners. This is because he himself arose from an incarnation lineage that includes the likes of Naropa, the progenitor of Naro Kechari practice, and Tsarchen Losel Gyatso who had practised and proliferated her Tantra and is listed as one the lineage masters invoked upon every day by Vajrayogini practitioners.
More free downloads: https://bit.ly/2oxb4qU
Read more about Vajrayogini: https://bit.ly/2iVLCuG
Original illustration and text posted by Eric D Hatchell as a reply to H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche’s facebook post on Vajrayogini here: http://bit.ly/VYogini0001
The Dākiṇī with the Essence of all Buddhas, Vajrayoginī
Her practice includes methods to end the otherwise repetitive states of Bardo and rebirth, by transforming the process into a journey, which may lead to full enlightenment. In preparation for which, Vajrayoginī further offers the omnipresent ability to reconstruct the nature of the most, mundane everyday experiences, such that they may reveal higher destinations, via the spiritual paths she may choose to reveal. [1] Vajrayoginī being defined as, “The Dākiṇī who is the Essence of all Buddhas”, [2] is amplified by scholar Miranda Shaw when she implied that this deity is no less than, the supreme nature of the very Tantric pantheon. No male Buddha, including her divine consort, Heruka-Cakrasaṃvara, further advances her in metaphysical implications. [3]
Vajrayoginī’s sādhanā originates from India circa 10/12th C, [4] when summoned as Heruka-Cakrasaṃvara’s Yab-Yum consort [5], with later forms including Vajrayoginī as “Solitary Hero”, she may be visualized with the deep red complexion of a 16-year-old female, whose stance is nude amidst a blazing fire of pristine awareness and most exalted wisdom. Her head is adorned with a crown of five skulls and upon her forehead, the third eye of wisdom is set vertically (represented here by an auspicious jewel). She drapes a necklace of fifty dried human skulls and is depicted with her traditional vajra-handled knife in her right hand; with a blood filled kapala in her left, she drinks with upturned head while looking above, toward the pure realm of Khechara. This seemingly gruesome gesture is actually symbolic of her clear light in great joy, known as “mahasukha” (the great bliss), [6] [7] thus the blood she drinks may be offered to us all as if a fine wine.
Resting on the left shoulder is a Katvanga staff as she stands tall with her two feet, trampling the bodies of red Kalaratri and black Bhairava (with heads bending backward), representing the embodiment of illusion and ego-awareness. The composition, all of which rests above a sun disc and multicolored lotus pedestal, she is rendered here after a thankga of Naropa Tradition (passed down from a special teaching of the Indian Mahasiddha Naropa). Vajrayoginī herself may be classified as the personification of “Wisdom” or “Mother” and her practice originates with the Chakrasamvara Cycle of Tantras, which is one of the five principal tantric practices of the Sakya School, although found in one form or another, she is included in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. [8]
Vajrayoginī also appears in versions from the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, with one popular system having the practitioner visualize themselves as Vajrayoginī, as such, their guru taking the form of Milarepa. [9] Thus depicted above the central deity here we see Milarepa on our right, with his great Guru Marpa left (whose guru was Naropa himself, and other great Indian masters). [10]
Vajrayoginī is a simplified, single most form of the female Buddha, who is otherwise a collection of alternate forms. From her sādhanās she is visualized in English terms as “Vajra Sow”, “Wrathful Lady”, “Fierce Black One”, and other such similar manifestations of female energy found in numerous iconographic renderings and traditions. Each feature of Vajrayoginī’s visualization conveys important spiritual concept. For example, her three eyes indicate her ability to see all (past, present and future); her red-colored body symbolizes the blazing of her ”inner fire”, and the curved knife she wields, demonstrates the power to sever the delusions and obstacles of her followers and of all living beings. [11]
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Wordmarque Design and Photography
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References:
[1] Gyatso, Kelsang. Guide to Dakini Land: The Highest Yoga Tantra Practice of Buddha Vajrayogini. London: Tharpa, 1996, p.xii.
[2] “The Berzin Archives.” Bonding Practices for Mother Tantra. Accessed February 18, 2016. http://www.berzinarchives.com/…/bonding_prac_mother_tantra_….
[3] Shaw, Miranda Eberle. Buddhist Goddesses of India. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006, p. 8.
[4] English, Elizabeth. Vajrayoginī: Her Visualizations, Rituals & Forms: A Study of the Cult of Vajrayoginī in India. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2002.
[5] “Vajrasattva (Buddhist Deity) – White (with Consort).” Vajrasattva (Buddhist Deity). Accessed February 18, 2016. http://www.himalayanart.org/items/77598.
[6] Gyatso, Kelsang. Guide to Dakini Land: The Highest Yoga Tantra Practice of Buddha Vajrayogini. London: Tharpa, 1996 p. 123-127.
[7] Glenn H. Mullin
[8] “Item: Vajrayogini (Buddhist Deity) – (Naropa Tradition).” Vajrayogini (Buddhist Deity). Accessed February 18, 2016. http://www.himalayanart.org/items/290.
[9] English, Elizabeth. Vajrayoginī: Her Visualizations, Rituals & Forms: A Study of the Cult of Vajrayoginī in India. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2002, p. xxiii.
[10] Drinking the Mountain Stream: Songs of Tibet’s Beloved Saint, Milarepa … by Mi-la-ras-pa, Rinpoche Lama Kunga, Brian Cutillo, p.305.
[11] Gyatso, Kelsang. Guide to Dakini Land: The Highest Yoga Tantra Practice of Buddha Vajrayogini. London: Tharpa, 1996, p.123-127.
The current form of Naro Kacho Vajra Yogini appeared to the Indian Mahasiddha Naropa after he meditated intensely on her practice inside a cave. He beheld her glorious form in a vision. This unique form became known as Naropa’s Vajra Yogini or Naro Kacho, as it had never existed before. Later, in Tibet, His Holiness Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche also had visions of Vajra Yogini. His vision differed slightly from the vision of her that Naropa beheld. In the original Naro Kacho form, Vajra Yogini looks towards her pure land named Kechara. However in Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche’s vision, she looked straight at him, symbolic of the deity empowering him to bestow her practice to many people in order to benefit them. The practice of Vajra Yogini belongs to the Highest Yoga Tantra classification that leads to tremendous inner transformation and can even grant enlightenment within just one lifetime.
Video of Tsem Rinpoche’s shrine taken July 16, 2018. Very beautiful, well done and meticulous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPAfpMoN2bA
Video of Tsem Rinpoche’s shrine taken July 16, 2018.
Very beautiful, well done and meticulous.
https://video.tsemtulku.com/chat-videos/chat-1531752637.mp4
Vajra Yogini has many different forms and in each of these forms, the positioning of her sacred body, the various implements she holds and the expressions on her face have profound meaning into various aspects of enlightenment. The implements she holds, the expressions on her face, and her body symbolise specific aspects of enlightenment that suit people during a particular time and place according to their karma. So, therefore, Vajra Yogini’s pose, forms and emanations change over time in order to suit different karmically-connected practitioners. It will keep changing because enlightenment is fluid, compassionate and skilful. To gaze upon Vajra Yogini is to look at a complete ‘roadmap’ to enlightenment as every aspect of her body is a manifestation of enlightenment. Therefore to have her form, picture, painting or statue is very blessed. We should make offerings to her daily diligently.
After the great Mahasiddha Naropa had served his guru the Mahasiddha Tilopa for 12 years, Tilopa conferred the Vajra Varahi (another form of Vajra Yogini) initiation with full instructions unto Naropa. Then, Naropa diligently meditated on Vajra Varahi and had a vision of her, and when she appeared to him directly, she appeared in the form of Vajra Yogini. Normally, when he engaged in the Vajra Yogini (Vajravarahi) practice, she was in the form of facing him directly, holding a skull cup and a curved flaying knife in front of her heart. One leg was up and one leg was down as in a dancing pose. That was the form of Vajra Yogini that he had meditated on to gain the highest attainments.
After he had meditated on Vajra Varahi and gained visions of her, she appeared to him in a different form, with her face looking up at Kechara Paradise instead of facing him directly. Her left hand holding the skullcup was thrust in the air and her right hand holding the curved flaying knife, also known as a cemetery knife was facing down at sentient beings or samsara to help beings cut their bonds to suffering. Her left leg was bent, and her right extended while standing in a pose of looking towards Kechara Paradise like she is about to take off there. This form signifies she will take you there and out of suffering. That form of Vajra Yogini became special and that was called Naro Kacho or the Vajra Yogini of Naropa. This Naropa’s Vajra Yogini was initiated to the Nepalese Pamtingpa brothers and they meditated diligently and this tradition of Naropa’s Vajra Yogini just became prevalent and took off from there. Naropa started initiating his other disciples as well into this special form of Vajra Yogini and she became known as Naropa’s Vajra Yogini till this day and it is considered a highly blessed lineage. That is the lineage we have now and most prevalent.
She is looking up because this Naropa’s Vajra Yogini is indicating she will lead her practitioners to her Kechara Paradise within one lifetime if you are diligent in her practice. Realizing enlightenment is harder for people in today’s world and needs more time during Kaliyuga degenerate period, she leads you to her paradise where you can practice undisturbed to Buddha-hood.
In this brilliant artwork, what you see is the Mahasiddha Naropa having a direct vision of Vajra Yogini. It’s the first time she has appeared to Naropa in this form. This form is associated with Naropa. Prior to Naropa, this form of Vajra Yogini did not exist. She in this vision is initiating him into this form (Naro Kacho) of herself indicating this form will be most efficacious now according to our karmic period. In the background, you will see a cave with a light in it because when Naropa used to meditate in that cave, it is said that from his body would emit a light and people could see it from afar. You can also see animals surrounding Vajra Yogini, they can feel her compassion and her great blessings and they are at peace around her.
Vajra Yogini brings peace, love, compassion, wisdom and freedom to everyone who practices her incredibly powerful tantra. Therefore, this artwork is a very beautiful representation of the time when Naropa had a vision of Vajra Yogini in this form for the first time and it is now known as Naropa’s Vajra Yogini. This artwork was offered to me as a gift from a very talented artist. I deeply appreciate this piece of visual spirituality very much.
Tsem Rinpoche
To download for your shrine, please click here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=62528
From Tsem Rinpoche: Every person who has Maha-anuttaratantra empowerments (Eg. Heruka, Guhyasamaja, Yamantaka, Vajra Yogini, Chittamani-Tara, Kalacakra, Hevajra, Gyalwa Gyatso Chenresig, etc) should keep a copy of this on their shrine or prayer book. These are all the ritual items tantric practitioner must keep by commitment. If it is in picture form, it is alright also.
Dear Rinpoche
Thank you for this insightful post about the commitment after taking Vajrayogini’s initiation. It is definitely useful for those who aspire to take the initiation and those who have taken the initiation. I really appreciate the fact that Rinpoche always assess the students carefully prior to giving initiation and taking the extra precaution to make sure that they do not break their commitment and suffer the consequences.
Vajrayogini is a beautiful Buddha and i am very excited to learn up more about her.
Valentina
I am glad to be fortunate enough to stumble upon this post today and to be able to read is already a precious blessing because it gives me a chance to reflect my lazy self, amend where necessary and prepare myself if I really want Vajrayogini. It is also a prefect refresher course for those who may already have the initiation. Wherever one is at, whether at the beginning, middle or a senior (already have Vajrayogini initiation) this is still a great reminder and teaching so we stay “on track”.
The first ever Vajrayana Buddha deity I saw was Vajrayogini and when I first saw her at my sisters, I thought she was some blood sucking vampire and my sister was in a cult. Little did I know a few years later I will be the one fanatically wishing, hoping, praying that I will one day be “qualified” enough to be granted her initiation.
One thing’s for sure is that since the day I met Rinpoche, Rinpoche’s been guiding, compassionately pushing, finding creative ways, to push us to do more and to help us eliminate our lazy self, who are very creative in making excuses. And all this is done with great hope that Rinpoche could perhaps one day give us Vajrayogini, yet we sometimes fail to see this especially in the heat of our ego moment. Let them win, let them win, let them win…. All the Buddhas’ teachings and the advices Rinpoche gives consistently is… ‘let them win, it doesn’t matter especially at the end of the day when we close our eyes.’ Is it worth it to get this person back and sacrifice my Vajrayogini practice? Certainly NOT and certainly something I need to always remember whenever something I find irritatingly wrong in my limited projections.
Yes many people think getting HYT, they can skip the preliminaries and every else is like magic, but Rinpoche is very tradition and because of Rinpoche’s teachings, I learn to treasure and appreciate HYT even more.
I am very surprised at how easily tantric initiations are given by other Lamas/centres to people who don’t even know the preliminaries. Some do not even know that they need to do tsok, or what are the Boddhisattva’s vows. Initially I was curious why would these Lamas give tantra so easily to so many students who are clearly not ready? But for us, our training starts from the smallest basic of things which are to be consistent and to complete our assignments from A-Z don’t matter what it is given by our Guru. Then Rinpoche explained about how different Lamas manifest differently and how their role is different, for some it is to compassionately plant seeds of enlightenment to as many mind stream as possible. This is because for some, let’s be realistic (like a lot of people I know), it is just not going to happen this life. So the Lama gives it to them knowing they will break their commitments but it is better they break it but they have the imprints, then no imprints and no chance at all in the future, hopefully that in another life time, they will practice again, perhaps more seriously then. When Rinpoche explained this, it dawn on to me how skilful and compassionate our Lama(s) are, they would think and plan that far for us.
Hence if we have come across such kind advice and guidance, we mustn’t waste time in fooling ourselves we can run the marathon without exercising and training now. It makes perfect sense why Rinpoche keeps harping so strongly about never to break our promises, and to always do our sadhanas. Even Rinpoche does Rinpoche’s sadhana daily no matter how tired Rinpoche may be what more us, with our little thin sadhana books which we struggle to keep awake when reciting. It is the very basics to be consistent in so we will not break our vows and commitments especially when we have receive Vajrayogini or any tantric practices. Moral of the story is… do not take anything your Guru instructs you for granted, just do it and be consistent without reminders. It is all up to us, and if we want it bad enough we will create the causes. Thank you Rinpoche.
I still remember one of verses written somewhere in this blog- something big can come from something small. Keeping our daily commitments perhaps is the very first step. The commitments for Lady Vajrayogini may seems impossible for many ( me included, even to maintain daily guru yoga is a daunting task) but from the very depth of my heart, I pray that more and more will have the chances to be initiated and committed to Her practices in future! Only through this, Buddhadharma can be preserved!
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing, the “swiftest” path requires a lot of commitments and hard work. This post helped me to reflect the state of mind I am in or how “lazy” I am in on a scale. Being in a contemplative state won’t work until there is action…
Thank you Rinpoche for the valuable sharing on Vajrayogini practice.Your explanation is indeed detail and it is very clear that only those who are really committed and discipline could attain the benefit of such practice.I know I am not ready for it.But I am very thankful for a least gaining a glimpse of such a sacred practice.
How timely this teaching appear again just as we had returned from pilgrimage trip in Nepal visiting various prominent Vajrayogini temples.
understanding how contemporary Vajrayogini practice passed down from Tilopa to Naropa and to our own lineage master….
This concise teaching from Rinpoche is to be taken as personal instruction to us who wish for Vajrayogini practice in future.
Thank You Rinpoche for sharing such detail teaching of vows and commitment of getting Higher Tantric Initiation. It is not easy of holding the vows and commitment, at least for me. With advice from my Guru, Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, I am willing to working hard to prepare myself for initiation of Vajrayogini Tantra, even tough, I still have doubt whether practicing Amitabha Buddha mantra to go to Western Pure Land is more promising in this life or practicing Vajrayogini Tantra to go to Kechara Pure land is more promising in this life. I just follow my Guru’s advice and teaching. I have trust in my Guru.
Thank you Rinpoche for guiding us along the path to enlightenment. It may take many lifetimes and hence upholding the vows etc. for lifetimes too but as they say, a journey begins with a single step.
Thank You Rinpoche for reposting this video and transcript on the sacred Vajrayogini practice. I take it as an auspicious sign that this is reposted after my pilgrimage to the sacred sites of Vajrayogini in Nepal. As advised, we need to commit to our daily practice of the Dharma, study and familiarize/practice the Lamrim, the Boddhicharyavatara, the Boddhisattva vows, the tantric vows and others sacred texts as advised. Basically, whatever the Guru has instructed, we need to go all the way.
I take this as personal advise. Rinpoche has time and time again been very kind to us all and keep reminding us? I rejoice and at the same time regret that You need to do this.
I will go all the way.
With folded hands!
Dear Rinpoche, your talk on Vajrayogini is indeed inspiring. Nevertheless, I realise that there is a contradictory logic in Buddhist practice which baffles me for a long time, that is, in order to receive and accomplish in the Tantra that will eradicate all our worst problems, we must sustain and complete our preliminaries. On the other hand, for sentient beings of inferior capacity like myself, the worst problems in me, such as extreme lust and anger, would have destroyed my efforts in the preliminaries before I can even half complete them! It’s like creating with one hand and destroying the creation with the other. Is Vajrayogini Tantra an ideal, meaning the efficacy of which only manifests for the accomplished, or is it real, that so long as one aspires towards practising the deity the effects will manifest?? Thanks and with metta.
I would very much like to know the answer from either the pastors or yourself. I have been engaged in several Buddhist practices for more than two decades, but none can solve my problems. I have been practising very hard, the Buddhas are my witnesses. Gaden Lhagyama and thirty five Buddhas took away my problems away for one year, after which, everything returned. This is also the main reason why some of my friends turned to other religions because they do not believe that Buddhism is realistic and humanly possible. Your reply to my question will not only save me, an insignificant dust, but the innumerable drowning beings. Please notify me through my email, if its convenient for you, if you reply. Thanks and with my highest regards.
Btw, it will be wonderful if this discussion page could have email notification after each reply made, because inquirers could be forgetful about where and what they have posted. Thanks.
There is so much in here, so much information and guidance from Rinpoche on tantric matters and what it will be all about when we actually have taken the initiation. Rinpoche is so kind to provide so much information to us non initiates.
Hi Rinpoche,
This is a very detailed explanation on the practice and commitment of the tantric path. One things thta I realized after reading is thta the initiation does not come by easy, one needs to uphold and firm on the daily commitment. The training for receiving her teaching in the future should start now. Well, it’s still a long way for me though, needs to improve on abiding by commitments and promises. Thanks Rinpoche for the constant reminder
and never giving up hopes on us. Thanks You.
亲爱的仁波切，
感谢你的循循善诱及教诲。我会紧记，修行是没有捷径的。不管是每天一般的仪轨还是高阶密续都需要持续不间断的努力和承诺。每天一般的仪轨不能做好，掉以轻心地对待，就遑论什么高阶密续了。犹如想要买大房子，一定要储蓄足够的本钱。想要获得高阶密续灌顶当下就得开始刻苦努力，实践承诺，一步一步走向目标。
谢谢仁波切，愿仁波切身体安康。
敬启
华盈
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this lovely information which i have gained much understanding and knowledge… of the importance of holding vows & commitments and keeping promises… i will begin with discplining myself from now on to keep them well ..
Thank you Rinpoche for such a clear explanation about what we should do before and after receiving Tantric Initiation.
After reading the whole teaching, the key messages I got are we have to do our preliminary practices well on a daily basis and to keep our commitments under whatever circumstances with no excuses. To put it another way, we have to start letting go of our attachments because if we still very much hold on to our attachments, it will be very hard for us to achieve the above.
And, if we can’t do that, then we are not qualify to receive Vajrayogini initiation. Or even if we receive it, it may not lead us to achieve any higher attainments.
Now I understand better why Rinpoche always stresses so much on keeping vows and commitments. Whatever Rinpoche asks us to do is to prepare us to receive higher teachings.
Thank you.
dear rinpoche, thank you for giving explantion about the tantric commitment. from this post i have a better understand.
I thank Rinpoche for teaching and preparing us since day one for Vajrayogini. I remembered Rinpoche said before Vajrayogini practices, the commentary, only 40% of the practise is being written down, the rest of 60% has to receive from our Guru. During initiations, we are not allow to write down notes but to remember all the steps and visualization by heart. Many times Rinpoche has been training us to remember the task, or instruction without writing it down and always asked us to repeat to make sure, in fact this is also a preparation for us in the future.
Last time when we have the new news assignment from Rinpoche, which we need to send Rinpoche 5 new news per day, and of we missed it, we need to do double the next day. It is also to train us to keep our commitment.
I was very lucky to be given the chance to learn up how to paint statue and insert mantra to statue. Many times Rinpoche will give us chance to paint or make jewelry for his Vajrayogini statue to create the strong karmic link with Vajrayogini.
Thank you Rinpoche.
Many people have taken initiation without first understanding what is expected of them. They were not ready as they did not know the commitments.
This is so useful to read again and again to prepare ourselves for what it entails.
Thank you for sharing this blessed teaching, Rinpoche. I must have done something right in my past silly lives to be able to meet the Dharma and Rinpoche in this life. This blog post is so sacred and precious! So, what I understand is: Rinpoche is tirelessly preparing us for the practice in future if we are fortunate/committed enough to receive it.
Rinpoche mentioned that we need to be fully committed and diligent in our daily sadhana because if we can’t commit to our daily sadhana, we definitely cannot commit to the higher tantric practice. So in a way, our commitment to the daily sadhanas is like a ‘warm-up’ to prepare us for the ‘Olympics’which is the higher tantric practice if we are fortunate enough to receive it from Rinpoche. Reading back what I’ve typed thus far, I can only see commitment, commitment, and more commitments. The responsibilities shouldn’t intimidate us instead it should be a driving force to push us further and do more.
May I stay diligent and committed in my daily sadhanas so that I will be to receive Her sacred practice in near future.
Thank you very much Rinpoche.
Much care,Jess
Because of our negative habituations we have lost so much time. NOW is the time to stop it and buckle up on our laziness and selfish reasons. Start now so that we can create the causes to receive at least 1 of the initiation above if not in this life, next and so on.
This post should be able to remind us again… Integrity!
http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/inspiration-worthy-words/this-is-important-to-know-for-your-life.html
I am so fortunate to be able to know so much about tantric practices from Rinpoche here on the blog. The part where we have to carry the tantric sacred items with us all the time. Double our missed sessions. Hold our vows with much love and respect.
May we, the LAZY ones, have the cause to receive Vajrayogini’s initiation. It may not be easy but I know we CAN!
i came across many people who want to receive higher initiation as they thought it is very special and powerful but they do not know that in order to receive initiation one have to hold vows, fulfill commitments, have consistency, integrity etc.
With this beneficial knowledge, we will know how to prepare and work towards it to achieve the ultimate goal in our life.
dear Rinpoche,
thank you for a very precise and concise teaching. exactly what a noob like me need. there are a lot to read and digest; i forsee going thru the post quite a few more times before grasping the details. (even that it will be with the help of more senior students and Rinpoche).
i’ve just came back from a session of refuge briefing – there, Pastor Ngeow reminded us that keeping a vow is very important. but it should not be seen as something we ought to be fearful of. it’s a guideline, not a set of rules. with a different mindset and the right motivation, keeping to the vows will eventually become second nature. that would be my personal first step. Vajrayogini seems so far away for me right now, but without the attempt of a first step, one would never get there. so… here goes 🙂
much respect + care,
fang
Thanks for the Teachings, Rinpoche.
Yes, to holding a vows and to holding our commitment to our GURU is very important. And i am believed before we learn the highest ( Tantric Practice ), we must have our own foundation fist, Even to build a Building. Everything is start from Basic, without any foundation base we cant go Higher.
Regards : Erickksiow
Dear Rinpoche,
In my life there is no Tantric practice or whatever practice to get enlightened, to get rid of all the sufferings until I meet You. And now I get to know, or even have the chance to practice Tantra if I make effort or go all the way in Dharma. This is all because of Rinpoche.
From Rinpoche’s teaching I understand the importance of holding vows and commitments. Even from a circular level, with discipline, I found that I always get a better result and achieve more! I do better under ‘pressure’ which comes from holding my commitments. This sounds stupid and I admit that never a moment in my life, I treat a commitment very seriously, I just do what I want to do or I think I must/important to do. End up Im here to practice Dharma, practice how to hold vows and commitments. I am happy for myself, as now I know how important to keep my words and not letting others down. Im happy for myself that I am a better person with awareness of this.
To me, awareness is the first step to really transform myself. Thank you Rinpoche for tirelessly teach us about this.
Love,
Abby.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for this post. Whilst reading this post, what striked me was the importance of integrity and keeping promises from Rinpoche’s other post titled “This is Important To Know” (http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/inspiration-worthy-words/this-is-important-to-know-for-your-life.html). I kept on thinking about the correlation of that to Tantric practices, because Tantric Practices requires you to keep committed to the vows on a daily basis, to do the practices everyday, to transform. And if one can’t even hold promises or have any integrity to succeed in the present, then how can one even begin to hold the vows and promises that come with tantric initiations.
Many people run to receive initiations, thinking once received, that’s it, they’re saved. Even within my family, people tell me how many initiations they’ve been to etc, but reading this post gave me a lot of knowledge – that you don’t need that many initiations to gain attainments. IF you can’t even do ONE well, why the need to have so many and not be able to do all flawlessly? Don’t see any logic in that.
From what I learn it is not the initiation itself that would give you the attainments, it is what you do after the initiation. The attainment and blessings comes from one holding their vows well with the yidam, who is one with the Lama. Like how one can gain blessings from a sangha member because of the power from the vows they hold daily, it shows how powerful it is when one holds their commitments especially their tantric commitments.
Rinpoche is skilfully training and preparing us to follow instructions, to keep our commitments and promises everyday, and to be diligent and have integrity in all that we do – and all these are the qualities to build a foundation to receive tantric practices. When we are ready, it wouldn’t be so daunting, and keeping the promises would come second nature for us. Thank you Rinpoche.
Love,
Carmen
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this Vajrayogini Sacred Initiation, that I can know more deeply and gain more knowledge.
It is so meaningful and really appreciates it much.
We are so fortunate that we have all this explanation.
Thank You Rinpoche 🙂
thank you for the meaningful teaching.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for taking the time to share with us the commitments upon receiving Vajrayogini initiation. It’s very easy for us to want the initiation thinking that it’s a fast track to Enlightenment. There’s fast track to Enlightenment but there’s no shortcut to Enlightenment even if Vajrayogini practice is suitable for lazy, attached people. Starts by being lazy and attached but doesn’t mean we have to stay this way forever.
Now I will constantly NOT only remind myself WHY I want Vajrayogini, but what is require NOW to get it and maintain it. It is true that in my mind I did think that getting Vajrayogini initiation mean that we have come to a finishing line. At least almost. Now I know it’s not. It means we have reached a starting point of something tougher.
So it all makes sense to me is that I have to do more than what was given to me to do so that I can progress with one step more each time I do more than what is required. It’s not easy but as we do something which seem tough now, in time, we will look back and see that it’s not that tough after all. It’s good to keep that in mind to maintain positiveness.
This article is essential reading/ for anyone who is serious about their practice and is hoping to receive higher initiations and trainings. When I first came to Kechara, I had never heard of tantric initiations, let alone yamantaka or vajrayogini. Tantric practice didn’t seem difficult at all… After all, what’s so difficult about reciting a bunch of mantras? Or so I thought.
But as I got to know Rinpoche and Buddhism better, and as I attended more classes, I began to wonder why Rinpoche hardly gave initiations to anyone. Was it really going to be that difficult for us to practice? By that time, I had started working for Kechara as one of the staff in Rinpoche’s Ladrang and I knew for a fact that Rinpoche was a lineage hood of many many initiations, in the hundreds…
Rinpoche’s daily sadhana took hours to complete each day, and every single practice was meticulously kept up. I was even fortunate enough to meet several of Rinpoche’s gurus, who explained that Rinpoche and other similarly attained lamas were holders of many initiations so that they could transmit them to those in need, even at a moment’s notice.
So why then not give initiations?
This article explains it all and more. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Rinpoche doesn’t give initiations because if we are not prepared (and we are not), it would do us more harm than good. So, to prepare us for the day when we are finally ready for inittiation, Rinpoche compassionately give us assignments, dharma work, and other forms of training. And if this video is not enough, read this post on Cosmic Tantra on how we are further prepare ourselves for initiation: http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/cosmic-tantra.html
Thank you Rinpoche for always guiding us to the swiftest path to enlightenment. I hope to be ready someday.
Many people has been thinking of how a great master can help them solving problem, in their mind is taking the initiation, we will have a kind of magic to solve whatever problem we are facing now.
People created the problem themselves, when the problem is out of control, this is how they thought can solve it. But in fact, initiation is just a start of the practice, and the commitment we are talking about is not something temporary, it is a whole life practice, so therefore, if only our daily task that is given by our Lama we also can’t fulfill it, do we really think that we can hold this commitment?
This is the time we need to get preparation, be ready for the vajrayogini anytime, because this will be our best gift we can get in this lifetime.
Thank you Rinpoche for giving us this important teaching. Now I fully understand why we need to prepare ourselves well with strong preliminary practice before we go for higher initiation. This teaching is very tough for me to follow but this is the only way to set myself free from samsara and prevent myself from unfortunate rebirth in my next life.
Excellent teaching Rinpoche, thank you. Je Pabongkha’s commentary ‘The Extremely Secret Dakini of Naropa’ has now been translated into English, and is published by Snow Lion. I highly recommended it to all Vajrayogini practitioners.
Thank you Rinpoche for explaining about this so clearly and deeply. This is so informative and I am able to understand more about this Vajrayogini sacred initiation now. Vows, commitment, promises and I have a lot to work on. I hope that I am able to receive this sacred practice one day. Lets plant a a seed and create a cause in all of us.
Thank you Rinpoche for giving us an idea of what it will be like after taking a HYT initiation. I suppose becoming a buddha is like becoming the olympic champion of practitioners like how Pastor Ngeow would explain to us, we have to work really hard with a lot of discipline and we certainly have to hold onto the commitments and promises. As thats what is required for us to make any real progress and such methods have been tried and tested it will work if we follow them to the ‘T’.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for that wonderful teaching and advice for all of us, Vajrayogini practitioner aspirants. It is good that all of us learn up on the commitments of receiving Higher Tantric initiation. It would be good for all of us to aspire and not be discouraged by the commitments. Vajrayogini as Rinpoche has said is for all of us attached and lazy people who have so many excuses, reason to distract ourselves.
On top of that, she has this special way of appealing to our desires. I love the fact that we are able to go about our daily activities and yet be in total communion with Vajrayogini through one of her yogas.
Splendid practice for us. The Buddhas and Lamas are truly skillful.
thank you Rinpoche. 🙂
I cannot thank Rinpoche enough for this post. It is so clear and simple to understand. Like many, I have very little, close to none, knowledge about tantric practice. I only have heard many talk about it and from what I have read here and there. This teaching from Rinpoche here has put all the little puzzles together for me in my head.
I would not dare to say now that I am ready for tantric but from here I know I can start preparing the grounds. I am blessed that at least I have achieved the first step of finding my Guru in Rinpoche. I keep up my commitments to serve Rinpoche and the Dharma , do my dharma work 100% and go all the way with it. I am creating the causes to receive Vajrayogini in the future. I love Buddhism because it gives us knowledge and power to create our path to attainments and hope for a good life and future lives. This knowledge is liberating!
Rinpoche has in his answer in the facebook regarding vajrayogini’s initiation, compassionately revealed what we really need to know and do before, and after proceeding to the sacred practice of Vajrayogini. It has always been Rinpoche’s heartfelt wish that we could all attain something great within Vajrayogini’s practice, and would hope that “all of you pursue the Vajrayogini’s Path” find a qualified master, keep up with your teacher, be very devoted, and learn to master the teachings. Vajrayogini is a highly, treasured, sacred and tantric practice within the Gelug tradition.
Listening to this explanation just reveals how compassionate and kind Rinpoche is to make sure we will be alright now and in future lives.
Everything I hv been learning from Rinpoche these past 7 years is his skilful means to help me prepare well to receive higher teachings and to be able to practice them.This is the same for everyone else . We should be most grateful to be handguided this way and diligently and earnestly keep clean samaya and hold our commitments and vows.Even if we lose everything to win this freedom , its worth it. We do right now and keep at it until we ascend to Kechara.Thank you so so much Rinpoche who is one with Lama Tsongkhapa and Vajrayogini .
Dear Rinpoche,
thank you for sharing this teaching about Vajrayogini initiation that is passed down directly from H.H Kyabje Pabongkha Rinpoche and the commitments one have to undertake after receiving initiations, eg. the sadhana, meditation, mantras,holding our vows and being diligent in our practise.
Once we commit to it, we have to do it seriously without giving excuses for our laziness. If not, we shouldn’t even ask for initiations as we are not prepared for it. What I understand from this video is that, it’s very auspicious and good to receive initiations from our Guru as out of great love and compassion he gives initiation to us for us to gain attainments. But if our mind is unstable and not ready to commit, and not do as promised, we not only do not gain attainments, but we create more negative Karma as we break Samaya with our Guru.
I think that the very basic things we should have before receiving any intiations from our Guru is having deep Guru devotion and integrity with the practises which was already given. There is no shortcut to it. One Lama, one practice, one Yidam, one commitment and go all the way with it.
Love,
Joe.
thank you guru for post.i am verry happy to see teaching.
Thanks Rinpoche for the teaching, we should focus in our commitment first as a basic. Thanks Rinpoche for remind us to built up a strong base before we receive VY sacred initiation.
Thank you Rinpoche for the clear explanation on High Tantra practice. I have more understanding now. I do wish to get closer to VY some day 🙂 I do agreed that good things never come easy. No short cutnomatter what!!
It’s quite common for people to associate and focus on the mystical side of tibetan buddhism of stopping the rain, magical powerful mantras and most of all tantra. Many people are interested in tantra and wants to practice it without any foundation. What Rinpoche taught in this post is so important… that even if a person receives tantra, without the preliminaries, and cultivation of the qualities Rinpoche mention, Tantra will not bring us closer to Buddhahood…it ain’t no shortcut but if practiced well, the result is tremendous!
感谢仁波切，给我们珍贵的开示。
在这开示中让我明明白灌顶的重要性，并不可视此灌顶为儿戏，我了解及清楚任何的灌顶并不能忽视所有的细节，必须要守住所承诺的誓言，持续性的去持修，希望有机能够得到珍贵的金刚瑜伽母灌顶。
Thankyou Rinpoche for sharing the pre & post of VY initiation. Feel like it’s a long way to go to get VY initiation. However, we should prepare our mind & stabilize our preliminary practice & aim towards VY initiation & practice.
It is mind blowing to know that our worldly habituation is the only thing stopping us from receiving higher tantric practice such as Vajrayogini. Not difficult to hold vows and commitments once we have corrected our perception towards karma and life. I really look forward to get close to VY.
Thank you for such a clear explanation on High Tantra practice Rinpoche.
Dear Rinpoche, Thank You for the post . And now i slightly understand what Tantric is and also VY Sacred Initiation is = ) Thank You!
Thank you rinpoche for teachings i love rinpoche
Thank you rinpoche for his theachings i love rinpoche
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for the sacred teaching on tantric initiation. There’s a lot to be prepared (mentally and physically) and to be followed (our sadhana, mantra, retreat and of course tantric and bodhisattva vows) for a person to receive a tantric initiation. it makes sense totally.
I realized that Rinpoche already started preparing us for it. Whether how many of us is going to be qualify to receive it, it really depends on our integrity, faith and how serious we really want it.
So people, if you really want to gain attainment, whatever tasks that have been given my our guru, please just follow instructions and do it! Do not hesitate or stingy about our time and our commitment any more as chance like this doesn’t comes in our every lives time.
Dearest Rinpoche
Thank you for this clear and practical explanation of what is required should we have the honour and privilege to receive Vajrayogini’s holy practice.
This explanation perfectly complements Rinpoche’s post on how we prepare to receive her holy practice (http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/inspiration-worthy-words/starting-on-vajra-yogini-now.html). It is a continuum – especially on holding vows and commitments. I was intrigued to read about the paper or cloth representation of the tantric clothes, tantric ornaments and tantric instruments. May i humbly request Rinpoche to have a copy? It would be great to have it on Rinpoche’s blog so that people can download it from wherever they are and it would also not inconvenience Rinpoche.
Several people i have met have craved receiving tantric initiations without understanding the motivation or requirements of the practices. They are often arrogant, lack discipline and patience, yet think that they are able to undertake tantric practice. It’s very sad that they do not have teachers like Rinpoche, or that they do not wish to be a student to a teacher like Rinpoche. We are very fortunate that Rinpoche takes so much time and effort to explain to us so that we understand and therefore have more trust in Rinpoche’s instructions and guidance. Rinpoche has no agenda except that we become the best practitioners that we can be.
Thank you for Rinpoche’s care always.
Love,
Sharon
Thank you Rinpoche , for sharing this with us. What you shared is truly the “real deal” as good things never come easy . I guess we really have to pull our socks up and suck it in and just do it ! That is how i like it , regimented .
I really like it when Rinpoche said that “some people throughout the world have advertised tantra the wrong way”. So much myth has been put on the initiations, but Rinpoche explained it in very logical way.
Rinpoche always asked us to learn more Dharma so that we can explain to others well, because in this era, blind faith is not “welcome”, but faith backed with logic is so much easier to be accepted.
What I clearly understand from Rinpoche’s teaching on initiations especially that of Vajrayogini is totally about commitments to our vows and practise with diligence. No short cuts to attainments nor enlightenment.
If I am to stop my delusions about the way my life is now, I will truly be in great pain and sufferings and this is the vicious circle I go through life after life. But to have the merits to be granted VY initiations and to work hard to get out of suffering to benefit others and myself is worth all the imagined possessions of this materialistic world.
Something worth working for during this short life for better future lives.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you yet again for another mind-blowing teaching.
Now I know what i want in life and I am working towards getting it !!
Dear Rinpoche:
Thank you very much for this beautiful teaching. Now I must accelerate to transform fully into an extremely strong and committed vows holder, no more excuses for whatsoever reason to skip any practices daily then only I would be qualified to receive Vajrayogini’s initiation or any other initiation.
Personally I think in order to succeed during this transformation process, it required extremely strong mind that able to “tell” me do & don’t, “instruct” me not to be lazy or giving up & “control” my worldly desires. Therefore since about 8 months ago, I promised myself to do Sadhana everyday and become a vegetarian. I keep reminding myself – “if I can’t even do Sadhana daily” and “I can’t even control the desire of my food intake” then forever I would not be able to hold more vows which are the MUST in any higher initiation because I can’t even hold my own promises and eliminate meaningless desire in life.
On the other hand, If I’m not ready to receive any higher initiation but still seek for initiation from any master due to ego then I could cause endless harms to the master and myself by breaking vows and commitment. It is absolutely selfish and totally opposite with the practice of selflessness in Dharma.
Today I’m proud to say that I’m transforming and is getting better position in learning and practicing Dharma but still need a lot of efforts, guidance and supports to totally letting go all the attachments and unstable mind.
Last but not least, I’m grateful to Rinpoche and all other kecharians who always support me along this journey and giving me opportunity to get closer, learn and practice Dharma by allowing me to volunteer and participate in whatever way I can in Kechara.
Thank you very much for the teaching and take very good care Rinpoche.
With Love,
VP
Dear Victor, you are right when you said “if I can’t even do Sadhana daily” and “I can’t even control the desire of my food intake” then forever I would not be able to hold more vows which are the MUST in any higher initiation because I can’t even hold my own promises and eliminate meaningless desire in life.
A tantrika needs to hold on to Refuge vows, Bodhisattava vows and Tantric vows. So if one cant even hold the 5 refuge vows (in this case of not killing and going vegetarian)then how to hold so many other vows?
Our daily sadhana is so short (probably takes half hour each day to complete) and if we cant even be consistent with it, we will ‘freak out’ when having to do the tantric deity sadhana.
Rinpoche is so skillful in preparing us for higher tantra yoga initiation by slowly adding our commitments through time and using so many skillful means to make our mind pliable to receive tantra. We have a pot of gold on our door step, we must grab it fast so as not to loose our chance.
Thanks Dato for the explanation and encouragement 🙂
Thank you Rinpoche for your preview of Vajrayogini’s Sacred Practice. Whoever comes to read this blog or hear it has planted the seed for Vajrayogini’s Practice. As usual Rinpoche is so skillful to let us have a sneak preview of this highly scared practice no lama as ever done.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for this explanation on the our commitments after we received initiation into Vajrayogini or other Highest Yoga Tantra initiations.Though it is just a short ‘preview’ but Rinpoche’s explanation is very clear and precise.
Rinpoche had very clearly explained that the initiation, though very powerful and sacred, it will not give us attainments by just receiving it (or very unlikely for common people like us) but the attainments come from our commitments and practice of keeping our promises, our vows (Tantric vows, bodhisattva vows, etc), doing our daily sadhanas, mantras, 21 Vajrasattva mantra, six times Guru Yoga daily, tsok twice a month, carry with us the tantric ornaments(drawings will do) and tantric instruments and at least once before we die, to do a full-lenth retreat of our tantric Yidam and end it with a fire puja… and if we missed, we have to double or triple them or more… phews! Definitely not for lazy minds modern people that have tans of samsaric commitments!
And the most importantly is to keep our samaya clean with our Guru immaterial if he is still alive or already passed on. I understand now why Rinpoche is so strict with us about keeping our commitments and promises because Rinpoche wants us to be well prepared to receive initiation into HYT. And so that when we actually receive it, we will get the highest and full benefits from it.
Thank you very very much Rinpoche.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thanks for the explanation on commitment after receiving Vajrayogini’s sacred initiation.
After initiation, the post initiation is much more important than the actual initiation. This is where we hold our commitment for the rest of our life.
What struck me the most is the part that mentioned if there’s a long sadhana of Vajrayogini for us to do to become enlightened, we got to do the long one. Even though we don’t have commitment to do the long one but if that is the requirement we should commit. 2 things that i see from this is that one to prepare ourselves and second to create the cause for us to be able to receive the initiation.
By saying so, we should start practices to prepare ourselves before we request for initiation. Just like a runner who train themself before the competition. They practice during the competition.
Thank you Rinpoche for posting this up. I am much clearer now on the fundamentals value required for us in order to practice the sacred tantric such as Vajrayogini practice!
Makes me think how compassionate Rinpoche really is because Rinpoche has only one motive for us, which is to guide us the way to Vajrayogini’s paradise, Kechara. From the design of the BAM sign as our organisation’s logo (which is also the symbol of Vajrayogini’s body, speech and mind) is enough for me to realise it is the benefit for the people who will have the seeds planted in the public’s mind whenever they see the BAM sign.
And all the buttons pushing or mind training given through either Dharma work or even a simple assignment by Rinpoche was the first step (modern way) to develop the qualities we must have in our mindstream in order to practice Vajrayogini or any other tantric practices!
May all of us be able to ascend to Vajrayogini’s paradise one day!
Justin cheah
Initiations may be very exciting but it is what happens after the initiation that matters. It comes down to having the strength of commitment and the integrity to follow through with the vows and practices that brings about the attainments.
This strength and commitment do not come easily to us as we have already formed the habit of giving up and looking for the easy way in just about everything we do. And so our mind need to be trained and this is precisely what Rinpoche has been doing with us all along. Pushing us beyond our own perceived boundaries and laziness and giving us a chance to receive the benefits of higher practice. Essentially our training with Rinpoche started a while ago, when you think about it.
I have no doubt that Rinpoche wishes for everyone to be able to receive Vajrayogini practice. Look at all the statues, thangkas and images of Vajrayogini that Rinpoche has given out. These gifts represent Rinpoche’s hope for us to “qualify” for the initiations and the assignments that Rinpoche gives us are our preparation.
I suppose for now it is not necessary to think so deeply about receiving initiations. I see great value in simply following the Guru’s instructions and trusting in the Guru’s methods. If I can carry out my duties with sincerity and integrity and not give up easily, then any higher practice will be an extension of a training that has already started.
Thank you Rinpoche for the clear explanation in this post regarding Vajrayogini initiation. We need to do our homework in order to qualify to receive Vajrayogini’s Sacred Initiation,must work hard for it be committed and keep our promises.Most importantly after the initiation we must hold the Bodhisattva and tantric vows strongly, totally committed to do daily Sadhana, to recite Vajrasattva 21 times every single day and do Tsog twice a month in order to become a practitioner.
Rinpoche used very simple way to explain the importance of keep our promises and commitment with consistency. Because Rinpoche had stated few times to us how important if we can do well the assignment which Rinpoche assigned. The reason why Rinpoche want to continue work with us, and this an good opportunity to get merits from what has try to help. I feel it really make sure we do our job well. Because if we come at here for meeting.Han
感谢仁波切慈悲，给予我们这么珍贵的开示。
在这开示中让我明白金刚瑜伽母灌顶的重要性，并不可视此灌顶为儿戏，我彻底的了解及清楚任何的灌顶并不容忽视所有的细节，必须要把所承诺的誓言兑现。
要取得证悟是没有捷径的，必须要严守誓言，承诺，持续性的去持修。在此我会把日常的早课持修好，以训练自身的诫律，希望在不久的将来能够得到珍贵的金刚瑜伽母灌顶。
Although the thought of requesting Vajrayogini initiation is on my mind, I find Rinpoche’s video explanation here very detail on what it takes to qualify. Keep the commitments to the vows even after the Guru’s death, having a good grounding foundation of a stable mind, always remember to do the daily sadhanas including the 21 vajrasattva mantra, keeping good samaya, study up the Lamrim and the repercussions of skipping even a day of prayers.
In actual fact, all along these time, Rinpoche had always reminded us not to skip our daily sadhanas of Lama Tsongkapa, keep our samaya clean with our Guru, not break our promises and learn the dharma constantly consistently.
I can see how kind Rinpoche has been to us, proding us along, encouraging and not giving up on us on this path of enlightenment for us. Thank you for this precious teaching.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you so much for sharing this very precious knowledge about the commitments to have Vajrayogini sacred initiations.
Rinpoche has been teaching and pushing us to live our live as we have received a Tantric initiation such as urging us about the importance to keep our promise, not to get people back to win etc. These are all the commitments we should hold after Tantric initiation. Rinpoche nurtures us to make all these commitment as our habits now so when we go for higher practice, we can make it and not break it. Rinpoche is so skillful to make Lamrim and others sacred teaching into daily practice that is very applicable to our life and it’s doable.
Of course I hope 1 day I have the merits to receive a sacred initiation, I have to make sure I am ready before that. Now, I am checking my mind as frequent as I could, not to break my Refuge vow, and also contemplate on Bodhisattva vows (although I yet to get it). I hope my mind will get more ready for more vows, so I can serve more people and sentient beings.
Thanks Rinpoche! _/|\_
There are two key points for us to remember prior to receiving Vajrayogini Tantra or any other Highest Yoga Tantra (HYT) practices in the future:
1) Ability to keep our vows and commitments well &
2) Be very grounded in our basic spiritual training at least in The Three Principal Aspects of the Path, understanding of Sunyata and Bodhichitta.
These two points form the basis for the success of our HYT practices if we have the merit to practise them.
For the high-level sports like the Marathons or the Olympics, athletics train very hard from the basic and are very consistent in their effort. These sports demand lots of stamina, perseverance and discipline from the athletics. Athletics display true commitment to the sports until the day of the competition or upon the achievement of success in their sports.
HYT practices are akin to the trainings in the marathons or Olympics competitions. In reality HYT practices are more than that, it is about accomplishing Enlightenment. These HYT practices require total commitment, discipline and devotion to the practices from serious practitioners. HYT is a quick path to success but also a quick path to failure if future initiates are not fully aware and understood all the requirements and rules of the HYT practices.
Thank You Rinpoche for these clear and precious teachings and guidance for future initiates of Highest Yoga Tantra.
Doing what we has promise after the initiation is very important. We need to do our sadana daily, holding our tantric vow and Bodhisattva vow and do the tsog to our Yidam twice a month. Other wise will be no result after the initiation.
Thank you rinpoche sharing so much in this teaching. Hope at the future able to receive holy teaching of sacred Vajrayogini.
Like what Rinpoche has said, what’s important is that whatever we have promised during initiations is much more important after initiation… I think before we request for any initiation from a guru, we should do a self check whether the integrity is in us or not. Without having integrity, we are not even stable in doing our preliminary practice prior to tantric practice, which requires us to hold our vows very strongly in order to gain attainment.
Thank you Rinpoche for explaining this sacred practice. This has reaffirmed the importance of keeping our commitments and promises.
Thank you Rinpoche for explaining to us what tantric practice is all about. Having to receive an initiation does not mean we will gain attainments, it is the efforts that we put after that bring us attainment. Rinpoche’s explaination is very clear and precise, we are able to gauge easily if we are ready for an initiation. For me, I am far away from being eligible to receive one, at least for now. But I will work on myself to prepare for it.
Enlightenment is not given, it requires a lot of hardwork from ourselves, no one can do that for us. Rinpoche has given us a very simple formula to follow if we want the practice, ie “keeping promises and commitments”.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this clear and precise teaching about Vajrayogini initiation.
From this post, i have a better understanding of how fortunate and rare for one to get VY initiation from a guru and .
Rinpoche mentioned in the video
“what’s important is that whatever we have promised during initiation is much more important after initiation and after whether you meet your Lama or not, whether you’re getting special care from your Lama or not, whether your Lama has, is unfortunately passed away or is still living or not, it doesn’t matter, because during initiation, you have taken oaths and commitments and samayas and promises from your Lama as a deity.”
Therefore, VOWS, COMMITMENTS, PROMISES are extremely important!
What struck me about this video (I’m sorry my comment is so long!!):
1. How serious taking initiation is, and how seriously Rinpoche takes it. Like Rinpoche says, it’s advertised in the wrong way so people have the wrong ideas about it. For example, I did not know that a day is needed for preparatory initiations when receiving the Vajrayogini initiation, so that any inauspicious signs can be observed.
But in reality, such a powerful tool for practice should not be taken so lightly and a good indication of that is the number of requirements, procedures and processes involved in receiving initiation. If it was open to any Tom, Dick and Harry then there are fewer processes involved. But if it’s secret and very powerful, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly, then the process of receiving it will be very complex.
2. The vows and how they attack our more subtle habituations. My thinking is like this – the refuge vows, Mahayana vows, etc attack our gross habituations which are very base (e.g. refraining from sexual misconduct, lying, stealing, creating schism). However, the bodhisattva vows which we receive during initiation attack our more subtle habituations.
It is because the vows attack more subtle habituations, that makes receiving initiation a much more powerful tool for transforming ourselves (but of course, we must transform enough BEFORE receiving the initiation, in order to receive it). So like Rinpoche said, the initiation ritual plants the seeds and blessings, but the power is in holding our vows.
3. Rinpoche’s consistent message that attainments come from hard work, persistency, consistency and integrity. There’s no quick fix to solve all our problems and definitely just going for initiations isn’t the solution.
4. Rinpoche is teaching from experience. Rinpoche spoke about the importance of keeping our oaths, promises and commitments to our lama, regardless of whether we see him/her after initiation. After Rinpoche received initiation from Kyabje Zong Rinpoche so many years ago, Rinpoche has spent comparatively much less time with Zong Rinpoche than we have had the merit to spend with Rinpoche.
Despite not having his Guru around, Rinpoche still keeps his commitments and promises. So Rinpoche teaches us vows and commitments are important and uses himself as an example, which again also matches another one of Rinpoche’s teachings on integrity (because if Rinpoche taught about the importance of vows and didn’t keep them himself, then Rinpoche would not have a basis to speak from).
5. Also, the part about keeping our commitments to our lama regardless of whether we see him/her after initiation reminds me also about the egolessness of our spiritual guides, and how we can check out if someone is a genuine teacher. A charlatan who gives out initiations left, right and centre will be doing it with the intent of creating more followers to support him, love him, give him donations, etc. But someone who hardly gives out initiations, and holds the practices close to his heart, and emphasises repeatedly that it is the vows that matter, and NOT the physical proximity to the lama, really has no ego about accumulating followers
6. The commitments actually don’t sound complicated if we examine them closely, and how we react to them is a reflection of our mind. What I mean is on first thought, we might panic and think, “Omg how am I going to keep all the commitments and vows?” Of course we’re going to break some of them because we’re not Buddhas but the fact they sound ‘difficult’ shouldn’t stop us from taking them. They are only ‘difficult’ because we are comparing them against what we are used to do doing (which is being lazy, breaking promises, not keeping our commitments). To me, the fear of taking the vows is actually greater than the difficulty of keeping the vows if we are really intent on our practice, and serious about our transformtion.
7. The part where Rinpoche spoke about doing the mantra or the short/long sadhana reminded me that Rinpoche has been training us up in a very subtle way to take initiations in the future, most notably through Rinpoche’s teaching about always doing more. In this video, Rinpoche said just because your lama hasn’t told you to do the sadhana, doesn’t mean you just stick to the mantra.
Rinpoche always says if you’ve been in Dharma for many years, check if you are doing more or doing less, then you’ll know you’re on the right track. So in this case, if you are serious about your practice and serious about doing more to benefit others, then you should be serious and WANT to do the sadhana (although you don’t have a commitment to it), because the sadhana can help you do more to benefit others…and wasn’t that the reason why you took the initiation?
8. Also, another example of how Rinpoche has been subtly training us for receiving initiation is what Rinpoche said about our vows, and whether it is worth it to lose our vows just to be right, just to not apologise, just to keep a lie, just to keep our face…and since it’s not worth it, let the other person win. It’s the very simple verse from the 8 Verses of Thought Transformation, about accepting defeat and offering the victory to others. When we first moved into KH1 so many years ago, I remember Rinpoche hanging up a painting done by Margaret, and Rinpoche being extremely excited about it. Now I know why!
Thank you Rinpoche for doing this video, it cleared up for me a lot of questions I didn’t know I had about initiations and makes things much more understandable.
Thank you,Rinpoche, for this clear explanations on Vajrayogini’s Sacred Initiation. There are so many benefits through receiving this tantric practices. I will use this teachings as a guideline to create the cause of receiving Vajrayogini’s initiation. I will strive to be consistent in my practice and hold on to my vows and commitments.
May I have the merits to receive HER practice and be near HER in this life and future lives. May we all ascend to Kechara Paradise
Like Rinpoche pointed out, after taking the initiation, we have to do the work – this is the WAY for enlightenment.
The Guru gives the dharma/initiation, we need to understand, do the preparation, put into practice, fulfill the commitment and hold the vows.
Blessing comes from the Guru but students must ensure we prepare ourselves to be the suitable vessels to receive the blessings.
Tantric practices are faster and more “powerful”. Due to this, the Guru needs to be more stringent and cautious in giving such methods to the students out of his concern for the students’ spiritual well being.
Thank you Rinpoche for the clear and informative post.I know what I must do to be worthy of receiving the initiation.
Thank you, Rinpoche, for you great compassion in presenting here very clearly what one has to do to create the causes to be able to receive the Vajrayogini Initiation and Practice.
There are such tremendous benefits to be obtained from receiving a tantric initiation and engaging in tantric practices, especially Vajrayogini’s(as it is the one that’s most tailored to our lazy minds so deeply mired in the distractions of this degenerate age).
As is said in the Lamrim, we should make optimal use of this precious human life, especially when we still have all the eighteen opportune conditions and more. The optimal use of this precious life is that of treading the Vajrayana Path to full Enlightenment and Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings.
May I have the focus and the determination to work steadfastly on creating the causes to receive Vajrayogini’s initiation and practice within this lifetime,though the sands of time are running out fast for me.
Thank you Rinpoche for the sharing. We can start start doing offering like water, incense and candle to Vajrayogini images or statue to create a cause for us to receive the initiation. For anyone looking for Vajrayogini statue, tsa tsa, thangka or offering items. Please do visit Kechara Paradise outlets we had in KL and Penang. http://www.kechara.com/shopping/locations/.
Now I have a better understanding of the basic requirement of tantric committments. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing them.
There’s alot that I have to work on and am moving myself towards to be able to receive it when the time is right. May I have the merits to receive her practice and be near a Guru in many lifetimes.
Dear Rinpoche, thank you for giving explanation about the tantric commitment., i have some basic understanding now.
That piece of photo which carries the tantric ornament is neat, i would like to request to have one. I promised will keep it very sacred and secret.
Thank you!
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this with us.
Rinpoche has always stressed the importance of “consistency” in our practice, and this is no surprise at all for the committments one should hold after receiving VY initiation.
But first, I must strive to be consistent in what I have promised to do before I can even be considered for receiving such sacred initiation.
I remember Rinpoche has shared in one of his teachings that he would like to give all of us VY initiation so that we could all ascend to her paradise sooner, but he could not as there are pre-requisite and the students to receive this scared initiation must be suitable vehicles, or else, Rinpoche would be breaking his committments to his guru as well.
Rinpoche is forever compassionate to finding ways and methods to see if we are ready, so we must do our part nomatter what circumstances we are in, because an opportunity like that is definitely not something you can come across easily.
May all of us who have the great merit to meet Rinpoche, help each other and strive all the way for this holy and sacred initiation that will end our sufferings………Kechara Paradise…..
The Vajrayogini sadhana is quite long indeed but to even practice her is truly a blessing.
Many people think that Tantra is the quickest path but it involves so much more starting from the shravaka-yana to the yana of atiyoga. It’s a long arduous path but in the end it’s worth it.
The six session guru sounds like it would be an awesome form of guru yoga to practice. At the same time, I’m more than content practicing Guru Yoga of Tsongkhapa. I think I might expand my guru yoga practice to six times a day like the six session guru yoga.
Those who have any commitments should commit to them with their lives. It would only do you good in the end. Blessings to all!
Thank you Rinpoche for this post, clear and very informative.
I note that however difficult it may feel at times to keep up the commitments,
(a) I should remember that they were suitable for lazy minds already, suitable for my lazy mind, so if I can’t even commit to that… what can I ever achieve really?
(b) I must remember what the goal is: enlightenment within 7 life times, if that is not a golden opportunity worthy to put efforts into, then what is?
It really blows my mind to read of the benefits one may achieved through higher tantric practices. I want to end my suffering and I will strive toward it day by day in this life. If at the end of this life I have not achieved my goal then may I have the merit to take a good rebirth to continue where I left off.
Rinpoche had mentioned many times before that an Olympic athlete trains very hard to compete and strives to win a medal and it is full commitment all the way. And that, just for a medal.
Yes, I admit the vows and commitments are daunting but enlightenment is what I want.
Dear Rinpoche, thank you for letting us know more about Vajrayogini. The only message I received from reading here, before the video, and in the transcript of video from start to end is, commitments. Only comimitments.
We can definitely do more if we want it especially in this case enlightenment, the highest one can achieve in happiness for me and everyone. Sincerity, humility and perseverance are some of the good qualities we can always remind ourselves so that our mind is always open and we can move forward progressing on this path.
In this age mental suffering is as bad or worst than physical suffering because for most of us we have food, clothes, a roof over our head, and entertainment but we are still feel unsatisfied. We have obtained material comforts but our mind, our mental has no comforts because we have not achieve something that is lasting, happiness that last. Then we look for a goal post pursuing one goal to another goal. However there is a goal post that is worth pursuing over all other goals. And this is the goal. 🙂