This opinion piece has been extracted from the DorjeShugden.com forum. Please add to the discussions on the forum if you have further perspectives, comments and thoughts. We always welcome debate and exchange. The original thread can be viewed at http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=767

Question

Does anyone here know how to remove curses and negativity from places and objects? If our prayer beads, sadhanas and other ritual objects are being tainted by the touch of those who slander our Spiritual Guides, Deity or Dorje Shugden, is there anyway to cleanse them and restore their purity?

A sharing by TK

I will do a short explanation for you and hope it helps. There are the general methods and Tantric methods. (However, in my explanation on the Tantric methods, I will not go beyond what is allowed).

You have to identify, if you can, where the curses or negativities are coming from. For example, if it is a lot of general talk, malicious talk or jealous talk towards you, then you can recite a Sutra called Miga Tramdo, or have it recited for you. This Sutra is especially for turning back the effects of speech from many that could hurt you. Speech can turn into something physical that interferes with you.

If the problem is coming from a land god, or regional deity, then there is a short ritual – extracted from the Shugden Kangsol or Lama Chopa Tsok – which you can do to make offerings to them as a friend.

If you have offended a spirit, you may generate loving compassion or think good thoughts and apologize. Reciting the Heart Sutra and Refuge formula (“Namo Guru Bey, Namo Buddhaya, Namo Dharmaya, Namo Sanghaya”) would be powerful antidotes if recited with deep conviction (There is no limit to how many times you should recite. It would be good if you can recite one mala a day or more of the Refuge formula (i.e. 108x or more).).

None of the recitations or rituals should be done with the intent to harm the land, god, ghost etc. It should be done with the altruistic wish for their liberation and planting seeds in their mindstream. You should think that it is also to purify the karma you have to be able to receive this type of harm at all.

For curses, spells or black magic that you are confirmed about, the following pujas can be selected, depending on the intensity of the harm:

• Sheningdodo (Heart Sutra with ritual)
• Gyabshi (400 offerings)
• Chasum
• Kabardo
• Dukkar
• Dukkar dondo
• Protector Puja
• Dukkar Se Sum (Dukkar, Singdogma and Heart Sutra recitation)
• Receiving Vajra Yogini or Yamantaka Kakko (a short ritual done by a qualified lama to block interferences)

The above are just some to name a few. It would be best to consult a lama. There are more, but I am just giving general pujas here. All these pujas can be done in any Gelug Monastery.

You can also do any of the personal recitations, prayers, mantras or sadhanas below for repelling curses, spells and black magic; or a combination of these:

• Reciting one’s lama’s personal name mantra
• Singdongma Goddess
• Ekazati Goddess
• One’s protector
• Vajrapani
• Black Manjushri
• Hayagriva (Thamthing Samdrup)

If one has the higher Annuttara tantric initiations then they can engage in:

Yamantaka or Vajra Yogini would be very powerful. One can engage in their sadhana and focus on the following:

• Soliciting the lineage lamas and one’s lama during the sadhana is very important for the success of the practice and dissolving.
• Protection wheels
• Protection deities/armour in the case of Vajra Yogini
• Dissolution and emptiness of all phenomena in either generation or completion stages

Their sadhana / practice should not be engaged in to conquer demons, spirits, black magic, etc. That would be a side benefit. One should engage in their sadhana with an altruistic motivation wishing to gain great bliss and wisdom (Detong Yermey). Doing their sadhanas daily will be very powerful and effective protection.

One can also engage in the following method. However, this is not recommended as you need great skill, good samaya, strong concentration and you also need to have to ‘accomplished’ your deity (Yidam):

Do one’s meditational deity practice as per the sadhana. Then, generate the spirit as the deity you are doing, place the spirit as a deity in a pillar, or something stable in the house. Bless the pillar to generate it as a divine palace of the deity. Seal the pillar and recite the auspicious verses.

Those are the various means I have explained in short and general terms. There are many variations depending on circumstances. The best way is to consult a great practitioner, lama or above all, one’s own lama. You need not take what I have written and start doing it yourself. I have purposely omitted many details as I am just sharing knowledge not writing instructions on how to do this. I am letting you know just in short what is available.

There are a few methods to protect yourself against those with broken samaya or negative intent who ‘contaminate’ your objects. Any of the following are fine for you to do:

• Ask a lama to bless.
• Recite OM AH HUM 108 times or more, focusing on what you know on Emptiness. Then blow on the contaminated object.
• Recite any amount of your guru’s name mantra, trust your teacher and bless.
• Use the consecrated water from a Trusol ritual to wash the objects.
• Recitation of your protector’s mantra, focusing on altruism.

If you are doing any of the Annutara tantric deities, then just before the recitation of their mantras in their sadhanas, there is a section for consecrating the mala. That would be very sufficient. In fact, any of these practices/sadhanas will consecrate your environment, the objects within, the beings within and more importantly, your mind. Hence, everything becomes purified and blessed.

It is said that wherever there is a pure practitioner of Heruka Chakrasamvara / Vajra Yogini, when he/she recites their 8-line praises, the Dakas/Dakinis from the 24 holy-power spots will converge to bless the practitioner, the environment and all beings in that space immediately. It becomes a sacred environment to plant the seeds of enlightenment in the minds of those beings and visitors.

I wish you luck and speed in your practice always.

TK

Lord of Miracles

The earliest recognized incarnation of Dorje Shugden was born in ancient India as the famous Mahasiddha Biwawa. Mahasiddhas are spiritual practitioners (yogis) who have achieved profound spiritual realization, and are characterized by their often unconventional and outrageous behaviour and teachings.

Biwawa is among the earliest lineage-holders of the Chakrasamvara Tantra, which he achieved by diligently practicing Tantra at night in Nalanda Monastery. After practicing for a very long time without any apparent results, Biwawa had a series of nightmares which he took to be a bad omen so he threw his mala in the latrine out of sheer frustration.

He was initially very disheartened but he later had a dream of the female Buddha Nairatmya, where the nightmares were revealed to be a sign of impending spiritual attainment. He recovered his mala, purified it with incense and resumed his practice.

As Biwawa performed his practices, mysterious women would appear. Eventually the female Buddha Nairatmya appeared and gave him initiation directly. In actuality, these women were divine Dakinis who came to partake of his Tsog offerings and Tantric rituals. However, many monks saw these Dakinis as ordinary women entering his quarters and Biwawa was expelled from the monastery. He freely excepted the blame and even called himself “Bira Wapa” or ‘Goitered Hero’.

After his expulsion, Biwawa roamed the land as a disheveled yogin. At one time, he parted a river with his miraculous powers which was witnessed by some monks. The monks realised that he was actually a Mahasiddha, so monastic officials came to apologize to him and request his return to the monastery.

However, Biwawa had already taken off his robes, so he continued on his way and eventually came upon the forest of a nearby kingdom. As soon as the king heard that he was a Buddhist yogi, he ordered his arrest. Then, after he ordered the guards to bind him with chains, they attempted to drown him, bury him and subject him to many other such tortures. However, Biwawa was not harmed in any way and remained unperturbed. Eventually, the king developed tremendous faith in him and became Buddhist along with his whole kingdom.

On the way to south India, Biwawa came across a river that he wanted to cross but the boatman requested for payment. He said he didn’t have any money so he stopped the river with his miraculous powers and crossed the river on his own. The boatman developed faith in him and became one of his greatest students. He was called Dombi Heruka.

Then, Biwawa came to another kingdom and entered a local tavern. He began to drink a lot of beer and wouldn’t stop drinking so the bartender demanded that he pay for his beer. At first he refused to pay but the bartender insisted. Biwawa held his hand aloft to the sky in a threatening mudra to stop the sun and said that he would pay for the beer only when the sun set. The sun stayed in the sky for days which created much chaos and distress among the people.

Subsequently, the King came and requested that he let the sun set and there was darkness for three days. By witnessing this display of Biwawa’s extraordinary powers, the people soon developed faith in him and the entire kingdom eventually entered the Buddhist path.

Along his travels, Biwawa arrived at a place in South India where the king kept five hundred dreadlocked yogis as ritual masters to slaughter tens of thousands of livestock for blood offerings to a statue of Ishvara. Biwawa went directly to the statue and as he pointed his finger at it, the statue broke into four parts, terrifying the king and his subjects.

Then, Biwawa magically restored the statue to its original state with an image of Avalokiteshvara on its head. One of the dreadlocked yogis developed strong faith in Biwawa, became his student and was known as the famous Mahasiddha Krishnapada.

People at that time developed intense faith easily after just seeing a display of miracles. Using this method to bring many people to Dharma and to spread the teachings, Biwawa tirelessly performed many miracles which instilled strong faith in people everywhere. In this lifetime, he had countless disciples, some of whom, became powerful Mahasiddhas themselves.

A lot of people get confused how one practically surrenders completely to the spiritual guide. It seems as if you would become a lifeless zombie frozen, incapable of acting. The reality is it is the exact opposite. Right now we are a lifeless zombie incapable of acting since we are completely controlled by our delusions and have never tasted the enlightened experience of being all living beings.

It can seem like surrendering means you no longer make any decisions. But this is wrong. You do make one decision, over and over again: the decision to surrender and submit to the spiritual guide in all of his aspects. This is the best decision to make in every situation we find ourselves in.

I will repeat, this is the best decision to make in every situation we find ourselves in. There is no situation in which this is not the best decision, and if we make any other decision in any situation, we are making the sub-optimal decision. Any other decision is a product of our ignorance.

Given that things are empty, when reduced down to its essence, every situation has three components: what is appearing, how we respond and what direction we are heading in (towards what destination are we moving). What is appearing is dependent upon our past karma.

How we respond is dependent upon our present wisdom. What direction we are heading in (towards what destination we are moving) is dependent upon our aspiration.

In all three of these domains, our spiritual task is to learn to surrender/submit completely to the spiritual guide. With respect to what is appearing, we need to actively and continuously surrender/submit completely to Guru Dorje Shugden. With respect to how we respond, we need to actively surrender/submit to Lama Tsongkhapa.

With respect to what direction we are heading in (towards what destination we are moving) we need to actively surrender/submit to Guru Father Heruka (or Vajrayogini as the case may be).

Most of our worries in life are about what is appearing. We are such externally-oriented beings. As times become increasingly impure, this will only become more so the case. For this reason, I believe that reliance upon Dorje Shugden is already and will increasingly become our primary and most important refuge.

Dorje Shugden has the power to control what karmically ripens, both externally and internally. Normally, samsara is uncontrolled karmic appearance. When we surrender/offer all of our karma into Dorje Shugden’s care, then he becomes the master of our universe, he becomes the Director of our (Truman) show.

It is so simple to do: generate a pure intention, and request ‘please arrange whatever is best.’ By ‘best’ we mean, what is best for the swiftest possible of enlightenment of all living beings, understanding that our own enlightenment is an essential condition/pre-requisite for their enlightenment (the means to the end).

We have to get to the point where we actually don’t want to make the decision ourselves. We want him to decide everything for us. We have our own plans and our own goals, and we grasp onto them and become very attached to them. We generate enormous stress for ourselves through this. What freedom to let all of this go!

We need to be like a good soldier who is ready (indeed eager because he has complete confidence in his general) to go wherever he is to be deployed and to perform whatever mission is asked of him.

For a lot of RTs, they surrender themselves completely to VGL in terms of letting him decide where they go and what they do. They are happy to do so because they trust his omniscient wisdom. But for the overwhelming majority of us, it seems as if we are on our own in this respect. But this is not the case. We too can enjoy the same enlightened direction in our life by learning how to surrender/submit to Dorje Shugden.

I try to have no plans of my own, no agenda of my own other than to surrender/submit to Dorje Shugden. There is no stress, no anxiety, no worry, just an adventurous heart ready for whatever the Protector ripens next. There is no basis for aversion to anything (for example the baby crying when I am trying to mediate or do my journal).

My ignorance makes me attached to my wishes, and I suffer when they are thwarted. My faith in Dorje Shugden helps me let go of that aversion and be happy to assume responsibility for whatever the situation he emanates for me calls upon me to do. No questions asked, no hesitation, no worry, no second-guessing and no frustration, just the peaceful equanimity of a confident faith that the Protector has taken charge.

I am running out of time, so I will have to explain later how it works to surrender in terms of how we respond and the direction we are going.

But briefly, the way we respond to all situations is to oppose orthogonally the nexus of delusions arising in any given moment. This as well can be done quite simply through making simple requests such as ‘reveal to me what I should do’ or ‘please give me the wisdom to know how to respond’.

Likewise, we can simply ask ourselves, ‘what would VGL do?’ or ‘what would Lama Tsongkhapa do?’ much like Christians ask what would Jesus do. Then we do that. He has perfect wisdom and perfect skilful means, so really these two types of request are just two sides of the same coin.

In terms of what direction we are going, our job is to make ourselves useful to others. Our final goal is the complete freedom of all beings. This is what we are working towards. To bring this about, we need to recognize that we have imprisoned all beings in the samsara of our creation (our contaminated dream).

Thus to free them we need to gather and dissolve all our appearances into the bliss of the Dharmakaya (transform ourselves into Chakrasambara). As a way station or an interim step in that process, we likewise transform ourselves and our entire empty world into Heruka’s pure land.

Heruka’s pure land is like a funnel which gathers all appearances from the deepest hell to the highest pure land gradually inwards towards the Dharmakaya inside the nada inside Father Heruka’s heart. From the Charnel grounds into inside the protection circle, then into the celestial mansion, then into the deities of the commitment, body, speech, heart and great bliss wheels. Then into Father Heruka himself, then into his indestructible drop, then into the nada.

When you enter into the nada, it is like a magic portal that when you pass through the entire interpretative mandala dissolves behind you and you emerge into the infinite expanse of the clear light Dharmakaya. It is then that you realize that the entire path to enlightenment was like an unwinding of the contaminated karmic ball of knots we have been creating since beginningless time. We release ourselves (and all beings) from the infinite chains of our past deluded deeds. It all unwinds and dissolves and we emerge united with all beings in inseparable and irreversible freedom.

Source : http://kadampaworkingdad.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/the-decision-to-surrender/

The interview is conducted on the occasion of His Holiness the 101th Ganden Tripa’s first official visit to Singapore.

The interview is conducted by Kunga Nyima and is translated by Associate Professor Huang Yi Yan of Taiwan. It is conducted on 18 June 2003 at His Holiness’s residence in Singapore.

His Holiness the 101th Ganden Tripa is hosted on His first Official Visit to Singapore from 25 May 2003 to 23 June 2003 by the Charitable Assistance Society.

About the Ganden Tripas:

The Ganden Tripas, the Sakya Trizins and the Karmapas are official heads of their respective traditions: the Gelug, the Sakya and the Karma Kagyu. Je Tsongkhapa is the founder of the Gelug tradition. The line of the Ganden Tripas are Tsongkhapa’s spiritual successors and are therefore the official supreme head of the Gelug Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The line of the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas both hailed from the Gelug Tradition.

The 101th Ganden Tripa, together with Mindroling Trichen, have been enthroned in 2002 as the heads of respectively the Nyingma and Gelug traditions.

Those beings who so rarely are fortunate enough to have contact with His Holiness, there is hardly any who will fail to realize that His Holiness is a GEM…… a sign of the fruition and flowering of seamless cultivation of the Buddha’s holy Teachings. It is a genuine blessing to personally witness His Holiness’s absolute sincerity, warmth, wisdom, innocent humour, unending patience and honesty.

”May it be of benefit !!”

Buddhism

What is the most essentially fundamental thing for a Buddhist?

Buddhists should know that samsara is suffering. We need to realize that samsara is suffering first before we will try to obtain liberation from it. The only way to liberation from samsara is through following the Teachings of the Buddha. According to the Texts, only by following the Buddhist Teachings can there be ultimate liberation from samsara.

What is the most important thing a Buddhist should remember?

A Buddhist should always remember the 3 Jewels: the Buddha, His Teachings [The Dharma ] and His Assembly of Noble Disciples [ The Sangha ]. A Buddhist should clear internalize the supreme qualities of the 3 Jewels. In general, the Buddha is like a doctor, the Dharma is like medicine and the Sangha is like nurses and assistants to the doctor.

We, sentient beings, in samsara, are like the patients. We need to take the doctor’s prescription to get well. Moreover, we also need to rely on the doctor and his assistants too. A Buddhist needs to always take refuge in the 3 Jewels as well as to remember the qualities of the 3 Jewels.

How do we sustain “Bodhicitta”: the attitude of completely dedicating ourselves for the welfare of others; of wanting to attain the state of Complete Enlightenment or Buddhahood solely for the good of others?

To put the Teachings into practice is difficult. If we can put the Teachings into practice, this is real Bodhicitta. If we cannot, this cannot be Bodhicitta. To give rise to Bodhicitta, we must first cultivate Loving-kindness [ Wishing all beings to have happiness and the causes of happiness ] and Compassion [ Wishing all beings to be free from suffering and the causes of suffering ].

Next, we must think of the kindness of our mother. Then, we need to remember the kindness of all beings as they have acted as our mothers in countless past lives. Following, we need to cultivate the wish to repay the kindnesses of all these uncountable mother sentient beings. To put Bodhicitta into practice is difficult. If we can put Bodhicitta into practice, this is real Bodhicitta.

If we cannot put Bodhicitta into practice, this cannot be genuine Bodhicitta. Always try to sustain a good-heart. Do not be bothered about what others do. Just try to sustain a good-heart. This is the way of the true Buddhists.

Is vegetarianism compulsory?

It has been suggested that cultivating crops kill untold numbers of insects whilst the slaughtering of only one yak in old Tibet can feed the whole family for a week. Therefore, from the numerical point of view, this group of people suggests that we should consume meat of big-size animals rather than eating vegetables which inevitably entail the death of countless creatures. Moreover, some masters have insisted on vegetarianism as compulsory for a Buddhist whilst others quoted Buddhist texts to the contrary.

What is Your Holiness point of view?

In general, Lord Buddha has taught 3 differing points with regard to vegetarianism. In the first one, in the Theravada tradition, it is taught that we cannot take the so-called three categories of “Impure Meat”: a) we perceive through our eyes or ears the killing of the meat; b) we suspect that the meat is killed for ourselves; c) we know that the meat has been killed for us.

Besides these 3 categories of meat, we are permitted to partake of the rest. In the second one, in the Mahayana tradition, it is taught explicitly that the taking meat is necessarily unskillful and wrong. So vegetarianism is compulsory here.

In the third, in the Vajrayana tradition, it is taught that practitioners of this path should take meat. The reason for this is given in the texts and requires extensive explanations. It is not appropriate for me to elaborate here. Students of Buddhism can choose to follow any of these 3 points. It is not possible for me to dictate which points students should follow.

There have been some Buddhist centres concentrating mainly on doing social work whilst some concentrating mainly on spiritual practices. What is Your Holiness’s opinion on what a Buddhist centre should concentrate on?

Doing both social work and spiritual practices are not contradictory but are in fact complementary. Both have their own reasons for doing their respective work. Shantideva said in “Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life” that the perfection of generosity does not mean that one can only perfect the practice of generosity after one has alleviated the poverty of all sentient beings.

Lord Buddha has already perfected the practice of generosity. However, there is still poverty in the world. Therefore, this proves the point as elucidated in “Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life” that to perfect the practice of generosity means to be able to perfect the activity of generosity from the point of view of one’s spiritual practice rather than from already physical completion of the alleviating of poverty of all other beings.

Following this point of argument, cultivation of generosity through various spiritual practices is important. Even if I can help, I can only but help but a minute proportion of beings through doing social work. Even if I can help 1000 beings, this is still a small proportion relative to the population of Singapore and the number of beings in the whole universe.

There are 3 sets of vows: the Self-Liberation Vows; the Bodhisattva Vows and the Vajrayana Vows. All these 3 sets of vows contain the Practices of the 6 Perfections including of course the practice of generosity. Some examples of how we can exercise the vows include one assisting if any beings fall sick or have other difficulties, one helping to guard banks as they contain the wealth of many beings! From this point of view therefore, social work is therefore an essential part of dharma practice.

In addition, however, we must also remember Shantideva’s teaching that the accomplishment of the perfections lies in one’s mind through spiritual practices also. Therefore, there are valid and good reasons for social work as well as spiritual practices. There is no need to split them into two different groups.

There have been comments that Buddhists from almost all traditions, be it Tibetan, Thai or even the west, have been building too much big statues, stupas, centres and even monasteries and that Buddhists should instead expend more of their resources on social welfare projects such as hospitals, animal-shelter-homes, orphanages and others that directly benefit beings in more tangible ways. What is Your Holiness’s opinion about this?

All are good. All can accumulate merit. Building hospitals or monasteries are good. Both activities are not wasteful.

Some Buddhist centres will only support or circulate news of activities organized by their own centres. Some will even through either implicit or even explicit means, discourage their members from attending programmes organized by other centres even if these programmes are conducted by acknowledged great masters and are beneficial. It has been suggested that these centres are trying to maintain the number of students or followers in their centres as they are worried that their resources will be “lost” to other organizations. On the other hand, these centres claim that they are only trying to “protect” their students from even some of these important teachers, some of whom are even teachers of their centres’ own spiritual advisers. What does Your Holiness think about this?

I have no comments. If I say something, some people may get angry with me! [ laughing ]

Will there be an end to samsara?

It is difficult to say if there will be an end to samsara. It is mentioned in the texts that all beings will eventually become Buddhas. But before that, samsara is there. It is also mentioned in the texts that there does not exist a time where all beings will be free from samsara.

There have been allegations of conversions of Buddhists to other religions through deliberate and aggressive inaccurate depiction of Buddhism, conditional provisions of material aid, educational opportunities and such. What does Your Holiness think of this?

We have to try our best to propagate the Buddhist Teachings. We have no ability to stop these alleged practices. It is also no good for us to stop conversions through “fair” means. The main thing is to develop and improve ourselves. We need to establish more Buddhist centres. We need to improve the management of existing centres.

Just like how other religions spread their teachings, Buddhists should also follow likewise. We should not think of going against other religions however! Conducting certain religious ceremonies or “pujas” for welfare of the Buddhist teachings is also another method. According to the Buddhist Teachings, it is considered negative karma to desecrate the Buddhist teachings.

Similarly, we should not desecrate teachings of other religions. We simply need to improve ourselves with diligence. In the context of Tibetan Buddhism, the Sakyapas will need to preserve and propagate teachings of the Sakya Tradition. The Kagyupas, the Nyingmapas and the Gelugpas will similarly need to do likewise.

What does Your Holiness feel about the state of Buddhism in the west?

Buddhism has been taught and transmitted in the west but it is difficult to ensure that every Teaching has been taught and learnt well. There is definite room for improvements in terms of the way the Buddhist centers are being managed, the way the western students are learning the teachings, the way these students are practicing the teachings, the way in which the teachings have been taught and others. Another matter of concern is that many Tibetan teachers in the west have no place of their own.

Tibetan Buddhism

Does Your Holiness feel that it is timely and appropriate to introduce the Bhikshuni or Fully-ordained Nun’s Order into Tibetan Buddhism?

I have not much comment about this matter.

Does Your Holiness feel that the “tulku” system or the system of finding reincarnated teachers is still relevant today?

There are still many masters getting recognized today. I do not know whether it is still relevant today.

What is Your Holiness opinion of astrology and divination?

Some people believe in them and some people do not. I personally have not much opinion about this matter.

There have been great concerns and fear almost amongst Vajrayana students in both the east and west, on their need to, at all cost, at least read through the meditation text of their yidam daily as they have been told to do so by their teachers during initiation ceremonies of which they participated. These students considered missing doing the meditation of their Yidam or missing reading through the relevant text even for a day a serious transgression of their vow or commitment. What is Your Holiness’s opinion about this matter?

The main point is not to simply and blindly read through the Yidam’s meditational text or “sadhana” daily without understanding. The main point is to keep strictly to our best ability all the commitments we have taken: the Self-liberation, the Bodhisattva and the Tantric commitments.

It is good and important to do the meditational text of your yidam daily especially if you have promised to do so daily but this is not the main point. The main and most important point is to keep the above 3 sets of vows to our best ability. If you have promised your Teachers to do certain “sadhanas” or “Practice Texts” daily, you should definitely try to do them daily.

If you really cannot do it due to sickness, it is perfectly fine. But you should continue after you have recovered from your sickness. If you miss your “sadhana” due to that you have forgotten to do it, you should still continue to do it the very next day. You should also do at least 21 times the long Vajrasattva 100- Syllable Mantra or to do the “Confession to the 35 Buddhas” the very next day.

If for whatever reason you miss your “sadhana” such as not having the time due to work, you should let your Teacher know about it and then re-take the particular initiation again. In the meantime, before say you can re-take the initiation again, continue with the practice. You should also do at least 21 times the long Vajrasattva 100-Syllable Mantra or do the ”Confession to the 35 Buddhas”.

If owing to work commitments you cannot continue with your daily practice of the promised ”sadhana” anymore, you should let your Teacher know about this. If you are not able to let your Teacher know about this or your Teacher has already passed away and you still cannot continue to do your practice daily, you should then do at least 21 times the long Vajrasattva 100-Syllable Mantra or do the “Confession to the 35 Buddhas” daily.

It is important to check if there is any commitment that comes with any particular initiation. If you are not able to keep the commitments, you should not take the initiation. If a student has promised to do say 5 “sadhanas” a day, the student should not decide for himself or herself without consulting their Teachers first whether he or she can simply do only one “sadhana” in place of all the rests daily. However, it is also important that students should not feel unreasonably or overly upset or fearful of missing daily practice for whatever reasons.

How will Your Holiness describe Your relationship with HH the Dalai Lama?

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has taken care of me in my past lives. His Holiness has taken care of me when I was just a newly-ordained monk, when I was the Abbot of the Tantric College of Upper Lhasa, Abbot of Ganden Shartse Monastery, when I was the Lord of Dharma of the Eastern End or the “Sharpa Choje” and even when I am now the Ganden Tripa or the Supreme Head of the Gelugpa Tradition.

His Holiness is one of my precious Root Teachers. I have taken a photograph with HH the Dalai Lama this year [ May 2003 ]. There is nothing in the world that I cherish more. Then, not forgetting also, that His Holiness is, in some ways, my “boss”. [ giggles]

What is Your Holiness’s opinion on a student being non-sectarian and doing practices or receiving teachings and initiations from all the 4 Tibetan Buddhist lineages?

I feel that it is best if a practitioner can do the practices of all these four lineages without discrimination. However, it may be difficult for some unless they have the capacity. On the other hand, it is also possible for a practitioner to concentrate only on one lineage. However, this latter practitioner even concentrating only on one lineage, needs to have sincere and genuine respect and appreciation for all the other lineages he or she is not practicing.

As we are Buddhists, we all said the Refuge Prayer in which it is mentioned that we take refuge in the Community of Noble Ones. This means the beings who have gained Enlightenment. These beings can be found in all the different lineages. Therefore, when we take refuge, we take refuge in these Enlightened Beings in all the lineages.

If we accept only those Enlightened Beings found in our lineage and reject those Enlightened Beings of other lineages, what we do and say are different. I consider such sectarian attitude or behaviour a very serious breach of Buddhist commitment.

In summary, if we have the ability, it is best if we can follow teachings from all the lineages. Otherwise, we can concentrate on learning from any one of the lineages that we have affinity towards but at the same time maintaining sincere and genuine respect and appreciation of the other lineages.

The Gelugpa Tradition

Can Your Holiness tell us the distinguishing characteristics of the Gelugpa Tradition of which You are the Official Head?

Both in the west and the east, people recognize the Gelugpa monks by the yellow pointed hat they wear. This is the special characteristic! [ laughing ] The uncommon feature of the Gelugpa is that outwardly, the Gelugpa monks adopt a subdued and gentle form of the Shravaka practitioner who live according to the Vinaya rules of the Sutra Vehicle whilst inwardly possessing the full realization of the Generation and Completion Stages of the Tantra Vehicle. The Gelugpa Tradition perceives the Sutra and Tantra Vehicle as complementary and not contradictory.

Does Your Holiness feel that Tibetan Buddhism, in particular, the Gelugpa Tradition, has been upheld well in exile?

I feel that in general, Tibetan Buddhism has been relatively well preserved. In India, the number of monks in the great monasteries has increased due to diligent efforts. However, efforts to make further progress beyond the current situation may be difficult as most efforts have already been expended towards preservation itself. One of the difficulties faced by the monks is that as they are now in exile, they have to take care of their livelihood themselves such as growing crops in the fields. In Tibet in the past, monks only need to study and practise without having the need to work for their own living.

Does Your Holiness feel that there could be some changes introduced into the Geshe study programme followed by the great monasteries of the Gelugpa Tradition?

There have been some suggestions about this. The five great texts that form the curriculum of the Geshe study programme is not for the purpose of winning debates. The debates are not to be only done in mouth but are to be followed by actions throughout the 20 to 30 years of study. The debates are not mere games. Before we can start practising, we need first to know what and how to practise and this we can achieve through studying.

Both Lord Buddha and Je Tsongkhapa have said that before we accept any of Their teachings, we need first to behave like a goldsmith examining the purity of his goods. A goldsmith will first need to smelt the material under investigation. Next, he will need to dissect the gold into appropriate sizes. Finally, he will need to shape the material.

Similarly, too, before we accept or commence any practices, we need first to investigate carefully the sources of these practices through correspondingly adopting the above three processes, whether they originate from the Buddha or any of the Indian or Tibetan lineal Teachers. Study will assist in this task.

There have been suggestions too to introduce scientific study into the Geshe study programme. In general, I feel that studying science is good. However, the study and practise of the Buddha’s teachings is the only ultimate way to the liberation of all beings from samsara and for us to become a Buddha so that we can liberate all beings from samsara.

Towards this objective, studying the Buddha’s teachings is sufficient. All the 500 Arahants of the past have achieved this without requiring study of science. Studying the Teachings is not to just acquire knowledge or to acquire official paper certificates. Studying the Teachings is to free oneself from samsara and also that oneself can become a Buddha to liberate all beings from their sufferings.

Again, towards this aim, studying of the Teachings is sufficient. There is no further need to include the study of science. However, to be a famous scholar recognized by the world, we will then need to study both the Teachings and science! [laughing ]

The study of the Teachings is so that we can gain wisdom to realize Emptiness which is the ultimate nature of phenomena. The study of the teachings entails the following three stages: Listening to the teachings; contemplating what we have heard; putting into practice what we have learnt.

We need to listen to the teachings first before we can contemplate on them. Before we can contemplate, we first need to listen to what has been taught. If we do not listen, we cannot contemplate and subsequently, there is nothing for us to practise! Therefore, first, we need to seek for knowledge through listening and studying the teachings.

I personally started to study the great texts when I was 25 years old. I am now 77 years old and still I feel that I have not learnt enough. In addition to the Gelugpa tradition, the other 3 traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, the Sakya, the Nyingma and the Kagyu all contain examples of great realised masters who studied the Teachings extensively.

In the Sakya tradition, we have Sakya Pandita. In the Nyingma tradition, we have Longchen Rabjampa. In the Kagyu tradition, the lineal Karmapas and Dhakpo Lhaje or Gampopa are such great beings. All these masters learnt and studied extensively the great texts and do not rely simply on merely one text alone.

In recent years, some teachers have taught that it is sufficient to rely only on the tantric practices of the Vajrayogini [ Naro Kachodma ] and the Solitary Yamantaka. On the other hand, it has been suggested that the current strong emphasis on the tantric practices of the Vajrayogini [ Naro Kachodma ] and the Solitary Yamantaka instead of the combined tantric practices of the 32 Deity Guhyasamaja, the 62 Deity Heruka Chakrasamvara and the 13 Deity Yamantaka recommended by Je Tzongkhapa are signs of the degeneration of the tantric practices in the Gelugpa tradition. What is Your Holiness’s opinion on this matter?

The Vajrayogini or Naro Kachodma practices is not introduced into the Gelugpa Tradition by Trijang Rinpoche but popularized earlier by masters such as Pabongka Rinpoche as Pabongka Rinpoche is considered to be an emanation of Naropa who is Himself the first Lineage Master of this tantric cycle. Trijang Rinpoche is Himself strongly affiliated to the Vajrayogini cycle as even HH the Dalai Lama pronounced that Trijang Rinpoche is a great practitioner of both the Heruka and Vajrayogini cycles.

In general, Je Tsongkhapa’s three meditational deities or yidams are the 32 Deity Guhyasamaja, the 62 Deity Heruka Chakrasamvara and the 13 Deity Yamantaka. Amongst these 3 yidams, Tsongkhapa especially meditates on Guhyasamaja and wrote most extensively and deeply on this practice. Guhyasamaja is in fact Tzongkhapa’s main practice.

Both Guhyasamaja’s and Heruka’s meditation texts are long whilst Yamantaka’s text is relatively shorter. The genuine good practitioner of the Gelugpa tradition must do all these three practices inseparably.

I have personally heard HH the Dalai Lama taught before that doing the practices of these 3 yidams inseparably is not exactly to mean to read the meditation texts of these 3 yidams separately. The point is to extract the essential and critical features of each of these 3 respective yidams and to subsequently integrate them into any one of these 3 yidams which one has adopted as one’s main yidam.

For example, if your main yidam is Yamantaka, you integrate the essential features of each of these 3 yidams into Yamantaka and you then concentrate on the practice of Yamantaka. Similarly, if your yidam is Guhyasamaja, you then integrate the essential features of each of these 3 yidams into Guhyasamaja and you then concentrate on the practice of Guhyasamaja. This applies also if your yidam is Heruka. The past great lineage Gelugpa Masters similarly do practices of these 3 yidams inseparably.

The recent great lineage Gelugpa Masters such as Ling Rinpoche [ who is the 97 th Ganden Tripa and the Senior Root Teacher of the present Dalai Lama ], Trijang Rinpoche [ who is the Junior Root Teacher of the present Dalai Lama ] and Zong Rinpoche all practise these 3 yidams inseparably.

These great masters have definitely mastered practices of these 3 yidams. Some teachers may have taught their students only to concentrate on Vajrayogini and Solitary Yamantaka because their students may not have the ability or time to do the practices of these 3 great Yidams. However, in general, genuine Gelugpa practitioners who have the ability should do the practices of these 3 great Yidams as His Holiness the Dalai Lama advised.

General

What is Your Holiness’s opinion on mercy-killing or euthanasia?

To kill another being before his or her natural death involves the negative karma of killing even if he or she themselves request to end their lives or if they are already unconscious on life-support and their next-of-kin decides to end their life on their behalf.

Does Your Holiness think that it is permissible to abort babies if they are conceived through rape or if giving birth to the baby endangers the mother’s life or if the baby is so chronically handicapped that it will die within a few seconds or minutes of its birth?

Any form of abortion will involve the negative karma of killing a being.

What is Your Holiness’s opinion on experiments being done on animals for the alleged benefit of human beings?

According to the Buddhist Teachings, giving suffering to another being is wrong.

What is Your Holiness’s view on homosexuality?

Homosexuality seems to be getting more common in the world these days. Homosexuality, like heterosexuality, are both activities of samsara. Neither seems to be particularly better or worse than the other. Whether a man or woman is straight or gay does not make him or her any particularly better or worse than the other. In general, both are activities of lay people. Not that, however, that there is no karma involved in homosexuality, only that it is just like heterosexuality, another activity of samsara.

What is Your Holiness’s opinion of genetic engineering?

I do not know whether it is correct or wrong.

Does Your Holiness think it is permissible to eradicate “pests”: animals or insects which are harmful to human beings such as mosquitoes, cockroaches, rats and such?

All beings are the same. It is considered negative karma to kill any being. Even if these animals infect human beings with diseases, according to the Buddhist Teachings, it is still considered an unskillful action to harm or eradicate them. However, to say not to stop diseases getting spread to human beings as a result of infections from these animals also does not seem to be totally correct. It is very difficult to decide. No matter which stand you take, it is still very difficult.

What is Your Holiness’s opinion of the so-called “pre-emptive strikes”? There is one viewpoint that claims that crippling your enemy’s military resources first before they initiates a brutal onslaught on civilians is actually a skilful means to protect lives. The other viewpoint is that “pre-emptive strikes” initiates aggression first from one’s side without provocation from the other and is therefore wrong.

It is difficult to decide.

What is Your Holiness’s wish for the world?

I wish all beings in the world happiness, health and also that they will live even better.

A short introduction to Buddhism

[ As informal accompanying notes to the above interview with HH the 101th Ganden Tripa for friends unfamiliar with the Buddhist teachings ]

General

The cause of samsara Buddha, the Enlightened One, taught that all beings suffer as a result of their not recognizing the inherent Emptiness of nature.

• From their Non-recognition of Emptiness or Ignorance arises a sense of Self.
• From this sense of Self arises Self-cherishing Attitude which places oneself above all others.
• From Self-cherishing Attitude arises all the other Defilements: Anger, Attachment and such.
• As a result of creation of actions motivated by these Defilements, beings suffer from ”Karma” or the Resultant Effects of their Actions.
• From their endless creation of “Karma”, beings are forced to take birth, experienced inevitable death, take birth again, experience death again and so on, again and again in unending cycles of suffering.

The way to end samsara

• To realize Emptiness so that they can be free from samsara, beings will need to practise the Noble Eight-fold Path: Right View / Right Intention / Right Speech / Right Action / Right Livelihood / Right Effort / Right Mindfulness / Right Concentration.
• When beings realize Emptiness, they are then liberated from samsara.

Mahayana

Bodhisattvas

Beings who do not only want to liberate themselves from samsara but in addition, wanting to attain Buddhahood, as this is the best manner that they can liberate all other countless beings from samsara, are known as “Bodhisattvas”.

Common Bodhicitta

The wish to want to attain Buddhahood regardless of how long it will take or how difficult it will be solely for the liberation from samsara of all other beings is known as the “Common Bodhicitta”.

Way of practice of the Bodhisattvas

Sutra Tradition- Bodhisattvas practise the Six Perfections for countless aeons so that they can attain the state of Buddhahood. The Six Perfections are Generosity / Morality / Patience /Perseverance /Meditation / Wisdom. This group of Bodhisattvas is practicing according to the Sutra Mahayana Tradition.

Uncommon Bodhicitta

Another group of Bodhisattvas practices according to the Tantra Mahayana Tradition. This latter group of Bodhisattvas are motivated by the “Uncommon Bodhicitta” which is the wish to attain Buddhahood for the liberation from samsara of all other beings through any means whatsoever because they cannot stand, due to their great compassion, the suffering of any beings whilst they are progressing towards Buddhahood.

Way of practice of the Bodhisattvas

Tantra Tradition- This group of Bodhisattvas practices Deity Yoga and other tantric practices which will yield the state of Buddhahood in the shortest time possible including even this very life. In general, these Bodhisattvas practise viewing the inherent ultimate potential or purity of all beings. They do this through viewing their Spiritual Teachers as Buddhas, themselves and all other beings as Buddhas.

Source: http://www.trisurlungriknamgyal.com/blog-2/

Who is he?

Known as the ‘Great Black One’ in Sanskrit or Chaturmukha, Four Faced Mahakala is an emanation of the Buddha of Wisdom, Manjushri. He is popularly known to be able to quash our obstacles arising from ignorance and anger.

Being an enlightened Dharma Protector, he has been propitiated by many great masters including Lama Tsongkhapa, Nagarjuna and Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen. Four Faced Mahakala is also very well known to be one of the principle protectors of the Sakya tradition. He is also the main protector of Drepung Loseling Monastery and various Khangtsens in Ganden.

A Short History of Chaturmukha

Four Faced Mahakala is the Protector of the Guhyasamaja and Chakrasamavara Tantras. There was once a great Tibetan translator by the name of Nyen Lotsawa. When he received the tantric practice of Guhyasamaja of the Jnanapada Lineage from Risula (a dakini), she also bestowed on him the initiation of Four Faced Mahakala.

At this time, she gave him as a servant a dark skinned Brahman. When Nyen Lotsawa and the Brahman reached Nepal, the servant changed appearance and took on the form of a monk, an appearance more conducive for travelling in Tibet.

After the passing of Nyen Lotsawa, the monk remained with Lama Nam Ka’upa and then later with Sachen Kunga Nyingpo. This dark skinned monk is considered by many to be the emanation of Mahakala himself.

In later times, the Gelug School of Lama Tsongkapa adopted the Guhyasamaja practices and Four Faced Mahakala. Many more paintings and depictions of the four faced deity were made and he became a popular Protector. The vast majority of Tibetan and Mongolian paintings of Four Faced Mahakala are of the Gelug lineage.

How is Four Faced Mahakala connected to Dorje Shugden?

Both Four Faced Mahakala and Dorje Shugden are emanations of the Buddha of Wisdom, Manjushri hence they share similar natures.

Besides that, they are both connected through Dorje Shugden’s previous life, Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen. Four Faced Mahakala was one of the heart practices of Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen for all his life. It is because of this reason that Dorje Shugden has a very intimate relationship with Four Faced Mahakala.

Iconography

This form of Mahakala has four faces and four arms indicating that he has realized the four noble truths. His central face and body is dark blue in color, while his right face is white, his left face is red and his top face is black.

The main hands of Four Faced Mahakala holds a curved knife and a skull cup. The curved knife and the skull cup are iconic implements of Mahakala that symbolizes his enlightened nature in Tantric imagery.

The second pair of hands holds a raised sword in the right and a spear in the left. The right leg is bent and the left straight standing atop a prone corpse-like figure. His three eyes stare at our negative karma and obstacles wrathfully with a vision of past, present and future simultaneously.

Dharmapalas, Chos-skyong – “Protectors

Lama Namse Rinpoche was born in Tsurphu, Tibet in 1930 and became a monk at the age of fifteen. He studied the Tibetan religious language, etymology, grammar, poetry, all major Hinayana and Mahayana texts and commentaries, as well as the philosophy of the various Buddhist schools from ages 16 to 21.

Then Lama Namse did a 3-year, 3-month, 3-day retreat and practiced the profound instructions of the Kagyu teachings intensively. From 24 to 26, he concentrated on The Five Treasuries of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great.

From 27 to 30, Lama Namse went on pilgrimage and practiced in many sacred retreat sites. He left Tibet and came to India when he was 30 and did another 3-year retreat. Then he became a retreat master for many new retreatants. He travelled to Rumtek Dharmachakra Centre when he was 37 and received the empowerments of the Kagyu Ngagzod and Damgang Ngagzod.

Since 1974 he has served as a teacher of the Kagyu Lineage all over Europe and has helped many students understand the path. Lama Namse Rinpoche is His Holiness Karmapa’s official representative in Canada and is head of Karma Sonam Dargye Ling, the Canadian centre for His Holiness the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje.

When receiving precious Dharma instructions, especially those of the Great Vehicle, it is necessary to arouse the pure motivation, bodhicitta, which is the sincere wish to attain a enlightened mind for the benefit of oneself and every living being.

Before earnestly studying and meditating the Buddhadharma, it is utterly necessary to recollect the fundamental teachings and to be sure that one has understood them correctly. Every Dharma activity presupposes a good understanding of the basic instructions that Lord Buddha gave to us.

For example, any skyscraper that is erected without a fundament will collapse in a storm. It is the same with knowledge of Dharma: It is only possible to progress in one’s practice if one understands and has integrated the basic instructions in one’s life. It is tempting to think one has understood them, but it happens so very often that practitioners falter if they skip stages while hoping to traverse the path and achieve fruition.

I was asked to speak about the practice of Mahakala, but there must be a misunderstanding. In order to meditate Mahakala, a disciple must have completed Ngondro (the preliminary practices) and a yidam practice. This is the reason why instructions on Mahakala are not presented to a general audience nor in public – it is not common and would not benefit anyone.

Western students are fascinated about the idea of meditating Mahakala, but it is only correct to present the instructions to advanced practitioners. If a student meditates similar practices without having completed the preliminary and yidam practices, then there is the very great danger and probability that many false concepts will arise and as a result that person will err, which would be extremely difficult to heal.

Without the fundamental practices, one cannot understand Mahakala. It is better to refrain, seeing that practicing Mahakala without preparations on the part of a disciple only makes him or her more neurotic and confused.

Furthermore, receiving the empowerment that allows one to practice Mahakala involves profound details and a strict commitment. Living up to the commitment of engaging in the quite complex details of practice that the empowerment entails can become more than difficult for you. I do not want to withhold anything from you, rather I want to protect you from making a promise that you cannot keep. But I will offer the blessing.

Let me explain this with an example: People in the West need to have completed elementary school, then junior high, and later received a high school education before going to college. No parent would think of registering a six-year old child at a university.

Wouldn’t a youngster be out of place and suffer frustrating consequences if parents overloaded their child with such high expectations should that child be enrolled in university courses?

Dharma is the same – it is necessary to first fully understand what one is doing. Intellectually reiterating what one has heard will not do. Disciples need to discuss their practice with their teacher.

If a meditation master sees that a disciple is ready, then he will suggest which practice is suitable and best. Students must rely upon the insight and decision an authentic and qualified instructor makes when it comes to Dharmapala meditation.1

It is necessary to follow the path properly if one wishes to integrate the Dharma in one’s life. It is of no help at all to skip stages, because something will be missing along the way; sooner or later one will have difficulties, because one would not know how to differentiate mistaken ideas that are so hard to correct.

Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to practice step-by-step and in accordance with an authorized Lama’s instructions. It is also important to do the practice that he recommends in order to benefit reliably.

There are different types of Dharmapalas – male and female, with one or two faces, with two or many arms, and in powerful and ferocious forms that bewilder and frighten those who aren’t initiated but see them. So, if a student isn’t ready but meditates a Dharmapala, there is the great danger that he or she might think it is all right to destroy enemies or carry out harmful activities with the same force as a specific protector.

This problem is not new; it occurred in Tibet for hundreds of years – there are always people who misuse these most peaceful yet powerful techniques of practice. Misled individuals might accomplish their malicious aims by relying on Dharmapalas.

One thing for sure, though, meditating a Dharmapala with the wrong intention and understanding will directly lead to rebirth in a lower realm of existence, horrendous states in which beings are doomed to suffer extreme anguish and pain for a very long period of time. In that case, the favourable freedoms and advantages that we all have got now and that are so hard to get – a precious human birth – will have been totally wasted.

It is generally said that the task of a Dharmapala is to protect the doctrine, its upholders, and practitioners. It is not that easy for lay practitioners to appreciate the various Dharmapalas, though.

Mahakala, for instance, is depicted stomping on two human beings, who symbolize death of the two main obscurations that, like a corpse, will not stand up again. Hagiographies of great realized masters tell us that they recited millions of mantras of Chakrasamvara or Hevajra, for instance, before they concentrated on a guardian deity.

These practices must be perfectly accomplished before one even hopes to meditate a Dharmapala correctly. It is of utmost importance to be very cautious, to be honest with oneself, and to be concise.

There are three kinds of protectors: wisdom, activity, and worldly protectors. A few wisdom protectors are indivisibly united with Avalokiteshvara, Chenrezig, the “Lord of Compassion.”

Other wisdom protectors emanate directly. They are completely enlightened bodhisattvas who have taken the vow to guard wisdom-holders and the Buddhadharma for the benefit of sentient beings.

When reciting the Refuge Prayer in Ngondro, we seek refuge in the Dharma protectors who are wise and who do not harm a single being, not even in slightest ways. Practitioners must be careful about the larger number of worldly protectors.

There are more worldly protectors than wisdom Dharmapalas. Worldly protectors still have subtle veils. They can be compared with human beings like us, who are apt to do good but do bad things too, and they do cause problems.

We can compare worldly protectors with someone who blackmails us or expects a lot in return for any help they may give. We are bound once we have such an unfortunate relationship, because they demand regular offerings from us – if we fail, we’re in for a surprise.

There are protectors even more mundane than the worldly protectors; they control the worldly protectors. If these mundane beings become upset because we didn’t satisfy them in one way or another, then trouble is in store, for example, mental and physical illnesses. It is extremely hard to please such beings; they become very nasty if they don’t like something we did or failed to do for them.

There are wisdom Dharmapalas who protect a lineage; for example, the six-armed Mahakala is the guardian of our Kagyu Lineage. The two-armed Mahakala is not the main protector of the Kagyu Lineage, rather specifically a protector of the Karmapas.

Wisdom Dharmapalas are emanations of bodhisattvas like Avalokiteshvara. It is said that he once saw that it was necessary to emanate a wrathful form. Light flowed from the dark blue syllable HUNG in his heart and spontaneously became a protector that was perceived in such a form.

Avalokiteshvara did emanate for specific purposes – to give advanced masters powerful practices that enable them to pacify severe situations with wisdom and compassion and to continuously benefit beings through the unimpeded play of the enlightened mind.

Even though a Dharmapala is an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, it is not possible for ordinary practitioners to deal with him adequately, and therefore I want to warn you to please not even think about meditating a Dharmapala at this stage in your practice.

Most Dharmapala practices belong to the Secret Mantrayana, which is synonymous with Vajrayana. It is important to understand what is meant by “secret.”

The term ”secret” that is used in association with higher tantras is not something like a secret military force that an evil opponent may not discover, rather it means that the instructions are only given to disciples if they are useful to them and if they can practice without taking or causing harm.

If a disciple has not met preparations and is not ready, then it would be too early and even dangerous – therefore wrong – to impart the instructions, since a disciple could have mistaken thoughts and distorted ideas about them.

For instance, a misled disciple might think Dharmapalas are malevolent spirits who are about to attack – one of the dangers that the Secret Mantrayana brings along. Therefore it is said that if one wants to embark on the vehicle of Mantrayana, it is absolutely necessary to rely on a Lama and to practice the instructions that he imparts.

Sincere trust and devotion in a Root Lama enable a follower to traverse Vajrayana correctly, to practice the profound techniques, and attain fruition very fast. If a Lama sees that further deep instructions cannot benefit a disciple, they are kept secret.2

There is a reason why there are three vehicles in Buddhism; they are differentiated according to the time it takes for a diligent follower to achieve fruition.

Hinayana practitioners need many eons to accumulate merit, to eliminate negative habits, and to engage in beneficial activities. Mahayana practitioners advance faster, but they need many lives to attain fruition.

Vajrayana practitioners can attain buddhahood within one single life, but they need unwavering trust and devotion; they did meet preparations in former lives to understand the teachings correctly now and to have the opportunity to practice them diligently in this life.

Lord Buddha did not teach Vajrayana in public. It is recorded in the tantras that the Buddha did not appear in his usual form when he taught Vajrayana, rather he manifested as the deity of a specific tantra when he spoke to those few individuals in India who were ready to receive the quite profound teachings.

When the great councils were convened many years after the Buddha’s Parinirvana, nobody knew what Vajrayana followers were doing – they did not speak about this openly. Noble followers of Vajrayana did not talk about their practices with anyone except their personal meditation master, their Root Guru, which enabled them to mature and advance quickly and efficiently.

This very silent approach changed when the Dharma was brought to Tibet and Vajrayana became the spiritual reference for an entire nation of citizens. Of course, Vajrayana spread like wildfire in Tibet, but after it became institutionalised, the number of great practitioners who attained realization rapidly declined.

There are life-stories of great Indian masters, particularly life-stories of the 84 Mahasiddhas, who practiced the techniques of Secret Mantryana, i.e., Vajrayana. They attained realization very quickly due to their diligence and manifested amazing activities for the benefit of all sentient beings – they flew through the sky, walked through walls, left their footprints and handprints on rocks, and so forth.

It is a truth that the saintly Mahasiddhas studied and practiced Hinayana and Mahayana and developed deep devotion to their teachers for many lives and were ready and prepared to receive deeper instructions when they did.

The Mahasiddhas did not speak about their practice in public – they kept it a secret. This is true of our great Kagyu forefathers, too. The life-stories of Tilopa and Naropa are well-known. We have heard and read about the hardships and difficult tests that Naropa had to go through before he was even allowed to ask Tilopa for profound instructions and became worthy to receive them.

We also know about the hardships that our other Kagyu forefathers endured in order to receive profound transmissions. Their life-stories show us that we – all the more so – still need to become worthy vessels for the profound teachings and that anything we do is small in the light of what they went through for our sake and for the welfare of future generations.3

The Dharmapala tradition as we know it arose in India during the 6th, 7th, and 8th centuries. The most popular Dharmapala practice that spread within the context of Buddhism was the four-armed Mahakala, which originated in a vision that Tilopa had while practicing meditation intensively and for quite a while before he accepted any pupils.

Residing in utter solitude near Somapuri, the site of one of the great Indian monastic universities,4 Tilopa fervently meditated the Chakrasamvara Tantra for twelve years. During this time, Chakrasamvara often manifested to him – it is said “face-to-face.”5

It was during the most advanced stage in Tilopa’s practice that immense hindrances arose and subtlest clouds of obscurations had to be removed. Therefore Chakrasamvara manifested from his heart the four-armed Mahakala, who taught Tilopa supplication and offering prayers, syllables, and mantras. Tilopa wrote down these instructions and transmitted them to most worthy disciples. This was the beginning of Dharmapala practice in Vajrayana.

Tilopa’s outstanding disciple was Naropa, who – like his teacher – rebelled at a young age against his royal training. When he was eight years old, he left his home in Bengal and went to Kashmir to study. Having gone through the curriculum in three years, he then studied logic, science, grammar, rhetoric, and art with the best teachers.

Meanwhile his parents arranged for his marriage; eight years later Naropa left wife and home and was ordained as a monk in far-off Kashmir. He sought a better education and went to Nalanda University near Pullahari in the district of Bihar and soon became abbot there. But a dakini told him that meditation was more important than studies, that he should seek Tilopa and ask for instructions, which he did.

Without recognizing Tilopa when he did find him, he was put through twelve excruciating tests, persevered, and mastered the instructions; then he took disciples of his own. Why did Tilopa put Naropa through so many hardships before he transmitted the teachings to him?

Although Tilopa saw that Naropa was a most perfect vessel for the teachings and more advanced than he realized that he himself was, through the clarity of his enlightened mind he saw that Naropa was still proud and had less obvious subtle obscurations that needed to be purified.

Naropa went through much pain before he even dared ask Tilopa for instructions. There is a story that describes how difficult it was for Naropa to even be accepted as Tilopa’s student.

The story goes that they were walking through the country and arrived in a little town. They passed an empty building and Tilopa murmured out loud so that Naropa could kind of hear, “If I had a pupil who really trusted me, he would jump from the roof of that building without hesitating.”

Naropa looked around, didn’t see anyone, and thought to himself, “He didn’t mean me, did he?” Realizing nobody else could be meant and due to his great devotion and trust, he climbed on the roof, jumped, and landed on the hard ground, smattered and smashed.

When Tilopa casually returned from his walk around the area and saw Naropa more dead than alive, he asked him, “What happened? How do you feel?” Naropa answered, “I feel awful, like a corpse.” This is why Naropa has come to be known by the name Naro, which means “human corpse.”

Naropa had to go through further hardships and, having withstood them, he then received precious instructions during the many years he spent with his wonderful teacher. He practiced diligently and achieved perfect realization.

Among the teachings he received were rare Dharmapala practices. Other great Mahasiddhas received other Dharmapala practices and they shared them with each other, aware that future generations would benefit immensely.

Naropa’s most excellent pupil was Marpa, who visited India three times, learned from a hundred teachers, and spent many years at the feet of his Root Guru.

Marpa practiced all teachings he received, achieved realization, brought the teachings to Tibet, and translated them from Sanskrit into Tibetan. And so, the precious teachings of Tilopa were handed down to Naropa; he passed them on to Marpa, who brought them to Tibet.

The Dharmapala practices developed further at this time; the main ones that Naropa gave Marpa are the four-armed Mahakala and Palden Lhamo, called Shri Devi in Sanskrit. Palden Lhamo, the “Glorious Goddess,” also known as Düsum, is the only female among the eight Dharma protectors.6

We know that Naropa told Marpa, “These practices are very efficient but difficult to practice. They are not meant for everyone. Please, only give them to disciples who are advanced enough to practice them correctly. It is not right to give them to every disciple. If a few advanced disciples practice them, then the inspiration and blessings that must be kept secret will undoubtedly embrace and benefit everyone.”

There are protectors who originated when Guru Rinpoche came to Tibet and subjugated spirits that did everything in their power to prevent Buddhism from being established on Tibetan soil. In the life-stories of Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava, we read that he ran into many negative forces when he arrived in Tibet; he bound them to the oath that they would not only stop harming others but would protect anyone involved with beneficial activities for the welfare others. As a result, many Dharmapalas arose in Tibet.

In the ancient texts that are continuing to come to light, we read that it is certainly not good if every devotee meditates a Dharmapala, that only a very small number of practitioners are qualified and eligible, and that others should not become involved with them.

The ancient scripts also state that before even thinking about taking up the practice of a Dharmapala, a student needs to have studied and understood Lord Buddha’s fundamental teachings, the purpose of the teachings, why it is necessary to strive for enlightenment for the benefit of all living beings, and so forth. Furthermore, a practitioner needs to have completed the common, the special, and the very special preliminaries.

In order to practice the special preliminaries, a diligent student needs to have received the empowerment of the yidam deity and should have meditated this deity for quite a while. There are outer, inner, and secret aspects of each yidam. If one practices correctly and discusses one’s experiences with one’s meditation master, quite a number of years will pass. If one’s teacher then says that one may begin meditating a protector or if he says one should not, then it is only proper to respect and heed his advice.

Should a devotee even start studying and contemplating the Dharmapalas, then it is truly necessary to first have completed the preliminaries and to be certain and sure that bodhicitta has arisen and developed in one’s mind. It is absolutely necessary to have the pure motivation and to know that Dharmapala practice is not carried out to increase one’s own power and profit.

Negative intentions of any kind may not be, so a practitioner must have vanquished the greatest number of negative thoughts and emotions in the own mind – that everyone does have – and he or she needs to rely on a meditation instructor who can truly judge whether this is the case or not.

Therefore, at this stage in practice it is very important that disciples increase bodhicitta, “loving kindness and compassion,” so that one day they can reliably benefit others. How does one practice properly? By receiving the instructions, by contemplating them ever more deeply, and by meditating them so that one actually experiences the truth of the teachings.

If one succeeds, then one will achieve liberation from suffering in cyclic existence and be able to benefit others; one will not go astray by thinking that one can do practices one is not really ready for and that will present great obstacles. So it is much better for you to concentrate on a few essential practices and to practice them for the rest of your life as sincerely and diligently as possible. Thank you very much.

May virtue increase!

Presented at Theksum Tashi Choling in Hamburg, July 2007. In reliance on the German rendering kindly offered by Thomas Roth, translated into English and edited by Gaby Hollmann, with sincere gratitude to Madhavi Simoneit and Lama Dorothea Nett.

Footnote:

1. Dharmapala is the Sanskrit term that was translated into Tibetan as chos-skyong, which means „protector of the teachings.” Dharmapalas are either enlightened beings, or spirits and gods who have been subjugated by great masters and bound under oath to guard the teachings.
2. Secret Mantrayana is gSang-sngags in Tibetan and refers to the esoteric instructions. The tantra called dGongs-pa-grub-pa’i-rgyud states: “One should know that all mantras are divided into three classes, gnostic mantras which are the essence of skillful means, dharanis which are the essence of discriminative awareness, and secret mantras which are the non-dual pristine cognition.” Dharani is the Sanskrit term that was translated into Tibetan as gzungs. It is a verbal formula blessed by a buddha or bodhisattva, similar to the mantras of Vajrayana, but found in the sutra tradition.
3. For example, Tilopa benefited from the expulsion he experienced by travelling throughout India, searching out many teachers, and learning their methods. He earned his living during this period by grinding sesame seeds (til in Sanskrit) for oil, the connotation of his name. He was a perfect vessel and received direct transmission of the Mahamudra and other teachings from Buddha Vajradhara, Dorje Chang, who was his Root Guru. Although he chose to live in remote and inhospitable regions, Tilopa’s fame as a master brought him excellent students.
4. The six celebrated Buddhist centres of learning in India were founded in the 7th century A.D. by the first ruler of the Pala Dynasty upon the model of Nalanda University, which was probably built during the reign of King Kumara Gupta (415-455 A.D.). The six Buddhist universities of ancient India were Nalanda, Vikramashila, Odantapuri, Somapuri, Jagaddala, and Vallabhi. They were destroyed along with other major centres of Buddhism in India when Muslims invaded the subcontinent and unleashed a period of destruction and genocide. The staff and students of the large Indian universities fled and sought safety in Tibet.
5. Chakrasamvara is very important in many schools of Vajrayana, especially in the Kagyu school. Translated into Tibetan as ‘Khor-lo-bde-mchog, it literally means “wheel of bliss” and is a male yidam practice, particularly associated with bliss. He can have one face and two arms, or three faces and six arms, or four faces and twelve arms.
6. The eight Dharmapalas are Mahakala, Palden Lhamo, Yamantaka, Kubera, Hayagriva, Changpa, Yama, and Begtse.

Source: http://www.rinpoche.com/teachings/darmapalas.htm

Translated and clarified by Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, Dharamsala, June 1982. From the Report on the first Enlightened Experience Celebration in Bodh Gaya and Dharamsala, India. January-June 1982.

If, after receiving an initiation, you practice well, you can become like Vajradhara. This means you should keep perfectly the root and branch tantric vows and all aspects of the samayas (commitments). You should understand the samayas of eating, drinking, protection, sleeping and so forth, and study well the details of the three levels of ordination. There are teachers at your Dharma centers and you can learn all this from them.

The purpose of taking an initiation is not to send yourself to the lower realms but to lead yourself to the state of Vajradhara. This is what you should do with the initiations you receive; they are to be practiced, not merely collected. For example, you have just received a Vajrabhairava initiation. This itself is what you have to practice; there is no Vajrabhairava practice other than what is contained in the initiation.

The vows and samayas, the stages of generation and completion are all there. And unless you are illiterate you should recite the sadhana every day. If you cannot do the long one you should at least do the short one written by Lama Dorje Chang (Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche); there are only a few pages in it.

Each day you should do the self-generation, and the six-session guru yoga, because it contains all the daily practices you have promised to do during the initiation.

All of you here are highly fortunate. You who have come from the West to this Dharma Celebration have received the highest, most profound teachings from most precious lamas, in particular, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. As far as fortune is concerned there is none greater than this.

However, each individual must practice well. There is no benefit in simply thinking, “Now I have received these teachings,” and leaving it at that. If you have received some material like money, perhaps it is enough just to record it as a credit in an account book, but where initiations are involved, merely counting the number you have received is useless; you have to practice.

It used to be impossible to hear Buddhadharma and meet gurus in the West. From the Dharma point of view these were barbaric lands, outlying countries to which the teachings of the Buddha had not spread.

But now there are many different Dharma centers in the West, and especially through the incomparable activities of Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, many devoted to preserving and disseminating the teachings of Lama Tsong Khapa. So it is very good that you have taken the great responsibility of serving the teachings in this way, engaging in both Dharma and administrative activities to establish these centers all over the world.

And although you have done very well so far and are making progress year by year, still you must continue making the efforts necessary for further progress. As the teaching spreads in this way, more and more people in the West can hear the Buddhadharma and are to that extent highly fortunate.

To ensure progress in the many centers you have established there are two aspects of activity that have to be developed together: the Dharma aspect and the administrative aspect. To develop the conditions necessary for study and practice in a center, those who do the administrative work should take proper responsibility and be in good harmony with everybody at the center.

On the basis of this, all the students there should make great efforts to develop the center in whatever way possible. It’s like when you have some very delicious food, you take big bites and chew it with all your teeth, taking full advantage of it—this is a Tibetan saying; I hope you understand its meaning. If you were at a place where there were gold coins for the taking you would stuff them everywhere, into every pocket and orifice! Take every opportunity to develop your Dharma center.

With respect to developing the Dharma side, it seems that most of your centers have already received resident teachers. Thus it is extremely important that you expend energy in studying well. But don’t leave whatever you learn as mere intellectual knowledge; you should use it to subdue your minds and eradicate delusions. Your understanding should become one with your mind. As it is said in the lam-rim teachings:

The purpose of understanding what one has heard is to enable one to practice according to his capacity.

After you have heard and understood some teaching-for example, the perfect human rebirth, renunciation, bodhicitta—you must practice it; that is the purpose of the teaching. Each one of us should practice in accordance with our individual level of mind, or ability.

We study, study, study, but if we do not mix whatever we have understood thoroughly with our minds there will be a Dharma famine in our minds; we shall suffer from poverty of Dharma. This is what happens: you live in the middle of a Dharma center, you study Dharma, but you are a Dharma pauper.

So don’t be like that. Use the Dharma that you have studied to change your mind, to be different from before. That is the purpose of Dharma, and if you can use it to change your mind in this way you won’t be poor in Dharma. As Tewugen Rinpoche said:

Those who know the secret of turning iron into gold through alchemy never experience material poverty.

How can you become poor if you can transform any old piece of iron into gold? Similarly, if you know how to change your mind with Dharma you’ll never suffer from Dharma starvation. This is the most important thing to worry about.

Because we have not yet changed our minds, we create negative actions and accumulate many non-virtuous impressions that cause us to wander in samsara. How can we know if our mind is unchanged, unsubdued? If we are constantly concerned about the comfort of this life—food, clothing and reputation—we have unsubdued minds.

How should we change such minds? By reflecting on topics such as the eight freedoms and ten richnesses, the great usefulness of, and the great difficulty of, receiving the perfect human rebirth and impermanence and death. Through this we should be able to change our minds.

Also, if we are seeking samsaric enjoyments such as the pleasures of the devas, our minds are unsubdued. As a remedy we should contemplate the suffering nature of the whole of samsara and generate strong aversion to it. Furthermore, the thought, “How good it would be if I had to remain in samsara no longer,” the concern for oneself alone that abandons the welfare of other sentient beings, while generally not considered an unsubdued mind, is an unsubdued mind from the Mahayana point of view. The antidote to this is training in the loving compassionate bodhicitta and equanimity.

We should accustom ourselves to the fact that all sentient beings—friends, enemies and neutrals—are exactly equal: all desire happiness and none desire the slightest suffering, even in their dreams. Since we ourselves and all others are like that, exactly equal, we should work for the benefit of all sentient beings. All the good things we possess have come from other sentient beings: our perfect human body, with its eight freedoms and ten richnesses, our meeting with the holy Dharma and the ability to practice it, our food, drink and clothing—everything. Thus of course we should work for their benefit.

To be able to work for sentient beings we must train our minds in bodhicitta and thought transformation. This starts with subduing the mind through study and reflection on the lam-rim teachings. This is the most important thing and is the basis for the practice of the entire path to enlightenment. Even though the practice of tantra is so important and is the incomparable method for attaining the unified state of Vajradhara, it depends completely on the lam-rim.

Just as the Tibetan delicacy made of powdered cheese and butter is said to depend on the kindness of the butter, without which it would be just a pile of dry cheese, so too does the profound tantra depend on the kindness of the sutra and lam-rim teachings, the graduated paths of those of the three levels of capability. Whoever tries to practice the generation and completion stages of tantra without having gone through these is like a small child gazing around a temple: nothing happens.

You should all study the lam-rim thoroughly, and on the basis of that try to change your minds. That is the essential point. If you then practice the Guhyasamaja, Chakrasamvara or Vajrabhairava tantras your efforts will be incomparable and you will be able to achieve the unified state of Vajradhara. Please take this advice to heart.

And each of you should take the responsibility of spreading Dharma so that, like the rising sun, it illuminates the darkness of the world. You have been doing so; please do still more. We should all pray for success in this.