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    Light of Wisdom, Volume III: Teachings on the Secret Empowerment
    Light of Wisdom, Volume III: Teachings on the Secret Empowerment
    Light of Wisdom, Volume III: Teachings on the Secret Empowerment
    Ebook112 pages1 hour

    Light of Wisdom, Volume III: Teachings on the Secret Empowerment

    By Padmasambhava

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    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRangjung Yeshe Publications
    Release dateJun 21, 2018
    ISBN9780990997863
    Light of Wisdom, Volume III: Teachings on the Secret Empowerment
    Author

    Padmasambhava

    Guru Padmasambhava was miraculously born within a blossoming lotus flower on the shore of Lake Dhanakosha in the northwest of Uddiyana. Known as Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born, he grew to adulthood in the kingdom of Uddiyana and traveled extensively thereafter through ancient India in search of realized masters of sutra and tantra with whom to study the Dharma. The Lotus-Born Guru then traveled to Nepal, where he engaged in rigorous practices and extraordinary displays of compassion. Finally, he reached Tibet at the invitation of the renowned Dharma King Trisong Detsen, taking teachings with him that would inspire and transform, and that continue to do so to this day.

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      Book preview

      Light of Wisdom, Volume III - Padmasambhava

      EDITOR’S PREFACE

      This final, public section of The Light of Wisdom, Volume III: Teachings on the Secret Empowerment, is once again a compilation of three texts: (1) Lamrim Yeshe Nyingpo (The Gradual Path of the Wisdom Essence), a terma root text recorded by Yeshe Tsogyal and revealed in unison by Chokgyur Lingpa and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo; (2) The Light of Wisdom, a commentary on the Lamrim Yeshe Nyingpo by Jamgön Kongtrül the Great; (3) Entering the Path of Wisdom, notes on these teachings collected by Jokyab Rinpoche.

      This material was not included in the previous book, The Light of Wisdom: The Conclusion, due to uncertainty and hesitation on my part because such teachings on tsa lung practice, channels, wind-energies, and essences (bindus) is kept secret, like the name of the empowerment itself that authorizes the practitioner to engage in these trainings. After reviewing the material and discussing with one of my teachers, both of us fully aware of the constraints, I felt it best to share this volume with sincere Western practitioners who will need and benefit from these teachings.

      There are still restricted sections of these three works that are available with a lot of effort. However, it is my wish to fulfill the vajra command of Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche to Erik Pema Kunsang to translate the entire thing. So, here you have almost all of it.

      As with all Rangjung Yeshe publications, this is a group effort: Sincere thanks go to all the translators—Erik Pema Kunsang, Gyurme Avertin, and Lopon Damchoe Wangmo; Meghan Howard, who agreed to edit even in the midst of motherhood and preparing her thesis; the proofreaders, Lynn Schroeder and Michael Yockey; the typesetter, Joan Olson; the beautiful cover designer, Kelly Roberts, for the beautiful cover; and any and all sponsors who patiently awaited and supported this project. As an aside, please understand that the notes by Jokyab Rinpoche were an unusual challenge, some were out of place, others incomplete, and one in particular, was extremely difficult to read. I am amazed at the perseverance of our team for completing them at all!

      Finally, I am still in awe of this sublime material and the responsibility to offer it, which I take very seriously. Please forgive any errors and hold this volume with joy and love. To connect with these teachings is an accumulation of incredible merit from the past and positive aspirations. May it be a vibrant support for realization and accomplishment!

      INTRODUCTION

      ORGYEN TOBGYAL RINPOCHE

      The path of the vase empowerment is for the practice of the development stage. The path of the secret empowerment is for the practices of channels, winds, and essences and mantra recitation. The path of the wisdom-knowledge empowerment is the practice of the emptiness of the example wisdom that leads the ultimate wisdom being to arise in your experience. The secret empowerment and the wisdom-knowledge empowerments are the completion stage with and without characteristics. The precious word empowerment authorizes you to practice Dzogchen, primordially pure trekchö and spontaneously present tögal.

      The secret empowerment concerns practices for gaining control over the empty aspect. The key point for this is familiarity with the practices of channels, winds, and essences. If you are completely untrained with tsa lung, you will not be able to do vase breathing. Generally, the main point of development Mahayoga practice, the instructions connected to the vase empowerment, is visualizing the deity. The second empowerment, the secret empowerment, is Anu Yoga practice, the instructions connected to tsa lung. From the first, you need to know how to do the vase breathing. Of this there are three types: superior vase breathing; middling vase breathing; and the lowest form of vase breathing, the lesser. Setting aside the first two, if you cannot even do the lesser form of vase breathing, there is no way you will be able to do this practice.

      Since these empowerments are connected to trainings, and if you want to practice by merging yourself with the four empowerments, you need to do tsa lung practice. If you have no familiarity with tsa lung practice, there is no point in going into the more elaborate aspects of this path.

      During empowerments, like the Chetsun Nyingtik, there is mention of students visualizing the three channels and the four chakras, and the students need to know what is being talked about. If the student does not, it is not all right; one of the main important points of Vajrayana is missing. Also in the Yumkha, if you do not know tsa lung, you will not be able to practice it. The Yumkha has to do with your own body mandala.¹

      The examples for tsa lung practice are that the body is like a country. The channels are like the roads. The wind-energies are like a wild blind horse, and the mind is like a person. The body should be placed in the seven-point posture of Vairochana, and when that is done there is happiness in the country. When in this posture, some of the channels are blocked because the legs are in the full lotus posture. This is a cause for comfort in traveling the roads. If the channels are correctly placed, then inwardly the wind-energies will be as well. Right now, the wind is like a wild blind horse. The wild blind horse runs around and cannot determine where to go; this is the example of the wind-energies in the body that just move anywhere. On the horse of the wind-energy rides the mind, which is like a crippled man who has no power to decide where to travel. That is how we ordinary people are. If you practice tsa lung, the body and the wind-energies become mastered and the mind becomes trained. If the wind is controlled, then you can direct the horse and the mind will do whatever you think of.

      These are the three main channels. Imagine your body to be empty. From the top of your head, down to the secret place, is the central channel, the width of a finger. It is like a pillar in the middle of an empty house. At the top, it reaches to the open aperture of Brahma. It is called the central channel because it is in the middle of the body. It also has many names, like kadarma. Inside flow the wind-energies, like prayer flags blowing in the wind. To the right is the red kyangma channel, and to the left the blue roma channel. They bend forward at the top of the head, connecting with the two nostrils, and go down and meet the central channel at the navel. The diameters of these three channels are equal. The roma is not used and is like a corpse. The kyangma means the eunuch, because it is standing

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