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Illuminating the Excellent Path
Notes
on the Longchen Nyingtik Ngöndro by
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo Homage to the
Guru! This is a guide
to the stages of the daily practice of the Dzogchen Longchen Nyingtik Ngöndro. To begin with,
at dawn when it is time to get up, your root master appears in the sky before you in the form of Orgyen Dorje Chang. He is
surrounded by hosts of dakas and dakinis, all playing damaru hand-drums which resonate with the sound of mantra, awakening
you from your sleep. As you rise,
visualize your body in the form of the deity and your environment as a pure realm. Consider that the lama in your heart ascends
the central channel to the space above the crown of your head, and remains there, joyfully. Then, with your
body in the correct posture, exhale the foul air nine times, and then rest for a short while, allowing your mind to settle
in its natural state. When you are ready for meditation, practise the blessing of the speech as follows: OM AH
HUM From the
syllable RAM [in my speech centre] arises fire, consuming my tongue, Which
is transformed into a three-spoked vajra of red light. In its
centre are the vowel and consonant mantras and around them the Essence of Interdependent Origination: Their
syllables are like strings of pearls. From them, Light
streams out making offerings to the buddhas and bodhisattvas and pleasing them; As it
converges back, all the obscurations of my speech are purified and I obtain
all the blessings and siddhis of vajra speech. A A, I I,
UU, RI RI, LI LI, E AI, O AU , ANG AH KA KHA GA
GHA NGA, CHA CHHA JA JHA NYA, Recite this
mantra seven times, and then recite the following mantra seven times: YÉ DHARMA HETU PRABHAWA HETUN TESHAN If you wish,
you can recite the following before Calling the Lama from Afar: You are
the one whose kindness Can bring
great joy in an instant, Our lama
in your jewel-like form, A vajra
holder, at your feet we bow! The lama
is the Buddha, The lama
is the Dharma, And the
lama is the Sangha, The lama
is the one who accomplishes everything— To your
body, speech and mind, we bow! All other
guides have deserted us, And left
us to face the precipice of the lower realms, To you,
the great leader who shows The path
to liberation, we bow down. Not knowing
what is true and what is not, Not knowing
the right path from the wrong, We have
wandered in the bleakest darkness— To you,
who are our beacon of light, we offer praise. Seeing
your body transforms our whole perception, And even
its remains, when you have passed beyond, Will still
purify boundless ills, as the sutra says— To
you, who benefit all you encounter, we prostrate. By hearing
your speech we know what to adopt and what to abandon, And so
we are saved from the terrible abyss of wrongdoing, It is
the very essence of the truths of cessation and the path, To your
voice which liberates whoever hears it, we offer praise. We strive
with effort, but still we are not liberated, Yet simply
by directing your mind, we are spritually matured, And when
we have devotion, realization is ours— To your
non-conceptual and inconceivable mind, we bow down. With great
hardships over three countless ages We might
overcome our senses, but still Find the
vajra mind difficult to obtain, To you,
who reveals it unerringly and directly, we prostrate. From the Lama
Yangtik: O lama,
precious and enlightened one, We have
no one else to rely on but you, Look upon
us with eyes of compassion And free
us from this ocean of samsara. Help us
to accomplish all that is good in life, And avoid
all that would hinder and obstruct us, Point
out profound luminosity at the moment of death, And liberate
us from the perils of the bardo states. Ensure
all that we do with body, speech or mind Always
brings about benefit for others, And from
this day forward, transform all adversity Into the
supreme path of enlightenment. In spite
of our exertions, liberation is hard to find, O protector,
on the ship of your compassion Carry
us along with all those who lack protection, And lead
us all to the island of liberation. May all
who have faith in me And all
who slander and abuse me Be freed
from evil and without afflictions, And may
they leave the rivers of existence. In time,
may my very name be enough To fulfil
the wishes of the world, And bring
down rains of offering clouds In all
the buddha realms of each direction. Through
this virtue, may all beings Be liberated
from samsaric existence And, gaining
the two sacred wisdoms, Spontaneously
benefit both self and all others. THE ACTUAL
PRACTICE In the actual
practice of the preliminaries there are the ordinary (outer) preliminaries and the extraordinary (inner) preliminaries. The Ordinary
Preliminaries There are six
stages of contemplation in the ordinary preliminaries, all of which can be practised together. Reciting, “From the blossoming
lotus of devotion at the centre of my heart…” etc., reflect as follows. Essentially,
there are eight freedoms, which are the opposites of the eight states where there is no chance of engaging in Dharma practice.
Then, more particularly, there are ten endowments. Together, these eighteen freedoms and endowments characterize a precious
human existence, which is of inconceivable benefit but also extremely rare, as the reflections on cause, analogies and numerical
statistics prove. You are now
in possession of such a precious human body, but even this outer world, which appears so solid and so stable, will ultimately
be destroyed by seven great fires and one great flood, leaving nothing behind, not even ashes. And as for the beings who inhabit
this world, there has never been a single one who was born that did not die. So death will certainly come to you too, and
there is no guarantee that it will not come tonight. At the time
of your death, nothing but the completely pure Dharma will be of any benefit; and once you have died, your future will be
determined solely by your past actions. As a result
of harmful actions, you will be reborn in the three lower realms, where you must face the unendurable suffering of suffering.
Even if you have accumulated imperfect positive actions[1] and are reborn in the three higher realms, there will still be no going beyond
the suffering of change or the all-pervasive suffering of conditioned existence. So, you must do whatever is necessary right
now in order to gain liberation from the great ocean of suffering that is samsara. For this, you
should rely on a qualified spiritual friend of the Mahayana, whom you should please in the three ways.[2] You should adopt or avoid whatever he or she instructs you to, and be careful
not to fall under the influence of childish or negative friends. Recognizing
that the Dharma alone will benefit you at the moment of death and in the future, practise it as much as possible in the course
of every single day. In order to
practise like this, consider that the lama and the Three Jewels care for you, and, generating a strong sense of renunciation,
recite the following: O
lama, care for me! Call out in
ardent longing three times, and then continue: From the
blossoming lotus of devotion at the centre of my heart Rise up,
O compassionate lama, my only refuge! I am plagued
by past actions and turbulent emotions. To protect
me in my misfortune, Remain
as the jewel ornament on the crown of my head, the chakra of great bliss, Arousing
all my mindfulness and awareness, I pray! Being
born in hell, preta or animal realms, Amidst
long-living gods, in uncivilized lands, or with wrong views, In a world
where a buddha has not come, or incapable of understanding: Now I
am free from these eight states where there’s no chance for Dharma practice. Born a
human being, with all my faculties intact, and in a central land, My lifestyle
not harmful and wrong, and with faith in Buddha’s teaching— All five
“personal advantages” are complete. A buddha has come, He taught
the Dharma, it has survived, I have embraced it, and A true
spiritual friend has accepted me—I have the five “advantages due to circumstances.” Although
in a position where I have every one of them, Once this
life, so fraught with uncertainty, is relinquished, I will
go on to yet another realm of existence— O Guru
Rinpoche, turn my mind towards the practice—care for me! Omniscient
masters, Longchenpa and Jikmé Lingpa, keep me from straying onto the wrong paths! Compassionate
lama, you who are one with them—care for me! If I do
not seize the opportunity this present freedom offers, I will
not find such a basis for attaining liberation later on. Once the
merit that provided this happy existence is spent, After
death I will wander as a being in the lower realms. Not knowing
good from bad, I will never hear the sound of Dharma, Nor meet
a spiritual friend—a terrible disaster! Only to
think of the numbers and kinds of sentient beings Is to
realise just how slim is the chance of gaining a human body; And even
among human beings—to see how their behaviour is so harmful and contrary to Dharma, Is to
realize that those who really act according to Dharma are as rare as stars in broad daylight. O Guru
Rinpoche, turn my mind towards the practice—care for me! Omniscient
masters, Longchenpa and Jikmé Lingpa, keep me from straying onto the wrong paths! Compassionate
lama, you who are one with them—care for me! Even though
I have reached this jewel island, the human body, A fickle
and impetuous mind in such a promising basis Makes
it no good as a foundation for attaining liberation. Especially
when misled by corrupting influences, or with the five poisons raging inside, When negative
karma overtakes me, or I am distracted by laziness, Like a
slave—under someone else’s control, turning to Dharma simply out of insecurity or fear, or merely pretending to
practise, Or chronically
senseless and stupid. These are “the eight incidental circumstances that make Dharma impossible”: When they
come upon me, menacing my Dharma practice, O Guru
Rinpoche, turn my mind towards the practice––care for me! Omniscient
masters, Longchenpa and Jikmé Lingpa, keep me from straying onto the wrong paths! Compassionate
lama, you who are one with them––care for me! With little
renunciation, and without the jewel of devotion, Caught
in the bonds of worldly ties and cravings, or with crude, degenerate behaviour, Never
holding back from negative, harmful actions, and without the slightest real interest, With vows
all broken, and samaya torn to shreds: These
are the eight “impossible states where mind cuts us off from the Dharma”: When they
come upon me, menacing my Dharma practice, O Guru
Rinpoche, turn my mind towards the practice—care for me! Omniscient
masters, Longchenpa and Jikmé Lingpa, keep me from straying onto the wrong paths! Compassionate
lama, you who are one with them—care for me! At this
moment, I am not ravaged by sickness and pain, Nor am
I a slave or such, under another’s control. So now
that I have this perfect, auspicious quality of total independence, If I waste
the freedom of this human life through my own indolence, No need
to worry about companions, possessions, relatives and loved ones, When this
body I hold so dear Is carried
out alone from its bed to some desolate spot To be
torn to pieces by foxes, vultures and dogs. Then,
in the bardo realm there will be nothing but terror in store. O Guru
Rinpoche, turn my mind towards the practice—care for me! Omniscient
masters, Longchenpa and Jikmé Lingpa, keep me from straying onto the wrong paths! Compassionate
lama, you who are one with them—care for me! The results
of beneficial and harmful actions will follow me. If I am
born in the hell realms: On a floor
of burning iron, head and body are hacked with weapons, Ripped
apart with saws, and crushed with red-hot hammers, Trapped
in a doorless iron cell, screaming out loud, Impaled
on red-hot spikes or boiled in molten bronze, and Burned
in a fire of the intensest heat—in the eight Hot Hells. On the
crests of snow mountains, on precipices of ice, Terrifying
places engulfed by squalls and blizzards of snow, My tender
body, lashed by freezing winds, Breaks
out in blisters, which burst open into festering sores, In a ceaseless
wail of agonized screams And suffering,
hard to even think about, Like a
dying person whose strength is all gone, I let
out deep gasps and groans, my teeth clenched. My skin cracks open, And the
raw flesh exposed splits deeper, and yet again— in the eight Cold Hells. My feet
are cut to ribbons in the “Plain of Razor Blades”, In the
“Forest of Sword Blades” my body is gashed and chopped, I sink
into the “Swamp of Putrefying Corpses”, and the “Pit of Hot Embers”, all in The “Neighbouring
Hells” that ring the Hell of Ultimate Torment. And then the changing, uncertain hells: Born in
a door, a pillar, a fireplace, a rope and the like, Always
made use of and exploited in these “Ephemeral Hells”. When the
cause of being born in any of the eighteen hells— Intense
hatred and aggression—arises, O Guru
Rinpoche, turn my mind towards the practice—care for me! Omniscient
masters, Longchenpa and Jikmé Lingpa, keep me Compassionate
lama, you who are one with them—care for me! Likewise,
in a grim and destitute realm Where
the words, “food”, “drink” or “comfort” have never even been heard, The pretas
find nothing to eat or drink for months and years on end. Their bodies Are emaciated
and they lack even the strength to stand. They suffer from three different kinds of obscurations, and The reason
for being born as one is greed. In constant
dread of being killed and eaten by one another, Exploited
and worked until exhaustion, bewildered as to what to do or not to do, Animals
are oppressed by limitless suffering, The seed
of which is stubborn stupidity—when I wander into its darkness, O Guru
Rinpoche, turn my mind towards the practice—care for me! Omniscient
masters, Longchenpa and Jikmé Lingpa, keep me from straying onto the wrong paths! Compassionate
lama, you who are one with them—care for me! Though
I have entered the path of the Dharma, I haven’t put a stop to my erring ways. Though
I have entered the door of the Mahayana, I am devoid of any beneficial thought for others. Though
I have received the four empowerments, I do not practise the development and completion phases of meditation. O lama,
free me from straying from the path! Though
I have not realized the View, I act as if “a master of crazy wisdom”. Though
I am distracted in my Meditation, I let myself get stuck in mental gossip and concepts. Though
it’s my own Actions that are at fault, it’s someone else I blame. O lama,
free me from becoming so arrogant and opinionated, so stubborn and insensitive! Though
I may die tomorrow, I am full of craving for home, clothes and possessions. Though
I am quite old, I’m not mature enough to have the slightest renunciation for samsara. Though
I have truly heard only a little Dharma teaching, I pride myself on all my knowledge. O lama,
free me from such ignorance! Though
I may be rushing into danger, I go Dharma-socialising in crowds and public places, thinking I’m on a pilgrimage. Though
going on solitary retreats, my basic character remains as tough as a block of wood. Though
appearing calm and speaking softly, I haven’t got rid of the attachment and aversion boiling inside. O lama,
free me from these eight worldly concerns! Quickly
rouse me from this deep sleep of ignorance! Quickly
set me free from this dismal self-imprisonment! The Extraordinary
Preliminaries Secondly, there
are the six sections of the extraordinary preliminaries. The first of
these is taking refuge. Taking Refuge For this you
should adopt the attitude of a great being, and consider that you are taking refuge in the master and the Three Jewels in
order to liberate yourself and all other sentient beings from the terrible sufferings of samsara. The whole area
where you are sitting is a beautiful paradise, pleasing to the mind. Upon the bejewelled ground stands a wish-fulfilling tree
with five main branches, adorned with abundant leaves, flowers and fruit, garlands of jewels, and small bells. It pervades
the whole of space. In its centre, upon a jewelled throne supported by lions and seats of multi-coloured lotus, sun and moon,
is the embodiment of all the buddhas—your own root master—in the form of Orgyen Dorje Chang (the Vajradhara of
Oddiyana), blue in colour,[3] and holding vajra and bell. He is in union with his consort Yeshe Tsogyal,
who is white and holding a hooked knife and skull-cup. They are adorned with silk and bone ornaments. The Guru is
seated in the vajra posture. Above his head are the masters of the Dzogchen lineage, seated one above the other. They are
surrounded by the root and lineage masters, the yidam deities of the various mandalas associated with the six great classes
of tantra, and an inconceivable number of dakas and dakinis of the three spheres.[4] On the branch
in front are Shakyamuni Buddha and all the other buddhas of the three times, in nirmanakaya form. On the branch to the right
is the Mahayana sangha, including the Eight Close Sons. On the branch to the left are Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, and the
assembly of the noble sangha of shravakas. On the branch at the back is the Jewel of the Dharma in the form of stacks of books,
red in colour, from which the vowels and consonants resound by themselves. In the space
in between, there is a great ocean-like gathering of samaya bound guardians of wisdom and action that fill the whole area,
without leaving any gaps. Consider how
all these deities have immeasurable qualities of wisdom, love and power, and are actually present as great guides who care
for you and lead you along the path to enlightenment. You are seated
before them with your father on your right and your mother on your left. In front of you are all the beings who have ever
caused you harm; and in the whole surrounding area are all the sentient beings of the six realms. You all show respect with
your body by folding your hands together; with your speech, you all chant resoundingly the verse for taking refuge; and with
your mind, you think the following: From now until
we realize the heart of enlightenment, we take the master as our guide, the yidams and buddhas as our teachers; the Dharma
as our path; and the dakinis, Dharma protectors and members of the sangha as companions along the way. We rely on you. We
offer everything to you. We have no other refuge or hope but you. Whatever we do, take care of us. With this thought
of intense yearning, practise taking refuge: In the Three
Jewels, and their essence, the sugatas, In the three
roots: lama, yidam and khandro, In the channels,
inner air and tiklés, and their nature, the bodhichitta, In the mandala
of essence, nature and compassion, I take refuge,
until enlightenment is fully realized. Practise taking
refuge as many times as possible. At the end,
rays of light stream out from the hearts of the refuge deities. They enter your body and mind, and those of all other beings,
and purify your emotional and cognitive obscurations and habitual patterns. Consider that your life span is extended, your
merit increases, and your qualities of learning and realization develop further and further. Rest in meditation for a while
in a state that is free from any mental grasping. The Generation
of Bodhichitta First train
your mind in the four boundless qualities. Begin by generating equanimity, in which there is no attachment to your family
and close friends or aversion for your enemies. This comes from considering how, in the course of time without beginning,
among all sentient beings who are as limitless as space, those who have been your enemies have also been your friends, and
those who have been close to you have at other times opposed you. Just as it was in the past, so too in the present and in
the future, you can not really say who is a friend and who is an enemy. Then generate love, by considering how they have all
been your very own kind mother and father, and wishing that they may find happiness in return for all the kindness they have
shown you, and compassion, by wishing that they never suffer. Finally cultivate sympathetic joy, which is the elation you
feel at the prospect that all beings remain constantly in this state of complete happiness, free from all suffering. Next, take the
objects of refuge as your witness and generate the bodhichitta of aspiration, by thinking: So that
all beings may be established in the enduring happiness of complete liberation, I will do whatever is necessary to ensure
that I attain the precious state of complete enlightenment. Then develop
the bodhichitta of application, thinking: To that
end, having trained in vast waves of bodhisattva practices, represented by this profound path, I shall apply myself with diligence
until not even a single sentient being remains in samsara. Not allowing
your mind to stray from these reflections, recite the verses of generating bodhichitta: Ho! Mesmerised
by the sheer variety of perceptions, which are like the illusory reflections of the moon in water, Beings
wander endlessly astray in samsara’s vicious cycle. In order
that they may find comfort and ease in the luminosity and all-pervading space of the true nature of their minds, I generate
the immeasurable love, compassion, joy and equanimity of the awakened mind, the heart of bodhichitta. Recite this
three times, or as many times as you can. If you are unable
to do all this as a regular practice, it is sufficient simply to generate the bodhichitta of aspiration and application. Should you wish
to practise more elaborately, you could, at this point, train your mind in equalizing or exchanging self and others. In particular,
you could do the practice of tonglen, by sending out happiness as you breathe out, and receiving suffering as you breathe
in. Meditate as
much as you can on absolute bodhichitta—the union of tranquillity (shamatha) and insight (vipashyana)—inspired
by a certainty regarding the selflessness of individuals and of phenomena. Finally, you
and all sentient beings dissolve into the objects of refuge, who then dissolve into the master in the centre. In turn, he
dissolves into the primordial expanse of dharmakaya simplicity, and you rest in meditation. Vajrasattva
Purification Thirdly, there
is the meditation and recitation of Vajrasattva. Whilst reciting,
“Ah! I am in my ordinary form: above my head…etc.” visualize
the following. You remain in
your ordinary form. On the crown of your head is an eight-petalled lotus, with a stem of approximately four finger-widths
inserted into your ”aperture of Brahma”. At its centre is a white full moon disc (as wide as the flower’s
orange anthers), upon which stands a white syllable HUNG. In an instant,
the HUNG transforms into the Lama Vajrasattva, his body brilliant white and emanating rays of light. He is smiling and complete
with all the major and minor marks. The five silken
garments adorn his body: a white silk upper garment, a multi-coloured lower garment, crown pendants, a blue silk scarf which
hangs down from the back of his crown, and “dancing sleeves” like those seen in some old paintings. He is also
adorned with the eight jewel ornaments: the jewel crown, earrings, short necklace, bracelets, anklets, waistband, a long necklace
which extends below the navel, and a shorter necklace which extends to his breast. With his right
hand he holds a vajra at his heart. His left hand holds a bell at his hip. He is in union with the consort Vajratopa, who
is white and holds a knife and skull-cup. They are both seated, he with his feet in vajra posture and she with her feet in
lotus posture. Once you have
visualized their forms in this way, with intense yearning and devotion, think, “Purify all the harmful actions and obscurations
in my mindstream! Take care of me!” This forms the power of support. Feeling intense regret and remorse for the harmful
deeds you have committed in the past is the power of regret. Pledging that from this moment on you will not repeat them, even
at the cost of your life, is the power of resolution. As a remedy
for what you have done in the past, visualize a moon disc in Vajrasattva’s heart, and in its centre a syllable HUNG,
encircled by a string of white letters that form the hundred syllable mantra. The letters turn clockwise, and are as fine
as if drawn with a single hair. Recite the mantra for a little while as if you were reading it. The white nectar
of great bliss begins to flow from the mantra garland, accompanied by rays of light. An immeasurable quantity of nectar flows
through the bodies of the yab-yum deities, emerging from the point of their union, and then, winding around the stem of the
lotus, it enters your body through the Brahma aperture. Like the filth
and dirt expelled by the powerful surge of a great flood, all your illnesses (as pus and blood), all harmful forces (as insects),
and all your harmful deeds and obscurations (as sweat, soot and steam) gush out through the pores of your skin and your two
lower orifices. It all flows into the wide open mouth of the Lord of Death, who resides nine levels below the earth’s
surface and appears in the form of a red bull. As it reaches his stomach, consider that untimely death has been averted. Reciting the
hundred syllable mantra—at best, as many times as you can; or, in an average case, a hundred times; or twenty-one times
at the very least—is the power of action as an antidote. With all four powers complete, recite the following: Ah! I am in
my ordinary form. Above my head On a white
lotus, in the centre of a moon disc seat Is HUNG,
which becomes the Lama Vajrasattva: Brilliant
white, with complete sambhogakaya adornments, Holding
vajra and bell, and embracing the consort Vajratopa. I take
refuge in you and pray—purify all our negative actions! With the
deepest regret I acknowledge them all and ask your forgiveness: From now
on—even if my life is at stake—I shall refrain from indulging in them again. In your
heart, upon a full moon Is the
letter HUNG, encircled by the mantra. Reciting
the mantra invokes your wisdom mind, and From the
point of union of the blissful play of yab-yum A cloud
of bodhichitta nectar Flows
down like a shining stream of milk. Through this, For me
and all sentient beings of the three worlds May our
negative karma and destructive emotions—the causes of suffering— Illnesses,
harmful influences, negative actions and obscurations, along with wrong doing, downfalls, and blockages due to breakages of
samaya, Be purified,
till not a single one remains! OM VAJRASATTVA SAMAYA MANUPALAYA VAJRASATTVA TENOPA TISHTHA DRIDHO ME BHAWA SUTOKHAYO ME BHAWA SUPOKHAYO ME BHAWA ANURAKTO ME BHAWA SARWA SIDDHI ME
PRAYACCHA SARWA KARMA SU
TSA ME TSITTAM SHREYANG KURU HUNG HA HA HA
HA HO BHAGAWAN SARWA TATHAGATA VAJRA MA ME
MUNCA VAJRI BHAWA MAHA SAMAYASATTVA AH Once you have
practised this, recite: O protector!
In my ignorance and delusion I have
gone against and corrupted my samaya Lama protector,
be my refuge! Chief
of all the mandalas, vajra holder, Embodiment
of great compassion: Chief
of all living beings, in you I take refuge! I confess
all my impairments of the root and branch samayas of the body, speech and mind. I implore
you: let my negative actions, obscurations, wrongs and downfalls—all my flaws—be completely cleansed and purified! Lama Vajrasattva
is pleased by your request for protection and the purification of your harmful deeds and transgressions. He has a smiling
and happy expression as he grants his approval, saying, “Son/daughter of an enlightened family, your negative actions,
obscurations, wrongdoing and downfalls are all purified.” With this, he melts into light, which is, in essence, great
bliss and emptiness. Then, he dissolves
into you, and you are instantly transformed into Vajrasattva in union with his consort, with the same form, colour, hand implements
and clothing as before—completely perfect, appearing yet empty, like a reflection in a mirror. At his heart, in the
centre of a moon disc, is the seed syllable HUNG, surrounded in the four directions by the syllables OM, VAJRA, SA and TVA,
from which emanate countless rays of white light. They make offerings to all the noble ones, whose blessings and accomplishments
dissolve back into you. And then, shining out once more, the rays of light purify the harmful actions and obscurations of
all beings. The environment
is transformed into the realm of Akanishtha-Abhirati, and its inhabitants—all the beings of the three realms—become
Vajrasattvas of the five families. Consider that they are all reciting the mantra together with you. Vajrasattva
is pleased and smiling, says: “Son/daughter of an enlightened family, your negative actions, obscurations, wrong doing
and downfalls are all purified”. Granting
his forgiveness, he melts into light and dissolves into me. Through
this, I too become Vajrasattva, appearing yet empty, like a reflection in a mirror. At my heart is HUNG, around which the
four brilliantly radiant syllables: OM VAJRA
SA TVA emanate rays of light. Whereby
the three worlds—the whole universe of the environment and beings within it— attain enlightenment all together
as the buddha fields and buddhas of the five families of Vajrasattva. Reciting the
heart mantra OM VAJRA SATTVA HUNG as many times as possible purifies obscurations by means of the special development
stage (kyérim). Finally, when
all thoughts of deity or mantra have dissolved into the state of natural luminosity, rest in the state of awareness and emptiness,
in which all concepts of “something to be purified” or “something
that purifies” are primordially lacking in true existence. This is known as looking into the face of the ultimate Vajrasattva,
and it is the unsurpassed method for purifying obscurations based on the ultimate perfection stage (dzogrim). | |||||||||||
