Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A pointed warning anchors this 17-minute Q&A session: Geshe Pema Tsering stresses that deity yoga practiced without genuine bodhicitta and a real understanding of emptiness is not merely useless but dangerous, capable of causing serious wind imbalance and mental instability. The session opens with questions about the “supreme victory mandala” — one specific mandala from a single ritual text — then turns to the knowledge consort in Guhyasamāja practice, tracing the staged visualization sequence that culminates in meditating on union with the consort. Geshe-la then reframes the protective wheel: not simply a ring of visualized fire, but bodhicitta itself manifested as flame — meaning that meditating on bodhicitta and emptiness constitutes the protective wheel, with no separate visualization required. Suited to practitioners already engaged in deity yoga sadhana.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 19 2006 02 02 G and P (2).mp3
UUID: 44263a6c-0383-4a45-b0ce-b132bf69a365
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Grounds & Paths (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2006-02-02
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 17.2 minutes
Words: ~1,151
So Geshe-la is saying that this supreme victory mandala refers to to to one practice text. Ritual, One specific ritual. Geshe-la says it’s one specific text. And then the in this text, there is a certain mandala, a certain way, a certain mandala that one meditates on as as in the same way that that one meditates on the other mandalas and and there is the the the the, how to say, the the description of the mandala and one goes with while reciting it and one goes how to say, one visualizes the mandala and so forth. But it’s one specific mandala from one specific ritual text.
Any other question? There’s another consort. It’s the same as? Yeah. The knowledge consort is like two groups.
Los. So then is the knowledge consort is is referring in the case of the Guhyasamāja, for example, the Guhyasamāja tantra, is the Guhyasamāja, which is is the main deity, and the knowledge consort will be his consort. For example, it’s what they call the the father and the mother. So it’s referring the knowledge consort is referring to the the So then there is a again, says if one gets to this stage, there is one particular text stage on the text point on the text where one goes starts reciting and and visualizing union with the consort. So then I can I explain it?
So for example, in in the the usually in the in the in the this rituals in the in this practices. So when first, we’ll start giving rise to the mandala, to the to the palace of the deity and so forth. Then one will give rise to the other deities and to oneself as a deity and one will then meditate on all the details. I mean, the deity has three faces of a different colors and different ornaments and different, how to say, hand shapes and and and so forth, different implements. And one goes through all these details and there are many deities to be be be visualize visualize in one’s body also.
There’s many details. And then after going through all these many, many stages of of meditation or refinement, then one starts one engages in one visualizes visualizes also the consort. And, again, the consort has many details, and one goes, how do you say, refining one’s meditation to to more and more details. And, again, she has the consort has implements and shapes and and ornaments and and deities on her body and so forth. So it’s a advanced stage of practice, very advanced stage of practice.
Did you understand? Chris, you you wanted to ask something? Do do you do a deity yoga? Do meditate on on the deity? So it’s a has a consort.
So the guy is is advising he’s telling you that we have to meditate you have to meditate well on on the mind of enlightenment, and then you have to meditate well on on the on emptiness, about emptiness. And that you don’t need you do not need to meditate a lot on the on the deity. You don’t need to meditate a lot on the deity. We have what is important is mind of enlightenment and emptiness, Geshe-la says. If you don’t have these two, the mind of enlightenment and understanding of emptiness, then it is is no good.
Meditation on on a deity is no good. The main the main thing the main thing that is necessary is these two. If you Geshe-la said, if you don’t have this two, then you one won’t be able to accomplish the deity. One won’t be able to accomplish this deity practice to bring to fruition this practice. So can I say that it is sad it is sad that if one there’s a danger if one does not have these two, and then I would say the mind of enlightenment and understanding of emptiness, then one engages in engages in meditation in deity yoga, then one gets this what’s called which is this very serious wind imbalance?
Yeah. He he says So he says Geshe-la first, said that the many problems can come out of it. For example, one won’t be able to to sit quietly, and one can come very close to going crazy and so forth. But there are many there are no no no needs to say much about it, but there’s a lot. So then, Geshe-la is just saying that it is said that in the scriptures and and all the teachers and so forth, they say that if one does deity yoga without these two, then this can come about this, wind imbalance can come about.
So there is this danger, he says. Do you want to try something? Protection. So then the protective wheel is, again, I say is that which protects oneself from obstacles or from harmful beings. So is is that is that which protects one is that what what you do before you start the main body of of the practice, you do the the protective wheel.
So when you’re meditating, you are not disturbed by obstacles or harmful beings and so forth. Los. Los. Los. So then, for example, you see some some mandalas, pictures of mandalas, you will see that the protective wheel around the mandala, which is that that like fire on the on the how how do say it?
Yeah. Yeah. On the ring Ring. Yeah. Of the of the mandala.
One last question maybe. No. Yes? So again, I was saying that, yeah, it does it does provide protection. Going for refuge does provide protection, But then as special feature of these practices, these tantric practices is this protective wheel, which is not just visualizing a fire, but is that that fire is in fact bodhicitta.
It is the intention, the altruistic intention to achieving enlightenment for the sake of what is it. When you give rise to the bodhicitta, and then that fire is a manifestation of that bodhicitta that you have given rise to yourself. So and that’s again, that’s the main practice. Even though if you’re not practicing Tantra, if you’re just practicing the Sūtra vehicle, again, that’s the main thing. If you give rise to the bodhicitta, you get protection also.
So that’s the main thing. So then Geshe-la says that the protective wheel is a terminology, it’s a tantric terminology, but it refers, you know, as I say, it refers to the mind of enlightenment. So then again, Geshe-la says, if one practices if one meditates on the mind of enlightenment and on emptiness, then that’s that’s the protective wheel. One does not need to specifically meditate on the protective wheel. One just needs to meditate on the mind of enlightenment and emptiness.
This is the main practice again. Okay. Shall we shall we end up here today?