Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 47-minute session, Kyabje Rinpoche guides practitioners through the spatial architecture of the 24-place mandala in the Heruka sādhana. He explains why these places exist—to suppress Īśvara’s obstructing emanations—and maps the 24 syllables onto the body from hairline to lower extremities, each becoming an inward-facing shrine. He then systematically works through the three groups of eight deities: those of mind (upper body, winds), speech (middle body, blood), and body (lower body, semen). For each location, he names the male-female pair and clarifies how the channel transforms into the heroine and the vital essence becomes the hero. Intended for practitioners who have received Heruka initiation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1989-11-25 – 13B – KR.mp3
UUID: e5d702fb-7189-4794-a406-6e9a1efb5a6c
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Heruka Commentary
Date: 1989-11-25
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,940
The deities of the different places. So, anyway, please look in the sādhana at this point. I’ve got I think it’s 43, 44, somewhere. Oh, sorry? Oh, this one is different.
This one. On So, anyway, is there in your translation on the work on on 24 places starting from crown and so forth? No. Like, Yeah. So that’s fine.
Okay. So when it comes to a special point, we’ll clarify. So in the actual sādhana is like a 24 places starting from starting from is in English, etcetera and so forth and so forth is the word which, like, etcetera, includes the rest 23. So this has been to be understood from the standpoint that normally there are 24 places where our Heruka father and mother resides their residence place and those places can be in India and Tibet and basically in India and Tibet and in the Tibetan text it says place and same there. So place is to be understood as a residence place where our Heruka father and mother resides.
And there are 24. Why in those 24 places, Heruka father and mother are residing? Because on all those 24 places there are emanations of non-Buddhist only god called Īśvara. And Īśvara had emanated 24 different beings such as the Mara being, snake spirit being, naga being, and so forth. And they have been installed in the form of emanation on those peripheral places and hinders the sentient beings from attaining liberation and leading to and leads the sentient beings to the wrong path and because that being the situation here, Heruka father and mother were called to occupy those 24 places and completely were called to outshine or suppresses in the form of a good quality outshining inferior quality.
So outshine and suppresses Īśvara’s what I call emanations and thereby not letting them have chance to mislead the sentient beings. So with each of the work hold with each of the different emanations of Īśvara in those 24 places, whatever their external forms they are in accordance to those external forms of the 24 sets of what are called Īśvara’s emanation. Heruka, father and mother, also what are called appear appear in those forms. So in this is to clear for like saying in some form, in some one of those 24 in somewhere the emanation of is what I call a naga spirit, then Heruka would appear in the naga spirit form. So like that whatever form the Ishwara’s emanation are there in the 24 places, Heruka father and mother also also emanate in that form and thereby suppresses outshine each Īśvara’s emanation.
And whatever respected names of each Īśvara’s emanations they are are residing in the 24 places same like their name Heruka father and mother also bear the same name and all those 24 places being completely occupied therefore we have all the 24 places being occupied by Heruka father and mother and all their beings being suppressed in the form of physical appearance because we’re assuming the same physical appearance and from the name because of having the same names. So then we have what called 24 places, which has 24 different names, names, and each first syllable of the 24 names are are called taken here. So we have Pu, ja or ah and so forth. Is there? So the first syllable of each of the name are taken here starting the first syllable of the first name of the place Pu, and this first syllable of this second place is named the, and third place is first syllable o, and fourth first syllable of the fourth place ah, and so forth.
Thus, we have So after that, these sets are are will call it done by drops. So this is to be understand understood as meaning on each of the these 24 syllables, which are the first letter of the 24 places. On each of twenty four twenty four syllables, on top of that is a on each of the syllable is a half moon. And on the half moon is a a circle, which means drop or which is said in the text drop. So a drop.
And that drop is inside empty, which represents emptiness. And this is same as so in meaning, they form like in the previous one. So these 24 letters starting Puja and so forth, they have to be arranged on 24 places on one’s body starting from the hairline point between the hair and the forehead and at the crown and right ear at the back of the neck and our left ear and so forth. And these being arranged makes what are called the places where one is to generate where one is to generate the deities of the 24 places. So when one arrange those what I call arranges those 24 syllables, so on each of these places, afterward, you are what I call generating a place where the deity is to be residing, and that is something like a drum shape of a drum, not exactly circular, a little bit like a drum shape and it’s like a and visualize it as in that shape and visualize it like a cave where the deity is to be residing.
What does that do? Like that. The upper part should be the upper should be a bit bigger and becoming smaller or narrower at the bottom. So it has to face inward where the deity is to residing. And why it has to be inward is because all the entourage has to what I call so in this case, the 24.
So all the entourage has to face towards the principal father and mother and this is like a normal case where the lama is everybody, all the students should face towards lama. It’s not a local custom for students to face backward to the lama. So same here where the deity principal father and mother is there, all the entourage and retinues have to face towards the principal father and mother. And in short, it becomes like the house in which the 24 deities are to reside and facing inward. So this is saying from the point of view, by drop and becoming into wheel spokes.
There it says I think in translation, it says the second part three wheels, which is not in here. So in this point, what is principally happening is one’s body is being generated into what I call external place where the 24 deities are to reside. And then now from the principal eight channels at the heart, you visualize that each of the channels, each of those eight channels what call expands expands into each having three channels. And in in in one one of the three channels expanded three channels. In one of the three channels flow the white constituent semen.
And in one of and another channel flows the red constituent, the blood. And in another, the third channel flows the winds. And the channel into which the channel into which the white what I call white constitute in the semen flows is the channel where the Buddha’s body Buddha’s Buddha’s body is to be what called generated. And the channel into the red constituent flow is where the Buddha’s speech is to be generated, and the channel into which the air passes which is blue in color is the one into which the Buddha’s mind is to be generated. So with each of this set set of three, we have these.
So therefore, eight eight having three three with each of them making three eights 24. So we have 24 this channels. So we have eight channel what call eight channels are into which the so we have eight blue channels into which the air passes, and we have eight red channels into which the red constituent flow, and we have eight or I call white channels into which the white constituent flow, thus making 24. So the eight were called eight channels into which the air air flow is blue in color, and that’s the channel of the mind. So mind in the honorific Tibetan, the word is used in honorific sense referring to mind of Buddha or enlightened being as the channel of the mind.
And now these eight channels of the mind will have to be from starting from the top part of one’s body and into this one generates eight eight deities related with mind. So in that, what are called channels, eight channels where the wind flow. So the wind is the constituent and the channel is the container. Channel is the container into which the wind the constituent flows. And these two are these two inseparable.
So these two being inseparable in nature but still at the time of generation one has to generate the constitution being generated into I’ll call in constituent being generated into Heruka, the fathers, and the channels being generated into heroines. So in the sādhana, it says, the the channels and the constitutions of the 24 places being remain or abiding in inseparable nature, having transforms from the channels or having transform the constituent within the channel becomes the 24 heroes or viras and the channels becomes the 24 heroines or viris. So in the previous explanation where Rinpoche says hero that’s to be understood as meaning inseparable form. See there’s a synonym normally what I call deity being called or interchangeable with the word hero and the mother being interchangeable with the word heroines. So please look in the sādhana first, the eight deities of the mind are being generated.
So at the hairline is is the place. Just look at there. Please don’t note. Please don’t take note. Just look at there.
So hairline or the in Tibetan, the word is hair border. So that’s the border where there’s hair and no hair. So the hairline or the border of the hair, that’s the place where the first mind of the first deity of the mind is to be generated. And in the sādhana where it says at the hairline at Puliramalayaya. So that’s Puliramalaya is to be understood as the first external place where the first mind deity deity of the mind has risen.
And this Puli, what is called Puliramalaya, so that’s this name as in the previous twenty four first letter of the 24 names where the first one starts Pu, so that Pu here is spelled in its entire entire vocal name, and that’s becoming Puliramalaya. Just to have comprehension of how the syllable with the name of the external place and the place within one’s body where the deity is generated, if one first has a comprehension of the first one then the rest one is same you just apply the same set of set of arrangement of the three to the rest 23. So please pay attention to the first one. Just have it clearly understood. So at the hair line at the hair line, it at the hair line, that very part of the body, at the hair line, it being transformed becomes the representation of the external place, and it is like something like that shape of a cave and facing inward.
So inside that place, which is the external representation, which is the representation of external place, Puliramalaya. So inside that one one generates from the constituent among the eight, what are called eight channels of the mind. One generate the constituent transform into the hero Khandakapala and the channel being generated into Prajnatara or Raptuma in Tibetan. So in meaning meaning saying saying at at the the hair hair or or line, line, the place it’s transformed into Puliramalaya with a cave like shape facing inward into which among the eight channels of the mind, first channel, the constituent within that first channel transform into the hero Khandakapala, and the channel itself of the first of the eight transform into or. Then these two are in union is inside there.
So the names Khandakapala is the name of the father and Prajnatara or Raptuma is the name of the mother. And these two were the names of the father and mother or male and female emanation of Īśvara. So those two name have those two names of those Īśvara’s have been grabbed from them and become the name of Heruka father and mother. So is that quite clear? So one has to think that actually that this part of one’s body, the hairline or both of the hair actually becoming external place called Puliramala.
And within within that external place, the channel becoming the Khandakapala, Heruka father, and the channel becoming Khandakapala mother and the channel becoming Raptuma or Prajnatara and that actually, Heruka father and mother with those two names are generated at that part of one’s body. So because this is quite clear to you, the first one, the rest is same, exactly same way of applying the arrangement, and therefore, Rinpoche will not go into explaining in detail with the rest. So the second place is at the crown, and external places the Jalandhara and the second second deity of the mind is the Mahākāla which is generated of generated or formed from the constituent within the channel the second of the eight and the channel the second channel itself being generated into the heroine called Tummo in Tibetan and Chandravali. And then the third one is at the right at the right ear, and the external place, and the external place represent being generated is the and the father being generated from the constituent is Kankala, and the mother being generated from the channel is what called Vedanta Prabhāvatī. And then at the back of the neck which is at this point is the place external place being generated is Arbuta and the constitution being generated into father is and the mother being generated from the channel is Najarima And now on the left ear is the external place, Godavari, and the constitution being generated into father is the father Surabhaksha, and the channel being generated generated into mother is the mother or.
And then at the which is in between the eyes and from the at there, the external place is Rameshvari being generated and the constitution which arise into father is and the mother being generated from the channel is. And then on at the two eyes, the place is called Devikota, and the constituent being generated into and the channel being generated into then then on the two shoulders, the place is called Malava, and the constitution is generated or transformed and generated into Vajrankusha or Dorje Guk, and the channel is generated into Shindipma, Mahāmāyā, and these are called the eight secondary places and these are the are called deities of the mind and there’s in the aspect or remained in the aspect of staying in this space. Alright. So it covers the upper part of body, and they are the deities of the mind. And because they are on the upper part of body, therefore, they are in the aspect of the manner of the manner of staying staying in the in the manner of staying in the space where in the text are literally sky goers.
So that’s in the translation it says, whereas in here it says, the in the manner of staying or enjoying in the space. And now comes the end of the deities of the mind, and now starts the deities of the speech starting from the part below this and starting from the two armpits. So the two armpits, the place being Kamarupa, constitution becoming Vajra Ankusha, and the what’s called channel becoming Shavasugandha, Aravati. And at the two breasts, the place is Uttara, and the constitution is generated into Dorje Rapchen, Vajrahasya, and the channel is generated into. And then at the, the place is called, the constitution is generated into, and the channel is generated into.
And then at the tip of the nose is the place called Kosala, and constitution is generated into Dorje Hung, Vajrahumkara, and At the mouth, the place is called Lanka, which is Kulika or Lanka. And in on the constitution generated into and the channel generated into. And at the throat, the place is called Lampaka, and the constitution is generated into Dorje Sangwa, Vajrabhadra, and the channel is generated into Shantisukhada, Subhadri. And at the heart, the place is called Sindhu, and the constitution became Jigje Chenpo, Mahavira, the channel became Tārā Mahakali. And at the two, which are solid, the the place is called Himalaya, and the constituent become and the channel become the crow-faced one.
So that up till that is the eight up till that are the eight deities of the speech, red in color, and they are they are residing in the manner they are residing in the manner of call enjoying on the ground. And then starts the eight deities of the body. The first one at the at the organ. So at the secret organ is the the place called Pretapuri, and the constitution become Subāhu, Samvara, and the channel become. And then at the at the part of the body where feces is discharged.
So at that place, the place is great deva, and the constitution become and the channel become. And then the two thighs. The place is and the constitution become and the channel become.