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 meticulous internal mandala visualization in Heruka practice, building on earlier teachings on the external mandala. The core is generating the principal father and mother (Heruka) at the heart: he explains the seed syllable chi (spring) and its significance, then gives step-by-step visualization instructions—beginning with a simpler form (one face, two arms) if needed, progressing to the full visualization (four faces, 12 hands). He maps the four cardinal channels at the heart to four Dakini retinues (black, green, red, and yellow), explains how the white and red drops form the principal deities, then extends the visualization to subdirectional channels where bodily substances transform into five nectars in skull cups. Pitched at practitioners who have received Heruka initiation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1989-11-25 – 13A – KR.mp3
UUID: 9da26d23-a1a4-4a4e-9c15-903b84328972
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Heruka Commentary
Date: 1989-11-25
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,637
# Heruka Commentary 13a 1989-11-25
**Collection:** Rinpoche Recordings — Heruka Commentary (1989)
**Duration:** 46.8 minutes
**Words:** 2,652
**Model:** Deepgram Nova-3
**Corrections applied:** 2
**Transcribed:** 2026-02-27 17:29
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So in actual tradition, normally, short lines after which one does the three clapping and then it’s followed by reverse. I will remove the sufferings of the entire mother sentient beings, and I’ll place them to the highest excellent happiness. And for that purpose, firstly, I must quickly, quickly try to attain the state of complete Buddhahood. So for that purpose, I will listen well to the highest yoga tantra class teaching on Chakrasamvara or Heruka and after that I will do my practice as well. With that attitude, try to generate the bodhisattva mind and in trying to generate that we will meditate together for some minutes.
So so far the teachings covered about generation of the external mandala in which one generates the external or one visualizes having generated external mandala inside which is the principal father and mother and together with them one generates the 62 deities. And after that, that’s called the external mandala. And after that, one transforms one’s body to mandala, which is the start of internal mandala. And that are called celestial mansion. So one transforms one’s body into celestial mansion and inside that celestial mansion, one has to generate another whole set of deities and that’s called mandala, and it’s called inner mandala, inner body mandala.
So regarding internal body, about the channels, drops and constituents, they have all been explained. And also the explanation so far covered about the five principle channel chakras on the five points: the crown, the great bliss chakra; at the throat, enjoyment chakra; at the heart, the Dharma chakra; and at the navel, the emanation chakra; and at the secret place, the bliss sustaining chakra. So that has been so far explained. So at this point with the inner body mandala, firstly, the father and mother, the principal father and mother are to be generated at the heart. So where exactly in the heart it is to be generated, the principal father and mother, is normally there is the central channel.
And the central channel at the heart point has eight petal channels. And at the center most of the eight petal channels is the very place where the most, where the purest of the purest of the constituents which we receive from parents are there. So that purest of the constituents in that English translation says elementary essence, elemental essences. So the purest of elemental essence, referring to blood and semen. So that purest of the constituent, it is transformed into Hung syllable, and that Hung syllable transforms and becomes the Heruka.
First, we have Heruka alone. So Rinpoche will explain it by going in parallel with the sādhana you have got, which I think starts on page 142 where it says at the heart on the last pair. So in there, at the heart, in the center of the Dharma chakra, the bodhicitta like a white drop, dripping and about a mustard seed. Mustard seed in the center, and that being the seed, that being the seed syllable of essence, and that being the seed syllable of essence becoming Hung syllable.
So at the moment, it may be difficult to precisely work on, difficult to visualize or call precisely. Therefore, first one has the, I will call it, so small like a mustard seed which becomes Hung, and then after that that becomes blue-black color, four faces, twelve hands, and adorned. And regarding four faces, twelve hands, if it’s difficult at the moment to visualize, then it is alright to start visualizing the easier version in the beginning, one face, two arms. And when that becomes better, then you can swap to the visualization of four faces and twelve hands. So regarding the actual source from where the deity Heruka is generated, it starts from the seed syllable, which is like a whole forest, and it’s in the size of a mustard seed. So seed is the word used in, I think, in the translation. In Tibetan, says chi, which is word for word also for spring. And why Heruka’s source or origin in this case, where he’s from, where he’s generated, his source spring, is because in spring, normally when spring comes, all the flowers, plants, they grow and everything looks so beautiful.
And that’s the example and meaning where they follow it. And in meaning why it is called chi, why in meaning why it is called chi, spring, is because the cause of it being the source from which one arises as a Heruka deity. And because of having arisen as Heruka deity, it becomes a basis for one to have all the winds being absorbed into the central or at the center of the central channel. And because having absorbed all the winds afterward, one is able to generate in a great bliss. And therefore, all those results of great bliss and so forth afterward one attains starts from that source chi or spring.
Therefore, it is called spring. So this spring, you know, being referred to the bodhicitta, which is like white drop. And then on the basis of the sādhana, it goes at the navel where there is the tummo, fierce one, the fierce one in the form of a fire and so forth. So normally at the heart is one of the principal part of the white bodhicitta which we get from our father. And at the navel is one principal part of the red bodhicitta which we get from our mother.
So that very red principle, one of the principle red bodhicitta we get from our mother is called by the name Tummo, the fierce one. And that is as in the sādhana it says, in the form of a fire. So this means it is in a triangular shape. And this triangular shape of the fierce one transforms and becomes Vajrayoginī holding a curved knife and a skull cup, and is adorned by the five seals. And this way, Vajrayoginī goes up through the central channel and remains in union with the Heruka at the heart. Where are they? They are as in the past last session where the body, one’s body is transformed into the shape of, let’s imagine at that point, once one’s spine is transforming to Mount Meru, and the 32 channels of the crown were transformed into lotus having 32 petals on top of the Mount Meru. And that 32 petal lotus on top of Mount Meru is somewhere at the level at the heart.
And on top of that, at the center of the 32 petal lotus is the Heruka father and mother. So on the eight petal, or at the center on the eight petal lotus is Heruka, father and mother. That’s basically the art. Generally, there are eight petal, eight channels, but basically, there are four channels.
And those four channels go to the four directions. Now the faces, or they are extending to the four directions, east, south, west, north. And in each, in those, in each of those four basic channels, the core elements which flow in those channels. And those elements are air, water, fire, and earth. Please look in the sādhana, and now it comes to the point where it says at the heart where the channels into which the four elements flow, and in those four channels in the right rotation clockwise are four channels, they are called by the name.
The East channel is called Sukuma. South one is called Dema. And the West one is called Tima. And the north one is called Tuma. So those four are the names of the four channels. So those four channels on the four directions called by those four names, on each of the channels, the four syllables have to be visualized. Four syllables have to be arranged. So in the East is the Lam. In the South is the Mam. In the West is the Pam, and in the North is the Tam. So with each of, now, we have a set of three. In each direction, there is the channel, constituent and the syllable. So in each of these directions, four directions, these three set being transformed becomes the respective Dakini.
So in the East, because of the three: channel, constituent and the syllable being inseparable nature and then transform becomes in the east black Dakini. So in the arrangement of the syllables, the syllables have been arranged from east to south in the right rotation. And whereas now when the Dakinis are generated, they are generated from east to north in anti-clockwise, left rotation. Therefore, in the East, we have in the East, we have black Dakini, and now it has to go left rotation which becomes north. So in the North, there arise, in the North, there arises green Lama.
So this is to be understood as meaning from Tam syllable becomes or transforms into green Lama, and it’s in page 143. And in the West, from Pam syllable, there arises, from Pam syllable transforms to arise red in color Pandara. And in the South, from Mam syllable, which transforms into yellow Lochana.
So at the hub of the lotus is the father and mother, and on each of the directions are the four Dakinis: in the East Black Dakini, in the North Green Lama, in the West Red Pandara, in the South Yellow Lochana. Thus we have a set of five: five principle and the retinues. So please look in the sādhana, and all are one face, two arms. So this is saying to the four retinues, four entourage, the Dakinis, they are all of one face, two arms, holding a curved knife and a skull cup and in the armpit holding khatanga like Vajrayoginī. And right leg stretched, staying in the right leg stretched and adorned by five ornaments and wearing head ornament of five dry skulls and wearing a dorsal rosary of 50 dry human heads. And these four retinues, they are facing towards the principal father and mother.
And why they are of different colors is because they arise from different elements which are of different colors, and therefore, have different colors. And visualize them in a very extremely beautiful appearance and very delightful, very attractive, and when touched very smooth in feeling their skin sensation. Exactly like their own color, only the color is different and think or visualize that such beautiful that even by mere touch and mere sight of these Dakinis, could generate great bliss within the onlooker’s mindstream. And then at the center, at the center of the central channel from which the four principal branch channels, they stretch forth. So that has to visualize at center is the central channel and little bit at a distance it stretches into two sets. One being the principal direction channel and another being the sub direction channel.
So the principle, to clarify, the only four principal direction channels already those were generated. Now with the east, let’s say little bit distance from the Central Channel at the heart, little bit at the distance, distance means it stretch a little bit far and at the distance it becomes two, one being the direction East and one being the East-South and same it is with others. In the West there is the channel a little bit stretching far from the Central Channel and it being of two point, one being the West, one being the West-North, and same with others, North-Northeast, South-Southwest and then North. And in meaning, there are already, there were four direction channels and now we have four subdirection channels. So in each of the four sub direction channels there are sets of five ingredients or substances which flow and they are the feces, urine, semen, blood, and the last one in Tibetan is called phlegm which is a medical term referring to source of tuberculosis.
So it’s kind of ingredient which causes this sickness, chronic sickness like TB tuberculosis and basically this sickness is of different types called pale phlegm and blue phlegm but basically it is the kind of chronic sickness. When you eat food it wouldn’t digest, vomit it out and it’s like cancer and TB. So anyway it is a kind of substance which causes those sickness and that also flows as the fifth substance in those four subdirection channels. And not only in each of these subchannels, not only the five ingredients or five substances flow, on top of them, there are four, set of four in each of them which flow: form, smell, taste, and sensation, not sound. So sound is excluded.
Otherwise, the rest four of the five sense objects also flow. So it comes to the point where it says in the east-south, and so on and so forth on the channels of the four offerings transforms the five nectars, four skull cups filled with five nectars, and that’s the great bliss chakra. That’s how it says. So this is saying those ingredients they are transformed at this point into five nectars and the channels into which those five ingredients together with those four extra flow, those channels, those subdirection channels. So those channels they are transformed into the skull cups. So now so far the visualization is on the four main directions are generated the four Dakinis and on the four sub directions are the four skull cups, in each of them filled with the five nectars. And this is to be visualized as having been generated. So far from the white and red constitute the principal father and mother has been generated. And from the four channels, four channels of the heart together with the inseparable constituent have been generated the four Dakinis.
And from the four channels of the subdirection have been generated the four skull cups and their ingredients inside which flow the substances have been generated five nectars. Now that’s so far visualized but anyway regarding the sub directions where the channels have been visualized as skull cups, those skull cups actually are the Dakinis of the four sub directions. Even though one has visualized a skull cup, but in essence, one has to think that they are dakinis. So anyway, that’s the set of deities generated at the heart.