Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 41-minute session, Kyabje Rinpoche teaches the union practice at the heart of Heruka sādhana—how to generate the four joys and realize emptiness through a consort and the subtle movement of winds along the central channel. He distinguishes two paths: visualizing a female deity from one’s meditation, or remaining in union with an actual consort, clarifying that both practitioners must have achieved specific realizations. He walks through the precise visualization—transforming the father’s secret place into a vajra, the mother’s into a sealed lotus—and explains how the raising and lowering of bodhicitta fluids generates successive waves of joy: simple joy, special joy, supreme joy, and simultaneously-born joy. He concludes by connecting this bliss-emptiness union to the 37 attributes of enlightenment, embodied by the 37 deities of the mandala. For practitioners who have received Heruka initiation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1989-12-02 – 15B – KR.mp3
UUID: 02e75494-8059-463c-b887-c0effeaa68ce
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Heruka Commentary
Date: 1989-12-02
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,510
Enough time. But after, if you study more into commentaries, then I will understand you know, come to know more about it after. And then the section afterward is called visualization or meditation of the similar supplementary practices so this is saying the main practice has been finished and now the similar or corresponding supplementary practices and that comprises of something which will be done after this. So as explained before, all the channels their winds are absorbing to the central channel and that central channel having absorbed all the wind, the mind in its most subtle most form realizes emptiness in the state of having a great great bliss. And regarding how to generate that regarding regarding the means how to generate that bliss and how regarding the means how to generate that bliss and regarding the means how to realize emptiness that through that bliss, there are two means.
And one means is the already explained one, the visualization of the body mandala through which one generates bliss and through which one realizes emptiness by the subtle one’s mind in the state of that great bliss. And the other means is to rely on the seed and Tibetan word for seed has additional, what I call, feminine particle meaning. So in English, maybe the seal lady or seal deity. So this is to that is called to rely on the seal in feminine form and this is to stay in union with the seal and then through that generate a great bliss and then realize emptiness within that state of bliss. And regarding the seal, it is of two, the seal of meditation or visualization seal and the action seal.
And one means the first one is the being engaged in the practice of visualization of one’s celestial deity. In this case, like, visualizing one’s celestial deity, and after a while, has made progresses coming to a level where one is able to emanate one’s visualized female deity. So with that visualized female deity having what called emanated by oneself and after staying in union with that deity. And through that union, one is able to generate the four four joys four joys from up downward and four joys from bottom upward. And within that state of what called four joys from those two directions one is able to realize emptiness and that is called the visualized or visualized seal and through that one rely on what I call a visualized female deity or visualized deity.
And the other means is to rely on rely on ladies who are not emanated by one’s visualization, but who are born by action, by karma. So so though with that, one one holds, stays in union and with the union or being in union, one generates the four joys and from those four joys, one is able to draw all into the central most, what I call, central most point of central channel and through which one is able to realize emptiness and that’s an alternative means. All the ladies born because of karma, action is not doesn’t work or qualifies to be an action to be an action seal. It has to be the yogi practitioner. The practitioner should have attained a state of realization, able to remain in perfect union and also the seal, the action seal herself has to have practice and have arrived to certain level of realization, and that’s required.
And it’s not all born of action or of of karma. So how the union is to be done is in the sādhana, look in the sādhana. So this would be after we finish the last one. Skip the part where it says no. Skip the whole short form one.
So after that, there’s alternated short visualization of the eight, the whole 62 deities. Skip that one. So in the sādhana, it starts from the secret place of father from whom? So at the secret place of father, so secret place the organ, there’s that secret place, it’s transformed. So meaning the secret organ is transformed into a Hung syllable, and that Hung syllable is blue in color.
And from that Hung syllable, blue in color, it transforms into a Vajra, five pointed Vajra five pointed vajra white in color and from the from that becomes a BAM syllable and that BAM syllable becomes becomes a what call from that BAM syllable becomes a red gem and at the top of the red gem is a the top of red gem is a BAM yellow adorned by BAM yellow so how that is inside the y code inside the top of the red gem is the yellow bea syllable. So it’s a Vajra. So that whom transforms into a Vajra, and Vajra inside is what I call whole, meaning a vajra is sort of hollow so inside that is a BAM and then that BAM becomes what’s called a red gem, and at top of the red gem its tip is what called adorned by yellow BAM inside. So this is meant as the syllable the syllable are what I call closest the hole or opening opening of the. Isn’t that clear?
No. The syllable closes the opening of the. And then in mother’s secret organ in the sādhana, says so this is to be told as what called to be meant as explaining that mother’s secret place, mother’s sex organ is visualized as not not what are focusable in the literal, meaning it’s visualized as disappeared, unseeable. And from that state of unseeable, visualize at that point, an r syllable which transforms into a lotus, red lotus, and that lotus inside is a DA syllable and that DA syllable transforms into white corolla and that white corolla at the top like before at the top is inside the top of the white corolla is a yellow DA syllable and that yellow DA syllable inside at the top of the red color line can be visualized as they are thus closing the opening of the lotus and there is no possibility for any, what called, bodhicitta fluids to exit out. And then there in the goes on saying four places.
So that’s what called so four places not in the sādhana. So four places starting from the father’s father’s navel and the heart and mother’s throat and forehead. So on those four places, there are moon cushions. So the moon on each of them and on places on moon cushion are mother’s essence and the close essence, meaning the mother’s essence mantra and close essence mantra on each of them. So essence mantra is and the close essence mantra is So that’s to be arranged on each of the four.
So mother is what I call close essences. And mother’s close essence is. And then what call and then at the navel and the heart of the mother. So this is reversed with the previous one, whereas in the previous one it is the navel and heart of the father. So here it is reversed at the navel and the heart of the mother and at the throat and the forehead of the father on sun cushion.
So on each of them, there are sun cushion and then you arrange on each of them father’s essence mantra and close essence mantra and father’s essence mantra. So yeah. And that’s the close essence. So it should be in the sādhana will come sometime after. Yeah.
Looks like so when it comes to the point where we have to do what I call mantra recitation, at that point, it will come. So it’s in the sādhana. The were called The mantra garlands, they emit countless rays, and the father’s mantra garland emit rays striking the mantra garland and the heart of the mother and mother’s mantra garland emit rays striking at the father’s mantra garland and and the heart and thus, in the sādhana, I’m not sure what the English translation says, the rays tangle, rays, yeah, rays mix, rays creep on one another. So tangle. And with that, tangle of the rays what does it say?
Intertwine. Yeah. That’s good. So intertwine each other, and this generates what I call great bliss within the father and mother and as we visualize before father and mother already were in a union aspect embracing each other. And then after that, the man what I call mantra to be restarted is Hung which is a short version normally.
There is extent extensive version of which Rinpoche recited the mantra. And anyway, the point so far is the union with the mother generates the four blisses and the four joys like when the the were called when the father and mother are in union the union brings the melting of the bodhicitta fluid from the crown to the throat. And when the bodhicitta fluid is melted from crown to the throat, at the time it reaches the throat, one generates or one feels the joy and when it’s melted from throat to the heart then one feels the special joy and went from the heart till to the secret place, the navel when that is generate one generates the when that’s melted one generates the supreme joy and went from the navel up to the secret organ then at that time one generates what normally called simultaneously born joy. So in this way one is able to generate the four joys along with the four blisses and through that state of the four joys and four blisses one is able to draw all the winds into the center most point of the center channel through which one is able to realize emptiness directly and that’s how through that process one is able to realize glorious Sri Heruka in in its definitive meaning.
Meaning. Fluids are not meant to be are not meant to be released out, and that’s why there is that practice where one seals the openings of the two sex organs in the aspect of the virtue and lotus being sealed by the two syllables BAM and DA. So the purpose is because if one releases the fluid then there’s no bliss. There’s no yeah. There’s no bliss.
And also the second reason is if one releases the fluid then it is a core transgression, a downfall, a downfall enforcement of Buddhist teachings that it has been it has been advised not to release and this way one also accumulates negativities. Therefore, the first one to it, what we to elaborate more in detail is to be understood as saying that if one releases, then one is not able to have a bliss because as long as one remains the fluids inside one can have powerful bliss, one will have bliss lasting for long duration, and second one there will be no one will accumulate negativities and transgression of downfall, transgression. Principally, it is quite what called are quite quite to be careful about is are quite to be careful because when when one release, one one has a defects in morality. Therefore, it’s not to be released. So that’s the four bliss or or four joy generated through melting or bringing down in melting the fluids from top to down.
And now same four sets of bliss and joy can be generated from the fluids being down or pulled upward. So the time when one pulls or draws it upward from the secret organ to the navel one generates the bliss or joy, and when one pulls it from navel to the heart, generates the special joy, and from heart to the throat, one generates the supreme joy, and from throat to the crown, one generates what’s called simultaneously born joy, and this simultaneously born joy which is because of drawing the bodhicitta fluid up to its resident place at the crown, this is considered to be the greatest joy, greatest bliss. So that’s one means how one generates the blisses, and through that bliss, one realizes emptiness. And to what called this morning, we perhaps limit up to this much. And after that comes the teaching or the part which is called wearing the armor.
And in this sādhana, seems in this sādhana, it is the short version of the wearing the armor. Normally they are the extensive version where instead of the seed syllable one actually generates the armors in the aspects of the deities. Anyway, that will be explained sometime in the future. So in the text where it says the what called simultaneously born bliss and empty inseparable being joined as a entity of the 37 attributes corresponding to enlightenment. Enlightenment.
So this is when the father and mother are in union and out of union they generates the four or four joys and through that four joys one is able to realize emptiness by the subtlest mind and that state of the Sri Heruka’s what called highest enlightenment and that state is called the pure wisdom pure wisdom wisdom pure inseparable of so what called pure wisdom of the bliss and empty inseparable. So that pure wisdom of bliss and empty inseparable of Sri Heruka if it’s to be analyzed or dissected into parts it can be categorized into 37 groups and those 37 groups are called the 37 attributes of the enlightenment and those 37 attributes of enlightenment in order to represent that what is now in the actual practice the 37 kinds of deities are being visualized as visualized as being generated and with when one is going to when one is going to visualize and generate this deity they should be what called generated as in the nature of bliss and empty and in the nature of light. So regarding the thirty seven thirty seven attributes of enlightenment, this already you must have what call well understood the time frame which is explanation was on the Ornament of Realizations second chapter where there was a part dealing about the 37 attributes of the enlightenment on the path.
So those 37 attributes of enlightenment are things like the four confidences, four mindfulnesses, and six bases of miraculous powers and eight noble paths and so forth. So those 37, they are in the so they are in the most enlightened form, and those enlighten enlightened aspect of the pure wisdom and the power are represented by those 37 of the Ornament of Realizations. And here in the practice one is what call visualizing the 37 sets of deity in the nature of the 37 accomplished state of enlightenment and how the 37 kinds of deities are. One has a set of three of the body’s speech and mind making 24, on top of that eight of the doors making 32, and on top of that the five principal one, the father and mother group into one and the four.
And that’s 37. Is that clear? Yes. That that’s 37. We’re going beyond too far.
Maybe stop here too.