Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 47-minute conclusion to the Heruka commentary series, Kyabje Rinpoche specifies the mantra recitation requirements and tantric practices for the action-completing Heruka retreat. He details precise quantities: 100,000 recitations of the father’s essence mantra, 10,000 each of the retinue and pure wisdom showering mantras, plus three rounds of the 100-syllable mantra for purification of errors. The session covers torma offerings—what to include, how to bless them, and the sequence of offerings to the father, mother, retinue, and external protectors. He then walks through the visualization practices: the absorptions and dissolution sequence into the Hung syllable at the heart, protective armor arrangement, and the 24-deity body mandala. For practitioners who have received Heruka empowerment and are undertaking the retreat.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1989-12-14 – 18B – KR.mp3
UUID: dd7f451b-b6fd-436d-8c36-98e0c9d19b7a
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Heruka Commentary
Date: 1989-12-14
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,708
Now let me see what we put, what I call, burden or note on you. So the fathers for the retreat, the fathers’ root mantra will have to be recited for 100,000. And that is the as Rinpoche recited, that was the short short root mantra of the father. There are what call long longer versions. Oh, sorry.
So that was the both versions of the essence, father’s essence mantra. So that will have to recited 100,100 times. Father’s essence mantra. So the others means the father’s essence mantra will have to be recited 100,000 times and if possible, three times. And if not, then one time.
And after that, the short version of the retinue’s mantra which is at the end. So that will have to be recited 10,000 times. The short version of the retinue’s mantra. So at the end of the father’s essence mantra, it will have to be joined with the mantra called wisdom or pure wisdom showering mantra. So pure wisdom showering mantra will have to be recited, at least.
What? 10,000. And after that is finished, then you offer the burn off and called normally called fire puja. Then you have to do the fire puja. The pure wisdom showering mantra is called is goes like.
So that’s a pure wisdom showering mantra. So this will have to be recited, what, 10,000 times, and that’s. So that’s the short way of reciting mantra in the action-completing retreat. And then one has to recite the 100 syllable mantra because in course reciting those mantras it is sometimes possible to recite excess of fabrication on what there wasn’t. One fabricates and recites excess and in some cases miss some parts thereby have missed recitation.
Therefore to remove those faults, a 100 syllable will have to be recited about three times. And when that is finished, then the torma will have to be offered. And torma substances mainly mainly torma offering will have to be with what’s called alcohol and meat and fruits and breads, clean breads. In Tibet, it used the torma used to be made by meat and alcohol being mixed along with tsampa flour and then out of that torma being made. So maybe here it’s not possible.
So instead, one half in container, a alcohol and in another container, a alcohol meat and in the center, a fruit or something and then bless the bless it like and the blessing has been explained in the beginning of the commentary as with the inner offering how it has to be blessed. And then one has to recite PAM which is to invite the objects to whom one has to make the torma offering. And at the time one recites the invitation one has to say pam, and then as in the line, it goes from one’s heart on the sun disc cushion. There is the Hung syllable from where the rays emit and invites towards those residing in the eight great cemeteries, direction, guardians, etcetera, together with the entourage or retinues are completely completely the whole mandala up in the space before one’s and one has to offer and and so forth to make the offerings. So the deities who are the objects to whom one has to make offering, the vajra on the tongues emit rays of a tube form and through them the deity takes the essence.
So it is like normally when we drink something with straw we suck through that. So like that one can visualize how it is being offered and being enjoyed. And then one offers to offers that to the Om Vajra along with that recitation Om Vajra Amrita Ho, Jom, Mam Ho, Vajra Dakinis, Amaya, Svāhā Ho. One offers to the father first and then recite an offer to the mother and to the four dakinis, the entourage, the four dakhnis. Now in this way, one makes three three times offering.
And then the line starting from Om Kara Kara Kuru Kuru and so forth, that is being offered to the, what I call, deities of body, speech, and mind circles. So it is being offered to the entourage deities. And then along with the recitation on Vajra Arali Ho, one offers to the four door gods and the four sub-direction deities. Previous one was making offering to the father and mother where the mantra starts same, whereas here it is to be offered to the doors and the sub direction guards and how it is being offered, as Rinpoche showed with the gesture, to the four doors guards one has to make often by making circling to the right and to the sub directions to the left. And then one makes the offering up till and then that is the short inner offering.
And after that, one makes the offerings of the 16 knowledge ladies and the and the Tibetan version of the eight lines praise. The translation says English version. English are what I can say the eight lines praised in English so that’s fine. And after that, the song of spring queen. So that’s extensive way of doing.
So after that is the making request of the things one aspires for. And it is being made to the deities, father and mother, and the entourage. And the lines in turn starts with the completely completely eliminating the conceptions of the the peace and the of the existence and the peace and so forth up till please goddesses, please And so far so on the work of request being done to the goddesses, unspecified goddesses, request being done to the goddesses. And after that, so far one has made offerings to the deities within the mandala. Now one makes offerings to those residing out of the mandala, those residing in the eight great cemeteries, the garden protectors, the land protectors, nagas, and so forth.
So as lines in the sādhana, instantaneously, are put into or melted into a clear light and, you know, arises into the form of the Heruka father and mother. And from the guests or from the guests, you know, raise in the form of a tube. What called pulls and draws the essence and then enjoys. So that’s as like before with the father, the drawing of the essence of the torma is same here. So with that mantra, it is being offered to those in the eight great cemeteries and so forth.
So the mantra, we call, so forth up to the PAM SVAHA. And to those residing in the four directions, one offers by what I call right gesture being circle right foot to the right or right rotation. And those residing in the sub directions, four sub directions one offer by the gesture being rotating towards left left rotation. And then one makes the offering of offerings up to that chapter, and then one makes the so in that way, makes the inner offering and then one requests the things one aspired for such as the yogi, master and so forth may have no sicknesses, perfect abundance of have glory, have fame, have good opportunity, have wealth, have great have great wealth, have the perfect activities or increase pacification and so forth up till to the point have only aspiration of the mind be accomplished. And then one has to do the 100 syllable mantra of Heruka, recite that.
So with that, how it is done is at the crown of each of the deity they have the lineage master or family masters, are what are called dhyani Buddhas. At the heart of each of the dhyani Buddhas visualize Vajrasattva and with a hundred-syllable at the heart. And then while reciting the hundred-syllable mantra, one visualize stream of nectar flowing down and completely filling one’s body and thinking that all the mistakes faults with the practice be purified and all the unpleasantness caused to the deity by any faults in terms of not having clean torma offerings and so forth one visualized having been purified. The faults in the excess and mistaken mistaken recitation of the mantra, etcetera, everything having been purified. And then with the recitation of Om Svabhava Shuddha Sarva Dharma Svabhava Shuddho Ham, so with that one visualized oneself in the aspect of Heruka father and mother and remained in that deities pride.
And now one already had the set of assembly of deities to whom one had offered the torma. So with them one thinks, their entourage who belonged to the worldly category or mundane entourage like the gods, nagas and so forth, one visualized having gone back to their normal residence. The remaining transcendental deities one visualized being what I call in the aspect of deity, Heruka, father and mother, and being absorbed into oneself. . Being absorbed into oneself.
So then from one’s heart or the Hung syllable, lights emit, goes to all directions, and completely illuminates everything as if in the example if we switch on a very powerful bulb, then the whole room becomes so what I call a light that we can see everything. So like that from the Hung syllable rays having gone completely illuminate and make clearly all the deities celestial mansion, in this case literally called the deities of the mandala, and the deities residing in the eight great cemeteries and so forth see, I think that they all became very clearly visible and we think that what we call clear visible vision one thinks that just by mere sight generates great bliss and with that bliss one also understands the emptiness that these although appearing are without inherent existence and with that bliss and emptiness, with that inseparability one has to remain in meditation for one and have to remain in equipoise for one. And then one, again, thinks rays being emitted from the Hung syllable from one’s heart going out of one’s body completely completely going out towards all the 10 directions, and by the mere touch of these rays to the outer environment and the inner sentient being, just by mere touch one thinks, then all the environment transforms into Heruka’s celestial mansion and the sentient beings transform into Heruka father and mother and the external Heruka celestial mansion after that are absorbed into the Heruka sentient beings who are in the form of Heruka father and mother.
And the Heruka father and mother sentient beings they are absorbing to oneself. And with regard to oneself one thing, the outer eight great cemeteries, the fire mountain and so forth absorb into the celestial mansion. And then one thinks the what called deities of the body, speech, and mind being absorbed into the principal father and mother. After that one thinks, the celestial mansion also absorbs into the principal father and mother. The body mandala deities, have been generated from the channels and constituents of the or channels and the drops of the body.
Therefore one thing, the body mandala deities absorbs back into the channels and constituents of the respective parts of the body. And the Heruka mother, or mother absorbs into the father and father absorbs from top and bottom part of the body into the Hung syllable at the heart. That Hung syllable in the nature of great bliss instantaneously transforms into Heruka father and mother. So once I’m in the Heruka father and mother aspect, so only two are remaining at this point. And then to Heruka father and mother, one has to arrange the armors, six armors to the father, six armors to the mother.
So regarding the what I call armor wearing, so this will have to be go back in case if there isn’t in the translation. So this will have to be from one’s heart on moon cushion in the nature of white. So this will help me go back to the point previous of the armor wearing part where at one’s heart on moon cushion, Om white in the nature of Vajrasattva, along and so forth up to the point at the forehead on sun in the nature of Samantabhādra, smoky Phat Phat. And that covers the armor of the father and mother. And then there are the 24 deities, the eight of the mind circle, eight of the speech circle, eight of the body circle, each representing the 24 of the outer external places.
So now these starting from the upper part of body will have to be arranged on each of the 24 parts of the body. And as I explained before, like a cave facing inward and the what I call generating from where the syllables are to be generated as the lines go on moon cushion, from Om, Agora, Damaka, and so forth up till Mako. So these 24 will have to be arranged on 24 parts of one’s body. So this has been explained before, same as before. And after that, one has to arrange the mantra along with the recitation Om Sumbhani Sumbhani and Om Gahana Gahana and so forth.
And this has been explained before. So it starts from the east direction on Sumbhani Sumbhani, what called black, and then to the north green to the west, what called red, and to the to the what called front south, yellow. And this one visualized the whole expanse of the space in the forward direction being with each of these mantras in their respective colors emitting rays and completely filling. No. That is.
So that’s the protection. So it has been explained before, protection wheel. And after that is the dedication and the aspiration of prayers, the short one. So in Tibetan, it starts from Tsowo sum gyi kye je chen po, and then and so forth. You are the one who have who ablaze the three three realms, and your body is completely magnificent, heavy, and subdues, and so forth.
So perhaps may not need what call explanation or commentary on this last part of the prayer. So tonight, we’ll stop here. Commentary has now been finished briefly. It couldn’t be it couldn’t be more quite elaborate one, just a brief, and it has just been not to leave empty space expression meaning better than nothing. So for all for all of you to be able to be interested and to do studies and listening on this secret mantra practices is extremely fortunate.
And from Rinpoche’s side, due to the kindness of the sublime teachers and also from Rinpoche’s own side having practiced and done preparatory studies here and there have been able to explain a little bit. And from Rinpoche’s side too, Rinpoche feels it has been very extremely fortunate. So with this, you have received the commentary of Heruka. And regarding Rinpoche, Rinpoche received the Ghantapa tradition of Heruka commentary from late Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, and regarding empowerment Rinpoche has received on so many occasions. Normally, to receive empowerment itself one will have to after on some points meaning normally to have received empowerment it shouldn’t be just a case of just received.
It will have to be followed by receiving what we call commentary. And once the commentary is received, the action-completing retreat will have to be done. So you all assist each other to see through that the retreat, action-completing retreat is done. For those who have missed a couple of days in the commentaries, it’s an exception. Otherwise, those who have received complete commentary, there’s no way out than to the retreat.
But now tell you you’re not there. Once you have done the retreat, then it’s fine whatever you do. So so the explanation on the profound secret mantra has been has been done. Therefore, it is Therefore it is possible that in the course of explanation the sublime lamas, Viras, Viris and Dakinis perhaps may have been not pleased with some parts of the explanation and whatever faults there had been causing displeasure within their mind stream. In order to remove those faults we have to make offerings, torma offerings.
So, Rinpoche will do the invoke in in invitation invocation and the blessing through the proper way of doing. And the torma offering, do it on the basis of the Guru Puja. Perhaps on Yeah. Okay.