Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Kyabje Rinpoche opens this 48-minute White Tārā empowerment with a striking historical account: a student told he had three years to live extended his life to 110 through White Tārā practice. He then establishes why long life is essential—to accomplish the full Dharma path—and guides students through taking the Bodhisattva Vows, setting the motivation to work toward enlightenment for all beings. Rinpoche provides detailed visualization instructions: imagining the teaching space as White Tārā’s celestial mansion, the lama as White Tārā herself, oneself in the deity’s form. The empowerment is conferred through four ritual components: the ritual cake, liquid substance, long-life pills, and blessings. Suitable for both newcomers to White Tārā practice and those returning to deepen it.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1990-05-13 – 1A – White Tārā Empowerment – KR.mp3
UUID: 0c71c9aa-b938-4469-8c8c-658c905894d7
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Initiation – Empowerment
Date: 1990-05-13
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,141
And [MUSIC] We offer the mandala, which is on the right side. A quoting from a verse by the Master Śāntideva in which he is talking about that presently today we have found a human life. And not only a human life, but the all of the types of circumstances and conditions whereby we can carry on a successful practice of Dharma. So having found such a perfect situation of having this human life which is able to carry on a successful practice of Dharma. It’s necessary that we do not allow our life to become meaningless, but that we give it some purpose and some meaning.
So it said that what purpose, what meaning can we give to this life? It is the fact that we want to be happy and we don’t want to suffer. So we have to implement the methods to bring about our ultimate goal of completely eliminating all our suffering, completely finding pure happiness. And it’s said that in order to achieve this end of completely eliminating our sufferings and finding complete happiness, it’s difficult if we have a very short life. That in order to achieve this, in order to implement the various practices necessary to bring about their ultimate goal, that is necessary to prolong our life, have a long life.
And in order to achieve this end of our ultimate goal and the necessary condition of having a long life, then we can avail ourselves of the various deities who are able to bring about a long life. Those various deities who have the power and ability to lengthen our lives. And amongst these, the foremost is White Tārā, who has the maximum abilities and powers to bring about a longer life, but also to help in increasing our wisdom. By receiving the empowerment into the long life deity, by reciting her mantra, and making requests for a long life, then if we were to engage in the various positive and productive activities, then we would definitely have a long life. So so by way of an example, a historical account, there was one master by the name of Lama Drepa who had a student.
And this student was very conversant in being able to teach the Dharma. And one day Lama looked at his hand and noticed that his lifeline was extremely short. And he told his student that you only had three years to live. So, obviously, he wanted to, during the remaining three years, to carry on as extensive and fruitful practice as possible with his, as far as the Dharma. So he went in search of a lama who could give him the most powerful practice, and he went to Lhasa.
So he went to Lhasa, and he met with the Lama who who he requested the powerful practices saying that he only had three years to live. But Lama answered, but I have intimate connection with the long life deity. And by giving you the empowerment and by your practice, you can lengthen your your life. And he gave the student the empowerment into the to White Tārā, and the student went on to do a one month retreat. And after the one month retreat, he had a vision of White Tārā.
And as a consequence, he lived to the age of 60. And, again, having reached the age of 60, he said now what should he made requests to Tārā and said now what should I do to carry on my practice? And she was able enabled him to live another ten years. Then again at the age of 70, making requests to Tārā, and and by the power of Tārā, was able to live to the age of 110. And again, at the age of 110, making a request to White Tārā to please prolong his life.
So he was able to live live even longer after the age of 110. But many of the other monks saw that he had lengthened his life as a consequence of relying on the deity of White Tārā. And therefore, they also began to depend upon for lengthening life upon White Tārā. In this way, many proficient practitioners were able to bring great realizations by having their life lengthened. And this was all by due to the blessings of White Tārā.
So having by receiving the empowerment into the long life practice and by practicing the the methods, then you can lengthen your life. So and we should initially adjust our motivation for receiving this long life empowerment. Reflecting upon the fact that all sentient beings are tortured by various troubles and sufferings, and developing the kind hearted attitude of wishing to free them from their suffering, and as a means to do this developing the determination to quickly, quickly, as quickly as possible to achieve Buddhahood. And in order to do this that I must have a long life in order to carry on my practices and therefore I’m going to receive this empowerment into the long life deity of White Tārā. That is to say, we are going to attend this empowerment with the motivation of the awakening heart.
Yes. Now we should begin to exercise our imagination. This is not an ordinary place, not an ordinary room. But in fact, this is the celestial mansion of White Tārā with four doors, one in each of the cardinal directions. And that presiding master, the Lama, is not simply an ordinary human being, but is in fact has the aspect and is White Tārā herself.
And then on the in front of the image of the Buddha, there’s a ritual cake. This is to be not simply a substance, but this is to be imagined as White Tārā herself in actual fact. And the entire space is filled with various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and those of the blessed lineage of White Tārā. And imagining all this, then we will go for refuge. So we’re going to make requests to receive the empowerment with a feelings of faith and respect in in White Tārā and addressing the presiding master who is in nature, White Tārā. We’re gonna do this three times making request to receive the empowerment with the hands folded together.
So we have re repeated the request twice, and we’re going to repeat it once more at the end when we recite the word, then you should imagine that the master in nature, White Tārā, has acceded to your request and has committed herself to give you empowerment. So we we created we we completed the request. Now it’s necessary to take the vows of the Bodhisattva. So in order to eliminate our sufferings and to find the happiness that we are all seeking, what do we have to depend upon and what will bring that about? Is dependent upon the various spiritual practices.
That is, we depend upon the Dharma. Therefore, we go for refuge to the Dharma. So from where did this method of the Dharma which is able to eliminate our sufferings and to bring us happiness come from? This came from the teachings of the Buddha himself that he showed an unerring, unmistaken methods to eliminate our problems and to find happiness. And therefore, we go for refuge to the source of the Dharma, which is the Buddha.
But additionally, in order to implement the various methods of the Dharma which are shown by the Buddha, it’s necessary to take refuge in the fellow practitioners who assist us in carrying and implementing the various methods, and that is to say, going for refuge to the spiritual community. So then for the first line in the taking of the vows is I go for refuge to the Three Jewels. In order to actually receive the Bodhisattva Vows, our minds must be clarified. That is to say, we must remove the various negativities within our mind. And this is done through acknowledging them.
By acknowledging them and then developing a sense of regret toward those, and thereby eliminating these negativities within our mind. So in order to receive the bodhisattva vows, we go for refuge to the Three Jewels. We acknowledge all our our negativities, and then we enact the ritual itself. So, as the elimination of the various negativities within our mind is the elimination of the various conflicting conditions to actually receive the Bodhisattva Vows. But additionally, we need the positive potential or positive potential to enact the vows, to develop them in our mind.
And this is done by developing the conducive conditions by gaining positive potential. And the way that we can develop this positive potential, which is termed the accumulation, is by the method of rejoicing. Rejoicing in the skillful actions of all other sentient beings. And by other sentient beings, that would be ordinary sentient beings, those who have entered into the path, those superiors, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. And then having developed this positive potential, committing oneself that for the sake of all sentient beings, I will achieve Buddhahood through my practice.
Now we should imagine that we are, as this prayer is being recited, imagine all of its which has been explained, and we’ll repeat this three times. So we have repeated this vow ceremony twice, and we’re going to repeat it for the third time. At the end of the third repetition, when we when you recite the words, you should imagine that you have purely and completely received the vows of the Bodhisattva. If you have not received these vows previously, then you have received them anew. If you have received these vows previously but they have degenerated, then they have been reinstated.
If you have not degenerated them, then they have increased higher and higher. So this is really a wonderful occasion by having generated in your minds the Bodhisattva vows. So now we’re going to begin the actual empowerment of the long life. In order to do and initially, we have to set the foundation for for the actual empowerment. So amongst the two types of people who are attending this empowerment, there are those who have received the empowerment of White Tārā previously and those who have not.
For those who have received the White Tārā empowerment previously, then you should, from from now, begin imagining yourself in the aspect of White Tārā. Those who have not received the White Tārā empowerment should not do so. It doesn’t necessarily have to have received the white Tārā empowerment previously. It could be any empowerment such as the highest yoga tantra empowerment. Now we’re we’re beginning the actual ritual and the the presiding master will sprinkle water.
And this water is to I want you to imagine that all of the obstacles and hindrances to actually generating oneself in the aspect of White Tārā have been removed. And then the mantra of emptiness is recited, that all things become empty. Within the context of emptiness, there appears a white lotus upon which is a moon disc. Upon the moon disc is the letter TAM, T-A-M. So you should imagine oneself in in in in the aspect of White Tārā that the photograph that I think most of the people have received.
If not, maybe you can share it. So meditate in this in this aspect. And we should imagine at the crown of White Tārā is a white om at the throat, a red ah, and at the heart, a blue hum. At the the heart is the tam, and within the tam is the the Samayasattva, the commitment being. And from the hum? And from the whom?
From the from the whom light radiated out to all of the directions of space, come touching all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the 10 directions. And in response, they rained down the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas into the into the letter hum at the heart. And you should imagine that the the empowering deities come forth and pouring down nectars from vases, which enter through the crown of your head, filling your entire body. And the overflow of the nectars coming out at the crown of your head takes on the aspect of Amitāyus. Now we begin the the actual long life empowerment.
So the the empowerment is given by means means of four. That is the ritual cake, the liquid substance in the bowl, the long life pills, and the increase of one’s lifespan. So the by means of the torma or the ritual cake, the life span is increased in the sense that eliminating or subduing those those who would steal away our life by dependence upon increasing our lifespan, not allowing it to prematurely degenerate, and by receiving the empowerments of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.